bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Performance of Different Hybrids of Chilli (Capsicum annuum L) under Prayagraj Agro-Climatic Condition
Authors: Mutyen Jason Wanlambok , Bahadur Vijay , Topno Samir. E.
Published: June 2024

The experiment was conducted on Performance of hybrids of chilli with eight hybrids during 2023-2024 at the Vegetable Research Field of Department of Horticulture, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Prayagraj. The observations were taken and recorded on various growth, yield and quality contributing parameters. The results from the present investigation revealed that based on the mean performance of eight hybrids of Chilli, hybrids 21CHIHYB-3 and 21CHIHYB-7 were found superior in terms of Fruit yield (q/ha). 21CHIHYB-1 was found to be best in terms of growth parameters (plant height, number of branches). However, on the basis of earliness parameters (flowering), hybrid 21CHIHYB-2 performed best. On the basis of Ascorbic Acid in Fruits, 21CHIHYB-1 is the best and the Total soluble solids was found best in 21CHIHYB-7. The highest gross return was found in the 21CHIHYB-3 and the B:C ratio was found in the same with 3.3. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design with 3 replications and 8 varieties of Chilli.
Z-transform Solution for Partial Difference Equations
Authors: Jasim Asmaa Salih , Ghazal Zainab Khalid , Hasson Nasser Ali
Published: June 2024

The aim of this research is to study the Z transformation to solve linear partial difference equations. This is due to the fact that linear partial difference equations cannot be solved directly using the Z transformation, and the research concluded that direct partial difference conditions cannot be treated directly by the Z transformation except after converting the partial difference equations to linear difference equations using one of the transformation methods. The research recommended using Binomial transformation to solve partial difference equations.
Aktuelle Entwicklungen im zivilprozessualen Beweisrecht
Authors: Jäckel Holger
Published: June 2024

Zussamenfassung

Seit der letzten Rechtsprechungsübersicht (Jäckel, MDR 2023, 675) sind erneut zahlreiche höchstrichterliche und obergerichtliche Entscheidungen ergangen, über die nachfolgend berichtet wird.
Lithium‐Associated Hyperparathyroidism: Surgical Strategies in the Era of Minimally Invasive Parathyroidectomy
Authors: Skandarajah Anita R. , Palazzo F. Fausto , Henry Jean‐François
Published: August 2011

Background

Lithium remains an effective treatment of bipolar affective disorder. The long‐term use of lithium is associated with an alteration in parathyroid function that may culminate in hyperparathyroidism. The long‐term effects of lithium use are variable due to its complex effects on calcium homeostasis and bone metabolism, and as a consequence the indications for surgery remain poorly defined. The optimal surgical strategy for lithium‐associated hyperparathyroidism in the era of minimally invasive surgery is also the subject of debate. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the variable findings of lithium‐associated parathyroid disease.

Methods

A retrospective review was performed of patients undergoing parathyroid surgery presenting with lithium‐associated hyperparathyroidism from July 1999 until July 2009 at the university hospital La Timone, Marseille, and from October 2005 to July 2009 at Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College, London. Fifteen patients underwent surgery for lithium‐associated hyperparathyroidism. Clinical data including patient demographics, duration of lithium use, clinical manifestations of hyperparathyroidism, indications for surgery, and biochemical parameters preoperatively and postoperatively were reviewed. Preoperative imaging, the surgical procedure performed, operative findings, and histopathology were also analyzed.

Results

All 15 patients had preoperative imaging: sestamibi scanning showed that 10 patients had localized single‐gland disease, 1 had multiple hot spots, and 4 had a negative scan. Ultrasonography demonstrated a single abnormal gland in 8 patients and multiple enlarged glands in 1 patient; the test was negative in 6. As a consequence of concordant preoperative imaging a minimally invasive approach (endoscopic or a focused lateral approach) was adopted in 3 patients. Focused surgery demonstrated an enlarged hyperplastic gland in 3 cases and resulted in normocalcemia in the immediate postoperative period. However, one patient has a serum calcium at the upper limit of normal and elevated parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels, suggestive of possible recurrence of disease at 15 months follow‐up. One patient has permanent hypoparathyroidism. In those patients who had open procedures, final histology showed hyperplastic multiglandular disease in 10 patients (83.3%) of patients and single‐gland disease in 2 patients (16.7%). None of these patients show evidence of recurrence at follow‐up.

Conclusions

Lithium hyperparathyroidism is predominantly a multiglandular disease characterized by asymmetrical hyperplasia that is frequently associated with misleading or discordant localization studies. Bilateral neck exploration is therefore recommended in order to minimize the risk of disease recurrence.
Global Financial Crisis and Surgical Practice: The Greek Paradigm
Authors: Karidis Nikolaos P. , Dimitroulis Dimitrios , Kouraklis Gregory
Published: August 2011

