bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Application and prospects of 3D printing in physical experiments of rock mass mechanics and engineering: materials, methodologies and models
Authors: Niu Qingjia , Jiang Lishuai , Li Chunang , Zhao Yang , Wang Qingbiao , Yuan Anying
Published: February 2023

The existence of joints or other kinds of discontinuities has a dramatic effect on the stability of rock excavations and engineering. As a result, a great challenge in rock mass mechanics testing is to prepare rock or rock-like samples with defects. In recent years, 3D printing technology has become a promising tool in the field of rock mass mechanics and engineering. This study first reviews and discusses the research status of traditional test methods in rock mass mechanics tests of making rock samples with defects. Then, based on the comprehensive analysis of previous research, the application of 3D printing technology in rock mass mechanics is expounded from the following three aspects. The first is the printing material. Although there are many materials for 3D printing, it has been found that 3D printing materials that can be used for rock mass mechanics research are very limited. After research, we summarize and evaluate printing material that can be used for rock mass mechanics studies. The second is the printing methodology, which mainly introduces the current application forms of 3D printing technology in rock mass mechanics. This includes printed precise casting molds and one-time printed samples. The last one is the printing model, which includes small-scale samples for mechanical tests and large-scale physical models. Then, the benefits and drawbacks of using 3D printing samples in mechanical tests and the validity of their simulation of real rock are discussed. Compared with traditional rock samples collected in nature or synthetic rock-like samples, the samples made by 3D printing technology have unique advantages, such as higher test repeatability, visualization of rock internal structure and stress distribution. There is thus great potential for the use of 3D printing in the field of rock mass mechanics. However, 3D printing materials also have shortcomings, such as insufficient material strength and accuracy at this stage. Finally, the application prospect of 3D printing technology in rock mass mechanics research is proposed.
Frailty, falls and poor functional mobility predict new onset of activity restriction due to concerns about falling in older adults: a prospective 12-month cohort study
Authors: Ellmers Toby J. , Delbaere Kim , Kal Elmar C.
Published: February 2023

Purpose

Concerns about falling are common in older adults and often cause activity restriction. This can lead to physical deconditioning, falls and social isolation. However, not every concerned older adult will restrict their activities. This 12-month longitudinal study investigated the physical and psychosocial factors that predict the new onset of activity restriction due to concerns about falling in older people.

Methods

Participants were 543 older adults (Mage = 80.3 ± 4.4 years, range: 75–98) who did not report activity restriction due to concerns about falling at Timepoint-1 (negative response to the following question: “Do concerns about falling stop you going out-and-about?”). Participants completed a battery of physical and psychological assessments at Timepoint-1. Using binary logistic regression, we then assessed which of these variables predicted whether participants reported having started restricting their activity due to concerns about falling at the 12-month follow-up (Timepoint 2).

Results

10.1% of the sample started to restrict activity due to concerns about falling at Timepoint 2. Three key predictors significantly predicted activity restriction group status at 12-month follow-up: greater frailty at Timepoint-1 (Fried Frailty Index; OR = 1.58, 95% CI 1.09–2.30), experiencing a fall between Timepoint-1 and 2 (OR = 2.22, 95% CI 1.13–4.38) and poorer functional mobility at Timepoint-1 (Timed up and Go; OR = 1.08, 95% CI 1.01–1.15).

Conclusions

Frailty, experiencing a fall and poorer functional mobility all predicted the onset of activity restriction due to concerns about falling. Clinicians working in balance and falls-prevention services should regularly screen for frailty, and patients referred to frailty services should likewise receive tailored treatment to help prevent the development of activity restriction due to concerns about falling.
Red Internationalism
Authors: Mohandesi Salar
Published: February 2023

In Red Internationalism, Salar Mohandesi returns to the Vietnam War to offer a new interpretation of the transnational left's most transformative years. In the 1960s, radicals mobilized ideas from the early twentieth century to reinvent a critique of imperialism that promised not only to end the war but also to overthrow the global system that made such wars possible. Focusing on encounters between French, American, and Vietnamese radicals, Mohandesi explores how their struggles did change the world, but in unexpected ways that allowed human rights to increasingly displace anti-imperialism as the dominant idiom of internationalism. When anti-imperialism collapsed in the 1970s, human rights emerged as a hegemonic alternative channeling anti-imperialism's aspirations while rejecting systemic change. Approaching human rights as neither transhistorical truth nor cynical imperialist ruse but instead as a symptom of anti-imperialism's epochal crisis, Red Internationalism dramatizes a shift that continues to affect prospects for emancipatory political change in the future.
Low-visibility commercial ground operations: An objective and subjective evaluation of a multimodal display
Authors: Blundell J. , Collins C. , Sears R. , Plioutsias T. , Huddlestone J. , Harris D. , Harrison J. , Kershaw A. , Harrison P. , Lamb P.
Published: February 2023

