4,451 research outputs found
On the structure of (2+1)-dimensional commutative and noncommutative integrable equations
No full textWe develop the symbolic representation method to derive the hierarchies of (2+1)-dimensional integrable equations from the scalar Lax operators and to study their properties globally. The method applies to both commutative and noncommutative cases in the sense that the dependent variable takes its values in C or a noncommutative associative algebra. We prove that these hierarchies are indeed quasi-local in the commutative case as conjectured by Mikhailov and Yamilov [J. Phys. A 31, 6707 (1998)]. We propose a ring extension in the noncommutative case based on the symbolic representation. As examples, we give noncommutative versions of Kadomtsev-Petviashvili (KP), modified Kadomtsev-Petviashvili (mKP), and Boussinesq equations
Wang Shuo and the commercialisation of contemporary Chinese culture
No full textThis thesis examines the commercialisation of Chinese culture that has taken place over the past twenty years in mainland China. It explores the contribution of Wang Shuo, a cultural figure who straddles different fields of culture, moving from literature to the ultimate mass culture medium of television, this study plots Wang Shuo' s development from educational failure, to business failure, to fiction writer, film & TV editor, film director and cultural critic and analyst. His stories, films, TV series and articles have caused shock-waves throughout national cultural circles as he has transformed the terms of the debate from academic discourse to a validation of the role of the market in the culture field. Although Wang Shuo has not been labelled as a dissident, his approach to the culture market has had a more subversive effect on official ideology that those overt dissidents who have had to live in exile or have been imprisoned. He has utilised the language of official ideology to satirise the authorities, turning the ideology and its supporters into figures of fun. Yet his own goals have been strictly personal and economic ones. The authorities recognize the value of Wang Shuo's work in the cultural market but at the same time distrust his works and place him under strict censorship. Examining the way Wang Shuo and people surround him have succeeded in different fields of cultural achievement is a mirror to understanding the process of the transformation of contemporary Chinese culture from a socialist state-controlled culture to a market-oriented mass culture industry
Urban villages, their redevelopment and implications for inequality and integration
No full textUrban villages are a unique product of China’s rapid urban expansion. They provide a new way of life sustained by property rental income for local villagers. More importantly, urban villages provide cheap accommodation for millions of rural migrant workers in most large cities. Recently, with the increasing demand for land by commercial developers and public projects, urban villages have become the targets for redevelopment. This chapter uses a case study village in Beijing as an example to assess the social and economic impacts of urban village redevelopment on both the original local inhabitants and migrants in rented accommodation. The case study village went through a very long and complicated redevelopment process from 2004 to 2017 involving different stages of demolition and relocation. It provided a rare opportunity to evaluate the effects on the local population, both pre- and post-redevelopment. The study involved several field visits, observation and interviews with village residents. It shows that urban village redevelopment offered no positive benefits for migrant workers who often lost their homes to demolition. For local villagers, redevelopment and relocation into new flats may improve their living conditions. However, most suffer from the loss of long-term economic and income generation opportunities. Moreover, the new property rights for the replacement flats confer no additional rights of citizenship for the relocated villagers who remain ‘second-class citizens’ within Chinese cities
Phylogenetic relationships among the colobine monkeys revisited: new insights from analyses of complete mt genomes and 44 nuclear non-coding markers.
No full textPhylogenetic relationships among Asian and African colobine genera have been disputed and are not yet well established. In the present study, we revisit the contentious relationships within the Asian and African Colobinae by analyzing 44 nuclear non-coding genes (>23 kb) and mitochondrial (mt) genome sequences from 14 colobine and 4 non-colobine primates.The combined nuclear gene and the mt genome as well as the combined nuclear and mt gene analyses yielded different phylogenetic relationships among colobine genera with the exception of a monophyletic 'odd-nosed' group consisting of Rhinopithecus, Pygathrix and Nasalis, and a monophyletic African group consisting of Colobus and Piliocolobus. The combined nuclear data analyses supported a sister-grouping between Semnopithecus and Trachypithecus, and between Presbytis and the odd-nosed monkey group, as well as a sister-taxon association of Pygathrix and Rhinopithecus within the odd-nosed monkey group. In contrast, mt genome data analyses revealed that Semnopithecus diverged earliest among the Asian colobines and that the odd-nosed monkey group is sister to a Presbytis and Trachypithecus clade, as well as a close association of Pygathrix with Nasalis. The relationships among these genera inferred from the analyses of combined nuclear and mt genes, however, varied with the tree-building methods used. Another remarkable finding of the present study is that all of our analyses rejected the recently proposed African colobine paraphyly and hybridization hypothesis and supported reciprocal monophyly of the African and Asian groups.The phylogenetic utility of large-scale new non-coding genes was assessed using the Colobinae as a model, We found that these markers were useful for distinguishing nodes resulting from rapid radiation episodes such as the Asian colobine radiation. None of these markers here have previously been used for colobine phylogenetic reconstruction, increasing the spectrum of molecular markers available to mammalian systematics
Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer: A quantification Strategy Based on Two Reference Materials and Bulk Normalization as 100% ( wt )
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Intertidal flat development in response to controlled embankment retreat: Freiston Shore, The Wash, UK
No full textA soft engineering method of removing existed flood defences to restore salt marsh has been widely used to protect the coastal region in European countries. This study investigates the response of the intertidal zone at Freiston Shore to a controlled embankment retreat (CER) completed in August 2002, and interprets changes in sediment dynamics and bed level across the intertidal zone based on an analysis of temporal and spatial variations in the suspended sediment flux over semi-diurnal tidal cycles. In addition, a numerical simulation (Delft3D) was performed to analyze the long-term development of the intertidal zone. The current velocity turned further seaward during the ebb 25 months after the de-embankment, with an apparent simultaneous decline of suspended sediment concentration (SSC). Between April 2003 and October 2004, the middle intertidal flat shifted from an erosional to an accretionary state, whereas the reverse was true on the lower intertidal flat. The spatial pattern of suspended sediment flux suggests that sediments eroded from the mid-intertidal zone after 9 months of CER have been re-deposited in the lower intertidal zone, and the process was reversed 16 months after. Tidally residual suspended sediment flux varied with the changing sediment dynamics. The modeling results indicate a similar trend in bed level change to the field observations at Freiston Shore, which was in an early phase of intertidal flat readjustment to the CER. Tidal creek system played an important role in transient geomorphological shift between the middle and lower intertidal flat. Furthermore, the model simulation revealed the time variation of bed level changes at different elevations over the intertidal flat, indicating that the flat would essentially revert to its original pre-CER morphology within decades, which depended highly upon the sediment supply condition. Finally, a conceptual model is developed, based on field survey and numerical simulations, to summarize the developmental processes operating within the intertidal zone in response to CER
Income, employment, and housing inequalities in Asian and African cities
No full textThis chapter analyses the income, employment, and housing conditions of residents covered in the SHLC Household Survey conducted across various neighbourhoods in 14 Asian and African cities. The analysis provides comparative insights into neighbourhood-level inequalities in the Global South. While continental or subcontinental differences are limited, significant variations in inequality are evident at the country and city levels. The findings reveal serious inequality across neighbourhoods, with neighbourhood wealth emerging as a critical catalyst. This intriguing micro-level data underscores the importance of neighbourhoods in understanding the various dynamics of rapidly growing cities in the Global South
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