Apart from the significant implications of recent financial crisis in overall health indices and mortality rates, the direct effect of health resources redistribution in everyday clinical practice is barely recognized. In the case of Greece, health sector reform and health spending cuts have already had a major impact on costly interventions, particularly in surgical practice. An increase in utilization of public health resources, lack of basic and advanced surgical supplies, salary deductions, and emerging issues in patient management have contributed to serious dysfunction of a public health system unable to sustain current needs. In this context, significant implications arise for the surgeons and patients as proper perioperative management is directly affected by reduced public health funding. The surgical community has expressed concerns about the quality of surgical care and the future of surgical progress in the era of the European Union. Greek surgeons are expected to support reform while maintaining a high level of surgical care to the public. The challenge of cost control in surgical practice provides, nevertheless, an excellent opportunity to reconsider health economics while innovation through a more traditional approach to the surgical patient should not be precluded. A Greek case study on the extent of the current situation is presented with reference to health policy reform, serving as an alarming paradigm for the global community under the pressure of a profound financial recession.
Incidence and Prevention of Postoperative Venous Thromboembolism: Are They Meaningful Quality Indicators in Japanese Health Care Settings?
Authors: Kunisawa Susumu , Ikai Hiroshi , Imanaka Yuichi
Published: August 2011

Background

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) epidemiology varies widely across surgical procedures. At present, there are few epidemiologic reports regarding VTE in Japan. Japanese VTE prophylaxis guidelines recommend a risk‐based approach based on previous epidemiologic statistics. VTE includes deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). PE prevention is the main goal, although the relation between PE and DVT is still controversial.

Methods

We collected administrative data for 1,016,496 surgical patients from 260 hospitals. We analyzed DVT and PE incidence and selected two subgroups for further analysis: gastroenterologic surgery and specific orthopedic surgery (high‐frequency group).

Results

Overall DVT incidence was 1947 (0.19%); and the PE incidence was 538 (0.05%). DVT case fatality rate was 3.44% (67/1947); that for PE was 22.86% (123/538). Both overall and subgroup incidences were comparable to those in previous reports. Subgroup analyses in the high‐frequency group did not show a relation between DVT and PE. VTE prophylaxis did not show a relation between DVT and PE despite 99% adherence.

Conclusions

Our results are consistent with established data regarding DVT and PE incidence. Administrative data available in Japan provides a powerful epidemiologic tool to characterize rare diseases such as DVT and PE. DVT is not a suitable quality indicator in Japan. However, PE is too rare to be considered a rate‐based outcome indicator, and VTE prophylaxis is too widely applied to be used as a process indicator. VTE measurement is not a useful quality indicator in Japan to compare hospitals but provides a longitudinal self‐survey.
The Surgical Treatment of Graves’ Disease in Children and Adolescents
Authors: Chiapponi C. , Stocker U. , Mussack Th. , Gallwas J. , Hallfeldt K. , Ladurner R.
Published: August 2011

Background

Surgery as definitive treatment of pediatric Graves’ disease is recommended for children and adolescents experiencing adverse effects of thionamides or disease relapse after at least 2 years of medical treatment. In addition, it is indicated in patients with a large goiter or with suspicious nodules. Total or near‐total thyroidectomy should be performed, since subtotal thyroidectomy is associated with a high risk of relapse in this group. Patients should be referred to surgeons experienced in thyroid surgery because studies show that children and adolescents have a higher complication rate than adults.

Methods

This is a retrospective matched case–control study. To analyze postoperative morbidity of children and adolescents (mean age = 15 ± 3 years) with Graves’ disease who underwent total thyroidectomy between 2000 and 2010 in our department, a statistically identical group of adults (mean age = 46 ± 3) who also underwent total thyroidectomy for Graves’ disease was matched as a control. End points were surgical complications like postoperative bleeding, transient and permanent recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy, and transient and permanent hypoparathyroidism.

Results

There was no significant difference in the mean operation time (137 ± 33 min), the rate of intraoperative parathyroid gland autotransplantation (9.5%), postoperative bleeding (4.8%), transient and permanent recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy (4.8 and 0%), and transient and permanent hypocalcemia (28.6 and 0%).

Conclusion

Total thyroidectomy in children and adolescents with Graves’ disease performed in a department that specializes in endocrine surgery is a safe procedure with no higher complication rates than total thyroidectomy in adults with Graves’ disease.
Staging of Peripheral‐Type Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma: Appraisal of the New TNM Classification and its Modifications
Authors: Igami Tsuyoshi , Ebata Tomoki , Yokoyama Yukihiro , Sugawara Gen , Takahashi Yu , Nagino Masato
Published: August 2011

Background

In the seventh edition, the TNM classification for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (IHC) is separated from that for hepatocellular carcinoma. Because it is the first independent classification for IHC, the validity of the new classification needs to be evaluated.

Methods

The medical records of 93 patients with peripheral‐type IHC who underwent treatment (61 resected and 32 unresectable tumors) were retrospectively reviewed focusing on the new TNM classification for IHC.

Results

The 5‐year survival rate and the median survival time for the 61 patients with resected tumors were 33.9% and 2.05 years, respectively. The survival of the patients with periductal invasion was similar to that of the patients without. The survival of the patients with metastasis to the gastrohepatic lymph nodes (G‐LN) was dismal without any 2‐year survivors and similar to that of the patients with unresectable tumors (P = 0.247). On multivariate analysis, histologic differentiation (P = 0.034), multiple tumors (P = 0.014), lymph node metastasis (P < 0.001), and distant metastasis other than lymph node metastasis (P = 0.007) were identified as independent prognostic factors. According to the above results, we modified the new TNM classification as follows: IHC with multiple tumors was classified as pT4 disease; periductal invasion was excluded from determinant of the T‐categories; and metastasis to G‐LN was treated as distant metastasis. The survival curves based on our modifications were better stratified than those based on the new TNM classification.

