In the process of rapid urbanization, urban heat island effect has been showing more and more significant impacts on human well-being. Therefore, a more detailed understanding of the impact of three-dimensional building morphology on UHI effect across a continuum of spatial scales will be necessary to guide and improve the human settlement.This study selected 31 provincial capital cities of mainland China to analyze the impacts of the 3D building morphology, including the number, area, height, volume, and the surface area of (...) the buildings, on the land surface temperature. By exploring how the influence of 3D building morphology on LST changes with the increase of spatial scale, this study finally recognized which 3D building morphology index is the most significant index affecting LST in different cities, and which spatial scale these 3D building morphology indexes have the most significant impact on LST. The results showed that the building area is the most important 3D building morphology parameter affecting the LST, while the building height has the slightest influence on the LST. These effects are more significant in the spatial scale of 150 m–540 m, and the spatial scale increases with the increase of building areas in developed cities. These results highlight the necessity of considering fine-grained management in the governance and alleviating of the urban thermal environment through urban planning and urban renewal strategies. (shrink)

Microscopy has revealed tremendous diversity of bacterial and eukaryotic forms. Recent molecular analyses show discordance in estimates of biodiversity between morphological and molecular analyses. Moreover, phylogenetic analyses of the diversity of microbial forms reveal evidence of convergence at scales as deep as interdomain: morphologies shared between bacteria and eukaryotes. Here, we highlight examples of such discordance, focusing on exemplary lineages such as testate amoebae, ciliates, and cyanobacteria. These have long histories of morphological study, enabling deeper analyses on both (...) the molecular and morphological sides. We discuss examples in two main categories: (i) morphologically identical (or highly similar) individuals that are genetically distinct and (ii) morphologically distinct individuals that are genetically the same. We argue that hypotheses about discordance can be tested using the concept of neutral morphologies, or more broadly neutral phenotypes, as a null hypothesis. -/- . (shrink)

“Morphological computation” is an increasingly important concept in robotics, artificial intelligence, and philosophy of the mind. It is used to understand how the body contributes to cognition and control of behavior. Its understanding in terms of "offloading" computation from the brain to the body has been criticized as misleading, and it has been suggested that the use of the concept conflates three classes of distinct processes. In fact, these criticisms implicitly hang on accepting a semantic definition of what constitutes (...) computation. Here, I argue that an alternative, mechanistic view on computation offers a significantly different understanding of what morphological computation is. These theoretical considerations are then used to analyze the existing research program in developmental biology, which understands morphogenesis, the process of development of shape in biological systems, as a computational process. This important line of research shows that cognition and intelligence can be found across all scales of life, as the proponents of the basal cognition research program propose. Hence, clarifying the connection between morphological computation and morphogenesis allows for strengthening the role of the former concept in this emerging research field. (shrink)

Konrad Lorenz, an ethologist, proposed that certain physical elements are perceived as cute and induce caretaking behavior in other individuals, with the evolutionary function of enhancing offspring survival. He called these features Kindchenschema, baby schema. According to his introspection, these include a large forehead, chubby round features, and chubby cheeks. Previous studies are limited to examining the effects of these facial features on perceived cuteness. However, other morphological factors may be related to perceived cuteness. This study uses Bayesian optimization, (...) one of the global sequential optimization methods for estimating unknown functions, to search for facial morphological features that enhance the perceptions of facial cuteness. We applied Bayesian optimization incorporating Gaussian process ordinal regression, which allows an estimation of the latent cuteness function based on evaluations using the Likert scale. A total of 96 preschool children provided the facial images used in this study. We summarized the facial shape variations using methodologies of geometric morphometrics and principal component analysis up to the third principal component, which we refer to as the face space. A total of 40 participants evaluated the images created by warping the average facial texture of the children's faces with randomly generated parameters in the face space. Facial traits related to perceived cuteness were estimated based on the averaged cuteness function. Perceived cuteness was linked to the relative lower position of facial components and narrower jawline but not to the forehead height. (shrink)

