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Time course of Quadriceps thickness changes over six months post-anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction:Unveiling critical impairments in vastii muscles
No full textVastii muscle adaptation caused by Quadriceps weakness observed after an Anterior Cruciate Ligament reconstruction (ACLr) remain debatable. We described the time course of changes in Quadriceps thickness, strength, and thigh circumference over six months following an ACLr. Quadriceps thicknesses, Quadriceps strength, and thigh circumference were measured preoperative, 3, and 6 months post-ACLr surgery in 103 patients (77 men and 26 women). Limbs and time were compared with repeated-measures ANOVA and the Intra-class correlation coefficient was determined ( α =5 %). From 0 to 3 months post-surgery, Quadriceps strength (p < 0.05), and VI (p < 0.05) and VL (p < 0.001) thicknesses were reduced. From 3 to 6 months, Quadriceps strength (p < 0.05), total Quadriceps thickness (p < 0.001), and VI (p < 0.001) and VL (p < 0.05) thicknesses increased. VM and RF thicknesses increase to 3 months after ACLr (p < 0.05). Quadriceps strength, circumference at 5 cm, VI, VL, VM, and total Quadriceps thickness remain lower than the contralateral limb 6 months following an ACLr (p < 0.05). Quadriceps thickness adapts heterogeneously, with VI and VL atrophying for up to three months, developing the highest Quadriceps weakness. By 6 months, VI does not recover its thickness proportion, and VI and VL do not return to pre-surgery conditions. Both vastii muscles align with Quadriceps strength changes over six months posterior ACLr
Corporate “Greening” and Innovation:A Reinterpretation Based on Historical Immortals
No full textWe distinguish and explore how two distinct types of green externalities—the Porter hypothesis (PH) effect and the greenwashing effect—would interact with corruption-induced rent-seeking effect to shape corporate innovation, based on negative binomial models fitted on 22,589 observations. Having first established a positive contemporaneous association between greenwashing and innovation, we invoke path dependence by instrumenting corporate greenwashing with geographical proximity measures derived from the cultural origins of 321 historical “nature-integrated” immortals. Likewise, we use historical cronyism networks to instrument corporate rent seeking. We identify a novel positive greenwashing externality, alongside the conventional PH effect and the rent-seeking effect. This suggests that perceived “greenwashing” may actually reflect corporate green championing behaviors in China, significantly influenced by local sociocultural factors. However, the interaction between the two green externalities and the rent-seeking effect is negative, indicating that high rent-seeking intensity may dampen the positive induced innovation effects
Potential for scientific drilling of sediment drifts adjacent to Denmark Strait oceanic gateway
Get PDFDenmark Strait between Greenland and Iceland is an important gateway within the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation system. Flow of bottom water through Denmark Strait, called Denmark Strait Overflow Water (DSOW), carries over half of deep Arctic-to-Atlantic flow at present but cannot be reconstructed directly from existing or proposed sediment cores for times prior to 240 thousand years. Here we assess whether sedimentary contourite drifts in Denmark Strait might be used to reconstruct a complete DSOW record, which exceeds 10 million years. Within the Blosseville Basin in the north of Denmark Strait lies a previously undescribed contourite drift that we name the Freydis Drift, of likely early Miocene-Recent age and up to about 1350 m thick. On the southern flank of the Greenland-Iceland Ridge and in the northern Irminger Basin lies the Snorri Drift, which is thinner and has more complex structure than Freydis Drift. By drilling Freydis Drift, there is good potential for recovering a continuous early Miocene-Recent sedimentary succession, with mean solid sedimentation rate comparable with the Eirík Drift to the south, that would show when Denmark Strait opened and the history of fluctuations in DSOW thereafter. A seismic site survey is required to fully realize this goal
Transmission-distance Limits of Gap Waveguide Technologies for 6G Applications
No full textThis study evaluates the feasibility of gap waveguides (GWs) for 6G applications within the International Telecommunication Union’s recommended 275–325 GHz band, addressing the critical need for high-capacity, energy-efficient waveguiding solutions at sub mmWave frequencies. We design ridge, groove, mushroom, and microstrip GW technologies for single-mode propagation at a center frequency of 300 GHz, investigating their transmission-distance limits through capacity and energy efficiency analyses that account for dispersion and attenuation. Our findings uniquely demonstrate that mushroom and microstrip GWs meet 6G requirements—achieving a peak data rate of 1 Tbps and energy efficiency below 1 pJ/b—up to a maximum length of 10 mm, outperforming traditional waveguide technologies in this frequency range. This work not only provides a foundational framework for GW design in 6G systems but also highlights their practical relevance for enabling ultra-high-speed, low-power communications, paving the way for future advancements in sub mmWave technology
The dynamic identity formation of sexual minority adolescents:a constructivist grounded theory of adversity and resilience
