177,647 research outputs found
H. R. Giger art works
No full textThis bachelor thesis focuses on the life and work of H. R. Giger, particularly in the fields of painting, printmaking and spatial creation, analysing the influences that shaped his work influenced by surrealism. The theoretical part of the thesis explores the connection between Giger's vision of technological domination and human decadence, his distinctive biomechanical style, and the cultural influences that inspired his unique artistic language. The practical part is devoted to the artist's work inspired by Giger's "biomechanoids", but with a reinterpretation of this theme. The motif of technological destruction is replaced by the ultimate destruction of the world caused by nature itself. The result is a large-scale work combining contrasting and detailed elements, reflecting a personal view on the theme of symbiosis and conflict between nature and civilization
Bana provisional lexicon
No full textTitle and introduction are in English. The lexicon is Bana-French. "Bana is a chadic language (biu-Mandara A3) spoken in the Far North province of Cameroon. The Bana lexicon was created by Marti Giger and Ruth Lienhard. It is a working document of just over 1,500 entries. Definitions are given in French. Tone is marked on the Bana lexemes.
The Giger and Davidhizar transcultural assessment model
No full textAbstract The Giger and Davidhizar Transcultural Assessment Model. Because of the globalization we live in the world where {\clqq}the borders are getting closer`` which also means to live our lives in more multicultural society. That is why a nurse must react to modern nursing care and must be well prepared to cope with specific problems of various communities in their health and illnesses. In my diploma work we deal with transcultural evaluation of nursing care according to the J. N. Giger and R. Davidhizar Nursing Care Models. These models are about regardful and tailored care which we apply to members of Vietnamese community living in the Czech Republic. The theoretic part contains problems of the globalization, migration of foreign people, transcultural nursing, the Giger and Davidhizar nursing care models, information about Vietnam and the model application to members of Vietnamese community living in the Czech Republic. In the practical part we created standard of nursing care named Nursing of Vietnamese patient/client in health care institutions and we are interested in its using in the working practice. Then we found out opinions of people working in health care institutions who work with this standard and found out expectation of Vietnamese patients/clients hospitalized in health care institutions whose findings could help with prevention of hospitalization problems. The goals of the work: 1. Using of modification the Giger and Davidhizar nursing care models with giving care to Vietnamese people in health care institutions 2. To find out cultural changes in nursing process and their influence on behaviour of Vietnamese people in an illness 3. To identify problems and expecting of hospitalized Vietnamese people The research was conducted with the help of quasiexperiment and interview in the Regional Hospital Příbram. We addressed 10 nurses and 6 Vietnamese patients/clients. We must point out that in the year 2007 only 6 Vietnamese people were hospitalized there. The goals of the work were achieved. We hope that our work may help to increase quality and efectivity of the nursing care given to Vietnamese people
Algunas consideraciones sobre la biblioteca de H.R. Giger
No full textL’article propose une lecture inédite de l’univers de H. R. Giger à travers sa bibliothèque personnelle, jamais véritablement étudiée. Loin d’être un simple décor, cet ensemble de catalogues, monographies et revues constitue un laboratoire de formes, révélant les sources iconographiques et thématiques qui ont nourri son imaginaire. On y retrouve une forte présence du surréalisme, mais aussi du symbolisme, de l’art visionnaire et des traditions ésotériques. La bibliothèque de Giger, bien que modeste et composée d’ouvrages courants plutôt que de pièces rares, témoigne d’un goût partagé avec de nombreux artistes du XXe siècle. Ses rayonnages rassemblent Dalí, Magritte, Bellmer, Ernst, mais aussi des figures plus anciennes comme Böcklin, Rops, Piranèse ou Redon. Ce corpus reflète une filiation directe avec