bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mobilization of trapped oil droplet in porous media through viscoelasticity
Authors: Dzanic V. , From C. S. , Wang Z. , Gupta A. , Xie C. , Sauret E.
Published: September 2023

Viscoelastic fluids flowing through porous media have been shown to provide improvements in oil displacement efficiency resulting from a favorable mobility ratio. In this study, we demonstrate the existence of an additional mechanism sourced from the buildup of elastic stresses near critical fluid–solid contact regions, which is capable of further displacing trapped oil droplets in porous media. Applying a hybrid lattice Boltzmann multiphase model, the viscoelastic mechanism is numerically explored inside a model porous medium, which involves displacing a trapped nonwetting Newtonian droplet with a surrounding viscoelastic fluid. When compared to the purely Newtonian displacing fluid, the additional viscoelastic response provides a considerable mobility enhancement across a range of competing capillary, wettability, and elastic conditions. It is revealed that the source of mobility improvement in the viscoelastic fluid is attributed to the growth of polymer stresses near the fluid–solid contact regions, which contributes to an additional forcing contribution that generates a “pinch-off” mechanism. Ultimately, this additional contribution is found to depend strongly on the elastic properties of the viscoelastic fluid, rather than its viscous properties. This suggests that the use of viscoelastic fluids has the potential to enhance oil recovery efforts in porous media by providing an additional method beyond a favorable mobility ratio.
Emergency department visits respond nonlinearly to wildfire smoke
Authors: Heft-Neal Sam , Gould Carlos F. , Childs Marissa L. , Kiang Mathew V. , Nadeau Kari C. , Duggan Mark , Bendavid Eran , Burke Marshall
Published: September 2023

Air pollution negatively affects a range of health outcomes. Wildfire smoke is an increasingly important contributor to air pollution, yet wildfire smoke events are highly salient and could induce behavioral responses that alter health impacts. We combine geolocated data covering all emergency department (ED) visits to nonfederal hospitals in California from 2006 to 2017 with spatially resolved estimates of daily wildfire smoke PM

2.5

concentrations and quantify how smoke events affect ED visits. Total ED visits respond nonlinearly to smoke concentrations. Relative to a day with no smoke, total visits increase by 1 to 1.5% in the week following low or moderate smoke days but decline by 6 to 9% following extreme smoke days. Reductions persist for at least a month. Declines at extreme levels are driven by diagnoses not thought to be acutely impacted by pollution, including accidental injuries and several nonurgent symptoms, and declines come disproportionately from less-insured populations. In contrast, health outcomes with the strongest physiological link to short-term air pollution increase dramatically in the week following an extreme smoke day: We estimate that ED visits for asthma, COPD, and cough all increase by 30 to 110%. Data from internet searches, vehicle traffic sensors, and park visits indicate behavioral changes on high smoke days consistent with declines in healthcare utilization. Because low and moderate smoke days vastly outweigh high smoke days, we estimate that smoke was responsible for an average of 3,010 (95% CI: 1,760–4,380) additional ED visits per year 2006 to 2017. Given the increasing intensity of wildfire smoke events, behavioral mediation is likely to play a growing role in determining total smoke impacts.
Climate mitigation potentials of teleworking are sensitive to changes in lifestyle and workplace rather than ICT usage
Authors: Tao Yanqiu , Yang Longqi , Jaffe Sonia , Amini Fereshteh , Bergen Peter , Hecht Brent , You Fengqi
Published: September 2023

The growth in remote and hybrid work catalyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic could have significant environmental implications. We assess the greenhouse gas emissions of this transition, considering factors including information and communication technology, commuting, noncommute travel, and office and residential energy use. We find that, in the United States, switching from working onsite to working from home can reduce up to 58% of work’s carbon footprint, and the impacts of IT usage are negligible, while office energy use and noncommute travel impacts are important. Our study also suggests that achieving the environmental benefits of remote work requires proper setup of people’s lifestyle, including their vehicle choice, travel behavior, and the configuration of home and work environment.
Meaning from movement and stillness: Signatures of coordination dynamics reveal infant agency
Authors: Sloan Aliza T. , Jones Nancy Aaron , Kelso J. A. Scott
Published: September 2023

How do human beings make sense of their relation to the world and realize their ability to effect change? Applying modern concepts and methods of coordination dynamics, we demonstrate that patterns of movement and coordination in 3 to 4-mo-olds may be used to identify states and behavioral phenotypes of emergent agency. By means of a complete coordinative analysis of baby and mobile motion and their interaction, we show that the emergence of agency can take the form of a punctuated self-organizing process, with meaning found both in movement and stillness.
Mutilation of the tree of life via mass extinction of animal genera
Authors: Ceballos Gerardo , Ehrlich Paul R.
Published: September 2023

