Heat Kernel Bounds on Metric Measure Spaces and Some Applications

Let $(X,d,\mu)$ be a $RCD^\ast(K, N)$ space with $K\in \mathbb{R}$ and $N\in [1,\infty]$. For $N\in [1,\infty)$, we derive the upper and lower bounds of the heat kernel on $(X,d,\mu)$ by applying the parabolic Harnack inequality and the comparison principle, and then sharp bounds for its gradient, which are also sharp in time. When $N=\infty$, we also establish a sharp upper bound of the heat kernel by using the dimension free Harnack inequality. For applications, we study the large time behavior of the heat kernel, the stability of solutions to the heat equation, and show the $L^p$ boundedness of (local) Riesz transforms.Comment: 27pp,Section 6 was removed, to appear in Potential Ana

A Cognitive and Cross-Linguistic Approach to Polysemy

Polysemy refers to the phenomenon that a word possesses multiple different but related meanings. Past accounts have provided descriptions of the relations that an extended sense may have to the most central or fundamental ( core ) sense of a word, but they do not provide an explanatory account of how such senses are generated. The current research investigates the cognitive basis for the generation of polysemous senses. I hypothesize that extended senses are built on the salient characteristics of referents of core senses. I also argue that to the extent that speakers of different languages find the same characteristics of default referents salient, different languages should tend to generate similar polysemous senses from the same core senses. Evidence is provided for this proposed language-independent mechanism using data from six psycholinguistic tasks administered to speakers of two historically unrelated languages: English and Chinese. I also propose that, assuming a bidirectional interaction between language and thought, more embodied words should generate a larger number of extended senses and a higher proportion of senses shared between the languages. Evidence is provided for these predictions through the same empirical tasks. Broadly, this project provides a novel avenue for the study of word senses by revisiting the cognitive link between thought and language

The Interpretation of Problem Based Learning: A Case Study

 Currently, there are a large number of higher education institutions transforming their traditional educational approaches to PBL. In order to address the challenges for PBL implementation for a university, it is quite necessary to investigate how the managers and staff members interpret PBL in practice. Through the exploration of a university which is in the process of transforming its traditional educational paradigm to PBL, we note that there is a lack of unified understanding of what PBL is at the university. Several different PBL interpretations emerge and some of them are quite inconsistent with, or even contradictory to each other, which further pose significant challenges to the university when implementing PBL. It should be acknowledged that the diversification of PBL interpretation is unlikely to avoid at a university. The diversity of PBL interpretation would create large tensions at a university, but it also points out new possibilities for the university

Monitoring Crop Carotenoids Concentration by Remote Sensing

Assessment of carotenoids (Car) content provides a valuable insight into clarifying the mechanisms of plant photoprotection and light-adaption and is critical for stress diagnoses in plants. Due to their small proportion in the overall total pigment content and to the overlapping of spectral absorption features with chlorophylls (Chl) in the blue region of the spectrum, accurate estimation of Car content in plants, from remotely sensed data, is challenging. Previous studies made progress in Car content estimation at both the leaf and canopy level with remote sensing techniques. However, established spectral indices and methods for Car estimation in most studies that generally rely on specific and limited measured data might lack predictive accuracy for Car estimation and lack sensitivity to low or high Car content in various species and at different growth stages. In this chapter, a new carotenoid index (CARI) was proposed for foliar Car assessment with abundant simulated leaf data and various measured leaf reflectances. Detailed analysis on the mechanism, formation and performance of the new spectral index on Car retrieval was presented. Analysis results suggested that accurate nondestructive estimation of foliar Car content with CARI could be achieved at the leaf scale, through remote sensing techniques

Effect of “HuChou San” on ABCC11 mRNA levels and MRP8 protein expression in skin tissue from bilateral axilla of axillary osmidrosis patients

Purpose: To investigate the effect of “HuChou San” on axillary osmidrosis (AO) by measuring ABCC11 mRNA levels and MRP8 protein expression in axillary skin tissues from “HuChou San”-treated AO patients.Methods: Forty AO patients undergoing treatment at Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital were enrolled in the study. Tissues from axillary regions were initially treated for 10 min with a solution of copper sulphate and zinc sulphate, followed by treatment with gentle application of “HuChou San” once daily for 3 months. Ten healthy individuals served as untreated control. Axillary skin tissue was surgically collected at 0, 1, 2, and 3 months of treatment. The expressions of ABCC11 mRNA and MRP8 protein in axillary skin samples were determined using qPCR and Western blot, respectively.Results: The qPCR and Western blot results showed higher levels of ABCC11 mRNA and MRP8 protein in AO patient tissues than in healthy controls. However, “HuChou San” treatment markedly reduced tissue levels of ABCC11 mRNA and MRP8 protein (p < 0.05), when compared to tissues extracted prior to treatment. These effects were time-dependent and increased as treatment duration increased (p < 0.05).Conclusion: “HuChou San” powder significantly and time-dependently reduced ABCC11 mRNA and MRP8 protein expressions in AO axillary tissue of AO patients. It is known that ABCC11 mRNA and MRP8 protein are two important indices of AO. Therefore, the findings of this study suggest that“HuChou San” has potentials for use as a novel alternative therapy for AO. Keywords: ABCC11 mRNA, MRP8 protein, Axillary osmidrosis, HuChou Sa

