60 research outputs found
Samuel Beckett and the Writers of Port-Royal
No full textIt has been observed that ‘the literary influences on Beckett have been far more important than has been acknowledged, and more important indeed, than the philosophical influences’ (Smith 2002: 3). The truth of this statement is evidenced by the description that scholars have given of Samuel Beckett’s relationship to seventeenth century French classicism. To date, critical interest has been limited for the most part to the figure of the philosopher René Descartes on the (fragile) grounds that Beckett was exclusively concerned with the Cartesian imperative of clarity and order, the fundamental dualism between body and mind, and Nominalism.
Together with the assumption that Beckett’s vision was essentially Cartesian, his literary filiation with Pascal was suggested by critics, but only in terms of Beckett’s formal approach to the theatre. In his short article on En attendant Godot in 1953, the playwright Jean Anouilh was among the first reviewers to suggest that Beckett’s drama synthesizes the encounter between ‘classicism’ and a ‘modern’ form of art. It is well known that Beckett retained a lifelong admiration for Pascal – indeed, Pascal was one of his ‘old chestnuts’ (Knowlson 1997: 653). Little attention has been paid, however, to the originality of Pascal’s thought, the specific nature of his prose, and the impact these might have had upon Beckett’s mature work, especially the trilogy and the subsequent short prose. Yet, in the literary and philosophical context of post-war France, Beckett’s filiation with Pascal, their corresponding preoccupations, were evident to his contemporaries, who identified Pascal as an underlying presence in his works
Low Temperature Sunlight-Powered Reduction of CO<sub>2</sub> to CO Using a Plasmonic Au/TiO<sub>2</sub> Nanocatalyst
No full textSunlight-powered reduction of CO2 to fuels and chemicals is a promising strategy to close the carbon loop and facilitate the energy transition. In this research, we demonstrate that Au nanoparticles supported on TiO2 are an efficient plasmonic catalyst for the sunlight-powered reverse water-gas shift (rWGS) reaction. A maximum CO production rate of 429 mmol ⋅ gAu−1 ⋅ h−1 with a selectivity of 98 % and an apparent quantum efficiency of 4.7 % were achieved using mildly concentrated sunlight (1.44 W ⋅ cm−2 equals 14.4 sun). The CO production rate showed an exponential increase with increasing light intensity, suggesting that the process is mainly promoted by a photothermal effect. Thermal reference experiments with the same catalysts promoted CH4 formation, dropping the CO selectivity to 70 %. Thus, mildly concentrated sunlight can efficiently and selectively enhance the promotion of the rWGS reaction without using external heating.ImPhys/Optic
Ein Vergleich des ersten und zweiten Strukturwandels in der Oberlausitz – eine Analyse am Beispiel der Großen Kreisstadt Hoyerswerda
No full textContinuous-Flow Sunlight-Powered CO<sub>2</sub> Methanation Catalyzed by γ-Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>-Supported Plasmonic Ru Nanorods
No full textPlasmonic CO2 methanation using γ-Al2O3-supported Ru nanorods was carried out under continuous-flow conditions without conventional heating, using mildly concentrated sunlight as the sole and sustainable energy source (AM 1.5, irradiance 5.5–14.4 kW·m−2 = 5.5–14.4 suns). Under 12.5 suns, a CO2 conversion exceeding 97% was achieved with complete selectivity towards CH4 and a stable production rate (261.9 mmol·g−1 Ru·h−1) for at least 12 h. The CH4 production rate showed an exponential increase with increasing light intensity, suggesting that the process was mainly promoted by photothermal heating. This was confirmed by the apparent activation energy of 64.3 kJ·mol−1, which is very similar to the activation energy obtained for reference experiments in dark (67.3 kJ·mol−1). The flow rate influence was studied under 14.4 suns, achieving a CH4 production plateau of 264 µmol min−1 (792 mmol·g−1 Ru·h−1) with a constant catalyst bed temperature of approximately 204◦C.ImPhys/Optic
Il fu Mattia Pascal di Luigi Pirandello: questioni di verosimiglianza nel romanzo e nelle sue versioni cinematografiche
