Since 2013, the female playwright Li Jing has presented to the public a number of dramatic works which number among the most discussed plays in Chinese theatre circles. This article sketches an approach to her first work, Daxiansheng, which is based, thematically, on the life and work of the modern Chinese writer Lu Xun. By focusing on dramaturgical aspects of this play, such as the material and perspective selected for the story; the interweaving of all kinds of texts; the fragmentation and reassembling of the characters; the design of various contrasting modes and atmospheres; as well as the method of participation of both author and audiences, this article foregrounds the aspects of cosmopolitan theatre displayed both by Li Jing’s work and by contemporary Chinese drama more broadly.

Steamboat Springs, Nevada, an area of present-day hot springs, clearly illustrates the genetic dependence of some kaolin deposits on hot-spring activity. Andesite, granodiorite and arkosic sediments are locally altered at the land surface to siliceous residues consisting of primary quartz and anatase, plus opal from primary silicates. These siliceous residues commonly exhibit the textural and structural features of their unaltered equivalents. Beneath the siliceous residues, kaolin and alunite replace primary silicates and fill open spaces, forming a blanketlike deposit. Beneath the kaolin-alunite zone, montmorillonite, commonly accompanied by pyrite, replaces the primary silicates. On the ground surface, the same alteration mineral zones can be traced outward from the siliceous residue; however, hematite rather than pyrite accompanies montmorillonite.

Chemical analysis indicates that sulfuric acid is the active altering agent. The acid forms from hydrogen sulfide that exsolves from deep thermal water, rises above the water table and is oxidized by sulfur-oxidizing bacteria living near the ground surface. This acid dissolves in precipitation or condensed water vapor and percolates downward destroying most of the primary minerals producing a siliceous residue. Coincidence of the water table with the downward transition from siliceous residue to kaolin-alunite signifies decreasing hydrogen metasomatism because of dilution of descending acid by ground water.

In hot-spring areas, beds of siliceous sinter deposited at the surface by hypogene thermal water look, superficially, like areas of surficial acid alteration. Features diagnostic of a surficial alteration are the relict rock structures of a siliceous residue and a kaolin-alunite zone immediately beneath.

Uncertainty has attached to a medieval library catalogue entry mentioning Papias cum sermonibus diversis at Stams Abbey. Most recent editors of Papias have suspected that it refers to the medieval lexicographer rather than the second-century Christian author of the same name. This note calls attention to a marginal citation in a Stams manuscript from the lexicographer that helps put to rest the hypothesis of a full Latin manuscript of Papias of Hierapolis.

This work describes the separation of alunite from natural alunitic kaolins by applying a selective flocculation procedure. In order to determine the most efficient separating procedure preliminary experiments were performed with artificial mixtures of alunite and kaolin. The same procedure was then applied to natural alunitic kaolin which enabled the preparation of kaolin of considerable purity.

The effect of heat treatment on surface area, pore volume, pore size distribution, physical and chemical structure up to 700°C have been studied on samples of naturally occurring chrysotile minerals from California and Quebec. Techniques used included thermogravimetric analysis, low-temperature nitrogen adsorption, electron microscopy, X-ray powder and electron diffraction. The materials behaved similarly on heating to 100°C showing a 0.5% weight loss attributable to desorption of physisorbed water. At 500°C, Quebec samples retained the chrysotile crystal structure while Californian samples were X-ray amorphous. Forsterite was formed by dehydration of both chrysotiles at 700°C; the greater stability of the Quebec samples to this process is explained by the presence of brucite as an impurity which enters into stray solid-solid interactions with the chrysotile.

This Article is a follow-up to a recent Gazette Article about a probabilistic betting game studied by Abdin et al. [1]. We examine the speed of convergence of the probability needed to investigate this game by giving concrete examples, using the large deviation, which is a valuable tool for estimating probabilities of repeated trials (see [2], [3, Chapter 6], [4, Section 5.11]). Moreover, to get a deep understanding of the game, we study fairness when it is repeated infinite times. Let us call it fairness in the sense of infinity, whose exact definition will be given in the final section.

The adsorption mechanism of iso-propylammonium (PAH+), the cationic component of Roundup, by various homoionic montmorillonites and the structures of the associations obtained in the interlayer space were investigated, using infrared, X-ray, and carbon analysis methods. Adsorption from aqueous and ethanol solutions of Roundup was studied. The infrared spectra were compared with those obtained by the treatment of montmorillonites with ethanol and CCl4 solutions of the free iso-propylamine (PA). The adsorption of PA from ethanol gives rise to protonation of the amine. PA sorbed from CCl4 solution forms an ammonium-amine association. Adsorption of PAH+ from alcohol solution of Roundup occurs by the mechanism of cation exchange. With transition metal exchangeable cations, PAH+ is sorbed in excess, forming hydrogen bonds between NH3+ groups and hydroxyls resulting from dissociation of water molecules. The process of adsorption of PAH+ from aqueous solutions of Roundup depends on the concentration of the solution. If montmorillonite is reacted with 0.5% solution of Roundup, PAH+ is adsorbed by exchanging metal cations and the adsorption capacity of the clay does not exceed the c.e.c. If the montmorillonite is reacted with 5.0% solution of Roundup, the PAH+ exchanges protons originating from the hydrolysis of the interlayer water. Protons which are transferred from the interlayer space to the water solution are accepted by the anion component of Roundup. The amounts of PAH+ adsorbed from concentrated Roundup solutions are much higher than the cation exchange capacity of montmorillonite. Hydrogen bonds are formed between the ammonium and water or hydroxyl groups on the interlayer space. With the trivalent exchange ions Al and Fe, which tend to polymerize in the interlayer space, excess sorption gives rise to hydrogen bonding of NH3+ to oxygen of the polymer.

