307 research outputs found
A new global 1-form in Lyra geometric cosmos model
Dark energy phenomena has inspired lots of investigations on the cosmological
constant problems. In order to understand its origin and properties as well as
its impacts on universe's evolutions, there are many approaches to modify the
well-known General Relativity, such as the Weyl-Lyra Geometry. In the well
studied cosmology model within Lyra geometry, there is a problem that the first
law of thermodynamics is violated. To unravel this issue, if we use the
effective density and pressure in the Lyra cosmology model to preserve the
first law of thermodynamics in the cosmos, the former 1-form
cannot give a proper vacuum behavior. In this paper, the auxiliary 1-form is
modified to overcome this difficulty. It can be shown that the complex terms in
the field equation derived from the regime of Lyra Geometricwith
our new 1-form could behave just as the cosmological constant. This work can be
regarded as a new exploration on a possible origin of the cosmological constant
from a Lyra cosmology model.Comment: 8 pages. Accepted for publication in IJT
Exploring the low redshift universe: two parametric models for effective pressure
Astrophysical observations have put unprecedentedly tight constraints on
cosmological theories. The CDM model, mathematically simple and fits
observational data-sets well, is preferred for explaining the behavior of
universe. But many basic features of the dark sectors are still unknown, which
leaves rooms for various nonstandard cosmological hypotheses. As the pressure
of cosmological constant dark energy is unvarying, ignoring contributions from
radiation and curvature terms at low redshift, the effective pressure keeps
constant. In this paper, we propose two parametric models for non-constant
effective pressure in order to study the tiny deviation from CDM at
low redshift. We recover our phenomenological models in the scenarios of
quintessence and phantom fields, and explore the behavior of scalar field and
potential. We constrain our model parameters with SNe Ia and BAO observations,
and detect subtle hints of from the data fitting results of
both models, which indicates possibly a phantom dark energy scenario at
present.Comment: 11 pages, 24 figure
Self-Convinced Prompting: Few-Shot Question Answering with Repeated Introspection
While large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT and PaLM have demonstrated
remarkable performance in various language understanding and generation tasks,
their capabilities in complex reasoning and intricate knowledge utilization
still fall short of human-level proficiency. Recent studies have established
the effectiveness of prompts in steering LLMs towards generating desired
outputs. Building on these insights, we introduce a novel framework that
harnesses the potential of large-scale pre-trained language models, to
iteratively enhance performance of the LLMs. Our framework incorporates three
components: \textit{Normal CoT}, a \textit{Convincer}, and an
\textit{Answerer}. It processes the output of a typical few-shot
chain-of-thought prompt, assesses the correctness of the response, scrutinizes
the answer, refines the reasoning, and ultimately produces a new solution.
Experimental results on the 7 datasets of miscellaneous problems validate the
efficacy of the Self-Convince framework, achieving substantial improvements
compared to the baselines. This study contributes to the burgeoning body of
research focused on integrating pre-trained language models with tailored
prompts and iterative refinement processes to augment their performance in
complex tasks
Enhanced oxidation resistance of active nanostructures via dynamic size effect.
A major challenge limiting the practical applications of nanomaterials is that the activities of nanostructures (NSs) increase with reduced size, often sacrificing their stability in the chemical environment. Under oxidative conditions, NSs with smaller sizes and higher defect densities are commonly expected to oxidize more easily, since high-concentration defects can facilitate oxidation by enhancing the reactivity with O2 and providing a fast channel for oxygen incorporation. Here, using FeO NSs as an example, we show to the contrary, that reducing the size of active NSs can drastically increase their oxidation resistance. A maximum oxidation resistance is found for FeO NSs with dimensions below 3.2 nm. Rather than being determined by the structure or electronic properties of active sites, the enhanced oxidation resistance originates from the size-dependent structural dynamics of FeO NSs in O2. We find this dynamic size effect to govern the chemical properties of active NSs
The imitation-innovation link, external knowledge search and China's innovation system
Purpose
The authors attempt to answer the basic questions: How is imitation tied to innovation? This question is addressed in the context of China's innovation system in the 2000s where Chinese industrial firms simultaneously implement innovation and imitation strategies in their new product developments.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors first build on lattice theory and supermodularity theory to provide a rigorous and careful mathematical proof. The authors further conduct the empirical analyses using an original data on Chinese manufacturing firms' innovation and imitation strategies in the development of new products in 2002.
