Robinson Crusoe’s translation and spreading of marine spirit in pre-modern China

AbstractWestern marine literature classics were translated into Pre-modern China, and Robinson Crusoe is one of the most representative. Various Chinese versions were rendered with the political and educational push of the time. The translation and introduction of the noted classic played a key role in the spreading and formation of the Chinese marine spirit, thus profoundly inspiring Chinese readers. The adventure of Robinson on the wild island provided a powerful spiritual impetus for those Chinese with lofty ideals. It is without doubt that the translated novel conforms to the spirit and demand of the time, and voices the inner mind of the Chinese, which is the very reason why it has been loved and accepted by the massive Chinese readers and influenced them so much ever since

A Robust Integrated Multi-Strategy Bus Control System via Deep Reinforcement Learning

An efficient urban bus control system has the potential to significantly reduce travel delays and streamline the allocation of transportation resources, thereby offering enhanced and user-friendly transit services to passengers. However, bus operation efficiency can be impacted by bus bunching. This problem is notably exacerbated when the bus system operates along a signalized corridor with unpredictable travel demand. To mitigate this challenge, we introduce a multi-strategy fusion approach for the longitudinal control of connected and automated buses. The approach is driven by a physics-informed deep reinforcement learning (DRL) algorithm and takes into account a variety of traffic conditions along urban signalized corridors. Taking advantage of connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) technology, the proposed approach can leverage real-time information regarding bus operating conditions and road traffic environment. By integrating the aforementioned information into the DRL-based bus control framework, our designed physics-informed DRL state fusion approach and reward function efficiently embed prior physics and leverage the merits of equilibrium and consensus concepts from control theory. This integration enables the framework to learn and adapt multiple control strategies to effectively manage complex traffic conditions and fluctuating passenger demands. Three control variables, i.e., dwell time at stops, speed between stations, and signal priority, are formulated to minimize travel duration and ensure bus stability with the aim of avoiding bus bunching. We present simulation results to validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, underlining its superior performance when subjected to sensitivity analysis, specifically considering factors such as traffic volume, desired speed, and traffic signal conditions

Constitutive activation of JAK–STAT3 signaling by BRCA1 in human prostate cancer cells

AbstractGerm-line mutations of the breast cancer susceptibility gene 1 (BRCA1) confer a high risk for breast and ovarian cancer in women and prostate cancer in men. The BRCA1 protein contributes to cell proliferation, cell cycle regulation, DNA repair and apoptosis; however, the mechanisms underlying these functions of BRCA1 remain largely unknown. Here, we showed that, in Du-145 human prostate cancer cells, enhanced expression of BRCA1 resulted in constitutive activation of signal transducer and activator transcription factor 3 (STAT3) tyrosine and serine phosphorylation. Moreover, Janus kinase 1 (JAK1) and JAK2, the upstream activators of STAT3, were also activated by BRCA1. Immunoprecipitation assay showed that BRCA1 interacted with JAK1 and JAK2. Blocking STAT3 activation using antisense oligonucleotides significantly inhibited cell proliferation and triggered apoptosis in Du-145 cells with enhanced expression of BRCA1. These findings indicate that BRCA1 interacts with the components of the JAK–STAT signaling cascade and modulates its activation, which may provide a new critical survival signal for the growth of breast, ovarian and prostate cancers in the presence of normal BRCA1

Experimental Realization of an Extreme-Parameter Omnidirectional Cloak

An ideal transformation-based omnidirectional cloak always relies on metamaterials with extreme parameters, which were previously thought to be too difficult to realize. For such a reason, in previous experimental proposals of invisibility cloaks, the extreme parameters requirements are usually abandoned, leading to inherent scattering. Here, we report on the first experimental demonstration of an omnidirectional cloak that satisfies the extreme parameters requirement, which can hide objects in a homogenous background. Instead of using resonant metamaterials that usually involve unavoidable absorptive loss, the extreme parameters are achieved using a nonresonant metamaterial comprising arrays of subwavelength metallic channels manufactured with 3D metal printing technology. A high level transmission of electromagnetic wave propagating through the present omnidirectional cloak, as well as significant reduction of scattering field, is demonstrated both numerically and experimentally. Our work may also inspire experimental realizations of the other full-parameter omnidirectional optical devices such as concentrator, rotators, and optical illusion apparatuses

