Information content of ozone retrieval algorithms

The algorithms are characterized that were used for production processing by the major suppliers of ozone data to show quantitatively: how the retrieved profile is related to the actual profile (This characterizes the altitude range and vertical resolution of the data); the nature of systematic errors in the retrieved profiles, including their vertical structure and relation to uncertain instrumental parameters; how trends in the real ozone are reflected in trends in the retrieved ozone profile; and how trends in other quantities (both instrumental and atmospheric) might appear as trends in the ozone profile. No serious deficiencies were found in the algorithms used in generating the major available ozone data sets. As the measurements are all indirect in someway, and the retrieved profiles have different characteristics, data from different instruments are not directly comparable

Identification of new members of the Escherichia coli K-12 MG1655 SlyA regulon.

SlyA is a member of the MarR family of bacterial transcriptional regulators. Previously, SlyA has been shown to directly regulate only two operons in Escherichia coli K-12 MG1655, fimB and hlyE (clyA). In both cases SlyA activates gene expression by antagonizing repression by the nucleoid associated protein H-NS. Here the transcript profiles of aerobic glucose-limited steady-state chemostat cultures of E. coli K-12 MG1655, slyA mutant and slyA over-expression strains are reported. The transcript profile of the slyA mutant was not significantly different to that of the parent; however, that of the slyA expression strain was significantly different from that of the vector control. Transcripts representing 27 operons were increased in abundance, whereas 3 were decreased. Of the 30 differentially regulated operons, 24 have been previously associated with sites of H-NS binding, suggesting that antagonism of H-NS repression is a common feature of SlyA-mediated transcription regulation. Direct binding of SlyA to DNA located upstream of a selection of these targets permitted the identification of new operons likely to be directly regulated by SlyA. Transcripts of four operons coding for cryptic adhesins exhibited enhanced expression and this was consistent with enhanced biofilm formation associated with the SlyA over-producing strain

A Response to Professor Wu Zongjie’s ‘Interpretation, Autonomy, and Transformation: Chinese Pedagogic Discourse in a Cross-Cultural Perspective\u27

In response to an essay by Prof Wu Zongjie that was published in the Journal of Curriculum studies [43(5), (2011), 569–590], I argue that, despite dramatic changes that have taken place in the language of Chinese academic discourse and pedagogy, evidence derived from the fields of psychology and the history of Chinese educational reform suggest that patterns of Chinese thought and culture have proven resistant to change. Not only have deeply rooted tendencies to perceive the world in ways that may be distinguished from Western analogues persisted but, not unlike contemporary school reformers, educators in the early twentieth century typically found that their efforts to borrow Western models were frustrated by the alien nature of those models and the need to adapt them to Chinese realities; ultimately, the reformers had to accommodate their plans to the wishes of local patrons and the expectations of Chinese families. Thus, the lesson that contemporary Chinese educators may take from a study of the past is that, since elements borrowed from the West may have limited viability in China, they need not be excessively concerned that reforms will transform key elements of Chinese culture

Disarming the Allies of Imperialism: The State, Agitation, and Manipulation during China\u27s Nationalist Revolution, 1922-1949 (Book Review)

Book review by Thomas D. Curran. Murdock, M. G. (2006). Disarming the allies of imperialism: The state, agitation, and manipulation during China\u27s nationalist revolution, 1922-1949. Ithaca: East Asia Program, Cornell University

The Jacquinot Safe Zone: Wartime Refugees in Shanghai

Book review by Thomas D. Curran. Ristaino, M. R. (2008). The Jacquinot safe zone: Wartime refugees in Shanghai. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978080475793

A Study of Modern Mass Education Bureaus (Book Review)

Book review by Thomas D. Curran. Zhou, Huimei. 近代民众教育馆 = A Study of Modern Mass Education Bureaus. Beijing: Beijing Normal University Press, 2012. ISBN 9787303137077 (pbk.) Prof. Zhou’s book is a general history of the Mass Education Movement that the Guomindang government conducted in the 1920s and 1930s. Topics covered include the movement’s ideological objectives, its organizational characteristics, it activities, and its reception by and impact on local communities. The work is carefully balanced between exposition and analysis, and it is supported generously by evidence drawn from a wide range of primary sources. Those sources include government publications, local gazetteers, books, newspapers and general audience magazines, and the specialized publications of a variety of educational and mass education organizations

Transmitting the Ideal of Enlightenment: Chinese Universities since the Late Nineteenth Century (Book Review)

Book review by Thomas D. Curran. Mak, Ricarado K. S., ed. Transmitting the Ideal of Enlightenment: Chinese Universities Since the Late Nineteenth Century. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2009. ISBN 978076184726

The Origins of the Great Leap Forward (Book review)

Book review by Thomas D. Curran. Domenach, J. L. (1995). The origins of the great leap forward: The case of one Chinese province. Boulder: Westview Press

Broadening the Horizons of Chinese History

Book review by Thomas D. Curran. Huang, Ray. Broadening the Horizons of Chinese History. Armonk: M. E. Sharpe, 1999

Women in Republican China (Book Review)

Book review by Thomas Curran. Lan, Hua R. and Vanessa L. Fong (eds.). Women in Republican China: A Sourcebook. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1999