Technological research in the EU is less efficient than the world average. EU research policy risks Europeans’ future

We have studied the efficiency of research in the EU by a percentile-based citation approach that analyzes the distribution of country papers among the world papers. Going up in the citation scale, the frequency of papers from efficient countries increases while the frequency from inefficient countries decreases. In the percentile-based approach, this trend, which is uniform at any citation level, is measured by the e_p index that equals the P_{top 1%}/P_{top 10%} ratio. By using the e_p index we demonstrate that EU research on fast-evolving technological topics is less efficient than the world average and that the EU is far from being able to compete with the most advanced countries. The e_p index also shows that the USA is well ahead of the EU in both fast- and slow-evolving technologies, which suggests that the advantage of the USA over the EU in innovation is due to low research efficiency in the EU. In accord with some previous studies, our results show that the European Commission’s ongoing claims about the excellence of EU research are based on a wrong diagnosis. The EU must focus its research policy on the improvement of its inefficient research. Otherwise, the future of Europeans is at risk.     

科技论文投稿取向之辨析

投稿取向对期刊编辑出版工作有着重要影响。诸如时间环境背景、政策导向、作者自身价值取向、编辑出版系统几个方面对投稿取向均有影响。     

浅析当前徐州市场钾肥生产与销售状况

钾是植物三大必要营养元素之一,是我国粮食和农产品的重要支柱。2011年,受进口钾肥价格大幅上涨等因素影响,国内进口钾肥企业和国内主要生产企业出现压单、囤货等现象,可能影响农业生产资料运转,加大农业生产成本,挫伤农民种粮积极性,并进一步影响农民增收。     

The relative age effect on physical fitness in preschool children

ABSTRACT

The aim of the present study was to investigate the existence of a relative age effect (RAE) on physical fitness of preschoolers. Anthropometry and physical fitness were assessed in 3147 children (3–5 years old) using the PREFIT battery. Based on the birth year, participants were divided into 3year groups (3-, 4- and 5-years). Within each year group, 4quarter groups were created: quarter 1, preschoolers born from January to March; quarter 2, from April to June; quarter 3, from July to September; quarter 4, from October to December. The MANCOVA analysis revealed a main effect of year group (Wilks’ λ = 0.383; F_10,5996 = 369.64; p < 0.001, η_p ² = 0.381) and of quarter (Wilks’ λ = 0.874; F_15,8276.6 = 27.67; p < 0.001; η_p ² = 0.044) over the whole battery of tests. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report the existence of RAE at the preschool stage. In general, performance improved as the relative age increased (i.e., those born in quarter 1 performed better than those in the other quarters). Individualization strategies should be addressed within the same academic year not only in elementary or secondary years but also in preschoolers.     

ESL写作中母语负迁移现象的实证研究及其教学启示

本文根据迁移理论,以ESL写作为例进行了实证研究,探讨因母语负迁移而引起的典型错误,希望对改进大学英语写作教学有所启示。提出在英语写作教学中运用恰当的措施,要有正确的认知态度和广泛的英语阅读与真实的写作情境。     

Improving cognitive and physical function through 12-weeks of resistance training in older adults: Randomized controlled trial

ABSTRACT

We performed a randomized, controlled trial to analyse the effects of resistance training (RT) on cognitive and physical function among older adults. Fifty participants (mean age 67 years, ~60% woman) were randomly assigned to an RT program or a control group. Participants allocated to RT performed three sets of 10-15RM in nine exercises, three times per week, for 12-weeks. Control group did not perform any exercise. Variables included cognitive (global and executive function) and physical function (gait, mobility and strength) outcomes. At completion of the intervention, RT was shown to have significantly mitigated the drop in selective attention and conflict resolution performance (Stroop test: -494.6; 95%CI: -883.1; ?106.1) and promoted a significant improvement in working memory (digit span forward: -0.6; 95%CI: ?1.0; ?0.1 and forward minus backward: -0.9; 95% CI: ?1.6; ?0.2) and verbal fluency (animal naming: +1.4, 95%CI 0.3, 2.5). No significant between-group differences were observed for other cognitive outcomes. Regarding physical function, at completion of the intervention, the RT group demonstrated improved fast-pace gait performance (?0.3; 95% CI: ?0.6; ?0.0) and 1-RM (+21.4 kg; 95%CI: 16.6; 26.2). No significant between-group differences were observed for other mobility-related outcomes. In conclusion, RT improves cognitive and physical function of older adults.     

The effect of smartphones and playing video games on decision-making in soccer players: A crossover and randomised study

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to analyse the effect of the use of social networks in smartphones or playing video games on the passing decision-making performance in professional soccer athletes. Participants were 25 male professional soccer athletes (mean ± SD: age 23.4 ± 2.8 years). The participants performed three randomised conditions divided into three groups: control (CON), smartphone (SMA), and video game (VID). Before and after each experimental condition, the Stroop Task assessed the level of induced mental fatigue. Then, the athletes performed a simulated soccer match. A CANON® camera recorded the matches for further analysis on passing decision-making performance. A group effect was identified (p < .01) with impairment on passing decision-making performance for the SMA (p = .01, ES = 0.5) and VID (p = .01, ES = 0.5) conditions. We concluded that the use of social networks on smartphones and/or playing video games right before official soccer matches might impair the passing decision-making performance in professional soccer athletes.     

基于用户兴趣度量的知识发现服务精准推荐

[目的/意义]针对当前知识发现服务中存在的个性化程度不高和推荐效果不佳等问题，提出一种基于用户兴趣度量和内容分析的推荐算法。[方法/过程]文章通过特征词分布、LDA主题分布、引文结构网络三个维度构建学术资源模型，并通过对用户行为的度量，计算用户对其浏览学术资源的兴趣度，结合学术资源模型构建用户兴趣模型。将用户兴趣模型与学术资源模型匹配，计算其相似度，得到用户对每条学术资源的兴趣值，最后将兴趣值最高的TOP-N学术资源推荐给用户。[结果/结论]通过实验检验算法的有效性和推荐准确率，结果显示，本文从实时动态度量兴趣的角度，提出的推荐算法能较好地预测用户兴趣，推荐效果显著，为实现发现服务精准推荐提供思路。     

Wearable skin-like optoelectronic systems with suppression of motion artifacts for cuff-less continuous blood pressure monitor

According to the statistics of the World Health Organization, an estimated 17.9 million people die from cardiovascular diseases each year, representing 31% of all global deaths. Continuous non-invasive arterial pressure (CNAP) is essential for the management of cardiovascular diseases. However, it is difficult to achieve long-term CNAP monitoring with the daily use of current devices due to irritation of the skin as well as the lack of motion artifacts suppression. Here, we report a high-performance skin-like optoelectronic system integrated with ultra-thin flexible circuits to monitor CNAP. We introduce a theoretical model via the virtual work principle for predicting the precise blood pressure and suppressing motion artifacts, and propose optical difference in the frequency domain for stable optical measurements in terms of skin-like devices. We compare the results with the blood pressure acquired by invasive (intra-arterial) blood pressure monitoring for >1500 min in total on 44 subjects in an intensive care unit. The maximum absolute errors of diastolic and systolic blood pressure were ±7/±10 mm Hg, respectively, in immobilized, and ±10/±14 mm Hg, respectively, in walking scenarios. These strategies provide advanced blood pressure monitoring techniques, which would directly address an unmet clinical need or daily use for a highly vulnerable population.