Kyushu Kyoritsu University

The differences in laugh track insertion points (LIP) between American and Chinese sitcoms were analyzed using the American show The Big Bang Theory and the Chinese show Home With Kids. The results showed that American sitcoms frequently employ interactional patterns such as “roundabout rephrasing,” which are commonly utilized in English-language sitcom production. It is also suggested that the “gap between true feelings and public appearances” functions as a source of entertainment by encouraging viewers to interpret implicit meanings within scripted dialogue. These patterns can be interpreted as reflecting differences in how verbal interaction is utilized within sitcom production contexts, rather than indicating any inherent linguistic superiority. In Chinese sitcoms, there was a tendency to turn a single thing into an LIP by exaggerating it, such as “exaggeration,” and to add gestures and movements to make it more entertaining, such as “strange movements.”

Abstract A hanging cold water pipe has been increasingly becoming an important component with a surging interest in floating OTEC. This paper reports a numerical model of the dynamics of a hanging water intake pipe subject to the top-end harmonic excitation and internal flow and its applicability compared with a tank experiment. The dynamic model based on a finite beam element is formulated by considering internal flow, inlet flow and hydrodynamic forces from external fluid. The experimental setup is configured to investigate the vibration shape of a 4-meter pipe with a high internal velocity. The experiment provides data on the modification of the natural frequency, damping ratio, and three-dimensional vibration shape by the changing internal flow velocity. By comparing the experimental data and the solutions of the dynamic model, it is confirmed that the present numerical model can sufficiently reproduce these changes. Unstable vibrations at frequencies 1.1 to 1.5 times the first natural frequency are observed in the experiment, which reveals the limitations of the numerical model. Furthermore, the model is used to investigate the internal flow effect on an actual scale CWP for a 100 MW OTEC plant.

Abstract To mitigate the erosion issue in steam turbines, it is crucial to suppress the formation of coarse droplets spreading from the trailing edge upstream as well as from the shroud wall. The droplet size will be highly dependent on the trailing edge shapes and wettability, while the quantitative measurement under well-controlled flow conditions is limited, and hence, the theoretical prediction model including the effect of controlled trailing edge has yet established. We have developed an experimental setup, in which the shearing gas is fully developed and the liquid sheet on a wall is in uniform thickness along the transversal direction, allowing for the quantitative and general discussion from the wavy liquid sheets to the fragmenting droplet in a consistent manner. Here, we perform the visualization experiment on an acrylic pipe flow at the trailing edge thickness of 0.5 mm, 1.0 mm, and 2.0 mm, and the tapered angle of 10 deg and 30 deg, and at the wettability of hydrophobic condition. We successfully quantify the extending ligament from the trailing edge and the following droplet statistics using a high-speed imaging technique. By implementing the hydrophobic tapered wall, we clearly find that the circumferential wavelength between two ligaments on the trailing edge becomes short by minimizing the accumulated liquid on the edge stimulated by the Rayleigh-Taylor instability, leading to the formation of small droplets and suppression of coarse droplets. We finally formulate a theoretical model to predict the mean/maximum droplet sizes and distributions with considering the shape of trailing edge and wettability, which is validated by the present experimental results.

<strong class="journal-contentHeaderColor">Abstract.</strong> In addition to causing severe damage to human health and mechanical equipment, mineral dust particles (MDPs) also affect the rate at which glaciers melt. Although the acceleration of glacier melting by MDPs has attracted attention, there is limited understanding of the main controlling variables affected by MDPs that change the melting rate, and the mathematical relationships between each variable and the rate of melting remain to be fully elucidated. To address this problem, we first reconstructed the ablation environment to simulate changes in the rate of glacier melting under the influence of MDPs. The environment was analyzed through both physical and numerical experiments, and the response of glacier melting to multiple particles and individual particles on both macroscopic and microscopic levels was examined. Subsequently, based on thermodynamic laws, we theoretically derived a formula to calculate the increase in the rate of glacier melting attributable to MDPs. Through mutual validation of experiments and theory, we found that MDP coverage on the glacier surface increases the energy absorbed by the glacier, thereby resulting in an increased rate of melting, with an uplift of 10&thinsp;%&ndash;40&thinsp;%. The increase in the rate of melting is controlled primarily by four variables: particle number, particle diameter, irradiance, and particle surface albedo. Particle number, irradiance, and particle surface albedo each exhibit a linear relationship with the rate of increase in meltwater production, whereas particle diameter shows an exponential (quadratic) relationship. Our findings elucidate the mathematical relationship between MDPs and the rate of glacier melting, thereby providing scientific reference for glacier protection and accurate prediction of glacier melting rate.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal (SCCA) is a rare condition. Standard treatment includes chemoradiotherapy, with surgical treatment reserved for limited cases. In the future, the decrease in surgical frequency makes it more difficult to pathologically assess the depth of tumor invasion and lymph node status; therefore, those studies based on relatively recent surgical cases may offer valuable insights into diagnosing and treating SCCA. This multicenter, retrospective cohort study evaluated 435 patients with SCCA in Japan, of which 84 underwent surgical lymph node dissection. The correlation of regional/extraregional lymph node metastasis with T-primary tumor category/depth of tumor invasion, and the index of estimated benefit from lymph node dissection (IEBLD) was evaluated histopathologically. Primary tumor progression was associated with metastasis and recurrence of the inguinal node and further inferior mesenteric trunk/root node metastasis, an extraregional lymph node. The IEBLD for the inferior mesenteric trunk/root node was 6.9, which was higher than 4.0 IEBLD of the lateral lymph nodes classified as the regional lymph nodes. The assessment of the primary tumor involvement can predict metastases of the inguinal node and inferior mesenteric trunk/root node and recurrence of the inguinal node. Although the UICC TNM Classification considered the inferior mesenteric trunk/root nodes as extraregional lymph nodes, actively targeting them with the treatment can improve the prognosis.

