A Critique of Marketism: Varieties of Exchanges in China’s Past and Present

The theory and ideology of mainstream Anglo-American “marketism” do not accord with reality. Its core idea—equating all trade with equal and mutually beneficial market exchanges, and believing that such exchanges are certain to lead to division of labor and transformative changes in labor productivity—is a one-sided, idealized construction. It erases unequal exchanges under imperialism and ignores the realities of the use of cheap informal labor in developing countries by hegemonic capital in the globalized economy. It also disregards pervasive unethical pursuits of profit among producers and widespread human weaknesses among consumers. If we proceed instead from China’s actual experiences, we can come to see and grasp the many different varieties of trade that differ from the abstractions of conventional marketism, including the “commercialization of extraction” that long characterized the principally unidirectional “trade” based on severe inequities between town and country, as well as the “growth without (labor productivity) development,” or “involutionary commercialization,” that long characterized domestic Chinese commerce that emerged under severe population pressures on the land. If we turn instead to the “take-off” period of the recent decades in Chinese economic development, we can see also the great contrast between Chinese realities and the mainstream economics construct of a “laissez faire state,” and see instead the state engaging most actively in development, and state-owned enterprises working closely together with private enterprises. Those realities are perhaps most evident in the recent dramatic development of China’s mammoth real estate economy that has been the main engine of rapid development since about 2000—most especially in its immense process of the “capitalization of land.” We can also see how the tradition of the “socialist planned economy” has operated in unison with the new capitalist market economy, by combining the twin ideals and mechanisms of “people’s livelihood” and “private profit.” What is needed is a new kind of political economy that can grasp and illuminate such changes.

The take-up of Rawls’ theory of the good in philosophy of education

Personal well-being is a central concept in philosophical discussions of education and its aims. Although the work of general philosophers like Nussbaum, Griffin, Raz and Sen on the topic has been influential here, there has been next-to-no interest among philosophers of education in John Rawls’s work on ‘the good’ – in great contrast to interest in his work on ‘the right’, and despite the key place that his theory of the good has in his Theory of Justice (TJ), Chapter 7. This paper explores a likely reason for this lack of interest. This is connected with Rawls’s 1942 undergraduate thesis on the meaning of sin and faith. While there are many continuities between this – eg. to do with communitarianism and equality – and the theory of the right in TJ, there are none in the area of the good, since the thesis rejected the notion for theological reasons. In writing TJ, therefore, having long abandoned his Christian belief, Rawls had a rich background of earlier work on the right which he was able to work up into a powerful argument, while in the area of the good he had to start from scratch. The result, drawing on Josiah Royce’s ideas about plans of life, is disappointing and open to fairly obvious objections. In the light of this, it is not surprising that Rawls’s views on the good have had so little influence in philosophy of education.

Using High-Speed Imaging and Machine Learning to Capture Ultrasonic Treatment Cavitation Area at Different Amplitudes

The ultrasonic treatment process strengthens metals by increasing nucleation and decreasing grain size in an energy efficient way, without having to add anything to the material. The goal of this research endeavor was to use machine learning to automatically measure cavitation area in the Ultrasonic Treatment process to understand how amplitude influences cavitation area. For this experiment, a probe was placed into a container filled with turpentine because it has a similar viscosity to liquid aluminum. The probe gyrates up and down tens of micrometers at a frequency of 20 kHz, which causes cavitations to form in the turpentine. Each experimental trial ran for 5 seconds. We took footage on a high-speed camera running the UST probe from 20% to 35% amplitude in increments of 1%. Our research examined how the amplitude of the probe changed the cavitation area per unit time. It was vital to get a great contrast between the cavitations and the turpentine so that we could train a machine learning model to measure the cavitation area in a software called Dragonfly. We observed that as amplitude increased, average cavitation area also increased. Plotting cavitation area versus time shows that the cavitation area for a given amplitude increases and decreases in a wave-like pattern as time passes.

Farewell to Tradition: Rationalism of the Biblical Studies in the Later Russian Empire

The article considers the increase in rationalization in the research of Biblical history and its conclusions in the historical works of pre-revolutionary Russia. A. P. Lopukhin wrote his work at the end of the 19th century and his main goal was the Biblical apologetics based on new Near Eastern studies. The works of N. M. Nikolsky, who used materialistic methodology and suppose that the significant part of Biblical stories contains a little historical truth had a great contrast with the views of Lopukhin. The reasons for this evolution connected with two factors: the big successes of foreign Biblical studies and the abolition of censorship restrictions after 1905.

