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Probing NaCl hydrate formation from aqueous solutions by Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy
Get PDFThe cooling-induced formation of hydrate in aqueous NaCl solutions was probed using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). It was found that the NaCl hydrate formation is accompanied with emergence of four new absorption peaks at 1.60, 2.43, 3.34 and 3.78 THz. Combining the X-ray diffraction measurement with the solid-state based density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we assign the observed terahertz absorption peaks to the vibrational modes of the formed NaCl⋅2H2O hydrate during cooling. This work dedicates THz-TDS based analysis great potential in studying ionic hydrate and the newly revealed collective vibrational modes could be the sensitive indicators to achieve quantitative analysis in phase transitions and lattice dynamics
Biomechanical measures of short-term maximal cycling on an ergometer: a test-retest study
Get PDFThis is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Sports Biomechanics on 11-8-2020, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/14763141.2020.1773916An understanding of test-retest reliability is important for biomechanists, such as when assessing the longitudinal effect of training or equipment interventions. Our aim was to quantify the test-retest reliability of biomechanical variables measured during short-term maximal cycling. Fourteen track sprint cyclists performed 3 x 4 s seated sprints at 135 rpm on an isokinetic ergometer, repeating the session 7.6 ± 2.5 days later. Joint moments were calculated via inverse dynamics, using pedal forces and limb kinematics. EMG activity was measured for 9 lower limb muscles. Reliability was explored by quantifying systematic and random differences within- and between-session. Within-session reliability was better than between-sessions reliability. The test-retest reliability level was typically moderate to excellent for the biomechanical variables that describe maximal cycling. However, some variables, such as peak knee flexion moment and maximum hip joint power, demonstrated lower reliability, indicating that care needs to be taken when using these variables to evaluate biomechanical changes. Although measurement error (instrumentation error, anatomical marker misplacement, soft tissue artefacts) can explain some of our reliability observations, we speculate that biological variability may also be a contributor to the lower repeatability observed in several variables including ineffective crank force, ankle kinematics and hamstring muscles’ activation patterns
No Windup: Paolo Bacigalupi’s Novel Bodily Economies of the Anthropocene
Get PDFJust as it looms large in contemporary consciousness, the figure of the Anthropocene dominates the speculative fiction of the Hugo and Nebula award winning author Paolo Bacigalupi. The post-apocalyptic and post-capitalist settings common to Bacigalupi’s oeuvre do not merely seek to depict unsettling Anthropocene landscapes. Rather, Bacigalupi’s speculative fiction vicariously demonstrates the crucial role that embodiment plays, and will continue to play, in determining the impact of the Anthropocene upon human life. Our bodies, his works propose, are both the fabric upon which the horrors of the Anthropocene will be written, and the means by which we can learn to adapt to the rigors of our rapidly shifting planetary environment. As such, Bacigalupi’s works propose a range of novel bodily economies, which are just as much potential alternatives to the damaging neoliberal ideologies of our contemporary world as they are statements of impending social upheaval and widespread human suffering. Through the textual analysis of a cross-section of Bacigalupi’s works, this article demonstrates his emphasis upon the urgency and importance of our own societies learning to construct and implement alternate economic paradigms
Case Histories in Business Ethics by Megone, C. & Robinson, S. J., Book Review
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Entrepreneurs and Friendship: the ties of Mutuality
No full textBook ChapterThe purpose of this paper is to present theoretically informed research into the significance of business friendships for entrepreneurs. The importance of social ties for economic success has been examined in depth from a number of academic perspectives. For example from a business ethics perspective, Jonathan Schonsheck has taken Aristotle’s classical analysis to argue that business friendships are an example of ‘incomplete friendships
for utility’ (2000, pp. 897-910). Laura Spence has also argued that business friendships offer a positive contribution to
the well-being of actors (2004). Network theory literature, which is extensive (see Nitin & Eccles, 1990, for an overview), has also considered business friendships and there is a further subset of network research focusing on entrepreneurial processes from a social network viewpoint (Blundel & Smith, 2001; O’Donnel, 2004; Shaw & Conway, 2000, pp. 367-383). Moreover, Mark Granovetter’s seminal article ‘The strength of weak ties’ (1973) can be thought of as theorising business friendships in network terms. Additional related research fields, such as social capital theory (Castiglione et al, 2008), have also considered the significance of social ties (business friendships) for success in the marketplace
The Application of Critical Power, the Work Capacity above Critical Power (W'), and its Reconstitution: A Narrative Review of Current Evidence and Implications for Cycling Training Prescription
Get PDFThe two-parameter critical power (CP) model is a robust mathematical interpretation of
the power–duration relationship, with CP being the rate associated with the maximal aerobic steady
state, and W' the fixed amount of tolerable work above CP available without any recovery. The aim
of this narrative review is to describe the CP concept and the methodologies used to assess it, and
to summarize the research applying it to intermittent cycle training techniques. CP and W' are
traditionally assessed using a number of constant work rate cycling tests spread over several days.
