Brief Report: Examining the Link Between Autistic Traits and Compulsive Internet Use in a Non-Clinical Sample

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders or autistic traits may profit from Internet and computer-mediated interactions, but there is concern about their Internet use becoming compulsive. This study investigated the link between autistic traits and Internet use in a 2-wave longitudinal study with a non-clinical community sample (n = 390). As compared to people with less autistic traits, people with more autistic traits did not report a higher frequency of Internet use, but they were more prone to compulsive Internet use. For women, more autistic traits predicted an increase in compulsive Internet use over time. These results suggest that, despite its appeal for people with autistic traits, the Internet carries the risk of compulsive use

Barriers to and facilitators for finding and keeping competitive employment:A focus group study on autistic adults with and without paid employment

PurposeThe aim of the study was to gain more insight into barriers to and facilitators for finding and keeping competitive employment for autistic adults. Research questions were: (1) What barriers and facilitators do autistic adults report in finding and keeping competitive employment?; and (2) What are differences and similarities between autistic adults with and without paid employment regarding barriers and facilitators for sustainable employment?MethodsEight focus groups were conducted (N = 64 autistic adults). Four groups included only participants without paid employment (N = 24), and four groups consisted exclusively of participants with current paid employment (including part-time, N = 40). All discussions were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim to enable inductive thematic content analysis. Data were analyzed using ATLAS.ti 9.ResultsTen themes and thirty-four subthemes were found. Many were interconnected. Themes facilitating sustainable employment included a positive workplace atmosphere, a supportive supervisor, being able to do work that aligns with interests and talents, favorable physical working conditions, coaching, higher self-insight, higher self-esteem, and proactivity. Most themes and subthemes emerged from both groups. Differences between the groups were that those with paid employment seemed to have experienced more friendly workplaces and supervisors, had received better coaching in finding and keeping employment, had higher self-insight and higher self-esteem, were more assertive and proactive.ConclusionsAs many (sub-)themes were interrelated, the results suggest that to improve work participation, particularly two key areas are promising: (1) to realize more friendly, well-being oriented and inclusive workplaces, and (2) to increase autistic adults’ self-insight into personal needs for positive wellbeing and self-knowledge regarding talents, wishes and well-being boundaries

Spatio-temporal Analysis of Remote Sensing and Field Measurements for Smart Farming

AbstractFor the optimization of crop yield and quality, there is an ongoing development in improving crop management advice, in order to cope with the spatial variability of the growth process, caused by local variations in, amongst others, soil composition, moisture and nutrition content. To achieve this improvement, reliable information is required on the actual status of the vegetation and the expected development and yield given different management scenarios. Remote sensing observations form a valuable information source for assessing the location of suboptimal growth, but hardly ever provide the cause of the arrearage. In order to determine this cause, the observations must be combined with other observations and models and analyzed integrally.This article presents the followed approach and initial results of a pilot project Smart Farming carried out in the Dutch North East Polder. Observations and data from several sources have been collected for a number of potato parcels in 2014. The collected data includes multi-temporal satellite and UAS observations, field based soil, vegetation and yield observations, soil type maps, height maps, historic parcel and crop information and meteorological data. A data driven approach was followed to determine the presence of relations between the various observations in order to couple location and probable cause of sub-optimal crop growth and determine temporal developments in series of observations. The available data was analyzed integrally using correlation, regression and histogram analysis techniques. All resulting spatial layers are visually presented in a GIS based web service environment, so that the advisor or farmer can view the raw and derived information interactively and form his/her conclusions

