Mutual Exchange Research Articles

Application of quality indicators and critical lessons learned assessment as a research approach for the evaluation of rescue missions during terrorist attacks

In Wuerzburg, Germany, a terrorist attack and a killing rampage occurred five years apart (2016 and 2021). Following a structured evaluation of the rescue mission in 2016, a bundle of quality indicators and ten “lessons learned” were defined. Aim of the presented study was to compare the two rescue missions and to critically review the lessons learned from 2016 for their implementation and feasibility. An interdisciplinary and inter-professional group of experts analyzed the data using predefined quality indicators. All lessons defined in 2016 were critically reviewed and qualified as either lessons learned or lessons identified. While seven out of ten lessons were successfully implemented after 2016 (lessons learned), three lessons didn´t work and were recategorized as lessons identified (communication, zoning and the mutual exchange of different tactical approaches). Our results demonstrate that the conclusions drawn in 2016 have helped to improve the performance of the rescue forces in 2021. In addition, the identified lessons are now the basis for further improving emergency and disaster preparedness. It is important to understand, that the process of preparedness improvement is not completed with the definition of lessons identified. These must first be integrated into response plans and then trained intensively. A lesson identified only becomes a lesson learned once it has been successfully applied.

An approach of designing a child-height-assisted robot with semi-autonomous enhances social reciprocity for children with autism spectrum disorders

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often face significant challenges in social reciprocity, which involves the mutual exchange of social cues and interactions. This study investigates the potential of using a child-height assistive robot named Rudolf to enhance the social reciprocity skills of children with ASD. The research focused on two main questions: how the robot’s semi-autonomous functions influence the enhancement of social reciprocity and how its customizable features elicit and improve these skills. Rudolf was specifically designed to engage children with ASD in a structured, supportive environment, offering tailored interactions to practice social reciprocity. A multiple-probe design was employed over three months to evaluate the robot’s impact on the social skills of three participants with ASD. The study revealed significant improvements in the children’s social reciprocity, with participants demonstrating increased engagement, trust, and interaction within the robot-assisted environment. The customizable functionalities of Rudolf were particularly effective in eliciting and reinforcing interactive behaviors. This research highlights the potential of assistive robots, like Rudolf, in addressing the unique social challenges faced by individuals with ASD. The findings suggest that such robots, when designed with customizable, child-centered features, can significantly enhance social skills in this population. The study contributes to the development of tailored assistive technologies that improve social integration and overall quality of life for children with ASD.

Phenomenon of Screen Dance in the Context of Dialogism of Choreographic and Audiovisual Arts

The purpose of the article is to reveal the peculiarities of the phenomenon of screen dance in the context of dialogism of choreographic and audiovisual art. Research methodology. The method of analysis and synthesis was applied (to study the scientific literature on the research topic and identify the main concepts of screen dance), the terminological method (to clarify the concept of "screen dance"); the typological method and the method of historical and cultural analysis (to identify the peculiarities of the interaction of choreographic and audiovisual art in historical retrospect), the method of generalisation. Scientific novelty. The phenomenon of screen dance is studied in the context of dialogism of choreographic and audiovisual art in historical retrospect; the concept of "screen dance" has been clarified; the properties of screen dance are understood, the points of common influence and mutual exchange between film and dance are considered, which define it as an autonomous practice; little-known and unknown sources, as well as the results of research by modern foreign scientists, were introduced into scientific circulation. Conclusions. The study found that there are no strict criteria for defining screen dance in the scientific literature. During the historical development, this art form was usually denoted by a number of terms limited by indications of materiality (video dance, film dance, dance film), but it is screen dance that formulates the common denominator between them. Within the problematics of dialogism of choreographic and audiovisual art, screen dance can be considered as a form of research that studies the relationships between composition, choreographic language, and the meanings of body, movement, space, and time in the context of contemporary debates about cultural practices. Screen dance can take many forms and features and cross genres, with no limits on how it can be produced, filmed, edited and distributed. The coexistence of choreographic and audiovisual in the concept of screen dance is characterised by a constant dynamic interaction, the specifics of which are determined by innovative technological inventions and trends in the socio-cultural space.

