Becoming as Suffering: A Genealogy of Female Suffering in Chinese Myth and Literature

In their article “Suffering as Becoming: A Genealogy of Female Suffering in Chinese Myth and Literature,” Peina Zhuang and Jiazhao Lin undertake a comparative study of three Chinese mythical and literary novels: the Chinese myths of Chang’eh, Ding Ling’s Miss Sophie’s (1928), and Bi Feiyu’s novel The Moon Opera (1999). They focus on the point that the characterization of all three women (or female personae) is centered on their common act of taking some sort of medicine. However, they also historicize and politicize these three texts, setting them respectively in the contexts of the establishment of patriarchy in the Han Dynasty, the spread of colonialism at the beginning of the 20th century, and the sexual revolution that began with China’s Reform and Opening Up in the 1970s. In this way, Zhuang and Lin delineate an encompassing, trans-historical genealogy of Chinese female suffering. Thus, rather than seeking a single model of female suffering in this context, they approach the issue genealogically. Here they make three main arguments. First, an emphasis on the ethical and political aspects of suffering distinguish Chinese female suffering from the female suffering found in most western cultures. Secondly, disease and death always seem to be closely associated with, indeed even to signify or symbolize, Chinese female suffering in Chinese myth and literature. However, the essence of this suffering may paradoxically be found in both the disintegration and the integration of political practice and ideology. Thirdly, far from this suffering being something essential, having a concrete form, it is rather a process of becoming other within the wider, more encompassing cycle of political destruction and reconstruction

A Unified Gaussian Process for Branching and Nested Hyperparameter Optimization

Choosing appropriate hyperparameters plays a crucial role in the success of neural networks as hyper-parameters directly control the behavior and performance of the training algorithms. To obtain efficient tuning, Bayesian optimization methods based on Gaussian process (GP) models are widely used. Despite numerous applications of Bayesian optimization in deep learning, the existing methodologies are developed based on a convenient but restrictive assumption that the tuning parameters are independent of each other. However, tuning parameters with conditional dependence are common in practice. In this paper, we focus on two types of them: branching and nested parameters. Nested parameters refer to those tuning parameters that exist only within a particular setting of another tuning parameter, and a parameter within which other parameters are nested is called a branching parameter. To capture the conditional dependence between branching and nested parameters, a unified Bayesian optimization framework is proposed. The sufficient conditions are rigorously derived to guarantee the validity of the kernel function, and the asymptotic convergence of the proposed optimization framework is proven under the continuum-armed-bandit setting. Based on the new GP model, which accounts for the dependent structure among input variables through a new kernel function, higher prediction accuracy and better optimization efficiency are observed in a series of synthetic simulations and real data applications of neural networks. Sensitivity analysis is also performed to provide insights into how changes in hyperparameter values affect prediction accuracy

Synthesis and electrochemical properties of LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 cathode material

LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 layer-structured compound was synthesized by the rheological phase reaction method. The structure and morphology of samples were characterized by x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The particle size was distributed from 100 nm to 400 nm, depending on the synthesis temperature. The electrochemical properties of the samples were examined using a battery testing system. The results showed that the discharge specific capacities of the samples were strongly impacted by the synthesis temperature. The LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 synthesized at 850°C had a high initial discharge specific capacity (about 181 mA h/g at 0.1 C) and better electrochemical cycling performance compared to the other samples. (After 50 cycles, the discharge capacity was maintained at 170 mA h/g.) The reasons why the sample synthesized at 850°C showed outstanding electrochemical properties are also discussed

High capacity and high rate capability of nanostructured CuFeO2 anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

Non-toxic, cheap, nanostructured ternary transition metal oxide CuFeO2 was synthesised using a simple sol–gel method at different temperatures. The effects of the processing temperature on the particle size and electrochemical performance of the nanostructured CuFeO2 were investigated. The electrochemical results show that the sample synthesised at 650 °C shows the best cycling performance, retaining a specific capacity of 475 mAh g−1 beyond 100 cycles, with a capacity fading of less than 0.33% per cycle. The electrode also exhibits good rate capability in the range of 0.5C–4C. At the high rate of 4C, the reversible capacity of CuFeO2 is around 170 mAh g−1. It is believed that the ternary transition metal oxide CuFeO2 is quite acceptable compared with other high performance nanostructured anode materials

Synthesis and electrochemical properties of VOx/C nanofiber composite for lithium ion battery application