No full textThe late Mattia Pascal, from 1904, was the first success of Sicilian writer Luigi Pirandello. The novel is set in the early 1900s in the fictional town of Miragno, located in Liguria, and also in Rome. Returning from a trip triggered by a family tragedy, for which he had left without warning, Mattia discovers that he has been presumed dead. Feeling unwanted by his wife and mother-in-law, with whom he had a conflictive relationship, he decides to take advantage of the situation to change his name and his life. Critics rejected this intrigue and accused Pirandello of cerebralism and unlikelihood. The author responded to them in a 1921 article in which he presented some newspaper reports of real-life events, subsequent to the novel, whose plot was as absurd, if not more so, than that of his fiction. Despite the criticism, the novel had at least three film versions: Feu Mathias Pascal (Marcel L\u27Herbier, 1926), L\u27Homme de nulle part (Pierre Chenal, 1937) and The Two Lives of Mattia Pascal (Le due vite di Mattia Pascal, Mario Monicelli, 1985). The aim of this article is to analyze how the films dealt with episodes of potential unlikelihood and to discuss the solutions found by the directors in comparison to those adopted in the novel. The discussion is based on concepts from Gérard Genette (1972), Umberto Eco (1994), Diana Luz Pessoa de Barros (2005) and Pirandello himself (1972 [1921]).Il fu Mattia Pascal, del 1904, fu il primo successo dello scrittore siciliano Luigi Pirandello. Il romanzo si svolge nel fittizio paesino ligure di Miragno, e poi in Roma, nei primi del Novecento. Al rientro da un viaggio motivato da una tragedia familiare, per il quale era partito senza preavviso, Mattia scopre di essere stato dato per morto. Sentendosi indesiderato sia dalla moglie che dalla suocera, con cui aveva un rapporto conflittuale, decide di sfruttare la situazione per cambiare nome e vita. I critici rifiutarono questo intreccio e accusarono Pirandello di cerebralismo e inverosimiglianza. L\u27autore gli rispose con un articolo del 1921 in cui presentò la cronaca di eventi reali, successivi al romanzo, la cui trama era altrettanto assurda, se non di più, di quella della sua fiction. Nonostante le critiche, il romanzo ebbe almeno tre versioni cinematografiche: Feu Mathias Pascal (Marcel L\u27Herbier, 1926), L\u27Homme de nulle part (Pierre Chenal, 1937) e Le due vite di Mattia Pascal (Mario Monicelli, 1985). L\u27obiettivo di questo articolo è analizzare come i film hanno affrontato gli episodi di potenziale inverosimiglianza e discutere le soluzioni trovate dai registi rispetto a quelle adottate dal romanzo. La discussione si basa sui concetti di Gérard Genette (1972), Umberto Eco (1994), Diana Luz Pessoa de Barros (2005) e dello stesso Pirandello (1972 [1921]).O falecido Mattia Pascal, de 1904, foi o primeiro sucesso do escritor siciliano Luigi Pirandello. O romance é ambientado no início dos anos 1900 na fictícia cidadezinha de Miragno, localizada na Liguria, e também em Roma. Ao voltar de uma viagem motivada por uma tragédia familiar, e para a qual partira sem aviso, Mattia descobre que foi dado como morto. Sentindo-se indesejado pela esposa e pela sogra, com quem tinha uma relação conflituosa, decide aproveitar a situação para mudar de nome e de vida. Os críticos rechaçaram essa intriga e acusaram Pirandello de cerebralismo e de inverossimilhança. O autor os respondeu em um artigo de 1921 no qual apresentou notícias de jornal sobre fatos da vida real, posteriores ao romance, cujo enredo era tão ou mais absurdo que o da sua ficção. Apesar das críticas, o romance teve ao menos três versões cinematográficas: Feu Mathias Pascal (Marcel L’Herbier, 1926), L\u27Homme de nulle part (Pierre Chenal, 1937) e As duas vidas de Mattia Pascal (Le due vite di Mattia Pascal, Mario Monicelli, 1985). O objetivo deste artigo é analisar como os filmes lidaram com os episódios de potencial inverossimilhança e discutir as soluções encontradas pelos realizadores em comparação às adotadas no romance. A discussão se apoia em conceitos de Gérard Genette (1972), Umberto Eco (1994), Diana Luz Pessoa de Barros (2005) e do próprio Pirandello (1972 [1921])
Semi-Supervised Image Classification based on a Multi-Feature Image Query Language
No full textThe area of Content-Based Image Retrieval (CBIR) deals with a wide range of research disciplines. Being closely related to text retrieval and pattern recognition, the probably most serious issue to be solved is the so-called \semantic gap". Except for very restricted use-cases, machines are not able to recognize the semantic content of digital images as well as humans.
This thesis identifies the requirements for a crucial part of CBIR user interfaces, a multimedia-enabled query language. Such a language must be able to capture the user's
intentions and translate them into a machine-understandable format. An approach to tackle this translation problem is to express high-level semantics by merging low-level image features. Two related methods are improved for either fast (retrieval) or accurate(categorization) merging.
