10,923 research outputs found
Complete solo piano works of Zhou Long
No full textAccess to thesis restricted until 07/2023.Zhou Long is a contemporary composer of Chinese American descent, who
belongs to a generation of Chinese composers that began introducing traditional
Chinese music to western audiences. He gained international recognition after
receiving the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for his opera, Madame White Snake (2011). Very
few performances, recordings, and publications currently exist on Zhou’s piano
music, and this doctoral lecture recital is the first time an artist has performed the
complete collection of Zhou’s solo piano pieces. The pieces include: Mongolian Folk-
Tune Variations, Wu Kui, Pianogongs, and Pianobells. In his piano music, Zhou
makes use of unconventional extended piano techniques, imitates and evokes Chinese
traditional instruments, and likes to make connections with other art genres. Also, the
prominence of percussive elements in Zhou’s music is of a great importance. In this
lecture recital, the author has mainly focused on 1) the background information of
Zhou Long and his solo piano works; 2) the influence of Chinese traditional
instruments, ancient literatures and aesthetic concepts, in addition to folk elements on
his piano music; 3) how the composer combined those elements with western music
and compositional skills; and 4) the exploration of the percussive usage of the piano
along with various sound effect. Much of the discussion were from the author’s own
observations; it also include insights from an interview the author conducted with the
composer. Through the combined presentation of the lecture and performance of Zhou
Long’s four piano pieces, the author intended to help bring exposure to his piano
works, and to serve as a guide for piano students and teachers interested in exploring
Zhou’s piano music.Thesis (D.A.
Friction and wear properties of TiCN coatings sliding against SiC and steel balls in air and water
No full textThe TiCN coatings were deposited on WC cemented carbides using enhanced cathodic arc magnetron sputtering. The topography of TiCN coatings were observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the composition and structure of TiCN coatings were analyzed by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The friction and wear properties of TiCN coatings sliding against SiC and steel balls in air and water were investigated using ball-on-disk tribometer. The results showed that the TiCN coatings had a strong (111) preferred orientation. The friction coefficient and the specific wear rates of the TiCN/SiC tribopairs in air were higher than those in water. When the TiCN coatings slid against SiC balls in water, the friction coefficient and the specific wear rates first decreased, and then increased with the normal load, but decreased linearly with the sliding velocity. The lowest friction coefficient of 0.171 was obtained at 3 N and 0.4 m/s, while the lowest specific wear rate of the TiCN coatings was 2.3 × 10? 6mm3/Nm at 6 N and 0.1 m/s. The TiCN coatings were worn out when the normal loads were higher than 6 N. When the TiCN coatings slid against the SUJ2 and SUS440C balls in water, the friction coefficient increased to 0.271 and 1.026 respectively. The EDS analysis showed that Fe and O elements existed on the wear track. This indicated that the tribochemical reaction occurred at the friction contact area
Application of particle swarm optimization in adaptive self-interference cancellation
No full textThis thesis investigates the application of particle swarm optimization in self-interference cancellation. To achieve cancellation, the receiver has to differentiate between the transmit and receive signal. The transmit signal is already known at the transmitting side but it undergoes some distortion before it reaches the receiving end. An adaptive filter proves to be useful in estimating the distortion, but its weight remains an unknown factor. This thesis uses the particle swarm optimization algorithm to dynamically adjust the weights of the filter.Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2022-08-01The student, Jingchao Zhou, accepted the attached license on 2020-07-07 at 14:08.The student, Jingchao Zhou, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2020-07-07 at 14:14.This Thesis was approved for publication on 2020-07-07 at 17:20.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #15513 on 2020-10-02 at 15:31:36Made available in DSpace on 2020-10-07T22:44:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2
ZHOU-THESIS-2020.pdf: 1884339 bytes, checksum: 5d78c3eb8481f8526d8eac1fe13de97e (MD5)
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Previous issue date: 2020-07-07Embargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 116208
Lift date: 2022-10-07T22:44:53Z
