Precise Meanings Research Articles

A mesoscale simulation of the FRP-to-concrete interfacial debonding propagation process by 3D RBSM

Although there are extensive investigations on fiber reinforced polymer (FRP)-strengthened concrete structures, reliable numerical simulation is still one of the major challenges in the analysis of such structures. This paper has successfully developed a rational FRP-to-concrete model based on the 3D rigid body spring model (RBSM). This is the first work to study the bond problem by involving FRP in the 3D RBSM. All the parameters in the developed model are proposed with clear and precise physical meanings and straightforward calculation methods. The simulation results are in good agreement with both the results of tested specimens and analytical solutions. Based on the proposed model, parametric studies are conducted to study the effects of the adhesive-concrete interfacial strength and width factor. From the simulation results, the relationship between the adhesive-concrete interfacial strength and failure mode is revealed. It is also found from the simulation results that the width factor has an upper limit, which is ignored by all the existing models. When the concrete width (bc) is greater than a certain value (e.g., FRP width (bF) + 30 mm in this work), the bond increase due to the width factor is insignificant.

The body in the noble hadith of the Prophet, a rhetorical study in Sahih al-Bukhari

The research reveals the rhetorical role of the human body as one of the methods used by the Messenger in communicating his call to the religion of truth. Polluted concepts, his heart and mind got a great deal of them, for the noble Prophetic hadith has given the human body a new artistic value represented in its reporting role in expressing precise meanings with which the Messenger - Peace be upon hi- addressed different nationalities and for all generations and at different levels of knowledge. The research reveals the rhetorical role of the human body as one of the methods used by the Messenger in communicating his call to the religion of truth. Polluted concepts, his heart and mind got a great deal of them, for the noble Prophetic hadith has given the human body a new artistic value represented in its reporting role in expressing precise meanings with which the Messenger - Peace be upon him- addressed different nationalities and for all generations and at different levels of knowledge

An Extended Hyperbolic Closure Model for Unmated Granite Fractures Subject to Normal Loading

The closure behavior of rock fractures subject to normal loading is essential for deformation analysis of fractured rock masses and the modeling of associated coupled processes. Previous studies have mainly focused on characterizing the closure behavior of mated fractures, and the applicability of existing models to unmated fractures and characteristics of involved parameters have not been comprehensively investigated. We conducted normal loading tests on three tensile granite fractures with different mating degrees by dislocating the fracture surfaces with three offsets. A high-resolution contact model was used to simulate the fracture closure behavior, which was validated by comparing the simulated closure curves and the surface damage areas with experimental measurements. After that, it was applied to simulate the closure behavior for nine numerically generated surfaces with different surface roughness characteristics. The experimental and numerical results exhibit a downward bending trend in the stiffness versus stress curves, which existing models cannot accommodate. An extended hyperbolic model was established by introducing an exponent parameter into the classical Barton–Bandis hyperbolic model, which can better represent the experimental data than previous models. Via regression analysis, we found that the exponent parameter has an approximately constant value of 0.3. The maximum normal displacement is about two times of the mean aperture. The initial stiffness is positively correlated with the elastic modulus and the correlation length and negatively correlated with the mean aperture. Parameters involved in the extended model have precise physical meanings, and they are mathematically predictable based on measurable mechanical and geometrical properties of the rock fractures.

A million is more than a thousand: Children's acquisition of very large number words.

Very large numbers words such as "hundred," "thousand," "million," "billion," and "trillion" pose a learning problem for children because they are sparse in everyday speech and children's experience with extremely large quantities is scarce. In this study, we examine when children acquire the relative ordering of very large number words as a first step toward understanding their acquisition. In Study 1, a hundred and twenty-five 5-8-year-olds participated in a verbal number comparison task involving very large number words. We found that children can judge which of two very large numbers is more as early as age 6, prior to entering first grade. In Study 2, we provided a descriptive analysis on the usage of very large number words using the CHILDES database. We found that the relative frequency of large number words does not change across the years, with "hundred" uttered more frequently than others by an order of magnitude. We also found that adults were more likely to use large number words to reference units of quantification for money, weight, and time, than for discrete, physical entities. Together, these results show that children construct a numerical scale for large number words prior to learning their precise cardinal meanings, and highlight how frequency and context may support their acquisition. Our results have pedagogical implications and highlight a need to investigate how children acquire meanings for number words that reference quantities beyond our everyday experience.

