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This study aims to validate the Portuguese version of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Cronbach's alpha = 0.82) and the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (Cronbach's alpha = 0.86 for positive affect and 0.89 for negative affect) for people with disabilities and to examine the association between engaging in physical activity and affective responses, investigating the relationship with satisfaction with life. 143 Portuguese with disabilities filled in the Portuguese version of the scales. The findings endorsed the single factorial structure and reliability of the Satisfaction with Life Scale [χ2/df = 6.3, B-S p = 0.487, TLI = 0.989, CFI = 0.995, SRMR = 0.0263, RMSEA = 0.043 (CI = 0, 0.130)]. For Positive and Negative Affect Scale, the results also confirmed the factorial structure and reliability [χ2/df = 1.871, B-S p = 0.114, TLI = 0.891, CFI = 0.918, SRMR = 0.0778, RMSEA = 0.078 (CI = 0.048, 0.108)]. On the other hand, the structural model presented satisfactory fit to the data [χ2/df = 1.436, B-S p = 0.269, TLI = 0.917, CFI = 0.930, SRMR = 0.0748, RMSEA = 0.055 (CI = 0.033, 0.075)]. Significant direct effects have been found, as has been theoretically proposed, namely: years of practice displayed a positive and significant association with positive affect; positive affect was positively associated with satisfaction with life (β = 0.073, CI = 0.020, 0.139; p = 0.031)., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Data collection adhered to the principles outlined in the Helsinki Declaration. The study was approved by an ethics committee of the University of Beira Interior under the code CE-UBI-Pj-2018-076. Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. Written informed consent has been obtained from the patient(s) to publish this paper. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Both the Dualistic Model of Passion and Self-Determination Theory suggest that the persistence of a behaviour over time derives from the internalisation of the passion or motivation that the individual feels about the activity. However, the integration of these theoretical assumptions may lead to a better understanding of related outcomes, in particular on subjective well-being (SWB). In this context, this study aimed at systematically reviewing the relation between passion, behaviour regulation (i.e., self-determined motivation), and SWB in sport. The PRISMA 2020 protocol was used to guide the systematic review. Electronic searches were conducted in the Web of Science database and Pubmed. The following descriptors were used: SWB; passion; motivation; behavioural regulation; and sport. After the search, 12 studies were retrieved for analysis that show us the following results tendencies: harmonious passion (HP) and autonomous motivation (AM) (i.e., more self-determined forms of behaviour regulation) are positively related to SWB (i.e., life satisfaction and positive affect), while obsessive passion (OP) and controlled motivation (CM) (i.e., less self-determined forms of behaviour regulation) are negatively associated with SWB. However, no studies were found to simultaneously analyse the three theoretical constructs. These results show us the importance of developing conditions in sport contexts that promote positive feelings that take into account athletes' development of harmonious passion and self-determined behaviour regulation, in order to achieve higher levels of well-being. Nevertheless, these results also lead us to the necessity for more studies to highlight the theoretical link between passion and motivation in the context of sport, especially regarding the mediating role of motivation in the relationship between passion and well-being.

Background: This systematic review analysed the association between objectively measured physical activity and sedentary behaviour with cardiovascular risk and HRQoL in adults without previous CVD. Additionally, we analysed the impact of the intensity of the physical activity in this association., Methods: The search was carried out in three electronic databases with access until February 2023 to find studies with an observational design. For quality assessment, we used The National Institute of Health (NIH) Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies., Results: We identified 5819 references, but only five studies were included. One study shows a positive association between physical activity and HRQoL, while sedentary behaviour was negatively related to HRQoL. Another study showed an association between high-intensity physical activity with a better physical component of HRQoL and low-intensity physical activity with a better mental component of HRQoL. Three studies concluded that higher levels of physical activity are associated with lower levels of cardiovascular risk and higher levels of sedentary behaviour are associated with higher levels of cardiovascular risk., Conclusion: Our findings suggested that people who spend more time being active and spend less time being sedentary appear to have lower cardiovascular risk and higher HRQoL.

