Relativity of a Free Will Concept Depending on Both Conscious Indeterminism and Unconscious Determinism

Free will is difficult to classify with respect to determinism or indeterminism, and its phenomenology in consciousness often shows both aspects. Initially, it is felt as unlimited and indeterminate will power, with the potentiality of multiple choices. Thereafter, reductive deliberation is led by determinism to the final decision, which realises only one of the potential choices. The reductive deliberation phase tries to find out the best alternative and simultaneously satisfying vague motivations, contextual conditions and personal preferences. The essential sense of free will is the introduction of personal preferences, which allows a higher diversity of reactions to vague motivations. With an oversimplified model of determinism as a chain of events, incompatibilists define ＂free＂ as ＂undetermined＂ so that determinism becomes incompatible with any free choice between alternatives. In consciousness, free will requires a more complex model of network determinism as well as the consideration of unconsciousness as a causal factor. When ＂free＂ defined as ＂undetermined＂ is applied to the context of consciousness, it should be reinterpreted as ＂unconscious of being determined＂ or not aware of underlying determinism. Lacking information on determinism generates a feeling of ＂free＂ in consciousness and, therefore, gives the impression of indeterminism. Lacking information may be induced by an uncertain future without determined events--an unconscious past with biological reactions suddenly emerging from the unconsciousness or an unknown present unable to distinguish determinism of complex events. Therefore, at the level of human consciousness, the experience of free will is associated with apparent indeterminism although it is based on unconscious determinism. The concepts of compatibilism and incompatibilism are only two different aspects of the same phenomenon and correspond to consciousness and unconsciousness. Nevertheless, they can be considered together with a free will concept based on relativity depending on two different reference frames--the first person＇s experience frame or the Laplace＇s demon frame with knowledge on every molecule of the universe. Only relativity of the free will concept avoids the contradiction between ＂free＂ and ＂unfree＂ for the same phenomenon and could be a compromise for considering compatibilism and incompatibilism equally.

Why Free Will Is Logically Not Possible within Naturalism

One of the most intriguing problems of philosophy and of mankind is the question whether humans have a free will. This question is heavily disputed between natural scientists and especially neuroscientists, who deny free will, and philosophers and other groups, who insist on free will. It is perplexing that both sides base their premise on the same precondition, namely naturalism. We will prove that naturalism automatically leads to physicalism, to materialism, and to reductionism. We will also prove here that it is logically not possible to have a free will if naturalism is true. Free will definitely requires an additional substance, a non-material soul, which cannot be part of our universe. This must not be in contradiction to our current knowledge of natural sciences.

An Analysis of Milton＇s Free Will Defense From the Two Falls in Paradise Lost

Paradise Lost is a great epic written by John Milton. Deeply influenced by Christian Humanism, Milton fully shows his free will defense in Paradise Lost. Based on the text of Paradise Lost, this paper mainly analyzes the causes of Milton＇s free will defense, his pursuit for free will shown in the two falls in the work： Satan＇s fall and Adam and Eve＇s fall. This paper also discusses the practical meaning of free will defense in Paradise Lost： it reveals his grief and anger of the failure of England revolution and shows the idea that people don＇t have the freedom to interfere or destroy other people＇s free will.

Determinism, Free Will, and Moral Responsibility

Human beings live amidst several bonds. These bonds often place both internal and external limitations that apparently create the view that a human being has no free will but is determined. This paper explores the controversial issue whether a human being possesses free will to make free choices or is determined. It is the stance of this study that if one does not have free will then one cannot be morally responsible for one＇s actions and consequently praise and blame would then have no value. The paper, therefore, is of the view that notwithstanding the many bonds within which they live, humans, with their special dignity, have free will that operate within the respective constraints set by the bonds of human life. Furthermore, since morality involves good and bad, the paper asserts that for an act to be designated as morally good or bad, it implies that the agent was free to perform the said act or do otherwise to merit praise or blame respectively. Thus, for human freedom to be significant, it must be responsible.

Henry Fleming's Assertion of Free Will in an Indifferent Universe

Different from his naturalistic followers,Stephen Crane develops his naturalism in a restricted and special sense that contains many non-naturalistic elements.In his masterpiece The Red Badge of Courage,Crane scrutinizes the position of man in the universe through the depiction of a youthful private's war experience and spiritual growth.Despite the fact that war is extremely cruel and Nature is indifferent to man's sufferings,the protagonist Henry Fleming,after a series of trials and mental struggles,finally succeeds in asserting his free will.Seen in this light,this novel can be read as a piece that transcends the boundaries of Determinism and reflects the author's not altogether pessimistic tendency in spite of the naturalistic features in his writing.

