bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Predicting Gross Primary Productivity of the Forest Ecosystems using Machine Learning Techniques: A Review of Existing Approaches
Authors: Agarwal G , Burman P K D , Kosamkar P K , Kulkarni V Y
Published: January 2024

Photosynthesis is a biotic process in which the plants assimilate the atmospheric CO2 into the sugar molecules in the presence of solar energy. The carbon uptake by plants in this process is defined as gross primary productivity (GPP). A part of this assimilated carbon is used by the plants to support their physiological activities which are defined as the respiration. The sequestration of carbon by the terrestrial ecosystems holds significance as a vital element of Earth’s carbon cycle and constitutes a major sink for the climate change mitigation. The crop yield of any agricultural field is directly linked with its GPP which is important in the aspect of food security and economy. Hence, quantifying the GPP of terrestrial ecosystems is an active branch of study and several methods have been used to address this. In recent times, the machine learning (ML) methods connecting the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) have gained increased interest and different such methods are being used to address different scientific and technological problems. In addition to the traditional methods, several ML techniques have also been explored by several researchers for the GPP estimation. Studies have shown that ML models can produce GPP predictions with more accuracy. A comprehensive review of these methods will be helpful for the researchers due to a rapid development in this field. This paper offers a comprehensive analysis of various existing ML techniques to estimate the GPP, providing a comparative review of their effectiveness.
Optimizing Carbon Footprint and Operational Productivity of Horizontal Boring Machines: An EFBA-Based Approach
Authors: Ghatorha Kashmir Singh , Sharma Parveen , Kang Amardeep Singh
Published: January 2024

In modern-day industries, the presence of bottleneck processes, where the throughput capacity falls short of the workload, can result in reduced efficiency, increased energy consumption, and higher production costs. Such inefficiencies are deemed unacceptable in today’s highly competitive market, coupled with stringent environmental regulations. To address these challenges, many industries have adopted lean and green manufacturing concepts to enhance workflow and environmental performance. This research paper integrates bottleneck analysis with carbon footprinting, specifically employing the EFBA (Energy Focussed Bottleneck Analysis) approach, to identify and eliminate bottlenecks and high energy consumption within the machining section of a press manufacturing industry. The study focuses on improving the setup time, machining time, and carbon footprint associated with the boring operation of the journal head. By implementing the proposed approach, significant improvements were achieved, with setup time reduced by 108 min, machining time reduced by 64 min, and carbon dioxide emissions reduced by 32.2 kg. These outcomes highlight the effectiveness of the integrated EFBA-based methodology in enhancing operational efficiency and reducing the environmental impact of the manufacturing process. The findings of this study offer valuable insights and practical implications for other industries seeking to optimize their production systems, reduce energy consumption, and minimize carbon emissions. By identifying and addressing bottlenecks through a combined bottleneck analysis and carbon footprinting approach, companies can enhance their operational productivity while promoting sustainability in line with environmental regulations and market demands.
Traffic Surveillance Using Computer Vision and Deep Learning Methods
Authors: Bedi Harpreet Singh , Malik Praveen Kumar , Singh Rajesh , Singh Ramendra , Bisht Nitasha
Published: January 2024

From the early 21st century to the present date, Traffic surveillance has been one of the most challenging problems and over the years many solutions were proposed for tackling this problem. However, flaws are can still be noticed in the currently existing systems for performing this task and some of them will be further addressed in this work. In our project Traffic Surveillance using Computer Vision and Deep Learning, we propose a smart vision-based system which accurately provides live traffic statistics like the speed of the traffic and the count of Vehicles passed on a road in between a time interval. The system takes a video feed as an input, which could be live footage provided by a CCTV camera at a traffic junction, and on querying starting and ending timestamps, it outputs the count of the vehicles and speed of the traffic in between the queried timestamps. We divide this problem into two major sub-problems, firstly detecting a vehicle, followed by tracking the detected vehicle. Although there exist many algorithms for detecting objects as well as for tracking objects, one of the major problems is integrating both. As ambiguities like detecting an already detected vehicle, many occur while tracking the vehicles. In our work, we emphasize handling such ambiguities using Deep Learning and we also provide a comparative performance analysis of our system with the already existing ones.
Machine Learning based Precision Agriculture Model for Farm Irrigation to Optimize Water Usage
Authors: Patil S B , Kulkarni R B , Patil S S , Kharade P A
Published: January 2024

The food demand is ever increasing each year and to meet this demand precision agricultural approach using machine learning tools play an important role. Precision irrigation systems integrate cutting-edge technologies, such as sensors, controllers, data analytics and internet, to achieve sustainability in agriculture and maximize water use so as to improve crop production while minimizing water wastage and climate impact. The main purpose of this article is to find out the precise water requirements for a particular area of the land by using soil moisture sensors. These sensors provide real-time data that is transmitted to a central control unit, which utilizes data driven algorithms to analyze moisture levels in the soil and controls the water supply. Furthermore, the model developed offers remote monitoring and control capabilities, enabling farmers to access and manage the system from anywhere using mobile or web application. This feature allows farmers to remotely adjust irrigation schedules, receive real-time alerts and notifications, and track water consumption, promoting convenient and efficient management of water resources. Thus by using effective water management techniques such as precision irrigation, controlling the water quality, will accomplish optimizing water usage and intern optimizes the yield.
Battery/Supercapacitor Energy Management system for Electric Vehicle
Authors: Rade Minal , More Pritam , Kanse Anuja
Published: January 2024