Flight crews’ capacity to conduct take-off and landing in near zero visibility conditions has been partially addressed by advanced surveillance and cockpit display technology. This capability is yet to be realised within the context of manoeuvring aircraft within airport terminal areas. In this paper the performance and workload benefits of user-centre designed visual and haptic taxi navigational cues, presented via a head-up display (HUD) and active sidestick, respectively, were evaluated in simulated taxiing trials by 12 professional pilots. In addition, the trials sought to examine pilot acceptance of side stick nose wheel steering. The HUD navigational cues demonstrated a significant task-specific benefit by reducing centreline deviation during turns and the frequency of major taxiway deviations. In parallel, the visual cues reduced self-report workload. Pilot’s appraisal of nose wheel steering by sidestick was positive, and active sidestick cues increased confidence in the multimodal guidance construct. The study presents the first examination of how a multimodal display, combining visual and haptic cues, could support the safety and efficiency in which pilots are able to conduct a taxi navigation task in low-visibility conditions.
Potential analytical interferences when measuring Tmax during temperature programmed pyrolysis of hydrothermally altered volcanoclastic sediment
Authors: Bowden Stephen A. , Kobayashi Yuino , Offeh Ogheneworo E. , Tsang Man-Yin , Yamamoto Yuzuru
Published: February 2023

The temperature of maximum pyrolysis yield (known as Tmax) can be used to determine the level of thermal alteration in sedimentary organic matter; higher Tmax values represent higher thermal alteration. Tmax is commonly measured on petroleum source rocks or similar sediments with high organic carbon contents. It would be desirable to measure the Tmax of volcanic sediments because they can have complex patterns of thermal alteration. However, volcanic sediments often have low total organic carbon contents and consequently are susceptible to analytical interferences. Despite this, it can be shown that meaningful Tmax measurements can still be made in sediment with organic carbon contents as low as 0.2% and that interference caused by bitumen or ionizable salts can be mitigated by solvent extraction and rinsing with water. Thus, it is reasonable to use temperature programmed pyrolysis to assess levels of thermal alteration in even low total organic carbon volcanoclastic sediments.
Morphology evolution of a melting solid layer above its melt heated from below
Authors: Yang Rui , Howland Christopher J. , Liu Hao-Ran , Verzicco Roberto , Lohse Detlef
Published: February 2023

We numerically study the melting process of a solid layer heated from below such that a liquid melt layer develops underneath. The objective is to quantitatively describe and understand the emerging topography of the structures (characterized by the amplitude and wavelength), which evolve out of an initially smooth surface. By performing both two-dimensional (achieving Rayleigh number up to$Ra=10^{11}$) and three-dimensional (achieving Rayleigh number up to$Ra=10^9$) direct numerical simulations with an advanced finite difference solver coupled to the phase-field method, we show how the interface roughness is spontaneously generated by thermal convection. With increasing height of the melt the convective flow intensifies and eventually even becomes turbulent. As a consequence, the interface becomes rougher but is still coupled to the flow topology. The emerging structure of the interface coincides with the regions of rising hot plumes and descending cold plumes. We find that the roughness amplitude scales with the mean height of the liquid layer. We derive this scaling relation from the Stefan boundary condition and relate it to the non-uniform distribution of heat flux at the interface. For two-dimensional cases, we further quantify the horizontal length scale of the morphology, based on the theoretical upper and lower bounds given for the size of convective cells known from Wanget al.(Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 125, 2020, 074501). These bounds agree with our simulation results. Our findings highlight the key connection between the morphology of the melting solid and the convective flow structures in the melt beneath.
Bio-inspired variable-stiffness flaps for hybrid flow control, tuned via reinforcement learning
Authors: Nair Nirmal J. , Goza Andres
Published: February 2023

A bio-inspired, passively deployable flap attached to an airfoil by a torsional spring of fixed stiffness can provide significant lift improvements at post-stall angles of attack. In this work, we describe a hybrid active–passive variant to this purely passive flow control paradigm, where the stiffness of the hinge is actively varied in time to yield passive fluid–structure interaction of greater aerodynamic benefit than the fixed-stiffness case. This hybrid active–passive flow control strategy could potentially be implemented using variable-stiffness actuators with less expense compared with actively prescribing the flap motion. The hinge stiffness is varied via a reinforcement-learning-trained closed-loop feedback controller. A physics-based penalty and a long–short-term training strategy for enabling fast training of the hybrid controller are introduced. The hybrid controller is shown to provide lift improvements as high as 136 % and 85 % with respect to the flapless airfoil and the best fixed-stiffness case, respectively. These lift improvements are achieved due to large-amplitude flap oscillations as the stiffness varies over four orders of magnitude, whose interplay with the flow is analysed in detail.
Conservation actions for the microendemic plant Grazielanthus arkeocarpus (Monimiaceae, Laurales)
Authors: Peixoto Ariane Luna , Peixoto Gustavo Luna , Almeida Thaís Moreira Hidalgo de , Gonzaga Diego Rafael , Lírio Elton John de
Published: February 2023