Surviving Exile. Queer Displaced People’s Lived Experiences of Aid, Risks and Coping in Kakuma

This paper examines the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ displaced individuals in Kakuma refugee camp, Kenya. Drawing on situated knowledge and relational agency, it delves into how queer people experience the humanitarian-aid system on-site, what risks they encounter, and how they exert agency to cope with the prevalent challenges of day to day life. Findings reveal that, in a country context where same-sex relations are illegalized and queer people criminalized, those displaced face heightened risks. They are confronted with the heteronormative paradigms inherent to the humanitarian-aid system, ones resulting in their neglect and denied access to much-needed assistance and protection. Structural and physical violence such as discrimination, exclusion, harassment and threats of murder exacerbate unrelenting fears and tangible risks in the camp. To navigate these challenges, they employ diverse individual and especially collective coping strategies, creating safe spaces for mutual support, exchange and hope.

New paradigms shift in buildings: experimental application of Digital Twin for safety and well-being

Abstract Enhancing durability and service life of buildings and components is pivotal for sustainable development. It constitutes an opportunity to reduce energy consumption, carbon emissions and life cycle impact of buildings in a climate neutral perspective. Issues strongly introduced and set as priorities by EU policies that highlight the urgent need to tackle them also through deeply heritage renovation and digital transformation in the building sector. Digitalization is a cornerstone of this transformation, instrumental in facilitating and enabling it sustainably. The Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) are directly associated with new technological potential and emerging technologies. Digital Twin (DT) approach appears alongside these. Its experimentation and widespread application are gaining prominence in innovating Life Cycle Management (LCM) and sustainability practices of buildings. In this scenario the paper explores the role and potentialities of DT approach presenting the experimental application of the DT4SEM. A digital infrastructure that, by integrating Internet of Things (IoT), synchronizes a physical building with its virtual counterpart. The two realities (physical and virtual) remain interconnected through the mutual exchange of data, both in real-time and asynchronously enabling proactive monitoring and analysis of seismic behaviour. The experimental setup involves simultaneously Big Data analytics, simulation tools and deploying sensors within the sample building. Data is then fed into the virtual DT model, allowing for continuous comparison and analysis to detect anomalies and predict potential risks. This approach facilitates enhanced decision-making, performance optimization and sustainability improvements across the building’s lifecycle: a new vision for built environment management that evolves from a process resulting in a sequence of operative phases into a complex digital infrastructure. The design of the DT4SEM and the current application for seismic monitoring in buildings, results from a collaborative effort involving the academic spinoff BIG srl, the startup Sysdev, the company Berna Engineering srl, and ACCA Software spa.

Asymmetry and Imbalance in Trade between East and West in the 1980s

An analysis of the development of East-West trade in the 1980s and earlier allows us to draw a conclusion about the imbalance in the importance of mutual economic relations at that time. This imbalance was multi-faceted and manifested itself in, e.g., imbalance in the structure of trade in goods, payment asymmetry, as well as various motives of OECD and Comecon countries when making decisions on mutual exchange. The imbalance in the commodity structure of the East-West mutual trade reflected the fact that complementary goods were exchanged instead of, as was the case in countries characterized by a modern exchange structure, substitute products. The complementary nature of East-West trade meant that the exports of the socialist countries to the markets of the Western countries encompassed, to a large extent, different commodity groups than the imports of the Comecon countries from this area. While exports from socialist countries consisted mainly of goods with a relatively low degree of processing, the exports of capitalist countries to their Eastern partners encompassed mainly finished products with a significant degree of processing and the involvement of modern technological thought.