Electric vehicles (EVs) require appropriate design and sizing of their energy sources and proper management. The solution will be an energy efficient with cost-effective, increased lifespan, and an increase in the vehicle’s range. As per theory of evolution the model and rating calculations are discussed. Also this paper addresses the distribution of power within two energy sources, adopting a converter. Only one energy element unable to meet each preferred parameters. In addition to assisting electric vehicles in acceleration, the Hybrid Energy Storage System captures regenerative braking energy. By controlling the current of battery as consistent as viable at the time of picks, power management is primarily concerned with reducing battery stress and merging supercapacitors to supply instantaneous current at the time of pick and to recover power during deceleration. According to the results of HESS and experimental setup, current of battery is controlled as consistent as at the time of acceleration when the power management algorithm is implemented. In other words, only normal current is provided by the battery at the time of picks, while transitory current is provided via the ultracapacitor during acceleration.
Defect Induced high-color-rendering white light emissions from Ag-doped ZnO
Authors: Jayaprakash R , Bakshi S , Rani K , Rani S
Published: January 2024

It is crucial to find high-quality white-light phosphors that are simple to synthesize in order to create efficient lighting. In this pursuit, the focus has been on achieving the emission of white light in ZnO and Ag-doped ZnO emerging as a promising phosphor candidate. The optimized ZnO nano phosphors demonstrated visible-light emission with ideal Commission international de I E “Eclairage frequently abbreviated as coordinates (x = 0.33, y = 0.33 ) and a correlated color temperature of 6200 K, and a color rendering index of 100 for equivalent to day white light. Furthermore, under certain ideal processing conditions, neutral white-light emission (x = 0.33, y = 0.33 at λex = 280 and 370 nm) with a Color correlated temperature (CCT) of 5500 K(approx.) was achieved. The Color Rendering Index (CRI) of the ZnO and Ag:ZnO nanoparticles exceeded 90, with high values approaching 96%, which is necessary for accurately portraying object colors in comparison to natural sunshine. The research findings revealed a decrease in the FS emission intensity with all the UV excitation when Ag doped in ZnO, which aligns well with the principles of Stern-Volmer quenching. A reduction in intensity was observed which may be due to the Ag dopant interacting with the luminescent nanoparticles and causing a reduction in their emitted light. The study successfully develops and optimizes ZnO-based nano phosphors with tailored white-light emission characteristics, presenting a promising solution for achieving energy-efficient and high-quality white-light sources for various lighting applications.
Epidemiological Criminology
Authors: Rowhani-Rahbar Ali , Hannah Haylea
Published: January 2024

Health and crime are interrelated in numerous ways. Criminal offending can influence health outcomes, while health and well-being can change the likelihood of criminal offending. In addition, tools of the criminal justice system can affect health, while health policy may influence criminal offending. Notably, the tools of the public health and criminal justice system can work synergistically or antagonistically to impact both health and crime outcomes. Epidemiological criminology (EpiCrim) has been viewed as a paradigm linking the methods of public health with those of the criminal justice system and integrating epidemiological theories and practices with their corresponding theories and tools in criminology. The specific contribution of this framework is toward the development of strategies and interventions that address multiple factors underlying health and criminal behavior at different biopsychosocial levels. The overarching premise of this paradigm is that sustained and intentional efforts toward applying the principles of EpiCrim could improve health and well-being and reduce criminal behavior in manners that exceed the contribution of each field separately.
Religion and Environment in Bhutan
Authors: Allison Elizabeth
Published: January 2024

Religion and the environment have been entangled for millennia in Bhutan. When Buddhism was introduced from Tibet in the 7th and 8th centuries, it incorporated existing animistic and shamanistic understandings of the landscape, developing a unique spiritual ecology built on long coevolution with the landscape. The notable disseminators of Buddhism in Bhutan—Songsten Gampo, Guru Rinpoche, Terton Pema Linga, the Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, and others—sanctified specific sites on the landscape with their Buddhist teachings. The cultural forms introduced by the Shabdrung in the 17th century have been nurtured into the 21st century, providing a strong sense of cultural identity and historical continuity. Building on cultural and religious traditions, Bhutan’s leaders shaped a contemporary nation fed by a wellspring of ancient wisdom, connecting environmental policy and practice to Buddhist roots, in the context of rapid modernization and change. The guiding development model Gross National Happiness emphasizes the interdependence of economy, ecology, culture, and governance. Forest and conservation policies draw on Buddhist values for their relevance, as do waste and reuse practices. Bhutan’s 2008 constitution codifies the obligations of all Bhutanese to maintain culture, ecology, and religion. A long cultural and religious history interwoven with the landscape has created a uniquely Bhutanese Buddhist form of traditional ecological knowledge that contributes to ongoing cultural continuity and ecological resilience.
Ultimate Colliders
Authors: Shiltsev Vladimir D.
Published: January 2024