Infrared absorption spectra show important changes in the positions and form of the absorption bands of a film of attapulgite after it has been pumped out. An attempt to differentiate among some of the multiple frequencies due to OH groups is based on the information obtained from dehydration and deuteration experiments. The 1198 cm−1 shoulder, characteristic of attapulgite, is assigned to a Si-O vibration. When attapulgite is refluxed with 5N HCl for 5 hr the octahedral layer is dissolved. The acid attack causes the disappearance of the Si-O-Si absorption bands from attapulgite giving rise to a characteristic vibration at 1090 cm−1, as well as another absorption at 960 cm−1. The latter indicates the presence of silanol groups.

Abnormal scatterings of X-rays take place between Bragg spots. Their study in hydrated Mg- and Ni-vermiculites shows that they appear in reciprocal space in the form of modulated lines, elongated along the Z* axis. These scatterings demonstrate a two-dimensional organization of the compensating cations and of the water molecules in the interlamellar layer. In such ordered domains, the cations are situated at the nodes of a biperiodic centered lattice with parameters 3a,b.

The distribution of compensating cations must conform with the charge distribution which they neutralize; it can therefore be concluded that the distribution of effective negative charges (tetrahedral negative charges less positive octahedral charges) is also at least partially ordered.

Sodium-saturated montmorillonite was used to prepare aqueous suspensions of varying concentration between 0.06% and 3.0%. Compacted columns of glass beads and carborundum constituted the porous media. The system was maintained under saturated flow conditions at hydraulic gradients of 2 and 4. In order to study the relationship of clay properties to those of the porous media, the zeta potential of both suspension and media was determined. A mathematical model of the system was developed that would predict the deposition of clay at various depths in the columns, given concentration and flow rate of the suspensions. In order to test this model, a procedure was developed for tagging the clay with 46Sc, sampling the columns, and determining the amount of deposition using a single-channel gamma-ray spectrometer. Using an activity level of 0.15 microcurie per liter of a 1% suspension it was possible to detect reliably 10 mg of clay in a 40 g sample of the porous media. The results indicate two mechanisms operating in the process of removal of the clay from suspension. One of these, interstitial straining, operates at the surface of the porous media column; while the second, a combination of diffusion and gravitational settling, operates below the surface.

The results of this research have potential applications in the solution of engineering problems relating to water resources conservation such as reservoir seepage control, infiltration of sediment-laden water into the soil, and ground water recharge. Also, the results may be important for answering questions concerning pollutant movement into the water supply through porous strata. All the above are examples in which a colloidal suspension is moving into or through porous media; therefore, an improved understanding of the principles of flow of colloidal suspensions in porous media can contribute to the solution of these engineering problems.

X-ray diffraction patterns of garnierites indicate that most samples resemble serpentine-group minerals or a talc-like mineral, or a mixture of these forms, and give respectively 7 Å and 10 Å basal reflections. From a survey of some 40 garnierites, four of predominantly serpentine type and seven of predominantly talc-like type were selected for detailed study. The talc-like garnierites exhibit little variation of the 10 Å basal spacing with low-temperature heating or with immersion in liquids, though some may contain a small proportion of expandable layers. Chemical analyses show considerable deviations of octahedral/tetrahedral cation ratios from the values 3/2 and 3/4 for normal serpentine and talc minerals, and may be interpreted in terms of mixed 1:1 and 2:1 layer types, either as separate phases and/or as interstratifications, or as defect structures of various kinds. The H2O + contents of the talc-like forms of garnierite are considerably greater than that of normal talc and point to a mineral of composition 3(Mg, Ni)O·4SiO2. 2H2O or [(Mg, Ni)3Si4O10(OH)2]H2O—a talc mono-hydrate formula. The green color of garnierites is related to the NiO weight per cent and a color index is derived based on the Munsell color charts.

A thermodynamic study has been made of the ion exchange equilibria of the n-alkylammonium ions in sodium montmorillonite. Exchange isotherms of ammonium, methylammonium, ethylammonium, propylammonium and butylammonium with sodium montmorillonite were determined at 4°, 25° and 55°C. From these data the changes in free energy, enthalpy and entropy for the exchange reactions were calculated. In the temperature region used in this work, no enthalpy change was observed. Thus the exchange was only controlled by entropy effects. The thermodynamic excess functions were calculated from the surface activity coefficients. The affinity of the organic ions for the clay increases with chain length. It is shown that this increase can not be ascribed to van der Waals forces, but must be due to the combined effect of variations in electrostatic interactions with the clay lattice and of the hydration state.

An orthochlorite (sheridanite) was heated to 610°C to dehydroxylate the hydroxide sheet and to oxidize ferrous iron. The heated sample was shaken for 20 min in a mixed solution of 0·2 N HCl and 0·2 N NaCl to dissolve the dehydroxylated hydroxide sheet. X-ray diffraction, thermal, infrared absorption and chemical analyses showed that the resulting product was similar to Kenya vermiculite. The procedure shows promise for the individual determination of the composition of the hydroxide sheet and of the mica layer in the chlorite structure. The experiments indicate that the hydroxide sheet in orthochlorites must be structurally disturbed before it can be selectively removed. In nature, structural disorganization of the hydroxide sheet of chlorite by dehydroxylation and oxidation of ferrous iron might occur during meta-morphic processes, and chlorite to vermiculite transformation could take place during subsequent acid weathering. In pedogenic weathering conditions it is likely that oxidation of ferrous iron plays a major role in initiation of the structural disorder required for the selective removal of the hydroxide sheet in the weathering of chlorite to vermiculite.