Cosmology-Independent Photon Mass Limits from Localized Fast Radio Bursts by Using Artificial Neural Networks

A hypothetical photon mass m_(γ) can produce a frequency-dependent vacuum dispersion of light, which leads to an additional time delay between photons with different frequencies when they propagate through a fixed distance. The dispersion measure and redshift measurements of fast radio bursts(FRBs) have been widely used to constrain the rest mass of the photon. However, all current studies analyzed the effect of the frequency-dependent dispersion for massive photons in the standard ΛCDM cosmological context. In order to alleviate the circularity problem induced by the presumption of a specific cosmological model based on the fundamental postulate of the masslessness of photons, here we employ a new model-independent smoothing technique, artificial neural network(ANN), to reconstruct the Hubble parameter H(z) function from 34 cosmic-chronometer measurements.By combining observations of 32 well-localized FRBs and the H(z) function reconstructed by ANN, we obtain an upper limit of m_(γ) ≤ 3.5 × 10^(-51)kg, or equivalently m_(γ) ≤ 2.0 × 10^(-15)eV/c^(2)(m_(γ) ≤ 6.5 × 10^(-51)kg, or equivalently m_(γ) ≤ 3.6 × 10^(-15)eV/c_(2)) at the 1σ(2σ) confidence level. This is the first cosmology-independent photon mass limit derived from extragalactic sources.

A Constrained Local Neighborhood Approach for Efficient Markov Blanket Discovery in Undirected Independent Graphs

When learning the structure of a Bayesian network,the search space expands significantly as the network size and the number of nodes increase,leading to a noticeable decrease in algorithm efficiency.Traditional constraint-based methods typically rely on the results of conditional independence tests.However,excessive reliance on these test results can lead to a series of problems,including increased computational complexity and inaccurate results,especially when dealing with large-scale networks where performance bottlenecks are particularly evident.To overcome these challenges,we propose a Markov blanket discovery algorithm based on constrained local neighborhoods for constructing undirected independence graphs.This method uses the Markov blanket discovery algorithm to refine the constraints in the initial search space,sets an appropriate constraint radius,thereby reducing the initial computational cost of the algorithm and effectively narrowing the initial solution range.Specifically,the method first determines the local neighborhood space to limit the search range,thereby reducing the number of possible graph structures that need to be considered.This process not only improves the accuracy of the search space constraints but also significantly reduces the number of conditional independence tests.By performing conditional independence tests within the local neighborhood of each node,the method avoids comprehensive tests across the entire network,greatly reducing computational complexity.At the same time,the setting of the constraint radius further improves computational efficiency while ensuring accuracy.Compared to other algorithms,this method can quickly and efficiently construct undirected independence graphs while maintaining high accuracy.Experimental simulation results show that,this method has significant advantages in obtaining the structure of undirected independence graphs,not only maintaining an accuracy of over 96%but also reducing the number of conditional independence tests by at least 50%.This significant performance improvement is due to the effective constraint on the search space and the fine control of computational costs.

Origin of the Dashuigou independent tellurium deposit at Qinghai–Xizang Plateau: constraints from the light stable isotopes C, O, and H

By studying the light isotopic compositions of carbon,oxygen,and hydrogen,combined with previous research results on the ore-forming source of the deposit,the authors try to uncover its metallogenic origin.The δ^(18)O and δ^(13)C isotope signatures of dolomite samples vary between 10.2 and 13.0‰,and between−7.2 and−5.2‰,respectively,implying that the carbon derives from the upper mantle.δD and δ^(18) O of quartz,biotite,and muscovite from diff erent ore veins of the deposit vary between−82 and−59‰,and between 11.6 and 12.4‰,respectively,implying that the metallogenic solutions are mainly magmatic.According to the relevant research results of many isotope geologists,the fractionation degree of hydrogen isotopes increases as the depth to the Earth’s core increases,and the more diff erentiated the hydrogen isotopes are,the lower their values will be.In other words,mantle-derived solutions can have extremely low hydrogen isotope values.This means that the δD‰ value−134 of the pyrrhotite sample numbered SD-34 in this article may indicate mantle-derived oreforming fl uid of the deposit.The formation of the Dashuigou tellurium deposit occurred between 91.71 and 80.19 Ma.

