Temperature-dependent electron properties for 4f states in cerium mononitride

In order to elucidate the temperature-dependent valence state of Ce ion and the occupation number of Ce 4f electrons in cerium mononitride (CeN), we perform an ab initio calculation on CeN by using a many-body scheme combing density functional theory (DFT) with dynamical mean field theory (DMFT), taking into account the spin-orbit coupling (SOC) interaction and on-site Coulomb repulsion between Ce 4f electrons. Results demonstrate that Ce 4f j=5/2 and j=7/2 manifolds undergo insulating-metallic transition with the increasing of temperature. Ce 4f-conduction electrons hybridization, f-f correlation, SOC interaction and final state effects yield a complicated spectrum function in CeN. Ce 4f atomic configuration transition and hybridization might be responsible for the temperature-dependent occupancy number of Ce 4f electrons and the mixed-valence state in CeN. A fact that localization of Ce 4f electrons, i.e., 4f1 configuration or Ce3+ valence, increases with the increasing of temperature could account for the experimentally observed lattice constant versus temperature data. Finally, the so-called quasiparticle band structure is also discussed for comparison with experimental angle-resolved photoemission spectrum (ARPES).

Relationship Between Maternal Education and Knowledge on Coverage of Exclusive Breastfeeding in Ten Stunting Locus Villages in Pandeglang District, Banten

Introduction: Until now, the practice of exclusive breastfeeding is still far from the national target. The success of exclusive breastfeeding is determined by many factors, including the mother’s education, knowledge, and awareness about the importance of breastfeeding for child growth. This study aims to determine the relationship between the mother’s level of education and knowledge on exclusive breastfeeding in ten stunting locus villages located in Pandeglang Regency, Banten, Indonesia. Methods: This study uses a cross-sectional design with data collection methods through interviews and direct observation. The population consists of mothers who have children under 2 years of age. The study was conducted for 6 months from November 2019. The variables studied included the mother’s age, occupation, number of children, education, and knowledge of exclusive breastfeeding. Result: As many as 99.6% of respondents have a good level of knowledge about exclusive breastfeeding. The level of education is low at 44.6%, medium at 50.9%, and high at 4.4%. The results showed there was no significant relationship between the mother’s last education and exclusive breastfeeding (p = 0.860) and there was no significant relationship between the mother's level of knowledge and exclusive breastfeeding (p = 0.558). Conclusion: No significant relationship was observed between the mother’s education and knowledge on exclusive breastfeeding in ten stunting locus villages located in Pandeglang Regency, Banten.

Financial Anxiety and Resilience among Rural Poor: An Exploration of Social Work Implication

Purpose of the Study: Financial literacy is the main challenge for the rural population of India. It also plays a vital role in the economic outlook. In India, many poor people do not have a bank account, and only a few understand the concept of financial literacy. Due to lack of financial literacy many rural poor experience financial anxieties hence the present study was taken up to know the financial anxiety and resilience behavior among rural poor. Methodology: The present study adopted the descriptive research design 62 respondents were selected for data collection from poor rural households by adopting the purposeful sampling technique in the Kodigenahalli Gram Panchayat jurisdiction. The present study was carried to assess the level of financial anxiety and its relationship with socio-demographical aspects. Main Findings: The present study found that financial anxiety is experienced by the rural poor, and there is a correlation between education, occupation, number of household members with financial anxiety of the respondents. Implication: The researcher proposed the need for Social Work Intervention to address financial anxiety and financial literacy. The novelty of the study: The present study has described the level of financial literacy and financial anxiety that exists among the rural poor in Karnataka (India) and explored the scope of Financial Social Work in addressing financial literacy and financial anxiety. Financial Social Work changes the conversation about money. It provides a different way of thinking about money and it offers a better way of working with clients around the role of money in their lives, problems and issues.