les choix esthétiques et historiques des surréalistes, pour qui le XIXe siècle constituait déjà un réservoir privilégié d’images et de motifs. Parmi les thèmes saillants, l’hybridation du corps et de la machine occupe une place centrale. Influencé par Bellmer, Molinier ou Duchamp, Giger explore des anatomies fragmentées, mécanisées, où désir et angoisse se mêlent. Son bestiaire visuel, peuplé de formes céphalopodes ou de créatures biomécaniques, prolonge les obsessions érotiques et organiques des surréalistes, tout en les transposant dans une esthétique fantastique. De même, ses paysages architecturés trouvent leurs modèles dans les labyrinthes de Piranèse, les ruines de Desiderio ou les visions urbaines d’Escher, offrant au spectateur des espaces à la fois infinis et oppressants. Cette iconothèque révèle ainsi un artiste « grand regardeur », qui puise dans une culture visuelle foisonnante plutôt que dans la spéculation théorique. La bibliothèque de Giger apparaît comme un miroir de son œuvre : une cartographie de filiations avec le surréalisme, mais aussi une clé d’accès aux processus de transformation qui ont fait de son art une matrice incontournable de l’imaginaire de la culture populaire contemporaine.This article offers an unprecedented reading of H.R. Giger’s universe through his personal library, which has never been seriously studied. Far from being a mere backdrop, this collection of catalogues, monographs, and magazines is a true laboratory of forms, revealing the iconographic and thematic sources that nourished his imagination. It shows a strong presence of surrealism, but also symbolism, visionary art, and esoteric traditions. Although modest and composed of common publications rather than rare volumes, Giger’s library reflects a taste shared by many 20th-century artists. His shelves gather Dalí, Magritte, Bellmer, and Ernst, alongside older figures such as Böcklin, Rops, Piranesi, and Redon. This corpus mirrors the aesthetic and historical choices of the surrealists, for whom the 19th century already represented a privileged reservoir of images and motifs. Among the most striking themes is the hybridization of body and machine. Influenced by Bellmer, Molinier, and Duchamp, Giger explored fragmented, multiplied, mechanized anatomies where desire and anxiety collide. His visual bestiary, populated by cephalopod-like forms and biomechanical creatures, extends the erotic and organic obsessions of the surrealists while transposing them into a fantastic, darker aesthetic. Likewise, his architectural landscapes draw from Piranesi’s labyrinths, Desiderio’s fantastical ruins, and Escher’s urban visions, offering viewers infinite yet claustrophobic spaces. This iconotheque, oriented more toward images than texts, reveals Giger as a “great looker,” someone who drew from a vast visual culture rather than theoretical speculation. His library appears as a mirror of his oeuvre: a cartography of filiations with surrealism, an atlas of desire and uncanny strangeness, and a key to understanding the processes of transformation that made his art an essential matrix of the contemporary imagination and pop culture.Este artículo ofrece una lectura sin precedentes del universo de H.R. Giger a través de su biblioteca personal, que nunca ha sido estudiada en profundidad. Lejos de ser un simple telón de fondo, esta colección de catálogos, monografías y revistas es un verdadero laboratorio de formas, revelando las fuentes iconográficas y temáticas que alimentaron su imaginación. Muestra una fuerte presencia del surrealismo, pero también del simbolismo, el arte visionario y las tradiciones esotéricas. Aunque modesta y compuesta por publicaciones comunes en lugar de volúmenes raros, la biblioteca de Giger refleja un gusto compartido por muchos artistas del siglo XX. Sus estantes reúnen a Dalí, Magritte, Bellmer y Ernst, junto a figuras más antiguas como Böcklin, Rops, Piranesi y Redon. Este corpus refleja las elecciones estéticas e históricas de los surrealistas, para quienes el siglo XIX ya representaba un reservorio privilegiado de imágenes y motivos. Entre los temas más llamativos se encuentra la hibridación del cuerpo y la máquina. Influenciado por Bellmer, Molinier y Duchamp, Giger exploró anatomías fragmentadas, multiplicadas y mecanizadas donde el deseo y la ansiedad colisionan. Su bestiario visual, poblado por formas semejantes a cefalópodos y criaturas