On April 19th,"the Youth Table Tennis Programme—Photo Exhibition of Zhou Enlai and the Bandung Conference&China-ASEAN(Indonesia)Youth Table Tennis Training Camp"opened in Jakarta,Indonesia.The event was...On April 19th,"the Youth Table Tennis Programme—Photo Exhibition of Zhou Enlai and the Bandung Conference&China-ASEAN(Indonesia)Youth Table Tennis Training Camp"opened in Jakarta,Indonesia.The event was guided by the Chinese Embassy in Indonesia and co-organised by the ASEAN-China Centre(ACC),the Memorial to Zhou Enlai and Deng Yingchao,the China Friendship Foundation for Peace and Development,the Beijing One Heart Sphere Charity Foundation,and the Enlai Foundation.展开更多
In order to enhance and restore the ecosystems of natural capital in African arid regions,the Global Dryland Ecosystem Programme(G-DEP)consultative meeting was hosted in Dakar,Senegal,from 23 to 25 September 2019.This...In order to enhance and restore the ecosystems of natural capital in African arid regions,the Global Dryland Ecosystem Programme(G-DEP)consultative meeting was hosted in Dakar,Senegal,from 23 to 25 September 2019.This paper details the first African meeting of the G-DEP.Consultative meeting reviewed preceding dryland ecosystems case studies,identified vulnerable arid and semi-arid regions,and proposed sustainable solutions to problems.It also identified the successes and failures of previous attempts to improve vulnerable ecosystems and ultimately formed an action plan to improve these attempts.Climate,ecosystems,and livelihoods for Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs),Great Green Wall Initiative(GGWI)for Sahara and Sahel,and China-Africa cooperation on science,technology,and innovation are three extra main sections concerned of the meeting.Separately,more specific topics as the complicated relationship between these natural processes and human activity,including pastoralism,soil restoration,and vegetation regenerate techniques,were fully discussed.Consultative meeting also identified the positive effects international collaboration can have on dryland regions,specifically in the capacity of sharing information,technology,and innovation on purpose to develop a joint proposal for long-term research programs in African arid and semi-arid areas.Moreover,meetings that review the progress made on ecosystem management for the sustainable livelihoods in Africa,identification of priority areas,and the development and implementation of ecosystem programs for proper research and collaboration in African arid and semi-arid zones,have been proposed as strategic recommendations to enhance the global partnership for sustainable development.Furthermore,as the outcomes of the workshop,there are three steps proposed to handle African dryland climate changes,several aspects suggested to solve current dilemmas of the GGWI,and a series of actions recommended for G-DEP related activities in Africa.展开更多
This study analysed the socio-economic contributions of N-Power programme amongst the beneficiaries of the scheme in Benue State.Prior to the introduction of N-Power programme,successive administrations in Nigeria hav...This study analysed the socio-economic contributions of N-Power programme amongst the beneficiaries of the scheme in Benue State.Prior to the introduction of N-Power programme,successive administrations in Nigeria have made concerted efforts towards improving the standard of living of the citizenry through the execution of various welfare or social intervention programmes,but not much successes were recorded.Learning from the mistakes of the past regimes,and by way of deliberate state policy,the Buhari’s government initiated a multi-pronged social investment policy,one of which is the N-power programme that came onboard in 2016,which also doubles as the subject of this study.To achieve the goal of this study,a combination of desktop research and survey design was employed.Questionnaires were administered to 390 respondents through a combination of stratified and random sampling techniques.The results of the survey were matched with that of the secondary data obtained through online websites and other related sources.The result indicated that N-Power made positive contributions to the socio-economic life of the beneficiaries in Benue State:specifically,the scheme contributed in poverty eradication,employment generation,skills acquisitions and capacity building.However,some aspect of our findings revealed that the programme has a number of challenges such as:inadequate cash support,delay in monthly cash transfer to beneficiaries,distance participants had to move to their work stations,absence of posting in N-Teach scheme,and lack of adequate working tools amongst others.To salvage this problem the paper recommended the following solutions:expansion of the scheme to cover N-Teach and other aspects,increment in the monthly cash transfer to cushion the high rate of inflation,support for the participants/beneficiaries in transportation and logistics,enrolment of more youth into the various schemes,proper monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the schemes amongst others.展开更多
Kirigami,through introducing cuts into a thin sheet,can greatly improve the stretchability of structures and also generate complex patterns,showing potentials in various applications.Interestingly,even with the same c...Kirigami,through introducing cuts into a thin sheet,can greatly improve the stretchability of structures and also generate complex patterns,showing potentials in various applications.Interestingly,even with the same cutting pattern,the mechanical response of kirigami metamaterials can exhibit significant differences depending on the cutting angles in respect to the loading direction.In this work,we investigate the structural deformation of kirigami metamaterials with square domains and varied cutting angles of 0°and 45°.We further introduce a second level of cutting on the basis of the first cutting pattern.By combining experiments and finite element simulations,it is found that,compared to the commonly used 0°cuts,the two-level kirigami metamaterials with 45°cuts exhibit a unique alternating arrangement phenomenon of expanded/unexpanded states in the loading process,which also results in distinct stress–strain response.Through tuning the cutting patterns of metamaterials with 45°cuts,precise control of the rotation of the kirigami unit is realized,leading to kirigami metamaterials with encryption properties.The current work demonstrates the programmability of structural deformation in hierarchical kirigami metamaterials through controlling the local cutting modes.展开更多
Persistent flows are defined as network flows that persist over multiple time intervals and continue to exhibit activity over extended periods,which are critical for identifying long-term behaviors and subtle security...Persistent flows are defined as network flows that persist over multiple time intervals and continue to exhibit activity over extended periods,which are critical for identifying long-term behaviors and subtle security threats.Programmable switches provide line-rate packet processing to meet the requirements of high-speed network environments,yet they are fundamentally limited in computational and memory resources.Accurate and memoryefficient persistent flow detection on programmable switches is therefore essential.However,existing approaches often rely on fixed-window sketches or multiple sketches instances,which either suffer from insufficient temporal precision or incur substantial memory overhead,making them ineffective on programmable switches.To address these challenges,we propose SP-Sketch,an innovative sliding-window-based sketch that leverages a probabilistic update mechanism to emulate slot expiration without maintaining multiple sketch instances.This innovative design significantly reduces memory consumption while preserving high detection accuracy across multiple time intervals.We provide rigorous theoretical analyses of the estimation errors,deriving precise error bounds for the proposed method,and validate our approach through comprehensive implementations on both P4 hardware switches(with Intel Tofino ASIC)and software switches(i.e.,BMv2).Experimental evaluations using real-world traffic traces demonstrate that SP-Sketch outperforms traditional methods,improving accuracy by up to 20%over baseline sliding window approaches and enhancing recall by 5%compared to non-sliding alternatives.Furthermore,SP-Sketch achieves a significant reduction in memory utilization,reducing memory consumption by up to 65%compared to traditional methods,while maintaining a robust capability to accurately track persistent flow behavior over extended time periods.展开更多
