bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Story Sharing for Sexual Health: Piloting Culturally Relevant Intervention with South Asian Immigrant Women in Canada
Authors: Kteily-Hawa Roula , Chikermane Vijaya , Chambers Lori A. , Vahabi Mandana , Soor Jaspreet , Anand Praney , Wong Josephine P.H.
Published: February 2025

Abstract: Objective: There is a scarcity of research on sexual health education among women in South Asian diasporic communities in Canada, resulting in a need for designing culturally relevant approaches to teach about sexual health and HIV prevention, seen as taboo topics. This community-based research study was designed to determine the effectiveness of using culturally relevant stories as a model for sexual health education for South Asian immigrant women (Toronto, Canada). Design: South Asian women participants were randomly allocated to either a fact-based intervention ( n = 40) or a story-based intervention ( n = 38). Focus group data from fact-based and story-based educational workshops were thematically analyzed and interpreted using the parasocial contact hypothesis. Findings: Although participants found the fact sheets to be informative, they were not culturally relevant. The educational sessions using stories were judged to better meet this criterion with many participants feeling the information was relevant to their community, useful for friends and families, and relatable to their lives. Participants assigned considerable value to the family as an important site for sexual health education. Finally, study participants, particularly those who had the storytelling intervention talked about the importance of having a safe space to discuss taboo topics like sexual health. Conclusions: Learning about sexual health through stories is deeper relative to static fact sheets. Both play a role in helping South Asian women learn about sexual health and HIV prevention; however, story sharing was seen as a culturally relevant approach that emphasized the role of the family in sexual health conversations. Family life educators and other health practitioners need to draw on cultural competence as they design culturally relevant material and interventions for sexual health education.
“We Need To Be at the Table”: Collaboration with Lived Experts
Authors: Canham Sarah L. , Weldrick Rachel , Cartledge Anne , Chapple Hilary , Danielsen Chris , Kestle Dorothy , Gauthier Michel , Teichman Samantha
Published: February 2025

Abstract: Background: The recognition of lived experience as an asset has led to increased involvement of individuals most affected by social or medical conditions in research. Objectives: This paper presents an example of a LE advisory group that co-conceptualized and executed a knowledge mobilization project on aging and homelessness within three Canadian cities (Vancouver, Calgary, and Montreal). Methods: We established the advisory group, determined the group’s priorities and objectives, and fostered community engagement through webinars and in-person events. Lessons Learned: We learned the importance of digital support to enable inclusion of advisors with experiences of homelessness, providing honoraria to for advisors’ time and contributions, scheduling meetings on the same day and time each month, and dedicating meeting time for advisors’ personal updates and experiences. Conclusions: This model can be replicated by other research teams studying homelessness, aging, or similar marginalized groups, enhancing the impact of research and knowledge mobilization efforts.
Measuring New and Returning Resident Assistants' Sense of Belonging
Authors: Niu Chunling , Kato Hirotaka , Jin Rui , Love Ashley S.
Published: February 2025

Abstract: This study evaluates the measurement invariance of the Resident Assistants (RAs) Belongingness Scale (RARABS-10) using Rasch-based Differential Item Functioning (DIF) Analysis. Examining 201 RAs at a southern U.S. university, we found the scale generally reliable but potentially too easy for many RAs. One item showed significant differences between new and returning RAs, suggesting evolving perceptions of RA belonging. Findings indicate the need for tailored support strategies: intensive onboarding for new RAs and advanced leadership opportunities for returning RAs. The study also emphasizes the importance of diversity training in RA development programs. By refining the RARABS-10 and implementing targeted approaches, institutions can enhance RA effectiveness in fostering inclusive communities. This research advances understanding and measuring of RA belongingness and informs nuanced approaches to RA development in higher education.
Exploring the Connotations and Stigma of First-Generation and Continuing-Generation College Student Terms
Authors: Honors Kennedy , Desta Kalkidan W. , Grabsch Dustin K. , Kunovich Sheri
Published: February 2025

Abstract: We explored the connotations and stigmas surrounding the term first-generation college student (FGCS) among FGCSs and their peers from continuing-generation backgrounds in higher education. We used a mixed-methods approach, conducting qualitative interviews to gain in-depth perspectives and a quantitative survey to gather comparative data. We found that FGCSs were likelier to experience stigma, and more participants reported a negative connection towards the word. The continuing-generation student term had either neutral or no connotations among participants. We identified key themes that illuminated these beliefs to enhance understanding and enable professionals and institutions to improve campus climate. Our research recommends using collective identifiers for CGCS, implementing support services, and educational campaigns that cultivate an inclusive and interactive campus environment to reduce the stigma experienced by first-generation students.
Underwater with the Feminist Waves: Black Gender and Oceanic Lifeworlds in Rivers Solomon’s The Deep
Authors: Er Yanbing
Published: February 2025

