From therapeutic to political education: the centrality of affective sensibility in critical pedagogy

While the need for humanising education is pressing in neoliberal societies, the conditions for its possibility in formal institutions have become particularly cramped. A constellation of factors – the strength of neoliberal ideologies, the corporatisation of universities, the conflation of human freedom with consumer satisfaction, and a wider crisis of hope in the possibility or desirability of social change – make it difficult to apply classical theories of subject-transformation to new work in critical pedagogy. In particular, the growth of interest in pedagogies of comfort (as illustrated in certain forms of ‘therapeutic’ education and concerns about student ‘satisfaction’) and resistance to critical pedagogies suggest that subjectivty has become a primary site of political struggle in education. However, it can no longer be assumed that educators can (or should) liberate students’ repressed desires for ‘humanisation’ by politicising curricula, pedagogy or institutions. Rather, we must work to understand the new meanings and affective conditions of critical subjectivity itself. Bringing critical theories of subject transformation together with new work on ‘pedagogies of discomfort’, I suggest we can create new ways of opening up possibilities for critical education that respond to neoliberal subjectivities without corresponding to or affirming them.

Spatially extensive summation of contrast-energy is revealed by contrast detection of micro-pattern textures

Vision must analyze the retinal image over both small and large areas to represent fine-scale spatial details and extensive textures. The long-range neuronal convergence that this implies might lead us to expect that contrast sensitivity should improve markedly with the contrast area of the image. But this is at odds with the orthodox view that contrast sensitivity is determined merely by probability summation over local independent detectors. To address this puzzle, I aimed to assess the summation of luminance contrast without the confounding influence of area-dependent internal noise. I measured contrast detection thresholds for novel Battenberg stimuli that had identical overall dimensions (to clamp the aggregation of noise) but were constructed from either dense or sparse arrays of micro-patterns. The results unveiled a three-stage visual hierarchy of contrast summation involving (i) spatial filtering, (ii) long-range summation of coherent textures, and (iii) pooling across orthogonal textures. Linear summation over local energy detectors was spatially extensive (as much as 16 cycles) at Stage 2, but the resulting model is also consistent with earlier classical results of contrast summation (J. G. Robson & N. Graham, 1981), where co-aggregation of internal noise has obscured these long-range interactions.

A comparative evaluation of the legislative controls on unfair terms and exemption clauses in consumer and business contracts in England and Brazil

The purpose of the present study is to make a comparative evaluation of the legislative controls on unfairness in the context of B2B, B2C and small businesses contracts in England and Brazil. This work will focus on the examination of statutes and relevant case law which regulate exemption clauses and terms on the basis of their ‘unfairness’. The approach adopted by legislation and courts towards the above controls may vary according to the type of contract. Business contracts are more in line with the classical model of contract law according to which parties are presumably equals and able to negotiate terms. As a consequence interventions should be avoided for the sake of freedom of contract even if harmful terms were included. Such assumption of equality however is not applicable to small businesses contracts because SMEs are often in a disadvantageous position in relation to their larger counterparties. Consumer contracts in their turn are more closely regulated by the English and Brazilian legal systems which recognised that vulnerable parties are more exposed to unfair terms imposed by the stronger party as a result of the inequality of bargaining power. For this reason those jurisdictions adopted a more interventionist approach to provide special protection to consumers which is in line with the modern law of contract. The contribution of this work therefore consists of comparing how the law of England and Brazil tackles the problem of ‘unfairness’ in the above types of contracts. This study will examine the differences and similarities between rules and concepts of both jurisdictions with references to the law of their respective regional trade agreements (EU and the Mercosul). Moreover it will identify existing issues in the English and Brazilian legislation and recommend lessons that one system can learn from the other.

Lattice approach to the dynamics of phase-coded soliton trains

We address the collective dynamics of a soliton train propagating in a medium described by the nonlinear Schrödinger equation. Our approach uses the reduction of train dynamics to the discrete complex Toda chain (CTC) model for the evolution of parameters for each train constituent: such a simplification allows one to carry out an approximate analysis of the dynamics of positions and phases of individual interacting pulses. Here, we employ the CTC model to the problem which has relevance to the field of fibre optics communications where each binary digit of transmitted information is encoded via the phase difference between the two adjacent solitons. Our goal is to elucidate different scenarios of the train distortions and the subsequent information garbling caused solely by the intersoliton interactions. First, we examine how the structure of a given phase pattern affects the initial stage of the train dynamics and explain the general mechanisms for the appearance of unstable collective soliton modes. Then we further discuss the nonlinear regime concentrating on the dependence of the Lax scattering matrix on the input phase distribution; this allows one to classify typical features of the train evolution and determine the distance where the soliton escapes from its slot. In both cases, we demonstrate deep mathematical analogies with the classical theory of crystal lattice dynamics.

