On spectra and Brown's spectral measures of elements in free products of matrix algebras

We compute spectra and Brown measures of some non self-adjoint operators in (M_2(\cc), {1/2}Tr)*(M_2(\cc), {1/2}Tr), the reduced free product von Neumann algebra of M_2(\cc) with M_2(\cc). Examples include $AB$ and $A+B$, where A and B are matrices in (M_2(\cc), {1/2}Tr)*1 and 1*(M_2(\cc), {1/2}Tr), respectively. We prove that AB is an R-diagonal operator (in the sense of Nica and Speicher \cite{N-S1}) if and only if Tr(A)=Tr(B)=0. We show that if X=AB or X=A+B and A,B are not scalar matrices, then the Brown measure of X is not concentrated on a single point. By a theorem of Haagerup and Schultz \cite{H-S1}, we obtain that if X=AB or X=A+B and $X\neq \lambda 1$, then X has a nontrivial hyperinvariant subspace affiliated with (M_2(\cc), {1/2}Tr)*(M_2(\cc), {1/2}Tr).Comment: final version. to appear on Math. Sca

On the Construction of China’s Image in D.C.Lau’s Translation of Tao Te Ching

Imagology is concerned with how identity and image are gradually formed, spread, strengthened and even shaped in a specific social and historical space. Translation is one of the important means and carriers of image construction and shaping. As a classic work of Taoism, Tao Te Ching contains infinite images of China. The English version of Tao Te Ching, translated by Chinese Sinologist D. C. Lau, is among the top 10 best-sellers on Amazon in the United States and has been widely praised by readers. D. C. Lau’s English translation of Tao Te Ching introduced Chinese Taoism to the West, and at the same time constructed an objective and true image of ancient China. Taking the English version of Tao Te Ching translated by D. C. Lau as an example, this paper analyzes the construction of China’s image in the English translation of Chinese classics from the perspective of Imagology on the level of intrinsic textual analysis. It is found that D.C. Lau’s translation constructed objective and true China’s image. Through his translation, a relatively serious, solemn and orthodox Chinese image, the ancient Chinese people’s wise image, ancient Chinese image of filial piety and fraternal kindness as well as the image of eagerness of peace and pursuit of harmonious and equal relationship between countries were re-presented

Computational Intelligence Based Classifier Fusion Models for Biomedical Classification Applications

The generalization abilities of machine learning algorithms often depend on the algorithms’ initialization, parameter settings, training sets, or feature selections. For instance, SVM classifier performance largely relies on whether the selected kernel functions are suitable for real application data. To enhance the performance of individual classifiers, this dissertation proposes classifier fusion models using computational intelligence knowledge to combine different classifiers. The first fusion model called T1FFSVM combines multiple SVM classifiers through constructing a fuzzy logic system. T1FFSVM can be improved by tuning the fuzzy membership functions of linguistic variables using genetic algorithms. The improved model is called GFFSVM. To better handle uncertainties existing in fuzzy MFs and in classification data, T1FFSVM can also be improved by applying type-2 fuzzy logic to construct a type-2 fuzzy classifier fusion model (T2FFSVM). T1FFSVM, GFFSVM, and T2FFSVM use accuracy as a classifier performance measure. AUC (the area under an ROC curve) is proved to be a better classifier performance metric. As a comparison study, AUC-based classifier fusion models are also proposed in the dissertation. The experiments on biomedical datasets demonstrate promising performance of the proposed classifier fusion models comparing with the individual composing classifiers. The proposed classifier fusion models also demonstrate better performance than many existing classifier fusion methods. The dissertation also studies one interesting phenomena in biology domain using machine learning and classifier fusion methods. That is, how protein structures and sequences are related each other. The experiments show that protein segments with similar structures also share similar sequences, which add new insights into the existing knowledge on the relation between protein sequences and structures: similar sequences share high structure similarity, but similar structures may not share high sequence similarity

