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The main problem that speculative realism, represented by Quentin Meillassoux, Graham Harman and Ray Brassier, is trying to solve is overcoming correlationism. Two important figures who played a key role in the development of correlationism are Immanuel Kant and Martin Heidegger. Correlationism is a type of philosophizing that postulates that a person has access only to the connection (correlation) between the subject and the thing in itself, but not to these instances separately. The correlation is often anthropic in nature, i.e. it is language, social practices, culture, consciousness, history, meaning, and so on. Speculative realism seeks to overcome correlationism and show how one can approach the thing in itself. Heidegger played a significant role in the development of correlationism - speculative realists are in active dialogue with him. It is shown that the interpretation and criticism of Heidegger's ideas by speculative realists is untenable. Speculative realists are often even greater correlationists than Heidegger, since they replace the concept of the thing in itself with the thing for us. It is concluded that correlationism cannot be overcome, but it is necessary to reduce its influence through a number of techniques. Such practices include the restoration of the idea of the Kantian thing in itself. It is also necessary to introduce the idea of a passive subject who reduces his cognitive claims and switches attention to the affect of the thing in itself. In addition, we must remember that the human race is not the center of the world drama, and its fate depends on how carefully it learns to handle natural forces that exist independently of it in order to avoid climate catastrophe.

Graham Harman’s Object-Oriented Ontology (OOO) emphasizes the autonomy of objects, positing a withdrawn surplus of being that resists reduction to its parts or the sum of its parts. However, Harman’s framework faces conceptual tensions, including challenges in reconciling epistemological and ontological dimensions, explaining the formation of compound objects, and ascribing determinate features to experientially inaccessible objects. I argue that these issues arise mostly due to Harman’s over-commitment to a withdrawn substantial core of objects. To address these issues, I propose turning to Jean-Luc Nancy’s post-phenomenological materialism and Alain Badiou’s mathematical realism. Both Nancy and Badiou offer alternatives to Harman’s substantialist core, emphasizing a local, contextually bound identity of things, which describes a restricted domain from the endlessly broader horizon of relations and situations in which each thing is or can be involved. They thus account for the surplus of being in each thing and consequently their ontological autonomy without recourse to a substantive grounding. I argue such a relational-friendly account of pluralism avoids the conceptual issues Harman’s OOO runs into. Lastly, I emphasize the value of OOO as an advocate for ontological equality that seeks to avoid the emergence of privileged actors or centralized discourse. This dialogue between Harman, Nancy, and Badiou thus seeks to advance the possibility of pluralistic ontologies within relational frameworks, combining the perspectives of OOO with post-phenomenological theories to explore the complexities of relationality without recourse to non-relational substrata.

This article seeks to clarify the role of the notion of rhythm in Whitehead's philosophy, considering the mediating character it has between the order of events and that of objects. Deleuze and Harman, when commenting on Whitehead's ontological system, have highlighted the value of events and objects, respectively. Here, we pretend to elucidate the limits of these readings and give relevance to the category between both planes, which is rhythm. This concepts evolve from a naturalistic view to a more metaphysical conception in Whitehead's later work, and its applications go from science to education and aesthetics. Thus, rhythm can be understood as a complex that has an eventual face and an objectual face, internally defining itself as a system of contrasts that mobilizes creation and intensity through time. This rhythmic process of creation leads us to think a poetics of experience, considering its aesthetic and compositional nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to contextualize a philosophy of curation that is object‐oriented or toward a "return to the object." In the museum, three interrelated philosophical problems pervade curation practices that prevent access to the object as it is. Here, the subject‐object relations or idealism‐realism issues are reconsidered as a specific niche of the philosophy of curation. To address these issues, this paper claims that Jean‐Paul Martinon and Graham Harman's philosophical return to the Heideggerian fourfold (das Geviert) can introduce creative pathways for the curated object that is riddled with excess and tensions. Later, with some caveats, the paper addresses the issues and suggests a possible avenue for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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芝麻油可能含有杂环胺9H-吡啶并\[3,4-b\]吲哚（norharman）和1-甲基-9H-吡啶并\[3,4-b\]吲哚（harman），为了有效检测芝麻油中杂环胺含量，建立了一种高效液相色谱-荧光检测法（HPLC-FLD），并对不同产地芝麻所制芝麻油中杂环胺含量进行对比。结果表明：所建立的HPLC-FLD能在15 min内实现对芝麻油中杂环胺的测定；在相同炒籽条件下，不同产地芝麻所制芝麻油中杂环胺含量有显著差异（p

