Optimizing MPPT Control of DC-DC Boost Converters Using Metaheuristic Search Algorithms and Nonlinear PID (N-PID) Controllers - Khellaf, L.; Djellal, A.; Mayache, H.; Sheta, A. (IC-AIRES 2024, 2025)
Photovoltaic systems have proven to be one of the most widely used renewable energies and the best replacement for conventional energy. Yet, their non-linear nature remains a challenge when it comes to extracting maximum power from photovoltaic modules. Therefore, in this work, a nonlinear PID controller has been used to meet the requirements of the photovoltaic system. In addition, to improve system performance and response, metaheuristic search algorithms were introduced into the tuning process of both the NPID controller and conventional PID controller parameters in order to compare them. The use of Artificial Intelligence to fine-tune the controller parameters will enable the optimum values of proportional, integral, derivative and nonlinear gains to be determined as system condition change. Finally, a comparison between the algorithms applied is conducted in terms of efficiency, rise time, settling time and overshoot as well as the overall system stability.
Keywords: Artificial intelligence; Computer science; Control; Control (management); Control engineering; Control theory (sociology); Converters; Electrical engineering; Engineering; Evolutionary Algorithm; Machine Learning; Nonlinear system; PID controller; Physics; Swarm Intelligence Algorithm; Temperature control; dept.csc

Changing Working Environments in Philosophy: Reflections from a Case Study - McConwell, Alison; Bogacz, Magdalena; Brecevic, Char; Haber, Matthew; Wu, Jingyi; Roe, Sarah (Philosophy of Science, 2025)
Abstract There is an “underrepresentation problem” in philosophy departments and journals. Empirical data suggest that while we have seen some improvements since the 1990s, the rate of change has slowed down. Some posit that philosophy has disciplinary norms making it uniquely resistant to change. We present results from an empirical case study of a philosophy department that achieved and maintained male-female gender parity among its faculty as early as 2014. Our analysis extends beyond matters of gender parity because that is only one, albeit important, dimension of inclusion. We build from the study to reflect on strategies that may catalyze change.
Keywords: Computer science; Epistemology; Philosophy; Sociology; dept.his; peer-reviewed

Corruption, Natural Capital and Economic Development: A Dynamic GMM Analysis - Ang, Joshua; Patalinghug, Jason (Review of Economic Analysis, 2025)
Using a dynamic panel dataset of 150 countries for the period of 2006-2018 and a two-step system GMM estimation model, this paper shows that natural resources have a positive effect on economic development while holding corruption constant. Our findings support the notion that natural resources have a positive effect on the economy of a nation. When a country has less corruption, it improves the appropriation of economic gains from natural resources which serves as natural capital that would drive further capital accumulation and further development. We also find that physical capital, human capital, and freedom from corruption show strong positive effects on economic development, controlling for other economic and institutional variables.
Keywords: Corruption; Dynamic Panel Study; Econometrics; Economic Development; Economics; Human Capital; Language change; Natural Resources; Physical Capital; dept.eco

Integrating edTPA into Physical Education Teacher Education: Teacher Educators’ Perceptions and Experiences in Preparing Teacher Candidates - Olsen, Edward B.; Wyant, James D.; Tsuda, Emi; Laughlin, Michael K.; Baxter, Deborah S. (Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 2024)
Purpose: In the United States, 15 states maintain policies and 25 states represent some level of edTPA affiliation. This study investigated how the edTPA was integrated and aligned into different physical education teacher education (PETE) programs in New Jersey. It also sought to understand teacher educators’ perceptions and experiences in preparing teacher candidates for the edTPA. Methods: This study utilized three data sources: semistructured interviews (n = 4), one focus group interview (n = 1), and documents (n = 17). Data analysis reflected a conventional approach toward qualitative content analysis. Results: In analyzing the data, four themes were established: (a) benefits and drawbacks of edTPA in PETE, (b) goals and success of edTPA in PETE, (c) integrating edTPA into PETE—macro- and microperspectives, and (d) analytic insights into edTPA and future recommendations. Discussion/Conclusion: In states requiring the edTPA, early exposure, scaffolding, curriculum mapping, and a shared mission and vision are critical. In states not requiring the edTPA, programs may want to consider indicators of performance, such as artifacts, reports, elements of the edTPA, university-based assessments, or a portfolio. Regardless of the type of assessment, “a” performance-based assessment may help to determine teacher candidates’ ability to plan, instruct, assess, and reflect.
Keywords: dept.hms; faculty; peer-reviewed; performance-based assessments; preservice teachers

The story so far: scoping review of narratives in deaf children - Puhlman, Jane; Sabatino, Lauren; DeLuca, Zara Waldman; Lorio, Ciera; Decker, Lindsay (The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 2025)
Narrative language samples can be used to measure language development in children, but research on narrative development in deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children is scarce, limiting knowledge of developmental stages and best practices for collection and analysis. This scoping review included 39 articles that explored recent methodologies and achievements in oral or signed narratives of DHH children, including comparisons with hearing peers and within-group analyses of early auditory experience, device use, and other measures. Articles featured DHH participants aged < 4 to 18 years, varying in device use, communication modalities, and educational settings. Most studies utilized story generation tasks with early elementary-aged children and analyzed either microstructure or macrostructure. Mixed results in comparisons with hearing children emphasized the need to consider individual differences (e.g., speech perception and age of spoken language access) in DHH narrative assessments. Findings also suggest that comparability across studies would be improved by more consistent terminology and procedures in narrative collection/analysis.
Keywords: dept.cmd; peer-reviewed

Academic Integrity: Effects of Demographic Variables on Students’ Conduct - Soroya, Dr Muhammad Shahid; Hashmi, Dr Muhammad Amir; Soroya, Saira Hanif (South Asian Studies, 2020)
This study aimed to find out the effects of demographic variable i.e. gender, age, group of studies, GPA etc. on level of academic integrity among Pakistani students. The design of the study is quantitative in nature, in which the survey research method was employed to gather data from the respondents. A self-reported questionnaire was adapted on the basis of previously developed and validated questionnaire, with the consent of the authors. The developed scale was validated with the help of experts and pilot tested. Multilevel stratified convenience sampling technique was used to collect data from 4 provinces and federal area of Pakistan. The collected data was analyzed by using SPSS 16.0 version
Keywords: dept.ils

Dismantling Occupational Therapy Provider Licensure Barriers for Individuals Who Are Underdocumented - O’Brien, Kyle; Miller-Kuhaneck, Heather (American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 2025)
Keywords: Business; Certification; Licensure; Medical education; Medicine; Occupational therapy; Political science; Public relations; Workforce; dept.rec

Shopper Search in Response to Conditional Promotions: A Function of Basket Sizes and Incentive Types - Kulkarni, Atul; Yuan, Hong (Psychology and Marketing, 2025)
Keywords: Advertising; Business; Computer science; Consumer Attitudes; Consumer Behavior; Economics; Function (biology); Incentive; Incentives; Mathematics; Microeconomics; Shopping; dept.mrk; peer-reviewed

Impact of an emergency department take-home naloxone program on subsequent overdose and death - Wills, Brandon; Keyser‐Marcus, Lori; Sawadogo, Wendemi; Gizaw, Andinet; Melmer, Monica; Nguyen, Tammy; Nguyen, Natalie; Davis, Theresa; Ringwood, Katy; Moeller, F. (Heliyon, 2025)
Abstract Background Patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) following nonfatal opioid overdose represent a high-risk population with 5 % of patients dying within a year of the index visit. Objective To evaluate subsequent overdose and death before and after the implementation of an ED discharge naloxone program. Methods This was a retrospective cohort study of ED patients who presented at the Virginia Commonwealth University Health ED with an Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) chief complaint before and after a discharge naloxone program. The pre-naloxone cohort was consecutive ED OUD patients from August 15, 2021, to August 14, 2022, and the post-naloxone cohort from August 15, 2022, to August 14, 2023. The outcomes were subsequent overdose, ED visit to same hospital (VCU), and death within six months of the index visit. Results In total, 1,053 patients were included, of which 529 were in the pre-naloxone cohort and 524 patients in the post-naloxone cohort. The mean age was 44.2 years (SD = 14.0) and 69 % were males. There was a reduction in overdose requiring ED visiting (subsequent ED overdose) and death (4.6 % vs 9.2 % p = 0.03 and 2.0 % vs 5.6 % p = 0.02 respectively) in the post-naloxone cohort compared to the pre-naloxone cohort. After adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical factors, there was a 48 % reduction in the risk of subsequent ED overdose (RR = 0.52, 95 % CI: 0.27, 1.02) and a 63 % reduction in the risk of death (RR = 0.37, 95 % CI: 0.14, 0.95). Conclusion Implementing an ED take-home naloxone program was associated with a reduction in subsequent overdose and death at six months.
Keywords: (+)-Naloxone; Drug overdose; Emergency department; Emergency medicine; Internal medicine; Medical emergency; Medicine; Naloxone; Opioid; Opioid antagonist; Opioid overdose; Poison control; Psychiatry; dept.pch; peer-reviewed

Reflective thinking processes as a tool for social justice - Fumiatti, S.S. (International Journal of Pedagogy and Curriculum, 2025)
In the United States (US) kindergarten through twelfth-grade public school system, the classroom library has come to be a critical part of literacy instruction within the language arts classroom. This fact is especially true in the middle school grade levels (grades five through eight), where reading volume begins to rapidly increase. Additionally, a developmental norm for students within this age range includes a growing sense of independence and choice, as well as a desire to share and voice opinions. Classroom libraries have come to be tools that are used regularly and are heavily influential on the way that students grow to perceive themselves, the world around them, and the way they fit into that world. However, classroom libraries have remained stagnant and underrepresent the diverse populations of the students in those classrooms. This article aims to connect deep reflective thinking with anti-oppressive and transformative learning theories, exploring how these frameworks can be used to problematize current practices in classroom libraries. Through a content analysis of what is seen as deep and critical thinking practices and reflective thinking practices, anti-oppressive and transformative learning theories can be linked to foster a social justice classroom culture within US public middle school language arts classrooms. © 2025 Common Ground Research Networks. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Anti-oppressive Education; Classroom Libraries; Reflective Thinking; Social Justice; dept.edu; peer-reviewed

The Solar Neighborhood. LII. M Dwarf Twin Binaries—Presumed Identical Twins Appear Fraternal in Variability, Rotation, Hα, and X-Rays - Couperus, Andrew A.; Henry, Todd J.; Osten, Rachel A.; Jao, Wei-Chun; Vrijmoet, Eliot Halley; Kar, Aman; Horch, Elliott (The Astronomical Journal, 2024)
We present an investigation into the rotation and stellar activity of four fully convective M dwarf “twin” wide binaries. Components in each pair have (1) astrometry confirming they are common-proper-motion binaries, (2) Gaia BP, RP, and 2MASS J, H, and K s magnitudes matching within 0.10 mag, and (3) presumably the same age and composition. We report long-term photometry, rotation periods, multiepoch Hα equivalent widths, X-ray luminosities, time series radial velocities, and speckle observations for all components. Although it might be expected for the twin components to have matching magnetic attributes, this is not the case. Decade-long photometry of GJ 1183 AB indicates consistently higher spot activity on A than B, a trend matched by A appearing 58% ± 9% stronger in L X and 26% ± 9% stronger in Hα on average—this is despite similar rotation periods of A = 0.86 day and B = 0.68 day, thereby informing the range in activity for otherwise identical and similarly rotating M dwarfs. The young β Pic Moving Group member 2MA 0201+0117 AB displays a consistently more active B component that is 3.6 ± 0.5 times stronger in L X and 52% ± 19% stronger in Hα on average, with distinct rotation at A = 6.01 days and B = 3.30 days. Finally, NLTT 44989 AB displays remarkable differences with implications for spindown evolution—B has sustained Hα emission while A shows absorption, and B is ≥39 ± 4 times stronger in L X, presumably stemming from the surprisingly different rotation periods of A = 38 days and B = 6.55 days. The last system, KX Com, has an unresolved radial velocity companion, and is therefore not a twin system.
Keywords: dept.phy; peer-reviewed

Early Cretaceous stress field variations and relationship to intraplate magmatism in the New England portion of the eastern North American margin - Boemmels, J.R. Cooper; Crespi, J.M.; Fleming, T.H. (GSA Bulletin, 2024)
Shallow mantle processes such as edge-driven convection are thought to play an important role in shaping the passive margin setting. Previous geophysical investigations of northern New England suggest this process is likely operating beneath this portion of the eastern North American margin today. In western Vermont and eastern New York, USA, Early Cretaceous magmatism dated at ca. 140–130 Ma in the Burlington lobe and at ca. 110–100 Ma in the Taconic lobe of the New England–Quebec igneous province may represent the upper crustal expression of edge-driven convection operating beneath the eastern North American margin in the geologic past. This investigation addresses the potential relationship between these two episodes of magmatism and upper crustal deformation in northern New England through paleostress analysis of Early Cretaceous sheet intrusions and mesoscale normal faults, and geochemical analysis of sheet intrusions. The two episodes of magmatism are geochemically similar, display typical characteristics of intraplate alkaline magmatism, and are likely the product of a common source. Paleostress analysis and crosscutting relationships indicate that Burlington lobe magmatism was associated with a subhorizontal N–S extensional stress field, and Taconic lobe magmatism was associated with a subhorizontal NW–SE extensional stress field. Both stress fields represent short-term perturbations to the regional Early Cretaceous subhorizontal NE–SW extensional stress field. Each perturbation coincided with and likely continued following magmatism. The magmatism, geographic and temporal scale of the stress field changes, and return to regional subhorizontal NE–SW extension following these events are consistent with the periodic nature of edge-driven convection and associated small-scale delamination events. This field-based documentation of intraplate magmatism and its association with short-term changes in the stress field improves our understanding of the upper crustal expression of edge-driven convection at passive margins.
Keywords: dept.esc; peer-reviewed

Writing Wisdom, Reviewing Identity: Positive Outcomes of Participating in a Memoir Course for Older Adults - Bivona, Marissa A.; Kahlbaugh, Patricia E.; Budnick, Christopher J. (The International Journal of Reminiscence and Life Review, 2020)
Constructing a personal narrative and consolidating identity is an ongoing process that becomes pressing in the face of mortality. The current pilot study examined the process of life review in a sample of older people, specifically examining the effects of participation in a memoir course on wisdom, identity, and well-being. We hypothesized that wisdom, identity fidelity and coherence, and subjective well-being would increase for those in the memoir group compared to a control. Eighteen elderly individuals from two senior retirement communities were randomly assigned to participate in weekly classes, for four weeks, either to work on a memoir or discuss films (control group). After engaging in the process of organizing their life story and writing about important memories, the nine individuals in the memoir group scored significantly higher on self-report measures of wise reminiscence, identity fidelity, and subjective well-being compared to those in the control group. Furthermore, exploratory analyses found that wise reminiscence statistically mediated relationships between the memoir condition and the outcome measures of identity fidelity, identity coherence, and subjective well-being. These findings point to the benefits of memoir writing for positive aging as well as potential mechanisms underlying its effectiveness.
Keywords: Identity; Life Review; Narrative; Subjective Well-Being; Wisdom; dept.psy

Flash Fiction: How to Build a Pyramid Fire in the Rain by Natalie Schriefer - Schriefer, Natalie (JMWW, 2021)
Do not walk away from this burgeoning hope of heat and dryness.
Keywords: dept.hhs

Dear Mx. Ortiz – Compressed - Schriefer, Natalie (2021)
Keywords: dept.hhs

The First Step - Schriefer, Natalie (2023)
From a snowbank I watched the squirrel run.
Keywords: dept.hhs

Catch the Moon - Smith, Ed Diane (Independently published, 2020)
Grey Sparrow Press, in this landmark book, cherishes the voices of national writing treasures published over ten years; Robert Bly, Robert Wexelblatt, Michael C. Keith, Jules Nyquist, Khem Aryal, Marie Sheppard Williams [posthumously,] Doug Holder, Momila Joshi, William Woolfitt, Thomas R. Smith, M.J. Iuppa, LB Chhetri, John Roche, and Bhisma Upreti to name a few. Grey Sparrow Press was formed as a non-profit 501[c]3 on May 11, 2009.
Keywords: dept.hhs

Stock Market Price Forecasting Using Metaheuristic Search Algorithms: A Comparative Analysis - Sheta, A.L.A.A.; Abdel-Raouf, A.M.A.L. (International Journal of Computing, 2024)
Stock market forecasting is an essential factor in the daily operations of many companies and individuals. However, the complex and nonlinear nature of the stock market and the unpredictable variations in factors affecting stock prices present significant challenges in accurate forecasting. To address this, we employ four model-based metaheuristic search algorithms (MHs), namely the Crow Search Algorithm (CSA), Particle Swarm Optimizer (PSO), Gray Wolf Optimizer (GWO), and Dandelion Optimizer (DO), to estimate the parameters of stock market prices models. The data utilized in our experiments are extracted from the widely recognized stock index of Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500), that serves as a representative benchmark for the United States stock market. Our findings demonstrate that the CSA outperforms other MHs by providing the best combination of parameters for modeling stock market prices. The optimized parameters for the CSA model yielded Variance-Account-For (VAF) values of 97.846% in the training set and 93.483% in the testing set. This suggests that CSA offers promising capabilities for enhancing the accuracy and effectiveness of stock market forecasting models. © (2024), (Research Institute of Intelligent Computer Systems). All rights reserved.
Keywords: Algorithm; Computer science; Econometrics; Economics; Engineering; Mathematical optimization; Mathematics; Metaheuristic; Particle swarm optimization; Stock (firearms); Stock market; Stock market forecasting; Stock market index; computational intelligence; crow search algorithm; dandelion optimizer; dept.csc; gray wolf optimizer; metaheuristic search algorithms; particle swarm optimizer; peer-reviewed

Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status and Breastfeeding Initiation and Duration Among Primiparous Black Women - Griswold, Michele; Crawford, Sybil; Person, Sharina; Rosenberg, Lynn; Palmer, Julie; Cozier, Yvette (Breastfeeding Medicine, 2025)
Background: Social determinants of health account for racial inequities in breastfeeding rates in the United States. There is a gap in the role of neighborhood socioeconomic status (NSES) as it relates to breastfeeding disparities. Methods: Using longitudinal data from the Black Women’s Health Study, we assessed associations of NSES with breastfeeding initiation and duration in a cohort of primiparous U.S. Black women. We also explored associations within strata of important economic indicators, including education, occupation, and marital status. Results: Breastfeeding initiation ( n = 2,705) increased with NSES quartile, from 75.2% in the lowest quartile to 88.3% in the highest quartile ( p < 0.0001). Compared with women living in the highest NSES quartile, those in the lowest quartile had a 41% (odds ratio: 0.59 [95% confidence interval: 0.43, 0.81]) decreased odds of initiating breastfeeding. For breastfeeding duration ( n = 2,172), women residing in NSES quartiles 1–3 were significantly less likely ( p < 0.0001) to breastfeed (44.4%) for 6+ months compared with those living in the highest quartile (62.8%). Adjusted relative risks for those in quartiles 1–3 compared with 4 (highest) were 0.63 (0.45, 0.87), 0.50 (0.37, 0.68), and 0.64 (0.47, 0.86), respectively ( p = 0.0001). There was no statistically significant evidence of effect modification by education, occupation, marital status, and region ( P interaction = >0.05). Conclusion: Living in a lower NSES environment was associated with reduced breastfeeding initiation and duration compared with a higher NSES environment. Research is needed to understand the mechanisms by which neighborhood-level factors influence breastfeeding initiation and duration for Black women in the United States.
Keywords: Black women; Breast feeding; Breastfeeding; Demography; Duration (music); Environmental health; Medicine; Obstetrics; Pediatrics; Population; Socioeconomic status; dept.pch; peer-reviewed

Acute arterial stiffness responses to on-ball kneeling and sitting: Effects of exercise fragmentation and exercise order - Xiao, Yaru; Chen, Wei; Latchman, Peter; Zhou, Zhixiong; Zhu, Weili (European Journal of Applied Physiology, 2025)
Keywords: Arterial stiffness; Ball balance; Blood pressure; Cardio-ankle vascular index; Cardiology; Exercise physiology; Fragmentation; Human physiology; Internal medicine; Kneeling; Medicine; Moderate exercise; Order; Physical exercise; Physical medicine and rehabilitation; Physical therapy; Posture; Sitting; Sports medicine; dept.hms; peer-reviewed

A pilot study on diabetes detection using handheld fundus camera and mobile app development - Al-Absi, Hamada R. H.; Muchori, Gilbert Njihia; Musleh, Saleh; Basit, Syed Abdullah; Islam, Mohammad Tariqul; Mou, Younss Ait; Alam, Tanvir (Discover Applied Sciences, 2025)
Diabetes, affecting more than 500 million individuals worldwide, is the most widespread non-communicable disease, globally. The early identification and effective management of diabetes are crucial for controlling its spread. Currently, the HbA1c test is the gold standard for the detection of diabetes with high confidence. But this is an invasive, expensive pathology test. Therefore, alternative non-invasive and inexpensive methods have been proposed in the literature for the early detection of diabetes.
Keywords: Android Mobile application; Artificial intelligence; Computer graphics (images); Computer science; Computer vision; DMPred; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetic retinopathy; Fundus (uterus); Fundus camera; Handheld camera; Human–computer interaction; Medicine; Mobile apps; Mobile device; Ophthalmology; Ophthalmoscopy; Retinal; Retinal fundus image; World Wide Web; dept.csc; peer-reviewed

Plant-engineered ZnO and CuO nanoparticles exhibit pesticidal activity and mitigate Fusarium infestation in soybean: A mechanistic understanding - Karmous, Inès; Elmer, Wade; Zuverza‐Mena, Nubia; Vaidya, Shital; Tlahig, Samir; Scanley, Jules; Bharadwaj, Anuja; White, Jason; Dimkpa, Christian (Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 2025)
Keywords: Antifungal activity; Artemisia vulgaris; Biogenic copper and Zn oxide nanoparticles; Biology; Botany; Chemistry; Fusarium; Infestation; Materials science; Nanoparticle; Nanotechnology; Soybean; dept.phy; peer-reviewed

Recent Intimate Partner Violence, Sexual Risk and HIV-Related Worry: Examining the Mediating Effects of Sexual Autonomy - Willie, Tiara; Callands, Tamora; Phillips, Karlye; Flowers, Bianca; Kershaw, Trace (Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 2025)
Keywords: Anxiety; Autonomy; Clinical psychology; Criminology; Domestic violence; Environmental health; HIV; Intimate partner violence; Medicine; Poison control; Political science; Population; Psychiatry; Psychology; Reproductive health; Sexual health; Sexual violence; Suicide prevention; Worry; dept.pch

Local scale climate change variability in New England, United States - Miller, Matthew (Climatic Change, 2025)
Keywords: Cartography; Climate change; Climatology; Ecology; Environmental science; Geography; Geology; Interpolation; Mathematics; Meteorology; New England; Oceanography; Physical geography; Precipitation; Scale (ratio); Spatial ecology; Spatial variability; Statistics; Temperature; Variation (astronomy); dept.egm; peer-reviewed

EBAnet: Improved Deep Learning Model for the Detection of Epidermolysis Bullusa Acquisita - Islam, Mohammad Tariqul; Alkhateeb, Mais; Musleh, Saleh; El Hajj, Nady; Alam, Tanvir (2024 6th International Conference on Communications, Signal Processing, and their Applications (ICCSPA), 2024)
Epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA) represents a big challenge as a rare skin disorder, with no established markers for early detection for patients. Moreover, as a rare disease, it is extremely difficult to acquire good number of patient sample to diagnose accurately with high confidence. EBA has many biomarkers very similar to other bullosa diseases and needs specific clinical expertise to detect it using immunofluorescence microscopy. In this study, we introduce a deep learningbased method, EBAnet, that leveraged Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) based model for the detection of EBA based on Direct immunofluorescence (DIF) microscopy image. The proposed EfficientNet-based model achieved 97.3% sensitivity, 96.1% precision, and 96.7% accuracy in distinguishing EBA from other class and outperformed the existing model for the same purpose. GradCAM based class activation map also highlighted the important region of the DIF images that was focused by the proposed model leveraging the explainability of the model. We believe, EBAnet will add value in the early and accurate detection of EBA, addressing a critical need in clinical practice.
Keywords: Accuracy; Biological system modeling; Biomarkers; Convolutional Neural Network; Convolutional neural networks; Deep learning; Diseases; Epidermolysis Bullosa Acquisita; Immunofluorescence; Sensitivity; Signal processing; Skin; deep learning; dept.csc

Relationships Matter: The Art of Creating Meaningful Interactions With Students - Hynes, Kristy; Gershwin, Tracy; Robinson, Jason; Mitchell, Chrissa (Beyond Behavior, 2025)
Keywords: Foundation (evidence); Mathematics education; Pedagogy; Psychological intervention; Psychology; dept.sed; peer-reviewed

Elementary preservice teachers' use of the crosscutting concepts to plan NGSS ‐aligned science lessons in explicit versus non‐explicit contexts - Sherwood, Carrie‐Anne; Benedict‐Chambers, Amanda (School Science and Mathematics, 2025)
Keywords: Context (archaeology); Discipline; Lesson plan; Mathematics; Mathematics education; Next Generation Science Standards; Pedagogy; Plan (archaeology); Psychology; Science education; Significant difference; Sociology; dept.cur; peer-reviewed

Attitudes About Aging and Beliefs About When you Have Been or Will be Your Best Self - Kahlbaugh, Patricia; Biblekaj, Viktoria; Shortell, Malori (The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 2025)
Keywords: Anxiety; Clinical psychology; Developmental psychology; Gerontology; Healthy aging; Internalization; Medicine; Psychiatry; Psychology; Successful aging; dept.psy; peer-reviewed

