bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Is Mindfulness and Compassion Training Advisable in Alleviating Professional Burnout Among Physicians? Dilemmas and Possibilities in Healthcare System
Authors: Boroń Krupińska Krystyna , Sekułowicz Małgorzata
Published: December 2021

The profession of a physician is a profession of social responsibility, in which medical competence should go hand in hand with non-medical competences. Mental strain, physical fatigue and entanglement in the administrative system can result in chronic stress and contribute to professional burnout, affecting both the well-being of medical staff and the quality of medical care provided. The Author’s intention is to promote mindfulness and compassion training that are considered to be protective and promoting the well-being of physicians resources in conditions of exposure to occupational stress.
The analysis was based on 197 documents retrieved from the PubMed/Medline, Science Direct/Scopus databases in years 2008–2017, referring to the impact of mindfulness and compassion training on professional burnout among physicians. Only 21 papers retrieved from the scientific bases met inclusion criteria, referring to the impact of mindfulness and compassion training on professional burnout among physicians. Increasing concentration, improving memory, reducing the level of stress, anxiety and depression and strengthening kindness attitude are the basis for mindfulness and compassion training, which also supports the ability of unreactive responses to difficult situations, develops communication between the physician and the patient.
Sources for Research on Childhood and Childhood History in Poland in the 19th and Early 20th Century – Selected Problems
Authors: Borowska Monika Nawrot
Published: December 2021

The aim of the present article is to draw attention to the informative value of selected types of source materials which may provide a basis for research on childhood and childhood in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. At the same time, an attempt will be made to indicate the sorts of research problems which can be analyzed using these sources. Some types of sources will be discussed in more depth, with emphasis on those that are particularly rich and valuable in terms of information about children and childhood, but have not yet been fully exploited by researchers in historical and pedagogical analyses, have been used only occasionally, or have even been ignored altogether.
The informative potential of the source materials for the study of history of children and childhood will be presented using the examples of such written sources as women’s, family and children’s press, diaries and memoirs, children’s literature, guidebooks, as well as iconographic sources. Comparing and combining sources, as well as considering them in a complementary manner may contribute to reconstructing the as yet incomplete picture of childhood and children in the Polish historiography of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Refunctioning and Extending Ethnographic Methods of Data Collection and Analysis in Educational Action Research
Authors: Gołębniak Bogusława Dorota
Published: December 2021

W artykule podejmuję próbę zarysowania konsekwencji metodycznych głównych przesunięć konceptualnych, które jako efekt zwrotów epistemologiczno-metodologicznym odnotowywanych w naukach społecznych, występują (już czy występować mogą) których spodziewać się można w przestrzeni edukacyjnych badań w działaniu. Przyjmując, że opis etnograficzny stanowi punkt wyjścia większości podejmowanych w edukacji projektów zaliczanych do tego typu badań interwencyjnych określanych jako action research, skupiam się na pytaniu o odzwierciedlanie się w ich metodyce rozszerzenia związanego z konstytuowaniem (się) zróżnicowanych formuł poszukiwań w związku z przeformułowywaniem etnografii po „kryzysie reprezentacji”.@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}@font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;}
The Application of Problem-Centered Interview as a Method of Pedagogical Research
Authors: Matkowski Sylwester
Published: December 2021

The purpose of the article is to present the qualitative research method known as Problem-Centered Interview and its potential application in pedagogical research. The author demonstrates the main assumptions and stages of the method, simultaneously analyzing the possible benefits and limitations of its use. The originality of the method is confronted with other types of interviews, i.e.: active, in-depth and classical narrative interview. The application of unique qualities of the method,such as: administering three types of reasoning (deductive, inductive and abductive), addressing the prior knowledge bias of the researcher and taking into account afalsification in the validation process, all of which increase the credibility of research conclusions. The Problem-Centered Interview which is placed between the objectivist Grounded Theory and constructionism is able to provide a new insight into education and upbringing. The application of the method makes it possible for the research itself to become an educational situation.
Fundusz Dostępności jako element systemu zapewnienia dostępności osobom ze szczególnymi potrzebami
Authors: Wantoch-Rekowski Jacek
Published: December 2021

Artykuł dotyczy Funduszu Dostępności, który jest elementem systemu zapewnienia dostępności osobom ze szczególnymi potrzebami. Jednym z podstawowych zadań państwa jest bowiem usuwanie barier i zapewnienie dostępności dla wszystkich obywateli, w tym osób posiadających trudności w mobilności czy percepcji. Fundusz Dostępności jest państwowym funduszem celowym, który ma określone ustawowo przychody i wydatki. Jest funduszem o stosunkowo niewielkim znaczeniu finansowym. Z opracowania wynika, że zadania państwa w zakresie dostępności mogłyby być efektywnie realizowane bez powoływania do życia tego funduszu, a jego rolę mógłby przejąć inny z funkcjonujących już funduszy celowych
The Approach of the Exact Sciences and Philosophy Towards the Looming Climate Change Disaster
Authors: Ciążela Helena
Published: December 2021

