How do dental practices respond to changes in scope of practice regulations?

Regulations that restrict the tasks that credentialed workers are allowed to perform may affect a firm's input choices, output, and which part of the market the firm serves. Using dental practice survey data from 1989 to 2014 and a stacked difference-in-differences design, this paper examines the effects of state-level scope of practice regulations on the behavior of dental practices. Results suggest that scope of practice deregulation in regards to dental hygienists' ability to administer nitrous oxide or local anesthesia is associated with fewer dentist visits per week in the short-term, lower patient wait times, and an increased likelihood of treating lower revenue generating publicly insured patients. There is weak evidence that scope of practice deregulation alters a practice's labor inputs.

The mechanism of Shoutai Wan in the treatment of recurrent spontaneous abortion - A review.

Recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) is a prevalent pregnancy complication with a complex and poorly understood pathogenesis. Shoutai Wan (STW), a traditional Chinese medicine formula, is renowned for its kidney tonifying and fetus tranquilizing effects. It is used to treat miscarriages associated with kidney deficiency, hyperemesis gravidarum, and fetal restlessness. Recently, there has been an increase in experimental studies exploring the use of STW for RSA treatment, making progress in understanding its molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways. This review aims to systematically elucidate the mechanisms by which STW enhances cellular antioxidant capacity, attenuates inflammation, and improves the environment for embryo implantation. This involves regulating multiple signaling pathways, including Nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2/Heme oxygenase-1, JAK kinase 1/Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3, NOD-like receptor pyrin domain-containing protein/Caspase-1/Gasdermin D, Human Leukocyte Antigen G, Mitogen-activated protein kinase, and Serum and glucocorticoid-regulated kinase 1/Epithelial sodium channel. This review provides a theoretical reference for the clinical application and further experimental researches on the treatment of RSA with STW.

More Satisfaction, Less Equality: Distributive Effects of Transparent Needs in a Laboratory Experiment.

Societies are confronted with the dilemma that need satisfaction requires transparent individual needs. We study the effect of information about others' needs on the distribution of a joint endowment in a three-player network exchange game in a laboratory experiment. Need levels are exogenously given and either transparent (known to all three network members) or opaque (only known to the players themselves). The three players negotiate in dyads until two players agree on a distribution. We expect that the transparency of need thresholds raises need satisfaction but lowers equality. The results suggest that the members of the dyad who agree on the distribution can satisfy their own need thresholds even when information about thresholds is opaque. The effect of transparency on the remaining network member is antithetical: while transparency increases the rate of need satisfaction, it decreases the average share of allocations when needs are low. In the opaque condition, allocated shares are larger, but need satisfaction is lower. This reveals the ambivalent distributive effects of transparent need thresholds: Transparency helps those with the highest need thresholds, but it can hurt those with lower need thresholds, and it barely affects the ones with the most influence on the decision. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11211-024-00434-0.

Relationship between physical fatigue and mental fatigue based on multimodal measurement under different load levels.

Based on multimodal measurement methods of NASA task load index (NASA-TLX), task performance, surface electromyography (sEMG), heart rate (HR), and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), this study conducted experimental measurements and analyses under 16 different load levels of physical fatigue and mental fatigue combination conditions. This study observed the interaction between physical fatigue and mental fatigue at different levels, and at the subjective level, the effect of physical fatigue on mental fatigue was greater than that of mental fatigue on physical fatigue. Secondly, the results of fNIRS analysis showed that the premotor cortex is affected by physical fatigue, and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is affected by mental fatigue. Finally, this study constructed a fatigue classification model with an accuracy of 95.3%, which takes multimodal physiological data as input and 16 fatigue states as output. The research results will provide a basis for fatigue analysis, evaluation, and improvement in complex working situations.

Based on multimodal measurement methods of NASA-TLX, task performance, sEMG, HR, and fNIRS, this study illustrated the relationship between physical fatigue and mental fatigue, and proposed a classification method for different fatigue situations.

Electrical impedance detects early stages of bone healing: An in vivo explanatory study of tibial fractures in rabbits.