The extreme sexual size dimorphism in spiders has motivated studies for many years. In many species the male can be very small relative to the female. There are several hypotheses trying to explain this fact, most of them emphasizing the role of energy in determining spider size. The aim of this paper is to review the role of energy in sexual size dimorphism of spiders, even for those spiders that do not necessarily live in high foliage, using physical and allometric (...) principles. Here we propose that the cost of transport or equivalently energy expenditure and the speed are traits under selection pressure in male spiders, favoring those of smaller size to reduce travel costs. The morphology of the spiders responds to these selective forces depending upon the lifestyle of the spiders. Climbing and bridging spiders must overcome the force of gravity. If bridging allows faster dispersal, small males would have a selective advantage by enjoying more mating opportunities. In wandering spiders with low population density and as a consequence few male–male interactions, high speed and low energy expenditure or cost of transport should be favored by natural selection. Pendulum mechanics show the advantages of long legs in spiders and their relationship with high speed, even in climbing and bridging spiders. Thus small size, compensated by long legs should be the expected morphology for a fast and mobile male spider. (shrink)

RESUMOA climatologia está no centro de um dos debates mais polarizados da atualidade, apresentado como confronto entre os defensores da existência de um aquecimento global antropogênico e aqueles que rejeitam sua existência. A instituição chave para esse tema é o Painel Intergovernamental sobre Mudanças Climáticas, um corpo simultaneamente científico e político. O debate surge aí mesclado com a discussão política sobre as respostas adequadas ao aquecimento global. Mas, rechaçados nesse terreno, os negacionistas transpõem o debate para a mídia, onde mobilizam (...) a pseudociência para deslegitimar as conclusões das disciplinas científicas ligadas ao entendimento do clima. Temos, assim, uma produção consciente da ignorância em larga escala sobre o tema do aquecimento global, demandando o uso da agnotologia para desvendar o mecanismo de produção da ignorância. A climatologia revela-se, então, um campo exemplar para o estudo da inserção histórico-social do conhecimento científico e das tensões e trajetórias conflitivas no seu interior, dos dilemas éticos que coloca e das possibilidades universalistas do conhecimento científico na era da tecnociência. ABSTRACTClimatology is at the center of one of the most polarized debates of today. It is presented as a confrontation between supporters of the existence of anthropogenic global warming and those who deny its existence. The key institution for this theme is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which is both a scientific and political body. In this context, the debate arises merged with the political discussion on appropriate responses to global warming. However, contested on this ground, the deniers transfer the debate to the media, mobilizing pseudo-science to delegitimize the conclusions of the scientific disciplines related to climate understanding. Therefore, we have a deliberate production of large-scale ignorance on this subject, which requires the use of agnotology to unravel it. Thus, climatology reveals itself an exemplary space to study the historical and social roots of scientific knowledge and the tensions and conflicting trajectories inside it, the ethical dilemmas posed and the universalist possibilities of scientific knowledge in the age of technoscience. (shrink)

A 365 million year‐old trilobite moult‐carcass assemblage was described by Błażejowski et al. (2015) as the oldest direct evidence of moulting in the arthropod fossil record. Unfortunately, their suppositions are insufficiently supported by the data provided. Instead, the morphology, configuration and preservational context of the highly fossiliferous locality (Kowala Quarry, Poland) suggest that the specimen consists of two overlapping, queued carcasses. The wider fossil record of moulting actually extends back 520 million years, providing an unparalleled opportunity to study behaviour, ecology (...) and development in early animals. Taking cues from modern analogues, it is possible to quantify precise details about moulting behaviour to determine broad‐scale evolutionary trends, ontogenetic sequences and morphological selection pressures. In this review, we argue that this rich source of data has been underused in evolutionary studies, though has great potential for investigating the life history and evolution of arthropods in deep time. (shrink)

Nonlinear time series denoising is the prerequisite for extracting effective information from observation sequence. An effective chaotic signal denoising method not only has a good signal-to-noise ratio enhancement performance, but also can remain as a good unpredictable denoised signal. However, the inherent characteristics of chaos, such as extreme sensitivity to initial values and broadband spectrum, pose challenges for noise reduction of polluted chaotic signals. To address these issues, an adaptive smoothing multiscale morphological filtering is proposed to reconstruct chaotic signals. (...) In the process of noise reduction for contaminated chaotic signals, firstly, a multiscale morphological filter is constructed adaptively according to the multiscale permutation entropy of morphological filter residuals, and the contaminated signals are filtered. Secondly, the weight coefficients of scale structural element are calculated by the residual sum of squares operation, and the chaotic signals are reconstructed. Finally, the resampled filter signals are smoothed by cubic B-spline interpolation operation. In the experiment, the Lorenz signal with white Gaussian noise, the measured sunspot, and the chaotic vibration signal are reconstructed by four comparison methods. The test results show that the proposed ASMMF method has obvious advantages in noise suppression and topological trajectory restoration. (shrink)

