The midface, encompassing the nose, nasolabial folds, and cheeks, plays a central role in facial harmony and perceived youthfulness. Midface aging involves skeletal remodeling, fat compartment atrophy, and ligamentous laxity, which vary across ethnic and cultural groups. To describe the anatomical and ethnic variations that influence midface aging and to outline evidence-based strategies for individualized, culturally sensitive rejuvenation. An expert panel of dermatologists, oculoplastic, and plastic surgeons reviewed current anatomical, anthropometric, and clinical data, integrating findings from global literature and market research on aesthetic preferences across diverse populations. Distinct ethnic patterns of midface aging were identified, including variable maxillary retrusion, fat redistribution, and nasal morphology. Rejuvenation strategies such as hyaluronic acid fillers, poly-l-lactic acid biostimulators, and selective use of autologous fat grafting provide structural support and restore contour. Complementary resurfacing techniques-chemical peels and fractional lasers-can improve skin texture and enhance volumetric outcomes within a holistic treatment plan. Midface assessment must integrate anatomical precision with cultural awareness. Combining volumetric restoration, surface rejuvenation, and individualized aesthetic goals yields natural, balanced results that respect each patient's ethnic identity and personal ideals.

Hidden Hazard: The detrimental effect of personal care products on amphibian species.

The field of theranostics is experiencing rapid growth, driven by the expanding pipeline of radiopharmaceutical therapies and increasing clinical demand. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the current financial landscape, coding and reimbursement strategies, and long-term planning considerations required to financially support clinical theranostics programs in the United States. Emphasis is placed on accurate Current Procedural Terminology and Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System coding, engagement with stakeholders, and the importance of compliance, billing accuracy, and infrastructure investment. Key areas such as dosimetry, amino acid infusion billing, Evaluation and Management codes, and leverage of 340B pricing are explored. The paper also outlines tools and resources available to support correct coding and operational success and provides guidance for projecting a 5-y budget necessary for scaling programs to meet anticipated global market growth of and patient demand for theranostics. The goal is to equip nuclear medicine and theranostics professionals and hospital leaders with practical insights for building financially viable and sustainable theranostics programs that can meet future demand.

Modelling the impact of vaccination on cholera transmission dynamics under stratified populations and seasonality.

ABSTRACT This study applies an evolutionary approach to examine how economic crises and other factors shape economic diversification in the Baltic States. Using a logit model, new specialization entries in export portfolios from 1995 to 2022 are analyzed. The results show that the probability of market entry in related products increases significantly during a downturn. The Baltic economies also diversify into more complex, less-related products, suggesting a break from path dependency. Greater capital intensity and public investment in research and development foster diversification, while global export market size constrains it, highlighting barriers to entering major export markets.

In the context of globalization and the rapid development of Internet technology, cross-border e-commerce has become an important part of contemporary international trade. However, this growth has not been without challenges, as cross-border transactions often give rise to complex e-commerce disputes that traditional dispute resolution mechanisms struggle to deal with. The study first provides an in-depth exploration of the various types and unique characteristics of cross-border e-commerce disputes, highlighting the shortcomings of traditional resolution methods. Then, the focus of this study turns to the construction of a diversified dispute resolution mechanism specifically targeted at the cross-border e-commerce environment. This mechanism covers a range of online resolution paths, including negotiation, mediation and arbitration, all adapted for the online realm. This study analyzes the effectiveness of these online resolution paths. The ODR platform in Guangzhou Comprehensive Pilot Zone not only improves the efficiency and fairness of cross-border e-commerce dispute resolution, but also provides solid support for the stability and prosperity of the global e-commerce market. The results show that they have significant advantages in improving dispute resolution efficiency and reducing overall costs. Although the online resolution path provides an effective and convenient means to handle cross-border e-commerce disputes, it needs to be continuously improved and adjusted to adapt to the continuous development of cross-border e-commerce in the context of globalization.

