Positive Shift Research Articles

Examining the Shift in Orderly Cultural Behavior and Cultural Cooperative Learning Behavior among Students: A Pre- and Post-Experiment Perception Analysis

Objective: This study conducted a pre- and post-experiment perception analysis to examine the changes in orderly cultural behavior and cultural cooperative learning behavior among students. Method: The research involved 89 participants and utilized self-report questionnaires to collect data on various aspects of cultural behavior. The results showed significant improvements in both orderly cultural behavior and cultural cooperative learning behavior after the intervention. Results and Discussion: The percentage of students exhibiting good levels of orderly cultural behavior increased from 14.6% to 32.6%, while the proportion of students demonstrating good levels of cooperative learning behavior increased from 9% to 21.3%. The study also found a strong positive correlation between orderly cultural behavior and academic performance. These findings emphasize the importance of fostering cultural behavior and incorporating cooperative learning strategies in educational settings. Research Implications: The study suggests the need for interventions that promote cultural understanding and cooperation among students. However, the study has limitations in terms of sample size and generalizability. Future research should involve larger and more diverse samples to validate the findings. Originality/Value: In conclusion, this study highlights the positive shifts in cultural behavior and learning outcomes among students and emphasizes the significance of creating inclusive and culturally sensitive learning environments.

Describing the food choices of Aboriginal children attending an afterschool cultural program from two different knowledge systems: The importance of Country, community, and kinship.

This study describes a program co-created with Aboriginal communities to strengthen cultural ties with the children. Food data are reported from two knowledge systems (lenses): Western and Aboriginal relational, focused on Country, community, and kinship. A cultural program was undertaken with primary school children of Aboriginal heritage, on Yuin nation, over 10 weeks including culturally appropriate practices (painting, bushtucker, and dance). We report mixed method food outcomes framed by Western (quantitative) 24-h recall and Aboriginal relational methods (qualitative) captured by cultural images, yarning and continuous consultation methods to expose lessons from community and Country, to extend kinship. In total, 111 children (79 providing food data) across three regional communities commenced the program. A storying approach to food data collection and interpretation was preferred. The number of serves of seafood products, such as fish increased, vegetable consumption improved, intakes of dairy improved in quality and energy intakes from discretionary foods decreased across the programs. Qualitative data exposed six themes: Eating with family, competing agendas, food as medicine, applying cultural practices, food choices driven by 'post-invasion tradition' and community events, which deepened our understanding of the food data. Teaching the importance of the ocean and water saw participants engage with family in practices such as fishing to improve overall awareness of culture through food. The kinship system in a cultural context supported positive shifts towards accessible food choices driven by messages from Country. While the changes cannot be isolated to the program, cultural immersion drove change and strength-based reporting.

Scandium Ion-Promoted Electron-Transfer Disproportionation of 2-Phenyl-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl 3-Oxide (PTIO•) in Acetonitrile and Its Regeneration Induced by Water.

2-Phenyl-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl 3-oxide (PTIO•), a persistent nitronyl nitroxide radical, has been used for the detection and trapping of nitric oxide, as a redox mediator for batteries, for the activity estimation of antioxidants, and so on. However, there is no report on the reactivity of PTIO• in the presence of redox-inactive metal ions. In this study, it is demonstrated that the addition of scandium triflate, Sc(OTf)3 (OTf = OSO2CF3), to an acetonitrile (MeCN) solution of PTIO• resulted in an electron-transfer disproportionation to generate the corresponding cation (PTIO+) and anion (PTIO-), the latter of which is suggested to be stabilized by Sc3+ to form [(PTIO)Sc]2+. The decay of the absorption band at 361 nm due to PTIO•, monitored using a stopped-flow technique, obeyed second-order kinetics. The second-order rate constant for the disproportionation, thus determined, increased with increasing the Sc(OTf)3 concentration to reach a constant value. A drastic change in the cyclic voltammogram recorded for PTIO• in deaerated MeCN containing 0.10 M Bu4NClO4 was also observed upon addition of Sc(OTf)3, suggesting that the large positive shift of the one-electron reduction potential of PTIO• (equivalent to the one-electron oxidation potential of PTIO-) in the presence of Sc(OTf)3 may result in the disproportionation. When H2O was added to the PTIO•-Sc(OTf)3 system in deaerated MeCN, PTIO• was completely regenerated. It is suggested that the complex formation of Sc3+ with H2O may weaken the interaction between PTIO- and Sc3+, leading to electron-transfer comproportionation to regenerate PTIO•. The reversible disproportionation of PTIO• was also confirmed by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy.