This paper presents an in-depth analysis and research on the spatial distribution pattern of the urban landscape in the Central Plains digital landscape form and proposes an optimization scheme. Based on the basic theories of systematics and complexity, this paper analyzes the self-similar characteristics of urban morphology, establishes the concept of schema, and constructs a multiscale and multilevel morphological map research framework by drawing on the “planar pattern” morphological analysis method of the school and the “matrix, patch, and (...) corridor” spatial expression model of landscape ecology. The framework of morphological map research at multiple scales has been established, and the theory and method of describing, understanding, judging, and analyzing morphological evolution have been formed. Cities have self-similarity at different scales, and urban evolution is a process of recursion from small-scale hierarchy to large-scale hierarchy, and hierarchy is a phenomenon presented by the natural evolution of cities. After any morphological process is completed, it can only be transformed into the other two ways, so the static morphological description can be transformed into dynamic morphological process analysis. (shrink)

Embryogenesis involves biochemical patterning as well as mechanical morphogenetic movements, both regulated by the expression of the regulatory genes of development. The reciprocal interplay of morphogenetic movements with developmental gene expression is becoming an increasingly intense subject of investigation. The molecular processes through which differentiation patterning closely regulates the development of morphogenetic movements are today becoming well understood. Conversely, experimental evidence recently revealed the involvement of mechanical cues due to morphogenetic movements in activating mechano-transduction pathways that control both the differentiation (...) and the active morphogenesis of fundamental events in embryonic tissue development. Here I will first focus on the central role the shape of biological structures of the molecular and mesoscopic cell scales plays in mechano-transduction. Then, after a short description of the genetic regulation of the Drosophila embryo mesoderm invagination at gastrulation—one of the best-understood morphogenetic movement of embryogenesis—I will detail the processes of differentiation and of active morphogenesis of Drosophila embryo gastrulation, which require mechano-transduction. Finally, I will explore the putative consequences in evolution of these mechano-transduction events. I speculate that the first ancient multicellular organisms might have emerged from primary morphological and differentiation patterns induced by primitive mechano-sensation effects allowed by mechano-transduction in response to their physical environment, such as touch by gravity or water flows, which might have acted as primitive motor–sensorial systems, thus conditioning the emergence of our primary animal ancestors. (shrink)

RESUMO O projeto BiRCh (The Corpus of Bilingual Russian Child Speech, Corpus de fala de crianças bilíngues em russo) envolve a construção de um corpus longitudinal composto de gravações de fala em russo produzida por crianças e suas famílias na Rússia, Ucrânia, Alemanha, EUA e Canadá. Estamos construindo um corpus de larga escala com base no conjunto dessas gravações, o ‘Parsed and Audio-aligned Corpus of Bilingual Russian Child and Child-directed Speech (BiRCh)’, com os dois componentes básicos: (1) as transcrições de (...) um milhão de palavras alinhadas com os arquivos de áudio, em que pode ser realizada a busca textual, e (2) as transcrições de 500 mil palavras anotadas morfologicamente e analisadas sintaticamente, também alinhadas com os arquivos de áudio. Estamos utilizando o corpus para investigar os diversos fenômenos no input linguístico e na trajetória do desenvolvimento de falantes de herança, tais como o uso de caso, gênero, construções passivas e impessoais, marcadores de polidez, disfluências e marcadores discursivos. Este artigo enfoca os desafios e soluções no processo da construção do BiRCh e as implicações para a pesquisa com base nos dados detalhadamente anotados fornecidos pelo corpus. (shrink)

Our families are our first and most important ethical training grounds. But what is the family? And what are our ethical commitments to our family members and to the broader moral community? After a brief introductory chapter on basic ethical concepts and theories, the essays in this volume provide readers with ethical analyses of issues ranging from same-sex marriage to a controversial proposal to "license" parents. The chapters cover love, sex, marriage, parents and children, the relationship between the family and (...) the larger moral community, and the influence of emerging technologies on the ethical issues inherent in family life. The volume is intended to open up this exciting territory in applied ethics to those interested in philosophy, family studies, social work, and to anyone who wants a deeper understanding of the ethical forces at work in this most basic social institution. (shrink)