Are cities greener because of innovation?Independent innovation policy and green economic efficiency

The national independent innovation demonstration zone(NIIDZ)is an independent innovation policy that plays a crucial role in implementing strategies.Given the importance of the NIIDZ,this study uses panel data of 278 prefecture-level cities in China from 2006 to 2020 and empirically examines the effect and internal mechanism of the NIIDZ on green economic efficiency(GEE)using the difference-in-difference model(DID).The results show that the NIIDZ effectively enhances the growth of GEE,and the results remain valid through several robustness tests,such as year-by-year propensity score matching.The transmission mechanism suggests that the NIIDZ indirectly drives GEE by accelerating scientific and technological investment,promoting talent concentration,and optimizing the industrial structure.Moreover,heterogeneity analysis reveals that the promotion effect of the NIIDZ on GEE is more prominent in the eastern region and high green development level areas.The study’s findings can serve as a reference for China to further utilize the policy effectiveness of the NIIDZ and accelerate the high-quality development of the green economy in the future.

Women on Boards of Directors

This research aims to measure the current gender representation in membership of boards of directors,and to study the factors affecting the presence of women on boards.The results of the study will support the decision makers and policy makers at all levels by providing knowledge that contributes to bridging the current gap in participation of women boards.The methodology used in this research is the descriptive analytical approach,which relies on quantitative methods in the process of collecting and analyzing data.This study represents the boards of directors in the three sectors(public,private,and non-profit)in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,The study sample contained 350 targets,where a random sample of 150 people in the public sector,100 people in the private sector,and 100 people in the non-profit sector were selected.The research result found that the majority of the responses believe that the lack of experience and training,and social factors,are the most impact areas of explaining the reasons for the existence of a gap in women’s membership in boards of directors in the three sectors.And the most important reasons for the existence of a gender gap in board membership are:there is no statutory minimum percentage for women’s representation on boards of directors,and scarcity of female competencies in general,and the lack of women occupying leadership positions.

Study on Independent Supervision Function of Design Assurance System

The effective operation of a design assurance system cannot be achieved without the effective performance of the independent supervision function.As one of the core functions of the design assurance system,the purpose of the independent supervision function is to ensure that the system operates within the scope of procedures and manuals.At present,the function of independent supervision is a difficult and confusing issue for various original equipment manufacturers as well as suppliers,and there is an urgent requirement to put forward relevant requirements and form relevant methods.Based on the above mentioned objective,the basic requirements of the independent supervision function of design assurance system were studied,the problems and deficiencies in the organization,staffing,and methods existing in the current independent supervision function were analyzed,the improvement suggestions and measures for the performance of the independent supervision function from the aspects of the organization,staffing,procedures,and suppliers were put forward.The present work and conclusions provide guidance and direction for the effective operation of the design assurance system.

Analysis of the Role of Problem-Based Independent Learning Model in Teaching Cerebral Ischemic Stroke First Aid in Emergency Medicine

Objective:To analyze the effect of using a problem-based(PBL)independent learning model in teaching cerebral ischemic stroke(CIS)first aid in emergency medicine.Methods:90 interns in the emergency department of our hospital from May 2022 to May 2023 were selected for the study.They were divided into Group A(45,conventional teaching method)and Group B(45 cases,PBL independent learning model)by randomized numerical table method to compare the effects of the two groups.Results:The teaching effect indicators and student satisfaction scores in Group B were higher than those in Group A(P<0.05).Conclusion:The use of the PBL independent learning model in the teaching of CIS first aid can significantly improve the teaching effect and student satisfaction.

Concerns Affecting Behaviors of Independent Directors

This paper tries to find out whether some individual concerns will affect the behaviors of independent directors, specifically voting against proposals during the board meeting.We analyze career concern,compensation concern,reputation concern and term concern.The results show that individual director with longer career horizon,who is better compensated,with less board seats in other firms,and whose term is earlier than that of the board chairman is more likely to dissent.

Does the system of independent directors help improve the quality of accounting information： From the perspective of earnings conservatism

Based on the sample data of the listed firms on the A stock market, we analyze how the system of independent directors influence the earning conservatism from 4 dimensions designed to measure the monitoring power of these independent directors： Percentage within BDs, professional capacities, stimulation and work conditions. From the empirical results, we conclude that the more powerful of the independent directors, the better the accounting conservatism, and that their positive impact increases along with the improvement on corporate governance, meanwhile the work conditions plays the most important role, and then are the percentage within BDs and their professional capacities, the stimulation and personal reputation appear the least importance.

Board of Directors, Independent Directors and Audit Fees： Based on the Empirical Data of the GEM of China

As one of the alternative variables of audit quality, audit fees have been researched widely in the Mainboard of China stock market, but empirical research based on the GEM （Growth Enterprise Market） of China is very few. From the perspective of GEM of China, this article observes and studies the impact of corporate governance structure represented by board of directors and independent directors on audit fees. This article selects the data of 348 listed companies in the GEM of China in 2012, proves that there is a positive correlation between the number of meetings, independent directors＇ salaries and audit fees through the use of multiple linear regression model, and accordingly proposed suggestions that improve the corporate governance structure of the GEM of China.

