Musealising hope: reflections on the saga of an artistic installation of human solidarity

“Musealising hope” reflects on the trials and tribulations of an installation designed as a tribute to the struggle for survival of African peoples who dare make the long trek to Europe by sea. Its accomplishment involved a number of players whose conduct and reactions to events bear witness to the manner in which artists, the media, heads of cultural institutions, museologists, welfare institutions, and politicians cope with the phenomenon of immigration and with our present-day multicultural societies. In turn, this artistic endeavour and its symbolic signification highlight the changes which art and culture have undergone over the past few years and the kind of transformation which new inter-ethnic communities have brought to bear on concepts such as national heritage, identity or memory.

Can objects perform?: agency and thingliness in contemporary sculpture and installation

In his 1967 essay, “Art and Objecthood”, Michael Fried bemoaned the theatricality of minimalist sculpture, which replaced the presentness of compositional sculpture with the staging of an experience for the viewer as performer. His argument has since been inverted by artists and art writers invested in the idea of sculptures as props forming part of an artistic experience economy. This discourse has accompanied the rise of relational aesthetics as a dominant paradigm for contemporary art. More recently, however, there has been a turn away from relationality to ‘object-oriented’ art, where objects are seen to stage their own theatrical experiences, performing themselves without requiring the activation of a viewer’s body. We trace parallels between the philosophy of Bruno Latour and the “Speculative Materialism” group and this emerging trend in sculpture. In ascribing agency to objects, Latour proposes a radical shift from philosophy’s traditional investigation of the relationship between the mind and the world. Drawn to the idea that matter can be creative, artists have embraced his thinking. However, we argue that this has lead to a generalized, universalizing humanism that disables political action. Moreover, it undermines the potential for anti-humanist critique latent in object-oriented philosophy.

Performance of a BP c-Si building Integrated PV system after 15years of installation

In this study, the performance, yield and characteristics of a 15 year old photovoltaic system installation has been investigated. The technology, BP Saturn modules which were steel-blue polycrystalline silicon cells are no longer in production. A bespoke monitoring system was designed and purpose built to monitor the characteristics of 6 strings, of 18 modules connected in series. The total output of the system is configured to 6.5kWp (series to parallel configuration). The PV system is demonstrating system outputs to be inferior by 0.7% per year. However,efficiency values in comparison to standard test conditions have remained practically the same. This output though very relevant to the possible performance and stability of aging cells, requires additional parametric studies to develop a more robust argument. The result presented in this paper is part of an on going investigation into PV system aging effects.

Puberty installation and adrenergic response of seminal vesicle from rats exposed prenatally to hydrocortisone

We investigated the effects of hydrocortisone during the prenatal period and its repercussion on puberty installation and adrenergic response of seminal vesicle in adult rats. The efficacy of the hydrocortisone treatment in reducing adrenal wet weight immediately after delivery in both the treated mothers and respective pups at birth may indicate impairment of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis. This parameter was unchanged in the adult phase of these descendants, suggesting recuperation of this axis. In addition, the treatment with hydrocortisone delayed the age of puberty installation, probably by absence of both physiologic production and liberation of luteinizing hormone and testosterone. Despite the significant reduction in testosterone level as well as of wet weights of both vas deferens and testis in the adult phase, no difference was observed in the sensitivity of the seminal vesicle to the studied sympathetic agonist. However, the observed reduction in contractile response of the seminal vesicle may be a consequence of contractile-system damage in this organ. It is possible that this alteration may cause a reduction in the amount of vesicular secretion so important in the process of ejaculation. In conclusion, these results suggest that administration of hydrocortisone in late prenatal life did not influence the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis in adult life, although it altered the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis, and reduced testosterone production starting at puberty, as a consequence of an incomplete masculinization of the hypothalamus plus a reduction in the contractile response of the seminal vesicle. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Installation of a getter vacuum pump in cathode-anode region of a high-power klystron amplifier - Propose and feasible

The possibility to install a getter vacuum pump and its feasible in the anode of a high-power klystron amplifier is investigated in order to decrease of the pressure in the gun and consequently increasing its lifetime. The study is conducted using a 1.3 GHz, 100 A and 240 kV high-power klystron with five reentrant coaxial cavities, assembled in a cylindrical drift tube 1.2 m long. This work takes into account the specific conductance of components of gun and all important gas sources, like the degassing of the drift tube, the cavity walls, the cathode, the anode, and the collector, as well the position and pumping speed of the getter vacuum pump in anode region. © 2006 IEEE.