"They Don't Come With a Handbook": Exploring Design Opportunities for Supporting Parent-Child Interaction around Emotions in the Family Context.

Parenting practices have a profound effect on children's well-being and are a core target of several psychological interventions for child mental health. However, there is only limited understanding in HCI so far about how to design socio-technical systems that could support positive shifts in parent-child social practices in situ. This paper focuses on parental socialisation of emotion as an exemplar context in which to explore this question. We present a two-step study, combining theory-driven identification of plausible design directions with co-design workshops with 22 parents of children aged 6-10 years. Our data suggest the potential for technology-enabled systems that aim to facilitate positive changes in parent-child social practices in situ, and highlight a number of plausible design directions to explore in future work.

Revealing public attitudes toward mobile cabin hospitals during Covid-19 pandemic: Sentiment and topic analyses using social media data in China

The diverse and ambivalent public attitudes toward Mobile Cabin Hospitals (MCHs) markedly influence MCHs’ social sustainability. Conventional studies regarding MCHs’ public attitudes rely heavily on survey-based approaches (e.g., questionnaires) that suffer from limited respondents, short durations, and narrow geographical coverages, overlooking tempo-spatial variations of MCHs’ public attitudes. Hence, this study proposes a social media data (SMD)-based approach to reveal public attitudes toward MCHs. It consists of MCH-related SMD collection, SMD preprocessing and annotation, sentiment and topic analysis model development, model performance verification, and statistical analyses of public sentiments and topics. This newly devised approach has been demonstrated for mining 413,572 pieces of MCH-related SMD covering MCH policy lifecycle in China. The findings reveal that (i) positive sentiment can surpass or fall below negative sentiments toward MCHs, which is correlated with the number of Covid-19 cases (NoCC), and (ii) the rankings of public concerns on 8 positive topics shift between two patterns temporally and spatially with NoCC, while the rankings among 6 negative topics remain stable for China's MCHs. This study not only offers an SMD-based supplementary approach for exploring public attitudes toward MCHs but also updates current understandings to enhance their social sustainability.

Robust sulfur and oxygen isotope evidence for a highly anoxic paleoenvironment in Late Devonian seawater: Insights from marine anhydrites in the Zaige Formation, South China

A global-scale mass extinction event occurred in the Late Devonian, and its triggering mechanisms have remained a subject of controversy. The key to resolving this controversy lies in elucidating paleoenvironmental characteristics and their coupling relationship with the mass extinction. Marine evaporites serve as sensitive indicators that can be used for reconstructing the geochemical history of ancient oceans. In this study, we present a dual sulfur and oxygen isotopic dataset of marine anhydrites in the Lunatian gypsum deposit (Yunnan, China), and investigate its paleoenvironmental significance within the framework of the Late Devonian mass extinction. These anhydrites originate in arid and hot continental margin seas near convergent plate boundaries, forming as a result of the dehydration of marine gypsums during burial processes. Anhydrites exhibit a conspicuous positive anomaly in δ34S values (23.6–25.1‰, averaging 24.3‰), primarily attributed to bacteria-mediated sulfate reduction. The δ18O values of the Lunatian anhydrites (12.2–15.2‰, averaging 14.0‰) indicate a slightly higher oxygen isotope composition for Late Devonian seawater (8.7–11.7‰, averaging 10.5‰) compared to those of contemporary seawater (9.5–10.1‰). Such an oxygen isotopic characteristic for the Lunatian anhydrites is intricately associated with the chemical processes that occur during the diffusion of sulfides into the upper seawater. The anhydrite-forming evaporating system has a noticeable brine layering where the surface seawater is less dense than the deeper brine, and bacterial processes gradually increase δ34S in the deep brine. When the deep brine and surface seawater rapidly mix, it leads to a significant positive shift in the sulfur isotope composition of the resulting evaporites. Our sulfur and oxygen isotope data from Lunatian anhydrites validate the existence of an exceedingly anoxic marine environment during the Late Devonian, potentially serving as a pivotal factor in the mass extinction event.

