Nutrition impacts of non-solid cooking fuel adoption on under-five children in developing countries

This paper examines the nutrition impacts of using non-solid cooking fuel on under-five children in developing countries.We draw on data from more than 1.12 million children in 62 developing countries from the Demographic and Health Surveys(DHS).Results from both fixed effects(FE)and instrumental variable(IV)estimates show that using non-solid cooking fuel significantly improves the nutrition outcomes of under-five children.Compared with their peers from households mainly using solid fuel,children from households mainly using non-solid fuel exhibit a lower probability of experiencing stunting(by 5.9 percentage points)and being underweight(by 1.2 percentage points).Our further investigation provides evidence for several underlying mechanisms,such as improved indoor air quality,induced reduction in children’s respiratory symptoms,benefits on maternal health,and reduction in maternal time spent on fuel collection or cooking.Heterogenous analyses suggest that the nutrition benefits of using non-solid cooking fuel are more prominent among boys,children above three years old,and those from households of lower socioeconomic status,rural areas,and Southeast Asia.

Pathway and Countermeasure of Farmers Livelihood Transformation in the Ecological Development Area of Northern Guangdong Province from the Perspective of Ecological Protection

[Objectives]To explore pathways and countermeasures for transforming farmers livelihoods in the way of reducing their dependence on land while promoting sustainable development and alleviating ecological degradation.[Methods]A combination of field research,literature review,and policy analysis was employed to identify key factors affecting farmers livelihoods and potential strategies for transformation.[Results]The study found that developing ecological agriculture and modern agriculture,promoting agricultural transformation and upgrading,cultivating alternative industries,strengthening ecological engineering construction,and establishing diversified ecological compensation methods and supporting policies are effective strategies for transforming farmers livelihoods.[Conclusions]Implementing these strategies can help alleviate the contradiction between ecological protection and farmers livelihood development,promoting coordinated development of both.This approach not only benefits farmers but also contributes to sustainable environmental management and biodiversity conservation.

Development of a rapid and efficient system for CR genes identification based on hairy root transformation in Brassicaceae

Many economically important crops and vegetables belonging to the cruciferous family are heavily endangered by clubroot disease caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae infection.Breeding of clubroot resistant cultivars based on mapping and cloning of resistant genes is commonly regarded as the most cost-effective and efficient way to fight against this disease.The traditional way of R gene functional validation requires stable transformation that is both time-and labor-consuming.In this study,a rapid and efficient hairy-root transgenic protocol mediated by Agrobacterium rhizogenes was developed.The transformation positive rate was over 80%in Brassica napus showed by GUS reporter gene and this transformation only took 1/6 of the time compared with stable transformation.The system was applicable to different B.napus varieties and other cruciferous crops including Brassica rapa and Brassica oleracea.In particular,two known CR genes,CRA3.7.1 and CRA8.2.4 were used respectively,as example to show that the system works well for CR gene study combined with subsequent P.brassicae infection in B.napus.Most importantly,it works both in over-expression that led to disease resistance,as well as in RNAi which led to disease susceptible phenotype.Therefore,this system can be used in batch-wise identification of CR genes,and also offered the possibility of manipulating key genes within the P.brassicae genome that could improve our knowledge on host-pathogen interaction.

Food Security in Developing Countries: Factors and Mitigation

Since 1976, eradicating hunger has become one of the priority objectives of the United Nations, which is included in the Charter of Human Rights;the right to get adequate food. The qualification of food security in time and space must analyze not only the three components it covers but also the relationships that these three components maintain. Climate change contributes to food insecurity, but it is not the only factor. To address food insecurity in various forms, greater food security must be combined with improved sustainable agricultural practices with minimal strain on the environment. This review of literature insists on the principles of food security, which in particular allows a better understanding of food insecurity in developing countries and favors a greater contribution of agriculture and food systems in general to nutritional progress.

Development of sustainable and efficient recycling technology for spent Li-ion batteries: Traditional and transformation go hand in hand

Clean and efficient recycling of spent lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)has become an urgent need to promote sustainable and rapid development of human society.Therefore,we provide a critical and comprehensive overview of the various technologies for recycling spent LIBs,starting with lithium-ion power batteries.Recent research on raw material collection,metallurgical recovery,separation and purification is highlighted,particularly in terms of all aspects of economic efficiency,energy consumption,technology transformation and policy management.Mechanisms and pathways for transformative full-component recovery of spent LIBs are explored,revealing a clean and efficient closed-loop recovery mechanism.Optimization methods are proposed for future recycling technologies,with a focus on how future research directions can be industrialized.Ultimately,based on life-cycle assessment,the challenges of future recycling are revealed from the LIBs supply chain and stability of the supply chain of the new energy battery industry to provide an outlook on clean and efficient short process recycling technologies.This work is designed to support the sustainable development of the new energy power industry,to help meet the needs of global decarbonization strategies and to respond to the major needs of industrialized recycling.