Developing public disaster communication for volunteer recruitment: understanding volunteer motivations

Understanding spontaneous volunteers Spontaneous volunteers who converge on disaster areas play a critical response role, often being first on the scene and typically trusted by victims (Fulmer, Portelli, Foltin, Zimmerman, Chachkes, and Goldfrank, 2007). The term 'spontaneous volunteers' refers to individuals who provide assistance immediately following a disaster (Lowe and Forthergill, 2003). The sometimes overwhelming number of spontaneous volunteers, from both within and outside the disaster-affected community, poses significant challenges for disaster relief and recovery services (Barraket, Keast, Newton, Walters, and James, 2013). Characteristically, as spontaneous volunteers are seen to hinder relief efforts, government and emergency management agencies resist harnessing this workforce (Drabek and McEntire, 2003). Yet these untrained volunteers are integral to accomplishing many disaster recovery tasks (Barsky, Trainor, Torres, and Aguirre, 2007). Indeed, most response work is carried out by community members who are present or nearby during a disaster (Lowe and Fothergill, 2003). Designing communication that stimulates people to volunteer to assist community recovery efforts in large-scale emergencies is therefore crucial (Palttala and Vos (2011). To most effectively assist recovery efforts, this workforce needs to be instructed on how best to assist and be deployed to areas most needing assistance. In order to effectively recruit and manage this workforce, understanding spontaneous volunteers and their motivations is critical to establishing effective disaster communication plans (Lowe and Fothergill, 2003; Palttala and Vos, 2011). Since disasters often generate powerful emotions and different responses (Beyerlein and Sikkink, 2008), understanding emotions’ role in motivating behavior is important. Although emotion is intensely researched in other domains (e.g., organizational psychology, management, marketing), its influence has received little attention in volunteering and disaster research. In parallel with volunteer convergence onto physical disaster sites, convergence behavior is now evident on-line (Hughes, Palen, Sutton, Liu, and Vieweg, 2008). In the 2011 Brisbane floods, many individuals used social media such as Facebook and Twitter not only to exchange information, but for coordinating relief efforts (Knaus, 2011). The actual and potential use of social media in disasters has generated intense interest evidenced by a small, but burgeoning body of literature (Alexander, 2013). The use of social media as a method of communication and information exchange has been studied in 2011 Brisbane flood research (e.g., Barraket et al., 2013; Cheong and Cheong, 2011), but investigation of social media used by individuals for volunteer recruitment has only recently attracted research attention (e.g., Macias, Hilyard, and Fremuth, 2009; Jones, 2013). The widespread adoption and use of social media by members of the public during disasters (Alexander, 2013) suggest that social media is increasingly critical to future disaster management and relief efforts. Further, with the increasing use of online social networks in disaster volunteering, it is important to understand how – or whether – social media affects the interpersonal bonds known to influence volunteer recruitment. Consequently, this research investigates the factors motivating the spontaneous volunteering behavior of the 'Mud Army' following the 2011 Brisbane floods. As anecdotal evidence suggests that many volunteers used social media to co-ordinate volunteering efforts via the extended friendship network that is Facebook, the research also examines the role of social media in volunteer recruitment. This chapter concludes with implications for disaster communication

The Interpretation of Problem Based Learning: A Case Study

 Currently, there are a large number of higher education institutions transforming their traditional educational approaches to PBL. In order to address the challenges for PBL implementation for a university, it is quite necessary to investigate how the managers and staff members interpret PBL in practice. Through the exploration of a university which is in the process of transforming its traditional educational paradigm to PBL, we note that there is a lack of unified understanding of what PBL is at the university. Several different PBL interpretations emerge and some of them are quite inconsistent with, or even contradictory to each other, which further pose significant challenges to the university when implementing PBL. It should be acknowledged that the diversification of PBL interpretation is unlikely to avoid at a university. The diversity of PBL interpretation would create large tensions at a university, but it also points out new possibilities for the university