Constraints on Characteristics and Distribution of Gas Hydrate and Free Gas Using Broad-Band Processing of Three-Dimensional Seismic Data

Gas hydrate drilling expeditions in the Pearl River Mouth Basin,South China Sea,have identified concentrated gas hydrates with variable thickness.Moreover,free gas and the coexistence of gas hydrate and free gas have been confirmed by logging,coring,and production tests in the foraminifera-rich silty sediments with complex bottom-simulating reflectors(BSRs).The broad-band processing is conducted on conventional three-dimensional(3D)seismic data to improve the image and detection accuracy of gas hydratebearing layers and delineate the saturation and thickness of gas hydrate-and free gas-bearing sediments.Several geophysical attributes extracted along the base of the gas hydrate stability zone are used to demonstrate the variable distribution and the controlling factors for the differential enrichment of gas hydrate.The inverted gas hydrate saturation at the production zone is over 40% with a thickness of 90 m,showing the interbedded distribution with different boundaries between gas hydrate-and free gas-bearing layers.However,the gas hydrate saturation value at the adjacent canyon is 70%,with 30-m-thick patches and linear features.The lithological and fault controls on gas hydrate and free gas distributions are demonstrated by tracing each gas hydrate-bearing layer.Moreover,the BSR depths based on broad-band reprocessed 3D seismic data not only exhibit variations due to small-scale topographic changes caused by seafloor sedimentation and erosion but also show the upward shift of BSR and the blocky distribution of the coexistence of gas hydrate and free gas in the Pearl River Mouth Basin.

GLOBAL SOLUTIONS TO 1D COMPRESSIBLE NAVIER-STOKES/ALLEN-CAHN SYSTEM WITH DENSITY-DEPENDENT VISCOSITY AND FREE-BOUNDARY

This paper is concerned with the Navier-Stokes/Allen-Cahn system,which is used to model the dynamics of immiscible two-phase flows.We consider a 1D free boundary problem and assume that the viscosity coefficient depends on the density in the form ofη(ρ)=ρ^(α).The existence of unique global H^(2m)-solutions(m∈N)to the free boundary problem is proven for when 0<α<1/4.Furthermore,we obtain the global C^(∞)-solutions if the initial data is smooth.

Metagenomic analysis revealing the metabolic role of microbial communities in the free amino acid biosynthesis of Monascus rice vinegar during fermentation

Free amino acid(FAA)is the important component of vinegar that infl uences quality perception and consumer acceptance.FAA is one of the major metabolites produced by microorganisms;however,the microbial metabolic network on FAA biosynthesis remains unclear.Through metagenomic analysis,this work aimed to elucidate the roles of microbes in FAA biosynthesis during Monascus rice vinegar fermentation.Taxonomic profiles from functional analyses showed 14 dominant genera with high contributions to the metabolism pathways.The metabolic network for FAA biosynthesis was then constructed,and the microbial distribution in different metabolic pathways was illuminated.The results revealed that 5 functional genera were closely involved in FAA biosynthesis.This study illuminated the metabolic roles of microorganisms in FAA biosynthesis and provided crucial insights into the functional attributes of microbiota in vinegar fermentation.

CONVEXITY OF THE FREE BOUNDARY FOR AN AXISYMMETRIC INCOMPRESSIBLE IMPINGING JET

This paper is devoted to the study of the shape of the free boundary for a threedimensional axisymmetric incompressible impinging jet.To be more precise,we will show that the free boundary is convex to the fluid,provided that the uneven ground is concave to the fluid.

Free radicals trigger the closure of open pores in lignin-derived hard carbons toward improved sodium-storage capacity

The chemical activation of various precursors is effective for creating additional closed pores in hard carbons for sodium storage.However,the formation mechanism of closed pores under the influence of pore-forming agents is not well understood.Herein,an effective chemical activation followed by a high-temperature self-healing strategy is employed to generate interconnected closed pores in lignin-derived hard carbon(HCs).By systematic experimental design combined with electron paramagnetic res-onance spectroscopy,it can be found that the content of free radicals in the carbon matrix influences the closure of open pores at high temperatures.Excessively high activation temperature(>700 C)leads to a low free radical concentration,making it difficult to achieve self-healing of open pores at high tempera-tures.By activation at 700°C,a balance between pore making and self-healing is achieved in the final hard carbon.A large number of free radicals triggers rapid growth and aggregation of carbon microcrys-tals,blocking pre-formed open micropores and creating additional interconnected closed pores in as-obtained hard carbons.As a result,the optimized carbon anode(LK-700-1300)delivers a high reversible capacity of 330.8 mA h g^(-1) at 0.03 A g^(-1),which is an increase of 86 mA h g^(-1) compared to the pristine lignin-derived carbon anode(L-700-1300),and exhibits a good rate performance(202.1 mA h g^(-1) at 1 A g^(-1)).This work provides a universal and effective guidance for tuning closed pores of hard carbons from otherprecursors.

