In this article, we explore the bifurcation problem of limit cycles near the double eight figure loop (compound cycle with a 2-polycycle connecting two homoclinic loops). A general theory is established to find the lower bound of the maximal number of limit cycles (isolated periodic orbits) near the double eight figure loop. The Liénard system, a well-known nonlinear dynamical model, appears in a natural way in physics, chemistry, engineering, and so on, where periodic phenomena play a relevant role. As an application, we investigate an $(n+1)$th-order generalized Liénard system and prove the system has at least $7[\frac{n}{6}]+2[\frac{r}{2}]-[\frac{r}{4}]$ limit cycles near the double eight figure loop for any $n\geq5$ and $r=\rm mod(n,6)$, and their distribution is also gained.

This article examines the role of travel in the practice of Cold War politics, focusing particularly on the experiences of Indonesian trade unionists who travelled between Indonesia, the Soviet Union, and Eastern Europe. During the Sukarno era (1949–1966), Indonesians from the country's largest trade union federation SOBSI held leading positions in the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU). In 1965–1966, the army-directed purges against the Indonesian Left destroyed independent trade unionism as the country transitioned to the Suharto New Order regime. As leftist trade unionists were killed, imprisoned, or detained without trial, memories of travelling to the Communist bloc became denied, repressed, and submerged from history. The prison notebooks of Indonesian trade unionist Adam Soepardjan represent a unique set of underground writings produced after the army coup. An analysis of these notebooks reveals the ambivalences of Cold War political travel and the complex subjectivities of the traveller who appraises and reappraises the experiences of travel in a radically changed set of circumstances.

In this study, we describe a new species of Pseudoparacreptotrema (Allocreadiidae) from the mugilid Dajaus monticola collected in western Puerto Rico, where no allocreadiid has previously been reported, bringing the number of species in this genus to seven (five in D. monticola, two in Profundulus spp.). The new parasite species is distinguished from congeners by its overall size, oral-to-ventral sucker size ratio, pharynx size, cirrus sac, and oral lobe morphology, and by 0.64%–3.45% divergence in a 1019-bp alignment of 28S. We build on prior suggestions that the current concept of P. agonostomi likely includes multiple species and provide the first mitochondrial data (whole mitochondrial genome) as well as the complete nuclear rDNA array from Pseudoparacreptotrema to facilitate future phylogenetic work. Within the Allocreadiidae, phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial genomes and 28S provides conflicting topologies for the placement of Pseudoparacreptotrema and Allocreadium. The 28S phylogeny of six species of Pseudoparacreptotrema resembles that of four lineages of D. monticola in that in both host and parasite, Pacific coastal lineages branch earliest, and a Caribbean lineage is more recently evolved.

Previous studies have found that media coverage of a firm's corporate social irresponsibility (CSiR) often delays or blocks the completion of a cross-border acquisition when the acquiror is a multinational enterprise (MNE) from an emerging market. Drawing from the attention-based view, we argue that the effects of Chinese MNEs’ CSiR on deal completion vary depending on several contextual factors, as these factors garner more attention by making the deals more salient to stakeholders. Using a sample of cross-border acquisitions by Chinese MNEs from 2013 to 2020, we find that CSiR media coverage per se does not decrease the likelihood of a deal's completion. However, consistent with attention-based arguments, we find that CSiR media coverage negatively affects the deal's completion when the acquirors are state-owned enterprises and when the target country has high institutional quality. Our findings enhance our understanding of the effects of CSiR on cross-border acquisitions by highlighting the moderating roles of contextual factors related to stakeholder attention. Thus, it is important for MNEs to recognize the boundary conditions that may influence the potential sanctions from local stakeholders. Based on these findings, this study contributes to the literature on CSiR, cross-border acquisitions, and stakeholder attention.

The phoretic mite assemblage of the Douglas-fir beetle, Dendroctonus pseudotsugae Hopkins (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), has not been thoroughly documented. Phoretic mites can impact fitness and population dynamics of hosts; documenting a mite assemblage may provide information on their ecological roles. We caught Douglas-fir beetles in central British Columbia, Canada, and sorted associated mites into morphospecies. Representatives of the morphospecies were DNA barcoded (CO1 barcode region), indicating at least nine operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Representatives of all OTUs were slide-mounted and morphologically identified. There was a mean of 50.5 ± 4.7 mites per beetle, with both females and males carrying similar numbers of most mite species, except for OTU B1, which was found in higher numbers on females. OTU B1, Parawinterschmidtia furnissi (Woodring) (Astigmata: Winterschmidtiidae), was found in substantially higher numbers than all other OTUs and was always clustered in large aggregations in an anterior pocket on the beetles’ subelytral surface. When this OTU was removed from the calculation, the mean number dropped to 1.3 ± 0.2 mites per beetle. The consistent high numbers of OTU B1 in conjunction with its consistent anatomical aggregation suggests an important interaction between this particular mite species and the Douglas-fir beetle.

