Liquid cinema and the re-creation of thought: towards a philosophy of filmind

Includes bibliographical references.This research is towards the advancement of filmosophy as a progressive new approach to how we think about, and through, film. This explorative research aims to introduce, contextualise, and expand upon the thoughts and writings of Daniel Frampton, as found in his 2006 manifesto: Filmosophy. In order to provide a suitable platform from which to introduce Frampton’s contemporary concepts (i.e. ‘filmind’ and ‘fluid film-thinking’), this paper first outlines and discusses the various ways in which philosophy and film are said to overlap, culminating in a critical discussion of ‘film-as-philosophy’ in terms of the implications it posits for providing innovative philosophical contributions through uniquely cinematic means (the ‘problem of paraphrase’). This literature review concludes by presenting and discussing filmosophy and its major tenets as both an appropriate extension of the current canon, and as a potentially productive new paradigm through which both film and philosophy can be critically considered and advanced

LASSO: Listing All Subset Sums Obediently for Evaluating Unbounded Subset Sums

In this study we present a novel algorithm, LASSO, for solving the unbounded and bounded subset sum problem. The LASSO algorithm was designed to solve the unbounded SSP quickly and to return all subsets summing to a target sum. As speed was the highest priority, we benchmarked the run time performance of LASSO against implementations of some common approaches to the bounded SSP, as well as the only comparable implementation for solving the unbounded SSP that we could find. In solving the bounded SSP, our algorithm had a significantly faster run time than the competing algorithms when the target sum returned at least one subset. When the target returned no subsets, LASSO had a poorer run time growth rate than the competing algorithms solving bounded subset sum. For solving the USSP LASSO was significantly faster than the only comparable algorithm for this problem, both in run time and run time growth rate

The economic performance of cities: a Markov-switching approach

This paper examines the determinants of employment growth in metro areas. To obtain growth rates, we use a Markov-switching model that separates a city’s growth path into two distinct phases (high and low), each with its own growth rate. The simple average growth rate over some period is, therefore, the weighted average of the high-phase and low-phase growth rates, with the weight being the frequency of the two phases. We estimate the effects of a variety of factors separately for the high-phase and low-phase growth rates, along with the frequency of the low phase. We find that growth in the high phase is related to human capital, industry mix, and average firm size. In contrast, we find that growth in the low phase is mostly related to industry mix, specifically, the relative importance of manufacturing. Finally, the frequency of the low phase appears to be related to the level of non-education human capital, but to none of the other variables. Overall, our results strongly reject the notion that city-level characteristics influence employment growth equally across the phases of the business cycle.Business cycles ; Cities and towns

Book reviews

Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Carbon Monoxide in the Type Ic SN 2000ew

We present K-band (1.9 -- 2.5 micron) spectra of the Type Ic SN 2000ew observed with IRCS on the Subaru Telescope. These data show the first detection of carbon monoxide (CO) emission in a Type Ic supernova. The detection of CO in SN 2000ew provides further evidence that molecule formation may be a common occurrence in core-collapse supernova ejecta. The spectrum also contains narrow emission lines of [Fe II] and He I probably from dense clumps of hydrogen-poor circumstellar gas surrounding SN 2000ew. Our spectrum of SN 2000ew shows no trace of an unidentified feature seen near 2.26 micron, just blueward of the CO emission, in the spectrum of SN 1987A and we discuss proposed detections of this feature in other Type II supernovae.Comment: 7 Pages, 3 Figures Submitted to PASJ for Subaru Special Issu

Yeast POS5 NADH Kinase: Effects of a Mitochondrial Mutator Mutation on Mitochondrial Nucleotides

Saccharomyces cerevisiae contains three NAD⁺/NADH kinases, one of which is localized in mitochondria and phosphorylates NADH in preference to NAD⁺. Strand et al (Euk. Cell 2:809 (2003)) reported that a yeast mutation in POS5, which encodes the mitochondrial NADH kinase, is a mutator, specific for mitochondrial genes. Because of the involvement of NADPH in deoxyribonucleotide biosynthesis, we asked whether mitochondria in a pos5 deletion mutant contain abnormal deoxyribonucleoside triphosphate pools. We found pools of the four dNTPs² to be more than doubled in mutant mitochondrial extracts relative to wild-type. This might partly explain the mitochondrial mutator phenotype. However, the loss of antioxidant protection is also likely to be significant. To this end, we measured pyridine nucleotide pools in mutant and wild-type mitochondrial extracts and found levels of NADPH to be diminished about fourfold in Δpos5 mitochondrial extracts, with NADP⁺ diminished to a lesser degree. Our data suggest that both dNTP abnormalities and lack of antioxidant protection contribute to elevated mitochondrial gene mutagenesis in cells lacking the mitochondrial NADH kinase. The data also confirm previous reports of the specific function of POS5p in mitochondrial NADP⁺ and NADPH biosynthesis.Keywords: NADH kinase, Deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates, Mitochondria, Mutator, Pyridine nucleotidesKeywords: NADH kinase, Deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates, Mitochondria, Mutator, Pyridine nucleotide

