Articoli di riviste sul tema "Home solid residues"

Objective: to analyze how nurses who provide home care discard contaminated materials in primary health care. Methods: a descriptive study was carried out, with 42 nursing professionals working in 21 Basic Health Units of a capital city in the Northeast of Brazil. The statements were processed in the IRaMuTeQ and analyzed by the Descending Hierarchical Classification. Results: Three classes were obtained: Domiciliary Solid Residues produced during the domiciliary visit, How the dynamics of the attendance influence in the production of residues?, Responsibility for the production and Management of Solid Residual Domiciliary. Conclusion: There is a correct conception about the solid waste formation in the health services and consequent adequate disposal of the same, however there is a gap between the knowledge and the implementation of this action in the daily practice of these professionals.

<p>Uma dificuldade vivenciada pelos centros urbanos é o gerenciamento adequado dos resíduos sólidos gerados. Os resíduos cujos impactos têm maior alcance requerem atenção especial. Existem resíduos de serviços de saúde (RSS) gerados no ambiente domiciliar por pessoas acometidas de alguns tipos de enfermidades. Um destes casos são os portadores de diabetes melito. Para controlar a doença, os pacientes usam insulina injetável em seus domicílios; e os resíduos produzidos pela insulinoterapia são um grande problema de saúde pública. O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar como os usuários de insulina manejam os RSS em seus domicílios no que se refere a sua segregação, seu acondicionamento e sua disposição final. Trata-se de uma pesquisa exploratória descritiva, com abordagem quantitativa. Uma amostra de 42 pacientes selecionados a partir de critérios predeterminados respondeu a um questionário elaborado com base em um estudo acadêmico anterior. A análise dos resultados mostra que 28,5% separam os resíduos em domicílio, enquanto 36% os descartam em lixeira comum, e que a maioria não sabe para onde encaminhar os resíduos e apenas 26% receberam algum tipo de orientação sobre esse manejo. Este estudo conclui que há necessidade de implantação de programas educativos eficientes que possam oferecer orientações corretas aos pacientes insulinodependentes e que tenham o olhar voltado para questões ambientais.</p><p><strong>Palavras-chave<em>:</em></strong> Descarte; Insulinoterapia; Resíduos dos Serviços de Saúde; Resíduos Sólidos</p><p> </p><p>SOLID HEALTH WASTE GENERATED BY HOUSEHOLD INSULIN USERS: AN ANALYSIS OF SEGREGATION, PACKAGING AND FINAL DESTINATION</p><h2>Abstract</h2><p>One difficulty experienced by the urban centers is the generation of solid waste and its adequate management. Impact wastes with greater reach require special attention. There are waste from health services (HSW) generated in domestic manner by people that have a disease called Diabetes Mellitus. For the control, injectable insulin is used in their homes, and the production of these residues in their residences is a major public health problem. The aim of the study was to analyze how the handling of HSW is carried out, at the household level of insulin users, with regard for segregation, packaging and final disposal. The research was carried out through data collection with a directed questionnaire. 42 patients responded. It was observed that 28.5% separate the residues at home, while 36% discard the residues in a common trash, most do not know where to send the residues and only 26% received some type of guidance on this management. The need to implement efficient educational programs to address this context was identified.</p><strong>Keywords</strong><em>:</em> Disposal; Insulin Therapy; Health Service Waste; Solid Waste

Abstract Acephate is a commonly used organophosphate insecticide applied on agricultural crops and in residential communities. Because very little acephate is metabolized prior to excretion, the parent pesticide compound can be measured in human urine. The residue method must be sensitive enough to determine human exposure and potential health risk for both agricultural workers and their families who may be exposed by pesticide drift or by inadvertent carry-home residues. A reliable and sensitive method was developed to measure acephate concentrations in human urine. Urine was diluted with water and acetone, adjusted to a neutral pH, and partitioned twice in acetone–methylene chloride (1 + 1, v/v), with NaCl added to aid separation. The solvent-reduced organic phase extracts were clarified by activated charcoal solid-phase extraction and then adjusted to a final volume with the addition of a D-xylose analyte protectant solution to reduce matrix enhancement effects. Acephate concentrations in urine were determined by gas chromatography using pulsed flame photometric detection. The method limit of detection was established at 2 μg/L, with a method limit of quantitation of 10 μg/L. The average recovery from urine fortified with 10–500 μg/L was 102 ± 12% (n = 32).

Background: Aromatic plants are quite popular for daily use worldwide. However, little is known about the appropriate preparation of beverages in “house conditions” in order to preserve their beneficial characteristics after processing. Taraxacum officinale Weber ex Wigg contains a variety of compounds, with well-documented effects against oxidative stress. This study aims to investigate the optimum preparation conditions of a Taraxacum beverage in the household setting, with respect to its antioxidant characteristics. Methods: Dried, commercial T. officinale was used to prepare beverages boiling for 1, 3 or 5 min. The beverages were extracted using organic solvents of increasing polarity, and the solid residues of each extraction were examined by in vitro analysis on: the evaluation of total phenolic content (Folin Ciocalteau), the evaluation of antioxidant activity (DPPH and ABTS radicals scavenging), the evaluation of the ability of the tested extracts to compete with DMSO for OH radicals, the ability to inhibit lipid peroxidation of linoleic acid and soybean lipoxygenase inhibition assay. Results: All preparations had an overall good antioxidant profile. Regarding the chosen solvents, mid polarity solvents were more likely to give better results in all tests conducted, which can be indicative of the compounds extracted in each fraction. Samples prepared under 3 min boiling presented significant interaction with DPPH and strong lipoxygenase and lipid peroxidation inhibition. Conclusion: As previously observed in the literature, food processing can greatly affect its biochemical characteristics. In the case of Taraxacum, boiling for 3 min resulted in the best overall profile of the beverage with respect to its antioxidant properties. However, due to a variety of components present in each plant, further investigation and stratification, along with in vivo experiments are needed.

The management of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) has become a major concern for urban communities due to the large volumes of waste generated. In this context, this work seeks to gather information for the implementation of a Reverse Logistics system that is comprehensive and regular for WEEE in Campos - RJ and can be intended as a prototype to be adapted to the reality of other cities in the country. These information correspond to obtaining an estimate of the potential of generating WEEE (such as, cell phones, computers and tablets), characterizing the home flow and its peculiarities. Therefore, an estimation model was proposed based on the indicator of devices present with the users. The data needed for this work were collected through the application of a questionnaire to a sample, random and representative of citizens. It was noticed that the results found would support the decisions to be taken in the design of an efficient management system for WEEE. It is also worth mentioning that this research was carried out under the current considerations of sustainability according to what determines the Brazilian legislation on Solid Waste. The results approximate the global estimates of the specific, researched electronic residues.

Desde os tempos mais primitivos, o homem produz resíduos sob diferentes formas, oriundos da açáo de apropria­ ção da natureza para satisfazer suas necessidades. Com o avanço científico e técnico, os resíduos se diversificam e se tornam mais complexos na sua composição. O advento do capitalismo impõe novas necessidades, incentivando o consumo de objetos. Boa parte da humanidade entrou numa verdadeira febre consumista. Esse paper discute a criação de novas necessidades no modelo neoliberal, que empurra o consumidor a adquirir bens e serviços desnecessários, elaborados para ter curta duração ou descartáveis. Assim, o empresariado reproduz seus capitais, mas agride os sistemas ambientais com os objetos transformados em lixo. Sugere-se, aqui, a revisão dos padrões de consumo e o manejo dos resíduos de formas mais condizentes com os requerimentos ambientais

Four new analogs of arginine vasopressin containing β-homo-L-amino acid residue were synthesized by the solid-phase method. The introduced modifications yielded the following peptides:[β-homo Phe3]AVP (I), [β-homoPro7]AVP (II), [Cpp1, Tyr(Me)2, β-homoPhe3]AVP (III), and[Cpp1,Tyr(Me)2, β-homoPro7]AVP (IV). Agonistic properties of I and II, as well as antagonistic properties of III and IV were decreased, more pronouncedly with analogs substituted in the position 3.

The main objective of the present study is to validate a simple over-coring deep-hole drilling (oDHD) residual stress measurement technique by utilising finite element simulations of the technique. A number of three dimensional (3D) finite element analyses (FEA) were carried out to explore the influence of material removal and the cutting sequence during the deep-hole drilling (DHD) residual stress measurement process on the initial residual stress field. Two models were considered in the study. First, the residual stress field predicted in a rapid spray water quenched solid cylinder was used as the initial stress field for the DHD FE model. The DHD reconstructed residual stresses were compared with the initial FE predicted stresses. Different cutting sequences and different dimensions were systematically simulated before arriving at an optimum solution for the oDHD technique. The oDHD technique significantly improved the spatial resolution and was applied in a second model consisting of a 40mm thick butt-welded pipe. The DHD reconstructed residual stresses compared very well with the initial FE predicted weld residual stress thereby validating the oDHD technique.

Food waste generation is one of the most crucial problems of our constantly developing world. There are several common methods of its treatment, however each one has its own advantages and disadvantages. Pyrolysis attracting attention in this field since a long time, because it allows to utilize this valuable resource with energy and material recovery. Moreover, the environmental impact of the process is relatively low. In this paper, products of low temperature household waste pyrolysis underwent a detailed chemical analysis. Liquid and solid residues was examined. Composition and concentration of particular compounds and elements indicates presence of long chain alkane, alkene and carboxylic acid molecules together with small amounts of aromatics within the bio-oil samples. The presence of heavy metals in residues was detected, too. Since the products are usually described as non-toxic, the idea of waste’ low-temperature thermal treating in household was analyzed. In general, examined residues from the process are safe for the environment, thus pyrolysis can be considered as a legitimate mechanism to treat kitchen waste combined with energy recovery for homes.

Homes with lead service lines (LSLs) in the City of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, were found to exceed the provincial standard of 10 μg/L for lead in drinking water. Solids identified by X-ray diffraction of LSL scale were Pb5O8 and PbO2, indicating that lead(II) solids in the LSL scale have been oxidized to lead(IV) solids by free chlorine residuals. Natural organic matter (NOM) can reduce PbO2 within a few hours, and Brandon treated water has high levels of NOM at approximately 5–7.6 mg/L as total organic carbon (TOC). As water stagnates in the LSL during periods of no water use the free chlorine residual is depleted, permitting PbO2 to oxidize NOM and be reduced to more soluble lead(II) species, resulting in an increase in dissolved lead concentrations. Although it is generally believed that aquatic humic substances (AHS) are primarily responsible for the reductant capacity of NOM, removal of AHS from the treated water resulted in a 6% decrease in lead release from PbO2, while removal of 50% of total NOM resulted in a 75% decrease in lead release. AHS and TOC were not found to play a significant role in the reduction of PbO2 in this water.

The most critical stage in the heat treatment of high strength aluminium alloys is the rapid cooling necessary to form a supersaturated solid solution. During cold water quenching of thick sections, the thermal gradients are sufficient to cause inhomogeneous plastic deformation which in turn leads to the development of large residual stresses. Two 215 mm thick rectilinear forgings made from 7075 and 7010 were heat treated, and the through thickness residual stresses measured by neutron diffraction and deep hole drilling. The distribution of residual stresses was found to be similar for both alloys varying from highly triaxial and tensile in the core to a state of biaxial compression in the surface. The 7010 forging exhibited significantly larger tensile stresses in the core. 7075 is a much more quench sensitive alloy when compared to 7010. This results in loss of supersaturation by second phase precipitation during quenching in the core of the 7075 forging.

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid-state joining technique which can produce high-quality joints efficiently. The residual stresses in FSW are generated due to the effect of both the uneven temperature field and of the tool force, which is different from that in fusion welding. In this study the residual stresses of 3mm-thick 2024-T4 aluminum alloy FSW joints have been investigated by using the Hole-drilling method. To reduce the influence of drilling upon the experimental results, annealed stress-free 2024 aluminum alloy plates were drilled; the relieved strains were measured and were subtracted from the total strains measured from the joints. The results showed that the longitudinal residual stresses in the joint were much larger than the transverse residual stresses; high longitudinal tensile residual stresses were concentrated near the tool shoulder direct affected zone and asymmetrically distributed at the different sides of the weld line; i-e, high at the advancing side and relatively low at the retreating side. Outside the tool shoulder direct affected zone, the longitudinal residual stresses decreased rapidly and became compressive residual stresses away from the weld line; the peak of the longitudinal residual stresses was 164.5MPa.The mechanism of the generation of the residual stresses was analyzed preliminarily.

Since 1985 the Associazione Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori Solidi (ANT), an Italian nonprofit anticancer organization, has provided a hospital-at-home care program for advanced and very advanced cancer patients. This program is part of the Eubiosia Project which also includes a number of complementary services. Teams of doctors, nurses, and psychologists work round-the-clock in the region and on hospital wards, assisted by diagnostic and therapeutic facilities applicable at home and by a round-the-clock on-call service seven days a week. The patients who were treated between December 1985 and December 1991 numbered 5603, of whom 2130 received treatment in 1991 alone, with 702 patients on line at the end of the period. The mean duration of home care for the first 2803 deceased patients was 62 days, and the percentage of deaths at home was 70%. We analyzed control of the main symptoms and the residual survival in three groups of patients—stomach, lung, and breast cancer sufferers — and found that acceptable pain control was achieved in 95% of cases. From the retrospective analysis of our data it can be seen that the eligibility criteria for entry to home care should not only depend upon performance status and the presence of symptoms, but should also take into account the factors that are inherent to the natural history of any kind of tumor as well as the social, domestic, and psychological characteristics of the patients.

