Family Stability Research Articles

Product formulas for multiple stochastic integrals associated with Lévy processes

AbstractIn the present paper, we obtain an explicit product formula for products of multiple integrals w.r.t. a random measure associated with a Lévy process. As a building block, we use a representation formula for products of martingales from a compensated-covariation stable family. This enables us to consider Lévy processes with both jump and Gaussian part. It is well known that for multiple integrals w.r.t. the Brownian motion such product formulas exist without further integrability conditions on the kernels. However, if a jump part is present, this is, in general, false. Therefore, we provide here sufficient conditions on the kernels which allow us to establish product formulas. As an application, we obtain explicit expressions for the expectation of products of iterated integrals, as well as for the moments and the cumulants for stochastic integrals w.r.t. the random measure. Based on these expressions, we show a central limit theorem for the long time behaviour of a class of stochastic integrals. Finally, we provide methods to calculate the number of summands in the product formula.

Perkembangan Judi Online dan Dampaknya Terhadap Masyarakat Beserta Dalil dalam Al-Qur’an dan Hadits Tentang Perjudian

The main issue of this journal discusses the impact of online gambling practices on society. The focus is to understand the negative consequences arising from online gambling and its implications for individuals and communities. The purpose of this study aims to analyze the impact of online gambling in the social context of society. The author wants to explain how online gambling practices affect individual well-being, social relationships, and family economic stability. Qualitative Method: The research approach used is a qualitative method. The author conducts analysis through content generated by the community related to online gambling, such as online forum discussions or relevant social media posts. The conclusion of the findings of this study reveals the significant negative impact of online gambling on society. Online gambling practices can cause destructive addiction, disrupt the financial stability of individuals and families, and damage social relationships. These negative influences require effective preventive measures,including education about the risks of gambling, strict regulations, and better supervision of online gambling platforms. In conclusion, this study emphasizes the importance of public awareness and responsive policies in addressing the negative impacts of online gambling on individuals and society as a whole.

Risk Factors of Post-Traumatic Stress in Pediatric Solid Organ Transplant Recipients.

Life with end-stage organ failure is accompanied by an accumulation of traumatic medical or surgical experiences. Despite recovery after solid organ transplantation (SOT), many children and adolescents develop post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). PTSS remain underappreciated as a major comorbidity in SOT programs, despite their association with decreased quality of life. We conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional study of 86 pediatric SOT recipients (17 heart, 44 kidney, and 25 liver) to evaluate potential determinants of PTSS. Trauma symptoms were measured by the Child Trauma Screening Questionnaire (CTSQ). Demographic, baseline, and contemporaneous factors were tested for independent association with CTSQ scores. The median post-transplant CTSQ score was 2 (IQR 1-4), and 22% were identified as high risk (score ≥5) for PTSD. Higher CTSQ scores were independently associated with the number of ICU days within the previous 12 months, the number of medications (complexity), and involvement with foster care in the primary model (R2 [adj.] = 0.26). The addition of the Family Impact Module improved the overall model (R2 [adj.] = 0.33), wherein higher family functioning was independently associated with lower CTSQ scores. An exploratory analysis of pre-transplant patients (n = 34) found a median pre-transplant CTSQ of 2 (IQR 1-6), suggesting that PTSS are onset before transplant and persist afterward. PTSS are highly prevalent in the SOT population. Risk factors include recent adverse medical experiences and complexity, whereas family stability may be protective. Additional research is needed to improve early ascertainment and support for patients at high risk of developing PTSS throughout their transplant journey.