Effect of solute segregation on the strength of nanocrystalline alloys:Inverse Hall-Petch relation

We have used a high-energy ball mill to prepare single-phased nanocrystalline Fe, Fe90Ni10, Fe85Al4Si11, Ni99Fe1 and Ni90Fe10 powders. We then increased their grain sizes by annealing. We found that a low-temperature anneal (T < 0.4 Tm) softens the elemental nanocrystalline Fe but hardens both the body-centered cubic iron- and face-centered cubic nickel-based solid solutions, leading in these alloys to an inverse Hall–Petch relationship. We explain this abnormal Hall–Petch effect in terms of solute segregation to the grain boundaries of the nanocrystalline alloys. Our analysis can also explain the inverse Hall–Petch relationship found in previous studies during the thermal anneal of ball-milled nanocrystalline Fe (containing ∼1.5 at.% impurities) and electrodeposited nanocrystalline Ni (containing ∼1.0 at.% impurities).

Efficiency enhancement of components based on talbot effect

Two ways to improve efficiency of components based on Talbot effect are considered in the present paper. One way is based on optimization of waveguide wall impedance, another one consists in modification of waveguide cross-section shape. Both methods allow correction of waveguide modes spectrum and lead to efficiency enhancement. For the important application of Talbot effect-remote steering antenna of a wavebeam in plasma-the steering band is expanded by 40-50%. © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Influence of downstream processing on the breakage of whey protein precipitates

Whey proteins may be fractionated by isoelectric precipitation followed by centrifugal recovery of the precipitate phase. Transport and processing of protein precipitates may alter the precipitate particle properties, which may affect how they behave in subsequent processes. For example, the transport of precipitate solution through pumps, pipes and valves and into a centrifugal separator may cause changes in particle size and density, which may affect the performance of the separator. This work investigates the effect of fluid flow intensity, flow geometry and exposure time on the breakage of whey protein precipitates: Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was used to quantify the flow intensity in different geometries. Flow geometry can have a critical impact on particle breakage. Sharp geometrical transitions induce large increases in turbulence that can result in substantial particle breakage. As protein precipitate particles break, they tend to form denser more compact structures. The reduction in particle size and increase in compaction is due to breakage. This makes the particles become more resistant to further breakage as particle compactness increases. The effect of flow intensity on particle breakage is coupled to exposure time, with greater exposure time producing more breakage. However, it is expected that the particles will attain an equilibrium particle size and density after prolonged exposure in a constant flow field where no further breakage will occur with exposure time. © 2005 Institution of Chemical Engineers.

Quantifying the complexity of chaos in multibasin multidimensional dynamics of molecular systems

The simulated classical dynamics of a small molecule exhibiting self-organizing behavior via a fast transition between two states is analyzed by calculation of the statistical complexity of the system. It is shown that the complexity of molecular descriptors such as atom coordinates and dihedral angles have different values before and after the transition. This provides a new tool to identify metastable states during molecular self-organization. The highly concerted collective motion of the molecule is revealed. Low-dimensional subspaces dynamics is found sensitive to the processes in the whole, high-dimensional phase space of the system. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Interactive exploration of image collections on mobile devices

Image collections are ever growing and hence visual information is becoming more and more important. Moreover, the classical paradigm of taking pictures has changed, first with the spread of digital cameras and, more recently, with mobile devices equipped with integrated cameras. Clearly, these image repositories need to be managed, and tools for effectively and efficiently searching image databases are highly sought after, especially on mobile devices where more and more images are being stored. In this paper, we present an image browsing system for interactive exploration of image collections on mobile devices. Images are arranged so that visually similar images are grouped together while large image repositories become accessible through a hierarchical, browsable tree structure, arranged on a hexagonal lattice. The developed system provides an intuitive and fast interface for navigating through image databases using a variety of touch gestures. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.

