Focal Point Research Articles

Dispersive Wave Focusing on a Shear Current: Part 2—Nonlinear Effects

Continuing our recent work [Ellingsen et al., Water Waves (2024)] we investigate the influence of vertically sheared currents on the surface elevation as well as the kinematics of dispersively focusing wave groups up to second order in steepness. The groups are assumed long crested in deep water which may travel at oblique angles with the current, which has a depth-dependent profile in both magnitude and direction. A strong but realistic shear current affects the wave surface elevation only slightly but the wave-induced horizontal velocity beneath the point of focus is very significantly affected, and new phenomena occur at second order. Firstly, a shear current causes wave-induced superharmonic velocity to be nonzero, contributing significantly for moderate wave steepness. At linear order, following (opposing) shear causes horizontal velocities to be amplified (reduced); for crest-focused wave groups, the superharmonic contribution reduces the influence of shear, whereas for trough-focused waves the velocity change from linear and second-order waves add, causing a substantially larger shear-induced effect. Secondly, the sub-harmonic mean flow is not strictly a return flow, but can follow the direction of wave propagation at the depths nearest the surface. Thirdly, unlike the case without shear where the subharmonic mean flow vanishes in the limit of zero bandwidth, it can now tend to a finite value in the narrowband limit. The criterion for this to happen is that the shear current has nonzero curvature.

Research on the evolution of cross-platform online public opinion for public health emergencies considering stakeholders.

To explore the different processes of the themes and emotional evolution of various stakeholders in the network public opinion of sudden public health emergencies at different stages of the public opinion evolution lifecycle. This paper proposes a cross-platform analysis method for online public opinion during the public health emergencies based on stakeholders. Firstly, data from multiple platforms are collected and integrated. Secondly, stakeholders are categorized and the stages of public opinion evolution are determined based on stakeholder theory and lifecycle theory. Finally, the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA)+Word2vec model and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model are used to analyze the themes and emotional evolution of stakeholders during different stages of public opinion evolution. There are differences in the evolution patterns of different types of stakeholders. The evolution process of stakeholders' focus points exhibits a two-stage transition from concentration to divergence. The focus points of stakeholders are closely associated with their respective social domains. The emotions of the public undergo a three-stage process of positive-negative-positive change. This study can provide a reference for the government to have a more comprehensive understanding of the development trend of public opinion and reduce the negative impact of public opinion.

A method to test the uniform convergence of function series

The series refer to performing infinite addition operations on infinite numbers or functions in a certain order. It is hard to find out whether the positive function series converges uniformly in many cases. In this article, a new method that replacing the sum of function terms series with improper integral will be introduced, which is designed to solve problems that cannot be solved by classical Weierstrass M-test. The Cauchy uniform convergence test will serve as the basis for the entire proof process because it can lead the focus point from the whole sum to the partial sum of the function series, where its value can be easier substituting by the value of the improper integral. After using basic knowledge of the improper integral, the uniform convergence can finally be known. By using this method, testing the uniform convergence of the irregular function series even estimating its value can be possible accomplished.

Analysis of Cephalometric Differences of the Midface and Upper Face in Males and Females: A Radiographic Study.

Gender affirmation facial surgery (GAFS) is an important component in treating gender dysphoria among transgender individuals by addressing gender incongruence of the face. There is a paucity of literature describing objective characterizations of the anatomic differences between male and female faces. In this study, cephalometric measurements were taken on routine CT imaging performed on cisgender patients between 2017 and 2020. Specifically defined cephalometric landmarks of the upper and midface were measured and compared between male and female cohorts. Thirty-eight patients, 19 male and 19 female, were identified for this study. Significant differences were identified in the frontal prominence, orbital size, malar height, bizygomatic width, nose, and upper lip, with moderate rates of specificity for each gender. Some important ratios are also presented. Differences in the malar region and the orbit highlight the importance of these areas as a point of focus for GAFS. These cephalometric findings provide objective evidence and parameters for perceived anatomic differences in male and female faces. In addition, they help both corroborate current surgical techniques as well as guide future approaches to GAFS.

