In synthetic aperture radar image segmentation field, regional algorithms have shown great potential for image segmentation. The SAR images have a multiplicity of complex texture, which are difficult to be divided as a whole. Existing algorithm may cause mixed super-pixels with different labels due to speckle noise. This study presents the technique based on organization evolution algorithm to improve ISODATA in pixels. This approach effectively filters out the useless local information and successfully introduces the effective information. To verify the accuracy (...) of OEA-ISO data algorithm, the segmentation effect of this algorithm is tested on SAR image and compared with other techniques. The results demonstrate that the OEA-ISO data algorithm is 10.16% more accurate than the WIPFCM algorithm, 23% more accurate than the K-means algorithm, and 27.14% more accurate than the fuzzy C-means algorithm in the light-colored farmland category. It can be seen that the OEA-ISO data algorithm introduces the pixel block strategy, which successfully reduces the noise interference in the image, and the effect is more obvious when the image background is complex. (shrink)

国家哲学社会科学创新基地浙江大学语言与认知研究中心研究成果中国博士后科学基金资助.

国家哲学社会科学创新基地浙江大学语言与认知研究中心研究成果中国博士后科学基金资助.

The earliest extant mathematical books from China contain a lot of problems and data about grains. They also betray a close relationship with imperial bureaucracy in this respect. Indeed, these texts quote administrative regulations about grains. For instance, the Book on mathematical procedures 筭數書, found in a tomb sealed ca. 186 BCE, has a section in common with the “regulations on granaries” from the Qin statutes in eighteen domains, known thanks to slips excavated at Shuihudi. Mathematical writings also deal with (...) official vessels used to measure grains. They cast light on statements from, and practices evidenced by, official histories and administrative documents. This article addresses the following issues. Which information about the concrete management of grains can we derive from mathematical writings in relation to administrative documents? Which data can we find in these writings about continuities and changes in the management of grains in the time span between the Qin and Han dynasties? In particular, how can we account for the fact that in a later mathematical text, namely, The Nine Chapters, probably completed in the first century CE, there was a change in the form in which the data about grain equivalences were given, by comparison with the “regulations on granaries”? Finally, what do our conclusions imply with respect to the nature of the earliest extant mathematical writings. In this article, we gather the various types of statement that mathematical writings contain about grains and offer several elements of interpretation for the “regulations on granaries” and the related text in The Nine Chapters. From this perspective, we offer several hypotheses about the management of grain in the Qin and Han dynasties. (shrink)

Based on its productionguideline, organic agriculture has set foritself the goals of minimizing all forms ofpollution and maintaining sustainability of thefarming system. By striving for these goals,organic farming meets the demands of anincreasing number of consumers who are criticalof conventional production methods. This papergives an overview of the present state of theart in the different issues. Possibilities ofand limitations in performing the self-aimedgoals under the basic standards of organicagriculture are discussed. Concerningenvironmental protection, in general, the riskof adverse environmental effects is (...) lower withorganic than with conventional farming methods,though not necessarily so; with reference tosoil fertility and nutrient management, organicfarming is suited to improve soil fertility andnutrient management markedly on the farm level;regarding biodiversity, comparison studies showthat organic farming has more positive effectson biodiversity conservation; in relation toproduct quality, under the basic standards oforganic farming, there is no sufficientevidence for a system-related effect on productquality due to the production method. (shrink)

Not for the academic value of some of the situational events, often with a comprehensive, decisive, Yan'an new philosophy will the home of its columns. Will establish a new philosophy, a lot of grand strategy is one of the actions in Yan'an. This paper examines a new philosophy will be the basic process, an analysis of its membership and the subsequent effects, assessing its characteristics in the formation of contemporary Chinese culture, the unique role, made ​​a number of issues need (...) to be further explored. This paper shows that the new philosophy will not academics, but the educational organization. It is the ideology of expert training, knowledge and control of legal rights, the implementation of the regulatory action of self-sufficiency and closed culture strategy. New philosophy will be mainly in the construction and maintenance of highly exclusive mode of thinking to make contributions, as the full value of its effect remains to be thorough and reasonable debate. Some situational events, which have been neglected by academics, may be of significant importance. The Yan'an New Philosophy Association is an example. Its establishment was one of the ambitious strategic actions of the CCP in Yan'an. This paper examines the process of the YNPA's establishment, analyses the composition of its membership, assesses its unique effect on the formation of contemporary Chinese ideology, and raises some issues that are in need of further research. This study shows that the YNPA was an educational institution instead of an academic society, and that the experts in ideology it produced had exclusive power in the cultural domain and implemented the party's cultural policies. We can see that the YNPA greatly contributed to the construction and maintenance of a high degree of cultural exclusivity. A full picture of this association, however, requires much more in-depth studies. (shrink)