A predictive in vitro model of the impact of drugs with anticholinergic properties on human neuronal and astrocytic systems

The link between off-target anticholinergic effects of medications and acute cognitive impairment in older adults requires urgent investigation. We aimed to determine whether a relevant in vitro model may aid the identification of anticholinergic responses to drugs and the prediction of anticholinergic risk during polypharmacy. In this preliminary study we employed a co-culture of human-derived neurons and astrocytes (NT2.N/A) derived from the NT2 cell line. NT2.N/A cells possess much of the functionality of mature neurons and astrocytes, key cholinergic phenotypic markers and muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs). The cholinergic response of NT2 astrocytes to the mAChR agonist oxotremorine was examined using the fluorescent dye fluo-4 to quantitate increases in intracellular calcium [Ca2+]i. Inhibition of this response by drugs classified as severe (dicycloverine, amitriptyline), moderate (cyclobenzaprine) and possible (cimetidine) on the Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden (ACB) scale, was examined after exposure to individual and pairs of compounds. Individually, dicycloverine had the most significant effect regarding inhibition of the astrocytic cholinergic response to oxotremorine, followed by amitriptyline then cyclobenzaprine and cimetidine, in agreement with the ACB scale. In combination, dicycloverine with cyclobenzaprine had the most significant effect, followed by dicycloverine with amitriptyline. The order of potency of the drugs in combination frequently disagreed with predicted ACB scores derived from summation of the individual drug scores, suggesting current scales may underestimate the effect of polypharmacy. Overall, this NT2.N/A model may be appropriate for further investigation of adverse anticholinergic effects of multiple medications, in order to inform clinical choices of suitable drug use in the elderly.

Receptor for activated C Kinase 1 protein binds to and activates the human estrogen receptor α

The classical concept of estrogen receptor (ER) activation is that steroid passes the cell membrane, binds to its specific protein receptor in the cell's cytoplasm and the steroid-receptor complex travels to the nucleus where it activates responsive genes. This basic idea has been challenged by results of experiments demonstrating insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) activation of the ER in the complete absence of estrogen suggesting at least one other mechanism of ER activation not involving steroid. One explanation is that activation of the cell surface IGF-1 receptor leads to synthesis of an intracellular protein(s) able to bind to and stimulate the ER. Based on results using the two-hybrid system, coimmunoprecipitation and transfection-luciferase assays, we herein show that one of these proteins could well be receptor for activated C kinase 1 (RACK-1). Using the human ER type α (ER-α) as bait, a cloned complementary deoxyribonucleic acid (cDNA) library from IGF-1 treated human breast cancer MCF-7 cells was screened for ER-α - protein interactions. Many positive clones were obtained which contained the RACK-1 cDNA sequence. Coimmunoprecipitation of in-vitro translation products of the ER-α and RACK-1 confirmed the interaction between the two proteins. Transfection studies using the estrogen response element spliced to a luciferase reporter gene revealed that constitutive RACK-1 expression was able to powerfully stimulate ER-α activity under estrogen-free conditions. This effect could be enhanced by 17β-estradiol (E2) and blocked by tamoxifen, an E2 antagonist. These results show that RACK-1 is able to activate the ER-α in the absence of E2, although together with the latter, enhanced effects occur. Since RACK-1 gene expression is stimulated by IGF-1, it is distinctly possible that RACK-1 is the mediator of the stimulatory effects of IGF-1 on ER-α. © 2014 JMS.

Isomorphism of Commutative Group Algebras of Finite Abelian Groups

Let a commutative ring R be a direct product of indecomposable rings with identity and let G be a finite abelian p-group. In the present paper we give a complete system of invariants of the group algebra RG of G over R when p is an invertible element in R. These investigations extend some classical results of Berman (1953 and 1958), Sehgal (1970) and Karpilovsky (1984) as well as a result of Mollov (1986).

Invariants of Unipotent Transformations Acting on Noetherian Relatively Free Algebras

2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: 16R10, 16R30.

A New Characterization of Weighted Peetre K-Functionals (II)

2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: 46B70, 41A25, 41A17, 26D10. ∗Part of the results were reported at the Conference “Pioneers of Bulgarian Mathematics”, Sofia, 2006.

Extention of Apolarity and Grace Theorem

MSC 2010: 30C10