bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Excessive Rainfall Outlook at the Weather Prediction Center: Operational Definition, Construction, and Real-Time Collaboration
Authors: Burke Patrick C. , Lamers Alex , Carbin Gregory , Erickson Michael J. , Klein Mark , Chenard Marc , McNatt Jennifer , Wood Lance
Published: September 2022

The Excessive Rainfall Outlook (ERO), issued operationally from the Weather Prediction Center (WPC), serves the Weather and Water Enterprise and decision-makers with probabilistic guidance and messaging context out to 3 days for excessive rainfall leading to impacts, including flash flooding. Eighty-three percent of all flood-related damages and 39% of all flood-related fatalities reported in Storm Data from 2010 to 2020 occurred in or near an ERO High Risk. Given that a High Risk is issued on only 4% of days, the presence of such risk can serve as an important step in raising situational awareness of a greater likelihood of a damaging and deadly flash flood day. This paper details the operational construction of the ERO at WPC and discusses the role of the ERO in the National Weather Service collaborative forecast process for heavy rainfall. Case studies where the ERO achieved a High Risk are presented for the deadly Montecito, California, flash flood and debris flow (2018) and Hurricane Harvey (2017). More broadly, challenges are highlighted which could be overcome by research to further improve ERO utility.
Getting ahead of Flash Drought: From Early Warning to Early Action
Authors: Otkin Jason A. , Woloszyn Molly , Wang Hailan , Svoboda Mark , Skumanich Marina , Pulwarty Roger , Lisonbee Joel , Hoell Andrew , Hobbins Mike , Haigh Tonya , Cravens Amanda E.
Published: September 2022

Flash droughts, characterized by their unusually rapid intensification, have garnered increasing attention within the weather, climate, agriculture, and ecological communities in recent years due to their large environmental and socioeconomic impacts. Because flash droughts intensify quickly, they require different early warning capabilities and management approaches than are typically used for slower-developing “conventional” droughts. In this essay, we describe an integrated research-and-applications agenda that emphasizes the need to reconceptualize our understanding of flash drought within existing drought early warning systems by focusing on opportunities to improve monitoring and prediction. We illustrate the need for engagement among physical scientists, social scientists, operational monitoring and forecast centers, practitioners, and policy-makers to inform how they view, monitor, predict, plan for, and respond to flash drought. We discuss five related topics that together constitute the pillars of a robust flash drought early warning system, including the development of 1) a physically based identification framework, 2) comprehensive drought monitoring capabilities, and 3) improved prediction over various time scales that together 4) aid impact assessments and 5) guide decision-making and policy. We provide specific recommendations to illustrate how this fivefold approach could be used to enhance decision-making capabilities of practitioners, develop new areas of research, and provide guidance to policy-makers attempting to account for flash drought in drought preparedness and response plans.
The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service: From Research to Operations
Authors: Peuch Vincent-Henri , Engelen Richard , Rixen Michel , Dee Dick , Flemming Johannes , Suttie Martin , Ades Melanie , Agustí-Panareda Anna , Ananasso Cristina , Andersson Erik , Armstrong David , Barré Jérôme , Bousserez Nicolas , Dominguez Juan Jose , Garrigues Sébastien , Inness Antje , Jones Luke , Kipling Zak , Letertre-Danczak Julie , Parrington Mark , Razinger Miha , Ribas Roberto , Vermoote Stijn , Yang Xiaobo , Simmons Adrian , Garcés de Marcilla Juan , Thépaut Jean-Noël
Published: September 2022

The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), part of the European Union’s Earth observation program Copernicus, entered operations in July 2015. Implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) as a truly European effort with over 23,500 direct data users and well over 200 million end users worldwide as of March 2022, CAMS delivers numerous global and regional information products about air quality, inventory-based emissions and observation-based surface fluxes of greenhouse gases and from biomass burning, solar energy, ozone and UV radiation, and climate forcings. Access to CAMS products is open and free of charge via the Atmosphere Data Store. The CAMS global atmospheric composition analyses, forecasts, and reanalyses build on ECMWF’s Integrated Forecasting System (IFS) and exploit over 90 different satellite data streams. The global products are complemented by coherent higher-resolution regional air quality products over Europe derived from multisystem analyses and forecasts. CAMS information products also include policy support such as quantitative impact assessment of short- and long-term pollutant-emission mitigation scenarios, source apportionment information, and annual European air quality assessment reports. Relevant CAMS products are cited and used for instance in IPCC Assessment Reports. Providing dedicated support for users operating smartphone applications, websites, or TV bulletins in Europe and worldwide is also integral to the service. This paper presents key achievements of the CAMS initial phase (2014–21) and outlines some of its new components for the second phase (2021–28), e.g., the new Copernicus anthropogenic CO2 emissions Monitoring and Verification Support capacity that will monitor global anthropogenic emissions of key greenhouse gases.
Global Ocean Monitoring and Prediction at NOAA Climate Prediction Center: 15 Years of Operations
Authors: Hu Zeng-Zhen , Xue Yan , Huang Boyin , Kumar Arun , Wen Caihong , Xie Pingping , Zhu Jieshun , Pegion Philip J. , Ren Li , Wang Wanqiu
Published: September 2022

