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“Crime and Punishment”: the effect of antagonistic personality traits on punitive attitudes and offender dehumanization
No full textThis study examined the relationships between antagonistic personality, Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA), Social Dominance Orientation (SDO), punitive attitudes, and offender dehumanization across Romanian and UK samples. Using a network approach, Study 1 (N = 636) found a negative correlation between psychopathy and punitive attitudes in Romania but not in the UK, while psychopathy showed high centrality in both samples. Study 2 (N = 679) tested whether primary (PPS) and secondary psychopathy (SPS) predict offender identification and dehumanization across offender traits and crime types. The results showed that PPS consistently predict identification in both countries, while a three-way interaction in Romania indicated that PPS negatively predicts dehumanization for violent offenders and those with psychopathic traits in white-collar crimes, while neither RWA nor SDO mediate the path between PPS and dehumanization. SPS predicts identification in Romania but not in the UK. These findings advance theory on the relationships between punitive attitudes and antagonistic personality, especially psychology. In particular, they challenge the assumption that psychopathy uniformly and positively predicts harsher punishment and dehumanization, highlighting the need for distinguishing between psychopathy subtypes and context-sensitive approaches in research and practice.<br/
Adherence to the Healthy Eating Guidelines in the MyPlanetDiet study is associated with healthier and more sustainable diets
No full textEnvironmental impacts of food systems have stimulated research to examine how to create healthy diets that will be more sustainable while meeting nutrient requirements. Increasing compliance with existing food-based dietary guidelines in most jurisdictions could be a first step to improve health and reduce environmental impact. MyPlanetDiet was an all-Ireland 12-week randomised controlled trial designed to inform sustainable healthy dietary guidelines. Healthy adults ( n 355) aged 18-64 years with moderate-to-high greenhouse gas emitting (GHGE) diets were recruited from three study sites on the island of Ireland. The aim of this research is to assess the relationship between dietary intakes, diet-related environmental impacts and metabolic health using baseline data collected during the MyPlanetDiet study. Dietary assessments collected using Foodbook24 were used to calculate diet-related GHGE, adherence to healthy eating guidelines (HEG) and healthy eating index (HEI) score. Anthropometrics and metabolic health markers (e.g. lipids, glucose and insulin) were included. Overall HEG adherence was low, with 43 % meeting zero or one HEG food group recommendations. Adherence to 4 + HEG food group targets was associated with 31 % lower diet-related GHGE compared with those with lowest adherence. Higher HEG adherence was associated with lower BMI and waist circumference and higher HEI scores. While our findings suggest HEG adherence is associated with positive health and environmental impacts, substantial behaviour change will be needed to meet existing HEG. Further research is needed to assess response and acceptability to HEG. However, adherence to HEG may be an important first step to reducing the environmental impact of food consumption. </p
Joint secure and covert communications for active STAR-RIS assisted ISAC systems
No full textThis paper investigates the design of jointly supporting physical layer security (PLS) and covert communications (CCs) in an active simultaneously transmitting and reflecting reconfigurable intelligent surface (a-STAR-RIS) assisted integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) system. Due to the unified waveform design of ISAC signals, we consider a challenging scenario with two targets being suspicious attackers, where one warden target potentially detects the confidential transmission behavior of covert users and another eavesdropper target attempts to intercept the broadcasted confidential information of security users. We investigate the joint beamforming design at the base station (BS) and the a-STAR-RIS to achieve a high-quality sensing beampattern while meeting covertness and security communication requirements. (1) For the ideal scenario with perfect channel state information (CSI) and precise target locations, we propose an alternative optimization (AO) method to address the optimization problem involving highly coupled variables. Specifically, the optimal beamforming design at the BS is handled using the semi-definite relaxation (SDR) technique, while the beamforming design at the a-STAR-RIS is addressed through a penalty-based iterative algorithm. (2) A more practical case with uncertain target locations and imperfect CSI is considered to achieve a robust beamforming design, where the non-deterministic outage probability constraints are effectively transformed by employing the Bernstein-type inequality. Numerical results demonstrate the superiority of the a-STAR-RIS over the baseline cases and certify that the proposed algorithms can effectively balance the tradeoff among the sensing quality, covert and secure communication requirements. Besides, results also show that the proposed robust beamforming scheme can construct adequate sensing beampattern, even with imperfect CSI and uncertain target locations
