The notion of conditional entropy is extended to noncomposite systems. The \-deformed entropic inequalities, which usually are associated with correlations of the subsystem degrees of freedom in bipartite systems, are found for the noncomposite systems. New entropic inequalities for quantum tomograms of qudit states including the single qudit states are obtained. The Araki–Lieb inequality is found for systems without subsystems.

Augustine established a moral framework that dominated Western culture for more than a thousand years. His partly flawed presentation of some of its key concepts, however, prompted subsequent thinkers to attempt to repair this framework, and their efforts often aggravated the very problems they intended to solve. Over time, dissatisfaction with an imperfect Augustinian theology gave way to increasingly secular and eventually impersonal moral systems. This volume traces the distortion of Augustine's thought from the twelfth century to the present (...) and examines its consequent reconstructions. John M. Rist argues that modern philosophies should be recognized as offering no compelling answers to questions about the human condition and as leading inevitably to conventionalism or nihilism. In order to avoid this end, he proposes a return to an updated Augustinian Christianity. Essential reading for anyone interested in Augustine and his influence, Augustine Deformed revitalizes his original conception of love, will and freedom. (shrink)

Topology is integral to a shift in socio-cultural theory from a linguistic to a mathematical paradigm. This has enabled in Badiou and Žižek a critique of the symbolic register, understood in terms of pure conceptual abstraction. Drawing on topology, this article understands it instead in terms of the figure. The break with the symbolic and language necessitates a break with form, but topologically still preserves a logic of the figure. This becomes a process of figuration, indeed a process of `deformation'. (...) Badiou/Žižek will then presume a break with the symbolic for `the real'. But topology entails the centrality of not the real but the imaginary. With Castoriadis, this imaginary is understood as productive and social, and with Sloterdijk as spatial. In our times this is a self-organizing socio-technical imaginary. For Niklas Luhmann these socio-technical systems engage in coupling. They structurally couple with other social imaginaries. Their self-organization, going beyond pure functionality, operates through semantic excess: an excess that organizes the system and is their structure. Such structural coupling entails semantic exchange, consisting of not just information but also of images. (shrink)

The range of research on value issues is quite wide today. The transition from understanding values as a philosophical category to a psychological interpretation of the nature of values has led to the emergence of many trends and psychological concepts of value problems. In this study, we will reveal the main modern views of researchers on the essence of the value-semantic matrix of both an individual and the entire world community. The modern socio-economic situation in the world is characterized by (...) an almost permanent crisis state both in the social, and in the spiritual, cultural sphere, which is due to the existence of the consequences of the epidemic situation in the world. Based on this, the problem of teaching the dynamics of the value-semantic matrix, its development and changes under the influence of personality crises of various origins, both external ones caused by the social situation in the country, the impact of new information technologies, and internal ones, caused by growing up, growth, psychological development personality in time and space. Therefore, the purpose of this work is to conduct a theoretical study of the value-semantic sphere as a system that undergoes changes during the crisis periods of a person's life and to investigate the main deformations that have taken place in the Mind of existence of today's post-pandemic reality. (shrink)

Bringing about desirable collisions (making interceptions) and avoiding unwanted collisions are critically important sensorimotor skills, which appear to require us to estimate the time remaining before collision occurs (time-to-collision). Until recently the theoretical approach to understanding time-to-collision estimation has been dominated by the tau-hypothesis, which has its origins in J.J. Gibson’s ecological approach to perception. The hypothesis proposes that a quantity (tau), present in the visual stimulus, provides the necessary time-to-collision information. Empirical results and formal analyses have now accumulated to (...) demonstrate conclusively that the tau-hypothesis is false. This article describes an alternative approach that is based on recent data showing that the information used in judging time-to-collision is task- and situation-dependent, is of many different origins (of which tau is just one) and is influenced by the information-processing constraints of the nervous system. (shrink)

This study attempts to spell out more explicitly than has been done previously the connection between two types of formal correspondence that arise in the study of quantum–classical relations: one the one hand, deformation quantization and the associated continuity between quantum and classical algebras of observables in the limit \, and, on the other, a certain generalization of Ehrenfest’s Theorem and the result that expectation values of position and momentum evolve approximately classically for narrow wave packet states. While deformation quantization (...) establishes a direct continuity between the abstract algebras of quantum and classical observables, the latter result makes in-eliminable reference to the quantum and classical state spaces on which these structures act—specifically, via restriction to narrow wave packet states. Here, we describe a certain geometrical re-formulation and extension of the result that expectation values evolve approximately classically for narrow wave packet states, which relies essentially on the postulates of deformation quantization, but describes a relationship between the actions of quantum and classical algebras and groups over their respective state spaces that is non-trivially distinct from deformation quantization. The goals of the discussion are partly pedagogical in that it aims to provide a clear, explicit synthesis of known results; however, the particular synthesis offered aspires to some novelty in its emphasis on a certain general type of mathematical and physical relationship between the state spaces of different models that represent the same physical system, and in the explicitness with which it details the above-mentioned connection between quantum and classical models. (shrink)