Climate variability on subseasonal to interannual time scales has significant impacts on our economy, society, and Earth’s environment. Predictability for these time scales is largely due to the influence of the slowly varying climate anomalies in the oceans. The importance of the global oceans in governing climate variability demonstrates the need to monitor and forecast the global oceans in addition to El Niño–Southern Oscillation in the tropical Pacific. To meet this need, the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) initiated real-time global ocean monitoring and a monthly briefing in 2007. The monitoring covers observations as well as forecasts for each ocean basin. In this paper, we introduce the monitoring and forecast products. CPC’s efforts bridge the gap between the ocean observing system and the delivery of the analyzed products to the community. We also discuss the challenges involved in ocean monitoring and forecasting, as well as the future directions for these efforts.
A Road Map to Success of International Field Campaigns in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
Authors: Zhang Chidong , Moore James A.
Published: September 2022

Understanding and predicting Earth’s environment requires information and ­knowledge of detailed physical, chemical, and biological processes directly from observations. Well-organized and properly conducted field campaigns are powerful ways to make such observations. Major international field campaigns with participation from multiple countries bring together expertise and resources to address complex scientific issues that are difficult or impossible to be tackled by a few scientists in a single nation. This article describes the essential elements of international field campaigns, the necessary steps of planning and execution that need to be taken for their success, and other considerations that make international field campaigns successful. The ­intention of this article is to encourage early career professionals to participate in and learn to organize field campaigns in this exciting time of rapidly evolving technological observing capabilities and increasing efforts to seek global diversity, equity, and inclusion in science.
Comprehensive Satellite Observations and a Numerical Study of a Wintertime Shallow Sea Smoke Event in the Yellow Sea
Authors: Li Xiaofeng , Shen Dongliang , Zheng Gang , Zhou Lizhang , Liu Aiyue
Published: September 2022

A winter storm triggered a significant sea smoke with the northwesterly wind to the Yellow Sea, China, on 7 January 2021. The ocean responses to this event lasted about 3 days. Satellite observations show that the sea surface temperature dropped from 5.7° to 4.7°C on the following day and then recovered to the previous level; the chlorophyll-a, a bio-growth indicator, increased from 3.6 to 3.9 mg m−3 due to cooling-induced coastal upwelling between 7 and 9 January. Two buoys measurements showed that the air temperature dropped to −13.3°C and high relative humidity with a maximum value of 89.0% above the sea surface, creating favorable conditions for sea smoke generation. A Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) and Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model coupled model with the Goddard Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport (GOCART) chemical module was implemented to reproduce this sea smoke phenomenon and analyze the air–sea interaction. The 20°C temperature difference between extreme cold air (−13.3°C) and the relatively warm stable sea surface (4.7°–5.7°C) enhanced the seawater evaporation. In addition, we suppose the concentration of sea salt, a kind of condensation nucleus, with a particle diameter of 0.5–1.5 μm above the sea surface increased quickly on 7 January. The boiling-water-like sea surface was imaged on a synthetic aperture image. We developed an image analysis method to describe the cell-shaped texture characteristics imaged by Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). We also found that the sea surface imprints of sea smoke are governed by the thermal, not the dynamical instability.

Significance Statement

On 7 January 2021, a significant sea smoke event happened in the Yellow Sea. The ocean response to the event lasted 3 days. First, on a synoptic scale, this study presents the comprehensive satellite observations of the sea surface temperature drop and chlorophyll-a increase associated with the sea smoke. Second, a coupled air–sea interaction model with the Goddard Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport (GOCART) chemical module was implemented to reproduce this sea smoke phenomenon and identify which condensation nucleus induced such heavy sea smoke. Third, we developed an image analysis method to analyze high-resolution synthetic aperture radar images and found that the sea surface imprints of sea smoke are governed by the thermal, not the dynamical instability.
Variations of Subgrid-Scale Turbulent Fluxes in the Dry Convective Boundary Layer at Gray Zone Resolutions
Authors: Liu Mengjuan , Zhou Bowen
Published: September 2022

In the numerical gray zone of the convective boundary layer (CBL), the horizontal resolution is comparable to the size of organized convective circulation. As turbulence becomes partially resolved, gridscale variations of the subgrid-scale (SGS) turbulent fluxes become significant compared to the mean. Previously, such variations have often been ignored in scale-adaptive planetary boundary layer (PBL) schemes developed for the gray zone. This study investigates these variations with respect to height and resolution based on large-eddy simulations. It is found that SGS fluxes exhibit maximum variability at the center of the gray zone, where the resolved and the SGS mean fluxes are approximately equal. A simple analytical model is used to associate such characteristic variations to the nonlinear interactions of the dominant energy-containing mode of CBL turbulence. Examination of the horizontal distribution of the SGS fluxes reveals their preferential location over the updraft edges surrounding the core. A priori analysis further suggests the ability of a scale-similarity closure to reproduce the unique spatial patterns of the SGS fluxes at gray zone resolutions. Four scale-adaptive PBL schemes are evaluated focusing on their representations of the modeled SGS flux variability. Their shared shortcomings as a result of their gradient diffusion–based formulation are exposed. This study suggests that a mixed model consisting of a scale-adaptive PBL scheme to represent the mean, and a scale-similarity component to account for gridscale variability to be advantageous for the gray zone.