This paper explores the issues connected between rural sustainable development in formerly state-socialist countries and the local cultural heritage of rural areas. It pays specific attention to the potential of cultural tourism which can enhance local rural development. This paper is a case study of the Hărman commune, and this area is investigated in depth. It is one of the most important rural and cultural areas located in Brașov County of Romania, a country with an impressive cultural heritage concentrated in its rural areas. The study uses a mixed-method analysis combining quantitative and qualitative research (focus groups, interviews, oral histories, and personal conversions), participatory ethnographic observation, and logical framework analysis (LFA). The main findings of the study illustrate that the Hărman commune has an important cultural heritage which could be more capitalized on in the future through the lens of cultural tourism to ensure local sustainability and to open up new perspectives in terms of local development, connecting rural and cultural tourism with other economic activities. Furthermore, the main findings of this study represent, beyond an informative platform for the local actors in rural development, an inspiring instrument that could frame new policies in local rural sustainable development and fertile backgrounds for new debates in local rural sustainability, enriching local agendas on rural sustainable development through cultural heritage capitalization and cultural tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

β-carbolines (harman and norharman) are potentially mutagenic and have been reported in some vegetable oils. Sesame seed oil is obtained from roasted sesame seeds. During sesame oil processing, roasting is the key procedure to aroma enhancement, in which β-carbolines are produced. Pressed sesame seed oils cover most market share, while leaching solvents are used to extract oils from the pressed sesame cake to improve the utilization of the raw materials. β-carbolines are nonpolar heterocyclic aromatic amines with good solubility in leaching solvents (n-hexane); therefore, the β-carbolines in sesame cake migrated to the leaching sesame seed oil. The refining procedures are indispensable for leaching sesame seed oil, in which some small molecules can be reduced. Thus, the critical aim is to evaluate the changes in β-carboline content during the refining of leaching sesame seed oil and the key process steps for the removal of β-carbolines. In this work, the levels of β-carbolines (harman and norharman) in sesame seed oil during chemical refining processes (degumming, deacidification, bleaching and deodorization) have been determined using solid phase extraction and high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The results indicated that in the entire refining process, the levels of total β-carbolines greatly decreased, and the adsorption decolorization was the most effective process in reducing β-carbolines, which might be related to the adsorbent used in the decolorization process. In addition, the effects of adsorbent type, adsorbent dosage and blended adsorbent on β-carbolines in sesame seed oil during the decolorization process were investigated. It was concluded that oil refining can not only improve the quality of sesame seed oil, but also reduce most of the harmful β-carbolines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monoamine oxidase (MAO) oxidizes neurotransmitters and xenobiotic amines, including vasopressor and neurotoxic amines such as the MPTP neurotoxin. Its inhibitors are useful as antidepressants and neuroprotectants. This work shows that diluted soy sauce (1/3) and soy sauce extracts inhibited human MAO-A and -B isozymes in vitro, which were measured with a chromatographic assay to avoid interferences, and it suggests the presence of MAO inhibitors. Chromatographic and spectrometric studies showed the occurrence of the β-carboline alkaloids harman and norharman in soy sauce extracts inhibiting MAO-A. Harman was isolated from soy sauce, and it was a potent and competitive inhibitor of MAO-A (0.4 µM, 44 % inhibition). The concentrations of harman and norharman were determined in commercial soy sauces, reaching 243 and 52 μg/L, respectively. Subsequently, the alkaloids 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carboline-3-carboxylic acid (THCA) and 1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carboline-3-carboxylic acid (MTCA) were identified and analyzed in soy sauces reaching concentrations of 69 and 448 mg/L, respectively. The results show that MTCA was a precursor of harman under oxidative and heating conditions, and soy sauces increased the amount of harman under those conditions. This work shows that soy sauce contains bioactive β-carbolines and constitutes a dietary source of MAO-A and -B inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Academic Journal of Agriculture / Akademik Ziraat Dergisi is the property of University of Ordu, Faculty of Agriculture, Academic Journal of Agriculture and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The prenylation of compounds has attracted much attention, since it often adds bioactivity to non-prenylated compounds. We employed an enzyme assay with CdpNPT, an indole prenyltransferase from Aspergillus fumigatus with two naturally occurring β-carbolines, harmine (3) and harman (4) as prenyl acceptors, in the presence of dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP) as the prenyl donor. The enzyme accepted these two prenyl acceptor substrates to produce 6-(3′,3′-dimethylallyl)harmine (5) from 3 and 9-(3′,3′-dimethylallyl)harman (6) and 6-(3′,3′-dimethylallyl)harman (7) from 4. The X-ray crystal structure analysis of the CdpNPT (38–440) truncated mutant complexed with 4 , and docking simulation studies of DMAPP to the crystal structure of the CdpNPT (38–440) mutant, suggested that CdpNPT could employ the two-step prenylation mechanism to produce 7 , while the enzyme produced 6 with either one- or two-step prenylation mechanisms. Furthermore, the antibacterial assays revealed that the 3′,3′-dimethylallylation of 3 and 4 , as well as harmol (1), at C-6 enhanced the activities against Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis. [Display omitted] • Prenylation ability of CdpNPT toward two β-carbolines was investigated. • CdpNPT accepted harmine to produce 6-(3-dimethylallyl)harmine. • CdpNPT also has the ability to produce 9- and 6-(3-dimethylallyl)harmans. • 3-Dimethylallylation of harmine and harman enhanced antibacterial activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the issues connected between rural sustainable development in formerly state-socialist countries and the local cultural heritage of rural areas. It pays specific attention to the potential of cultural tourism which can enhance local rural development. This paper is a case study of the Hărman commune, and this area is investigated in depth. It is one of the most important rural and cultural areas located in Brașov County of Romania, a country with an impressive cultural heritage concentrated in its rural areas. The study uses a mixed-method analysis combining quantitative and qualitative research (focus groups, interviews, oral histories, and personal conversions), participatory ethnographic observation, and logical framework analysis (LFA). The main findings of the study illustrate that the Hărman commune has an important cultural heritage which could be more capitalized on in the future through the lens of cultural tourism to ensure local sustainability and to open up new perspectives in terms of local development, connecting rural and cultural tourism with other economic activities. Furthermore, the main findings of this study represent, beyond an informative platform for the local actors in rural development, an inspiring instrument that could frame new policies in local rural sustainable development and fertile backgrounds for new debates in local rural sustainability, enriching local agendas on rural sustainable development through cultural heritage capitalization and cultural tourism.

