Balanced Resource Allocation Research Articles

Response of Leaf Non-Structural Carbohydrates to Elevation in Dioecious Plants, Populus cathayana and Hippophae rhamnoides

Non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs) can reflect the balance of resource allocation and trade-offs, as well as the adaptability of plants to the environment. Alterations in environmental conditions across an elevation gradient may impact the carbon balance within leaves. Nonetheless, it remains highly uncertain whether the effect of elevation on NSCs differs among species and sexes. To reveal the response patterns of leaf NSCs in dioecious plants with elevation, Populus cathayana Rehd. and Hippophae rhamnoides L., distributed at four elevations in the subalpine region of western Sichuan, China, were selected, and female and male leaves were sampled and measured for their contents of NSCs, soluble sugar, and starch. Meanwhile, the relationships of NSCs, soluble sugar, and starch with leaf nitrogen and phosphorus were analyzed. The results showed that the elevational patterns of NSCs were mainly dependent on species and were slightly affected by sex. Leaf NSCs in both sexes of P. cathayana did not exhibit significant linear changes, whereas those in H. rhamnoides increased significantly and linearly with elevation. For P. cathayana, a significant increase in leaf starch with elevation was only found in female plants and may benefit from phosphorus deficiency, as it was significantly negatively correlated with phosphorus. However, leaf soluble sugar and starch between sexes of H. rhamnoides showed similar patterns of significant increases with elevation, and they were not correlated significantly with nitrogen and phosphorus. This might be due to H. rhamnoides, which is a nitrogen-fixing plant and thereby did not show deficiencies or limitations in nitrogen and phosphorus, as shown by the decreased or unchanged elevational patterns of nitrogen/phosphorus, starch/phosphorus, and soluble sugar/phosphorus. Overall, our results emphasize that species, rather than sex, is an important factor influencing the elevational pattern of NSCs, but for specific species, such as P. cathayana, in this study, there was a divergence in the elevational response of the allocation of starch and soluble sugar between sexes, reflecting the specific adaptive strategies of different plant species or sexes in response to changes in the growing environment.

A tourist review mining framework for the sustainability features of world natural heritage based on AI large models

ABSTRACT This study presents a novel tourist comment mining framework that integrates an AI large model with prompt strategies and the AISPA model to provide sustainable resource allocation strategies for UNESCO World Natural Heritage sites. The framework confirms that tourists prioritise service attributes as high-priority features, which are crucial for sustainable development. The results demonstrate that this framework combines the strengths of previous comment mining tools, offering a more efficient and user-friendly solution. Researchers can use it to balance resource allocation between natural and service features, leading to more effective management strategies.

Communication and Computing Balanced Resource Allocation in D2D-Based Vehicular MEC Networks

Communication and Computing Balanced Resource Allocation in D2D-Based Vehicular MEC Networks

A Reordering Buffer Management Method at Edge Gateway in Hybrid IP-ICN Multipath Transmission System

Multipath transmission in ICN provides high transmission efficiency and stability. In an IP-ICN compatible network environment, unmodified IP terminal devices can access ICN through gateways, benefiting from these performance enhancements. This paper proposes a gateway framework for hybrid IP-ICN multipath transmission systems, enabling protocol conversion and quality of service management. A packet reordering module is integrated at the egress gateway to address complex packet disorder issues caused by ICN multipath transmission, thereby enhancing the service quality provided to IP terminals. A Reordering Buffer Management Method (RBMM) is introduced, consisting of two key components. First, RBMM employs an improved dynamic threshold scheme for reserved buffer partitioning, efficiently identifying congestion and optimizing buffer resource utilization. Second, a flow-priority-based replacement strategy is designed to enhance fairness in resource allocation by evicting packets with lower delivery probability during congestion. Experimental results demonstrate that RBMM dynamically adapts to varying traffic conditions, maintaining high transmission performance while reducing buffer resource consumption. In comparison to existing methods, RBMM significantly reduces queuing delay and flow completion time, providing more balanced resource allocation when multiple flows compete for limited buffer capacity.

