Cadmium (Cd) contamination poses significant risks to agricultural productivity and ecosystems, necessitating effective remediation strategies. This study evaluated the efficacy of iron (Fe)-modified corn straw biochar (FB) in immobilizing Cd and reducing its uptake in lettuce, compared to raw biochar (B). FB was synthesized by pyrolyzing Fe(NO₃)₃-treated corn straw, and its physicochemical properties were analyzed. Pot experiments were conducted to test Cd immobilization at 0, 1, and 2mg kg⁻¹ Cd levels with B or FB doses of 0%, 1%, and 3% (w/w) B or FB. FB exhibited higher specific surface area, pore volume, and oxygen-containing functional groups than B. It, enhanced Cd adsorption via mechanisms including surface complexation (-OH, Fe-O), precipitation (CdCO₃), and π-π interactions. Furthermore, FB reduced bioavailable Cd content in soil by 15-28% and shifted Cd speciation from exchangeable forms to Fe/Mn oxide-bound fractions, outperforming B even at lower doses. Additionally, FB improved soil fertility, enzyme activities, and enriched Cd-immobilizing bacteria in the soil, promoting lettuce growth and reducing Cd content in roots (25-40%) and leaves (33-47%). The findings highlighted FB as a cost-effective and sustainable amendment for Cd-contaminated soils, which enhanced adsorption, microbial modulation, and reduced application rates. This study provides critical insights into the dual role of Fe-modified biochar in soil remediation and crop safety, supporting its practical application in sustainable agriculture.

With the rapid development of computer technology, the dynamic visualization of vocal music melody has attracted more and more attention. The dynamic visualization of vocal music melody is a way of expression and presentation of music. The dynamic visualization of vocal music melody is a way to express more music information in various forms with vision as the center and with music, which is a new form of cultural exchange in the information age. This paper focused on the dynamic visualization of vocal melody, and proposed audio feature extraction based on auto correlation function (ACF) and improved ACF algorithm. The improved ACF algorithm was more efficient in extracting audio features, which was also conducive to the dynamic visualization of vocal music melody. The experimental results in this paper showed that the extraction time of ACF algorithm and improved ACF algorithm on MIR-1K dataset was 10.8s and 3.6s respectively when the pitch was 180, and the extraction time of ACF algorithm and improved ACF algorithm on MedleyDB dataset was 12.3s and 2.8s respectively when the pitch was 180. It can be found that the extraction time of the improved ACF algorithm was less than that of the ACF algorithm, which also showed that the improved ACF algorithm had higher extraction efficiency.

Abstract As an emerging form of cultural exchange, Chinese female-lead internet literature (CFIL, female-oriented label) is in the process of rapid global dissemination, yet its reception in the English-speaking world has received less scholarly attention than male-lead works (male-oriented label). This study examines the reception of CFIL on WebNovel, the first official platform for the English translation and licensed distribution of Chinese internet literature. Drawing on metadata from the platform’s most influential titles and a stratified corpus of reader reviews, it employs sentiment, keyword, and collocation analyses to identify evaluative dimensions. The findings show strong engagement in urban romance and fantasy genres, with positive responses highlighting coherent plots, independent heroines, and readable translations supported by frequent updates. Negative responses stress repetitive storylines, stereotyped female portrayals, and frustration with the pay-to-unlock model. The analysis suggests that WebNovel displays certain heterotopian features, offering a digital space where narratives of female empowerment circulate across languages and cultures, while remaining entangled with commercial formulas and occasional traces of gender ideology. Although CFIL resonates internationally through resilient heroines and accessible translations, its wider recognition is limited by thematic homogeneity and platform commercialization. To achieve sustainable growth and greater literary recognition, CFIL needs more diversified themes, refined narrative strategies, and professionalized translation practices. Methodologically, the study shows that corpus-based analysis of user reviews provides reproducible insights while supporting interpretive close reading. By situating translated CFIL within the context of digital literature, the article highlights its significance as both a medium of cross-cultural exchange and a site of gendered cultural production.