Enhancing Awareness of Physical Activity Guidelines among Saudi College Students: The 150 Minutes Program

Objective. This study evaluates the effectiveness of the “150 Minutes Program” in increasing awareness and fostering positive behavior changes regarding recommended physical activity guidelines among Saudi college students. Initiated as part of the national “Sports for All Challenge,” this program targets college students to improve their understanding of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ physical activity guidelines. Methods. Engaging over 250 Saudi college students from 17 student groups across the United States, the program employs two intervention strategies: a general awareness campaign and the application of physical activity guidelines tailored to the Saudi student community. The study assesses the program’s impact through pre-/post-surveys, evaluating changes in participants’ awareness levels and physical activity behaviors. Results. A total of 110 participants completed either the presurvey (n = 35) or postsurvey (n = 75). Results indicate a significant rise in participants’ awareness of recommended physical activity guidelines, increasing from an initial 4% to 22.9%. Postprogram surveys reveal positive shifts in physical activity behaviors, with 51.4% of participants meeting adult physical activity guidelines, compared to 40% before the program. The average physical activity levels also demonstrated an increase. Conclusion. The 150 Minutes Program proves effective not only in enhancing awareness but also in instigating positive physical activity behavior changes among Saudi college students. The study contributes valuable insights to the evolving landscape of physical activity interventions within college populations, emphasizing the need for targeted programs, and collaborations with student organizations to ensure sustained impact and scalability.

Comparison of nonlinear trends and influencing factors of carbon sinks in four ecological restoration projects in China

AbstractChina's ecological restoration projects aim to safeguard natural forests, improve the ecological environment, and achieve carbon neutrality. Previous studies at multiple scales have reported that the ecological projects contributed to enhancing carbon sinks. However, the effect of these projects on the carbon sinks has remained uncertain. Thus, we conducted a comparative analysis of nonlinear trends and influencing factors of carbon sink trends in the four ecological restoration project areas. Our findings suggested that the Pearl River shelterbelt program and middle reaches of the Yellow River shelterbelt program areas have experienced significant enhancements in ecosystem carbon sinks. The carbon sink exhibiting monotonically increasing trends and decreasing to increasing trends (positive shifts) accounted for 74.48% and 71.76% in these two shelterbelt program areas, respectively. However, less than half of the carbon sinks (41.38% and 31.80%, respectively) demonstrated monotonically increasing trends or positive shifts in the Yangtze River and Three North Shelterbelt program areas. The high background value of carbon sinks played a crucial role in the monotonically increasing trends of carbon sinks in the four ecological restoration projects. Additionally, in the Pearl River program areas, economic development and urban greening promoted the monotonically increasing trends of carbon sink. In the Yellow River program areas, CO2 fertilization, appropriate warming, and increased precipitation were helpful to promote the carbon sink with monotonically increasing trends. Moreover, the positive shifts of the carbon sinks were attributed to the implementation of these two ecological restoration projects. However, the low temperature and drought hindered the enhancement of carbon sinks in the Three North program areas, and extreme climate (flood and drought) hindered it in the Yangtze River program areas. These findings can provide a comprehensive evaluation of the effectiveness of ecological restoration projects on terrestrial ecosystems and offer practical guidelines to achieve carbon neutrality.

A method for homogenization of complex daily mean temperature data: Application at Beijing Observatory (1915–2021) and trend analysis

AbstractA homogenized daily mean temperature series from 1915 to 2021 at Beijing Observatory (BO) has been developed. A thorough investigation of observation records and historical metadata was carried out to identify specific non‐climatic biases. The inhomogeneities were detected and adjusted with the optimally selected reference stations using a statistical reduction methodology. The results indicated three types of non‐climatic biases in temperature records: the first was the relocation of BO from suburban to urban, which caused positive shifts in temperature records, especially for wintertime; the second arose from different methods for calculating daily mean temperature, which caused different sign biases varying with months; and the last was caused by the transition from manual to automatic measurements with site‐specific biases. The corresponding adjustments due to three type biases ranged from −1.13 to 0.63, −0.29 to 0.23 and −0.13 to 0.00°C, respectively. The new homogenized annual mean temperature series showed a warming trend of 0.199°C/decade during 1915–2021. The trend was more pronounced in winter than in the other three seasons. The warming trend in the new series is greater than those in the previous homogenized series (0.136–0.177°C/decade), primarily due to the more effective adjustment associated with the site relocation, particularly for more urban locations.