Exploring the Application of SiteMap and Site Finder for Focused Cryptic Pocket Identification.

The characterization of cryptic pockets has been elusive, despite substantial efforts. Computational modeling approaches, such as molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, can provide atomic-level details of binding site motions and binding pathways. However, the time scale that MD can achieve at a reasonable cost often limits its application for cryptic pocket identification. Enhanced sampling techniques can improve the efficiency of MD simulations by focused sampling of important regions of the protein, but prior knowledge of the simulated system is required to define the appropriate coordinates. In the case of a novel, unknown cryptic pocket, such information is not available, limiting the application of enhanced sampling techniques for cryptic pocket identification. In this work, we explore the ability of SiteMap and Site Finder, widely used commercial packages for pocket identification, to detect focus points on the protein and further apply other advanced computational methods. The information gained from this analysis enables the use of computational modeling, including enhanced MD sampling techniques, to explore potential cryptic binding pockets suggested by SiteMap and Site Finder. Here, we examined SiteMap and Site Finder results on 136 known cryptic pockets from a combination of the PocketMiner dataset (a recently curated set of cryptic pockets), the Cryptosite Set (a classic set of cryptic pockets), and Natural killer group 2D (NKG2D, a protein target where a cryptic pocket is confirmed). Our findings demonstrate the application of existing, well-studied tools in efficiently mapping potential regions harboring cryptic pockets.

A Multimodal Approach to Measuring Listening Effort: A Systematic Review on the Effects of Auditory Task Demand on Physiological Measures and Their Relationship.

Listening effort involves the mental effort required to perceive an auditory stimulus, for example in noisy environments. Prolonged increased listening effort, for example due to impaired hearing ability, may increase risk of health complications. It is therefore important to identify valid and sensitive measures of listening effort. Physiological measures have been shown to be sensitive to auditory task demand manipulations and are considered to reflect changes in listening effort. Such measures include pupil dilation, alpha power, skin conductance level, and heart rate variability. The aim of the current systematic review was to provide an overview of studies to listening effort that used multiple physiological measures. The two main questions were: (1) what is the effect of changes in auditory task demand on simultaneously acquired physiological measures from various modalities? and (2) what is the relationship between the responses in these physiological measures? Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, relevant articles were sought in PubMed, PsycInfo, and Web of Science and by examining the references of included articles. Search iterations with different combinations of psychophysiological measures were performed in conjunction with listening effort-related search terms. Quality was assessed using the Appraisal Tool for Cross-Sectional Studies. A total of 297 articles were identified from three databases, of which 27 were included. One additional article was identified from reference lists. Of the total 28 included articles, 16 included an analysis regarding the relationship between the physiological measures. The overall quality of the included studies was reasonable. The included studies showed that most of the physiological measures either show no effect to auditory task demand manipulations or a consistent effect in the expected direction. For example, pupil dilation increased, pre-ejection period decreased, and skin conductance level increased with increasing auditory task demand. Most of the relationships between the responses of these physiological measures were nonsignificant or weak. The physiological measures varied in their sensitivity to auditory task demand manipulations. One of the identified knowledge gaps was that the included studies mostly used tasks with high-performance levels, resulting in an underrepresentation of the physiological changes at lower performance levels. This makes it difficult to capture how the physiological responses behave across the full psychometric curve. Our results support the Framework for Understanding Effortful Listening and the need for a multimodal approach to listening effort. We furthermore discuss focus points for future studies.

