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The United States’ seaweed industry is worth over $300 million annually thanks in part to the rising popularity of seaweed-based products. Seaweed has myriad uses and great potential for novel product innovation and development while also providing numerous environmental benefits including carbon and nitrogen sequestration and other crucial ecosystem services . One of the most promising and prevalent species under domestic cultivation is Saccharina latissma. Also known as sugar kelp, this abundantly grown cold-water species dominates the edible seaweed market in the United States . This paper provides an in-depth geographical analysis of the current state of the U.S. sugar kelp industry, comparing regional market differences and opportunities for growth in Maine, Alaska, and Connecticut. Data was collected from the 2020 National Sea Grant Seaweed Symposium (https://seaweedhub.org/symposium/) and through a series of semi-structured interviews with key industry participants, yielding insights into the challenges that seaweed stakeholders face across the country. Proposed solutions for increasing the profitability of sugar kelp are explored and include market differentiation through regional origin labels, eco-labels, and quality labels.

Flowers of Jaltomata weigendiana (Solanaceae) secrete red nectar that is visible through the partially translucent corolla. We report the pattern of nectar presentation during the sexual phases of the flower and characterize the breeding system. Comparison of flower sets experiencing daily removal starting Day 1 with flowers that accumulated nectar for one or two days prior to daily removal revealed no discernible effect on the life-of-the-flower nectar production, sugar production and floral longevity. Flowers produce about the same cumulative volume of nectar during the two sexual phases. However, cumulative nectar sugar production is about 4 times higher during the male phase. Nectar standing crop ranged from 4–26.6 µl for Day 1 flowers and 0–8.7 µl for flowers from which nectar was removed the previous day. With daily removal of nectar, 21 of 40 flowers contained no nectar during the last day of the flower’s life. All unmanipulated flowers developed fruits (autonomous self-pollination). However, manual self-pollinations and manual cross-pollinations resulted in fruits that weighed significantly more and had significantly more seeds than fruits produced by autonomous self-pollination. Protogyny and herkogamy promote cross-pollination, but delayed autonomous selfing at the end of the flower’s life ensures seed set if pollinator-mediated pollination fails.

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are increasingly called upon to help assess students with word-recognition difficulties, including dyslexia. Although SLPs tend to have comparatively strong knowledge regarding the phonological awareness skills that support word reading, findings from survey research indicate that many SLPs report limited knowledge and training on word recognition and phonics. The purpose of this article is to provide a systematic framework for assessing and interpreting students’ word reading skills. Five potential components of word reading assessment will be examined: word recognition, phonological decoding, automaticity, performance with specific phonics patterns, and reading multimorphemic and multisyllabic words. Emphasis will be given to how specific test formats and procedures can be used to help identify patterns of word reading difficulty.

The U.S. coal industry is in the midst of a transition. Changes in regulation and technological innovation from other fossils and renewables have affected its competitiveness. These could have significant impacts on the labor market where jobs could be lost. In this study, we investigate how changes in employment in the coal industry affect wages in 20 industries in 10 U.S. coal producing states. We assess how these transitions impact welfare programs, since coal producing regions are associated with higher poverty levels. Results show that in the long run, migration of coal workers decreased wages in the construction, manufacturing sectors. Point estimates reveal that an increase in separations of coal workers increase Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) caseloads. In states where coal mining has a smaller contribution to GDP, an increase in coal employment increases SNAP caseloads.

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"This book explores the work of five influential pro-BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) queer academic activists-Sarah Schulman, Jasbir Puar, Angela Davis, Dean Spade, and Judith Butler-each of whom exemplify different ideological and critical practices around anti-Zionism"--

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) engage in less physical activity than typically-developing peers. This can result in serious negative consequences for individual well-being and may contribute to the physical, behavioral, and emotional challenges associated with ASD. This study explored the potential benefits of trainer-led, individualized, physical fitness sessions specialized for ASD. Eleven individuals (ages 7–24 years) with ASD were assessed at baseline and following 15 fitness sessions. Participants demonstrated improvements in core and lower-body strength and reductions in restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, along with non-significant but marked reductions in issues with daytime sleepiness. Results suggest the merit of specialized fitness programs and emphasize the need for larger and more rigorous research studies on this topic. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Contactless services have become a common way for public libraries to provide services. As a result, the strategy used by public libraries in China will effectively stop the spread of epidemics caused by human touch and will serve as a model for other libraries throughout the world. The primary goal of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of the contactless service measures provided by large Chinese public libraries for users in the pandemic era, as well as the challenges and countermeasures for providing such services. The data for this study was obtained using a combination of website investigation, content analysis, and telephone interviews for an analytical survey study of 128 large public libraries in China. The study finds that touch-free information dissemination, remote resources use, no-touch interaction self-services, network services, online reference, and smart services without personal interactions are among the contactless services available in Chinese public libraries. Exploring the current state of contactless services in large public libraries in China will help to fill a need for empirical attention to contactless services in libraries and the public sector. Up-to-date information to assist libraries all over the world in improving their contactless services implementation and practices is provided. © 2022.

