Theoretical analysis of cross joint geometries and their classification

Joints as opening-mode fractures play important roles as indicators of tectonic stress fields and as pathways for underground fluid flow. This thesis analytically investigates the relationships among cross joint geometry, orientations and ratios of remote principal stresses, and fluid pressure. Results show that main trends of cross joints are perpendicular to the least far field stresses during cross joint formation, and cross joint paths can be used to determine relative magnitudes of remote principal stresses. Based on the theoretical derivation, cross joint geometries are grouped into five main categories: curving-parallel, curving-perpendicular, quasi-curving-parallel, quasi-curving-perpendicular and non-curving geometries. By introducing the concepts of effective stress and effective remote principal stress ratio, it is demonstrated that connectivity between cross joints and the pre-existing joint is improved for joints that form under relatively high pore pressures

A high-performance UV photodetector with superior responsivity enabled by a synergistic photo/thermal enhancement of localized surface plasmon resonance

In this paper, we propose a new strategy to enhance the photoelectric performance of ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors by exploiting a synergistic photo-thermal effect which is induced by a localized surface plasmon resonance. We demonstrate that a W18O49 plasmonic semiconductor is able to improve the performance of target photodetectors as a result of a localized surface plasmon resonance, which increases light absorption, enhances the photothermal effect to deliver an increased photocurrent, and provides photo-induced “hot electrons” to limit carrier depletion over prolonged light illumination. Consequently, a UV photodetector based on W18O49/TiO2 nanofibers is shown to exhibit an excellent photodetection performance with a high responsivity of up to 1.6 × 104 A W−1, which is five times greater than that of the pure TiO2 analogue and greatly exceeds those of the TiO2-based photodetectors reported to date.</p

Drying colloidal systems: laboratory models for a wide range of applications

The drying of complex fluids provides a powerful insight into phenomena that take place on time and length scales not normally accessible. An important feature of complex fluids, colloidal dispersions and polymer solutions is their high sensitivity to weak external actions. Thus, the drying of complex fluids involves a large number of physical and chemical processes. The scope of this review is the capacity to tune such systems to reproduce and explore specific properties in a physics laboratory. A wide variety of systems are presented, ranging from functional coatings, food science, cosmetology, medical diagnostics and forensics to geophysics and art

Autophagy-related protein PlATG2 regulates the vegetative growth, sporangial cleavage, autophagosome formation, and pathogenicity of <i>peronophythora litchii</i>

Autophagy is an intracellular degradation process that is important for the development and pathogenicity of phytopathogenic fungi and for the defence response of plants. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying autophagy in the pathogenicity of the plant pathogenic oomycete Peronophythora litchii, the causal agent of litchi downy blight, have not been well characterized. In this study, the autophagy-related protein ATG2 homolog, PlATG2, was identified and characterized using a CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene replacement strategy in P. litchii. A monodansylcadaverine (MDC) staining assay indicated that deletion of PlATG2 abolished autophagosome formation. Infection assays demonstrated that ΔPlatg2 mutants showed significantly impaired pathogenicity in litchi leaves and fruits. Further studies have revealed that PlATG2 participates in radial growth and asexual/sexual development of P. litchii. Moreover, zoospore release and cytoplasmic cleavage of sporangia were considerably lower in the ΔPlatg2 mutants than in the wild-type strain by FM4–64 staining. Taken together, our results revealed that PlATG2 plays a pivotal role in vegetative growth, sporangia and oospore production, zoospore release, sporangial cleavage, and plant infection of P. litchii. This study advances our understanding of the pathogenicity mechanisms of the phytopathogenic oomycete P. litchii and is conducive to the development of effective control strategies.</p

YINSHUN'S RECOVERY OF SHIZHU PIPOSHA LUN A MADHYAMAKA-BASED PURE LAND PRACTICE IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY TAIWAN

<p>Yinshun (1906-2005) is regarded as one of the eminent monks of twentieth-century Chinese Buddhism. In the mission of reinventing Chinese Buddhism Yinshun engaged particularly in the revival and restatement of Madhyamaka. His interpretation of Ngrjuna's texts, the reassessment of the links between pre-Mahyna Buddhism and the Prajnpramit tradition, and the critical analysis of the Chinese San-lun became the core of the new Mahyna that he planned for the twentieth-century China. Yinshun also adopted Madhyamaka criteria to reconsider the Mahyna schools that were popular in China, and theorized a Madhyamaka-framed Pure Land based on his reading of the Shizhu piposha lun [T26 n1521]. This article discusses Yinshun's views on the Easy Path (yixing dao) and Difficult Path (nanxing dao) in the Pure Land practice, and contextualizes Yinshun's interpretation within the past history of the Chinese Pure Land School, as well as within the new debates on Pure Land that emerged in twentieth-century China.</p>