Performance Benefits of Pre- and Per-cooling on Self-paced Versus Constant Workload Exercise:A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Exercise in hot environments impairs endurance performance. Cooling interventions can attenuate the impact of heat stress on performance, but the influence of an exercise protocol on the magnitude of performance benefit remains unknown. This meta-analytical review compared the effects of pre- and per-cooling interventions on performance during self-paced and constant workload exercise in the heat.METHODS: The study protocol was preregistered at the Open Science Framework ( https://osf.io/wqjb3 ). A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed, Web of Science, and MEDLINE from inception to 9 June, 2023. We included studies that examined the effects of pre- or per-cooling on exercise performance in male individuals under heat stress (&gt; 30 °C) during self-paced or constant workload exercise in cross-over design studies. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool for randomized trials.RESULTS: Fifty-nine studies (n = 563 athletes) were identified from 3300 records, of which 40 (n = 370 athletes) used a self-paced protocol and 19 (n = 193 athletes) used a constant workload protocol. Eighteen studies compared multiple cooling interventions and were included more than once (total n = 86 experiments and n = 832 paired measurements). Sixty-seven experiments used a pre-cooling intervention and 19 used a per-cooling intervention. Average ambient conditions were 34.0 °C [32.3-35.0 °C] and 50.0% [40.0-55.3%] relative humidity. Cooling interventions attenuated the performance decline in hot conditions and were more effective during a constant workload (effect size [ES] = 0.62, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.44-0.81) compared with self-paced exercise (ES = 0.30, 95% CI 0.18-0.42, p = 0.004). A difference in performance outcomes between protocols was only observed with pre-cooling (ES = 0.74, 95% CI 0.50-0.98 vs ES = 0.29, 95% CI 0.17-0.42, p = 0.001), but not per-cooling (ES = 0.45, 95% CI 0.16-0.74 vs ES = 0.35, 95% CI 0.01-0.70, p = 0.68).CONCLUSIONS: Cooling interventions attenuated the decline in performance during exercise in the heat, but the magnitude of the effect is dependent on exercise protocol (self-paced vs constant workload) and cooling type (pre- vs per-cooling). Pre-cooling appears to be more effective in attenuating the decline in exercise performance during a constant workload compared with self-paced exercise protocols, whereas no differences were found in the effectiveness of per-cooling.</p

Значенння орієнталізма в музичній творчості Ц.А. Кюі і М.П. Мусоргського

Целью статьи является анализ ориентального творчества композиторов Ц.А. Кюи и М.П. Мусоргского. Исходя из целей статьи, были поставлены следующие задачи: 1. Анализ и оценка ориентального творчества Ц.А. Кюи. 2. Анализ и оценка ориентального творчества М.П. Мусоргского

Edge contribution to forward scattering by spheres

Edge functions T1 and T2, which describe the polarization-dependent edge contribution to forward scattering by spheres, are derived from the exact Mie solution. All the relative refractive indices and the 64 , x , 2048 size parameter range are considered. The edge functions significantly improve the approximation methods that can be used to calculate forward-scattering patterns. For m close to 1, an asymptotic approximation is used. Otherwise, the familiar geometrical optics approximation and the similar physical optics approximation for glory rays are used. Both geometrical and physical optics equations can be deduced from the above-mentioned asymptotic approximation

Принципи реалізму і теорії націоналізму

Статтю присвячено порівняльному аналізові теорій націоналізму й теорії політичного реалізму. Здійснена спроба синтезу цих двох теоретичних формацій з метою вдосконалення пізнавального апарату політології міжнародних відносин. На підставі базових положень реалізму, розглянуто роль націоналізму, як глобальної соціальної сили в світовій політиці, а також реалістські теоретичні інтерпретації цієї сили. Особливу увагу надано витлумаченню націоналізму як фактору міжнародних конфліктів та наслідкам для систем міжнародних відносин національних державотворчих процесів.Статья посвящена сравнительному анализу теорий национализма и теории политического реализма. С целью усовершенствования познавательного аппарата политологии международных отношений, осуществлена попытка синтеза этих двух теоретических систем. На основании базовых положений реализма рассмотрена роль национализма в мировой политике, а также реалистские интерпретации этой определяющей силы современности. Особое внимание уделено интерпретации роли национализма в международных конфликтах и последствиям для международных систем процессов образования новых государств.The article deals with comparative analysis of the theories of nationalism and theory of political realism. This study aimed at methodological synthesis of these two groups of theories in order to improve a cognitive potential of political science in the sphere of its application to international relations. The role of nationalism as a global social factor and interpretation of this factor by realism is regarded. The special research attention is paid to the ways modern international conflicts and state1building processes are inspired by nationalism

