Maxwell's role in turning the concept of model into the methodology of modeling

This is a contribution towards a history and philosophy of modeling in its early stages in electromagnetism. In 1873, James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879) hinted at the methodology of modeling at the end of his Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism. We focus on Maxwell's impact on physicists who immediately followed him, specifically Oliver Lodge (1851–1940) and George Francis FitzGerald (1851–1901). We begin with the role that the scientific concept of model played in the late nineteenth century, as assessed by Ludwig Boltzmann (1844–1906). We then discuss the role of hypothesis as a methodology, the appeal to (dynamical) illustration, and the way Maxwell applied model and working model in his studies of electromagnetism. We show that for Maxwell these key terms were kept distinct, but Lodge did not maintain these distinctions and, in this regard, FitzGerald followed Lodge. Notwithstanding Lodge's influence, Fitzgerald modified Maxwell's theory based on the mechanical model he designed, thereby implicitly taking the first step towards modeling. This methodology consists in drawing consequences from the (mechanical) model to the (electrodynamic) theory and modifying the latter in light of the functioning of the former. At the core of our argument is the thesis that it was a methodological novelty to move from the concept of model to the methodology of modeling. The introduction of modeling as a new methodology into physics in the late nineteenth century was a major event which deserves proper recognition.     

城市区域多物流无人机协同任务分配

针对城市区域多无人机协同物流任务分配问题, 综合考虑不同无人机性能、物流时效性、飞行可靠性等影响因素, 以经济成本、时间损失和安全风险最小为目标函数, 构建多无人机协同物流任务分配模型。因问题规模大、求解复杂度高, 设计改进的量子粒子群算法进行求解。首先，为增强粒子遍历性和多样性, 采用均匀化级联Logistic映射进行粒子初始化; 其次，为避免算法陷入局部最优解, 引入基于高斯分布的粒子变异方式; 最后，为提高算法运行效率, 运用自适应惯性权重方法对粒子赋值。仿真实验结果表明，所构建的模型能够实现任务分配多目标优化, 贴近城市区域无人机物流配送实际; 所提算法与传统量子粒子群算法和遗传算法相比, 任务分配代价分别下降了5.9%和6.3%;并进一步对参数权重设置进行分析, 当3个子目标函数权重系数分别为0.225、0.275和0.500, 种群规模为150时, 算法规划的结果最优。     

谈“十四五”生态保护与绿色发展的生态关系

 从“十四五”保护与发展的生态关系角度，探讨了生态保护与绿色发展的十大生态关系，阐述了生态保护和绿色发展中的一系列有关生态关系的生态智慧及生态技术，并对长江、黄河等流域的生态保护和修复提出了相关建议。     

A new twist to the No Miracles Argument for the success of science

J. D. Trout has recently developed a new defense of scientific realism, a new version of the No Miracles Argument. I critically evaluate Trout's novel defense of realism. I argue that Trout's argument for scientific realism and the related explanation for the success of science are self-defeating. In the process of arguing against the traditional realist strategies for explaining the success of science, he inadvertently undermines his own argument.     

Little-known and phylogenetically obscure South African estuarine microgastropods (Mollusca: Truncatelloidea) as living animals

Areas of the Knysna estuarine bay in the Western Cape are dominated by three endemic South African truncatelloid microgastropods, temporarily known as ‘Hydrobia’ knysnaensis (Krauss), ‘Assiminea’ capensis (Sowerby) and ‘Assiminea’ globulus Connolly. Although first described 80–170 years ago and present in abundance (up to 100,000 m^?2), they remain surrounded by confusion and still await taxonomic assignment, largely because they appear most atypical members of their groups by virtue of anatomy and/or biogeography and/or habitat. This study contributes in-life perspectives to morphological and phylogenetic analyses known to be on-going. At Knysna, they are syntopic: at least two occurring in >85% and all three in >40% of individual 0.0026 m² samples from their region of dominance. Nevertheless, they tend to greater abundance in divergent microhabitats; ‘A.’ globulus dominating higher tidal levels, and ‘A.’ capensis and ‘Hydrobia’ lower ones; the former especially unvegetated sediment, the latter, if anything, seagrass. Interspecific feeding interactions appear unlikely to be responsible for these patterns, other evidence suggesting that all are maintained below carrying capacity. Field biology of ‘H.’ knysnaensis generally appears equivalent to that of northern-hemisphere intertidal hydrobiids and that of ‘A.’ globulus is typically assimineid, albeit at atypically low shore height. Unlike assimineids, however, ‘A.’ capensis is truly aquatic. The success of these truncatelloids in unusual circumstances may be consequent on the absence from South Africa of other microgastropod groups that fill their niches elsewhere in the southern hemisphere.     

土壤肥料学实验课程的教学改革与实践

为全面培育卓越农林人才，提高教学培养质量，本研究结合土壤肥料学的课程内容、教学特点及实验方法，对存在的问题进行了剖析，并结合实际针对存在问题做出了相应改革，适时调整《土壤肥料学》实验课程内容和形式。通过删减验证性实验内容，增设综合性实验，传统部分教学内容实现网络化等三方面对该课程的实验课部分进行了改革与实践，以期提高学生综合运用所学《土壤肥料学》的相关知识来解决生产实际问题的能力。     

Constructing and evaluating core inflation measures from component‐level inflation data

This paper undertakes a comprehensive examination of 10 measures of core inflation and evaluates which measure produces the best forecast of headline inflation out‐of‐sample. We use the Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index as our measure of inflation. We use two sets of components (17 and 50) of the Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index to construct these core inflation measures and evaluate these measures at the three time horizons (6, 12 and 24 months) most relevant for monetary policy decisions. The best measure of core inflation for both sets of components and over all time horizons uses weights based on the first principal component of the disaggregated (component‐level) prices. Interestingly, the results vary by the number of components used; when more components are used the weights based on the persistence of each component is statistically equivalent to the weights generated by the first principal component. However, those forecasts using the persistence of 50 components are statistically worse than those generated using the first principal component of 17 components. The statistical superiority of the principal component method is due to the fact that it extracts (in the first principal component) the common source of variation in the component level prices that accurately describes trend inflation over the next 6–24 months.     

Variations on a theme: Clifford’s parallelism in elliptic space

In 1873, W. K. Clifford introduced a notion of parallelism in the three-dimensional elliptic space that, quite surprisingly, exhibits almost all properties of Euclidean parallelism in ordinary space. The purpose of this paper is to describe the genesis of this notion in Clifford’s works and to provide a historical analysis of its reception in the investigations of F. Klein, L. Bianchi, G. Fubini, and E. Bortolotti. Special emphasis is placed upon the important role that Clifford’s parallelism played in the development of the theory of connections.     

第十二种孤独——从《复活节游行》解读理查德·耶茨“孤独的女性”主题

发表于1976年的《复活节游行》是美国现代作家理查德·耶茨的"女性小说"。在作品中,耶茨从一个男性作家的视角,细致入微地描写了上世纪70年代美国都市普通家庭两姐妹,用犀利但满含怜悯的笔触展示了以主人公艾米莉一家为代表的孤独的女性群体,是作家在其短篇小说集《十一种孤独》之后所描述的"第十二种孤独"——女性孤独。从孤独的女性主题着手,以《复活节游行》的分析为突破口,结合存在主义探讨作家对女性孤独的理解,并试图找到破解现代人孤独的钥匙。