Numerical solution of stress intensity factors of multiple cracks in great number with eigen COD boundary integral equations

Based on the eigen crack opening displacement (COD) boundary integral equations, a newly developed computational approach is proposed for the analysis of multiple crack problems. The eigen COD particularly refers to a crack in an infinite domain under fictitious traction acting on the crack surface. With the concept of eigen COD, the multiple cracks in great number can be solved by using the conventional displacement discontinuity boundary integral equations in an iterative fashion with a small size of system matrix. The interactions among cracks are dealt with by two parts according to the distances of cracks to the current crack. The strong effects of cracks in adjacent group are treated with the aid of the local Eshelby matrix derived from the traction BIEs in discrete form. While the relatively week effects of cracks in far-field group are treated in the iteration procedures. Numerical examples are provided for the stress intensity factors of multiple cracks, up to several thousands in number, with the proposed approach. By comparing with the analytical solutions in the literature as well as solutions of the dual boundary integral equations, the effectiveness and the efficiencies of the proposed approach are verified.

The effect of warm-up intensity on range of motion and anaerobic performance

Although there is a paucity of scientific support for the benefits of warm-up, athletes commonly warm up prior to activity with the intention of improving performance and reducing the incidence of injuries. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of warm-up intensity on both range of motion (ROM) and anaerobic performance. Nine males (age = 21.7 +/- 1.6 years, height = 1.77 +/- 0.04 m, weight = 80.2 +/- 6.8 kg, and VO2max = 60.4 +/- 5.4 ml/kg/min) completed four trials. Each trial consisted of hip, knee, and ankle ROM evaluation using an electronic inclinometer and an anaerobic capacity test on the treadmill (time to fatigue at 13 km/hr and 20% grade). Subjects underwent no warm-up or a warm-up of 15 minutes running at 60, 70 or 80% VO2max followed by a series of lower limb stretches. Intensity of warm-up had little effect on ROM, since ankle dorsiflexion and hip extension significantly increased in all warm-up conditions, hip flexion significantly increased only after the 80% VO2max warm-up, and knee flexion did not change after any warm-up. Heart rate and body temperature were significantly increased (p < 0.05) prior to anaerobic performance for each of the warm-up conditions, but anaerobic performance improved significantly only after warm-up at 60% VO2max (10%) and 70% VO2max (13%). A 15-minute warm-up at an intensity of 60-70% VO2max is therefore recommended to improve ROM and enhance subsequent anaerobic performance.

The Cyndi Lauper affect : bodies, girlhood and popular culture [Abstract]

Using a collective biography method informed by a Deleuzian theoretical approach (Davies & Gannon, 2009), this paper analyses embodied memories of girlhood becomings through affective engagements with resonating images in media and popular culture. In this approach to analysis we move beyond an impasse in some feminist cultural studies where studies of popular culture have been understood through theories of representation and reception that retain a sense of discrete subjectivity and linear effects. In these approaches, analysis focuses respectively on decoding and deciphering images in terms of their normative and ideological baggage, and, particularly with moving images, on psychological readings (Coleman, 2011; Driscoll, 2002). Understanding bodies and popular culture through Deleuzian notions of ‘becoming’ and ‘assemblage’ opens possibilities for feminist researchers to consider the ways in which bodies are not separate to images but rather, are known, felt, materialised and mobilised with/through images (Coleman, 2008, 2009, 2011). We tease out the implications of this new approach to media affects through two memories of girls’ engagements with media images, reconceived as moments of embodied being within affective flows of popular culture that might momentarily extend upon the ways of being and doing girlhood.

Do thermal agents affect range of movement and mechanical properties in soft tissues? A systematic review

OBJECTIVES: To examine the effect of thermal agents on the range of movement (ROM) and mechanical properties in soft tissue and to discuss their clinical relevance. DATA SOURCES: Electronic databases (Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, and EMBASE) were searched from their earliest available record up to May 2011 using Medical Subjects Headings and key words. We also undertook related articles searches and read reference lists of all incoming articles. STUDY SELECTION: Studies involving human participants describing the effects of thermal interventions on ROM and/or mechanical properties in soft tissue. Two reviewers independently screened studies against eligibility criteria. DATA EXTRACTION: Data were extracted independently by 2 review authors using a customized form. Methodologic quality was also assessed by 2 authors independently, using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. DATA SYNTHESIS: Thirty-six studies, comprising a total of 1301 healthy participants, satisfied the inclusion criteria. There was a high risk of bias across all studies. Meta-analyses were not undertaken because of clinical heterogeneity; however, effect sizes were calculated. There were conflicting data on the effect of cold on joint ROM, accessory joint movement, and passive stiffness. There was limited evidence to determine whether acute cold applications enhance the effects of stretching, and further evidence is required. There was evidence that heat increases ROM, and a combination of heat and stretching is more effective than stretching alone. CONCLUSIONS: Heat is an effective adjunct to developmental and therapeutic stretching techniques and should be the treatment of choice for enhancing ROM in a clinical or sporting setting. The effects of heat or ice on other important mechanical properties (eg, passive stiffness) remain equivocal and should be the focus of future study.