This article investigates the internationalization process of incubating, parenting, and eventually spinning-off overseas entrepreneurial ventures originating from emerging markets. In a comparative case study of Chinese high-tech firms, we leveraged multiple sources of data to reveal (1) how the exploitation of parent firms’ technological and platform resources enables them to initiate, support, and eventually profit from the international growth of foreign ventures that autonomously engage in the exploration of product and market innovations, and (2) how ambidextrous synergy was created through the continuous exchange, combination, and reconfiguration of knowledge and resources between parent firms and foreign ventures. These findings extend our understanding of how Chinese high-tech firms manage the learning process in overseas venturing. We draw implications of these findings for research and practice.

In this article, I summarize the main takeaways from The Limitations of the Open Mind and reply to concerns raised by Miriam Schleifer McCormick and Nathan Ballantyne. In reply to McCormick, I emphasize potential difficulties involved in helping people change their minds while representing yourself as taking an “objective stance” toward them. In reply to Ballantyne, I clarify my reasons for thinking that open-mindedness is a matter of being willing to change your mind and that amateurs can in some ways and in some situations be more immune to misleading arguments than experts can.

The increasing contamination of water by organic dyes causes water pollution in the enviroment. Factories discharge untreated effluents into nearby water courses adding to the existing water pollution; this poses a significant environmental challenge. Hence there is a pressing demand to develop efficient technology for wastewater treatment, and photocatalysis has emerged as an advanced oxidation process with a green chemical approach for such treatment. This study aims to synthesize montmorillonite/TiO2 (Mnt/TiO2) photocatalysts and clarify the effect of montmorillonite content on the photodegradation of the organic dye rhodamine B (RhB). Mnt/TiO2 was prepared by a chemical method with various mass ratios of mMnt:mTiO2 based on the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of Mnt. The physicochemical properties of the samples prepared were determined by the following methods: energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The photocatalytic degradation efficiency of the RhB solution of Mnt/TiO2 was investigated by UV-Vis spectroscopy under UVC irradiation. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS) was used to identify the photocatalytic by-products. The results showed that the structure of the nanocomposites has a ‘house-of-cards’ form with TiO2 nanoparticles randomly distributed on the surface and sheets of clay minerals. The best mass ratio of mMnt:mTiO2 is 10:1, corresponding to a 10 ppm RhB solution decolorization efficiency of 91.5% in 210 min. In this study, Mnt/TiO2 successfully cleaved the dye chromophore structure and broke the RhB rings into small and broken-ring compounds.

Although the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC, also known as Taiwan) and their ruling parties have altered over time, there are quite a few similarities between their models of nation-building, more than is commonly acknowledged. The guofu (father) of the modern Chinese state, Sun Yat-sen, one of the few political leaders who is still honored on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, claimed all the peoples and territories of the former Qing empire comprised a single national community, the so-called Zhonghua minzu. Yet a Han super-majority has long sat at the center of this national imaginary. In this article, we ask what has happened to Sun’s imagined community across the last century, and how it has evolved in the two competing Chinese states the PRC and the ROC. We seek to demonstrate the enduring challenge of Han-centrism for multiethnic nation-building in both countries, while illustrating how shifts in domestic and international politics are altering this national imaginary and the place of ethnocultural diversity within it.

In the 1970s, the Major Urban Fringe Experiment, later known as Operation Groundwork, emerged in response to industrial decline, growing awareness of industry’s environmental impact and grass-roots environmentalism and regeneration activism. Contrary to ideas of concomitant industrial and community decline, Groundwork demonstrates post-industrial regeneration’s community-building potential. Groundwork created bespoke volunteer groups, helped set up others and worked with already existing organizations. Unlike contemporary regeneration initiatives in the 1970s and 1980s, these community links were retained even as Groundwork expanded. This article traces Groundwork’s origins and its launch under Labour in the 1970s, its championing by Conservative Minister Michael Heseltine and its successful expansion from its initial test site in St Helens (Merseyside), to the North-West and then nationwide.

