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Adult American shad Alosa sapidissima habitat occupancy in the Delaware River Basin, USA
No full textHale, Edward A.The anadromous American Shad (Alosa sapidissima), a once commercially important species in the mid-Atlantic, experienced population declines due to overfishing, poor water quality, and impediments to accessing freshwater spawning habitat. Regional and national scale efforts substantially addressed the former two obstacles to facilitate population growth, but dam modifications or removal are still ongoing. In 2019, the State of Delaware removed the first barrier to anadromous fish passage on the Brandywine River (a tributary of the Delaware River), Dam 1. Forty-four shad were tagged with acoustic transmitters from 2021–2024 above recently removed Dam 1 and tracked in the Delaware River Estuary and coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The length of available habitat increased by 1.3 km and 68.0% (30/44) of tagged shad used historic spawning grounds in the Brandywine River following dam removal. Thirteen individuals exhibited long-term residency in the Brandywine River from May–June, demonstrating the importance of this newly available habitat to spawning adults. Additionally, one fish returned to the Brandywine River between years, displaying inter-annual spawning site fidelity and iteroparity. I also observed exploratory behavior of eight additional shad that exited and returned to the Brandywine River within the same year. I used generalized additive models with environmental covariates including water temperature, flow rate, lunar phase, tidal cycle, etc., matched to occupancy events of shad that exited and reentered the Brandywine River to explain occupancy events within the Brandywine River. Under the most simplified model, adult American Shad occupancy event presence from the eight individuals was significantly correlated to water temperature, day length, flow rate, and lunar phase, which explained 50-60% of deviance (P < 0.05). I also observed more presence during occupancy events at temperatures of 20°C, a day length of 14.6 hours, and flows between 5.5–12.5 m3 s-1. These conditions represent the preferred spawning conditions within the Brandywine River from 2021–2023 for shad that exited and reentered the Brandywine River, despite displaying low predictive power for hypothetical environmental conditions. As such, these potential environmental preferences should be noted when management entities design dam removal or habitat restoration within northern Delaware, or specifically within the Brandywine River.University of Delaware, School of Marine Science and PolicyM.S
Violent deaths following disasters: A retrospective analysis
No full textThis article was originally published in PLOS One. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0337968
© 2025 Scales et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Introduction
Negative mental health outcomes associated with disaster exposure can increase risks of interpersonal and self-directed violence. However, the link between disaster exposure and increased incidence in violent deaths is not clearly established.
Study objective
The objective of this work is to assess the incidence of violent deaths in non-disaster and disaster periods across five distinct disaster events.
Methods
This study uses an ecological, quasi-experimental design to assess violent deaths in pre-disaster and disaster periods across five U.S. states (e.g., North Carolina, Oregon, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Colorado) with federally declared disasters resulting from natural hazards (e.g., flood, wildfire, tropical cyclone, storms). Deaths recorded in the National Violent Death Reporting System were used to describe violent deaths with injuries occurring three-months prior to and after disaster onset. Poisson regression with population offsets and fixed effects was used to calculate incidence rate ratios for disaster affected and unaffected counties within the same state, comparing violent death rates in disaster periods with non-disaster periods.
Results
Most of all deaths were White (80.75%), male (76.87%), and unmarried (65.03%); the median age of decedents was 41.5 years (IQR: 28–55). Overall, the incidence of violent deaths was consistent between disaster and non-disaster periods for both affected (IRR: 0.985; 95% CI: 0.760–1.276) and unaffected counties (IRR: 1.062; 95% CI: 0.975–1.158). Rate ratios were heterogenous but not significant across individual disasters, with only non-suicide and all-cause violent deaths increasing significantly following severe storms and flooding in Wisconsin for counties ineligible for public assistance
Conclusion
The results of this study are consistent with the heterogenous findings on violent deaths and disasters throughout literature. As disasters become more frequent and severe, it is important to further consider the relationship between disaster impacts and negative mental health outcomes, including violent deaths.National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) New Investigator Award from the American Public Health Association. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript
COLLABORATIVE STORYTELLING, NARRATIVE MANAGEMENT, AND THE IMPACT OF INCLUDING GAME MECHANICS AS A STORYTELLING DEVICE
No full textenterTabletop Roleplaying Games, or TTRPGs, are a type of game that combines
mechanical interactions and gameplay elements with narrative components and
collaboration in storytelling. Due to several factors, such as multiple participants
contributing to a singular narrative output or the inclusion of chance, there exists a
more complicated relationship between the story, its creator(s), and its viewer(s) than
in traditional mediums. Despite this, the narrative opportunities the medium presents
are typically a lower priority than the gameplay ones, particularly in discussions of
design. This study presents the results of a bespoke TTRPG created with intentional
interaction between its gameplay mechanics and plot. This game was designed,
created, and conducted for this project, followed by feedback and extensive analysis.