Synchrony of planting and proportions of susceptible varieties affect rice tungro disease epidemics in the Philippines.

Surveys were conducted in the Philippines from 1995 to 1997 to examine relationships between production environment variables (agroecosystem, synchrony of planting, and varieties planted) and the occurrence of rice tungro disease epidemics using correspondence analyses. The sites covered were Isabela, Nueva Ecija, North Cotabato, and Bohol provinces as well as Bicol region. Tungro disease incidence in farmers’ fields was assessed visually based on typical symptoms. In addition, leaf samples were collected from each field and indexed serologically by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the presence of Rice tungro bacilliform (RTBV) and Rice tungro spherical (RTSV) viruses. Thus, relationships between the production environment variables and four disease variables — visual incidence and double RTBV and RTSV, single RTSV, and single RTBV infections — were examined. A higher association was observed between site and varieties planted as well as site and synchrony of planting than between site and agroecosystem or site and disease variables (visual incidence, double RTBV and RTSV and single RTSV infections). Disease variables depended on both varieties planted and synchrony of planting and correspondence analysis revealed that the low disease incidence in Nueva Ecija was associated with synchronous planting while the high disease incidence in Isabela was associated with the planting of susceptible varieties and asynchronous planting. Such findings suggest that the relationship between the last two factors at a given site is critical to predicting tungro occurrence. Moreover, correspondence analysis of the relationship among disease variables revealed that tungro incidence is associated with not only double RTBV and RTSV infections but also single RTSV infections. Implications of these results on tungro epidemiology and management are discussed.

Imaging affect : abstraction and the echo of the unknowable

As an artist my primary interest is in the abstract, that is in images of the imageless. I am curious about the emergence of pictorial significance and content from this unknowable space. To speak of the significance of an imageless image is also to speak of its affect. I aim to explore this both theoretically and practically. Theoretically I will explore affect through the late work of Lyotard and his notion of the affect-phrase. This is an under-examined aspect of Lyotard and demarcates a valuable way to look at the origins, impact and ramifications of affect for art. Practically I will apply these understandings to the development of my own creative work which includes both painting and digital work. My studio practice moves towards exploring the unfamiliar through the powerful and restless silence of affect.In this intense space each work or body of work 'leaks' into the next occasioning a sense of borderlessness, or of uncertainty. This interpenetration and co-mingling of conceptual and material terrains combines to present temporal and spatial slippages evident within the works themselves and their making, but it is also evident in bodies of work across the chronology of their making. Through a mapping of my own painting and digital arts practice and the utilisation of Lyotard’s notion of the affect -phrase I aim to describe the action of this ‘charged emptiness’ on creativity and explore and explain its significance on that we call image and its animation of what we call critical discourse.

Affect and inarticulacy : the silent voice of the artist

This paper is based on a practice-led research project I conducted into the artist’s ‘voice’ as part of my PhD. The artist’s ‘voice’ is, I argue, comprised of a dual motivation—'articulate' representation and ‘inarticulate’ affect—two things which do not necessarily derive from the artist; two things that are in effect, trans-subjective. Within this paper I will explore the ‘inarticulate’ through the later Lyotard’s affect-phrase, in conjunction with the example of my own painting and digital arts practice, to show just how this unknown can be mapped and understood as generative. As a visual artist my primary interest is in abstraction; I am curious about the emergence of pictorial significance and content from affect’s seemingly unknowable space. My studio practice occasions a sense of borderlessness, and uncertainty where each work or body of work ‘leaks’ into the next, exploring the unfamiliar through the powerful and restless discursive silence of affect. It is within this silence that is performed the disturbing yet generative disconnect that is the affect-phrase. This I contend is apparent in art’s manifest materiality that is, its degree of abstraction and muteness. For the later Lyotard, affect disrupts articulation by injuring or violating the rules of the genres of discourse. For this to be evident one needs to attend to the subtleties of how affect may ‘animate’ discourse. In other words how affect’s discursive disruption activates art’s resistance to definitive interpretation generating even demanding diverse ‘meaning’ creation for art, the abstract, and critical discourse.

