The constraint-handling methods using multiobjective techniques in evolutionary algorithms have drawn increasing attention from researchers. This paper proposes an efficient conical area differential evolution algorithm, which employs biased decomposition and dual populations for constrained optimization by borrowing the idea of cone decomposition for multiobjective optimization. In this approach, a conical subpopulation and a feasible subpopulation are designed to search for the global feasible optimum, along the Pareto front and the feasible segment, respectively, in a cooperative way. In particular, the conical (...) subpopulation aims to efficiently construct and utilize the Pareto front through a biased cone decomposition strategy and conical area indicator. Neighbors in the conical subpopulation are fully exploited to assist each other to find the global feasible optimum. Afterwards, the feasible subpopulation is ranked and updated according to a tolerance-based rule to heighten its diversity in the early stage of evolution. Experimental results on 24 benchmark test cases reveal that CADE is capable of resolving the constrained optimization problems more efficiently as well as producing solutions that are significantly competitive with other popular approaches. (shrink)
Interval time-varying delay is common in control process, e.g., automatic robot control system, and its stability analysis is of great significance to ensure the reliable control of industrial processes. In order to improve the conservation of the existing robust stability analysis method, this paper considers a class of linear systems with norm-bounded uncertainty and interval time-varying delay as the research object. Less conservative robust stability criterion is put forward based on augmented Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional method and reciprocally convex combination. Firstly, the (...) delay interval is partitioned into multiple equidistant subintervals, and a new Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional comprising quadruple-integral term is introduced for each subinterval. Secondly, a novel delay-dependent stability criterion in terms of linear matrix inequalities is given by less conservative Wirtinger-based integral inequality approach. Three numerical comparative examples are given to verify the superiority of the proposed approach in reducing the conservation of conclusion. For the first example about closed-loop control systems with interval time-varying delays, the proposed robust stability criterion could get MADB about 0.3 more than the best results in the previous literature; and, for two other uncertain systems with interval time-varying delays, the MADB results obtained by the proposed method are better than those in the previous literature by about 0.045 and 0.054, respectively. All the example results obtained in this paper clearly show that our approach is better than other existing methods. (shrink)
Identification of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) has been significantly improved over the past decade. On the other hand, semantic annotation of ncRNA data is facing critical challenges due to the lack of a comprehensive ontology to serve as common data elements and data exchange standards in the field. We developed the Non-Coding RNA Ontology (NCRO) to handle this situation. By providing a formally defined ncRNA controlled vocabulary, the NCRO aims to fill a specific and highly needed niche in semantic annotation of (...) large amounts of ncRNA biological and clinical data. (shrink)
This paper proposes the modified generalization of the HSS to solve a large and sparse continuous Sylvester equation, improving the efficiency and robustness. The analysis shows that the MGHSS converges to the unique solution of AX + XB = C unconditionally. We also propose an inexact variant of the MGHSS and prove its convergence under certain conditions. Numerical experiments verify the efficiency of the proposed methods.
Based on the affective events theory, this paper discusses the influence of job insecurity on employees’ extra-role behavior. The mediating effect of negative emotion and the moderating effect of workplace friendship are also tested. The results of an empirical analysis, based on the data of 327 employees, show that job insecurity has a significant negative impact on employees’ extra-role behavior. Negative emotion plays a mediating role in the relationship between job insecurity and extra-role behavior. Workplace friendship moderated the relationship between (...) job insecurity and negative emotions, as well as between job insecurity and extra-role behavior. Workplace friendship also moderates the mediating effect of negative emotion on the relationship between job insecurity and extra-role behavior, that is, the higher the level of the workplace friendship is, the weaker the mediation role mentioned above will be. The research results have implications for the sustainable development of the organization. (shrink)
This study is intended to create an innovative contextual English learning environment making use of the widely used communication software, LINE ChatBot, based on the Artificial Intelligence Markup Language, in order to improve speaking and listening ability among learners. A total of 73 students were invited to participate in learning activities involving a 4-week English conversation exercise including both speaking and listening. Additionally, in order to explore the influence of competition on language acquisition, we added competition characteristics to the learning (...) activities in the experimental group to enhance learning motivation and learning outcomes. The results showed that with the help of the LINE ChatBot contextual learning environment, the performance of both groups of students was slightly enhanced, but no significant differences were found. Meanwhile, extrinsic motivation in both the experimental and control group was improved if they spoke anonymously. That is, the contextual learning environment based on the LINE ChatBot significantly improved the learners’ English speaking and listening ability. In addition, the results showed that the addition of a competition element effectively enhanced the learners’ intrinsic motivation to learn English on the LINE ChatBot. (shrink)
