bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of Soothing Music on the Intraoperative Management of Patients Undergoing Tension-Free Herniorrhaphy: A Retrospective Study
Authors: Xiao Yan , Sun Jing , Tao Guanghua
Published: June 2024

Background: Noise pollution in the operating room can have adverse effects on the physical and mental well-being of patients. Since the mid-20th century, music therapy has been increasingly used in clinical practice. Soothing music has a beneficial effect in maintaining the efficacy of intraoperative sedation and regulating patients’ emotions. Objective: To investigate the effects of soothing music on the intraoperative management of patients undergoing tension-free herniorrhaphy. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 244 patients who underwent open tension-free herniorrhaphy under local anesthesia at the Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University from June 2019 to May 2021. According to the different included time periods, the hospital implemented soothing music management from June 2020 to May 2021, and 110 patients admitted during this period were classified as the study group. One hundred thirty-four patients who underwent clinical routine management from June 2019 to May 2020 were classified as the control group. The patients in the two groups received corresponding management modes during surgery. The perioperative indicators, stress response, anxiety, depression, and clinical efficacy of the two groups were analyzed. Results: No significant differences in the operative time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative off-bed activity time, and hospitalization time between the two groups (P > 0.05). The study group exhibited lower postoperative cortisol (213.30 (203.40, 229.00) nmol/L) and anxiety (9.00 (7.00, 12.00) points) levels than the control group (246.85 (230.50, 258.40) nmol/L; 14.00 (12.00, 15.00) points) (P < 0.001). Moreover, no significant differences were noted in the norepinephrine and depression levels and the severity of illness, global improvement, and efficacy index scores between the two groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Soothing music therapy, as a clinical auxiliary method, has a positive impact on the intraoperative management of patients undergoing open tension-free herniorrhaphy, leading to reduced cortisol levels and alleviation of anxiety.
Effect of Digital Noise Reduction in Hearing Aids on Speech Intelligibility in Both Quiet and Noisy Environments
Authors: Deniz Burcu , Gülmez Züleyha D. , Kara Halide , Kara Eyyup
Published: June 2024

Aims: Digital noise reduction (DNR) minimizes the effect of noise on speech signals by continuously monitoring frequency bands in the presence of noise. In the present study, we explored the effect of DNR technology on speech intelligibility in individuals using hearing aids (HAs) and investigated implications for daily use. Methods and material: Eighteen participants with bilateral moderate sensorineural hearing loss (aged 16–45 years) were included. Bilateral receiver-in-the-ear HAs were fitted in the participants. The adaptive and nonadaptive (with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of +5 and −5 dB, respectively) Turkish matrix sentence test (TURMatrix) in noise and free-field hearing assessments, including hearing thresholds with hearing aids, speech recognition thresholds (SRT), and speech discrimination scores, were conducted in two different conditions: HA in the DNR-on and DNR-off conditions. Results: No significant difference was observed between free-field hearing assessments with the HA in the DNR-off and DNR-on conditions (P > 0.05). Furthermore, the adaptive and nonadaptive TURMatrix revealed significant differences between the scores under the DNR-on and DNR-off conditions (P < 0.05). Nevertheless, under the DNR-on condition, there was no correlation between free-field hearing assessments with HA and TURMatrix results (P > 0.05). However, a significant correlation was observed between SRT scores with HA and TURMatrix scores (adaptive and nonadaptive, +5 and −5 dB SNR, respectively) under the DNR-off condition (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Our study findings suggest that DNR can improve speech intelligibility in noisy environments. Therefore, DNR can enhance an individual’s auditory comfort by improving their capacity to grasp speech in background noise.
Spontaneous Rectovesical Fistula Secondary to Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer
Authors: Amu Okwudili Calistus , Ayogu Benjamin Okafor , Mbadiwe Okezie Michael , Anyimba Solomon Kenechukwu , Nwachukwu Chukwunonso Daniel , Eneh Willis Unebike
Published: June 2024

Introduction:

Rectovesical fistula (RVF) is an abnormal communication between the rectum and the urinary bladder. This condition has a negative impact on the patient’s quality of life due to the associated morbidity. The patient may present with complaints of passage of urine per rectum, pneumaturia, fecaluria, recurrent cystitis, pyelonephritis, or urosepsis.

Method and Material:

We present a case of a 61-year-old man with histologically diagnosed prostate cancer who developed passage of urine per rectum about two years after bilateral total orchidectomy. He defaulted on follow-up and presented with castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Results:

On performing a micturiting cystourethrogram/retrograde urethrogram under fluoroscopic guidance, the contrast media were seen passing from the bladder into the large bowel hence establishing a diagnosis of RVF.