The issue of environmental sustainability appears increasingly central and strategic in the definition of economic growth policies both in the European and the Italian legal landscape. In the private sector, the issue of the principles and values to which the acts must adjust has been proposed above all for the regulation of contract law and the classic notion of contract is thus insufficient, if not complemented by the principles of solidarity, subsidiarity and sustainability as shown in the example of the “ecological” energy performance contract. In the field of renewable energy, we are witnessing a gradual process of conversion of energy production and exchange systems from centralised models to decentralised models, where the new legal entities of the prosumer (consumer-producer) and the citizens’ energy/social communities emerge. Starting from the role of the energy consumer as an “actor” and not as a “passive spectator” of this transformation, we address the issue of Sustainable Smart Cities where the new legal forms of energy production and exchange constitute their infrastructures. Although the latter are still being tested, they seem to constitute the necessary sustainable evolution of urban realities. Sustainable development is also based on the concept of energy redevelopment, efficiency and digital energy.

It was a pleasure to read INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR by Wendy Chen and David Audretsch. Within the pages of 10 well-written chapters, the authors take the reader from a historical overview of the role of the public sector in socially important innovation to a meaningful appreciation of decades of academic and policy thought about the manifestation of entrepreneurial behavior within an innovation process. Chapter 2 asks the question: Where did public innovation begin? The authors are meticulous in their trace that begins with the ancient powers in the Mesopotamian Region and with the establishment of the National Science Foundation in the United States. This is the most comprehensive such history that I have seen, and it offers appropriate context for the topics that follow. Chapter 3 addresses new frontiers in public innovation that have been brought about through digitization. All forms of electric information exchanges are described, in an evolutionary perspective, in a readable and understandable manner. Others will likely rely on this foundation to begin their own study of quantum technologies and the role of the public sector in its development. Hinting at the inevitable, namely policies to enhance entrepreneurial-based public innovation, collaboration is the topic of Chapter 4. It is touted as a mechanism for the exchange of information that is needed to develop entrepreneurial perceptions for potential government innovation. The authors make the case that government can advocate collaboration as well as facilitate collaborations in which it itself participates. The direction that public innovation should proceed to maximize the social impact of new innovative technology is the topic of Chapter 5. And the key takeaway from this chapter, again with an eye toward public policy, is that the role of government is to enhance bottom-up approaches for the creation of new innovations. This so-called democratic perspective eschews government picking winner and loser technologies. That perspective forms the scope of Chapter 6. In what might be called a forward looking perspective by the authors who come from different disciplines, an innovation ecosystem is set forth in Chapter 7. A hallmark of the strength of such an ecosystem will be for the government training of public entrepreneurs, which will require a culture change for the public domain. This view is set forth in a justifiable manner. Drawing on the demonstrated expertise of other notables who are introduced in Chapter 8, the authors offer a roadmap for how to increase an entrepreneurial ecosystem and environment that fosters public entrepreneurs. As expected, that roadmap begins with a change in governmental culture that would initiate incentives through organizational leadership. And, before a final summary chapter, the authors demonstrate their own insight by offering a detailed discussion of the challenges a government faces in managing an entrepreneurial innovation nexus. This objective approach to the arguments set forth in the earlier chapters is to be applauded, as is the entire book.

ABSTRACT Police agencies continually struggle to attract and retain officers. Social exchange theory, suggesting that employees develop expectations of reciprocity with employers, provides one lens to examine such efforts. This work assesses 29 financial tactics, identified through a systematic review of sources, that police agencies may use to recruit and retain officers. It reports practitioner perceptions regarding these tactics on workforce levels, workload management, speed of impact, ease of implementation, agency costs, quality of police work, officer diversity, and community policing. It suggests that financial tactics providing the most direct, tangible benefits to employees (e.g. pay and retirement plans) may be the most effective form of social exchange between agencies and officers. For several tactics, agencies may need to consider the trade-off between investment and effect. Given the exploratory nature of this inquiry, future research may assess perceptions among broader or systematically selected samples or the actual effectiveness of tactics.

