Indestructibility of Vopenka's Principle

We show that Vopenka's Principle and Vopenka cardinals are indestructible under reverse Easton forcing iterations of increasingly directed-closed partial orders, without the need for any preparatory forcing. As a consequence, we are able to prove the relative consistency of these large cardinal axioms with a variety of statements known to be independent of ZFC, such as the generalised continuum hypothesis, the existence of a definable well-order of the universe, and the existence of morasses at many cardinals.Comment: 15 pages, submitted to Israel Journal of Mathematic

Accessible opera : overcoming linguistic and sensorial barriers

The desire to make media available for all has been rapidly accepted and implemented by most European countries. Opera, as one of the many audiovisual representations, also falls under the category of production which needs to be made accessible and this article aims to analyse how opera has gone through a complete transformation to become a cultural event for all, overcoming not only linguistic but also sensorial barriers. The first part of the article analyses the various forms of translation associated with opera and the main challenges they entail. The second presents different systems used to make opera accessible to the sensorially challenged, highlighting their main difficulties. Examples from research carried out at the Barcelona's Liceu opera house are presented to illustrate various modalities, especially audio description. All in all, it is our aim to show how translated-related processes have made it possible to open opera to a wider audience despite some initial reluctance

Amplified spontaneous emission and gain in highly concentrated Rhodamine-doped peptide derivative

Bioinspired fluorescence, being widely explored for imaging purposes, faces challenges in delivering bright biocompatible sources. While quite a few techniques have been developed to reach this goal, encapsulation of high-quantum yield fluorescent dyes in natural biological forms suggest achieving superior light-emitting characteristics, approaching amplified spontaneous emission and even lasing. Here we compare gain capabilities of highly concentrated Rhodamine B solutions with a newly synthesized biocompatible peptide derivative hybrid polymer/peptide material, RhoB-PEG1300-F6, which contains the fluorescent covalently bound dye. While concentration quenching effects limit the maximal achievable gain of dissolved Rhodamine B, biocompatible conjugation allows elevating amplification coefficients towards moderately high values. In particular, Rhodamine B, anchored to the peptide derivative material, demonstrates gain of 22–23 cm−1 for a 10−2 M solution, while a pure dye solution possesses 25% smaller values at the same concentration. New biocompatible fluorescent agents pave ways to demonstrate lasing in living organisms and can be further introduced to therapeutic applications, if proper solvents are found

Motivational orientation and risk taking in elite winter climbers: A qualitative study

Objectives: High risk sports participants have typically been viewed as a homogenous group despite variability in performance characteristics and the level of risk undertaken. Prolonged engagement high risk sports such as winter climbing are relatively underserved within current literature. Elite winter climbers attempt climbs that are outside the scope of the current ‘known’ i.e. unclimbed routes. The majority of the current understanding of motivation in high risk sports is based on quantitative research and the methodologies and instruments used. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of elite winter climbers and gain a richer understanding of their motivational orientation and risk taking behaviour. Design: Qualitative – inductive. Method: Four elite male winter climbers (aged 42-49 years old) took part in semi-structured interviews and explore their motivational orientation and risk taking behaviour. A thematic analysis was used. Results: Two super-ordinate themes of enactive mastery and engendered disinhibition emerged from the data. Enactive mastery was interpreted as a composite of two higher order themes; task mastery and self-mastery. Engendered disinhibition was interpreted as a composite of two higher order themes; social cognitive appraisal and self-perception. Conclusion: Enactive mastery and engendered disinhibition emerged as key behavioural and psychological determinants that influenced individuals to attempt more difficult and riskier forms of winter climbing. Goal achievement was their primary motive which was set within a confidence frame encapsulated within these super-ordinate themes

A Decolonial Critique of the Racialized “Localwashing” of Extraction in Central Africa

Responding to calls for increased attention to actions and reactions “from above” within the extractive industry, we offer a decolonial critique of the ways in which corporate entities and multinational institutions propagate racialized rhetoric of “local” suffering, “local” consultation, and “local” fault for failure in extractive zones. Such rhetoric functions to legitimize extractive intervention within a set of practices that we call localwashing. Drawing from a decade of research on and along the Chad-Cameroon Oil Pipeline, we show how multi-scalar actors converged to assert knowledge of, responsibility for, and collaborations with “local” people within a racialized politics of scale. These corporate representations of the racialized “local” are coded through long-standing colonial tropes. We identify three interrelated and overlapping flexian elite rhetoric(s) and practices of racialized localwashing: (a) anguishing, (b) arrogating, and (c) admonishing. These elite representations of a racialized “local” reveal diversionary efforts “from above” to manage public opinion, displace blame for project failures, and domesticate dissent in a context of persistent scrutiny and criticism from international and regional advocates and activists

