Earth Collective: Natural Conditions for a Transindividual Politics

The concept of a transindividual relation has been articulated in order to resolve the problem of the unity of individuals in association with others. More particularly, it has been offered as a route for overcoming a disjunctive tendency whereby either individuality is lost to an encompassing collective, or the substance of the individual renders the collective accidental, optional, or a mere semblance. Transindividuality thus offers a way to think individuals and collectives thereof as relative, mutually dependent and constitutive, whilst maintaining a separation between the two. Equally, it affords a conception of a collective which is more than the sum of its parts, or an arbitrary aggregate of beings.Whilst this abstract description of transindividuality might appear apt for ecological or earth systems analysis, to date this has not been attempted. Neither of the two most significant thinkers of transindividuality, Gilbert Simondon and Étienne Balibar, broach the question of a natural transindividual at any length, nor do the various monographs and special editions of journals which have been dedicated to extending and criticising the former authors’ analysis of transindividuality. As such, this article addresses this lacuna through discussion of the problem of natural transindividuality, claiming that mutual dependency and constitution between individuals and collectives pertains to geophysical and vital relations as much as it does to human social relations

Seabees: CBMU 635

In this book of words and pictures is a compilation of the work, accomplishments, and activities of the Twenty-Sixth United States Naval Construction Battalion (Second Section) which on July 15, 1945, was redesignated Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit Six Hundred Thirty-Five. It is dedicated to each officer and man who gave his\u27 best for the one and only cause, and each can be justly proud of the part he played. The Staff wishes to extend its appreciation to each and every member of this Battalion who helped in procuring and compiling the necessary information, for without your moral support. interest. and actual aid this book would have been impossible. We sincerely hope that in years to come you will refer to this book often in remembrance of the part you and your comrades played in the achievement of the final victory.https://digicom.bpl.lib.me.us/ww_reg_his/1044/thumbnail.jp

Cladding mode coupling in highly localized fiber Bragg gratings: modal properties and transmission spectra

The spectral characteristics of a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) with a transversely inhomogeneous refractive index profile, differs con- siderably from that of a transversely uniform one. Transmission spectra of inhomogeneous and asymmetric FBGs that have been inscribed with focused ultrashort pulses with the so-called point-by-point technique are investigated. The cladding mode resonances of such FBGs can span a full octave in the spectrum and are very pronounced (deeper than 20dB). Using a coupled-mode approach, we compute the strength of resonant coupling and find that coupling into cladding modes of higher azimuthal order is very sensitive to the position of the modification in the core. Exploiting these properties allows precise control of such reflections and may lead to many new sensing applications.Comment: Submission to OE, 16 pages, 6 figure

Mechanisms of Addition and Substitution Reactions of Furfural and Derivatives

In a complete series of substitution reactions (such as halogenation, nitration, mercuration, etc.,) of furfural and its derivatives, it appears that substitution is preceded by addition. For example, in bromination, two atoms of bromine first add to give a relatively unstable intermediate which then loses hydrogen bromide. These preliminary additions may be 1, 2- or 1, 4- or 1, 6- additions depending upon reactants and upon experimental conditions. Accompanying some of these transformations are ring fission and ring closure, and rearrangements involving unsaturated linkages. Typical illustrations of these changes were presented

The Gumbel hypothesis test for left censored observations using regional earthquake records as an example

Annual maximum (AM) time series are incomplete (i.e., censored) when no events are included above the assumed censoring threshold (i.e., magnitude of completeness). We introduce a distrtibutional hypothesis test for left-censored Gumbel observations based on the probability plot correlation coefficient (PPCC). Critical values of the PPCC hypothesis test statistic are computed from Monte-Carlo simulations and are a function of sample size, censoring level, and significance level. When applied to a global catalog of earthquake observations, the left-censored Gumbel PPCC tests are unable to reject the Gumbel hypothesis for 45 of 46 seismic regions. We apply four different field significance tests for combining individual tests into a collective hypothesis test. None of the field significance tests are able to reject the global hypothesis that AM earthquake magnitudes arise from a Gumbel distribution. Because the field significance levels are not conclusive, we also compute the likelihood that these field significance tests are unable to reject the Gumbel model when the samples arise from a more complex distributional alternative. A power study documents that the censored Gumbel PPCC test is unable to reject some important and viable Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) alternatives. Thus, we cannot rule out the possibility that the global AM earthquake time series could arise from a GEV distribution with a finite upper bound, also known as a reverse Weibull distribution. Our power study also indicates that the binomial and uniform field significance tests are substantially more powerful than the more commonly used Bonferonni and false discovery rate multiple comparison procedures

Atoms for peace and war, 1953-1961: Eisenhower and the Atomic Energy Commission

This third volume in the official history of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission covers the years of the Eisenhower Administration

Numerical analysis of piled embankments on soft soils

The construction of embankments on soft soils is a common problem. Soft soil cannot sustain external loads without having large deformations. Piled embankments system provides a possible solution for the construction of roads and railways over soft soils. Until now, the system behaviour could only be described by analytical models such as those included in British or German codes. This paper describes research undertaken to investigate the effects of pile embankment construction in soft soils. Experimental results are used to help investigate arching effect developed due to differential settlement between pile and surrounding soft soil. A numerical parametric study was carried out to examine the impact of various soil parameters on the pile-embankment system behaviour. The outcome of the parametric study implemented using numerical analysis has been investigated and discussed throughout this paper. Based on the numerical analysis carried out in this research, it was found that the earth pressure coefficient normalized by the passive earth pressure Kp plotted on a vertical profile at the midpoint between piles can give a good illustration of arching behaviour. The findings presented in this paper can be considered as guides for numerical analysis and design criteria of soil arching for embankments constructed over piles

Clinical challenges in isolation care

OVERVIEW: In 2014, the authors published the results of a study investigating nurses\u27 use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the care of a live simulated patient requiring contact and airborne precautions. The 24 participants were video-recorded as they donned and doffed PPE. Variations in practices that had the potential to cause contamination were noted. In this article, the authors comment on those variations, analyzing each element of proper PPE protocols and examining why the behaviors are a safety concern for the nurse and a potential risk for disease transmission in the hospital or other clinical area. The authors note that making use of reflective practice for complicated care situations such as infection control may help nurses improve decision making in isolation care

Method for investigating nursing behaviors related to isolation care.

BACKGROUND: Although an emphasis has been placed on protecting patients by improving health care worker compliance with infection control techniques, challenges associated with patient isolation do exist. To address these issues, a more consistent mechanism to evaluate specific clinical behaviors safely is needed. METHODS: The research method described in this study used a high fidelity simulation using a live standardized patient recorded by small cameras. Immediately after the simulation experience, nurses were asked to view and comment on their performance. A demographic survey and a video recorded physical evaluation provided participant description. A questionnaire component 1 month after the simulation experience offered insight into the timing of behavior change in clinical practice. RESULTS: Errors in behaviors related to donning and doffing equipment for isolation care were noted among the nurses in the study despite knowing they were being video recorded. This simulation-based approach to clinical behavior analysis provided rich data on patient care delivery. CONCLUSION: Standard educational techniques have not led to ideal compliance, and this study demonstrated the potential for using video feedback to enhance learning and ultimately reduce behaviors, which routinely increase the likelihood of disease transmission. This educational research method could be applied to many complicated clinical skills