Are citizen juries and assemblies on climate change driving democratic climate policymaking? An exploration of two case studies in the UK

In light of increasing pressure to deliver climate action targets and the growing role of citizens in raising the importance of the issue, deliberative democratic processes (e.g. citizen juries and citizen assemblies) on climate change are increasingly being used to provide a voice to citizens in climate change decision-making. Through a comparative case study of two processes that ran in the UK in 2019 (the Leeds Climate Change Citizens’ Jury and the Oxford Citizens’ Assembly on Climate Change), this paper investigates how far citizen assemblies and juries are increasing citizen engagement on climate change and creating more citizen-centred climate policymaking. Interviews were conducted with policymakers, councillors, professional facilitators and others involved in running these processes to assess motivations for conducting these, their structure and the impact and influence they had. The findings suggest the impact of these processes is not uniform: they have an indirect impact on policy making by creating momentum around climate action and supporting the introduction of pre-planned or pre-existing policies rather than a direct impact by truly being citizen-centred policy making processes or conducive to new climate policy. We conclude with reflections on how these processes give elected representatives a public mandate on climate change, that they help to identify more nuanced and in-depth public opinions in a fair and informed way, yet it can be challenging to embed citizen juries and assemblies in wider democratic processes

Developing a performing arts magnet high school

Participation in extracurricular activities, including the performing arts is positively correlated with a student's academic achievement and self esteem. The purpose of this project is to create a performing arts magnet school within Uliysses S. Grant High School to help bridge the achievement gap. Through a comprehensive review of previous literature, personal observations and multiple meetings with the High School's music director the project proposal was devised. The proposal includes a discussion of the multiple steps needed to initiate and sustain the program. Successful completion of these steps will lead to a program that fosters positive self-image and confidence through the outward expression of the performing arts including music, dance and drama.California State University, Northridge. Department of Education.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 52-54

Lunar Cold Spots: Granular Flow Features and Extensive Insulating Materials Surrounding Young Craters

Systematic temperature mapping and high resolution images reveal a previously unrecognized class of small, fresh lunar craters. These craters are distinguished by near-crater deposits with evidence for lateral, ground-hugging transport. More distal, highly insulating surfaces surround these craters and do not show evidence of either significant deposition of new material or erosion of the substrate. The near-crater deposits can be explained by a laterally propagating granular flow created by impact in the lunar vacuum environment. Further from the source crater, at distances of ~10-100 crater radii, the upper few to 10s of centimeters of regolith appear to have been “fluffed-up” without the accumulation of significant ejecta material. These properties appear to be common to all impacts, but quickly degrade in the lunar space weathering environment. Cratering in the vacuum environment involves a previously unrecognized set of processes that leave prominent, but ephemeral, features on the lunar surface

Real-time analysis of δ13C- and δD-CH4 in ambient air with laser spectroscopy:method development and first intercomparison results

In situ and simultaneous measurement of the three most abundant isotopologues of methane using mid-infrared laser absorption spectroscopy is demonstrated. A field-deployable, autonomous platform is realized by coupling a compact quantum cascade laser absorption spectrometer (QCLAS) to a preconcentration unit, called trace gas extractor (TREX). This unit enhances CH4 mole fractions by a factor of up to 500 above ambient levels and quantitatively separates interfering trace gases such as N2O and CO2. The analytical precision of the QCLAS isotope measurement on the preconcentrated (750 ppm, parts-per-million, µmole mole−1) methane is 0.1 and 0.5 ‰ for δ13C- and δD-CH4 at 10 min averaging time. Based on repeated measurements of compressed air during a 2-week intercomparison campaign, the repeatability of the TREX–QCLAS was determined to be 0.19 and 1.9 ‰ for δ13C and δD-CH4, respectively. In this intercomparison campaign the new in situ technique is compared to isotope-ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) based on glass flask and bag sampling and real time CH4 isotope analysis by two commercially available laser spectrometers. Both laser-based analyzers were limited to methane mole fraction and δ13C-CH4 analysis, and only one of them, a cavity ring down spectrometer, was capable to deliver meaningful data for the isotopic composition. After correcting for scale offsets, the average difference between TREX–QCLAS data and bag/flask sampling–IRMS values are within the extended WMO compatibility goals of 0.2 and 5 ‰ for δ13C- and δD-CH4, respectively. This also displays the potential to improve the interlaboratory compatibility based on the analysis of a reference air sample with accurately determined isotopic composition

