Compared to standard rotationally symmetric macroscopic optical components, free-form micro-optical arrays (FMOAs), sometimes termed microstructured optical surfaces, offer greater design freedom and ...a smaller footprint. Hence, they are used in optical devices to deliver new functionalities, enhanced device performance, and/or a greater degree of miniaturization. But their more complex surface shape is a challenge for traditional manufacturing technologies, and this has triggered a substantial effort by research institutes and industry to develop alternative fabrication solutions. Two-photon polymerization (2PP) is a promising additive manufacturing technology to manufacture 3D optical (micro)structures. The manufacturing times involved are, however, often impractically long, especially for the excellent surface quality required for optical applications. Recently, Nanoscribe GmbH has reduced manufacturing times substantially with the introduction of so-called two-photon grayscale lithography (2GL). However, its acceleration potential and consequent impact on surface quality have, to the best of our knowledge, yet to be reported. A direct comparison between 2PP and 2GL indicates that, for the investigated FMOA, 2GL is around five times faster than 2PP and also delivers better surface quality. This study therefore confirms the potential of 2GL to manufacture complexly shaped FMOAs.
Currently available treatments for secondary progressive multiple sclerosis(SPMS) have limited efficacy and/or safety concerns. Adipose-mesenchymal derived stem cells(AdMSCs) represent a promising ...option and can be readily obtained using minimally invasive procedures.
In this triple-blind, placebo-controlled study, cell samples were obtained from consenting patients by lipectomy and subsequently expanded. Patients were randomized to a single infusion of placebo, low-dose(1x106cells/kg) or high-dose(4x106cells/kg) autologous AdMSC product and followed for 12 months. Safety was monitored recording adverse events, laboratory parameters, vital signs and spirometry. Expanded disability status score (EDSS), magnetic-resonance-imaging, and other measures of possible treatment effects were also recorded.
Thirty-four patients underwent lipectomy for AdMSCs collection, were randomized and thirty were infused (11 placebo, 10 low-dose and 9 high-dose); 4 randomized patients were not infused because of karyotype abnormalities in the cell product. Only one serious adverse event was observed in the treatment arms (urinary infection, considered not related to study treatment). No other safety parameters showed changes. Measures of treatment effect showed an inconclusive trend of efficacy.
Infusion of autologous AdMSCs is safe and feasible in patients with SPMS. Larger studies and probably treatment at earlier phases would be needed to investigate the potential therapeutic benefit of this technique.
Building upon impression management, the objective of this paper is to analyse the enhancement or obfuscation strategies of reporting corporate social responsibility (CSR) information. Concretely, ...this paper aims to examine the association between the CSR performance of the firm and the socially responsible disclosure strategy adopted by managers to obtain insights into the factors associated with balance, accuracy, clarity, comparability, and reliability of information. A sample of 273 international companies from the year 2007 to 2014 was used to develop our models of analysis. The results show that, according to an obfuscation disclosure strategy, firms with the worst CSR performance disclose information that is less balanced, accurate, and clear; moreover, these reports incorporate more optimistic, longer, and less readable information. Within the realm of impression‐management strategy, firms use thematic content and verbal tone manipulation as well as quantity and syntactical reading as impression‐management tools.
•We use an international sample from 2006 to 2014, applying several regression models for panel data.•We support the existence of positive externalities associated with the presence of women in board ...positions.•A greater board gender diversity decreases the risk of impression management strategies on sustainability disclosure.•The moderating role of institutional factors through the stakeholder orientation of the country of origin is examined.
This study proposes a new research approach to examine the relationship between board diversity, in terms of gender differences, and the quality of sustainability reporting, measured by several aspects: balance, conciseness, clarity, comparability and reliability of information. In addition, this study examines the moderating role that institutional factors exert on this relationship through the stakeholder orientation of the country of origin. The research questions are examined using an international sample of 273 firm-year observations from 2006 to 2014, applying several regression models for panel data. Our evidence is consistent with the existence of positive externalities associated with the presence of women in supervisory and senior management positions. That is, we evidence how boards with greater female representation decrease the risk of impression management strategies on sustainability disclosure. Female directors are positively associated with more balanced, comparable and reliable information; although, they are also associated with less precise and clear information, given their narrative character. Moreover, evidence reports that these effects are greater in firms located in more stakeholder-oriented countries. Results are robust for alternative gender diversity measures.