Conclusions

The TNM classification for IHC included some clinical inconsistencies; therefore, we proposed some modifications of the new TNM classification for IHC and demonstrated that these modifications offer better stratification of the survival data. Further revisions are necessary for its improvement.
Improved Lymph Node Harvest from Resected Colon Cancer Specimens Did Not Cause Upstaging from TNM Stage II to III
Authors: Storli Kristian , Søndenaa Karl , Furnes Bjørg , Leh Sabine , Nesvik Idunn , Bru Tore , Gudlaugsson Einar , Bukholm Ida , Norheim‐Andersen Solveig , Eide Geir
Published: August 2011

Background

The number of lymph nodes retrieved and examined from a resected colon cancer specimen may be crucial for correct staging. We examined if efforts to increase the lymph node harvest to more than 12 lymph nodes per specimen would upstage some patients from TNM stage II to III.

Methods

Three hospitals compared results from 2000 with those of 2007 in 421 resected patients with stage II and III colon cancer. Hospital A endeavored to improve the surgical procedure while the pathologists enhanced the quality of lymph node sampling. Hospital B did not make any marked changes, while hospital C introduced the GEWF lymph node solvent (glacial acetic acid, ethanol, distilled water, and formaldehyde) in their pathology method.

Results

In 2000, 12 or more lymph nodes were harvested in 39.6, 45.0, and 21.1% of the specimens from the three hospitals, while the figures for 2007 were 85.7, 42.0, and 90.3%, respectively. The significant increase in lymph node harvest in two of the hospitals in 2007 compared to 2000 (p < 0.001) did not affect the share of patients with stage III in 2007 (38.7%) compared to 2000 (44.1%) (p = 0.260). The number of positive lymph nodes and the lymph node ratio (LNR) decreased from 2000 to 2007. A lymph node yield of 12 or more was not associated with an increased probability of positive lymph nodes in a multivariable logistic regression analysis.

Conclusion

More radical surgery and dedicated pathologists and the use of the GEWF solvent significantly increased the lymph node yield but did not upstage patients from TNM stage II to III.
Encapsulation of R. planticola Rs-2 from alginate-starch-bentonite and its controlled release and swelling behavior under simulated soil conditions
Authors: Wu Zhansheng , Guo Lina , Qin Shaohua , Li Chun
Published: August 2011

The plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPR) Raoultella planticola Rs-2 was encapsulated with the various blends of alginate, starch, and bentonite for development of controlled-release formulations. The stability and release characteristics of these different capsule formulations were evaluated. The entrapment efficiency of Rs-2 in the beads (capsules) was more than 99%. The diameter of dry beads ranged from 0.98 to 1.41 mm. The bacteria release efficiency, swelling ratio, and biodegradability of the different bead formulations were enhanced by increasing the starch or alginate contents, but were impeded by higher bentonite content. The release kinetics of viable cells from capsules and the swelling ratio of capsules were studied in simulated soil media of varying temperature, moisture, pH, and salt content. The release of loaded Rs-2 cells and swelling of capsules are greatly affected by moisture, temperature, pH and salt content of the release medium. The release of viable Rs-2 cells from capsules was positively associated with the swelling properties of the capsules. The release of Rs-2 cells occurred through a Case II diffusion mechanism. In summary, this work indicates that alginate-starch-bentonite blends are a viable option for the development of efficient controlled-release formulations of Rs-2 biofertilizer, and which could have a promising application in natural field conditions.
Scale-down assessment of the sensitivity of Yarrowia lipolytica to oxygen transfer and foam management in bioreactors: investigation of the underlying physiological mechanisms
Authors: Kar Tambi , Destain Jacqueline , Thonart Philippe , Delvigne Frank
Published: August 2011

A scale-down investigation of the impact of local dissolved oxygen limitation on lipase production by Y. lipolytica has been performed. One of the major issues encountered during this kind of process is foam formation, requiring a reduction of the overall oxygen transfer efficiency of the system in order to keep antifoam consumption to a reasonable level. A regulation strategy involving oxygen enrichment of the air flow through the reactor has allowed this issue to be partly overcome. For a second time, the scale dependency of the process operated with air enrichment has been investigated by a combination of scale-down and pilot-scale cultivation tests. The scale-down apparatus considered in this work comprised a well-mixed part connected to a plug-flow part subjected to dissolved oxygen limitation. Surprisingly, foaming intensity was greatly reduced in the case of the test performed in scale-down reactors (SDRs) while maintaining the same stirring and aeration intensities in the stirred part of the reactor. For mean residence time of 100 s in the recycle loop of the reactor, foam formation was significantly reduced while cell growth and lipase production were both unaltered. When the residence time in the recycle loop was raised to 200 s, the foam phenomena was also reduced, but the lipase yield was altered as well as lip2 gene transcription and translation as shown by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and reporter gene activity, respectively. Our results clearly show the importance of primarily taking into account cell physiology for the scaling-up procedure.
RETRACTED ARTICLE: Optimization of Biodiesel Production Using a Magnetically Stabilized Fluidized Bed Reactor
Authors: Guo Pingmei , Huang Fenghong , Huang Qingde , Zheng Chang
Published: August 2011