Sleep disturbances and psychological well-being among military medical doctors of the Swiss Armed Forces: study protocol, rationale and development of a cross-sectional and longitudinal interventional study.

BACKGROUND Compared to civilians and non-medical personnel, military medical doctors are at increased risk for sleep disturbances and impaired psychological well-being. Despite their responsibility and workload, no research has examined sleep disturbances and psychological well-being among the medical doctors (MDs) of the Swiss Armed Forces (SAF). Thus, the aims of the proposed study are (1) to conduct a cross-sectional study (labeled 'Survey-Study 1') of sleep disturbances and psychological well-being among MDs of the SAF; (2) to identify MDs who report sleep disturbances (insomnia severity index >8), along with low psychological well-being such as symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, but also emotion regulation, concentration, social life, strengths and difficulties, and mental toughness both in the private/professional and military context and (3) to offer those MDs with sleep disturbances an evidence-based and standardized online interventional group program of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (eCBTi) over a time lapse of 6 weeks (labeled 'Intervention-Study 2'). METHOD All MDs serving in the SAF (N = 480) will be contacted via the SAF-secured communication system to participate in a cross-sectional survey of sleep disturbances and psychological well-being ('Survey-Study 1'). Those who consent will be provided a link to a secure online survey that assesses sleep disturbances and psychological well-being (depression, anxiety, stress, coping), including current working conditions, job-related quality of life, mental toughness, social context, family/couple functioning, substance use, and physical activity patterns. Baseline data will be screened to identify those MDs who report sleep disturbances (insomnia severity index >8); they will be re-contacted, consented, and randomly assigned either to the eCBTi or the active control condition (ACC) ('Intervention-Study 2'). Individuals in the intervention condition will participate in an online standardized and evidence-based group intervention program of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (eCBTi; once the week for six consecutive weeks; 60-70 min duration/session). Participants in the ACC will participate in an online group counseling (once the week for six consecutive weeks; 60-70 min duration/session), though, the ACC is not intended as a bona fide psychotherapeutic intervention. At the beginning of the intervention (baseline), at week 3, and at week 6 (post-intervention) participants complete a series of self-rating questionnaires as for the Survey-Study 1, though with additional questionnaires covering sleep-related cognitions, experiential avoidance, and dimensions of self-awareness. EXPECTED OUTCOMES Survey-Study 1: We expect to describe the prevalence rates of, and the associations between sleep disturbances (insomnia (sleep quality); sleep onset latency (SOL); awakenings after sleep onset (WASO)) and psychological well-being among MDs of the SAF; we further expect to identify specific dimensions of psychological well-being, which might be rather associated or non-associated with sleep disturbances.Intervention-Study 2: We expect several significant condition-by-time-interactions. Such that participants in the eCBTi will report significantly greater improvement in sleep disturbances, symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress reduction both at work and at home (family related stress), and an improvement in the overall quality of life as compared to the ACC over the period of the study. CONCLUSION The study offers the opportunity to understand the prevalence of sleep disturbances, including factors of psychological well-being among MDs of the SAF. Further, based on the results of the Intervention-Study 2, and if supported, eCBTi may be a promising method to address sleep disturbances and psychological well-being among the specific context of MDs in the SAF

Sleep Disturbances and Psychological Well-Being Among Military Medical Doctors of the Swiss Armed Forces: Study Protocol, Rationale and Development of a Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Interventional Study

