bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Japanese Criminal Thinking Inventory
Authors: Kishi Kaori , Takeda Fumi , Nagata Yuko , Suzuki Junko , Monma Takafumi , Asanuma Tohru
Published: May 2014

Using a sample of 116 Japanese men who had been placed under parole/probationary supervision or released from prison, the present study examined standardization, reliability, and validation of the Japanese Criminal Thinking Inventory (JCTI) that was based on the short form of the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS), a self-rating instrument designed to evaluate cognitive patterns specific to criminal conduct. An exploratory factor analysis revealed that four dimensions adequately captured the structure of the JCTI, and the resultant 17-item JCTI demonstrated high internal consistency. Compared with the Japanese version of the Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BAQ), the JCTI showed a favorable pattern of criterion-related validity. Prior criminal environment and drug abuse as the most recent offense also significantly correlated with the JCTI total score. Overall, the JCTI possesses an important implication for offender rehabilitation as it identifies relevant cognitive targets and assesses offender progress.
Validating numerically predicted make-up of threaded connections using digital image correlation and infrared monitoring
Authors: Galle Timothy , De Pauw Jan , De Waele Wim , Van Wittenberghe Jeroen , De Baets Patrick
Published: May 2014

To ensure a reliable connection between two pipe sections, an initial make-up is applied to the threaded connections to induce a favorable stress state. Using finite element analysis techniques, it is possible to predict the internal strains and stresses of the connection when torque is applied. This article presents the outline of an experimental setup, which allows to directly validate the occurring strains together with the torque versus turn diagram and indirectly the contact pressures. The strains are measured by means of digital image correlation and strain gages. Both methods provide similar results and comply with the predicted finite element analysis strains when taper mismatch is taken into account. In an effort to qualitatively validate the simulated contact pressures, the temperature of the box is measured during make-up by means of infrared monitoring. The maximum temperature increase occurs near the vanishing threads where contact pressures are larger. Despite promising results, no decisive validation for the contact pressures could be obtained.
Multidisciplinary Critical Care and Intensivist Staffing
Authors: Yoo Erika J. , Edwards Jeffrey D. , Dean Mitzi L. , Dudley R. Adams
Published: May 2014

Purpose:

The role of multidisciplinary teams in improving the care of intensive care unit (ICU) patients is not well defined, and it is unknown whether the use of such teams helps to explain prior research suggesting improved mortality with intensivist staffing. We sought to investigate the association between multidisciplinary team care and survival of medical and surgical patients in nonspecialty ICUs.

Materials and Methods:

We conducted a community-based, retrospective cohort study of data from 60 330 patients in 181 hospitals participating in a statewide public reporting initiative, the California Hospital Assessment and Reporting Taskforce (CHART). Patient-level data were linked with ICU organizational data collected from a survey of CHART hospital ICUs between December 2010 and June 2011. Clustered logistic regression was used to evaluate the independent effect of multidisciplinary care on the in-hospital mortality of medical and surgical ICU patients. Interactions between multidisciplinary care and intensity of physician staffing were examined to explore whether team care accounted for differences in patient outcomes.

Results:

After adjustment for patient characteristics and interactions, there was no association between team care and mortality for medical patients. Among surgical patients, multidisciplinary care was associated with a survival benefit (odds ratio 0.79; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.62-1.00; P = .05). When stratifying by intensity of physician staffing, although the lowest odds of death were observed for surgical patients cared for in ICUs with multidisciplinary teams and high-intensity staffing (odds ratio, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.55-1.09; P = .15), followed by ICUs with multidisciplinary teams and low-intensity staffing (odds ratio 0.84, 95% CI 0.65-1.09, p = 0.19), these differences were not statistically significant.

Conclusions:

Our results suggest that multidisciplinary team care may improve outcomes for critically ill surgical patients. However, no relationship was observed between intensity of physician staffing and mortality.
The influence of sol–gel-derived silica coatings functionalized with betamethasone on adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs)
Authors: Donesz-Sikorska Anna , Grzesiak Jakub , Śmieszeka Agnieszk , Krzak Justyna , Marycz Krzysztof
Published: May 2014