The Impact of Attentiveness Interventions on Survey Data - Fuller, Christie; Simmering, Marcia; Waterwall, Brian; Ragland, Elizabeth; Twitchell, Douglas; Wall, Alison (Educational and Psychological Measurement, 2025)
Social and behavioral science researchers who use survey data are vigilant about data quality, with an increasing emphasis on avoiding common method variance (CMV) and insufficient effort responding (IER). Each of these errors can inflate and deflate substantive relationships, and there are both a priori and post hoc means to address them. Yet, little research has investigated how both IER and CMV are affected with the use of these different procedural or statistical techniques used to address them. More specifically, if interventions to reduce IER are used, does this affect CMV in data? In an experiment conducted both in and out of the laboratory, we investigate the impact of attentiveness interventions, such as a Factual Manipulation Check (FMC) on both IER and CMV in same-source survey data. In addition to typical IER measures, we also track whether respondents play the instructional video and their mouse movement. The results show that while interventions have some impact on the level of participant attentiveness, these interventions do not appear to lead to differing levels of CMV.
Keywords: Affect (linguistics); Applied psychology; Communication; Mathematics; Medicine; Post hoc; Psychological intervention; Psychology; Quality (philosophy); Social psychology; Statistics; Survey data collection; Survey research; dept.mgt; peer-reviewed

Sex Differences in Response to a 12-Week Resistance Training Exercise Intervention After Cardiac Surgery: A Proof-of-Concept Intervention Trial - Safdar, Basmah; Jarman, Angela; Madsen, Tracy; DeLamielleure, Lauren; Zhou, Bin; Axtell, Robert; Geirsson, Arnar; Mangi, Abeel (Clinical Therapeutics, 2025)
Keywords: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR); Cardiac surgery; Cardiovascular disease (CVD); Intervention (counseling); Medicine; Nursing; Physical therapy; Randomized controlled trial; Resistance strength training; Resistance training; Safety and feasibility; Sex differences; Surgery; dept.hms; peer-reviewed

The era of artificial intelligence in the healthcare revolution - Elashmawi, W.H.; Sheta, A.; Surani, S. (Innovations in Healthcare in the 21st Century, 2025)
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a distinct area of computer science that enables machines to handle and interpret complex data effectively. In recent years, there has been a dramatic uptick in studies devoted to AI, with many focusing on healthcare and medical research. This article delves deep into the potential of AI in several areas of healthcare, including the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. In recent years, Machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) have emerged as the most widely used artificial intelligence technologies in the healthcare industry. Moreover, this research demonstrates the crucial significance of progressing AI technologies, namely generative AI and large language models (LLMs), highlighting their revolutionary influence on healthcare. Finally, we highlight upcoming innovations and offer profound insights into the significant ethical, medical, and technological challenges associated with AI in healthcare. © 2025 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Artificial intelligence; Generative AI; Healthcare; Large language models; Machine learning; dept.csc

Electric-charge-dependent directed flow splitting of produced quarks in Au+Au collisions - STAR Collaboration (Physics Letters B, 2025)
We report directed flow (v1) of multistrange baryons (Ξ and Ω) and improved v1 data for K−, p¯, Λ¯ and ϕ in Au+Au collisions at sNN=27 and 200 GeV from the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). We focus on particles whose constituent quarks are not transported from the incoming nuclei but instead are produced in the collisions. At intermediate impact parameters, we examine quark coalescence behavior for particle combinations with identical quark content, and search for any departure from this behavior (“splitting”) for combinations having non-identical quark content. Under the assumption of quark coalescence for produced quarks, the splitting strength appears to increase with the electric charge difference of the constituent quarks in the combinations, consistent with electromagnetic effect expectations.
Keywords: Directed flow; Electric charge; Electromagnetic field; Heavy-ion collisions; Strangeness; dept.phy; peer-reviewed

Denialism and its consequences: the epistemic injustice of national narratives - Marsoobian, A.T. (Pragmatism Today, 2024)
An analysis of how national narratives are inevitably forms of epistemic injustice, depriving individuals of epistemic and moral agency. Denying access to knowledge about the past is a tool of all autocratic regimes, commonly used for the purpose of retaining power and exerting dominance over individuals or groups subordinate to the ruling elite. Yet such narratives and the falsifications used to buttress them, are not the exclusive instruments of autocracies but can be found to pervade the national narratives of what we often nominally label as democracies. The denial of crimes against humanity and genocide are the most egregious examples of the harms perpetrated against victims and survivors. Miranda Fricker’s writings on epistemic injustice are employed in the analysis. Turkish and Azerbaijani genocide denial of the Armenian Genocide are used to illustrate how epistemic injustice lies at the heart of denialism. © 2024 Central European Pragmatist Forum. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Melanie Altanian; Miranda Fricker; denialism; dept.phi; epistemic injustice; genocide; national narratives; peer-reviewed

Energy dependence of polarized 𝛾⁢𝛾→𝑒+⁢𝑒− in peripheral Au+Au collisions at √𝑠𝑁⁢𝑁=54.4 and 200 GeV with the STAR experiment at RHIC - STAR Collaboration (Physical Review C, 2025)
We report the differential yields at mid-rapidity of the Breit-Wheeler process (𝛾⁢𝛾→𝑒+⁢𝑒−) in peripheral Au+Au collisions at √𝑠𝑁⁢𝑁=54.4 and 200 GeV with the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), as a function of energy √𝑠𝑁⁢𝑁, 𝑒+⁢𝑒− transverse momentum 𝑝T, 𝑝2T, invariant mass 𝑀𝑒⁢𝑒, and azimuthal angle. In the invariant mass range of 0.4<𝑀𝑒⁢𝑒<2.6GeV/𝑐2 at low transverse momentum (𝑝T<0.15GeV/𝑐), the yields increase while the pair √⟨𝑝2T⟩ decreases with increasing √𝑠𝑁⁢𝑁, a feature that is correctly predicted by the QED calculation. The energy dependencies of the measured quantities are sensitive to the nuclear form factor, infrared divergence and photon polarization. The data are compiled and used to extract the charge radius of the Au nucleus.
Keywords: Computer science; dept.phy; peer-reviewed

Trends in school mental health and substance use education - Gao, Chloe; Szlosek, Donald; Zhong, Anthony; Hadland, Scott E.; Benes, Sarah S. (JAMA, 2025)
The percentage of US youths experiencing mental health and substance use problems has risen rapidly in recent years. Schools are important settings for prevention, but whether preventive programming meets student needs is unknown. This study examined trends in school programming related to mental health and substance use and teacher professional development across US middle and high schools from 2008-2020.
Keywords: dept.hms; peer-reviewed

Team building-it is all about people, the mission, and values - Goralski, M.A.; Górniak-Kocikowska, K. (Technology Entrepreneurship in Theory and Practice: Perspectives in Science and Engineering, 2025)
Keywords: dept.phi

Long-term hominin preference for the gallery forest edge: Insights from the Gona paleosols, Afar, Ethiopia - Stinchcomb, Gary E.; Rogers, Michael J.; Semaw, Sileshi (Quaternary Science Reviews, 2025)
The Gona Paleoanthropological Research Project area in the Afar Region of Ethiopia arguably contains one of the most complete records of archaeological sites anywhere in the world, from the earliest Oldowan dated to 2.6 Ma, to the Later Stone Age (LSA) dated to ca. 12-7 Ka. This makes Gona an ideal place to examine long-term trends in hominin-environment interaction. We revisited archaeological and hominin fossil sites at Gona and characterized the fossil soils using paleopedology and found evidence of paleo-Fluvisols, -Cambisols and -Vertisols. Greater than 70% of those archaeological sites spanning Oldowan to the Later Stone Age are found in buried paleosols with A-C and A-Bk-C paleosol profiles resembling modern-day Fluvisols or Fluvic Cambisols. Fluvisol morphology shows presence of bedding, incipient soil structure development and overprinting after burial. Stratigraphy and lithofacies show that these paleo-Fluvisols were proximal to the ancestral Awash River (Type I depositional system) or a distal fan channel (Type II depositional system). These data suggest that soil burial rates were rapid due to proximal flooding, where this would be a primary factor inhibiting soil development. This style of sedimentation and weathering resembles a narrow (5–10 m width) strip of land in a modern-day channel shelf and bar setting, separating the river from the adjacent gallery forest. A review of the literature shows that the frequent association of artifacts with paleo-Fluvisols may be prevalent throughout eastern Africa and indicates a long history of hominin reliance on a riverine ecosystem edge, proximal stream water and gallery forest resources within broader river valleys. The few older archaeological sites (e.g., Oldowan and Acheulian) found in/on more well-developed paleosols at Gona are an exception to this rule. These latter sites may hint at different land-use patterns and thus differing trajectories of hominin-environmental interactions. Because most paleosol studies at Gona and elsewhere in eastern Africa use paleo-Vertisols or other more well-developed calcareous soils to reconstruct paleoenvironment, there is a potential spatial and temporal decoupling between those well-studied paleosols and the more weakly-developed ones where archaeology is found.
Keywords: Archaeology; Artificial intelligence; Astronomy; Computer science; Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution; Geography; Geology; Gona; Mathematics; Paleoecology; Paleontology; Paleosol; Physics; Preference; River corridors; Statistics; Term (time); dept.ant; peer-reviewed

Divided by a common language? The impact of a joint international field trip on student skills - Lane, Timothy; Rourke, Maeve; Kelly, Miriah; Graves, Scott; Dalrymple, Sarah; Dick, Jonathan; Matthews, Tom; Onnis, Patrizia; Slomba, Jeff; Pétursson, Ólafur; Heidkamp, C. (Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 2025)
Fieldwork is often cited as one of the most important and effective parts of geography education, despite increasing scrutiny over its environmental and financial cost. As a result, it is imperative that any overseas fieldwork is as impactful as possible, enabling deep experiential learning. Here, we investigate the success of a joint field trip (Liverpool John Moores University, UK and Southern Connecticut State University, USA) to East Iceland. Such field trips are rare but have the potential to be extremely impactful on both cohorts of students. We outline the origins of the field trip, the considerations taken into account during planning, and the student skills we embedded into teaching. Surveys and interviews demonstrated that the field trip was highly successful, with students reporting excellent development of environmental and global awareness as well as research and leadership skills. Students also developed strong, lasting social networks, including those in the alternate university, and in Iceland. Cohorts responded similarly, suggesting that the trip presents similar opportunities to all students. We demonstrate that undertaking a joint field trip can deliver huge benefits to students, becoming a “perspective changing, and a once in a lifetime opportunity” affecting future study and career choices.
Keywords: Civil engineering; Engineering; Field (mathematics); Geography; Joint (building); Mathematics education; Pedagogy; Psychology; dept.egm; fieldwork; higher education; pedagogy; peer-reviewed; skills development

Measurement of directed flow in Au+Au collisions at √𝑠𝑁⁢𝑁=19.6 and 27 GeV with the STAR event plane detector - STAR Collaboration (Physical Review C, 2025)
In heavy-ion collision experiments, the global collectivity of final-state particles can be quantified by anisotropic flow coefficients (𝑣𝑛). The first-order flow coefficient, also referred to as the directed flow (𝑣1), describes the collective sideward motion of produced particles and nuclear fragments in heavy-ion collisions. It carries information on the very early stage of the collision, especially at large pseudorapidity (𝜂), where it is believed to be generated during the nuclear passage time. Directed flow therefore probes the onset of bulk collective dynamics during thermalization, providing valuable experimental guidance to models of the pre-equilibrium stage. In 2018, the Event Plane Detector (EPD) was installed in STAR and used for the Beam Energy Scan phase-II (BES-II) data taking. The combination of EPD (2.1<|𝜂|<5.1) and high-statistics BES-II data enables us to extend the 𝑣1 measurement to the forward and backward 𝜂 regions. In this paper, we present the measurement of 𝑣1 over a wide 𝜂 range in Au+Au collisions at √𝑠𝑁⁢𝑁= 19.6 and 27 GeV using the STAR EPD. The results of the analysis at √𝑠𝑁⁢𝑁= 19.6 GeV exhibit excellent consistency with the previous PHOBOS measurement, while elevating the precision of the overall measurement. The increased precision of the measurement also revealed finer structures in heavy-ion collisions, including a potential observation of the first-order event-plane decorrelation. Multiple physics models were compared to the experimental results. Only a transport model and a three-fluid hybrid model can reproduce a sizable 𝑣1 at large 𝜂 as was observed experimentally. The model comparison also indicates 𝑣1 at large 𝜂 might be sensitive to the QGP phase transition.
Keywords: Algorithm; Atomic physics; Charged particle; Computer science; Flow (mathematics); Ion; Mechanics; Nuclear physics; Physics; Pseudorapidity; Thermalisation; dept.phy; peer-reviewed

Comprehensive Evaluation of Machine Learning Techniques for Obstructive Sleep Apnea Detection - Sheta, Alaa; Elashmawi, Walaa H.; Djellal, Adel; Braik, Malik; Surani, Salim; Aljahdali, Sultan; Subramanian, Shyam; Patel, Parth S. (International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications (ijacsa), 2024)
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a prevalent health issue affecting 10-25% of adults in the United States (US) and is associated with significant economic consequences. Machine learning methods have shown promise in improving the efficiency and accessibility of OSA diagnoses, thus reducing the need for expensive and challenging tests. A comparative analysis of Logistic Regression (LR), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Gradient Boosting (GB), Gaussian Naive Bayes (GNB), Random Forest (RF), and K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) algorithms was conducted to predict Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). To improve the predictive accuracy of these models, Random Oversampling was applied to address the imbalance in the dataset, ensuring a more equitable representation of the minority class. Patient demographics, including age, sex, height, weight, BMI, neck circumference, and gender, were employed as predictive features in the models. The RFC provided outstanding training and testing accuracies of 87% and 65%, respectively, and a Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) score of 87%. The GBC and SVM classifiers also demonstrated good performance on the test dataset. The results of this study show that machine learning techniques may be effectively used to diagnose OSA, with the Random Forest Classifier demonstrating the best results.
Keywords: dept.csc; peer-reviewed

Reducing opportunity gaps and promoting enrollment through credit by examination for the Seal of Biliteracy - Gleason, Jesse; Latorre, Sobeira; Cardone, Resha (The Seal of Biliteracy in Higher Education, 2024)
This chapter explores the impact of implementing a partnership agreement to grant incoming university students credit based on their documented language proficiency. In 2018, an agreement was forged between an urban university and public school district, and, by extension, any high school offering the Seal of Biliteracy (SoBL) to offer students who hold the SoBL university credit for their language proficiency in a world language. This chapter examines the evolution of that agreement over a five-year period and its potential impact on students’ decision to pursue a minor/major in Spanish. Through semi-structured interviews, we also examined multiple university stakeholders’ perceptions and/or experiences about the value of the SoBL, the agreement to grant credit by examination (CBE), as well as other challenges, including the university’s reduction of their language requirement, transitions in leadership, and differing ideas about if and how best to award students credit based on examination.
Keywords: dept.wll

Maternal prepregnancy body mass index and risk of preterm birth: the role of weight gain during pregnancy, race, and ethnicity - Sawadogo, Wendemi; Tsegaye, Medhin; Gizaw, Andinet; Newland, Hunter; Adera, Tilahun (American Journal of Perinatology, 2024)
Objective Preterm birth (PTB) is one of the leading causes of infant and neonatal mortality. Prepregnancy body mass index (BMI; kg/m2) has been linked to PTB but the evidence of this association by weight gain during pregnancy, race, and ethnicity is limited. This study aimed to assess the association between maternal prepregnancy BMI and PTB stratified by weight gain during pregnancy, race, and ethnicity. Study Design The U.S. natality data from 2017 to 2021 were used. In this analysis, we included mothers who had a live singleton birth and available data for prepregnancy BMI, gestational age at birth, weight gain during pregnancy, race, and ethnicity. Logistic regression models were used to assess the association between prepregnancy BMI categories and PTB stratified by weight gain during pregnancy, race, and ethnicity. Results A total of 17,311,509 singleton live births were included of which 1,393,889 (8.05 %) were PTBs. After adjusting for confounders, compared with normal prepregnancy BMI mothers (18.5–24.9), those with underweight BMI (<18.5) were at increased odds of PTB regardless of weight gain during pregnancy, race, and ethnicity. However, for mothers with a prepregnancy BMI above the normal weight (≥25), the association between prepregnancy BMI and PTB differs by weight gain during pregnancy, race, and ethnicity. Asian mothers with obesity II (35.0–39.9) had 93% (odds ratio [OR] = 1.93, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.62–2.30) increased odds of PTB for weight gain during pregnancy of 31 to 40 pounds. Their White, Hispanic, and Black counterparts experienced lower odds of PTB for similar weight gain during pregnancy (White: OR = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.51–1.60; Hispanic: OR = 1.48, 95% CI: 1.41, 1.54; and Black: OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.17–1.27). Conclusion Mothers with underweight BMI were at increased risk of PTB regardless of weight gain during pregnancy, race, and ethnicity. However, the association between high prepregnancy BMI and PTB varied by weight gain during pregnancy, race, and ethnicity. Key Points
Keywords: body mass index; dept.pch; ethnicity; obesity; peer-reviewed; pregnancy; preterm birth; race; weight gain during pregnancy

Machine Learning for Enhanced COPD Diagnosis: A Comparative Analysis of Classification Algorithms - Elashmawi, Walaa H.; Djellal, Adel; Sheta, Alaa; Surani, Salim; Aljahdali, Sultan (Diagnostics, 2024)
Background: In the United States, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a significant cause of mortality. As far as we know, it is a chronic, inflammatory lung condition that cuts off airflow to the lungs. Many symptoms have been reported for such a disease: breathing problems, coughing, wheezing, and mucus production. Patients with COPD might be at risk, since they are more susceptible to heart disease and lung cancer. Methods: This study reviews COPD diagnosis utilizing various machine learning (ML) classifiers, such as Logistic Regression (LR), Gradient Boosting Classifier (GBC), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Gaussian Naïve Bayes (GNB), Random Forest Classifier (RFC), K-Nearest Neighbors Classifier (KNC), Decision Tree (DT), and Artificial Neural Network (ANN). These models were applied to a dataset comprising 1603 patients after being referred for a pulmonary function test. Results: The RFC has achieved superior accuracy, reaching up to 82.06% in training and 70.47% in testing. Furthermore, it achieved a maximum F score in training and testing with an ROC value of 0.0.82. Conclusions: The results obtained with the utilized ML models align with previous work in the field, with accuracies ranging from 67.81% to 82.06% in training and from 66.73% to 71.46% in testing.
Keywords: artificial neural network (ANN); chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); dept.csc; machine learning (ML); peer-reviewed; random forest classifier (RFC)

Evolutionary optimization of Yagi–Uda antenna design using grey wolf optimizer - Braik, Malik; Sheta, Alaa; Aljahdali, Sultan; El-Hefnawi, Fatma; Al-Hiary, Heba; Elashmawi, Walaa H. (Neural Computing and Applications, 2024)
Meta-heuristic optimization algorithms have become widely used due to their outstanding features, such as gradient-free mechanisms, high flexibility, and great potential for avoiding local optimal solutions. This research explored the grey wolf optimizer (GWO) to find the ideal configuration for a six-element Yagi–Uda antenna. The GWO algorithm adjusted the lengths of the antenna wires and the spacings between them. The goal was to maximize the antenna’s ability to transmit signals (throughput gain). Optimal antenna selection relies on various parameters, including gain, bandwidth, impedance matching, frequency, side-lobe levels, etc. The optimization of a six-element Yagi–Uda antenna presents a challenging engineering design problem due to its multimodal and nonlinear nature. Achieving optimal performance hinges on the intricate interplay between the lengths of the constituent elements and the spacing configurations. To this end, a multiobjective function was adopted to design this antenna. The performance of several meta-heuristic algorithms, including genetic algorithms, biogeography-based optimization, simulated annealing, and grey wolf optimizer, was compared. The GWO-based approach has performed better than its competitors. This optimized antenna design based on GWO reported a gain of 14.21 decibel. Therefore, the GWO-based method optimizes antennas that can be further investigated for other antenna design problems.
Keywords: Antenna design; Artificial Intelligence; Gain optimization; Grey wolf optimizer; Meta-heuristic algorithms; Multi-objective optimization; dept.csc; peer-reviewed

Scholars in health equity: a program of structured physician faculty development - Ring, Jeffrey; Torres, Daisy; Ramos, Rosio; Gonzalez, Cristina M.; Nahid, Musarrat; Morales, Susana; Phillips, Erica (Journal of General Internal Medicine, 2024)
Structured faculty development programs focused on integrating health equity into medical education curricula remain limited.
Keywords: adult learning theory; anti-racist curricula; dept.dei; faculty development; health equity; medical education; peer-reviewed

Thomas Wentworth Higginson and the Nineteenth-Century Nature Essay - Ellis, Scott (ESQ: A Journal of Nineteenth-Century American Literature and Culture, 2024)
Keywords: dept.eng; peer-reviewed

Impact of Changes in Criminal-Legal Practices During the COVID-19 Pandemic on the HIV Risk Behaviors of Women Who Use Drugs: Protocol for a Multimethods Qualitative Study - Smoyer, Amy B. (JMIR Research Protocols, 2024)
Background: HIV risk behavior in women who use drugs is related to myriad psychosocial issues, including incarceration. The experience of incarceration elevates women’s HIV risk by disrupting social networks, housing, employment, and access to health care. During the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in criminal-legal practices resulted in decreased incarceration, especially among women. These changes may have largely altered HIV risk among women who use drugs, depending on their access to care in the community. Objective: This study seeks to build knowledge about the impact of shifts in criminal-legal practices during the COVID-19 pandemic on HIV risk behaviors of justice-involved women who use drugs. Methods: Qualitative methods are used to gather and analyze women’s narratives about their life experiences before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on individual and structural determinants of HIV risk behaviors. Thirty formerly incarcerated women with a history of substance use are being recruited through collaboration with community partners. Each participant completes a sociodemographic survey and two interviews. The first interview uses a life history instrument that invites participants to reflect on key turning points in their lives. The second interview uses a calendar approach to gather information about participants’ lives during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020-March 2021). The interviews (1 hour each) are audio-recorded and transcribed for analysis. Rapid Qualitative Inquiry and thematic analysis are being used to manage, organize, and interpret the data. The study team will collaborate with a subset of participants to develop digital stories about their COVID-19 experiences, a process that allows for member-checking and triangulation. Findings will be disseminated to program and policy makers in academic venues, community settings, and social service agencies. Results: To date, 10 women’s data have been collected. In total, two themes have been identified in this preliminary data: (1)the chaos and instability of participants’ lives increased during the COVID-19 pandemic: participants reported a wide range of psychosocial and health problems and limited engagement with social service systems. Interaction with criminal-legal systems was rife with uncertainty; participants described living in a state of limbo, which was extremely stressful. (2) When asked to describe a “turning point” in their lives, many participants attributed their substance use to the traumatic loss of a child due to death, incarceration, or termination of parental rights. During the COVID-19 pandemic, participants’ struggles to cope with these unresolved experiences of grief and loss were intensified by the widespread death and dying of the pandemic. Conclusions: Preliminary findings suggest that HIV risk factors increased for participants during the COVID-19 pandemic and invite further investment in community-based harm reduction programs, especially housing, that support women who use drugs. Interventions that address experiences of maternal grief and loss may reduce women’s substance use. Trial Registration:
Keywords: dept.swk; peer-reviewed

Black fathers' views on breastfeeding facilitators, barriers, and support services: Insights from a qualitative community-based participatory research study - Rios, Jasmine; Frieson, Tomeka; Ray, Natasha; Edwards, Doug; Pérez-Escamilla, Rafael; O'Connor Duffany, Kathleen (Maternal & Child Nutrition, 2024)
Despite the persistence of breastfeeding racial and ethnic disparities in the United States, little is known about Black fathers' perceptions of breastfeeding and breastfeeding support services (e.g., maternity hospital-based care and lactation management care). This qualitative, community-based participatory research study reports Black fathers' perceptions of barriers and facilitators to breastfeeding, including the provision of breastfeeding support services in Connecticut. A focus group guide was co-developed with community partners and adapted from the Barrier Analysis Tool to identify breastfeeding facilitators, barriers, and service improvement areas. Four focus groups were conducted with 30 Black fathers who were Connecticut residents with a child under 3 years old. Qualitative data were analyzed using rapid template analysis involving deductive and inductive coding. We identified factors influencing breastfeeding and fathers' ability to support breastfeeding across all levels of the Socio-Ecological Model. Facilitators included high paternal breastfeeding knowledge, paternal breastfeeding involvement, parents' shared decision-making, extensive maternity hospital discharge support, ongoing breastfeeding support into the postnatal period, availability of community breastfeeding resources, and designated spaces for public breastfeeding. Barriers included low paternal breastfeeding knowledge, familial discouragement, insufficient prenatal breastfeeding education, exclusion of the father from breastfeeding support services, and stigma against breastfeeding in public. Understanding breastfeeding perceptions among members of a mother's support network, including their partners, is key for developing effective person- and family-centered breastfeeding education and counseling services that are well coordinated from the prenatal to postnatal periods with strong direct engagement from fathers.
Keywords: dept.pch; peer-reviewed

The impact of generative AI on syllabus design and learning - Kim, Hyoseok; Koo, Thomas K. B. (Journal of Marketing Education, 2024)
This research examines the impact of generative artificial intelligence (AI) on the perception of educational content quality, specifically by comparing AI-generated and human-generated course syllabi in marketing education. Results from four studies indicate a general preference for AI-generated syllabi, attributed to their greater perceived objectivity. This preference is more pronounced in conventional courses but diminishes in unconventional ones, suggesting that the unique aspects of these courses may reduce the advantages of generative AI. In addition, disclosing the AI authorship of syllabi significantly affects their perceived quality negatively, underscoring the impact of transparency on the acceptance of AI-generated educational materials. These findings highlight the potential of generative AI in educational content creation and its limitations in certain contexts. They offer valuable insights for enhancing educational practices and shaping policy decisions to enrich student experiences in the era of AI integration.
Keywords: dept.mrk; peer-reviewed

