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With this study we aimed to investigate the impact of a 12-week manipulative skills exercise programme on the motor proficiency of young individuals with intellectual disabilities. A total of 32 learners diagnosed with mild intellectual disabilities, with an average age of 17.81 ± 1.44 years, were divided into 2 equal-sized groups: a control group and an experimental group engaged in a manipulative skills intervention programme. Motor proficiency was assessed using the shortform of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency Second Edition (BOT™-2), while the participants' coordination level was evaluated using the Body Coordination composite of the BOT™-2. Results show that the manipulative skills intervention programme led to significant improvements in the experimental group's total motor proficiency score on the shortform BOT™-2 (45.31 ± 12.01 vs. 37.12 ± 7.00, ANCOVA: F = 48.65, p = 0.00) as well as the Body Coordination composite(42.69 ± 11.31 vs. 39.84 ± 11.75, ANCOVA: F = 44.35, p = 0.00). These findings suggest that the experimental exercise programme had a positive effect on enhancing the motor proficiency of young individuals with mild intellectual disabilities.

Considering art and its educative potentials as a living experiment with the body's elemental constitution and modes of organisation, this article engages "water," "earth," "air," and "fire" as milieus through which a body learns to sense, move, and act in the world differently. This leads to a series of propositions for an elemental philosophy of arts education, which recognises the intersectional and decolonial potentials of bodies, and strives to amplify and proliferate these potentials through creative pedagogic practices. If, as Elizabeth Grosz (2017) proposes, "the chain of evolutionary emergence is unbroken not only materially but also conceptually" (p. 250), then arts education offers an expression of the body's incorporeal and material potentials as they change and evolve through time. Further to this position, we argue that arts education has the potential to radically reframe relationships with water, earth, air, and fire in ways that resist their co-option as tools of colonialism and intersecting categories of oppression.

In this paper, we propose a 3-bit quantizer model whose step sizes are obtained by multiplying the smallest step size by successive powers of 2, hence the name PoTQ (Power of Two Quantizer). Despite the fact that this model is non-uniform, it is quite simple to design, similarly to the most exploited and simplest quantizer model, UQ (Uniform Quantizer). Referring to these similarities, as well as to the non-existence of robustness analysis of SQNR to changes in the variance of data being quantized, we conduct a comparative theoretical analysis for both 3-bit quantizer models. In addition, we provide experimental results of the application of both quantizer models in post-training quantization of MLP (Multilayer Perceptron) weights. To illustrate the importance of our robustness analysis, we provide results for the case with and without normalization of the MLP weights, corresponding to the matched and heavily mismatched scenarios. We show that 3-bit PoTQ provides greater robustness of SQNR compared to 3-bit UQ. We also show that PoTQ outperforms UQ in preserving the accuracy of the compressed MLP model. Due to its simple design and superior performance, we can anticipate that 3-bit PoTQ will be widely used likewise UQ.

The aim of this study was to familiarize preschool rhythmic gymnasts with testing procedures and to determine the number of familiarization attempts needed to stabilize the test results. Thirty-six female rhythmic gymnasts aged 5.14±0.79 years (body height: 119.44±5.98 cm; body mass: 21.46±3.35 kg) volunteered for the study. All gymnasts were free of injury, trained regularly (two days per week, approximately 60 minutes per session), and participated in the individual B level competitions. The main findings indicated a statistically significant difference between the variables of spine and leg flexibility (p

This study tackles the critical challenge of medication non-adherence in healthcare by pinpointing indicators related to medication adherence (IRMAs) across 39 European countries and Israel. Utilizing a structured expert survey methodology within the European Network to Advance Best Practices and Technology on Medication Adherence (ENABLE; COST Action CA19132), our research identified key country-specific IRMAs and collected data on these indicators to understand the multifaceted nature of medication adherence. The research was conducted in two phases: firstly, defining key IRMAs through a two-round expert survey, and secondly, gathering country-specific data on these IRMAs through literature reviews and additional expert surveys. The study revealed a diverse range of 26 top-ranked IRMAs, including six related to country characteristics, four to social/economic factors, three each to therapy-related and patient-related factors, one to condition-related factors, and nine to healthcare system-related factors. The availability of country-specific data on these IRMAs varied among the countries, highlighting the need for more comprehensive data collection and research. The findings from this study not only underscore the complexity of predicting medication adherence but also lay the groundwork for developing targeted, country-specific interventions to improve adherence. Moreover, this research offers valuable insights for policymakers, highlighting the importance of understanding the multifaceted nature of medication adherence and offering a valuable resource in formulating targeted health policies to enhance health outcomes and reduce the economic burden associated with medication non-adherence.