Conclusion:

The patient was counseled for a diverting colostomy but he declined. He has an intact anal sphincter and therefore is presently continent of both stool and urine per rectum. Unfortunately, he is financially unable to afford any of the treatment options for castration-resistant prostate cancer.
Determination of the Mean Midsagittal Lumbar Canal Diameter of Asymptomatic Adults in Enugu, Nigeria, Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Authors: Nkwerem Sunday Patrick U. , Ohaegbulam Samuel C. , Mezue Wilfred C. , Emejulu Jude-Kennedy Chinedu , Ndubuisi Chika Anele , Nkwerem Geraldine Ifechukwu
Published: June 2024

Background:

The diagnosis of lumbar canal stenosis and ectasia is based on the dimensions of the lumbar canal. Midsagittal dimension of a lumbar canal that is <12 mm is considered canal stenosis. These dimensions vary with race. The data available for our population are osteometric studies of the anteroposterior diameter of the vertebral canal. This does not take the soft-tissue components of the lumbar canal into consideration. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the preferred imaging modality of the lumbar region. There is no large-scale MRI-based study of the lumbar MSD for the South-Eastern Nigerian population.

Aim:

This study aims to obtain baseline mean MSD for the South-Eastern Nigerian population.

Materials and Methods:

A prospective cross-sectional study was done on people aged between 21 and 50 years who do not have clinical symptoms that are referable to the spine. This was done with a 0.35 Tesla machine. The midsagittal canal diameters were taken at both mid-vertebral and intervertebral disc levels.

Results:

Two hundred and forty-three participants who met the criteria had T1-weighted images of their lumbar spine. The mean MSD value at the disc levels was as follows: L1/2 14.13, L2/3 13.90, L3/4 13.87, L4/5 13.95, L5/S1 14.68. The mean value at the mid-vertebral levels was L1 14.18, L2 13.56, L3 13.54, L4 13.81, L5 13.62.

Conclusion:

The baseline MSD is between 13.54 mm and 14.18 mm. The L3 bony canal has the smallest dimension. The values are less than previously published osteometric-based data in Nigeria.
Relationship between Socio-demographic Characteristics and the Pattern of Birth Preparedness and Complication Readiness among the Pregnant Women Attending the Antenatal Clinic in UPTH
Authors: Agiri (Jr) Utchay Anthony , Dienye Paul O. , Adjugah Joshua , Ndubuisi-Igwilo Obioma
Published: June 2024

Background:

There was a target of 50% reduction in maternal mortality and 50% increased access to blood transfusion and emergency obstetric care services by 2006, by the Nigerian Reproductive Policy Act of 2001. In spite of the adoption of the birth preparedness and complication readiness (BP/CR) concept, Nigeria is yet to attain these reproductive goals for several years. There is a known established relationship between sociodemographic characteristics and patterns of BP among the pregnant women attending antenatal care (ANC) in the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH).

Aim:

Hence, this study was aimed at determining the sociodemographic characteristics and pattern of BP among the pregnant women attending the ANC in UPTH.

Materials and Methods:

This study was a cross-sectional, hospital-based descriptive study involving pregnant women who attended the ANC of UPTH and gave birth in the same hospital from April 2021 to December 2021. A sample size of 282 eligible respondents was recruited through a systematic random sampling technique. The respondent’s data including information on sociodemographic characteristics were obtained with the aid of interviewer-administered questionnaires. A standard tool adapted from the safe motherhood questionnaire of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. The level of significance was set for P ≤ 0.05.

Results:

The study showed that more than half of the respondents 155 (55.0%) were between the ages of 31 and 40 years with a mean age of 31.5 ± 4.9, while 111 (39.4%) of the respondents were between the age of 21 and 30 years. Furthermore, 136 (48.9%) of the respondents belonged to the Ijaw/South-South tribe, 116 (41.1%) of the respondents were Igbos, and 12 (4.3%) of the respondents belonged to the Yoruba tribe. In addition, the study revealed that 261 (92.6%) of the respondents belonged to a nuclear family, 149 (52.8%) had a family size of between 1 and 3, 190 (67.4%) of the respondents earned more than N100,000, and 110 (39.0%) had a parity of between two and three. The study indicated that for every one family that earns more than one hundred thousand naira (N100,000) but showed inadequate BP, there are 62 families that earned the same amount of money that showed adequate BP.

Conclusion:

The test for association (relationship) between sociodemographic characteristics and BP/CR showed that the income group of the respondents was significantly associated with BP/CR (χ
2 = 14.149 and P < 0.01).
Stable vector bundles and the Riemann-Hilbert problem on a Riemann surface
Authors: Vyugin Il'ya Vladimirovich , Dudnikova Lada Andreevna
Published: June 2024

The paper is devoted to holomorphic vector bundles with logarithmic connections on a compact Riemann surface and the applications of the results obtained to the question of solvability of the Riemann-Hilbert problem on a Riemann surface. We give an example of a representation of the fundamental group of a Riemann surface with four punctured points which cannot be realized as the monodromy representation of a logarithmic connection with four singular points on a semistable bundle. For an arbitrary pair of a bundle and a logarithmic connection on it we prove an estimate for the slopes of the associated Harder-Narasimhan filtration quotients. In addition, we present results on the realizability of a representation as a direct summand in the monodromy representation of a logarithmic connection on a semistable bundle of degree zero.
Bibliography: 9 titles.
Reduction of Fuel Consumption on Single-cylinder General Purpose Engine
Authors: SATO Yoshikazu , KURATA Mashu , NAOE Gaku
Published: June 2024