Food and health professionals and aspirant professionals’ knowledge, attitude, and practices related to the risks and benefits of dietary patterns: A structural equation modelling approach in three European countries
No full textThis study examined how the risk-benefit knowledge of food and health professionals and aspirant professionals regarding meat and legume consumption and their attitudes towards dietary patterns (flexitarian, omnivore, vegetarian, vegan) influence their dietary practices related to plant-based foods. Through an online survey with 750 respondents from Italy, Romania, and Northern Ireland we applied a knowledge-attitude-practice (KAP) format and analyzed the data using regression and structural equation modelling (SEM). SEM revealed that knowledge on the risks and benefits of meat and legumes consumption had a negative effect on consumers’ dietary patterns (β = -0.24 -> -0.37). The attitudes of omnivores and flexitarians positively influenced dietary practices (β = 0.27–0.54) whereas the attitudes of vegetarians and vegans had no significant effect, except for Italian consumers (β = 0.14). As informed consumers, food and health professionals serve as a best-case scenario, yet their knowledge does not align with their practices. Increasing risk-benefit awareness of dietary patterns could help consumers make informed decisions about embracing a sustainable diet and be in line with the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Based on consumers KAP, targeted dietary education and risk reduction interventions can improve public health outcomes and reduce health burden.</p
Traditional and ethnic foods in the context of 'one health': Bridging heritage and innovation for a sustainable future
No full textThe modern era is witnessing a profound shift towards sustainable practices and a holistic approach to human well-being, encapsulated in the "One Health" concept that integrates human, animal, and environmental health. Food systems play a pivotal role in this transition, and traditional and ethnic foods, deeply rooted in cultural heritage, are emerging as powerful tools to address contemporary challenges. This special issue, titled Traditional and Ethnic Foods in the Context of "One Health," aims to generate new knowledge, exchange perspectives, and inspire innovative research on the role of traditional and ethnic foods in a rapidly changing global landscape. As Editors of this special issue, it has been a privilege to curate a collection of 26 articles that explore the intersection of tradition, innovation, and sustainability. These contributions highlight the potential of traditional and ethnic foods to promote health, preserve cultural heritage, and contribute to sustainable food systems. Together, they offer a compelling vision for the future of food science and nutrition. The articles in this special issue are grouped into four thematic clusters, each addressing critical aspects of traditional and ethnic foods within the "One Health" framework. These themes reflect the diversity and depth of the research presented and underscore the transformative potential of these foods
Isolation and culture of primary pericytes from mouse
No full textPericytes are essential for tissue homeostasis, functioning to regulate capillary blood flow. Dysfunctional pericytes are implicated in various pathologies, including cancer progression. Despite their important function in both health and disease, pericytes remain understudied due to a lack of robust model systems that accurately reflect their in vivo biology. Here, we present a comprehensive protocol for isolating and culturing primary pericytes from murine lung, brain, bone, and liver tissues, based on NG2 expression using an antibody-conjugated magnetic bead approach. Our protocol emphasizes the importance of physiological oxygen tension during ex vivo culture (10% O 2 for lung pericytes and 5% O 2 for brain, bone, and liver pericytes). These conditions stabilize the expression of characteristic pericyte markers at both the transcriptional and protein levels. Importantly, we optimized growth conditions to limit the expression of the plasticity factor Klf4 in order to prevent spontaneous phenotypic switching in vitro. This protocol provides a reliable and reproducible method for obtaining pericytes suitable for high-throughput analyses in order to explore pericyte biology in both physiological and pathological contexts. Key features • Isolation of primary pericytes from mouse lung, brain, bone, and liver. • Emphasis on physioxic culturing conditions to better maintain pericyte phenotype. • Representative of pericyte biology in both health and disease contexts. </p