Silica-based sol–gel coatings have gained attention in bone therapies and orthopedic applications, due to the biocompatibility and bioactivity, including a high potential for the controlled release both in vitro and in vivo. Bioactive materials are created to facilitate the biocompatibility of orthopedic implants. One of the promising alternatives is biomaterials with immobilized drugs. In this study we demonstrated for the first time novel sol–gel-derived silica coatings with active amino groups (SiO2(NH2)) functionalized with a steroid drug—betamethasone, applied to a substrate 316 L using dip coating technique. The presence of betamethasone in functionalized coatings was directly confirmed by Raman spectroscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopic analysis. The wettability was evaluated by the sessile drop method, while the surface free energy was estimated based on the contact angles measured. Our results showed a shift in surface properties from hydrophobic to hydrophilic after application of the coatings. We have investigated the morphology, proliferation factor, and the population doubling time of adipose-derived stem cells for biological purposes. Moreover, the analysis of the distribution and localization of cellular microvesicles was performed to evaluate the influence of functionalized surfaces on cellular cytophysiological activity. Increased proliferation and activation of cells, determined by the observations of microvesicles shedding processes, provided evidence of the availability of the drug. Therefore, we conclude that the sol–gel synthesis proposed here allows to improve the metal substrates and can be successfully used for immobilization of betamethasone. This in turn enables the direct delivery of the drug with implanted material into the wound site, and to stimulate the activity of cells to enhance tissue regeneration.
Self-tapping ability of carbon fibre reinforced polyetheretherketone suture anchors
Authors: Feerick Emer M , Wilson Joanne , Jarman-Smith Marcus , Ó’Brádaigh Conchur M , McGarry J Patrick
Published: May 2014

An experimental and computational investigation of the self-tapping ability of carbon fibre reinforced polyetheretherketone (CFR-PEEK) has been conducted. Six CFR-PEEK suture anchor designs were investigated using PEEK-OPTIMA® Reinforced, a medical grade of CFR-PEEK. Experimental tests were conducted to investigate the maximum axial force and torque required for self-taping insertion of each anchor design. Additional experimental tests were conducted for some anchor designs using pilot holes. Computational simulations were conducted to determine the maximum stress in each anchor design at various stages of insertion. Simulations also were performed to investigate the effect of wall thickness in the anchor head. The maximum axial force required to insert a self-tapping CFR-PEEK suture anchor did not exceed 150 N for any anchor design. The maximum torque required to insert a self-tapping CFR-PEEK suture anchor did not exceed 0.8 Nm. Computational simulations reveal significant stress concentrations in the region of the anchor tip, demonstrating that a re-design of the tip geometry should be performed to avoid fracture during self-tapping, as observed in the experimental component of this study. This study demonstrates the ability of PEEK-OPTIMA Reinforced suture anchors to self-tap polyurethane foam bone analogue. This provides motivation to further investigate the self-tapping ability of CFR-PEEK suture anchors in animal/cadaveric bone. An optimised design for CFR-PEEK suture anchors offers the advantages of radiolucency, and mechanical properties similar to bone with the ability to self-tap. This may have positive implications for reducing surgery times and the associated costs with the procedure.
A Pseudepigraphon Inside a Pseudepigraphon? The Seneca–Paul Correspondence and the Letters Added Afterwards
Authors: Ramelli Ilaria L.E.
Published: May 2014

Within the pseudepigraphic correspondence between Seneca and Paul, handed down in Latin in many manuscripts of Seneca, a further pseudepigraphon can be singled out. Philological, linguistic, historical, and literary reasons indicate that two letters are to be detached from the original corpus as later forgeries. A systematic investigation into the allusions to the New Testament that are found in the whole of the correspondence further confirms that those two letters do not belong to the original collection, but are a subsequent addition, a kind of pseudepigraphon within the pseudepigraphic correspondence itself. Indeed, the two letters refer to later New Testament books, while the correspondence in its earlier redaction only echoes letters that modern critics recognize as written by Paul himself; moreover, among these, the letters that are explicitly referred to in the correspondence arguably belong to the earliest collection of Paul's epistles. Stylistic observations also reveal interesting subtleties.
Control of the motorized active suspension damper for good ride quality
Authors: Seo Jongsang , Shin Donghoon , Yi Kyongsu , Yim Seongjin , Noh Kihan , Choi Hyungjeen
Published: May 2014

This paper presents a control algorithm for the motorized active suspension damper. The control algorithm consists of supervisory, upper-level and lower-level controllers. The supervisory controller determines the control modes, such as the passive mode, the roll mode and the body acceleration mode. The upper-level controller computes the damping force using linear quadratic control theory. The actuator input is determined by the lower-level controller. Three state estimators, namely the vehicle body’s velocity estimator, the suspension state estimator and the friction estimator, are proposed to estimate the sprung-mass and unsprung-mass velocities, the tyre deflection, the roll angle, the roll rate and the friction. The performance of the proposed control algorithm was evaluated via simulations and vehicle tests. It was shown from both simulations and vehicle tests that the proposed control algorithm can improve the ride quality using a motorized active suspension damper.
Simulation of cracks in a Cosserat medium using the extended finite element method
Authors: Kapiturova M , Gracie R , Potapenko S
Published: May 2014

