Nineteenth-Century Popular Science Magazines, Narrative, and the Problem of Historical Materiality

In his Some Reminiscences of a Lecturer, Andrew Wilson emphasizes the importance of narrative to popular science lecturing. Although Wilson promotes the teaching of science as useful knowledge in its own right, he also recognizes that the way science is taught can encourage audiences to take the subject up and read further on their own. Form, according to Wilson, should not be divorced from scientific content and lecturers should ensure that not only is their science accurate, but that it is presented in a way that will provoke curiosity and stimulate interest. This paper discusses the influence of narrative in structuring scientific objects and phenomena, and considers the consequences of such presentations for historical research. As scientific journalism necessarily weaves both its intended audience and the objects under discussion into its accounts, these texts demand that we recognize their nature as social relationships inscribed in historical objects

Effect of nonnutritive sucking and oral stimulation on feeding performance in preterm infants: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness of nonnutritive sucking (NNS) and oral stimulation (OS), either applied alone or in combination, to reduce the transition time from tube feeding to independent oral feeding. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. SETTING: A 40-bed neonatal ICU in a university hospital in the People's Republic of China. PATIENTS: A total of 120 preterm infants were admitted to the neonatal ICU from December 2012 to July 2013. INTERVENTIONS: Oral motor interventions. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: One hundred twelve preterm infants were assigned to three intervention groups (NNS, OS, and combined NNS + OS) and one control group. Primary outcome was the number of days needed from introduction of oral feeding to autonomous oral feeding (transition time). Secondary outcome measures were the rate of milk transfer (mL/min), proficiency (intake first 5 min/volume ordered), volume transfer (volume transferred during entire feeding/volume prescribed), weight, and hospital length of stay. Transition time was reduced in the three intervention groups compared with the control group (p < 0.001). The milk transfer rate in the three intervention groups was greater than in the control group (F3,363 = 15.37; p < 0.001). Proficiency in the NNS and OS groups did not exceed that in the control group while the proficiency in the NNS + OS group was greater than that in the control group at the stage when the infants initiated the oral feeding (p = 0.035). Among all groups, no significant difference was found on weight gain and length of stay. CONCLUSIONS: The combined NNS + OS intervention reduced the transition time from introduction to independent oral feeding and enhanced the milk transfer rate. The combined intervention seems to have a beneficial effect on oral feeding proficiency in preterm infants

Fundamental issues in nanoscale heat transfer: From Coherenc to interfacial resistance in heat conduction

Paper presented to the 10th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Florida, 14-16 July 2014.When system sizes shrink to nanoscales as in the case of electronic and optical devices, heat transfer laws are altered due to the modification of the basic physical mechanisms at play, especially in the fields of conduction. We expose recent advances in the understanding of heat conduction in semi-conductor superlattices. The effect of (i) coherence and (ii) interfaces becoming predominant, we use a direct simulation technique -i.e. Molecular Dynamics- to estimate the thermal resistance generated by those effects.dc201

Oropharyngeal Colostrum Administration in Very Low Birth Weight Infants

Publisher policy: author can archive post-print on institutional repository after 12 months embargo. Publisher's version/PDF cannot be used. Must include statement that it is not the final published version. Published source must be acknowledged with full citation. Must link to publisher versio

High-energy nutrition in paediatric cardiac critical care patients: a randomised controlled trial

Background: Previous studies have shown that feeding high-energy formula to infants after cardiac surgery increased energy intake with fewer side effects on cardiopulmonary function. However, impacts on weight gain and gastrointestinal function remain unclear. Aims: To determine the impact of high-energy formula compared to standard formula on weight gain and gastrointestinal tolerance in postoperative infants with congenital heart disease. Design: Randomised Controlled Trial. Method: The setting of the study was at a 20-bed Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at a tertiary children’s hospital in China. Study population were infants <1 year of age who underwent cardiac surgery were allocated to the intervention group (n=32) and control group (n=32). The intervention group received high-energy formula (100kcal/100 mL) and the control group received standard formula (67kcal/100 mL) for 7 days during the stabilized postoperative period at the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. Primary outcomes were weight gain and gastrointestinal intolerance. Secondary outcomes were energy intake and standard intensive care characteristics. Results: Infants who received high-energy formula (n=30) showed greater mean weight gain than those who received standard formula (n=29); -16g (95% CI: -74 to 42) versus -181g (95%CI: -264 to -99), P =0.001. The evaluation of gastrointestinal intolerance showed that the intervention group had several side effects, such as abdominal distension (n=1), gastric retention (n=2), and diarrhea (n=1), while the control group had no problems. Enteral energy intake in the intervention group was higher than control group from day three. Conclusion: Infants after cardiac surgery fed with high-energy formula gained more weight but had increased feeding intolerance. However, the feeding intolerance symptoms could be relieved by medication and did not affect feeding advancement. Relevance to Clinical Practice: Paediatric intensive care clinicians should consider gradually increasing energy density of the formula during feeding and assess feeding intolerance signs in children with malnutrition after cardiac surgery

Dynamics of earthquake nucleation process represented by the Burridge-Knopoff model

Dynamics of earthquake nucleation process is studied on the basis of the one-dimensional Burridge-Knopoff (BK) model obeying the rate- and state-dependent friction (RSF) law. We investigate the properties of the model at each stage of the nucleation process, including the quasi-static initial phase, the unstable acceleration phase and the high-speed rupture phase or a mainshock. Two kinds of nucleation lengths L_sc and L_c are identified and investigated. The nucleation length L_sc and the initial phase exist only for a weak frictional instability regime, while the nucleation length L_c and the acceleration phase exist for both weak and strong instability regimes. Both L_sc and L_c are found to be determined by the model parameters, the frictional weakening parameter and the elastic stiffness parameter, hardly dependent on the size of an ensuing mainshock. The sliding velocity is extremely slow in the initial phase up to L_sc, of order the pulling speed of the plate, while it reaches a detectable level at a certain stage of the acceleration phase. The continuum limits of the results are discussed. The continuum limit of the BK model lies in the weak frictional instability regime so that a mature homogeneous fault under the RSF law always accompanies the quasi-static nucleation process. Duration times of each stage of the nucleation process are examined. The relation to the elastic continuum model and implications to real seismicity are discussed.Comment: Title changed. Changes mainly in abstract and in section 1. To appear in European Physical Journal

Performative Work: Bridging Performativity and Institutional Theory in the Responsible Investment Field

Callon’s performativity thesis has illuminated how economic theories and calculative devices shape markets, but has been challenged for its neglect of the organizational, institutional and political context. Our seven-year qualitative study of a large financial data company found that the company’s initial attempt to change the responsible investment field through a performative approach failed because of the constraints posed by field practices and organizational norms on the design of the calculative device. However, the company was subsequently able to put in place another form of performativity by attending to the normative and regulative associations of the device. We theorize this route to performativity by proposing the concept of performative work, which designates the necessary institutional work to enable translation and the subsequent adoption of the device. We conclude by considering the implications of performative work for the performativity and the institutional work literatures