Memória do projecto cinco lugares. No exercício da sua função

Esta Memória de Projecto Cinco Lugares – No exercício da sua função funciona como um fluxo de ideias livres e inevitavelmente dispersas, que não são mais que uma consequência do pensamento sobre cada plano, cena e sequência que compõem o filme criado. A tese principal do filme, entre as várias ideias que nele se pretenderam elaborar, encontra reflexos e ressonâncias nas interpretações expressas ao longo dos vários capítulos iniciais. Assim, na Parte I (Caminhos do Tempo), faz-se uma contextualização teórica, com base nos textos de André Bazin, Gilles Deleuze e Marc Augé sobre as concepções de espaço e tempo, e analisam-se algumas das mais radicais obras do cinema contemporâneo (de Yasujirô Ozu, Robert Flaherty, Andy Warhol, Michael Snow a Victor Erice, Wang Bing, Abbas Kiarostami e James Benning). Esta contextualização e análise constituem fundamento à presente Memória, aprofundando-se a possibilidade do Tempo como categoria estrutural principal de um texto fílmico. Na Parte II, dá-se nota do percurso de Cinco Lugares, filme que congrega um conjunto de memórias sobre cinco lugares de uma cidade (Lisboa), ensurdecedora e em crescente movimento, e no qual se procurou registar, plano a plano, essas memórias pela, para usar uma expressão de Tarkovsky, “pressão do tempo no plano”. Iniciado no tempo do silêncio (público) do Pátio da Galé, o filme passou ao espaço privado e interior de uma habitação na Rua Nova do Loureiro, que a arquitectura tão naturalmente separa e resguarda do exterior. Do registo fílmico de um ritual religioso, numa Igreja de convento, transitámos para um dos lugares mais esquecidos da cidade, a Mãe d’Água/ Aqueduto das Águas Livres. Por fim, aportámos num antigo antro de loucura contida, o Pavilhão Panóptico do Hospital Miguel Bombarda, hoje museu de um conjunto de memórias – memórias que também constituem matéria de uma outra memória cinematográfica de João César Monteiro. Em comum, estes cinco lugares têm tudo e não têm nada. São arquitecturas que se estabelecem numa fronteira entre um interior e um exterior. São também matéria própria, constituída por tempos, espaços e identidades totalmente diferentes. São, ainda, cinco tipos de silêncio urbano e momentos de realidade documentados sob uma perspectiva de um mundo em aceleração. Em suma, os capítulos seguintes de ambas as Partes são uma das muitas conversas possíveis e inacabadas, qual coda num trecho musical, a ter sobre o que interessa verdadeiramente neste trabalho de projecto – o filme em si.

The politics of slowness and the traps of modernity

This chapter re-evaluates the diachronic, evolutionist model that establishes the Second World War as a watershed between classical and modern cinemas, and ‘modernity’ as the political project of ‘slow cinema’. I will start by historicising the connection between cinematic speed and modernity, going on to survey the veritable obsession with the modern that continues to beset film studies despite the vagueness and contradictions inherent in the term. I will then attempt to clarify what is really at stake within the modern-classical debate by analysing two canonical examples of Japanese cinema, drawn from the geidomono genre (films on the lives of theatre actors), Kenji Mizoguchi’s Story of the Late Chrysanthemums (Zangiku monogatari, 1939) and Yasujiro Ozu’s Floating Weeds (Ukigusa, 1954), with a view to investigating the role of the long take or, conversely, classical editing, in the production or otherwise of a supposed ‘slow modernity’. By resorting to Ozu and Mizoguchi, I hope to demonstrate that the best narrative films in the world have always combined a ‘classical’ quest for perfection with the ‘modern’ doubt of its existence, hence the futility of classifying cinema in general according to an evolutionary and Eurocentric model based on the classical-modern binary. Rather than on a confusing politics of the modern, I will draw on Bazin’s prophetic insight of ‘impure cinema’, a concept he forged in defence of literary and theatrical screen adaptations. Anticipating by more than half a century the media convergence on which the near totality of our audiovisual experience is currently based, ‘impure cinema’ will give me the opportunity to focus on the confluence of film and theatre in these Mizoguchi and Ozu films as the site of a productive crisis where established genres dissolve into self-reflexive stasis, ambiguity of expression and the revelation of the reality of the film medium, all of which, I argue, are more reliable indicators of a film’s political programme than historical teleology. At the end of the journey, some answers may emerge to whether the combination of the long take and the long shot are sufficient to account for a film’s ‘slowness’ and whether ‘slow’ is indeed the best concept to signify resistance to the destructive pace of capitalism.