Embracing the metaverse: a survey of virtual reality and augmented reality practices at the United States’ top one hundred university libraries - Guo, Yajun; Li, Shuai; Zhang, Xindi; Fu, Yiyang; Yuan, Yiming; Liu, Yanquan (College & Research Libraries, 2024)
The purpose of this study is to learn more about virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) practices at the United States’ top one hundred university libraries, as well as how they are engaging with the metaverse. We conducted qualitative and descriptive analysis on the websites of the top one hundred university libraries in the United States to determine the application fields and application proportions of VR and AR technologies and found good practice examples of using VR and AR technologies in this field. The findings show that 86 percent of the top one hundred US university libraries have implemented VR and AR technologies, with practice areas focused on: VR/AR studio and VR/AR makerspace; immersive learning services and virtual exhibitions/conference services; visual geographic information system and VR navigation services; virtual reading services and visual retrieval services; and VR reference services. The study provides university library administrators and professionals with the most up-to-date information and best practices of VR and AR engagement areas and the proportion of use, which can aid in the development of strategies to leverage VR and AR technologies to improve patron service and embrace the metaverse for the communities they serve.
Keywords: Metaverse；Virtual reality；Augmented reality；University Library；America；Survey; dept.ils; peer-reviewed

Insomnia symptoms and the risk of all-cause mortality among stroke survivors - Sawadogo, Wendemi; Adera, Tilahun; Alattar, Maha; Perera, Robert; Burch, James (BMC Public Health, 2024)
Insomnia is more frequently reported in stroke survivors but its independent role in mortality in stroke survivors is unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of insomnia symptoms with all-cause mortality among stroke survivors.
Keywords: Age difference; All-cause mortality; Insomnia symptoms; Sex difference; Stroke survivors; dept.phc; peer-reviewed

Production of protons and light nuclei in Au +Au collisions at √𝑠𝑁⁢𝑁=3 GeV with the STAR detector - STAR Collaboration (Physical Review C, 2024)
We report the systematic measurement of protons and light nuclei production in Au +Au collisions at √𝑠𝑁⁢𝑁=3GeV by the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The transverse momentum (𝑝𝑇) spectra of protons (𝑝), deuterons (𝑑), tritons (𝑡), 3He, and 4He have been measured from midrapidity to target rapidity for different collision centralities. We present the rapidity and centrality dependence of particle yields (𝑑⁢𝑁/𝑑⁢𝑦), average transverse momentum (⟨𝑝𝑇⟩), yield ratios (𝑑/𝑝, 𝑡/𝑝,3He/𝑝, 4He/𝑝), as well as the coalescence parameters (𝐵2, 𝐵3). The 4⁢𝜋 yields for various particles are determined by utilizing the measured rapidity distributions, 𝑑⁢𝑁/𝑑⁢𝑦. Furthermore, we present the energy, centrality, and rapidity dependence of the compound yield ratios (𝑁𝑝×𝑁𝑡/𝑁2𝑑) and compare them with various model calculations. The physics implications of these results on the production mechanism of light nuclei and the QCD phase structure are discussed.
Keywords: dept.phy; peer-reviewed

Measurement of flow coefficients in high-multiplicity 𝑝+Au, 𝑑+Au, and 3 He +Au collisions at √𝑠𝑁⁢𝑁=200 GeV - STAR Collaboration (Physical Review C, 2024)
Flow coefficients (𝑣2 and 𝑣3) are measured in high-multiplicity 𝑝+Au, 𝑑+Au, and 3He+Au collisions at a center-of-mass energy of √𝑠𝑁⁢𝑁=200 GeV using the STAR detector. The measurements utilize two-particle correlations with a pseudorapidity requirement of |𝜂|< 0.9 and a pair gap of |Δ⁢𝜂|>1.0. The primary focus is on analysis methods, particularly the subtraction of nonflow contributions. Four established nonflow subtraction methods are applied to determine 𝑣𝑛, validated using the HIJING event generator. 𝑣𝑛 values are compared across the three collision systems at similar multiplicities; this comparison cancels the final-state effects and isolates the impact of initial geometry. While 𝑣2 values show differences among these collision systems, 𝑣3 values are largely similar, consistent with expectations of subnucleon fluctuations in the initial geometry. The ordering of 𝑣𝑛 differs quantitatively from previous measurements using two-particle correlations with a larger rapidity gap, which, according to model calculations, can be partially attributed to the effects of longitudinal flow decorrelations. The prospects for future measurements to improve our understanding of flow decorrelation and subnucleonic fluctuations are also discussed.
Keywords: dept.phy; peer-reviewed

Developing resilient leaders: a training for students - Jansen, Amy L.; Wieland, Alice (Journal of Leadership Education, 2024)
This assignment is designed to enhance resilience among students in leadership courses. It leverages the US Army’s Master Resilience Training (MRT) framework and positive psychology to develop resiliency skills.A three-part experiential workshop integrates academic readings (providing a foundation of resilience concepts), explores the influence of personal identities on leadership and connects leadership skills with resilience concepts.Participants reflect on self-awareness tools and positive psychology and create personalized action plans. Participants' resilience skills are enhanced with their personalized resiliency plan.The program provides a structured approach to resilience training, which can be integrated into university curriculums. Students gain self-awareness and psychological tools to manage challenges, which are valuable for personal growth and professional development. There is a persistent gender gap in leadership, and for women to attain greater parity in leadership positions, resilience skills are imperative. By focusing on identity-related factors, the program prepares future leaders for challenges in attaining leadership positions.This program is uniquely tailored for students aspiring to leadership positions, with an emphasis on the role of identity, such as gender, in leader emergence and overcoming related challenges.
Keywords: dept.lib; peer-reviewed

How the west was run: Local government in Late Roman Italy - McCunn, Stuart (Late Roman Italy: Imperium to Regnum, 2023)
h4Explores the major political, social, economic, religious and cultural changes impacting what was once the most important region of the Roman world/h4ulliThe first modern research volume on a core region of Late Antiquity/liliA tight and distinctly chronological focus on the second quarter of the first millennium CE, that allows for a different vision of the many vicissitudes of Late Roman Italy, among other works on Ancient and Late Antique Italy./liliAn emphasis on one of the key features of Late Antiquity: the transformation of the Roman Empire in the West into successor polities./liliA balanced range of topics, including ones rarely encountered in this type of work (such as gender or environmental history), with a special focus on political transformation and violence./li/ulpThis research volume reassesses one of the most fundamental transformations in Late Antiquity, centered on a pivotal region: the transition from ‘Empire’ to ‘Kingdom’ in Italy c. 250-500. During the first quarter of the first millennium, Italy was still the heart of the Roman Empire; the only political superstructure ever managing to encompass the entire Mediterranean world and its European hinterland. Yet during the second quarter of this millennium, Italy underwent dramatic evolutions from demotion to a provincialized region (c. 285-395), to a new imperial hub kept afloat by cannibalizing other provinces’ resources (c. 395-476), to an autonomous regnum governed by non-Roman rulers as part of an Eastern Roman ‘Commonwealth’ (c. 475-535)./p
Keywords: dept.his

Promoting awareness of social justice issues through technology-mediated project-based language learning - Gleason, Jesse S.; Suvorov, Ruslan (Advocating for Sociolinguistic Justice in the United States, 2024)
This chapter aimed at exploring how technology-mediated project-based language learning (PBLL) could be leveraged to foster 24 language learners’ awareness of social justice issues. Specifically, the study examined students’ perceptions regarding the potential benefits and challenges of technology-mediated PBLL for promoting social justice in a Spanish course. We used a grounded, iterative design and Teacher Action Research to analyze the data that comprised student-generated products (i.e., memes and written descriptions) and students’ perceptions of the benefits and challenges of using social justice projects in a Spanish course. In addition to revealing an array of perceived benefits and challenges of social justice projects for learning Spanish, the findings suggested the importance of using short, authentic multimodal texts and providing micro-scaffolding.
Keywords: dept.sed

Organizational communication scholars and U.S. higher education leadership: opportunities and challenges when scholars become administrators - Castor, Theresa; Milburn, Trudy; Eisenberg, Eric M.; Shockley-Zalabak, Pam (Management Communication Quarterly, 2025)
Universities and colleges are organizations that significantly impact students, their communities, and society. This forum explores how organizational communication scholars who are university leaders have applied their scholarly backgrounds to inform their roles. The forum participants engage in the work of being reflective practitioners to shed light on how organizational communication theory can help in negotiating the everyday lived experience of academic leadership. Three key issues are explored: (1) in what ways are organizational communication scholars uniquely positioned to assume a university leadership role? (2) how do communication concepts inform the communication practices of administrators? and (3) how do communication practices contribute to universities as multi-faceted institutions? The participants conclude by reflecting on current challenges in higher education and the potential of organizational communication scholars to play a vital role in navigating those challenges.
Keywords: dept.aa; peer-reviewed

Autism spectrum disorders - Volkmar, F.R.; Reichow, B.; Wiesner, L.A. (Encyclopedia of Adolescence, Second Edition: Volumes 1-3, 2024)
This article addresses advances in the definition, diagnosis, and clinical features of ASD particularly as they affect adolescents. While advances in early diagnosis and treatment of autism have led to substantial improvements in outcomes (e.g., significantly higher levels of personal self-sufficiency and independence), challenges for adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) remain. Persistent social-communication abilities and intellectual disabilities can hamper prospects of future employment and increase risk for psychopathology including depression and mood disorder and issues surrounding gender identity. Biological issues emerge, as well, for many adolescents with ASD such as increased risk for seizure disorder. In comparison to the literature on preschool and school age children, the research base is much more limited for adolescents, and studies are needed to identify effective, evidence-based, intervention strategies for this population. © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights are reserved.
Keywords: Asperger's syndrome; Autism; Autism spectrum disorder; Neurodiversity; Not otherwise specified; Pervasive developmental disorder; dept.sed

Correlations of event activity with hard and soft processes in p+Au collisions at sNN =200 GeV at the RHIC STAR experiment - STAR Collaboration (Physical Review C, 2024)
With the STAR experiment at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, we characterize sNN=200GeV p+Au collisions by event activity (EA) measured within the pseudorapidity range ηϵ[-5,-3.4] in the Au-going direction and report correlations between this EA and hard- and soft-scale particle production at midrapidity (ηϵ[-1,1]). At the soft scale, charged particle production in low-EA p+Au collisions is comparable to that in p+p collisions and increases monotonically with increasing EA. At the hard scale, we report measurements of high transverse momentum (pT) jets in events of different EAs. In contrast with the soft particle production, high-pT particle production and EA are found to be inversely related. To investigate whether this is a signal of jet quenching in high-EA events, we also report ratios of pT imbalance and azimuthal separation of dijets in high- and low-EA events. Within our measurement precision, no significant differences are observed, disfavoring the presence of jet quenching in the highest 30% EA p+Au collisions at sNN=200GeV. © 2024 American Physical Society.
Keywords: dept.phy; peer-reviewed

Bridging employees’ perceptions of corporate social responsibility, sense-making for meaningfulness, and work engagement for successful self-regulation - Wang, Z.; Carroll, S.; Wang, E.H. (Behavioral Sciences, 2024)
In response to calls for research on the psychological mechanisms, such as perceptions and attitudes toward corporate citizenship, in promoting positive outcomes at work, this research presents a novel approach by empirically testing a calling conditioned path model from P perception of corporate CSR (P-CSR) to work engagement via meaningfulness under the theoretical framework of self-determination theory. Survey data collected from 224 corporate employees in the US were tested using the PROCESS plugin (version 4.3) in SPSS. The regression results supported the positive direct and indirect paths from employees’ P-CSR to meaningfulness and work engagement but not the conditioning effect of calling work orientation. This study’s unique findings, limitations, future research, and implications are discussed, expanding micro-CSR research and unboxing the management assumptions of employees as purposeful autonomous agents seeking consistent interpretations and authentic perceptions of organizational CSR activities during their sense-making processes. Non-confirming of the calling conditioning the path model shed light on it being a dynamic multi-dimensional and multi-level construct to be further researched. © 2024 by the authors.
Keywords: calling work orientation; dept.mgt; micro-CSR; peer-reviewed; work engagement

Frequency importance for sentence recognition in co-located noise, co-located speech, and spatially separated speech - Bosen, Adam K.; Wasiuk, Peter A.; Calandruccio, Lauren; Buss, Emily (The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 2024)
Frequency importance functions quantify the contribution of spectral frequencies to perception. Frequency importance has been well-characterized for speech recognition in quiet and steady-state noise. However, it is currently unknown whether frequency importance estimates generalize to more complex conditions such as listening in a multi-talker masker or when targets and maskers are spatially separated. Here, frequency importance was estimated by quantifying associations between local target-to-masker ratios at the output of an auditory filterbank and keyword recognition accuracy for sentences. Unlike traditional methods used to measure frequency importance, this technique estimates frequency importance without modifying the acoustic properties of the target or masker. Frequency importance was compared across sentences in noise and a two-talker masker, as well as sentences in a two-talker masker that was either co-located with or spatially separated from the target. Results indicate that frequency importance depends on masker type and spatial configuration. Frequencies above 5 kHz had lower importance and frequencies between 600 and 1900 Hz had higher importance in the presence of a two-talker masker relative to a noise masker. Spatial separation increased the importance of frequencies between 600 Hz and 5 kHz. Thus, frequency importance functions vary across listening conditions.
Keywords: dept.cmd; peer-reviewed

Fear of Missing Out’s (FoMO) relationship with moral judgment and behavior - McKee, Paul C.; Senthilnathan, Ithika; Budnick, Christopher J.; Bind, Marie-Abèle; Antonios, Imad; Sinnott-Armstrong, Walter (PLOS ONE, 2024)
Across three online studies, we examined the relationship between the Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) and moral cognition and behavior. Study 1 (N = 283) examined whether FoMO influenced moral awareness, judgments, and recalled and predicted behavior of first-person moral violations in either higher or lower social settings. Study 2 (N = 821) examined these relationships in third-person judgments with varying agent identities in relation to the participant (agent = stranger, friend, or someone disliked). Study 3 (N = 604) examined the influence of recalling activities either engaged in or missed out on these relationships. Using the Rubin Causal Model, we created hypothetical randomized experiments from our real-world randomized experimental data with treatment conditions for lower or higher FoMO (median split), matched for relevant covariates, and compared differences in FoMO groups on moral awareness, judgments, and several other behavioral outcomes. Using a randomization-based approach, we examined these relationships with Fisher Tests and computed 95% Fisherian intervals for constant treatment effects consistent with the matched data and the hypothetical FoMO intervention. All three studies provide evidence that FoMO is robustly related to giving less severe judgments of moral violations. Moreover, those with higher FoMO were found to report a greater likelihood of committing moral violations in the past, knowing people who have committed moral violations in the past, being more likely to commit them in the future, and knowing people who are likely to commit moral violations in the future.
Keywords: Behavior; Interpersonal relationships; Machine learning; Memory recall; Moral philosophy; Personality; Religion; Social media; dept.csc; dept.psy; peer-reviewed

La Silla-QUEST RR Lyrae star survey II: the Crater II tidal streams - Coppi, P S; Zinn, R; Baltay, C; Rabinowitz, D; Girard, T; Howard, R; Ment, K; Rahman, R (Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2024)
We describe photometry improvements in the La Silla-Quest RR Lyrae star (RRLS) survey that enable it to reach distances from the Sun (d⊙) ∼140 kpc. We report the results of surveying ∼300 deg2 of sky around the large, low-surface-brightness Crater II dwarf spheroidal galaxy. At d⊙ >80 kpc, we find a large overdensity of RRLS that extends beyond the traditional isophotal contours used for Crater II. The majority of these RRLS (34) have a linear distribution on the sky, extending over 15°, that runs through Crater II and is oriented along Crater II’s proper motion vector. We hypothesize that this unlikely distribution traces extended tidal streams associated with Crater II. To test this, we search for other Crater II stellar populations that should be in the streams. Using Gaia proper motion data, we isolate ≈ 17 candidate stars outside of Crater II that are consistent with being luminous stars from the Crater II Red Giant Branch (RGB). Their spatial distribution is consistent with the RRLS one. The inferred streams are long, spanning a distance range ∼80–135 kpc from the Galactic Centre. They are oriented at a relatively small-angle relative to our line of sight (∼25°), which means some stream stars are likely projected onto the main body of the galaxy. Comparing the numbers of RRLS and RGB candidate stars found in the streams to those in the main galaxy, we estimate Crater II has lost $\gtrsim 30~{{\rm per\ cent}}$ of its stellar mass.
Keywords: dept.phy; peer-reviewed

Optimization of datacenter selection through a genetic algorithm-driven service broker policy - Chowdhury, Shusmoy; Katangur, Ajay; Sheta, Alaa (Journal of Cloud Computing, 2024)
Establishing an optimal datacenter selection policy within the cloud environment is paramount to maximize the performance of the cloud services. Service broker policy governs the selection of datacenters for user requests. In our research, we introduce an innovative approach incorporating the genetic algorithm with service broker policy to assist cloud services in identifying the most suitable datacenters for specific userbases. The effectiveness of our proposed genetic algorithm was rigorously evaluated through experiments conducted on CloudAnalyst platform. The results clearly indicate that our proposed algorithm surpasses existing service broker policies and previous research works done in this field in terms of reducing response time and data processing time. The results analysis validates its efficacy and potential for enhancing cloud service performance and reducing the cost of overall cloud infrastructure.
Keywords: Cloud computing; Genetic algorithm service broker policy; dept.csc; peer-reviewed

Reconceptualizing supply chain flows (SCFLOWS) - Ashraf, Muhammad Hasan; Yalcin, Mehmet G.; Hos, Rabia (The International Journal of Logistics Management, 2024)
Despite being a fundamental concept, the field of supply chain management (SCM) exhibits a significant lack of consensus regarding the definition of supply chain flows (SCFLOWS). Additionally, there has been an over-reliance on three flows – material, information and finance – while various other flows crucial to SCM performance have been overlooked. Hence, the purpose of this study is twofold: (1) to explore the multi-dimensional nature of SCFLOWS and (2) to identify additional flows beyond the commonly acknowledged ones that are vital for SCM performance.,This study employs various qualitative methods as part of the abduction process. The methods include in-depth interviews with logistics professionals, a Delphi study involving SCM scholars and a focus group comprising airline industry practitioners.,Seven SCFLOWS dimensions are identified and presented as SCFLOWS framework. Also, two additional flows, i.e. human and capital equipment, are proposed as vital to SCM performance.,This is the first study to introduce SCFLOWS framework to achieve consensus in the field. By introducing two additional flows, it proposes extending the SCFLOWS boundary to include various flows overlooked previously but pertinent to SCM performance. The SCFLOWS framework serves as a systematic guide to validate additional flows and represents an important step towards building SCM theory.
Keywords: dept.grad; peer-reviewed

A metacognitive approach to understanding what marker variables measure - Leonard, Stephanie; Simmering, Marcia J.; Wall, Alison E. (Current Psychology, 2024)
Marker variables provide an efficacious means of post hoc detection of common method variance (CMV) in data. These variables are measured in the same way as substantive variables, but because they are conceptually unrelated to the variables of interest, they are believed to be a proxy for CMV. Although marker variables have demonstrated effectiveness, questions remain as to what they actually measure, and thus, why they work. This lack of knowledge prevents researchers from choosing appropriate marker variables to include in same source surveys. The purpose of this research is to determine how four different marker variables account for common rater effects which can cause CMV. A metacognitive approach is used to develop an empirical study using two samples, with a focus on the specific rater effects of mood state, transient mood, consistency motif, and illusory correlations. Findings indicate that these marker variables elicit similar respondent reactions and do not create a notable psychological separation between substantive variables. Additionally, there is evidence that respondents’ use of consistency motifs and illusory correlations influence substantive variable relations. Finally, using the confirmatory factor analysis marker technique, data from two samples indicate the presence of CMV, but not bias from CMV, indicating that the problem of artificially inflated results due to CMV may be overstated.
Keywords: Common method variance; Marker variables; Metacognition; Survey research; dept.mgt; peer-reviewed

Imaging shapes of atomic nuclei in high-energy nuclear collisions - STAR Collaboration (Nature, 2024)
Atomic nuclei are self-organized, many-body quantum systems bound by strong nuclear forces within femtometre-scale space. These complex systems manifest a variety of shapes1–3, traditionally explored using non-invasive spectroscopic techniques at low energies4,5. However, at these energies, their instantaneous shapes are obscured by long-timescale quantum fluctuations, making direct observation challenging. Here we introduce the collective-flow-assisted nuclear shape-imaging method, which images the nuclear global shape by colliding them at ultrarelativistic speeds and analysing the collective response of outgoing debris. This technique captures a collision-specific snapshot of the spatial matter distribution within the nuclei, which, through the hydrodynamic expansion, imprints patterns on the particle momentum distribution observed in detectors6,7. We benchmark this method in collisions of ground-state uranium-238 nuclei, known for their elongated, axial-symmetric shape. Our findings show a large deformation with a slight deviation from axial symmetry in the nuclear ground state, aligning broadly with previous low-energy experiments. This approach offers a new method for imaging nuclear shapes, enhances our understanding of the initial conditions in high-energy collisions and addresses the important issue of nuclear structure evolution across energy scales. © The Author(s) 2024.
Keywords: dept.phy; peer-reviewed

Role of Pakistani e-libraries in promoting health awareness for the attainment of Sustainable Development Goal-3 - Soroya, S.H.; Sharif, A.; Faiola, A. (Health Information and Libraries Journal, 2024)
Background: Pakistan is a densely populated South Asian country. It is facing numerous health challenges, as well as problems of the digital divide. The government of Pakistan established e-libraries as a pilot project in 2018. These libraries are functioning through community centers/public libraries in the largest province of the country. Objective: This paper examines the role of Pakistani e-libraries in creating health awareness and providing health information to the public. Methods: The qualitative research design was based on focus group discussions with the head librarians of all 13 of the 20 e-libraries contacted. Results: The findings revealed that e-libraries actively create health-related awareness and connect the public to health advisors. The e-libraries were engaged in four types of health-related activities (seminars, awareness campaigns, open health camps, and special health day celebrations) with high attendance from the public. Attendees of these programs returned to librarians with additional health-related queries. Conclusions: The study suggests a need for more liaison between the community and local healthcare institutions. This approach can make these programs more effective in helping individuals manage their health. The results of this study can serve as a useful guide for other developing nations in developing similar services. © 2024 Health Libraries Group.
Keywords: Asia; dept.ils; developing economies; digital information resources; health disparities; information services; peer-reviewed; public health; public libraries; south

Policy Initiatives on Eliminating Anti-Asian Racism - Liu, Meirong; Xu, Yanfeng; Si, Zhanjie (Addressing Anti-Asian Racism with Social Work Advocacy and Action, 2024)
This chapter calls for urgent institutional changes to address structural inequalities through advocacy and legislative action. The authors discuss macro practice methods to address racial injustice through advocacy efforts such as fostering policies eliminating anti-Asian hate and violence, advocating for nondiscriminative policies, improving language access, campaigning for narrative change, building coalitions with social justice groups, encouraging civic engagement, strengthening links with social justice organizations, and promoting policies and programs on Asian American, Native Hawai’ian, and Pacific Islander history education and awareness. Policy advocacy to protect Asian Americans against racial hate crimes is lacking but much needed. Macro social workers’ efforts can pressure policymakers to directly address anti-Asian racism and violence, provide targeted assistance, and call on national, state, and local organizations to ensure investments in culturally appropriate services to Asian American communities.
Keywords: dept.swk

The history of anti-Asian racism and violence in the United States - Liu, Meirong; Lee, Nayoun; Si, Zhanjie; Aquino, Olivia (Addressing Anti-Asian Racism with Social Work Advocacy and Action, 2024)
This chapter begins with a review of the history of anti-Asian racism in the United States. Beginning in the mid-19th century, Asian immigrants played a vital role in the development of the country. However, Asian Americans have faced a long legacy of exclusion and inequality, particularly during periods of economic recession, disease outbreaks, or war throughout US history. Adopting the framework of “othering,” this chapter analyzes the major events in US history related to Asian Americans, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the Immigration Act of 1924, the Japanese internment camps during World War II, and the anti-Asian immigration policies adopted by the Trump administration. Through this, the authors illustrate how historic racism and xenophobia at both individual and institutional levels have operated to marginalize Asian Americans and reproduce inequality, and they demonstrate the common roots of racism that lie in White supremacy.
Keywords: dept.swk

HST Proper Motion of Andromeda III. Another Satellite Coorbiting the M31 Satellite Plane - Casetti-Dinescu, Dana I.; Pawlowski, Marcel S.; Girard, Terrence M.; Kanehisa, Kosuke Jamie; Petroski, Alexander; Martone, Max; Kozhurina-Platais, Vera; Platais, Imants (The Astrophysical Journal, 2024)
We measure the absolute proper motion of Andromeda III (And III) using Advanced Camera for Surveys/Wide Field Channel and WFPC2 exposures spanning an unprecedented 22 yr time baseline. The WFPC2 exposures have been processed using a deep-learning centering procedure recently developed as well as an improved astrometric calibration of the camera. The absolute proper motion zero point is given by 98 galaxies and 16 Gaia EDR3 stars. The resulting proper motion is (μ α , μ δ ) = (−10.5 ± 12.5, 47.5 ± 12.5) μas yr−1. We perform an orbit analysis of And III using two estimates of M31's mass and proper motion. We find that And III’s orbit is consistent with dynamical membership to the Great Plane of Andromeda system of satellites although with some looser alignment compared to the previous two satellites NGC 147 and NGC 185. And III is bound to M31 if M31's mass is M vir ≥ 1.5 × 1012 M ⊙.
Keywords: dept.phy; peer-reviewed

