China’s and Japan’s winding path to the refugee convention: state identity transformations and the evolving international refugee regime

In the early 1980s, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Japan joined the international refugee regime. This timing similarity is puzzling due to the stark differences between the PRC as a communist and authoritarian state versus Japan as a prime example of capitalist development and democratization. Moreover, although both signed the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Refugee Protocol without major reservations, neither of them has fully implemented these treaties. Discussions regarding the PRC’s and Japan’s engagement with the international refugee regime tend to start with the beginning of the Indochina refugee crisis in 1975. However, this article shows that the early decades of their interaction with the international refugee regime are of crucial importance for a full understanding of the timing and form of accession to the international refugee regime. Although the Southeast Asian refugee crisis played an important role as a trigger, it was the changing character of the international refugee regime and the transformations of state identity in both countries that set the ground for the signing of the refugee-related conventions

The view on the Situation in Afghanistan in the Chinese Media within China’s National Security

The withdrawal of US troops and the rapid takeover of Kabul by the Taliban (recognized as a terrorist organization and banned in the Russian Federation) in Afghanistan in 2021 shocked the world community. Even though the PRC actively opposes international terrorism, which the Taliban movement (recognized as a terrorist organization and banned in the Russian Federation) is accused of supporting, it has become one of the few countries that have begun to cooperate with the new Afghan regime. In the light of these events, China’s view of the situation in Afghanistan is puzzling, in particular, we are interested in how these events are reported in Chinese press. In this paper, first, we trace the evolution of the PRC’s official position on Afghanistan, and then, using frame analysis, analyze the coverage of the events of 2021 in the PRC by focusing on three authoritative newspapers, Chinese language versions of “People’s Daily”, “Global Times”, and “The Paper”. Our study demonstrates that the Chinese press supports China’s foreign policy in general and its policy in Afghanistan in particular. Stability in Afghanistan and cooperation with the Taliban (recognized as a terrorist organization and banned in the Russian Federation) on issues of Uighur separatism are important for China’s national security. In the Chinese media, the Taliban (recognized as a terrorist organization and banned in the Russian Federation) are not presented as accomplices of terrorism, which China is fighting within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization but are described as representatives of the Afghan people who aim to restore the security and stability in the country. When discussing the Taliban (recognized as a terrorist organization and banned in the Russian Federation) takeover in the Chinese media, the focus is often not on the crimes of the new regime - repression, abuse of power, restriction of rights, but on shortcoming of the US policy. The latter reflects an important discursive practice in the Chinese media, “othering” the United States

Productivity, biochemical composition and nutritional value of trigonella foenum-graecum green mass depending on seeding rates

The article gives a description of a new culture for the southeast of Western Siberia, which can become one of the valuable sources of obtaining high-quality feed. The nutritional and energy value, biochemical composition in terms of the content of organic substances and mineral elements (calcium and phosphorus) of the dry mass are considered. The yield of green mass, the elements of its structure are shown. The research results indicate that Trigonella foenum-graecum grown in the conditions of the southeast of Western Siberia has a high nutritional and energy value of green mass. Reliable differences in the yield of green mass were revealed on average depending on the seeding rates. The maximum crop yield was obtained when sowing at a rate of 2 million/ha. The seeding rate of 3 million/ha ensured the maximum nutritional value of the dry matter

Educational Inequality and Professional Motivation of a Future Teacher

The professional motivation and interest of the teacher in the students’ educational results are the key resources that allow educational institutions to minimize the existing inequality of educational opportunities for members of different social groups. On this point, one of the important issues of professional training of future teachers is the formation of motivation for their professional activity regarded as a factor that ensures the equality of educational opportunities for students from different social groups. Based on the results of empirical studies of different years, the article analyzes the changes that occurred in the professional motivation of students after the Ussuriysk State Pedagogical Institute joined the Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) in 2011 as the School of Education. The use of the same measuring instruments made it possible to conduct a comparative analysis of the professional motivation of students in different periods

Chain Model for Carbon Nanotube Bundle under Plane Strain Conditions

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have record high tensile strength and Young’s modulus, which makes them ideal for making super strong yarns, ropes, fillers for composites, solid lubricants, etc. The mechanical properties of CNT bundles have been addressed in a number of experimental and theoretical studies. The development of efficient computational methods for solving this problem is an important step in the design of new CNT-based materials. In the present study, an atomistic chain model is proposed to analyze the mechanical response of CNT bundles under plane strain conditions. The model takes into account the tensile and bending rigidity of the CNT wall, as well as the van der Waals interactions between walls. Due to the discrete character of the model, it is able to describe large curvature of the CNT wall and the fracture of the walls at very high pressures, where both of these problems are difficult to address in frame of continuum mechanics models. As an example, equilibrium structures of CNT crystal under biaxial, strain controlled loading are obtained and their thermal stability is analyzed. The obtained results agree well with previously reported data. In addition, a new equilibrium structure with four SNTs in a translational cell is reported. The model offered here can be applied with great efficiency to the analysis of the mechanical properties of CNT bundles composed of single-walled or multi-walled CNTs under plane strain conditions due to considerable reduction in the number of degrees of freedom