Typologies of Residential Mobility in Childhood and Associations with Sociodemographic Characteristics: a Prospective Birth Cohort Study in Aotearoa New Zealand

AbstractDespite documented associations between childhood area-level socioeconomic status (SES), residential mobility and health, studies in this domain rarely use lifecourse study designs. This study examined temporal patterns of four residential mobility typologies based on area-level SES exposure from birth to 16 years. We devised four main residential mobility typologies: advantaged stayers (remaining in high SES areas), disadvantaged stayers (remaining in low SES areas), advantaged or upward movers (moving between high SES areas or transitioning from low to high SES areas), and disadvantaged or downward movers (moving between low SES areas or transitioning from high to low SES areas). Secondly, the research examined selected sociodemographic characteristics associated with the residential mobility typologies and whether these associations varied by age. Data from the Christchurch Health and Development (CHDS) prospective birth cohort study were used to obtain individual (i.e., gender, ethnic) and family sociodemographic (i.e., family SES) characteristics, and home addresses from birth to 16 years. Geocoded home addresses were linked to area-level SES. Two-level multinomial logistic regression models examined associations between sociodemographic characteristics and residential mobility typologies and their variations by age. Disadvantaged stayers constituted over one-fifth of the cohort during most of childhood. Children with Māori ethnicity, younger mothers, family instability, and childhood adversity are more vulnerable to frequent moves coupled with exposure to low area-level SES. Our study paves the way for the exploration of childhood environmental exposures and later-life health within a spatial lifecourse epidemiology framework.

Educating lifestyle modification to diabetic patients

The burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is steadily increasing, making them a major health concern. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the major non-communicable diseases that affects the public health and the community. DM is a chronic, complex disease that requires multi-factor risk reduction strategies apart from its maintaining blood glucose level. One of the community-based strategy is to educate diabetic patients about life style modifications. Keeping that as a guideline, a nurse-led intervention was carried out to ring about a change in life style in these patients. About 60 diabetic patients with equal number of control subjects were taken for the pilot study. Data were collected through interviews with a semi-structured questionnaire before (pre-test) and after nurse-led intervention (post-test) The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics; the calculated data were tabulated and graphed. The results of the study show that diabetic patients included in the study have improved their knowledge of life style modification. The community nurse intervention improved their perspective and understood the importance of life style medication (from 16.19 to 24.98%). This was tested using the student paired t test. Outcome of the test before the intervention showed significant change. Pre-test value was (53.97%) and the post-test intervention was 83.27%. The effect of such intervention was influenced the age, gender, education, and family structure. The intervention was found to be more effective in male patients of the age group 30-40 years with educational background and stable family structure having a joint family. The awareness created by nurse led intervention is effective and is significant taking age, sex, education level and the family structure. The pilot study indicates that further studies may be carried out in the community with general population and then specifically in patients with diabetes.

Empowering Future Bilingual Educators: Integrating Trauma-Informed Approaches in Bilingual Teacher Education

The impact of trauma on children's social, emotional, and academic growth is profound, yet teacher preparation programs, particularly in bilingual and multicultural contexts, often lack comprehensive training in trauma-informed practices. This qualitative study investigates the integration of trauma-informed approaches into a bilingual teacher education course at a university in West Texas. The study included 59 undergraduate pre-service teachers enrolled in a course on bilingual and multicultural education. Data were collected through preliminary and concluding written interviews, alongside ongoing instructional interventions, including discussions, case analyses, and trauma-informed strategies. Initially, participants demonstrated a limited understanding of trauma, associating it primarily with extreme events such as accidents or death. Post-course assessments, however, revealed a broadened understanding, recognizing everyday traumas like poverty, bullying, and family instability. Findings suggest that integrating trauma-informed approaches significantly enhances pre-service teachers' ability to identify and apply practical strategies to support trauma-affected students. The study introduces the Trauma-Informed Bilingual Teacher Preparation Model, focusing on key components such as foundational trauma knowledge, recognizing trauma symptoms, culturally responsive teaching, creating supportive environments, and fostering teacher resilience. By embedding trauma-informed practices in teacher education, this model prepares future educators to cultivate compassionate, inclusive classrooms, particularly in bilingual and multicultural settings. The study emphasizes the importance of curriculum reform to equip teachers with the necessary skills to support both students' emotional well-being and academic success.