Grazielanthus is a monotypic, dioecious and microendemic plant genus of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Its only species, Grazielanthus arkeocarpus, is categorized as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List and comprises only one small population, in the Poço das Antas Biological Reserve, Rio de Janeiro State. Collaborative activities have been developed since 2013 to implement in situ and ex situ conservation actions for this species. Successful in situ planting has increased the number of individuals in its natural population. Ex situ conservation efforts have resulted in the cultivation of the species in two Brazilian living plant collections, and this will soon increase to three collections.
On function spaces equipped with Isbell topology and Scott topology
Authors: Xu Xiaoquan , Bao Meng , Zhang Xiaoyuan
Published: February 2023

In this paper, we mainly study the function spaces related to H-sober spaces. For an irreducible subset system H and
$T_{0}$
spaces X and Y, it is proved that the following three conditions are equivalent: (1) the Scott space
$\Sigma \mathcal O(X)$
of the lattice of all open sets of X is H-sober; (2) for every H-sober space Y, the function space
$\mathbb{C}(X, Y)$
of all continuous mappings from X to Y equipped with the Isbell topology is H-sober; (3) for every H-sober space Y, the Isbell topology on
$\mathbb{C}(X, Y)$
has property S with respect to H. One immediate corollary is that for a
$T_{0}$
space X, Y is a d-space (resp., well-filtered space) iff the function space
$\mathbb{C}(X, Y)$
equipped with the Isbell topology is a d-space (resp., well-filtered space). It is shown that for any
$T_0$
space X for which the Scott space
$\Sigma \mathcal O(X)$
is non-sober, the function space
$\mathbb{C}(X, \Sigma 2)$
equipped with the Isbell topology is not sober. The function spaces
$\mathbb{C}(X, Y)$
equipped with the Scott topology, the compact-open topology and the pointwise convergence topology are also discussed. Our study also leads to a number of questions, whose answers will deepen our understanding of the function spaces related to H-sober spaces.
A Modern-Day Florestan: Fidelio on Robben Island and South Africa's Early Democratic Project
Authors: PISTORIUS JULIANA M.
Published: February 2023

In 2004, Cape Town Opera mounted a production of Beethoven's Fidelio at the former apartheid prison on Robben Island. Sponsored by Den Norske Opera, and endorsed by the South African government, the production was presented as a celebration of the country's tenth year of democracy. This article investigates the vision of democracy performed by Fidelio on Robben Island and asks how it interacts with the founding principles of the new South African political order. Situating the production within the context of contemporaneous debates about cultural identity and representation in a democratic South Africa, I argue that Fidelio on Robben Island performed a legitimizing function designed to endorse the validity of the state and of opera as a democratic cultural form.
Why Rara Burns Judas during Lent: Rethinking the Origins of Catholic Elements in Haitian Culture from an Afro-Iberian Perspective
Authors: Dewulf Jeroen
Published: February 2023

Until the 1980s, Catholic elements in Haitian culture tended to be interpreted exclusively in connection to the forced conversion of the enslaved population under French rule. This changed following John Thornton's groundbreaking research into the development of Christianity in early modern Africa—Kongo in particular—and the awareness that a significant number of enslaved Africans already identified as Christian before their arrival in Saint-Domingue. This article's goal is to go beyond Thornton's research by showing that we can acquire a better understanding of Catholic elements in Haitian culture if we start our analysis in late medieval Iberia. To illustrate this, the article focuses on one of Haiti's most enigmatic cultural traditions, known as Chariopié, Lwalwadi, or, most commonly, Rara. Although this performance has received abundant scholarly interest, questions relating to the origin of its Catholic elements have remained largely unanswered. This is regrettable considering that Rara parades follow the liturgical calendar of Lent and intensify in frequency during Holy Week. Moreover, a key element of Rara consists of the destruction of an effigy of Judas Iscariot, in accordance with the Biblical account of the Easter story. Using a comparative analysis, this article presents a number of remarkable parallels between Rara and late medieval Iberian Lent traditions. To explain these parallels, it claims that enslaved Africans who were familiar with Iberian practices prior to their arrival in the Caribbean established, by their own initiative, a network of mutual aid and burial societies modeled on Afro-Iberian Catholic brotherhoods.
Estimating the Meridional Extent of Adiabatic Mixing in the Stratosphere Using Age‐Of‐Air
Authors: Gupta Aman , Linz Marianna , Curbelo Jezabel , Pauluis Olivier , Gerber Edwin P. , Kinnison Douglas E.
Published: February 2023

