Texture, realism, performance: exploring the intersection of transtexts and the contemporary sitcom

Contemporary US sitcom is at an interesting crossroads: it has received an increasing amount of scholarly attention (e.g. Mills 2009; Butler 2010; Newman and Levine 2012; Vermeulen and Whitfield 2013), which largely understands it as shifting towards the aesthetically and narratively complex. At the same time, in the post-broadcasting era, US networks are particularly struggling for their audience share. With the days of blockbuster successes like Must See TV’s Friends (NBC 1994-2004) a distant dream, recent US sitcoms are instead turning towards smaller, engaged audiences. Here, a cult sensibility of intertextual in-jokes, temporal and narrational experimentation (e.g. flashbacks and alternate realities) and self-reflexive performance styles have marked shows including Community (NBC 2009-2015), How I Met Your Mother (CBS 2005-2014), New Girl (Fox 2011-present) and 30 Rock (NBC 2006-2013). However, not much critical attention has so far been paid to how these developments in textual sensibility in contemporary US sitcom may be influenced by, and influencing, the use of transmedia storytelling practices, an increasingly significant industrial concern and rising scholarly field of enquiry (e.g. Jenkins 2006; Mittell 2015; Richards 2010; Scott 2010; Jenkins, Ford and Green 2013). This chapter investigates this mutual influence between sitcom and transmedia by taking as its case studies two network shows that encourage invested viewership through their use of transtexts, namely How I Met Your Mother (hereafter HIMHM) and New Girl (hereafter NG). As such, it will pay particular attention to the most transtextually visible character/actor from each show: HIMYM’s Barney Stinson, played by Neil Patrick Harris, and NG’s Schmidt, played by Max Greenfield. This chapter argues that these sitcoms do not simply have their particular textual sensibility and also (happen to) engage with transmedia practices, but that the two are mutually informing and defining. This chapter explores the relationships and interplay between sitcom aesthetics, narratives and transmedia storytelling (or industrial transtexts), focusing on the use of multiple delivery channels in order to disperse “integral elements of a fiction” (Jenkins, 2006 95-6), by official entities such as the broadcasting channels. The chapter pays due attention to the specific production contexts of both shows and how these inform their approaches to transtexts. This chapter’s conceptual framework will be particularly concerned with how issues of texture, the reality envelope and accepted imaginative realism, as well as performance and the actor’s input inform and illuminate contemporary sitcoms and transtexts, and will be the first scholarly research to do so. It will seek out points of connections between two (thus far) separate strands of scholarship and will move discussions on transtexts beyond the usual genre studied (i.e. science-fiction and fantasy), as well as make a contribution to the growing scholarship on contemporary sitcom by approaching it from a new critical angle. On the basis that transmedia scholarship stands to benefit from widening its customary genre choice (i.e. telefantasy) for its case studies and from making more use of in-depth close analysis in its engagement with transtexts, the chapter argues that notions of texture, accepted imaginative realism and the reality envelope, as well as performance and the actor’s input deserve to be paid more attention to within transtext-related scholarship.

Texture analysis and classification using deterministic tourist walk

In this paper, we present a study on a deterministic partially self-avoiding walk (tourist walk), which provides a novel method for texture feature extraction. The method is able to explore an image on all scales simultaneously. Experiments were conducted using different dynamics concerning the tourist walk. A new strategy, based on histograms. to extract information from its joint probability distribution is presented. The promising results are discussed and compared to the best-known methods for texture description reported in the literature. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Texture analysis using graphs generated by deterministic partially self-avoiding walks

Texture is one of the most important visual attributes for image analysis. It has been widely used in image analysis and pattern recognition. A partially self-avoiding deterministic walk has recently been proposed as an approach for texture analysis with promising results. This approach uses walkers (called tourists) to exploit the gray scale image contexts in several levels. Here, we present an approach to generate graphs out of the trajectories produced by the tourist walks. The generated graphs embody important characteristics related to tourist transitivity in the image. Computed from these graphs, the statistical position (degree mean) and dispersion (entropy of two vertices with the same degree) measures are used as texture descriptors. A comparison with traditional texture analysis methods is performed to illustrate the high performance of this novel approach. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Texture analysis based on maximum contrast walker

Recently, the deterministic tourist walk has emerged as a novel approach for texture analysis. This method employs a traveler visiting image pixels using a deterministic walk rule. Resulting trajectories provide clues about pixel interaction in the image that can be used for image classification and identification tasks. This paper proposes a new walk rule for the tourist which is based on contrast direction of a neighborhood. The yielded results using this approach are comparable with those from traditional texture analysis methods in the classification of a set of Brodatz textures and their rotated versions, thus confirming the potential of the method as a feasible texture analysis methodology. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Sphene-Centered Ocellar Texture: An Effect of Grain-Supported Flow and Melt Migration in a Hyperdense Magma Mush

