Short History Research Articles

A short history of the USD and a Reflection on the Current World Order

Economic integration has emerged as a significant concern due to its potential threats to local culture, social stability, and economic growth. Led by the United States, Western countries have adopted economic integration as a means to further their global political and economic interests. The dominance of the US dollar in the global economy empowers the US to manipulate world markets and exert control over other nations' economies. This paper delves into the evolution and historical significance of the US dollar, with a specific focus on its influence on the Chinese economy. It investigates the economic, political, and other implications of US dollar exchange rate fluctuations on China, particularly in relation to Chinese-US trade and import-export activities. This study introduces a novel perspective on the potential impacts of the US dollar exchange rate on China's economic relations with the United States. The paper concludes by proposing measures and countermeasures from China's standpoint to identify viable solutions.The literature review section provides a comprehensive overview of the historical evolution of the US dollar, drawing from the works of Ferguson, Marthur, Duncan, and other researchers. It traces the journey of the US dollar from its origins in colonial America, through the establishment of the gold standard, the impact of wars and crises, to the transition to the Bretton Woods system. The review also highlights the US dollar's central role as a dominant currency in international trade and the leverage it grants the United States in imposing trade sanctions and influencing other countries. In conclusion, the abstract underscores the urgency for reform in the international monetary system to mitigate the adverse effects of the US dollar on the global economy. It advocates for a more independent and equitable system that fosters fair economic relations among nations. Addressing the challenges posed by economic integration and the dominance of the US dollar is essential for safeguarding local cultures, social stability, and sustainable economic growth worldwide. By exploring the impacts on China's economy, this study contributes valuable insights to develop effective strategies for fostering a balanced and mutually beneficial global economic landscape.

Fault current limiter based on high temperature superconductors

High Temperature Superconductors (HTS) made the Superconducting Fault Current Limiter (SFCL) a reality in power electric grids. Resistive SFCL, which is the subject of this article, is based on a unique property of superconductors to quench from a non-dissipative to a high dissipative state above a given current. SFCL is an attractive response to the poorly solved problem of fault currents in power electric grids and makes it possible to enhance the security and quality of electricity, something that matters more than ever. Liquid nitrogen cryogenics – which is possible thanks to HTS- makes the cryogenics user friendly. In-field SFCL operations confirm this. Second generation (2 G) HTS materials or Coated Conductors suit well to SFCL. Due to its high interest, SFCL has been the subject of a great deal of research and development. In terms of Technology Readiness Level (TRL) it reaches 8 with several in grid test experiences.Here a short history of SFCL is presented with a highlight about Curl 10, Ampacity and SuperOx devices. The two major locations in the grid are reported: grid coupling and feeder protection. The quench phenomena is described in a bit more detail before the basic design (length and cross section) is presented. The design is primarily thermal, considering two extreme operations: fault with very high prospective current (clear short-circuit) and fault with prospective current close to the minimum runaway current along the length. This operation is called the hot spot one. It is due to the intrinsic variation of the critical current along the length and to the low Normal Zone Propagation Velocity (NZPV). The cost of the superconducting conductor is given, showing no bottleneck for an economic development. All the more it is still possible to lower the cost with some developments. This article ends with two real advances presently underway: Current Flow Diverter (CFD) and Sapphire substrate superconducting 2 G tape. CFD aims to increase the NZPV, to still further secure the operation and to reduce the conductor cross section. The use of sapphire substrates allows to reduce significantly the length of the design.

Cellular and laminar architecture: A short history and commentary.

The feedforward/feedback classification, as originally stated in relation to early visual areas in the macaque monkey, has had a significant influence on ideas of laminar interactions, area reciprocity, and cortical hierarchical organization. In some contrast with this macroscale "laminar connectomics," a more cellular approach to cortical connections, as briefly surveyed here, points to a still underappreciated heterogeneity of neuronal subtypes and complex microcircuitries. From the perspective of heterogeneities, the question of how brain regions interact and influence each other quickly leads to discussions about concurrent hierarchical and nonhierarchical cortical features, brain organization as a multiscale system forming nested groups and hierarchies, connectomes annotated by multiple biological attributes, and interleaved and overlapping scales of organization.

