Data gathering for actor analyses: A research note on the collection and aggregation of individual respondent data for MACTOR

The augmentation of future studies with data on actors and their interactions is suggested as a means to reduce uncertainty and to account for extreme or unexpected future outcomes due to the involvement of multiple actors and their competing perspectives and options. In the context of New Zealand’s health workforce forecasting environment, this research note presents a systematic method to gather and aggregate actor data developed for a recent foresight study. The method identifies the issues encountered and solutions developed when gathering data from time poor respondents representing diverse and sometimes oppositional actors, and for the coding and aggregation of these data for use in LIPSOR’s actor analysis tool, MACTOR. Worked examples are provided to demonstrate the method’s application with the software

Sex Impacts Regression Models Predicting Upper-Body Muscular Endurance

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data and the well-established overall benefits of physical activity (PA), only one out of three adults meet the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) muscle strengthening guidelines in the US. PA and obesity levels, cardiovascular endurance, psychological factors, and sex disparities have been suggested as possible predictors of this statistic. Minimum levels of muscular endurance are required to perform activities of daily living (ADL), maintain functional independence during aging, and to participate in leisure and PA without undue fatigue or risk of injury. Upper-body muscular endurance is commonly measured directly using the push-up test. Males are more likely than females to meet the muscle-strengthening physical activity guidelines. Regression analysis is often used in exercise prescription in an effort to provide answers to a phenomenon and make predictions of future behavior. PURPOSE: To examine whether a prediction model for upper-body muscular endurance using predicted oxygen consumption (VO2max), physical activity (PA) level, age, body mass index (BMI) and mental toughness index (MTI) scores during a push-up endurance test is subjected to sex. METHODS: In total, 162 participants agreed to participate (Mage= 23, SD=5.7). A calibrated Monark 828E cycle ergometer, an electronic HR monitor with a chest strap were used for the VO2max test prediction based on the heart rate termination. A standardized push-up test was chosen to measure muscular endurance. BMI was calculated based on height and body weight. PA and all of the aforementioned assessments were collected and calculated according to ACSM 10th ed. guidelines. The statistical analysis involved a multiple regression of the variables described above using R and p level was set at 0.05. RESULTS: The regression model for females was: y=.7+.04*x; F5,47=5.6, p=.00, R2=.373 and for males was: y=.73+.02*x; F5,78=1.9, p=.11, R2=.108. Comparing the regression models factored for sex revealed significant difference between males and females: x2(15)= 38.67, p=.00072. CONCLUSION: Muscular endurance is associated with improvements in cardiovascular and respiratory function, reduction in cardiovascular risk factors, decreased morbidity and mortality, and other benefits, such as decreased anxiety and enhanced performance. Our prediction model for upper-body muscular endurance was significantly different based on sex. Health care professionals may need to consider sex when using models for prescribing exercise to increase North Americans’ upper-body muscular endurance. Future studies on muscular endurance should focus on creating models examining the contribution of other factors in order to investigate the unexplained variance of our modeling. However, the authors believe that sex needs to be investigated further in any future regression modeling. Limitations may include self-reported data of physical activity and mental toughness scores

A metamorphic inorganic framework that can be switched between eight single-crystalline states

The design of highly flexible framework materials requires organic linkers, whereas inorganic materials are more robust but inflexible. Here, by using linkable inorganic rings made up of tungsten oxide (P8W48O184) building blocks, we synthesized an inorganic single crystal material that can undergo at least eight different crystal-to-crystal transformations, with gigantic crystal volume contraction and expansion changes ranging from −2,170 to +1,720 Å3 with no reduction in crystallinity. Not only does this material undergo the largest single crystal-to-single crystal volume transformation thus far reported (to the best of our knowledge), the system also shows conformational flexibility while maintaining robustness over several cycles in the reversible uptake and release of guest molecules switching the crystal between different metamorphic states. This material combines the robustness of inorganic materials with the flexibility of organic frameworks, thereby challenging the notion that flexible materials with robustness are mutually exclusive

Predicting molecular vibronic spectra using time-domain analog quantum simulation

Spectroscopy is one of the most accurate probes of the molecular world. However, predicting molecular spectra accurately is computationally difficult because of the presence of entanglement between electronic and nuclear degrees of freedom. Although quantum computers promise to reduce this computational cost, existing quantum approaches rely on combining signals from individual eigenstates, an approach that is difficult to scale because the number of eigenstates grows exponentially with molecule size. Here, we introduce a method for scalable analog quantum simulation of molecular spectroscopy, by performing simulations in the time domain. Our approach can treat more complicated molecular models than previous ones, requires fewer approximations, and can be extended to open quantum systems with minimal overhead. We present a direct mapping of the underlying problem of time-domain simulation of molecular spectra to the degrees of freedom and control fields available in a trapped-ion quantum simulator. We experimentally demonstrate our algorithm on a trapped-ion device, exploiting both intrinsic electronic and motional degrees of freedom, showing excellent quantitative agreement for a single-mode vibronic photoelectron spectrum of SO$_2$.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figure

Never the twain shall meet: a critical appraisal of the combination of discourse and psychoanalytic theory in studies of men and masculinity

In recent years there has been a number of attempts by different researchers to study men and masculinity using a combination of discourse theory and psychoanalysis. The main reason for this development is the sense that, on its own, discourse theory provides an incomplete account of masculine subjectivity. Psychoanalysis is thought to be able to fill those gaps. In this paper I want to begin by reviewing these arguments. I will provide an outline of the alleged deficiencies in discursive approaches to men and masculinity before going on to examine some of the work that has attempted the above synthesis. What I aim to show is that, for a number of reasons, such attempts are bound to fail. Instead, I will argue that better progress can be made in studies of masculinity by remaining within the theoretical boundaries of Discursive Psychology

Results from the Super Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (SuperCDMS) experiment at Soudan

We report the result of a blinded search for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) using the majority of the SuperCDMS Soudan dataset. With an exposure of 1690 kg days, a single candidate event is observed, consistent with expected backgrounds. This analysis (combined with previous Ge results) sets an upper limit on the spin-independent WIMP--nucleon cross section of $1.4 \times 10^{-44}$ ($1.0 \times 10^{-44}$) cm$^2$ at 46 GeV/$c^2$. These results set the strongest limits for WIMP--germanium-nucleus interactions for masses $>$12 GeV/$c^2$