The purpose of this work was to study the relationship between reported traumatic experiences in childhood and positive psychotic symptoms. We hypothesized that dissociative experiences were ...potential mediators between childhood trauma and hallucinations, but not delusions. The sample comprised 71 patients diagnosed with psychoses. They were assessed with the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES‐II; Carlson & Putnam, 1993), a questionnaire on trauma (TQ; Davidson, Hughes, & Blazer, 1990), and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS; Kay, Opler, & Lindenmayer, 1988) delusions and hallucinations items. The results showed that childhood trauma was positively associated with the dissociation scale scores (r = .40) and also the hallucination (r = .36) and delusions scale scores (r = .32). Furthermore, it was demonstrated that the dissociation variable was a potential mediator between childhood trauma and hallucinations, but not between childhood trauma and delusions. Of the 3 DES‐II factors, only depersonalization showed a mediating relationship between childhood trauma and hallucinations. The main conclusion is that the impact of childhood trauma on hallucinations may not simply be direct, but mediated by dissociative experiences, especially depersonalization. Clinical implications are also briefly discussed.
Integration of structural, stratigraphic, and paleomagnetic data from the N–S trending structures of the Ainsa Oblique Zone reveals the kinematics of the major thrust salient in the central Pyrenees. ...These structures experienced clockwise vertical axis rotations that vary from 70° in the east (Mediano anticline) to 55° in the west (Boltaña anticline). Clockwise vertical axis rotations of 60° to 45° occurred from early Lutetian to late Bartonian when the folds and thrusts of the Ainsa Oblique Zone developed. This vertical axis rotation stage resulted from a difference of about 50 km in the amount of displacement on the Gavarnie thrust and an accompanying change in structural style at crustal scale from the central to the western Pyrenees, related to the NE–SW trending pinch out of Triassic evaporites at its basal detachment. A second rotation event of at least 10° took place since Priabonian, as a result of a greater displacement of the Serres Marginals thrust sheet with respect to the Gavarnie thrust sheet above the Upper Eocene‐Oligocene salts. The deduced kinematics demonstrates that the orogenic curvature of the central Pyrenees is a progressive curvature resulting from divergent thrust transport direction. Layer parallel shortening mesostructures and kilometer‐scale folds also developed by a progressive curvature related to divergent shortening directions during vertical axis rotation. Rotation space problems were solved by along‐strike extension which triggered the formation of transverse extensional faults and diapirs at the outer arcs of structural bends.
Key Points
Progressive curvature, divergent thrust transport direction
Along‐strike differential shortening by the distribution of weak salt levels
Along‐strike extension and related diapirism
The telomere repeat-binding factor 1 (TERF1, referred to hereafter as TRF1) is a component of mammalian telomeres whose role in telomere biology and disease has remained elusive. Here, we report on ...cells and mice conditionally deleted for TRF1. TRF1-deleted mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) show rapid induction of senescence, which is concomitant with abundant telomeric gamma-H2AX foci and activation of the ATM/ATR downstream checkpoint kinases CHK1 and CHK2. DNA damage foci are rescued by both ATM and ATM/ATR inhibitors, further indicating that both signaling pathways are activated upon TRF1 deletion. Abrogation of the p53 and RB pathways bypasses senescence but leads to chromosomal instability including sister chromatid fusions, chromosome concatenation, and occurrence of multitelomeric signals (MTS). MTS are also elevated in ATR-deficient MEFs or upon treatment with aphidicolin, two conditions known to induce breakage at fragile sites, suggesting that TRF1-depleted telomeres are prone to breakage. To address the impact of these molecular defects in the organism, we deleted TRF1 in stratified epithelia of TRF1(Delta/Delta)K5-Cre mice. These mice die perinatally and show skin hyperpigmentation and epithelial dysplasia, which are associated with induction of telomere-instigated DNA damage, activation of the p53/p21 and p16 pathways, and cell cycle arrest in vivo. p53 deficiency rescues mouse survival but leads to development of squamous cell carcinomas, demonstrating that TRF1 suppresses tumorigenesis. Together, these results demonstrate that dysfunction of a telomere-binding protein is sufficient to produce severe telomeric damage in the absence of telomere shortening, resulting in premature tissue degeneration and development of neoplastic lesions.
