For more than three thousand years, Chinese life – from the city and the imperial palace, to the temple, the market and the family home – was configured around the courtyard. So too were the accomplishments of China's artistic, philosophical and institutional classes. Confucius' Courtyard tells the story of how the courtyard – that most singular and persistent architectural form – holds the key to understanding, even today, much of Chinese society and culture. Part architectural history, and part introduction to the cultural and philosophical history of China, the book explores the Chinese view of the world, and reveals the extent to which this is inextricably intertwined with the ancient concept of the courtyard, a place and a way of life which, it appears, has been almost entirely overlooked in China since the middle of the 20th century, and in the West for centuries. Along the way, it provides an accessible introduction to the Confucian idea of zhongyong ('the Middle Way'), the Chinese moral universe and the virtuous good life in the absence of an awesome God, and shows how these can only be fully understood through the humble courtyard – a space which is grounded in the earth, yet open to the heavens. Erudite, elegant and illustrated throughout by the author's own architectural drawings and sketches, Confucius' Courtyard weaves together architecture, philosophy and cultural history to explore what lies at the very heart of Chinese civilization.
The spectacular transformation of China in the last decade is symbolized by its architecture. The booming cities of China are evolving at a speed which is hard to comprehend, and their skylines have seen a profusion of new architectural styles. An economic metamorphosis and an invasion of Western culture have created a dynamic environment for architecture and construction, both at the public and the domestic scale. This push to prosperity has excited architects from around the globe, who have seen a unique opportunity to produce remarkable and innovative designs. New China Architecture seizes this moment in time. It documents both the stunning designs of famed architects and the emergence of a whole new generation of Chinese architects. The selected projects cover a broad range of residential homes, public buildings, office towers and the adaptive reuse of older city precincts. The buildings featured include skyscrapers in Shanghai, the dazzling new designs for the Beijing Olympic Games venues, innovative private houses such as those at the Commune by the Great Wall and the now mandatory gleaming new airports and city landmarks.
In Skyplane, some of architecture's leading thinkers and practitioners examine both the global phenomenon of the tall building and its adaptation to the Asian-Pacific context, addressing the following questions: What effect do towers have on our culture and urbanism, environmental sustainability, building economics, the workplace and historic city centres? Can such giants be humane and made more formally engaging? Can architectural influence go beyond the façade or cope with self-aggrandisement and rampant symbolism?
This book systematically synthesizes research achievements in the field of fuzzy neural networks in recent years. It also provides a comprehensive presentation of the developments in fuzzy neural networks, with regard to theory as well as their application to system modeling and image restoration. Special emphasis is placed on the fundamental concepts and architecture analysis of fuzzy neural networks. The book is unique in treating all kinds of fuzzy neural networks and their learning algorithms and universal approximations, and employing simulation examples which are carefully designed to help the reader grasp the underlying theory. This is a valuable reference for scientists and engineers working in mathematics, computer science, control or other fields related to information processing. It can also be used as a textbook for graduate courses in applied mathematics, computer science, automatic control and electrical engineering. Contents: Fuzzy Neural Networks for Storing and Classifying; Fuzzy Associative Memory OCo Feedback Networks; Regular Fuzzy Neural Networks; Polygonal Fuzzy Neural Networks; Approximation Analysis of Fuzzy Systems; Stochastic Fuzzy Systems and Approximations; Application of FNN to Image Restoration. Readership: Scientists, engineers and graduate students in applied mathematics, computer science, automatic control and information processing.
The Zheng family of merchants and militarists emerged from the tumultuous seventeenth century amid a severe economic depression, a harrowing dynastic transition from the ethnic Chinese Ming to the Manchu Qing, and the first wave of European expansion into East Asia. Under four generations of leaders over six decades, the Zheng had come to dominate trade across the China Seas. Their average annual earnings matched, and at times exceeded, those of their fiercest rivals: the Dutch East India Company. Although nominally loyal to the Ming in its doomed struggle against the Manchus, the Zheng eventually forged an autonomous territorial state based on Taiwan with the potential to encompass the family's entire economic sphere of influence. Through the story of the Zheng, Xing Hang provides a fresh perspective on the economic divergence of early modern China from western Europe, its twenty-first-century resurgence, and the meaning of a Chinese identity outside China.
