Journal articles on the topic '0-3 ME composites'

0-3 type magnetoelectric(ME) composites of PbTiO3(PT) and CoFe2O4(CFO) were prepared by a conventional solid-state reaction method with different volume fraction. The composites exhibited ferroelectric phase and ferromagnetic phase coexisting. The ferroelectric and magnetic properties of as-sintered samples were measured. The magnetic properties change regularly with the test frequency. But the dielectric permittivity shows the anomalies, which can be attributed to constraints and dilutions from the ferromagnetic phase and the element diffusion.

Multiferroic composites consisting of a single-phase multiferroic [0.6(PbZr0.53Ti0.47O3)-0.4(PbFe0.5Ta0.5)O3] as a matrix and a magnetostrictive phase (Co0.6Zn0.4Fe1.7Mn0.3O4) dispersed in the matrix are fabricated via hybrid synthesis technique. The structure and surface morphology studies using x-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy techniques indicate the formation of 3-0 type particulate composites. Coexistence of soft-magnetic behavior and ferroelectric characteristics are confirmed for composites from magnetization vs magnetic field (M–H) and polarization vs electric field (P–E) measurements, respectively. Magneto-dielectric (MD) measurement shows significant changes in the dielectric properties with the application of a magnetic field, indicating the existence of strong MD behavior. The biquadratic nature of magneto-electric (ME) coupling is described by the Landau free energy equation arising from the strain transfer at the interfaces between the constituent phases. The direct magneto-electric voltage coefficient measurement also confirms very strong coupling between ferroelectricity and magnetism and supports the strain-mediated magneto-electric effect in composites. The Φ = 0.3 composite exhibits the maximum ME coefficient of 20.72 mV/cm Oe with MS = 24.62 emu/g, HC = 59.66 Oe, and piezoelectric coefficient value d33 = 19 pC/N. The strong magneto-electric effect along with low dielectric loss at room temperature in these composites suggests their suitability for multifunctional magneto-electric device applications such as magnetic sensors, etc.

In this study, magnetostrictive powders of CoFe2O4 (CFO) and Zn-substituted CoFe2O4 (CZFO, Zn = 0.1, 0.2) were synthesized in order to decrease the optimal dc magnetic field (Hopt.), which is required to obtain a reliable magnetoelectric (ME) voltage in a 3-0 type particulate composite system. The CFO powders were prepared as a reference via a typical solid solution process. In particular, two types of heterogeneous CZFO powders were prepared via a stepwise solid solution process. Porous-CFO and dense-CFO powders were synthesized by calcination in a box furnace without and with pelletizing, respectively. Then, heterogeneous structures of pCZFO and dCZFO powders were prepared by Zn-substitution on calcined powders of porous-CFO and dense-CFO, respectively. Compared to the CFO powders, the heterogeneous pCZFO and dCZFO powders exhibited maximal magnetic susceptibilities (χmax) at lower Hdc values below ±50 Oe and ±10 Oe, respectively. The Zn substitution effect on the Hdc shift was more dominant in dCZFO than in pCZFO. This might be because the Zn ion could not diffuse into the dense-CFO powder, resulting in a more heterogeneous structure inducing an effective exchange-spring effect. As a result, ME composites consisting of 0.948Na0.5K0.5NbO3–0.052LiSbO3 (NKNLS) with CFO, pCZFO, and dCZFO were found to exhibit Hopt. = 966 Oe (NKNLS-CFO), Hopt. = 689–828 Oe (NKNLS-pCZFO), and Hopt. = 458–481 Oe (NKNLS-dCZFO), respectively. The low values of Hopt. below 500 Oe indicate that the structure of magnetostrictive materials should be considered in order to obtain a minimal Hopt. for high feasibility of ME composites.

AbstractRecent studies have examined moist entropy (ME) as a proxy for moist static energy (MSE) and the relative role of the underlying processes responsible for changes in ME that potentially affect MJO propagation. This study presents an analysis of the intraseasonally varying (ISV) ME anomalies throughout the lifetime of observed MJO events. A climatology of continuing and terminating MJO events is created from an event identification algorithm using common tracking indices including the OLR-based MJO index (OMI), filtered OMI (FMO), real-time multivariate MJO (RMM), and velocity potential MJO (VPM) index. ME composites for all indices show a statistically significant break in the wavenumber-1 oscillation at day 0 for terminating events in nearly all domains except RMM phase 6 and phase 7. The ME tendency is decomposed into horizontal and vertical advection, sensible and latent heat fluxes, and shortwave and longwave radiative fluxes using ERA-Interim data. The relative role of each processes toward the eastward propagation is discussed as well as their effects on MJO stabilization. Statistically significant differences occur for all terms by day −10. A domain sensitivity test is performed where eastward propagation is favored for vertical advection given a larger, asymmetric domain for continuing events. A reduced eastward propagation from vertical advection is evident 2–3 days before similar differences in horizontal advection for terminating events. The importance of horizontal advection for the eastward propagation of the MJO is discussed in addition to the relative destabilization from vertical advection in the convectively suppressed region downstream of future terminating MJOs.