Bioethics is a subject far removed from the Chinese, even from many Chinese medical students and medical professionals. In-depth interviews with eighteen physicians, patients, and family members provided a deeper understanding of bioethical practices in contemporary China, especially with regard to the doctor-patient relationship (DPR) and informed consent. The Chinese model of doctor-family-patient relationship (DFPR), instead of DPR, is taken to reflect Chinese Confucian cultural commitments. An examination of the history of Chinese culture and the profession of medicine in China (...) is used to disclose the deep roots of these commitments. The author predicts that the DFPR model will further develop in China but that it will maintain its Chinese character. (shrink)

A core feature of drug-resistant epilepsy is hyperexcitability in the motor cortex, and low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is a suitable treatment for seizures. However, the antiepileptic effect causing network reorganization has rarely been studied. Here, we assessed the impact of rTMS on functional network connectivity in resting functional networks and their relation to treatment response. Fourteen patients with medically intractable epilepsy received inhibitive rTMS with a figure-of-eight coil over the vertex for 10 days spread across two weeks. We designed (...) a 6-week follow-up phase divided into four time points to investigate FNC and rTMS-induced timing-dependent plasticity, such as seizure frequency and abnormal interictal discharges on electroencephalography. For psychiatric comorbidities, the Hamilton Depression Scale and the Hamilton Anxiety Scale were applied to measure depression and anxiety before and after rTMS. FNC was also compared to that of a cohort of 17 healthy control subjects. The after-effects of rTMS included all subjects that achieved the significant decrease rate of more than 50% in interictal epileptiform discharges and seizure frequency, 12 patients with the reduction rate above 50% compared to the baseline, as well as emotional improvements in depression and anxiety. In the analysis of RSNs, we found a higher synchronization between the sensorimotor network and posterior default-mode network in epileptic patients than in healthy controls. In contrast to pre-rTMS, the results demonstrated a weaker FNC between the anterior DMN and SMN after rTMS, while the FNC between the aDMN and dorsal attention network was greater. Importantly, the depressive score was anticorrelated with the FNC of the aDMN-SMN, which was markedly different in the good and bad response groups treated with rTMS. Based on the vertex suppression by rTMS, it is possible to achieve temporary clinical efficacy by modulating network reorganization in the DMN and SMN for patients with refractory epilepsy. (shrink)

Today, modern large-scale production has created a real life world for people. People's life is so greatly dominated by production that we can say people's life is the life being produced. The basic features of modern life are: First, modern lifestyle is a consumptionism-oriented lifestyle. Consumption has become the main content of modern life. As a result, it is very difficult to distinguish life from consumption. People have changed into consumers. Second, modern lifestyle is a lifestyle of the generalization of (...) commodity logic. Commodity logic has pulled whole society onto the track of the commodity production. People's life is inevitably dominated by the commodity logic, resulting in the prevalence of materialism and money worship. Third, modern lifestyle is a highly homogenized lifestyle,eliminating the possible development of individual personality. The main problems of modern life are: First, lack of conscious reflection of life, People have been lost in a fake sense of happiness. People indulge in a fake sense of happiness created by consumption without any selfconsciousness. Second, lack of correct self-understanding, People have been lost in formal personality. The expressions of formal personality are lack of serious rational thinking. Third, lack of the concern about the transcendent dimension of life, People have been lost in the present dimension of life. People's life has been filled with all kinds of consumergoods and illusions that evoke. Therefore, no room has been left for transcendent issues, such as, the meaning of life. (shrink)

This study conducts a corpus-assisted discourse study of the representations of post-colonial Hong Kong in The Times over the past 20 years. The primary purpose is to reveal its preferential ways of representing Hong Kong and explicate the intricate relations between language use and the historical and socio-political contexts. Through an integration of the methods and theories associated with critical discourse analysis and corpus linguistics, this study conducts both synchronic and diachronic analyses of the representations of Hong Kong from 1997 (...) to 2017. The findings suggest that The Times’ representations of Hong Kong tend to be crisis- and conflict-oriented. While evoking constant fear about the future of Hong Kong, it still suggests that it is Britain’s duty and moral obligation to protect the former British colony. The same trend can also be identified in The Times’ representations of the mass protests against the proposed extradition bill in 2019. (shrink)