Purpose: Healing after bone fracture is assessed by clinical examination and frequent radiographs, which expose patients to radiation and lack standardisation. This study aimed to explore electrical impedance patterns during bone healing using electrical impedance spectroscopy in 18 rabbits subjected to tibial fracture stabilised with an external fixator. Methods: Impedance was measured daily across the fracture site at a frequency range of 5 Hz to 1 MHz. Biweekly radiographs were analysed using modified anterior-posterior (AP) radiographic union score of the tibia (RUST). The animals were divided into three groups with different follow-up times: 1, 3 and 6 weeks for micro-computer tomography and mechanical testing. Results: A decreasing trend in impedance was observed over time for all rabbits at lower frequencies. Impedance closest to 5 Hz showed a statistically significant decrease over time, with greatest decrease occurring during the first 7 postoperative days. At 5 Hz, a statistically significant correlation was found between impedance and the modified AP RUST score and between impedance and bone volume fraction. Conclusions: This study showed that the electrical impedance can be measured in vivo at a distance from the fracture site with a consistent change in impedance over time and revealed significant correlation between increasing radiographic union score and decreasing impedance. Level of Evidence: Not applicable.

Influence of Leaders' Emotional Labor and Its Perceived Appropriateness on Employees' Emotional Labor.

Emotional labor is a crucial yet often overlooked aspect of effective leadership. To address this, the current study adopts the Emotion as Social Information (EASI) model as a theoretical framework to investigate the influence of leaders' emotional labor and perceived appropriateness on employees' emotional labor. A two (leaders' emotional labor strategies: surface acting vs. deep acting) by two (perceived appropriateness: appropriate vs. inappropriate) between-subjects experiment was designed with a sample of 120 front-line service employees from hotels in Shanghai. The results showed that regardless of whether the perception of a leader's surface acting was deemed appropriate or not, employees tended to perform surface acting, while the impact of the perceived appropriateness regarding the leader's deep acting was different, wherein an appropriate display of deep acting by the leader significantly influenced employees to engage in deep acting themselves. The managerial implications and limitations of the findings are also discussed.

Restricting the content of alcohol advertising and including text health warnings: A between-group online experiment with a non-probability adult sample in the United Kingdom.

BACKGROUND: Statutory options for restricting alcohol advertising include limiting it to product-orientated information and requiring health warnings. We assess the impact of removing positive contextual factors from alcohol advertising and including a health warning among adults in the United Kingdom (UK). METHODS: We conducted a 2 × 2 online between-group experiment with adults (18+) (n = 2421) recruited from a non-probability research panel in the United Kingdom. Participants were randomized to see an alcohol (vodka) advertisement (advert) which varied by context (no context vs. imagery depicting positive social interactions around alcohol) and message (multiple text health warning vs. "drink responsibly"). The multiple text health warning, based on recent legislation in Ireland, comprised three separate warnings (liver disease, cancers, drinking during pregnancy) and a web address for alcohol-related information and support. The "drink responsibly" control reflected the self-regulatory messages commonly used by alcohol companies. Participants rated the advert on 7-point scales for advert attractiveness, product appeal, trial intentions, perceived harm, and whether it made drinking alcohol seem enjoyable. RESULTS: Removing the positive social context reduced positive advert and product reactions (difference in estimated marginal means [EMM]: -1.57 [makes drinking alcohol seem enjoyable] to -0.23 [intention to try]). Including the multiple text health warning also reduced positive advert and product reactions (difference in EMM: -0.55 [advert attractiveness] to -0.25 [intention to try]) and increased perceived product harm (difference in EMM: +0.25). There were no interactions between advert context and message for any outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Restricting content and including a multiple text health warning (compared to a "drink responsibly" message) may attenuate the persuasive impact of alcohol advertising and increase perceived product harm. Further research is needed to examine different degrees of content restrictions, alternative warning content and design, generalizability to different alcohol products and advert formats, and whether the impact of content controls varies among population subgroups.

Tecnologia educativa para disseminação do programa Fall TIPS Brasil / Educational technology for disseminating the Fall TIPS Brasil program

