Music-making in Realms of Pleasure: Songs, Sentiments, and Seduction in Ming Era Courtesanship (1368-1644)

The Ming era in China (1368-1644) witnessed a thriving courtesan culture, which this dissertation explores through detailed original analysis of diverse primary sources including poetry, lyrics in song books, woodblock illustrations, novels and short stories, and treatises and commentaries by Ming period theorists. Here, the focus is especially on the later period (1572-1644) in the Jiangnan region, widely recognised as the heartland of courtesan culture. The current study approaches this topic from a variety of perspectives, applying interdisciplinary lenses to address the following issues and generate new insights: What genres, forms, topics, and themes were explored within the Ming courtesans’ song repertoire? What contexts did the courtesans perform in, and what styles, modes of performance, and instruments prevailed? What emotions were expressed and elicited via the courtesans’ music? What sounds characterised the courtesans’ lived-in soundscapes, and what sentiments did they signify? How were courtship processes structured, and what seduction strategies were commonly used by the courtesans? Chapter 2 presents the first comprehensive examination of a much over-looked yet crucial songbook relating to courtesan-ranking activities in Ming era Suzhou, Wu Ji Bai Mei (Seductive Courtesans of the Suzhou Area). Chapter 3 considers the full range of contexts in which courtesans performed, offering a new system of categorisation and pinpointing the types of interaction that characterised them. Chapter 4 revisits the definitions of qing (emotion) and related concepts, innovatively identifies a love process between courtesans and clients, explores different expressions of emotion through the medium of poetry and song texts. Using Jin Ping Mei as a cast study, Chapter 5 delves into the soundscapes in which courtesans lived, investigating some of the most symbolic elements such as the calls of birds. Employing modern human behaviour and courtship studies, Chapter 6 identifies a five-phase courtship process and probes the courtesans’ use of seduction. Through this broad yet in-depth study, I seek to reveal how songs, sentiments and seduction interacted with each other and were embedded in the realms of pleasure where these female entertainers lived and worked

The Effects of Implements of Husbandry Farm Equipment on Rigid Pavement Performance

Current trend has shown that farms are getting fewer, but farm size is becoming larger and larger. As the farm size is getting larger, the farm equipment is simultaneously becoming larger to adapt the new state and federal regulations which encourage farmers to store manure as a liquid and apply it in a short time period. The sizes of farm as well as farm equipment are growing faster than both the pavement design technology and the state regulations. The effect of such an increase on pavements would be an accelerated rate of pavement deterioration. There is a concern that the heavy farm equipment can do significant damage to pavement and bridges. Initiated in early 2007, this study used a comprehensive series of combinations of farm equipments, axle load, speed and traffic wanders to determine the pavement response under various types of farm equipments and to quantify the pavement damage due to various agricultural equipments. Two typical instrumented concrete testing pavement sections were used to measure the critical pavement responses and validate the theoretical pavement response model ISLAB 2005. Through this research, it was determined that traffic wander, seasonal effect, pavement structure, and vehicle type/configuration have pronounced impact on pavement responses. However, traffic speed is not statistically significant with respect to pavement performance. Additionally, all agricultural vehicles tested generated higher pavement responses than a standard semi-truck when they are fully loaded. It is also found that if the rear axle of the agricultural vehicles is driven 18-24 inches (2 feet) away from the pavement shoulder, the pavement damage could be reduced to minimal even when they were fully loaded. The study also found that by increasing concrete pavement thickness by 2.5 inches, the pavement strain response will be reduced as much as 280%. ISLAB2005, a finite element program, was utilized to perform the damage analysis for different pavement structures under various agricultural vehicles with and without slab curling behavior. The damage analysis results confirmed the field behavior that all agricultural vehicles introduce higher pavement responses than a standard semi-truck. The damage analysis also concluded that the damage due to slab curling coupled with heavy agricultural vehicle‟s loading could be devastating for the concrete pavement. The findings of this study is expected to provide a better understanding of the interaction of farm equipment with the pavement structures which will facilitate more rational regulation of Spring load restrictions, additionally with respect to acceptance of new designs and innovations in vehicle configuration. The findings will help highway agencies to design roads that are more capable of resisting to damage related to heavy loading with complex gear configuration

