The problem of the balance of power within the European state system constituted an important part of Hume’s historical vision. From the vantage point of mid-eighteenth-century Europe, the maxim of the balance of power, proven to be a universal principle in Greek and Roman history, was believed by many to be essential to mutual prosperity and security.1 This was particularly because France, partaking actively in the international competition for commercial wealth in Europe and the New World, created increasing anxieties over (...) the danger of universal monarchy. Hume was a strong advocate of the classical doctrine of the balance of power, which, he observed, was “founded...... (shrink)

To explore the number of latent variables underlying recognition of own- and other-race faces for Chinese observers, we conducted a study-recognition task where orientation, stimuli type, and duration were manipulated in the study phase and applied state trace analysis as a statistic method. Results showed that each state trace plot on each pair of stimuli types matched a single monotonic curve when stimuli type was set to state factor, but separate curves between face and non-face showed up when the state (...) factor was orientation. The results implied that at least two latent variables affected recognition performance in the inversion paradigm. Besides, the unidimensional structure between own- and other-race faces regardless of the state factor suggested that Chinese participants used the same recognition mechanism for unfamiliar own- and other-race faces in the inversion paradigm. (shrink)

The fuzzy clustering algorithm has been widely used in the research area and production and life. However, the conventional fuzzy algorithms have a disadvantage of high computational complexity. This article proposes an improved fuzzy C-means algorithm based on K-means and principle of granularity. This algorithm is aiming at solving the problems of optimal number of clusters and sensitivity to the data initialization in the conventional FCM methods. The initialization stage of the K-medoid cluster, which is different from others, has a (...) strong representation and is capable of detecting data with different sizes. Meanwhile, through the combination of the granular computing and FCM, the optimal number of clusters is obtained by choosing accurate validity functions. Finally, the detailed clustering process of the proposed algorithm is presented, and its performance is validated by simulation tests. The test results show that the proposed improved FCM algorithm has enhanced clustering performance in the computational complexity, running time, cluster effectiveness compared with the existing FCM algorithms. (shrink)

The integration of event-related potential and functional magnetic resonance imaging helps to obtain and study neural networks with high temporal and spatial resolution. EEG/fMRI data proves that in the visual tristimulus oddball paradigm, two P300 potentials induced by target stimulation and novel stimulation are detected at the frontal-middle, center, and mid-apical electrodes. Previous studies have shown that P3a and P3b have different spatial distributions of brain activation, but it is unclear whether they have the same neural mechanism. The purpose of (...) this study is to determine the neuropsychological mechanisms of P3a and P3b, as well as the spatiotemporal differences in neurodynamics between the two ERP subcomponents. In a group of 25 subjects, P300 ERP induced by target stimulation and novel stimulation can be detected at the Fz, Cz, and Pz electrodes. At Cz and Fz, compared with P3b related to the target stimulus, the P3a related to the novel stimulus has a higher amplitude and the waveform declines more slowly. But at Pz, P3b has a higher amplitude than P3a. P3a appeared earlier than P3b at Cz and Fz, but the opposite phenomenon was observed at the Pz electrode. The activated brain regions of P3a included the left frontal-parietal lobe region, left anterior wedge lobe region, and right insula, while the target-driven P3b was significantly associated with BOLD changes in the bilateral fusiform gyrus, the left frontal region, and the bilateral insula. The results showed that the integration of the spatial and temporal information of the two imaging modes, namely, ERP and fMRI, proves the existence of the different brain function processes of the two P300 subcomponents. Through the analysis of the composition of P300, the results further proved that the top-down and bottom-up processing processes have played a role in the occurrence of attention capture. It is just that the modulation effects of the two processing mechanisms are different in different tasks. Therefore, it should be noted that the captured neural mechanism is not a single top-down or bottom-up processing process but should be the result of the interaction between the two. (shrink)

