83 research outputs found
evidence for a moderator effect
Background: While ethnic discrimination emphasizes boundaries between
different cultures, the concept of transculturality focuses on the fact that
cultures can merge and that individuals integrate novel cultural elements into
their identity. This is an exploratory study that investigates the interplay
between perceived ethnic discrimination, psychological adjustment and
transcultural identity. Methods: Structured interviews were conducted using a
sample of 46 adolescents with a Turkish migratory background and 45
adolescents who were native born Germans. Results: Correlational and multiple
regression analyses revealed that perceived discrimination was clearly
associated with a poorer psychological adjustment among adolescents with a
migratory background. Transcultural identity moderated this relationship. That
is, adolescents who showed higher levels of transcultural identity displayed a
better psychological adjustment when compared to adolescents who showed lower
levels of transcultural identity—provided that they did not feel discriminated
against. This is congruent with the idea that transcultural identity can
involve considerable benefits for personality. However, when adolescents
perceived higher rates of discrimination, higher levels of transcultural
identity came attached to a poorer psychological adjustment. Conclusions: The
findings suggest that perceived discrimination has negative effects on the
well-being of immigrant adolescents—particularly for those who describe their
identity as transcultural. The findings are discussed considering specific
characteristics of transcultural identity, and how they stand in opposition to
discrimination
Magnetism and magnetotransport in sputtered Co-doped FeSi films
FeSi is a non-magnetic narrow-gap semiconductor that can be doped n-type by Co, which also gives rise to magnetic order. Here we report on the growth of sputtered thin films of Fe 0.8 Co 0.2 Si, which are predominantlyphase (B20 lattice structure), and possess that phase's characteristic magnetotransport properties. The ordinary Hall coefficient shows that each Co atom donates roughly one electron, whilst the magnetometry suggests that each gives rise to close to one Bohr magneton of moment. These results indicate that a highly spinpolarised electron gas persists despite the inevitable disorder in these thin films, suitable for spintronic devices
Periodicity staircase in a Fe/Gd magnetic thin film
Presence of multiple competing periodicities may result in a system to go
through states with modulated periodicities, an example of which is the
self-similar staircase-like structure called the Devil's staircase. Herein we
report on a novel staircase structure of domain periodicity in an amorphous and
achiral Fe/Gd magnetic thin film wherein the reciprocal space wavevector
\textbf{Q} due to the ordered stripe domains does not evolve continuously,
rather exhibits a staircase structure. Resonant X-ray scattering experiments
show jumps in the periodicity of the stripe domains as a function of an
external magnetic field. When resolved in components, the step change along
Q was found to be an integral multiple of a minimum step height of 7 nm,
which resembles closely to the exchange length of the system. Modeling the
magnetic texture in the Fe/Gd thin film as an achiral spin arrangement, we have
been able to reproduce the steps in the magnetization using a Landau-Lifshitz
spin dynamics calculation. Our results indicate that anisotropy and not the
dipolar interaction is the dominant cause for the staircase pattern, thereby
revealing the effect of achiral magnetism.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure
Antiferromagnetic real-space configuration probed by x-ray orbital angular momentum phase dichroism
X-ray beams with orbital angular momentum (OAM) are an up-and-coming tool for
x-ray characterization techniques. Beams with OAM have an azimuthally varying
phase that leads to a gradient of the light field. New material properties can
be probed by utilizing the unique phase structure of an OAM beam. Here, we
demonstrate a novel type of phase dichroism in resonant diffraction from an
artificial antiferromagnet with a topological defect. The scattered OAM beam
has circular dichroism whose sign is coupled to the phase of the beam, which
reveals the real-space configuration of the antiferromagnetic ground state.