AbstractMotivated by the fast-developing spin dynamics in ferromagnetic/piezoelectric structures, this study attempts to manipulate magnons (spin-wave excitations) by the converse magnetoelectric (ME) coupling. Herein, electric field (E-field) tuning magnetism, especially the surface spin wave, is accomplished in Ni/0.7Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.3PbTiO3 (PMN-PT) multiferroic heterostructures. The Kerr signal (directly proportional to magnetization) changes of Ni film are observed when direct current (DC) or alternative current (AC) voltage is applied to PMN-PT substrate, where the signal can be modulated breezily even without extra magnetic field (H-field) in AC-mode measurement. Deserved to be mentioned, a surface spin wave switch of “1” (i.e., “on”) and “0” (i.e., “off”) has been created at room temperature upon applying an E-field. In addition, the magnetic anisotropy of heterostructures has been investigated by E-field-induced ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) shift, and a large 490 Oe shift of FMR is determined at the angle of 45° between H-field and heterostructure plane.

This work focuses on the experimental investigation of indentation damage resistance in different stacking sequences of glass/epoxy composite laminates under cyclic loading on normal (0°) and oblique (20°) planes. The stacking sequence, such as unidirectional [0]12, angle ply [±45]6S, and cross ply [0/90]6S, were subjected to cyclic indentation loading and monitoring by acoustic emission testing (AE). The laminates were loaded at the center using a hemispherical steel indenter with a 12.7 mm diameter. The cyclic indentation loading was performed at displacements from 0.5 to 3 mm with an increment of 0.5 mm in each cycle. Subsequently, the residual compressive strength of the post-indented laminates was estimated by testing them under in-plane loading, once again with AE monitoring. Mechanical responses such as peak load, absorbed energy, stiffness, residual dent, and damage area were used for the quantification of the indentation-induced damage. The normalized AE cumulative counts, AE energy, and Felicity ratio were used for monitoring the damage initiation and propagation. Moreover, the discrete wavelet analysis of acoustic emission signals and fast Fourier transform enabled the calculation of the peak frequency content of each damage mechanism. The results showed that the cross-ply laminates had superior indentation damage resistance over angle ply and unidirectional (UD) laminates under normal and oblique planes of cyclic loading. However, the conclusion from the results was that UD laminates showed a better reduction in residual compressive strength than the other laminate configurations.

This work focuses on the experimental investigation of indentation damage resistance in different stacking sequences of glass/epoxy composite laminates under cyclic loading on normal (0°) and oblique (20°) planes. The stacking sequence, such as unidirectional [0]12, angle ply [±45]6S, and cross ply [0/90]6S, were subjected to cyclic indentation loading and monitoring by acoustic emission testing (AE). The laminates were loaded at the center using a hemispherical steel indenter with a 12.7 mm diameter. The cyclic indentation loading was performed at displacements from 0.5 to 3 mm with an increment of 0.5 mm in each cycle. Subsequently, the residual compressive strength of the post-indented laminates was estimated by testing them under in-plane loading, once again with AE monitoring. Mechanical responses such as peak load, absorbed energy, stiffness, residual dent, and damage area were used for the quantification of the indentation-induced damage. The normalized AE cumulative counts, AE energy, and Felicity ratio were used for monitoring the damage initiation and propagation. Moreover, the discrete wavelet analysis of acoustic emission signals and fast Fourier transform enabled the calculation of the peak frequency content of each damage mechanism. The results showed that the cross-ply laminates had superior indentation damage resistance over angle ply and unidirectional (UD) laminates under normal and oblique planes of cyclic loading. However, the conclusion from the results was that UD laminates showed a better reduction in residual compressive strength than the other laminate configurations.

