Deleuze and Guattari’s Semiorhythmology:A Sketch for a Rhythmic Theory of Signs

I propose in this text a rhythmic theory of signs drawn from the thought of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. I name this theory a semiorhythmology. I suggest that the theory of rhythm developed in A Thousand Plateaus (1980) can be understood, in part, as the culmination of the diverse set of inquiries into signs that both Deleuze and Guattari undertook, individually and together, beginning in the 1960s. I first outline Deleuze’s theory of signs as a theory of encounter as developed in Proust and Signs (1964) and Difference and Repetition (1968), following which I sketch Guattari’s engagements with signs and semiotics throughout the 1960s and 1970s, particularly through his notion of “a-signifying semiotics” and the concept of the “diagram” he adapts from the semiotics of Charles Sanders Peirce. I close by showing how these heterogeneous theories of the sign are drawn together in A Thousand Plateaus through the Spinozist reading of the ethology of Jakob von Uexküll and the theorisation of rhythm in the form of the refrain

The effect of human activities on moisture content of soils and underlying permafrost from the McMurdo Sound region, Antarctica

Soils and the underlying permafrost from undisturbed sites and sites that had been disturbed by construction activities at Marble Point and Pram Point in the McMurdo Sound region were sampled from excavated pits and drill cores. Gravimetric moisture (ice) contents and particle size distribution were determined. Volumetric moisture contents were calculated from these results. At undisturbed sites soil moisture contents within the active layer (to c. 60 cm depth) were low and ranged from 0.5% by weight at the soil surface to 10% above the permafrost. The permafrost was generally completely saturated with ice, but sometimes contained considerable excess ice, with ice contents rising as high as 80% by volume. At disturbed sites, soil moisture contents within the active layer were similar to those of the undisturbed sites (generally <10% by weight) but within the permafrost, moisture contents were lower and less variable than in the undisturbed sites, rarely exceeding 20% by weight. The release of considerable quantities of water from the permafrost as a result of land disturbance during construction activities caused stream flows, soil shrinkage, land slumping and salinisation, resulting in significant permanent environmental damage. At Marble Point there has been no significant re-establishment of icy permafrost in the disturbed soils in the 30 years since land disturbance occurred

A study of Glasgow University Library MS Hunter 232: John Lydgate's 'Life of Our Lady'

This thesis consists of a study of MS Hunter 232, or more specifically a study of the marginalia contained within Hunter 232. The study aims to shows the value of marginal annotations in gaining a fuller understanding of a particular manuscript or its users and shows the value of even context-free marginalia. It also sets out the methods applied to this research, particularly those involved in tracing provenance, in the hopes of encouraging further research of a similar nature in other manuscripts. In carrying out such research, the marginal annotations of past readers become invaluable sources of evidence and the merits of manuscripts such as Hunter 232 can begin to be acknowledged

An attempt to induce calcification and healing in experimental tuberculosis of guinea pigs

(1) With the therapeutic means employed in this experiment no marked prophylactic or curative results were obtained in any group as compared with the controls which received no treatment.(2) Calcium and vitamin D did not appear to be a factor of importance in the production of calcification when given in the dosage and by the method used here. They could not be said to have influenced the amount and rate of spread of the disease nor led to any unusual degree of fibroblastic reaction.(3) As judged by the various criteria used to assess the effect of the treatments it was found that tendencies suggesting a favourable effect were most frequently noted in the calcium, cholesterol and tuberculin group.Calcification occurred with such frequency in this group, that, in conjunction with the other favourable effects noted, the combination may be regarded as of sufficient significance to warrant fuller investigation.No results were obtained which would justify any of the therapeutic measures adopted in this experiment being considered applicable to the treatment of tuberculosis in humans

The mechanical design aspects of a small diameter vascular prosthesis

Bibliography: pages 81-86.Failure of medium to small diameter vascular grafts is believed to be in part due to the compliance mismatch between the native artery and the implanted graft. Consequently, designers are examining the use of more compliant materials for their manufacture. Ether free polyurethanes are currently amongst the most popular materials for use in biological implants although these materials are inherently too stiff for use in vascular prostheses. These materials can be made more compliant by introducing porosity. Apart from creating a more compliant overall material, under optimal biological conditions, the porosity may lead to cell in growth through the thickness of the graft allowing an endothelial cell layer to form on the inner flow surface. Compliance and cell ingrowth are both important characteristics that determine the successful functioning of the graft. The current work is part of a collaborative venture with the Cardiovascular Research Unit (CVRU) at the University of Cape Town to design and develop a new polyurethane graft. Finite element models are used to facilitate stress analyses and to evaluate the long-term behaviour and compliance of various graft designs made from a bio-inert thermoplastic polyurethane. Material properties of the polyurethane are determined from uniaxial tension tests, simple-shear tests and viscoelastic shear tests. The constitutive equations for a compressible, large strain hyper elastic material model with viscoelasticity are implemented in the finite element code using material constants calculated from the test data. The behaviour of the finite element model is verified by using a single element test and comparing results to the material data. The finite element model is validated for use m more sophisticated problems by comparing axi-symmetric models with in vitro experiments. An artery/graft anastomosis is then analysed by modelling the artery as an incompressible hyperplastic material. Further more complex graft designs are analysed with internal growth channels and spiral reinforcing winds. Viscoelastic effects are also examined. The modelling method is discussed and important results are noted

Aspects of Fungal Metabolism

Sporophores of Daedalia quercina have bean shown to contain a mixture of tetracyclic triterpene acids. After esterification, methyl polyporenates B and C were isolated together with six labile esters. The most abundant of these was demonstrated to be ah half malonate ester and represents the first recorded isolation of such a compound. It has been called methyl methoxy-carbonylacetylqueroinate. Of the remaining five esters, three have been shown to be triterpene half malonate esters, one to be the acetate corresponding to methyl methoxycarbonylacetylquercinate and one to be a free hydroxy compound. The triterpene moiety in two of these latter malonate esters would appear to be the first reported examples of C32 triterpenes