This study investigates the scope of application of a recently designed inversion methodology that is capable of obtaining structural information about disordered systems through the analysis of their conductivity response signals. Here we demonstrate that inversion tools of this type are capable of sensing the presence of disorderly distributed defects and impurities even in the case where the scattering properties of the device are only weakly affected. This is done by inverting the DC conductivity response of monolayered MoS 2 films containing a minute amount of AuCl 3 coordinated complexes. Remarkably, we have successfully extracted detailed information about the concentration of AuCl 3 by decoding its signatures on the transport features of simulated devices. In addition to the case of theoretically generated Hamiltonians, we have also carried out a full inversion procedure from experimentally measured signals of similar structures. Based on experimental input signals of MoS 2 with naturally occurring vacancies, we were able to quantify the vacancy concentration contained in the samples, which indicates that the inversion methodology has experimental applicability as long as the input signal is able to resolve the characteristic contributions of the type of disorder in question. Being able to handle more complex, realistic scenarios unlocks the method's applicability for designing and engineering even more elaborate materials., (Creative Commons Attribution license.)

Context: Physical exercise (PE) is an effective treatment for depression, alone or as an adjunct., Objective: There is a lack of indicators regarding the frequency, intensity, duration, and type of physical exercise (PE). This study aims to synthesize and analyze the dose-effect of different PE protocols in adult subjects in the treatment of depression, based on the analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs)., Data Sources: The search was conducted using Web of Science, PubMed, and Cochrane Library electronic databases., Study Selection: Studies with an exercise-based intervention published by December 31, 2021 were identified. RCTs and meta-analyses involving adults with depression were also included; 10 studies were selected, including a total of 956 subjects., Study Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis., Level of Evidence: Level 1., Results: Effect sizes were summarized using standardized mean differences (95% confidence interval) by effected randomized models. The results reinforce that exercise appears to be beneficial in improving depression among adults aged 18 to 65 years. Interventions lasting above 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity and group interventions seem to have a more significant effect on reducing depression. Studies have revealed that aerobic exercise, compared with resistance or flexibility, has a more positive effect on depression., Conclusion: PE can be a way to reduce depression and can be used as a possible adjunctive tool for pharmacological and/or alternative treatments. Considering the findings of this study, it is important that health professionals (eg, exercise physiologists, physicians, nurses, psychologists) promote the practice of PE as a complementary alternative and act early to prevent the worsening of depression., Prospero Registration Number: CRD42020188909., Competing Interests: The authors report no potential conflicts of interest in the development and publication of this article.

This study aims to explore data on objectively measured physical activity from a sample of adults and older adults and to investigate the achievement of the minimum physical activity required for health benefits. Participants, 257 women (age 58.99 ± 18.93 years, BMI 26.75 ± 4.57 kg·m -2 ) and 178 men (age 49.22 ± 20.39 years, BMI 26.81 ± 3.51 kg·m -2 ), wore an accelerometer for 4 to 7 days. Approximately 40% of the time was spent daily in sedentary behaviors during waking hours. Our results do not sustain the suggestion that adult men are more physically active than women. The results indicated a decrease in intensity of physical activity with age, in men and women, but not in successive age groups. Around 75% of adults and 30% of older adults accumulated the minimum daily physical activity for health benefits, in periods shorter than 10 min, above moderate intensity. The number of steps taken per day revealed that most men and women (except the oldest) attained or exceeded the lower threshold for deriving health benefits. To obtain relevant health benefits, future physical activity interventions should aim at reversing the amount of sedentary behaviors, emphasizing increments in, at least, the lower levels of PA, and maintaining walking habits.