Mass extinctions during the past 500 million y rapidly removed branches from the phylogenetic tree of life and required millions of years for evolution to generate functional replacements for the extinct (EX) organisms. Here we show, by examining 5,400 vertebrate genera (excluding fishes) comprising 34,600 species, that 73 genera became EX since 1500 AD. Beyond any doubt, the human-driven sixth mass extinction is more severe than previously assessed and is rapidly accelerating. The current generic extinction rates are 35 times higher than expected background rates prevailing in the last million years under the absence of human impacts. The genera lost in the last five centuries would have taken some 18,000 y to vanish in the absence of human beings. Current generic extinction rates will likely greatly accelerate in the next few decades due to drivers accompanying the growth and consumption of the human enterprise such as habitat destruction, illegal trade, and climate disruption. If all now-endangered genera were to vanish by 2,100, extinction rates would be 354 (average) or 511 (for mammals) times higher than background rates, meaning that genera lost in three centuries would have taken 106,000 and 153,000 y to become EX in the absence of humans. Such mutilation of the tree of life and the resulting loss of ecosystem services provided by biodiversity to humanity is a serious threat to the stability of civilization. Immediate political, economic, and social efforts of an unprecedented scale are essential if we are to prevent these extinctions and their societal impacts.
“永字八法”在海外汉字书法教学中的认知和应用
Authors: Li Huiwen
Published: September 2023

抽象的

永字八法是中国书法的重要概念，经过古代书法家的研究、发展，理论逐渐丰富和成熟。本文以海外汉字书法教学为背景，对永字八法的有关概念、功用、技法、应用进行了梳理，讨论了教学中需要关注的八笔画的写法、四笔画组合的写法、笔断意联、一般结字法、笔锋特征以及外形轮廓特征，同时也包括汉字演变、六书说、笔画笔顺、汉字结构等汉字知识。针对永字八法用于教学，本文也作了总体分析并提供了一份简化的教学设计作参考，涵盖教学目标、教训内容和方法、学习测评。对永字八法进行上述思考旨在客观地认识永字八法在汉字书法教学中的地位，然后据此对相关教学内容进行挖掘。希望这些努力有助于教师看到中国书法在历史文化、字体书体、语言内涵、美学艺术等方面的博大精深。总之，本文认为，永字八法可以作为海外书法教学的重要切入点，帮助学习者逐步了解、领略中国汉字书法之法、之美，建立对中国文化的认知、基本技能和跨文化能力。
Building trust in the transport sector during the pandemic
Authors: Bondi Marina , Nocella Jessica Jane
Published: September 2023

This paper looks at cross-cultural variation in corporate communication over the pandemic, focusing on the
language adopted by rail companies in the UK and Italy to enhance trust in safety and highlighting how they engage in
communicative action with potential passengers and other online users. The analysis shows that UK companies generally prefer
personal forms of self-mention and avoid technicisms, while Italian companies adopt more formal language and more impersonal forms
of self-representation. Common elements seem to be related to repeated communicative functions, and the semantic elements they
involve, thus highlighting the close link between pragmatic units and lexico-grammatical patterns (with their semantics), as well
as the interplay between meaning, dialogic action and context in communication.
Discriminative subspace embedded dynamic geometrical and statistical alignment based on pseudo-label correction for cross-domain bearing fault diagnosis
Authors: Xu Huoyao , Liu Jie , Peng Xiangyu , Wang Junlang , He Chaoming
Published: September 2023

Many domain adaptation (DA) approaches have been developed to address the challenge of domain divergence in cross-domain fault diagnosis. However, most of them only attempt to align statistical distribution while neglecting geometric alignment between source and target data. Furthermore, the use of some unreliable pseudo-labels may cause geometrical and statistical distributions mismatching and interfere with the DA model generating correct pseudo-labels during the iterative learning. In this paper, we propose a new model called discriminative subspace embedded dynamic geometrical and statistical alignment based on pseudo-label correction (DSDGSA-PC) for bearing fault diagnosis. Firstly, discriminative subspace alignment is proposed to mitigate feature redundancy and divergence by generating aligned subspaces for two domains, while preserving class discriminative information and global structures of data. Then, DSDGSA-PC leverages the representer theorem and the principle of structural risk minimization to learn a domain-invariant classifier in the subspace, while minimizing statistical and geometrical shift by jointly optimizing dynamic graph embedding and dynamic weighted distribution alignment strategies. Finally, a novel pseudo-label correction mechanism is integrated into DSDGSA-PC to evaluate the credibility of pseudo-labels and rectify the unreliable ones during the iterations. The experimental results illustrate that DSDGSA-PC has higher transfer performance compared to several advanced methods on 24 transfer tasks.
Rate of accelerated expansion of the epidemic region in a nonlocal epidemic model with free boundaries
Authors: Du Yihong , Ni Wenjie , Wang Rong
Published: September 2023

This paper is concerned with the long-time dynamics of an epidemic model whose diffusion and reaction terms involve nonlocal effects described by suitable convolution operators, and the epidemic region is represented by an evolving interval enclosed by the free boundaries in the model. In Wang and Du (2022 J. Differ. Eqn.
327 322–81), it was shown that the model is well-posed, and its long-time dynamical behaviour is governed by a spreading-vanishing dichotomy. The spreading speed was investigated in a subsequent work of Wang and Du (2023 Discrete Contin. Dyn. Syst.
43 121–61), where a threshold condition for the diffusion kernels J
1 and J
2 was obtained, such that the asymptotic spreading speed is finite precisely when this condition is satisfied. In this paper, we examine the case that this threshold condition is not satisfied, which leads to accelerated spreading; for some typical classes of kernel functions, we determine the precise rate of accelerated expansion of the epidemic region by constructing delicate upper and lower solutions.
Experimental study on the influence of grain boundary on breakdown in relativistic backward wave oscillator
Authors: Tan Nongchao , Wu Ping , Sun Jun , Hua Ye , Shi Lei , Huang Wenhua , Huang Wenhui
Published: September 2023