Sulfamethazine (SMZ) has become a widespread pollutant in aquatic environments, posing serious ecological risks and contributing to the development of antimicrobial resistance. Conventional water treatment techniques are generally inefficient at eliminating such pharmaceuticals; however, adsorption using polymeric resins offers a promising alternative. This study investigates the removal of SMZ using a strong acid cation-exchange resin (Purolite C100E). Batch experiments were conducted to examine the influence of key operational parameters, including pH, contact time, resin dosage, temperature, stirring speed, exchangeable cation form, and the presence of a co-adsorbate. Equilibrium isotherm experiments were performed using initial SMZ concentrations in the range of 20–280 mg/L. Operating conditions (pH 5, resin dosage 1 g/L, and contact time 150 min) were selected to achieve high removal efficiency, while the intrinsic adsorption performance of the resin was evaluated using equilibrium isotherms. The adsorption data were best described by the Langmuir model, yielding a high maximum adsorption capacity (qm) of 338.92 ± 21.46 mg/g, which is superior to many previously reported adsorbents. Kinetic studies showed good agreement with the pseudo-second-order model, and thermodynamic analysis confirmed that the adsorption process is spontaneous and exothermic. FTIR analysis indicated that SMZ adsorption is mainly governed by hydrogen bonding and π–π interactions rather than electrostatic attraction. The resin exhibited good reusability over three adsorption–desorption cycles, and competitive adsorption tests demonstrated high selectivity toward SMZ. These results indicate that Purolite C100E is an efficient, selective, and reusable adsorbent for the removal of sulfonamide antibiotics from contaminated water.

ABSTRACT This paper presents the results of the first archaeological investigation at Andhūr (DMa0610), an inland site in the Wādī Andhūr oasis, Dhofar, southern Oman. Excavations revealed a multi‐phase occupation dated to the second part of the first century BCE , centred on a two‐storey building constructed with the ‘sandwich’ masonry technique known from Sumhuram. Architectural and environmental evidence suggest that Andhūr served as a small Hadrami outpost strategically placed near permanent water sources and frankincense‐producing areas on the Nejd plateau. The recovery of edible marine shells points to regular contacts between the coast and the interior. Four inscriptions link Andhūr to wider South Arabian networks and reflect forms of exchange, of people and goods, extending beyond maritime trade. The site offers new insight into Hadrami inland strategies and their engagement with Dhofari populations, helping to define more clearly the complex system of cultural interactions that characterised Dhofar during the Late Iron Age.

This paper argues that al-Ghazali’s (1058–1111) distinction between taqlid (uncritical acceptance of authority) and ijtihad (independent reasoning) can offer a normative response to the contemporary challenge of fake news, thereby connecting a medieval epistemic framework to a pressing twenty-first-century problem. This study treats fake news as both an epistemic and an ethical challenge. Epistemically, fake news undermines the aim of belief, which is the aspiration toward truth, by introducing and sustaining falsehoods within the testimonial networks on which individuals depend for knowledge. Ethically, it constitutes a form of deception that manipulates audiences, corrodes intellectual virtues such as honesty, and disintegrates the trust between individuals and public institutions that is essential for collective life. Methodologically, this paper adopts an analytical–critical approach. It examines recent philosophical literature on the epistemology of misinformation, reconstructs al-Ghazali’s taqlid–ijtihad framework from his original texts, and then adapts it to the conditions of digital information environments. The resulting model distinguishes between digital ijtihad, the responsible and competent verification of online information, and justified digital taqlid, the legitimate reliance on credible digital authorities when independent verification is impractical. The findings suggest that this adapted framework not only enriches contemporary epistemic theory but also offers practical normative guidance for cultivating responsible belief formation, including in educational contexts where teaching itself functions as a structured form of testimonial exchange.