This paper analyses the attitude of the contemporary philosophy to the problems associated with increasingly radical diagnoses concerning anthropogenic climate changes that may lead the human civilization on Earth to a global catastrophe. One can identify three approaches to this issue in contemporary philosophy: involvement in the breakthrough taking place; evaluation of the change process from an axiological perspective or ignoring the evolving phenomena on the grounds that it is not possible to define them meaningfully from the perspective of theoretical orientations that currently dominate the contemporary philosophy.
Race consciousness, the audacity of equality, and transcultural criticism in Hasan Minhaj’s homecoming king.
Authors: Khorakiwala Muqarram
Published: December 2021

This article examines the role of the diasporic stand-up comic as a transcultural critic and the comedy set as an act of transcultural criticism of contemporary American culture. I use the framework of transcultural criticism developed by Lewis1 (2002) for the purpose of cultural investigation in Hasan Minhaj’s stand-up comedy Homecoming King (2017). Through the amalgamation of political aesthetics and cultural civics, Lewis’ theorization of transculturalism offers an interesting approach for critical discourse analysis of racial injustice and inequality in Muslim American stand-up comedy. Minhaj uses persuasion games and language wars to highlight the dissonance in the dominant discourse about Islam. His goal is not to be a spokesperson for Muslim Americans but to provide new imaginings to the discussion of race, religion, and belonging in the context of Brown Americans in the post 9/11 era both within and outside the community.
Case Article—Louisiana Branch Lines
Authors: Gorman Michael F.
Published: December 2021

Louisiana Branch Lines is a struggling Southeast U.S. railroad in just four cities and 12 markets. Their marketing, operations, and finance performance is poor and their departments disjointed. In this customizable, nine-part case, instructors can choose to focus on basic problem structuring and descriptive and predictive statistics, optimization model building, simulation of solutions, or the integration of all of the above. It is based on a real-world case.

History: This paper has been accepted for the INFORMS Transactions on Education Special Section on Cases Based on Real-World Projects from the INFORMS Journal on Applied Analytics.

Supplemental Material: Data are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/ited.2021.0258ca . The Teaching Note is available at https://www.informs.org/Publications/Subscribe/Access-Restricted-Materials .
Asian Retailers in Glasgow: A Glimpse of Commercial and Property Relations in the Early Eighties
Authors: Luthra Mohan
Published: December 2021

As noted in the paper published in the last issue of this journal, shopkeeping and retail have been one of the important ways of entry into the host economy in the case of some prewar migrating communities such as the Jews and the Italians and the post-war migrants such as the Asians (mostly Panjabis from India and Pakistan) to Glasgow in Scotland. We explore how the two major sets of theories the ethnic customer niche and middlemen minority theory apply to this group and explore the unchartered area of the nature of ‘property relations’ of retailers, i.e.in terms of the acquired commercial and housing property. Specifically, we explore the similarities and differences between the commercial and residential markets and their relationship and possible interdependence for entrepreneurial and asset building and the phenomenon of segregated property markets. We begin by exploring the background of retailers and their possible influence on entry into the business. We also compare some key aspects of Glasgow’s retail economy with other Asian retail localized economies using the studies of the period for comparative perspective purposes. The paper adds to the very sparse literature on asset ownership or on ethnic commercial property markets and explores if the high ownership of housing and the presence of ethnic origin national banks helped with both ethnic enterprise and asset creation. It also explores the extent to which the ‘ethnic niche’ model and the ‘middle minorities’ model applies to the Asians in Glasgow in addition to the hypothesis if the agricultural background which requires some sense of business and related skills, and the notion of success and the status of property may be the crucial cultural and experiential drivers of asset acquisition and enterprise.
Widowhood and Motherhood in Cinematic Imagination in the Historical Context
Authors: Atwal Jyoti
Published: December 2021

This article engages with the question of how Hindi cinema sought to synergize and imagine the nation, community and land in independent India as the embodiment of widowhood. I suggest that this process of embodiment was the culmination of a long historical-political process. The focus of this chapter is a 1957 Hindi film by Mehboob Khan named Mother India. The film stands out as a powerful emotional drama. On the one hand, this film marked continuity with the Indian literature, painting, theatre and cinema of the colonial period,1 on the other, Mother India influenced the culture of a new Indian nation after 1947. Within a decade after India attained independence from Britain, the Indian cinema became an undisputed site where the cultural engineering of a new nation could be enacted.2
Knowledge and effects of dysmenorrhoea among female adolescents in selected secondary schools in Lagos
Authors: Abazie Ogechi Helen , Oshinyemi TE , Ayanniyi RY
Published: December 2021

Background

Dysmenorrhoea is the leading cause of absenteeism from school among menstruating adolescents. It is a common health problem among women of reproductive age and it is known to have psychosocial effects on women and their interactions with others during such periods. This study assessed knowledge and effects of dysmenorrhoea among female adolescents in Lagos.