An air-cooled 4 stroke single-cylinder general purpose engine with 438 cm3 of displacement was researched to improve fuel efficiency. As a technique for improving fuel efficiency, 1) Intake valve were narrowed and spark plug was moved closer to the bore center. As a result, the new engine shortened the mass combustion rate by 13%, compared to existing engines, and improved fuel efficiency in the EPA general-purpose mode by 1.1%.2) Taking aim at reducing the piston system friction, piston ring tension was lowered 45% compared to that of existing engines in the same class by using a centrifugal casting sleeve with the air-cooled engine. This has resulted in a 5% reduction in friction mean effective pressure, and improved fuel efficiency in the EPA general-purpose mode by 0.9%. 3) Electronic control technology was used, and ignition timing was decided based on engine speed and throttle opening data. This has improved fuel efficiency in the EPA general-purpose mode by 1.1%, while at the same time piston noise was reduced. Totally fuel efficiency was improved 3.1% by these three technologies.

Additionally revising the carburetor setting and auxiliary equipment, the newly developed engine increased fuel efficiency in EPA general-purpose mode by 15% over that of existing engine.
Reduction of Fuel Consumption for Medium-Sized Outboard Motors
Authors: YOSHIMURA Hajime , MIYAUCHI Tomohiro , TSUBOUCHI Masanori
Published: June 2024

An open loop lean-burn control technology using heated exhaust gas oxygen (HEGO) sensors has been developed with a focus on simplifying control systems that reduce fuel consumption in outboard motors. Correction values for fuel injection quantity obtained from feedback control using a HEGO sensor are stored as learning values in different operating ranges. Despite employing a HEGO sensor that can only detect air-fuel ratios close to stoichiometry, the technology also enables accurate control of non-stoichiometric air-fuel ratios. The medium-sized outboard motor in which the developed technology has been employed balances low fuel consumption with low exhaust emissions. The engine has achieved equivalent fuel consumption performance to that of a motor with a lean-burn control system using a universal exhaust gas oxygen (UEGO) sensor, which produces linear output across a wide range of air-fuel ratios(1), and complies with US CARB 2008 exhaust gas regulations and EU Recreational Craft Directive exhaust gas regulations.
Potential of high technology 50cm3 two stroke and four stroke engines
Authors: KIRCHBERGER Roland , HIRZ Mario , WINKLER Franz , KORMAN Matjaz , EICHLSEDER Helmut
Published: June 2024

Future exhaust emission targets and increasing customer demands call for the implementation of enhanced engine technologies, as well known from automotive applications, into small capacity engine categories. Especially the applied engineering solutions in the market of motor vehicles driven by engines up to 50 cm3 displacement have been significantly changed in the last years. Beside low cost technologies (air cooled two stroke or four stroke engines with carburetor), enhanced mixture preparation and exhaust gas after treatment systems come to use.

Highly technological two stroke engines are equipped with direct fuel injection systems in combination with efficient exhaust gas after treatment methods; in four stroke engine applications intake port fuel injection systems in combination with oxidation catalysts or 3-way catalytic conversion are established on the market. Several applications of new and innovative technologies have already been worked out in research programs and presented at several SETC conferences (please refer to the following papers: SETC 2006-32-0065 [1], SETC 2005-32-0098 [2] and [3] for the two stroke engines and SETC 2006-01-0404 [4], 2004-01-2105 [5] for four stroke engines). These technologies are now available in a pre-serial production status or as prototype engines.
An Integrated 3D CFD Simulation Methodology for the Optimization of the Mixture Preparation of 2-Stroke DI Engines
Authors: SCHMIDT Stephan , SCHOEGL Oliver , ROTHBAUER Rainer J. , EICHLSEDER Helmut , KIRCHBERGER Roland
Published: June 2024

For the development of high-performance 2-stroke engines with internal mixture preparation it is essential to know about the interaction between charge motion and injection spray. With no prototypes available conceptual investigations can only render such information by using 3D CFD simulation. In this way an optimization of mixture preparation and charge motion can be achieved by varying the transfer and boost ports. To allow for the influence of these modifications on the mass balance (volumetric and trapping efficiency), the entire system of the loop-scavenged two-stroke engine has to be investigated. The state of the art calculation domain for 2-stroke 3D CFD simulation is bounded at the inlet of the crankcase (reed valve) and sometimes also at the outlet of the cylinders. The reasons lie in the so far not sufficiently reproducible components (e.g. reed valve) as well as in the reduction of calculation time. Beside the possibility of a coupled 1D and 3D simulation (SAE Paper No. 2005-32-0099 and SAE Paper No. 2006-32-0059), it is possible to apply a methodology with adaptive boundary conditions for the evaluation of the entire engine in order to overcome these restrictions.

This publication presents an integrative methodology for the simulation of two-stroke engines with adaptive boundary conditions. For the calculation domain, the boundary condition values are varied in the area of the intake by using the measured characteristic curves of the reed valves during the calculation process. Detailed measurements of the reed valves as well as 1D simulation of the entire engine using measurement data of already available SI variations of the engine serve as a basis. The combustion chamber, the crankcase, the transfer-, boost and exhaust ports as well as the exhaust system can be completely reproduced in the 3D calculation zone.

