Eric Mascall and Karl Barth shared a common concern with the influence of liberal Protestantism on their churches in England and Germany. They agreed this problem was best addressed through the lens of natural theology. Yet, while for Mascall a Thomistically informed understanding of natural theology was the best way to counteract liberal Protestantism’s influence on the Church, for Barth, natural theology was to blame for the Church’s confusion. The concern this paper raises was Barth’s sharp delineation between human reason and divine revelation in the end, complicit with the ontological duality of modernity that was the basis of the liberal Protestantism he was rejecting? By dealing with modernity on its own terms, Barth undermined the capacity of the Church’s ministry of Word and Sacrament to be effective agents of personal transformation. Whereas Mascall’s realistic ontology not only repudiates the idealist foundations of liberal Protestantism but also offers the Church the necessary ontology foundation for understanding its ministry of Word and Sacrament as effective embodiments of God’s transforming grace.

Herbicide-resistant weeds are fast becoming a substantial global problem, causing significant crop losses and food insecurity. Late detection of resistant weeds leads to increasing economic losses. Traditionally, genetic sequencing and herbicide dose-response studies are used to detect herbicide-resistant weeds, but these are expensive and slow processes. To address this problem, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based herbicide-resistant weed identifier program (HRIP) was developed to quickly and accurately distinguish acetolactate synthetase inhibitor (ALS)-resistant from -susceptible common chickweed plants. A regular camera was converted to capture light wavelengths from 300 to 1,100 nm. Full spectrum images from a two-year experiment were used to develop a hyperparameter-tuned convolutional neural network (CNN) model utilizing a “train from scratch” approach. This novel approach exploits the subtle differences in the spectral signature of ALS-resistant and -susceptible common chickweed plants as they react differently to the ALS herbicide treatments. The HRIP was able to identify ALS-resistant common chickweed as early as 72 hours after treatment at an accuracy of 88%. It has broad applicability due to its ability to distinguish ALS-resistant from -susceptible common chickweed plants regardless of the type of ALS herbicide or dose used. Utilizing tools such as the HRIP will allow farmers to make timely interventions to prevent the herbicide-escape plants from completing their life cycle and adding to the weed seedbank.

Tetflupyrolimet is the first herbicide with a novel site of action to be commercialized for use in agronomic crops in three decades. Direct-seed rice field experiments were conducted at research facilities near Stuttgart (silt loam), AR, and Keiser (clay), AR, to evaluate tetflupyrolimet as a preemergence herbicide versus commercial standards. Greenhouse experiments determined the influence of soil moisture on pre- and postemergence (POST) barnyardgrass control with tetflupyrolimet and clomazone, and the impact of a delayed flood on efficacy when POST-applied. For the field experiments, clomazone, tetflupyrolimet, and quinclorac were applied individually PRE at 336 and 560, 134 and 224, and 336 and 560 g ai ha-1, respectively, on a silt loam and clay soil, along with clomazone plus tetflupyrolimet and clomazone plus quinclorac at the same rates. The soil moisture experiment included a single PRE and POST application of clomazone at 336 g ai ha-1, tetflupyrolimet at 134 g ai ha-1, and a mixture at the respective rates, on a silt loam soil at 50, 75, and 100% of field capacity. For the flood timing experiment, tetflupyrolimet was applied to 2- to 3-leaf barnyardgrass at 134 g ai ha-1, and a flood was established at 4 hr after treatment (HAT) and 5 and 10 d after treatment (DAT). Barnyardgrass control with a tetflupyrolimet and clomazone mixture was comparable to clomazone plus quinclorac when averaged over all evaluations on silt loam and clay texture soils (≥91%). Soil moisture interacted with herbicide treatments for PRE and POST barnyardgrass efficacy when averaged over DAT, with tetflupyrolimet plus clomazone generally providing the greatest and most consistent control across regimes. Flooding barnyardgrass at 4 HAT provided superior control to later flood timings. Tetflupyrolimet is an effective residual barnyardgrass herbicide, and the addition of clomazone will aid in providing consistent control across varying soil moisture conditions.

In Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS)-denied environments, aiding a vehicle's inertial navigation system (INS) is crucial to reducing the accumulated navigation drift caused by sensor errors (e.g. bias and noise). One potential solution is to use measurements of gravity as an aiding source. The measurements are matched to a geo-referenced map of Earth's gravity to estimate the vehicle's position. In this paper, we propose a novel formulation of the map matching problem using a hidden Markov model (HMM). Specifically, we treat the spatial cells of the map as the hidden states of the HMM and present a Viterbi style algorithm to estimate the most likely sequence of states, i.e. most likely sequence of vehicle positions, that results in the sequence of observed gravity measurements. Using a realistic gravity map, we demonstrate the accuracy of our Viterbi map matching algorithm in a navigation scenario and illustrate its robustness compared with existing methods.

Let X be a complex Banach space and B be a closed linear operator with domain $\mathcal{D}(B) \subset X,\,\, a,b,c,d\in\mathbb{R},$ and $0 \lt \beta \lt \alpha.$ We prove that the problem

\begin{equation*}u(t) -(aB+bI)(g_{\alpha-\beta}\ast u)(t) -(cB+dI)(g_{\alpha}\ast u)(t) = h(t), \quad t\geq 0,\end{equation*}

where $g_{\alpha}(t)=t^{\alpha-1}/\Gamma(\alpha)$ and $h:\mathbb{R}_+\to X$ is given, has a unique solution for any initial condition on $\mathcal{D}(B)\times X$ as long as the operator B generates an ad-hoc Laplace transformable and strongly continuous solution family $\{R_{\alpha,\beta}(t)\}_{t\geq 0} \subset \mathcal{L}(X).$ It is shown that such a solution family exists whenever the pair $(\alpha,\beta)$ belongs to a subset of the set $(1,2]\times(0,1]$ and B is the generator of a cosine family or a C0-semigroup in $X.$ In any case, it also depends on certain compatibility conditions on the real parameters $a,b,c,d$ that must be satisfied.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is one of the most common causes of viral hepatitis. We examined HEV seroprevalence and associations of sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics with HEV immunoglobulin G (IgG) seropositivity in the Arab population. A cross-sectional single-centre study was conducted among adults in the Nazareth area during 2022. Blood samples were tested using the Altona Real-Star HEV-RNA and the Wantai IgG assays. Data on sociodemographics, health status, and lifestyle were collected using structured questionnaires.

Overall, 490 individuals (55.9% males) aged 18 − 96 (mean = 53.2, SD = 28.0) were enrolled. HEV IgG seropositivity was estimated at 21.4% (95% CI 17.9–25.3). No samples were HEV-RNA positive. The correlates of HEV IgG seropositivity were older age (prevalence ratio (PR) 1.07, 95% CI 1.04–1.09, P < 0.001) and consuming beef frequently (PR 2.81, 95% CI 1.40–5.63, P = 0.003). No associations were found between Arab religious groups (Muslim, Christian or Druze, representing different socioeconomic status and dietary habits) or pork consumption and HEV IgG seropositivity. In conclusion, HEV seropositivity was high in the Arab population, and assessing HEV in Ruminants, particularly cows, is warranted.

Following the al-Qassam Brigade breach of the “Iron Wall” barrier, Muslim Americans participated in protest movements across the United States in support of Palestinian liberation. Many of the Muslim American youth involved in such spaces of have drawn on religion to advance the issue of Palestine in U.S. urban centers, such as Los Angeles. However, instead of invoking those iterations of American Islam emerging from West or South Asian communities, protestors have turned to Black Islam to forge an internationalist politics of solidarity. This essay examines events held in the aftermath of 10/7 in solidarity with Palestine at Islah, a predominantly Black American mosque located in South Central LA, to consider how Muslim Americans engage with Islam as an ethical and political site from which to launch critiques against Zionism and US imperialism. Specifically, it probes how Black Islam can be best understood as Internationalist or Third World Islam, which deems coalition-building with non-Muslims to advocate for the oppressed in the US and the Global South an Islamic virtue. Attending to invocations of Malcolm X, I document how Muslim Americans are increasingly looking to Black radicalisms by way of Islam to establish a revolutionary politics that links the dismantling of policing at home to decolonization abroad, most notably in Palestine.

