Influence Of Proximity Research Articles

Electrokinetics of non-Newtonian fluids in poly-electrolyte grafted nanochannels: Effects of ion-partitioning and confinement

Fluid flow inside nano-channels coated with a polyelectrolyte brush layer (PEL) is dictated by the brush structure and its interaction with the counter-ion dominated electrical double layer (EDL) near the walls of the PEL channel. In this work, we bring out the confluence of spatial permittivity variation, the influence of proximity between ions in charged PEL channels and non-Newtonian constitutive behavior of the fluid towards altering the electrokinetics of power-law fluids as well as their mechanical to electrical energy conversion capabilities. Our estimates are based on considering the fluidic drag experienced by the ions mediated by effective confinement induced by other ions and fluid rheology. For small electrical double layer (EDL) thicknesses (corresponding to high ionic concentrations), the energy conversion efficiency is shown to be higher for shear-thinning fluids, with a crossover in these characteristics for higher EDL thicknesses. Results show that lower bulk to PEL charge density ratio corresponds to higher conversion efficiencies. PEL also dictates ionic drag in that higher PEL thickness corresponds to higher ionic drag. It has been observed that although the electrokinetic parameters such as streaming potential (electrical potential generated across a channel due to a pressure-driven flow) and energy conversion efficiency (based on the ratio of electrical energy harvested to mechanical energy input) are significantly influenced by the fluid and the nanochannel properties, there exists a cross-over EDL thickness for the variation in the conversion efficiency, which is solely dependent on the properties of the nanochannel. The consideration of the ionic confinement effect allows us to have a more realistic estimate of energy conversion efficiency and yields better estimates of critical regimes of operation depending on EDL thickness for optimal efficiency. These results may yield insight towards designing functional nanofluidic devices with biological interfaces.

Baseline meso-litter pollution in selected coastal beaches of Kenya: Where do we concentrate our intervention efforts?

A total of 23 beaches were surveyed between July and September 2019. Meso-litter was collected by sieving sediment collected from 0.25 m2 quadrats laid along perpendicular transects through 5 mm mesh size sieves. The results showed that plastics were the most abundant litter encountered on all the beaches. Beaches close to urban areas had a higher number of litter categories (i.e. plastic, metal, foam, and paper) compared to the remote beaches that only had plastics. In conclusion, the lack of statistically significant evidence of the influence of proximity to urban centers, the predominant activity in the beaches, and exposure to wave action on the amount of meso-litter attest to the fact that marine litter pollution is a geographical spread problem that will require national, regional, and global action and approach to address. The intervention efforts (including beach clean-ups) should preferably target beaches that have back vegetation compared to those with seawalls.

Medicinal plant use practice in four ethnic communities (Gurage, Mareqo, Qebena, and Silti), south central Ethiopia

BackgroundEthnic groups throughout the world have developed their own cultures expressed in the form of customs, taboos, and traditional healthcare systems. Traditional medicine system is one of the widespread cultures known throughout the world which is very much tied to cultural practices of the community or ethnic group. Medicinal plant treasure found in Gurage and Silti zones remained poorly characterized and understood. Therefore, this study was conducted in four ethnic groups: three from Gurage zone (Gurage, Qebena, and Mareqo) and one from Silti zone (Silti) which have lived in close proximity and contact for many centuries in the respective zones. In the present study, unique and shared cultural elements in connection to traditional herbal medicine were examined through investigation of the diversity of medicinal plants. Moreover, attempts have been made to determine similarities among the society in the medicinal plants they have used in general and in medicinal plant species considered culturally most important.MethodsIn a study that involved 320 randomly sampled informants, semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and participant observation were used and qualitative and quantitative data were collected. Descriptive statistics, rank order priority (ROP), informant consensus factor, Jaccard similarity coefficient, and clustering were used for data analysis.ResultsA total of 244 medicinal plant species and a fungal species used to treat human and/or livestock ailments were documented. The number of plants (80 plants, 33 %) with ROP value greater than 50% were considerably fewer than that of plants with ROP < 50% (164, 67 %). Jaccard similarity index and clustering analysis for all cited plants, among the respective studied districts, indicated that grouping generally followed the existing ethnic origin. On the contrary, clustering based on culturally important medicinal plant species (80 plant species, score ROP ≥ 50%) showed the influence of proximity and geographical orientation rather than ethnic relation.ConclusionsCulturally, most important plants (80 spp.) are widely used and best shared with nearby communities and this could imply current (new) knowledge being practiced in the communities. This knowledge must be documented and better utilized in a modern way including modernized use of traditional medicinal plants.