ABSTRACTReceiving favors is often a mixed blessing and commonly triggers two emotions: the positive emotion gratitude and negative emotion indebtedness. In three studies, we examined the hypothesis that gratitude and indebtedness have distinct functions in social exchange. Contrary to current views, we believe that the function of gratitude does not primarily reside in facilitating social exchange. Instead, we propose that indebtedness motivates people to repay favours received, and thus accounts for most of the prosocial effects commonly attributed to gratitude. On (...) the other hand consistent with current views, we believe that gratitude signals the potential for developing a relationship and fosters proximity seeking. Supporting these assumptions, in Study 1 we found that gratitude and indebtedness were associated with aspects of the favour that reflect the concern for relationship and the level of inequity. Studies 2 and 3 provided causal support for these relations, and revealed the unique associations... (shrink)

This essay explores numerous and complicated naturalized epistemology against the background of pragmatism. We distinguish three programmes of naturalized epistemology: strong, moderate, and weak. By considering commitments of pragmatism on which different programmes depend, we point out the close-knit relationship between pragmatism and naturalized epistemology. We also illustrate the essential origin of today's controversy over naturalized epistemology and predict the uptrend of naturalized epistemology.

ABSTRACTAdults perceive emotional expressions categorically, with discrimination being faster and more accurate between expressions from different emotion categories than between two stimuli from the same category. The current study sought to test whether facial expressions of happiness and fear are perceived categorically by pre-verbal infants, using a new stimulus set that was shown to yield categorical perception in adult observers. These stimuli were then used with 7-month-old infants using a habituation and visual preference paradigm. Infants were first habituated to an (...) expression of one emotion, then presented with the same expression paired with a novel expression either from the same emotion category or from a different emotion category. After habituation to fear, infants displayed a novelty preference for pairs of between-category expressions, but n... (shrink)

The preferences of patients who lack DMC (Decision-Making-Capacity) should have some moral weight. However, I disagree with the author’s stronger claim, which argues that two other types of DMC (bu...

This research looks what happens to human reproduction when human genetic information is digitized. By employing speculative design as a transdisciplinary strategy to construct such an alternative future to open up public dialogues, it aims to stimulate audiences in an artistic way to deliberate two key questions: (1) how will biotechnology recondition and recontextualize the natural processes of genetic information (i.e. expression, replication, transmission and mutation) and our physiological processes (e.g. reproduction)? And (2) what might be the ethical, legal and (...) social implications (ELSI) for using such biotechnology? To this end, this practice-based research introduces the ‘e-gamete Digital Procreation Service’ (2019) – a speculative design project that has been developed as an approach to invite audiences to a future scenario of network-transmitted genetic information and computer-simulated human procreation. The carefully designed future service (an ironic practice of commercialization) allows human reproduction to take place outside of the human body. Audiences are encouraged to contemplate what novel situations might occur within their own futures and to consider broader questions like how family, parenthood, marriage, etc. are redefined and what new social relationships might emerge. By employing speculative design as an artistic research tool/tactic to step outside the technical limitations and craft the future service, the project asks vital question about the future in a provocative and quasi-realistic manner. Thus, the research forms a unique entanglement of sensitive topics by dealing with future biotechnology and human reproduction. (shrink)

Sustained peripheral somatosensory stimulations, such as high-frequency repetitive somatosensory stimulation (HF-RSS) and vibrated stimulation, are effective in altering the balance between excitation and inhibition in the somatosensory cortex (S1) and motor cortex (M1). A recent study reported that whole-hand water flow (WF) stimulation induced neural disinhibition in the M1. Based on previous results, we hypothesized that whole-hand WF stimulation would lead to neural disinhibition in the S1 because there is a strong neural connection between M1 and S1 and aimed to (...) examine whether whole-hand WF stimulation would change the neural balance between excitation and inhibition in the S1. Nineteen healthy volunteers were studied by measuring excitation and inhibition in the S1 before and after each of the four 15-min interventions. The excitation and inhibition in the S1 were assessed using somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) and paired-pulse inhibition (PPI) induced by single- and paired-pulse stimulations, respectively. The four interventions were as follows: control, whole-hand water immersion, whole-hand WF, and HF-RSS. The results showed no significant changes in SEPs and PPI following any intervention. However, changes in PPI with an interstimulus interval (ISI) of 30 ms were significantly correlated with the baseline value before whole-hand WF. Thus, the present findings indicated that the whole-hand WF stimulation had a greater decreased neural inhibition in participants with higher neural inhibition in the S1 at baseline. Considering previous results on M1, the present results possibly show that S1 has lower plasticity than M1 and that the duration (15 min) of each intervention may not have been enough to alter the balance of excitation and inhibition in the S1. (shrink)

