Lara Crofts Heilversprechen

Lara Croft, die Heldin des weltweit meistverkauften Computerspiels Tomb Raider, bietet eine positive weibliche Identifikationsfigur. Mädchen und Frauen können gar, so Randi Gunzenhäuser im Magazin LaraCroftism, "Lara als Ermächtigungsfantasie persönlicher nehmen als Männer". Eine Redakteurin von Emma behauptet, dass das Geschenk einer weiblichen Heldin in unserer visuellen Wachstumswelt so groß sei, dass man Laras überdimensionierte weibliche Attribute "als Tribut an die Männerwelt eben in Kauf nehmen" müsse. Nur: Der Tribut ist sehr viel größer als beispielsweise der überdimensionierte Busen der Spielfigur. Denn mit dem Geschenk einer weiblichen Heldin a la Lara Croft geht der Rückgriff auf die alte heterosexuelle Geschlechtermetaphysik einher. Diese etabliert sich auf einer höheren Ebene und sekundiert als stützender Gegenpart einen fortlaufenden Prozess, der als "Entgeschlechtlichung" beziehungsweise "Medialisierung" der Körper beschrieben werden kann. Hier stellt sich die Frage nach der Bedeutungsverschiebung des Begriffs des Geschlechtlichen selbst

Ariadna, una estrella danzante en el cielo : sobre el culto de las imágenes en Nietzsche

La autora analiza primeramente la diferencia que Nietzsche establece entre los realistas y los poetas. A partir de ahí, fija su concepto dionisíaco de filosofía como arte de la transfiguración. Ariadna se presenta aquí como abogada de aquella tradición filosófica que Nietzsche intenta superar en nombre de Dioniso. El famoso hilo, que una vez guió a Teseo a través del laberinto, ha perdido su fuerza mágica. Se trata de recuperarlo por medio de la voluntad y de la afirmación del cuerpo.The author analyzes the difference that Nietzsche establishes between realists and poets in order to elaborate his dionysiatic concept of philosophy as art of transfiguration. Ariadne appears here as the incarnation of that philosophical tradition that Nietzsche tries to surpass in the name of Dionysius. The famous thread, that once guided Theseus through the labyrinth, has lost its magic power. We have to retriev it again through will and the affirmation of body

Efficient dye adsorption by highly porous nanofiber aerogels

Electrospun nanofiber membranes are frequently used in adsorption processes thanks to their high specific surface area, tailored surface functionality, and fiber uniformity. However, they are still facing challenges such as low mechanical stability and unfavorable mass transport properties. In this study, an ultra-light and robust 3D nanofiber aerogel (NFA) or nanofiber sponge with tunable porosity and flexibility was synthesized from short pullulan/polyvinyl alcohol/polyacrylic acid nanofibers using a freeze casting process followed by thermal crosslinking. We demonstrate time the application of such NFAs in batch and continuous adsorption systems and compare their performance with flat nanofiber membranes (NFM). The NFAs proved to be promising adsorbents for cationic dyes due to their high adsorption capacity (383 mg/g) and their reusability. Langmuir isotherm was a suitable model for describing the adsorption process. The endothermic system followed a pseudo second order kinetic model and intra-fiber adsorption is found to be involved in the adsorption process. Dye adsorption by 3D NFAs was four times faster than for the respective flat NFMs and when used in a continuous process as a deep-bed filter, the pressure drop through the NFA was reduced by a factor of 40 while maintaining equal adsorption performance as for the NFM

Extração de minerais por colmos de cinco variedades de cana-planta em três solos.

Determinação da extração de minerais por tonelada de colmos frescos despalhados de cana-planta de ano e meio em três condições edaficas

Banking in Central and Eastern Europe and Turkey: Challenges and opportunities

This publication discusses the challenges and opportunities for the banking sectors in CEE countries and Turkey that arose after the financial crisis in 2007 and the on-going tensions on European sovereign debt markets. Its aim is to take stock of the views of commercial banks, the regulators and IFIs. It is also a useful reference text on banking in the region

