Search Results (1,720)

In response to the dual challenge of global agricultural greening and digital transformation, it is imperative for agricultural colleges and universities in China to restructure talent cultivation models to support the development of sustainable and intelligent agriculture. This study combines literature analysis, case studies, and questionnaire surveys to identify misalignments between the current agricultural education system and industry needs. Focusing on educational objectives, curricula, practical training, and faculty expertise, the authors propose a novel four-dimensional collaborative cultivation model, “Objectives–Curriculum–Practice–Faculty”. This model centers on interdisciplinary course clusters (e.g., agricultural artificial intelligence and blockchain traceability), industry–academia-integrated training platforms (e.g., smart agriculture innovation centers), and a Dynamic Adjustment Mechanism (DCAM). To support the implementation of this model, this study advances policy recommendations from three perspectives. First, governments should accelerate reforms by providing special funding support and formulating legislation on industry–academia integration. Second, universities must establish early-warning response mechanisms. Third, enterprises must participate in developing education on ecosystems. This paper establishes both a theoretical framework and a practical pathway to transform agricultural education, offering significant referential value for global agricultural institutions adapting to technological revolutions. Full article

This article commences from a transdisciplinary research setting where students, artists, activists, and researchers come together to investigate medieval travelling accounts. The article is structured in two main parts. The first part presents an exploration of the theoretical framework of an hermeneutics of charity and suspicion as well as a development of a methodology that probes at the “cracks” of colonial pedagogical and scholarly structures. In the second part, the article uses critical inquiry and shared learning experiences to examine Marco Polo’s The Travels, focusing on his descriptions of dancing. Specifically, it investigates what Polo’s text conveyed—and omitted—about the relationship between intimacy, eroticism, and dance for a European audience. Combining auto-ethnographic reflections with stories from the communal learning process, the article invites readers to consider how collective inquiry reshapes our understanding of historical texts. In addition to questioning Polo/Rustichello’s portrayal of religious dance through his mercantile and sexualised gaze, the author also challenges some previous scholarly interpretations of Polo as an agent of European colonial endeavours. Finally, the paper offers a method for rethinking how researchers approach dance and university education, as well as practical tools for how historical accounts can be explored in a way that prevents discernment from overshadowing what can be gained from attunement. Full article

In today’s fast-paced world, secure and efficient access control is crucial for places like schools, gated communities, and corporate campuses. The system must overcome the issues of manual checking and record maintenance of traditional methods like RFID cards or license plate recognition. Our work introduces a budget-friendly, automated solution. A prototype was developed for a vehicle sticker recognition system to control and monitor gate access at NFC IET University as a case study. The automated system design will replace manual checking by detecting the car stickers issued to each vehicle by the university administration. An optimized lightweight YOLOv8 model is trained to identify three categories: IET stickers (authorized for access), non-IET stickers (unauthorized), and no sticker (denied access). A webcam connected to the Raspberry Pi 4 scans approaching vehicles. Authorized vehicles are allowed when the relevant class is detected, which signals a servo motor to open the gate. Otherwise, access to the gate is denied, and infrared (IR) sensors close the gates. A second set of IR sensors and a servo motor was also added to manage the exit side, preventing unauthorized tailgating. The system’s modular design makes it adaptable for different environments, and its use of affordable hardware and open-source tools keeps costs low, which is ideal for smaller institutions or communities. The prototype model is tested and trained on self-collected datasets comprising 506 images. Full article

Background/Objectives: As safe, eco-friendly, and legally compliant solutions for the disposal of unwanted medications, drug take-back systems have attracted extensive research attention. However, there is a lack of systematic mapping of global trends, collaborative networks, research themes, and hotspots in this field. This study aimed to conduct a comprehensive bibliometric analysis and review of global academic research on drug take-back programs. Methods: Peer-reviewed research articles on drug take-back programs, published between 2005 and 2025, were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Database. Microsoft Office Excel 2019, VOSviewer (v.1.6.17), and CiteSpace (v.6.1.R3 Advanced) were used to assess publication/citation trends, countries, institutions, authors, journals, disciplines, references, and keywords. Narrative analysis was employed to synthesize data from the included articles and identify core research themes. Results: A total of 149 eligible articles with 4520 citations were included, involving 619 authors, 52 countries/regions, 310 institutions, and 95 journals. Publication/citation counts increased significantly between 2005 and 2025. The United States led in both publication output and collaborative research; Mercer University was the most influential institution, but international and cross-institutional collaboration remained limited. Environmental Sciences ranked first among disciplinary categories in drug take-back research, followed by Pharmacology/Pharmacy. Core research themes underpinning this field included stakeholders’ knowledge–attitude–practice assessment (76 articles), returned medication treatment (37 articles), intervention evaluation (25 articles), policy analysis (7 articles), and the role of drug take-back programs in mitigating environmental and public health hazards caused by medicine wastes (4 articles). Conclusions: Scholarly attention to drug take-back programs has grown steadily. Future research should prioritize cross-sectoral and international cooperation, develop and adopt evidence-based interventions to optimize the safety, sustainability, and accessibility of drug take-back systems on a global scale. Full article