Wave‐induced adiabatic mixing in the winter midlatitudes is one of the key processes impacting stratospheric transport. Understanding its strength and structure is vital to understanding the distribution of trace gases and their modulation under a changing climate. Age‐of‐air is often used to understand stratospheric transport, and this study proposes refinements to the vertical age gradient theory of Linz et al. (2021), https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JD035199. The theory assumes exchange of air between a well‐mixed tropics and a well‐mixed extratropics, separated by a transport barrier, quantifying the adiabatic mixing flux across the interface using age‐based measures. These assumptions are re‐evaluated and a refined framework that includes the effects of meridional tracer gradients is established to quantify the mixing flux. This is achieved, in part, by computing a circulation streamfunction in age‐potential temperature coordinates to generate a complete distribution of parcel ages being mixed in the midlatitudes. The streamfunction quantifies the “true” age of parcels mixed between the tropics and the extratropics. Applying the revised theory to an idealized and a comprehensive climate model reveals that ignoring the meridional gradients in age leads to an underestimation of the wave‐driven mixing flux. Stronger, and qualitatively similar fluxes are obtained in both models, especially in the lower‐to‐middle stratosphere. While the meridional span of adiabatic mixing in the two models exhibits some differences, they show that the deep tropical pipe, that is, latitudes equatorward of 15° barely mix with older midlatitude air. The novel age‐potential temperature circulation can be used to quantify additional aspects of stratospheric transport.
Carbon Cycle Responses to Changes in Weathering and the Long‐Term Fate of Stable Carbon Isotopes
Authors: Jeltsch‐Thömmes A. , Joos F.
Published: February 2023

The causes of CO2 variations over the past million years remain poorly understood. Imbalances between the input of elements from rock weathering and their removal from the atmosphere‐ocean‐biosphere system to the lithosphere likely contributed to reconstructed changes. We employ the Bern3D model to investigate carbon‐climate responses to step‐changes in the weathering input of phosphorus, alkalinity, carbon, and carbon isotope ratio (δ13C) in simulations extending up to 600,000 years. CO2 and climate approach a new equilibrium within a few ten thousand years, whereas equilibrium is established after several hundred thousand years for δ13C. These timescales represent a challenge for the initialization of sediment‐enabled models and unintended drifts may be larger than forced signals in simulations of the last glacial–interglacial cycle. Changes in dissolved CO2 change isotopic fractionation during marine photosynthesis. This causes distinct spatio‐temporal perturbations in δ13C and affects the burial flux of 13C. We force a cost‐efficient emulator, based on the Bern3D results, with contrasting literature‐based weathering histories over the last 800 thousand years. Glacial–interglacial amplitudes of up to 30 ppm in CO2, 0.05‰ in δ13C, and ∼15 mmol m−3 in deep ocean are emulated for changes in carbonate rock weathering. Plausible input from the decomposition of organic matter on shelves causes variations of up to 10 ppm in CO2, 0.09‰ in δ13C, and 5 mmol m−3 in , highlighting the non‐negligible effect of weathering‐burial imbalances.
Association between cannabis use and blood pressure levels according to comorbidities and socioeconomic status
Authors: Vallée Alexandre
Published: February 2023

The associations between blood pressure and cannabis use remain inconsistent. The purpose of our study was to examine gender stratified associations of cannabis use and blood pressure [systolic, diastolic blood pressure (BP), pulse pressure (PP)] levels among the general UK Biobank population based study. Among 91,161 volunteers of the UK Biobank population, cannabis use status was assessed by questionnaire and range as heavy, moderate, low and never users. Associations between cannabis use and BP were estimated using multiple gender linear regressions. In adjusted covariates models, lifetime heavy cannabis use was associated with decrease in both SBP, DBP and PP in both genders, but with a higher effect among women (for SBP in men, b = − 1.09 (0.27), p < 0.001; in women, b = − 1.85 (0.36), p < 0.001; for DBP in men, b = − 0.50 (0.15), p < 0.001; in women, b = − 0.87 (0.17), p < 0.001; and for PP in men, b = − 0.60 (0.20), p < 0.001; in women, b = − 0.97 (0.27), p < 0.001. Among men, lower SBP and DBP levels were observed with participants without dyslipidemia and lower PP in participants with high income levels. Among women, lower SBP, DBP and PP were observed with current smokers, moderate/low alcohol levels and participants without dyslipidemia. Current cannabis use was associated with lower SBP levels in men (b = − 0.63 (0.25), p = 0.012) and in women (b = − 1.17 (0.31), p < 0.001). Same results were observed for DBP and PP. Negative association between BP in men was found but not in women. The small association in BP differences between heavy users and never users remains too small to adopt cannabis-blood pressure public policy in clinical practice.
Nearly-freestanding supramolecular assembly with tunable structural properties
Authors: Caruso Tommaso , De Luca Oreste , Melfi Nicola , Policicchio Alfonso , Pisarra Michele , Godbert Nicolas , Aiello Iolinda , Giorno Eugenia , Pacilè Daniela , Moras Paolo , Martín Fernando , Rudolf Petra , Agostino Raffaele Giuseppe , Papagno Marco
Published: February 2023

The synthesis and design of two-dimensional supramolecular assemblies with specific functionalities is one of the principal goals of the emerging field of molecule-based electronics, which is relevant for many technological applications. Although a large number of molecular assemblies have been already investigated, engineering uniform and highly ordered two-dimensional molecular assemblies is still a challenge. Here we report on a novel approach to prepare wide highly crystalline molecular assemblies with tunable structural properties. We make use of the high-reactivity of the carboxylic acid functional moiety and of the predictable structural features of non-polar alkane chains to synthesize 2D supramolecular assemblies of 4-(decyloxy)benzoic acid (4DBA;C$$_{17}$$