The optimization of the mixture preparation of a high-performance two-stroke engine is exemplarily demonstrated by this method. Particular consideration is given to the influence of the intake port geometry on the charge motion in the combustion chamber and therewith on the mixture formation. Finally the results of the 3D CFD simulation are contrasted with those of the experimental engine, and an outlook on the application of this calculation method is given.
Analysis of the Combustion Characteristics of a HCCI Engine Operating on DME and Methane
Authors: TSUTSUMI Yujiro , HOSHINA Katsuhiro , IIJIMA Akira , SHOJI Hideo
Published: June 2024

The Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engine has attracted much interest in recent years because it can simultaneously achieve high efficiency and low emissions. However, it is difficult to control the ignition timing with this type of engine because it has no physical ignition mechanism. Varying the amount of fuel supplied changes the operating load and the ignition timing also changes simultaneously. The HCCI combustion process also has the problem that combustion proceeds too rapidly. This study examined the possibility of separating ignition timing control and load control using an HCCI engine that was operated on blended test fuels of dimethyl ether (DME) and methane, which have vastly different ignition characteristics. The influence of the mixing ratios of these two test fuels on the rapidity of combustion was also investigated. Moreover, as a basic research subject, the behavior of formaldehyde (HCHO), an intermediate that is produced by cool flame reactions, was observed by spectroscopic techniques. The experimental results revealed that, within the range of the experimental conditions used in this study, the quantity of DME supplied substantially influenced the ignition timing, whereas it was little affected by the quantity of methane supplied. This indicates that the ignition timing can be controlled by the quantity of DME supplied and that the load can be adjusted by the quantity of methane supplied. Spectroscopic measurements of the behavior of a substance corresponding to HCHO also indicated that the quantity of DME supplied significantly influenced the cool flame. However, the rapidity of combustion could not be controlled even by varying the mixing ratios of DME and methane. It was made clear that changes in the ignition timing substantially influence the rapidity of combustion.
A Study of Intake Air Pressure Sampling Position in a Throttle Body Module
Authors: Huiqiang Li , Zhensuo Wang , Gang Xi , Xiang Wu , Liwei Li , Schoepke Manuel , Neumann Harald
Published: June 2024

In electric fuel injection (EFI) systems the intake air pressure is used as system load signal for calculating injection and ignition parameters together with engine speed. Part of an EFI system for motorcycles is a throttle body module with integrated pressure sensor. As motorcycle systems require smaller components than automotive applications the target for engineering is to minimize the component size and still fulfill other system requirements. Therefore the pressure sensor sampling point should be as close as possible to the throttle shaft to reduce the module size but with a sufficient distance to avoid signal distortion by unsteady flow. This paper describes how to find a suitable sampling position by combining static bench testing, dynamic vehicle testing and CFD analysis.
Spray Characteristics of an Ultrasonic Gasoline Injector Using a Micro Nozzle Array
Authors: ARAKI Mikiya , OBOKATA Tomio , ISHIMA Tsuneaki , SHIGA Seiichi , MASUBUCHI Masahiko , SUGIMOTO Tomojiro
Published: June 2024

Effects of horn geometry on the atomization characteristics of an ultrasonic fuel injector using a micro nozzle array were investigated experimentally. Micro nozzles whose exit diameter d = 3 μm are mounted on a thin metal film. The number of the micro nozzles is from 2.0 × 104 to 1.2 × 105. Using an ultrasonic oscillator, gasoline is periodically pushed out from the micro nozzles at a frequency from 62 to 65 kHz. A disk type PZT (Lead zirconium titanate) is used as an ultrasonic oscillator, and the oscillation is amplified using a step-type horn. The input voltage to the PZT is varied from 0 to 200 V. To increase the fuel flow rate, the horn small end diameter DS is increased from 10.5 to 25 mm, while the large end diameter is fixed at 30 mm. To prevent forming a liquid film on the micro nozzle array, gutters are machined on the small end of the horn. It is shown that the SMD (Sauter mean diameter) of the spray is almost uniform around 10 to 14 μm. The fuel flow rate increases, at the maximum, 2.8 times larger when compared to the original horn geometry.
Experimental Results of New Fuelling Strategies for High Frequency Low Cost Injection Systems for Small Engines
Authors: ALLEN Jeffrey , DRAKE Tim
Published: June 2024

With increasing pressures to reduce engine emissions in the small engines market there is a need to precisely meter the fuel flow into the engine under all running conditions. Therefore this cost competitive market requires a well engineered injection system that combines good control of fuel metering at all speed / load conditions, and meets the markets competitive pricing requirements. It must also offer the potential to allow these engines to meet stringent future legislation, leading to the addition of closed loop control with 3 way catalysts.

This paper presents an experimental investigation into the effect of wall wetting and fuel injection strategy on a small engine. The engine was fitted with a novel form of port fuel injection, Pulse Count Injection (PCI) [1.] This novel high frequency digital fuelling system allows rapid oscillation of the fuel quantity from one engine cycle to the next.