Cosserat (micropolar, asymmetric) elasticity can better predict the mechanical behavior of the materials with a characteristic length scale than the classical theory of elasticity. However, the area of fracture modelling in a Cosserat medium is not widely presented in the literature. The simulation of cracks in a Cosserat medium using the eXtended Finite Element Method (XFEM) is presented in this paper. The proper crack tip enrichment of the translational and microrotational fields is important for the robustness and efficiency of the XFEM/Cosserat model. Using the example of an edge crack of the Mode I in this paper, we have shown that the values of the J-integral for the Cosserat solid are higher than those for the equivalent classical elastic solid. The difference becomes significant for the cases of materials with strong micropolar properties. The dependence of the fracture behavior of the crack of different sizes on the Cosserat elastic constants was found to be significant. Therefore, it is recommended that the special tip enrichment is considered for the microrotational field, and a careful analysis of the material parameters is performed in order to model fracture in a Cosserat medium.
Statin use is associated with improved overall survival without affecting patency and limb salvage rates following open or endovascular revascularization
Authors: Dosluoglu Hasan H , Davari-Farid Sina , Pourafkari Leili , Harris Linda M , Nader Nader D
Published: May 2014

The aim of the study was to determine statin drug association with patency, limb salvage rates and survival after revascularization in patients with chronic limb ischemia. We retrospectively reviewed all patients who underwent revascularization for intermittent claudication or critical limb ischemia between 05/2001 and 12/2009. Patients were grouped based on statin therapy at the time of revascularization. Early postoperative outcomes as well as patency, limb salvage, and survival rates were compared between groups. Of 717 patients, 397 (55.4%) were on statins. The incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) was significantly lower in the statin group. Patency and limb salvage rates were similar; however, survival was significantly better in the statin group. Non-statin use, coronary artery disease, chronic pulmonary obstructive disease, renal insufficiency, critical limb ischemia, and age >70 years were found to be independently associated with decreased survival. Statin use was associated with improved survival, but not with long-term patency and limb salvage.
Segmented mixed models with random changepoints: a maximum likelihood approach with application to treatment for depression study
Authors: Muggeo Vito MR , Atkins David C , Gallop Robert J , Dimidjian Sona
Published: May 2014

We present a simple and effective iterative procedure to estimate segmented mixed models in a likelihood based framework. Random effects and covariates are allowed for each model parameter, including the changepoint. The method is practical and avoids the computational burdens related to estimation of nonlinear mixed effects models. A conventional linear mixed model with proper covariates that account for the changepoints is the key to our estimating algorithm. We illustrate the method via simulations and using data from a randomized clinical trial focused on change in depressive symptoms over time which characteristically show two separate phases of change.
A mathematical solution of optimal partition of production loops for subsea wells in the layout of daisy chains
Authors: Wang Yingying , Wang Deguo , Duan Menglan , Xu Minghua , Cao Jing , Estefen Segen F
Published: May 2014

The daisy chain is one of the main layout types of the subsea production system in the development of deepwater oil and gas fields. The number of production loops, length of subsea pipelines, and partition of subsea wells are the main concerns in pigging loop design, pipeline laying, and flow assurance, which become important factors for the capital and operating expenditures and the risk management of deepwater fields. This article focuses on the basic optimal partition problem of production loops for subsea wells in the layout of daisy chains. It proposes to find the optimal partition method at the lowest layout cost, where a mathematical model is proposed and its dedicated algorithm is developed. Numerical simulations are conducted to evaluate the validity of the proposed model and the performance of the algorithm. The results show that the model can accurately describe the optimal partition problem of daisy chains in practice, and a mathematical solution to the optimal partition can be obtained by the algorithm programmed in MATLAB, which can provide the engineers a quantitative reference for the layout of daisy chains in engineering.
On-board measurements of particle emissions from marine engines using fuels with different sulphur content
Authors: Winnes Hulda , Moldanová Jana , Anderson Maria , Fridell Erik
Published: May 2014

The approaching marine fuel sulphur regulations will result in reductions in emissions of sulphur oxides to air. Importantly, also particle emissions that impose health risks will be lessened by these regulations. Combustion particles from marine engines are complex mixtures of organic compounds, soot, sulphate, metals and other inorganic species. Their composition and abundance are determined both by fuel and engine characteristics. Health risks from particles are thought to be related to the size of particles and chemical composition of particles which makes particle mass a coarse parameter for indication of how harmful emissions are. This article presents emission measurements conducted on board two ships with a focus on comparing number concentrations of ultrafine particles (Dp<100 nm) in diluted exhaust for three different fuel qualities. The fuels are chosen based on their relevance to existing and coming into force regulations on sulphur in fuel. Implications of these regulations for Sulphur Emission Control Areas on health risks from a shift from heavy fuel oils to low-sulphur marine gas oil are discussed with the measurement results as a basis. The results from the presented measurement emphasise the effect of fuel type on particle formation. The strong relation between sulphur content of fuel and particle emissions is obvious for particle mass but not for particle number and particle sizes.
Cold ironing and onshore generation for airborne emission reductions in ports
Authors: Sciberras Edward A , Zahawi Bashar , Atkinson David J , Juandó Aitor , Sarasquete Adrián
Published: May 2014

