Vertiginous hauntings: The ghosts of Vertigo

While the initial reception of Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1958) was unspectacular, it made its presence felt in a host of other films - from Chris Marker’s Sans Soleil (1983), to Brian De Palma’s Obsession (1976), and David Lynch’s Mulholland Dr. (1999). What seemed to have eluded the critics at the time is that Vertigo is a film about being haunted: by illusive images, turbulent emotions, motion and memory, the sound and feeling of falling into the past, into a nightmare. But it is also a shrewdly reflexive film that haunts filmmakers, critics, and artists alike, raising fundamental questions about the ontology of moving images and the regime of fascination (exemplified by Hollywood) that churns them out. Douglas Gordon’s Feature Film (1999), D.N. Rodowick’s The Wanderers (2016), and Lynn Hershman’s VertiGhost (2017) are contemporary examples of how the appropriation and contemplation of some the film’s most iconic motifs (the figures of Madeleine, the spiral, the copy or fake, and the fetish), themes (liebestod, obsession, the uncanny) and strategies (mirroring, duplicity, and disorientation) ask us to rethink the relation of fetishism to fabulation, and supplementarity to dissimulation and social engineering. Feature Film, The Wanderers, and VertiGhost are supplementary works, but like the original film they are about duplicity, doppelgänger, and dissimulation. What interests us is how they challenge the authority over, or even proximity to, that which returns in the form of the supplement. And ultimately, attaching themselves to the chain of forgers and forgeries, these supplementary works take their place in the vertiginous sequence of substitutions the film established: a neat allegory for a reign of the digital ghosting that Hitchcock could never have anticipated

Dietary modifications for infantile colic

Infantile colic can be defined as periods of inconsolable, unexplained, and incessant crying in a seemingly healthy infant that, quite understandably, leads to exhausted, frustrated, and concerned parents seeking to comfort their child (Landgren 2010). The prevalence of excessive crying varies according to the definition used although, most often, it peaks during the second month of life,with a prevalence of 1.5%to 11.9%(Reijneveld 2001).Traditionally, the definition of the condition was based on the rule of three (Wessel 1954): that is, unexplained episodes of paroxysmal crying for more than three hours per day, for three days per week, for at least three weeks. More recently a new definition has been proposed. It refers to a clinical condition of fussing and crying for at least one week in an otherwise healthy infant (Hyman 2006). Colic can be graded as mild, moderate, or severe, though there is no consensus for this classification. Colic can affect up to 10% to 30% of infants worldwide (Clifford 2002; Rosen 2007)

Legislative Action to Improve the Fiscal Health of the United States and Reduce National Debt

Fiscally focused policymakers and policy influencers raise concern over the increasing national debt of the United States. While the nation entered the twenty-first century in a state of relative low debt, debt has increased continuously since 2007. Advocates for debt control describe how increased national debt negatively impacts economic growth, income growth, insurance rates, crisis preparedness, and national security. These concerns have been substantially amplified as debt itself has been substantially amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic, and passage of the CARES Act. This memorandum proposes and recommends implementation of the debt reducing RODEO Act. RODEO will permit additional borrowing during the current health crisis, utilize debt control mechanisms which build upon tools used in previous such policies, and enforce a long-term implementation schedule which minimizes negative economic impacts. Targets will aim at a reduction of two percent annually; enabling economic growth and controlled spending to meet goals without additional taxes or programmatic cuts. CBO anticipates the debt to GDP ratio will be 105% by the close of 2022. The fourth of five RODEO targets requires the debt to GDP ratio to be 69% as early as 2046, or as late as 2060. The fifth target requires the ratio to be 60% by 2066. This gradual reduction of debt will create an enduring solution, improve the economic station and outcomes for citizens, and protect the position of the United States in the national stage

Behavioural analysis of vehicle-pedestrian interactions: The case of street designs with elements of shared space