Investigating the (Mis)alignment between Expenditures and Policy to Improve Multilingual Learner Programs - Correia, Amy; Hos, Rabia; Cahan, James (Journal of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, 2024)
States and districts share an obligation to provide Multilingual Learners (MLLs) with access to high quality language programs that are proven to be effective in minimizing opportunity gaps between MLLs and non-MLLs. This article reviews how local education agencies (LEAs) allocated their state-issued funding to improve MLL language programs and increase student outcomes. Findings reveal that of the total state-issued MLL funding, LEAs used 88.7% on teacher salaries and benefits, 5.1% on teacher professional development, 4.9% on language program implementation, 0% on language program evaluation, and a small percentage of funding remained unspecified. Collectively, these findings indicate that LEAs did not adhere to the state's funding policies, nor did the state follow their own policies to regulate the LEAs' expenditures. We close with a discussion on how the state can improve their function as an organizational leader and serve as a model for other stakeholders in the shared obligation of the education of MLLs.
Keywords: Elementary Secondary Education; English (Second Language); English Language Learners; Expenditures; Financial Support; Fringe Benefits; Multilingualism; Outcomes of Education; Policy Analysis; Program Implementation; Program Improvement; Resource Allocation; School Districts; Second Language Learning; Second Language Programs; State Policy; Teacher Salaries; dept.grad

Cognition in human computer interaction: Toward measures of usability - Kim, C.S. (International Conference on Electrical, Computer, and Energy Technologies, ICECET 2024, 2024)
This study developed a framework for predicting usability factors through an understanding of how cognitive traits relate to human interaction with a computer system. Specifically, this study examined the relationship of field-independence, spatial visualization, logical reasoning, and integrative reasoning to interaction process and outcome. The research hypothesis was tested through correlation to determine the relationships among variables. As a post hoc analysis, multiple regression analysis was used to examine the predictive power of four cognitive variables on interaction outcome. The results of the study emphasize the importance of considering cognitive variables as important predictors to human interaction process and outcome. © 2024 IEEE.
Keywords: HCI; Human factor; Interaction Design; Ux; cognition; dept.csc; usability; user interaction

Love, support and structural holes: Maori ̄ whanau ̄ carer experiences in collective family care systems - Simpson, M.L.; McAllum, K.; Fox, S.; Unson, C.; Hancock, T.O.; Carlson, A. (Ageing and Society, 2024)
As the population of Aotearoa New Zealand ages, informal family carers will play an increasingly important role in caring for older adults at home. Multi-generational living arrangements are a growing trend, particularly among Māori communities, where caring for older relatives within the family home is widespread. This article uses in-depth, semi-structured interviews with Māori whānau (extended family members) caring for kaumātua (older family members) at home to explore how carers experienced care coordination in the broader care collective. The findings centred on three interconnected factors that described the collective organisation of care: (1) whānau care as normal; (2) whānau care as collective coordination; and (3) whānau carer knowledge and needs as unseen. The findings show that although whānau care of kaumātua is highly valued, ‘structural holes’ within care systems contribute to challenges in care coordination. Despite extensive whānau support for kaumātua, primary carers often felt that their knowledge, preferences and self-care needs remained unseen and not translatable to those outside the everyday care situation. Rather than assuming an artificial binary difference between ‘collective’ and ‘individually oriented’ care contexts and cultures, analysing the cultural norms surrounding whānau care-giving confirms that collective care system members face similar and different challenges to carers with smaller caring capacities. © The Author(s), 2024.
Keywords: care collectives; care networks; dept.pch; family care; older Maori; older people; peer-reviewed

Strangeness production in sNN = 3 GeV Au+Au collisions at RHIC - STAR Collaboration (Journal of High Energy Physics, 2024)
We report multi-differential measurements of strange hadron production ranging from mid- to target-rapidity in Au+Au collisions at a center-of-momentum energy per nucleon pair of sNN = 3 GeV with the STAR experiment at RHIC. KS0 meson and Λ hyperon yields are measured via their weak decay channels. Collision centrality and rapidity dependences of the transverse momentum spectra and particle ratios are presented. Particle mass and centrality dependence of the average transverse momenta of Λ and KS0 are compared with other strange particles, providing evidence of the development of hadronic rescattering in such collisions. The 4π yields of each of these strange hadrons show a consistent centrality dependence. Discussions on radial flow, the strange hadron production mechanism, and properties of the medium created in such collisions are presented together with results from hadronic transport and thermal model calculations. © The Author(s) 2024.
Keywords: Fixed Target Experiments; Relativistic Heavy Ion Physics; dept.phy; peer-reviewed

Step up your game: integrating modern games in the classroom - Martinez, K. (Nurse Educator, 2024)
Keywords: dept.nur; peer-reviewed

Community and identity in Castilian histories of the fifteenth century - Kern, Darcy (Sharq al-Andalus, 2021)
La historia fue tan importante para la construcción de la identidad comunitaria y la legitimidad política en el siglo XV como lo es hoy, y en los reinos de España igualmente tenso. Los cronistas y biógrafos católicos castellanos parecen inseguros del estado preciso de los moros en Iberia. Todos estaban de acuerdo con el control político o el señorío de los cristianos castellanos, pero pocos tenían una idea clara de las implicaciones de ese señorío para los moros. ¿Debería permitirse a los moros permanecer como parte de la comunidad una vez que un monarca cristiano castellano tomara el control de su ciudad, región o reino, o no había posibilidad de que pertenecieran? Rodrigo Sánchez de Arévalo (1404-1470), Fernán Pérez de Guzmán (c. 1377-c. 1460), Alonso Fernández de Palencia (1423-1492), Hernando de Pulgar (1436-c. 1492), y Mosén Diego de Valera (1412-1488) dieron diferentes respuestas. Todos coincidieron en que la comunidad castellano-leonesa existía antes de al-Andalus y, por lo tanto, era la comunidad política legítima de Hispania. La mayoría de ellos aceptaron la presencia de Granada de facto pero no de jure. Sin embargo, Arévalo, Valera y Pulgar sugieren la posibilidad de una comunidad política musulmana de jure bajo dominio castellano; Palencia y Guzmán no.
Keywords: dept.his

50 years later: Who is teaching adapted physical education? - Laughlin, Michael (Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 2024)
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 ensured millions of American students had a legal right to free and appropriate physical education. Yet, there is confusion about who delivers appropriate adapted physical education (APE). This article reflects on the half century of legally defined APE and a country’s response to preparing teachers for the disability-related demands of the job. A critical perspective is offered with the hope of improving physical educational outcomes for students with disabilities.
Keywords: dept.hms; peer-reviewed

Machine learning predictive models to guide prevention and intervention allocation for anxiety and depressive disorders among college students - Zhai, Yusen; Zhang, Yixin; Chu, Zhicong; Geng, Baocheng; Almaawali, Mahmood; Fulmer, Russell; Lin, Yung-Wei Dennis; Xu, Zhaopu; Daniels, Aubrey D.; Liu, Yanhong; Chen, Qu; Du, Xue (Journal of Counseling & Development, 2024)
College student mental health has been a critical concern for professional counselors. Anxiety and depressive disorders have become increasingly prevalent over the past decade. Utilizing machine learning, a subset of artificial intelligence (AI), we developed predictive models (i.e., eXtreme Gradient Boosting [XGBoost], Random Forest, Decision Tree, and Logistic Regression) to identify US college students at heightened risk of diagnosable anxiety and depressive disorders. The dataset included 61,619 students from 133 US higher education institutions and was partitioned into a 90:10 ratio for training and testing the models. We employed hyperparameter tuning and cross-validation to optimize model performance and examined multiple measures of predictive performance (e.g., area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC], accuracy, sensitivity). Results revealed strong discriminative power in our machine learning predictive models with AUC of 0.74 and 0.77, indicating current financial situation, sense of belonging on campus, disability status, and age as the top predictors of anxiety and depressive disorders. This study provides a practical tool for professional counselors to proactively identify students for anxiety and depressive disorders before these conditions escalate. Application of machine learning in counseling research provides data-driven insights that help enhance the understanding of mental health determinants, guide prevention and intervention strategies, and promote the well-being of diverse student populations through counseling.
Keywords: anxiety; depression; dept.csp; machine learning; peer-reviewed; predictive model; prevention and early intervention

The interplay of power, incentives, academic freedom, and gender equity - Wieland, Alice; Jansen, Amy (Journal of Academic Freedom, 2024)
Alice Wieland and Amy Jansen explore the intersection of how power, adverse incentives, and gender bias combine to perpetuate gender inequity in higher education.
Keywords: dept.lib; dept.mgt

Editorial: Further work on educational leadership and social justice - Arafeh, Sousan (Journal of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, 2020)
Keywords: dept.edl; peer-reviewed; ⛔ No DOI found

The adaptive challenge of social justice in educational leadership - Arafeh, Sousan (Journal of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, 2020)
Keywords: dept.edl; peer-reviewed; ⛔ No DOI found

Urban school district financing policy brief - Snowden, Sir (Journal of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, 2020)
Keywords: dept.edl

Overview of the policy cycle in educational leadership - Haynes, Norris M (Journal of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, 2020)
Keywords: dept.edl

Educational leadership policy briefs: Perspectives of doctoral students - Haynes, Norris M; Yavuz, Olcay (Journal of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, 2020)
Keywords: dept.edl

Editorial (Fall 2020) - Yavuz, Olcay (Journal of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, 2020)
Keywords: dept.edl

Editorial Spring 2021: JELPS EYFOR Special Issue - Alkan, Muzaffer; Yavuz,, Olcay (Journal of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, 2021)
Keywords: dept.edl

Editorial (Spring 2021) - Yavuz, Olcay (Journal of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, 2021)
Keywords: dept.edl

Urban high school faculty members speak up: what they need from a school counseling program from school counselors and principals - Graf, Eric; Yavuz, Olcay (Journal of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, 2023)
There is a growing emphasis to improve every student's academic, social-emotional, and career and college development as schools strive to design and deliver comprehensive counseling programs that support students' development in these areas. The purpose of this study is to explore a large urban high school teachers' counselors and admins' perspectives on improving a high-poverty urban school's counseling services to extend school leaders' and counselors' knowledge about delivering effective school counseling programs as, ultimately, success lies with an effective principal and school counselor partnership. Particularly, data from our study will allow urban school principals and school counselors to identify the high and low program needs of urban students to become college, career, and life ready. The next set of comparisons was conducted for social-emotional needs. Like academic development needs, the entire ANOVA summary tables showed non-significant differences. The findings indicated that some responses varied significantly across (1) special education faculty, (2) regular classroom teachers and (3) school counselors in terms of rating of students' counseling needs. School leaders and school counselors can apply the findings of this study to create systemic and comprehensive student services in their schools. Particularly, school leaders and counselors can apply the results in decision-making, discussions, and time allocation in prevention/education versus reactive/responsive academic and counseling services.
Keywords: Administrator Attitudes; Administrator Role; Career Readiness; College Readiness; Connecticut; Counselor Attitudes; Counselor Role; Educational Needs; High School Teachers; Poverty; Principals; School Counseling; School Counselors; Social Emotional Learning; Student Needs; Teacher Attitudes; Urban Schools; dept.edl

Do schools have hindrance of quality to promote innovativeness? Examining the role of empowering leadership and stakeholder involvement - Birasnav, M.; Dahiya, Rinki; Bharti, Teena (International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 2024)
Purpose Schools provide high priorities to offer innovative curricular and cocurricular programs, and leaders make necessary efforts to promote enablers and overcome disablers for sustaining their innovativeness. With the background of quality management and stakeholder theories, the present study examines the interplay of hindrances to quality between empowering leadership, stakeholder involvement and organizational innovativeness. Design/methodology/approach Responses of 157 American school principals collected through the Teaching and Learning International Survey 2018 by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development were used and analyzed to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings Results show that empowering leadership behaviors of school principals support promoting organizational innovativeness, and involvement of stakeholders with the school activities also promotes organizational innovativeness. Interestingly, when American schools faced a high level of hindrance to providing quality education to their students, principals’ high level of empowering leadership behaviors promoted organizational innovativeness. Originality/value This is the first time in the literature that the interplay between empowering leadership, stakeholder involvement and hindrance of quality education has been examined to promote organizational innovativeness.
Keywords: Empowering leadership; Hindrance of quality education; Organizational innovativeness; Quality management; Stakeholder involvement; dept.mgt; peer-reviewed

First language loss effect on bilingual autobiographical memory: examining memory phenomenology - Sorokina, A.N. (Applied Linguistics Review, 2024)
In the context of globalization and migration, individuals may experience language loss or first language (L1) attrition. While migrant language loss is well documented and researched, its impact on bilingual autobiographical memory remains underexplored. Existing research indicates that bilingual speakers encode memories in either their L1 or second language (L2), depending on the language context of the event. Language’s pivotal role in autobiographical memory has also been confirmed by bilingual psychotherapy research. This paper investigates whether L1 attrition can impair memories encoded in that language. Focusing on Russian-English speakers with various degrees of L1 attrition, this study examines the phenomenological characteristics of memories (vividness, emotional valence, accessibility, significance, and confidence in the event). Results from partial correlation and linear regression analyses demonstrated that language loss significantly compromises vividness and confidence, underscoring language’s integral function in maintaining bilingual autobiographical memory. © 2024 De Gruyter Mouton. All rights reserved.
Keywords: L1 attrition; bilingual autobiographical memory; dept.wll; memory phenomenology; peer-reviewed

JWST/NIRCam 4–5 μm Imaging of the Giant Planet AF Lep b - Franson, Kyle; Balmer, William O.; Bowler, Brendan P.; Pueyo, Laurent; Zhou, Yifan; Rickman, Emily; Zhang, Zhoujian; Mukherjee, Sagnick; Pearce, Tim D.; Gagliuffi, Daniella C. Bardalez; Biddle, Lauren I.; Brandt, Timothy D.; et al. (The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 2024)
With a dynamical mass of 3 M Jup, the recently discovered giant planet AF Lep b is the lowest-mass imaged planet with a direct mass measurement. Its youth and spectral type near the L/T transition make it a promising target to study the impact of clouds and atmospheric chemistry at low surface gravities. In this work, we present JWST/NIRCam imaging of AF Lep b. Across two epochs, we detect AF Lep b in F444W (4.4 μm) with signal-to-noise ratios of 9.6 and 8.7, respectively. At the planet’s separation of 320 mas during the observations, the coronagraphic throughput is ≈7%, demonstrating that NIRCam’s excellent sensitivity persists down to small separations. The F444W photometry of AF Lep b affirms the presence of disequilibrium carbon chemistry and enhanced atmospheric metallicity. These observations also place deep limits on wider-separation planets in the system, ruling out 1.1 M Jup planets beyond 15.6 au (0.″58), 1.1 M Sat planets beyond 27 au (1″), and 2.8 M Nep planets beyond 67 au (2.″5). We also present new Keck/NIRC2 imaging of AF Lep b; combining this with the two epochs of F444W photometry and previous Keck photometry provides limits on the long-term 3–5 μm variability of AF Lep b on timescales of months to years. AF Lep b is the closest-separation planet imaged with JWST to date, demonstrating that planets can be recovered well inside the nominal (50% throughput) NIRCam coronagraph inner working angle.
Keywords: dept.phy

Nurturing time in nature: Lessons from waldkindergarten - Ferraro, M. (Educational Research and the Question(s) of Time, 2024)
Nature-based education has been increasingly recognized as a socially responsible approach to nurture curiosities in the hands, heads, and hearts of children. Research in the last ten years suggests that children who attend forest preschools, as opposed to traditional preschools, demonstrate growth in all domains of early childhood development. Domains include cognitive growth, executive functioning, physical development, linguistic proficiency, and socio-emotional well-being. In addition to cultivating these areas two Waldkindergarten or forest schools, studied in this chapter nourish as additional component—connectedness, compassion, and care for nature. There has been a steady increase in nature-based preschool programs as alternative approaches to traditional, indoor classrooms. With the expansion of programs, globally, and heightened awareness around environmental issues in the Anthropocene, nature-based education is increasingly recognized for cultivating socially responsible approaches that yield sustainable practices. This chapter reports on an exploratory study that synthesized two fieldwork experiences in German Wald-kindergarten, one in the north near Denmark and one in south, near the foothills of the Alps. Through a qualitative, thematic analysis of fieldnotes of direct and partici-pant observation, interviews with facilitators and analysis of student-created artifacts, this chapter explores how time in nature can be reconceived as a space to cultivate a connectedness to nature that fosters a commitment to conservation and sustain-ability. Primary goals of this research are to identify practices that center children learning with nature and, subsequently, to reconceptualize forest school practices in contexts outside of northern Europe. This research interrogates ways in which forest schools serve as spaces to engage in work around environmental stewardship while problematizing the accessibility of nature-based programs. Whilst reflecting upon lessons from Waldkindergarten, this chapter explores how nature-based Education provides opportunities towards a sustainable future for cultivating children’s curiosities in timeless traditions. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024.
Keywords: Connectedness to nature; Environmentally sustainable pedagogy; Forest schools; Nature preschool; Nature-based education; Waldkindergarten; dept.cur; peer-reviewed

Insomnia symptoms and increased risk of all-cause mortality by age and sex - Sawadogo, W.; Adera, T. (Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 2024)
Study Objectives: Prior research suggests that insomnia may increase the risk of death. However, the potential influence of age and sex is unclear. This study aimed to investigate the association of insomnia symptoms with all-cause mortality by age and sex. Methods: This prospective cohort was drawn from the Health and Retirement Study, a survey of Americans older than 50 years and their spouses of any age from 2002–2018. Insomnia symptom scores were based on difficulties initiating sleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, waking up too early, and nonrestorative sleep. Cox proportional-hazards regression models were employed to investigate the association between insomnia symptoms and all-cause mortality stratified by age and sex. Results: A total of 33,004 participants were included with a mean age of 61.7 years and 56.8% females. Over a mean follow-up of 8.4 years, 8,935 (27.1%) deaths were recorded. After adjusting for confounding, males with insomnia symptom scores ranging from 5–8 had a 71% increased risk of death (hazard ratio = 1.71; 95% confidence interval: 1.27, 2.30) compared with their counterparts without insomnia symptoms. Similarly, males aged ≥ 60 years and females aged < 60 years with insomnia symptoms ranging from 5–8 had an increased risk of death compared with their counterparts without insomnia symptoms (hazard ratio = 1.15; 95% confidence interval: 1.02, 1.31 and hazard ratio = 1.38; 95% confidence interval: 1.00, 1.90, respectively). However, there was no increased risk of death for females aged ≥ 60 years (hazard ratio = 0.94; 95% confidence interval: 0.84, 1.06). Conclusions: These findings suggest that insomnia symptoms may serve as predictors of low life expectancy. © 2024 American Academy of Sleep Medicine. All rights reserved.
Keywords: age difference; all-cause mortality; dept.pch; insomnia symptoms; peer-reviewed; sex difference

Product market competition and disclosure deficiencies in different mandatory filing types: Evidence from SEC comment letters - Ahn, J.H.; Chung, H. (Research in International Business and Finance, 2025)
Using firms’ receipt of SEC comment letters, this study investigates their selection of mandatory filing types when producing deficient disclosures in response to the product market competition. Empirical evidence reveals a positive association between two firm-level measures of product market competition and a firm's likelihood of receiving comment letters for non-10-K filings. These patterns are particularly pronounced when firms face a higher likelihood of new market entrants or operate as industry followers. Additionally, firms receiving comment letters for non-10-K filings experience increased sales and market share in the subsequent year. Overall, these findings suggest that firms strategically make deficient disclosures in non-10-K filings to minimize regulatory costs. © 2024 Elsevier B.V.
Keywords: Disclosure deficiency; Mandatory disclosure; Product market competition; Proprietary cost; SEC comment letters; dept.acc; peer-reviewed

Students with intellectual disabilities - Gerber, B.L. (Reaching and Teaching Students with Special Needs Through Art, 2024)
This chapter provides information about the changing definition and views of intellectual disabilities that impact both classroom placement and education programs. It describes learning characteristics of student with intellectual disabilities that are quite "normal" and predictable for them, and task analysis, a most effective special education teaching approach that demonstrates how to address those learning characteristics. © 2025 National Art Education Association. All rights reserved.
Keywords: dept.sed

Troubleshooting the art lesson - Gerber, B.L. (Reaching and Teaching Students with Special Needs Through Art, 2024)
Troubleshooting is a process designed to help teachers choose lessons, analyze their language and procedures, and organize classroom space and time. When an art lesson is planned, a logical expectation is that the lesson will go pretty much as written. Troubleshooting takes the opposite approach. It expects that things will go wrong and tries to prevent or minimize potential problems. "Murphy's Law" leads us to expect that whatever can go wrong will go wrong. The troubleshooting expectation that things will go wrong is the "Murphy's Law" of lesson planning. © 2025 National Art Education Association. All rights reserved.
Keywords: dept.sed

Reaching and teaching students with autism spectrum disorder - Eren, R.B.; Loesl, S.D.; Abraham-Braff, L.; Rudne, M.R. (Reaching and Teaching Students with Special Needs Through Art, 2024)
It is important to remember that autism spectrum disorder is a spectrum disorder that represents many individuals who have a wide and disparate range of challenges and strengths. There is an old adage that says, "If you have met one person with autism, then you have met one person with autism," for no two individuals on the spectrum will be exactly alike and present with the same strengths and challenges. This wide spectrum, or great variability within individuals on the spectrum, can be seen when we look at the wide range of outcomes for adults with ASD. Some individuals on the spectrum will be quite challenged throughout their lives and require supportive settings and many services, whereas others on the spectrum will require moderate supports during their lifetime. © 2025 National Art Education Association. All rights reserved.
Keywords: dept.sed

Art education and special education-Our journey together - Gerber, B.L.; Dorff, J.B.; Horoschak, L.J. (Reaching and Teaching Students with Special Needs Through Art, 2024)
This chapter brings the perspectives of three of SNAE's founding members who are also past presidents of both SNAE and DARTS. Beverly Levett Gerber, who combines the fields of special education and art education, begins our journey and describes our need to bridge professional differences in training and languages. She closes the chapter with a story of art educators and special educators learning together. Juliann B. Dorff describes our travels-the efforts, barriers, accomplishments, and the persistence needed to overcome roadblocks. Lynne J. Horoschak takes our journey in a new direction and describes a Saturday morning program that grew into a master's program focused on students with disabilities. © 2025 National Art Education Association. All rights reserved.
Keywords: dept.sed

Reaching and teaching students with special needs through art - Gerber, B.L.; Guay, D.M.; Burnette, J. (Reaching and Teaching Students with Special Needs Through Art, 2024)
This second edition of Reaching and Teaching Students with Special Needs Through Art is written for art educators, special educators, and those who value the arts for students with special needs. It builds on teachers' positive responses to the first edition, and now combines over 700 years of the educational experience of arts and special educators who share their art lessons, behavior management strategies, and classroom stories. The revised second edition provides updated chapters addressing students with emotional/behavioral disabilities, learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities, physical disabilities, and visual and hearing impairments. The newly revised second edition includes chapters on students with autism spectrum disorder, preschool students, and students experiencing trauma. All chapters have been updated to include current definitions and language, recommended teaching strategies, art lesson adaptations, behavior management strategies, and references to related chapters. Follow-up activities are provided for further insights into each group of students. A new summary chapter connects how the authors' collaborations resulted in changes to two professional organizations. Since the first edition, many of the featured authors established the new Division of Visual and Performing Arts Education (DARTS) at the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and earlier, formed a new National Art Education Association (NAEA) Interest Group-Special Needs in Art Education (SNAE), now Arts in Special Education (ASE). This edition is ideal for preservice arts methods courses and education courses on accessibility and inclusion at the undergraduate and graduate levels. It continues to offer current yet proven best practices for reaching and teaching this ever-important population of students through the arts. © 2025 National Art Education Association. All rights reserved.
Keywords: dept.sed

Ritual performance in early Chinese thought: A dramaturgical perspective - Radice, T. (Ritual Performance in Early Chinese Thought: A Dramaturgical Perspective, 2024)
Examining early Chinese ritual discourse during the Warring States and early Western Han Periods, this book reveals how performance became a fundamental feature of ritual and politics in early China. Through a dramaturgical lens, Thomas Radice explores the extent to which performer/spectator relationships influenced all aspects of early Chinese religious, ethical, and political discourse. Arguing that the Confucians conceived ritual as primarily a dramaturgical matter, this book demonstrates not only that theatricality was necessary for expression and deception in a community of spectators, but also how a theatrical 'presence' ultimately became essential to all forms of public life in early China. Thomas Radice illuminates previously unexplored connections between early Chinese texts, aesthetics, and traditions. © Thomas Radice, 2025. All rights reserved.
Keywords: dept.his

Curtains Up - Utilizing Assistive Technology for Inclusive Theater Experiences - Tucker, Lauren; Burnell, Nikki; Dalton, Morgan; Donenfeld, Marisa; Vadala, Catherine (Journal of the Arts and Special Education, 2024)
Keywords: dept.sed

