bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Explanation Giving Promotes Democratic Satisfaction Regardless of Respondent Partisanship
Authors: Robison Joshua
Published: May 2024

A central norm of democratic governance is that elected officials explain their behavior to constituents. Prior work shows that explanation giving can improve evaluations of the explainer and the decision they have reached. However, this work has not examined whether more frequent explanation giving is associated with higher levels of democratic satisfaction. We address this question using data from the European Social Survey and Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) project. We find that democratic and government satisfaction is higher among individuals who believe the government explains its decisions and in countries rated as having a high level of explanation giving by expert raters. We further show that explanation giving is positively related to democratic and government satisfaction both for partisans who identify with a party in government and partisans who do not. In some cases, explanation giving thus narrows partisan gaps in political support. This is an important finding because explanation giving, unlike other moderators of partisan gaps in satisfaction, is something directly under the control of elected officials and thus a potentially potent remedy to partisan divisions in democratic satisfaction.
Changes in the Status and Nature of a Family Court Case
Authors: Kurzon Dennis
Published: May 2024

In this paper, changes in the status and nature of one case from the Family Court of England and Wales will be discussed. The changes cover two aspects of the case. Firstly, the shift from a civil action – a standard family court case concerning the break-up of a relationship and its effect on the children born from the relationship – to a quasi-criminal case in which contempt of court plays the central role; this will be discussed from a Greimasian perspective. Secondly, the case is accompanied by types of silence – from the textual silence of private proceedings in the Family Court to the conversational silence in the form of one of the protagonists’ right of silence.
Mitigation of drought stress effects on alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) callus through CaO nanoparticles and graphene oxide in tissue culture conditions
Authors: YAZICILAR Büşra , NADAROĞLU Hayrunnisa , ALAYLI Azize , NADAR Muthukumar , GEDİKLİ Semin , BEZİRĞANOĞLU İsmail
Published: May 2024

Drought stress poses a significant threat to fertile soils worldwide, triggering profound physiological, biochemical, and molecular changes in plants that adversely impact agricultural productivity. This study explores the potential of nanotechnology, specifically Calcium Oxide Nanoparticles (CaO NPs) and Graphene Oxide (GO), to ameliorate the negative effects of drought stress on two distinct alfalfa ecotypes. Seeds from Erzurum and Konya regions were regenerated in the Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium, and ensuing callus formation was induced through 1 mg L−1 2,4-D and 1 mg L−1 kinetin MS medium. The callus samples underwent a one-month treatment with varying concentrations of mannitol (50 and 100 mM), CaO NPs, and GO (0.5 and 1.5 ppm). Results revealed a decrease in dry/wet weight with increasing mannitol concentration, contrasting with an increase in weight under CaO NPs and GO treatment. Proline, DNSA, MDA, and H2O2 exhibited proportional increases under drought stress, while CaO NPs and GO treatments mitigated these effects. Physiological and biochemical analyses identified optimal conditions for Erzurum as 50 mM mannitol/2 CaO NPs/0.5 ppm GO, and for Konya as 50 mM mannitol/0.5 ppm GO. Gene expression analysis indicated up-regulation of mtr-miR159 and mtr-miR393 with heightened drought stress, with down-regulation observed in CaO NPs and GO treatments. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM) confirmed Ca2+ accumulation in alfalfa tissues. In conclusion, CaO NPs and GO treatments exhibited a significant reduction in the adverse effects of drought stress on alfalfa callus under tissue culture conditions. This research sheds light on the potential of nanotechnological interventions to alleviate the impact of environmental stressors on crop plants, opening avenues for sustainable agriculture in the face of changing climatic conditions. Further investigations are warranted to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and scalability of these findings for field applications.
Flow-Driven Deformation in Granular Porous Media: Dimensionless Analysis
Authors: Jeon Min-Kyung , Kim Seunghee , Kwon Tae-Hyuk
Published: May 2024

Fluid injection can induce mechanical deformation in granular porous media due to the elevation of internal pore fluid pressure. This gains more significance when more than two immiscible fluids are involved, attributable to capillary and viscous drag forces. Such a coupled hydromechanical behavior associated with immiscible fluid flows plays an important role in injection, storage, and recovery of fluids in deformable porous media. This study presents a dimensionless map with newly proposed dimensionless parameters to predict deformation occurrence due to an immiscible fluid flow in deformable porous media. A series of hydromechanically coupled pore network simulations are first performed while varying the capillary number, mobility ratio, medium stiffness, and effective confining stress over orders of magnitudes. The compilation of simulation results with previously published Hele–Shaw experiment results is analyzed with the dimensionless parameters, such as the capillary number, mobility ratio, particle-level force ratios, and particle-level pressure ratios. Particularly, the particle-level pressure ratios include the capillary pressure ratio, defined as the ratio of capillary pressure to fracture pressure, and the viscous drag pressure, defined as the ratio of viscous drag pressure to fracture pressure. The dimensionless map based on the particle-level pressure ratios, where the capillary pressure ratio and viscous drag pressure ratio are defined as the ratios of capillary pressure and viscous drag pressure to fracture pressure, effectively delineates four deformation regimes—no deformation, capillary-induced deformation, drag-driven deformation, and mixed-mode deformation. The results demonstrate that capillary-induced deformation occurs when the capillary pressure ratio is greater than 10−1, while drag-driven deformation is observed when the viscous drag pressure ratio exceeds 10−2. The presented dimensionless map and dimensionless parameters are expected to be applicable for geological subsurface processes, including geological storage of carbon dioxide and hydrogen, and enhanced oil recovery.
Simultaneous Removal of Setazol Navy Blue and Cr(VI) By Mixed Microbial Culture Isolated from the Çubuk Stream
Authors: Gündüz A. İrem , Erkoç Esra , Korkmaz Filiz , Kiliç Nur Koçberber
Published: May 2024