Optimizing depthwise separable convolution on DCU

The integration of Large Language Models (LLMs) with Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) is significantly advancing the development of large models. However, the computational cost of large models is high, necessitating optimization for greater efficiency. One effective way to optimize the CNN is the use of depthwise separable convolution (DSC), which decouples spatial and channel convolutions to reduce the number of parameters and enhance efficiency. In this study, we focus on porting and optimizing DSC kernel functions from the GPU to the Deep Computing Unit (DCU), a computing accelerator developed in China. For depthwise convolution, we implement a row data reuse algorithm to minimize redundant data loading and memory access overhead. For pointwise convolution, we extend our dynamic tiling strategy to improve hardware utilization by balancing resource allocation among blocks and threads, and we enhance arithmetic intensity through a channel distribution algorithm. We implement depthwise and pointwise convolution kernel functions and integrate them into PyTorch as extension modules. Experiments demonstrate that our optimized kernel functions outperform the MIOpen library on the DCU, achieving up to a 3.59× speedup in depthwise convolution and up to a 3.54× speedup in pointwise convolution. These results highlight the effectiveness of our approach in leveraging the DCU’s architecture to accelerate deep learning operations.

Digital financial inclusion and public service equalization

While digital technologies transform financial servicesglobally, research examining their impact on public resource distribution remains limited, especially regarding regional variations in effectiveness. Prior studies have separately addressed digital finance adoption or public service delivery, neglecting their interconnected role in development. Analyzing Chinese provincial data (2011–2021) through fixed effects and instrumental variable approaches, we find that digital financial inclusion significantly enhances public service equity, particularly in regions with advanced innovation capabilities and established technological infrastructure. Our analysis reveals two key mechanisms: reduced metropolitan-rural disparities and industrial structure optimization, with effects most pronounced in eastern provinces and high-innovation regions. The findings show that both service accessibility and usage intensity contribute to balanced resource allocation, though effectiveness varies substantially with regional innovation capacity. These results indicate that technological advancement in financial services can promote regional equity when aligned with local innovation capabilities, providing strategic insights for policymakers developing targeted digital finance initiatives across diverse development contexts.

Unveiling the Nexus: Foreign Ownership, Innovation Dynamics, and Firm Performance through a Resource-Based Lens in Vietnam

This study investigates the complex relationships between firm resources, innovation, foreign ownership, and firm performance in the context of Vietnam's emerging market. Using a comprehensive dataset of 17,430 firm-year observations from 1,245 manufacturing firms across Vietnam for the period 2010 to 2023, we employ system GMM estimation to address potential endogeneity concerns. Our findings reveal non-linear effects of firm resources and foreign ownership on performance, measured by both ROA and Tobin's Q. Specifically, we observe inverted U-shape relationships for human capital and foreign ownership, diminishing returns for physical capital, and a positive squared term for R&D intensity. Moreover, we find that foreign ownership positively moderates the effects of firm resources on performance. These results are robust to alternative measures and subgroup analyses. Our study contributes to the literature by providing a nuanced understanding of firm performance drivers in Vietnam's unique institutional context, extending the applicability of resource-based and knowledge-based views to this emerging market. The findings offer valuable insights for managers and policymakers in Vietnam, highlighting the importance of balanced resource allocation, strategic innovation investments, and the potential benefits of foreign ownership in enhancing firm performance.