A VOx/C nanofiber composite has been synthesized by using the electrospinning method and studied as an anode material for lithium ion batteries. The VOx/C nanofibers mainly are composed of VO2, V2O5, and carbon. The VOx/C nanofibers exhibited excellent electrochemical performance. A high discharge capacity of 850 mA h g−1 can be retained after 100 cycles at the current density of 40 mA g−1. A discharge capacity of 550 mA h g−1 still can be delivered after 100 cycles, when the current density is increased to 1000 mA g−1

Synthesis and characterization of graphene-nickel oxide nanostructures for fast charge-discharge application

Graphene–metal oxide composites as anode materials for Li-ion batteries have been investigated extensively, but these attempts are mostly limited to moderate rate charge–discharge applications. Here, graphene–nickel oxide nanostructures have been synthesised using a controlled hydrothermal method, which enabled in situ formation of NiO with a coralloid nanostructure on graphene. Graphene/NiO (20%), graphene/NiO (50%) and pure NiO show stable discharge capacities of 185 mAh/g at 20 C (1 C = 300 mA/g), 450 mAh/g at 1 C, and 400 mAh/g at 1 C, respectively. High rate capability and good stability in prolonged charge–discharge cycling permit the application of the material in fast charging batteries for upcoming electric vehicles. To the best of our knowledge such fast rate performance of graphene/metal oxide composite as anode and such stability for pure NiO as anode have not been reported previously

Self-oriented Ca3Co4O9 thin film as an anode material for enhanced cycling stability of lithium-ion batteries

Self-oriented Ca3Co4O9 nanoflake thin film has been prepared by a simple sol–gel method as the anode for thin-film lithium-ion batteries. The X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy results show that the prepared Ca3Co4O9/Pt film is -axis self-oriented and composed of nanoflakes approximately 2ym in diameter and 200–300 nm thick. The reversible lithium storage capacity of the Ca3Co4O9 thin-film electrode at 1 C is around 800mAhg-1 , and it retains more than 70% capacity after 50 cycles, suggesting that the Ca3Co4O9 thin film can be used as the anode for lithium-ion batteries

Sulfur-graphene composite for rechargeable lithium batteries

Sulfur-graphene (S-GNS) composites have been synthesized by heating a mixture of graphene nanosheets and elemental sulfur. According to field emission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray mapping, Raman spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis, sulfur particles were uniformly coated onto the surface of the graphene nanosheets. The electrochemical results show that the sulfur-graphene nanosheet composite significantly improved the electrical conductivity, the capacity, and the cycle stability in a lithium cell compared with the bare sulfur electrode

The compatibility of transition metal oxide/carbon composite anode and ionic liquid electrolyte for the lithium-ion battery

Three types of transition metal oxide/carbon composites including Fe2O3/C, NiO/C and CuO/Cu2O/C synthesized via spray pyrolysis were used as anode for lithium ion battery application in conjunction with two types of ionic liquid: 1 M LiN(SO2CF3)2 (LiTFSI) in 1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium bis(fluorosulfonlyl)imide (EMI-FSI) or 1-methyl-1-propylpyrrolidinium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (Py13-FSI). From the electrochemical measurements, the composite electrodes using Py13-FSI as electrolyte show much better electrochemical performance than those using EMI-FSI as electrolyte in terms of reversibility. The Fe2O3/C composite shows the highest specific capacity and the best capacity retention (425 mAh g−1) under a current density of 50 mA g−1 for up to 50 cycles, as compared with the NiO/C and CuO/Cu2O/C composites. The present research demonstrates that Py13-FSI could be used as an electrolyte for transition metal oxides in lithium-ion batteries

Synthesis and electrochemical properties of LiMnBO3 and LiMnBO3/C composite

LiMnBO3 and its carbon-coated composite (LiMnBO3/C) were prepared by a rheological phase reaction method. Citric acid was used as the carbon source during the synthesis process. The structure and morphology of samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The effects of the carbon coating and the annealing temperature on the structure and electrochemical properties have also been investigated. According to the electrochemical tests, the carbon-coated LiMnBO3 showed greatly improved specific discharge capacity, rate capability, and cycling stability due to the improved electrical conductivity. The carbon-coated sample (LiMnBO3/C) annealed at 750 °C exhibited better performance than that of the bare LiMnBO3. (The composite electrode had a reversible specific discharge capacity of about 172 mAh g-1 at 10 mA g-1, and the capacity retention was 82.9% after 50 cycles, whereas the bare LiMnBO3 had an initial specific discharge capacity of 87.7 mAhg-1). These results indicate that the carbon-coated LiMnBO3/C could be a promising cathode material for lithium ion batteries