The result of the investigation is a novel fuelling strategy that enables good fuelling control under no load idle conditions where very fine fuelling control is most desired.
Beyond 3 Star Emission Capability for Outboard Engines
Authors: BELL Greg , BREWSTER Simon , AHERN Steven
Published: June 2024

This paper investigates strategies intended for development towards Super Ultra Low emission levels (4 Star) from the existing 3 Star emission status for 2 stroke Direct Injection and 4 stroke outboard engines. The current 5 Mode ICOMIA outboard emission status is considered for Hydrocarbons, Nitrogen Oxides and Carbon Monoxide. From these a gap analysis is developed and possible strategies to close the gaps are considered. The potential of these strategies for 2 stroke air assisted Direct Injection outboards is reviewed together with supporting data where appropriate. Initial data show high potential for reduction of emission levels beyond the 3 Star standard, whilst further work will confirm the levels that may be feasible in a production outboard engine.
Innovative Metallic Substrate Technology to Meet Future Emission Limits
Authors: VAN EICKELS Bernd , DUMMANN Hans-Peter , PACE Lorenzo , RECK Alfred
Published: June 2024

Exhaust after-treatment systems will have to become increasingly efficient in order to comply with the strict emission limits that will apply in the European Union and worldwide in future. Moreover, space constraints, weight and low pressure drop are just some of the issues that have to be addressed by an EU III-compliant catalytic system. The development of metallic substrates over the past few years has shown that turbulent-like substrates increase specific catalytic efficiency. This has made it possible to enhance overall performance for a specific catalytic volume or reduce the volume while keeping catalytic efficiency constant. This paper focuses on the emission efficiency of standard, TS and PE metallic substrates. A simulation tool and flow bench measurements were used to develop a test matrix with catalyst similar pressure drop in order to examine different cell densities, substrate lengths and coating technologies. Emission tests were carried out on a KTM 990 Adventure motorcycle to evaluate substrates based on standard, TS and PE technology. The LC8 EFI engine is a state-of-the-art, typical high-performance engine with electronic injection and lambda sensor control. Results confirm that compared to standard catalysts PE technology increases the emission efficiency of the catalyst without any adverse effect on pressure drop. On the other hand, TS technology as applied in high mass-flow engines is less efficient than PE technology, provided the PE and TS substrates have the same pressure drop. Engine performance measurement has been carried out at the end of emission test to check the influence of catalyst pressure drop on power output.
The Application of Coconut-oil Methyl Ester for Diesel Engine
Authors: SOMA Yusuke , NAKAJIMA Masato , YOSHIDA Koji , SHOJI Hideo , IIJIMA Akira
Published: June 2024

The coconut-oil methyl ester is made from coconut oil and methanol, and both cold start performance and ignition characteristics of coconut-oil methyl ester are experimentally investigated by using a diesel engine. In experiments, diesel fuel and coconut-oil methyl ester are used and the blended ratio of coconut-oil methyl ester to diesel fuel is changed. The test is conducted at full load and 3000 rpm. The diesel engine can be run stably with any mixing ratio of coconut-oil methyl ester, however the power is slightly reduced with increasing the mixing ratio of coconut-oil methyl ester. In the cold start condition, when the mixing ratio of coconut-oil methyl ester increases, the combustion chamber wall temperature rises early and the ignition timing is improved. Therefore, the coconut-oil methyl ester has superior compression ignition characteristics and reduces exhaust gas emissions, so that the coconut-oil methyl ester is good alternative fuel for diesel engines.
Development of High Strength and Low Cost Motorcycle Transmission Shafts
Authors: KINOSHITA Hitoshi , MURAKAMI Atsushi , TAKAYAMA Toru , HAMADA Takanari
Published: June 2024

Evolution continues for small, light weight and high output engines for motorcycles. As a result, high strength steel is a necessity for internal engine parts, including mission shafts. The transmission shafts must have sufficient torsional and bending strengths to withstand the higher torque, along with intermittent sharp torque inputs, and higher bending force. From a production point of view, using a coil fed cold forge process results in superior productivity. This productivity cannot decrease by changing to a high strength material. Also, there needs to be a balance of high strength versus post carburizing straightening. A new class of steel was developed by adding boron and adjusting Cr content of a conventional case hardening steel to produce a flat quench curve (Jominy curve). A flat Jominy curve is desired to increase core hardness and reduce variability. An increase in core hardness results in higher torsion strength and the reduced variability results in a more consistent final product. In order to maintain the ability to straighten the transmission shafts, a maximum internal hardness value was set. This value is controlled by carbon, boron and Cr contents. Additionally cost reduction was realized through the elimination of a post cold forge normalizing process by the addition of Ti and Nb grain refiners. With the implementation of the newly developed steel, a higher strength transmission shaft was achieved at a lower cost.
Development of CFRP Monocoque Front Impact Attenuator for FSAE with VaRTM
Authors: ENOMOTO Hiroshi , MIYAZAKI Yusuke , MIZUNO Hiroshi , HIRANO Eiji , KITAYAMA Satoshi , YAMAZAKI Koetsu , UOTA Naoki
Published: June 2024

