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In recent years, various stakeholders and political decision-makers have recognized the significance of high-quality urban sound environments, stressing the need for user-centered trajectories. Despite the rising interest in this field, the soundscape approach has not yet fully permeated urban planning and design, possibly due to a lack of comprehensible guidelines on how to implement and curate successful soundscape designs, attributed to on-going developments on this subject. In the course of the Catalogue of Soundscape Interventions (CSI) Project, a taxonomy of eight dimensions was developed to serve as an orientation aid for practitioners, describing important aspects of soundscape-related measures that can be used as a brief to facilitate communication between authorities, consultants, and researchers. This study describes the theoretical framework and, in particular, the sequential coding process involved in deriving these dimensions, which is based on grounded theory. It lists observations and limitations of the resulting taxonomy and builds upon these findings to critically review and revisit existing nomenclature and concepts. Finally, a qualitative distinction in the form of a design pyramid according to ascending levels of epistemic rigor is proposed, to differentiate between documented practices, which may serve as a reference point for future harmonization and standardization.

The mental health of healthcare workers was affected by physical and psychological challenges during the pandemic. The aim was to study how psychosocial considerations can help manage behaviour change, mental health, and work satisfaction of nurse trainees in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. This cross-sectional study involved ninety-nine students. Participants' anxiety, fear of the coronavirus, and perceived work satisfaction were measured by GAD-7, FCV19S, and COM-B scales and assessed using descriptive, correlational, and linear regression analysis. The significant zero-order correlations between job satisfaction and fear, anxiety, and psychosocial considerations were significant. They indicated moderate strength that allowed for further inferential development to find the best predictors of job satisfaction. The findings suggested that 50% of trainees showed anxiety above the suggested ≥8 cut-off on GAD-7, and 48% scored high for fear on FCV19S. There was a significant effect between year groups (F (2, 99)=4.25, p=0.02, η 2=0.081), with a Tukey post hoc test showing a significant difference between training years 1 and 2 with a p=0.015. A significant linear regression found that psychosocial variables in behaviour change (p≤0.001) and anxiety (p=0.011) were significant factors in job satisfaction, explaining 53.4% of the variance. Conclusion. Satisfaction was associated with higher levels of psychosocial considerations and low levels of anxiety and fear, which adds to previous literature on job satisfaction in nurse education. Future implications must examine ways to alleviate mental health effects and support policies and curricula to address this need., Author(s): Andrew E. P. Mitchell (corresponding author) [1] 1. Introduction The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is an exceptional time for healthcare professionals at the forefront of the healthcare [...]

In recent decades, there has been a growing interest in urban soundscapes and a shift towards a user-focused approach in urban sound environments. Despite this interest, there is no comprehensive taxonomy for soundscape design available. The Catalogue of Soundscape Interventions (CSI) project aims to fill this gap by creating a tool to collect and share data on real soundscape practices, with the goal of developing a design toolkit and brief to facilitate communication between local authorities, consultants, and researchers. An online platform has been launched to gather instances of soundscape interventions. This paper proposes eight dimensions of soundscape interventions and presents a taxonomy that categorizes these interventions based on recurring strategies and goals observed in 43 practice cases collected. These dimensions include stages, contributors, scale, period of time, intervention types, public involvement, aims and purposes, and approaches. As soundscape practices increase in complexity and variety, the taxonomy can be revised and expanded. Nevertheless, the provided taxonomy serves as an orientation aid for understanding, analyzing, and designing soundscapes, leading to the development of more harmonious and contextually appropriate acoustic environments.