Phylogenetics-based identification and characterization of a superior 2,3-butanediol dehydrogenase for Zymomonas mobilis expression

Background Zymomonas mobilis has recently been shown to be capable of producing the valuable platform biochemical, 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BDO). Despite this capability, the production of high titers of 2,3-BDO is restricted by several physiological parameters. One such bottleneck involves the conversion of acetoin to 2,3-BDO, a step catalyzed by 2,3-butanediol dehydrogenase (Bdh). Several Bdh enzymes have been successfully expressed in Z. mobilis, although a highly active enzyme is yet to be identified for expression in this host. Here, we report the application of a phylogenetic approach to identify and characterize a superior Bdh, followed by validation of its structural attributes using a mutagenesis approach. Results Of the 11 distinct bdh genes that were expressed in Z. mobilis, crude extracts expressing Serratia marcescens Bdh (SmBdh) were found to have the highest activity (8.89 µmol/min/mg), when compared to other Bdh enzymes (0.34–2.87 µmol/min/mg). The SmBdh crystal structure was determined through crystallization with cofactor (NAD+) and substrate (acetoin) molecules bound in the active site. Active SmBdh was shown to be a tetramer with the active site populated by a Gln247 residue contributed by the diagonally opposite subunit. SmBdh showed a more extensive supporting hydrogen-bond network in comparison to the other well-studied Bdh enzymes, which enables improved substrate positioning and substrate specificity. This protein also contains a short α6 helix, which provides more efficient entry and exit of molecules from the active site, thereby contributing to enhanced substrate turnover. Extending the α6 helix to mimic the lower activity Enterobacter cloacae (EcBdh) enzyme resulted in reduction of SmBdh function to nearly 3% of the total activity. In great contrast, reduction of the corresponding α6 helix of the EcBdh to mimic the SmBdh structure resulted in ~ 70% increase in its activity. Conclusions This study has demonstrated that SmBdh is superior to other Bdhs for expression in Z. mobilis for 2,3-BDO production. SmBdh possesses unique structural features that confer biochemical advantage to this protein. While coordinated active site formation is a unique structural characteristic of this tetrameric complex, the smaller α6 helix and extended hydrogen network contribute towards improved activity and substrate promiscuity of the enzyme.

Vorarlberg. Baukultur für alle. / Vorarlberg. Building culture for all.

We cannot understand the development of Vorarlberg’s architectural culture without its spatial, topographical, and socio-economic context. There is a great contrast between rural valleys and the busy, semi-urban Rhine Valley. With their exemplary buildings, states and municipalities model the production of excellent, contemporary architecture. Industrial and commercial architecture has achieved an impressive corporate identity as well. However, we rarely find the same quality in residential construction. Because of the high cost of real estate and construction apartment buildings have grown up like mushrooms, intruding upon areas formerly predominated by detached housing. Urban sprawl has eliminated the borders between the 29 municipalities of the Rhine Valley, resulting in a giant suburban landscape. To remedy this process, the players cooperate with the regional authorities as they carry out their vision of urban planning, including guidelines and ideas. Because planning and production have become so complex, urban and regional development has turned into an immense challenge. Provincial and municipal authorities value openness, participation, common good, ecology, and sustainability and involve citizens and adapt the process to their needs. Still, they must consider subsidy rules and regulations, which, until now, have privileged private property over common good and have prioritized ecological standards over architectural quality and the concerns of urban planning. Since 1997, the Vorarlberg Architecture Institute, has inspired, challenged, and spoken for the architectural-cultural scene. It continues to mediate and complement the discourse and activities of the Central Association of the Architects of Vorarlberg. In addition, the Chamber of Architects strives to improve competition procedures. The Energy Institute Vorarlberg supports ecology and promotes sustainability. The Quality Association “vorarlberger_holzbaukunst” has promoted the renaissance of timber construction. Carpenters and architects actively support the prefabrication and development of new technical solutions. Similarly, the members of the Werkraum Bregenzerwald, a craftsmen’s association, continue and transform the cultural heritage in sophisticated and resource-friendly ways, as evidenced by many buildings and the “Werkraumhaus” itself. Vorarlberg’s hospitality industry plays an important role in supporting and promoting the architectural culture. However, thoughtful and coordinated master planning is necessary to expand the quality of individual architectural projects to urban and regional planning and construction. This transition will be the most important challenge for the period of urban densification. Vorarlberg may be Alpine – even rural – but it is urban without doubt.[English translation by Ingeborg Fink].

