Culture technoscientifique, corporéisation et wuta pians

À partir de l’analyse des films de Kungfu produits à Hong Kong, cet article met en évidence les rapports qu’entretient cet art martial, considéré ici comme un discours en soi, avec la technologie et la science. Plusieurs des composantes du Kungfu, qui peuvent être mises en parallèle avec celles de la technologie moderne. On étudiera, à titre d’exemples, la séquence pause-explosion-pause relevée par David Bordwell, la force expressive des sauts et des coups de poing, l’expressivité de l’impression cinétique, les différents affects qui naissent des ruptures rythmiques, la subtile symbiose qui s’établit entre l’arme et le lutteur, entre autres manifestations. Ces différents éléments, ainsi que ses emprunts aux préceptes médicaux et scientifiques du Qi Kung, permettent de dégager de l’analyse du discours kung-fu, la notion de corporéisation technologique.This paper is focused on Kungfu itself as a discourse which is closely related to technology and science. Kungfu movies made in Hong Kong are used to demonstrate how the technological aspects can be juxtaposed with the built-in technology of Kungfu, such as David Bordwelf's ideas of pause-burst-pause pattern, the expressive force of jumping, punching, the kinetic impact and expressivity, the kind of affects generated from rhythmic differentiality, the nuanced interconnectedness between fighters and their weapons, the kind of difference in intensity and rhythms based on the medical and scientific concepts of Qi Kung, etc. How Kungfu discourse can be used as exemplary of the concept of "Embodying technesis" will be explored

The treeing-of-tree through affective attunement: biosemiotics and chinese ideograms as an ecosystem

Este trabalho se insere na esteira dos desenvolvimentos recentes de uma “virada ecológica” nas teorias da naturacultura ociental, tendo em vista o paradigma crítico chamado “biossemiótica”. Ele se propõe aventurar-se pela crítica literária interseccionalmente transversal, a ontologia quiasmática, a teoria afetiva, a bioneneurologia, a pesquisa científica e filosófica sobre os estudos faunísticos e florísticos, de modo a descobrir um caminho para uma ecocrítica/ecolinguística chinesa sob a égide das humanidades ambientais. O ensaio parte de um grupo entrelaçado de ideogramas chineses que se apresentam com radicais associados com plantas (mu 木 como elemento “planta/madeira”), e que exibe um amplo espectro de interações planta-ambiente visando a uma empatia afetiva com o agenciamento da vida vegetal. Ele cria, assim, um clima para repensarmos o tema estudo crítico de plantas, estabelecendo uma forma biocêntrica ou fitocêntrica de crítica. Com uma ênfase em mu como um dos elementos da cosmologia wu-xing 五行 da cultura clássica chinesa, esperamos que o esforço amplie o âmbito e a dimensão da biossemiótica como sugerida por Derrida, Merleau-Ponty, Spinoza, Deleuze, Uexküll, Hoffmeyer e Wheeler, mediante uma abordagem entrecruzada não apenas em áreas críticas, mas também entre as culturas do ocidente e do orientee em geral

Does market turbulence moderate the impact of relationship competency on small retail firm’s performances

It has been widely acknowledged that small businesses are contributing a lot in all developing countries. The existing researchers have widely acknowledged the positive impact of relationship competency on firm's performance. Whilst emerging markets for Small businesses in different emerging or developing contexts are different from developed countries. Thus, the impact of entrepreneurs’ relationship competency on firm’s performances varies across different cultures or contexts. The aim of the current study was to analyse the impact of relationship competency on four types of firms’ performances namely financial and non-financial performances, business growth, and firm’s performance compared with rival firms among retail Small businesses owned by Malaysian Chinese entrepreneurs under the moderating role of market turbulence. Composition Based View (CBV) and Strategic Contingency Theory (SCT) were the underpinning theories. Eight hypotheses were created based on proposed research model and standard instrument was used to collect the data. A total of 300 small business retail owners in Selangor, Malaysia participated in study through standard survey. The data were collected at one point of time across the sample population by using sampling techniques of non-probability. The collected data were analysed using SPSS software and PLS-SEM techniques. Findings revealed the positive and significant impact of relationship competency on non-financial performance and on firms’ performances relative to their competitor firms. Furthermore, the positive and significant moderating influence of market turbulence was also found for enhancing the impact of relationship competency on business growth. However, findings revealed no impact of relationship competency on financial performance and business growth. Moreover, results did not reveal any moderating influence of market turbulence for the impact of relationship competency on firm’s financial and firm’s non-financial performances as well as on performance relative to competitors

Do Low Preoperative Vitamin D Levels Reduce the Accuracy of Quick Parathyroid Hormone in Predicting Postthyroidectomy Hypocalcemia?