No full textSexual Minority Adolescents (SMAs) are more likely to experience mental health problems than heterosexual adolescents. This has been observed across geographical and socio-political contexts. Within the UK, minimal work has explored SMA’s experience of navigating their sexuality and experiences of adversity and resilience. A constructivist grounded theory approach was adopted. Data were gathered in 2021, from 17 semi-structured interviews with a gender diverse sample aged 16–25. The Dynamic Identity Formation Sexual Minority (DIFS) theory was generated via analysis of participant narrative and informed by existing sociopsychological models (e.g. ecological systems theory). DIFS is a sociopsychological theory, with three tiers (cultures, enactment and experience). The cultures of heteronormativity and gender binarism, and the culture of queerness sit atop. Each culture is enacted by behaviors, i.e. othering and suppression. The final tier is individual experience, which can include internalized homonegativity and/or developing a commitment to supporting others. DIFS helps understand the discrete and interacting influence of sociological structures, interpersonal relationships and psychological experiences over developmental time. Thus, a more holistic and targeted intervention approach can be utilized by psychotherapists with this group. Extra inclusivity efforts towards non-heterosexual relationships are likely to be effective in variant settings, e.g. the education system.</p
Methodological review reveals essential gaps and inconsistencies in clinical claims, effects and outcomes in HTA reviews of diagnostic tests
No full textBackground and Objective: Essential first steps in performing a health technology assessment (HTA) for a diagnostic test include consideration of the clinical pathway in which the test will be used, specifying the clinical claim for the test (how the test may add benefit, introduce harm, or have other disadvantages beyond impact on the individual patient) and specifying the outcomes that would need to be measured to assess whether the test achieves its aims. We aimed to examine how a test evaluation framework (TEF) outlining the intended and unintended effects of tests could support the HTA process and to identify additional ways in which tests add benefit or introduce harm.Method: We included 45 HTAs reporting 50 review questions. The study focused on HTA reports with a full English-language evidence review, clear methods and results sections, and evaluations of a single testing strategy or technology type. We looked for mechanisms of effect included in, and additional to, a TEF previously published by our group.Results: The clinical pathway and positioning of the new test were described in 98% of review questions (49/50) and illustrated in 62% (31/50). The test's clinical claims were easily identifiable in 56% (28/50). Claims, mechanisms of effect, and prespecified outcomes were frequently not coherent. For instance, at least one constituent test effect mechanism (mainly timing- and confidence-related mechanisms) could not be linked to prespecified outcomes in 54% of reviews. Most HTAs (41, 82%) listed outcomes to be evaluated in the evidence reviews that we were unable to link to the claims for the tests (acceptability of the test, test failures, accuracy, therapeutic yield, and effectiveness).Four mechanisms of effect additional to those in the existing TEF were identified: two concerned impact on individuals beyond the person being tested and two concerned organizational impact.Conclusion: Important gaps and inconsistencies in the reporting of test claims and associated outcomes in HTA reviews risk incomplete appraisal of a test's impact on patients and the health-care system. We recommend that tools are developed to support and standardize this complex process. This could be facilitated by tools in development and an expanded TEF.Plain Language Summary: Health technology assessments (HTAs) are reports that assess whether medical tests, technologies, or treatments are worth using. HTA reports consider both effectiveness (how well something works) and costs. Tests can affect patients in many ways. It is important to understand the accuracy of a test as well as other impacts it may have on an individual's health and care. An important first step for an HTA of a test is to describe how the new test fits into regular medical care. A second step is to describe how the test could benefit, or harm, patients compared to regular care. HTA authors can then make sure that the result of using the test is measured using the right outcomes. We looked at 50 HTAs of medical tests that were written in English. We found that almost all reviews (98%) explained where and when the test would be used in patient care. About two-thirds of them (62%) included diagrams to show this. Only half clearly stated how the test could benefit, or harm, patients. There was often a disconnection between the expected benefits and harms from use of the test (clinical claim for the test) and the effects from the test that the authors of the review set out to assess. This could lead to the wrong conclusions about how well the test works and whether it is worth the cost. We also described broader effects of tests on health-care systems and society. A more structured approach to help describe how a new test fits into regular medical care and to identify what a test claims to do is needed. This would help to ensure that all important outcomes are measured
Introduction:Energy and Resistance in/to 'Feminist' Foreign Policy
No full textJust over a decade after the first feminist foreign policy (FFP) was adopted by Sweden in 2014, a wealth of related research, policy, and advocacy has emerged. This Introduction takes stock of these developments, tracing key trajectories in both scholarship and practice, while also reflecting on the broader implications of these developments on our current moment in global politics. First, the Introduction outlines the emergence of FFP as a distinct object of analysis, highlights the landmarks that have shaped the field, and situates FFP within the context of the anti-gender and anti-feminist global backlash. Second, it maps different strands in the literature, with particular attention to newer themes and actors. While early research focused largely on the FFPs of Sweden and Canada, often adopting a liberal and celebratory orientation, recently, critical feminist perspectives informed by intersectionality, postcolonial, and decolonial approaches, have expanded the field, extending analysis to policy domains such as the environment and migration, among others. It also examines contestations in FFP praxis, including their implications for knowledge production. Finally, the Introduction summarizes the contributions of each chapter in the collection and how they collectively expand the FFP field
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