Book Review: A Short History of Transport in Japan: From Ancient Times to the Present by John Andrew Black

Book Review: <i>A Short History of Transport in Japan: From Ancient Times to the Present</i> by John Andrew Black

Mapping the Landscape of Impostor Phenomenon Research in Organizational Behavior: A Bibliometric Study between 2003 and 2022

The Impostor Phenomenon is a psychological phenomenon characterized by an individual's inability to internalize their success despite substantial evidence, leading them to feel like a fraud in their status. This phenomenon is increasingly recognized as an important factor in the success and survival of organizations. However, despite its practical and scientific importance, the Impostor Phenomenon has a relatively short history in the field of organizational behavior. Research into the impostor phenomenon in organizational behavior has seen significant growth between 2003 and 2022. This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the research status of this topic during this period and to determine the main and sub-themes in which this concept has been examined in academic contexts. The current study focuses on determining which main and sub-themes this concept is examined in academic context. In the study, the articles in the web of science database were examined. The articles were analyzed by performing Bibliometrics analysis with the Vosviewer program. It is aimed to determine and cluster the network relations of the concepts with each other. It has been determined that five basic clusters are word or concept-based representation of imposter phenomenon. These clusters are named as “Organizational Psychology”, "Business Management”, “Sustainable Business”, “"Human Resource Management and Positive Psychology” and "Organizational Change Management."

Environmental neurology: Concepts and short history of an interdisciplinary approach to etiology, treatment and prevention

Environmental Neurology (EN), a sub-discipline of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, favors an interdisciplinary collaboration allowing a holistic approach to understanding the impact of environmental factors on the nervous system and their relationship with neurological diseases. Several examples of diseases and conditions show the large scope of subjects addressed by EN. The EN sub-discipline focuses on both individual and population issues thus joining patient care and public health, respectively. Neuropathogenesis is addressed by several major questions: How do the environment and nervous system interact? Which exogenous factors can trigger neurological disease? When, where and how do they act? What are the therapeutic implications, and how can these disorders be controlled or prevented. To answer such questions, we address the incentive for, philosophy of and methods developed by EN, which seeks to safeguard Brain Health and, thus, the quality of life.

A Short History of Prosecuting Crimes under International Law in Germany

Abstract This article takes the 20th anniversary of the entering into force of the German Code of Crimes against International Law (Völkerstrafgesetzbuch, CCAIL) as an opportunity to offer a historical review of the prosecution of international crimes in (West-)Germany. Starting from the post-World War II period, it flags early milestones, including efforts to hold accountable before German courts those involved in Nazi atrocities, in state oppression in the German Democratic Republic, in violations of international humanitarian law during the Yugoslav wars, and in dictatorship crimes in Argentina. This article then focuses on the practical implementation of the CCAIL and presents, at a glance, major trends, flaws and lessons learned over the past 20 years. It identifies four major phases: standstill, build-up, implementation and consolidation. This article concludes with a call for German judges and prosecutors to step up their efforts to contribute to a uniform and universal enforcement of international criminal law.

What a journey! – A short history of the Finnish health care and social service reform and administrative integration of health care and social services

Abstract Finland is a Nordic welfare state with universal access to tax-funded health care. While the health system performs relatively well when measured in terms of avoidable mortality, several measures indicate that access to care, especially primary care, is poor. There are also relatively large geographical and socioeconomic inequities in access, utilization, and quality of services. To tackle these issues, a process to reform the health system was initiated in the early 2000s. However, it was not until 2021 when the large-scale reform of the system was enacted and not until 2023 when the new structure was implemented. The process involved several different reform proposals which all shaped the outcome of the reform. The key feature in almost all the reform proposals and in the final reform plan has been fostering vertical integration in health care and horizontal integration of health and social services both at the level of administration and organization as well as through processes and patient pathways. In this presentation we describe the history of the Finnish health and social care reform process and discuss, how integrated care as a policy idea and tool has shaped the reform agenda and reform proposals.

What impacts do green bonds have on carbon emissions and how? A dynamic spatial perspective in China.