We investigated the opportunities for obtaining hexaferrites Pb1−xLaxFe12−xZnxO19 (x = 0–1) from citrate–glycerin gel and showed that synthesis occurs via the formation of the Fe3O4 phase; products with a small amount of hematite impurity Fe2O3 can be obtained after firing at 800 to 900 °C with 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5. If x > 0.5, perovskite-like LaFeO3 is formed in samples, so that if x = 0.9–1, the synthesis products virtually do not contain phases with hexaferrite structures and represent a mixture of LaFeO3, Fe2O3, and Fe3O4. Within the range of 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5, the electrical and magnetic characteristics of hexaferrites Pb1−xLaxFe12−xZnxO19 are slightly dependent on x and have the following average values: A relative permittivity ε/ε0 ~ 45, a dielectric loss tangent tan δ ~ 0.6, an electrical resistivity R ~ 109 Ohm cm, coercivity Hc ~ 3 kOe, saturation magnetization Ms ~ 50 emu/g, and remanent magnetization Mr ~ 25 emu/g. The magnetoelectric (ME) ceramics 50 wt.% PZTNB-1 + 50 wt.% Pb1−xLaxFe12−xZnxO19 (PZTNB-1 is an industrial piezoelectric material based on lead titanate zirconate (PZT) do not contain impurity phases and have the following characteristics: Piezoelectric coefficients d33 = 10–60 and −d31 = 2–30 pC/N, piezoelectric voltage coefficients g33 = 2–13 and −g31 = 1–5 mV m/N, an electromechanical coupling coefficient Kp = 0.03–0.13, magnetic parameters Hc = 3–1 kOe, Ms = 50–30, and Mr = 25–12 emu/g. The maximum ME coupling coefficient ΔE/ΔH ~ 1.75 mV/(cm Oe) was achieved with x = 0.5.

Abstract Background Superior treatment outcomes were observed with the β-lactam/β-lactamase inhibitor combination of cefepime-enmetazobactam (FPE) compared to piperacillin-tazobactam (PTZ) in the primary efficacy population (m-MITT) of the ALLIUM phase 3 study of adult patients with cUTI/AP. We present here the outcomes in the microbiologically evaluable (ME) and ME+Resistant (ME+R) populations. Methods 1034 cUTI/AP patients randomized 1:1 in a double-blind, multicenter trial received either 2 g cefepime/0.5 g enmetazobactam or 4 g piperacillin/0.5 g tazobactam q8h by 2h infusion for 7 to 14 days. Patients in m-MITT had a Gram-negative urinary baseline pathogen (BP) at >105 CFU/ml with FPE MIC ≤8 µg/ml and PTZ MIC ≤64 µg/ml. ME included patients in m-MITT who received ≥15 consecutive doses of study drug or were classified as clinical failures after receiving ≥9 doses; had a clinical assessment at test-of-cure (TOC) unless clinical failure occurred earlier; did not receive concomitant antibiotics with a non-study agent; and did not have any other protocol violation. ME+R included patients in ME along with those who had BP resistant to either FPE (MIC >8 µg/ml) or PTZ (MIC >64 µg/ml), or a missing MIC value. Overall success was the composite of clinical cure and microbiological eradication (< 103 CFU/ml in urine). Two-sided 95% confidence interval (CI) were computed using the stratified Newcombe method. Results In the ME population, superiority in overall success of FPE (87.0%; 268/308) compared to PTZ (65.4%; 195/298) was demonstrated as the lower bound of the CI (16.6%) of the treatment difference (TD; 23.3%) was greater than 0 (Table). Higher rates of microbiological eradication with FPE contributed to the superior treatment outcomes. In the ME+R population in which BP susceptibility was not an exclusion criterion, favorable outcomes with FPE in overall success (TD 21.6%; 95% CI [15.3, 27.8]) and microbiological eradication (TD 21.0%; 95% CI [14.8, 27.0]) were also observed. Conclusion The confirmation of superior treatment outcomes with FPE in the ME and ME+R populations supports the robustness of the corresponding superiority observed in adult cUTI/AP patients in m-MITT. Disclosures Adam Belley, PhD, Allecra Therapeutics SAS (Consultant) Philip Barth, MD, Allecra Therapeutics SAS (Consultant) Omar Lahlou, PhD, Allecra Therapeutics SAS (Employee) Patrick Velicitat, MD, Allecra Therapeutics SAS (Employee)

Multiferroics, which display simultaneous ferrimagnetic and ferroelectric properties, have been interesting recently because of their potentially significant applications in multifunctional devices such as magnetic resonance, drug delivery, high-density data storage, ferrofluid technology, etc. Composites combining BaTiO3 with Co0.5Ni0.5Fe2O4 have influenced the interest of many researchers, due to their outstanding and distinguished character called magnetoelectric (ME). In this work, ferrimagnetic-ferroelectric composites of BaTiO3 nanopowder and Co0.5Ni0.5Fe2O4 nanopowders were prepared by a conventional mixed oxide method. The multiferroic ceramics were compounded with the formula, (1-x)BaTiO3-(x)Co0.5Ni0.5Fe2O4, in which x = 0, 0.05, 0.10, 0.20 and 0.35. All of the compositions were analyzed by an X-ray diffractometer (XRD) in order to reveal the phase of perovskite and spinal structure. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to examine the variation of morphology and grain size of the composited ceramics. The magnetism of all the ceramics was measured using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The results showed that microstructure and the amount of ferrite are related strongly with magnetization.