We present high-precision measurements of elliptic, triangular, and quadrangular flow v2, v3, and v4, respectively, at midrapidity for identified hadrons π, p, K, φ, Ks, Λ as a function of centrality and transverse momentum in Au+Au collisions at the center-of-mass energy sNN=200 GeV. We observe similar vn trends between light and strange mesons which indicates that the heavier strange quarks flow as strongly as the lighter up and down quarks. The number-of-constituent-quark scaling for v2, v3, and v4 is found to hold within statistical uncertainty for 0-10%, 10-40%, and 40-80% collision centrality intervals. The results are compared to several viscous hydrodynamic calculations with varying initial conditions, and could serve as an additional constraint to the development of hydrodynamic models. © 2022 American Physical Society.

M dwarfs are favorable targets for exoplanet detection with current instrumentation, but stellar companions can induce false positives and inhibit planet characterization. Knowledge of stellar companions is also critical to our understanding of how binary stars form and evolve. We have therefore conducted a survey of stellar companions around nearby M dwarfs, and here we present our new discoveries. Using the Differential Speckle Survey Instrument at the 4.3 m Lowell Discovery Telescope, and the similar NN-EXPLORE Exoplanet Stellar Speckle Imager at the 3.5 m WIYN telescope, we carried out a volume-limited survey of M-dwarf multiplicity to 15 parsecs, with a special emphasis on including the later M dwarfs that were overlooked in previous surveys. Additional brighter targets at larger distances were included for a total sample size of 1070 M dwarfs. Observations of these 1070 targets revealed 26 new companions; 22 of these systems were previously thought to be single. If all new discoveries are confirmed, then the number of known multiples in the sample will increase by 7.6%. Using our observed properties, as well as the parallaxes and 2MASS K magnitudes for these objects, we calculate the projected separation, and estimate the mass ratio and component spectral types, for these systems. We report the discovery of a new M-dwarf companion to the white dwarf Wolf 672 A, which hosts a known M-dwarf companion as well, making the system trinary. We also examine the possibility that the new companion to 2MASS J13092185-2330350 is a brown dwarf. Finally, we discuss initial insights from the POKEMON survey. © 2022. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly altered the world as we know it. Service delivery for the instrumental evaluation of dysphagia in hospitalized patients has been significantly impacted. In many institutions, instrumental assessment was halted or eliminated from the clinical workflow, leaving clinicians without evidence-based gold standards to definitively evaluate swallowing function. The aim of this study was to describe the outcomes of an early, but measured return to the use of instrumental dysphagia assessment in hospitalized patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data was extracted via a retrospective medical record review on all patients on whom a swallowing consult was placed. Information on patient demographics, type of swallowing evaluation, and patient COVID status was recorded and analyzed. Statistics on staff COVID status were also obtained. Over the study period, a total of 4482 FEES evaluations and 758 MBS evaluations were completed. During this time, no staff members tested COVID-positive due to workplace exposure. Results strongly support the fact that a measured return to instrumental assessment of swallowing is an appropriate and reasonable clinical shift during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purpose This study aims to compare the impact of board characteristics on the performance of listed non-financial firms to the impact of board characteristics on the performance of listed financial firms (commercial banks) in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach The fixed and random effects models with generalized least square specifications are used in estimating regressions to correct for heteroscedasticity and serial correlation. Additionally, this study uses lagged models of the board variables to address the possibility of the presence of endogeneity and to generate robust estimates. Findings The empirical results show some similarities and differences on the impact of board characteristics on the performance of listed non-financial firms and banks. On similarities, for both non-financial firms and banks, board size is seen to have a significant non-linear impact on Tobin’s q. Also, the proportion of foreign board members shows a positively significant relationship with firm performance for both listed non-financial firms and banks. The effect of the proportion of board members with higher educational qualifications on firm performance appears to be negative and statistically significant for both sample of firms. On the other hand, the impact of board composition and board gender diversity on firm performance differs from listed banks and non-financial firms. Research limitations/implications The panel regressions for the listed banks were run on 63 observations because of the small sample size for the listed banks. Though enough for estimation purposes, inferences from results should be made with caution. Originality/value This paper, unlike most corporate governance – firm performance studies, focuses not only on listed non-financial firms but also on listed banks. From a multi-theoretical perspective, this paper provides a comparative analysis on the impact of board characteristics on financial performance of listed non-financial firms and banks.

Drawing on samples from Canada, Pakistan, China, the US, and Brazil comprising over 800 employees, we examined whether servant leaders (SL) - characterized as putting the needs of others above their own - promote employees’ well-being via autonomous motivation, accounting for employees’ power distance and collectivism values as moderating variables. Autonomous motivation, a type of self-regulation, sustains one’s well-being. Personal values facilitate one’s work behaviors cross-culturally. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) results confirmed matrix invariance of all the measures. The path and moderation analyses result using multilevel structural equation modeling (SEM) supported the positive direct and indirect paths among SL, autonomous motivation, and psychological well-being across the five cultures; Collectivistic value negatively moderated the relationship between servant leadership and autonomous motivation across the Chinese and US samples. In addition, with only a limited number of items, measurements of SL and vitality achieved scalar invariance. ANOVA test results also confirmed the significant comparative differences in these two variables among the cultural groups. Findings in this research provided robust and empirical support for the motivational effects of the servant leadership theory across the globe. Theoretical and practical implications for evidence-based cross-cultural management practices and future directions for leadership training in diverse cultural contexts are discussed.

