Shift In Focus Research Articles

Insights into Uromodulin and Blood Pressure.

We review the role of uromodulin, a protein exclusively expressed in the kidney, in blood pressure regulation and hypertension. The last few years have seen a shift of focus from genetic association to mendelian randomisation and uromodulin-salt interaction studies, thus confirming the causal role of uromodulin in blood pressure regulation and hypertension. This work has been complemented by phenome-wide association studies in a wider range of ethnicities. Important recent molecular work elucidated uromodulin trafficking and secretion and provided more insights into the pathophysiological roles of circulating and urinary uromodulin. Uromodulin has a causal role in blood pressure regulation and hypertensin. Recent studies show utility of the uromodulin as a biomarker and a possible precision medicine application based on genetically determined differential responses to loop diuretics.

Alcohol-Associated Hepatitis: Short- and Long-Term Management.

Alcohol-associated hepatitis, considered a severe form of alcohol-associated liver disease, carries with it multiple negative health outcomes ranging not only to increased hospitalizations but also increased rates of mortality. While the inpatient management remains critical in optimizing clinical outcomes, a shift in focus to the outpatient management of alcohol-associated hepatitis is warranted as a long-term solution to this emerging health pandemic. Here, we review the clinical presentation, diagnosis, and current prognostication scoring systems for alcohol-associated hepatitis. We then offer a multimodal approach to the continued management of alcohol-associated hepatitis in the outpatient setting encompassing not only nutritional optimization, alcohol use disorder treatment, and the medical management of chronic liver disease, but also briefly review the current trend of the use of liver transplantation.

Developing a Curriculum for Practical Skills-Based Pedagogy in Engineering Education: A Skills-Driven Teaching and Learning Approach for Job Transition Pathways Applicable in Engineering Training and Development for a University of Technology

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated a shift in focus for graduate engineering students, demanding their swift integration into the workforce. The Engineering Council of South Africa now stipulates that institutions must cultivate specific graduate attributes, particularly in the face of rapid economic and social transformations. This mandate prompts universities to equip engineers with the skills needed to seamlessly adapt to scarce skill positions and emerging roles within diverse disciplines dictated by industry demands. The evolving landscape is shaped by emerging technologies impacting production, manufacturing, and service sectors. Consequently, engineering graduates must acquire skills that facilitate a smooth transition into roles that align with their expertise. The imperative for universities is to fulfill the core mission of engineering education: fostering professionals capable of developing future technology to address upcoming challenges and produce technologists adept at solving present issues using current technology. This study employs a qualitative research method to explain and explore the training of engineers, ensuring that graduates possess the requisite attributes for a successful transition into new occupational roles aligned with industry needs. The focus of the research centers on analyzing the teaching interventions implemented in Industrial Engineering undergraduate programs at a university of technology.

ABORDAGEM JURÍDICA DO ABORTO EM CASOS DE ESTUPRO BILATERAL DE VULNERÁVEIS: CONFLITOS DE VONTADE E SOLUÇÕES JURÍDICAS

The debate on cases of bilateral vulnerable rape sparks legal, ethical, and moral discussions in several countries, especially when resulting in pregnancy, complicating the scenario. In Brazil, this debate gains prominence, considering the Penal Code and its provisions on vulnerable rape. In this context, the present study aims to understand the legal approach to abortion in cases of bilateral vulnerable rape, evaluating possible conflicts and solutions. Data from the Brazilian Public Security Yearbook of 2023 reveal a alarming increase in reports of rape and vulnerable rape, indicating the urgency to broaden the legal debate on the topic. The article proposes a qualitative analysis, combining literature review with elements of Brazilian jurisprudence to achieve its objectives. Guiding questions include the legal approach to abortion, the responsibility of the involved adolescents, and the influence of guardians in the decision to abort. In the first section, legal and social issues related to the protection of individuals under 14 years old are analyzed, including the legal framework of bilateral vulnerable rape and considerations on the age of consent. Subsequent subsections thoroughly explore the legal framework of bilateral vulnerable rape, the vulnerability of these individuals from the perspective of legal order, and considerations on the age of consent. In the second section, the focus shifts to teenage pregnancy, providing brief notes on fundamental rights of the pregnant minor, specific cases, panoramas of pregnancy and abortion of vulnerable mothers in Brazil, and perspectives on solutions and reconciliations. Finally, the study aims to answer the proposed questions and achieve its objectives, contributing to a broader and more informed debate on the topic.