Morphological Characterization-based Optimal Trait Selection for Improving Yield and Stability of Soybean (Glycine max L. Merrill)

The present investigation was convened during kharif, 2022 (July–October), rabi-Summer 2023 (January–May) and kharif, 2023 (July–October) at J.N.K.V.V., Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India to characterize 165 diverse soybean germplasm lines in pursuance of DUS (Distinctness, Uniformity, and Stability) guidelines focusing on integrating optimal morphological traits to pre-fine soybean crop improvement. The study revealed significant variation among soybean genotypes. The hypocotyl color, controlled by a monogenic trait, was found in 77 genotypes, closely associated with violet flower color, whereas non-pigmented hypocotyls present in 88 genotypes were linked to white flowers. Growth habits were categorized as determinate (59), semi-determinate (103), and indeterminate (3), demonstrating that semi-determinate genotypes offer balanced resource allocation and reduced lodging. Most genotypes displayed medium flowering time (159) and medium plant height (134). Leaf shape was predominantly pointed ovate (121), with lanceolate leaves associated with higher number of seeds-1 pod. The presence of dark green leaves in 108 genotypes indicated higher chlorophyll content and enhanced photosynthetic efficiency to strengthen plant type. Semi-erect growth habit was prevalent in 152 genotypes, providing better soil coverage and moisture retention, while 13 genotypes showed erect growth. Pod pubescence was observed in 106 genotypes, offering protection against pests. These traits are found stable across the environment and may be used as an identification key for different varieties and donor germplasm lines.

Reducing Carbon emissions through pipelines? Evidence from the West-East Gas Pipeline Project

ABSTRACT Transregional energy transmission can help balance resource allocation and serve long-term regional interests. The West–East Gas Pipeline Project (WEGPP), which is the longest natural gas pipeline in China, aims to address the serious imbalance between natural gas supply and demand in China’s eastern and western regions. Few studies have considered WEGPP’s effect on carbon emissions in terms of energy transmission. Using data for prefecture-level cities from 2000 to 2019, we consider WEGPP as a quasi-natural experiment and adopt a staggered difference-in-differences model to investigate the causal effect of energy transmission on carbon emissions. We find that WEGPP can reduce carbon emissions; various robustness tests confirm the reliability of the results. However, the emission-reduction effect is heterogeneous owing to factors such as operation batch, location, administrative level, population size, resource endowment, industrial level, and whether a city belongs to an old industrial base. We also reveal three important channels for WEGPP’s emission-reduction effect: environmental concern of the government, industrial agglomeration, and green technological innovation. This study provides a reference for assessing the feasibility and effectiveness of energy transmission in the context of emission reduction.

Design of an Improved Model for Spectrum Sharing and Resource Management Using Deep Q-Network, Federated Averaging, and Ant Colony Optimization

Indeed, the ever-evolving wireless communication requires DSS and resource management for effectiveness. The old methods of spectrum allocation have a strategic shortfall since they are static and thus not adapted to real-time network conditions. Besides, more important challenges include issues over privacy and inefficiency of resource utilization. In the light of such problems, this paper proposes a new method by bringing together three deep-learning techniques, which are Deep Q-Networks, Federated Averaging, and Ant Colony Optimisation. Each is chosen because of its various competencies and complementary capabilities. First, DQN is chosen because it has the capability to handle high-dimensional action space. DQN applies deep learning to approximate the Q Value function, which provides the optimal decision of spectrum allocation based on real-time network states, such as spectrum usage and interference levels. With this scheme, up to a 20% gain in network throughput and up to a 15% cut in wasted spectrum compared to traditional methods are achievable. The second component FedAvg tackles the model training collaboration issue with privacy. It enables FedAvg for privacy-preserving resource management, where multiple devices update the global model collaboratively by communicating model updates without exchanging raw data samples. For this approach, the resulting method leads to a further increase in data privacy by reducing data leakage as high as 40%, with an improvement in resource management accuracy of up to 15%. ACO was employed to optimize resource allocation and improve spectrum efficiency. ACO emulates the natural foraging behavior of ants to solve combinatorial optimization problems. Consequently, it has led to up to 25% increase in spectral efficiency and up to 20% improvement in resource allocation balance sets. All these methods put together will provide a wholesome solution that not only optimizes spectrum and resource management but also promises privacy and adaptability. This represents severe improvement in overcoming the weaknesses of the existing approaches and will provide a strong foundation for next-generation wireless networks.