The STARTWAVE atmospheric water database

International audienceThe STARTWAVE (STudies in Atmospheric Radiative Transfer and Water Vapour Effects) project aims to investigate the role which water vapour plays in the climate system, and in particular its interaction with radiation. Within this framework, an ongoing water vapour database project was set up which comprises integrated water vapour (IWV) measurements made over the last ten years by ground-based microwave radiometers, Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers and sun photometers located throughout Switzerland at altitudes between 330 and 3584 m. At Bern (46.95° N, 7.44° E) tropospheric and stratospheric water vapour profiles are obtained on a regular basis and integrated liquid water, which is important for cloud characterisation, is also measured. Additional stratospheric water vapour profiles are obtained by an airborne microwave radiometer which observes large parts of the northern hemisphere during yearly flight campaigns. The database allows us to validate the various water vapour measurement techniques. Comparisons between IWV measured by the Payerne radiosonde with that measured at Bern by two microwave radiometers, GPS and sun photometer showed instrument biases within ±0.5 mm. The bias in GPS relative to sun photometer over the 2001 to 2004 period was ?0.8 mm at Payerne (46.81° N, 6.94° E, 490 m), which lies in the Swiss plains north of the Alps, and +0.6 mm at Davos (46.81° N, 9.84° E, 1598 m), which is located within the Alps in the eastern part of Switzerland. At Locarno (46.18° N, 8.78° E, 366 m), which is located on the south side of the Alps, the bias is +1.9 mm. The sun photometer at Locarno was found to have a bias of ?2.2 mm (13% of the mean annual IWV) relative to the data from the closest radiosonde station at Milano. This result led to a yearly rotation of the sun photometer instruments between low and high altitude stations to improve the calibrations. In order to demonstrate the capabilites of the database for studying water vapour variations, we investigated a front which crossed Switzerland between 18 November 2004 and 19 November 2004. During the frontal passage, the GPS and microwave radiometers at Bern and Payerne showed an increase in IWV of between 7 and 9 mm. The GPS IWV measurements were corrected to a standard height of 500 m, using an empirically derived exponential relationship between IWV and altitude. A qualitative comparison was made between plots of the IWV distribution measured by the GPS and the 6.2 µm water vapour channel on the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellite. Both showed that the moist air moved in from a northerly direction, although the MSG showed an increase in water vapour several hours before increases in IWV were detected by GPS or microwave radiometer. This is probably due to the fact that the satellite instrument is sensitive to an atmospheric layer at around 320 hPa, which makes a contribution of one percent or less to the IWV

Freshness-indices of roasted coffee : monitoring the loss of freshness for single serve capsules and roasted whole beans in different packaging

With the growing demand for high-quality coffee, it is becoming increasingly important to establish quantitative measures of the freshness of coffee, or the loss thereof, over time. Indeed, freshness has become a critical quality criterion in the specialty coffee scene, where the aim is to deliver the most pleasant flavor in the cup, from highest quality beans. A series of intensity ratios of selected volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the headspace of coffee (by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry) were revisited, with the aim to establish robust indicators of freshness of coffee – called freshness indices. Roasted whole beans in four different packaging materials and four commercial capsule systems from the Swiss market were investigated over a period of up to one year of storage time. These measurements revealed three types of insight. First, a clear link between barrier properties of the packaging material and the evolution of selected freshness indices was observed. Packaging materials that contain an aluminum layer offer better protection. Second, processing steps prior to packaging are reflected in the absolute values of freshness indices. Third, differences in the standard deviations of freshness-indices for single serve coffee capsule systems are indicative of differences in the consistency among systems, consistency being an important quality attribute of capsules

Interaction of imazapic in the integrated system using sugarcane mulch residue, herbicide and vinasse on purple nutsedge growth