Seasonal stability of the rumen microbiome contributes to the adaptation patterns to extreme environmental conditions in grazing yak and cattle

BackgroundThe rumen microbiome plays an essential role in maintaining ruminants’ growth and performance even under extreme environmental conditions, however, which factors influence rumen microbiome stability when ruminants are reared in such habitats throughout the year is unclear. Hence, the rumen microbiome of yak (less domesticated) and cattle (domesticated) reared on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau through the year were assessed to evaluate temporal changes in their composition, function, and stability.ResultsRumen fermentation characteristics and pH significantly shifted across seasons in both cattle and yak, but the patterns differed between the two ruminant species. Ruminal enzyme activity varied with season, and production of xylanase and cellulase was greater in yak compared to cattle in both fall and winter. The rumen bacterial community varied with season in both yak and cattle, with higher alpha diversity and similarity (beta diversity) in yak than cattle. The diversity indices of eukaryotic community did not change with season in both ruminant species, but higher similarity was observed in yak. In addition, the similarity of rumen microbiome functional community was higher in yak than cattle across seasons. Moreover, yak rumen microbiome encoded more genes (GH2 and GH3) related to cellulose and hemicellulose degradation compared to cattle, and a new enzyme family (GH160) gene involved in oligosaccharides was uniquely detected in yak rumen. The season affected microbiome attenuation and buffering values (stability), with higher buffering value in yak rumen microbiome than cattle. Positive correlations between antimicrobial resistance gene (dfrF) and CAZyme family (GH113) and microbiome stability were identified in yak, but such relationship was negatively correlated in cattle.ConclusionsThe findings of the potential of cellulose degradation, the relationship between rumen microbial stability and the abundance of functional genes varied differently across seasons and between yak and cattle provide insight into the mechanisms that may underpin their divergent adaptation patterns to the harsh climate of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. These results lay a solid foundation for developing strategies to maintain and improve rumen microbiome stability and dig out the potential candidates for manufacturing lignocellulolytic enzymes in the yak rumen to enhance ruminants’ performance under extreme environmental conditions.

The Protective Role of Intermedin in Contrast-Induced Acute Kidney Injury: Enhancing Peritubular Capillary Endothelial Cell Adhesion and Integrity Through the cAMP/Rac1 Pathway.

Contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CIAKI) is a common complication with limited treatments. Intermedin (IMD), a peptide belonging to the calcitonin gene-related peptide family, promotes vasodilation and endothelial stability, but its role in mitigating CIAKI remains unexplored. This study investigates the protective effects of IMD in CIAKI, focusing on its mechanisms, particularly the cAMP/Rac1 signaling pathway. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were treated with iohexol to simulate kidney injury in vitro. The protective effects of IMD were assessed using CCK8 assay, flow cytometry, ELISA, and Western blotting. A CIAKI rat model was utilized to evaluate renal peritubular capillary endothelial cell injury and renal function through histopathology, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, Western blotting, and transmission electron microscopy. In vitro, IMD significantly enhanced HUVEC viability and mitigated iohexol-induced toxicity by preserving intercellular adhesion junctions and activating the cAMP/Rac1 pathway, with Rac1 inhibition attenuating these protective effects. In vivo, CIAKI caused severe damage to peritubular capillary endothelial cell junctions, impairing renal function. IMD treatment markedly improved renal function, an effect negated by Rac1 inhibition. IMD protects against renal injury in CIAKI by activating the cAMP/Rac1 pathway, preserving peritubular capillary endothelial integrity and alleviating acute renal injury from contrast media. These findings suggest that IMD has therapeutic potential in CIAKI and highlight the cAMP/Rac1 pathway as a promising target for preventing contrast-induced acute kidney injury in at-risk patients, ultimately improving clinical outcomes.

