Urban China in Transformation:Hybrid Economy,Juxtaposed Space,and New Testing Ground for Geographical Enquiries

History has brought us into a significant moment when the majority of the human kind has taken up resi-dence in urban settlements. The focus of global urbanization has shifted to the developing world and the center of manufacturing is no longer confined to the Global North. This paper provides a periodical assessment of the current status of China's urban transformation in the global context of a shifting emphasis of industrialization and urbaniza-tion. China's phenomenal urban transformation deserves a special attention not only because of its unparalleled scale and speed but also because of its distinct trajectory of growth that does not conform to normal theoretical ex-pectations. The results of assessment revealed an urban economy with remarkable hybridity, a society that is in-creasingly stratified, polarized, and segregated, and a juxtaposed urban space undergoing restless and pervasive transformation. A decentering world should entail a decentering knowledge production. A critical reflection upon the Chinese patterns and processes of urban transformation has identified 4 main issues with great potentials for inno-vative knowledge production, namely: 1) privatization and economic development; 2) state, society, and space; 3) urbanization of capital, labor, and land; and 4) the environment and Chinese political ecology. The paper closes with the remark that a rapidly transforming urban China has presented itself as a fertile and resourceful testing ground for critical and innovative geographic enquiries.

In Situ Tests--Predicted vs. Observed Settlements： A Comparative Case Study

This paper aims to deal with the comparison of the estimated settlements derived by in situ tests with the observed settlements in site, in order to evaluate the accuracy of settlement prediction by in situ tests, in comparison not only with site observation by topographic means, but also with the values of settlements derived by numerical analysis by means of PLAXIS 2D and 3 D. The site where are carried out the tests and periodically are observed the settlements since the beginning of construction process, is located in the Oil Product Terminal, at the industrial park of Porto Romano, Durres, Albania. The main purpose of this project was the ground improvement by using preloading method in order to prevent liquefaction process and settlements. The data used to conduct this study are taken by the site investigation done after inserting into the soil vertical drains made of columns of free--draining gravel （gravel pile drains） until 14 m depth and center-to-center spacing of 2 m, and wick drains （premanufactured） until 25 m depth and center-to-center spacing of 1.8 m. The observed settlements are periodically measured by topographic equipments. This paper will present the conclusions derived by settlement analyzes from in situ tests and site observations.

Operation Phase Problems of Prefabricated Residential Buildings with Integrated Autoclaved Aerated Concrete Panel Walls

Growing technical problems with the maintenance of precast concrete housing stock result in the search for efficient repair methods. The paper analyses the effects of flaws in the design concept and assembly accuracy of integrated AAC （autoclaved aerated concrete） panel walls, type GWO （Gazobetonowa Wielka P｜yta Ostonowa which means large cover panel from aerated concrete in English）, used as curtain walls in a system of precast concrete housing blocks erected in Lublin. The results of in-situ observations and laboratory tests of the panel walls have been described, and the opinion on the further use of these elements has been presented. As for the analysed case, there is no possibility of replacing damaged elements, thus, additional reinforcement with steel tendons has been proposed as a repair measure.

Performance of U-tube Solar Water Heaters Facing Different Directions

System performance of solar water heaters depends upon collector and storage tank designs, solar radiation intensity and ambient temperature, amongst others. Evacuated glass tube collectors with U-tubes inside are less prone to leakages than the all-glass or the heat pipe types. U-tube solar water heaters suspended on walls and balconies could help overcome present day roof space restriction and increasing apartment-style housing. As such, their performance would depend upon its orientation when mounted in a vertical position. This paper reports the results of outdoor tests conducted on natural convection U-tube solar water heaters oriented towards different directions. Long and short term test procedures were employed to allow us to compare their performances as if they were tested simultaneously side-by-side.