Stroke and other neurological disorders have an effect on mobility which has a significant impact on independence and quality of life. The core rehabilitation requirements for patients with lower limb motor dysfunction are gait training, restand, and mobility. In this work, we introduce a newly developed multifunctional wheelchair that we call “ReChair” and evaluated its performance preliminarily. ReChair seamlessly integrates the mobility, gait training, and multiposture transformation. ReChair driving and multiposture transformation are done using the voice, button, and mobile terminal (...) control. This work describes the functional requirements, mechanical structure, and control system and the overall evaluation of ReChair including the kinematic simulation of the multiposture transformation and passive lower limb rehabilitation training to quantitatively verify the motion capability of ReChair, the voice control system evaluation that shows how the voice recognition system is suitable for home environment, the sensorless speed detection test results that indicate how the wheel speeds measured by sensorless method are appropriate for travelling control, and the passive and balance training test results that show how the lower limb rehabilitation training in daily life by ReChair is convenient. Finally, the experimental results show that ReChair meets the patients’ requirements and has practical significance. It is cost-effective, easy to use, and supports multiple control modes to adapt to different rehabilitation phases. (shrink)
Based on the control-value theory, this study qualitatively investigated the relationship between control-value appraisals, achievement emotions, and English-as-a-foreign-language performance, and explored other antecedents of achievement emotions in addition to control-value appraisals. Data were collected from six Chinese high school students through two semi-structured interviews and one focus group discussion. With thematic analysis, data were analyzed under the framework of the CVT using NVivo 11.0. Results indicate that high perceived control, high perceived extrinsic, and intrinsic values were interactively associated with enjoyment, (...) pride, and hope. Low perceived control, high perceived extrinsic value, and low perceived intrinsic value were interactively associated with fewer positive achievement emotions and more negative achievement emotions like fear. High perceived control, high perceived extrinsic value, and low perceived intrinsic value were interactively associated with fewer positive achievement emotions, and more negative achievement emotions like anguish. Besides, positive achievement emotions were positively associated with EFL performance, while negative achievement emotions were negatively associated with EFL performance. Moreover, factors inside the classroom, factors outside the classroom, and personal factors were found to be the antecedents of achievement emotions in EFL learning. (shrink)
This study intended to explore the current status of psychological problems of preschool teachers in Southwest China 1 year after the COVID-19 pandemic and to assess the association between mental health education and psychological problems and symptoms of psychopathology. A total of 614 preschool teachers from Southwest China were enrolled to complete the questionnaires of the Chinese Symptom Checklist. Notably, 60% of the respondents reported psychological distress with GSI T-scores ≥ 63, especially the high score was reported on obsessive-compulsive disorder, (...) interpersonal sensitivity, and phobic anxiety. Although less than half of the respondents have received mental health education last year, the teachers who received the mental health education reported lower GSI T-scores. The results demonstrated the significance of constructing the education of promoting mental health of preschool teachers, and enlightening government or managers of kindergartens to relieve the psychological problems of preschool teachers through mental health education, especially for those with the pressure of overtime. It is recommended that local governments or kindergartens should organize more mental health education for kindergarten teachers to improve their mental health as well as their teaching professionalism. (shrink)
The interruption of supply chain caused by unexpected events results in great economic losses. In this paper, we consider that the supply chain risk management consists of a manufacturer and a retailer faced with demand and supply uncertainties caused by the interruption of supply chain. We consider that the manufacturer transfers the disruption risk by purchasing BI insurance. Three models are established to illustrate the impact of insurance on supply chain decision-making under risk. It is observed that business interruption insurance (...) can increase the retailer’s order quantity and supply chain profit. The higher the interrupt probability is, the more obvious the value of the business interruption insurance is. Furthermore, the retailer helps the manufacturer to share the premium, and the manufacture shares the proceeds of insurance with the retailer, which can stimulate retailer to order more and increase the profit of manufacturer and retailer. (shrink)
This article starts with the analysis of the existing electronic commerce system, summarizes its characteristics, and analyzes and solves its existing problems. Firstly, the characteristics of the relational database My Structured Query Language and the distributed database HBase are analyzed, their respective advantages and disadvantages are summarized, and the advantages and disadvantages of each are taken into account when storing data. My SQL is used to store structured business data in the system, while HBase is used to store unstructured data (...) such as pictures. These two storage mechanisms together constitute a data storage subsystem. Secondly, considering the large amount of data in the e-commerce system and the complex calculation of the data mining algorithm, this paper uses MapReduce to realize the parallelization of the data mining algorithm and builds a Hadoop-based commodity recommendation subsystem on this basis. We use JavaEE technology to design a full-featured web mall system. Finally, based on the impact of cloud computing, mobile e-commerce is analyzed, including relevant theories, service mode, architecture, core technology, and the application in e-commerce, which can realize e-commerce precision marketing, find the optimal path of logistics, and take effective security measures to avoid transaction risks. This method can avoid the disadvantages of the traditional e-commerce, where large-scale data cannot be processed in a timely manner, realize the value of mining data behind, and realize the precision marketing of e-commerce enterprises. (shrink)
Abstract:In this forum, Marilyn Strathern and Jade S. Sasser review Adele Clarke and Donna Haraway's edited volume Making Kin, Not Population: Reconceiving Generations (Prickly Paradigm Press, 2018). Responses from multiple authors featured in the book follow.