Understanding the universe critically depends on the fundamental knowledge of particles and fields, which represents a central endeavor of modern high-energy physics. Energy frontier particle colliders—arguably, among the largest, most complex, and advanced scientific instruments of modern times—for many decades have been at the forefront of scientific discoveries in high-energy physics. Because of advances in technology and breakthroughs in beam physics, the colliding beam facilities have progressed immensely and now operate at energies and luminosities many orders of magnitude greater than the pioneering instruments of the early 1960s.

While the Large Hadron Collider and the Super-KEKB factory represent the frontier hadron and lepton colliders of today, respectively, future colliders are an essential component of a strategic vision for particle physics. Conceptual studies and technical developments for several exciting near- and medium-term future collider options are underway internationally. Analysis of numerous proposals and studies for far-future colliders indicate the limits of the collider beam technology due to machine size, cost, and power consumption, and call for a paradigm shift of particle physics research at ultrahigh energy but low luminosity colliders approaching or exceeding 1 PeV center-of-mass energy scale.
Colonial Era British Food and Spice
Authors: Herbert Amanda E.
Published: January 2024

Growth of the British colonial system also meant big changes to British diets and to the spice and flavor of British food. Britain’s actions in invading, colonizing, and settling the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Ocean worlds gave British people, both at home and abroad, access to new and more ingredients. In 1972, historian Alfred W. Crosby identified the early modern global exchange of animals, plants, and—crucially and tragically—diseases and pathogens, as the “Columbian Exchange,” a cataclysmic biological moment instigated by Christopher Columbus in which separate biomes came into sustained contact for the first time. Scholars have since expanded the scope of this study, with Judith Carney, Edda Fields-Black, and Jessica B. Harris, among many others, drawing critical attention the fact that the Columbian Exchange was a global phenomenon, and that while this was a moment of wonder and curiosity for some, it meant devastation for many others.

In this globalizing early modern world, the rapid and widespread movement of people, plants, and animals changed the ways that British Atlantic people flavored their food. Using ingredients from the Americas, cooks gained access to vanilla, chili and new kinds of palm oil. From the African continent, they learned of grains of paradise, peppermint, cottonseed oil, coffee, and sesame. And from Asia, cinnamon, ginger, pepper, nutmeg, and mace became staples in British Atlantic kitchens. Some of these spices and flavoring agents would have been familiar—cinnamon had been traded across the continents of Europe, Africa, and Asia for hundreds of years—but others would have been novel. And all were much more widely available and were combined, altered, and adapted in fresh ways. For women and men in the British Atlantic world, this meant that foods like “pickled mango,” an entirely mango-free dish spiced with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and chilis, had a spot at the table. It also meant that many different kinds of people, including Black women and men, indigenous communities, and white settler-colonizers, seasoned their foods in new ways. Made possible by access to global markets, facilitated by invasion and colonization, and undergirded by enslavement, British Atlantic foodways were both piquant and experimental.
The Tasting Menu
Authors: Pearlman Alison
Published: January 2024

A tasting menu is a set multicourse meal that a restaurant offers to all diners for a single price. Diners do not have a choice in what they eat or how many courses. Restaurants throughout the world—at various price points, with casual or formal service, in lengthy or concise lists—advertise tasting menus. These resemble other set-meal types previously served in restaurants, such as the French prix fixe and the Japanese kaiseki and omakase. They have at times influenced or have been influenced by the tasting menu. Nevertheless, one can distinguish the tasting menu by its French origin and global rise as the ultimate proving ground for the chef as a culinary artist.

Apart from a chapter devoted to its history and the perspectives of restaurateurs and diners in Alison Pearlman’s May We Suggest: Restaurant Menus and the Art of Persuasion (2018) and scientific publications on limited aspects little scholarship has substantively or comprehensively focused on the tasting menu. Instead one finds extensive studies on related topics such as fine dining, the history and social science of other meal ordering schemes, the global influence of French and Japanese gastronomy, modernist cuisine, gastrophysics, the evolution of the chef profession, and the history of restaurants. An account of the origins of the tasting menu, how it became the choice medium for the culinary vanguard worldwide, trends in its design, industry constraints and adaptations, and cultural reception can provide points of departure for further scholarship.
Ibero-Romance I: Portuguese and Galician
Authors: Duarte Inês
Published: January 2024

Portuguese and Galician are spoken in the westernmost area of the Iberian Peninsula. They share a common origin, Galician-Portuguese, a language with both innovative and conservative traits with respect to Latin. Historical and political factors caused Galician-Portuguese to split into Galician and Portuguese. The status of Portuguese as a national language led to its early standardization and its path of linguistic change is well documented. Galician and Portuguese share grammatical features differentiating them from other Ibero-Romance languages, in spite of the influence of Spanish in the former and of the presence of innovative grammatical traits in the latter.
Three-Year Cardiovascular Outcomes of Telmisartan in Patients With Hypertension: An Electronic Health Record-Based Cohort Study
Authors: Yum Yunjin , Kim Ju Hyeon , Joo Hyung Joon , Kim Yong Hyun , Kim Eung Ju
Published: January 2024

BACKGROUND

Telmisartan exhibits superior efficacy in controlling 24-h blood pressure (BP) compared with other angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs). However, data on its cardiovascular effects in patients with hypertension are limited. This study aimed to evaluate the cardiovascular outcomes in patients taking telmisartan compared to those taking other ARBs.

