Brandywine Photonics (United States)

ABSTRACT This essay investigates the discursive mechanisms that sustain anti-Asian racism in the United States by critically examining the potent and unstable symbol of Chinese. Through historical, ideological, economic, and geopolitical examination, we demonstrate how the conflation of China with Chinese operates discursively to collapse race, ethnicity, and nation-state. We introduce the concept of the China/Chinese discursive construct to reveal instances of intercultural communication where the term Chinese implicitly references Mainland China and to explain how the insinuated affiliation between Chinese and China goes beyond mere factual inaccuracy. By unpacking the strategic deployment of Chinese in public discourse, we expose how the elision of China in Chinese is a crucial feature of contemporary yellow peril discourse — a slippage that evokes the threat of a foreign state without explicitly naming it. Our analysis illuminates the ideological power of rhetoric in shaping harmful narratives and sustaining structures of domination. We conclude by advocating for a critical and reflective mode of communication that resists the normalization of racialized language, positioning the China/Chinese construct as a tool for communication intervention and rhetorical disruption.

Infancy is an extraordinary period of human development, in which babies turn sensory and environmental information into meaning in the cradle of their caregivers' affective and attentional cues. Babies express what they are thinking and feeling through smiles and gazes long before they develop expressive language. Most developmental research focuses on mother-infant dyads within a controlled lab environment, despite the complexity of young children's caregiving ecosystems, which range far beyond the mother-child dyad and include caregivers at a distance via technology like video chat. This study uses a novel state space approach to examine relations between the sensitivity of two caregivers-what we call "mutual sensitivity"-and infants' real-time affective and attentional states during video chat sessions. In this analysis of recorded semi-naturalistic video chat interactions from 47 triads (parent, infant, and on-screen grandparent), we find that mutual sensitivity toward the infant is associated with concurrent infant positive, alert affective states (low-medium arousal and positive valence). However, contrary to our second hypothesis, we did not find associations between mutual caregiver sensitivity and infants' real-time likelihood that they would concurrently engage in joint attention across the video chat screen. We discuss the implications of these discrepant findings across affective and attentional domains and the utility of this newly described mutual sensitivity variable to understand children's caregiving ecosystems beyond the dyad.

Disclosure can be an important step in treatment and recovery for people with opioid use disorder. In this longitudinal study, we used a Machine Learning-based Lasso logistic regression model to develop an accurate prediction model for disclosure among people with opioid use disorder. Participants included n = 145 individuals in recovery from opioid use disorder who planned to disclose to k = 190 recipients. The Lasso logistic regression model predicted disclosure with 72% accuracy. Feature importance analysis identified approach goals, avoidance goals, and relationship length as the most important predictors of disclosure. Approach goals led to more disclosure and avoidance goals led to less disclosure. Moreover, longer relationship duration between the disclosure and recipient was associated with a higher likelihood of disclosure. Our prediction model can help researchers and healthcare providers create interventions to support the disclosure process among people with opioid use disorder and improve treatment outcomes.

Abstract Introduction: This study evaluated a Virtual Exchange (VE) project based on United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) to connect students and faculty across five universities from the USA, Brazil, Honduras, and Algeria. Methods: A four-week program combined synchronous and asynchronous activities, allowing for flexible, self-selected participation. This paper presents a description of this VE project as well as its outcomes. Results: The project successfully fostered global awareness and collaborative dialogue, filling a gap in participants’ regular studies. Participants valued the global connections through the program. Discussion: The VE project demonstrated the potential of self-determined participation in promoting global connections and collaborative learning. The SDGs created a productive space for authentic dialogue framed within a sense of community. Limitations: This project is limited to the scope of exploring selected relevant SDGs and does not include data from the participants´ interactions for analysis and discussion. Conclusions: The VE proved valuable for international educational exchange, particularly benefiting students with limited access to traditional international programs. Future research should include quantitative analysis and explore adding practical action components linked to SDG implementation to enhance impact.