Twist piezoelectricity: giant electromechanical coupling in magic-angle twisted bilayer LiNbO3

Twisted a pair of stacked two-dimensional materials exhibit many exotic electronic and photonic properties, leading to the emergence of flat-band superconductivity, moiré engineering and topological polaritons. These remarkable discoveries make twistronics the focus point of tremendous interest, but mostly limited to the concept of electrons, phonons or photons. Here, we present twist piezoelectricity as a fascinating paradigm to modulate polarization and electromechanical coupling by twisting precisely the stacked lithium niobate slabs due to the interlayer coupling effect. Particularly, the inversed and twisted bilayer lithium niobate is constructed to overcome the intrinsic mutual limitation of single crystals and giant effective electromechanical coupling coefficient kt2\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$${k}_{t}^{2}$$\\end{document} is unveiled at magic angle of 111∘\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$111^\\circ$$\\end{document}, reaching 85.5%. Theoretical analysis based on mutual energy integrals shows well agreements with numerical and experimental results. Our work opens new venues to flexibly control multi-physics with magic angle, stimulating progress in wideband acoustic-electric, and acoustic-optic components, which has great potential in wireless communication, timing, sensing, and hybrid integrated photonics.

Comment. Military Women

Abstract With inter-state war plaguing the region, the studies of this forum highlight the problem of historical precedent failing to inform discussions of gender and war in Central and Eastern Europe. As a response, this article highlights their common points of focus across the national histories of Polish, British, Yugoslav, and Russian women's militarization in the twentieth century. The discussion considers the potential for women's militarization to serve emancipatory purposes historically as well as its ambivalent contemporary implications for the region's warring societies. The article argues that a productive direction for future discussion will extend to the masculine values and embodied practices that women's successes in military training and combat disrupted.

Lesion-symptom Mapping of Acceptability Judgments in Chronic Poststroke Aphasia Reveals the Neurobiological Underpinnings of Receptive Syntax.

Disagreements persist regarding the neural basis of syntactic processing, which has been linked both to inferior frontal and posterior temporal regions of the brain. One focal point of the debate concerns the role of inferior frontal areas in receptive syntactic ability, which is mostly assessed using sentence comprehension involving complex syntactic structures, a task that is potentially confounded with working memory. Syntactic acceptability judgments may provide a better measure of receptive syntax by reducing the need to use high working memory load and complex sentences and by enabling assessment of various types of syntactic violations. We therefore tested the perception of grammatical violations by people with poststroke aphasia (n = 25), along with matched controls (n = 16), using English sentences involving errors in word order, agreement, or subcategorization. Lesion data were also collected. Control participants performed near ceiling in accuracy with higher discriminability of agreement and subcategorization violations than word order; aphasia participants were less able to discriminate violations, but, on average, paralleled control participants discriminability of types of violations. Lesion-symptom mapping showed a correlation between discriminability and posterior temporal regions, but not inferior frontal regions. We argue that these results diverge from models holding that frontal areas are amodal core regions in syntactic structure building and favor models that posit a core hierarchical system in posterior temporal regions.

A retrospective case-control study of non-compliances preceding foodborne outbreaks originating from food service premises

More than half of the foodborne outbreaks originate from food service premises (FSPs). Recognizing non-compliances observed during food control inspections and their association with outbreaks is important so that new measures to prevent outbreaks can be developed.We conducted a retrospective case-control study to compare food control inspection grades between outbreak and non-outbreak FSPs. A total of 105 outbreaks meeting the study inclusion criteria were identified from among 337 outbreak investigation reports in Finland in 2015–2021. Four randomized matched non-outbreak control FSPs were selected for each outbreak FSP. Inspection grades were compared using a paired t-test or a Wilcoxon signed-rank test. In addition, we studied the association between the time from the preceding inspection to the point of the outbreak and the grade of the preceding inspection. Furthermore, inspectors’ verbal descriptions of the inspection findings were analyzed by comparing n-gram incidences between outbreak and control FSPs.When outbreaks with the weakest strength of evidence (on a 4-level scale) were excluded and only the inspection preceding the outbreak was considered, the inspection grades for outbreak FSPs regarding the monitoring of employees’ health status were inferior compared to the control FSPs (p = 0.02). When comparing the grades of all available inspections prior to the outbreak, there was a difference not only in monitoring employees' health status (p = 0.04), but also in the verification of hygiene proficiency (p = 0.02). Non-compliance in the verification of hygiene proficiency might imply deficiencies in food safety knowledge, which can result in many types of non-compliance.We also demonstrated that the closer the preceding inspection was to the outbreak, the worse the inspection grades were. This implies that the observed non-compliances may lead to outbreaks in a short time if not corrected, and that a prolonged inspection interval might result in critical non-compliances in FSPs that have previously received satisfactory inspection grades. These results can be used to develop food control focus points and inspection frequency.

