bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Maximal intended velocity enhances strength training-induced neuromuscular stimulation in older adults
Authors: Tøien Tiril , Malmo Thomas , Espedal Lars , Wang Eivind
Published: September 2022

The age-related attenuation in neuromuscular function can be mitigated with strength training. Current recommendations for untrained and elderly recommend performing the strength training with a controlled movement velocity (CON). However, applying maximal intended velocity (MIV) in the concentric phase of movement may augment neuromuscular stimulation and potentially enhance training adaptations. Thus, applying rate of electromyography (EMG) rise (RER) recordings, we examined the acute early phase neuromuscular response to these two contraction types in quadriceps femoris during leg extension, along with actual movement velocity, in 12 older (76 ± 6 years) and 12 young men (23 ± 2 years). Results revealed that older adults had a lower one repetition maximum (1RM) than young (33 ± 9 kg vs. 50 ± 9 kg; p = 0.001) and lower actual velocity across relative intensities of ~ 10%, 30%, 50%, 70% and 90% of 1RM for CON and MIV (all p < 0.05). Older adults also had consistently reduced RER compared to young during both conditions (old: 1043–1810 μV; young: 1844–3015 μV; all p < 0.05). However, RER was higher in contractions with MIV compared to CON for both age groups, and across all intensities (98–674%, all p < 0.05). In conclusion, despite decreased maximal strength and attenuated neuromuscular response with advancing age, our results document an augmented neuromuscular activation when repetitions are performed with MIV in the concentric phase of movement.
A qualitative comparison of the nutrition care experiences of carers supporting patients with head and neck cancer throughout surgery and radiation treatment and survivorship
Authors: Hiatt Joanne , Young Adrienne , Brown Teresa , Banks Merrilyn , Segon Bronwyn , Bauer Judith
Published: September 2022

Purpose

To understand and compare the nutrition care experiences of carers supporting patients throughout surgery and radiation treatment for head and neck cancer (HNC) to inform changes to service delivery in the inpatient and outpatient setting to ensure carers needs in their supportive role throughout the treatment and survivorship period are met.

Methods

As part of a larger study, narrative interviews were completed with fourteen carers of patients diagnosed with HNC at 2 weeks, 3 months and 12 months post-treatment completion. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to interpret and understand differences in carer experiences of nutrition care between surgery and radiation treatment.

Results

Two main themes across each treatment modality were identified: (1) access to information and support from healthcare professionals and (2) adjustment to the physical and psychological impact of treatment.

Conclusion

This study highlights the increasing need to ensure carers are included in the provision of nutrition information and support to patients throughout and beyond their treatment trajectory. Having structured support available to patients and carers throughout radiation treatment meant that carer needs were reduced. However, without the opportunity for structured support in the inpatient setting, many carers expressed high care needs in supporting patients in the post-surgical phase.

Implications for cancer survivors

Providing carers with access to structured support for nutrition care in the inpatient and outpatient setting can reduce their supportive care needs throughout the treatment and survivorship period.
The tangential view described by Moneim to demonstrate scapholunate dissociation: an update
Authors: Imada Allicia O. , Welch Kathryn , Mlady Gary , Moneim Moheb S. A.
Published: September 2022

Purpose

Scapholunate dissociation is a common and significant injury to the wrist. Radiographs are important in the diagnosis of this injury and in the planning of treatment. The tangential radiograph view was described almost 40 years ago as a method for accurately measuring scapholunate gaps. The hand is positioned on a 20° foam rubber block and the thumb on the cassette, which positions the scaphoid and lunate articular surfaces parallel, without patient discomfort or effort. The goal of this study was to review this method with more recent data and in a larger group of patients.

Methods

Radiographs of 31 patients who had scapholunate interosseous ligament tears and surgical repair over a 9 year period were retrospectively evaluated. Each of the four authors independently measured scapholunate gaps for posteroanterior and tangential views.

Results

The tangential view gaps were significantly greater than the posteroanterior gaps overall. Similar results were found for borderline cases where the posteroanterior gap was less than 3 mm. Every tangential view gap measurement was greater than its respective posteroanterior gap with good inter-rater reliability.

Conclusion

The tangential view is a reliable radiographic method to identify scapholunate gaps. It should be obtained when there is clinical concern for scapholunate dissociation, especially in patients with borderline posteroanterior gaps.
Predictors of amounts of child and adolescent mental health service use
Authors: Edbrooke-Childs Julian , Rashid Anisatu , Ritchie Benjamin , Deighton Jessica
Published: September 2022

