Safeguard Measures Research Articles

Exploring the Innovative Path of Mechanical Design, Manufacturing and Automation under the Concept of Sustainable Development

With the global deep understanding and practice of the concept of sustainable development, the field of mechanical design, manufacturing and automation is also facing the challenge of innovation and change. This paper aims to explore under the concept of sustainable development, mechanical design and manufacturing innovation path in the field of automation, including green design, intelligent upgrade, digital transformation, network collaboration, and modularity and standardization, etc., and put forward the corresponding innovation safeguard measures, in order to provide reference for the sustainable development of the field.

Impact of Safeguard Measures Import Duty Tax (BMTP) in Efforts to Increase Protection and Competitiveness of Textile Products

General background: The Safeguard Measures Import Duty Tax (BMTP) policy has been implemented to protect domestic industries from the adverse effects of rising imports. Specific background: In Indonesia, the textile industry has faced significant competition from imported goods, which threatens the competitiveness of local products. Knowledge gap: However, there is limited research on the effectiveness of the BMTP in enhancing protection and competitiveness, particularly in the context of the Juanda Customs and Excise Service Office. Aims: This study aims to evaluate the impact of BMTP on the protection and competitiveness of domestic textile products through qualitative methods, including observation, interviews, and documentation. Results: The findings reveal that the implementation of BMTP is effective in controlling and reducing the volume of imported textiles, thereby contributing to increased protection for domestic producers. Novelty: This research provides new insights into the specific application of BMTP at Juanda and highlights the use of Nvivo12 Plus software for qualitative analysis, offering a novel approach to triangulating data and ensuring validity. Implications: The results imply that BMTP can be a viable policy mechanism to safeguard domestic industries, particularly in sectors vulnerable to import surges, such as textiles, potentially informing future policy decisions to enhance industrial competitiveness. Highlights: BMTP effectively reduces textile imports, enhancing domestic protection. Nvivo12 Plus aids in qualitative data analysis for reliable results. The study offers insights into BMTP's specific application at Juanda Customs. Keywords: Import Duty Safeguard, Protection, Textile

Analysis of Public Health Care Safeguard Measures in India

Public health is a branch of science that focuses on preventing disease and injuries in large populations by doing research, educating the public, and creating policies that promote health in all communities. Each person may define public health in a different way. In order to address global health issues, address community-wide health issues, and influence global health policies at both local and global levels, public health is a field of study that encompasses a variety of academic fields, including basic science, commerce, the arts, education, technology, engineering, computer science, pharmacy, and bioscience. Excluding the effects of non-intellectual property barriers like distribution, infrastructure, quality, and medical facilities, the goal of this study is to examine the public health barriers to intellectual property that affect medical access. This study aims to investigate how patent law protects drug accessibility while taking drug prices into consideration.

English grammar intelligent error correction technology based on the n-gram language model

Abstract With the development of the Internet, the number of electronic texts has increased rapidly. Automatic grammar error correction technology is an effective safeguard measure for the quality of electronic texts. To improve the quality of electronic text, this study introduces a moving window algorithm and linear interpolation smoothing algorithm to build a Cn-gram language model. On this basis, a syntactic analysis strategy is introduced to construct a syntactic error correction model integrating Cn-gram and syntactic analysis, and English grammar intelligent error correction is carried out through the model. The results show that compared with the Bi-gram and Tri-gram, the precision of the Cn-gram model is 0.85 and 0.91% higher, and the F1 value is 0.97 and 1.14% higher, respectively. Compared with the results of test set Long, the Cn-gram model has better performance on verb error correction of the Short test set, and the precision rate, recall rate, and F1 value are increased by 0.86, 3.94, and 1.87%, respectively. The comparison of the precision, recall rate, and F1 value of the proposed grammar error correction model on the complete test set shows that the precision of the study is 19.10 and 5.41% higher for subject–verb agreement errors. The recall rate is 9.55 and 10.77% higher, respectively; F1 values are higher by 12.65 and 10.59%, respectively. The above results show that the error-correcting technique of the research design has excellent error-correcting performance. It is hoped that this experiment can provide a reference for the relevant research of automatic error correction technology of electronic text.

Canada's Medical Assistance in Dying System can Enable Healthcare Serial Killing.