Due to the complexity of the network structure, log analysis is usually necessary for the maintenance of network-based distributed systems since logs record rich information about the system behaviors. In recent years, numerous works have been proposed for log analysis; however, they ignore temporal relationships between logs. In this paper, we target on the problem of mining informative patterns from temporal log data. We propose an approach to discover sequential patterns from event sequences with temporal regularities. Discovered patterns are useful (...) for engineers to understand the behaviors of a network-based distributed system. To solve the well-known problem of pattern explosion, we resort to the minimum description length principle and take a step forward in summarizing the temporal relationships between adjacent events of a pattern. Experiments on real log datasets prove the efficiency and effectiveness of our method. (shrink)

BackgroundThe underrepresentation of scholarly works from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in academic literature is a documented concern, attributed partly to editorial biases. This trend, prevalent across various disciplines, has been less explored in the context of medical ethics journals. This study aimed to examine the composition of editorial board members (EBM) in high-impact medical ethics journals and to evaluate the extent of international diversity within these editorial teams.MethodsThis study incorporated an analysis of 16 high-impact medical ethics journals. Information regarding (...) the EBM of these journals was systematically gathered and categorized based on the World Bank’s country income classifications. An in-depth examination of the editorial board compositions was then conducted.ResultsThe study identified 669 EBM across the selected journals. A predominant 89.84% (601) of these members were from high-income countries (HICs), with upper-middle-income countries contributing 7.47% (50) and lower-middle-income countries 2.69% (18). No EBM were associated with low-income countries. A regional breakdown indicated that North America was the most represented area, accounting for 48.88% (327), followed by Europe & Central Asia (27.50%, 184), East Asia & Pacific (13.45%, 90), Latin America & Caribbean (4.63%, 31), Sub-Saharan Africa (4.19%, 28), Middle East & North Africa (0.75%, 5), and South Asia (0.60%, 4). In total, these EBMs hailed from 46 different countries, with the United States representing the largest proportion (43.80%, 293), followed by the United Kingdom (13.15%, 88), Australia (7.92%, 53), Germany (6.73%, 45), and Canada (5.08%, 34).ConclusionsThere is a significant lack of international representation within the EBM of high-impact medical ethics journals. The majority of editors in this field are affiliated with HICs, leading to a severe underrepresentation of LMICs within the editorial boards. (shrink)

Adopting fair value measurement may bring more earnings fluctuations and induce irrational psychology and radical financing behavior of managers. Based on behavioral corporate governance theory, using the sample of Chinese A-share nonfinancial listed companies during 2007–2017, this paper empirically examines the regulatory effect of fair value measurement, that is, whether fair value measurement affects the company's financing decisions when managers have irrational psychological characteristics, i.e., overconfidence. The study found that overconfident managers of the company that have fair value measurement assets (...) will be more aggressive for debt decisions, indicating that fair value measurement has a positively regulatory effect on overconfident managers. (shrink)

Before expressing opinions, most people usually consider the standpoint of their friends nearby to avoid being isolated, which may lead to the herding effect. The words of celebrities in social networks usually attract public attention and affect the opinion evolution in the entire network. This process also causes the similar status quo. In this study, we find that the key figures play the guiding roles in public opinions who undertake the group pressure from information amount. Therefore, we build the cost (...) function on opinion changes to study opinion evolution rules for public persons based on the spreading scope of information and information amount. Simulation analysis reveals that the information amount held by agents will affect the converging speed of public opinions, while enhancing the ability of key nodes may no more effective in guiding public opinion. (shrink)

Several previous studies have reported atypicality in resting-state functional connectivity in autism spectrum disorder, yet the relatively small effect sizes prevent us from using these characteristics for diagnostic purposes. Here, canonical correlation analysis and hierarchical clustering were used to partition the high-functioning ASD group into subgroups. A support vector machine model was trained through the 10-fold strategy to predict Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule scores within the ASD discovery group, which was further validated in an independent sample. The neuroimage-based partition derived (...) two subgroups representing severe versus mild autistic patients. We identified FCs that show graded changes in strength from ASD-severe, through ASD-mild, to controls, while the same pattern cannot be observed in partitions based on ADOS score. We also identified FCs that are specific for ASD-mild, similar to a partition based on ADOS score. The current study provided multiple pieces of evidence with replication to show that resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging FCs could serve as neural biomarkers in partitioning high-functioning autistic individuals based on their symptom severity and showing advantages over traditional partition based on ADOS score. Our results also indicate a compensatory role for a frontocortical network in patients with mild ASD, indicating potential targets for future clinical treatments. (shrink)

The advent of the Semantic Web and Linked Data initiative has contributed to new perspectives and opportunities regarding cultural heritage conservation. Museums have extensive collections of Chine...

