Attitudes Toward COVID-19 and COVID-19 Vaccinations Among Athletic Trainers

Purpose: Following the beginning of the pandemic brought about by the novel coronavirus which causes COVID-19, the first COVID-19 vaccination received emergency use authorization in the United States of America in December of 2020. Current research has shown the authorized COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalizations and death have a good safety profile. Additionally, the side effects associated with these vaccines are typically mild to moderate while the protection against hospitalization and severe disease is substantial. (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html). At the time of this study, there appears to be a paucity in the research related to the attitudes toward COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines among athletic trainers. The purpose of this study is to describe the attitudes toward COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines among athletic trainers. Methods: A total of 186 athletic trainers (age= 43 ± 11, years of certified experience = 20 ± 11) opened and completed the survey. Participants were sent an electronic survey via email that collected demographic information and assessed attitudes toward COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Data was downloaded and analyzed using a commercially available statistics package. Results: The majority of athletic trainers surveyed had received a COVID-19 vaccination at the time of this study (94.1%, n=175). Most athletic trainers also agreed that the health of their patients was more important than disruption of their competition season due to COVID-19 (82.3%, n=153). In general, the most common reason for vaccine hesitancy was the speed with which currently available COVID-19 vaccines were developed. Conclusions: The findings of this study show the majority of surveyed athletic trainers had received a COVID-19 vaccine. The primary reason for athletic trainers not receiving a COVID-19 vaccination appeared to be the speed at which the currently available COVID-19 vaccines were developed. Given the available information on the new mRNA COVID vaccines, this may indicate a lack of education on the development of the COVID-19 vaccines. As athletic trainers continue to work in day-to-day patient care, it is imperative to determine the best methods for educating athletic trainers on the potential benefits of COVID-19 vaccinations

European standard on small punch testing of metallic materials

In the 1980s, studying the effect of neutron irradiation and temper embrittlement on structural materials for the fusion and fission programmes was a major challenge. In this context the development of small specimen test techniques began, allowing the characterization of structural materials for nuclear applications with small amounts of material. The small punch technique is of one these small specimen test approaches. It is widely used for the development and monitoring of structural materials, however there is currently no comprehensive international standard for small punch testing. An EN standard on small punch testing is currently being developed under the auspices of ECISS/TC101/WG1. Besides describing the apparatus, procedures, and specimens, it will include recommendations for the estimation of tensile, fracture and creep properties from small punch testing as well as machine readable formats for representing and transferring test data. This paper describes the current status of the standard and highlights some of the changes with regard to the current CWA 15672 (2007)

A multiple timepoint pre-post evaluation of a ‘sexual respect’ dvd to improve competence in discussing sex with patients with disability

Sexual problems are common after chronic illnesses and disability, yet research indicates that this is a neglected area in healthcare services. Evaluation studies provide evidence of the effectiveness of education in enhancing professionals’ knowledge, skills, and comfort in addressing patients’ sexual concerns. However, there are limited evaluations aimed at improving ability to discuss sexuality when working with people with disabilities. The overall aim of this study was to evaluate a ‘Sexual Respect’ DVD as an intervention to improve competence in addressing ‘sexuality and disability’. A mixed methods design was used with both quantitative and qualitative components. Nursing students’ self-report ratings of knowledge, confidence, comfort and willingness (to discuss sexuality) levels were collected across four time points: baseline, pre-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up. Data were analysed using one-way repeated measures ANOVAs with post hoc comparisons. Open-ended qualitative comments relating to the barriers and facilitators to discussing sexuality were analysed using content analysis and subsequent frequency analysis. Reported barriers included lack of knowledge about sex¬uality and disability issues, the patient’s level of disability, and waiting for the patient to raise sexuality issues first. Facilitators included education/training, written information, and if the patient raised it first. Overall, the DVD intervention had a significant and positive impact on nursing students’ self-reported knowledge, confidence, comfort and willingness levels. The findings are discussed in relation to the PLISSIT model, which emphasises the importance of a proactive approach to addressing sexuality issues

An overview of using small punch testing for mechanical characterization of MCrAlY bond coats