Earthquake and Volcano Deformation is the first textbook to present the mechanical models of earthquake and volcanic processes, emphasizing earth-surface deformations that can be compared with observations from Global Positioning System receivers, Interferometric Radar, and borehole strain- and tiltmeters. Paul Segall provides the physical and mathematical fundamentals for the models used to interpret deformation measurements near active faults and volcanic centers. Segall highlights analytical methods of continuum mechanics applied to problems of active crustal deformation. Topics include elastic dislocation theory in (...) homogeneous and layered half-spaces, crack models of faults and planar intrusions, elastic fields due to pressurized spherical and ellipsoidal magma chambers, time-dependent deformation resulting from faulting in an elastic layer overlying a viscoelastic half-space and related earthquake cycle models, poroelastic effects due to faulting and magma chamber inflation in a fluid-saturated crust, and the effects of gravity on deformation. He also explains changes in the gravitational field due to faulting and magmatic intrusion, effects of irregular surface topography and earth curvature, and modern concepts in rate- and state-dependent fault friction. This textbook presents sample calculations and compares model predictions against field data from seismic and volcanic settings from around the world. Earthquake and Volcano Deformation requires working knowledge of stress and strain, and advanced calculus. It is appropriate for advanced undergraduates and graduate students in geophysics, geology, and engineering. Professors: A supplementary Instructor's Manual is available for this book. It is restricted to teachers using the text in courses. For information on how to obtain a copy, refer to: https://press.princeton.edu/class_use/solutions.html. (shrink)

High-spin states in the odd-odd N = Z nucleus Co-54 have been investigated by the fusion-evaporation reaction Si-28(S-32,1 alpha 1p1n)Co-54. Gamma-ray information gathered with the Ge detector array Gammasphere was correlated with evaporated particles detected in the charged particle detector system Microball and a 1 pi neutron detector array. A significantly extended excitation scheme of Co-54 is presented, which includes a candidate for the isospin T = 1, 6(+) state of the 1f(7/2)(-2) multiplet. The results are compared to large-scale shell-model (...) calculations in the fp shell. Effective interactions with and without isospin-breaking terms have been used to probe isospin symmetry and isospin mixing. A quest for deformed high-spin rotational cascades proved negative. This feature is discussed by means of cranking calculations. (shrink)

Parkinson's disease (PD) is generally sporadic but a number of genetic diseases have parkinsonism as a clinical feature. Two dominant genes, α‐synuclein (SNCA) and leucine‐rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2), are important for understanding inherited and sporadic PD. SNCA is a major component of pathologic inclusions termed Lewy bodies found in PD. LRRK2 is found in a significant proportion of PD cases. These two proteins may be linked as most LRRK2 PD cases have SNCA‐positive Lewy bodies. Mutations in both proteins are (...) associated with toxic effects in model systems although mechanisms are unclear. LRRK2 is an intracellular signaling protein possessing both GTPase and kinase activities that may contribute to pathogenicity. A third protein, tau, is implicated as a risk factor for PD. We discuss the potential relationship between these genes and suggest a model for PD pathogenesis where LRRK2 is upstream of pathogenic effects through SNCA, tau, or both proteins. (shrink)

The article gives a definition of the technical and economic potential of the application of the deforming broaching process. Research of the consequences of introducing deforming broaching into technological processes at manufacturing enterprises is carried out on the basis of application of system resource and matrix approach. On the basis of the performed researches, a methodological basis for the economic evaluation of the results of applying deforming broaching on the pro-duction has been developed. The article has improved the well-known scientific (...) and methodological foundations for the determination of technical and economic results of the application of deforming broaching due to the complex identifica-tion of production-organizational decisions - in technical and forms of evaluation in economic spheres. The developed approach gives an opportunity to more accu-rately assess the economic effect of introducing deforming broaching on the min-ing, metallurgical and machine building industries. It can be used to assess the economic effect of introducing other process parts processing. (shrink)

