8468 research outputs found
Sort by
Ubiquity and diversity of Basidiobolus across amphibian species inhabiting an urbanization gradient
No full textThe role of microfungal species in the environment is wide and well documented, especially in terms of symbiosis. Nonetheless, microfungal species are usually overseen and vastly understudied. One example of these understudied microfungal groups is the genus Basidiobolus, an ecologically diverse zoopagomycete genus found within vertebrate gastrointestinal systems, a saprobe across leaf litter, or as an opportunistic pathogen of immunocompromised humans. Studies of Basidiobolus diversity and distribution have been focused mostly on non-urbanized areas of subtropical regions, but there is a recent paucity of studies on this genus in temperate and densely human populated areas. Here, we present insights into the ubiquity and diversity of Basidiobolus species associated with amphibian species that live in the Worcester waterway system, a system of connecting streams and ponds that originate in pristine, protected wild management areas, and the highly urbanized downtown area of Worcester, Massachusetts. Our results show the ubiquitous presence of Basidiobolus across the gastrointestinal tract samples of amphibians spanning diverse species and habitats, including conservation areas, urban watersheds, and rural ecosystems. Our study reveals that multiple individuals and species of Basidiobolus coexist within a single host, suggesting complex interactions within amphibian gut microbiomes. Finally, we present possible novel diversity in the genus, indicating that further studies should be focused on understanding the species richness, genetic diversity, and ecological roles and associations of this interesting fungal group. © 2025 The Mycological Society of America
Singular solutions for the conformal Dirac-Einstein problem on the sphere
No full textIn this paper we investigate the existence of singular solutions to the conformal Dirac-Einstein system. Because of its conformal invariance, there are many similarities with the classical construction of singular solutions for the Yamabe problem. We construct here a family of singular solutions, on the three dimensional sphere, having exactly two singularities
Broadening diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion in the process and development of climate assessments
Get PDFComprehensive assessments of scientific knowledge are essential to inform efforts to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change impacts. The Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5), released in late 2023, adopted clear diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion (DEAI) goals and trainings, which helped diversify expert participation, broaden the types of knowledge included, and widen public engagement. This Letter, written by NCA5 authors, reflects on the impacts and limitations of these efforts and suggests specific actions to further promote collaboration, honor and recognize the knowledge of frontline communities, and guide more just and holistic climate assessments
Perceived Impact of Marriage and Concerns About the Future of Marriage Equality: A Mixed-Methods Study of LGBTQ+ Married Individuals in the United States
No full textIntroduction: The year 2024 marked the 20th anniversary of legal marriage for same-sex couples in the USA, which began in Massachusetts in 2004, and it has been almost a decade since Obergefell v. Hodges established marriage equality at the federal level. Several decades of research have established numerous positive impacts of marriage equality on LGBTQ + people’s lives. Legislative efforts to restrict the rights of LGBTQ + Americans over the past several years in particular have fostered concerns related to future state and federal protections—including federal marriage equality. Methods: Using data from 484 married LGBTQ + Americans (78% cisgender, 22% trans/nonbinary; 51% White, 49% of color) collected in Fall/Winter 2023–2024, this study aims to better understand the impact of marriage equality on their lives. Participants completed an online survey with closed and open-ended questions. Using descriptive statistics and qualitative analysis of open-ended responses, we explore the perceived impact of marriage equality on their lives, concerns about a potential legal challenge to marriage equality, and desire to move. Logistic regression models examine predictors of concerns about a potential legal challenge to marriage equality and desire to move out of the state or country. Results: Marriage was perceived by participants as impacting their well-being, life satisfaction, and relationships in largely positive ways, and many participants saw marriage as impacting key life decisions such as where to live and financial