A biodiesel production process using magnetically stabilized fluidized bed reactor (MSFBR) has been developed based on the refined cottonseed oil. The reactant flow rate and magnetic field intensity effects on the nanometer magnetic catalyst behavior in the column were investigated. Orthogonal experiments (L4(2)3) were applied to optimize the best transesterification reaction conditions. Reaction temperature, methanol to oil molar ratio, and reactant flow rate were the main factors to influence transesterification conversion efficiency. These three factors chosen for the present investigation were based on the results of single‐factor tests. The optimum transesterification reaction conditions of cottonseed oil were determined in MSFBR as follows: methanol to oil molar ratio 8:1, 40 cm3 min−1 reactant flow rate, 225 Oe magnetic field intensity and reaction temperature of 65 °C, the conversion efficiency reached 97% in 100 min. The cold filter plugging point and kinematic viscosity of cottonseed oil biodiesel were higher than that described by Chinese specifications of biodiesel because of the special fatty acid profiles of cottonseed oil. The activity stability of the nanometer magnetic solid catalyst in MSFBR was much better than that in the autoclave stirred reactor (ASR).
Cross-Sectional Imaging of Small Bowel Malignancies
Authors: Fernandes Dellano D. , Galwa Ram Prakash , Fasih Najla , Fraser-Hill Margaret
Published: August 2011

Small bowel malignancies are rare neoplasms, usually inaccessible to conventional endoscopy but detectable in many cases by cross-sectional imaging. Modern multidetector computed tomographies permit accurate diagnosis, complete pretreatment staging, and follow-up of these lesions. In this review, we describe the cross-sectional imaging features of the most frequent histologic subtypes of the small bowel malignancies.
Visceral adiposity after tibolone use
Authors: Carranza‐Lira Sebastián , Bárcena‐Jacobo Tomás D. , Sandoval‐Barragán Martha P. , Ramos‐León Julio C.
Published: August 2011

Objective

To evaluate the differences in visceral fat between women using tibolone and those not using tibolone.

Methods

Sixty‐five healthy postmenopausal women were included in the study: 26 who were taking tibolone (2.5 mg/day); and 39 who were not receiving tibolone treatment. Anthropometric measurements were performed, with subcutaneous and visceral fat measured via ultrasound. Differences between the groups were determined via Student t test.

Results

There were no significant differences in age (P = 0.796), weight (P = 0.256), height (P = 0.456), body mass index (P = 0.08), waist circumference (P = 0.420), or waist–hip ratio (P = 0.1) between the groups. Hip circumference was significantly lower in the study group than in the control group (97.7 ± 12.2 cm vs 103 ± 8.1 cm; P < 0.04). There were no significant differences between the groups in subcutaneous fat measurements (P = 0.56). There were significantly lower visceral fat measurements (2.8 ± 1.1 cm vs 3.9 ± 1.6 cm; P < 0.004) and a significantly lower visceral fat–subcutaneous fat ratio (1.1 ± 0.3 vs 1.5 ± 0.7; P < 0.005) in the study group than in the control group.

Conclusion

Postmenopausal women who use tibolone have lower visceral fat measurements than do woman of similar age who do not use tibolone.
Factors contributing to failure of vacuum delivery and associated maternal/neonatal morbidity
Authors: Wanyonyi Sikolia Z. , Achila Bob , Gudu Naomi
Published: August 2011

Objective

To determine factors contributing to the failure of vacuum delivery and to compare the neonatal and maternal morbidity associated with failed and successful procedures.

Methods

A retrospective case–control study was undertaken at Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya, by review of medical charts from the period of January 2007 to December 2010. In total, 31 cases of failed vacuum delivery were compared with 124 controls where extraction was successful. The primary outcome measure was fetal malposition. Secondary outcome measures included a composite score of maternal complications, a 5‐minute Apgar score below 7, an umbilical arterial pH below 7.1, and a base excess below − 12. Multiple logistic regression analysis was undertaken to identify factors associated with failure of vacuum delivery.

Results

Demographic and labor characteristics were similar in both groups. Fetal malposition significantly contributed to the failure of vacuum delivery (odds ratio 12.7, 95% confidence interval 1.5–14.8). Failure of vacuum delivery was not associated with clinically important neonatal or maternal morbidity.

Conclusions

Vacuum extraction is a safe mode of delivery where indicated, with minimal maternal and neonatal morbidity even in the event of procedural failure.
Rapid initiation of quetiapine well tolerated as compared with the conventional initiation regimen in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders
Authors: Hsiao Cheng‐Cheng , Chen Kun‐Po , Tsai Chang‐Jer , Wang Liang‐Jen , Chen Chih‐Ken , Lin Shih‐Ku
Published: August 2011