17

H$$_{26}$$

26

O$$_{3}$$

3

) on a Au(111) surface. By means of scanning tunneling microscopy, density functional theory calculations and photoemission spectroscopy, we demonstrate that these molecules form a self-limited highly ordered and defect-free two-dimensional single-layer film of micrometer-size, which exhibits a nearly-freestanding character. We prove that by changing the length of the alkoxy chain it is possible to modify in a controlled way the molecular density of the “floating” overlayer without affecting the molecular assembly. This system is especially suitable for engineering molecular assemblies because it represents one of the few 2D molecular arrays with specific functionality where the structural properties can be tuned in a controlled way, while preserving the molecular pattern.
Nanocomposites of nitrogen-doped carbon dots/hydrotalcite with enhanced solid-state fluorescence for the recognition of latent fingerprints
Authors: Li Da-Wu , Zhang Xing-Fu , Zhang Xiao-Tong , lv Xiao-Sen , You Nan
Published: February 2023

In this work, a green emissive nanocomposite was synthesized by embedding nitrogen-doped carbon dots into hydrotalcite (N-CD/hydrotalcite) via a hydrothermal process for the recognition of latent fingerprints (LFPs).
A deep LSTM‐CNN based on self‐attention mechanism with input data reduction for short‐term load forecasting
Authors: Yi Shiyan , Liu Haichun , Chen Tao , Zhang Jianwen , Fan Yibo
Published: February 2023

Numerous studies on short‐term load forecasting (STLF) have used feature extraction methods to increase the model's accuracy by incorporating multidimensional features containing time, weather and distance information. However, less attention has been paid to the input data size and output dimensions in STLF. To address these two issues, an STLF model is proposed based on output dimensions using only load data. First, the load data's long‐term behavior (trend and seasonality) is extracted through the long short‐term memory network (LSTM), followed by convolution to obtain the load data's non‐stationarity. Then, using the self‐attention mechanism (SAM), the crucial input load information is emphasized in the forecasting process. The calculation example shows that the proposed algorithm outperforms LSTM, LSTM‐based SAM, and CNN‐GRU‐based SAM by more than 10% in eight different buildings, demonstrating its suitability for forecasting with only load data. Additionally, compared to earlier research utilizing two well‐known public data sets, the MAPE is optimized by 2.2% and 5%, respectively. Also, the method has good prediction accuracy for a wide variety of time granularities and load aggregation levels, so it can be applied to various load forecasting scenarios and has good reference significance for load forecasting instrumentation.
A new transformerless DC/DC converter with dual operating modes and continuous input current port
Authors: Okati Mustafa , Eslami Mahdiyeh , Shahbazzadeh Mehdi Jafari
Published: February 2023

In this work, a transformerless DC/DC converter is presented with dual operating modes buck–boost procedure. As a simple structure and continuous input current port, the system acts as a common ground between the output and input terminal. One operating mode, quadratic voltage gain ratio is D/(1‐D)2, and other mode is D/(1‐D). In the present study, the continuous conduction mode (CCM), steady‐state conditions were assumed to analyze efficiency and small‐signal modeling by replacing parasitic resistance effects. The findings revealed that in comparison with other buck‐boost converters, the two voltage gain ratios were provided with fewer components and lower total switching device power in dual operating modes. Therefore, proposed converter can attract considerable attention for renewable energy applications, especially photovoltaic systems. Ultimately, the experimental findings of a prototype made in the laboratory are provided along with the received waveforms from the simulation in PLECS for validation purposes.
A survey of sag monitoring methods for power grid transmission lines
Authors: Chen Yunfei , Ding Xiaolin
Published: February 2023

The transmission line is a fundamental asset in the power grid. The sag condition of the transmission line between two support towers requires accurate real‐time monitoring in order to avoid any health and safety hazards or power failure. In this paper, state‐of‐the‐art methods on transmission line sag monitoring are thoroughly reviewed and compared. Both the direct methods that use the direct video or image of the transmission line and the indirect methods that use the relationships between sag and line parameters are investigated. Sag prediction methods and relevant industry standards are also examined. Based on these investigation and examination, future research challenges are outlined and useful recommendations on the choices of sag monitoring methods in different applications are made.
Stochastic unit commitment for power systems with offshore wind farms towards frequency resiliency
Authors: Guo Jun , Zhang Jiechao , Zhao Tianyang , Qi Xiao
Published: February 2023

To enhance the resilience of transmission systems with offshore wind farms before the advent of typhoons, a proactive unit commitment scheme is proposed. A novel scenario tree is proposed to quantify the uncertain impacts of typhoons on offshore wind farms, transmission lines, and system states, where the inertia support from offshore wind farms and random system state are in‐cooperated. The frequency security constraint is captured by a multi‐variative piece‐wise linear function, where the frequency nadir are simulated under varying inertia and disturbance combinations. The unit commitment problem is formulated as a two‐stage stochastic optimisation problem with nonlinear recourse. This problem is solved by a multi‐cuts Benders decomposition algorithm with finite iteration convergence property. Simulations are conducted on a modified IEEE‐RTS 79 test system with offshore wind farms. Results verify the effectiveness of the proposed model regarding the load shedding and frequency nadir enhancement.
Aberrant Expression of Rest4 Gene in Low-Functioning Pancreatic Beta
Cell Line
Authors: Yamato Eiji
Published: February 2023