Abstract Pericyte dysfunction, with excessive migration, hyperproliferation, and differentiation into smooth muscle-like cells contributes to vascular remodeling in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH). Augmented expression and action of growth factors trigger these pathological changes. Endogenous factors opposing such alterations are barely known. Here, we examine whether and how the endothelial hormone C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP), signaling through the cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) -producing guanylyl cyclase B (GC-B) receptor, attenuates the pericyte dysfunction observed in PAH. The results demonstrate that CNP/GC-B/cGMP signaling is preserved in lung pericytes from patients with PAH and prevents their growth factor-induced proliferation, migration, and transdifferentiation. The anti-proliferative effect of CNP is mediated by cGMP-dependent protein kinase I and inhibition of the Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT pathway, ultimately leading to the nuclear stabilization and activation of the Forkhead Box O 3 (FoxO3) transcription factor. Augmentation of the CNP/GC-B/cGMP/FoxO3 signaling pathway might be a target for novel therapeutics in the field of PAH.

Abstract Recent genetic studies have found common genomic risk variants among psychiatric disorders, strongly suggesting the overlaps in their molecular and cellular mechanism. Our research group identified the variant in ASTN2 as one of the candidate risk factors across these psychiatric disorders by whole-genome copy number variation analysis. However, the alterations in the human neuronal cells resulting from ASTN2 variants identified in patients remain unknown. To address this, we used patient-derived and genome-edited iPS cells with ASTN2 deletion; cells were further differentiated into neuronal cells. A comprehensive gene expression analysis using genome-edited iPS cells with variants on both alleles revealed that the expression level of ZNF558, a gene specifically expressed in human forebrain neural progenitor cells, was greatly reduced in ASTN2-deleted neuronal cells. Furthermore, the expression of the mitophagy-related gene SPATA18, which is repressed by ZNF558, and mitophagy activity were increased in ASTN2-deleted neuronal cells. These phenotypes were also detected in neuronal cells differentiated from patient-derived iPS cells with heterozygous ASTN2 deletion. Our results suggest that ASTN2 deletion is related to the common pathogenic mechanism of psychiatric disorders by regulating mitophagy via ZNF558.

The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between the time that higher education students spend playing video games during exam periods and their average grades in one Eastern European country. Moreover, the authors wanted to explore the differences among students with regard to their age, gender, year of study, and employment status in relation to video game-playing habits. Four research questions were generated and a quantitative survey among students (N = 233) was conducted at two universities in Serbia in December 2021. The results showed that, on average, students who play more games may have slightly lower grades than students who do not play games. In contrast, the time devoted to studying during the exam period is to some extent related to students' average achievement. In research sample, the best students spend the least time playing video games and the most time studying compared to other students.

With innovative portable force plate systems being widely implemented for lower-body neuromuscular performance assessment in an applied sports setting and the existing gap in the scientific literature regarding player performance during in-game competitive scenarios, the purpose of the present study was to compare changes in countermovement vertical jump (CVJ) performance pre-post a simulated 3×3 basketball tournament. Seven current or former members of a 3×3 national basketball team volunteered to participate in the present investigation. Upon completing standardized warm-up procedures, athletes stepped on a uni-axial force plate system sampling at 1,000 Hz and performed three maximal-effort CVJs with no arm swing. Then, the athletes proceeded to play a simulated 3×3 basketball tournament composed of two consecutive games, separated by a 15-min rest interval. Immediately following the completion of the second game, the identical CVJ testing procedures were repeated. Paired sample t-tests were used to examine pre-post-tournament differences in nineteen CVJ performance metrics (p < 0.05). The results reveal that force-time metrics during both eccentric and concentric phases of the CVJ remain relatively unchanged pre-post simulated 3×3 basketball tournament. However, multiple force-time metrics within the eccentric phase of the CVJ changed by 12.1%–19.1% (e.g., eccentric peak power and peak velocity, eccentric duration), suggesting that the eccentric phase of CVJ might be responsive to performance stimulus to a greater extent than the concentric phase. Overall, these findings further support the importance of comprehensive CVJ analysis when intending to measure changes in neuromuscular performance.

