Search Results (212)

The Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra Dazhidu lun 大智度論 is often regarded as the “king of commentaries”; a total of 574 manuscript scrolls have been identified among the Dunhuang manuscripts, many of which constitute dispersed fragments that can be reassembled. In addition to comparing physical features such as format, handwriting style, and paper dimensions, the presence of shared textual variants serves as a key criterion for assessing their potential for reconstruction. Advances in the work of rejoining fragments provide a crucial foundation for further research. However, since the Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra is a commentary on the Mahāprajñāpāramitāśūstra and follows a format that first cites the sutra text and then provides an explanation, there is an overlap in content between the two types of texts. As a result, even after rejoining, 355 scrolls still cannot be definitively attributed to a specific source. Under such circumstances, shared textual variants become the key basis for reattributing these dubiously titled scrolls. Through an examination of three cases of rejoined scrolls exhibiting identical variants, along with three instances of scroll renaming, in this study, we demonstrate the crucial role of textual variant collation in the foundational research of Dunhuang manuscripts. Full article

Grounded in the Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR) framework, this study examines how digital menu design influences visitors’ continuance intention towards foodstagramming within hospitality settings. Specifically, the research investigates the direct and indirect roles of menu visual appeal (MVA) and menu informativeness (MI) as stimuli, desire for food (DoF) and cognitive fluency (CF) as organismic responses, and continuance intention towards foodstagramming (CIF) as the behavioral outcome. Data were collected through a Microsoft Forms administered via food-oriented social media platforms in Egypt that employ digital menus. A total of 404 valid responses were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings confirmed that both MVA and MI are significantly associated with DoF and CF, which in turn positively shape CIF. Moreover, DoF and CF mediate the relationships between menu design attributes (MVA and MI) and CIF, while Product design/visual design story congruency (PVC) strengthens the positive relationships between DoF and CF and CIF. Overall, the results highlighted the critical role of digital menu design in promoting customer engagement behaviours on social media. The study contributes to hospitality and tourism literature by integrating digital interface design with experiential dining research. It also offers practical implications for enhancing customer satisfaction and brand visibility through the strategic implementation of digital menus. Full article

Background: Social networking platforms offer promising educational value, particularly for undergraduate students whose daily lives are deeply embedded in online spaces. Yet in most courses, instructional technologies remain limited to institutional learning management systems (LMSs), which often do not foster informal interaction or community. This study examined whether supplementing LMSs with a Facebook group could enhance academic outcomes and retention in undergraduate Anatomy and Physiology (A&P) courses. Methods: Over two semesters, two student cohorts (n = 39) were taught by the same instructor using identical materials; one cohort also used a closed Facebook group for course-related engagement. Results: While final course grades were not significantly different between groups (p = 0.186), students in the Facebook cohort scored significantly higher on mid-semester unit exams (p < 0.001 to p = 0.006). Regression analysis revealed a 9.4% higher mean final course grade among Facebook users. Importantly, the pass rate in the Facebook cohort was 94.7% compared to 45.0% in the control group, with dropout rates significantly lower (5.3% vs. 55%, p = 0.001). Conclusions: These findings suggest that incorporating social media into undergraduate science instruction may promote academic success and retention by providing a familiar, collaborative space for active learning and peer support. Full article

Not enough attention has been paid to the artistic approach of depicting human figures at the center of double-scroll patterns in Chinese Buddhist art. Originating from Greco-Roman culture, this motif entered China from the overland Silk Road around the late 5th century, evolving into two systems. The Hexi Corridor system, centered on Dunhuang, predominantly features lotus-born beings holding vines. The figural types evolved from lotus-born beings to celestial beings, bodhisattvas, and buddhas, with postures ranging from vine-holding to mudra-forming, lotus-tray-lifting, music-playing, and dancing, demonstrating a clear trajectory of development. The Northern Central Plains system, successively centered in Pingcheng, Qingzhou, and Yecheng, developed a relatively complete sequence only in buddha figures. The motif first spread through the Hexi Corridor before influencing the Northern Central Plains. It was adapted from its original Mediterranean context of mythological themes and funerary or temple use to illustrate Buddhist doctrines in China, absorbing elements of Han, Western Regions, and Central Asian cultures. By clarifying the motif’s origin, spread, evolution, and adaptation through systematic analysis of material evidence, this article reveals an intrinsic connection between Greco-Roman culture and Chinese Buddhist art, enriches the history of Sino-foreign cultural exchange, and reflects how Buddhism absorbed diverse cultural elements to achieve Sinicization. Full article