Proximal and distal predictors of self-regulatory change in children aged 4 to 7\u2009years

BackgroundGrowth in early self-regulation skills has been linked to positive health, wellbeing, and achievement trajectories across the lifespan. While individual studies have documented specific influences on self-regulation competencies in early childhood, few have modelled a comprehensive range of predictors of self-regulation change across health, development, and environment simultaneously. This study aimed to examine the concurrent associations among a range of proximal and distal influences on change in children’s self-regulation skills over 2 years from age 4–5 years.MethodsData from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (N = 4983) were used in a structural equation model, predicting a multi-source composite measure of self-regulation at each of 4–5 years and 6–7 years. By controlling for earlier self-regulation and covariates, the model examined the relative contributions of a comprehensive range of variables to self-regulation change including health, development, educational, home environment, time-use, and neighbourhood characteristics.ResultsThe significant predictors of children’s self-regulation growth across 4 to 7 years were fewer behavioural sleep problems, higher gross motor and pre-academic skills, lower levels of maternal and paternal angry parenting, and lower levels of financial hardship. There were also marginal effects for high-quality home learning environments and child-educator relationships.ConclusionFindings suggest that if we are to successfully foster children’s self-regulation skills, interventionists would do well to operate not only on children’s current capacities but also key aspects of their surrounding context.

Vortex shedding patterns past a rectangular cylinder near a free surface

The effects of asymmetric boundary conditions on the flow past rectangular cylinders are relevant for many engineering applications. Pertinently, the influence of wall proximity on the flow around cylinders has been widely investigated, and the flow regimes depending on the distance to the wall have been identified. However, a comprehensive study of the flow around rectangular cylinders near a free surface is lacking. The classifications of the flow have not been tackled and the connection between the flow behaviors and the force variations with the depth has not been demonstrated. In this study, multiphase simulations over a broad range of depth-to-length ratios (0.3–4.5) and width-to-length ratios (0.7–5.0) were conducted. Flow results show that the anti-symmetric vortex shedding becomes asymmetric and then suppressed as the depth decreases. Three patterns of asymmetric flow depending on the width-to-length ratio were observed: “asymmetrically separated”, “one-sidedly reattached” and “asymmetrically reattached”. The force variations with the depth for rectangular cylinders with 0.7 <w/l < 1.5, 1.5 ≤ w/l < 2.8 and 2.8 <w/l ≤ 5.0 show different trends due to the occurrence of different asymmetric flows. The boundaries between different flow patterns were defined based on the force variations.

Thinking through Urban Place, Space and Locality in Youth Research

The interdisciplinary “spatial turn” (and “mobilities turn”) within sociology and the social sciences and humanities has given rise to renewed interest in the conceptual frameworks and theorisation of place, space and locality (localities). In contemporary child (childhood) and youth research, immediate place, space and localities are powerful frameworks for understanding and examining young people’s everyday lives, realities, biographies as well as meaning making, construction of their identities and sense of belonging or exclusion. The emplaced hierarchies, inequalities, power relations and differentiations—in combination with innate, biographical, proximal and distal influences—will shape and direct young people’s interactions, activities and networks within and across different places, spaces and localities. There remains a lacuna regarding such research in developing countries, including South Africa post-1994. This paper examines how and why the concepts of space, place, and locality are of significance and contribute to an understanding of urban young people’s diverse everyday lives, challenges, needs and experiences. This paper focuses, firstly, on a discussion of the contested, conflicting and varying constructions of the concepts place, space and locality. Secondly, there is a discussion on some of the themes, debates and discourses shaping knowledge production in this area.

Children’s neighbourhood physical environment and early development: an individual child level linked data study

BackgroundIdentification of features of the neighbourhood physical environment that have a causal association with positive child development is important for promoting long-term developmental health. Previous research on these associations have...

Attachment quality assessed from children’s family drawings links to child conduct problems and callous-unemotional behaviors

ABSTRACT Objective: Recently, there has been considerable research on the origins of childhood conduct problems (CP) and callous-unemotional (CU) behaviors. This study examined associations between children’s attachment representations and CP and CU behaviors during middle childhood. Method: At 1st grade, 1,292 children (57% European American, 42.5% African American, 0.5% other race; 50.9% girls) completed a drawing of their family, which was coded by trained raters to assess attachment representations. Primary caregivers reported on children’s CP and CU behaviors. Results: Children with disorganized representations showed more CP and CU behaviors than children with secure and resistant representations. They were also more likely than those with secure representations to show elevated CP without CU behaviors, CU behaviors only, and co-occurring CP and CU behaviors. Conclusion: These findings provide support for attachment disorganization as a correlate of CP and CU behaviors and suggest that attachment representations are likely important proximal influences on children’s behavior.