A 2‐week, randomized, parallel‐group open trial was designed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of a rapid initiation regimen with a higher dose of quetiapine (up to 800 mg/d by Day 4) than that used in the conventional initiation regimen of quetiapine (up to 400 mg/d by Day 5) in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders. Forty patients were recruited and randomly (3:1) assigned to either the group with rapid initiation of quetiapine or the group with conventional initiation. At the end of the investigation, the difference between the groups in the incidence of adverse events was not significant; a significant drop in the Barnes Akathisia Rating Scale and Simpson‐Angus Scale scores was observed only in the group with the rapid initiation regimen. The groups did not differ in terms of improvement on the Clinical Global Impression—Severity of Illness and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale at the end of the study. The results of our 2‐week study suggest that rapid initiation with a higher dose of quetiapine (up to 800 mg/d by Day 4) is well tolerated in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders and does not compromise efficacy relative to the conventional initiation.
Treatment of Chronic Tendinopathy with Ultrasound‐Guided Needle Tenotomy and Platelet‐Rich Plasma Injection
Authors: Finnoff Jonathan T. , Fowler Steven P. , Lai Jim K. , Santrach Paula J. , Willis Elaine A. , Sayeed Yusef A. , Smith Jay
Published: August 2011

Objective

To determine whether ultrasound (US)‐guided percutaneous needle tenotomy followed by a platelet‐rich plasma (PRP) injection would result in pain reduction, functional improvement, or structural alterations in patients with chronic, recalcitrant tendinopathy.

Design

Part A was a retrospective observational study. Part B was a prospective observational study.

Setting

Outpatient academic sports medicine center.

Participants

Patients were required to have chronic (>3 months), recalcitrant tendinopathy treated with US‐guided percutaneous tenotomy and PRP injection between January 2007 and October 2009. Fifty‐one subjects met the inclusion criteria. Forty‐one (80%) participated in part A of the study, whereas 34 subjects (67%) participated in part B.

Methods

In part A, subjects completed a survey obtaining anthropomorphic, demographic, pain, and functional data. Subjects' platelet, hemoglobin, and white blood cell concentrations from their whole‐blood and PRP samples were also obtained. In part B, subjects returned to the clinic after US‐guided percutaneous needle tenotomy and PRP injection for a diagnostic US, which was compared with their preprocedure diagnostic US.

Main Outcome Measures

The main outcome measures included changes in pain, function, and tendon characteristics.

Results

The tendinopathy location was in the upper extremity in 10 subjects (24.4%), was in the lower extremity in 31 subjects (75.6%), and had been present for a mean of 40 months. The mean postprocedure follow‐up was 14 months, and the maximum benefits occurred 4 months postprocedure. There were mean functional and worst‐pain improvements of 68% and 58%, respectively. Eighty‐three percent of subjects were satisfied with their outcomes and would recommend the procedure to a friend. Although no tendons demonstrated a normal sonographic appearance after the procedure, 84% of subjects had an improvement in echotexture, 64% had a resolution of intratendinous calcifications, and 82% had a decrease in intratendinous neovascularity. None of the variables analyzed in this study demonstrated a significant correlation with pain or functional outcome measures.

Conclusions

In this case series, we found US‐guided percutaneous needle tenotomy followed by PRP injection to be a safe and effective treatment for chronic, recalcitrant tendinopathy, and this treatment was associated with sonographically apparent improvements in tendon morphology. However, because of the intrinsic limitations of the study design and the heterogeneity of treated tendons, further research is required to corroborate our findings.
Dense suspensions in rotating-rod flows: normal stresses and particle migration
Authors: Boyer François , Pouliquen Olivier , Guazzelli Élisabeth
Published: August 2011

Normal stress differences are measured in dense suspensions of neutrally buoyant non-Brownian spheres dispersed in a Newtonian fluid. Rotating-rod rheometry is used to characterize the suspension normal stresses which are responsible for a rod-dipping phenomenon. These normal stress differences are seen to strongly increase above a volume fraction of approximately 22 %. During the course of the experiments, a new time-dependent behaviour is also observed: the dip is filled with increasing times. This time evolution is found to be related to particle migration from regions of high shear rate to regions of low shear rate. The behaviour is compared with the predictions of a suspension balance model in which the particle migration flux is related to the normal stresses of the suspension.
Numerical investigation of a jet from a blunt body opposing a supersonic flow
Authors: Chen Li-Wei , Wang Guo-Lei , Lu Xi-Yun
Published: August 2011

Numerical investigation of a sonic jet from a blunt body opposing a supersonic flow with a free stream Mach number ${M}_{\infty } = 2. 5$ was carried out using large-eddy simulation for two total pressure ratios of the jet to the free stream, i.e. $\mathscr{P}= 0. 816$ and 1.633. Results have been validated carefully against experimental data. Various fundamental mechanisms dictating the flow phenomena, including shock/jet interaction, shock/shear-layer interaction, turbulent shear-layer evolution and coherent structures, have been studied systematically. Based on the analysis of the flow structures and features, two typical flow states, i.e. unstable and stable states corresponding to the two values of $\mathscr{P}$, are identified and the behaviours relevant to the flow states are discussed. Small-scale vortical structures mainly occur in the jet column, and large-scale vortices develop gradually in a recirculation region when the jet terminates through a Mach disk and reverses its orientation as a conical free shear layer. The turbulent fluctuations are enhanced by the rapid deviation of the shear layer and the interaction with shock waves. Moreover, the coherent structures of the flow motion are analysed using the proper orthogonal decomposition technique. It is found that the dominant mode in the cross-section plane exhibits an antisymmetric character for the unstable state and an axisymmetric one for the stable state, while statistical analysis of unsteady loads indicates that the side loads can be seen as a rotating vector uniformly distributed in the azimuthal direction. Further, we clarify a feedback mechanism whereby the unsteady motion is sustained by the upstream-propagating disturbance to the Mach disk through the recirculation subsonic region and downstream propagation in the conical shear layer. Feedback models are then proposed which can reasonably well predict the dominant frequencies of the two flow states. The results obtained in this study provide physical insight into the understanding of the mechanisms relevant to the opposing jet/supersonic flow interaction.
A continuum model for flow induced by metachronal coordination between beating cilia
Authors: Hussong Jeanette , Breugem Wim-Paul , Westerweel Jerry
Published: August 2011