On 25 April 2014, the municipal water source in Flint, Michigan, was switched to the Flint River. Failure to properly treat the water for corrosion resulted in lead contamination of the water system. Resident concerns were dismissed by local, state, and federal government agencies until community participatory and clinical pediatric research demonstrated the contamination, and the water was restored to the original source 18 months later. Recovery efforts established a public health registry, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A grant of public health authority and registry funding were awarded to Michigan State University in August 2017 to establish a health surveillance system and public health intervention to refer exposed individuals to community services. Community feedback requested tiered data-sharing consent options. Participants who consented to join the registry were presented with four consent questions: to be contacted about future research opportunities, to use survey data to make referrals to services on their behalf, to share with the registry their State of Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) program data, and to share Michigan Medicaid administrative data. This descriptive study found that most participants consented to being contacted for future research (88%), sharing data for referrals (84%), and sharing data from MDHHS programs (77%) with the registry. Among participants with Medicaid insurance, 74% consented to sharing Medicaid data. Consent increased with age and decreased with income and education. Consent was higher among participants reporting food insecurity in the last 12 months. Consent to share data was unexpectedly high in the context of environmental disaster, trauma, and government distrust. Further work is needed to explore whether participation in public health activities is positively impacted by the implementation of a tiered consent process to share data. Full article

This study investigates the application of Detectivity, a composite metric derived from Hjorth’s parameters, for the condition monitoring of wind turbines. These parameters were originally introduced to describe the morphology of biomedical signals, and they consist of three scalar descriptors: Activity, Mobility, and Complexity, capturing, respectively, signal variance, frequency content, and waveform shape. Detectivity, proposed in a previous work by the authors as a condensation of Hjorth’s parameters, can be interpreted as the total gain in these parameters with respect to a reference condition corresponding to a healthy component. The analysis is conducted on two distinct datasets. The first, publicly available from the Luleå University website, contains vibration data from six wind turbines in a Swedish wind farm, one of which is affected by a bearing fault. A robust methodology was developed to manage the strong variability in rotational speed. The second dataset includes vibration signals from a 2 MW commercial turbine, acquired over 50 consecutive days during which an inner race fault progressively developed. The use of the Detectivity cumulant proved particularly effective: in the first case, it clearly identified the faulty machine; in the second, it enabled the detection of the time at which the probable onset of the fault occurred. Full article

Reforms in the Chinese National Entrance Examination to Universities (CNEEU) and curriculum standards have significantly influenced national education. This study investigates the evolutionary stages, research trends, and emerging topics in the study of geography examinations for the CNEEU, commonly known as the Gaokao in China. Utilizing CiteSpace software, we analyzed academic journal articles indexed in the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database from 1980 to 2023. The analysis focuses on publication volume, regional distribution, core authors, emergent terms, and keyword trends related to geography examinations. The results reveal the following: (1) Research on geography in the CNEEU has experienced three distinct phases since the 1980s—incipient stage, fluctuating growth period, and adjustment period—each characterized by unique emergent keywords reflecting evolving research priorities. (2) The principal research institutions include middle schools, higher normal colleges, and examination research institutes, with scholars from higher normal universities more likely to establish collaborative research groups. (3) Key research topics focus on the content and characteristics of geography examination questions, teaching guidance, test preparation strategies, and the development of simulation questions. (4) Ongoing reforms in the CNEEU and curriculum have significantly influenced the scope, focus, and format of geography examinations, directly impacting geography teaching and learning practice. (5) Emerging trends, including literacy and value-oriented assessment, interdisciplinary integration, and inquiry-based innovation, are expected to shape future research in this field. This study offers valuable insights to support both theoretical research and practical advancement in the design of geography examinations for CNEEU. Full article