Chiral metamaterials are manmade structures with extraordinary mechanical properties derived from their special geometric design instead of chemical composition.To make the mechanical deformation programmable,the non-...Chiral metamaterials are manmade structures with extraordinary mechanical properties derived from their special geometric design instead of chemical composition.To make the mechanical deformation programmable,the non-uniform rational B-spline(NURBS)curves are taken to replace the traditional ligament boundaries of the chiral structure.The Neural networks are innovatively inserted into the calculation of mechanical properties of the chiral structure instead of finite element methods to improve computational efficiency.For the problem of finding structure configuration with specified mechanical properties,such as Young’s modulus,Poisson’s ratio or deformation,an inverse design method using the Neural network-based proxy model is proposed to build the relationship between mechanical properties and geometric configuration.To satisfy some more complex deformation requirements,a non-homogeneous inverse design method is proposed and verified through simulation and experiments.Numerical and test results reveal the high computational efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method in the design of chiral metamaterials.展开更多
This paper presents the development of a thermoplastic shape memory rubber that can be programmed at human body temperature for comfortable fitting applications.We hybridized commercially available thermoplastic rubbe...This paper presents the development of a thermoplastic shape memory rubber that can be programmed at human body temperature for comfortable fitting applications.We hybridized commercially available thermoplastic rubber(TPR)used in the footwear industry with un-crosslinked polycaprolactone(PCL)to create two samples,namely TP6040 and TP7030.The shape memory behavior,elasticity,and thermo-mechanical response of these rubbers were systematically investigated.The experimental results demonstrated outstanding shape memory performance,with both samples achieving shape fixity ratios(Rf)and shape recovery ratios(R_(r))exceeding 94%.TP6040 exhibited a fitting time of 80 s at body temperature(37℃),indicating a rapid response for shape fixing.The materials also showed good elasticity before and after programming,which is crucial for comfort fitting.These findings suggest that the developed shape memory thermoplastic rubber has potential applications in personalized comfort fitting products,offering advantages over traditional customization techniques in terms of efficiency and cost-effectiveness.展开更多
Advanced programmable metamaterials with heterogeneous microstructures have become increasingly prevalent in scientific and engineering disciplines attributed to their tunable properties.However,exploring the structur...Advanced programmable metamaterials with heterogeneous microstructures have become increasingly prevalent in scientific and engineering disciplines attributed to their tunable properties.However,exploring the structure-property relationship in these materials,including forward prediction and inverse design,presents substantial challenges.The inhomogeneous microstructures significantly complicate traditional analytical or simulation-based approaches.Here,we establish a novel framework that integrates the machine learning(ML)-encoded multiscale computational method for forward prediction and Bayesian optimization for inverse design.Unlike prior end-to-end ML methods limited to specific problems,our framework is both load-independent and geometry-independent.This means that a single training session for a constitutive model suffices to tackle various problems directly,eliminating the need for repeated data collection or training.We demonstrate the efficacy and efficiency of this framework using metamaterials with designable elliptical holes or lattice honeycombs microstructures.Leveraging accelerated forward prediction,we can precisely customize the stiffness and shape of metamaterials under diverse loading scenarios,and extend this capability to multi-objective customization seamlessly.Moreover,we achieve topology optimization for stress alleviation at the crack tip,resulting in a significant reduction of Mises stress by up to 41.2%and yielding a theoretical interpretable pattern.This framework offers a general,efficient and precise tool for analyzing the structure-property relationships of novel metamaterials.展开更多
A programmable low-profile array antenna based on nematic liquid crystals(NLCs)is proposed.Each antenna unit comprises a square patch radiating structure and a tunable NLC-based phase shifter capable of achieving a ph...A programmable low-profile array antenna based on nematic liquid crystals(NLCs)is proposed.Each antenna unit comprises a square patch radiating structure and a tunable NLC-based phase shifter capable of achieving a phase shift exceeding 360°with high linearity.First,the above 64 antenna units are periodically arranged into an 8×8 NLC-based antenna array,and the bias voltage of the NLC-based phase shifter loaded on the antenna unit is adjusted through the control of the field-programmable gate array(FPGA)programming sequences.This configuration enables precise phase changes for all 64 channels.Numerical simulation,sample processing,and experimental measurements of the antenna array are conducted to validate the performance of the antenna.The numerical and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed antenna performs well within the frequency range of 19.5-20.5 GHz,with a 3 dB relative bandwidth of 10%and a maximum main lobe gain of 14.1 dBi.A maximum scanning angle of±34°is achieved through the adjustment of the FPGA programming sequence.This NLC-based programmable array antenna shows promising potential for applications in satellite communication.展开更多
In the context of radioactive waste disposal,an underground research laboratory(URL)is a facility in which experiments are conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of constructing and operating a radioactive waste dis...In the context of radioactive waste disposal,an underground research laboratory(URL)is a facility in which experiments are conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of constructing and operating a radioactive waste disposal facility within a geological formation.The Meuse/Haute-Marne URL is a sitespecific facility planned to study the feasibility of a radioactive waste disposal in the Callovo-Oxfordian(COx)claystone.The thermo-hydro-mechanical(THM)behaviour of the host rock is significant for the design of the underground nuclear waste disposal facility and for its long-term safety.The French National Radioactive Waste Management Agency(Andra)has begun a research programme aiming to demonstrate the relevancy of the French high-level waste(HLW)concept.This paper presents the programme implemented from small-scale(small diameter)boreholes to full-scale demonstration experiments to study the THM effects of the thermal transient on the COx claystone and the strategy implemented in this new programme to demonstrate and optimise current disposal facility components for HLW.It shows that the French high-level waste concept is feasible and working in the COx claystone.It also exhibits that,as for other plastic clay or claystone,heating-induced pore pressure increases and that the THM behaviour is anisotropic.展开更多
As a 10-year international research programme jointly initiated by ICSU(International Council for Science),ISSC(International Social Science Council)and others,Future Earth aims to provide critical knowledge required ...As a 10-year international research programme jointly initiated by ICSU(International Council for Science),ISSC(International Social Science Council)and others,Future Earth aims to provide critical knowledge required for societies to face the challenges posed by global environmental change and to identify opportunities for a transition to global sustainability(FE,2013).The launching of Future Earth is the outcome of step change in global environment change research and funding strategy and meet the demands for connecting展开更多