Carbon-Chain Molecules in Molecular Outflows and Lupus I Region--New Producing Region and New Forming Mechanism

Using the new equipment of the Shanghai Tian Ma Radio Telescope, we have searched for carbon-chain molecules (CCMs) towards five outflow sources and six Lupus I starless dust cores, including one region known to be characterized by warm carbon-chain chemistry (WCCC), Lupus I-1 (IRAS 15398-3359), and one TMC-1 like cloud, Lupus I-6 (Lupus-1A). Lines of HC3N J=2-1, HC5N J=6-5, HC7N J=14-13, 15-14, 16-15 and C3S J=3-2 were detected in all the targets except in the outflow source L1660 and the starless dust core Lupus I-3/4. The column densities of nitrogen-bearing species range from 10$^{12}$ to 10$^{14}$ cm$^{-2}$ and those of C$_3$S are about 10$^{12}$ cm$^{-2}$. Two outflow sources, I20582+7724 and L1221, could be identified as new carbon-chain--producing regions. Four of the Lupus I dust cores are newly identified as early quiescent and dark carbon-chain--producing regions similar to Lup I-6, which together with the WCCC source, Lup I-1, indicate that carbon-chain-producing regions are popular in Lupus I which can be regard as a Taurus like molecular cloud complex in our Galaxy. The column densities of C3S are larger than those of HC7N in the three outflow sources I20582, L1221 and L1251A. Shocked carbon-chain chemistry (SCCC) is proposed to explain the abnormal high abundances of C3S compared with those of nitrogen-bearing CCMs. Gas-grain chemical models support the idea that shocks can fuel the environment of those sources with enough $S^+$ thus driving the generation of S-bearing CCMs.Comment: 7 figures, 8 tables, accepted by MNRA

Long-range adiabatic quantum state transfer through a linear array of quantum dots

We introduce an adiabatic long-range quantum communication proposal based on a quantum dot array. By adiabatically varying the external gate voltage applied on the system, the quantum information encoded in the electron can be transported from one end dot to another. We numerically solve the Schr\"odinger equation for a system with a given number of quantum dots. It is shown that this scheme is a simple and efficient protocol to coherently manipulate the population transfer under suitable gate pulses. The dependence of the energy gap and the transfer time on system parameters is analyzed and shown numerically. We also investigate the adiabatic passage in a more realistic system in the presence of inevitable fabrication imperfections. This method provides guidance for future realizations of adiabatic quantum state transfer in experiments.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

Development of cylindrical laminated methanol steam reforming microreactor with cascading metal foams as catalyst support

In this study, the cascading metal foams were used as catalyst supports for constructing a new type of cylindrical laminated methanol steam reforming microreactor for hydrogen production. The two-layer impregnation method was used to load the Cu/Zn/Al/Zr catalysts, and the ultrasonic vibration method was then employed to investigate the loading performance of metal foams with different types and thicknesses. Furthermore, the effect of the type of catalyst placement, pores per inch (PPI) and foam type on the performance of methanol steam reforming microreactor was studied by varying the gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) and reaction temperature. Compared with two other types of catalyst placement studied, the microreactor containing catalyst-loaded metal foams without clearance cascading (3 × 2) showed the highest hydrogen production performance. When the PPI of the metal foam was increased from 50 to 100, both the methanol conversion and the H2 flow rate gradually increased. Our results also showed that a microreactor with Cu foam as a catalyst support exhibits increased hydrogen production and higher stability than those of a microreactor with Ni foam