Multilingual learners, some of whom are also new immigrants to the United States, are a growing demographic in our K-12 public schools. Unfortunately, multilingual learners find limited academic opportunities in our public schools. This research explores the opportunity gap for our culturally and linguistically diverse students, the positionality of art educators and their capacity to create interdisciplinary connections with their colleagues, and the power of those collaborations. This study focuses on this work in three different Connecticut districts at the elementary and secondary levels. Student artwork, reflections, community exhibits, and the connections of parents and families with the greater community attest to the power of this promising practice in promoting linguistic democracy in our public schools.

The origin of the term “social work” has long been misattributed to the 1907 work of economist Simon Patten. While Patten’s contribution to social work is important, though mostly forgotten, the term had been used long before regarding the work of nuns and settlement workers. Quoting archival and historical findings, this article traces the origin, evolution, and widespread use of the term “social work.” The words of the early founders of social work are utilized to tell the story of how the work of persons doing “the social work” of the church or settlement evolved into the name of the profession. These shifts in terminology in social work’s early history have influenced the subsequent direction of the field up to the present day. © 2022, Western Michigan University. All rights reserved.

Pharmaceutical products, including active pharmaceutical ingredients and inactive ingredients such as packaging materials, have raised significant concerns due to their persistent input and potential threats to human and environmental health. Discourse on reducing pharmaceutical waste and subsequent pollution is often limited, as information about the toxicity of pharmaceuticals in humans is yet to be fully established. Nevertheless, there is growing awareness about ecotoxicity, and efforts to curb pharmaceutical pollution in the European Union (EU), United States (US), and Canada have emerged along with waste disposal and treatment procedures, as well as growing concerns about impacts on human and animal health, such as through antimicrobial resistance. Yet, the outcomes of such endeavors are often disparate and involve multiple agencies, organizations, and departments with little evidence of cooperation, collaboration, or oversight. Environmental health disparities occur when communities exposed to a combination of poor environmental quality and social inequities experience more sickness and disease than wealthier, less polluted communities. In this paper, we discuss pharmaceutical environmental pollution in the context of health disparities and examine policies across the US, EU, and Canada in minimizing environmental pollution.

The Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) market has become an increasingly important vehicle for alternative investment for equity investors. While existing research examining the cross-section of REIT returns usually employs standard risk factors in the in-sample models, it can only show the ex-post performance of REIT portfolios. The goal of our paper is to examine the ex-ante performance of REIT portfolios (i.e., the ability of investors to earn abnormal returns in real time). We employ the out-of-sample methodology of Cooper, Gutierrez, and Marcum (2005), and show that ex-ante performance of REIT portfolios is rather weak. For about half of our 19-year sample over the period of 1999 to 2017, the portfolio performances of REITs chosen ex-ante do not beat the performances of the FTSE-NAREIT or the CRSP Equal-Weighted index. After adjusting for transaction costs, the REIT portfolios significantly further underperform their benchmarks. Overall, our findings suggest that the market is relatively efficient in the REIT sector, and it is difficult for investors to devise trading strategies that improve the ex-ante performance of REIT portfolios, based on standard risk factors.

Nearly every biography of Mary Tudor mentions her acquisition of the Kingdom of Naples and the Spanish kingdoms through her marriage to Philip Habsburg, later Philip II of Spain, but they say little about her role as queen consort, primarily because she failed to control the narrative of her reign. She made little effort to patronize writers, disperse her symbols, send images of herself, use masculine terminology like her grandmother Isabel of Castile, or involve herself in the governance of her Mediterranean kingdoms. Her real and symbolic absence in the south, and the presence of Doña Juana, Philip’s sister and the capable regent of the Spanish kingdoms in his absence, led to her marginalization. This has had long-lasting consequences for the historiography of her reign, as historians have generally confined themselves to studying her in her English context using the gendered language of early Spanish writers while omitting her entirely from Naples.

Experienced senior living leaders (SLLs) report the impact of spirituality and religious practice on SLL role adaptation and continuation. The sample included 18 SLLs in 18 skilled care settings representing public, non-profit, and for-profit types of incorporation, with oversampling of for-profit facilities. The average years of SLL experience was 24 years. In-depth interviews were examined through a thematic analysis approach using Excel software. Seventy-eight percent described how a higher power, religious beliefs, and faith practices were associated with their role. Their narratives revealed three major themes: Frame (calling and pre-dispositional spiritual beliefs and religious practices), Role Performance (how spirituality informed SLL administrative practice), and Benefits (perceived rewards of adherence to spiritual beliefs and practices). Further analysis of the three themes produced codes that added greater specification for each theme. Implications provided for normalizing the spirituality and work-life intersect and infusing ethical integration of spirituality and work-life in SLL educational programs.