The number of LIPs (laugh track insertion points) in representative sitcoms from the US and China was counted, and the difference in trends between the two countries was examined from both a quantitative and textual perspective using a chi-square test (significance level = 0.05). The major categories with significantly higher rates in Chinese sitcoms were “perception of superiority” and “change in framing,” and the minor categories were “stingy behavior,” “exaggeration,” “adding lies to lies or mistakes,” “strange proposals,” “successful strategies,” “violent acts,” “overinterpretation,” “display of disgust,” “mishearing homonyms or similar sounds,” “failure due to lack of understanding of one’s own culture or another,” “unexpected situations in relation to rules,” and “reversal or change of position.” In the textual analysis, a framework was used from superiority theory, which is considered useful in sitcom analysis, to examine the “perception of superiority” that was prominent in Chinese sitcoms.

Abstract As part of the B-fields In Star-forming Region Observations survey, we present James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) 850 μm polarimetric observations toward the Orion integral-shaped filament (ISF) that covers three portions known as OMC-1, OMC-2, and OMC-3. The magnetic field threading the ISF seen in the JCMT POL-2 map appears as a tale of three: pinched for OMC-1, twisted for OMC-2, and nearly uniform for OMC-3. A multiscale analysis shows that the magnetic field structure in OMC-3 is very consistent at all the scales, whereas the field structure in OMC-2 shows no correlation across different scales. In OMC-1, the field retains its mean orientation from large to small scales but shows some deviations at small scales. Histograms of relative orientations between the magnetic field and filaments reveal a bimodal distribution for OMC-1, a relatively random distribution for OMC-2, and a distribution with a predominant peak at 90∘ for OMC-3. Furthermore, the magnetic fields in OMC-1 and OMC-3 both appear to be aligned perpendicular to the fibers, which are denser structures within the filament, but the field in OMC-2 is aligned along with the fibers. All these suggest that gravity, turbulence, and magnetic field are each playing a leading role in OMC-1, 2, and 3, respectively. While OMC-2 and 3 have almost the same gas mass, density, and nonthermal velocity dispersion, there are on average younger and fewer young stellar objects in OMC-3, providing evidence that a stronger magnetic field will induce slower and less efficient star formation in molecular clouds.

In 2020, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic made social distancing compulsory. In patient lectures by hepatitis B patients (Patient Lectures)-a humanity education initiative that had traditionally been delivered face-to-face to assembled students-it was necessary to divide the students into two groups, one that attended the Patient Lectures in person (face-to-face group) and another that assembled in a separate room to view the delivered lecture simultaneously and remotely via a teleconferencing platform (remote group). To investigate possible changes in students' awareness of hepatitis B patients before (pre-) and after (post-) the lecture that year, the face-to-face and remote-attendance groups were analyzed separately. The participants were 203 fourth-year students belonging to the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Japan's Setsunan University, whose pre-clinical education curriculum prior to pharmacy practice experience included a Patient Lecture. The students were divided into two groups based on their student-ID numbers. Survey questionnaires were completed anonymously before and after the Patient Lecture. The students' awareness of hepatitis B patients' experience changed significantly after attending the Patient Lectures; this change was similar in both the face-to-face and remote-attendance groups. Regarding the possibility of hepatitis B virus infection, the remote group selected fewer answers implying strong convictions than did the face-to-face group, and both groups perceived several issues incorrectly. Although slight differences were observed between the two groups, the changes before and after the lectures were similar, indicating that humanity-education lectures are worthwhile not only when delivered in face-to-face contexts but also when delivered and viewed remotely within a class setting.

The aim of the present study was to examine the relationships between the Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test level 2 (YYIR2) and match-running performance across playing position in elite young soccer players. Participants were 142 players from 14 professional soccer academy under-14 teams. Twenty-six 11-a-side matches were analyzed using a Global Positioning System.

The purpose of this study was to identify the motivation and demotivation of Japanese university students in attending English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes. The participants included 455 students who took English courses for the first semester of 2023 from two private universities in Japan. The data was collected using a five-point Likert scale motivation and demotivation survey comprised of 24 items and two open-ended questions through an online questionnaire. The results from the quantitative and qualitative strands indicated that the motivation of the respondents towards attending EFL classes is mainly extrinsic. The basis of extrinsic motivation comprised getting credit, getting good grades, and knowing the tips for the exam. In addition, Japanese university students showed low demotivation towards attending EFL classes based on teacher-related, class content-related, and personal factors. The thematic analysis revealed that the students have low expectations for success and lack of self-discipline. From a cultural perspective, these findings reveal that the Japanese tend to blame themselves rather than point fingers at others to maintain harmony even in their academic life. The findings of this study can be used by EFL instructors, school administrators, and curriculum developers to offer interventions intended to motivate the demotivated EFL students to improve class attendance and help Japanese university students achieve academic success.