Significance Statement

As Gresho and Lee’s famous quote on numerical schemes goes, “Don’t suppress the wiggles. They’re telling you something!” In the numerical gray zone, where the grid spacing is comparable to the characteristic length scale of the flow, turbulence is partially resolved. The “wiggles” (or gridscale variability) reflecting the resolved heterogeneity of turbulent fluxes is an outstanding feature of the gray zone. However, they are often overlooked as error bars to the mean. This study uncovers the significance of these error bars, and characterizes and explains their variations with height and grid spacing. A suitable model that captures such variations is investigated to help build better planetary boundary layer schemes.
Can Model Parameterization Accounting for Hydrological Nonstationarity Improve Robustness in Future Runoff Projection?
Authors: Zheng Hongxing , Chiew Francis H.S. , Zhang Lu
Published: September 2022

Dominant hydrological processes of a catchment could shift due to a changing climate. This climate-induced hydrological nonstationarity could affect the reliability of future runoff projection developed using a hydrological model calibrated for the historical period as the model or parameters may no longer be suitable under a different future hydroclimate. This paper explores whether competing parameterization approaches proposed to account for hydrological nonstationarity could improve the robustness of future runoff projection compared to the traditional approach where the model is calibrated targeting overall model performance over the entire historical period. The modeling experiments are carried out using climate and streamflow datasets from southeastern Australia, which has experienced a long drought and exhibited noticeable hydrological nonstationarity. The results show that robust multicriteria calibration based on the Pareto front can provide a more consistent model performance over contrasting hydroclimate conditions, but at a slight expense of increased bias over the entire historical period compared to the traditional approach. However, the robust calibration does not necessarily result in a more reliable projection of future runoff. This is because the systematic bias in any parameterization approach would propagate from the historical period to the future period and would largely be cancelled out when estimating the relative runoff change. Ensemble simulations combining results from different parameterization considerations could produce a more inclusive range of future runoff projection as it covers the uncertainties due to model parameterization.
Assessment of Model-Derived Mass Flux Relative to Satellite Gravimetry via a Water Balance in North America
Authors: Krichman Benjamin , Bettadpur Srinivas , Pekker Tatyana
Published: September 2022

GRACE and GRACE Follow-On (GRACE-FO) mission data are utilized to assess mass flux derived from the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) and the NLDAS-2 Noah land surface model via multiple water balance formulations. Water balances are computed for 18 medium size basins in North America at the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset HU2 level over the span of the GRACE and GRACE-FO missions (2002–21). Performance of model-derived mass flux is presented in the context of statistical agreement to changes in terrestrial water storage (ΔTWS) derived from Center for Space Research (CSR) GRACE RL06 mass concentrations (mascons), and GRACE and NARR uncertainty is estimated against comparable datasets. The land surface water balance method utilizing NLDAS-2 Noah consistently outperforms the total column method utilizing NARR, which is likely due to enhanced precipitation forcing and an updated Noah model version used in NLDAS-2. The surface approach to the calculation of atmospheric moisture flux divergence is carried through the presented analyses and is demonstrated to be comparable in performance to the more common volume approach. Mass balance methodology, basin characteristics, and ΔTWS signal characteristics are assessed to quantify effects on model performance and while factors such as basin size, basin average topography gradient, and ΔTWS annual amplitude are shown to have a measurable effect on model performance, no single factor exhibited a dominant or consistent effect. Drought conditions are shown to have a significant temporally localized effect on model-derived mass flux accuracy, with NARR being particularly susceptible to this effect.

Significance Statement

Measurements of Earth’s gravity field from the GRACE and GRACE-FO satellite missions are utilized to create estimates of water storage changes in 18 North American river basins that are compared to changes in water storage calculated from an atmospheric model reanalysis (NARR) and a land surface model (NLDAS-2 Noah). The resulting comparison demonstrates that certain basin characteristics can have a slight effect on model accuracy, while climatic conditions such as drought can have a major impact on model accuracy. This work provides useful quantification of when and where modeled water transport loses accuracy, which is integral to our understanding of the present and future distribution of this crucial resource and the natural processes that affect it.
An Objective Scoring Method for Evaluating the Comparative Performance of Automated Storm Identification and Tracking Algorithms
Authors: Satrio Clarice N. , Calhoun Kristin M. , Campbell P. Adrian , Steeves Rebecca , Smith Travis M.
Published: September 2022