The flight of the shrike. The ornithological representation in the <em>Baptism of Christ</em> (1470-1475 c.) by Andrea del Verrocchio and Leonardo da Vinci

The artists of the Italian Renaissance were keen observers of nature. Their works are often enriched with realistic details that inform us about the high degree of their scientific knowledge. In the particular case of the Baptism of Christ (1470-1475 c.) by Andrea del Verrocchio and Leonardo da Vinci, the careful depiction of certain bird species, including a red-backed shrike and a redstart, reveals precise meanings closely related to Christological symbolism.

A critical analysis of sustainable micro-manufacturing from the perspective of the triple bottom line: A social network analysis

Nowadays, substantial improvements in sustainable micro-manufacturing are explicitly addressed based on the triple bottom line (TBL) concept. However, strong criticisms are leveled for the applications of TBL as immense complexities of inner relationships of items and dimensional relationships within TBL, which they cause an inefficacy of accessing critical information in introducing the TBL concept to sustainable micro-manufacturing. In this study, social network analysis (SNA) is used for developing a TBL network of sustainable micro-manufacturing to find out precise meanings of individual items of various dimensions of TBL and the relationships between them. The main metrics of the dominant items of TBL such as in-degree, out-degree, betweenness centrality and closeness centrality are detailly discussed with 16 nodes for three dimensions in the TBL networks. The related findings are further analyzed to reveal the current situation, technical gaps and chances for the sustainable development of the micro-manufacturing sector. This study aims to reveal the relationship between the items of TBL of micro-manufacturing, and delivers the significant roles of the items of TBL according to the findings of metrics and visual analyses for sustainable micro-manufacturing, supporting micro-manufacturing sectors to implement effective sustainable strategies for production activities.

Hoist by his own petard: A rejoinder to Contandriopoulos.

Hoist by his own petard: A rejoinder to Contandriopoulos.

Elements in color: A symbolistic approach to analyzing the Haitian flag

The literature and artifacts associated with Haiti’s history have puzzled its people for a long time. One historical symbol left open to interpretation is the Haitian flag, although its aesthetic appeal is apparent to many. Ascertaining precise meanings from the flag's design is difficult due to the lack of available information and alteration of the original design by successive political administrations. This study is an attempt to decipher the hidden significance embedded in the Haitian flag and explore various themes represented in its colorful elements. The themes that are displayed in the Haitian flag are an exemplification of symbols that carry several important messages pertaining to order, discipline, unity, self-control, strength, opportunities for commerce, economic development, stability, wisdom, and health. It embodies a bond in which the native takes pride in self-identifying with a culture rich in beauty and content. The artifact is a resourceful guide that elicits substantive lessons aiming at progress, nationalism, and governance. It is also a spatial-temporal ensign with positive connotations and an ongoing inspiration for the homeland. Key words: Haitian flag, flag symbolism, national symbolism.

Semantic Similarity Analysis for Corpus Development and Paraphrase Detection in Arabic

Paraphrase detection allows determining how original and suspect documents convey the same meaning. It has attracted attention from researchers in many Natural Language Processing (NLP) tasks such as plagiarism detection, question answering, information retrieval, etc., Traditional methods (e.g., Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF), Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), and Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA)) cannot capture efficiently hidden semantic relations when sentences may not contain any common words or the co-occurrence of words is rarely present. Therefore, we proposed a deep learning model based on Global Word embedding (GloVe) and Recurrent Convolutional Neural Network (RCNN). It was efficient for capturing more contextual dependencies between words vectors with precise semantic meanings. Seeing the lack of resources in Arabic language publicly available, we developed a paraphrased corpus automatically. It preserved syntactic and semantic structures of Arabic sentences using word2vec model and Part-Of-Speech (POS) annotation. Overall experiments shown that our proposed model outperformed the state-of-the-art methods in terms of precision and recall

The Use of Oracular Language in Western Zhou Bronze Inscriptions

This article explores the socioreligious background of the Shang dynasty oracle bone inscriptions from an unconventional perspective by analyzing the use of oracular language in epigraphic texts found on slightly later ritual bronze vessels. While this phenomenon has so far received little scholarly attention, the author argues that the cross-contextual occurrence of oracular terminology indicates a relationship between the two types of epigraphic texts and the social discourses from which they were created. Drawing on parallel passages in other bronze inscriptions, the author examines the precise meanings of the two most common oracular phrases and proposes that they belonged to a technical terminology that shared fundamental conceptual characteristics with later legal jargon. Addressing the communicative intention behind their use, the author points out that oracular language is generally placed in prominent positions in bronze inscriptions and appears in various highly ritualized and ceremonial interactions between humans and the ancestral spirits. Based on these observations, the author concludes that the bronze inscriptions support the view that the Shang dynasty oracle bone inscriptions were written for administrative and specialized purposes and were embedded in a much wider network of communication practices between humans and supra-human powers.

