Strong Competition Research Articles

Naturally diverse plant communities do not resist invasion by the strong competitor, Microstegium vimineum.

Theory predicts and empirical studies have shown that ecologically manipulated communities with high species diversity are resistant to invasion, but do these predictions and results hold true when applied to highly competitive invaders in natural communities? Few studies of diversity-mediated invasion resistance have measured both invasion resistance and invader impact in the same study. We used a two-year field experiment to test: (1) diversity-mediated competitive resistance to patch expansion by the grass, Microstegium vimineum; and (2) the competitive effect of M. vimineum on resident plant diversity. We examined responses of M. vimineum to two native plant density-reduction treatments that had opposite effects on species diversity: (1) reducing species richness via the removal of rare species; and (2) reducing dominance by reducing the density of the dominant resident species. We examined the effects of M. vimineum reduction by pre-emergent herbicide on resident diversity in the second year of the study. Neither rare species removal nor dominant species reduction significantly increased M. vimineum density (relative growth rate). The pre-emergent herbicide dramatically reduced M. vimineum in year 2 of the study, but not most resident plants, which were perennials and indirectly benefited from the herbicide at a more productive site, presumably due to reduced competition from M. vimineum. Diversity-mediated resistance did not effectively deter invasion by a highly competitive invader. In the case of M. vimineum and at more productive sites, it would appear that nearly complete removal of this invader is necessary to preserve plant species diversity.

Шағын және орта кәсiпкерлiк субъектiлерiнде брендті позициялау стратегиясын қалыптастыру

With the economic growth and fierce competition in our country, it is not enough for SMEs to simply produce goods and services and offer them to the market to continue their existence. Market conditions are constantly changing due to globalization and changes in customer expectations. Due to changes in consumer expectations and strong competition, SMEs' continued existence requires them to create brand value and a strong brand image for their products. The brand ensures that the business and its goods and services are perceived differently from its competitors, due to the perception it creates in the minds of consumers. Brand positioning is defined as an effort to place a product/brand somewhere in the mind of the consumer. The aim of positioning is to place the brand in the mind of the consumer in order to maximize the potential benefit of the business. The purpose of this article is to theoretically analyze the formation of brand positioning strategy in small and medium-sized business entities and to contribute to domestic literature. In this work, the concept of small and medium business was first defined. The principles of brand positioning and marketing are theoretically defined. In addition, the use of social media and strategic positioning of small and medium-sized businesses was theoretically analyzed, and the principles of successful brand positioning were considered. The methods of systematization, deduction and induction of scientific literature were used in the research work.

Dynamic constrained multi-objective optimization algorithm based on co-evolution and diversity enhancement

Dynamic constrained multi-objective optimization problems (DCMOPs) involve objectives, constraints, and parameters that change over time. This kind of problem presents a greater challenge for evolutionary algorithms because it requires the population to quickly track the changing pareto-optimal set (PS) under constrained conditions while maintaining the feasibility and good distribution of the population. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a dynamic constrained multi-objective optimization algorithm based on co-evolution and diversity enhancement (CEDE), in which we have made improvements to both the static optimization and dynamic response parts, innovatively utilizing the valuable information latent in the optimization process to help the population evolve more comprehensively. The static optimization involves the co-evolution of three populations, through which their mutual synergy can more comprehensively identify potential true PS and provide more useful historical information for dynamic response. Additionally, to prevent the elimination of potentially valuable infeasible individuals (i.e., individuals that are not dominated by feasible individuals) due to pareto domination, we employ an archive set to store and update these individuals. When the environment changes, to effectively enhance population diversity under complex dynamic constraints and help the population to respond quickly to changes, we propose a diversity enhancement strategy, which includes a diversity maintenance strategy and a center point-based exploration strategy. This strategy effectively enhances population diversity in complex and changing environments, helping the population respond quickly to changes. The effectiveness of the algorithm is validated through two test sets. The experimental results show that CEDE can effectively use valuable information to cope with complex dynamic constraint environments. Compared with several of the most advanced algorithms, it is superior in 94% of the test problems, demonstrating strong competitiveness in handling DCMOPs.

