A Study on Promoting the Mechanism of the Rule of Thumb from the Perspective of the Smart Court in China

This paper manifested the ought functions of the rule of thumb, and analyzed the causes of the practical dilemma of applying it, such as the absence of the explanation function, two extremes in the application of the rule of thumb, the outdated doctrine of proof, the difficulty of systematization and so on. This paper gave a suggestion that the application of the rule of thumb should be promoted by three dimensions as following: (1) procedural dimensions promoting the use of the rule of thumb- doctrine of proof and procedural justice; (2) technical dimension promoting the use of the rule of thumb- application of artificial intelligence; and(3) physical dimension promoting the use of the rule of thumb- case guidance system. Against the background of the construction of "Smart court" and the reform of "trial priority", efforts must be made to overcome shortcomings in the application of the rule of thumb like inappropriate systematization and difficult to capture and evaluate, and give full play to the roles of the rule of thumb in identifying evidence, ascertaining the fact, and applying the law

The Nitrogen Budget of Coastal Eastern Guangdong in the Last 15 Years

Nitrogen pollution has caused severe ecological and environmental crisis, especially in densely populated coastal regions. Using a mathematical model based on statistical data series from industry, agriculture, environmental protection, and population in 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015, this paper aims to estimate the nitrogen income and expenditure of coastal Eastern Guangdong, to reveal the temporal variation of the nitrogen budget in the coastal region with high agriculture intensity, and to suggest a management strategy for the local nitrogen control. The results show that: coastal Eastern Guangdong is a nitrogen surplus region, with nitrogen load and nitrogen flux varying in the range 276.01–299.60 kg N ha−1 yr−1 and 221.26–239.06 kg N ha−1 yr−1, respectively, during the period 2000–2015; from 2000 to 2015, the overall nitrogen surplus and the nitrogen surplus unit area showed an obvious upward trend, indicating that nitrogen pollution in the area was deteriorating; agricultural used fertilizer serves as the main contributor to nitrogen input, while water nitrogen accounts for the highest portion of nitrogen output; despite the fluctuation of nitrogen input and output, water nitrogen output steadily increased, suggesting a stronger water environment management requirement. This research provides reference for researchers and decision-makers in the ecological and environmental domain

Determination of fundamental properties of an M31 globular cluster from main-sequence photometry

M31 globular cluster B379 is the first extragalactic cluster, the age of which was determined by main-sequence photometry. In this method, the age of a cluster is obtained by fitting its CMD with stellar evolutionary models. However, different stellar evolutionary models use different parameters of stellar evolution, such as range of stellar masses, different opacities and equations of state, and different recipes, and so on. So, it is interesting to check whether different stellar evolutionary models can give consistent results for the same cluster. Brown et al. (2004a) constrained the age of B379 by comparing its CMD with isochrones of the 2006 VandenBerg models. Using SSP models of BC03 and its multi-photometry, Ma et al. (2007) independently determined the age of B379, which is in good agreement with the determination of Brown et al. (2004a). The BC03 models are calculated based on the Padova evolutionary tracks. It is necessary to check whether the age of B379 which, being determined based on the Padova evolutionary tracks, is in agreement with the determination of Brown et al. (2004a). So, in this paper, we re-determine its age using isochrones of the Padova stellar evolutionary models. In addition, the metal abundance, the distance modulus, and the reddening value for B379 are also determined in this paper. The results obtained in this paper are consistent with the previous determinations, which including the age obtained by Brown et al. (2004a). So, this paper confirms the consistence of the age scale of B379 between the Padova isochrones and the 2006 VandenBerg isochrones, i.e. the results' comparison between Brown et al. (2004a) and Ma et al. (2007) is meaningful. The results obtained in this paper are: the metallicity [M/H]=-0.325, the age $\tau=11.0\pm1.5$ Gyr, the reddening value E(B-V)=0.08, and the distance modulus $(m-M)_{0}=24.44\pm0.10$.Comment: Accepted for Publication in PASP, 7 pages, 1 figure and 1 tabl

Differentiation of multipotent vascular stem cells contributes to vascular diseases.

It is generally accepted that the de-differentiation of smooth muscle cells, from the contractile to the proliferative/synthetic phenotype, has an important role during vascular remodelling and diseases. Here we provide evidence that challenges this theory. We identify a new type of stem cell in the blood vessel wall, named multipotent vascular stem cells. Multipotent vascular stem cells express markers, including Sox17, Sox10 and S100β, are cloneable, have telomerase activity, and can differentiate into neural cells and mesenchymal stem cell-like cells that subsequently differentiate into smooth muscle cells. On the other hand, we perform lineage tracing with smooth muscle myosin heavy chain as a marker and find that multipotent vascular stem cells and proliferative or synthetic smooth muscle cells do not arise from the de-differentiation of mature smooth muscle cells. In response to vascular injuries, multipotent vascular stem cells, instead of smooth muscle cells, become proliferative, and differentiate into smooth muscle cells and chondrogenic cells, thus contributing to vascular remodelling and neointimal hyperplasia. These findings support a new hypothesis that the differentiation of multipotent vascular stem cells, rather than the de-differentiation of smooth muscle cells, contributes to vascular remodelling and diseases