Influence of proximity to the Qinghai-Tibet highway and railway on variations of soil heavy metal concentrations and bacterial community diversity on the Tibetan Plateau

Influence of proximity to the Qinghai-Tibet highway and railway on variations of soil heavy metal concentrations and bacterial community diversity on the Tibetan Plateau

Low topographic positions enhance woody vegetation stability in the Ferlo (Senegalese Sahel)

Woody vegetation provides multiple services to the pastoralists in the Sahel and since the drought of 1972–1984, concerns have been raised about its persistence. Some studies have observed a decline in tree density and specific richness while others have reported a greening at a larger scale. In this study, an extensive field inventory was carried out around two deep wells in the Ferlo (Senegal). The influence of topography and proximity of deep wells on woody vegetation density, diversity and regeneration was studied. An analysis of the size class distribution was carried out to gain insight into the population dynamics of some species. This study highlights the key role of low topographic positions in favouring woody vegetation establishment with a higher species richness and a greater density. The remoteness of deep wells seems to have no effect on these variables. The instability of several tree species populations was evident from the size class analysis. As large trees play an important role in hosting regeneration, the persistence of the current woody vegetation is threatened. Given the positive impact of depressions on woody vegetation, further research should focus on these topographic features and their role as central pieces in a potential management plan.

Measuring Perceived Crowding in the Marine Environment: Perspectives from a Mass Tourism "swim-With" Whale Shark Site in the Philippines

Perceived crowding is an important measure in assessing the social impacts of tourism activities. The goal of this study was to determine if the method used to measure perceived crowding in the marine environment (numerical vs. visual approach, boat vs. swimmer crowding) affects the crowding outcome and to apply the concept to a high-density marine wildlife tourism site, viewing whale sharks in Oslob, Philippines. The influence of various variables, including specialization, gender, nationality, swimmer behaviors, and proximity, was also tested to see if they affected crowding levels. Results indicate that a visual approach is more accurate in measuring reported encounters and encounter norms, and that boat and swimmer crowding are not interchangeable. Boat crowding is a serious problem in Oslob (95.6% crowded). Specialization, nationality, and swimmer behaviors and proximity all affected perceived crowding. Individuals who reported feeling crowded were more likely to perceive negative impacts of tourism activities on the local community, whale sharks, and wider environment. They also showed higher levels of support for management interventions to limit the number of people and boats at the site and to better regulate or ban whale shark provisioning activities. This study provides important insights regarding how to measure perceived crowding in the marine environment and management implications for a mass tourism wildlife site experiencing overcrowding.

Methods and rationale to assess the efficacy of a parenting intervention targeting diet improvement and substance use prevention among Latinx adolescents

Latinx adolescents are at higher risk for chronic diseases relative to adolescents of other ethnic groups, in part because of their lack of adherence to diet recommendations and their higher rates of substance use. Given the proximal influence of family factors during the developmental stage of adolescence, parenting interventions may be an effective way to promote healthy nutrition and substance use prevention simultaneously. This article describes the design and theoretical rationale of a study assessing the effects of Families Preparing the New Generation Plus (FPNG Plus), a 10-week culturally-tailored nutrition and substance use prevention parenting program, on diet and substance use outcomes among Latinx middle school students (6th–8th grade). The 3-arm cluster randomized controlled trial compares FPNG Plus (substance use prevention and healthy nutrition), FPNG (substance use prevention only), and a comparison condition (focusing on academic success) in 1494 parent-child dyads from 18 schools, randomized at the school level. Adolescents and parents will complete surveys pre- and post-intervention, and 16-weeks after program participation, regarding diet behaviors, substance use, and parenting practices. A random subsample of 126 dyads (42 from each program), will participate in additional data collection to assess the home food environment, detailed dietary intake (via two 24-h recalls), and provide biomarkers of cardiometabolic risk (blood pressure, total cholesterol and HbA1c). If successful, this study will provide evidence contributing to helping Latinx parents assist their adolescent children develop and maintain long-lasting positive lifestyle behaviors in order to prevent concurrent substance use and diet-related chronic diseases.