In this numerical study we investigate the flow induced by metachronal coordination between beating cilia arranged in a densely packed layer by means of a continuum model. The continuum approach allows us to treat the problem as two-dimensional as well as stationary, in a reference frame moving with the speed of the metachronal wave. The model is used as a computationally efficient design tool to investigate cilia-induced transport of a Newtonian fluid in a plane channel. Contrary to prior continuum models, the present approach accounts for spatial variations in the porosity along the metachronal wave and thus ensures conservation of mass within the cilia layer. Using porous-media theory the governing volume-averaged Navier–Stokes (VANS) equations are derived and closure formulations are given explicitly for the model. This makes it possible to investigate cilia-induced flow with a continuum model in both the viscous regime and the inertial regime. The results show that metachronal coordination can act as a transport mechanism in both regimes. Porosity variations appear to be the key mechanism for correct prediction of the fluid transport in the viscous flow regime. The reason is that spatial variations in the porosity break the symmetry of the drag distribution along the metachronal wave. A new insight that has been gained is that the fluid transport reverses, thus switches from plectic to antiplectic metachronism, for the same cilia beat cycle when the wavespeed is increased such that inertial effects occur. Based on a parameter study, the net transport in the channel is described by a power-law relation of the amplitude, length and speed of the metachronal wave. It is found that the wavelength has the strongest effect on the viscosity-dominated fluid transport.
Dynamics of a deformable, transversely rotating droplet released into a uniform flow
Authors: Poon Eric K. W. , Quan Shaoping , Lou Jing , Giacobello Matteo , Ooi Andrew S. H.
Published: August 2011

The effects of transverse rotation on the dynamics of a droplet released into a uniform free stream are numerically investigated. The range of the dimensionless rotation rate is limited to $0\leq {\Omega }^{\ensuremath{\ast} } \leq 1$, to avoid any possibility of the droplet breaking up. Droplet dynamics and deformations undergo distinct changes when the dimensionless rotational rate $({\Omega }^{\ensuremath{\ast} } )$ reaches a critical value. The critical rotational rate ${{\Omega }_{crit} }^{\ensuremath{\ast} } $ is sensitive to the change in the density ratio, but less dependent on the viscosity ratio and interfacial tension. Below ${{\Omega }_{crit} }^{\ensuremath{\ast} } $, the droplet drag coefficients are reduced marginally as the effect of the rotation is quickly suppressed by the free stream. Above ${{\Omega }_{crit} }^{\ensuremath{\ast} } $, the drag coefficients decrease initially as the rotation effect dominates at earlier times, resulting in a global minimum. The drag coefficients increase monotonically at later times, when the rotation effects decrease and the free-stream effects become dominant. The only exception is with the increase in the viscosity ratio and the surface tension, which either inhibits droplet deformation or restores the droplet to a more spherical shape in the late stages of droplet evolution. The droplet also experiences lift due to the effects of the transverse rotation. It is observed that the lift coefficients are less dependent on the droplet frontal area as the lift is generated by the velocity difference between the upper and lower interface. In general, the lift coefficients increase with ${\Omega }^{\ensuremath{\ast} } $ at earlier times and decrease at later times as the difference in the velocity between the upper and lower interface decreases. In some extreme cases, the lift coefficients even become negative.
Intersectionality, Quotas, and Minority Women's Political Representation Worldwide
Authors: HUGHES MELANIE M.
Published: August 2011

The majority of the world's countries have implemented policies designed to advance the political representation of women and/or minority groups. Yet we do not yet understand how these disparate policies affect the election of minority women. In this article, I draw on theories of intersectionality to conduct the first worldwide analysis of the effects of gender and minority quotas on minority women's representation in national legislatures. Using hierarchical linear modeling, I analyze how quotas influence the election of women from more than 300 racial, ethnic, and religious groups across 81 countries. I find that policies designed to promote the political representation of women and minority groups interact to produce diverse but predictable outcomes for minority women. Although quotas are ostensibly designed to promote diversity and inclusiveness, the quota policies in effect today rarely challenge majority men's dominance of national legislatures.
Helminth parasites of the oceanic horse mackerelTrachurus picturatusBowdich 1825 (Pisces: Carangidae) from Madeira Island, Atlantic Ocean, Portugal
Authors: Costa G. , Melo-Moreira E. , Pinheiro de Carvalho M.A.A.
Published: August 2011

