This article takes as its point of departure the view that the discovery of the mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics (QM) was not merely a discovery of a new mathematical way of dealing with physical, and specifically quantum, processes in nature. It was also a discovery of a general mathematical formalism (in part discovered in mathematics itself earlier), which, supplemented by certain additional rules, consistently described the processing of incomplete information about certain events and contexts in which these events occur. (...) This article proposes a quantum-like (QL) model of the functioning of the brain based on the (Hilbert-space) formalism of quantum mechanics, but now used as part of a QL mathematical model of neural processes in the brain, rather than for describing quantum physical processes. This model is, thus, fundamentally different from the (reductionist) quantum model of the brain and consciousness, according to which cognition arises by virtue of physical quantum processes in the brain. In the present view, the brain is an advanced biological system that developed the ability to create a QL representation of contexts, which, thus, allows one to describe a significant part of its functioning by the QM mathematical formalism. The possibility of such a description has nothing to do with the constitution and workings of the brain as a quantum system (composed of photons, electrons, protons, and so forth). The QL model offered here is based instead on conventional neurophysiological model of the functioning of the brain, even though the brain, the article suggests, does use the QL rule (given by von Neumann trace formula, used in QM) for the calculation of approximate averages for mental functions. The QL model developed in this article has a temporal basis, based on a (hypothetical) argument that cognitive processes are based on at least two time scales: a (very fine) subcognitive one and a (much coarser) cognitive one. (shrink)

The article is devoted to the analysis of “psychological” argument for the existence of God of Viktor Nesmelov, professor of Kazan Theological Academy, represented in his fundamental work “Science of Man”. The main interpretations of this argument, formulated both contemporaries of Nesmelov ) and modern researchers of his legacy are considered. The basic prerequisites and origins of Nesmelov’s anthropological doctrine are analyzed. The main of them were V. Snegiryov’s psychological doctrine and anthropological ideas of St. Gregory of Nyssa. The main (...) ideas of Nesmelov’s Christian anthropology, related directly to his formulation of “the idea of God”, etc.) are revealed. Besides that, Nesmelov’s criticism of the main existing arguments for the existence of God is analyzed. The main conclusion based on the analysis of Nesmelov’s anthropological system is made: his argument for the existence of God represents rather a methodological program for creating such argument in the future. The base of this argument should be made of not only by an “ abstract knowledge”, but the “living worldview” and the “living unity of God and man”. (shrink)

We investigate particular cosmological models, based either on tachyon fields or on perfect fluids, for which soft future singularities arise in a natural way. Our main result is the description of a smooth crossing of the soft singularity in models with an anti-Chaplygin gas or with a particular tachyon field in the presence of dust. Such a crossing is made possible by certain transformations of matter properties. We discuss and compare also different approaches to the problem of crossing of the (...) Big Bang–Big Crunch singularities. (shrink)

У статті, на прикладі дослідження наукової тематики кафедри, висвітлюється можливі механізми оцінки інноваційного потенціалу наукової установ та її складових частин. Підкреслюється необхідність розвитку науки, як життєво необхідного фактору для нормальної роботи всіх сфер держави, а також створення найбільш комфортних соціально-побутових умов для населення, відповідно до європейського рівня розвитку суспільства. Метою дослідження є розробка методичних положень щодо оцінки інноваційного потенціалу наукової діяльності наукових установ, як фактора збільшення інвестиційної вартості науки на ринку наукових послуг України. Завданнями є: узагальнення особливостей інноваційного потенціалу наукових (...) установ ; формулювання теоретичних визначень інноваційного потенціалу, інноваційної діяльності; обґрунтування необхідності моделювання процесів оцінювання інноваційного потенціалу наукової діяльності тощо. Виходячи з актуальності обраної теми ставиться мета, формулюються завдання. Методологічну основу дослідження складає сукупність загальновизнаних принципів та методів наукового пізнання. Для отримання наукових результатів застосовувалися загальнонаукові принципи та підходи, які забезпечили єдність аналізу, історизм, об’єктивність дослідження тощо. Робиться висновок про те, що надійне та ефективне застосування наукових розробок у багатьох сферах є основою поступального розвитку економіки країни та представляє невід’ємну складову забезпечення цивілізованих умов життя всіх її громадян. Пропонується ряд змін до чинного законодавства, а саме до Закону України «Про наукову та науково-технічну експертизу», «Про державне регулювання діяльності у сфері трансферу технологій». Зауважується на тому, що на тлі змін ролі науки і техніки та високих технологій в житті людства питання вивчення інноваційного потенціалу науки набувають особливої актуальності. Та незважаючи на великий інтерес до усебічного вивчення напрямів розвитку науки, до сих пір не врегульовано єдиних загальних підходів до його оцінювання. (shrink)