β-carbolines (harman and norharman) are potentially mutagenic and have been reported in some vegetable oils. Sesame seed oil is obtained from roasted sesame seeds. During sesame oil processing, roasting is the key procedure to aroma enhancement, in which β-carbolines are produced. Pressed sesame seed oils cover most market share, while leaching solvents are used to extract oils from the pressed sesame cake to improve the utilization of the raw materials. β-carbolines are nonpolar heterocyclic aromatic amines with good solubility in leaching solvents (n-hexane); therefore, the β-carbolines in sesame cake migrated to the leaching sesame seed oil. The refining procedures are indispensable for leaching sesame seed oil, in which some small molecules can be reduced. Thus, the critical aim is to evaluate the changes in β-carboline content during the refining of leaching sesame seed oil and the key process steps for the removal of β-carbolines. In this work, the levels of β-carbolines (harman and norharman) in sesame seed oil during chemical refining processes (degumming, deacidification, bleaching and deodorization) have been determined using solid phase extraction and high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The results indicated that in the entire refining process, the levels of total β-carbolines greatly decreased, and the adsorption decolorization was the most effective process in reducing β-carbolines, which might be related to the adsorbent used in the decolorization process. In addition, the effects of adsorbent type, adsorbent dosage and blended adsorbent on β-carbolines in sesame seed oil during the decolorization process were investigated. It was concluded that oil refining can not only improve the quality of sesame seed oil, but also reduce most of the harmful β-carbolines.

BackgroundHeterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) are a group of harmful substances produced while cooking meat at high temperatures. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between HAAs and the occurrence of kidney stones.MethodsData on the level of four HAAs, including 2-Amino-9H-pyrido [2, 3-b] indole (A-α-C), 1-Methyl-9H-pyrido [3, 4-b] indole (Harman), 9H-Pyrido [3, 4-b] indole (Norharman), and 2-Amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo [4, 5-b] pyridine (PhIP), in the urine from adult participants were extracted from the 2013–2014 NHANES database. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to balance confounding variables between the stone former and non-stone former groups, and logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the relationship between HAAs and the occurrence of kidney stones.ResultsOf the 1,558 eligible participants, a history of kidney stones was self-reported by 140 (9.0%). Compared to non-stone formers, stone formers had higher concentrations of A-α-C, Harman, and Norharman and lower concentrations of PhlP in urine. After adjusting for all other confounding variables, multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the high-Harman group had a higher risk of kidney stones than the low-Harman group [adjusted odds ratios (aOR) = 1.618, 95% CI: 1.076–2.433, p = 0.021]. After PSM analysis, Harman concentration remained a risk factor for kidney stones (high-Harman group vs. low-Harman group: aOR = 1.951, 95% CI: 1.059–3.596, p = 0.032).ConclusionIncreased urinary Harman concentrations are associated with an increased risk of kidney stones in the general US population.

