bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Emergence of Spatial Scales and Macroscopic Tissue Dynamics in Active Epithelial Monolayers
Authors: Selvamani Padmalochini , Chelakkot Raghunath , Nandi Amitabha , Inamdar Mandar M.
Published: April 2023

Migrating cells in tissues are often known to exhibit collective swirling movements. In this paper, we develop an active vertex model with polarity dynamics based on contact inhibition of locomotion (CIL). We show that under this dynamics, the cells form steady-state vortices in velocity, polarity, and cell stress with length scales that depend on polarity alignment rate (ζ), self-motility (v0), and cell-cell bond tension (λ). When the ratio λ/v0 becomes larger, the tissue reaches a near jamming state because of the inability of the cells to exchange their neighbors, and the length scale associated with tissue kinematics increases. A deeper examination of this jammed state provides insights into the mechanism of sustained swirl formation under CIL rule that is governed by the feedback between cell polarities and deformations. To gain additional understanding of how active forcing governed by CIL dynamics leads to large-scale tissue dynamics, we systematically coarse-grain cell stress, polarity, and motility and show that the tissue remains polar even on larger length scales. Overall, we explore the origin of swirling patterns during collective cell migration and obtain a connection between cell-level dynamics and large-scale cellular flow patterns observed in epithelial monolayers.
Efficacy of Double Membrane Filtration Immunoadsorption in Severe C1q-Binding Donor-Specific Antibody-Positive Acute Humoral Kidney Allograft Rejection: A Case Series
Authors: Russwurm Martin , Maier-Giebing Tanja , Kortus-Goetze Birgit , Russ Philipp , Groene Hermann-Josef , Hoyer Joachim D.
Published: April 2023

Introduction: Acute antibody-mediated rejection (ABMR) is an important threat to renal allograft survival in the early transplant period and the major single cause of graft loss in the first postoperative year. Semi-selective immunoadsorption (IA) remains one of the commonly applied treatments in ABMR, reducing allo-reactive antibody load. Adding double filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP) to IA might enhance therapeutic efficacy by also addressing innate humoral effectors like complement factors. Methods: Four patients with ABMR were treated with DFPP + IA. Clinical, histological, and immunological data and adverse events were retrospectively collected. Results: Here we present four high-risk treatment-refractory ABMR cases with C1q-binding donor-specific antibodies and histology of humoral rejection under treatment with DFPP + IA. While the earlier cases (within the first year after transplantation) showed marked reduction in ABMR severity and improvement of kidney function, the later cases did not respond accordingly. Late ABMR patient 1 stabilized, whereas late ABMR patient 2 did not respond to treatment. Conclusions: Our data support the consideration of DFPP + IA as a rescue treatment option in early, severe, high-risk ABMR cases in which other treatments failed.
Comissão Internacional de Nomenclatura Zoológica. Notícia sobre publicação de interesse para Zoologos
Authors: Amaral Afrânio do
Published: April 2023

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Contrast‐Enhanced Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging With a Manganese‐Based Alternative to Gadolinium for Tissue Characterization of Acute Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Bonner Benjamin P. , Yurista Salva R. , Coll‐Font Jaume , Chen Shi , Eder Robert A. , Foster Anna N. , Nguyen Khoi D. , Caravan Peter , Gale Eric M. , Nguyen Christopher
Published: April 2023

Background

Late gadolinium enhancement cardiac magnetic resonance imaging is an effective and reproducible method for characterizing myocardial infarction. However, gadolinium‐based contrast agents are contraindicated in patients with acute and chronic renal insufficiency. In addition, several recent studies have noted tissue deposition of free gadolinium in patients who have undergone serial contrast‐enhanced magnetic resonance imaging. There is a clinical need for alternative forms of magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents that are acceptable in the setting of renal insufficiency.

Methods and Results

Three days after 80 minutes of ischemia/reperfusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging was performed to assess myocardial lesion burden using both contrast agents. Late gadolinium enhancement cardiac magnetic resonance imaging was examined 10 and 15 minutes after contrast injection. Contrast agents were administered in alternating manner with a 2‐ to 3‐hour washout period between contrast agent injections. Lesion evaluation and image processing were performed using Segment Medviso software. Mean infarct size and transmurality, measured using RVP‐001, were not different compared with those measured using late gadolinium enhancement images. Bland‐Altman analysis demonstrated a nominal bias of 0.13 mL (<1% of average total lesion volume) for RVP‐001 in terms of gross infarct size measurement.