A query language has previously been developed by the author of this thesis. It allows the formation of nested Boolean queries. Each query term may be text- or content-based and the system merges them into a single result set. The language is extensible by arbitrary new feature vector plug-ins and thus use-case independent.
This query language should be capable of mapping semantics to features by applying machine learning techniques; this capability is explored. A supervised learning algorithm based on decision trees is used to build category descriptors from a training set. Each resulting \query descriptor" is a feature-based description of a concept which is comprehensible and modifiable. These descriptors could be used as a normal query and return a result set with a high CBIR based precision/recall of the desired category. Additionally, a method for normalizing the similarity profiles of feature vectors has been
developed which is essential to perform categorization tasks.
To prove the capabilities of such queries, the outcome of a semi-supervised training session with \leave-one-object-out" cross validation is compared to a reference system. Recent work indicates that the discriminative power of the query-based descriptors is similar and is likely to be improved further by implementing more recent feature vectors
The German Occupation in recent French fiction : an analysis of the literary “mode retro”
No full textThis thesis attempts to analyse and characterise the mode rétro, the remarkable renewal of interest in the German Occupation of France, which is coloured by an extensive re-evaluation of the period's significance. An introduction places this fashion in its literary, social and historical context, revealing how, from 1940 to 1969, a collective and predominantly Gaullist 'myth' of the Resistance became established, with the result that the national response to invasion was accepted to be one of wide-spread heroism and revolt. Part I studies the reaction to such résistancialisme, showing how this orthodox interpretation of events was undermined and, for many, discredited, and offering explanations of the timing and direction of the new view. Part II focuses on the fiction, memoirs, autobiographies and biographies of the younger authors, those who have no direct adult experience of the années noires. It is suggested that their obvious obsession with absent parent-figures reflects their awareness that the past has been misrepresented and their heritage rendered problematic. Their sole means of escape from this predicament, their only source of emotional relief is seen to lie in the creation of a personal account of the early 1940s running contrary to the prevalent orthodoxy, the fabrication of a 'counter-myth'. It is thus the notion of myth which links the various sections of the survey, and so gives the thesis its overall unity
Poétique de la manipulation narrative dans les Frères Karamazov de Fiodor Dostoïevski, La Prisonnière et Albertine disparue de Marcel Proust et Les Faux-monnayeurs d'André Gide
No full textDuring the 20th century, the writer’s authority has been more and more criticized with critical thinkers such as Roland Barthes who declared the "death of the author". However, from the end of the 19th century, some writers, such as Dostoevsky, and later Proust and Gide, became aware of the danger that Coleridge’s well-known "willing suspension of disbelief" could represent when acting as a reflex. In this work, we aim to demonstrate that The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Prisonner and Albertine Gone by Marcel Proust, and The Counterfeiters by André Gide each put in motion a similar strategy of manipulation of the reader in order to break any automatic, passive and submissive reading. By distorting the narrative system, the characters status and the unraveling of the plot all along the story, these texts intentionally lose their reader among their pages without any narrative guide to guide his judgement. Forcing him to take responsibility for his own interpretation, this narrative manipulation seems to aim at forcing the reader to make a voluntary, conscious and even believing reading, and doing so to reassert the evocative power of literature.Le XXe siècle voit se développer une contestation de l’autorité du romancier avec des théoriciens comme Roland Barthes qui déclara la « mort de l’auteur ». Cependant, dès la fin du XIXe siècle certains auteurs, dont Dostoïevski et, plus tard, Proust et Gide, se sont avisés du danger que pouvait représenter la fameuse « suspension consentie d’incrédulité » de Coleridge lorsqu’elle est de l’ordre du réflexe. Dans ce travail nous tentons de montrer que Les Frères Karamazov de Fiodor Dostoïevski, La Prisonnière et Albertine disparue de Marcel Proust et Les Faux-monnayeurs d’André Gide mettent chacun en place une stratégie de manipulation du lecteur similaire, dont l’ambition est de briser l’automatisme d’une lecture passive et soumise. En distordant au cours du récit le système narratif, le statut des personnages et le déroulement de l’intrigue, ces textes perdent intentionnellement leur lecteur au sein de leurs pages, sans guide narratif pour orienter son jugement. Le forçant à prendre la responsabilité de son interprétation, cette manipulation narrative aurait pour ambition de forcer le lecteur à effectuer une lecture volontaire, consciente, voire même croyante, et ainsi de réaffirmer la force évocatrice de la littérature