Silicon-mediated alleviation of aluminum toxicity in Eucalyptus species: Distinct Al uptake, microbial and metabolic mechanisms in sensitive and tolerant species

ABSTRACT Disentangling the colonial residues that structure contemporary mental health is a central task for community psychology. Beyond postures of critique, the field requires generative, praxis‐based exemplars. This article presents a practice‐based analysis of the Ancestral Institute (AI) as a project of epistemic reconstruction: a community‐led effort to assemble a coherent psychological framework from Indigenous and diasporic foundations. Tracing AI's evolution (2022–2025), we detail a shift from decolonizing the content of mental health discourse to decolonizing the forms of knowledge exchange. This progression is mapped through AI's expansion from the Caribbean (Puerto Rico) into Central America (Belize), where community‐led governance further refined the framework. We propose Ancestral Systems Praxis (ASP) to name AI's synthesis of ritual, storytelling, and embodied practice that is oriented toward survivance, with core commitments in community psychology and psychosocial care. We also analyse the Wateke, arguing its application as participatory action research functions as both inquiry and praxis. Taken together, these features render AI an adaptable, community‐grounded approach for moving from critical diagnosis to constructive design, with implications for the evaluation of traditional healing systems, culturally anchored psychosocial treatments and policy.

This perspective interrogates the epistemological foundations of peer review in urban research journals through the concept of epistemic im/purity, the entrenched belief that valid knowledge should conform to supposedly objective and universal standards. Drawing on Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, it argues that some peer review practices trap scholars in a shadow world, privileging familiar paradigms while obscuring situated, plural, and justice-oriented forms of knowledge exchange. These dynamics expose a critical argument regarding reviewer competence: can mixed-methods research be evaluated without defaulting to disciplinary notions of purity, and are reviewers prepared to recognize when impurity itself becomes uncritical or functions merely as epistemic tokenism? Building on work on radical unknowability in complex urban systems, epistemic humility, and critiques of concentrated authority in peer review, the paper moves from critique to construction. It treats both humility and impurity as practices of epistemic care, highlighting impurity’s liberating potential when cultivated through thoughtful, situated, and reflexive engagement.

The purpose of the article is to study artistic practices and the role of artistic and musical interpretations in shaping students’ artistic thinking. The research methodology is based on a combination of theoretical analysis and practical comparative study of artistic works. For the analysis of O. Shupliak’s work, visual and interpretative analysis was applied, allowing an assessment of the development of students’ imaginative, spatial, and associative thinking. For the study of performances of V. Ivasiuk’s song ‘I Will Go to the Distant Mountains’, a comparative analysis of interpretations in different performances (the author, K. Cisyk and the Homin Choir) was used, taking into account aesthetics, historical, and sociocultural context. The interdisciplinary approach integrates art studies, musicology, psychology of perception, and pedagogy. The methodology of the interactive art project includes work analysis, discussion, reflection, and interdisciplinary connections. The scientific novelty of the study lies in demonstrating that artistic practices have significant pedagogical potential, contribute to the development of visual and auditory thinking, interpretive skills, analytical listening, and also foster national identity and value orientations among students. The scientific component of the research focuses on identifying interdisciplinary links between art, cultural studies, psychology of perception, and pedagogy. Using the example of the work of the Ukrainian artist Oleh Shupljak, who works with optical illusions, and the interpretations of Ivasiuk’s song ‘I Will Go to the Distant Mountains’ performed by the author, K. Cisyk and the Homin Choir under the direction of V. Yatsenko, the study traces the interconnection between art, science, and the educational process. Conclusions. Artistic practices (as exemplified by the work of O. Shupliak and the analysis of various performance interpretations of the song ‘I Will Go to the Distant Mountains’) are an effective tool for renewing the educational process, as they combine analytical and emotional perception and contribute to the development of imaginative, spatial, and associative thinking among students. The use of optical illusions in teaching promotes the formation of visual literacy, observation skills, and interpretive abilities, while also demonstrating the potential for integrating art with the natural sciences (optics, psychology of perception, composition). A comparative analysis of the performances of Volodymyr Ivasiuk’s song ‘I Will Go to the Distant Mountains’ (in the versions by the author, Kvitka Cisyk, and the Homin Choir) illustrates the interrelation between music, sociocultural environment, and historical time. Each interpretation reveals a distinct aesthetic type: Ivasiuk’s intimate authorial sincerity; Cisyk’s studio and academic aesthetics of the Western stage; and the collective folk expressiveness and symbolism of the Homin Choir. The comparison of the three performances fosters analytical listening, aesthetic taste, stylistic awareness, and understanding of interpretation as a form of thinking and cultural exchange. The integration of art, education, and science represents an effective model of the modern learning process, which unlocks students’ creative potential and develops their cultural competence and national self-awareness. The proposed art project ‘Interpretation in Revealing Artistic Images’ can serve as a practical tool for developing students’ interdisciplinary skills through the integration of visual and musical arts, as well as analytical and creative methods.