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito da interação palha de cana-de-açúcar, herbicida imazapic e diferentes meios de aplicação de vinhaça no crescimento inicial da tiririca. O experimento foi realizado em casa de vegetação e em vasos dispostos em blocos ao acaso com quatro repetições, sendo avaliados os tratamentos: controle; apenas palha; apenas vinhaça; apenas o herbicida imazapic; palha + vinhaça; palha + herbicida; herbicida + vinhaça aplicada antes do herbicida; herbicida + vinhaça aplicada depois do herbicida; herbicida + vinhaça aplicada junto com o herbicida em mistura; palha + herbicida + vinhaça aplicada antes do herbicida; palha + herbicida + vinhaça aplicada depois do herbicida; e palha + herbicida + vinhaça aplicada junto com o herbicida em mistura. O imazapic foi aplicado na dose de 122,5 g ha-1 e, no tratamento onde a vinhaça foi aplicada em mistura com o herbicida, este foi diluído com água até ¼ do volume necessário e completado com vinhaça. O imazapic foi eficiente no controle da tiririca quando comparado com a testemunha. A aplicação isolada da vinhaça ou a adição de apenas a palha ao solo estimularam o crescimento da tiririca embora tenha reduzido a viabilidade dos tubérculos. Nos tratamentos sem palha, não houve diferença no crescimento da tiririca, quando a aplicação de vinhaça foi realizada antes ou depois do imazapic, sendo observado controle da espécie. Entretanto, quando em mistura com a vinhaça, o produto não controlou a tiririca. A presença da palha no tratamento onde foi aplicada vinhaça antes do herbicida reduziu a ação do imazapic, em comparação com aquele sem palha. O número de brotações e a altura média de plantas de tiririca foram maiores nos tratamentos com palha quando foi aplicado imazapic depois ou mesmo junto com a vinhaça. Sob palha, a aplicação de vinhaça após o herbicida ou em mistura com imazapic aumentou apenas o número de brotações.The objective of this paper was to evaluate sugarcane mulch residue, imazapic and vinasse application interaction on the initial development of purple nutsedge (Cyperus rotundus L.). A greenhouse experiment was set up using pots filled with soil, arranged in a randomized complete blocks design, with four replications, with the following treatments: check; straw alone; vinasse alone; imazapic alone; straw + vinasse; straw + herbicide; herbicide + vinasse applied before the herbicide; herbicide + vinasse applied together; straw + herbicide + vinasse applied after the herbicide; straw + herbicide + vinasse applied after the herbicide; and straw + herbicide + vinasse applied together. Imazapic was applied at the rate of 122.5 g ha-1 and in the treatment in which vinasse was applied mixed with the herbicide, this compound was diluted in water until ¼ of the volume needed, the remaining volume being completed with vinasse. Imazapic was efficient for purple nutsedge control when compared to the check. Application of vinasse alone or straw alone stimulated the growth of this weed, though tuber viability was reduced. In the treatments without straw there was no difference in purple nutsedge development when vinasse was applied before or after imazapic, though control of this weed species was attained. However, when mixed with vinasse, the herbicide did not control the weed. The presence of straw in the treatment in which vinasse was applied before imazapic reduced the action of this weed killer when compared with the treatment without straw. The number of sprouts and height of the purple nutsedge plants were enhanced by the treatments with straw when imazapic was applied after or even mixed with vinasse. Only the number of sprouts increased when vinasse was applied after or mixed with the herbicide in soil covered with straw

Rapid selection of specific MAP kinase-binders from designed ankyrin repeat protein libraries

We describe here the rapid selection of specific MAP-kinase binders from a combinatorial library of designed ankyrin repeat proteins (DARPins). A combined in vitro/in vivo selection approach, based on ribosome display and the protein fragment complementation assay (PCA), yielded a large number of different binders that are fully functional in the cellular cytoplasm. Ribosome-display selection pools of four successive selection rounds were examined to monitor the enrichment of JNK2-specific DARPins. Surprisingly, only one round of ribosome display with subsequent PCA selection of this pool was necessary to isolate a first specific binder with micromolar affinity. After only two rounds of ribosome-display selection followed by PCA, virtually all DARPins showed JNK2-specific binding, with affinities in the low nanomolar range. The enrichment factor of ribosome display thus approaches 105 per round. In a second set of experiments, similar results were obtained with the kinases JNK1 and p38 as targets. Again, almost all investigated DARPins obtained after two rounds of ribosome display showed specific binding to the targets used, JNK1 or p38. In all three selection experiments the identified DARPins possess very high specificity for the target kinase. Taken together, the combination of ribosome display and PCA selections allowed the identification of large pools of binders at unparalleled speed. Furthermore, DARPins are applicable in intracellular selections and immunoprecipitations from the extract of eukaryotic cell

Surface enriched nanofiber mats for efficient adsorption of Cr(VI) inspired by nature

Adsorption is a surface process. By evolution, nature has created design principles such as scaffolds that allow to carrying surface bound agents at high density. We used a nanofibrous pullulan/poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(acrylic acid) (Pul/PVA/PAA) support to carry surface active PAMAM dendrimer similar to spores attached to mushroom gills. A monolayer of ceria (CeO2) nanoparticles served as the linker between PAMAM and the nanofiber. The nanocomposite was a highly effective Cr(VI) adsorbent and the maximum adsorption capacity qmax = 847 mg g-1 is the highest reported value for the same kind of materials so far. The materials was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), zeta potential and multipoint BET method to measure the specific surface area. Removal of Cr(VI) from aqueous media was tested under different batch and fixed bed column operation conditions such as pH, temperature and competing ions. Thermodynamic properties were determined based on a modified Langmuir adsorption isotherm and the adsorption kinetic was investigated. Positive entropy of adsorption and an endothermic adsorption process was found, while the rate-limiting step was pseudo second order which is associated with a chemisorption process. The nanocomposite was reusable and up to 95% of the adsorbed Cr(IV) ions were recovered by alkyne washing