Journal articles on the topic 'Disperse Blue 79'

A study of the Yamaska River in Quebec, Canada, in the period 1985 - 1987 has revealed the occurrence of fifteen dyes in water, suspended solids and sediment downstream of textile mills. The most contaminated area was downstream of the city of Granby, which has the largest concentration of textile mills in the basin. Three dyes were positively identified - Disperse Red 60, Disperse Blue 26 and Disperse Blue 79, the most widely used dye in the world. In addition, a mutagenic degradation product of Disperse Blue 79, 2-bromo-4,6-dinitroaniline, was identified in sediment at a location about 6 km downstream of Granby. This product is a result of the reductive cleavage of the azo bond of Disperse Blue 79 in anaerobic sediments. Most of the dyes found are expected to be moderately stable in aerobic environments, but may degrade under anaerobic conditions. This is the first demonstration of the occurrence of dyes in the Canadian environment.

Abstract A study of the Yamaska River in Québec in the period 1985-1987 has revealed the occurrence of fifteen dyes in water, suspended solids and sediment downstream from textile mills. The dyes were found in 1985 and 1986, but not in 1987, possibly because of improved waste treatment procedures. The most contaminated area was downstream from Granby, which has the largest concentration of textile mills in the basin. Three dyes were positively identified — Disperse Red 60, Disperse Blue 26 and Disperse Blue 79, the most widely used dye in the world. In addition, a mutagenic degradation product of Disperse Blue 79, 2-bromo-4,6-dmitroaniline, was identified in sediment at a location about 6 km downstream from Granby. This product is a result of the reductive cleavage of the azo bond of Disperse Blue 79 in anaerobic sediments. Most of the dyes found are expected to be moderately stable in aerobic environments, but may degrade under anaerobic conditions. This is the first demonstration of the occurrence of dyes in the Canadian environment.

A sequential anaerobic/aerobic treatment process was used to biodegrade the azo dye disperse blue 79 (DB79). The integrated process was successfully tested and operated for the mineralization of the DB79 dye until a concentration of 120 mg/l in 96 h. In the first stage, the anaerobic biofilter biotransformed the DB79 to amines with efficiencies of decolorization higher than 95% in 72 h. The amines produced in the first stage were degraded in the aerobic biofilter with efficiencies of 65% in 24 h. It was observed that the use of a co-substrate on the anaerobic biofilter influenced the performance of the bioreactor only when the concentration of the DB79 was higher than 48 mg/l. It was found that the residual dye in the effluent of the anaerobic stage inhibits the performance of the aerobic microorganisms.

Azo dyes are the major group of synthetic dyes known and have given rise to many water and soil environmental problems, the most of this azo dyes were used in textile industry. The aim of this study is the removal of Disperse Blue 79 (DB 79) and Disperse Blue 165 (DB 165) as azo dyes by Hydroxyapatite (HAP). The adsorption experiments were carried out to investigate the factors that influence the dyes uptake by hydroxyapatite, such as the contact time under agitation, adsorbent dosage, initial dye concentration and size of HAP. To reduce the number of experiments, full factorial experimental design at two levels (24) was used to achieve optimal conditions for the removal of DB 79 and DB 165 from aqueous solutions.

The mineralization of the azo dye Disperse Blue 79 (DB79) was studied under sequenced anaerobic/aerobic environments. This paper presents the results of the first stage of the process, i.e., the anaerobic decolouration of the azo dye. A sequencing batch biofilter was used. The results showed that DB79 was only biotransformed to amines, resulting in a decolorization of the effluent. The anaerobic bacteria, without using co-substrate, achieved the decolouration when the concentration of DB79 was lower than 48 mg/l. It was necessary to use a co-substrate to reach decolouration efficiencies higher than 95%, when the concentration of DB79 in the influent was superior to 48 mg/l. In 72 h more than 95% of the initial colourant was biotransformed.

The current study aimed to investigate the elimination of dyes from sewerage, using microfiltration membrane mechanism. Three dyes were applied, acid yellow-23, disperse blue -79 and acid orange -7. Experiments were performed with feed concentration (40 -120) ppm, feed flow rate (25 -65) l/h and time (0.25 -1.5) h. The membrane used ceramic membrane, constructed as a candle. It was discovered that water flow diminishes with an elevation in running time, feeding oil concentration and enhancing with elevation in the feed flow rate. In addition, it was determined that the elimination (rejection) rate of dyes enhances with elevation in the flow rate, and the elimination (rejection) rate diminishes as time passes. In cross flow microfiltration, the rejection concentration (concentrate) goes up as time passes, with high feed concentration and flow rate. It was also discovered that the modal infusion concentration declines with high feed concentration and working time. In addition, it was found that product rate goes down as time passes and with high feed concentration. Increasing feed concentration of dyes was associated with an increase in the concentration of rejecting solution. The highest elimination of disperse blue -79, Acid Yellow- 23 and acid orange -7, are 97%, 96.4% and 95.8%, respectively. The maximum recovery percentage of disperse blue - 79, acid yellow- 23 and acid orange -7are 57.7%, 58.5% and 59% respectively.

Azo dyes are generally used in food, cosmetic, textile, pharmaceutical, and leather industries. Many of these dyes are carcinogens and need a treatment. The aim of the present study was to use chitosan (CHT), phosphogypsum (PG) and natural phosphate (NP) powders for the removal of Disperse Blue 79 (DB 79) from aqueous solution. The effects of contact time, initial dye concentration, absorbents doses, solution pH, and temperature on the batch adsorption process were systematically studied. Isotherm models were applied to the experimental equilibrium data and pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order kinetic models were used to describe the kinetic data and to evaluate the rate constants. The thermodynamic parameters, such as the changes in enthalpy, entropy, and Gibbs free energy were also studied. The results show that the chitosan, phosphogypsum and natural phosphate could be used for the removal of DB 79 in wastewater treatment.

Database of color matching system for supercritical CO2 dyeing was established and its accuracy was verified. The K/S value curves of each of the trichromatic disperse dyes (C.I. Disperse Orange 30, C.I. Disperse Red 167 and C.I. Disperse Blue 79) were parallel, which indicated that the samples suits for building database of color matching system. The color matching system was emended with calibration coefficients that were derived from data of several samples dyed with a mixtures of disperse dyes in supercritical CO2. The recipes for a given sample could be found with the calibrated color matching system in supercritical CO2 dyeing.

The main objective of this investigation was to use modified cenospheres for the removal of disperse blue 79:1 (DB) and disperse orange 25 (DO) dyes from aqueous solution by batch adsorption process under different conditions (pH, adsorbent dose, adsorbate concentration, agitation speed, contact time, and temperature). Modified cenosphere was capable of removing up to 78% of DB and 81% of DO dyes from aqueous solutions of 40 mg/L dyes concentration. The investigated data was explained by the Langmuir isotherm. The experimental data were found to follow the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The results of this study suggested that modified cenospheres could be used as a low-cost alternative to expensive adsorbents like activated carbon in wastewater treatment for the removal of disperse dyes.

Abstract In this research, an efficient, ecofriendly method of using coal fly ash in the form of zeolite to treat wastewater containing dyes was studied. Response surface methodology involving Box–Behnken design was applied to a batch process to evaluate the effect of process parameters such as contact time, dye concentration, agitation speed, pH, and adsorbent dosage onto zeolite. Disperse Orange 25 (DO) dye showed a maximum of 96% removal under optimal conditions of contact time of 119 min, dye concentration of 38.00 mg/L, agitation speed of 158 rpm, pH of 6.10, and adsorbent dosage of 0.67 g/L, whereas 95.23% of Disperse Blue 79:1 (DB) dye removal was observed at adsorbent dose of 1.05 g/L, dye concentration of 26.72 mg/L, agitation speed of 145 rpm, pH of 5.68, and contact time of 122 min. It was concluded that cenosphere-derivatized zeolite adsorbent is efficient, ecofriendly, and economical and has high potential for the removal of DO and DB dyes from aqueous solutions.

The effect of the substrate/microorganism ratio during the development of anaerobic activity test was studied. The experimentation was carried out in serum bottles at 35°C. Two sets of experiments utilizing acetate and an azo dye (blue disperse 79) as the sole source of carbon were studied. It was observed that mixing has an important influence on the results. The initial substrate concentration and the initial biomass concentration had a significant effect on the reaction rate and on the biomass yield coefficient, Yobs. Different kinetic coefficients were found for the case of equal So/Xo ratio, but different initial substrate concentration.

This paper reports an investigation of dyeing processes of textiles made from a novel 100% bio-based and fully degradable polylactide/poly (hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) (PLA/PHBV) fiber. The dye exhaustion, depth of shade and fastness, as well as bursting strength of dyed PLA/PHBV fabrics have been evaluated in terms of types and concentration of dyestuff, dyeing bath temperature, duration, liquor ratio and pH value. Finally, the energy cost of the whole dyeing process of the proposed material is calculated and compared with that of polyethylene terephthalate. The experimental results show that an excellent dyeing effect and bursting strength can be achieved by properly applied dyes (e.g. C.I. Disperse Orange 30, Red 74, and Blue 79) under optimal low-dyeing-temperature conditions (100℃, 10 min, pH 5, LR 30:1). In addition, considering the low energy cost during the whole process, PLA/PHBV fibers can be regarded as a promising and environment-friendly material for the textile industry.