Water samples taken from the Çubuk Stream (Ankara, Turkey) were inoculated into nutrient broth media containing Setazol Navy Blue SBG (SNB), an organic pollutant, and heavy metal Cr(VI), an inorganic pollutant, to obtain a pollutant-resistant mixed microbial culture. Experiments were conducted with this culture to remove SNB and heavy metal. The optimum conditions, where the mixed bacterial culture removed the pollutants most effectively, were determined, showing that the highest capacity for removal took place at pH 8 with removal percentages 96.3% for Cr(VI) and 78.5% for SNB. In media with 50.4 mg/L SNB and 9.7 mg/L Cr(VI), the SNB removal was 87.3%, and the Cr(VI) removal was 96.6% at the end of the 7-day incubation period. The highest removal was observed with a biomass concentration of 8% (v/v) of mixed culture [50 mg/L SNB dye+25 mg/L Cr(VI)]. The removal was 100% for both Cr(VI) and the SNB dye. The bacteria with the highest removal were isolated and identified using 16S rDNA gene sequence analysis as Microbacterium oxydans and Leucobacter aridicollis. The role of various functional groups and the structures of the microorganisms that might be involved in the removal mechanisms were discussed using their FTIR spectra. This report is the first study that investigates a mixed bacterial culture and pure cultures (M. oxydans and L. aridicollis) isolated from that mixed culture, removing both SNB and Cr(VI) simultaneously.
Incorporation of Pd Catalyst into Highly Effective Borophene Nanosheet Co-Catalyst for Electrokinetics and Electrochemical Oxygen Reduction Reactions
Authors: Mabhulusa Wendy , Sekhosana Kutloano Edward , Fuku Xolile
Published: May 2024

To improve the performance of the system, it is of great importance to develop efficient catalysts for ethanol (EtOH) electro-oxidation. Pd/B electrocatalyst was synthesized using a sonochemical method. Structural and electrochemical properties of the prepared nanomaterial were investigated using electrochemical and physical techniques such as Raman spectroscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), x-ray diffraction (XRD), zetersizer, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). FTIR confirmed all the functional groups of carbon black, Pd/C, borophene, and Pd/B, and the crystallinity was investigated using XRD. EIS showed that Pd/B has a faster charge transfer and, through investigation using CV, Pd/B showed a more negative onset potential and higher current (−0.76 V vs. Ag|AgCl; 0.07 mA) than Pd/C (−0.65 V vs. Ag|AgCl; 0.05 mA), indicating a more catalytic behavior and tolerance of Pd/B. The active sites could be attributed to the addition of borophene. During the anodic sweeping direction of Pd/B electrocatalyst, it was observed that the ratio of backward peak current (Ibwd) to forward peak current (Ifwd), (Ibwd/Ifwd) of in a 2 M of NaOH + 2 M of EtOH is almost equal to (Ibwd/Ifwd) 1 which shows excellent tolerance of Pd/B to poisoning by ethanol intermediate species. The electron transfer rate (Ks) values for Pd/B at 0.1 M, 0.5 M, 1 M, 1.5 M, and 2 M were estimated to be 4.50 × 10−13 s−1, 1.08 × 10−12 s−1, 4.28 × 10−13 s−1, 5.25 × 10−14 s−1 and 9.35 × 10-14 s−1. At 2 M there is a faster electron transfer than at other concentrations which is also evidenced by the obtained diffusion values (D) of the system which were found to be 2.92 × 10−7 cm2 s−1, 4.72 × 10−8 cm2 s−1, 4.82 × 10−8 cm2 s−1, 1.22 × 10−7 cm2 s−1, and 9.12 × 10−8 cm2 s−1. The electrochemically active surface area (ECSA) is strongly related to intrinsic activity, Pd/B (1.85 cm2/mg × 10−5 cm2/mg) denotes the highest Pd-O stripping charge than Pd/C (1.13 cm2/mg × 10−5 cm2/mg).
Review of Underwater Anechoic Coating Technology Under Hydrostatic Pressure
Authors: Jia Xinyu , Jin Guoyong , Ye Tiangui
Published: May 2024