Isolated rupture of the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) of the knee is extremely rare in professional football, and there is a paucity of literature describing the rehabilitation for this injury. This case report demonstrates the use of a return-to-performance (RTP erf) pathway that is time-independent, has clear criteria, and progressive phases to help inform decisions made by a multidisciplinary team (MDT). A 25-year-old professional footballer sustained an isolated LCL rupture following a tackle by an opposing player, forcing his knee into excessive varus motion. Five days after the injury, the player underwent surgical repair of the LCL before commencing an RTP erf pathway. The player returned to team training 12 weeks after surgery before successfully returning to play (RTP lay) at 13.5 weeks. The player completed full RTP erf at 16 weeks and continued to play with no evidence of instability or pain. This case report outlines how an RTP erf pathway can be successfully used to guide the management of isolated LCL ruptures of the knee. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) is a rare vasculitis associated with significant cardiac morbidity and mortality. This case report presents the diagnostic and management challenges of EGPA-related arrhythmias in a remote general hospital setting. Case summary A 64-year-old Caucasian male presented with an indolent prodrome of fatigue, shortness of breath and anorexia, that culminated in an acute presentation with pulmonary embolism. His complicated clinical course included intracranial haemorrhage and refractory ventricular arrhythmias. Eosinophilia and sub-endocardial hypoattenuation observed on chest computed tomography were key findings that led to the diagnosis of EGPA. Multiple anti-arrhythmic therapies were required as temporary measures whilst control of the underlying eosinophilic inflammation was achieved. Once stable, the patient was transferred to a tertiary cardiac centre for further investigation and cardioverter-defibrillator implantation. With EGPA now well controlled, he has experienced no further ventricular arrhythmias and has fully recovered. Conclusion Cardiac complications of EGPA, including ventricular arrhythmias, are difficult to manage without concurrent immunosuppression, which may itself further destabilize cardiac electrophysiology. The role of multiple imaging modalities in the diagnosis and monitoring of EGPA is emphasized, with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging playing a crucial role in detecting sub-endocardial fibrosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the association between appropriateness and the pleasantness-eventfulness circumplex model, as well as the influencing environmental and personal factors, in accordance with the recommended questionnaire of ISO/TS 12913-2 (2018). A database was used, containing over 1000 soundscape surveys collected across eleven locations in London. Confirmatory factor analysis and the structural summary method were applied to validate the relationship between appropriateness and the pleasantness-eventfulness circumplex model, while linear multilevel models were developed to investigate the effect of personal and environmental factors on appropriateness. The findings highlight varying relationship between appropriateness and the pleasantness-eventfulness dimensions of the soundscape circumplex model. The effect of personal factors on appropriateness is not negligible, accounting for approximately 2.1% of the variance. In contrast to the effects of the categories of landscape composition and acoustic metrics, dominant sound source type is the most influential category of environmental factors, with natural sounds explaining the most variance at 6%. Traffic noise is negatively associated with appropriateness which varies by location, while human sounds are negatively associated with appropriateness when respondents were Asian/Asian British. The findings provide empirical evidence of the relationship between appropriateness and the soundscape circumplex model and offer comprehensive insights into the affecting factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider word complexity and topological entropy for random substitution subshifts. In contrast to previous work, we do not assume that the underlying random substitution is compatible. We show that the subshift of a primitive random substitution has zero topological entropy if and only if it can be obtained as the subshift of a deterministic substitution, answering in the affirmative an open question of Rust and Spindeler [Indag. Math. (N.S.) 29 (2018), pp. 1131–1155]. For constant length primitive random substitutions, we develop a systematic approach to calculating the topological entropy of the associated subshift. Further, we prove lower and upper bounds that hold even without primitivity. For subshifts of non-primitive random substitutions, we show that the complexity function can exhibit features not possible in the deterministic or primitive random setting, such as intermediate growth, and provide a partial classification of the permissible complexity functions for subshifts of constant length random substitutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microorganisms inhabiting hostile Arctic environments express a variety of functional phenotypes, some of clinical interest, such as haemolytic ability and antimicrobial resistance. We studied haemolytic bacterial isolates from Arctic habitats, assessing their minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against antimicrobials. We then performed whole genome sequencing and analysed them for features conferring antimicrobial resistance. MIC data showed that Micromonospora spp. belong to 33% non‐wild type (NWT) for erythromycin and penicillin and 22% NWT for tetracycline. Both Pseudomonas spp. belong to 43% NWT for nalidixic acid and streptomycin and 29% NWT for colistin. Finally, the Pedobacter isolate was in 80% NWT for antimicrobials tested. Whole‐genome sequencing analyses revealed that fluoroquinolones, tetracyclines, macrolides and penams were the most frequent drug classes against which genotypic resistance was found. Additionally, resistance genes to heavy metals and disinfectants were identified. Our research demonstrates the presence of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria from Arctic habitats and highlights the importance of conservation efforts in these environments, where anthropogenic influence is becoming more evident. Furthermore, our data suggest the possible presence of novel resistance mechanisms, which could pose a threat if the responsible genes are transferable between species or become widespread due to environmental stress and alterations brought about by climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Research on athletic footwear familiarisation within an older population is sparse. This is problematic because unfamiliar footwear may act as a new perturbation and modify older adults' walking gait and stability. In addition, while athletic footwear has been suggested to