Complex, multigenic biological traits are shaped by the emergent interaction of proteins being the main functional units at the molecular scale. Based on a phenomenological approach, algorithms for quantifying two different aspects of emergence were introduced describing: pairwise reciprocal interactions of proteins mutually modifying their contribution to a complex trait, and formation of a new, complex trait by a set of n ‘constitutive’ proteins at concentrations exceeding individual threshold values. The latter algorithm is modified here to take account of protein (...) redundancy with respect to a complex trait. Irreducibility is considered a necessary and sufficient criterion for strong biological emergence; if one constitutive protein is missing, or its concentration drops below the threshold the trait is lost. A definition based on ‘unpredictability’ is dismissed, because this criterion is irrelevant for the evolution of a complex trait, and apparent unpredictability may rather reflect our basic deficits in understanding unless we can provide an unequivocal proof for it. The phenomenological approach advocated here allows to identify hidden rules according to which strongly emergent traits may be organized. This is of high value for understanding the evolution of complex traits which seems to require the saltational advent of all constitutive proteins ‘in one turn’ to arrive at a functional trait providing for an improved fitness of the organism. Rather than being a purely random process, it may be guided by fundamental structural principles. (shrink)
Fingerprint recognition is the most widely used identification method at present. However, it still falls short in terms of cross-platform and algorithmic complexity, which exerts a certain effect on the migration of fingerprint data and the development of the system. The conventional image recognition methods require offline standard databases constructed in advance for image access efficiency. The database can provide a pre-processed image via a specific method that probably is compatible merely with the specific recognition algorithm. Then, the specific recognition (...) algorithm starts the process of retrieving these specific pre-proessing images for recognition and inevitably will be blocked from other datasets. The proposed method in this research designed an embedded image processing algorithm based on a Siamese neural network in the recognition method that allows the proposed method to recognize images from any source without constructing a database for image storage in advance. In this research, the proposed method was applied to fingerprint recognition and evaluation of the proposed method was evaluated. The results showed that the accuracy of the proposed algorithm was up to 92%, and its F1 score was up to 0.87. Compared with the conventional fingerprint matching methods, its significant advantage in the FRR, FAR, and CR jointly indicated the remarkable correct recognition rate of the proposed method. (shrink)
Policies to promote the usage of energy-saving vehicles, such as electric vehicles and hybrids, were introduced and implemented in many countries due to increasing awareness of the potential benefits of such vehicles on environmental and energy conservation. However, despite consumers’ claims of their concerns and positive attitudes toward environmental issues, those claims have not been translated into energy-saving vehicles’ purchasing behavior. Prior studies neglected the interrelationship between consumer ethnocentrism, perceived value, and consumer knowledge in influencing consumer behavior, including pro-environmental behavior. (...) This study examines the relationship between CE, PV, CK, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude and intention to purchase domestic energy-saving vehicles. A total of 396 completed questionnaires were collected through convenience sampling in Xuzhou, China. The survey data were subjected to descriptive analysis and analysis of variance using SPSS. In addition, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were utilized for the hypotheses testing. The results revealed that CE positively influenced PV and CK; PV and CK positively influenced PU and PEU. CK positively influenced PV, while PU and PEU positively influenced attitude and intention, and PEU was shown to influence PU. Furthermore, attitude was shown to significantly influence intention to purchase domestic energy-saving vehicles. Lastly, the theoretical and practical implications of the outcomes were discussed, including the limitations of the research. (shrink)
This article introduces the concept of corporate social responsibility in the seemingly oxymoronic context of Chinese “authoritarian capitalism.” Following an introduction to the emergence of authoritarian capitalism, the article considers the emergence of CSR in China using Matten and Moon’s framework of explaining CSR development in terms both of a business system’s historic institutions and of the impacts of new institutionalism on corporations arising from societal pressures in their global and national environments. We find two forms of CSR in China, (...) reflecting the “multiplexity” of its business system: one in the mainly family-owned small and medium-sized enterprise sector reflecting concern with local reputation, and another in the corporate, mainly state-owned enterprise sector, reflecting global and national societal expectations. We investigate the dynamics of CSR in China through the interplay of the global and national societal pressures and mediating and even leading roles played by the State and the Party. We consider the conceptual integrity and practical prospects for “state-led society-driven” CSR and future research opportunities, including those opened up by the three contributing articles to this special issue. (shrink)
AimResting state functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to analyze changes in functional connectivity within various brain networks and functional network connectivity among various brain regions in patients with high myopia.Methodsrs-fMRI was used to scan 82 patients with HM and 59 healthy control volunteers matched for age, sex, and education level. Fourteen resting state networks were extracted, of which 11 were positive. Then, the FCs and FNCs of RSNs in HM patients were examined by independent component analysis.ResultsCompared with the HC (...) group, FC in visual network 1, dorsal attention network, auditory network 2, visual network 3, and sensorimotor network significantly increased in the HM group. FC in default mode network 1 significantly decreased. Furthermore, some brain regions in default mode network 2, default mode network 3, auditory network 1, executive control network, and significance network increased while others decreased. FNC analysis also showed that the network connection between the default mode network and cerebellar network was enhanced in the HM group.ConclusionCompared with HCs, HM patients showed neural activity dysfunction within and between specific brain networks, particularly in the DMN and CER. Thus, HM patients may have deficits in visual, cognitive, and motor balance functions. (shrink)