AbstractMultiferroic composites are promising candidates for magnetic field sensors, next-generation low power memory and spintronic devices, as they exhibit much higher magnetoelectric (ME) coupling and coupled ordering parameters compared to the single-phase multiferroics. Hence, the 3-0 type particulate multiferroic composites having general formula (1 − Φ)[PbFe0.5Nb0.5O3]-Φ[Co0.6Zn0.4Fe1.7Mn0.3O4] (Φ = 0.0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 1.0, (1 − Φ) PFN-ΦCZFMO) were prepared using a hybrid synthesis technique. Preliminary structural and microstructural analysis were carried out using XRD and FESEM techniques, which suggest the formation of 3-0 type particulate composite without the presence of any impurity phases. The multiferroic behaviour of the composites is studied with polarization versus electric field (P-E) and magnetization versus magnetic field (M-H) characteristics at room temperature. The nature of ME coupling was investigated elaborately by employing the Landau free energy equation along with the magneto-capacitance measurement. This investigation suggests the existence of biquadratic nature of ME coupling (P2M2). The magneto-electric coupling measurement also suggests that strain mediated domain coupling between the ferroelectric and magnetic ordering is responsible for the magneto-electric behaviour. The obtained value of direct ME coefficient 26.78 mV/cm-Oe for Φ = 0.3, found to be higher than the well-known single-phase materials and polycrystalline composites.

AbsractPolysilsesquioxanes,-[RSi(O)1.5 ]x-, exhibit many properties that are potentially quite useful for industrial applications. These properties include high temperature stability (−600°C in O2); good adhesion and, liquid crystal-like behavior for some derivatives. Moreover, [MeSi(O)l.5]x, polymethylsilsesquioxane has been used successfully as a precursor for the fabrication of carbon fiber/“black glass” (SiO2/SiC/C) composites and “black glass” fibers.Current methods of preparation depend on hydrolysis of RSiCl3 or RSi(OR)3. Unfortunately, this approach leads to several products that are difficult to purify because polysilsesquioxanes exhibit a great propensity for forming gels. We describe here a simple catalytic approach to the synthesis of polymethylsilsesquioxane copolymers of the type -[MeRSiO].3[MeSi(O)1.5].7- where R - H, OMe, OEt, OnPr and OnBu. The R - H copolymer is produced by catalytic redistribution of -[MeHSiO]xoligomers using dimethyltitanocene, Cp2TiMe2 as the catalyst precursor.Following catalytic redistribution, the resulting copolymer, -[MeHSiO].3[MeSi(O)1.5].7−, is reacted in situ with alcohols to produce -[Me(R'O)SiO].3[MeSi(0)1.5].7− (where R' - Me, Et, nPr and nBu) which serve as masked forms of the polymethylsilsesquioxane. These new copolymers have been characterized by 1H, 13C and 29Si NMR TGA and DTA. The NMR studies allow us to assign structures for the copolymer.These new copolymers exhibit improved tractability. Their high temperature properties are all quite similar; although, the MeO-, EtO- and especially the nPrO- derivatives give much higher ceramic yields than expected.

Background: Plantar fasciitis- and tendinopathy-related foot pain are common cause of functional disability. Low-Dose Radiation Therapy (LDRT) has proven to be effective in the symptomatic relief of these disorders. Material and methods: Between February 2016 and December 2021, 31 patients were included in this prospective register. Seventeen patients suffered from calcaneodynia, 11 from tendonitis and 3 from osteoarthritis. 6 Gy (1 Gy/fraction) or 3 Gy (0,5 Gy/fraction) were delivered and repeated after 12 weeks if no adequate relief. Response was evaluated at the end of the planned courses, after 3 months and subsequently every 6 months using Visual Analogic Score (VAS), the Von Pannewitz Score (VPS) and daily analgesic drug needs. Results: Overall, 87% of the patients experienced pain relief. Patients with a VAS score above 5 dropped from 35.5% at the end of LDRT to 32%, 13% and 6% after 3, 6 and 12 months, respectively. According to the VPS, 74% showed improvement and 26% remained stable. Lastly, 39% of patients stopped or reduced analgesic intake. Nine patients have been followed up for more than 12 months. The median pre-treatment VAS score in this group was 9 (range 7-10), whereas median VAS scores after 3, 6 and 12 months stood at 5 (range 1-7), 3 (range 0-6) and 1 (range 0-6), respectively (Fig. 2). An improvement in functionality was reported by 7 out of 9 individuals (77.7%). No acute or late complications were observed. Conclusion: LDRT appears to be useful for symptomatic treatment of inflammatory and degenerative disorders of the foot.