Post-stroke depression is a serious complication of stroke that significantly restricts rehabilitation. The use of immersive virtual reality for stroke survivors is promising. Herein, we investigated the effects of a novel immersive virtual reality training system on PSD and explored induced effective connectivity alterations in emotional networks using multivariate Granger causality analysis. Forty-four patients with PSD were equally allocated into an immersive-virtual reality group and a control group. In addition to their usual rehabilitation treatments, the participants in the immersive-virtual reality (...) group participated in an immersive-virtual reality rehabilitation program, while the patients in the control group received 2D virtual reality rehabilitation training. The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, modified Barthel Index, and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected before and after a 4-week intervention. rsfMRI data were analyzed using multivariate GCA. We found that the immersive virtual reality training was more effective in improving depression in patients with PSD but had no statistically significant improvement in MBI scores compared to the control group. The GCA showed that the following causal connectivities were strengthened after immersive virtual reality training: from the amygdala, insula, middle temporal gyrus, and caudate nucleus to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; from the insula to the medial prefrontal cortex; and from the thalamus to the posterior superior temporal sulcus. These causal connectivities were weakened after treatment in the control group. Our results indicated the neurotherapeutic use of immersive virtual reality rehabilitation as an effective non-pharmacological intervention for PSD; the alteration of causal connectivity in emotional networks might constitute the neural mechanisms underlying immersive-virtual reality rehabilitation in PSD. (shrink)

With the continuous development of the stock market, designing a reasonable risk identification tool will help to solve the irrational problem of investors. This paper first selects the stocks with the most valuable investment value in the future through the random forest algorithm in the nine-factor model and then analyzes them by using the higher-order moment model to find that different investors’ preferences will make the weight of the portfolio change accordingly, which will eventually make the optimal return and risk (...) set of the composition of the portfolio change. The risk identification system designed in this paper can provide an effective risk identification tool for investors and help them make rational judgments. (shrink)

Public education finance in China plays an important role in education equality. This study investigated two mediation effects with a generalized structural equation model that comprised the mediation effect of shadow education at the school, family, and individual levels and the moderating role of education finance. There was a strong association among heterogeneity factors, shadow education, and educational results, with shadow education playing a mediating role in math and English courses. Individual heterogeneity differences had a negative impact on equality in (...) educational results through access to additional shadow education opportunities, while heterogeneous factors were mediated through shadow education, causing financial moderation effects, in turn affecting inequality in educational results. Finally, the moderation degree and direction of education finance varied significantly, with a greater moderation effect on household-level factors that lead to unequal educational results. Targeted efforts are required to regulate shadow education, which is key to the development of the education system. (shrink)

We investigated whether adults have attentional bias toward infant faces, whether it is moderated by infant facial expression, and the predictive effect of the adult attachment state on it. One hundred unmarried nulliparous college students [50 men and 50 women; aged 17–24 years ] were recruited. Each completed a self-report questionnaire—the Chinese version of the State Adult Attachment Measure, and a dot-probe task with a stimulus presentation duration of 500 ms, which used 192 black-and-white photographs of 64 people as the (...) experimental stimuli. The results showed that, at the duration of 500 ms, individuals' attentional bias toward infant faces disappeared, regardless of the facial expression. However, when the interaction between avoidant attachment state and face was controlled, the attentional bias was significant again, and the avoidant attachment state negatively predicted individuals' attentional bias toward infant faces. This indicates that at the suprathreshold stage, there are individual differences in the attentional bias toward infant faces, and high avoidant attachment will weaken individuals' attentional bias toward infant faces. This study advances previous studies that focused only on individuals' attention to infant faces occurring at the early processing stage of attention. The results provide direction for interventions; specifically, changing the attachment state of avoidant individuals can affect their attention to infants, which may promote the establishment of parent–child relationships. (shrink)

