Mental Health Consequences among Sudanese Due to the Armed Conflicts and Civil Unrest of 2023: One Year Later

Aim: To investigate depression, anxiety, PTSD, and insomnia levels among Sudanese citizens after a year has passed since the start of Armed Forces conflict in Sudan. Methods: An online survey was distributed. It is composed of five parts, covering the following areas: 1) sociodemographic data;2) depression assessment;3) generalized anxiety disorder assessment;4) post-traumatic stress disorder assessment;and 5) insomnia assessment. Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 27 was used for data analysis;frequency and percentage were used to describe the qualitative variables. Spearman’s correlation analysis and Chi-square test were used for correlation and association analysis;a P-value equal to or less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The study included 283 participants, primarily female (76.0%), with a mean age of 35.26 ± 6.96 years. The majority of participants were married (50.5%) and had a university level of education (50.2%). At the start of the war, 70.3% of participants were inside the war zones, and at the time of data collection, 73.5% were outside Sudan. The length of stay in the war zone ranged from 1 to 300 days, with a mean of 48.59 ± 70.284 days. Additionally, 63.3% of participants stated that they did not receive any form of mental health intervention, and the remaining did not provide an answer. There was a high prevalence of moderate-severe depression (50.5%), moderate anxiety (35.3%), PTSD (56.5%), and sub-threshold insomnia (53.4%) among the participants. Correlation analyses revealed associations between demographic factors such as sex, age, marital status, and education and mental health issues. Notably, female participants showed a higher prevalence of PTSD (53.0%) compared to male participants (67.6%). Conclusions: There is a substantial impact of war-related trauma on mental health, revealing a high prevalence of moderate-severe depression, moderate anxiety, PTSD, and sub-threshold insomnia among the participants. This emphasizes the importance of tailored interventions and support systems to address the unique needs of individuals affected by war trauma.

Ethical Decision-Making Framework Based on Incremental ILP Considering Conflicts

Humans are experiencing the inclusion of artificial agents in their lives,such as unmanned vehicles,service robots,voice assistants,and intelligent medical care.If the artificial agents cannot align with social values or make ethical decisions,they may not meet the expectations of humans.Traditionally,an ethical decision-making framework is constructed by rule-based or statistical approaches.In this paper,we propose an ethical decision-making framework based on incremental ILP(Inductive Logic Programming),which can overcome the brittleness of rule-based approaches and little interpretability of statistical approaches.As the current incremental ILP makes it difficult to solve conflicts,we propose a novel ethical decision-making framework considering conflicts in this paper,which adopts our proposed incremental ILP system.The framework consists of two processes:the learning process and the deduction process.The first process records bottom clauses with their score functions and learns rules guided by the entailment and the score function.The second process obtains an ethical decision based on the rules.In an ethical scenario about chatbots for teenagers’mental health,we verify that our framework can learn ethical rules and make ethical decisions.Besides,we extract incremental ILP from the framework and compare it with the state-of-the-art ILP systems based on ASP(Answer Set Programming)focusing on conflict resolution.The results of comparisons show that our proposed system can generate better-quality rules than most other systems.

Characterisation of Human-Wildlife Conflicts around the Kahuzi-Biega National Park, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

The history of mankind contains so many illustrations of well-classified and violent struggles against various animals over crop production in agricultural fields, attacks on human life or competition in order to have access to certain natural resources. The aim of this study is to characterise the human-wildlife conflicts that occur around the KBNP, especially with regard to primates. Surveys were carried out in 260 households selected using the snowball method. The results showed that human-wildlife conflicts around the KBNP are characterised by the destruction of crops in riparian fields by monkeys, chimpanzees and gorillas, the destruction of houses, physical attacks and zoonoses. Despite the conservation and protection measures for wildlife and local populations put in place by the Park’s managers, conflicts between local populations and the Park’s wild animals are still visible. These conflicts lead to the detention of wild animals by local people roaming in the villages and to poaching on the Park’s boundaries. The weakness of the community management policy on the part of the park managers and the resentment of the indigenous peoples towards the restriction of their access to natural resources are the major constraints on the sustainable management of conflicts between the local populations and the wild animals in the KBNP. The strategies for the sustainable resolution of human-wildlife conflicts around the KBNP must be geared towards and integrated into a community conservation approach.