Removal of Zinc Ions from Model Wastewater by Electrocoagulation

This study has investigated the removal of zinc ions from the synthetic wastewater models by electrocoagulation (EC) with aluminum for both cathode and anode. The results showed that EC process had a great removal when it comes to zinc contaminated water. The effects of parameters on the EC performance have been systematically investigated, such as solution conductivity, electrode spacing, initial pH, current density and initial zinc concentration. Since the wastewater in real situations usually contains several types of metals, a series of mixed cases were also studied in this work.;The results indicated that current density is critical to EC performance, in terms of the removal efficiency and energy consumption. The basic conductivity of the solution is required to decrease the EC voltage. It was demonstrated that the neutral pH is favorable for zinc removal by EC process, while the effect of electrode spacing on EC performance was not significant in this case. With a relatively low energy consumption of 0.35 kWh/m3, more than 99.5% of zinc ions were removed from the synthetic wastewater (zinc concentration 50 mg/L) within 20 min. Later with an energy consumption of 0.88 kWh/m3, highly similar removal efficiency has been achieved at zinc concentration of 250 mg/L at EC time of 50 minutes.;The kinetic study for zinc removal was performed to describe the adsorption system during EC process. The results show that the removal of zinc ions by EC process follows the first-order model with current-dependent parameters. Additionally, the removal of zinc ions fitted well with the first order model at related low initial concentration, and fitted well with the pseudo-first order model at high initial concentrations. Different mechanisms of zinc removal were implied by comparing the results of the low initial concentration (≤ 250 mg/L) and the high one (≥ 500 mg/L). It was reasonable to conclude that, beside the co-precipitation effect of the aluminum hydroxides coagulants, the reduction of zinc ions at the cathode also contributed to the zinc removal, especially at a high initial concentration. The different removal pathways of metal ions usually exist at high initial concentrations of metal ions and alkaline pH medium

Developments of Advanced Cathodes and Stabilized Zinc Anodes for High-performance Aqueous Zinc-ion Batteries

Aqueous rechargeable zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) have attracted considerable attention as one of the most promising energy storage systems for the grid-scale application owing to the natural merits of metallic Zn, including a high theoretical capacity, suitable redox potential, low cost, high safety, and eco-friendliness. However, the existing aqueous ZIBs are far from satisfying the requirements of practical applications. Significant challenges hindering the further development of ZIBs come from the low utilization and poor cycling stability of cathodes and limited reversibility of Zn anodes associated with dendrite growth, corrosion, and passivation. To date, enormous efforts have been devoted to developing high-performance cathode materials, reliable electrolytes, and stable Zn anodes to achieve ZIB with high energy and power densities and long cycle life. These progresses have been reviewed in this dissertation. Regarding the main issues of ZIBs, the dissertation covered both the cathode and anode to comprehensively improve the electrochemical performance of ZIBs. For the cathode, high-performance manganese oxide-based cathode materials have been developed by in-situ electrochemical activation of MnS, and rational design of hierarchical core-shell MnO2@carbon nanofiber structures. To further understand the underlying reasons for the enhanced electrochemical performance, the charge storage mechanisms of manganese oxide-based cathodes in ZIBs have been in-depth investigated. With respect to the Zn anode, a thin polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) coating layer on the Zn anode has enabled dendrite-free, long-life aqueous Zn batteries by effectively regulating the interfacial ion diffusion and inducing the homogeneous Zn nucleation and deposition of stacked plates with preferentially crystallographic orientation along (002)Zn planes. This work is expected to provide facile and low-cost approaches for developing high-performance, cost-effective, and stable aqueous ZIBs and shed light on a new mechanistic understanding of manganese oxide-based cathodes

The Sources of Faulkner’s Humanism

William Faulkner was one of the most internationally influential writers in the 20th century. He enjoyed a high reputation of “American Shakespeare”, and won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1949 by in virtue of his great literary achievements. His works are rich and broad, covering the fields of society, culture and history in American South. What runs through his works is his deep humanistic concern with man’s, especially women’s existence and fate. The sources of his humanistic spirit derive from the following three aspects: the tradition of Puritanism, humanitarianism and existentialism.

A Scientometirc Analysis on Translation Studies of Tao Te Ching in China Based on CiteSpace

Based on the data of research papers published between 1988 to 2023, which were retrieved from China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), this paper makes a scientometric analysis of the research focuses of English translations studies of Tao Te Ching in China by employing CiteSpace. The findings were presented in knowledge domains. Aiming to uncover the research development and hot-discussed topics, the paper probes into the number of published articles, the high-impact authors and institutions, high-frequency keywords. It is found that translator research and translation strategies are the focuses of this research field. Current research mainly focuses on three aspects: translators such as Roger T. Ames, Lin Yutang, D. C. Lau, and Legge; translation strategies such as domestication and foreignization; English translation of key words such as Tao