Successive monoculture of Eucalyptus spp. alters the structure and network connectivity, rather than the assembly pattern of rhizosphere and bulk soil bacteria

Eucalyptus as a fast-growing timber tree plays a crucial role in maintaining wood supplication and ecosystem balance worldwide. Nonetheless, the management practices of Eucalyptus plantation in southern China have resulted in productivity decline and soil degradation due to high-intensity successive cultivation. Soil bacteria is a sensitive indicator of soil quality, how does the successive planting of Eucalyptus regulate the soil bacterial community structure for instance the abundance of oligotrophic bacteria, network complexity, and soil bacteria assembly remain ambiguity. To explicate the underlying influencing mechanisms of successive cultivation of Eucalyptus plantations on soil bacterial community structure. Four harvests of Eucalyptus plantations that underwent 0, 1, 2, and 3 times of harvesting were conducted to examine variations in the bacterial community between rhizosphere and bulk soils after successive planting of Eucalyptus. An adjacent evergreen broadleaf forest was employed as control. The present study revealed that successive planting of Eucalyptus increased and reduced the relative abundance of Chloroflexi (oligotrophic bacteria) and Proteobacteria (copiotrophic bacteria), respectively. Continuous planting of Eucalyptus did not modify the assembly pattern of soil bacterial communities, which was governed by stochastic processes. Successive planting of Eucalyptus decreased co-occurrence network complexity, and elevated the proportion of rare microorganisms in the keystone bacterial taxa. Soil particle size composition (clay, silt, sand) indirectly influenced the structure of soil bacterial communities by directly affecting pH, carbon, nutrients, and their stoichiometric ratios. Improving soil physical structure, increasing the input of soil carbon, nitrogen, and other nutrient resources, and maintaining a balanced resource allocation may be effective strategies for ensuring enhanced productivity and sustainable utilization of soil in successive Eucalyptus plantations.

Joint Fronthaul Load Balancing and Computation Resource Allocation in Cell-Free User-Centric Massive MIMO Networks

Joint Fronthaul Load Balancing and Computation Resource Allocation in Cell-Free User-Centric Massive MIMO Networks

Can Different Corporate Social Responsibility Expenditure Impact Reputation of a Company Differently?

Purpose: This article aims to examine the impact of different corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditures on the reputation of a company. Design/methodology/approach: The article develops four hypotheses that are tested empirically through the Panel Corrected Standard Error model (PCSE). The study constitutes a sample of 100 Indian BSE-listed companies between 2015 and 2020. Findings: The findings provide an interesting observation about the relationship shared between CSR expenditure and its impact on the reputation of a company. Also, from the context of the triple bottom line (TBL), when CSR expenditure was segregated into economic, social, and environmental expenses it was found that only social expenditure impacts reputation significantly. Managerial implications: The companies’ priority should be to practice CSR with the motive of benefiting society. Parallel to this, the company may find the right balance of resource allocation for spending in CSR activities that might help the company achieve a higher reputational position. Originality/value: As per the authors’ knowledge, there is scarce literature exploring the relationship between CSR expenditure and corporate reputation in emerging markets like India. This research is integral as it would encourage companies to integrate CSR expenditures into their business strategy in such a way that it may give a boost to their current reputation status and bring along with itself many benefits to the company as discussed in the literature. This article is incremental to the existing literature by examining these topics in an emerging country. This exploration provides a glance into the present scenario of an emerging economy.

Research on the Current Situation of Community Football Development and Countermeasures in the Context of Healthy China

Starting from the background of the Healthy China Strategy, this article systematically discusses the current development of community football in promoting the national health strategy. The article first identifies the main problems in the development of community football, including differences in policy delivery and implementation, imbalances in infrastructure and public resources, and bottlenecks in community cultural integration and football popularisation. In response to these problems, the article proposes specific countermeasures, such as strengthening policy synergy and local implementation strength, balancing resource allocation and facility popularisation, and adopting cultural adaptation strategies to promote broad community participation. Through empirical research and theoretical analyses, the article highlights the importance of community football as part of the Healthy China strategy to enhance public health, strengthen community cohesion and promote social harmony. Through the effective implementation of the above countermeasures, not only can the success rate and participation of community football programmes be increased, but also provide a solid foundation for the achievement of broader social health goals, aiming to provide practical references and suggestions for policy makers and community managers to promote the healthy and sustainable development of community football.