Repressor element-1 silencing transcription factor (Rest) is not expressed in
pancreatic beta cells and neuronal cells. However, Rest4, a truncated form of
Rest, is expressed in high passaged MIN6 (HP-MIN6) cells, a pancreatic beta cell
line that lost glucose-responsive insulin secretion. Rest4 is also expressed in
injured MIN6 cells and isolated islets. Herein, the forced expression of
dominant negative form of Rest in HP-MIN6 cells was subjected to microarray
analysis of gene expression to investigate the role of Rest4 gene in MIN6 cells.
Furthermore, the forced expression of Rest4 gene in MIN6 cells was subjected to
microarray analysis of gene expression to investigate the function of Rest4 in
normal insulin-producing cells. The results showed that Rest4 inhibits cell
proliferation and DNA and RNA metabolism and stimulates secretory mechanisms and
nervous system gene expression. These findings suggest that Rest4 may act
defensively against cellular injury in pancreatic beta cells.
Dynamic offer creation for airline ancillaries using a Markov chain choice model
Authors: Wang Kevin K. , Wittman Michael D. , Fiig Thomas
Published: February 2023

Customers have become accustomed to a highly streamlined and personalized experience when shopping online. While tech giants such as Apple, Amazon, and Netflix are experts in using customer information and shopping context to deliver relevant offers, airlines are falling behind in this regard with their static content and one-size-fits-all retailing approach. To meet the growing expectations of their customers, the airline industry has expressed a vision for dynamic offer creation, which will allow airlines to dynamically bundle and price a set of offers that is customized to the context of the shopping request. Realizing this vision requires significant advancements in both distribution and science. On the distribution side, these advancements will come with the adoption of the New Distribution Capability. On the science side, which is the focus of this paper, little progress has been made despite years of research. In particular, airlines still lack a tractable scientific model to dynamically create and price offer sets at scale. In this paper, we present a novel approach to solve the airline dynamic offer creation problem using a Markov chain choice model. Our model displays attractive qualitative properties—the resulting offers and prices are chosen in such a way as to discourage purchases of unprofitable offers and nudge customers towards more profitable ones. Our model naturally proposes offers that are relevant to the customer, as including irrelevant offers in the offer set leads to a reduction in revenue and ancillary purchase rates. In a simulation study with two customer segments, we find that our model significantly increases ancillary revenue over a naïve, unsegmented pricing model that mimics current state-of-the-art practice. While our studies are conducted under several idealized assumptions, they demonstrate a substantial revenue potential from dynamic offer creation in both unsegmented and segmented applications.
Voices from around the world
Authors: Baigorri-Jalón Jesús , Ruiz Rosendo Lucía
Published: February 2023

In this chapter we provide an introduction to the volume. We will explain how multidisciplinary approaches, and thus multidisciplinary methodological tools, constitute the ideal way to fill gaps in the map and timeline of the history of interpreting. We highlight the cooperation between different scientific domains with which we share interests, without straying from the path of examining the existence of oral-gestural exchanges mediated by individuals (the “interpreters”). Such cooperation would speak volumes to the complexity of the encounters and of the settings in which interpreting takes place. Throughout the volume, history, sociology, cultural studies, anthropology, psychology and geography will, from their respective fields, contribute to the historical mapping process.
Interpreters of Mapudungun and the Chilean State during the 1880–1930 period
Authors: Payas Puigarnau Gertrudis , Ulloa Fernando
Published: February 2023

During the second half of the 19th century, the Chilean military crushed the Mapuche resistance and opened their territories for the occupation of Chilean and European settlers and the founding of cities. This process implied profound changes in the indigenous society, now forced to interact in Spanish with the administration. Bilingual Mapuche or of mixed origin were key in this process, acting as interpreters.

Within this context of colonial domination and resistance and adaptation, we focus our attention on some families of interpreters and interpretation practices that can provide clues to understand the social, political, and linguistic dynamics while serving as indicators of the power relationships between languages and the groups that spoke them.
An overview of the role of interpreters during the Portuguese expansion through Africa (1415–1600)
Authors: Sarmiento Pérez Marcos
Published: February 2023

Portugal’s great breakthrough between 1415 and 1499 during the Age of Discovery was rounding the African coastline, from Ceuta in the Strait of Gibraltar to Mogadishu in the Horn of Africa. The current chapter, founded on prior research, advances an overview of the strategies adopted by the Portuguese to obtain linguistic mediators as well as the patterns of mediation they applied throughout the successive zones of contact. After a brief presentation of the different historical contexts, the study delves into the types of scenarios that required interpreters, as well as their status and compensation throughout both the initial explorations and the subsequent stages extending to the final years of the 16th century.
Mediating a complex cultural matrix
Authors: M’bayo Tamba
Published: February 2023

