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Reconstruction and 36Cl based geochronology of the deglaciation of central Ireland
Full text linkThis paper presents geomorphological and geochronological evidence for ice sheet oscillations during the deglaciation of the last Irish Ice Sheet. Cosmogenic exposure age results (36Cl ages; n = 18) demonstrate that the ice margin had retreated into central Ireland by c. 19 ka, with ice restricted to the uplands west of the River Shannon by c. 16.7 ka. These dates are consistent with dated ice margins on the east coast of Ireland. The geomorphological evidence points to streaming ice draining eastward within the Irish interior and a transition from streaming to surging ice dynamics during recession, as the ice sheet split into separate lobes. Up to four substantial, non-synchronous readvances of individual lobes over several kilometres are observed. These were in part caused by surging behaviour in the ice sheet, indicating the role of internal disequilibria in local to regional-scale advances. Despite the existence of an extensive proglacial ice-contact lake, Palaeolake Riada, which formed at the ice margin during retreat into the Shannon drainage basin, cosmogenic exposure age results demonstrate that water submersion did not affect surface exposure ages obtained from glacial boulders, indicating that the ice contact lake existed for too short a time span to have had an effect on boulder exposure ages. A key finding is that the ice retreat into central Ireland was earlier than in some parts of Britain, such as eastern Scotland, and highlights the complexity of the glacial record across Great Britain and Ireland
Managerial tone and audit outcomes: Do information environment and governance monitoring matter?
No full textThis study examines the relationship between managerial tone and audit outcomes. We employ 42,250 firm-year observations from United States non-financial firms from 2000 through 2020. Our results show that firms with a more positive managerial tone in their 10-K filings tend to experience more favorable audit outcomes. This is evidenced by fewer financial restatements, fewer adverse opinions on the strength of internal controls, lower audit fees, less audit effort, and fewer going concern opinions. We also find that such favorable impacts are more pronounced in financially non-distressed firms, thereby reinforcing the credibility of the positive managerial tone as perceived by auditors. Our main findings are robust across various sensitivity tests and alternative variable approaches. Our analysis also suggests that the relationship between managerial tone and audit outcomes is more pronounced for firms with a poorer quality information environment and weaker governance monitoring. Finally, our findings suggest that a positive managerial tone is negatively associated with both earnings management and the likelihood of whistleblowing, which in turn have a positive influence on audit outcomes. Overall, our study contributes to the literature and practice by demonstrating the significant role that client-firm managerial tone plays in audit outcomes
Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface-Enabled Vehicular Networks: A Physical Layer Security Perspective
Full text linkThis study focuses on the physical layer security (PLS) performance of a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS)-aided vehicular communication network. Motivated by the great potential of RIS-based transmission, we analyze the PLS performance of two scenarios of vehicular networks (both of which have an eavesdropper present): i) vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication when the source employs a RIS-based access point and ii) vehicular adhoc network (VANET) where a RIS-based relay mounted on a building. The performance of the proposed systems are evaluated in terms of the average secrecy capacity (ASC) and the secrecy outage probability (SOP). We present accurate analytical expressions for the two performance metrics and study the impact of various system parameters on the overall performance of the two considered system configurations. In order to validate the analysis, we provide Monte-Carlo simulations throughout the paper. The results demonstrate that the system performance is impacted by various parameters such as the number of RIS elements as well as the location of the RIS-relay. Moreover, up to an order magnitude gain could be achieved within certain regions when the number of RIS cells are doubled, clearly indicating the benefit of employing a RIS configuration
Similar performance and muscle adaptations between intervals with and without blood flow restriction in well-trained cyclists