Findings
This article reveals the complementarity relation between imitation and innovation strategies and identifies external knowledge search as the boundary condition that influences the extent to which two strategies reinforce each other.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of the imitation-innovation complementarity suggest that imitation is not only an indispensable strategy independent of innovation, but also is vital to the effectiveness of innovation itself.
Practical implications
The imitation-innovation complementarity finding provides some evidence for the contention that Chinese latecomers exploit the synergies of imitation and innovation, transforming themselves from imitators to innovators and vibrant competitors in the global market (Wu et al., 2016) and, as a result, national innovation system has evolved from a state-sponsored imitation program to the imitation-innovation mixture.
Originality/value
In contrast to earlier innovation studies in which innovation and imitation are unrelated, this study reveals that imitation complements innovation, and the extent of Chinese firms' external knowledge search affects the complementary relationship between imitation and innovation. These findings add important insights to the innovation management literature and contribute empirical evidence to the interplay of innovation and imitation enhancing national innovation system.© 2020 Emerald Publishing Limited. This manuscript version is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY–NC 4.0) license, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed
Formalize the informal: market segmentation and integration in the formal and informal credit markets in Wenzhou.
In 2012, the Chinese government designated Wenzhou city as a
testbed for policy experimentation aimed at institutionalizing informal
lending practices. This study investigates how interest rates in
the formal and informal credit markets interacted before and after
this policy experimentation. Hence, we use the vector autoregression
models and ordinary multiple regression method, which is based on
the financial repression theory. We document large yield spreads
between the formal and informal credit markets in Wenzhou before
(2003–2011) and after (2013–2018) the reforms. We find an increase
in the responsiveness of the informal sector to the formal sector,
after the reforms. We argue that the informal financial system serves
as a one-way substitute for the formal financial sector in Wenzhou.
An analysis of the transaction-level data suggests thatmaturity, availability
of collateralization, loan purpose, and the amount of loans
determine informal lending rates. Thus, this study provides important
policy implications for reforming China’s financial syste
Pathogenic alpha-synuclein aggregates preferentially bind to mitochondria and affect cellular respiration
Abstract
Misfolded alpha-synuclein (αSyn) is a major constituent of Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites, which are pathological hallmarks of Parkinson’s disease (PD). The contribution of αSyn to PD is well established, but the detailed mechanism remains obscure. Using a model in which αSyn aggregation in primary neurons was seeded by exogenously added, preformed αSyn amyloid fibrils (PFF), we found that a majority of pathogenic αSyn (indicated by serine 129 phosphorylated αSyn, ps-αSyn) was membrane-bound and associated with mitochondria. In contrast, only a minuscule amount of physiological αSyn was mitochondrial bound. In vitro, αSyn PFF displayed a stronger binding to purified mitochondria than did αSyn monomer, revealing a preferential mitochondria binding by aggregated αSyn. This selective mitochondrial ps-αSyn accumulation was confirmed in other neuronal and animal αSyn aggregation models that do not require exogenously added PFF and, more importantly, in postmortem brain tissues of patients suffering from PD and other neurodegenerative diseases with αSyn aggregation (α-synucleinopathies). We also showed that the mitochondrial ps-αSyn accumulation was accompanied by defects in cellular respiration in primary neurons, suggesting a link to mitochondrial dysfunction. Together, our results show that, contrary to physiological αSyn, pathogenic αSyn aggregates preferentially bind to mitochondria, indicating mitochondrial dysfunction as the common downstream mechanism for α-synucleinopathies. Our findings suggest a plausible model explaining the formation and the peculiar morphology of Lewy body and reveal that disrupting the interaction between ps-αSyn and the mitochondria is a therapeutic target for α-synucleinopathies.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/148288/1/40478_2019_Article_696.pd
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