Artful Networking: Art Collecting and Cultural Positioning in Early Qing China - the Case of Gao Shiqi (1645-1704)

In this paper I analyze Gao Shiqi’s高士奇 (1645-1704) collecting practices in the context of early Qing politics. This paper argues that art collecting was used as an effective networking tool and played an significant part in defining Gao Shiqi’s cultural status in the court during the Kangxi reign (r. 1661-1722). Gao Shiqi rose to prominence as Kangxi Emperor’s favorite courtier despite not having a jinshi degree. Because of his inferior background, Gao Shiqi was under pressure to assert his status within the circle of cultural elite—art collecting was his solution. Analysis of his private art inventory indicates that Gao had a clear plan of gifting different kinds of objects to different groups of recipients, including the emperor, the heir apparent, high officials, as well as scholars and other non-officials. Gao collected objects of various qualities, including authentic works of different values as well as a wide range of copies and forgeries in preparation to fulfill different social functions. This paper shows how Gao used art collecting as a networking tool. And I shall argue that Gao Shiqi was emulating the imperial practice of using art collecting to assert cultural legitimacy. Gao succeeded in strengthening his social and political connections and he established the appropriateness of his status as a courtier, and most importantly, a man of culture

On the plasma induced degradation of organosilicate glass (OSG) as an interlevel dielectric for sub 90 nm CMOS

The fabrication of integrated circuits (ICs) in a semiconductor manufacturing environment is governed by two main categories: Front End of the Line (FEOL) processing and Back End of the Line (BEOL) processing. Transistors are formed in active regions in FEOL while BEOL processing focuses on creation of metal interconnects and interlevel dielectrics (ILDs). These dielectrics patterned in BEOL are required to have low permittivity or k values in order to mitigate parasitic capacitance. This reduction in capacitance between metal layers diminishes dynamic power dissipation, crosstalk noise, and interconnect delay issues as IC technology nodes continue to scale down in size. Dielectric constants between 2.0 to 2.7 are required for sub 90nm CMOS technology. Organosilicate glass (OSG) has been chosen as a candidate in this thesis study due to its k value being within the required range. OSG film was deposited on pilot wafers via Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) using a reaction between organosilane and oxygen gases. A challenge that has been identified in patterning OSG as an interlevel dielectric film occurs during the photoresist removal or ash process. Two types of plasma ash chemistries have been used to test OSG film integrity: O2 and H2Ar. The quality of OSG film is compromised due to plasma damage observed by carbon depletion or hydrogen species. Pre- and post-resist removal of OSG film composition has been characterized using materials analytic methods such as Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometry, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Dynamic Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (DSIMS), and Surface Photovoltage (SPV). Wafer test chips were also fabricated and probed at Metal 1 and Metal 2 levels for serpentine line resistances and comb capacitances to characterize the performance of the OSG film as an ILD. The H2Ar plasma chemistry has been proven to be a better candidate for maintaining OSG composition

Fabrication and Test Characterization of Organic Poly(3, \u27 diallkylquaterthiophene) (PQT-12) Transistors

Organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) are fabricated as bottom gate, top contact devices unlike conventional integrated circuits. Transistors of various dimensions with a top organic polymer layer that acts as a semiconductor known as poly(3,3” dialkylquater thiophene) (PQT-12) have been fabricated and electrically tested. Two processes have been designed prior to spin coating the PQT polymer: a) four heavily doped boron wafers using the back of the wafer as a gate with aluminum and chrome source/drain metal options and b) five moderately doped boron wafers with molybdenum or chrome gates with aluminum or molyb denum source/drains. The devices fabricated on the heavily doped boron wafers performed unfavorably compared to the devices fabricated with metal gates. The threshold voltages (VT) for the devices that exhibited device transfer characteristics were extrapolated approximately -8.5 to -9.0 V. The devices with wafer gates show that Al as a source/drain metal exhibited high gate leakage where VT occurs between -12.0 V to -25.0 V

To what extent does the European Debt Crisis affect both the European and the Global Economies

The goal of my research is to analyze the relationship between the 2007-2009 United States financial crisis and the ongoing European Sovereign Debt Crisis and the Debt Crisis’ possible effects on the global economy and to examine the different approaches to reduce the devastating effects of the European Debt Crisis. First, I am going to analyze the relationship between the bursting of the US Housing Bubble and the European Debt Crisis. According to Robert Kolb (2011), a Finance professor at the University of Chicago, the bursting of the US Housing Bubble in 2007 that resulted in the 2007-2009 economic recession left financial institutions, such as banks, with serious liquidity problems because borrowers kept defaulting on their mortgage loans. Second, I am going to explain the European Debt Crisis’ possible effects on the global economy. For instance, if many European countries are unable to pay off their debts from the US, US banks would be damaged. In addition, European loans could hurt US taxpayers. For instance, Lachman (2011) writes that the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s lending commitments made to Greece, Ireland, and Portugal total around $100 billion, and considering that the U.S. has a 17¾$20 billion should those countries be unable to repay the IMF.” Third, I am going to examine the different approaches to reduce the devastating effects of the different financial crises, such as implementing the appropriate combination of fiscal and monetary policies. I will write this paper primarily by reading economic books and the Wall Street Journal