biomecánicas, extiende las obsesiones eróticas y orgánicas de los surrealistas mientras las transfiere a una estética fantástica y más oscura. Asimismo, sus paisajes arquitectónicos se inspiran en los laberintos de Piranesi, en las ruinas fantásticas de Desiderio y en las visiones urbanas de Escher, ofreciendo a los espectadores espacios infinitos pero claustrofóbicos. Esta iconoteca, orientada más hacia las imágenes que hacia los textos, revela a Giger como un “gran observador”, alguien que se nutría de una vasta cultura visual más que de la especulación teórica. Su biblioteca aparece como un espejo de su obra: una cartografía de filiaciones con el surrealismo, un atlas del deseo y de lo extraño inquietante, y una clave para entender los procesos de transformación que hicieron de su arte una matriz esencial de la imaginación contemporánea y la cultura pop
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
No full textWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Assessing swelling-induced damage in shale samples during triaxial testing
No full textIn shale testing, understanding the impact of effective stress and saturation conditions is crucial for accurate material behaviour assessment and parameter determination. In some cases, saturation in triaxial testing starts at low effective stress before ramping up for shearing. However, when in contact with water (or saline water), shales are prone to swelling, particularly at low effective stress levels, which can induce fissures and alter material properties. This study investigates the influence of fluid saturation strategies and stress/pressure variations on the mechanical behaviour of shales, particularly under low effective confinement. Building upon the comprehensive testing campaign (>140 tests) in Crisci et al. (2024), additional tests were conducted on Opalinus Clay shale, focusing on sample saturation methods and loading histories before shearing. The conditions under which tested specimens experience damage were detected through diagnostic indicators such as differences in stress path and lower strength and stiffness compared to intact specimens with identical basic properties. Micro CT scanning confirms that damage is related to the development of fissures. The volumetric changes in specimens were quantified throughout the testing phases and thresholds for tolerable strains and effective stresses, specific to this material, were established. Comparative analysis with Opalinus Clay from shallower depths and other shales globally revealed consistent findings. Notably, it is shown that, for all shale types analyzed, a linear failure envelope emerges in the low to intermediate effective stress regime when filtering out “damaged” specimens. This suggests that non-linear failure envelopes observed in some cases may stem from exposing specimens to low effective stress before shearing
"Closing the R&D Gap, Evaluating the Sources of R&D Spending"
No full textBoth spending and tax policies have been implemented in the United States with the goal of stimulating private sector research and development (R&D). Karier questions whether current R&D policy, especially the research and experimentation tax credit, can contribute to closing the gap between nondefense expenditures on R&D in the United States and such expenditures in other countries, such as Japan and Germany. He also explores possible changes to our current R&D policy to make it more effective.
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Contributions to an improved phenytoin monitoring and dosing in hospitalized patients
No full textPhenytoin (PHT) is one of the mostly used and well established anticonvulsants for the treatment of epilepsy and a standard in the antiepileptic prophylaxis in adults with severe traumatic brain injuries before and after neurosurgical intervention.
Its therapeutic use is challenging as PHT has a narrow therapeutic range and shows non-linear kinetics.
It is extensively metabolized by a variety of CYP enzymes. PHT shows 85-95% binding to plasma proteins mostly albumin. This renders PHT also an important drug interaction candidate. Therefore, therapeutic drug monitoring is often required. A rational timing for good interpretation of the lab data translated in optimal individual dosing are necessary. Therapeutic guidance especially in teaching hospitals are needed and have to be implemented.