The helminth parasite fauna of the oceanic horse mackerelTrachurus picturatusBowdich 1825, caught off the Madeira Islands was composed of six different taxa. Prevalence and abundance of larvalAnisakissp. (Nematoda: Anisakidae) andNybelinia lingualis(Trypanorhyncha: Tentaculariidae), the most common parasite taxa, were 24.3%, 0.9 and 37.9%, 0.7, respectively.Bolbosoma vasculosum(Acanthocephala: Polymorphidae) and the monogeneansHeteraxinoides atlanticus(Monogenea: Heteraxinidae) andPseudaxine trachuri(Monogenea: Gastrocotylidae) were comparatively rare. The depauperate helminth fauna of the oceanic horse mackerel at Madeira compared to other geographical regions of the north-eastern Atlantic, namely the Azores banks and the West African coast, may be attributed to the paucity of nutrients off oceanic islands and to a low density of the fish population.
Theoretical approach to estimating the induction of hearing impairment in bottlenose dolphins by radiated leisure boat noise
Authors: David Jonathan A.
Published: August 2011

Coastal waters are being subjected to underwater noise generated by increasing numbers of leisure and tour boats. Such noise has the potential to impair the hearing of neighbouring bottlenose dolphins, particularly as the noise from several distributed boats could summate at the point of reception. This potential has been assessed by comparing small boat noise, recorded over a range of 8–532 m, with noise that is known to induce hearing impairment in the form of a temporary threshold shift (TTS) or permanent threshold shift (PTS). Extrapolation of broadband boat noise levels yielded a minimum source sound pressure level of 156 dB re 1μPa at 1 m. An equal-energy model for TTS-onset predicted that boat noise could induce a TTS after 1 hour's exposure at 1.3 m and after 8 hours' exposure at 2.3 m. These distances increased with additional adjacent boats. Leisure boats are unlikely to induce a PTS, even at close range.
Deep-sea shrimpsAristaeomorpha foliaceaandPleoticus robustus(Crustacea: Penaeoidea) in the Colombian Caribbean Sea as a new potential fishing resource
Authors: Paramo Jorge , Saint-Paul Ulrich
Published: August 2011

In the Colombian Caribbean Sea a shallow water commercial shrimp fishery has been developed, targeting mainlyFarfantepenaeus notialis. Yet, similarly to so many fisheries around the world, the exploitation of this shrimp is not regulated, and a significant depletion has resulted. This study investigates new fishing areas, exploring the poorly understood deep-sea habitats in the Colombian Caribbean Sea, to determine the potential for a viable deep shrimp fishery, studying their abundance and spatial distribution. We found high abundances for giant red shrimp (Aristaeomorpha foliacea) and royal red shrimp (Pleoticus robustus), both important commercially. The higher biomass of these two deep-sea shrimp species were found mainly in the northern zone of the Colombian Caribbean Sea, where the local oceanography is modulated by the seasonal upwelling with high productivity. The size-structure following depth strata showed thatA. foliaceaincrease in size with the depth and the contrary forP. robustus. The majority of adult individuals in these two deep-sea shrimp species reflect the non-fished populations in the study area. However, more scientific assessment is necessary to determine life cycle population parameters of deep-sea shrimps and associated biodiversity before initiating a new commercial shrimp fishery.
Evidence for a population collapse of European eel (Anguilla anguilla) in the Bristol Channel
Authors: Henderson Peter A. , Plenty Shaun J. , Newton Lyn C. , Bird David J.
Published: August 2011

A 30-year study of the estuarine population of yellow eel, Anguilla anguilla, abundance in Bridgwater Bay, Somerset, UK, shows that the population number has collapsed. Since 1980, the decline has averaged 15% per year. The abundance of eel in 2009 is estimated at only 1% of that in 1980. This is one of the greatest systematically quantified crashes of a fish population ever reported. Collections of eels impinged on cooling water filter screens were made monthly at Hinkley Point power station between 1980 and 2010 and from Oldbury power station between 1996 and 1998. Eels are always present in the Severn Estuary, although there are large seasonal variations in abundance. At Oldbury, in the upper estuary, eels are least abundant in January. In contrast, in the outer estuary in Bridgwater Bay, eels are most abundant between November and March. The size-distribution of yellow eels ranged from <200 to >700 mm indicating an age-range since the glass eel stage of 2 to >25 years. The mean size-range has not changed since the 1980s indicating that the population collapse is not caused by a sudden recruitment failure. It is suggested that there has been a continual long-term failure of recruitment to compensate for losses. The reason for this is unidentified, but is unlikely to be changes in the North Atlantic Oscillation or other natural environmental variability. A major effort to improve eel survival to adulthood is required if this species is not to gently fade to extinction. This would likely involve a cessation of elver fishing, a reduction in the volume of estuarine water extracted for power station cooling and other purposes during which eels are entrained and killed, and the removal of obstructions which increase mortality during migration.
Robot accuracy evaluation using a ball-bar link system
Authors: Oh Yeon Taek
Published: August 2011

Relatively large errors can exist in industrial robots as a result of mismatch between the controller model and the corresponding physical model. The paper outlines a novel approach for accuracy assessment and adjustment of multiaxis industrial robots through a low-cost ball-bar link system. The features of the ball-bar, which incorporated a 12 mm range digital displacement transducer in conjunction with a PC, are discussed. The ball-bar device was used in both a trammelling and circular mode of operation. This produced data which not only related to the accuracy of the robot but also enabled joint errors to be significantly reduced.
Editorial: Knowing Theatre Inside Out
Authors: ASTON ELAINE
Published: August 2011