Resumo: Esta tese integra o projeto de pesquisa e desenvolvimento tecnológico "Difusão e adoção do programa Fall Tailoring Interventions for Patient Safety (Fall TIPS): engajamento de pacientes, profissionais e liderança clínica para a prevenção de quedas em ambiente hospitalar". Está conectada à linha de Pesquisa de Gerenciamento de Serviços de Saúde e Enfermagem do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Enfermagem da Universidade Federal do Paraná e objetivou construir, de maneira colaborativa, uma tecnologia educativa em formato de Curso Massivo, Aberto e Online (MOOC) sobre o programa Fall TIPS Brasil para a prevenção de quedas hospitalares, valendo-se de recursos variados, como infográficos, vídeos, podcasts e jogos interativos, destinada à disseminação da proposta entre profissionais e estudantes da área da saúde; e verificar o aprendizado estatisticamente significativo em relação ao conhecimento dos cursistas antes e após o seu acesso. Primeiramente ocorreu o processo de construção do MOOC com colaboração multidisciplinar, envolvendo docentes, estudantes de graduação e pós-graduação, profissionais de saúde e do setor de ensino a distância da universidade participante, fase de desenvolvimento tecnológico. Após, a abordagem quase experimental não randomizada e não concorrente foi realizada com 21 estudantes do último período do curso de graduação em enfermagem de uma universidade pública, tendo sido submetidos a um questionário contendo 10 questões objetivas antes e após o acesso ao MOOC. Os dados foram analisados mediante estatística descritiva e analítica. A construção do MOOC foi iniciada em 2020, com a primeira edição lançada em outubro de 2023. As etapas observadas na sua elaboração incluíram a escolha do tema, a produção do curso, a avaliação preliminar e a divulgação. O conhecimento dos cursistas após o acesso foi significativamente (p <0,001) maior, quando comparado com os resultados antes do acesso. A média das notas antes do acesso ao curso foi 7,1 e, após, foi 8,9. As evidências encontradas demonstram o sucesso da intervenção. O desenvolvimento do MOOC de maneira colaborativa, o direcionamento dos materiais para o público-alvo respeitando suas dificuldades e potencialidades permitem aderência a proposta, contribuindo para que a intervenção possibilite a ampliação do conhecimento sobre o programa Fall TIPS Brasil. Assim, destaca-se a importância de os profissionais de saúde possuírem conhecimento para poderem promover o engajamento dos pacientes e acompanhantes em prol da prevenção de quedas, sendo o MOOC um recurso promissor para essa finalidade.

Abstract: This thesis integrates the research and technological development project "Diffusion and adoption of the Fall Tailoring Interventions for Patient Safety (Fall TIPS) program: engagement of patients, professionals, and clinical leadership for the prevention of falls in the hospital environment." It is connected to the Research Line in Health Services Management and Nursing of the Graduate Program in Nursing at the Federal University of Paraná and aimed to collaboratively construct an educational technology in the form of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on the Fall TIPS Brazil program for the prevention of hospital falls, utilizing various resources such as infographics, videos, podcasts, and interactive games, intended for disseminating the proposal among healthcare professionals and students; and to verify statistically significant learning regarding the knowledge of the participants before and after accessing the course. First, the process of building the MOOC occurred through multidisciplinary collaboration, involving faculty, undergraduate and graduate students, healthcare professionals, and the university's distance education sector, in the phase of technological development. Subsequently, a quasi-experimental non-randomized and non-concurrent approach was conducted with 21 final-year nursing students from a public university, who were subjected to a questionnaire containing 10 objective questions before and after accessing the MOOC. Data were analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics. The construction of the MOOC began in 2020, with the first edition launched in October 2023. The stages observed in its development included choosing the theme, producing the course, preliminary evaluation, and dissemination. Participants' knowledge after accessing the course was significantly higher (p <0,001) compared to the results before access. The average score before accessing the course was 7,1 and after was 8,9. The evidence found demonstrates the success of the intervention. Collaborative development of the MOOC, directing materials to the target audience while respecting their difficulties and potentialities, allows adherence to the proposal, contributing to expanding knowledge about the Fall TIPS Brazil program. Thus, the importance of healthcare professionals having knowledge to promote the engagement of patients and caregivers in fall prevention is highlighted, with the MOOC being a promising resource for this purpose.

A review of microplastic transport in coastal zones.

Transport of microplastics (MPs) in coastal zones is influenced not only by their own characteristics, but also by the hydrodynamic conditions and coastal environment. In this article, we first summarized the source, distribution and abundance of MPs in coastal zones around the world through the induction of in-situ observation literature, and then comprehensively reviewed the different transports of MPs in coastal zones, including sedimentation, vertical mixing, resuspension, drift and biofouling. Afterwards, we conducted a comparative analysis of relevant experimental literature, and found that the current experimental research on microplastic transport mainly focused on the settling velocity under static water and the transport distribution under dynamic water. Based on the relevant literature on numerical simulation of microplastic transport in coastal zones, it was also found that the Euler-Lagrange method is the most widely used. The main influencing factor in the Euler method is hydrodynamic, while the Lagrange method and Euler-Lagrange method is hydrodynamic and microplastic particle characteristics. Tides in hydrodynamics are mentioned the most frequently, and the role of turbulence in almost all the literature. The density of MPs is the most influencing factor on transport results, followed by size, while shape is only studied in small-scale models. Some literature has also found that the influence of biofilms is mainly reflected in the changes in the density and size of MPs.

