• Title/Summary/Keyword: The Queen of the Air

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Benjaminian Ruskin: Redemptive Myth and Modernity

  • Sohn, Jitae
    • Journal of English Language & Literature
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    • v.55 no.6
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    • pp.937-959
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    • 2009
  • The Queen of the Air, John Ruskin-s highly elliptical publication of 1869, elaborates a complex mythology as a way of responding to the prevalence of scientific thinking, widespread environmental degradation, the pernicious effects of political economy, and mechanistic labor. Benjamin-s desire to rescue human experience from prevailing scientific conceptions is reminiscent of Ruskin-s fear that the peculiar power that shapes the unities of the natural world is simultaneously being "beaten down by the philosophers into a metal or evolved by them into a gas" and obscured by the dreams and theories of philosophers and theologians. As a critic remarks, in Benjamin-s-and, we would add, Ruskin-s-view, "what the modern era lacked was a basis for continuity which would prevent experience from disintegrating into a desultory and meaningless series of events." Despite its frenetic hyper-associativity, then, The Queen of the Air contains a key element that Benjamin believes is necessary for "redemption": the desire for a new form of consciousness that recognizes links to the past and thus to the longings and dreams of our forebears. Thus, although Ruskin most immediately influences Proust, who in turn influences Benjamin, Benjamin-s thought is far more Ruskinian than critics have heretofore observed. Just as Benjamin helps us make sense of the ways in which The Queen of the Air is caught in the grip of the shocking associativity of modern life, so Ruskin assists us in discerning similar impulses in Benjamin-s attraction to a form of archaic consciousness that can, by altering the modern form of perception, reenchant the present.

Repeatable calibration of Hounsfield units to mineral density and effect of scanning medium

  • Crookshank, Meghan;Ploeg, Heidi-Lynn;Ellis, Randy;MacIntyre, Norma J.
    • Advances in biomechanics and applications
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    • v.1 no.1
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    • pp.15-22
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    • 2014
  • Computed tomography (CT) is being utilized in orthopaedics and related research to estimate bone strength. These applications benefit from calibration of Hounsfield units to mineral density typical of long bone, up to $1750mg/cm^3$. This study describes a method for establishing repeatable calibration of Hounsfield units to density, and determines the effects of imaging medium on calibration accuracy. Four hydroxyapatite standards were imaged in air on 7 occasions over 19 weeks using a helical multi-slice CT scanner. Each standard was scanned 5 times in different media: porcine soft tissue, water, and air. Calibrated densities were highly repeatable (CV<3.5%). No difference in density was observed between water and soft tissue conditions (p>0.08). This work provides a model for determining repeatable scanner-specific density calibration, demonstrates that the linear relationship between Hounsfield units and density extends to values typical of cortical bone, and supports the practice of imaging calibration standards in an environment similar to that of the target bone.

A Spatial Analysis of the Causal Factors Influencing China's Air Pollution

  • Kim, Yoomi;Tanaka, Katsuya;Zhang, Xinxin
    • Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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    • v.11 no.3
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    • pp.194-201
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    • 2017
  • This study investigates the factors that affect China's air pollution using city-level panel data and spatial econometric models. We address three air pollutants ($PM_{10}$, $SO_2$, and $NO_2$) present in 30 cities in China between 2004-2012 using global OLS and spatial models. To develop the spatial econometric analysis, we create a spatial weights matrix to define spatial patterns based on two neighborhood criteria - the queen contiguity and k nearest neighbors. The results show that the estimated coefficients are relatively consistent across different spatial weight criteria. The OLS models indicate that the effect of green spaces is statistically significant in decreasing the concentrations of all air pollutants. In the $PM_{10}$ and $SO_2$ analyses, the OLS models find that the number of buses and population density are also positively related to a reduction in the concentration of air pollutants. In addition, an increase in the temperature and the presence of secondary industries increase $SO_2$ and $NO_2$ concentrations, respectively. All spatial models capture a positive and significant effect of green spaces on reducing the concentration of each air pollutant. Our results suggest that green spaces in cities should receive priority consideration in local planning aimed at sustainable development. Furthermore, policymakers need to be able to discern the differences among pollutants when establishing environmental policies.