The presence of radio frequency (RF) breakdown seriously degrades the performance of relativistic backward wave oscillator (RBWO) and affects its lifetime. In this paper, the influence of grain boundary on RF breakdown in an X-band RBWO has been experimentally investigated. Firstly, titanium with different grain sizes has been prepared using a high-temperature annealing method before its field emission characteristics are studied by a field emission test system. The experimental results indicate that the segregation effect of the impurities at the position of the grain boundary may become more pronounced as the grain size increases, which results in a significant improvement in the field emission performance of titanium. A high-power microwave experimental platform is then set up, and the influence of the grain boundary of titanium on RF breakdown has been revealed. The shortening of the microwave pulses is more serious with the increase of the grain size, and the corresponding breakdown traces appearing in the high-frequency structures become more apparent. Therefore, developing fine-grained and single-crystal metallic materials may be an important method for suppressing RF breakdown in RBWOs.
Quantum walk-based protocol for secure communication between any two directly connected nodes on a network
Authors: Chawla Prateek , Ajith Adithi , Chandrashekar C M
Published: September 2023

The utilization of quantum entanglement as a cryptographic resource has superseded conventional approaches to secure communication. Security and fidelity of intranetwork communication between quantum devices is the backbone of a quantum network. This work presents an protocol that generates entanglement between any two directly connected nodes of a quantum network to be used as a resource to enable quantum communication across that pair in the network. The protocol is based on a directed discrete-time quantum walk and paves the way for private inter-node quantum communication channels in the network. We also present the simulation results of this protocol on random networks generated from various models. We show that after implementation, the probability of the walker being at all nodes other than the source and target is negligible and this holds independent of the random graph generation model. This constitutes a viable method for the practical realisation of secure communication over any random network topology.
Shape and diffusion instabilities of two non-spherical gas bubbles under ultrasonic conditions
Authors: Bao 包 Wurihan 乌日汗 , Wang 王 De-Xin 德鑫
Published: September 2023

Ultrasonic cavitation involves dynamic oscillation processes induced by small bubbles in a liquid under the influence of ultrasonic waves. This study focuses on the investigation of shape and diffusion instabilities of two bubbles formed during cavitation. The derived equations for two non-spherical gas bubbles, based on perturbation theory and the Bernoulli equation, enable the analysis of their shape instability. Numerical simulations, utilizing the modified Keller–Miksis equation, are performed to examine the shape and diffusion instabilities. Three types of shape instabilities, namely, Rayleigh–Taylor, Rebound, and parametric instabilities, are observed. The results highlight the influence of initial radius, distance, and perturbation parameter on the shape and diffusion instabilities, as evidenced by the R
0–P
a phase diagram and the variation pattern of the equilibrium curve. This research contributes to the understanding of multiple bubble instability characteristics, which has important theoretical implications for future research in the field. Specifically, it underscores the significance of initial bubble parameters, driving pressure, and relative gas concentration in determining the shape and diffusive equilibrium instabilities of non-spherical bubbles.
The application of quantum coherence as a resource
Authors: Liu 刘 Si-Yuan 思远 , Fan 范 Heng 桁
Published: September 2023

Quantum coherence is a basic concept in quantum mechanics, representing one of the most fundamental characteristics that distinguishes quantum mechanics from classical physics. Quantum coherence is the basis for multi-particle interference and quantum entanglement. It is also the essential ingredient for various physical phenomena in quantum optics, quantum information, etc. In recent years, with the proposal of a quantum coherence measurement scheme based on a resource theory framework, quantum coherence as a quantum resource has been extensively investigated. This article reviews the resource theories of quantum coherence and introduces the important applications of quantum coherence in quantum computing, quantum information, and interdisciplinary fields, particularly in quantum thermodynamics and quantum biology. Quantum coherence and its applications are still being explored and developed. We hope this review can provide inspiration for relevant research.
A step to the decentralized real-time timekeeping network
Authors: Wang 王 Fangmin 芳敏 , Chen 陈 Yufeng 雨锋 , Zhou 周 Jianhua 建华 , Lin 蔺 Yuting 玉亭 , Yang 杨 Jun 军 , Wang 王 Bo 波 , Wang 王 Lijun 力军
Published: September 2023