Wildfires in radiologically contaminated areas have raised concerns about radionuclide redistribution and increased radiation exposure. Most radionuclides, such as radiocesium (137Cs), remain in the charred residues and burned soil even after wildfires. This study investigated the impact of wildfires on 137Cs speciation in forest litter and soils following the Fukushima nuclear accident. Extraction tests of 137Cs from unburned litter and soil artificially combusted at 250, 375, and 500 °C were conducted. 137Cs leaching from charred residues and burned soil collected from the field after the wildfires was tested. Sequential extraction was performed on soil obtained after the fire. The results indicated that water-soluble 137Cs from burned litter increased with combustion temperature. However, in artificially combusted soil, the release of water-soluble 137Cs was significantly reduced. In the field, 137Cs leaching from charred residues was lower than that from unburned litter. The fraction of water-soluble 137C in burned soil did not differ significantly from that in unburned soil. This suggests that the combustion temperature was relatively low and insufficient to promote significant leaching or soil drying. Furthermore, the combustion of soil organic matter may have altered the exchangeable form of 137Cs. Overall, these findings suggest that wildfires enhance 137Cs retention in soil, potentially delaying its release.

The amount of potassium (K⁺) that plants can use might not be fully shown by exchangeable potassium numbers, since this method doesn't take into account the effect of non-exchangeable potassium (NEK). K⁺ availability and release in soils can be assessed through quantity-intensity (Q/I) relationships. A study was conducted in the calcareous regions of Muzaffarpur district, Bihar, focusing on the potassium concentrations in rice roots, shoots, and grains, as well as various soil characteristics. 92 samples were analyzed to determine the different K⁺ forms present in the soil as well as assessed NEK reserves and Q/I isotherms. The potential buffering capacity of Zone 1 (24.87cmol kg-1 (mol L-1)-1/2) was higher than Zone 2 (21.67 cmol kg-1 (mol L-1)-1/2). Zone 1 exhibits an elevated equilibrium activity ratio (ARe0K) than Zone 2. The free energy values suggest that soil from both zones has moderate to significant K+ deficiencies. A positive correlation was observed between the exchangeable and NEK forms of K+ and Step-K and CR-K. AReK exhibited a positive correlation with K+ saturation, K0, -ΔG, KL, KV, and KKDO. The potassium concentration in rice is greatest in the grains, followed by the shoots, and least in the roots. Zone 1 soil exhibited the highest availability of potassium. Random Forest models accurately predict potassium availability and uptake, thereby enhancing soil fertility and precision agriculture, which in turn leads to improved crop yields and soil health. Consequently, comprehending the dynamics of potassium release and availability in calcareous soils, is essential for effective fertilizer management.