Conclusions

The experimental manganese‐based contrast agent RVP‐001 appears to be an effective agent for assessment of myocardial infarction location, size, and transmurality, and it may be useful as an alternative to gadolinium‐based agents.
Frailty and Recurrent Hospitalization After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement
Authors: Strange Jarl Emanuel , Christensen Daniel Mølager , Sindet‐Pedersen Caroline , Schou Morten , Falkentoft Alexander Christian , Østergaard Lauge , Butt Jawad Haider , Graversen Peter Laursen , Køber Lars , Gislason Gunnar , Olesen Jonas Bjerring , Fosbøl Emil Loldrup
Published: April 2023

Background

For frail patients with limited life expectancy, time in hospital following transcatheter aortic valve replacement is an important measure of quality of life; however, data remain scarce. Thus, we aimed to investigate frailty and its relation to time in hospital during the first year after transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Methods and Results

From 2008 to 2020, all Danish patients who underwent transcatheter aortic valve replacement and were alive at discharge were included. Using the validated Hospital Frailty Risk Score, patients were categorized in the low, intermediate, and high frailty groups. Time in hospital and mortality up to 1 year are reported according to frailty groups. In total, 3437 (57.6%), 2277 (38.1%), and 257 (4.3%) were categorized in the low, intermediate, and high frailty groups, respectively. Median age was ≈81 years. Female sex and comorbidity burden were incrementally higher across frailty groups (low frailty: heart failure, 24.1%; stroke, 7.2%; and chronic kidney disease, 4.5%; versus high frailty: heart failure, 42.8%; stroke, 34.2%; and chronic kidney disease, 29.2%).

In the low frailty group, 50.5% survived 1 year without a hospital admission, 10.8% were hospitalized >15 days, and 5.8% of patients died. By contrast, 26.1% of patients in the high frailty group survived 1 year without a hospital admission, 26.4% were hospitalized >15 days, and 15.6% died within 1 year. Differences persisted in models adjusted for sex, age, frailty, and comorbidity burden (excluding overlapping comorbidities).

Conclusions

Among patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement, frailty is strongly associated with time in hospital and mortality. Prevention strategies for frail patients to reduce hospitalization burden could be beneficial.
The 1769 Transit of Venus as a Springboard for Jesuit Ministries among the Learned
Authors: Aspaas Per Pippin
Published: April 2023

This article examines how two Jesuit astronomers made use of a rare celestial phenomenon in attempts at winning the favor of intellectual and ruling élites outside of Catholic regions. The Heidelberg professor Christian Mayer (1719–83) went to Saint Petersburg, where he observed the transit of Venus in 1769 from the observatory of the prestigious Imperial Academy of Sciences. The imperial and royal astronomer of Vienna, Maximilian Hell (1720–92) went to Vardø in northeastern Norway, where he built a small observatory and successfully observed the same transit. The scientific works they published under the auspices of the leading scientific academies in Orthodox Russia and Lutheran Denmark–Norway are analyzed as examples of missionary texts, in an enlarged sense of the word.
Humility and Laziness: The Two Faces of the Poor in Paraguay’s Early Modern Jesuit Missions?
Authors: Orantin Mickaël
Published: April 2023

Early modern European monarchies responded to structural poverty with a series of welfare programs while also implementing repressive measures against the poor. Perceived during the late Middle Ages as virtuous Christians accepting their fate with humility, the poor of the early modern period were accused of vagrancy and immoral laziness, thus posing a threat to the social order. In contrast, in the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century chronicles of the Jesuit missions of Paraguay, hardly any mention is made of the material deprivation of Indians. A catechism of work in Guaraní intended to moralize the Indians’ labor, however, reveals that poverty was at the core of the missionaries’ concerns. Through an analysis of the Guaraní lexicon in connection with poverty, this article demonstrates that destitution in the missions was a daily problem. The article also shows how the term poriahu, glossing the word “poor,” covered only part of the meaning of the same word in Europe, where it had positive connotations, having been passed down by medieval tradition. In parallel, stigmatizing representations of the “bad pauper” were set apart and constructed around particular glosses, such as that of “vagrant” or “lazy.” This separation allowed for the development of an assistance policy that responded to the needs of all missionary Indians and was indispensable for the sustainability of the missions.
Jesuit Konstantinas Širvydas (Konstanty Szyrwid) and the Origins of Lithuanian Linguistics and Homiletics
Authors: Rutkowska Krystyna
Published: April 2023

Konstantinas Širvydas (Sirvydas, Szyrwid; c.1580–1631), a Jesuit of great merit to Lithuanian and Polish culture, little known outside his homeland, undertook and accomplished various important tasks that the Jesuits of the Lithuanian province set themselves from the very beginning of the establishment of the Vilnius Academy. Among them was the publication of the first Polish–Latin–Lithuanian dictionary (1620) and the first compilation of original sermons in Lithuanian and Polish: Punkty kazań/ Punktai sakymų (Points for sermons) (1629, 1644). The former served the purpose of teaching Lithuanian grammar and language, the latter laid down guidelines for Lithuanian priests on how to deliver sermons. He was also one of the first Jesuit lecturers in Scripture, a dedicated course initiated by theology professors at the Vilnius Academy. Some of his lectures were made available by his student, Adam Pęski (1592–1629) in a little-known notebook. This article analyzes Pęski’s notebook as an important insight into the origins of teaching Scripture at Jesuit universities.
Development Towards Maturity
Authors: Kock Jos de
Published: April 2023