First-principles studies on the electronic and thermal transport properties of twin graphene and its analogues

The novel two-dimensional (2D) carbon allotropes with various carbon networks have provided an unprecedented platform to explore fascinating device applications beyond graphene. In this work, the electronic and thermal transport properties of the twin graphene and its structural analogues, i.e., γ-graphyne, twin T-graphene, and twin 4–8 graphene, have been systematically revealed through first-principles calculations. Our results confirm the energetic and dynamical stability of the twin graphene family, and the intrinsic semiconducting nature of these 2D carbon sheets superior to graphene. Based on the solution of the phonon Boltzmann transport equation, the evaluated thermal conductivity of the considered 2D carbon sheets indicates that the absence of acetylenic linkages in carbon networks leads to a relatively enhanced heat transfer capacity, i.e., a higher thermal conductivity in the twin graphene family than the γ-graphyne case. More interestingly, a way to effectively tune thermal transport properties in the twin graphene family has been proposed via the utilization of atom-embedded carbon nanocages. Our results indicate that a notable 63.8% reduction in thermal conductivity can be achieved for twin graphene through the embedding of Ti atoms into the nanocages, exhibiting great potential for robust thermal management in low-dimensional carbon networks.

The influence of financial technology, personality traits, and financial literacy on financial attitude, personal saving orientation, and family financial planning, moderated by financial quotient among naval families. “A study of Hera naval base, Timor-Leste”

Family financial planning is becoming more and more crucial, particularly in military environments where certain challenges can affect financial habits. The study looks at moderating role of financial quotient on the correlation between financial technology, personality traits, and financial literacy and family financial planning of naval families at Naval Base Hera. Although certain factors of financial behaviour have been studied before, how these factors are interrelated within military families is still unclear. This research seeks to fill this gap by employing a causal explanatory research method that analyze sources from 248 married Navy personnel through using a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach with Smart PLS. The findings paint a picture that where Fintech influences the financial behaviours of individuals and families, such traits for personality and financial literacy inform their attitudes and ever financial planning. Posted here, it is revealed that financial quotients have a moderate influence on the results of family financial planning. Thus, this research highlights the need to design and implement financial education interventions that incorporate technology support and improve the financial literacy of naval officers with policy implication for the authorities as well as other denominations in the teaching of financial education. This research fills this gap making a positive contribution in the understanding of financial management in military environment hence contributing to the informing of policies that foster better financial stability and well-being of families of soldiers serving in the navy.

Haves and have-nots: socioeconomic position improves accuracy of machine learning algorithms for predicting high-impact chronic pain.

Lower socioeconomic position (SEP) is associated with increased risk of developing chronic pain, experiencing more severe pain, and suffering greater pain-related disability. However, SEP is a multidimensional construct; there is a dearth of research on which SEP features are most strongly associated with high-impact chronic pain, the relative importance of SEP predictive features compared to established chronic pain correlates, and whether the relative importance of SEP predictive features differs by race and sex. This study used 3 machine learning algorithms to address these questions among adults in the 2019 National Health Interview Survey. Gradient boosting decision trees achieved the highest accuracy and discriminatory power for high-impact chronic pain. Results suggest that distinct SEP dimensions, including material resources (eg, ratio of family income to poverty threshold) and employment (ie, working in the past week, number of working adults in the family), are highly relevant predictors of high-impact chronic pain. Subgroup analyses compared the relative importance of predictive features of high-impact chronic pain in non-Hispanic Black vs White adults and men vs women. Whereas the relative importance of body mass index and owning/renting a residence was higher for non-Hispanic Black adults, the relative importance of working adults in the family and housing stability was higher for non-Hispanic White adults. Anxiety symptom severity, body mass index, and cigarette smoking had higher relevance for women, while housing stability and frequency of anxiety and depression had higher relevance for men. Results highlight the potential for machine learning algorithms to advance health equity research.