The Canadian approach to assisted dying, Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD), as of early 2024, is assessed for its ability to protect patients from criminal healthcare serial killing (HSK) to evaluate the strength of its safeguards. MAiD occurs through euthanasia or self-administered assisted suicide (EAS) and is legal or considered in many countries and jurisdictions. Clinicians involved in HSK typically target patients with the same clinical features as MAiD-eligible patients. They may draw on similar rationales, e.g., to end perceived patient suffering and provide pleasure for the clinician. HSK can remain undetected or unconfirmed for considerable periods owing to a lack of staff background checks, poor surveillance and oversight, and a failure by authorities to act on concerns from colleagues, patients, or witnesses. The Canadian MAiD system, effectively euthanasia-based, has similar features with added opportunities for killing afforded by clinicians' exemption from criminal culpability for homicide and assisted suicide offences amid broad patient eligibility criteria. An assessment of the Canadian model offers insights for enhancing safeguards and detecting abuses in there and other jurisdictions with or considering legal EAS. Short of an unlikely recriminalization of EAS, better clinical safeguarding measures, standards, vetting and training of those involved in MAiD, and a radical restructuring of its oversight and delivery can help mitigate the possibility of abuses in a system mandated to accommodate homicidal clinicians.

Impact of Air Emission Reduction Measures during the Asian Games on Air Quality and Health Risks in Hangzhou and Surrounding Cities

The purpose of this study was to analyze the air quality in Hangzhou and its surrounding areas during the 2023 Asian Games and assess the impact of safeguard measures on air quality. By comparing air quality monitoring data from Hangzhou and nearby cities between 23 September 2023, and 8 October 2023, with the same period in 2022, the analysis focused on the changes in air quality and the impact of PM2.5 and O3 on human health. The results show that during the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, compared to the same period in 2022, the concentrations of pollutants showed the following changes: PM10 and NO2 concentrations decreased by 16.1% and 34.1%, respectively. PM2.5, CO, and O3 concentrations increased by 0.9%, 9.5%, and 14.4%, respectively. Spatially, compared with the same period in 2022, the PM2.5 concentration in Quzhou City decreased the most, reaching 23%, while the PM2.5 concentration in Huzhou City increased the most, reaching 27.1%. The largest decrease in PM10 concentration is in Wenzhou City, which is up to 28.2%, while the largest increase is in Zhoushan City, which is 9.2%. The concentration of NO2 generally decreases in all regions, with the biggest decrease in Zhoushan City, which reaches 36.2%. The concentration of CO only decreases in Shaoxing, and the highest increase is in Huzhou City. In terms of O3, the largest proportion increase is 23% in Ningbo. During the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, the number of deaths from all-cause and cardiovascular diseases caused by short-term exposure to PM2.5 was 1780 and 795, respectively, which was 8.2% lower than the same period in 2022. During the Asian Games, the number of deaths from all-cause and cardiovascular diseases due to short-term exposure to O3 was 7332 and 3177, respectively, an increase of 2.8% compared with the same period in 2022.

Alternative Legal Bases for Processing Health Data for Scientific Research Purposes

The processing of health data for scientific research purposes requires a legal basisunder Article 6 and a justification under Article 9 (2) GDPR by way of an exceptionto the general prohibition in Art. 9(1) of the processing of special category data.Consent tends to be highly advocated for in this regard, in both literature and practice.However, the GDPR permits an alternative option: processing for scientific researchpurposes based on Union or Member State law which provides for suitable andspecific safeguarding measures. This paper undertakes an in-depth examination ofthe ‘research exception’ in Art. 9 (2) (j) GDPR permitting the processing of healthdata for scientific research purposes, thoroughly considering its elements and itsimplications. It refers to examples of Member State implementing legislation andthe proposed European Health Data Space Regulation for illustration purposes andargues that if implemented faithfully, Art. 9 (2) (j) strikes a better balance betweenthe interests of the various stakeholders than consent, which is overall burdensomeand may hinder research. Finally, in light of the uneven implementation of theGDPR’s research exception by the Member States which creates considerable legaluncertainties and results in barriers to the free flow of research data across the EU,this paper calls for a harmonised implementing Union law in this regard.

