During immune responses against invading pathogenic bacteria, the cytoskeleton network enables macrophages to implement multiple essential functions. To protect the host from infection, macrophages initially polarize to adopt different phenotypes in response to distinct signals from the microenvironment. The extracellular stimulus regulates the rearrangement of the cytoskeleton, thereby altering the morphology and migratory properties of macrophages. Subsequently, macrophages degrade the extracellular matrix (ECM) and migrate toward the sites of infection to directly contact invading pathogens, during which the involvement of cytoskeleton‐based (...) structures such as podosomes and lamellipodia is indispensable. Ultimately, macrophages execute the function of phagocytosis to engulf and eliminate the invading pathogens. Phagocytosis is a complex process that requires the cooperation of cytoskeleton‐enriched super‐structures, such as filopodia, lamellipodia, and phagocytic cup. This review presents an overview of cytoskeletal regulations in macrophage polarization, ECM degradation, migration, and phagocytosis, highlighting the pivotal role of the cytoskeleton in host defense against infection. (shrink)

Lexical and morphological knowledge of school-aged children are correlated with each other, and are often difficult to distinguish. One reason for this might be that many tasks currently used to assess morphological knowledge require children to inflect or derive real words in the language, thus recruiting their vocabulary knowledge. The current study investigated the possible separability of lexical and morphological knowledge using two complementary approaches. First, we examined the correlations between vocabulary and four morphological tasks tapping different aspects of morphological (...) processing and awareness, and using either real-word or pseudo-word stimuli. Thus, we tested the hypothesis that different morphological tasks recruit lexical knowledge to various degrees. Second, we compared the Hebrew vocabulary and morphological knowledge of 5th grade language minority speaking children to that of their native speaking peers. This comparison allows us to ask whether reduced exposure to the societal language might differentially influence vocabulary and morphological knowledge. The results demonstrate that indeed different morphological tasks rely on lexical knowledge to varying degrees. In addition, language minority students had significantly lower performance in vocabulary and in morphological tasks that recruited vocabulary knowledge to a greater extent. In contrast, both groups performed similarly in abstract morphological tasks with a lower vocabulary load. These results demonstrate that lexical and morphological knowledge may rely on partially separable learning mechanisms, and highlight the importance of distinguishing between these two linguistic components. (shrink)

Human dignity is a crucial concept in contemporary ethical, political and legal studies. However, people have different, even opposite understandings of human dignity, which has caused lots of confusion in related discourses. The Confucian notion of human dignity provides an important perspective for reflecting various theories of human dignity. In Confucian ethics, the basis of human dignity is the moral potential that every human being naturally has. Moral potential grants everyone universal dignity, while the development of moral potential grants people (...) acquired dignity. Since all human beings have moral potential to the same extent, everyone owns universal dignity equally. Different people develop their moral potential to different extents. One’s acquired dignity is positively associated with the development of her moral potential. Universal dignity is a moral status but acquired dignity is not. To pursue acquired dignity is the moral demand of universal dignity and protects people’s universal dignity. Confucian discussions on human dignity provide not only a way to justify the equality of human moral status, but also a way to justify the moral obligation of protecting and developing human nature, thereby constituting a reliable theoretical basis for coping with ethical issues caused by biomedical technologies today. (shrink)

Death with dignity is a significant issue in modern bioethics. In modern healthcare, the wide use of new technologies at the end of life has caused heated debate on how to protect human dignity. The key point of contention lies in the different understandings of human dignity and the dignity of death. Human dignity has never been a clear concept in Western ethical explorations, and the dignity of death has given rise to more confusions. Although there is no such term (...) as “dignity” in Confucian ethics, there are discussions of a number of ideas related to human dignity and the dignity of death. Therefore, Confucian bioethics can offer a new perspective for understanding the theoretical difficulties associated with the dignity of death and new methods for solving them. In this article, we attempt to reconstruct Confucian views on human dignity and the dignity of death and, based on those views, to analyze the following issues: the relationship between the dignity of death and biological life, the relationship between the dignity of death and suffering, the relationship between the dignity of death and the autonomy of human beings, and the relationship between the dignity of death and social justice. This article will also compare the Confucian views on these issues with the views of Western philosophers. Confucian ethics can offer distinct answers to the above issues and help resolve some confusions concerning concepts and theories in Western research on the dignity of death. (shrink)