Comparison of State Anxiety Levels of Strong and Weak Competitors in the Iraqi First League Basketball

Comparison of State Anxiety Levels of Strong and Weak Competitors in the Iraqi First League Basketball

Biomimetic cellulose membrane enables high-performance salinity gradient energy conversion: Coupling surface charge and nanopore structure

Surface charge and nanoscale porous structure of ion-selective membranes have been considered prominent in affecting conversion capability of salinity gradient energy-to-power, while the synergistic contribution of them is conventionally overlooked, thus limiting their further development toward high-performance harvesting of salinity gradient energy. Herein, bioinspired by organisms achieving effective intracellular ion transport through their surface-charged nanochannels, we designed porous-charged cellulose membrane (PCC) by simultaneously engineering surface charge and pore structure, followed by desirably chemical and structural distinctions, such as high zeta potential and sulfonic acid group content of −44 mV and 1.22 mmol/g, large porosity of 84 % and pore volume of 0.01 cm3/g (d ≤ 10 nm), while just −23 mV, 42 %, 0.0036 cm3/g and 0 mmol/g for pristine cellulose. Such distinctions endow PCC with excellent ion transport rate and capability (high t+ of 0.97 and η of 44.18 % in 0.001/0.01 M), correspondingly superhigh power density of 21.6 W/m2 (0.01/5 M), which surpasses that of most membrane materials, including biomass materials, synthesized polymers, and even some composite materials. By a tandem 30 PCC units, the output voltage of the designed PCC device reaches 2.24 V, which successfully powers calculator and light-emitting diode. In addition, our PCC demonstrates excellent stability in various pH system (from 3 to 11) during 30-day testing. The PCC with environmentally friendly, low cost, and large-scale advantages demonstrates strong competitiveness in advanced membrane materials toward high-performance manipulating ion transport.

High trophic specialization structures the epi- to bathypelagic fish community in the Bay of Biscay

The deep-pelagic ecosystem is characterized by significant environmental gradients, particularly in food resources. The absence of primary production below the epipelagic zone leads to a decrease in food resources with depth. Two opposite feeding strategies have been described for this community in response to this decline in food resources: stochasticity, with species adopting opportunistic feeding strategies with a generalist diet, and determinism, with species segregating and specializing to mitigate strong interspecific competition through niche partitioning. To test these aspects, we analyzed the isotopic niches of 16 fish species using stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen carried out on muscle samples. The data were collected in canyons of the Bay of Biscay between 25 and 1335 m. Our primary objective was to identify isotopic niche segregation or overlap and determine whether species sharing similar isotopic niches show depth-based segregation by grouping them into trophic guilds and comparing their depth distribution with trawl data. We then used null model comparisons to test whether competition resulted in smaller values of isotopic niche size and overlap within each depth assemblage compared to those obtained by chance. We found that several species with similar isotopic niches were segregated based on depth. The comparison with null models showed that competition drove species to reduce niche size and specialize to avoid strong interspecific competition in the epi- to bathypelagic layers. Utilizing isotopic diversity indices weighted by biomass, our calculation showed significant divergence within the community, indicating that species with the highest biomass had extreme isotopic values. The high degree of specialization of species raises concerns about their vulnerability to various pressures, including climate change and exploitation. At the community level, this vulnerability is also a concern in maintaining the integrity of ecological processes.

