Review of Dactylosternum Wollaston, 1854 from China and Japan (Coleoptera, Hydrophilidae, Sphaeridiinae)

The species of the genus Dactylosternum Wollaston, 1854 occurring in China and Japan are reviewed. Ten species are recognized to occur in China, two of which were also recorded from Japan. Four new species are described from China: Dactylosternum nanlingensis Mai et Jia, sp. nov. (Guangdong, Jiangxi) from fungal hyphae on fallen wood, D. songxiaobini Mai et Jia, sp. nov. (Guangxi) from fallen wood with termites, D. pseudolatum Mai et Jia, sp. nov. (Guangdong, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Fujian, Hainan, Yunnan) and D. frater Mai et Jia, sp. nov. (Yunnan) from banana trees. Dactylosternum latum (Sharp, 1873) and D. salvazai Orchymont, 1925 are reported for the first time from China, and species recorded previously (D. abdominale (Fabricius, 1792), D. corbetti Balfour-Browne, 1942, D. hydrophiloides (MacLeay, 1825) and D. pui Jia, 2002) are redescribed or diagnosed. Dactylosternum abdominale (Fabricius, 1792) is confirmed to occur in Japan. Dactylosternum latum is only known from Japan based on type specimens believed to be collected in Nagasaki by G. Lewis in late 19th century; since the species was never re-collected in Japan later, its distribution in Japan seems doubtful. Dactylosternum vitalisi Orchymont, 1925 is synonymized with D. latum (Sharp, 1873), the variability of the latter species is discussed. We moreover found that the type series of D. vitalisi contains two species, with some paratypes actually belonging to D. pseudolatum Mai et Jia, sp. nov. All species of Dactylosternum living in China and Japan are diagnosed and illustrated and a key allowing their identification is provided. We infer that the compact antennal club and paralleled body form are characters related to the life inside of plant tissues, while loose antennal club and rounded body form is present in free living Dactylosternum species. The combination of characters for distinguishing Dactylosternum from other genera of Coelostomatini is also provided.

Long-Distance Descending Commissural V0v Neurons Ensure Coordinated Swimming Movements Along The Body Axis in Larval Zebrafish

Developmental maturation occurs in slow swimming behavior in larval zebrafish; older larvae acquire the ability to perform slow swimming with keeping their head stable in the yaw dimension. A class of long-distance descending commissural excitatory V0v neurons, called MCoD neurons, are known to develop at later phase of neurogenesis, and participate in slow swimming in older larvae. This led to a hypothesis that MCoD neurons play a role to coordinate the activities of trunk muscles in the diagonal dimension (e.g., the rostral left and the caudal right) to produce S-shaped swimming form, which would contribute to the stability of the head. Here, we show that MCoD neurons indeed play this role. In larvae in which MCoD neurons were laser-ablated, swimming body form often became one-sided (C-shaped) bend with reduced appearance of normal S-shaped bend. With this change of swimming form, the MCoD-ablated larvae exhibited greater degree of head yaw displacement during slow swimming. The long-distance descending commissural V0v neurons are implicated in playing roles in diagonal interlimb coordination during walking in mice. Together with this, our study suggests that the long-distance descending commissural V0v neurons form an evolutionally conserved pathway in the spinal locomotor circuits that coordinates movements of the diagonal body/limb muscles.

A Probe into the Talent Training Mode of Vocational Colleges with “1+X” Certificate System based on Credit Bank

Based on credit bank, the “1+X” certificate system is a “flyover” for learners to interchange between the academic and vocational education. It is a significant innovation to promote high-quality vocational education development and enhance the influence of national vocational education. Vocational colleges can implement “1+X” certificate system via the credit bank and in turn, the popularization of the “1+X” certificate system would enrich and improve the former. China’s development of the credit bank and the existing research on the “1+X” certificate system are analyzed to look for a way in the collaboration of credit bank and the “1+X” certificate system. The firm collaboration as well as the connection and optimization between government, schools, and enterprises as one body form a new talent training mode with the “1+X” certificate system that integrates academy and certificates as well as involving both, schools and enterprises according to China’s credit bank concept.

