Council of Independent Colleges

The global nonproliferation regime's ability to adapt to changing geopolitical conditions and uphold established rules is essential to its integrity. A fundamental requirement for membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group is adherence to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Addressing concerns of nuclear states that are not signatories to the NPT is a significant challenge for the NSG. It would also be inappropriate to exclude these countries from nonproliferation agreements, as laws not mutually agreed upon do not establish a stable social order. India's nuclear warheads increased from 172 to 180, while Pakistan's stockpile remained steady at approximately 170, as per the 2025 yearbook of Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. This shift underscores the necessity of addressing disparities in nuclear development when developing fair and inclusive nonproliferation norms for non-NPT states seeking NSG membership. To objectively evaluate the inclusion of non-NPT nuclear states, this paper comprehends a criteria-based, balanced approach to NSG membership. If one state is given preferential treatment or selection outside of the NPT framework, the NSG could become politicized, lose credibility, and have implications for the nonproliferation regime. To maintain the efficacy, legitimacy, and long-term stability of the global nonproliferation regime, this paper concludes that NSG membership requirements must be modified to reflect universal and unbiased norms while taking into account the valid concerns of non-NPT governments. This research will contribute to the nonproliferation literature by examining the NSG's preferential treatment through a South Asian-centric lens, discussing how discriminatory norm implementation will restructure NSG integrity and strategic stability. This research also suggested strengthening nonproliferation norms through transparent, impartial, and criteria-based engagements with non-NPT states for inclusion in the NSG. The study employs realism as the theoretical framework to guide analysis of the case study and uses a qualitative research method to collect primary and secondary data.

El suicidio es multicausal y se distribuye diferencialmente entre grupos poblacionales. Para abordarlo se necesita comprender mejor su comportamiento local. El objetivo del estudio fue analizar la frecuencia y distribución del suicidio en Guatemala. Se analizaron datos de 5,914 certificados de defunción. Se calcularon frecuencias relativas por sexo, edad, ocupación y método de suicidio. Se usó la prueba de permutación de Montecarlo y el modelo ARIMA para calcular cambios porcentuales anuales y estimar proyecciones. La tasa general de suicidio fue 3.59 por 100,000 habitantes, superior en hombres (5.31) que en mujeres (1.48). La edad promedio fue 31.56 años. El 72.89% eran hombres, predominando en el grupo de 60-64 años, con una relación de 11.45:1 respecto a mujeres. En una alta proporción eran solteros (73.41%), con educación primaria o menor (71.79%), ladinos/mestizos (59.72%) o agricultores (41.58%). El 50.04% ocurrió en el domicilio. Las mayores tasas ocurrieron en Santa Rosa (9.19 por 100,000), El Progreso (9.08 por 100,000) y Baja Verapaz (7.12 por 100,000). El ahorcamiento (49.30%) y la intoxicación (41.02%) fueron los métodos más comunes. Proyecciones para 2024-2028 estiman una tasa de 3.58. Se observó un subregistro importante, con el 39.24% de los casos sin necropsia y problemas de clasificación. Es necesario fortalecer la calidad de los registros mediante la capacitación del personal y la inclusión de variables relevantes en los certificados. Se recomienda implementar estrategias de salud mental diferenciadas por sexo, edad ocupación y grupos marginados, así como despenalizar el intento de suicidio para facilitar la atención oportuna.

(Abstracted from Lancet 2024;403:1341–1350) Prognosis for locally advanced cervical cancer is poor, with 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival ranging from 47% to 80%. For the past several decades, treatment has included external beam radiotherapy with concurrent chemotherapy followed by brachytherapy, and novel therapeutic options are needed.

Air pollution can severely impact child lung health but is often not considered a public health priority by policy-makers and population in low-and-middle income countries. We did an interdisciplinary mixed method study to assess exposure to air pollution and respiratory health in children aged 5-10 living in poorly condition in Yopougon, a district of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and parent and child perceptions and knowledge of air pollution. We assessed pollution exposure with indoor and outdoor PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations and questionnaires, children’s respiratory health with ISAAC questionnaire, clinical evaluation, spirometry or RINT, depending on their ability to perform a forced expiration, their perception of air pollution with a “Draw and express yourself” activity and that of parents with semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. We enrolled 124 children from 65 households, that used mixed cooking with gas and charcoal in settings with important environmental air pollution. Median 48-hour PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations were 126.7 (IQR: 82.7) and 60.8 (IQR: 50.7) μg/m3, indoor respectively, and 113.4 (IQR: 64.2) and 58.2 (IQR: 36.9) μg/m3, outdoor in courtyards. 21 (16.9%) children reported wheezing in the previous year, 65 (52.4%) reported dry cough at night, and 63 (72.4%) had lung function impairment on spirometry with 24 (27.6%) asthma, 19 (21.8%) non reversible obstruction and 20 (23.0%) restrictive pattern. Adults and children were able to identify visible sources of air pollution but largely ignored effects on health. Despite a high exposure to air pollution with particulate matter concentrations far exceeding WHO recommendations in this district of Abidjan, and a high prevalence of respiratory symptoms, lung function impairment and asthma, among children, children and adults, perception of air pollution as a health issue was very limited. Recommendations and awareness-raising for parents and children, starting at primary school level, are needed to limit the exposure to and respiratory consequences of air pollution.