Historia d la Lengua Española Denominaciones Científicas y Populares de los Vientos

(de los vientos) en ingles: The aim of this research is to show the diversity of word (winds) around Spain and explain its differences in semantic, pragmatic, and geolinguistic. We want to show how the words change according to their geographical location. In this research we go deeply to discover the origin of word (winds) and its change from Greek language to Latin till the Spanish language; for example the word (solano) is used to denote to the east winds and in the south; and from where did it com the word (cierzo) this question and else lead as to analyze distances and scientific and popular name form then. We made atmospherically survey throughout Spain to know the change and its effect in great contrast in words changing and its variety; their history and their popular names. The reason of this great variety is the importance of wind in human beings life, and the second Couse is to show the develop of words through the time from Greek to Latin till the present time, the third motive that we can recognize between scientific word, semantic, and popular; through the use of (Linguistic Atlas) we will notice a clear difference for name according to the purpose of speakers and its importance for them.

Maximal Bootstrap Percolation Time on the Hypercube via Generalised Snake-in-the-Box

In $r$-neighbour bootstrap percolation, vertices (sites) of a graph $G$ become "infected" in each round of the process if they have $r$ neighbours already infected. Once infected, they remain such. An initial set of infected sites is said to percolate if every site is eventually infected. We determine the maximal percolation time for $r$-neighbour bootstrap percolation on the hypercube for all $r \geq 3$ as the dimension $d$ goes to infinity up to a logarithmic factor. Surprisingly, it turns out to be $\frac{2^d}{d}$, which is in great contrast with the value for $r=2$, which is quadratic in $d$, as established by Przykucki (2012). Furthermore, we discover a link between this problem and a generalisation of the well-known Snake-in-the-Box problem.

Historia d la Lengua Española Denominaciones Científicas y Populares de los Vientos

(de los vientos) en ingles: The aim of this research is to show the diversity of word (winds) around Spain and explain its differences in semantic, pragmatic, and geolinguistic. We want to show how the words change according to their geographical location. In this research we go deeply to discover the origin of word (winds) and its change from Greek language to Latin till the Spanish language; for example the word (solano) is used to denote to the east winds and in the south; and from where did it com the word (cierzo) this question and else lead as to analyze distances and scientific and popular name form then. We made atmospherically survey throughout Spain to know the change and its effect in great contrast in words changing and its variety; their history and their popular names.The reason of this great variety is the importance of wind in human beings life, and the second Couse is to show the develop of words through the time from Greek to Latin till the present time, the third motive that we can recognize between scientific word, semantic, and popular; through the use of (Linguistic Atlas) we will notice a clear difference for name according to the purpose of speakers and its importance for them.

Air–water fluxes and sources of carbon dioxide in the Delaware Estuary: spatial and seasonal variability

Distributions of surface water partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) were measured on nine cruises in the Delaware Estuary (USA). The Delaware River was highly supersaturated in pCO2 with respect to the atmosphere during all seasons, while the Delaware Bay was undersaturated in pCO2 during spring and late summer and moderately supersaturated during mid-summer, fall, and winter. While the smaller upper tidal river was a strong CO2 source (27.1 ± 6.4 mol-C m−2 yr−1), the much larger bay was a weak source (1.2 ± 1.4 mol-C m−2 yr−1), the latter of which had a much greater area than the former. In turn, the Delaware Estuary acted as a relatively weak CO2 source (2.4 ± 4.8 mol-C m−2 yr−1), which is in great contrast to many other estuarine systems. Seasonally, pCO2 changes were greatest at low salinities (0 ≤ S < 5), with pCO2 values in the summer nearly 3-fold greater than those observed in the spring and fall. Undersaturated pCO2 was observed over the widest salinity range (7.5 ≤ S < 30) during spring. Near to supersaturated pCO2 was generally observed in mid- to high-salinity waters (20 ≤ S < 30) except during spring and late summer. Strong seasonal trends in internal estuarine production and consumption of CO2 were observed throughout both the upper tidal river and lower bay. Positive correlations between river-borne and air–water CO2 fluxes in the upper estuary emphasize the significance of river-borne CO2 degassing to overall CO2 fluxes. While river-borne CO2 degassing heavily influenced CO2 dynamics in the upper tidal river, these forces were largely compensated for by internal biological processes within the extensive bay system of the lower estuary.