Agricultural Biotechnology in China: Origins and Prospects is a comprehensive examination of how the origins of biotechnology research agendas, along with the effectiveness of the seed delivery system and biosafety oversight, help to explain current patterns of crop development and adoption in China. Based on firsthand insights from China’s laboratories and farms, Valerie Karplus and Dr. Xing Wang Deng explore the implications of China’s investment for the nation’s rural development, environmental footprint, as well as its global scientific and economic competitiveness.
This book addresses the transfer of rhetorical knowledge from a first language (L1) to a second language (L1-to-L2 rhetorical transfer), a common cognitive phenomenon in the L2 writing of students in foreign language learning environments. It investigates L1-to-L2 rhetorical transfer from a cognitive perspective and examines a specific component of L2 writers’ agency in this transfer, namely metacognition. The book’s ultimate goal is to enhance our understanding of the cognitive mechanism of rhetorical transfer across languages. This goal is in turn connected to the need to determine how L1 rhetorical knowledge can be steered and oriented toward successful L2 writing. To this end, this book proposes a theoretical framework for transfer studies, encompassing the dimensions of text, transfer agency, and L2 essay raters. It facilitates an in-depth exploration of the intricacies involved in L1-to-L2 rhetorical transfer. It then presents empirical studies on this transfer. Embracing a dynamic perspective, this book furthers our understanding of interlingual rhetorical transfer as a conscious or intuitive process for making meaning, one that can be monitored and steered. Moreover, it discusses the pedagogical implications for L2 writing instruction that guides students to use metacognition to transfer L1 rhetorical knowledge during L2 writing.
Biomedical Applications of Extracellular Vesicles Unique resource focusing on biomedical applications and clinical translation of extracellular vesicles in science and medicine Focusing on key points to better understand extracellular vesicles (EVs) and their development, Biomedical Applications of Extracellular Vesicles describes in detail the biogenesis of EVs, the mechanism of intercellular communication, and the treatment of various diseases of EVs and the EV-based drug delivery platforms. An application-oriented resource, the work presents rapidly newer biomedical and clinical applications of natural and engineered EVs such as drug delivery, diagnosis, prognosis monitoring, immunotherapy, and more. The first part of this book provides a basic background on EVs. Next, the book introduces the excellent therapeutic effects of EVs themselves and the underlying mechanisms, followed by how EVs from different sources were used to construct drug delivery platforms. The latest research on EVs from leading groups around the world is presented. Sample topics covered in Biomedical Applications of Extracellular Vesicles include: Biogenesis of various EVs Pros and cons of the different instrumental and methodological developments for analytical strategies applied to EVs EVs in treatment of major diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases Current methods of engineering EVs, and a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of each method Biomaterials, such as hydrogels, scaffolds, and microneedles, that have been developed to further enhance the therapeutic efficacy of EVs Key challenges, such as quality control, scalability, and biosafety, that limit the clinical and industrial translation of EVs Explaining in detail how extracellular vesicles are produced and engineered, along with potential applications and commercial developments of EVs in science and industry, Biomedical Applications of Extracellular Vesicles is an essential resource on the subject for chemists, cell biologists, and molecular physicists.
Despite a wealth of epidemiological evidence of the profound ill-effects of smoking on human health, we know surprisingly little about the pathogenic mechanisms by which tobacco smoke actually causes disease. Indeed, to our knowledge this publication represents the first book that is entirely devoted to the molecular and cellular mechanisms of tobacco-induced diseases. Considering that smoking will directly kill 650 million of those people currently alive, the lack of such a book represents a huge gap in the biomedical literature.This new and important book fills this gap.
Yu Su's marriage of ten years could not be compared to the first love's one word of regret. She took her son out to wash up, only to discover that the university students who were incomparably popular back then were merely one piece of paper more than others.Time after time, he was rejected for a job. Just when he was about to despair, he accidentally entered the Wishing Studio. As long as he helped the original owner live for another year, he would be able to obtain 10,000 credits.
