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A letter to the editor is presented which discusses the applicablity of the term harmony in describing arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbioses.

Philosophers should listen to punk rock. Though largely ignored in analytic aesthetics, punk can shed light on the nature, limits, and value of art. Here, I will begin with an overview of punk aesthetics and then extrapolate two lessons. First, punk intentionally violates widely held aesthetic norms, thus raising questions about the plasticity of taste. Second, punk music is associated with accompanying visual styles, fashion, and attitudes; this points to a relationship between art and identity. Together, these lessons suggest that art appreciation is not just about finding beauty or aesthetic worth but is also about constructing a self. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this essay, I explore how cognitive science could illuminate the concept of beauty. Two results from the extensive literature on aesthetics guide my discussion. As the term 'beauty' is overextended in general usage, I choose as my starting point the notion of 'perfect form.' Aesthetic theorists are in reasonable agreement about the criteria for perfect form. What do these criteria imply for mental representations that are experienced as beautiful? Complexity theory can be used to specify constraints on mental representations abstractly formulated as vectors in a high-dimensional space. A central feature of the proposed model is that perfect form depends both on features of the objects or events perceived and on the nature of the encoding strategies or model of the observer. A simple example illustrates the proposed calculations. A number of interesting implications that arise as a consequence of reformulating beauty in this way are noted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the major cost factors in car manufacturing is the painting of the body and other parts such as the wing or bonnet. Surprisingly, the painting may be even more expensive than the body itself. From this point of view it is clear that car manufacturers need to observe the painting process carefully to avoid any deviations from the desired result. Especially for metallic colours where the shining is based on microscopic aluminium particles, customers tend to be very sensitive towards a difference in the light reflection of different parts of the car. The following study, carried out in close co-operation with a partner from car industry, combines classical tests and non-parametric smoothing techniques to detect trends in the process of car painting. The localized versions motivated by t-test, Mann–Kendall, Cox–Stuart and a change point test are employed in this study. Suitable parameter settings and the properties of the proposed tests are studied by simulations based on resampling methods borrowed from non-parametric smoothing. The aim of the analysis is to find a reliable technical solution which avoids any interaction from the human side. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fifty-eight infants and their mothers were observed at home for 45 minutes at seven and ten months of age using a detailed behavioral checklist. During these observations, the degree of mutual interactional engagement was also rated on a 4-point scale every 20 seconds. The attachment security of 38 infants was assessed at 13 months using mothers' reports on the Attachment Q-set (AQS, Waters, 1987). Composite measures of mother-infant interaction derived from the behavioral observations were moderately stable over time. Measures of maternal interactive behaviors and ratings of mutual engagement were highly correlated. Mothers' and infants' behaviors were combined into an index of behavioral harmony that was sensitive to differences in the infants' attachment security three and six months later. Using a stepwise multiple regression, 43% of the variance in the A QS-scores was explained by behavioral harmony at seven months, mutual engagement at 10 months, and infant fuss/cry at seven months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Observing that the violent realities of family life belief the social rhetoric of harmony, most sociologists recommend 'demythologizing' the family. This paper challenges that view, arguing that social rhetoric must be analysed rather than debunked. The sense-making activities of actors who engage in violent family events are identified as a strategic site for such an analysis. The paper explores the ways in which the rhetoric of family harmony is routinely sustained and reproduced. Two kinds of supports are considered (i) macrosocial supports, which sustain family rhetoric by integrating it into a wider system of collective representations; and (ii) microsocial supports which sustain family rhetoric by embodying it in the accounts of family members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the 15th Pacific Rim College of Psychiatrists (PRCP) Scientific Meeting held during 25-27 October 2012, in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. It states that the meeting was combined with Annual Meeting of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association (KNPA) and the title was "Beyond Differences, Towards Harmony."

The article presents the author's views on religious pluralism. In his view understanding the teachings of other religions helps in developing a better world as one learns to stay in harmony with each other. He also states that studying the details of various religions help in developing inter-religion coalitions that promotes the development of a better world.

The Technical Committee 1-86 of the International Commission on Illumination on 'Models of colour emotion and harmony' is requesting the submission of datasets for use in developing new models of colour emotion and colour harmony. The data should be submitted to the TC Chair, Dr. Li-Chen Ou at the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 2012 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]