An App to Support Yoga Teachers to Implement a Yoga-Based Approach to Promote Wellbeing Among Young People: Usability Study

Many young people suffer from chronic stress and other issues that inhibit the functioning and development of the prefrontal cortex, and this also affects their intrinsic motivation to engage in any activity. In short, unless their well-being is addressed, they cannot engage effectively. The HIPPOCAMPUS project aims to address these issues by promoting the well-being of young people through the practice of a range of techniques derived from yoga. Yuva Yoga app is part of the approach to support the yoga-based practices with young people. It is a multiplatform mobile app developed as Backend as a Service both for Android and iOS. The first public version of the mobile app is part of the pilots implemented in the schools involved in the project, but there is not a special focus on the usability of the app. This work presents the heuristic evaluation of Yuva Yoga for iOS carried out by four experts as part of a major usability study that combines heuristic techniques, both iOS and Android, and empirical methods with users. Some problems were detected during the evaluation, but more of the problems have a low priority rating. They are mainly cosmetic problems that do not need to be fixed unless extra time is available on the project, or minor usability problems. The results have provided an important input to develop a new minor version of the mobile app, in order to improve the user experience in the pilots at schools

Fake one-time pad cannot be used to improve the efficiency of quantum communication

Two misuses of one-time pad in improving the efficiency of quantum communication are pointed out. One happens when using some message bits to encrypt others, the other exists because the key bits are not truly random. Both of them result in the decrease of security. Therefore, one-time pad should be used carefully in designing quantum communication protocols.Comment: 6 pages, no figure

Random qubit-states and how best to measure them

We consider the problem of measuring a single qubit, known to have been prepared in either a randomly selected pure state or a randomly selected real pure state. We seek the measurements that provide either the best estimate of the state prepared or maximise the accessible information. Surprisingly, any sensible measurement turns out to be optimal. We discuss the application of these ideas to multiple qubits and higher-dimensional systems

Ability of Archival Tags to Provide Estimates of Geographical Position Based on Light Intensity

Key words: archival tags, ambient light level, geoposition algorithm, light attenuation, positional errors, crepuscular, Equinox, pelagic fishes Abstract: We tested the ability of archival tags and their associated algorithms to esti-mate geographical position based on ambient light intensity by attaching six tags (three tags each from Northwest Marine Technologies [NMT] and Wild-life Computers [WC]) at different depths to a stationary mooring line in the Pacific Ocean (approx. 166º42'W, 24º00'N), for approximately one year (29-Aug-98 to 16-Aug-99). Upon retrieval, one tag each from the two vendors had malfunctioned: from these no data (NMT) or only partial data (WC) could be downloaded. An algorithm onboard the NMT tag automatically calculated geographical positions. For the WC tags, three different algorithms were used to estimate geographical positions from the recorded light intensity data. Es-timates of longitude from all tags were significantly less variable than those for latitude. The mean absolute error for longitude estimates from the NMT tags ranged from 0.29 to 0.35º, and for the WC tags from 0.13 to 0.25º. Th

Single valley Dirac fermions in zero-gap HgTe quantum wells

Dirac fermions have been studied intensively in condensed matter physics in recent years. Many theoretical predictions critically depend on the number of valleys where the Dirac fermions are realized. In this work, we report the discovery of a two dimensional system with a single valley Dirac cone. We study the transport properties of HgTe quantum wells grown at the critical thickness separating between the topologically trivial and the quantum spin Hall phases. At high magnetic fields, the quantized Hall plateaus demonstrate the presence of a single valley Dirac point in this system. In addition, we clearly observe the linear dispersion of the zero mode spin levels. Also the conductivity at the Dirac point and its temperature dependence can be understood from single valley Dirac fermion physics.Comment: version 2: supplementary material adde

Green tea extract only affects markers of oxidative status postprandially: lasting antioxidant effect of flavonoid-free diet

Epidemiological studies suggest that foods rich in flavonoids might reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of green tea extract (GTE) used as a food antioxidant on markers of oxidative status after dietary depletion of flavonoids and catechins. The study was designed as a 2×3 weeks blinded human cross-over intervention study (eight smokers, eight non-smokers) with GTE corresponding to a daily intake of 18·6 mg catechins/d. The GTE was incorporated into meat patties and consumed with a strictly controlled diet otherwise low in flavonoids. GTE intervention increased plasma antioxidant capacity from 1·35 to 1·56 (P<0·02) in postprandially collected plasma, most prominently in smokers. The intervention did not significantly affect markers in fasting blood samples, including plasma or haemoglobin protein oxidation, plasma oxidation lagtime, or activities of the erythrocyte superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase and catalase. Neither were fasting plasma triacylglycerol, cholesterol, α-tocopherol, retinol, β-carotene, or ascorbic acid affected by intervention. Urinary 8-oxo-deoxyguanosine excretion was also unaffected. Catechins from the extract were excreted into urine with a half-life of less than 2 h in accordance with the short-term effects on plasma antioxidant capacity. Since no long-term effects of GTE were observed, the study essentially served as a fruit and vegetables depletion study. The overall effect of the 10-week period without dietary fruits and vegetables was a decrease in oxidative damage to DNA, blood proteins, and plasma lipids, concomitantly with marked changes in antioxidative defenc