Green bonds are adopted to exclusively finance or refinance green projects and thus is an important policy instrument for sustainable development. The development of these eco-friendly projects benefits the reduction of carbon emission. What impacts do green bonds have on carbon emission intensity and how? This issue needs to be revealed, including the dynamic spatial interactive rules and regional heterogeneity. This is especially true for China, with its vast territory and a short history of green bonds. Different with existing literature, this paper collects the data of the amount of green bond issued in each province in China rather than the policy dummy variable of green bond. The spatio-temporal interactions of both the impact of green bonds and the related mechanisms are studied. A dynamic spatial Durbin model (DSDM) combined with a STIRPAT (Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence and Technology) model reveals the negative impacts of green bonds on carbon emissions and the spatio-temporal interactions. On this basis, the mediation model is introduced to clarify the three impact mechanisms of green bonds and find the predominant role of technology mechanism. In addition, different characteristics in spatial interactive rules and impact mechanisms of green bonds are found in various regions of China. Finally, the study proposes some policy recommendations on how to effectively reduce carbon emissions with green bonds.

Asian American Surgery: A Short History of Immigration, Naturalization, and Refugee Laws and Policies that Brought Asians to America.

Chinese immigration in America in the mid-nineteenth century incited violence and governmental sanctions to restrict Asian immigration and reject citizenship rights. In 1870, Chinese strikebreakers in Massachusetts ignited nationwide demonstrations against Chinese immigration, which ended altogether with the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882). Japanese schoolchildren in San Francisco public schools sparked rioting in 1907, leading Japan to unilaterally limit emigration to the United States (Gentlemen's Agreement, 1908). Congress responded to anti-Punjabi riots (Bellingham, WA, 1907) by refusing naturalization rights to Asians (Barred Zone Act, 1917), policies supported by the Supreme Court (Ozawa, 1922; Thind, 1923). All immigration from Asia was soon prohibited (Johnson-Reed Act, 1924). Anti-Asian measures peaked in 1942 with imprisonment of Japanese in concentration camps, including those with birthright citizenship. Anti-Asian policies unwound in the last half of the 20th century, culminating in sweeping changes in US immunization policy. Naturalization rights were granted to wartime allies against Japan (China, 1943; the Philippines and India, 1946) and the Japanese themselves (1952). Asian women marrying American servicemen were allowed entry into the country (1945, 1950). Prohibitions against Asian immigration were lifted in 1965 (Hart-Celler Act), with preference for those trained in science, technology, and medicine. The refugee crisis that followed the fall of Saigon (1975) drove humanitarian policies that brought evacuees from Southeast Asia and others from throughout the world seeking freedom from persecution (Refugee Act, 1980). Hundreds of thousands from China, South Asia, the Philippines, and Southeast Asia thus settled in the United States, changing American society and medicine.

Allogenic stem cells for Crohn's anal fistulas: Treating early improves the deep remission rate.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the real-life clinical and radiological efficacy of darvadstrocel injection into complex perianal fistulas in Crohn's disease. Secondary endpoints were to assess symptomatic efficacy, adverse effects and factors associated with complete combined clinical-radiological response (deep remission). After marketing the product in France, all first patients treated consecutively were included. A complete clinical response was defined by a complete closure of all external openings with no discharge on pressure. A complete radiological response (MRI), evaluated at least after six months of follow-up, was defined by a completely fibrotic sequela without abscess. A deep remission was defined as the association of a complete clinical response with a complete radiological response. A total of 43 patients were included (M/F: 22/21, median age 37 [26-45] years). The fistulas were already drained with seton(s) and were on biologic treatment. After a median follow-up of 383 (359-505) days, 28 (65%) patients showed a clinical response (22 complete and 6 partial) and 16 (37%) achieved a deep remission. The Perineal Disease Activity Index decreased significantly after treatment: 39 (91%) patients reported symptomatic improvement in terms of discharge, pain, and induration, and 28 (65%) no longer had any perineal symptoms. No severe adverse events were reported. A short history of Crohn's disease <3 years was significantly associated with deep remission (OD 4.5 [1.0-19.1], p = 0.04). Darvadstrocel injection resulted in a clinical response for two thirds of patients and deep remission for one third. A shorter duration of Crohn's disease was associated with deep remission.