In the evolving landscape of smart city development, addressing food insecurity remains a critical challenge. This paper presents an innovative interdisciplinary approach that combines sensing technologies, data analytics, and community engagement to deliver holistic solutions to food access disparities. Through a comprehensive analysis, we first identify key factors that contribute to food insecurity, and then present a system-theoretic model to address challenges in the fundamental components of the food system: production, processing, distribution, and consumption. We also share insights from a virtual workshop with community advocates and organizations, highlighting promising practices in data collection, experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the ongoing need for equity in food access efforts. Finally, we present a case study from the Greater Richmond Region, Virginia that further exemplifies the potential of geospatial data and predictive analytics. This work enables the identification of food deserts at a granular scale and provides estimates of household food service demand. By integrating data on grocery store locations, urban road networks, demographic indicators, and public transit accessibility, we apply predictive modeling techniques that can be adapted to other urban areas. Our findings demonstrate the power of interdisciplinary research combined with community-centered strategies to drive sustainable and equitable improvements in food access within smart city frameworks. This study bridges technological innovation—including predictive analytics, geospatial modeling, and system-theoretic tools—with lived community insights to identify food system gaps and support data-informed, locally relevant interventions.

A growing body of evidence has shown the influence that religion and spirituality have on individuals duelling with illness, especially at advanced stages of disease. It is often vital for such individuals to have their spiritual and religious beliefs respected and, potentially, integrated in a compassionate caregiving setting for healthcare systems. However, given the diversity in religions and spiritual practices, healthcare professionals ought to approach such cultural significance with cultural humility, i.e., approaching differences in beliefs without relying on stereotypes or assumptions. This process requires sufficient training and communication skills among healthcare providers, as well as a successful medico-pastoral partnership. The aim of this review is to provide insight into one specific religion, Eastern Orthodoxy, and discuss current evidence of the religion’s influence on healthcare and medicine. Within this review, we aim to provide a summary on religion and spirituality specific to the Eastern Orthodox identity and religious practices, along with providing clinical guidance on approaching people who identify with this faith in certain healthcare settings in a manner compatible with the principles of cultural humility. The review will discuss important key elements of religious belief and practice of Εastern Orthodoxy that may influence health and healthcare decisions by patients.

Abstract This article makes a case for the productive synergy between positive organizational communication scholarship (POCS) and critical scholarship, which have been often viewed as incompatible. The article opens with an overview of POCS and its key critiques from critical audiences, which allows us to unpack the metatheoretical assumptions driving each research tradition. Next, the article discusses the limits of relying only on a Eurocentric definition of the “positive.” Notably, this article delineates how Buddhist philosophies refresh our understanding of the “positive” and challenge existing ways of thinking and problem-solving in organizational communication. We apply the Buddhist-inspired people-conditions-goals framework to a case study on the 2022 University of California system strikes.

Abstract Zinc (Zn) is a key trace element involved in protein synthesis and immune development, which makes it a pivotal nutrient for the newly weaned pig. The objective was to investigate the effects of dietary Zn source on pig performance and livability in a commercial nursery setting. A total of 1,296 weaned pigs [5.67 ± 0.15 kg initial body weight (BW)] were randomly assigned to dietary treatments consisting of Zn Sulfate (ZSF), Zn amino acid complex (AVL), or glycinate-bound Zn (GMT), all supplying 120 ppm of Zn to the diets and fed in a three-phase (Ph) feeding system [Ph1: d 0-14; Ph2: d 14-28; Ph3: d 28-42]. Pigs had ad libitum access to pelleted feed and water throughout the study. Performance and feed intake were measured on d 14, 28, and 42 of the study. All pigs removed from test were recorded and weighed. During the first week of the study, there was an outbreak of Escherichia coli, and pigs were all administered water-soluble Zn via water lines and potato starch in pans. Pigs fed GMT had decreased (P < 0.05) average daily feed intake (ADFI, kg/d) during Phase 1 (0.082, SEM = 0.005), 2 (0.628, SEM = 0.002), and overall (0.526, SEM = 0.005) compared with AVL [Phase 1 (0.097, SEM = 0.005), 2 (0.651, SEM = 0.002), and overall (0.552, SEM = 0.005)], and ZSF [Phase 1 (0.107, SEM = 0.005), 2 (0.640, SEM = 0.002), and overall (0.547, SEM = 0.005)]. Moreover, pigs fed GMT had greater (P < 0.05, SEM = 0.710) overall mortality (4.60%) compared with AVL (1.89%) and ZSF (2.53%). Our results indicate that there are differences in feed intake and mortality when post-weaning pigs are fed different sources of Zn, and further work is needed in other health status flows.