Bangladesh’s software industry has emerged as one of the fastest-growing contributors to the digital economy, supported by an increasingly tech-savvy youth population and global outsourcing opportunities. However, unlike its neighbors and competitors, Bangladesh lacks a dedicated software regulator and comprehensive regulatory framework. This vacuum has led to significant risks including revenue leakages, weak consumer protection, unmonitored exports, and vulnerability to cyber threats. The absence of a clear governance structure not only hinders investor confidence but also undermines the country’s long-term ambition to transform into a “Smart Bangladesh.” By comparing Bangladesh with India, Singapore, and the European Union, this paper demonstrates how the absence of regulation has already cost the nation billions in untapped revenues and global market share. It proposes the creation of a Bangladesh Software Regulatory Authority (BSRA), drafting of a Software Act, integration with international standards, implementation of revenue monitoring systems, and adoption of a regulatory sandbox for innovation. The study concludes that without urgent reforms, Bangladesh risks losing its competitive advantage in the global technology race.

This research examines how multinational corporations (MNCs) have contributed to the reproduction of neocolonial formations in Africa, with a focus on how these patterns of colonialism have been reproduced using the process of economic domination, resource abduction and political pressure. These are the main aims to critically evaluate the implications of MNCs on African sovereignty and development pathways and to explore the currents of local resistance and policy contingencies. The study uses a qualitative methodological framework, and it builds on case studies in Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Ethiopia, where it examines documents and secondary data. Theoretical scaffolding is based on postcolonial and dependency paradigms, which highlight structural injustice of colonial antecedents and perpetuated by modern global capitalist systems. The importance of the study is in the fact that it contributes to a deeper analysis of the socio-economic and political influence of MNCs in the context of the globalization process, both predicting the counter-strategies and reforms. Significant evidence reveals the misuse of weak regulatory frameworks by MNCs which leads to environmental degradation, labour violations and displacement of the community hence compromising the sustainability of development. The protests of indigenous people, legal obstacles, and pan-African programs including the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) are all examples of the growing movements to reclaim economic sovereignty. However, gaps exist in the research on assessment of the long-term consequences on institutional capacity and community resilience. The research study finds that without strong mechanisms of governance and clear policies that are established and implemented, MNC dominance will continue to reinforce inequality and dependency. Some of the proposals include strengthening regulatory frameworks, supporting transparency, economic models that are community-based, and Pan-African economic integration as a means of achieving equitable development.

The article considers theoretical and methodological foundations of military-technical cooperation of the Russian Federation with foreign countries, analyzes the current state of the global market of armaments and military equipment and the dynamics of its development in 2021–2024. Special attention is devoted to the economic aspects of military-technical cooperation of the Russian Federation in modern conditions. The authors illustrate that its further development and increase in Russia's export earnings can be achieved through planning and implementation of a set of measures, including the growth of direct supplies of military products, the development of alternative financial and economic trade mechanisms, the use of digital assets and cryptocurrencies, the comprehensive expansion of participation of allied countries in integration associations and a series of others, including the expansion of cooperation in providing services for the standardization of armaments and military equipment.

Eggplant possesses high economic value with various nutritional contents such as minerals and vitamins that are benefical for human health. However, productivity decline due to environmental stress poses a challenge in global market demand fulfillment. The application of biostimulants represents one solution to enhance the growth and yield of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.). This research aimed to examine the effect and optimal concentration of biostimulant application on eggplant plants. The study was conducted in cultivation fields located in Nanggela Village, Kuningan Regency, West Java, from July to October 2025. This experiment used Randomized Block Design (RBD) with nine biostimulant concentration treatments and three replications, resulting in 27 experimental plots, each measuring 3,5 x 1,5 meters, consisting 14 plants and a 50 cm spacing between plots, 50 cm spacing between plants, and 60 cm spacing between rows. The vegetative phase observation parameters included root length, root volume, plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, leaf area, leaf area index, plant dry weight, and relative growth rate, while the generative phase parameters included number of fruits, fruit diameter, fruit length, fruit weight, and yield weight per plant. The data obtained were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), followed by the Scott-Knott cluster analyses to determind significant differences among treatments. The results showed that biostimulants had a significant effect on growth and development aspects. Specifically, biostimulant application significantly affected both vegetative and generative parameters. The best vegetative characteristics were obtained in K1 (1,0 ml/l), K2 (1,5 ml/l), and K3 (2,0 ml/l) treatments, while the optimal generative characteristics were produced in K1 (1,0 ml/l), K2 (1,5 ml/l), K4 (2,5 ml/l), and K7 (4,0 ml/l) treatments.