In this study, we examine the nature of the relationship between ethical leadership and unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB), defined as unethical behavior conducted by employees with the aim of benefiting their organization, and whether the strength of the relationship differs between subordinates experiencing high and low identification with supervisor. Based on three-wave survey data obtained from 239 public sector employees in China, we find that ethical leadership has an inverted u-shaped (curvilinear) relationship with UPB. As the level of ethical leadership (...) increases from low to moderate, UPB increases; as the level of ethical leadership increases from moderate to high, UPB decreases. Further, we find that the strength of this inverted u-curve relationship differs between subordinates with high and low identification with supervisor. That is to say, the inverted u-shaped relationship between ethical leadership and UPB was stronger when subordinates experienced high levels of identification with supervisor. The theoretical and managerial implications of our findings for understanding how to manage UPB in an organizational context are discussed. (shrink)

Coming fromI andCl, i.e. from intuitionistic and classical propositional calculi with the substitution rule postulated, and using the sign to add a new connective there have been considered here: Grzegorozyk's logicGrz, the proof logicG and the proof-intuitionistic logicI set up correspondingly by the calculiFor any calculus we denote by the set of all formulae of the calculus and by the lattice of all logics that are the extensions of the logic of the calculus, i.e. sets of formulae containing the axioms (...) of and closed with respect to its rules of inference. In the logiclG the sign is decoded as follows: A = (A & A). The result of placing in the formulaA before each of its subformula is denoted byTrA. The maps are defined (in the definitions of x and the decoding of is meant), by virtue of which the diagram is constructed. (shrink)

Recent work indicates that there are distinct response habituation mechanisms that can be recruited by different stimulation rates and that can underlie different components (e.g., the duration or speed) of a single behavioral response. These findings raise the question: why is “the simplest form of learning” so complicated mechanistically? Beyond evolutionary selection for robustness of plasticity in learning to ignore, it is proposed in this article that multiple mechanisms of habituation have evolved to streamline shifts in ongoing behavioral strategy. Then, (...) speculations are offered regarding the implications of this reconceptualization of habituation for approaching the analysis of mechanisms of more complex forms of learning and memory. (shrink)

The main article is devoted to the historical and philosophical reconstruction of controversy between Vladimir Solovyov and the authors of the “Faith and Reason” - a magazine of the Kharkov Theological Seminary. This controversy took its place in the “theological and journalistic” or the “theocratic” period of Solovyov’s works. Particular attention is paid to the disputes of Solovyov and T. Stoyanov, A.P. Shost'in and the French Orthodox priest Fr. Vladimir Gette on the theory of dogmatic development in the church. In (...) the context of this controversy, the arguments for the “defense” of Solovyov's position, cited in the magazine “Orthodox Review” by a theologian and Konstantin Leontyev's follower Ivan Kristi are also analyzed. The reception of Solovyov's theocratic ideas and reaction to his ecclesiastical views in both the Catholic and Orthodox circles of Russian and Western society is shown. Especially it concerns the criticism of Solovyov’s ideas in the pages of the French magazines “L’Univers”, “L'Union Chrétienne”, “Revue d’Eglise greque-unie”, etc. The evolution of Solovyov's views on the problem of the union of Eastern and Western churches, the renewal of church communication between Orthodoxy and Catholicism, the main result of which was his fundamental but unfinished work “The History and Future of the Theocracy” was demonstrated. A conclusion about the “superficiality” of the judgments of the majority of Vladimir Solovyov's ideological opponents, as well as later interpreters of his legacy, following the French Jesuit Michel d'Erbigny, who tried to present him as a “Russian Newman” who converted from Orthodoxy into the Catholic faith is drawn. It is shown that Solovyov’s projects of the “religion of the Holy Spirit” and the “Universal Church”, created on its basis, should be considered primarily in the context of his own philosophical quest, and not in connection with the confessional and ideological divergences of his time. (shrink)