The Identical Grammatical Elements In Surat Al-Baqara - Their Benefits And Effects

This linguistic research studies the syntactic elements in the Qur’anic sentence in Surat Al-Baqara, In this study, the researcher relied on the phenomenon of “congruence” in language, which is the major grammatical phenomenon for its dependence on: {presumption: (number: singular, and twofold, and plural), (type: masculine, and feminine), and (appointment): unidentified and identified), and (the parsing: Al-Rrafe, Al-Naseb, and Al-Jarr), and the function of each of these clues is to involve two grammatical elements that are inseparable and more to coincide with them, to strengthen the link between them. Consequently, the reader or interpreter reaches the most accurate meanings of those elements that are identical in their contexts as it seems that each of these four clues is distributed among other smaller clues, without departing from the function of conjunction: (The main) is the same as the original one, as a presumptive function: (the number) matches two grammatical elements that are inseparable or more in: (singularity, twofold, or plural), The function of presumption: (the type) is the same, but in: (masculinization or feminization), and the function of presumption: (appointment) is the involvement of two syntactic and more grammatical elements in: (identified or unidentified) and the context of articulation is very much the same. However, its function is weaker than the peers, as it is a verbal context on the body of syntactic and non-syndic elements in the Arabic sentences –this is the consistent structures of the Arabic sentences, whether Quranic or non-Quranic, and a special feature of this language that distinguishes them from other languages. The phenomenon of congruence is considered the major syntactic phenomenon, and it is a dominant feature of the two types of complex sentences: nominal and verbal, there is no sentence that comes from its circle, to match its components verbally or morally, or verbally and morally, completely or incompletely, and as it eliminates many syntactic and rhetorical differences resulting from these discrepancies. It is the easiest way to quickly reach the precise meanings of sentence structures.

On stability and associative recall of memories in attractor neural networks.

Attractor neural networks such as the Hopfield model can be used to model associative memory. An efficient associative memory should be able to store a large number of patterns which must all be stable. We study in detail the meaning and definition of stability of network states. We reexamine the meanings of retrieval, recognition and recall and assign precise mathematical meanings to each of these terms. We also examine the relation between them and how they relate to memory capacity of the network. We have shown earlier in this journal that orthogonalization scheme provides an effective way of overcoming catastrophic interference that limits the memory capacity of the Hopfield model. It is not immediately apparent whether the improvement made by orthgonalization affects the processes of retrieval, recognition and recall equally. We show that this influence occurs to different degrees and hence affects the relations between them. We then show that the conditions for pattern stability can be split into a necessary condition (recognition) and a sufficient one (recall). We interpret in cognitive terms the information being stored in the Hopfield model and also after it is orthogonalized. We also study the alterations in the network dynamics of the Hopfield network upon the introduction of orthogonalization, and their effects on the efficiency of the network as an associative memory.

New Method for Estimating Roughness Coefficient for Debris Flows

Flow resistance is a fundamental control of flow hydraulics in streams and rivers. In this paper, five dimensionless factors affecting the Manning roughness coefficient n and attributed to the external roughness coefficient n1 and the internal roughness coefficient n2 were analyzed comprehensively. And then, dimensionless factors affecting n1 and n2 with precise physical meanings were proposed. With a calculation method for roughness coefficient fitted and analyzed based on observation data from published research papers, the analysis results showed that the external resistance coefficient is closely related to the dimensionless factor D84/R. The correlation between the dimensionless factor (D16/D50) and the internal roughness coefficient n2 was not significant. While the factors H/D50, J, and Sv showed significant correlation. In addition, the expression of external roughness n1 is calibrated based on the observation data of 102 cross-sections listed in previous works, while the internal roughness n2 is calibrated by 20 experimental model tests. Finally, an equation describing the Manning’s roughness coefficient is presented and verified based on 24 groups of observation data from Dongchuan Debris Flow Observation Station (DDFORS) in China. This study is contributing toward a comprehensive model for the Manning coefficient, which provide a scientific reference for the research on disaster prevention and mitigation of debris flow.

