Understanding the wellbeing of professional musicians through the lens of Positive Psychology

Recognizing the need to include musicians in mainstream wellbeing profiling and to move beyond a focus on debilitating factors of the music profession, this study aimed to understand how professional musicians experience wellbeing in the light of Positive Psychology. Guided by the PERMA model, the goal was to track enhancers and challenges for wellbeing in relation to the model’s five components: positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning and accomplishment. Participants included six professional musicians from six activities: solo, orchestral, choral, chamber, conducting and composing. Two interviews were conducted with each participant, separated by two weeks of diary record-keeping. Results point to high wellbeing. A clear sense of self appears as an overarching sustainer of wellbeing and the transition to professional life as the most challenging time regarding musicians’ flourishing. Positive emotions emerged as highly related to musical moments, while varying repertoire and experiencing different ensembles appeared as central sources of engagement. Meaning emerged as linked to the shared nature of music-making, and a sense of accomplishment was built on internal goals and oneness in performance with others. The key processes for positive functioning appeared to involve responses to, and regulation by, relationships. Implications are discussed in relation to the role of holistic training in educational settings

Validation of a Lagrangian model for large-scale macroplastic tracer transport using mussel-peg in NW Spain (Ría de Arousa)

Marine debris is a growing problem in recent years due to population growth around the world. The incorrect management of plastic waste causes these bodies reach the seas and oceans, becoming a worldwide problem. Once they reach the seas and oceans, they begin a long period of degradation, moving from a macro state (plastics whose diameter is greater than 0.5 cm) to a micro state (diameter less than 0.5 cm). The microplastics spread throughout the oceans, entering the food chain of marine species and, subsequently, of humans. Therefore, it is important to stop the problem while it remains at the macroscale. In this work, a validation of a recently developed Lagrangian computational model to track the movement of macro plastics in seas and oceans is presented. This validation is performed on a regional scale, in the Ría de Arousa, one of the most important estuaries for mussel cultivation in northwestern Spain. During mussel cultivation in rafts, a type of floating plastic stick are released, the mussel-pegs. The potential of this study is that we can compare the accumulation results of the model with the accumulation data collected on the Galician beaches. In a general framework, the influence of wind on the spatial distribution of the accumulations given by the model was observed. For the monitoring data, similar results were found for the accumulation trends over the entire total period. For the monthly representation, some discrepancies were observed. These differences can be attributed to particular synoptic situations, poor reproduction of the coastline or to the very orientation of the study area with respect to the intertidal dynamicsWe gratefully acknowledge financial support by CleanAtlantic Interreg Project (EAPA 46/2016) and Xunta de Galicia under Research Grant No. 2021-PG036-1S

Avances en la fabricación de células y módulos fotovoltaicos de silicio en capa fina mediante láser

El láser es un instrumento omnipresente en la fabricación de módulos fotovoltaicos. Los láser estándar para la interconexión monolítica de dispositivos de lámina delgada de a-Si son láser de estado sólido bombeados por diodo (DPSS) emitiendo en longitudes IR (λ=1064 nm) y en VIS (λ=532 nm). En este trabajo mostramos estudios de ablación de algunos materiales fotovoltaicos (óxidos conductores transparentes (OCT) y a-Si) con láser emitiendo en UV en el régimen de nanosegundos (ns). La afección térmica resultante en la ablación es menor, y por tanto se reduciría el riesgo de cortocircuitos en la interconexión monolítica, convirtiendo a las fuentes láser UV como herramientas prometedoras como alternativa a las fuentes estándar. Laser is an essential tool for photovoltaic modules manufacturing. Nowadays DPSS working at IR ( λ=1064 nm) and VIS (λ=532 nm) wavelengths are standard tools for thin film module fabrication. In this work we present ablation studies of some photovoltaic materials (transparent conductive oxides (TCO) and a-Si) using nanoseconds (ns) laser sources emitting in the UV. The thermal affection is minimized, and therefore it would be reduced the short-circuit formation risk in the monolithic interconnection, demonstrating the potential use of ns laser sources emitting in the UV as promising alternative tools to the standard laser sources

Anti-proliferative Effects of Common Plant Extracts on Tumor Cells in Vitro

In 2018, the World Health Organization identified cancer as responsible for 1 in 6 deaths globally, encouraging the exploration of creative forms of cancer treatment. Our research interests include identifying anti-proliferative plant extracts and illuminating mechanisms of growth inhibition. In this study we measured the effects of Vitis vinifera (grapeseed), Juniperus communis (juniper berry), and Curcuma longa (turmeric) extracts on the proliferation of several normal and tumorigenic cell strains and lines (HFF-S2, HeLa, HepG2, MDA MB 231, and RAW 264.7). We performed dose response CyQUANT assays to analyze the effects on cell growth. We are using DNA analysis, recovery experiments, and DAPI staining to investigate whether our extracts induce apoptosis in these cells. Our results showed dose-dependent inhibition of cell growth in vitro with all three extracts but not with extracts from other plants. The results of this study suggest the potential for further study of components of grapeseed, juniper berry, and turmeric extracts as potential chemo preventive agents