The underwater anechoic coating technology, which considers pressure resistance and low-frequency broadband sound absorption, has become a research hotspot in underwater acoustics and has received wide attention to address the increasingly advanced low-frequency sonar detection technology and adapt to the working environment of underwater vehicles in deep submergence. One the one hand, controlling low-frequency sound waves in water is more challenging than in air. On the other hand, in addition to initiating structural deformation, hydrostatic pressure also changes material parameters, both of which have a major effect on the sound absorption performance of the anechoic coating. Therefore, resolving the pressure resistance and acoustic performance of underwater acoustic coatings is difficult. Particularly, a bottleneck problem that must be addressed in this field is the acoustic structure design with low-frequency broadband sound absorption under high hydrostatic pressure. Based on the influence of hydrostatic pressure on underwater anechoic coatings, the research status of underwater acoustic structures under hydrostatic pressure from the aspects of sound absorption mechanisms, analysis methods, and structural designs is reviewed in this paper. Finally, the challenges and research trends encountered by underwater anechoic coating technology under hydrostatic pressure are summarized, providing a reference for the design and research of low-frequency broadband anechoic coating.
Delayed Luminescence in Monitoring the Postharvest Ripening of Tomato Fruit and Classifying According to Their Maturity Stage at Harvest
Authors: Panebianco Salvina , Van Wijk Eduard , Yan Yu , Cirvilleri Gabriella , Musumarra Agatino , Pellegriti Maria Grazia , Scordino Agata
Published: May 2024

Ripening is an irreversible phenomenon involving several physiological, biochemical and organoleptic changes that affect the nutritional value, colour, texture and taste of fruit. Amongst the physical non-destructive technologies, Delayed Luminescence (DL) has been reported able to provide valid information on the functional status of living biological systems, reflecting changes in quality parameters following the occurrence of certain metabolic processes. In this study, we followed up and analysed the variations in the colour and DL signals emitted by tomato fruit as a function of their ripening degree. Four lots of tomato fruit, similar to each other for cultivar and geographical origin, were considered. Tomatoes were harvested at various maturity stages and stored in the dark at room temperature. The changes in DL emission trends were monitored at different times after harvesting for a period of about 20 days and correlated with the a*/b* colour ratio, which is normally used as an indicator of fruit ripeness degree. Results highlighted that the emission intensities, as well as the parameters by fitting DL decay curves, were strongly dependent on harvest maturity, varying significantly even as fruit ripeness progressed after their harvesting. Significant differences were also found between DL signals emitted by field-ripened tomatoes at the beginning of storage and those emitted by postharvest-ripened tomatoes at the end of the storage period. Delayed Luminescence may be used as a fast, reliable and sensitive tool for evaluating, more generally, the sensorial quality of fruit during postharvest storage.
“You Never Told Me”: The Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) of Israel Education
Authors: Davis Benji , Alexander Hanan
Published: May 2024

Although there have been many studies describing the practice of Israel education, few, if any, have explored the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of this subject matter—what teachers know about how best to teach it. In this phenomenological study, 20 teachers in English-speaking Jewish high school settings in the USA, Israel, Australia, and Canada were interviewed to describe the components of their PCK. This research demonstrates that disappointment in the idealization of Israel by previous generations has impacted how today’s Israel educators in Jewish high schools understand the purposes of their discipline, the curricular choices they make, the instructional strategies they employ, and the context in which they teach. Addressing this unique phenomenon, which has come to be known by the slogan “you never told me,” has become a guiding instructional principle in the field as teachers about Israel prepare their students to maintain their Jewish commitments while transitioning from an immersive Jewish learning environment to becoming nuanced participants in conversations concerning Israel on college and university campuses. In addition to contributing to limited discourse on the teacher knowledge of Israel educators to improve the practice of the field, the findings of this paper emphasize the need for a pedagogy for complex Israel education deepening nuance and commitment to Israel. On the basis of the findings, we propose a model with eight design principles for how to do Israel education effectively in Jewish education frameworks, both formal and informal.
Highly expressed of BID indicates poor prognosis and mediates different tumor microenvironment characteristics in clear cell renal cell carcinoma
Authors: Zeng Jiayi , Ke Chuangbo , Tian Kaiwen , Nie Jianru , Huang Shaoming , Song Xiaosong , Xian Zhiyong
Published: May 2024

Background

Studies have found that BH3 interacting domain death agonist (BID) is closely related to the occurrence and development of many kinds of tumors. However, little attention has been paid to the situation of BID in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). So, our aim was to explore the effect of BID in ccRCC.

Methods

Survival analysis, ROC curve, correlation analysis and Cox regression analysis were executed to analyze the prognostic value and clinical correlation of BID in ccRCC. The risk prognosis model was constructed in the training cohort and further validated in the internal testing cohort, ICGC cohort, and GEO cohort. Transcriptome sequencing and immunohistochemical staining of clinical specimens were used to validate the results of bioinformatics analysis. The GSEA, ESTIMATE algorithm, CIBERSORT algorithm, ssGSEA, TIDE score, correlation and difference analysis were used to analyze the effects of BID on immune infiltration in tumor microenvironment (TME).