Full text linkBackground: Blood flow restriction (BFR) allows exercise at lower external load with similar or greater improvements compared with traditional training in non-trained individuals. However, the effect in well-trained competitive athletes is unclear. The aim of this study was to compare effort-matched high-intensity interval training (HIIT) microcycles performed with or without BFR on endurance performance and muscular adaptations in well-trained cyclists. Methods: 17 well-trained cyclists (31 ± 9 years; VO2max: 67 ± 6ml×kg-1×min-1) were randomized to groups performing five HIIT sessions (6 x 5 min intervals with 2.5 min of recovery) with (BFR) or without (HIIT) thigh cuffs occluding the legs. VO2max, power output at 4 mmoL/L blood lactate (LT4), mean power output during 5-minute maximal cycling (MPO5min), percentage of VO2max used at LT4 (%VO2max @LT4), haemoglobin mass and blood volume (BV) were assessed. Muscle biopsies from m. vastus lateralis evaluated muscle cross-sectional area (CSA), capillaries, citrate synthase (CS), Hydroxyacyl-Coenzyme A dehydrogenase (HADH) and cytochrome c oxidase 4 (COX4). Results: The BFR group trained at a 42% lower power output than HIIT group (177±3 W vs 307±8 W, respectively, p<0.01), but with no differences in heart rate or rate of perceived exertion. Both groups improved MPO5min by ⁓4%, with no changes in LT4, VO2max, haemoglobin mass and BV. HIIT showed a significant reduction in CSA for type 2 muscle fibers compared with BFR, whereas no changes were found in the other muscle analyses. Conclusions: BFR applied during a 6-day interval microcycle provides similar performance gains as traditional HIIT in well-trained cyclists
Sprint speed testing in a national rugby union academy: an equivalence study of three measurement systems, age, and playing position
No full textReducing semiconductor optical Amplifier’s non-linearity through probabilistic amplitude shaping of optical QAM signal
Full text linkOptical communication is an efficient technology for high-speed, long-distance data transmission. Semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) are particularly promising for optical signal amplification in O-band transmission due to their compact size, low power consumption, and ease of integration into photonic networks. However, SOA-based systems suffer from nonlinear impairments, which degrade signal quality, especially at higher amplification levels. These nonlinear effects arise from changes in the intrinsic properties of the SOA’s waveguide material, such as refractive index variations, when subjected to high optical field intensities. In this paper, we investigate the potential of probabilistic amplitude shaping (PAS) as a signal-shaping technique to mitigate SOA-induced nonlinearities. PAS leverages a non-uniform probability distribution of constellation points (e.g., QAM symbols) to reduce the average transmit power while maintaining the same information rate. Our simulation results demonstrate that applying PAS to standard QAM signals significantly improves received signal quality, as measured by bit error rate (BER), error vector magnitude (EVM), and mutual information (MI), compared to conventional uniform QAM signaling. Furthermore, forward error correction (FEC) is employed to further enhance the system performance
Feminising diplomatic work: Driving devaluation?
Full text linkWhile the growing representation of women in diplomacy is often celebrated, scholarship on occupational feminisation warns that feminisation can trigger a devaluation of professional work. This article focuses on two conditions identified as inhibitors of such devaluation – the overall status of the occupation and the value accorded to female labour within the occupation – and traces how these two conditions have varied over time and interacted with feminisation in diplomatic work. We contend that in the transition from a classical to a polylateral mode of diplomacy, feminisation has not led to devaluation, as it coincided with an increase in the status of diplomatic work and reinforced the salience of ‘feminine’ skills. However, currently, the rise of populism is undermining these safeguards against devaluation in diplomatic work by constraining the autonomy of diplomats and delegitimising their expert knowledge. To illustrate these dynamics, the article examines the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (TMFA). We show that the growing diversification and ambition of Turkish foreign policy in the 2000s enhanced the status of diplomatic work and the value of female labour in it. However, by the mid-2010s, these safeguards against devaluation for a more gender-equal TMFA have weakened in the populist–authoritarian political context. Thus, in the context of rising populism in Turkey as well as globally, it is imperative for initiatives to increase women’s representation to be accompanied by strategies that preserve and elevate the status of diplomatic work
Mothers’ eating disorder history and mother and infant attention to food during infant meal times: a candidate for intergenerational transmission of eating disorder behaviours