Alzheimer's disease is a type of dementia that progressively affects memory, thinking, and behavior. It can interfere with daily activities and lead to a decline in cognitive abilities over time. Exercise-based interventions can complement Alzheimer's disease treatment. Exercise is a valuable tool in all healthcare settings and has shown promise as an effective cognitive improvement intervention for people with cognitive impairments. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to analyze the effect of physical exercise on the QoL of subjects with Alzheimer's disease. A search was performed with the help of the electronic databases PubMed and Web of Science. Randomized controlled trials with exercise-based interventions were selected. Four studies met the inclusion criteria, which included interventions based on exercise. The effects were summarized using standardized mean differences (95% confidence intervals) using random-effect models. The results showed that exercise had no significant effect on the QoL of subjects with Alzheimer. Thus, the effect of exercise interventions on the QoL of patients with Alzheimer's disease is not conclusive. More research is needed about this topic and the way in which the QoL is assessed; the necessity to conduct an objective way to assess the QoL in this population is mandatory., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a heterogeneous lung condition, the main symptoms of which are dyspnoea and fatigue. Though exercise has been recommended for subjects with COPD, its benefits remain unclear. The aim of this study was to summarise, through a systematic review and meta-analysis, the available evidence on the effects of aerobic, resistance, stretching, and combined exercise on the main symptoms of COPD., Methods: Search was performed using the electronic databases PubMed and Web of Science. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) with interventions based on aerobic, resistance and/or combined exercise published until July 2022 were identified. The effects were summarised based on standardised mean differences (95% confidence intervals) using random and fixed effect models., Results: Eight studies were selected, including a total of 375 subjects. The results obtained showed that resistance exercise, aerobic exercise and combined exercise seem to improve dyspnoea and fatigue symptoms in COPD subjects., Conclusions: In general, we can conclude that exercise-based interventions appear to improve the main COPD symptoms and may benefit quality of life in this population.

The calculation of P-wave Sommerfeld enhancement in processes with unstable particles in the final state is known to be divergent. In a complete description, where resonant (on-shell unstable particles) and non-resonant contributions are included, it has been shown that results are finite. For most beyond the Standard Model applications, these complete calculations are not readily available. In this work, we are interested in the near-threshold region and we consider only the resonant contribution. In this case, we provide a simplified prescription to compute the P-wave Sommerfeld enhancement in the narrow-width approximation of the unstable particle that directly eliminates divergences. We show that we can define a finite resonant contribution without the inclusion of the non-resonant processes in a way similar to the usual S-wave Sommerfeld enhancement., (© The Author(s) 2023.)

Background: Thoracic spine pain (TSP) is relatively common in children and adolescents., Aims: To determine the prevalence of TSP in adolescents and analyze its association with sociodemographic characteristics, use of electronic devices, physical activity, and mental health., Design: Cross-sectional epidemiological study., Setting: A high school in Bauru City, São Paulo, Brazil., Participants/subjects: In total, 1,628 students aged 14-18 years., Methods: Participants were selected by cluster sampling in two stages, and data were collected via face-to-face interviews. Data regarding the following were collected: (1) sociodemographic aspects; (2) use of electronic devices; (3) regular physical activity level; (4) mental health; and (5) TSP., Results: The prevalence of TSP was 51.5% (95% confidence interval, 49.1-53.9) and the variables associated with TSP were female participant sex (prevalence ratio [PR] = 1.96; 1.61-2.38), use of computers for >3 hours per day (PR = 1.29; 1.01-1.66), use of computers >3 times per week (PR = 1.35; 1.03-1.75), use of cell phones in a semi-lying position (PR = 1.37; 1.11-1.69), use of cell phones for >3 hours per day (PR = 1.44; 1.12-1.85), use of tablets in the sitting position (PR = 1.47; 1.07-2.01), and presence of mental health problems (PR = 2.10; 1.63-2.70). Physical activity was a protective factor (PR = 0.84; 0.73-0.96)., Conclusions: There is a high prevalence of TSP in adolescents, with a marked association with female participant sex, use of electronic devices, and presence of mental health problems Physical activity is a protective factor. Understanding the relationship between risk factors and adolescent spinal pain may be important in both the prevention and treatment of spinal pain in this age group., Competing Interests: Declarations of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2021 American Society for Pain Management Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Exercise has been recommended for fibromyalgia treatment. However, doubts related to exercise benefits remain unclear. The objective of this study was to summarise, through a systematic review with meta-analysis, the available evidence on the effects of aerobic, resistance and stretching exercise on pain, depression, and quality of life. Search was performed using electronic databases Pubmed and Cochrane Library. Studies with interventions based on aerobic exercise, resistance exercise and stretching exercise published until July 2020 and updated in December 2021, were identified. Randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses involving adults with fibromyalgia were also included. Eighteen studies were selected, including a total of 1184 subjects. The effects were summarised using standardised mean differences (95% confidence intervals) by random effect models. In general, aerobic exercise seems to reduce pain perception, depression and improves quality of life; it also improves mental and physical health-related quality of life. Resistance exercise decreases pain perception and improves quality of life and moreover improves the physical dimension of health-related quality of life. It was also observed that resistance exercise appears to have a non-significant positive effect on depression and the mental dimension of health-related quality of life. Studies revealed that stretching exercise reduces the perception and additionally improves quality of life and health-related quality of life. However, a non-significant effect was observed on depression. We conclude that exercise may be a way to reduce depression, and pain and improve the quality of life in adult subjects with fibromyalgia and should be part of the treatment for this pathology., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the clinical off-label use of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), including its safety and efficacy in patients with rare and complex rheumatic connective tissue diseases (rCTDs)., Methods: A survey was distributed across experts from ERN-ReCONNET reference centres in order to assess the experience with MMF off-label use. Patient-level data of patients with rCTDs under treatment with MMF was also collected for analysis of safety and efficacy., Results: Twelve experts from eleven centres distributed throughout Europe (7 countries) answered the survey. The experience was concordant in that, despite of its off-label use, experts reported opting frequently for this therapeutic alternative with robust confidence on its efficacy and safety. The analysis of 108 patients with rCTDs under MMF revealed a good safety profile, as well as good clinical outcomes, especially for systemic lupus erythematosus and idiopathic inflammatory myopathies. The presence of interstitial lung disease was, as expected, associated with a worse clinical outcome despite use of MMF., Conclusions: MMF is widely used in reference centres for rCTDs. Its safety profile and efficacy seem to be recognised by experts and demonstrated with patient-level analysis. While selected rCTDs will likely remain an off-label indication for MMF, robust data seem to support this therapy as an appropriate alternative for safely and effectively treating many manifestations of rCTDs.