Bayesian Forecasting (BF) versus conventional dosing (CD): a retrospective, long-term, single centre analysis
In the hospital, medication management for effective antiepileptic therapy with PHT often needs rapid IV loading and subsequent dose adjustment according to TDM. To investigate PHT performance in reaching therapeutic target serum concentration, a BF regimen was compared to CD, according to the official summary of product characteristics. In a Swiss acute care teaching hospital (Kantonsspital Aarau), a retrospective, single centre, and long-term analysis was assessed by using all PHT serum tests from the central lab from 1997 to 2007. The BF regimen consisted of a guided, body weight-adapted rapid IV PHT loading over five days with pre-defined TDM time points. The CD was applied without written guidance. Assuming non-normally distributed data, non-parametric statistical methods were used. A total of 6’120 PHT serum levels (2’819 BF and 3’301 CD) from 2’589 patients (869 BF and 1’720 CD) were evaluated and compared. 63.6% of the PHT serum levels from the BF group were within the therapeutic range versus only 34.0% in the CD group (p<0.0001). The mean BF serum level was 52.0 ± 22.1 µmol/L (within target range), whereas the mean serum level of the CD was 39.8 ± 28.2 µmol/L (sub-target range). In the BF group, men had small but significantly lower PHT serum levels compared to women (p<0.0001). The CD group showed no significant gender difference (p=0.187). A comparative sub-analysis of age-related groups (children, adolescents, adults, seniors, and elderly) showed significant lower target levels (p<0.0001) for each group in the CD group, compared to BF. Comparing the two groups, BF showed significantly better performance in reaching therapeutic PHT serum levels.
Free PHT assessment
However, total serum drug levels of difficult-to-dose drugs like PHT are sometimes insufficient. The knowledge of the free fraction is necessary for correct dosing. In a subgroup analysis of the above BF vs. CD study we evaluated the suitability of the Sheiner-Tozer algorithm to calculate the free PHT fraction in hypoalbuminemic patients. Free PHT serum concentrations were calculated from total PHT concentration in hypoalbuminemic patients and compared with the measured free PHT. The patients were separated into two groups (a low albumin group; 35 ≤ albumin ≥ 25 g/L and a very low albumin group; albumin < 25 g/L). These two groups were compared and statistically analysed for the calculated and the measured free PHT concentration. The calculated (1.2 mg/L, SD=0.7) and the measured (1.1 mg/L, SD=0.5) free PHT concentration correlated. The mean difference in the low and the very low albumin group was 0.10 mg/L (SD=1.4, n=11) and 0.13 mg/L (SD=0.24, n=12), respectively. Although the variability of the data could be a bias, no statistically significant difference between the groups was found: t-test (p=0.78), the Passing-Bablok regression, the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient of r=0.907 and p=0.00, and the Bland-Altman plot including the regression analysis between the calculated and the measured value (M=0.11, SD=0.28).
We concluded that in absence of a free PHT serum concentration measurement also in hypoalbuminemic patients, the Sheiner-Tozer algorithm represents a useful tool to assist TDM to calculate or control free PHT by using total PHT and the albumin concentration.
GC-MS Analysis of biological PHT samples
To correlate PHT blood serum levels, with “brain PHT levels” (the site of action of PHT), extracellular fluid from microdialysates in neurosurgical patients could be analyzed for PHT by an appropriate quantifying analytical method. In this investigation we describe the development and validation of a sensitive gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) method to identify and quantitate PHT in brain microdialysate, saliva and blood from human samples. For sample clean-up a SPE was performed with a nonpolar C8-SCX column. The eluate was evaporated with nitrogen (50°C) and derivatized with trimethylsulfonium hydroxide before GC-MS analysis. 5-(p-methylphenyl)-5-phenylhydantoin was used as internal standard. The MS was run in scan mode and the identification was made with three ion fragment masses. All peaks were identified with MassLib. Spiked PHT samples showed recovery after SPE of ≥ 94%. The calibration curve (PHT 50 to 1’200 ng/ml, n=6 at six concentration levels) showed good linearity and correlation (r2 > 0.998). The limit of detection was 15 ng/mL, the limit of quantification was 50 ng/mL. Dried extracted samples were stable within a 15% deviation range for ≥ 4 weeks at room temperature. The method met International Organization for Standardization standards and was able to detect and quantify PHT in different biological matrices and patient samples. The GC-MS method with SPE is specific, sensitive, robust and well reproducible and therefore, an appropriate candidate for pharmacokinetic assessment of PHT concentrations in different biological samples of treated patients
- …