AbstractElectric field (E) control of magnetism is a persistent challenge in low‐power consumption spintronic devices. A promising way to realize this control is to use the converse magnetoelectric (ME) effect in insulating multiferroics. Here, we report considerable and repeatable E‐modulated magnetization (M) at room temperature and even at 350 K via the significantly enhanced converse ME effect near the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) of the Cr‐Mn co‐doped (1‐y)BiFe1‐xCrxO3‐yBaTi1‐xMnxO3 (0.15 ≤ y ≤ 0.33, 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.03) solid solutions. In situ X‐ray diffraction and Raman scattering experiments at different applied E for the sample near the MPB (i.e., y = 0.27, x = 0.03) show E‐induced shift, broadening, and splitting in the {002}PC reflection, as well as a nearly monotonous variation in intensity of several phonon modes with E, reminiscent of the E‐dependent M behavior. These results indicate that both E‐induced lattice distortion and phase transformation dominate the converse ME effects in these samples. Our demonstration of the E‐regulation of magnetism via the E‐sensitive crystal structures in designed insulating multiferroics near MPB may suggest a potential route to obtain efficient low‐power spintronic devices.

Abstract. Sembiring M, Sabrina T. 2022. Diversity of potassium solving microbes on andisol soil affected by the eruption of Mount Sinabung, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 23: 1759-1764. Potassium (K) is one of the macronutrients needed by plants for seeds' growth, development, and quality. Andisols covered by volcanic ash from Mount Sinabung contain potassium ranging from 0.39-0.58 me/100g. The use of microbes is one of the alternatives methods to increase the availability of potassium in the soil that can be absorbed by plants. This study aimed to find environment-specific superior potassium-solvent microbes. Soil sampling was carried out in Kutarayat Village, Nama Teran Sub-district, Karo District, North Sumatra, Indonesia. The method used is random composite sampling by taking samples from 4 different locations. Sampling points were taken on Andisol soil that had been processed, covered with thin, medium, and thick ash. Sampling was carried out at a depth of 0-20 cm from the ground surface around the rhizosphere area. Isolation of bacteria and fungi was carried out by using multilevel dilutions. The microbes obtained after using the pour plate method were identified at molecular level by using PCR. Microbial potential test was carried out by using andisol soil which was incubated for 30 days. Parameters observed were soil pH, exchangeable potassium, soil organic carbon, and microbial population. 7 bacterial isolates and 3 potassium solubilizing fungi were isolated and identified during the present study. All bacterial and fungal isolates obtained were able to increase the availability of potassium soil exchange. The research results show that Talaromyces pinophilus can increase potassium soil exchange up to 102.94%.