Study of Moist Air Flow Through the Ludwieg Tube

  • Baek, Seung-Cheol;Kwon, Soon-Bum;Kim, Heuy-Dong;Toshiaki Setoguchi;Sigeru Matsuo;Raghu S. Raghunathan
    • Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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    • v.17 no.12
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    • pp.2066-2077
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    • 2003
  • The time-dependent behavior of unsteady condensation of moist air through the Ludwieg tube is investigated by using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) work. The two-dimensional, compressible, Navier-Stokes equations, fully coupled with the condensate droplet growth equations, are numerically solved by a third-order MUSCL type TVD finite-difference scheme, with a second-order fractional time step. Baldwin-Lomax turbulence model is employed to close the governing equations. The predicted results are compared with the previous experiments using the Ludwieg tube with a diaphragm downstream. The present computations represent the experimental flows well. The time-dependent unsteady condensation characteristics are discussed based upon the present predicted results. The results obtained clearly show that for an initial relative humidity below 30% there is no periodic oscillation of the condensation shock wave, but for an initial relative humidity over 40% the periodic excursions of the condensation shock occurs in the Ludwieg tube, and the frequency increases with the initial relative humidity. It is also found that total pressure loss due to unsteady condensation in the Ludwieg tube should not be ignored even for a very low initial relative humidity and it results from the periodic excursions of the condensation shock wave.

Association between High Diffusion-Weighted Imaging-Derived Functional Tumor Burden of Peritoneal Carcinomatosis and Overall Survival in Patients with Advanced Ovarian Carcinoma

  • He An;Jose AU Perucho;Keith WH Chiu;Edward S Hui;Mandy MY Chu;Siew Fei Ngu;Hextan YS Ngan;Elaine YP Lee
    • Korean Journal of Radiology
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    • v.23 no.5
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    • pp.539-547
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    • 2022
  • Objective: To investigate the association between functional tumor burden of peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) derived from diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and overall survival in patients with advanced ovarian carcinoma (OC). Materials and Methods: This prospective study was approved by the local research ethics committee, and informed consent was obtained. Fifty patients (mean age ± standard deviation, 57 ± 12 years) with stage III-IV OC scheduled for primary or interval debulking surgery (IDS) were recruited between June 2016 and December 2021. DWI (b values: 0, 400, and 800 s/mm2) was acquired with a 16-channel phased-array torso coil. The functional PC burden on DWI was derived based on K-means clustering to discard fat, air, and normal tissue. A score similar to the surgical peritoneal cancer index was assigned to each abdominopelvic region, with additional scores assigned to the involvement of critical sites, denoted as the functional peritoneal cancer index (fPCI). The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of the largest lesion was calculated. Patients were dichotomized by immediate surgical outcome into high- and low-risk groups (with and without residual disease, respectively) with subsequent survival analysis using the Kaplan-Meier curve and log-rank test. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression was used to evaluate the association between DWI-derived results and overall survival. Results: Fifteen (30.0%) patients underwent primary debulking surgery, and 35 (70.0%) patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by IDS. Complete tumor debulking was achieved in 32 patients. Patients with residual disease after debulking surgery had reduced overall survival (p = 0.043). The fPCI/ADC was negatively associated with overall survival when accounted for clinicopathological information with a hazard ratio of 1.254 for high fPCI/ADC (95% confidence interval, 1.007-1.560; p = 0.043). Conclusion: A high DWI-derived functional tumor burden was associated with decreased overall survival in patients with advanced OC.

A Multicenter Pilot Study of Biliary Atresia Screening Using Digital Stool Color Imaging

  • Kannamon Waitayagitgumjon;Wannisa Poocharoen;Suchin Trirongjitmoah;Kriengsak Treeprapin;Arada Suttiwongsing;Thetiya Wirifai;Chira Trirongchitmoh;Pitiporn Tangkabuanbutr
    • Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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    • v.27 no.3
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    • pp.168-175
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    • 2024
  • Purpose: The presence of alcoholic stool in biliary atresia (BA) patients is the basis of a stool color card (SCC), a screening tool that has led to more patients receiving Kasai portoenterostomy earlier. This study aimed to evaluate the color image processing of stool images captured using smartphones. We propose that measuring digital color parameters is a more objective method for identifying BA stools and may improve the sensitivity of BA screening. Methods: A prospective study was conducted in five hospitals in Thailand between October 1, 2020, and December 31, 2021. Stools from infants presenting with jaundice, acholic stool, or dark-colored urine were photographed. Digital image color analysis was performed, and software was developed based on the color on the original SCC. Sensitivity and specificity for predicting BA stools were compared between the SCC and the software. Results: Of 33 infants eligible for data collection, 19 were diagnosed with BA. Saturation and blue were two potential digital color parameters used to differentiate BA stools. The receiver operating characteristic curve was used to determine the optimum cutoff point of both values, and when saturation ≤56 or blue ≥61 was set as a threshold for detecting BA stool, high accuracy was achieved at 81.8% and 78.8%, respectively. Conclusion: Digital image processing is a promising technology. With appropriate cutoff values of saturation in hue, saturation, value and blue in red, green, blue color models, BA stools can be identified, and equivocal-colored stools of non-BA patients can be differentiated with acceptable accuracy in infants presenting with jaundice.