Traditional Hopfield neural networks (HNNs) suffer from limitations in generating controllable chaotic dynamics, which are essential for applications in neuromorphic computing and secure communications. Memristors, with their memory-dependent nonlinear characteristics, provide a promising approach to regulate neuronal activities, yet systematic studies on attractor offset behaviors remain scarce. In this study, we propose a fully memristive electromagnetic radiation neural network by incorporating three distinct memristors as external electromagnetic stimuli into an HNN. The parameters of the memristors were tuned to modulate chaotic oscillations, while variations in initial conditions were employed to explore multistability through bifurcation and basin stability analyses. The results demonstrate that the system enables large-scale amplitude control of chaotic signals via memristor parameter adjustments, allowing arbitrary scaling of attractor amplitudes. Various offset behaviors emerge, including parameter-driven symmetric double-scroll relocations in phase space and initial-condition-induced offset boosting that leads to extreme multistability. These dynamics were experimentally validated using an STM32-based electronic circuit, confirming precise amplitude and offset control. Furthermore, a multi-channel pseudo-random number generator (PRNG) was implemented, leveraging the initial-boosted offset to enhance security entropy. This offers a hardware-efficient chaotic solution for encrypted communication systems, demonstrating strong application potential. Full article

The Precious Scrolls of Hexi (Hexi Baojuan) embody the “collective memory” of the people in the Hexi region. The “Creation memory” and “Traumatic memory” are two key types of collective memory. Through the continuous recording and (re)creation of memories, the Baojuan exerts a therapeutic effect on people’s inner confusion and physical or mental pain. By studying the representative works of the ritual and secular Baojuan of the Hexi Baojuan, the Longhua Baojing (龙华宝经), and the Precious Scroll of Kalpa Survival (Jiujie Baojuan救劫宝卷), this paper examines the creation memory and traumatic memory of the Hexi people, thereby revealing the hidden tension between memory and healing. Full article

Ancient Chinese scripts—including oracle bone carvings, bronze inscriptions, stone steles, Dunhuang scrolls, and bamboo slips—are rich in historical value but often degraded due to centuries of erosion, damage, and stylistic variability. These issues severely hinder manual transcription and render conventional OCR techniques inadequate, as they are typically trained on modern printed or handwritten text and lack interpretability. To tackle these challenges, we propose FAIR-Net, a hybrid architecture that combines the unsupervised feature learning capacity of a deep autoencoder with the semantic transparency of a fuzzy rule-based classifier. In FAIR-Net, the deep autoencoder first compresses high-resolution character images into low-dimensional, noise-robust embeddings. These embeddings are then passed into a Fuzzy Neural Network (FNN), whose hidden layer leverages Fuzzy C-Means (FCM) clustering to model soft membership degrees and generate human-readable fuzzy rules. The output layer uses Iteratively Reweighted Least Squares Estimation (IRLSE) combined with a Softmax function to produce probabilistic predictions, with all weights constrained as linear mappings to maintain model transparency. We evaluate FAIR-Net on CASIA-HWDB1.0, HWDB1.1, and ICDAR 2013 CompetitionDB, where it achieves a recognition accuracy of 97.91%, significantly outperforming baseline CNNs (p < 0.01, Cohen’s d > 0.8) while maintaining the tightest confidence interval (96.88–98.94%) and lowest standard deviation (±1.03%). Additionally, FAIR-Net reduces inference time to 25 s, improving processing efficiency by 41.9% over AlexNet and up to 98.9% over CNN-Fujitsu, while preserving >97.5% accuracy across evaluations. To further assess generalization to historical scripts, FAIR-Net was tested on the Ancient Chinese Character Dataset (9233 classes; 979,907 images), achieving 83.25% accuracy—slightly higher than ResNet101 but 2.49% lower than SwinT-v2-small—while reducing training time by over 5.5× compared to transformer-based baselines. Fuzzy rule visualization confirms enhanced robustness to glyph ambiguities and erosion. Overall, FAIR-Net provides a practical, interpretable, and highly efficient solution for the digitization and preservation of ancient Chinese character corpora. Full article