The complex cultural matrix within which Muslim interpreters mediated between French colonizers and colonized Africans offers a window through which we see how both unequal relations of power and cultural capital shaped the intercessions of indigenous intermediaries in colonial Senegal. Despite their subordinate position in the French colonial administration, the interpreters held sway over information/knowledge conveyed to their kinfolk, which could influence perceptions about the dynamics of power relations between the French authorities and Africans. Drawing on the mediations of Muslim interpreters in colonial Senegal from 1850 to 1920, this chapter engages broader issues about the provenance of sources, retrieving indigenous voices in historical reconstruction, and producing knowledge and counternarratives in African history.
Interpreting with “human sympathy”
Authors: Takeda Kayoko
Published: February 2023

Utilizing language skills and cultural knowledge obtained through their time proselytizing or by virtue of growing up in Japan, a number of repatriated Christian missionaries and their children took part in the Allied war effort during the Pacific War (1941–1945) and the postwar occupation of Japan (1945–1952), including as interpreters and trainers of interpreters for military intelligence. By examining what language-related activities these missionary-connected Americans and Canadians engaged in and how they viewed their own participation in the defeat and occupation of communities among which they had recently lived and worked, this chapter adds to the discussion of roles missionaries play as linguistic mediators, informants, and advisors in colonization, trade, diplomacy, and conflict.
The colonized in conflict
Authors: Lan Shichi
Published: February 2023

As Japanese military expanded into Southeast Asia and its need for interpreters increased dramatically after 1941, the Taiwanese – who were subjected to Japan’s colonial rule (1895–1945) and proficient in both the languages of the Japanese colonizer and of overseas Chinese and Malay population under Japanese occupation – undertook a conspicuous role as military interpreters. By delineating the career trajectories of eighteen Taiwanese interpreters who were put on trial as war criminals by the British in postwar Malaya and Singapore, this chapter argues that working as interpreters put the colonized Taiwanese into direct conflict with the colonized Chinese and Malay. This work condition made the Taiwanese bear a disproportionally high responsibility in postwar war crime trials, and best illustrated the dimension of “colonized in conflict” of WWII.
Interpreters of mission
Authors: Rademaker Laura
Published: February 2023

Focusing on the histories of interpretation in mission contexts across Australia and the Pacific, this chapter reveals that wherever they operated, missionaries depended on the cooperation of local intermediaries. Interpreters were vital. While this has long been noted in Pacific histories, scholars are only recently discovering similarities in Australia. Recent scholarship is also considering what Indigenous people themselves sought to achieve for their communities through interpreting, beyond resistance to or management of colonisers on their lands. The chapter concludes with three examples of Aboriginal interpreters who shaped the establishment of missions on their Country in various parts of North Australia in the twentieth century. It finds that interpreters upheld their cultural obligations to Country through their linguistic work.
Domesticating dragomans
Authors: Rothman E. Natalie
Published: February 2023

In the summer of 1660 the Venetian bailate (diplomatic residency in Istanbul) was shaken by an attempted work stoppage involving its dragomans (diplomatic translator-interpreters). This essay situates the aborted work stoppage in relation to dragomans’ deep embedding in Istanbul’s courtly society, their trans-imperial relational resources, and Venetian efforts to mold dragomans into loyal political subjects. It further considers how the disparate archival traces of this singular event underscore tensions between loyalty, secrecy, and dragomans’ writerly habitus that often breached the bailate’s affective and mediatized boundaries. In conclusion, the essay considers how dragomans’ subjectivities and practices of mediation were shaped through emergent technologies of governmentality, such as the controlled circulation of particular knowledge and bodies inside and outside the space of the bailate.
The interpreter as “anti-hero”
Authors: Wolf Michaela
Published: February 2023

Research on interpreters as authors of autobiographies has typically focused on the interpreting activity in authoritarian regimes, in trials, or diplomacy. A great number of the author-interpreters portray a hero figure positioned in often close relationship with the person in power. This chapter deals with another kind of interpreter figure who I will call “anti-hero”. The settings explored are the Great War, the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War, and Nazi concentration camps, as depicted in the interpreters’ memoirs. The chapter aims to elaborate on the main features of these anti-hero interpreters based on the framework proposed by Sidonie Smith and Julia Watson (2010), who suggest a set of concepts helpful for understanding the dynamic processes of autobiographical subjectivity, including memory, experience, or agency.
When the armies went back home
Authors: Footitt Hilary
Published: February 2023

Research on interpreting in war has investigated the role played by local civilians recruited by the Army as linguistic mediators. This chapter explores the aftermath of war for these local interpreters in the case of the conflict in Afghanistan, using the seven-year long debates on their fate in the UK, France and Denmark. In the arguments around the politics of protection, interpreting is located in three discursive spaces: at the supranational level, within the specificities of NATO multilateral operations on the ground, and in the space of individual nation-state agendas. In the aftermath of the war in Afghanistan, the Chapter argues, the greater public visibility of local interpreters did not materially change the ways in which interpreting in war was perceived.
Conclusion
Authors: Baigorri-Jalón Jesús
Published: February 2023