Lightweight constructions are used to fulfil the ever-increasing demands regarding fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide emission in transportation industries. In order to reduce weight, technical components made of solid materials are often replaced by tubular structures. Under service conditions, the components are frequently exposed to cyclic loads. Hence, residual stresses that are induced by manufacturing processes can have a significant impact on service life. In this work, the focus is on tube manufacturing processes, precisely cold tube sinking and fixed plug drawing. Both processes induce characteristic residual stress states, which are important to assess the mechanical integrity and load-carrying capacity of tubular components during service. The aim of this article is to examine the residual stress depth distribution for medium-carbon steel tubes manufactured by cold tube sinking and fixed plug drawing. The residual stresses are measured by means of the Sachs method and the hole-drilling method, respectively. The measured results are compared to finite element simulations of the tube drawing process. It is shown that the residual stress obtained with the different experimental methods and the numerical simulations are consistent. Furthermore, it is shown that the residual stresses can be significantly reduced when a plug is used in the drawing process.

Welding, which is a largely used process in the mechanical manufacturing, well known to induce high-level residual stresses. The level of residual stresses is of great importance for the lifetime of welded components used in mechanical engineering industry. The use of the ultrasonic method for the evaluation of the residual stresses is based on the acoustoelastic effect, which refers to the change in velocity of the acoustic waves propagating in a strained solid. In the case of welding, the microstructure modifications observed in the heat affected zone (HAZ) and the melted zone (MZ) also induce variations of the velocity of the acoustic waves. The superposition of the two effects, stresses and microstructure, results in over-estimating the levels of stresses. This work which was completed in collaboration with CETIM is a contribution to this problem. The experimental study was carried out on P460HLE and P265 steels welded sheets. The results obtained by the ultrasonic Lcr wave technique were compared with those obtained by the hole drilling technique. This work confirms the possibility of evaluating the residual stresses induced by welding using the ultrasonic method.

Background:It is always a challenge to rehabilitate geriatric amputees to perform self-care skills at home with limited ambulation. A new geriatric foot (with a lower effective foot length) has been specifically designed to reduce residual limb stress and to ease the step completion.Objectives:The aim of this study is to evaluate the benefit of a new geriatric foot versus a Solid Ankle Cushion Heel foot for low-activity persons with transtibial amputation.Study design:Crossover study.Methods:A total of 12 patients were included in this study. Outcome measures: 2-min walking test, Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with Assistive Technology 2.0 questionnaire and pressure socket measurements.Results:The geriatric foot allows for greater patient satisfaction. The maximal pressure was significantly lower in the proximal anterior stump area. No statistical differences were obtained from the 2-min walking test.Conclusion:A geriatric foot designed with a low effective foot length improves the satisfaction and reduces proximal anterior socket pressures for poor-performing persons with transtibial amputation.Clinical relevanceThe development and evaluation of feet specifically designed for geriatric persons with transtibial amputation could improve their specific requirements and satisfaction.

In solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) for operating temperatures of 800 °C or below, the use of ferritic stainless steel can lead to degradation in cell performance due to chromium migration into the cells at the cathode side [1]. Application of a coating on the ferritic stainless steel interconnect is one option to prevent Cr outward migration through the coating. MnCo1.9Fe0.1O4 (in the following designated as MCF) spinels act as a diffusion barrier and retain high conductivity during operation [2]. Knowledge about the residual stress depth distribution throughout the complete APS coating system is important and can help to optimize the coating process. This implicitly requires reliable residual stress analysis in the coating, the interface region and in the substrate.For residual stress analysis on these specific layered systems diffraction based analysis methods (XRD) using laboratory X-ray sources can only by applied at the very surface. For larger depths sublayer removal is necessary to gain reliable residual stress data. The established method for sublayer removal is electrochemical etching, which fails, since the spinel layer is inert. However, a mechanical layer removal will affect the local residual stress distribution.As an alternative, mechanical residual stress analyses techniques can be applied. Recently, we established an approach to analyse residual stress depth distributions in thick film systems by means of the incremental hole drilling method [5, 6]. In this project, we refined our approach for the application on MCF coatings with a layer thickness between 60 – 125 μm.

The significant increase in the construction of buildings has led to the appearance of different phenomena that affect the elements that make it up. Due to their large area, in contact with the surface, solid slabs are the most vulnerable to these effects. The appearance of cracks at an early age is one of the most recurrent problems in concrete slabs, which is why it is important to counteract the presence of cracks to improve their mechanical properties to obtain buildings with greater durability. For this, the incorporation of polypropylene fibers has become one of the best alternatives to mitigate the appearance of cracks. In the present investigation, two concrete mixtures reinforced with polypropylene fibers of two lengths will be evaluated and tested for slump, plastic shrinkage, compressive strength and residual flexural strength.

In this paper, the all-solid dual-concentric-core microstructure fiber (MSF) with ultra-broadband dispersion compensation characteristics is designed. The effects of microstructure fiber structure parameters on dispersion, phase-matching wavelength, and kappa value are analyzed by the multi-pole method and mode coupling theory. The average dispersion compensation multiple is 18.45, that is, 1 km long dispersion compensated MSF can compensate for the cumulative dispersion of standard single-mode fiber of 18.45 km in the wavelength range of 1385~1575 nm by optimizing MSF parameters. The change range of residual dispersion is within ±0.72 ps/(nm·km), and the splicing loss with standard single-mode fiber is controlled below 5 dB within the compensation bandwidth of 190 nm. Compared with the air hole-quartz structure dual-concentric-core microstructure fiber, the designed fiber reduces the difficulty of fiber drawing, is easy to splice with standard single-mode fiber, and has wider compensation bandwidth as well as larger compensation multiple than the existing microstructure fiber. This lays a solid foundation for the optimization of dense wavelength division multiplexing networks and the construction of all-optical networks.

A mock-up of an offshore structure was prepared by multi-pass welding of several components with different thicknesses, different materials, different grooves, and ultra-long welding lengths. It may be very time consuming to obtain the stress distribution of the mock-up with conventional thermal elastic‐plastic (TEP) computational methods. An efficient computation method, i.e. the model separation and stress assembly method, was proposed in the present study to obtain the stress distribution of the mock-up within an acceptable time. The full finite element (FE) model with solid elements was first created and separated into two independent parts, and the stress distribution in each part was obtained by using the TEP FE method. Finally, the full stress distribution in the mock-up was obtained by assembling the stress distributions from each part. The computed results show that the predicted stresses of the mock-up agree with the measured data obtained by using the hole-drilling method and x-ray diffraction method. Therefore, the proposed efficient method for stress simulation in large and complex structures can guarantee the simulation accuracy within an acceptable computation time on a common computer workstation.

Silicomanganese slag is a solid waste in metallurgical industry and can be transformed into an alkali-activated silicomanganese slag-based cementitious-material (ASSC) for the first time. The ASSC shows quite low electro-conductivity and can be raised dramatically by incorporated carbon black (CB) in the matrix of ASSC to create an electro-conductive alkali-activated silicomanganese slag-based cementitious-composite (EASSC), served as a low cost and environmentally-friendly photocatalyst for the removal of dye pollutant in the paper. The interrelationships of mechanical, optical, electroconductive, microstructural, and photocatalytic properties are evaluated. The network of CB plays a critical role in the electron transfers. The electrical conductivity of EASSC doped 4.5% CB drastically increases by 594.2 times compared to that of ASSC. The FESEM, XRD, and XPS results indicated that the EASSC with mean grain size about 50 nm is composed of amorphous calcium silicate hydrate (CSH), alabandite (α-MnS) and CB. The UV–vis DRS and PL exhibit that the absorption edges of electro-conductive alkali-activated silicomanganese slag-based cementitious-composite EASSC samples are gradually blue-shifted and the photoluminescence intensities progressively decrease with increasing CB content. The activities of photocatalytic degradation of basic violet 5BN dye are positive correlated to the electro-conductivities. The separation efficiency of photo-generated electron-hole pairs is enhanced due to the electron transfers from α-MnS to the network of CB. The photocatalytic degradation of dye pollutant belongs to the second order kinetics via a reaction mechanism of superoxide radical (•O2−) intermediate.

Distension of the gallbladder and bacterial infection can perpetuate an attack of acute calculous cholecystitis and produce its local and systemic complications. This prospective randomized trial was conducted on patients with their first episode of acute calculous cholecystitis which was associated with pyrexia and tachycardia to examine whether ultrasound guided percutaneous aspiration and lavage of the gallbladder followed by intra-lumenal instillation of 500 mg ampicillin (PALA) enhanced recovery from cholecystitis. Twenty patients were randomized to receive 500 mg of ampicillin every 6 hours for 5 days and another 20 patients were randomized to receive this treatment in addition to PALA within 12 hours of admission. Twenty four hours after admission to hospital, all the patients treated with PALA were apyrexial and had no residual right hypochondrial tenderness or guarding, a result superior (p < 0.001) to that of the group without PALA where at least 75% of patients were still showing these signs. Two days after admission the WBC count of the PALA group was significantly (p < 0.05) lower than that of the other group (6.32 ± 0.1 × 109/L vs 10.31 ± 0.4 × 109/L, mean ± SEM, n = 20). Four days after admission, all members of the PALA group were comfortably tolerating solid food for the previous 24 hours and were, therefore, discharged home whereas all members of the other group were still in hospital and 85% of them were discharged home after hospitalization for 6 to 7 days. Three members (15%) of this group deteriorated and underwent emergency surgery.The results show that addition of PALA to the conventional non-operative treatment of acute cholecystitis enhances recovery and avoids the complications necessitating emergency surgery.

The main objective of this article is to exploit a phantom paired element based discrete crack network toolkit for predicting the damage progression and residual strength of laminated composites without and with a hole under tension and compression. Both intra-ply matrix cracking and inter-ply delamination are considered under a co-simulation framework in the discrete crack network toolkit. A mesh-independent kinematic description of discrete matrix cracks is accomplished via user-defined phantom paired solid elements to capture the initiation and evolution of fiber orientation dependent matrix cracking. In-ply matrix crack initiation is realized by inserting a crack along the fiber direction when a matrix driven failure criterion is satisfied and a cohesive injection along the matrix crack interface is applied to account for energy dissipation during matrix crack opening. The delamination failure mode is characterized by applying Abaqus’ cohesive interaction at ply interfaces. The non-linear shear behavior is introduced by employing a power law based curve-fit model and the fiber failure is described using a continuum damage mechanics based model. Both the blind and recalibrated predictions are performed for specimens of three different layups under the Air Force Tech Scout 1 program. The predicted damage progression and the load displacement curves are compared with the testing results provided by the Air Force Research Laboratory.

It is necessary to adopt a quality control system that guarantees reliability in relation to herbal products, especially in the consumer market, giving them security, efficiency and quality. Thus, the present study aimed to characterize parameters for quality control of pega-pinto root tincture produced at the Home Remedies Manufactory linked to the Center for Popular Education (CENEP), located in the city of Nova Palmeira-PB. For this, organoleptic characteristics (color and odor) were observed and the microbiological and physicochemical tests were carried out according to the specifications of the Brazilian Pharmacopoeia (2010). The determination of the total number of mesophilic microorganisms was performed by the plate count method in depth, the pathogen search aimed at the detection of Escherichia coli, Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus using selectives culture mediums and the antimicrobial efficacy was given by the method of diffusion in agar versus E. coli. Characteristic constituents were determined by phytochemical tests, pH, relative density and solid residue were checked. Pega-pinto tincture showed yellowish coloration, characteristic soft odor, presence of particles in suspension and formation of precipitate. Count values of the total number of mesophilic microorganisms varied from 2.0 x 102 to 1.1 x 103 CFU/mL for bacteria, and 1.6 x 102 to 5.3 x 102 for fungi. None of the microorganisms surveyed was identified, indicating absence of E. coli, S. aureus and Salmonella. No inhibition of E. coli was observed in antimicrobial efficacy assays. The presence of phenolic compounds, alkaloids, and a slightly positive reaction to tannins was evidenced. The physical-chemical parameters were pH 5.69, relative density 0.93 mg/mL and dry residue 2.86%. Thus, compliance with the pharmacopoeia microbial limits was observed and, although it did not show efficacy against E. coli, the values of physic-chemical parameters are similar to those of other tinctures, being described for the first time for the tincture of pega-pinto.

The enhancements of zero superconducting transition temperature (Tc,0) in Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2-xNaxCu3O10+δ(BPSCCO) are reported. The BPSCCO samples (with x ranging from 0.00 to 0.06) were prepared by using the conventional solid state reaction technique. The properties of the samples were examined by using the X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the resistance versus temperature (R-T) measurements. From the XRD resuts, all samples revealed the orthorhombic structure, and the volume fraction of the Bi-2223 phase was varied as increasing x, and reached the maximum value of 82.72 % for x = 0.05 sample. Improvements of connectivity between the Bi-2223 grains in the Na-substituted BPSCCO samples were obtained by using the surface SEM images and a quantitive analysis of a correlation between Tc,0 and residual resistance ratio (RRR). A similar variation of Tc,0 of the samples as increasing x was observed. The highest Tc,0 enhancement of 107.5 K was obtained for x = 0.05 sample. Variations of the hole carrier concentrations in the CuO2 layers were investigated, which also showed the highest value achieved for x = 0.05 sample.