Cold ironing (or onshore power supply) addresses airborne emissions while ships are berthed in port. By providing the electrical power demands from shoreside electricity, the onboard auxiliary generators can be switched off for a locally emission-free solution. The net emissions will of course be dependent on the actual shoreside electricity mix, but reductions can be realised in most cases. This study looks at the various electrical configurations available for cold ironing of berthed vessels. Shoreside generation using liquefied natural gas as an alternative fuel is also considered as a complement to cold ironing. This provides the possibility of hybridised solutions combining power supply from the grid or from clean, onsite generators. Using real data from an operational European port, the various cold ironing configurations are modelled and optimal trade-off solutions were identified. This is achieved by considering the reduction in emissions and minimisation of component costs as a multi-objective non-linear optimisation problem. The results show that CO2 emissions can be reduced by up to 40% by using cold ironing, while the use of liquefied natural gas shore generation can reduce the sulphur and particulate emissions in port to extremely low levels.
Hispanic and White College Students’ Sexual Behavior
Authors: Oswalt Sara B. , Wyatt Tammy Jordan
Published: May 2014

Public health data have shown higher rates of unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections for Hispanic individuals as compared with White individuals in the United States. This study compared sexual health behaviors and sexual outcomes between Hispanic and White college students ( N = 1,008) at a Hispanic serving institution. Using chi-square, Mann–Whitney U, and Brown–Forsythe tests, few differences between the groups were found. Possible causes for this non-difference and implications for college health professionals and campus administrators are discussed.
Mentoring Experiences and Latina/o University Student Persistence
Authors: Salas Richard , Aragon Antonette , Alandejani Jehan , Timpson William M.
Published: May 2014

This study examined the experiences of 17 Latina/o students who participated in a university mentoring program that included academic and cultural resources, involvement, and leadership opportunities. The goal was to understand their lived experiences and their own perceptions of their academic success and persistence. An interpretive phenomenological analysis was used with one-on-one interviews, revealing the following emergent themes: (a) common experiences providing benefits of mentoring, (b) common challenges, and (c) lessons learned.
Latino College Students at Highly Selective Institutions
Authors: Kim Young K. , Rennick Liz A. , Franco Marla A.
Published: May 2014

This study examines unique patterns of college engagement and outcomes among Latino undergraduate students attending highly selective institutions in comparison with those from other racial/ethnic groups. The study also identifies predictors of select college outcomes—that is, cognitive, affective, and civic outcomes—for this population. Findings did reveal not only the unique patterns of college experiences and outcomes among Latino college students but also student background characteristics and college environments that contribute to their college outcomes.
Beyond Bourdieu: A Reply to Emmet Fox
Authors: Crossley Nick , Bottero Wendy
Published: May 2014

In this paper we reply briefly to Emmet Fox’s response to our paper, ‘Worlds, Fields and Networks’. Our reply centres upon three themes. Firstly, we argue that interactionist and network analytic approaches are sensitive to the impact of power, status and inequality in ‘empirical relations’ and we add that it is important to maintain a focus upon such relations when dealing with power, status and inequality because the latter are not only reproduced in the context of the former but may also be challenged therein. Secondly, we argue that habitus are moulded by empirical relations and interactions as much as they mould those interactions and relations. Agency and the potential for creativity in social life are central to both of these first two points. Finally, we discuss the gaps that often open up between what theorists say they want to achieve and what they actually do achieve in their work.
Design and Implementation of a Web-Based Reporting and Benchmarking Center for Inpatient Glucometrics
Authors: Maynard Greg , Schnipper Jeffrey Lawrence , Messler Jordan , Ramos Pedro , Kulasa Kristen , Nolan Ann , Rogers Kendall
Published: May 2014

Background:

Insulin is a top source of adverse drug events in the hospital, and glycemic control is a focus of improvement efforts across the country. Yet, the majority of hospitals have no data to gauge their performance on glycemic control, hypoglycemia rates, or hypoglycemic management. Current tools to outsource glucometrics reports are limited in availability or function.

Methods:

Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) faculty designed and implemented a web-based data and reporting center that calculates glucometrics on blood glucose data files securely uploaded by users. Unit labels, care type (critical care, non–critical care), and unit type (eg, medical, surgical, mixed, pediatrics) are defined on upload allowing for robust, flexible reporting. Reports for any date range, care type, unit type, or any combination of units are available on demand for review or downloading into a variety of file formats. Four reports with supporting graphics depict glycemic control, hypoglycemia, and hypoglycemia management by patient day or patient stay. Benchmarking and performance ranking reports are generated periodically for all hospitals in the database.

Results:

In all, 76 hospitals have uploaded at least 12 months of data for non–critical care areas and 67 sites have uploaded critical care data. Critical care benchmarking reveals wide variability in performance. Some hospitals achieve top quartile performance in both glycemic control and hypoglycemia parameters.