Spatiotemporal methods for analysis of urban system dynamics: an application to Chile

This paper presents a methodological procedure to evaluate the influence of spatial proximity on evolution of cities to detect regional differences in their spatiotemporal dynamics. The six-step method based on a set of statistical methods can be computed with a new R package: estdaR. The first step consists of the usual characterization of the cross-sectional distribution of the urban areas by means of nonparametric estimations of density functions for a set of significant years. In the second and third steps, the growth process is modeled as a first-order stationary Markov chain to evaluate the effect of global and local spatial autocorrelation on the transition probabilities with a set of indices based on the spatial version of the standard Markov chain. The fourth, fifth, and sixth steps perform in-depth analysis to detect the existence and interaction of spatial regimes in the movement direction and ranking mobility of urban distribution. We apply this novel strategy for the period 1930–2002 to analyze the entire Chilean urban system—not only the Central Zone, in which most of the population and economic activities are concentrated, but also other urban zones in the country.

Proximal Landing Zone Influence Early and Late Results After Hybrid Repair of Aortic Arch Disease

Proximal Landing Zone Influence Early and Late Results After Hybrid Repair of Aortic Arch Disease

The values predicting patriotism attitudes in Turkey

Today, most liberal democracies face a tension between promoting citizenship and social adaptation and between developing critical thinking skills and allowing opposition. The teaching of patriotism in schools is at the center of this tension. Within this context, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the values and the attitudes of blind and constructive patriotism by using the Schwartz’s Values Survey. The participants consisted of 342 preservice teachers in Turkey. Results showed that achievement, conformity, and tradition predicted blind patriotism positively while stimulation and universalism predicted blind patriotism negatively. On the other hand, security and universalism positively and significantly predicted constructive patriotism while tradition was a negative and significant predictor. Based on these findings, a second model involving mediation relationships was tested. Accordingly, it was observed that power mediated the relationship between conformity and blind patriotism. Thus, the non-significant and negative relationship between conformity and blind patriotism became significant and positive via the mediation of power. Similarly, the non-significant and positive relationship between the conformity and constructive patriotism became significant and negative via the mediation of power. The reason behind these findings might be the role of non-objective oral exams in teacher appointments and promotions. Moreover, the influence of political proximity to the ruling party in the employment of teachers or education administrators might have led intense and unquestionable commitment to government by conformity towards it and its actions.

The Role of Psychological Proximity and Social Ties Influence in Promoting a Social Media Recycling Campaign

ABSTRACTAs environmental threats intensify rapidly across the globe, understanding how to promote public engagement in pro-environmental actions to address these threats is imperative. Contributing to the effort, we examined two influencers of pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors, psychological proximity and social ties influence, in the context of a recycling campaign through Facebook. We administered an online survey to a random sample of 434 U.S. Millennials. Results showed that psychological proximity (i.e. cognitive and emotional proximities) predicted positive attitudes toward recycling, intentions to like, share, and comment on posts of recycling-related social media campaigns, and to engage in recycling behaviors. The perceived influence of social ties (i.e. strong ties and weak ties) moderated the relationship between psychological proximity and attitudes toward recycling as well as offline recycling intentions. The results revealed that Millennials who perceive a stronger influence of their social ties, both strong and weak ties, rely less on their psychological proximity to determine their attitudes and offline behavioral intentions, indicating the critical influence of social ties. Theoretical and practical implications are suggested.

Innovation and Performance: The Contribution of Investments in R&amp;D to Firm Profitability According to the Technological Frontier

This study analyses the influence of innovative efforts, measured by R&amp;D investments, on the financial performance of firms, considering its position in relation to the technological frontier. Recent researches, especially Aghion &amp; Howitt, 2009; Aghion, Akcigit, &amp; Howitt, 2013, have demonstrated that the firm's technological position has a strong impact on the results of the applied investment, since the structure of incentives and potential opportunity costs influence the relation between the variables. For this purpose, the present study uses the frontier analysis with order-α partial frontiers, aiming to capture fluctuations of proximity to the border and its influence on the relation "R &amp; D investment versus performance". Such approach allows different frontiers to be estimated for different quantiles, which provides a more consistent estimate of efficiency scores, which become more robust in relation to traditional problems of outliers and dimensionality. The sample of this article was made up of 2.000 firms and the data needed for the survey was extracted from the European Commission, a database covering 40 sectors in 46 countries. The results of the model suggest that the more efficient firms or the ones situated on the efficiency frontier achieve more profits from the same level of R&amp;D investment compared with less efficient firms. This influence of proximity to the frontier emphasizes that the most efficient firms use the investments in R&amp;D in order to obtain greater returns, what can explain that innovation is not shown uniform among firms.