Since rapid economic growth has led to the overuse of natural resources and environmental degradation, increasing attention has been paid to environmental problems. This study aims to explore the relationship between consumers’ perceived value and satisfaction, and energy-saving products purchase intention was investigated using appraisal-emotional response-coping theory. Moreover, this study further investigates these relationships in different consumer groups. In total, 399 questionnaires were collected online and offline, and results though structural equation modeling analysis show that functional, emotional, conditional, and green (...) value have a positive effect on consumer satisfaction and thereby promote the intention to purchase energy-saving products. However, social value is not significant for consumer satisfaction. Perceived value influences consumer satisfaction and varies among different consumers according to the results of multigroup structural equation modeling analysis. These results have practical significance for the design and marketing of energy-saving products. (shrink)

The term “dao” (道) has been playing the theoretically paradigmatic role in almost all East Asian philosophies, religions, and cultures. The meanings of the term “dao” in the Dao De Jing and other ancient East Asian texts have remained hermeneutically problematic up to this point in time. This article argues that one of the main causes of this hermeneutical problematic is the failure to establish a theoretically formal typology of the “dao.” It further suggests that a hermeneutically disciplined reading of (...) the 76 uses of the term “dao” in the Dao De Jing accomplishes two important goals: (1) it demonstrates that a typological approach may enhance an understanding of the Laoian Dao, and (2) it provides some good data to begin reconstructing such a theoretically formal dao-typology. (shrink)

We prove that for a finitely generated infinite nilpotent group $G$ with structure $(G,\cdot,\dots)$, the connected component ${G^*}^0$ of a sufficiently saturated extension $G^*$ of $G$ exists and equals \[ \bigcap_{n\in\N} \{g^n\colon g\in G^*\}. \] We construct an expansion of ${\mathbb Z}$ by a predicate $({\mathbb Z},+,P)$ such that the type-connected component ${{\mathbb Z}^*}^{00}_{\emptyset}$ is strictly smaller than ${{\mathbb Z}^*}^0$. We generalize this to finitely generated virtually solvable groups. As a corollary of our construction we obtain an optimality result for (...) the van der Waerden theorem for finite partitions of groups. (shrink)

A 78-year-old Chinese woman joined a clinical trial sponsored by a Pharmaceutical companies. Unfortunately a serious Serious Adverse Event occurred. The sponsor paid for the cost of the medical care arising from the SAE, but refused the family’s request for compensation. The family then sued the company and the hospital in Beijing. Although the SAE was related to a complication of lower extremity angiography and not the drug itself, it was a direct consequence of participating in the trial. According Good (...) Clinical Practice, a set of regulations promulgated under Chinese law, “the sponsor should provide Insurance to those human subjects who participate in clinical trials, cover the cost of Treatment and the corresponding economic compensation for the occurrence of the harm or death associated with the trial”. The court ordered the trial sponsor to provide a translation of the company’s insurance policy, so that the court could understand the amount of compensation available to the Patient under the policy, but the sponsor never surrendered either the documentation or a translation. Consensus was never reached about the amount of compensation due to the patient through negotiation with the hospital, the company and the family. The Litigation ended after nine hearings and five long years. This chapter provides an ethical analysis of the case relative to at least three areas of Risks of Exploitation when a major, international Pharmaceutical companies sponsors clinical research in a country with an immature legal system and where Research participants have limited resources. (shrink)

The major ethical challenges for critical care medicine in China include the high cost of patient care in the ICU, the effect of payment mechanisms on access to critical care, the fact that much more money is spent on patients who die than on ones who live, the extent to which an attempt to rescue and save a patient is made, and the great geographical disparity in distribution of critical care. The ethical problems surrounding critical care medicine bear much relation (...) to the culture, public policy and health care system in China. The essay concludes that China should allocate more resources to ordinary medical services rather than to critical care medicine. (shrink)