USP19 Stabilizes TAK1 to Regulate High Glucose/Free Fatty Acid-induced Dysfunction in HK-2 Cells

Objective Obesity-induced kidney injury contributes to the development of diabetic nephropathy(DN).Here,we identified the functions of ubiquitin-specific peptidase 19(USP19)in HK-2 cells exposed to a combination of high glucose(HG)and free fatty acid(FFA)and determined its association with TGF-beta-activated kinase 1(TAK1).Methods HK-2 cells were exposed to a combination of HG and FFA.USP19 mRNA expression was detected by quantitative RT-PCR(qRT-PCR),and protein analysis was performed by immunoblotting(IB).Cell growth was assessed by Cell Counting Kit-8(CCK-8)viability and 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine(EdU)proliferation assays.Cell cycle distribution and apoptosis were detected by flow cytometry.The USP19/TAK1 interaction and ubiquitinated TAK1 levels were assayed by coimmunoprecipitation(Co-IP)assays and IB.Results In HG+FFA-challenged HK-2 cells,USP19 was highly expressed.USP19 knockdown attenuated HG+FFA-triggered growth inhibition and apoptosis promotion in HK-2 cells.Moreover,USP19 knockdown alleviated HG+FFA-mediated PTEN-induced putative kinase 1(PINK1)/Parkin pathway inactivation and increased mitochondrial reactive oxygen species(ROS)generation in HK-2 cells.Mechanistically,USP19 stabilized the TAK1 protein through deubiquitination.Importantly,increased TAK1 expression reversed the USP19 knockdown-mediated phenotypic changes and PINK1/Parkin pathway activation in HG+FFA-challenged HK-2 cells.Conclusion The findings revealed that USP19 plays a crucial role in promoting HK-2 cell dysfunction induced by combined stimulation with HG and FFAs by stabilizing TAK1,providing a potential therapeutic strategy for combating DN.

Yolk free egg substitute improves the serum phospholipid profile of mice with metabolic syndrome based on lipidomic analysis

In this study,the impacts of egg consumption on mice model of metabolic syndrome(Met S)were comparatively investigated.Mice were divided into five groups(n=8):normal diet group(ND),high-fat diet group(HFD),HFD with whole egg group(WE),HFD with free-yolk egg substitute group(YFES),and HFD with lovastatin group(Lov).Main biochemical indexes and a non-targeted lipidomic analysis were employed to insight the lipid profile changes in serum.It was revealed that WE could significantly improve serum biochemical indexes by reducing body weight,low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C)and total cholesterol(TC),while increasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.YFES exhibited remarkably better performance in increasing phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidic acids,while decreasing phosphatidylinositol than WE.A total of 50 differential lipids biomarkers tightly related to glycerophospholipids metabolism were screened out.Carnitine C18:2 and C12:1,SM(d18:0/12:0),and SM(d18:1/14:1)were significantly upregulated in YFES compared to WE.YFES reduced expression of SREBP-1c and Cpt1a,while did not affect the expression of PPAR-α.Sphingomyelin biomarkers were positively related to the TC(|r|>0.6),while PPAR-αwas negatively correlated with triglyceride and LDL-C levels.To sum up,YFES attenuated HFD-induced Met S by improving the serum phospholipids,which account for its modulation of glycerophospholipid metabolism.

Lithium-Metal Free Sulfur Battery Based on Waste Biomass Anode and Nano-Sized Li_(2)S Cathode

The realization of a stable lithium-metal free(LiMF)sulfur battery based on amorphous carbon anode and lithium sulfide(Li_(2)S)cathode is here reported.In particular,a biomass waste originating full-cell combining a carbonized brewer's spent grain(CBSG)biochar anode with a Li_(2)S-graphene composite cathode(Li_(2)S70Gr30)is proposed.This design is particularly attractive for applying a cost-effective,high performance,environment friendly,and safe anode material,as an alternative to standard graphite and metallic lithium in emerging battery technologies.The anodic and cathodic materials are characterized in terms of structure,morphology and composition through X-ray diffraction,scanning and transmission electron microscopy,X-ray photoelectron and Raman spectroscopies.Furthermore,an electrochemical characterization comprising galvanostatic cycling,rate capability and cyclic voltammetry tests were carried out both in half-cell and full-cell configurations.The systematic investigation reveals that unlike graphite,the biochar electrode displays good compatibility with the electrolyte typically employed in sulfur batteries.The CBSG/Li_(2)S70Gr30 full-cell demonstrates an initial charge and discharge capacities of 726 and 537 mAh g^(-1),respectively,at 0.05C with a coulombic efficiency of 74%.Moreover,it discloses a reversible capacity of 330 mAh g^(-1)(0.1 C)after over 300 cycles.Based on these achievements,the CBSG/Li_(2)S70Gr30 battery system can be considered as a promising energy storage solution for electric vehicles(EVs),especially when taking into account its easy scalability to an industrial level.