Head transplantation has ignited intense discussions about whether it should be done scientifically and ethically. This paper examines the ethics of head transplantation from a Confucian perspective and offers arguments against the permissibility of head transplantation. From a Confucian point of view, human beings are the most precious organisms in the world, and ren and li are the basic moral principles of human beings. As long as head transplant technology remains underdeveloped, this procedure should not be done because it will (...) pose a serious risk of harm to humans and thus violate the principles of Confucian ren and li. If head transplant technology matures to the point that it would be safe to try in humans, it still should not be performed because it would change the selfhood or identity of the head donor and the body donor and create a new person. Confucian personal virtues greatly depend on selfhood or personal identity, and selfhood or personal identity depend on one’s body cultivation and mind rectification. Through the hard effort of body cultivation and mind rectification, one transforms one’s selfhood or identity and personality. This selfhood, identity, and personality cannot be separated from one’s body but are embedded in one’s body. Thus, head transplant would destroy two persons’ identities and result in a new person, and the characteristics of this new person’s identity are still unknown. (shrink)

The development of biotechnologies has broadly interfered with a number of life processes, including human birth. An important moral question arises from the application of such medical technologies to birth: do biotechnological advancements violate human dignity? Many valid arguments have been raised. Yet bioethicists are still far from reaching a consensus on how best to protect the dignity of human birth. Confucianism is an influential ethical theory in China and presents a distinctive understanding of human dignity. In this paper, we (...) reconstruct the two Confucian concepts of dignity—namely, universal dignity and personal dignity. We then apply these concepts to human birth in the context of biotechnologies involving embryos and genetic enhancement. We conclude that the dual Confucian understanding of dignity contributes a valuable perspective to the question of whether biotechnologies related to human birth violate human dignity. (shrink)

A new method of multiattribute decision making is proposed based on the max-min and min-max gray association degree. The gray association coefficients between the alternative, positive ideal solution and negative ideal solution are defined. Here, we construct a bi-objective programming model that maximizes the minimum gray association degree and minimizes the maximum gray association degree simultaneously. By using the linear weighted summation method, the bi-objective programming model is transformed into a linear programming model. Thus, we can obtain the weight vector (...) of attributes by solving the linear programming model. The ranking order of alternatives is generated according to the relative closeness. A numerical example is examined to demonstrate the applicability and implementation process of the decision method proposed in this paper. (shrink)

BackgroundSubjective cognitive decline, non-amnestic mild cognitive impairment, and amnestic mild cognitive impairment are regarded to be at high risk of converting to Alzheimer’s disease. Amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations can reflect functional deterioration while diffusion tensor imaging is capable of detecting white matter integrity. Our study aimed to investigate the structural and functional alterations to further reveal convergence and divergence among SCD, naMCI, and aMCI and how these contribute to cognitive deterioration.MethodsWe analyzed ALFF under slow-4 and slow-5 bands and white matter (...) fiber integrity among normal controls, SCD, naMCI, and aMCI groups. Correlation analyses were further utilized among paired DTI alteration, ALFF deterioration, and cognitive decline.ResultsFor ALFF calculation, ascended ALFF values were detected in the lingual gyrus and superior frontal gyrus within SCD and naMCI patients, respectively. Descended ALFF values were presented mainly in the LING, SFG, middle frontal gyrus, and precuneus in aMCI patients compared to CN, SCD, and naMCI groups. For DTI analyses, white matter alterations were detected within the uncinate fasciculus in aMCI patients and within the superior longitudinal fasciculus in naMCI patients. SCD patients presented alterations in both fasciculi. Correlation analyses revealed that the majority of these structural and functional alterations were associated with complicated cognitive decline. Besides, UF alterations were correlated with ALFF deterioration in the SFG within aMCI patients.ConclusionsSCD shares structurally and functionally deteriorative characteristics with aMCI and naMCI, and tends to convert to either of them. Furthermore, abnormalities in white matter fibers may be the structural basis of abnormal brain activation in preclinical AD stages. Combined together, it suggests that structural and functional integration may characterize the preclinical AD progression. (shrink)

本书分两部分,上编主要探讨了教育哲学的概念、功能和使命,教育哲学的历史、现状及其未来展望,教育哲学的特质,中国传统教育哲学思想;下编探讨了知识经济观念对教育的影响、创新教育与教育创新的问题等。.

