The Oneiric Reality of Electronic Scents

This paper investigates the ‘oneiric’ dimension of scent, by suggesting a new design process that can be worn as a fashion accessory or integrated in textile technologies, to subtly alter reality and go beyond our senses. It fuses wearable ‘electronic scent’ delivery systems with pioneering biotechnologies as a ground-breaking ‘science fashion’ enabler. The purpose is to enhance wellbeing by reaching a day‐dream state of being through the sense of smell. The sense of smell (or olfaction) is a chemical sense and part of the limbic system which regulates emotion and memory within the brain. The power of scent makes content extremely compelling by offering a heightened sense of reality which is intensified by emotions such as joy, anger and fear. Scent helps us appreciate all the senses as we embark on a sensory journey unlike any other; it enhances mood, keeps us in the moment, diverts us from distractions, reduces boredom and encourages creativity. This paper highlights the importance of smell, the forgotten sense, and also identifies how we as humans have grown to underuse our senses. It endeavours to show how the reinvention of our sensory faculties is possible through advances in biotechnology. It introduces the new ‘data senses’ as a wearable sensory platform that triggers and fine tunes the senses with fragrances. It puts forward a new design process that is currently being developed in clothing elements, jewellery and textile technologies, offering a new method to deliver scent electronically and intelligently in fashion and everyday consumer products. It creates a personal ‘scent wave’, around the wearer, to allow the mind to wander, to give a deeper sense of life or ‘lived reality’ (verses fantasy), a new found satisfaction and confidence, and to reach new heights of creativity. By combining biology with wearable technologies, we propose a biotechnological solution that can be translated into sensory fashion elements. This is a new trend in 21st century ‘data sensing’, based on holographic biosensors that sense the human condition, aromachology (the science of the effect of fragrance and behaviour), colour-therapy, and smart polymer science. The use of biosensors in the world of fashion and textiles, enables us to act on visual cues or detect scent signals and rising stress levels, allowing immediate information to hand. An ‘oneiric’ mood is triggered by a spectrum of scents which is encased in a micro-computerised ‘scent‐cell’ and integrated into clothing elements or jewellery. When we inhale an unexpected scent, it takes us by surprise; the power of fragrance fills us with pleasurable ripples of multi‐sensations and dream‐like qualities. The aromas create a near trance‐like experience that induces a daydream state of (immediate) satisfaction, or a ‘revived reality’ in our personal scent bubble of reality. The products and jewellery items were copyrighted and designed by Slim Barrett and the technology input was from EG Technology and Epigem

Conocimiento y justificación en la epistemología democrática

Una de las bifurcaciones en el debate contemporáneo sobre la legitimidad de la democracia explora si ésta ofrece ventajas distintivamente epistémicas frente a otras alternativas políticas. Quienes defienden la tesis de la democracia epistémica afirman que la democracia es instrumentalmente superior o equiparable a otras formas de organización política en lo que concierne a la obtención de varios bienes epistémicos. En este ensayo presento dos (grupos de) argumentos a favor de la democracia epistémica, que se inspiran en resultados formales: el teorema del jurado de Condorcet [TJC] y el teorema ‘diversidad supera habilidad’ [DSH]. Pese a su gran atractivo, sostengo que estos argumentos son incapaces de respaldar dicha tesis: no brindan razones para considerar que la democracia es epistémicamente superior (o equiparable) a algunas alternativas políticas no democráticas. En su lugar, sugiero que, sin requerir un cambio radical en nuestras formas de organización política, la epistemología democrática –el estudio de las ‘circunstancias epistémicas de la democracia’– puede ofrecer valiosas lecciones de sobre cómo optimizar, en nuestra situación, instituciones y procedimientos de toma de decisiones. Para ello, primero distingo entre varias maneras de evaluar procedimientos de toma de decisión colectiva. Argumento que, al considerarlos como formas de organización política, un factor importante en la evaluación de tales procedimientos involucra asuntos fácticos sobre los cuales puede aspirarse a obtener o promover algunos bienes epistémicos. En este contexto, presento algunos de los argumentos más importantes a favor de la democracia epistémica. A continuación, reúno algunas de las objeciones sobre la aplicabilidad de dichos argumentos y ofrezco razones independientes para dudar de que ofrezcan apoyo a la tesis de la democracia epistémica. Finalmente, defiendo que la epistemología democrática puede desempeñar un papel significativo en la legitimación de formas de organización colectiva que podrían denominarse ‘democráticas’

L'expérience corporelle au fondement des connaissances d'intervention des entraîneurs en gymnastique artistique

La recherche porte sur l'analyse de l'activité des entraîneurs experts en gymnastique artistique et vise à décrire et comprendre les ressources cognitives sur lesquelles ils s'appuient pour intervenir auprès des gymnastes et transformer leurs habiletés. Les résultats révèlent que l'intelligibilité qu'ils élaborent du mouvement gymnique repose sur une gestalt expérientielle qui prend appui sur des concepts émergents, c'est-à-dire qui renvoient à leur participation physique à la situation

