11 research outputs found
An alternative design for traffic intersections with work zones by using pre-signals
No full textThe lane closures caused by the work zone at the approaches create a negative impact on the operational effectiveness of the signalized intersections. This paper presents an innovative design for intersections with work zones to improve the intersection’s practical capacity. In this design, the lanes in the leg with work zone can be used dynamically as approach and exit lanes during different periods of a signal cycle by using the pre-signal. An optimization model for an optimal geometric layout and signal timing design is built to capture real-world operational constraints, including the lane assignment, the signal timing of the main signal and pre-signal, the distance of the mixed-usage area and the transition area, and the degree of saturation restriction. A case study and extensive numerical analysis demonstrate the effectiveness of the prospective design as compared with conventional designs under different geometric layout and traffic demand situations. Overall, the proposed design can lead to an increment in the practical capacity of the intersection with a work zone (by up to 30%) and reduce the average vehicular delay accordingly (by 50%) without necessitating an expansion of the intersection. The results show that the promising application of the proposed design when the length of the work zone is less than 160 m.Accepted author manuscriptTransport and Plannin
Modelling the operation of vehicles at signalised intersections with special width approach lane based on field data
No full textThe intersection with special width approach lane (SWAL) is a newly proposed unconventional intersection design. A microscopic traffic flow model was proposed for describing the operation of vehicles at signalised intersections with SWAL. The operation process of driving on the SWAL was divided into four segments, including entering segment, transition segment, special width lane segment, and exiting segment. The car-following and lane selection behaviours of vehicles in these segments are analysed. The parameters used in the model were calibrated using the field data collected in Germany. The proposed model was realised in a time-discretised simulation. The sensitivity analyses of geometric, traffic, and signal factors were conducted. The results show that for the car-following behaviour, the passenger cars on the narrowed lanes cannot drive as efficient as on the normal width lane. For lane selection behaviour, it mainly depends on the distance between the two nearest vehicles in front of the two narrow lanes. The effectiveness of the SWAL depends on whether it is long enough to accommodate the queuing vehicles, which is a combined result of the layout design and the signal timing.Accepted Author ManuscriptTransport and Plannin
Voltage Controller for Radial Distribution Networks with Distributed Generation
No full textAbstract- This paper presents a coordinated network controller whose objective is to maintain an optimal voltage profile across radial distribution networks with distributed generation. This is done by varying the output of the distributed generators. The controller was modeled as an optimization problem which was solved using Particle Swarm Optimization. The IEEE 33-bus and 69-bus test networks are then used to verify the effectiveness of the controller. The results obtained show that this controller can improve the voltage profile of a power network. Index Terms- radial distribution networks, particle swarm optimization, modified backward-forward sweep I
Leibliches Üben als Teil einer philosophischen Lebenskunst: Die Verkörperung von Kata in den japanischen Wegkünsten
No full textIn this paper, I try to show how Japanese practices of self-cultivation found in the so-called “ways” can be interpreted as embodied forms of “caring for oneself ” and, therefore, as part of a philosophical Lebenskunst or art of living. To this end, I refer to phenomenological accounts of the body as well as to a unique notion of practice found in the writings of Dōgen Kigen, a thirteenth-century Japanese Zen master. Central to this essay is a concern with embodying kata or pre-defined patterns of movement and posture used in nearly all practices of self-cultivation in Japan. To approach this question, I look at the etymological roots of the term kata and its use in the writings of Zeami, the foremost representative of classical Noh theater, both as author and as actor. This is followed by an analysis of certain aspects of the embodiment of kata and the way it is described in Japanese literature
Correction:An exploration of mortality risk factors in non-severe pneumonia in children using clinical data from Kenya. [BMC Med. 15, (2017) (201)] DOI: 10.1186/s12916-017-0963-9