The composite time scale (CTS) provides an accurate and stable time-frequency reference for modern science and technology. Conventional CTS always features a centralized network topology, which means that the CTS is accompanied by a local master clock. This largely restricts the stability and reliability of the CTS. We simulate the restriction and analyze the influence of the master clock on the CTS. It proves that the CTS’s long-term stability is also positively related to that of the master clock, until the region dominated by the frequency drift of the H-maser (averaging time longer than ∼105 s). Aiming at this restriction, a real-time clock network is utilized. Based on the network, a real-time CTS referenced by a stable remote master clock is achieved. The experiment comparing two real-time CTSs referenced by a local and a remote master clock respectively reveals that under open-loop steering, the stability of the CTS is improved by referencing to a remote and more stable master clock instead of a local and less stable master clock. In this way, with the help of the proposed scheme, the CTS can be referenced to the most stable master clock within the network in real time, no matter whether it is local or remote, making democratic polycentric timekeeping possible.
Gamma ray diagnostics for high time resolution measurement in large helical device
Authors: Ogawa K. , Sangaroon S. , Liao L.Y. , Matsuura H. , Kimura K. , Umezaki D. , Naoi M. , Fukuda T. , Wakisaka S. , Isobe M.
Published: September 2023

A 1-inch LaBr3:Ce gamma ray scintillation detector,
characterized by high time and energy resolution, was installed to
advance energetic particle physics studies in Large Helical Device
(LHD). We reduced the size of the scintillator from 3 inches to
1 inch to reinforce the radiation shielding to reduce the unwanted
signal in the detector induced by fast neutrons and stray gamma rays
according to the commissioning results. The radiation shielding
composed of 10% borated polyethylene and lead was redesigned to
suppress the gamma-ray induced signal based on the Monte Carlo
three-dimensional neutron and gamma-ray transport code MCNP6. We
increased the lead thickness from 50 mm to 77.5 mm to suppress the
stray gamma ray effect. The gamma ray spectrum was measured in the
hydrogen neutral beam heated deuterium plasma with 6LiF pellet
injection. We might obtain a gamma ray peak near 0.48 MeV due to
the 6Li(d,p'γ)7Li reaction.
Dynamic formation of preferentially lattice oriented, self trapped hydrogen clusters
Authors: Cusentino M A , Sikorski E L , McCarthy M J , Thompson A P , Wood M A
Published: September 2023

A series of MD and DFT simulations were performed to investigate hydrogen self-clustering and retention in tungsten. Using a newly develop machine learned interatomic potential, spontaneous formation of hydrogen platelets was observed after implanting low-energy hydrogen into tungsten at high fluxes and temperatures. The platelets formed along low miller index orientations and neighboring tetrahedral and octahedral sites and could grow to over 50 atoms in size. High temperatures above 600 K and high hydrogen concentrations were needed to observe significant platelet formation. A critical platelet size of six hydrogen atoms was needed for long term stability. Platelets smaller than this were found to be thermally unstable within a few nanoseconds. To verify these observations, characteristic platelets from the MD simulations were simulated using large-scale DFT. DFT corroborated the MD results in that large platelets were also found to be dynamically stable for five or more hydrogen atoms. The LDOS from the DFT simulated platelets indicated that hydrogen atoms, particularly at the periphery of the platelet, were found to be at least as stable as hydrogen atoms in bulk tungsten. In addition, electrons were found to be localized around hydrogen atoms in the platelet itself and that hydrogen atoms up to 4.2 Å away within the platelet were found to share charge suggesting that the hydrogen atoms are interacting across longer distances than previously suggested. These results reveal a self-clustering mechanisms for hydrogen within tungsten in the absence of radiation induced or microstructural defects that could be a precursor to blistering and potentially explain the experimentally observed high hydrogen retention particularly in the near surface region.
Increased cortical lesion load contributed to pathological changes beyond focal lesion in cortical gray matter of multiple sclerosis: a diffusion kurtosis imaging analysis
Authors: Zhu Qiyuan , Yan Zichun , Shi Zhuowei , Luo Dan , Ding Shuang , Chen Xiaoya , Li Yongmei
Published: September 2023

Biomarkers specific to cortical gray matter (cGM) pathological changes of multiple sclerosis (MS) are desperately needed to better understand the disease progression. The cGM damage occurs in cortical lesion (CL) and normal-appearing cGM (NAcGM) areas. While the association between CL load and cGM damage has been reported, little is known about how different CL types, i.e. intracortical lesion (ICL) and leukocortical lesion (LCL) would be associated with cGM damage. In our study, relapsing–remitting MS patients and healthy controls were divided into 4 groups according to CL load level. NAcGM diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI)/diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) values and cGM volume (cGMV) were used to characterize the pathological changes in cGM. Univariate general linear model was used for group comparisons and stepwise regression analysis was used to assess the effects of ICL volume and LCL volume on NAcGM damage. We found peak values in DKI/DTI values, cGMV and neuropsychological scores in high CL load group. Kurtosis fractional anisotropy (KFA) was the most sensitive in characterizing NAcGM damage, and LCL volume related more to NAcGM damage. Our findings suggested KFA could become a surrogate biomarker to cGM damage, and LCL might be the main factor in whole brain NAcGM damage.
Integrating deep mutational scanning and low-throughput mutagenesis data to predict the impact of amino acid variants
Authors: Fu Yunfan , Bedő Justin , Papenfuss Anthony T , Rubin Alan F
Published: September 2023

Background

Evaluating the impact of amino acid variants has been a critical challenge for studying protein function and interpreting genomic data. High-throughput experimental methods like deep mutational scanning (DMS) can measure the effect of large numbers of variants in a target protein, but because DMS studies have not been performed on all proteins, researchers also model DMS data computationally to estimate variant impacts by predictors.

