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Many social and legal conflicts hinge on semantic disagreements. Understanding the origins and implications of these disagreements necessitates novel methods for identifying and quantifying variation in semantic cognition between individuals. We collected conceptual similarity ratings and feature judgements from a variety of words in two domains. We analyzed this data using a non-parametric clustering scheme, as well as an ecological statistical estimator, in order to infer the number of different variants of common concepts that exist in the population. Our results show at least ten to thirty quantifiably different variants of word meanings exist for even common nouns. Further, people are unaware of this variation, and exhibit a strong bias to erroneously believe that other people share their semantics. This highlights conceptual factors that likely interfere with productive political and social discourse.

For assessing forest resource quality and carbon sequestration, both optical and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) remote sensing data have been widely used to map forest aboveground carbon storage (AGC), demonstrating considerable potential across diverse forest types. However, the fusion approaches between SAR and optical data remain technically challenging, particularly when combining multi-source optical and multi-temporal SAR datasets. In this study, multiple optical datasets with varying spatial resolutions and spectral bands (Landsat-9, Sentinel-2, GF-6 PMS, and GF-6 WFV) and time-series Sentinel-1 data acquired within the same year were employed to develop an optical–SAR fusion framework for mapping forest AGC in mixed broadleaf–coniferous forests. Firstly, a multi-level collaborative fusion strategy (MLC) was developed using multi-source optical data by integrating the strengths of both pixel-level and feature-level fusion. Subsequently, a multi-temporal SAR combining approach was designed based on seasonal variation patterns using one-year time-series Sentinel-1 data. Finally, an optical–SAR modeling approach was established to map forest AGC using multiple machine learning models combined with the sequential forward feature selection method. The results demonstrate that the proposed MLC fused method for multi-source optical data offers significant advantages in enhancing estimation accuracy and improving model robustness. Furthermore, when multi-temporal Sentinel-1 data were integrated with the MLC-fused optical data, the optical–SAR collaborative approach further improved the coefficient of determination (R2), effectively mitigating the saturation effect commonly observed in optical data. The highest performance was achieved using spring-acquired multi-temporal Sentinel-1 data within the SVR model, yielding an R2 of 0.69 and reducing rRMSE to 18.03%. It is indicated that an appropriate fusing strategy for integrating optical and SAR data can substantially enhance both accuracy and reliability in mapping forest AGC.

Alpine meadow plays vital roles in regional animal husbandry and the ecological environment. However, different grassland managements affect the structure and function of the alpine meadow. In this study, we selected three typical grassland managements including free grazing, enclosure, and artificial grass planting and conducted a field survey to study the effects of grassland managements on carbon fluxes in an alpine meadow. The carbon fluxes were observed by static chamber and environmental factors including vegetation and soil characteristics were measured simultaneously. Our results show that the alpine meadow was a CO 2 and CH 4 sink, and grassland managements had a significant effect on all CO 2 fluxes, including gross ecosystem production (GEP, P < 0.001), net ecosystem production (NEP, P < 0.001) and ecosystem respiration (ER, P < 0.001) but had no significant effect on CH 4 fluxes ( P > 0.05). The ranking of GEP under the different grassland managements was enclosure > free grazing > artificial grass planting. Furthermore, NEP and ER at enclosure plots were significantly higher than those of the free grazing and artificial grass planting plots. In addition, different grassland managements also affected the vegetation and soil characteristics of the alpine meadow. The aboveground biomass of artificial grass planting was significantly higher than that of the free grazing and enclosure plots. The vegetation coverage under three different grassland managements was ranked in the order of enclosure > artificial grass planting > free grazing and significant differences were observed among them. Moreover, significant differences in the number of species ( P < 0.01) and the Margalef richness index ( P < 0.05) were detected under three different grassland managements. Further analysis of the relationship between environmental factors and carbon fluxes revealed that GEP and NEP of the alpine meadow were positively correlated with vegetation coverage, the number of species, and the Margalef richness index. Therefore, grassland restoration should be configured with multiple species, which could improve carbon sink capacity while considering the functions of grassland restoration and production.

This study aims to document the pronunciation status and methods of Mandarin by intermediate-level learners in order to meet the practical requirements of high-precision phonetic recognition for these learners. The research investigates the formant resonance patterns and acoustic vowel charts of Mandarin pronunciation by intermediate-level learners, calculating the Euclidean distance and vowel duration parameters in both standard and non-standard Mandarin for each vowel. The trajectory and pronunciation morphology of the learners acquiring Mandarin monophthongs were thus derived. Notably, it was discovered that the Euclidean distance between the basic vowels of intermediate-level learners and native Mandarin speakers generally decreases as proficiency in Mandarin increases. Additionally, it was observed that, during the process of Mandarin acquisition by learners, there were both \"similar vowels\" and \"unfamiliar vowels\" which presented varying degrees of acquisition ease, and certain phenomena that neither the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH) nor the Speech Learning Model (SLM) could predict.