No full textThe original article [1] contains an omission in the Acknowledgements sub-section of the Declarations. The authors would like to acknowledge the work of the following members of the Clinical Information Network Author Group: David Githanga, Fred Were, Philip Ayieko, Grace Irimu, Sam Akech, Samuel Ng'arng'ar, Barnabas Kigen, Rachel Inginia, Nick Aduro, Grace Ochieng, Beatrice Mutai, Francis Kanyingi, Lydia Thuranira, Sam Otido, Magdalene Kuria, Peris Njiiri, Kigondu Rutha, Charles Nzioki, Martin Chabi, Supa Tonje, Joan Ondere, Caren Emadau, Cecelia Mutiso, Loice Mutai, Christine Manyasi, David Kimutai, Celia Muturi, Agnes Mithamo, Anne Kamunya, Alice Kariuki, Grace Wachira, Melab Musabi, Sande Charo, Naomi Muinga, Mercy Chepkirui, Wycliffe Nyachiro, Boniface Makone, Thomas Julius, George Mbevi, Morris Ogero, Susan Gachau, and James Wafula.</p
Pedagogical values in the teaching of Dōgen
No full textThis paper constitutes an introduction to the pedagogical thought of Dōgen Kigen, who is considered to be one of the most outstanding representatives of Japanese culture. The author makes the reader acquainted with the historic, cultural and social determinants existing in Japan and in China in the years in which the Japanese Buddhist in question was living, and he also presents the vicissitudes of life, and the writing, of this teacher of Buddhism. In turn, he presents the philosophical views of Dōgen, in particular, those connected with metaphysics and ethics. He also places emphasis upon the significance of the religious aspect of the activity and writing of this Japanese Zenji, connected with religious anthropology, and also with eschatology and soteriology. In more detail, he focuses his attention upon the ideal of education in the pedagogics of Dōgen in his principal treatise Shōbōgenzō, referred to as the Great Human Being. He presents as well the essential pedagogical values in the writing activity of the master being discussed, such as dialogicality, authentism, commitment and responsibility, akin to the output of Western existential pedagogics, and also other values of social character.Artykuł stanowi wprowadzenie w myśl pedagogiczną Kigena Dōgena, uważanego za jednego z najwybitniejszych przedstawicieli kultury japońskiej. Autor zaznajamia czytelnika z uwarunkowaniami historycznymi, kulturowymi i społecznymi występującymi w Japonii i Chinach, w latach życia japońskiego buddysty, a także prezentuje koleje życia i twórczość pisarską tego nauczyciela buddyzmu. W kolejności przedstawia poglądy filozoficzne Dōgena, zwłaszcza powiązane z metafizyką i etyką. Podkreśla też znaczenie aspektu religijnego działalności i twórczości japońskiego zenjiego, powiązanego z antropologią religijną oraz eschatologią i soteriologią. Dokładniej skupia się na ideale wychowania w pedagogice Dōgena, w jego głównym dziele Shōbōgenzō, określonym jako Wielka Ludzka Istota. Przedstawia również zasadnicze wartości pedagogiczne w twórczości omawianego mistrza, jak dialogiczność, autentyzm, zaangażowanie, odpowiedzialność, pokrewne z dorobkiem zachodniej pedagogiki egzystencjalnej oraz inne wartości o charakterze społecznym
The Evaluation of the Novels Seen in the “Wakoku Sangen”: Based on the Editor's Preface
No full text“Wakoku Sangen” 和刻三言, that is, Shôsetsu seigen 小說精言 (published in 1743), Shôsetsu kigen 小說奇言 (1753), edited by Oka Hakku 岡白駒, and Shôsetsu suigen 小說粹言 (1758) edited by Sawada Issai 澤田一齋, are put guiding marks for rendering Chinese into Japanese on short stories selected from “Sanyan Erpai” 三言二拍. “Sanyan Erpai” greatly contributed to the development of Japanese literature, and “Wakoku Sangen” is recognized as an early example of its acceptance. This article, based on the preface of Shôsetsu seigen and Shôsetsu suigen, seeks to explore selection criteria for “Wakoku Sangen” recording and the method of evaluating novels by editors. First, I point out that the beginning of Hakku's preface was based on the preface of the Jingu qiguan 今古奇觀, selection of “Sanyan Erpai”, and examine the possibility that the work selection criteria of Jingu qiguan influenced “Wakoku Sangen”. From the preface and the nature of the collected works, it can be confirmed that when choosing a work from “Sanyan Erpai”, the editor of Jingu qiguan focuses on whether the work is realistic or not. It is also presumed that he tried to educate his readers using works depicting the world close to his readers. When analyzing Hakku's preface and the works in Shôsetsu seigen and Shôsetsu kigen, it is guessed that Hakku placed great importance on the reality of the work, as in Jingu qiguan. It is probable that Hakku sympathized with the novel's evaluation by the editor of Jingu qiguan, but it is presumed that he had been influenced by Wenxin diaolong 文心雕龍. Wenxin diaolong, which places Confucian scripture at the top of the writing, does not approve of drawing supernatural things; unnatural