The politics of weddings at Athens: an iconographic assessment

Despite recent scholarship that has suggested that most if not all Athenian vases were created primarily for the symposium, vases associated with weddings constitute a distinct range of Athenian products that were used at Athens in the period of the Peloponnesian War and its immediate aftermath (430-390 BCE). Just as the subject matter of sympotic vases suggested stories or other messages to the hetaireia among whom they were used, so the wedding vases may have conveyed messages to audiences at weddings. This paper is an assessment of these wedding vases with particular attention to function: how the images reflect the use of vases in wedding rituals (as containers and/or gifts); how the images themselves were understood and interpreted in the context of weddings; and the post-nuptial uses to which the vases were put. The first part is an iconographic overview of how the Athenian painters depicted weddings, with an emphasis on the display of pottery to onlookers and guests during the public parts of weddings, important events in the life of the polis. The second part focuses on a large group of late fifth century vases that depict personifications of civic virtues, normally in the retinue of Aphrodite (Pandemos). The images would reinforce social expectations, as they advertised the virtues that would create a happy marriage—Peitho, Harmonia (Harmony), and Eukleia (Good Repute)—and promise the benefits that might result from adherence to these values—Eudaimonia and Eutychia (Prosperity), Hygieia (Health), and Paidia (Play or Childrearing). Civic personifications could be interpreted on the private level—as personal virtues—and on the public level—as civic virtues— especially when they appeared on vases that functioned both in public and private, at weddings, which were public acknowledgments of private changes in the lives of individuals within the demos.

Characterization and in vitro digestibility of bovine beta-lactoglobulin glycated with galactooligosaccharides

Galactooligosaccharides (GOS) are well-known prebiotic ingredients which can form the basis of new functional dairy products. In this work, the production and characterization of glycated beta-lactoglobulin beta-LG) with prebiotic GOS through the Maillard reaction under controlled conditions (a(w) = 0.44, 40 degrees C for 23 days) have been studied. The extent of glycation of beta-LG was evaluated by formation of furosine which progressively increased with storage for up to 16 days, suggesting that the formation of Amadori compounds prevailed over their degradation. RP-HPLC-UV, SIDS-PAGE, and IEF profiles of beta-LG were modified as a consequence of its glycation. MALDI-ToF mass spectra of glycated beta-LG showed an increase of up to similar to 21% in its average molecular mass after storage for 23 days. Moreover, a decrease in unconjugated GOS (one tri-, two tetra-, and one pentasaccharide) was observed by HPAEC-PAD upon glycation. These results were confirmed by ESI MS. The stability of the glycated beta-LG to in vitro simulated gastrointestinal digestion was also described and compared with that of the unglycated protein. The yield of digestion products of glycated beta-LG was lower than that observed for the unglycated protein. The conjugation of prebiotic carbohydrates to stable proteins and peptides could open new routes of research in the study of functional ingredients.

One’s own soundtrack: affective music synthesis

Computer music usually sounds mechanical; hence, if musicality and music expression of virtual actors could be enhanced according to the user’s mood, the quality of experience would be amplified. We present a solution that is based on improvisation using cognitive models, case based reasoning (CBR) and fuzzy values acting on close-to-affect-target musical notes as retrieved from CBR per context. It modifies music pieces according to the interpretation of the user’s emotive state as computed by the emotive input acquisition componential of the CALLAS framework. The CALLAS framework incorporates the Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance (PAD) model that reflects emotive state of the user and represents the criteria for the music affectivisation process. Using combinations of positive and negative states for affective dynamics, the octants of temperament space as specified by this model are stored as base reference emotive states in the case repository, each case including a configurable mapping of affectivisation parameters. Suitable previous cases are selected and retrieved by the CBR subsystem to compute solutions for new cases, affect values from which control the music synthesis process allowing for a level of interactivity that makes way for an interesting environment to experiment and learn about expression in music.