While storm identification and tracking algorithms are used both operationally and in research, there exists no single standard technique to objectively determine performance of such algorithms. Thus, a comparative skill score is developed herein that consists of four parameters, three of which constitute the quantification of storm attributes—size consistency, linearity of tracks, and mean track duration—and the fourth that correlates performance to an optimal postevent reanalysis. The skill score is a cumulative sum of each of the parameters normalized from zero to one among the compared algorithms, such that a maximum skill score of four can be obtained. The skill score is intended to favor algorithms that are efficient at severe storm detection, i.e., high-scoring algorithms should detect storms that have higher current or future severe threat and minimize detection of weaker, short-lived storms with low severe potential. The skill score is shown to be capable of successfully ranking a large number of algorithms, both between varying settings within the same base algorithm and between distinct base algorithms. Through a comparison with manually created user datasets, high-scoring algorithms are verified to match well with hand analyses, demonstrating appropriate calibration of skill score parameters.

Significance Statement

With the growing number of options for storm identification and tracking techniques, it is necessary to devise an objective approach to quantify performance of different techniques. This study introduces a comparative skill score that assesses size consistency, linearity of tracks, mean track duration, and correlation to an optimal postevent reanalysis to rank diverse algorithms. This paper will show the capability of the skill score at highlighting algorithms that are efficient at detecting storms with higher severe potential, as well as those that closely resemble human-perceived storms through a comparison with manually created user datasets. The novel methodology will be useful in improving systems that rely on such algorithms, for both operational and research purposes focusing on severe storm detection.
Association of Apolipoprotein A1, High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol, and Their Ratio with Inflammatory Marker in Chinese Adults with Coronary Artery Disease
Authors: Dong Hongli , Wang Jie , Hu Ping , Lu Nan
Published: September 2022

Sparse data assessed the association of apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) with inflammation. We investigated this association in a hospital-based cross-sectional pilot study that included 7296 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). In multivariate analysis, negative associations of ApoA1 and HDL-C with C-reactive protein (CRP), high sensitivity CRP (hsCRP), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were shown. The corresponding CRP, hsCRP, and TNF-α values were 5.28 (vs 11.70 mg/L), 4.50 (vs 11.50 mg/L), and 7.68 (vs 10.90 pg/mL) for ApoA1, and 7.13 (vs 10.60 mg/L), 6.27 (vs 9.19 mg/L), and 8.11 (vs 11.86 pg/mL) for HDL-C in the fourth quartiles compared with the first quartiles. ApoA1/HDL-C ratio was inversely associated with hsCRP and interleukin-6 (IL-6). No significant associations of ApoA1 and HDL-C with IL-6 and IL-8, and of ApoA1/HDL-C ratio with CRP, IL-8, and TNF-α were observed. In path analyses, there was no evidence of mediating effects of body mass index on the “ApoA1 and HDL-C-inflammation” relationship. Generally, our study of CAD patients identified graded and inverse associations of ApoA1, HDL-C, and ApoA1/HDL-C ratio with inflammatory marker (CRP, hsCRP, IL-6, IL-8, or TNF-α) levels.
A multi-motor speed synchronization control enhanced by artificial bee colony algorithm
Authors: Wang He , Du Hualong , Cui Qiuyu , Lui Pengfei , Ma Xin
Published: September 2022

Relative coupling control (RCC) structure is widely used for multi-motor speed synchronization control. To improve the performance of multi-motor synchronous control, artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm is developed and applied for enhancing RCC structure. The RCC structure optimized by the ABC algorithm is called the RCC-ABC structure. In the RCC-ABC structure, the ABC algorithm optimizes both the fixed compensation factor in the speed compensator and the parameters of the PID controller acting as a tracking controller. Simulation experiments based on a four-motor system are conducted to validate the efficiency of the RCC-ABC structure. Simulation results show that the RCC-ABC structure has better synchronization and tracking performance compared to the RCC structure.
The impact of covid-19: Anxiety, depression, and wellbeing among medical students
Authors: Chumakov Egor , Petrova Nataliia , Mamatkhodjaeva Tamila , Ventriglio Antonio , Bhugra Dinesh
Published: September 2022

Background:

Medical students have been considered as a vulnerable group at higher risk of mental health issues during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Aims:

We set out to detect symptoms of depression and anxiety in medical students in St. Petersburg (Russia) during the first wave of COVID-19 outbreak and explore the associations between psychosocial factors related to the pandemic and students’ psychological well-being.

Method:

An anonymous online survey of medical students was conducted in May–June 2020. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used for screening anxiety and depression symptoms. The final sample consisted of 144 students (78.5% females).

Results:

About 69.4% of respondents reported that COVID-19 pandemic and social restrictions were a new source of stress in their lives. More than one-third (38.9%) of respondents reported a need for psychological (emotional) support due to a change in their daily life during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the vast majority (83.9%) of these respondents indicated an increased need for support in this specific period. Symptoms of anxiety were reported by 55.8% of females (HADS score: 9.05 ± 4.69) and 48.4% of males (8.09 ± 5.0), and symptoms of depression were found in 38.9% of females (6.40 ± 3.57) and 41.9% of males (6.16 ± 3.21).