The Politics of Punishment: Why Dictators Join the International Criminal Court

Abstract Scholars commonly argue that international law and organizations promote democracy by helping dictators to credibly commit to accountability, individual rights, and transparency. Yet dictators routinely join treaties and international organizations without transitioning to democracy. International law and organizations can generate asymmetric costs for domestic actors because international rules often apply to both governments and non-state actors, yet dictators can limit how these rules are upheld at the domestic and international level. We argue that dictators are most likely to join such treaties and international organizations when they face strong domestic political competition. We illustrate our argument using the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has extensive powers to prosecute individuals for international crimes, including crimes against humanity, genocide, and war crimes. We show that ICC investigations and prosecutions have become a tool for incumbent dictators to target their domestic opponents. We examine the implications of our theory for multiple outcome variables, including the decision to join the ICC, violence, and the survival of dictators in power. Our evidence suggests that dictators are most likely to join the ICC when they face strong political opponents and are subsequently less likely to commit violence and more likely to survive in office.

Biological and mechanical performance of calcium phosphate cements modified with phytic acid

Calcium phosphate cements, primarily brushite cements, require the addition of setting retarders to ensure adequate processing time and processability. So far, citric acid has been the primary setting retarder used in this context. Due to the poor biocompatibility, it is crucial to explore alternative options for better processing. In recent years, the setting retarder phytic acid (IP6) has been increasingly investigated. This study investigates the biological behaviour of calcium phosphate cements with varying concentrations of IP6, in addition to their physical properties. Therefore cytocompatibility in vitro testing was performed using osteoblastic (MG-63) and osteoclastic (RAW 264.7 differentiated with RANKL) cells. We could demonstrate that the physical properties like the compressive strength of specimens formed with IP6 (brushite_IP6_5 = 11.2 MPa) were improved compared to the reference (brushite = 9.8 MPa). In osteoblast and osteoclast assays, IP6 exhibited significantly better cytocompatibility in terms of cell activity and cell number for brushite cements up to 11 times compared to the brushite reference. In contrast, the calcium-deficient hydroxyapatite (CDHA) cements produced similar results for IP6 (CDHA_IP6_0.25 = 27.0 MPa) when compared to their reference (CDHA = 21.2 MPa). Interestingly, lower doses of IP6 were found to be more effective than higher doses with up to 3 times higher. Additionally, IP6 significantly increased degradation in both passive and active resorption. For these reasons, IP6 is emerging as a strong new competitor to established setting retarders such as citric acid. These cements have potential applications in bone augmentation, the stabilisation of non-load bearing fractures (craniofacial), or the cementation of metal implants.Graphical

Electrical Breakdown of Excitonic Insulators

We propose a new electrical breakdown mechanism for exciton insulators in the BCS limit, which differs fundamentally from the Zener breakdown mechanism observed in traditional band insulators. Our new mechanism results from the instability of the many-body ground state for exciton condensation, caused by the strong competition between the polarization and condensation energies in the presence of an electric field. We refer to this mechanism as “many-body breakdown.” To investigate this new mechanism, we propose a BCS-type trial wave function under finite electric fields and use it to study the many-body breakdown numerically. Our results reveal two different types of electric breakdown behavior. If the system size is larger than a critical value, the Zener tunneling process is first turned on when an electrical field is applied, but the excitonic gap remains until the field strength reaches the critical value of the many-body breakdown, after which the excitonic gap disappears and the system becomes a highly conductive metallic state. However, if the system size is much smaller than the critical value, the intermediate tunneling phase disappears since the many-body breakdown happens before the onset of Zener tunneling. The sudden disappearance of the local gap leads to an “off-on” feature in the current-voltage (I−V) curve, providing a straightforward way to distinguish excitonic insulators from normal insulators. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Molecular sharing and molecular-specific representations for multimodal molecular property prediction