Potential prediction in aqueous organic redox-targeting flow batteries: DFT calculation and experimental validation

Aqueous organic redox flow batteries (AORFBs) face challenges of low energy density, which can be addressed by the strategy of redox-targeting (RT) reaction integrating solid materials (SMs) with redox mediators (RMs). However, the potential matching between SM and RM is demanding and complex. In this work, we establish a precise density functional theory (DFT) protocol to predict redox potential in RT-AORFB with anthraquinone-2,7-disulfonic acid (AQDS) derivatives as RM and poly(N-anthraquinoyl pyrrole) (PAQPy) as SM. Theoretical redox potentials are calculated from the Gibbs free energy (GFE) of various molecular models. The results suggest a precise potential match for 1,8-dihydroxyanthraquinone-2,7-disulfonic acid (1,8-DHAQDS) and PAQPy (-1.08 V and -1.09 V vs. SHE). Additionally, hydrogen bonding is involved to make simulation results more realistic, demonstrating a positive potential shift with increased GFE difference for both AQDS derivatives and PAQPy. To further elucidate the influencing mechanism of hydrogen bonding, electrostatic potential (ESP) and HOMO-LUMO gap are integrated together with GFE. The results indicate the introduction of hydrogen bonding results in extended distance for electron tunneling and a larger HOMO-LUMO gap, leading to higher GFE difference and a positive potential shift. Remarkably, results of experimental validations agree well with theoretical potential calculation. Based on predictions results, the RT-AORFB is successfully constructed with the well-matched 1,8-DHAQDS and PAQPy, exhibiting a 3.86-fold capacity enhancement compared to blank AORFB with 1,8-DHAQDS. The integrated DFT approach with GFE, ESP and HOMO-LUMO gap in this work emerges as a promising method for accurately predicting redox potentials in RT systems.

Enhancing agricultural cooperatives' resilience to food insecurity through cash injection: a case of the Kita circle in Mali

This study assessed the impact of emergency cash injections within Project Kita III during the challenging agricultural period of 2021 in the Kita Circle. Targeting vulnerable households and agricultural cooperatives, this study investigated the multifaceted dimensions influenced by these injections, ranging from distribution processes to the overall resilience and community engagement of beneficiaries. To conduct this research, a sample of 157 beneficiaries were chosen, with a predominant representation of women at 75.80%. The study employed a dual-pronged approach, utilizing both quantitative and qualitative insights gleaned from 10 focus group discussions. The findings of this study unveiled a significant positive impact on mitigating the repercussions of the poor harvest experienced in 2021. Notably, the emergency cash injections played a pivotal role in attenuating reduced crop yields and addressing food insecurity prevalent among the beneficiaries. By extending the duration of available food stocks within households, these injections effectively reduced the dependence on harmful survival strategies that were previously employed due to scarcity. Moreover, cash injections contributed to the amplification of community engagement within agricultural cooperatives. This enhancement in participation indicated a positive shift in the involvement of beneficiaries in cooperative organizations, fostering a sense of ownership and commitment to agro-ecological practices. While the assistance was acknowledged as relevant and beneficial, concerns regarding its adequacy were prevalent among the beneficiaries. Many expressed a desire for larger amounts of cash assistance, implying a potential gap between the actual received aid and the perceived need, emphasizing the continued vulnerability and need for further support. The study underscores the critical necessity of addressing the root causes of agricultural underperformance to ensure sustainable, long-term food security within these communities. It emphasizes that while emergency cash injections proved instrumental in addressing immediate challenges, they must be complemented with strategies that tackle the underlying issues affecting agricultural productivity. Furthermore, the study highlights the potential for these injections to strengthen the sustainability of Project Kita III by bolstering cooperative organizations, promoting ecologically sound agricultural practices, and fostering enduring community engagement. However, it identifies a need to mobilize internal resources within these cooperatives to ensure sustained success beyond the scope of external aid. Key words: Agriculture Cooperatives, Food insecurity, Resilience, Cash injection, Kita