Health of Family Members of Road Transport Workers: Evaluation of Perceived Stress and Family Effectiveness

The health of road transport workers is affected by working conditions and life. However, there is a lack of studies on the level of stress and health of the families of these workers. This study aimed to evaluate the perceived stress level and family effectiveness of family members of road transport workers. A quantitative study was carried out with the family members of road transport workers in the southern region of Brazil. For data collection, a sociodemographic form, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and the Evaluation of Family Effectiveness Strategies were used. The data were analyzed by simple frequency, Spearman correlation coefficient (ρ) (p < 0.05), and descriptive analysis from the perspective of Systemic Organization. The sample was composed of 49 family members of road transport workers. Perceived stress was higher in family members who had more than nine years of education (p = 0.0403). Family members who scored higher in Family Effectiveness scored high on the targets of Control (p = 0.0353) (Control aims to reduce anxiety and prevent and eliminate events that threaten family stability) and Growth (p = 0.0360) (represented by attitudes that promote new roles in response to critical situations experienced by families, which require re-adaptation processes and adjustments). The Control target was significant (p = 0.0353) in families that had more than three people. The Coherence dimension (concerning self-esteem, body image, personal identity, self-confidence, and sexual identity) presented positive significance (p = 0.0244) in families with health problems and whose income was less than USD 792.00 per month (p = 0.0072). The Individuation dimension (including functions and responsibilities, where talents are reinforced, as well as initiatives that allow for the incorporation of knowledge to assume behaviors against personal/family and environmental pressures), was significant (p = 0.0138) in families with incomes over USD 792.00. The Maintenance System (strategies for decision-making, problem negotiation, ritual and traditional roles, communication patterns, standards, financial management, and approaches to maintaining family harmony) presented positive significance (p = 0.0151) in families where drivers worked as intercity drivers, as did the Stability target (p = 0.0196) (concerning the continuity of routines, structure, organization, traditions, and values assumed by the family and transmitted from generation to generation, which promote unity and the development of values, attitudes, and beliefs). In conclusion, social factors, such as education, income, diseases, type of worker activity in road transport, and number of people in the family, influenced perceived stress and family effectiveness, which demonstrates the need to increase the promotion of health care for the families of road transport workers.

The Controversy of Siyahi Marriage: A Maqasid Shariah Perspective and Its Relevance in Indonesia

The phenomenon of Nikah Siyahi, or temporary marriage during travel, has become a controversial topic in Islamic law. This practice is often carried out by Muslim travelers to enjoy sexual relations without violating religious principles. However, scholars have diverse opinions regarding Nikah Siyahi. Some endorse it as an alternative to avoiding zina (fornication), while others reject it for undermining fundamental values of marriage, such as commitment and purity. This study aims to explore Islamic legal perspectives on Nikah Siyahi and analyze the impacts of this practice through the lens of Maqasid Shariah, which are the primary principles of Islamic law intended to protect religion, life, lineage, property, and intellect. The research employs a library research method to gather views from various literatures on Islamic law. Although it may formally meet the requirements of Islamic marriage, Nikah Siyahi fundamentally contradicts the ideal objectives of marriage in Islam. From the perspective of Maqasid Shariah, this practice can have negative repercussions on the dignity of religion, mental health, family stability, and the rights of offspring. In Indonesia, where marriage law is clearly regulated, this practice brings more harm than benefit. Therefore, the enforcement of law and community education regarding the essence of marriage in Islam must be strengthened to protect fundamental values of Shariah

Associations Between Infant Formula Exposure, Housing Instability and Postneonatal Mortality Among Participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