The sphene-centered ocellar texture consists of leucocratic ocelli with sphene (titanite) crystals at the center, enclosed in a biotite-rich matrix. This texture has been recognized worldwide in hybrid intermediate rocks. On the basis of structural, petrological, and geochronological data from selected outcrops of the Variscan Ribadelago pluton (NW Iberian Massif), we propose that the ocelli were formed by migration and accumulation of a residual melt through a plagioclase- and biotite-dominated crystalline framework. At the late stage of crystallization, the magma acted as a hyperdense suspension and reacted to the pressure gradient caused by the regional stress field, entering the domain of grain-supported flow. Microstructures reveal that aligned crystal domains arose in the crystal framework from the shearing and compaction of the crystal mush and behaved as magmatic microshears. Relative displacement of adjacent crystal clusters along these microshears corresponded to the onset of Reynolds dilatancy that generated an expansion of the crystal mush, involving melt migration and pore aperture. The mineralogy of the ocelli, dominated by andesine and sphene, represents the composition of the migrating melt. The chemistry of this late, Ti-rich melt stems from the incongruent melting of biotite. Magmatic sphene from the ocelli yields a U-Pb age of 317 +/- 1 Ma, which represents the final crystallization of the hybridized magmatic system. Moreover, this texture offers an opportunity to better understand the rheological behavior of highly crystallized magmas.

Quartz recrystallization regimes, c-axis texture transitions and fluid inclusion reequilibration in a prograde greenschist to amphibolite facies mylonite zone (Ribeira Shear Zone, SE Brazil)

The crystal-plastic behavior of quartz mylonites from the Ribeira Shear Zone (SE Brazil), a major strike-slip structure that was active during a prograde metamorphic phase related to the Neoproterozoic Brasiliano-Pan African Orogeny, was investigated using a multi-method approach. Geothermobarometry results indicate deformational conditions ranging from similar to 300 to similar to 630 degrees C and 500-700 MPa. A strong correlation between mapped metamorphic zones and a dominance of different dynamic recrystallization mechanisms of quartz occurs within the mylonite zone. Bulging recrystallization (BLG) dominates within the chlorite zone between 300 and 410 degrees C, subgrain rotation recrystallization (SGR) operates within the biotite zone from 410 to 520 degrees C, and grain boundary migration recrystallization (GBM) dominates in the garnet zone above 520 degrees C. The development of quartz c-axis textures is mainly governed by temperature and dynamic recrystallization mechanisms. Textures from BLG zone mylonites are characterized by maxima around Z; SGR zone mylonites display single girdles or asymmetric type I crossed girdles; and GBM zone mylonites comprise maxima around Y and intermediate between X and Z. The scarcity or absence of water-bearing fluid inclusions in quartz mylonites from the SGR and GBM zones, which are dominated by carbonic inclusions, suggests water-deficient conditions, whereas BLG zone mylonites are dominated by water-bearing inclusions. This evidence indicates that water was available in the protoliths but has been eliminated with increasing deformation and deformation temperature. No effect of the water content variation on the quartz microstructural and recrystallized grain size evolution was detected, and little influence on c-axis texture development was observed. Most of the fluid inclusion densities were reequilibrated during the shear zone exhumation history, recording a decompression in the range of 300-500 MPa, while microstructural reequilibration effects related to the prograde metamorphism are largely preserved. Fluid inclusion microstructures and densities from two SGR zone samples preserved evidence for a near isothermal compression within the interior of the Ribeira Shear Zone during the prograde metamorphism. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Generation and suppression of singlet oxygen in hair by photosensitization of melanin

We have studied the spectroscopic properties of hair (white, blond, red, brown, and black) under illumination with visible light, giving special emphasis to the photoinduced generation of singlet oxygen ((1)O(2)). Irradiation of hair shafts (lambda(ex)>400 nm) changed their properties by degrading the melanin. Formation of C3 hydroperoxides in the melanin indol groups was proven by (1)H NMR. After 532-nm excitation, all hair shafts presented the characteristic (1)O(2) emission (lambda(em) = 1270 nm), whose intensity varied inversely with the melanin content. (1)O(2) lifetime was also shown to vary with hair type, being five times shorter in black hair than in blond hair, indicating the role of melanin as a (1)O(2) suppressor. Lifetime ranged from tenths of a nanosecond to a few microseconds, which is much shorter than the lifetime expected for (1)O(2) in the solvents in which the hair shafts were suspended, indicating that (1)O(2) is generated and suppressed inside the hair structure. Both eumelanin and pheomelanin were shown to produce and to suppress (1)O(2), with similar efficiencies. The higher amount of (1)O(2) generated in blond hair and its longer lifetime is compatible with the stronger damage that light exposure causes in blond hair. We propose a model to explain the formation and suppression of (1)O(2) in hair by photosensitization of melanin with visible light and the deleterious effects that an excess of visible light may cause in hair and skin. 2011 Published by Elsevier Inc.

