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The Old Testament is clearly a mixture of myths and real historical figures with their events. There is no question about the contribution of mythology, since much of Genesis has been formed from common mythological accounts from all over the ancient Near East. The stories of Creation, the primordial couple, the Garden of Eden, Cain and Abel, the Great Flood, and much more, are a commonplace of narratives throughout the region. Although these accounts are mythological, it does not mean that they have not been shaped by real events. Specialists speculate about a great flood that took place in the Near East as a result of rising water levels at the end of the last Ice Age (around 5000 BC). This coincided at a time when the Agricultural Revolution had taken over the Fertile Crescent and Egypt. Various peoples of the Levant adopted mythological narratives and reformulated them to create their own unique and original tales. Some of the main figures of the Bible, such as Adam and Eve, Noah, Lot, finally the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) were their own compositions but, as can be seen with the patriarch Abraham, who was not an exclusive figure of the Hebrew people, his conversion to monotheism is, however, something peculiar to the spiritual creativity of the Jews. Here as in the composition of the New Testament, archeology is the necessary aid to locate the reality and the truth of sacred history and its development in human time.

Energy harvesters that scavenge biomechanical energy are promising power supply candidates for wearable and implantable electronics. Of the most widely used energy harvesters, piezoelectric generators can generate more electric charge than their triboelectric counterparts with similar device size, thus are more suitable to make compact wearable devices. However, most high-power piezoelectric generators are made from lead zirconate titanate, making them undesirable for wearable applications due to the toxic lead element. In this study, a flexible piezoelectric generator (F-PEG) is fabricated with chemically stable and biocompatible Group-III-nitride (III-N) thin film by a layer-transfer method. The III-N thin-film F-PEG can generate an open-circuit voltage of 50 V, a short-circuit current of 15 µA, and a maximum power of 167 µW at a load resistance of 5 MΩ. Applications of the III-N thin-film F-PEG are demonstrated by directly powering electronics such as light-emitting diodes and electric watches, and by charging commercial capacitors and batteries to operate an optical pulse sensor. Furthermore, the III-N thin-film F-PEG shows good durability and a stable output after being subjected to severe buckling tests of over 30,000 cycles.

Consumers are widely adopting Artificially Intelligent Voice Assistants (AIVAs). AIVAs now handle many different everyday tasks and are also increasingly assisting consumers with purchasing decisions, making AIVAs a rich topic for marketing researchers. We develop a series of propositions regarding how consumer decision-making processes may change when moved from traditional online purchase environments to AI-powered voice-based dialogs, in the hopes of encouraging further academic thinking and research in this rapidly developing, high impact area of consumer-firm interaction. We also provide suggestions for marketing managers and policymakers on points to pay attention to when they respond to the proposed effects of AIVAs on consumer decisions.

Informal caregiving is a critical component of the US long-term care system, but can have significant negative impacts on caregiver employment, finances, and well-being. An online survey of Colorado caregivers was piloted in 2016-17 to explore whether workplace and social policies such as access to paid family leave and public health insurance can buffer the negative financial impacts of caregiving and help caregivers to remain in the workforce. Using standardized measures, the survey assessed caregivers' employment and financial status, well-being (physical and mental health, caregiver strain, benefits of caregiving), access to workplace supports, and covariates (e.g., caregiver demographics, health, social support, and service utilization). Ninety-five caregivers, recruited through community agency partners, completed the survey. Respondents were predominately female (89%), middle-aged (M = 57), non-Hispanic White (64%) or Latino/a (22%), and caring for a parent (40%) or spouse (30%) for over one year. Half (51%) reported working full- or part-time jobs, while 16.4% had stopped working because of caregiving. In multivariate regression modeling, predictors of financial strain included the care recipients' financial strain and the caregiver's reduction or ceasing of work. Medicare may be protective to minimize caregivers' need to reduce or cease work. Implications for caregivers' ability to stay engaged in the workforce and prepare for their own retirement are explored.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has authority over several consumer financial protection laws that include mandatory disclosures to provide consumers with the information needed to make financial decisions. Mandatory disclosure is a common regulatory tool that presents opportunities to support consumers in their decision making; however, many aspects of disclosure effectiveness remain understudied. The CFPB is committed to studying mandatory disclosure to better inform policy makers about whether and how best to use disclosures to achieve policy goals. This research effort focuses on three primary areas: (1) identifying how the dimensions of a disclosure influence its efficacy; (2) examining how different methodologies should best be deployed for disclosure testing; and (3) studying the market effects of mandatory disclosures, particularly through firms’ responses. The CFPB will use a range of methodologies for this research, including qualitative and quantitative testing of disclosures, laboratory studies, field trials, survey research, and administrative data analysis. The authors hope that identifying these critical questions will encourage the academic community to contribute policy-relevant research.