To quantify infant mortality rates (IMR) using expanded racial categories, and to examine associations between infant formula exposure, housing instability and postneonatal mortality among Minnesota WIC Participants. Births in Minnesota from 2014 through 2019 (n = 404,102) and associated infant death records (n = 2034) were used to calculate neonatal and postneonatal rates using expanded racial categories. Those births that participated in the WIC program (n = 170,011) and their linked death records (n = 853) were analyzed using logistic regression to examine associations between formula exposure, housing instability, and postneonatal death. Postneonatal IMR was more than twice as prevalent among Black (African American) as East African immigrant infants (IMR = 3.9 vs 1.5). After adjustment for confounding (term status and nativity of mother (U.S. vs foreign born), infants exposed to formula by 28days were four times as likely to die in the postneonatal period as those without formula exposure (aOR = 4.0; 95% CI 3.2-4.9). WIC participants who experienced housing instability at birth were 1.7 times as likely to lose an infant in the postneonatal period (28 to 364days of age) as those in stable housing (aOR = 1.7; 95% CI 1.2, 2.4). Disaggregating Black mortality rates revealed inequities in infant mortality among Black families of varied backgrounds. Formula exposure and housing instability are modifiable risk factors associated with postneonatal mortality. Appropriate interventions to reduce barriers to breastfeeding and provide housing stability for vulnerable families could reduce disparities in postneonatal mortality.

Institutionalization Of Children And Their Overall Development

The ideal environment for children's physical, psychological, and emotional development is within a family. All children should live in supportive, protective, and caring settings that enables them to achieve their full potential. Those with inadequate or no parental care are especially at risk of missing out on such nurturing environments. Many children in India lack a stable home and family. These include abandoned, surrendered, and orphaned children, as well as destitute children with families. These children are particularly vulnerable in terms of their right to survival, development, and protection. The State is accountable for protecting the rights pertaining to these children and ensuring appropriate alternative care through its competent authorities, such as nongovernmental organizations and civil society organizations. The Government also enacted the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015, which serves as the major legislative framework for child protection in India, ensuring the security, protection, education, welfare, and development of children in need. The paper attempts to explore the institutionalization of children, the shortcomings of such a process, and the felt needs of the children. It focuses on the concerns of institutionalization and the overall development of children, access to their rights, welfare provisions, and relevant legislations. It also looks at adoption as an alternative to institutionalization. The paper thus examines child care institutions from the perspective of the child and argues that institutional care should be the last resort. It also discusses contemporary social work and advocates for alternative care, along with comprehensive welfare measures to guarantee the protection and overall development of children in need

Participation in formal adult education and family life—a gendered story

Abstract Previous literature on adult education (AE) has focused on various aspects of social inequalities, and although many acknowledge the critical role of gender, the mechanisms influencing gender differences in participation are rarely to the fore. Specifically, women report family responsibilities as the main reason for not enrolling in AE. This article examines whether family responsibilities, measured as the age and number of children, act as motivators or barriers to formal AE participation differently among men and women with varying time and monetary resources, that is, partnership status and relative income, in two societies with high formal AE enrolment rates; Finland and Great Britain. The results from Finnish registers and Understanding Society for 1998–2019 demonstrate clearly that family responsibilities related to having young children in the household restrict women from participating in formal AE to a greater extent than men in both countries. Further, while Finnish society enables individuals who traditionally have fewer resources to attend formal AE, that is, single parents and larger families, in Britain, formal AE is mainly taken up by individuals without children or those in stable family situations. The results highlight the importance of institutions in providing equal access to further educational qualifications.

Exploring marital safety: three South African wives living with HIV in nonmutual monogamous marriage

For wives who have been sexually monogamous, their being infected with HIV disrupts the cultural assumption of sexual safety in marriage. This phenomenological interview study shows how three married South African women, who were diagnosed with HIV and had reported being monogamous, experienced gendered distress while contemplating the failures of married coupledom in offering safety and familial stability. Constructionist thematic analysis showed three themes to represent changes in the marital unit. The first theme, HIV as Demarcation of Enduring Disruption, pointed to infection as the harbinger of distressing relational dynamics. The second theme, Feeling Controlled, reflected domains in which the wives felt trapped: restricted freedoms and obligatory intimacy. The third theme, Relational Deterioration, showed meanings about infidelity, fights or arguments, and distress about partner disengagement. Highlighted in this analysis is that, for two women, male control and disempowerment after having been infected with HIV added to their experiences of feeling trapped because they felt pressured into regressing into subservient spousal roles. They were required to retreat into household, mothering, and child care duties. The study’s practice implication is that, to address the aftermath of the discovery of HIV infection in heterosexual married couples, wherein sexual monogamy remains the unquestioned norm, health psychology and clinical interventions should incorporate a gendered approach in counselling formulation.