This co-edited volume compares Chinese and Western experiences of engineering, technology, and development. In doing so, it builds a bridge between the East and West and advances a dialogue in the philosophy of engineering. Divided into three parts, the book starts with studies on epistemological and ontological issues, with a special focus on engineering design, creativity, management, feasibility, and sustainability. Part II considers relationships between the history and philosophy of engineering, and includes a general argument for the necessity of dialogue (...) between history and philosophy. It continues with a general introduction to traditional Chinese attitudes toward engineering and technology, and philosophical case studies of the Chinese steel industry, railroads, and cybernetics in the Soviet Union. Part III focuses on engineering, ethics, and society, with chapters on engineering education and practice in China and the West. The book’s analyses of the interactions of science, engineering, ethics, politics, and policy in different societal contexts are of special interest. The volume as a whole marks a new stage in the emergence of the philosophy of engineering as a new regionalization of philosophy. This carefully edited interdisciplinary volume grew out of an international conference on the philosophy of engineering hosted by the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. It includes 30 contributions by leading philosophers, social scientists, and engineers from Australia, China, Europe, and the United States. (shrink)

BackgroundThe cognitive level of post-stroke aphasia patients is generally lower than non-aphasia patients, and cognitive impairment affects the outcome of stroke. However, for different types of PSA, what kind of cognitive assessment methods to choose is not completely clear. We investigated the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, the Mini-Mental State Examination, and the Non-language-based Cognitive Assessment to observe the evaluation effect of CI in patients with fluent aphasia and non-fluent aphasia.Methods92 stroke patients were included in this study. Demographic and clinical data of (...) the stroke group were documented. The language and cognition were evaluated by Western Aphasia Battery, MoCA, MMSE, and NLCA. PSA were divided into FA and NFA according to the Chinese aphasia fluency characteristic scale. Pearson’s product–moment correlation coefficient test and multiple linear regression analysis were performed to explore the relationship between the sub-items of WAB and cognitive scores. The classification rate of CI was tested by Pearson’s Chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test.ResultsThe scores of aphasia quotient, MoCA, MMSE, and NLCA in NFA were lower than FA. AQ was positively correlated with MoCA, MMSE, and NLCA scores. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis suggested that naming explained 70.7% of variance of MoCA and 79.9% of variance of MMSE; comprehension explained 46.7% of variance of NLCA. In the same type of PSA, there was no significant difference in the classification rate. The classification rate of CI in NFA by MoCA and MMSE was higher than that in FA. There was no significant difference in the classification rate of CI between FA and NFA by NLCA.ConclusionMoCA, MMSE, and NLCA can be applied in FA. NLCA is recommended for NFA. (shrink)

The green economy is essential in supporting sustainable economic development and relies on talents and technologies. From the perspective of traditional economic theory, this study explores the impact of high-speed rail and innovation on the green economy from the perspectives of talent and technology. Using the data of 281 prefecture-level cities in China from 2008 to 2018, this study constructs empirical models to discuss the driving factors of the green economy. Empirical results show that high-speed rail and innovation can promote (...) the development of a green economy, and the opening of high-speed rail can strengthen the positive association between innovation and a green economy. The accessibility of high-speed rail improves the flow of talent between different cities and greatly stimulates the positive impact of innovation on green economic activities. In the further test, this study explores the impact of high-speed rail and innovation on the green economy from different dimensions, including government policy, economic strength, and administrative level. During China’s 12th Five-Year Plan, high-speed rail and innovation had a positive impact on the green economy, but the impact of innovation can still be significant after this period. Moreover, the opening of high-speed rail may motivate the migration of talents from developed cities to developing ones, while developed cities can rely on technological advantages to support green economic activities. Furthermore, low-administrative level cities will rely on attracting more talents to promote a green economy due to technological disadvantages. Innovation can play a critical role in enhancing the green economy of cities with high administrative levels. Talents and technology are both important to green economic activities, and the construction of high-speed rail changes the impact of technology on the green economy through the flow of talent. Our findings can explain why the opening of high-speed rail can promote the development of a green economy and effectively help governments achieve the goal of sustainable development. (shrink)