Total Saponins of Dioscorea Mitigate Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis in Mice by Regulating AMPK/SREBP-1c/ACC Signaling Pathway / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo investigate the role and mechanism of total saponins of Dioscorea （TSD） in mitigating nonalcoholic steatohepatitis （NASH） in mice. MethodForty-eight C57BL/6J mice were randomized into a normal group and a modeling group. The mice for modeling were fed with a high-fat and high-cholesterol diet + 20% fructose solution for 16 weeks and randomized into model， atorvastatin （4 mg·kg-1·d-1）， and high-， medium-， and low-dose （200， 60， and 20 mg·kg-1·d-1） TSD groups. The mice were administrated with corresponding doses of drugs by gavage for 8 weeks. The mouse activity， liver index， levels of total cholesterol （TC）， triglycerides （TG）， and free fatty acids （FFAs） in the liver， and levels of TC， TG， aspartate aminotransferase （AST）， alanine aminotransferase （ALT）， γ-glutamyl transferase （GGT）， interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， and tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） in the serum were measured. Hematoxylin-eosin staining， Masson staining， oil red O staining， and transmission electron microscopy were employed to observe the pathological changes， lipid accumulation， and morphological changes of liver ultrastructure. Western blot was employed to determine the protein levels of AMP-activated protein kinase （AMPK）， sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c （SREBP-1c）， acetyl-CoA carboxylase （ACC）， and phosphorylated ACC （p-ACC） in the liver tissue. ResultCompared with the normal group, the activity of mice in the model group decreased(P<0.05， P<0.01), the levels of TC, TG, FFA and serum TC, TG, ALT, AST, GGT, IL-1β and TNF-α, liver coefficient and liver pathology scores were significantly increased, the expression of p-AMPK/AMPK and p-ACC proteins in liver tissues was significantly reduced, and the expressions of SREBP-1c and ACC proteins were significantly increased (P<0.01). Compared with the model group， atorvastatin increased the mouse activity （P<0.05）， while each dose of TSD caused no significant changed in the mouse activity. The levels of TC, TG, FFA in liver and serum TC, TG, ALT, AST, GGT, IL-1β, TNF-α, liver coefficient and liver pathological score in TSD and atorvastatin groups were significantly decreased, and the expressions of p-AMPK/AMPK and p-ACC in liver tissue were significantly increased. The expressions of SREBP-1c and ACC were significantly decreased (P<0.05,P<0.01). ConclusionTSD may alleviate NASH in mice by regulating the AMPK/SREBP-1c/ACC signaling pathway to reduce lipid synthesis.

Ecologically valid speech collection in behavioral research: The Ghent Semi-spontaneous Speech Paradigm (GSSP).

This paper introduces the Ghent Semi-spontaneous Speech Paradigm (GSSP), a new method for collecting unscripted speech data for affective-behavioral research in both experimental and real-world settings through the description of peer-rated pictures with a consistent affective load. The GSSP was designed to meet five criteria: (1) allow flexible speech recording durations, (2) provide a straightforward and non-interfering task, (3) allow for experimental control, (4) favor spontaneous speech for its prosodic richness, and (5) require minimal human interference to enable scalability. The validity of the GSSP was evaluated through an online task, in which this paradigm was implemented alongside a fixed-text read-aloud task. The results indicate that participants were able to describe images with an adequate duration, and acoustic analysis demonstrated a trend for most features in line with the targeted speech styles (i.e., unscripted spontaneous speech versus scripted read-aloud speech). A speech style classification model using acoustic features achieved a balanced accuracy of 83% on within-dataset validation, indicating separability between the GSSP and read-aloud speech task. Furthermore, when validating this model on an external dataset that contains interview and read-aloud speech, a balanced accuracy score of 70% is obtained, indicating an acoustic correspondence between the GSSP speech and spontaneous interviewee speech. The GSSP is of special interest for behavioral and speech researchers looking to capture spontaneous speech, both in longitudinal ambulatory behavioral studies and laboratory studies. To facilitate future research on speech styles, acoustics, and affective states, the task implementation code, the collected dataset, and analysis notebooks are available.