This article is the first of two centring around the theme of desired outcomes of youth ministry practices, which are often embedded in a certain conception of spiritual maturity. The review study which forms the basis for these two articles aims to construct a theoretical framework on desired outcomes in youth ministry on the basis of a systematic literature review of scholarly works in peer-reviewed journals regarding the subject published from 1996 up to 2021. The wide range of outcomes as observed in the literature is classified by describing three areas of youth ministry goals: the areas of spiritual development, personal development and social development. Current, first, article accounts for the particularities of the research design of the review study and presents the outcomes found in the literature within the particular area of spiritual development. The review study as a whole and this particular article contribute to a broader academic area of interest in how to envision or define spiritual maturity, particularly Christian maturity, and what this means for formational practices such as youth ministry.
Development Towards Maturity
Authors: Kock Jos de
Published: April 2023

This article is the second of two centring around the theme of desired outcomes of youth ministry practices, which are often embedded in a certain conception of spiritual maturity. The review study which forms the basis for these two articles aims to construct a theoretical framework on desired outcomes in youth ministry on the basis of a systematic literature review of scholarly works in peer-reviewed journals regarding the subject published from 1996 up to 2021. The wide range of outcomes as observed in the literature is classified by describing three areas of youth ministry goals: the areas of spiritual development, personal development and social development. Current, second article describes the outcomes found in the literature within the particular areas of personal development and social development. In addition, the question is addressed how youth ministry goals in the area of spiritual development, as presented in the first article, conceptually may relate to these in the areas of personal and social development. The article finishes with the discussion of the results of the whole review study and suggests core questions for further research.
Theological Reflection in Adolescent Faith Formation
Authors: Garcia Fernando
Published: April 2023

Christians are increasingly choosing to leave the church during the period of young adulthood. This trend suggests that there are shortcomings in our practices of religious education and faith formation. Here I propose that the practice of theological reflection is a method that can be employed to address some of these shortcomings. The article connects trends of religious disaffiliation with psychological theories of identity formation and self-determination that shed light on the internal changes leading young people away from religion. Theological reflection, the process of examining one’s experience through the lens of religious teachings, is a common practice in the formation of Church ministers and has potential to also benefit the faith formation of adolescents. With consideration of the psychological patterns related to disaffiliation, I demonstrate ways that theological reflection can foster a Christian identity in students that has an enduring impact on the lives of adolescents and young adults.
Non-Committed Consumers or Theologically Engaged Ecumenists? Thinking Differently About Church Membership for Young People
Authors: Turner Victoria
Published: April 2023

Research about the faith of young people (by which I mean Millennials and Generation Z) has suggested that they are increasingly non-denominational or denominationally fluid, with a method of choosing churches that is in line with neo-capitalist consumerism. This has created a focus of completely reimagining the church to appeal to young people. This paper, by tracing the historical interdenominational and ecumenical student movements, explains that young people tend to understand their denominational identity differently depending on their evangelical or theologically liberal/progressive stance. Yet neither stream alligns to this reductive post-denominational rhetoric that removes ecumenical and theological sophistication from young people. By using the case study of the United Reformed Church Youth (thereafter urc Youth), which consists of a broadly theological and politically liberal group of 14–26-year-olds, I argue that young people are ecumenically aware and value being integrated into larger denominational structures.
Non Attending Young People: Bridging the Gap for a More Inclusive Church
Authors: Floridia David Callaby
Published: April 2023

The decline in numbers of young people in a once vibrant local parish prompted the same Church authorities to reach out to discover how it could render itself more relevant. It is the purpose of this paper to discover what matters to the young in their spiritual lives, to respond with a relevant young people provision. Semi-structured in-depth online interviews were held with six young people. The study informs the readers that young people have become disenchanted from religion despite their catholic upbringing and how young people have turned to their own ways of dealing with the current culture. The study suggests for the church to provide a safer environment, and a more modern approach for young people to learn about the faith. The study will suggest further pathways for dialogue with non-attending young people in a local parish.
Sayyid Aḥmad Dihlavī (1846–1918) on “The Initial, Intermediate, and Final Language of Mankind” (1908)
Authors: Hakala Walter N.
Published: April 2023

Sayyid Aḥmad Dihlavī’s (1846–1918) essay, “The Initial, Intermediate, and Final Language of Mankind,” was first published as a pamphlet in 1895 and again in 1900. It would subsequently be included in the introduction of his celebrated four-volume Urdu dictionary, the Farhang-e Āṣifiyah (published in 1908, with a second edition appearing in 1918). In this idiosyncratic and rambling treatise, the author attempts to advance a universal history of language by introducing a theory of the origin and development of language. He concludes with a discussion of the state of the Urdu language in British India by drawing comparisons with the linguistic situations of the Bengal, Madras, and Bombay Presidencies. Though he bemoans its low status, the unnecessary influx of English terms, and lack of official state support, he concludes by praising the Niz̤ām of Hyderabad for his patronage of the Urdu language.
Neriidae (Diptera: Schizophora) from Mexico: new species, new records and an identification key
Authors: GOMES LUCAS R. P. , SEPÚLVEDA TATIANA A. , PEDRAZA-LARA CARLOS
Published: April 2023