Monoamine oxidase (MAO) oxidizes neurotransmitters and xenobiotic amines, including vasopressor and neurotoxic amines such as the MPTP neurotoxin. Its inhibitors are useful as antidepressants and neuroprotectants. This work shows that diluted soy sauce (1/3) and soy sauce extracts inhibited human MAO-A and -B isozymes in vitro, which were measured with a chromatographic assay to avoid interferences, and it suggests the presence of MAO inhibitors. Chromatographic and spectrometric studies showed the occurrence of the β-carboline alkaloids harman and norharman in soy sauce extracts inhibiting MAO-A. Harman was isolated from soy sauce, and it was a potent and competitive inhibitor of MAO-A (0.4 µM, 44 % inhibition). The concentrations of harman and norharman were determined in commercial soy sauces, reaching 243 and 52 μg/L, respectively. Subsequently, the alkaloids 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carboline-3-carboxylic acid (THCA) and 1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carboline-3-carboxylic acid (MTCA) were identified and analyzed in soy sauces reaching concentrations of 69 and 448 mg/L, respectively. The results show that MTCA was a precursor of harman under oxidative and heating conditions, and soy sauces increased the amount of harman under those conditions. This work shows that soy sauce contains bioactive β-carbolines and constitutes a dietary source of MAO-A and -B inhibitors.

Background: Genomic technologies can be subject to significant batch-effects which are known to reduce experimental power and to potentially create false positive results. The Illumina Infinium Methylation BeadChip is a popular technology choice for epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS), but presently, little is known about the nature of batch-effects on these designs. Given the subtlety of biological phenotypes in many EWAS, control for batch-effects should be a consideration. Results: Using the batch-effect removal approaches in the ComBat and Harman software, we examined two in-house datasets and compared results with three large publicly available datasets, (1214 HumanMethylation450 and 1094 MethylationEPIC BeadChips in total), and find that despite various forms of preprocessing, some batch-effects persist. This residual batch-effect is associated with the day of processing, the individual glass slide and the position of the array on the slide. Consistently across all datasets, 4649 probes required high amounts of correction. To understand the impact of this set to EWAS studies, we explored the literature and found three instances where persistently batch-effect prone probes have been reported in abstracts as key sites of differential methylation. As well as batch-effect susceptible probes, we also discover a set of probes which are erroneously corrected. We provide batch-effect workflows for Infinium Methylation data and provide reference matrices of batch-effect prone and erroneously corrected features across the five datasets spanning regionally diverse populations and three commonly collected biosamples (blood, buccal and saliva). Conclusions: Batch-effects are ever present, even in high-quality data, and a strategy to deal with them should be part of experimental design, particularly for EWAS. Batch-effect removal tools are useful to reduce technical variance in Infinium Methylation data, but they need to be applied with care and make use of post hoc diagnostic measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we discuss the insights object-oriented ontology (OOO) offers in understanding the photographic process. Following Kant's distinction between noumena and phenomena and Heidegger's Geviert, Harman's OOO focuses on the real versus sensory aspects of all objects of experience. In our analysis, we explore its implications for intentionality, signification and revelation in photography. OOO locates being within all objects and stands in opposition to the post-Cartesian correlationism influential in the continental tradition. In Heidegger's terms, the still camera exhibits both presence and readiness at hand. However, this readiness at hand is so ubiquitous that it is easy to overlook what makes it unique amongst the tools at our disposal. We argue that in the field of visual experience, the camera does what Kant believed impossible. It has the potential to reduce epistemic loss and transform the phenomenology of conscious experience into the noumenology of non-conscious awareness of the real object. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to examine, in terms of gender, the needs determining the division of labor and subsequently to discuss common working areas as the result of this division of labor. The research developed based on the working life and gender roles of the villagers living in Sivri Dere, Oltu district. The ethnographic method and observation were used as data collection tools. The research determined places mostly used as common areas and their uses according to gender. Thus, women mostly use dairies, tandoori, ovens, houses, fountains and springs as common working areas. On the other hand, men mostly use flooded places, adjacent areas of the mosque, road joints, pastures, forests, cattle pen, shelters, sheepfolds, crossroads, water channels and mills as commo working areas. Trashing areas, on the other hand, are used by both women and men as a collaborative working area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graham Harman describes the allure of art as the tension and fusion of a real object to sensual qualities so that it makes it seem that the inwardness of reality is opened to us. Yet real objects are withdrawn; how are we aware of their fusion? Since Harman’s ontology mandates that contact between real objects occurs only through sensual objects, this essay explores the idea that art’s allure must be a tension between sensual objects that draw the experiencer to believe, or alieve, they are in contact with the withdrawn real. By looking at the examples in representational painting and sleight of hand magic, we see that ontographic art objects use at least four, carefully separated sensual objects to produce their aesthetic effect. The conclusion summarises allure as a sensual object process, speculates on art’s dialetheic confusion of sensual and real objects giving an enduring allure to idealism, and notes potential motifs of an infra-realist resistance.