The aim of this study was to build evidence about how to tailor services to meet the individual needs of young people by identifying predictors of amounts of child and adolescent mental health service use. We conducted a secondary analysis of a large administrative dataset from services in England was conducted using the Mental Health Services Data Set (years 2016–17 and 2017–18). The final sample included N = 27,362 episodes of care (periods of service use consisting of at least two attended care contacts and less than 180 days between care contacts) from 39 services. There were 50–10,855 episodes per service. The descriptive statistics for episodes of care were: Mage = 13 years, SDage = 4.71, range = 0–25 years; 13,785 or 50% male. Overall, there were high levels of heterogeneity in number of care contacts within episodes of care: M = 11.12, SD = 28.28, range = 2–1529. Certain characteristics predicted differential patterns of service use. For example, young people with substance use (beta = 6.29, 95% CI = 5.06–7.53) or eating disorders (beta = 4.30, 95% CI = 3.29–5.30) were particularly more likely to have higher levels of service use. To build on this, evidence is needed about predictors of child and adolescent mental health treatment outcome and whether the same characteristics predict levels of improvement as well as levels of service use.
A holistic approach for image-to-graph: application to optical music recognition
Authors: Garrido-Munoz Carlos , Rios-Vila Antonio , Calvo-Zaragoza Jorge
Published: September 2022

A number of applications would benefit from neural approaches that are capable of generating graphs from images in an end-to-end fashion. One of these fields is optical music recognition (OMR), which focuses on the computational reading of music notation from document images. Given that music notation can be expressed as a graph, the aforementioned approach represents a promising solution for OMR. In this work, we propose a new neural architecture that retrieves a certain representation of a graph—identified by a specific order of its vertices—in an end-to-end manner. This architecture works by means of a double output: It sequentially predicts the possible categories of the vertices, along with the edges between each of their pairs. The experiments carried out prove the effectiveness of our proposal as regards retrieving graph structures from excerpts of handwritten musical notation. Our results also show that certain design decisions, such as the choice of graph representations, play a fundamental role in the performance of this approach.
On the equivalence of two post-quantum cryptographic families
Authors: Meneghetti Alessio , Pellegrini Alex , Sala Massimiliano
Published: September 2022

The maximum likelihood decoding problem (MLD) is known to be NP-hard and its complexity is strictly related to the security of some post-quantum cryptosystems, that is, the so-called code-based primitives. Analogously, the multivariate quadratic system problem (MQ) is NP-hard and its complexity is necessary for the security of the so-called multivariate-based primitives. In this paper we present a closed formula for a polynomial-time reduction from any instance of MLD to an instance of MQ, and viceversa. We also show a polynomial-time isomorphism between MQ and MLD, thus demonstrating the direct link between the two post-quantum cryptographic families.
Bayesian GARCH modeling of functional sports data
Authors: Dolmeta Patric , Argiento Raffaele , Montagna Silvia
Published: September 2022

The use of statistical methods in sport analytics has gained a rapidly growing interest over the last decade, and nowadays is common practice. In particular, the interest in understanding and predicting an athlete’s performance throughout his/her career is motivated by the need to evaluate the efficacy of training programs, anticipate fatigue to prevent injuries and detect unexpected of disproportionate increases in performance that might be indicative of doping. Moreover, fast evolving data gathering technologies require up to date modelling techniques that adapt to the distinctive features of sports data. In this work, we propose a hierarchical Bayesian model for describing and predicting the evolution of performance over time for shot put athletes. We rely both on a smooth functional contribution and on a linear mixed effect model with heteroskedastic errors to represent the athlete-specific trajectories. The resulting model provides an accurate description of the performance trajectories and helps specifying both the intra- and inter-seasonal variability of measurements. Further, the model allows for the prediction of athletes’ performance in future sport seasons. We apply our model to an extensive real world data set on performance data of professional shot put athletes recorded at elite competitions.
Auswirkungen eines CO2-Grenzausgleichs auf nachgelagerte Industrien
Authors: Wolf André
Published: September 2022

This article analyses the cost implications of an EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) for downstream industries in Germany. The restriction to a few basic industries as envisaged in the EU Commission’s proposal is expected to lead to only a slight increase in input costs for downstream manufacturers. This also holds if the CO2 intensities occurring in the countries of origin are used to determine the level of the border adjustment. One reason for this, apart from the restriction to a few basic materials and to direct emissions, is the small share of imports from third countries. To strengthen the steering effect of a CBAM, the inclusion of emissions at upstream production levels therefore seems manageable, to the extent that they apply to intermediate inputs that are also subject to the EU-ETS. In the long term, a CBAM should not be thought of as an end in itself, but as one of several steps towards an international climate club.
Der Arbeitsmarkt erlebt derzeit eine Zeitenwende
Authors: Geis-Thöne Wido
Published: September 2022

Increasing labour shortages are mainly due to demographic developments — specifically the baby boom in Germany, with a strong peak in the early 1960s. Despite strong immigration in recent years, the ratio of 20–24 year-olds to 60–64 year-olds was only 75 to 100 in 2021, and if younger cohorts are taken into account, it was even less favourable. This demographic gap can only be closed by migration. However, the workers coming into the country should have qualifications that are compatible with the German labour market, which severely limits the group of potential immigrants. Therefore, previously inactive population groups must also be attracted to gainful employment and automation must be promoted.
Zu wenig qualifizierte Arbeitskräfte für praktische Tätigkeiten
Authors: Brenke Karl
Published: September 2022