An Exploration of Organizational Development in the Process of Innovation and Transformation of Pharmaceutical Enterprises-Taking X Pharmaceutical Enterprise as an Example

Objective To study how to promote the smooth innovation and transformation of enterprises and enhance the market competitiveness of enterprises from the perspective of human resources organization development.In the wave of pharmaceutical industry reform,some entrepreneurs realize the importance of innovation and technology in the future.However,domestic pharmaceutical enterprises are still in the production-oriented stage.In the process of transformative innovation,pharmaceutical enterprises should not only rely on the support of scientific and technological and economic forces,but also need a suitable organizational change and many excellent talents as the source of development.Methods Through retrieving relevant literature and combined with the organizational development practice of X pharmaceutical enterprise,the organizational development model was explored in this paper.Results and Conclusion By forming a system of strategy,organization,talent,culture and mechanism,and building an organizational development model,we can improve the organizational atmosphere and organizational efficiency in the process of enterprise innovation and transformation,so as to enhance the competitiveness of enterprises in the market.

Developing strategy for rural transformation to alleviate poverty in Pakistan:Stylized facts from panel analysis

Sustainable income growth and poverty reduction remain critical challenges at the forefront of research in Pakistan,particularly in rural areas.To overcome these challenges,the role of rural transformation(RT)has emerged and gained importance in recent years.The present study is based on district-level data and covers the period from 1981 to 2019.The study attempts to quantify the role of rural transformation in boosting rural per capita income and alleviating rural poverty in the country.The study also aims to explore the impact of stages of rural transformation on rural per capita income and rural poverty alleviation.The empirical findings reveal that rural transformation(RT_(1)and RT_(2))is essential in enhancing rural per capita income and alleviating rural poverty.The role of the share of high-value crops(RT_(1))is more pronounced than the share of non-farm employment(RT_(2))in boosting rural per capita income and poverty alleviation.The trend of larger contribution of RT_(1)to enhance rural per capita income also continued at 2nd stage of rural transformation.In the case of poverty reduction,at 3rd stage of rural transformation,the role of RT_(2)is dominant.Our results indicate that districts at higher stages of rural transformation(both RT_(1)and RT_(2))tend to correlate positively with increased rural per capita income and reduced poverty rates,suggesting that progress in rural transformation is associated with improved economic conditions.However,it is important to note that this correlation does not necessarily imply a direct causal relationship between rural transformation and these economic outcomes;other factors may have influenced this relationship.In addition,the welfare impacts are more noticeable among the districts where a simultaneous shift from grain crops to cash crops and from farm employment to non-farm employment is observed.The study provides baseline information to learn experiences from fast-growing districts and to replicate the strategies in other districts,which boosts the RT process that may increase rural per capita income and enhance poverty reduction efforts.

Technological Innovation and Development of the Publishing Industry: The Challenging Digital Transformation of Publishing Houses in Cameroon

In the digital age, performance-oriented publishing houses utilize digital tools to optimize their editorial activities. This optimization affects both editorial practices and products in terms of content and form. These products, now accessible through various media, bring significant changes, while the editorial function undergoes a metamorphosis due to digital exposure. In Cameroon, the book sector is predominantly focused on school textbooks, a legacy from the colonial period. This study investigates the impact of technological innovation on Cameroonian publishing by examining the processes of content selection, legitimization, and dissemination in the digital age. Using the sociology of technology as a framework, we hypothesize an interrelationship between the dominance of textbook publishing and the delayed digital transformation of publishing houses in Cameroon. To explore this hypothesis, we conducted direct observations, interviews with key industry stakeholders, and an extensive analysis of digital adoption metrics within the publishing sector. Our research reveals that the historical focus on educational publishing has created structural and cultural barriers to embracing digital innovations. Moreover, limited infrastructure and a lack of digital literacy among publishing professionals further hinder the transition. Despite these challenges, there are emerging opportunities for digital transformation, particularly in diversifying content and expanding access through digital platforms. Our findings indicate that a strategic shift towards embracing digital tools and improving infrastructure could significantly enhance the efficiency and reach of Cameroonian publishing houses. By addressing the specific challenges identified in our study, the industry can leverage digital technologies to foster a more inclusive, dynamic, and resilient publishing environment. This study provides a detailed examination of the specificities of digital transformation in Cameroonian publishing, offering insights for policymakers and industry stakeholders aiming to promote technological innovation in the sector.