Indoor air pollution from biomass smoke is now regarded as public health hazard in the developing world, where more than two billion people still rely on the use of solid biomass fuels such as, dung, wood, crop residue and coal for cooking daily meals and heating homes. A crosssectional study was designed and conducted from March to June 2007, in Madla, a rural area, and in Thanthania, an urban area, under Bogra District of Bangladesh, to see and compare the prevalence of respiratory disease among female biomass fuel users and gas/electricity fuel users. A total of 103 females from the rural households meeting the defined enrollment criteria for biomass fuel group were selected purposively as cases, while 101 females from the urban households meeting the defined eligibility criteria for controls were included in gas/electricity fuel group. The participants were interviewed on a semi-structured questionnaire. Nearly 70% of the biomass fuel users used wood for the daily cooking and heating purposes, 64% leaves, 31.1% cow dung, crop residue 30.1% and 7.8% saw-dust. The biomass group exhibited a significantly higher frequency of respiratory problem (16.5%) compared to their gas/electricity counterpart (5%). The findings revealed that, 67.5% of the biomass group complained of eye problem followed by cold 36.1%, headache 33.8%, cough 13.9% and difficulty in breathing 11.1%. The respondents of gas/electricity group also complained about same health hazards but they were less aware of the problems. Both the group had fairly comparable level of perception of prevention of hazards of biomass fuel (p>0.05), except that a significantly higher proportion of biomass group (12.2%) told that the problem could be avoided by using kerosene stove compared to the gas/electricity group (1.2%). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/akmmcj.v4i1.13680 AKMMC J 2013; 4(1): 20-24

Background: Full endoscopic resection of solid brain tumors represents a challenge for neurosurgeons. This can be achieved with modern technology and advanced surgical tools. Case Description: A 23-years-old male was referred to our unit with raised intracranial pressure. Head computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed obstructive hydrocephalus and a third ventricle lesion. Endoscopic third ventriculostomy and biopsy were performed, a left frontal external ventricular drain was left in place. A second-look surgery for endoscopic removal was planned. Decision to proceed with an endoscopic removal was supported by the following characteristics found during the first surgery: tumor exophytic, soft texture, scarce vascularity, and low-grade appearance. A rescue strategy for microscopic resection via transcallosal approach was decided. A straight trajectory to the tumor was planned with navigation. A further anterior left frontal burr-hole was performed, and the ventricular system was entered via the left frontal horn. Resection was carried out alternating laser for hemostasis and cutting, endoscopic ultrasonic aspirator, and endoscopic forceps for piecemeal resection. Laser hemostasis and cutting (1 Watt power at tip, continuous wave mode) were useful at the ventricular wall-tumor interface. Relevant landmarks guided the approach and the resection (foramen of Monro, mammillary bodies, aqueduct, pineal and suprapineal recess, and posterior commissure). The surgery was carried uneventfully. Histopathology confirmed a lowgrade ependymoma. Post-operative MRI showed residual tumor within the lower aqueduct. At 3 years follow-up, residual tumor is stable. Conclusion: In selected cases, endoscopic resection for third ventricular tumors is feasible and safe, and represents a valid alternative to microsurgical approaches.

Abstract Background Immunosuppressant therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) usually requires outpatient travel to hospitals or phlebotomy sites for venous blood collection; however Mitra® Microsampling Device (MSD) sampling could allow self-collection and shipping of samples to a laboratory for analysis. This study examined the feasibility of using volumetric microsampling by MSD for TDM of tacrolimus (TaC) and cyclosporin A (CsA) in transplant patients, along with their feedback on the process. Methods MSD was used to collect TaC and CsA from venous (VB) or capillary (CB) blood. The MSDs were rehydrated, extracted, and analyzed using on-line solid phase extraction coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (SPE-MS/MS). We report an abbreviated method validation of the MSD including: accuracy, precision, linearity, carry-over, and stability using residual venous whole blood (VB) samples. Subsequent clinical validation compared serially collected MSD + CB against VB (200 µL) from transplant patients. Results Accuracy comparing VB vs. MSD+VB showed high clinical concordance (TaC = 89% and CsA = 98%). Inter- and intra-precision was ≤11.5 %CV for TaC and CsA. Samples were stable for up to 7 days at room temperature with an average difference of &lt;10%. Clinical validation with MSD+CB correlated well with VB for CsA (slope = 0.95, r2 = 0.88, n = 47) and TaC (slope = 0.98, r2 = 0.82, n = 49). CB vs. VB gave concordance of 94% for CsA and 79% for TaC. A satisfaction survey showed 82% of patients preferred having the capillary collection option. Conclusion Transplant patients favored having the ability to collect capillary samples at home for TaC/CsA monitoring. Our results demonstrate good concordance between MSD+CB and VB for TaC and CsA TDM, but additional studies are warranted.

In this paper, an enhanced three-dimensional continuum damage mechanics model is applied to predict the drop-weight impact response and compression after impact failure of a fiber-reinforced polymer composite specimen. The three-dimensional progressive damage model incorporates a three-dimensional maximum stress criterion to predict the intra-ply damage initiation, followed by a fracture-energy-based smeared crack model to capture the post-peak softening behavior. Driven by the dominant through-the-thickness failure under impact loading, a three-dimensional continuum damage model is implemented for the three-dimensional solid element via its explicit material model for Abaqus (VUMAT) to capture the effect of three-dimensional stress state and the interaction of matrix cracking and delamination. Abaqus’ restart analysis capability is used to activate the compression after impact analysis using the final damage state from the dynamic impact analysis. Both the dynamic failure and the compression after impact are demonstrated via a suite of verification examples followed by the sensitivity analysis using distinct impact configurations. The predictive capability of the proposed three-dimensional damage model is first verified using a static open-hole tension test. Applications of the damage model are then demonstrated for simulations of the dynamic drop-weight tests and compression after impact tests. A comparative study on the developed method is performed using the results predicted from the open-source CompDam. A sensitivity study is also performed to demonstrate the impact energy-dependent failure mode. The proposed model has shown its advantages in performing a quick assessment of impact damage and its effects on the residual compressive strength.

The peanut (Arachys hypogaea) is a plant of the Fabaceae family (legumes), as are chickpeas, lentils, beans, and peas. It is originally from South America and is used mainly for culinary purposes, in confectionery products, or as a nut as well as for the production of biscuits, breads, sweets, cereals, and salads. Also, due to its high percentage of fat, peanuts are used for industrialized products such as oils, flours, inks, creams, lipsticks, etc. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) statistical yearbook in 2016, the production of peanuts was 43,982,066 t, produced in 27,660,802 hectares. Peanuts are grown mainly in Asia, with a global production rate of 65.3%, followed by Africa with 26.2%, the Americas with 8.4%, and Oceania with 0.1%. The peanut industry is one of the main generators of agroindustrial waste (shells). This residual biomass (25–30% of the total weight) has a high energy content that is worth exploring. The main objectives of this study are, firstly, to evaluate the energy parameters of peanut shells as a possible solid biofuel applied as an energy source in residential and industrial heating installations. Secondly, different models are analysed to estimate the higher heating value (HHV) for biomass proposed by different scientists and to determine which most accurately fits the determination of this value for peanut shells. Thirdly, we evaluate the reduction in global CO2 emissions that would result from the use of peanut shells as biofuel. The obtained HHV of peanut shells (18.547 MJ/kg) is higher than other biomass sources evaluated, such as olive stones (17.884 MJ/kg) or almond shells (18.200 MJ/kg), and similar to other sources of biomass used at present for home and industrial heating applications. Different prediction models of the HHV value proposed by scientists for different types of biomass have been analysed and the one that best fits the calculation for the peanut shell has been determined. The CO2 reduction that would result from the use of peanut shells as an energy source has been evaluated in all production countries, obtaining values above 0.5 ‰ of their total emissions.

HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8+δ superconductor (Hg-1223) still has the highest critical temperature in various superconductors, which is a layered perovskite with the space group of P4/mmm. A structural unit of cation-layers is stacked in a sequence of -HgO-BaO-CuO-Ca- along the c-axis. The substitution of Hg by Pb enhances the stability of the Hg-1223 phase because the high steam pressure of Hg lowers the chemical stability in synthesis. However, the doping into Hg layers is related to an interstitial oxygen defect. On the other hand, the substitution of Ba by Sr improves the hole doping of CuO2 planes. Thus, the element substitution in Hg and Ba sites becomes a key factor in synthesizing high-quality superconductors. Therefore, the cation distribution in the two sites has been examined by the two-wavelengths anomalous dispersion (TWAD) method of synchrotron X-ray resonant scattering. Single crystals of Hg-1223 were grown at T = 1130 K by the liquid-assisted solid-state recrystallization method from the precursor powder prepared by spray drying or evaporation of the nitrate solutions. Oxygen contents in the precursors were determined by iodometric titrations. Four samples of Hg0.45Pb0.30Ba1.63Sr0.50Ca1.94Cu3O8 (Tc = 128 K), Hg0.42Pb0.41Ba1.19Sr1.06Ca1.97Cu3O8 (125 K), Hg0.50Pb0.50Ba0.59Sr1.24Ca1.83Cu3.34O8 (116 K) and Hg0.34Pb0.54Ba0.61Sr1.17Ca1.88Cu3O8 (115 K) were selected for single-crystal intensity measurements. A conventional measurement to determine the Ba-site occupancy was made to use a Rigaku AFC-5 four-circle diffractometer with Mo Kα radiation. After the absorption correction by the arbitrary-shape grid-integration method, crystal-structure refinements were successfully performed with R factors ranging 6.4 to 6.7 %. The site preference of Hg, Pb and Cu in the Hg site was determined with a vertical-type four-circle diffractometer in PF-BL-10A, where wavelengths of λ = 1.3906 and 1.0191 Å were used at Cu K and Hg LIII absorption edges, respectively. In the TWAD method with least-squares calculations, a variation of the residual factors gives a minimum against the contents of Hg or Cu, suggesting, for example, that Cu does not occupy the Hg site for all samples. In the presentation the site preference and structural change will be discussed in the aspects of superconductivity.

Summary This paper summarizes the acquisition, conventional and compositional core analysis, and reservoir-simulation history match of a core taken roughly 300 ft from a production well in the most mature area of the Prudhoe Bay Miscible Gas Project (PBMGP). Compositional analysis of the core yielded a great deal of in-situ enhanced oil recovery (EOR) performance data and provided insights that could not be obtained from routine core analysis or production data. Fine-gridded reservoir simulations yielded a good match of the offset well-production rates and the observed compositional behavior of the core. The simulations and core data showed a complex layered displacement with alternating intervals of stripped and enriched oil. The data showed that roughly 70% of the cumulative EOR came from reducing the residual oil saturation near the injection well. The remaining 30% was caused by oil swelling. Background The Prudhoe Bay field, located on the north coast of Alaska, is the largest oil field in North America, with total estimated reserves of roughly 13 billion bbl and a current production rate of approximately 600,000 STB/D. The field is overlain by a large gas cap, and the majority of the field is being produced by gravity drainage. Waterflood and miscible EOR operations at Prudhoe Bay, which are confined to the downstructure and peripheral areas of the field, are producing roughly 200,000 STB/D. Prudhoe Bay EOR began in late 1982. The Flow Station 3 Injection Project (FS3IP) was an 11-pattern pilot project in the Drillsite (DS) 13 area. The PBMGP was initiated in 1987 with 43 additional patterns. There are now about 160 total EOR patterns at Prudhoe Bay (Fig. 1). The patterns are typically inverted nine-spots with 80-acre well spacing. Approximately half the patterns are suspended either for mechanical reasons or for EOR process maturity. The PBMGP currently has a miscible injectant (MI) rate of about 500 MMscf/D into roughly 80 active EOR patterns at an average water-alternating-gas (WAG) ratio of about 1:1. The Sadlerochit Group, the major productive interval of the field, includes a thick section composed of moderate- to high-permeability fluvial sands and interbedded shales.1 In the Flow Station 3 (FS3) area, the dominant pay interval is Zone 4, which is overlain by the nonpay Shublik limestone and the low-permeability Sag River sandstone. Although the Sag River is perforated in both injection and production wells in the FS3 area, it contributes very little production and receives very little injection at FS3, and it will not be discussed further in this paper. An extensive nonpay heavy-oil/tar (HOT) zone underlies the oil column and prevents aquifer influx in most of this area. Fig. 2 is a detailed map of the FS3 area showing the cored well. A gamma ray log cross-section of this area is shown in Fig. 3. Procedures for analyzing EOR performance have been described in detail in previous papers.2–4 Sidetrack Core Design Well 13-06 was an original pilot injector with a cumulative MI volume of 17.0% total pore volume (TPV) injected from 1983 through 1997. The pattern was very mature, and Well 13-06 was at the end of its useful life as an injector. Engineering studies indicated that reconfiguring the injection pattern by converting side-well producer 13-05 to WAG injection would sweep portions of the reservoir that had not previously been contacted with MI. The average production of Well 13-05 was approximately 100 BOPD at water cuts of more than 98%. This conversion would serve as a pilot test to determine if pattern reconfiguration of a mature WAG flood in this part of the field was economic. However, Well 13-05 had severe mechanical problems and was not suitable for injection service. The cheapest option was to sidetrack the 13-06 injector to a location near the 13-05 bottomhole location. This sidetrack provided an opportunity to acquire cost-effective core data on miscible flood performance in this mature area. As shown in Fig. 2, the 13-06 pattern contained Well 13-98, a fiberglass-cased observation well that has been the subject of previous papers.3,5 The core, when combined with the observation-well data, was expected to yield a very good evaluation of WAG performance in the 13-06/13-98/13-06A/13-05 cross section. Well 13-06 was given one last, very large slug (4.0 Bscf, or 5.1% TPV) of MI to provide clear data on the solvent utilization efficiency at large cumulative MI volumes, and also to give a large EOR signal for the core. The large MI slug, which was injected from 15 March through 12 November 1997, produced very little additional oil, but it did produce a large volume of returned MI (RMI). Well 13-05 was produced until 10 November 1997. The last test on 8 November showed production rates of 347 BOPD with a gas/oil ratio (GOR) of 21 Mscf/STB and a water cut of 95%. RMI rates at that time were in excess of 6 MMscf/D. The incremental EOR response of several hundred STB/D was disappointing for such a large MI slug. Continued production at such modest oil rates would not significantly reduce the oil saturation in the 13-05 area. A proper analysis of the 13-06A core should therefore give an accurate assessment of the ultimate performance of the waterflood/EOR process in Zone 4. Core Acquisition A total of 244 ft of low-invasion conventional core was cut at the DS 13-06A sidetrack well over a 9-day period. Total core recovery was 243 ft (more than 99%). Five 60-ft aluminum core barrels were used. The core diameter was 4 in. A 30,000-ppm KCl mud with bentonite, starch, polymers, and calcium carbonate solids was used to obtain both low invasion and good shale stability. Mud weight was 10.5 ppg. Deuterium oxide (D2O) was used as a tracer to monitor filtrate invasion. One 22-ft core was taken in the Sag River formation on 31 December 1997. Massive lost circulation problems were encountered for the next 4 days while drilling through the Shublik formation, with total losses of roughly 3,500 bbl of mud. All the D2O tracer was lost in the Shublik, so sodium bromide (NaBr) was used as the tracer in Zone 4. After the fluid loss was brought under control, a total of four Zone 4 cores were taken from 5 to 8 January 1998. The top 2 to 5 ft (uncertain) of Zone 4 were not cored in 13-06A because of concerns about the brittle pyrite interval jamming the core barrel. Coring rates in Zone 4 averaged 42 ft/hr. Directional surveys indicated that Zone 4 in the 13-06A sidetrack, which had a 9° hole angle, was roughly 300 ft from the 13-05 production wellbore and roughly 1,500 ft from the original 13-06 injection wellbore.