We conducted a study of material from the Colección de Artrópodos de Referencia Forense, UNAM (CARF), Colección Nacional de Insectos, UNAM (CNIN) and Colección de Insectos del Bosque Seco, Estación de Biología Chamela, UNAM (EBCH), which revealed three new distributional records of cactus flies species in Mexico as follows: Cerantichir enderleini (Hennig, 1937), Eoneria blanchardi Aczél, 1951, and Glyphidops durus (Cresson, 1926). This study also described two new species: Cerantichir mexicana Gomes & Sepúlveda and Eoneria ramirezi Gomes & Sepúlveda. We update the distribution records of the cactus flies (Neriidae) distributed in Mexico. The list of species includes: Glyphidops filosus (Fabricius, 1805), Glyphidops flavifrons (Bigot, 1886), Glyphidops filosus (Fabricius, 1805), Glyphidops xanthopus (Schiner, 1868), Nerius pilifer Fabricius, 1805, Nerius plurivittatus Bigot, 1886, Nerius purpusianus Enderlein, 1922, Odontoloxozus longicornis (Coquillett, 1904), and Odontoloxozus pachycericola Mangan & Baldwin, 1986. This study increases the number of species known to occur in Mexico from eight to 13.
Evolving longer for a mate: A new scorpionfly (Mecoptera: Panorpoidea: Panorpidae) with exaggeratedly elongated male abdominal segments
Authors: WANG JI-SHEN
Published: April 2023

Male scorpionflies often evolve exaggeratedly elongated abdominal segments (EEAS) that are used as a sexual display to the females, and a combat weapon in intra-sexual disputes. EEAS have independently evolved several times since the Jurassic till the present day in at least eight genera and four families. In this paper, Neopanorpa exaggerata sp. n. with EEAS is described from Yunnan Province, China. Through comparisons among extinct and extant species, our current knowledge is summarized for the evolution, copulatory mechanism, and biogeography of the scorpionflies with EEAS. Also discussed are the trade-offs between the benefits of “looking sexy” and the negative impacts associated with a long abdomen. Additionally, further clarification is provided on the multiple origins of EEAS in Panorpoidea.
Factors Leading to Heavy Rainfall in Southern Taiwan in the Early Mei-Yu Season of 2020
Authors: Chien Fang-Ching , Chiu Yen-Chao
Published: April 2023

This paper examines the meteorological factors that led to the record-breaking heavy precipitation event in Taiwan in the early 2020 mei-yu season (15–31 May). The extreme amount of rainfall (an average of 135.9 mm per station) during the 36-h period around 22 May (hereafter Y20R) also set a record. Compared to climatology, the Pacific subtropical high was stronger and the southwesterly monsoonal flow was more intense during the first half of the 2020 mei-yu season, resulting in a stronger moisture conveyor belt over the northern Indo-China Peninsula. The record-breaking precipitation in Y20R was mainly caused by the eastward movement of a southwest vortex (SWV) generated in southwestern China. When the eastern portion of the SWV touched northern Taiwan, its associated west-southwesterly winds and the large-scale southwesterly monsoonal flow transported moisture toward the Taiwan Strait. The moisture-laden southwesterly flow was lifted by the stationary mei-yu front, leading to the heavy rainfall in southern Taiwan. When the SWV passed through northern Taiwan, it became the dominant weather system that enhanced the west-southwesterly winds and transported moisture from South China to Taiwan. The front moved southward through the Taiwan Strait during this period, with its location greatly determining the pattern of rainfall in southern Taiwan. In summary, the most critical factors leading to heavy rainfall in southern Taiwan are the strong 850-hPa southwesterly winds and moisture fluxes associated with the SWV. The other key factors include, in order of sensitivity to rainfall, the distance of the front, the distance of the SWV, the frontal speed, and the intensity of the SWV.
Adaptation of θ-Based Dynamical Cores for Extension into the Thermosphere Using a Hybrid Virtual Potential Temperature
Authors: Eckermann Stephen D. , Barton Cory A. , Kelly James F.
Published: April 2023

The virtual temperature used to model moisture-modified tropospheric dynamics is generalized to include a new thermospheric component. The resulting hybrid virtual potential temperature (HVPT) transitions seamlessly with height, from moist virtual potential temperature (MVPT) in the troposphere, to potential temperature in the stratosphere and mesosphere, to thermospheric virtual potential temperature thereafter. For numerical weather prediction (NWP) models looking to extend into the thermosphere, but still heavily invested in retaining MVPT-based dynamical cores for tropospheric prediction, upgrading to HVPT allows the core to capture critical new aspects of variable composition thermospheric dynamics, while leaving the original MVPT-based tropospheric equations and numerics essentially untouched. In this way, HVPT augmentation can both simplify and streamline extension into the thermosphere at little computational cost beyond the inevitable need for more vertical layers and somewhat smaller time steps. To demonstrate, we upgrade the MVPT-based dynamical core of the Navy global NWP model to HVPT, then test its performance in forecasting analytical globally balanced states containing hot or rapidly heated thermospheres and height-varying gas constants. These tests confirm that HVPT augmentation offers an efficient and effective means of extending MVPT-based NWP models into the thermosphere to accelerate development of future ground-to-space NWP models supporting space weather applications. The related issues of variable gravitational acceleration and shallow-atmosphere approximations are also briefly discussed.
Predicting College Students’ Preventative Behavior During a Pandemic: The Role of the Health Belief Model, Source Credibility, and Health Literacy
Authors: Odunsi Ifeoluwatobi Abiodun , Farris Kristen Leblanc
Published: April 2023