Background Youth suicide has been a pressing public mental health concern in China,yet there is a lack of gatekeeper intervention programmes developed locally to prevent suicide among Chinese adolescents.Aims The curr...Background Youth suicide has been a pressing public mental health concern in China,yet there is a lack of gatekeeper intervention programmes developed locally to prevent suicide among Chinese adolescents.Aims The current Delphi study was the first step in the systematic development of the Life Gatekeeper programme,the first gatekeeper programme to be developed locally in China that aims to equip teachers and parents with the knowledge,skills and ability to identify and intervene with students at high risk of suicide.Methods The Delphi method was used to elicit a consensus of experts who were invited to evaluate the importance of training content,the feasibility of the training delivery method,the possibility of achieving the training goals and,finally,the appropriateness of the training materials.Two Delphi rounds were conducted among local experts with diversified professional backgrounds in suicide research and practice.Statements were accepted for inclusion in the adjusted training programme if they were endorsed by at least 80%of the panel.Results Consensus was achieved on 201 out of 207 statements for inclusion into the adapted guidelines for the gatekeeper programme,with 151 from the original questionnaire and 50 generated from comments of the panel members.These endorsed statements were synthesised to develop the content of the Life Gatekeeper training programme.Conclusions This Delphi study provided an evidence base for developing the first gatekeeper training programme systematically and locally in China.We hope that the current study can pave the way for more evidence-based suicide prevention programmes in China.Further study is warranted to evaluate the effectiveness of the Life Gatekeeper training programme.展开更多
The provision of Rare Blood for special purposes on a worldwide basis is now an accepted part of modern transfusion practice. The ISBT Working Party, working in conjunction with the International Blood Group Reference...The provision of Rare Blood for special purposes on a worldwide basis is now an accepted part of modern transfusion practice. The ISBT Working Party, working in conjunction with the International Blood Group Reference Laboratory in England as well as other organisations, plays a pivotal role in ensuring that adequate systems are in place to meet clinical needs. The contribution of Asia to the Rare Donor programme is at present small. Some of the reasons for the relatively low input to date include a lack of knowledge of the systems available, the stage of development of transfusion services in some countries and the general absence of well developed blood group serology reference Centres. Much remains to be done if Asia is to contribute significantly to the problems of blood supply to patients with a need for rare blood. However, there are already indications that more countries in Asia are at the stage of transfusion development that will permit them to be of more assistance to the International Rare Blood Programme and thereby better meet Asian and other international needs. Various recommendations will be presented to the Symposium for endorsement. The ISBT Working Party on Rare Blood will give any assistance that is required to facilitate improved methods that will improve the availability of Rare Blood internationally.展开更多
Pakistan is predominantly a mountainous country where rural development activities are characterised by inconsistency, politically motivated short-term projects without proper feedback. Since the inception of the coun...Pakistan is predominantly a mountainous country where rural development activities are characterised by inconsistency, politically motivated short-term projects without proper feedback. Since the inception of the country, the top-down approach has been followed, and the same development plans that were formulated for the plain areas have been extended to the mountains without any modification. In doing so, neither the participation of the local communities was cared for, nor the mountain specificities were considered in the planning process. Moreover, the representation of the local inhabitants was improper and contradictory to the facts. This biased approach has been one of the main causes for the failure of development projects carried out by different agencies of the Government. Contrary to the perception of the state authorities, the mountain communities proved to be more open to accept new approaches and demonstrated the capacity and capability of being a dependable development partner. In this paper, a detailed account of the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme （AKRSP） has been presented to assess and evaluate the approach followed by this non-governmental organisation （NGO）, and the response of the local inhabitants as collaborators in the development process. The achievements of the AKRSP from project planning, implementation and monitoring can be adopted as a model for rural development not only in the plains, but also in the mountainous areas of the developing countries in the world.展开更多
Antibiotic usage and increasing antimicrobial resistance(AMR) mount significant challenges to patient safety and management of the critically ill on intensive care units(ICU). Antibiotic stewardship programmes(ASPs) a...Antibiotic usage and increasing antimicrobial resistance(AMR) mount significant challenges to patient safety and management of the critically ill on intensive care units(ICU). Antibiotic stewardship programmes(ASPs) aim to optimise appropriate antibiotic treatment whilst minimising antibiotic resistance. Different models of ASP in intensive care setting, include "standard" control of antibiotic prescribing such as "de-escalation strategies"through to interventional approaches utilising biomarkerguided antibiotic prescribing. A systematic review of outcomes related studies for ASPs in an ICU setting was conducted. Forty three studies were identified from MEDLINE between 1996 and 2014. Of 34 nonprotocolised studies, [1 randomised control trial(RCT), 22 observational and 11 case series], 29(85%) were positive with respect to one or more outcome: These were the key outcome of reduced antibiotic use, or ICU length of stay, antibiotic resistance, or prescribing cost burden. Limitations of non-standard antibiotic initiation triggers, patient and antibiotic selection bias or baseline demographic variance were identified. All 9 protocolised studies were RCTs, of which 8 were procalcitonin(PCT) guided antibiotic stop/start interventions. Five studies addressed antibiotic escalation, 3 de-escalation and 1 addressed both. Six studies reported positive outcomes for reduced antibiotic use, ICU length of stay or antibiotic resistance. PCT based ASPs are effective as antibiotic-stop(de-escalation) triggers, but not as an escalation trigger alone. PCT has also been effective in reducing antibiotic usage without worsening morbidity or mortality in ventilator associated pulmonary infection. No study has demonstrated survival benefit of ASP. Ongoing challenges to infectious disease management, reported by the World Health Organisation global report 2014, are high AMR to newer antibiotics, and regional knowledge gaps in AMR surveillance. Improved AMR surveillance data, identifying core aspects of successful ASPs that are transferable, and further well-conducted trials will be necessary if ASPs are to be an effective platform for delivering desired patient outcomes and safety through best antibiotic policy.展开更多