Il cibo come creatore di circoli virtuosi. Slow Food e Terra Madre, eccellenze nello sviluppo sostenibile del territorio.

Punto di partenza per il lavoro presentato, sono le tematiche legate alle pratiche di consumo di cibo in un’ottica che superi una semplice visione utilitaristica delle stesse, mentre viene evidenziato invece il più profondo rapporto uomo-cibo e i fenomeni di socializzazione che ne scaturiscono. Si trovano pertanto a coniugarsi la sociologia dei consumi e la sociologia della cultura. La base per questa visione del cibo e delle pratiche di produzione e consumo ad esso collegate è l’ipotesi che nel rapporto uomo-cibo sia individuabile un livello di significato superiore al mero utilitarismo/nutrizionismo, che si compone di una dimensione strutturale, una dimensione simbolica ed una dimensione metaforica. Il cibo, e di conseguenza tutte le pratiche ad esso collegate (produzione, elaborazione, consumo), rientrano pertanto in maniera naturale nella categoria “cultura”, e quindi, accostandoci al paradigma del passaggio da natura a società, attraverso il cibo si crea e si alimenta la socialità del consorzio umano, e quindi l’umanità stessa. Accostando a queste concettualizzazioni l’idea che il consumo in generale possa diventare una prassi tramite cui esperire una più diffusa ricerca di sostenibilità nello sviluppo del territorio, (facendosi carico delle conseguenze socio-ambientali derivanti dalla fruizione di determinati oggetti piuttosto che altri), si è sviluppata l’ipotesi che al consumo alimentare possa competere un ruolo precipuamente attivo nella definizione di pratiche sociali orientate alla sostenibilità, capaci cioè di integrare attraverso il consumo – e in relazione all’indebolimento delle tradizionali agenzie di socializzazione – quella perdita di senso civico e solidarietà organizzata che sperimentiamo nelle prassi di vita quotidiana. Sul piano operativo, la tesi è articolata in sei capitoli: • Il percorso presentato prende le mosse dalla considerazione che il cibo, inteso in un’ottica sociologica, costituisce un fattore culturale non irrilevante, anzi fondamentale per il consorzio umano. Si fornisce quindi una breve descrizione del ruolo del cibo nei suoi accostamenti con la definizione di un territorio (e quindi con la sua storia, economia e società), con le arti visive, con il cinema, con la musica, ma anche con la sfera sensoriale (tatto, gusto, olfatto) ed emotivo-cognitiva (psiche) dell’uomo. • Successivamente, si analizza nello specifico la funzione socializzante delle pratiche alimentari, ripercorrendo le tappe principali degli studi classici di sociologia e antropologia dell’alimentazione e introducendo anche l’idea di cibo come simbolo e metafora, che si riflettono sul piano sociale e sulle relazioni tra gli individui. La constatazione che le pratiche legate al cibo sono le uniche attività umane da sempre e per sempre irrinunciabili è un chiaro indicatore di come esse giochino un ruolo fondamentale nella socializzazione umana. • Nel terzo capitolo, la prospettiva simbolico-metaforica è la base di un’analisi di tipo storico delle pratiche alimentari, nello specifico delle pratiche di consumo di cibo, dalle origini dell’umanità ai giorni nostri. Viene presentato un excursus essenziale in cui l’attenzione è focalizzata sulla tavola, sui cibi ivi serviti e sugli eventi di socializzazione che si sviluppano attorno ad essa, considerando situazioni storico-sociali oggettive di cui si è in grado, oggi, di ricostruire le dinamiche e le fasi più significative. • Il quarto capitolo costituisce un momento di riflessione teorica intorno al tema della globalizzazione nella contemporaneità. Sia per una logica progressione cronologica all’interno del lavoro presentato, sia per la rilevanza in quanto inerente alla società attuale in cui viviamo, non si è potuto infatti non soffermarsi un po’ più a fondo sull’analisi delle pratiche alimentari nella