This article focuses on the great projects carried out in North Yorkshire and beyond that use music to boost confidence and participation among mums and children, while highlighting the observable benefits.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) is a chronic metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia and insulin resistance, which the CDC estimates currently afflicts one in ten U.S. adults and is projected to continue to rise sharply over the next 50 years. Acyl peptide enzyme hydrolase (APEH), an enzyme circulating in peripheral blood, has been implicated in rodent models of diabetes. To understand if APEH is affected in diabetes, the APEH activity was measured in the blood serum of patients with T2D compared to age-matched controls. Our results show that APEH activity is 22% lower (p = 0.0163) in T2D patients compared to matched controls. Importantly, there was no observable difference in APEH protein expression between cohorts, suggesting that APEH activity is regulated at the protein level. This work is important as it contributes to our knowledge of T2D and the role of APEH in human disease.

We present recent development in flexible wide-bandgap semiconductor materials and devices. Especially, we focus on mechanically bendable group-III-nitride (III-N) thin-film heterostructures and their photonic, electronic, and energy-harvesting devices in energy applications. The presentation will cover various topics including (1) multi-functionality of flexible III-N devices, (2) direct growth of high-quality single-crystal-like GaN semiconductor thin films on low-cost flexible metal tapes, and (3) piezoelectric generators and sensors for self-powered wearable systems by harvesting and sensing ambient biomechanical energy. Flexible III-N thin-film heterostructures have an implication of more than just mechanically flexible materials. Bendable devices based on III-N heterostructures can be equipped with new functionalities and even further improved performance characteristics using a new concept of active polarization engineering by controlled external strains. We propose to develop multi-functional and/or further-improved-performance devices by utilizing the interactions between electronic and optical properties and mechanical forces in the flexible III-N heterostructures. The concept will enable new mechano-electro-photonic (MEP) devices. We will show by device modeling that new device concept in flexible transistors based on AlGaInN/GaN heterostructure is possible, including modulation of 2-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) density by bending, strain-effect transistors (Figure 1: I-V characteristics of strain-effect transistors), and high-hole-mobility transistors. Furthermore, photon emitters based on flexible III-N heterostructure can result in higher internal quantum efficiency (IQE), higher wall-plug efficiency (WPE), and color modulation by optimum bending conditions (Figure 2: Concept of color-tunable white light-emitting diodes). We study and develop nearly-single-crystalline GaN thin film on flexible metal tapes by a direct deposition technique for the demonstration of a new wide-bandgap semiconductor platform, targeting high-performance yet economical, flexible, and versatile device technology. Data and analysis are presented for the single-crystal-like film, as representatively shown in Figure 3 (Flexible hybrid tape substrate consisting of GaN thin film and Cu tape with crystallinity-transformational buffer layers). Energy harvesters that scavenge biomechanical energy are promising power supply candidates for wearable and implantable electronics. Of the most widely used energy harvesters, piezoelectric generators can generate more electric charge than their triboelectric counterparts with similar device size, thus are more suitable to make compact wearable devices. We develop a flexible piezoelectric generator (F-PEG) with chemically stable and biocompatible III-N thin film. Data and analysis are presented for the flexible III-N F-PEG. We also demonstrate that the F-PEG can directly power electronics such as light-emitting diodes and electric watches, and charge commercial capacitors and batteries to operate an optical pulse sensor, as representatively shown in Figure 4 (Pulse sensor powered by F-PEG and heart rate measurement on a fingertip). Figure 1

The Behavioral Life‐Cycle hypothesis (Thaler & Shefrin, 1981) models consumers as having both impatient “doer” preferences, representing their desire to spend now, and patient “planner” preferences, representing long‐run welfare considerations. The Behavioral Life‐Cycle hypothesis suggests that those with doer preferences may benefit from strategies that constrain their present behavior and promote saving for the future, like automating deposits into savings accounts. We analyze over 4,000 responses from the nationally representative National Financial Well‐Being Survey to (a) describe consumer characteristics associated with the decision to automate savings deposits, and (b) explore whether automation is related to improved financial welfare, especially for impatient consumers. We find that savings automation is positively associated with financial socialization (whether the respondent's family discussed financial matters growing up) and financial skill (the ability to act on financial knowledge). We also find that impatient consumers — relative to those with stronger planner preferences — have fewer liquid savings, lower financial well‐being, less confidence in their ability to raise $2,000, and more difficulty paying bills. However, as predicted, these differences between consumers with doer and planner preferences largely disappear for those who automate savings deposits. We discuss implications of this research for financial planners in helping clients improve financial welfare. Full Text Available Here: https://doi.org/10.1002/cfp2.1020