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This review paper examines extraction methods in the dimension stone industry. Traditional techniques, like thermal shock, hammer and chisel, and plug and feather, were used historically. However, advancements in technology have led to the adoption of mechanized methods. Diamond wire cutting is a highly efficient technique that reduces waste and ensures quality. Challenges like high costs and wire breakage remain. Circular diamond saws and frame sawing are explored as alternative methods. Stone characteristics influence machinery selection and researchers have studied the impact on extraction efficiency. Controlled blasting with explosives shows promise and requires further exploration and optimization.

Julita Chlebowicz,1 Radha Akella,1 John M Humphreys,1 Haixia He,1 Ashari R Kannangara,1 Shuguang Wei,2 Bruce Posner,2 Elizabeth J Goldsmith1 1Department of Biophysics, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA; 2Department of Biochemistry, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USACorrespondence: Elizabeth J Goldsmith, Department of Biophysics, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX, 75390-8816, USA, Tel +1 214 645 6376, Email Elizabeth.goldsmith@utsouthwestern.eduIntroduction: WNK [with no lysine (K)] kinases are serine/threonine kinases associated with familial hyperkalemic hypertension (FHHt). WNKs are therapeutic targets for blood pressure regulation, stroke and several cancers including triple negative breast cancer and glioblastoma. Here, we searched for and characterized novel WNK kinase inhibitors.Methods: We used a ~210,000-compound library in a high-throughput screen, re-acquisition and assay, commercial specificity screens and crystallography to identify WNK-isoform-selective inhibitors.Results: We identified five classes of compounds that inhibit the kinase activity of WNK1: quinoline compounds, halo-sulfones, cyclopropane-containing thiazoles, piperazine-containing compounds, and nitrophenol-derived compounds. The compounds are strongly pan-WNK selective, inhibiting all four WNK isoforms. A class of quinoline compounds was identified that further shows selectivity among the WNK isoforms, being more potent toward WNK3 than WNK1. The crystal structure of the quinoline-derived SW120619 bound to the kinase domain of WNK3 reveals active site binding, and comparison to the WNK1 structure reveals the potential origin of isoform specificity.Discussion: The newly discovered classes of compounds may be starting points for generating pharmacological tools and potential drugs treating hypertension and cancer.Graphical Abstract: Keywords: WNK, inhibition screen, kinase inhibitor, WNK3-specific, structure–activity relationship, crystallography

Abstract Background Caring for older people has become a significant public health concern in Sri Lanka due to the growing aging population. This has placed a heavy burden on family caregivers, particularly those caring for older individuals with multiple chronic conditions. Recognizing this challenge, the present study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Sinhala version of the 10-item short form of the Burden Scale for Family Caregivers (BSFC-s) and assess caregiver burden and associated factors among caregivers of older people aged over 65 years with multimorbidity. Methods The BSFC-s was cross-culturally adapted following standard guidelines and administered to consecutively selected 178 family caregivers involved in the long-term care of older patients (aged ≥ 65 years) who were regular attendees of medical and neurology clinics at the National Hospital Galle, Sri Lanka. The validated Sinhala version of the Short Form-36 questionnaire (SF-36) was also administered simultaneously. After two weeks, 60 caregivers were re-assessed using the BSFC-s. The psychometric properties, including reliability and validity, as well as floor and ceiling effects, were evaluated. The final version of the BSFC-s was then administered to 270 informal family caregivers in the Gampaha District, Sri Lanka. Results The study revealed that the internal consistency of the Sinhala version of the BSFC-s, measured by Cronbach’s alpha, was 0.90, with item-total correlations ranging from 0.38 to 0.82. The test-retest reliability, assessed using the intra-class correlation coefficient, was 0.99 (95% CI: 0.99-1.00; p