La ciencia como un punto de vista: algunos desafíos a la objetividad científica

Algunos críticos de la ciencia afirman que es sólo un punto de vista entre otros, sin alguna autoridad epistémica especial. No obstante, en este artículo se defiende que la idea de que la investigación científica involucra una perspectiva o punto de vista no impone una restricción a su ideal de objetividad. Primero se presentan algunas aclaraciones sobre la noción de punto de vista, luego se atiende al concepto de objetividad científica, y por último se enfrentan algunos desafíos que se desprenden de la noción de punto de vista y amenazan rasgos de la objetividad científica vinculados con su autoridad epistémica. Some critics of science claim that it is only a point of view among others, lacking any special epistemic authority. However, this paper contends that conceiving scientific inquiry as something that involves a perspective or a point of view does not pose a constraint on its ideal of objectivity. We first put forward some clarifications on the notion of point of view, followed by some observations on scientific objectivity; finally, we face some of the challenges that rise from the notion of point of view and threaten features of scientific objectivity tied to its epistemic authority.

threo-Diethyl 2-ethyl-2-hy­droxy-3-(4-methyl­benzene­sulfonamido)­succinate

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C17H25NO7S, contains two independent mol­ecules, which are enanti­omers forming a hydrogen-bonded dimer associated with two R 2 2(7) patterns. In each mol­ecule, one ethyl group from the two available ethyl ester functional groups is disordered. In one mol­ecule, the ethyl group of the ester function from an α-carb­oxy­lic acid is positionally disordered over two sets of sites with occupancies of 0.66:0.34. In the second mol­ecule, it is the ethyl group in the γ-ester function that is disordered over two sets of sites with occupancies of 0.58:0.42

New P-T-t data on the metamorphic sole of the Amasia ophiolites and implications for the geodynamical process, NW of the Sevan-Akera suture zone, Lesser Caucasus (Armenia)

International audienceThe ophiolites of the Lesser Caucasus belong to the Tethyan Ophiolitic Belt. In the northwestern part of the Sevan Akera suture zone (Lesser Caucasus, Armenia) ophiolites correspond to a major obduction of oceanic crust over the South Armenian continental block. Near the locality of Amasia (NW Armenia), our mapping evidenced a series of (1) unmetamorphosed gabbroic oceanic crust, resting on (2) serpentinites and a greenschist grade tectonic mélange composed of deformed pillow-basalts, radiolarites and cherts, and (3) a basal slice of garnet amphibolites bearing similar compositional features as the ophiolite. They are sliced by post Eocene thrusts related to the shortening of the suture after the collision of the South Armenian Block (Sosson et al., 2010). Structural observations allow us to consider these metamorphic rocks (garnet amphibolites and quartz-garnet-oligoclase-amphibole-chlorite schistes) to be the sole of the obducted ophiolite. The metamorphic rocks allow the evaluation of pressure-temperature-time conditions endured by the base of the oceanic crust during the obduction of the Armenian ophiolite series. Pressure and temperature estimations were obtained by calculating equilibrium conditions between different mineral phases which coexist in the sample coupled with whole rock geochemistry using the software PERPLEX. The P-T data show a counterclockwise path with (1) a HT-LP peak of P = 6-7 kbar and T > 630_C, followed by MP-MT peak at P = 8-10 kbar and T = 600_C. In order to further constrain the evolution of the amphibolites and build a P-T-t path using 40Ar/39Ar dating on amphiboles and white micas (phengite). The ages obtained on both HT and MT peaks are similar within error (90.8 Ma ± 3.0 (2σ), and 90.8 Ma ± 1.2 (2 σ), respectively), which suggests a very rapid cooling of the metamorphic sole during its stacking in the subduction zone. The counterclockwise path determined confirms the observations made below the Oman ophiolite by Goffé et al. (1988). This path is also in agreement with a scaling process of oceanic crust during the obduction. In this scenario slices of oceanic crust would have been dragged under the obduction front below a relatively hot oceanic crust. Afterwards, these slices would then have been amphibolitized along a HT-MP geothermal gradient. Rapidly, a thickening of the system at c. 91-90 Ma, and underthrusting of amphibolites would have caused the conditions to change to MP-MT. This infers that the South Armenian Block enters the subduction zone at this date. A recent study has shown metamorphic rocks in the same structural setting were affected by a HP metamorphism in the Blue Schist facies (Rolland et al., 2009). The age of this blue schist of Stepanavan, Armenia is slightly older (95-91 Ma) (Galoyan et al., 2009) than the amphibolites of Amasia (91-90 Ma). This assumes the occurrence of an active subduction just before the development of the HT-MP metamorphism of Amasia. References: Galoyan, G., Rolland, Y., Sosson, M., Corsini, M., Billo, S., Verati, C., Melkonyan, R., 2009. Geology, geochemistry and 40Ar/39Ar dating of the Sevan ophiolites (Lesser Caucasus, Armenia): Evidence for Jurassic Back-arc opening and hot spot event between the South Armenian Block and Eurasia. Journal of Asian Earth Science, 34, 135-153. Goffé, B., Michard, A., Kienast, J.R., Le Mer, O., 1988. A case of obduction-related high-pressure, lowtemperature metamorphism in upper crustal nappes, Arabian continental margin, Oman: P-T paths and kinematic interpretation. Tectonophysics, 151, 363-386. Rolland, Y., Billo, S., Corsini, M., Sosson, M., Galoyan, G., 2009. Blueschists of the Amassia-Stepanavan Suture Zone (Armenia): linking Tethys subduction history from E-Turkey toW-Iran. International Journal of Earth Science, 98, 533-550. Sosson, M., Rolland, Y., Müller, C., Danelian, T., Melkonyan, R., Kekelia, S., Adamia, S., Badazadeh, V., Kangarli, T., Avagyan, A., Galoyan, G., Mosar, J., 2010. Subduction, obduction and collision in the Lesser Caucasus (Armenia, Azernaijan, Georgia), new insights. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 340, 329-352