Correlates of sexual initiation among European adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Sexuality is a physiological component of adolescent development, though early initiation is associated with reproductive health risk. This study aimed at identifying correlates and predictors of sexual initiation in a large multinational cohort of European adolescents. METHODS: A questionnaire addressing socio-demographics, behaviours, mental health and sexual activity, was delivered to 11,110 adolescents recruited from 168 randomly selected schools in 10 European countries between 2009 and 2011. A follow-up questionnaire was delivered after 12 months. The longitudinal association of baseline risk behaviors, psychological attributes and contextual vulnerabilities, with sexual initiation during follow-up was evaluated through simple and multivariable age/sex stratified logistic regression. Multinomial logistic regression measured the association between predictors and sexual initiation with or without coexisting reproductive risk factors, such as multiple partners or infrequent condom use. RESULTS: Baseline sexual experience was reported by 19.2% of 10,757 respondents (median age 15; IQR 14-15; females 59.6%). This was significantly more frequent among pupils older than 15 (41%) and males (20.8%). Of 7,111 pupils without previous experience who were available at follow-up (response rate 81.8%), 17% reported sexual initiation, without differences between females and males. Baseline smoking (age/sex adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 3.63), alcohol use (aOR 2.95), illegal drugs use (aOR 2.72), and poor sleep (aOR 1.71) predicted sexual initiation. Stratified analyses showed a particularly strong association in case of younger and female pupils, and, among girls, when initiation was reported together with multiple partners and/or infrequent condom use. Externalizing (i.e. conduct and hyperactivity) symptoms independently predicted sexual initiation. Internalizing difficulties (i.e. emotional and peer problems) were negatively associated with early and risky sexual initiation among boys. Significant predictors included also being bullied, fighting, truancy, and low parental involvement. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent sexual behaviours are related to non-sexual risk behaviours, psychological difficulties and contextual vulnerabilities. While gateway effects explain some associations, a comprehensive model is needed to understand adolescent sexual behaviours, their physical, mental, and social health outcomes, and their potential positive effects on wellbeing. Tailored interventions may need to consider younger girls as a particularly vulnerable group in view of a strong association between non-sexual and sexual behaviors

Alcohol Consumption Patterns among Adolescents are Related to Family Structure and Exposure to Drunkenness within the Family: Results from the SEYLE Project.

There is expedient evidence showing that differences in adolescent alcohol consumption and other risk-behaviour depend on both family structure and family member drunkenness exposure. Data were obtained among adolescents (N = 12,115, mean age 14.9 +/- 0.89) in Austria, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Romania, Slovenia and Spain within the European Union's 7th Framework Programme funded project, 'Saving and Empowering Young Lives in Europe (SEYLE)'. The current study reveals how adolescents' alcohol consumption patterns are related to their family structure and having seen their family member drunk. The results revealed statistically significant differences in adolescent alcohol consumption depending on whether the adolescent lives in a family with both birth parents, in a single-parent family or in a family with one birth parent and one step-parent. The study also revealed that the abstaining from alcohol percentage among adolescents was greater in families with both birth parents compared to other family types. The study also showed that the more often adolescents see their family member drunk the more they drink themselves. There is no difference in adolescent drinking patterns whether they see their family member drunk once a month or once a week. This study gives an insight on which subgroups of adolescents are at heightened risk of alcohol abuse and that decrease of family member drunkenness may have positive effects on the drinking habits of their children

Immigration and recommended care after a suicide attempt in Europe: equity or bias?

This report describes the investigation of care recommendations in the medical system across European countries to immigrants who attempted suicide. Data from seven European countries with 8865 local and 2921 immigrant person-cases were derived from the WHO/EURO Multicentre Study on Suicidal Behaviour and ensuing MONSUE (Monitoring Suicidal Behaviour in Europe) project. The relationship between immigrant status and type of aftercare recommended was analysed with binary logistic regression, adjusting for gender, age, method of attempt and the Centre collecting the data. Clear disparities were identified in the care recommendation practices toward immigrants, compared with hosts, over and above differing policies by the European Centres

Suicide prevention for youth - a mental health awareness program: lessons learned from the Saving and Empowering Young Lives in Europe (SEYLE) intervention study.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The Awareness program was designed as a part of the EU-funded Saving and Empowering Young Lives in Europe (SEYLE) intervention study to promote mental health of adolescents in 11 European countries by helping them to develop problem-solving skills and encouraging them to self-recognize the need for help as well as how to help peers in need. METHODS: For this descriptive study all coordinators of the SEYLE Awareness program answered an open-ended evaluation questionnaire at the end of the project implementation. Their answers were synthesized and analyzed and are presented here. RESULTS: The results show that the program cultivated peer understanding and support. Adolescents not only learned about mental health by participating in the Awareness program, but the majority of them also greatly enjoyed the experience. CONCLUSIONS: Recommendations for enhancing the successes of mental health awareness programs are presented. Help and cooperation from schools, teachers, local politicians and other stakeholders will lead to more efficacious future programs