Experimental model of the interfacial instability in aluminium reduction cells

A solution has been found to the long-standing problem of experimental modelling of the interfacial instability in aluminium reduction cells. The idea is to replace the electrolyte overlaying molten aluminium with a mesh of thin rods supplying current down directly into the liquid metal layer. This eliminates electrolysis altogether and all the problems associated with it, such as high temperature, chemical aggressiveness of media, products of electrolysis, the necessity for electrolyte renewal, high power demands, etc. The result is a room temperature, versatile laboratory model which simulates Sele-type, rolling pad interfacial instability. Our new, safe laboratory model enables detailed experimental investigations to test the existing theoretical models for the first time.

Thermogenic and metabolic consequences of thyroid hormone treatment in brown and white adipose tissue

Male rats were treated with triiodothyronine in the drinking water for 12 days. In vitro rates of isoprenaline stimulated lipolysis were significantly greater in brown but not white adipose tissue. Rates of [14C]glucose incorporation into triacylglycerols were significantly reduced in BAT (brown adipose tissue) and WAT (white adipose tissue) under basal and isoprenaline stimulated conditions. In a second experiment, hyperthyroid animals showed impaired weight gain, despite increased food intake during 19 days' treatment. Energy expenditure on days 5 and 12, and BAT core temperature differences (TBAT - TCORE) on day 19, were significantly greater than in control animals. Epididymal white fat pad weight was reduced and interscapular brown fat pad weight increased by triiodothyronine treatment.

Stable reduced-order models for discrete-time systems

The Routh-stability method is employed to reduce the order of discrete-time system transfer functions. It is shown that the Routh approximant is well suited to reduce both the denominator and the numerator polynomials, although alternative methods, such as PadÃ�Â(c)-Markov approximation, are also used to fit the model numerator coefficients.

Electron paramagnetic resonance investigation of the free radicals in the gas and particulate phases of cigarette smoke using spin-trapping techniques

Free radicals in cigarette smoke have been studied using spin trapping EPR techniques. 2R4F reference cigarettes were smoked using 35 ml puff volumes of 2 seconds duration, once every 60 seconds. The particulate phase of the smoke was separated from the gas phase by passing the smoke through a Cambridge filter pad. For both phases, free radicals were measured and identified. A range of spin-traps was employed: PBN, DMPO, DEPMPO, and DPPH-PBN. In the gas-phase, short-lived carbon- and oxygen- centered radicals were identified; the ratios between them changed during the smoking runs. For the first puffs, C-centered radicals predominated while for the later puffs, O-centered radicals were mainly observed. The particulate phase and the ‘tar’ were studied as well.

In vitro fermentation of a red wine extract by human gut microbiota: changes in microbial groups and formation of phenolic metabolites

An in vitro batch culture fermentation experiment was conducted with fecal inocula from three healthy volunteers in the presence and absence of a red wine extract. Changes in main bacterial groups were determined by FISH during a 48 h fermentation period. The catabolism of main flavonoids (i.e., flavan-3-ols and anthocyanins) and the formation of a wide a range of phenolic microbial metabolites were determined by a targeted UPLC-PAD-ESI-TQ MS method. Statistical analysis revealed that catechol/pyrocatechol, as well as 4-hydroxy-5-(phenyl)-valeric, 3- and 4-hydroxyphenylacetic, phenylacetic, phenylpropionic, and benzoic acids, showed the greatest increases in concentration during fermentation, whereas 5-(3′-hydroxyphenyl)-γ-valerolactone, its open form 4-hydroxy-5-(3′-hydroxyphenyl)-valeric acid, and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid represented the largest interindividual variations in the catabolism of red wine polyphenols. Despite these changes, microbial catabolism did not produce significant changes in the main bacterial groups detected, although a slight inhibition of the Clostridium histolyticum group was observed.

