China Studies in Germany

China studies in Germany has undergone great changes since the 1960s. Influenced by burgeoning area studies in the United States, German scholarship shifted from traditional philological studies focused on translating and interpreting Chinese classics to practical studies of modern Chinese politics, economy, law, etc. Hence, there was also a shift in research methodologies to those of the social sciences. However, this shift, significant as it is, can never replace traditional Sinological studies aimed at Chinese history and classics. This paper uses Chinese history as an example to explore the development of German academic Sinology. It points out that research in traditional Sinology, as well as in modern China studies, no longer focuses on a particular discipline, but rather follows the trend toward interdisciplinary, comprehensive research. Hence we can expect that China studies will become increasingly decentralized and interactive in the future development of the field.Opinion Foru

A Rectangular Planar Spiral Antenna for GIS Partial Discharge Detection

A rectangular planar spiral antenna sensor was designed for detecting the partial discharge in gas insulation substations (GIS). It can expediently receive electromagnetic waves leaked from basin-type insulators and can effectively suppress low frequency electromagnetic interference from the surrounding environment. Certain effective techniques such as rectangular spiral structure, bow-tie loading, and back cavity structure optimization during the antenna design process can miniaturize antenna size and optimize voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) characteristics. Model calculation and experimental data measured in the laboratory show that the antenna possesses a good radiating performance and a multiband property when working in the ultrahigh frequency (UHF) band. A comparative study between characteristics of the designed antenna and the existing quasi-TEM horn antenna was made. Based on the GIS defect simulation equipment in the laboratory, partial discharge signals were detected by the designed antenna, the available quasi-TEM horn antenna, and the microstrip patch antenna, and the measurement results were compared

A Two-stage Fine-tuning Strategy for Generalizable Manipulation Skill of Embodied AI

The advent of Chat-GPT has led to a surge of interest in Embodied AI. However, many existing Embodied AI models heavily rely on massive interactions with training environments, which may not be practical in real-world situations. To this end, the Maniskill2 has introduced a full-physics simulation benchmark for manipulating various 3D objects. This benchmark enables agents to be trained using diverse datasets of demonstrations and evaluates their ability to generalize to unseen scenarios in testing environments. In this paper, we propose a novel two-stage fine-tuning strategy that aims to further enhance the generalization capability of our model based on the Maniskill2 benchmark. Through extensive experiments, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach by achieving the 1st prize in all three tracks of the ManiSkill2 Challenge. Our findings highlight the potential of our method to improve the generalization abilities of Embodied AI models and pave the way for their ractical applications in real-world scenarios. All codes and models of our solution is available at https://github.com/xtli12/GXU-LIPE.gitComment: 5 pages, 2 figures, 5 tables, accept by Robotics: Science and Systems 2023 - Workshop Interdisciplinary Exploration of Generalizable Manipulation Policy Learning:Paradigms and Debate

The anti-sepsis activity of the components of Huanglian Jiedu Decoction with high lipid A-binding affinity

Huanglian Jiedu Decoction (HJD), one of the classic recipes for relieving toxicity and fever, is a common method for treating sepsis in China. However, the effective components of HJD have not yet been identified. This experiment was carried out to elucidate the effective components of HJD against sepsis. Thus, seven fractions from HJD were tested using a biosensor to test their affinity for lipid A. The components obtained that had high lipid A-binding fractions were further separated, and their affinities to lipid A were assessed with the aid of a biosensor. The levels of LPS in the blood were measured, and pathology experiments were conducted. The LPS levels and mRNA expression analysis of TNF-α and IL-6 of the cell supernatant and animal tissue were evaluated to investigate the molecular mechanisms. Palmatine showed the highest affinity to lipid A and was evaluated by in vitro and in vivo experiments. The results of the in vitro and in vivo experiments indicated that the levels of LPS, TNF-α and IL-6 of the palmatine group were significantly lower than those of the sepsis model group (p \u3c 0.01). The group treated with palmatine showed strong neutralizing LPS activity in vivo. The palmatine group exhibited stronger protective activity on vital organs compared to the LPS-induced animal model. This verifies that HJD is a viable treatment option for sepsis given that there are multiple components in HJD that neutralize LPS, decrease the release of IL-6 and TNF-α induced by LPS, and protect vital organs

Finite Element Model for Failure Study of Two-Dimensional Triaxially Braided Composite

A new three-dimensional finite element model of two-dimensional triaxially braided composites is presented in this paper. This meso-scale modeling technique is used to examine and predict the deformation and damage observed in tests of straight sided specimens. A unit cell based approach is used to take into account the braiding architecture as well as the mechanical properties of the fiber tows, the matrix and the fiber tow-matrix interface. A 0 deg / plus or minus 60 deg. braiding configuration has been investigated by conducting static finite element analyses. Failure initiation and progressive degradation has been simulated in the fiber tows by use of the Hashin failure criteria and a damage evolution law. The fiber tow-matrix interface was modeled by using a cohesive zone approach to capture any fiber-matrix debonding. By comparing the analytical results to those obtained experimentally, the applicability of the developed model was assessed and the failure process was investigated