The Dilemma of Scientific Demarcation and Its Possible Approach

From logicism to historicism,philosophers of science have put forward different standards of scientific demarcation according to their own scientific views.However,these standards encounter problems either in theory or in practice,and then fall into difficulties,thus moving towards relativism.Philosophy of scientific practice has reversed the previous image of science with scientific practice and pointed out the temporality,dynamics and locality of science.Therefore,the scientific boundary under this approach also has the above characteristics.Besides,the scientific boundary constructed by the scientific image is developmental and features temporary stability and effectiveness.Scientific demarcation is not a purely epistemological problem,but also a practical one.

Scientific and Practical Bio-analysis Method is Basic for TCM Pharmacokinetic Study

Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has an ancient history and unique system, including theory, methodology, prescription, formulation and medicines. There are differences between TCM and chemical drugs. For TCM, the multiple components in vivo are possibly to be detected; the number of components is relatively restricted; they could represent the therapeutic effect of the parent recipe; the concentrations and pharmacokinetics （PK） could affected by the combination of traditional medicines in recipe; the effects of new bioactive compounds （metabolites） related with those of their recipe; and the PK can be affected by body state in TCM treatment significantly. Therefore, the difficulty and challenge are far greater in PK study of TCMs than the chemical drugs.

Progress and prospects of applied research on physical geography and the living environment in China over the past 70 years (1949-2019)

Physical geography is a basic research subject of natural sciences. Its research object is the natural environment which is closely related to human living and development, and China’s natural environment is complex and diverse. According to national needs and regional development, physical geographers have achieved remarkable achievements in applied basis and applied research, which also has substantially contributed to the planning of national economic growth and social development, the protection of macro ecosystems and resources, and sustainable regional development. This study summarized the practice and application of physical geography in China over the past 70 years in the following fields: regional differences in natural environments and physical regionalization;land use and land cover changes;natural hazards and risk reduction;process and prevention of desertification;upgrading of medium-and low-yield fields in the Huang-Huai-Hai region;engineering construction in permafrost areas;geochemical element anomalies and the prevention and control of endemic diseases;positioning and observation of physical geographical elements;and identification of geospatial differentiation and geographical detectors. Furthermore, we have proposed the future direction of applied research in the field of physical geography.