Results

BID was highly expressed in ccRCC tissues, which was verified by transcriptome sequencing and immunohistochemical staining of clinical specimens. Patients with high expression of BID had a worse prognosis. BID is an independent prognostic factor for ccRCC. The prognostic model based on BID can accurately predict the prognosis of patients in different cohorts. In addition, the expression levels of BID was closely related to immunomodulatory molecules such as PD-1, LAG3, and CTLA4. Enrichment analysis indicated that BID was significantly enriched in immune-related responses and cancer-related pathways. The change of BID expression mediates different characteristics of immune infiltration in TME.

Conclusions

BID is highly expressed in ccRCC, which is a reliable biomarker of ccRCC prognosis. It is closely related to TME, and may be a potential target for immunotherapy in patients with ccRCC.
Feasibility analysis of commingle production of multi-layer reservoirs in the high water cut stage of oilfield development
Authors: Liu Xueqi , Qi Han , Liu Jian , Geng Xiaoyan , Zhang Kexin , Li Yunbo
Published: May 2024

Multi-layer commingle production is a common development technique to improve the overall oil recovery of multi-layer reservoirs. However, this technique is mainly used at low water cut stage. Research on this technique at high water cut stage is comparatively few. Therefore, in order to improve productivity and recovery of wells, feasibility analysis of commingle production of multi-layer reservoirs in the high water cut stage is analyzed. To achieve a good commingle production result, the production layers must be optimized and inter-layer interference must be analyzed and reduced as much as possible. Factors, such as permeability, porosity, viscosity, capillary pressure, gravity, pressure difference, and water cut difference, have impact on commingle production. But it is difficult to consider all these factors. Therefore, according to the geological reservoir characteristics of X Oilfield, a model is established to simulate commingle production process, and the results are compared and analyzed. The interference degree is characterized by seepage resistance. The commingle production effect is evaluated by dimensionless oil increase coefficient, production index, and production index interference coefficient. The results show that the larger the difference of permeability ratio and water cut between multi-layers, the more severe the interlayer interference; dimensionless oil increase coefficients are all positive, it means that commingle production can achieve good oil increase effect even in the high water cut stage; the recommended technical limits for commingle production are that: permeability ratio is less than 5; commingle production timing is that water cut of low permeability layer is higher than 80%. This technique has been applied to X Oilfield, and the oil recovery increased about 2.8%, which confirmed this method feasibility.
Critical pressure (Pc) and critical temperature (Tc) of Midra shale
Authors: Alipour Mehdi , Sakhaee-Pour A.
Published: May 2024

The critical pressure (Pc) and critical temperature (Tc) of shale gas depend on the characteristic pore size because of the importance of fluid–rock interactions in the matrix. This size dependency is neglected in highly permeable formations, where gas composition is only implemented because the fluid–fluid interactions are dominant. This study determines the critical properties by accounting for the characteristic pore size in the shale matrix and gas composition. The analyzed components are carbon dioxide, ethane, methane, n-butane, nitrogen, pentane, and propane. It shows that the bulk properties overestimate the actual critical properties. The overestimation varies between 15 and 26% in a uniform 5 nm conduit with a circular cross section, and it increases nonlinearly when decreasing the conduit size. Overestimation versus size is presented to provide a convenient tool for correcting the existing data. This study also determines the critical properties of Midra shale by accounting for the pore-throat size and pore-body size distributions. The former distribution is based on the mercury injection capillary pressure measurements of eight samples, whereas the latter is based on the nitrogen adsorption measurements of six samples. This study indicates that common bulk properties overestimate the critical properties of the studied shale between 5 and 22%. The results have applications in characterizing multiphase transport in shale gas reservoirs.
Programmed Cell Death-Related Gene Signature Associated with Prognosis and Immune Infiltration and the Roles of HMOX1 in the Proliferation and Apoptosis were Investigated in Uveal Melanoma
Authors: Zhao Yubao , Wang Liang , Li Xiaoyan , Jiang Junzhi , Ma Yan , Guo Shuxia , Zhou Jinming , Li Yingjun
Published: May 2024

Background

Uveal melanoma (UVM) is the most common primary ocular malignancy, with a wide range of symptoms and outcomes. The programmed cell death (PCD) plays an important role in tumor development, diagnosis, and prognosis. There is still no research on the relationship between PCD-related genes and UVM. A novel PCD-associated prognostic model is urgently needed to improve treatment strategies.

Objective

We aim to screen PCD-related prognostic signature and investigate its proliferation ability and apoptosis in UVM cells.