Material attractiveness of irradiated fuel salts from the Seaborg Compact Molten Salt Reactor

Over the years, numerous evaluations of material attractiveness have been performed for conventional light water reactors to better understand the nature of the spent fuel material and its desirability for misuse at different points in the nuclear fuel cycle. However, availability of such assessments for newer, Generation IV reactors such as Molten Salt Reactors is rather limited. In the present study we address the gap in knowledge of material attractiveness for molten salt reactor systems and describe the nature of irradiated fuel salts which the nuclear safeguards community might be faced with in the near future as more and more such reactors enter commission and operation. Within the scope of the paper, we use a large database of simulated irradiated fuel salt isotopics (and other derived quantities such as gamma activity, decay heat, and neutron emission rates) developed specifically for a molten salt reactor concept in order to shed some light on possible weapons usability of uranium and plutonium present in the irradiated fuel salts. This has been achieved by proposing a new attractiveness metric that is better suited for quantifying attractiveness of irradiated salts from a model molten salt concept. The said metric has been computed using a database that has been created by simulating the irradiation of molten fuel salt in a concept core over a wide range of operational parameters (burnup, initial enrichment, and cooling time) using the Monte-Carlo particle transport code, Serpent. With the help of this attractiveness metric, the findings from this study have shown that in relative terms, molten salt spent fuel is more attractive than spent fuel produced by a conventional light water reactor. The findings also underscore the need for strengthened safeguards measures for such spent fuel. These results are expected to be useful in the future for regulatory authorities as well as for nuclear safeguards inspectors for designing a functional safeguards verification routine for irradiated fuel of such unique nature.

浅析WTO 对《美国对进口晶体硅光伏产品的保障措施》的裁决

This article focuses on the safeguards measure case of “China vs. U.S. Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Products” and deeply explores the relevant issues related to safeguard measures in international trade remedies involved in this case. Research on this issue will help China better understand responding to related trade frictions in international trade has enabled China to change its passive position into an active position in dealing with such issues. This article explains the safeguard measure case of “China vs. United States Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Products” and then introduces the rules of the WTO safeguard measure system. It then analyzes the five focus points of dispute, focusing on the expert group’s analysis of the causal relationship in this case. Identify the situation, and finally discuss China’s response to such situations.

The virtual reference radiologist: comprehensive AI assistance for clinical image reading and interpretation

ObjectivesLarge language models (LLMs) have shown potential in radiology, but their ability to aid radiologists in interpreting imaging studies remains unexplored. We investigated the effects of a state-of-the-art LLM (GPT-4) on the radiologists’ diagnostic workflow.Materials and methodsIn this retrospective study, six radiologists of different experience levels read 40 selected radiographic [n = 10], CT [n = 10], MRI [n = 10], and angiographic [n = 10] studies unassisted (session one) and assisted by GPT-4 (session two). Each imaging study was presented with demographic data, the chief complaint, and associated symptoms, and diagnoses were registered using an online survey tool. The impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on diagnostic accuracy, confidence, user experience, input prompts, and generated responses was assessed. False information was registered. Linear mixed-effect models were used to quantify the factors (fixed: experience, modality, AI assistance; random: radiologist) influencing diagnostic accuracy and confidence.ResultsWhen assessing if the correct diagnosis was among the top-3 differential diagnoses, diagnostic accuracy improved slightly from 181/240 (75.4%, unassisted) to 188/240 (78.3%, AI-assisted). Similar improvements were found when only the top differential diagnosis was considered. AI assistance was used in 77.5% of the readings. Three hundred nine prompts were generated, primarily involving differential diagnoses (59.1%) and imaging features of specific conditions (27.5%). Diagnostic confidence was significantly higher when readings were AI-assisted (p > 0.001). Twenty-three responses (7.4%) were classified as hallucinations, while two (0.6%) were misinterpretations.ConclusionIntegrating GPT-4 in the diagnostic process improved diagnostic accuracy slightly and diagnostic confidence significantly. Potentially harmful hallucinations and misinterpretations call for caution and highlight the need for further safeguarding measures.Clinical relevance statementUsing GPT-4 as a virtual assistant when reading images made six radiologists of different experience levels feel more confident and provide more accurate diagnoses; yet, GPT-4 gave factually incorrect and potentially harmful information in 7.4% of its responses.