Scholars universally regard Udayana’s Nyāyakusumāñjali (NK), or Flower Offering of Logic, as one of the great works of classical Indian philosophy, and more specifically, of rational or natural theology. But an important aspect of this masterpiece has not been appreciated by contemporary scholars: Udayana’s many references in the NK to Hinduism’s traditional sacrifices and sacred scriptures are integral to the philosophical case he develops for the existence of a Supreme Being. Or so we contend. We explain our interpretation of the NK through detailed examination of what we take to be the main argument of its first two chapters, an argument that only an extraordinary, omniscient being could have authored the Vedas, the Hindu scriptures. Then we show the importance of this argument for understanding the NK as a whole, including its final chapter, the chapter that has been the focus of most scholars. Though appeal to the Vedas is integral to Udayana’s full argument for the existence of a Supreme Being, his argument is not circular, we maintain; nor was he defending fideism. We believe that Udayana’s approach has relevance for persons of any faith who wish to affirm the centrality of the holy scriptures of their faith to their religious beliefs while recognizing the power of philosophical argument for the existence of a Supreme Being. Full article

Within the ongoing scientific and disciplinary debate on the interplay between climate change and land-use governance, this paper highlights the critical role of urban planning and design in shaping environmental regeneration strategies for coastal urban areas vulnerable to flooding phenomena. These flood events—driven by the combined effects of sea-level rise (SLR) and riverine flood—represent one of the key challenges facing the “global risk society” given their increasing impact on urban areas and the tangible economic, social, and environmental damages they produce. In this context, this paper presents selected outcomes from the findings of the research project “Climate-proof planning and regeneration strategies for adaptation to sea-level rise. Experimentation and innovation in local urban planning in at-risk areas of the Lazio region”, conducted at Sapienza University of Rome. The project focuses on research and experimental planning in coastal areas of Lazio identified as being at risk of SLR-related flooding by 2100. It aims to define theoretical–methodological and operational references for urban regeneration with an ecosystemic approach within the framework of so-called climate-proof planning. This study examines three macro-areas, further subdivided into seven distinct sites, categorized by their prevailing urban functions. For each site, following a preliminary assessment of flood-prone zones, tailored design actions are proposed. These actions are framed within three overarching of urban resilience strategies, developed in previous research by the authors: “defence”, “adaptation”, and “relocation”. Full article

This work presents a validation process of a Helmholtz cage developed by the authors at AGH University of Krakow. This type of test stand can generate a near-uniform, precisely controlled magnetic field inside its workspace. This is a crucial tool for several applications, including calibration of magnetic sensors, testing magnetorquers, and hardware-in-the-loop tests of attitude determination and control systems of small satellites. Although many institutions develop Helmholtz cages, we found the literature on methods of validating the final accuracy and uniformity of the generated magnetic field somewhat lacking. In this research, we showcase an approach to perform 3D scans of the magnetic field inside the cage using a probe actuated by a robotic arm. With that method, we verified that the magnitude and angle nonuniformity of the magnetic field vectors in our cage are below 2 percent and 0.4°, respectively, for a wide range of control inputs. We also perform background magnetic field measurements to identify and quantify sources of magnetic disturbances coming from the outside of our system and propose methods of minimizing their impact. It turns out that careful design and building process of the cage and its power driver might not be sufficient to achieve the optimal performance. In our case, we found that some factors, if unmitigated, can cause an error of a few milligauss. Hopefully, this work will help other teams developing similar devices avoid at least some of the possible pitfalls. Full article

International law has evolved to oblige states to treat children with disabilities with dignity and respect. Yet, where children with disabilities present as migrants, they face compounding challenges that are both physical and legal. This article explores key issues in general migration, including the discriminatory application of migration health rules, access to citizenship and birth registration, family reunification and access to education. There follows an account of particular challenges that face children with disabilities in forced migration and enforcement settings. The article touches briefly on the identification of disability, the vulnerabilities of these children to human trafficking and harms inherent in immigration enforcement mechanisms. The potential and limitations of protective mechanisms available in international law are explored using selective case studies most relevant to the author’s research work. Drawing on compilations of jurisprudence by university scholars and key not-for-profit organizations, the article includes some reflections on treaty body oversight of state party responses to migration, disability and human rights protection. The overarching aim is to interrogate and critique the operation of international legal mechanisms and the extent to which state practice is compliant with norms of international law. In this respect, the piece aligns with a broader project to improve international law and practice around disability, human rights and displacement. Full article

Petrarch’s Liber sine nomine is a collection of satirical letters against the Avignon Curia, remarkable for its stylistic refinement. It offered later readers multiple possibilities of interpretation and reuse, serving both as a rhetorical model and as a resource for anti-papal argumentation. While literary application predominated in the fifteenth century, the collection was later repurposed in religious debates between Protestants and Catholics. This paper examines a little-known episode in its afterlife, namely the epistle on the fall of Constantinople in 1453 by Bernhard von Kraiburg, chancellor of the Archbishop of Salzburg and later Bishop of Chiemsee. Close philological analysis shows that Bernhard adapted extensive passages from the Liber sine nomine and, along with a few other authors, established a distinct line of reception by reinterpreting selected letters as prayers. In the second half of the seventeenth century, however, Bernhard’s work met an analogous fate to that of its model. It was read and reframed from a Lutheran perspective by Johann Konrad Dieterich, professor of Greek and history at the University of Gießen, and was subsequently subjected to indirect censorship in the Index librorum prohibitorum. Full article