The new prison God Pods: Religious neoliberalism and evangelical “Inmate Field Ministry”

Recent exponential growth in immersive God Pod units operating in US prisons has engendered many new but still unexamined practices. Loosely-modeled off a Christian seminary planted inside Louisiana State Penitentiary, newer programs deploy privately-funded religious educators for the credentialing and training of “inmate field ministers” assigned religious work duties in public prisons. Funded by private foundations and unregulated by government oversight, Christian educators operating inside public prisons today directly influence the material conditions of incarceration for thousands of inmates. While previous God Pod programs were declared unconstitutional for use of government funding in proselytizing Christianity, newer programs use private resources for conduct of Christian ministry inside public prisons. Drawing from on-site and archival research, this article documents a shift in focus within immersive God Pod units from providing religious education at one institution to credentialing prisoners for “Inmate Field Ministry” systemwide. The article traces the ad hoc beginnings of privately-funded religious education inside US prisons, to today's emphasis on establishing Christian ministry as correctional rehabilitation. The article argues newer God Pod units engender a novel form of religious neoliberalism, abandoning previous commitments to religious neutrality while highlighting “moral rehabilitation” and deemphasizing secular rehabilitation. Directions for future research are discussed.

Ex vivo validation of non-invasive phase correction for transspine focused ultrasound: model performance and target feasibility

Objective.To evaluate the feasibility of transspine focused ultrasound using simulation-based phase corrections from a CT-derived ray acoustics model.Approach.Bilateral transspine focusing was performed inex vivohuman vertebrae with a spine-specific ultrasound array. Ray acoustics-derived phase correction was compared to geometric focusing and a hydrophone-corrected gold standard. Planar hydrophone scans were recorded in the spinal canal and three metrics were calculated: target pressure, coronal and sagittal focal shift, and coronal and sagittal Sørensen-Dice similarity to the free-field.Post hocanalysis was performedin silicoto assess the impact of windows between vertebrae on focal shift.Main results.Hydrophone correction reduced mean sagittal plane shift from 1.74 ± 0.82 mm to 1.40 ± 0.82 mm and mean coronal plane shift from 1.07 ± 0.63 mm to 0.54 ± 0.49 mm. Ray acoustics correction reduced mean sagittal plane and coronal plane shift to 1.63 ± 0.83 mm and 0.83 ± 0.60 mm, respectively. Hydrophone correction increased mean sagittal similarity from 0.48 ± 0.22 to 0.68 ± 0.19 and mean coronal similarity from 0.48 ± 0.23 to 0.70 ± 0.19. Ray acoustics correction increased mean sagittal and coronal similarity to 0.53 ± 0.25 and 0.55 ± 0.26, respectively. Target pressure was relatively unchanged across beamforming methods.In silicoanalysis found that, for some targets, unoccluded paths may have increased focal shift.Significance. Gold standard phase correction significantly reduced coronal shift and significantly increased sagittal and coronal Sørensen-Dice similarity (p< 0.05). Ray acoustics-derived phase correction reduced sagittal and coronal shift and increased sagittal and coronal similarity but did not achieve statistical significance. Across beamforming methods, mean focal shift was comparable to MRI resolution, suggesting that transspine focusing is possible with minimal correction in favourable targets. Future work will explore the mitigation of acoustic windows with anti-focus control points.

4H-SiC Metalens: Mitigating Thermal Drift Effect in High-Power Laser Irradiation.