AIM To investigate factors predicting treatment completion and treatment outcome of the Reasoning and Rehabilitation Mental Health Programme(R&R2MHP)cognitive skills programme for mentally disordered offenders.MET...AIM To investigate factors predicting treatment completion and treatment outcome of the Reasoning and Rehabilitation Mental Health Programme(R&R2MHP)cognitive skills programme for mentally disordered offenders.METHODS Secondary analysis of data previously obtained from 97 male patients who were sectioned and detained under the United Kingdom Mental Health Act in low,medium and high security hospitals and who had completed R&R2MHP.Predictors of treatment completion included background variables and five outcome measures:Four self-reported measures of violent attitudes,social problem-solving skills,reactive anger and locus of control and an objective measure of behaviour on theward that was completed by staff.Completion of the 16 session programme,which was delivered on a weekly basis,was classified as≥12 sessions.RESULTS It was found that the R&R2MHP is appropriate for delivery to participants of different ages,ethnic background,and at different levels of security without the completion rate or treatment effectiveness being compromised.Participants taking oral typical psychotropic medication were over seven times more likely to complete the programme than other participants.Behavioural disturbance on the ward prior to commencing the programme predicted non-completion(medium effect size).As far as treatment completion was concerned,none of the background factors predicted treatment effectiveness(age,ethnic background,level of security,number of previous convictions and number of previous hospital admissions).The best predictor of treatment effectiveness was attitude towards violence suggesting that this should be the primary outcome measure in future research evaluating outcomes of the R&R2MHP cognitive skills program.CONCLUSION The findings suggest that a stable mental state is a key factor that predicts treatment completion.展开更多
BACKGROUND Gastroparesis is a common digestive disorder characterized by delayed gastric emptying,which can lead to symptoms such as nausea,vomiting,abdominal pain,and poor appetite.Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)ha...BACKGROUND Gastroparesis is a common digestive disorder characterized by delayed gastric emptying,which can lead to symptoms such as nausea,vomiting,abdominal pain,and poor appetite.Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)has been used for centuries to treat gastrointestinal disorders,including gastroparesis.TCM theory suggests that spleen and stomach qi deficiency syndrome is one of the main pathogenic factors in gastroparesis.Nursing care plays an important role in the treatment of gastroparesis,and TCM nursing interventions have shown promising results in improving patient outcomes.However,there is limited research on the clinical effectiveness of TCM nursing interventions for gastroparesis with spleen stomach deficiency syndrome.This study aimed to evaluate the clinical effect of TCM nursing intervention in the treatment of gastroparesis with spleen stomach deficiency syndrome and to compare it with routine nursing interventions.AIM To analyze the clinical effect of traditional Chinese medicine nursing intervention in the treatment of gastric paraplegia with spleen stomach deficiency syndrome.METHODS From January 2020 to July 2021,80 patients with gastroparesis of spleen stomach qi deficiency type diagnosed in our hospital were selected for the study.The 80 patients were randomly divided into a control group and an experimental group,with 40 cases in each group.During the treatment period,the control group received routine nursing interventions,while the experimental group received traditional Chinese medicine nursing procedures.Compare the nursing effects of the two groups and observe the changes in traditional Chinese medicine symptom scores,pain levels,and sleep quality before and after treatment.RESULTS After treatment,comparing the treatment effects of the two groups,the total effective rate of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group,with statistical significance(P<0.05).There was no statistically significant difference in the TCM symptom score,visual analogue scale(VAS)score,and Pittsburgh sleep quality index(PSQI)score between the two groups before treatment(P>0.05).However,after treatment,the TCM syndrome scores,VAS scores,and PSQI scores of the experimental group were significantly lower than those of the control group,with a statistically significant difference(P<0.05).CONCLUSION In the clinical nursing intervention of patients with mild gastroparesis due to spleen and stomach qi deficiency,the traditional Chinese medicine nursing plan has good clinical application value and nursing effect,and has a good effect on improving patients’pain and sleep quality.展开更多
It has been suggested that the success of an ER project can largely rely on several elements,such as the selection of appropriate materials,establishment of management system,workshop for training teachers. Among thos...It has been suggested that the success of an ER project can largely rely on several elements,such as the selection of appropriate materials,establishment of management system,workshop for training teachers. Among those,teachers play an indispensable role due to the fact that it is the teachers who are capable of turning conceptions into actions,who get students engaged and bridge and gap between the goals of the programme and the reality in classroom. This paper is an attempt to outline a detailed picture to demonstrate how to offer effective training courses which can enable teachers to play"multiple roles"to make great contribution to the development of an ER project.展开更多
Environmental Services Payment Programmes are not entirely new and they are more flexible than the usual command-and-control type of regulation. In the 1990s for example, an Environmental Services Payment programme wa...Environmental Services Payment Programmes are not entirely new and they are more flexible than the usual command-and-control type of regulation. In the 1990s for example, an Environmental Services Payment programme was introduced to cope with the forestry system and pay benefits to farmers for the good that their forests would produce. This review examines the possibility of using Environmental Services Payment programmes for Mexican mangroves as they are an important resource against natural disasters, and reducing greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere, for example, and they are constantly invaded by the human race which impacts on their destruction. The review aims at constructing a methodology that can be applied to the implementation of Environmental Services Payment programmes. The value of this study is in aiming a straight arrow at the environmental problems outlined in this paper, problems that have not been fully resolved to date, especially in Mexico where it is not officially recognised that mangroves play an important role in the mitigation of greenhouse gases. Furthermore, Environmental Services Payment Programmes in Mexico have not pinpointed specific types of area. We conclude this paper with elaborating on our ten-point strategy for implementing Environmental Services Payment programmes which includes, in brief: 1) Fully accepting the importance of the mitigation of greenhouse gases via mangroves;2) designing a Environmental/Ecosystem Services Payment Programme with particular emphasis on Mexican mangroves;3) identifying specific environmental services and their level from local to international;4) formation and implementation of a system of “whoever benefits must pay”;5) building of a knowledge base of owners and others who benefit from environmental services;6) hypothetical models of particular Environmental Services Payment programmes must be constructed;7) clarifying who must pay;8) grouping all sectors that must pay;9) inspiring all actors to cooperate via 10) the impact of a Citizens’ Council, for example.展开更多
文摘On April 19th,"the Youth Table Tennis Programme—Photo Exhibition of Zhou Enlai and the Bandung Conference&China-ASEAN(Indonesia)Youth Table Tennis Training Camp"opened in Jakarta,Indonesia.The event was guided by the Chinese Embassy in Indonesia and co-organised by the ASEAN-China Centre(ACC),the Memorial to Zhou Enlai and Deng Yingchao,the China Friendship Foundation for Peace and Development,the Beijing One Heart Sphere Charity Foundation,and the Enlai Foundation.
