Passer à l'acte. Arrêter d'attendre. Se lancer sans filet. Dans la psychanalyse, la criminologie ou le langage courant, le passage à l'acte désigne un acte impulsif autant qu'irrationnel. Et si c'était le contraire? Et s'il y avait dans le passage à l'acte un véritable élan de pensée et de création? Et si le passage à l'acte était avant tout une manière d'accorder une puissance propre à l'étincelle de l'instant, à l'intensité de l'appel d'air? Dans cet essai, on suivra la trajectoire (...) transgressive d'une meurtrière dans un roman de Marguerite Duras, ou encore la ligne de fuite d'un philosophe braqueur de banques. Au plus près des œuvres de Chantal Akerman, Pierre Michon ou Francis Ponge et des idées de Michel Foucault, Jacques Lacan ou Gilles Deleuze, Léa Bismuth propose une réflexion inédite sur le rôle que jouent les crises, les bifurcations brusques, les explosions qu'il est devenu impossible de contenir dans des existences que nous croyons maîtriser. Et si l'art de passer à l'acte était avant tout l'art des commencements aventureux? Et si l'art de passer à l'acte était l'art de vivre la vie elle-même? (shrink)

Pyrochlore compounds have a number of technological applications, such as dielectrics for high-frequency and magnetoelectric devices. In bulk materials, they exhibit stimulated cation arrangement and good long-distance order within the pyrochlore framework. Bismuth titanate ceramics containing SiO2 and Nd2O3 were synthesized in the Bi2O3-TiO2-SiO2-Nd2O3 system using the melt-quenching method. In a previous study, the phase composition of selected samples was determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and the microstructure was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The preparation of monophase (...) polycrystalline materials was concluded. Infrared Fourier-transformed spectroscopy (FTIR) was applied in order to identify the structure. The electrical conductivity, as well as the dielectric losses and dielectric constants of selected samples were determined, and the influence of the phase composition on the dielectric characteristics was evaluated. The combination of the pyrochlore phase with the amorphous phase represented by the structural groups Bi-O-Si and Si-O-Si exerts a grain boundary strengthening effect. (shrink)

Similarities in properties among pairs of metallic elements and their compounds in the lower-right quadrant of the Periodic Table have been named the ‘Knight’s Move’ relationship. Here, we have undertaken a systematic study of the only two ‘double-pairs’ of ‘Knight’s Move’ elements within this region: copper-indium/indium-bismuth and zinc-tin/tin-polonium, focussing on: metal melting points; formulas and properties of compounds; and melting points of halides and chalcogenides. On the basis of these comparisons, we conclude that the systematic evidence for ‘Knight’s Move’ (...) relationships derives from similarities in formulas and properties of matching pairs of compounds in the same oxidation state. Physical properties, such as melting points, do not provide consistent patterns and trends and hence should not be considered as a common characteristic of this relationship. (shrink)

The mathematical framework of Relativistic Schrödinger Theory (RST) is generalized in order to include the self-interactions of the particles as an integral part of the theory (i.e. in a non-perturbative way). The extended theory admits a Lagrangean formulation where the Noether theorems confirm the existence of the conservation laws for charge and energy–momentum which were originally deduced directly from the dynamical equations. The generalized RST dynamics is applied to the case of some heavy helium-like ions, ranging from germanium (Z=32) to (...) bismuth (Z=83), in order to compute the interaction energy of the two electrons in their ground-state. The present inclusion of the electron self-energies into RST yields a better agreement of the theoretical predictions with the experimental data. (shrink)

Der Katalog präsentiert acht zeitgenössische Fotografinnen und Fotografen aus ganz Europa und dem Libanon: Pierre Bismuth, Kristleifur Björnsson, Sanna Kannisto, Joachim Koester, Jochen Lempert, Walid Raad / The Atlas Group, Ana Torfs, Costa Vece. In ihren Arbeiten spiegelt sich die Auseinandersetzung mit Rechercheformen und Formfindungen der Wissenschaft in besonders aufschlussreicher Weise. Dabei stehen biologische Forschungen im südamerikanischen Regenwald neben soziologischen und historischen Fragestellungen, polit- wie geisteswissenschaftliche Perspektiven werden eingenommen oder imitiert.

Secretory proteins and membranes move in transfer vesicles from the rough endoplasmic reticulum through the transitional region to the outer saccule of the Golgi complex. In both arthropod and vertebrate cells, the GC beads are a characteristic structural component of the transitional region. The beads are particles about half the size of ribosomes arranged equidistantly from one another and the smooth face of the ER. In an active GC, the beads are in rings through which the ER membrane emerges to (...) form transfer vesicles. The beads may be part of the energy‐dependent step required for the movement of proteins along the secretory pathway, since they lose their ring arrangement under conditions that lower cellular ATP. The beads are organizers for Golgi complexes in the sense that they are the first recognizable components of new GCs as they arise from ER. Arthropod GC beads, but not those of vertebrates, can be visualized through their reaction with bismuth in vivo and in fixed tissue. Useful paradigms for traffic between the ER and the GC need to combine structural and biochemical information. Insect fat body, with its readily resolvable bismuth‐stained beads and easily fractionated cell components may have particular value for this problem. (shrink)

Lead shot deposited in fields and woodlands near shooting rangesand intense, upland, hunting adds an enormous tonnage of lead toenvironments, worldwide. This contamination is not remedied bybanning lead shot use only for waterfowl hunting. Lead pelletsdisintegrate extremely slowly, during which time they may beingested from the soil by wild birds, livestock, or silage-makingmachinery, and cause sublethal or fatal lead poisoning. Leadpellet corrosion products contaminate soil, surface waters, andground waters, often exceeding permissible levels. Plants do notconcentrate much lead from the soil, (...) except when grown in acidicsoils of heavily-contaminated shooting ranges. Inheavily-contaminated sites, earthworms ingest leadcompounds which are bioaccumulated in higher consumersof food webs. Non-toxic substitutes made from steelor bismuth are available internationally and areeffective for all types of hunting and targetshooting. Many nations are slow to require their use,despite the marked awareness of the problems of leadshot contamination and toxicosis. This is due tohunters and international sport shooting organizationsopposing the use of non-toxic substitutes and overtemphasis by government agencies on the burden ofscientific proof for every situation, rather thantaking preventative action according to thePrecautionary Principle. The ethical approach ofDenmark and The Netherlands, which banned all uses oflead shot, is advocated as a precedent for othernations to adopt. (shrink)