Enhancing energy density and efficiency in laser processing hinges on precise beam focusing, yet this often causes severe heat absorption and focus shifts in optical lenses. Traditional cooling methods increase cost and complexity, severely limiting versatility. Here, monolithic silicon carbide (SiC) metalens is introduced, which shows unparalleled thermal stability, integrated with a high-power laser. This metalens achieves diffraction-limited focusing with a numerical aperture (NA) of 0.5 and a focal length of 1cm. Under a 1030nm pulsed laser at 15W for 1 h, it shows a minimal temperature rise of 3.2°C and a tiny focal shift of 14µm (0.1% relative), only 6% of the shift in conventional lenses. When used to cut a 4H-SiC substrate with the same laser, the metalens exhibit only an 11.4% change in cutting depth after 1 h of operation, correlating with the focal shift results. The results unveil a groundbreaking class of compact SiC photonics devices nearly impervious to heat absorption, representing a monumental leap for high-power laser systems and opening new horizons for their applications and efficiency.

Spatial Expansion Characteristics and Nonlinear Relationships of Driving Factors in Urban Agglomerations: A Case Study of the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration in China

Urban agglomerations are increasingly becoming the primary regional units in global competition, characterized by the rapid expansion of impervious surface areas, which negatively impacts both society and the environment. This study quantifies the spatiotemporal expansion of these surfaces in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration and explores its driving factors using a Geographically Weighted Random Forest model. The results demonstrate a transition from “point expansion” to “infill development”, while also revealing a gradual southward shift in the developmental focus of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration. Although expansion intensity has decreased, spatial clustering has intensified. Based on the expansion patterns of impervious surface areas, we propose a novel regional classification method, dividing the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration into three zones: “A-Development Decline Zone”, “B-Development Core Zone”, and “C-Development Ascendance Zone”. Socio-economic factors are the primary drivers of this expansion, followed by science and education, and then the ecological environment, while physical geography factors have the least impact. The study reveals differentiated regional development characteristics and further refines the sub-regions within the urban agglomeration, providing a new perspective for future regional coordinated development policies.

Revisiting Causes of Firm Exit for Divestiture Spin-Off in the Last Five Years: A Systematic Literature Review

This study revisits and analyzes the causes leading to firm exit in divestiture spin-offs over the past five years, aiming to consolidate findings from recent literature and uncover evolving trends. Using a systematic literature review of Scopus publications from 2019 to 2024 and employing the PRISMA methodology, this study analyzed a final sample of 97 journal articles to examine the key factors influencing divestiture spin-offs. The results identify four primary causes for divestiture spin-offs: market periphery and overlap, asset redeployment, unprofitable resource utilization, and the critical timing decision between redeployment and divestiture. These insights reveal a significant shift in research focus, offering valuable knowledge for executives and management to move beyond traditional views and understand the underlying causes in a more nuanced way. This study provides essential guidance for executives, firm management, and policymakers, supporting informed decision-making in business unit divestitures and contributing to a more sustainable economic cycle. The originality and value of this research lie in its comprehensive identification of the causes behind firm exit in divestiture spin-offs, laying a robust foundation for future research and practical applications.

Technology evaluation: a systematic review and implications for ethical technology management in tourism and hospitality

ABSTRACT The widespread adoption of disruptive technologies in tourism and hospitality significantly enhances service productivity while concurrently raising critical ethical considerations. However, a study that develops into such a focus shift in technology evaluation research is absent. This systematic review attempted to fill this research gap and reviewed 213 articles recently published in Social Science Citation Index – listed tourism and hospitality journals. This study critically examines the evolving role of technology evaluation. Moreover, this paper offers valuable implications for technology evaluation research that promotes ethical technology management in the new decades of digital revolution.

PH Dependence of Dihydroxyacetone Oxidation by Electrocatalytic Viologen Self-Assembled Monolayers on Gold Electrodes.

