New details about the founding of China's Navy reveals critical historical context and insight into future strategy From 1949 to 1950, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) made crucial decisions to ...establish a navy and secure China's periphery. The civil war had been fought with a peasant army, yet in order to capture key offshore islands from the Nationalist rival, Mao Zedong needed to develop maritime capabilities. Mao's Army Goes to Sea is a ground-breaking history of the founding of the Chinese navy and Communist China's earliest island-seizing campaigns. In this definitive account of a little-known yet critical moment in China's naval history, Toshi Yoshihara shows that Chinese leaders refashioned the stratagems and tactics honed over decades of revolutionary struggle on land for nautical purposes. Despite significant challenges, the PLA ultimately scored important victories over its Nationalist foes as it captured offshore islands to secure its position. Drawing extensively from newly available Chinese-language sources, this book reveals how the navy-building process, sea battles, and contested offshore landings had a lasting influence on the PLA. Even today, the institution's identity, strategy, doctrine, and structure are conditioned by these early experiences and myths. Mao's Army Goes to Sea will help US policymakers and scholars place China's recent maritime achievements in proper historical context—and provide insight into how its navy may act in the future.
An indispensable aid to researching a crucial series of policy statements, the present guide provides access to the only continuous source from China which illuminates high-level policy. Includes an ...extensive subject index.
•Functional properties of polysaccharides depend on their structural features.•IR spectroscopy is widely used in polysaccharide structural analysis.•Classical applications of IR spectroscopy in ...polysaccharide are reviewed.•IR integrating techniques can considerably expand its application scope.
Polysaccharides are important biomacromolecules with numerous beneficial functions and a wide range of industrial applications. Functions and properties of polysaccharides are closely related to their structural features. Infrared (IR) spectroscopy is a well-established technique which has been widely applied in polysaccharide structural analysis. In this paper, the principle of IR and interpretation of polysaccharide IR spectrum are briefly introduced. Classical applications of IR spectroscopy in polysaccharide structural elucidation are reviewed from qualitative and quantitative aspects. Some advanced IR techniques including integrating with mass spectrometry (MS), microscopy and computational chemistry are introduced and their applications are emphasized. These emerging techniques can considerably expand application scope of IR, thus exert a more important effect on carbohydrate characterization. Overall, this review seeks to provide a comprehensive insight to applications of IR spectroscopy in polysaccharide structural analysis and highlights the importance of advanced IR-integrating techniques.
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Grid integration of renewable energy (REN) requires efficient and reliable power conversion stages, particularly with an increasing demand for high controllability and flexibility seen from the grid ...side. Underpinned by advanced control and information technologies, power electronics converters play an essential role in large-scale REN generation. However, the use of power converters has also exposed several challenges in conventional power grids, e.g., reducing the system inertia. In this article, grid integration using power electronics is presented for large-scale REN generation. Technical issues and requirements are discussed with a special focus on grid-connected wind, solar photovoltaic, and energy storage systems. In addition, the core of the energy generation and conversion—control for individual power converters (e.g., general current control) and for the system level (e.g., coordinated operation of large-scale energy systems)—is briefly discussed. Future research perspectives are then presented, which further advance large-scale REN generation technologies by incorporating more power electronics systems.
Grid integration of renewable energy (REN) requires efficient and reliable power conversion stages, particularly with an increasing demand for high controllability and flexibility seen from the grid ...side. Underpinned by advanced control and information technologies, power electronics converters play an essential role in large-scale REN generation. However, the use of power converters has also exposed several challenges in conventional power grids, e.g., reducing the system inertia. In this article, grid integration using power electronics is presented for large-scale REN generation. Technical issues and requirements are discussed with a special focus on grid-connected wind, solar photovoltaic, and energy storage systems. In addition, the core of the energy generation and conversion-control for individual power converters (e.g., general current control) and for the system level (e.g., coordinated operation of large-scale energy systems)-is briefly discussed. Future research perspectives are then presented, which further advance large-scale REN generation technologies by incorporating more power electronics systems.
As Washington's new National Security Strategy emphasises China is engaged in continuous competition with America--neither fully "at peace" nor "at war." Per this national guidance the U.S. Navy must ...raise its competitive game to meet that challenge in part by addressing the potential risks to American interests and values posed by all three Chinese sea forces: the Navy Coast Guard and Maritime Militia. In terms of ship numbers each is the largest of its type in the world. China's maritime "gray zone" operations represent a new challenge for the U.S. Navy and the sea services of our allies partners and friends in maritime East Asia. There Beijing is waging what some Chinese sources term a "war without gun smoke." Already winning in important areas it could win far more if left unchecked. One of China's greatest advantages thus far is foreign difficulty in understanding and characterising the situation let alone responding effectively. With contributions from some of the world's leading subject matter experts, this volume aims to close that gap by elucidating the forces and doctrines driving China's paranaval expansion. This book covers China's major maritime forces beyond core gray-hulled Navy units with particular focus on China's second and third sea forces: the "white-hulled" Coast Guard and "blue-hulled" Maritime Militia. Increasingly, these paranaval forces and the gray zone in which they typically operate are on the frontlines of China's seaward expansion. Beijing uses these forces to further its unresolved maritime claims in the Near Seas (Yellow East and South China Seas) an approach allowing China to "win without fighting." Beijing conducts these operations-more intensely assertive than normal interstate relations but less intense than armed conflict-to alter the status quo without resorting to war. They include actions to assert Chinese sovereignty over waters adjacent to disputed land features and jurisdiction over other parts of the ocean based on China's wilful misinterpretation of international law. Chinese behaviour at sea harms U.S. interests both directly and indirectly. As a seafaring state, America demands maximal access to the world's oceans within the constraints of international law. Actions that impede that access violate America's maritime freedom. China harms U.S. interests indirectly when it violates the legitimate maritime freedom and maritime rights of its allies and partners. Such acts devalue Washington's commitments to its friends and shake the foundations of our alliance system-the true source of America's global influence. Moreover, China's efforts to curtail and infringe upon both the maritime freedom of all nations including the United States and the maritime rights of its neighbours undermines the rules-based international order. This volume therefore concludes by examining America's response to Beijing's gray zone coercion and suggests what U.S. policymakers can do to counter it.