Alternatively, both the 3-min all-out and ramp all-out protocols provide valid measurements of CP
and W' from a single test, thereby enhancing their suitability to athletes and likely reducing errors
associated with the assumptions of the CP model. As CP represents the physiological landmark that
is the boundary between heavy and severe intensity domains, it presents several advantages over the
de facto arbitrarily defined functional threshold power as the basis for cycle training prescription
at intensities up to CP. For intensities above CP, precise prescription is not possible based solely
on aerobic measures; however, the addition of the W' parameter does facilitate the prescription of
individualized training intensities and durations within the severe intensity domain. Modelling of W'
reconstitution extends this application, although more research is needed to identify the individual
parameters that govern W' reconstitution rates and their kinetic
‘Even if you don’t care…you do care after all’: ‘Othering’ and physical education in Norway
Get PDFRøset L, Green K, Thurston M. (2020). ‘Even if you don’t care…you do care after all’: ‘Othering’ and physical education in Norway. European Physical Education Review, 26(3), 622-641. Copyright © [2020] (Copyright Holder). Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.In the past decade or more, improving young people’s mental health has been identified as a priority for policy-makers in many countries, including Norway. Physical education (PE), as a setting for physical activity, is increasingly viewed as having a potentially significant role to play in addressing mental health among the young. This paper reports the findings from a study of 148 Norwegian youngsters (68 girls and 80 boys) from the 10th grade (15-16 year olds) in eight secondary schools in Norway in 2017. It explores Norwegian youngsters’ experiences of PE in relation to aspects of their mental health – specifically, being judged and, by extension, ‘othered’. The findings suggest that PE may undoubtedly serve to generate positive feelings associated with physical activity and games and, in doing so, bolster some youngsters’ self-esteem and self-identities. On the other hand, however, for those less competent in sporting terms, and whose bodily self-image is not particularly positive, the public nature of PE and the nature of the activities that constitute the subject can give rise to unplanned and unintended harm to some youngsters’ mental health – especially in countries, such as Norway, where sport is a significant aspect of the group habitus and collective ‘we-group’ identity
Nicotinamide restricts neural precursor proliferation to enhance catecholaminergic neuronal subtype differentiation from mouse embryonic stem cells
Get PDFEmerging evidence indicates that a strong relationship exists between brain regenerative therapies and nutrition. Early life nutrition plays an important role during embryonic brain development, and there are clear consequences to an imbalance in nutritional factors on both the production and survival of mature neuronal populations and the infant’s risk of diseases in later life. Our research and that of others suggest that vitamins play a fundamental role in the formation of neurons and their survival. There is a growing body of evidence that nicotinamide, the water-soluble amide form of vitamin B3, is implicated in the conversion of pluripotent stem cells to clinically relevant cells for regenerative therapies. This study investigated the ability of nicotinamide to promote the development of mature catecholaminergic neuronal populations (associated with Parkinson’s disease) from mouse embryonic stem cells, as well as investigating the underlying mechanisms of nicotinamide’s action. Nicotinamide selectively enhanced the production of tyrosine hydroxylase-expressing neurons and serotonergic neurons from mouse embryonic stem cell cultures (Sox1GFP knock-in 46C cell line). A 5-Ethynyl-2´-deoxyuridine (EdU) assay ascertained that nicotinamide, when added in the initial phase, reduced cell proliferation. Nicotinamide drove tyrosine hydroxylase-expressing neuron differentiation as effectively as an established cocktail of signalling factors, reducing the proliferation of neural progenitors and accelerating neuronal maturation, neurite outgrowth and neurotransmitter expression. These novel findings show that nicotinamide enhanced and enriched catecholaminergic differentiation and inhibited cell proliferation by directing cell cycle arrest in mouse embryonic stem cell cultures, thus driving a critical neural proliferation-to-differentiation switch from neural progenitors to neurons. Further research into the role of vitamin metabolites in embryogenesis will significantly advance cell-based regenerative medicine, and help realize their role as crucial developmental signalling molecules in brain development
A review of stress-management interventions for the oncology nursing workforce: what do we know and what should we be doing differently?
Get PDFOncology nurses are at risk of chronic stress. In this narrative review we provide an overview of stress-management intervention studies for oncology nurses, and suggest that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy/Training (ACT) provides a better intervention framework due to the relevance of underpinning therapeutic processes (e.g. acceptance, mindfulness, values clarification) to the role and stress-related experiences of this workforce population. Current evidence for stress management intervention effectiveness varies, with few studies describing how theory informs intervention content, or justifying why they should benefit this population specifically. ACT lends itself to data-driven intervention development, thus potentially addressing some methodological limitations in this field. Only one trial has tested ACT in this population, reporting only partial effects. Further empirical research is required given (a) the applicability of ACT for this population and context, and (b) the associated advantages of brief and/or group delivery to address known barriers to participating in stress-management interventions
Book review: Political corruption in Africa: Extraction and power preservation , Inge Amundsen (2019, Ed) Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, UK. 224 pages, ISBN number 1788972511, 9781788972512
Get PDFThis is the peer reviewed version of the following article: [Robberts, T. (2020). Book review: Political corruption in Africa: Extraction and power preservation [Review of the book Political corruption in Africa: Extraction and power preservation by I. Amundsen]. Journal of Public Affairs, 20(4), e2180], which has been published in final form at [https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2180]. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited
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