Rape-supportive attitudes, loneliness and sexual aggression among involuntary celibates

Les célibataires involontaires (Incel) sont une communauté d’hommes qui ont commencé à attirer une attention scientifique, avec des démonstrations empiriques de propos misogynes, et des théorisations émergentes d’un parallèle entre les situations d’incels et les violences sexuelles animées par griefs. La présente étude vise ainsi donc en premier lieu à examiner si effectivement un célibat involontaire est lié autant à la solitude (autant comme caractéristique d’un célibat involontaire, mais aussi comme antécédent fréquent de crimes sexuels) et des attitudes soutenant des agressions sexuelles, mais elle vise aussi à voir si une situation de célibat involontaire, la solitude et des cognitions soutenant les agressions sexuelles sont reliées à des comportements d’agressions sexuelles. Un questionnaire sollicitant des hommes adultes à la recherche d’une relation amoureuse (N = 814), certains d’entre eux (61.5%) s’identifiant comme incel, a été conduit en ligne. Les analyses ont montré que l’endossement d’idées incels, de cognitions soutenant les agressions sexuelles et la solitude étaient reliés à l’autodéclaration d’avoir commis une agression sexuelle par le passé, et que la solitude en plus de certaines cognitions soutenant les agressions sexuelles étaient associées avec l’inclinaison à commettre une agression sexuelle dans le futur, mais l’endossement d’idées incel n’était pas relié à l’inclinaison à commettre une agression sexuelle dans le futur. Ces conclusions suggèrent que des recherches subséquentes sont nécessaires pour mieux comprendre la relation entre les situations de célibat involontaire et les violences sexuelles, et les implications que ceci aurait dans les secteurs d’intervention primaire, secondaire et tertiaire.Involuntary celibates (Incels) are an online community of men that have begun to draw scientific attention, with some empirical demonstration of misogynistic views, and emerging theorization observing parallels between their situation and grievance-fueled sexual violence. The present study therefore firstly aimed to examine whether indeed inceldom is linked to both loneliness (as a hypothesized characteristic of inceldom as well as a frequent antecedent to sexual offending) and rape-supportive attitudes, and secondly, to see whether inceldom, loneliness and rape-supportive cognitions are related to behavioral outcomes of sexual aggression. A survey of adult men seeking romantic relationships (N = 814), some of whom (61.5%) identifying as incels, was conducted online. Regression analyses showed that regardless of incel self-identification the endorsement of incel ideas, rape-supportive cognitions and loneliness were related to self-disclosed previous sexual aggression, and that loneliness and some but not all rape-supportive cognitions were associated with inclination towards committing future sexual aggression, but endorsement of incel ideas was not related to inclination towards future sexual aggression. These findings suggest that further research is needed to better understand the relationship between inceldom and sexual violence and the implications that this would have for primary, secondary and tertiary interventions

Using near infrared spectroscopy and heart rate variability to detect mental overload

Mental workload is a key factor influencing the occurrence of human error, especially during piloting and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) operations, where safety depends on the ability of pilots to act appropriately. In particular, excessively high or low mental workload can lead operators to neglect critical information. The objective of the present study is to investigate the potential of functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) – a non-invasive method of measuring prefrontal cortex activity – in combination with measurements of heart rate variability (HRV), to predict mental workload during a simulated piloting task, with particular regard to task engagement and disengagement. Twelve volunteers performed a computer-based piloting task in which they were asked to follow a dynamic target with their aircraft, a task designed to replicate key cognitive demands associated with real life ROV operating tasks. In order to cover a wide range of mental workload levels, task difficulty was manipulated in terms of processing load and difficulty of control – two critical sources of workload associated with piloting and remotely operating a vehicle. Results show that both fNIRS and HRV are sensitive to different levels of mental workload; notably, lower prefrontal activation as well as a lower LF/HF ratio at the highest level of difficulty, suggest that these measures are suitable for mental overload detection. Moreover, these latter measurements point towards the existence of a quadratic model of mental workload

Polyneuromyopathie des soins intensifs : prévention, évaluation, traitement et transfert de connaissances en physiothérapie