One of the reoccurring questions that arises during the countermovement vertical jump (CVJ) assessment is whether the learning effect has an impact on the accuracy of the results obtained. Thus, the purpose of the present investigation was to examine the impact of the short-term learning effect on the assessment of lower-body neuromuscular performance characteristics when performed on a portable one-dimensional force plate system. Sixteen recreationally active college-age males volunteered to participate in the present study. Each participant completed four sets of three non-consecutive CVJs with no arm swing throughout a single day. Besides strong verbal encouragement, participants were constantly instructed to focus on pushing the ground as explosively as possible. Fourteen force-time metrics were selected for CVJ performance analysis purposes: eccentric and concentric peak and mean force and power, eccentric and concentric duration, contraction time, jump height, reactive strength index-modified, and countermovement depth. Repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance was used to examine statistically significant differences across four testing time points (p

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the phenomenon of interorganizational employee mobility, defined as a movement of employees between the source and destination organizations that goes beyond simple turnover behaviour. We use a bibliometric analysis approach that applies quantitative and statistical methods to bibliographic data to deepen our objective understanding of how research on interorganizational employee mobility has evolved over time and to examine whether interorganizational employee mobility is multilevel in nature. The results of the performance analysis and various science mapping methods (co-authorship analysis, co-citation analysis, bibliographic coupling, and co-word analysis) reveal clustered networks of key contributors in the field (i.e., authors, journals, affiliations, countries). Authors from the field of management, mainly from the USA and Western European affiliations, dominate the field. However, few of them have more than one publication on the topic of interorganizational employee mobility, which indicates that the literature in the field is still scattered and not yet mature. Our findings contribute to the career development literature by providing a detailed insight into how career has changed over time and highlighting the main constructs and factors associated with individual decisions to change employers. KEYWORDS: Interorganizational mobility, Contemporary career, Knowledge transfer, Interorganizational network, Bibliometric analysis Ovaj rad pruza sveobuhvatan pregled fenomena meduorganizacijske mobilnosti zaposlenika, definirane kao kretanje zaposlenika izmedu izvornih i odredisnih organizacija koje nadilazi obicnu fluktuaciju osoblja. Koristimo pristup bibliometrijske analize koji primjenjuje kvantitativne i statisticke metode na bibliografske podatke kako bismo produbili nase objektivno razumijevanje evolucije istrazivanja o meduorganizacijskoj mobilnosti zaposlenika tijekom vremena te istrazili je li meduorganizacijska mobilnost zaposlenika viserazinska po svojoj prirodi. Rezultati analize performansi i razlicitih metoda znanstvenog mapiraja (analiza koautorstva, ko-citacijska analiza, bibliografsko sprezanje i analiza ko-rijeci) otkrivaju grupirane mreze kljucnih dionika u podrucju (npr., autora, casopisa, afilijacija, zemalja). Autori iz podrucja menadzmenta, uglavnom iz SAD-a i zapadnoeuropskih afilijacija, dominiraju podrucjem. Medutim, malo njih ima vise od jedne publikacije o temi meduorganizacijske mobilnosti zaposlenika, sto ukazuje da je literatura u podrucju jos uvijek rasprsena i nije potpuno razvijena. Nasi rezultati doprinose literaturi o razvoju karijere pruzanjem detaljnog uvida u to kako se karijera mijenjala tijekom vremena te isticu glavne konstrukte i faktore povezane s individualnim odlukama o promjeni poslodavaca. KLJUCNE RIJECI: meduorganizacijska mobilnost; suvremena karijera; transfer znanja; medunarodna povezanost; bibliometrijska analiza, 1. INTRODUCTION The phenomenon of interorganizational employee mobility differs from and goes beyond mere turnover behaviour (Wille et al., 2010). While the latter focuses only on calculating the ratio of [...]