Translating and validating measurement instruments in sport and exercise psychology is not an easy task. Rather, it is a task that requires effort and time, for the process is not limited to a simple translation to translate words from one language to another, just in order to make valid and reliable measure. All researchers should be aware that the only proper way is to adopt rigorous and robust methodologies to conduct the process from the preliminary stage of translation to reaching the validation stage of the psychological variable. Only so is it possible to avoid creating fragile and inadequate psychological assessment instruments that can jeopardize the entire investigation to be held with its use. Thus, the main objective of this work is to promote reflection and discussion on the subject by presenting some considerations and recommendations about translation and validation of questionnaires for psychological assessment applied to sport and exercise domain., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Cid, Monteiro, Teixeira, Evmenenko, Andrade, Bento, Vitorino, Couto and Rodrigues.)

Purpose : To systematically describe and analyze the tracking systems, the variables, and the statistical methods used to evaluate the players and teams' tactical behavior in small-sided and conditioned games (SSCGs). Methods : A search was done in Web of Science, PubMed, Science Direct, and Scielo databases to identify manuscripts published between 2008 and 2019 that manipulated small-sided and conditioned games (SSCGs) and analyzed tactical behaviors of players and teams. Results : From 349 articles identified, 31 were selected for review. To collect positional data, the global positioning system (GPS), the local position measurement (LPM) system, and TACTO were identified as reliable tracking systems. Twenty-one positional variables were identified to evaluate tactical behaviors, grouped into five main categories: team balance, playing space, width and length of playing space, and interpersonal distance. Tactical behavior patterns were analyzed using approximate entropy, sample entropy, Shannon entropy, and patterns of coordination between players and teams were analyzed using relative phase and running correlation. Discussion : The tracking systems analyzed were reliable but revealed different advantages and disadvantages of their use. Authors should define the use of each tracking system based on their purpose and level of precision required for analysis. A great duplication was observed on the variables used with similar purposes of tactical analysis. The identification of the variables according to their purpose of analysis will allow a better understanding of their use in the future.

Individuals with intellectual disability (ID) tend to have a sedentary lifestyle, with low physical fitness and an increased risk of chronic diseases. One reason for the prevalence of a sedentary lifestyle is the existence of barriers to participation in physical activity (PA). The purpose of this systematic review is to update knowledge about the perceived barriers of PA participation in individuals with ID. Electronic searches were carried out in the PubMed, Scopus, SPORTDiscus and Web of Science databases, from September 2020 to May 2021, and included articles published between January 2016 and May 2021. The terms used were: "mental retardation", "intellectual disability", "intellectual disabilities", "physical activity", "motor activity", "barriers", "obstacles", "embarrassment" and "constraint", in combination with the Boolean operators "AND" or "OR". After the methodological process, five studies were included for analysis. These studies revealed the existence of several perceived barriers to regular PA participation, which were grouped into five main groups: personal (6 topics), family (4 topics), social (13 topics), financial (1 topic) and environmental (1 topic). The knowledge and identification of participation barriers can be of extreme importance both to institutions and professionals aiming to enhance the participation of individuals with ID in regular PA programs.

