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Despite the prolific film production in the nascent People's Republic of China (PRC) during the 'Seventeen Years' from 1949 to 1966, Maoist cinema received limited critical analysis. While recent scholarly attention has shifted towards examining Chinese film production and exchange within the socialist bloc, a notable gap remains in the literature concerning Sino-Arab film collaboration during this period. This paper seeks to address this gap by utilizing textual analysis and archival studies to explore the practice of Sino-Arab film weeks through the lens of cultural diplomacy. Building upon the framework of the three schools of thought on cultural diplomacy, this study posits that Sino-Arab film collaboration from the 1950s to 1960s operated within the realm of people's diplomacy. This term denotes cultural diplomacy with distinctively Chinese attributes within the Cold War context. This paper also complements the third trend that focuses on the transcendental realm of the state by exploring the little-studied interactions between film screenings and reality in Sino-Arab film weeks. Under the common goal of anti-imperialism and nation-building, people's diplomacy deviates from the conventional paradigm of bipolar rivalry and embodies the spirit of internationalist solidarity among Third World countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of the shift from the first phase to the second phase of transnational cinema studies, this volume examines a set of practices of transnational cinema that have been taking place between China and its counterparts. In exploring transnational cinema activities in the form of film collaborations and co-productions, this volume puts the spotlight on critical trends in transnational cinemas that are not limited to Western spheres of influence. Focusing on practical applications of case studies between China, Arab countries, Denmark and the U.S. it contributes to the debates on the definition and practical applications for research on film collaboration and co-production and transnational cinema studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural organic matter (NOM) can impede the removal of organic micro-pollutants (OMPs) through several mechanisms, including inner filter effect, competition with the target OMP, and radical scavenging, during synchronous adsorption/photocatalysis of multi-functional composites. In this study, the fate and inhibitory mechanisms of sulfamerazine (SMZ, a model OMP) that occurred in presence of seven different NOM samples (i.e. three standard NOM surrogates, a river water sample, a carbon filter effluent and two different sand filter effluents) during the adsorption/photocatalysis by a composite of Bi2O3-TiO2 supported on powdered activated carbon (Bi2O3-TiO2/PAC, abbreviated as BTP) when exposed to visible light irradiation were revealed. The results indicated that adsorption played a greater attribution than photocatalysis on SMZ removal. The primary impediment to the adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of SMZ was attributed to the presence of terrestrial-derived, humic-like NOM fractions with high aromaticity. The adsorption efficacy of SMZ was weakened by the absorption of NOM and its degradation products onto the BTP surface. The inner filter effect, competition between NOM and SMZ, and radical scavenging were responsible for the reduced photocatalysis of SMZ. In the cases of real water matrices, the presence of inorganic anion and co-existed NOM reduced the removal of SMZ. In summary, the findings of this work offer a comprehensive comprehension of the impact of NOM fractions on photocatalysis, emphasizing the necessity to examine the interplay between NOM and background inorganic constituents in the degradation of OMP via adsorption/photocatalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study a class of nonlinear stochastic Duffing oscillators with multidelay feedback. We propose an effective reduction approach with the help of center manifold theory and stochastic averaging method. Taking the initial time-delay τ as the parameter, we reduce the original system to a one-dimensional averaged Itô equation. Our analysis reveals that the original system exhibits stochastic bifurcations, including stochastic D and P bifurcations. Once we have a clear understanding of the bifurcation structure, we can use this knowledge to choose appropriate system parameters and place the system in the desired state. For instance, by adjusting the initial time-delay τ of the control system, we can stabilize the system and achieve the desired outcome. Numerical simulations also verify the theoretical results. With appropriate parameter choices, multiple time delays can destabilize the equilibrium and promote chaotic behaviors, and can also lead to more stable dynamical behavior. Remarkably, we discovered that increasing the interval of time delays and feedback numbers can enhance system stability. It may potentially serve as a novel mechanism for stabilizing stochastic systems. The study provides a solid theoretical foundation for exploring stochastic systems subject to complex time-delay feedback control, and offers a valuable framework for related fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Aspergillus flavus and its main secondary metabolite AFB1 pose a serious threat to several important crops worldwide. Recently, it has been reported that some PHD family transcription factors are involved in the morphogenesis and AFB1 biological synthesis in A. flavus, but the role of Cti6, a PHD domain containing protein in A. flavus, is totally unknown. The study was designed to reveal the biological function of Cti6 in the fungus by deletion of cti6, and its two domains (PHD and Atrophin-1) through homologous recombination, respectively. The results showed that Cti6 might up-regulate the mycelium growth, conidiation, sclerotia formation and AFB1 biological synthesis of A. flavus by its PHD domain, while Atrophin-1 also improved the conidiation of the fungus. The qRT-PCR analysis showed that Cti6 increased the conidiation of the fungus through AbaA and BrlA mediated conidiation pathway, triggered the formation of sclerotia by orthodox sclerotia formation pathway, and improved the production of AFB1 by orthodox AFB1 synthesis pathway. Crops models analysis showed that A. flavus Cti6 plays vital role in colonization and the production of AFB1 on the host grains mainly via PHD domain. Bioinformatics analysis showed Cti6 is conservative in Aspergillus spp., and mCherry mediated subcellular localization showed that most Cti6 accumulated in the nuclei, which reflected that Cti6 performed its important biological function in the nuclei in Aspergillus spp.. The results of the current study elucidate the roles of PHD domain containing proteins in the mechanism of the infection of crops by A. flavus, and provided a novel target for effectively controlling the contamination of Aspergillus spp. to crops.

Environmental sustainability has become the need of the hour and has been emphasized immensely because of the increased environmental awareness and resulting problems caused due to negligence. This study has intended to determine the role of knowledge management (KM) practices in achieving a sustainable environment with the mediating role of environmental awareness and green technological use. The study further examined the moderating role of green innovative culture between the relationship of KM practices and a sustainable environment. The data were acquired from 378 managerial level personnel of the construction industry in China through questionnaires. Smart-PLS 3.3.3 was used to determine the study's hypothesis through the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique. The study found that KM practice has a significant relationship with a sustainable environment, environmental awareness, and green technological use. Also, environmental awareness has a significant effect on a sustainable environment. Moreover, it was found in the study that environmental awareness significantly mediated the relationship between KM practices and sustainable environment, but green technological use did not find any mediating effect on the relationship between KM practices and sustainable environment. Furthermore, green innovative culture considerably moderated the relationship between KM practices and a sustainable environment. Theoretically, this study contributes to the existing literature by incorporating and investigating the role of KM practices in a sustainable environment. Practically, this article presented some implications for the management concerning promoting KM practices and environmental awareness within the organization and developing a green innovative culture.

Horizontally ordered arrangement TiO2 nanotubes with various crystalline phases were prepared by electrostatic spinning, pulsed laser deposition and annealing at different temperatures. The morphology, microstructure, crystal structure and spectral absorption of the nanotubes were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and ultraviolet–visible absorption spectroscopy. Then, ordered TiO2 nanotubes in various crystal phases were deposited to gold interdigital electrodes with a spacing of 100 μm to prepare photodetectors, and their photoelectric performance were examined and compared. The findings revealed that TiO2 nanotubes that were annealed at 500 °C had a greater anatase content (93.8%), displayed a shorter response-recovery time (8.8 and 2.2 s, respectively) and a higher responsivity (70.2 μA/W) to UV light with a wavelength of 365 nm (optical power density of 4.9 mW/cm2, bias voltage of 3 V). Finally, the UV response mechanism and advantages of horizontally ordered arrangement TiO2 nanotubes with different crystalline phases are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]