Methods

This non-experimental descriptive cross-sectional study involved 676 female adolescents attending secondary schools, who were selected using multistage sampling. A self-structured questionnaire (reliability r=0.79) was used for data collection. Data were analysed using the statistical package for social sciences software version 20. Descriptive and inferential statistics were presented in tables, charts and analysed using the Chi-squared test. Significance was set at P=0.05.

Results

The result showed that 62.8% of the respondents were 15–18 years old. The majority (64.8%) had poor knowledge of dysmenorrhoea, although 92.6% agreed that dysmenorrhoea affects their daily activities and 68.5% had good treatment-seeking methods. There was a significant association between knowledge of dysmenorrhoea and students' age (P<0.001), level of education (P=0.004) and department (P<0.001). There was also a significant association between treatment-seeking method and age (P<0.001), level of education (P=0.010) and department (P<0.001).

Conclusions

Dysmenorrhoea is a main cause of poor performance in daily activities among female adolescents in Lagos, although many have good treatment-seeking methods. Adopting good and effective treatment methods will go a long way in mitigating the effect of dysmenorrhoea.
Prevalence of vaginal candidiasis and associated factors in pregnant women with diabetes
Authors: Mukona Doreen Macherera , Mhlanga Maxwell , Zvinavashe Mathilda
Published: December 2021

Background/aims

Vaginal candidiasis is commonly experienced by women with diabetes, but its prevalence is not well documented in Zimbabwe. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of vaginal candidiasis and factors associated with diabetic treatment adherence in pregnant women with diabetes.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted on a consecutive sample of 157 participants from a central hospital in Harare, Zimbabwe. A structured questionnaire and physical examination of the perineum were used to collect data. All procedures were conducted in privacy. Diagnosis of vaginal candidiasis was made clinically. Data were analysed using the Chi-squared test, with P<0.05 being significant.

Results

The prevalence of vaginal candidiasis was 19.7%. There was a significant association between monthly family income (P=0.041), parity (P=0.029) and number of living children (P=0.049) and the presence of vaginal candidiasis. Women with poor adherence to diabetic therapy were 3.95 times more likely to have vaginal candidiasis (P=0.002).

Conclusions

Individualised health education on glycaemic control and good perineal hygiene remains key in the prevention of vaginal candidiasis among diabetic pregnant women.
Flora da Bahia: Poaceae – Dichanthelium (Panicoideae)
Authors: Oliveira Matos Andreza , Da Silva Christian , Oliveira Reyjane Patricia
Published: December 2021

The flora of the genus Dichanthelium (Panicoideae, Poaceae) for the state of Bahia, Brazil, is herein presented. We recognize 13 species, from which eight are endemic. This work includes an identification key to the species, descriptions, illustrations, distribution maps, and notes on the taxa.
Intercultural Dialogue, Diaspora, and the Divided Self in Nasrallah's Canadian Fiction (2004)
Authors: Abdul-Jabbar Wisam Kh.
Published: December 2021

This article looks at the second part of Dimitri Nasrallah's novelBlackbodying(2004), which takes the form of an embedded novella, “Canadian Fiction.” This novella explores how an immigrant's traumatic diasporic experience silences intercultural dialogue in an inhospitable Toronto. Drawing on the conceptual framework of internalization, this study first examines the stigmatizing condition of the immigrant in exile, which projects a whimsical obsession with Heidi, a fictional woman, as a nostalgic object of desire. Second, the novella underpins the loss of real-life dialogue that disfigures Sameer's genuine pursuit of social integration. This study, therefore, argues that the loss of the ideal not only traps immigrants in a never-ending chase but also threatens their very capacity to recreate third space realities. Third, the study negates the often-romanticized meta-narrative of successful immigrants living in welcoming cities.
Sino-Egyptian Relations Post-2013: The Dynamics and Challenges of an Emerging Strategic Partnership
Authors: Selim Gamal M. , Moaaz Rania S.
Published: December 2021

In 2014, China and Egypt upgraded their bilateral relations to the level of comprehensive strategic partnership, providing a new framework under which both states have been able to intensify and deepen their cooperation as never before. Building on the concept of strategic partnership as a newly emerging framework of international cooperation, this article examines the dynamics of the Sino-Egyptian comprehensive strategic partnership from the perspective of the driving motivations of both actors, its policy manifestations as well as its potential challenges in the future. The article contends that while the Sino-Egyptian comprehensive strategic partnership has offered an ideal framework of win-win bilateral cooperation that corresponded to the strategic interests and needs of both actors in a critical historical juncture post-2013, this framework, which involves a number of imbedded limitations, might not continue to serve bilateral interactions in the medium and long terms, particularly as it pertains to their future corresponding security and economic concerns.
Mathematics in the middle: The relationship between measurement and metamorphic matter
Authors: de Freitas Elizabeth
Published: December 2021