Background: Arthritis is very common but is not well understood. Actually, “arthritis” is not a single disease; it is an informal way of referring to joint pain or joint disease. There are more than 100 different types of arthritis and related conditions. People of all ages, sexes and races can and do have arthritis, and it is the leading cause of disability in America. More than 50 million adults and 300,000 children have some type of arthritis. It is most common (...) among women and occurs more frequently as people get older. Common arthritis joint symptoms include swelling, pain, stiffness and decreased range of motion. Symptoms may come and go. They can be mild, moderate or severe. They may stay about the same for years, but may progress or get worse over time. Severe arthritis can result in chronic pain, inability to do daily activities and make it difficult to walk or climb stairs. Arthritis can cause permanent joint changes. These changes may be visible, such as knobby finger joints, but often the damage can only be seen on X-ray. Some types of arthritis also affect the heart, eyes, lungs, kidneys and skin as well as the joints. Objectives: The main goal of this expert system is to get the appropriate diagnosis of disease and the correct treatment and give the appropriate method of treatment through several tips that concern the disease and how to treat it and we will see it through the application on the expert system. Methods: in this paper the design of the proposed Expert System which was produced to help Orthopedist in diagnosing Arthritis disease through its symptoms such as: pain on pressure in a joint , Inflammation indicated by joint swelling, Stiffness especially in the morning , Loss of flexibility of joint, Limited, joint movement, Deformity of the joints , Weight loss and fatigue , Non-specific fever and Crepitus. The proposed expert system presents an overview about Arthritis disease is given, the cause of diseases is outlined and the treatment of disease whenever possible is given out. SL5 Object Expert System language was used for designing and implementing the proposed expert system. Results: The proposed Arthritis disease diagnosis expert system was evaluated by Orthopedics students and they were satisfied with its performance. Conclusions: The Proposed expert system is very useful for Orthopedist, patients with arthritis and newly graduated Orthopedics students. (shrink)

When fcc single crystals with high-symmetry crystal orientations are deformed to moderate strains by rolling, tension or channel die compression, long dislocation boundaries inclined to the extension axis form. Similarly, long dislocation boundaries are often found in grains embedded in polycrystals deformed in the same manner. These extended planar boundaries are characteristically - 30-40° from the extension direction and contain the transverse specimen axis. The objective of the present article is to demonstrate that EPBs formed during plane strain deformation are (...) parallel to equivalent slip planes, a pair of hypothetical slip systems used for analyses of the strain and crystal rotation components in place of the larger number of physical slip systems. The coincidence of EPBs and equivalent slip plane inclinations is shown to account for persistent observations of EPBs in the angle range - 30-40° from the rolling direction, in rolled single crystals of various initial orientations. The tendency of EPBs towards tilt or twist boundary character can also be rationalized on the basis of the equivalent slip system concept and consideration of the dislocation types available to be incorporated into EPBs. (shrink)

People can be treated unjustly with respect to the level of credibility others accord to their testimony. This is the core idea of the philosophical idea of epistemic justice. It should be of utmost interest to criminal law which extensively deals with normative issues of evidence and testimony. It may reconstruct some of the long-standing criticisms of criminal law regarding credibility assessments and the treatment of witnesses, especially in sexual assault cases. However, philosophical discussions often overlook the intricate complexities of (...) real procedural law and its underlying considerations. In its present form, the philosophical notion of epistemic injustice provides limited insights into legal discourse; it necessitates translation and adaptation. This study contributes to this endeavor by examining the contentious issue of testimony from witnesses who have undergone trauma-focused psychotherapy. Since the 1980s, courts worldwide were troubled with cases of false accusations based on false memories generated by suggestive therapeutic interventions. As a result, such post-therapy testimonies are discounted in one way or another in many jurisdictions. However, courts are still confronted with such testimonies, and the modi vivendi legal systems have established to deal with them continue to give rise to concerns about unjust treatment of witnesses. The question is thus whether legal rules or established practices of evaluating testimony based on memories which resurfaced after psychotherapy are epistemically and legally just. The paper presents seven ways in which courts may assess such testimonies and examines them in light of epistemic and procedural justice. Some of them prima facie constitute a form of epistemic injustice because they discount testimonies to an unwarranted degree. But these injustices might be justified by overriding principles favoring defendants. Nonetheless, the idea of epistemic justice, more broadly understood, inspires two principles that may serve as a foundation for a future conception of epistemic justice adapted to the law. (shrink)