Introduction Since December 2010 the dramatic spectacle of the spread of mass uprisings, civil unrest, and protest across North Africa and the Middle East have been chronicled daily on mainstream media and new media. Broadly speaking, the Arab Spring—as it came to be known—is challenging repressive, corrupt governments and calling for democracy and human rights. The convulsive events linked with these debates have been striking not only because of the rapid spread of historically momentous mass protests but also because of the ways in which the media “have become inextricably infused inside them” enabling the global media ecology to perform “an integral part in building and mobilizing support, co-ordinating and defining the protests within different Arab societies as well as trans-nationalizing them” (Cottle 295). Images of mass protests have been juxtaposed against those of individuals prepared to self-destruct for political ends. Video clips and photographs of the individual suffering of Tunisian Mohamed Bouazizi’s self-immolation and the Bahraini Abdulhad al-Khawaja’s emaciated body foreground, in very graphic ways, political struggles that larger events would mask or render invisible. Highlighting broad commonalties does not assume uniformity in patterns of protest and media coverage across the region. There has been considerable variation in the global media coverage and nature of the protests in North Africa and the Middle East (Cottle). In Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen uprisings overthrew regimes and leaders. In Syria it has led the country to the brink of civil war. In Bahrain, the regime and its militia violently suppressed peaceful protests. As a wave of protests spread across the Middle East and one government after another toppled in front of 24/7 global media coverage, Bahrain became the “Arab revolution that was abandoned by the Arabs, forsaken by the West … forgotten by the world,” and largely ignored by the global media (Al-Jazeera English). Per capita the protests have been among the largest of the Arab Spring (Human Rights First) and the crackdown as brutal as elsewhere. International organizations have condemned the use of military courts to trial protestors, the detaining of medical staff who had treated the injured, and the use of torture, including the torture of children (Fisher). Bahraini and international human rights organizations have been systematically chronicling these violations of human rights, and posting on Websites distressing images of tortured bodies often with warnings about the graphic depictions viewers are about to see. It was in this context of brutal suppression, global media silence, and the reluctance of the international community to intervene, that the Bahraini-Danish human rights activist Abdulhad al-Khawaja launched his “death or freedom” hunger strike. Even this radical action initially failed to interest international editors who were more focused on Egypt, Libya, and Syria, but media attention rose in response to the Bahrain Formula 1 race in April 2012. Pro-democracy activists pledged “days of rage” to coincide with the race in order to highlight continuing human rights abuses in the kingdom (Turner). As Al Khawaja’s health deteriorated the Bahraini government resisted calls for his release (Article 19) from the Danish government who requested that Al Khawaja be extradited there on “humanitarian grounds” for hospital treatment (Fisk). This article does not explore the geo-politics of the Bahraini struggle or the possible reasons why the international community—in contrast to Syria and Egypt—has been largely silent and reluctant to debate the issues. Important as they are, those remain questions for Middle Eastern specialists to address. In this article I am concerned with the overlapping and interpenetration of two ecologies. The first ecology is the ethical framing of a prison hunger strike as a corporeal-environmental act of (self) destruction intended to achieve political ends. The second ecology is the operation of global media where international inaction inadvertently foregrounds the political struggles that larger events and discourses surrounding Egypt, Libya, and Syria overshadow. What connects these two ecologies is the body of the hunger striker, turned into a spectacle and mediated via a politics of affect that invites a global public to empathise and so enter into his suffering. The connection between the two lies in the emaciated body of the hunger striker. An Ecological Humanities Approach This exploration of two ecologies draws on the ecological humanities and its central premise of connectivity. The ecological humanities critique the traditional binaries in Western thinking between nature and culture; the political and social; them and us; the collective and the individual; mind, body and emotion (Rose & Robin, Rieber). Such binaries create artificial hierarchies, divisions, and conflicts that ultimately impede the ability to respond to crises. Crises are major changes that are “out of control” driven—primarily but not exclusively—by social, political, and cultural forces that unleash “runaway systems with their own dynamics” (Rose & Robin 1). The ecological humanities response to crises is premised on the recognition of the all-inclusive connectivity of organisms, systems, and environments and an ethical commitment to action from within this entanglement. A founding premise of connectivity, first articulated by anthropologist and philosopher Gregory Bateson, is that the “unit of survival is not the individual or the species, but the organism-and-its-environment” (Rose & Robin 2). This highlights a dialectic in which an organism is shaped by and shapes the context in which it finds itself. Or, as Harries-Jones puts it, relations are recursive as “events continually enter into, become entangled with, and then re-enter the universe they describe” (3). This ensures constantly evolving ecosystems but it also means any organism that “deteriorates its environment commits suicide” (Rose & Robin 2) with implications for the others in the eco-system. Bateson’s central premise is that organisms are simultaneously independent, as separate beings, but also interdependent. Interactions are not seen purely as exchanges but as dynamic, dialectical, dialogical, and mutually constitutive. Thus, it is presumed that the destruction or protection of others has consequences for oneself. Another dimension of interactions is multi-modality, which implies that human communication cannot be reduced to a single mode such as words, actions, or images but needs to be understood in the complexity of inter-relations between these (see Rieber 16). Nor can dissemination be