Molecular property prediction plays a crucial role in drug discovery and development. However, traditional experimental measurements and Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) models are often expensive, time-consuming, and data acquisition is challenging. To overcome these limitations and challenges, this study innovatively proposes a fusion molecular property prediction method called molecular property prediction model (MSSP) to address the non-uniqueness of Simplified Molecular Input Line Entry System (SMILES) string representation and the difficulty of capturing global information in molecular graphs. This method extracts multiple fingerprint features and utilizes graph neural network encoding to map different modalities of molecules into molecular sharing and molecular-specific representation spaces, achieving modal alignment and fusion of molecules by combining molecular invariance and representation specificity. To enhance the interpretability and visualization capabilities of the model, graph attention mechanisms are introduced, enabling the identification and inference of important chemical fragments within molecules. Experimental results on publicly available cell line phenotype and kinase activity datasets demonstrate that MSSP outperforms the current state-of-the-art methods in molecular property prediction. Additionally, MSSP exhibits strong competitiveness across nine benchmark molecular property prediction datasets. Furthermore, in the task of predicting SRC kinase data properties, this study successfully screens promising therapeutic compounds from compound libraries by validating the predictions of the MSSP model and combining them with traditional methods such as molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations. Multiple potential Lyn inhibitors have been discovered through this approach. The application of MSSP model is helpful to discover new molecules with new drug properties or functions, accelerate the process of drug discovery, save time and resources, and provide important guidance for drug discovery.

An adaptive dual-strategy constrained optimization-based coevolutionary optimizer for high-dimensional feature selection

The feature subset obtained by traditional feature selection algorithms usually contains many irrelevant features and redundant features, which increases the size of the feature set and reduces classification accuracy. More importantly, these irrelevant features and redundant features may lead to local optimum. How to efficiently select the global optimal feature subset from high-dimensional data is a challenging task. To solve the problem, an adaptive dual-strategy constrained optimization-based coevolutionary optimizer for high-dimensional feature selection (ADSCO) is proposed in this paper. The contributions of this algorithm are as follows. Firstly, an adaptive dual strategy constrained optimization mechanism (ADSC) is developed. In the ADSC, the adaptive linear constraint strategy and the random constraint strategy are designed to search for the feature subsets that satisfy the constraints. This can reduce the search space of candidate solutions. Secondly, the dual population-constrained coevolutionary optimizer (CO) is developed to help the algorithm jump out of the local optimum and search for better optimal solutions to further improve the classification accuracy of ADSCO. Finally, the ablation experiments are executed to validate the effectiveness of the proposed ADSC and CO. The ADSCO algorithm is tested on 8 high-dimensional datasets and 8 low-dimensional datasets, and compared with seven typical population feature selection algorithms. Experimental results show that the proposed ADSCO algorithm is superior to the 7 comparison algorithms in terms of classification accuracy and feature subset size, demonstrating its strong competitiveness in tackling high-dimensional data feature selection.

Rolling discrete grey periodic power model with interaction effect under dual processing and its application

Time series characterized by periodic fluctuations are widespread in reality behavioural systems, and accurate forecasting of them has important practical application value. In this paper, based on the idea of discrete grey model, dual interaction effects and the nonlinear characteristics of the system are considered under the perspective of dual processing, and the fluctuating trend of the periodic sequence is portrayed through the introduction of the periodic dummy variable, and at the same time, combined with the extended periodic rolling time window method, the rolling discrete grey periodic power model with the interaction effect under dual processing is proposed, namely DIE-RDGM(1,1,T)α model. Differential evolution algorithm (DE) are employed to determine the optimum power index. Finally, the new model was compared with nine other forecasting models by three instances and applied to the problem of agricultural drought forecasting in Zhoukou City and Anyang City, Henan Province. The results show: (1) The new model has demonstrated strong competitiveness, confirming its rationality, validity, and superiority. (2) The DE is suitable for power index optimization search. (3) The new model can better describe the periodic change rule of seasonal-scale soil moisture in the two cities, and the forecast results are consistent with the actual drought conditions.