contemporaneità, e quindi nella società generalmente definita come “globalizzata” (o “mcdonaldizzata”, per dirla alla Ritzer) ma che in realtà è caratterizzata da un più sottile gioco di equilibri tra dimensione locale e dimensione globale, che si compenetrano come anche nel termine che indica tale equilibrio: il “glocale”. In questo capitolo vengono presentati i principali riferimenti teorici relativi a queste tematiche. • Nel quinto capitolo è stata analizzata, quindi, la declinazione in senso “alimentare” della relazione tra globale e locale, e quindi non solo i mutamenti intercorsi nella contemporaneità nelle pratiche di produzione, scambio e consumo di cibo con particolare riferimento ai sistemi culturali e al territorio, ma anche alcune proposte (sia teoriche che pratiche) a garanzia di uno sviluppo sostenibile del territorio, che trovi i suoi fondamenti sulla perpetuazione di modalità tradizionali di produzione, commercio e consumo di cibo. • Nel sesto capitolo viene analizzato un caso di studio significativo, (il movimento Slow Food, con il suo progetto Terra Madre) senza la pretesa di confermare o smentire né le ipotesi di partenza, né i concetti emersi in itinere, ma semplicemente con l’intenzione di approfondire il percorso svolto attraverso l’esemplificazione operativa e la ricerca entro un piccolo campione composto da testimoni significativi e intervistati, sottoposti a colloqui e interviste incentrate su item inerenti i temi generali di questo lavoro e sul caso di studio considerato. La scelta del caso è motivata dalla considerazione che, alla luce delle filosofia che lo anima e delle attività che svolge, il movimento Slow Food con il progetto Terra Madre costituisce una vera e propria eccellenza nella pianificazione di uno sviluppo sostenibile del territorio e delle sue risorse, tanto economiche quanto sociali e culturali. L’intera analisi è stata condotta tenendo presente l’importanza della comparazione e della collocazione del singolo caso non solo nel contesto sociale di riferimento, ma anche in sintonia con l’ipotesi della ricerca, e quindi con l’assunto che le pratiche alimentari possano guidare uno sviluppo sostenibile del territorio. Per analizzare la realtà individuata, si è in primo luogo proceduto alla raccolta e all’analisi di dati e informazioni volte alla ricostruzione della sua storia e del suo sviluppo attuale. Le informazioni sono state raccolte attraverso l’analisi di materiali, documenti cartacei e documenti multimediali. Si è poi proceduto con colloqui in profondità a testimoni significativi individuati nell’ambito delle attività promosse da Slow Food, con particolare riferimento alle attività di Terra Madre; le informazioni sono state elaborate con l’ausilio dell’analisi del contenuto. Alla luce di quanto analizzato, tanto a livello teorico quanto a livello empirico, la tesi si conclude con alcune considerazioni che, in linea con la finalità dichiarata di approfondire (più che di confermare o smentire) le ipotesi di partenza circa un ruolo fondamentale delle pratiche alimentari nello sviluppo sostenibile del territorio, non possono comunque non tendere ad una convalida dei concetti introduttivi. Si individuano pertanto spunti importanti per affermare che nelle pratiche alimentari, nei tre momenti in cui trovano specificazione (la produzione, lo scambio, il consumo), siano individuabili quei semi valoriali che possono dare solidità alle ipotesi di partenza, e che quindi - nell’intento di operare per uno sviluppo sostenibile del territorio - sia possibile farne un valido strumento al fine di costruire dei veri e propri percorsi di sostenibilità ancorati ai concetti di tutela della tradizione locale, recupero e salvaguardia dei metodi tradizionali di produzione e conservazione, certificazione di tipicità, controllo della distribuzione, riscatto e promozione delle modalità tradizionali di consumo con particolare riferimento alle culture locali.