In this work, C.I. Disperse Blue 79 was used to dye 100 % isotactic polypropylene (iPP) fibers, the most widely used fiber in the industry, 100 % linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) polymer fibers and ternary polymer blends obtained from four different proportions of these polymer fibers with an elastomer of ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) in the absence and presence of microwave. The samples were tested for color measurement, color fastness, mechanical and morphological properties. The results of the investigation show that addition of up to 15% EVA in ternary polymer blends results in good color and mechanical properties for both dyeing methods in both the absence and presence of microwave energy. The SEM images indicate there is no porosity on the surfaces of the iPP/LLDPE/EVA ternary polymer blends dyed in the presence of microwave energy. Using microwave energy for dyeing provided a saving of almost 90% of the time normally required and thus a significant amount of energy.

The operation of an anaerobic/aerobic process used to degrade the colorants present in textile wastewater is presented. The objective is to produce water that can be reused. Two particular cases were studied: the degradation of a synthetic wastewater containing the colorant disperse blue 79 (DB79) as a model compound and a real textile effluent containing reactive azo dyes. The biodegradation was achieved using a single tank operated as sequencing batch reactor. It was observed that the DB79 was biotransformed to amines in the anaerobic stage decolorizing the wastewater. The amines formed were subsequently mineralized in the aerobic phase. An increase of toxicity was observed in the anaerobic stage due to the amines formation, but the wastewater was detoxified after the aerobic treatment. Removal efficiencies of DB79 around 92% were observed after the treatment. Around 96% of the initial color of the real wastewater was effectively removed. It was observed that the biomass pre-acclimatized to the degradation of DB79 was more effective for the color removal than a freshly inoculum used.

The functional diversity of the New Caledonian mangrove sediments was examined, observing the distribution of fungal dye-decolorizing peroxidases (DyPs), together with the complete biochemical characterization of the main DyP. Using a functional metabarcoding approach, the diversity of expressed genes encoding fungal DyPs was investigated in surface and deeper sediments, collected beneath either Avicennia marina or Rhizophora stylosa trees, during either the wet or the dry seasons. The highest DyP diversity was observed in surface sediments beneath the R. stylosa area during the wet season, and one particular operational functional unit (OFU1) was detected as the most abundant DyP isoform. This OFU was found in all sediment samples, representing 51–100% of the total DyP-encoding sequences in 70% of the samples. The complete cDNA sequence corresponding to this abundant DyP (OFU 1) was retrieved by gene capture, cloned, and heterologously expressed in Pichia pastoris. The recombinant enzyme, called DyP1, was purified and characterized, leading to the description of its physical–chemical properties, its ability to oxidize diverse phenolic substrates, and its potential to decolorize textile dyes; DyP1 was more active at low pH, though moderately stable over a wide pH range. The enzyme was very stable at temperatures up to 50 °C, retaining 60% activity after 180 min incubation. Its ability to decolorize industrial dyes was also tested on Reactive Blue 19, Acid Black, Disperse Blue 79, and Reactive Black 5. The effect of hydrogen peroxide and sea salt on DyP1 activity was studied and compared to what is reported for previously characterized enzymes from terrestrial and marine-derived fungi.

Abstract We present the in vitro differentiation of marrow cells from a patient with Down's syndrome accompanied by megakaryoblastic leukemia into basophils in the presence of phytohemagglutinin-stimulated leukocyte conditioned medium, using a liquid culture and methylcellulose culture system. Identification of basophils was established by metachromatic staining with toluidine blue, transmission electron microscopy, and the presence of histamine. However, these basophils did not release histamine in response to calcium ionophore or chemotactic peptide. Samples from suspension cultures that contained 90% basophils showed chromosomal markers characteristic of leukemic cells (48, XY, +11, +21, t(1;15)) in all examined mitoses. The cellular composition of leukemic colonies grown in methylcellulose culture from single cells was studied using the micromanipulation technique. High plating efficiency and extreme predominance of basophil colonies were observed. In a total 137 cultures, 79 revealed colony growth. Of 59 colonies that were analyzed by cytologic examination, 46 were pure basophil colonies. These basophil colonies showed disperse morphology, similar to that of a normal basophil colony. The clonality of the basophil colonies and skewing of lineage expression were documented from leukemic single-cell cultures. These data showed that leukemic cells have the capacity for differentiation into some lineages that are not expressed in vivo.

We present the in vitro differentiation of marrow cells from a patient with Down's syndrome accompanied by megakaryoblastic leukemia into basophils in the presence of phytohemagglutinin-stimulated leukocyte conditioned medium, using a liquid culture and methylcellulose culture system. Identification of basophils was established by metachromatic staining with toluidine blue, transmission electron microscopy, and the presence of histamine. However, these basophils did not release histamine in response to calcium ionophore or chemotactic peptide. Samples from suspension cultures that contained 90% basophils showed chromosomal markers characteristic of leukemic cells (48, XY, +11, +21, t(1;15)) in all examined mitoses. The cellular composition of leukemic colonies grown in methylcellulose culture from single cells was studied using the micromanipulation technique. High plating efficiency and extreme predominance of basophil colonies were observed. In a total 137 cultures, 79 revealed colony growth. Of 59 colonies that were analyzed by cytologic examination, 46 were pure basophil colonies. These basophil colonies showed disperse morphology, similar to that of a normal basophil colony. The clonality of the basophil colonies and skewing of lineage expression were documented from leukemic single-cell cultures. These data showed that leukemic cells have the capacity for differentiation into some lineages that are not expressed in vivo.

Graphene Oxide (GO) merupakan material yang banyak diteliti sebagai adsorben untuk menghilangkan polutan warna dalam air karena memiliki karakteristik luas permukaan spesifik yang tinggi . Pada penelitian ini dipelajari pengaruh pH terhadap efisiensi GO dalam mengadsorpsi Methylene Blue (MB). Uji adsorpsi dilakukan dengan mencampur dispersi GO (1 mg/mL) dan larutan MB (5 mg/L) dengan rasio massa GO:MB=1:1 pada berbagai variasi pH. Campuran tersebut diaduk dalam rentang waktu tertentu, kemudian sampel tersebut dicuplik untuk diukur absorbansi maksimum MB untuk mengestimasi efisiensinya. Hasil yang didapatkan menunjukkan bahwa pH larutan MB dapat mempengaruhi efisiensi GO dalam mengadsorpsi MB. Pada kondisi basa dengan pH 9, efisiensinya 79%, sedangkan pada kondisi asam dengan pH 3 efisiensinya 31%. Namun, ketika pH larutan MB ditingkatkan menjadi 11, efisiensi adsorpsi berubah menjadi 53%. Kata kunci: Adsorpsi, graphene oxide (GO), methylene blue (MB), pH, efisiensi