Neighborhood Competition and Understory-Associated Vegetation Are Important Factors Influencing the Natural Regeneration of Subtropical Mountain Forests

Natural regeneration is deemed essential for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem stability. Previous studies, however, have primarily concentrated on regions exhibiting limited environmental and climatic variability, overlooking the classification of natural regeneration based on age and source. Research conducted at the mesoscale, characterized by increased environmental variability and the incorporation of neighborhood competition and understory-associated vegetation, enhances our comprehension of the multifaceted influences on natural regeneration. To comprehend this issue, this study implemented 60 plots, each measuring 20 m × 20 m, across five distinct areas of Chongqing, China. Twenty explanatory variables were chosen from five diverse categories: understory vegetation, neighborhood competition, stand structure, climatic factors, and environmental factors. And the naturally regenerated species were classified into seedlings and saplings, as well as endogenous and exogenous species, based on their age and origin. We examined the response of the different categories of natural regeneration to various factors and constructed a structural equation model (SEM) for significant factors to investigate their direct and indirect effects on natural regeneration. A total of 61 regenerated tree species belonging to 29 families and 42 genera were found in the study area, and the naturally regenerating species with high importance values were Quercus fabri, Robinia pseudoacacia, Alangium chinense, Cunninghamia lanceolata, and Ligustrum lucidum. It was found that neighborhood competition and understory-associated vegetation explained the largest proportion (more than 50%) of the variation in the different categories of natural regeneration, and forests with clumped distribution (W), a high mingling index (M) and strong competition (H) had a reduced natural regeneration capacity. Understory-associated herbs significantly reduced natural regeneration and the crowdedness index (C) significantly inhibited the understory-associated herbs, thus indirectly promoting natural regeneration. The shrub cover is significantly and positively correlated with the number of naturally regenerated plants and can be used as an indicator of a forest community’s regeneration potential. Understanding the differences in the importance of various factors at the mesoscale, as well as their direct and indirect impacts, can help us further comprehend the mechanisms of natural regeneration and provide a foundation for the sustainable development of forests.

Effects of plant-soil feedbacks on the invasion and competitiveness of Aegilops tauschii

The interaction between plants and soil is an important aspect that affects the invasive ability of foreign plants and the invasiveness of ecosystems. The study on plant soil feedback of A. tauschii can provide reference for its invasion mechanism. Firstly, the effects of A. tauschii on the nutrients and enzyme activities of invaded soil were investigated; Secondly, in conjunction with soil sterilization, pot experiments were conducted using the De Wit substitution method to investigate the impact of different degree invasive soils on the development of A. tauschii and its interaction with wheat. The results showed that the invasion of A. tauschii significantly increased soil organic matter, soluble phosphorus and soluble potassium, while also causing a significant decrease in the concentration of nitrate nitrogen. And according to the changes of morphological and biomass indicators of A. tauschii, the results of two-way ANOVAs showed that the invaded soil and its microbiota have a positive feedback effect on the growth of A. tauschii. Finally, it can be seen from the value of the competition balance index, the competition ability of A. tauschii in different invasion degree soil is greater than that of wheat whether the soil invaded by A. tauschii had undergone sterilization treatment or not. In conclusion, the invasion potential of A. tauschii is not only derived from its strong competitiveness, but also may be related to the soil conditions.

A Financial Analysis and Valuation on Nike, Inc.

As there are a great number of companies in the market, evaluation of a specific company is vital of importance nowadays. Therefore, this report will give a comprehensive financial analysis of Nike from four aspects: liquidity performance, solvency performance, profitability performance and investment performance. Initially, this analysis will give a brief introduction about Nike’s strategy, operations and some basic information. After that, liquidity performance indicates that Nike did a great job especially in the use of inventory and the discount capacity. Meanwhile, Nike also low financial risks and strong profitability compared with other four companies in the same industry in the solvency performance. Furthermore, Nike has an excellent cost control ability but still some improperly allocated of resources in some areas in the profitability performance. Not only this, Nike has the highest investment value among the four competitors in the same industry in the investment performance. As a whole, it could be seen from the financial analysis that Nike has quite strong competitiveness in this industry.