An abundance of literature exists that explores the potential applications of grit in predicting several academic outcomes. Regardless, the concept of grit has been heavily criticised due to the number of inconsistencies among current research. Fully understanding the usefulness of grit in an educational context is a worthwhile pursuit and could yield incredibly influential implications. The current narrative review aimed to address and explore these inconsistencies to determine the true impact of grit on the academic outcomes of school students. Such that, it aimed to establish whether grit was useful in improving outcomes such as academic achievement, attendance and retention. Research posits that grit is a strong predictor of academic outcomes for many, but not all, students. Furthermore, it seems that the predictive abilities of grit can be enhanced by concentrating on the perseverance of efforts component of grit, rather than overall grit. While the importance of grit's perseverance component has been confirmed; there are several recommendations for future research. Likewise, a number of inconsistencies are discussed relating to grits practical applications within an educational context. Cultivating grittiness, specifically perseverance of efforts, in student populations would reap huge rewards. Indeed, the educational rewards for students would be substantial, as well as the financial benefits for schools and educating institutions. The usefulness of cultivating a perseverance of efforts in students is discussed.

Longitudinal research into the impact of COVID-19 on university students’ mental health beyond the pandemic is lacking. This study aims to address the gap in the literature by tracking the mental health of university students over a two-year period, spanning the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath. A two-year longitudinal study surveyed a sample of university students (n = 302) three times between May 2020 and May 2022. Students’ psychological distress, generalised anxiety, flourishing, and personal wellbeing were assessed at each time point. It was found that students’ psychological distress levels spiked in May 2021 (T1) during the first year of the pandemic but reverted back to similar levels seen in May 2020 (T0) at the two-year follow-up (T2). While generalised anxiety gradually improved, both students’ psychological distress and generalised anxiety remained considerably worse than pre-pandemic norms obtained in other studies. Students’ flourishing scores remained very low, while their life satisfaction and state happiness improved slightly between May 2021 (T1) and May 2022 (T2). These findings clearly demonstrate that students’ mental health is still in crisis, even after the COVID-19 pandemic. More needs to be done to support students beyond the pandemic generally, including this particularly unique cohort of students who endured unprecedented challenges for prolonged periods, and who are now transitioning into the working world. Practical implications and recommendations are discussed.

Life cycle assessment, which evaluates the complete life cycle of a product, is considered the standard methodological framework to evaluate the environmental performance of climate change solutions. However, significant challenges exist related to datasets used to quantify these environmental indicators. Although extensive research and commercial data on climate change technologies, pathways, and facilities exist, they are not readily available to practitioners of life cycle assessment in the right format and structure using an open platform. In this study, we propose a new open data hub platform for life cycle assessment, considering a hierarchical data flow starting with raw data collected on climate change technologies at laboratory, pilot, demonstration, or commercial scales to provide the information required for policy and decision-making. This platform makes data accessible at multiple levels for practitioners of life cycle assessment, while making data interoperable across platforms. The proposed data hub platform and workflow are explained through the polymer electrolyte membrane electrolysis hydrogen production as a case study. The climate change environment impact of 1.17 ± 0.03 kg CO2 eq./kg H2 was calculated for the case study. The current data hub platform is limited to evaluating environmental impacts; however, future additions of economic and social aspects are envisaged.

There are widespread concerns about the mental health implications of the pandemic, particularly among university students, an already at-risk population for poor mental health. This study looked at 1,281 UK university students, recruited through the Prolific website. Participants were asked to complete the Attitudes towards COVID-19 Scale, the CORE-10, the PERMA Profiler, the GAD-7 and the Office for National Statistics wellbeing questions (ONS4). The first survey was conducted between May 14th and 16th, when the UK was in national lockdown. The second survey was carried out between June 26th and July 15th. There was only an 11% attrition rate between the two time points. Well-being improved overall between the two time points. Some findings were contradictory as overall well-being, anxiety and levels of flourishing improved, but reports of psychological distress increased. It is also important to note that levels of positivity about the pandemic increased as time went on. There was evidence that higher levels of positivity were linked to better mental health outcomes. Encouraging a positive mindset and outlook in students, probably through positive psychology-based interventions, might act as a protective factor against severe mental illness. The wider relevance and practical implications for higher education are discussed.

