Neurobiological degeneracy and affordance perception support functional intra-individual variability of inter-limb coordination during ice climbing

This study investigated the functional intra-individual movement variability of ice climbers differing in skill level to understand how icefall properties were used by participants as affordances to adapt inter-limb coordination patterns during performance. Seven expert climbers and seven beginners were observed as they climbed a 30 m icefall. Movement and positioning of the left and right hand ice tools, crampons and the climber's pelvis over the first 20 m of the climb were recorded and digitized using video footage from a camera (25 Hz) located perpendicular to the plane of the icefall. Inter-limb coordination, frequency and types of action and vertical axis pelvis displacement exhibited by each climber were analysed for the first five minutes of ascent. Participant perception of climbing affordances was assessed through: (i) calculating the ratio between exploratory movements and performed actions, and (ii), identifying, by self-confrontation interviews, the perceptual variables of environmental properties, which were significant to climbers for their actions. Data revealed that experts used a wider range of upper and lower limb coordination patterns, resulting in the emergence of different types of action and fewer exploratory movements, suggesting that effective holes in the icefall provided affordances to regulate performance. In contrast, beginners displayed lower levels of functional intra-individual variability of motor organization, due to repetitive swinging of ice tools and kicking of crampons to achieve and maintain a deep anchorage, suggesting lack of perceptual attunement and calibration to environmental properties to support climbing performanc

A simulation-based approach for improving the largest border crossing between Europe and Turkey

Kapikule border crossing, connecting Turkey to Bulgaria, is one of the largest customs gates at Europe via road transportation. Although it has a high capacity and large land area, there occurs long delays in the custom services due to inefficient operations resulting with long queues of trucks and long service times. To overcome this problem, in this study we investigated the strategies that could be implemented to increase the efficiency of the Kapikule border crossing. In-depth interviews were conducted with the Kapikule customs gate authorities to determine the process flows. The current situation at the gate was analysed using discrete event simulation. Furthermore, several improvement scenarios were tested to identify those that will have the highest impact on reducing the queues and delays at the border. As a result, specific suggestions were delivered for the import and export processes. According to the results, Turkey's export to European countries by road is expected to increase by at least 5% by the suggested improvements made at the Kapikule Border.International Transporters' Association of TurkeyThis study is supported by the International Transporters' Associa-tion of Turkey (UND-Uluslararas Nakliyeciler DerThis study is sup-ported by the International Transporters' Association of Turkey (UND-Uluslararas Nakliyeciler Dernegi) . We are grateful to the Kapkule Border Crossing authorities for their cooperation

Cross-Cultural Validity of Bowen Theory in Southern European Countries

We present a comparison between Italy, Spain, Greece, and Portugal to test the cross-cultural validity of the Differentiation of Self Inventory Revised (DSI-R) Scales of emotional cut-off (EC) and emotional reactivity (ER). Our study focuses on the importance of in-depth analyses of the differentiation of self-constructs from a cross-cultural perspective and reflects on the possibility of conceptualising the universality of Bowen theory in southern European countries. The study involved 1,807 healthy individuals. All participants completed the DSI-R (Skowron & Schmitt, 2003). It was found that the measurement models had a suitable fit for each country group. Nevertheless, in our study, the two DSI-R subscales, ER and EC, highlighted a weak invariance, specifically demonstrating only the invariance of the pattern factor loadings and the magnitude of factor loadings in the four samples. The empirical and clinical implications of these data are discussed