In recent years, sequencing technologies have enabled the identification of a wide range of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). Unfortunately, annotation and integration of ncRNA data has lagged behind their identification. Given the large quantity of information being obtained in this area, there emerges an urgent need to integrate what is being discovered by a broad range of relevant communities. To this end, the Non-Coding RNA Ontology (NCRO) is being developed to provide a systematically structured and precisely defined controlled vocabulary for the (...) domain of ncRNAs, thereby facilitating the discovery, curation, analysis, exchange, and reasoning of data about structures of ncRNAs, their molecular and cellular functions, and their impacts upon phenotypes. The goal of NCRO is to serve as a common resource for annotations of diverse research in a way that will significantly enhance integrative and comparative analysis of the myriad resources currently housed in disparate sources. It is our belief that the NCRO ontology can perform an important role in the comprehensive unification of ncRNA biology and, indeed, fill a critical gap in both the Open Biological and Biomedical Ontologies (OBO) Library and the National Center for Biomedical Ontology (NCBO) BioPortal. Our initial focus is on the ontological representation of small regulatory ncRNAs, which we see as the first step in providing a resource for the annotation of data about all forms of ncRNAs. (shrink)

ABSTRACTThe idea of a special role of the scientist in modern society was proposed by Max Weber in his lecture ‘Science as a Vocation’. Weber saw the scientific community as an entity possessing th...

Resumo: A filosofia tradicional chinesa tem, convencionalmente, visto as emoções como uma barreira para a acuidade moral, enquanto o controle e a racionalidade têm sido os pilares. Este artigo argumenta contra essa escola de pensamento e sintetiza a ética tradicional chinesa com alguns trabalhos psicológicos de última geração, nos quais as emoções aparecem como o ponto central do julgamento moral. Mais especificamente, o que ele discute é o papel das emoções, como empatia e culpa, na tomada de decisões morais. Com (...) base nas pesquisas mais recentes em psicologia, este texto argumenta que, se as emoções forem bem gerenciadas, elas contribuirão positivamente para o raciocínio moral e o comportamento ético. Combinando princípios de regulação emocional da ética chinesa e estruturas psicológicas contemporâneas, essa abordagem reaviva o argumento filosófico clássico e, ao mesmo tempo, fornece importantes percepções culturais para a teoria ética moderna e a psicologia moral. (shrink)

Georges Gurvitch, from the 1920s to the end of his life, was solving the problem of combining unity and plurality in the justification of society. He believed that individualism and collectivism represented social processes in a limited way because they were based on the preconception that the binding power of law derives respectively from a private or corporate actor's will. Gurvitch contrasted individual law with the social one, which was intended to overcome the opposition between individualism and collectivism. Social law (...) bases on legal sociology's assumption that social interactions as such are already legal relations. This conclusion allows Gurvitch to consider any social interaction as a source of law and to assert legal pluralism as a way of constructing society. The integrity of the latter is a condition for the mutual correlation of the multiplicity of legal regulations generated by internal social interactions into the unified structure of social law. In a holistic approach to comprehending social interactions, Gurvitch, in his Russian-language works in the migr period, uses the philosophical-legal interpretation of sobornost to describe society's integrity. In French- and English-language works from the 1930s, Gurvitch uses the term "totality," which he learned from Marcel Mauss, to describe social integrity. This article compares sobornost and totality as variants of denoting social integrity in Gurvitch's social law doctrine. The researcher determines that Gurvitch, using the concepts of sobornost and totality, interpreted society's development differently, 1) as anti-hierarchical sobornost equality, and 2) as a hierarchical inordination of totalities. Having analyzed the peculiarities of the interpretation of sobornost and totality in Gurvitch's works, the author concludes that these concepts should be considered multilingual equivalents in denoting communal unity as sources of law, which reflect changes in the interpretation of society in Gurvitch's social law doctrine. (shrink)

Background: It has been reported that type 2 diabetes is associated with olfactory identification impairments and cognitive decline. However, the relationship between OI impairments and cognitive decline is largely unknown in T2DM patients.Methods: Sixty-eight T2DM patients and 68 healthy controls underwent 3D-T1 MRI scans, olfactory and cognitive assessments. The cortical thickness of olfaction-related brain regions, olfactory and cognitive scores were compared between groups. Correlation analyses were carried out among cognition, olfaction, and cortical thickness of olfaction-related brain regions.Results: First, the cognitive (...) and olfactory test scores of T2DM patients were lower than healthy subjects. Second, higher olfactory scores were associated with increased cortical thickness in the left parahippocampal gyrus and bilateral insula in T2DM. Third, higher olfactory scores were associated with higher cognitive performance in T2DM. Fourth, some cognitive performances were related to cortical thickness in the left parahippocampal gyrus and left insula in T2DM.Conclusion: These findings indicated that olfactory dysfunction may be useful for future applications that attempt to predict cognitive decline or develop tailored therapies in T2DM patients. (shrink)