Time series modeling for production prediction of shale gas wells

Accurate production prediction of shale gas wells in the early stage is the key to optimizing development plans and effectively extending the life cycle of gas wells. The existing models pay less attention to the production prediction of gas wells with short production history in the early stage, and the long-term shut-in intervals in the early production process have not been taken into account. In addition, uncertainty in production forecasts is often not mentioned because of difficulties in characterizing. In this paper, a new early production prediction model is developed that integrates the long short-term memory (LSTM) model and deep learning autoregressive (DeepAR) model. The LSTM model makes a deterministic prediction of early production. At the same time, the Bidirectional LSTM (Bi-LSTM) model is applied to the interpolation of long shut-in interval data. For the problem of lag and difficult to deal with production mutation in LSTM model, DeepAR model uses probabilistic prediction to quantify the uncertainty in early production prediction. To verify the performance of the proposed model, the production time series of production case wells are analyzed. The experimental results indicate that the early production prediction model established in this paper can effectively realize the production dynamic tracking with limited production data, and can reliably quantify the uncertainty of early production prediction.

The landscape of surgical robotics in orthopedics surgery.

Orthopedic surgery is one of the first surgical specialties to apply surgical robotics in clinical practice, which has become an interesting field over the years with promising results. Surgical robotics can facilitate total joint arthroplasty by providing robotic support to accurately prepare the bone, improving the ability to reproduce alignment, and restoring normal kinematics. Various robotic systems are available on the market, each tailored to specific types of surgeries and characterized by a series of features with different requirements and/or modus operandi. Here, a narrative review of the current state of surgical robotic systems for total joint knee arthroplasty is presented, covering the different categories of robots, which are classified based on the operation, requirements, and level of interaction with the surgeon. The different robotic systems include closed/open platform, image-based/imageless, and passive/active/semi-active systems. The main goal of a robotic system is to increase the accuracy and precision of the operation regardless of the type of system. Despite the short history of surgical robots, they have shown clinical effectiveness compared to conventional techniques in orthopedic surgery. When considering which robotic system to use, surgeons should carefully evaluate the different benefits and drawbacks to select the surgical robot that fits their needs the best.

Decentralized justice: state of the art, recurring criticisms and next-generation research topics

Decentralized justice is a novel approach to online dispute resolution based on blockchain, crowdsourcing and game theory for adjudicating claims in a neutral and efficient way. Since the launch of the first decentralized justice platform in 2018, the field has attracted wide interest both from practitioners and academics in Web3 and dispute resolution. The decentralized justice approach is based on the ideas of decentralization, economic incentives and a claim to fairness in its decisions. At the current stage of development, decentralized justice is facing a number of technical, market, legal and ethical challenges for further development. This paper provides a review of the short history of decentralized justice, addresses a number of recurrent topics and lays down a path for future exploration.

Sources of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in sediments of the East China marginal seas: Role of unintentionally-produced PCBs

The production and use of intentionally-produced polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in China have a short history compared with countries of North America and Europe, where technical PCB mixtures were manufactured in large amounts for decades before being banned. Unintentionally-produced PCB emissions increased dramatically in China, leading to unique profiles of PCB burdens. This study first time evaluated 208 individual PCB congeners at 94 sites from surface sediments of the East China Marginal Seas (ECMSs) and explored their sources. Non-technical PCBs transported from atmospheric transport and river discharge played a dominant role in most areas of the ECMSs, while historical residuals of technical PCBs occupied the fine-grained sediments in muddy areas of the central Yellow Sea (YS), regarding to the low sedimentation rate in the central YS. Furthermore, emissions from Taizhou located on the coast of the East China Sea (ECS), which is an important electronic waste dismantling site in East China, contributed additional technical PCBs to the inner shelf of the ECS. Our results indicate that non-technical PCBs have become the dominant PCB species in the ECMSs, and emphasize the synergistic effects of large riverine input, long-range atmospheric transport, and muddy shelf deposition on PCB source and sink of in marginal seas.

Concept of human capital in the context of innovative development and its place in the system of related economic categories

Despite its relatively short history, the concept of human capital has evolved into a significant number of different definitions, affecting an increasing number of elements that are inherent in the work of a modern person. The growing importance of human capital in the accumulation of national wealth, the general trends in the humanization of economic science, the peculiarities of labor characteristic of the innovative economy, led to the emergence of new elements describing a person's labor activity and labor opportunities, and the entry into circulation of a number of seemingly overlapping related categories that complemented the already existing conceptual and categorical apparatus in this area. The purpose of the article is to distinguish the main concepts developed by economic theory that characterize human labor capabilities, as well as to determine the place of the category human capital in the system of these related categories. Special attention is paid to new concepts that have arisen as a result of setting the tasks of innovative development. The result of the study is the systematization of the concepts considered in a general terminological field. Such systematization seems necessary both for theoretical clarification of the conceptual apparatus of labor market research, employment, accumulation of human resources, and for practical application in the field of state policy to improve the national education system and labor market regulation in the context of innovative development.