Deliberating stratospheric aerosols for climate geoengineering and the SPICE project

Increasing concerns about the narrowing window for averting dangerous climate change have prompted calls for research into geoengineering, alongside dialogue with the public regarding this as a possible response. We report results of the first public engagement study to explore the ethics and acceptability of stratospheric aerosol technology and a proposed field trial (the Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering (SPICE) ‘pipe and balloon’ test bed) of components for an aerosol deployment mechanism. Although almost all of our participants were willing to allow the field trial to proceed, very few were comfortable with using stratospheric aerosols. This Perspective also discusses how these findings were used in a responsible innovation process for the SPICE project initiated by the UK’s research councils

Buprenorphine-Naloxone in the Treatment of Codeine Dependence: a Scoping Review of Clinical Case Presentations

Misuse of prescribed and over the counter (OTC) codeine containing medicines is an increasing public health concern in recent times. Studies have called for low threshold treatment services for individuals experiencing codeine dependence using buprenorphine naloxone therapy. We present a scoping review of clinical case presentation literature on the use of buprenorphine-naloxone in the treatment of codeine dependence. Seven records (four single case studies and three case series) on codeine dependence treated with buprenorphine-naloxone were included. Five themes emerged following a review of the cases for the treatment of codeine dependence with buprenorphine-naloxone. They are: (1) Patient Profiles; (2) History of Codeine Misuse; (3) Medical Problems; (4) Use of Other Substances; and (5) Buprenorphine-naloxone in the treatment of Codeine Dependence. The review highlights the complexities of patients with regards to pain, psychiatric illness, poly substance use and iatrogenic dependence, with findings encouraging in terms of patient stabilisation and recovery

Genomic hotspots for adaptation: the population genetics of Müllerian mimicry in Heliconius erato

This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Wing pattern evolution in Heliconius butterflies provides some of the most striking examples of adaptation by natural selection. The genes controlling pattern variation are classic examples of Mendelian loci of large effect, where allelic variation causes large and discrete phenotypic changes and is responsible for both convergent and highly divergent wing pattern evolution across the genus. We characterize nucleotide variation, genotype-by-phenotype associations, linkage disequilibrium (LD), and candidate gene expression patterns across two unlinked genomic intervals that control yellow and red wing pattern variation among mimetic forms of Heliconius erato. Despite very strong natural selection on color pattern, we see neither a strong reduction in genetic diversity nor evidence for extended LD across either patterning interval. This observation highlights the extent that recombination can erase the signature of selection in natural populations and is consistent with the hypothesis that either the adaptive radiation or the alleles controlling it are quite old. However, across both patterning intervals we identified SNPs clustered in several coding regions that were strongly associated with color pattern phenotype. Interestingly, coding regions with associated SNPs were widely separated, suggesting that color pattern alleles may be composed of multiple functional sites, conforming to previous descriptions of these loci as "supergenes." Examination of gene expression levels of genes flanking these regions in both H. erato and its co-mimic, H. melpomene, implicate a gene with high sequence similarity to a kinesin as playing a key role in modulating pattern and provides convincing evidence for parallel changes in gene regulation across co-mimetic lineages. The complex genetic architecture at these color pattern loci stands in marked contrast to the single casual mutations often identified in genetic studies of adaptation, but may be more indicative of the type of genetic changes responsible for much of the adaptive variation found in natural populations.Funding: Funding for this study was provided by National Science Foundation grants to WOM (DEB-0715096 and IBN-0344705) and BAC (DEB-0513424). Funding for work on H. melpomene came from a BBSRC grant to CDJ and RHf-C (011845). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Terminal Pleistocene Alaskan genome reveals first founding population of Native Americans

Despite broad agreement that the Americas were initially populated via Beringia, the land bridge that connected far northeast Asia with northwestern North America during the Pleistocene epoch, when and how the peopling of the Americas occurred remains unresolved. Analyses of human remains from Late Pleistocene Alaska are important to resolving the timing and dispersal of these populations. The remains of two infants were recovered at Upward Sun River (USR), and have been dated to around 11.5 thousand years ago (ka). Here, by sequencing the USR1 genome to an average coverage of approximately 17 times, we show that USR1 is most closely related to Native Americans, but falls basal to all previously sequenced contemporary and ancient Native Americans. As such, USR1 represents a distinct Ancient Beringian population. Using demographic modelling, we infer that the Ancient Beringian population and ancestors of other Native Americans descended from a single founding population that initially split from East Asians around 36 ± 1.5 ka, with gene flow persisting until around 25 ± 1.1 ka. Gene flow from ancient north Eurasians into all Native Americans took place 25–20 ka, with Ancient Beringians branching off around 22–18.1 ka. Our findings support a long-term genetic structure in ancestral Native Americans, consistent with the Beringian ‘standstill model’. We show that the basal northern and southern Native American branches, to which all other Native Americans belong, diverged around 17.5–14.6 ka, and that this probably occurred south of the North American ice sheets. We also show that after 11.5 ka, some of the northern Native American populations received gene flow from a Siberian population most closely related to Koryaks, but not Palaeo-Eskimos, Inuits or Kets, and that Native American gene flow into Inuits was through northern and not southern Native American groups. Our findings further suggest that the far-northern North American presence of northern Native Americans is from a back migration that replaced or absorbed the initial founding population of Ancient Beringians