Quantitative Analysis of Peri-Urbanization: Developing a Peri-Urban Index for Medium-Sized Cities Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process—A Case Study of Yozgat, Turkey

The rapid development of urbanization necessitates effective analytical methods to address its complexities. Peri-urbanization, the expansion of settlement boundaries and urban spread, is a critical aspect of this phenomenon. This study introduces a quantitative method to analyze peri-urbanization, providing a peri-urban index (PUI) for medium-sized cities based on peri-urban dynamics. Utilizing the analytical hierarchy process (AHP), the weight values of influencing dynamics are calculated, establishing a peri-urban scale (PUS) ranging from one to five based on rural and urban characteristics. Applied to a medium-sized case study city, the method assesses the peri-urbanization from 2007 to 2022. Four main dynamics—socio-demographics, economic-employment, land use-accessibility, and building-texture patterns—and fourteen sub-dynamics were identified and weighted using AHP. The city’s PUI values over different years reveal a 41.6% increase, indicating significant peri-urbanization. This quantitative approach, which innovatively integrates multiple numerical analysis methods, not only highlights the peri-urbanization trends of the city but also provides a comparative analysis framework for other cities. The method’s ability to track changes over time and compare different urban areas supports the development of sustainable urbanization strategies, ensuring balanced growth and resource allocation. This method offers urban planners, policymakers, and architects a powerful tool to manage and guide future urban expansion effectively through interdisciplinary collaboration.

Leach’s storm-petrel (Hydrobates leucorhous), a long-lived seabird shows flexible, condition-dependent, feeding strategies in response to poor chick condition

BackgroundParent-offspring conflict represents the sensitive balance of resource allocation between self-maintenance and reproduction. Two strategies have been proposed to better understand how species manage this conflict. In fixed-level feeding behavior, parents feed offspring consistent quantities of food; while flexible feeding shows plasticity in parental allocation based on offspring need. Life-history theory predicts that parents of long-lived species prioritize their survival and may favor the fixed-level hypothesis to maximize lifetime reproductive success. In this study, we highlight the natural variation of parent-offspring allocation strategies within a unique population of Leach’s storm-petrels (Hydrobates leucorhous), and through month-long food supplementation and restriction manipulations, we investigate how chick condition affects parental provisioning during the chick-rearing period of reproduction.ResultsWe show that the parents upregulated chick feeding frequency of nutritionally deprived chicks, resulting in a larger total amount of food delivered during the study period. Additionally, the proportion of nights when both parents fed was highest in restricted chicks, and the proportion of nights when neither parents fed was lowest in restricted chicks, suggesting that storm-petrel parents shorten their foraging bouts to deliver food more often when their chicks are in relatively poor condition.ConclusionsOur results support that Leach’s storm-petrels use a flexible-level feeding strategy, suggesting that parents can assess offspring condition, and respond by feeding chicks at higher frequencies. These data provide insight on how a long-lived seabird balances its own energetic demands with that of their offspring during the reproductive period.

All Lives Matter: A Model for Resource Allocation to Fire Departments in Portugal

Optimizing Resource Allocation in Fire Departments (RAFD) is crucial for enhancing Fire Protection Services (FPS) and ultimately saving lives. Efficient RAFD ensures that fire departments have the necessary resources to respond effectively to emergencies. This paper presents a method for optimizing RAFD based on performance assessment results, examining its impact on Fire Department (FD) efficiency in Portugal. Evaluating data from 353 FDs, two RAFD optimization methods were assessed: one adhering to Portuguese regulations and constraints, such as budget allocation limitations, and another without such constraints. Integrating a slack-based data envelopment analysis model and mixed-integer linear programming, the study found that incorporating FD efficiency scores in RAFD improved overall efficiency at national, district, and FD levels. While adherence to Portuguese regulations led to balanced resource allocation and a 4% performance improvement at the national level, relaxing constraints yielded an 8% improvement, albeit with potential performance deterioration in some FDs. The detailed budget and efficiency metric analysis provided in this paper offers actionable insights for fire protection services enhancement. This underscores the importance of diverse optimization strategies to enhance FD efficiency, with implications for decision-makers at the Portuguese National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection and similar organizations globally.