استهدفت الدراسة تحليل الأطر الخبرية لمعالجة مواقع وكالات الأنباء الغربية والعربية للحرب الإسرائيلية علي غزة 2023 وتداعياتها بالتطبيق علي وكالات أسوشيتدبرس ورويترز وأنباء الشرق الأوسط والانباء الفلسطينية في الفترة من 7 أكتوبر 2023 وحتي 27 مارس 2024، واستخدمت نظرية تحليل الأطر الإعلامية.واعتمد الباحث علي منهج المسح الإعلامي بشقيه الوصفي والتحليلي تم استخدام أداة تحليل المضمون وتم تصميم استمارة تحليل للشكل والمضمون وتحليل الأطر المتعلقة بالقضية محل الدراسة، وتوصلت لعدة نتائج أبرزها اختلفت طبيعة ونوع المعالجة الصحفية لوكالات الأنباء عينة الدراسة لموضوعات الحرب الإسرائيلية علي غزة 2023 وتداعياتها، حيث تصدرت المعالجة التبريرية للحرب تغطية وكالتي رويترز وأسوشيتدبرس للحرب الأسرائيلية علي غزة لتحتل المرتبة الأولي، بينما تصدرت المعالجة الإنسانية لتداعيات الحرب المرتبة الأولي في تغطية وكالتي أنباء الشرق الأوسط والأنباء الفلسطينية ..وتفوقت وكالات الأنباء العربية "أنباء الشرق الأوسط، والانباء الفلسطينية" علي نظيرتها الغربية "أسوشيتدبرس ورويترز" عينة الدراسة في استخدام الاستمالات المنطقية في معالجتها للحرب الإسرائيلية علي غزة 2023 وتداعياتها، بينما تفوقت وكالات الأنباء الغربية "أسوشيتدبرس ورويترز علي نظيرتها العربية" أنباء الشرق الأوسط، والأنباء الفلسطينية" عينة الدراسة في استخدام الاستمالات غير المنطقية في معالجتها للحرب الإسرائيلية علي غزة وأوصت الدراسة بالإعتماد علي المصادر الحية من موقع الأحداث لوكالات الأنباء والصحف والقنوات الإخبارية العربية وتوخي الحذر في التعامل مع وكالات الأنباء الغربية خاصة فيما يتعلق بقضايا المنطقة العربية وتحديدا ما يخص القضية الفلسطينية، بسبب انحيازها الواضح للسردية الإسرائيلية وغياب الحياد، مع ضرورة تشكيل مرصد إعلامي عربي تحت إطار الجامعة العربية لرصد كل ما ينشر في وسائل الإعلام الغربية والرد عليه بعدة لغات أولا بأول وبالأدلة .

The general objective of this study is to examine the effect of CRM on customer loyalty in commercial bank of Egypt. To achieve the objective of the study necessary data were collected through the five points Likert Scale of questionnaires through convenient random sampling method. To achieve the intended objective explanatory and descriptive research design, a quantitative research approach was implemented. In the descriptive analysis tools such as frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation were used while for the inferential analysis correlation and multiple liner regression was adopted by using SPSS V.21. The questionnaire's reliability was estimated by calculating Cronbach's Alpha using Python programming language descriptive statistical libraries (include NumPy, SciPy, and Pandas). The findings confirm that all the independent

Abstract In August, 2015, Serena Williams, one of the most successful female athletes of all time, was body shamed in a New York Times article. The incident highlights the issue of unequal treatment of male and female athletes – while a muscular frame enhances masculinity for male athletes, a muscular physique invites body shaming for female athletes. In this study, symbolic interactionist theories regarding the generalized other are called into question. While George Mead's theorizing exhibits a nonproblematic role taking of the generalized other in a cooperative manner, this study reports the presence of paradoxical generalized others, and consequently, the incongruent role taking of a latent generalized other by individuals. This study investigates if the issue of body image exists among college female athletes, if college female athletes experience the dilemma of choosing between outstanding performance with a muscular frame or maintaining traditional female appearance. To provide answers to the question, female athletes in a midwest university were invited to fill out a survey. The survey results confirm the existence of a paradox between performance and appearance among some college female athletes.

Epitaxial growth of WTe$_2$ offers significant advantages, including the production of high-qualityfilms, possible long range in-plane ordering and precise control over layer thicknesses. However,the mean island size of WTe$_2$ grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) in litterature is only a fewtens of nanometers, which is not suitable for an implementation of devices at large lateral scales.Here we report the growth of Td-WTe$_2$ ultrathin films by MBE on monolayer (ML) graphenereaching a mean flake size of $\cong$110nm, which is, on overage, more than three time larger thanprevious results. WTe$_2$ films thicker than 5nm have been successfully synthesized and exhibit theexpected Td-phase atomic structure. We rationalize epitaxial growth of Td-WTe$_2$ and propose asimple model to estimate the mean flake size as a function of growth parameters that can be appliedto other transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs). Based on nucleation theory and Kolmogorov-Johnson-Meh-Avrami (KJMA) equation, our analytical model supports experimental data showinga critical coverage of 0.13ML above which WTe$_2$ nucleation becomes negligible. The quality ofmonolayer WTe$_2$ films is demonstrated from electronic band structure analysis using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) in agreement with first-principle calculationsperformed on free-standing WTe$_2$ and previous reports.

The massive amount of social media data is considered as an effective resource to extract valuable knowledge. Nowadays, the social media analytical became an advanced informatics tool for collecting, monitoring, and analyzing data. So, it supports the business needs for improving the product and service in order to increase their profit. This paper proposes an analytical model for remarking online conversation and estimating the customer’s perception based on the machine learning techniques. In addition, it investigates the impact of brand community features on the customer’s perception. Based on that, the online conversation is automatically remarked by the degree of conversation polarity as well as the impact of brand community. Finally, The findings emphasized that the brand community features have an impact on the customer’s perception in percentage up to 45.6%. Also, it realized that in many statuses the remarks provide a significant feedback that forces the business for making decision and enhancing capabilities.