Traditionally, the role of theatre and performance scholars is to examine theatre from critical and theoretical perspectives that adopt an outside-in approach. That is to say, our vantage point locates at some disembodied, critical distance from the process and the practice, from the making and the moment of showing. Increasingly, however, there are signs of inside-out approaches to theatre where avenues of theatre and performance enquiry are shaped by means of getting closer to practice. The first three articles brought together in this issue have their own, distinctive inside-out routes to theatre and performance knowledge.
Theatre-Making asAletheia: Rehearsal and the Production of Truth
Authors: JOHNSTON DANIEL
Published: August 2011

The widespread discourse of ‘truth’ in theatre is problematic. Truth, as that which exists objectively before verification or as the correspondence between propositions and the world, may not fit with theatre as a creative process. While it might seem that there are correct or definitive choices on the rehearsal room floor, one might argue that these choices are merely subjective and relative. However, an alternative understanding of truth offered by Martin Heidegger's termaletheiamight be helpful. In this article, I explore this notion of truth as ‘unconcealment’ by revisiting Gay McAuley's case study of a workshop for Sarah Kane's4:48 Psychosisby the South Australian company Brink. I argue that the rehearsal was not simply about meaning-making, but about the ‘disclosure of Being’ made possible through the energized play-space of the performance process.
‘The Art of Putting Oneself on Stage before Oneself’: Theatre, Selfhood, and Nietzsche's Epistemology of the Actor
Authors: KORNHABER DAVID
Published: August 2011

This article offers a reading of Friedrich Nietzsche's treatment of the actor and the concept of selfhood inThe Gay Scienceand other works as an intervention in contemporary discussions of theatrical performance and the self, particularly Philip Auslander's critique of the logocentrism at work in various twentieth-century schools of acting. It argues that rather than representing an unproblematized or underproblematized constitutive selfhood, as Auslander suggests, the actor in Nietzsche's formulations becomes a prime vehicle for communicating the necessary but impossible fiction of the self. Nietzsche's vision of theatrical performance aligns with a number of recent theories of performance and agency as well as with the ideas on selfhood put forward in the stage work of director Tim Etchells and is explored for the way in which it offers contemporary theorists an avenue for moving beyond an epistemological critique of stage performance towards a greater appreciation of the theatre's potential for radically unsettling our notions of identity.
‘The Canny Scot’: Harry Lauder and the Performance of Scottish Thrift in American Vaudeville
Authors: SCHWEITZER MARLIS
Published: August 2011

Scottish vaudevillian Harry Lauder epitomized Scottishness in the Anglo-American cultural imaginary for much of the twentieth century. Yet Lauder's Scottishness was a carefully crafted performance, a collaborative effort between Lauder and his American agent, William Morris, centred on Lauder's embodiment of the ‘canny Scot’ stereotype. The article argues that this performance served two primary objectives within the context of early twentieth-century vaudeville. First, stories of Lauder's ‘characteristic’ Scottish thrift worked to deflect commentary about the star's status as a highly paid foreign commodity. By planting stories and arranging interviews that represented Lauder as a skilled and cunning Scot, Morris addressed growing anxieties that men, as well as women, were becoming mere cogs in the machine of corporate Broadway capital. Second, Morris's representation of Lauder as the epitome of all things Scottish guaranteed the loyal patronage of the Scottish diaspora and supported expressions of nationalist pride that were not antithetical to Scottish membership within the Union.
Inseparable and No Longer Subsequent: The Relocation and Representation of Women in Irish Theatre Practices
Authors: CAULFIELD MARY P.
Published: August 2011

Women as playwrights, directors, designers and actors have played an indisputably integral part in cultivating the theatrical landscapes of Ireland, but their work, however, has largely been overlooked. That said, this is not a new lament: the last twenty years of Irish theatre scholarship have sought to redress this gender imbalance by looking to women's involvement in the ‘imagining’ of the Irish nation. Colm Tóibín's Lady Gregory's Toothbrush (Lilliput Press, 2002) famously confirmed Augusta Gregory's co-authorship (with W. B. Yeats) of Kathleen ni Houlihan (1902). C. L. Innes's widely known Women and Nation in Irish Literature and Society, 1880–1935 (The University of Georgia Press, 1993), shed light on the ideologies behind the iconography of Mother Ireland, and Mary Trotter's Ireland's National Theaters: Political Performance and the Origins of the Irish Dramatic Movement (Syracuse University Press, 2001) revealed the impact of Maud Gonne and the all-women society the Inghinidhe na hÉireann (Daughters of Erin) on the development of the Irish National Theatre Society.
Rethinking Masculinity
Authors: O'BRIEN CORMAC
Published: August 2011

Authentic Irish manhood has long been the concern of several self-appointed vanguards. However, just exactly what may constitute authentic Irish manhood has not, until quite recently, been the subject of serious critical and theoretical reflection. Moreover, Irish playwriting (and theatre production) has a notoriously male-dominated history. Because of this masculinist and often misogynistic slant to Irish theatre writing, there is a sense, for the masculinities scholar at least, that any piece of erudite theatre scholarship can make critical inroads into the deconstruction of Irish masculinity in performance.