Steam reforming of toluene as biomass tar model compound in a gliding arc discharge reactor

Non-thermal plasma is considered a promising and attractive approach for the removal of tars from biomass gasification to deliver a clean and high quality syngas (a mixture of H2 and CO). In this study, an AC gliding arc discharge (GAD) reactor has been developed for the conversion of toluene as a tar model compound using nitrogen as a carrier gas. The presence of steam in the plasma reaction produces OH radicals which open a new reaction route for the conversion of toluene through a stepwise oxidation of toluene and intermediates, resulting in a significant enhancement in both the conversion of toluene and the energy efficiency of the plasma process. The effects of steam-to-carbon (S/C) molar ratio, toluene feed rate and specific energy input (SEI) on the performance of the plasma steam reforming of toluene have been investigated. The optimal S/C molar ratio was found to be between 2 and 3 for high toluene conversion and energy efficiency. The maximum toluene conversion of 51.8% was achieved at an optimal S/C molar ratio of 2, a toluene feed flow rate of 4.8 ml/h and a SEI of 0.3 kWh/m3, while the energy efficiency of the plasma process reached a maximum (∼46.3 g/kWh) at a toluene feed flow rate of 9.6 ml/h and a SEI of 0.19 kWh/m3. H2, CO and C2H2 were identified as the major gas products with a maximum syngas yield of 73.9% (34.9% for H2 and 39% for CO). Optical emission spectroscopy (OES) has been used to understand the role of steam on the formation of reactive species in the plasma conversion of toluene. The possible reaction pathways in the plasma conversion of toluene have also been proposed by combined means of the analysis of gas and liquid samples and OES diagnostics

14-3-3τ Regulates Beclin 1 and Is Required for Autophagy

Beclin 1 plays an essential role in autophagy; however, the regulation of Beclin 1 expression remains largely unexplored. An earlier ChIP-on-chip study suggested Beclin 1 could be an E2F target. Previously, we also reported that 14-3-3tau regulates E2F1 stability, and is required for the expression of several E2F1 target genes. 14-3-3 proteins mediate many cellular signaling processes, but its role in autophagy has not been investigated. We hypothesize that 14-3-3tau could regulate Beclin 1 expression through E2F1 and thus regulate autophagy.Using the RNAi technique we demonstrate a novel role for one of 14-3-3 isoforms, 14-3-3tau, in the regulation of Beclin 1 expression and autophagy. Depletion of 14-3-3tau inhibits the expression of Beclin 1 in many different cell lines; whereas, upregulation of 14-3-3tau induces Beclin 1. The regulation is physiologically relevant as an extracellular matrix protein tenascin-C, a known 14-3-3tau inducer, can induce Beclin 1 through 14-3-3tau. Moreover, rapamycin-induced, serum free-induced and amino acid starvation-induced autophagy depends on 14-3-3tau. We also show the expression of Beclin 1 depends on E2F, and E2F can transactivate the Beclin 1 promoter in a promoter reporter assay. Upregulation of Beclin 1 by 14-3-3tau requires E2F1. Depletion of E2F1, like 14-3-3tau, also inhibits autophagy.Taken together, this study uncovers a role for 14-3-3tau in Beclin 1 and autophagy regulation probably through regulation of E2F1

Impact of Farm Equipment Loading on Rigid Pavement Performance Using Finite Element Analysis

The increase in agricultural product sales in recent years has led to the use of larger hauling and application equipment to transfer farm productions. This rapid shift in equipment size has raised a concern about their potential to cause significant damage in pavements and bridges. The study reported in this paper (part of a larger pooled fund study initiated in 2007) discusses the impact of farm equipment loading on rigid pavement performance based on Finite Element (FE) analysis. The study considered various types of farm equipment to determine the pavement responses and to quantify their damage on rigid pavement systems. The ISLAB2005 FE pavement response model was employed for numerical modeling and analysis of the test sections subjected to farm equipment loading. The results of FE analysis demonstrated that the rigid pavement damage caused by farm vehicles is governed by their axle weight rather than the gross vehicle weight. The FE analysis also showed that the damage resulting from farm equipment loading coupled with PCC slab curling could have a devastating effect on concrete pavement performance