Cognitive biases affect how people perceive social class mobility. Previous studies suggest that people find it difficult to estimate actual economic social mobility accurately. These results have also noted differences between regions. While in the United States people overestimate actual economic social mobility, in Europe people tend to underestimate it. Across two independent cross-sectional studies, we examined whether cognitive biases operate in the Spanish context and, if so, whether they depend on the type of social mobility. In Study 1 (N = 480), we tested whether people in Spain have an accurate estimation of actual upward economic societal mobility. The results showed that people in Spain have a pessimistic view of upward societal mobility. In Study 2 (N = 274), we analyzed whether people in Spain are more or less optimistic according to the type of social mobility: Personal vs. societal. We found that Spaniards are more optimistic when estimating their own mobility (i.e., personal mobility) than when estimating the mobility of the Spanish society (i.e., societal mobility). Contrary to our predictions, we found that meritocratic beliefs do not play a relevant role in determining any type of social mobility. These results extend previous research on social mobility and its psychosocial consequences. Furthermore, they are well aligned with a new psychosocial perspective suggesting that social mobility is a multidimensional construct. We also discussed the psychosocial implications of this optimistic bias for personal mobility.

Bentonite is an abundant natural resource in the Maghnia region of Algeria that may have potential value in catalysis, but heretofore has been considered of low value for this purpose due to its low acidity and low catalytic activity. Low cost is one of the main criteria for choosing a suitable material for catalysis. Because bentonite is abundant and low-cost, its use as a starting material for the preparation of catalysts deserves reconsideration. The present study was undertaken, therefore, to optimize the performance of bentonite as a catalyst in one of the most promising reactions in organic synthesis, namely, cyclohexene epoxidation. The bentonite was subjected to adjustment of its structure by means of a number of laboratory treatments based on its large cation exchange capacity. These modifications aimed to achieve an environmentally friendly catalytic process by incorporating transition metals, specifically titanium and vanadium, into the modified bentonite structure through acid activation. Redox properties were enhanced and Lewis and Brønsted acidities were introduced. The vanadium oxide, supported on titania-pillared, acid-activated bentonite (5V/Ti-AAC), was characterized comprehensively using various techniques, including diffuse-reflectance UV-visible spectroscopy (DR UV-Vis), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) for surface acidity analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray elemental analysis (EDX). The catalytic activity was investigated in response to certain variables, such as catalyst mass, nature of the solvent, amount of oxidant, and reaction temperature. A kinetic study was conducted to understand the reaction behavior. The experimental results demonstrated intriguing catalytic activity, achieving a 42% conversion rate with ~68% selectivity toward the epoxide product when employing tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as the oxidant and heptane as the solvent. This study highlights the potential of 5V/Ti-AAC as an environmentally friendly catalyst applied in the epoxidation of cyclohexene.

This paper evaluates (i) the transmission of global uncertainty shocks to the expectations of professionals and disagreement among them and (ii) the relevance of policy choices in open economies in the context of the impossible trinity. Relying on a large set of survey data covering a wide range of expected macroeconomic outcomes for 33 countries, we establish evidence for an expectation channel of global uncertainty shocks. Global uncertainty exerts significant and adverse effects on expectations over domestic macroeconomic outcomes across the board and also frequently spills over to disagreement over these outcomes, increasing domestic uncertainty. Finally, we identify nonlinear relationships between the policy choices in an open economy and the transmission of uncertainty shocks. Policy choices affect the expected downswing in GDP in the aftermath of uncertainty shocks, the expected response of monetary policy, and the exchange rate and disagreement over future macroeconomic outcomes.

This work presents an approach for optimization of window coefficients for 5G user equipment side sensing, using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing radar-based range and velocity estimation, based on the sounding reference signal (SRS) from the 5G New Radio (NR) standard. The signal configuration and the corresponding waveform are generated in compliance with the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard for 5G. The limitations of conventional signal processing for resources available for sensing with the SRS are highlighted. The proposed approach, which optimizes the window coefficients to improve the sensing capabilities, is implemented through two methods. The first method employs a decoupled optimization strategy for range and velocity, showing high computational efficiency. Our results demonstrate that this method significantly improves the peak sidelobe level (PSL) of the velocity profile by over $\mathrm{15}\,\mathrm{dB}$, although it does not address the issue of diagonally located sidelobes, which occur due to non-uniform resource distribution. The second method adopts a comprehensive full 2D optimization technique. While it requires more computational resources and does not improve the PSL beyond the first method’s achievements, it mitigates the diagonally located sidelobes issue. The level of these have been improved by more than $\mathrm{3}\,\mathrm{dB}$.