Sharenting: A systematic review of the empirical literature

AbstractSharenting, the practice of parents publicly sharing information about their children on social media, has become increasingly prevalent in recent years. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic literature review in order to evaluate existing publications that have empirically investigated the sharenting phenomenon and conceptualized its characteristics and possible consequences. Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analysis guidelines, 61 studies were reviewed. Based on the point of view and focus of the studies, six themes emerged: characteristics of sharenting, children's privacy, professional sharenting, children's perspectives, factors affecting sharenting, and social media dilemmas. The review highlights the growing prevalence of sharenting and provides a comprehensive overview of the empirical investigations and conceptualizations of the phenomenon. The findings have implications for parents, professionals, and policymakers, and opportunities for future research to further understand the complex and multifaceted nature of sharenting.

Design of Lidar Receiving Optical System with Large FoV and High Concentration of Light to Resist Background Light Interference.

Lidar has the advantages of high accuracy, high resolution, and is not affected by sunlight. It has been widely used in many fields, such as autonomous driving, remote sensing detection, and intelligent robots. However, the current lidar detection system belongs to weak signal detection and generally uses avalanche photoelectric detector units as detectors. Limited by the current technology, the photosensitive surface is small, the receiving field of view is limited, and it is easy to cause false alarms due to background light. This paper proposes a method based on a combination of image-side telecentric lenses, microlens arrays, and interference filters. The small-area element detector achieves the high-concentration reception of echo beams in a large field of view while overcoming the interference of ambient background light. The image-side telecentric lens realizes that the center lines of the echo beams at different angles are parallel to the central axis, and the focus points converge on the same focal plane. The microlens array collimates the converged light beams one by one into parallel light beams. Finally, a high-quality aspherical focusing lens is used to focus the light on the small-area element detector to achieve high-concentration light reception over a large field of view. The system achieves a receiving field of view greater than 40° for a photosensitive surface detector with a diameter of 75 μm and is resistant to background light interference.

Semaglutide’s Neuropharmacological Effects: From Glycemic Regulation and Weight Loss to Potential Implications in Substance Use Disorders – A Narrative Review

Abstract: This narrative review delves into the potential therapeutic implications of semaglutide, a Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, in the context of Substance Use Disorders (SUDs). By systematically exploring databases from 2011 to 2023, and incorporating foundational works from 2004, a total of 59 articles were identified as pertinent to the topic. Utilizing the SANRA scale for assessment, the quality and relevance of these studies were rigorously evaluated. Preliminary findings indicate that semaglutide may play a pivotal role in modulating behaviors associated with SUDs, potentially providing fresh perspectives on the neurobiological mechanisms underlying these disorders. While the precise pathways of action for semaglutide remain to be fully deciphered, its recurrent mention in the literature underscores its emerging importance in the field of SUD research. As the understanding of semaglutide's influence expands, it holds promise as a focal point in future studies, warranting further in-depth exploration to ascertain its full therapeutic potential.

AMPs as Host-Directed Immunomodulatory Agents against Skin Infections Caused by Opportunistic Bacterial Pathogens.