Towards Lessening Learners’Aversive Emotions and Promoting Their Mental Health:Developing and Validating a Measurement of English Speaking Demotivation in the Chinese EFL Context

While a plethora of studies has been conducted to explore demotivation and its impact on mental health in second language(L2)education,scanty research focuses on demotivation in L2 speaking learning.Particularly,little research explores the measures to quantify L2 speaking demotivation.The present two-phase study attempts to develop and validate an English Speaking Demotivation Scale(ESDS).To this end,an independent sample of 207 Chinese tertiary learners of English as a Foreign Language(EFL)participated in the development phase,and another group of 188 Chinese EFL learners was recruited for the validation of the scale.Exploratory Factor Analysis(EFA)and Confirmatory Factor Analysis(CFA)were employed to determine the factor structure of the scale.The EFA results revealed a six-factor solution with Teacher-related Factors in Learning Spoken English(TFLSE),Interest and Valence in Learning Spoken English(IVLSE),Self-efficacy in Learning Spoken English(SELSE),Negative Peer Influence in Learning Spoken English(NPILSE),Undesirable Environment for Learning Spoken English(UELSE),and Negative Influence of Assessment and Learning Materials in speaking class(NIALM).In the validation phase,Confirmatory Factor Analysis(CFA)was performed to validate the internal structure of the scale.The CFA results showed that the model fits the data well.Overall,the ESDS is a robust and trustworthy psychometric tool that could be utilized to examine L2 speaking demotivation.Implications for diminishing EFL learners’demotivation,lessening their aversive emotions and promoting their mental health are also discussed.

Challenges to establishing and maintaining kidney transplantation programs in developing countries:What are the coping strategies?

Kidney transplantation(KT)is the optimal form of renal replacement therapy for patients with end-stage renal diseases.However,this health service is not available to all patients,especially in developing countries.The deceased donor KT programs are mostly absent,and the living donor KT centers are scarce.Single-center studies presenting experiences from developing countries usually report a variety of challenges.This review addresses these challenges and the opposing strategies by reviewing the single-center experiences of developing countries.The financial challenges hamper the infrastructural and material availability,coverage of transplant costs,and qualification of medical personnel.The sociocultural challenges influence organ donation,equity of beneficence,and regular follow-up work.Low interests and motives for transplantation may result from high medicolegal responsibilities in KT practice,intense potential psychosocial burdens,complex qualification protocols,and low productivity or compensation for KT practice.Low medical literacy about KT advantages is prevalent among clinicians,patients,and the public.The inefficient organizational and regulatory oversight is translated into inefficient healthcare systems,absent national KT programs and registries,uncoordinated job descriptions and qualification protocols,uncoordinated on-site investigations with regulatory constraints,and the prevalence of commercial KT practices.These challenges resulted in noticeable differences between KT services in developed and developing countries.The coping strategies can be summarized in two main mechanisms:The first mechanism is maximizing the available resources by increasing the rates of living kidney donation,promoting the expertise of medical personnel,reducing material consumption,and supporting the establishment and maintenance of KT programs.The latter warrants the expansion of the public sector and the elimination of non-ethical KT practices.The second mechanism is recruiting external resources,including financial,experience,and training agreements.

The Impact of Transformational Leadership on Commitment to Change Among Jordanian Government Accountant Toward IPSAS Implementation

IPSAS was accepted by Jordan’s government in accordance with worldwide trends.The Jordanian Ministry of Finance launched cash-basis IPSAS in 2015 and planned to implement accrual accounting by January 1,2021.However,the commitment to change remains uneven,hindering the full shift.Moving from old accounting processes to new ones is tough.Even then,it hasn’t been implemented,creating a gap due to the difficulty in committing to new accounting standards throughout implementation due to obstacles.Thus,knowing government accountants’issues is essential to applying IPSAS in government accounting.This study examines how transformational leadership affects government accountants’commitment to IPSAS adoption in Jordan’s public sector.This study used a quantitative approach to survey Jordanian Ministry of Finance accountants.The 384-person study had a 78%response rate.Additionally,PLS-SEM was used to confirm variable relationships.Transformational leadership positively predicted IPSAS implementation,according to the study.

