Scale for environmental attitude in physical aActivities in natural environments

La realización de actividades físico-deportivas en el medio natural debe conllevar una actitud de respeto hacia el medioambiente entre los participantes. El objetivo de este artículo es diseñar y validar un instrumento para valorar la actitud ambiental generada en este tipo de prácticas en ámbitos formativos. El cuestionario se concretó en 16 ítems con 5 opciones de respuesta (1, Nada de acuerdo; 5, Muy de acuerdo). Para la validación de la escala se contó con una muestra de 162 estudiantes universitarios de titulaciones relacionadas con la actividad física y el deporte (grado o máster en Ciencias de la Actividad Física y el Deporte), que han cursado alguna asignatura relacionada con las actividades físicas en el medio natural. La fiabilidad obtenida con el α de Cronbach fue de 0.75. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que la escala de actitudes hacia el medioambiente en la práctica de actividades físico-deportivas en el medio natural es un instrumento válido y fiable para valorar la actitud hacia el medioambiente en la participación en actividades físico-deportivas en el medio natural, desde un modelo ecológico. Las conclusiones extraídas, tras su construcción, indican la conveniencia de revisar si las actividades físicas en el medio natural se desarrollan desde una perspectiva sostenible para que, en el caso de que no sea así, se apliquen las estrategias necesarias para su transformaciónEngaging in physical-sport activities in nature should lead to an attitude of respect for the environment among participants. The objective of this article is to design and validate an instrument to assess the environmental attitude generated in this kind of practice within the sphere of training. The questionnaire has 16 items with 5 response choices (1, totally disagree to 5, totally agree). To validate the scale, a sample was used of 162 university students in degrees related to physical activity and sport (Bachelor’s or Master’s in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences) who were taking a course related to physical activities in nature. The reliability obtained with the Cronbach’s α was 0.75. The results show that the scale of attitudes towards the environment in the practice of physical-sport activities in nature is a valid, reliable instrument from an ecological model. After its construction, the conclusions extracted indicate the advisability of checking whether physical activities in nature are carried out from a sustainable perspective so that if they are not, the strategies needed to transform them can be applie

Social participation of the elders in Europe: the influence of individual and contextual variables.

This study analyzes the social participation of older people based on individual and contextual variables. For this purpose the data of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) in particular waves 1, 2 and 4 have been used. A four-level model with fixed and random effects was carried out. The model obtained shows the effect of individual variables: a greater participation in more recent waves, in ages between 60-70 years and the effect of variables such as cognitive functioning, years of education and health self-perception. But significant differences were also found in participation in contextual variables and between countries. These results are important for public policy managers, who must take into account not only individual variables, but also contextual variables, which explain the differences in the participation rate of the elderly.pre-print1693 K

Multifunctional probes for high-throughput measurement of Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity at room temperature

An apparatus capable of rapid measurement of the Seebeck coefficient and electrical resistivity at room temperature is reported. The novel aspect of this apparatus is the use of 4 multifunctional probes that comprise a junction of two conductors at the tip and serve as both thermocouples and electrical contacts. In addition, one of the probes has a built-in heater that can establish a temperature gradient in the sample for the Seebeck measurement. The technique does not require special sample geometries or preparation of contacts and is suitable for bulk and thin film materials. Together with automated sample stage and data acquisition, the equipment is able to measure both the Seebeck coefficient and electrical resistivity in less than 20 s with good accuracy. Less than 5% and 4% relative errors were found for the measurement of the Seebeck coefficient and electrical resistivity, respectively. This makes the apparatus especially useful for high throughput evaluation of thermoelectric materials.The authors wish to acknowledge financial support from the Accelerated Metallurgy Project, which is co-funded by the European Commission in the 7th Framework Programme (Contract No. NMP4-LA-2011-263206), by the European Space Agency and by the individual partner organizations. Moreover, the assistance of the electrical and mechanical workshops from the Cardiff School of Engineering is acknowledged

Vitamin C activates young LINE-1 elements in mouse embryonic stem cells via H3K9me3 demethylation

This work was supported by grants from the Wellcome Trust/Royal Soci‑ ety (101225/Z/13/Z) and MRC (MR/X008487/1) to M.R.B.; and BBSRC (BB/ T000031/1) to M.R.B. and J.M.F.Background Vitamin C (vitC) enhances the activity of 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases, including TET enzymes, which catalyse DNA demethylation, and Jumonji-domain histone demethylases. The epigenetic remodelling promoted by vitC improves the efficiency of induced pluripotent stem cell derivation, and is required to attain a ground-state of pluripotency in embryonic stem cells (ESCs) that closely mimics the inner cell mass of the early blastocyst. However, genome-wide DNA and histone demethylation can lead to upregulation of transposable elements (TEs), and it is not known how vitC addition in culture media affects TE expression in pluripotent stem cells. Results Here we show that vitC increases the expression of several TE families, including evolutionarily young LINE-1 (L1) elements, in mouse ESCs. We find that TET activity is dispensable for L1 upregulation, and that instead it occurs largely as a result of H3K9me3 loss mediated by KDM4A/C histone demethylases. Despite increased L1 levels, we did not detect increased somatic insertion rates in vitC-treated cells. Notably, treatment of human ESCs with vitC also increases L1 protein levels, albeit through a distinct, post-transcriptional mechanism. Conclusion VitC directly modulates the expression of mouse L1s and other TEs through epigenetic mechanisms, with potential for downstream effects related to the multiple emerging roles of L1s in cellular function.Wellcome Trust/Royal Society (101225/Z/13/Z)MRC (MR/X008487/1)BBSRC (BB/T000031/1