Effect of Removing Seminal Plasma Using a Sperm Filter on the Viability of Refrigerated Stallion Semen

Cooling of equine semen obtained from some stallions results in lower seminal quality and viability when the seminal plasma (SP) is present. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the removal of SP using a Sperm Filter on the viability of cooled stallion semen. For this purpose, 31 stallions were used. Their ejaculates were divided into three groups: CN, semen was diluted with an extender; FLT, SP was removed by filtration; and CT, SP was removed by centrifugation and cooled to 15°C for 24 hours. Sperm kinetics and plasma membrane integrity were evaluated immediately after collection (T0) and after 24 hours of refrigeration (T1). No difference (P > .05) was noted at T1 for total sperm motility (TM), progressive sperm motility, or plasma membrane integrity when semen samples from all the stallions were analyzed. However, when samples from stallions termed bad coolers were analyzed (TM = <30% at T1), a difference was observed in TM and progressive sperm motility for CN compared with FLT and CT at T1. Sperm recovery was greater when SP was removed using the filter (FLT) to that when the SP was removed by centrifugation (CN) (89% vs. 81%). Thus, we concluded that filtering with a Sperm Filter is an efficient and practical method for removal of SP from stallion ejaculates, with lower sperm loss than centrifugation. We also found that the presence of SP reduces the quality and viability of cooled semen from stallions whose semen is sensitive to the process of refrigeration. © 2013 Elsevier Inc.

The use of CPT to evaluate the effect of helical pile installation in tropical soils

The uplift capacity of helical piles depends on the shear resistance of the soil above the helical plates. During helical pile installation, the soil traversed by the plates are sheared and displaced laterally, and consequently the soil structure is disturbed. Considering this fact, the aim of this paper is presenting the effect of helical piles installation in the soil mass by means of CPT tests carried out close to the soil cylinder above the pile helices. The CPT tests were performed at the CRHEA site from the Sao Carlos School of Engineering, Sao Carlos city, inland of Sao Paulo State, Brazil. In addition, an interpretation of CPT tests data for stratigrafic logging are presented and compared to Standard Penetration Tests (SPT) carried out at this site. This study showed that the CPT sleeve friction fs data were affected by the installation of helical pile in this particular tropical soil site. © 2013 Taylor & Francis Group.

Influence of buccal bony crest width on marginal dimensions of peri-implant hard and soft tissues after implant installation. An experimental study in dogs

Aim: To evaluate the influence of the width of the buccal bony wall on hard and soft tissue dimensions following implant installation. Material and methods: Mandibular premolars and first molars of six Labrador dogs were extracted bilaterally. After 3 months of healing, two recipient sites, one on each side of the mandible, were prepared in such a way as to obtain a buccal bony ridge width of about 2 mm in the right (control) and 1 mm in the left sides (test), respectively. Implants were installed with the coronal margin flush with the buccal alveolar bony crest. Abutments were placed and the flaps were sutured to allow a non-submerged healing. After 3 months, the animals were euthanized and ground sections obtained. Results: All implants were completely osseointegrated. In respect to the coronal rough margin of the implant, the most coronal bone-to-implant contact was apically located 1.04 ± 0.91 and 0.94 ± 0.87 mm at the test and control sites, respectively, whereas the top of the bony crest was located 0.30 ± 0.40 mm at the test and 0.57 ± 0.49 mm at the control sites. No statistically significant differences were found. A larger horizontal bone resorption, however, evaluated 1 mm apically to the rough margin, was found at the control (1.1 ± 0.7 mm) compared to the test (0.3 ± 0.3 mm) sites, the difference being statistically significant. A thin peri-implant mucosa (2.4-2.6 mm) was found at implant installation while, after 3 months of healing, a biological width of 3.90-4.40 mm was observed with no statistically significant differences between control and test sites. Conclusions: A width of the buccal bony wall of 1or 2 mm at implant sites yielded similar results after 3 months of healing in relation of hard tissue and soft tissues dimensions after implant installation. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Identifying problems for choosing suitable areas for installation of a new landfill through GIS technology: A case study

Selecting a suitable place to install a new landfill is a hard work. Bauru is a Brazilian municipality where the local landfill currently in use has a life span that is almost over, and the selection of a new area for a future landfill is crucial and urgent. Here we use a geographic information system (GIS) approach to indicate possible suitable areas for installing the landfill. The considered criteria were: river network and the respective buffer zone, relief, urban areas and their respective buffer zone, existence of Areas for Environmental Protection (AEPs), occurrence of wells and their respective buffer zones, existence of airports and their buffer zones, wind direction, and the road network and its respective buffer zone. Due the facts that (1) Bauru has an urban area relatively large in relation to whole municipal area, (2) Bauru has two airports, and (3) this area encompasses parts of three AEPs, the model showed that there are few areas suitable and moderately suitable in Bauru, and the greater part of the municipality is unsuitable to install a new landfill. Due to this important finding reported here, the local policymakers should consider the suitable or even moderately suitable areas for analysis in situ or look for other creative solutions for destination of the solid waste. We highly encourage the use of GIS in studies that seek suitable areas for future landfills, having found that SIG was a tool that allowed fast and precise work and generated an outcome sufficiently clear of interpretation.Implications: Solid waste (SW) management is one of the main environmental concerns nowadays. Landfilling SW is still the main practice to disposal of such material. However, for many regions, suitable places for landfilling are getting scarce. This study proved this situation for a populous place in a southeastern Brazilian region. This study also showed how the decision makers should manage the problem in order to minimize the amount of SW generated and delivered for the landfill. Massive investment in education is a critical issue to reach the proposed aim.