This analysis includes both what alterations would need to be included in any similar
TTRPG project, as well as showcasing what this project demonstrates about the nature
of storytelling. It explores ludonarrative harmony and dissonance, the malleability of
authorship, and the ability for a story to surprise those creating it. The game utilizes a
horror genre, chosen to exaggerate the relationship between mechanical and narrative
tension, and to prioritize the feelings and mindsets of the characters over the
progression of the plot itself. The results show that mechanics have an undeniable
impact on the reception of a given narrative, able to influence both simple elements
such as the tone of a scene, and complex elements such as the way a character solves a
particular problem. It also highlights that allowing random elements to influence the
outcome of a narrative can create an unexpected ending. TTRPGs are a storytelling
medium that have significant depth available to them and can create narrative
interactions that are difficult or impossible to replicate in a traditional medium.ente
College students’ engagement with social media messaging from university health services: the importance of expectancies and efficacy
No full textThis is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of American College Health on 02/06/2025, available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2025.2461617.
© 2025 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
This article will be embargoed until 02/06/2026.Objective: The study analyzes e-health message content shared by university health centers and determines college students’ engagement with those messages. Method: Using the Reasoned Action Approach (RAA) framework, the current study content analyzed the RAA components (target behavior, attitudes/expectancies, social norms, and efficacy) within Instagram messages that were shared by official university health services accounts to promote health behaviors among college students. Results: Results showed that university health services are often using RAA-informed message strategies, with just under half of all posts containing at least one RAA component. Also, students are more likely to engage with university health services content that includes positive expectancies—specifically, improved academic performance and general efficacy. Conclusion: The present research will help university health services tailor their theory-driven messaging to improve student engagement with their e-health content.The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article
A Hybrid BN-Doped Nanographene with Narrow Emission Bandwidths for OLEDs
No full textThis is the peer reviewed version of the following article: V. V. Diev, Y. Zou, D. Kondakov, G. P. A. Yap, Chem. Eur. J. 2025, 31, e202404078. https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.202404078, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.202404078. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited.
© 2025 Wiley-VCH GmbH.
This article will be embargoed until 01/29/2026.We describe synthesis of BN-doped nanographene containing five phenylene units, boron and nitrogen atoms with alternating ortho-disposition, as well as direct B−N connections. Resulting BN doped nanographene exhibits blue fluorescence at 441 nm with an extraordinarily narrow fluorescence peak with a full width at half maximum (FWHM)=10–11 nm. Crystallography reveals supramolecular organization of this compound in the crystal phase. Initial organic light emitting device (OLED) data suggest that the presence of a directly connected B−N isostere can lead to devices with sufficiently long lifetime as well as narrow emission electro-luminescence peaks necessary for OLED applications.
Graphical Abstract available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.202404078
Computational screening, synthesis and characterization identified BN-containing candidate 1 as a promising narrow bandwidth chromophore. BN doped nanographene exhibits blue fluorescence at 441 nm with an extraordinarily narrow fluorescence peak with full width at half maximum (FWHM)=10–11 nm that outperforms narrow bandwidths of the incumbent references. Utility of the compound for long lifetime narrow bandwidth OLEDs has also been demonstratedDuPon
Psychometric evaluation of the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (SWEMWBS) in Singapore: confirmatory analysis and measurement invariance testing for applied social work research and evaluation
No full textThis is an Accepted Manuscript version of "Psychometric evaluation of the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (SWEMWBS) in Singapore: confirmatory analysis and measurement invariance testing for applied social work research and evaluation" It was accepted for publication in Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development.