Conclusions:

This new web-based glucometrics data and reporting tool allows hospitals to track their performance with a flexible reporting system, and provides them with external benchmarking. Tools like this help to establish standardized glucometrics and performance standards.
Studying Pancreatic Risks Caused by Incretin-Based Therapies
Authors: Nauck Michael A. , Meier Juris J.
Published: May 2014

A manuscript published recently on histological changes induced in the pancreas by incretin-based medications has been widely criticized because of ill-matched groups treated with incretin-based versus non-incretin-based medications and because of methodological problems identifying glucagon-producing cells. Now a study making use of the same tissue bank is available, and does not easily confirm the bulk of findings originally reported. This is an important opportunity to discuss the responsibility of authors to publish results potentially reproducible by other scientists as an important quality criterion, and the responsibility of reviewers and editors in handling such manuscripts. The main conclusion is that attempts to reproduce controversial findings are a necessity if finally the essence of novel results is at stake.
Resistance spot weld strength estimation based on electrode tip displacement/velocity curve obtained by image processing
Authors: Simončič S. , Podržaj P.
Published: May 2014

This paper presents a machine vision based electrode tip displacement measurement. The displacement is obtained by the observation of a certain area (mask) in a sequence of images. Based on the obtained displacement measurement a tip velocity was calculated as well. For this signal Kalman filtering was used in order to reduce noise. The relation between the electrode tip displacement/velocity curve parameters and weld strength was investigated. Among maximum displacement, indentation depth, maximal velocity in cooling phase and maximal velocity in heating phase the latter turned out to be the best parameter for weld strength estimation.
Prediction of molten area in laser transmission welding of thermoplastic polymers
Authors: Liu H. X. , Yan Z. , Li P. , Wang X.
Published: May 2014

The prediction of the molten area is of great significance for laser transmission welding (LTW) of polymers. The purpose of the present study is to develop a mathematical model for LTW of polymers. The cross-sectional molten area of weld can be calculated through this model. The mathematical model was developed and deduced on the basis of the physical heat calculation formula. Subsequently, the model was validated by laser irradiating polyamide-66 (PA66) plaque containing 30 wt-% carbon fibre (CF), as well as LTW of PA66 containing 30 wt-% glass fibre with PA66 containing 30 wt-% CF. A viewpoint that the melt area of the upper layer to the bottom layer ratio ( SU /SL) depends on the allocation proportion of the line energy between the interface during LTW of thermoplastic polymers was proposed. The model can well predict the molten area and help optimise process parameters during LTW of polymers.
Hes1 promotes blast crisis in chronic myelogenous leukemia through MMP-9 upregulation in leukemic cells
Authors: Nakahara Fumio , Kitaura Jiro , Uchida Tomoyuki , Nishida Chiemi , Togami Katsuhiro , Inoue Daichi , Matsukawa Toshihiro , Kagiyama Yuki , Enomoto Yutaka , Kawabata Kimihito C. , Chen-Yi Lai , Komeno Yukiko , Izawa Kumi , Oki Toshihiko , Nagae Genta , Harada Yuka , Harada Hironori , Otsu Makoto , Aburatani Hiroyuki , Heissig Beate , Hattori Koichi , Kitamura Toshio
Published: May 2014

Key Points

Analysis of 20 samples from CML-BC patients showed that MMP-9 was highly expressed in three, with two exhibiting high levels of HES1. MMP-9 is upregulated by Hes1, and MMP-9 deficiency impaired the development of CML-BC–like disease induced by BCR-ABL and Hes1 in mouse BMT.
Mouse xenograft modeling of human adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia provides mechanistic insights into adult LIC biology
Authors: Patel Bella , Dey Aditi , Castleton Anna Z. , Schwab Claire , Samuel Edward , Sivakumaran Janani , Beaton Brendan , Zareian Nahid , Zhang Christie Yu , Rai Lena , Enver Tariq , Moorman Anthony V. , Fielding Adele K.
Published: May 2014

Key Points

Efforts to understand mechanisms of disease initiation in human adult pre-B ALL are hampered by lack of appropriate animal models. Optimized xenotransplant assays show that niche-based SDF-1/CXCR4 interaction is crucial for adult non-t(4;11) pre-B ALL leukemia initiation.
Optimal solutions for nonlinear proximal "Equation missing" -contraction mapping in metric space
Authors: Kutbi Marwan Amin , Chandok Sumit , Sintunavarat Wutiphol
Published: May 2014

The objective of this paper is to solve an optimal solutions for new nonlinear mapping in the setting of metric spaces. Our results extend, generalize, and improve some known results from best proximity point theory and fixed point theory. Examples are given to support our main results.