基金Funding to support this consultative meeting was provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(41761144053,41661144022)the International Partnership Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences(121311KYSB201700).
文摘In order to enhance and restore the ecosystems of natural capital in African arid regions,the Global Dryland Ecosystem Programme(G-DEP)consultative meeting was hosted in Dakar,Senegal,from 23 to 25 September 2019.This paper details the first African meeting of the G-DEP.Consultative meeting reviewed preceding dryland ecosystems case studies,identified vulnerable arid and semi-arid regions,and proposed sustainable solutions to problems.It also identified the successes and failures of previous attempts to improve vulnerable ecosystems and ultimately formed an action plan to improve these attempts.Climate,ecosystems,and livelihoods for Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs),Great Green Wall Initiative(GGWI)for Sahara and Sahel,and China-Africa cooperation on science,technology,and innovation are three extra main sections concerned of the meeting.Separately,more specific topics as the complicated relationship between these natural processes and human activity,including pastoralism,soil restoration,and vegetation regenerate techniques,were fully discussed.Consultative meeting also identified the positive effects international collaboration can have on dryland regions,specifically in the capacity of sharing information,technology,and innovation on purpose to develop a joint proposal for long-term research programs in African arid and semi-arid areas.Moreover,meetings that review the progress made on ecosystem management for the sustainable livelihoods in Africa,identification of priority areas,and the development and implementation of ecosystem programs for proper research and collaboration in African arid and semi-arid zones,have been proposed as strategic recommendations to enhance the global partnership for sustainable development.Furthermore,as the outcomes of the workshop,there are three steps proposed to handle African dryland climate changes,several aspects suggested to solve current dilemmas of the GGWI,and a series of actions recommended for G-DEP related activities in Africa.
文摘This study analysed the socio-economic contributions of N-Power programme amongst the beneficiaries of the scheme in Benue State.Prior to the introduction of N-Power programme,successive administrations in Nigeria have made concerted efforts towards improving the standard of living of the citizenry through the execution of various welfare or social intervention programmes,but not much successes were recorded.Learning from the mistakes of the past regimes,and by way of deliberate state policy,the Buhari’s government initiated a multi-pronged social investment policy,one of which is the N-power programme that came onboard in 2016,which also doubles as the subject of this study.To achieve the goal of this study,a combination of desktop research and survey design was employed.Questionnaires were administered to 390 respondents through a combination of stratified and random sampling techniques.The results of the survey were matched with that of the secondary data obtained through online websites and other related sources.The result indicated that N-Power made positive contributions to the socio-economic life of the beneficiaries in Benue State:specifically,the scheme contributed in poverty eradication,employment generation,skills acquisitions and capacity building.However,some aspect of our findings revealed that the programme has a number of challenges such as:inadequate cash support,delay in monthly cash transfer to beneficiaries,distance participants had to move to their work stations,absence of posting in N-Teach scheme,and lack of adequate working tools amongst others.To salvage this problem the paper recommended the following solutions:expansion of the scheme to cover N-Teach and other aspects,increment in the monthly cash transfer to cushion the high rate of inflation,support for the participants/beneficiaries in transportation and logistics,enrolment of more youth into the various schemes,proper monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the schemes amongst others.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.12102392 and 12272341)the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.LQ21A020008).
文摘Kirigami,through introducing cuts into a thin sheet,can greatly improve the stretchability of structures and also generate complex patterns,showing potentials in various applications.Interestingly,even with the same cutting pattern,the mechanical response of kirigami metamaterials can exhibit significant differences depending on the cutting angles in respect to the loading direction.In this work,we investigate the structural deformation of kirigami metamaterials with square domains and varied cutting angles of 0°and 45°.We further introduce a second level of cutting on the basis of the first cutting pattern.By combining experiments and finite element simulations,it is found that,compared to the commonly used 0°cuts,the two-level kirigami metamaterials with 45°cuts exhibit a unique alternating arrangement phenomenon of expanded/unexpanded states in the loading process,which also results in distinct stress–strain response.Through tuning the cutting patterns of metamaterials with 45°cuts,precise control of the rotation of the kirigami unit is realized,leading to kirigami metamaterials with encryption properties.The current work demonstrates the programmability of structural deformation in hierarchical kirigami metamaterials through controlling the local cutting modes.
基金supported by the National Undergraduate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program of China(Project No.202510559076)at Jinan University,a nationwide initiative administered by the Ministry of Educationthe National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC)under Grant No.62172189.
