Unsustainable Land-Based Source Pollution in a Climate of Change: A Roadblock to the Conservation and Recovery of Elkhorn Coral <i>Acropora palmata</i>(Lamarck 1816)

Chronic eutrophication and turbidity are critical detrimental factors impacting coral reef ecosystems, adversely affecting their ecological functions, services, benefits, and resilience across multiple spatial scales and over prolonged periods of time. Inadequate land use practices and lack of appropriate sewage treatment can adversely contribute to increase land-based source pollution (LBSP) impacts in coastal waters and to magnify impacts by sea surface warming trends associated to climate change. Fringing coral reefs off Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, support extensive remnant patches of Elkhorn coral Acropora palmata (Lamarck 1816), which was listed in 2006 as a threatened species under the US Endangered Species Act. Chronic impacts by LBSP have significantly affected local downstream fringing reefs. We characterized the spatial extent of a water quality stress gradient across 12 reefs along the Vega Baja coast through monthly measurements of multiple physico-chemical parameters. Most parameters, particularly PO4, , chlorophyll-a, and the concentration of optical brighteners (OABs), showed a statistically significant increase (PERMANOVA, p < 0.05) in waters close to the main pollution sources, but also in waters adjacent to Cibuco River effluents. Dissolved oxygen also declined and turbidity increased on polluted sites. PO4, , and chlorophyll-a, exceeded recommended concentrations for coral reef ecosystems by factors of 7 - 50 times, 600 - 1240 times, and 17 - 83 times, respectively, depending on the source of the effluents and the distance from sewage pollution sources. Also, water turbidity exceeded 4 - 10 times the recommended value for pristine coral reefs. Coral reefs showed significant decline in close proximity to the polluted zone, showing a significantly different benthic community structure (PERMANOVA, p < 0.0001) dominated by non-reef building taxa (i.e., macroalgae, algal turf) and bare substrate. Percent coral cover and abundance of A. palmata, showed a significant increase with distance. Coral species richness, species diversity index, and the variance in taxonomic distinctness were very low on reef patches adjacent to the polluted zone, increased at a moderate distance with increasing coral cover and co-existence of multiple species, and declined far from the pollution source due to dominance exerted by A. palmata. This study suggests that chronic LBSP resulted in a major decline of one of the largest and most dense remnant stands of A. palmata across the northeastern Caribbean and that nutrient and chlorophyll-a concentrations were unsustainable for coral reefs. This situation requires immediate solution to prevent further damage to these unprecedented resources. It further suggests that chronic LBSP may synergistically magnify sea-surface warming impacts driving corals to an increased state of risk in face of forecasted climate change impacts. Actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change impacts on coral reefs must require a priori controls of LBSP to be effective.

Spatial Distribution Assessment and Source Apportionment of Land-Based Pollutant Yield from Qingdao, China

The spatial distribution of chemical oxygen demand(COD) and total nitrogen(TN) yield from Qingdao are studied by comparing pollutant yield amount, densities and spatial aggregation(Getis-Ord indexes) among the land-based pollutant source regions(PSRs) entering the three sub-seas(i.e. the Jiaozhou Bay(JZB), other coastal area in the Yellow Sea(OCAYS) and Laizhou Bay(LZB), respectively). Industrial composition of the loads are also studied by comparing pollutant yield among the sources of agriculture, rural domesticity, industry, urban domesticity and service, and calculation of Gini coefficient. Results show that spatial distribution of COD and TN yield from Qingdao are extremely unbalanced. The JZB, with less than 3% of the total coastal sea area of Qingdao, received 62% COD load and 65% TN yield from Qingdao, while the OCAYS, with more than 97% area, only received 23% COD and 20% TN, which consist with the much worsen water quality of JZB than that of OCAYS. On the other hand, the source apportionment of COD and TN loads in the PSRs entering JZB and the OCAYS was similar. The agricultural and domestic sources with high pollution intensity account for more than 80%, while the industrial and service sources with low pollution intensity account for less than 20%. While Gini coefficients, COD 0.81 and TN 0.84 which are much higher than the ‘imbalance' threshold of 0.4, show the uneven industrial structure of Qingdao. These results may be useful in the determination of land-based pollution total amount control at the PSR level.

The Malleus Maleficarum:Rationalism vs.Superstition?

The Malleus Maleficarum(1486)by Henry Institoris and Jacques Sprenger was written in order to help inquisitors identify,persecute,and prosecute witches.The book is well-known but not studied as much as one could think,and is sometimes confused with another treatise written in 1669,which includes works by demonologists,such as Jean Nider,Bernard Basin,and Bartolomeo de Spina.This can be explained by the fact that several successive editions were published,which changed the essence of the first essay,until the 17th century.My argument is that the first edition was paradoxical and not as strict as one could imagine.The book was a“bible”for the inquisition about the subjugation of witches,but in the same way,the book seemed to be far too rationalistic when confronted with satanism and superstition.Indeed,we believe that the thesis of the Malleus Maleficarum was also a new way of conceiving of knowledge,fighting against superstition by using the tools of early rationalism at the end of the 15th century.The witches’knowledge that is investigated in the book is confronted with theology,as well as with reason.There is significant evidence of the writers’rationalistic view about occultism and belief.