The purpose of the article is to describe secularism, secularization and secularity in their relationship with the metaphysical and post-metaphysical philosophizing. The objective of the research is to analyze and compare the sense of the term secularism, secularization and secularity in metaphysical and post-metaphysical philosophizing. The scientific novelty of the research is that secularism is seen as an ideology derived from secularization and inextricably linked with the metaphysical constructions of modernism and secularity as a natural consequence of the ongoing process (...) of secularization in the post-metaphysical paradigm of thinking. Post-secular philosophy is philosophy after secular ontology and epistemology have been criticized; after we have been aware of the secular as a framework that relentlessly dictates the specific outlines of our experience, but which we are free to deploy in any way that impresses us; after we have taken in quotation marks all the usual secular divisions and wondered whether it is possible to live, feel and think differently. Speaking of post-secular philosophy, it is impossible to avoid the question of what is meant by secular, which in this post-secular seems to be overcome. To answer this question, it is necessary to distinguish between secularism, secularization and secularity, because these concepts are not equivalent. The author understands secularism as an ideology that presupposes the disappearance of religion, the “disenchantment” of the world, the liberation of man and humanity from all sorts of charms, especially religious. Secularization is the positive way in which society responds to the call of its own religious tradition. Secularization does not eliminate religion as such, but only some forms of religiosity that are incompatible with the new vision of reality. Thus, by secularization the author means a certain process of changing the status of religious faith in the public consciousness. Secularism is an ideology according to which a person criticizes everything religious, including religious institutions, and also believes that non-religious and anti-religious principles should be the basis of human morality. The term secularity refers either to the state of consciousness of a modern subject who has ceased to be religious or for whom religious faith has been replaced by modern experience; or the state of modern institutions and practices that operate outside any connection with religion. Completion of metaphysics means loss of confidence in any metanarratives, including secularism. The prefix “post” applies to the present era, when we speak of the end of secularism, and by no means the end of secularity. (shrink)

When constrained by limited resources, how do we choose axioms of rationality? The target article relies on Bayesian reasoning that encounter serioustractabilityproblems. We propose another axiomatic foundation: quantum probability theory, which provides for less complex and more comprehensive descriptions. More generally, defining rationality in terms of axiomatic systems misses a key issue: rationality must be defined by humans facing vague information.

Smart grids are rolling out internationally, with the United States nearing completion of a significant USD4-plus-billion federal program funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The emergence of smart grids is widespread across developed countries. Multiple approaches to analyzing the benefits of smart grids have emerged. The goals of this white paper are to review these approaches and analyze examples of each to highlight their differences, advantages, and disadvantages. This work was conducted under the auspices of a joint U.S.-China (...) research effort, the Climate Change Working Group Implementation Plan, Smart Grid. We present comparative benefits assessments of smart grid demonstrations in the U.S. and China along with a BA of a pilot project in Europe. In the U.S., we assess projects at two sites: the University of California, Irvine campus, which consists of two distinct demonstrations: Southern California Edison’s Irvine Smart Grid Demonstration Project and the UCI campus itself; and the Navy Yard area in Philadelphia, which has been repurposed as a mixed commercial-industrial, and possibly residential, development. In China, we cover several smart-grid aspects of the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city and the Shenzhen Bay Technology and Ecology City. In Europe, we look at a BA of a pilot smart grid project in the Malagrotta area west of Rome, Italy, contributed by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. The Irvine sub-project BAs use the U.S. Department of Energy Smart Grid Computational Tool, which is built on methods developed by the Electric Power Research Institute. The TEC sub-project BAs apply Smart Grid Multi-Criteria Analysis developed by the State Grid Corporation of China based on the analytic hierarchy process with fuzzy logic. The B-TEC and TNY sub-project BAs are evaluated using new approaches developed by those project teams. JRC has adopted an approach similar to EPRI’s but tailored to the Malagrotta distribution grid. (shrink)