A modified LIQUAC model for prediction of the vapor pressure of single liquid desiccant at high concentration and regeneration temperature

A comparative study is conducted to find that there are significant prediction deviations of single liquid desiccants vapor pressure at high concentration and regeneration temperature (high temperature) based on existing typical models. Some factors affecting water activity are not taken into account in these models, and they become more significant at high temperature and high concentration. This paper proposes a modified LIQUAC model to improve the prediction accuracy of single liquid desiccants vapor pressure at high temperature and high concentration. In the modified thermodynamic model, the middle-range interaction is derived by enhancing temperature and concentration dependence. By analyzing the prediction results of three typical liquid desiccants, it is found that the theoretical framework of the novel model is better than that of two typical models (using same data base for parameterization) at high temperature and high concentration. The interaction parameters in the modified model have precise physical meanings and make the model can be extended to other electrolyte solutions.

The Price equation and reproductive value.

The Price equation is widely recognized as capturing conceptually important properties of natural selection, and is often used to derive versions of Fisher's fundamental theorem of natural selection, the secondary theorems of natural selection and other significant results. However, class structure is not usually incorporated into these arguments. From the starting point of Fisher's original connection between fitness and reproductive value, a principled way of incorporating reproductive value and structured populations into the Price equation is explained, with its implications for precise meanings of (two distinct kinds of) reproductive value and of fitness. Once the Price equation applies to structured populations, then the other equations follow. The fundamental theorem itself has a special place among these equations, not only because it always incorporated class structure (and its method is followed for general class structures), but also because that is the result that justifies the important idea that these equations identify the effect of natural selection. The precise definitions of reproductive value and fitness have striking and unexpected features. However, a theoretical challenge emerges from the articulation of Fisher's structure: is it possible to retain the ecological properties of fitness as well as its evolutionary out-of-equilibrium properties? This article is part of the theme issue 'Fifty years of the Price equation'.

Bonhoeffer's Theology of the Cross: The Influence of Luther in "Act and Being" by Josh de Keijzer

Reviewed by: Bonhoeffer's Theology of the Cross: The Influence of Luther in "Act and Being" by Josh de Keijzer Chester O'Gorman Bonhoeffer's Theology of the Cross: The Influence of Luther in "Act and Being." By Josh de Keijzer. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2018. 185 pp. Dutch theologian Josh de Keijzer (PhD Luther Seminary, 2017) argues that Luther's posthumously dubbed theologia crucis (theology of the cross), or key features of it, enables Bonhoeffer to resolve an important theological problem: that pertaining to act and being. That resolution, in turn, leads Bonhoeffer to a refashioned interpretation of Luther's theologia crucis for the twentieth century. De Keijzer focuses on Bonhoeffer's Habilitationsschrift "Act and Being" (1931). In Bonhoeffer's terminology, "act" is a reference to theological approaches that accent God's transcendence. These approaches preserve transcendence, but render problematic God's presence in a concrete, meaningful sense. Bonhoeffer uses the term, "being," in reference to theological interpretations that stress God's presence or immanence. In so doing, they risk domesticating God; that is to say, they eliminate God's transcendence and make God part of the world. In either case, if in opposite ways, they eliminate the possibility of God's grace. That elimination reinforces the present form of existence of the self and community. Bonhoeffer, of course, wants to have his cake and eat it too. A key feature of the theologia crucis is God's presence as Jesus Christ. Christians become part of Christ in Word and sacrament and together as a community. God is thereby made present in and as this community of faith. However, that presence risks domestication. Bonhoeffer, de Keijzer argues, avoids this problem through an interpretation of faith that borrows ideas from the philosophy of Martin Heidegger. Dasein, the key idea from Heidegger, refers to the unique kind of being of humans. With this concept, according to de Keijzer, [End Page 480] Heidegger maintains an insurmountable gap between being and what humans can know of that being. This gap is not transcendent, however; it is existential. Dasein is an ongoing project that comes to knowledge of itself only through engagement with its world, that is, in relation to a particular time and place with other human beings. Since this process is never-ending, this gap can never be closed. Bonhoeffer transposes this idea of Dasein to Christians in their community. In analogy to Dasein, Christians come to understand themselves in relation to the world they live in, foremost through Christ and the community of Christ. Since this community is an ongoing project that comes to understand its existence or being through its activity, it can never become closed or domesticated. In Bonhoeffers Kritik der verkrümmten Vernunft: Eine erkenntnistheoretische Untersuchung in Beiträge zur historischen Theologie (Tübingen, 1999), Christiane Tietz-Steiding argues that Bonhoeffer's appropriation of Heidegger amounts to a misunderstanding and misapplication. De Keijzer suggests otherwise. I leave it to the Heidegger and Bonhoeffer scholars to settle the matter. Assuming that Bonhoeffer has formally succeeded in bringing together the transcendence and immanence of God, a number of questions remain that the theologian who follows Bonhoeffer must address if that success is to be considered a substantive one. I will offer one. If Dasein is open in an existential or immanent way, does not that render God superfluous? If "act" approaches are important because God's transcendence prevents both self and community from closing themselves off from the other or otherness, then Dasein no longer requires God or the transcendent. Bonhoeffer demonstrates some awareness of this challenge, but does not seem to address it. Perhaps this apparent superfluity of God is a seed that blossoms into the religionless Christianity of the later Bonhoeffer? I offer one criticism that intends to be both constructive and sympathetic. De Keijzer's book, at times, presents terms and ideas whose precise meanings are not always clear. Thus, their contribution to his argument can be a little obscure. That gripe aside, I find de Keijzer's elaboration of Bonhoeffer's objective both compelling and inspiring for future research that seeks to understand the complex relationship among Bonhoeffer, Luther, and Heidegger. I [End Page 481] should...