Competing ideologies of Russia's civil society

Many analysts and public opinion makers in the West conflate the notions of Russia’s non-systemic liberal opposition and the country’s civil society. Indeed, despite garnering the support of a minority of Russia’s population, non-systemic liberal opposition represents a well-organized civic group with a clearly articulated agenda and the ability to take action. Yet, does Russia’s civil society end there? A closer look at the country’s politics shows that Russia has a substantial conservative-traditionalist faction that has also developed agenda for action and formulated opinions. This group is anti-liberal rather than illiberal ideologically and pro-strong state/pro a geopolitically independent Russia rather than pro-Kremlin politically. The interaction between liberal and conservative civic groups represents the battle of meanings, ideas, and ethics, and ultimately determines the future trajectory of Russia’s evolution. Thus, the analysis of Russia’s civil society must represent a rather more nuanced picture than a mere study of the liberal non-systemic opposition. This article will examine the complexity of Russia’s civil society scene with reference to the interplay between the liberal opposition and conservative majority factions. The paper will argue that such complexity stems from ideological value pluralism that falls far beyond the boundaries of the liberal consensus, often skewing our understanding of political practice in Russia

Mass transfer in the Frenkel-Kontorova chain initiated by molecule impact

The Frenkel-Kontorova chain with a free end is used to study initiation and propagation of crowdions (antikinks) caused by impact of a molecule consisting of K atoms. It is found that molecules with 1<K<10 are more efficient in the initiation of crowdions as compared to a single atom (K=1) because the total energy needed to initiate the crowdions by molecules is smaller. This happens because a single atom can initiate in the chain only sharp, fast-moving crowdions that require relatively large energy. A molecule has finite length, and that is why it is able to excite a wider crowdion with a smaller velocity and smaller energy. Our results can shed light on the atomistic mechanisms of mass transfer in crystals subject to atom and molecule bombardment

Mechanical Response of Carbon Nanotube Bundle to Lateral Compression

Structure evolution and mechanical response of the carbon nanotube (CNT) bundle under lateral biaxial compression is investigated in plane strain conditions using the chain model. In this model, tensile and bending rigidity of CTN walls, and the van der Waals interactions between them are taken into account. Initially the bundle in cross section is a triangular lattice of circular zigzag CNTs. Under increasing strain control compression, several structure transformations are observed. Firstly, the second-order phase transition leads to the crystalline structure with doubled translational cell. Then the first-order phase transition takes place with the appearance of collapsed CNTs. Further compression results in increase of the fraction of collapsed CNTs at nearly constant compressive stress and eventually all CNTs collapse. It is found that the potential energy of the CNT bundle during deformation changes mainly due to bending of CNT walls, while the contribution from the walls tension-compression and from the van der Waals energies is considerably smaller

Methodological approaches to differential detection of EBV1/EBV2 and HHV6A/HHV6B in saliva

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human herpesviruses 6A and 6B (HHV6A and HHV6B) are ubiquitous, infecting all social groups. In Russia, information on the genetic heterogeneity of EBV, even at the level of the main types (EBV1 and EBV2), as well as HHV6A and HHV6B, their prevalence and clinical significance are limited to isolated publications. Plasma and blood leukocytes were mainly investigated. Saliva is the main factor in the transmission and spread of EBV and HHV6A/B infections, an affordable, inexpensive, non-invasive material for detecting viral DNA. The aim of this work is to improve the methodological base for differential detection of HHV6A/HHV6B and the main types of EBV in saliva. The material of the study was the unstimulated mixed saliva of children aged 1-17 years with acute infectious mononucleosis (n=22) and no clinical symptoms of this disease (n=26), as well as conditionally healthy adults (n=9). Samples were collected once and dynamically (daily for 14 days). The quantitative detection of EBV and HHV6A/В DNA was carried out by the method of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in real time. For differential detection of EBV1/EBV2 and HHV6A/HHV6В, an optimized one-round PCR variant with electrophoretic detection of amplification products in agarose gel was used. As a result, the detection rate of EBV, HHV6A/В and EBV+HHV6A/В DNA in acute infectious mononucleosis was 95%, 91% and 86%, among conventionally healthy children - 69%, 85% and 61.5%, respectively. It was found that among children of the Nizhny Novgorod region, only EBV1 and HHV6B predominate in saliva. According to the results of 14-day dynamic monitoring of saliva virus secretion in healthy virus carriers (adults and children), it was shown that a single EBV DNA study does not allow to reliably assess the infection of individuals or the intensity of EBV secretion. In this case, HHV6A/B is characterized by a more constant and uniform release. The methodological approach optimized in this work makes it possible to separately detect EBV1/EBV2 and HHV6A/HHV6B using a single laboratory protocol, and in combination with an additional stage of saliva sample preparation increases the diagnostic sensitivity of PCR analysis, minimizes the proportion of discordant and false negative results. Such an integrated approach can be applied for diagnostic, epidemiological and research purposes