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In high-energy heavy-ion collisions, partonic collectivity is evidenced by the constituent quark number scaling of elliptic flow anisotropy for identified hadrons. A breaking of this scaling and dominance of baryonic interactions is found for identified hadron collective flow measurements in sNN = 3 GeV Au+Au collisions. In this paper, we report measurements of the first- and second-order azimuthal anisotropic parameters, v1 and v2, of light nuclei (d, t, 3He, 4He) produced in sNN = 3 GeV Au+Au collisions at the STAR experiment. An atomic mass number scaling is found in the measured v1 slopes of light nuclei at mid-rapidity. For the measured v2 magnitude, a strong rapidity dependence is observed. Unlike v2 at higher collision energies, the v2 values at mid-rapidity for all light nuclei are negative and no scaling is observed with the atomic mass number. Calculations by the Jet AA Microscopic Transport Model (JAM), with baryonic mean-field plus nucleon coalescence, are in good agreement with our observations, implying baryonic interactions dominate the collective dynamics in 3 GeV Au+Au collisions at RHIC. © 2022 The Author

Measurement by the STAR experiment at RHIC of the cold nuclear matter (CNM) effects experienced by inclusive J/ψ at mid-rapidity in 0-100% p+Au collisions at sNN = 200 GeV is presented. Such effects are quantified utilizing the nuclear modification factor, RpAu, obtained by taking a ratio of J/ψ yield in p+Au collisions to that in p+p collisions scaled by the number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions. The differential J/ψ yield in both p+p and p+Au collisions is measured through the dimuon decay channel, taking advantage of the trigger capability provided by the Muon Telescope Detector in the RHIC 2015 run. Consequently, the J/ψ RpAu is derived within the transverse momentum (pT) range of 0 to 10 GeV/c. A suppression of approximately 30% is observed for pT<2 GeV/c, while J/ψ RpAu becomes compatible with unity for pT greater than 3 GeV/c, indicating the J/ψ yield is minimally affected by the CNM effects at high pT. Comparison to a similar measurement from 0-20% central Au+Au collisions reveals that the observed strong J/ψ suppression above 3 GeV/c is mostly due to the hot medium effects, providing strong evidence for the formation of the quark-gluon plasma in these collisions. Several model calculations show qualitative agreement with the measured J/ψ RpAu, while their agreement with the J/ψ yields in p+p and p+Au collisions is worse. © 2022 The Author(s)

We report a new measurement of the production cross section for inclusive electrons from open heavy-flavor hadron decays as a function of transverse momentum (pT) at midrapidity (|y|¡0.7) in p+p collisions at s=200 GeV. The result is presented for 2.5¡pT¡10 GeV/c with an improved precision above 6 GeV/c with respect to the previous measurements, providing more constraints on perturbative QCD calculations. Moreover, this measurement also provides a high-precision reference for measurements of nuclear modification factors for inclusive electrons from open-charm and -bottom hadron decays in heavy-ion collisions. © 2022 American Physical Society.

Research data collected from single respondents may raise concerns regarding common method variance (CMV), which is believed to threaten the validity of findings. The primary concern is that CMV can inflate substantive relationships, such that they appear statistically significant when they are not. Thus, understanding the nature of CMV is critical, especially when one considers the popularity—and sometimes necessity—of using self-report data. Research examining CMV has found conflicting evidence about the impact of CMV. Researchers who believe CMV influences findings have proposed solutions to combat any real or perceived potential bias, including changing survey instructions and using marker variables, but few studies have examined the efficacy of these approaches. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of these techniques and the nature of CMV using an experimental design. To conduct the experiment, multiple versions of a survey, which vary in their use of the remedial approaches, are utilized to collect data, which resulted in 1,069 usable responses. The experimental design was based on the faking literature and included instructions intended to induce or reduce the levels of CMV. Further, two different marker variables are used to determine the degree to which they create a psychological separation in substantive variables. Correlation analysis and measurement invariance are used to analyze the data. This study posits that, if CMV is a substantial concern for self-report data and these approaches are effective, then findings will differ in surveys that incorporate such approaches from surveys that do not. Results indicate few differences in experimental conditions, meaning that regardless of instructions or marker variable, substantive item correlations remained statistically similar. The results indicate this is likely due to the minimal impact of CMV, given that the proposed methods of correction did not significantly influence research findings. These findings have implications for researchers in that they do not support that CMV, or at least its proposed remedies, significantly alter findings. However, support for the null conclusions, in spite of appropriate statistical power, warrant future research examining the nature and impact of CMV. © 2022,lectronic Journal of Business Research Methods. All Rights Reserved.