Does legal heritage affect obesity? The channel of motor vehicle dependence

We find a robust relationship between motor vehicle ownership, its interaction with legal heritage and obesity in OECD countries. Our estimates indicate that an increase of 100 motor vehicles per thousand residents is associated with about a 6% point increase in obesity in common law countries, whereas it has a much smaller or insignificant impact in civil law countries. These relations hold whether we examine trend data and simple correlations, or conduct cross-section or panel data regression analysis. Our results suggest that obesity rises with motor vehicle ownership in countries following a common law tradition where individual liberty is encouraged, whereas the link is small or statistically non-existent in countries with a civil law background where the rights of the individual tend to be circumscribed by the power of the state.

Does 2-wheeler experience affect behaviours and attitudes to 2-wheelers as a car driver?

• Car-bicycle and car-motorcycle crashes often serious • Car driver mostly at fault, often because of failure to see (Schramm et al, 2010) • Car drivers with motorcycling experience less likely to be involved in motorcycle crashes or be at fault (Brooks & Guppy, 1990; Magazzu et al., 2006) and hold more positive beliefs about motorcyclists (Crundall et al., 2008) • Does bicycle riding experience have the same benefits?

Does experience with one type of two-wheeler affect behaviours and attitudes to other types?

Failure to give way by motor vehicles is a factor in many collisions with both powered and unpowered two wheelers (TWs). Motor vehicle drivers often report that they did not see the TW, but research has shown that motor vehicle drivers who have experience riding a motorcycle are less likely to fail to detect motorcycles. The research reported here examines whether this phenomenon extends to detection of bicycles and whether car drivers who have experience with one mode of TW show improved detection of the other mode. A driving simulator study was conducted in an Australian urban setting which incorporated some of the most common car-TW crash scenarios. Participants with car-only, car plus motorcycle, car plus bicycle, and car plus bicycle plus motorcycle experience operated a car simulator. Their interactions with both types of TWs were measured in terms of visual detection, lateral distance and speed when approaching and passing. The effects of different levels of colour and lighting of the TWs on driver responses were also examined. The attitudes of participants towards TWs were measured in a questionnaire.

The cost of being ethical : evidence from Islamic equity funds

This paper examines the relationship between financial performance and ethical screening intensity of a special class of ethical funds that is rooted in Islamic values – Islamic equity funds (IEFs). These faith-based ethical funds screen investments on compliance with Islamic values where conventional interest expense (riba), gambling (maysir), excessive uncertainty (gharar), and non-ethical (non-halal) products are prohibited. We test whether these extra screens affect the financial performance of IEFs relative to non-Islamic funds. Based on a large survivorship-free international sample of 387 Islamic funds, our results show that IEFs on average underperform conventional funds by 40 basis points per month, or 4.8% per year (supporting the underperformance hypothesis). While Islamic funds do not generally perform better during crisis periods, they outperformed conventional funds during the recent sub-prime crisis (supporting the outperformance hypothesis). Using holdings-based measures for ethical screening intensity, results show IEFs that apply more intensive screening perform worse, suggesting that there is a cost to being ethical.

Physical characteristics of the indoor environment that affect health and wellbeing in healthcare facilities : a review

Understanding the physical characteristics of the indoor environment that affect human health and wellbeing is the key requirement underpinning the beneficial design of a healthcare facility (HCF). We reviewed and summarised physical factors of the indoor environment reported to affect human health and wellbeing in HCFs. Research materials included articles identified in a Pubmed search, guidelines, books, reports and monographs, as well as the bibliographies of review articles in the area studied. Of these, 209 publications were selected for this review. According to the literature, there is evidence that the following physical factors of the indoor environment affect the health and wellbeing of human beings in an HCF: safety, ventilation and HVAC systems, thermal environment, acoustic environment, interior layout and room type, windows (including daylight and views), nature and gardens, lighting, colour, floor covering, furniture and its placement, ergonomics, wayfinding, artworks and music. Some of these, in themselves, directly promote or hinder health and wellbeing, but the physical factors may also have numerous indirect impacts by influencing the behaviour, actions, and interactions of patients, their families and the staff members. The findings of this research enable a good understanding of the different physical factors of the indoor environment on health and wellbeing and provide a practical resource for those responsible for the design and operate the facilities as well as researchers investigating these factors. However, more studies are needed in order to inform the design of optimally beneficial indoor environments in HCFs for all user groups.

