Lotus Leaves

Leung Ping Kwan is one of Hong Kong's most acclaimed poets. His poems display a unique blend of the literary and the down-to-earth, of the modern and the traditional, of the serious and the humorous, of the local and the universal. In his own words, 'I want my poems about things to be a dialogue with the world, to learn and be inspired by the shapes, smells and colours of things….' This collection has been carefully curated, and is arranged under ten thematic sections: Lotus Leaves, Hong Kong, Macao, Foodscape, After the Book of Songs, Strange Tales: After Pu Songling, Clothink, Museum Pieces, Places and Friends, and Bitter-Melon and Others. These translated poems, and the delight they bring, are a celebration of the continuing legacy of a remarkable Hong Kong poet.

An anthology of Chinese poetry, featuring 150 selections drawn from throughout two thousand years, each presented in original Chinese characters, coordinated with word-for-word annotations, and followed by an English translation.

This book covers such plants with edible modified storage subterranean stems (corms, rhizomes, stem tubers) and unmodified subterranean stem stolons, above ground swollen stems and hypocotyls, storage roots (tap root, lateral roots, root tubers), and bulbs, that are eaten as conventional or functional food as vegetables and spices, as herbal teas, and may provide a source of food additive or neutraceuticals. This volume covers selected plant species with edible modified stems, roots and bulbs in the families Iridaceae, Lamiaceae, Marantaceae, Nelumbonaceae, Nyctaginaceae, Nymphaeaceae, Orchidaceae, Oxalidaceae, Piperaceae, Poaceae, Rubiaceae and Simaroubaceae. The edible species dealt with in this work include wild and underutilized crops and also common and widely grown ornamentals.To help in identification of the plant and edible parts coloured illustrations are included. As in the preceding ten volumes, topics covered include: taxonomy (botanical name and synonyms); common English and vernacular names; origin and distribution; agro-ecological requirements; edible plant parts and uses; plant botany; nutritive, medicinal and pharmacological properties with up-to-date research findings; traditional medicinal uses; other non-edible uses; and selected/cited references for further reading. This volume has separate indices for scientific and common names; and separate scientific and medical glossaries.

PRINTED FLEXIBLE CIRCUIT Introduction to Water­Repellent Polymer Substrate Electronic industries are continually striving towards the use of flexibility and stretchability substrates like polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) with good water repellent characteristics or also known as hydrophobicity to improve the functionality of printed circuit for electronic packaging. This book focuses on the hydrophobicity performance of flexible substrate PET and TPU with the presence and absence of ceramic coating (Ti02). A low-cost self-fabricated contact angle measurement tool is also invented to fulfill the hydrophobicity analysis by using the Process Design and Development (PDD) concept involving the Pugh Method followed by a One-Sample T-Test to verify the accuracy measurement of the selected design. The knowledge gained would be beneficial to extend the use of flexible substrate PET and TPU and Ti02 coating in electronic applications

This book explores the structure-property-process relationship of biomaterials from engineering and biomedical perspectives, and the potential of bio-inspired materials and their applications. A large variety of natural materials with outstanding physical and mechanical properties have appeared in the course of evolution. From a bio-inspired viewpoint, materials design requires a novel and highly cross disciplinary approach. Considerable benefits can be gained by providing an integrated approach using bio-inspiration with materials science and engineering. The book is divided into three parts; Part One focuses on mechanical aspects, dealing with conventional material properties: strength, toughness, hardness, wear resistance, impact resistance, self-healing, adhesion, and adaptation and morphing. Part Two focuses on functional materials with unique capabilities, such as self-cleaning, stimuli-response, structural color, anti-reflective materials, catalytic materials for clean energy conversion and storage, and other related topics. Part Three describes how to mimic natural materials processes to synthesize materials with low cost, efficient and environmentally friendly approaches. For each chapter, the approach is to describe situations in nature first and then biomimetic materials, fulfilling the need for an interdisciplinary approach which overlaps both engineering and materials science.

For centuries herbs and spices have been an integral part of many of the world’s great cuisines. But spices have a history of doing much more than adding life to bland foods. They have been the inspiration for, among other things, trade, exploration, and poetry. Priests employed them in worship, incantations, and rituals, and shamans used them as charms to ward off evil spirits. Nations fought over access to and monopoly of certain spices, like cinnamon and nutmeg, when they were rare commodities. Not only were many men’s fortunes made in the pursuit of spices, spices at many periods throughout history literally served as currency. In Culinary Herbs and Spices of the World, Ben-Erik van Wyk offers the first fully illustrated, scientific guide to nearly all commercial herbs and spices in existence. Van Wyk covers more than 150 species—from black pepper and blackcurrant to white mustard and white ginger—detailing the propagation, cultivation, and culinary uses of each. Introductory chapters capture the essence of culinary traditions, traditional herb and spice mixtures, preservation, presentation, and the chemistry of flavors, and individual entries include the chemical compounds and structures responsible for each spice or herb’s characteristic flavor. Many of the herbs and spices van Wyk covers are familiar fixtures in our own spice racks, but a few—especially those from Africa and China—will be introduced for the first time to American audiences. Van Wyk also offers a global view of the most famous use or signature dish for each herb or spice, satisfying the gourmand’s curiosity for more information about new dishes from little-known culinary traditions. People all over the world are becoming more sophisticated and demanding about what they eat and how it is prepared. Culinary Herbs and Spices of the World will appeal to those inquisitive foodies in addition to gardeners and botanists.

The Liang dynasty (502-557) is one of the most brilliant and creative periods in Chinese history and one of the most underestimated and misunderstood. Under the Liang, literary activities, such as writing, editing, anthologizing, and cataloguing, were pursued on an unprecedented scale, yet the works of this era are often dismissed as "decadent" and no more than a shallow prelude to the glories of the Tang. This book is devoted to contextualizing the literary culture of this era--not only the literary works themselves but also the physical process of literary production such as the copying and transmitting of texts; activities such as book collecting, anthologizing, cataloguing, and various forms of literary scholarship; and the intricate interaction of religion, particularly Buddhism, and literature. Its aim is to explore the impact of social and political structure on the literary world.

Polymer Nanocomposite Films and Coatings: Processes, Fundamental Properties and Applications presents a comprehensive review on the fundamental chemistry, physics, biology and engineering aspects of polymer nanocomposite films and coatings.The content of the book covers design configuration, synthesis and processing methods, structure, fundamental properties, and a wide range of applications in diverse research fields. Various unresolved issues and new technical challenges regarding regulatory affairs, safety considerations and environmental and health impact are also discussed in detail.The book will be a valuable reference resource for scientists, engineers, and postgraduate students, working in the field of polymer composites and nanocomposites helping them to find solutions to both fundamental and applied problems associated with this important research field. Presents recent research developments in the synthesis, processing, functionalization, and properties of polymer nanocomposite films and coatings Covers applications in electronics and optoelectronic devices, sensors and actuators, solar energy, food packaging, anticorrosion, anti-wear, antifouling, electromagnetic interference shielding, dielectric, aerospace, and textile industries as well as in biomedical fields for antibacterial, antifungal, and drug delivery applications Includes comprehensive coverage with a global, internationally recognized author-base