Freshwater unionid mussels produce a bilayered shell with the mineral proportion comprising an outer prismatic and an inner nacreous layer. The shell is the animals’ primary structural means of protection from predators and environmental challenges; therefore, variations in shell strength and properties may lead to differences in survival. Few studies have systematically assessed shell properties in unionids. A major challenge in such work is separating effects of environment from those of evolutionary history, because ultimately, both can affect shell properties. We collected eight species of unionids within a small area of the Allegheny River, Pennsylvania, that was relatively homogeneous in substratum type and other environmental characteristics. For each species, we quantified shell thickness, including thickness of the prismatic and nacreous layers, and shell micromechanical properties (microhardness and crack propagation, a measure of fracture resistance) in three regions of the shell. Shell thickness varied dramatically among species and was about five times greater in the thickest-shelled species, Pleurobema sintoxia, than in the thinnest-shelled species, Villosa iris. Because all species experienced similar environmental conditions, variation in shell thickness can be attributed largely to evolutionary history. In contrast, microhardness and crack propagation showed little variation among species. Given that micromechanical properties are similar among species, shell strength may be largely a function of thickness. These results have conservation implications, as differences in shell thickness could reflect relative vulnerability to predators and physical conditions

COVID-19, the pandemic of highly contagious respiratory disease, presents a global public health emergency. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased awareness of the role of public health and its professionals in responding to the pandemic. Racial and ethnic minority groups in the United States are more likely to contract and die from COVID-19 versus Whites, highlighting health disparities. Higher education schools and programs in public health can help prepare students to address this global pandemic through expanded curriculum on social determinants of health disparities in COVID-19 outcomes, teachings on implicit bias and anti-racism, interprofessional education, and practice-based learning. Moreover, eliminating health disparities is a leading public health priority in the United States and can help attain the World Health Organization goal of achieving health equity. This chapter highlights the need for public health curriculum that outlines strategies to address racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 to prepare and motivate a future healthcare workforce. How to cite this chapter: Njoku, A. (2022). COVID-19 and health disparities opportunities for public health curriculum enhancement. In  R. Ammigan, R. Y. Chan, & K. Bista, (eds), COVID-19 and higher education in the global context: Exploring contemporary issues and challenges (pp. 139-153). STAR Scholars. https://starscholars.org/product/covid-19-and-higed/

Objectives:  The aim was to describe the impact of the opioid epidemic on pain management practices in pediatric sickle cell disease (SCD) and propose a conceptual framework for navigating ethical decision-making in pediatric sickle cell pain management. Methods:  A review of the literature on ethical challenges in the management of sickle cell pain was conducted and considered in the context of the opioid epidemic and psychosocial factors affecting youth with SCD. The Integrated Ethical Framework for Pain Management (IEFPM) was applied to pediatric sickle cell pain management using a clinical case example. Results:  Implicit bias, health-related stigma, and potential neurocognitive impairment all present unique challenges in ethical decision-making for youth with SCD. National guidelines for prescribing opioid medication may complicate providers’ clinical decision-making and affect their sickle cell pain management practices. The IEFPM was found to be applicable to ethical decision-making for pediatric sickle cell pain and captures both patient-related and provider-related aspects of clinical pain management. Discussion:  The opioid epidemic has exacerbated existing ethical challenges for pain management among youth with SCD. The IEFPM provides a conceptual model that can be integrated into health care settings to facilitate ethical decision-making and promote greater health equity in the clinical management of pediatric sickle cell pain.

Two Early Pleistocene fossils from Gona, Ethiopia, were originally assigned to Homo erectus, and their differences in size and robusticity were attributed to either sexual dimorphism or anagenetic evolution. In the current study, we both revisit the taxonomic affinities of these fossils and assess whether morphological differences between them reflect temporal evolution or sexual variation. We generated virtual reconstructions of the mostly complete ∼1.55 Ma DAN5/P1 calvaria and the less complete 1.26 Ma BSN12/P1 fossil, allowing us to directly compare their anterior vault shapes using landmark-based shape analysis. The two fossils are similar in calvaria shape to H. erectus and also to other Early Pleistocene Homo species based on a geometric morphometric analysis of calvaria landmarks and semilandmarks. The DAN5/P1 fossil bears a particularly close affinity to the Georgian H. erectus fossils and to KNM-ER 1813 (H. habilis), probably reflecting allometric influences on vault shape. Combined with species-specific traits of the neurocranium (e.g., midline keeling, angular torus), we confirm that these fossils are likely early African H. erectus. We calculated regression-based estimates of endocranial volume for BSN12/P1 of 882–910 cm3 based on three virtual reconstructions. Although BSN12/P1 is markedly larger than DAN5/P1 (598 cm3), both fossils represent the smallest adult H. erectus known from their respective time periods in Africa. Some of the difference in endocranial volume between the two Gona fossils reflects broader species-level brain expansion from 1.77 to 0.01 Ma, confirmed here using a large sample (n = 38) of H. erectus. However, shape differences between these fossils did not reflect species-level changes to calvaria shape. Moreover, the analysis failed to recover a clear pattern of sexually patterned size or shape differences within H. erectus based on our current assessments of sex for individual fossils.