MSC:41A50, 47H10, 54H25.
Optical simulations of P3HT/Si nanowire array hybrid solar cells
Authors: Wang Wenbo , Li Xinhua , Wen Long , Zhao Yufeng , Duan Huahua , Zhou Bukang , Shi Tongfei , Zeng Xuesong , Li Ning , Wang Yuqi
Published: May 2014

An optical simulation of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)/Si nanowire array (NWA) hybrid solar cells was investigated to evaluate the optical design requirements of the system by using finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. Steady improvement of light absorption was obtained with increased P3HT coating shell thickness from 0 to 80 nm on Si NWA. Further increasing the thickness caused dramatic decrease of the light absorption. Combined with the analysis of ultimate photocurrents, an optimum geometric structure with a coating P3HT thickness of 80 nm was proposed. At this structure, the hybrid solar cells show the most efficient light absorption. The optimization of the geometric structure and further understanding of the optical characteristics may contribute to the development for the practical experiment of the promising hybrid solar cells.
Development of Collapse Indicators for Risk Assessment of Older-Type Reinforced Concrete Buildings
Authors: Galanis Panagiotis H. , Moehle Jack P.
Published: May 2014

This study examines the seismic collapse safety of older, non-ductile reinforced concrete building frames designed and constructed prior to the 1980s. The study considered idealized buildings with heights ranging from 4 to 12 stories. Performance was gauged using nonlinear dynamic analysis software considering nonlinearities associated with flexural yielding, shear failure, and axial failure. In addition to building height, the main variables were the relative strengths of columns and beams, and the relative shear and moment strengths in the columns. Incremental dynamic analysis was used to determine the probability of collapse for various combinations of the study variables. The results indicate that simple engineering indicators such as column-to-beam strength ratio and column flexural to shear strength ratio can be used to assess the collapse risk of older-type concrete buildings.
In This Issue
Authors: Perl Jeffrey M.
Published: May 2014

This essay, by the editor of Common Knowledge, comprises the introduction to an issue of the journal dedicated to experiments in scholarly form and to discussion of them. He explains the choice of articles and other pieces in the issue on the basis of their contributions either as experiments themselves or as discussions of experimental principles. The introduction itself contributes to the latter by suggesting a distinction between “triumphalist” and “defeatist” calls for poets and fiction writers to do the work of scholars. In the latter variant, poets in general are challenged by dissident colleagues (for instance, Donald Davie in Purity of Diction in English Verse) to write exclusively didactic poetry, and to write it with the logical, linear clarity and straightforward syntax of rigorous yet easily followed argumentative prose. In the triumphalist variant, professors are challenged to write like poets — more specifically, like modern lyric poets: Jan Zwicky's essays on “lyric philosophy,” analyzed by several contributors in this and the immediately preceding issue of the journal, are cited as examples. What these experiments along the frontier between poetry and philosophy share is an aspiration toward what Friedrich Schlegel described as the “poeticizing philosopher” and the “philosophizing poet.” But, unlike other advocates of experimental mixtures (such as lyric philosophy and “creative criticism”), Schlegel was chiefly interested in historical discourse. He thought that history, like poetry, could be a means of addressing in a nontheoretical way what appear to be theoretical issues — and the present essay argues that attention to the line between fiction or poetry and philosophy is of trivial consequence compared with attention to that between fiction and historiography. The essay concludes with remarks about the state of history teaching in places, notably the Middle East, where historiography is presumed to be a simple study of who did what to whom — an approach to learning that instills in students an aspiration to “even the score.” Alternative approaches, whether empirical or pluralist, are considered, but the author directs his hope, instead, toward the as-yet-unachieved possibility of an experimental historiography that in equal measure is charitable, imaginative, and irenic.
A Third Front in Philosophy
Authors: de Sousa Ronald
Published: May 2014

In a colloquium on “lyric philosophy,” this contribution records the efforts of an analytic philosopher to come to grips with questions that Jan Zwicky, who is both a fine poet and a subtle philosopher, has raised about anglophone analytic philosophy. The essay situates Zwicky between the analytic and Continental traditions in philosophy: like the best analytic philosophers, it is argued, she is enamored of clarity, but, like what is best in the Continental tradition, she demands of philosophy a deeper sense of meaning than philosophical analysts tend to do. It is from this unusual position that Zwicky is said to challenge the dogmas of the analytic tradition. Notable among those treated in this article are the belief that attributing literal meaning to anything but linguistic items is futile, belief in the possibility of distinguishing literal from metaphorical meaning, belief in the supremacy of argument over aphorisms, and belief in the importance of the “reductionist” program, which seeks to understand wholes in terms of their parts.
The Advent of the Tasburghs
Authors: Richmond Colin
Published: May 2014

In the context of an issue of Common Knowledge dedicated to instances of experimental scholarship and to discussion of them, this contribution by a social historian of medieval England sets out to demonstrate that an empirical alternative to tendentious and interpretive historiography, despite all claims to the contrary, is possible and valuable. In this monograph-length article, the texts of selected documents in the Adair Family Collection (Suffolk Record Office, Lowestoft Branch, call number 741) are set forth, often verbatim, and, though minutely contextualized, are subjected to only the lightest analysis. Scant thematic cues organize this in-depth exploration of the wills, deeds of purchase, quitclaims, rentals, indentures, receipts, charitable bequests, and other legal and commercial transactions of John Tasburgh I (d. 1473), his wife Margery (d. 1485), John Tasburgh II (d. 1509), his wife Olive, and their families, dependents, assigns, and parishes. Peripheral attention is paid to the better-known John Hopton and to the family of John Paston I, II, and III. Richmond's own readings of texts and circumstances appear largely in the form of questions, as if he were writing marginalia for his own later use while reading. Thus, the historian does all the archival work necessary for readers to arrive at their own hypotheses about how rurality related to urbanity in fifteenth-century Suffolk and, perhaps, also about the meaning of the word urbane.
Experiments in Good Faith and Hopefulness
Authors: Jensen Casper Bruun
Published: May 2014

