pinecone/core-2020-05-10-deduplication huggingface dataset:
Physiotherapists demonstrate weight stigma: a cross sectional survey of Australian physiotherapists

Question: Do physiotherapists demonstrate explicit and implicit weight stigma? Design: Cross-sectional survey with partial blinding of participants. Participants responded to the Anti-Fat Attitudes questionnaire and physiotherapy case studies with body mass index (BMI) manipulated (normal or overweight/obese). The Anti-Fat Attitudes questionnaire included 13 items scored on a Likert-type scale from 0 to 8. Any score greater than zero indicated explicit weight stigma. Implicit weight stigma was determined by comparing responses to case studies with people of different BMI categories (where responses were quantitative) and by thematic and count analysis for free-text responses. Participants: Australian physiotherapists (n = 265) recruited via industry networks. Results: The mean item score for the Anti-Fat Attitudes questionnaire was 3.2 (SD 1.1), which indicated explicit weight stigma. The Dislike (2.1, SD 1.2) subscale had a lower mean item score than the Fear (3.9, SD 1.8) and Willpower (4.9, SD 1.5) subscales. There was minimal indication from the case studies that people who are overweight receive different treatment from physiotherapists in clinical parameters such as length of treatment time (p = 0.73) or amount of hands-on treatment (p = 0.88). However, there were indications of implicit weight stigma in the way participants discussed weight in free-text responses about patient management. Conclusion: Physiotherapists demonstrate weight stigma. This finding is likely to affect the way they communicate with patients about their weight, which may negatively impact their patients. It is recommended that physiotherapists reflect on their own attitudes towards people who are overweight and whether weight stigma influences treatment focus.Full Tex
Mobile phone use while driving: An investigation of the beliefs influencing drivers’ hands-free and hand-held mobile phone use

This study explored the psychological influences of hands-free and hand-held mobile phone use while driving. Participants were 796 Australian drivers aged 17-76 years who owned mobile phones. A cross-sectional survey assessed frequency of calling and text messaging while driving (overall, hands-free, hand-held) as well as drivers' behavioural, normative, and control beliefs relating to mobile phone use while driving. Irrespective of handset type, 43% of drivers reported answering calls while driving on a daily basis, followed by making calls (36%), reading text messages (27%), and sending text messages (18%). In total, 63.9% of drivers did not own hands-free kits and, of the drivers that owned hand-free kits, 32% did not use it most or all of the time. Significant differences were found in the behavioural, normative, and control beliefs of frequent and infrequent users of both types of handset while driving. As expected, frequent users reported more advantages of, more approval from others for, and fewer barriers that would prevent them from, using either a hands-free or a hand-held mobile phone while driving than infrequent users. Campaigns to reduce mobile phone use while driving should attempt to minimise the perceived benefits of the behaviour and highlight the risks of this unsafe driving practice.Full Tex
Second generation swimming feedback device using a wearable data processing system based on underwater visible light communications

Swimmers performance evaluation is important for the swimmers, their coaches and trainers. Most systems depend on visual, video processing or sensors and require post processing to obtain the swim data. Stroke rate, stroke length and swim velocity data are useful parameters for a swimmer during a swim. Swimmers can then adjust their swim to achieve optimal performance. A wearable data processing system was designed, implemented and tested using visible light communication. A wrist-mounted accelerometer with a communications link to a receiver located on the goggles allows visual information to be given to the athlete. This helps swimmers to swim with consistent pace based on a multi-coloured display. The data processing system was based on a circular buffer to read real time acceleration data. The maximum acceleration and the position of the maximum acceleration during one stroke are determined in firmware. The time difference between strokes is transmitted to the goggles. An algorithm at the receiver uses the data to switch on the LED colour so that the swimmer reacts according to previous instructions. The second generation system (size 35 x 35 mm, cost $19.89AU) was designed and implemented. The system was tested with different swim speeds (slow and fast) and different strokes (free style, back stroke, breast stroke and butterfly) to validate the system. These experiments were used to optimise the system and verify that the complete system is viable under different conditions, styles and swimmers.Griffith Sciences, Griffith School of EngineeringFull Tex
X-shooter study of accretion in Chamaeleon I: II. A steeper increase of accretion with stellar mass for very low-mass stars?