[comparative Study Between Fast And Slow Induction Of Propofol Given By Target-controlled Infusion: Expected Propofol Concentration At The Effect Site. Randomized Controlled Trial].

studies have shown that rate of propofol infusion may influence the predicted propofol concentration at the effect site (Es). The aim of this study was to evaluate the Es predicted by the Marsh pharmacokinetic model (ke0 0.26min(-1)) in loss of consciousness during fast or slow induction. the study included 28 patients randomly divided into two equal groups. In slow induction group (S), target-controlled infusion (TCI) of propofol with plasma, Marsh pharmacokinetic model (ke0 0.26min(-1)) with target concentration (Tc) at 2.0-μg.mL(-1) were administered. When the predicted propofol concentration at the effect site (Es) reached half of Es value, Es was increased to previous Es + 1μg.mL(-1), successively, until loss of consciousness. In rapid induction group (R), patients were induced with TCI of propofol with plasma (6.0μg.ml(-1)) at Es, and waited until loss of consciousness. in rapid induction group, Tc for loss of consciousness was significantly lower compared to slow induction group (1.67±0.76 and 2.50±0.56μg.mL(-1), respectively, p=0.004). the predicted propofol concentration at the effect site for loss of consciousness is different for rapid induction and slow induction, even with the same pharmacokinetic model of propofol and the same balance constant between plasma and effect site.

Zone trapping/merging zones in flow analysis: A novel approach for rapid assays involving relatively slow chemical reactions

A novel strategy for accomplishing zone trapping in flow analysis is proposed. The sample and the reagent solutions are simultaneously inserted into convergent carrier streams and the established zones merge together before reaching the detector, where the most concentrated portion of the entire sample zone is trapped. The main characteristics, potentialities and limitations of the strategy were critically evaluated in relation to an analogous flow system with zone stopping. When applied to the spectrophotometric determination of nitrite in river waters, the main figures of merit were maintained, exception made for the sampling frequency which was calculated as 189h(-1), about 32% higher relatively to the analogous system with zone stopping. The sample inserted volume can be increased up to 1.0 mL without affecting sampling frequency and no problems with pump heating or malfunctions were noted after 8-h operation of the system. In contrast to zone stopping, only a small portion of the sample zone is halted with zone trapping, leading to these beneficial effects. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Universal exhibitions and the cinema: history and culture

The objective of this article is to examine the presence of cinema in World Fairs between the 1893 World`s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and 1939 (the New York World`s Fair). As an integral part of a visual culture constructed by these spaces to celebrate capitalism, the trajectory of cinema is identified with these world fairs due to its ability to entertain and, at the same time, to educate. Cinema was established as a means of mass communication during the First World War and afterwards would participate more actively in the symbolic disputes of a world about to enter the second global conflict. It would reach a broader public, becoming the main `showcase` in which nations projected virtues to be celebrated. The new striking visual spectacle assumed, within this context, greater emphasis through films idealized as true cinematographic monuments.