Chinese herbal medicines for prostate cancer therapy: From experimental research to clinical practice.

Prostate cancer remains the second most common malignancy in men worldwide, is a global health issue, and poses a huge health burden. Precision medicine provides more treatment options for prostate cancer patients, but its popularity, drug resistance, and adverse reactions still need to be focused on. Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) have been widely accepted as an alternative therapy for cancer, with the advantages of multiple targets, multiple pathways, and low toxicity. We searched the experimental research and clinical practice of CHMs for prostate cancer treatment published in PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science in the last five years. We found five CHM formulas and six single CHM extracts as well as 12 CHM-derived compounds, which showed induction of apoptosis, autophagy, and cell cycle arrest, suppression of angiogenesis, proliferation, and migration of prostate cancer cells, reversal of drug resistance, and enhancement of anti-tumor immunity. The mechanisms of action include the PI3K/Akt/mTOR, AR, EGFR and Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathways, which are commonly implicated in the development of prostate cancer. We also summarized the advantages of CHMs in patients with hormone-sensitive and castration-resistant prostate cancer and provided ideas for their further experimental design and application.

Social media reporting on agricultural adaptation to climate change in Pakistan: Measures and implications for sustainability.

The agricultural sector is the backbone and single-largest sector of the Pakistani economy. Pakistan's agricultural productivity is suffering due to climate change. The study aimed at finding how social media reporting can change patterns of attitudes among farmers to cope with sudden weather changes. A correlation-experimental research design was used to find the relationships and effects of climate change on agriculture in Punjab (Pakistan) and the mediating effect of social media reporting. A purposive sampling technique was used to collect samples from 120 male farmers. Online surveys, with the help of Google Docs, were used to collect participants' responses about the type of behavior they used to adopt when getting information about climate change through social media. After determining their reliability and validity through piloting, two self-constructed questionnaires were used: (i) Measuring Farmers' Behavior Influenced by Social Media Reporting of Climate Change and (ii) Effects of Social Media Reporting of Climate Change on Agriculture. Data were analyzed using SPSS-21, and correlation analysis was done to find out the relationship between social media reporting and farmers' behavior. Linear regression was used to measure the functional relationship between social media reporting about climate change and farmers' attitudes towards adopting precautions to increase annual yield. The coefficient of social media reporting was positively and significantly related to farmers' attitudes towards the selection of crops, land management, and water storage. Based on the findings, the social media reports significantly predicted patterns of farmers' behavior towards the adaptation of advanced measures to select crops, reduce pest attacks, manage land, and store water.

Shikonin Suppresses Cell Tumorigenesis in Gastric Cancer Associated with the Inhibition of c-Myc and Yap-1.

AIM: The study aimed to study the potential roles and mechanisms of shikonin in gastric cancer by network pharmacology and biological experiments. METHODS: The key genes and targets of shikonin in gastric cancer were predicted by network pharmacology and molecular docking study. The effect of shikonin on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of gastric cancer cells was detected by the CCK8 method, and wound healing and transwell assays. The expression levels of c-Myc and Yap-1 were detected via western blotting in gastric cancer cells after shikonin intervention. RESULTS: The results of network pharmacology revealed the key target genes of shikonin on gastric cancer cells to be c-Myc, Yap-1, AKT1, etc. GO and KEGG analysis showed regulation of cell migration, proliferation, adhesion, and other biological processes, including the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, HIF-1 signaling pathway, necroptosis, and other cancer pathways. Molecular docking showed shikonin to be most closely combined with protooncogenes c-Myc and Yap-1. In vitro experiments showed that the proliferation rate, migration, and invasion ability of the gastric cancer cell group decreased significantly after shikonin intervention for 24h. The expression levels of c-Myc and Yap-1 in gastric cancer cells were found to be significantly decreased after shikonin intervention. CONCLUSION: This study showed protooncogenes c-Myc and Yap-1 to be the core target genes of shikonin on gastric cancer cells. Shikonin may suppress gastric cancer cells by inhibiting the protooncogenes c-Myc and Yap-1. This suggests that shikonin may be a good candidate for the treatment of gastric cancer.

Forensic experiments on animal scavenging: A systematic literature review on what we have and what we need.