University students in the UK have encountered many challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This research aimed to track the mental well-being of a large sample of British university students (n = 554) over a one-year period of the COVID-19 pandemic, capturing data at four time points between May 2020 and May 2021. Overall retention after 12 months was 34.73%. Findings showed the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a significant, negative impact on the well-being of British university students. Students are suffering from prolonged and high levels of psychological distress and anxiety. Levels of flourishing in students are still very low. The different phases of the pandemic appear to have played an influential role in student mental health. The practical implications for higher education and recommendations for future research are discussed.

The effects of Covid-19 have been felt worldwide and one population that are of increasing concern are university students. University students have endured unique and drastic changes to their everyday and academic lives. It is important to understand how university students in different parts of the world have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and how it has affected their mental health? A cross-sectional study was conducted during the first wave of Covid-19, in May 2020 with 2,006 university students from the UK, Italy, Germany and Spain. Participants were recruited online and were asked to complete a series of standardised measures of psychological distress, anxiety, flourishing and wellbeing. Attitudes towards Covid-19 were measured using a new scale. The factor structure and reliability of this new scale was confirmed using this European sample. Results indicated that all university students were suffering from poor mental health, considerably below pre-pandemic norms. There were many geographical differences in the way that university students perceived the Covid19 pandemic, in terms of their fears, anxieties, loneliness and positivity. There were also significant mental health comparisons between students from the UK, Italy, Germany and Spain. Student beliefs that their government had provided effective leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic were strongly related to numerous mental health outcomes. A picture of university students' mental health is provided and discussed. Geographical comparisons are discussed, as are the implications for practice and future directions., Author(s): Rosie Allen [sup.1] , Chathurika Kannangara [sup.1] , Mahimna Vyas [sup.1] , Jerome Carson [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.36076.34, 0000 0001 2166 3186, University of Bolton, , Deane Road, [...]

A well-constructed tsunami evacuation facility can be crucial in a disaster. Understanding a tsunami’s force and the flow structure variation across various building configurations are essential to engineering designs. Hence, this study assessed the steady-state flow structure at building models (BM) incorporating outer frame openings, including piloti-type designs with a different width-to-spacing ratio of piloti-type columns following an embankment model (EM) with a vegetation model (VM). The experiments also demonstrated the outer frame opening percentage’s impact and orientation toward the overtopping tsunami flow at the BM. The results show that the arrangement of an opening on the outer frame and the piloti-type columns are critical in reducing the tsunami force concerning the experimental setup. Moreover, allowing a free surface flow beneath the BM implies that the correct piloti-pillar arrangement is crucial for resilient structure design. In addition, the three-dimensional numerical simulation was utilized to explain the turbulence intensity of the overtopping flow around the critical BM type. The derived resistance coefficient (CR) defined the drag and the hydrostatic characteristics at the BM due to the overtopping tsunami flow. Furthermore, for the impervious BM, the value CR was consistent with the previous studies, while the CR value for the BMs with an outer frame opening was directly coincident with the percentage of porosity.

Children spend more time in school than in any other formal setting and, with mental illness in children on the rise, there is more pressure on schools to intervene in student mental health than ever before. In the current study, two phases of semistructured interviews were conducted with school leaders and special educational needs coordinators (Phase 1, N = 23; Phase 2, N = 11), to investigate first-hand experiences in dealing with student mental illness. Thematic analysis, drawing on Grounded Theory, was used to identify themes. The results identified deprivation as one of the main causes of mental ill-health in students, with insufficient budgets, inappropriate mental health services, and overly long waiting times as barriers to intervention. Difficulties in identifying appropriate mental health interventions to use in school were also reported. The authors propose a simple four-point heuristic, for assessing the quality of school-based mental health interventions to be used by school staff, so that educators can more readily identify appropriate mental health support for their students.