Women’s Participation in Household Decision Making and Justification of Wife Beating: A Secondary Data Analysis from Pakistan’s Demographic and Health Survey

Introduction: Globally, women’s empowerment is one of the important factors impacting the development of the nation. However, several women in developing countries, including Pakistan, experience a high level of gender discrimination and inequity. In this study, data from the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) were used to measure empowerment and its predictors among women in Pakistan. Methods: Pakistan’s 2017–2018 DHS dataset was used to measure women’s empowerment using two indicators, i.e., participation in decision making and views on wife beating among 4216 married women. The determinants of empowerment, such as age, place of residence, regions, wealth index, education, partner’s education, partner’s occupation, number of children, consanguinity, the age difference between husband and wife, house and land ownership, and house inheritance, are reported as prevalence ratios (PRs) with a 95% confidence intervals (CI). Multivariate regression models were used to produce covariate-adjusted PRs and 95% CIs. Results: More than half of all women were empowered (52.5%). Upon multivariate analysis, we identified that women from the province of Punjab (adjusted PR (aPR), 1.44; 95% CI, 1.20–1.73), Sindh (aPR, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.35–1.96), and KPK (aPR, 1.09; 95% CI, 0.91–1.31) compared to those living in Baluchistan; from the richest quantile (aPR, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.37–1.99), followed by the richer quantile (aPR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.28–1.84), the middle quantile (aPR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.28–1.81), and the poorer quantile (aPR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.04–1.47) compared to women who were from the poorest quantile; who were highly educated (aPR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.25–1.67), followed by those who had a secondary education (aPR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.16–1.50) and a primary education (aPR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.02–1.35) compared to women who were not educated; and had exposure to mass media (aPR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.06–1.36) compared to those who had no exposure were more empowered. Conclusion: To conclude, women’s empowerment in Pakistan is affected by various socioeconomic factors, as well as exposure to mass media. Targeted strategies are needed to improve access to education, employment, and poverty alleviation among women, particularly those living in rural areas. Various mass media advertisements should be practiced, targeting community norms and supporting women’s empowerment.

Stochastic Generalized Active Space Self-Consistent Field: Theory and Application

An algorithm to perform stochastic generalized active space calculations, Stochastic-GAS, is presented, that uses the Slater determinant based FCIQMC algorithm as configuration interaction eigensolver. Stochastic-GAS allows the construction and stochastic optimization of preselected truncated configuration interaction wave functions, either to reduce the computational costs of large active space wave function optimizations, or to probe the role of specific electron correlation pathways. As for the conventional GAS procedure, the preselection of the truncated wave function is based on the selection of multiple active subspaces while imposing restrictions on the interspace excitations. Both local and cumulative minimum and maximum occupation number constraints are supported by Stochastic-GAS. The occupation number constraints are efficiently encoded in precomputed probability distributions, using the precomputed heat bath algorithm, which removes nearly all runtime overheads of GAS. This strategy effectively allows the FCIQMC dynamics to a priori exclude electronic configurations that are not allowed by GAS restrictions. Stochastic-GAS reduced density matrices are stochastically sampled, allowing orbital relaxations via Stochastic-GASSCF, and direct evaluation of properties that can be extracted from density matrices, such as the spin expectation value. Three test case applications have been chosen to demonstrate the flexibility of Stochastic-GAS: (a) the Stochastic-GASSCF optimization of a stack of five benzene molecules, that shows the applicability of Stochastic-GAS towards fragment-based chemical systems; (b) an uncontracted stochastic MRCISD calculation that correlates 96 electrons and 159 molecular orbitals, and uses a large (32, 34) active space reference wave function for an Fe(II)-porphyrin model system, showing how GAS can be applied to systematically recover dynamic electron correlation, and how in the specific case of the Fe(II)-porphyrin dynamic correlation further differentially stabilizes the triplet over the quintet spin state; (c) the study of an Fe4S4 cluster's spin-ladder energetics via highly truncated stochastic-GAS wave functions, where we show how GAS can be applied to understand the competing spin-exchange and charge-transfer correlating mechanisms in stabilizing different spin-states.

