We extend Savage et al.'s music and social bonding hypothesis by examining it in the context of Chinese music. First, top-down functions such as music as political instrument should receive more attention. Second, solo performance can serve as important cues for social identity. Third, a right match between the tones in lyrics and music contributes also to social bonding.

The discovery of the first electromagnetic counterpart to a gravitational wave signal has generated follow-up observations by over 50 facilities world-wide, ushering in the new era of multi-messenger astronomy. In this paper, we present follow-up observations of the gravitational wave event GW170817 and its electromagnetic counterpart SSS17a/DLT17ck (IAU label AT2017gfo) by 14 Australian telescopes and partner observatories as part of Australian-based and Australian-led research programs. We report early- to late-time multi-wavelength observations, including optical imaging and spectroscopy, mid-infrared imaging, radio imaging, and searches for fast radio bursts. Our optical spectra reveal that the transient source emission cooled from approximately 6 400 K to 2 100 K over a 7-d period and produced no significant optical emission lines. The spectral profiles, cooling rate, and photometric light curves are consistent with the expected outburst and subsequent processes of a binary neutron star merger. Star formation in the host galaxy probably ceased at least a Gyr ago, although there is evidence for a galaxy merger. Binary pulsars with short (100 Myr) decay times are therefore unlikely progenitors, but pulsars like PSR B1534+12 with its 2.7 Gyr coalescence time could produce such a merger. The displacement (~2.2 kpc) of the binary star system from the centre of the main galaxy is not unusual for stars in the host galaxy or stars originating in the merging galaxy, and therefore any constraints on the kick velocity imparted to the progenitor are poor.

Experiments demonstrate the ~77× amplification of 0.5 to 3.5-ps pulses of seed light by interaction with Langmuir waves in a low density (1.2 × 1019 cm−3) plasma produced by a 1-ns, 230-J, 1054-nm pump beam with 1.2 × 1014 W/cm2 intensity. The waves are strongly damped (kλD = 0.38, Te = 244 eV) and grow over a ~ 1 mm length, similar to what is experienced by scattered light when it interacts with crossing beams as it exits an ignition target. The amplification reduces when the seed intensity increases above ~1 × 1011 W/cm2, indicating that saturation of the plasma waves on the electron kinetic time scale (<0.5 ps) limits the scatter to ~1% of the available pump energy. The observations are in agreement with 2D PIC simulations in this case.

The belief that syntax is an innate, autonomous, species-specific module is highly questionable. Syntax demonstrates the mosaic nature of evolutionary change, in that it made use of (and led to the enhancement of) numerous preexisting neurocognitive features. It is best understood as an emergent characteristic of the explosion of semantic complexity that occurred during hominid evolution.

by comparing mechanisms in nativism, empiricism, and culturalism, the target article by steels & belpaeme (s&b) emphasizes the influence of communicational constraint on sharing color categories. our commentary suggests deeper considerations of some of their claims, and discusses some modifications that may help in the study of communicational constraints in both humans and robots.

Raman scattering experiment was carried out to study material and electronic properties of the aligned GaN nanorods grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Due to the small size of the nanorods and the relatively high power density of the laser illumination used in this investigation, local heating of the sample cannot be neglected. Special care has been taken to identify the frequency shift in the optical phonon peaks induced by local heating prior to any spectral analysis. The residual stress in the GaN nanorods was estimated by analyzing the frequency shift of its E2 Raman mode. It was found that the frequency of E2 mode is shifted by only 0.1 cm-1 comparing with the stress-free frequency, indicating a negligible residual stress in nanorods. Owing to aligned geometry of the nanorods and the back-scattering scattering geometry used in the experiment, A1(LO) Raman mode was collected. The free carrier concentration as well as electron mobility of the GaN nanorods were obtained by the line shape analysis of the coupled A1(LO) phonon-plasmon mode. The electron concentration and mobility of electron obtained from line shape analysis are 3.3×1017 cm-3 and 140 cm2/Vs, respectively. We presented a general method of better determining the electronic parameters of the GaN nanostructures via Raman scattering.

While the current generative paradigm in linguistics leans heavily toward computation, investigations on conscious representations are much welcome. The SOC model examines the acquisition of complex representations in individuals. We note that heterogeneity of representation in populations is a central issue that must be addressed as well. In addition to the self-organizing processes proposed for the individual, interactions among individuals must be incorporated in any comprehensive account of language.

Hong Kong has received much world attention in recent years. After a century and half of colonial occupation, it was returned to China in 1997. Before British rule, it was an unremarkable seaside outpost of Guangzhou (Canton), the premier city in South China. Thus, the speech of its overwhelming majority is called “Cantonese” in English. In fact, Hong Kong and Guangzhou share essentially the same speech, the primary differences being lexical choices.

This paper presents a review of new results obtained by a combination of first-principles theory, Z-contrast imaging, and electron-energy-loss spectroscopy in the context of a broader experimental/theoretical program to understand and control the atomic-scale structure of SiCSiO2 interfaces. The ultimate purpose is to achieve low interface trap densities for device applications. Results are given for global bonding arrangements in comparison with those of the Si-SiO2 interface, the mechanism of the oxidation process, the nature of possible interface defects and their passivation by N and H, and the formation and dissolution of C clusters in SiO2 during oxidation and reoxidation.

Two low temperature metalorganic chemical vapor deposition growth techniques, the pre-cracking method and the plasma enhanced method, will be discussed. The pre-cracking technique enables one to grow high quality epitaxial Hg1−xCdxTe on CdTe or CdZnTe substrates at temperatures around 200–250°C. HgTe-CdTe superlattices with sharp interfaces have also been fabricated. Furthermore, for the first time, we have demonstrated that ternary Hg1−xCdTe compounds and HgTe-CdTe superlattices can be successfully grown by the plasma enhanced process at temperatures as low as 135 to 150°C. Material properties such as surface morphology, infrared transmission, Hall mobility, and interface sharpness will be presented.