The conclusion reflects very briefly on some of the main elements that emerge from the book, which is, ultimately, a crossroads of disciplines, where the importance of historical change is highlighted. Some of the main traits are the variety of geographical areas and historical periods covered in the volume, the overwhelming gender imbalance in favor of male interpreters, as well as the heterogeneity of their duties and statuses, which vary widely between and within the case studies, and the usually subaltern nature of the interpreters, which, at times, questioned power relations. Links between the past and the present are suggested, regarding, for instance, reinterpretations of historical events and the geopolitics of languages.
Exploring mixed methods in interpreting research
Authors: Napier Jemina , Hale Sandra
Published: February 2023

Much of the research into community interpreting has used different methodologies in order to test or explore the same phenomena from different perspectives (Hale and Napier 2013). This approach is typically referred to as mixed-methods or multi-method research. Pöchhacker (2011) considers that the use of mixed methods in interpreting research is appropriate in order to account for the complexity of interpreting processes and practices. This chapter presents an overview of interpreting research methodologies and explores the meaning of mixed methods. It then discusses a mixed-methods, longitudinal multi-stage project comprising a series of studies conducted by the authors that investigated the feasibility of deaf signers serving as jurors using professional sign language interpreting services. By showcasing our own studies and why these interlinked projects employed mixed methods, we highlight the benefits of exploring various approaches to interpreting research generally.
User expectations research revisited
Authors: Liu Minhua
Published: February 2023

Survey-based user expectations research is an important line of research on quality in the domain of simultaneous conference interpreting. Its methodology has often been criticised for a lack of rigour. However, few have treated methodology as the focus of their discussion. In this chapter, a comprehensive overview of the methodological issues of survey-based user expectations research is provided, with topics covering the construct, criteria, instrument, response format, levels of measurement, measures of central tendency, and sampling. As an illustration for the methodology under discussion, the results of the classic study by Bühler (1986) are reanalysed by using different measures of central tendency. The chapter concludes with a discussion on the importance of incorporating users’ actual experience to make user-related research on interpreting more relevant.
A review of the evolution of survey-based research on interpreting quality using two models by Franz Pöchhacker
Authors: Pradas Macías Macarena
Published: February 2023

This chapter focuses on interpreting quality research, one of the many topics studied by Franz Pöchhacker. First, two of his models will serve as tools for analysing the conditioning factors which have been addressed in this field. It is shown how individual research and broader project1 and research team2 contributions have yielded new insights by introducing innovative research methods in expectation and evaluation studies.

More recently, quality research has incorporated interdisciplinary perspectives to explore the factors that condition evaluators’ perceptions. After discussing some key studies in this regard, the chapter describes a research project which applies implicit theories to reveal the impact of the receiver’s perspective on his or her evaluation of a given interpretation.
“Is there anybody out there?” – “It’s happening, it’s out there. A lot is going on”
Authors: Ahamer Vera , Dabić Mascha
Published: February 2023

Franz Pöchhacker is one of the most prominent scholars to address the importance of non-professional interpreting and community interpreting. Not only did he identify interpreting services for socially vulnerable and underserved groups of clients as an object of study, he also contributed to raising a general awareness of the significance of interpreting when it comes to granting access to services in institutional settings. He was one of the first to link the question of interpreting to the issue of linguistic social rights, and to advance professionalisation in this field, linking it to academic research. In this article, Franz Pöchhacker’s contribution to the visibility of community interpreting in research and practice will be highlighted with a focus on Austria.
Non-standard court interpreting as risk management
Authors: Pym Anthony , Raigal-Aran Judith , Salinas Carmen Bestué
Published: February 2023

Most codes of ethics stipulate that court interpreters should give verbatim renditions, should not have side conversations with the witness or the defendant, and should use the alien-I. However, when we find these maxims flouted by outsourced interpreters working in trials in Barcelona, the observed practices may be considered non-standard and yet constitute an expected and even accepted social practice. Here we attempt to understand why interpreters sometimes abandon all illusion of equivalence, why side conversations occur in certain hearings, and why interpreters sometimes speak in their own voice, becoming direct participants in discursive exchanges. Risk analysis enables us to model ways in which these practices can ensure that cooperation is achieved and time is not wasted. In one case study, side conversations between the defendant and the interpreter serve to inform the defendant of the possible consequences of a plea. Such a practice nevertheless requires that the officers of the court trust interpreters to exceptionally high degrees. In a second case study, disagreements between the judge and the interpreter, technically over issues of translation equivalence, lead to distrust in the interpreter to the point where cooperation becomes impossible. In this instance, a non-standard practice that might be efficient elsewhere leads to communicative failure. It is thus found that non-standard interpreting can be efficient when the participants’ risk-management strategies are aligned and trust is operative; on the other hand, it can also convert trivial differences into high-stakes disputes that throw risk-management strategies out of alignment.