Lo que la neurociencia nos dice sobre la enfermedad mental: el realismo científico en las ciencias biomédicas

Our philosophical understanding of mental illness is being shaped by neuroscience. However, it has the paradoxical effect of igniting two radically opposed groups of philosophical views. On one side, skepticism and denialism assume that, lacking clear biological mechanisms and etiologies for most mental illnesses, we should infer they are constructions best explained by means of social factors. This is strongly associated with medical nihilism: it considers psychiatry more harmful than benign. On the other side of the divide, naturalism and reductionism are on the look for failures in the biological functioning of the organism whenever a genuine mental illness occurs. Psychiatry as currently practiced, accordingly, exhibits the gaps of an ongoing research programme; a yet to be completed neuroscience would link mental illnesses with identifiable biological mechanisms. Both sides of this divide claim to be fostered by scientific discoveries and advances in neuroscience, when taken at face value. Against this background, we argue instead for a modest view. To that end, we draw attention to some nuances in the scientific realism debate. While contending that neuroscientific theories and models aim to provide true representations of their target systems, and can justifiably claim to have attained some, we argue that our confidence should not be placed beforehand in specific features of these scientific representations. Hence, it would be unwarranted to extract morals for psychiatry from posits (or their absence) in neuroscientific explanations of mental illnesses. To illustrate our position, we examine some recent discoveries in neuroscience concerning bipolar disorder. We conclude by linking our topic to a broader issue in the philosophy of medicine: insofar as psychiatry is a biomedical specialty, its classifications of health and disease are guided by pragmatic concerns, as well as by scientific discoveries.Nuestra comprensión filosófica de la enfermedad mental está siendo moldeada por la neurociencia. Sin embargo, tiene el efecto paradójico de alentar dos grupos radicalmente opuestos de posturas filosóficas. Por un lado, escepticismo y negacionismo asumen que, al carecer de mecanismos y etiologías biológicas claras para la mayoría de las enfermedades mentales, debemos inferir que son construcciones mejor explicadas mediante factores sociales. Esto está fuertemente asociado con el nihilismo médico: considera a la psiquiatría más dañina que benigna. Al otro lado de la línea divisoria, naturalismo y reduccionismo buscan fallas en el funcionamiento biológico del organismo cuando ocurre una enfermedad mental genuina. En consecuencia, la psiquiatría como se practica actualmente exhibe las lagunas de un programa de investigación en curso; una neurociencia aún por completar vincularía las enfermedades mentales con mecanismos biológicos identificables. Ambos grupos afirman ser fomentados por descubrimientos científicos y avances en neurociencia, cuando se toman al pie de la letra. En este contexto, defendemos una posición más modesta. Para ello, llamamos la atención sobre algunos detalles en el debate sobre el realismo científico. Aunque afirmamos que las teorías y los modelos neurocientíficos tienen como objetivo proporcionar representaciones verdaderas de sus sistemas objetivo y podemos afirmar justificadamente que han obtenido algunas, argumentamos que nuestra confianza no debe depositarse de antemano en características específicas de estas representaciones científicas. Por tanto, no estaríamos justificados al extraer moralejas para la psiquiatría a partir de lo postulado (o no) por explicaciones neurocientíficas de las enfermedades mentales. Para ilustrar nuestra posición, examinamos algunos descubrimientos recientes en neurociencia relacionados con el trastorno bipolar. Concluimos vinculando nuestro tema a una cuestión más amplia en la filosofía de la medicina: en tanto la psiquiatría es una especialidad biomédica, sus clasificaciones de salud y enfermedad están guiadas tanto por preocupaciones pragmáticas como por descubrimientos científicos

Deciphering orogenic evolution

International audienceDeciphering orogenic evolution requires the integration of a growing number of geological and geophysical techniques on various spatial and temporal scales. Contrasting visions of mountain building and lithospheric deformation have been proposed in recent years. These models depend on the respective roles assigned to the mantle, the crust or the sediments. This article summarizes the contents of the Special Issue dedicated to 'Geodynamics and Orogenesis' following the 'Réunion previous termdesnext termprevious termSciencesnext termprevious termdenext termprevious termlaprevious termTerre' 2010 conference held in Bordeaux, France. Further, based on the example of the Western Alps-Mediterranean domain we emphasize the possibility to integrate long and short term, plate- to sample-scale, datasets in order to constrain orogenic evolution