The Formula SAE (FSAE) rules require mounting an impact attenuator (IA) to the front part of the formula car. The IA is necessary to take fully into account not only lighter weight of the parts but also cost effectiveness as the total cost and the workability of manufacturing have much value to win the FSAE. In this paper, three different IAs, 1) a space frame structure with steel pipes (SSF), 2) a monocoque structure with aluminum (AM) and 3) a monocoque structure with Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRPM), were manufactured and compared with respect to the weight and the cost effectiveness under FSAE rules. The FEM simulations for the AM were performed and the calculated results showed good agreements with the experimental ones. However, the AM could not absorb the impact energy experimentally. The CFRPM could absorb the required impact energy with lighter structure compared to other IAs. The weight was half of the experimental SSF and 1/5 of the calculated AM.
The Contribution of Erasmus to the Development of Romance Languages in the Early Modern Period
Authors: Del Rey Quesada Santiago
Published: June 2024

The influence of Latin, since the Middle Ages, in shaping Romance languages as vehicles for the expression of discourse traditions characteristic of conceptual scripturality (cf. Koch/Oesterreicher 1990 [2011]) has been analysed from different perspectives by Romance Linguistics scholars. Elaboration processes (Ausbau in German, cf. Kloss 1978) are responsible for the development of the mechanisms needed in vernacular languages to access the domain of communicative distance, which remained for many centuries exclusively reserved for Latin. During the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period, the use of Latin became increasingly restricted and was already limited in the 16th century mainly to liturgical manifestations, science, learned literature and international diplomacy. As Latin was excluded from oral communicative interactions, Erasmus’ Christian humanism advocated the recovery of Latin as an effective instrument of communication among Europe’s cultivated youth. The author’s most famous work during his lifetime, the Colloquia familiaria, was conceived as a manual of conversational formulas and motifs to encourage the use of Latin among the European cultured elite of the early 16th century. Although the Erasmian endeavour did not succeed, the influence of the Dutch scholar on vernacular literatures propitiated the triumph of strategies suitable for the textualisation of orality based on the Erasmian Latin model, which led to a manifestation of the ideal of ‘natural style’ (cf. Del Rey 2015b) that is common to numerous European Renaissance authors. In this paper, we reflect on the importance of Erasmus’ influence on the shaping of literary dialogue in the Romance languages of the Early Modern Period (cf. Burke 1989). Important metalinguistic reflections of some of the most relevant authors of the time, such as Baldassare Castiglione and Juan de Valdés (cf. Gauger 1996, Bustos 2011), are also considered with the aim of understanding the influence of Erasmus on their writing and, consequently, the importance of the Dutch author in the evolution of style in vernacular languages in Early Modern Period Europe.
The 16th-Century Slovenian Literary Standard and Slovenian Manuscript Texts from the Second Half of the 16th Century and Early 17th Century
Authors: Jelovšek Alenka
Published: June 2024

In the article, selected Slovenian manuscripts written between 1550 and 1623 are studied in light of their adherence to the established (Protestant) language standard of the period or their deviation from it, with the aim of assessing the diffusion of the Protestant standard to non-religious texts produced in the central Slovenian area in the given period. The adherence to the standard is assessed on the basis of some orthographical, phonological and morphological features of the texts which are compared to the same features in the works of the dominant Protestant writers, especially Dalmatin’s Bible, and to the standard set in the Catholic EVANGELIA INU LYSTVVI 1612. The analysis shows that the sociolinguistic situation in the second half of the 16th century and the first quarter of the 17th century can be described as diglossic, with the language of the majority of analyzed manuscripts being not distinctly dialectal nor entirely adhering to the Protestant language standard, though greater adherence to the established standards is observable in the manuscripts written by priests; in general, manuscripts can be characterized as hybrid, their language combining dialectal reflections with features characteristic of the Protestant standard.
Defending the Catalan Language
Authors: Lledó-Guillem Vicente
Published: June 2024

This study focuses on the work Los col·loquis de la insigne ciutat de Tortosa [Dialogues. A Catalan Renaissance Colloquy Set in the City of Tortosa] by the Catalan knight Cristòfol Despuig. While it was written around 1557, it was not published until 1877. My analysis demonstrates that the issue of language is raised in the Dialogues to defend the memory of the Catalan-Aragonese Empire in which the Principality of Catalonia has always been the dominant part, especially in the Catalan-speaking lands. The prestigious position of the Principality of Catalonia is supported by an explicit hierarchy of the varieties of the Catalan language in which the Catalan used in the Principality of Catalonia is considered superior. This explicit hierarchy implies two important ideological aspects: first, the idea of origin as the main criterion to value the different varieties of the language. Second, the description of the Valencian other as a palimpsest, since while Valencians were colonized first by Catalans and then by Castilians, the Catalan colonial presence can still be recovered. The otherness of the Valencian identity is represented by four linguistic aspects of the text: first, the Castilian name of the Valencian character: don Pedro. Second, don Pedro’s lack of awareness that Catalan was a courtly language. Third, don Pedro’s acknowledgement that the Catalan spoken in the Kingdom of Valencia has been contaminated by its contact with Castilian. Finally, the erasure of the literary achievements in Catalan in the Kingdom of Valencia during the reign of the Castilian Trastámara Dynasty in the Crown of Aragon (1412–1516). This erasure supports the superiority of the House of Barcelona-Aragon over the Trastámara Dynasty. Moreover, it supports a clear association between language and political power in which literature does not play an important role in the value of a language.
Learning to Write Letters in Sixteenth-Century Florence
Authors: Serra Eleonora
Published: June 2024