文摘Persistent flows are defined as network flows that persist over multiple time intervals and continue to exhibit activity over extended periods,which are critical for identifying long-term behaviors and subtle security threats.Programmable switches provide line-rate packet processing to meet the requirements of high-speed network environments,yet they are fundamentally limited in computational and memory resources.Accurate and memoryefficient persistent flow detection on programmable switches is therefore essential.However,existing approaches often rely on fixed-window sketches or multiple sketches instances,which either suffer from insufficient temporal precision or incur substantial memory overhead,making them ineffective on programmable switches.To address these challenges,we propose SP-Sketch,an innovative sliding-window-based sketch that leverages a probabilistic update mechanism to emulate slot expiration without maintaining multiple sketch instances.This innovative design significantly reduces memory consumption while preserving high detection accuracy across multiple time intervals.We provide rigorous theoretical analyses of the estimation errors,deriving precise error bounds for the proposed method,and validate our approach through comprehensive implementations on both P4 hardware switches(with Intel Tofino ASIC)and software switches(i.e.,BMv2).Experimental evaluations using real-world traffic traces demonstrate that SP-Sketch outperforms traditional methods,improving accuracy by up to 20%over baseline sliding window approaches and enhancing recall by 5%compared to non-sliding alternatives.Furthermore,SP-Sketch achieves a significant reduction in memory utilization,reducing memory consumption by up to 65%compared to traditional methods,while maintaining a robust capability to accurately track persistent flow behavior over extended time periods.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(grant numbers 11972287 and 12072266)the State Key Laboratory of Structural Analysis,Optimization and CAE Software for Industrial Equipment(GZ23106)+1 种基金the National Key Laboratory of Aircraft Configuration Design(No.2023-JCJQ-LB-070)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.
文摘Chiral metamaterials are manmade structures with extraordinary mechanical properties derived from their special geometric design instead of chemical composition.To make the mechanical deformation programmable,the non-uniform rational B-spline(NURBS)curves are taken to replace the traditional ligament boundaries of the chiral structure.The Neural networks are innovatively inserted into the calculation of mechanical properties of the chiral structure instead of finite element methods to improve computational efficiency.For the problem of finding structure configuration with specified mechanical properties,such as Young’s modulus,Poisson’s ratio or deformation,an inverse design method using the Neural network-based proxy model is proposed to build the relationship between mechanical properties and geometric configuration.To satisfy some more complex deformation requirements,a non-homogeneous inverse design method is proposed and verified through simulation and experiments.Numerical and test results reveal the high computational efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method in the design of chiral metamaterials.
基金supported by the Aeronautical Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.2024Z009052003,20230038052001 and 20230015052002)the Third Batch of Science and Technology Plan Projects in Changzhou City in 2023(Applied Basic Research,Grant No.CJ20230080).
文摘This paper presents the development of a thermoplastic shape memory rubber that can be programmed at human body temperature for comfortable fitting applications.We hybridized commercially available thermoplastic rubber(TPR)used in the footwear industry with un-crosslinked polycaprolactone(PCL)to create two samples,namely TP6040 and TP7030.The shape memory behavior,elasticity,and thermo-mechanical response of these rubbers were systematically investigated.The experimental results demonstrated outstanding shape memory performance,with both samples achieving shape fixity ratios(Rf)and shape recovery ratios(R_(r))exceeding 94%.TP6040 exhibited a fitting time of 80 s at body temperature(37℃),indicating a rapid response for shape fixing.The materials also showed good elasticity before and after programming,which is crucial for comfort fitting.These findings suggest that the developed shape memory thermoplastic rubber has potential applications in personalized comfort fitting products,offering advantages over traditional customization techniques in terms of efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos.12102021,12372105,12172026,and 12225201)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities and the Academic Excellence Foundation of BUAA for PhD Students.
文摘Advanced programmable metamaterials with heterogeneous microstructures have become increasingly prevalent in scientific and engineering disciplines attributed to their tunable properties.However,exploring the structure-property relationship in these materials,including forward prediction and inverse design,presents substantial challenges.The inhomogeneous microstructures significantly complicate traditional analytical or simulation-based approaches.Here,we establish a novel framework that integrates the machine learning(ML)-encoded multiscale computational method for forward prediction and Bayesian optimization for inverse design.Unlike prior end-to-end ML methods limited to specific problems,our framework is both load-independent and geometry-independent.This means that a single training session for a constitutive model suffices to tackle various problems directly,eliminating the need for repeated data collection or training.We demonstrate the efficacy and efficiency of this framework using metamaterials with designable elliptical holes or lattice honeycombs microstructures.Leveraging accelerated forward prediction,we can precisely customize the stiffness and shape of metamaterials under diverse loading scenarios,and extend this capability to multi-objective customization seamlessly.Moreover,we achieve topology optimization for stress alleviation at the crack tip,resulting in a significant reduction of Mises stress by up to 41.2%and yielding a theoretical interpretable pattern.This framework offers a general,efficient and precise tool for analyzing the structure-property relationships of novel metamaterials.
基金The National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.62401168,62401139,62401170)China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(No.2023MD744197)+2 种基金Postdoctoral Fellowship Program of CPSF(No.GZC20230631)Project for Enhancing Young and Middle-aged Teacher’s Research Basis Ability in Colleges of Guangxi(No.2023KY0218)Guangxi Key Laboratory Foundation of Optoelectronic Information Processing(No.GD23102)。
文摘A programmable low-profile array antenna based on nematic liquid crystals(NLCs)is proposed.Each antenna unit comprises a square patch radiating structure and a tunable NLC-based phase shifter capable of achieving a phase shift exceeding 360°with high linearity.First,the above 64 antenna units are periodically arranged into an 8×8 NLC-based antenna array,and the bias voltage of the NLC-based phase shifter loaded on the antenna unit is adjusted through the control of the field-programmable gate array(FPGA)programming sequences.This configuration enables precise phase changes for all 64 channels.Numerical simulation,sample processing,and experimental measurements of the antenna array are conducted to validate the performance of the antenna.The numerical and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed antenna performs well within the frequency range of 19.5-20.5 GHz,with a 3 dB relative bandwidth of 10%and a maximum main lobe gain of 14.1 dBi.A maximum scanning angle of±34°is achieved through the adjustment of the FPGA programming sequence.This NLC-based programmable array antenna shows promising potential for applications in satellite communication.