planning. Federal marriage equality was important to many participants insomuch as it enabled security in terms of where to live and travel. Over three-quarters of participants were concerned about a potential legal challenge to Obergefell. Couples in which one or both partners were trans were more likely to be concerned about a challenge to federal marriage equality than cis men couples or cis women couples, and less educated participants were more likely to be concerned than more educated participants. More than one-quarter of participants wanted to move out of their state, and more than a quarter of participants wanted to move out of the country. Participants in states with poorer LGBTQ + climates, participants who reported that they or their partners had disabilities, and older participants were more likely to want to move out of their state. Participants who were concerned about a legal challenge to Obergefell were more likely than those who were not concerned to want to move out of the USA. Conclusions and Policy Implications: Marriage equality has had profound impacts on LGBTQ + Americans’ lives, and even the threat of its potential loss is having serious disruptions on their individual, relational, and family well-being. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2025
Particulate Matter Pollution in New England and the Impacts of Wildfires
No full textNew England faces a unique challenge in being impacted by wildfires in distant locations due to the transported air pollution, which contains harmful pollutants and has an impact on human health. This paper analyzed PM 2.5 trends from 23 sensors, focusing on overall trends, seasonal patterns, and comparing urban and rural areas. Multivariate linear regression analyses were conducted with sensor and year as independent variables and one of three measures as dependent variables: 1) the count of Moderate or worse air quality days, 2) the median PM 2.5 value per year, and 3) the interquartile range of PM 2.5 values per year. All linear regression results showed an improvement in PM 2.5 from 2004-2023 in New England. For seasonality, summer and fall experienced the highest amount of poor air quality occurrences. The results also indicate that the summer and fall of 2023 experienced above-average Moderate or worse air quality. This indicates that while overall PM 2.5 has improved for the region, wildfire pollution can create unhealthy air quality conditions. Additionally, there needs to be further characterization and analysis of PM 2.5 to identify and analyze the health impacts of harmful wildfire air pollution
Copper(II)-Promoted Reactions of α-Pyridoin Oxime: A Dodecanuclear Cluster and a 2D Coordination Polymer
No full textThe reaction of CuCl2∙2H2O, (E)-2-hydroxy-1,2-di(pyridin-2-yl)ethanone oxime (α-pyroxH2) and Et3N in refluxing MeOH gave complex [Cu12Cl12(mpydol)4(pydox)2(MeOH)4] (1), where mpydol2− is the dianion of 1,2-dimethoxy-1,2-di(pyridin-2-yl)ethane-1,2-diol and pydox2− is the dianion of (E,E)-1,2-di(pyridin-2-yl)ethanedione dioxime. “Blind” experiments have proven that the transformation of α-pyroxH2 is copper(II)-assisted. By changing the solvent from MeOH to MeCN, the polymeric compound {[Cu4Cl4(pic)4]}n (2) was isolated; pic− is the pyridine-2-carboxylato(-1) ligand. The observed α-pyroxH2 → pic− transformation is also copper(II)-assisted. The topology of the metal ions in 1 can be described as consisting of four consecutive isosceles triangles in a zigzag configuration. Complex 2 is a 2D coordination polymer consisting of CuII4 squares. Complete mechanistic views for the α-pyroxH2 → mpydol2−, pydox2− and pic− transformations are critically discussed. In 1, the six CuII ions of the “central” triangles seem to be strongly antiferromagnetically coupled, thus cancelling out their spins ((Formula presented.) = 0). The two local spins of S = 1/2 for each of the antiferromagnetically coupled “terminal” CuII3 triangles result in an overall S = 1 ground state spin value for 1. In 2, the four CuII ions within each tetrameric unit are practically isolated and ferromagnetic interactions occur between these units through CuII–(μ-Cl)–CuII bridges. © 2025 by the authors
CEOs\u27 Political Ideology, Social Capital and Corporate Tax Avoidance