Dans le cadre du cours PHT-6113 Travail dirigéIntroduction/problématique : La polyneuromyopathie des soins intensifs est une pathologie caractérisée par une faiblesse généralisée se développant pendant une hospitalisation pour un état critique. À long terme, cette pathologie engendre des limites dans les activités fonctionnelles des patients et des coûts importants pour le système de santé. Une meilleure prise en charge de cette pathologie en physiothérapie pourrait contribuer ultimement à améliorer la qualité de vie de ces patients. Objectifs : Recenser les évidences scientifiques sur les facteurs de risque, la prévention, l’évaluation et le traitement en physiothérapie de cette pathologie. Faire le transfert de connaissances sur ces évidences en physiothérapie. Méthodologie : Revue systématique sur chacun des thèmes (prévention, évaluation, traitement) dans les bases de données Pubmed, Embase, CINAHL, PEDro et Cochrane. Résultats : Les facteurs de risque majeurs sont l’inflammation systémique, la sévérité de la condition, l’hyperglycémie, les corticostéroïdes à hautes doses et le sexe féminin. La prévention doit inclure l’insulinothérapie intensive et la stimulation neuromusculaire. L’outil d’évaluation à privilégier est le dynamomètre manuel pour évaluer la force de préhension. L’intervention précoce en physiothérapie associée à la stimulation neuromusculaire démontre les meilleures évidences. Dans le contexte des soins intensifs, l’utilisation d’une stratégie de transfert de connaissances associant un blogue, des conférences impliquant les gestionnaires et des aide-mémoires dans le milieu pourrait engendrer un changement dans les pratiques. Conclusion : Des stratégies de transfert des connaissances issues de ces données probantes devront être instaurées et évaluées afin d’améliorer le suivi en physiothérapie de la polyneuromyopathie des soins intensifs

Baryon Asymmetry of the Universe without Boltzmann or Kadanoff-Baym

We present a formalism that allows the computation of the baryon asymmetry of the universe from first principles of statistical physics and quantum field theory that is applicable to certain types of beyond the Standard Model physics (such as the neutrino Minimal Standard Model -- $\nu$MSM) and does not require the solution of Boltzmann or Kadanoff-Baym equations. The formalism works if a thermal bath of Standard Model particles is very weakly coupled to a new sector (sterile neutrinos in the $\nu$MSM case) that is out-of-equilibrium. The key point that allows a computation without kinetic equations is that the number of sterile neutrinos produced during the relevant cosmological period remains small. In such a case, it is possible to expand the formal solution of the von Neumann equation perturbatively and obtain a master formula for the lepton asymmetry expressed in terms of non-equilibrium Wightman functions. The master formula neatly separates CP-violating contributions from finite temperature correlation functions and satisfies all three Sakharov conditions. These correlation functions can then be evaluated perturbatively; the validity of the perturbative expansion depends on the parameters of the model considered. Here we choose a toy model (containing only two active and two sterile neutrinos) to illustrate the use of the formalism, but it could be applied to other models.Comment: 26 pages, 10 figure

Anticipating human error before it happens: Towards a psychophysiological model for online prediction of mental workload

Mental workload is a key factor influencing the occurrence of human error; specifically in remotely-operated vehicle operations. Both low and high mental workload has been found to disrupt performance in a nonlinear fashion at a given task; however, research that has attempted to predict individual mental workload has met with little success. The objective of the present study is to investigate the potential of the dual-task paradigm and prefrontal cortex oxygenation as online measures of mental workload. Subjects performed a computerized object tracking task in which they had to follow a dynamic target with their aircraft. Task difficulty was manipulated in terms of processing load and difficulty of control: two critical sources of workload associated with remotely operating a vehicle. Mental workload was assessed by a secondary concurrent time production task and a functional near infrared spectrometer. Results show that the effects of task difficulty differ across measures of mental workload. This pattern of behavioural and neurophysiologic results suggests that the empirically-based selection of an appropriate secondary task for the measure of mental workload is critical as its sensitivity may vary considerably depending on task factors

Life in mine tailings: microbial population structure across the bulk soil, rhizosphere, and roots of boreal species colonizing mine tailings in northwestern Québec

Abstract Purpose Mining activities have negative effects on soil characteristics and can result in low pH, high heavy metal content, and limited levels of essential nutrients. A tailings storage area located in northwestern Québec showed natural colonization by plants from the adjacent natural environment. The objective of the study was to determine the main edaphic parameters that structured microbial populations associated with the indigenous woody plants that had naturally colonized the site. Methods Microbial populations were studied in the bulk soil, the rhizosphere, and inside plant roots using Illumina sequencing, ordination analysis (i.e., redundancy analysis (RDA) and principal coordinates analysis (PCoA)), ternary plotting, and statistical analysis (MANOVA). Results The main variables that drove the microbial community patterns were plant species and the tailings pH. Indeed, the main bacterial classes were Gammaproteobacteria and Deltaproteobacteria in both the rhizosphere and root endosphere. Analysis revealed that some dominant operational taxonomic units (e.g., Pseudomonas sp., Acinetobacter sp., and Delftia sp.) were present in increased proportions in roots for each plant species under study. This study also revealed that many of the most abundant fungal genera (e.g., Claussenomyces, Eupenicillium, and Trichoderma) were more abundant in the rhizosphere than in the root endosphere. Conclusions This comprehensive study of the microbial community dynamics in the bulk soil, rhizosphere, and root endosphere of boreal trees and shrubs could be beneficial in facilitating the rehabilitation of disturbed ecosystems