Landscape genetics reveals unique and shared effects of urbanization for two sympatric pool-breeding amphibians.

Metapopulation‐structured species can be negatively affected when landscape fragmentation impairs connectivity. We investigated the effects of urbanization on genetic diversity and gene flow for two sympatric amphibian species, spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) and wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus), across a large (>35,000 km2) landscape in Maine, USA, containing numerous natural and anthropogenic gradients. Isolation‐by‐distance (IBD) patterns differed between the species. Spotted salamanders showed a linear and relatively high variance relationship between genetic and geographic distances (r = .057, p < .001), whereas wood frogs exhibited a strongly nonlinear and lower variance relationship (r = 0.429, p < .001). Scale dependence analysis of IBD found gene flow has its most predictable influence (strongest IBD correlations) at distances up to 9 km for spotted salamanders and up to 6 km for wood frogs. Estimated effective migration surfaces revealed contrasting patterns of high and low genetic diversity and gene flow between the two species. Population isolation, quantified as the mean IBD residuals for each population, was associated with local urbanization and less genetic diversity in both species. The influence of geographic proximity and urbanization on population connectivity was further supported by distance‐based redundancy analysis and multiple matrix regression with randomization. Resistance surface modeling found interpopulation connectivity to be influenced by developed land cover, light roads, interstates, and topography for both species, plus secondary roads and rivers for wood frogs. Our results highlight the influence of anthropogenic landscape features within the context of natural features and broad spatial genetic patterns, in turn supporting the premise that while urbanization significantly restricts interpopulation connectivity for wood frogs and spotted salamanders, specific landscape elements have unique effects on these two sympatric species.

Vegetation classification enables inferring mesoscale spatial variation in plant invasibility

AbstractLarge-scale control of invasive plants can benefit strongly from reliable assessment of spatial variation in plant invasibility. With this knowledge, limited management resources can be concentrated in areas of high invasion risk. We assessed the influence of spatial environments and proximity to roads on the invasibility of African mustard (Brassica tournefortiiGouan) over the 280,000-ha Barry M. Goldwater Range West in southwestern Arizona, USA. We used presence/absence data ofB. tournefortiiacquired from a vegetation classification project, in which lands were mapped to the level of vegetation subassociations. Logistic regression models suggested that spatial environments represented by the subassociations, not proximity to roads, represented the only factor significantly explainingB. tournefortiipresence. We then used the best model to predictB. tournefortiiinvasibility in each subassociation. This prediction indicates management strategy should differ between the western part and the central to eastern part of the range. The western range is a large spatial continuum with intermediate to high invasion risk, vulnerable to an untethered spread ofB. tournefortii. Controlling efforts should focus on preventing existing local populations from further expansion. The central and eastern ranges are a mosaic varying strongly in invasion risk. Control efforts can take advantage of natural invasion barriers and further reduce connectivity through removal of source populations connected with other high-risk locations via roads and other dispersal corridors. We suggest our approach as one effective way to combine vegetation classification and plant invasion assessment to manage complex landscapes over large ranges, especially when this approach is used through an iterative prediction–validation process to achieve adaptive management of invasive plants.

Ultra‐processed food consumption among infants in primary health care in a city of the metropolitan region of São Paulo, Brazil

ObjectiveTo analyze the prevalence of ultra‐processed food intake among children under one year of age and to identify associated factors. MethodsA cross‐sectional design was employed. We interviewed 198 mothers of children aged between 6 and 12 months in primary healthcare units located in a city of the metropolitan region of São Paulo, Brazil. Specific foods consumed in the previous 24h of the interview were considered to evaluate the consumption of ultra‐processed foods. Variables related to mothers’ and children's characteristics as well as primary healthcare units were grouped into three blocks of increasingly proximal influence on the outcome. A Poisson regression analysis was performed following a statistical hierarchical modeling to determine factors associated with ultra‐processed food intake. ResultsThe prevalence of ultra‐processed food intake was 43.1%. Infants that were not being breastfed had a higher prevalence of ultra‐processed food intake but no statistical significance was found. Lower maternal education (prevalence ratio 1.55 [1.08–2.24]) and the child's first appointment at the primary healthcare unit having happened after the first week of life (prevalence ratio 1.51 [1.01–2.27]) were factors associated with the consumption of ultra‐processed foods. ConclusionsHigh consumption of ultra‐processed foods among children under 1 year of age was found. Both maternal socioeconomic status and time until the child's first appointment at the primary healthcare unit were associated with the prevalence of ultra‐processed food intake.