Dental Tissue and Stem Cells Revisited: New Insights From the Expression of Fibroblast Activation Protein-Alpha
No full textFibroblast activation protein-alpha (FAP alpha) is a membrane protein with dipeptidyl-peptidase and type I collagenase activity and is expressed during fetal growth. At the age of adolescence, FAP alpha expression is greatly reduced, only emerging in pathologies associated with extracellular matrix remodeling. We determined whether FAP alpha is expressed in human dental tissue involved in root maturation i.e., dental follicle and apical papilla and in dental pulp tissue. The dental follicle revealed a high concentration of FAP alpha and vimentin-positive cells within the stromal tissue. A similar observation was made in cell culture and FACS analysis confirmed these as dental follicle stem cells. Within the remnants of the Hertwigs' epithelial root sheath, we observed FAP alpha staining in the E-cadherin positive and vimentin-negative epithelial islands. FAP alpha- and vimentin-positive cells were encountered at the periphery of the islands suggesting an epithelial mesenchymal transition process. Analysis of the apical papilla revealed two novel histological regions; the periphery with dense and parallel aligned collagen type I defined as cortex fibrosa and the inner stromal tissue composed of less compacted collagen defined as medulla. FAP alpha expression was highly present within the medulla suggesting a role in extracellular matrix remodeling. Dental pulp tissue uncovered a heterogeneous FAP alpha staining but strong staining was noted within odontoblasts.In vitrostudies confirmed the presence of FAP alpha expression in stem cells of the apical papilla and dental pulp. This study identified the expression of FAP alpha expression in dental stem cells which could open new perspectives in understanding dental root maturation and odontoblast function.FUNDING
TV (GOC1916N), PH (12D8516N), PG (12U7718N), and JR
(G089213N) were supported by the Research FoundationFlanders (FWO-Vlaanderen).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors thank Marc Jans for processing and sectioning of
araldite embedded samples, Jeanine Santermans for embedding
and sectioning of paraffin sections, and Ana Amaya Garrido for
her valuable contribution to the experiments.Driesen, RB (corresponding author), Hasselt Univ, Fac Med, Diepenbeek, Belgium ; Hasselt Univ, Biomed Res Inst, Lab Morphol, Diepenbeek, Belgium.
[email protected]
Poetics of narrative manipulation in The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky, The Prisonner and Albertine gone by Proust and The Counterfeiters by Gide
No full textLe XXe siècle voit se développer une contestation de l’autorité du romancier avec des théoriciens comme Roland Barthes qui déclara la « mort de l’auteur ». Cependant, dès la fin du XIXe siècle certains auteurs, dont Dostoïevski et, plus tard, Proust et Gide, se sont avisés du danger que pouvait représenter la fameuse « suspension consentie d’incrédulité » de Coleridge lorsqu’elle est de l’ordre du réflexe. Dans ce travail nous tentons de montrer que Les Frères Karamazov de Fiodor Dostoïevski, La Prisonnière et Albertine disparue de Marcel Proust et Les Faux-monnayeurs d’André Gide mettent chacun en place une stratégie de manipulation du lecteur similaire, dont l’ambition est de briser l’automatisme d’une lecture passive et soumise. En distordant au cours du récit le système narratif, le statut des personnages et le déroulement de l’intrigue, ces textes perdent intentionnellement leur lecteur au sein de leurs pages, sans guide narratif pour orienter son jugement. Le forçant à prendre la responsabilité de son interprétation, cette manipulation narrative aurait pour ambition de forcer le lecteur à effectuer une lecture volontaire, consciente, voire même croyante, et ainsi de réaffirmer la force évocatrice de la littérature.During the 20th century, the writer’s authority has been more and more criticized with critical thinkers such as Roland Barthes who declared the "death of the author". However, from the end of the 19th century, some writers, such as Dostoevsky, and later Proust and Gide, became aware of the danger that Coleridge’s well-known "willing suspension of disbelief" could represent when acting as a reflex. In this work, we aim to demonstrate that The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Prisonner and Albertine Gone by Marcel Proust, and The Counterfeiters by André Gide each put in motion a similar strategy of manipulation of the reader in order to break any automatic, passive and submissive reading. By distorting the narrative system, the characters status and the unraveling of the plot all along the story, these texts intentionally lose their reader among their pages without any narrative guide to guide his judgement. Forcing him to take responsibility for his own interpretation, this narrative manipulation seems to aim at forcing the reader to make a voluntary, conscious and even believing reading, and doing so to reassert the evocative power of literature
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