Cooking enhances but the degree of ripeness does not affect provitamin A carotenoid bioavailability from bananas

Banana is a staple crop in many regions where vitamin A deficiency is prevalent, making it a target for provitamin A biofortification. However, matrix effects may limit provitamin A bioavailability from bananas. The retinol bioefficacies of unripe and ripe bananas (study 1A), unripe high-provitamin A bananas (study 1B), and raw and cooked bananas (study 2) were determined in retinol-depleted Mongolian gerbils (n = 97/study) using positive and negative controls. After feeding a retinol-deficient diet for 6 and 4 wk in studies 1 and 2, respectively, customized diets containing 60, 30, or 15% banana were fed for 17 and 13 d, respectively. In study 1A, the hepatic retinol of the 60% ripe Cavendish group (0.52 ± 0.13 μmol retinol/liver) differed from baseline (0.65 ± 0.15 μmol retinol/liver) and was higher than the negative control group (0.39 ± 0.16 μmol retinol/liver; P < 0.0065). In study 1B, no groups differed from baseline (0.65 ± 0.15 μmol retinol/liver; P = 0.20). In study 2, the 60% raw Butobe group (0.68 ± 0.17 μmol retinol/liver) differed from the 60% cooked Butobe group (0.87 ± 0.24 μmol retinol/liver); neither group differed from baseline (0.80 ± 0.27 μmol retinol/liver; P < 0.0001). Total liver retinol was higher in the groups fed cooked bananas than in those fed raw (P = 0.0027). Body weights did not differ even though gerbils ate more green, ripe, and raw bananas than cooked, suggesting a greater indigestible component. In conclusion, thermal processing, but not ripening, improves the retinol bioefficacy of bananas. Food matrix modification affects carotenoid bioavailability from provitamin A biofortification targets.

Analysing DBD plasma lamp intensity versus power consumption using a push-pull pulsed power supply

In this paper characteristic of a DBD (Dielectric Barrier Discharge) plasma lamp is investigated based on the lamp intensity and power consumption. A pulsed power supply with controllable parameters based on a push-pull converter is developed for lamp excitation at different voltage levels and repetition rate. The experimentations were conducted for 28 different operating points with the frequency range of 2 kHz to 15 Khz at output voltage levels of between 7.4 kV up to 13 kV. The obtained results show the feasibility of finding an optimum operation point due to nonlinear behaviour of the DBD lamp.

Brave new green world : consequences of a carbon economy for the conservation of Australian biodiversity

Pricing greenhouse gas emissions is a burgeoning and possibly lucrative financial means for climate change mitigation. Emissions pricing is being used to fund emissions-abatement technologies and to modify land management to improve carbon sequestration and retention. Here we discuss the principal land-management options under existing and realistic future emissions-price legislation in Australia, and examine them with respect to their anticipated direct and indirect effects on biodiversity. The main ways in which emissions price-driven changes to land management can affect biodiversity are through policies and practices for (1) environmental plantings for carbon sequestration, (2) native regrowth, (3) fire management, (4) forestry, (5) agricultural practices (including cropping and grazing), and (6) feral animal control. While most land-management options available to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions offer clear advantages to increase the viability of native biodiversity, we describe several caveats regarding potentially negative outcomes, and outline components that need to be considered if biodiversity is also to benefit from the new carbon economy. Carbon plantings will only have real biodiversity value if they comprise appropriate native tree species and provide suitable habitats and resources for valued fauna. Such plantings also risk severely altering local hydrology and reducing water availability. Management of regrowth post-agricultural abandonment requires setting appropriate baselines and allowing for thinning in certain circumstances, and improvements to forestry rotation lengths would likely increase carbon-retention capacity and biodiversity value. Prescribed burning to reduce the frequency of high-intensity wildfires in northern Australia is being used as a tool to increase carbon retention. Fire management in southern Australia is not readily amenable for maximising carbon storage potential, but will become increasingly important for biodiversity conservation as the climate warms. Carbon price-based modifications to agriculture that would benefit biodiversity include reductions in tillage frequency and livestock densities, reductions in fertiliser use, and retention and regeneration of native shrubs; however, anticipated shifts to exotic perennial grass species such as buffel grass and kikuyu could have net negative implications for native biodiversity. Finally, it is unlikely that major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions arising from feral animal control are possible, even though reduced densities of feral herbivores will benefit Australian biodiversity greatly.