Skin is the primary and largest protective organ of the human body. It produces a number of highly evolved arsenal of factors to counter the continuous assault of foreign materials and pathogens from the environment. One such potent factor is the repertoire of Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs) that not only directly destroys invading pathogens, but also optimally modulate the immune functions of the body to counter the establishment and spread of infections. The canonical direct antimicrobial functions of these AMPs have been in focus for a long time to design principles for enhanced therapeutics, especially against the multi-drug resistant pathogens. However, in recent times the immunomodulatory functions performed by these peptides at sub-microbicidal concentrations have been a point of major focus in the field of host-directed therapeutics. Such strategies have the added benefit of not having the pathogens develop resistance against the immunomodulatory pathways, since the pathogens exploit these signaling pathways to obtain and survive within the host. Thus, this review summarizes the potent immunomodulatory effect of these AMPs on, specifically, the different host immune cells with the view of providing a platform of information that might help in designing studies to exploit and formulate effective host-directed adjunct therapeutic strategies that would synergies with drug regimens to counter the current diversity of drug-resistant skin opportunistic pathogens.

Epistemology of Thought Study of Muhammad Imarah View On Th Presence Of Hermeneutics As A Methiode Of Interpretation

The study of hermeneutics has recently become an academic focus, especially in Islamic thought and tafsir (Interpretation) circles. Because hermeneutics offers a methodology in interpreting the text of the Koran. However, not all figures use hermeneutics as a method of interpretation, more there are those who do not accept the presence of hermeneutics as a method of interpretation, this means that hermeneutics has a very negative impression in Muhammad Imarah perspective, so they criticize epistemological reasoning for the presence of hermeneutics as a theory of interpretation. Specifically, there are several fundamental aspects which are the focus point of this research, namely, First, what is the concept of hermeneutics? Second, what is the epistemology of Muhammad Imarah thinking regarding hermeneutics? This type of research is literature review-based research (Library Research) by analyzing research sources, books, journals and relevant references to answer the problems in the research. The result of this research is that Muhammad Imarah view of hermeneutics is underestimated and considers hermeneutics to be a western theory that cannot be applied in understanding the Koran, let alone in the realm of interpreting. Imarah discredits the view and understanding that in hermeneutics the position of every reader is very special and plays an important role, Imarah calls it a deified position, while the author himself is considered to be gone (dead) and the meaning and purpose that the author wants to convey are considered non-existent. Imarah's view of hermeneutics is the same as Imarah pattern of viewing other traditions and civilizations originating from the west which is not accepted by Islam and therein lies the deficiency of an Islamic thinker who is in fact a professor in the field of Islamic philosophy

Veterinarians' Self-Reported Behaviors and Attitudes toward Spectrum of Care Practices.

Access to veterinary care for animal owners is an important part of keeping animals healthy and keeping pets and people together whenever that is appropriate. Insufficient financial and other resources to allocate to veterinary care are major barriers for pet owners to receiving preventative, sick, and emergency services. The veterinary community has begun to incorporate offering a range of diagnostic and treatment options more intentionally in response to clients' inability to pay and to a lesser extent to mitigate other barriers to care. Many veterinarians are nonetheless oriented toward providing specialized and more sophisticated care based on their training. This study sought to identify the self-reported behaviors, knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of veterinarians about offering a spectrum of care options (SoC) to clients. The finding that many reported offering SoC is encouraging. However, veterinarians who report comfort and confidence in a variety of aspects of clinical care were most likely to offer SoC. Practitioners in the field for 20 or more years were less likely to offer SoC to clients with financial limitations. Rural veterinarians were more likely to offer SoC to any client compared to urban veterinarians. These results provide a point of reference and potential focus for veterinarians who are not currently offering SoC as well as an exploration of veterinarians' reported knowledge, behaviors, attitudes, perceptions, and concerns about SoC.