In this article, an anthropologist examines the question, asked today in diverse forms by an increasing variety of actors: what is the aim or telos of the social sciences? From within the disciplinary communities of the social sciences themselves, the answers given are inseparable from questions of theory and method. This essay engages some recent experimental, postcritical responses as formulated by scholars in the fields of anthropology and STS (science, technology, and society). Following decades of reflexive debates and changing institutional and disciplinary environments, both anthropology and STS currently experience heightened levels of uncertainty about theories and methods, means and ends. In this context, the emergence and vigor of a number hybrid positions, eschewing traditional separations between facts and values, the conceptual and the empirical, and the descriptive and the performative, are noteworthy. This essay examines three distinctive and novel responses to the question of what comes after critique, found in the writings of the anthropologist Hirokazu Miyazaki, who has defined what he terms a method of hope; in the experimental anthropology of Richard Rottenburg, which offers parables of modern development aid; and in the scholarship of Helen Verran, a philosopher and STS ethnographer who constructs the figure of the good faith analyst. Coming to terms with the challenges, possibilities, tensions, and paradoxes of these and other postcritical responses is the key purpose of the present discussion.
Phantasmagoric Manchukuo: Documentaries Produced by the South Manchurian Railway Company, 1932 – 1940
Authors: Li Jie
Published: May 2014

This article examines a collection of documentary films produced by the South Manchurian Railway Company (Mantetsu) in the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo as the first part of a broader study of films produced in and about Manchuria in the 1930s and 1940s. Taking up a common description of these cinematic images as maboroshi (illusory, dreamlike, lost) and historical studies of Manchukuo as an “imagined empire,” I propose to read these films as part of a phantasmagoria that had enchanted various utopian fantasies, that obscured and contributed to harsh realities, and that has recently resurfaced as haunting memories. As the economic pillar of Japan's colonial expansion in Manchuria, Mantetsu laid the foundations of modern infrastructure in cities and later scattered thousands of agrarian settlers throughout the land, a process both heralded and documented in its film productions. If cinema found its technological double in the railway as quintessential apparatuses of modernity that reshaped experiences of space and time, then Mantetsu documentaries bring together not only cinema and railway but also dreams and realities, the familiar and the exotic, the mythical and the scientific, the “authentic” and the theatrical. This article seeks to do justice to their complexity and to go beyond Manichaean condemnations of these films as blatant propaganda or apolitical rehabilitations as autonomous works of art.
Fantasies of the End of the World: The Politics of Repetition in the Films of Kurosawa Kiyoshi
Authors: Posadas Baryon Tensor
Published: May 2014

A striking feature of Kurosawa Kiyoshi's film Retribution (Sakebi, 2007) is the extent to which it is haunted by tropes and images from preceding films in his own body of work, perhaps the most noteworthy of which is its repetition of the apocalyptic finale of Pulse (Kairo, 2001). In this respect, Kurosawa's film could very well be aligned with the broader phenomenon of proliferating apocalyptic fantasies that are symptomatic of a failure to imagine a way out of “end of history” of the present. The author contends in this article that, rather than being merely symptomatic of the contemporary cultural milieu, Kurosawa's film, through its precise foregrounding of such tropes of repetition, attempts to work through this impasse at the end of Japan's so-called long postwar without merely reproducing the compulsion to repeat a disavowal of the past. Instead, the film gestures toward a desire to envision difference out of this repetition, to imagine a way out of the endless everyday of the present.
Archipelagic Thought and Theory's Other: Traveling Theory in Japan
Authors: Gabrakova Dennitza
Published: May 2014

This article uses as a starting point the intellectual/creative vision of Japanese contemporary cultural anthropologist Imafuku Ryūta: the vision of the world as archipelago. In order to demonstrate that Imafuku's attempt can be explicated as an instance of the “traveling theory” of postcolonialism to Japan, the author situates Imafuku's idea within the lineage of Japanese anthropology intertwined with the lineage of cultural anthropology, having Japan as its field. The work of postcolonial critics such as Gayatri Spivak and Edward Said is introduced alongside an in-depth analysis of the very forging of the archipelagic vision in the collaborative work between Imafuku and the poet Yoshimasu Gōzō. The article argues that, through the idea of archipelago, a certain experimentation with perspective is achieved through the ideas of “reversal” and “wound” (concealing of the wound and shame). This is simultaneously linked to the translation of Orientalism/postcolonialism to Japan both as historical experience and as intellectual frustration of the non-West in its challenge to generate indigenous cultural theories. The last issue is further elaborated with the help of Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick's work on affect and touch/texture.
Voice, Liveness, Digital Video: The Talking Head in Contemporary Independent Chinese Documentary
Authors: Robinson Luke
Published: May 2014

