The objectivity is a basic requirement for the measurements in the classical world, namely, different observers must reach a consensus on their measurement results, so that they believe that the object exists “objectively” since whoever measures it obtains the same result. We find that this simple requirement of objectivity indeed imposes an important constraint upon quantum measurements, i.e., if two or more observers could reach a consensus on their quantum measurement results, their measurement basis must be orthogonal vector sets. This (...) naturally explains why quantum measurements are based on orthogonal vector basis, which is proposed as one of the axioms in textbooks of quantum mechanics. The role of the macroscopicality of the observers in an objective measurement is discussed, which supports the belief that macroscopicality is a characteristic of classicality. (shrink)

Gradual degradation seems inevitable for non‐recombining sex chromosomes. This has been supported by the observation of degenerated non‐recombining sex chromosomes in a variety of species. The human Y chromosome has also degenerated significantly during its evolution, and theories have been advanced that the Y chromosome could disappear within the next ∼5 million years, if the degeneration rate it has experienced continues. However, recent studies suggest that this is unlikely. Conservative evolutionary forces such as strong purifying selection and intrachromosomal repair through (...) gene conversion balance the degeneration tendency of the Y chromosome and maintain its integrity after an initial period of faster degeneration. We discuss the evidence both for and against the extinction of the Y chromosome. We also discuss potential insights gained on the evolution of sex‐determining chromosomes by studying simpler sex‐determining chromosomal regions of unicellular and multicellular microorganisms. (shrink)

Legal Judgment Prediction (LJP) is an essential component of legal assistant systems, which aims to automatically predict judgment results from a given criminal fact description. As a vital subtask of LJP, researchers have paid little attention to the numerical LJP, i.e., the prediction of imprisonment and penalty. Existing methods ignore numerical information in the criminal facts, making their performances far from satisfactory. For instance, the amount of theft varies, as do the prison terms and penalties. The major challenge is how (...) the model can obtain the ability of numerical comparison and magnitude perception, e.g., 400 < 500 < 800, 500 is closer to 400 than to 800. To this end, we propose a judicial knowledge-enhanced magnitude-aware reasoning architecture, called NumLJP, for the numerical LJP task. Specifically, we first implement a contrastive learning-based judicial knowledge selector to distinguish confusing criminal cases efficiently. Unlike previous approaches that employ the law article as external knowledge, judicial knowledge is a quantitative guideline in real scenarios. It contains many numerals (called anchors) that can construct a reference frame. Then we design a masked numeral prediction task to help the model remember these anchors to acquire legal numerical commonsense from the selected judicial knowledge. We construct a scale-based numerical graph using the anchors and numerals in facts to perform magnitude-aware numerical reasoning. Finally, the representations of fact description, judicial knowledge, and numerals are fused to make decisions. We conduct extensive experiments on three real-world datasets and select several competitive baselines. The results demonstrate that the macro-F1 of NumLJP improves by at least 9.53% and 11.57% on the prediction of penalty and imprisonment, respectively. (shrink)

The present research attempts to understand the importance of altruistic and egoistic values in determining consumers’ motives and intention to purchase organic foods. Using the face-to-face survey approach, a total of 1,067 responses were collected from consumers in China. Data analysis was performed using a two-step structural equation modeling approach, i.e., measurement and structural models. The findings indicated that both values influence the intention to purchase organic foods through the mediation of motives. Specifically, the altruistic value influences the environmental concern, (...) and the egoistic value influences the health concern. Moreover, the perceived uncertainty negatively moderates a relationship between consumer HC and organic purchase intention while positively moderating a relationship between consumer EC and organic purchase intention. Several implications and suggestions are also discussed. (shrink)

In view of the fact that vigorously promoting recycling has become a viable means to promote sustainable development, it is important to better understand the impact of recycling efforts on subsequent resource saving behavior. This research empirically examines the effects of recycling efforts on subsequent resource saving by analyzing the survey data of 356 college students in China. The recycling efforts, environmental self-identity and feeling of pride were measured using existing scales while saving behaviors and recycling cost were measured by (...) developing new scales. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was performed to test the structural relationships among recycling efforts, environmental self-identity, feeling of pride, and saving behaviors. Further, the moderation role of recycling cost was tested. The results showed that saving behaviors could be classified into two types based on their costliness; recycling efforts have a positive effect on costless saving behaviors, while having a negative effect on costly saving behaviors; both the positive and negative effect of recycling efforts on resource saving is mediated by pride feeling and environmental self-identity; and recycling cost negatively moderates the effects of recycling efforts on pride feeling. We discuss the theoretical and managerial implications of the findings. (shrink)

In Search of a New Institutional Structure for Chinese Civilization.

Faithful DNA replication and accurate chromosome segregation are the key machineries of genetic transmission. Disruption of these processes represents a hallmark of cancer and often results from loss of tumor suppressors. PTEN is an important tumor suppressor that is frequently mutated or deleted in human cancer. Loss of PTEN has been associated with aneuploidy and poor prognosis in cancer patients. In mice, Pten deletion or mutation drives genomic instability and tumor development. PTEN deficiency induces DNA replication stress, confers stress tolerance, (...) and disrupts mitotic spindle architecture, leading to accumulation of structural and numerical chromosome instability. Therefore, PTEN guards the genome by controlling multiple processes of chromosome inheritance. Here, we summarize current understanding of the PTEN function in promoting high-fidelity transmission of genetic information. We also discuss the PTEN pathways of genome maintenance and highlight potential targets for cancer treatment. PTEN is a guardian of the genome. However, the role of PTEN in guarding the genome has not been revealed until recently. PTEN controls multiple fundamental processes of genomic transmission. By physically interacting with key molecules in DNA replication, DNA repair/decatenation, and chromosome segregation during the cell cycle, PTEN maintains genomicintegrity and fitness. (shrink)

Part 1. Human capability in light of God's power -- Divine power and the creation -- God's will and human destiny -- Part 2. Human capability to understand God -- Human knowledge -- Human knowledge of God -- Part 3. Human capability in relation to doctrinal ordination -- Criteria of Christian authorities -- Philosophical freedom and doctrinal minimalism : two test cases -- Conclusion.