A polarization independent and fast electrically switchable beam steering device is presented, based on a surface relief grating combined with polymer stabilized blue phase liquid crystals. Switching on and off times are both less than 2 milliseconds. The prospects of further improvements are discussed. Full Text: PDF ReferencesD.C. Wright, et al., "Crystalline liquids: the blue phases", Rev. Mod. Phys. 61, 385 (1989). CrossRef H. Kikuchi, et al., "Polymer-stabilized liquid crystal blue phases", Nat. Mater. 1, 64 (2002). CrossRef Samsung, Korea, SID exhibition, (2008).J. Yan, et al., "Direct measurement of electric-field-induced birefringence in a polymer-stabilized blue-phase liquid crystal composite", Opt. Express 18, 11450 (2010). CrossRef L. Rao, et al., "A large Kerr constant polymer-stabilized blue phase liquid crystal", Appl. Phys. Lett. 98, 081109 (2011). CrossRef Y. Hisakado, et al., "Large Electro-optic Kerr Effect in Polymer-Stabilized Liquid-Crystalline Blue Phases", Adv. Mater. 17, 96 (2005). CrossRef K. M. et al., "Submillisecond Gray-Level Response Time of a Polymer-Stabilized Blue-Phase Liquid Crystal", J. Disp. Technol. 6, 49 (2010). CrossRef Y. Chen, et al., "Level set based topology optimization for optical cloaks", Appl. Phys. Lett. 102, 251106 (2013). CrossRef H. Choi, et al., "Fast electro-optic switching in liquid crystal blue phase II", Appl. Phys. Lett. 98, 131905 (2011). CrossRef Y.H. Chen, et al., "Polarization independent Fabry-Pérot filter based on polymer-stabilized blue phase liquid crystals with fast response time", Opt. Express 19, 25441 (2011). CrossRef Y. Li, et al., "Polarization independent adaptive microlens with a blue-phase liquid crystal", Opt. Express 19, 8045 (2011). CrossRef C.T. Lee, et al., "Design of polarization-insensitive multi-electrode GRIN lens with a blue-phase liquid crystal", Opt. Express 19, 17402 (2011). CrossRef Y.T. Lin, et al., "Mid-infrared absorptance of silicon hyperdoped with chalcogen via fs-laser irradiation", J. Appl. Phys. 113, (2013). CrossRef J.D. Lin, et al., "Spatially tunable photonic bandgap of wide spectral range and lasing emission based on a blue phase wedge cell", Optics Express 22, 29479 (2014). CrossRef W. Cao, et al., "Lasing in a three-dimensional photonic crystal of the liquid crystal blue phase II", Nat. Mat. 1, 111 (2002). CrossRef S.T. Hur, et al., "Liquid-Crystalline Blue Phase Laser with Widely Tunable Wavelength", Adv. Mater. 25, 3002 (2013). CrossRef A. Mazzulla, et al., "Thermal and electrical laser tuning in liquid crystal blue phase I", Soft. Mater. 8, 4882 (2012). CrossRef C.W. Chen, et al., "Random lasing in blue phase liquid crystals", Opt. Express 20, 23978 (2012). CrossRef O. Willekens, et al., "Ferroelectric thin films with liquid crystal for gradient index applications", Opt. Exp. 24, 8088 (2016). CrossRef O. Willekens, et al., "Reflective liquid crystal hybrid beam-steerer", Opt. Exp. 24, 1541 (2016). CrossRef M. Jazbinšek, et al., "Characterization of holographic polymer dispersed liquid crystal transmission gratings", J. Appl. Phys. 90, 3831 (2001). CrossRef C.C. Bowley, et al., "Variable-wavelength switchable Bragg gratings formed in polymer-dispersed liquid crystals", Appl. Phys. Lett. 79, 9 (2001). CrossRef Y.Q. Lu, et al., "Polarization switch using thick holographic polymer-dispersed liquid crystal grating", Appl. Phys. 95, 810 (2004). CrossRef J.J. Butler et al., "Diffraction properties of highly birefringent liquid-crystal composite gratings", Opt. Lett. 25, 420 (2000). CrossRef R.L. Sutherland et al., "Electrically switchable volume gratings in polymer-dispersed liquid crystals", Appl. Phys. Lett. 64, 1074 (1994). CrossRef X. Shang, et al., "Electrically Controllable Liquid Crystal Component for Efficient Light Steering", IEEE Photo. J. 7, 1 (2015). CrossRef J. Yan, et al., "Extended Kerr effect of polymer-stabilized blue-phase liquid crystals", Appl. Phys. Lett. 96, 071105 (2010). CrossRef H.S. Chen, et al., "Hysteresis-free polymer-stabilized blue phase liquid crystals using thermal recycles", Opt. Mat. Exp. 2, 1149 (2012). CrossRef J. Yan. et al., "Dual-period tunable phase grating using polymer stabilized blue phase liquid crystal", Opt. Lett. 40, 4520 (2015). CrossRef H.S. Chen, et al., "Hysteresis-free polymer-stabilized blue phase liquid crystals using thermal recycles", Opt. Mat. Exp. 2, 1149 (2012). CrossRef H.C. Cheng, et al., "Blue-Phase Liquid Crystal Displays With Vertical Field Switching", J. Disp. Technol. 8, 98 (2012). CrossRef

A composite material consisting of titanium dioxide and graphene oxide (TiO2–GO) was synthesized through a hydrothermal reaction. This reaction involved the use of Ti(SO4)2 in an ethanol–water solvent. Different content of GO was studied to find the optimum parameter. The composites were subjected to characterization, encompassing an examination of their composition, structure, and microstructure through techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectra, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. For Raman spectra, the presence of a G-band at approximately 1599 cm-1 and a D-band at 1350 cm-1 in the spectra indicates the presence of graphene oxide (GO). Therefore, the modified Hummer method synthesized graphite to GO. The findings for the XRD spectrum concerning the TiO2–GO composites revealed the presence of finely dispersed anatase TiO2 particles on the surface of the graphene oxide sheet layer. Diffraction pattern similar to pristine TiO2, only for TiO2–GO(0.75) and the peak for rutile TiO2 at 2Ɵ values 27.08° for both technique and TiO2–GO(0.5) for spray technique. Apparently, GO sheets were almost covered by anchored TiO2 particles, providing the possibility of efficient electronic conducting and electron transportation as in the SEM microstructures. EDS analysis shows the excessive carbon element for TiO2-GO(0.75) and TiO2-GO(1). The findings concerning the TiO2–GO composites revealed the presence of finely dispersed anatase TiO2 particles on the surface of the graphene oxide sheet layer. Notably, the photocatalytic performance of the TiO2–GO composite significantly surpassed that of pure TiO2 in the photodegradation of methyl blue (MB) when exposed to sunlight. The spray technique had a higher photocatalytic degradation percentage which is 82% for TiO2-GO(0.25) compared to the dropped technique 79% which is TiO2-GO(0.5). Degradation analysis of methyl blue concluded that the improved photocatalytic activity of TiO2–GO primarily results from the enhanced efficiency in trapping and transporting electrons, which can be attributed to the presence of graphene oxide (GO).

Nitric oxide (NO) hyperpolarizes intestinal smooth muscle cells. This study was designed to determine the mechanism whereby NO activates KCa channels of circular smooth muscle of the rabbit colon. Transmural biopsies of the rabbit colon were stained for NADPH-diaphorase. Freshly dispersed circular smooth muscle cells were studied in the whole cell configuration, as well as in on-cell and excised inside-out patch recording configurations, while KCa current and the activity of KCa channels, respectively, were monitored. NADPH-diaphorase-positive nerve fibers were found in both muscle layers. NO (1%) increased whole cell net outward current by 79% and hyperpolarized resting membrane voltage from −59 to −73 mV ( n = 8 cells, P < 0.01). In the on-cell patch recording configuration, NO (0.5% or 1%) in the bath increased NP o of KCa channels; charybdotoxin (125 nM) in the pipette solution blocked this effect. In the excised inside-out patch recording configuration, NO (1%) had no effect on NP o of KCa channels. In the on-cell patch recording configuration, methylene blue (1 μM) or cystamine (5 mM) in the bath solution decreased the effect of NO (1%) on NP o of KCa channels. NP o was increased by 8-bromo-cGMP (8-BrcGMP; 1 mM), a cGMP analog, and zaprinast (100 μM), an inhibitor of cGMP phosphodiesterase. These data suggest that NO increased whole cell outward K+current by activating KCa channels through a cGMP pathway.

Abstract Digestion of human foreskin with collagenase and hyaluronidase disperses approximately 3.4 X 10(7) nucleated cells per gram of tissue, of which mast cells constitute 4.7%. These may be purified to 80% by use of density gradient centrifugation. The majority of mast cells (79%) measured between 9 and 13 micron in diameter, and the mean histamine content was 4.6 pg/cell. Viability was demonstrated by trypan blue exclusion by 93% of the cells and the low spontaneous histamine secretion of less than 7% in functional studies. Anti-IgE released up to 17.5% of cell-associated histamine within 5 to 7 min. Calcium ionophore-induced release was optimal with 0.3 microM A23187 when 28.6% histamine was released. Unlike human lung mast cells, skin mast cells released histamine in response to compound 48/80 and poly-L-lysine. This release, which was complete within 20 sec, was totally dependent on intact glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation and partially dependent on extracellular calcium. The same characteristics were observed with secretion induced by substance P and morphine. The weak activity of eledoisin and physalaemin suggests that the substance P receptor, like that of the rat mast cell, is not of the classical types described for smooth muscle. Morphine-induced secretion was partially blocked by naloxone in a manner not compatible with competitive antagonism at a classical opioid receptor. The sensitivity of skin mast cells to nonimmunologic stimulation clearly distinguishes them from mast cells of the lung and lymphoid tissues and provides evidence of functional heterogeneity within human mast cells.

Adsorption and removal of commercial dyes were studied in aqueous suspensions of fly ash mixtures
 with a sandy clay loam soil of low organic matter content. The commercial dyes, acid orange 7, acid yellow
 23, disperse blue 79, basic yellow 28 and direct yellow 28 represent the widely used nitroazo structures.
 Batch and column experiments were carried out at equilibrium conditions for concentrations of
 dyes between 5 and 60 mg l-1. The logarithmic form of Freundlich equation gave a high linearity and
 the k constants are increasing with the increase of fly ash content in adsorbent mixtures and the affinity
 between the adsorbent surface and adsorbed solute. The mean removed amounts of dyes by adsorption
 batch experiments in soil mixture with 20% fly ash content were up to 53.0% for acid yellow 7,
 44.9% for acid yellow 23, 99.2% for direct yellow 28, 96.8% for basic yellow 28 and 88.5% for disperse
 blue 79. The removal of dyes from column experiments decrease with the increase of the solution concentration
 form 10 to 50 mg l-1 at 20 °C, showing the process to be highly dependent on the concentration
 of the solution. The mean removed amounts of dyes by adsorption on columns of soil mixture
 with 20% fly ash content and for initial concentration of dye solutions 50 mg l-1 were up to 33.8% for
 acid yellow 7, 59.4% for acid yellow 23, 84.2% for direct yellow 28, 98.2% for basic yellow 28 and 60.3%
 for disperse blue 79.