This article poses a question for Object-Oriented Ontology (OOO) in general and Harman’s position in particular. It is Heidegger’s question: “How do matters stand with nothingness?” First, I present the basic outline of Harman’s OOO which is presented as a theory of everything. In order to pin down the question of nothing, I begin by asking about “something”: what is an object? And what does it mean that objects exist? Then I pursue by identifying two notions of nothing in OOO: the withdrawal of objects and the in-between of two objects. The first, I call infrastructural nothing. The second, I call interrelational nothing. The latter is derived from the former. I argue that OOO is very close to Kierkegaard’s account of nothing as the space of possibility of possibilities, since an object is defined as its own interior space which must hold something in reserve in order to allow for change and emergence. Nothing is not merely nothing but something – a bounded openness.

In his Prince of Networks, Graham Harman reconstructs Latourian critique of concepts of potentiality and virtuality with which he claims to agree. This seems striking because Latour’s arguments seem to be exactly those Harman rejects in his other writings as overmining. Furthermore, this critique of potentiality and virtuality creates a dividing line between Harman and Bryant’s Democracy of Objects, where the concept of virtual plays a central role. In this article, I will explore this debate, focusing on how the concept of virtuality works in the context of the ontological realism that Object-Oriented Ontology is. To do this, I will first present Bryant’s notion of virtuality focusing on the problem of the individuality of the object. Then I will explore Latourian–Harmanian arguments against virtuality and show that the main issue Harman has with virtuality has to do with the agency of objects. Therefore, I claim that the main dividing line between Bryant’s and Harman’s versions of Object-Oriented Ontology is the difference between the two notions of agency.

In this paper, I will discuss the need for a theory of essences within Object-Oriented Ontology (OOO) and then formulate one. I will do so by drawing on Graham Harman’s work on OOO and Martin Heidegger’s thought on the essence of being, presented in his Introduction to Metaphysics. Harman touches on essences, describing them as the tension between a withdrawn object and its withdrawn qualities, but fails to distinguish between essential and inessential qualities within this framework. To fill in the gaps, I will turn to Heidegger’s explication of phusis in order to show that an essential aspect of being is how one enters into causal relations and continually reveals oneself to other beings. In bringing OOO and Heidegger together, I will find that each object has a unique way of exerting itself in the world and that the domestic relations that make up this unique profile are essential to it, while other domestic relations, those that do not influence its particular way of exerting itself, are inessential. Thus, the essence will be found to be the set of domestic relations that make up the determinate form, or unique causal profile, of the object.

Resumen Este artículo vincula la postura filosófica actual de la Ontología-orientada a los Objetos (OOO) con el enfoque proyectual de Enric Miralles de finales del siglo XX. Por un lado, el pensamiento de Graham Harman está influyendo en los métodos, principios y sistemas de valores de los arquitectos desde comienzos de la década de 2010, reclamando una realidad inaccesible de las cosas bajo su apariencia y nuestro conocimiento sobre ellas. OOO propone un acercamiento indirecto al objeto a través de la estética y la retórica, salvaguardando a su vez su autonomía. Por otro lado, Enric Miralles surge como una figura histórica cuya comprensión poética de la arquitectura se preocupaba por algo más allá de las necesidades prácticas o cuestiones cosméticas. En este contexto, este artículo examina dos cuestiones (autonomía y estética) para conectar a los dos autores. Cuando el proyecto arquitectónico (PA) aparece como un objeto autónomo, cualquier esfuerzo epistemológico sobre él se vuelve incompleto y el proyecto ofrece múltiples resultados y lecturas. El segundo gran punto en común es la estética como forma de cognición. Nociones similares de mímesis, alusión y metáfora remiten a la realidad inefable del proyecto para, además, poder acceder a algunos de sus diversos perfiles cognoscibles. Estos solapamientos hacen que ambos trabajos se complementen. En primer lugar, Miralles aparece como un precedente significativo para la discusión actual sobre los objetos en la arquitectura, especialmente cuando instrumentaliza los mecanismos de la estética no únicamente asociados a la experiencia del espectador sino también al proceso de diseño. En segundo lugar, los postulados de Harman ofrecen, retrospectivamente, una base teórica sólida para el enfoque intelectual de Miralles sobre la arquitectura y métodos de diseño; es decir, un marco ontológico que unifica las particularidades de cada proyecto a la vez que mantiene su rango intrínseco de expresiones inagotables. Abstract This paper links the current philosophical stance of Object-oriented Ontology (OOO) to Enric Miralles’ design approach in the late 20th century. On the one hand, Graham Harman’s thinking has influenced architects’ methods, principles, and value systems since the early 2010s, claiming a deeper reality of things beneath their appearance and our knowledge of them. OOO proposes an indirect approach to things through aesthetics and rhetoric, safeguarding the autonomy of the object. On the other hand, Enric Miralles emerges as a historical figure whose poetic understanding of architecture was concerned with something beyond practical needs or cosmetic issues. In this context, this paper examines two issues (autonomy and aesthetics) to connect the two authors. When the architectural project (AP) appears as an autonomous object, any epistemological effort exerted on it becomes incomplete, and the project offers multiple results and readings. For that, both authors advocate their second shared major point: aesthetics as a form of cognition. Similar notions of mimesis, allusion, and metaphor refer to the project’s ineffable reality and access some of its various knowable profiles. Under these overlaps, both oeuvres complement each other. First, Miralles appears as a significant precedent for the current discussion about objects in architecture, especially when he instrumentalized the mechanisms of aesthetics not only for the audience’s experience but also for the design process. Second, Harman’s postulates offer, retrospectively, a solid theoretical ground for Miralles’ intellectual approach to architecture and design methods; that is, an ontological framework that unifies the particularity of each project while maintaining its inexhaustible expressions.

