Cyberbullying: Effect of emergency perception on the helping tendencies of bystanders

The effect of the emergency perception of bystanders of cyberbullying victims on helping behaviors is often neglected in research on cyberbullying. In this study, we explored the influence of this cognitive factor on cyber-bystanders’ helping tendencies as well as elucidated possible underlying processes. The results of two studies were reported. In Study 1, 150 undergraduates read a true case of a girl experiencing cyberbullying. The results indicated that when the participants perceived the victim’s situation to be more critical (i.e., higher emergency perception), their helping tendencies were stronger, partly through increased state empathy followed by feelings of responsibility to help. In Study 2, we randomly assigned 300 undergraduates to two groups. The low emergency group read the same cyberbullying case as Study 1, whereas the cyberbullying case read by the high emergency group contained additional emergency information of the victim. The results indicated that the high emergency group expressed stronger helping tendencies than did the low emergency group. This effect was caused by a stronger perception that the victim was in an emergency situation, which not only strengthened the participants’ helping tendencies directly but also indirectly through increasing their state empathy and feelings of responsibility to help.     

A Comprehensive Review of Genetically Engineered Mouse Models for Prader-Willi Syndrome Research

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a neurogenetic multifactorial disorder caused by the deletion or inactivation of paternally imprinted genes on human chromosome 15q11-q13. The affected homologous locus is on mouse chromosome 7C. The positional conservation and organization of genes including the imprinting pattern between mice and men implies similar physiological functions of this locus. Therefore, considerable efforts to recreate the pathogenesis of PWS have been accomplished in mouse models. We provide a summary of different mouse models that were generated for the analysis of PWS and discuss their impact on our current understanding of corresponding genes, their putative functions and the pathogenesis of PWS. Murine models of PWS unveiled the contribution of each affected gene to this multi-facetted disease, and also enabled the establishment of the minimal critical genomic region (PWScr) responsible for core symptoms, highlighting the importance of non-protein coding genes in the PWS locus. Although the underlying disease-causing mechanisms of PWS remain widely unresolved and existing mouse models do not fully capture the entire spectrum of the human PWS disorder, continuous improvements of genetically engineered mouse models have proven to be very powerful and valuable tools in PWS research.     

门架式堆取料机在铜冶炼中的生产实践

针对铜冶炼工艺的特点,从门架式堆取料机对前后工序衔接、结构、原理出发,介绍了其在熔炼炉系统和吹炼炉系统中的应用情况。经过试生产期的生产实践证明,门架式堆取料机具有场地利用率高、取料量大,自动化程度高和安全环保等优点。     

Rainbow over the Internet: How Internet use curtails homophobia in China

China, despite its rapid economic modernization and the lack of powerful conservative institutions, is not known for embracing diverse sexual orientation. The present study investigates whether and how Internet use, a increasingly important part of contemporary people's daily life, leads to changes in people's attitudes toward homosexuality in China, and relevant policy implications. Analyzing the Chinese General Social Survey data from 2010 to 2015, this paper develops an ordered probit model to quantify the influence of Internet use on homosexuality tolerance, adopts a substitution variable method to conduct the robustness check, and utilizes instrument variables to address the potential endogeneity in the regressions. The results show that Internet use has a significant positive impact on Chinese people's homosexuality tolerance. Further studies have found that the influence of Internet use on homosexuality tolerance is also heterogeneous to different populations. Besides, compared with traditional media, the Internet has a more significant impact on homosexuality tolerance. This paper provides some explanations for the rise in China's homosexuality tolerance from 2010 to 2015, and additional impetus for the international community to push for a liberal Internet policy in China.     

基于视觉颜色感知——光学相似的图像去雾方法

针对雾霾环境影响致使户外获取的图像质量严重下降问题，提出了一种基于视觉颜色感知—光学相似的图像去雾方法。充分利用人眼感知颜色的视觉机理，结合图像的相似性原理，构造了光学相似度函数，建立了新的基于视觉颜色感知—光学相似的图像去雾模型并设计相关算法，进而进行仿真验证。仿真实验结果表明，提出的方法在对有雾图像清晰化处理过程中效果明显，并与现有的图像去雾方法在主观视觉和客观量化方面进行图像去雾效果对比，进一步表明提出的方法在清晰化含雾图像处理中取得了较好的效果。     

Motion control of underactuated linkage robot based on gymnastic skill

In this paper, a reproduction of a swing‐up and a giant swing motion of underactuated robots based on technique of the horizontal bar gymnast is discussed with focusing on an equivalent center of mass (ECM) of underactuated robots and the gymnast. At first, the behaviors of the ECM of the gymnast (ECMG) are analyzed by using a motion capturing technique and an efficient motion of the ECMG for the swing‐up and for the giant swing motion are identified from analysis results, respectively. Next, a partial linearization method, which can realize that the ECM of the Acrobot (ECMA) replicates this efficient motion, is designed and reproduces the underactuated robots the swing‐up and giant swing motion like the gymnast. Finally, an effectiveness of the proposed controller is shown by numerical simulations.     

A comparison of visual ability and its importance awareness between novice and experienced drivers

The visual ability factors of peripheral perception, visual reaction and visual pursuit ability are important for safe driving. Thus, this study explored the influence of driving experience on these visual ability factors. Sixty-five drivers, including novice and experienced drivers, participated in this study. The visual ability levels of the three factors were measured by the Vienna Test System. In addition, driver's awareness of the three factors' importance for safe driving was measured by questionnaire items. Results showed that out of the three factors, drivers' peripheral perception ability was correlated significantly with their driving experience. Experienced drivers had higher peripheral perception ability than that of novice drivers. In addition, compared with novice drivers, experienced drivers believed that peripheral perception was more important whereas visual reaction was less important. It is suggested that higher attention should be paid to peripheral perception in driving training and novice drivers should increase their importance awareness for this factor.     

On the bright side: The influence of brightness on overall taste intensity perception

Ambient light luminance (i.e., brightness or dimness) is a frequently used tool by managers to enhance the overall ambience in their restaurants. The current research explores how a change in a restaurant’s ambient brightness influences the overall taste intensity perception of the food that is being served there. We conducted a between-group experiment in a field setting (i.e., a fine-dining restaurant), where we manipulated the illuminance level of the ambient light (dim vs. bright). Guests were served a dish—tailored to our research question—and asked to evaluate its overall taste intensity. The results demonstrate that guests exposed to the bright ambient light perceived the overall taste of the dish as more intense as opposed to guests exposed to the dim ambient light. The results thus show that modifying the ambient illuminance level in a restaurant does not only affect the overall ambience but also changes the overall taste experience of the food being served. This finding is not only theoretically relevant for research on multisensory integration, but it also provides tools for taste modulation, and—as such—for strategies to decrease salt and sugar consumption among diners.