Abstract. The exchange of adaptation-relevant climate information between scientists, stakeholders and the general public is marked by a gap between user needs and provided information. This multidimensional gap can be described in terms of temporal and spatial scales, variable selection, specificity of needs, and consideration of uncertainty. To bridge this gap, we argue for a multi-way format of co-creating (a) a viable form of information exchange and (b) the relevant information itself, while recognising the needs of users and capabilities of providers. This is to ensure that relevant information can be provided to users who are motivated to apply them. We here describe the offer-need gap in the Main River catchment (central Germany), which is increasingly characterized by climate change and user-induced water scarcity, and present a framework for bridging the gap in stakeholder dialogues.

The research highlights the increasing importance of international electronic commerce as a modern form of global exchange, demonstrating its potential to enhance trade efficiency and connectivity across borders. The study also examines the evolution of China’s foreign economic policy, identifying its strategic shifts and assessing their impact on trade relations with Central Asian countries.A detailed analysis of China’s trade with Central Asian nations reveals key trends, challenges, and opportunities in bilateral and multilateral economic cooperation. The study further evaluates the role of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as a transformative force in regional and global trade, emphasizing its contribution to infrastructure development and trade facilitation.

Local public servants are facing a range of challenges including recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, austerity, the cost of living crisis, and rising awareness of systemic inequalities. They have to work with partners in complex systems to support people holistically and inclusively. This article summarises research done in 2014 and again in 2024 to understand what it means to be an effective public servant. As well as sharing our key findings, the article highlights how the use of rich pictures to present the work to the sector gave the research a formative rather than summative quality. The work changed and insights deepened through ongoing dialogue with people working in local government, police, fire and health services. Across five projects (two with public servants, two with councillors and one on Covid-19), the common theme has been storytelling as a form of knowledge exchange.

International student mobility is a central feature of modern diplomatic and economic relations between states. In the case of Canada–India relations, Indian students are by far the largest category of students in Canada’s international student population and are an important source of revenue for institutions and of labor supply for the market. This said, this type of transnational exchange is extremely susceptible to geopolitical shocks. The study examines the crisis in Canada-India relations, 2023-2025, through the prism of Indian student mobility to Canada-a domain that had hitherto received limited scholarly attention despite its high value in economic and strategic terms. Drawing on qualitative content analysis of government statements, media coverage, and policy assessments, the study identifies diplomatic expulsions, visa disruptions, and political uncertainty as significantly undermining pathways into student mobility. These disruptions have prompted enrolment deferrals, institutional strain, and growing uncertainty among prospective students around safety, reception, and post-graduation opportunities. Results show that international education operates not only as a form of social exchange but also as a politically contingent sector susceptible to diplomatic conflict. This paper argues that prolonged geopolitical tension threatens to structurally reshape the destination preferences of Indian students, with long-term consequences for Canada’s higher education system and its global competitiveness.

Technological advances have influenced and changed cultural heritage in the galleries, libraries, archives, and museums (GLAM) sector by facilitating new forms of experimentation and knowledge exchange. In this context, this paper explores the evolving practice of archaeological facial depiction using AI-powered deepfake avatar creator software programs, such as Epic Games’ MetaHuman Creator (MHC), which offer new affordances in terms of agility, realism, and engagement, and build upon traditional workflows involving the physical sculpting or digital modelling of faces from the past. Through a case-based approach, we illustrate these affordances via real-world applications, including four-dimensional portraits, multi-platform presentations, Augmented Reality (AR), and enhanced audience interaction. We consider the limitations and challenges of these digital avatar systems, such as misrepresentation or cultural insensitivity, and we position this advanced technology within the broader context of digital heritage, considering both the technical possibilities and ethical concerns around synthetic representations of individuals from the past. Finally, we propose that the use of MHC is not a replacement for current practice, but rather an augmentation, expanding the potential for storytelling and public learning outcomes in the GLAM sector, as a result of increased efficiency and new forms of public engagement.