reduced to a single technological platform whether this is print, television, Internet, or other media (see Cottle). The final point is that interactions are “biologically grounded but not determined” in that the “cognitive, emotional and volitional processes” underpinning face-to-face or mediated communication are “essentially indivisible” and any attempt to separate them by privileging emotion at the expense of thought, or vice versa, is likely to be unhealthy (Rieber 17). This is most graphically demonstrated in a politically-motivated hunger strike where emotion and volition over-rides the survivalist instinct. The Ecology of a Prison Hunger Strike The radical nature of a hunger strike inevitably gives rise to medico-ethical debates. Hunger strikes entail the voluntary refusal of sustenance by an individual and, when prolonged, such deprivation sets off a chain reaction as the less important components in the internal body systems shut down to protect the brain until even that can no longer be protected (see Basoglu et al). This extreme form of protest—essentially an act of self-destruction—raises ethical issues over whether or not doctors or the state should intervene to save a life for humanitarian or political reasons. In 1975 and 1991, the World Medical Association (WMA) sought to negotiate this by distinguishing between, on the one hand, the mentally/psychological impaired individual who chooses a “voluntary fast” and, on the other hand, the hunger striker who chooses a form of protest action to secure an explicit political goal fully aware of fatal consequences of prolonged action (see Annas, Reyes). This binary enables the WMA to label the action of the mentally impaired suicide while claiming that to do so for political protesters would be a “misconception” because the “striker … does not want to die” but to “live better” by obtaining certain political goals for himself, his group or his country. “If necessary he is willing to sacrifice his life for his case, but the aim is certainly not suicide” (Reyes 11). In practice, the boundaries between suicide and political protest are likely to be much more blurred than this but the medico-ethical binary is important because it informs discourses about what form of intervention is ethically appropriate. In the case of the “suicidal” the WMA legitimises force-feeding by a doctor as a life-saving act. In the case of the political protestor, it is de-legitimised in discourses of an infringement of freedom of expression and an act of torture because of the pain involved (see Annas, Reyes). Philosopher Michel Foucault argued that prison is a key site where the embodied subject is explicitly governed and where the exercising of state power in the act of incarceration means the body of the imprisoned no longer solely belongs to the individual. It is also where the “body’s range of significations” is curtailed, “shaped and invested by the very forces that detain and imprison it” (Pugliese 2). Thus, prison creates the circumstances in which the incarcerated is denied the “usual forms of protest and judicial safeguards” available outside its confines. The consequence is that when presented with conditions that violate core beliefs he/she may view acts of self-destruction—such as hunger strikes or lip sewing—as one of the few “means of protesting against, or demanding attention” or achieving political ends still available to them (Reyes 11; Pugliese). The hunger strike implicates the state, which, in the act of imprisoning, has assumed a measure of power and responsibility for the body of the individual. If a protest action is labelled suicidal by medical professionals—for instance at Guantanamo—then the force-feeding of prisoners can be legitimised within the WMA guidelines (Annas). There is considerable political temptation to do so particularly when the hunger striker has become an icon of resistance to the state, the knowledge of his/her action has transcended prison confines, and the alienating conditions that prompted the action are being widely debated in the media. This poses a two-fold danger for the state. On the one hand, there is the possibility that the slow emaciation and death while imprisoned, if covered by the media, may become a spectacle able to mobilise further resistance that can destabilise the polity. On the other hand, there is the fear that in the act of dying, and the spectacle surrounding death, the hunger striker would have secured the public attention to the very cause they are championing. Central to this is whether or not the act of self-destruction is mediated. It is far from inevitable that the media will cover a hunger strike or do so in ways that enable the hunger striker’s appeal to the emotions of others. However, when it does, the international scrutiny and condemnation that follows may undermine the credibility of the state—as happened with the death of the IRA member Bobby Sands in Northern Ireland (Russell). The Media Ecology and the Bahrain Arab Spring The IRA’s use of an “ancient tactic ... to make a blunt appeal to sympathy and emotion” in the form of the Sands hunger strike was seen as “spectacularly successful in gaining worldwide publicity” (Willis 1). Media ecology has evolved dramatically since then. Over the past 20 years communication flows between the local and the global, traditional media formations (broadcast and print), and new communication media (Internet and mobile phones) have escalated. The interactions of the traditional media have historically shaped and been shaped by more “top-down” “politics of representation” in which the primary relationship is between journalists and competing public relations professionals servicing rival politicians, business or NGOs desire for media attention and framing issues in a way that is favourable or sympathetic to their cause. However, rapidly evolving new media platforms offer bottom up, user-generated content, a politics of connectivity, and mobilization of ordinary people (Cottle 31). However, this distinction has increasingly been seen as offering too rigid a binary to capture the complexity of the interactions between traditional and new media as well as the events they capture. The evolution of both meant their content increasingly overlaps and interpenetrates (see Bennett). New media technologies “add new communicative ingredients into the media ecology mix” (Cottle 31) as well as new forms of political protests and new ways of mobilizing dispersed networks of activists (Juris). Despite their pervasiveness, new media technologies are “unlikely to displace the necessity for coverage in mainstream media”; a feature noted by activist groups who have evolved their own “carnivalesque” tactics (Cottle 32) capable of creating the spectacle that meets television demands for action-driven visuals (Juris). New media provide these groups with the tools to publicise their actions pre- and post-event thereby increasing the possibility that mainstream media might cover their protests. However there is no guarantee that traditional and new media content will overlap and interpenetrate as initial coverage of the Bahrain Arab Spring highlights. Peaceful protests began in February 2011 but were violently quelled often by Saudi, Qatari and UAE militia on behalf of the Bahraini government. Mass arrests were made including that of children and medical personnel who had treated those wounded during the suppression of the protests. What followed were a long series of detentions without trial, military court rulings on civilians, and frequent use of torture in prisons (Human Rights Watch 2012). By the end of 2011, the country had the highest number of political prisoners per capita of any country in the world (Amiri) but received little coverage in the US. The Libyan uprising was afforded the most broadcast time (700 minutes) followed by Egypt (500 minutes), Syria (143), and Bahrain (34) (Lobe). Year-end round-ups of the Arab Spring on the American Broadcasting Corporation ignored Bahrain altogether or mentioned it once in a 21-page feature (Cavell). This was not due to a lack of information because a steady stream has flowed from mobile phones, Internet sites and Twitter as NGOs—Bahraini and international—chronicled in images and first-hand accounts the abuses. However, little of this coverage was picked up by the US-dominated global media. It was in this context that the Bahraini-Danish human rights activist Abdulhad Al Khawaja launched his “freedom or death” hunger strike in protest against the violent suppression of peaceful demonstrations, the treatment of prisoners, and the conduct of the trials. Even this radical action failed to persuade international editors to cover the Bahrain Arab Spring or Al Khawaja’s deteriorating health despite being “one of the most important stories to emerge over the Arab Spring” (Nallu). This began to change in April 2012 as a number of things converged. Formula 1 pressed ahead with the Bahrain Grand Prix, and pro-democracy activists pledged “days of rage” over human rights abuses. As these were violently suppressed, editors on global news desks increasingly questioned the government and Formula 1 “spin” that all was well in the kingdom (see BBC; Turner). Claims by the drivers—many of who were sponsored by the Bahraini government—that this was a sports event, not a political one, were met with derision and journalists more familiar with interviewing superstars were diverted into covering protests because their political counterparts had been denied entry to the country (Fisk). This combination of media events and responses created the attention, interest, and space in which Al Khawaja’s deteriorating condition could become a media spectacle. The Mediated Spectacle of Al Khawaja’s Hunger Strike Journalists who had previously struggled to interest editors in Bahrain and Al Khawaja’s plight found that in the weeks leading up to the Grand Prix and since “his condition rapidly deteriorated”’ and there were “daily updates with stories from CNN to the Hindustan Times” (Nulla). Much of this mainstream news was derived from interviews and tweets from Al Khawaja’s family after each visit or phone call. What emerged was an unprecedented composite—a diary of witnesses to a hunger strike interspersed with the family’s struggles with the authorities to get access to him and their almost tangible fear that the Bahraini government would not relent and he would die. As these fears intensified 48 human rights NGOs called for his release from prison (Article 19) and the Danish government formally requested his extradition for hospital treatment on “humanitarian grounds”. Both were rejected. As if to provide evidence of Al Khawaja’s tenuous hold on life, his family released an image of his emaciated body onto Twitter. This graphic depiction of the corporeal-environmental act of (self) destruction was re-tweeted and posted on countless NGO and news Websites (see Al-Jazeera). It was also juxtaposed against images of multi-million dollar cars circling a race-track, funded by similarly large advertising deals and watched by millions of people around the world on satellite channels. Spectator sport had become a grotesque parody of one man’s struggle to speak of what was going on in Bahrain. In an attempt to silence the criticism the Bahraini government imposed a de facto news blackout denying all access to Al Khawaja in hospital where he had been sent after collapsing. The family’s tweets while he was held incommunicado speak of their raw pain, their desperation to find out if he was still alive, and their grief. They also provided a new source of information, and the refrain “where is alkhawaja,” reverberated on Twitter and in global news outlets (see for instance Der Spiegel, Al-Jazeera). In the days immediately after the race the Danish prime minister called for the release of Al Khawaja, saying he is in a “very critical condition” (Guardian), as did the UN’s Ban-Ki Moon (UN News and Media). The silencing of Al Khawaja had become a discourse of callousness and as global media pressure built Bahraini ministers felt compelled to challenge this on non-Arabic media, claiming Al Khawaja was “eating” and “well”. The Bahraini Prime Minister gave one of his first interviews to the Western media in years in which he denied “AlKhawaja’s health is ‘as bad’ as you say. According to the doctors attending to him on a daily basis, he takes liquids” (Der Spiegel Online). Then, after six days of silence, the family was allowed to visit. They tweeted that while incommunicado he had been restrained and force-fed against his will (Almousawi), a statement almost immediately denied by the military hospital (Lebanon Now). The discourses of silence and callousness were replaced with discourses of “torture” through force-feeding. A month later Al Khawaja’s wife announced he was ending his hunger strike because he was being force-fed by two doctors at the prison, family and friends had urged him to eat again, and he felt the strike had achieved its goal of drawing the world’s attention to Bahrain government’s response to pro-democracy protests (Ahlul Bayt News Agency). Conclusion This article has sought to explore two ecologies. The first is of medico-ethical discourses which construct a prison hunger strike as a corporeal-environmental act of (self) destruction to achieve particular political ends. 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