Tree branches near the electric power transmission lines are of great threat to the electricity supply. Nowadays, the tasks of clearing threatening tree branches are still mostly operated by hand and simple tools. Traditional structures of the multirotor aerial robot have the problem of fixed structure and limited performance, which affects the stability and efficiency of pruning operation. In this article, in order to obtain better environmental adaptability, an active deformable trees-pruning aerial robot is presented. The deformation of the aerial (...) robot is implemented through two ways, arm telescopic and folding. In order to suppress the influence of internal and external disturbances on the system, Active Disturbance Rejection Control technology is adopted to build the flight controller. Firstly, active deformation aerial robot structure is given, followed by system dynamic model establishment under wind disturbance using the Newton–Euler method. Also, the analysis of the gusts influence on the system is considered. Then, the active deformation aerial robot system is decoupled into a combination of six SISO systems, so that a disturbance rejection controller is designed. Finally, the expanded state observer and the nonlinear state error feedback law are used to inspect and compensate the disturbance. Simulation results of attitude and position tracking as well as the antidisturbance capability show that the active deformation aerial robot with the ADRC flight controller designed in this paper has excellent attitude control capabilities during flight and trees-pruning operation. (shrink)

In this paper, a fresh shear-displacement model is developed for the plastic deformation of the bulk metallic glasses. The multiscale behavior in the shear banding process and the dynamics transition with the parameters are investigated in analytical form. We present a theoretical support for the transition from unstable states to stable states in the experiment by multiscale analysis and the stability analysis. With the small parameter increasing from negative to positive, the stability of the shear slipping displacement system changes, and (...) there is a limit cycle at the transition stage. Meanwhile, the phase diagram and the power spectrum also suggest that there is dynamics transition with the parameter changing. Moreover, the complexity is analyzed for different disturbance parameters, and it is coincident with the fact that the solution is more irregular for larger disturbance. In addition, we find that the amplitude of solution decreases with the temperature decreasing, which is consistent with the experimental results that the amplitude of the serration is smaller and smaller as the temperature decreases. (shrink)

The significance and potential of systems theory and complexity theory are best appreciated through an understanding of their origins. Arguably, their originator was the Russian philosopher and revolutionary, Aleksandr Bogdanov. Bogdanov anticipated later developments of systems theory and complexity theory in his efforts to lay the foundations for a new, post-capitalist culture and science. This science would overcome the division between the natural and the human sciences and enable workers to organize themselves and their productive activity. It would (...) be central to the culture of a society in which class and gender divisions have been transcended. At the same time it would free people from the deformed thinking of class societies, enabling them to appreciate both the limitations and the significance of their environments and other forms of life. In this paper it is argued that whatever Bogdanov's limitations, such a science is still required if we are to create a society free of class divisions, and that it is in this light that developments in systems theory and complexity theory should be judged. (shrink)

Surface flattening plays an important role in the whole process of garment design. We proposed a novel method by using three-dimensional triangle mesh flattening in this study. First, the three-dimensional triangle mesh is flattened to a two-dimensional plane to approximate the original surface. The initial flattening results are then used as preliminary guesses for subsequent optimizations. Considering that the deformation energy in the real woven fabric is related to tensile or shear deformation, a simplified fabric deformation model based on energy (...) is proposed to update the energy distribution to determine the best two-dimensional pattern. An innovative unified axis system process is proposed to obtain the deformation energy, and energy relaxation in local flattening is proposed to release the distortion of flattening. Finally, the experimental results show that complex surfaces such as garments could achieve better flattening results. Compared with other energy-based methods in garment design, our proposed methods are more flexible and practical. (shrink)

This article is a response to a paper presented to the New Zealand Historical Association in 1991 by J. G. A. Pocock, who suggests that Pakeha (European) settlers are now becoming tangata whenua (people of the land) in the same way that Maori did. The principal idea examined is what an `indigenous' identity means once historical claims have been settled by Maori against the Crown, and whether there is any merit in the term `indigenous'. The article then examines the logic (...) behind the idea of `original occupation' and the assumed rights associated with this concept. (shrink)