Territorial and occupancy behavior of black sea bass on oyster aquaculture gear and boulder habitat - Armbruster, A.D.; Mercaldo-Allen, R.; Rose, J.M.; Seda, K.; Clark, P.; Phillips, G.; Redman, D.; Conroy, C.W. (Frontiers in Marine Science, 2024)
Observations of fish behavior can provide insights into habitat preferences and use. Black sea bass, Centropristis striata, are a territorial temperate reef finfish species known for their high commercial and recreational value and association with structured habitat. We used underwater action cameras to record video of black sea bass to assess territorial (agonistic, ambush, displacement) and occupancy (station-keeping) behaviors on shelf and bag style oyster aquaculture cages at a shellfish farm, and on boulders at a natural rock reef near Milford, Connecticut in Long Island Sound, Northwest Atlantic. Black sea bass at a variety of life stages were highly associated with cages, including young-of-the-year, and age 1+ fish. The high abundance of black sea bass observed on cages relative to boulders suggests this species has an affinity for the vertical structure created by aquaculture gear. When behaviors were normalized to the total fish sightings, black sea bass showed no significant difference in frequency of behaviors between habitats, indicating that per-fish rates of behavior were similar on cages and boulders. Demonstration of territorial and occupancy behaviors by black sea bass on, and around cages suggests that aquaculture gear provides structured habitat and ecosystem services for this species similar to natural reefs.These results suggest that essential fish habitat descriptions of manmade structures used by black sea bass could be broadened to include aquaculture gear. Our study provides novel information on behavioral interactions of black sea bass with oyster cages that may support aquaculture permitting and consultation processes. Copyright © 2024 Armbruster, Mercaldo-Allen, Rose, Seda, Clark, Phillips, Redman and Conroy.
Keywords: agonistic behavior; black sea bass; dept.ri; essential fish habitat; occupancy behavior; oyster aquaculture cages; peer-reviewed; rock reef

Identifying which clients will cancel their insurance policy machine learning methods - Narain, K.; Pang, Y. (Proceedings - 2024 IEEE 48th Annual Computers, Software, and Applications Conference, COMPSAC 2024, 2024)
Using the 2013 data set provided by Insurance Inc., logistic regression and linear discriminant analysis models were created along with data visualizations to find out which factors recorded in the data set and the state of those factors causes a client to cancel their policy. The factors that impact whether a client will cancel are those that directly pertain to the policy. For example, the coverage type and the premium the client is paying for the policy impacts the probability the client will cancel their policy. Factors that go into forming the policy and have a relationship between one another such as age and premium, also impact the probability that a client will cancel their policy. The credit status of a client, whether it is low, medium, or high, and the type of coverage they have, has the most impact on a client's inevitability to cancel. If a client's credit score is classified as low, then that client is has a high probability of cancelling their policy according to the LDA (Linear Discriminant Analysis) classifier and logistic regression model. Likewise, if a client has coverage type B, the probability that they will cancel their policy is higher. The sales channel used to sell a client a policy also impacts the probability they will cancel. According to the LDA classifier and the logistic regression model, if a client was sold a policy over the phone, they are more likely to cancel. © 2024 IEEE.
Keywords: Gaussian Distribution; Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) Classifier; Logistic Regression; Naive Bayes Classifier; dept.mat

Associations between weight perception and weight status with perceptions of the body positivity movement - Rupp, K.; McCoy, S.M. (American Journal of Health Promotion, 2024)
Purpose: To explore the relationships between weight status, weight perceptions, and perceptions of the body positivity movement on social media. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Online through the Qualtrics platform. Subjects: Participants (N = 521; mean 26.6 ± 5.1 years) were recruited using Qualtrics online panels. Measures: The study survey included questions about participant demographics, weight status, and weight perception. Subjects rated 6 study-specific viewpoint questions about the body positivity movement on a 5pt Likert scale. Analysis: Multinomial logistic regression models adjusted for relevant confounders assessed the associations between objective weight status, perceived weight status, and perceptions of the body positivity movement. Results: Objective weight status was not associated with perceptions of the body positivity movement. Perceptions of weight status were associated with perceptions of the body positivity movement in young women, with those that perceived themselves as overweight more likely (OR = 1.67, P < 0.05) to disagree with the statement that “the body positivity makes people less likely to lose weight.”. However, young women that perceived themselves as having a lower weight status were less likely (OR = 0.54, P < 0.05) to agree with the statement that “the body positivity movement empowered women” as well as “being inclusive of people of all sizes” (OR = 0.56, P < 0.05). Conclusion: Weight perception, rather than objective weight status, may be a stronger predictor of weight bias and views of the body positivity movement. © The Author(s) 2024.
Keywords: body image; body positivity movement; dept.hms; obesity; peer-reviewed; weight perception

Association between exercise program participation and hospitalization of older adults - Wright, D.S.; Zhou, B.; Wright, C.X.; Axtell, R.S.; Mangi, A.; Safdar, B. (American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2024)
Introduction: Government and insurance sponsored exercise programs have demonstrated decreased hospitalizations, but it is unclear if this is the case for self-referred programs. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study from 2013 to 2020, older adults who participated for at least three months at a community-based exercise center (participants) were compared with those who did not (nonparticipants). Each completed a baseline physical assessment and periodic reassessments thereafter. These data were paired with regional hospital data and a national mortality database. Statistical analysis and modeling were performed from 2020 to 2023. Survival to all-cause hospitalization was assessed with a priori subgroup comparison by gender and cox proportional hazard modeling by age, gender, and comorbidities. Results: The cohort included 718 adults, mean age 69.5 years (SD 8.4), with 411 (57.2%) participants and 307 nonparticipants. Mean follow-up was 26.7 months. Participants had similar baseline measures of fitness (p>0.05) but were more likely to be retired and less likely to have diabetes or prior stroke than nonparticipants. Sustained participation was associated with a reduced rate of all-cause hospitalization (9.0% vs. 12.7%, p=0.02), even when adjusted (HR 0.54; 95% CI 0.34, 0.87, p=0.01). This decrease was noted only in women (p=0.03) but not in men (p=0.49), gender was nonsignificant after adjustment for comorbidities (p=0.15). Conclusions: Exercise program participation was independently associated with decreased risk of all-cause hospitalization, with possible differential effects by gender. Further randomized trials of the benefits of personalized exercise programs are warranted to assess sex- and gender-specific effects. © 2024 Elsevier Inc.
Keywords: dept.hms; peer-reviewed

Modeling Hot Rolling Process Forces Using Bio-Inspired Metaheuristic Search Algorithm - Sheta, A.; Braik, M.; Oznergiz, E.; Elashmawi, W.H.; Rausch, P.; Othman, E.S. (2nd International Conference of Intelligent Methods, Systems and Applications, IMSA 2024, 2024)
This research introduces the application of an innovative bio-inspired metaheuristic technique, termed the Crow Search Algorithm (CSA), to model a crucial industrial process - hot rolling manufacturing. Inspired by the foraging patterns of crows, the CSA algorithm has demonstrated its prowess in solving diverse optimization challenges. In the context of this study, the CSA algorithm is harnessed to fine-tune the parameters of a simulation model focused on predicting the force exerted during a hot rolling procedure. The proposed model takes into consideration a range of influential factors, including the initial temperature (Ti), width (Ws), carbon equivalent (Ce), gauge (hi), draft (i), and roll diameter (R). The findings underscore the CSA's capability to deliver an exceptional modeling performance characterized by swift convergence and high solution quality. By getting along very well with the proposed model with the CSA algorithm, a robust and efficient avenue to optimize the hot rolling process emerges, with the potential for expansion into other manufacturing domains. The computational and simulation results demonstrated that the proposed approach-based CSA outperformed different meta-heuristic search algorithms, such as the Salp Swarm Algorithm (SSA), Dandelion Optimizer (DO), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Gray Wolf Optimizer (GWO), and Moth-Flame Optimization (MFO), in all test cases. The CSA has achieved the highest coefficient of determination (R2), equal to 0.97244, and the lowest mean squared error (MSE), equal to 1904.97, compared to its opponent algorithms. © 2024 IEEE.
Keywords: Crow Search Algorithm; Hot Rolling Process; Meta-heuristic search algorithms; dept.csc

Perspectives from an in-service teacher UDL action research project - Tucker, L. (Cases on Effective Universal Design for Learning Implementation Across Schools, 2024)
Including universal design for learning in graduate programs for in-service teachers is crucial to increasing the application of the framework in practice. This chapter will introduce an action research assignment within an American UDL graduate course and its impact on teacher practice and student learning. Eight case studies across disciplines and levels will be shared. During this process, teachers identified a classroom challenge, developed a UDL intervention, analyzed student data, and shared implications. In-service teacher reflections will be shared on the continued use of a UDL approach beyond their course work and its impact on their teaching practice. The chapter will begin with an introduction to the context of the implementation, investigation questions, methodology, case study presentation, discussion, and conclusion. © 2024, IGI Global.
Keywords: dept.sed

Measurements of charged-particle multiplicity dependence of higher-order net-proton cumulants in p + p collisions at s=200 GeV from STAR at RHIC - STAR Collaboration (Physics Letters, Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics, 2024)
We report on the charged-particle multiplicity dependence of net-proton cumulant ratios up to sixth order from s=200 GeV p+p collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The measured ratios C4/C2, C5/C1, and C6/C2 decrease with increased charged-particle multiplicity and rapidity acceptance. Neither the Skellam baselines nor PYTHIA8 calculations account for the observed multiplicity dependence. In addition, the ratios C5/C1 and C6/C2 approach negative values in the highest-multiplicity events, which implies that thermalized QCD matter may be formed in p+p collisions. © 2024 The Author(s)
Keywords: Crossover; Event-by-event fluctuation; Higher-order cumulant; QCD phase diagram; dept.phy; peer-reviewed

The effect of gender on post-examination confidence in chemistry courses - Fana Mejia, M.; Murray, B.; Webb, J.A.; Karatjas, A.G. (Journal of College Science Teaching, 2024)
Interest in the gender gap in the physical sciences has been ongoing for a number of years. This study aimed to explore differences in gender based on self-perception. The use of a post-examination survey was used to examine the role of gender in grade perception in chemistry courses over a several-year period. This included courses for non-science majors, health science majors, and traditional chemistry courses for science majors. Self-reported data was collected after the completion of examinations and analyzed to explore the connection between gender and the student’s postdiction (a prediction after the completion of the examination) of their examination score as it related to the Kruger-Dunning effect. While male and female students followed the same general patterns, it was found that for most students, male students tended to predict higher scores than female students while seeing little difference in actual performance. The lowest performing students (those scoring less than 50% on examinations) showed little difference in the accuracy of their postdictions based on gender. © 2024 National Science Teaching Association.
Keywords: Chemistry; Exam preparation; Exams; Gender; Self-perception; dept.che; peer-reviewed

Educational redlining: Bridging historical contexts to contemporary practice - Rutledge, K.E; Robinson-Morris, D.W. (Resisting Divide-and-Conquer Strategies in Education: Pathways and Possibilities, 2024)
Resisting Divide-and-Conquer Strategies in Education: Pathways and Possibilities examines the ways in which divide-and-conquer strategies operate in the American public education system. In U.S. education, these mechanisms are endemic and enduring, if not always evident. Coordinated, strategic, well-funded, politically-viable campaigns continue to stoke fear, othering, villainization, and dehumanization of minoritized groups, pushing false and problematic narratives that inhibit progress toward social justice. Weaponizing hegemony and leveraging misinformation, reactionary agents and institutions seek to suppress truth, block access to democratic participation, and dismantle education and other sites of emancipatory possibility through the strength of divide-and-conquer mechanisms, pitting relatively disempowered groups against one another to preserve the dominant social order. Readers of this book will encounter conceptual and critical interrogations of divide and conquer. The text will help facilitate inquiry and engagement into how divide and conquer operates and how it can be resisted. It looks at the history of the phenomenon, as well as its current state, especially as it relates to education. What insights and lessons might we learn from a focused examination of divide and conquer, and what strategies of resistance are both possible and necessary for challenging it? This text is designed for undergraduate and graduate classrooms in education and social sciences. Part I, Ideology and Sociopolitical Contexts, dissects how divide-and-conquer mechanisms operate ideologically and sociopolitically. Part II, Policies and Practices, focuses on how divide-and-conquer mechanisms shape exclusionary U.S. educational policies and practices. Part III, Resistance and Liberation, documents efforts of liberatory communicative, curricular, and pedagogical possibilities. Each chapter concludes with a set of critical questions for reflection and engagement.Perfect for courses such as: Foundations of Education; Schools and Society; Schooling in America; History of Education; Philosophy of Education; Sociology of Education; Social Studies; Critical Theory in Education
Keywords: dept.dei

Teaching Note—Antioppressive Pedagogy in Action: The Undergraduate Research Methods Course - Smoyer, A.B.; D’Angelo, K. (Journal of Social Work Education, 2024)
The project of engaging undergraduates in research methods courses is an outstanding challenge for social work educators. Anxiety about the subject is common, for both students and instructors. Further, students’ wariness may reflect historical trauma and their knowledge about the ways in which research has been used to oppress people of color; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual or ally, and other sexual and gender minorities communities; and other marginalized populations. This teaching note offers reflections and experiences about developing an undergraduate social work research methods course that uses antioppressive pedagogies to create student-centered learning with experiential team-based activities and ongoing critique about the role of power and privilege in research. Specific teaching resources and strategies are shared. © 2024 Council on Social Work Education.
Keywords: dept.swk

Physical activity and bullying in adolescents with overweight and obesity - McCoy, S.M.; Rupp, K. (International Journal of Bullying Prevention, 2024)
Background: The relationship between physical activity (PA) and bullying behaviors is unclear among adolescents with overweight/obesity (OW/OB). The current study examined the likelihood of engaging in bullying behaviors by differing physical activity behaviors in adolescents with OW/OB. Method: Analyses included 9114 adolescents with OW/OB, ages 10–17 years, from the combined 2018–2019 National Survey of Children’s Health. Adolescents were grouped by PA level (0 days, 1–3 days, 4–6 days, every day); outcome variables included bullying behaviors (perpetrator, victim, both, or neither), sport participation, behavioral conduct problems, depression, difficulty making new friends, and excessive arguing. Separate adjusted logistic regression models assessed the odds of each outcome comparing differing PA levels. Results: Compared to their inactive peers, adolescents with OW/OB that engaged in at least 1 day of PA were significantly less likely to be victims of bullying (OR = 0.80; 95% CI (0.68, 0.93)) and to be both a bully perpetrator and victim (OR = 0.77; 95% CI (0.64, 0.94)). Participation in sports significantly increased the likelihood of being a bully perpetrator (OR = 1.50; 95% CI (1.06, 2.11)) and decreased the likelihood of being a bully victim (OR = 0.83; 95% CI (0.75, 0.92)) in adolescents with OW/OB. Additionally, adolescents with OW/OB that participated in PA were less likely to experience adverse psychosocial outcomes. Conclusions: Findings suggest PA participation (≥ 1 day/week) may reduce the likelihood of bully victimization and both (perpetration and victimization) and attenuate adverse psychosocial outcomes in adolescents with OW/OB. However, sport participation may increase bully perpetration while decreasing bully victimization in adolescents with overweight/obesity. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024.
Keywords: Adolescence; Bullying; Obesity; Physical activity; dept.hms; peer-reviewed

Predicting Surface Ozone Levels in Eastern Croatia: Leveraging Recurrent Fuzzy Neural Networks with Grasshopper Optimization Algorithm - Braik, M.; Sheta, A.; Kovač-Andrić, E.; Al-Hiary, H.; Aljahdali, S.; Elashmawi, W.H.; Awadallah, M.A.; Al-Betar, M.A. (Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 2024)
Urban air pollution, a combination of industry, traffic, forest burning, and agriculture pollutants, significantly impacts human health, plants, and economic growth. Ozone exposure can lead to mortality, heart attacks, and lung damage, necessitating the creation of complex environmental safety regulations by forecasting ozone concentrations and associated pollutants. This study proposes a hybrid method, RFNN-GOA, combining recurrent fuzzy neural network (RFNN) and grasshopper optimization algorithm (GOA) to estimate and forecast the daily ozone (O3) in specific urban areas, specifically Kopački Rit and Osijek city in Croatia, aiming to improve air quality, human health, and ecosystems. Due to the intricate structure of atmospheric particles, modeling of O3 likely poses the biggest challenge in air pollution today. The dataset used by the proposed RFNN-GOA model for the prediction of O3 concentrations in each explored area consists of the following air pollutants, NO, NO2, CO, SO2, O3, PM10, and PM2.5; and five meteorological elements, including temperature, relative humidity, wind direction, speed, and pressure. The RFNN-GOA method optimizes membership functions’ parameters and the rule premise, demonstrating robustness and reliability compared to other identifiers and indicating its superiority over competing methods. The RFNN-GOA method demonstrated superior accuracy in Osijek city and Kopački Rit area, with variance-accounted for (VAF) values of 91.135%, 83.676%, 87.807%, 79.673% compared to the RFNN method’s corresponding values of 85.682%, 80.687%, 80.808%, 74.202% in both training and testing phases, respectively. This reveals that RFNN-GOA increased the average VAF in Osijek city and Kopački Rit area by over 5% and 8%, respectively. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024.
Keywords: Auto-regressive integrated moving average; Grasshopper optimization algorithm; Multiple linear regression; Recurrent fuzzy neural network; dept.csc; peer-reviewed

Bibliography on Land-Locked States: Fourth Revised and Enlarged Edition - Glassner, M.I. (BIBLIOGRAPHY ON LAND-LOCKED STATES: Fourth Revised and Enlarged Edition, 2023)
Keywords: dept.egm

Astronomical PSF characterization using grammar evolution and symbolic regression - Sarmiento, R.; Baena-Galle, R.; de la Cruz Echeandía, M.; de la Puente, A.O.; Girard, T.M.; Casetti-Dinescu, D.; Cervantes-Rovira, A. (Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering, 2024)
Symbolic regression techniques are promising approaches to learning mathematical models that fit experimental data. One of the most powerful techniques for symbolic regression is Grammatical Evolution (GE). This evolutionary computation technique explores a space of candidate models that are ensured to be syntactically correct expressions built from a set of arbitrary building blocks and operators. In GE the syntax for these expressions is defined by a problem-specific formal grammar. Therefore, GE can produce an explainable solution (e.g. a formula), not a black-box model. The current contribution assesses the viability of GE for PSF characterization, using real datasets from HST/WFPC2. Our experiments show that our method is able to find the most likely candidate mathematical expression for the PSF shape, and can also model combinations of shapes taken from a predefined family of functions commonly used in astronomy (Gaussian and Moffat PSFs). These results support the hypothesis that the expressive power of GE can be used to tackle the problem of characterization of complex PSF functions, for example, as a necessary step in the prediction of intra-pixel position of stars. © 2024 SPIE.
Keywords: Grammatical evolution; Hubble Space Telescope; WFPC2; astrometry; dept.phy; point spread function; symbolic regression

Laminated pocket cards to teach clinical judgment - Prendergast, K.M.; D'Alessio, D.; Forte, P. (Nurse Educator, 2024)
Keywords: dept.nur; peer-reviewed

Observation of the antimatter hypernucleus H¯Λ¯4 - STAR Collaboration (Nature, 2024)
At the origin of the Universe, an asymmetry between the amount of created matter and antimatter led to the matter-dominated Universe as we know it today. The origins of this asymmetry remain unknown so far. High-energy nuclear collisions create conditions similar to the Universe microseconds after the Big Bang, with comparable amounts of matter and antimatter1–6. Much of the created antimatter escapes the rapidly expanding fireball without annihilating, making such collisions an effective experimental tool to create heavy antimatter nuclear objects and to study their properties7–14, hoping to shed some light on the existing questions on the asymmetry between matter and antimatter. Here we report the observation of the antimatter hypernucleus $${}_{\bar{Λ }}{}^{4}\bar{{\rm{H}}}$$, composed of a $$\bar{Λ }$$, an antiproton and two antineutrons. The discovery was made through its two-body decay after production in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions by the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider15,16. In total, 15.6 candidate $${}_{\bar{Λ }}{}^{4}\bar{{\rm{H}}}$$antimatter hypernuclei are obtained with an estimated background count of 6.4. The lifetimes of the antihypernuclei $${}_{\bar{Λ }}{}^{3}\bar{{\rm{H}}}$$and $${}_{\bar{Λ }}{}^{4}\bar{{\rm{H}}}$$are measured and compared with the lifetimes of their corresponding hypernuclei, testing the symmetry between matter and antimatter. Various production yield ratios among (anti)hypernuclei (hypernuclei and/or antihypernuclei) and (anti)nuclei (nuclei and/or antinuclei) are also measured and compared with theoretical model predictions, shedding light on their production mechanisms.
Keywords: Experimental nuclear physics; Experimental particle physics; dept.phy; peer-reviewed

Applying pharmacology concepts outside the classroom - Martinez, K. (Nurse Educator, 2024)
Keywords: dept.nur; peer-reviewed

One of these ads is not like the other: Viewer inability to differentiate issue ads from candidate ads - Forbus, R.; Marchant-Shapiro, T.; Singh, A.S. (International Journal of Interdisciplinary Civic and Political Studies, 2024)
For more than a decade, since the US Supreme Court ruled in Citizen’s United (2010), individuals and groups interested in the outcome of elections have increasingly donated to outside groups that avoid the restrictions imposed on candidates and traditional political action committees (PACs). As a result, total election spending more than doubled in the first five years and has continued to increase since then. Although American political advocacy groups refrain from formal electioneering, much of the increase in spending since Citizen’s United has been directed toward election campaigns under the guise of issue-advocacy ads. This raises the question of whether voters perceive a difference between candidate-sponsored ads and campaign-focused issue-advocacy ads. Unexamined is the impact that advertising by outside groups has on voters and whether voters are even aware of the sponsors of the ads they view. This study addresses whether voters can differentiate between ads sponsored by candidates or outside groups. Using an experimental design, we find that viewers cannot determine the sponsor of campaign ads, despite federal requirements for sponsor disclaimers. © 2024 Common Ground Research Networks. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Ad Differentiation; Ad Sponsorship; Campaign Ads; Issue-Advocacy Ads; Political Ad Disclaimers; Voter Perceptions; dept.mrk; dept.psc; peer-reviewed

Englishing Paolo Sarpi and gelding the Pope in England, 1606−1620 - Kern, Darcy (The Seventeenth Century, 2024)
An important reason for the success of the Venetian Paolo Sarpi’s ideas in England is found in the ‘Englishing’ of his printed works, that is, their adaptation and appropriation by printers and translators. During the Venetian interdict (c. 1606–1608), Sarpi’s tracts were treated as timely, informative, and politically useful news. Englishing consisted of re-writing titles by adding bombastic phrases, changing printers’ ornaments, and adding marginalia to help readers unfamiliar with Italy. In the History of the Council of Trent, published in 1619 (Italian) and 1620 (English), the Englishing became more substantive – adding lengthy prefaces, inserting words into Sarpi’s text, and including the translator’s name. The prefaces framed the book’s contents, while the translator’s name provided authority. The additional words made the English History even more partisan than the Italian Historia. Publishers and translators modified Sarpi’s works to produce aggressive readings that diverged from his own political and religious goals.
Keywords: Catholic Church; Church of England; England; Translation; Venice; dept.his; peer-reviewed; print culture

The orbit and dynamical mass of polaris: Observations with the CHARA array - Evans, Nancy Remage; Schaefer, Gail H.; Gallenne, Alexandre; Torres, Guillermo; Horch, Elliott P.; Anderson, Richard I.; Monnier, John D.; Roettenbacher, Rachael M.; Baron, Fabien; Anugu, Narsireddy; Davidson, James W.; Kervella, Pierre; et al. (The Astrophysical Journal, 2024)
The 30 yr orbit of the Cepheid Polaris has been followed with observations by the Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA) Array from 2016 through 2021. An additional measurement has been made with speckle interferometry at the Apache Point Observatory. Detection of the companion is complicated by its comparative faintness—an extreme flux ratio. Angular diameter measurements appear to show some variation with pulsation phase. Astrometric positions of the companion were measured with a custom grid-based model-fitting procedure and confirmed with the CANDID software. These positions were combined with the extensive radial velocities (RVs) discussed by Torres to fit an orbit. Because of the imbalance of the sizes of the astrometry and RV data sets, several methods of weighting are discussed. The resulting mass of the Cepheid is 5.13 ± 0.28 M ⊙. Because of the comparatively large eccentricity of the orbit (0.63), the mass derived is sensitive to the value found for the eccentricity. The mass combined with the distance shows that the Cepheid is more luminous than predicted for this mass from evolutionary tracks. The identification of surface spots is discussed. This would give credence to the identification of a radial velocity variation with a period of approximately 120 days as a rotation period. Polaris has some unusual properties (rapid period change, a phase jump, variable amplitude, and unusual polarization). However, a pulsation scenario involving pulsation mode, orbital periastron passage, and low pulsation amplitude can explain these characteristics within the framework of pulsation seen in Cepheids.
Keywords: dept.phy; peer-reviewed

“Constant dropping wears away a stone”: Chinese international women instructors’ duoethnography on advancing racial equity - Wang, P.; Huang, T. (International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 2024)
Faculty of color are constantly experiencing trauma and racial inequities in inherently Eurocentric educational spaces where their histories, knowledge, and experiences are delegitimized and marginalized. Employing critical race feminism (CRF) and White racial identity development model, this article details ways in which two Chinese international women instructors grappled with tensions and trauma and celebrated (small) joys and successes within Predominantly White Institutions (PWI) in the United States. We drew on duoethnography, a dialogic methodological approach grounded in social justice, to make meaning of, (re)construct, and advance racial equity in pedagogy. We examined and analyzed four sources of data: our personal narratives, transcripts of eight Zoom meetings, reflection journals, and informal conversational exchanges. We identified three strategies for navigating dissonance and conflicts: 1) being vulnerable, 2) recognizing shared and differing marginalization or privileges, and 3) building allies intentionally and strategically. © 2024 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Keywords: Chinese international women instructors of color; dept.cur; duoethnography; peer-reviewed; racial equity