Conclusions:

These findings indicate that it is necessary to develop additional measures for the prevention and early diagnosis of mental disorders along with right levels of support for wellbeing and mental health of medical students in this ongoing pandemic.
The dark forest of exile: A Dandakaranya memoir and the Partition’s Dalit refugees
Authors: Sengupta Debjani
Published: September 2022

The Partition of India in 1947 has often been studied through the lenses of territoriality, communal identity, and the high nationalist politics of the attainment of the two nation-states of India and Pakistan. However, the history of nation-making is inextricably linked with the account of Dalit communities in divided Bengal, their aspirations and arrival in West Bengal, and their subsequent exile outside the newly formed state to a government-chosen rehabilitation site called Dandakaranya in central India. From the 1950s, the Dalit population of East Pakistan began migrating to West Bengal in India following their leader Jogendra Nath Mandal who had migrated earlier. Subsequently, West Bengal saw a steady influx of agriculturalist Dalit refugees whose rehabilitation entailed a different understanding of land resettlement. Conceived in 1956, the Dandakaranya Project was an ambitious one-time plan to rehabilitate thousands of East Bengali Namasudra refugees outside the state. Some writings on Dandakaranya, such as those by Saibal Kumar Gupta, former chairman of the Dandakaranya Development Authority, offer us a profound insight into the plight of Dalit refugees during post-Partition times. This article explores two texts by Gupta: his memoir, Kichu Smriti, Kichu Katha, and a collection of essays compiled in a book, Dandakaranya: A Survey of Rehabilitation. Drawing on official data, government reports, assessments of the refugee settlers, and extensive personal interaction, Gupta evaluates the demographic and humanitarian consequences of the Partition for the Dalit refugees. These texts represent an important literary archive that unearths a hidden chapter in the Indian Partition’s historiography and lays bare the trajectory of Scheduled Caste history understood through the project of rehabilitation and resettlement in independent India.
Trans*versality, a hijra politics of knowledge, and Partition postmemory in Khushwant Singh’s Delhi: A Novel
Authors: Carbajal Alberto Fernández
Published: September 2022

In contrast with Train to Pakistan (1956), Khushwant Singh’s Delhi: A Novel (1990) has not received critical attention in light of India and Pakistan’s Partition. The diegetic narrator, a middle-aged Sikh writer, and his long-term intersex lover, the hijra Bhagmati, constitute the text’s main focalizers in contemporary Delhi. Bhagmati is constructed as a metonym for Delhi, a bold trans*versal choice on Singh’s part given her marginal social position as a religiously syncretic hijra. In Singh’s novel, the Sikh narrator and his hijra lover become the witnesses of India’s modern history, with the narrative building up to the watershed moment that is the Partition. This article proposes that Bhagmati offers an inclusive vision of post-Partition Delhi that is mordantly steeped in a “hijra politics of knowledge” (Lal, 1999). While the novel seemingly suppresses the trauma of the Partition throughout most of the narrative, this article argues that its compressed depiction in one single short chapter, and its later revisitation on the Sikh community after the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984, demonstrates the traumatic and cyclical nature of Partition violence and the novel’s belated position as a form of Partition postmemory. It is also proposed that the choice of the Sikh narrator and Bhagmati as the focalizers for contemporary Delhi acts as a dissident antidote to the predominant binary focus on Hindus and Muslims, offering a trans*versal version of recent Indian history challenging majoritarian and minor-majoritarian identity politics.
Introduction: Biomedicine in Contemporary History
Authors: Jansen Axel , Roesch Claudia
Published: September 2022

While historians have analyzed and discussed the fragmentation of life in transatlantic societies by focusing on economics, law, or politics, we propose that a focus on biomedicine in the period since 1970 adds important perspectives on the shifting public role of science and of medicine. Biomedicine (the convergence of biological research and of medicine within the life sciences) moved to the center of public debates after the end of the Cold War. The papers in this special issue highlight how it became a prism through which societies, governments, and states renegotiated the roles of the medical and scientific professions, the opportunities, risks, and limits associated with scientific research and medical technologies, the responsibilities of individuals and of the professions in making life-or-death decisions, and important norms shaping the lives of individuals, families, and communities. Historians have analyzed and discussed the impact of market-oriented governing rationalities and of shifting discourses about the societal roles of individuals by focusing on politics, economics, or law. The contributors to this special issue propose to expand the focus towards biomedicine in order to include developments that otherwise would remain distinct from evolving narratives in recent contemporary history.
MOCCA-College: Preliminary Validity Evidence of a Cognitive Diagnostic Reading Comprehension Assessment
Authors: Seipel Ben , Kennedy Patrick C. , Carlson Sarah E. , Clinton-Lisell Virginia , Davison Mark L.
Published: September 2022