Results

In this study, we extended a linear regression-based predictor to explore whether incorporating data from alanine scanning (AS), a widely used low-throughput mutagenesis method, would improve prediction results. To evaluate our model, we collected 146 AS datasets, mapping to 54 DMS datasets across 22 distinct proteins.

Conclusions

We show that improved model performance depends on the compatibility of the DMS and AS assays, and the scale of improvement is closely related to the correlation between DMS and AS results.
4. Breach of Duty
Authors: Nolan Donal , Oliphant Ken
Published: September 2023

This chapter begins by looking at the key cases in which the idea of negligence as conduct falling below the standard of the reasonable person was judicially elaborated. It then discusses what it means to exercise reasonable care, looking at relevant considerations such as the gravity of potential harm, the cost of precautions and the utility of the defendant’s conduct. It is explained that negligence is judged from the defendant’s standpoint but according to an ‘objective’ standard of care. The chapter concludes by considering the relevance of ‘common practice’ in setting the standard of care, and the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur (‘the thing speaks for itself’).
15. Damages for Personal Injury
Authors: Nolan Donal , Oliphant Ken
Published: September 2023

The tortious infliction of injury to another person is remedied through the award of damages. This chapter discusses the different types of damages that may be awarded (compensatory damages, restitutionary damages, exemplary or punitive damages, aggravated damages, nominal damages and contemptuous damages), before addressing the traditional lump-sum approach to the award of damages and the more recent introduction of periodical payments by way of alternative, and the calculation of damages for personal injury (with separate consideration of non-pecuniary losses, loss of earnings, the cost of medical care and the deduction of other benefits received as a result of the tort).
17. How Tort Works
Authors: Nolan Donal , Oliphant Ken
Published: September 2023

This chapter discusses the role played by the law of tort in the compensation and prevention of personal injuries. It first examines the way that tort operates in practice: when are claims for compensation actually made; how are claims brought and how are they resolved; how much does it cost to bring a claim; is the compensation paid adequate; and who pays for it? The chapter then turns to evaluation, and focuses upon the ‘fault principle’ that is enshrined in the law of tort—the principle that compensation should only be paid to a person injured by another’s fault. It considers how the law might depart from the fault principle by the development of strict liability or no-fault compensation, concluding with an examination of radical reform options involving the abolition of tort as a means of compensating for personal injuries.
A Hilbert Irreducibility Theorem for Integral Points on del Pezzo Surfaces
Authors: Coccia Simone
Published: September 2023

We prove that the integral points are potentially Zariski dense in the complement of a reduced effective singular anticanonical divisor in a smooth del Pezzo surface, with the exception of ${{\mathbb {P}}}^{2}$ minus three concurrent lines (for which potential density does not hold). This answers positively a question raised by Hassett and Tschinkel and, combined with previous results, completes the proof of the potential density of integral points for complements of anticanonical divisors in smooth del Pezzo surfaces. We then classify the complements that are simply connected and for these we prove that the set of integral points is potentially not thin, as predicted by a conjecture of Corvaja and Zannier.
Biology and quality assessment ofTelenomus remus(Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) andTrichogrammaspp. (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) in eggs ofSpodopteraspp. for augmentative biological control programs
Authors: Fortes Alice dos Reis , Coelho Aloisio , Amorim Deoclécio J , Demetrio Clarice G B , Parra José R P
Published: September 2023

The Spodoptera complex of the family Noctuidae, represented here by S. frugiperda (J.E. Smith), S. eridania (Stoll), S. albula (Walker), and S. cosmioides (Walker), is an important group of crop pests in Brazil. Spodoptera frugiperda and S. eridania are invasive in Africa, and the former also in Asia and Oceania. The egg parasitoids Telenomus remus Nixon (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) and Trichogramma spp. (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) are potential control agents for field use against these noctuids. We evaluated the parasitism efficiency, development, and flight capacity of an isofemale line and a regular line of T. remus, and 2 genetically variable populations of Trichogramma pretiosum Riley and Trichogramma atopovirilia Oatman and Platner (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) in these 4 members of the Spodoptera complex. All parasitoids were able to develop in the 4 hosts. The parasitoids showed good flight capacity, except for the regular line of T. remus. The Trichogramma species, despite having high viability and female:male sex ratios, showed poorer parasitism performances than T. remus. The regular T. remus line also showed good parasitism capacity and high viability but had a predominance of males. In general, the isofemale line of T. remus showed good rates of parasitism and flight capacity as well as a high viability and sex ratio, proving to be a potential candidate for an augmentative biological-control program for Spodoptera spp Guenée (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).
Effect of 2 sex-sorting time schedules on SIT facility management
Authors: Malfacini Marco , Puggioli Arianna , Balestrino Fabrizio , Carrieri Marco , Dindo Maria Luisa , Bellini Romeo
Published: September 2023