Carbohydrate fuel cells garner much research interest as the world's focus shifts from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Many catalyst options are available for carbohydrate fuel cell development, including enzymes and microbes, various metal-based catalysts, and natural or synthetic mediators. Research challenges include low power output, system fouling and poisoning, inefficient electron release, and complex mechanisms, with multiple pathways leading to low product selectivity. Here, we further investigate a novel approach to catalyze carbohydrate oxidation using Au electrodes with viologen self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). SAM-mediated fuel cells have the potential to address the challenges of other catalyst systems by protecting the electrode surface and controlling the local concentration and structure to increase current generation. The effects of increasing pH on dihydroxyacetone (DHA) oxidation by three viologen SAMs on Au electrodes are presented. Current and power generated during DHA oxidation at varying pH were measured and compared to those of bare Au performance. Two of the SAMs produced more current and power than bare Au at elevated pH. The SAM system produced more current and peak power per molecule than both dilute and concentrated homogeneous viologen systems in the same cell setup. These results demonstrate the benefits and limitations of electrodes modified with redox-active groups for the production of electricity from simple sugars and other carbohydrate sources. These results are encouraging for the development of new strategies for electrical power generation from renewable resources.

SCOUT: Skull-Corrected Optimization for Ultrasound Transducers.

Transcranial focused ultrasound has been studied for non-invasive and localized treatment of many brain diseases. The biggest challenge for focusing ultrasound onto the brain is the skull, which attenuates ultrasound and changes its propagation direction, leading to pressure drop, focus shift, and defocusing. We presented an optimization algorithm which automatically found the optimal location for placing a single-element focused transducer. At this optimal location, the focus shift was in an acceptable range and the ultrasound was tightly focused. The algorithm simulated the beam profiles of placing the transducer at different locations and compared the results. Locations with a normalized peak-negative pressure (PNP) above threshold were first found. Then, the optimal location was identified as the location with the smallest focal volume. The optimal location found in this study had a normalized PNP of 0.966 and a focal volume of 6.8% smaller than without the skull. A Zeta navigation system was used to automatically place the transducer and track the error caused by movement. These results demonstrated that the algorithm could find the optimal transducer location to avoid large focus shift and defocusing. With the Zeta navigation system, our algorithm can help to make transcranial focused ultrasound treatment safer and more successful.

Can the Plantar Pressure and Temperature Data Trend Show the Presence of Diabetes? A Comparative Study of a Variety of Machine Learning Techniques

This study aimed to explore the potential of predicting diabetes by analyzing trends in plantar thermal and plantar pressure data, either individually or in combination, using various machine learning techniques. A total of twenty-six participants, comprising thirteen individuals diagnosed with diabetes and thirteen healthy individuals, walked along a 20 m path. In-shoe plantar pressure data were collected and the plantar temperature was measured both immediately before and after the walk. Each participant completed the trial three times, and the average data between the trials were calculated. The research was divided into three experiments: the first evaluated the correlations between the plantar pressure and temperature data; the second focused on predicting diabetes using each data type independently; and the third combined both data types and assessed the effect of such to enhance the predictive accuracy. For the experiments, 20 regression models and 16 classification algorithms were employed, and the performance was evaluated using a five-fold cross-validation strategy. The outcomes of the initial set of experiments indicated that the machine learning models were significant correlations between the thermal data and pressure estimates. This was consistent with the findings from the prior correlation analysis, which showed weak relationships between these two data modalities. However, a shift in focus towards predicting diabetes by aggregating the temperature and pressure data led to encouraging results, demonstrating the effectiveness of this approach in accurately predicting the presence of diabetes. The analysis revealed that, while several classifiers demonstrated reasonable metrics when using standalone variables, the integration of thermal and pressure data significantly improved the predictive accuracy. Specifically, when only plantar pressure data were used, the Logistic Regression model achieved the highest accuracy at 68.75%. Those predictions based solely on temperature data showed the Naive Bayes model as the lead with an accuracy of 87.5%. Notably, the highest accuracy of 93.75% was observed when both the temperature and pressure data were combined, with the Extra Trees Classifier performing the best. These results suggest that combining temperature and pressure data enhances the model’s predictive accuracy. This can indicate the importance of multimodal data integration and their potentials in diabetes prediction.