As access to higher education increases, it is important to monitor students with special needs to facilitate the provision of appropriate resources and support. Although metrics such as the “reading readiness” ACT (formerly American College Testing) of provide insight into how many students may need such resources, they do not specify why a student may need support or how to provide that support. Increasingly, students are bringing reading comprehension struggles to college. Multiple-choice Online Causal Comprehension Assessment-College (MOCCA-College) is a new diagnostic reading comprehension assessment designed to identify who is a poor comprehender and also diagnose why they are a poor comprehender. Using reliability coefficients, receiver–operating characteristic curve analysis, and correlations, this study reports findings from the first year of a 3-year study to validate the assessment with 988 postsecondary students who took MOCCA-College, a subset of whom also provided data on other reading assessments (i.e., ACT, n = 377; Scholastic Aptitude Test [SAT], n = 192; and Nelson–Denny Reading Test [NDRT], n = 78). Despite some limitations (e.g., the sample is predominantly females from 4-year institutions), results indicate that MOCCA-College has good internal reliability, and scores are correlated with other reading assessments. Through a series of analyses of variance (ANOVAs), we also report how students identified by MOCCA-College as good and poor comprehenders differ in terms of demographics, cognitive processes used while reading, overall comprehension ability, and scores on admissions tests. Findings are discussed in terms of using MOCCA-College to help gauge which students may be at risk of reading comprehension difficulties, identify why they may be struggling, and inform directions in actionable instructional changes based on comprehension processing data.
Performance of tapping washing in comparison with hand washing and front-loading machine washing for knitted wool sweaters
Authors: Zhao Xin , Wang Caixia , Wang lihui , Gong Hugh , Ding Xuemei
Published: September 2022

Wool fiber is widely used for clothing in our daily life due to its excellent physical and mechanical properties. However, in the daily laundry process, wool products can shrink severely by strong mechanical action in a warm and moist environment due to the fiber surface scales. Aiming to overcome the difficulty of washing delicate clothes such as wool and silk, Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co. Ltd. invented a new washing machine for delicate clothes, based on tapping actions. The washing performance of wool sweaters in tapping washing is compared with that of hand washing and gentle and normal machine washing. The results show that tapping washing always gives wool sweaters the best appearance, dimensional stability and mechanical property up to 10 washing cycles. The changes in appearance and mechanical properties of wool sweaters are mainly due to the rate of felting shrinkage. By comparing the magnitude, duration, number of mechanical actions and direction of the forces acting on the fabric in tapping washing, hand washing and gentle machine washing, it can be concluded that the direction of forces acting on the fabric has a significant effect on wool fabric felting shrinkage, and unidirectional force has less effect on felting shrinkage than multidirectional forces. Tapping washing can give the lowest felting rate to wool samples because the forces in tapping washing on all parts of the fabric have a similar direction.
Naming public transport and historicising experiences: Critical toponymies and everyday multilingualism in Singapore’s mass rapid transit system
Authors: Lim Shaun Tyan Gin , Perono Cacciafoco Francesco
Published: September 2022

Public transport plays an integral role in urban centres by promoting economic development, mitigating environmental degradation and fostering social cohesion. It also enables users to experience the socio-cultural and linguistic diversity of a locality. Public transport is important to the cosmopolitan city-state of Singapore: its public transport system, which is ranked among the best in the world, is used by over 7.54 million passengers daily. Nevertheless, not much is known about how the linguistic landscapes, soundscapes and place names are tied to public transport use and encounters. This study analyses Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station names, effectively toponyms (place names) in their own right. Specifically, it focuses on the East West and North South Lines, two of Singapore’s oldest MRT lines. Besides tracing the (initially) tumultuous history of the MRT system, the paper studies the languages used in the MRT stations of both lines. It argues that place names, taken together with the sights and sounds of the MRT, are part of everyday multilingualism, or the linguistic dynamism when different linguistic groups occupy public spaces. This paper also explores some of the linguistic, socio-political and policy making considerations behind the MRT stations through a critical toponymic perspective. From the viewpoint of the special issue’s interests, the paper contributes to understanding the historicisation of Singapore’s rail system and its contesting political and economic choices when developing the MRT.
Trans/Gender-Diverse Students’ Perceptions of Positive School Climate and Teacher Concern as Factors in School Belonging: Results From an Australian National Study
Authors: Ullman Jacqueline
Published: September 2022

Background/Context:

In recent years, numerous, ongoing moral panics with respect to the acknowledgment of gender and sexuality diversity within curriculum/policies have done considerable damage to Australian educators’ confidence and capacity to support gender and sexuality diverse students. Trans/gender-diverse students have been specifically targeted during this period.

Purpose:

Cisnormative microaggressions are a pervasive element of the Australian school climate, impacting trans/gender-diverse students’ relationships with school-based adults and peers and their experiences of schooling more broadly. This article seeks to contribute to scholarship exploring school well-being for trans/gender-diverse students, inclusive of students’ sense of their teachers’ concern for their personal and academic well-being, and its relationship to students’ perceptions of their school climate.