This paper revisits philosophical questions regarding the relationship between mathematics and matter. I briefly present four contrary and contemporary perspectives on the speculative force of mathematics, as a provocation for further discussion on the subject of sciento-metrics. I first consider the ideas of the philosopher Quentin Meillassoux, as a way of setting the stage for various kinds of materialist philosophies of mathematics. I then turn to the ideas of two mathematicians - Fernando Zalamea and Giuseppe Longo - and a computer scientist - Gregory Chaitin - and explore how their discussions of contemporary mathematical practice offer important insight (and twist) regarding the relationship between mathematics and matter.
What do ‘propositions’ do for research-creation? Truth and modality in Whitehead and Wittgenstein
Authors: Ben Shannon David
Published: December 2021

Research-creation is a way of researching socio-material processes as art practices. Scholars and artists pursuing research-creation often reference Whitehead’s conceptualisation of the ‘proposition’ as a key theoretical device for speculative and creative work. However, this scholarship perhaps downplays the truth/false distinction that is essential to Whitehead’s account of the proposition in favour of the proposition’s potential as a speculative tool. In this paper, I explore the proposition as conceptualized by Whitehead. I think with a series of music theory concepts to theorise how Whitehead’s proposition explores a modality of truth. I then discuss how the concept is taken up in research-creation. I frictionally bring together Whitehead’s articulation of the proposition with that of the early Wittgenstein’s. Finally, I discuss some promises and perils of this approach, with direct relevance to questions around research method and methodology in the social sciences. This article is of relevance to scholars interested in research applications of process philosophy, graduate or post-graduate students interested in an introduction to Whitehead, and research-creation practitioners interested in the proposition.
Towards a Feminist and Affective Pedagogy of Vulnerability
Authors: Cano Abadía Mónica
Published: December 2021

This paper gives a theoretical-affective account of my experience of teaching the course “Vulnerability, Gender, and Justice.” Applied to pedagogy, the notion of vulnerability, diffractive methodologies, and rhizomatic thinking can potentially transform traditional ways of reading philosophy, of understanding ourselves, and of understanding how we are situated in practices within molar and molecular lines. This course aimed to activate potential lines of flight that may fly away from normativity.
Becoming-cat or what a woman’s body can do
Authors: Tamboukou Maria
Published: December 2021

Drawing on a body of literature that considers narrative meaning emerging  in intra-species entanglements, in this paper I read Gwen John’s letters revolving around her relationship with the many cats she lived with throughout her life. I am particularly interested in throwing light at moments when a woman’s body makes strong connections with the animal’s body blurring the boundaries between humans and non-humans through a cosmological ethics of care. In doing so, I follow trails of Deleuze’s and Guattari’s idea of becoming-animal, as it is fleshed out through a narrative analysis of a modernist woman artist’s letters.
High precision even-power phase modulation method for a self-mixing displacement sensor under the weak feedback regime
Authors: Li Zhen , Qiu Lirong , Hu Lu , Lu Liping , Zhu Desheng , Chen Hanqiao , Huang Wencai , Wang Xiulin
Published: December 2021

A novel method called even-power phase modulation is proposed in a self-mixing displacement sensor to improve measuring accuracy, to the best of our knowledge, which is realized by combining the even-power fast algorithm with the sinusoidal phase-modulation method. By performing the even-power fast algorithm in the self-mixing interference system, the spectrum of harmonic components is broadened. In this case, the extracted first and second harmonic components in the frequency domain contain rich information, and the displacement of the target can be accurately reconstructed. The principle and signal processing approach are introduced in detail, and the simulation results show that the reconstruction error can be effectively reduced compared with the electro-optic modulator phase modulation method. A series of experiments at different vibration amplitudes is conducted to confirm the feasibility and effectiveness of the method. An amplitude of 120 nm is proved to be measurable, and the absolute error is 10 nm, which shows great potential in the field of non-contact nanometer vibration measurement sensors.
Unitary checkerboard precoded OFDM for low-PAPR optical wireless communications
Authors: Abrudan Traian E. , Kucera Stepan , Claussen Holger
Published: December 2021

Future 6G wireless networks will once again have to raise the performance in most technology domains by a factor of 10–100. Depending on the application, future requirements include peak data rates of 1 Tb/s per user, 0.1 ms latency, less than one out of a million outage, centimeter accurate positioning, near zero energy consumption at the device, and operation in different environments including factories, vehicles, and more. Optical wireless communications (OWCs) have the potential to provide ultrahigh data rates in a cost effective way, due to the vast and freely available light spectrum, and the availability of devices for transmitters and receivers. 5G New Radio architecture permits the integration of stand-alone OWC nodes on network layers. Current 6G research investigates advanced physical layer designs including OWC-compatible waveforms. In this context, in this paper, a new precoded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) waveform is proposed that is tailored to OWCs’ specific needs. Its prime advantage compared to OFDM is the ultralow peak-to-average power ratio, while preserving other benefits, such as high spectral efficiency, flexible subcarrier nulling, and low computational complexity.
Analysis of metallic slotted micromirrors using modal decomposition and multiple reflections
Authors: Ali Mohamed N. , Sabry Yasser M. , Kirah Khaled A. , Khalil Diaa
Published: December 2021