Karl Popper＇s Critical Rationalism＂ Corroboration versus Confirmation＊

This paper reviews and adds to previous arguments for the thesis that Karl Popper was mistaken to have rejected hypothetico-deductive confirmation. By turning from the positive idea of verification to the negative idea of criticism, Popper believed that he had turned his back on induction. He believed he had ＂solved＂ the ＂problem of induction＂ by providing a non-inductive account of corroboration. Popper used the term ＂corroboration＂ rather than confirmation which he believed was too closely allied to the notion of the inductive or probabilistic support that a theory can receive from evidence. Wesley Salmon＇s （1967） ＂concept of confirming evidence＂ and Clark Glymour＇s （1980） ＂bootstrap conception of evidence for theory＂ both defended respectively the thesis that passed tests can be confirmed by evidence or warranted by the degree of probability. Using a sequence of symbols in logical form or analysis, I shall further defend the concept to hypothetico-deductive confirmation in order to show that the known weaknesses of Popper＇s critical rationalism are remediable, once the notion of evidence for theories is brought back into consideration.

THE RATIONALISM THEORY AND ITS FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS METHOD OF SHELL STRUCTURES

In this paper, a kind of rationalism theory of shell is established which is of different mechanic characters in tension and in compression, and the finite element numerical analysis method is also described.

Smoking of Carica papaya in Nigeria:The rationale,the public health effects and policies for intervention

Psychoactive substance use is characterized by the habitual use of substances that have significant effects in altering the activities of neurotransmitters in certain regions of the brain.Consequently,these alterations manifest as cognitive,emotional,perceptual and behavioural changes in affected individuals[1].

Erratum regarding Declaration of Competing Interest statements in previously published articles

Declaration of Competing Interest statements were incorrectly included in the published version of the following articles that appeared in previous issues of Materials Reports:Energy.The appropriate Declaration of Competing Interest statements,provided by the authors,are included below.

Rational Engineering of Secondary Metabolic Pathways in a Heterologous Host to Enable the Biosynthesis of Hibarimicin Derivatives with Enhanced Anti-Melanomic Activity

A 61-kb biosynthetic gene cluster(BGC),which is accountable for the biosynthesis of hibarimicin(HBM)B from Microbispora rosea subsp.hibaria TP-A0121,was heterologously expressed in Streptomyces coelicolor M1154,which generated a trace of the target products but accumulated a large amount of shunt products.Based on rational analysis of the relevant secondary metabolism,directed engineering of the biosynthetic pathways resulted in the high production of HBM B,as well as new HBM derivates with improved antitumor activity.These results not only establish a biosynthetic system to effectively synthesize HBMs-a class of the largest and most complex Type-Ⅱpolyketides,with a unique pseudo-dimeric structure-but also set the stage for further engineering and deep investigation of this complex biosynthetic pathway toward potent anticancer drugs.

Blockchain-Based Key Management Scheme Using Rational Secret Sharing

Traditional blockchain key management schemes store private keys in the same location,which can easily lead to security issues such as a single point of failure.Therefore,decentralized threshold key management schemes have become a research focus for blockchain private key protection.The security of private keys for blockchain user wallet is highly related to user identity authentication and digital asset security.The threshold blockchain private key management schemes based on verifiable secret sharing have made some progress,but these schemes do not consider participants’self-interested behavior,and require trusted nodes to keep private key fragments,resulting in a narrow application scope and low deployment efficiency,which cannot meet the needs of personal wallet private key escrow and recovery in public blockchains.We design a private key management scheme based on rational secret sharing that considers the self-interest of participants in secret sharing protocols,and constrains the behavior of rational participants through reasonable mechanism design,making it more suitable in distributed scenarios such as the public blockchain.The proposed scheme achieves the escrow and recovery of personal wallet private keys without the participation of trusted nodes,and simulate its implementation on smart contracts.Compared to other existing threshold wallet solutions and keymanagement schemes based on password-protected secret sharing(PPSS),the proposed scheme has a wide range of applications,verifiable private key recovery,low communication overhead,higher computational efficiency when users perform one-time multi-key escrow,no need for trusted nodes,and personal rational constraints and anti-collusion attack capabilities.