Participants:

This article explores data from trans/gender-diverse participants ( n = 685) in the 2021 Free2Be. . .Yet? Australian national online survey of gender and sexuality diverse high school students in Grades/Years 7–12.

Research Design:

Using students’ self-reported data on selected quantitative measures of school climate with respect to gender and sexuality diversity, alongside perceptions of teacher concern and expectations for success, as selected indicators of school-based well-being, this research sought to identify these variables’ predictive impact on students’ sense of belonging at school.

Conclusion:

Multiple regression analyses revealed the influence of an accepting and supportive schooling environment for gender and sexuality diversity on trans/gender-diverse students’ sense of school belonging, explaining additional factor variance beyond included demographic factors or students’ sense of teacher concern and expectations. Findings add to the body of existing literature recommending professional development for educators that interrogates and seeks to redress both structural and interpersonal cisnormative microaggressions and articulates the need for gender expansiveness.
Populist attitudes and challenges towards liberal democracy: An empirical assessment of the Turkish case
Authors: Çarkoğlu Ali , Elçi Ezgi
Published: September 2022

The rise of populism presents a challenge to liberal democracy in various countries. This article questions how populist attitudes affect the democratic preferences of the electorate. Using representative survey data fielded from Turkey in 2019, we first tested the effect of populist attitudes on illiberal democratic attitudes. The results show the negative impact of populism on support for illiberal democratic attitudes. Next, we analyzed which dimension of populism correlates with illiberal democratic preferences. Our results pointed to the negative influence of the Manichean outlook on preferences concerning democracy. Contrary to expectations, as anti-elitist and people-centric attitudes increase, support for illiberal democracy decreases. Hence, the relative emphasis on different dimensions of populism is likely to shape the net balance of its influence on democracy. Electoral alliance preferences also shape democracy preferences. The ruling People’s Alliance voters are more supportive of illiberal democracy than the opposition blocs and parties.
Acute Swallowing Outcomes After Surgical Resection of Oral Cavity and Oropharyngeal Cancers With the Mandibular Lingual Release Approach
Authors: Hardingham Nicola , Ward Elizabeth , Clayton Nicola , Gallagher Richard
Published: September 2022

Objective

To investigate the incidence, nature, severity, and recovery of early dysphagia in patients following surgical resection of oral and/or oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma with a mandibular lingual release approach (MLRA).

Study Design

Retrospective cohort study.

Setting

Tertiary head and neck cancer center.

Methods

Inclusion of patients’ after surgical resection of oral cavity and/or oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma via an MLRA between 2012 and 2017. Data collection included acute medical care, enteral feeding, and swallowing outcomes derived from clinical swallow examination and videofluoroscopic swallowing study assessments at baseline, after surgery, and prior to discharge.

Results

Twenty‐eight patients were eligible for participation (23 males; mean age, 63 years). Baseline clinical swallow examination findings revealed that 32% (n = 9) were tolerating normal diet and fluids preoperatively (Functional Oral Intake Scale [FOIS] = 7). Following surgery, the majority (n = 21, 75%) experienced severe dysphagia (FOIS ≤4), of which 15 were nil by mouth. Twelve patients received a postoperative videofluoroscopic swallowing study, with silent aspiration observed in 9 cases. At discharge, 12 (43%) patients had persistent severe functional dysphagia (FOIS ≤4) with ongoing enteral feeding requirements, of which 7 were nil by mouth. Eleven (39%) were managing diets of modified fluid/diet consistencies (FOIS = 5), and 5 (18%) had mild dysphagia (FOIS ≥6) at discharge. None were able to manage a normal diet. The average length of hospital stay was 27.9 days.

Conclusions

Early dysphagia post‐MLRA is a common and often severe complication of surgery. Patients require extended hospital admission with prolonged enteral feeding, which may persist postdischarge. This cohort requires early intervention by speech‐language pathology services to aid swallow rehabilitation.
An Evaluation of Different Types of Peptone as Partial Substitutes for Animal-derived Serum in Vero Cell Culture
Authors: Lezin Chloe , Mauduit Philippe , Uzan Georges , Abdelgawad Mohamed Essameldin
Published: September 2022