Due to the large-scale mining of mineral resources, the surface strata in many areas have collapsed and even developed into deformation and subsidence. Based on the conventional geotechnical deformation monitoring technology, the surface deformation prediction and disaster caused by the conventional geotechnical deformation monitoring technology can be avoided. In this paper, based on GIS, combined with the analysis of surface settlement, the surface settlement, slope value, curvature deformation value, horizontal displacement, and corresponding horizontal deformation formula are comprehensively analyzed and studied. (...) In order to make the surface deformation visualization and realize the high approximation processing with the subsidence area, this paper innovatively introduces the 3D visualization settlement data analysis and realizes the calculation result analysis and corresponding retrieval multiple visualization in the subsidence area depth prediction process. On this basis, the prediction data of subsidence area can be optimized and analyzed so as to master the efficient and accurate law of surface deformation. In the experimental part, a mine is taken as the experimental object, and the 3D visual monitoring processing is carried out. In this paper, the main method to prevent electromagnetic leakage of the computer system is the source suppression method. The source suppression method solves the problem fundamentally by reducing or eliminating the emission of computer electromagnetic leakage source. In the actual experiment, the effect of this method is very effective. The experimental results show that the prediction results and corresponding early warning accuracy of the system are significantly improved compared with the traditional scheme, which provides practical significance for disaster prevention and corresponding environmental impact assessment. (shrink)

The authors present the results of studying migration processes as one of the factors that determine the transformation of the regional social space. Applying migration indicators to assessing prospective spatial changes presupposes a multivariate analysis of developing complex heterogeneous systems. The version of applying problem-oriented visualization tools presented by the authors significantly expands the possibilities of such an analysis. Assessment, systematization and subsequent classification of migration characteristics are considered within the framework of a multi-stage graphical digital analysis procedure. The (...) problems of migration dynamics characterize a number of problems of the incipient deformation of social space. The main provisions and results of the study are presented as exemplified by the five largest urban areas of the Chelyabinsk region. The key contradictions generated by the processes of regional migration are presented for various urban areas of one of the leading industrial regions of the Urals. These are contradictions: dynamics of population inflow — outflow; the ratio of the balance of migration and migration flows, etc. The results of the study make it possible to proceed to more complex models of spatial reconstruction and sustainable development of territories. Considering such models lays the groundwork for passing on to a controlled transformation in the spatial development of territories and reducing the signs of social space deformation. (shrink)

We discuss the possible breakdown of Lorentz invariance—at distances greater than the Planck length—from both the theoretical and the phenomenological point of view. The theoretical tool to deal with such a problem is provided by a “deformation” of the Minkowski metric, with parameters dependent on the energy of the physical system considered. Such a deformed metric realizes, for any interaction, the “solidarity principle” between interactions and spacetime geometry (usually assumed for gravitation), according to which the peculiar features of every interaction (...) determine—locally—its own spacetinie structure. The generalized theory of relativity, based on the locally deformed Minkowski spacetime, is called “deformed special relativity” (DSR). In the first part of the paper, we give the foundations and the basic laws of DSR. In the second part, we analyze some experimental data, which admit an interpretation in terms of the DSR formalism and are, therefore, candidates for displaying a breakdown of the Lorentz symmetry. They are (i) the superluminal propagation of evanescent electromagnetic waves in waveguides, (ii) the meanlife of the KS 0, (iii) the Bose-Einstein correlation in pion production and (iv) the comparison of clock rates in the gravitational field of Earth. Such analysis provides us with the explicit forms of the related deformed metrics as functions of the energy, thus putting in evidence, in all four cases (and therefore for all four fundamental interactions), departures from the usual Minkowski metric. This preliminary evidence for a broken Lorentz invariance may be regarded as the signature of possible nonlocal effects involved in the processes examined. Moreover, the corresponding deformed metrics obtained by our analysis provide an effective dynamical description of the interactions (at least in the energy range considered). (shrink)

The sense of touch informs us of the physical properties of our surroundings and is a critical aspect of communication. Before touches are perceived, mechanical signals are transmitted quickly and reliably from the skin's surface to mechano‐electrical transduction channels embedded within specialized sensory neurons. We are just beginning to understand how soft tissues participate in force transmission and how they are deformed. Here, we review empirical and theoretical studies of single molecules and molecular ensembles thought to be involved in mechanotransmission (...) and apply the concepts emerging from this work to the sense of touch. We focus on the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a well‐studied model for touch sensation in which mechanics can be studied on the molecular, cellular, and systems level. Finally, we conclude that force transmission is an emergent property of macromolecular cellular structures that mutually stabilize one another. (shrink)

A linear space is a system of points and lines such that any two distinct points determine a unique line; a Steiner k-system is a linear space such that each line has size exactly k. Clearly, as a two-sorted structure, no linear space can be strongly minimal. We formulate linear spaces in a vocabulary $\tau $ with a single ternary relation R. We prove that for every integer k there exist $2^{\aleph _0}$ -many integer valued functions $\mu $ such that (...) each $\mu $ determines a distinct strongly minimal Steiner k-system $\mathcal {G}_\mu $, whose algebraic closure geometry has all the properties of the ab initio Hrushovski construction. Thus each is a counterexample to the Zilber Trichotomy Conjecture. (shrink)