Micromirrors are essential elements in many photonic systems. The state-of-the-art technology provides micromachining of different types of micromirrors such as Bragg, metallized, and slotted metallic mirrors. The slotted metallic mirrors are thought to overcome some of the drawbacks of the other types that include limited bandwidth, sensitivity to fabrication tolerance, and dielectric material absorption. We propose a model that accounts for the slit thickness and width, incident light profile and polarization in addition to the multiple reflections inside the slit using modal decomposition. The model results are compared to finite-difference–time domain simulations and a good matching is obtained. The model successfully quantifies the transmission below cutoff in the TE polarization for perfectly conducting metallic boundaries. The model also quantifies the Fabry–Pérot-like resonances in the transmission of TM polarized light.
Super-mode noise suppression of a silicon hybrid mode-locked ring laser using a symmetric Fabry–Perot filter
Authors: Shekarpour Mohammad , Yavari Mohammad Hasan
Published: December 2021

In this research, we propose a harmonically mode-locked hybrid silicon laser by introducing intracavity reflectors (ICRs) to suppress super-mode noise. Using a delay differential equation model, the dynamics, phase noise, and timing jitter of the proposed structure (PS) and the without-ICR structure (WOICRS) are investigated. The simulation results show a significant increase of 20 GHz harmonic regime of PS compared to WOICRS. Additionally, this regime of PS can be achieved at a lower current than WOICRS. The phase noise of the PS is improved to about 8 dB. Given the better selectivity of optical modes in PS, the phase noise is reduced compared to that of with-intracavity structure. Furthermore, numerical results show that timing jitter reduction has periodic behavior by changing the harmonic inter-spike interval time. The analyses demonstrate that harmonic mode-locking of a long cavity laser is a valid strategy for reducing phase noise and timing jitter. The simulation results of WOICRS are in a good agreement with experimental results.
Optimized number of the primary singular values for image reconstruction in reflection matrix based optical coherence tomography
Authors: Yang Lu , Han Tao , Meng Jia , Qian Shuhao , Yang Chen , Liu Zhiyi , Ding Zhihua
Published: December 2021

A reflection matrix based optical coherence tomography (OCT) is recently proposed and expected to extend the imaging-depth limit twice. However, the imaging depth and hence the image quality heavily depend on the number of primary singular values considered for image reconstruction. To this regard, we propose a method based on correlation between image pairs reconstructed from different number of singular values and corresponding remainders. The obtained correlation curve and another feature curve fetched from the former are then fed to a long short-term memory (LSTM) network classifier to identify the optimized number of primary singular values for image reconstruction. Simulated targets with different combinations of filling fraction and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) are reconstructed by the developed method as well as two current adopted methods for comparison. The results demonstrate that the proposed method is robust to recover the image with satisfactory similarity close to the reference one. To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive study on the optimized number of the primary singular values considered for image reconstruction in reflection matrix based OCT.
Lowlight object recognition by deep learning with passive three-dimensional integral imaging in visible and long wave infrared wavelengths
Authors: Wani Pranav , Usmani Kashif , Krishnan Gokul , O’Connor Timothy , Javidi Bahram
Published: December 2021

Traditionally, long wave infrared imaging has been used in photon starved conditions for object detection and classification. We investigate passive three-dimensional (3D) integral imaging (InIm) in visible spectrum for object classification using deep neural networks in photon-starved conditions and under partial occlusion. We compare the proposed passive 3D InIm operating in the visible domain with that of the long wave infrared sensing in both 2D and 3D imaging cases for object classification in degraded conditions. This comparison is based on average precision, recall, and miss rates. Our experimental results demonstrate that cold and hot object classification using 3D InIm in the visible spectrum may outperform both 2D and 3D imaging implemented in long wave infrared spectrum for photon-starved and partially occluded scenes. While these experiments are not comprehensive, they demonstrate the potential of 3D InIm in the visible spectrum for low light applications. Imaging in the visible spectrum provides higher spatial resolution, more compact optics, and lower cost hardware compared with long wave infrared imaging. In addition, higher spatial resolution obtained in the visible spectrum can improve object classification accuracy. Our experimental results provide a proof of concept for implementing visible spectrum imaging in place of the traditional LWIR spectrum imaging for certain object recognition tasks.
Finite-size and disorder effects on 1D unipartite and bipartite surface lattice resonances
Authors: Warren Aran , Alkaisi Maan M. , Moore Ciaran P.
Published: December 2021

Optical resonances in bipartite metal nanostructure lattices are more resilient to finite size-effects than equivalent unipartite lattices, but the complexities of their behaviour in non-ideal settings remain relatively unexplored. Here we investigate the quality factor and extinction efficiency of 1D Ag and Au unipartite and bipartite lattices. By modelling finite size lattices over a range of periods we show that the quality factor of Ag bipartite lattices is significantly better than unipartite lattices. This improvement is less pronounced for Au bipartite lattices. We also show that bipartite lattices are dramatically affected by structure size variations at scales that are typically seen in electron beam lithography fabrication in contrast to unipartite lattices, which are not as sensitive.
Experimental generation of the polycyclic tornado circular swallowtail beam with self-healing and auto-focusing
Authors: Zhang Yong , Tu JiaLong , He ShangLing , Ding YiPing , Lu ZhiLi , Wu You , Wang GuangHui , Yang XiangBo , Deng DongMei
Published: December 2021