Improvements are needed in mosquito mass-rearing to effectively implement the sterile insect technique (SIT). However, managing this technique is challenging and resource intensive. SIT relies on mass rearing, sterilization, and release of adult males to reduce field populations. Maintaining an acceptable level of female presence, who can transmit viruses through biting, is crucial. Females are also essential for facility sustainability. Sex sorting plays a vital role in the production process, and our current mechanical sorting approach aims to obtain a high number of adult males with minimal female contamination within 24 h of pupation. Utilizing protandry helps control female contamination. While the 24-h sorting period achieves desired contamination levels, it may not yield enough females to sustain breeding lines, leading to increased labor costs that impact project sustainability. By delaying the sorting procedure to 48 h, we obtained sufficient females to sustain breeding lines, achieving a balance between male production and female contamination using the automatic version of the Fay–Morlan device as the sorting tool.
Kill rate as a tool in efficiency evaluation ofNeoseiulus californicus(Acari: Phytoseiidae) mass reared on factitious food
Authors: Simoni Sauro , Burgio Giovanni , Tarchi Franca , Guidi Silvia , Goggioli Donatella , Gagnarli Elena , Turillazzi Francesco , Lanzoni Alberto
Published: September 2023

The predatory mites of the Phytoseiidae family are crucial biological control agents widely utilized in biological pest management targeting phytophagous mites and insects. Key factors in these control strategies are that phytoseiids must be able to find their main target prey and to maintain high populations and efficacy. To reduce expenses and time-consuming production methods of mass rearing of phytoseiids, pollen and other factitious (i.e., non-natural/nontarget) hosts need to be present as an alternative food for predatory mite populations. The mass-rearing possibilities of these predators on alternative food sources, such as astigmatid mites (i.e., house and stored mites) and pollen, must be evaluated not only by the cost of rearing settings but on the basis of their efficiency maintenance in killing prey. The pest kill rate (km) is the average daily lifetime killing of the pest by the natural enemy under consideration and can represent a useful indicator for phytoseiids efficacy to rank them as BCAs on the basis of their effective killing/predation on target prey. In this study, we evidenced that 2 astigmatid mites, Glycyphagus domesticus (De Geer) and Lepidoglyphus destructor (Schrank), and Quercus ilex L. pollen can be successfully adopted as substitute food sources for mass rearing of the phytoseiid Neoseiulus californicus (MgGregor); then, we determined that these populations of BCAs maintained a consistent km at new/first impact on the main target pest, Tetranychus urticae Koch.
Host stage and temperature for the rearing of Aridelus rufotestaceus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), with notes on acceptance and suitability of 2 stink bug species
Authors: Francati Santolo , Martini Antonio , Dindo Maria Luisa
Published: September 2023

Nezara viridula (L.) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) is a harmful pest of many agricultural crops in different parts of the world. This stink bug is the preferred host species of Aridelus rufotestaceus Tobias (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), an endoparasitoid of nymphs and adults of pentatomids. With the aim to improve the rearing procedure of this beneficial insect, the acceptance and suitability of all mobile stages of N. viridula (from first instar nymph to adult) were evaluated. At 25 °C, all host stages were accepted and suitable for A. rufotestaceus development, but the highest parasitoid cocoon and adult yields were obtained from second instar nymphs. The possibility to reduce the development time of A. rufotestasceus by increasing the rearing temperature was also evaluated, but 28 °C proved to be detrimental for parasitoid development, as shown by the very low cocoon and adult numbers obtained. The acceptance and suitability of the invasive pentatomid species Halyomorpha halys (Stål) for A. rufotestaceus was also tested. Female wasps were observed piercing H. halys nymphs with the ovipositor, but no cocoons were obtained, nor were larvae or head capsules detected in the exposed stink bugs.
Evaluation of Pachycrepoideus vindemiae and Muscidifurax raptor (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) as biological control agents of Piophila casei (Diptera: Piophilidae) in ham production facilities
Authors: Missere Diletta , Martini Antonio , Burgio Giovanni
Published: September 2023

Ham products play a fundamental role in the Italian economy, and attention to the problems of this sector is essential. The products of this sector can be attacked by parasites, which can cause direct and indirect damage. Piophila casei (L.) (Diptera: Piophilidae) a cheese and meat parasite, is currently responsible for hygiene problems in ham factories. The trophic activity of this pest on the products causes serious direct damage and it is a vector of various bacteria, including Clostridium botulinum. Another risk is human ingestion of the larvae, which are resistant to gastric juices action, potentially causing intestinal myiasis. Insecticide use of any type is not allowed in aging rooms, so biological control can represent a potential alternative. In this study, we investigate quality parameters such as successful rate of parasitism (SP), degree of parasitism (DP), sex-ratio (SR), life-span (LS), and emergence rates (ER) of 2 pupal parasitoids of Diptera: Pachycrepoideus vindemiae (Rondani) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), currently the only known pupal parasitoid of P. casei, and Muscidifurax raptor (Girault and Sanders) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae). Our research confirmed P. vindemiae efficacy to parasitize P. casei and reported, for the first time, M. raptor as a pupal parasitoid of this Piophilidae. ER for both parasitoids were low, thus affecting the DP and SP estimations. This could be explained by the feeding behavior of the parasitoid host. The strongly female-biased SR for P. vindemiae supported previous studies. LS results in our experiment are crucial for determining the timing of release.
Beautiful vulvas: expanding illustrative visual imagery of female genital cutting types
Authors: Chaisson Nicole , Johnson-Agbakwu Crista E , Finch Ashley , Salad Munira , Connor Jennifer Jo , Chen Muzi , Robinson Beatrice Bean E
Published: September 2023

Background

Visual imagery has been used to educate healthcare providers, patients, and the lay public on female genital cutting (FGC) typology and reconstructive procedures. However, culturally inclusive, diverse, and anatomically accurate representation of vulvas informed by women possessing lived experience of FGC is lacking.

