A Discursive Approach to Politeness: Negotiating Offers in Women's Talk by Saudi Arabic and British English Speakers

This study explores naturally occurring offers in Saudi and British female friendship groups by drawing on discursive approaches to politeness, particularly relational work (Locher & Watts, 2005). The study differs from previous politeness research in arguing that discursive politeness investigation should not be limited to verbal communication and qualitative analysis. It explores how non-verbal politeness, a neglected area in the field, is manifested in offer negotiations and employs quantitative analysis of some concepts of discourse analysis to identify politic patterns in offer exchanges. The data were mainly collected through recordings of natural talk among female friends in a dinner setting. Through in-depth examination of the recorded data, 143 offer exchanges were found in the SA corpus and 104 in the BE data. Follow-up interviews and scaled-response questionnaires were employed to obtain a clearer picture of individuals’ perceptions of the offers. The main results showed that the SA and BE friendship groups shared more similarities than differences in their offers. Participants did not invest much discursive work in offering, especially hospitable offers. Reoffering did not constitute a significant part in the friends’ interactions. Non-verbal offers were an essential part of managing relational work. The participants viewed politeness norms as dynamic and situated. Moreover, variability in evaluations was common. Inconsistency between participants’ actual reactions during the talk and evaluations during the interviews were also observed. Finally, this study argues that although relational work can successfully tackle the participants’ perceptions of politeness, it fails to provide a full picture of the discursive struggle over politeness as well as analytic tools to identify politic behaviour in the corpus. It is argued that Spencer-Oatey's (2000, 2002, 2005a) rapport management framework provides some concepts that help interpret what sort of rights affect the participants’ evaluations and that descriptive quantitative analysis can help in the identification of politic patterns in offers. The study succeeded in developing a more in-depth approach to the analysis of politeness

Clamping effect on the piezoelectric responses of screen-printed low temperature PZT/Polymer films on flexible substrates

This paper introduces a new flexible lead zirconate titanate (PZT)/polymer composite material that can be screen-printed onto fabrics and flexible substrates, and investigates the clamping effect of these substrates on the characterization of the piezoelectric material. Experimental results showed that the optimum blend of PZT/polymer binder with a weight ratio of 12:1 provides a dielectric constant of 146. The measured value of the piezoelectric coefficient d33 was found to depend on the substrate used. Measured d33clp values of 70, 40, 36 pC N−1 were obtained from the optimum formulation printed on Polyester–cotton with an interface layer, Kapton and alumina substrates, respectively. The variation in the measured d33clp values occurs because of the effect of the mechanical boundary conditions of the substrate. The piezoelectric film is mechanically bonded to the surface of the substrate and this constrains the film in the plane of the substrate (the 1-direction). This constraint means that the perpendicular forces (applied in the 3-direction) used to measure d33 introduce a strain in the 1-direction that produces a charge of the opposite polarity to that induced by the d33 effect. This is due to the negative sign of the d31 coefficient and has the effect of reducing the measured d33 value. Theoretical and experimental investigations confirm a reduction of 13%, 50% and 55% in the estimated freestanding d33fs values (80 pC N−1) on Polyester–cotton, Kapton and alumina substrates, respectively. These results demonstrate the effect of the boundary conditions of the substrate/PZT interface on the piezoelectric response of the PZT/polymer film and in particular the reduced effect of fabric substrates due to their lowered stiffness

Whole genome-based genetic insights of blaNDM producing clinical E. coli isolates in hospitals settings of Pakistan

Carbapenem resistance among Enterobacterales has become a global health concern. Clinical Escherichia coli isolates producing the metallo β-lactamase NDM have been isolated from two hospitals in Faisalabad, Pakistan. These E. coli strains were characterized by MALDI-TOF, PCR, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, XbaI and S1 nuclease pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), conjugation assay, DNA hybridization, whole genome sequencing, bioinformatic analysis, and Galleria mellonella experiments. Thirty-four blaNDM producing E. coli strains were identified among 52 nonduplicate carbapenem-resistant strains. More than 90% of the isolates were found to be multidrug resistant by antimicrobial susceptibility testing. S1 PFGE confirmed the presence of blaNDM gene on plasmids ranging from 40 kbps to 250 kbps, and conjugation assays demonstrated transfer frequencies of blaNDM harboring plasmids ranging from 1.59 × 10−1 to 6.46 × 10−8 per donor. Whole genome sequencing analysis revealed blaNDM-5 as the prominent NDM subtype with the highest prevalence of blaOXA-1, blaCTX-M-15, aadA2, aac(6')-Ib-cr, and tet(A) associated resistant determinants. E. coli sequence types: ST405, ST361, and ST167 were prominent, and plasmid Inc types: FII, FIA, FIB, FIC, X3, R, and Y, were observed among all isolates. The genetic environment of blaNDM region on IncF plasmids included partial ISAba125, the bleomycin ble gene, and a class I integron. The virulence genes terC, traT, gad, fyuA, irp2, capU, and sitA were frequently observed, and G. mellonella experiments showed that virulence correlated with the number of virulence determinants. A strong infection control management in the hospital is necessary to check the emergence of carbapenem resistance in Gram-negative bacteria. IMPORTANCE We describe a detailed analysis of highly resistant clinical E. coli isolates from two tertiary care centers in Pakistan including carbapenem resistance as well as common co-resistance mechanisms. South Asia has a huge problem with highly resistant E. coli. However, we find that though these isolates are very difficult to treat they are of low virulence. Thus the Western world has an increasing problem with virulent E. coli that are mostly of low antibiotic resistance, whereas, South Asia has an increasing problem with highly resistant E. coli that are of low virulence potential. These observations allow us to start to devise methodologies to limit both virulence and resistance and combat problems in developing nations as well as the Western world