In this paper, the polycyclic tornado circular swallowtail beam (PTCSB) with autofocusing and self-healing properties is generated numerically and experimentally and their properties are investigated. Compared with the circular swallowtail beam (CSB), the optical distribution of the PTCSB presents a tornado pattern during the propagation. The number of spiral stripes, as well as the orientation of the rotation, can be adjusted by the number and the sign of the topological charge. The Poynting vectors and the orbital angular momentum are employed to investigate the physical mechanism of beam-rotating. In addition, we also introduce a sector-shaped opaque obstacle to investigate the self-healing property of the PTCSB, passing through it with different center angles and discuss the influence of the scaling factor along the propagation direction. Our results may expand the potential applications in the optical spanner and material processing.
Parallel array signal processing technology for spatial phase distortion correction in heterodyne detection
Authors: Liu Yutao , Zheng Mingwei , Xu Miao , Fu Guangwei
Published: December 2021

The spatial phase distortion caused by a rough target causes a decoherence effect which, in turn, produces system sensitivity degradation. The decoherence phenomenon is the primary problem that restricts the application of active optical heterodyne detection, e.g., synthetic aperture radar and long-range coherent laser detection and ranging. By establishing a one-to-one correspondence between the combination of array signals and the system signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), a scheme for spatial phase distortion correction based on the intelligent optimization algorithm is proposed in this paper. The calculation of phase adjustments for each array signal is transformed into an optimization problem for the combination of array signals, experiments are conducted using rough target heterodyne images, and the parallel genetic algorithm (PGA) is used to calculate the phase adjustment of each array element. The results show that the spatial random phase distortion is corrected effectively without prior knowledge, and the PGA achieves an excellent computational performance which, along the efficiency of the proposed technology, has wide-scale implications for the application of active heterodyne detection and optical coherent communication.
The human gut symbiont Ruminococcus gnavus shows specificity to blood group A antigen during mucin glycan foraging: Implication for niche colonisation in the gastrointestinal tract
Authors: Wu Haiyang , Crost Emmanuelle H. , Owen C David , van Bakel Wouter , Martínez Gascueña Ana , Latousakis Dimitrios , Hicks Thomas , Walpole Samuel , Urbanowicz Paulina A. , Ndeh Didier , Monaco Serena , Sánchez Salom Laura , Griffiths Ryan , Reynolds Raven S. , Colvile Anna , Spencer Daniel I. R. , Walsh Martin , Angulo Jesus , Juge Nathalie
Published: December 2021

The human gut symbiontRuminococcus gnavusdisplays strain-specific repertoires of glycoside hydrolases (GHs) contributing to its spatial location in the gut. Sequence similarity network analysis identified strain-specific differences in blood-group endo-β-1,4-galactosidase belonging to the GH98 family. We determined the substrate and linkage specificities of GH98 fromR.gnavusATCC 29149,RgGH98, against a range of defined oligosaccharides and glycoconjugates including mucin. We showed by HPAEC-PAD and LC-FD-MS/MS thatRgGH98 is specific for blood group A tetrasaccharide type II (BgA II). Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and saturation transfer difference (STD) NMR confirmedRgGH98 affinity for blood group A over blood group B and H antigens. The molecular basis ofRgGH98 strict specificity was further investigated using a combination of glycan microarrays, site-directed mutagenesis, and X-ray crystallography. The crystal structures ofRgGH98 in complex with BgA trisaccharide (BgAtri) and ofRgGH98 E411A with BgA II revealed a dedicated hydrogen network of residues, which were shown by site-directed mutagenesis to be critical to the recognition of the BgA epitope. We demonstrated experimentally thatRgGH98 is part of an operon of 10 genes that is overexpresssed in vitro whenR.gnavusATCC 29149 is grown on mucin as sole carbon source as shown by RNAseq analysis and RT-qPCR confirmedRgGH98 expression on BgA II growth. Using MALDI-ToF MS, we showed thatRgGH98 releases BgAtri from mucin and that pretreatment of mucin withRgGH98 conferedR.gnavusE1 the ability to grow, by enabling the E1 strain to metabolise BgAtri and access the underlying mucin glycan chain. These data further support that the GH repertoire ofR.gnavusstrains enable them to colonise different nutritional niches in the human gut and has potential applications in diagnostic and therapeutics against infection.
Reading the ground: Understanding the response of bioelectric microbes to anthropogenic compounds in soil based terrestrial microbial fuel cells
Authors: Barbato Robyn A. , Jones Robert M. , Musty Michael A. , Slone Scott M.
Published: December 2021