This international community service program aimed to empower OTOP MSMEs in Samut Prakan, Thailand, by strengthening their digital marketing literacy as a pathway to global market access. Conducted on August 26, 2025, at the Bang Prong Subdistrict Administrative Organization Office, the program was a collaboration between the Doctoral Study Program in Management Science, Universitas Komputer Indonesia, and the Thai Global Business Administration Technological College. The activities included product exhibitions, production process demonstrations, and digital marketing workshops focusing on branding, social media content creation, and international promotion strategies. Evaluation through pre- and post-training surveys indicated significant improvements in three dimensions: understanding of digital marketing, ability to create engaging online content, and confidence in accessing global markets. Participants also reported enhanced entrepreneurial confidence and awareness of global market requirements. The findings highlight that digital marketing literacy is not merely a technical skill but a strategic driver for global competitiveness and cultural sustainability. This program demonstrates that community-based, cross-border collaborations can effectively equip entrepreneurs with the knowledge and skills necessary to expand their reach into international value chains while preserving local identity. Keywords: OTOP, digital marketing literacy, MSMEs, global market access, community service.

ABSTRACT Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) has generated a long afterlife across global media, extending from literature to theater, film, and fandom. Its Korean musical adaptation, Dorian Gray: A New Musical (2016), illustrates how queer aesthetics are reconfigured under the logics of commercial entertainment and cultural export. This article examines the production through Alan Bryman's concept of Disneyfication, which describes how complex cultural material is sanitized, themed, and repackaged for mass consumption. The musical stages homoerotic intimacy between Dorian and Basil with unprecedented explicitness in the Korean context, yet simultaneously neutralizes queer politics by framing Dorian's queerness as the result of supernatural possession rather than desire. Idol casting and aesthetic spectacle position queerness as consumable fantasy for domestic fujoshi audiences and as a pinkwashed marker of progressiveness for international markets. Drawing on reviews, fan responses, and broader scholarship on commodified queer visibility, the article demonstrates how queerness in the musical is rendered hyper‐visible but politically impotent. By embedding homoerotic spectacle within idol‐centered fan economies and hybrid consumption practices, the production exemplifies how Korea's K‐musical industry navigates the tensions between domestic conservatism, global marketability, and the commodification of LGBTQ+ representation.

This research focuses on analyzing the global company market capitalization dataset using the FP-Growth algorithm combined with a load-balancing constraint approach. The main objective is to identify association patterns among different market capitalization categories Small, Medium, Large, Mega, and Ultra to understand their distribution and interrelationships. The study begins with data preprocessing, cleaning, and categorization of companies based on their market values. The FP-Growth algorithm is applied with a minimum support threshold of 0.02, and a load balancing constraint is introduced by filtering rules with support ≥ 0.05 and lift > 1, ensuring balanced and significant association patterns. The analysis results show that the most dominant categories are Medium and Small, representing the majority of companies worldwide, while Large, Mega, and Ultra categories are relatively rare. The strongest rule indicates that countries with “Large” companies are very likely to also have “Small” and “Medium” companies. Evaluation metrics show an average lift of 1.171 and an average confidence of 1.000, confirming strong and reliable associations. Overall, this study provides insights into global market capitalization patterns and demonstrates the effectiveness of FP-Growth with constraints in revealing meaningful, balanced relationships within large-scale business data. Keywords – FP-Growth, Load Balancing Constraint, Market Capitalization, Association.