The dependence of the mass accretion rate on the stellar properties is a key constraint for star formation and disk evolution studies. Here we present a study of a sample of stars in the Chamaeleon I star-forming region carried out using spectra taken with the ESO VLT/X-shooter spectrograph. The sample is nearly complete down to stellar masses (M⋆) ~0.1 M⊙ for the young stars still harboring a disk in this region. We derive the stellar and accretion parameters using a self-consistent method to fit the broadband flux-calibrated medium resolution spectrum. The correlation between accretion luminosity to stellar luminosity, and of mass accretion rate to stellar mass in the logarithmic plane yields slopes of 1.9 ± 0.1 and 2.3 ± 0.3, respectively. These slopes and the accretion rates are consistent with previous results in various star-forming regions and with different theoretical frameworks. However, we find that a broken power-law fit, with a steeper slope for stellar luminosity lower than ~0.45 L⊙ and for stellar masses lower than ~0.3 M⊙ is slightly preferred according to different statistical tests, but the single power-law model is not excluded. The steeper relation for lower mass stars can be interpreted as a faster evolution in the past for accretion in disks around these objects, or as different accretion regimes in different stellar mass ranges. Finally, we find two regions on the mass accretion versus stellar mass plane that are empty of objects: one region at high mass accretion rates and low stellar masses, which is related to the steeper dependence of the two parameters we derived. The second region is located just above the observational limits imposed by chromospheric emission, at M⋆ ~ 0.3 − 0.4 M⊙. These are typical masses where photoevaporation is known to be effective. The mass accretion rates of this region are ~10-10M⊙/yr, which is compatible with the value expected for photoevaporation to rapidly dissipate the inner disk
PCSK9 genetic variants and risk of type 2 diabetes: A mendelian randomisation study

Background: Statin treatment and variants in the gene encoding HMG-CoA reductase are associated with reductions in both the concentration of LDL cholesterol and the risk of coronary heart disease, but also with modest hyperglycaemia, increased bodyweight, and modestly increased risk of type 2 diabetes, which in no way offsets their substantial benefits. We sought to investigate the associations of LDL cholesterol-lowering . PCSK9 variants with type 2 diabetes and related biomarkers to gauge the likely effects of PCSK9 inhibitors on diabetes risk. Methods: In this mendelian randomisation study, we used data from cohort studies, randomised controlled trials, case control studies, and genetic consortia to estimate associations of PCSK9 genetic variants with LDL cholesterol, fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, fasting insulin, bodyweight, waist-to-hip ratio, BMI, and risk of type 2 diabetes, using a standardised analysis plan, meta-analyses, and weighted gene-centric scores. Findings: Data were available for more than 550 000 individuals and 51 623 cases of type 2 diabetes. Combined analyses of four independent PCSK9 variants (rs11583680, rs11591147, rs2479409, and rs11206510) scaled to 1 mmol/L lower LDL cholesterol showed associations with increased fasting glucose (0·09 mmol/L, 95% CI 0·02 to 0·15), bodyweight (1·03 kg, 0·24 to 1·82), waist-to-hip ratio (0·006, 0·003 to 0·010), and an odds ratio for type diabetes of 1·29 (1·11 to 1·50). Based on the collected data, we did not identify associations with HbA1c (0·03%, -0·01 to 0·08), fasting insulin (0·00%, -0·06 to 0·07), and BMI (0·11 kg/m2, -0·09 to 0·30). Interpretation: . PCSK9 variants associated with lower LDL cholesterol were also associated with circulating higher fasting glucose concentration, bodyweight, and waist-to-hip ratio, and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. In trials of PCSK9 inhibitor drugs, investigators should carefully assess these safety outcomes and quantify the risks and benefits of PCSK9 inhibitor treatment, as was previously done for statins. Funding: British Heart Foundation, and University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre
Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Scorpion Toxin Recognition by the Ca²⁺-Activated Potassium Channel KCa3.1