In recent years, supply chain finance is exploited to solve the financing difficulties of small- and medium-sized enterprises. SME credit risk assessment is a critical part in the SCF system. The diffusion of SME credit risk may cause serious consequences, leading the whole supply chain finance system unstable and insecure. Compared with traditional credit risk assessment models, the supply chain relationship, credit condition of SME, and core enterprises should all be considered to rate SME credit risk in SCF. Traditional methods (...) mix all indicators from different index systems. They cannot give a quantitative result on how these index systems work. Furthermore, traditional credit risk assessment models are heavily dependent on the number of annotated SME data. However, it is implausible to accumulate enough credit risky SMEs in advance. In this paper, we propose an adaptive heterogenous multiview graph learning method to tackle the small sample size problem for SMEs’ credit risk forecasting. Three graphs are constructed by using indicators from supply chain operation, SME financial indicator, and nonfinancial indicator individually. All the graphs are integrated in an adaptive manner, providing a quantitative explanation on how the three parts cooperate. The experimental analysis shows that the proposed method has good performance for determining whether SME is risky or nonrisky in SCF. From the perspective of SCF, SME financing ability is still the main factor to determine the credit risk of SME. (shrink)

Easy of learning judgments occur before active learning begins, and it is a prediction of how difficult it will be to learn new material in future learning. This study compared the amplitude of event-related potential components and brain activation regions between high and low EOL judgments by adopting ERPs with a classical EOL judgment paradigm, aiming to confirm the ease-of-processing hypothesis. The results showed that the magnitudes of EOL judgments are affected by encoding fluency cues, and the judgment magnitude increases (...) with encoding fluency; low EOL judgments are associated with higher N400 amplitude at the left superior frontal gyrus and left middle frontal gyrus. High EOL judgments showed enlarged slow-wave potentials than low EOL judgments at the left medial temporal lobe, right ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Our results support the ease-of-processing hypothesis, particularly, by affirming that EOL judgments are affected by encoding fluency in two processing stages. N400 reflects the process of acquiring encoding fluency cues, while slow-wave indicates that individuals use encoding fluency cues for metacognitive monitoring. (shrink)

This essay explores numerous and complicated naturalized epistemology against the background of pragmatism. We distinguish three programmes of naturalized epistemology: strong, moderate, and weak. By considering commitments of pragmatism on which different programmes depend, we point out the close-knit relationship between pragmatism and naturalized epistemology. We also illustrate the essential origin of today's controversy over naturalized epistemology and predict the uptrend of naturalized epistemology.

There is ample evidence that the success or failure of language learning is influenced by psychological processes in learners' minds. This review attempted to review the related studies on the relationship between English as a Foreign Language learners' emotional intelligence, communication apprehension, and self-efficacy. Few studies have been done on the correlation between self-efficacy and emotional intelligence. A positive significant correlation between emotional intelligence and self-efficacy has been confirmed in the literature. Studies have shown that interpersonal relationships, self-awareness, problem-solving skills, (...) self-adequacy, self-confidence, self-actualization, and stress tolerance can act as mediator variables in the correlation between self-efficacy and emotional intelligence among EFL learners. Moreover, the related studies have shown that emotional intelligence is significantly correlated with communication apprehension. The investigations have accentuated the mediating role of learners' willingness to communicate and academic achievement in the correlation between emotional intelligence and communication apprehension. The correlation between communication apprehension and self-efficacy has been verified in the related literature. Finally, the pedagogical implications are expanded to foster language learning quality. This review also provides some suggestions for further research to elucidate our viewpoints over emotional variables and their interactions with each other. (shrink)

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed social shortcomings and ethical failures, but it also revealed strengths and successes. In this perspective article, we examine and discuss one strength: the duty to care. We understand this duty in a broad sense, as more than a duty to treat individual patients who could infect health care workers. We understand it as a prima facie duty to work to provide care and promote health in the face of risks, obstacles, and inconveniences. Although at least one (...) survey suggested that health care workers would not respond to a SARS-like outbreak according to a duty to care, we give reasons to show that the response was better than expected. The reasons we discuss lead us to consider normative accounts of the duty to care based on the adoption of social roles. Then, we consider one view of the relationship between empirical claims and normative claims about the duty to care in the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we draw insight from Mengzi, with an emendation from Dewey. Our perspective leaves many question to research, but one point seems clear: there will be future pandemics and the need for health care workers who respond. (shrink)