Background Individual physicians and physician-associated factors may influence patients’/surrogates’ autonomous decision-making, thus influencing the practice of do-not-resuscitate orders. The objective of this study was to examine the influence of individual attending physicians on signing a DNR order. Methods This study was conducted in closed model, surgical intensive care units in a university-affiliated teaching hospital located in Northern Taiwan. The medical records of patients, admitted to the surgical intensive care units for the first time between June 1, 2011 and December 31, (...) 2013 were reviewed and data collected. We used Kaplan–Meier survival curves with log-rank test and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models to compare the time from surgical intensive care unit admission to do-not-resuscitate orders written for patients for each individual physician. The outcome variable was the time from surgical ICU admission to signing a DNR order. Results We found that each individual attending physician’s likelihood of signing do-not-resuscitate orders for their patients was significantly different from each other. Some attending physicians were more likely to write do-not-resuscitate orders for their patients, and other attending physicians were less likely to do so. Conclusion Our study reported that individual attending physicians had influence on patients’/surrogates’ do-not-resuscitate decision-making. Future studies may be focused on examining the reasons associated with the difference of each individual physician in the likelihood of signing a do-not-resuscitate order. (shrink)

A growing body of research has started to examine how individuals from different countries may differ in their use of ethically questionable tactics during business negotiations. Whereas prior research focused on the main effect of the national culture or nationality of the negotiator, we add a new factor, which is the nationality of the counterpart. Looking at both these variables allows us to examine whether and how people may change their likelihood of using ethically questionable tactics in inter-cultural negotiations as (...) opposed to intra-cultural ones. Results of an experiment show that overall, American participants were less likely than Chinese participants to use ethically questionable tactics in negotiations. However, American participants were more likely to use ethically questionable tactics, particularly those related to false promises and inappropriate information gathering, in inter-cultural negotiations with Chinese counterparts, than in intra-cultural negotiations with American counterparts. By contrast, Chinese participants were less likely to use ethically questionable tactics, particularly those related to false promises and attacking opponent’s network, in inter-cultural negotiations with American counterparts, than in intra-cultural negotiations with Chinese counterparts. Implications and future directions are discussed. (shrink)

Abū al-Ḥajj¿j Yūsuf b. Muḥammad Ibn Ṭumlūs (Alhagiag Bin Thalmus, d. 620/1223) was a philosopher, physician and direct disciple of Ibn Rushd (Averroes, d. 595/1198), who lived and practiced rational sciences in Alzira and Marrakesh, a quarter of a century after the demise of his teacher. Ibn Ṭumlūs was not Ibn Rushd's only student who engaged in work on logic, but one of dozens of disciples, suggesting that the supposed simultaneous death of the latter's philosophy is "grossly exaggerated". As a (...) valuable window into the practice of logic in 13th century al-Andalus and the Maghreb, Ibn Ṭumlūs' Compendium on Logic (Al-Mukhtaṣar fī al-manṭiq) covers all the parts of "the expanded Organon", as it was known since al-F¿r¿bī (d. 339/951). The present volume offers a complete critical Arabic edition of this work, with an English and Arabic introduction, notes and indices. (shrink)

In a 1988 study, James T. C. Liu used the phrase "China turning inward" to characterize the shift from Northern Song to Southern Song intellectual traditions, especially the intellectual lineage from Cheng Yi 程頤 to Zhu Xi 朱熹.1 Building upon Professor Liu's characterization, I will explore more specifically how the Way turned toward greater emphasis on inner self-cultivation as daoxue 道學....

Recent research indicates that social networking site addiction is positively associated with materialism. However, little attention has been paid to the potential mechanisms in this relationship. This study tested the mediating role of depression and the moderating role of need to belong in the relationships between SNS addiction and adolescents’ materialism. This research model was tested among 733 adolescents in China. The findings indicated that both SNS addiction and NTB were positively related to adolescents’ materialism. Mediation analyses showed that depression (...) mediated the association between SNS addiction and adolescents’ materialism. Moderated mediation indicated that the effect of SNS addiction on materialism and the effect of SNS addiction on depression were exacerbated by NTB. This study can advance our understanding of how SNS could contribute to adolescents’ materialism in this digital society. (shrink)

Although research in the feedback-seeking behavior literature has primarily focused on feedback-seeking from supervisors, some emerging works have begun to explore the benefits of coworker feedback-seeking behavior. Based on the social exchange theory, we investigated how and when seeking feedback from coworkers will benefit the seekers. Using a sample of 327 teachers from China, we find that seeking feedback from coworkers is positively associated with task performance and workplace well-being. Seeking feedback from coworkers is also positively associated with coworker relationship. (...) Moreover, the coworker relationship mediates the effects of seeking feedback from coworkers and task performance and workplace well-being, and moderates the strength of the relationship between seeking feedback from coworkers on task performance and workplace well-being. Theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed. (shrink)