Thermal cycling of the artificial antiferromagnet can change the ground state,
as indicated by the changing phase dichroism. These results exemplify the
potential of OAM beams to probe matter in a way that is inaccessible using
typical x-ray techniques
Relational resolutions: digital encounters in ethnographic fieldwork
The articles in this special issue highlight the
relationality existing between researchers, participants,
cameras and images, with each article bringing
complementary perspectives on the use of digital images
in ethnographic fieldwork. These include reactivating
archives through their digitization for visual
repatriation, facilitating dialogue and understanding
between participant and researcher, analysing the
relation between participants and the virtual spaces of
their self-representations and exploring the range of
capacities for new research methodologies afforded by
digital technologies. Individually and through their
juxtaposition, the articles highlight the complexity of the
interactions between researchers and participants in
their digital encounters and open dialogical spaces, in
ethnographic fieldwork and in visual anthropology,
about access, participation and transparency in
representational practices
A randomized controlled trial on the effectiveness of strength training on clinical and muscle cellular outcomes in patients with prostate cancer during androgen deprivation therapy: rationale and design
Background
Studies indicate that strength training has beneficial effects on clinical health outcomes in prostate cancer patients during androgen deprivation therapy. However, randomized controlled trials are needed to scientifically determine the effectiveness of strength training on the muscle cell level. Furthermore, close examination of the feasibility of a high-load strength training program is warranted. The Physical Exercise and Prostate Cancer (PEPC) trial is designed to determine the effectiveness of strength training on clinical and muscle cellular outcomes in non-metastatic prostate cancer patients after high-dose radiotherapy and during ongoing androgen deprivation therapy.
Methods/design
Patients receiving androgen deprivation therapy for 9-36 months combined with external high-dose radiotherapy for locally advanced prostate cancer are randomized to an exercise intervention group that receives a 16 week high-load strength training program or a control group that is encouraged to maintain their habitual activity level. In both arms, androgen deprivation therapy is continued until the end of the intervention period.
Clinical outcomes are body composition (lean body mass, bone mineral density and fat mass) measured by Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry, serological outcomes, physical functioning (muscle strength and cardio-respiratory fitness) assessed with physical tests and psycho-social functioning (mental health, fatigue and health-related quality of life) assessed by questionnaires. Muscle cellular outcomes are a) muscle fiber size b) regulators of muscle fiber size (number of myonuclei per muscle fiber, number of satellite cells per muscle fiber, number of satellite cells and myonuclei positive for androgen receptors and proteins involved in muscle protein degradation and muscle hypertrophy) and c) regulators of muscle fiber function such as proteins involved in cellular stress and mitochondrial function. Muscle cellular outcomes are measured on muscle cross sections and muscle homogenate from muscle biopsies obtained from muscle vastus lateralis.
Discussion
The findings from the PEPC trial will provide new knowledge on the effects of high-load strength training on clinical and muscle cellular outcomes in prostate cancer patients during androgen deprivation therapy.
Trial registration
ClinicalTrials.gov:
NCT0065822
Evaluation of individual and ensemble probabilistic forecasts of COVID-19 mortality in the United States
Short-term probabilistic forecasts of the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States have served as a visible and important communication channel between the scientific modeling community and both the general public and decision-makers. Forecasting models provide specific, quantitative, and evaluable predictions that inform short-term decisions such as healthcare staffing needs, school closures, and allocation of medical supplies. Starting in April 2020, the US COVID-19 Forecast Hub (https://covid19forecasthub.org/) collected, disseminated, and synthesized tens of millions of specific predictions from more than 90 different academic, industry, and independent research groups. A multimodel ensemble forecast that combined predictions from dozens of groups every week provided the most consistently accurate probabilistic forecasts of incident deaths due to COVID-19 at the state and national level from April 2020 through October 2021. The performance of 27 individual models that submitted complete forecasts of COVID-19 deaths consistently throughout this year showed high variability in forecast skill across time, geospatial units, and forecast horizons. Two-thirds of the models evaluated showed better accuracy than a naĂŻve baseline model. Forecast accuracy degraded as models made predictions further into the future, with probabilistic error at a 20-wk horizon three to five times larger than when predicting at a 1-wk horizon. This project underscores the role that collaboration and active coordination between governmental public-health agencies, academic modeling teams, and industry partners can play in developing modern modeling capabilities to support local, state, and federal response to outbreaks
The United States COVID-19 Forecast Hub dataset
Academic researchers, government agencies, industry groups, and individuals have produced forecasts at an unprecedented scale during the COVID-19 pandemic. To leverage these forecasts, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) partnered with an academic research lab at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to create the US COVID-19 Forecast Hub. Launched in April 2020, the Forecast Hub is a dataset with point and probabilistic forecasts of incident cases, incident hospitalizations, incident deaths, and cumulative deaths due to COVID-19 at county, state, and national, levels in the United States. Included forecasts represent a variety of modeling approaches, data sources, and assumptions regarding the spread of COVID-19. The goal of this dataset is to establish a standardized and comparable set of short-term forecasts from modeling teams. These data can be used to develop ensemble models, communicate forecasts to the public, create visualizations, compare models, and inform policies regarding COVID-19 mitigation. These open-source data are available via download from GitHub, through an online API, and through R packages
- …