From Flowers to Plants: Plant-Thinking in Nineteenth-Century Danish Flower Painting

Abstract In the nineteenth century, flower painters in Denmark shifted from depicting arranged, cut flowers to showing plants within their ecosystems. This article explores this shift by examining four paintings by the artists Christine Løvmand and Anthonore Christensen. According to Michael Marder and Emanuele Coccia, important philosophers in critical plant studies, plants have been overlooked as world creators. Coccia highlights the nineteenth century as a particularly low point, in this regard, but seeks exceptions and points to significant nineteenth-century articulations of how plants move in, sense, and create their environment. An investigation of Danish art and botany reveals similar articulations, as several significant artists made growing rather than cut plants the theme of some of their paintings and botanists explored the wild flora and the agency of plants. This nineteenth-century shift in focus from flowers to plants disseminates notions of plants that can inspire and help us reorient our relationship with the natural world.

Exact boundary-value solution for an electromagnetic wave propagating in a linearly varying index of refraction

The propagation of electromagnetic waves in a linearly varying index of refraction is a fundamental problem in wave physics, being relevant in fusion science for describing certain wave-based heating and diagnostic schemes. Here, an exact solution is obtained for a given incoming wavefield specified on the boundary transverse to the direction of inhomogeneity by performing a spectral, rather than asymptotic, matching. Two case studies are then presented: a Gaussian beam at oblique incidence and a speckled wavefield at normal incidence. For the Gaussian beam, it is shown that when the waist $W$ is sufficiently large, oblique incidence manifests simply as rigid translation and focal shift of the corresponding diffraction pattern at normal incidence. The destruction of the hyperbolic umbilic caustic (corresponding to a critically focused beam) as $W$ is reduced is then demonstrated. The caustic disappears once $W \lesssim \delta _a \sqrt {L}$ ( $L$ being the medium length scale normalized by the Airy skin depth $\delta _a$ ), at which point the wave behaviour is increasingly described by Airy functions, but experiences less focusing as a result. To maximize the intensity of a launched Gaussian beam at a turning point, one should therefore minimize the imaginary part of the launched complex beam parameter while having the real part satisfy critical focusing. For the speckled wavefield, it is shown that the transverse speckle pattern only couples to the Airy longitudinal pattern when the coupling parameter $\eta = \sqrt {L}/f_{\#}$ is large, with $f_{\#}$ being the f-number of the launching aperture. When $\eta \ll 1$ , a reduced description of the total wavefield can be obtained by simply multiplying the incoming speckle pattern with the Airy swelling.

Looking beyond relative age to understand relative advantage and disadvantage in talent development.

In this perspective article, we argue for a broader consideration of relative advantages and disadvantages in youth sport; a lens that considers the complex biopsychosocial factors that influence athlete development beyond relative age. We begin with a brief overview of Relative Age Effects (RAEs), with a particular focus on the proposed underlying mechanisms, followed by a discussion of the cultural and organisational considerations and implications that talent systems must consider when implementing interventions to counteract RAEs. We conclude by proposing key directions for future research in respect to RAEs and talent development more broadly. We argue that there is a need to consider the highly complex nature of RAEs, but also that there are no clear solutions to the issue of RAEs in youth sports, and that proposed solutions may come with unintended consequences. This should encourage us to experiment more, not less, with diverse ways of providing meaningful sports experiences that promote learning, psychosocial development, and performance. We suggest an urgent need for greater practical and research focus on supporting coaches, as they have the greatest capacity to understand the needs of individual athletes. In addition, systemically working towards equal access to skilful coaches. We encourage a shift in focus beyond descriptive methodologies of RAEs toward transformative research methodologies that include action-based research, complex interventions that incorporate context-sensitive qualitative methods, and other participatory research approaches.

Hindered, Overlooked, and Undervalued: Gender Equality in Nordic Blue Economies

The Nordic countries are ranked among the most gender equal countries worldwide. Equality, political, and civil rights, leading to the high participation of women in the workforce, have paved the way for this egalitarian view. However, women remain the minority in managerial positions in general, and they are also strongly underrepresented in many male‐dominated sectors of the blue economy. The aim of this article is to introduce and discuss gender equality in the blue economy, and to assess the status of gender research in the Nordic context. To achieve this, a purposive interdisciplinary literature review resulted in three encompassing themes on how women’s participation is hindered, overlooked, and undervalued. Using these themes as an analytical lens, we propose that the underlying mechanisms are similar within fisheries, aquaculture, and maritime transportation in how they affect women’s participation. Still, there is a lack of statistics and research within parts of the blue sector. To move forward, there needs to be a shift in focus from policy to practice. One starting point could be to implement current knowledge, e.g., regarding workplace design and tailoring equipment to fit a diverse workforce. We call for scaling up best practices and evaluating policy performance and effectiveness. These are prerequisites for sustainable recruitment and retention of the blue sector workforce and the only way forward for countries aspiring to be truly gender equal.