MPC-based Torque Distribution for Planar Motion of Four-wheel Independently Driven Electric Vehicles:Considering Motor Models and Iron Losses

The most critical obstacle for four-wheel independently driven electric vehicles(4WID-EVs)is the driving range.Being the actuators of 4WID-EVs,motors account for its major power consumption.In this sense,by properly distributing torques to minimize the power consumption,the driving range of 4WID-EV can be effectively improved.This paper proposes a model predictive control(MPC)-based torque distribution scheme,which minimizes the power consumption of 4WID-EVs while guaranteeing its tracking performance of planar motions.By incorporating the motor model considering iron losses,the optimal torque distribution can be achieved without an additional torque controller.Also,for this reason,the proposed control scheme is computationally efficient,since the power consumption term to be optimized,which is expressed as the product of the motor voltages and currents,is much simpler than that derived from the efficiency map.With reasonable simplification and linearization,the MPC problem is converted to a quadratic programming problem,which can be solved efficiently.The simulation results in MATLAB and CarSim co-simulation environments demonstrate that the proposed scheme effectively reduces power consumption with guaranteed tracking performance.

Solving the k-Independent Sets Problem of Graphs by Gröbner Bases

The aim of this paper is to given an algebraic computational method for finding maximal independent sets as well as the independent number of an arbitrary finite graph of n vertices G by strengthening the problem of finding maximal independent sets of G to the problem of finding k-independent sets in G for. It is shown that the existence of k-independent sets in G is equivalent to the existence of solutions of a system of multivariate polynomial equations. It follows that the problem of finding k-independent sets can be realized by using Gröbner bases of polynomial ideals. Since the number of k-independent sets is finite, the triangular equations composed by Gröbner bases are easier to be solved. Consequently, the maximal independent sets and the independent number of G are obtained after solving at most n such equations. Finally, the numerical example is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of this algebraic computational method.

Projecting Wintertime Newly Formed Arctic Sea Ice through Weighting CMIP6 Model Performance and Independence

Precipitous Arctic sea-ice decline and the corresponding increase in Arctic open-water areas in summer months give more space for sea-ice growth in the subsequent cold seasons. Compared to the decline of the entire Arctic multiyear sea ice,changes in newly formed sea ice indicate more thermodynamic and dynamic information on Arctic atmosphere–ocean–ice interaction and northern mid–high latitude atmospheric teleconnections. Here, we use a large multimodel ensemble from phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project(CMIP6) to investigate future changes in wintertime newly formed Arctic sea ice. The commonly used model-democracy approach that gives equal weight to each model essentially assumes that all models are independent and equally plausible, which contradicts with the fact that there are large interdependencies in the ensemble and discrepancies in models' performances in reproducing observations. Therefore, instead of using the arithmetic mean of well-performing models or all available models for projections like in previous studies, we employ a newly developed model weighting scheme that weights all models in the ensemble with consideration of their performance and independence to provide more reliable projections. Model democracy leads to evident bias and large intermodel spread in CMIP6 projections of newly formed Arctic sea ice. However, we show that both the bias and the intermodel spread can be effectively reduced by the weighting scheme. Projections from the weighted models indicate that wintertime newly formed Arctic sea ice is likely to increase dramatically until the middle of this century regardless of the emissions scenario.Thereafter, it may decrease(or remain stable) if the Arctic warming crosses a threshold(or is extensively constrained).

Female directors in the boardroom and intellectual capital performance:Does the“critical mass”matter?

This research aims to investigate the influence of female directors on Intellectual Capital Performance(ICP)using a sample of manufacturing-listed companies in China.Our study investigates the link between having two or more female directors and the Modified Value-Added Intellectual Coefficient(MVAIC)methodology,employing the critical mass theory from 2004–2017.We find that having a critical mass of female directors(three or more)shows a significant positive impact on MVAIC and its components,including human capital efficiency,structural capital efficiency,relational capital efficiency,and physical capital efficiency,with physical capital being the critical driver.Our study reveals that the critical mass participation of female directors substantially influences the IC efficiency of privately owned companies compared to state-owned companies.Moreover,the number of female directors also affects the IC performance of manufacturing companies in multiple regions.Our findings support the validity of group classification identified by Kanter and Critical Mass Theory.To the best of our knowledge,this is one of the few pieces of research that studies the role of female board directors in IC performance and Chinese manufacturing firms using MVAIC as an IC measure.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging study of group independent components underpinning item responses to paranoid-depressive scale