Abtract This paper links the current philosophical stance of Object-oriented Ontology (OOO) to Enric Miralles’ design approach in the late 20th century. On the one hand, Graham Harman’s thinking has influenced architects’ methods, principles, and value systems since the early 2010s, claiming a deeper reality of things beneath their appearance and our knowledge of them. OOO proposes an indirect approach to things through aesthetics and rhetoric, safeguarding the autonomy of the object. On the other hand, Enric Miralles emerges as a historical figure whose poetic understanding of architecture was concerned with something beyond practical needs or cosmetic issues. In this context, this paper examines two issues (autonomy and aesthetics) to connect the two authors. When the architectural project (AP) appears as an autonomous object, any epistemological effort exerted on it becomes incomplete, and the project offers multiple results and readings. For that, both authors advocate their second shared major point: aesthetics as a form of cognition. Similar notions of mimesis, allusion, and metaphor refer to the project’s ineffable reality and access some of its various knowable profiles. Under these overlaps, both oeuvres complement each other. First, Miralles appears as a significant precedent for the current discussion about objects in architecture, especially when he instrumentalized the mechanisms of aesthetics not only for the audience’s experience but also for the design process. Second, Harman’s postulates offer, retrospectively, a solid theoretical ground for Miralles’ intellectual approach to architecture and design methods; that is, an ontological framework that unifies the particularity of each project while maintaining its inexhaustible expressions.

Relational ontologies that postulate the primacy of relations over their relata may seem like a contrary and incompatible approach to object-oriented ontology (OOO). Therefore, this paper aims to clarify the relationship between Barad’s and Escobar’s relational ontologies and Harman’s OOO by comparing and contrasting the relative coherences between them. After outlining the central assumptions of the different accounts, I discuss the problems of relational ontologies with regard to several ethical, political, and posthumanist issues. I argue that OOO is able to avoid their pitfalls without rejecting the major benefits of relational ontologies. After a critique of the pluralization of worlds within relational ontologies, I argue for the rejection of the concept of world(s) in favor of understanding space and time as emerging from polar tensions within the quadruple objects. Consequently, this highlights the potential of OOO to encounter the Anthropocene beyond scientific realism and to account for the plurality of reality without granting any hegemonic access to it. This paper, therefore, argues for a conceptualization of ontological difference without one or many worlds.

Abstract Background Although the β-carboline alkaloids harman and norharman are considered as plant metabolites, they can also be secreted by fungi such as the entomopathogen Conidiobolus coronatus. Norharman and harman are also known to be reversible competitive monamine oxidase inhibitors, which increase serotonin concentrations in tissues. In addition, these alkaloids are able to bind to serotonin receptors, an important immune regulatory molecule in both vertebrates and invertebrates. In insects, serotonin modulates hemocyte phagocytosis, nodule formation and the populations of hemocyte classes. The present study examines whether harman and norharman may influence the phagocytic activity of insect hemocytes by regulating serotonin levels. Results Significantly greater serotonin levels and hemocyte phagocytic activity were observed after 24 h of exposure to food contaminated with harman and norharman. Similar responses were noticed 1 h after topical application or addition to in vitro hemocyte cultures. Observations and measurements performed 24 h later revealed decreased responses, suggesting decomposition and/or exertion of alkaloids and/or serotonin. Harman and norharman influenced the activity of Galleria mellonella plasmatocytes and the granulocyte cytoskeleton. Disturbances in hemocyte network formation, abnormal cell shape, naked nuclei, cell aggregates, fragments of disintegrated cells, interrupted cell membrane continuity and actin condensation in cells were observed. Conclusion Our findings may have a considerable impact on research concerning insect physiology, parasitology, immunology and biocontrol of pests. They confirm for the first time that harman and norharman (metabolites of the entomopathogenic fungus C. coronatus) elevate serotonin levels in G. mellonella hemocytes, thus potentially stimulating their phagocytic activity. Our studies shed light on the mechanisms underlying the interaction between innate insect immune responses and entomopathogen metabolites.

