We prove that the existence of one horosphere in the universal cover of a closed Riemannian manifold of dimension $n \geq 3$ with strongly $1/4$-pinched or relatively $1/2$-pinched sectional curvature, on which the stable holonomy along one horosphere coincides with the Riemannian parallel transport, implies that the manifold is homothetic to a real hyperbolic manifold.

Digital technology has enormous potential in rural revitalisation, thus providing impetus for improving the well-being of rural residents in underdeveloped areas. This study takes the policies of e-commerce in rural areas as an intervention in the development of e-commerce. It uses the panel data from 321 counties in the old revolutionary areas of China from 2003 to 2020 to empirically explore the impact of e-commerce development on the income of rural residents. Results show that e-commerce significantly improves the income and well-being of rural residents in old revolutionary areas. Propensity score matching and entropy balance matching are used to overcome group differences in covariate features, and the estimation results are consistently robust. In terms of mechanisms, e-commerce development increases per capita income in old revolutionary areas by promoting three aspects significantly: agricultural revitalisation, non-agricultural employment, and government support efforts. On the other hand, the heterogeneity analysis shows that e-commerce plays a diminishing role in increasing income in the eastern, central, and western regions.

Illegal poaching brought elephant species to the brink of extinction; therefore, international trade in ivory has become regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES). However, the trade is still allowed for antique items, standing for ivory from a period before 1947 within the European Union. This could serve as a loophole for the laundering of modern ivory. In the described case of the Happy Fisherman statuette, the traded item was declared to be antique, but radiocarbon analysis proved a modern provenance, and the statuette was confiscated. The radiocarbon analysis was later confirmed by information from a Chinese newspaper found inside the statuette. Based on the findings, we strongly recommend careful consideration of each individual ivory piece offered for sale, with a thorough inspection of the items and related documentation carried out by a relevant CITES authority. Any exemption of the commercial ban should be granted only to those applicants who meet the criteria of proper evidence in the form of scientific analysis or reliable and trustworthy documentation.

This study aimed to analyze the influence of different temperatures on the embryonic and larval development of discus fish Symphysodon aequifasciatus and determine the time required for the beginning of exogenous feeding. Eggs and larvae were obtained from natural spawns and distributed in five treatments: 24.0, 26.0, 28.0, 30.0, and 32.0 °C. To assess the developmental stages and embryonic structures, samples were taken at regular intervals and checked under an optical microscope. At the end of the experimental period, statistical analysis was performed, followed by Tukey’s test. As a result, it was possible to observe the significant effects of temperature on the variables. It was noted that the temperature accelerated the embryonic and larval development of the discus and also contributed to a reduction in the time between the incubation period and the feeding transition. It was also noted that the incubation of eggs and larvae at a temperature of 24.0 °C can cause damage to embryos, such as malformation of the body as well as anomalies in the circulatory system.

Using a person-oriented approach with a broad sample of 200 employees across several sectors, we identified four victim subgroups sharing similar configurations of frequency and severity of aggression: high–high (high levels of frequency and severity; 15%), moderate–moderate (moderate levels of frequency and severity; 15%), high–low (high frequency but low severity; 26.5%), and low–low (lowest levels of frequency and severity; 43%). Further, we examined the relationship between victim groups, social demographics, and victim disposition. The results showed that women, young, and lower-tenured employees are at risk of belonging to the high–high victim group. In addition, employees with high negative affect and psychopathy traits are at risk of belonging to the high–high victim group. Drawing upon learned helplessness theory, we examined whether victim groups differed concerning internalizing problems. Results suggest that high–high group victims experienced the highest anxiety, loss of confidence, and social dysfunction, whereas low–low group members experienced the lowest levels.

Daisies are a special type of hypergraph introduced by Bollobás, Leader and Malvenuto. An $r$-daisy determined by a pair of disjoint sets $K$ and $M$ is the $(r+|K|)$-uniform hypergraph $\{K\cup P\,{:}\, P\in M^{(r)}\}$. Bollobás, Leader and Malvenuto initiated the study of Turán type density problems for daisies. This paper deals with Ramsey numbers of daisies, which are natural generalisations of classical Ramsey numbers. We discuss upper and lower bounds for the Ramsey number of $r$-daisies and also for special cases where the size of the kernel is bounded.