Supermassive black holes at high redshifts

MeV blazars are the most luminous persistent sources in the Universe and emit most of their energy in the MeV band. These objects display very large jet powers and accretion luminosities and are known to host black holes with a mass often exceeding $10^9 M_{\odot}$. An MeV survey, performed by a new generation MeV telescope which will bridge the entire energy and sensitivity gap between the current generation of hard X-ray and gamma-ray instruments, will detect $>$1000 MeV blazars up to a redshift of $z=5-6$. Here we show that this would allow us: 1) to probe the formation and growth mechanisms of supermassive black holes at high redshifts, 2) to pinpoint the location of the emission region in powerful blazars, 3) to determine how accretion and black hole spin interplay to power the jet.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure. Submitted to the Astro2020 call for Science White Paper

Chemical dispersants can suppress the activity of natural oil-degrading microorganisms

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2015. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of National Academy of Sciences for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 112 (2015): 14900-14905, doi:10.1073/pnas.1507380112.During the Deepwater Horizon oil well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, the application of 7 million liters of chemical dispersants aimed to stimulate microbial crude oil degradation by increasing the bioavailability of oil compounds. However, the effects of dispersants on oil biodegradation rates are debated. In laboratory experiments, we simulated environmental conditions comparable in the hydrocarbon-rich, 1100m deep, plume that formed during the Deepwater Horizon discharge. The presence of dispersant significantly altered the microbial community composition through selection for potential dispersant-degrading Colwellia, which also bloomed in situ in Gulf deep-waters during the discharge. In contrast, oil addition lacking dispersant stimulated growth of natural hydrocarbon-degrading Marinobacter. Dispersants did not enhance heterotrophic microbial activity or hydrocarbon oxidation rates. Extrapolating this comprehensive data set to real world scenarios questions whether dispersants stimulate microbial oil degradation in deep ocean waters and instead highlights that dispersants can exert a negative effect on microbial hydrocarbon degradation rates.This research was supported by a grant from BP/the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative to support the "Ecosystem Impacts of Oil and Gas Inputs to the Gulf (ECOGIG)” consortium. PMM also acknowledges funding from the National Science Foundation (OCE-1057683)

Managing Urology Consultations During COVID-19 Pandemic: Application of a Structured Care Pathway

OBJECTIVE: To describe and evaluate a risk-stratified triage pathway for inpatient urology consultations during the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic. This pathway seeks to outline a urology patient care strategy that reduces the transmission risk to both healthcare providers and patients, reduces the healthcare burden, and maintains appropriate patient care. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Consultations to the urology service during a 3-week period (March 16 to April 2, 2020) were triaged and managed via one of 3 pathways: Standard, Telemedicine, or High-Risk. Standard consults were in-person consults with non COVID-19 patients, High-Risk consults were in-person consults with COVID-19 positive/suspected patients, and Telemedicine consults were telephonic consults for low-acuity urologic issues in either group of patients. Patient demographics, consultation parameters and consultation outcomes were compared to consultations from the month of March 2019. Categorical variables were compared using Chi-square test and continuous variables using Mann-Whitney U test. A P value \u3c.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Between March 16 and April 2, 2020, 53 inpatient consultations were performed. By following our triage pathway, a total of 19/53 consultations (35.8%) were performed via Telemedicine with no in-person exposure, 10/53 consultations (18.9%) were High-Risk, in which we strictly controlled the urology team member in-person contact, and the remainder, 24/53 consultations (45.2%), were performed as Standard in-person encounters. COVID-19 associated consultations represented 18/53 (34.0%) of all consultations during this period, and of these, 8/18 (44.4%) were managed successfully via Telemedicine alone. No team member developed COVID-19 infection. CONCLUSION: During the COVID-19 pandemic, most urology consultations can be managed in a patient and physician safety-conscious manner, by implementing a novel triage pathway

Access to communication technologies in a sample of cancer patients: an urban and rural survey

BACKGROUND: There is a growing awareness among providers of the symptom burden experienced by cancer patients. Systematic symptom screening is difficult. Our plan was to evaluate a technology-based symptom screening process using touch-tone telephone and Internet in our rural outreach cancer program in Indiana. Would rural patients have adequate access to technologies for home-based symptom reporting? OBJECTIVES: 1) To determine access to touch-tone telephone service and Internet for patients in urban and rural clinics; 2) to determine barriers to access; 3) to determine willingness to use technology for home-based symptom reporting. METHODS: Patients from representative clinics (seven rural and three urban) in our network were surveyed. Inclusion criteria were age greater than 18, able to read, and diagnosis of malignancy. RESULTS: The response rate was 97%. Of 416 patients completing the survey (230 rural, 186 urban), 95% had access to touch-tone telephone service, while 46% had Internet access (56% of urban patients, 38% of rural patients). Higher rates of Internet access were related to younger patient age, current employment, and higher education and income. The primary barrier to Internet access was lack of interest. Use of the Internet for health related activities was less than 50%. The preferred means of symptom reporting in patients with internet access were the touch-tone telephone (70%), compared to reporting by the Internet (28%). CONCLUSION: Access to communication technologies appears adequate for home-based symptom reporting. The use of touch-tone telephone and Internet reporting, based upon patient preference, has the potential of enhancing symptom detection among cancer patients that is not dependent solely upon clinic visits and clinician inquiry