Background: Compared to civilians and non-medical personnel, military medical doctors are at increased risk for sleep disturbances and impaired psychological well-being. Despite their responsibility and workload, no research has examined sleep disturbances and psychological well-being among the medical doctors (MDs) of the Swiss Armed Forces (SAF). Thus, the aims of the proposed study are (1) to conduct a cross-sectional study (labeled ‘Survey-Study 1’) of sleep disturbances and psychological well-being among MDs of the SAF; (2) to identify MDs who report sleep disturbances (insomnia severity index \u3e8), along with low psychological well-being such as symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, but also emotion regulation, concentration, social life, strengths and difficulties, and mental toughness both in the private/professional and military context and (3) to offer those MDs with sleep disturbances an evidence-based and standardized online interventional group program of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (eCBTi) over a time lapse of 6 weeks (labeled ‘Intervention-Study 2’). Method: All MDs serving in the SAF (N = 480) will be contacted via the SAF-secured communication system to participate in a cross-sectional survey of sleep disturbances and psychological well-being (‘Survey-Study 1’). Those who consent will be provided a link to a secure online survey that assesses sleep disturbances and psychological well-being (depression, anxiety, stress, coping), including current working conditions, job-related quality of life, mental toughness, social context, family/couple functioning, substance use, and physical activity patterns. Baseline data will be screened to identify those MDs who report sleep disturbances (insomnia severity index \u3e8); they will be re-contacted, consented, and randomly assigned either to the eCBTi or the active control condition (ACC) (‘Intervention-Study 2’). Individuals in the intervention condition will participate in an online standardized and evidence-based group intervention program of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (eCBTi; once the week for six consecutive weeks; 60–70 min duration/session). Participants in the ACC will participate in an online group counseling (once the week for six consecutive weeks; 60–70 min duration/session), though, the ACC is not intended as a bona fide psychotherapeutic intervention. At the beginning of the intervention (baseline), at week 3, and at week 6 (post-intervention) participants complete a series of self-rating questionnaires as for the Survey-Study 1, though with additional questionnaires covering sleep-related cognitions, experiential avoidance, and dimensions of self-awareness. Expected outcomes: Survey-Study 1: We expect to describe the prevalence rates of, and the associations between sleep disturbances (insomnia (sleep quality); sleep onset latency (SOL); awakenings after sleep onset (WASO)) and psychological well-being among MDs of the SAF; we further expect to identify specific dimensions of psychological well-being, which might be rather associated or non-associated with sleep disturbances. Intervention-Study 2: We expect several significant condition-by-time-interactions. Such that participants in the eCBTi will report significantly greater improvement in sleep disturbances, symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress reduction both at work and at home (family related stress), and an improvement in the overall quality of life as compared to the ACC over the period of the study. Conclusion: The study offers the opportunity to understand the prevalence of sleep disturbances, including factors of psychological well-being among MDs of the SAF. Further, based on the results of the Intervention-Study 2, and if supported, eCBTi may be a promising method to address sleep disturbances and psychological well-being among the specific context of MDs in the SAF

Immune microenvironment profiling of normal appearing colorectal mucosa biopsied over repeat patient visits reproducibly separates lynch syndrome patients based on their history of colon cancer

