Use center-to-center intervals for forward E derivatives and base-cell widths for backward H derivatives in the Gridlock examples. Document the distinction from meshes defined directly by forward intervals and fix the random fixture's backward averaging direction.
Add coordinate-derivative regression coverage for graded periodic and nonperiodic Gridlock meshes using both functional and sparse operators.
Validation: 1689 tests passed, 586 skipped; no new Ruff findings in changed Python files.