What are the underlying causes and dynamics of land use conflicts in metropolitan junction areas?A case study of the central Chengdu–Chongqing region in China

Land use conflicts(LUCs),as a spatial manifestation of the conflicts in the human-land relationships,have a profound impact on regional sustainable development.For China’s metropolitan junction areas(MJAs),the existence of“administrative district economies”has made the issue of LUCs more prominent.Based on a case study of the central Chengdu–Chongqing region,we conducted an exploratory spatial data analysis of the evolutionary process of regional LUCs.Furthermore,structural equation modeling was utilized to analyze the dynamic mechanism of LUCs in MJAs,with a particular emphasis on exploring the influences of administrative boundary.The results showed that from 2010 to 2020,LUCs in the central Chengdu–Chongqing region continued to worsen,and the spatial process conflict and spatial structure conflict indices increased by more than 30.0%.The intensification of LUCs in the central Chengdu–Chongqing region from 2010 to 2020 was mainly the result of the deterioration of conflicts in evaluation units with low conflict levels.LUCs in China’s metropolitan areas generally presented a circular gradient distribution,weakening from the core to the periphery,but there were some strong isolated conflict zones in the outer regions.LUCs in China’s MJAs were the result of interactions among multiple factors,e.g.,natural environment,socio-economic development,policy and institutional processes,and administrative boundary effects.Administrative boundary affected the flow of socio-economic elements,changing the supply-and-demand competition of stakeholders for land resources,consequently exerting an indirect influence on LUCs.This study advances the theory of the dynamic mechanism of LUCs,and provides theoretical support for the governance of these conflicts in transboundary areas.

African Short Story Writers and Intrapersonal Conflicts: A Critical Perspective on a Selected Short Story

The article examines the concept of intrapersonal conflict,the ravaging wars within oneself,that which is truly deeper than indecisiveness,what is responsible for inner conflict,its origin,the consequences,and how to avoid it.It employs Dul Johnsons’“In the Jaws of Love”in his Why Women Won’t Make It to Heaven.The theory for the investigation is sociological theory which articulates the inevitable relationship between literature and society.The inquiry unearths that an individuals’attempt to satisfy the needs of one’s environment at the expense of sound reasoning,the individual’s inability to find a balance between the individual’s head and heart,and being religious are detrimental to one’s wellbeing.It creates intrapersonal conflict which is indeed destructive.The paper resolves that people should be able to tell themselves the truth,recognise and accept same,even if it comes from one with whom they disagree.It also explicates that people should not depend on religious and secular leader or people to take decisions for them,and that living in fear is devastating among other things.

Joint Management of Shared Resources, Issues and Conflicts of the Nso and Oku Tribes in the Ngongbaa Montane Forest Area, NWR of Cameroon

Wherever people live together in or near homelands that harbour joint natural resources such as forest, water, minerals, oil etc., they must collaborate, co-exist and share these resources irrespective of their genetic, social, cultural, and political peculiarities. This is not always the case when self-interest, ethnic divisions, elitist politics, economic interest and power tussle set in. The Nso and Oku people who reside in the Ngongbaa Forest area constitute an example of joint management of resources where at one period, their relationship over the management of the Oku Mountain Forest was cordial and at another, the relationship became conflictive. This study was designed to study the influence of the KIFP forest management policies on the Nso indigenous forest Management system in Ngongbaa Forest, and its implications. The data collected for the study was secured through the administration of a questionnaire to residents of 10 villages adjacent to the Ngongbaa Forest, and forest users who carried out livelihood activities there between 1963 and 2015. These forest user groups include beekeepers, rat trappers, grazers, mushroom gatherers, ground honey/tree honey harvesters, carvers, etc. The investigation also extended to the traditional leaders of Nso and Oku who are in charge of the land tenure systems. The findings show that the Oku Mountain Forest is jointly owned by the Nso and Oku people. The Nso own the eastern half of the forest known as Ngongbaa Forest while the Oku own the western half, known as the Kilum Forest. The cordial relationship that existed between these people ensured the conservation of the forest. But the conflicts that later set in, especially due to the creation of the Kilum Mountain Forest Project in 1987 later changed to the Kilum Ijim Forest Project (KIFP) in 1992 sidelined the local communities which was contrary to the dispositions of the new Cameroon forest law enacted in 1994. Thus, the indigenous conservation practices became ignored which the local population never digested well. This seriously jeopardized the wellbeing of the forest in general.

Harnessing artificial intelligence for identifying conflicts of interest in research

This editorial explores the transformative potential of artificial intelligence(AI)in identifying conflicts of interest(COIs)within academic and scientific research.By harnessing advanced data analysis,pattern recognition,and natural language processing techniques,AI offers innovative solutions for enhancing transparency and integrity in research.This editorial discusses how AI can automatically detect COIs,integrate data from various sources,and streamline reporting processes,thereby maintaining the credibility of scientific findings.