Irecently admitted a 93-year-old Spanish-speaking woman with bilateral flank pain. A thorough history revealed her pain was due to constipation and intense straining with each bowel movement, but a language barrier, a mild troponin elevation, and "new atrial fibrillation" on her EKG triggered the Emergency Department physician to admit her for observation. When I went to see her, she mentioned her pain was worse since she was told we would need to monitor her heart overnight. She asked, "Is everything ok (...) with my heart?"To assess that question, I prepared to perform a bedside ultrasound, also known as point-of-care ultrasound. We moved from a hallway in the ED to a room for more privacy, and the patient... (shrink)

Critical discussion of Quine's concepts of purely referential occurrence/position. It is argued from the perspective of a Russellian view of truth that existential generalization and substitutivity of identity are non-equivalent tests for referential occurrence/position, and that the former rather than the latter is the appropriate test.

Critical discussion of Quine's concepts of purely referential occurrence/position. It is argued from the perspective of a Russellian view of truth that existential generalization and substitutivity of identity are non-equivalent tests for referential occurrence/position, and that the former rather than the latter is the appropriate test.

Human–Human and Human–Robot Interaction are known to be influenced by a variety of modalities and parameters. Nevertheless, it remains a challenge to anticipate how a given mobile robot’s navigation and appearance will impact how it is perceived by humans. Drawing a parallel with vocal prosody, we introduce the notion of movement prosody, which encompasses spatio-temporal and appearance dimensions which are involved in a person’s perceptual experience of interacting with a mobile robot. We design a novel robot motion corpus, encompassing variables (...) related to the kinematics, gaze, and appearance of the robot, which we hypothesize are involved in movement prosody. Initial results of three perception experiments suggest that these variables have significant influences on participants’ perceptions of robot socio-affects and physical attributes. (shrink)

The scaling of body parts is central to the evolution of morphology and shape. Most traits scale proportionally with each other and body size such that larger adults are essentially magnified versions of smaller ones. This pattern is so ubiquitous that departures from it – disproportionate scaling between trait and body size – pique interest because it can generate dramatically exaggerated traits. These extreme morphologies are frequently hypothesized to result from sexual selection and their study has a long (...) history, with several hypotheses seeking to explain their evolution. Despite this effort, surprisingly little progress has been made in demonstrating the forms of selection that produce different scaling patterns or in identifying the mechanisms that underlie the expression and evolution of scaling relationships. Here we review recent insights regarding the proximate mechanisms that regulate and integrate trait growth and that offer a new framework for studying the evolution of morphological scaling. (shrink)

We implemented a user-centered approach to the design of an artificial intelligence (AI) system that provides users with access to information about the workings of the United States federal court system regardless of their technical background. Presently, most of the records associated with the federal judiciary are provided through a federal system that does not support exploration aimed at discovering systematic patterns about court activities. In addition, many users lack the data analytical skills necessary to conduct their own analyses and (...) convert data into information. We conducted interviews, observations, and surveys to uncover the needs of our users and discuss the development of an intuitive platform informed from these needs that makes it possible for legal scholars, lawyers, and journalists to discover answers to more advanced questions about the federal court system. We report on results from usability testing and discuss design implications for AI and law practitioners and researchers. (shrink)

Written in an engaging narrative style these philosophical investigations undermine racist hierarchies along with false natualistic conceptions of the meanings of race and universalistic understandings of gender, by considering whiteness as it shapes and is infused by gender, class, sexuality, and culture. Central to this project are questions about how it is that culture and the state create such a wide range of different people who understand themselves as white. The essays collected here discuss how one learns to be a (...) good white Southern woman, what it means to pass as white, and whether there really is a dilemma that accompanies white privilege. (shrink)

Intensive care physicians often must rely on substitute decision makers to address all dimensions of the construct of.

During the Eighteenth Century – from Bonnet to Robinet, from Maupertuis to Diderot, and up to Buffon – several new topics of discussion were developed concerning materialism, the critique to finalism, the idea of nature as continuous metamorphosis , the advocacy of providentialism, or, to the contrary, of the role of chaos. As a result, scales, prototypes and types have been employed as interpretative hypotheses influencing the main choices and lines of research. In this regard, however, Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire's work (...) deeply modified the morphological metaphors. The teratologist's eye combined to the mineralogist's perspective established the priority of the material visibility of the living, based on the analysis of its structure rather than of its physiology. The single framework of organistion , on which base every being is formed is thus taken as the condition as well as the limit within which every possible variation in shape is fully justified. (shrink)