Institutional approach for ecotourism collaboration between South Korea and Japan: exploration of criteria for ecotourism joint-certification

ABSTRACT Domestic and international tourism, which was limited due to the pandemic, has exploded since 2023, with neighboring South Korea and Japan experiencing a high rate of mutual tourism exchanges. Ecotourism, which is differentiated from mass tourism, is receiving renewed attention. This study proposes a joint-certification standard that ensures high satisfaction and a desirable ecotourism foundation. Through stakeholder engagement and field research in representative areas, 19 certification criteria across 7 categories were developed, emphasizing resource conservation, tourist management, and community involvement. During this process, both nations proposed joint support measures for promotion and explanation and the creation of platforms for sharing expertise between regions. Importantly, the introduction of ecotourism joint-certification is expected to enhance international exchanges, increase tourist satisfaction, secure economic foundations for regions, and improve trust between countries.

Health information sharing – conceptual clarification and exploratory analysis in the context of mammography screening

Introduction. Information sharing is an important but under researched type of health information behaviour. In this study, we explore the characteristics of sharing behaviours, their reasons and determinants in the context of mammography screening. Method. We conducted a two-wave online survey with N = 1,136 women. In the first wave, women saw an invitation letter to mammography screening and behavioural determinants were captured with established scales. In the second wave, women reported on their information behaviour between the two waves, combining standardized and open-ended questions. Analysis. We performed qualitative content analysis and a stepwise logistic regression analysis. Results. About one-fifth of the sample shared information on mammography between the two survey waves. Qualitative results revealed different causes and purposes of information sharing. Quantitative results showed that issue importance, opinion leadership and different types of information retrieval were related to information sharing. Conclusions. The results shed light on two facets for the conceptual clarification of health information sharing: sharing in the sense of selecting and passing on information (cf. diffusion of information by opinion leaders) and sharing as the mutual exchange of opinions and experiences. Both facets should be considered to comprehensively examine health information sharing behaviours and their relation with informed decision-making.

Bidirectional Decoupled Distillation for Heterogeneous Federated Learning.

Federated learning enables multiple devices to collaboratively train a high-performance model on the central server while keeping their data on the devices themselves. However, due to the significant variability in data distribution across devices, the aggregated global model's optimization direction may differ from that of the local models, making the clients lose their personality. To address this challenge, we propose a Bidirectional Decoupled Distillation For Heterogeneous Federated Learning (BDD-HFL) approach, which incorporates an additional private model within each local client. This design enables mutual knowledge exchange between the private and local models in a bidirectional manner. Specifically, previous one-way federated distillation methods mainly focused on learning features from the target class, which limits their ability to distill features from non-target classes and hinders the convergence of local models. To solve this limitation, we decompose the network output into target and non-target class logits and distill them separately using a joint optimization of cross-entropy and decoupled relative-entropy loss. We evaluate the effectiveness of BDD-HFL through extensive experiments on three benchmarks under IID, Non-IID, and unbalanced data distribution scenarios. Our results show that BDD-HFL outperforms state-of-the-art federated distillation methods across five baselines, achieving at most 3% improvement in average classification accuracy on the CIFAR-10, CIFAR-100, and MNIST datasets. The experiments demonstrate the superiority and generalization capability of BDD-HFL in addressing personalization challenges in federated learning.

Revisiting directionality in China's “outward translation”

AbstractDirectionality in translation traditionally refers to whether translation occurs from the translator's second language into their first or vice versa. This paper seeks to broaden the concept of directionality in translation by examining China's “outward translation” (i.e., the translation of works for readers outside of China), and goes beyond linguistic inquiries to encompass multifaceted dimensions related to global cultural exchange. By exploring outward translation within the Chinese context, this study contends that research on directionality should transcend mere linguistic considerations and embrace a more comprehensive analysis. Drawing insights from the Chinese perspective and employing a spatial conceptualization, this paper posits that outward translation operates within a dialogical space characterized by mutual exchange and engagement between the source culture and the target culture. Within this dynamic space, translation agents (including translators, publishers, patrons, and so on) from both source and target cultures interact, fostering reciprocal relationships and facilitating cultural dialogue. In conclusion, the paper argues that outward translation should be better defined and understood as an area of research with the potential to address the imbalanced global translation flows from English to other less‐translated languages, thereby facilitating more diverse and inclusive global knowledge production and dissemination.