Grafisk profilering med praktisk tillämpning på PZ hair : Graphic profiling with a practical application on PZ hair

Design, Grafiskt program, Symbol, Hair

Influence of surface texture on the galling characteristics of lean duplex and austenitic stainless steels

Two simulative test methods were used to study galling in sheet forming of two types of stainlesssteel sheet: austenitic (EN 1.4301) and lean duplex LDX 2101 (EN 1.4162) in different surface conditions. Thepin-on-disc test was used to analyse the galling resistance of different combinations of sheet materials and lubricants. The strip reduction test, a severe sheet forming tribology test was used to simulate the conditionsduring ironing. This investigation shows that the risk of galling is highly dependent on the surface texture of theduplex steel. Trials were also performed in an industrial tool used for high volume production of pumpcomponents, to compare forming of LDX 2101 and austenitic stainless steel with equal thickness. The forming forces, the geometry and the strains in the sheet material were compared for the same component.It was found that LDX steels can be formed to high strain levels in tools normally applied for forming ofaustenitic steels, but tool adaptations are needed to comply with the higher strength and springback of thematerial.

Soil texture spatial variability of different parent material in pereira barreto, São Paulo state

The variation of soil textural characteristics is a function of the relief and parent materials. The objective of this work was to study soil texture spatial variability from different parent material in Pereira Barreto, SP. An area of 530.67 hectares was mapped through the use of Global Positioning System receivers and obtaining of Digital Elevation Models. A set of 201 soil samples was collected from every seven hectares, at three depths: 0 - 0.25 m; 0.25 - 0.50 m; and 0.80 - 1.00 m. The amounts of sand, silt and clay were obtained by the pipette method and analyzed by both descriptive statistics and geostatistics. Soil textures varied as a function of parent materials and topography.

Annual pattern of plasma melatonin and progesterone concentrations in hair and wool ewe lambs kept under natural photoperiod at lower latitudes in the southern hemisphere

To study the annual pattern of plasma melatonin and progesterone concentrations in hair [Santa Ines (SI)] and wool [Romney Marsh (RM) and Suffolk (SU)] ewe lambs kept under natural photoperiods at 21 degrees 59'S, 12 ewe lambs (four/breed) were used. For melatonin, blood samples were collected monthly throughout the year at the onset (17:00, 19:00 and 21:00 hr) and end (04:00, 06:00 and 08:00 hr) of the night, and for progesterone the samples were collected in the morning, two to three times a week throughout the year. Plasma melatonin concentrations at different times of the day changed according to the season. In diurnal periods (17:00 and 8:00 hr) no seasonal differences were observed but they became evident in the nocturnal intervals (21:00 and 4:00 hr) and transitional night-day (6:00 hr) times. The patterns of melatonin secretion were higher in winter and autumn than in spring and summer. The patterns of plasma progesterone secretion were affected by interaction between breed and season. There was no seasonal variation in plasma progesterone concentrations for SI females. The progesterone pattern for RM and SU females varied with season. The plasma levels were higher in autumn and winter than in spring and summer. At 21 degrees 59'S hair and wool ewe lambs showed the same annual pattern of plasma melatonin concentration while the annual progesterone profiles were quite different. For SI females this pattern was constant along all seasons and for RM and SU females this pattern was higher during autumn and winter than spring and summer.

Potassium Leaching as Affected by Soil Texture and Residual Fertilization in Tropical Soils

Potassium (K) leaching is affected by soil texture and available K, among other factors. In this experiment, effects of soil texture and K availability on K distribution were studied in the presence of roots, with no excess water. Soils from two 6-year field experiments on a sandy clay loam and a clay soil fertilized yearly with 0, 60, 120, and 180 kg ha-1 of K2O were accommodated in pots that received 90 kg ha-1 of K2O. Soybean was grown up to its full bloom (R2). Under field conditions, K leaching below the arable layer increased with K rates, but the effect was less noticeable in the clay soil. Potassium leaching in a sandy clay loam soil was related to soil K contents from prior fertilizations. With no excess water, in the presence of soybean roots, K distribution in the profile was significant in the lighter textured soil but was not apparent on the heavier textured soil.