In recent years, Location-Based Augmented Reality (LAR) systems have been increasingly implemented in various applications for tourism, navigation, education, and entertainment. Unfortunately, the LAR content creation using conventional desktop-based authoring tools has become a bottleneck, as it requires time-consuming and skilled work. Previously, we proposed an in-situ mobile authoring tool as an efficient solution to this problem by offering direct authoring interactions in real-world environments using a smartphone. Currently, the evaluation through the comparison between the proposal and conventional ones is not sufficient to show superiority, particularly in terms of interaction, authoring performance, and cognitive workload, where our tool uses 6DoF device movement for spatial input, while desktop ones rely on mouse-pointing. In this paper, we present a comparative study of authoring performances between the tools across three authoring phases: (1) Point of Interest (POI) location acquisition, (2) AR object creation, and (3) AR object registration. For the conventional tool, we adopt Unity and ARCore SDK. As a real-world application, we target the LAR content creation for pedestrian landmark annotation across campus environments at Okayama University, Japan, and Brawijaya University, Indonesia, and identify task-level bottlenecks in both tools. In our experiments, we asked 20 participants aged 22 to 35 with different LAR development experiences to complete equivalent authoring tasks in an outdoor campus environment, creating various LAR contents. We measured task completion time, phase-wise contribution, and cognitive workload using NASA-TLX. The results show that our tool made faster creations with 60% lower cognitive loads, where the desktop tool required higher mental efforts with manual data input and object verifications. Full article

Background: We aimed to map the scientific production on sports nutrition applied to soccer. Methods: A scientometric analysis was performed using articles published between 2004 and 2024, retrieved from Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus. The search yielded 2636 documents, and 526 original articles were included after removing reviews, meta-analyses, duplicates, and studies outside the scope. Data were analyzed using Bibliometrix version 5.0.1; Massimo Aria & Corrado Cuccurullo; Naples; Italy. and VOSviewer version 1.6.20; Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS), Leiden University; Leiden; The Netherlands software. Results: There was a 1.450% increase in publications over the period, with a peak in 2024. Nutrients was the leading publication source, while Morton J. and Maughan R. were the most productive authors. Liverpool John Moores University stood out as a collaboration hub. The United Kingdom 371 took the lead in both publication volume and citations. Early research trends focused on hydration and dietary optimization, whereas recent studies emphasized low energy availability, polyphenols, anthropometry, and recovery strategies. The conceptual structure focused on terms such as sports, nutrition, energy intake, food intake, performance, soccer, and training load. Peripheral terms included fluid balance and sweat rate. The co-occurrence analysis revealed underexplored topics such as oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation, beta-alanine supplementation, and antioxidant markers. Conclusions: Advancing these research areas is essential to consolidating nutritional strategies with direct effects on performance and health in soccer players. Full article

The rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in content generation has encouraged the development of AI detection tools aimed at distinguishing between human- and AI-authored texts. These tools are increasingly adopted not only in academia but also in sensitive decision-making contexts, including candidate screening by hiring agencies in government and private sectors. This extensive reliance raises serious questions about their reliability, fairness, and appropriateness for high-stakes applications. This study evaluates the performance of six widely used AI content detection tools, namely Undetectable AI, Zerogpt.com, Zerogpt.net, Brandwell.ai, Gowinston.ai, and Crossplag, referred to as Tools A through F in this study. The assessment focused on the ability of the tools to identify human versus AI-generated content across multiple domains. Verified human-authored texts were gathered from reputable sources, including university websites, pre-ChatGPT publications in Nature and Science, government portals, and media outlets (e.g., BBC, US News). Complementary datasets of AI-generated texts were produced using ChatGPT-4o, encompassing coherent essays, nonsensical passages, and hybrid texts with grammatical errors, to test tool robustness. The results reveal significant performance limitations. The accuracy ranged from 14.3% (Tool B) to 71.4% (Tool D), with the precision and recall metrics showing inconsistent detection capabilities. The tools were also highly sensitive to minor textual modifications, where slight changes in phrasing could flip classifications between “AI-generated” and “human-authored.” Overall, the current AI detection tools lack the robustness and reliability needed for enforcing academic integrity or making employment-related decisions. The findings highlight an urgent need for more transparent, accurate, and context-aware frameworks before these tools can be responsibly incorporated into critical institutional or societal processes. Full article