•Two new transition metal nitride structures (MoN6 and ReN6) are proposed.•The phase transition of MoN6 is revealed.•Energetic N6 in MoN6 and ReN6 structures indicate that they may be potential high ...energy density materials.
Transition metal nitrides have been widely used in many scientific and technical areas because of their unique physical and mechanical properties. We report two new nitrogen-rich transition metal nitrides, MoN6 and ReN6, by crystal structure searching technique. Under high pressure, MoN6 will undergo phase transition (from R-3m to Pm-3 phase) at 54 GPa, and ReN6 always keep the R-3m phase in the pressure range from 50 to 100 GPa. There are benzene-like six-membered “N6” rings with nitrogen single bonds in the R-3m phase structures, indicating that MoN6 and ReN6 are expected to be the high-energy-density materials.
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Mesenchymal cells within theplacental villi play a crucial role in shaping the morphology of branching structures and driving the development of blood vessels. However, the markers and functions of ...placental villous pericytes (PVPs) as distinct subgroups of placental villous mesenchymal cells, remain unclear. Therefore, in this study, the markers and functions of PVPs were investigated. Single-cell sequencing data from the first-trimester placental villi was obtained and the Seurat tool was used to identify PVP markers. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis of specific genes was performed using the DAVID database. The Cellchat tool was employed to investigate the interaction signals between the PVPs and other cells. Expression of the PVP markers was confirmed using immunofluorescence. Presence of extracellular vesicles in the placental villous mesenchyme and PVPs was examined by transmission electron microscopy. Our findings revealed that renin (REN) and amphiregulin (AREG)-positive fibroblasts in the placental villi specifically expressed several classic pericyte markers. In the first trimester, certain conserved functions of pericytes were observed and they displayed tissue-specific functions such as in the integrin-mediated signaling pathway and extracellular exosomes. Moreover, the placental villous mesenchyme was found to be rich in extracellular vesicles. AREG is specifically transcribed in the first trimester PVPs, however, its protein was located in syncytiotrophoblasts. These insights contribute to a comprehensive understanding of early placental development and offer new therapeutic targets for placenta-derived pregnancy complications.
•REN is a marker for placental villous pericytes (PVPs) in the first trimester.•PVPs exhibit tissue-specific functions like integrin-mediated signaling and extracellular exosome production.•In the first trimester, the placental villous mesenchyme is abundant with extracellular vesicles.•AREG is specifically transcribed in PVPs during the first trimester; however, it is localized in syncytiotrophoblasts.
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Separate of LDOP-A and LDOP-B, and their effects explored after oral administration on type 2 diabetes (T2D) mice.
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•Fractions of LDOP show the hypoglycemic effect and can restore ...histological function of T2D mice.•There is a difference in the anti-T2D effect between LDOP-A and LDOP-B.•LDOP-A modulated the gut microbiota composition of T2D mice.•LDOP-A promotes the formation of SCFAs in T2D mice, especially butyric acid.•Compared with LDOP-B, LDOP-A shows greater potential to ameliorate T2D.
The present study aimed to explore the possible mechanisms underlying Dendrobium officinale leaf polysaccharides of different molecular weight to alleviate glycolipid metabolic abnormalities, organ dysfunction and gut microbiota dysbiosis of T2D mice. An ultrafiltration membrane was employed to separate two fractions from Dendrobium officinale leaf polysaccharide named LDOP-A and LDOP-B. Here, we present data supporting that oral administration of LDOP-A and LDOP-B ameliorated hyperglycemia, inhibited insulin resistance, reduced lipid concentration, improved β-cell function. LDOP-A with lower molecular weight exhibited improved effect on diabetes than LDOP-B, concurrent with increased levels of colonic short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) i.e., butyrate, decreased ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes phyla, and increased abundance of the gut beneficial bacteria i.e., Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium and Akkermansia. These results suggest that LDOP-A possesses a stronger effect in ameliorating T2D than LDOP-B which may be related to the distinct improved SCFAs levels produced by the change of intestinal flora microstructure.
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This article reconstructs a theory of mind in the Mengzi 孟子. It argues that recent studies in favor of mind-body dualism import Cartesianism through the vocabulary their arguments are couched in. ...This article exposes this “Cartesian language game” in order to effect a gestalt shift in our understanding of Mengzian philosophy. It then appeals to John Dewey’s conception of mind as both “minding” and “discourse” where mind is a function of attentive engagement predicated on a background of traditional values and meanings. This article then shows how the Mengzi’s concepts of ren 仁 and tian 天 contribute to a theory of mind where the former is defined as xin 心 thus to be understood as “mindful engagement” and the latter implies tradition as shared reservoir of social and cultural meaning. Through the interpretive comparison of the philosophies of the Mengzi and Dewey, we can reconstruct a Mengzian theory of mind.
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