BACKGROUND: Although some studies have suggested that low preoperative 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) levels may increase the risk of hypocalcemia and decrease the accuracy of single quick parathyroid hormone in predicting hypocalcemia after total thyroidectomy, the literature remains scarce and inconsistent. Our study aimed to address these issues. METHODS: Of the 281 consecutive patients who underwent a total/completion total thyroidectomy, 244 (86.8 %) did not require any oral calcium and/or calcitriol supplements (group 1), while 37 (13.2 %) did (group 2) at hospital discharge. 25-OHD level was checked 1 day before surgery, and postoperative quick parathyroid hormone (PTH) was checked at skin closure (PTH-SC). Postoperative serum calcium was checked regularly. Hypocalcemia was defined by the presence of symptoms or adjusted calcium of <1.90 mmol/L. Significant factors for hypocalcemia were determined by univariate and multivariate analyses. The accuracy of PTH-SC in predicting hypocalcemia was measured by area under a receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), and the AUC of PTH-SC was compared between patients with preoperative 25-OHD <15 and ≥15 ng/mL via bootstrapping. RESULTS: Preoperative 25-OHD level was not significantly different between groups 1 and 2 (13.1 vs. 12.5 ng/mL, p = 0.175). After adjusting for other significant factors, PTH-SC (odds ratio 2.49, 95 % confidence interval 1.52–4.07, p < 0.001) and parathyroid autotransplantation (odds ratio 3.23, 95 % confidence interval 1.22–8.60, p = 0.019) were the two independent factors for hypocalcemia. The AUC of PTH-SC was similar between those with 25-OHD <15 and ≥15 ng/mL (0.880 vs. 0.850, p = 0.61) CONCLUSIONS: Low 25-OHD was not a significant factor for hypocalcemia and did not lower the accuracy of quick PTH in predicting postthyroidectomy hypocalcemia

Fractionation and extraction of bio-oil for production of greener fuel and value-added chemicals : Recent advances and future prospects

Bio-oil is a highly valuable product derived from biomass pyrolysis which could be used in various downstream applications upon appropriate upgrading and refining. Extraction and fractionation are two promising methods to upgrade bio-oil by separating the complex mixture of bio-oil compounds into distinct fine chemicals and fractions enriched in certain classes of chemical compounds. In this review, various extraction techniques for bio-oil (organic solvent extraction, water extraction, supercritical fluid extraction, distillation, adsorption, chromatography, membrane, electrosorption and ionic liquid extraction), their associated features (extraction mechanisms involved, advantages and disadvantages), the characteristics of bio-oil extracts and their applications are presented and critically discussed. It was revealed that the most promising technique is via organic solvent extraction. Furthermore, the technological gaps and bottlenecks for each separation techniques are disclosed, as well as the overall challenges and future prospects of oil palm biomass-based bio-oil value chain. This review aims to provide key insights on bio-oil upgrading via extraction and fractionation, and a proposed way forward via technology integration in establishing a sustainable palm oil mill-based biorefinery

Prevalence and correlates of subjective cognitive impairment in Chinese psychiatric patients during the fifth wave of COVID-19 in Hong Kong

IntroductionThe extent of cognitive impairment and its association with psychological distress among people with pre-existing mental illness during COVID-19 is understudied. This study aimed to investigate prevalence and correlates of subjective cognitive impairment (SCI) in Chinese psychiatric patients during fifth-wave of COVID-19 in Hong Kong (HK).MethodsFour-hundred-eight psychiatric outpatients aged 18–64 years were assessed with questionnaires between 28 March and 8 April 2022, encompassing illness profile, psychopathological symptoms, coping-styles, resilience, and COVID-19 related factors. Participants were categorized into moderate-to-severe and intact/mild cognitive impairment (CI+ vs. CI-) groups based on severity of self-reported cognitive complaints. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were conducted to determine variables associated with CI+ status.ResultsOne-hundred-ninety-nine participants (48.8%) experienced CI+. A multivariate model on psychopathological symptoms found that depressive and post-traumatic-stress-disorder (PTSD)-like symptoms were related to CI+, while a multivariate model on coping, resilience and COVID-19 related factors revealed that avoidant coping, low resilience and more stressors were associated with CI+. Final combined model demonstrated the best model performance and showed that more severe depressive and PTSD-like symptoms, and adoption of avoidant coping were significantly associated with CI+.ConclusionAlmost half of the sample of psychiatric patients reported cognitive complaints during fifth-wave of COVID-19 in HK. Greater depressive and PTSD-like symptom severity, and maladaptive (avoidant) coping were found as correlates of SCI. COVID-19 related factors were not independently associated with SCI in psychiatric patients. Early detection with targeted psychological interventions may therefore reduce psychological distress, and hence self-perceived cognitive difficulties in this vulnerable population

Sex- and age-dependent association of SLC11A1 polymorphisms with tuberculosis in Chinese: a case control study

BACKGROUND: Host genetic factors are important determinants in tuberculosis (TB). The SLC11A1 (or NRAMP1) gene has been studied extensively for genetic association with TB, but with inconsistent findings. In addition, no study has yet looked into the effect of sex and age on the relationship between SLC11A1 polymorphisms and TB. METHODS: A case-control study was conducted. In total, 278 pulmonary TB patients and 282 sex- and age-matched controls without TB were recruited. All subjects were ethnic Chinese. On the basis of linkage disequilibrium pattern, three genetic markers from SLC11A1 and one from the nearby IL8RB locus were selected and examined for association with TB susceptibility. These markers were genotyped using single strand conformation polymorphism analysis or fragment analysis of amplified products. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences in allele (P = 0.0165, OR = 1.51) and genotype (P = 0.0163, OR = 1.59) frequencies of the linked markers SLC6a/b (classically called D543N and 3'UTR) of the SLC11A1 locus were found between patients and controls. With stratification by sex, positive associations were identified in the female group for both allele (P = 0.0049, OR = 2.54) and genotype (P = 0.0075, OR = 2.74) frequencies. With stratification by age, positive associations were demonstrated in the young age group (age ≤65 years) for both allele (P = 0.0047, OR = 2.52) and genotype (P = 0.0031, OR = 2.92) frequencies. All positive findings remained significant even after correction for multiple comparisons. No significant differences were noted in either the male group or the older age group. No significant differences were found for the other markers (one SLC11A1 marker and one IL8RB marker) either. CONCLUSION: This study confirmed the association between SLC11A1 and TB susceptibility and demonstrated for the first time that the association was restricted to females and the young age group