Composition and diversity of soil microbial communities change by introducing Phallus impudicus into a Gastrodia elata Bl.-based soil

BackgroundThe Gastrodia elata Bl. is an orchid, and its growth demands the presence of Armillaria species. The strong competitiveness of Armillaria species has always been a concern of major threat to other soil organisms, thus disrupting the equilibrium of soil biodiversity. Introducing other species to where G. elata was cultivated, could possibly alleviate the problems associated with the disequilibrium of soil microenvironment; however, their impacts on the soil microbial communities and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. To reveal the changes of microbial groups associated with soil chemical properties responding to different cultivation species, the chemical property measurements coupled with the next-generation pyrosequencing analyses were applied with soil samples collected from fallow land, cultivation of G. elata and Phallus impudicus, respectively.ResultsThe cultivation of G. elata induced significant increases (p < 0.05) in soil pH and NO3-N content compared with fallow land, whereas subsequent cultivation of P. impudicus reversed these G. elata-induced increases and was also found to significantly increase (p < 0.05) the content of soil NH4+-N and AP. The alpha diversities of soil microbial communities were significantly increased (p < 0.01) by cultivation of G. elata and P. impudicus as indicated with Chao1 estimator and Shannon index. The structure and composition of soil microbial communities differed responding to different cultivation species. In particular, the relative abundances of Bacillus, norank_o_Gaiellales, Mortierella and unclassified_k_Fungi were significantly increased (p < 0.05), while the abundances of potentially beneficial genera such as Acidibacter, Acidothermus, Cryptococcus, and Penicillium etc., were significantly decreased (p < 0.05) by cultivation of G. elata. It’s interesting to find that cultivation of P. impudicus increased the abundances of these genera that G. elata decreased before, which contributed to the difference of composition and structure. The results of CCA and heatmap indicated that the changes of soil microbial communities had strong correlations with soil nutrients. Specifically, among 28 genera presented, 50% and 42.9% demonstrated significant correlations with soil pH and NO3-N in response to cultivation of G. elata and P. impudicus.ConclusionsOur findings suggested that the cultivation of P. impudicus might have potential benefits as result of affecting soil microorganisms coupled with changes in soil nutrient profile.

Indonesia's Rubber Exports to the United States

Rubber is one of Indonesia's leading plantation commodities exported to various countries, one of Indonesia's natural rubber market destinations is the United States. Based on data from the trade map, the export value of Indonesian natural rubber in the US market is in first place with an average value of 1,158,164 USD. The purpose of this study is to analyze the trend of Indonesian rubber exports to the United States and to analyze the competitiveness of Indonesian rubber in the United States. The data used is secondary data from 2013-2022. The analysis method used is trend analysis to determine the trend of export development and Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) analysis to analyze competitiveness. The results showed that the trend of Indonesia's natural rubber export volume decreased every year. RCA shows an average value of 67.856 which means that Indonesian natural rubber has a comparative advantage and strong competitiveness in the American market.

Analysis on the Social Demand and Training Path of the Aged Service Talents: Take Dazhou City of Sichuan Province as An Example

The training of senior service personnel is an important part of the development of senior service industry. The lack of senior service personnel seriously restricts the improvement of senior service quality. At present, there is a large gap in the demand for talents in the elderly care service, the talent structure is unreasonable, and the talent training mechanism is not perfect. In order to better promote the development of pension services, it is necessary to make plans for the construction of pension service talent team as soon as possible, increase preferential policies for the training of elderly service and nursing talents, and vigorously support local colleges and universities to apply for pension service management, nursing and rehabilitation therapy and other related majors, so as to realize the healthy and sustainable development of pension services. This report aims to investigate how can Adidas survive and improve in a consistently changing environment and strong competition. This report focuses on the multi-billion dollar shoe industry in 2021, with green, sustainable, and innovative themes. Sports and fashion will become the trend of the future industry. Adidas' global revenue is 21.23 billion euros, lagging behind the powerful Nike, with a growth rate of 16% compared to 2020, but still lagging behind the level before the 2019 pandemic. A turbulent environment, capturing consumer demand and supply chain management are the main risk issues. The company has made progress in climate change and SDG's, establishing a good brand image, but only 42% of supplier facilities met the standards and lacked the comprehensiveness of goals. They are committed to commercial product innovation, but there is a lack of internal innovation and innovative product sustainability. They opt for a detailed and systematic approach to supply chain management. They also pay attention to employee development and a fair environment, but lack concern for daily life. Adidas has a sound risk management system and has effectively responded to epidemic risks, but measures to address small and potential risks need to be improved. Because they have a certain business scale and continue to work hard, Adidas can survive in the constantly changing environment and competition, but surpassing Nike may require breakthroughs.