Competitive Strategy of Chinese Maintenance Repair and Operations Industry- a Case Study of JD Industrials

As the market size of China's maintenance, repair, and operations industry continues to expand, more and more platform companies are entering this sector. In this increasingly competitive environment, having a set of market competition strategies, implementation measures, and safeguard measures tailored to the enterprise is crucial for long-term survival. This paper conducts a case study on JD Industrial, a leading B2B company in this field. This paper first analyzes the market environment of JD Industrial by using the PEST framework and puts forward the market competition strategy suitable for JD Industrial by using SWOT analysis. It also puts forward the corresponding implementation and safeguard measures for the implementation of these strategies. The potential contribution of this paper is that provide some valuable insights into JDI's market competition strategies. These insights aim to assist JDI in enhancing its market share and achieving sustainable growth in the process of competition from domestic and international rivals.

Construction and implementation of cross-border e-commerce supply chain system under the background of green and low-carbon

PurposeAs China’s e-commerce and cross-border e-commerce rapidly develop, the cross-border e-commerce supply chain exhibits characteristics of globalized development scale, collaborative multiparty participation, streamlined management processes, digitalized production and trade and flexible strategic choices. It tends toward data-driven intelligence, interoperable information collaboration, personalized order responses, sustainable supply chain management and secure blockchain technology. These characteristics and trends provide critical references for businesses, governments and investors.Design/methodology/approachIn response to issues such as inconsistent legal regulations, imbalanced logistics and transportation, imperfect payment settlements and opaque supply chains.FindingsIt is recommended to take measures to strengthen cooperation and communication, optimize logistics, reduce customs clearance difficulties, reinforce safeguard measures and promote sustainable development, collectively fostering the healthy growth of cross-border e-commerce.Originality/valueWith the rapid development of cross-border e-commerce, green and low-carbon initiatives have become a significant trend in this sector. The cross-border e-commerce supply chain refers to the mechanism that reduces environmental impacts and enhances resource efficiency from manufacturers to consumers. It primarily involves manufacturers, e-commerce platforms, logistics companies and payment and settlement processes. The cross-border e-commerce supply chain is gradually becoming a highlight in China’s foreign trade, supporting the concept of “buying globally and selling globally” and connecting the “world’s factory” with the “world’s market.”

Article: What Is (Not) a WTO Safeguard Measure?

Article: What Is (Not) a WTO Safeguard Measure?

COVID-19 and Alzheimer's disease: Impact of lockdown and other restrictive measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection initially results in respiratory distress symptoms but can also lead to central nervous system (CNS) and neurological manifestations, significantly impacting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with neurodegenerative diseases. Additionally, strict lockdown measures introduced to curtail the spread of COVID-19 have raised concerns over the wellbeing of patients with dementia and/or Alzheimer's disease. The aim of this review was to discuss the overlapping molecular pathologies and the potential bidirectional relationship between COVID-19 and Alzheimer's dementia, as well as the impact of lockdown/restriction measures on the neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) of patients with Alzheimer's dementia. Furthermore, we aimed to assess the impact of lockdown measures on the NPS of caregivers, exploring its potential effects on the quality and extent of care they provide to dementia patients.We utilized the PubMed and Google Scholar databases to search for articles on COVID-19, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, lockdown, and caregivers. Our review highlights that patients with Alzheimer's disease face an increased risk of COVID-19 infection and complications. Additionally, these patients are likely to experience greater cognitive decline. It appears that these issues are primarily caused by the SARS-CoV-2 infection and appear to be further exacerbated by restrictive/lockdown measures. Moreover, lockdown measures introduced during the pandemic have negatively impacted both the NPSs of caregivers and their perception of the wellbeing of their Alzheimer's patients. Thus, additional safeguard measures, along with pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches, are needed to protect the wellbeing of dementia patients and their caregivers in light of this and possible future pandemics.

Eyeing for External Resources: Wants and Ways

External resources have shaped the making and breaking of the nations. In the past, the rulers dominated the source or provider of external resources while in the present days, the rulers (political leaders) are under the domination of resource providers (be it a government, agency or company). In the period following World War II, the United States rose to prominence politically and economically. The 21st century is seeing the rise of China. This study deals with the methods and practices relating to foreign aid and investments that have evolved and looks into their hold on Nepal. The study shows that the availability of external resources started with a goodwill approach. However, over time it has moved onto the sphere of influence of the resource providers while the governance failure has made the country more and more dependent on external resources failing to adopt safeguard measures.