In this study, we examined the effects of perceived source credibility of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and college student health literacy in predicting the likelihood of enacting preventative behaviors related to mitigating COVID-19. Using the Health Belief Model (HBM) as an explanatory tool, we analyzed how perceived source credibility and health literacy levels predict college students’ likelihood to enact preventative behaviors during a public health crisis. Sample population entirely consisted of undergraduate students enrolled in a basic communication course at a large, southern university. The participants completed survey questionnaires about their perceived health literacy, health beliefs, trust in the CDC, perceptions of COVID-19, and demographic measures during the fall 2020 semester. A multiple regression analysis revealed that (a) HBM predictors, health literacy and CDC source credibility accounted for 44% of the variance in likelihood of enacting preventative health behaviors, and (b) health literacy, CDC source credibility, and perceived severity were all positive predictors of enacting preventative health behaviors, while (c) perceived barriers negatively predicted enactment of preventative health behaviors. Perceived susceptibility and perceived benefits were not significant predictors of college student risk mitigation. Our data suggests the importance of health literacy and source credibility in predicting college students’ likelihood to enact preventative behaviors during public health crises.
Substrate effect and structure optimization of fabric-based circularly polarized dipole antenna for radio frequency energy harvesting
Authors: Zheng Cong , Hu Jiyong , Jiang Jinhua
Published: April 2023

Radio frequency energy harvesting on textiles is seen as a method of enabling sustainable battery-free operation for wearable devices, while few works have clarified the influence of fabric properties on antenna performance. To prepare successfully a fabric-based circularly polarized antenna for radio frequency energy harvesting, this paper will clarify the effect of key fabric characteristics (such as dielectric properties and fabric thickness) on antenna performance by a finite element simulation. The simulated results showed the antenna resonant frequency is inversely proportional to the half square of the fabric’s dielectric constant, and the antenna radiation efficiency and gain are inversely proportional to the square of its dielectric loss tangent and thickness. Then, for the typical fabric substrates, the structure parameters of the existing circularly polarized antenna are optimized to work in the expected working frequency band, and the dominating structure parameter of the antenna in performance was identified. The optimized antenna prototype has excellent performance. The antenna has a bandwidth of 350 MHz and a maximum transmission distance of 190 cm. The received signal strength indication per unit area is 2.35 mW/cm2 and the output voltage is 1.19 mV/cm2 at a distance of 100 cm. It is concluded that the flexible size-minimized wide bandwidth circularly polarized radio frequency energy harvesting antenna screen-printed on fabric was derived from a commercial circularly polarized antenna with fiber-reinforced epoxy plate (FR4) substrate, and the critical geometrical and material parameters of the fabric substrate for this antenna performance as well as the affecting mechanism were identified.
Vaccine Conspiracy Beliefs Scale: Validation and Measurement Invariance in a Youth Sample
Authors: Jovanović Veljko , Lazić Milica , Gavrilov-Jerković Vesna , Zotović-Kostić Marija , Obradović Vojana
Published: April 2023

The Vaccine Conspiracy Beliefs Scale (VCBS) is a widely used measure of conspiracy beliefs about vaccines, but evidence of its validity and measurement invariance, especially in youth samples, is still largely missing. The present study examined VCBS scores’ factor structure, measurement invariance, convergent and discriminant validity, and incremental predictive validity. A sample of 803 Serbian youths (age range 15–24; 59.2% females) was recruited for the study. A modified single-factor model of the VCBS was supported, and showed evidence of full scalar invariance across gender, age, vaccination status, and personal history of COVID-19. Evidence of the VCBS scores’ convergent and discriminant validity was obtained by examining associations with general conspiracy beliefs, vaccination attitudes, vaccination knowledge, intentions to get vaccinated against COVID-19, paranoia worries, fear of injections and blood draws, importance of God, self-rated health, and self-rated family’s financial situation. The VCBS scores predicted a unique variance in the intention to get vaccinated against COVID-19, over and above vaccination attitudes and vaccination knowledge. The results suggest that the VCBS is a valid measure of vaccine conspiracy beliefs in youth.
Nutritional health of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh: Conceptualizing a multilevel action framework focusing the COVID-19
Authors: Jubayer Fahad , Kayshar Shahidullah , Arifin Shoaib , Parven Aney , Khan Sirajul Islam , Meftaul Islam Md
Published: April 2023

The Rohingya refugees are among the most vulnerable victims of COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. In refugee camps, they frequently lack access to safe and nutritious foods, drinking water, and a healthy environment. Despite the fact that numerous national and international organizations are sincerely collaborating to meet their nutritional and medical needs, the pace of work has slowed due to COVID-19. Combating COVID-19 demands a robust immune system, which relies heavily on a nutritious diet. The development of strong immunity to protect Rohingya refugees, particularly children and women, through the provision of nutrient-dense foods is thus highly necessary. Consequently, the current commentary focused on the nutritional health status of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh during COVID-19. In addition, we provided a multilevel implementation framework that could assist stakeholders and policymakers in taking effective measures to recover their nutritional health.
Impacts of irrigation-climate interactions on irrigated soybean yields in the US Arkansas Delta from 2003 to 2017
Authors: He Yaqian , Connolly Matthew H. , Xu Rongting , Huang Xiao , Wang Zhuosen , Arreguin Marisol Filares , Rhodes Caden
Published: April 2023