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In this article, we discuss the insights object-oriented ontology (OOO) offers in understanding the photographic process. Following Kant's distinction between noumena and phenomena and Heidegger's Geviert, Harman's OOO focuses on the real versus sensory aspects of all objects of experience. In our analysis, we explore its implications for intentionality, signification and revelation in photography. OOO locates being within all objects and stands in opposition to the post-Cartesian correlationism influential in the continental tradition. In Heidegger's terms, the still camera exhibits both presence and readiness at hand. However, this readiness at hand is so ubiquitous that it is easy to overlook what makes it unique amongst the tools at our disposal. We argue that in the field of visual experience, the camera does what Kant believed impossible. It has the potential to reduce epistemic loss and transform the phenomenology of conscious experience into the noumenology of non-conscious awareness of the real object. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the nature of resilience-informed international interventions today by thinking about 'difference'. Up to the 1990s, international interventions were often characterised by a patronising tone in which backward others needed help to develop. Some 20 years later, key lessons learned were that others were so fundamentally different that efforts to assist them invariably failed. This article argues that contemporary approaches seeking to foster resilience are simultaneously propelled by both approaches. They are thus underpinned by two conflicting understandings of difference: the other that is in need and the other that cannot be attended. Even more, we contend that this contradiction is put to productive use in resilience-building: protracted crises today demand practitioners to 'be there', engaged permanently, to speculate, experiment, and affirm radical uncertainty. In order to analyse the novel features of resilience, we draw on Graham Harman's speculative realism and look at policy programming of the Syrian refugee crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The β-carbolines in our diet, mainly including harman and norharman, are a group of biologically active, naturally occurring plant-derived alkaloids. Fragrant sesame seed oil is one of the most popular flavor edible oils in China. Considering that sesame seeds are roasted at 200–240 °C during the processing of flavor sesame seed oils, it is meaningful to investigate the levels of β-carboline compounds in various sesame seed oils. In this work, the levels of β-carbolines (harman and norharman) in different types of sesame seed oils in China (e.g., pressed fragrant sesame oil, ground fragrant sesame oil) have been determined systematically. The results showed that the levels of total β-carbolines in pressed fragrant sesame oils (700.5~2423.2 μg/kg) were higher than that in ground fragrant sesame oils (660.4~1171.7 μg/kg). Roasting sesame seeds at high temperatures (200–240 °C) led to higher levels of β-carbolines (660~2400 μg/kg) in fragrant sesame seed oils. In addition, the loss of tryptophan might be attributed to the formation of β-carbolines in sesame seeds during the roasting process. In general, fragrant sesame seed oils (pressed fragrant sesame oils, ground fragrant sesame oils) contain higher levels of β-carbolines due to the formation of harman and norharman during the roasting sesame seed process.

The article investigates place of an object in the field of speculative realism in general and objectoriented ontology in particular. It describes object’s special and ambiguous position given to it by OOO as opposed to “correlational” approach. Critics of correlational philosophy concerning objects and speculative approach opposing to it (including the one suggested by object-oriented ontologists and counter-arguments by other speculative realists) are analyzed. G. Harman’s quadruple structure taken as a basis and supplemented by imaginary object mode, whose place is on the edge of subject-object dichotomy. The author examines the dichotomy in the context of possibility to overcome it with the help of approach suggested by OOO backing. The analysis of Harman’s attempt to develop the thing-in-itself and extend understanding of object concept is about to be done. The aim of the article is to define how the imaginary intrudes basic perception leaving us with realistic (at least as consciousness sees it) picture of the world. So, throughout the article can be seen an attempt to investigate relations and/or tensions to which real and imaginable objects come between each other within the approach of speculative realism. In addition, the author had a task to determine how imaginary mode of an object is embedded in all tensions of its quadruple structure. Full transition to completely objective reality is considered impossible to be due to difficulties with its detachment from the imaginary. There was defined that imaginary object mode is organically built in all Harman’s four tensions, which are allure, causation, confrontation and theory – all of them are explained in more detail in the article. It also produces an effect on perception of constituents between which we notice those tensions, real or sensual objects and qualities. Thus, it can be argued that imaginary mode of an object is its binding component and it is necessary for complete object cognition. Besides, proceeding from the fact of how object shapes in this mode, there can be made a conclusion that cognition is not one-way process of information receiving. Imaginable becomes creative addition to it, work done by consciousness in cognition.