Objectives: This study aimed to use gastric point of care ultrasound (POCUS) to estimate the prevalence of an “empty stomach” among patients undergoing procedural sedation and analgesia (PSA) in the emergency department (ED) after observing the requisite fasting time at home. Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted with children with facial lacerations who made a scheduled revisit to the ED after completion of the recommended fasting time. Their stomach contents were assessed with a sagittal view of the gastric antrum by POCUS in the right lateral decubitus position. The characteristics of gastric contents were described as empty, solid, and liquid with an estimated gastric volume. “Empty stomach” was defined as a collapsed gastric antrum or calculated a gastric fluid volume of less than or equal to 1.25 mL/kg on POCUS. Results: Gastric POCUS was performed in 125 patients, and the final analysis included 122 patients. For 95 patients who had followed the recommended fasting time, the median fasting time was 7 hours for solids and 6 hours for liquids, and 78 (82%) patients had an empty stomach. Conversely, seven of 27 patients (26%) who did not have an adequate fasting time had an empty stomach. The optimal cut-off value of fasting time to predict an empty stomach was 6.5 hours based on a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis (sensitivity = 0.767, specificity = 0.811). Conclusions: Most scheduled revisiting children had an “empty stomach” at the time of sedation after the recommended fasting. However, providers should be aware that one in five children still had stomach residue, although they had more than 6 hours of fasting.

Introduction Our home is the most intimate space we inhabit. It is the centre of daily existence – where our most significant relationships are nurtured – where we can impart a sense of self in both physical and psychological ways. To lose this place is overwhelming, the physical implications far-reaching and the psychological impact momentous. And yet, there is little research on what happens when home is lost as a consequence of relationship breakdown. This paper provides an insight into how the meaning of home changes for those going through separation and divorce. Focusing on heterosexual couples, my research reveals that intense feelings of grief and loss are expressed as individuals in a relationship dispute reflect on different aspects of home which are destroyed as a consequence of their partnership collapse. Attitudes to the physical dwelling often reflect the changing nature of the relationship as it descends into crisis. There is a symbolic element as well, which is mirrored in the ways that the physical space is used to negotiate power imbalances, re-establish another life, maintain continuity for children, and as a bargaining tool to redress intense anger and frustration. A sense of empowerment eventually develops as the loss of the relationship is accepted and life adjustments made. Home: A Place of Profound Symbolic and Physical Meaning Home is the familiar, taken-for-granted world where most of us are nurtured, comforted and loved. Home is where we can dream and hope, relax and be ourselves, laugh and cry. For the majority, home is a safe and welcoming place, although positive associations are not universal as some experience home as a negative, threatening and unloving place. Home transcends the domestic physical structure, encompassing cultural, symbolic and psychological significance, as well as extending to the neighbourhood, city, region and nation. Home provides a sense of belonging in the world and is a refuge from the dangers and uncertainty of the environment at large. It is the centre of important human relationships and their accompanying domestic roles, rituals and routines. Home is where the bonds between partners, child and parent, brother and sister are reinforced, along with extended family members and close friends Home is a symbol of personal identity and worth, where the individual can exercise a degree of power and autonomy denied elsewhere. Significant life events, both sad and happy, learning experiences, and celebrations of varying type and magnitude, all occur at home. These are the bases for our memories of home and its importance to us, serving to imbue the notion with a sense of permanence and continuity over time. Home represents the interface between public and private worlds; a place where cultural and societal norms are symbolically juxtaposed with expressions of individuality. There has been a range of research from “humanistic-literary” to “empirical-behavioural” perspectives showing that home has “complex, multiple but inter-related meanings” (Porteous and Smith 61). And while this intellectual endeavour covers a wide range of disciplines and perspectives (for good overviews see Blunt and Dowling; Mallett; Chapman and Hockey) research on the loss of home is more limited. Nevertheless, there are some notable exceptions. Recent work by Robinson on youth homelessness in Sydney illustrates that the loss of home affects the way in which it is desired and valued, and how its absence impacts on self identity and the grief process. Fried’s seminal and much older study also tells of intense grieving, similar to that associated with the death of a loved one, when residents were forcibly removed from their homes – places perceived as slums by the city planners. Analogous issues of sorrow are detailed by Porteous and Smith in their discussion of situations where individuals and entire communities have lost their homes. The emphasis in this moving text is on the power and lack of understanding displayed by those in authority. Power resides in the ability to destroy the home of others; disrespect is shown to those who are forced to relocate. There is no appreciation of the profound meanings of home which individuals, communities and nations hold. Similarly, Read presents a range of situations involving major disruptions to meanings of home. The impact on individuals as they struggle to deal with losing a house or neighbourhood through fire, flood, financial ruin or demolition for redevelopment, demonstrates the centrality of notions of home and the devastation that results when it is no longer. So too do the many moving personal stories of migrants who have left one nation to settle in another (Herne et al), as well as more academic explorations of the diaspora (Rapport and Dawson) and resettlement and migrant women home-making (Thompson). Meanings of home are also disrupted, changed and lost when families and partnerships fall apart. Given the prevalence of relationship breakdown in our society, it is surprising that very little work has focussed on the changed meanings of home that follow. Cooper Marcus examined disruptions in bonding with the home for those who had to leave or were left following the end of a marriage or partnership. “The home may have been shared for many years; patterns of territory, privacy, and personalisation established; and memories of the past enshrined in objects, rooms, furniture, and plants” (222). Gram-Hanssen and Bech-Danielsen explore both the practical issues of dissolving a home, as well as the emotional responses of those involved. Anthony provides further illumination, recommending design solutions to help better manage housing for families affected by divorce. She concludes her paper by declaring that “…the housing experiences of women, men, and children of divorce deserve much further study” (15). The paucity of research on what happens to meanings of home when a relationship breaks down was a key motivation for the current work – a qualitative study involving self-reflection of the experience of relationship loss; in-depth interviews with nine people (three men and six women from English speaking middle class backgrounds) who had experienced a major partnership breakdown; and focus group sessions and one in-depth interview with nine professional mediators (six women and three men) who work with separating couples. The mediators provided an informed overview of the way in which separating partners negotiate the loss of a shared home across the range of its physical and psychological meanings. Their reflections confirmed that the identified themes in the individual stories were typical of a range of experiences, feelings and actions they had encountered with different clients. Relationship Breakdown and Meanings of Home: What the Research Revealed The Symbolism of Home The interview, focus group and reflective data all confirmed the centrality of home and its multi-dimensional meanings. Different physical and symbolic elements were uncovered, mirroring theoretical schemas in the literature. These meanings go far beyond a physical space and the objects therein. They represent different aspects of the individual’s sense of self, well-being and identity, as well as their roles and feelings of belonging in a family and the broader social and cultural setting. Home was described as a place to be one’s self; where one can relax away from the rest of the world. Participants talked about home creating a sense of belonging and familiarity. This was achieved in many ways including physical renovation of the structure, working in the garden, enjoying the dwelling space and nurturing family relationships. As Helen said, …the home and children go together… I created belonging by creating a space which was mine, which was always decorated in a very particular way which is mine, and which was my place of belonging for me and my kin… that’s my home – it’s just absolutely essential to me. Home was described as an important physical place. This incorporated the dwelling as a structure and the special things that adorn it. Objects such as the marital bed, family photos, artifacts and pets were important symbols of home as a shared place. As the mediators pointed out, in the splitting up process, these often take on huge significance as a couple try to decide who has what. The division is typically the final acknowledgement that the relationship is over. The interviewees told me that home extended beyond the dwelling into the wider neighbourhood. This encompassed networks of friendships, including relationships with local residents, business people and service providers, to the physical places frequented such as parks, shops and cafes. These neighbourhood connections were severed when the relationship broke down. The data revealed home as a shared space where couples undertook daily tasks such as preparing meals together and doing the housework. There was pleasure in these routines which further reinforced home as a central aspect of the partnership, as Laura explained: But for the most part it [my marriage relationship] was very amicable… easy going, and it really was a whole thing of self-expression. And the house was very much about self-expression. Even cooking. We both loved to cook, we’d have lots of dinner parties… things like that. With the loss of the relationship the rhythm and comfort of everyday activities were shattered. Sharing was also linked to the financial aspects of home, with the payment of a mortgage representing a combined effort in working towards ownership of the physical dwelling. While the end of a relationship usually spelt severe financial difficulty, if not disaster, it also meant the loss of that shared commitment to build a secure financial future together extending into old age. The Deteriorating Relationship A decline in the physical qualities of the dwelling often accompanied the demise of the inter-personal relationship. As the partnership descended into crisis, the centrality of home and its importance across both physical and symbolic elements were increasingly threatened. This shift in meaning impacted on the loss experienced and the subsequent translation into conflict and grief. It [the house] was quite run down, but I think it kind of reflected our situation at the time which was fairly strained in terms of finances and lack of certainty about what was happening… tiny little damp house and no [friendship] network and no money and no stability, that’s how it felt. (Jill) Not only did home begin to symbolise a battleground, it started to take on lost dreams and hopes. For Helen, it embodied a force that was greater than the relationship she had shared with her husband. And that home became the symbol of our fight… a symbol of how closely glued we were together… And I think that’s why we had such enormous difficulty breaking up because the house actually held us together in some way … it was as though the house was a sort of a binding force of the relationship. The home as the centre of family relationships and personal identity was threatened by the deteriorating relationship. For Jill this represented ending her dream that being a wife and mother were what she needed to define her identity and purpose in life. I was very unhappy. I’d got these two babies, I’d got what I thought was quite a catch husband, who was doing very well… but yet somehow I felt very unhappy and insecure, very insecure, and I realised that the whole role I had carved out for myself wasn’t going to do it. The End of the Relationship: Disruption, Explosion, Grief and Loss While the relationship can be in crisis for many months, eventually there is a point where any hope of reconciliation disappears. For some separating couples this phase was heralded by a defining, shattering and shocking moment when it was clear that their