Stochastic Generalized Active Space Self-Consistent Field: Theory and Application

An algorithm to perform stochastic generalized active space calculations, Stochastic-GAS, is presented, that uses the Slater determinant based FCIQMC algorithm as configuration interaction eigensolver. Stochastic-GAS allows the construction and stochastic optimization of preselected truncated configuration interaction wave functions, either to reduce the computational costs of large active space wave function optimizations, or to probe the role of specific electron correlation pathways. As for the conventional GAS procedure, the preselection of the truncated wave function is based on the selection of multiple active subspaces while imposing restrictions on the interspace excitations. Both local and cumulative minimum and maximum occupation number constraints are supported by Stochastic-GAS. The occupation number constraints are efficiently encoded in precomputed probability distributions, using the precomputed heat bath algorithm, which removes nearly all runtime overheads of GAS. This strategy effectively allows the FCIQMC dynamics to a priori exclude electronic configurations that are not allowed by GAS restrictions. Stochastic-GAS reduced density matrices are stochastically sampled, allowing orbital relaxations via Stochastic-GASSCF, and direct evaluation of properties that can be extracted from density matrices, such as the spin expectation value. Three test case applications have been chosen to demonstrate the flexibility of Stochastic-GAS: (a) the Stochastic-GASSCF optimization of a stack of five benzene molecules, that shows the applicability of Stochastic-GAS towards fragment-based chemical systems; (b) an uncontracted stochastic MRCISD calculation that correlates 96 electrons and 159 molecular orbitals, and uses a large (32, 34) active space reference wave function for an Fe(II)-porphyrin model system, showing how GAS can be applied to systematically recover dynamic electron correlation, and how in the specific case of the Fe(II)-porphyrin dynamic correlation further differentially stabilizes the triplet over the quintet spin state; (c) the study of an Fe4S4 cluster's spin-ladder energetics via highly truncated stochastic-GAS wave functions, where we show how GAS can be applied to understand the competing spin-exchange and charge-transfer correlating mechanisms in stabilizing different spin-states.

Assessment of a Nutrition Education Program designed to Enhance Mothers’ Attitudes on Infants and Young Children feeding in Sudan

Objective: To assess the effect of a designed nutrition education program (NEP) on maternal attitudes. Methods: A control two groups quasi-experimental pre- and post-experimental were adopted. Data were collected through personal interviews of two groups using a validated questionnaire. The nutrition education program was conducted in three phases. Phase one was the pre-evaluation, phase two was the program’s implementation, and phase three entailed post evaluation of the program. Results: The results supported the efficient role of the NEP intervention in raising mothers’ attitudes towards nutritional care of under two years in Sennar Locality, Sudan. There was no significant difference between the two groups with respect to the controlled variables; mother age, mother education, mother occupation, husband occupation, number of children less than 5 years, family size, and child’s age, which indicates that the two groups were homogenous, i.e., no significant difference between mothers’ attitude of the two groups before applying the NEP. The results showed the effectiveness of the NEP in developing experimental group mother’s attitudes, comparing post-test with pre-test in favor of post-test to be statistically significant. NEP has a huge impact in developing the mother’s awareness post-test, measuring and developing the mother’s attitudes compared to post-test with pre-test. Conclusions and Implications: The nutrition education intervention demonstrated its effectiveness in maternal attitude. The study provided valuable baseline information to develop appropriate training courses and nutrition education programs to raise maternal awareness and attitudes towards infants and young children’s nutrition.

np-Pair Correlations in the Isovector Pairing Model

A diagonalization scheme for the shell model mean-field plus isovector pairing Hamiltonian in the O(5) tensor product basis of the quasi-spin SUΛ(2) ⊗ SUI(2) chain is proposed. The advantage of the diagonalization scheme lies in the fact that not only can the isospin-conserved, charge-independent isovector pairing interaction be analyzed, but also the isospin symmetry breaking cases. More importantly, the number operator of the np-pairs can be realized in this neutron and proton quasi-spin basis, with which the np-pair occupation number and its fluctuation at the J = 0+ ground state of the model can be evaluated. As examples of the application, binding energies and low-lying J = 0+ excited states of the even–even and odd–odd N∼Z ds-shell nuclei are fit in the model with the charge-independent approximation, from which the neutron–proton pairing contribution to the binding energy in the ds-shell nuclei is estimated. It is observed that the decrease in the double binding-energy difference for the odd–odd nuclei is mainly due to the symmetry energy and Wigner energy contribution to the binding energy that alter the pairing staggering patten. The np-pair amplitudes in the np-pair stripping or picking-up process of these N = Z nuclei are also calculated.