Deep Gesture Video Generation With Learning on Regions of Interest

Generating videos with semantic meaning, such as gestures in sign language, is a challenging problem. The model should not only learn to generate videos with realistic appearance, but also take notice of crucial details in frames to convey precise information. In this paper, we focus on the problem of generating long-term gesture videos containing precise and complete semantic meanings. We develop a novel architecture to learn the temporal and spatial transforms in regions of interest, i.e., gesticulating hands or face in our case. We adopt a hierarchical approach for generating gesture videos, by first making predictions on future pose configurations, and then using the encoder-decoder architecture to synthesize future frames based on the predicted pose structures. We develop the scheme of action progress in our architecture to represent how far the action has been performed during its expected execution, and to instruct our model to synthesize actions with various paces. Our approach is evaluated on two challenging datasets for the task of gesture video generation. Experimental results show that our method can produce gesture videos with more realistic appearance and precise meaning than the state-of-the-art video generation approaches.

Some contexts requiring precise number meanings

Some contexts requiring precise number meanings

السنة النبوية ومكافحتها لظاهرة الفساد الإداري

This research dealt with the authentic hadith of the Prophet that are related to combating against corruption. Some hadiths mentioned in the research dealt with issues related to administrative corruption such as bribery, gift to civil servants and looting of public funds. Whereas other hadiths dealt with administrative corruption in relation to mediation, and employment of relatives in the government out of favoritism and injustice. In this paper, effort has been made to ascertain among the most common causes that contribute to the spread of the phenomenon of administrative corruption in the Islamic world. This study aims to find a proper solution and appropriate remedies in light of the Sunnah, in reducing the spread of administrative corruption. A qualitative approach based upon extensive review of Hadith collections and their commentaries, as well as contemporary scholars writings, has been used to study the concept of administrative corruption and its causes. The researcher also analyzed these data through extracting and highlighting the precise meanings of the texts. The results explicitly elaborate that the Sunnah is the best means to apply for addressing the problem of administrative corruption in the Islamic world. It has been observed that the Sunnah completely address two-fold of people that are administrative officials as well as common people.

Against Interpretability: a Critical Examination of the Interpretability Problem in Machine Learning

The usefulness of machine learning algorithms has led to their widespread adoption prior to the development of a conceptual framework for making sense of them. One common response to this situation is to say that machine learning suffers from a “black box problem.” That is, machine learning algorithms are “opaque” to human users, failing to be “interpretable” or “explicable” in terms that would render categorization procedures “understandable.” The purpose of this paper is to challenge the widespread agreement about the existence and importance of a black box problem. The first section argues that “interpretability” and cognates lack precise meanings when applied to algorithms. This makes the concepts difficult to use when trying to solve the problems that have motivated the call for interpretability (etc.). Furthermore, since there is no adequate account of the concepts themselves, it is not possible to assess whether particular technical features supply formal definitions of those concepts. The second section argues that there are ways of being a responsible user of these algorithms that do not require interpretability (etc.). In many cases in which a black box problem is cited, interpretability is a means to a further end such as justification or non-discrimination. Since addressing these problems need not involve something that looks like an “interpretation” (etc.) of an algorithm, the focus on interpretability artificially constrains the solution space by characterizing one possible solution as the problem itself. Where possible, discussion should be reformulated in terms of the ends of interpretability.