文摘In the context of radioactive waste disposal,an underground research laboratory(URL)is a facility in which experiments are conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of constructing and operating a radioactive waste disposal facility within a geological formation.The Meuse/Haute-Marne URL is a sitespecific facility planned to study the feasibility of a radioactive waste disposal in the Callovo-Oxfordian(COx)claystone.The thermo-hydro-mechanical(THM)behaviour of the host rock is significant for the design of the underground nuclear waste disposal facility and for its long-term safety.The French National Radioactive Waste Management Agency(Andra)has begun a research programme aiming to demonstrate the relevancy of the French high-level waste(HLW)concept.This paper presents the programme implemented from small-scale(small diameter)boreholes to full-scale demonstration experiments to study the THM effects of the thermal transient on the COx claystone and the strategy implemented in this new programme to demonstrate and optimise current disposal facility components for HLW.It shows that the French high-level waste concept is feasible and working in the COx claystone.It also exhibits that,as for other plastic clay or claystone,heating-induced pore pressure increases and that the THM behaviour is anisotropic.
文摘As a 10-year international research programme jointly initiated by ICSU(International Council for Science),ISSC(International Social Science Council)and others,Future Earth aims to provide critical knowledge required for societies to face the challenges posed by global environmental change and to identify opportunities for a transition to global sustainability(FE,2013).The launching of Future Earth is the outcome of step change in global environment change research and funding strategy and meet the demands for connecting
基金funding from Research Fund of VankeSchool of Public Health(100009001)funding from Shuimu Tsinghua Scholarfunding from Beijing High Level Public HealthTechnical Specialist Development Fund(Discipline backbone-02-07).
文摘Background Youth suicide has been a pressing public mental health concern in China,yet there is a lack of gatekeeper intervention programmes developed locally to prevent suicide among Chinese adolescents.Aims The current Delphi study was the first step in the systematic development of the Life Gatekeeper programme,the first gatekeeper programme to be developed locally in China that aims to equip teachers and parents with the knowledge,skills and ability to identify and intervene with students at high risk of suicide.Methods The Delphi method was used to elicit a consensus of experts who were invited to evaluate the importance of training content,the feasibility of the training delivery method,the possibility of achieving the training goals and,finally,the appropriateness of the training materials.Two Delphi rounds were conducted among local experts with diversified professional backgrounds in suicide research and practice.Statements were accepted for inclusion in the adjusted training programme if they were endorsed by at least 80%of the panel.Results Consensus was achieved on 201 out of 207 statements for inclusion into the adapted guidelines for the gatekeeper programme,with 151 from the original questionnaire and 50 generated from comments of the panel members.These endorsed statements were synthesised to develop the content of the Life Gatekeeper training programme.Conclusions This Delphi study provided an evidence base for developing the first gatekeeper training programme systematically and locally in China.We hope that the current study can pave the way for more evidence-based suicide prevention programmes in China.Further study is warranted to evaluate the effectiveness of the Life Gatekeeper training programme.
文摘The provision of Rare Blood for special purposes on a worldwide basis is now an accepted part of modern transfusion practice. The ISBT Working Party, working in conjunction with the International Blood Group Reference Laboratory in England as well as other organisations, plays a pivotal role in ensuring that adequate systems are in place to meet clinical needs. The contribution of Asia to the Rare Donor programme is at present small. Some of the reasons for the relatively low input to date include a lack of knowledge of the systems available, the stage of development of transfusion services in some countries and the general absence of well developed blood group serology reference Centres. Much remains to be done if Asia is to contribute significantly to the problems of blood supply to patients with a need for rare blood. However, there are already indications that more countries in Asia are at the stage of transfusion development that will permit them to be of more assistance to the International Rare Blood Programme and thereby better meet Asian and other international needs. Various recommendations will be presented to the Symposium for endorsement. The ISBT Working Party on Rare Blood will give any assistance that is required to facilitate improved methods that will improve the availability of Rare Blood internationally.
文摘Pakistan is predominantly a mountainous country where rural development activities are characterised by inconsistency, politically motivated short-term projects without proper feedback. Since the inception of the country, the top-down approach has been followed, and the same development plans that were formulated for the plain areas have been extended to the mountains without any modification. In doing so, neither the participation of the local communities was cared for, nor the mountain specificities were considered in the planning process. Moreover, the representation of the local inhabitants was improper and contradictory to the facts. This biased approach has been one of the main causes for the failure of development projects carried out by different agencies of the Government. Contrary to the perception of the state authorities, the mountain communities proved to be more open to accept new approaches and demonstrated the capacity and capability of being a dependable development partner. In this paper, a detailed account of the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme （AKRSP） has been presented to assess and evaluate the approach followed by this non-governmental organisation （NGO）, and the response of the local inhabitants as collaborators in the development process. The achievements of the AKRSP from project planning, implementation and monitoring can be adopted as a model for rural development not only in the plains, but also in the mountainous areas of the developing countries in the world.
文摘Antibiotic usage and increasing antimicrobial resistance(AMR) mount significant challenges to patient safety and management of the critically ill on intensive care units(ICU). Antibiotic stewardship programmes(ASPs) aim to optimise appropriate antibiotic treatment whilst minimising antibiotic resistance. Different models of ASP in intensive care setting, include "standard" control of antibiotic prescribing such as "de-escalation strategies"through to interventional approaches utilising biomarkerguided antibiotic prescribing. A systematic review of outcomes related studies for ASPs in an ICU setting was conducted. Forty three studies were identified from MEDLINE between 1996 and 2014. Of 34 nonprotocolised studies, [1 randomised control trial(RCT), 22 observational and 11 case series], 29(85%) were positive with respect to one or more outcome: These were the key outcome of reduced antibiotic use, or ICU length of stay, antibiotic resistance, or prescribing cost burden. Limitations of non-standard antibiotic initiation triggers, patient and antibiotic selection bias or baseline demographic variance were identified. All 9 protocolised studies were RCTs, of which 8 were procalcitonin(PCT) guided antibiotic stop/start interventions. Five studies addressed antibiotic escalation, 3 de-escalation and 1 addressed both. Six studies reported positive outcomes for reduced antibiotic use, ICU length of stay or antibiotic resistance. PCT based ASPs are effective as antibiotic-stop(de-escalation) triggers, but not as an escalation trigger alone. PCT has also been effective in reducing antibiotic usage without worsening morbidity or mortality in ventilator associated pulmonary infection. No study has demonstrated survival benefit of ASP. Ongoing challenges to infectious disease management, reported by the World Health Organisation global report 2014, are high AMR to newer antibiotics, and regional knowledge gaps in AMR surveillance. Improved AMR surveillance data, identifying core aspects of successful ASPs that are transferable, and further well-conducted trials will be necessary if ASPs are to be an effective platform for delivering desired patient outcomes and safety through best antibiotic policy.