Vertebrate scavengers frequently affect forensic casework by feeding on human remains or by scattering body parts and bones. Therefore, animal activity can influence complete recovery of bodies, trauma analysis, and the estimation of the postmortem interval (PMI), potentially hampering identification of the deceased and elucidation of the perimortem circumstances. Experimental research is well suited to investigate scavengers and their impact on carcasses over time, generating knowledge on the forensic relevance of certain scavenger species or communities. However, there are currently no systematised standards to conduct these investigations with a forensic focus, impeding comparison and synthesis of the studies. In our work, we performed a systematic literature review and found 79 publications featuring terrestrial experiments on vertebrate scavenging and/or scattering within a forensic context. We extracted 21 variables describing the study environment, experimental design and the specimens. The results show that there is considerable inconsistency in the study designs and that some of the variables are insufficiently reported. We point out research questions and areas that require attention in future studies, stressing the importance of infrequently mentioned or applied variables. Furthermore, we recommend guidelines to include and report a list of variables in forensic scavenging and scattering experiments. These guidelines will help standardising future research in the field, facilitating inter-study consolidation of results and conclusions, and consequently, inform forensic casework.

[Alternative methods to animal testing: the need for funding and dissemination]. / Méthodes alternatives à l'expérimentation animale: un besoin de financement et de diffusion.

The use of animals for scientific purposes brings a moral conflict between the necessity for human health and animal rights. Indeed, science has shown that most animals used in research are sentient beings, capable of suffering. Based on the principle of the 3Rs, the European legislation encourages the development of alternative methods to animal testing. French and European public opinions support the development of alternatives and broadly reject the use of animals for scientific purposes when alternatives exist. However, alternative methods to animal testing are still lacking. In order to drastically reduce the use of animals to this end, significant fundings are necessary. As far as this matter is concerned, France comes at the bottom of the class, but the creation of its 3Rs centre gathering all major scientific institutes and launching calls for fundings is a step into the right direction. The European Union funds projects of alternative methods, so do other private stakeholders, such as companies and NGOs. Another matter is the dissemination of alternative methods to scientists so they are aware of these methods. Some French research teams develop innovative methods and try to disseminate them. French and European platforms bring together creators, users and regulators to that end. Funding and disseminating alternative methods to animal testing should be a priority.

Title: Méthodes alternatives à l'expérimentation animale: un besoin de financement et de diffusion. Abstract: L'utilisation des animaux pour la recherche, l'enseignement et les tests de toxicité des produits engendre un conflit moral entre sa nécessité pour la santé humaine et le respect dû aux animaux. Sur la base du concept des 3R, la législation européenne promeut le développement des méthodes alternatives à l'expérimentation. Le développement de ces méthodes est soutenu par l'opinion publique française et européenne, qui s'oppose globalement à l'expérimentation animale lorsque d'autres méthodes existent. Cependant, les méthodes alternatives sont encore insuffisantes. Pour réduire drastiquement le nombre d'animaux utilisés à des fins scientifiques, des financements importants sont nécessaires. Dans ce domaine, la France fait figure de mauvais élève. Toutefois, la création de son centre 3R, qui réalise des appels à projets, est un signal dans le bon sens. Quant à l'Union européenne, elle finance des projets de méthodes alternatives. D'autres acteurs privés, ONG et entreprises y participent. Un autre enjeu est la diffusion des méthodes alternatives pour que la communauté scientifique s'en empare. En France, des équipes de recherche développent des techniques innovantes. Des plateformes françaises et européennes permettent de rapprocher les concepteurs, les utilisateurs et les régulateurs pour diffuser les méthodes alternatives. Le financement et la diffusion des méthodes doivent se poursuivre et s'accentuer.

#influenced! The impact of social media influencing on self-esteem and the role of social comparison and resilience.

Social media influencers (SMIs) are online personas that acquire significant audiences on social networking sites (SNS) and have become a prevalent part of social media. Previous research indicates potentially detrimental effects of social media use on mental well-being, however, little is known about whether, how, and for whom online comparisons with SMIs lead to adverse psychological effects. In this study, we investigate the impact of positivity-biased images of female SMIs on the state self-esteem of female participants while considering social comparison processes as mediating and individual resilience as moderating factors. Regression analyses showed that acute exposure to positivity-biased SMI images led to upward social comparisons, which in turn predicted lower state self-esteem. Thus, results revealed a significant mediating effect of social comparisons on the association between image type and state self-esteem. However, when observing the direct effect of image type on state self-esteem, we found that the exposure to positivity-biased SMI images unexpectedly led to higher overall levels of state self-esteem relative to the control group. In light of contemporary social comparison literature, subsequent post-hoc analyses suggest that exposure to SMI images in this study may have prompted both contrastive and assimilative upwards comparisons, leading to varying consequences for distinct self-esteem dimensions, ultimately manifesting in the observed suppression effect. Resilience was not found to moderate the proposed associations. Thus, the findings of this study offer new insights into the impact of SMIs on individuals' self-evaluations online, challenging previous assumptions, and suggest a need for further examination.