The beta-carbolines norharman and harman, two heterocyclic aromatic amines with potential mutagenicity, have been determined in vegetable oils. Identification and analysis were carried out by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). In 88 samples analysed, the concentrations of norharman and harman were < LOD to 336.22 ng/g and < LOD to 505.14 ng/g, respectively. A high variability of norharman and harman levels among different oil types was observed. Sesame-, flaxseed-, sunflower seed-, peanut- and rapeseed oils were most contaminated. Both β-carbolines were most likely formed during roasting of the oilseeds. Oil consumption, especially of oils obtained after roasting of the seeds, was a major dietary source of the β-carbolines norharman and harman. Under existing oil risk factors, this investigation contributes to the unprecedented and essential information for dietary assessments associated with oil consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The β-carbolines, mainly including harman and norharman, are a group of naturally occurring, plant-derived alkaloids, and are also considered as nonpolar heterocyclic aromatic amines. Sesame seed oils contain a high level of β-carbolines (harman and norharman). In China, sesame seed oil blends are one of the most popular types of vegetable oils blends, which can be used as cooking oils or frying oils. Thus, it is meaningful to investigate the degradation of β-carbolines (harman and norharman) in sesame seed oil blends as frying oils during heating. In this work, the loss of harman and norharman in different types of sesame seed oil blends have been investigated. The results showed that the degradation of harman and norharman were dependent both on the type of oil blends, heating temperature and time. Harman and norharman were more degraded during heating (150 °C, 180 °C) in oleic acid-rich oil blends compared to polyunsaturated acid-rich oil blends. Mechanistic investigation suggested that the reduction in harman and norharman in oil blends during heating was mainly due to the oxidative degradation reaction between β-carbolines and lipid oxidation products. Therefore, the contents of β-carbolines (harman and norharman) in sesame seed oil blends when used as frying oils and heated can be decreased with prolonged cooking time.

Political thrillers often encourage the feeling that a mere individual has the power to make a difference on a large scale. Caught up in a chain of events they wished they had never uncovered, a protagonist can occupy a position in which their actions have far-reaching consequences, with the rookie CIA analyst accidentally bringing down a whole corrupt political system being only one example. Much of the critical attention these films have garnered falls under the rubric of detective work in that the protagonist is seen as exposing a web of corruption which would otherwise have gone on unnoticed. However, this paper is focused on how the scale of the individual comes into contact with other, larger scales of events. Points of contact between scales are important because they are where change can take place, thus allowing an individual to influence the supra-individual.

Teas offered for sale are usually blend of different kinds of teas. Some requirements such as consumer demands, price, quality and bulk density reveals the need for blending of teas. Sometimes, teas from different countries might be used in blends. In this study, a common black tea in market was used. The tea sieved with a sieve set (2mm, 1.4mm, 1mm, 500µm) and separated according to particle size. These were brewed for 15, 20 and 25 minutes. The particle size and brewing times had significant effects on diffusion. The highest extract, phenolic content and turbidity values were determined in infusion of the smallest particle at 25 minutes. There was no significant effect of brewing time on caffeine, theaflavin, thearubigin, total color and %brightness values, however, the particle size has significant (P <0.001) effect on these parameters. Results showed that the analysed sample is a blend and it most probably contains foreign tea [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are foodborne carcinogens for which their formation is highly dependent on cooking conditions. HCAs have been commonly quantified in food items prepared with simple procedures. This approach is suitable for elucidating HCAs' formation, but it only partially reflects the contamination in consumed food. In the current investigation, the generation of HCAs has been investigated in fried beef items prepared with elaborated cooking recipes, and their occurrence has been compared with control beef fried without the addition of ingredients other than oil. The food recipes that included a variety of food ingredients had lower yields of mutagenic HCAs (≥47% reduction, with individual HCA levels ranging between 0.01 and 2.22 ng/g) with respect to the control beef. In contrast, the co-mutagens norharman and harman were formed generally at greater levels (up to three times the contamination in the control fried beef) in the items prepared including a greater variety of ingredients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Thirty-three new quaternization harman analogues were synthesized and their antibacterial activity against four Gram-positive and two Gram-negative bacteria were evaluated. The structure–activity relationships were summarized and compounds 4f , 4i , 4l , 4u , 4w , 4x and 5c showed excellent antibacterial activity, low cytotoxicity, good thermal stability and "drug-like" properties. In particular, compound 4x exhibited better bactericidal effect (4-fold superiority against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) than standard drugs fosfomycin sodium and ampicillin sodium (minimum inhibitory concentration = 50 nmol/mL). Scanning electron microscopy revealed morphological changes of the bacterial cell surface and the docking evaluation provided a good total score (6.4952) for 4x which is close to the score of ciprofloxacin (6.9723). The results indicated that the quaternization harman analogues might exert their bactericidal effect by damaging bacterial cell membrane and wall, and disrupting the function of type II topoisomerase. In addition, the in vivo antibacterial assay with a protective efficacy of 81.3% further demonstrated the potential of these derivatives as new bactericides and antibiotics. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Thirty-three new quaternization harman analogues were synthesized and the peak MIC was 4 μg/mL. • The structure–activity relationships were summarized. • The compound 4x showed low cytotoxicity, good thermal stability and "drug-like" properties. • The compound 4x could damage the bacterial cell membrane and wall, and disrupt the function of type II topoisomerase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]