Anxious major depressive disorder is a common subtype of major depressive disorder; however, its unique neural mechanism is not well-understood currently. Using multimodal MRI data, this study examined common and specific alterations of amygdala subregions between patients with and without anxiety. No alterations were observed in the gray matter volume or intra-region functional integration in either patient group. Compared with the controls, both patient groups showed decreased functional connectivity between the left superficial amygdala and the left putamen, and between the (...) right superficial amygdala and the bilateral anterior cingulate cortex and medial orbitofrontal cortex, while only patients with anxiety exhibited decreased activity in the bilateral laterobasal and superficial amygdala. Moreover, the decreased activity correlated negatively with the Hamilton depression scale scores in the patients with anxiety. These findings provided insights into the pathophysiologic processes of anxious major depressive disorder and may help to develop new and effective treatment programs. (shrink)

The paper investigates the various factors from a socio-cultural perspective that have a bearing on the intercultural couple’s marital satisfaction in Westerner and non-Westerner relationships, and how cultural differences may potentially amplify the difficulties, which non-intercultural couples themselves are already likely to face. These factors include acculturation, language and communication, attitudes toward marriage, individual traits and behaviours, support of the family, societal views, gender roles, managing of the household finances and child rearing. Certain theories are also highlighted in an attempt (...) to explain why these cultural differences have such a profound effect on the marital satisfaction of intercultural couples. (shrink)

Important strides have been made toward understanding the relationship between self-efficacy and life satisfaction. However, existing studies have largely focused on work and academic domains, leaving self-efficacy in the finance domain less frequently investigated. The present study applied the self-efficacy construct to the finance domain, namely “financial self-efficacy”, and tested the sequential mediating roles of high standards tendency and investment satisfaction in the relationship between FSE and general life satisfaction. A total of 323 employees from finance-related businesses completed anonymous questionnaires (...) regarding FSE, high standards tendency, investment satisfaction, and general life satisfaction. Results indicated that FSE influenced general life satisfaction through investment satisfaction, and sequentially through high standards tendency and investment satisfaction. These results provide contributions to the current literature on life satisfaction, and positive psychology literature by shedding light on the roles of high standards tendency and investment satisfaction in the relation between FSE and general life satisfaction. (shrink)

《孔子家語》真偽問題，是中國學術史上一個著名公案。作者考鏡源流、旁征博引、推陳出新，着力從公案學的角度，對與王肅偽造《家語》說相關的公案群進行透徹的爬梳與剔抉；對此案產生的諸多取徑，如誤說誤文流傳訛變 、疏證辨偽方法移植錯置、文本內外關系牽強附會等進行認真的推究與歸納；就丁晏所謂王肅偽造眾書之說對康有為的劉歆遍偽群經說之影響進行清晰的提示與論證；對此案所涉《家語》三序的可信性程度、孔安國身世等重要而 又諸說紛紜的史事進行縝密的析說與考證。.

Ben shu yi xing wei wu jia zhi er yuan lun wei yan jiu zhu xian, an zhao " ke guan gou cheng yao jian, pai chu ke guan wei fa de shi you, zhu guan gou cheng yao jian, pai chu zhu guan ze ren de shi you " si jie ceng fan zui lun ti xi de jia gou, cong ke guan yao jian, zhu guan yao jian, xiu zheng xing tai san ge wei du, lin xuan fan (...) zui lun ling yu de ruo gan zheng yi wen ti yi ci zhan kai tao lun. ben shu jian chi yi wen ti wei dao xiang, wei rao si fa shi jian ti chu de nan ti, shu li xue shuo de mai luo, kao cha li fa de tuo dang xing, dui ge zhong li lun he guan dian tiao fen lü xi, zhi li yu li lun, li fa yu si fa de liang xing hu dong he xie diao fa zhan, ti chu de fang an zai yi ding cheng du shang hui da le li lun he shi jian zhong de yi wen. (shrink)

Ben shu jie he shi dai fa zhan de yao qiu,Cong pi pan ji cheng you xiu chuan tong wen hua de shi jiao,Dui xian qin ru jia"he"zheng zhi lun li si xiang jin xing le bi jiao quan mian de si kao.