Dynamic Matrix-Fracture Transfer Behaviour in Dual-Porosity Models

Imperial Users onl

カンジン ト シゼン カンショウ ソ ショク ノ コウシュウキ ノ ダイバツ オ メグッテ

Su Shi\u27s informal prose, colophons and notes, are one of his most famous literary works. Accounts of a Visit One Night to Cheng-tian Temple is a very famous colophon Su Shi wrote in his Huangzhou Exile. In this prose, Su took himself as an easygoing man ”閑人”. 0n this self-image, he could appreciate beautiful landscapes in Huangzhou.　Su Shi has.inherited this kind of literary self-image from Bai Juyi\u27s literary works. Leisure or way of easygoing is one of Bai Juyi\u27s most important literary principle, and Baicalled himself as an easygoing nan in his poetry very frequently in later years.　But Su Shi\u27s self-image is somewhat different from Bai Juyi\u27s on literary implication. I will discuss this problem in this paper.

Coexistence of strong nematic and superconducting correlations in a two-dimensional Hubbard model

Using a dynamic cluster quantum Monte Carlo approximation, we study a two-dimensional Hubbard model with a small orthorhombic distortion in the nearest neighbor hopping integrals. We find a large nematic response in the low-frequency single-particle scattering rate which develops with decreasing temperature and doping as the pseudogap region is entered. At the same time, the d-wave superconducting gap function develops an s-wave component and its amplitude becomes anisotropic. The strength of the pairing correlations, however, is found to be unaffected by the strong anisotropy, indicating that d-wave superconductivity can coexist with strong nematicity in the system.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, published as PRB 84, 220506(R) (2011

Dialectics of Spontaneity

In Dialectics of Spontaneity, Zhiyi Yang examines the aesthetic and ethical theories of Su Shi, the primary poet, artist, and statesman of Northern Song. Readership: All interested in Chinese literature, aesthetics and ethics, in particular Su Shi, in the comparative discussion about spontaneity, and those concerned with the reception history of Tao Qian or with inner alchemy

Guilty Even After Proven Innocent: The Vaccine-Autism Myth and its Consequences

In 1998, Dr. Andrew Wakefield began promoting the idea that the MMR vaccine could be linked to autism. The media soon picked up on Wakefield’s idea, propagating a myth about vaccines and autism with celebrity assistance and the support of certain government officials. As a result, vaccination rates dropped, outbreaks of diseases normally prevented by vaccination occurred, and segments of the population developed long-term concerns about vaccine safety. All this happened in spite of multiple studies and reports from researchers and prominent health agencies denying a causal connection between autism and vaccines as well as an in-depth investigation that ultimately found Wakefield’s work to be the product of severe ethical violations. That the myth has persisted in the face of such damning evidence to the contrary demonstrates the power of the Internet and its wealth of (mis)information, a development with which public health agencies and the medical community must come to terms if they are to combat the vaccine-autism myth effectively. The medical community must also begin to engage in more dialogue with parents so that doctors can demonstrate to parents why their expertise should be trusted over the myriad of information available online. By rebuilding parental trust in the medical profession as opposed to the Internet, the vaccine-autism myth may finally be rejected so that children will be protected from disease and attention can turn to the pressing issue of what actually causes autism. This result would be the most beneficial outcome for children, a goal that all parties to the controversy can support

The role of retinaldehyde and PPARgamma signaling in systemic lupus erythematosus

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with chronic inflammation affecting multiple organ systems, as well as accelerated atherosclerosis as a major complication. Prior studies by our lab have shown beneficial effects of PPARgamma agonists towards preventing SLE in two different mouse models: the well-established lupus mouse model, MRL.lpr, and the gld.apoE^-/- model of accelerated lupus and atherosclerosis. Retinaldehyde is a retinoic acid precursor that has recently been shown to inhibit PPARgamma signaling in adipose tissue. We proposed that abnormal accumulation of retinaldehyde in lupus promotes autoimmunity by inhibition of PPARgamma signaling. We measured the serum retinaldehyde levels in both lupus mouse models using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. We also examined the mRNA expressions of genes involved in retinaldehyde metabolism and PPARgamma signaling in white adipose tissues using real-time quantitative PCR. We observed a higher level of circulating retinaldehyde in the MRL.lpr mouse model on a chow diet. The circulating retinaldehyde levels in both .gld.apoE^-/- and C57 increased when maintained on a high-cholesterol Western diet. Within visceral and subcuntaneous adipose tissue, we saw several changes to expression of the genes responsible for retinaldehyde synthesis and catabolism, however further study is required to definitively assess the role of these genes. Importantly, the expression levels of genes involved in PPARgamma signaling decreased in the subcutaneous fat of gld.apoE^-/- mice on a Western diet. Our data suggest that retinaldehyde may play a role in SLE pathogenesis and could be a potential therapeutic target for SLE