Antigone: From the ethics of desire to the ethics of the drive

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.In his Seminar the Ethics of Psychoanalysis Lacan mms at differentiating psychoanalytic ethics from the morality of goods. Leaving the Aristotelian eudemonia behind, he moves to the Hegelian dialectic of the Master and the slave focusing on the negating power of the signifier over the good. He names this power pure desire which essentially is the death drive that tends to deprive the Other of that good which constitutes him as whole. The idea of coming to terms with the lack of the Other is what Lacan wished to define as the ethical act which would bring about the experience of jouissance. In order to identify such an act, Lacan moves to Kant and his theorisation of the moral law. Kant proposes two readings thereof; one defined as a void through which the drive transgresses the limits of the signifier and comes to terms with jouissance and the other defined as the voice of conscience which restrains the subject into the field of the signifier aiming at pleasure. Lacan develops an ethics of desire. Even though Kant's first definition of the moral law would have allowed Lacan to define ethics in terms of jouissance, he follows the second option and the idea that beauty can create a veil in front of the experience of lack. This allows Lacan to propose that the ethical act comes about through the process of sublimation which involves the redefinition of the subject's fundamental fantasy and the inability of the drive to transgress the limit of desire. Nevertheless he has chosen Antigone to show that the ethical act involves something more; that is going beyond the signifier. It is through the idea of the Other jouissance that the drive can transgress the limit of the signifier. This thesis proposes a redefinition of psychoanalytic ethics through a reading of Antigone in terms of the Other jouissance

Quality of soil and water in deltaic deposits of Louros and Arachthos rivers related to karstic rocks of the wider area

Οι υδρογραφικές λεκάνες των ποταμών Λούρου και Αράχθου αναπτύσσονται κυρίως σε καρστικά πετρώματα από ασβεστόλιθους, δολομίτες και δευτερευόντως γύψων. Τα εδάφη στο δελταϊκό πεδίο των δύο ποταμών, όπως αναμενόταν, είναι επαρκώς εφοδιασμένα με CaCOi και υπάρχει φυσική τροφοδοσία σε Ca++. Οι τιμές της Ικανότητας Ανταλλαγής Κατιόντων (ΙΑΚ) στα εδάφη είναι υψηλές με κυριαρχία των εναλλακτικών ιόντων Ca++ και δευτερευόντως Mg++ . Στα νερά του Δέλτα τόσο του φρεατίου όσο και του υπόγειου υδροφόρου ορίζοντα η περιεκτικότητα σε ιόντα Ca++ είναι υψηλή. Η διακύμανση των τιμών των ιόντων HCOî στο νερό του υπόγειου υδροφόρου είναι σε φυσιολογικά επίπεδα. Τα υπάρχοντα SO/ στα νερά προέρχονται από την καρστικοποίηση της γύψου και του ανυδρίτη. Οι τιμές των ιόντων Να+ και CT είναι υψηλότερες στα νερά του φρεατίου υδροφόρου από αυτά του υπόγειου υδροφόρου ορίζοντα. Τα νερά του Δέλτα κατατάσσονται στα ανθρακικά, χωρίς ιδιαίτερη επίδραση από τη θάλασσα. Υπάρχει συνεπώς άμεση εξάρτηση της ποιότητας των εδαφών και των νερών του Δέλτα με την ύπαρξη των καρστικών σχηματισμών κυρίως των ανθρακικών και σε μικρό βαθμό των εβαποριτώνThe present study focuses on the connection between the existing karstic formations and the quality of soil and water in the River Delta area. The hydrological basins of Louros and Arachthos Rivers (NW Greece) are partially developed on karstic rocks. So the soil is enriched with CaC03 and there is a natural supply of Ca++, which originates mainly from the limestone and secondarily from gypsum formations. The value of the Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) of soil is high and in the exchange sites Ca++ ions dominate and Mg++ secondarily. Delta water ofphreatic and confined aquifer contain high Ca++ ion concentrations. The fluctuation of HCO3 values in confined aquifer water is within normal levels. Ions of SO 4 ' that occur in water are derived from the karstic process of gypsum and anhydrite formations. The values ofNa+ and CT content in water are higher in the phreatic aquifer than in ground water. The water in the area of the River Delta is classified as Carbonic water, despite its proximity to the sea. Therefore, the quality of soil and water of the River Delta area is highly related to the karstic process of carbonate formations, mainly of calcareous and secondarily evaporate sediment