Aim

We sought to apply World Health Organization (WHO) FGC typology to the development of type-specific visual imagery designed by a graphic artist and culturally informed by women with lived experience of FGC alongside a panel of health experts in FGC-related care.

Methods

Over a 3-year process, a visual artist created watercolor renderings of vulvas with and without FGC across varying WHO types and subtypes using an iterative community-based approach. Somali women possessing lived experience of FGC were engaged alongside a team of clinician experts in FGC-related care. Women and clinicians provided descriptive input on skin color variation, texture, and skin tone, as well as the visual depiction of actions necessary in conducting a genital examination.

Outcomes

A series of vulvar anatomic illustrations depicting WHO FGC typology.

Results

FGC types and subtypes are illustrated alongside culturally informed descriptors and clinical pearls to strengthen provider competency in the identification and documentation of FGC WHO typology, as well as facilitate patient education, counseling, shared decision making, and care.

Clinical Implications

Ensuring equitable representation of race, gender, age, body type, and ability in medical illustrations may enhance patient education, counseling, and shared decision making in medical and/or surgical care. FGC provides a lens through which the incorporation of patient-informed and culturally relevant imagery and descriptors may enhance provider competency in the care of FGC-affected women and adolescents.

Strengths and Limitations

The strengths of this study include the development of visual imagery through an iterative community-based process that engaged women with lived experience of FGC alongside clinicians with expertise in FGC-related care, as well as the representation of historically underrepresented bodies in the anatomical literature. Study limitations include the lack of generalizability to all possible forms or practices of FGC given the focus on one geographically distinct migrant community, as well as the reliance on self-report given the inability to clinically verify FGC status due to the community-based methodology employed.

Conclusion

Patient-informed and culturally representative visual imagery of vulvas is essential to the provision of patient-centered sexual health care and education. Illustrations developed through this community-engaged work may inform future development of visual educational content that advances equity in diverse representation of medical illustrations.
A Case of Hematogenous Osteomyelitis in a 5-Week-Old Male
Authors: Silverman Montane B , Tuckerman Reece E , Fisher Joseph
Published: September 2023

Pediatric osteomyelitis is a rare diagnosis associated with devastating consequences when treatment is delayed. We report a case of hematogenous osteomyelitis in a 5-week-old male presenting to the emergency department (ED) with a flaccid right upper extremity. In the ED, the patient was evaluated with comprehensive infectious and trauma workups. Initial CT imaging of the head and X-ray imaging of the extremity were unremarkable. C-reactive protein was elevated at 0.8; all other laboratory markers were within normal range. Over the course of the ED evaluation, the extremity weakness spontaneously resolved; however, the infant developed a fever of 100.5 F. Empiric broad spectrum antibiotics were initiated, and the infant was admitted to the pediatric service. At 48 hours following presentation, cultures resulted positive for Staphylococcus aureus and MRI imaging revealed osteomyelitis of the proximal right humeral metadiaphysis. Given the subtle presentation of early hematogenous osteomyelitis, emergency providers should maintain a high index of suspicion for infection as the underlying cause in infants presenting with a flaccid extremity.
Intraoperative language mapping guided by real-time visualization of gamma band modulation electrocorticograms: Case report and proof of concept
Authors: Noll Kyle R , Asman Priscella , Tasnim Israt , Hall Matthew , Connelly Katherine , Swamy Chandra , Ene Chibawanye , Tummala Sudhakar , Grasu Roxana M , Liu Ho-Ling , Kumar Vinodh A , Muir Matthew , Prinsloo Sarah , Michener Hayley , Wefel Jeffrey S , Ince Nuri F , Prabhu Sujit S
Published: September 2023

Background

Electrocorticography (ECoG) language mapping is often performed extraoperatively, frequently involves offline processing, and relationships with direct cortical stimulation (DCS) remain variable. We sought to determine the feasibility and preliminary utility of an intraoperative language mapping approach guided by real-time visualization of electrocorticograms.

Methods

A patient with astrocytoma underwent awake craniotomy with intraoperative language mapping, utilizing a dual iPad stimulus presentation system coupled to a real-time neural signal processing platform capable of both ECoG recording and delivery of DCS. Gamma band modulations in response to 4 language tasks at each electrode were visualized in real-time. Next, DCS was conducted for each neighboring electrode pair during language tasks.

Results

All language tasks resulted in strongest heat map activation at an electrode pair in the anterior to mid superior temporal gyrus. Consistent speech arrest during DCS was observed for Object and Action naming tasks at these same electrodes, indicating good correspondence with ECoG heat map recordings. This region corresponded well with posterior language representation via preoperative functional MRI.

