To meet the stability requirements for moving quadruped robots, it is important to design a rational structure for a single leg and plan the trajectory of the foot. First, a novel electrically driven leg mechanism for a quadruped robot is designed in this paper to reduce the inertia of the leg swing. Second, a modified foot trajectory based on a compound cycloid is proposed, which has swing-back and retraction motion and continuous velocity in the x-axis direction. Third, a Simulink platform (...) is built to verify the correctness of the proposed foot trajectory. The simulation result shows that when the flight phase and the stand phase switch, the impact of torque is smaller than the foot trajectory before modification. Finally, an experimental platform is constructed, and a control algorithm is written into the controller to realize the foot proposed trajectory. The results of the experiment prove the feasibility of the leg mechanism and the rationality of the proposed foot trajectory. (shrink)

Supporting families of people with developmental disabilities from culturally diverse backgrounds is receiving increased attention in the era of globalisation. However, there is little information about how disability policy and cultural values work together to support families. This article examined how disability policy and Chinese cultural values influence family care of children and young people with developmental disabilities. By comparing qualitative interview data from Chinese families in Taipei (15) and Sydney (10), we analysed how their expression of cultural values in (...) family care differs by policy context, relative to ethics of care claims for recognition, rights and redistribution. We found that positive expressions of Chinese culture in family care fade if policies do not complement them. Policies can alleviate potential tension with cultural values in three ways: reinforcing family capacity to care; ensuring the rights of both family caregivers and people with disabilities; and extending care choices for families. These approaches resonate with ethics of care principles. We argue that culturally responsive disability policy for families means working with cultural values to achieve ethics of care. This implies that incorporating principles of ethics of care could inform cultural responsiveness in disability policy development. (shrink)

The Myelin Regulator Factor (MYRF) is a master regulator governing myelin formation and maintenance in the central nervous system. The conservation of MYRF across metazoans and its broad tissue expression suggest it has functions extending beyond the well‐established role in myelination. Loss of MYRF results in developmental lethality in both invertebrates and vertebrates, and MYRF haploinsufficiency in humans causes MYRF‐related Cardiac Urogenital Syndrome, underscoring its importance in animal development; however, these mechanisms are largely unexplored. MYRF, an unconventional transcription factor, begins (...) embedded in the membrane and undergoes intramolecular chaperone mediated trimerization, which triggers self‐cleavage, allowing its N‐terminal segment with an Ig‐fold DNA‐binding domain to enter the nucleus for transcriptional regulation. Recent research suggests developmental regulation of cleavage, yet the mechanisms remain enigmatic. While some parts of MYRF's structure have been elucidated, others remain obscure, leaving questions about how these motifs are linked to its intricate processing and function. (shrink)

Capitalizing on a unique setting in China where auditors disclose their prosocial activities, we examine the role that auditor social responsibility plays in shaping their performance. In one direction, behavior consistency theory implies that individual auditors exhibiting more social commitment in their off-the-job activities behave similarly during engagements, enhancing the quality of their audits. In the other direction, accounting firms’ internal structures along with external disciplinary forces mute the impact of heterogeneous auditor characteristics on their performance. In a staggered difference-in-differences (...) design, we report a significant fall in the magnitude of companies’ discretionary accruals and the incidence of financial reporting irregularities after their auditors begin contributing to social welfare, relative to companies whose auditors refrain from contributing during the same timeframe. Additional evidence implies that the higher audit quality stems from auditors better protecting their independence and improving their competence in the post-contribution period. Collectively, our results provide insights into the importance of auditors’ prosocial attitudes to their external monitoring. (shrink)