Experimental Research on Application of Waste Concrete Powder-Waste Brick Powder-Cement Grout for Foundation Reinforcement in Mining Goaf.

Combined with a strategic policy for the recycling of construction waste, this paper puts forward a programme for treating a goaf foundation with waste concrete powder, waste brick powder, and cement grout (BCP cement grout). The BCP cement grout is prepared by replacing part of the waste concrete powder with waste brick powder, and the changeable rule of the setting time, water separation rate, stone rate, and viscosity of the grout with different rates for replacement are studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) are carried out. The mineral composition is analyzed and the microscopic mechanism is studied. The results show that the ratio of BCP cement grout developed by the experiment is reasonable; the unit cost is less than 160 yuan/t, which is 40% lower than that of pure cement grout; and both a good economic effect and good environmental effect are obtained. It has the advantages of low water separation rate, high stone rate, and low viscosity. When the ratio of cement powder: waste concrete powder: waste brick powder is 3:5:2 or 3:6:1, the 28 d compressive strength of the stone body is more than 2 MPa, meeting the filling requirements for a goaf foundation. It is not only technically feasible but also economically reasonable to apply construction waste powder to fill the goaf foundation. Recycling and utilizing construction waste can also achieve the ecological restoration of mined-out areas, highlighting the ecological benefits.

Mechatronic Design and Experimental Research of an Automated Photogrammetry-Based Human Body Scanner.

The article concerns the mechatronic design and experimental investigations of the HUBO automated human body scanning system. Functional problems that should be solved by using the developed scanning system are defined. These include reducing the number of sensors used while eliminating the need to rotate a human and ensuring the automation of the scanning process. Research problems that should be the subject of experimental research are defined. The current state of the art in the field of systems and techniques for scanning the human figure is described. The functional and technical assumptions for the HUBO scanning system are formulated. The mechanical design of the scanner, the hardware and information system architectures as well as the user's mobile application are presented. The method of operation of the scanning system and its innovative features are discussed. It is demonstrated that the developed solution of the scanning system allows the identified problems to be overcome. The methodology of the experimental research of the scanning system based on the photogrammetry technique is described. The results of laboratory studies with the use of dummies and experimental research with human participation are presented. The scope of the research carried out allows answers to the identified research problems related to the scanning of the human figure using the photogrammetry technique to be obtained. As part of laboratory tests using a measuring dummy, a mean error of 0.65 mm and standard deviation of the mean of 0.65 mm were obtained for the best scanner configuration. Research with human participation was carried out for the scanner version, in which the scanning time was 30 s, with the possibility of its reduction to 15 s. The results of studies using realistic dummies and with human participation were compared using the root mean square error parameter (RMSE) provided by the AliceVision framework, which was available for all analyzed objects. As a result, it was observed that these results are comparable, i.e., the RMSE parameter is equal to about 1 px.

Experimental and Numerical Simulation on the Penetration for Basic Magnesium Sulfate Cement Concrete.

The penetration resistance of the new material Basic Magnesium Sulfate Cement (BMSC) is studied through comprehensive application of an experimental and numerical simulation method. This paper consists of three parts. The first part introduces the preparation of Basic Magnesium Sulfate Cement Concrete (BMSCC) and the study of its dynamic mechanical properties. In the second part, on-site testing was carried out on both BMSCC and an ordinary Portland cement concrete (OPCC) target, and the anti-penetration performance of the two materials was analyzed and compared from three aspects: penetration depth, crater diameter and volume, and failure mode. In the last part, the numerical simulation analysis was carried out based on LS-DYNA, and the effects of factors, such as material strength and penetration velocity on the penetration depth, are analyzed. According to the results, the BMSCC targets have better penetration resistance performance than OPCC under the same conditions, mainly manifested in smaller penetration depth, smaller crater diameter and volume, as well as fewer cracks.