Methods

The clinical information and RNA-seq data of the UVM patients were collected from the TCGA cohort. All the patients were classified using consensus clustering by the selected PCD-related genes. After univariate Cox regression and PPI network analysis, the prognostic PCD-related genes were then submitted to the LASSO regression analysis to build a prognostic model. The level of immune infiltration of 8-PCD signature in high- and low-risk patients was analyzed using xCell. The prediction on chemotherapy and immunotherapy response in UVM patients was assessed by GDSC and TIDE algorithm. CCK-8, western blot and Annexin V-FITC/PI staining were used to explore the roles of HMOX1 in UVM cells.

Results

A total of 8-PCD signature was constructed and the risk score of the PCD signature was negatively correlated with the overall survival, indicating strong predictive ability and independent prognostic value. The risk score was positively correlated with CD8 Tcm, CD8 Tem and Th2 cells. Immune cells in high-risk group had poorer overall survival. The drug sensitivity demonstrated that cisplatin might impact the progression of UVM and better immunotherapy responsiveness in the high-risk group. Finally, Overespression HMOX1 (OE-HMOX1) decreased the cell viability and induced apoptosis in UVM cells. Recuse experiment results showed that ferrostatin-1 (fer-1) protected MP65 cells from apoptosis and necrosis caused by OE-HMOX1.

Conclusion

The PCD signature may have a significant role in the tumor microenvironment, clinicopathological characteristics, prognosis and drug sensitivity. More importantly, HMOX1 depletion greatly induced tumor cell growth and inhibited cell apoptosis and fer-1 protected UVM cells from apoptosis and necrosis induced by OE-HMOX1. This work provides a foundation for effective therapeutic strategy in tumour treatment.
Dietary Modulations in Preventing Cardiometabolic Risk in Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes
Authors: Dal Nursel , Bilici Saniye
Published: May 2024

Purpose of Review

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a complex health issue include obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and chronic inflammation that increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). CVDs are of great concern in the disease progression and prognosis of T2DM. This review is a comprehensive examination of the literature on the relationship between T2DM and cardiovascular risk, nutrition-related cardiometabolic risk (CMR) factors, and impact of dietary modulations on CMR.

Recent Findings

In recent years the researches has been focus on the importance of a comprehensive treatment approach like dietary modulations to address multiple cardiovascular risk reductions, including hypertension and dyslipidemia. Modulation of dietary patterns are the most promising interventions to prevent CMR factors and T2DM via affecting the body weight, glucose control, and microbial diversity of individuals. Current evidence suggests that high-quality dietary patterns such as the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan and the Mediterranean diet is important in the metabolic control processes of T2DM with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds, glucagon-like peptide agonist compounds, and intestinal microbiota changes.

Nutrition plays a critical role in preventing and improving CVD outcomes in patients with T2DM. Dietary modulations should be planned considering individual differences in responses to dietary composition and nutritional changes, personal preferences, eating behaviors and gut microbiota differences.
Assessment of Repetitive Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS) Cycles on Oocyte Donors: Impact on Oocyte Quality and Viable Embryo Yield
Authors: Yarkiner Zalihe , Boynukalın Fazilet Kübra , Coban Önder
Published: May 2024

The utilization of donor eggs has broadened the options for Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) among women facing challenges with egg quantity or quality. Given that donors are typically selected from young and fertile individuals, In Vitro Fertilization with egg donation (IVF-ED) tends to exhibit higher rates of implantation, pregnancy, and live births compared to IVF with the woman's own eggs, especially for females over 35 years old. This has led to a projected increase in the demand for IVF-ED, surpassing the number of available donors. Consequently, many centers opt to use oocyte donors for multiple cycles. However, the correlation between repeated Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS) cycles and the performance of donors in terms of viable blastocyst stage embryo (VEC) or blastocyst embryo rate is not definitively established and remains of interest. This study aims to explore the preimplantation characteristics of embryo development and oocyte maturation status based on the number of donor COS cycles, employing a Generalized Linear Mixed Model (GLMM) framework. The study encompasses 1965 embryo transfer (ET) cycles involving 399 donors who underwent a minimum of two and a maximum of nine controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COS) cycles. The findings indicate that, with the patient undergoing six or more cycles of ovarian stimulation, despite a 3.9% increase in both maturation and fertilization rates, there is a corresponding decrease of 4.5% in VEC rate and 4.7% in blastulation rates. In essence, an escalating number of donor COS cycles appears to be associated with a disadvantageous reduction in embryo quality.
Bluff retreat in North Carolina: harnessing resident and land use professional surveys alongside LiDAR remote sensing and GIS analysis for coastal management insights
Authors: Sirianni Hannah , Montz Burrell , Pettyjohn Sarah
Published: May 2024