Abstract: This essay stages an intervention in perhaps the most influential story about feminism—that of its progressive waves—such that its discursive legacy becomes reconfigured by modalities of racial capitalism. Moving past the familiar image of surface waves crashing on the shore, the essay considers the oblique presence of the internal wave as a renewed paradigm for narrating feminism, especially as an oceanic manifestation that has evaded the grasp of human perception. It offers a close reading of Rivers Solomon’s 2019 novella The Deep to show how this conceptual submergence of the wave metaphor displaces frames of knowing predicated on human exceptionalism. In a gesture of speculative worldbuilding, the text tells a different story of the feminist waves: one that arises from a gathering of black and queer forms of being acculturated to the depths of the sea.
Le mythe comme palimpseste : Phèdre vue par Wajdi Mouawad et Jean Racine
Authors: Leclère-Gregory Camille
Published: February 2025

Abstract: Cet article vise à établir une comparaison entre les réécritures du mythe de Phèdre par Jean Racine et Wajdi Mouawad afin d'interroger leur perception du monde et de la société. Il s'agit aussi de mettre en lumière le dialogue possible entre le commentaire des mœurs de la cour sous l'absolutisme et le regard critique du monde contemporain en proie aux guerres idéologiques, identitaires et culturelles. Ces questions permettront de mettre en avant la valeur du mythe et de la dramaturgie antique comme palimpsestes—armes culturelles qui dénoncent les mécanismes d'oppression à travers les époques et les sociétés.
What's Real, What's Fake? Fake News, Racial Politics, and False Narratives in La mort du colonel Mauduit
Authors: Stevens April E.
Published: February 2025

Abstract: Drawing on politically motivated narratives surrounding the 1790 assassination of Colonel Mauduit in Port-au Prince, which culminated in a theatrical interpretation of the event, this article explores how complex racial politics intertwined with enlightenment and revolutionary rhetoric in revolutionary Saint-Domingue. By untangling the layers of 'fake news' that circulated around this elusiveness historical event alongside the one-act play, this article examines the power of rumor and racially charged narratives shaped events on the cusp of the Haitian Revolution.
Subjectivity is the Critical Foundational Expression of Feminist Contemporarity
Authors: McFadden Patricia
Published: February 2025

Abstract: This article sets out to interrogate and celebrate the foundational location of Subjectivity as the most quintessential expression of Feminism—as a thinking, living, and active legacy and experience in the reality of an eco-feminist living on the African continent. In using vignettes as emissaries of the encounters and resistances to reactionary ideas and politics, the intention is to provoke a critique of the fraudulent claims to Feminism by cis female nationalist elites who have appropriated Feminism as an opportunistic political garb. It calls for an uncompromising rejection and resistance to Patriarchy in all its forms and guises, and for a retrieval of Dignity and Freedom.
"I don't mean to be Racist but …" Home and the Politics of Belonging
Authors: Nfah-Abbenyi Juliana Makuchi
Published: February 2025

Abstract: How do feminists of Africa write and experience home? I was born, raised, and educated in Cameroon and Canada but have lived and taught at institutions of higher learning in the United States for almost three decades. To the outside world, I am an accomplished, privileged academic and rightly so, but multiple aspects of my identity as an African-woman-academic are often challenged in interactions that engender a continual negotiation of nationality, gender, race, and class. In this creative non-fiction essay, I explore how I employ the privilege of mobility, migration, and transnational experiences to challenge fixed notions of space and place, of home and belonging.
"The Dancing Women Move Forward": Embodied Agency and Black Feminist Solidarity in Tsitsi Dangarembga's This Mournable Body
Authors: Lascelles Amber
Published: February 2025

Abstract: Black feminists, both in Africa and the Diaspora, have always used fiction as a tool for imagining agential subjectivity. Tsitsi Dangarembga is one such author utilizing both fiction and activism to reimagine agency and solidarity for Zimbabwean women. This Mournable Body (2018) centralizes protagonist's Tambudzai Sigauke's embodied reality through the skewed lens of poor mental health whilst also foregrounding the women of her community's struggle for agency. Through Tambu's body, misogynoir and neoliberal individualism are laid bare; yet her complicity with neoliberal regimes reveals an ethical struggle that contemporary feminism grapples with. This article reads This Mournable Body in Black feminist terms, attuned to neoliberal privations (Emejulu and Sobande 2019; Olufemi 2020), transnational solidarities (Mohanty 2003), and contingent agency in African contexts (Diabate 2020). I read for agential moments and tentative solidarities, in particular Nyasha's feminist workshop and the dancing women in the climactic scene (read as a moment of "naked agency" à la Diabate 2020), to show how Dangarembga's novel locates agential subjectivity within embodied acts. This article argues that the novel's embodied moments of Black feminist resistance mobilize a communal, radical Black feminism attuned to uneven global power structures and localized forms of resistance in African contexts.
Henry of Ghent on the Relational Character of Causal Powers
Authors: Löwe Can Laurens , Shaftoe Gillian
Published: February 2025

abstract: Henry of Ghent contends that a causal power is a relation that a substance bears to an act. Scholars have taken this relational account to commit Henry to the Megaric view that a power exists only if it is actualized. We argue that this reading is mistaken because, for Henry, a power is not a “real relation” between a substance and an act. Rather, it is a “relation of reason.” We then consider the worry that if a power is a relation of reason, it is a partially mind-dependent entity. We argue that this worry is unfounded because Henry’s claim that a power is a relation of reason is not so much a claim about what a power is, metaphysically speaking, but rather a claim about how we must conceptualize it.
Don't Call It Apprenticeships: Teaching Libraries in Library Science Education
Authors: Lankes R. David
Published: February 2025