Full text linkIntroduction: There is evidence to suggest that individuals with eating disorders (EDs) show differences in attention to food compared to those without eating disorders. Children of mothers with eating disorders are at an elevated risk of developing an eating disorder themselves. One potential intergenerational pathway may be that parents, and then infants, pay more attention to food in interactions, which in turn mediates transmission of disordered eating behaviours, particularly those during feeding and mealtimes. No study has investigated whether mothers’ ED behaviour history is associated with maternal and infant attention to food during infant feeding interactions. Methods: Mothers and 7-month-old infants from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children Generation-2 provided video footage of mother–infant feeding interactions filmed at home using head cameras. Feeding interactions were coded for mothers’ and infants’ visual attention using a micro-behavioural observational coding system. Outcomes were the mothers’ and infants’ proportion duration (of the entire feeding interaction) spent looking at food. Mothers’ ED behaviour history was assessed at age 25 years using the Youth Risk Behaviour Surveillance System questionnaire, from which a binary Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition, disordered eating variable was generated. Linear regression testing associations between mothers’ ED behaviour history and mother and infant attention to food were adjusted for infants’ sex, age, and birth order, and mothers’ age, education, and employment. Results: In 98 mother–infant dyads, mothers’ ED behaviour history was associated with longer proportion duration of infants’ looking at food during mealtimes [estimate = 0.59 (0.19, 0.99), p = 0.004], corresponding to a 20% difference in time spent looking at food for infants of mothers with an ED behaviour history compared to those without. There was no association between ED behaviour history and mothers’ attention to food. Conclusions: Increased infant looking time to food during feeding may indicate a preoccupation with food. This preoccupation could be a reflection of ED behaviours being modelled to offspring by mothers or early behavioural markers of shared genetic risk for EDs. Support for mother–infant dyads with an ED history could target guiding mothers’ and infants’ attention (via video feedback, for example) to non-food-related activities to minimise any impact on the mothers’ relationship with the infant or the infants’ relationship with food. Lay summary: Children of mothers with EDs are at an elevated risk of developing an eating disorder themselves. One potential pathway of transmission of eating disordered behaviour from mother to offspring may be through behaviours shown during feeding and mealtimes. Existing evidence suggests that individuals with eating disorders show differences in attention to food compared to those without eating disorders, but no study had examined attention to food in mother-infant interactions. Using naturalistic observations of feeding at home, we showed that the infants of mothers with an eating disorder history showed increased attention to food during mealtimes. This provides preliminary evidence that attentional patterns during feeding interactions could be sensible targets for intervention
Mapping the landscape of sustainable innovation performance: a bibliometric analysis
Full text linkSustainable innovation performance (SIP) represents the ability of a firm to generate innovation that simultaneously advances economic, environmental, and social objectives. Despite growing scholarly attention, the conceptual boundaries, theoretical foundations, and intellectual structure of SIP remain disintegrated. This study conducts a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of 646 articles indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection to map the evolution, dominant theoretical lenses, and emerging research themes within the SIP domain. Using Bibliometrix (RStudio) and VOSviewer, the study identifies four major knowledge clusters: green innovation capabilities, environmental management and eco-efficiency, digital and technological transformation for sustainability, and stakeholder-driven and institution-driven sustainability strategies. The findings reveal that SIP research is grounded primarily in the resource-based view, dynamic capabilities, stakeholder theory, and institutional theory; where each offers complementary explanations for how firms build and deploy capabilities to achieve sustainability outcomes. The study also uncovers the key thematic gaps that include limited integration of social sustainability dimensions and underexplored capability-based mechanisms that links the green resource capabilities firms to SIP. Overall, this review offers a structured synthesis of the field, elucidates its conceptual foundations, and provides a theoretically informed agenda for future research