Role of bacterial pathogens in microbial ecological networks in hydroponic plants.

Plant-associated microbial communities are crucial for plant growth and health. However, assembly mechanisms of microbial communities and microbial interaction patterns remain elusive across vary degrees of pathogen-induced diseases. By using 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing technology, we investigated the impact of wildfire disease on the microbial composition and interaction network in plant three different compartments. The results showed that pathogen infection significantly affect the phyllosphere and rhizosphere microbial community. We found that the primary sources of microbial communities in healthy and mildly infected plants were from the phyllosphere and hydroponic solution community. Mutual exchanges between phyllosphere and rhizosphere communities were observed, but microbial species migration from the leaf to the root was rarely observed in severely infected plants. Moreover, wildfire disease reduced the diversity and network complexity of plant microbial communities. Interactions among pathogenic bacterial members suggested that Caulobacter and Bosea might be crucial "pathogen antagonists" inhibiting the spread of wildfire disease. Our study provides deep insights into plant pathoecology, which is helpful for the development of novel strategies for phyllosphere disease prediction or prevention.

Topotaxial mutual-exchange growth of magnetic Zintl Eu3In2As4 nanowires with axion insulator classification.

Due to quasi-one-dimensional confinement, nanowires possess unique electronic properties, which can promote specific device architectures. However, nanowire growth presents paramount challenges, limiting the accessible crystal structures and elemental compositions. Here we demonstrate solid-state topotactic exchange that converts wurtzite InAs nanowires into Zintl Eu3In2As4. Molecular-beam-epitaxy-based in situ evaporation of Eu and As onto InAs nanowires results in the mutual exchange of Eu from the shell and In from the core. Therefore, a single-phase Eu3In2As4 shell grows, which gradually consumes the InAs core. The mutual exchange is supported by the substructure of the As matrix, which is similar across the wurtzite InAs and Zintl Eu3In2As4 and therefore is topotactic. The Eu3In2As4 nanowires undergo an antiferromagnetic transition at a Néel temperature of ~6.5 K. Ab initio calculations confirm the antiferromagnetic ground state and classify Eu3In2As4 as a C2T axion insulator, hosting both chiral hinge modes and unpinned Dirac surface states. The topotactic mutual-exchange nanowire growth will, thus, enable the exploration of intricate magneto-topological states in Eu3In2As4 and potentially in other exotic compounds.

Open Digital Health Workshops - A Model for Mutual Contact and Knowledge Exchange with the Local Community.

The increasing percentage of elderly in our society is challenging the health care system. To meet the challenge, we have implemented an experience-based master's programme in digital health care. The 3-yrs 90 ECTS programme consists of physical sessions of three days duration and weekly 2-3-hour digital lectures and bi-weekly supervisions. A main goal of the program has been to involve the students in relevant local and regional health problems as well as inviting health care personnel to participate in the planning of the study program, present relevant health problems and challenges and follow our open digital health workshops. In this way we have managed to create a stimulating learning environment for both students on further education and local and regional health care personnel.

Oxygen Substitution to Enhance Chemo-Mechanical Stability at the Cathode-Sulfide Electrolyte Interface in All-Solid-State Batteries.

The high interface resistance at the cathode-sulfide electrolyte interface is still a crucial drawback in an all-solid-state battery, unlike the initial expectation that the all-solid-state interface would enhance electrochemical stability by reducing side reactions at the interface. In this study, we examined the fundamental mechanism of unexpected reactions at the interface of LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NCM811) and argyrodite (Li6PS5Br0.5Cl0.5, LPSBC) sulfide solid electrolytes based on the combined method of multiscale simulations and electrochemical experiments. The high interface resistance originates from the formation of a passivating layer at the interface combined with irregular atomic and electronic structures, Li depletion, mutual element exchange, and mechanical contact loss between the oxide cathode and sulfide solid electrolyte. We also confirmed that these side reactions were suppressed by O substitutions to sulfide solid electrolyte (LPSOBC), and then the chemo-mechanical stability of the all-solid battery was enhanced by alleviating the side reactions at the interface. This study provides rational insights into the design of an interface for all-solid-state batteries.

