Pelevin's Puzzled Protagonist: The Clay Machine Gun (1996)

Viktor Pelevin’s The Clay Machine-Gun (Chapaev i Pustota, 1996) is full of unexpected and startlingly direct questions like the one above. More specifically, it is full of ontological questions: questions about being, existence and reality. These questions — which, like cleaning an onion, expose reality’s multiple layers — haunt and puzzle Pelevin’s protagonist, Pyotr Voyd. The pronunciation of Voyd’s last name already gives a clue as to his state of being: a state of ontological crisis. Pyotr does not know when or where he belongs, what is real, or who exactly he is. He knows only the persistent and painful presence of an emptiness that he carries with himself: a “void.

Kinetic chain influences on upper and lower trapezius muscle activation during eight variations of a scapular retraction exercise in overhead athletes

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COVID-19 lockdown impacts the wellbeing of parents with infants on a Dutch neonatal intensive care unit

Purpose: Parents of infants admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) experience additional stress due to restrictions on their presence and visits by other family members during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our study aims to describe how this impacted parents and how NICU staff could support them. Design and methods: This was a cross-sectional study in which 25 parents (16 mothers, 9 fathers) of infants admitted to our NICU during the first COVID-19 lockdown completed online questionnaires with socio-demographic questions, the Parental Stressor Scale:NICU (PSS:NICU) and questions related to COVID-19. Results: Being separated from, and not being able to hold their infant at all times were among the most important PSS:NICU stressors. Parents experienced additional stress because other family members were not allowed to visit. They indicated that NICU staff could support them by clearly explaining the reasons for visitor restrictions and by ensuring that they felt heard. Most parents supported the restrictions, but also mentioned that less strict measures would really help them. Conclusions: Parents who participated in this study found it very stressful that they could not be with their infant together with their partner and other family members. Furthermore, parents recommended the hospital management to continuously reconsider whether particular restrictions could be lifted in case of a new lockdown. Together with clear communication, this would result in less parenteral stress. Practice implications: Hospital management should be cautious on restricting the presence of parents and other family members and scale restrictions back whenever possible

COVID-19 lockdown impacts the wellbeing of parents with infants on a Dutch neonatal intensive care unit

Purpose: Parents of infants admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) experience additional stress due to restrictions on their presence and visits by other family members during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our study aims to describe how this impacted parents and how NICU staff could support them. Design and methods: This was a cross-sectional study in which 25 parents (16 mothers, 9 fathers) of infants admitted to our NICU during the first COVID-19 lockdown completed online questionnaires with socio-demographic questions, the Parental Stressor Scale:NICU (PSS:NICU) and questions related to COVID-19. Results: Being separated from, and not being able to hold their infant at all times were among the most important PSS:NICU stressors. Parents experienced additional stress because other family members were not allowed to visit. They indicated that NICU staff could support them by clearly explaining the reasons for visitor restrictions and by ensuring that they felt heard. Most parents supported the restrictions, but also mentioned that less strict measures would really help them. Conclusions: Parents who participated in this study found it very stressful that they could not be with their infant together with their partner and other family members. Furthermore, parents recommended the hospital management to continuously reconsider whether particular restrictions could be lifted in case of a new lockdown. Together with clear communication, this would result in less parenteral stress. Practice implications: Hospital management should be cautious on restricting the presence of parents and other family members and scale restrictions back whenever possible