Enhancement of laser ablation via high-frequency electromagnetic induction heating

The efficiency of pulsed laser ablation has always been the focus point of research. A novel high-frequency electromagnetic induction heating-assisted laser ablation scheme is proposed and investigated to enhance the efficiency and improve the surface processing quality during the nanosecond laser ablation of metal substrates. To reduce laser energy required to reach the ablation threshold of metal, this method utilizes the electromagnetic induction to rapidly elevate substrate temperature, making the metal easier to be ablated. The results show that ablation width increases 16% and ablation depth increases 31% with the assistance of electromagnetic induction heating at a laser fluence of 1.32 J/cm2, which increases 90% of the laser-ablated volume. Meanwhile, the surface ablation quality is significantly improved due to the smaller temperature gradient around the ablation region. This new method has great potentials in the laser micromachining at a higher processing efficiency and better laser-processed surface quality.

From peacekeeping missions to global peacekeeping assemblages

Abstract How does the experience of peacekeeping shape the countries that contribute troops and the troops themselves, individually and collectively? Most of the peacekeeping literature's focus has traditionally been on field missions, the countries that host them and the challenges of attracting sufficient and appropriately trained troops. We suggest that more emphasis should be put not only on the locations where missions deploy, but also on the individuals, countries and institutions that make up the missions. To analytically capture this more comprehensive understanding of what peacekeeping is—its multiple effects across space—we suggest drawing on the concept of assemblages to make an analytical shift from peacekeeping missions to global peacekeeping assemblages. First, this approach abandons the prior analytical separation of field mission, host country and contributing state/organization as discrete or isolated analytical focus points. Second, it encourages a detailed empirical methodology that focuses on how multiplicities of different actors, knowledges, technologies, norms and values through power struggles and negotiations constitute assemblages in geographically dispersed locations. Third, we suggest treating peacekeeping as flexible social facts, as outcomes of the co-functioning of heterogenous actors with diverse motivations and objectives that cannot be traced back to a single, but rather multiple point(s) of origin(s).

‘Successful Ageing’ Needs a Future: Older Incarcerated Adults’ Views on Ageing in Prison

Demographic changes have led to an increase in older people in prisons. Whereas the rehabilitative process of younger offenders is geared towards their reintegration into the labour market, successful ageing should be a policy aim for older prisoners. This study explores how older incarcerated persons view their ageing. A qualitative study using a written survey with only the single question What does ageing in prison mean to you? was conducted in Bavaria, Germany. A total of 64 prisoners (61 male, 3 female) supplied answers varying in length from a few words to several pages. The thematic analysis revealed that together with health concerns, social relations and everyday activities, the uncertainty of the future was a central focus point for the older adults in prison. The authors propose that a positive vision of the future needs to be included in any model of successful ageing. If successful ageing is used as an aim for older prisoners, more attention needs to be paid to support interventions during and after the release process.

Ferroptosis in Glaucoma: A Promising Avenue for Therapy.

Glaucoma, a blind-leading disease largely since chronic pathological intraocular high pressure (ph-IOP). Hitherto, it is reckoned incurable for irreversible neural damage and challenges in managing IOP. Thus, it is significant to develop neuroprotective strategies. Ferroptosis, initially identified as an iron-dependent regulated death that triggers Fenton reactions and culminates in lipid peroxidation (LPO), has emerged as a focal point in multiple tumors and neurodegenerative diseases. Researches show that iron homeostasis play critical roles in the optic nerve (ON) and retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), suggesting targeted treatments could be effective. In glaucoma, apart from neural lesions, disrupted metal balance and increased oxidative stress in trabecular meshwork (TM) are observed. These disturbances lead to extracellular matrix excretion disorders, known as sclerotic mechanisms, resulting in refractory blockages. Importantly, oxidative stress, a significant downstream effect of ferroptosis, is also a key factor in cell senescence. It plays a crucial role in both the etiology and risk of glaucoma. Moreover, ferroptosis also induces non-infectious inflammation, which exacerbate glaucomatous injury. Therefore, the relevance of ferroptosis in glaucoma is extensive and multifaceted. In this review, the study delves into the current understanding of ferroptosis mechanisms in glaucoma, aiming to provide clues to inform clinical therapeutic practices.