This study examines recent shifts in U.S. immigration policy, with particular attention to regulations governing the F-1 visa, and considers their implications for global STEM education and labor market dynamics. Growing uncertainty surrounding post-graduation employment and residency opportunities in the United States has led many international students to redirect their educational trajectories toward countries offering more predictable post-study pathways, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia. Such patterns signal not only changes in student mobility but also broader transformations in the distribution of scientific talent, the configuration of research networks, and the capacity for innovation across national contexts.

The pharmaceutical industry is a key global health actor given its crucial role in the development and testing of medicines. Within Latin America, Chile currently has the highest number of multinational commercial clinical trials per inhabitant, predominantly for oncological therapies. Insufficient attention has been paid to context-specific conditions that enable clinical trials' successful implementation in the Global South. In examining what makes Chile an attractive hub for commercial trials and why patients enroll in them, this study seeks to elucidate the interplay among the pharmaceutical industry, health systems, and societies. We analyze how trial providers, cancer practitioners, and patient participants draw from their own lived experience to make sense of local healthcare, health policies and global pharmaceutical market trends, amid global health crises. Using a critical political economy of global health framework, we conducted a critical ethnography in 2022-23 at a tertiary cancer center that is the lead recruiter of patients into oncology commercial trials in Santiago, Chile. In-depth interviews, participant observation, and document gathering were conducted, with materials analyzed through thematic content analysis using Nvivo12. Forty-seven subjects -fourteen patients, four caregivers, and twenty-nine providers- were interviewed and/or shadowed. The main theme, "A failed (health) system" reveals a perception that the growing presence of commercial clinical trials for advanced cancer works synergistically with a deficient health system. Subthemes of political economy levels of (mal)functioning, were grouped as follows: (i) the COVID-19 pandemic and the global organization of commercial trials; (ii) national factors (health services and post-trial access policies); and (iii) community/relational factors (palliative care and unaffordability of high-cost drugs). Clinical trials were experienced as an exit strategy from a broken healthcare system, even as participants regarded the pricing strategies of anticancer therapies acritically. The conditions that make Chile an attractive hub for cancer commercial clinical trials are determined by an interplay of global, national, and community-level structural arrangements between public and private actors. Chile serves as an important global health case study on the role of the pharmaceutical industry in capitalizing on systemic healthcare failures to advance clinical research on metastatic cancer.

Introduction The flat peach ( Prunus persica (L.) Batsch.), characterized by its oblate shape and determined by a known genetic inversion, is a high-value cultivar gaining global market share. Mapping the intellectual landscape of its research is crucial to consolidate knowledge and direct future scientific and breeding programs. Methods A comprehensive bibliometric analysis was conducted on a curated dataset of forty open-access research articles published between 2010 and 2024, sourced from Web of Science and Scopus. Following rigorous data deduplication, the bibliometrix R package was employed to analyze publication trends, collaboration networks, and keyword co-occurrence patterns. Collaboration networks were subsequently visualized and analyzed using VOSviewer. Results The analysis identified a striking surge in annual publications, particularly post-2019, underscoring growing interest. China was the unequivocal dominant force in production and citation impact. Key research themes clustered around “fruit quality,” “genetics,” and “postharvest physiology,” with “quality” exhibiting the strongest network centrality. The network analysis identified “flat peach” as a central hub, demonstrating the highest co-occurrence link strength and affirming its strong, multifaceted connections within the research domain. Discussion This first systematic bibliometric review delineates the rapid evolution of flat peach research, highlighting its core drivers and conceptual focus. The steep growth in output reflects rising academic and commercial interest. Critically, the analysis identifies significant gaps in molecular genomics, postharvest optimization, and climate resilience research. These findings provide a strategic, evidence-based roadmap to align future research priorities with market demands and sustainable cultivation challenges.