Research on the Development Path and Mechanism of“Double-Qualified”Teachers in Private Universities Under the Background of Digital Transformation

This article explores the development path and mechanism of“double-qualified”teachers in private universities under digital transformation.Through literature review,theoretical analysis,and other research methods,this study conducts an in-depth analysis of the impact of digital technology on the development of“double-qualified”teachers in private colleges and universities and puts forward corresponding strategies and suggestions.Research shows that digital transformation provides new opportunities and challenges for developing“double-qualified”teachers in private colleges and universities.To adapt to this trend,teachers must continuously improve their digital skills,and schools should establish a complete incentive mechanism and evaluation system,strengthen school-enterprise cooperation and the integration of industry and education to promote the comprehensive development of“double-qualified”teachers,and provide a useful guideline for private universities to promote the development of“double-qualified”teachers in digital transformation.

Accelerating rural transformation in Asian developing countries

All developing countries experience a process of rural transformation(RT),and the evidence available to date says that economies that transform their rural sectors more rapidly achieve faster growth and are also more inclusive.However,not all countries are successful.This special focus contains five papers related to the nature of rural transformation,its components,and consequences.

Architecture as a Means of Developing Social Exchange:Learning from a Danish Case Study of Refurbishment and Urban Transformation in a Disadvantaged Housing Area

Disadvantaged housing areas from the postwar period typically consist of relatively monotonous and monofunctional multi-storey blocks and have a separate traffic system rendering the areas isolated enclaves in the urban fabric.It is argued that this spatial isolation contributes to social isolation,and current refurbishments are therefore aimed at linking the housing areas with the surrounding neighbourhoods to enable social exchange between the residents and people from the surrounding areas.Based on a case study in a Danish social housing area,this paper discusses to what extent architectural development and urban strategic transformations can contribute to enabling social exchange in disadvantaged housing areas.Do neighbours enter the disadvantaged housing area as intended?If so,how does this influence their perception of the housing area?The analysis shows that architectural development and urban transformations are interdependent in establishing a social mix in disadvantaged housing areas.It is argued that refurbishments can reduce the stigma surrounding the housing area and its residents.However,the applicability of such strategies is highly dependent on the local context of the housing area.

基于RoBERTa和图增强Transformer的序列推荐方法

自推荐系统出现以来,有限的数据信息就一直制约着推荐算法的进一步发展。为降低数据稀疏性的影响,增强非评分数据的利用率,基于神经网络的文本推荐模型相继被提出,但主流的卷积或循环神经网络在文本语义理解和长距离关系捕捉方面存在明显劣势。为了更好地挖掘用户与商品之间的深层潜在特征,进一步提高推荐质量,提出一种基于Ro BERTa和图增强Transformer的序列推荐(RGT)模型。引入评论文本数据,首先利用预训练的Ro BERTa模型捕获评论文本中的字词语义特征,初步建模用户的个性化兴趣,然后根据用户与商品的历史交互信息,构建具有时序特性的商品关联图注意力机制网络模型,通过图增强Transformer的方法将图模型学习到的各个商品的特征表示以序列的形式输入Transformer编码层,最后将得到的输出向量与之前捕获的语义表征以及计算得到的商品关联图的全图表征输入全连接层,以捕获用户全局的兴趣偏好,实现用户对商品的预测评分。在3组真实亚马逊公开数据集上的实验结果表明,与Deep FM、Conv MF等经典文本推荐模型相比,RGT模型在均方根误差(RMSE)和平均绝对误差(MAE)2种指标上有显著提升,相较于最优对比模型最高分别提升4.7%和5.3%。

基于Transformer和自适应特征融合的矿井低照度图像亮度提升和细节增强方法

高质量矿井影像为矿山安全生产提供保障,也有利于提高后续图像分析技术的性能。矿井影像受低照度环境的影响,易出现亮度低,照度不均,颜色失真,细节信息丢失严重等问题。针对上述问题,提出一种基于Transformer和自适应特征融合的矿井低照度图像亮度提升和细节增强方法。基于生成对抗思想搭建生成对抗式主体模型框架,使用目标图像域而非单一参考图像驱动判别器监督生成器的训练,实现对低照度图像的充分增强;基于特征表示学习理论搭建特征编码器,将图像解耦为亮度分量和反射分量,避免图像增强过程中亮度与颜色特征相互影响从而导致颜色失真问题;设计CEM-Transformer Encoder通过捕获全局上下文关系和提取局部区域特征,能够充分提升整体图像亮度并消除局部区域照度不均;在反射分量增强过程中,使用结合CEM-Cross-Transformer Encoder的跳跃连接将低级特征与深层网络处特征进行自适应融合,能够有效避免细节特征丢失,并在编码网络中添加ECA-Net,提高浅层网络的特征提取效率。制作矿井低照度图像数据集为矿井低照度图像增强任务提供数据资源。试验显示,在矿井低照度图像数据集和公共数据集中,与5种先进的低照度图像增强算法相比,该算法增强图像的质量指标PSNR、SSIM、VIF平均提高了16.564%,10.998%,16.226%和14.438%,10.888%,14.948%,证明该算法能够有效提升整体图像亮度,消除照度不均,避免颜色失真和细节丢失,实现矿井低照度图像增强。