Approximate solution of Volterra-Fredholm integral equations using generalized barycentric rational interpolant

It is well-known that interpolation by rational functions results in a more accurate approximation than the polynomials interpolation.However,classical rational interpolation has some deficiencies such as uncontrollable poles and low convergence order.In contrast with the classical rational interpolants,the generalized barycentric rational interpolants which depend linearly on the interpolated values,yield infinite smooth approximation with no poles in real numbers.In this paper,a numerical collocation approach,based on the generalized barycentric rational interpolation and Gaussian quadrature formula,was introduced to approximate the solution of Volterra-Fredholm integral equations.Three types of points in the solution domain are used as interpolation nodes.The obtained numerical results confirm that the barycentric rational interpolants are efficient tools for solving Volterra-Fredholm integral equations.Moreover,integral equations with Runge’s function as an exact solution,no oscillation occurrs in the obtained approximate solutions so that the Runge’s phenomenon is avoided.

Experimental study of core MHD behavior and a novel algorithm for rational surface detection based on profile reflectometry in EAST

Microwave reflectometry is a powerful diagnostic that can measure the density profile and localized turbulence with high spatial and temporal resolution and will be used in ITER,so understanding the influence of plasma perturbations on the reflect signal is important.The characteristics of the reflect signal from profile reflectometry,the time-of-flight(TOF)signal associated with the MHD instabilities,are investigated in EAST.Using a 1D full-wave simulation code by the Finite-DifferenceTime-Domain(FDTD)method,it is well validated that the local density flattening could induce the discontinuity of the simulated TOF signal and an obvious change of reflect amplitude.Experimental TOF signals under different types of MHD instabilities(sawtooth,sawtooth precursors and tearing mode)are studied in detail and show agreement with the simulation.Two new improved algorithms for detecting and localizing the radial positions of the low-order rational surface,the cross-correlation and gradient threshold(CGT)method and the 2D convolutional neural network approach(CNN)are presented for the first time.It is concluded that TOF signal analysis from profile reflectometry can provide a straightforward and localized measurement of the plasma perturbation from the edge to the core simultaneously and may be a complement or correction to the q-profile control,which will be beneficial for the advanced tokamak operation.

The Global Security Initiative: Its Relevance, Rationale and Delivery

Today,our world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century.Global security landscape is becoming ever more unstable and uncertain.In the face of growing deficits in security,Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward the Global Security Initiative(GSI),offering a clear answer to the question of the times:what kind of security concept does the world need,and how can we achieve common security?It is of great significance to fully grasp the relevance of and the rationale for the GSI,and push for its strategic delivery,so as to contribute to the long-term peace and stability of the world.

Practice of Perioperative Rational Use of Antibacterial Drugs Based on Drug Pathway

[Objectives]To establish a new management model for rational use of perioperative antibacterial drugs in surgical departments.[Methods]Based on evidence-based medicine,the department s drug pathway was formulated,and the new mode of rational drug use control was established by using fine pharmaceutical technology intervention,and the intervention effect was evaluated by the intensity of antibacterial drug use,per capita drug costs and the proportion of drugs.[Results]After adopting drug pathway in departments,the intensity of antibacterial drug use,per capita drug costs and the proportion of drugs decreased significantly,and the effect of rational drug use control was remarkable.[Conclusions]The drug pathway provides a new management and control mode for the rational use of perioperative antibacterial drugs in surgical departments of hospitals.Thus,it is worthy of popularization and application.

Exact controllability of rational expectations model with multiplicative noise and input delay

This paper considers the rational expectations model with multiplicative noise and input delay,where the system dynamics rely on the conditional expectations of future states.The main contribution is to obtain a sufficient condition for the exact controllability of the rational expectations model.In particular,we derive a sufficient Gramian matrix condition and a rank condition for the delay-free case.The key is the solvability of the backward stochastic difference equations with input delay which is derived from the forward and backward stochastic system.

The Frontiers and Future Landscape of Research and Education on Value Rationality in Contemporary China

The importance of conducting in-depth research and education on value rationality in the new era is increasingly recognized.Therefore,it is essential to systematically grasp the themes,frontiers,and trends of research in this field,organizing the knowledge system to provide references for future studies.This necessitates clarifying the research achievements of scholars from different disciplines and institutions.Using the CiteSpace visualization analysis method,we can analyze,summarize,and synthesize research networks,hotspots,and knowledge structures,thereby forming a direction for advancing research.Through literature review methods and knowledge graph software analysis,it is believed that value rationality and instrumental rationality represent the rational attitudes individuals adopt when contemplating issues and putting them into practice.They are merely methods and should not be subjected to excessive value judgments.The relationship between value rationality and instrumental rationality is a focal point of societal concern,involving complex interdisciplinary issues with significant theoretical value and practical implications.In the future,the academic community needs to strengthen research collaboration,enhance the expansion of value rationality in various social practice fields,and conduct empirical studies to build consensus for the construction of Chinese society.