Understanding the neural basis of schizophrenia (SZ) is important for shedding light on the neurobiological mechanisms underlying this mental disorder. Structural and functional alterations in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), hippocampus, and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) have been implicated in the neurobiology of SZ. However, the effective connectivity among them in SZ remains unclear. The current study investigated how neuronal pathways involving these regions were affected in first-episode SZ using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Forty-nine patients (...) with a first-episode of psychosis and diagnosis of SZ—according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision—were studied. Fifty healthy controls (HCs) were included for comparison. All subjects underwent resting state fMRI. We used spectral dynamic causal modeling (DCM) to estimate directed connections among the bilateral ACC, DLPFC, hippocampus, and MPFC. We characterized the differences using Bayesian parameter averaging (BPA) in addition to classical inference (t-test). In addition to common effective connectivity in these two groups, HCs displayed widespread significant connections predominantly involved in ACC not detected in SZ patients, but SZ showed few connections. Based on BPA results, SZ patients exhibited anterior cingulate cortico-prefrontal-hippocampal hyperconnectivity, as well as ACC-related and hippocampal-dorsolateral prefrontal-medial prefrontal hypoconnectivity. In summary, spectral DCM revealed the pattern of effective connectivity involving ACC in patients with first-episode SZ. This study provides a potential link between SZ and dysfunction of ACC, creating an ideal situation to associate mechanisms behind SZ with aberrant connectivity among these cognition and emotion-related regions. (shrink)

Existing studies have highlighted the importance of informal safety communication among workers at construction sites. However, there is still a lack of empirically tested theoretical models with valid and reliable scales for describing and measuring construction workers’ informal safety communication. Accordingly, this study aimed to fill this need by developing an instrument to assess the communication performance of construction workers. Four stages of scale development were described: construct formation, item generation, factor extraction through the exploratory factor analysis, and scale assessment (...) through the confirmatory factor analysis. Using questionnaire data drawn from construction workers in China, the CWISC was verified to be a three-dimensional construct including citizenship safety communication, self-needed safety communication, and participatory safety communication. The corresponding CWISC scale with 12 items was shown to have acceptable internal consistency reliability, as well as content, convergent, and discriminant validity. The CWISC scale could serve as an instrument to assess and identify the weaknesses in informal safety communication performance of construction workers. In turn, this information could help supervisors implement appropriate management practices to those workers to enhance workplace informal safety communication. Related studies taking a multidimensional CWISC into account were expected to be carried out. (shrink)

The sustainable development of the human settlements has become a global universal program. The comparison of cities in different countries is of great significance to provide international experience for future urban construction. Combined with the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, this paper establishes an evaluation index system for the sustainable development ability of urban HS and constructs a three-dimensional research framework of “development-coordination-sustainability,” which compares the sustainable development ability of the HS of Dalian, China, and Kobe, Japan, from 2005 to (...) 2018 and explores the spatial evolution characteristics and obstacle factors of the HS of the two cities. The results show that the development degree of the HS of the two cities is on the rise. The development level of Kobe is always higher than that of Dalian, and the gap is gradually narrowing; Kobe has advantages in natural and residential environment, while Dalian has advantages in cultural and economic environment. The coordination degree of the development of the HS of the two cities has improved steadily, and the coordination degree of Kobe is better than that of Dalian. The sustainability of the development of the HS of the two cities is fluctuating, and the average sustainable growth rate of Dalian is higher than that of Kobe. The sustainable development space of the HS in Dalian presents a pattern of “high in the south and low in the north,” and the spatial characteristics of the subsystems are different; the main obstacles have changed from economic-natural to economic-natural-cultural-public services, and the obstacles to development in districts are different. The sustainable development space of the HS in Kobe has a high level of development in the southeast, radiating to the surrounding area, and the spatial characteristics of the subsystems are different; the main obstacles have changed from economic-cultural-natural to economic-natural-population, and the obstacles to development in districts are different. Finally, it puts forward targeted suggestions for the sustainable construction of Dalian. This paper can provide methodological reference for quantitative assessment of the sustainable development of HS and provide policy reference for scientific planning of the construction of HS. (shrink)