Urban Services Delivery in Limbo： A Provisional Assessment of Gweru＇s Water Supply System

This study sought to assess Gweru＇s water supply system from the source to the consumer to find out whether the water is safe for domestic purposes, mainly consumption. Water samples were taken from Gwenoro dam （raw water）, Gwenoro treatment plant （treated water） as well as from GIS-generated random points of residential areas closest to Gwenoro and furthest from both the dam and the treatment plant. These were taken for laboratory testing where parameters like pH, hardness, turbidity and DO （dissolved oxygen） were tested. Questionnaires were used to solicit the views of the consumers on water quality and water service delivery from eight randomly selected residential suburbs. Interviews were also administered to Gwenoro Water Treatment Plant superintendent and deputy to get insight into the day to day challenges that they have to grapple with. Results generally show that treated water from Gwenoro treatment plant is relatively safe to drink for those who have access to it. However, some consumer points like Mkoba 13 and Mkoba 18 receive water whose DO is out of the recommended range. Suburbs which lie on higher ground like Mkoba 19 and Mkoba 14 however rarely receive water from Gwenoro with some residents of Mkoba 19 having had no water from their taps for more than three years now. The study recommends that new equipment be bought for the treatment plant so that treated water reaches all parts of the city. Newly resettled farmers in the Upper Runde Catchment must be resettled elsewhere while urban stream bank cultivation must be banned to reduce water pollution as well as possible sedimentation of Gwenoro dam.

The Study on the Occupants Protection of the Emergency Landing Condition for Part 23 Airplane

The part 23 airworthiness standards for small airplanes states minimal standards of the emergency condition for the occupant protection. Under this regulation, the airplane must be designed and certified about static strength of the fuselage and seats, horizontal and vertical dynamic strength of seats. Human injuries in dynamic crash tests and the survivability in the turnover condition should be also evaluated. The most important part among injuries of human is a head and the head injury is evaluated by Head Injury Criterion （HIC）. KC-100, 4 seats airplane that is manufactured by KAI, was conducted seat dynamic tests. The HIC from tests was well within criteria limits 1,000 and the occupant compartment for head protection provided hazard-free spaces in the occupant＇s head strike envelope for the frontal-horizontal crash impacts. The airplane also was conducted a turnover static test and analysis to especially show living spaces of the head. The airframe could sustain living spaces for occupants in the turnover condition and occupants could escape and be protected. The results of tests and analysis corresponded to the criteria and proved the retention of survivable space in emergency landing condition.

Locking plate versus external fixation for type C distal radius fractures： A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Purpose： Distal radial fracture is one of the most common fractures. Up to now, locking plates （LP） and external fixation （EF） are two conventional surgical approaches to type C radius fracture. Which method is superior has not yet reached a consensus. We try to assess the clinical effectiveness of the two in- terventions by this meta-analysis. Methods： We used network to search the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Medical Library of randomized controlled clinical trials about the type C distal radius fractures performed according to the search strategy mentioned in Cochrane Handbook 5.1.0 from Jan. 2005 to Jan. 2016. Patients in the experimental group were used LP, in the control group were included EF and other surgical approaches. Publication language was restricted to English. Studies that patient population and surgical indication did not define had been excluded. Studies must report at least one of the outcomes as follow： radial inclination, patmar tilt, ulnar variance, range of wrist flexion and extension, and range of wrist supination and pronation. The trials in which participants included children were excluded. We used Jadad study scores to appraise the study. Results： Seven studies included 162 patients （LP group） and 190 patients （EF group）. We compared the radial inclination, palmar tilt, ulnar variance, range of wrist flexion and extension, and range of wrist supination and pronation. The radial inclination were revealed a difference favoring LP over EF [WMD = 1.84, 95% CI （0.17, 3.50）, p = 0.03] and the palmar tilt and ulnar variance was no significant difference between the two groups [（WMD = 3.61, 95% CI （0.00, 7.23）, p = 0.05; WMD = 0.05, 95% CI （-0.99,1.09）, p = 0.93]. The functional activities of range of flexion and extension and range of supination and pronation between the two groups was no difference [WMD = 10.04, 95% CI （-6.88, 26.96）, p = 0.24; WMD = 12.53, 95% CI （-9.99, 35.06）, p = 0.28]. Conclusion： Locking plate and external fixation is feasible to heal radius type C fracture. We found the small difference between the two groups on imaging examination. The locking plate has the advantage on maintaining reduction, however no significant difference regarding outcomes has been found be- tween the two groups.