Identical Responses Research Articles

Examining teachers’ well-being during the pandemic: a mixed methods study on teachers’ psychological, emotional and identity responses to online education

This mixed methods study investigates teachers’ well-being in online education by looking at their linguistic and professional identity construction in the context of offline and online education. Teachers’ identity construction in online education sheds light on their virtual identities (Kramsch 2009) as well as their emotional and psychological responses (Fekete 2020a, 2020b) to online education. The paper seeks to prove that identity construction is shaped by the language spoken by the person, the context of the person, and other individual differences of the person. Therefore, the author proposes that identity construction should be envisaged as a complex dynamic system of the person’s individual differences that responds to changes in the levels of the system as well as environmental stimuli. Twenty-six teachers from eight countries participated in the research by completing a sentence completion task administered online. The large textual datasets were analyzed using qualitative content analysis that pointed out emerging themes. Then, descriptive statistics was employed to detect trends and frequencies, shining light on changes in the participants’ emotions and identity construction in the various contexts. The findings point out that offline and online education shape teachers’ identity construction as well as their psychological and emotional responses very differently. The results also pinpoint the difficulties teachers were faced with in online education and how these difficulties shaped their psychological, emotional and identity responses to the novel circumstances of their profession. / Key words: linguistic identity, professional identity, virtual identity, online education, teachers, emotions, complex dynamic systems, individual differences

Illness perceptions; exploring mediators and/or moderators in disabling persistent low back pain. Multiple baseline single-case experimental design

IntroductionIllness Perceptions (IPs) may play a role in the management of persistent low back pain. The mediation and/or moderation effect of IPs on primary outcomes in physiotherapy treatment is unknown.MethodsA multiple single-case experimental design, using a matched care physiotherapy intervention, with three phases (phases A-B-A’) was used including a 3 month follow up (phase A’). Primary outcomes: pain intensity, physical functioning and pain interference in daily life. Analyzes: linear mixed models, adjusted for fear of movement, catastrophizing, avoidance, sombreness and sleep.ResultsNine patients were included by six different primary care physiotherapists. Repeated measures on 196 data points showed that IPs Consequences, Personal control, Identity, Concern and Emotional response had a mediation effect on all three primary outcomes. The IP Personal control acted as a moderator for all primary outcomes, with clinically relevant improvements at 3 month follow up.ConclusionOur study might indicate that some IPs have a mediating or a moderating effect on the outcome of a matched care physiotherapy treatment. Assessing Personal control at baseline, as a relevant moderator for the outcome prognosis of successful physiotherapy management of persistent low back pain, should be further eplored.

On the adaptive synchronous control of a large-scale dual-shaker platform system

There is an ever-increasing requirement for higher power vibrating platforms to test large-scale structures. Whilst this may be achieved with a single shaker, this is an expensive option. An alternative solution is to drive a platform with two or more smaller shakers. To do this effectively, however, requires the identical amplitude and phase response of the shakers. In practice, due to manufacturing tolerances and uneven loading, this is not possible without a control system. The design and implementation of such a system is the objective of this paper. An adaptive FxLMS algorithm is used in the synchronous control of a dual-shaker system, considering the dynamic coupling between the shakers. A simulation is presented to verify the effectiveness of the control algorithm before the control system is integrated with practical a dual-shaker system driving a vibrating platform. It is shown that there are significant differences between the controlled and the uncontrolled system, demonstrating the efficacy of the control approach.

Phytoplankton Community Performance Depends on the Frequency of Temperature Fluctuations

With increasing frequency and intensity of climate change events, it is crucial to understand how different components of temperature fluctuations affect the thermal tolerance and performance of marine primary producers. We used a controlled indoor-mesocosm set-up to test the effect of a temperature fluctuation frequency gradient on a natural phytoplankton community. Within a frequency gradient, we allowed the temperature to fluctuate from 18 ± 3°C at different rates (6, 12, 24, 36, and 48 h). The temperature fluctuation frequency gradient was contrasted to a constant temperature treatment with the same mean temperature (18°C). Phytoplankton biomass tended to increase with faster fluctuations but was lowest in the diurnal frequency treatment (24 h). In comparison with constant conditions, diurnal or slower fluctuation frequencies showed lower or comparable performance, whereas faster fluctuations showed higher performance. In addition, minor differences in community structure were observed, but species diversity remained comparable over time. Similarly, resource use efficiency and stoichiometry did not change according to fluctuation frequency treatments. We conclude that the effect of temperature fluctuations on phytoplankton biomass depends on the fluctuation frequency; this suggests that the fluctuation frequency determines how organisms average their environments. However, this trend is not driven by species identity but physiological responses. Our results also indicate that phytoplankton communities may be already well adapted to fluctuating environments and can adjust physiologically to temperature variability.