This paper presents the evaluation of the technological potential of old indigenous grapevine varieties, in the context of wine market globalization and climate change. Conducted between 2020-2024 in the Valea Călugărească viticultural center (Dealu Mare vineyard), the study focused on five traditional varieties: Bășicată, Gordin, Gordin gurguiat, Negru vîrtos and Vulpea. The results were compared with historical data from 1945 – 1956, when these varieties produced low-alcohol, low-acidity wines with limited character. The impact of climatic conditions during the analyzed period, marked by high heliothermal values and water stress, led to increased sugar levels in grapes. Based on the findings, two white wine varieties (Gordin and Gordin gurguiat) and one red wine variety (Negru vîrtos) were identified as having high-performance grape quality characteristics.

This study aims to analyze the market position and competitiveness of Indonesian areca nut exports in the global market using the Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) model. Indonesia has remained the dominant exporter of areca nut globally, holding over 50% of the market share from 2012 to 2024. However, recent fluctuations in export value and competition from other major exporters such as Myanmar, Thailand, and India highlight the need for a deeper understanding of market dynamics. The analysis utilizes secondary data under HS Code 080280, spanning the 2012–2024 period, and employs the Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR) approach to estimate own-price, cross-price, and expenditure elasticities. Results indicate that Indonesia’s areca nut exports are price inelastic, suggesting limited responsiveness to price changes. Cross-price elasticity values reveal complementary relationships with India and Myanmar, as well as a substitutive relationship with Thailand. Expenditure elasticity further classifies Indonesian areca nut as a normal good, in contrast to Thailand and Myanmar’s luxury classification, and India’s categorization as an inferior good. These findings provide critical insights for developing strategies to enhance the competitiveness and export performance of Indonesian areca nut in international markets.

Brazil, the world’s largest coffee producer and exporter, accounted for one-third of global coffee production in 2022, with a small portion being specialty coffee. This study aims to analyze the production areas, certifications adopted, cultivars used, processing methods, and the production chain of specialty coffee in Brazil, highlighting the challenges and opportunities. Data were collected from 175 farms associated with the Brazilian Specialty Coffee Association (BSCA), and analyzed. The state of Minas Gerais leads in specialty coffee production, supported by a well-structured supply chain. Most Brazilian specialty coffee producers have adopted the semidry processing method, either using this method alone or in combination with other methods. A high frequency of Arabica coffee cultivars with Coffea canephora introgression (e.g., derivatives of Híbrido de Timor and Icatu) was observed on farms, indicating that they have genetic potential for producing specialty coffees. The production of specialty coffees is still limited to a few producers due to the higher costs related to investments in equipment, certification, and traceability. Certifications play a crucial role in ensuring quality and sustainability, addressing environmental, social, and management aspects. These factors are essential for differentiating Brazilian specialty coffees in the global market, increasing their value and its selling price.

In recent years, the continuous escalation of trade frictions between China and the United States has had a profound impact on the economic pattern of China and even the world, and posed a challenge to the internationalization process of Chinese enterprises. Affected by the Sino-US trade friction, the uncertainty of the macroeconomic and trade environment between China and the United States has increased significantly. This paper first reviews and analyzes the root causes and evolution of Sino-US trade frictions. By analyzing the data released by the Statistical Bulletin of China's Outward Direct Investment, this paper reveals the multifaceted impact of Sino-US trade frictions on the scale, industry distribution, investment entities and geographical location selection of Chinese enterprises, and points out the challenges encountered by Chinese enterprises in M&A activities in the United States. Finally, this paper proposes strategies to deal with Sino-US trade frictions and promote the steady development of China's outward direct investment from four dimensions: trade consultation strategy, regional diversification of investment regions, corporate strategic adjustment and government policy guidance, aiming to seek new growth opportunities for Chinese enterprises in the global market, build lasting competitive advantages, and promote the stable growth of China's outward direct investment.