Język a proces integracji imigrantów i imigrantek – rola instytucji kultury. Przykład poznański

Knowledge of the language of the host country plays a strategical role in the integration process of migrant communities. Language as a component of the culture constitutes a natural acting space for the entities belonging to the cultural sector, in particular for those engaging in non-formal education. Teaching Polish as a second language has a relatively short history in terms of teaching methods as well as organisation of the teaching process itself. Taking into consideration the current migrant situation, the engagement of different organisations into the teaching process becomes of particular importance. The aim of the article is to discuss the role which can be played by the Polish cultural institutions in the integration process through establishing the language and communication accessibility as well as active linguistic and cultural support for children and teens with the migration background. The case study for this article is Poznań and Poznań Heritage Center, local cultural institution, whose main purpose is to popularise, interpret and protect the (cultural) heritage of Poznań through creating a (linguistically) accessible cultural programme and adjusting it to the current needs of the audience.

China’s Standards of English Language Ability: Voice From English Teachers at Chinese Universities

The birth of China’s Standards of English Language Ability (CSELA) marks a new era of English education in China. As the country’s first national English standard, CSELA is expected to significantly refine the current system of English assessment and further improve the quality of English education. Due to its relatively short history, there is still much unknown about the impact that CSELA may have on English teaching, learning, and testing. Therefore, this study is conducted to demonstrate how Chinese English teachers in higher education view this new standard of English. Based on semi-structured interviews with 15 university English teachers divided into three focus groups, findings demonstrate that practitioners generally hold positive attitudes toward CSELA in terms of its possible contribution to English teaching and learning. In the meantime, English teachers also share certain concerns, especially about their unpreparedness with the new standard. Finally, participants further express their needs in English teaching, as well as their desire to be more deeply involved in policy making processes. These results provide important information to enrich the field’s knowledge about CSELA. A set of implications emerge based on these findings.

Theorems regarding starlikeness and convexity

"Giving the sharp version of an univalence condition means to give the final response to an open question. We prove in this paper the sharp version of a starlikeness condition. The basic tool in our study is the convolution theory. We present a short history of the problem before the proof of the main result."

Utility of Whole Slide Imaging for Intraoperative Consultation: Experience of a Large Academic Center.

In the United States, review of digital whole slide images (WSIs) using specific systems is approved for primary diagnosis but has not been implemented for intraoperative consultation. To evaluate the safety of review of WSIs and compare the efficiency of review of WSIs and glass slides (GSs) for intraoperative consultation. Ninety-one cases previously submitted for frozen section evaluation were randomly selected from 8 different anatomic pathology subspecialties. GSs from these cases were scanned on a Leica Aperio AT2 scanner at ×20 magnification (0.25 μm/pixel). The slides were deidentified, and a short relevant clinical history was provided for each slide. Nine board-certified general pathologists who do not routinely establish primary diagnoses using WSIs reviewed the WSIs using Leica Aperio ImageScope viewing software. After a washout period of 2-3 weeks, the pathologists reviewed the corresponding GSs using a light microscope (Olympus BX43). The pathologists recorded the diagnosis and time to reach the diagnosis. Intraobserver concordance, time to diagnosis, and specificity and sensitivity compared to the original diagnosis were evaluated. The rate of intraobserver concordance between GS results and WSI results was 93.7%. Mean time to diagnosis was 1.25 minutes for GSs and 1.76 minutes for WSIs (P < .001). Specificity was 91% for GSs and 90% for WSIs; sensitivity was 92% for GSs and 92% for WSIs. Time to diagnosis was longer with WSIs than with GSs, and scanning GSs and uploading the data to whole slide imaging systems takes time. However, review of WSIs appears to be a safe alternative to review of GSs. Use of WSIs allows reporting from a remote site during a public health emergency such as the COVID-19 pandemic and facilitates subspecialty histopathology services.