The association between indoor temperature and body mass index in children:the PIAMA birth cohort study

Background: Several experimental studies showed consistent evidence for decreased energy expenditure at higher ambient temperatures. Based on this, an association between thermal exposure and body weight may be expected. However, the effect of thermal exposure on body weight has hardly been studied. Therefore, this study investigated the association between indoor temperature and body mass index (BMI) in children in real life. Methods: This longitudinal observational study included 3 963 children from the Dutch Prevention and Incidence of Asthma and Mite Allergy (PIAMA) birth cohort that started in 1996. These children were followed from birth until the age of 11 years. Winter indoor temperature (living room and bedroom) was reported at baseline and BMI z-scores were available at 10 consecutive ages. Missing data were multiply imputed. Associations between indoor temperature and BMI were analyzed using generalized estimating equations (GEE), adjusted for confounders and stratified by gender. In a subgroup of 104 children, bedroom temperature was also measured with data loggers. Results: Mean reported living room and bedroom temperature were 20.3 degrees C and 17.4 degrees C, respectively. Reported and measured bedroom temperatures were positively correlated (r = 0.42, p = 0.001). Neither reported living room temperature (-0.03 = 0.04) and bedroom temperature (-0.01 = 0.02) nor measured bedroom temperature (-0.04 = 0.05) were associated with BMI z-score between the age of 3 months and 11 years. Conclusions: This study in children did not support the hypothesized association between indoor temperature and BMI in a real life setting

The impact of emerging sustainable technologies on existing electrical infrastructure in Ontario

Sustainable energy sources are urgently required, as traditional non-renewable energy sources are increasing in scarcity and subsequently in cost. Significant innovation and investment is required to incorporate newly developed sustainable energy technologies into the existing energy infrastructure network. This presentation will review how emerging sustainable technologies are interacting with existing energy infrastructure. Specifically it will review the existing electrical grid in Ontario, Canada, and the impact of sustainable technologies such as electric cars and distributed generation. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/3107

Extracellular Matrix Stiffness and Composition Regulate the Myofibroblast Differentiation of Vaginal Fibroblasts

Fibroblast to myofibroblast differentiation is a key feature of wound-healing in soft tissues, including the vagina. Vaginal fibroblasts maintain the integrity of the vaginal wall tissues, essential to keep pelvic organs in place and avoid pelvic organ prolapse (POP). The micro-environment of vaginal tissues in POP patients is stiffer and has different extracellular matrix (ECM) composition than healthy vaginal tissues. In this study, we employed a series of matrices with known stiffnesses, as well as vaginal ECMs, in combination with vaginal fibroblasts from POP and healthy tissues to investigate how matrix stiffness and composition regulate myofibroblast differentiation in vaginal fibroblasts. Stiffness was positively correlated to production of &alpha;-smooth muscle actin (&alpha;-SMA). Vaginal ECMs induced myofibroblast differentiation as both &alpha;-SMA and collagen gene expressions were increased. This differentiation was more pronounced in cells seeded on POP-ECMs that were stiffer than those derived from healthy tissues and had higher collagen and elastin protein content. We showed that stiffness and ECM content regulate vaginal myofibroblast differentiation. We provide preliminary evidence that vaginal fibroblasts might recognize POP-ECMs as scar tissues that need to be remodeled. This is fundamentally important for tissue repair, and provides a rational basis for POP disease modelling and therapeutic innovations in vaginal reconstruction