Fly ash has been employed as adsorbent for the removal of an azo dye; disperse blue 79 from aqueous solution. The fly ash has been characterized by means of X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Adsorption studies were performed at different temperatures, adsorbent doses, pH?s and dye initial concentrations. It was found that increasing temperature increases the adsorption process thereby indicating an endothermic process, as for the pH, it had no significant influence on the dye adsorption onto the fly ash. Increasing dye concentration leaded to a decrease in the adsorption removal percentage. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were utilized to understand the nature of the adsorption process; the results suggested that Langmuir model fitted the adsorption data better than the Freundlich isotherm model. Further, the kinetic data were better correlated with the pseudo second order model than the pseudo first model. The thermodynamic parameters such as the free energy, enthalpy and entropies of adsorption of the dye-fly ash system were also evaluated; the negative value of ΔS0 suggested that the system exhibits random behavior, the value of ΔG? is negative, which indicates that the adsorption process is spontaneous and feasible on the fly ash.

Dyes play an important role in textile production, but their contribution to air pollution and harming human health have raised concerns and remain an international problem. The key to overcoming this challenge is to assess how much greenhouse gases are being generated and the hotspots which guide decision-making process toward more sustainable options. This article established a carbon footprint calculation method for disperse dyes. First, the system boundary description and the functional unit were discussed. Second, the carbon footprint inventory analysis was determined. What’s more, the calculation method, allocation method and emission factors were proposed. It was intended to be practical and effective based on three typical disperse dyes in China. The results showed that the carbon footprints of Disperse Blue 79, Disperse Red 167, and Disperse Orange 61 corresponded to 8.28 t CO2 eq/t, 8.07 t CO2 eq/t, and 7.48 t CO2 eq/t, respectively. For the three disperse dyes, the carbon emissions of dispersing agent melamine-formaldehyde resin and liquid ammonia consumption were the dominant emission sources. The steam and electricity were the two major sources of carbon emissions caused by energy usage. The homogenization and the wastewater treatment process were the two largest emission emitters. The sensitivity analysis showed that the total product carbon footprint was mostly sensitive to dispersing agent melamine-formaldehyde resin changes, followed by steam, liquid ammonia, and electricity. The results show that disperse dye production have great potential for improvement. The reduction options for the emissions of the disperse dyes production can be concluded by the optimization of the production process and technology for dispersing agent melamine-formaldehyde resin, liquid ammonia, electricity, and steam. Through the calculation, the influencing factors for the carbon footprint can be analyzed and highlighted. The method provides a comprehensive understanding of environmental impacts with dyes, driving the adoption of sustainable dyeing practices.

<p>In this study, water-soluble disperse dyes [Disperse Violet 93 (DV93); Diffused Blue 79 (DB79); Disperse Orange 30 (DO30)] color removal by ozonation, which is one of the advanced treatment methods of synthetic dye waste solutions containing and whose decolorization conditions have not been investigated before, were investigated and the most suitable parameter criteria were determined. The experiments were carried out using a semi-batch reaction. The decolorization process of the reactive dye was carried out by bubbling ozone at the bottom of a bubble column reactor containing the dye solution. The effects of the ozonation time (0-120 min), the initial dye concentration (150-600 mg/L), ozone concentration (4.21-24.03 g/m3), the initial pH (2-12), and decolorization time was studied. As a result, COD values obtained from color measurements determined by the spectrophotometric method of disperse dye wastewater prepared synthetically after optimum conditions were achieved in experiments decreased by 61.05%, 72.88%, and 77.43%, respectively, and a significant color removal occurred under basic conditions (pH: 10 for DV93 and DB79; pH: 12 for DO30). For each dye processed separately, decolorization occurred within 16 minutes, 12 minutes, and 9 minutes, respectively. Ozonation kinetics were studied and it was found that decoloring showed first-order kinetics for the three dyes. The study showed that the apparent rate constant increased both at the applied ozone dose and under basic conditions, and decreased logarithmically with respect to the initial dye concentration. As a result of the study, it was determined that ozonation is a usable method for the treatment of azo dyes in textile wastewater; optimum conditions were determined for parameters such as the shortest time, optimum ozone dose, and appropriate pH range.</p>