The Ca²⁺-activated channel of intermediate-conductance (KCa3.1) is a target for antisickling and immunosuppressant agents. Many small peptides isolated from animal venoms inhibit KCa3.1 with nanomolar affinities and are promising drug scaffolds. Although the inhibitory effect of peptide toxins on KCa3.1 has been examined extensively, the structural basis of toxin-channel recognition has not been understood in detail. Here, the binding modes of two selected scorpion toxins, charybdotoxin (ChTx) and OSK1, to human KCa3.1 are examined in atomic detail using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Employing a homology model of KCa3.1, we first determine conduction properties of the channel using Brownian dynamics and ascertain that the simulated results are in accord with experiment. The model structures of ChTx-KCa3.1 and OSK1-KCa3.1 complexes are then constructed using MD simulations biased with distance restraints. The ChTx-KCa3.1 complex predicted from biased MD is consistent with the crystal structure of ChTx bound to a voltage-gated K(+) channel. The dissociation constants (Kd) for the binding of both ChTx and OSK1 to KCa3.1 determined experimentally are reproduced within fivefold using potential of mean force calculations. Making use of the knowledge we gained by studying the ChTx-KCa3.1 complex, we attempt to enhance the binding affinity of the toxin by carrying out a theoretical mutagenesis. A mutant toxin, in which the positions of two amino acid residues are interchanged, exhibits a 35-fold lower Kd value for KCa3.1 than that of the wild-type. This study provides insight into the key molecular determinants for the high-affinity binding of peptide toxins to KCa3.1, and demonstrates the power of computational methods in the design of novel toxins.This work was supported by the National Health and Medical Research
Council of Australia and The Medical Advances Without Animals Trust
(MAWA)
The lived experience of sex-integrated sport and the construction of athlete identity within the Olympic and Paralympic equestrian disciplines

Equestrian sport is not subjected to the dominant binary sex segregation of most sports and therefore provides a unique opportunity to review how athlete ‘identity’ is constructed and framed within a sex-integrated sporting experience. This research draws on an ethnographic evaluation of the Olympic and Paralympic experience of the British Equestrian Team. A total of 28 interviews were conducted with riders, performance managers and support staff with transcripts subjected to Ethnographic Content Analysis. Results show clear constructs of identity, such as ‘them and us’, ‘horsey’ and ‘discipline specific’, with a noted absence of gender in the way interviewees describe themselves and others within the sport. Furthermore, in their accounts of their lives, there is a lack of salience of gender with regard to their identity as sports persons. The paper considers the implications of this phenomenon for a claim that equestrian sport might be described from a participant’s perspective as gender neutral.Full Tex
Wherein lies the debate? Concerning whether God is a person.

Within contemporary philosophy of religion there are three main ways in which God is conceptualised in relation to personhood:\ud
(1)\ud
God is a person and so personal (PP).\ud
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(2)\ud
God is non-personal, and so is not a person (NPNP).\ud
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 \ud
(3)\ud
God is a personal non-person (PNP).\ud
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 \ud
The first two of these options will be familiar to many, with (PP) held by most contemporary monotheist philosophers of religion and (NPNP) mainly by those who are pantheists. (PNP), however, is a view some may not have come across, despite its proponents claiming it was the view of great philosophical theologians from the past. However, within recent times (PNP) has become more popular. On the face of it, it might not be clear what the difference between (PP) and (PNP) is, and whether debate had between the two positions is substantive. The goal of this paper is therefore to clarify the debate and assess whether the many claims advocates of (PNP) make as to why God cannot be a person (PP) stand up to scrutiny or are persuasive. My suggestion will be that on the whole they do and are not. As such, defenders of (PNP) will either need to defend these reasons in more detail or focus on the area I suggest the debate really rests on
Political power and aid tying practices in the development assistance committee countries