Bluff landforms, sought-after for housing and development, present a hazard management challenge due to erosional processes despite the perceived safety of elevated land. This study focuses on the Neuse River Estuary in North Carolina, exploring coastal risk perception and erosion. A survey protocol was developed, and questionnaires targeted 246 residents with property within 100 m of the shoreline and 54 land use professionals in Craven County. To explore the connection of individual experiences with erosion, we use openly accessible LiDAR to quantify bluff retreat and erosion between 2014 and 2020, a period that encompasses Hurricane Florence in 2018. Our findings show: 1) survey results reveal a consensus among residents, with 90% observing alterations attributed to storm impacts, 2) preferences for addressing erosion lean towards structural measures, aligning with existing protection strategies (e.g., bulkheads, rip-rap) as opposed to nature-based solutions, 3) bluff tops are eroding at a higher median rate of -0.59 m per year, compared to -0.19 m per year for high sediment banks, and 4) an overall net volume decrease of approximately -1.89 cubic meters per year for Craven County, slightly more than the overall net loss for the Neuse River Estuary, which was -1.74 cubic meters per year. The findings underscore the need for a cohesive bluff erosion management plan, emphasizing the complexity of challenges and the importance of a holistic approach that combines technical studies with effective risk communication.
Knowledge and perceptions of religious leaders towards HIV prevention among young people in Lira district, Northern Uganda: a qualitative study
Authors: Murungi Tom , Kunihira Irene , Oyella Pamela , Mugerwa Moses , Gift Peruth , Aceng Mercy Jane , Puleh Sean Steven
Published: May 2024

Background

Currently, 410,000 new HIV infections among youth occur worldwide, which is a significant public health issue. Members of the clergy can be trustworthy allies in the reduction of HIV infections among the youth. However, little is known regarding their knowledge as well as the perceptions they hold towards HIV prevention among young people. Thus, we explored the knowledge and perceptions of religious leaders regarding HIV prevention among young people (15–24 years) in Lira district.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional qualitative study conducted among 20 religious’ leaders in March 2021 in Lira district. Religious leaders were sampled purposively and recruited from modern religions (beliefs influenced by Christianity or Islam) in Lira district. Guides for key informant interviews were utilized to gather information. Each interview was audio recorded, transcribed, and entered into NVivo version 12 software, and the data was then ready for analysis. The main themes were determined using thematic analysis.

Results

Although a few individuals had some misconceptions, the majority of participants had good knowledge about the transmission and prevention of HIV. Participants knew awareness creation, abstinence, and faithfulness in marriage as HIV prevention strategies and held positive perceptions. Perceived barriers to HIV prevention involvement were lack of knowledge and training and inadequate resources, whereas motivating factors were being respected and trusted and having easy access to young people.

Conclusion

In conclusion, religious leaders show limited HIV prevention knowledge due to religious beliefs, but understand the importance of measures like abstinence. Despite the challenges, their involvement is crucial. Addressing knowledge gaps and providing support is vital. Future efforts should emphasize both behavioral measures and interventions like condom use, post-exposure prophylaxis, and pre-exposure prophylaxis.
Social media and non-university teachers from a gender perspective in Spain
Authors: Martín-Gutiérrez Ángela , Said-Hung Elias , Conde-Jiménez Jesús
Published: May 2024

Non-university teaching staff must use social media platforms (SMP) to update themselves on educational matters. This study aims to analyze how these teachers in Spanish non-university education, differentiating between men and women, value and use SMPs to update themselves in educational matters. A total of 463 Spanish teachers participated in this survey-type study. The results show that the perception of usefulness, responsible use, and the role of educational institutions and agents remains medium or low. At the descriptive level, differences between men and women are detected in the perceptions of the teachers surveyed, with female teachers having a more favourable perception of the usefulness, use, and role of social media assumed by the institutions in which they work professionally compared to male teachers. It is concluded that there are three profiles of non-university teachers according to the variables analyzed that do not show differences according to the sex of the teachers. The implications of this study help to propose actions that help improve the scenario by 1) increasing the training channels, 2) increasing the levels of educational innovation through SMP, 3) increasing the effectiveness of teaching–learning strategies, and 4) promoting of skills that contribute to greater use and perception of these scenarios for the training of teachers and students.
Trash, Art, and the Comics
Authors: Dyck John
Published: May 2024

Many comics are aesthetically trashy: They are immediately grasped and easily available. Historically, this trashiness is lobbed as an aesthetic defect of many comics, a defect for both their production and their appreciation. To defend these comics, some point to non-aesthetic values, like sociality. I argue that there is aesthetic value to these comics, and that it lies precisely in their trashy characteristics: their immediacy and availability. Many comics have these characteristics because many comics are cartooned. The immediacy of cartooning is precisely what makes so many ordinary comics beautiful in an ordinary way.
The Report Versus the Transparency Models of Appreciation: The Case of Comics
Authors: Skow Bradford
Published: May 2024

On the report model of appreciating fiction, one imagines learning about a fictional world through a report: reading or viewing someone’s account or listening to them tell their story. On the transparency model, one simply imagines the things that are fictional in the story, without imagining anything about how that information is acquired. It is argued that the transparency model is the default, in literature and cinema, but in comics, it is the report model that is the default.
The Role of Risk Analysis in EU Food Governance: Balancing Scientific Food Safety Factors and External Factors that Inform Risk Management for Healthier Food Systems
Authors: El Gemayel Maria
Published: May 2024