Complex spatiotemporal haemodynamic response following sensory stimulation in the awake rat

Detailed understanding of the haemodynamic changes that underlie non-invasive neuroimaging techniques such as blood oxygen level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging is essential if we are to continue to extend the use of these methods for understanding brain function and dysfunction. The use of animal and in particular rodent research models has been central to these endeavours as they allow in-vivo experimental techniques that provide measurements of the haemodynamic response function at high temporal and spatial resolution. A limitation of most of this research is the use of anaesthetic agents which may disrupt or mask important features of neurovascular coupling or the haemodynamic response function. In this study we therefore measured spatiotemporal cortical haemodynamic responses to somatosensory stimulation in awake rats using optical imaging spectroscopy. Trained, restrained animals received non-noxious stimulation of the whisker pad via chronically implanted stimulating microwires whilst optical recordings were made from the contralateral somatosensory cortex through a thin cranial window. The responses we measure from un-anaesthetised animals are substantially different from those reported in previous studies which have used anaesthetised animals. These differences include biphasic response regions (initial increases in blood volume and oxygenation followed by subsequent decreases) as well as oscillations in the response time series of awake animals. These haemodynamic response features do not reflect concomitant changes in the underlying neuronal activity and therefore reflect neurovascular or cerebrovascular processes. These hitherto unreported hyperemic response dynamics may have important implications for the use of anaesthetised animal models for research into the haemodynamic response function.

Balanced excitation and inhibition: Model based analysis of local field potentials

We have developed a model of the local field potential (LFP) based on the conservation of charge, the independence principle of ionic flows and the classical Hodgkin–Huxley (HH) type intracellular model of synaptic activity. Insights were gained through the simulation of the HH intracellular model on the nonlinear relationship between the balance of synaptic conductances and that of post-synaptic currents. The latter is dependent not only on the former, but also on the temporal lag between the excitatory and inhibitory conductances, as well as the strength of the afferent signal. The proposed LFP model provides a method for decomposing the LFP recordings near the soma of layer IV pyramidal neurons in the barrel cortex of anaesthetised rats into two highly correlated components with opposite polarity. The temporal dynamics and the proportional balance of the two components are comparable to the excitatory and inhibitory post-synaptic currents computed from the HH model. This suggests that the two components of the LFP reflect the underlying excitatory and inhibitory post-synaptic currents of the local neural population. We further used the model to decompose a sequence of evoked LFP responses under repetitive electrical stimulation (5 Hz) of the whisker pad. We found that as neural responses adapted, the excitatory and inhibitory components also adapted proportionately, while the temporal lag between the onsets of the two components increased during frequency adaptation. Our results demonstrated that the balance between neural excitation and inhibition can be investigated using extracellular recordings. Extension of the model to incorporate multiple compartments should allow more quantitative interpretations of surface Electroencephalography (EEG) recordings into components reflecting the excitatory, inhibitory and passive ionic current flows generated by local neural populations.

Does neural input or processing play a greater role in the magnitude of neuroimaging signals?

An important constraint on how hemodynamic neuroimaging signals such as fMRI can be interpreted in terms of the underlying evoked activity is an understanding of neurovascular coupling mechanisms that actually generate hemodynamic responses. The predominant view at present is that the hemodynamic response is most correlated with synaptic input and subsequent neural processing rather than spiking output. It is still not clear whether input or processing is more important in the generation of hemodynamics responses. In order to investigate this we measured the hemodynamic and neural responses to electrical whisker pad stimuli in rat whisker barrel somatosensory cortex both before and after the local cortical injections of the GABAA agonist muscimol. Muscimol would not be expected to affect the thalamocortical input into the cortex but would inhibit subsequent intra-cortical processing. Pre-muscimol infusion whisker stimuli elicited the expected neural and accompanying hemodynamic responses to that reported previously. Following infusion of muscimol, although the temporal profile of neural responses to each pulse of the stimulus train was similar, the average response was reduced in magnitude by ∼79% compared to that elicited pre-infusion. The whisker-evoked hemodynamic responses were reduced by a commensurate magnitude suggesting that, although the neurovascular coupling relationships were similar for synaptic input as well as for cortical processing, the magnitude of the overall response is dominated by processing rather than from that produced from the thalamocortical input alone.