Given an abstract logic L = L(Q i ) i ∈ I generated by a set of quantifiers Q i , one can construct for each type τ a topological space S τ exactly as one constructs the Stone space for τ in first-order logic. Letting T be an arbitrary directed set of types, the set $S_T = \{(S_\tau, \pi^\tau_\sigma)\mid\sigma, \tau \in T, \sigma \subset \tau\}$ is an inverse topological system whose bonding mappings π τ σ are naturally determined by (...) the reduct operation on structures. We relate the compactness of L to the topological properties of S T . For example, if I is countable then L is compact iff for every τ each clopen subset of S τ is of finite type and S τ is homeomorphic to $\underset{lim}S_T$ , where T is the set of finite subtypes of τ. We finally apply our results to concrete logics. (shrink)

Complex systems can be characterized by classes of equivalency of their elements defined according to system specific rules. We propose a generalized preferential attachment model to describe the class size distribution. The model postulates preferential growth of the existing classes and the steady influx of new classes. According to the model, the distribution changes from a pure exponential form for zero influx of new classes to a power law with an exponential cut-off form when the influx of new classes (...) is substantial. Predictions of the model are tested through the analysis of a unique industrial database, which covers both elementary units (products) and classes (markets, firms) in a given industry (pharmaceuticals), covering the entire size distribution. The model's predictions are in good agreement with the data. The paper sheds light on the emergence of the exponent tau approximately 2 observed as a universal feature of many biological, social and economic problems. (shrink)

The modern way of life is highly dependent upon the production of goods by industrial organizations that are in turn dependent upon their workers for their ongoing operations. Even though more than a century has passed since the dawn of the industrial revolution, many dangerous aspects of work, both physical and mental, remain in the workplace today. Using Buddhist philosophical principles, this paper suggests that although many sources of the problem reside within the larger society, the industrial engineer is still (...) a key factor in bettering work and providing a workplace suitable for their fellow workers. Drawing on these insights, we present a number of work design guidelines that industrial engineers who abide by Buddhist principles could practice to help overcome some of the many sufferings produced by modern work. (shrink)

Polarization is pervasive in the current sociopolitical discourse. Polarization tends to increase cognitive inflexibility where people become less capable of updating their beliefs upon new information or switching between different ways of thinking. Cognitive inflexibility can in turn increase polarization. We propose that this positive feedback loop between polarization and cognitive inflexibility is a form of threat response that has benefited humans throughout their evolutionary history. This feedback loop, which can be driven by conflict mindset, group conformity, and simplification of (...) information, facilitates the formation of strong bonds within a group that are able to eliminate threats and increase individual fitness. Although cognitive inflexibility is conventionally seen as maladaptive, here we argue that cognitive inflexibility may be an adaptation under polarization. That is, in a highly polarized society most people only interact with members of their own social group, without having to confront perspectives from another group or interacting with out-group members. In this context, cognitive inflexibility creates rigid cognitive specialization, a set of cognitive traits that allow people to operate efficiently within their social circles but not outside of it. Although rigid cognitive specialization benefits individuals in the short term, it may lead to more polarization over the long run, and thus produce more conflict between groups. We call on future research to examine the link between cognitive inflexibility and rigid cognitive specialization. (shrink)

This paper is devoted to introduce a novel fourth-order hyperchaotic system. The hyperchaotic system is constructed by adding a linear feedback control level based on a modified Lorenz-like chaotic circuit with reduced number of amplifiers. The local dynamical entities, such as the basic dynamical behavior, the divergence, the eigenvalue, and the Lyapunov exponents of the new hyperchaotic system, are all investigated analytically and numerically. Then, an active control method is derived to achieve global chaotic synchronization of the novel hyperchaotic system (...) through making the synchronization error system asymptotically stable at the origin based on Lyapunov stability theory. Next, the proposed novel hyperchaotic system is applied to construct another new hyperchaotic system with circuit deformation and design a new hyperchaotic secure communication circuit. Furthermore, the implementation of two novel electronic circuits of the proposed hyperchaotic systems is presented, examined, and realized using physical components. A good qualitative agreement is shown between the simulations and the experimental results around 500 kHz and below 1 MHz. (shrink)