A survey is made of work since 1879 on foundational problems viewed as an analysis, by reduction and formalization, of the concepts proof, feasible, number, set, and constructivity. It is suggested that there are five domains of concepts and methods, viz., anthropologism, finitism, intuitionism, predicativism, and platonism. It is also suggested that the central problem is to characterize these domains by formalization and to determine their interrelations by different forms of reduction. Finally, the range of logic in the narrower sense (...) is discussed, and applications of mathematical logic are briefly outlined.ZusammenfassungDie Entwicklung der Grundlagenforschung seit dem Jahre 1879 wird hier im Überblick dargestellt und zwar vom Standpunkt einer Analyse durch Reduktion and Formalisierung der Begriffe Beweis, Zahl, Menge und Konstruktivität aus gesehen. Fünf Bereiche von Begriffsbildungen und Methoden werden zu Grunde gelegt, nämlich: Anthropologismus, Finitismus, Intuitionismus, Prädikativismus und Platonismus. Als zentrale Aufgabenstellung wird hier die Charakterisierung dieser Bereiche durch Formalisierung betrachtet und weiterhin die Bestimmung ihrer gegenseitigen Zusammenhänge durch verschiedene Arten von Reduktionen. Schliesslich wird das Gebiet der Logik im engeren Sinne diskutiert und Anwendungen der mathematischen Logik skizziert.RésuméL'article réexamine les travaux faits depuis 1879 sur les problèmes du fondement des mathématiques, que P'on considère comme des analyses par réduction et formalisation des concepts de démonstration, de nombre, d'ensemble, et de constructivité. On suggère qu'il existe cinq domaines de concepts et de méthodes, à savoir: anthropologisme, finitisme, intuitionisme, « predicativism » et platonisme. On suggère aussi que le problème essentiel consiste à caractériser ces domaines par formalisation et à déterminer leurs relations réciproques par différentes formes de réduction. Finalement, on étudie la portée de la logique prise dans son sens le plus étroit et on esquisse rapidement les applications de la logique mathématique. (shrink)

Résumé: O design cultural integra o conteúdo cultural no processo de design. É um meio importante para perceber a inovação da cultura tradicional na herança. O comportamento do design cultural é sutilmente influenciado pela filosofia cultural. Especificamente, a análise do ambiente cultural, a associação semântica cultural e a extração de imagens culturais, na perspectiva da filosofia cultural, ajudam a perceber a explicitação do conhecimento implícito no processo de codificação e decodificação de genes culturais. Selecionamos Ningbo como uma amostra, aprofundamos os (...) genes culturais regionais, exploramos o modelo de geração de design cultural e ainda propusemos a estrutura para a construção de um sistema de serviços de conhecimento de design cultural para fornecer orientação metodológica, para a prática de design cultural regional, a fim de construir capacidades de design cultural sustentável. (shrink)

Ethics is central to science and engineering. Young engineers need to be grounded in how corporate social responsibility principles can be applied to engineering organizations to better serve the broader community. This is crucial in times of climate change and ecological challenges where the vulnerable can be impacted by engineering activities. Taking a global perspective in ethics education will help ensure that scientists and engineers can make a more substantial contribution to development throughout the world. This paper presents the importance (...) of incorporating the global and cross culture components in the ethic education. The authors bring up a question to educators on ethics education in science and engineering in the globalized world, and its importance, necessity, and impendency. The paper presents several methods for discussion that can be used to identify the differences in ethics standards and practices in different countries; enhance the student’s knowledge of ethics in a global arena. (shrink)

This article has a hermeneutical interpretation of 'heng', one key word in the Laozi. The term 'heng' was not known until 1973 when the two silk manuscripts of the Laozi were unearthed in China. On the base of a reintroduction of heng into the text and of my philosophical reading of the Laozi's concept of 'heng', I argue for an alternative interpretation of dao as heng dao. I suggest that heng dao is neither a metaphysical substance nor mystical nothingness. It (...) is rather the differentiated appropriation of nature and life itself as experienced in the everyday. (shrink)

Precise DNA replication is fundamental for genetic inheritance. In eukaryotes, replication initiates at multiple origins that are first “licensed” and subsequently “fired” to activate DNA synthesis. Despite the success in identifying origins with specific DNA motifs in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, no consensus sequence or sequences with a predictive value of replication origins have been recognized in metazoan genomes. Rather, epigenetic rules and chromatin structures are believed to play important roles in governing the selection and activation of replication origins. We propose that (...) replication initiation is facilitated by a group of sequence‐specific “replication pioneer factors,” which function to increase chromatin accessibility and foster a chromatin environment that is conducive to the loading of the prereplication complex. Dysregulation of the function of these factors may lead to gene duplication, genomic instability, and ultimately the occurrence of pathological conditions such as cancer. (shrink)

Jean-Paul Sartre argues that human beings are fundamentally incomplete. Self-consciousness brings with it a presence-to-self. Human beings consequently seek two things at the same time: to possess a secure and stable identity, and to preserve the freedom and distance that come with self-consciousness. This is an impossible ideal, since we are always beyond what we are and we never quite reach what we could be. The possibility of completion haunts us and we continue to search for it even when we (...) are convinced it can never be achieved. Sartre suggests that we have to continue seeking this ideal in the practical sphere, even when our philosophical reflection shows it to be an impossibility. Sartre puts this existential dilemma in explicitly theological terms. 'God' represents an ideal synthesis of being and consciousness which remains a self-contradictory goal. This dilemma remains unresolved in his thinking. (shrink)

