We examined the effect of hand grip on object recognition by studying the modulation of the mu rhythm when participants made object decisions to objects and non-objects shown with congruent or incongruent hand-grip actions. Despite the grip responses being irrelevant to the task, mu rhythm activity on the scalp over motor and pre-motor cortex was sensitive to the congruency of the hand grip—in particular the event-related desynchronization of the mu rhythm was more pronounced for familiar objects grasped with an appropriate grip than for objects given an inappropriate grasp. Also the power of mu activity correlated with RTs to congruently gripped objects. The results suggest that familiar motor responses evoked by the appropriateness of a hand grip facilitate recognition responses to objects.
This study aimed to determine relationships between muscle quality, the ratio of muscle strength to muscle mass, and postural control and compare postural control of older adults with higher and lower muscle quality. Twenty-five older adults had leg muscle quality and postural control with eyes open and closed measured. Linear and non-linear postural control variables were calculated from centre of pressure movements. There was a significant canonical correlation between muscle quality and sway complexity, but no relationship between muscle quality and sway magnitude. Higher muscle quality older adults had greater medio-lateral sway complexity than lower muscle quality older adults. These findings suggest that higher muscle quality relates to greater sway complexity in older adults, suggesting maintenance of muscle quality should be considered important to attenuate postural control declines.
Forest School provision is a growing phenomenon in the UK due to its perceived impact on participant learning and wellbeing. This study sought to understand the impact of Forest School provision on the social and emotional development of participants using practitioner’s reflections. Semi-Structured interviews with six qualified Forest School Leaders explored practitioner experiences working with children and young people. A thematic analysis with a social-constructionist epistemology revealed three interrelated themes, which are inherent in the Forest School ethos. These themes show Forest Schools to be micro-communities constructed by participants. The study concluded that Forest School micro-communities are established by each Forest School that is formed. These micro-communities contribute to the social and emotional development of children and young people through the construction of a shared space, fostering a sense of community and a shared power paradigm between leaders and participants.
The female stardom of the so-called "golden age" of Italian cinema it is still a familiar presence in contemporary media, especially in talk-shows, reality shows, and sometimes in series and l-ms. Among these personalities, Catherine Spaak stands out for the continuity of her career and for the intellectual characterization of her public gure. Even in her latest participations to national TV shows, such as L'isola dei famosi and Un medico in famiglia, Spaak is introduced to the audience in relation to the character of rebel adolescent that made her a star in the Sixties, while in other occasions, she is compelled to discuss her aging with the public, sometimes as a way to frame her presence on screen. Drawing from Spaak's case, this contribution analyses the transformations of the discourses about gender and age in the Italian media culture. Spaak's star persona will serve as a prism to look at the adaptation of postfeminist media discourses in the Italian media and how the representations of aging intersect …
Summertime overheating in care settings has been identified as a key risk and research priority for the health and social care system. This paper examines the current and future risk of summertime overheating in two London-based care homes occupying modern and older buildings. Continuous monitoring of outdoor and indoor temperature in bedrooms, communal areas and offices in summer 2019 helped to establish the prevalence and intensity of overheating. Dynamic thermal simulation (EnergyPlusV8.9) of the two care settings assessed the potential for avoiding active cooling in future climate using passive solutions. In both care settings, indoor temperatures were observed to exceed 30°C during daytime hours, significantly higher than the recommended 26°C threshold of Public Health England. Although severity of overheating was lower in the older building, overheating was found to be prevalent and prolonged across both care settings with bedroom temperatures higher than lounges especially at night. Thermal simulation …
The paper reports an integrative literature review of research into the psychosocial factors which shape the transition to parenthood in couples following non-donor in vitro fertilization in comparison with those conceiving spontaneously. Nineteen papers of non-donor IVF and SC mothers and fathers were included. Differences between groups were reported for a range of psychosocial measures during the transition from pregnancy to parenthood including: the control couples feel they have over their lives (locus of control), parental adjustment and child behaviour, parental stress, parental investment in the child, self-esteem and self-efficacy, greater levels of protectiveness (separation anxiety) towards child, marital and family functioning, family alliance, marital satisfaction and communication, as well as anxiety, indirect aggression and lowered respect for the child. We have conceptualised these differences as three substantive themes which reflect psychosocial factors shaping transition to parenthood in pa…
Machine learning is now applied in virtually every sphere of life for data analysis and interpretation. The main strengths of the method lie in the relative ease of the construction of its structures and its ability to model complex non-linear relationships and behaviours. While application of existing materials have enabled significant technological advancement there are still needs for novel materials that will enable even greater achievement at lower cost and higher effectiveness. The physics underlining the phenomena involved in materials processing and behaviour however still pose considerable challenge and yet require solving. Machine learning can facilitate the achievement of these new aspirations and desires by learning from existing knowledge and data to fill in gaps that have so far been intractable for various reasons including cost and time. This paper reviews the applications of machine learning to various aspects of materials design, processing, characterisation, and some aspects of fabrication …
California has set two ambitious targets aimed at achieving a high level of decarbonization in the coming decades, namely (i) to generate 60% and 100% of its electricity using renewable energy (RE) technologies, respectively, by 2030 and by 2045, and (ii) introducing at least 5 million zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) by 2030, as a first step towards all new vehicles being ZEVs by 2035. In addition, in California, photovoltaics (PVs) coupled with lithium-ion battery (LIB) storage and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are, respectively, the most promising candidates for new RE installations and new ZEVs, respectively. However, concerns have been voiced about how meeting both targets at the same time could potentially negatively affect the electricity grid’s stability, and hence also its overall energy and carbon performance. This paper addresses those concerns by presenting a thorough life-cycle carbon emission and energy analysis based on an original grid balancing model that uses a combination of historical hou…