Electrogenic bacteria produce power in soil based terrestrial microbial fuel cells (tMFCs) by growing on electrodes and transferring electrons released from the breakdown of substrates. The direction and magnitude of voltage production is hypothesized to be dependent on the available substrates. A sensor technology was developed for compounds indicative of anthropological activity by exposing tMFCs to gasoline, petroleum, 2,4-dinitrotoluene, fertilizer, and urea. A machine learning classifier was trained to identify compounds based on the voltage patterns. After 5 to 10 days, the mean voltage stabilized (+/- 0.5 mV). After the entire incubation, voltage ranged from -59.1 mV to 631.8 mV, with the tMFCs containing urea and gasoline producing the highest (624 mV) and lowest (-9 mV) average voltage, respectively. The machine learning algorithm effectively discerned between gasoline, urea, and fertilizer with greater than 94% accuracy, demonstrating that this technology could be successfully operated as an environmental sensor for change detection.
Exploring the relationships between socio-economic indicators and student enrollment in higher education institutions of Pakistan
Authors: Batool Syeda Mubashira , Liu Zhimin
Published: December 2021

Higher education is considered as the engine of the economic development of a country due to its role in cultivating human capital. The provision of higher education is regarded as a productive investment in human capital for improving nation’s productive capacity. However, there is a large gap in enrollment between students of different socioeconomic statuses. The ever-widening socio-economic inequalities between individuals from disadvantaged and advantaged backgrounds make the government’s efforts to enroll a higher number of students to pursue higher education challenging in developing countries, as the students’ socioeconomic status plays a decisive role in their priority to attain higher education. This study anticipated quantifying the impact of socio-economic indicators and underlying situations on students’ enrollment in higher education in Pakistan. A descriptive study, involving correlation, principal component analysis (PCA), clustering, and stepwise regression using 15-years data of enrollment and socio-economic indicators was conducted. The correlation between different socio-economic indicators and students’ enrollment was positive and highly significant (0.73 to 0.99), except for the unemployment rate (- 0.39 to -0.57). PCA showed that the first two components were the most influential with 93.85% of the total variation. Enrollment (total and male) showed significant relationships with general government expenditure and unemployment rate, while female enrollment showed a significant relationship with general government expenditure. Findings revealed that socio-economic factors can serve as a significant predictor of students’ enrollment in higher education. The minimum values of correlation coefficient (R) and adjusted R2 for enrollment were ranged from 0.875 to 0.748 (female enrollment), while maximum values (0.987 to 0.993 and 0.973 to 0.983), respectively were observed for total enrollment. The findings will assist educationists, social scientists, and policymakers to better understand the association between socio-economic indicators and student enrollment in higher education for formulating future education policies for enhancing enrollment in higher education.
Platelet microRNAs inhibit primary tumor growth via broad modulation of tumor cell mRNA expression in ectopic pancreatic cancer in mice
Authors: Wurtzel Jeremy G. T. , Lazar Sophia , Sikder Sonali , Cai Kathy Q. , Astsaturov Igor , Weyrich Andrew S. , Rowley Jesse W. , Goldfinger Lawrence E.
Published: December 2021

We investigated the contributions of platelet microRNAs (miRNAs) to the rate of growth and regulation of gene expression in primary ectopic tumors using mouse models. We previously identified an inhibitory role for platelets in solid tumor growth, mediated by tumor infiltration of platelet microvesicles (microparticles) which are enriched in platelet-derived miRNAs. To investigate the specific roles of platelet miRNAs in tumor growth models, we implanted pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cells as a bolus into mice with megakaryocyte-/platelet-specific depletion of mature miRNAs. We observed an ~50% increase in the rate of growth of ectopic primary tumors in these mice compared to controls including at early stages, associated with reduced apoptosis in the tumors, in particular in tumor cells associated with platelet microvesicles—which were depleted of platelet-enriched miRNAs—demonstrating a specific role for platelet miRNAs in modulation of primary tumor growth. Differential expression RNA sequencing of tumor cells isolated from advanced primary tumors revealed a broad cohort of mRNAs modulated in the tumor cells as a function of host platelet miRNAs. Altered genes comprised 548 up-regulated transcripts and 43 down-regulated transcripts, mostly mRNAs altogether spanning a variety of growth signaling pathways–notably pathways related to epithelial-mesenchymal transition—in tumor cells from platelet miRNA-deleted mice compared with those from control mice. Tumors in platelet miRNA-depleted mice showed more sarcomatoid growth and more advanced tumor grade, indicating roles for host platelet miRNAs in tumor plasticity. We further validated increased protein expression of selected genes associated with increased cognate mRNAs in the tumors due to platelet miRNA depletion in the host animals, providing proof of principle of widespread effects of platelet miRNAs on tumor cell functional gene expression in primary tumors in vivo. Together, these data demonstrate that platelet-derived miRNAs modulate solid tumor growth in vivo by broad-spectrum restructuring of the tumor cell transcriptome.
Transition from military to civilian: Identity, social connectedness, and veteran wellbeing
Authors: Flack Mal , Kite Leah
Published: December 2021