Übersetzungsorientierte Didaktisierung juristischer Phraseologie

Abstract Legal phraseology is an essential component of legal language, and thus of legal communication, in both quantitative and qualitative terms. It is also one of the main problems in legal translation since legal phraseological units are determined by law-specific factors, and as such are usually unknown to legal translators, who in most cases are not lawyers. As there are still no aids to support the translation of legal phraseology, legal translators struggle with legal phraseology. This is problematic for interlingual legal communication since certain fixed word combinations induce certain extra-linguistic actions in legal practice, thereby triggering legal consequences. A bad translation can cause the action intended by the sender to be omitted or another action to occur. Therefore, the didactization of legal phraseology for purposes of legal translation is a very important task for phraseodidactics. Since there is still no corresponding phraseodidactic approach, this paper proposes a didactic concept for the translation of legal phraseology to familiarize prospective and practicing legal translators with features of legal phraseology, teach them strategies for translating this phraseology, and show them how to develop tools for translating legal phraseology on its own. The paramount goal of such didactics is to ease the translation of legal phraseology and, ipso facto, improve the quality of interlingual legal communication. With this objective in mind, this article first outlines the most important prerequisites of legal translation and then highlights the features of legal phraseology, characterizing the individual types of legal phraseology by their communicative functions using German legal language as an example. Thereafter, the focus shifts to phraseodidactics, which can provide remedies for legal phraseology translation, analyzing the most important phraseodidactic methods so far proposed by phraseodidacticians. In concluding, the article presents a didactic concept for the translation of legal phraseology.

Research on Changes in International Energy Trade Pattern under the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

The impact of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine on world energy markets has received great attention. Some researchers have found that the Russia-Ukraine conflict has caused an energy crisis to a certain extent. However, there is a lack of overview of the changes in the trade pattern and the scope of its impact. Therefore, through a comprehensive analysis of changes in policies and economic data, this study analyzes the different response measures taken by countries in different regions such as Europe and Asia to deal with the reduction in Russia's exports of major energy products and the fluctuations in international energy prices. This study also analyzes how the mutual sanctions between Russia and Western countries have contributed to the shift of Russia's energy export focus to the Asia-Pacific region and the diversification of Western countries' energy supply. Research results show that energy trade is at risk of being affected by geopolitical factors such as regional conflicts and mutual sanctions. The Russia-Ukraine conflict has strengthened the attention of countries on energy security issues. The research also highlights the implications for future policies and actions, providing an understanding of emerging trends in the future. Economically, this study, based on past data, emphasizes the inevitability of the Russia-Ukraine conflict affecting energy fluctuations and affirms that the Russia-Ukraine conflict is conducive to global new energy transformation and sustainable development in the long term.

Relationship Between Aberration Coefficients of an Optical Device and Its Focusing Property

The best focus point of a focused Gaussian beam subject to a phase aberration is generally shifted with respect to the focal plane of the focusing lens. This focus shift is attributed to a lensing effect that belongs to the phase aberration, which mean focal length can be determined from the aberration coefficients determined in the framework of a Zernike polynomial decomposition. In this paper, we have checked the validity of this procedure, already available in literature, applied to three aberration types: a pure primary spherical aberration, the Kerr effect induced by a Gaussian beam, and an axicon illuminated by a Gaussian beam. Note that usually, the mean focal length of an aberrated lens is based on the relation between the effective radius of curvature of the wavefront before and after the lens. However, in this paper, the focal length associated with the phase aberration under study is defined from the point of the best focus, where the diffracted intensity on the axis is the maximum.