Reason: Author requested U of Illinois access only (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemAuthor requested U of Illinois access only (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemU of I Onl
Comparison of tribological properties of CrN, TiCN and TiAlN coatings sliding against SiC balls in water
No full textCrN, TiCN and TiAlN coatings were deposited on WC cemented carbide disks using enhanced cathodic arc magnetron sputtering and their topographies and structures were observed and analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. The friction and wear properties of CrN, TiCN and TiAlN coatings sliding against SiC balls in water were investigated and compared synthetically using ball-on-disk tribometer. The results showed that the CrN/SiC tribopairs showed the lowest friction coefficient of 0.076, while the TiCN/SiC tribopairs displayed the highest friction coefficient of 0.264. For the CrN/SiC tribopairs the specific wear rate of CrN coatings was lowest while that of SiC balls became highest. But for the TiAlN(TiCN)/SiC tribopairs, the specific wear rate of TiAlN coatings was highest while that of SiC balls for the TiCN/SiC tribopairs became lowest. This indicated that the friction and wear behaviors of nitride coatings/SiC balls tribo-systems in water were more strongly influenced by the anti-oxidative ability of tribomaterials in water than by their mechanical properties
The Death of the Author, or Not: An Examination of Contemporary Western Literary Theory (Book Review)
No full textZhou, M. (2017) The Death of the Author, or Not: An Examination of Contemporary Western Literary Theory (Book Review). Journal of East-West Thought, 2(7), 103-104.Jiang Zhang, The Death of the Author, or Not: An Examination of Contemporary Western Literary Theory. Beijing; China Social Sciences Press, 2017. 500 pp
Angiotensin II induces soluble fms-Like tyrosine kinase-1 release via calcineurin signaling pathway in pregnancy
No full textMaternal endothelial dysfunction in preeclampsia is associated with increased soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1), a circulating antagonist of vascular endothelial growth factor and placental growth factor. Angiotensin II (Ang II) is a potent vasoconstrictor that increases concomitant with sFlt-1 during pregnancy. Therefore, we speculated that Ang II may promote the expression of sFlt-1 in pregnancy. Here we report that infusion of Ang II significantly increases circulating levels of sFlt-1 in pregnant mice, thereby demonstrating that Ang II is a regulator of sFlt-1 secretion in vivo. Furthermore, Ang II stimulated sFlt-1 production in a dose- and time-dependent manner from human villous explants and cultured trophoblasts but not from endothelial cells, suggesting that trophoblasts are the primary source of sFlt-1 during pregnancy. As expected, Ang II-induced sFlt-1 secretion resulted in the inhibition of endothelial cell migration and in vitro tube formation. In vitro and in vivo studies with losartan, small interfering RNA specific for calcineurin and FK506 demonstrated that Ang II-mediated sFlt-1 release was via Ang II type 1 receptor activation and calcineurin signaling, respectively. These findings reveal a previously unrecognized regulatory role for Ang II on sFlt-1 expression in murine and human pregnancy and suggest that elevated sFlt-1 levels in preeclampsia may be caused by a dysregulation of the local renin/angiotensin system
DMM Prize 2018 winner: Wenqing Zhou
No full textDisease Models & Mechanisms (DMM) is delighted to announce that the winner of the DMM Prize 2018 is Wenqing Zhou, for her paper entitled ‘Neutrophil-specific knockout demonstrates a role for mitochondria in regulating neutrophil motility in zebrafish’ (Zhou et al., 2018a). The prize of $1000 is awarded to the first author of the paper that is judged by the journal's editors to be the most outstanding contribution to the journal that year. To be considered for the prize, the first author must be a student or a postdoc of no more than 5 years standing
Single-beam phase retrieval with partially coherent light illumination
No full textA single-beam phase retrieval method with partially coherent illumination is proposed. By using an obverse and reverse iterative (ORI) algorithm, objects can be reconstructed within less time by recording a sequence of diffraction patterns at different axial planes under partially coherent light illumination. Partially coherent light illumination reduces coherent noise and the number of diffraction patterns needed for reconstruction. Thus, the whole process is fast and has high immunity to external perturbation due to the reference-less configuration. Both simulation and experimental results are presented to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
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