基金supported by the National Institute for Health Research(NIHR)Imperial Biomedical Research Centre
文摘AIM To investigate factors predicting treatment completion and treatment outcome of the Reasoning and Rehabilitation Mental Health Programme(R&R2MHP)cognitive skills programme for mentally disordered offenders.METHODS Secondary analysis of data previously obtained from 97 male patients who were sectioned and detained under the United Kingdom Mental Health Act in low,medium and high security hospitals and who had completed R&R2MHP.Predictors of treatment completion included background variables and five outcome measures:Four self-reported measures of violent attitudes,social problem-solving skills,reactive anger and locus of control and an objective measure of behaviour on theward that was completed by staff.Completion of the 16 session programme,which was delivered on a weekly basis,was classified as≥12 sessions.RESULTS It was found that the R&R2MHP is appropriate for delivery to participants of different ages,ethnic background,and at different levels of security without the completion rate or treatment effectiveness being compromised.Participants taking oral typical psychotropic medication were over seven times more likely to complete the programme than other participants.Behavioural disturbance on the ward prior to commencing the programme predicted non-completion(medium effect size).As far as treatment completion was concerned,none of the background factors predicted treatment effectiveness(age,ethnic background,level of security,number of previous convictions and number of previous hospital admissions).The best predictor of treatment effectiveness was attitude towards violence suggesting that this should be the primary outcome measure in future research evaluating outcomes of the R&R2MHP cognitive skills program.CONCLUSION The findings suggest that a stable mental state is a key factor that predicts treatment completion.
文摘BACKGROUND Gastroparesis is a common digestive disorder characterized by delayed gastric emptying,which can lead to symptoms such as nausea,vomiting,abdominal pain,and poor appetite.Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)has been used for centuries to treat gastrointestinal disorders,including gastroparesis.TCM theory suggests that spleen and stomach qi deficiency syndrome is one of the main pathogenic factors in gastroparesis.Nursing care plays an important role in the treatment of gastroparesis,and TCM nursing interventions have shown promising results in improving patient outcomes.However,there is limited research on the clinical effectiveness of TCM nursing interventions for gastroparesis with spleen stomach deficiency syndrome.This study aimed to evaluate the clinical effect of TCM nursing intervention in the treatment of gastroparesis with spleen stomach deficiency syndrome and to compare it with routine nursing interventions.AIM To analyze the clinical effect of traditional Chinese medicine nursing intervention in the treatment of gastric paraplegia with spleen stomach deficiency syndrome.METHODS From January 2020 to July 2021,80 patients with gastroparesis of spleen stomach qi deficiency type diagnosed in our hospital were selected for the study.The 80 patients were randomly divided into a control group and an experimental group,with 40 cases in each group.During the treatment period,the control group received routine nursing interventions,while the experimental group received traditional Chinese medicine nursing procedures.Compare the nursing effects of the two groups and observe the changes in traditional Chinese medicine symptom scores,pain levels,and sleep quality before and after treatment.RESULTS After treatment,comparing the treatment effects of the two groups,the total effective rate of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group,with statistical significance(P<0.05).There was no statistically significant difference in the TCM symptom score,visual analogue scale(VAS)score,and Pittsburgh sleep quality index(PSQI)score between the two groups before treatment(P>0.05).However,after treatment,the TCM syndrome scores,VAS scores,and PSQI scores of the experimental group were significantly lower than those of the control group,with a statistically significant difference(P<0.05).CONCLUSION In the clinical nursing intervention of patients with mild gastroparesis due to spleen and stomach qi deficiency,the traditional Chinese medicine nursing plan has good clinical application value and nursing effect,and has a good effect on improving patients’pain and sleep quality.
文摘It has been suggested that the success of an ER project can largely rely on several elements,such as the selection of appropriate materials,establishment of management system,workshop for training teachers. Among those,teachers play an indispensable role due to the fact that it is the teachers who are capable of turning conceptions into actions,who get students engaged and bridge and gap between the goals of the programme and the reality in classroom. This paper is an attempt to outline a detailed picture to demonstrate how to offer effective training courses which can enable teachers to play"multiple roles"to make great contribution to the development of an ER project.
文摘Environmental Services Payment Programmes are not entirely new and they are more flexible than the usual command-and-control type of regulation. In the 1990s for example, an Environmental Services Payment programme was introduced to cope with the forestry system and pay benefits to farmers for the good that their forests would produce. This review examines the possibility of using Environmental Services Payment programmes for Mexican mangroves as they are an important resource against natural disasters, and reducing greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere, for example, and they are constantly invaded by the human race which impacts on their destruction. The review aims at constructing a methodology that can be applied to the implementation of Environmental Services Payment programmes. The value of this study is in aiming a straight arrow at the environmental problems outlined in this paper, problems that have not been fully resolved to date, especially in Mexico where it is not officially recognised that mangroves play an important role in the mitigation of greenhouse gases. Furthermore, Environmental Services Payment Programmes in Mexico have not pinpointed specific types of area. We conclude this paper with elaborating on our ten-point strategy for implementing Environmental Services Payment programmes which includes, in brief: 1) Fully accepting the importance of the mitigation of greenhouse gases via mangroves;2) designing a Environmental/Ecosystem Services Payment Programme with particular emphasis on Mexican mangroves;3) identifying specific environmental services and their level from local to international;4) formation and implementation of a system of “whoever benefits must pay”;5) building of a knowledge base of owners and others who benefit from environmental services;6) hypothetical models of particular Environmental Services Payment programmes must be constructed;7) clarifying who must pay;8) grouping all sectors that must pay;9) inspiring all actors to cooperate via 10) the impact of a Citizens’ Council, for example.