Growth-active gibberellins overcome the very slow shoot growth of Hancornia speciosa, an important fruit tree from the Brazilian ""Cerrado""

Shoot elongation of Hancornia speciosa, an endangered tree from the Brazilian savannah ""Cerrado"", is very slow, thus limiting nursery production of plants. Gibberellins (GAs) A(1), A(3), and A(5), and two inhibitors of GA biosynthesis, trinexapac-ethyl and ancymidol were applied to shoots of Hancornia seedlings. GA(1) and GA(3) significantly stimulated shoot elongation, while GA(5) had no significant effect. Trinexapac-ethyl and ancymidol, both at 100 A mu g per seedling, inhibited shoot elongation up to 45 days after treatment, though the effect was statistically significant only for ancymidol. Somewhat surprisingly, exogenous GA(3) more effectively stimulated shoot elongation in SD-grown plants, than in LD-grown plants. The results from exogenous application of GAs and inhibitors of GA biosynthesis imply that Hancornia shoot growth is controlled by GAs, and that level of endogenous growth-active GAs is likely to be the limiting factor for shoot elongation in Hancornia. Application of GAs thus offer a practical method for nursery production of Hancornia seedlings for outplanting into the field.

Effects of memory load and distraction on performance and event-related slow potentials in a visuospatial working memory task

Brain electrical activity related to working memory was recorded at 15 scalp electrodes during a visuospatial delayed response task. Participants (N = 18) touched the remembered position of a target on a computer screen after either a 1 or 8 sec delay. These memory trials were compared to sensory trials in which the target remained present throughout the delay and response periods. Distracter stimuli identical to the target were briefly presented during the delay on 30% of trials. Responses were less accurate in memory than sensory trials, especially after the long delay. During the delay slow potentials developed that were significantly more negative in memory than sensory trials. The difference between memory and sensory trials was greater at anterior than posterior electrodes. On trials with distracters, the slow potentials generated by memory trials showed further enhancement of negativity whereas there were minimal effects on accuracy of performance. The results provide evidence that engagement of visuospatial working memory generates slow wave negativity with a timing and distribution consistent with frontal activation. Enhanced brain activity associated with working memory is required to maintain performance in the presence of distraction. © 1997 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Photolytic manipulation of [Ca2+](i) reveals slow kinetics of potassium channels underlying the afterhyperpolarization in hipppocampal pyramidal neurons

The identity of the potassium channel underlying the slow, apamin-insensitive component of the afterhyperpolarization current (sl(AHP)) remains unknown. We studied sl(AHP) in CA1 pyramidal neurons using simultaneous whole-cell recording, calcium fluorescence imaging, and flash photolysis of caged compounds. Intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+](i)) peaked earlier and decayed more rapidly than sl(AHP). Loading cells with low concentrations of the calcium chelator EGTA slowed the activation and decay of sl(AHP). In the presence of EGTA, intracellular calcium decayed with two time constants. When [Ca2+](i) was increased rapidly after photolysis of DM-Nitrophen, both apamin-sensitive and apamin-insensitive outward currents were activated. The apamin-sensitive current activated rapidly (<20 msec), whereas the apamin-insensitive current activated more slowly (180 msec). The apamin-insensitive current was reduced by application of serotonin and carbachol, confirming that it was caused by sl(AHP) channels. When [Ca2+](i) was decreased rapidly via photolysis of diazo-2, the decay of sl(AHP) was similar to control (1.7 sec). All results could be reproduced by a model potassium channel gated by calcium, suggesting that the channels underlying sl(AHP) have intrinsically slow kinetics because of their high affinity for calcium.

Proteasomal degradation of N-acetyltransferase 1 is prevented by acetylation of the active site cysteine - A mechanism for the slow acetylator phenotype and substrate-dependent down-regulation