relationship was over. Both physical and emotional violence were reported by my interviewees, including these comments from Helen. And so my parting from the home was actually very explosive. In fact it was the first time he ever hit me, and it was in the hitting of me that I left home… And while the final stage was not always dramatic or violent, there was a realisation that this was the end of the dream – the end of home. A deep sadness resulted, as evident in Greg’s story: I was there in the house by myself and I can remember the house was empty, all the furniture had been shifted out…I actually shed a few tears as I left the house because…the strongest feeling I had was that this was a house that had such a potential for me. It had such a potential for a good loving relationship and I just felt that it did represent, leaving then, represented the kind of the dashing of the hope that I had in that relationship. In some cases the end of the relationship was accompanied by feelings of guilt for shattering the home. In other cases, the home became a battleground as the partners fought over who was going to move out. …if they’re separated under the one roof and nobody’s moved out, but certainly in one person’s mind the marriage is over, and sometimes in both… there’s a big tussle about who’s going to move out and nobody wants to go… (Mediator) The loss of home could also bring with it a fear of never having another, as well as a rude awakening that the lost home was taken for granted. Cathy spoke of this terror. I became so obsessed with the notion that I’d never have a home again, and I remember thinking how could I have taken so much for granted? The end of a relationship was accompanied by a growing realisation of impending loss – the loss of familiar and well-loved surroundings. This encompassed the local neighbourhood, the dwelling space and the daily routine of married life. I can remember feeling, [and] knowing the relationship was coming to an end, and knowing that we were going to be selling the house and we were going to be splitting…, feeling quite sad walking down the street the last few times… realising I wouldn’t be doing this much longer. I was very conscious of the fact that I was… going up and down those railway station escalators for the last few times, and going down the street for the last few times, and suddenly…[I felt]… an impending sense of loss because I liked the neighbourhood… There was also a loss in the sense of not having a physical space which I kind of wanted to live in… [I] don’t like living in small units or rented rooms… I just prefer what I see as a proper house… so downsizing [my accommodation] just kind of makes the whole emotional situation worse …there was [also] a lack of domesticity, and the kind of sharing of meals and so on that does…make you feel some sort of warmth… (Greg) Transitions: Developing New Meanings of Home Once there was an acknowledgment – whether a defining moment or a gradual process – that the relationship was over, a transitional phase dawned when new meanings of home began to emerge. Of the people I interviewed, some stayed on in the once shared dwelling, and others moved out to occupy a new space. Both actions required physical and psychological adjustments which took time and energy, as well as a determination to adapt. Organising parenting arrangements, dividing possessions and tentative steps towards the establishment of another life characterised this phase. While individual stories revealed a variety of transitional approaches, there were unifying themes across the data. The transition could start by moving into a new space, which as one mediator explained, might not feel like home at all. …[one partner has] left and often left with very little, maybe just a suitcase of clothes, and so their sense of home is still the marital home or the family home, but they’re camping at a unit somewhere, or mother’s spare room or a relative’s backyard or garage or something… They’re truly homeless. For others, while setting up a new space was initially very hard and alien, with effort and time, it could take on a home-like quality, as Helen found. I did take things from the house. I took all the things I’d hidden in cupboards that were not used or second-hand… things that weren’t used everyday or on display or anything… things I’d take like if you were going camping… I wasn’t at home… it was awful…[but gradually]… I put things around… to make it homely for me and I would spend hours doing it, Just hours… paintings on the wall are important, and a stereo system and music was important. My books were important…and photographs became very important. Changes in tenure could also bring about profound feelings of loss. This was Keith’s experience: Well I’m renting now which is a bit difficult after having your own home… you feel a bit stifled in the fact that you can’t decorate it, and you can’t do things, or you can’t fix things… now I’m in a place which is drab and the colours are horrible and I don’t particularly like it and it’s awful. The experience of remaining in the home once one’s partner leaves is different to being the one to leave the formerly shared space. However, similar adaptation strategies were required as can be seen from Barbara’s experience: …so, I rearranged the lounge room and I rearranged the bedroom…I probably did that fairly promptly actually, so that I wasn’t walking back into the same mental images all the time…I’m now beginning to have that sense of wanting to put my mark on it, so I’ve started some painting and doing things… Laura talked about how she initially felt scared living on her own, despite occupying familiar surroundings, but this gradually changed as she altered the once shared physical space. Sally spoke about reclaiming the physical space on her own and through these deliberative actions, empowering herself as a single person. Those with dependent children struggled in different ways during this transition period. Individual needs to either move or reclaim the existing space were often subjugated to the requirements of their off-spring – where it might be best for them to live and with whom they should principally reside. I think the biggest issue is where the children are going to be. So whoever wants the children also wants the family home. And that’s where the pull and tug starts… it’s a big desire not to disrupt the children and to keep a smooth life for them. (Mediator) Finally, there was a sense of moving along. Meanings of home changed as the strength of the emotional attachment weakened and those involved began to see that another life was possible. The old meanings of home had to be confronted and prized apart, just as the connections between the partners were painstakingly severed, one by one. Sally likened this time consuming and arduous process to laboriously unpicking the threads of a tightly woven cloth. Empowerment: Meanings of Home to Mirror a New Life …I’ve realized too that I’m the person I am today because of that experience. (Sally) The stories of participants in this research ended with hope for the future. Perhaps this reflects my interviewees’ determination to build a new life following the loss of their relationship, most having the personal resources to work through their loss, grief and conflict. This is not however, always the case. Divorce can lead to long lasting feelings of failure, disappointment and a sense that one has “an inability to love or care…” (Ambrose 87). However, “with acceptance of the separation many come to see the break-up as having been beneficial and report feeling they have an improved quality of life” (88). This positive stance is mirrored in my mediator focus group data and other literature (for example, Cooper Marcus 222-238). Out of the painful loss of home emerges a re-evaluation of one’s priorities and a revitalized sense of self, as illustrated by Barbara’s words below. That’s come out of the separation, suddenly going, ‘Oh, hang on, I can do what I want to do, when I want to do it’. It’s quite nice really… I’ve decided [to] start pursuing a few of the things I always wanted to do, so I’m using a bit of the space [in the house] to study… I’m doing a lot of stuff that nurtures me and my interest and my space… Feelings of liberation were entwined with meanings of home as spaces were decorated afresh, and in some cases, a true home founded for the first time. [since the end of the relationship]… I actually see my space differently, I want less around me, I’ve been really clearing out things, throwing things out, clearing cupboards… kind of feung shui-ing every corner and just really keeping it clear and clean… I’ve painted the whole house. It was like it needed a fresh coat of something over it… (Laura) Empowerment embodied lessons learnt and in some cases, a more cautious redefining of home. Barbara put it this way: I’m really scared of losing what I’ve now got [my home on my own] and that sense of independence… maybe I will not go into a relationship because I don’t want to put that at risk. Finally, meanings of home took on different dimensions that reflected the new life and hope it engendered. …it’s very interesting to me to be in a house now that is a very solid, square, double brick house… [I feel] that it’s much more representative of who I am now… the solidness is very much me… I feel as though I inhabit my home more now… I have much more sense of peace around my home now than I did then in the previous house… it’s the space where I feel extremely comfortable… a space to meditate on… I’m home – I can now be myself… (Helen) I don’t know whether… [my meaning of home] is actually a physical structure any more…Now it’s come more into … surrounding myself with things that I love, like you know bits and pieces that you can take, your photographs and your pet… it’s really much more about being happy I think, and being happy in a space with somebody that you love, rather than living in a box like a prison, with somebody that you really despise (Keith) Conclusion … the physical moving out from my own home was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my entire life. (Jane) The trauma of divorce is a crisis that occurs in many of our lives, and one which often triggers a profound dislocation in person-dwelling relations. (Cooper Marcus 222) This paper has presented insights into the ways in which multi-dimensional meanings of home change when an intimate familial relationship breaks down. The nature and degree of the impacts vary from one individual to another, as do the ways in which the identifiable stages of relationship breakdown play out in different partnership situations. Nevertheless, this research revealed a transformative journey – from the devastation of the initial loss to an eventual redefining of home across its symbolic, psychological and physical constructs. References Ambrose, Peter J. Surviving Divorce: Men beyond Marriage. Sussex: Wheatsheaf Books, 1983. Anthony, Kathryn H. “Bitter Homes and Gardens: The Meanings of Home to Families of Divorce.” Journal of Architectural and Planning Research 14.1 (1997): 1-19. Blunt, Alison, and Robyn Dowling. Home. London: Routledge, 2006. Chapman, Tony, and Jenny Hockey. Ideal Homes? Social Change and Domestic Life. London: Routledge, 1999. Cooper Marcus, Clare. House as a Mirror of Self: Exploring the Deeper Meaning of Home. Berkeley: Conari Press, 1995. Fried, Marc. “Grieving for a Lost Home.” In L. Duhl, ed. The Urban Condition: People and Policy in the Metropolis. New York: Basic Books, 1963. 151-171. Gram-Hanssen, Kirsten, and Claus Bech-Danielsen. “Home Dissolution – What Happens after Separating?” Paper presented at the European Network for Housing Research, ENHR International Housing Conference, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2006. Herne, Karen, Joanne Travaglia, and Elizabeth Weiss, eds. Who Do You Think You Are? Second Generation Immigrant Women in Australia. Sydney: Women’s Redress Press, 1992. Mallett, Shelley. “Understanding Home: A Critical Review of the Literature.” The Sociological Review 52.1 (2004): 62-89. Porteous, Douglas J., and Sandra E. Smith. Domicide: The Global Destruction of Home. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queens UP, 2001. Rapport, Nigel, and Andrew Dawson, eds. Migrants of Identity: Perceptions of Home in a World of Movement. New York: Oxford, 1998. Read, Peter. Returning to Nothing: The Meaning of Lost Places. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1996. Robinson, Catherine. “‘I Think Home Is More than a Building’: Young Home(less) People on the Cusp of Home, Self and Something Else.” Urban Policy and Research 20.1 (2002): 27–38. Robinson, Catherine. “Grieving Home.” Social and Cultural Geography 6.1 (2005): 47–60. Thompson, Susan. “Suburbs of Opportunity: The Power of Home for Migrant Women.” In K. Gibson and S. Watson, eds. Metropolis Now: Planning and the Urban in Contemporary Australia. Australia: Pluto Press, 1994. 33-45. Citation reference for this article MLA Style Thompson, Susan. "Home and Loss: Renegotiating Meanings of Home in the Wake of Relationship Breakdown." M/C Journal 10.4 (2007). echo date('d M. Y'); ?> <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0708/07-thompson.php>. APA Style Thompson, S. (Aug. 2007) "Home and Loss: Renegotiating Meanings of Home in the Wake of Relationship Breakdown," M/C Journal, 10(4). Retrieved echo date('d M. Y'); ?> from <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0708/07-thompson.php>.