METHODS

This multicenter retrospective study used data from the Korea University Medical Center database, built from electronic health records. A total of 19,247 patients taking two or more antihypertensive medications were identified. Patients prescribed telmisartan (telmisartan users) were compared with those prescribed an ARB other than telmisartan (other ARB users). The primary outcome was major adverse cardiac events (MACE), a composite of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, stroke, and hospitalizations due to heart failure. The adjusted outcomes were compared using 1:1 propensity score (PS) matching.

RESULTS

Overall, 3,437 (17.9%) patients were telmisartan users. These patients were more likely to be younger and male and less likely to have a history of chronic kidney disease, dialysis, or heart failure. In the PS-matched cohort, BP control was similar in both groups; however, telmisartan users exhibited significantly lower visit-to-visit BP variability. The adjusted 3-year MACE rate was similar between telmisartan users (4.6%) and other ARB users (4.7%, log-rank P = 0.75), with comparable safety profiles.

CONCLUSIONS

In real-world practice, telmisartan showed cardiovascular outcomes similar to those of other ARBs in patients with hypertension taking two or more antihypertensive drugs.
Mating environments mediate the evolution of behavioral isolation during ecological speciation
Authors: Barerra Tania S , Sattolo Marie-Laure , Kwok Kevin E , Agrawal Aneil F , Rundle Howard D
Published: January 2024

The evolution of behavioral isolation is often the first step toward speciation. While past studies show that behavioral isolation will sometimes evolve as a by-product of divergent ecological selection, we lack a more nuanced understanding of factors that may promote or hamper its evolution. The environment in which mating occurs may be important in mediating whether behavioral isolation evolves for two reasons. Ecological speciation could occur as a direct outcome of different sexual interactions being favored in different mating environments. Alternatively, mating environments may vary in the constraint they impose on traits underlying mating interactions, such that populations evolving in a “constraining” mating environment would be less likely to evolve behavioral isolation than populations evolving in a less constraining mating environment. In the latter, mating environment is not the direct cause of behavioral isolation but rather permits its evolution only if other drivers are present. We test these ideas with a set of 28 experimental fly populations, each of which evolved under one of two mating environments and one of two larval environments. Counter to the prediction of ecological speciation by mating environment, behavioral isolation was not maximal between populations evolved in different mating environments. Nonetheless, mating environment was an important factor as behavioral isolation evolved among populations from one mating environment but not among populations from the other. Though one mating environment was conducive to the evolution of behavioral isolation, it was not sufficient: assortative mating only evolved between populations adapting to different-larval environments within that mating environment, indicating a role for ecological speciation. Intriguingly, the mating environment that promoted behavioral isolation is characterized by less sexual conflict compared to the other mating environment. Our results suggest that mating environments play a key role in mediating ecological speciation via other axes of divergent selection.
Sexual cannibalism as a female resistance trait: a new hypothesis
Authors: Burke Nathan W
Published: January 2024

Female spiders and praying mantises are renowned for their cannibalism of male partners before, during, or after mating. While several hypotheses have been proposed to explain species-specific examples of sexual cannibalism, much variation remains unexplained, including why the timing of cannibalism varies across taxa. Here, I outline how sexually cannibalistic behavior could evolve via sexually antagonistic selection as a type of behavioral resistance to male-imposed mating costs, and how such a generalizable interpretation provides a framework for understanding the evolution of both sexual cannibalism in females and anti-cannibalistic traits in males. I discuss how differences between mating systems that physiologically constrain males to mate only once (monogyny) or twice (bigyny) and systems where the sexes can potentially mate multiply (polygyny and polyandry) are likely to influence how sexual conflict shapes cannibalistic behavior. I review key examples from the literature that suggest how sexually cannibalistic behavior might function as a female resistance trait and provide comprehensive predictions for testing this hypothesis empirically.
Navigating addiction treatment during COVID-19: policy insights from state health leaders
Authors: White Sarah A , McCourt Alexander D , Tormohlen Kayla N , Yu Jiani , Eisenberg Matthew D , McGinty Emma E
Published: January 2024