Living in a Condominium Regime:Neighborhood Conflicts in Low-Income Housing,Tijuana,Baja California-A Secondary Publication

This paper analyzes neighborhood conflicts arising from the condominium property regime,under which social housing promoted by Mexican government institutions and private developers is acquired.This regime has facilitated access to housing for the salaried population,but it is far from contributing to the attainment of the right to housing.The research takes as case studies housing complexes located in the city of Tijuana,Baja California,Mexico.The analysis included a mixed methodology.Firstly,similar case studies were analyzed;secondly,a review of the Condominium Property Regime Law was carried out in order to understand its implications.In view of the pandemic situation,a virtual survey was applied to the inhabitants of these areas,as well as interviews with presidents of neighborhood committees of these complexes.From the above,it was found that this form of ownership generates conflicts,reflected in the dissatisfaction of the inhabitants with their housing,disagreements and controversies in their organization and coexistence.The inhabitants have to collectively solve the problems they face,related to the maintenance and use of common areas,insecurity,and cleanliness,among others.In addition,there is a lack of support from local authorities.With this,it is concluded that although the inhabitants have a space that solves their housing problem,it does not manage to be a space that adequately guarantees their right to housing.

Impacts of Oil Exploration (Oil and Gas Conflicts;Niger Delta as a Case Study)

The discovery of Oil and Gas in Nigeria led to exploration of crude oil for revenue basis. Oil exploration and exploitation caused environmental problems which resulted into major conflicts in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria. The article examines the impact of oil exploration, and oil and gas conflicts in Niger Delta area and it highlights the problems of pipeline vandalism, structure of oil and gas and the general obstacles in the industry. It discovers that pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft, pollution, oil spillage causes serious environmental degradation which resulted into serious conflicts. The article discovered that environmental problems in the area dislodged the people of their means of livelihood both in the area of fishing and farming. It recommends that there should be a compelling environmental restoration of natural resources by deploying land treatment technologies. Government should sanction multinational companies discharging oils or creating environmental pollution through necessary laws and regulations.

Indexing habitat suitability and human-elephant conflicts using GIS-MCDA in a human-dominated landscape

Concerns for biodiversity loss, wildlife conservation, and habitat destruction have dominated the policy agenda worldwide for decades. Unsustainable human-induced development and negative interaction between humans and wildlife have emerged as predominant issues globally. The present study deals with human and elephant conflicts (HEC) in the Polpitigama Divisional Secretariat, Sri Lanka, which is located in the Kahalla-Pallekele elephant corridor and connects Wilpattu and Kaudulla wildlife sanctuaries. The research objectives are identifying spatial patterns of elephant habitat suitability and probable risk zones for HEC. The elephant habitat suitability and HEC risk zones were identified on spatial and temporal scales using Geographic Information System integrating Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis. Different factors, including habitat suitability, distance to roads, distance to croplands, distance to forests and protected areas, settlements, and population density, were considered to determine HEC risk zones in the area. Topography, water, and vegetation criteria are considered when determining elephant habitat suitability. The results of the Analytic Hierarchy Process run the spatially explicit model. The results revealed that of the total area, 15.3% is very highly suitable for elephant habitats, while the least suitable areas contribute only 4%. About 33.8% of the area is moderately suitable for elephants. The risk map indicates that 23.7% of the total area is under very high risk for HEC, and the least risk areas only account for 5.4%. About 26.2% of the area falls under the moderate risk zone for HEC. Since the model considered three aspects of HEC, it will help policymakers in wildlife conservation to avoid and minimize the HEC.

Cultural Review of the Value Conflicts of Architectural Design

There exist multiple value conflicts in Chinese modern architectural design,mainly in three forms,that is,the incongruity between architecture and natural environment,the isolation between functionalism and emotionalism and the deficiency in the virtue of architects.These led to the acts of the inappropriate trade-off,blind plagiarism and hasty decision-making in the design process.The reason is that the current popular culture of architecture is always chasing the market-oriented benefits.Examining and integrating the value conflicts is helpful to explore the rational value system of modern architectural design from the cross-cultural perspective.