This article addresses the use of the human voice in contemporary Chinese independent documentary in relation to xianchang. Broadly analogous to the Anglophone concept of “liveness,” xianchang is a shooting practice that interrogates questions of immediacy (being “on the scene”) and mediated distance (the reflexive consideration of such a practice). It is critical to any genealogy of independent documentary in the People's Republic of China. In turn, sound practice, and particularly direct sound, is critical to xianchang. Analyzing the use of talking heads in early independent documentary, this article argues that they were not simply a relic of the televisual zhuantipian aesthetic but also the focus for a particular form of xianchang: liveness as presence and as testimony. In particular, following Erving Goffman, it suggests that critical moments of “flooding out” in Bumming in Beijing and I Graduated! serve both to construct the documentary subject as an “internal witness” to the events of 1989 and also — by suggesting the uncontrolled and contingent nature of filming “in the present” — to validate this act of witnessing as unofficial, and therefore truthful. While this form of liveness lives on in activist documentary by directors such as Ai Xiaoming, Hu Jie, Zhao Liang, and Cui Zi'en, other directors have used the talking head in ways that highlight its mediated side. Using Shu Haolun's Nostalgia and Wang Bing's Fengming: A Chinese Memoir as examples, the article explores how these films present the talking head as a product of technical intervention by the director, or as a response of the documentary subject to the act of filmmaking. This does not mean that liveness has ceased to be important; rather, that it is understood to be a quality produced from the encounter of director and subject “on the scene” of filmmaking (mediated distance), rather than as existing independently of such an encounter (immediacy). The article connects this increasingly catholic use of the talking head to the emergence of digital video. This has not only facilitated more experimental approaches to documentary — as reflected in Nostalgia — but also encouraged consideration of the self-mediating capacity of the documentary subject. This question is addressed directly in Fengming: A Chinese Memoir. The use of the human voice in these two films thus demonstrates an awareness of documentary production dynamics that is not inherent to digital video as a medium but has been stimulated by its impact on the Chinese independent documentary scene.
Activated Carbons Impregnated with Na2S and H2SO4: Texture, Surface Chemistry and Application to Mercury Removal from Aqueous Solutions
Authors: Abdelouahab-Reddam Z. , Wahby A. , Mail R. El , Silvestre-Albero J. , Rodríguez-Reinoso F. , Sepúlveda-Escribano A.
Published: May 2014

The effects of treatment of an activated carbon with sulphur precursors on its textural properties and on the ability of the complex synthesized for mercury removal in aqueous solutions are studied. To this end, a commercial activated carbon has been modified by treatments with aqueous solutions of Na2S and H2SO4 at two temperatures (25 and 140 °C) to introduce sulphur species on its surface. The prepared adsorbents have been characterized by N2 (–196 °C) and CO2 (0 °C) adsorption, thermogravimetric analysis, temperature-programmed decomposition and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and their adsorption capacities to remove Hg(II) ions in aqueous solutions have been determined. It has been shown that the impregnation treatments slightly modified the textural properties of the samples, with a small increase in the textural parameters (BET surface area and mesopore volumes). By contrast, surface oxygen content was increased when impregnation was carried out with Na2S, but it decreased when H2SO4 was used. However, the main effect of the impregnation treatments was the formation of surface sulphur complexes of thiol type, which was only achieved when the impregnation treatments were carried out at low temperature (25 °C). The presence of surface sulphur enhances the adsorption behaviour of these samples in the removal of Hg(II) cations in aqueous solutions at pH 2. In fact, complete Hg(II) removal is only obtained with the sulphur-containing activated carbons.
Sorption of Enrofloxacin and Ciprofloxacin in Agricultural Soils: Effect of Organic Matter
Authors: Teixidó Marc , Medeiros Joana , Beltrán José L. , Prat Maria-Dolors , Granados Mercè
Published: May 2014

Large amounts of fluoroquinolones (FQs), highly used antimicrobials in veterinary medicine, enter the soil directly through the application of manure contaminated with these chemicals. The environmental mobility of this contaminant is mainly governed by its retention in soil. The aim of this study was to examine the contribution of humic acid (HA), an organic matter (OM) surrogate, to the sorption of FQs in natural soils. Sorption of enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin was studied in two completely different Spanish agricultural soils with similar pH. The soils tested were amended with different concentrations of HAs (0%, 1%, 3% and 5%; wt/wt). The results showed that addition of HA to the soil samples increased the magnitude of sorption and changed the sorption behaviour. However, the effect was only apparent at 3–5% HA content and its extent was dependent on both the sorbent and the sorbate. At soil pH around 7.5, when zwitterionic species predominate in the solution, sorption of FQs onto the soil seems to be governed by OM content, which provides a source of available sites for cation-exchange mechanisms.