The International Legal Framework for Prevention of Vessel-source Pollution and Its Implementation in Chinese Legislation

Vessel-source pollution is regarded as one of the major sources that harm marine environment. It has become an issue of public concern since 20th century due to a series of oil pollution incidents on the sea. Fortunately, international law has been developed to control this source of pollution taking consideration of the importance of protection and preservation of marine environment and sustainable development of society. This thesis focuses on the international legal framework for prevention of vessel-source pollution. Both public and regulatory international law regarding prevention of vessel-source pollution is discussed within the framework. Three main conventions, namely United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982, International Convention Relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Oil Pollution Casualties, 1969, and International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the 1978 Protocol, are discussed by analyzing selected articles in each convention. In order to provide a better understanding of the implementation of international maritime law, China’s national legislation regarding vessel-source control is also examined. Two important pieces of legislation: Marine Environment Protection Law and Regulations on the Prevention and Control of Vessel-source Pollution of the Marine Environment are discussed in a contextual detail. The categories of marine pollution and vessel-source pollution are introduced at the beginning with a special focus on vessel-source pollution. Then international legal framework is presented by detailed analyse of the major international instruments mentioned above. Then vessel-source pollution law in China is carefully examined. Finally, a summary together with conclusions are presented

Shēng, Yīn et Yuè dans les textes classiques chinois

Les trois caractères chinois: Shēng, Yīn et Yuè sont omniprésents dans les textes classiques chinois concernant la musique. En général, on pense que Shēng est une imitation du son naturel, et Yīn est le positionnement du son selon certaines règles. Pourvu de sens sociaux et rituels, Yuè représente souvent l’ensemble de la musique instrumentale, le chant et la danse. Toutefois, ces trois caractères reçoivent des sens très divers selon les contextes. Dans cet article, nous essayons d’analyser et discerner le sens des trois caractères chinois dans des textes classiques datant de l’époque pré-impériale, des textes significatifs de la pensée de la Chine antique ainsi que des évolutions de la technique musicale

Thermo-fluid model of meniscus behavior and oscillation mark formation in steel continuous casting

The surface quality of steel depends on initial solidification at the meniscus during continuous casting. A computational thermal-fluid model has been developed to simulate the complex transient behavior of the slag layer between the oscillating mold wall, the slag rim, the slag/liquid steel interface, and the solidifying steel shell in the meniscus region. It includes transient heat transfer, multi-phase fluid flow, solidification of the slag and steel, and movement of the mold during several oscillation cycles. The model is validated with transient temperature measurements and shell strand measurements from a “mold simulator” lab experiment and with plant measurements of oscillation mark (OM) depth and slag consumption. Hook type oscillation mark is predicted to form by steel overflowing the meniscus. In addition to the commonly predicted/measured temperature increase during the negative strip time (NST), a smaller temperature increase is predicted during the positive strip time (PST) for thermocouples near steel level, and can be associated with the overflow event. These discoveries help to explain the overflow mechanism in detail and reveal new insights into the phenomena which govern initial solidification, oscillation mark formation, and surface defects in this process

Prospective living arrangement of China\u27s urban elderly and development of an Agent-based Simulation (ABS) model for elderly care needs

As China is characterized by a large ageing population, and its rapid speed of ageing, urbanization, and socio-economic transformation, the senior service issue is both typical and urgent. To support the urban planning and decision-making of relevant policies for senior services, which is significantly challenging, this research employs the multi-agent simulation (MAS) approach to simulate the complicated process of Chinese senior service provision. The approach defines the elderly, day-care centers, and residential aged care facilities (RACF) as the kernel agents, determines the behavior rules of different agents, and confirms the interaction between agents, individual agents and urban environments. Altogether nine simulation modules were designed and integrated. This study focuses on the diversifying elderly population, complexity of the senior services system, and the uncertainty of the developing background. Seniors’ socio-economic attributes such as income, family structure, education and hukou status, day-care center, and RACF agents’characteristics, such as price, location, service standard, public /private status, were emphasized at a microscopic scale. Using a bottom-up approach, neighborhood differentiation was considered the main determinant of senior service needs. Through the design of different policy-scenarios, critical parameters were determined to have the most important influence on senior service needs and their provision. The regulation of these crucial indicators will be a great scientific support to the planning of provisions for senior service facilities and to the decision-making of environmental improvement policies in different urban neighborhoods. The MAS approach is recognized as a modelling paradigm for capturing the dynamics of complex systems. This research is especially useful for supporting the provision of elderly service facilities and the environmental improvement of livable urban neighborhoods through future urban planning

A Study of Trait Anhedonia in Non-Clinical Chinese Samples: Evidence from the Chapman Scales for Physical and Social Anhedonia