Analyzing Fiscal Sustainability in Latin American Countries: A Time–Frequency Perspective

This study examines fiscal sustainability in Latin American countries from a unique time–frequency perspective, focusing on Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Mexico from 1997 to 2022. Using wavelet coherence analysis, it uncovers dynamic relationships between government revenue and expenditure over different time horizons, revealing varying causality patterns across countries and periods. The findings underscore the importance of balanced fiscal planning and resource allocation to ensure fiscal sustainability and support economic growth. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of Latin America’s economic landscape and provides valuable insights for policymakers, economists, and stakeholders concerned with the region’s economic stability and development.

Exploring non-linear causal nexus between economic growth and energy consumption across various R&D regimes: Cross-country evidence from a PSTR model

PurposeThis study endeavors to elucidate the divergent conclusions encountered in empirical research regarding the interplay of Economic Growth (EG) and Energy Consumption (EC). Design/methodology/approachFor this purpose, we employ the Panel Smooth Threshold Regression (PSTR) model to intricately examine the non-linear impacts of independent variables on EC and EG within a dataset encompassing 46 countries over the period from 1996 to 2021. FindingsThe outcomes of our investigation can be summarized as follows: First, the findings underscore the positive impact of the logarithm of net capital formation on EG. This impact is particularly pronounced at low levels of Research and Development (R&D), gradually waning beyond a certain threshold. Second, the ratio of capital to labor exhibits a negative influence on EC at lower R&D levels. Notably, these detrimental impacts become more pronounced as R&D levels increase. Third, trade openness contributes positively to EG, particularly evident at low R&D levels. However, with increasing R&D levels, the incremental benefits from trade diminish. Finally, our findings lend support to the feedback hypothesis. Nevertheless, the impact of R&D expenditures in countries moderates these positive effects. Practical implicationsPolicymakers should strategically balance resource allocation between capital formation and research endeavors, considering diminishing returns at elevated levels of R&D spending, to ensure sustained EG.

Dilemma in primary care facility development:a qualitative study based on grounded theory in Guilin city

BackgroundSince the new medical reform, remarkable progress was achieved in primary care facilities in the number of consultations and essential public health service program. However, the problems including low quality and high mobility of personnel, weakened capacity and low efficiency of service still remain. Therefore, it has become an urgent task to solve the dilemma in primary care facility development. ObjectiveTo analyze the development dilemma of primary care facilities and propose corresponding countermeasures. MethodsFrom April to May 2021 the managers of 16 primary care facilities in 6 counties and 2 districts in Guilin were selected using multi-stage sampling method and invited to attend semi-structured interviews, which main contents included resource allocation, service capacity building, health insurance policy implementation, and development dilemmas. Grounded theory method was applied to classify, summarize and refine the original interview data at each level by NVivo 11.0 software. ResultsA total of 38 initial concepts, 9 initial categories, 4 main categories, and 1 core category were extracted, and nodes of stagnation in four dimensions including "Constraints in Resource Allocation," "Deviation in Functional Positioning," "Obstacles in the approach of the joint reform of 3Ms(medical service system, medical security system and medicine system)," and "Lack of Cohesion in Hospital Group Construction" were obtained. ConclusionThe development of primary care facilities is constrained by a variety of factors, with resource allocation balance and compensation mechanism improvement as core issue, "approach of the joint reform of 3Ms" as an external condition, "adjustment of functional positioning"(adjustment of functional positioning of primary care facilities) as key link, and the construction of cohesion hospital group as important approach.