Impacts of tariffs and NTMs on beef, pork and poultry trade

AbstractThough tariffs have declined in recent years, the number of applied non‐tariff measures (NTMs) in meat trade has expanded. We estimate the impacts of tariffs and NTMs (sanitary and phytosanitary [SPS] measures, technical barriers to trade [TBTs], quantitative restrictions, and special safeguard measures) on beef, pork and poultry trade using a structural gravity model. Our baseline regression results show tariffs hinder trade, but SPS measures and TBTs on average expand trade for these three meat products. Using the estimates from our structural gravity model, we simulate the differential effects of declining tariffs versus proliferation of NTMs between 2003 and 2019. The simulation results show that tariff reductions during this period expanded global trade by a cumulative US$466.2 million for the three products, ceteris paribus. In contrast, growth in the number of NTMs caused global meat trade to rise by US$8.4 billion. Our findings thus suggest that the marked increase in the number of applied NTMs in recent decades has had a dramatically larger impact on global meat trade than tariff reductions.

Factors and Patterns Associated with Juvenile Delinquency with Reference to Juvenile Crimes in India

Objectives: This study aims to examine the patterns in juvenile delinquency based on factors including age, gender, offence type, and characteristics used in NCRB reports and to comprehend the various factors that contribute to juvenile crime. Methods: This study was done using the secondary data which was collected from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reports in the year of 2017 to 2021 by the Government of India. Result and discussion: The analysis of the aforementioned data reveals that there is a higher level of juvenile crimes in India especially in various states. It also shows that a significant proportion of juvenile individuals have unfortunately fallen victim to a multitude of socio-economic pressures, including poverty, inadequate parental guidance, limited access to education, and the influence of peer groups. The crime rate in India has exhibited a notable upward trend over the years, accompanied by a concerning decline in the rate of convictions. Conclusion: The issue of juvenile delinquency necessitates focused consideration and an approach that prioritizes the well-being of children, with an emphasis on safeguarding and proactive measures to prevent their involvement in deviant behaviour. Research Implications: The findings can have implications for policymakers and educators in the realm of pedagogy development. Additionally, it bears relevance for family members and other stakeholders who play a crucial role in fostering the comprehensive growth and development of children.

Rebalancing the Trading Scale?: Recent Trends in the Implementation of Article 8 of the Safeguards Agreement

The WTO safeguard measure takes the form of a suspension of an obligation under the GATT or the withdrawal or modifications of a GATT concession. When an importing Member imposes a safeguard measure, it shall endeavour to maintain a substantially equivalent level of concessions and may agree to compensate the exporting Member(s) affected by the safeguard measure. The SG Agreement also stipulates that if no agreement is reached within thirty days, the affected Member could suspend, under certain conditions, the application of substantially equivalent concessions or other obligations to the trade of the imposing Member. It has been rare that the exporting Member and the Member applying the safeguard agreed to a compensation. At the same time, until 2018, notifications of suspension of concessions to rebalance the level of concessions have also been rare. However, suspension of concessions sharply increased since 2018. This article offers some observations relating to this recent trend. WTO, Safeguards, GATT, compensation, suspension of concessions, rebalancing

Application of Big Data Technology in Audit

In the new era of rapid development of big data technology, the three key points of high-quality development of auditing are auditing talents, auditing rule of law and auditing technology. In the traditional audit process, auditors focus on professional judgment and professional competence, make audit plans, implement audit procedures and draw audit conclusions. However, there are many problems in traditional audit work, such as difficulty in obtaining sufficient external information and inefficiency in analyzing audit evidence. Therefore, auditors apply big data technology to audit work to solve various problems and put forward corresponding safeguard measures.

Countermeasures and enlightenment of occupational health assistance for small and medium-sized enterprises at domestic and international

China attaches great importance to the occupational health assistance for small and medium-sized enterprises, but many efforts are still needed. Through the research and comparative analysis of the policies and measures of occupational health assistance for small and medium-sized enterprises at domestic and international, this paper finds that there are still some problems in the occupational health assistance for small and medium-sized enterprises in China, such as imperfect policies, lack of safeguard measures, support platforms and resources, and puts forward that China can promote the occupational health assistance for small and medium-sized enterprises from the aspects of perfecting the support system, strengthening safeguard measures, building relevant platforms and enriching resources.