To mitigate pandemic-related disruptions to addiction treatment, US federal and state governments made significant changes to policies regulating treatment delivery. State health agencies played a key role in implementing these policies, giving agency leaders a distinct vantage point on the feasibility and implications of post-pandemic policy sustainment. We interviewed 46 state health agency and other leaders responsible for implementing COVID-19 addiction treatment policies across 8 states with the highest COVID-19 death rate in their census region. Semi-structured interviews were conducted from April through October 2022. Transcripts were analyzed using summative content analysis to characterize policies that interviewees perceived would, if sustained, benefit addiction treatment delivery long-term. State policies were then characterized through legal database queries, internet searches, and analysis of existing policy databases. State leaders viewed multiple pandemic-era policies as useful for expanding addiction treatment access post-pandemic, including relaxing restrictions for telehealth, particularly for buprenorphine induction and audio-only treatment; take-home methadone allowances; mobile methadone clinics; and out-of-state licensing flexibilities. All states adopted at least 1 of these policies during the pandemic. Future research should evaluate these policies outside of the acute COVID-19 pandemic context.
Thermo-economic analysis of an enhanced gekothermal system for power generation based on organic Rankine cycle
Authors: Zhao Yuan , Gao Jun , Zheng Yingxia , Zhu Bo , Luo Guanqun , Tang Yuanjun , Ye Chao
Published: January 2024

The enhanced geothermal system (EGS) has been regarded as a promising means to exploit the abundant and low-carbon hot dry rock geothermal resources. In this work, two-stage EGSs with/without one-stage recuperative cycle for power generation based on organic Rankine cycle (ORC) were proposed, and their thermo-economic performance was evaluated, comparing to the one-stage EGS-ORC. The recuperative cycle improved the thermal performance of two-stage EGS and it had the highest thermal efficiency of 16.48%. Intermediate pressure and steam extraction ratio were important parameters that impacted the thermal performance of the two-stage EGS. The higher thermal efficiency was achieved at the intermediate pressure of 0.22 MPa and steam extraction ratio of 0.1. The two-stage EGS with one-stage recuperative cycle also had the lowest levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of $0.1895 kWh−1. According to the sensitivity analysis, the temperature of hot water and prices of electricity had the greatest impact on LCOE. The LCOE could be as low as $0.1704 kWh−1 if the temperature of hot water was 165.33 C. On the other hand, if the temperature of hot water was 149.58°C, the LCOE would be increased to $0.2179 kWh−1. The results from this study could provide the possible strategies to improve the overall thermo-economic performance of EGS-ORC.
Energy, and environmental investigation of a hybrid gas turbine–solar energy for desalination process for using in sport stadiums
Authors: Liu Xiangyou , Fei Cheng , Yao Yuzhong , Aladdin Morteza , Su Zhanguo
Published: January 2024

Fossil fuels are currently the primary source of electricity, but their limited supply and environmental impact have led to increased interest in renewable energies, particularly solar energy. Solar energy can be converted into electricity through photovoltaic or concentrated solar power plants, with the latter using thermal energy from concentrated solar radiation and divided into four types of concentrators. Due to the particularity of sports, large stadiums are often equipped with independent hot water preparation systems for the convenience of sports enthusiasts. Solar energy is expensive and unreliable for producing continuous electricity, but a solution is to use Solar–fossil hybrid power plants, particularly combined gas–solar turbine power plants. In these plants, concentrated solar energy heats compressed air before it enters the combustion chamber, and the rest of the energy is provided by fossil fuels, with gas power plants being the best option due to their reliability, quick start and stop, complete energy dispatching and no water consumption. The study simulated a combined gas–solar turbine power plant with a dehumidifier–humidification dehumidifier and investigated various parameters such as fuel consumption, turbine production, efficiency, solar fraction and carbon dioxide gas emission. The simulation of a combined gas–solar turbine power plant showed a decrease in fuel consumption and 45–50% of required energy provided by solar energy, with a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 47%.
Non-Strict Plurisubharmonicity of Energy on Teichmüller Space
Authors: Tošić Ognjen
Published: January 2024

For an irreducible representation $\rho :\pi _{1}(\Sigma _{g})\to \textrm{GL}(n,\mathbb{C})$, there is an energy functional $\textrm{E}_{\rho }: {{\mathcal{T}}}_{g}\to \mathbb{R}$, defined on Teichmüller space by taking the energy of the associated equivariant harmonic map into the symmetric space $\textrm{GL}(n,\mathbb{C})/\textrm{U}(n)$. It follows from a result of Toledo that $\textrm{E}_{\rho }$ is plurisubharmonic, that is, its Levi form is positive semi-definite. We describe the kernel of this Levi form, and relate it to the $\mathbb{C}^{*}$ action on the moduli space of Higgs bundles. We also show that the points in $ {{\mathcal{T}}}_{g}$ where strict plurisubharmonicity fails (i.e., this kernel is non-zero) are critical points of the Hitchin fibration. When $n\geq 2$ and $g\geq 3$, we show that for a generic choice $(S,\rho )$, the map $\textrm{E}_{\rho }$ is strictly plurisubharmonic. We also describe the kernel of the Levi form for $n=1$.
Preserving Law and Order: How Institutions Implementing International Norms on Refugee Protection Can Restrict Asylum Outcomes
Authors: McClean Angela Y
Published: January 2024

