Calvin University

The scientist does not study nature because it is useful to do so. He studies it because he takes pleasure in it, and he takes pleasure in it because it is beautiful. …What I mean is that more intimate beauty which comes from the harmonious order of its parts, and which a pure intelligence can grasp.—Henri Poincaré

Parallel and Distributed Computing (PDC) has increased in importance in recent years, with ABET requiring exposure to PDC topics, and CS2023 recommending at least 9 hours of coverage in required CS courses. However, injecting PDC topics quickly into a course is difficult due to time and expense to set up requisite hardware and lack of readily available materials to adopt for the classroom. In this demo, we -- the CSinParallel project -- present free, web-based, interactive textbooks for learning and practicing various forms of PDC. We developed the backend system and wrote the material based on decades of experience integrating these topics into courses throughout the computer science curriculum. Currently we have two books that educators can readily use: Parallel Computing for Beginners, and Intermediate Parallel and Distributed Computing, along with some additional materials. With just a laptop in class, students can edit and run PDC code examples on remote hardware that is professionally maintained, eliminating the need for instructors to prepare hardware and software. The material spans a range of PDC technology (OpenMP, MPI, CUDA, OpenACC), provides mini assessments as readers work, and is designed so that instructors can add brief modules into existing courses or can be used comprehensively for a course dedicated to PDC. All materials are available on learnpdc.org and the code used in the books is on https://github.com/csinparallel/csinparallel. Additional assignments for a PDC course can be found on https://github.com/csinparallel/pdc-assignments.

Speech-language pathology assistants (SLPAs) have been utilized to address the shortage of speech-language pathologists (SLPs). However, the training is primarily put on the shoulders of the SLP. Currently, there is no research addressing the confidence and education of SLPAs. The current study aimed to investigate the self-perceived confidence and educational background of SLPAs. In this study, 68 participants responded to a survey. Descriptive statistics and the results of a regression analysis were used to analyze the data. The results indicate a variation of confidence across different areas of speech-language pathology. Language was the area in which the SLPAs felt the most confident, while swallowing was identified as the area where they felt the least confident. Moreover, preservice education is only a predictive factor in three of the 10 clinical areas.

As climate change intensifies, urban flooding has become a growing threat to cities worldwide, especially in low-lying, densely populated areas. Accurate flood risk prediction is essential for disaster readiness, yet it remains a challenge due to the complex, dynamic nature of extreme weather patterns. This study applies Gaussian Process modelling, a powerful probabilistic method capable of capturing spatial and temporal correlations, to forecast flood inundation risks in Semarang, Indonesia. By integrating diverse data sources, such as weather station records, satellite data, and aerial imagery, the model generates detailed flood risk maps for areas prone to recurrent inundation. Semarang, where up to 40% of lowland regions are affected annually, serves as a critical testbed. The resulting maps provide local authorities with actionable insights to identify high-risk zones, allocate resources, and implement more targeted mitigation strategies. This approach demonstrates how advanced machine learning techniques can enhance urban resilience and inform proactive policymaking in the face of climate uncertainty.

Infections with antimicrobial resistant pathogens are a major threat to human health. Inhibitors of the replicative polymerase PolC are a promising novel class of antimicrobials against Gram-positive pathogens, but the structural basis for their activity remains unknown. The first-in-class PolC-targeting antimicrobial, ibezapolstat, is a guanine analogue in late-stage clinical development for the treatment of Clostridioides difficile infections, and related inhibitors are being developed for systemic treatment of infections with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). Here, we present the cryo-electron microscopy structures of Enterococcus faecium PolC bound to DNA and in complex with ibezapolstat or the previously-undescribed inhibitor ACX-801. Both inhibitors form base-pairing interactions with the DNA in the active site, thereby competing with incoming dGTP nucleotides. We identify a crucial susceptibility determinant in PolC that is conserved in other organisms, such as C. difficile. This is explained by an unusual non-planar conformation of the inhibitors that induce a binding pocket in PolC. By combining structural, biochemical, bioinformatic and genetic analyses, this work lays the foundation for the rational development of an innovative class of antimicrobials against Gram-positive priority pathogens.