Let G be a semiabelian variety defined over a finite subfield of an algebraically closed field K of prime characteristic. We describe the intersection of a subvariety X of G with a finitely generated subgroup of $G(K)$.

Field studies were conducted in North Carolina to determine the critical period of weed control (CPWC) for Italian ryegrass in winter wheat. Soft red winter wheat was planted in late fall in 2017 and 2018 in no-till fields near Salisbury, NC. Treatments consisted of allowing weeds to grow from crop emergence for different intervals until removal (“weedy”), maintaining “weed-free” conditions from crop emergence for the same intervals, and then letting the weeds emerge and compete with the crop for the duration of the season. In 2017, weed removal occurred in two-week intervals from crop emergence up to 18 weeks after crop emergence (WAE) and three-week intervals up to 18 WAE in 2018. Additional biological measurements, including Italian ryegrass density and height, were collected at 6, 12, and 18 WAE to characterize the effect of crop-weed interactions on the CPWC and weed populations. Non-linear regression analysis was conducted to relate the timing of weed removal and yield loss. The analysis was done using growing degree days (GDD) accumulated at corresponding WAE. Italian ryegrass density ranged from 292 to 824 plants m-2, which created intense competitive conditions with wheat. In the absence of weed control, yield loss surpassed 60%. Using 5% yield loss as an accepted threshold, the CPWC for Italian ryegrass in no-till planted wheat was estimated to be from 1100 to 1900 GDD. This relatively short period makes it possible to reduce weed control intensity if control actions are properly timed.

Peer Support Workers (PSWs) play a crucial role in recovery-oriented mental health services. They offer support and hope by sharing their personal experiences and recovery journeys. However, transitioning from voluntary self-help roles to paid positions within statutory systems is not merely a technical shift. This change creates inherent tensions and conflicts, stemming from the integration of a peer model within a medical framework. I refer to the interface between these models as the “Professional-Peer Paradox” (PPP). At its heart, this paradox questions whether and how PSWs can integrate a role that relies on self-disclosure of shared lived experiences within a system rooted in professional knowledge norms delivered unidirectionally to service recipients. Using a whole organizational approach, I propose leveraging the autonomy-supportive environment concept from self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2000) to promote self-disclosure in mental health services. I highlight the complexities involved in Peer Support Workers’ (PSWs) use of self-disclosure (lived experience) within statutory mental health (MH) services. I suggest that PSWs can better commit to their unique roles by structuring multiple peer roles with varying levels of self-disclosure and creating a culture that fosters peer practice. Overall, applying a SDT systems’ framework to the practice of self-disclosure can enhance the occupational identity of PSWs, establishing their unique position within the spectrum of mental health professions globally.

The present article is a study of Ottoman military recruitment attempts of Circassians in the northwestern Caucasus. It examines the process of realizing a Circassian highlander army and the administration of the Anapa fortress during the time of two different fortress commanders. Focusing on the deeds of these two pashas regarding Circassian recruitment and their social background, this study highlights the Ottoman-Circassian relations and the dynamics of loyalty and pragmatism. Specifically, the role of provincial networks in ruling the border fortresses and regional politics in the Eastern Black Sea have been underlined within the context of the Russian-Ottoman rivalry over the Caucasus. Rebutting the importance of the origins of Ottoman officers for Ottoman borderland politics, this study argues that the contribution of provincial notables to the Ottoman civilizing mission and the Circassian army project in the early nineteenth century has been indispensable to the realization of Ottoman establishment in the Caucasus.

Lara Buchak defends a Weight-Ranked Utilitarianism (WRU) that she says avoids the critique of Rawls’s that is sometimes thought fatal: utilitarianism unjustifiably blurs the distinction between persons. Buchak’s defence depends upon (i) a version of Harsanyi’s assumption that parties to a social contract should reason as if they have an equal chance of being anyone and (ii) a hypothesis she explores in a recent article. I argue that her assumption and hypothesis are untenable. WRU fails of the generality to which Buchak aspires because it fails for one of her most important cases: the distributive question posed by Rawls.