The international frameworks on refugee protection, including the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, are among the strongest norms to govern international mobility. Despite the salience and universality of these international norms, however, asylum outcomes, as indicated by refugee recognition rates (RRRs), vary extensively across state parties. The variation in RRR signals a critical normative gap between the institutionalization and implementation of international norms on refugee protection. In this article, I offer an explanation for this gap by examining the role of domestic institutions responsible for implementing relevant international (and domestic) laws on the ground. Through in-depth interviews, participant observation, and analysis of government, media, and non-governmental organization materials, I investigate the case of South Korea, a wealthy liberal democracy known for its exceptionally low RRR. I argue that South Korea’s low RRR is a result of the preexisting and prevailing ethos of the institutions responsible for refugee status determination, which is deeply rooted in the preservation of law and order and therefore fundamentally conflicts with the human protection principles underlying the Convention.
From Diffusion to Diffuse-ability: A Text-as-Data Approach to Explaining the Global Diffusion of Corporate Sustainability Policy
Authors: Chalmers Adam , Klingler-Vidra Robyn , Malou van den Broek Onna
Published: January 2024

This paper argues that attributes of diffusion objects, in their own right, shape the form and extent of policy diffusion. To date, diffusion scholarship focuses on actor-level attributes (e.g., connections, culture, physical proximity, etc.) to explain what is diffused and how much. Extending existing theory on the impacts of policies’ textual properties on diffusion patterns, we argue that policies that are easier to understand, specific in their applicability, and that do not mandate specific behavior have their text diffused with less adaptation, regardless of the attributes of the authoring organization. We test our argument in the context of the global diffusion of corporate sustainability policy (CSP), analyzing a novel dataset of 1,429 CSPs from 100 countries, 20 international organizations, and 12 regional organizations over a 65-year period. Offering a precise measure of diffusion as the extent to which a source text is copied into an adopter text, we find statistical support for our hypothesis. We contribute to diffusion scholarship by helping to mainstream natural language processing methods and by theorizing how attributes of policy documents affect how much adaptation occurs.
Effects of negative dietary cation–anion difference and calcidiol supplementation in transition diets fed to sows on piglet survival, piglet weight, and sow metabolism
Authors: Weaver Alice Caroline , Braun Thomas Craig , Braun Jeffrey Allan , Golder Helen Marie , Block Elliot , Lean Ian John
Published: January 2024

Diets that provide a negative dietary anion cation difference (DCAD) and supplement with a vitamin D metabolite 25-OH-D3 (calcidiol) may increase calcium availability at parturition, and enhance piglet survival and performance. This factorial study assessed the effects of DCAD, calcidiol (50 µg/kg), and parity (parity 1 or >1) and their interactions. Large White and Landrace sows (n = 328), parity 1 to 8 were randomly allocated in blocks to treatment diets from day 103 of gestation until day 3 postfarrow: 1) negative DCAD without calcidiol (negative DCAD + no CA), n = 84, 2) negative DCAD with calcidiol (negative DCAD + CA) n = 84, 3) positive DCAD without calcidiol (negative DCAD + no CA), n = 81, and 4) positive DCAD with calcidiol (positive DCAD + CA), n = 79. Negative DCAD diets were acidified with an anionic feed (2 kg/t) and magnesium sulfate (2 kg/t). All treatment diets contained cholecalciferol at 1,000 IU/kg. Dry sow diets contained 14.8% crude protein (CP), 5.4% crude fiber (CF), 0.8% Ca, and 83 mEq/kg DCAD. Treatment diets 1 and 2 contained 17.5% CP, 7.3% CF, 0.8% Ca, and −2 mEq/kg DCAD. Treatment diets 3 and 4 contained 17.4% CP, 7.4% CF, 0.8% Ca, and 68 mEq/kg DCAD. Before farrowing, all negative DCAD sows had lower urine pH than all sows fed a positive DCAD (5.66 ± 0.05 and 6.29 ± 0.05, respectively; P < 0.01); urinary pH was acidified for both DCAD treatments indicating metabolic acidification. The percentage of sows with stillborn piglets was not affected by DCAD, calcidiol, or parity alone but sows fed the negative DCAD + CA diet had a 28% reduction in odds of stillbirth compared to the negative DCAD + no CA diet and even lesser odds to the positive DCAD + CA diet. At day 1 after farrowing, blood gas, and mineral and metabolite concentrations were consistent with feeding a negative DCAD diet and that negative DCAD diets influence energy metabolism, as indicated by increased glucose, cholesterol, and osteocalcin concentrations and reduced nonesterified free fatty acids and 3-hydroxybutyrate concentrations. In the subsequent litter, total piglets born and born alive (14.7 ± 0.3 and 13.8 ± 0.3 piglets, respectively; P = 0.029) was greater for positive DCAD diets compared to negative DCAD diets; and there was an interaction between DCAD, calcidiol, and parity (P = 0.002). Feeding a negative DCAD diet influenced stillbirth, subsequent litter size, and metabolic responses at farrowing. More studies are needed to define optimal diets prefarrowing for sows.
3D seismic intelligent prediction of fault-controlled fractured-vuggy reservoirs in carbonate reservoirs based on a deep learning method
Authors: Li Zongjie , Li Haiying , Liu Jun , Deng Guangxiao , Gu Hanming , Yan Zhe
Published: January 2024