This paper examines on a panel of 22 OECD Development Assistance Committee countries whether fragmentation of executive power and the degree of competition in the legislative branch of government increases the amount of tied aid over the 1979-2009 period. Fragmentation and competition are broadly defined as the degree to which the costs of a dollar of aid expenditure are internalized by decision makers and the relative strength of the government’s position vis-à-vis legislative composition respectively. The empirical results show tied aid, both in levels and as a percentage of total aid, increases as the number of decision makers within the government increases and decreases as the proportion of excess seats a governing coalition holds above a simple majority increases.
Audit-based education lowers systolic blood pressure in chronic kidney disease: the Quality Improvement in CKD (QICKD) trial results.

Strict control of systolic blood pressure is known to slow progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Here we compared audit-based education (ABE) to guidelines and prompts or usual practice in lowering systolic blood pressure in people with CKD. This 2-year cluster randomized trial included 93 volunteer general practices randomized into three arms with 30 ABE practices, 32 with guidelines and prompts, and 31 usual practices. An intervention effect on the primary outcome, systolic blood pressure, was calculated using a multilevel model to predict changes after the intervention. The prevalence of CKD was 7.29% (41,183 of 565,016 patients) with all cardiovascular comorbidities more common in those with CKD. Our models showed that the systolic blood pressure was significantly lowered by 2.41 mm Hg (CI 0.59–4.29 mm Hg), in the ABE practices with an odds ratio of achieving at least a 5 mm Hg reduction in systolic blood pressure of 1.24 (CI 1.05–1.45). Practices exposed to guidelines and prompts produced no significant change compared to usual practice. Male gender, ABE, ischemic heart disease, and congestive heart failure were independently associated with a greater lowering of systolic blood pressure but the converse applied to hypertension and age over 75 years. There were no reports of harm. Thus, individuals receiving ABE are more likely to achieve a lower blood pressure than those receiving only usual practice. The findings should be interpreted with caution due to the wide confidence intervals
Local information-based control for probabilistic swarm distribution guidance

This paper proposes a closed-loop decentralised framework for swarm distribution guidance, which disperses homogeneous agents over bins to achieve a desired density distribution by using feedback gains from the current swarm status. The key difference from existing works is that the proposed framework utilises only local information, not global information ,to generate the feedback gains for stochastic policies. Dependency on local information entails various advantages including reduced inter-agent communication, a shorter timescale for obtaining new information, asynchronous implementation, and deployability without a priori mission knowledge. Our theoretical analysis shows that, even utilising only local information, the proposed framework guarantees convergence of the agents to the desired status, while maintaining the advantages of existing closed-loop approaches. Also, the analysis explicitly provides the design requirements to achieve all the advantages of the proposed framework. We provide implementation examples and report the results of empirical tests. The test results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed framework and also validate the robustness enhancement in a scenario of partial disconnection of the communication network
A randomised controlled trial of the use of a piece of commercial software for the acquisition of reading skills

We report here the overall results of a cluster randomised controlled trial of the use of computer-aided instruction with 672 year 7 pupils in 23 secondary school classes in the north of England. A new piece of commercial software, claimed on the basis of publisher testing to be effective in improving reading after just six weeks of use in the classroom, was compared over ten weeks (one term) with standard practice in literacy provision. Pupil literacy was assessed before and after the trial, via another piece of commercial software testing precisely the kinds of skills covered by the pedagogical software. Both the treatment group and the comparison group improved their tested literacy. In a sense the publisher’s claim was justified. However, the comparison group improved their literacy scores considerably more than the treatment group, with a standardized improvement of +0.99 compared to +0.56 (overall ‘effect’ size of -0.37), suggesting that the software approach yields no relative advantage for improvements, and may even disadvantage some pupils. \ud
On this evidence, the use of software, of a kind that is in very common use across schools in England, was a waste of resource. This could be an important corrective finding for an area of schooling that has been the focus of intense policy and practice attention. Of course, the software used has now been superseded by the same and different publishers. But the paper discusses the implications of these results for the use of such software to teach literacy more widely, for the way in which publisher claims are worded, and for the research community in relation to the feasibility of conducting pragmatic trials in school settings
An application of transverse-momentum-dependent evolution equations in
  QCD