Prise en charge de la toxoplasmose oculaire en France : résultats d’une étude Delphi modifiée

To evaluate diagnostic and therapeutic practices and then establish a consensus on the management of ocular toxoplasmosis in France through a Delphi study.Twenty-three French experts in ocular toxoplasmosis were invited to respond to a modified Delphi study conducted online, in the form of two questionnaires, in an attempt to establish a consensus on the diagnosis and management of this pathology. The threshold for identical responses to reach consensus was set at 70 %.The responses of 19 experts out of the 23 selected were obtained on the first questionnaire and 16 experts on the second. The main elements agreed upon by the experts were to treat patients with a decrease in visual acuity or an infectious focus within the posterior pole, to treat peripheral lesions only in the presence of significant inflammation, the prescription of first-line treatment with pyrimethamine-azithromycin, the use of corticosteroid therapy after a period of 24 to 48hours, the prophylaxis of frequent recurrences (more than 2 episodes per year) with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole as well as the implementation of prophylactic treatment of recurrences in immunocompromised patients. On the other hand, no consensus emerged with regard to the examinations to be carried out for the etiological diagnosis (anterior chamber paracentesis, fluorescein angiography, serology, etc.), second-line treatment (in the case of failure of first-line treatment), or treatment of peripheral foci.This study lays the foundations for possible randomized scientific studies to be conducted to clarify the management of ocular toxoplasmosis, on the one hand to confirm consensual clinical practices and on the other hand to guide practices for which no formal consensus has been demonstrated.

The Impact of Must Nutrients and Yeast Strain on the Aromatic Quality of Wines for Cognac Distillation

In order to understand the influence of nitrogen and lipid nutrition on the aromatic quality of wines for cognac distillation, we developed a transdisciplinary approach that combined statistical modeling (experimental central composite design and response surface modeling) with metabolomic analysis. Three Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains that met the requirements of cognac appellation were tested at a laboratory scale (1 L) and a statistical analysis of covariance was performed to highlight the organoleptic profile (fermentative aromas, terpenes, alcohols and aldehydes) of each strain. The results showed that nitrogen and lipid nutrients had an impact on the aromatic quality of cognac wines: high lipid concentrations favored the production of organic acids, 1-octen-3-ol and terpenes and inhibited the synthesis of esters. Beyond this trend, each yeast strain displayed its own organoleptic characteristics but had identical responses to different nutritional conditions.

Critical dynamics in biological Boolean networks follows from symmetric response to input genes

A recent observation on an extensive collection of biological gene regulatory networks suggests that the regulatory dynamics is tuned to remain close to the order-chaos boundary in the Lyapunov sense [1]. We here investigate, from a mathematical perspective, the structural/functional constraints which give rise to such accumulation around criticality in these systems. While the role of canalizing functions in this respect is well established, we find that critical sensitivity to small input variations also follows from an over-abundance of symmetrical inputs, i.e. regulatory genes invoking identical or complementary responses on their common target. A random network ensemble constructed to have the same distribution of symmetric inputs as in the above collection of biological networks captures the dependence of the sensitivity on mean activity bias, a nontrivial characteristic which the canalizing ensemble fails to fully reproduce.

Photoconductivity of PbS/perovskite quantum dots in gold nanogaps.

We demonstrate that the photoconductance of colloidal PbS/MAPbI3 quantum dots in nanoscale gold electrode gaps shows a consistent power law dependence of the photocurrent on the light intensity with an exponent slightly below 0.7. The gap sizes are between 25 and 800 nm and by scanning photocurrent microscopy we evidence the strong localization and high reproducibility of photocurrent generation. We probe different flat-faced and pointed electrodes for excitation light in the red and near infrared spectral range and laser irradiances from 10−2 to 102 W cm−2. Our material combination provides practically identical photocurrent response for a wide range of gap sizes and geometries, highlighting its generic potential for nanoscale light coupling and detection.