Closer examination of contemporary art forms including music videos in addition to the Gothic’s literature legacy is essential, “as it is virtually impossible to ignore the relationship the Gothic holds to popular culture” (Piatti-Farnell ii). This article critically examines how Gothic themes and modes are used in the music videos of Lana Del Rey; particularly the “ways in which Gothic is dispersed through contemporary non-literary media” (Spooner and McEvoy 2). This work follows the argument laid down by Edwards and Monnet who describe Gothic’s assimilation into popular culture —Pop Gothic— as a powerful pop cultural force, not merely a subcultural or cult expression. By interpreting Del Rey’s work as a both a component of, and a contributor to, the Pop Gothic advance, themes of social climate, consumer culture, gender identity, sexuality and the male gaze can be interrogated. Indeed the potential for a collective crisis of these issues in early 21st Century western culture is exposed, “the façade of carnivalised surfaces is revealed to hide the chaos and entropy of existential emptiness.” (Yeo 17). Gothic modes have been approximated by Pop Gothic into the mainstream (Edwards and Monnet) as a driving force behind these contradictions and destabilisations. The Gothic has become ubiquitous within popular culture and continues to exert influence. This is easily reflected in the $392 million the first Twilight movie grossed at the box office (Edwards and Monnet). Examples are abundant in pop culture across music, film and television. Edwards and Monnet cite the movies Zombieland and Blade in the Pop Gothic march, along with TV shows including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Being Human, True Blood as well as Lady Gaga’s Fame Monster music album. Edwards and Monnet observe that the Gothic aesthetics of the 1980s and 1990s, “melancholy and imagery associated with death, dying and the undead” (3), shifted from the corners of subculture to the mainstream of millennial popular culture. With this shift comes the rebelliousness and melancholy that characterises Gothic texts. This is evident when a pop star of Lana Del Rey’s popularity —her Summertime Sadness video alone has over 160 million views on youtube.com (YouTube)— narratively represents themes of death and suicide repeatedly in her videos. In two of Lana Del Rey’s music videos —Blue Jeans and Born to Die— either she or a representation of her persona dies. In a third video, Summertime Sadness, her companion takes her own life and Lana ultimately follows suit. Themes of death and loss are just the most obvious of Gothic elements present in Del Rey’s work. Del Rey’s songs and videos speak of the American dream, of aestheticised beauty, of being immaculately presented, well dressed and having hair “beauty queen style”, as in Summertime Sadness. She depicts an excess of hedonistic consumption and love that knows no bounds, not even death. Much of the delivery has resonance with the Gothic; performatively, visually and musically, and shows a subversion and fatalism that juxtaposes, contests and contradicts pop cultural tropes (Macfarlane). This contrary nature of the Gothic, as characterised by Botting, can provoke a sense of otherness; the uncanny, including “displays of uncontrolled passion, violent emotion or flights of fancy to portrayals of perversion or obsession” (Gothic 2). It is argued that these characteristics have been commodified into merchandisable and mainstream stylistic representations (Edwards and Monnet). Del Rey’s visual work uses this otherness and representation of repressed darkness as subversion or contestation to the bubble gum consumerist, fairy tale sexualisation of the Katy Perry brand of neo-liberal pop music that floods the mainstream (Macfarlane). Del Rey also harnesses the Gothic mode in her music, underscoring social anxieties through moments of sound which act as “a sonic imp, this music enters perception through the back door, and there it does its destabilising work” (van Elferen 137). As potential psychosocial sources of this otherness in the Gothic (Botting, Gothic), Jung argued that as a collective consciousness by repressing our darkest side, we can be dislocated from it. Further he argued that many modern ills —conflict, war, disenfranchisement, poverty— stem from culturally rationalised divisions of ‘good vs evil’ (Tacey). Providing a space for these dark sides to surface, Swirski comments that cultural product can act "as a social barometer and a cultural diagnostic tool. It identifies social trends and cultural patterns and weaves elaborate counterfactuals- literary fictions- that hang human faces on large-scale human abstractions such as society and culture" (1). Jung proposes the large-scale social abstraction; that to truly live with ourselves we need embrace the otherness inside us— to learn to live with it (Tacey). The Gothic may enable this living with, rather than living without. Jung asserts that we now rely so much on what we can touch, taste and own, that western culture has become a “creed without substance” (Tacey 32). In more concrete terms, Hoffie argues that popular media today tells stories: in terms of disaster and crisis: weather patterns: disastrous. Climate Change: disastrous. Global Financial Crisis: disastrous. Political situations: disastrous. Unemployment: disastrous. And so on. The high-pitched wail of this lament corrodes the peaks and troughs of potential emotional responsiveness; the vapours of benumbing apathy steam upwards like a bewitching spell. All stands still. Action, like in a bad dream, seems impossible. (14) This apathy in the face of crisis or disaster is well expressed in Del Rey’s work through the Gothic influenced lyrics and videos; she describes her partner as so good looking as to be “sick as cancer” in Blue Jeans and that her lover left her because he was “chasing paper”. Represented here is the social current that the need to acquire goods in late capitalism’s climate “of unrestrained consumerism” (Heine and Thakur 2) is her lover’s priority over companionship. Revealing more of the Gothic aesthetic is that her videos and songs represent this loss, they depict “disturbances of sanity and security” (Botting, Gothic 2) and thematically reflect the social climate of “disaster and crisis” (Hoffie 14). This sense of otherness through Gothic influences of the uncanny, death and melancholy have a significant impact on creative expression creating music videos that play like a kind of half remembered nightmare (Botting, Love Your Zombie; Macfarlane). In the black and white video for Blue Jeans the opening shot shows an image of Del Rey rippling and blurred, framed by circular waves of water as black as oil. The powerful Gothic aesthetic of the abyss is rendered here, “to convey the figurative meaning of a catastrophic situation seen as likely to occur whereby the individual will sink to immeasurable intellectual, ethical or moral depths” (Edwards and Monnet 9). This abyss is represented as Del Rey sings to her ghostly tattooed lover that she will love him until “the end of time” and climaxes in the suggestion that he drowns her. As in Edwards and Monnet‘s description of zombie films, Del Rey’s videos narratively “suggest that the postmodern condition is itself a form of madness that disseminates cultural trauma and erases historical memory” (8). This view is evident in contrasting Del Rey’s interview comment that she finds conversations about feminism boring (Cooper). Yet in her song delivery and lyrics she retains an ironic tone regards feminine power. This combination helps “produce a darkly funny and carnivalesque representation of sex and waste under late capitalism” (Edwards and Monnet 8). Further evidence of these ironies and distorted juxtapositions of loss and possession are evident in the song Radio. The video —a bricolage of retrospective fashion imagery— and lyrics hint at the persistent desire for goods in US western culture (Heine and Thakur). Simultaneously in her song Radio, she is corruptibly engorged by consumption and being consumed (Mulvey) as she sings that life is “sweet like cinnamon, a fucking dream on Ritalin”. The video itself represents distorted dreams hyper-real on Ritalin. Del Rey’s work speaks of an excess; the overflow of sensations, sexual excess, of buying, of having, of owning, and at the same time the absence; of loss or not knowing what to have (Botting, Love Your Zombie). Exemplified by the lyrics in What Makes Us Girls, “do I know what I want?” and again in Radio “American dreams came true somehow, I swore I’d chase until I was dead”. Increasingly it is evident that Del Rey sings “as a woman who does not know what she wants” (Vigier 5). She illustrates the “endemic narcissism” (Hoffie 15) of contemporary western culture. Del Rey therefore clearly delineates much of “the loneliness, emptiness, and alienation that results from rampant consumerism and materialism under advanced capitalism” (Edwards and Monnet 8). As a theme of this representation, Del Rey implies a sense of commodified female sexual energy through the male gaze (Mulvey), along with a sense of wasted youth and opportunity in the carnivalesque National Anthem. The video, shot as if on Super 8 film, tells the story of Del Rey’s ‘character’ married to a hedonistic style of president. It is reminiscent of the JFK story including authentic and detailed presentation of costume —especially Del Rey’s Jackie Onassis fashions— the couple posing in presidential gardens with handsome mixed-race children. Lavish lifestyles are depicted whilst the characters enjoy drinking, gambling and consumerist excess, Del Rey sings "It's a love story for the new age, For the six page, We're on a quick sick rampage, Wining and dining, Drinking and driving, Excessive buying, Overdose and dyin'". In National Anthem sexual excess is one of the strongest themes communicated. Repeatedly depicted are distinct close up shots of his hand on her thigh, and vice versa. Without being sexually explicit in itself, it is an overtly sexual reference, communicating something of sexual excess because of the sheer number of times it is highlighted in close-up shots. This links to the idea of the Gothic use of jouissance, a state of: excessive energies that burst in and beyond circuits of pleasure: intensities are read in relation to a form of subjectivity that finds itself briefly and paradoxically in moments of extreme loss. (Botting, Love Your Zombie 22) Del Rey represents these moments of loss —of herself, of her man, of her power, of her identity being subsumed by his— as intense pleasure, indicated in the video through sexual referencing. Botting argues that these excesses create anxieties; that in the pursuit of postmodern excess, of ownership, of consumption: the subject internalises the inconsistencies and contradictions of capitalism, manifesting pathologies not of privation but overabundance: stress, eating disorders, self-harming, and a range of anxieties. (Love Your Zombie 22) These anxieties are further expressed in National Anthem. Del Rey sings to her lover that he cannot keep his “pants on” and she must “hold you like a python”. The python in this tale simultaneously symbolises the exotic, erotic and dangerous entrapment by her male suitor. Edwards and Monnet argue for the Gothic monster, whose sign is further referenced as Del Rey swims with crocodiles in Blue Jeans. Here the male power, patriarchy and dominance is represented as monstrous. In the video she shares the pool with her beau yet we only see Del Rey swim and writhe with the crocodiles. Analogous of her murderous lover, this adds a powerful otherness to the scene and reinforces the symbols of threatening masculinity and impeding disaster. This expression of monstrousness creates a cathartic tension as it “puts the ‘pop’ in Pop Goth: its popularity is based on the frisson of selling simultaneous aversion from and attraction to self-destruction and cultural taboo” (Edwards and Monnet 9). In a further representation of anxieties Del Rey conforms to the sexual object persona in large part through her retro pin-up iconography —meticulous attention to costume, continuous posing and pouting— and song lyrics (Buszek). As in National Anthem her lyrics talk of devotion and male strength to protect and to “keep me safe in his bell tower”. Her videos, whilst they may show some of her strength, ultimately reside in patriarchal resolution (Mulvey). She is generally confounded by the male figures in her videos appearing to be very much alone and away from them: most notably in Blue Jeans, Born to Die and Video Games. In two cases it is suggested she is murdered by the male figures of her love. Her costume and appearance —iconic 1960’s swimsuits, pantsuits and big hairstyles in National Anthem— portray something of the retro pin-up. Buszek argues that at one time “young feminists may poke fun at the pin-up, but they do so in ways that betray affinities with, even affection for, the genre itself” (3). Del Rey simultaneously adheres to and confronts these normative gender roles, as is characteristic of the Gothic mode (Botting, Gothic). These very Gothic contradictions are also evident in Del Rey’s often ironic or mocking song delivery, undermining apparent heteronormative sexual and gender positioning. In National Anthem she sings, as if parodying women who might sincerely ask, “do you think he’ll buy me lots of diamonds?”