A Comparative Study on the Relationship between MBTI Personality Types and Character Cards of Tarot (MBTI 성격유형과 타로 인물카드의 상관성 비교 연구)

  • So-Hyun Park;Hyeok-Jin Na
    • Industry Promotion Research
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    • v.8 no.4
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    • pp.187-200
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    • 2023
  • The purpose of this paper is to correspond to four-elements in astrology theory, an intellectual from ancient times, that show personality temperament among MBTI, a representative personality type test in modern times, furthermore, by examining 16 personality type cards in tarot, a play culture and fortune telling culture in which the four-element theory is integrated in symbols, it is a comparative consideration that connects the characteristics of the character types contained in them to the 16 personality types of MBTI. The four preferred types of MBTI are Extravesion(E) and Introversion(I), Sensing(S) and Intuition(N), Thinking(T) and Feeling(F), Judgment(J) and Perception(P). Among them, Western four-elements were able to respond to Fire, Water, Air, and Earth in the order of NF(iNtuitive Feeling Type), SF(Sensory Feeling Type), NT(iNtuitive Thinking Type), and ST(Sensory Thinking Type). This is a result that can be derived by comparing individual personality theory and MBTI temperament theory among the symbols contained in ancient astrological theories. And the classification of boys, knights, queens, and kings in the four classes of person cards could be divided according to the MBTI attitude index. The boy showed an adaptive introvert using I and P, the knight showed an adaptive extrovert using E and P, the queen showed a decisive introvert using I and J, and the king showed an adaptive extrovert using E and J.

The Narrative Structure of Terayama Shūji's Sekkyōbushi Misemono Opera Shintokumaru (데라야마 슈지(寺山修司)의 '셋교부시(說敎節)에 의한 미세모노(見せ物)오페라' <신토쿠마루(身毒丸)>의 서사 구조)

  • Kang, Choon-ae
    • (The) Research of the performance art and culture
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    • no.32
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    • pp.489-524
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    • 2016
  • This study examines the birth of a genre, the $Sekky{\bar{o}}bushi$ Misemono Opera, focusing on how it accepted and modernized Katarimono $Sekky{\bar{o}}bushi$. Unlike earlier studies, it argues that Terayama was clearly different from other first-generation Angura artists, in that he rebirthed the medieval story $Sekky{\bar{o}}bushi$ as a modern Misemono Opera. Shintokumaru (1978) was directed by Terayama $Sh{\bar{u}}ji$, a member of the first generation of Japan's 1960s Angura Theatre Movement. It takes as its subject the Katarimono $Sekky{\bar{o}}bushi$ Shintokumaru, a story set to music that can be considered an example of the modern heritage of East Asian storytelling. $Sekky{\bar{o}}$ Shintokumaru is set in Tennoji, Japan. The title character Shintoku develops leprosy as a result of his stepmother's curse and is saved through his fiancee Otohime's devoted love and the spiritual power of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. In this work, Terayama combined the narrative style of $Sekky{\bar{o}}bushi$ with J.A. Caesar's shamanistic rock music and gave it the subtitle 'Misemono Opera by $Sekky{\bar{o}}bushi$'. He transforms its underlying theme, the principle of goddesses and their offspring in a medieval religious world and the modori (return) instinct, into a world of mother-son-incest. Also, the pedestrian revenge scene from $Sekky{\bar{o}}bushi$ is altered to represent Shintokumaru as a drag queen, wearing his stepmother's clothes and mask, and he unites sexually with Sensaku, his stepbrother, and ends up killing him. The play follows the cause and effect structure of $Sekky{\bar{o}}bushi$. The appearance of katarite, a storyteller, propelling the narrative throughout and Dr. Yanagida Kunio is significant as an example of the modern use of self-introduction as a narrative device and chorus. Terayama $Sh{\bar{u}}ji^{\prime}s$ memories of desperate childhood, especially the absence of his father and the Aomori air raids, are depicted and deepened in structure. However, seventeen years after Terayama's death, the version of the play directed by Ninagawa Yukio-based on a revised edition by Kishida Rio, who had been Terayama's writing partner since the play's premier-is the today the better-known version. All the theatrical elements implied by Terayama's subtitle were removed, and as a result, the Rio production misses the essence of the diverse experimental theatre of Terayama's theatre company, $Tenj{\bar{o}}$ Sajiki. Shintokumaru has the narrative structure characteristic of aphorism. That is, each part of the story can stand alone, but it is possible to combine all the parts organically.