Integration Sites in the Persistence of Latent HIV-1

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1), the pathogen that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), remains one of the world’s most pressing health issues. Since the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, over 32M people have succumbed to AIDS-related illnesses. Despite remarkable advances in HIV-1 biology, neither a vaccine or cure have been achieved. While antiretroviral therapy (ART) has significantly improved disease outcomes for people with HIV-1 and reduced transmission, treatment is often accompanied by long-term side effects or stigma, or impeded by limited access to health care. Furthermore, because viral load quickly rebounds upon treatment interruption, ART is required to be a life-long medication. The major barrier to HIV cure is the persistence of long-lived latently infected CD4+ T cells. Collectively known as the latent reservoir, these cells carry integrated HIV-1 proviruses that are transcriptionally quiescent and are thus able to evade host immunity and virus-induced cell death. Cellular and molecular characterization of the latent reservoir is challenging because latently infected cells are exceedingly rare and express no known surface marker. Moreover, the infected cell pool is dominated by cells containing defective proviruses which cannot contribute to rebound viremia. The work herein elucidates the contribution of proviral integration site to HIV-1 latency and the maintenance of the replication-competent, or intact, reservoir. Using an innovative single-cell sequencing technique that provides paired proviral sequence and integration site information, as well as enables selective analysis of replication-competent HIV-1, I interrogate the integration landscape of HIV infected individuals whose reservoirs are dominated by a small number of large expanded clones. By performing viral outgrowth assays, I also show that replication-competent proviruses harbored in the expanded clones readily produce infectious virion upon stimulation. I report an integrative analysis of the clonal dynamics, inducibility, and genomic position of intact proviruses in ARTsuppressed individuals, and demonstrate that proviruses in expanded clones across patients are significant more likely to be mapped to Krüppel-associated box (KRAB) domain-containing zinc finger (ZNF) genes on chromosome 19. Transcriptional and epigenetic meta-analysis of primary CD4+ T cells reveal that these specific chromosomal locations harboring integrated provirus are associated with genes downregulated upon cellular activation. Taken together, the data indicate that selected sites in the genome, including ZNF genes, can be especially permissive for maintaining HIV-1 latency during memory CD4+ T cell clonal expansion. These findings demonstrate that gene activity at the integration site impacts the survival and persistence of intact, expanded HIV proviruses in infected cells, and provide evidence that the quality, not only the quantity, of the latent reservoir must a key consideration in HIV-1 cure strategies

Publication rates on the topic of racial and ethnic diversity in dermatology versus other specialties

Background: The population of the U.S. is becoming more diverse every year. The field of dermatology is not following the same trend. Objective: To assess the promotion of diversity in the field of dermatology by analyzing publications focused on diversity, compared to other specialties. Methods: The PubMed database was systematically searched to identify publications focused on diversity from January 2008 to July 2019. The search criteria were as follows: dermatology/radiology/ophthalmology/ anesthesiology/orthopedic surgery/family medicine/ internal medicine/general surgery AND diversity/ diverse/racial/race/ethnic/ethnicity/cultural/culture/competency/competence. Comparisons were made using single-factor ANOVA and two-group t-tests. A qualitative analysis was performed for publications in the field of dermatology. Results: From January 2016 to July 2019, there were 25 publications focused on diversity in dermatology (Mean=6.25, SD=2.06), compared to 6 in radiology (Mean=1.50, SD=1.29, P=0.01), two in ophthalmology (Mean=0.50, SD=0.58, P=0.01), two in anesthesiology (Mean=0.50, SD=1.00, P=0.01), 12 in orthopedic surgery (Mean=3.00, SD=1.41, P=0.04), 23 in family medicine (Mean=5.75, SD=2.22, P=0.75), 9 in internal medicine (Mean=2.25, SD=1.71, P=0.02), and 7 in general surgery (Mean=1.75, SD=0.50, P=0.02). Conclusions: Although the field of dermatology has suffered from a lack of racial/ethnic diversity, efforts to promote diversity via increased publications in the last four years have been stronger in dermatology compared to many other fields

Unconventional superconducting pairing symmetry induced by phonons

The possibility of non-s-wave superconductivity induced by phonons is investigated using a simple model that is inspired by Sr$_2$RuO$_4$. The model assumes a two-dimensional electronic structure, a two-dimensional spin-fluctuation spectrum, and three-dimensional electron-phonon coupling. Taken separately, each interaction favors formation of spin-singlet pairs (of s symmetry for the phonon interaction and d$_{x^2-y^2}$ symmetry for the spin interaction), but in combination, a variety of more unusual singlet and triplet states are found, depending on the interaction parameters. This may have important implications for Sr$_2$RuO$_4$, providing a plausible explanation of how the observed spin fluctuations, which clearly favor d$_{x^2-y^2}$ pairing, may still be instrumental in creating a superconducting state with a different (e.g., p-wave) symmetry. It also suggests an interpretation of the large isotope effect observed in Sr$_2$RuO$_4$. These results indicate that phonons could play a key role in establishing the order-parameter symmetry in Sr$_2$RuO$_4$, and possibly in other unconventional superconductors.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Identification of a distinct class of cytoskeleton-associated mRNAs using microarray technology

BACKGROUND: Interactions between mRNA and the cytoskeleton are critical for the localization of a number of transcripts in eukaryotic somatic cells. To characterize additional transcripts that may be subject to this form of regulation, we developed a two-step approach that utilizes biochemical fractionation of cells to isolate transcripts from different subcellular compartments followed by microarray analysis to examine and compare these subpopulations of transcripts in a massively-parallel manner. RESULTS: Using this approach, mRNA was extracted from the cytoskeleton-rich and the cytosolic fractions of the promyelocytic HL-60 cell line. We identify a subset of 22 transcripts that are significantly enriched in the cytoskeleton-associated population. The majority of these encode structural proteins and/or proteins known to interact with elements of the cytoskeleton. Localization required an intact actin cytoskeleton and was largely conserved upon differentiation of precursor HL-60 cells to a macrophage-like phenotype. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the association of transcripts with the actin cytoskeleton in somatic cells may be a critical post-transcriptional regulatory event that controls a larger class of genes than has previously been recognized