Scientific consensus links dietary choices to health outcomes, highlighting the urgency to prioritise healthy food production in food systems. At the EU level, however, defining healthy food and integrating it into food governance remains a challenge, particularly regarding the inclusion of health-related characteristics in food safety assessments. While the EU primarily relies on the risk analysis principle to address food safety concerns, the process still exhibits weaknesses that hinder its direct impact on fostering a healthier food production landscape. This review demonstrates how the risk analysis process, particularly scientific opinions in risk assessment and external factors (economic and political) in risk management, impact food governance and the healthiness of food systems. We find that while external factors play a crucial role in risk management decisions by incorporating non-food safety considerations, they often stem from an imbalance of power favouring major industry and political stakeholders. This imbalance disproportionately influences decision-making, often overshadowing nutritional and health aspects. To address these challenges, we recommend directing research towards filling knowledge gaps and exploring minority scientific findings, and separating external factors from risk management’s decision-making process, to ensure that food governance prioritises public health and healthy food production.
The geometry of C1,α flat isometric immersions
Authors: De Lellis Camillo , Pakzad Mohammad Reza
Published: May 2024

We show that any isometric immersion of a flat plane domain into

${\mathbb {R}}^3$

is developable provided it enjoys the little Hölder regularity

$c^{1,2/3}$

. In particular, isometric immersions of local

$C^{1,\alpha }$

regularity with

$\alpha >2/3$

belong to this class. The proof is based on the existence of a weak notion of second fundamental form for such immersions, the analysis of the Gauss–Codazzi–Mainardi equations in this weak setting, and a parallel result on the very weak solutions to the degenerate Monge–Ampère equation analysed in [M. Lewicka and M. R. Pakzad. Anal. PDE 10 (2017), 695–727.].
Comment on ‘Changing relationships between HIV prevalence and circumcision in Lesotho’, and ‘Age-incidence and prevalence of HIV among intact and circumcised men: an analysis of PHIA surveys in Southern Africa’
Authors: Morris Brian J. , Banerjee Joya
Published: May 2024

Two articles by Garenne (2023a,b) argue that voluntary medical male circumcision does not reduce human immunodeficiency virus transmission in Africa. Here we point out key evidence and analytical flaws that call into question this conclusion.
Crystal structure of rilpivirine hydrochloride, N6H19C22Cl
Authors: Buikin Petr , Korlyukov Alexander , Kulikova Elizaveta , Novikov Roman , Vologzhanina Anna
Published: May 2024

A monoclinic C form of rilpivirine hydrochloride, (N6H19C22)Cl, has been obtained and characterized using solid-state 15N, 13C, and 35Cl NMR spectroscopy and multitemperature synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction. The title compound crystallizes in the monoclinic system (space group C2/c, #15) at both room (295.0(2) K) and low (100.0(2) K) temperatures. At room temperature, the following parameters are a = 19.43051(3), b = 13.09431(14), c = 17.10254(18) Å, β = 109.3937(7), V = 4104.48(9) Å3, and Z = 8. The folded molecular conformation of the cation is similar with that of free base rilpivirine with the exception of cyanovinyl group disposition. The anion links cations to infinite chains parallel to the crystallographic c axis using N–H⋯Cl bonds where both amino groups and the protonated pyrimidine ring take part in the H-bonding. The powder patterns have been submitted to the ICDD for inclusion in the Powder Diffraction File™ (PDF®).
Does the linguistic market explain sociolinguistic variation in spoken Swiss Standard German?
Authors: Büchler Andrin , Bülow Lars , Britain David
Published: May 2024

This paper shows (a) how the concept of the linguistic market can be operationalized as an index to enable its inclusion as a factor in variationist analysis and (b) how this index helps to explain sociolinguistic variation in a diglossic situation. To do this, sociolinguistic interviews were conducted in Swiss Standard German among 16 L1-dialect-speakers aged between 19 and 40 from Biel/Bienne in western Switzerland. Drawing from participants’ self-assessments of the importance of Standard German in their professional life, a linguistic market index (LMI) was created and cross-validated with external assessments. Our variationist analysis considered four phonetic-phonological variables—/k/, /ç/, /aː/, /ɛ-ɛː/—for which typical Swiss variants (i.e., sociolinguistic stereotypes) exist. Findings show that the LMI is crucial for explaining variation in all the variables tested. Other social (i.e., gender and formality of the language production task) and linguistic factors (e.g., phonetic environment) show partial effects as well.
China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) as a Resource for Nineteenth-Century Music Studies
Authors: Liu Annie Yen-Ling
Published: May 2024