The properties and behaviour of the solutions of the recently obtained
$k_t$-dependent evolution equations are investigated. When used to reproduce
transverse momentum spectra of hadrons in Semi-Inclusive DIS, an encouraging
agreement with data is found. The present analysis also supports at the
phenomenological level the factorization properties of the Semi-Inclusive DIS
cross-sections in terms of $k_t$-dependent distributions. Further improvements
and possible developments of the proposed evolution equations are envisaged.Comment: 6 pages, page format correcte
Measurement of the fragmentation fraction ratio fs/fd and its dependence on B meson kinematics

The relative production rate of B0s and B 0 mesons is determined with the hadronic decays B0s→D−sπ+ and B 0 → D − K +. The measurement uses data corresponding to 1.0 fb−1 of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of s√=7 TeV recorded in the forward region with the LHCb experiment. The ratio of production rates, f s /f d , is measured to be 0.238 ± 0.004 ± 0.015 ± 0.021, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic, and the third theoretical. This is combined with a previous LHCb measurement to obtain f s /f d  = 0.256 ± 0.020. The dependence of f s /f d on the transverse momentum and pseudorapidity of the B meson is determined using the decays B0s→D−sπ+ and B 0 → D −π+. There is evidence for a decrease with increasing transverse momentum, whereas the ratio remains constant as a function of pseudorapidity. In addition, the ratio of branching fractions of the decays B 0 → D − K + and B 0 → D −π+ is measured to be 0.0822 ± 0.0011 (stat) ± 0.0025 (syst)
Observation of a new boson with mass near 125 GeV in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ =7 and 8 TeV

A detailed description is reported of the analysis used by the CMS Collaboration in the search for the standard model Higgs boson in pp collisions at the LHC, which led to the observation of a new boson. The data sample corresponds to integrated luminosities up to 5.1 fb−1 at s√=7 TeV, and up to 5.3 fb−1 at s√=8 TeV. The results for five Higgs boson decay modes γγ, ZZ, WW, ττ, and bb, which show a combined local significance of 5 standard deviations near 125 GeV, are reviewed. A fit to the invariant mass of the two high resolution channels, γγ and ZZ → 4ℓ, gives a mass estimate of 125.3 ± 0.4 (stat.) ± 0.5 (syst.) GeV. The measurements are interpreted in the context of the standard model Lagrangian for the scalar Higgs field interacting with fermions and vector bosons. The measured values of the corresponding couplings are compared to the standard model predictions. The hypothesis of custodial symmetry is tested through the measurement of the ratio of the couplings to the W and Z bosons. All the results are consistent, within their uncertainties, with the expectations for a standard model Higgs boson
Psychometric properties of reaction time based experimental paradigms measuring anxiety-related information-processing biases in children

Contains fulltext :
                  126858.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Theoretical frameworks highlight the importance of threat-related information-processing biases for understanding the emergence of anxiety in childhood. The psychometric properties of several tasks measuring these biases and their associations with anxiety were examined in an unselected sample of 9-year-old children (N= 155). In each task, threat bias was assessed using bias scores reflecting task performance on threat versus non-threat conditions. Reliability was assessed using split-half and test-retest correlations of mean reaction times (RTs), accuracy and bias indices. Convergence between measures was also examined. Mean RTs showed substantial split-half and test-retest correlations. Bias score reliability coefficients were near zero and non-significant, suggesting poor reliability in children of this age. Additionally, associations between bias scores and anxiety were weak and inconsistent and performance. between tasks showed little convergence. Bias scores from RT based paradigms in the current study lacked adequate psychometric properties for measuring individual differences in anxiety-related information-processing in children