Considerable work has been carried out on overlay bond coats in the past several decades because of its excellent oxidation resistance and good adhesion between the top coat and superalloy substrate in the thermal barrier coating systems. Previous studies mainly focus on oxidation and diffusion behavior of these coatings. However, the mechanical behavior and the dominant fracture and deformation mechanisms of the overlay bond coats at different temperatures are still under investigation. Direct comparison between individual studies has not yet been achieved due to the fragmentary data on deposition processes, microstructure and, more apparently, the difficulty in accurately measuring the mechanical properties of thin coatings. One of the miniaturized specimen testing methods, small punch testing, appears to have the potential to provide such mechanical property measurements for thin coatings. The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of using small punch testing to evaluate material properties and to summarize the available mechanical properties that include the ductile-to-brittle transition and creep of MCrAlY bond coat alloys, in an attempt to understand the mechanical behavior of MCrAlY coatings over a broad temperature range

Rozpoznawanie gatunków muzycznych z użyciem splotowych sieci neuronowych

The aim of this study was to develop a music genre classifier using convolutional neural networks and to compare its performance with a traditional algorithm based on support vector machines. A distinct feature of the proposed approach was to utilize two-channel stereo signals at the input of the convolutional network. The proposed method yielded similar results compared to those obtained with the traditional approach, demonstrating the potential of the proposed method and indicating the need for its further optimization. Using two-channel stereo signals at the input of the algorithm showed no improvements over the baseline method exploiting single-channel recordings, suggesting that monaural signals fed to the convolutional network might be sufficient to undertake the task of music genre recognition. According to the results, the network ‘prioritized’ the temporal changes over the frequency variations of the signals. This observation tentatively implies that the classifiers specifically designed to account for temporal changes might potentially better serve the task of music genre recognition than the convolutional neural networks.Celem niniejszej pracy było opracowanie klasyfikatora gatunków muzycznych z użyciem splotowych sieci neuronowych i porównanie go z tradycyjnym algorytmem opartym na maszynie wektorów wspierających. Wyróżniającą cechą zaproponowanego podejścia było wykorzystanie dwu-kanałowego dźwięku stereofonicznego na wejściu sieci splotowej. Zaproponowana metoda dała podobne wyniki do rezultatów otrzymanych z użyciem podejścia tradycyjnego, demonstrując potencjał zaproponowanej metody oraz wskazując na potrzebę jej dalszej optymalizacji. Wykorzystanie dwu-kanałowego dźwięku stereofonicznego na wejściu algorytmu nie poprawiło wyników w porównaniu z metodą bazową wykorzystującą nagrania jednokanałowe, sugerując, iż zastosowanie dźwięków monofonicznych na wejściu splotowej sieci neuronowej jest adekwatne do celów rozpoznawania gatunków muzycznych. Zgodnie z uzyskanymi wynikami, sieć potraktowała priorytetowo zmiany czasowe w porównaniu ze zmianami częstotliwościowymi sygnałów. Obserwacja ta pozwala wstępnie przypuszczać że klasyfikatory specjalnie zaprojektowane, by uwzględnić zmiany czasowe, potencjalnie mogłyby lepiej służyć celom rozpoznawania gatunków muzycznych niż neuronowe sieci splotowe

Reactivity of Nitrate with Zero-Valent Iron

Elevated nitrate concentrations in groundwater and surface water supplies can negatively impact the quality of the environment and human health. Recent studies have examined the use of zero-valent iron technology to treat nitrate-contaminated groundwater. Mechanistic aspects of nitrate reduction by zero-valent iron are unresolved. This project investigated the kinetics and mechanism of nitrate reduction by zero-valent iron under anoxic conditions and under oxic conditions. Stirred-batch reactions were studied over environmentally relevant ranges of reactant concentration, pH, and temperature. A complex rate expression was derived with a 1.8 order dependence on nitrate, a 1.4 order dependence on zero-valent iron, and a fractional order (0.8) dependence on proton concentrations under anoxic conditions. An apparent activation energy of 35 kJ mol−1 was observed indicating that nitrate reduction was diffusion controlled under our conditions. Furthermore, the calculated entropy of activation value of −162 J mol−1K−1 indicates that this reaction occurred by an associative mechanism. Under oxic conditions, there was a lag period in nitrate reduction where oxygen was preferentially utilized, leading to a slower rate of nitrate reduction when compared with anoxic conditions. These rate data can be used in predicting nitrate disappearance in nitrate-contaminated groundwater and wastewater treated with zero-valent iron