The realization of nanopores in atom-thick materials may pave the way towards electrical detection of single biomolecules in a stable and scalable manner. In this work, we theoretically study the potential of different phases of MoS2 nanogaps to act as all-electronic DNA sequencing devices. We carry out simulations based on density functional theory and the non-equilibrium Green's function formalism to investigate the electronic transport across the device. Our results suggest that the 1T'-MoS2 nanogap structure is energetically more favorable than its 2H counterpart. At zero bias, the changes in the conductance of the 1T'-MoS2 device can be well distinguished, making possible the selectivity of the DNA nucleobases. Although the conductance fluctuates around the resonances, the overall results suggest that it is possible to distinguish the four DNA bases for energies close to the Fermi level.

The aim of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the original version of the Passion Scale (14 items, two factors). We tested it within a sample of mixed gender Portuguese athletes from different sports, including adapted sports. In addition to demonstrating reliability, validity, and confirmatory factor analyses of the Passion Scale, we sought to analyze the invariance of this measure between males and females and across six types of sports (soccer, futsal, swimming, surf, bodyboard, and adapted sports). We recruited 1,316 athletes to test this scale from both genders (1,109 males; 207 females), aged 14-59 years ( M  = 21.83; SD  = 8.67). Our main results revealed weaknesses in the factor model for the original instrument (14 items and two factors) leading us to reject the model. However, after adapting the model (to eight items and two factors), the psychometric properties of the Passion Scale improved substantially and then exhibited (a) good fit to the data and (b) invariance between gender and across sports. Our new proposed version of the Passion Scale can be used with confidence to analyze the passion athletes feel when practicing their sport.

Objective: Motivation seems to be a fundamental indicator of long-term physical exercise adherence. Self-Determination Theory (SDT) argues that social environment plays a central role in the satisfaction of basic psychological needs, which might directly affect the quality of one's motivation. Individuals who appear to be more self-determined tend to persist longer at certain behaviors. Therefore, this body of work intends to analyze the relationship between motivational variables and behavioral outcomes in the exercise context, having as theoretical background the Self-Determination Theory. Methods: This systematic review was conducted through an electronic search on Web of Science, PubMed, SPORTDiscus, and PsycINFO. Data such as instruments, main predictors and results were collected from studies published between 1985 and 2018. A total of 35 empirical studies were considered for a detailed analysis. Results: Results showed the relevance of autonomy support performed by exercise professionals, as well as the major contribution that these behaviors have toward the satisfaction of basic psychological needs, besides the inherent benefits of developing more autonomous regulations. According to the literature, few studies have analyzed interpersonal thwarting behavior and the way this relates to basic psychological needs' frustration. Nether less, there seems to be a negative relationship between less self-determined regulations and exercise practice. Conclusion: Despite the existence of numerous cross-sectional studies that demonstrate positive correlations between SDT and behavioral outcomes in the exercise context, longitudinal research that analyzes all six dimensions of interpersonal behaviors and their relationship with persistence and adherence to exercise proves to be crucial. However, according to this review, interventions based on SDT appear to be fundamental when it comes to promote the maintenance of a long-term exercise practice.

Dynamic systems theory suggests that instability can be a key element in the promotion of human change processes. Several studies have confirmed an association between unstable patterns and successful psychotherapeutic outcome. Somewhat similarly, the assimilation model of psychotherapeutic change argues that clinical change occurs through the integration of problematic experiences that initially threaten the stability of the self. This study examined how instability in assimilation levels was related to assimilation progress and change in symptom intensity, within and across sessions, in a good-outcome case of Emotion Focused Therapy. We used the assimilation of problematic experiences scales (APES) to measure assimilation and the outcome-questionnaire (OQ-10) to measure clinical symptom intensity. To assess assimilation instability, we used a fluctuation measure that calculated the amplitude and the frequency of changes in assimilation levels. To analyze the structural relationships between variables we used a dynamic factor model. The results showed that APES level and APES fluctuation tended to increase across treatment, while OQ-10 scores tended to decrease. However, contrary to expectations, the dynamic factor model showed no significant associations between APES fluctuation and OQ-10 scores either within sessions or between adjacent sessions.