In this study, growth mechanisms are proposed to understand how banded dendritic crystal aggregates in poly(1,4-butylene adipate) (PBA) transform into straight dendrites upon dilution with a large quantity of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) (25–90 wt.%). In growth packing, crystal plates are deformed in numerous ways, such as bending, scrolling, and twisting in self-assembly, into final aggregated morphologies of periodic bands or straight dendrites. Diluting PBA with a significant amount of PEO uncovers intricate periodic banded assemblies, facilitating better structural analysis. Both circularly banded and straight dendritic PBA aggregates have similar basic lamellar patterns. In straight dendritic PBA spherulites, crystal plates can twist from edge-on to flat-on, similar to those in ring-banded spherulites. Therefore, twists—whether continuous or discontinuous—are not limited to the conventional models proposed for classical periodic-banded spherulites. Thus, it would not be universally accurate to claim that the periodic circular bands observed in polymers or small-molecule compounds are caused by continuous lamellar helix twists. Straight dendrites, which do not exhibit optical bands, may also involve alternate crystal twists or scrolls during growth. Iridescence tests are used to compare the differences in crystal assemblies of straight dendrites vs. circularly banded PBA crystals. Full article

This article examines the scholarship of John Allegro on the Dead Sea Scrolls and the role his status as a scholar has played in the reception of his The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross. While the Dead Sea Scrolls play no prominent role in the book, people promoting Sacred Mushroom and its unorthodox proposals stress that Allegro is a respected scholar with great philological acumen by appealing to status as an expert on the Dead Sea Scrolls. But Allegro’s contribution to the field is much more mixed than is often acknowledged by proponents of Sacred Mushroom. Allegro was also one of the first to promote the corrosive conspiracy theory that the rest of the editorial team was being controlled by the Vatican. Recognizing that Allegro’s scholarship is infused with a kind of conspiratorial ideation helps understand his method and approach in Sacred Mushroom—that the evidence that Christianity began as a sacred mushroom cult was intentionally obscured by New Testament authors. To agree with Allegro, one must grant that the evidence is hidden and below the surface. The renewed popularity for Allegro’s work, which is out of sync with his reputation among Qumran scholars, can be understood as one example of the broader phenomenon of the popularity of conspiratorial theories in contemporary culture Full article