Copper removal from industrial wastewaters by means of electrostatic shielding

Electrostatic shielding zones made of electrode graphite powder were used as a new type of ionic and electronic currentsinks. Because of the local elimination of the applied electric field, voltage and current within the zones, ions are led insidethem and accumulate there. We implemented the current sinks in electrodialysis of a simulated copper plating rinse watercontaining 100 mg L-1 Cu2+ ions and electrodeionization of a 0.001 M CuSO4 solution with simultaneous electrochemicalregeneration of the used ion exchange resin beds and obtained pure water with a Cu2+ ion concentration of less than 0.12 mgL-1 at a flow rate of 1.29x10-4 L s-1 diluate stream and a current density of 2 mA cm-2

Differences in the Prevalence of Sarcopenia in Community-Dwelling, Nursing Home and Hospitalized Individuals. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

© 2019, Serdi and Springer-Verlag International SAS, part of Springer Nature. Background: Sarcopenia is an age-related disease which leads to a decline in muscle mass and function and is one of the most important health issues in elderly people with a high rate and variety of adverse outcomes. Objective: The current systematic review and meta-analysis study was carried out to estimate the overall prevalence of sarcopenia in both males and females in different regions around the world and to show the major differences in its occurrence among different populations. Design: A systematic review and metaanalysis of studies published in PubMed (Medline) and Scopus. Participants: Community dwelling, nursing home and hospitalized older adults aged over 60 years. Measurements: Sarcopenia was defined by the major validated diagnostic criteria, such as the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP), the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS) and the International Working Group on Sarcopenia (IWGS). The model used was the random effect model for estimating the prevalence of sarcopenia. The sex-specific prevalence of sarcopenia as well as 95% CI (Confidence interval) were calculated using MetaXL (version 5.3). Heterogeneity assessment was carried out by subgroup analysis. Results: We included 41 studies with a total of 34955 participants. The prevalence of sarcopenia in community-dwelling individuals in the included studies were 11% (95% CI: 8–13%) in men and 9% (95% CI: 7–11%) in women. The prevalence of sarcopenia in nursing-home individuals in the included studies were 51% (95% CI: 37–66%) in men and 31% (95% CI: 22–42%) in women and in hospitalized individuals were 23% (95%, CI: 15–30%) in men and 24% (95% CI: 14–35%) in women. Conclusions: Despite the differences encountered between the studies, regarding diagnostic tools used to measure of muscle mass, different regions around the world and different populations and clinical settings, this systematic review revealed that a significant proportion of old people has sarcopenia (major in nursing homes), even in populations healthy in general. However, sarcopenia is caused by the aging progress, early diagnosis and individualized care, including physical activity and nutrition, can prevent some adverse outcomes in all populations

Superconductivity and spin-glass like behavior in system with Pd sheet sandwiched between graphene sheets

Pd-metal graphite (Pd-MG) has a layered structure, where each Pd sheet is sandwiched between adjacent graphene sheets. DC magnetization and AC magnetic susceptibility of Pd-MG have been measured using a SQUID magnetometer. Pd-MG undergoes a superconducting transition at $T_{c}$ ($= 3.63 \pm 0.04$ K). The superconductivity occurs in Pd sheets. The relaxation of $M_{ZFC}$ (aging), which is common to spin glass systems, is also observed below $T_{c}$. The relaxation rate $S(t)$ shows a peak at a characteristic time $t_{cr}$, which is longer than a wait time $t_{w}$. The irreversibility between $\chi_{ZFC}$ and $\chi_{FC}$ occurs well above $T_{c}$. The susceptibility $\chi_{FC}$ obeys a Curie-Weiss behavior with a negative Curie-Weiss temperature ($-13.1 \leq \Theta \leq -5.4$ K). The growth of antiferromagnetic order is limited by the disordered nature of nanographites, forming spin glass-like behavior at low temperatures in graphene sheets.Comment: 21 pages, 15 figures; submitted to J. Phys.: Condensed Matte