Irrigation has been widely implemented across the globe as a mitigation strategy to combat climate change and erratic rainfall. Irrigation in the confined geographic region like the Arkansas Delta of the US has likely affected heat and moisture fluxes at the land surface with possible effects on regional climate conditions. Irrigation unquestionably benefits crop yields with direct water supplies. However, the effect of irrigation-climate interactions on Arkansas Delta crop yields remains unclear. In this study, we applied multiple satellite and climatic datasets to assess the influence of soybean irrigation in the US Arkansas Delta on the regional climate from 2003 to 2017 and how the resultant climate variability has affected soybean yields. Our findings show that soybean irrigation in the Arkansas Delta leads to statistically insignificant precipitation change and significant daytime and night time cooling during the growing season from June to August over the period of 2003–2017. Using a statistical crop yield model, we further demonstrate that such surface temperature cooling due to irrigation could enhance soybean yields as much as ∼1.13 ([Formula: see text] 0.87) bu/acre, accounting for 7.78% of total soybean yields gain due to irrigation. Our results highlight the important positive effects of irrigation-climate interactions on soybean yields, which may be more important in the Arkansas Delta, given the depletion of groundwater that farmers relied on most for irrigation.
Factors Affecting Driver Yielding at Uncontrolled Crosswalks
Authors: Alston Mike , Schroeder Bastian , Brown Sarah , O’Brien Sarah Worth , Saleem Taha , Brookshire Kristen , Ryus Paul
Published: April 2023

This study evaluated driver yielding behavior at basic- versus high-visibility crosswalk (HVC) markings on undivided major street approach legs of two-way stop-controlled intersections. The research team measured and compared driver yielding rates using staged pedestrian crossings at sites with HVCs and at sites with basic markings. Study sites were undivided two-lane roadways with relatively low speeds (25 to 35 mph speed limits) and volumes (up to 616 two-way vehicles per hour during crossings)—half with basic crosswalk markings, half with HVCs. In addition to site characteristic data (crossing distance, presence of bike lane, presence of on-street parking, location context), the study included the collection of vehicle volumes and approach speeds, which enabled statistical modeling of yielding in relation to site characteristics and driver speeds. In total, the study collected 1,188 individual observations at 32 sites in four states. The results showed that, under certain conditions, HVCs were associated with increased driver yielding relative to crossings with basic markings. The study further showed that an approaching driver’s speed and prevailing site speeds had a strong and consistent negative effect on driver yielding. Site context and other treatments present at the site had an impact, but the relationship between driver speed and yielding was robust and statistically significant across all tests. Drivers exceeding 40 mph were unlikely to yield to a pedestrian waiting at a marked crosswalk, suggesting that an agency should consider supplemental treatments to increase driver yielding at such locations.
Multimodal Intersection Signal Timing Considerations Framework, Performance Measures, and Case Study
Authors: Cesme Burak , Hayes Andrew , Wang Shuchun , Warchol Shannon , Root Alice , Bhagat Kush , Rouphail Nagui
Published: April 2023

Signal retiming is a cost-effective practice to improve intersection operations through periodic updating of the timing plans. Traditionally, signal retiming has focused on vehicular-based performance (e.g., reducing vehicle delay or number of stops), while often unintentionally ignoring the needs of other users, such as pedestrians, cyclists, and transit vehicle passengers. This unintended omission is further exacerbated by the signal timing tools used in the industry, which tend to primarily report vehicular metrics. To address these challenges, this research developed a multimodal signal timing framework along with easy-to-use performance measures. These performance measures include (1) vehicle delay, (2) crosswalk delay, (3) crossing stress, and (4) bus delay. To assess the approach effectiveness, the proposed framework and the developed tools were applied to 12 intersections along the North Glebe Corridor, in Arlington, VA, for the weekday a.m. peak. Analysis results showed that the proposed framework and tools can incorporate most multimodal considerations and address the limitations of the traditional vehicle-based approaches by quantifying multimodal tradeoffs at signals. With the proposed tools, the alternative timing plan developed for the a.m. peak yielded a 4.5% improvement in performance along the corridor, versus a degradation of 3.7% if only vehicle delay was considered in the analysis. Additional sensitivity analysis conducted along the corridor using various timing plan scenarios showed that the calculated values of the measures are accurately reflecting the anticipated effects of signal timing changes that aim to improve crossing stress for non-motorized users and/or reduce their delay at the intersection crosswalks.
Ordering Reasons, Mediating Virtues: How and Why Thomas Aquinas Affirmed the Compatibility of Acquired and Infused Moral Virtue
Authors: Decosimo David
Published: April 2023