Abstract: This article is a thought piece on the needed changes to library science education brought on by a fieldwide transition to centering the library in the community. It presents a number of examples, and then lays out the need for library science education, across topics, to be participatory, action oriented, constructivist, and incorporating innovation from beyond the field. Finally, it presents two models for future library and information science (LIS) preparation, the hybrid classroom with students and in-the-field professionals working together, and the teaching library based on medical training.
Enhancing Library Communities through Field-Based Projects
Authors: Burns Elizabeth
Published: February 2025

Abstract: Students and future employers value practical work experience to connect theory with practice and build relationships within the library community. One way that candidates meet this ideal is through participation in an internship. Within the developed, required internship in our LIS program, students complete an independent project on-site at their internship location. Using Elliot's (1991) steps of action research, the students in the internship course identify an issue, collect or use data to inform action, analyze the findings, and reflect on the results. An initial needs assessment is conducted. Students implement a hands-on response to the identified need within the information setting during the internship. Completion of the research project allows for an in-depth, independent learning experience while providing student engagement with the community at the internship site. This exploratory case study provides an overview of the action research project. It also highlights projects conducted by students, showcasing the broad range of experiences and depth of work undertaken by interns across a variety of information settings. These projects showcase the benefits and challenges presented while building community relationships through an action research model.
Studying Community Librarianship through Historical Writings on Public Library Programming Activities: American, British, and Anglo-Scandinavian Perspectives
Authors: Mathiasson Mia Høj
Published: February 2025

Abstract: This paper offers a historical perspective on community librarianship, diving into historical writings on programs and programming activities in a public library context since the 1920s from an American, a British, and a Scandinavian perspective. The paper aims to inform the understanding of programs and programming activities, identifying the underlying objectives and ideologies that have shaped this central part of community librarianship. By employing a synoptic approach to the study of these texts, the paper bridges terminological and conceptual differences, encompassing the educational, cultural, social, and informational aspects of public library programming. Based on the literature studied, four main objectives are identified: inspirational, educational, recreational, and relational. Moreover, the paper highlights how librarians have played a central role in driving the development of these services, stressing the importance of the interests and motivation of individuals. Reflecting on how such activities have been subjects of value-based discussions within the library professional field for over a century, this paper offers new insights into community librarianship. As such, it constitutes foundational work for future research and discussions within this field of study.
From Tradition to Fast Pacing 4IR and Society 5.0, to Embracing Community Librarianship: An Evolutionary Approach on How to Prepare Students
Authors: Fourie Ina , Bothma Theo J.D. , Holmner Marlene , Meyer Anika
Published: February 2025

Abstract: The value of community libraries (in various forms and contexts) is well recognized. They align with traditional values of libraries to offer information access and supportive services on all levels of society, while subject to the challenges of the contemporary digital transformation of society and the economy, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), Society 5.0, and artificial intelligence (AI). They need to address various needs in specific contexts (from poverty-stricken to sophisticated technology-driven). This paper shares a vision for preparing students for community librarianship that attends to both the traditional values reported in the literature as well as exciting opportunities that technological development is offering to leapfrog and progress at a quicker and more effective pace. We reflect on the conceptualization and value of community libraries and librarianship, the challenges faced in contemporary society and examples of initiatives from different continents. Against this background, suggestions are offered for an evolutionary model that can be used by educators to prepare students for changing librarianship environments and that can inform context-appropriate curricular development for community librarianship. The latter would, amongst other things, cover the combined use of andragogic (suitable for adult learners) and pedagogic teaching approaches, incorporation of cultural values and diversity, technological developments, and preparation for participatory collaboration and research with communities.
Ecos órficos y afrobrasileños en Réquiem por Yarini , de Carlos Felipe
Authors: Díaz Gustavo Herrera
Published: February 2025

