Decentralization and marketization of education in China: challenges for migrant children and social harmony

Parallel Session II Governing the Asian Giants - Good Governance and Public Policy: Session on Managing Urban Development and Policy ResponsespostprintLaunch Conference for Journal of Asian Public Policy: "Governing the Asian Giants: The Search for Good Governance and Sustainable Development in China and India", Hong Kong, China, 29-30 March 2010

Membrane Deformation of Endothelial Surface Layer Interspersed with Syndecan-4: A Molecular Dynamics Study

The lipid membrane of endothelial cells plays a pivotal role in maintaining normal circulatory system functions. To investigate the response of the endothelial cell membrane to changes in vascular conditions, an atomistic model of the lipid membrane interspersed with Syndecan-4 core protein was established based on experimental observations and a series of molecular dynamics simulations were undertaken. The results show that flow results in continuous deformation of the lipid membrane, and the degree of membrane deformation is not in monotonic relationship with the environmental changes (either the changes in blood velocity or the alteration of the core protein configuration). An explanation for such non-monotonic relationship is provided, which agrees with previous experimental results. The elevation of the lipid membrane surface around the core protein of the endothelial glycocalyx was also observed, which can be mainly attributed to the Coulombic interactions between the biomolecules therein. The present study demonstrates that the blood flow can deform the lipid membrane directly via the interactions between water molecules and lipid membrane atoms thereby affecting mechanosensing; it also presents an additional force transmission pathway from the flow to the lipid membrane via the glycocalyx core protein, which complements previous mechanotransduction hypothesis

A lead-free piezoelectric transformer in radial vibration modes

Author name used in this publication: D. M. LinAuthor name used in this publication: K. H. LamAuthor name used in this publication: S. WangAuthor name used in this publication: X. Z. Zhao2006-2007 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

GPU-based proximity query processing on unstructured triangular mesh model

This paper presents a novel proximity query (PQ) approach capable to detect the collision and calculate the minimal Euclidean distance between two non-convex objects in 3D, namely the robot and the environment. Such approaches are often considered as computationally demanding problems, but are of importance to many applications such as online simulation of haptic feedback and robot collision-free trajectory. Our approach enables to preserve the representation of unstructured environment in the form of triangular meshes. The proposed PQ algorithm is computationally parallel so that it can be effectively implemented on graphics processing units (GPUs). A GPU-based computation scheme is also developed and customized, which shows >200 times faster than an optimized CPU with single core. Comprehensive validation is also conducted on two simulated scenarios in order to demonstrate the practical values of its potential application in image-guided surgical robotics and humanoid robotic control.published_or_final_versio

A study on the disk-shaped piezoelectric transformer with multiple outputs

Author name used in this publication: K. H. LamAuthor name used in this publication: S. WangAuthor name used in this publication: K. W. KwokAuthor name used in this publication: X. Z. Zhao2007-2008 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Fabrication and characterization of Ni/P(VDF-TrFE) nanoscaled coaxial cables

Author name used in this publication: Kwo Ho LamAuthor name used in this publication: Cheng-Liang SunAuthor name used in this publication: Helen Lai Wa Chan2006-2007 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Integration of ultrasonic transducers in fast prototyping microfluidic devices

Author name used in this publication: S. S. GuoAuthor name used in this publication: S. T. LauAuthor name used in this publication: K. H. LamAuthor name used in this publication: X. Z. ZhaoAuthor name used in this publication: H. L. W. Chan2007-2008 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Energy harvesting with piezoelectric drum transducer

Author name used in this publication: Kwok Ho LamAuthor name used in this publication: Cheng Liang SunAuthor name used in this publication: Kin Wing KwokAuthor name used in this publication: Helen Lai Wa ChanAuthor name used in this publication: Ming Sen GuoAuthor name used in this publication: Xing-Zhong Zhao2006-2007 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Lead-free multilayer piezoelectric transformer

Author name used in this publication: K. H. LamAuthor name used in this publication: S. WangAuthor name used in this publication: C. L. SunAuthor name used in this publication: X. Z. Zhao2006-2007 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Continuity of Local Time: An applied perspective

Continuity of local time for Brownian motion ranks among the most notable mathematical results in the theory of stochastic processes. This article addresses its implications from the point of view of applications. In particular an extension of previous results on an explicit role of continuity of (natural) local time is obtained for applications to recent classes of problems in physics, biology and finance involving discontinuities in a dispersion coefficient. The main theorem and its corollary provide physical principles that relate macro scale continuity of deterministic quantities to micro scale continuity of the (stochastic) local time.Comment: To appear in: "The fascination of Probability, Statistics and Their Applications. In honour of Ole E. Barndorff-Nielsen on his 80th birthday