This paper describes the development and implementation of qualitative behavioural criteria in order to analyse the conduct of pedestrians and vehicles when they are required to interact with each other, with particular interest to street designs with elements of shared space. The new behavioural analysis technique is developed by identifying the fundamental principles that underpin existing traffic analyses, such as traffic conflicts techniques, and adapting those to a qualitative framework that describes the mindset and rationale of road users. The technique is then applied to a case study in London, using video data from periods before and after the redevelopment of the Exhibition Road site from a conventional dual carriageway to a modern design with some elements of shared space. With the main goals being to assess the pedestrians’ confidence and the vehicles’ tolerance/patience when forced to interact with each other, behavioural trends are related to instantaneous characteristics of the vehicle flow (vehicle approach speed and traffic density). The data produced are used to develop and validate qualitative behavioural relationships for pedestrian-vehicle interactions, as well as location-specific conclusions for the Exhibition Road site

Behavioural analysis of interactions between pedestrians and vehicles in street designs with elements of shared space

This paper describes the development and implementation of qualitative behavioural criteria in order to analyse the conduct of pedestrians and vehicles when they are required to interact with each other, with particular interest to street designs with elements of shared space. The new behavioural analysis technique is developed by identifying the fundamental principles that underpin existing traffic analyses, such as traffic conflicts techniques, and adapting those to a qualitative framework that describes the mindset and rationale of road users. The technique is then applied to a case study in London, using video data from periods before and after the redevelopment of the Exhibition Road site from a conventional dual carriageway to a modern design with some elements of shared space. With the main goals being to assess the pedestrians’ confidence and the vehicles’ tolerance/patience when forced to interact with each other, behavioural trends are related to instantaneous characteristics of the vehicle flow (vehicle approach speed and traffic density). The data produced are used to develop and validate qualitative behavioural relationships for pedestrian-vehicle interactions, as well as location-specific conclusions for the Exhibition Road site

Long-term 24-hour intraocular pressure control with travoprost monotherapy in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma

The aim of the study was to evaluate the long-term 24-hour intraocular pressure (IOP) efficacy of travoprost monotherapy in primary open-angle glaucoma patients

Economia internazionale. Globalizzazione, produzione e occupazione

Il processo di globalizzazione dell’economia, ispirato ai principi della deregolamentazione e della flessibilità, ha costituito il carattere predominante del sistema delle relazioni economiche internazionali nella nostra epoca. Il presente testo nasce dall’idea di offrire uno strumento utile per la comprensione delle cause, dei meccanismi in azione e delle possibili conseguenze dei processi di liberalizzazione e di globalizzazione dei mercati. Benché la finalità del volume sia prevalentemente didattica, l’obiettivo è anche quello di fornire una prospettiva di lettura e di interpretazione degli epifenomeni della globalizzazione sufficientemente aperta anche ad una visione critica dei processi, degli assetti istituzionali e delle opzioni di politica economica e commerciale. Ciò soprattutto alla luce della evidente situazione di debolezza nella quale sembra versare oggi il modello di globalizzazione liberista, deregolata e senza governance che ha caratterizzato il sistema delle relazioni internazionali negli ultimi decenni

CSF/serum matrix metallopeptidase-9 ratio discriminates neuro Behcet from multiple sclerosis

In neuro Behcet disease with multiple sclerosis-like features, diagnosis could be challenging. Here, we studied the cerebrospinal fluid and serum inflammatory profile of 11 neuro Behcet and 21 relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients. Between the soluble factors analyzed (MMP9, TNF, IL6, CXCL13, CXCL10, CXCL8, IFN, IL10, IL17, IL23, and others) we found MMP9 increased in neuro Behcet serum compared to multiple sclerosis and decreased in cerebrospinal fluid. Furthermore, neuro Behcet analysis of circulating natural killer CD56(DIM) subset suggests their potential involvement in increased MMP9 production. We believe that these findings may have a translational utility in clinical practice