Analytical solution of the problem of synthesis of three-link stepped Chebyshev's microwave filter

The problem of synthesis of the three-link stepped Chebyshev's microwave filter is reduced to two independent fourth-degree equations, including a single link wave impedance as unknown. The solution of Descartes -Euler is applied to these equations. It is proved that, in case wave impedances of extreme links are equal, the problem of the filter synthesis has two solutions. Identical phase-frequency responses correspond to these solutions. It is proved that for each link a product of the wave impedances relating to these solutions is equal to a square of the wave impedance of the transmission line including the filter. Keywords: Microwave filter, stepped microwave filter, Chebyshev's microwave filter, synthesis of microwave filter.

The role of illness representations of internet gaming disorder (IGD) in help-seeking intention among undergraduates: A longitudinal study

Background and aimsThe Common-Sense Model asserts that illness representations of a health threat affect coping and behavioral reactions to it. Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is a newly defined mental disorder and leads to various health consequences. Little is known about illness representations of IGD and help-seeking for IGD among young adults who are at particular risk of IGD. ObjectiveThis study investigated the roles of illness representations in intention to seek help from professionals and important others (families and friends) for IGD in college students in China. MethodsA two-wave longitudinal study was conducted with a convenience sample of college students in China (N = 591, 57.9% females, Meanage = 19.10). Descriptive analyses and logistic regression analyses were conducted. ResultsApproximately 10% of participants were classified as having probable IGD. However, over 70% endorsed self-diagnosed IGD. Less than 40% perceived resources of help-seeking, and most perceived shame for help-seeking. Less than 40% intended to seek help from professionals, and 26% from family and friends. Significant predictors of intention to seek professional help included probable IGD, perceived resources of help-seeking for IGD, consequence, timeline, and treatment. Significant predictors of intention to seek help from family and friends included probable IGD, self-diagnosed IGD, perceived resources of help-seeking for IGD, shame for help-seeking for IGD, timeline, treatment control, identity, concern, and emotional response. Females were more likely to seek both types of help. Discussion and conclusionsPerceptions of IGD and help-seeking play significant roles in help-seeking intentions. These modifiable factors can be used to guide the development of health promotion and behavioral change programs to promote help-seeking for IGD.

The “Africanization” of an African Diaspora Household: Toyin Falola and the Idea of Diasporic Home-Making

This essay is an exercise in the interrogation of cultural globalization, and how the idea of transnationalism generates identity responses. The authors used the concept of home-making to examine how Toyin Falola deployed an aesthetic sensibility of African art as ideological dynamics for the personalization of his home situated in a suburb in Austin, Texas. The Africanization agenda that the Falola house operationalized points at the critical role that interior decoration can play in African diaspora homes. The project is crucial because it undermines the homogenizing reach of globalization that dislocates the sense of identity of an average African transnational migrant. In the Falola home, we confront an assemblage of aesthetic consciousness, dynamics of Africanity, and identity construction.

Cache Networks of Counting Queues

We consider a cache network in which intermediate nodes equipped with caches can serve content requests. We model this network as a universally stable queuing system, in which packets carrying identical responses are consolidated before being forwarded downstream. We refer to resulting queues as <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathtt {M/M/1c}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> or <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">counting queues</i> , as consolidated packets carry a counter indicating the packet’s multiplicity. Cache networks comprising such queues are hard to analyze; we propose two approximations: one via <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathtt {M/M/\infty }$ </tex-math></inline-formula> queues, and one based on <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathtt {M/M/1c}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> queues under the assumption of Poisson arrivals. We show that, in both cases, the problem of jointly determining (a) content placements and (b) service rates admits a poly-time, <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$1-1/e$ </tex-math></inline-formula> approximation algorithm. We also show that our analysis, with respect to both algorithms and associated guarantees, extends to (a) counting queues over items, rather than responses, as well as to (b) queuing at nodes and edges, as opposed to just edges. Numerical evaluations indicate that our proposed approximation algorithms yield good solutions in practice, significantly outperforming competitors.