Abstract: In the history of Cuban theatre, the appropriation and racialization of Orpheus have been shaped by Brazilian adaptations of the Orphic myth. In 1964, choreographer Ramiro Guerra staged the Afro-Cuban dance Orfeo Antillano , which was inspired by the French-Brazilian film Orfeu Negro (1959) by Marcel Camus. In 1980, Cuban playwright José Milián premiered Carnaval de Orfeo , a musical play with Yoruba themes that was directly influenced by the Carioca tragedy Orfeu da Conceição (1956) by Vinicius de Moraes. These two Cuban plays reveal a unique and alternative Afro-Latin circuit of transculturation that transcends the relationship with Greek and European models in its hemispheric transmission from Brazil to Cuba. This essay adds a third play to this Afro-Greek repertoire: Réquiem por Yarini (1960) by Carlos Felipe. In this drama, published one year after the premiere of Orfeu Negro in Cuban cinemas, the myth of Orpheus intersects with Afro-Cuban religions and rituals. Considering the temporal proximity among all these productions and their shared interest in the Africanization of Orpheus, I propose reading Réquiem por Yarini in dialogue with the Afro-Brazilian Orphic dramas. This transnational reading allows me to reveal uncharted structural and symbolic similarities between Réquiem and the Brazilian productions. Finally, I comparatively analyze the media specificities of these Afro-Greek adaptations in each context and their repercussions on issues of race, gender, and religion.
Secular Community and Identity in the Poetry of British Freethought Periodicals
Authors: Stainthorp Clare
Published: February 2025

Abstract: The poetry in British freethought periodicals in the second half of the 19th century illuminates how members of this radical secularist movement agitated for change, expressed their ideas, and self-fashioned their collective identity as a community of thought and action. This article examines the role of poetry in the National Reformer, Freethinker, Secular Review/Agnostic Journal , and Secular Chronicle . Their editors published lyrical and reflective poetry alongside poems of protest, expressing freethinkers' social and political struggles across poetic forms and bringing an often-divided secularist movement together. The article concludes by considering what cuttings in an edition of J. M. Wheeler's Freethought Readings and Secular Songs (1892) tells us about the value of poetry for secularists.
Secularism and its Discontents: Forms of Freethought in Mathilde Blind's Periodical Poetry
Authors: Diedrick James
Published: February 2025

Abstract: The poet and woman of letters Mathilde Blind (1841–1896) achieved her early fame — and notoriety — as a radical freethinker, especially as a translator and champion of David Friedrich Strauss's The Old Faith and the New: A Confession (1873), which articulates an antitheist form of historical and scientific materialism. Her subsequent prose works — essays, reviews, and translations — confirm this reputation. But her verse, which makes use of what Percy Bysshe Shelley in The Revolt of Islam called "a subtler language within language," speaks in a subjective, non-polemical voice. Focusing on the poetry Blind published in a range of Victorian periodicals, including Dark Blue , the Athenaeum, Black and White , and The Savoy , this essay argues that these poems express the tension between materialism and idealism that characterize her poetry as a whole, while also illuminating the complex dynamics of secularism in the Romantic and post-Romantic eras.
If You Build It, They Will Get a Tote Bag: Reimagining a University Library's Workshops Through a Collaborative Incentive Program
Authors: Blanchat Kelly Marie , Colwell Tess , Snow Jennifer
Published: February 2025

abstract: Three Yale University librarians from different departments collaborated on a Workshop Incentive Program to increase library workshop attendance, streamline outreach, and strengthen partnerships. While badging and gamification initiatives are widely used in academic libraries for outreach purposes, there are few examples of incentive programs for optional library workshops, including those that are cumulative and material. This article presents a case study example of an academic library that incentivized workshop participation through low-cost prizes, aiming to fill this gap. The authors of the study share the challenges and successes of the program as well as recommendations for libraries that are considering a similar initiative.
“The Papers Have Blown Me Up Sky High!”: John James Audubon (APS 1831), America’s First Celebrity Scientist
Authors: Nobles Gregory
Published: February 2025

Abstract: Based on a presentation at the American Philosophical Society’s Member Meeting in April 2019, this short essay explores the rise of John James Audubon as on of the earliest scientific celebrities in the United States. In Audubon’s era, the idea of celebrity, of being famous for being famous, was only emerging in transatlantic culture, and it is now still emerging as a subject of study among scholars of American history. Put simply, historians point to a subtle but significant difference between fame and celebrity in the early American republic. One gained fame by doing something, or some things, important—enough so that people noticed and were impressed, even grateful. One became a celebrity by doing something important but also by making sure that people noticed one’s achievement by engaging in a self-conscious process of self-promotion—performing a role that could be both repeated before the public and reported on by the newly-expanding popular press. In the world of politics, for instance, George Washington might be the best example of fame, while Andrew Jackson sought celebrity. In science, Benjamin Rush would fall into the former category, while John James Audubon would fall—indeed, leap—into the latter. Through his aggressive self-promotion and successful self-representation as a hypermasculine “man’s man” of a naturalist, Audubon found the celebrity he craved. In doing so, he also made his work more accessible, opening up science to those beyond the walls of learned societies like the American Philosophical Society (of which he himself was proud to have been made a member).
The Cause Célèbre of the 1960s: How Iranian Jewish Women Fought for Inheritance and Divorce Rights
Authors: Afary Janet , Sternfeld Lior B.
Published: February 2025