The UK government has called for employers to make work adaptations in response to changes in health individuals may experience as they age. However, government assumptions place too much emphasis on the voluntary actions of employers and managers, without placing the management of health in a wider context. Drawing on insights from Thompson’s disconnected capitalism thesis, we explore whether financial/competitive pressures facing many private and public sector organisations today, alongside other factors, contribute to organisations not considering or implementing work adaptations. In this context, it is suggested that older workers may also hide health issues because of anxiety, or ‘ontological precarity’, regarding working longer. Qualitative case studies compare the delivery of work adaptations in three organisations: ‘Local Government’, ‘Hospitality’, and ‘Trains’. Work adaptations were only widely available in Trains; this was for a range of reasons, including the fact that Trains was relatively insulated from financial pressures and able to deliver job and financial security for older workers. As many older workers will continue to be employed by organisations similar to Local Government and Hospitality, we argue that policy makers cannot rely solely on employers to make adaptations.

In 1975, the National Coal Board (NCB) produced a short film, “People Will Always Need Coal”, to encourage recruitment into mining. It was extraordinarily attention-grabbing, presenting miners as cosmopolitan playboys. It defined the industry in hyper-masculine terms, encouraging would-be recruits to “be a miner”. This article uses the film as a starting point for a discussion of the complex interactions between the material realities of masculinity, class, and culture within Britain's coalfields in the period 1975–1983. A critical reading of the film is complemented by archival research and oral testimony drawn from interviews with 96 former miners and their families. At a time when the industry was positioning itself as an employer with a long-term future, mining was presented on screen as a modern masculine occupation that was far removed from the dominant imagery of coal for much of the twentieth century. The National Union of Mineworkers’ (NUM) victories in the strikes of 1972 and 1974, the drafting of a Government Plan for Coal, and rising living standards, created a short period of optimism before the cataclysmic closures of the 1980s and 1990s. This was a time when masculinity in the coalfields was being reproduced, modified, contested, and subverted. The years 1975–1983 offer valuable insight into such masculinity and the ways it was mediated and challenged through work, the domestic sphere, leisure, and popular culture.

This interdisciplinary study contributes to the understanding of the use of raw materials and pottery production techniques in Late Punic–Late Republican Malta, focusing on the Tas-Silġ sanctuary and the Żejtun Villa. Plates, bowls and cooking vessels were described typologically, and their fabrics were characterised using polarised light microscopy and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence. The aims were to classify these vessels into integrated and coherent fabric groups based on all analyses, to better understand the local production of vessels and to assess a possible local provenance.

Four integrated fabric groups were identified and represent local productions using distinct raw materials or production techniques. These groups can be distinguished typologically, macroscopically, petrographically and chemically. Multivariate techniques, including the chemical analysis of Maltese clays, were produced to enhance the fabric classification and discuss their raw materials. The raw materials identified are consistent with what is known in Maltese geology. One group is distinctive, and the results suggest the possible use of a previously unidentified raw material, Terra Rossa, found over the Upper Coralline Limestone. This new classification provides the basis for further studies of Late Punic–Roman sites in the Maltese islands and the future identification of imports and exports from the Maltese islands.

Since 2010, the UK government has transformed social security administration using digital technology and automated instruments to create and deliver a single working-age benefit known as Universal Credit (UC). Social policy scholars have given much attention to the key policy tenets of UC but engaged less with leading aspects of automated and digital delivery and their relationship to different forms of administrative burdens for UC recipients. This article addresses this empirical and conceptual gap by drawing on administrative burdens literature to analyse empirical data from forty-four interviews with UC recipients. We conclude by highlighting three costs: temporal, financial, and emotional. These costs illustrate the political dimensions of technical features of UC, as they affect accountability procedures and paths to legal entitlements that have bearings on certain claimants’ rights.

Currently, there is an increasing demand for parallel mechanisms with fewer inputs and more outputs in aerospace, antennas, and recreational facilities. Therefore, this paper proposes a new parallel mechanism (PM) with a separation of constraints and drives, facilitating centralized drive management. Based on screw theory, the type synthesis of new parallel mechanisms with 3T (T representing translation), 3R (R representing revolute), 2T1R, and 2R1T is proposed. Three-degree-of-freedom (3-DOF) parallel mechanisms with fewer inputs and multiple outputs are proposed. Taking the 3RPS-PPPS parallel mechanism as an example, the closed-loop vector method is employed to solve for the lengths of actuated branches. A complete Jacobi matrix is constructed. The motion/force transmission performance of the 3RRS/PPPS parallel mechanism is better than the 3RRS parallel mechanism. Centralized management of drive branches greatly reduces the number of drives, making maintenance and repair easier. It has many application scenarios in antennas, recreational facilities, and other occasions.