Character

ABSTRACT The current study examined the potential moderating role of character strengths on the relationship between Veteran status and homelessness. The study data was extracted from VIA Institute on Character (http://www.viacharacter.org/). Moderation analyses were performed to determine whether character strengths moderate the relationship between Veteran status and homelessness. A total of 23,278 participants were included in the study. Veteran status was significantly associated with homelessness. Among those experiencing homelessness (n = 2,001), 94.5% were Veterans compared to 80.8% of the non-homeless group (n = 21,277). Significant character strengths that moderated the association between Veteran status and homelessness were bravery (p < 0.01), prudence (p < 0.01), creativity (p < 0.01), curiosity (p < 0.001), humor (p < 0.01), kindness, and love of learning. Our findings provided preliminary support for introducing strength-based exercises to the homeless Veteran population.

Liquid metals (LMs) exhibit superior conductivity, flexibility, and malleability, empowering their versatility across multiple fields. It was prevalently believed, albeit lacking in-depth mechanistic insights, that these features stem from high atomic degrees of freedom. In this work, we substantiate the intense and random atomic motion in LMs through the interplay of theory and in situ/operando experiments. In particular, we visualize structural oscillations and crystallographic orientation variations in near-melting LMs; the disordered LM atoms are not confined by rigid crystal lattices, in contrast to their solid counterparts. Owing to the high atomic degrees of freedom, LMs possess adaptive surfaces capable of dynamically conforming to adsorbate configurations during electrocatalysis, especially electrochemical CO2 reduction (CO2R) that has been hindered by the hardship of key species adsorption/activation/desorption on solid-state catalysts. We then pressurize the CO2 to further enhance the adaptability of the LM surface in its interactions with adsorbates. As a result, the reactants and key intermediates are greatly enriched on the liquid metal surface, yielding an even higher CO2R reactivity compared to the ambient-pressure scenario and reaffirming the mechanistic insights.

Abstract Background: Employee behaviors that strategically support implementation (i.e., implementation citizenship behavior) are hypothesized to promote the successful adoption and high-fidelity use of evidence-based practices (EBPs). Implementation citizenship behaviors may vary across contexts, including schools where children and youth are most likely to access and receive mental and behavioral health services. Extension and validation of pragmatic measures are needed to advance nascent research on—and ultimately inform how to leverage best—school-based implementation citizenship behavior. The current study expanded the Implementation Citizenship Behavior Scale (ICBS) to create and validate the School Implementation Citizenship Behavior Scale (SICBS) in a sample of elementary school personnel implementing one of two widely used and evidence-based prevention programs to support children’s mental and behavioral health. Methods: A sample of 441 public school teachers from 52 elementary schools in the Midwest and Western United States of America completed a survey that included the SICBS, expanded to include two new subscales (taking initiative, advocacy), and additional measures to assess convergent and divergent validity. SICBS was refined and validated via (1) examination of item characteristics curves to reduce items and develop a pragmatic instrument, (2) confirmatory factor analyses to evaluate the hypothesized measurement structure, and (3) assessment of convergent and divergent validity. Results: The original two ICBS subscales (helping others, keeping informed) were retained, and two new three-item subscales resulted from item reduction analyses (taking initiative, advocacy). The hypothesized second-order factor model was well fit to the data (CFI = .99, TLI = .99, RMSEA = .11), all first- (λs = .85-.96) and second-order factor loadings (λs = .93-.95) were high. All four SICBS subscales demonstrated acceptable reliability (αs = .88-.92). Convergent validity was evidenced by moderate correlations with organizational citizenship behavior items (rs = .42-.49). Divergent validity was demonstrated by weak correlations with teachers’ beliefs about teaching (rs = .31-.38) and null correlations with most school demographics. Conclusion: Results support the structural, convergent, and divergent validity of the 12-item, 4-factor SICBS. The SICBS provides a deeper understanding of individual implementer actions that may serve as implementation mechanisms or outcomes.