How should we conceive the interplay of nature and grace in Christian ethical life when it comes to the virtues? How did Thomas Aquinas conceive it? For Thomas, grace-given, infused moral virtues can use virtues acquired by habituation, ‘commanding’ their own proper act with its distinct, subordinate proper end and ‘referring’ or ‘mediating’ that act to beatitude. These diverse species of virtue effect distinct movements of will, practical reason, and passion answering to our distinct reasons for acting and the complex relations between those reasons. The role a virtue plays in our lives is distinct from what it produces in the world. This article elucidates, defends, and illustrates this vision, showing how it coheres with and illumines ethical life and why Thomas endorsed it, answering opponents who claim infused virtues replace acquired virtues, in fact or function, and showing non-specialists what is at stake in this debate.
Metallic cladding through microwave energy of the mixture of Ni and 15% SiC powder on AISI 304: A green approach in surface engineering
Authors: Dwivedi Shashi Prakash , Sharma Shubham
Published: April 2023

In the present study, an attempt was made to develop surface cladding on AISI 304 steel by utilizing a mixture of Ni and 15% SiC powder via microwave energy. The microwave cladding process on the AISI 304 was carried out in the in-house developed set-up on the microwave. The microwave cladding process was carried out on 900 W with a 2.45 GHz frequency for 120 seconds irradiation time. SEM images showed a uniform cladding layer and cladding surface with SiC wt.% of 15 and irradiation time of 120 seconds. The energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) pattern of AISI 304 cladding surface coating with Ni and 15% SiC. EDX pattern showed the element weight percent of Ni, Fe, Cr, Si, O, and C is 58%, 22%, 4.98%, 5.97%, 1.45%, and 7.6%, respectively. EDX pattern for the cladding layer showed the element's weight percent of Fe, Ni, Si, C, O, and Cr is 46.34%, 27.3%, 11.12%, 7.9%, 4.2%, and 3.14%, respectively. XRD of the cladding surface shows the presence of Fe, FeNi3, NiSi2, Cr2C, Ni3C, Fe2SiO4, and SiC phases. The average hardness of the cladding surface and cladding layer was found to be about 324 HV and 306 HV, respectively. The hardness of the cladding surface was improved by about 46.60%. Fatigue strength of AISI 304 without and with the microwave cladding of the mixture of 15% SiC and Ni powder was found to be 210 MPa and 245 MPa, respectively, at the cyclic load of 1  × 107 cycles. Though, a micrograph of AISI 304 with the microwave cladding of the mixture of 15% SiC and Ni powder shows the fatigue wear, wear debris, and plastic flow of SiC particles after the wear testing.
“Participate or Perish”: Reckoning with the time bind of graduate student life
Authors: O’Brien Susie
Published: April 2023

This article revisits a graduate course I taught between 2005 and 2014, ENGLISH 779--The Times We Live In, in light of the temporal stresses of graduate student life. Thinking with Donald C. Goellnicht's 1993 article, “From novitiate culture to market economy: the professionalization of graduate students,” alongside the more recent work of several graduate students (Blanchard, Wilks and Vogan 2022, Brown 2022; Stoneman 2012; Tootonsab 2022), the article explores the increasing pressure on graduate students to engage in and record activities that are “off-the-clock” of program requirements. In particular, the article considers the contradictory celebration of graduate students' participation in extra-curricular activities that challenge the temporal dynamics of capitalism and colonialism while those dynamics continue to define performance expectations within their graduate programs. Recognizing the complicity of faculty members in exacerbating temporal stress by encouraging the incorporation of extra-curricular activism into the timelines of graduate programs, the article concludes by considering ways to revise ENGLISH 779--The Times We Live in to address more honestly, if not to loosen, the time binds of graduate student life.
Digital Worlds and Our Folding Realities: Implications for Qualitative Inquiry
Authors: Zhao Pengfei , Lester Jessica Nina , Paulus Trena
Published: April 2023

In this article, we think with the ongoing conversations on “embracing digital worlds” through juxtaposing the methodological practices enabled by “digital worlds” with the writings of science fiction. Specifically, we leverage the criticality of a Chinese sci-fi text, Folding Beijing, to shed light on issues of equity and justice in qualitative inquiry. This approach allows us to interrogate, problematize, and trespass the boundaries of the digital worlds as well as the underlying digital infrastructure. We discuss three types of boundaries that shape our use of digital tools/spaces: broadband internet accessibility, the borders of language, and universal design and digital inclusion.
A review and provocation: On polarization and platforms
Authors: Kreiss Daniel , McGregor Shannon C
Published: April 2023

Scholars increasingly point to polarization as a central threat to democracy—and identify technology platforms as key contributors to polarization. In contrast, we argue that polarization can only be seen as a central threat to democracy if inequality is ignored. The central theoretical claim of this piece is that political identities map more or less onto social groups, and groups are, in turn, located in social structures. As such, scholars must analyze groups as they are embedded in relations of power to meaningfully evaluate the democratic consequences of polarization. Groups struggling for equality, such as the Black Lives Matter movement, often cause polarization because they threaten the extant power and status of dominant groups. To develop a shared theoretical lens around polarization and its relationship with inequality, we take up the case of research on the role of platforms in polarization, showing how scholarship routinely lacks analysis of inequality.
Tracking Sonny: localised digital knowledge of an urban fox
Authors: Fry Tom
Published: April 2023