phenomena; spirits and demons. Hakku, who read this book from an early age and worked on many commentaries on the scriptures, was probably greatly influenced by this idea. Next, judging from the preface of Shôsetsu suigen and the nature of the works, it is presumed that Issai evaluated unrealistic works. Comparing the end of the preface to Hakku and Issai, it seems that Hakku thought Chinese colloquial novel as things to learn, Issai thought it as things to enjoy reading. Finally, I turn our attention to Hanabusa sôshi 英草紙, the first adaptation of “Sanyan Erpai”. This was published at the same time as “Wakoku Sangen”. It is presumed that the author, Tsuga Teishô 都賀庭鐘, evaluated the unrealistic work as well as Issai. It is probably at this time that the novel written in colloquial Chinese, which have begun to be used as teaching materials for Chinese, turned into something that can be enjoyed. I think that “Wakoku Sangen” can be evaluated as a signal of changes in the acceptance of Chinese colloquial novel in the Edo period
The Bible in imperial Japan, 1850-1950
No full textThis thesis undertakes to apply some of the insights from postcolonial criticism to understand the history of Christianity in Japan, focusing on key Christian thinkers in the period since Japan’s national isolation ended in the mid 19th century.
It studies these theologians' interaction with the the Bible as a “canonical” text in the Western civilisation, arguing for a two-way connection between Japan’s reception of Christianity and reaction to the West. In particular, it considers the process through which Christianity was employed to support or criticise Japan’s colonial discourse against neighbouring Asian countries. In this process, I argue that interpretation of the Bible was a political act, informed not simply by the text itself, but also by the interpreter’s positionality in the society.
The thesis starts by reviewing the history of Christianity in Japan. The core of the thesis consists of three chapters, each of which considers the thought of two contemporaries. Ebina Danjo (1866-1937) and Uchimura Kanzo (1861-1930) were two first-generation Christians who converted to Christianity through missionaries from the United States, and responded to Japan’s westernisation and military expansion from opposite perspectives. Kagawa Toyohiko (1888-1960) and Yanaihara Tadao (1893-1961) spoke about the country’s situation in the years preceding the Asia-Pacific War (1941-1945), and again reached two different conclusions. Nagai Takashi (1908-1951) and Kitamori Kazo (1916-1998) were Christian voices immediately after the war, and both dealt with the issue of suffering. Each chapter explores how the formation of their thoughts was driven by their particular historical, economic, and social backgrounds. The concluding chapter outlines Christian thought in Japan today and deals with the major issue facing Japanese theology: cultural essentialism
Examining the effectiveness of zinc treatment in children admitted with diarrhoea in Kenya’s public hospitals: an observational comparative effectiveness study
No full textA blended genome and exome sequencing method captures genetic variation in an unbiased, high-quality, and cost-effective manner
No full textWe deployed the Blended Genome Exome (BGE), a DNA library blending approach that generates low pass whole genome (1-4x mean depth) and deep whole exome (30-40x mean depth) data in a single sequencing run. This technology is cost-effective, empowers most genomic discoveries possible with deep whole genome sequencing, and provides an unbiased method to capture the diversity of common SNP variation across the globe. To evaluate this new technology at scale, we applied BGE to sequence >53,000 samples from the Populations Underrepresented in Mental Illness Associations Studies (PUMAS) Project, which included participants across African, African American, and Latin American populations. We evaluated the accuracy of BGE imputed genotypes against raw genotype calls from the Illumina Global Screening Array. All PUMAS cohorts had R2 concordance ≥95% among SNPs with MAF≥1%, and never fell below ≥90% R2 for SNPs with MAF<1%. Furthermore, concordance rates among local ancestries within two recently admixed cohorts were consistent among SNPs with MAF≥1%, with only minor deviations in SNPs with MAF<1%. We also benchmarked the discovery capacity of BGE to access protein-coding copy number variants (CNVs) against deep whole genome data, finding that deletions and duplications spanning at least 3 exons had a positive predicted value of ∼90%. Our results demonstrate BGE scalability and efficacy in capturing SNPs, indels, and CNVs in the human genome at 28% of the cost of deep whole-genome sequencing. BGE is poised to enhance access to genomic testing and empower genomic discoveries, particularly in underrepresented populations