Addressing college student food insecurity: grocery pickup program needs assessment - Neal, L.; Anziano, J.; Zigmont, V.A. (Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition, 2024)
Food insecurity is a detriment to the health and academic success of college students nationwide, increasing the need for innovative interventions. This cross-sectional study administered an online survey to 140 students attending a Northeastern public university to understand student interest in a student-sustained grocery program. The majority of students (53.6%) were food insecure (FI), measured with the USDA 6-item survey, as well as upperclassmen. Results identified that FI students may be most interested in a food pickup program that provides them with cooking classes, snack foods, and ingredients for 2–6 meals at a cost between $24.50 and $26.90 per week. © 2024 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
Keywords: Food insecurity; college students; dept.pch; food assistance; grocery; peer-reviewed

Product market competition and audit fees: new evidence - Chung, Hanyong; Kim, Jae B. (Managerial Auditing Journal, 2024)
Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the relation between product market competition and audit fees by using firm-level product market competition measures and mitigating the endogeneity issues. Design/methodology/approach This study uses 12,136 US firms from 2004 and 2019. To ensure the robustness of the main findings, this study uses three firm-level product market competition measures and import trade tariff rate reductions of the USA as a quasi-natural experiment. This study also performs three cross-sectional tests and validation tests. Findings This study demonstrates that there is a negative relation between product market competition and audit fees and establishes a causal relation. Moreover, it reveals that the findings become more pronounced when auditors possess industry-specific expertise, when client firms are younger, and when operating within more homogeneous industries. Additionally, a validation analysis supports the findings. Practical implications This study offers significant insights for regulators by highlighting how product market competition plays a constructive role in overseeing firm management. Originality/value The authors contribute to the existing literature by showing that there is a negative association between product market competition and audit fees after controlling external monitoring mechanisms. The authors also find the causal relation. These findings indicate that competitive pressures originating from product markets exert a significant influence on disciplining a client firm’s management.
Keywords: Audit fees; Audit risk; Business risk; Corporate governance; External auditor; Product market competition; dept.acc; peer-reviewed

New standards require new approaches to assessment: Is technology the missing piece? - Knipe, R. (Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, 2024)
How physical education teachers approach standards-based assessment of the new National Physical Education Standards is yet to be determined. But the use of technology for assessments may be one way to support and empower students in the education process toward physical literacy. This article focuses on the ways in which educators have adopted a particular technology, called Plickers, and how its use as an assessment tool can move physical education teachers’ practice forward. © 2024 SHAPE America.
Keywords: dept.hms; peer-reviewed

Expanding the notion of personal well-being during covid-19 campus closure in India: results from a mixed-methods study with members of higher education - Yeon, G.; Perumbilly, S.; Elangovan, N.; Awungshi, S.; Varghese, K.J. (Asia Pacific Journal of Educators and Education, 2024)
The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged lives globally in unprecedented ways. While numerous studies have discussed the impact of this pandemic on human lives, this descriptive study examined how this pandemic affected personal well-being (PW) for members of Indian higher education in the early phase of the pandemic in 2020 when there were no vaccines and remedies available. Research participants (n = 551) were faculty members, graduate students, and non-teaching staff in Indian higher education. At the time of data collection, when all campuses were closed, all participants were functioning in their roles in the academic communities via virtual platforms. This descriptive study, based on a mixed-methods research design with concurrent triangulation strategies, collected data from all regions of India. Resulting data identified and discussed the impact of the pandemic on six domains of PW in the life of participants: (a) self-care; (b) professional growth; (c) quality of interrelationship within the family; (d) relationships with significant others outside of the family; (e) process of experiencing/facing and addressing challenges; and, (f) relationship with spirituality/transcendental dimensions. The relevance of the last domain may be unique to Indian participants’ socio-cultural context and ethos. The findings and discussion explain how PW is a composite of all these six domains, and the pandemic expanded the notion of PW for the members of Indian higher education. Further, the findings also provided a general orientation on how educational leadership teams and institutions can enhance at least three specific dimensions of their community members and thus increase the likelihood of improving the quality of their professional and personal life. The findings may also have relevance for academic communities worldwide and inform clinicians working with members of academic communities, educational institutions, and policymakers. © Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2024.
Keywords: Teacher leadership; dept.mft; distributed leadership; middle leaders; middle leadership; peer-reviewed; teacher leaders

Exclusive J/ψ, ψ(2s), and e+e- pair production in Au+Au ultraperipheral collisions at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider - STAR Collaboration (Physical Review C, 2024)
Measurements of exclusive J/ψ, ψ(2s), and electron-positron (e+e-) pair photoproduction in Au+Au ultraperipheral collisions are reported by the STAR experiment at sNN=200GeV. We report several first measurements at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, which are (i) J/ψ photoproduction with large momentum transfer up to 2.2(GeV/c)2, (ii) coherent J/ψ photoproduction associated with neutron emissions from nuclear breakup, (iii) the rapidity dependence of incoherent J/ψ photoproduction, (iv) the ψ(2s) photoproduction cross section at midrapidity, and (v) e+e- pair photoproduction up to high invariant mass of 6GeV/c2. For measurement (ii), the coherent J/ψ total cross section of γ+Au→J/ψ+Au as a function of the center-of-mass energy WγN has been obtained without photon energy ambiguities. The data are quantitatively compared with the Monte Carlo models STARlight, Sartre, BeAGLE, and theoretical calculations of gluon saturation with color glass condensate, nuclear shadowing with leading twist approximation, quantum electrodynamics, and the next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD. At the photon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of 25.0 GeV, the coherent and incoherent J/ψ cross sections of Au nuclei are found to be 71%±10% and 36%±7%, respectively, of that of free protons. These data provide an important experimental constraint for nuclear parton distribution functions and a unique opportunity to advance the understanding of the nuclear modification effect at the top RHIC energy. © 2024 American Physical Society.
Keywords: dept.phy; peer-reviewed

Become a journal reviewer: a vital component of lifelong learning - Resha, Cheryl (The Journal of School Nursing, 2024)
Keywords: dept.nur

Unboxing the temporal patterns of employee engagement: a daily and weekly analysis of needs satisfaction, work motivation and employee well-being - Wang, Z. (Evidence-based HRM, 2024)
Purpose: This research used a temporal approach to operationalize employee engagement, capturing subjective/objective time of the day and day of the week to analyze the dynamic patterns of employees’ daily/weekly well-being, basic needs satisfaction, and situational work motivation under the integrated framework of self-determination theory. Design/methodology/approach: Multi-level data was collected using the survey structure outlined under the day reconstruction methodology (DRM) with samples of Canadian part-time working undergraduate students and full-time US corporate employees (1980 work episodes reported by 321 participants). Findings: Multi-level confirmatory factorial analysis results supported the measurement invariance for within-person variables in all the working episodes across the US and Canada samples. Structural equation modeling path analysis results, using the within-person variables, captured the daily temporal patterns that employees’ well-being (vitality and positive affect), basic psychological needs (autonomy and relatedness), and situational autonomous motivation started at a high level and decreased with both subjective and objective time of the day. Negative affect showed asymmetric daily and weekly temporal patterns compared to positive affect. A few indirect paths were found, including one from the subjective time of the day to employee well-being (vitality and affect) via situational autonomous motivation and another one from the day of the week to vitality and positive affect via relatedness needs satisfaction and situational autonomous motivation. Research limitations/implications: The socio-cultural and business impacts of work scheduling practices and implications for theory-driven, evidence-based organizational development practices were discussed together with the research limitations. Practical implications: Results on how the variations in self-regulation during the performance of different work tasks in a single work event help practitioners to connect repeated situational motivational change patterns to effective supervision. HR business partner can also utilize such findings to shape evidence-based practice to improve employee engagement. Originality/value: This research is one of the few pioneer studies to look into how temporal factors, such as work scheduling, affect employees' well-being through the dynamic understanding of the mediated path model from time to employee well-being via psychological engagement conditions such as motivation and needs satisfaction. © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited.
Keywords: Self-regulation; Temporal analysis; Work scheduling; dept.mgt; peer-reviewed

Academic bullying as a racialized phenomenon in STEM higher education: Centering the experiences of Asian international doctoral students - Wang, Peiwen (Journal of International Students, 2024)
While students of color’s experiences of academic bullying from their advisors have been documented in the literature (e.g., Moss & Mahmoudi, 2021), little is known regarding the role that race plays in the normalization and perpetuation of academic bullying within higher education. Utilizing Asian critical theory (AsianCrit) as both the theoretical and analytical lens, this phenomenological study centers five STEM Asian international doctoral students’ experiences of academic bullying through semi-structured interviews. It is found that racialized academic bullying is operationalized by a) legitimizing exploitation through racializing discourses; b) maintaining White supremacy across transnational contexts; and c) intersecting systems of oppression. Implications and recommendations are offered as to what stakeholders can do collectively to address racialized academic bullying towards minoritized students and to combat systemic inequities and oppression.
Keywords: STEM; dept.cur; peer-reviewed

Margherita Marchione as Antihero for Italian Jews: A Complex Message of Hope - Vitale, L. (A Century of Italian War Narratives: Voices from the Sidelines, 2023)
Lisa Vitale discusses the intellectual contribution of historian and apologist Margherita Marchione in redefining the role of Pius XII during the atrocities of the Nazi Holocaust by means of personal narratives of the Sisters of St Lucy Filippini (of which Marchione was a member) and the Jewish refugees they sheltered, including the prominent Roman Di Veroli family. The chapter paints a multi-faceted, and sometimes contradictory, picture of Catholic charity during those turbulent and confusing times. Despite Marchione’s defense of Vatican (in-)action during the mass extermination of the Jews, she brings a message of hope to today’s Jewish Italian citizens. © 2023 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Keywords: dept.wll

Partisan Diary: Ada’s Wars - Palma, P. (A Century of Italian War Narratives: Voices from the Sidelines, 2023)
This chapter focuses on the figure of Ada Gobetti and her humble, yet crucial contribution, as a partisan collaborator and leader who helped dismantle the Nazi-Fascist political system in the aftermath of the 1943 Armistice. The author aims at shedding new light on Gobetti’s work that has long been ignored, highlighting how women regained visibility because of their role in support of the Resistance. © 2023 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Keywords: dept.wll

Special considerations for working with parents and caregivers - Sassu, K.A. (Introducing Autism: Theory and Evidence-Based Practices for Teaching Individuals with ASD, 2024)
Parents and caregivers of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are faced with unique challenges and stressors from the early stages of their children’s development, through subsequent diagnosis, navigating the educational and therapeutic landscapes, and into adulthood. Whether their child requires Level 1, 2, or 3 supports according to their Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition diagnosis, parents will be faced with many different types of stressors. Given their experiences and knowledge of their children, they can offer valuable insights to educators and service providers that inform interventions and lead to optimal outcomes for individuals with ASD. This chapter explores the common challenges encountered by parents and caregivers and offers suggestions for ways that professional educators can best engage with them so as to establish optimal supports for individuals with autism. © 2024 Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved.
Keywords: dept.csp

Foreword - Volkmar, F.R. (Introducing Autism: Theory and Evidence-Based Practices for Teaching Individuals with ASD, 2024)
Keywords: dept.sed

Definition of Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorder - Eren, R.B.; Gleeson, M.B. (Introducing Autism: Theory and Evidence-Based Practices for Teaching Individuals with ASD, 2024)
This chapter addresses the definition of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A distinction is made between a clinical (medical) definition of ASD as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) and an educational eligibility classification of autism found in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA). The increase of prevalence of ASD is discussed with an opportunity to ponder the reason for this phenomenon. Several theories of causation of ASD are presented, offering an opportunity for thoughtful consideration of these theories found in current literature. General characteristics of ASD are described in the three domains of social interaction, communication, and behavior and are further illustrated by specific behaviors commonly seen in today’s classrooms. Characteristics focus not only on the variety of challenges individuals on the spectrum face but also the strengths many individuals with ASD bring to the classroom and community at large. Finally, a discussion of the future for individuals on the spectrum is emphasized through the wide range of possible outcomes for these individuals. Future opportunities seem to be improving for this population, although there remains a dearth of research on outcomes for adults with ASD. © 2024 Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved.
Keywords: dept.sed

Diagnosis and classification of autism spectrum disorder - Gleeson, M.B. (Introducing Autism: Theory and Evidence-Based Practices for Teaching Individuals with ASD, 2024)
This chapter introduces the evolution of the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis. Beginning with the first Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) diagnostic criteria and ending with the current fifth edition (DSM-5) diagnostic criteria, readers will gain an in-depth perspective on changes in ASD diagnostic criteria over time and changes in classification of the disorder. Readers will be provided with an in-depth understanding of the current DSM-5 diagnostic criteria, as well as clinical specifiers and identification of level of support. Discussion is presented on some of the concerns and controversy surrounding the latest diagnostic changes and how those may impact school or support services. © 2024 Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved.
Keywords: dept.sed

Understanding behavior - Gleeson, M.B. (Introducing Autism: Theory and Evidence-Based Practices for Teaching Individuals with ASD, 2024)
Understanding behavior is paramount to educating and supporting individuals on the autism spectrum. This chapter provides an overview of applied behavior analysis including dispelling common misconceptions of the science, the ethics of behavior change, the process of completing a functional behavior assessment, including discussion on positive and negative reinforcement and the four functions of behavior, and using information gathered in a functional behavior assessment to plan supports for students. The chapter ends with an introduction to the evidence-based practice of antecedent-based interventions. © 2024 Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved.
Keywords: dept.sed

Transdisciplinary teaming - Eren, R.B.; Sassu, K.A. (Introducing Autism: Theory and Evidence-Based Practices for Teaching Individuals with ASD, 2024)
This chapter briefly explores the history and development of teaming in education. The three most common models of educational teaming are defined and discussed in detail. The primary focus of the chapter is on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act-mandated multidisciplinary team and how it can be transformed into a transdisciplinary teaming model in a school setting that serves individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This transdisciplinary teaming model is student centric and stresses the importance of considering the whole child, specifically as it relates to the team’s systematic communication, goal sharing, knowledge of objectives and agenda items, and the need for ongoing clarification of knowledge among the team. The emphasis is on shared knowledge that leads to greater success of the team in meeting the needs of the student under discussion. This transdisciplinary teaming model also serves as a means to troubleshoot student challenges through a group problem-solving process. The six elements in the development of a transdisciplinary teaming model are discussed in detail. © 2024 Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved.
Keywords: dept.csp

Reincorporating a bird’s eye view into cultural discourse theory - Milburn, T. (Journal of Multicultural Discourses, 2024)
Keywords: dept.aa

Annals Graphic Medicine - I'll Heal Myself - Councilor, KC (Annals of Internal Medicine, 2024)
Keywords: dept.com

Barcode-less Fruits Classification Using Deep Learning - Abdel-raouf, Amal; Sheta, Alaa; Baareh, AbdelKarim; Rausch, Peter (IAES International Journal of Artificial Intelligence (IJ-AI), 2024)
Barcode-less fruit recognition technology has revolutionized the checkout process by eliminating manual barcode scanning. This technology automatically identifies and adds fruit items to the purchase list, significantly reducing waiting times at the cash register. Faster checkouts enhance customer convenience and optimize operational efficiency for retailers. Adding barcode to fruits require using adhesives on the fruit surface that may cause health hazards. Leveraging deep learning techniques for barcode-less fruit recognition brings valuable advantages to industries, including advanced automation, enhanced accuracy, and increased efficiency. These benefits translate into improved productivity, cost reduction, and superior quality control. This study introduces a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) designed explicitly for automatic fruit recognition, even in challenging real-world scenarios. The proposed method assists fruit sellers in accurately identifying and distinguishing between different types of fruit that may exhibit similarities. A dataset that includes 44,406 images of different fruit types is used to train and test our technique. Employing a CNN, the developed model achieves an impressive classification accuracy of 97.4% during the training phase and 88.6% during the testing phase respectively, showcasing its effectiveness in precise fruit recognition.
Keywords: Classification; Convolution Neural Network; Fruit Detection; dept.csc; peer-reviewed

Making the Radical University: Identity and Politics on the American College Campus, 1966–1991 - Kalbfleisch, Elizabeth M. (University of Massachusetts Press, 2024)
In the 1960s, professors, students, and activists on the political Left viewed college curricula as useful sites for political transformation. They coordinated efforts to alter general education requirements at the college level to foster change in American thought, with greater openness toward people who had previously been excluded, including women, people of color, the poor and working classes, people with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQ community. Their work reshaped American culture and politics, while prompting a significant backlash from conservatives attempting to, in their view, protect classical education from modern encroachment. Elizabeth M. Kalbfleisch details how American universities became a battleground for identity politics from the 1960s through the 1980s. Focusing on two case studies at Stanford University and the University of Texas at Austin, Making the Radical University examines how curricular changes led to polarizing discussions nationwide around academic standards and identity politics, including the so-called canon wars. Today, these debates have only become more politically charged, complex, and barbed.
Keywords: dept.eng

Readiness of Pakistani journals for open access publishing - Raza, M.Z.; Rafiq, M.; Soroya, S.H. (Electronic Library, 2024)
Purpose: This study was designed to discover the readiness of the higher education commission (HEC)-recognized journals of Pakistan in terms of human, financial and technological resources, technical expertise, institutional support, availability of open access (OA) policy, availability of guidance and training, willingness, motivation and so on for OA journal publishing and to expose the challenges in OA journal publishing. Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative research approach was used and a structured questionnaire was developed to meet the objectives of this study. A survey method was used to collect data from the editors of all 329 HEC-recognized journals in Pakistan. Findings: The respondents of all the HEC-recognized journals of Pakistan are neutral and are not of the view that they have sufficient financial, human, technological/infrastructural resources and technical expertise to continue/initiate an OA journal publishing. ‘No academic reward’; and ‘no monetary reward for the editorial staff’ are both enormous challenges for OA journal publishing. The perceived challenges of OA have a negative impact on readiness for OA publishing. The readiness level of the respondents of the OA journals is higher as compared to the readiness level of the respondents of non-OA journals. Research limitations/implications: This study covered the lists of HEC-recognized journals of 2019. More studies may be conducted based on updated lists of HEC-recognized journals. Qualitative studies may also be conducted to discover the readiness of the HEC-recognized journals of Pakistan for OA journal publishing. Originality/value: This study is the first comprehensive study on this phenomenon and is an effort to fill this gap to invigorate scholarly literature. It may attract the attention of policymakers, funding bodies, parent institutions of the journals and the HEC regarding the readiness of journals in terms of financial, human, technological/infrastructural resources, technical expertise of the journals and challenges of journals to prompt the OA journal publishing paradigm. © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited.
Keywords: Challenges; Editors; Journal publishing; Journals; Open access; Pakistan; Readiness; dept.ils

Upper limit on the chiral magnetic effect in isobar collisions at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider - STAR Collaboration (Physical Review Research, 2024)
The chiral magnetic effect (CME) is a phenomenon that arises from the QCD anomaly in the presence of an external magnetic field. The experimental search for its evidence has been one of the key goals of the physics program of the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider. The STAR Collaboration has previously presented the results of a blind analysis of isobar collisions (Ru4496+Ru4496, Zr4096+Zr4096) in the search for the CME. The isobar ratio (Y) of CME-sensitive observable, charge separation scaled by elliptic anisotropy, is close to but systematically larger than the inverse multiplicity ratio, the naive background baseline. This indicates the potential existence of a CME signal and the presence of remaining nonflow background due to two- and three-particle correlations, which are different between the isobars. In this postblind analysis, we estimate the contributions from those nonflow correlations as a background baseline to Y, utilizing the isobar data as well as Heavy Ion Jet Interaction Generator simulations. This baseline is found consistent with the isobar ratio measurement, and an upper limit of 10% at 95% confidence level is extracted for the CME fraction in the charge separation measurement in isobar collisions at sNN=200 GeV. © 2024 authors. Published by the American Physical Society. Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.
Keywords: dept.phy; peer-reviewed

Estimate of background baseline and upper limit on the chiral magnetic effect in isobar collisions at sNN =200 GeV at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider - STAR Collaboration (Physical Review C, 2024)
For the search of the chiral magnetic effect (CME), STAR previously presented the results from isobar collisions (Ru4496+Ru4496, Zr4096+Zr4096) obtained through a blind analysis. The ratio of results in Ru+Ru to Zr+Zr collisions for the CME-sensitive charge-dependent azimuthal correlator (Δγ), normalized by elliptic anisotropy (v2), was observed to be close to but systematically larger than the inverse multiplicity ratio. The background baseline for the isobar ratio, Y=(Δγ/v2)Ru(Δγ/v2)Zr, is naively expected to be (1/N)Ru(1/N)Zr; however, genuine two- and three-particle correlations are expected to alter it. We estimate the contributions to Y from those correlations, utilizing both the isobar data and hijing simulations. After including those contributions, we arrive at a final background baseline for Y, which is consistent with the isobar data. We extract an upper limit for the CME fraction in the Δγ measurement of approximately 10% at a 95% confidence level on in isobar collisions at sNN=200GeV, with an expected 15% difference in their squared magnetic fields. © 2024 American Physical Society.
Keywords: dept.phy; peer-reviewed

Exploring the nexus: homeschooling and library engagement in Connecticut - Murtha, Helene R.; Schofield, Cindy K. (Public Library Quarterly, 2024)
In the dynamic landscape of education, homeschooling continues to offer a compelling alternative to traditional schooling. Homeschool numbers surged through the pandemic and have not decreased to pre-pandemic levels. This study examines the shared connections between homeschooled families in Connecticut and local public libraries by looking at how home educators use library resources and participate in library programming; and examining how Connecticut libraries perceive and respond to the diverse needs of homeschooling communities. Based on 2 Connecticut statewide surveys, one sent to public librarians and another to homeschoolers, the study sought to identify areas of strengths, weaknesses and disconnects in the homeschool community and public library relationships in Connecticut. Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected and reviewed to identify potential improvements to the evolving role of libraries in supporting alternative education pathways, and the potential for an infusion of public library support from the homeschool community.
Keywords: Homeschooling; dept.ils; education resources; libraries; peer-reviewed; public libraries; special populations

Facilitating interaction with police during routine traffic stops for persons with ASD - Grindle, H.; Sassu, K.A.; Dooley, J.M.; Farmer, E.B.; Volkmar, F.R. (Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2024)
A product of ASD socio-communicative-deficits and insufficient police training related to autism, ASD-police interactions have the potential to become problematic, with negative outcomes for ASD individuals and police alike. Thus, the combination of police acclimation, simulatory experience for drivers with ASD and the introduction of Connecticut’s recent Blue Envelope could improve overall experiences for drivers. A simulated routine traffic stop practice event, utilising pre- and post- measures was conducted in an effort to quantify drivers’ feelings about current and future interactions with police. Our prediction that participants would experience a statistically significant improvement in anxiety, comfort and self-perceived knowledge levels about future ASD-police interactions immediately following the intervention was confirmed. Our prediction that initially significant disparities between participants with and without police experience – those with previous police encounters versus those that don’t - would become not significant immediately following the intervention was disconfirmed. While the longitudinal data suggested that improved post-intervention ASD psychological measures remained statistically significant in the long-term, the sample responses to our long-term questionnaire were too few in number to make any definitive conclusions. It is suggested that practice traffic stops such as these could benefit both drivers with ASD and law enforcement nationwide. It is further suggested that police officer curriculums should include additional training regarding special populations. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2024.
Keywords: ASD; ASD-police Interaction; Blue Envelope Program; Driving; Pullover; Simulation; dept.edu; dept.sed; peer-reviewed

The impact of social isolation policies during COVID-19 on suburban mothers and pregnant women with opioid use disorder - Lamonica, Aukje; Boeri, Miriam; Khan, Mishal (Women & Health, 2024)
The aim of this qualitative research paper was to identify how social isolation policies implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the lives of pregnant women and mothers with opioid use disorder. Between 2020 and 2022, in-depth interviews were conducted with 37 mothers and pregnant women living in the suburbs of Newark, NJ, and New Haven, CT. Participants had to be at least 18 years old, misused or abused opioids in the last 12 months while residing in a suburban location, and pregnant or caring for children aged 12 and younger. We used syndemics theory to guide our grounded theory analysis to identify relationships between social situations, health conditions, and opioid use disorder. Five major themes emerged that were either directly or indirectly impacted by social isolation caused by policies implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic: Relationships, Environment, Services, Drug Use, and Health. Findings from this study reveal new insights into how mothers and their health were impacted by prolonged social isolation policies and offer suggestions for policymakers and service providers to better address future crisis.
Keywords: COVID-19; dept.pch; mothers; opioid use disorder; peer-reviewed; social isolation policy

A model of academic dishonesty intentions: mediating effects of machiavellianism and differential association - Prince, Melvin; Wang, Emma (Journal of Further and Higher Education, 2024)
Past studies of academic dishonesty typically have been grounded in the theory of planned behaviour. Key predictors of academic dishonesty variables under this framework generally have been attitudes towards academic dishonesty, the impact of peer pressure to engage in such acts, and individual perceptions of related acts. However, planned behaviour theory is silent about the significant impact on academic dishonesty of past academic dishonesty behaviours. The objective of the present study is to analyse, through the lens of social learning theory, the effects of past behaviours that predispose academic dishonesty: differential association, i.e., the effects of individual learning, through interaction with others, of the values, attitudes, techniques, and motives for deviant behaviour, on the prediction of academic dishonesty intentions. Additionally, the study tests the effects of Machiavellianism, or dishonest and deceptive behaviours on the relationship between past academic dishonesty acts and academic dishonesty attitudes. Results of the study reveal that differential association with cheating acceptors strengthens the relationship between academic dishonesty attitudes and intentions. Additionally, Machiavellianism at higher levels intensifies the relationships between past academic dishonesty behaviours and contemporary academic dishonesty attitudes.
Keywords: Past cheating behaviour; academic dishonesty; cheating; dept.mrk; differential association; machiavellianism; peer-reviewed; social learning