Abstract: In 1967 and 1975, the Iranian parliament (the Majlis) passed the most significant legislation regarding women's rights in Iran, known as the Family Protection Law. Muslim Iranian women already had inheritance rights according to the sharia (the Islamic religious law). The law now granted all Iranian women the right to impede polygamy, to initiate divorce (if subject to abuse), and to claim custody of the couple's minor children. The Iranian Jewish rabbinical leadership sought to exclude Iranian Jewish women from these reforms in the name of tradition and religious practice. Iranian Jewish advocates of women's rights decided to challenge this entrenched patriarchy by calling for the implementation of family reform laws that had been ratified in Israel in 1965. This article analyzes the struggles of these Iranian women and the role they played with the support of progressive Jewish Iranian men, Israeli politicians, and Israeli rabbis.
Avoiding a Zero-Sum Game: Lessons for Jewish Studies from California's Struggle over the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum
Authors: Kirk Gabi
Published: February 2025

Abstract: This article reflects on the challenges and possibilities of taking a critical race and ethnic studies (CRES) approach to analyzing antisemitism. Using the organizing around a K–12 ethnic studies model curriculum in California between 2019 and 2021 as a case study example, I outline the obstacles impeding both a better incorporation of critical race and ethnic studies approaches into Jewish studies, and the integration of an understanding of antisemitism as a form of racial oppression into critical race and ethnic studies. Challenges include the historic disconnect between ethnic studies and Jewish studies, strained relations and debates around Israel-Palestine and Zionism, and popular confusion about whiteness and Jewishness in the US and internationally. I then highlight pedagogical possibilities for a better analysis of antisemitism through a critical race and ethnic studies approach, including stronger recognition of the leadership of Jews of Color, the potential for the use of foundational critical race and ethnic studies theories to analyze antisemitism, and the need to build trusting relationships through good faith efforts by Jewish studies scholars.
Simplified single-shot geometries for quantitative phase imaging using the transport of intensity equation
Authors: Kumar Ram , Nishchal Naveen K.
Published: February 2025

The transport of intensity equation (TIE) has emerged as a powerful and versatile approach for retrieving phase information from intensity measurements. It offers label-free high-resolution imaging capability. In the TIE, at least two intensity recordings are required for phase retrieval for which either the sample or sensor is mechanically displaced, which creates an error in computation. Single-shot imaging is a technique where all essential intensity measurements needed to solve the TIE are captured simultaneously within a single exposure. Therefore, it overcomes the usual problems of the TIE. In this paper, we propose two simplified versions of single-shot experimental geometries following the Michelson interferometer architecture for phase imaging using the TIE. Through an optical experiment, we demonstrate the efficacy and versatility of the single-shot imaging technique with different object samples.
Absorption measurements of optical coatings at 1.1 and 1.5  µm with lock-in thermography and an associated thermal model
Authors: Soulier Mathias , Krol Hélène , Lumeau Julien , Gallais Laurent
Published: February 2025

To address the increasing demands of high-power laser applications, this paper investigates absorption phenomena in optical components and the photo-induced effects influencing the optical response of thin film stacks. A lock-in thermography (LIT) setup was developed to enable precise, non-destructive, and non-contact absorption measurements. By utilizing modulated high-power lasers operating at 1080 and 1557 nm, the setup induces heating in the coating stacks, with the resulting surface temperature rise captured by a thermal camera. This technique enables measurement sensitivity down to 0.1 ppm. Complementary to the experimental setup, a finite element model (FEM) was established to simulate the thermal behavior during LIT acquisitions, providing insights into the influence of critical physical parameters and aiding the calibration process through sensitivity analysis. Comparative absorption measurements of single-layer and multilayer dielectric stacks were performed at both wavelengths. Furthermore, a numerical model based on complex admittance computations was developed to estimate the absorption in thin film stacks. This integrated experimental and numerical approach enhances the understanding of absorption mechanisms, offering a significant step forward in characterizing and optimizing optical coatings for high-power laser systems.
DCT-UNet: a UNet architecture for diffuse correlation tomography
Authors: Li Yulong , Nikolaienko Dmytro , Wang Jihui , Shang Yu
Published: February 2025

Diffuse correlation tomography (DCT) is an emerging optical technology that was developed in recent years for tissue blood flow imaging. The current methods for reconstruction of blood flow index (BFI) tomographic images from DCT signals include analytical solutions, finite element methods as well as Nth-order linear (NL) algorithm. These conventional reconstruction algorithms are based on physical principle of light electric field temporal autocorrelation functions, all of which are subjected to severely ill-posed mathematical problem that affects the accuracy and robustness of blood flow imaging. In this study, we performed a pilot attempt of deep learning framework on DCT image reconstruction, making full use of prior information and establishing the mapping relationship between optical signals and the blood flow tomographic images. For this purpose, a UNet architecture consisting of six encoders, termed as DCT-UNet network, was proposed. The first encoder is composed of convolutions at a kernel size of 1 × 1, and the second to fifth encoders are made up of deformable convolutions at a kernel size of 3 × 3. The sixth encoder is composed of standard convolutions at a kernel size of 3 × 3. Additionally, the gated units were utilized to replace MaxPooling for selection of the feature maps after convolution, retaining good features and suppressing less useful ones. The group aggregation bridge (GAB) module was adopted, rather than the ordinary skip connections, so as to link the encoder and decoder parts. The DCT-UNet model also incorporates the deep supervision from UNet++ to generate masks at different scales, which are thereafter used in the loss function and the input of the GAB. Through leveraging the strong learning capabilities of convolutional neural networks and fully utilizing the prior information of blood flow images, the DCT-UNet overcomes the primary limitations encountered with conventional methods such as ill-posed problems due to sparsity of optical measurement and tedious iterations for matrix computations, also allowing for fast blood flow imaging. Computer simulations and phantom experiments on a variety of flow anomaly configurations demonstrate the accuracy and robustness of the DCT-UNet network for DCT blood flow imaging, revealing its potential for future physiological and clinical applications.
Thermoresponsive switching in an adaptive polymer-stabilized polymorphic liquid crystal window without surface orientation treatment
Authors: Lin Yu-Xian , Lu Min-Han , Wu Po-Chang , Lee Wei
Published: February 2025