All western countries are faced with the problem of a low birth rate and an increasingly aging population. The burden of old age requires accelerated productivity growth. Productivity growth is declining, however. In Germany, it has come to a standstill. At the same time, there is an increasing academisation of the labour force. There are several reasons for this paradox: sectoral change or bureaucratisation. A shortage of qualified blue collar workers is also a contributing factor.
On Simple Transitive 2-representations of Bimodules over the Dual Numbers
Authors: Jonsson Helena
Published: September 2022

We study the problem of classification of simple transitive 2-representations for the (non-finitary) 2-category of bimodules over the dual numbers. We show that simple transitive 2-representations with finitary apex are necessarily of rank 1 or 2, and those of rank 2 are exactly the cell 2-representations. For 2-representations of rank 1, we show that they cannot be constructed using the approach of (co)algebra 1-morphisms. We also propose an alternative definition of (co-)Duflo 1-morphisms for finitary 2-categories and describe them in the case of bimodules over the dual numbers.
Fbxo22 inhibits metastasis in triple-negative breast cancer through ubiquitin modification of KDM5A and regulation of H3K4me3 demethylation
Authors: Li Siqiaozhi , He Jinsong , Liao Xin , He Yixuan , Chen Rui , Chen Junhui , Hu Sean , Sun Jia
Published: September 2022

The importance of Fbxo22 in carcinogenesis has been highly documented. Here, we discussed downstream regulatory factors of Fbxo22 in TNBC. RNA-sequencing was conducted for identifying differentially expressed genes, followed by construction of a regulatory network. Expression patterns of Fbxo22/KDM5A in TNBC were determined by their correlation with the prognosis analyzed. Then, regulation mechanisms between Fbxo22 and KDM5A as well as between KDM5A and H3K4me3 were assayed. After silencing and overexpression experiments, the significance of Fbxo22 in repressing tumorigenesis in vitro and in vivo was explored. Fbxo22 was poorly expressed, while KDM5A was highly expressed in TNBC. Patients with elevated Fbxo22, decreased KDM5A, or higher p16 had long overall survival. Fbxo22 reduced the levels of KDM5A by ubiquitination. KDM5A promoted histone H3K4me3 demethylation to downregulate p16 expression. Fbxo22 reduced KDM5A expression to enhance p16, thus inducing DNA damage as well as reducing tumorigenesis and metastasis in TNBC. Our study validated FBXO22 as a tumor suppressor in TNBC through ubiquitination of KDM5A and regulation of p16.
Mapping Poverty in Gotham: Visualizing New York City’s Almshouse Ledgers from 1822 to 1835
Authors: Fennelly Katherine
Published: September 2022

This paper maps and spatializes the Almshouse Ledger records for the children of unmarried parents in New York City in the 1820 and 1830s. Mapping the distribution of poverty and the provision of forms of welfare in the city, this paper illustrates specific areas of the city which were attracting the very poor as early as the second decade of the nineteenth century. This paper argues that migrants from countries with similar welfare systems to those established in New York may be overrepresented in the record due to familiarity with the system. This interdisciplinary paper combines archaeological approaches to GIS with archival research to illustrate the distribution of welfare provision.
A Local Boundedness Result for a Class of Obstacle Problems with Non-Standard Growth Conditions
Authors: De Rosa Mariapia , Grimaldi Antonio Giuseppe
Published: September 2022

We prove the local boundedness for solutions to a class of obstacle problems with non-standard growth conditions. The novelty here is that we are able to establish the local boundedness under a sharp bound on the gap between the growth exponents.
The majority of severe COVID-19 patients develop anti-cardiac autoantibodies
Authors: Fagyas Miklós , Nagy Béla , Ráduly Arnold Péter , Mányiné Ivetta Siket , Mártha Lilla , Erdősi Gábor , Sipka Sándor , Enyedi Enikő , Szabó Attila Ádám , Pólik Zsófia , Kappelmayer János , Papp Zoltán , Borbély Attila , Szabó Tamás , Balla József , Balla György , Bai Péter , Bácsi Attila , Tóth Attila
Published: September 2022