Deformation of ground during tunnelling projects is one of the complex issues that is required to be monitored carefully to avoid the unexpected damages and human losses. Accurate prediction of ground settlement is a crucial concern for tunnelling problems, and the adequate predictive model can be a vital tool for tunnel designers to simulate the ground settlement accurately. This study proposes relatively new hybrid artificial intelligence models to predict the ground settlement of earth pressure balance shield tunnelling in the Bangkok (...) MRTA project. The predictive models were various nature-inspired frameworks, such as differential evolution, particle swarm optimization, genetic algorithm, and ant colony optimizer to tune the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system. To obtain the accurate and reliable results, the modeling procedure is established based on four different dataset scenarios including preprocessed and normalized, preprocessed and nonnormalized, non-preprocessed and normalized, and non-preprocessed and nonnormalized datasets. Results indicated that PPN dataset scenario significantly affected the prediction models in terms of their perdition accuracy. Among all the developed hybrid models, ANOFS-PSO model achieved the best predictability performance. In quantitative terms, PPN-ANFIS-PSO model attained the least root mean square error value of 7.98 and a correlation coefficient value of 0.83. Overall, the attained results confirmed the superiority of the explored hybrid AI models as robust predictive model for ground settlement of earth pressure balance shield tunnelling. (shrink)

The QR code recognition often faces the challenges of uneven background fluctuations, inadequate illuminations, and distortions due to the improper image acquisition method. This makes the identification of QR codes difficult, and therefore, to deal with this problem, artificial intelligence-based systems came into existence. To improve the recognition rate of QR image codes, this article adopts an improved adaptive median filter algorithm and a QR code distortion correction method based on backpropagation (BP) neural networks. This combination of artificial intelligence (...) algorithms is capable of fitting the distorted QR image into the geometric deformation pattern, and QR code recognition is accomplished. The two-dimensional code distortion is addressed in this study, which was a serious research issue in the existing software systems. The research outcomes obtained after emphasizing on the preprocessing stage of the image revealed that a significant improvement of 14% is observed for the reading rate of QR image code, after processing by the system algorithm in this article. The artificial intelligence algorithm adopted has a certain effect in improving the recognition rate of the two-dimensional code image. (shrink)

Ancient medical and healing systems are currently attracting considerable interest. This issue includes interdisciplinary studies which focus on new perceptions of some ancient and medieval medical systems, exploring how they related to each other, and assessing their contribution to modern society. It is shown that pre-Greek medicine included some rational elements, and that Egyptian and Babylonian medical systems contributed to a tradition which led from classical antiquity through the Middle Ages and beyond. The reliability of sources of (...) evidence is considered, as well as the legacy of the ancient healing environments and disease treatments. Finally, where documentation survives, the legacy of social attitudes to health and disease is considered. Overarching principles directed policies of social medicine and healthcare in antiquity and the Middle Ages: for example, the causes and transmission routes of infectious diseases, as well as the basic principles of sterilization, were unknown, but nevertheless attempts were made to improve sanitation, provide clean water, and ensure access to trained physicians. In some cases, the need to limit the size of the population prompted the use of contraceptive measures, and surviving information also illuminates attitudes to deformity, disability and the treatment of the terminally ill. (shrink)

Following Dirac's generalized canonical formalism, we develop a quantization scheme for theN-dimensional system described by the Lagrangian $L_0 (\dot y,y) = \frac{1}{2}h_{ij} (y)\dot y^i \dot y^j + b_i (y)\dot y^i - w(y)$ which is supposed to be invariant under the gauge transformation $y^i \to y\prime ^i = y^i + (\rho ^i _\alpha + \sigma ^i _{\alpha j} \dot y^j )\delta \Lambda ^\alpha + \tau ^i _\alpha \delta \dot \Lambda ^\alpha$ . The gauge invariance necessarily implies that the Lagrangian is singular. (...) The identities imposed by the gauge invariance are enumerated and reduced to simpler forms. There are primary and secondary constraints, both of which are of first class. The reduced identities are solved explicitly for the case where the secondary constraints constitute the generators of the groupSO(M), and thus an explicit expression for the manifestly gauge-invariant Lagrangian is obtained. By fixing the gauge appropriately, the unphysical variables are eliminated and a quantization is achieved using only physical variables. Our formulation is covariant under an arbitrary point transformation of physical variables. The problem of formulating a quantum action principle is also commented on briefly. (shrink)