We present a self-sensing smart window based on thermally passive control of polymer-stabilized cholesteric liquid crystal (PSCLC), whose transmission varies through the smectic A (SmA)−chiral nematic (N*) phase transition. In the temperature range corresponding to the SmA phase, the PSCLC cell exhibit a transparent state. Conversely, the cell in the N* phase adopts a highly hazy appearance caused by the focal conic texture of the cholesteric liquid crystal (LC) molecules. Upon cooling the composite from the N* phase to the SmA phase, the interactions between the LC molecules and the polymer network restore the vertical orientation of the mesogenic molecules for the revertible transparency. An advantageous characteristic of this PSCLC cell is the absence of an aligning layer and surface treatment because the polymer network in the LC bulk eliminates the necessity for coordination layers. Our findings indicate that the photocurable bifunctional LC monomer RM257 alone is insufficient for the formation of stable vertical alignment following ultraviolet curing for photopolymerization. With a minimal quantity of the trifunctional monomer TMPTA not only efficaciously elevates the crosslinking density and stability of the PSCLC system but also reduces the total amount of polymer required. Moreover, the PSCLC system boasts an exceptionally high contrast ratio (of 420), a value that is challenging to attain in a conventional PSCLC system. With self-adaptive properties in response to ambient temperature changes, the proposed device holds significant potential for smart window applications in both buildings and vehicles.
Modeling the second stage of extended L-band fiber amplifiers using neural networks trained on experimental data
Authors: Rabbani Hamed , Larochelle Sophie , Rusch Leslie A.
Published: February 2025

Neural networks are fast and accurate in modeling L-band erbium-doped fiber amplifiers with a single stage. To extend this approach to second-stage (or mid-stage) amplifiers, we must address nonuniform and high-power input signals, as well as the presence of significant amplified spontaneous emission in the L-band. We present an experimental method to collect a large training set (15,000 points) for a neural network (NN) that can capture the behavior of gain and noise figure in second-stage amplifiers. We demonstrate that our neural network model has average error below 0.27 dB for gain, or 0.15 dB for noise figure. We examine strategies for collection of training sets, especially in terms of the granularity of the fiber lengths. To show the utility of the NN model as a design tool, we use it to optimize the mid-stage filter of a fixed double-stage amplifier through particle swarm optimization. We contrast mid-stage filters that target 1) flat gain and 2) low noise figure.
Laser double-layer slicing of SiC wafers by using axial dual-focus
Authors: Lu Xiaoyu , Zhao Shusen , Du Jiabao , Jiang Lu , Han Shifei , Yu Haijuan , Li Xinyao , Lin Xuechun
Published: February 2025

Silicon carbide (SiC) is a critical semiconductor material extensively used in high-performance electronic power devices. However, achieving high-efficiency, low-loss SiC substrates remains a significant challenge. This study introduces an innovative dual-focus, double-layer laser slicing technique for SiC, incorporating spherical aberration correction into the traditional weighted Gerchberg-Saxton (GSW) approach. The corrected method generates controllable dual-focus beams, which form double-layer cracks within the SiC, significantly enhancing slicing efficiency. The proposed method achieves a slicing speed twice as fast as conventional techniques. Using this approach, a 10 × 10 × 1.4mm3 SiC sample was successfully sliced into three chips with thicknesses ranging from 400 µm to 550 µm. The resulting wafers demonstrate tensile strengths of 1.07 MPa and 1.40 MPa, with surface roughness values of 0.9 µm and 0.55 µm, respectively. Raman analysis further indicates the presence of SiC structures in the processed regions using the double method. This technique showcases significant potential for broader applications in processing other transparent and brittle materials, providing what we believe to be a new pathway for high-precision laser slicing.
Aneuploidy of specific chromosomes is beneficial to cells lacking spindle checkpoint protein Bub3
Authors: Gadgil Pallavi , Ballew Olivia , Sullivan Timothy J. , Lacefield Soni
Published: February 2025