Abstract Aim The present study aimed to examine the association between copy number variations (CNVs) in parkin (PRKN) and schizophrenia (SCZ) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in a large case–control sample. Method Array comparative genomic hybridization was performed on 3111 cases with SCZ, 1236 cases with ASD, and 2713 controls. We systematically prioritized likely pathogenic CNVs (LP‐CNVs) in PRKN and examined their association with SCZ and ASD. Results In total, 3014 SCZ cases (96.9%), 1205 ASD cases (97.5%), and 2671 controls (98.5%) passed quality control. We found that monoallelic carriers of LP‐CNVs in PRKN were common (70/6890, 1.02%) and were not at higher risk of SCZ (p = 0.29) or ASD (p = 0.72). We observed that the distribution pattern of LP‐CNVs in the Japanese population was consistent with those in other populations. We also identified a patient diagnosed with SCZ and early‐onset Parkinson's disease carrying biallelic pathogenic CNVs in PRKN. The absence of Parkinson's symptoms in 10 other monoallelic carriers of the same pathogenic CNV further reflects the lack of effect of monoallelic pathogenic variants in PRKN in the absence of a second hit. Conclusion The present findings suggest that monoallelic CNVs in PRKN do not confer a significant risk for SCZ or ASD. However, further studies to investigate the association between biallelic CNVs in PRKN and SCZ and ASD are warranted.

Abstract Whole genome analysis has identified rare copy number variations (CNV) that are strongly involved in the pathogenesis of psychiatric disorders, and 3q29 deletion has been found to have the largest effect size. The 3q29 deletion mice model (3q29-del mice) has been established as a good pathological model for schizophrenia based on phenotypic analysis; however, circadian rhythm and sleep, which are also closely related to neuropsychiatric disorders, have not been investigated. In this study, our aims were to reevaluate the pathogenesis of 3q29-del by recreating model mice and analyzing their behavior and to identify novel new insights into the temporal activity and temperature fluctuations of the mouse model using a recently developed small implantable accelerometer chip, Nano-tag. We generated 3q29-del mice using genome editing technology and reevaluated common behavioral phenotypes. We next implanted Nano-tag in the abdominal cavity of mice for continuous measurements of long-time activity and body temperature. Our model mice exhibited weight loss similar to that of other mice reported previously. A general behavioral battery test in the model mice revealed phenotypes similar to those observed in mouse models of schizophrenia, including increased rearing frequency. Intraperitoneal implantation of Nano-tag, a miniature acceleration sensor, resulted in hypersensitive and rapid increases in the activity and body temperature of 3q29-del mice upon switching to lights-off condition. Similar to the 3q29-del mice reported previously, these mice are a promising model animals for schizophrenia. Successive quantitative analysis may provide results that could help in treating sleep disorders closely associated with neuropsychiatric disorders.

Background: MSSA and MRSA strains are challenging human pathogens that can develop resistance to antibiotics, highlighting the need for alternative antimicrobial agents. Plant metabolites, particularly volatile phytochemicals, may offer promising antimicrobial properties. The aim was to evaluate the antimicrobial and antibiofilm efficacy of various commercial volatile phytochemicals from the terpene and terpenoid groups against reference MSSA and MRSA strains, focusing on synergistic effects in both binary combinations and combinations with antibiotics. Methods: The microdilution method was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for antibiotics and phytochemicals. The checkerboard method assessed synergistic interactions between phytochemicals and between phytochemicals and antibiotics, while the time-kill method was used to confirm these results. Biofilm quantification was performed using the microtiter plate method to evaluate the effects of phytochemicals, antibiotics, and their binary combinations on the eradication of 48-h-old biofilms. Results: Carvacrol and thymol demonstrated the strongest anti-staphylococcal activity, while other terpene compounds showed weaker effects. In binary combinations, carvacrol and thymol exhibited synergy against one MSSA strain (FICI = 0.50) and with tetracycline and chloramphenicol (FICI = 0.28–0.50). Synergy was also noted with streptomycin sulfate against one MRSA strain (FICI = 0.31–0.50) and with other antibiotics, including gentamicin (FICI = 0.25–0.50) and oxacillin (FICI = 0.44). Additionally, effective combinations achieved over 50% biofilm removal at both minimum inhibitory and sub-inhibitory concentrations. Conclusions: Results showed that synergy varies based on strain sensitivity to chemical agents, highlighting their potential for personalized therapy. Despite the difficulty in removing preformed biofilms, the findings highlight the importance of combined treatments to enhance antibiotic effectiveness.