FEATURES OF THE BACHELOR’S EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM “POLISH STUDIES – LANGUAGE, CULTURE, SOCIETY” AT THE JAGELLONIAN UNIVERSITY (for Chinese Students)

The article examines the special 2-year double degree diploma program of the Bachelor’s Education Level “Polish studies – language, culture, society” for Chinese students at the Institute of Polish Glottodidactics of the Jagiellonian University. This is an innovative project, the idea of which appeared back in 2006, when a cooperation agreement was signed between the Jagiellonian University and the Chinese State Administration for the Development of the Chinese Language, but the idea was implemented in 2019–2020. The turning point in this direction was 2013, when the government of the People’s Republic of China adopted the initiative of the One Belt, One Road global infrastructure development strategy, which led to a number of reforms not only in the economic, but also in the educational sphere, in particular in the teaching of Polish as a foreign language. Poland became an important point in the development of the implementation of the idea of this global project as a transfer between Western Europe and China. In accordance with the signed agreement and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages in Poland Chinese students deepen their knowledge of the Polish language, history and culture and acquire new skills and abilities. This program is implemented in two main parts (2 + 2). The first four semesters take place at the student’s home university in China, and the next four semesters are at the Jagiellonian University. The main task of this program is to train specialists who, on the one hand, have a high level of language skills, but, on the other hand, they must also have knowledge of the country whose language they are studying, have a broad global perspective and be able to participate in a strong competition and international cooperation. Also, the article pays special attention to the prerequisites for the creation of the program “Polish studies – language, culture, society”, describes the main tasks and academic disciplines, the topics of diploma theses, and also explains the mechanisms of using the experience of Polish colleagues on the Ukrainian reality. Key words: Double Degree Program, Polish Studies, Chinese students, Institute of Polish Glottodidactics, Jagiellonian University.

Astronomical Knowledge Entity Extraction in Astrophysics Journal Articles via Large Language Models

Astronomical knowledge entities, such as celestial object identifiers, are crucial for literature retrieval and knowledge graph construction, and other research and applications in the field of astronomy. Traditional methods of extracting knowledge entities from texts face numerous challenging obstacles that are difficult to overcome. Consequently, there is a pressing need for improved methods to efficiently extract them. This study explores the potential of pre-trained Large Language Models (LLMs) to perform astronomical knowledge entity extraction (KEE) task from astrophysical journal articles using prompts. We propose a prompting strategy called Prompt-KEE, which includes five prompt elements, and design eight combination prompts based on them. We select four representative LLMs (Llama-2-70B, GPT-3.5, GPT-4, and Claude 2) and attempt to extract the most typical astronomical knowledge entities, celestial object identifiers and telescope names, from astronomical journal articles using these eight combination prompts. To accommodate their token limitations, we construct two data sets: the full texts and paragraph collections of 30 articles. Leveraging the eight prompts, we test on full texts with GPT-4 and Claude 2, on paragraph collections with all LLMs. The experimental results demonstrate that pre-trained LLMs show significant potential in performing KEE tasks, but their performance varies on the two data sets. Furthermore, we analyze some important factors that influence the performance of LLMs in entity extraction and provide insights for future KEE tasks in astrophysical articles using LLMs. Finally, compared to other methods of KEE, LLMs exhibit strong competitiveness in multiple aspects.