CNN-Transformer特征融合多目标跟踪算法

在卷积神经网络(CNN)中,卷积运算能高效地提取目标的局部特征,却难以捕获全局表示;而在视觉Transformer中,注意力机制可以捕获长距离的特征依赖,但会忽略局部特征细节。针对以上问题,提出一种基于CNN-Transformer双分支主干网络进行特征提取和融合的多目标跟踪算法CTMOT(CNN-transformer multi-object tracking)。使用基于CNN和Transformer双分支并行的主干网络分别提取图像的局部和全局特征。使用双向桥接模块(two-way braidge module,TBM)对两种特征进行充分融合。将融合后的特征输入两组并行的解码器进行处理。将解码器输出的检测框和跟踪框进行匹配,完成多目标跟踪任务。在多目标跟踪数据集MOT17、MOT20、KITTI以及UADETRAC上进行评估,CTMOT算法的MOTP和IDs指标在四个数据集上均达到了SOTA效果,MOTA指标分别达到了76.4%、66.3%、92.36%和88.57%,在MOT数据集上与SOTA方法效果相当,在KITTI数据集上达到SOTA效果。由于同时完成目标检测和关联,能够端到端进行目标跟踪,跟踪速度可达35 FPS,表明CTMOT算法在跟踪的实时性和准确性上达到了较好的平衡,具有较大潜力。

融合卷积注意力和Transformer架构的行人重识别方法

行人重识别技术是智能安防系统中的重要方法之一,为构建一个适用各种复杂场景的行人重识别模型,基于现有的卷积神经网络和Transformer模型,提出一种融合卷积注意力和Transformer(FCAT)架构的方法,以增强Transformer对局部细节信息的关注。所提方法主要将卷积空间注意力和通道注意力嵌入Transformer架构中,分别加强对图像中重要区域的关注和对重要通道特征的关注,以进一步提高Transformer架构对局部细节特征的提取能力。在3个公开行人重识别数据集上的对比消融实验证明,所提方法在非遮挡数据集上取得了与现有方法相当的结果,在遮挡数据集上的性能得到显著提升。所提方法更加轻量化,在不增加额外计算量和模型参数的情况下,推理速度得到了提升。

基于Transformer和动态3D卷积的多源遥感图像分类

多源遥感数据具有互补性和协同性,近年来,基于深度学习的方法已经在多源遥感图像分类中取得了一定进展,但当前方法仍面临关键难题,如多源遥感图像特征表达不一致,融合困难,基于静态推理范式的神经网络缺乏对不同类别地物的适应性。为解决上述问题,提出了基于跨模态Transformer和多尺度动态3D卷积的多源遥感图像分类模型。为提高多源特征表达的一致性,设计了基于Transformer的融合模块,借助其强大的注意力建模能力挖掘高光谱和LiDAR数据特征之间的相互作用;为提高特征提取方法对不同地物类别的适应性,设计了多尺度动态3D卷积模块,将输入特征的多尺度信息融入卷积核的调制,提高卷积操作对不同地物的适应性。采用多源遥感数据集Houston和Trento对所提方法进行验证,实验结果表明:所提方法在Houston和Trento数据集上总体准确率分别达到94.60%和98.21%,相比MGA-MFN等主流方法,总体准确率分别至少提升0.97%和0.25%,验证了所提方法可有效提升多源遥感图像分类的准确率。

考虑特征重组与改进Transformer的风电功率短期日前预测方法

短期日前风电功率预测对电力系统调度计划制定有重要意义,该文为提高风电功率预测的准确性,提出了一种基于Transformer的预测模型Powerformer。模型通过因果注意力机制挖掘序列的时序依赖;通过去平稳化模块优化因果注意力以提高数据本身的可预测性;通过设计趋势增强和周期增强模块提高模型的预测能力;通过改进解码器的多头注意力层,使模型提取周期特征和趋势特征。该文首先对风电数据进行预处理,采用完全自适应噪声集合经验模态分解(complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise,CEEMDAN)将风电数据序列分解为不同频率的本征模态函数并计算其样本熵,使得风电功率序列重组为周期序列和趋势序列,然后将序列输入到Powerformer模型,实现对风电功率短期日前准确预测。结果表明,虽然训练时间长于已有预测模型,但Poweformer模型预测精度得到提升;同时,消融实验结果验证了模型各模块的必要性和有效性,具有一定的应用价值。