Background: Recent studies suggest that anhedonia, an inability to experience pleasure, can be measured as an enduring trait in non-clinical samples. In order to examine trait anhedonia in a non-clinical sample, we examined the properties of a range of widely used questionnaires capturing anhedonia. Methods: 887 young adults were recruited from colleges. All of them were administered a set of checklists, including Chapman Scale for Social Anhedonia (CRSAS) and the Chapman Scale for Physical Anhedonia Scale (CPAS), The Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale(TEPS), and The Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ). Results: Males showed significantly higher level of physical (F = 5.09, p<0.001) and social (F = 4.38, p<0.005) anhedonia than females. As expected, individuals with schizotypal personality features also demonstrated significantly higher scores of physical (t = 3.81, p<0.001) and social (t = 7.33, p<0.001) trait anhedonia than individuals without SPD features, but no difference on self-report anticipatory and consummatory pleasure experience. Conclusions: Concerning the comparison on each item of physical and social anhedonia, the results indicated that individuals with SPD feature exhibited higher than individuals without SPD features on more items of social anhedonia than physical anhedonia scale. These preliminary findings suggested that trait anhedonia can be identified a non-clinical sample. Exploring the demographic and clinical correlates of trait anhedonia in the general population may provide clues to the pathogenesis of psychotic disorder.China. Ministry of Science and Technology. National Key Technologies R&D Program (2012BAI36B01)National Science Fund China (Grant no. 81088001)National Science Fund China (Grant no. 91132701)Chinese Academy of Sciences. Knowledge Innovation Project (KSCX2-EW-J-8

Excitatory nucleo-olivary pathway shapes cerebellar outputs for motor control

The brain generates predictive motor commands to control the spatiotemporal precision of high-velocity movements. Yet, how the brain organizes automated internal feedback to coordinate the kinematics of such fast movements is unclear. Here we unveil a unique nucleo-olivary loop in the cerebellum and its involvement in coordinating high-velocity movements. Activating the excitatory nucleo-olivary pathway induces well-timed internal feedback complex spike signals in Purkinje cells to shape cerebellar outputs. Anatomical tracing reveals extensive axonal collaterals from the excitatory nucleo-olivary neurons to downstream motor regions, supporting integration of motor output and internal feedback signals within the cerebellum. This pathway directly drives saccades and head movements with a converging direction, while curtailing their amplitude and velocity via the powerful internal feedback mechanism. Our finding challenges the long-standing dogma that the cerebellum inhibits the inferior olivary pathway and provides a new circuit mechanism for the cerebellar control of high-velocity movements.</p

Experiments on bright field and dark field high energy electron imaging with thick target material

Using a high energy electron beam for the imaging of high density matter with both high spatial-temporal and areal density resolution under extreme states of temperature and pressure is one of the critical challenges in high energy density physics . When a charged particle beam passes through an opaque target, the beam will be scattered with a distribution that depends on the thickness of the material. By collecting the scattered beam either near or off axis, so-called bright field or dark field images can be obtained. Here we report on an electron radiography experiment using 45 MeV electrons from an S-band photo-injector, where scattered electrons, after interacting with a sample, are collected and imaged by a quadrupole imaging system. We achieved a few micrometers (about 4 micrometers) spatial resolution and about 10 micrometers thickness resolution for a silicon target of 300-600 micron thickness. With addition of dark field images that are captured by selecting electrons with large scattering angle, we show that more useful information in determining external details such as outlines, boundaries and defects can be obtained.Comment: 7pages, 7 figure

Transforming growth factor-β1 disrupts angiogenesis during the follicular–luteal transition through the Smad–serpin family E member 1 (SERPINE1)/serpin family B member 5 (SERPINB5) signalling pathway in the cow

Intense angiogenesis is critical for the development of the corpus luteum and is tightly regulated by numerous factors. However, the exact role transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFB1) plays during this follicular-luteal transition remains unclear. This study hypothesized that TGFB1 acting through TGFBR1 and Smad2/3 signaling would suppress angiogenesis during the follicular-luteal transition. Using a serum-free luteinizing follicular angiogenesis culture system, TGFB1 (1 and 10ng.mL-1) markedly disrupted the formation of capillary-like structures, reducing endothelial cell network area and number of branch points (P[less than]0.001). Furthermore, TGFB1 activated canonical Smad signaling and inhibited endothelial nitric oxide synthase (NOS3) mRNA expression, but up-regulated latent TGF-beta binding protein, type I TGFB receptor (TGFBR1), SERPINE1 and SERPINB5 mRNA expression. TGFBR1 inhibitor, SB431542, reversed the SERPINE1 and SERPINB5 up-regulation by TGFB1. Additionally, TGFB1 reduced progesterone synthesis through decreasing STAR, CYP11A1 and HSD3B1 expression. These results show that TGFB1 regulated NOS3, SERPINE1, and SERPINB5 expression via TGFBR1 and Smad2/3 signaling and could be the mechanism by which TGFB1 suppresses endothelial networks. Thereby, TGFB1 may provide a critical homeostatic control of angiogenesis during the follicular-luteal transition. Our findings reveal the molecular mechanisms underlying the actions of TGFB1 in early luteinization which may lead to novel therapeutic strategies to reverse luteal inadequacy

Adjusting magnetic nanostructures for high-performance magnetic sensors

The magnetic properties of the soft ferromagnetic layer in magnetic tunnel junctions are one of key factors to determine the performance of magnetoresistance sensors. We use a three-step orthogonal annealing procedure to modify the nanostructures of the free layer in the magnetic tunnel junction to control features such as magnetization reversal, coercivity, exchange field, and tunnel magnetoresistance ratio. We present a sensor with an improved sensitivity as high as 3944%/mT. This magnetic sensor only dissipates 200 lW of power while operating under an applied voltage of 1V