Biopunk is an intriguing development of that essential cultural reference point for the information age: cyberpunk. William Gibson's Neuromancer (1984) did more than popularise the phrase cyberspace, it laid the basis for a genre that went on to capture the turbulent zeitgeist of a new digital age in which the promises of the much-vaunted, information society finally seemed possible. Karl Marx used the phrase "All that is solid melts into air..."1 to describe the profound social changes wrought by capitalism. It is also a fitting description of the apparent technology-induced paradigm shift in our contemporary perception of the world. Increasingly, solid, material structures are viewed in immaterial, informational terms and the boundaries between previously distinct categories are blurring. This paradigm shift has produced attendant tensions and the significance of biopunk resides in its cultural representation or 'playing out' our contemporary ontological confusion: physicality's newly problematic status. This article briefly samples the work of the British writers Jeff Noon and Michael Marshall Smith to argue that in the rapidly-approaching era of a fully-mapped human genome, biopunk provides a much-needed cathartic imaginative outlet for our growing confusion about the status of the physical in our brave new digital world. Viral Times -- Hybrid Confusion In the past we have always assumed that the external world around us has represented reality, however confusing or uncertain, and that the inner world of our minds, its dreams, hopes, ambitions, represented the realm of fantasy and the imagination. These roles it seems to me have been reversed ... the one small node of reality left to us is inside our own heads. (Ballard 5) The notion that biopunk's imaginative excesses can provide potentially useful insights into the contemporary condition is backed by the sense that the traditional boundary between the real and imagined worlds has become irretrievably blurred. Thus J.G. Ballard suggests that the ubiquity and pervasiveness of modern technology has reversed our usual ontological categories, a sentiment endorsed by Columbus, a character from Noon's novel Pollen, who asserts that "what is presently inside the head will shortly be outside the head. The dream! The dream will live!" (193). The increasing perception of such an ontological reversal is reflected in claims that cyberpunk can be viewed as social theory (Burrows) whereas "Baudrillard's futuristic postmodern social theory can be read in turn as science fiction" (Kellner 299). Cyberpunk fiction utilises the pace of technological change as a permanent narrative back-drop, and having identified various social trends within late capitalism re-presents them with an 'exaggerated clarity' that has become its hallmark. Biopunk takes such exaggerations even further. It metaphorises cyberpunk's social instabilities into an alarming maelstrom of biological uncertainty: exaggerated clarity becomes exaggerated anxiety. Biopunk develops the informationally saturated mise-en-scène of cyberpunk by exploring further the implications of the increasing convergence between information as an abstract entity and its embodied manipulation in biological DNA. It pursues Marx's previously cited image of melting ephemerality with fictional fervour: "These days the doors between the two worlds were slippery, as though the walls were going fluid" (Noon, Pollen 92)2. Biopunk's fictional emphasis upon disorienting levels of fluidity reflects non-fictional concerns about the potential information overloading tendencies of digital technologies: "the tie between information and action has been severed ... we are glutted with information, drowning in information, we have no control over it, don't know what to do with it" (Postman 6). In Pollen, Noon provides a grotesque metaphorical representation of Postman's fears in his portrayal of a near-future Manchester struggling to cope with the after-effects of the widespread dispersal of a powerful fertility drug called Fecundity 10. The city is over-run by exponentially proliferating flora and fauna that combine in a frenetic confusion of unlikely hybrid genetic couplings. Noon uses a blurring of previously distinct genetic categories to symbolise society's inability to control the growth of information. His fiction 'fleshes out' digitally-induced anxieties with a sustained depiction of futuristic Hieronymous Bosch-like febrility and fecundity, or, to use a phrase of Baudrillard's, 'organic delirium': The Zombies were dancing and blooming around the shit and the dust, flowers sprouting from their tough skins, petals falling from their mouths. It was a fine show of fauna and flora, all mixed into one being. New species ... It was a time of happenings and flower power. A time of changes. That's why this hayfever wave is exciting me so much, despite the danger. It's got me in two minds, this fever. The flowers are making a come back, and the world is getting messier. The barricades are coming down. This city is so fucking juicy right now. (Noon, Pollen 117 & 166) Noon's Nymphomation is set in a near-future Manchester that is the testing site for a national lottery based upon a domino-like game. The neologism that provides the novel's title, continues his key theme of fecundity, it is used: ... to denote a complex mathematical procedure where numbers rather than being added together or multiplied or whatever, were actually allowed to breed with each other, to produce new numbers, which had something to do with 'breeding ever more pathways towards the goal'. (Noon, Nymphomation 119) Fecundity in this setting does not only apply to the mating of informational and biological entities but is also apparent in the meme-like transmission of a pervasive copulatory capitalist zeitgeist: "the naked populace, making foreplay to the domiviz, bone-eyed and numberfucked ... Even the air had a hard-on, bulging with mathematics. Turning the burbflies into a nympho-swarm, liquid streets alive with perverts ..." (Noon, Nymphomation 65) General fecundity is specifically manifested in a glut of commercial activity which the authorities no longer seem able to control: "the streets of Blurbchester were thick with the mergers, a corporate fog of brand images. People had to battle through them ... The Government was at a loss regarding the overwhelming messages; they knew the experiment had gone wrong ... but how to right it?" (240). Informational overload becomes a reproductive frenzy whereby corporate messages breed literally like flies. Gibson's dance of biz becomes an actual buzz: As the burbflies went out of control, blocking out the streetlights, making a cloud of logos. It was rutting season for the living verts, and all over the city the male blurbs were riding on the backs of females. Biting their necks, hoping for babyverts. The city, the pulsating city, alive with the rain and colours and the stench of nymphomation Mathemedia. Here we go, numberfucked ... (Noon, Nymphomation 159) In the real world, the process of technological change causes flux and confusion. Cyberpunk fiction represents this by describing dystopian social environments. Its protagonists revel in the loss of traditional and coherent social values such as law and order and community where its protagonists revel in an unlimited smorgasboard of privatised formerly public services. Biopunk's distinctive quality stems from its own peculiar perspective on such confusion, manifested in a distinctive attention to bodily substance and a whole bestiary of new hybrid life-forms. Fleshy Contempt For Case, who'd lived for the bodiless exultation of cyberspace it was the Fall. In the bars he'd frequented as a cowboy hotshot, the elite stance involved a certain relaxed contempt for the flesh. The body was meat. Case fell into the prison of his own flesh. (Gibson, Neuromancer 12) This early passage from Neuromancer describes its protagonist's addictive relationship to the Matrix and provides a neat summary of cyberpunk's perspective on the growing subordination of the physical. Digital pleasure is experienced at the expense of alienation with the material environment. In Douglas Coupland's 'factional' work Microserfs (1995) the excessively manicured lawns at Microsoft headquarters merely represent an epiphenomenon of a more deeply-rooted societal trend towards the diminished importance of our physical sensibilities. Lego, or 'Satan's playtoy', is humorously identified as an emblematic commodity of this tendency due to the way in which it is responsible for brainwashing entire generations of youth from the information-dense industrialized nations into developing mind-sets that view the world as unitized, sterile, inorganic, and interchangeably modular ... Lego is, like, the perfect device to enculturate a citizenry intolerant of smell, intestinal by-products, nonadherence to unified standards, decay, blurred edges, germination and death. Try imagining a forest made of Lego. Good luck. Do you ever see Legos made from ice? dung? wood? iron? and sphagnum moss? No -- grotacious, or what? (Coupland 258) A typically distinguishing feature of biopunk is its willingness to stretch such aspects of the digital zeitgeist to their limits. In contrast to Coupland's easy humour and cyberpunk's "relaxed contempt for the flesh", biopunk refashions sentiments of unease with physical immediacy to take the form of nauseating disgust with the biological per se. In Spares, this is vividly embodied when, for example, objects fall into reality from the cyberspatial Gap: It was a bird, of a kind. A bird or a cat, either way. It was featherless, but stood a foot tall on spindly jointed legs; its face was avian but -- like the body -- fat and dotted with patchy, moulting orange fur. Two vestigial wings poked out of its side at right angles, looking as if they had been unceremoniously amputated with scissors and then re-cauterized. Most of the creature's skin was visible, an unhealthy white mess that appeared to be weeping fluid. The whole body heaved in and out as it sat, as if labouring for breath, and it gave of a smell of recent decay -- as if fresh-minted for death ... its beak opened. The hole this revealed looked less like a mouth than a churned wound, and the eyes, though vicious, were faltering ... The bird tried to take a step towards us, but the effort caused one of its legs to break. The top joint teetered in its socket and then popped out. The creature flopped onto its side. The skin over the joint tore like an over-ripe fruit, releasing a gout of matter that resembled nothing so much as a heavy period mixed with sour cream. (Smith 162) Biopunk's almost neo-gnostic distaste for flesh has arguably become increasingly apparent in William Gibson's later work. In Neuromancer, for example, the tone of 'relaxed contempt' is still evident in his description of the population's consumer demand: "Summer in the Sprawl, the mall crowds swaying like windblown grass, a field of flesh shot through with sudden eddies of need and gratification" (60). However, his vision is certainly less relaxed when, by the time of Idoru (1996), he describes how the media's audience ... is best visualized as a vicious, lazy, profoundly ignorant, perpetually hungry organism craving the warm god-flesh of the annointed. Personally I like to imagine something the size of a baby hippo, the color of a week-old boiled potato, that lives by itself, in the dark, in a double-wide on the outskirts of Topeka. It's covered with eyes and it sweats constantly. The sweat runs into those eyes and makes them sting. It has no mouth ... no genitals, and can only express its mute extremes of murderous rage and infantile desire by changing the channels on a universal remote. Or by voting in presidential elections. (28-9) Conclusion Just before an airplane breaks the sound barrier, sound waves become visible on the wings of the plane. The sudden visibility of sound just as sound ends is an apt instance of that great pattern of being that reveals new and opposite forms just as the earlier forms reach their peak performance. (McLuhan 12) McLuhan's image of the dramatic visibility of sound right at the moment of its imminent supercedance is a useful way of conceptualising the significance of biopunk and its obsessive highlighting of bodies and their metaphoric power. Perhaps as we leap-frog the mechanical technologies of modernity into a postindustrial world where information attains the status of the fourth element, biopunk is performing an idiosyncratic eulogy at the funeral of physicality. Footnotes Marshall Berman uses this phrase for the title of his historical, socio-cultural exploration of capitalism and its effects. Further examples include: ... the world is getting very fluid these days. Very fluid. Dangerously so (Noon, Pollen 101) ... It was a fluid world and there was danger for everybody living there. (157) ... the real world is up for grabs, especially since the world has become so fluid. (200) ... Even time was becoming fluid under the new map (246) ... Coyote is howling now, turning the road into liquid so he can glide down its throat. (254) The world was dissolving and the new day bled away ... safety, the rules, cartography, instruction ... all the bad things were peeling away (278) References Ballard, J.G. Crash. London: Vintage, 1995. Berman, M. All That Is Solid Melts into Air. London: Verso, 1983. Burrows, R. "Cyberpunk as Social Theory." Imagining Cities. Eds. S. Westwood and J. Williams. London: Routledge, 1997. Coupland, D. Microserfs. London: Flamingo, 1995. Gibson, W. Neuromancer. London: Grafton, 1984. ---. Idoru. London:Viking, 1996. Kellner, D. Media Culture. London: Routledge, 1995. McLuhan, M. Understanding Media. New York: New American Library, 1964. Noon, Jeff. Vurt. Manchester: Ringpull, 1993. ---. Pollen. Manchester: Ringpull, 1995. ---. Nymphomation, London: Corgi, 1997. Postman, N. "Informing Ourselves to Death." German Informatics Society, Stuttgart. 1990. 26 June 2000 <http://www.eff.org/pub/Net_culture/Criticisms/informing_ourselves_to_death.paper>. Smith, M. M. Spares. London: HarperCollins, 1996. Stephenson, N. Snow Crash. New York: Bantam Spectra, 1992. Citation reference for this article MLA style: Paul Taylor. "Fleshing Out the Maelstrom: Biopunk and the Violence of Information." M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 3.3 (2000). [your date of access] <http://www.api-network.com/mc/0006/speed.php>. Chicago style: Paul Taylor, "Fleshing Out the Maelstrom: Biopunk and the Violence of Information," M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 3, no. 3 (2000), <http://www.api-network.com/mc/0006/speed.php> ([your date of access]). APA style: Paul Taylor. (2000) Fleshing Out the Maelstrom: Biopunk and the Violence of Information. M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 3(3). <http://www.api-network.com/mc/0006/speed.php> ([your date of access]).