Prior studies have shown that people imagine their personal future to be more positive than their country’s collective future. The present research extends the nascent literature by examining the valence and perceived control of personal and national future events in a new experimental paradigm, the cultural generalizability of the findings, and the relation of future thinking to psychological well-being. US college students (Study 1) and US and Turkish community participants (Study 2) imagined what might happen to them and their country (...) in three time points (i.e., next week, next year, and in 10–15 years). They then rated the emotional valence and perceived control of the events and completed a psychological well-being measure. Both US and Turkish participants imagined their personal future to be more positive than their country’s future, whereas they attributed higher perceived control to their countries for national future events than to themselves for personal future events. The positivity of national (Study 1) and personal future events (Study 2) predicted better psychological well-being, whereas perceived control did not. These original findings enrich our theoretical understanding of future thinking. (shrink)

This paper is an attempt to clarify the notion of semantic presupposition and to refute Böer and Lycan's critique of that notion. The author presents a feasible and coherent formal definition of semantic presupposition after examining several popular definitions of the notion. In terms of this definition, two central arguments against semantic presupposition presented by Böer and Lycan are analyzed and responded to with care. It is concluded that the notion of semantic presupposition is not empty but rather is philosophically (...) interesting and fruitful. (shrink)

Physical contact between organelles are widespread, in part to facilitate the shuttling of protein and lipid cargoes for cellular homeostasis. How do protein‐protein and protein‐lipid interactions shape organelle subdomains that constitute contact sites? The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) forms extensive contacts with multiple organelles, including lipid droplets (LDs) that are central to cellular fat storage and mobilization. Here, we focus on ER‐LD contacts that are highlighted by the conserved protein seipin, which promotes LD biogenesis and expansion. Seipin is enriched in ER (...) tubules that form cage‐like structures around a subset of LDs. Such enrichment is strongly dependent on polyunsaturated and cyclopropane fatty acids. Based on these findings, we speculate on molecular events that lead to the formation of seipin‐positive peri‐LD cages in which protein movement is restricted. We hypothesize that asymmetric distribution of specific phospholipids distinguishes cage membrane tubules from the bulk ER. (shrink)

Searching is one of the most fundamental operations in many complex systems. However, the complexity of the search process would increase dramatically in high-dimensional space. K-dimensional tree, as a classical data structure, has been widely used in high-dimensional vital data search. However, at present, common methods proposed for KD tree construction are either unstable or time-consuming. This paper proposed a new algorithm to construct a balanced KD tree based on presorted results. Compared with previous similar method, the new algorithm could (...) reduce the complexity of the construction process from O level to O level, where K is the number of dimensions and N is the number of data. In addition, with the help of presorted results, the performance of the new method is no longer subject to the initial conditions, which expands the application scope of KD tree. (shrink)

The selection of the procurement model, which is a process of discretion exercised by procurement officials, is crucial to the Public-private Partnership procurement performance. From theoretical analysis and international practice, we could find that the negotiation method is more suitable for complex PPP projects, while the tendering method is widely used in China’s PPP procurement. To analyze the reasons for the phenomenon, we used the logit regression model to examine the influence of regulatory competition, risk aversion preference, and tacit interaction (...) on the procurement model selection based on the data of 8,926 PPP projects from 2009 to 2021 in China. The results indicate that regulatory competition leads to confusion in procurement model selection, while risk aversion preference and tacit interaction significantly promote the application of tendering. Moreover, the heterogeneity analysis of regions and return models prove that provincial capitals and municipalities are more susceptible to regulatory competition, risk aversion preference, and tacit interaction than ordinary cities. Compared with user-pay projects, government-pay projects and viability gap funding projects are more susceptible to regulatory competition and risk aversion preference, and less affected by tacit interaction. Therefore, to optimize the procurement model selection, policymakers should improve procurement policies to reduce the adverse effects of regulatory competition, risk aversion preference, and tacit interactions. (shrink)

ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the morphometric alterations in the cortical and subcortical structures in multiple system atrophy patients with mild cognitive impairment, and to explore the association with cognitive deficits.MethodsA total of 45 MSA patients and 29 healthy controls were recruited. FreeSurfer software was used to analyze cortical thickness, and voxel-based morphometry was used to analyze the gray matter volumes. Cortical thickness and gray matter volume changes were correlated with cognitive scores.ResultsCompared to healthy controls, both MSA subgroups exhibited widespread (...) morphology alterations of brain structures in the fronto-temporal regions. Direct comparison of MSA-MCI and MSA-only patients showed volume reduction in the left superior and middle temporal gyrus, while cortical thinning was found in the left middle and inferior temporal gyrus in MSA-MCI patients. Cortical thinning in the left middle temporal gyrus correlated with cognitive assessment and disease duration.ConclusionStructural changes in the brain occur in MSA-MCI patients. The alteration of brain structure in the left temporal regions might be a biomarker of cognitive decline in MSA-MCI patients. (shrink)

The N-Queens problem plays an important role in academic research and practical application. Heuristic algorithm is often used to solve variant 2 of the N-Queens problem. In the process of solving, evaluation of the candidate solution, namely, fitness function, often occupies the vast majority of running time and becomes the key to improve speed. In this paper, three parallel schemes based on CPU and four parallel schemes based on GPU are proposed, and a serial scheme is implemented at the baseline. (...) The experimental results show that, for a large-scale N-Queens problem, the coarse-grained GPU scheme achieved a maximum 307-fold speedup over a single-threaded CPU counterpart in evaluating a candidate solution. When the coarse-grained GPU scheme is applied to simulated annealing in solving N-Queens problem variant 2 with a problem size no more than 3000, the speedup is up to 9.3. (shrink)

The interest of epistemic comparative conditionals comes from the fact that they represent genuine ‘comparative epistemic relations’ between propositions, situations, evidences, abilities, interests, etc. This paper argues that various types of epistemic comparative conditionals uniformly represent comparative epistemic relations via the comparison of epistemic positions rather than the comparison of epistemic standards. This consequence is considered as a general constraint on a theory of knowledge attribution, and then further used to argue against the contextualist thesis that, in some cases, considering (...) a new counter- possibility can raise the epistemic standard of knowledge attribution. Instead, the paper shows that considering a new counter-possibility can only lower the epistemic position of a putative knower. Moreover, since the comparison, by the nature of conditionals, is free from any commitment to the truth-values of specific knowledge attributions, my conclusion is free from the debate between contextualism and invariantism on whether the truth-value of a knowledge attribution can actually vary with context. (shrink)

China has seen rapid economic development as well as severe environmental degradation over the past two decades. Although the Chinese government has made a great effort to provide environmental protection, it has been stymied by China’s economic development pattern, which follows the traditional industrialization mode of low efficiency in resource use and considerable pollutant discharge. In other words, China achieved its rapid economic growth at the cost of depleting natural resources and environmental quality. Should comprehensive and effective actions not be (...) undertaken in the next 15 years, the pollution pressures will exceed China’s environmental carrying capacity and lead to an irreversible environmental crisis. Should this occur, environmental issues would become not only the greatest obstacle to China’s achievement of a xiao kang society and undermine China’s international image, but would also have a severe effect on the global environment. (shrink)

This study was designed to estimate the associations between self-efficacy and professional identity. A total of 1,051 freshmen nursing students from the Be Resilient to Nursing Career program were recruited from four universities between September and November 2020. A latent profile and moderated meditation analysis were performed. Four profiles of self-efficacy were identified and named as Lowest, Med-low, Med-high, and Highest. The mediating role of resilience and the moderating effect of role models were also identified. Therefore, self-efficacy, resilience, and role (...) models may be three important factors to professional identity in FNSs and these relationships should be further validated in longitudinal or interventional studies. (shrink)

The debate on whether Confucianism is a source of corruption or root of morality, which initiated about ten years ago in China and was mainly between Liu Qingping 劉清平 and Guo Qiyong 郭齊勇, entered a second stage when Deng Xiaomang 鄧曉芒 criticized Confucian ethics based on filial piety, and Guo Qiyong and (mainly) his (former) students persistently defended their points of view. This essay is a review of the main theme of the debate at this second stage.

An approach that allows us to see more clearly what Chan Buddhists mean by the inadequacy of language is based on three principles of liminology of language: (1) the radical problematization of any absolute, immobilized limit of language; (2) insight into the mutual connection and transition between two sides of language--speaking and non-speaking; and (3) linguistic twisting as the strategy of play at the limit of language. It helps us to rediscover how Chan masters perceived a dynamic, mutually involving relation (...) between two sides of the limit of language, and how they demonstrated a marvelous interplay between speech and silence, a skillful performance of various novel linguistic strategies, et cetera, in order to negotiate the limit of language. (shrink)