As the largest and most comprehensive Chinese database in the world, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI: Zhong guo zhi shi ji chu she shi gong cheng 中国知识基础设施工程, also commonly known as Zhi wang 知网)1 is supervised by Tsinghua University and Tonfang Knowledge Network (TKN), a high-tech enterprise funded by Tsinghua University in 1997. It is supported by the Chinese Ministry of Education, the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the State Administration of the Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television of the People's Republic of China and the State Planning Commission of the PRC. In December 1996, CNKI began providing CD-ROM and CAJ-CD for Chinese academic journals, and it was officially launched in 1999. This repository initially focused on Chinese academic journals and later expanded its coverage to PhD dissertations, masters’ theses, conference proceedings, yearbooks, books and patent documents. It is divided into three categories: ‘databases’, ‘specialized sources’, and ‘international sources’, including ProQuest and Taylor and Francis journal databases. Ten service centres are established across the world, including Beijing, North America, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong; users include universities, research institutions, government think tanks, industries, hospitals and public libraries.2 CNKI (or CIKRD) updates its information on a daily basis, and its current growth rate is approximately 350,000 new journal articles per month.
Jus post bellum: Scope and assessment of the applicable legal framework
Authors: Mfuranzima Noël
Published: May 2024

This article aims to highlight the importance of determining the temporal scope of the transition from armed conflict to peace. It will also consider the emergence of a new legal paradigm, jus post bellum, applicable to the post-conflict period, and the associated need for an appropriate regulatory framework. Given the unavoidable impact of armed conflict, the post-conflict period deserves particular attention, especially with regard to the need for a legal framework to facilitate the sustainable reconstruction of communities torn apart by conflict and ensure a lasting peace. After any kind of armed conflict, a solid legal framework is essential to finalize the end of hostilities, begin a sustainable peace process, build a united society and address the rifts caused by armed violence.
Known and potential benefits of applying herbicides with glutathione S-transferase inhibitors and inducers—a review
Authors: Carvalho-Moore Pâmela , Norsworthy Jason K. , Avent Tristen H. , Riechers Dean E.
Published: May 2024

Weed resistance to herbicides has increased exponentially during the past 30 to 40 yr, consequently reducing the number of effective products available to control certain species and populations. Future efforts should target not only the discovery of new protein binding sites and the development of new molecules, but also the revival of old molecules with reduced efficacy due to widespread herbicide resistance. The addition of herbicide synergists that inhibit metabolic pathways or enhance intrinsic plant stress is a possible solution to ameliorate the negative effects caused by the lack of new herbicide chemistries. Glutathione S-transferase (GST) enzymes are involved with numerous herbicide detoxification reactions and plant stress responses. This review approaches the potential use of natural and synthetic GST inhibitors to enhance herbicidal activity or induce crop safety to provide effective, sustainable weed management strategies in the future.
Detection of Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances Triggered by 2022 Tonga Volcanic Eruptions Through CubeSats Coherent GNSS‐Reflectometry Measurement
Authors: Cheng Pin‐Hsuan , Wang Yang , Liu Lei , Morton Y. Jade
Published: May 2024

We present two case studies of traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) triggered by the 2022 Tonga volcanic eruption observed by low‐cost CubeSat‐based global navigation satellite system reflectometry (GNSS‐R) measurements. The GNSS‐R data used in this work are from Spire Global CubeSats. Our analysis shows that coherent GNSS signals reflected over the ocean can be used to derive precise ionospheric total electron content (TEC) measurements. The first case shows clear TID structures with a TEC disturbance magnitude of ∼1 TEC unit (TECu) and horizontal wavelength of ∼330 km over Northwest Australia on the day of Tonga volcanic eruption. The second case shows the TIDs with ∼0.05 TECu disturbance magnitude and horizontal wavelength of ∼240 km over East Russia the day after the eruption. The second case is likely a TIDs propagated outward from Tonga for the second time after it traversed around the Earth. The GNSS‐R observed TID may be associated with the incident or reflection signal ray path. In this paper, the appropriate ray path was identified using simultaneous observations from ground receiver networks in the areas of both ray paths.
Association between time of assessment within a school year and physical fitness of primary school children
Authors: Teich Paula , Golle Kathleen , Kliegl Reinhold
Published: May 2024

The dissociation of effects of age, time of assessment and cohort is a well-known challenge in developmental science. We examined effects of time of assessment in the school year on children’s physical fitness using data from 75,362 German third-graders from seven cohorts. Children were tested once either in the first or second school term of third grade. Tests examined cardiorespiratory endurance (6-min run), coordination (star-run), speed (20-m sprint), lower (standing long jump) and upper (ball-push test) limbs muscle power, and flexibility (stand-and-reach test). We estimated the effect of time of assessment using a regression discontinuity design specified in a linear mixed model with random factors child and school and adjusted for age, sex, and cohort effects. Coordination, speed, and upper limbs muscle power were better in second compared to first school term, with boys exhibiting a larger increase of upper limbs muscle power than girls. There was no evidence for changes in cardiorespiratory endurance, lower limbs muscle power, and flexibility between assessments. Previously reported age and sex effects as well as secular fitness trends were replicated. There is thus evidence for improvement of some physical fitness components beyond age and cohort effects that presumably reflects the benefit of physical activity in physical education and other settings. Effects of assessment time should be taken into consideration in performance-based grading or norm-based selection of children.