Preliminary tribo-electrochemical and biological responses of the Ti-TiB-TiCx in-situ composites intended for load-bearing biomedical implants

Poor tribocorrosion resistance of Ti and its alloys remains as a concern for load-bearing biomedical implants. Despite being an effective method to improve tribocorrosion resistance, titanium matrix composites (TMCs) have yet to be used in this type of applications. In-situ TiB (titanium boride) and TiC (titanium carbide) reinforcement phases have been considered as one of the best options to produce TMCs once these phases present high compatibility and strong interfacial bonding with Ti. Although the effect of these phases on the mechanical properties of Ti has been thoroughly researched in the last years, their effect on corrosion, tribocorrosion and biocompatibility of Ti is yet to be fully understood. In this work, in-situ Ti-TiB-TiCx composites obtained by reactive hot pressing showed identical corrosion response compared to the unreinforced Ti but displayed improved tribocorrosion behaviour. Under 0.5 N load, composites presented as average a reduction of 51% in wear volume loss and under 10 N the reduction was up to 93%. Early biological tests showed promising results, as composites were biocompatible and induced osteoblasts spreading and possibly proliferation most probably due to composite chemistry and surface hardness.

Three ways social identity shapes climate change adaptation

Adaptation to climate change is inescapably influenced by processes of social identity—how people perceive themselves, others, and their place in the world around them. Yet there is sparse evidence into the specific ways in which identity processes shape adaptation planning and responses. This paper proposes three key ways to understand the relationship between identity formation and adaptation processes: (a) how social identities change in response to perceived climate change risks and threats; (b) how identity change may be an objective of adaptation; and (c) how identity issues can constrain or enable adaptive action. It examines these three areas of focus through a synthesis of evidence on community responses to flooding and subsequent policy responses in Somerset county, UK and the Gippsland East region in Australia, based on indepth longitudinal data collected among those experiencing and enacting adaptation. The results show that adaptation policies are more likely to be effective when they give individuals confidence in the continuity of their in-groups, enhance the self-esteem of these groups, and develop their sense of self-efficacy. These processes of identity formation and evolution are therefore central to individual and collective responses to climate risks.

Evaluation of a highly condensed SAPRC chemical mechanism and two emission inventories for ozone source apportionment and emission control strategy assessments in China

The response of summertime O3 to changes in the nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions, and contributions of different NOx and VOC sources to O3 in China are studied using a highly condensed photochemical mechanism in the Statewide Air Pollution Research Center (SAPRC) family (CS07A) and two popular anthropogenic emission inventories, the Multi-resolution Emission Inventory for China (MEIC) and Regional Emission inventory in ASia (REAS). Although CS07A predicts slightly lower O3 concentrations than the standard fix-parameter version of the SAPRC-11 mechanism, the two mechanisms predict almost identical relative responses to daily maximum 8-hour O3 (O3-8h) due to NOx and VOC emission reductions. A source-oriented version of the CS07A is applied to determine source contributions of NOx and VOCs to O3 using MEIC and REAS. The two inventories lead to similar model performance of O3, with MEIC predicting higher O3 in Beijing and Shanghai, especially on high O3 days. Source apportionment results show that industry and transportation are the top two contributors to non-background O3 for both inventories, followed by power and biogenic emissions. In general, the two inventories lead to similar source contribution estimations to O3 attributable to NOx. However, their estimations of relative contributions to VOC-related O3 differ for the industrial and transportation sectors. Differences in the source apportionment results are more significant in some urban areas, although both emissions capture the spatial variations in the source contributions. Our results suggest that future emission control policies should be assessed using multiple emission inventories, and the condensed CS07A is suitable for policy applications when a large number of simulations are needed.

Effects of Strong Ground Motion with Identical Response Spectra and Different Duration on Pile Support Mechanism and Seismic Resistance of Spherical Gas Holders on Soft Ground

Safety measures are required for spherical gas holders to prevent them from malfunctioning even after a large earthquake. In this study, considering the strong nonlinearity of the ground and damage to the pile during an earthquake, a three-dimensional seismic response analysis of the holder–pile–ground interaction system was conducted for an actual gas holder on the soft ground consisting of alternating layers of sand and clay. In the analysis, the seismic response of the structure to strong ground motions of different durations with the same acceleration response spectrum was verified. The results show that the piles were relatively effective in controlling the settlement when the duration of the earthquake motion was long. This is because the axial force acting on the pile increased due to the redistribution of the holder load caused by the lowering of the effective confining pressure of the sand and clay layers during the earthquake, which increased the bearing capacity of the pile. In contrast, when the duration of the seismic motion was short, the piles had little effect on the reduction in the settlement because the maximum acceleration was higher than that in the former case, and the piles immediately lost their support function.