Kwan, J. Y., Hui Xian, O., Babu, S., & Ng, R. (2025). Psychometric evaluation of the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (SWEMWBS) in Singapore: confirmatory analysis and measurement invariance testing for applied social work research and evaluation. Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/29949769.2025.2539688
It is deposited under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This article will be embargoed until August 7, 2026.This study aimed to evaluate specific psychometric properties of a latent-factor
conceptualisation of mental well-being using the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental
Well-Being Scale (SWEMWBS) in Singapore. We also examined measurement
invariance and concurrent validity. A secondary self-report cross-sectional dataset (n
= 3,043) was used. Results of confirmatory factor analysis indicated the
SWEMWBS’s high internal consistency and unidimensional factor structure. Full
invariance (i.e., configural, metric, and scalar) was observed across all demographic
groups (i.e., gender, education, religiosity, and employment status), except race and
marital status. Overall, as hypothesised, Singaporeans with higher SWEMWBS
scores reported greater present and future life satisfaction and subjective health, and
lower psychological distress. Altogether, the findings suggest that the SWEMWBS is
a reliable, valid, and practical measurement tool which can be used to study mental
well-being and evaluate programmes and interventions which seek to track and
improve mental well-being in Singapore, where mental health is a national priority
The Delaware Atmospheric Plasma Probe Experiment: the flight computer and science instrument subsystem
No full textMaruca, Bennett A.Kiamilev, Fouad E.This thesis presents the development and evolution of the Flight Computer and Science Instrument Subsystem for the Delaware Atmospheric Plasma Probe Experiment (DAPPEr), a 3U CubeSat mission designed to study ionospheric plasma. The research details two major iterations of these systems, with the first successfully tested on NASA’s RockSat-C sounding rocket mission in 2024, and the second designed for DAPPEr’s planned launch. The work validates these designs through the successful collection of electron density and temperature measurements in the lower ionosphere during the UDIP-4 mission, where data showed strong agreement with the International Reference Ionosphere model. DAPPEr will expand upon this foundation by deploying dual Langmuir probes at 400-450 km altitude to investigate plasma characteristics and spacecraft charging effects by alternating between grounding to the rocket-skin or the Langmuir probes. As the first spacecraft led by a Delaware team, DAPPEr will act as a stepping stone for Delaware’s space program development, while advancing both the scientific understanding of ionospheric plasma through CubeSat-based measurement techniques.University of Delaware, Department of Electrical and Computer EngineeringM.S
Incentivizing banks as conduits: evidence from the Paycheck Protection Program
No full textTobacman, JeremyHow should policymakers use banks as conduits for government assistance programs? This study delves into this question within the context of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which assisted small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the bunching estimation approach and leveraging the incentive discontinuities, this paper estimated loan supply elasticities w.r.t. commissions and borrowers’ responses to loan forgiveness probabilities. I find evidence that expectations of loan forgiveness policies influenced borrowers’ actions, while commissions had no discernible impact on lender behavior.University of Delaware, Department of EconomicsPh.D
Instructional strategies that support academically underprepared students
No full textRan, Florence XiaotaoCommunity college students often do not have the academic support that they need to succeed in college-level coursework. This ELP examines the specific supports students need in introductory social science courses since Delaware Technical Community College (DTCC) removed prerequisite requirements for English for all incoming students, and the ELP also considers how instructors can leverage course design and instructional strategies to provide the necessary reading and writing support to boost course performance in introductory social science courses. ☐ The improvement goals of this ELP are (1) to examine what academic supports students need in introductory social science courses; and (2) to increase instructor knowledge of instructional strategies that support introductory psychology students who are academically underprepared in English. To accomplish the improvement goals, I implemented three improvement strategies. First, I conducted a literature review to understand prior research on developmental education and instructional strategies to support students with their writing skills. Next, I administered a student survey and semi-structured interviews with faculty to understand the academic needs of developmental students. The findings from the results of the survey are significant in that they demonstrate that most students, regardless of their level of preparedness, feel that they could benefit from additional instructional strategies to provide support in completing college writing assignments. ☐ Improvement strategy 2 focuses on developing a professional learning session regarding instructional strategies that support developmental students in introductory social science courses. The presentation compiled data and recommendations and presented information on the problem, recommendations for resources, and instructional strategies, all informed by survey data and faculty interview findings. ☐ Improvement strategy 3 provided instructors with professional learning opportunities to increase instructor knowledge of instructional strategies that support developmental students. Topics include an explanation of the problem, research, sharing of information collected from surveys and interviews, and resources and instructional strategies to address the problem. ☐ A post-professional learning survey was distributed to faculty who attended the professional learning presentation. A consensus from participants was that they learned new or different information in the professional learning session, and that they plan to use the information in their classroom. Additionally, all faculty members who attended responded that the session helped them to feel more prepared in addressing student writing challenges. These responses show that the faculty have a unanimous desire to learn more ways to support their students with college-level writing challenges. ☐ Future recommendations for improvement include seven changes: (1) Provide instructors with additional resources to support students with APA guidelines. (2) Provide instructors with professional learning on instructional strategies that support student writing. (3) Provide leadership with the recommendation to utilize the professional learning community (PLC) time to discuss best practices and instructional strategies to support student writing among department faculty. (4) Expand the way the writing center is used and invite the writing center to professional learning/PLC to discuss options for in-class support. (5) Invite adjunct faculty to all professional learning meetings and PLC meetings. (6) Provide compensation for adjunct faculty to attend PLC’s or professional development opportunities on a regular basis. (7) Discuss options for writing pre-tests to assess student writing skills at the start of the course.University of Delaware, School of EducationD.Ed