Severe cases of COVID-19 are characterized by an inflammatory burst, which is accompanied by multiorgan failure. The elderly population has higher risk for severe or fatal outcome for COVID-19. Inflammatory mediators facilitate the immune system to combat viral infection by producing antibodies against viral antigens. Several studies reported that the pro-inflammatory state and tissue damage in COVID-19 also promotes autoimmunity by autoantibody generation. We hypothesized that a subset of these autoantibodies targets cardiac antigens. Here we aimed to detect anti-cardiac autoantibodies in severe COVID-19 patients during hospitalization. For this purpose, 104 COVID-19 patients were recruited, while 40 heart failure patients with dilated cardiomyopathy and 20 patients with severe aortic stenosis served as controls. Patients were tested for anti-cardiac autoantibodies, using human heart homogenate as a bait. Follow-up samples were available in 29 COVID-19 patients. Anti-cardiac autoantibodies were detected in 68% (71 out of 104) of severe COVID-19 patients. Overall, 39% of COVID-19 patients had anti-cardiac IgG autoantibodies, while 51% had anti-cardiac autoantibodies of IgM isotype. Both IgG and IgM anti-cardiac autoantibodies were observed in 22% of cases, and multiple cardiac antigens were targeted in 38% of COVID-19 patients. These anti-cardiac autoantibodies targeted a diverse set of myocardial proteins, without apparent selectivity. As controls, heart failure patients (with dilated cardiomyopathy) had similar occurrence of IgG (45%, p = 0.57) autoantibodies, while significantly lower occurrence of IgM autoantibodies (30%, p = 0.03). Patients with advanced aortic stenosis had significantly lower number of both IgG (11%, p = 0.03) and IgM (10%, p < 0.01) type anti-cardiac autoantibodies than that in COVID-19 patients. Furthermore, we detected changes in the anti-cardiac autoantibody profile in 7 COVID-19 patients during hospital treatment. Surprisingly, the presence of these anti-cardiac autoantibodies did not affect the clinical outcome and the prevalence of the autoantibodies did not differ between the elderly (over 65 years) and the patients younger than 65 years of age. Our results demonstrate that the majority of hospitalized COVID-19 patients produce novel anti-cardiac IgM autoantibodies. COVID-19 also reactivates resident IgG autoantibodies. These autoantibodies may promote autoimmune reactions, which can complicate post-COVID recuperation, contributing to post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (long COVID).
Biology teachers’ collaborative experiences: benefits and difficulties in different contexts in relation to perceived value
Authors: Berglund Helena
Published: September 2022

Collaboration has the potential to strengthen both professional learning and well-being for teachers. However, it can also bring problematic aspects, such as increased workload and conflicts. The purpose of this study was to explore biology teachers’ experiences of collaboration to better understand how upper secondary school organisations can support teachers to obtain valuable collaborations. By analysing accounts of biology teachers’ experiences of collaborations perceived as valued and less valued, I investigate how benefits and difficulties of the collaborations relate to organisational and situational conditions. Benefits and difficulties in different types of collaborations associated with high and low perceived value from collaborations can help identify ways to lower the cost and increase the gain for teachers in collaborations. The results showed that the chosen valued collaborations were often initiated by the teachers and typically involved benefits relating to both teacher and student learning. In the less valued collaborations, benefits were narrower, impacting teachers or students. The importance of structure was emphasised in most collaborations but management support appeared more important in interdisciplinary collaborations involving more than three teachers, while personal affinity between collaborators appeared more important in collaborations involving two or three teachers. Continuity was emphasised in order to give time for consensus and structure to develop, or to sustain discussions on important issues. Overall, this study shows that while continuity appeared important for developing valued collaborations, it can be difficult to obtain. Focusing on biology teachers’ experiences of benefits and difficulties in relation to more or less valued collaborations can help school organisations prioritise support, time and resources for professional development to allow for continuity in valuable collaborations that can strengthen the quality of biology education.
Two-machine flow shop scheduling with convex resource consumption functions
Authors: Choi Byung-Cheon , Park Myoung-Ju
Published: September 2022

We consider a two-machine flow shop scheduling problem in which the processing time of each operation is inversely proportional to the power of the amount of resources consumed by it. The objective is to minimize the sum of the makespan and the total resource consumption cost. We show that the problem is NP-hard, and its constrained version remains so. Then, we develop 1.25- and 2-approximation algorithms for the problem and its constrained version, respectively.
Social perception of embodied digital technologies—a closer look at bionics and social robotics
Authors: Bretschneider Maximilian , Mandl Sarah , Strobel Anja , Asbrock Frank , Meyer Bertolt
Published: September 2022

This contribution of the journal Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation. (GIO) presents a study on the social perception of Embodied Digital Technologies (EDTs) and provides initial insights into social perception processes concerning technicality and anthropomorphism of robots and users of prostheses. EDTs such as bionic technologies and robots are becoming increasingly common in workspaces and private lives, raising questions surrounding their perception and their acceptance. According to the Stereotype Content Model (SCM), social perception and stereotyping are based on two fundamental dimensions: Warmth (recently distinguished into Morality and Sociability) and Competence. We investigate how human actors, namely able-bodied individuals, users of low-tech prostheses and users of bionic prostheses, as well as artificial actors, such as industrial robots, social robots, and android robots, are perceived in terms of Competence, Sociability, and Morality. Results show that individuals with low-tech prostheses were perceived as competent as users of bionic prostheses, but only users of low-tech prostheses were perceived less competent than able-bodied individuals. Sociability did not differ between users of low-tech or bionic prostheses or able-bodied individuals. Perceived morality was higher for users of low-tech prostheses than users of bionic prostheses or able-bodied individuals. For robots, attributions of competence showed that industrial robots were perceived as more competent than more anthropomorphized robots. Sociability was attributed to robots to a lesser extent. Morality was not attributed to robots, regardless of their level of anthropomorphism.
Die verdoppelte Krise am Lebensende
Authors: Müller Falko
Published: September 2022