. Her conformity is however, subverted. In Del Rey’s videos, clear evidence exists in her facial expressions where she consistently portrays Gothic elements of uncertainty, sorrow, grief and a pervading sense that she does not belong in this world (Botting, Gothic). Whilst depicted as a brooding and mourning widow —simultaneously playing the mistress luxuriating on a lion skin rug— in National Anthem Del Rey sings, “money is the anthem of success” without a smile or sense of any attachment to the lyrics. In the same song she sings “God you’re so handsome” without a trace of glee, pleasure or optimism. In the video for Blue Jeans she sings, “I will love you til the end of time” staring sorrowfully into the distance or directly at the camera. This confident yet ‘dead stare’ emphasises the overall juxtaposition of the largely positive lyrical expression, with the sorrowful facial expression and low sung notes. Del Rey signifies repeatedly that something is amiss; that the American dream is over and that even with apparent success within this sphere, there exists only emptiness and isolation (Botting, Love Your Zombie). Further contradictions exist as Lana Del Rey walks this blurred line —as is the Gothic mode— between heteronormative and ambiguous gender roles (Botting, Gothic; Edwards and Monnet). Lana Del Rey oscillates between positions of strength and independence —shown in her deadpan to-camera delivery— to that of weakness and subjugation. As she plays narrator, Del Rey symbolically reclaims some power as she retells the tragic story of Born to Die from her throne. Represented here Del Rey’s persona exerts a troubled malevolence, with two tigers calmly sat by her side: her benevolent pets, or symbols of contrived excess. She simultaneously presents the angelic —resplendent in sheer white dress and garland ‘crown’ headdress of the spurned bride in the story— and the stoic as she stares down the camera. Del Rey is powerful and in many senses threatening. At one point she draws a manicured thumbnail across her neck in a cut-throat gesture; a movement echoed later by her lover. Her character ultimately walks symbolically —and latently— to her death. She neither remedies her position as subservient, subordinate female nor revisits any kind of redemption for the excessive male dominance in her videos. The “excess is countered by greater excess” (Botting Love Your Zombie 27) and leads to otherness. In this reading of Del Rey’s work, there are representations that remain explicitly Pop Gothic, eliciting sensations of paranoia and fear, overloading her videos with these signs (Yeo). These signs elicit the otherness of the Gothic mode; expressed in visual symbols of violence, passion or obsession (Botting, Gothic). In our digital visual age, subjecting an eager viewer to this excess of signs creates the conditions for over-reading of a growing gender or consumerist paranoia, enabled by the Gothic, “paranoia stems from an excessive over-reading of signs and is a product of interpretation, misinterpretation and re-interpretation based on one’s knowledge or lack of it” (Yeo 22). Del Rey stimulates these sensations of paranoia partly through interlaying intertextual references. She does this thematically —Gothic melancholy— and pop culturally channelling Marilyn Monroe and other fashion iconography, as well as through explicit textual references, as in her most recent single Ultraviolence. In Ultraviolence, Del Rey sings “He hit me and it felt like a kiss”. Effortlessly and simultaneously she celebrates and lays bare her pain; however the intertextual reference to the violent controversy of the film A Clockwork Orange serves to aestheticise the domestic violence she describes. With Del Rey it may be that as meaning is sought amongst the texts as Macfarlane wrote about Lady Gaga, Del Rey’s “truth is ultimately irrelevant in the face of its interlayed performance” (130). Del Rey’s Gothic mode of ambiguity, of transgressed boundaries and unclear lines, shows “this ambience of perpetually deferred climax is no stranger to contemporary culture” (Hoffie 15) and may go some way to expressing something of the “lived experience of her audience” (Vigier 1). Hermes argues that in post-feminist pop culture, strong independent post-feminist women can be characterised by their ability to break traditional taboos, question or hold up for interrogation norms and traditions, but that ultimately narrative arches tend to restore the patriarchal norm. Edwards and Monnet assert that the Gothic in Pop Gothic cultural representation can become “post-race, post-sexuality, post-gender” (6). In places Del Ray exhibits this postmodernism but through the use of Gothic mode goes outside political debates and blurs clear lines of feminist discourse (Botting, Love Your Zombie). Whilst a duality in the texts exists; comments on consumerism, the emptiness of capitalist society and a suicidal expression of hopelessness, are undermined as she demonstrates conformity to subservient gender roles and her ambiguously ironic need to be “young and beautiful”. To be consumed by her man thus defines her value as an object within a consumerist neo-liberal trope (Jameson). This analysis goes some way to confirming Hermes’ assertion that in this post-feminist climate there has been a “loss of a political agenda, or the foundation for a new one, where it signposts the overcoming of unproductive old distinctions between feminist and feminine” (79). Hermes further argues, with reference to television shows Ally McBeal and Sex and the City, that presentation of female characters or personas has moved forward; the man is no longer the lone guarantor of a woman’s happiness. Yet many of the tropes in Del Rey’s work are familiar; overwhelming love for her companion equal only to the emphasis on physical appearance. Del Rey breaks taboos —she is powerful, sexual and a romantic predator, without being a demon seductress— and satirises consumerist excess and gender inequality; yet she remains sexually and politically subservient to the whim and sometimes violently expressed or implied male gaze (Mulvey). Del Rey may well represent something of Vigier’s assertion that whilst society has clear direction for the ‘success’ of women, “that real liberation and genuine satisfaction elude them” (1). In closing, there is no clear answer as to whether Del Rey is a Beauty Queen or Gothic Princess; she is neither and she is both. In Vigier’s words, “self-exploitation or self-destruction cannot be the only choices open to young women today” (13). Del Rey’s work is provocative on multiple levels. It hints at the pull of rampant consumerism and the immediacy of narcissistic desires, interlinked with contradictions which indicate the potential for social crises. This is shown in Del Rey’s use of the Gothic — otherness, the monstrous, darkness and death— and its juxtaposition with heteronormative gender representations which highlights the persistent commodification of the female body, its subjugation to male power and the potential for deep anxieties in 21st-century identity. References Blue Jeans. Dir. Yoann Lemoine. Perf. Lana Del Rey. Interscope Records, 2012. Botting, Fred. Gothic. New York: Routledge, 2014. Botting, Fred. "Love Your Zombie." The Gothic in Contemporary Literature and Popular Culture. Ed. Edwards, Justin and Agnieszka Monnet. New York: Routledge, 2012. 19-36. Buszek, Maria. Pin-Up Grrrls Feminism, Sexuality and Popular Culture. London: Duke University Press, 2006. Cooper, Duncan. "Lana Del Rey Cover Interview." Fader, June 2014. Edwards, Justin, and Agnieszka Monnet. "Introduction." The Gothic in Contemporary Literature and Popular Culture. Eds. Justin Edwards and A. Monnet. New York: Routledge, 2012. 1-18. Heine, Jorge, and Ramesh Thakur. The Dark Side of Globalisation. New York: UN UP, 2011. Hermes, Joke. "The Tragic Success of Feminism." Feminism in Popular Culture. Eds. Joanne Hollows and Rachel Moseley. New York: Berg, 2006. 79-95. Hoffie, Pat. "Deadly Ennui." Artlink Magazine 32.4 (2012): 15-16. Jameson, Fredric. "Globalisation and Political Strategy." New Left Review 2.4 (2000): 49-68. Lana Del Rey. "Radio." Born To Die. Interscope Records, 2012. "Lana Del Rey - Summertime Sadness" YouTube, n.d. 12 June 2014 ‹http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVjsGKrE6E8›. Lana Del Rey. "This Is What Makes Us Girls." Born To Die. Interscope Records, 2012. Macfarlane, K. "The Monstrous House of Gaga." The Gothic in Contemporary Literature and Popular Culture. Ed. Justin Edwards and A. Monnet. New York: Routledge, 2012. 114-134. Mestrovic, Stjepan. Postemotional Society. London: Sage, 1997. Mulvey, Laura. Visual and other Pleasures. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. National Anthem. Dir. Anthony Mandler. Perf. Lana Del Rey. Interscope Records, 2012. Paglia, Camille. Lady Gaga and the Death of Sex. 12 Sep. 2010. 2 June 2014 ‹http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/public/magazine/article389697.ece›. Piatti-Farnell, Lorna. "Introduction: a Place for Contemporary Gothic." Aeternum: the Journal of Contemporary Gothic Studies 1.1 (2014): i-iv. Spooner, Catherine, and Emma McEvoy. The Routledge Companion to Gothic. New York: Routledge, 2007. Summertime Sadness. Dir. Chris Sweeney. Perf. Lana Del Rey. Interscope Records, 2013. Swirski, Peter. American Utopia and Social Engineering in Literature, Social Thought, and Political History. New York: Routledge, 2011. Tacey, David. The Jung Reader. New York: Routledge, 2012. Van Elferen, Isabella. "Spectural Liturgy, Transgression, Ritual and Music in Gothic." The Gothic in Contemporary Literature and Popular Culture. Eds. Justin Edwards and A. Monnet. New York: Routledge, 2012. 135-147. Vigier, Catherine. "The Meaning of Lana Del Rey." Zeteo: The Journal of Interdisciplinary Writing Fall (2012): 1-16. Yeo, David. "Gothic Paranoia in David Fincher's Seven, The Game and Fight Club." Aeternum: The Journal Of Contemporary Gothic Studies 1.1 (2014): 16-25. Young and Beautiful. Dir. Chris Sweeney. Perf. Lana Del Rey. Interscope Records, 2013.