First-principles prediction of high carrier mobility for β-phase MX2N4 (M = Mo, W; X = Si, Ge) monolayers

The recently synthesized monolayer MoSi2N4 (Science 2020, 369, 367) exhibits exceptional environmental stability, a moderate band gap, and excellent mechanical properties, presenting exciting opportunities for the exploration of two-dimensional (2D) MX2Z4 materials. However, the low carrier mobility of α-phase MoSi2N4 significantly limits its potential applications in field-effect transistor (FET) devices. In this study, we systematically investigate the structural stability, elastic properties, and carrier mobility of a novel family of β-phase MX2N4 (M = Mo, W; X = Si, Ge) monolayers through first-principles calculations. Our findings reveal that these β-phase MX2N4 monolayers demonstrate remarkable dynamic, thermal, and mechanical stability. Specifically, we identify the MoSi2N4, MoGe2N4, WSi2N4, and WGe2N4 monolayers as semiconductors with band gaps of 2.70 eV, 1.57 eV, 3.12 eV, and 1.93 eV, respectively, as calculated using the HSE06 functional. Moreover, the MX2N4 monolayers exhibit significant elastic anisotropy, characterized by high ideal tensile strengths and a critical tensile strain exceeding 25%. Notably, the WGe2N4 monolayer displays exceptional anisotropic in-plane charge transport, achieving mobility levels of up to 104 cm2V− 1S− 1, surpassing those of the α-phase MX2N4 monolayers. These novel ternary monolayer structures have the potential to broaden the 2D MX2Z4 material family and emerge as promising candidates for applications in field-effect transistors.

Larger and more instructable language models become less reliable.

The prevailing methods to make large language models more powerful and amenable have been based on continuous scaling up (that is, increasing their size, data volume and computational resources1) and bespoke shaping up (including post-filtering2,3, fine tuning or use of human feedback4,5). However, larger and more instructable large language models may have become less reliable. By studying the relationship between difficulty concordance, task avoidance and prompting stability of several language model families, here we show that easy instances for human participants are also easy for the models, but scaled-up, shaped-up models do not secure areas of low difficulty in which either the model does not err or human supervision can spot the errors. We also find that early models often avoid user questions but scaled-up, shaped-up models tend to give an apparently sensible yet wrong answer much more often, including errors on difficult questions that human supervisors frequently overlook. Moreover, we observe that stability to different natural phrasings of the same question is improved by scaling-up and shaping-up interventions, but pockets of variability persist across difficulty levels. These findings highlight the need for a fundamental shift in the design and development of general-purpose artificial intelligence, particularly in high-stakes areas for which a predictable distribution of errors is paramount.

Refusing Gender: Intimate (Mis)Recognition of Gender Identity and Its Relation to Family Instabilities

This study extends the literature on the impact of the family of origin on gender identity by theorizing about refusing gender. We define refusing gender as the intimate refusal of gender identity by family members that is perceived as intentional and deliberate by transgender and nonbinary people in the United States. In this article, we demonstrate how refusing gender is intimate, perceived as intentional, embedded within existing family instabilities, and disruptive of family relationships. This study is based on interviews from a racially diverse group of 25 transgender and nonbinary adults in Texas, half of whom report high rates of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Findings contribute to gender theory by revealing the importance of the family in recognizing gender identity. This research makes novel connections between existing family instability, including histories of abuse, and gender refusal. We embed gender recognition within persistent family dynamics, including long-standing family instabilities and family violence, arguing that these family dynamics persist in the lives of adult children. Overall, these findings demonstrate how cisnormativity is reproduced in family life, filling significant gaps in theorizing about transgender and nonbinary family life.