In Bezug auf den vielzitierten Wunsch, zuhause zu sterben, wird der Eingriffscharakter ambulant-aufsuchender Versorgung kaum thematisiert. Dies, obwohl der Hausbesuch hierzu die wichtigste Form der Begegnung zwischen Professionellen und Patient_innen ist. Soll der Anspruch, ihre Selbstbestimmung zu wahren, ernst genommen werden, sollte auch das Verhältnis von professionell organisierter Versorgung und Haushalt als Organisation des alltäglichen Lebenszusammenhangs als Gestaltungsaufgabe wahrgenommen werden.
Discriminatory capacity of serum interleukin-6 between complicated and uncomplicated acute appendicitis in children: a prospective validation study
Authors: Arredondo Montero Javier , Antona Giuseppa , Rivero Marcotegui Adriana , Bardají Pascual Carlos , Bronte Anaut Mónica , Ros Briones Raquel , Fernández-Celis Amaya , López-Andrés Natalia , Martín-Calvo Nerea
Published: September 2022

Background

Serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) has a moderate diagnostic performance in pediatric acute appendicitis (PAA). The evidence regarding its capacity to discern between complicated and uncomplicated PAA is scarce.

Methods

We designed a prospective observational study to validate serum IL-6 as a marker for diagnostic classification between complicated and uncomplicated PAA. This study included 205 patients divided into three groups: (1) patients who underwent major outpatient surgery (n = 57); (2) patients with non-surgical abdominal pain (NSAP) in whom the diagnosis of PAA was excluded (n = 53), and (3) patients with a confirmed diagnosis of PAA (n = 95). The PAA patients were further classified as uncomplicated or complicated PAA. IL-6 concentration was determined in all patients at diagnosis. Comparative statistical analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney U test, the Fisher exact test and the Kruskall Wallis test. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) were calculated.

Results

Median (interquartile range, IQR) serum IL-6 values were 2 pg/mL (2.0–3.4) in group 1, 3.9 pg/mL (2.4–11.9) in group 2, and 23.9 pg/mL (11.1–61.0) in group 3 (P < 0.001). Among the participants in group 3, those with uncomplicated PAA had median (IQR) serum IL-6 values of 17.2 pg/mL (8.5–36.8), and those with complicated PAA had 60.25 pg/mL (27.1–169) serum IL-6 (P < 0.001). At the cut-off point of 19.55 pg/mL, the AUC for the discrimination between patients in group 2 vs. 3 was 0.83 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.76–0.90], with a sensitivity of 61.3% and a specificity of 86.8. The AUC for the discrimination between patients with uncomplicated and complicated PAA was 0.77 (95% CI 0.68–0.86) and the cut-off point was 25.90 pg/mL, with a sensitivity and specificity of 84.6% and 65.6%, respectively.

Conclusions

Serum IL-6 has a good performance in discerning between complicated and uncomplicated PAA. A score including clinical and radiological variables may increase the diagnostic performance of this molecule.
Dental developmental defects due to mercurial treatment in a child from sixteenth-century Alghero (Sardinia, Italy)
Authors: Lombardo Daniela , Colard Thomas , Bandiera Pasquale , Milanese Marco , Baghdad Ouddane , Giuffra Valentina
Published: September 2022

A child aged 3.5 to 4.5 years, exhumed from the cemetery of Alghero that is referable to the plague outbreak of 1582–83, showed remarkable dental anomalies in the permanent dentition. In particular, the central incisors exhibited large hypoplastic pits, and the first molars were characterized by a honeycomb appearance with large areas of missing enamel. Microtomographic analysis revealed very low values of enamel volume, while the dentin volumes of the crowns were mainly preserved; chemical analysis showed very high levels of mercury in the hard tissues. The enamel disturbances observed in the child from Alghero are highly suggestive of the administration of mercurial treatment to the individual during early childhood. Despite the absence of the typical signs of congenital syphilis, such as Hutchinson’s incisors, it cannot be excluded that the child was affected by the disease. After the appearance of venereal syphilis in Europe at the end of the fifteenth century, mercury was employed to treat its severe skin manifestations, remaining in use until the nineteenth century despite its well-known negative side effects. However, mercury was also used in the treatment of a number of dermatological conditions and to eliminate head lice and fleas. Regardless of the disease the child was treated for, the case presented provides evidence of some of the highest levels of mercury recorded in osteoarcheological remains so far, making the individual the youngest patient documented in the paleopathological literature to exhibit signs of mercurial treatment.
Effects of Mobile App-Based Mindfulness Practice on Healthcare Workers: a Randomized Active Controlled Trial
Authors: Keng Shian-Ling , Chin Joseph Wei Ern , Mammadova Maleyka , Teo Irene
Published: September 2022

Objectives

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers (HCWs) may be at greater risk of suffering from psychological distress compared to the general population. This study aimed to investigate the effects of mindfulness practice as delivered using Headspace on psychological and cognitive outcomes among HCWs in Singapore.

Methods

A total of 80 HCWs were recruited and randomly assigned to engage in either 3 weeks (10 min/day) of mindfulness practice using Headspace or an active control condition (Lumosity; involving playing cognitive games). Participants were administered several self-report measures and two working memory (digit span) tasks at pre- and post-intervention, and one-month follow-up.