Estimation of free core nutation parameters and availability of computing options

The Earth’s Free Core Nutation(FCN) causes Earth tides and forced nutation with frequencies close to the FCN that exhibit resonance effects.High-precision superconducting gravimeter(SG) and very long baseline interferometry(VLBI) provide good observation techniques for detecting the FCN parameters.However,some choices in data processing and solution procedures increase the uncertainty of the FCN parameters.In this study,we analyzed the differences and the effectiveness of weight function and ocean tide corrections in the FCN parameter detection using synthetic data,SG data from thirty-one stations,and the 10 celestial pole offset(CPO) series.The results show that significant discrepancies are caused by different computing options for a single SG station.The stacking method,which results in a variation of0.24-5 sidereal days(SDs) in the FCN period(T) and 10^(3)-10^(4) in the quality factor(Q) due to the selection of the weighting function and the ocean tide model(OTM),can effectively suppress this influence.The statistical analysis results of synthetic data shows that although different weight choices,while adjusting the proportion of diurnal tidal waves involved,do not significantly improve the accuracy of fitted FCN parameters from gravity observations.The study evaluated a series of OTMs using the loading correction efficiency.The fitting of FCN parameters can be improved by selecting the mean of appropriate OTMs based on the evaluation results.Through the estimation of the FCN parameters based on the forced nutation,it was found that the weight function P_(1) is more suitable than others,and different CPO series(after 2009) resulted in a difference of 0.4 SDs in the T and of 103 in the Q.We estimated the FCN parameters for SG(T=430.4±1.5 SDs and Q=1.52×10^(4)±2.5×10^(3)) and for VLBI(T=429.8±0.7 SDs,Q=1.88×10^(4)±2.1×10^(3)).

A novel efficient energy absorber with free inversion of a metal foam-filled circular tube

In this paper, a novel efficient energy absorber with free inversion of a metal foam-filled circular tube(MFFCT) is designed, and the axial compressive behavior of the MFFCT under free inversion is studied analytically and numerically. The theoretical analysis reveals that the energy is mainly dissipated through the radial bending of the metal circular tube, the circumferential expansion of the metal circular tube, and the metal filled-foam compression. The principle of energy conservation is used to derive the theoretical formula for the minimum compressive force of the MFFCT over free inversion under axial loading. Furthermore, the free inversion deformation characteristics of the MFFCT are analyzed numerically. The theoretical steady values are found to be in good agreement with the results of the finite element(FE) analysis. The effects of the average diameter of the metal tube, the wall thickness of the metal tube, and the filled-foam strength on the free inversion deformation of the MFFCT are considered. It is observed that in the steady deformation stage, the load-carrying and energy-absorbing capacities of the MFFCT increase with the increase in the average diameter of the metal tube, the wall thickness of the metal tube, or the filled-foam strength. The specific energy absorption(SEA) of free inversion of the MFFCT is significantly higher than that of the metal tube alone.

Method of fabricating artificial rock specimens based on extrusion free forming(EFF)3D printing

Three-dimensional(3D)printing technology has been widely used to create artificial rock samples in rock mechanics.While 3D printing can create complex fractures,the material still lacks sufficient similarity to natural rock.Extrusion free forming(EFF)is a 3D printing technique that uses clay as the printing material and cures the specimens through high-temperature sintering.In this study,we attempted to use the EFF technology to fabricate artificial rock specimens.The results show the physico-mechanical properties of the specimens are significantly affected by the sintering temperature,while the nozzle diameter and layer thickness also have a certain impact.The specimens are primarily composed of SiO_(2),with mineral compositions similar to that of natural rocks.The density,uniaxial compressive strength(UCS),elastic modulus,and tensile strength of the printed specimens fall in the range of 1.65–2.54 g/cm3,16.46–50.49 MPa,2.17–13.35 GPa,and 0.82–17.18 MPa,respectively.It is capable of simulating different types of rocks,especially mudstone,sandstone,limestone,and gneiss.However,the simulation of hard rocks with UCS exceeding 50 MPa still requires validation.