Our thesis is that the city’s ambience is now an unstable dialectic in which we are watchers and watched, mirrored and refracted in a landscape of iPhone auteurs, eTags, CCTV and sousveillance. Embrace ambience! Invoking Benjamin’s spirit, this article does not seek to limit understanding through restriction to a particular theme or theoretical construct (Buck-Morss 253). Instead, it offers snapshots of interactions at the dawn of the postmodern city. That bricolage also engages how people appropriate, manipulate, disrupt and divert urban spaces and strategies of power in their everyday life. Ambient information can both liberate and disenfranchise the individual. This article asks whether our era’s dialectics result in a new personhood or merely restate the traditional spectacle of ‘bright lights, big city’. Does the virtualized city result in ambient anomie and satiation or in surprise, autonomy and serendipity? (Gumpert 36) Since the steam age, ambience has been characterised in terms of urban sound, particularly the alienation attributable to the individual’s experience as a passive receptor of a cacophony of sounds – now soft, now loud, random and recurrent–from the hubbub of crowds, the crash and grind of traffic, the noise of industrial processes and domestic activity, factory whistles, fire alarms, radio, television and gramophones (Merchant 111; Thompson 6). In the age of the internet, personal devices such as digital cameras and iPhones, and urban informatics such as CCTV networks and e-Tags, ambience is interactivity, monitoring and signalling across multiple media, rather than just sound. It is an interactivity in which watchers observe the watched observing them and the watched reshape the fabric of virtualized cities merely by traversing urban precincts (Hillier 295; De Certeau 163). It is also about pervasive although unevenly distributed monitoring of individuals, using sensors that are remote to the individual (for example cameras or tag-readers mounted above highways) or are borne by the individual (for example mobile phones or badges that systematically report the location to a parent, employer or sex offender register) (Holmes 176; Savitch 130). That monitoring reflects what Doel and Clark characterized as a pervasive sense of ambient fear in the postmodern city, albeit fear that like much contemporary anxiety is misplaced–you are more at risk from intimates than from strangers, from car accidents than terrorists or stalkers–and that is ahistorical (Doel 13; Scheingold 33). Finally, it is about cooption, with individuals signalling their identity through ambient advertising: wearing tshirts, sweatshirts, caps and other apparel that display iconic faces such as Obama and Monroe or that embody corporate imagery such as the Nike ‘Swoosh’, Coca-Cola ‘Ribbon’, Linux Penguin and Hello Kitty feline (Sayre 82; Maynard 97). In the postmodern global village much advertising is ambient, rather than merely delivered to a device or fixed on a billboard. Australian cities are now seas of information, phantasmagoric environments in which the ambient noise encountered by residents and visitors comprises corporate signage, intelligent traffic signs, displays at public transport nodes, shop-window video screens displaying us watching them, and a plethora of personal devices showing everything from the weather to snaps of people in the street or neighborhood satellite maps. They are environments through which people traverse both as persons and abstractions, virtual presences on volatile digital maps and in online social networks. Spectacle, Anomie or Personhood The spectacular city of modernity is a meme of communication, cultural and urban development theory. It is spectacular in the sense that of large, artificial, even sublime. It is also spectacular because it is built around the gaze, whether the vistas of Hausmann’s boulevards, the towers of Manhattan and Chicago, the shopfront ‘sea of light’ and advertising pillars noted by visitors to Weimar Berlin or the neon ‘neo-baroque’ of Las Vegas (Schivelbusch 114; Fritzsche 164; Ndalianis 535). In the year 2010 it aspires to 2020 vision, a panoptic and panspectric gaze on the part of governors and governed alike (Kullenberg 38). In contrast to the timelessness of Heidegger’s hut and the ‘fixity’ of rural backwaters, spectacular cities are volatile domains where all that is solid continues to melt into air with the aid of jackhammers and the latest ‘new media’ potentially result in a hypereality that make it difficult to determine what is real and what is not (Wark 22; Berman 19). The spectacular city embodies a dialectic. It is anomic because it induces an alienation in the spectator, a fatigue attributable to media satiation and to a sense of being a mere cog in a wheel, a disempowered and readily-replaceable entity that is denied personhood–recognition as an autonomous individual–through subjection to a Fordist and post-Fordist industrial discipline or the more insidious imprisonment of being ‘a housewife’, one ant in a very large ant hill (Dyer-Witheford 58). People, however, are not automatons: they experience media, modernity and urbanism in different ways. The same attributes that erode the selfhood of some people enhance the autonomy and personhood of others. The spectacular city, now a matrix of digits, information flows and opportunities, is a realm in which people can subvert expectations and find scope for self-fulfillment, whether by wearing a hoodie that defeats CCTV or by using digital technologies to find and associate with other members of stigmatized affinity groups. One person’s anomie is another’s opportunity. Ambience and Virtualisation Eighty years after Fritz Lang’s Metropolis forecast a cyber-sociality, digital technologies are resulting in a ‘virtualisation’ of social interactions and cities. In post-modern cityscapes, the space of flows comprises an increasing number of electronic exchanges through physically disjointed places (Castells 2002). Virtualisation involves supplementation or replacement of face-to-face contact with hypersocial communication via new media, including SMS, email, blogging and Facebook. In 2010 your friends (or your boss or a bully) may always be just a few keystrokes away, irrespective of whether it is raining outside, there is a public transport strike or the car is in for repairs (Hassan 69; Baron 215). Virtualisation also involves an abstraction of bodies and physical movements, with the information that represents individual identities or vehicles traversing the virtual spaces comprised of CCTV networks (where viewers never encounter the person or crowd face to face), rail ticketing systems and road management systems (x e-Tag passed by this tag reader, y camera logged a specific vehicle onto a database using automated number-plate recognition software) (Wood 93; Lyon 253). Surveillant Cities Pervasive anxiety is a permanent and recurrent feature of urban experience. Often navigated by an urgency to control perceived disorder, both physically and through cultivated dominant theory (early twentieth century gendered discourses to push women back into the private sphere; ethno-racial closure and control in the Black Metropolis of 1940s Chicago), history is punctuated by attempts to dissolve public debate and infringe minority freedoms (Wilson 1991). In the Post-modern city unprecedented technological capacity generates a totalizing media vector whose plausible by-product is the perception of an ambient menace (Wark 3). Concurrent faith in technology as a cost-effective mechanism for public management (policing, traffic, planning, revenue generation) has resulted in emergence of the surveillant city. It is both a social and architectural fabric whose infrastructure is dotted with sensors and whose people assume that they will be monitored by private/public sector entities and directed by interactive traffic management systems – from electronic speed signs and congestion indicators through to rail schedule displays –leveraging data collected through those sensors. The fabric embodies tensions between governance (at its crudest, enforcement of law by police and their surrogates in private security services) and the soft cage of digital governmentality, with people being disciplined through knowledge that they are being watched and that the observation may be shared with others in an official or non-official shaming (Parenti 51; Staples 41). Encounters with a railway station CCTV might thus result in exhibition of the individual in court or on broadcast television, whether in nightly news or in a ‘reality tv’ crime expose built around ‘most wanted’ footage (Jermyn 109). Misbehaviour by a partner might merely result in scrutiny of mobile phone bills or web browser histories (which illicit content has the partner consumed, which parts of cyberspace has been visited), followed by a visit to the family court. It might instead result in digital viligilantism, with private offences being named and shamed on electronic walls across the global village, such as Facebook. iPhone Auteurism Activists have responded to pervasive surveillance by turning the cameras on ‘the watchers’ in an exercise of ‘sousveillance’ (Bennett 13; Huey 158). That mirroring might involve the meticulous documentation, often using the same geospatial tools deployed by public/private security agents, of the location of closed circuit television cameras and other surveillance devices. One outcome is the production of maps identifying who is watching and where that watching is taking place. As a corollary, people with anxieties about being surveilled, with a taste for street theatre or a receptiveness to a new form of urban adventure have used those maps to traverse cities via routes along which they cannot be identified by cameras, tags and other tools of the panoptic sort, or to simply adopt masks at particular locations. In 2020 can anyone aspire to be a protagonist in V for Vendetta? (iSee) Mirroring might take more visceral forms, with protestors for example increasingly making a practice of capturing images of police and private security services dealing with marches, riots and pickets. The advent of 3G mobile phones with a still/video image capability and ongoing ‘dematerialisation’ of traditional video cameras (ie progressively cheaper, lighter, more robust, less visible) means that those engaged in political action can document interaction with authority. So can passers-by. That ambient imaging, turning the public gaze on power and thereby potentially redefining the ‘public’ (given that in Australia the community has been embodied by the state and discourse has been mediated by state-sanctioned media), poses challenges for media scholars and exponents of an invigorated civil society in which we are looking together – and looking at each other – rather than bowling alone. One challenge for consumers in construing ambient media is trust. Can we believe what we see, particularly when few audiences have forensic skills and intermediaries such as commercial broadcasters may privilege immediacy (the ‘breaking news’ snippet from participants) over context and verification. Social critics such as Baudelaire and Benjamin exalt the flaneur, the free spirit who gazed on the street, a street that was as much a spectacle as the theatre and as vibrant as the circus. In 2010 the same technologies that empower citizen journalism and foster a succession of velvet revolutions feed flaneurs whose streetwalking doesn’t extend beyond a keyboard and a modem. The US and UK have thus seen emergence of gawker services, with new media entrepreneurs attempting to build sustainable businesses by encouraging fans to report the location of celebrities (and ideally provide images of those encounters) for the delectation of people who are web surfing or receiving a tweet (Burns 24). In the age of ambient cameras, where the media are everywhere and nowhere (and micro-stock photoservices challenge agencies such as Magnum), everyone can join the paparazzi. Anyone can deploy that ambient surveillance to become a stalker. The enthusiasm with which fans publish sightings of celebrities will presumably facilitate attacks on bodies rather than images. Information may want to be free but so, inconveniently, do iconoclasts and practitioners of participatory panopticism (Dodge 431; Dennis 348). Rhetoric about ‘citizen journalism’ has been co-opted by ‘old media’, with national broadcasters and commercial enterprises soliciting still images and video from non-professionals, whether for free or on a commercial basis. It is a world where ‘journalists’ are everywhere and where responsibility resides uncertainly at the editorial desk, able to reject or accept offerings from people with cameras but without the industrial discipline formerly exercised through professional training and adherence to formal codes of practice. It is thus unsurprising that South Australia’s Government, echoed by some peers, has mooted anti-gawker legislation aimed at would-be auteurs who impede emergency services by stopping their cars to take photos of bushfires, road accidents or other disasters. The flipside of that iPhone auteurism is anxiety about the public gaze, expressed through moral panics regarding street photography and sexting. Apart from a handful of exceptions (notably photography in the Sydney Opera House precinct, in the immediate vicinity of defence facilities and in some national parks), Australian law does not prohibit ‘street photography’ which includes photographs or videos of streetscapes or public places. Despite periodic assertions that it is a criminal offence to take photographs of people–particularly minors–without permission from an official, parent/guardian or individual there is no general restriction on ambient photography in public spaces. Moral panics about photographs of children (or adults) on beaches or in the street reflect an ambient anxiety in which danger is associated with strangers and strangers are everywhere (Marr 7; Bauman 93). That conceptualisation is one that would delight people who are wholly innocent of Judith Butler or Andrea Dworkin, in which the gaze (ever pervasive, ever powerful) is tantamount to a violation. The reality is more prosaic: most child sex offences involve intimates, rather than the ‘monstrous other’ with the telephoto lens or collection of nastiness on his iPod (Cossins 435; Ingebretsen 190). Recognition of that reality is important in considering moves that would egregiously restrict legitimate photography in public spaces or happy snaps made by doting relatives. An ambient image–unposed, unpremeditated, uncoerced–of an intimate may empower both authors and subjects when little is solid and memory is fleeting. The same caution might usefully be applied in considering alarms about sexting, ie creation using mobile phones (and access by phone or computer monitor) of intimate images of teenagers by teenagers. Australian governments have moved to emulate their US peers, treating such photography as a criminal offence that can be conceptualized as child pornography and addressed through permanent inclusion in sex offender registers. Lifelong stigmatisation is inappropriate in dealing with naïve or brash 12 and 16 year olds who have been exchanging intimate images without an awareness of legal frameworks or an understanding of consequences (Shafron-Perez 432). Cameras may be everywhere among the e-generation but legal knowledge, like the future, is unevenly distributed. Digital Handcuffs Generations prior to 2008 lost themselves in the streets, gaining individuality or personhood by escaping the surveillance inherent in living at home, being observed by neighbours or simply surrounded by colleagues. Streets offered anonymity and autonomy (Simmel 1903), one reason why heterodox sexuality has traditionally been negotiated in parks and other beats and on kerbs where sex workers ply their trade (Dalton 375). Recent decades have seen a privatisation of those public spaces, with urban planning and digital technologies imposing a new governmentality on hitherto ambient ‘deviance’ and on voyeuristic-exhibitionist practice such as heterosexual ‘dogging’ (Bell 387). That governmentality has been enforced through mechanisms such as replacement of traditional public toilets with ‘pods’ that are conveniently maintained by global service providers such as Veolia (the unromantic but profitable rump of former media & sewers conglomerate Vivendi) and function as billboards for advertising groups such as JC Decaux. Faces encountered in the vicinity of the twenty-first century pissoir are thus likely to be those of supermodels selling yoghurt, low interest loans or sportsgear – the same faces sighted at other venues across the nation and across the globe. Visiting ‘the mens’ gives new meaning to the word ambience when you are more likely to encounter Louis Vuitton and a CCTV camera than George Michael. George’s face, or that of Madonna, Barack Obama, Kevin 07 or Homer Simpson, might instead be sighted on the tshirts or hoodies mentioned above. George’s music might also be borne on the bodies of people you see in the park, on the street, or in the bus. This is the age of ambient performance, taken out of concert halls and virtualised on iPods, Walkmen and other personal devices, music at the demand of the consumer rather than as rationed by concert managers (Bull 85). The cost of that ambience, liberation of performance from time and space constraints, may be a Weberian disenchantment (Steiner 434). Technology has also removed anonymity by offering digital handcuffs to employees, partners, friends and children. The same mobile phones used in the past to offer excuses or otherwise disguise the bearer’s movement may now be tied to an observer through location services that plot the person’s movement across Google Maps or the geospatial information of similar services. That tracking is an extension into the private realm of the identification we now take for granted when using taxis or logistics services, with corporate Australia for example investing in systems that allow accurate determination of where a shipment is located (on Sydney Harbour Bridge? the loading dock? accompanying the truck driver on unauthorized visits to the pub?) and a forecast of when it will arrive (Monmonier 76). Such technologies are being used on a smaller scale to enforce digital Fordism among the binary proletariat in corporate buildings and campuses, with ‘smart badges’ and biometric gateways logging an individual’s movement across institutional terrain (so many minutes in the conference room, so many minutes in the bathroom or lingering among the faux rainforest near the Vice Chancellery) (Bolt). Bright Lights, Blog City It is a truth universally acknowledged, at least by right-thinking Foucauldians, that modernity is a matter of coercion and anomie as all that is solid melts into air. If we are living in an age of hypersocialisation and hypercapitalism – movies and friends on tap, along with the panoptic sorting by marketers and pervasive scrutiny by both the ‘information state’ and public audiences (the million people or one person reading your blog) that is an inevitable accompaniment of the digital cornucopia–we might ask whether everyone is or should be unhappy. This article began by highlighting traditional responses to the bright lights, brashness and excitement of the big city. One conclusion might be that in 2010 not much has changed. Some people experience ambient information as liberating; others as threatening, productive of physical danger or of a more insidious anomie in which personal identity is blurred by an ineluctable electro-smog. There is disagreement about the professionalism (for which read ethics and inhibitions) of ‘citizen media’ and about a culture in which, as in the 1920s, audiences believe that they ‘own the image’ embodying the celebrity or public malefactor. Digital technologies allow you to navigate through the urban maze and allow officials, marketers or the hostile to track you. Those same technologies allow you to subvert both the governmentality and governance. You are free: Be ambient! References Baron, Naomi. Always On: Language in an Online and Mobile World. New York: Oxford UP, 2008. Bauman, Zygmunt. 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Cities in a Time of Terror: Space, Territory and Local Resilience. Armonk: Sharpe, 2008. Scheingold, Stuart. The Politics of Street Crime: Criminal Process and Cultural Obsession. Philadephia: Temple UP, 1992. Schivelbusch, Wolfgang. Disenchanted Night: The Industrialization of Light in the Nineteenth Century. Berkeley: U of California Press, 1995. Shafron-Perez, Sharon. “Average Teenager or Sex Offender: Solutions to the Legal Dilemma Caused by Sexting.” John Marshall Journal of Computer & Information Law 26.3 (2009): 431-487. Simmel, Georg. “The Metropolis and Mental Life.” Individuality and Social Forms. Ed. Donald Levine. Chicago: University of Chicago P, 1971. Staples, William. Everyday Surveillance: Vigilance and Visibility in Postmodern Life. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2000. Steiner, George. George Steiner: A Reader. New York: Oxford UP, 1987. Thompson, Emily. The Soundscape of Modernity: Architectural Acoustics and the Culture of Listening in America. 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This article investigates the possibilities for understanding waste as a resource, with a particular focus on understanding food waste as a food resource. It considers the popular yeast spread Vegemite within this frame. The spread’s origins in waste product, and how it has achieved and sustained its status as a popular symbol of Australia despite half a century of Australian gastro-multiculturalism and a marked public resistance to other recycling and reuse of food products, have not yet been a focus of study. The process of producing Vegemite from waste would seem to align with contemporary moves towards recycling food waste, and ensuring environmental sustainability and food security, yet even during times of austerity and environmental concern this has not provided the company with a viable marketing strategy. Instead, advertising copywriting and a recurrent cycle of product memorialisation have created a superbrand through focusing on Vegemite’s nutrient and nostalgic value.John Scanlan notes that producing waste is a core feature of modern life, and what we dispose of as surplus to our requirements—whether this comprises material objects or more abstract products such as knowledge—reveals much about our society. In observing this, Scanlan asks us to consider the quite radical idea that waste is central to everything of significance to us: the “possibility that the surprising core of all we value results from (and creates even more) garbage (both the material and the metaphorical)” (9). Others have noted the ambivalent relationship we have with the waste we produce. C. T. Anderson notes that we are both creator and agent of its disposal. It is our ambivalence towards waste, coupled with its ubiquity, that allows waste materials to be described so variously: negatively as garbage, trash and rubbish, or more positively as by-products, leftovers, offcuts, trimmings, and recycled.This ambivalence is also crucial to understanding the affectionate relationship the Australian public have with Vegemite, a relationship that appears to exist in spite of the product’s unpalatable origins in waste. A study of Vegemite reveals that consumers can be comfortable with waste, even to the point of eating recycled waste, as long as that fact remains hidden and unmentioned. In Vegemite’s case not only has the product’s connection to waste been rendered invisible, it has been largely kept out of sight despite considerable media and other attention focusing on the product. Recycling Food Waste into Food ProductRecent work such as Elizabeth Royte’s Garbage Land and Tristram Stuart’s Waste make waste uncomfortably visible, outlining how much waste, and food waste in particular, the Western world generates and how profligately this is disposed of. Their aim is clear: a call to less extravagant and more sustainable practices. The relatively recent interest in reducing our food waste has, of course, introduced more complexity into a simple linear movement from the creation of a food product, to its acquisition or purchase, and then to its consumption and/or its disposal. Moreover, the recycling, reuse and repurposing of what has previously been discarded as waste is reconfiguring the whole idea of what waste is, as well as what value it has. The initiatives that seem to offer the most promise are those that reconfigure the way waste is understood. However, it is not only the process of transforming waste from an abject nuisance into a valued product that is central here. It is also necessary to reconfigure people’s acculturated perceptions of, and reactions to waste. Food waste is generated during all stages of the food cycle: while the raw materials are being grown; while these are being processed; when the resulting food products are being sold; when they are prepared in the home or other kitchen; and when they are only partly consumed. Until recently, the food industry in the West almost universally produced large volumes of solid and liquid waste that not only posed problems of disposal and pollution for the companies involved, but also represented a reckless squandering of total food resources in terms of both nutrient content and valuable biomass for society at large. While this is currently changing, albeit slowly, the by-products of food processing were, and often are, dumped (Stuart). In best-case scenarios, various gardening, farming and industrial processes gather household and commercial food waste for use as animal feed or as components in fertilisers (Delgado et al; Wang et al). This might, on the surface, appear a responsible application of waste, yet the reality is that such food waste often includes perfectly good fruit and vegetables that are not quite the required size, shape or colour, meat trimmings and products (such as offal) that are completely edible but extraneous to processing need, and other high grade product that does not meet certain specifications—such as the mountains of bread crusts sandwich producers discard (Hickman), or food that is still edible but past its ‘sell by date.’ In the last few years, however, mounting public awareness over the issues of world hunger, resource conservation, and the environmental and economic costs associated with food waste has accelerated efforts to make sustainable use of available food supplies and to more efficiently recycle, recover and utilise such needlessly wasted food product. This has fed into and led to multiple new policies, instances of research into, and resultant methods for waste handling and treatment (Laufenberg et al). Most straightforwardly, this involves the use or sale of offcuts, trimmings and unwanted ingredients that are “often of prime quality and are only rejected from the production line as a result of standardisation requirements or retailer specification” from one process for use in another, in such processed foods as soups, baby food or fast food products (Henningsson et al. 505). At a higher level, such recycling seeks to reclaim any reusable substances of significant food value from what could otherwise be thought of as a non-usable waste product. Enacting this is largely dependent on two elements: an available technology and being able to obtain a price or other value for the resultant product that makes the process worthwhile for the recycler to engage in it (Laufenberg et al). An example of the latter is the use of dehydrated restaurant food waste as a feedstuff for finishing pigs, a reuse process with added value for all involved as this process produces both a nutritious food substance as well as a viable way of disposing of restaurant waste (Myer et al). In Japan, laws regarding food waste recycling, which are separate from those governing other organic waste, are ensuring that at least some of food waste is being converted into animal feed, especially for the pigs who are destined for human tables (Stuart). Other recycling/reuse is more complex and involves more lateral thinking, with the by-products from some food processing able to be utilised, for instance, in the production of dyes, toiletries and cosmetics (Henningsson et al), although many argue for the privileging of food production in the recycling of foodstuffs.Brewing is one such process that has been in the reuse spotlight recently as large companies seek to minimise their waste product so as to be able to market their processes as sustainable. In 2009, for example, the giant Foster’s Group (with over 150 brands of beer, wine, spirits and ciders) proudly claimed that it recycled or reused some 91.23% of 171,000 tonnes of operational waste, with only 8.77% of this going to landfill (Foster’s Group). The treatment and recycling of the massive amounts of water used for brewing, rinsing and cooling purposes (Braeken et al.; Fillaudeaua et al.) is of significant interest, and is leading to research into areas as diverse as the development microbial fuel cells—where added bacteria consume the water-soluble brewing wastes, thereby cleaning the water as well as releasing chemical energy that is then converted into electricity (Lagan)—to using nutrient-rich wastewater as the carbon source for creating bioplastics (Yu et al.).In order for the waste-recycling-reuse loop to be closed in the best way for securing food supplies, any new product salvaged and created from food waste has to be both usable, and used, as food (Stuart)—and preferably as a food source for people to consume. There is, however, considerable consumer resistance to such reuse. Resistance to reusing recycled water in Australia has been documented by the CSIRO, which identified negative consumer perception as one of the two primary impediments to water reuse, the other being the fundamental economics of the process (MacDonald & Dyack). This consumer aversion operates even in times of severe water shortages, and despite proof of the cleanliness and safety of the resulting treated water. There was higher consumer acceptance levels for using stormwater rather than recycled water, despite the treated stormwater being shown to have higher concentrations of contaminants (MacDonald & Dyack). This reveals the extent of public resistance to the potential consumption of recycled waste product when it is labelled as such, even when this consumption appears to benefit that public. Vegemite: From Waste Product to Australian IconIn this context, the savoury yeast spread Vegemite provides an example of how food processing waste can be repurposed into a new food product that can gain a high level of consumer acceptability. It has been able to retain this status despite half a century of Australian gastronomic multiculturalism and the wide embrace of a much broader range of foodstuffs. Indeed, Vegemite is so ubiquitous in Australian foodways that it is recognised as an international superbrand, a standing it has been able to maintain despite most consumers from outside Australasia finding it unpalatable (Rozin & Siegal). However, Vegemite’s long product history is one in which its origin as recycled waste has been omitted, or at the very least, consistently marginalised.Vegemite’s history as a consumer product is narrated in a number of accounts, including one on the Kraft website, where the apocryphal and actual blend. What all these narratives agree on is that in the early 1920s Fred Walker—of Fred Walker and Company, Melbourne, canners of meat for export and Australian manufacturers of Bonox branded beef stock beverage—asked his company chemist to emulate Marmite yeast extract (Farrer). The imitation product was based, as was Marmite, on the residue from spent brewer’s yeast. This waste was initially sourced from Melbourne-based Carlton & United Breweries, and flavoured with vegetables, spices and salt (Creswell & Trenoweth). Today, the yeast left after Foster Group’s Australian commercial beer making processes is collected, put through a sieve to remove hop resins, washed to remove any bitterness, then mixed with warm water. The yeast dies from the lack of nutrients in this environment, and enzymes then break down the yeast proteins with the effect that vitamins and minerals are released into the resulting solution. Using centrifugal force, the yeast cell walls are removed, leaving behind a nutrient-rich brown liquid, which is then concentrated into a dark, thick paste using a vacuum process. This is seasoned with significant amounts of salt—although less today than before—and flavoured with vegetable extracts (Richardson).Given its popularity—Vegemite was found in 2009 to be the third most popular brand in Australia (Brand Asset Consulting)—it is unsurprising to find that the product has a significant history as an object of study in popular culture (Fiske et al; White), as a marker of national identity (Ivory; Renne; Rozin & Siegal; Richardson; Harper & White) and as an iconic Australian food, brand and product (Cozzolino; Luck; Khamis; Symons). Jars, packaging and product advertising are collected by Australian institutions such as Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum and the National Museum of Australia in Canberra, and are regularly included in permanent and travelling exhibitions profiling Australian brands and investigating how a sense of national identity is expressed through identification with these brands. All of this significant study largely focuses on how, when and by whom the product has been taken up, and how it has been consumed, rather than its links to waste, and what this circumstance could add to current thinking about recycling of food waste into other food products.It is worth noting that Vegemite was not an initial success in the Australian marketplace, but this does not seem due to an adverse public perception to waste. Indeed, when it was first produced it was in imitation of an already popular product well-known to be made from brewery by-products, hence this origin was not an issue. It was also introduced during a time when consumer relationships to waste were quite unlike today, and thrifty re-use of was a common feature of household behaviour. Despite a national competition mounted to name the product (Richardson), Marmite continued to attract more purchasers after Vegemite’s launch in 1923, so much so that in 1928, in an attempt to differentiate itself from Marmite, Vegemite was renamed “Parwill—the all Australian product” (punning on the idea that “Ma-might” but “Pa-will”) (White 16). When this campaign was unsuccessful, the original, consumer-suggested name was reinstated, but sales still lagged behind its UK-owned prototype. It was only after remaining in production for more than a decade, and after two successful marketing campaigns in the second half of the 1930s that the Vegemite brand gained some market traction. The first of these was in 1935 and 1936, when a free jar of Vegemite was offered with every sale of an item from the relatively extensive Kraft-Walker product list (after Walker’s company merged with Kraft) (White). The second was an attention-grabbing contest held in 1937, which invited consumers to compose Vegemite-inspired limericks. However, it was not the nature of the product itself or even the task set by the competition which captured mass attention, but the prize of a desirable, exotic and valuable imported Pontiac car (Richardson 61; Superbrands).Since that time, multinational media company, J Walter Thompson (now rebranded as JWT) has continued to manage Vegemite’s marketing. JWT’s marketing has never looked to Vegemite’s status as a thrifty recycler of waste as a viable marketing strategy, even in periods of austerity (such as the Depression years and the Second World War) or in more recent times of environmental concern. Instead, advertising copywriting and a recurrent cycle of cultural/media memorialisation have created a superbrand by focusing on two factors: its nutrient value and, as the brand became more established, its status as national icon. Throughout the regular noting and celebration of anniversaries of its initial invention and launch, with various commemorative events and products marking each of these product ‘birthdays,’ Vegemite’s status as recycled waste product has never been more than mentioned. Even when its 60th anniversary was marked in 1983 with the laying of a permanent plaque in Kerferd Road, South Melbourne, opposite Walker’s original factory, there was only the most passing reference to how, and from what, the product manufactured at the site was made. This remained the case when the site itself was prioritised for heritage listing almost twenty years later in 2001 (City of Port Phillip).Shying away from the reality of this successful example of recycling food waste into food was still the case in 1990, when Kraft Foods held a nationwide public campaign to recover past styles of Vegemite containers and packaging, and then donated their collection to Powerhouse Museum. The Powerhouse then held an exhibition of the receptacles and the historical promotional material in 1991, tracing the development of the product’s presentation (Powerhouse Museum), an occasion that dovetailed with other nostalgic commemorative activities around the product’s 70th birthday. Although the production process was noted in the exhibition, it is noteworthy that the possibilities for recycling a number of the styles of jars, as either containers with reusable lids or as drinking glasses, were given considerably more notice than the product’s origins as a recycled product. By this time, it seems, Vegemite had become so incorporated into Australian popular memory as a product in its own right, and with such a rich nostalgic history, that its origins were no longer of any significant interest or relevance.This disregard continued in the commemorative volume, The Vegemite Cookbook. With some ninety recipes and recipe ideas, the collection contains an almost unimaginably wide range of ways to use Vegemite as an ingredient. There are recipes on how to make the definitive Vegemite toast soldiers and Vegemite crumpets, as well as adaptations of foreign cuisines including pastas and risottos, stroganoffs, tacos, chilli con carne, frijole dip, marinated beef “souvlaki style,” “Indian-style” chicken wings, curries, Asian stir-fries, Indonesian gado-gado and a number of Chinese inspired dishes. Although the cookbook includes a timeline of product history illustrated with images from the major advertising campaigns that runs across 30 pages of the book, this timeline history emphasises the technological achievement of Vegemite’s creation, as opposed to the matter from which it orginated: “In a Spartan room in Albert Park Melbourne, 20 year-old food technologist Cyril P. Callister employed by Fred Walker, conducted initial experiments with yeast. His workplace was neither kitchen nor laboratory. … It was not long before this rather ordinary room yielded an extra-ordinary substance” (2). The Big Vegemite Party Book, described on its cover as “a great book for the Vegemite fan … with lots of old advertisements from magazines and newspapers,” is even more openly nostalgic, but similarly includes very little regarding Vegemite’s obviously potentially unpalatable genesis in waste.Such commemorations have continued into the new century, each one becoming more self-referential and more obviously a marketing strategy. In 2003, Vegemite celebrated its 80th birthday with the launch of the “Spread the Smile” campaign, seeking to record the childhood reminisces of adults who loved Vegemite. After this, the commemorative anniversaries broke free from even the date of its original invention and launch, and began to celebrate other major dates in the product’s life. In this way, Kraft made major news headlines when it announced that it was trying to locate the children who featured in the 1954 “Happy little Vegemites” campaign as part of the company’s celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the television advertisement. In October 2006, these once child actors joined a number of past and current Kraft employees to celebrate the supposed production of the one-billionth jar of Vegemite (Rood, "Vegemite Spreads" & "Vegemite Toasts") but, once again, little about the actual production process was discussed. In 2007, the then iconic marching band image was resituated into a contemporary setting—presumably to mobilise both the original messages (nutritious wholesomeness in an Australian domestic context) as well as its heritage appeal. Despite the real interest at this time in recycling and waste reduction, the silence over Vegemite’s status as recycled, repurposed food waste product continued.Concluding Remarks: Towards Considering Waste as a ResourceIn most parts of the Western world, including Australia, food waste is formally (in policy) and informally (by consumers) classified, disposed of, or otherwise treated alongside garden waste and other organic materials. Disposal by individuals, industry or local governments includes a range of options, from dumping to composting or breaking down in anaerobic digestion systems into materials for fertiliser, with food waste given no special status or priority. Despite current concerns regarding the security of food supplies in the West and decades of recognising that there are sections of all societies where people do not have enough to eat, it seems that recycling food waste into food that people can consume remains one of the last and least palatable solutions to these problems. This brief study of Vegemite has attempted to show how, despite the growing interest in recycling and sustainability, the focus in both the marketing of, and public interest in, this iconic and popular product appears to remain rooted in Vegemite’s nutrient and nostalgic value and its status as a brand, and firmly away from any suggestion of innovative and prudent reuse of waste product. 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