A stretching-insensitive, self-powered and wearable pressure sensor

The advances in wearable electronics require the sensor to be stretchable and flexible. However, the sensing properties of sensor vary significantly under lateral stretching strains, which results in inaccurate measurement. Here, a lateral stretching-insensitive and self-powered pressure sensor (SSPS) based on the triboelectric nanogenerator is fabricated through the regular porous networks design of Ag nanowires (Ag NWs) electrode. A stretchable Ag NWs electrode with regular porous networks can keep constant resistance within the range of 0–85% lateral stretching strain. The fabricated SSPS has nearly identical electrical response to the same normal pressure and its sensing properties maintain invariant in the lateral stretching strain range from 0% to 60%. This stretching-insensitive property is mainly derived from constant internal impedance of pressure sensor. Moreover, SSPS with the sensitivity of 0.1 nA/KPa can act as wearable monitors and electronic skin to perform the health assessment and has potential applications in prosthetics and intelligent robotics.

Analysis of Outcomes and Predictors of Response in Patients with Relapsed Mantle Cell Lymphoma Treated with Brexucabtagene Autoleucel

Analysis of Outcomes and Predictors of Response in Patients with Relapsed Mantle Cell Lymphoma Treated with Brexucabtagene Autoleucel

Development of a patient-reported outcomes and experience measure for Orthognathic surgery: validation of the Northwick Park Orthognathic Questionnaire (NOQ)

Orthognathic surgery aims to correct dentoskeletal and facial discrepancies. The expected benefits are functional, cosmetic, and psychological. In a previous publication, this group assessed the determinants of patient satisfaction to formulate the Northwick Park Orthognathic Questionnaire (NOQ). The aim of the present study was to validate this questionnaire. A total of 118 postoperative patients prospectively completed the NOQ, 30 of whom completed the questionnaire a second time. The mean completion rate was 87.6 ± 10%. Response reproducibility was high: 92% of patients gave identical responses (range 81–100%). The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was 0.96 (0.96 ± 0.072). Average test–retest scores for each domain were as follows (range in parenthesis): reasons for treatment 93% (60–100%), preoperative experience 96% (81–100%), preparation for surgery 95% (81–100%), inpatient experience 89% (55–100%), post-discharge experience 83% (55–100%), benefits of treatment 92% (71–100%), overall patient education 91% (62–100%). Internal validity using Cronbach’s alpha was 0.72 (standard deviation 0.23, range 0.5–1). The results confirm the consistency of responses and the reliability of the information collected with the NOQ. The NOQ is a novel questionnaire and a valid metric to quantify a patient’s perception of their experience. Its adoption may aid in making targeted improvements to patient care.

Identical Response of Insulators to Irradiations by Swift Heavy Ions: Application to Experiments on Gd2Ti2O7

Track radii Re induced by swift heavy ions are studied. The experimental track data are analyzed in Gd2Ti2O7 pyrochlore in the range Se = 6−54 keV nm−1 (Se: electronic stopping power), including irradiations by low‐ and high‐velocity ions. The Analytical Thermal Spike Model (ATSM) is applied, whose main features are reviewed. The track data of Gd2Ti2O7 exhibit scaling features which mean simple quantitative relationships with track sizes of other insulators controlled only by a single materials parameter (MP), the melting temperature Tm. The Re2−Se track evolution curve is described in the whole range of Se without the application of any individual fitting parameter and MPs apart from Tm; the thresholds for track formation are Set = 6.1 and 14.4 keV nm−1 for E &lt; 2 MeV/nucleon and E &gt; 8 MeV/nucleon, respectively. The unique role of Tm is a highly important limitation for the mechanism of track formation. The practical consequences of the results are discussed with respect to the estimation of irradiation parameters.