Performance-based Seismic Design of a Pendulum Tuned Mass Damper System

The study implements the performance-based analysis and design methodology to assess the seismic vulnerability of a coal-fired power plant and to optimally design its equivalent pendulum-type tuned mass damper system such that the direct losses are minimized. A building-specific total loss ratio is developed to link the component level losses with the total repair cost of the original structure. The optimal system configuration is finally derived for cases with the minimum loss. The study demonstrates a systematic way of achieving the optimal pendulum-type tuned mass damper design with considerations of uncertainties in earthquake inputs and the combined component level damages.     

Bayesian Parameter Identification and Model Selection for Normalized Modulus Reduction Curves of Soils

This work develops a procedure that involves the use of Bayesian approach to quantify data scatterness, estimates the optimal values of model parameters, and selects the most appropriate model for the construction of normalized modulus reduction curves of soils. The proposed procedure is then demonstrated using real observation data based on a set of comprehensive resonant column tests on coarse-grained soils conducted in the study.     

Biomechanics of coaching maximal instep soccer kick for practitioners

Kicking in soccer has been the subject of scientific research for more than 40 years yet review articles summarizing the biomechanical fundamentals of kick optimization as a guide to coaching are scarcely to be found. The current review article aims to bridge the gap between scientific research into the maximal instep kick (including studies employing 3D motion capture and full-body biomechanical modelling) and the application of such research in coaching. It does so by supplying a scientifically founded, coaching-friendly article explaining identifiable characteristics and motor control sequencing that define this skill. Relevant biomechanical factors are identified in a way that should help coaches better develop training programmes and, at the same time, foster better understanding of the skill among athletes. Such information will contribute to both accelerated skill acquisition and, by concomitant gains in skill efficiency, the development of programmes that minimize risk of injury to athletes during training.     

Lichenometric constraints on the age of the Huashan Grottoes, East China

Lichenometry is a method of dating that has been widely used in glaciated areas for determining the minimum age of exposure of a geomorphic landform during the late Holocene. This paper presents a regional calibration data set of lichen thallus sizes versus rock surface ages for the Huashan area, East China, based on measurements of yellow-green Rhizocarpon lichens on the known-age substrates at eight sites. An empirical relationship between thallus sizes and rock surface ages was established using both the traditional regression and the Bayesian approaches. Using the Bayesian calibration, the minimum age of the Huashan Grottoes was dated from 450 ± 60 to 330 ± 60 years ago, corresponding to the late Ming Dynasty (AD 1477–1632). These dates are generally consistent with those predicted from the regression-based linear growth curve. Our results suggest that applications of this technique can be safely extended to the non-glaciated areas.     

What can pollen grains from the Terracotta Army tell us?

The provenance of more than 2200-year-old terracotta warriors and horses in the Qin Shihuang Mausoleum is still a mystery, even though some researchers have inferred that the terracotta figures were produced near the mausoleum. The sporomorphs (pollen and spores) extracted from terracotta fragments of a warrior and a horse and compared with those obtained from soil samples from the Qin Dynasty layer in Pit No. 2 of the Qin Shihuang Mausoleum indicate that the pollen spectrum from the terracotta horse is different from that of the warrior, but similar to the local soil samples. Herbaceous pollen was dominant in the warrior sample, while arboreal pollen predominates in the horse and soil samples. Palynological evidence suggests that the terracotta horses were produced at a locality near the mausoleum, while the warrior came from a site which was further afield.     

日藏弘仁本《文馆词林》残敕二考

日藏弘仁本<文馆词林>存二残文①.罗国威按:"此卷残,只遗两首作者、题不明残简,原件系弘仁抄本,高野山正智院藏.     

王若虚著述考

王若虚(1174-1243),字从之,号慵夫,藁城(今河北藁城)人,金承安二年(1197)进士,金亡不仕,晚年自号滹南遗老.是金代后期著名文学理论家、经学家和文献学家,在金元之际学术界独步一时,与元好问堪称金代文化领域之双璧.本文拟对王若虚的著述尤其是他的<滹南遗老集>进行考述.     

和谐社会理论与我国的古代法律思想文化

在中国传统法律思想史上,历代的和谐思想由来已久,我国政府2005年年初提出的社会主义和谐社会的构想是有其深远的思想文化基础的,并非是理论上的凭空创造,而是从中华法律文化思想宝库中采撷出的思想精华并加以理论创新而来。因此,我们要加强对我国历史上关于社会建设理论的研究,按照去伪存真、去粗取精的要求,努力做到古为今用。     

金代东北边疆的官员管理

金为加强东北地区的稳定与发展,对东北地区的官员管理极为重视,依据东北的特点选择官员,严格考课,并将猛安谋克这一女真族的军事组织也纳入封建考课体系内,同时强化监察制度,制定了具有东北特色的官员管理制度.