Adaptation of the BaAl4 Type to Small Cations: The Case of NaGa4.

Single-phase NaGa4 samples were prepared by annealing stoichiometric element mixtures at 200 °C, 300 °C, and 450 °C in closed tantalum ampoules. No compositional homogeneity range was detected. While single crystals annealed at 200 °C feature a fully ordered crystal structure, a crystal annealed at 300 °C reveals a defect with mutual exchange of Na atoms and Ga2 dumbbells. The structure motif caused by the violation of translational symmetry resembles the CeMg2Si2 type of structure. The NaGa4 structure constitutes a branch of the BaAl4 type distinguished by a notably high c/a ratio (space group I4/mmm; a=4.2261(1) Å, c=11.2633(6) Å, c/a=2.67). This distortion enables the adaption of the BaAl4-type to small cations, when the further shortening of the apical-apical distance d(Ga-Ga) is not possible any more. Therefore, NaGa4 offers an adaption alternative to the monoclinic distortion observed in CaGa4 and YbGa4. Conductivity measurements validate the metallic behavior anticipated by NMR measurements in earlier studies.

Online_XKD: An online knowledge distillation model for underwater object detection

Underwater object detection in the field of computer vision faces unique challenges such as color distortion, reduced visibility, and blurred edges caused by aquatic conditions, which decrease the efficiency of traditional methods. Furthermore, the limited memory and computational power of underwater equipment necessitate the development of lightweight and efficient real-time monitoring algorithms. To address these issues, this paper designs an online knowledge distillation(KD) framework based on mutual knowledge transfer, named Online-XKD, which aims to enhance the efficiency and generalizability of knowledge distillation through mutual knowledge exchange while maintaining model lightweightness. The core idea of Online-XKD is an internally designed mutual knowledge transfer structure for online distillation within the detection head, which enhances learning outcomes by optimizing distillation efficiency and broadening generalizability. Additionally, we introduce a mask generation feature knowledge distillation architecture based on the backbone network, which significantly enhances the feature extraction capability of the student model by integrating mask masking and feature generation techniques. Moreover, by incorporating PSA and AUGFPN attention modules, the feature extraction capability in complex underwater environments is further enhanced without adding extra parameters, thereby improving detection accuracy. Experimental results on the URPC2020 dataset demonstrate that Online-XKD enhances the detection accuracy of the student model by 3.6 mAP, exceeding initial KD models by 3.3 mAP, and outperforming most existing KD methods in underwater detection tasks. These results confirm the effectiveness and superiority of Online-XKD in applications of underwater object detection, proving its practical significance and effectiveness in enhancing the feature extraction and generalization abilities of lightweight models.

Membrane vectorial lipidomic features of coral host cells’ plasma membrane and lipid profiles of their endosymbionts Cladocopium

The symbiotic relationships between coral animal host and autotrophic dinoflagellates are based on the mutual exchange and tight control of nutritional inputs supporting successful growth. The corals Sinularia heterospiculata and Acropora aspera were cultivated using a flow-through circulation system supplying seawater during cold and warm seasons of the year, then sorted into host cells and symbionts and subjected to phylogenetic, morphological, and advanced lipid analyses. Here we show, that the lipidomes of the dinoflagellates Cladocopium C1/C3 and acroporide-specific Cladocopium hosted by the corals, are determined by lipidomic features of different thermosensitivity and unique betaine- and phospholipid molecular species. Phosphatidylserines and ceramiaminoethylphosphonates are not detected in the symbionts and predominantly localized on the inner leaflet of the S. heterospiculata host plasma membrane. The transmembrane distribution of phosphatidylethanolamines of S. heterospiculata host changes during different seasons of the year, possibly contributing to mutualistic nutritional exchange across this membrane complex to provide the host with a secure adaptive mechanism and ecological benefits.