This paper outlines the practice of a novel digital method in animal geographies: etho-ethnographic citizen science. I describe a project using this participatory method with local residents in inner-city London, where we worked together to use camera traps to record video footage of red fox behaviour. The research sought to build an etho-ethnographic account of fox life by tethering data collection and interpretation to local knowledge. The paper focuses on the familial relations of one particular fox, a young male living on an allotment, who plotholders call Sonny. It begins by outlining how research objectives emerged through the process of collaborative research design with plotholders, premised on their own knowledge of fox personalities, and their storied accounts of individual foxes. It then considers how the practical planning of camera placement was directed through the plotholders own socioecological knowledge of the site. Lastly, it outlines how participants continual use of the traps, and their own analysis of footage, embeds digital data within vernacular understandings of Sonny’s world. In doing so the paper outlines how etho-ethnographic citizen science can potentially amplify, affirm and digitise vernacular knowledges of urban fox ethologies and geographies.
Right-Wing Extremism in Mainstream Games: A Review of the Literature
Authors: Wells Garrison , Romhanyi Agnes , Reitman Jason G. , Gardner Reginald , Squire Kurt , Steinkuehler Constance
Published: April 2023

Hate speech, harassment, and an increasing prevalence of right-wing extremism in online game spaces are of growing concern in the United States. Understanding trends in how and to what extent extremist groups utilize online gaming spaces is vital in taking action to protect players. To synthesize the current state of extant research and suggest future directions, we conduct a systematic review of the literature on right-wing extremism in videogames. We detail our search protocol, selection criteria, and analysis of the collected work, and then summarize the findings. Important themes include how and why extremists’ targeting of online game communities began, the role of Gamergate in this process, and the industry and market context in which such activities emerged. We describe the current nature of the problem, with extremist language and ideology providing a kind of on-ramp for radicalizing disenfranchised gamers. We conclude with a summary of responses from industry and legislators.
An image-based visual servoing control method for UAVs based on fuzzy logic
Authors: Fu Gui , Fang Linyi , Liu Liwen , Zhu Xinyu , Wang You
Published: April 2023

Visual servoing is a method to achieve precise positioning and motion control of objects by visual feedback, and it is widely applied in the fields of robotics and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in recent years. This paper presents a novel image-based visual servoing (IBVS) control method for UAVs based on fuzzy logic to effectively solve the problem under field of view constraint and improve the control efficiency. In this paper, a fuzzy logic of servo gain is designed for the control input of visual servoing, which solves the problem of feature loss in IBVS and improves the efficiency. Meanwhile, a deep computing method based on known data is proposed to solve the unknown depth of Jacobian matrix, which makes the control easier to converge. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by the simulation of a quadrotor UAV equipped with a monocular camera.
Promoting school effectiveness: Examining the mediating role of teachers’ organisational commitment and the moderating role of school cultural attributes
Authors: Nassir Misaa , Benoliel Pascale
Published: April 2023

The study suggests a moderator–mediation model: teacher organisational commitment mediates the relationship between the interaction of participative decision-making (PDM) and paternalistic leadership (PL) and a school's cultural attributes to school effectiveness (student academic achievement, teachers’ organisational citizenship behaviour, and teachers’ perceived strain). The data were collected through a questionnaire returned by a two-stage clusters random sampling of 245 teachers in Israeli elementary schools characterised by different cultural attributes. Data were collected from two sources, self-reports and test grades measures to minimise measure error. The structural equation modelling and bootstrap results highlight the intervening role of a school's cultural attributes on the relationship between PL and school effectiveness, implying that the implications of PL are context dependant. The findings also showed positive implications of PDM on school effectiveness regardless of a school's cultural attributes. Implications for theory and practise are discussed.
Team leadership profiles in Finnish early childhood education centres – Teachers’ experiences of team leadership
Authors: Ranta Samuli , Heiskanen Henri , Kahila Sanni
Published: April 2023

Expectations regarding team leadership in early childhood education (ECE) have grown in recent decades, both in Finland and elsewhere in the world. This change can be seen through the increased research knowledge regarding the importance of pedagogical leadership as a key factor in the quality of ECE and the emphasis on pedagogy in basic ECE tasks. In Finland, teachers are responsible for pedagogical work among teams and ensuring that ECE goals are achievable. For this reason, teachers are expected to lead their teams. For this reason, we wanted to ask the following research questions: (1) To what extent do ECE teachers feel that team leadership is realised in their work? (2) What different types of leadership profiles can be identified and what underlying elements define them? (3) To what extent do ECE teachers’ experiences of teamwork leadership differ? In our research, we utilised the Team Leadership Questionnaire to ask how teachers in ECE centres experience team leadership implemented when they work in ECE teams. Our survey was completed by 1221 teachers in ECE centres from 66 Finnish municipalities. We identified four team leader profiles through which team leadership is implemented differently: experienced experts, experienced organisers, discussion-oriented novices and learning novices. According to this study, teachers have different levels of knowledge and competence regarding team leading, which is especially influenced by work experience and divides teachers into different team leadership profiles.