Results

There were no significant between-condition changes on any outcome variables from pre- to post-intervention. From pre-intervention to 1-month follow-up, there were significantly greater improvements among Headspace participants on fear of COVID-19 (p = .005), compassion satisfaction (p = .007), trait mindfulness (p = .002), self-compassion (p = .005), sleep quality (p = .002), and the forward digit span task (p < .001). Several outcomes were mediated by increases in trait mindfulness or self-compassion.

Conclusions

Use of Headspace may lead to downstream benefits in reducing distress and improving psychological health outcomes among HCWs. The findings have implications for improving psychological support resources for HCWs amidst a pandemic.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT04936893).
The quantification of intelligence in nineteenth-century craniology: an epistemology of measurement perspective
Authors: Luchetti Michele
Published: September 2022

Craniology – the practice of inferring intelligence differences from the measurement of human skulls – survived the dismissal of phrenology and remained a widely popular research program until the end of the nineteenth century. From the 1970s, historians and sociologists of science extensively focused on the explicit and implicit socio-cultural biases invalidating the evidence and claims that craniology produced. Building on this literature, I reassess the history of craniological practice from a different but complementary perspective that relies on recent developments in the epistemology of measurement. More precisely, I identify two aspects of the measurement culture of nineteenth-century craniologists that are crucial to understand the lack of validity of craniological inference: their neglect of the problem of coordination for their presupposed quantification of intelligence and their narrow view of calibration. Based on my analysis, I claim that these methodological shortcomings amplified the impact of the socio-cultural biases of craniologists, which had a pervasive role in their evidential use of measurement. Finally, my argument shows how the epistemology of measurement perspective can offer useful tools in debates concerning the use of biological evidence to foster social discourse and for analyzing the relationship between theory, evidence, and measurement.
On the slope inequalities for extremal curves
Authors: Beorchia Valentina , Brundu Michela
Published: September 2022

The present paper concerns the question of the violation of the r-th inequality for extremal curves in $$\mathbb {P}^r$$

P

r

, posed in [KM]. We show that the answer is negative in many cases (Theorem 4.13 and Corollary 4.14). The result is obtained by a detailed analysis of the geometry of extremal curves and their canonical model. As a consequence, we show that particular curves on a Hirzebruch surface do not violate the slope inequalities in a certain range (Theorem 6.4).
Homeschooling in Österreich in problematischen Kontexten
Authors: Hofinger Veronika , Reisinger Werner , Walter Rebecca
Published: September 2022

Seit der Corona-Krise nehmen die Skepsis gegenüber dem staatlichen Schulwesen und die Abmeldungen zum häuslichen Unterricht in Österreich stark zu – die Zahlen haben sich zuletzt verdreifacht. Innerhalb des Homeschooling-Milieus gibt es sehr unterschiedliche Formen der konkreten Ausgestaltung des Unterrichts zuhause. Es besteht zudem eine große Bandbreite an Ideologien unter den „Homeschoolern“, die nicht alle gleichermaßen als problematisch einzustufen sind. Es gibt jedoch Gruppierungen und Strömungen innerhalb der Bewegung, die klar dem rechtsesoterischen Spektrum zuzuordnen sind und deren Kritik am Bildungs- und Gesundheitssystem massive staats- und wissenschaftsfeindliche sowie verschwörungsideologische Züge aufweist. Auch in religiös-fundamentalistischen Gruppen, wie z. B. in Freikirchen und sektenähnlichen Gemeinschaften, kann die Inanspruchnahme des Rechts auf Heimunterricht problematisch sein, etwa wenn Kinder von der Außenwelt abgeschottet streng religiös und autoritär erzogen und indoktriniert werden. Der Artikel widmet sich zunächst dem rechtlichen Rahmen und aktuellen Entwicklungen beim häuslichen Unterricht in Österreich, um dann anhand eines Fallbeispiels zu verdeutlichen, wie dieses Recht von ideologisch problematischen Gruppierungen missbraucht wird. Die Autor:innen plädieren dafür, die Kontrollrechte der Behörden auszubauen, um dem Kindeswohlvorrangigkeitsprinzip Geltung zu verschaffen.
On a Functional Inequality of Alzer and Salinas
Authors: Fechner Włodzimierz
Published: September 2022

We deal with the functional inequality $$\begin{aligned} f(x)f(y) - f(xy) \le f (x) + f (y) - f(x+y) \end{aligned}$$

f
(
x
)
f
(
y
)
-
f
(
x
y
)
≤
f
(
x
)
+
f
(
y
)
-
f
(
x
+
y
)

for $$f:{\mathbb {R}}\rightarrow {\mathbb {R}}$$

f
:
R
→
R

, which was introduced by Horst Alzer and Luis Salinas. We show that if f is a solution that is differentiable at 0 and $$f(0)=0$$

f
(
0
)
=
0

, then $$f=0$$

f
=
0

on $${\mathbb {R}}$$
R
or $$f(x) = x$$

f
(
x
)
=
x

for all $$x \in {\mathbb {R}}$$

x
∈
R

. Next, we prove that every solution f which satisfies some mild regularity and such that $$f(0)\ne 0$$

f
(
0
)
≠
0

is globally bounded.
Population growth of stored product insects on wheat containing wheat bugs
Authors: Sakka Maria K. , Athanassiou Christos G.
Published: September 2022