Leading Order Calculation of Shear Viscosity in Hot Quantum Electrodynamics from Diagrammatic Methods

We compute the shear viscosity at leading order in hot Quantum Electrodynamics. Starting from the Kubo relation for shear viscosity, we use diagrammatic methods to write down the appropriate integral equations for bosonic and fermionic effective vertices. We also show how Ward identities can be used to put constraints on these integral equations. One of our main results is an equation relating the kernels of the integral equations with functional derivatives of the full self-energy; it is similar to what is obtained with two-particle-irreducible effective action methods. However, since we use Ward identities as our starting point, gauge invariance is preserved. Using these constraints obtained from Ward identities and also power counting arguments, we select the necessary diagrams that must be resummed at leading order. This includes all non-collinear (corresponding to 2 to 2 scatterings) and collinear (corresponding to 1+N to 2+N collinear scatterings) rungs responsible for the Landau-Pomeranchuk-Migdal effect. We also show the equivalence between our integral equations obtained from quantum field theory and the linearized Boltzmann equations of Arnold, Moore and Yaffe obtained using effective kinetic theory.Comment: 45 pages, 22 figures (note that figures 7 and 14 are downgraded in resolution to keep this submission under 1000kb, zoom to see them correctly

An open vibration platform to evaluate postural control using a simple reinforcement learning agent

In this paper, our research team proposes an inexpensive open vibration platform built from easily available electronic components to be used as a tool by physiotherapists in order to help them in their evaluation of the postural control of individuals at risk of postural imbalance which could lead to falls. The platform has been thought to be easily reproducible and all the code necessary to make it work is made available on the researchers’ websites. In addition, a simple reinforcement learning agent has been developed and tested to automatically calibrate the vibration motors for optimal stimulation. Finally, we present in this paper pilot experiments done on 7 healthy participants (40.8 years old) to validate the proper functioning of the platform

Strategies to reduce waiting times in outpatient rehabilitation services for adults with physical disabilities : a systematic literature review

Objective: Identifying effective strategies to reduce waiting times is a crucial issue in many areas of health services. Long waiting times for rehabilitation services have been associated with numerous adverse effects in people with disabilities. The main objective of this study was to conduct a systematic literature review to assess the effectiveness of service redesign strategies to reduce waiting times in outpatient rehabilitation services for adults with physical disabilities. Methods: We conducted a systematic review, searching three databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL and EMBASE) from their inception until May 2021. We identified studies with comparative data evaluating the effect of rehabilitation services redesign strategies on reducing waiting times. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool was used to assess the methodological quality of the studies. A narrative synthesis was conducted. Results: Nineteen articles including various settings and populations met the selection criteria. They covered physiotherapy (n = 11), occupational therapy (n = 2), prosthetics (n = 1), exercise physiology (n = 1) and multidisciplinary (n = 4) services. The methodological quality varied (n = 10 high quality, n = 6 medium, n = 3 low); common flaws being missing information on the pre-redesign setting and characteristics of the populations. Seven articles assessed access processes or referral management strategies (e.g. self-referral), four focused on extending/modifying the roles of service providers (e.g. to triage) and eight changed the model of care delivery (e.g. mode of intervention). The different redesign strategies had positive effects on waiting times in outpatient rehabilitation services. Conclusions: This review highlights the positive effects of many service redesign strategies. These findings suggest that there are several effective strategies to choose from to reduce waiting times and help better respond to the needs of persons experiencing physical disabilities

Heat transfer in a swirling fluidized bed with Geldart type-D particles

A relatively new variant in fluidized bed technology, designated as the swirling fluidized bed (SFB), was investigated for its heat transfer characteristics when operating with Geldart type D particles. Unlike conventional fluidized beds, the SFB imparts secondary swirling motion to the bed to enhance lateral mixing. Despite its excellent hydrodynamics, its heat transfer characteristics have not been reported in the published literature. Hence, two different sizes of spherical PVC particles (2.61mm and 3.65mm) with the presence of a center body in the bed have been studied at different velocities of the fluidizing gas. The wall-to-bed heat transfer coefficients were measured by affixing a thin constant foil heater on the bed wall. Thermocouples located at different heights on the foil show a decrease in the wall heat transfer coefficient with bed height. It was seen that only a discrete particle model which accounts for the conduction between the particle and the heat transfer surface and the gas-convective augmentation can adequately represent the mechanism of heat transfer in the swirling fluidized bed