New Amphicocconeis (Bacillariophyta) from Raivavae and Tahiti Islands (South Pacific) and Porto Belo (Brazil), with re-examination of Psammococconeis

Psammococconeis and Amphicocconeis are recently created diatom genera showing a high morphological plasticity-variability, making particularly difficult identification only based on morphology. The sternum valve (SV) of Amphicocconeis is very similar to that of Cocconeis, whereas its raphe valve (RV) is highly dissimilar between the two genera. The RV in Amphicocconeis has curved terminal raphe fissures and striae composed of macroareolae with more or less complex arrangement, unique to each taxon. The Amphicocconeis valvocopulae are most of the time extended, with pores arranged along rows, or clusters of pores, and are an important taxonomic criterion. Several Amphicocconeis were originally described as Cocconeis and thereafter renamed after accurate examination with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The number of described Amphicocconeis is low, while numerous species probably remain to be described, named or renamed. Several tropical Amphicocconeis from two Polynesian archipelagos are here investigated, from which three are described as new. Psammococconeis is a genus established prior to Amphicocconeis, originally described with simple terminal raphe endings, while their SV has characteristics close to Amphicocconeis. Psammococconeis is here re-defined as an invalid genus, after re-examination of the Brazilian type material of P. brasiliensis M.Garcia (renamed as Amphicocconeis brasilensis comb. nov.), and a new Amphicocconeis is described from this Brazilian material.

Frustrated Structures and Pattern Formation After Thermal Quenches in Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Droplets

The complex arrangement of layered structures in curved geometries is a ubiquitous problem in soft condensed matter systems. In general, cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) in spherical droplets have been studied...

Snow, an Intriguing, Complex, and Changeable Solid

This chapter provides basics of snow structure and topology. As snow is a complex arrangement of ice crystals, themselves found in oodles of geometrical shapes, sizes, and formation mechanisms, we essentially focus on those that are more directly involved in avalanche release. Three snow peculiarities are also outlined. Snow being made of ice, it inherits its particular propensity to melt under external pressure. Since snow cover results from accumulation of snowflakes, it may be considered as a granular material, with quite original properties due to the unusually large grain surface vs volume ratio, and to their related tendency to change shapes and to heal. Snow being also a mixture of ice, air, and water, the topological concept of percolation is of interest to deal with stress distribution in the snow cover, and is briefly discussed.

Convergent dental adaptations in the serrations of hypercarnivorous synapsids and dinosaurs

Theropod dinosaurs are well known for having a ziphodont dentition: serrated, blade-shaped teeth that they used for cutting through prey. Serrations along the carinae of theropod teeth are composed of true denticles, a complex arrangement of dentine, enamel, and interdental folds. This structure would have supported individual denticles and dissipated the stresses associated with feeding. These particular serrations were previously thought to be unique to theropod dinosaurs and some other archosaurs. Here, we identify the same denticles and interdental folds forming the cutting edges in the teeth of a Permian gorgonopsian synapsid, extending the temporal and phylogenetic distribution of this dental morphology. This remarkable instance of convergence not only represents the earliest record of this adaptation to hypercarnivory but also demonstrates that the first iteration of this feature appeared in non-mammalian synapsids. Comparisons of tooth serrations in gorgonopsians with those of earlier synapsids and hypercarnivorous mammals reveal some gorgonopsians acquired a complex tissue arrangement that differed from other synapsids.

De-Westernizing Visual Communication and Cultures

This edited volume gives voice to pluralised avenues from visual communication and cultural studies regarding the Global South and beyond, including examples from China, India, Cambodia, Brazil, Mexico and numerous other countries. Defining visual communication and culture as an umbrella term that encompasses imagery studies, the moving image and non-verbal visual communication, the first three chapters of the book describe de-Westernisation discourse as a way to strengthen emic research and the Global South as both a geographical concept and, even more so, a category of diversity and pluralism. The subsequent regional case study-based chapters draw on various emic theories and methodologies and find a complex arrangement of visuality between sociocultural and sociopolitical practices and institutions. This book targets a wide range of scholars: academics with expertise in (regional) visual studies as well as researchers, students and practitioners working on the Global South and de-Westernisation. With contributions by Jan Bajec, Sarah Corona Berkin, Ivana Beveridge, Birgit Breninger, Guo-Ming Chen, Uttaran Dutta, Maria Amália Vargas Façanha, Maria Faust, Hiroko Hara, Thomas Herdin, Thomas Kaltenbacher, Fan Liang, Xin Lu, C.S.H.N.Murthy, Ana Karina de Oliveira Nascimento, Simeona Petkova, Radmila Radojevic, Renata Wojtczak

I’m the Operator With My Pocket Vibrator: Collective Intimate Relations on Chaturbate

This article focuses on the use of a remote-controlled vibrator on Chaturbate, a sexually explicit webcam platform. Looking at the complex arrangement formed by so-called human and nonhuman counterparts in networked settings, I analyze an intimate moment hosted by the selected erotic platform, observing how a sex toy that can be controlled by distance modulates the affective underpinnings of such “vibrant” assemblage and participates in this carnal activity by heightening and clustering different groupings of bodies to create an orgasmic moment. Drawing on Actor–Network Theory and theories of affect, I focus on the sociotechnical affordances that constitute this sexual setting and describe the movement of actants as they throb to develop senses of intimacy and presence in the unfurling event, thus showing how a great number of players, from varied scopes of intelligibility, participate jointly to develop visceral affect and body friction even though they do not share the same spatial frame.

Spinal stability

The vertebral column is a series of bones that connect the head to the pelvis, supported by a complex arrangement of muscles and ligaments. Regional variation in the anatomy of the column affords protection for the spinal cord, provides stability and mobility, and allows transmittance of movement to the lower limbs. When subjected to forces and displacements the column is uniquely adapted to provide the balance of stability and mobility necessary for upright posture and locomotion. Abnormal loading can cause a failure of the column through a bony or soft tissue injury. This can lead to clinical instability—a failure of the spine to maintain normal physiological loads without undue pain, deformity, or neurological injury. The concepts of spinal biomechanics and spinal instability are central in the decision-making processes following spinal trauma and underpin the understanding of pathological conditions of the spine and their surgical treatment.

Data Epistemologies, The Coloniality of Power, and Resistance

Data assemblages amplify historical forms of colonization through a complex arrangement of practices, materialities, territories, bodies, and subjectivities. Data-centric epistemologies should be understood as an expression of the coloniality of power manifested as the violent imposition of ways of being, thinking, and feeling that leads to the expulsion of human beings from the social order, denies the existence of alternative worlds and epistemologies, and threatens life on Earth. This article develops a theoretical model to analyze the coloniality of power through data and explores the multiple dimensions of coloniality as a framework for identifying ways of resisting data colonization. Finally, this article suggests possible alternative data epistemologies that are respectful of populations, cultural diversity, and environments.

Anatomy of the foot and ankle

The human foot and ankle are uniquely adapted to support the entire weight of the body and provide a platform through which propulsive forces are transmitted to the ground beneath. Far from being passive elements, however, the foot and ankle together represent a dynamic, reactive, and force-generating structure containing a complex arrangement of bones held in inherently unstable configurations by an array of ligaments and muscle tendons. This anatomical complexity, together with the biomechanical demands placed on them, make the foot and ankle particularly susceptible to a variety of injuries and disease processes. This chapter covers the anatomy of the human foot and ankle, including illustrative figures.