Risk of hypothyroidism in meat-eaters, fish-eaters, and vegetarians: a population-based prospective study
No full textBACKGROUND: Plant-based diets are gaining popularity due to their well-documented cardiometabolic benefits and environmental sustainability. However, these diets are often lower in specific micronutrients such as iodine, raising concerns about their potential impact on thyroid health. Therefore, we examined the associations between plant-based diets and the risk of hypothyroidism.METHODS: We analysed data from the UK (United Kingdom) Biobank cohort. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for incident hypothyroidism across vegans, vegetarians, pescatarians, poultry-eaters, low meat-eaters, and high meat-eaters aged 40-69 years. Ancillary to this, we carried out logistic regression analyses to evaluate associations between the diet groups and prevalent hypothyroidism according to International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes at baseline.RESULTS: We included 466,362 individuals from the UK Biobank, of which 220,514 followed a high meat, 221,554 a low meat, 5242 a poultry-based, 10,598 a pescatarian, 8057 a vegetarian, and 397 a vegan diet. During a median SD (Standard Deviation) follow-up of 12.7 (± 3.2) years, 10,831 participants developed hypothyroidism. In multivariable Cox regression models without adjustment for body mass index (BMI), none of the diets were significantly associated with the risk of hypothyroidism. However, there was a tendency for a higher risk of hypothyroidism among vegetarians compared to people following a high meat diet (HR = 1.13, 95% CI 0.98-1.30). After controlling for BMI, a potential collider, the association for vegetarians (HR = 1.23, 95% CI 1.07-1.42) became stronger and statistically significant. Furthermore, we observed a positive association between low meat-eaters (OR = 1.05, 95% CI 1.03-1.08), poultry-eaters (OR = 1.15, 95% CI 1.04-1.28), pescatarians (OR = 1.10, 95% CI 1.01-1.19) and vegetarian (OR = 1.26, 95% CI 1.15-1.38) with hypothyroidism prevalence.CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, we found a moderately higher risk of hypothyroidism among vegetarians, after controlling for BMI, a potential collider. This slightly higher risk of hypothyroidism among vegetarians requires further investigation, taking iodine status and thyroid hormone levels into account.</p
Beamforming Based on DRL for STAR-RIS Aided Cell-Free Massive MIMO Network
No full textThe cell-free massive multiple-input multiple-output (CF mMIMO) network is emerging as an innovative technology that utilizes numerous access points (APs) distributed across a region to provide services for users through coherent transmission and reception. To enhance the coverage of the CF mMIMO network, we introduce simultaneously transmitting and reflecting reconfigurable intelligent surface (STAR-RIS) into the CF mMIMO network. In the STAR-RIS aided CF mMIMO network, beamforming for the downlink of mobile users becomes exceptionally complex and challenging. Therefore, we propose a beamforming algorithm based on soft actor-critic (SAC), which can jointly optimize the beamforming of APs and phase shifts and amplitude coefficients of STAR-RISs. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed SAC-based beamforming algorithm significantly maximizes the sum-rate of the STAR-RIS aided CF mMIMO network, outperforming the no STAR-RIS aided CF mMIMO network in terms of meeting quality of service (QoS) requirement.</p
Northern Ireland 2024
No full textUnless otherwise indicated all information is accurate as of 31 December 202
‘Hug-a-hoods’, ‘Ra men’ and ‘touts’: legitimizing restorative justice to the community in Northern Ireland
No full textAlthough restorative justice organizations in Northern Ireland are now integral parts of the post-conflict landscape and are widely viewed as ‘respectable’, they faced significant initial challenges in gaining local legitimacy. Using a case study approach, this article explores the three primary critiques faced by a local restorative justice organization in West Belfast and the strategies undertaken to counter them. The paper argues that by examining these tactics—including legitimizing restorative approaches, legitimizing the organization and its staff and legitimizing relationships with state agencies—this example offers general lessons for community-based organizations. As such, this case study provides restorative justice schemes and non-state actors with techniques for building legitimacy and respectability at the community level.<br/