Conclusions

Intraoperative real-time visualization of language task-based ECoG gamma band modulation is feasible and may help identify targets for DCS. If validated, this may improve the efficiency and accuracy of intraoperative language mapping.
Using Rapid-Cycle Experiments to Improve Labor Programs in the United States
Authors: Nightingale Demetra Smith , Amin Samia , Perez-Johnson Irma
Published: September 2023

The US Department of Labor initiates rapid-cycle evaluations to refine procedures and operations and to improve program outcomes. Applying principles from behavioral economics combined with results from rigorous net impact evaluations, rapid-cycle experiments have been conducted in a range of programs, including unemployment insurance, job training, and compliance with labor laws and standards in the workplace such as occupational safety and health. This chapter discusses the department’s rationale for pursuing such experiments in the context of evidence-based policy, the various designs and methodologies used, and the results of major experiments. The studies suggest that small, low-cost changes to operational procedures can improve program outcomes.
Driving Performance in the EU Context
Authors: Vidoni Daniele , Stryczynski Kai
Published: September 2023

Regional Policy is the investment strategy for strengthening economic and social cohesion by reducing disparities in the level of development between European regions. Responsibility for the strategy is shared among the European Commission, the Member States, and stakeholders at the local and regional levels. From the perspective of evaluation, deploying Regional Policy includes three main challenges: (1) to develop an assessment system that is useful for the needs of the Member States, give sufficient flexibility to programming authorities, and allow stakeholders to understand clearly the expected objectives of the programmes; (2) to devise a monitoring system that provides relevant information for the European Commission and for the citizens on the policy being delivered; and (3) to understand how the effectiveness of the policy should be assessed, what the tasks would be for national and regional authorities, and how the European Commission could support them. This chapter discusses the characteristics of Regional Policy and the solutions identified to address the above challenges.
Estimating Program Costs
Authors: Long David A. , Thornton Craig
Published: September 2023

This chapter describes how to measure the costs of a program or policy and then present the resulting cost measures effectively to decision-makers. The authors recommend starting with a conceptual framework to understand the decisions a cost analysis will inform, including a comprehensive view of costs and how costs are distributed among policy-relevant populations. Understanding total resources costs needed to operate a program (including underlying subsides and program interdependencies), and how the cost is distributed among various stakeholder groups, is important for decision-makers even if a funder is not paying for all of it. Estimating costs is inherently imprecise, and the chapter highlights the importance of giving decision-makers a clear sense of the overall uncertainty in any estimate and the specific issues that create the most uncertainty. The chapter ends with some suggestions about specific tools that cost analysts should find useful.
Using Cost-Effectiveness Analysis to Inform Decision-Making
Authors: Carter Samantha , Dathan Anupama , Murphy Kyle , Tangoren Caroline
Published: September 2023

When a funder or policymaker wants to achieve a certain goal—for instance, improving student test scores—it is not always obvious which strategy will have the largest impact. Randomized evaluations can generate insights into the effectiveness of various potential strategies, but it can be difficult for policymakers to choose among multiple effective interventions. One way to make this easier is to present evidence in the form of comparative cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA). This chapter discusses how CEA can help inform policy in developing countries and the underlying methodological assumptions necessary for performing such analysis. The authors provide practical guidance for cost collection, describing the major cost categories to consider and how to address common costing challenges. The authors also discuss prospective cost analyses to estimate costs across contexts or at a new scale, or to decide among a menu of programs in a specific context. Examples are drawn from the education field to illustrate key issues and focus on specific applications to education policy.
Theory of Change and Logic Models
Authors: Gugerty Mary Kay
Published: September 2023

Theory of change and logic models are foundational to evaluation. Yet these concepts are also the source of much confusion and are increasingly under fire for reinforcing existing biases in evaluative processes. Developing a theory of change requires evaluators to put forth the underlying aims of a program and to create a map that shows how program activities connect to program deliverables and impacts. A theory of change supports the definition of evaluation questions and priorities, builds the scaffolding for a measurement system, and provides a framework for interpreting results. This chapter defines the basic concepts involved in a theory of change and logic models and walks through the steps involved in building them. The chapter concludes by examining the process and technical challenges that evaluators must confront in developing a theory of change and suggests ways in which theory of change processes can better confront systematic bias and center equity.
Developmental Evaluation Designs and Methods
Authors: Patton Michael Quinn
Published: September 2023

Developmental evaluation provides evaluative information and feedback to social innovators, and their funders and supporters, to inform adaptive development of change initiatives in complex, dynamic environments. Developmental evaluation processes include asking evaluative questions, applying evaluation logic, and gathering and reporting evaluative data, to inform and support the development of innovative projects, programs, initiatives, products, organizations, and/or systems change. Eight guiding principles inform all aspects of developmental evaluation design and implementation: (1) having a developmental purpose, (2) rigorous evaluative thinking, (3) focusing on utilization, (4) documenting aspects of innovation, (5) taking place in complex dynamic systems, (6) systems thinking and synthesis, (7) co-creation by evaluators and social innovators, and (8) timely feedback. This chapter concludes with some new directions in developmental evaluation designed to evaluate global systems transformation in the context of accelerating global climate energy.