宋祖良(1946~ ),中国社会科学院哲学所西方哲学史研究室副主任、副研究员,博士.

本书论述中国哲学之特殊性问题、儒家系统之性格、法家所开出的政治格局之意义、佛教中圆教底意义、宋明儒学概述等。.

哲學作家朱家安、哲學研究者邱振訓、哲學系副教授許漢愛智推薦！ 英國劍橋大學著名哲學教授賽門‧布雷克本 教你這樣探索人生的20個大問題！ 他在一連串彼此相關的問題與論證中推敲、從前人的思路中借鏡 縱橫解析偉大思想家們思考的來龍去脈 主題深刻，內容精闢，是了解自己、了解世界的經典之作 「你幹嘛要想這些奇怪的問題呢？」 「它們看起來根本就沒有答案啊！」 當代知名哲學家賽門‧布雷克本教授在《這一切究竟是為什麼：20個哲學大哉問》這本書裡，幫助你迅速釐清每個主題的「哲學戰況」： 目前最重要的問題是什麼？ 有哪些當紅的立場？ 主要是誰跟誰對上？ 各自有哪些難解的任務？ 不但可以讓你少走冤枉路， 也可以誘引你跟隨、批判，並發展自己的獨到見解。 作者賽門‧布雷克本所列舉的20個題目，是無論男女老幼都會經常感到困惑的問題。就算不依靠反省能力，這些問題似乎也會自然迸生出來，而我們都想找到這些問題的解答。 《這一切究竟是為什麼》一書所羅列的20個問題沒有按一定順序編排，只有最後一個問題例外，因為那是我們所有人最終都會面臨的問題。每個問題的相關討論都是各自獨立的，所以讀者可以挑自己感興趣的主題來看。不過， 有時候不同的問題討論難免會涉及彼此，因此讀者可能會需要前後對照。 所有題目都沒有「標準」答案，但是大家都能從作者的思路、思考的角度來省思我們實際上如何思考、如何感受，以及我們應該如何思考與感受。 ※ 愛智推薦 或許你會忽然覺得「我幹嘛想這些奇怪的問題？」於是轉頭就走不再回來；或許你會覺得這些問題有點有趣，甚至找到志同道合的人一起討論。不管你是哪種人，這本書都能提供一些有趣的幫助。 ──哲學作家 朱家安 哲學思考實在不是為了什麼額外好處才要進行的活動，就像是「美」、「健康」、「正義」一樣，本身就是具有獨立內在價值的事。亞里斯多德說哲學起源於驚嘆，想來約是此意。 ──哲學研究者 邱振訓 這本書並不容易閱讀，讀者多少會感覺到布雷克本的思考或行文脈絡不容易完全掌握，有時引述討論某個哲學家或科學家或文學家的說法，有時是對流行意見的觀察，有時是他自己的看法，這些不同說法交雜在他的思考與討論中 ……哲學問題是反思性的，讀者需要夠努力去思考才能掌握或品味其中的趣味。 ──國立中正大學哲學系副教授 許漢.

本书论述了人的理解问题,包括人就是“人”;超生命的“生命”;人的“生存根基”;人的“价值”目标;解放“自我”等内容。.

本书介绍了90年代的前沿科学,探索了科学发展的状况和趋势,包括物理学、激光技术、计算机和机器人、宇宙学、超循环理论、航天技术、海洋科学、化学、生物学、医学、心理学、伦理学等,提出了这些领域的前沿问题和 解决方式。.

本书收录了作者多年来的对船山学的研究心得共三十六篇,对船山史论,人口学,教育学等进行了研究探讨.

本书内容包括:论王阳明的最后定见;罗近溪与晚明王学的发展;江右王门何黄二先学行述略;王阳明思想中的“言语”与“心”的关系等。.

本书内容包括:教育的实证研究、历史的比较的教育研究、教育行动研究、马克思主义教育文献研究、“元教育学”研究.

国家社会科学基金项目中国社会科学院哲学研究所重点项目中国社会科学院哲学研究所出版基金资助项目.