This paper presents a comprehensive review and theoretical analysis of integrating Cyclic Solvent Injection (CSI) with multilateral well (MLW) technologies to enhance heavy oil recovery. Given that many MLW configurations inherently exhibit symmetrical geometries, CSI–MLW integration offers structural advantages for fluid distribution. CSI offers a non-thermal mechanism for oil production through viscosity reduction, oil swelling, and foamy oil behaviour, but its application is often limited by poor sweep efficiency and non-uniform solvent distribution in conventional single-well configurations. In contrast, MLW configurations are effective in increasing reservoir contact and improving flow control but lack solvent-based enhancement mechanisms. In particular, symmetrical MLW configurations, such as dual-opposing laterals and evenly spaced fishbone laterals, can facilitate balanced solvent distribution and pressure profiles, thereby improving sweep efficiency and mitigating early breakthrough. By synthesizing experimental findings and theoretical insights from the existing literature, laboratory studies have reported that post-CHOPS CSI using a 28% C[sub.3]H[sub.8]–72% CO[sub.2] mixture can recover about 50% of the original oil in place after six cycles, while continuous-propagation CSI (CPCSI) has achieved up to ~85% OOIP in 1D physical models. These representative values illustrate the performance spectrum observed across different CSI operational modes, underscoring the importance of operational parameters in governing recovery outcomes. Building on this foundation, this paper synthesizes key operational parameters, including solvent composition, pressure decline rate, and well configuration, that influence CSI performance. While previous studies have extensively reviewed CSI and MLW as separate technologies, systematic analyses of their integration remain limited. This review addresses that gap by providing a structured synthesis of CSI–MLW interactions, supported by representative quantitative evidence from the literature. The potential synergy between CSI and MLW is highlighted as a promising direction to overcome current limitations. By leveraging geometric symmetry in well architecture, the integrated CSI–MLW approach offers unique opportunities for optimizing solvent utilization, enhancing recovery efficiency, and guiding future experimental and field-scale developments. Such symmetry-oriented designs are also central to the experimental framework proposed in this study, in which potential methods, such as the microfluidic visualization of different MLW configurations, spanning small-scale visualization studies, bench-scale experiments on fluid and chemical interactions, and mock field setups with pipe networks, are proposed as future avenues to further explore and validate this integrated strategy.

Hefei Mandarin is a Chinese dialect spoken in Hefei, the capital city of Anhui Province, China, as illustrated in Figure 1. According to The Language Atlas of China (1987), Hefei Mandarin is a sub-branch of Jianghuai Mandarin, i.e. the varieties of Mandarin dialects distributed between the Yangtze River and the Huai River. While its syllable structure is relatively simple, Hefei Mandarin has a rich vowel inventory and various types of rimes, including three contrastive high back vowels /ɯ o ɤ/, non-nasalized vs. nasalized vowels as syllable rimes such as /i/ vs. /ĩ/, and three syllabic consonants [ɹ̩ ɹ̩ʷ ɻ̩] (Li 1936; Meng 1962, 1997; Li 1994, 1997; Wang 1996; Kong 2003, 2004, 2006; Kong & Zhang 2006; Kong, Wu & Li 2019).

This paper presents a comprehensive review and theoretical analysis of integrating Cyclic Solvent Injection (CSI) with multilateral well (MLW) technologies to enhance heavy oil recovery. Given that many MLW configurations inherently exhibit symmetrical geometries, CSI–MLW integration offers structural advantages for fluid distribution. CSI offers a non-thermal mechanism for oil production through viscosity reduction, oil swelling, and foamy oil behaviour, but its application is often limited by poor sweep efficiency and non-uniform solvent distribution in conventional single-well configurations. In contrast, MLW configurations are effective in increasing reservoir contact and improving flow control but lack solvent-based enhancement mechanisms. In particular, symmetrical MLW configurations, such as dual-opposing laterals and evenly spaced fishbone laterals, can facilitate balanced solvent distribution and pressure profiles, thereby improving sweep efficiency and mitigating early breakthrough. By synthesizing experimental findings and theoretical insights from the existing literature, laboratory studies have reported that post-CHOPS CSI using a 28% C3H8–72% CO2 mixture can recover about 50% of the original oil in place after six cycles, while continuous-propagation CSI (CPCSI) has achieved up to ~85% OOIP in 1D physical models. These representative values illustrate the performance spectrum observed across different CSI operational modes, underscoring the importance of operational parameters in governing recovery outcomes. Building on this foundation, this paper synthesizes key operational parameters, including solvent composition, pressure decline rate, and well configuration, that influence CSI performance. While previous studies have extensively reviewed CSI and MLW as separate technologies, systematic analyses of their integration remain limited. This review addresses that gap by providing a structured synthesis of CSI–MLW interactions, supported by representative quantitative evidence from the literature. The potential synergy between CSI and MLW is highlighted as a promising direction to overcome current limitations. By leveraging geometric symmetry in well architecture, the integrated CSI–MLW approach offers unique opportunities for optimizing solvent utilization, enhancing recovery efficiency, and guiding future experimental and field-scale developments. Such symmetry-oriented designs are also central to the experimental framework proposed in this study, in which potential methods, such as the microfluidic visualization of different MLW configurations, spanning small-scale visualization studies, bench-scale experiments on fluid and chemical interactions, and mock field setups with pipe networks, are proposed as future avenues to further explore and validate this integrated strategy.