Transfer matrix method for free and forced vibrations of multi-level functionally graded material stepped beams with different boundary conditions

Functionally graded materials(FGMs)are a novel class of composite materials that have attracted significant attention in the field of engineering due to their unique mechanical properties.This study aims to explore the dynamic behaviors of an FGM stepped beam with different boundary conditions based on an efficient solving method.Under the assumptions of the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory,the governing differential equations of an individual FGM beam are derived with Hamilton’s principle and decoupled via the separation-of-variable approach.Then,the free and forced vibrations of the FGM stepped beam are solved with the transfer matrix method(TMM).Two models,i.e.,a three-level FGM stepped beam and a five-level FGM stepped beam,are considered,and their natural frequencies and mode shapes are presented.To demonstrate the validity of the method in this paper,the simulation results by ABAQUS are also given.On this basis,the detailed parametric analyses on the frequencies and dynamic responses of the three-level FGM stepped beam are carried out.The results show the accuracy and efficiency of the TMM.

Fast solution to the free return orbit's reachable domain of the manned lunar mission by deep neural network

It is important to calculate the reachable domain(RD)of the manned lunar mission to evaluate whether a lunar landing site could be reached by the spacecraft. In this paper, the RD of free return orbits is quickly evaluated and calculated via the classification and regression neural networks. An efficient databasegeneration method is developed for obtaining eight types of free return orbits and then the RD is defined by the orbit’s inclination and right ascension of ascending node(RAAN) at the perilune. A classify neural network and a regression network are trained respectively. The former is built for classifying the type of the RD, and the latter is built for calculating the inclination and RAAN of the RD. The simulation results show that two neural networks are well trained. The classification model has an accuracy of more than 99% and the mean square error of the regression model is less than 0.01°on the test set. Moreover, a serial strategy is proposed to combine the two surrogate models and a recognition tool is built to evaluate whether a lunar site could be reached. The proposed deep learning method shows the superiority in computation efficiency compared with the traditional double two-body model.

Exponential Time Differencing Method for a Reaction-Diffusion System with Free Boundary

For reaction-diffusion equations in irregular domains with moving boundaries,the numerical stability constraints from the reaction and diffusion terms often require very restricted time step sizes,while complex geometries may lead to difficulties in the accuracy when discretizing the high-order derivatives on grid points near the boundary.It is very challenging to design numerical methods that can efficiently and accurately handle both difficulties.Applying an implicit scheme may be able to remove the stability constraints on the time step,however,it usually requires solving a large global system of nonlinear equations for each time step,and the computational cost could be significant.Integration factor(IF)or exponential time differencing(ETD)methods are one of the popular methods for temporal partial differential equations(PDEs)among many other methods.In our paper,we couple ETD methods with an embedded boundary method to solve a system of reaction-diffusion equations with complex geometries.In particular,we rewrite all ETD schemes into a linear combination of specificФ-functions and apply one state-of-the-art algorithm to compute the matrix-vector multiplications,which offers significant computational advantages with adaptive Krylov subspaces.In addition,we extend this method by incorporating the level set method to solve the free boundary problem.The accuracy,stability,and efficiency of the developed method are demonstrated by numerical examples.

Bridging element-free Galerkin and pluri-Gaussian simulation for geological uncertainty estimation in an ensemble smoother data assimilation framework

The facies distribution of a reservoir is one of the biggest concerns for geologists,geophysicists,reservoir modelers,and reservoir engineers due to its high importance in the setting of any reliable decisionmaking/optimization of field development planning.The approach for parameterizing the facies distribution as a random variable comes naturally through using the probability fields.Since the prior probability fields of facies come either from a seismic inversion or from other sources of geologic information,they are not conditioned to the data observed from the cores extracted from the wells.This paper presents a regularized element-free Galerkin(R-EFG)method for conditioning facies probability fields to facies observation.The conditioned probability fields respect all the conditions of the probability theory(i.e.all the values are between 0 and 1,and the sum of all fields is a uniform field of 1).This property achieves by an optimization procedure under equality and inequality constraints with the gradient projection method.The conditioned probability fields are further used as the input in the adaptive pluri-Gaussian simulation(APS)methodology and coupled with the ensemble smoother with multiple data assimilation(ES-MDA)for estimation and uncertainty quantification of the facies distribution.The history-matching of the facies models shows a good estimation and uncertainty quantification of facies distribution,a good data match and prediction capabilities.