In Jer 15:19, Yhwh calls the prophet Jeremiah “my mouth”. This unique designation highlights his importance and finds support in several other features: Jeremiah is portrayed as the promised successor to Moses (Jer 1:7, 9), opposes all other contemporary prophets (e.g., Jer 20; 23; 26–29), and has many additional roles and activities. Furthermore, he shares traits with Yhwh’s servant from Isa 49 and 53. His ‘biography’ is extraordinary and is shown at length, unusual for the Latter Prophets, ranging from before his birth (Jer 1:5) to his disappearance in Egypt (Jer 43–44). His ‘confessions’ in Jer 11–20 testify to immense suffering and have become models for personal prayer. Like the prophet, his scroll is unique, too. No other biblical writing deals so extensively with trauma, exemplified at the downfall of Jerusalem in 587 BC, its roots, and its impact. This even leads to an uncommon structure of the scroll, ending with disaster in Jer 52, whereas all other scrolls of prophets contain hope as conclusions. Jer stands out with the analysis of guilt as cause for the catastrophe, yet it conveys also consolation, especially in Jer 29–33. In these chapters, elements for a renewed society emerge, corresponding to the name of the prophet, which signifies “Yhwh will raise up”. The real source for this change lies in the way Jer conceives the biblical God. No other writing in the Bible tells about his weeping, as a sign of helplessness vis-à-vis the continuing resistance of his people. Many prayers in the scroll, including the confessions, focus on the importance of an intimate, personal relationship with him, going beyond traditional piety in several aspects; Moshe Weinfeld has called them “spiritual metamorphosis”. The singularity of Jer applies also to its literary features. Its mixtures of poetry and prose, of divine and human speaking, of narratives about the prophet in first and third person are a challenge for every reader, as well as the ‘unordered’ chronology and retarded information. Jer excels in the use of other scrolls; the degree of intertextuality and the way of combining motifs from ‘foreign’ sources in a synthetic way are outstanding. To grasp fully its message requires familiarity with more than half of what later became the Hebrew Bible. Full article

Social media influencers have made materialism more accessible and desirable, shaping how followers view success, self-worth, and consumption. This study investigates the influence of materialistic messages promoted by lifestyle influencers on their followers’ emotions, self-concept, and consumer behavior, using Symbolic Interactionism as the theoretical framework. The research addresses three key questions: motivations for follower engagement, emotional effects of materialistic content, and how such messages appear to influence purchasing decisions. Using a qualitative approach, the study focuses on 15 Malaysian young adults who actively engage with lifestyle influencers. Data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis framework. Six key themes emerged: (1) admiration and aspiration; (2) feelings of inadequacy and envy; (3) rationalization of impulsive purchases; (4) symbolic consumption and self-identity; (5) emotional ambivalence; and (6) distancing and self-regulation. The findings suggest that influencers serve not only as marketing agents but as symbolic figures whose lifestyles become templates for success and self-worth. Participants engaged with this content in emotionally complex ways, simultaneously admiring and resisting the ideals presented. Their consumption behaviors appeared to be shaped by perceived social meanings attached to material goods. The study provides implications for media literacy programs, influencer marketing practices, and platform-level interventions that consider the emotional and identity-based dimensions of materialistic consumption. Full article

The Seven Masters of the Quanzhen 全真七子 sect served as central figures during the founding phase of Quanzhen Daoism and played key roles in the sect’s early development. Originally positioned as the “Northern Seven Perfected Ones” (Bei Qi Zhen 北七真), they were instrumental in propelling the prosperity and expansion of Quanzhen Daoism. Over time, their images subsequently proliferated across various media—including portrayals in stone inscription, painting, biography, and novel, undergoing transformations through inscriptions, paintings, biographies, and novels—transforming transmission channels from Daoist temples to stage performances and from street corners to modern screens. In the Jin and Yuan 金元 periods, Daoist biographies and inscriptions portrayed the Seven Masters as exemplary figures of Daoist practice. In folk novels and precious scrolls (Baojuan 宝卷) in the Ming 明 and Qing 清 dynasties, they were presented as legendary, divine immortals and distant ancestors available for narrative appropriation. In modern times—particularly due to the popularity of Jin Yong 金庸’s martial art novels—they completed their universalization as Daoist cultural resources blending chivalric ethos and entertainment value. Examining the evolution of the Seven Masters’ imagery, two fundamental implications emerge: First, this transformation was jointly shaped by the power structures, functional needs, and media forms of each era. Second, beneath the fluid representations from sacred patriarchs of the Jin–Yuan period to modern entertainment symbols, there is an enduring thread of Daoist transcendental consciousness. Full article

Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) power plants represent one of the most suitable technologies for the recovery and conversion of low-grade thermal energy. Coupling a micro-scale ORC system with parabolic trough collectors (PTCs) as a thermal energy source can effectively meet the electrical and thermal demands of a domestic user. This study presents the development process of the micro-ORC system, detailing both the results of the numerical model and the implementation of the test prototype. Particular attention is given to the instrumentation and sensors installed on the test bench, the monitoring and data acquisition software, and the error propagation analysis applied to the experimental data. In order to develop a micro-scale ORC plant, a commercial hermetic scroll compressor was tested as an expander with HFC-245fa working fluid. The test campaign required the construction of a dedicated experimental setup, equipped with comprehensive monitoring and control systems. While the first part of this research focused on evaluating the use of a scroll compressor as an expander, the second part aims to thoroughly describe the design of the test bench and the numerical model employed, the boundary conditions adopted, and the optimization strategies implemented to enhance system performance. This paper also describes in detail the measurement methodology and the associated error analysis to ensure comparability between experimental and numerical data. The numerical model was experimentally validated by incorporating the actual measured efficiency of the pump system, estimated at 12%. The comparison revealed a deviation between the experimental and simulated absorbed power of the pump—expressed as a function of the evaporation pressure—of less than 10% in the majority of the tested operating conditions. This confirms the reliability of the model and supports its use in future optimization studies. Full article

Additive friction stir deposition (AFSD) is a novel friction stir technology. It is one of the most prolific solid-state metal deposition processes. In recent years, the aerospace and defense industries have increased their investment in the deposition of 7xxx aluminum alloys. This has allowed AFSDs of 7xxx aluminum to move from a laboratory environment to being tested in an industrial setting. This work strives to help move the AFSD of AA7075 toward an effective production environment by providing an initial characterization of the graphite-free layer interface. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first graphite-free study to utilize both knub–scroll and scroll tools in AA7075. It is also the first study to compare how flat, knub, knub–scroll, and scroll influence layer mixing in graphite-free AA7075. The condition of the layer interface is particularly important to build direction properties. As many end users of AFSD desire isotropic properties, improving build direction properties is extremely important. This work looks at how external tool geometries and layer height impact the layer interface. The objective is to not only better characterize the layer interface but also to determine if a specific external geometry and or layer height could help facilitate a stronger layer interface. It was found that depositions made by the knub tool at a 2.5 mm layer height generated the most visually consolidated layer interface at an optical and SEM level. Under EDS analysis, the knub tool only saw a 12% variation between peak and background oxygen counts. EBSD scans also revealed a more consistent grain size distribution. Full article

The intrinsic trade-off among sensitivity, response speed, and measurement range continues to hinder the wider adoption of flexible pressure sensors in areas such as medical diagnostics and gesture recognition. In this work, we propose a grid-structured polycaprolactone/thermoplastic-polyurethane nanofiber pressure sensor decorated with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (PCL/TPU@MWCNTs). By introducing a gradient grid membrane, the strain distribution and reconstruction of the conductive network can be modulated, thereby alleviating the conflict between sensitivity, response speed, and operating range. First, static mechanical simulations were performed to compare the mechanical responses of planar and grid membranes, confirming that the grid architecture offers superior sensitivity. Next, PCL/TPU@MWCNT nanofiber membranes were fabricated via coaxial electrospinning followed by vacuum-filtration and assembled into three-layer planar and grid piezoresistive pressure sensors. Their sensing characteristics were evaluated by simple index-finger motions and slide the mouse wheel identified. Within 0–34 kPa, the sensitivities of the planar and grid sensors reached 1.80 kPa⁻¹ and 2.24 kPa⁻¹, respectively; in the 35–75 kPa range, they were 1.03 kPa⁻¹ and 1.27 kPa⁻¹. The rise/decay times of the output signals were 10.53 ms/11.20 ms for the planar sensor and 9.17 ms/9.65 ms for the grid sensor. Both sensors successfully distinguished active index-finger bending at 0–0.5 Hz. The dynamic range of the grid sensor during the extension motion of the index finger is 105 dB and, during the scrolling mouse motion, is 55 dB, affording higher measurement stability and a broader operating window, fully meeting the requirements for high-precision hand-motion recognition. Full article