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menafsir ulang makna iman anak berkebutuhan khusus melalui sudut pandang teologi disabilitas dalam konteks budaya serta pelayanan gerejawi di Indonesia. Anak berkebutuhan khusus, seperti autisme, sindrom down, hiperaktif, cerebral palsy, dan hambatan intelektual lainnya, acapkali dilihat dari sudut pandang medis atau psikologis saja. Sedangkan melalui sudut pandang spiritual mereka seringkali diabaikan atau dianggap tidak penting. Umumnya dalam banyak gereja, konsep iman masih sangat idealis, bergantung pada kapasitas intelektual dan kemampuan lisan. Hal ini mengakibatkan anak berkebutuhan khusus acapkali tidak bisa mengekspresikan iman yang "benar" sehingga seringkali dianggap kurang memiliki iman. Studi ini memakai metode penelitian literatur dengan mengkaji berbagai macam teori dan pendekatan dalam teologi disabilitas modern, seperti yang dikembangkan oleh tokoh seperti Amos Yong, John Swinton, maupun Thomas Reynolds. Studi ini juga mengaitkannya dalam konteks sosial-budaya dan konteks gerejawi di Indonesia. Artikel ini menunjukkan bahwa anak berkebutuhan khusus memiliki kapasitas spiritual yang asli, meskipun melalui cara pemahaman dan mengekspresikan iman yang berbeda dari anak reguler. Mereka dapat juga berperan aktif dalam lingkup liturgi dan aktivitas gerejawi. Dalam wilayah negara Indonesia, norma atau etika lokal seperti gotong royong, empati kolektif, serta penghargaan terhadap perbedaan dapat menjadi landasan berpikir teologis untuk membangun gereja yang lebih ramah anak berkebutuhan khusus. Kesimpulannya, penelitian ini mengundang gereja serta komunitas Kristen di Indonesia untuk memandang anak berkebutuhan khusus bukan hanya sebagai pihak yang menjadi sasaran pelayanan saja, namun juga sebagai subjek yang memiliki iman yang utuh, yang berharga, yang memiliki kontribusi spiritual yang dapat ikut serta membangun tubuh Kristus dalam kebhinekaan.

Abstract In order to better understand manifold neural networks (MNNs), we introduce Manifold Filter-Combine Networks (MFCNs). Our filter-combine framework parallels the popular aggregate-combine paradigm for graph neural networks (GNNs) and naturally suggests many interesting families of MNNs which can be interpreted as manifold analogues of various popular GNNs. We propose a method for implementing MFCNs on high-dimensional point clouds that relies on approximating an underlying manifold by a sparse graph. We then prove that our method is consistent in the sense that it converges to a continuum limit as the number of data points tends to infinity, and we numerically demonstrate its effectiveness on real-world and synthetic data sets.

Abstract An electron‐deficient tetranitroazacalixarene is shown to undergo reversible cyanide capture via nucleophilic aromatic substitution, yielding an unprecedented class of metastable dianionic macrocycle incorporating two Meisenheimer units, fully characterized by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction, NMR, and electronic absorption spectroscopies. Acting as a chemical fuel, cyanide transiently drives the formation of this adduct, which can spontaneously regenerate the parent macrocycle under mild conditions, representing a rare demonstration of metastability in a Meisenheimer complex. The dynamic behavior of this system, reminiscent of out‐of‐equilibrium assemblies, is finely tunable through macrocycle concentration, counterion nature, solvent, and temperature. Detailed crystallographic, spectroscopic, and computational analyses reveal that intramolecular hydrogen bonding plays a key role in stabilizing the adduct. Comparative studies with simpler analogues further highlight the importance of macrocyclic preorganization and non‐covalent interactions in governing this reversible reactivity.