ESG责任履行对企业风险的影响研究

ESG责任履行是“双碳”目标框架的应有之义,更是企业防范化解金融风险、绿色发展提质增效的必由之路。基于2009—2020年中国A股上市公司样本,构建双重固定模型实证检验了ESG责任履行对企业风险的影响。研究发现:ESG责任履行和企业风险之间存在显著的U形关系,其中该U形关系在社会责任和公司治理维度、非国际“四大”会计师事务所审计的企业和处在成熟期和衰退期的企业中更加显著。进一步研究发现:融资约束和代理冲突在ESG责任履行和企业风险的U形关系中发挥传导作用;同时,分析师关注度和机构投资者持股比例可以负向调节ESG责任履行与企业风险二者之间的U形关系;而ESG评级不确定性和“漂绿”策略会抑制ESG责任履行的风险防治作用。据此,应构建并完善与我国国情相适应的ESG信息披露制度,引导企业适度履行ESG责任,在ESG转型过程中注重内部监管和风险管控,助力经济绿色转型深入推进。

咸海变迁——危机和现状

咸海曾是世界第4大湖。20世纪60年代开始,由于农业灌溉需求,咸海流域各地区大量从阿姆河和锡尔河调水,从而导致咸海快速缩小、水面降低、水质恶化。到21世纪初,湖面已缩减到原来的1/8,干涸的湖底成为盐碱度很高的盐漠,生物物种大量减少,生态环境恶化造成生态危机。中亚国家独立后,阿姆河与锡尔河上下游地区由于缺水产生了矛盾,进而严重影响了国家之间的关系。虽进行了多次协商,但最终中亚国家未能对咸海水资源危机提出一致的解决方案。随后,哈萨克斯坦独自开展针对咸海的保护措施,挽救了咸海北部的部分水体;乌兹别克斯坦近年来也开始在咸海危机治理方面采取积极态度。目前,学术界主流意见是,咸海危机是人为的,不宜将其与全球气候变化相联系。咸海危机由于治理和地下水的补给有所缓和,虽不会像预测中的那样完全消失,但最终能够恢复到什么程度还有很大的不确定性。本文通过对咸海危机的历史、现状和前景做了较完整的论述,以期为我国西北干旱环境治理提供科学参考。

冲突层级与国际非政府组织参与冲突调停的效力分析

冷战结束后,国内冲突逐步成为世界武装冲突的主要形式之一,而冲突调解是构建冲突国国内和平的关键一环。伴随着和平建构主题的多元性,国际非政府组织逐步成为当今时代各类冲突中活跃的调解主体。然而,国际非政府组织的调停实效始终备受争议。一方面,国际非政府组织宣称可凭借其在中立性、道义性上的优势对国内冲突进行有效调停;另一方面,强制能力的缺乏也使其难以在实施环节有所作为。因此,研究国际非政府组织在调停过程中的成功与失败,界定冲突层级,对于理解国际非政府组织的调解效力至关重要。不同层级的冲突顺应不同的冲突逻辑,不同的冲突逻辑则生发不同的冲突情境与格局。在底层冲突中,碎片化和多元主体并存的冲突格局更适合国际非政府组织的运作;而在顶层冲突中,其强制能力不足的缺点遭到放大。基于这一逻辑,在调解活动中与主权国家展开合作则有望强化其调解效力。通过对非洲和平进程展开的实证研究说明,评价国际非政府组织的调解效果特别是在非洲地区的调解效果需要考虑冲突层级等限定条件,并将其与多元主体的互动纳入考量范围。国际非政府组织在冲突调停中应与主权国家的调停体系进行密切配合,在维护国家主权与国际体系稳定的前提下,整合主权国家、国际非政府组织等多方治理行为体的作用,可有效地提升冲突调停的可能性。

慢性伤口处理中的临床伦理困境探析——以1例产后脂肪液化合并线结反应的慢性伤口患者护理为例

专科护士在临床中发挥越来越重要的作用,同时他们在独立面对患者时(尤其是造口治疗师/伤口造口专科护士)也常常为伦理难题所困扰。在前期构建的“临床护理伦理结构化分析表格”基础上,采用案例陈述法,以1例产后脂肪液化合并线结反应的慢性伤口患者的护理为例,分析造口治疗师在解决治疗冲突时的伦理思考。进而建议专科护士在解决患者疑难复杂问题时,需要充分考虑患者的意愿与背景特征,可采用“伦理分析四盒子模型”,以达到分析及解决伦理冲突问题的目的。

我国精神卫生政策执行困境研究

通过模糊-冲突理论分析我国精神卫生政策执行困境,为推进精神卫生政策的有效实施提供理论依据。发现我国精神卫生政策的模糊性较低,但冲突性显著,政策执行的冲突性主要表现在观念差异、职业认同冲突、利益协同冲突三方面。因此,我国精神卫生政策执行属于政治性执行,其支配性因素为“权力”,政策执行过程存在一定程度的“形式主义”和“变通执行”。建议从完善政策设计、建立健全配套措施、保障政策执行资源等方面促进精神卫生政策有效实施。