In the present study we examined the effect of the presence of wheat bugs (Eurygaster spp. and Aelia spp.) on wheat on the mortality, progeny production and infestation patterns of three stored product insects, Trogoderma granarium Everts, Sitophilus oryzae (L.) and Rhyzopertha dominica (F.). The bioassays were carried out under laboratory conditions (25 ± 1 °C, 60 ± 5% relative humidity (r.h.) and continuous darkness), and 20 adults of each stored product insect species were placed in plastic vials (3 cm in diameter, 8 cm in height) with wheat that contained different numbers of wheat bugs (1, 2, 3 or 5 adults). In general, stored product insect mortality was not affected by the presence of wheat bugs, in most of the combinations examined. In most of the cases, mortality of T. granarium was higher on wheat which contained Eurygaster that wheat containing Aelia, while progeny production of S. oryzae was also affected by the presence of wheat bugs. Frass production for all combinations was similar, but greater frass production occurred by all combinations of R. dominica with Aelia. Overall, the presence of wheat bugs could affect the survival and the progeny production of both S. oryzae and R. dominica. In general, our results showed that beetle longevity and fecundity can be affected by the presence of wheat bugs that are likely to be present in stored grains after harvest.

Graphical abstract
The Italian interregional performance evaluation system
Authors: Vola Federico , Benedetto Vera , Vainieri Milena , Nuti Sabina
Published: September 2022

This contribution describes the Interregional Performance Evaluation System (IRPES) designed by MeS Lab of Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies (Pisa—Italy), by highlighting its main characteristics and its evolution.

Context: Since its creation in 2008, the IRPES has been developed by researchers from different backgrounds, with the involvement of practitioners and managers, so as to offer support to local, regional and national healthcare management. The IRPES is currently adopted by 12 Italian regions, which share a common performance evaluation system to assess the respective regional healthcare systems’ performance.

Structure: The IRPES is currently composed of about 400 indicators, which monitor different dimensions of the health systems. About half of them are benchmarked against shared standards, to assess the healthcare systems’ performance. Indicators are grouped into around thirty composite indicators.

Data visualization: MeS Lab designed innovative tools to deliver a clear representation of the performance of health systems, which in turn facilitate policymakers to gain a dynamic understanding of weaknesses and strengths of the systems they manage. In particular, the more traditional representation tools (such as maps or histograms) are accompanied by new visualisation instruments, such as “the dartboard” and “the stave”.

Covid-19: With the outburst of COVID-19 pandemic emergency, assessing the resilience of healthcare systems has become the new challenge posed to the IRPES. Thus, 63 novel resilience indicators tailored for the pandemic were introduced, starting from the second semester of 2020. Continuous monitoring of the performance of health systems was equally implemented, which has been essential to policymakers during such a difficult time.
New Aggregation Approaches with HSV to Color Edge Detection
Authors: Flores-Vidal Pablo , Gómez Daniel , Castro Javier , Montero Javier
Published: September 2022

The majority of edge detection algorithms only deal with grayscale images, while their use with color images remains an open problem. This paper explores different approaches to aggregate color information of RGB and HSV images for edge extraction purposes through the usage of the Sobel operator and Canny algorithm. This paper makes use of Berkeley’s image data set, and to evaluate the performance of the different aggregations, theF-measure is computed. Higher potential of aggregations with HSV channels than with RGB channels is found. This article also shows that depending on the type of image used, RGB or HSV, some methods are more appropriate than others.
Kant's Theory of Labour
Authors: Pascoe Jordan
Published: September 2022

This Element examines Kant's innovative account of labour in his political philosophy and develops an intersectional analysis of Kant. By demonstrating that Kant's analysis of slavery, citizenship, and sex developed in inter-linked ways over several decades, culminating in his development of a 'trichotomy' of Right, the author shows that Kant's normative account of independence is configured through his theory of labour, and is continuous with his anthropological accounts of race and gender, providing a systemic justification for the dependency of women and non-whites embedded in his philosophy of right. By examining Kant's arguments about slavery as intertwined with his account of domestic labour, the author argues that his ultimate rejection of slavery may owe more to his changing conceptualization of labour than to his theory of race, and that his final arguments against slavery rehearse strategies for embedding intersectional patterns of domestic dependence in his account of the rightful state.
Leibniz on Agential Contingency and Inclining but not Necessitating Reasons
Authors: Garcia Juan
Published: September 2022

I argue for a novel interpretation of Leibniz’s conception of the kind of contingency that matters for freedom, which I label ‘agential contingency.’ In brief, an agent is free to the extent that she determines herself to do what she judges to be the best of several considered options that she could have brought about had she concluded that these options were best. I use this novel interpretation to make sense of Leibniz’s doctrine that the reasons that explain free actions are merely inclining and not necessitating.
Interprofessional and community engagement for evaluating and growing evidence-based criminal justice practice and policy
Authors: Bello Jennifer K. , Jaegers Lisa A.
Published: September 2022