Military identity and a sense of social connectedness may help explain differences in contemporary veteran wellbeing following transition from military to civilian life. However, it is unclear how these constructs interrelate. The current study quantitatively explored the role of social connectedness in the relationship between military identity and subjective wellbeing among contemporary ex-serving Australian Defence Force veterans. To facilitate analyses, data from 358 veterans were used to first explore the suitability of the factor structure of the Warrior Identity Scale. Subsequently, the potential moderating and mediating effects of social connectedness in the relationship between military identity and wellbeing were explored via path analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis of the Warrior Identity Scale revealed support for the multidimensional construct of military identity, and a revised six-factor measurement model was found suitable for further path analysis. Consistent with past research, social connectedness positively related to quality of life and negatively related to psychological distress. There was no support for a moderation effect of social connectedness. However, results indicated military identity indirectly influenced wellbeing and distress via differential relationships with social connectedness. Specifically, private and public regard for the military and not feeling like an outsider positively related to social connectedness. In contrast, interdependence with other veterans, viewing the military as family, and the centrality of military identity negatively related to social connectedness. The results suggest nurturing the protective aspects of military identity and addressing inhibitory aspects of military identity may support a sense of social connectedness and wellbeing among ex-serving veterans.
Expansion of invariant natural killer T cells from systemic lupus erythematosus patients by alpha-Galactosylceramide and IL-15
Authors: Hsu Chien-Ya , Chueh Yu-Shan , Kuo Ming-Ling , Lee Pei-Tzu , Hsiao Hsiu-Shan , Huang Jing-Long , Lin Syh-Jae
Published: December 2021

CD1d-restricted invariant natural killer T cells (iNKT cells) may play an important role in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Interleukin (IL)-15 is a pro-inflammatory cytokine which is over-expressed in SLE patients. In the present study, we investigated the iNKT cell expansion of mononuclear cells (MNCs) from SLE patients following 10 days’ culture with α-galactosylceramide (α-Galcer) and /or IL-15. We sought to determine the phenotypic and functional characteristics of the expanded iNKT cells compared to healthy controls and correlated with disease activity. We observed that 1. The percentages of Vα24+/Vβ11+ iNKT cells following 10-day incubation was lower in SLE groups compared to controls; 2. The percentages and absolute numbers of Vα24+/Vβ11+ iNKT cells were expanded by α-galactosylceramide (α-Galcer), and further enhanced with IL-15 in SLE patient, but the effect of IL-15 was much lower than controls; 3.IL-15 +α-Galcer expanded CD3+/CD56+ NKT-like cells from SLE patients, especially with active disease 4. The CD161+ Vα24+/Vβ11+ iNKT cells in SLE were more responsive to α-Galcer stimulation than the CD161- counterpart; 5. IL-15 decreased apoptosis of α-Galcer activated SLE iNKT cells; 6. IL-15 enhanced CD69, CD1d and CD11a expression on α-Galcer treated iNKT cells; 7. The IL-4 production of iNKT cells was decreased in SLE patients compared to controls; 8. IL-15 increased IFN-γ and IL-4 production of SLE iNKT cells; 8. IL-15 failed to augment the ability of iNKT cells to aid NK-mediated K562 cytolysis in SLE patients; 9. CD161 positivity, granzyme B and perforin expression of α-Galcer+IL-15 expanded iNKT cells correlated with C3 levels in SLE patients. Taken together, our results demonstrated numeric and functional deficiency of iNKT cells and their response to IL-15 in SLE patients. Our finding may provide insight for using adoptive iNKT cell therapy in autoimmune diseases.
Reflecting on Hospitality & Society: The first ten years
Authors: Lynch Paul , McIntosh Alison , Molz Jennie Germann , Lugosi Peter , Ong Chin-Ee
Published: December 2021

This editorial is the first of a two-part critical reflection upon the progress of Hospitality & Society in its first ten years in relation to the original aims and ambitions. Drawing primarily upon the Dimensions database, a field of research analysis indicates the journal achieving multidisciplinary coverage through its publications with the four most popular fields being: studies in human society; sociology; commerce, management, tourism and services; business and management. The wide range of authors’ disciplines and subjects suggests the metaphor of hospitality is mobilizing meanings across disciplines, geographies and sectors of hospitality studies. Academic journals and books publishing papers citing articles from Hospitality & Society further reflect the breadth of the journal’s impact and reach and the relevance of hospitality to many aspects of society. Evolution of the journal is considered in relation to the editorial team’s structure as well as that of the editorial and advisory boards’ composition, acknowledging implications for the types of knowledge generated. The goal of inclusivity is considered in relation to language and contributing authors’ geographical distribution. An interdisciplinary turn in hospitality studies is noted. Key steps in the journal’s development are noted in relation to sponsorship, journal quality grading and its implications, as well as the importance of the publisher’s values. The editors give thanks to all those involved.