The thesis of this book is to develop a theory of value covering all kinds of values, based on my unified utilitarian theory. It is unique and is different from all traditional and existing theories of value. Like the views of most psychologists and decision-scientists, value is asserted to be subjective in nature because value exists only for a subject. Value and value judgment are considered statistical in nature in three dimensions, namely in the dimensions of subject, object, and judge. (...) This theory covers a modified von Neumann-Morgenstern utility theory as an integral part. The three conceptions of utility held by philosophers, economicsts, and decision-scientists are unified. The traditional and conventional classification of value into intrinsic and instrumental, which may lead to confusion, misunderstanding, and circularity, is not used. Instead, a classification based on the classification of good things in life according to the principle of exchangeability and replaceability is emphasized and used. A decision-theoretic approach is taken for the study of actions in life. All the actions in a person's life are for the pursuit of values, and all the values pursued are related, directly or indirectly, closely or remotely, to a life plan. Thus, this utilitarian general theory of value eventually leads to a philosophy of life, which is also consequential, teleological, and utilitarian. (shrink)

“Embodiment of God” is understood by me as “the appearance of God,” and in terms of “divinity,” “holy,” and “Being.” Heidegger states in “Letter on Humanism”: “Only from the truth of Being can the essence of the holy be thought. Only from the essence of the holy is the essence of the divinity to be thought. Only in the light of the essence of divinity can it be thought or said what the word ‘God’ is to signify.”1 This statement basically (...) shows how the latter stage, namely “God” appears or is embodied in the world. It also manifests how Heidegger understands onto-theology. “Letter on Humanism” was written in 1946. Is such a relation between ontology and theology to be found in Heidegger’s early works? What of Heidegger’s position after 1946? How can we understand Heidegger’s position on God according to his works in general with regard to my formulation of it as the “embodiment of God”? (shrink)

This paper begins with a discussion of the thesis that politics is a kind of téchne, as Aristotle states. He defines téchne as being the opposite of túche. Hence, politics is neither an exact science nor an accidental opinion; it is, rather, a teachable art or skill. Based on this theme, the paper investigates how Hannah Arendt interprets political freedom in the public sphere as the will of the plural citizens, facing an uncertain future, attempting to still the disquiet of (...) the collective ego. A comparison between Arendt and Heidegger could be made if we further investigate Heidegger’s understanding of political freedom in the public sphere based on his comprehension of the will of Da-sein and the enowning of Being. (shrink)

The Wang-Chang-Chiang-Yao counterrevolutionary "Gang of Four" carried out revisionism, sowed seeds of discord and resorted to intrigues and plots in an attempt to usurp the Party, seize power, and restore capitalism. Ambition is the source of hypocrisy and falsehood and, of course, of the hypocrisy and falsehood of metaphysics and idealism. The more audacious the "Gang of Four's" ambition to usurp the Party and seize power became, the more barefaced its manifestation of metaphysics and idealism was. Metaphysics and idealism were (...) the faulty ideological weapons they used in the attempt to usurp the Party and seize power. We must follow Chairman Mao's teachings to liquidate the "Gang of Four's" counterrevolutionary revisionist political and ideological line and its crime of impudently trampling on Marxist-Leninist philosophy and Chairman Mao's glorious philosophical thought and protect the purity of Marxism. (shrink)

This work attempts to respond to Tomas Aquinas' Cosmological Argument in a way that combines Set Theory with the idea of the ‘Book of Change’. The study defines the ith Cause Set on which to operate on, which leads to the ontological commitment of austerity that the ‘First Cause's Compromise with emergence’ cannot be avoided. It is argued in the present paper that the concept that ‘emergence only consists of Synchronic Emergence and Diachronic Emergence’ should be extended to a broader (...) notion of emergence, which is made up of the two discussed elements and a third one ‘No-Boundary Emergence’ (beyond the time dimension). The article defines the concept of No-Boundary Emergence, proves why it is a type of emergence that differs from the traditional two types, and asserts that it underlies the bottom layer of the cosmos. This study describes the common feature of all emergence as communication protocols between layers. The assemblage of all emergences behaves similar to a distributed system that cannot be restricted by Gödel's theorem. The paper provides evidence (in Big Bang Cosmology, Conformal Cyclic Cosmology, Superstring Theory, Quantum Gravity) for this point of view, and notes that emergence (in the context of No-Boundary Emergence) is not only a simple scientific theory but also a progressive scientific research programme that can spontaneously grow from scientific theory based on Platonism at the expense of a degenerating shift to the ontological commitment of austerity. This paper proposes an improved model of Schrödinger Cat that provides a new explanation for quantum measurement and argues that there must be a forbidden zone of thought experiments. The study also introduces the implications of ancient Chinese thoughts (namely, the ‘Book of Change’ and Confucius). The paper comes to the conclusion that emergence (crossing the gap between ‘being’ and ‘nothing’, while ignoring the forbidden zone of thought experiments) relieves ‘cosmological insufficiency’ in the sense of Neo-Aristotelism. (shrink)