Accurately predicting the external morphology and internal structure of fractured-vuggy reservoirs is of significant importance for the exploration and development of carbonate oil and gas reservoirs. Conventional seismic prediction methods suffer from serious non-uniqueness and low efficiency, while recent advances in deep learning exhibit strong feature learning capabilities and high generalization. Therefore, this paper proposes an intelligent prediction technique for fault-controlled fracture-vuggy reservoirs based on deep learning methods. The approach involves constructing 3D seismic geological models that conform to the geological characteristics of the study area, simulating seismic wavefield propagation, and combining the interpretation results of fractured-vuggy reservoirs. Training sample datasets are separately established for strike-slip faults, karst caves, and fault-controlled fractured-vuggy reservoir outlines, which are then input into the U-Net model in batches for training. This leads to the creation of a deep learning network model for fault-controlled fractured-vuggy reservoirs. The trained network model is applied to the intelligent identification of fault, karst cave, and fault-controlled fracture-vuggy reservoir outlines using actual seismic data from the Shunbei area. A comparison with traditional methods is conducted, and the experimental results demonstrate that the proposed deep learning approach shows excellent performance in the identification and prediction of fault-controlled fractured-vuggy reservoirs.
Gaskell in China: A History of Translation and Critical Reception
Authors: Zeng Kui
Published: January 2024

This essay traces chronologically Elizabeth Gaskell’s reception in mainland China from 1916 to the present day. It focuses on the ways in which Chinese translations and studies of Gaskell are governed by China’s changing socio-political and cultural concerns. The translation of Gaskell was motivated by cultural reasons in Republican China and by political ones in Maoist China. In the former period, Gaskell’s work was considered useful for the creation of a new, modern Chinese literature, while in the latter period, it was seen as conducive to China’s socialist revolution and education. In the post-Mao era, cultural and commercial considerations have come to dominate Gaskell translation. Serious Chinese Gaskell scholarship emerged as part of the critical effort to reaffirm the historical significance of nineteenth-century European realism in the late 1970s. Since then, Chinese criticism of Gaskell has developed from an initial period dominated by Marxist critical approaches through a formative period marked by feminist approaches to a flourishing period featuring diverse critical approaches. The study of Chinese Gaskell would contribute to the global awareness of foreign Gaskells.
Cystic fibrosis–related diabetes screening at a large pediatric center
Authors: Chokkalla Anil K , Tuley Pamela , Kurtca Miray , Ona Herda , Ruiz Fadel E , Devaraj Sridevi
Published: January 2024

Objective

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation guidelines recommend annual diabetes screening by oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in pediatric patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) starting at the age of 10 years. Adherence to these guidelines proves to be challenging, and the nationwide screening rates are still considered suboptimal. The aim of this study was to assess and improve the screening rates at our large pediatric center.

Methods

A 4-year retrospective audit of OGTT completion among pediatric patients with CF of age ≥10 years who are not yet diagnosed with diabetes was conducted. A collaborative working group was formed to identify the barriers to screening and formulate a quality improvement plan, which was monitored and evaluated for a 9-month period.

Results

Diabetes screening rates determined by OGTT completion at our center showed a gradual decline during the COVID-19 pandemic from 2019 to 2022. Following the implementation of the quality improvement plan during the summer of 2023, there was a marked increase in OGTT ordering compliance by providers as well as test completion by patients. Notably, the fractional OGTT completion rate rose from 45% during the preintervention phase (January-April 2023) to 70% during the postintervention phase (May-September 2023).

Conclusion

Diabetes screening in pediatric patients with CF can be effectively improved by refining practices related to patient experience, care coordination, and laboratory testing strategies.
N6-methyladenosine facilitates mitochondrial fusion of colorectal cancer cells via induction of GSH synthesis and stabilization of OPA1 mRNA
Authors: Zhou Jiawang , Zhang Haisheng , Zhong Ke , Tao Lijun , Lin Yu , Xie Guoyou , Tan Yonghuang , Wu You , Lu Yunqing , Chen Zhuojia , Li Jiexin , Deng Xin , Peng Qin , Li Zigang , Wang Hongsheng
Published: January 2024