IntroductionLynch syndrome (LS) is the most common hereditary cause of colorectal cancer (CRC), increasing lifetime risk of CRC by up to 70%. Despite this higher lifetime risk, disease penetrance in LS patients is highly variable and most LS patients undergoing CRC surveillance will not develop CRC. Therefore, biomarkers that can correctly and consistently predict CRC risk in LS patients are needed to both optimize LS patient surveillance and help identify better prevention strategies that reduce risk of CRC development in the subset of high-risk LS patients.MethodsNormal-appearing colorectal tissue biopsies were obtained during repeat surveillance colonoscopies of LS patients with and without a history of CRC, healthy controls (HC), and patients with a history of sporadic CRC. Biopsies were cultured in an ex-vivo explant system and their supernatants were assayed via multiplexed ELISA to profile the local immune signaling microenvironment. High quality cytokines were identified using the rxCOV fidelity metric. These cytokines were used to perform elastic-net penalized logistic regression-based biomarker selection by computing a new measure – overall selection probability – that quantifies the ability of each marker to discriminate between patient cohorts being compared.ResultsOur study demonstrated that cytokine based local immune microenvironment profiling was reproducible over repeat visits and sensitive to patient LS-status and CRC history. Furthermore, we identified sets of cytokines whose differential expression was predictive of LS-status in patients when compared to sporadic CRC patients and in identifying those LS patients with or without a history of CRC. Enrichment analysis based on these biomarkers revealed an LS and CRC status dependent constitutive inflammatory state of the normal appearing colonic mucosa.DiscussionThis prospective pilot study demonstrated that immune profiling of normal appearing colonic mucosa discriminates LS patients with a prior history of CRC from those without it, as well as patients with a history of sporadic CRC from HC. Importantly, it suggests the existence of immune signatures specific to LS-status and CRC history. We anticipate that our findings have the potential to assess CRC risk in individuals with LS and help in preemptively mitigating it by optimizing surveillance and identifying candidate prevention targets. Further studies are required to validate our findings in an independent cohort of LS patients over multiple visits

Military Values, Military Virtues, and Vulnerable Narcissism among Cadets of the Swiss Armed Forces-Results of a Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: For military leaders, military values and virtues are important psychological prerequisites for successful leadership and for ethical and moral military behavior. However, research on predictors of military values and virtues is scarce. Given this background, we investigated whether Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB), resilience, and vulnerable narcissism might be favorably or unfavorably associated with military values and virtues, and whether vulnerable narcissism could moderate the association between the OCB-by-resilience-interaction, and military virtues. Methods: A total of 214 officer cadets (mean age: 20.75 years; 96.8% males) of the Swiss Armed Forces (SAF) volunteered to take part in this cross-sectional study. They completed a booklet of self-rating scales covering dimensions of military values and military virtues, OCB, resilience, and vulnerable narcissism. Results: Higher scores for military virtues were associated with higher scores for military values, OCB, and resilience, and with lower scores for vulnerable narcissism. Multiple regression models showed that higher scores for OCB and resilience were associated with military values and virtues. Vulnerable narcissism moderated the association between military virtues, and the OCB-by-resilience-interaction: the higher the vulnerable narcissism, the more the OCB-by-resilience-interaction was associated with lower scores for military virtues. Conclusions: Among cadets of the SAF, the associations between military values, military virtues, OCB, and resilience were highly intertwined, while vulnerable narcissism appeared to attenuate the association between military virtues, OCB, and resilience

Sleep disturbances and psychological well-being among military medical doctors of the Swiss Armed Forces: study protocol, rationale and development of a cross-sectional and longitudinal interventional study