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Community Pharmacy Services on Rational Medication Use in Elderly Patients with Hypertension and Diabetes

Objective:To explore the effect of community pharmacy services on rational medication use in elderly patients with hypertension and diabetes.Methods:Between November 2022 and December 2023,80 elderly patients with hypertension and diabetes were selected and randomly divided into a control group(routine medication guidance)and an observation group(community pharmacy services),with 40 subjects each.The medication effect scores,blood pressure,blood sugar levels,and quality of life scores before and after intervention were compared between the two groups.Results:Comparison of pharmaceutical knowledge,medication compliance,and safe medication behavior scores showed that the observation group had higher scores as compared to the control group(P<0.05);blood pressure(systolic blood pressure,diastolic blood pressure,heart rate)and blood sugar(fasting blood glucose,2 h postprandial blood glucose,glycated hemoglobin)index levels were compared,and the observation group’s index levels were lower than those of the control group(P<0.05);the scores of physical health,mental health,social relationships,and environment in the observation group were higher than those in the control group(P<0.05).Conclusion:Community pharmacy services improved the rational medication effect of elderly patients with hypertension and diabetes,and improved their blood pressure,blood sugar control levels,and quality of life.

白鲜不同生育时期营养元素积累规律及分配特征

以3年生白鲜(Dictamnus dasycarpus)为研究对象,通过测定白鲜不同生育时期根、茎、叶的干质量及营养元素含量,分析白鲜不同生育时期营养元素积累规律及分配特征,为白鲜科学精准施肥提供理论依据。结果表明:白鲜在生长过程中,不同营养元素的积累量由大到小的顺序为氮(N)、钙(Ca)、磷(P)、钾(K)、镁(Mg)、铁(Fe)、锰(Mn)、锌(Zn)、铜(Cu);在生长初期,N、P、K质量分数相对较高,植物对N、P、K元素的需求较大;出苗期至花蕾期,白鲜根中N、P、K的积累量分配比例明显降低,茎叶中积累量分配比例明显增加;从果前期开始,白鲜茎叶中Ca、Mg质量分数和积累量显著增加,在茎叶中分配比例相对较高;果前期和果中期茎叶中Fe、Mn质量分数显著增加,Fe、Mn元素积累量在果中期相对较高,茎叶中分配比例有所增加;根中Zn质量分数从果前期至果中期显著增加,整株积累量显著增大,果中期在根中分配比例达到最大,白鲜茎叶中Cu、Zn质量分数在花蕾期相对较高,在茎叶中的分配比例达到最大。因此,白鲜出苗期至花蕾期需要补充大量元素(N、P、K)及微量元素(Cu、Zn),果前期至果熟期需要补充中量元素(Ca、Mg)和微量元素(Fe、Mn、Zn)。

替雷利珠单抗药物利用评价标准的建立与应用

目的针对替雷利珠单抗建立药物利用评价(drug use evaluation,DUE)标准,对南京医科大学附属南京医院替雷利珠单抗使用情况进行评价,为临床合理用药提供参考依据。方法根据替雷利单抗药品说明书、临床相关指导原则、诊疗指南和专家共识等,建立替雷利珠单抗DUE标准,依据标准回顾性分析评价2023年1—9月南京医科大学附属南京医院使用替雷利珠单抗的住院病人用药情况。结果替雷利珠单抗DUE标准包含14个指标。纳入96例病人,共使用替雷利珠单抗687次。体力评分、器官功能和实验室指标、给药剂量、给药途径、输注时间、给药频次和疗效评估合理率100%;禁忌证、溶媒种类和用量合理率98.96%;联合用药合理率97.92%;药物相互作用合理率96.88%;给药顺序和时间合理率84.38%;适应证合理率80.21%;不良反应监测与处理合理率39.58%。结论建立并应用替雷利珠单抗DUE标准可发现用药过程中的不合理现象,为临床安全用药提供参考依据。

20世纪三四十年代马克思主义史家的新经世致用论——以马克思主义史学四大家为中心

20世纪三四十年代,中国马克思主义史学形成了一种新经世致用论。这种新经世致用论以马克思主义“科学性与革命性相统一”的原则为指导,是对传统经世致用论批判与继承的产物,具体表现为史学求真与致用的统一,体现了马克思主义的实践理性精神。马克思主义与中国传统文化都有实践理性精神,而传统经世致用思想则为马克思主义史家新经世致用论提供了历史解释的视域。马克思主义史家虽然认为革命性是以科学性为基础的,但往往为了革命性而忽视科学性。故史学要真正做到经世致用,必须以尊重史学科学性为前提。

用Rational Rose实现连锁企业网上采购系统的建模设计

探讨了在RationalUnifiedProcess(RUP)指导下 ,用RationalRose实现连锁企业网上采购系统的面向对象建模与设计的过程 ;并结合采购的通用流程 ,建立了几种通用的网上采购模型。