This study aimed to validate the automated temporal analysis of countermovement vertical jump (CMJ) using MMPose, a markerless pose estimation framework, by comparing it with the gold-standard 3D marker-based motion capture system. Twelve participants performed five CMJ trials, which were simultaneously recorded using the marker-based system and two smartphone cameras capturing both sides of the body. Key kinematic points, including center of mass (CoM) and toe trajectories, were analyzed to determine jump phases and temporal variables. The agreement between methods was assessed using Bland–Altman analysis, root mean square error (RMSE), and Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r), while consistency was evaluated via intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC 3,1) and two-way repeated-measures ANOVA. Cohen’s effect size (d) quantified the practical significance of differences. Results showed strong agreement (r > 0.98) with minimal bias and narrow limits of agreement for most variables. The markerless system slightly overestimated jump height and CoM vertical velocity, but ICC values (ICC > 0.91) confirmed strong reliability. Cohen’s d values were near zero, indicating trivial differences, and no variability due to recording side was observed. Overall, MMPose proved to be a reliable alternative for in-field CMJ analysis, supporting its broader application in sports and rehabilitation settings.

We conducted meta-analysis in order to determine if there are significant differences in left and right amygdala volume in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) compared to a control group. Twenty-three studies fulfilled inclusion criteria for our study. Right amygdala volume was significantly larger in ASD patients compared to controls (Hedges' g 0.44; 95% CI 0.04-0.83; Z = 2.26; p = 0.024), while there was no significant difference in left amygdala volume between ASD patients and controls (Hedges' g 0.44; 95% CI - 0.10-0.98; Z = 1.67; p = 0.095). However, between-study heterogeneity was significant so there is an unequivocal need for new uniform magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies to get a more precise answer to the question of whether there is a difference in amygdala volume between ASD patients and controls.

In today's linguistically and culturally diverse schools, it is important that teachers use inclusive pedagogies, such as translanguaging. This pedagogy assumes that teachers have positive attitudes towards children's home languages and cultures (translanguaging stance), which we explored in our study with 40 preschool teachers in Luxembourg. The teachers participated in the professional development course on translanguaging over six months. To identify teachers' stance before and after the course, they completed questionnaires and participated in focus groups, and after completing the course, teacher-child interactions in the classroom were videotaped and analysed. Empirical findings of the questionnaires demonstrate that teachers' attitudes towards children's multilingualism and home languages increased significantly after participating in the course. In the focus groups, the majority of teachers expressed a mild translanguaging stance, meaning that they were afraid that the inclusion of children's home languages will hinder children's development of the school language, Luxembourgish. Finally, in the videotaped observations, the foci teachers demonstrated their positive stance in one activity and a negative stance in another. Following the study's multi-method approach, we conclude that teachers' attitudes were ambivalent and paradoxical, which depicts a rather realistic picture of preschool teachers' attitudes in Luxembourg.

Active teaching methods are emphasized as an important part of an effective teaching process for Generation Y students. Still, some individual characteristics, such as creativity and learning style, need to be considered as they can affect outcomes of the learning process. Empirical research on the students' preferences for various active and passive teaching methods was done on a sample of graduate students from the Faculty of Economics and Business in Zagreb. Perceptions of students regarding 52 individual teaching methods, and teaching methods bundles were investigated. Findings reveal that more creative students, as well as activists and pragmatists, and especially reflectors while learning, do exhibit the greater inclination towards active teaching methods.

With innovative force plate technology being available to many sports organizations worldwide that allow for time-efficient in-depth neuromuscular performance assessment, the purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between some of the most commonly analyzed countermovement vertical jump (CVJ) force-time metrics and basketball playing time and efficiency. Twenty-four professional male basketball players volunteered to participate in the present study. The CVJ testing procedures were conducted within the first quarter of the competitive season span. Following a standardized warm-up protocol, each athlete stepped on a dual uni-axial force plate system sampling at 1,000 Hz and performed three maximum-effort CVJs with no arm swing. To minimize the possible influence of fatigue, each jump trial was separated by a 10–15 s rest interval and the average value across three jumps was used for performance analysis purposes. Basketball playing efficiency and average playing time were obtained at the end of the regular season competitive period from the coaching staff records and the official team records. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients (r) were used to examine the strength of the relationships between force-time metrics and basketball playing time and efficiency, separately for each dependent variable (p