Emerging Storylines in the Context of the Pandemic for the Mainstreaming of Bicycles in the Transport System

Using Metropolitan Manila in the Philippines as a case study, we investigate how the Covid pandemic has opened up a window of opportunity for the de-legitimization of dominant storylines marginalizing cycling and the legitimization of alternative storylines favoring the mainstreaming of bicycles in urban transport systems. Storylines are condensed summaries of complex narratives deployed as convenient shorthand in discussions. Through a content analysis of posts from ten Facebook groups by cycling advocates, we identify six pairs of contending storylines and their key narratives. Furthermore, through semi-formal interviews and an online survey, we determine the level of agreement and the consensus around agreement with the content of the storylines among a limited sample of respondents representing various backgrounds. Our results suggest that pre-pandemic, delegitimizing storylines resonate more strongly among the respondents. Peri-pandemic, a positive shift has occurred in the social representation of bicycles in Metropolitan Manila, as indicated by the emergence of legitimizing storylines. This does not mean, however, that this positive shift is complete and not challenged anymore. Though a rapid legitimization of pro-cycling storylines has been observed, there is an ongoing contestation against such legitimization. Whether the peri-pandemic cycling gains can be sustained post-pandemic is an open question.

Airport incentive regulation in practice

This paper examines the complexities of incentive regulation in the context of airport privatization, asymmetric information, and regulatory weakness in a developing country. Using hybrid Dual-Till revenue cap variations of thirty-four concessioned airports in Mexico for the period 2006–2019, we distinguish within and between regulated period effects on productive efficiency. Our findings reveal a dual nature of variations: negative shifts within regulated periods are linked to heightened productive efficiency, whereas positive shifts between regulated periods, particularly during the resetting of caps, arise when projected demand falls short of covering allowed operational and capital expenditures. This discrepancy leads to a decline in productive efficiency. The analysis highlights discernible weaknesses in the regulatory framework such as homogenous expectations of efficiency gains across all airports within regulated periods. Furthermore, strategic behavior by airports emerges, as they opt to defer efficiency enhancements to the initial year of any given regulated period. We discuss regulatory levers to improve the quality of regulation.

Impact of carbon pricing on comparative advantage in environmental goods export in sub‐Saharan Africa: Evidence of asymmetries from South Africa

AbstractThis paper examines the asymmetric link between carbon pricing and the comparative advantage in environmental goods exports in South Africa from 1995 to 2021. The non‐linear autoregressive distributed lag model is utilized to investigate the effects of both minor and major positive and negative fluctuations in carbon taxes, technological innovation, and energy transition on comparative advantage. The results reveal that carbon taxes have an asymmetric effect on comparative advantage in both the short and long runs, with positive shocks exerting a greater beneficial influence than negative shocks. Specifically, it is found that a 1% reduction in carbon taxes corresponds to a 1.24% decline in the response variable, whereas a 1% increase in carbon taxes is associated with a 2.72% increase in comparative advantage in environmental goods exports, which is twice as large. The study also uncovers evidence of an asymmetric relationship between low‐carbon technological innovation and comparative advantage in environmental goods exports. However, strong evidence of a long‐run asymmetric linkage between the energy transition and comparative advantage is not established. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that a positive shift in energy transition is linked with a 0.32% rise in comparative advantage in environmental goods exports, whereas a negative shift in energy transition corresponds to a 0.11% decrease. The practical policy implications are also discussed.

Spectroelectrochemical determination of the conduction band level of mesoporous titanium dioxide semiconductor in diverse reaction media