Patient participation-18 months of patient and staff perspectives in kidney care: A mixed methods study addressing the effects of facilitating staff person-centredness.

Patient participation should encapsulate the individual's resources and needs, though such standards remain rationed for people living with a long-term health concern like kidney failure. To illustrate what patient participation signified to patients and staff in kidney care, and whether an agreed or disagreed conceptualisation occurred over time, evaluating the influence of two study-specific interventions to facilitate more person-centred participation. By convergent mixed methods design across 9 units in Sweden, we repeated the following data collection at 3 time points over 18 months: semistructured interviews with patients and staff (n = 72), and structured reviews for accounts of participation in patient records (n = 240). Data were subjected to content analysis and descriptive statistics, respectively. The outcomes were appraised for changes over time besides the interventions to enhance attention to patients' participation: a clinical tool and guidance distributed to management, and additional local support, respectively. Both patients and staff described patient participation as a comprehension of the disease and its management in everyday life. Yet, patients accentuated participation as one's experiences being recognised, and mutual knowledge exchange. Instead, staff emphasised the patients managing their treatment. The health records primarily represented what staff do to support their notion of patient participation. No influence of the interventions was noted, but what signified patient participation was maintained over time. Both patients and staff stress the importance of patient participation, although they focus on different elements. Further person-centred conduct warrants a shared conceptualisation and strategies addressing and scaffolding patients' preferences and means.

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF MARMA AND ACUPRESSURE POINTS

Marma holds a significant position within Ayurveda, as documented in the Susruta Samhita, which identifies 107 Marma points in the human body1. These points are located at junctures where muscles, veins, ligaments, bones, and joints converge and are considered vital centres of life energy. In comparison, acupoints in Tradition-al Chinese Medicine (TCM) share a similar positional concept with Marma points and serve to regulate vital energy. Acupuncture techniques often involve stimulating relevant acupoints to alleviate pain and address ail-ments. Given their shared location and energy regulation characteristics, this study systematically compares their origins, general attributes, and clinical applications, drawing upon Ayurvedic and TCM literature. The findings reveal a primary distinction in their origins, with Marma originating from the battlefield culture of ancient India, while acupoints stem from the medical experiences of ancient China. In terms of general attrib-utes, they exhibit diverse characteristics rooted in their respective medical theories, employing distinct classifica-tion methods. Regarding clinical applications, acupoints have long been integrated into the broader scope of medical science, whereas Marma points gradually gained recognition for their therapeutic functions. Collective-ly, these body points emerge independently, reflecting varying perspectives on the human body cultivated by two distinct civilisations. Through cross-regional comparison, this research enriches understanding of each traditional medicinal system and the cultural contexts that underpin them. Such insights facilitate collaboration and innovation within conven-tional medicine, fostering mutual exchange and appreciation of diverse cultural heritages.

Emergent cooperation from mutual acknowledgment exchange in multi-agent reinforcement learning

Peer incentivization (PI) is a recent approach where all agents learn to reward or penalize each other in a distributed fashion, which often leads to emergent cooperation. Current PI mechanisms implicitly assume a flawless communication channel in order to exchange rewards. These rewards are directly incorporated into the learning process without any chance to respond with feedback. Furthermore, most PI approaches rely on global information, which limits scalability and applicability to real-world scenarios where only local information is accessible. In this paper, we propose Mutual Acknowledgment Token Exchange (MATE), a PI approach defined by a two-phase communication protocol to exchange acknowledgment tokens as incentives to shape individual rewards mutually. All agents condition their token transmissions on the locally estimated quality of their own situations based on environmental rewards and received tokens. MATE is completely decentralized and only requires local communication and information. We evaluate MATE in three social dilemma domains. Our results show that MATE is able to achieve and maintain significantly higher levels of cooperation than previous PI approaches. In addition, we evaluate the robustness of MATE in more realistic scenarios, where agents can deviate from the protocol and communication failures can occur. We also evaluate the sensitivity of MATE w.r.t. the choice of token values.