Personality Factors as Predictors in Burnout Level Changes for Surgical Area Nurses

Surgical area nurses provide comprehensive care to patients throughout the surgical process. Increases in life expectancy lead to the appearance and development of diseases, translating into an increase in the number of necessary interventions. Increases in the workload can be another risk factor for the development of burnout in professionals in this area. Knowledge of psychological and personality-related variables provides relevant information of level changes in the dimensions of burnout syndrome. Three logistic regression models, based on a cross-sectional study with 214 nurses working in the surgical area in the Andalusian Health Service, Spain, were built for each dimension. These models included different variables related to depression and personality, with some being significant at the population level and consequently true risk or protection factors. Friendliness, responsibility and extraversion are protection factors for the personal accomplishment dimension, whilst neuroticism is a risk factor for this dimension. Friendliness is also a protection factor for depersonalization, whilst depression is a risk factor. Finally, neuroticism, responsibility and depression are risk factors for the emotional exhaustion dimension of burnout. These findings provide relevant information that makes anticipation of this syndrome in this group easier

Compassion Fatigue, Compassion Satisfaction, and Burnout in Oncology Nurses: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Professionals working in cancer care are exposed to strong sources of stress. Due to the special characteristics of this unit, the appearance of burnout, compassion fatigue, and low compassion satisfaction is more likely. The principal aim was to analyze the levels and prevalence of burnout, compassion fatigue, and low compassion satisfaction in oncology nurses and interventions for its treatment. The search for the systematic review was done in Medline, ProQuest, Lilacs, CINAHL, Scopus, Scielo, and PsycINFO databases, with the search equation “burnout AND nurs* AND oncology AND compassion fatigue”. The results obtained from the 15 studies confirmed that there are levels of risk of suffering burnout and compassion fatigue among nursing professionals, affecting more women and nurses with more years of experience, with nurses from oncology units having one of the highest levels of burnout and compassion fatigue. The oncology nurse sample was n = 900. The meta-analytic estimations were 19% for low compassion satisfaction, 56% for medium and high burnout, BO, and 60% for medium and high compassion fatigue. The increase in cases of burnout and compassion fatigue in nursing staff can be prevented and minimized with a correct evaluation and development of intervention programs, considering that there are more women than men and that they seem to be more vulnerable

Estimating uncertainty in density surface models

This work was funded by OPNAV N45 and the SURTASS LFA Settlement Agreement, and being managed by the U.S. Navy’s Living Marine Resources program under Contract No. N39430-17-C-1982.Providing uncertainty estimates for predictions derived from species distribution models is essential for management but there is little guidance on potential sources of uncertainty in predictions and how best to combine these. Here we show where uncertainty can arise in density surface models (a multi-stage spatial modelling approach for distance sampling data), focussing on cetacean density modelling. We propose an extensible, modular, hybrid analytical-simulation approach to encapsulate these sources. We provide example analyses of fin whales Balaenoptera physalus in the California Current Ecosystem.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Stau detection at neutrino telescopes in scenarios with supersymmetric dark matter

We have studied the detection of long-lived staus at the IceCube neutrino telescope, after their production inside the Earth through the inelastic scattering of high energy neutrinos. The theoretical predictions for the stau flux are calculated in two scenarios in which the presence of long-lived staus is naturally associated to viable supersymmetric dark matter. Namely, we consider the cases with superWIMP (gravitino or axino) and neutralino dark matter (along the coannihilation region). In both scenarios the maximum value of the stau flux turns out to be about 1 event/yr in regions with a light stau. This is consistent with light gravitinos, with masses constrained by an upper limit which ranges from 0.2 to 15 GeV, depending on the stau mass. Likewise, it is compatible with axinos with a mass of about 1 GeV and a very low reheating temperature of order 100 GeV. In the case of the neutralino dark matter this favours regions with a low value of tan(beta), for which the neutralino-stau coannihilation region occurs for smaller values of the stau mass. Finally, we study the case of a general supergravity theory and show how for specific choices of non-universal soft parameters the predicted stau flux can increase moderately.Comment: 26 pages, 7 figures. References added and minor changes. Final version to appear in JCA