Violence in Ming-Qing China : An Overview

Let us begin with a basic fact : the level of violence in late imperial China was probably as high as that in any historical society in the world. Obvious as this may sound, it is easy to miss it. The entire central message of the package of literati values that we refer to as ‘Confucianism’, and especially after its elaboration into the so-called ‘school of principle’ or ‘neo-Confucianism’ (lixue) after the eleventh century CE, was certainly more energetic than most elite cultures in esteemi..

Transit Timing Observations from Kepler: VI. Potentially interesting candidate systems from Fourier-based statistical tests

We analyze the deviations of transit times from a linear ephemeris for the Kepler Objects of Interest (KOI) through Quarter six (Q6) of science data. We conduct two statistical tests for all KOIs and a related statistical test for all pairs of KOIs in multi-transiting systems. These tests identify several systems which show potentially interesting transit timing variations (TTVs). Strong TTV systems have been valuable for the confirmation of planets and their mass measurements. Many of the systems identified in this study should prove fruitful for detailed TTV studies.Comment: 32 pages, 6 of text and one long table, Accepted to Ap

Validation of Kepler's Multiple Planet Candidates. III: Light Curve Analysis & Announcement of Hundreds of New Multi-planet Systems

The Kepler mission has discovered over 2500 exoplanet candidates in the first two years of spacecraft data, with approximately 40% of them in candidate multi-planet systems. The high rate of multiplicity combined with the low rate of identified false-positives indicates that the multiplanet systems contain very few false-positive signals due to other systems not gravitationally bound to the target star (Lissauer, J. J., et al., 2012, ApJ 750, 131). False positives in the multi- planet systems are identified and removed, leaving behind a residual population of candidate multi-planet transiting systems expected to have a false-positive rate less than 1%. We present a sample of 340 planetary systems that contain 851 planets that are validated to substantially better than the 99% confidence level; the vast majority of these have not been previously verified as planets. We expect ~2 unidentified false-positives making our sample of planet very reliable. We present fundamental planetary properties of our sample based on a comprehensive analysis of Kepler light curves and ground-based spectroscopy and high-resolution imaging. Since we do not require spectroscopy or high-resolution imaging for validation, some of our derived parameters for a planetary system may be systematically incorrect due to dilution from light due to additional stars in the photometric aperture. None the less, our result nearly doubles the number of verified exoplanets.Comment: 138 pages, 8 Figures, 5 Tables. Accepted for publications in the Astrophysical Journa

18 F-AV1451 PET imaging and multimodal MRI changes in progressive supranuclear palsy

Funder: PSP Association; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100011707Abstract: Objectives: Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is characterized by deposition of straight filament tau aggregates in the grey matter (GM) of deep nuclei and cerebellum. We examined the relationship between tau pathology (assessed via 18F-AV1451 PET) and multimodal MRI imaging using GM volume, cortical thickness (CTh), and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Methods: Twenty-three people with clinically probable PSP-Richardson’s syndrome (age 68.8 ± 5.8 years, 39% female) and 23 controls underwent structural 3 T brain MRI including DTI. Twenty-one patients also had 18F-AV1451 PET imaging. Voxelwise volume-based morphometry, surface-based morphometry, and DTI correlations were performed with 18F-AV1451 binding in typical PSP regions of interest (putamen, thalamus and dentate cerebellum). Clinical impairment was also assessed in relation to the different imaging modalities. Results: PSP subjects showed GM volume loss in frontotemporal regions, basal ganglia, midbrain, and cerebellum (FDR-corrected p < 0.05), reduced CTh in the left entorhinal and fusiform gyrus (p < 0.001) as well as DTI changes in the corpus callosum, internal capsule, and superior longitudinal fasciculus (FWE-corrected p < 0.05). In PSP, higher 18F-AV1451 binding correlated with GM volume loss in frontal regions, DTI changes in motor tracts, and cortical thinning in parietooccipital areas. Cognitive impairment was related to decreased GM volume in frontotemporal regions, thalamus and pallidum, as well as DTI alteration in corpus callosum and cingulum. Conclusion: This cross-sectional study demonstrates an association between in vivo proxy measures of tau pathology and grey and white matter degeneration in PSP. This adds to the present literature about the complex interplay between structural changes and protein deposition