On Slowness And Inhabiting Time

As a result of today’s accelerated culture, the omnipresence of speed has taken over everyday life. The influence of flexibility and efficiency within contemporary architecture parallels the need for speed. The primacy of speed has hindered the temporal and cognitive presence in everyday life; shifting the human experience of the world from lived to measured. Through the reconsideration of slowness as an embodied experience, the rhythmic passage of the body through space establishes a mindful physical presence as opposed to modern distraction. In architecture, spatial and perceptual unfolding intertwines perceiver and perceived to sequentially reveal the layers of experience through passage. Within slowness, visual fluidity creates a viscous and emotive relationship between mind, body, form, and movement. The relationship between speed, time, and presence, guides the mindful body through a layered procession which unfolds in the creation of an architecture of slowness.

Choreographing architecture

Our bodies are in constant dialogue with our built environment: we move to experience architecture, and in turn, are moved by its presence. Movement is intrinsically linked to the way we experience our buildings, yet the body in motion has not been acknowledged for understanding and conceiving architectural form. In this thesis, the phenomenon of kinesthetic empathy will be unleashed within the exploration of a choreographic architecture, where body, form and movement share an entangled relationship in the creation of an architectural composition. This approach investigates an architecture that embraces gestural and physiological behaviour for the development of a corporeal environment capable of stimulating and reawakening the mind and body. With the current technologies available for analyzing human movement, this investigation probes human kinesis as an external force for the formation of space, and thus, cultivates a new theory towards making architecture move — choreographing an architecture of kinesthetic empathy.

On Slowness And Inhabiting Time

As a result of today’s accelerated culture, the omnipresence of speed has taken over everyday life. The influence of flexibility and efficiency within contemporary architecture parallels the need for speed. The primacy of speed has hindered the temporal and cognitive presence in everyday life; shifting the human experience of the world from lived to measured. Through the reconsideration of slowness as an embodied experience, the rhythmic passage of the body through space establishes a mindful physical presence as opposed to modern distraction. In architecture, spatial and perceptual unfolding intertwines perceiver and perceived to sequentially reveal the layers of experience through passage. Within slowness, visual fluidity creates a viscous and emotive relationship between mind, body, form, and movement. The relationship between speed, time, and presence, guides the mindful body through a layered procession which unfolds in the creation of an architecture of slowness.

Choreographing architecture

Our bodies are in constant dialogue with our built environment: we move to experience architecture, and in turn, are moved by its presence. Movement is intrinsically linked to the way we experience our buildings, yet the body in motion has not been acknowledged for understanding and conceiving architectural form. In this thesis, the phenomenon of kinesthetic empathy will be unleashed within the exploration of a choreographic architecture, where body, form and movement share an entangled relationship in the creation of an architectural composition. This approach investigates an architecture that embraces gestural and physiological behaviour for the development of a corporeal environment capable of stimulating and reawakening the mind and body. With the current technologies available for analyzing human movement, this investigation probes human kinesis as an external force for the formation of space, and thus, cultivates a new theory towards making architecture move — choreographing an architecture of kinesthetic empathy.

Digital-Based Healthy Bra Top Design That Promotes the Physical Activity of New Senior Women by Applying an Optimal Pressure

A bra use can reduce physiological and physical functions because of clothing pressure, which can be a problem for new senior women starting to lose physical function. The present study presents a bra top design development method for promoting new senior women’s physical activity by identifying problems related to bras’ effects on women’s health and minimizing clothing pressure. The analysis utilized the 3D scan data of 42 adult women (age range: 50s) from the 5th Size Korea Project. Bra top design elements were extracted based on new senior consumers’ needs. We developed an average wireframe reflecting the new senior’s physical characteristics, and a standard body form was developed through surface modeling. To produce a consumer-oriented bra with a body shaping effect and reduced clothing pressure that would not affect physical activities, a three-dimensional pattern was developed applying an optimal reduction rate of 80%. To verify the bra’s adequacy for the body form of new senior women, two market-available bras were selected and fit-compared to the developed product. The developed bra received higher expert appearance evaluation and 3D virtual clothing evaluation scores. This study is significant because by using virtual fitting technology, it provides foundational data to quantify the quality of fashion products.