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In the 1970s, the concept of sport addiction appeared in scientific literature, warning of the addictive properties of exercise when taken to extremes. Appearing in over 6500 peer-reviewed articles in Google Scholar from 1979 to 2017, this construct is of interest to the fields of mental health and sport sociology as it provides a heuristic case to consider the conditions which allow for a category-in-the-making to gain meaning despite its absence from leading classification systems. Using Hacking's framework of ecological niches, this review of literature provides a critical examination of “sport addiction” and aims to investigate the driving forces and the means by which social actors from the scientific community negotiate the landscape and boundaries of this emerging disorder. The results highlight the prominence of psychology in the diffusion of the construct and the reticence of the medical world to legitimize it as a mental health category.

The present paper investigates the correlation between the French tax rebate triggered by the birth of a child and the probability to bring forward childbirth from late December to early January. Using administrative tax data from 2010 to 2016, we precisely simulate the corresponding tax rebate for households in which a child was born from mid-December to mid-January. Contrary to prior research, we did not find clear evidence of a significant link between the tax rebate brought about by a supplementary dependent child on the tax return and the probability of a December birth. Either the amount of the incentive may not be large enough or households may not correctly anticipate the corresponding tax rebate. Nevertheless, a small learning effect is present. According to our results, a significant correlation between the tax rebate and the probability of having a child in December is only observed among the wealthiest half of households that also benefit from a relatively large tax rebate. However, this seems to be due to a spurious correlation. Instead, our results reflect the willingness of parents to avoid childbirth on a public holiday.

The quantum Hall effect is the seminal example of topological protection, as charge carriers are transmitted through one-dimensional edge channels where backscattering is prohibited. Graphene has made its marks as an exceptional platform to reveal new facets of this remarkable property. However, in conventional Hall bar geometries, topological protection of graphene edge channels is found regrettably less robust than in high mobility semi-conductors. Here, we explore graphene quantum Hall regime at the local scale, using a scanning gate microscope. We reveal the detrimental influence of antidots along the graphene edges, mediating backscattering towards upstream edge channels, hence triggering topological breakdown. Combined with simulations, our experimental results provide further insights into graphene quantum Hall channels vulnerability. In turn, this may ease future developments towards precise manipulation of topologically protected edge channels hosted in various types of two-dimensional crystals., 6 pages, 4 figures

The perception of epidemic risk has been associated with the production of narratives in which figures such as villains and heroes emerge. This article critically analyzes social media users’ const...

Between 2010 and 2015, the Bellechasse Regional County Municipality (Bellechasse RCM) was affected by particularly noxious odors issuing from its Municipal Solid Waste Landfill (Bellechasse RCM MSWL) in Armagh, Canada. A study carried out in 2015-2016 by Centre de recherche industrielle du Québec (CRIQ) confirmed that it was still possible for hydrogen sulfide (H2S) emissions to cause odor issues in and around the site. The experimental project carried out by CRIQ in cooperation with Bellechasse RCM, Englobe, Quebec City and the Regroupement des récupérateurs et des recycleurs de matériaux de construction et de démolition du Québec (represented by AIM Éco-centre) made it possible to test three (3) different industrial residue as an alternative cover materials on site and study how they controlled H2S emissions, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and odors at the Bellechasse RCM’s landfill. The site was monitored from November 2016 to September 2017 to confirm the effectiveness of alternative biofiltration cover materials (soil + compost), domestic waste incineration bottom ash and 0 to 2.5-inch concrete residues and to compare the results with the sand cover currently used as the cover material. Effectiveness was determined by measuring the Area Source Emission Rate (ASER) with a 3 m x 3 m static flux chamber developed for the project. Methane measurements were concomitantly taken to confirm that the biogas could escape through the cover materials. The monitoring results made it possible to demonstrate that domestic waste incineration bottom ash as well as 0-2.5 in. concrete received the highest load of H2S and showed an H2S capture performance of greater than 83ϿFor volatile organic compounds, materials such as 0-2.5 in. concrete and the alternative biofiltration cover materials were most effective for capture (greater than 73Ͽfor the highest loads. The lowest content of CH4 after covering was measured for the alternative cover materials. The site where the incineration bottom ash was used managed to decrease odors by ±200 odor units. Overall, we have demonstrated in this project, the capacity of different alternative cover materials under real condition for the control of gas emissions from landfill.

A growing number of studies have used virtual reality (VR) for the assessment and treatment of body image disturbances (BIDs). This study, conducted in a community sample of adolescents, documents the convergent and discriminant validity between (a) the traditional paper-based Figure Rating Scale (paper-based FRS), (b) the VR-based Body Rating Scale (eLoriCorps-IBRS 1.1), and (c) the mobile app-based Body Rating Scale (eLoriCorps-IBRS 1.1-Mobile). A total of 93 adolescents (14 to 18 years old) participated in the study. Body dissatisfaction and body distortion were assessed through the paper-based FRS, the eLoriCorps-IBRS 1.1 and the eLoriCorps-IBRS 1.1-Mobile. Eating disorder symptoms, body image avoidance, and social physique anxiety were also measured. Correlation analyses were performed. Overall, the results showed a good and statistically significant convergence between allocentric perspectives as measured by the paper-based FRS, the eLoriCorps-IBRS 1.1 and the eLoriCorps-IBRS 1.1-Mobile. As expected, the egocentric perspective measured in VR produced different results from the allocentric perspective, and from cognitive–attitudinal–affective dimensions of BIDs, with the exception of body distortion. These differences support the discriminant validity of the egocentric perspective of eLoriCorps-IBRS 1.1 and are consistent with emerging evidence, highlighting a difference between experiencing the body from an egocentric (i.e., the body as a subject) and allocentric (i.e., the body as an object) perspective. The egocentric perspective could reflect a perceptual–sensory–affective construction of BIDs, whereas allocentric measures seem to be more related to a cognitive–affective–attitudinal construction of BIDs. Moreover, the results support the validity of the eLoriCorps-IBRS 1.1-Mobile with promising perspectives of implementation among young populations.