Many drugs and chemicals found in the environment are either detoxified by N-acetyltransferase 1 (NAT1, EC 2.3.1.5) and eliminated from the body or bioactivated to metabolites that have the potential to cause toxicity and/or cancer. NAT1 activity in the body is regulated by genetic polymorphisms as well as environmental factors such as substrate-dependent down-regulation and oxidative stress. Here we report the molecular mechanism for the low protein expression from mutant NAT1 alleles that gives rise to the slow acetylator phenotype and show that a similar process accounts for enzyme down-regulation by NAT1 substrates. NAT1 allozymes NAT1 14, NAT1 15, NAT1 17, and NAT1 22 are devoid of enzyme activity and have short intracellular half-lives (similar to4 h) compared with wild-type NAT1 4 and the active allozyme NAT1 24. The inactive allozymes are unable to be acetylated by cofactor, resulting in ubiquitination and rapid degradation by the 26 S proteasome. This was confirmed by site-directed mutagenesis of the active site cysteine 68. The NAT1 substrate p-aminobenzoic acid induced ubiquitination of the usually stable NAT1 4, leading to its rapid degradation. From this study, we conclude that NAT1 exists in the cell in either a stable acetylated state or an unstable non-acetylated state and that mutations in the NAT1 gene that prevent protein acetylation produce a slow acetylator phenotype.

Prospective randomized comparison of human oocyte cryopreservation with slow-rate freezing or vitrification

Objective: To compare cryopreservation of mature human oocytes with slow-rate freezing and vitrification and determine which is most efficient at establishing a pregnancy. Design: Prospective randomized. Setting: Academically affiliated, private fertility center. Patient(s): Consenting patients with concerns about embryo cryopreservation and more than nine mature oocytes at retrieval were randomized to slow-rate freezing or vitrification of supernumerary (more than nine) oocytes. Intervention(s): Oocytes were frozen or vitrified, and upon request oocytes were thawed or warmed, respectively. Main Outcome Measure(s): Oocyte survival, fertilization, embryo development, and clinical pregnancy. Result(s): Patient use has resulted in 30 thaws and 48 warmings. Women`s age at time of cryopreservation was similar. Oocyte survival was significantly higher following vitrification/warming (81%) compared with freezing/thawing (67%). Fertilization was more successful in oocytes vitrified/warmed compared with frozen/thawed. Fertilized oocytes from vitrification/warming had significantly better cleavage rates (84%) compared with freezing/thawing (71%) and resulted in embryos with significantly better morphology. Although similar numbers of embryos were transferred, embryos resulting from vitrified oocytes had significantly enhanced clinical (38%) pregnancy rates compared with embryos resulting from frozen oocyte (13%). Miscarriage and/or spontaneous abortion rates were similar. Conclusion(s): Our results suggest that vitrification/warming is currently the most efficient means of oocyte cryopreservation in relation to subsequent success in establishing pregnancy. (Fertil Steril (R) 2010; 94: 2088-95. (C) 2010 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.)

Changes in slow and fast alpha bands in subjects submitted to different amounts of functional electrostimulation

Objective: To examine the changes in slow (8-10 Hz)and fast (10-12 Hz) alpha bands of EEG in three groups of subjects submitted to different amounts of functional electrostimulation (FES). Our hypothesis is that different amounts of electrostimulation may cause different patterns of activation in the sensorimotor cortex. In particular, we expect to see an increase in alpha power due to habituation effects. We examine the two bands comprised by alpha rhythm (i.e., slow and fast alpha), since these two sub-rhythms are related to distinct aspects: general energy demands and specific motor aspects, respectively. Methods: The sample was composed of 27 students, both sexes, aging between 25 and 40 years old. The subjects were randomly distributed in three groups: control (n = 9), G24 (n = 9) and G36 (n = 9). A FES equipment (Neuro Compact-2462) was used to stimulate the right index finger extension. Simultaneously, the electroencephalographic signal was acquired. We investigated the absolute power in slow and fast alpha bands in the sensorimotor cortex. Results: The G36 indicated a significant increasing in absolute power values in lower and higher alpha components, respectively, when compared with the control group. Particularly, in the following regions: pre-motor cortex and primary motor cortex. Discussion: FES seems to promote cortical adaptations that are similar to those observed when someone learns a procedural task. FES application in the G36 was more effective in promoting such neural changes. The lower and higher components of alpha rhythms behave differently in their topographical distribution during FES application. These results suggest a somatotopic organization in primary motor cortex which can be represented by the fast alpha component. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.