This essay analyzes the early Chinese elite discourse on filial death rituals, arguing that early Chinese texts depict these rituals as performance events. Building on spectacle of xiao sacrifices in the Western Zhou Dynasty, Eastern Zhou authors conceived of filial death rituals as dramaturgical phenomena that underscored not only what needed to be performed, but also how it should be performed, and led to an important distinction between personal dispositions and inherited ritual protocol. This distinction, then, led to concerns about artifice in human behavior, both inside and outside the Ruist (Confucian) tradition. By end of the Warring States Period and in the early Western Han Dynasty, with the embracement of artifice in self-cultivation, the dramatic role of the filial son in death rituals became even more developed and complex, requiring the role of cultivated spectators to be engaged critics who recognized the nuances of cultivated performances. Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press.

Astrangia poculata inhabits coasts near dense human populations in the northeastern United States and may be exposed to elevated pollutants. No studies have assessed heavy metal concentration in temperate corals despite their proximity to anthropogenic activity. We collected colonies four times in one year and analyzed coral tissue for As, Cd, Cr, Pb, and Zn. Most heavy metals except for As were 1.5–3.3 times lower in summer compared to other seasons. Pb, As, and Cd were three orders of magnitude higher than concentrations for other Narragansett Bay benthic species, suggesting that A. poculata bioaccumulates more readily and/or inhabits more contaminated areas of the Bay. Zn, Pb, and As had similar concentrations to tropical corals inhabiting anthropogenically polluted sites. While physiological impacts are unknown, this population of A. poculata may have a higher tolerance for heavy metal pollution than most scleractinians, making it an interesting candidate for future studies. © 2021 Elsevier Ltd

An (a, b)-Sudoku pair Latin square is a Latin square that is simult-aneously an (a, b)-Sudoku Latin square and a (b, a)-Sudoku Latin square. While (a, b)-Sudoku Latin squares are known to exist for any positive integers a and b, the pairs a, b for which an (a, b)-Sudoku pair Latin square exists are largely unknown. In this article we establish the existence of (a, b)-Sudoku pair Latin squares for an infinite collection of pairs (a, b). Our results show that a (3, b)-Sudoku pair Latin square can be constructed for any positive integer b. ©The author(s).

The chiral magnetic effect (CME) is a novel transport phenomenon, arising from the interplay between quantum anomalies and strong magnetic fields in chiral systems. In high-energy nuclear collisions, the CME may survive the expansion of the quark-gluon plasma fireball and be detected in experiments. Over the past two decades, experimental searches for the CME have attracted extensive interest at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The main goal of this study is to investigate three pertinent experimental approaches: the correlator, the R correlator, and the signed balance functions. We exploit simple Monte Carlo simulations and a realistic event generator (EBE-AVFD) to verify the equivalence of the core components among these methods and to ascertain their sensitivities to the CME signal and the background contributions for the isobar collisions at the RHIC. © 2022 Chinese Physical Society and the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and IOP Publishing Ltd.

Economists have long been intrigued by an influential literature in psychology positing that monetary pay lowers performance on enjoyable tasks by crowding out agents’ intrinsic interest in them. But typical experiments in this literature do not report a full set of performance metrics, which might reveal conflicting evidence on crowding out. Further, they may suffer from confounds. To evaluate these issues, we review over 100 prior tests and run a field experiment building on the canonical two-session test for crowding out wherein agents receive pay for an interesting activity in session 1 that is withdrawn unexpectedly in session 2. We test whether pay harms performance using a comprehensive set of performance measures, and if so, whether unmet pay expectations might also contribute to this decline. Our results on output, productivity and quits are most consistent with a standard economics model than with a crowding-out one. Additional, though more speculative, evidence suggests that unmet pay expectations may harm output quality. © 2020 The President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.