一种面向联盟链Hyperledger Fabric的并发冲突事务优化方法

随着区块链技术应用的普及,联盟链Hyperledger Fabric(简称Fabric)已成为知名区块链开源平台,并得到广泛关注.然而Fabric仍受困于并发事务间冲突问题,冲突发生时会引发大量无效交易上链,导致吞吐量下降,阻碍其发展.对于该问题,现有面向块内冲突的方案缺乏高效的冲突检测和避免方法,同时现有研究往往忽略区块间冲突对吞吐量的不利影响.提出了一种Fabric的优化方案Fabric-HT(fabric with high throughput),从区块内和区块间2方面入手,有效降低事务间并发冲突和提高系统吞吐量.针对区块内事务冲突,提出了一种事务调度机制,根据块内冲突事务集定义了一种高效数据结构——依赖关系链,识别具有“危险结构”的事务并提前中止,合理调度事务和消除冲突;针对区块间事务冲突,将冲突事务检测提前至排序节点完成,建立以“推送-匹配”为核心的冲突事务早期避免机制.在多场景下开展大量实验,结果表明Fabric-HT在吞吐量、事务中止率、事务平均执行时间、无效事务空间占用率等方面均优于对比方案.Fabric-HT吞吐量最高可达Fabric的9.51倍,是最新优化方案FabricSharp的1.18倍;空间利用率上相比FabricSharp提升了14%.此外,Fabric-HT也表现出较好的鲁棒性和抗攻击能力.

医学伦理学发展新阶段的历史使命

每个时代都有每个时代伦理学的主轴。当今医学伦理学面临崭新的境遇,资本、技术、权力和全民健康等问题,已经构成医学伦理学应对和挑战的主要课题。新形势向医学伦理学提出了种种新任务,探索完成这些新任务的政策建议和伦理举措;适应新形势医学伦理学如何加强自身理念的充实、创新和提高;在新情境下如何促进医学伦理学在医学领域内的全面覆盖,让医学伦理学在医学中深深扎根,促进医学技术更好地服务于人民大众的健康,都是开启医学伦理学新征程面临的担当。

道路环形交叉口机动车冲突风险区识别模型研究

为定量识别城市非信控环形交叉口区域内的机动车冲突风险易发生点,降低环形交叉口的事故发生率,本文构建针对非信控环形交叉口机动车冲突风险识别模型。首先,利用无人机采集高精度、连续的多车辆轨迹视频,结合Kinovea视频运动分析软件实现运行车辆状态识别与跟踪,并记录车辆每一帧的运动数据;其次,基于交通冲突识别指标TTC(Time to Collision),提出适应环形交叉口道路线形特征的车辆TTC计算方法,并使用累计频率法确定严重、一般和轻微冲突的阈值分别为1.2,2.8,4.4 s;最后,通过绘制高峰和平峰交通冲突空间异步图,并结合交通冲突数和严重冲突率,对环形交叉口的36个子区段进行交通冲突风险等级评定。研究结果显示:在高峰时段,某一子区段的平均交通冲突发生次数约为15次,严重冲突率为17.45%;在平峰时段,某一子区段的平均交通冲突发生次数约为8次,严重冲突率为8.28%。重度风险区域在高峰时段占比达到50%,而在平峰时段为8.33%,这些重度风险区域主要集中在交织区段。因此,环形交叉口在高峰时段且位于交织区段的情况更易发生交通事故。本文研究成果有助于交通管理部门了解环形交叉口在不同时段和区段上的交通冲突情况和特征,以便采取相应的预警和管理措施。

俄乌冲突长期化背景下中亚区域互联互通建设新态势及影响探析

历史上贯穿亚欧大陆腹地的主要交通运输路线的形成、走向总因外部势力对该区域的征伐,及势力的消长而发生改变。这既是区域地缘政治结构变化的结果之一,亦是导致特定变化的变量之一。后冷战时期,中亚区域被单一外部势力掌控的可能性持续下降,围绕区域性互联互通建设的大国博弈更加复杂多元。近两年,中亚国家基于自身国家利益提出新的互联互通建设规划,主动性、话语权均有较大增长,并已获得实质性突破。近代以来沦为大陆“腹地”的中亚区域或将因此彻底转变成新的亚欧大陆“枢纽”。究其原因,俄乌冲突长期化所引发的冲击令本区域地缘政治格局调整显著加快,并反映在了包括交通运输建设等诸多领域,目前分析,这对中亚国家利大于弊。