Long duration stimuli and nonlinearities in the neural–haemodynamic coupling

Recent studies have shown that the haemodynamic responses to brief (<2 secs) stimuli can be well characterised as a linear convolution of neural activity with a suitable haemodynamic impulse response. In this paper, we show that the linear convolution model cannot predict measurements of blood flow responses to stimuli of longer duration (>2 secs), regardless of the impulse response function chosen. Modifying the linear convolution scheme to a nonlinear convolution scheme was found to provide a good prediction of the observed data. Whereas several studies have found a nonlinear coupling between stimulus input and blood flow responses, the current modelling scheme uses neural activity as an input, and thus implies nonlinearity in the coupling between neural activity and blood flow responses. Neural activity was assessed by current source density analysis of depth-resolved evoked field potentials, while blood flow responses were measured using laser Doppler flowmetry. All measurements were made in rat whisker barrel cortex after electrical stimulation of the whisker pad for 1 to 16 secs at 5 Hz and 1.2 mA (individual pulse width 0.3 ms).

The hemodynamic impulse response to a single neural event

This article investigates the relation between stimulus-evoked neural activity and cerebral hemodynamics. Specifically, the hypothesis is tested that hemodynamic responses can be modeled as a linear convolution of experimentally obtained measures of neural activity with a suitable hemodynamic impulse response function. To obtain a range of neural and hemodynamic responses, rat whisker pad was stimulated using brief (less than or equal to2 seconds) electrical stimuli consisting of single pulses (0.3 millisecond, 1.2 mA) combined both at different frequencies and in a paired-pulse design. Hemodynamic responses were measured using concurrent optical imaging spectroscopy and laser Doppler flowmetry, whereas neural responses were assessed through current source density analysis of multielectrode recordings from a single barrel. General linear modeling was used to deconvolve the hemodynamic impulse response to a single "neural event" from the hemodynamic and neural responses to stimulation. The model provided an excellent fit to the empirical data. The implications of these results for modeling schemes and for physiologic systems coupling neural and hemodynamic activity are discussed.

Long-latency reductions in gamma power predict hemodynamic changes that underlie the negative BOLD signal

Studiesthat use prolonged periods of sensory stimulation report associations between regional reductions in neural activity and negative blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signaling. However, the neural generators of the negative BOLD response remain to be characterized. Here, we use single-impulse electrical stimulation of the whisker pad in the anesthetized rat to identify components of the neural response that are related to “negative” hemodynamic changes in the brain. Laminar multiunit activity and local field potential recordings of neural activity were performed concurrently withtwo-dimensional optical imaging spectroscopy measuring hemodynamic changes. Repeated measurements over multiple stimulation trials revealed significant variations in neural responses across session and animal datasets. Within this variation, we found robust long-latency decreases (300 and 2000 ms after stimulus presentation) in gammaband power (30 – 80 Hz) in the middle-superficial cortical layers in regions surrounding the activated whisker barrel cortex. This reduction in gamma frequency activity was associated with corresponding decreases in the hemodynamic responses that drive the negative BOLD signal. These findings suggest a close relationship between BOLD responses and neural events that operate over time scales that outlast the initiating sensory stimulus, and provide important insights into the neurophysiological basis of negative neuroimaging signals.

The metaphysics of self in Praśastapāda's differential naturalism

In A Compendium of the Characteristics of Categories (Padārthadharmasaṃgraha) the classical Vaiśeṣika philosopher Praśastapāda (6th c. CE) presents an innovative metaphysics of the self. This article examines the defining metaphysical and axiological features of this conception of self and the dualist categorial schema in which it is located. It shows how this idea of the self, as a reflexive and ethical being, grounds a multinaturalist view of natural order and offers a conception of agency that claims to account for all the reflexive features of human mental and bodily life. Finally, it discusses the ends of self’s reflexivity and of human life as a return to the true self. It argues that at the heart of Praśastapāda’s metaphysics of self is the idea that ethics is metaphysics, and that epistemic practice is ethical practice.