Chinese Judicial Culture: From Tradition to Modernity

Text of an address by the Hon. Justice Shen Deyong at the Brigham Young University Law School, October 21, 2009

Chinese Judicial Culture: From Tradition to Modernity

Text of an address by the Hon. Justice Shen Deyong at the Brigham Young University Law School, October 21, 2009

China\u27s Attitude Toward Foreign NGOs

Notwithstanding the increasing presence of foreign non-governmental organizations (“NGOs”) in China, currently only foreign foundations may register as international NGOs in China. This lag in legislation is largely due to the Chinese government’s concerns about foreign NGOs that try to broach politically sensitive subjects such as democracy, human rights, labor, or religion. Much confusion has resulted from the lack of explicit legal rules, and the situation has blocked foreign NGOs’ access to China and prevented them from carrying out work in the country. In practice, many foreign NGOs have resorted to alternative means of operation. It is time for the Chinese government to revisit this gray area and enact a clear and constructive legal framework for foreign NGOs to follow

Ultra-thin titanium nitride films for refractory spectral selectivity

We demonstrate a selectively emitting optical Fabry-P\'erot resonator based on a few-nm-thin continuous metallic titanium nitride film, separated by a dielectric spacer from an optically thick titanium nitride back-reflector, which exhibits excellent stability at 1070 K against chemical degradation, thin-film instabilities and melting point depression. The structure paves the way to the design and fabrication of refractory thermal emitters using the well-established processes known from the field of multilayer and rugate optical filters. We demonstrate that a few-nanometer thick films of titanium nitride can be stable under operation at temperatures exceeding 1070 K. This type of selective emitter provides a means towards near-infrared thermal emission that could potentially be tailored to the accuracy level known from rugate optical filters.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figure

Modelling of Atmospheric Mercury Emission, Transport, Transformation and Deposition in North America

A modelling study was conducted to explore the emission, transport, transformation and deposition behaviour of atmospheric Hg. A detailed natural Hg emission model was developed to estimate the natural Hg emissions from soil, water and vegetation. U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) Hg model system was improved by incorporating the detailed treatment of natural Hg emissions, adopting boundary conditions from a global Hg model (Seigneur et al. , 2004) and including the calculation of the dry deposition velocity of elemental Hg. The natural Hg emission model and the improved CMAQ-Hg model were validated with some measurements and then applied to North America for a whole year (2002). A detailed natural Hg emission model was developed in this study. This model made use of detailed soil Hg concentration measurements, meteorological data and soil conditions to estimate Hg emissions from soil, water and vegetation. The influence of snow cover and low temperature was also considered in the model. This model was then applied to simulate one-year natural Hg emissions in North America in 2002. The modelled results, compared to some reported natural Hg emission measurements, demonstrated a strong simulation ability. The spatial and temporal variations of emission fluxes were examined through numerical simulations. A pronounced diurnal cycle and a seasonal cycle were found in the emissions from most land uses. Compared with summer, natural Hg emission was significantly limited in winter. Simulation results showed that about 229 metric tons of total natural Hg emission, 1. 8 times anthropogenic Hg emission, was emitted from the simulation domain in 2002. U. S. EPA CMAQ Hg model system was improved and then applied to simulate the emission, transport, transformation and deposition of atmospheric Hg in North America for the year 2002. The simulated results were compared with measured hourly Total Gaseous Hg (TGM) for 3 sites. The good agreement between them demonstrated the good performance of this improved model in modelling the behaviour of emission, transport, transformation and deposition of atmospheric Hg. Hg budget and net evasion of Hg in North America were also investigated. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess the effects of emissions, including Hg and non-Hg emissions, on the air concentration and deposition of atmospheric Hg. The results indicated that ambient concentration of TGM was much more sensitive to Hg emissions than non-Hg emissions. Natural Hg emission was more significant than anthropogenic emission to affect ambient concentration of TGM, illustrating natural Hg emission is a key factor influencing TGM ambient concentration. Unlike TGM concentration, Hg dry deposition was not only sensitive to Hg emissions but also to non-Hg emissions such as VOCs and NOx. Anthropogenic Hg emission, natural Hg emission and NOx emission had almost the same effect on total dry deposition of Hg. The results also illustrated that Hg wet deposition was only sensitive to non-Hg emissions such as NOx and VOCs, especially of VOCs emission. Because of the inverse effect of VOCs on Hg wet deposition, reducing NOx emission should be an ideal solution to mitigate Hg wet deposition. A possible pathway through which atmospheric Hg was greatly affected by emissions changes was identified: emissions of pollutants, especially VOCs and NOx, greatly affect the level of OH in the atmosphere; OH influences the concentration and deposition of Hg by significantly affecting the gas phase reaction between Hg(0) and OH. </html

Melt Electrospinning of PET and Composite PET-Aerogel Fibers: An Experimental and Modeling Study

Increasingly advanced applications of polymer fibers are driving the demand for new, high-performance fiber types. One way to produce polymer fibers is by electrospinning from polymer solutions and melts. Polymer melt electrospinning produces fibers with small diameters through solvent-free processing and has applications within different fields, ranging from textile and construction, to the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. Modeling of the electrospinning process has been mainly limited to simulations of geometry-dependent electric field distributions. The associated large change in viscosity upon fiber formation and elongation is a key issue governing the electrospinning process, apart from other environmental factors. This paper investigates the melt electrospinning of aerogel-containing fibers and proposes a logistic viscosity model approach with parametric ramping in a finite element method (FEM) simulation. The formation of melt electrospun fibers is studied with regard to the spinning temperature and the distance to the collector. The formation of PET-Aerogel composite fibers by pneumatic transport is demonstrated, and the critical parameter is found to be the temperature of the gas phase. The experimental results form the basis for the electrospinning model, which is shown to reproduce the trend for the fiber diameter, both for polymer as well as polymer-aerogel composites

Introduction to Drone Detection Radar with Emphasis on Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) technology

This paper discusses the challenges of detecting and categorizing small drones with radar automatic target recognition (ATR) technology. The authors suggest integrating ATR capabilities into drone detection radar systems to improve performance and manage emerging threats. The study focuses primarily on drones in Group 1 and 2. The paper highlights the need to consider kinetic features and signal signatures, such as micro-Doppler, in ATR techniques to efficiently recognize small drones. The authors also present a comprehensive drone detection radar system design that balances detection and tracking requirements, incorporating parameter adjustment based on scattering region theory. They offer an example of a performance improvement achieved using feedback and situational awareness mechanisms with the integrated ATR capabilities. Furthermore, the paper examines challenges related to one-way attack drones and explores the potential of cognitive radar as a solution. The integration of ATR capabilities transforms a 3D radar system into a 4D radar system, resulting in improved drone detection performance. These advancements are useful in military, civilian, and commercial applications, and ongoing research and development efforts are essential to keep radar systems effective and ready to detect, track, and respond to emerging threats.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures, submitted to a journal and being under revie