Apical vowels are widely observed across Chinese dialects, such as the rime of [sɹ̩55] ‘think’ in Mandarin Chinese, which is a syllabic approximant homorganic to its preceding sibilant. The apical vowels in Hefei Mandarin differ from those in Mandarin Chinese and most other languages in three aspects: (i) there are three phonetic apical vowels [ɹ̩], [ɹ̩ʷ], and [ɻ̩] while others usually have one or two, (ii) the alveolar apical [ɹ̩] appears after both homorganic and non-homorganic consonants, e.g. [sɹ̩] vs. [pɹ̩], and (iii) there is a phonological contrast between an unrounded apical [ɹ̩] and a rounded apical [ɹ̩ʷ], e.g. [sɹ̩] vs. [sɹ̩ʷ]. The articulatory properties of the three apical vowels were examined in this study using ultrasound techniques and the results revealed that: (i) the commonalities of tongue gestures for the apical vowels include a retracted tongue root, a lowered tongue dorsum or blade, or both, together with a coronal constriction implemented with the blade and/or the tip; (ii) lip gestures are involved in distinguishing the three apical segments; (iii) the three segments each have its distinct articulatory gestures within a speaker that cannot be simply attributed to the influence from their preceding consonants, with [ɹ̩] and [ɹ̩ʷ] involving a grooving in the front part of the tongue and [ɻ̩] involving a retraction of tongue body in the back region of the vocal tract; (iv) the articulatory gesture of [ɹ̩] after a homorganic consonant, e.g. in [sɹ̩], is similar to that after a non-homorganic consonant, e.g. in [pɹ̩], suggesting an independent articulatory target for this segment.

Purpose: This study aimed to obtain a comprehensive understanding about how Mandarin-speaking children with cochlear implants (CIs) performed speech prosody in a connected discourse and to what extent their prosodic scenario differed from those normal-hearing (NH) peers. Method: Fifteen prelingually deaf Mandarin-speaking children with unilateral multichannel CIs were chosen and 15 age-matched NH controls were recruited. Speech samples were spontaneously elicited by children's rhyme speech genre and subject to phonetic annotation. Acoustic analysis was conducted on all speech samples, mainly focusing on the measurements of duration and fundamental frequency (F0). Tempo measures included temporal fluency, syllable-lengthening, and rhythm metrics, whereas melodic measures included both local and global F0 variations under different prosodic domains. Results: The CI children generally achieved compatible temporal performance with the NH children in spontaneous discourse, except that they were somewhat arbitrary when operationalizing lengthening strategy and pausing strategy at different prosodic boundaries. With regard to melodic performance, CI children may not sufficiently modulate local phonetic nuances of F0 variation, and meanwhile, they performed atypically in the global F0 declination pattern and overall F0 resetting pattern, failing to signal the specific structure of children's rhyme discourse. Early age at implantation and longer CI experience did not play a significant role in the temporal performance of the CI children but did facilitate their articulation of dynamic pitch variation in the spontaneous discourse to some extent. Conclusion: CI children did exhibit atypical prosodic patterns in discourse context, especially the overall mapping between the prosodic manifestation and the discourse structure.

After the detection of the 1,20,21-C29 long-chain triol in some sediments and freshwater pteridophytes, in this study a new homologous long-chain triol, 1,3,4-C27-29, is detected for the first time in the Site4B core sediment in the northern South China Sea. The hydroxyl location and length of the carbon chain of this newly discovered triol differ from those of 1,20,21-C29 triol. The test results of its molecular distribution and individual carbon isotope reveal that 1,3,4-C29triol has a good correlation with n-C26-30 even carbon-numbered long-chain fatty alcohols, with R2 （n=68） values of 0.905, 0.929 and 0.903, respectively, and its carbon isotope composition, at -32.3%o_1.9%o, is similar to that of rt-C26.30, at -29.13%o~0.87%o, -32.98%o~1.28%o, and -32.98%o~1.28%o. 1,3,4-C29 triol from the Site4B core sediment and terrigenous long-chain fatty alcohol （n-C26.34） show highly consistent distribution trends in the entire section; thus, the former could serve as a proxy indicator of the terrigenous input. Considering that the 1,20,21-C29 triol in previous research belongs to Azolla, which are fresh water pteridophytes, the 1,3,4-C27-29 triol identified in this study might have similar biogenetic derivation. Thus, determination of its biogenic area and growing environment could provide potential organic geochemical evidence supporting the terrigenous input and source in the northern South China Sea.