The experimental interest and developments in quantum spin-1/2 chains has increased uninterruptedly over the past decade. In many instances, the target quantum simulation belongs to the broader class of noninteracting fermionic models, constituting an important benchmark. In spite of this class being analytically efficiently tractable, no direct certification tool has yet been reported for it. In fact, in experiments, certification has almost exclusively relied on notions of quantum state tomography scaling very unfavorably with the system size. Here, we develop experimentally friendly fidelity witnesses for all pure fermionic Gaussian target states. Their expectation value yields a tight lower bound to the fidelity and can be measured efficiently. We derive witnesses in full generality in the Majorana-fermion representation and apply them to experimentally relevant spin-1/2 chains. Among others, we show how to efficiently certify strongly out-of-equilibrium dynamics in critical Ising chains. At the heart of the measurement scheme is a variant of importance sampling specially tailored to overlaps between covariance matrices. The method is shown to be robust against finite experimental-state infidelities.

Context: Ankle fractures (AFs) are the most common fractures of the lower limbs found in emergency services. Approximately 53% of these fractures are unstable and treated surgically., Objective: To conduct a systematic review evaluating functional outcomes and quality of life of patients with AFs surgically treated., Evidence Acquisition: A systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. Five electronic databases were searched, without any limit on publication dates. Only patients with an unstable AF that was surgically treated were included; functional outcomes and the quality of life were controlled by the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey instrument., Evidence Synthesis: Five studies were included in the analysis, including 267 patients. The values of the Physiotherapy Evidence Database scale ranged between a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 7 points. Patients with surgically treated AF reported less functionality and physical capacity compared with the nonfractured population. Some patients experienced vitality, emotional, and mental health limitations for a long period. Most surgically treated patients reported no pain and a good health and social status., Conclusion: Limitations in functionality and physical capacity represent the main threats to health-related quality of life in patients with surgically treated AFs.

We theoretically predict, and experimentally verify with entangled photons, that outcome communication is not enough for hidden-state models to reproduce quantum steering. Hidden-state models with outcome communication correspond, in turn, to the well-known instrumental processes of causal inference but in the one-sided device-independent scenario of one black-box measurement device and one well-characterized quantum apparatus. We introduce one-sided device-independent instrumental inequalities to test against these models, with the appealing feature of detecting entanglement even when communication of the black box's measurement outcome is allowed. We find that, remarkably, these inequalities can also be violated solely with steering, i.e., without outcome communication. In fact, an efficiently computable formal quantifier-the robustness of noninstrumentality-naturally arises, and we prove that steering alone is enough to maximize it. Our findings imply that quantum theory admits a stronger form of steering than known until now, with fundamental as well as practical potential implications.

Contextuality is a fundamental feature of quantum theory necessary for certain models of quantum computation and communication. Serious steps have therefore been taken towards a formal framework for contextuality as an operational resource. However, the main ingredient of a resource theory-a concrete, explicit form of free operations of contextuality-was still missing. Here we provide such a component by introducing noncontextual wirings: a class of contextuality-free operations with a clear operational interpretation and a friendly parametrization. We characterize them completely for general black-box measurement devices with arbitrarily many inputs and outputs. As applications, we show that the relative entropy of contextuality is a contextuality monotone and that maximally contextual boxes that serve as contextuality bits exist for a broad class of scenarios. Our results complete a unified resource-theoretic framework for contextuality and Bell nonlocality.