Aneuploidy typically poses challenges for cell survival and growth. However, recent studies have identified exceptions where aneuploidy is beneficial for cells with mutations in certain regulatory genes. Our research reveals that cells lacking the spindle checkpoint gene BUB3 exhibit aneuploidy of select chromosomes. While the spindle checkpoint is not essential in budding yeast, the loss of BUB3 and BUB1 increases the probability of chromosome missegregation compared to wildtype cells. Contrary to the prevailing assumption that the aneuploid cells would be outcompeted due to growth defects, our findings demonstrate that bub3Δ cells consistently maintained aneuploidy of specific chromosomes over many generations. We investigated whether the persistence of these additional chromosomes in bub3Δ cells resulted from the beneficial elevated expression of certain genes, or mere tolerance. We identified several genes involved in chromosome segregation and cell cycle regulation that confer an advantage to Bub3-depleted cells. Overall, our results suggest that the gain of specific genes through aneuploidy may provide a survival advantage to strains with poor chromosome segregation fidelity.
Navigating water crisis, cholera, and refugee context: Lessons from Nakivale refugee settlement, Isingiro District, Uganda
Authors: Aceng Freda Loy , Kintu Bonny , Habumugisha James , Kayanja Stephen , Wanyoto Flavia , Asiimire Moureen , Ochien Emmanuel Maurice , Amaga Bernard , Kwesiga Sam , Kemigisha Sylivia , Lunkuse Stella Maris , Namara Barbara , Tumusherure Edison , Muruta Allan , Bwire Godfrey
Published: February 2025

Inadequate safe water supply and cholera outbreaks are significant contributors to ill health in displaced populations, exacerbating the vulnerability of refugees fleeing conflicts. In November 2021, the Nakivale Refugee Settlement faced a cholera outbreak and water scarcity, putting displaced persons at risk of ill health. This study aimed to investigate the lessons learned from this incident and identify pathways to prevent future outbreaks, ultimately safeguarding the lives and well-being of vulnerable populations. A descriptive cross-sectional study analysed epidemiological data from the Uganda Ministry of Health, investigating the cholera outbreak among refugees in Nakivale Refugee Settlement, Isingiro district, from November 3rd to December 2nd, 2021. The outbreak affected 173 refugees, primarily in Nyarugugu B and C villages, with consumption of contaminated lake water identified as the likely cause. Inadequate access to clean water and sanitation facilities exacerbated the outbreak, which disproportionately affected individuals aged 10-19 years (30.1%) and females (65%). Promotion of safe water, sanitation, and oral cholera vaccination campaigns effectively controlled the outbreak. This study highlights the critical importance of providing refugees with access to safe water and sanitation infrastructure to prevent cholera outbreaks. Timely implementation of oral cholera vaccination campaigns and enhanced water management systems are crucial to preventing future outbreaks in refugee settlements.
Class-aware feature attention-based semantic segmentation on hyperspectral images
Authors: Sevugan Prabu , Rudhrakoti Venkatesan , Kim Tai-hoon , Gunasekaran Megala , Purushotham Swarnalatha , Chinthaginjala Ravikumar , Ahmad Irfan , Kumar A.
Published: February 2025

This research explores an innovative approach to segment hyperspectral images. Aclass-aware feature-based attention approach is combined with an enhanced attention-based network, FAttNet is proposed to segment the hyperspectral images semantically. It is introduced to address challenges associated with inaccurate edge segmentation, diverse forms of target inconsistency, and suboptimal predictive efficacy encountered in traditional segmentation networks when applied to semantic segmentation tasks in hyperspectral images. First, the class-aware feature attention procedure is used to improve the extraction and processing of distinct types of semantic information. Subsequently, the spatial attention pyramid is employed in a parallel fashion to improve the correlation between spaces and extract context information from images at different scales. Finally, the segmentation results are refined using the encoder-decoder structure. It enhances precision in delineating distinct land cover patterns. The findings from the experiments demonstrate that FAttNet exhibits superior performance compared to established semantic segmentation networks commonly used. Specifically, on the GaoFen image dataset, FAttNet achieves a higher mean intersection over union (MIoU) of 77.03% and a segmentation accuracy of 87.26% surpassing the performance of the existing network.
The external validity of machine learning-based prediction scores from hematological parameters of COVID-19: A study using hospital records from Brazil, Italy, and Western Europe
Authors: Safdari Ali , Keshav Chanda Sai , Mody Deepanshu , Verma Kshitij , Kaushal Utsav , Burra Vaadeendra Kumar , Ray Sibnath , Bandyopadhyay Debashree
Published: February 2025