A slash manip is a photo remix that montages visual signs from popular media with those from gay pornography, creating a new cultural artefact. Slash (see Russ) is a fannish practice that homoeroticises the bonds between male media characters and personalities—female pairings are categorised separately as ‘femslash’. Slash has been defined almost exclusively as a female practice. While fandom is indeed “women-centred” (Bury 2), such definitions have a tendency to exclude male contributions. Remix has been well acknowledged in discussions on slash, most notably video remix in relation to slash vids (Kreisinger). Non-written slash forms such as slash vids (see Russo) and slash fanart (see Dennis) have received increased attention in recent years. This article continues the tradition of moving beyond fiction by considering the non-written form of slash manips, yet to receive sustained scholarly attention. Speaking as a practitioner—my slash manips can be found here—I perform textual analysis from an aca–fan (academic and fan) position of two Merlin slash manips by male Tumblr artist wandsinhand. My textual analysis is influenced by Barthes’s use of image semiotics, which he applies to the advertising image. Barthes notes that “all images are polysemous”, that underlying their signifiers they imply “a ‘floating chain’ of signifieds, the reader able to choose some and ignore others” (274). That said, the advertising image, he argues, constructs an “undoubtedly intentional […] signification”, making it ideally suited for analysis (270). By supplementing my analysis with excerpts from two interviews I conducted with wandsinhand in February and April 2013 (quoted here with permission), I support my readings with respect to the artist’s stated ‘intentional reading’. I then contextualise these readings with respect to canon (Merlin) representations and gay pornography—via the chosen sexual acts/positions, bukkake and doggystyle, of the pornographic base models, as selected by the artist. This approach allows me to examine the photo remix qualities of slash manips with respect to the artist’s intentions as well as how artistic choices of inclusion function to anchor meaning in the works. I describe these choices as the ‘semiotic significance of selection’. Together the readings and interviews in this article help illustrate the value of this form and the new avenues it opens for slash scholars, such as consideration of photo remix and male production, and the importance of gay pornography to slash. My interviews also reveal, via the artist’s own assessment of the ‘value’ of his practice, a tendency to devalue or overlook the significance of this particular slash form, affirming a real need for further critical engagement with this under-examined practice. Slash Photo Remix: Famous Faces, Porny Bodies Lessig defines remix culture as based on an activity of “rip, mix and burn” (12–5); while Navas describes it as a “practice of cut/copy and paste” (159)—the latter being more applicable to photo remix. Whereas Lessig is concerned primarily with issues of copyright, Navas is interested in remix’s role in aesthetics and the political economy. Within fan studies, slash vids—a form of video remix—has been a topic of considerable academic interest in recent years. Slash manips—a form of photo or image remix—however, has not attracted the same degree of interest. Stasi’s description of slash as “a non-hierarchical, rich layering of genres” points to the usefulness of slash manips as an embodiment of the process of slash; whereby artists combine, blend and mutate graphic layers from popular media with those from gay pornography. Aesthetics and the slash manip process are central concerns of this article’s consideration of slash photo remix. Slash manips, or slash photo montage, use image manipulation software (Adobe Photoshop being the community standard, see wandsinhand’s tutorial) to layer the heads of male fictional characters from stills or promotional images with scenes—static or moving—from gay pornography. Once an artist has selected pornographic ‘base models’ anatomically suited to canon characters, these models are often then repositioned into the canon universe, which in the case of Merlin means a medieval setting. (Works not repositioned and without added details from canon are generally categorised as ‘male celebrity fakes’ rather than ‘slash manips’.) Stedman contends that while many fan studies scholars are interested in remix, “studies commonly focus on examples of remixed objects rather than the compositional strategies used by remix composers themselves” (107). He advocates moving beyond an exclusive consideration of “text-centred approaches” to also consider “practice-” and “composer-centred” approaches. Such approaches offer insight into “the detailed choices composers actually make when composing” (107). He refers to recognition of the skills required by a remix composer as “remix literacy” (108). This article’s consideration of the various choices and skills that go into the composition of slash manips—what I term the ‘semiotic significance of selection’—is explored with respect to wandsinhand’s practice, coupling my reading—informed by my experience as a practitioner—with the interpretations of the artist himself. Jenkins defines slash as “reaction against” constructions of male sexuality in both popular media and pornography (189). By their very nature, slash manips also make clear the oft-overlooked connections between slash and gay pornography, and in turn the contributions of gay male participants, who are well represented by the form. This contrasts with a tendency within scholarship to compare slash with heterosexual female forms, such as the romance genre (Salmon and Symons). Gay pornography plays a visible role in slash manips—and slash vids, which often remix scenes from popular media with gay cinema and pornography. Slash as Romance, Slash as Pornography Early scholarship on slash (see Russ; Lamb and Veith) defines it as a form of erotica or pornography, by and for women; a reductive definition that fails to take into account men’s contribution, yet one that many researchers continue to adopt today. As stated above, there has also been a tendency within scholarship to align the practice with heterosexual female forms such as the romance genre. Such a tendency is by and large due to theorisation of slash as heterosexual female fantasy—and concerned primarily with romance and intimacy rather than sex (see Woledge). Weinstein describes slash as more a “fascination with” than a “representation of” homosexual relationships (615); while MacDonald makes the point that homosexuality is not a major political motivator for slash (28–9). There is no refuting that slash—along with most fannish practice—is female dominated, ethnographic work and fandom surveys reveal that is the case. However there is great need for research into male production of slash, particularly how such practices might challenge reigning definitions and assumptions of the practice. In similar Japanese practices, for example, gay male opposition to girls’ comics (shōjo) depicting love between ‘pretty boys’ (bishōunen) has been well documented (see Hori)—Men’s Love (or bara) is a subgenre of Boys’ Love (or shōnen’ai) predominately created by gay men seeking a greater connection with the lived reality of gay life (Lunsing). Dennis finds male slash fanart producers more committed to muscular representations and depiction of graphic male/male sex when compared with female-identifying artists (14, 16). He also observes that male fanart artists have a tendency of “valuing same-sex desire without a heterosexual default and placing it within the context of realistic gay relationships” (11). I have observed similar differences between male and female-identifying slash manip artists. Female-identifying Nicci Mac, for example, will often add trousers to her donor bodies, recoding them for a more romantic context. By contrast, male-identifying mythagowood is known for digitally enlarging the penises and rectums of his base models, exaggerating his work’s connection to the pornographic and the macabre. Consider, for example, mythagowood’s rationale for digitally enlarging and importing ‘lips’ for Sam’s (Supernatural) rectum in his work Ass-milk: 2012, which marks the third anniversary of the original: Originally I wasn’t going to give Sammy’s cunt any treatment (before I determined the theme) but when assmilk became the theme I had to go find a good set of lips to slap on him and I figured, it’s been three years, his hole is going to be MUCH bigger. (personal correspondence, used with permission) While mythagowood himself cautions against gendered romance/pornography slash arguments—“I find it annoying that people attribute certain specific aspects of my work to something ‘only a man’ would make.” (ibid.)—gay pornography occupies an important place in the lives of gay men as a means for entertainment, community engagement and identity-construction (see McKee). As one of the only cultural representations available to gay men, Fejes argues that gay pornography plays a crucial role in defining gay male desire and identity. This is confirmed by an Internet survey conducted by Duggan and McCreary that finds 98% of gay participants reporting exposure to pornographic material in the 30-day period prior to the survey. Further, the underground nature of gay pornographic film (see Dyer) aligns it with slash as a subcultural practice. I now analyse two Merlin slash manips with respect to the sexual positions of the pornographic base models, illustrating how gay pornography genres and ideologies referenced through these works enforce their intended meaning, as defined by the artist. A sexual act such as bukkake, as wandsinhand astutely notes, acts as a universal sign and “automatically generates a narrative for the image without anything really needing to be detailed”. Barthes argues that such a “relation between thing signified and image signifying in analogical representation” is unlike language, which has a much more ‘arbitrary’ relationship between signifier and signified (272). Bukkake and the Assertion of Masculine Power in Merlin Merlin (2008–12) is a BBC reimagining of the Arthurian legend that focuses on the coming-of-age of Arthur and his close bond with his manservant Merlin, who keeps his magical identity secret until Arthur’s final stand in the iconic Battle of Camlann. The homosexual potential of Merlin and Arthur’s story—and of magic as a metaphor for homosexuality—is something slash fans were quick to recognise. During question time at the first Merlin cast appearance at the London MCM Expo in October 2008—just one month after the show’s pilot first aired—a fan asked Morgan and James, who portray Merlin and Arthur, is Merlin “meant to be a love story between Arthur and Merlin?” James nods in jest. Wandsinhand, who is most active in the Teen Wolf (2011–present) fandom, has produced two Merlin slash manips to date, a 2013 Merlin/Arthur and a 2012 Arthur/Percival, both untitled. The Merlin/Arthur manip (see Figure 1) depicts Merlin bound and on his knees, Arthur ejaculating across his face and on his chest. Merlin is naked while Arthur is partially clothed in chainmail and armour. They are both bruised and dirty, Arthur’s injuries suggesting battle given his overall appearance, while Merlin’s suggesting abuse, given his subordinate position. The setting appears to be the royal stables, where we know Merlin spends much of his time mucking out Arthur’s horses. I am left to wonder if perhaps Merlin did not carry out this duty to Arthur’s satisfaction, and is now being punished for it; or if Arthur has returned from battle in need of sexual gratification and the endorsement of power that comes from debasing his manservant. Figure 1: wandsinhand, Untitled (Merlin/Arthur), 2013, photo montage. Courtesy the artist. Both readings are supported by Arthur’s ‘spent’ expression of disinterest or mild curiosity, while Merlin’s face emotes pain: crying and squinting through the