University of St. Thomas - Texas

This article explores the transformation of Rome from a city to an empire and its profound impact on the rise of Christianity. It delves into the political, psychological, and religious changes that facilitated this metamorphosis. The expansion of the Roman Empire altered Roman perceptions, fostering a shift toward the universal and cosmopolitan, thus altering Roman politics and religion. These shifts paved the way for Christianity, which offered a universal way of salvation grounded in Jesus Christ as the mediator of one, universal way of salvation in contrast to the pagan alternatives that were neither one nor universal. Pierre Manent’s analysis of political forms provides a framework for understanding these transformations, emphasizing the unique transition from city to empire and its implications for Roman life and the rise of Christianity. Manent’s observations are marvelously confirmed and augmented by Shakespeare’s narration of the history of the Roman metamorphosis in his Roman trilogy of Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, and Antony and Cleopatra.

Motivated by the need for timely communication and real-time applications, this work considers the problem of characterizing the peak age of information (PAoI) of transmitting through a time-varying first-order Markov fading channel. The communication setting under investigation includes a transmitter, which sends status updates in the form of a coded packet using a linear block code. The receiver estimates the channel using pilot symbols, which are separated by data symbols. To that end, we first derive a semi-analytic expression for the average probability of the correct packet reception over a stationary transmission block of packets. Based on this, we deduce the average PAoI under zero-wait policy. The analytic results show that the PAoI depends on the packet length and the pilot separation in an intriguing way. Specifically, both parameters exhibit two competing effects that influence the PAoI. This suggests the existence of optimal values for packet length and the pilot separation. Moreover, the results show that, in general, neither maximizing the data rate nor minimizing the packet error rate would necessarily minimize the PAoI.

Abstract The literature highlights the conflicting trends between rising nationalism and stable preferences for status quo on cross-strait relations in Taiwan. This article provides new insights from the Taiwan National Security Survey (2002–2022, 14 waves, n = 16, 494) to help explain this apparent inconsistency. The surveys employed “conditional preference” items to capture how the cross-strait attitudes of Taiwanese people are shaped. Since 2002, Taiwanese identifiers have increased steadily, while dual identifiers have decreased. Most respondents still prefer the status quo, but there is a gradual rise in support for independence. Hypothetical scenarios reveal that a majority support independence if China will not attack and oppose unification if China and Taiwan differ economically and politically. Furthermore, the percentage supporting independence given China will attack is increasing, while the percentage supporting unification if China and Taiwan are similar has considerably decreased. Conditional preferences are influenced by perceived economic benefits from China and the military strength of China, Taiwan, and the United States.

Abstract We study the stability and convergence properties of a semi-implicit time stepping scheme for the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations with variable density and viscosity. The density is assumed to be approximated in a way that conserves the minimum-maximum principle. The scheme uses a fractional time-stepping method and the momentum, which is equal to the product of the density and velocity, as a primary unknown. The semi-implicit algorithm for the coupled momentum-pressure is shown to be conditionally stable and the velocity is shown to converge in L 2 norm with order one in time. Numerical illustrations confirm that the algorithm is stable and convergent under classic CFL condition even for sharp density profiles.

The article explores the second wave of Polish immigration to Southeast Texas during the 19th century, focusing on the cultural heritage of the Polish diaspora, particularly from Greater Poland and Galicia. It examines the foundational figures of the Polish ethnic community in Texas, including Meyer Levy, Father Feliks Orzechowski, and Josef Bartula. Utilizing content analysis of 4,358 pages across 124 volumes from the Polish Genealogical Society Texas (PGST), published between 1984 and 2021, the study reveals the significant contributions of these individuals – Jewish merchants, Catholic clergymen, and community leaders – to the history of Polish settlement in Texas. The article also underscores the impact of Polish immigrants on the state’s agricultural development and their role in enriching the ethnically diverse fabric of Texas. Additionally, it highlights the crucial roles played by women and children in the early success of these immigrant communities.

Abstract This article aims to defend the thesis—originally defended by Alan Donagan but rejected by Philippa Foot and most others—that the doing/allowing distinction is based upon the difference between acting and failing to act. The paper restricts its focus to the second aspect of this thesis: that every allowing is most fundamentally a failure to act. Foot rejects the thesis because of cases of ‘enabling harm’—such as removing a respirator—in which the agent allows some harm by way of doing something. The troubling aspect of these cases, however, disappears when two points are better understood. First, an independent sequence must be understood in relation to the agent's own actions. Second, sometimes an agent has ongoing actions, such as the use of a respirator.

In addition to causing discomfort, female mosquitoes introduce diseasecarrying viruses and bacteria into the bloodstream of their victims. There are numerous publications describing the uses of sugary mosquito baits with promising results. Without temperature control measures however, these methods are mainly useful for only nectar-feeding insects, including male mosquitoes, because the warmth of the blood is a condition for the females to locate their meals. The efforts required to keep the baits fresh against the natural spoiling process make them less attractive or impractical to implement. These experiments address these issues by using warm baits of water, sugar, boric acid, and antibiotics. Overnight, the general areas became clear of blood-sucking female mosquitoes while in numbers, the harmless males concentrated into the immediate vicinities. Control vs. experiment protocol established no other logical explanation for this phenomenon other than that females were attracted and killed by the bait. As expected, there was no female mosquito's activity in these areas. There weren't many left to do the work.