AbstractThe conduction band edge (ECB) energy levels of a mesoporous TiO2 film were investigated in aprotic dimethylformamide (DMF) and aqueous media to explore the influence of various proton additives and electron donors. Spectroelectrolysis (SE) technique was employed to measure the ECB in non‐aqueous solvents, revealing a significantly negative ECB in dry non‐aqueous solvents compared to values obtained in aqueous solvents. In non‐aqueous DMF, the ECB of TiO2 was found to be highly dependent on the proton‐donating additive due to the establishment of a proton adsorption–desorption equilibrium, reaching –(1.42–1.94) V versus SCE. The introduction of a well‐known electron donor, 1,3‐dimethyl‐2‐phenyl‐1,3‐dihydrobenzimidazole (BIH) led to a slight positive shift in the TiO2 ECB, indicating that the electron donor contributes to the to the CB energetics of the mesoporous TiO2 films. Under aqueous conditions and in the presence of various electron donors (TEA, TEOA, ascorbic acid, EDTA•2Na, and sodium ascorbate), the proton‐donating/accepting capacity of the additive significantly influenced the pH of the aqueous solvent, causing changes in the TiO2 ECB across the electrolyte solution. This study emphasizes the crucial role of proton additives and electron donors in influencing the CB energetics of mesoporous TiO2 electrodes and aims to determine the extent to which the ECB of TiO2 can shift as a result of the adsorption and intercalation of protons on its surface. The findings obtained herein contribute to the understanding of the energy efficiency of TiO2‐mediated photocatalytic systems in various solvent environments.

Influence of multilayered polymer coatings on the corrosion behaviour and microstructures of Al6061-T6 alloy

The influence of multilayered polymer coatings on the corrosion and microstructural properties of Al6061-T6 alloy was investigated. The electrochemical properties were determined in chloride solution via corrosion tests and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) technique at room temperature. The microstructural properties and corrosion mechanism after polarization were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM)/Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) techniques. From the corrosion tests and SEM-AFM/KPFM analysis, the multilayered polymer coated (using polyacrylic acid - PAA) Al6061-T6 alloy experienced a positive shift in the corrosion potential (-0.648 V), signifying a possible corrosion protection ability. With a charge transfer resistance of 2.506×10−6 Ω cm2, and lesser corrosion products featured on the coated sample, the present work demonstrates that the deposition of multilayered polymer PAA coating can enhance the corrosion resistance of Al6061-T6 alloy.

Motor learning changes the axon initial segment of the spinal motoneuron.

We are studying the mechanisms of H-reflex operant conditioning, a simple form of learning. Modelling studies in the literature and our previous data suggested that changes in the axon initial segment (AIS) might contribute. To explore this, we used blinded quantitative histological and immunohistochemical methods to study in adult rats the impact of H-reflex conditioning on the AIS of the spinal motoneuron that produces the reflex. Successful, but not unsuccessful, H-reflex up-conditioning was associated with greater AIS length and distance from soma; greater length correlated with greater H-reflex increase. Modelling studies in the literature suggest that these increases may increase motoneuron excitability, supporting the hypothesis that they may contribute to H-reflex increase. Up-conditioning did not affect AIS ankyrin G (AnkG) immunoreactivity (IR), p-p38 protein kinase IR, or GABAergic terminals. Successful, but not unsuccessful, H-reflex down-conditioning was associated with more GABAergic terminals on the AIS, weaker AnkG-IR, and stronger p-p38-IR. More GABAergic terminals and weaker AnkG-IR correlated with greater H-reflex decrease. These changes might potentially contribute to the positive shift in motoneuron firing threshold underlying H-reflex decrease; they are consistent with modelling suggesting that sodium channel change may be responsible. H-reflex down-conditioning did not affect AIS dimensions. This evidence that AIS plasticity is associated with and might contribute to H-reflex conditioning adds to evidence that motor learning involves both spinal and brain plasticity, and both neuronal and synaptic plasticity. AIS properties of spinal motoneurons are likely to reflect the combined influence of all the motor skills that share these motoneurons. KEY POINTS: Neuronal action potentials normally begin in the axon initial segment (AIS). AIS plasticity affects neuronal excitability in development and disease. Whether it does so in learning is unknown. Operant conditioning of a spinal reflex, a simple learning model, changes the rat spinal motoneuron AIS. Successful, but not unsuccessful, H-reflex up-conditioning is associated with greater AIS length and distance from soma. Successful, but not unsuccessful, down-conditioning is associated with more AIS GABAergic terminals, less ankyrin G, and more p-p38 protein kinase. The associations between AIS plasticity and successful H-reflex conditioning are consistent with those between AIS plasticity and functional changes in development and disease, and with those predicted by modelling studies in the literature. Motor learning changes neurons and synapses in spinal cord and brain. Because spinal motoneurons are the final common pathway for behaviour, their AIS properties probably reflect the combined impact of all the behaviours that use these motoneurons.