In sixteenth-century Italy, more and more women began to actively participate in the practice of private letter-writing. This contribution presents the analysis of the language of twenty archival letters written in the Florentine vernacular by Lucrezia di Matteo Albizzi Ricasoli, a Florentine patrician woman who had a low level of writing experience. Lucrezia began to write quite late in her life and went on to correspond with her sons over the next twenty-six years (1539–1565). Focusing on the formulae she used in the epistolary frame and in the superscriptions, my analysis assesses the degree of fixedness of these elements, discusses the functions they might have played in her letter-writing process, and investigates possible lifespan changes in relation to her progressive increase in writing experience. Drawing from hitherto unknown archival material, this study offers a contribution to the historical sociolinguistic debates on the use and social functions of formulae.
English Pauper Letters in the Eighteenth Century and Beyond
Authors: Gardner Anne-Christine
Published: June 2024

This article explores a new subtype of vernacular correspondence emerging in the early eighteenth century, the pauper letter, providing a textual classification of this new text type and an account of its variability and evolution into the nineteenth century. The study is based on 189 letters sent between 1730 and 1834 by the poor applying for support from their parish of legal settlement, with a focus on the potential influence of the form and language of petitions in the realisation of five features which can be found in pauper letters (voice, greeting, petition-element, closing formula and self-reference). From a diachronic perspective, letter-style writing was preferred already in the earliest pauper letters, and the presence of petition-style features further decreases over time. In consequence, pauper letters should be classified as letters rather than petitions. The analysis of inter-writer variation across pauper letters and different social groups shows that in pauper letters there is significant stylistic variation and that the writers employ strategies, in particular self-reference, to index their social roles of applicant and parishioner or to highlight the difficult circumstances in which they find themselves, as they appeal to the responsibility of the parish officials to offer assistance. In contrast, in 14 letters by parish officials and advocates writing on behalf of the poor formulaic sequences are generally more uniform than in pauper letters. Stylistic choices by writers with more experience (including paupers) tend to be oriented towards majority usage patterns and show an affinity with stylistic expressions also attested in business correspondence. A study on intra-writer variation reveals that individual encoders have a fixed repertoire of formulaic expressions expected in closing formulae and self-references. Owing to their limited schooling opportunities, paupers typically only acquired incomplete knowledge of conventional expressions and their appropriateness. Self-corrections by paupers in closing formulae and self-references support earlier findings that formulaic sequences were often learned through incidental oral transmission and stored and processed as a whole.
Dimensions of Incoming Economic Vocabulary in Eighteenth-Century Britain
Authors: Liimatta Aatu , Marjanen Jani , Tahko Tuuli , Tolonen Mikko , Säily Tanja
Published: June 2024

The eighteenth century is often connected with economic improvement. Considering the significant functional expansion of the English language during this period, driven by various socio-cultural changes, and the contemporary interest in the economy, we hypothesize that this linguistic expansion facilitated the spread of economic vocabulary to new contexts. Combining linguistic and historical expertise, we study vocabulary drawn from the ‘trade and finance’ section of the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary in economic texts included in Eighteenth Century Collections Online. We identify incoming economic lexis based on its rate of change and apply multi-dimensional analysis to extract four lexical dimensions of economic discourse, which we interpret as (1) public income and expenditure, (2) public debt, (3) financial system, and (4) private enterprise. The lexical items associated with the dimensions are mostly Latin or French in origin, and many of them are neologisms that are first attested in the later eighteenth century, suggesting their widespread introduction into the language around that time. We show that at the beginning of the century, the use of the items that were extant then tends to be more concrete and local, with more abstract and wide-reaching contexts added towards the end of the century. This suggests a specialization of economic discourse that is related to the emergence of political economy as a field for intellectual theorizing.
Sociocultural Change and the Development of Vernacular Languages in Early Modern Europe
Authors: Currie Oliver
Published: June 2024

This thematic issue of Linguistica explores the interaction between sociocultural change and the development of vernacular languages in Early Modern Europe. Its scope is deliberately broad in the range of topics, languages as well as in the time span covered from, at one end, the transition from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern period in the 15th century to, at the other end, the transition from the Early Modern to the Late Modern period in the 18th and 19th centuries. The leitmotiv of the issue – the development of vernacular languages – is explored from different perspectives, for different languages and at different periods. The languages covered include not only languages which were official or hegemonic in emerging European nation states – English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch – but also peripheral languages such as Slovene, Irish, Welsh, Scots, Low German, Catalan and Franco-Provençal. Several of the articles in this issue also focus on more than one vernacular language, exploring competition or contact between Latin and vernacular languages or between different vernacular languages and cultures.
Coherence-Making Strategies in the Renaut de Montauban Tradition
Authors: Posth Carlotta , García de Alba Lobeira Sonia
Published: June 2024