Vero cells are one of the most frequently used cell types in virology. They can be used not only as a vehicle for the replication of viruses, but also as a model for investigating viral infectivity, cytopathology and vaccine production. There is increasing awareness of the need to limit the use of animal-derived components in cell culture media for a number of reasons, which include reducing the risk of contamination and decreasing costs related to the downstream processing of commercial products obtained via cell culture. The current study evaluates the use of protein hydrolysates (PHLs), also known as peptones, as partial substitutes for fetal bovine serum (FBS) in Vero cell culture. Eleven plant-based, two yeast-based, and three casein-based peptones were assessed, with different batches evaluated in the study. We tested the effects of three concentration ratios of FBS and peptone on Vero cell proliferation, four days after the initial cell seeding. Some of the tested peptones, when in combination with a minimal 1% level of FBS, supported cell proliferation rates equivalent to those achieved with 10% FBS. Collectively, our findings showed that plant-based peptones could represent promising options for the successful formulation of serum-reduced cell culture media for vaccine production. This is especially relevant in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic, in view of the urgent need for SARS-CoV-2 virus production for certain types of vaccine. The current study contributes to the Three Rs principle of reduction, as well as addressing animal ethics concerns associated with FBS, by repurposing PHLs for use in cell culture.
Book review: Aditya K. Mishra, Agriculture, Technology and Globalization: A Social Capital Perspective
Authors: Sahu Rama Shankar
Published: September 2022

Aditya K. Mishra, Agriculture, Technology and Globalization: A Social Capital Perspective (New Delhi: Serials Publications, 2019), xxix + 265 pp.
Book review: Shanta Gokhale, Shivaji Park: Dadar 28: History, Places, People
Authors: Chunekar Shivani
Published: September 2022

Shanta Gokhale, Shivaji Park: Dadar 28: History, Places, People (New Delhi: Speaking Tiger Books, 2020), 169 pp.
Book review: Amartya Sen, Home in the World: A Memoir
Authors: Wadhwa Soni
Published: September 2022

Amartya Sen, Home in the World: A Memoir (London: Allen Lane, 2021), xv + 464 pp.
Staying with the Secret: The Public Sphere in Platform Society
Authors: Beyes Timon
Published: September 2022

Investigating the structural transformation of the public sphere should reckon with the secret and its modes of organization. The expansion of secrecy effected by the infrastructures, platforms, and applications of media technology is constitutive for the emergence and transformation of ‘digital publics’. Offering a rereading of Habermas’s Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere that is attuned to the organizational principle of secrecy, this paper discusses current notions of mediated publics in juxtaposition with the redoubling of media-technological and organizational secrecy at work in platform society. How are illegibility, opacity and unavailability organized? Instead of assuming accountability, publicity and transparency as epistemological a priori, investigating the transformation of the public sphere would benefit from adopting epistemes of secrecy and opacity.
Corporate Public Spheres between Refeudalization and Revitalization
Authors: Brinkmann Ulrich , Heiland Heiner , Seeliger Martin
Published: September 2022

The article critically analyses the gaps and the analytical potential in Jürgen Habermas’s The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere concerning corporate discourses and debates. It is shown that Habermas only analyses the field of work in abstract terms, neglecting in particular corporate public spheres. In contrast, corporate public spheres are developed as an analytical concept, expressed by companies in the form of institutionalized co-determination, situationally granted opportunities for participation and self-willed public spheres of workers. These three fields are discussed using empirical examples. It is shown that corporate public spheres are eroded by precarization and instrumentalized by management. Furthermore, digitalization is working towards a comprehensive algorithmic control of corporate public spheres by companies, but also towards new autonomous communication networks that establish proletarian public spheres, so that both refeudalization and revitalization of corporate public spheres can be observed.
Hospital Acquired Complications in South Australian major public hospitals
Authors: Edwards Michael J , Duke Graeme J , Hakendorf Paul , Verghese Santosh , Bihari Shailesh
Published: September 2022

The prevalence of Hospital Acquired Complications (HACs) within major hospitals and intensive care units (ICUs) is often used as an indication of care quality. We performed a retrospective cohort study of acute care separations from four adult public hospitals in the state of South Australia, Australia. Data were derived from the Integrated South Australian Activity Collection (ISAAC) database, subdivided into those admitted to ICU or non-ICU (Ward) in tertiary referral or (other major) metropolitan hospitals. During the five-year study period (1 July 2013 to 30 June 2018), there were 471,934 adult separations with 65,133 HAC events reported in 43,987 (9.32%) at a mean rate of 13.8 (95% confidence interval (CI) 13.7 to 13.9) HAC events per 100 separations and 18.5 (95% CI 18.4 to 18.7) per 1000 bed days. The Ward cohort accounted for the majority (430,583 (91.2%)) of separations, in-hospital deaths (6928 (66.4%)) and HAC events (29,826 (67.8%)). The smaller ICU cohort (41,351 (8.76%)) had a higher mortality rate (8.46% versus 1.61%; P < 0.001), longer length of stay (median 10.0 (interquartile range (IQR) 6.0–18.0) days versus 4.0 (IQR 3.0–8.0) days P < 0.001), and higher HAC prevalence (62.1 (95% CI 61.3 to 62.9) versus 9.16 (95% CI 9.07 to 9.25) per 100 separations P < 0.001). Both ICU and Ward HAC prevalence rates were higher in tertiary referral than major metropolitan hospitals ( P < 0.001). In conclusion, higher HAC prevalence rates in the ICU and tertiary referral cohorts may be due to high-risk patient cohorts, variable provision of care, or both, and warrants urgent clinical investigation and further research.