La rana or el rana: dual language learners' grammatical variability in narrative retells - Gusewski, Svenja; Rojas, Raúl (Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 2024)
Purpose: This longitudinal study investigated the trajectory of Spanish article accuracy in Spanish–English dual language learners (DLLs) from preschool to first grade, addressing the need for longitudinal data on the variability of Spanish grammatical skills in DLLs in English immersion classrooms. Method: Language sample analysis was conducted on 336 Spanish and English narrative retells elicited from 31 Spanish–English DLLs (range: 45–85 months). Growth curve models captured within- and between-individual change in article accuracy from the beginning of preschool to the end of first grade. Results: As a group, DLLs did not exhibit significant positive or negative growth in Spanish article accuracy over time. On average, article accuracy remained stable at 76% from preschool throughout first grade. Participants exhibited significant variability in article accuracy that was partly explained by changes in Spanish proficiency. Spanish article accuracy was lower for DLLs with lower Spanish proficiency indexed by measures from the Spanish language samples, while English proficiency indexed by the English language samples did not affect Spanish article accuracy. Conclusions: These findings suggest that expectations for Spanish grammatical performance in DLLs need to be adjusted to account for the possible impact of not receiving Spanish support in English immersion school settings. DLLs in these instructional programs do not exhibit article accuracy at a level expected for monolingual Spanish speakers. Significant individual differences in both individual status and growth rates of Spanish article accuracy highlight the broad variability in Spanish language skills of DLLs in the United States.
Keywords: dept.cmd; peer-reviewed

Collaborating to prepare students for perioperative nursing - Lacey, Kimberly; Forte, Pamela; Tammaro, Marie (Nurse Educator, 2024)
An abstract is unavailable.
Keywords: dept.nur; peer-reviewed

Leveraging technology to improve access to medical education in anatomy and physiology in resource-limited settings: A mixed methods study - Mora Carpio, A.L.; Romero-Reveron, R.; Vasquez, M.; Bonilla Castillo, J.A.; Gaitán Concepción, L.; Pano Carrera, R.; Liévanos Díaz, D.; Menéndez Conde, B.G.; Montbrun, M.; Espinoza-Luna, A.; Kreiger, J.; Davis, J.L.; et al. (Anatomical Sciences Education, 2024)
This study assesses the acceptability, appropriateness, feasibility, and efficacy of a novel asynchronous video-based intervention for teaching respiratory physiology and anatomy to medical students in resource-limited settings. A series of short video lectures on pleural anatomy, pulmonary physiology, and pathophysiology was created using Lightboard and screen capture technology. These were uploaded to YouTube and Google Drive and made available to 1st-3rd year medical students at two Latin American universities for 1 week. Employing a parallel-convergent mixed methods design, we conducted surveys, focus groups, interviews, and pre/post testing for qualitative and quantitative data. Thematic Analysis was used to analyze qualitative data and McNemar's test for quantitative analysis. Seventy-six students participated. The videos' short format, interactivity, and Lightboard style were highly valued for their flexibility, time efficiency, and educational impact. Students recognized their clinical relevance and trusted their content, suggesting potential applicability in similar settings. Despite infrastructure and connectivity challenges, the use of flexible streaming and downloadable options facilitated learning. Survey results indicated high levels of feasibility (99%), appropriateness (95%), and acceptability (95%), with significant knowledge gains observed (37% correct pre-test answers vs. 56% post-test, p < 0.0001). Our findings demonstrate high acceptability, appropriateness, feasibility, and efficacy of a targeted asynchronous education centered on short-format videos in resource-limited settings, enabling robust learning despite local barriers. Flexible access is key for overcoming localized barriers. Taking an adaptive, learner-centered approach to content creation and delivery to address constraints was pivotal to success. Our modular videos could serve as versatile models for flexible education in resource-constrained settings. © 2024 American Association for Anatomy.
Keywords: Mexico; Venezuela; asynchronous education; dept.hms; distance learning; medical education; peer-reviewed; resource-limited settings; video-based learning

The Oil That Lasted a Thousand Years - Scolnic, Benjamin (Zutot, 2024)
Abstract While the familiar Hanukkah story of the ‘miracle of the oil’ is often dismissed as quaint and fanciful, it may be seen as a final link in an interesting chain of traditions about the sanctity of Judaism’s holiest of places. In the book of Exodus, one type of oil is used to light the lamps and another oil is used to anoint the Tabernacle and make it inviolate. The Tabernacle became part of the First Temple so there was no need to anoint the Holy of Holies there. In the time of the First Temple, some considered the Temple to be inviolate. When the First Temple was destroyed, no aspect of the new Temple was anointed. In the 160s BCE, during the Antiochene persecution, some felt the need to explain how the Temple could have been violated. The author of Daniel 9 reinterpreted Jeremiah’s prophecies of the 70 years of exile to be 70 weeks of years so that everything that had befallen the Judeans was seen as part of God’s overarching plan. The complex issues of continuity/discontinuity between, and the violability/inviolability of the temples, underlie Dan. 9 and related texts.
Keywords: Book of Daniel; Hanukkah; Jeremian prophecies; continuity/discontinuity; dept.jst; oil; peer-reviewed; temples

Language Learning Outcomes in on Ground Vs. Online Settings: Comparison and Correlation - Tu, I Ju; Bartlett, Andrew (American Journal of Distance Education, 2024)
While the effectiveness of online instruction has been well established, there remains a limited understanding of the correlation between language skills and performance across various instructional sections. This study investigates the language proficiency outcomes of college students in online and on-ground language instruction, focusing on four essential language skills: Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking. Data were collected from students enrolled in third-semester language courses in French, German, Italian, and Spanish during the Spring semesters of 2019 and 2021 with on-ground and online instruction respectively in a public university in the United States. Descriptive statistics, the Kruskal-Wallis test, and pairwise correlation analysis were used to analyze the students’ performance in both modalities. The results indicate that students generally outperformed in the online modality, demonstrating a significantly higher positive correlation range compared to on-ground instruction. This finding suggests that multi-modality language instruction has the potential to foster more integrated and cohesive language proficiency development. The implications firstly show the positive correlation range in the online modality indicates that college instructors may be more capable of implementing effective online teaching methods due to various reasons. Secondly, college students’ potential for self-directed learning in the online setting may contribute to their enhanced outcomes. However, the study also reveals challenges for less taught languages, such as the need for additional support in terms of resource curation and networking opportunities for instructors.
Keywords: dept.mat; peer-reviewed

The Occupation of Play - Bundy, Anita; Kuhaneck, Heather (The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 2024)
The articles for the Special Section on Play highlight the complexity of play and the many ways occupational therapy practitioners study and promote play with children, families, and adults across individual, school, family, political, and cross-cultural settings. The authors of the articles in this issue view the importance of play across the lifespan and through multiple research lenses, including play preference, environmental supports for and barriers to play, the skills required to succeed in play, and the extent to which play is self-determined. The guest editors offer suggestions for how to enhance occupational therapy’s voice in the study and promotion of play as a primary lifelong occupation.
Keywords: dept.rec; peer-reviewed

Information technology adoption and the growth of nonemployer businesses - Kim, Y.; Thompson, E. (Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, 2024)
The growth of nonemployer businesses as a share of the working-age population has been little studied relative to the decline of employer business rate in the United States. We show that local labor markets specializing in routine task-intensive jobs have experienced a higher adoption of information technology as well as the growth of nonemployer businesses primarily through increasing self-employment in nonroutine manual task-intensive jobs that are less frequently outsourced to business service firms. © 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC.
Keywords: dept.eco; peer-reviewed

Reframing the issue in 13.18 of the analects of Confucius: family privileges in criminal litigation and the Confucian insight - Yang, Xiaomei (Dao, 2024)
The sheep case in Analects 13.18 has generated a heated debate in contemporary Chinese philosophy for more than a decade. One side in this debate criticizes Confucius’ view in the sheep case and the other side defends Confucius’ position. Neither side’s reading of 13.18 is satisfactory. I argue that something important in the text has been overlooked and this omission may explain why neither side gives a satisfying reading. I offer in this essay a new reading of the sheep case which pays attention to what the existent interpretations have overlooked in the text. This new focus will give us a new perspective to reframe the issue in question and to defend the Confucian position in a more convincing way. On the new interpretation, Confucius’ position in the sheep case suggests a sensible and reasonable way for the state to balance some important social interests which the state seeks to protect.
Keywords: Criminal prosecution; Family privilege; Filial piety; Sheep case; dept.phi; peer-reviewed

Play as occupation: The state of our science and a research agenda for the profession - Kuhaneck, Heather; Bundy, Anita; Fabrizi, Sarah; Lynch, Helen; Moore, Alice; Román-Oyola, Rosa; Stagnitti, Karen; Waldman-Levi, Amiya (The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 2024)
Occupational therapists view play through a unique lens. Considering play as a human occupation, and one to which all people have a right, places occupational therapists among a special group of professionals championing play. This State of the Science article seeks to increase awareness regarding the occupational therapy profession’s contributions and to situate those contributions within the larger body of literature on play while also promoting further study of play as an occupation.
Keywords: dept.rec; peer-reviewed

The importance of conceptual origins: The case of the just-right challenge - Kuhaneck, Heather; Spitzer, Susan L. (The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 2024)
Core concepts in occupational therapy have often developed over time with contributions from multiple clinicians and scholars. This makes it difficult to determine exactly from where, or from whom, ideas originated. Without original sources, we cannot chart the historical development of ideas and honor those whose scholarship made it possible. This article documents the process undertaken to properly cite one such common concept in occupational therapy, the just-right challenge; illustrates the value of doing so; and advocates for the importance of thorough historical scholarship.
Keywords: dept.rec; peer-reviewed

Receiving more: Utopia in Spain and new Spain - Kern, D. (The Oxford Handbook of Thomas More's Utopia, 2023)
Keywords: dept.his

Racial and ethnic disparities in cancer occurrence and outcomes in rural United States: a scoping review - Njoku, Anuli; Sawadogo, Wendemi; Frimpong, Princess (Cancer Control, 2024)
BackgroundCancer is the second-leading cause of death in the United States. Most studies have reported rural versus urban and Black versus White cancer disparities. However, few studies have investigated racial disparities in rural areas.ObjectiveWe conducted a literature review to explore the current state of knowledge on racial and ethnic disparities in cancer attitudes, knowledge, occurrence, and outcomes in rural United States.MethodsA systematic search of PubMed and Embase was performed. Peer-reviewed articles published in English from 2004-2023 were included. Three authors independently reviewed the articles and reached a consensus.ResultsAfter reviewing 993 articles, a total of 30 articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in the present review. Studies revealed that underrepresented racial and ethnic groups in rural areas were more likely to have low cancer-related knowledge, low screening, high incidence, less access to treatment, and high mortality compared to their White counterparts.ConclusionUnderrepresented racial and ethnic groups in rural areas experienced a high burden of cancer. Improving social determinants of health may help reduce cancer disparities and promote health.
Keywords: dept.pch; peer-reviewed

Collision-energy dependence of deuteron cumulants and proton-deuteron correlations in Au+Au collisions at RHIC - STAR Collaboration (Physics Letters B, 2024)
We report the first measurements of cumulants, up to 4th order, of deuteron number distributions and proton-deuteron correlations in Au+Au collisions recorded by the STAR experiment in phase-I of Beam Energy Scan (BES) program at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. Deuteron cumulants, their ratios, and proton-deuteron mixed cumulants are presented for different collision centralities covering a range of center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair sNN=7.7 to 200 GeV. It is found that the cumulant ratios at lower collision energies favor a canonical ensemble over a grand canonical ensemble in thermal models. An anti-correlation between proton and deuteron multiplicity is observed across all collision energies and centralities, consistent with the expectation from global baryon number conservation. The UrQMD model coupled with a phase-space coalescence mechanism qualitatively reproduces the collision-energy dependence of cumulant ratios and proton-deuteron correlations.
Keywords: Coalescence; Critical point; Deuteron production; Heavy-ion collisions; Higher moments; Thermal model; dept.phy; peer-reviewed

Environmental Injustice and Electronic Waste in Ghana: Challenges and Recommendations - Njoku, Anuli; Agbalenyo, Martin; Laude, Janaya; Ajibola, Taiwo Folake; Attah, Mavis Asiwome; Sarko, Samuel Bruce (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2023)
Electronic waste (e-waste) or discarded electronic devices that are unwanted, not working, or have reached their end of life pose significant threats to human and environmental health. This is a major concern in Africa, where the majority of e-waste is discarded. In the year 2021, an estimated 57.4 million metric tons of e-waste were generated worldwide. Globally, COVID-19 lockdowns have contributed to increased e-waste generation. Although Africa generates the least of this waste, the continent has been the dumping ground for e-waste from the developed world. The flow of hazardous waste from the prosperous ‘Global North’ to the impoverished ‘Global South’ is termed “toxic colonialism”. Agbogbloshie, Ghana, an e-waste hub where about 39% of e-waste was treated, was listed among the top 10 most polluted places in the world. The discard of e-waste in Ghana presents an issue of environmental injustice, defined as the disproportionate exposure of communities of color and low-income communities to pollution, its associated health and environmental effects, and the unequal environmental protection provided through policies. Despite the economic benefits of e-waste, many civilians (low-income earners, settlers, children, and people with minimal education) are exposed to negative health effects due to poverty, lack of education, and weak regulations. We critically examine the existing literature to gather empirical information on e-waste and environmental injustice. Comprehensive policies and regulations are needed to manage e-waste locally and globally.
Keywords: dept.pch; peer-reviewed

Using the Listening2Faces App with Three Young Adults with Autism: A Feasibility Study - Baron, Alisa; Harwood, Vanessa; Woodard, Cooper; Anderson, Kaitlyn; Fernandes, Barbara; Sullivan, Jessica; Irwin, Julia (Advances in Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 2024)
Abstract Objectives Listening2Faces (L2F) is a therapeutic, application-based training program designed to improve audiovisual speech perception for persons with communication disorders. The purpose of this research was to investigate the feasibility of using the L2F application with young adults with autism and complex communication needs. Methods Three young adults with autism and complex communication needs completed baseline assessments and participated in training sessions within the L2F application. Behavioral supports, including the use of cognitive picture rehearsal, were used to support engagement with the L2F application. Descriptive statistics were used to provide (1) an overview of the level of participation in L2F application with the use of behavioral supports and (2) general performance on L2F application for each participant. Results All three participants completed the initial auditory noise assessment (ANA) as well as 8 or more levels of the L2F application with varying accuracy levels. One participant completed the entire L2F program successfully. Several behavioral supports were used to facilitate participation; however, each individual demonstrated varied levels of engagement with the application. Conclusions The L2F application may be a viable intervention tool to support audiovisual speech perception in persons with complex communication needs within a school-based setting. A review of behavioral supports and possible beneficial modifications to the L2F application for persons with complex communication needs are discussed.
Keywords: dept.psy; peer-reviewed

Utilizing Local Professional Association Chapters as Pathways for Leadership Development - Batista, Nicole; Risisky, Deb; Lutz, Tara M.; Clinesmith, Ellen; Morgan, Jahkeeva (Health Promotion Practice, 2024)
In 2019, there was no entity specifically dedicated to health promotion and education practitioners in Connecticut or New England. This made it difficult for health promotion practitioners and students to network, collaborate, and engage in professional development. The purpose of this article is to share our experiences developing the new Connecticut Chapter of the Society for Public Health Education (CT SOPHE), including how we leveraged student interns during the first two years to promote organizational growth. To build our membership, it was important to determine who would be interested in joining CT SOPHE and so we focused on three groups: the current workforce/professionals, future workforce/students, and future leaders/interns. Over the course of these two years, three interns were recruited to help with creating a needs assessment (MPH student) and program development (two BS students); the organization was established by an MPH student as her internship project. Three former interns share how their experience working with the CT SOPHE board has helped them develop crucial leadership skills early in their careers. Embedding student interns into the framework and operations of CT SOPHE demonstrates an intentional and strategic commitment to the sustainability of both the organization and the workforce.
Keywords: dept.pch; peer-reviewed

How human capital prevents intergenerational poverty transmission in rural China: Evidence based on the Chinese general social survey - Chen, Hong; Yu, Jia; Zhang, Ze; Li, Yuheng; Qin, Lijian; Qin, Mingshuai (Journal of Rural Studies, 2024)
Keywords: dept.eco; peer-reviewed

Sleep Health among Children Adopted from Foster Care: The Moderating Effect of Parent–Child Sleep Interactions - Cifre, Anthony B.; Budnick, Christopher J.; Bick, Johanna; McGlinchey, Eleanor L.; Ripple, Carol H.; Wolfson, Amy R.; Alfano, Candice A. (Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 2024)
Keywords: dept.psy; peer-reviewed

Towards performance improvement of authorship attribution - Suljic, Amar; Hossain, Md Shafaeat (IEEE Access, 2024)
Keywords: dept.csc; peer-reviewed

Indoor positioning system for smart spaces - Hossain, Md Shafaeat; Wandell, Richard J (2024 6th International Conference on Electrical Engineering and Information & Communication Technology (ICEEICT), 2024)
In this paper, we develop an indoor positioning system using smartphones. An indoor positioning system plays a vital role in indoor spaces such as home, office, university, airport, and hospital buildings by locating and tracking persons, devices, and assets. Our indoor positioning system is applicable in any indoor spaces which has smart devices such as smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and robots with a Wi-Fi connection. We used Wi-Fi-based fingerprinting technique t o build o ur indoor positioning system because a Wi-Fi-based system can leverage existing Wi-Fi infrastructure and hence, it is cost effective. A major challenge in implementing a Wi-Fi-based fingerprinting technique is the missed access points (APs) problem. In this paper, we address this critical challenge by proposing a localization procedure called ‘cosine similarity + k-means clustering'. In this localization procedure, we leverage k-means clustering algorithm in identifying the wrong location estimates produced by the cosine similarity measure because of missed APs problem. To evaluate the effectiveness of our proposed localization procedure, we collected data from three different scenarios, specifically, home, office, a nd university f or creating signal m ap a nd performing localization tests. Additionally, we tested both stationary and walk data. Our experimental results prove that our ‘cosine similarity + k-means clustering’ localization procedure is effective in mitigating the detrimental impact of missed APs, and consequently, it significantly improves localization accuracy.
Keywords: Clustering algorithms; Fingerprint recognition; Indoor positioning systems; Location awareness; Performance evaluation; Robot kinematics; Smart devices; Wi-Fi; dept.csc; fingerprinting; indoor positioning system; localization; smartphone

Cultural discourse analysis: discourse hubs as heuristic devices - Carbaugh, D.; Milburn, T.; Scollo, M.; van Over, B. (The Routledge Handbook of Cultural Discourse Studies, 2024)
The purpose of this chapter is twofold; we first review our approach to cultural discourse analysis and then explicate the role of “discursive hubs” within it. The six discursive hubs we discuss are A Hub of Being: How is identity expressed? Acting: How do we express what we are doing? Relating: How do we express that we are related to each other? Feeling: How do we express what we feel? Dwelling: How do we express where we are (place) in our natural world (or material environment)? Timing: How do we express the understanding of process or sequencing over time? Our chapter brings to the fore several features of the general construct, discursive hub. Each feature of a hub adds an essential aspect to studies of cultural discourses. The set of features offers a systematic guideline for the design and execution of cultural discourse analytic studies into discursive hubs. Specifically, the set of features includes (a) The research question each hub raises; (b) the specific bits of discourse each concept of “discourse hub” makes relevant; (c) the socio-cultural functions of each hub within discourses or what that hub does within a discourse and (d) symbolic instantiations of that hub (in language, images, sounds and other signs) in actual cases of cultural discourse. Our discussion of the discourse hubs then turns to the heuristic role they play in the conduct of cultural discourse analyses. We emphasise that the hubs often work deeply together and thus their interrelationships breathe social life into cultural discourses. © 2024 selection and editorial matter, Shi-xu; individual chapters, the contributors.
Keywords: dept.aa

Optical spectroscopic analysis of cerebrospinal fluid of human brain tumor using visible resonance Raman spectroscopy - Zhou, Y.; Wu, B.; Zhang, L.; Zhu, K.; Zhang, S.; Wang, X.; Zhang, C.; Liu, C.-H.; Yu, X.; Alfano, R.R. (Progress in Biomedical Optics and Imaging - Proceedings of SPIE, 2024)
Currently, liquid biopsy method is mainly used for tumor detection based on genomic molecular alterations in vitro. Liquid biopsy is superior to traditional tissue biopsy techniques and its diagnosis time of disease and repeated diagnosis of liquid biopsy are new breakthroughs in clinical application. Liquid biopsy method can be used to detect most human disease based on genetic biomarkers from body fluids, among which, special biomarkers in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples are the main research objects, and have made good achievements in preliminary clinical applications. The application of optical spectroscopy in the field of liquid biopsy has aroused great interest among researchers and demonstrated the potential of its clinical application for oncology. The aim of this study is to reveal the optical spectroscopic characteristics of the main biochemical components of CSF of brain tumor using visible resonance Raman (VRR) spectroscopy ex vivo. Tumor-associated proteins, glucose, lactate and other metabolites released to CSF can be used as markers for liquid biopsy. We studied the VRR spectra of CSF samples from 7 types of brain tumor patients. The characteristic VRR modes that were found and may be used as a combination of multiple analyte biomarkers include amyloid-β and tau protein, excess neurotransmitters such as glutamic acid derived from the exchange with interstitial fluid (ISF), DNA, glucose, lactate, etc. for optical liquid biopsy analyses. Another interesting finding was that CSF of different types of tumors showed different images similar to the crystallization of water under the optical microscope. Considering our previous study, the current study on CSF provides another proof that the VRR system can provide a complete scan region of 200 - 4000cm-1 as a clinical tool for non-invasive diagnosis of brain disease. © 2024 SPIE.
Keywords: Optical liquid biopsy; amyloid-β (Aβ); cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) ex vivo; dept.phy; glioblastoma (GBM); human brain tumor; tau proteins; visible resonance Raman (VRR) spectroscopy

Heart disease diagnosis using decision trees with feature selection method - Sheta, A.; El-Ashmawi, W.; Baareh, A. (International Arab Journal of Information Technology, 2024)
The advancement in treating medical data grows significantly daily. An accurate data classification model can help determine patient disease and diagnose disease severity in the medical domain, thus easing doctors' treatment burdens. Nonetheless, medical data analysis presents challenges due to uncertainty, the correlations between various measurements, and the high dimensionality of the data. These challenges burden statistical classification models. Machine Learning (ML) and data mining approaches have proven effective in recent years in gaining a deeper understanding of the importance of these aspects. This research adopts a well-known supervised learning classification model named a Decision Tree (DT). DT is a typical tree structure consisting of a central node, connected branches, and internal and terminal nodes. In each node, we have a decision to be made, such as in a rule-based system. This type of model helps researchers and physicians better diagnose a disease. To reduce the complexity of the proposed DT, we explored using the Feature Selection (FS) method to design a simpler diagnosis model with fewer factors. This concept will help reduce the data collection stage. A comparative analysis has been conducted between the developed DT and other various ML models, such as Logistic Regression (LR), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Gaussian Naive Bayes (GNB), to demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed model. The results of the DT model establish a notable accuracy of 93.78% and an ROC value of 0.94, which beats other compared algorithms. The developed DT model provided promising results and can help diagnose heart disease. © 2024, Zarka Private University. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Machine learning; classification; decision tree; dept.csc; diagnosis; heart disease; peer-reviewed

The cholinergic selectivity of FDA-approved and metabolite compounds examined with molecular-docking-based virtual screening - Gambardella, M.D.; Wang, Y.; Pang, J. (Molecules, 2024)
The search for selective anticholinergic agents stems from varying cholinesterase levels as Alzheimer’s Disease progresses from the mid to late stage. In this computational study, we probed the selectivity of FDA-approved and metabolite compounds against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) with molecular-docking-based virtual screening. The results were evaluated using locally developed codes for the statistical methods. The docking-predicted selectivity for AChE and BChE was predominantly the consequence of differences in the volume of the active site and the narrower entrance to the bottom of the active site gorge of AChE. © 2024 by the authors.
Keywords: FDA; acetylcholinesterase; butyrylcholinesterase; cholinesterase; dept.che; metabolites; molecular docking; molecular dynamics; peer-reviewed; statistical analyses; virtual screening; visualization

Gendered bodies: A graphic medicine commentary - Barry Councilor, K.C.; Fink, A.E. (Social Science and Medicine, 2024)
This final commentary, in comic format, frames this special issue using Graphic Medicine methodologies to explore broader themes and meanings related to the scientific study of gender and health. Comics can be seen as a way to introduce complex human narratives and as an exploratory tool to ask broader social-contextual and ethical questions about health and medicine. This piece is also constructed through the lens of queer scholarship, which, together with the comics format, provides opportunities to build more embodied, complicated narratives about gender, sexuality and health. Most importantly, comics are used as a modality to tell compelling narratives about how individuals, rather than populations, may be impacted by biomedical conceptualizations of gender and health. The commentary includes a series of graphic narratives containing hypothetical stories and cases: stories of how individuals may be harmed within healthcare systems by rigid framings of gender, sex and sexuality, and stories about how gender socialization may impact health in subtle ways. These narratives furthermore examine the inextricable link between gender and power, illustrating how overt and covert manifestations of power may shape a person's health over the life course. Finally, the piece explores how expansive views of gender may contribute to positive health care experiences. The intention of this piece is to nudge scientific researchers and clinicians alike to approach the topic of gender, sexuality and health with nuance and curiosity. © 2023 The Author(s)
Keywords: Comics; Embodiment; Gender; Gender-affirming care; Graphic medicine; Health; Narrative; Power; Sex; Sexuality; Transgender; Trauma; dept.com; peer-reviewed