Given a quantum system with a very large number of degrees of freedom and a preferred tensor product factorization of the Hilbert space we describe how it can be approximated with a very low-dimensional field theory with geometric degrees of freedom. The geometric approximation procedure consists of three steps. The first step is to construct weighted graphs with vertices representing subsystems and edges representing mutual information between subsystems. The second step is to deform the adjacency matrices of the information graphs (...) to that of a low-dimensional lattice using the graph flow equations introduced in the paper. The third step is to define an emergent metric and to derive an effective description of the metric and possibly other degrees of freedom. To illustrate the procedure we analyze two information graph flows with geometric attractors and metric perturbations obeying a geometric flow equation. Our analysis also suggests a possible approach to quantum gravity in which the geometry emerges directly from a quantum state due to the flow of the information graphs. (shrink)

This paper deals with the exponential stabilization problem for a class of nonlinear switched systems with mixed delays under asynchronous switching. The switching signal of the switched controller involves delay, which results in the asynchronous switching between the candidate controllers and subsystems. By constructing the parameter-dependent Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional and the average dwell time approach, some sufficient conditions in forms of linear matrix inequalities are presented to ensure the exponential stability of the switched nonlinear system under arbitrary switching signals. In (...) addition, through the special deformation of the matrix and Schur complement, the controllers with asynchronous switching are designed. Finally, a numerical example and a practical example of river pollution control are provided to show the validity and potential of the developed results. (shrink)

In the Fall 1988 issue of Informal Logic, John McMurtry suggests that the current mass communication system "obstructs and deforms our thinking and our reasoning by a general system of deception" (p. 133). This essay suggests that McMurtry's view of the mass media is inaccurate. The mass media needs to make choices about what material it includes; McMurtry's description of the media could be explained by a rational theory of media agenda setting. Finally. it is argued that critical thinkers need (...) to go beyond the mass media to make decisions; the mass media should not be expected to provide all arguments and viewpoints. (shrink)

This paper shows that, in Newtonian mechanics, unstable three-dimensional rigid bodies must exist. Laraudogoitia recently provided examples of one- and two-dimensional homogeneous unstable rigid bodies, conjecturing the instability would persist for three-dimensional bodies in four-dimensional space. My result proves that, if one admits non homogeneous balls or hollow spheres, then the conjecture is true without having to resort to tetra-dimensionality. Furthermore, I show that instability also holds for at least certain simple classes of elastic bodies. Altogether, the laws of classical (...) dynamics actually lead to the existence of unstable material bodies belonging to the three types of entities accepted therein: point particles, rigid bodies and continuous deformable bodies. A whole range of forms of indeterminism which, until now, has not been considered in the literature. I end with a new conjecture on the connection existing between all these forms of instability and the dimensionality of space. (shrink)

Engineers fine-tune the design of robot bodies for control purposes, however, a methodology or set of tools is largely absent, and optimization of morphology (shape, material properties of robot bodies, etc.) is lagging behind the development of controllers. This has become even more prominent with the advent of compliant, deformable or ”soft” bodies. These carry substantial potential regarding their exploitation for control—sometimes referred to as ”morphological computation”. In this article, we briefly review different notions of computation by physical systems (...) and propose the dynamical systems framework as the most useful in the context of describing and eventually designing the interactions of controllers and bodies. Then, we look at the pros and cons of simple vs. complex bodies, critically reviewing the attractive notion of ”soft” bodies automatically taking over control tasks. We address another key dimension of the design space—whether model-based control should be used and to what extent it is feasible to develop faithful models for different morphologies. (shrink)

An error that medicine has long shared is to attribute to a desire or an effect of the mother’s imagination during gestation, the deformities, growths or spots that a child bears at birth. The imagination would be capable of imprinting external modifications on a matter and would have an impact on the perceptions and sensory development of the fetus. Returning briefly to the genealogy and posterity of the topos, this article focuses on the successes and refutations of the Malebranchist paradigm (...) in the 18th century, through a corpus of medical popularization texts where the debates oppose the supporters of the imagination for whom emotion alters the organs of the fetus and the detractors of this thesis who only see it as prejudice. Mechanistic systems had in common that they avoided the soul to explain life. Although each era has its hermeneutic system of representations, and that medicine—closely dependent on the philosophical and moral conceptions of its time—is also a cultural production, it is nevertheless not uninteresting to question on the fortune of a motive and the scientific topicality of the question. What does the baby perceive in utero? Does he feel his mother’s pain? If so, what is the biological impact? To what extent can the maternal imagination and experience mark the child’s body? Informed by functional imaging technologies, recent research returns to the symbiotic link of mother-fetus interactions. Convergences appear between this 18th century and our 21st century. In no case did we want to contrast today’s scientists who are firmly in touch with reality and their predecessors who are prey to imagination. Science, whatever the era, always feeds on imagination. (shrink)