According to Garfield and Priest’s interpretation, the positive use of the catuskoti by Nāgārjuna in Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (MMK) shows that he endorses a four-valued semantics similar to that of Belnap’s First-Degree Entailment (FDE), while the negative use of the catuskoti by Nāgārjuna in MMK indicates that what he really has in mind is a plurivalent five-valued semantics. This paper argues that their interpretation suffers from a number of problems: adequate logic, collapse of kotis, lack of literature support, and a suitable explanation (...) of the third koti. The final part of the paper combines insights from Westerhoff, Cotnoir, Garfield and Priest together and describes the right interpretation of Nāgārjuna’s use of the catuskoti in MMK with the right semantics and the right logic of MMK. The authors argue that Nāgārjuna’s ‘rebuttal’ of all four kotis in a catuskoti should be understood as a mere denial or a mere rejection of these kotis. (shrink)

In order to facilitate cooperation to solve problems within a nation-state, a new approach which conceptualizes citizenship in terms of shared fate has been promoted to potentially ameliorate the tensions identified between civic liberty and solidarity. Proponents of an emphasis on shared fate frame it not in terms of a particular shared national identity, but in terms of participation in the shared project of the nation-state. The approach of singular shared fate rightly emphasizes the urgency of finding a common ground (...) for people to cultivate obligations to others and achieve sincere cooperation in a society. Unfortunately, in some cases it leaves room for some people to undermine the common ground and its good intention, however, as the promotion of a view of singular shared fate risks producing a hegemonic singular nation building project and predesigning an agreement before a truly inclusive and just dialogue among relevant stakeholders proceeds. To make the good intentions of the notion of shared fate realizable, a modification is explored, in recasting the concept of singular “shared fate” to plural “shared fates”. Given the situation that people in societies have the plural shared fates de facto, the view of plural shared fates recognizes that people will reject any singular substantial nation building project that has a predesigned direction. In current, divided societies, acknowledging multiple fates at the beginning, rather than predesigning a singular fate, can better provide a platform for all stakeholders to discuss their obligations to others toward sincere cooperation through equal co-construction of what is shared and what is not shared. To enhance civic education in a multicultural society, we suggest that complementing the concept of singular “shared fate” with a recognition of the value of plural “shared fates” can provide a context for all people to work together towards a more inclusive and just future. (shrink)

ObjectiveTo investigate the instant impact of hemodialysis on the cerebral morphological measurements of patients with end-stage renal disease.Materials and methodsTwenty-five patients undergoing maintenance HD and twenty-eight age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy control were included. The HD group and HC group had 3D high-resolution structural magnetic resonance imaging scans twice and once, respectively. Both groups underwent neuropsychologic tests. The morphological measurements of structural MRI were measured using CAT12 and these measures were compared among three groups. The relationship between morphological measures and (...) clinical parameters and neuropsychological tests were investigated through multiple regression analysis.ResultsCompared to the HC group, the cortical thickness before HD significantly decreased in the bilateral temporal lobe and significantly decreased in the left superior temporal gyrus after HD. The cortical thickness significantly increased in the bilateral temporal lobe, frontal lobe and occipital lobe after HD compared to before HD. The sulcus depth in the bilateral insula, frontal lobe, and parietal lobe after HD significantly increased compared to before HD. No significant differences in sulcus depth between HD and HC were detected. After HD, the cortical thickness of the right parsopercularis was positively correlated with the number connection test-A. Cortical thickness in multiple regions were positively correlated with blood flow velocity and cortical thickness in the left parahippocampal gyrus was negatively correlated with ultrafiltration volume. Patients showed better performance in the digit symbol test and line tracing test after HD compared to before HD, but there were no significant differences in the comparison of neuropsychologic tests between patients and HC.ConclusionThe instant morphological changes were captured during a single hemodialysis in HD patients. There was an association between these instant changes in the brain and clinical parameters and neuropsychologic tests. This work implied the instant impact of a single hemodialysis impact on the brain in HD patients. (shrink)

In the present study, we use a training design in two experiments to examine whether bilingual language switching facilitates two components of cognitive control, namely monitoring and inhibitory control. The results of Experiment 1 showed that training in language switching reduced mixing costs and the anti-saccade effect among bilinguals. In Experiment 2, the findings revealed a greater decrease of mixing costs and a smaller decrease of the anti-saccade effect from pre- to post-training for the language switching training group compared to (...) the L2 training group. Overall, the results suggest that extensive exercise in monitoring and inhibitory control among languages in an experimental setting may enhance the corresponding components of cognitive control. We discuss these findings in the context of the relationship between bilingual language control and executive control. (shrink)