We present a novel empirical assessment of the determinants of sovereign yield synchronization dynamics in the European Monetary Union. This topic has been seldom addressed in the existing ...macroeconometric literature. We use a time-varying measure of government bond yields synchronization and Bayesian Model Averaging methods to show that the persistence of synchronization measures differs significantly between GIIPS countries (Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain) and the rest of the monetary union, as well as across periods characterized by whether the zero lower bound of interest rates was binding or not. The degree of synchronization in inflation rates with the rest of the currency area is a robust predictor of the synchronization of sovereign yields, as opposed to economic fundamentals describing the fiscal positions of individual countries. An out-of-sample forecasting exercise reveals that accounting for the most relevant economic fundamentals can lead to improvements in the directional accuracy of the forecasts of yield synchronization rates for GIIPS countries.
•We examine the determinants of sovereign yield synchronization dynamics in Europe.•We address specification uncertainty and the existence of structural breaks.•Yield synchronization dynamics differ between GIIPS economies and the rest of the European Union.•Synchronization in inflation rates is associated with yield synchronization.•Accounting for relevant economic fundamentals improves forecast accuracy for GIIPS.
This study analyzes the extrinsic chirality of metamaterials based on printed circuit board (PCB). Inspired by extrinsic planar metamaterials, two novel 3-D chiral metamaterials (CMMs) have been ...proposed and analyzed. In these structures, called sawtooth and zigzag arrangements, each unit cell and not the entire metamaterial is tilted with respect to the incident field. In both cases, the same single-layer metallic pattern, that is, a split-ring resonator (SRR), was used. In comparison with the traditional planar extrinsic chiral structures, it is shown, by numerical and experimental characterization, that these new types of arrangements exhibit a larger circular dichroism (CD), approximately 0.90, in the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">X</tex-math> </inline-formula>-band, with a significant wideband response. The analysis of the extrinsic chirality shows that it is originated by the dipole moments excited on the unit cells. With circular polarization, the constructive/destructive interference between these dipoles produces CD. However, owing to the broadside coupling between adjacent unit cells, the proposed nonplanar arrangements provide higher CD values than the planar structure.
Background
The first wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic caused a shortage of health care staff, forcing the hiring of senior nursing students.
Aims
To describe the psychosocial impact and coping ...strategies used by nursing students during the first outbreak of the COVID‐19 pandemic and to understand the coping strategies they employed.
Method
A qualitative exploratory study was conducted, based on Sandelowski's proposal. Purposive sampling was carried out to recruit 18 students hired during the pandemic. The students were interviewed between 18 March and 15 June 2020. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted using a digital platform. An inductive thematic analysis was performed.
Findings
The students lived alone and isolated during their contract to protect their cohabitants from possible contagion. The impact of working during the pandemic leads to experiences of stress, insomnia, nightmares and anxiety. Nursing students coped with the emotional burden through mental disconnection and the support of co‐workers and family members.
Conclusion
Psychological support and tutoring should be provided by health centres. In addition, in these special circumstances, universities should adapt the training provided.
Summary statement
What is already known about this topic?
In Spain, as in many other countries, a state of alarm was declared during the first wave of COVID 19. The Ministry of Health established measures to manage the health crisis and contain infections, including the hiring of senior nursing students to work.
Working conditions had a high physical and psycho‐emotional impact on health professionals.
The lack of prior experience of students in the context of a pandemic and how they enter the workforce could make it difficult to develop adequate coping strategies, enhancing the presence of mental and emotional disorders.
What this paper adds?
During their work, and in order to avoid contagion, the students lived apart from their families, limited their contacts and were isolated in refuge in rooms or homes. Upon entering the home, they showered, changed clothes and disinfected any surfaces they touched.
The students described feeling stressed due to the lack of protective equipment and staff, heavy workloads and lack of knowledge regarding the unit and work protocols. They worried about making mistakes, doing their jobs poorly or being unable to help patients. When they got home, they had episodes of insomnia and anxiety.
Faced with this situation, students used mental disconnection or distraction as coping strategies. Others shared their fears and uncertainties with other health care professionals and family members, seeking support and understanding. Other times, they tried to be strong and hide their suffering.
The implications of this paper:
The incorporation of students as relief for professionals in a situation of extreme need is not exempt from significant psychosocial risks and should include monitoring programs and psychological evaluation.
The hospitals should monitor and mentor students to facilitate their adaptation to similar situations in the future.
The students required greater support from the administration, including offering them housing where they could live away from family and relatives.
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