People experiencing incarceration are often invisible to the public due to the restricted settings in which they reside and receive services. Limited access to criminal justice settings leaves policymakers and healthcare professionals with sparse information to understand the unique needs of this population. The unmet needs of justice-involved individuals are more likely observed by professionals who provide services in correctional settings. We provide three distinct examples of projects conducted within correctional settings and how they formed pathways to interdisciplinary research and community partnerships to address the unique health and social needs of incarcerated individuals. Our partnerships in a variety of correctional settings led to exploratory research of women and men’s prepregnancy health needs, participatory workplace health interventions, and process evaluation of reentry programming. The limitations and challenges to research in correctional settings are considered along with the clinical and policy implications of these projects.
A Review of Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (PHEPR) Curricula in US CEPH-Accredited Schools and Programs of Public Health
Authors: Randazza Juliette , Vickery Jamie , Archer Megan , Dent Lauren , Herrman Claire , Khan Amber S. , Morris Stephen C. , Errett Nicole A.
Published: September 2022

Objective:

To assess the current state of graduate-level disaster-related curricula (i.e., Masters and Doctoral programs, degree concentrations, and graduate certificates) offered by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)-accredited public health schools and programs in the US.

Methods:

This research reviewed, evaluated, and summarized the content of websites of all US-based CEPH-accredited schools and programs to identify disaster-related degree programs, degree concentrations and graduate certificates from April – June 2021.

Results:

Of 191 schools and programs reviewed, 29 (15%) offered disaster-related curricula, totaling 44 degrees and programs. Programs included Masters-level degrees and Masters/ Doctoral degree concentrations, with the majority taking the form of graduate certificates (64%). Schools that offered disaster-related curricula were clustered in eastern and Gulf states.

Conclusion:

Most US CEPH-accredited schools and programs do not offer graduate-level disaster-focused curricula. Of the programs offered, far fewer opportunities exist for in-depth graduate-degree level training compared to certificate-level training. Additionally, programs are constrained to certain areas of the country. Our findings suggest a need for disaster and public health emergency-related curricula development within schools and programs of public health to meet the growing needs of communities affected by disasters and emergencies.
Possibilities of using T-cell biophysical biomarkers of ageing
Authors: González-Bermúdez Blanca , Abarca-Ortega Aldo , González-Sánchez Mónica , De la Fuente Mónica , Plaza Gustavo R.
Published: September 2022

Ageing is interrelated with the development of immunosenescence. This article focuses on one of the cell sets of the adaptive immune system, T cells, and provides a review of the known changes in T cells associated with ageing. Such fundamental changes affect both cell molecular content and internal ordering. However, acquiring a complete description of the changes at these levels would require extensive measurements of parameters and, furthermore, important fine details of the internal ordering that may be difficult to detect. Therefore, an alternative approach for the characterisation of cells consists of the performance of physical measurements of the whole cell, such as deformability measurements or migration measurements: the physical parameters, complementing the commonly used chemical biomarkers, may contribute to a better understanding of the evolution of T-cell states during ageing. Mechanical measurements, among other biophysical measurements, have the advantage of their relative simplicity: one single parameter agglutinates the complex effects of the variety of changes that gradually appear in cells during ageing.
The Ancient Iranian Perception of Cyrus the Great
Authors: Irannejad A. Mani
Published: September 2022

While the only surviving legends of Cyrus the Great are found in Graeco-Roman sources, such sources ultimately speak to the varied views of Cyrus in Achaemenid Iran. Following a survey of the historical conditions leading to the rise of the Persian Empire under Cyrus and its consolidation under Darius, this article explores the characteristics of western Iranian historiography of the Median “state” and dawn of the Persian Empire in the Achaemenid period. This article argues that the Median and Iranian orientation of the Achaemenid Empire from the time of Darius provided the grounds for the infusing of Young Avestan myths and legends in western Iran. In particular, this article investigates parallels between stories of Cyrus the Great and those of Kauui Haosrauuah (Kay Khosrow); an investigation that points to the assimilation of the former with the latter that likely began in the Achaemenid period and later led to a two-way interaction of legends about these figures. In addition, this article also explores the Iranian tradition's depiction of Alexander and his association with Kay Khosrow, which is similar to his association with Cyrus the Great in western sources and may further show Cyrus the Great's assimilation with the Iranian tradition through his identification with Kay Khosrow.
Development and validation of employee safety voice scale in the Chinese organizational context
Authors: Sun Yunfeng , Jiang Yifeng , Luo Xiaowei , Zhang Yongbao , Wu Xiang
Published: September 2022

Safety voice helps organizations to identify safety issues timely and is critical to the long-term growth of the organization. Safety voice has become a hot research topic in organizational safety, and different scales have been developed. However, the unique cultural context in China has led to the need to redevelop safety voice measurement tools. In this paper, we developed an initial scale of safety voice for employees in Chinese organizational contexts fusing in-depth interviews and mature scales. The initial scale based on two samples (n1 = 205, n2 = 420) was revised and validated using item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and reliability analysis to finalize the final scale. We finally found that the safety voice scale in Chinese organizational contexts contains two dimensions: promotive safety voice and prohibitive safety voice. The scale developed in this paper is a reliable tool to measure safety voice behavior of Chinese employees.