The first notable feature of this book is its innovation: Computational intelligence (CI), a fast evolving area, is currently attracting lots of researchers’ attention in dealing with many complex problems. At present, there are quite a lot competing books existing in the market. Nevertheless, the present book is markedly different from the existing books in that it presents new paradigms of CI that have rarely mentioned before, as opposed to the traditional CI techniques or methodologies employed in other books. During the past decade, a number of new CI algorithms are proposed. Unfortunately, they spread in a number of unrelated publishing directions which may hamper the use of such published resources. These provide us with motivation to analyze the existing research for categorizing and synthesizing it in a meaningful manner. The mission of this book is really important since those algorithms are going to be a new revolution in computer science. We hope it will stimulate the readers to make novel contributions or even start a new paradigm based on nature phenomena. Although structured as a textbook, the book's straightforward, self-contained style will also appeal to a wide audience of professionals, researchers and independent learners. We believe that the book will be instrumental in initiating an integrated approach to complex problems by allowing cross-fertilization of design principles from different design philosophies. The second feature of this book is its comprehensiveness: Through an extensive literature research, there are 134 innovative CI algorithms covered in this book.
Presents recent developments and application of fluorescent protein-labelling techniques and two-photon molecular probes. Introduces the theoretical and experimental researches of super-resolution localization microscopy, photoacoustic molecular (functional) imaging, and optical molecular tomography for small animal in vivo. Illustrates optical labeling techniques and imaging instruments and their application in biological studies. Suits well for researchers and graduates in biomolecular photonics fields.
This book describes the photocatalytic mechanism, factors affecting photocatalytic activity, design and preparation of different kinds of nanostructured photocatalysts, and their applications in the environmental and energy fields. Further, it illustrates a broad range of modification methods including ion-doping, heterojunction, noble metal deposition, morphological control and sensitizations, which are used to extend the light absorption range of photocatalysts and reduce recombination between electrons and holes. Promising applications include water splitting, contaminant decomposition and photocatalytic reduction of CO2, which are closely related to environmental redemption and new energy development. The book offers an intriguing and useful guide for a broad readership in various fields of catalysis, material sciences, environment and energy.
Filling the urgent need for a professional book that specifies the applications of nanoelectrochemistry for the monitoring of persistent toxic substances, this monograph clearly describes the design concept, construction strategies and practical applications of PTS sensing interfaces based on nanoelectrochemical methods. The comprehensive and systematic information not only provides readers with the fundamentals, but also inspires them to develop PTS monitoring sensors based on functional nanostructures and nanomaterials. Of interestto chemists, electrochemistry researchers, materials researchers, environmental scientists, and companies dealing with electrochemical treatment and environment.
This book is the second volume of a four-volume set on modern Chinese complex sentences, with a focus on coordinate complex sentences and their relevant forms. Complex sentences in modern Chinese are unique in formation and meaning. The author proposes a tripartite classification of Chinese complex sentences according to the semantic relationships between the clauses, that is, coordinate, causal, and adversative. This volume analyzes the coordinated type in the broad sense and the relevant forms, including the representative form in which the clauses are juxtaposed with each other, paired and single occurrences of the connective yībiān, and various forms of successive, progressive, and alternative complex sentences, as well as the compound forms. The book will be a useful reference for scholars and learners interested in Chinese grammar and language information processing.
Now known to the Chinese as the "ten years of chaos," the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) brought death to thousands and persecution to millions. Xing Lu identifies the rhetorical features and explores the persuasive effects of political language and symbolic practices during the period. She examines how leaders of the Communist Party enacted a rhetoric in political contexts to legitimize power and violence and to dehumanize a group of people identified as class enemies.
This book argues that although relations between China and Europe are strained in many areas, including trade, human rights and views about political systems, nevertheless established linkages, especially when considered in the context of long-term historical linkages, development trajectories and intellectual cultures, offer good prospects for future progressive collaborative exchanges. Approaching the subject in a balanced way, giving equal weight to the perspectives of both sides, the book examines China and Europe’s shared experiences of age-old civilizations, of the disorienting effects of the economic, social and political upheavals triggered by the late eighteenth century creation of the modern world, and of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries era of European empires, warfare and the Cold War. It contends that although China and Europe appear superficially to have followed different paths, with many problems in their relationship resulting, they in fact have a very great deal in common concerning how they have coped with the long shift from ancient civilizations to the modern world of natural-science-based industrial capitalism.
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