enhance older adults' comfort and support during activities of daily living, the necessary period for familiarisation with athletic footwear is unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the number of steps required for older adults to be familiarised with athletic footwear of different midsole thicknesses. Methods: Twenty-six healthy and physically active community-dwelling older adults, 21 females (71.1 ± 4.5 years; 164.5 ± 5.3 cm; 68.4 ± 11.4 kg) and five males (70.6 ± 2.3 years; 175.2 ± 7.8 cm; 72.8 ± 9.7 kg), completed a walking-based protocol. Participants walked two trials of 200 steps at their habitual speed on a 10-m track of an optical measurement system in three footwear conditions: (1) New Balance® REVlite 890v6 (thick midsole); (2) New Balance® REVlite 1400v5 (moderate midsole); and (3) New Balance® Minimus 20v7 (thin midsole). Gait speed (m.s-1) and walking time (min) were analysed for each participant over the 400 steps. Number of required familiarisation steps were established over three analysis phases, consisting of steady-state gait assessment, averaging and analysis of blocks of 40 steps, and sequentially comparing these steps with a predetermined threshold. Footwear familiarisation was assumed when the mean gait speed fell within an acceptable level (±2 SD from 320 to 360 step values) and subsequently maintained. Results: Most participants were familiarised with all three footwear conditions (thick n = 18; moderate and thin n = 20) after walking 80 steps. For all participants, the moderate midsole had the shortest familiarisation period (160 steps). The highest number of familiarisation steps was found in the thick (320 steps) and thin midsoles (240 steps) for some participants. Conclusion: A minimum of 320 familiarisation steps is recommended to account for both individual differences and midsole thicknesses. Implementing this walking-based footwear familiarisation protocol would improve validity of future studies, ensuring they analyse footwear effects rather than familiarisation with the footwear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we critically examine the nature and legal force of interim measures requests (IMRs) issued by the Human Rights Committee (HR Committee) in response to communications received under the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR-OP1). Despite the lack of express provisions in the Covenant or the Optional Protocol regarding the power of the HR Committee to issue IMRs or the obligation of States to comply with them, the HR Committee has established its own Rules of Procedure to issue purportedly binding IMRs in certain circumstances. This article is the first thorough examination of whether IMRs are binding and, if so, on what basis. We conclude that States parties must comply with IMRs in good faith under Article 26 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. However, we note that this interpretation requires a forward-leaning approach that privileges the object and purposes of the ICCPR-OP1. The article contributes to the ongoing debate surrounding the legal nature and force of IMRs issued by the HR Committee. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case report details the management of a 23-year-old professional footballer who sustained a rupture of the proximal adductor longus (AL) tendon. Following surgical reattachment of the tendon, the player completed an eleven-phase return to performance (RTPerf) pathway designed to ensure a rapid and safe return to play (RTPlay). The pathway uses distinct phases that incorporate clinical, performance, and sport-specific criteria to guide decision-making throughout the process. This case report outlines the phases and criteria used in conjunction with shared decision-making by the interdisciplinary team (IDT) to ensure a successful RTPlay. The effectiveness of this pathway was demonstrated by the player’s return to competitive play 12 weeks post-surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given a looming crisis of environmental degradation, this conceptual review revisits certain long‐standing assumptions informing the development of management theory. Specifically, we problematise seminal notions of paradigm differentiation at the heart of Burrell and Morgan's theory of paradigms by arguing that assumptions of paradigm incommensurability amount to abdication of a responsibility to consider cross‐cutting existential imperatives. In developing the concept of epistemological panarchy, we build on some ideas of stakeholder theory to suggest a research agenda concerned with developing an improved meta‐epistemology aligned with concerns of environmental sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the complexities and challenges associated with onshoring manufacturing through local content requirements within the context of World Trade Organization (WTO) law. Governments have intensified efforts to relocate production within their territories, leveraging local content requirements and incentives. This shift is primarily justified by the need for supply chain resilience, public health, and national security, aiming to mitigate risks associated with reliance on foreign suppliers during crises. However, these strategies may conflict with WTO obligations, particularly those concerning trade-related investment measures and subsidies. Using pharmaceuticals as a case study, this article explores the rationale, scope, and implications of WTO rules on local content policies. The analysis provides insights into how nations navigate the delicate balance between enhancing domestic capabilities and adhering to international trade laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In international trade, State interventions often challenge the efficacy of traditional antidumping and countervailing measures under the World Trade Organization (WTO) framework. This article examines the limitations of the Anti-Dumping Agreement and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM Agreement) in addressing State interventions, such as export taxes, export bans on raw materials, and non-commercial activities by Stateowned enterprises. These interventions pose significant legal and economic challenges in global trade. The article advocates for the potential of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) as practical tools to address these challenges, surpassing traditional legal pathways under the Anti-Dumping Agreement. An analysis of recent WTO disputes demonstrates how PTAs provide targeted disciplines against State interventions that cause market distortions and unfair trade practices. PTAs offer a more rational and equitable approach to managing trade conflicts, avoiding conventional trade remedies' economic irrationalities and protectionist tendencies. The article proposes a strategic shift towards PTAs to fill gaps left by traditional WTO agreements. It highlights the need for a dynamic, adaptable legal framework in international trade that responds to sophisticated State interventions in the global economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]