n-type field effect transistors (FETs) based on two-dimensional (2D) transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) such as MoS2 and WS2 have come close to meeting the requirements set forth in the International Roadmap for Devices and Systems (IRDS). However, p-type 2D FETs are dramatically lagging behind in meeting performance standards. Here, we adopt a three-pronged approach that includes contact engineering, channel length (Lch) scaling, and monolayer doping to achieve high performance p-type FETs based on synthetic WSe2. Using electrical measurements backed by atomistic imaging and rigorous analysis, Pd was identified as the favorable contact metal for WSe2 owing to better epitaxy, larger grain size, and higher compressive strain, leading to a lower Schottky barrier height. While the ON-state performance of Pd-contacted WSe2 FETs was improved by ∼10× by aggressively scaling Lch from 1 μm down to ∼20 nm, ultrascaled FETs were found to be contact limited. To reduce the contact resistance, monolayer tungsten oxyselenide (WOxSey) obtained using self-limiting oxidation of bilayer WSe2 was used as a p-type dopant. This led to ∼5× improvement in the ON-state performance and ∼9× reduction in the contact resistance. We were able to achieve a median ON-state current as high as ∼10 μA/μm for ultrascaled and doped p-type WSe2 FETs with Pd contacts. We also show the applicability of our monolayer doping strategy to other 2D materials such as MoS2, MoTe2, and MoSe2.

Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) is a versatile surface-sensitive technique for characterizing both hard and soft matter. Its chemical and molecular specificity, high spatial resolution, and superior sensitivity make it an ideal method for depth profiling polymeric systems, including those comprised of both inorganic and organic constituents (i.e., polymer nanocomposites, PNCs). To best utilize ToF-SIMS for characterizing PNCs, experimental conditions must be optimized to minimize challenges such as the matrix effect and charge accumulation. Toward that end, we have successfully used ToF-SIMS with a Xe+ focused ion beam to depth profile silica nanoparticles grafted with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA-NP) in a poly(styrene-ran-acrylonitrile) matrix film by selecting conditions that address charge compensation and the primary incident beam angles. By tracking the sputtered Si+ species and fitting the resultant concentration profile, the diffusion coefficient of PMMA-NP was determined to be D = 2.4 × 10-14 cm2/s. This value of D lies between that measured using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (6.4 × 10-14 cm2/s) and the value predicted by the Stokes-Einstein model (2.5 × 10-15 cm2/s). With carefully tuned experimental parameters, ToF-SIMS holds great potential for quantitatively characterizing the nanoparticles at the surfaces and interfaces within PNC materials as well as soft matter in general.

Brief, school-based mental health interventions hold promise for reducing barriers to mental health support access, a critical endeavor in light of increasing rates of mental health concerns among youth. However, there is no consensus on whether or not brief school-based interventions are effective at reducing mental health concerns or improving wellbeing. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to provide consensus and determine directions for future work. Articles were included if they examined a brief (≤ four sessions or 240 minutes of intervention time) psychosocial intervention, were conducted within a Pre-K through 12th-grade school setting, included at least one treatment outcome evaluating mental health or wellbeing, and were published since 2000. A total of 6,702 papers were identified through database searching, of which 81 papers (k studies = 75) were ultimately selected for inclusion. A total of 40,498 students were included across studies and a total of 75 unique interventions were examined. A total of 324 effect sizes were extracted. On average, interventions led to statistically significant improvements in mental health/wellbeing outcomes versus control conditions up to one month (g = .18, p = .004), six months (g = .15, p = .006), and one year (g = .10, p = .03) post-intervention. There may be benefits to brief school-based interventions from a preventative public-health standpoint; future research may focus on how to optimize their real-world utility. Prospero preregistration: CRD42021255079.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a common complication of diabetes. Approximately 20% of DR patients have diabetic macular edema (DME) characterized by fluid leakage into the retina. There is a genetic component to DR and DME risk, but few replicable loci. Because not all DR cases have DME, we focused on DME to increase power, and conducted a multi-ancestry GWAS to assess DME risk in a total of 1,502 DME patients and 5,603 non-DME controls in discovery and replication datasets. Two loci reached GWAS significance (p<5x10-8). The strongest association was rs2239785, (K150E) in APOL1. The second finding was rs10402468, which co-localized to PLVAP and ANKLE1 in vascular / endothelium tissues. We conducted multiple sensitivity analyses to establish that the associations were specific to DME status and did not reflect diabetes status or other diabetic complications. Here we report two novel loci for risk of DME which replicated in multiple clinical trial and biobank derived datasets. One of these loci, containing the gene APOL1, is a risk factor in African American DME and DKD patients, indicating that this locus plays a broader role in diabetic complications for multiple ancestries.Trial Registration:NCT00473330, NCT00473382, NCT03622580, NCT03622593, NCT04108156.