In the transition from the late Middle Ages to the early modern period, the vernacular prose romance became popular throughout Europe. This new genre brought about the functional expansion of vernacular languages into the realm of prose, which had previously been primarily the preserve of Latin. This paper discusses coherence-making strategies in prose romances from a diachronic perspective. In a case study of the Renaut de Montauban, also called The Four Sons of Aymon, we explore a number of linguistic devices used to convey narrative coherence in the chanson de geste tradition and what happens to these patterns when the matter is transposed from verse into prose and across languages, from French into English. We focus on copula constructions with initial intensifiers, the discourse markers lors, adonc, or and si (and their English counterparts), as well as the narrative formula commonly referred to as entrelacement or interlacement. By combining linguistic observations with a narratological framework borrowed from literary analysis, we aim to shed light on further research possibilities into the realm of comparative medieval literature which considers new generic (prose), material (print), and linguistic (French-English) contexts. Our results show that the change in form from verse to prose causes word order patterns with sentence-initial intensifiers to decline in favour of a general preference for discourse markers. These became the preferred way of establishing coherence in long prose texts. Their varied use in French and the English translation of the Renaut show a definite awareness of the significance of this resource for plot progression and the management of shifts between narrative levels. Furthermore, the combination of discourse markers with other narrative formulae, like interlacement, and typographical features underscore the deliberate use of these linguistic features as coherence-making elements in the prose Renaut tradition.
Determinants of knowledge, attitude and practices of refuse disposal method among residents of Port Harcourt Metropolis
Authors: Chikeka Clementina Onuabuchi , Ndie Elkenah Chubike , Ugwu Florence Chisom
Published: June 2024

Background/Objective: Waste management poses a notable environmental hurdle for developing countries, chiefly revolving around the collection and disposal practices varied across societies. This study aims to investigate the determinants of knowledge, attitude, and practices of refuse disposal methods among residents of Port Harcourt.Methods: A cross-sectional survey involving 422 adult residents of Port Harcourt Metropolis was conducted. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing their knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding refuse disposal methods. Statistical analysis, including descriptive and correlation analysis, were employed to assess levels of knowledge, attitude, practices, and factors influencing refuse disposal, as well as the relationships between these variables.Results: Findings indicate a high level of knowledge (85%), positive attitude (81%), and moderate practices (63%) regarding refuse disposal methods among residents of Port Harcourt Metropolis. Factors influencing refuse disposal in the area include access to waste disposal facilities (88%), cost of waste disposal (55%), peer influence (23%), lack of awareness (48%), and government policies (72%). Chi-Square test indicates a significant relationship between knowledge and practice, as well as attitude and practice of refuse disposal methods among residents of Port Harcourt, at the significance level (p < 0.05).Conclusion: The research indicates that Port Harcourt residents generally possess a high level of knowledge and a positive attitude towards refuse disposal, coupled with moderate practices. Nevertheless, significant factors such as access to waste disposal facilities and governmental policies influence these practices, highlighting the necessity for focused interventions and policy improvements to enhance waste management efforts in the region.
Crude oil remediation potentials of Pennisetum purpureum in oil producing communities of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
Authors: Udom N. R . , Ogwo P. A. , Uchendu U.I.
Published: June 2024

The phytoremediation of hydrocarbon impacted soil using selected plant species (Pennisetum purpureum) in oil producing communities of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria was investigated using standard techniques. The selected plant species were cultivated on soils from Mbo, Ikot Abasi and Esit Eket contaminated with graded concentration (5, 10, 15 and 20%) of crude oil. Analyses of the crude oil remediating potential of the test plants revealed that at 5% contamination, the concentration of residual hydrocarbon in the rhizosphere soil of P. purpureum reduced from between 1928 – 1934 mg/kg to between 114.60 – 114.63 mg/kgafter 90 days. At 10% contamination, the concentration reduced from between 3124 – 3127 mg/kg and between 482.49 – 482.51 mg/kgafter 90 days. At 15% contamination, the concentration of the residual hydrocarbon, in the Control as well P. purpureum rhizosphere reduced from between 5146 – 5151 mg/kg to between 511.60 – 511.59 mg/kgafter 90 days. Similarly, at 20% contamination, the concentration of the residual hydrocarbon, in the Control as well as P. purpureum rhizosphere soil reduced from between 6021 – 6025 mg/kg to between 1131.21 – 1133.2 mg/kgafter 90 days. P. purpureum exhibited high hydrocarbon remediating potentials. Contamination of the soil samples with crude oil increased the organic matter and hydrocarbon content in the soil while decreasing the soil total nitrogen and phosphorous contents. The pH of the soil samples tended towards acidity as the concentration of the crude oil increased. The potentials of P. purpureumto phytoremediate hydrocarbon contaminated soil as reported in this study can be explored for broader use in remediating crude oil polluted environment.