Origin and Recovery of Negative VTH Shift on 4H–SiC MOS Capacitors: An Analysis Based on Inverse Laplace Transform and Temperature-Dependent Measurements

SiC power MOSFETs are reported to suffer from both positive and negative threshold voltage shifts. Positive shift is well understood in the literature and attributed to electron trapping in near interface oxide traps (NIOTs). Negative shift is explained by hole generation and trapping in the oxide via impact ionization favored by the strong oxide field. However, studies on negative shift are still ongoing, and the origin and nature of the process are not fully understood. This study advances the comprehension of negative threshold voltage shift by investigating MOS capacitors subject to positive bias stress.We demonstrate that: a) a significant negative threshold shift is observed when the electric field is greater than 7.5 MV/cm; b) the detected shift is not recoverable at zero bias. Recovery can be obtained only by applying a positive gate voltage indicating a field-driven detrapping process. c) Trap-state mapping measurements were carried out to extract the activation energy of the detrapping processes, and a weak thermal activation was observed.Results collected within this paper indicate that holes are trapped at deep centers, and thermal detrapping is not possible. Hole release is only possible when a high field is applied to the insulator, possibly due to the recombination between leaking electrons and trapped holes.

A Transformative Journey Through Support Group Participation: Narratives of the Wives of Individuals With Alcohol Use Disorder.

The issue of alcohol use disorder (AUD) has received significant attention, with a primary focus on individuals directly afflicted by the disorder. This extensive focus, while necessary, often overlooks the profound impact that AUD has on the family unit, particularly on spouses who play a crucial role in the dynamics of coping and recovery. However, the psychosocial and emotional challenges encountered by wives of those with AUD have been largely neglected in both research and therapeutic interventions. This oversight not only minimizes their suffering but also overlooks their potential contribution to the recovery process, underscoring the need for a more inclusive approach to understanding and addressing AUD. Building upon this foundation, the current study delves into the less explored terrain of the psychosocial and emotional ramifications borne by wives of individuals suffering from AUD. By highlighting the pivotal role that these women fulfil in family dynamics, it seeks to shed light on the transformative effects of their engagement in support groups, aiming to demonstrate how these networks promote resilience, empowerment, and healing for both the women and their families, thus offering a more comprehensive perspective on AUD's impact on society. Employing a qualitative narrative research design, the study utilized purposive sampling to select 36 participants from the northern, southern, and central regions of Kerala, India. Data collection was conducted through in-depth interviews using a semi-structured interview guide. The interviews, conducted initially in the local language, were transcribed into English and analyzed using the constant comparative method, ensuring that ethical considerations were upheld throughout the research process. The results of the study illuminatethe multifaceted challenges faced by wives of individuals with AUD, including financial burdens, domestic violence, marital discord, and psychosocial issues. Notably, the participants reported a significant positive shift in their lives following their involvement in support groups, experiencing enhanced mental peace and tranquillity. This transformation enabled some participants to resume their education, engage with the community as role models and leaders, and reconstruct their lives. Most participants viewed their support group participation as a pivotal moment of hope restoration in their lives. The study reveals the necessity for integrating culturally sensitive support mechanisms into rehabilitation programs for families affected by AUD, advocating for broader adoption of support groups that cater to the specific sociocultural dynamics of affected communities.

Experimental and theoretical investigations of the anti-corrosion film derivated from bio-based melatonin on AA5052 aluminum alloy surface

In this work, the effect of the bio-based melatonin (MEL) on the corrosion inhibition of AA5052 aluminum alloy in 3 wt% NaCl solution has been studied by weight-loss experiments, electrochemical measurements and surface analysis. MEL inhibits the corrosion of AA5052 aluminum alloy in 3 wt% NaCl solution very well, resulting in a positive shift of the corrosion potential and the pitting potential. The corrosion inhibition efficiency reaches 71.76% at 2 mM MEL. The FT-IR, SEM, XPS and theoretical calculation are used to investigate its corrosion inhibition mechanism. It indicates that MEL coordinates with Al3+ ions via its N (9) atom and O (10) atom to form a surface complex film. This protective film retards the corrosion of AA5052 aluminum alloy significantly. This biomolecule is a promising anti-corrosion additive to protect aluminum alloys heat-exchange in seawater desalination plant.