Background: Parkinson's disease is described as resulting from dopaminergic cells progressive degeneration, specifically in the substantia nigra pars compacta that influence the voluntary movements control, decision making and time perception., Aim: This review had a goal to update the relation between time perception and Parkinson's Disease., Methodology: We used the PRISMA methodology for this investigation built guided for subjects dopaminergic dysfunction in the time judgment, pharmacological models with levodopa and new studies on the time perception in Parkinson's Disease. We researched on databases Scielo, Pubmed / Medline and ISI Web of Knowledge on August 2017 and repeated in September 2017 and February 2018 using terms and associations relevant for obtaining articles in English about the aspects neurobiology incorporated in time perception. No publication status or restriction of publication date was imposed, but we used as exclusion criteria: dissertations, book reviews, conferences or editorial work., Results/discussion: We have demonstrated that the time cognitive processes are underlying to performance in cognitive tasks and that many are the brain areas and functions involved and the modulators in the time perception performance., Conclusions: The influence of dopaminergic on Parkinson's Disease is an important research tool in Neuroscience while allowing for the search for clarifications regarding behavioral phenotypes of Parkinson's disease patients and to study the areas of the brain that are involved in the dopaminergic circuit and their integration with the time perception mechanisms.

Dopaminergic system plays a key role in perception, which is an important executive function of the brain. Modulation in dopaminergic system forms an important biochemical underpinning of neural mechanisms of time perception in a very wide range, from milliseconds to seconds to longer daily rhythms. Distinct types of temporal experience are poorly understood, and the relationship between processing of different intervals by the brain has received little attention. A comprehensive understanding of interval timing functions should be sought within a wider context of temporal processing, involving genetic aspects, pharmacological models, cognitive aspects, motor control and the neurological diseases with impaired dopaminergic system. Particularly, an unexplored question is whether the role of dopamine in interval timing can be integrated with the role of dopamine in non-interval timing temporal components. In this review, we explore a wider perspective of dopaminergic system, involving genetic polymorphisms, pharmacological models, executive functions and neurological diseases on the time perception. We conclude that the dopaminergic system has great participation in impact on time perception and neurobiological basis of the executive functions and neurological diseases.

The present research aims to systematically review the determinants and reasons for swimming dropout. The systematic review was conducted through electronic searches on the Web of Knowledge and PsycInfo databases from 2 February to 29 July 2015, using the keywords dropout, withdrawal, motives, reasons, sport, framework-theories, motivation, swim*, review, attrition and compliance. Fifteen studies were found and six were fully reviewed and its data extracted and analysed. Most studies were undertaken in Canada and in the United States of America (USA), and one study was conducted in Spain. Most participants were female (65.74%), and the main reasons for dropout were 'conflicts with their trainers', 'other things to do', 'competence improvements' failure', 'parents, couples or trainers' pressure', 'lack of enjoyment' and 'get bored'. This review contributes to the present knowledge on the understanding of dropout in swimming. However, it is necessary to continue researching on this topic, validating measurement instruments and studying the motivational processes related to dropout and persistence., Competing Interests: The authors do not have any conflict of interest regarding this study.

Excitons play a key role in technological applications since they have a strong influence on determining the efficiency of photovoltaic devices. Recently, it has been shown that the allotropes of phosphorus possess an optical band gap that can be tuned over a wide range of values including the near-infrared and visible spectra, which would make them promising candidates for optoelectronic applications. In this work we carry out ab initio many-body perturbation theory calculations to study the excitonic effects on the optical properties of two-dimensional phosphorus allotropes: the case of blue and black monolayers. We elucidate the most relevant optical transitions, exciton binding energy spectrum as well as real-space exciton distribution, particularly focusing on the absorption spectrum dependence on the incident light polarization. In addition, based on our results, we use a set of effective hydrogenic models, in which the electron-hole Coulomb interaction is included to estimate exciton binding energies and radii. Our results show an excellent agreement between the many-body methodology and the effective models.

Recognition and response to prospective competitors are crucial variables that must be considered in resource distribution and utilization in plant communities. Associated behaviors are largely mediated through the exchange of low-molecular weight exudates. These cues can significantly alter the root system architecture (RSA) between neighboring plants and are routinely sensitive enough to distinguish between plants of the same or different accessions, a phenomenon known as kin recognition (KR). Such refined discrimination of identity, based on the composition and detection of patterns of exudate signals is remarkable and provides insight into the chemical ecology of plant-plant interactions. The discovery that KR occurs in Arabidopsis thaliana provides a model system to resolve many of the mechanistic questions associated with this process. We hypothesized that the low-molecular weight cues which direct changes to the RSA during KR was driven by nutrient availability. Here we present evidence in support of a nutrient-inducible model for KR. Our findings underscore how exudate production and detection are influenced by nutrient availability as well as how this information is integrated into 'decisions' about competition and root system architecture which may have broader impacts on community composition.