semen obscuring his vision. The artist confirms this reading in our interview: “Arthur is using his pet Merlin to relieve some stress; Merlin of course not being too pleased about the aftermath, but obedient all the same.” The noun ‘pet’ evokes the sexual connotations of Merlin’s role as Arthur’s personal manservant, while also demoting Merlin even further than usual. He is, in Arthur’s eyes, less than human, a sexual plaything to use and abuse at will. The artist’s statement also confirms that Arthur is acting against Merlin’s will. Violence is certainly represented here, the base models having been ‘marked up’ to depict sexualisation of an already physically and emotionally abusive relationship, their relative positioning and the importation of semen heightening the humiliation. Wandsinhand’s work engages characters in sadomasochistic play, with semen and urine frequently employed to degrade and arouse—“peen wolf”, a reference to watersports, is used within his Teen Wolf practice. The two wandsinhand works analysed in this present article come without words, thus lacking a “linguistic message” (Barthes 273–6). However even so, the artist’s statement and Arthur’s stance over “his pet Merlin” mean we are still able to “skim off” (270) the meanings the image contains. The base models, for example, invite comparison with the ‘gay bukkake’ genre of gay pornography—admittedly with a single dominant male rather than a group. Gay bukkake has become a popular niche in North American gay pornography—it originated in Japan as a male–female act in the 1980s. It describes a ritualistic sexual act where a group of dominant men—often identifying as heterosexual—fuck and debase a homosexual, submissive male, commonly bareback (Durkin et al. 600). The aggression on display in this act—much like the homosocial insistency of men who partake in a ‘circle jerk’ (Mosher 318)—enables the participating men to affirm their masculinity and dominance by degrading the gay male, who is there to service (often on his knees) and receive—in any orifice of the group’s choosing—the men’s semen, and often urine as well. The equivalencies I have made here are based on the ‘performance’ of the bukkake fantasy in gay niche hazing and gay-for-pay pornography genres. These genres are fuelled by antigay sentiment, aggression and debasement of effeminate males (see Kendall). I wish here to resist the temptation of labelling the acts described above as deviant. As is a common problem with anti-pornography arguments, to attempt to fix a practice such as bukkake as deviant and abject—by, for example, equating it to rape (Franklin 24)—is to negate a much more complex consideration of distinctions and ambiguities between force and consent; lived and fantasy; where pleasure is, where it is performed and where it is taken. I extend this desire not to label the manip in question, which by exploiting the masculine posturing of Arthur effectively sexualises canon debasement. This began with the pilot when Arthur says: “Tell me Merlin, do you know how to walk on your knees?” Of the imported imagery—semen, bruising, perspiration—the key signifier is Arthur’s armour which, while torn in places, still ensures the encoding of particular signifieds: masculinity, strength and power. Doggystyle and the Subversion of Arthur’s ‘Armoured Self’ Since the romanticism and chivalric tradition of the knight in shining armour (see Huizinga) men as armoured selves have become a stoic symbol of masculine power and the benchmark for aspirational masculinity. For the medieval knight, armour reflects in its shiny surface the mettle of the man enclosed, imparting a state of ‘bodilessness’ by containing any softness beneath its shielded exterior (Burns 140). Wandsinhand’s Arthur/Percival manip (see Figure 2) subverts Arthur and the symbolism of armour with the help of arguably the only man who can: Arthur’s largest knight Percival. While a minor character among the knights, Percival’s physical presence in the series looms large, and has endeared him to slash manip artists, particularly those with only a casual interest in the series, such as wandsinhand: Why Arthur and Percival were specifically chosen had really little to do with the show’s plot, and in point of fact, I don’t really follow Merlin that closely nor am I an avid fan. […] Choosing Arthur/Percival really was just a matter of taste rather than being contextually based on their characterisations in the television show. Figure 2: wandsinhand, Untitled (Arthur/Percival), 2012, photo montage. Courtesy the artist. Concerning motivation, the artist explains: “Sometimes one’s penis decides to pick the tv show Merlin, and specifically Arthur and Percival.” The popularity of Percival among manip artists illustrates the power of physicality as a visual sign, and the valorisation of size and muscle within the gay community (see Sánchez et al.). Having his armour modified to display his muscles, the implication is that Percival does not need armour, for his body is already hard, impenetrable. He is already suited up, simultaneously man and armoured. Wandsinhand uses the physicality of this character to strip Arthur of his symbolic, masculine power. The work depicts Arthur with a dishevelled expression, his armoured chest pressed against the ground, his chainmail hitched up at the back to expose his arse, Percival threading his unsheathed cock inside him, staring expressionless at the ‘viewer’. The artist explains he “was trying to show a shift of power”: I was also hinting at some sign of struggle, which is somewhat evident on Arthur’s face too. […] I think the expressions work in concert to suggest […] a power reversal that leaves Arthur on the bottom, a position he’s not entirely comfortable accepting. There is pleasure to be had in seeing the “cocky” Arthur forcefully penetrated, “cut down to size by a bigger man” (wandsinhand). The two assume the ‘doggystyle’ position, an impersonal sexual position, without eye contact and where the penetrator sets the rhythm and intensity of each thrust. Scholars have argued that the position is degrading to the passive party, who is dehumanised by the act, a ‘dog’ (Dworkin 27); and rapper Snoop ‘Doggy’ Dogg exploits the misogynistic connotations of the position on his record Doggystyle (see Armstrong). Wandsinhand is clear in his intent to depict forceful domination of Arthur. Struggle is signified through the addition of perspiration, a trademark device used by this artist to symbolise struggle. Domination in a sexual act involves the erasure of the wishes of the dominated partner (see Cowan and Dunn). To attune oneself to the pleasures of a sexual partner is to regard them as a subject. To ignore such pleasures is to degrade the other person. The artist’s choice of pairing embraces the physicality of the male/male bond and illustrates a tendency among manip producers to privilege conventional masculine identifiers—such as size and muscle—above symbolic, nonphysical identifiers, such as status and rank. It is worth noting that muscle is more readily available in the pornographic source material used in slash manips—muscularity being a recurrent component of gay pornography (see Duggan and McCreary). In my interview with manip artist simontheduck, he describes the difficulty he had sourcing a base image “that complimented the physicality of the [Merlin] characters. […] The actor that plays Merlin is fairly thin while Arthur is pretty built, it was difficult to find one. I even had to edit Merlin’s body down further in the end.” (personal correspondence, used with permission) As wandsinhand explains, “you’re basically limited by what’s available on the internet, and even then, only what you’re prepared to sift through or screencap yourself”. Wandsinhand’s Arthur/Percival pairing selection works in tandem with other artistic decisions and inclusions—sexual position, setting, expressions, effects (perspiration, lighting)—to ensure the intended reading of the work. Antithetical size and rank positions play out in the penetration/submission act of wandsinhand’s work, in which only the stronger of the two may come out ‘on top’. Percival subverts the symbolic power structures of prince/knight, asserting his physical, sexual dominance over the physically inferior Arthur. That such a construction of Percival is incongruent with the polite, impeded-by-my-size-and-muscle-density Percival of the series speaks to the circumstances of manip production, much of which is on a taste basis, as previously noted. There are of course exceptions to this, the Teen Wolf ‘Sterek’ (Stiles/Derek) pairing being wandsinhand’s, but even in this case, size tends to couple with penetration. Slash manips often privilege physicality of the characters in question—as well as the base models selected—above any particular canon-supported slash reading. (Of course, the ‘queering’ nature of slash practice means at times there is also a desire to see such identifiers subverted, however in this example, raw masculine power prevails.) This final point is in no way representative—my practice, for example, combines manips with ficlets to offer a clearer connection with canon, while LJ’s zdae69 integrates manips, fiction and comics. However, common across slash manip artists driven by taste—and requests—rather than connection with canon—the best known being LJ’s tw-31988, demon48180 and Tumblr’s lwoodsmalestarsfakes, all of whom work across many fandoms—is interest in the ‘aesthetics of canon’, the blue hues of Teen Wolf or the fluorescent greens of Arrow (2012–present), displayed in glossy magazine format using services such as ISSUU. In short, ‘the look’ of the work often takes precedent over canonical implications of any artistic decisions. “Nothing Too Serious”: Slash Manips as Objects Worth Studying It had long been believed that the popular was the transient, that of entertainment rather than enlightenment; that which is manufactured, “an appendage of the machinery”, consumed by the duped masses and a product not of culture but of a ‘culture industry’ (Adorno and Rabinbach 12). Scholars such as Radway, Ang pioneered a shift in scholarly practice, advancing the cultural studies project by challenging elitism and finding meaning in traditionally devalued cultural texts and practices. The most surprising outcome of my interviews with wandsinhand was hearing how he conceived of his practice, and the study of slash: If I knew I could get a PhD by writing a dissertation on Slash, I would probably drop out of my physics papers! […] I don’t really think too highly of faking/manip-making. I mean, it’s not like it’s high art, is it? … or is it? I guess if Duchamp’s toilet can be a masterpiece, then so can anything. But I mainly just do it to pass the time, materialise fantasies, and disperse my fantasies unto others. Nothing too serious. Wandsinhand erects various binaries—academic/fan, important/trivial, science/arts, high art/low art, profession/hobby, reality/fantasy, serious/frivolous—as justification to devalue his own artistic practice. Yet embracing the amateur, personal nature of his practice frees him to “materialise fantasies” that would perhaps not be possible without self-imposed, underground production. This is certainly supported by his body of work, which plays with taboos of the unseen, of bodily fluids and sadomasochism. My intention with this article is not to contravene views such as wandsinhand’s. Rather, it is to promote slash manips as a form of remix culture that encourages new perspectives on how slash has been defined, its connection with male producers and its symbiotic relationship with gay pornography. I have examined the ‘semiotic significance of selection’ that creates meaning in two contrary slash manips; how these works actualise and resist canon dominance, as it relates to the physical and the symbolic. This examination also offers insight into this form’s connection to and negotiation with certain ideologies of gay pornography, such as the valorisation of size and muscle. 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