The Feeding Biomechanics and Dietary Ecology of Paranthropus boisei

The African Plio‐Pleistocene hominins known as australopiths evolved derived craniodental features frequently interpreted as adaptations for feeding on either hard, or compliant/tough foods. Among australopiths, Paranthropus boisei is the most robust form, exhibiting traits traditionally hypothesized to produce high bite forces efficiently and strengthen the face against feeding stresses. However, recent mechanical analyses imply that P. boisei may not have been an efficient producer of bite force and that robust morphology in primates is not necessarily strong. Here we use an engineering method, finite element analysis, to show that the facial skeleton of P. boisei is structurally strong, exhibits a strain pattern different from that in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and Australopithecus africanus, and efficiently produces high bite force. It has been suggested that P. boisei consumed a diet of compliant/tough foods like grass blades and sedge pith. However, the blunt occlusal topography of this and other species suggests that australopiths are adapted to consume hard foods, perhaps including grass and sedge seeds. A consideration of evolutionary trends in morphology relating to feeding mechanics suggests that food processing behaviors in gracile australopiths evidently were disrupted by environmental change, perhaps contributing to the eventual evolution of Homo and Paranthropus This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Smith, A. L., Benazzi, S. , Ledogar, J. A., Tamvada, K. , Pryor Smith, L. C., Weber, G. W., Spencer, M. A., Lucas, P. W., Michael, S. , Shekeban, A. , Al‐Fadhalah, K. , Almusallam, A. S., Dechow, P. C., Grosse, I. R., Ross, C. F., Madden, R. H., Richmond, B. G., Wright, B. W., Wang, Q. , Byron, C. , Slice, D. E., Wood, S. , Dzialo, C. , Berthaume, M. A., van, Casteren, A. and Strait, D. S. (2015), The Feeding Biomechanics and Dietary Ecology of Paranthropus boisei, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.23073. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Version

Hard plant tissues do not contribute meaningfully to dental microwear : evolutionary implications

Abstract: Reconstructing diet is critical to understanding hominin adaptations. Isotopic and functional morphological analyses of early hominins are compatible with consumption of hard foods, such as mechanically-protected seeds, but dental microwear analyses are not. The protective shells surrounding seeds are thought to induce complex enamel surface textures characterized by heavy pitting, but these are absent on the teeth of most early hominins. Here we report nanowear experiments showing that the hardest woody shells – the hardest tissues made by dicotyledonous plants – cause very minor damage to enamel but are themselves heavily abraded (worn) in the process. Thus, hard plant tissues do not regularly create pits on enamel surfaces despite high forces clearly being associated with their oral processing. We conclude that hard plant tissues barely inuence microwear textures and the exploitation of seeds from graminoid plants such as grasses and sedges could have formed a critical element in the dietary ecology of hominins

Behavior of FRP-confined normal- and high-strength concrete under cyclic axial compression

An important application of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites is as a confining material for concrete, both in the seismic retrofit of existing reinforced concrete columns and in the construction of concrete-filled FRP tubes as earthquake-resistant columns in new construction. The reliable design of these structural members against earthquake-induced forces necessitates a clear understanding of the stress-strain behavior of FRP-confined concrete under load cycles. This paper presents the results of an experimental study on the behavior of FRP-confined normal- and high-strength concrete under axial compression. A total of 24 aramid and carbon FRP-confined concrete cylinders with different concrete strengths and FRP jacket thicknesses were tested under monotonic and cyclic loading. Examination of the test results has led to a number of significant conclusions in regards to both the trend and ultimate condition of the axial stress-strain behavior of FRP-confined concrete. These results are presented, and a discussion is provided on the influence of the main test parameters in the observed behaviors. The results are also compared with two existing cyclic axial stress-strain models for FRP-confined concrete. © 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.Togay Ozbakkaloglu and Emre Aki