BACKGROUND Our study expand upon a large body of evidence in the field of neuropsychiatric imaging with cognitive,affective and behavioral tasks,adapted for the functional magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)(fMRI)experimental environment.There is sufficient evidence that common networks underpin activations in task-based fMRI across different mental disorders.AIM To investigate whether there exist specific neural circuits which underpin differ-ential item responses to depressive,paranoid and neutral items(DN)in patients respectively with schizophrenia(SCZ)and major depressive disorder(MDD).METHODS 60 patients were recruited with SCZ and MDD.All patients have been scanned on 3T magnetic resonance tomography platform with functional MRI paradigm,comprised of block design,including blocks with items from diagnostic paranoid(DP),depression specific(DS)and DN from general interest scale.We performed a two-sample t-test between the two groups-SCZ patients and depressive patients.Our purpose was to observe different brain networks which were activated during a specific condition of the task,respectively DS,DP,DN.RESULTS Several significant results are demonstrated in the comparison between SCZ and depressive groups while performing this task.We identified one component that is task-related and independent of condition(shared between all three conditions),composed by regions within the temporal(right superior and middle temporal gyri),frontal(left middle and inferior frontal gyri)and limbic/salience system(right anterior insula).Another com-ponent is related to both diagnostic specific conditions(DS and DP)e.g.It is shared between DEP and SCZ,and includes frontal motor/language and parietal areas.One specific component is modulated preferentially by to the DP condition,and is related mainly to prefrontal regions,whereas other two components are significantly modulated with the DS condition and include clusters within the default mode network such as posterior cingulate and precuneus,several occipital areas,including lingual and fusiform gyrus,as well as parahippocampal gyrus.Finally,component 12 appeared to be unique for the neutral condition.In addition,there have been determined circuits across components,which are either common,or distinct in the preferential processing of the sub-scales of the task.CONCLUSION This study has delivers further evidence in support of the model of trans-disciplinary cross-validation in psychiatry.

The Criterion of weighting the independence of non-executive directors

Non-executive directors are now very well established in Chinese business. The uniform and final criterion of weighting the independence of non-executive directors is not available. It will be valuable to draw an analogy with the criterion of weighting the independence of non-executive directors in the UK, where over a dozen different criterions are applied.

Free Vibration Analysis of Rectangular Plate with Cutouts under Elastic Boundary Conditions in Independent Coordinate Coupling Method

Based on Kirchhoff plate theory and the Rayleigh-Ritz method,the model for free vibration of rectangular plate with rectangular cutouts under arbitrary elastic boundary conditions is established by using the improved Fourier series in combination with the independent coordinate coupling method(ICCM).The effect of the cutout is taken into account by subtracting the energies of the cutouts from the total energies of the whole plate.The vibration displacement function of the hole domain is based on the coordinate system of the hole domain in this method.From the continuity condition of the vibration displacement function at the cutout,the transition matrix between the two coordinate systems is constructed,and the mass and stiffness matrices are completely obtained.As a result,the calculation is simplified and the computational efficiency of the solution is improved.In this paper,numerical examples and modal experiments are presented to validate the effectiveness of the modeling methods,and parameters related to influencing factors of the rectangular plate are analyzed to study the vibration characteristics.

Coping strategy of independent directors for job-fulfillment risk under different ownership types and enforced legal environments

Ownership type,legal system evolution and their interaction significantly affect the incentives and behaviors of independent directors.We use the 2019 Securities Law revision as an exogenous shock to examine how state-owned enterprises(SOEs)versus non-SOEs and their independent directors respond to variations in regulatory compliance risk.Following the revision,SOEs are more likely to purchase directors’and officers’liability insurance to provide job security for independent directors.Non-SOEs are more likely to compensate for independent directors’fulfillment risk by increasing salaries and their independent directors are more likely to resign to avoid litigation risk.The coping strategies for SOEs,non-SOEs and independent directors are dynamic under different compliance risk stages and are affected by firm-level and director-level characteristics.

Voluntary resignation of independent directors and auditor responses:Empirical evidence from Chinese A-share listed firms

We examine auditor responses to the voluntary resignation of independent directors.We show that auditors respond by increasing audit fees or rescinding engagement with their clients,but not by increasing their audit effort.Mechanism tests reveal that independent directors’voluntary resignation leads to increased regulatory sanctions and negative media coverage,these relationships are more pronounced after the New Securities Law.Auditor response strategies follow an order of priority:at an acceptable level of perceived risk,auditors increase audit fees;when perceived risk exceeds this level,auditors will discontinue the client relationship.Auditors associate greater risk with firms that have(vs.have not)experienced consecutive voluntary resignations by independent directors.Mandatory resignation has no such effect.

海外电力建设项目Independent Engineer工作模式探讨

在一些海外电力建设项目中,Independent Engineer是不可或缺的。Independent Engineer的角色不同于国内电力建设五方中的任何一方。本文以巴基斯坦某燃煤电站为例,探讨Independent Engineer的工作模式,并将Independent Engineer与国内电力建设参建方进行对比分析。