Chemical Substructure in the Milky Way Halo: A New Population of Old Stars

We report the results of a coherent study of a new class of halo stars defined on the basis of the chemical compositions of three metal-poor objects ([Fe/H] -2) that exhibit unusually low abundances of α-element (Mg, Si, Ca) and neutron-capture (Sr, Y, Ba) material. Our analyses confirm and expand on earlier reports of atypical α- and neutron-capture abundances in BD +80°245, G4-36, and CS 22966-043. We also find that the latter two stars exhibit unusual relative abundance enhancements within the iron peak (Cr, Mn, Ni, Zn), along with what may be large abundances of Ga, an element not previously reported as being observed in any metal-poor star. These results provide further evidence that chemical enrichment and star formation histories varied from region to region within the Milky Way halo. Comparing the chemical abundances of the newly identified stellar population to supernova model yields, we derive supernova ratios of Type Ia versus Type II events in the range of 0.6 (NIa/NII)New Pop 1.3. For the Sun, we derive 0.18 ± 0.01 < (NIa/NII)☉ < 0.25 ± 0.06, supernova ratios in good agreement with values found in the literature. Given the relatively low metallicity and relatively high NIa/NII ratios of the low-α stars studied here, these objects may have been born from material produced in the yields of the earliest Type Ia supernova events. We also report the results of a preliminary attempt to employ the observed chemical abundances of low-metallicity stars in the identification, and possible cosmic evolution, of Type Ia supernova progenitors, and we discuss the limitations of current model yields

Spitzer measurements of atomic and molecular abundances in the Type IIP SN 2005af

We present results based on Spitzer Space Telescope mid-infrared (3.6-30 micron) observations of the nearby IIP supernova 2005af. We report the first ever detection of the SiO molecule in a Type IIP supernova. Together with the detection of the CO fundamental, this is an exciting finding as it may signal the onset of dust condensation in the ejecta. From a wealth of fine-structure lines we provide abundance estimates for stable Ni, Ar, and Ne which, via spectral synthesis, may be used to constrain nucleosynthesis models.Comment: ApJ Letters (accepted

SN 2003du: Signatures of the Circumstellar Environment in a Normal Type Ia Supernova?

We present observations of the Type Ia supernova 2003du and report the detectionof an unusual, high-velocity component in the Ca II infrared triplet, similar tofeatures previously observed in SN 2000cx and SN 2001el. This feature exhibits a large expansion velocity (~18,000 km/s) which is nearly constant between -7 and +2 days relative to maximum light, and disappears shortly thereafter. Otherthan this feature, the spectral evolution and light curve resemble those of a normal SN Ia. We find that the Ca II feature can plausibly be caused by a dense shell formed when circumstellar material of solar abundance is overrun by the rapidly expanding outermost layers of the SN ejecta. Model calculations show that the optical and infrared spectra are remarkably unaffected by the circumstellar interaction. In particular, no hydrogen lines are detectable in either absorption or emission. The only qualitatively different features are the strong, high-velocity feature in the Ca II IR-triplet, and a somewhat weaker O I feature near 7,300 AA. The morphology and time evolution of these features provide an estimate for the amount of accumulated matter and an indication of the mixing in the dense shell. We apply these diagnostic tools to SN 2003du and infer that about 2 x 10^{-2} M_sun of solar abundance material may have accumulated in a circumstellar shell prior to the observations. Furthermore, the early light curve data imply that the circumstellar material was originally very close to the progenitor system, perhaps from an accretion disk, Roche lobe or common envelope.Comment: 35 Pages, 11 Figures, to appear in ApJ. Resubmission includes expanded discussion & new figures to match with accepted journal versio