The unprecedented worldwide pandemic caused by COVID-19 has motivated several research groups to develop machine-learning based approaches that aim to automate the diagnosis or screening of COVID-19, in large-scale. The gold standard for COVID-19 detection, quantitative-Real-Time-Polymerase-Chain-Reaction (qRT-PCR), is expensive and time-consuming. Alternatively, haematology-based detections were fast and near-accurate, although those were less explored. The external-validity of the haematology-based COVID-19-predictions on diverse populations are yet to be fully investigated. Here we report external-validity of machine learning-based prediction scores from haematological parameters recorded in different hospitals of Brazil, Italy, and Western Europe (raw sample size, 195554). The XGBoost classifier performed consistently better (out of seven ML classifiers) on all the datasets. The working models include a set of either four or fourteen haematological parameters. The internal performances of the XGBoost models (AUC scores range from 84% to 97%) were superior to ML models reported in the literature for some of these datasets (AUC scores range from 84% to 87%). The meta-validation on the external performances revealed the reliability of the performance (AUC score 86%) along with good accuracy of the probabilistic prediction (Brier score 14%), particularly when the model was trained and tested on fourteen haematological parameters from the same country (Brazil). The external performance was reduced when the model was trained on datasets from Italy and tested on Brazil (AUC score 69%) and Western Europe (AUC score 65%); presumably affected by factors, like, ethnicity, phenotype, immunity, reference ranges, across the populations. The state-of-the-art in the present study is the development of a COVID-19 prediction tool that is reliable and parsimonious, using a fewer number of hematological features, in comparison to the earlier study with meta-validation, based on sufficient sample size (n = 195554). Thus, current models can be applied at other demographic locations, preferably, with prior training of the model on the same population. Availability: https://covipred.bits-hyderabad.ac.in/home; https://github.com/debashreebanerjee/CoviPred.
Alcohol consumption associated with suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts in substance users: A cross-sectional study of an addiction registry in western Iran
Authors: Farnia Vahid , Mohebian Mahsa , Davarinejad Omran , A. Hien Denise , Salemi Safora , Hookari Sara , Bajoghli Hafez , Rahami Bahareh
Published: February 2025

Background

Suicide is recognized as a major problem worldwide and is particularly prevalent among specific groups, including individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs). The present study aimed to investigate alcohol consumption as a risk factor for suicidal ideation and attempts among those with substance use disorders (SUDs) in western Iran.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional study, involving 1,112 individuals with SUDs who sought treatment at Farabi Hospital in Kermanshah, Iran, between the years 2019 and 2021. These participants were included in the study through a convenient sampling method as part of an interview-based assessment study.

Results

The participant’s average age was 37.97 years, and 982 were male (94.7%). Overall, 285 (27.5%) individuals had a history of suicide attempts, 316 (30.5%) individuals reported suicidal ideation, and 463 (41.6%) were alcohol users. In individuals who consumed alcohol, the prevalence of suicidal ideation (172 (37.2%) individuals), and a history of suicide attempts (156 (33.8%) individuals) was significantly higher compared to non-alcohol users. There was a statistically significant relationship between alcohol consumption and a history of suicide attempts (p < 0.05). The probability of suicide attempted in people with a history of alcohol consumption was 1.5 times, and in patients with a history of simultaneous substance use, it was 1.4 times that of other patients (all Ps < 0.05).

Conclusion

Our study results revealed that alcohol consumption among individuals with SUDs is associated with increased rates of suicidal ideation, attempts, and death. Therefore, clinicians should consider it as a separate suicide risk factor.
Navigating uncertainty in environmental DNA detection of a nuisance marine macroalga
Authors: Nichols Patrick K. , Fraiola Kaʻuaʻoa M. S. , Sherwood Alison R. , Hauk Brian B. , Lopes Keolohilani H. , Davis Colt A. , Fumo James T. , Counsell Chelsie W. W. , Williams Taylor M. , Spalding Heather L. , Marko Peter B.
Published: February 2025

Early detection of nuisance species is crucial for managing threatened ecosystems and preventing widespread establishment. Environmental DNA (eDNA) data can increase the sensitivity of biomonitoring programs, often at minimal cost and effort. However, eDNA analyses are prone to errors that can complicate their use in management frameworks. To address this, eDNA studies must consider imperfect detections and estimate error rates. Detecting nuisance species at low abundances with minimal uncertainty is vital for successful containment and eradication. We developed a novel eDNA assay to detect a nuisance marine macroalga across its colonization front using surface seawater samples from Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM), one of the world’s largest marine reserves. Chondria tumulosa is a cryptogenic red alga with invasive traits, forming dense mats that overgrow coral reefs and smother native flora and fauna in PMNM. We verified the eDNA assay using site-occupancy detection modeling from quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) data, calibrated with visual estimates of benthic cover of C. tumulosa that ranged from < 1% to 95%. Results were subsequently validated with high-throughput sequencing of amplified eDNA and negative control samples. Overall, the probability of detecting C. tumulosa at occupied sites was at least 92% when multiple qPCR replicates were positive. False-positive rates were 3% or less and false-negative errors were 11% or less. The assay proved effective for routine monitoring at shallow sites (less than 10 m), even when C. tumulosa abundance was below 1%. Successful implementation of eDNA tools in conservation decision-making requires balancing uncertainties in both visual and molecular detection methods. Our results and modeling demonstrated the assay’s high sensitivity to C. tumulosa, and we outline steps to infer ecological presence-absence from molecular data. This reliable, cost-effective tool enhances the detection of low-abundance species, and supports timely management interventions.