BackgroundCompared to civilians and non-medical personnel, military medical doctors are at increased risk for sleep disturbances and impaired psychological well-being. Despite their responsibility and workload, no research has examined sleep disturbances and psychological well-being among the medical doctors (MDs) of the Swiss Armed Forces (SAF). Thus, the aims of the proposed study are (1) to conduct a cross-sectional study (labeled ‘Survey-Study 1’) of sleep disturbances and psychological well-being among MDs of the SAF; (2) to identify MDs who report sleep disturbances (insomnia severity index >8), along with low psychological well-being such as symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, but also emotion regulation, concentration, social life, strengths and difficulties, and mental toughness both in the private/professional and military context and (3) to offer those MDs with sleep disturbances an evidence-based and standardized online interventional group program of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (eCBTi) over a time lapse of 6 weeks (labeled ‘Intervention-Study 2’).MethodAll MDs serving in the SAF (N = 480) will be contacted via the SAF-secured communication system to participate in a cross-sectional survey of sleep disturbances and psychological well-being (‘Survey-Study 1’). Those who consent will be provided a link to a secure online survey that assesses sleep disturbances and psychological well-being (depression, anxiety, stress, coping), including current working conditions, job-related quality of life, mental toughness, social context, family/couple functioning, substance use, and physical activity patterns. Baseline data will be screened to identify those MDs who report sleep disturbances (insomnia severity index >8); they will be re-contacted, consented, and randomly assigned either to the eCBTi or the active control condition (ACC) (‘Intervention-Study 2’). Individuals in the intervention condition will participate in an online standardized and evidence-based group intervention program of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (eCBTi; once the week for six consecutive weeks; 60–70 min duration/session). Participants in the ACC will participate in an online group counseling (once the week for six consecutive weeks; 60–70 min duration/session), though, the ACC is not intended as a bona fide psychotherapeutic intervention. At the beginning of the intervention (baseline), at week 3, and at week 6 (post-intervention) participants complete a series of self-rating questionnaires as for the Survey-Study 1, though with additional questionnaires covering sleep-related cognitions, experiential avoidance, and dimensions of self-awareness.Expected outcomesSurvey-Study 1: We expect to describe the prevalence rates of, and the associations between sleep disturbances (insomnia (sleep quality); sleep onset latency (SOL); awakenings after sleep onset (WASO)) and psychological well-being among MDs of the SAF; we further expect to identify specific dimensions of psychological well-being, which might be rather associated or non-associated with sleep disturbances.Intervention-Study 2: We expect several significant condition-by-time-interactions. Such that participants in the eCBTi will report significantly greater improvement in sleep disturbances, symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress reduction both at work and at home (family related stress), and an improvement in the overall quality of life as compared to the ACC over the period of the study.ConclusionThe study offers the opportunity to understand the prevalence of sleep disturbances, including factors of psychological well-being among MDs of the SAF. Further, based on the results of the Intervention-Study 2, and if supported, eCBTi may be a promising method to address sleep disturbances and psychological well-being among the specific context of MDs in the SAF

Green light during incubation: Effects on hatching characteristics in brown and white laying hens

Providing light during incubation is being investigated as a method to improve welfare in later life in poultry. This incubation method would more closely approximate chicken natural environment compared to the current incubation in darkness. Previous studies showed promising results of light during incubation on broiler welfare, but little is known about effects of light during incubation on laying hens. Especially, information about its effects on hatching characteristics (hatch time, hatchability, chick quality, body weight and embryonic age of death) is scarce and requires investigation in both white and brown egg layers. In the current study, Dekalb White (DW) and ISA Brown (ISA) eggs were incubated in complete darkness (dark) or in a light:dark cycle of 12L:12D throughout incubation (light), resulting in four treatment groups: DW-dark, DW-light, ISA-dark, and ISA-light. In the light treatments, green LEDs of 520 nm wavelength were used, at an intensity of 400 lux. First, light transmission through the eggshell was measured through 27 eggs. Then, an analysis of the effects of light during incubation on hatching characteristics was performed on 711 chicks in two consecutive experimental rounds. Light transmission was higher through white eggshells than through brown eggshells (N = 27, p < 0.001). Light during incubation had no effects on hatching characteristics (N = 711, p ≥ 0.1). Despite the difference of light transmission through eggshell between hybrids, there was no interaction between incubation treatment and hybrid on hatching characteristics (N = 471, p ≥ 0.06). Hatch time was longer and navel quality was better in DW than in ISA, while body weight and embryonic age of death were lower in DW than in ISA (all p < 0.001). Males and females had similar chick quality scores except for the beak quality, which was better for males (N = 486, p = 0.003). To conclude, green light during incubation did not negatively affect hatching characteristics in either DW nor ISA laying hen hybrids. Future research should therefore focus on its potential benefits for laying hen welfare