Get PDFBuilding on institutional theory, we explore the interaction between social capital and CEO political ideology on corporate tax avoidance. Using CEOs\u27 political donations to identify their political ideology, we find that firms led by Republican CEOs tend to have lower (higher) effective tax rates when located in communities with lower (higher) social capital, indicating a higher (lower) propensity for tax avoidance, compared to firms led by non-Republican CEOs. Our findings support the U.S. Internal Revenue Service\u27s (IRS) view that tax compliance behaviour is inherently a sociopolitical construct. Our results suggest that tax policymakers and other regulators should pay more attention to social capital at the community level to foster ethical corporate behaviour in relation to tax compliance. Overall, we provide the tax authorities with useful insights into corporate tax compliance, which are applicable to both U.S. and international settings, particularly in regions with distinct political and social norms. © 2025 The Author(s). Accounting & Finance published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand
Estimating crop biophysical parameters from satellite-based SAR and optical observations using self-supervised learning with geospatial foundation models
No full textAccurate knowledge of vegetation water content (VWC) and crop height is crucial for agricultural management, environmental monitoring, and for satellite-based retrieval algorithms for geophysical variables. Traditional methods to estimate VWC, primarily rely on optical indices, which has limitations of biomass saturation, and sensitivity to atmospheric conditions. This study introduces a novel application of geospatial foundation models (GFMs), leveraging extensive, unlabeled datasets through self-supervised learning to enhance the skill of VWC and crop height estimation. We developed a comprehensive model integrating Sentinel-1 A C-band SAR and Sentinel-2 A/B indices with weather parameters to estimate soybean and corn VWC and crop height. Our research study area spans a variety of climatic zones and management practices, from the humid continental climate of Iowa and Michigan to the subtropical environment of Florida, encompassing both irrigated and non-irrigated fields as well as diverse tillage practices. We compared the performance of Single-Task Learning GFM (STL-GFM), Multi-Task Learning GFM (MTL-GFM), and machine learning techniques including Random Forest (RF), and XGBoost (XGB) to evaluate their effectiveness in estimating VWC and crop height. Results demonstrated that STL-GFM outperforms other methods in accuracy and generalizability. For VWC estimation, STL-GFM achieved R2 values of 0.90 and 0.89 for soybean and corn, respectively. For crop height, R2 values reached 0.95 for soybean and 0.98 for corn. The integration of SAR, optical, and climate data provided more reliable estimations than using individual data sources. Feature importance analysis identified NDVI, NDWI, VH backscatter, and precipitation as key drivers for accurate VWC and height estimations. The red-edge band emerged as significant for VWC estimation but showed limited importance for height prediction. Notably, surface roughness demonstrated a noticeable impact on corn VWC and height estimations, while soil moisture exhibited less influence than initially anticipated. Notably, without directly incorporating soil moisture and surface roughness data, but by including diverse field conditions in training and validation, the STL-GFM model demonstrated strong generalization capabilities. This study highlights the potential of GFMs in advancing crop monitoring techniques, offering more reliable data for precision agriculture, and supporting sustainable farming practices across diverse agricultural landscapes
Making AI-Enhanced Videos: Analyzing Generative AI Use Cases in YouTube Content Creation
No full textGenerative AI (GenAI) tools enhance social media video creation by streamlining tasks such as scriptwriting, visual and audio generation, and editing. These tools enable the creation of new content, including text, images, audio, and video, with platforms like ChatGPT and MidJourney becoming increasingly popular among YouTube creators. Despite their growing adoption, knowledge of their specific use cases across the video production process remains limited. This study analyzes 274 YouTube how-to videos to explore GenAI’s role in planning, production, editing, and uploading. The findings reveal that YouTubers use GenAI to identify topics, generate scripts, create prompts, and produce visual and audio materials. Additionally, GenAI supports editing tasks like upscaling visuals and reformatting content while also suggesting titles and subtitles. Based on these findings, we discuss future directions for incorporating GenAI to support various video creation tasks
Four students practice archery on campus green, 1951 [2]
No full textFour Clark University students practice archery on the campus green. These four women can be seen in this very similar photograph taken on a different day.
All photographs in this collection were digitized between 2022 and 2023.The photographs in this collection are part of the Photographs and Media record group of Clark University’s Archives & Special Collections.https://commons.clarku.edu/archeryphotos/1003/thumbnail.jp