Book Review: Aro Velmet, Pasteur’s Empire: Bacteriology & Politics in France, Its Colonies, & the World (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020), pp. xiv + 306, $78.00, hardback, ISBN: 9780190072827. - Thompson, C. Michele (Medical History, 2022)
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Keywords: dept.his

Book Review: Edington, Claire E. – Beyond the Asylum: Mental Illness in French Colonial Vietnam. - Thompson, C. Michele (Histoire sociale / Social History, 2023)
Keywords: book.review; dept.his

Book Review: Epidemic Politics in Contemporary Vietnam: Public Health and the State By Martha Lincoln, London: Bloomsbury Academic. 2022. 232 pp.1 - Thompson, C. Michele (Medical Anthropology Quarterly, 2024)
Keywords: book.review; dept.his

Book Review: Fragrant Frontier: Global Spice Entanglements from the Sino-Vietnamese Uplands - Thompson, C. Michele (Agricultural History, 2024)
The editors of Fragrant Frontier have produced an impressively researched book on the contemporary growers, in northern Vietnam and Southwest China, of three spices—star anise, black cardamom, and cinnamon, each of which has local, regional, and international economic importance—as well as the human links in the global commodity chain of these spices. This volume is much more coherent than many edited volumes, and readers should not skip any of it, as there are nice little surprises waiting here and there in the text.A good example is the “Preface and Acknowledgements” section, as this not only provides interesting information on how the volume came into being but also links to websites and scannable QR codes for “story maps” on the three spices and the places mentioned in the rest of the volume. This is a nice touch that gives this volume about the recent situation of farmers, local traders, marketplace workers, street vendors (of both the spices and foods prepared with them), wholesalers, exporters, and state officials a very contemporary feel. These story maps are only the first of an extensive number of relevant, well-done, and well-used illustrations including photographs, maps, and tables inserted throughout the following chapters.
Keywords: book.review; dept.his

Exploring the role of the service provider in sharing economy services - Zal, Saeed; Guo, Lin; Tang, Chuanyi; Zhang, Junzhou (Journal of Services Marketing, 2024)
Purpose This paper aims to investigate the role of the service provider in determining customer satisfaction in sharing economy services. The authors sought to examine how the intrinsic and extrinsic cues along with their interactions influence customer satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach This research uses a mixed-methods design to test the hypotheses. Study 1 uses secondary data from Inside Airbnb. Study 2 uses a 2 × 2 × 2 between-subject experimental design. Findings Both studies support the confirmation bias perspective over the expectancy-confirmation perspective in explaining the interplay among different cues in determining customer satisfaction. In the context of Airbnb, in the absence of a Superhost badge, if hosts adopt a reactive communication style, physical presence has a greater impact on customer satisfaction compared to virtual presence. Originality/value This study extends the services marketing literature and cue utilization theory by investigating the dynamic interactions among multiple intrinsic and extrinsic service cues. It shed new light on how a combination of these cues may become additive or redundant in determining customer satisfaction. This study contributes to the services marketing literature by addressing the interactive nature of sharing economy services and the neglected role of service providers.
Keywords: Airbnb; Customer satisfaction; Extrinsic cues; Intrinsic cues; Service provider; Sharing economy; dept.mrk; peer-reviewed

A chief diversity officer's perspective: Advocacy and allyship-how can I help? - Ariza, D. (How to Incorporate Equity and Justice in Your Teaching, 2024)
Keywords: dept.dei

Planning for Equitable Student Sensemaking: An Examination of Preservice Teachers Noticing of Elementary Science Lesson Plans - Benedict-Chambers, A.; Sherwood, C.-A. (Journal of Science Teacher Education, 2024)
Designing and analyzing lesson plans is a ubiquitous practice in teacher education, and yet we know little about how preservice teachers (PSTs) notice elements of their lesson plans that afford opportunities for supporting equitable student sensemaking. We investigate how the use of a tool, a framework for supporting equitable sensemaking, guided 36 PSTs to notice four features of equitable sensemaking in their plans. Qualitative analysis of PSTs’ comments about their plans generated a coding rubric and three associated levels for noticing. These levels included (1) paying little to no attention to explicit strategies and making assumptions about the ways that traditional classroom practices might facilitate equitable sensemaking; (2) attending to some strategies but providing few details; and (3) attending to and making connections between specific moves and broader principles and practices of supporting equitable student sensemaking. Guided by the tool, PSTs were able to provide elaborate details about their plans to design instruction to engage students in authentic scientific work focused on investigating and explaining phenomenon (feature 4) and to position students as knowers (feature 2), but they struggled to discuss explicit ways to leverage students’ lived experiences in their science lessons (feature 3) and facilitate equitable engagement and participation (feature 1). This suggests that even with the use of a tool, it may be challenging for PSTs to attend to and describe in detail strategies for leveraging students’ out-of-school lives and interests for science learning and explicit classroom strategies for making learning accessible and engaging for all. © 2024 Association for Science Teacher Education.
Keywords: Equitable science instruction; dept.cur; methods courses; noticing; peer-reviewed; preservice teachers

Star image centering with deep learning. II. HST/WFPC2 full field of view - Casetti-Dinescu, D.I.; Baena-Gallé, R.; Girard, T.M.; Cervantes-Rovira, A.; Todeasa, S. (Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 2024)
We present an expanded and improved deep-learning (DL) methodology for determining centers of star images on Hubble Space Telescope/Wide-Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) exposures. Previously, we demonstrated that our DL model can eliminate the pixel-phase bias otherwise present in these undersampled images; however that analysis was limited to the central portion of each detector. In the current work we introduce the inclusion of global positions to account for the point-spread function (PSF) variation across the entire chip and instrumental magnitudes to account for nonlinear effects such as charge transfer efficiency. The DL model is trained using a unique series of WFPC2 observations of globular cluster 47 Tuc, data sets comprising over 600 dithered exposures taken in each of two filters—F555W and F814W. It is found that the PSF variations across each chip correspond to corrections of the order of ∼100 mpix, while magnitude effects are at a level of ∼10 mpix. Importantly, pixel-phase bias is eliminated with the DL model; whereas, with a classic centering algorithm, the amplitude of this bias can be up to ∼40 mpix. Our improved DL model yields star-image centers with uncertainties of 8-10 mpix across the full field of view of WFPC2. © 2024. The Astronomical Society of the Pacific. All rights reserved.
Keywords: dept.phy; peer-reviewed

Measurements of the Z0/γ⁎ cross section and transverse single spin asymmetry in 510 GeV p + p collisions - STAR Collaboration (Physics Letters, Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics, 2024)
The differential cross section for Z0 production, measured as a function of the boson's transverse momentum (pT), provides important constraints on the evolution of the transverse momentum dependent parton distribution functions (TMDs). The transverse single spin asymmetry (TSSA) of the Z0 is sensitive to one of the polarized TMDs, the Sivers function, which is predicted to have the opposite sign in p+p →W/Z+X from that which enters in semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering. In this Letter, the STAR Collaboration reports the first measurement of the Z0/γ⁎ differential cross section as a function of its pT in p+p collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 510 GeV, together with the Z0/γ⁎ total cross section. We also report the measurement of Z0/γ⁎ TSSA in transversely polarized p+p collisions at 510 GeV. © 2024
Keywords: Cross section; Sivers function; Transverse momentum dependent parton distribution functions (TMDs); Transverse single spin asymmetry (TSSA, AN); Z0; dept.phy; peer-reviewed

Reactive axillary lymph nodes after COVID-19 mRNA vaccination: Comparison of mRNA vs. attenuated whole-virus vaccines - Adin, M.E.; Isufi, E.; Wu, J.; Pang, Y.; Nguyen, D.; Simsek Has, D.; Caner, C.; Aboueldaha, N.; Mossa-Basha, M.; Pucar, D. (Nuclear Medicine Communications, 2024)
Objective To compare the incidence and natural course of reactive axillary lymph nodes (RAL) between mRNA and attenuated whole-virus vaccines using Deauville criteria. Methods In this multi-institutional PET-CT study comprising multiple vaccine types (Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty, Moderna/Spikevax, Sinovac/CoronaVac and Janssen vaccines), we evaluated the incidence and natural course of RAL in a large cohort of oncological patients utilizing a standardized Deauville scaling system (n=522; 293 Female, Deauville 3-5 positive for RAL). Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to evaluate the predictive value of clinical parameters (absolute neutrophil count [ANC], platelets, age, sex, tumor type, and vaccine-to-PET interval) for PET positivity. Results Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty and Moderna vaccines revealed similar RAL incidences for the first 20 days after the second dose of vaccine administration (44% for the first 10 days for both groups, 26% vs. 20% for 10-20 days, respectively for Moderna and Pfizer). However, Moderna recipients revealed significantly higher incidences of RAL after 20 days compared to Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty, with nodal reactivity spanning up to the 9th week post-vaccination (15% vs. 4%, respectively P<0.001). No RAL was observed in patients who received either a single dose of J&J vaccine or two doses of CroronaVac. Younger patients showed increased likelihood of RAL, otherwise, clinical/demographic parameters were not predictive of RAL (P=0.014 for age, P>0.05 for additional clinical/demographic parameters). Conclusion RAL based on strict PET criteria was observed with mRNA but not with attenuated whole-virus vaccines, in line with higher immunogenicity and stronger protection offered by mRNA vaccines. © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health. All rights reserved.
Keywords: COVID-19; CoronaVac; Janssen; axillary lymph node; dept.mat; mRNA vaccine; peer-reviewed

A review of the kappa opioid receptor system in opioid use - Cayir, Salih; Zhornitsky, Simon; Barzegary, Alireza; Sotomayor-Carreño, Esteban; Sarfo-Ansah, Wonder; Funaro, Melissa C.; Matuskey, David; Angarita, Gustavo (Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 2024)
The kappa opioid receptor (KOR) system is implicated in dysphoria and as an “anti-reward system” during withdrawal from opioids. However, no clear consensus has been made in the field, as mixed findings have been reported regarding the relationship between the KOR system and opioid use. This review summarizes the studies to date on the KOR system and opioids. A systematic scoping review was reported following PRISMA guidelines and conducted based on the published protocol. Comprehensive searches of several databases were done in the following databases: MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Scopus, and Cochrane. We included preclinical and clinical studies that tested the administration of KOR agonists/antagonists or dynorphin and/or measured dynorphin levels or KOR expression during opioid intoxication or withdrawal from opioids. One hundred studies were included in the final analysis. Preclinical administration of KOR agonists decreased drug-seeking/taking behaviors and opioid withdrawal symptoms. KOR antagonists showed mixed findings, depending on the agent and/or type of withdrawal symptom. Administration of dynorphins attenuated opioid withdrawal symptoms both in preclinical and clinical studies. In the limited number of available studies, dynorphin levels were found to increase in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) of opioid use disorder subjects (OUD). In animals, dynorphin levels and/or KOR expression showed mixed findings during opioid use. The KOR/dynorphin system appears to have a multifaceted and complex nature rather than simply functioning as an anti-reward system. Future research in well-controlled study settings is necessary to better understand the clinical role of the KOR system in opioid use.
Keywords: Dynorphins; Opioid use disorder; Opioids; dept.psy; peer-reviewed; κ-opioid receptor

Growing grassroots: counseling student experiences in legislative professional advocacy - Foss-Kelly, L.L.; Parzych, J.; Feshler, M.; Yale, J.; Chen, Q. (Journal of Counselor Leadership and Advocacy, 2024)
Counselor educators and supervisors have a vital role in promoting legislative professional advocacy (LPA). An interpretative qualitative analysis study of counseling graduate students involved in state-level LPA was conducted. Findings revealed six distinct themes: (1) professional counselor identity, (2) knowledge, attitudes and skills, (3) professional support, (4) power of the group, (5) social justice, and (6) personal impact. Study findings may help counselor educators and supervisors educate, guide, and mentor students, thereby increasing the likelihood of professional counselor LPA. © 2024 Chi Sigma Iota.
Keywords: Counselor education and supervision; counselor advocacy; dept.csp; legislative professional advocacy; professional identity

Perspectives on Product Stewardship - Cassel, Scott (Bernan Press, 2023)
Keywords: dept.mgt

Bibliotherapy to reduce perceptions of burden among family caregivers of adult day health clients - Loy-Ashe, Tarah; Crowe, B.; Graves, W (Therapeutic Recreation: Practice and Research, Special Edition: Diversity & Inclusion, 2023)

Use of adaptive sport to impact student attitudes toward disability - Loy-Ashe, Tarah; Conant., E (Review of Disability Studies: An International Journal, 2023)
Keywords: dept.hls; peer-reviewed

Speech-Language Pathologists' Use of Side-Lying Position in Infant Modified Barium Swallow Studies: A Qualitative Investigation - Smith, Julian Bergen; O, 'Donoghue Cynthia; Jones, Rebecca (Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 2024)
Purpose: This qualitative study explored the practices of hospital-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs) conducting modified barium swallow studies (MBS) for infants at risk for dysphagia. Specifically, this research aimed to determine whether or not SLPs use side-lying position during MBS, to examine possible differences in the use of positioning, and to better understand SLPs' perceptions and experiences in this practice. Using a constructivist view, research questions guiding this inquiry were as follows: What is the current practice of hospital-based pediatric SLPs in regard to the use of side-lying position during infant MBS? What is the experience of the hospital-based SLP in their use of side-lying position during MBS? How do SLPs report perceived barriers or benefits to using side-lying position during MBS? Method: Employing a purposive-convenience sampling technique, data were collected using semistructured interviews of SLPs serving at-risk infants with dysphagia. All participants were practicing in Level-III or -IV neonatal intensive care units. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, loaded into NVivo, and coded using initial and consensus coding. Themes achieved saturation following six interviews. Results: Three themes emerged from the analysis: (a) variations in practice patterns, (b) factors influencing clinical practice, and (c) items that SLPs identified as needs to facilitate change in their clinical practice. Conclusions: Although SLPs acknowledged the importance of MBS replicating an infant's typical feeding, some SLPs who consistently use side-lying position during feeding do not assess feeding in side-lying position during MBS. This inconsistency in practice results from SLPs' perceived barriers, including lack of experience, concern over interdisciplinary conflict, need for MBS protocols, and lack of research on the potential impacts of side-lying positioning on swallowing. Participants reported the need for research to determine whether side-lying position alters, possibly improves, swallow functions and safety (e.g., airway protection) for at-risk infants.
Keywords: dept.cmd; peer-reviewed

Aesthetics - Marsoobian, A.T. (The Bloomsbury Handbook of Pragmatism, 2024)
Keywords: dept.phi

The effects of placement method on multilingual learner success in higher education - Key Jr, William (TESOL Journal, 2024)
In the United States, many actors are pushing for the use of grade point average (GPA) as the main placement tool for gatekeeper math and English courses for community college students (Quarles, 2022; Scott-Clayton, 2018; Turk, 2017). One community college system (pseudonymously, SXCC) in a New England state has begun placing students in initial math and English classes based on self-reported GPA. There have been studies on the effects of placement changes of this type (Belfield & Crosta, 2012; Hodara & Cox, 2016; Ngo & Kwon, 2014; Scott-Clayton, 2012). However, studies have not included the effects of these changes on multilingual learners (MLLs).Using a census of every MLL placed in SXCC in the summer and fall of 2020 and the spring of 2021 (N = 12,603), a MANOVA found that MLL students in the SXCC system who were placed using previous placement methods had a higher overall GPA than students placed using self-reported GPA (M = 3.32, SD = 0.740; M = 2.01, SD = 1.27, respectively) and had higher satisfactory academic progress (SAP) (M = 102.98, SD = 51.52; M = 57.66, SD = 55.53, respectively), and took longer to enroll in English 101 (M = 5.11, SD = 3.55; M = 2.36, SD = 1.76, respectively).
Keywords: dept.edu; peer-reviewed

Neptune’s domain: a political geography of the sea - Glassner, M.I. (Neptune’s Domain: A Political Geography of the Sea, 2024)
First published in 1990, Neptune’s Domain is organized around one unifying theme: the geographic aspects of the new Law of the Sea as expressed primarily in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The first two chapters provide essential background information. Chapters 3 through 9 explain relevant provisions of the Convention. The next two chapters cover topics excluded from the Convention, and the last three chapters are more analytical and future-oriented. All students and scholars concerned with the human use of the marine environment will welcome this book, whether they be geographers, political scientists or lawyers. © Martin Ira Glassner 1990. All rights reserved.
Keywords: dept.egm

The evolution of femoral morphology in giant non-avian theropod dinosaurs - Pintore, Romain; Hutchinson, John R.; Bishop, Peter J.; Tsai, Henry P.; Houssaye, Alexandra (Paleobiology, 2024)
Theropods are obligate bipedal dinosaurs that appeared 230 Ma and are still extant as birds. Their history is characterized by extreme variations in body mass, with gigantism evolving convergently between many lineages. However, no quantification of hindlimb functional morphology has shown whether these body mass increases led to similar specializations between distinct lineages. Here we studied femoral shape variation across 41 species of theropods (n = 68 specimens) using a high-density 3D geometric morphometric approach. We demonstrated that the heaviest theropods evolved wider epiphyses and a more distally located fourth trochanter, as previously demonstrated in early archosaurs, along with an upturned femoral head and a mediodistal crest that extended proximally along the shaft. Phylogenetically informed analyses highlighted that these traits evolved convergently within six major theropod lineages, regardless of their maximum body mass. Conversely, the most gracile femora were distinct from the rest of the dataset, which we interpret as a femoral specialization to “miniaturization” evolving close to Avialae (bird lineage). Our results support a gradual evolution of known “avian” features, such as the fusion between lesser and greater trochanters and a reduction of the epiphyseal offset, independent from body mass variations, which may relate to a more “avian” type of locomotion (more knee than hip driven). The distinction between body mass variations and a more “avian” locomotion is represented by a decoupling in the mediodistal crest morphology, whose biomechanical nature should be studied to better understand the importance of its functional role in gigantism, miniaturization, and higher parasagittal abilities.
Keywords: dept.bio; open-access; peer-reviewed

Understanding food insecurity among collegiate athletes: a qualitative study at a public university in New England - Anziano, Jennifer; Zigmont, Victoria A. (Journal of Athletic Training, 2024)
Context: Authors of previous research at a public university in New England, where the current study takes place, showed that approximately one-third of undergraduate students have experienced some aspect of food insecurity. More recent investigators at this university revealed that students who were members of a sport team were 4 times more likely to be food insecure than their peers who were not on a sport team. The estimated prevalence of student-athlete food insecurity from other previous research studies ranged from 14% to 32%. Objective: To understand the contributing factors to food insecurity among collegiate athletes. Design: Qualitative study. Setting: A public university in New England. Patients or Other Participants: Data are presented for 10 collegiate athletes who experienced some level of food insecurity according to the United States Department of Agriculture Six-Item Short Form. Data Collection and Analysis: Data were collected using a brief demographic questionnaire and semistructured interviews. Results: Contributing factors were a lack of time, special dietary needs, limited campus dining options, and limited access to transportation or kitchens. Coping strategies were managing time and resources, buying cheaper foods, and skipping meals. Food insecurity negatively affected students' athletic performance. The athletes struggled to balance their athletic and academic schedules and obtain a diet that allowed them to meet their performance goals. Conclusions: Additional and innovative programming is needed to support food-insecure student-athletes. © by the National Athletic Trainers' Association, Inc.
Keywords: academic performance; athletic performance; dept.pch; diet; nutrition; open-access; peer-reviewed

Reaction plane correlated triangular flow in Au + Au collisions at √ s N N = 3 GeV - STAR Collaboration (Physical Review C, 2024)
We measure triangular flow relative to the reaction plane at 3 GeV center-of-mass energy in Au+Au collisions at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. A significant v3 signal for protons is observed, which increases for higher rapidity, higher transverse momentum, and more peripheral collisions. The triangular flow is essentially rapidity-odd with a slope at midrapidity, dv3/dy|(y=0), opposite in sign compared to the slope for directed flow. No significant v3 signal is observed for charged pions and kaons. Comparisons with models suggest that a mean field potential is required to describe these results, and that the triangular shape of the participant nucleons is the result of stopping and nuclear geometry.
Keywords: dept.phy; peer-reviewed

Perceptions of racial-ethnic inequities in COVID-19 healthcare and willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine - Sherchan, J.S.; Fernandez, J.R.; Njoku, A.; Brown, T.H.; Forde, A.T. (Epidemiology, 2024)
Background: Perceptions of the US healthcare system can impact individuals' healthcare utilization, including vaccination intentions. This study examined the association between perceived racial-ethnic inequities in COVID-19 healthcare and willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Methods: This study used data from REACH-US, a nationally representative online survey of a large, diverse sample of U.S. adults (N=5145 January 26, 2021-March 3, 2021). Confirmatory factor and regression analyses examined a latent factor of perceived racial-ethnic inequities in COVID-19 healthcare, whether the factor was associated with willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and whether associations varied across racial-ethnic groups reported as probit estimates (B) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: Perceived racial-ethnic inequities in COVID-19 healthcare were highest among Black/African American adults (mean latent factor score: 0.65 ± 0.43) and lowest among White adults (mean latent factor score: 0.04 ± 0.67). Black/African American (B = -0.08; 95% CI = -0.19, 0.03) and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (B = -0.08; 95% CI = -0.23, 0.07) adults who perceived greater racial-ethnic inequities in COVID-19 healthcare were less willing than participants who perceived lower inequities. In contrast, American Indian/Alaska Native (B = 0.15; 95% CI = -0.01, 0.30), Asian (B = 0.20; 95% CI = 0.08, 0.31), Hispanic/Latino (English language preference) (B = 0.22; 95% CI = 0.01, 0.43), Multiracial (B = 0.23; 95% CI = 0.09, 0.36), and White (B = 0.31; 95% CI = 0.19, 0.43) adults who perceived greater racial-ethnic inequities in COVID-19 healthcare were more willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine than participants perceiving higher inequities. Conclusions: Greater perceived racial-ethnic inequities in COVID-19 healthcare were associated with less willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine among Black/African American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander adults. © 2024 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. All rights reserved.
Keywords: COVID-19; COVID-19 Vaccine; Ethnicity; Health inequities; Healthcare disparities; Healthcare system; Race; dept.pch; open-access; peer-reviewed

Human glioma tumor diagnosis using visible resonance Raman spectroscopy and deep learning - Llanos, N.E.; Zhou, Y.; Yu, X.; Zhang, S.; Zhu, K.; Liu, C.-H.; Wu, B.; Alfano, R.R. (Progress in Biomedical Optics and Imaging - Proceedings of SPIE, 2024)
Convolutional neural network (CNN) based deep learning is used to analyze spectral data collected by visible resonance Raman (VRR) spectroscopy to distinguish human glioma tumors from healthy brain tissues using binary classification and identify the cancer grades of the glioma tumors using multi-class classification. Classification was performed using both raw spectral data and baseline-subtracted data for comparison. The classification using both datasets yielded high accuracy, with the results obtained from baseline subtracted spectra slightly better than that obtained from raw spectra. The study showed VRR combined with deep learning provides a robust molecular diagnostic tool for accurately distinguishing glioma tumors from normal tissues and glioma tumor tissues at different cancer grades. Deep learning aided VRR technique may be used for in-situ intraoperative diagnosis of brain cancer. It may help a surgeon to identify cancer margins and even cancer grades during surgery. © COPYRIGHT SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Keywords: cancer grading; convolutional neural network; deep learning; dept.phy; glioma tumor; human brain tissues; machine learning; optical molecular pathology; peer-reviewed; visible resonance Raman (VRR)

Population origin and heritable effects mediate road salt toxicity and thermal stress in an amphibian - Conner, L.M.; Goedert, D.; Fitzpatrick, S.W.; Fearnley, A.; Gallagher, E.L.; Peterman, J.D.; Forgione, M.E.; Kokosinska, S.; Hamilton, M.; Masala, L.A.; Merola, N.; Rico, H.; et al. (Chemosphere, 2024)
Human impacts on wild populations are numerous and extensive, degrading habitats and causing population declines across taxa. Though these impacts are often studied individually, wild populations typically face suites of stressors acting concomitantly, compromising the fitness of individuals and populations in ways poorly understood and not easily predicted by the effects of any single stressor. Developing understanding of the effects of multiple stressors and their potential interactions remains a critical challenge in environmental biology. Here, we focus on assessing the impacts of two prominent stressors associated with anthropogenic activities that affect many organisms across the planet – elevated salinity (e.g., from road de-icing salt) and temperature (e.g. from climate change). We examined a suite of physiological traits and components of fitness across populations of wood frogs originating from ponds that differ in their proximity to roads and thus their legacy of exposure to pollution from road salt. When experimentally exposed to road salt, wood frogs showed reduced survival (especially those from ponds adjacent to roads), divergent developmental rates, and reduced longevity. Family-level effects mediated these outcomes, but high salinity generally eroded family-level variance. When combined, exposure to both temperature and salt resulted in very low survival, and this effect was strongest in roadside populations. Taken together, these results suggest that temperature is an important stressor capable of exacerbating impacts from a prominent contaminant confronting many freshwater organisms in salinized habitats. More broadly, it appears likely that toxicity might often be underestimated in the absence of multi-stressor approaches. © 2024 Elsevier Ltd
Keywords: Amphibians; Climate change; Local adaptation; Maladaptation; Pollution; Road salt; dept.bio; peer-reviewed