Mitochondria undergo fission and fusion that are critical for cell survival and cancer development, while the regulatory factors for mitochondrial dynamics remain elusive. Herein we found that RNA m6A accelerated mitochondria fusion of colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. Metabolomics analysis and function studies indicated that m6A triggered the generation of glutathione (GSH) via the upregulation of RRM2B—a p53-inducible ribonucleotide reductase subunit with anti-reactive oxygen species potential. This in turn resulted in the mitochondria fusion of CRC cells. Mechanistically, m6A methylation of A1240 at 3′UTR of RRM2B increased its mRNA stability via binding with IGF2BP2. Similarly, m6A methylation of A2212 at the coding sequence (CDS) of OPA1—an essential GTPase protein for mitochondrial inner membrane fusion—also increased mRNA stability and triggered mitochondria fusion. Targeting m6A through the methyltransferase inhibitor STM2457 or the dm6ACRISPR system significantly suppressed mitochondria fusion. In vivo and clinical data confirmed the positive roles of the m6A/mitochondrial dynamics in tumor growth and CRC progression. Collectively, m6A promoted mitochondria fusion via induction of GSH synthesis and OPA1 expression, which facilitated cancer cell growth and CRC development.
From the Screen (to the Screen) to the Concert Hall
Authors: Greenfield-Casas Stefan
Published: January 2024

The PlayStation 2 game Kingdom Hearts (2002) was the result of a synergetic collaboration between two media powerhouses (Disney and Square Enix) and their respective properties. In the game, characters from both franchises cohabitate the many in-game “worlds” players must save from evil. These worlds are largely built upon the settings of Disney movies, with Kingdom Hearts composer Yoko Shimomura frequently arranging and adapting the original scores from these films for the game. This chapter draws on the Kingdom Hearts series (2002–present) to show how arrangements of preexisting music can be used as world-building and world-bridging devices. Expanding on James Buhler’s notion of musically “branding” a franchise—the politics of merging two media franchises— the argument that music is fundamental in mediating this merger is considered. Further still, arrangements of Shimomura’s composition “Dearly Beloved” (Kingdom Heart’s own musical brand) are used to show how the virtual game world and our “real” world have been bridged with these arrangements.
Culture and Trust in Organizational Contexts
Authors: Fulmer C. Ashley , Gillespie Nicole , Ferrin Donald L. , Denison Emmy
Published: January 2024

Understanding the interface of trust and culture is critical as employees and organizations continue to communicate and interact across groups and borders. In this chapter, we review the literature on culture and trust in organizational settings, focusing primarily on research published since 2010. We examine the influences of culture on trust, within-culture differences in trust, as well as trust in intercultural relationships. Further, recognizing that trust can influence culture such that the culture–trust relationship is recursive, we also discuss research on trust as culture and cultural context. Following the review, we identify theoretical implications, such as exploring trust as a determinant of culture development and the effects of cultural change on trust, as well as practical implications in the areas of artificial intelligence, HR analytics, political and societal divisions, and trust pedagogies and interventions. Research on culture and trust is thriving in organization science, with many exciting opportunities still awaiting investigation.
National Culture and Strategic Management
Authors: Judge William Q. , Norouzi Aiden , Farrell Matthew
Published: January 2024

In this chapter, we review over a quarter century of scholarly organizational science literature that explores the influence of national social culture on strategic management processes and choices. While the literature discusses a wide array of cultural frameworks, we find that Hofstede’s framework is by far the most popular one among strategy scholars. Notably, Kogut and Singh’s (1988) cultural distance concept is the single most common construct used to examine the influence of culture on strategy. In our review of the strategic management literature, we examine the impact of national culture on strategic management processes and content. We find that the early literature treated culture primarily as an antecedent of strategy, but more recent literature more commonly positions it as a moderator of the relationship between an antecedent and strategy. We conclude our review by advancing five separate recommendations for strategy scholars and five recommendations for practitioners to consider.
Culture and Performance Management at Individual and Team Levels
Authors: Aycan Zeynep , Demirag Burak Elif Gizem
Published: January 2024

This chapter reviews the cross-cultural literature to identify the trends and gaps in three phases of the performance management (PM) process for individual employees and teams in organizations: (1) goal setting, (2) performance appraisal (methods, biases, and feedback), and (3) rewards and reinforcements. The review suggests the convergence of some of the PM practices in recent years (e.g., preference for merit- and individual-based reward schemes) and identifies emic themes such as moqi, guanxi, wasta, and evil eye. Several conclusions have been drawn from the review. First, the effect of culture is better conceptualized as a moderator between the PM and outcomes at the organizational and individual levels. Second, there are differences between espoused values and actual practices in PM. Third, there are two pathways through which culture influences PM practices: perceived fairness and justice, and self-related assumptions underlying PM practices. The chapter concludes with practical implications for domestic and multinational concerns.
The Banqueting Tesserae from Palmyra
Authors: Raja Rubina
Published: January 2024

The banqueting tesserae, most of which were found scattered across the site, but with large concentrations in the sanctuaries of the city, remain one of the best sources documenting the diversity of the religious life of Palmyra. While a corpus was published in 1955, which gave a fine overview of the more than 1,100 types of tesserae, these small tokens have only recently begun to be studied in a systematic way, which now allows scholars to say much more about the implications that they carry for understanding Palmyrene religious life. The small objects, usually made of clay and not measuring more than a few centimetres in diameter, hold a rich and varied iconography connected with the city’s cults, deities, and priesthoods.