Context: Since COVID-19, the European Commission (EC) has sought to expand its activities in health through the development of a European Health Union and within it the Health Emergencies Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA). Methods: The authors applied a discourse analysis to documents establishing HERA to investigate how the EC legitimated the creation of this institution. They focused on how it framed health emergencies, how it framed the added value of HERA, and how it linked HERA to existing EU activities and priorities. Findings: Their analysis demonstrates that security-based logics have been central to the EC's legitimation of HERA in alignment with a “securitization of health” occurring worldwide in recent decades. This legitimation can be understood as part of the EC's effort to promote future integration in health in the absence of new competences. Conclusions: Securitization has helped the EC raise its profile in health politically without additional competences, thereby laying the groundwork for potential future integration. Looking at the discursive legitimation of HERA sheds light not only on whether the EC is expanding its health powers but also how it strategizes to do so. HERA, while constrained, allows the EC to further deepen security-driven integration in health.

First-line cancer treatment frequently fails due to initially rare therapeutic resistance. An important clinical question is then how to schedule subsequent treatments to maximize the probability of tumour eradication. Here, we provide a theoretical solution to this problem by using mathematical analysis and extensive stochastic simulations within the framework of evolutionary rescue theory to determine how best to exploit the vulnerability of small tumours to stochastic extinction. Whereas standard clinical practice is to wait for evidence of relapse, we confirm a recent hypothesis that the optimal time to switch to a second treatment is when the tumour is close to its minimum size before relapse, when it is likely undetectable. This optimum can lie slightly before or slightly after the nadir, depending on tumour parameters. Given that this exact time point may be difficult to determine in practice, we study windows of high extinction probability that lie around the optimal switching point, showing that switching after the relapse has begun is typically better than switching too early. We further reveal how treatment dose and tumour demographic and evolutionary parameters influence the predicted clinical outcome, and we determine how best to schedule drugs of unequal efficacy. Our work establishes a foundation for further experimental and clinical investigation of this evolutionarily-informed "extinction therapy" strategy.

BACKGROUND: There are few applications of virtual reality (VR) in aphasia rehabilitation. EVA Park is an online VR platform developed with and for people with aphasia. Our research is testing its potential to host aphasia therapies. OBJECTIVE: Two case studies evaluated if delivery of Script Therapy in EVA Park is feasible and acceptable to participants, whether it improved production of trained scripts and promoted generalisation to untrained scripts, narrative speech and functional communication. METHODS: Two participants with aphasia received 20 hours of Script Therapy in EVA Park. Feasibility was assessed through session attendance, completion of practice and ratings of treatment fidelity. Acceptability was explored via post therapy interviews. The impact of therapy on script production, narrative production and functional communication was assessed through measures administered twice before therapy, immediately post therapy and at 5 weeks follow up. RESULTS: Participants attended at least 85% of sessions. Compliance with practice was good for one, but not the other. Fidelity ratings indicated that over 80% of core treatment components were fully present in recorded sessions. Participants expressed positive views about the intervention. Therapy significantly improved the production of words in trained scripts, with maintenance for one participant. Neither participant improved in the production of untrained scripts or personal narratives. One improved on the assessment of functional communication, but the margin of change was small. CONCLUSIONS: The study adds to the evidence that EVA Park can host a range of interventions and that this platform is acceptable to its intended user group.

ABSTRACT I examine the real effects of a disclosure mandate that, with the aim of enhancing performance reporting, requires a subset of London Stock Exchange (LSE) firms to describe operational and strategic aspects of value creation, such as business operations and strategies, in their annual reports. Using an instrumented difference-in-differences design, I find that compliance with this initiative, evidenced by more disclosures of performance measures and commentaries relating to business operations and strategies, promotes intangible investments. My analysis of external and internal control systems suggests that enhanced performance reporting promotes investments because it attracts long-term investors and reduces CEO pay sensitivity to earnings performance. JEL Classifications: D22; D82; O30; M41.

We perform a systematic analysis of single-channel quantum interference in laser-induced nonsequential double ionization with few-cycle pulses, using the strong-field approximation. We focus on a below-threshold intensity for which the recollision-excitation with subsequent ionization (RESI) mechanism is prevalent. We derive and classify several analytic interference conditions for single-channel RESI in arbitrary driving fields and address specific issues for few-cycle pulses. Since the cycles in a short pulse are no longer equivalent, there are several events whose dominance varies. We quantify this dominance for single excitation channels by proposing a dominance parameter. Moreover, there will be many types of superimposed interference fringes that must be taken into consideration. We find an intricate tapestry of patterns arising from phase differences related to symmetrization, temporal shifts and a combination of exchange and event interference. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

In order to investigate the bonding properties of FRP-reinforced concrete under different loads, a series of FRP-reinforced concrete specimens were subjected to pull-out tests. Three types of reinforcement were used in the experiment: ordinary steel reinforcement, carbon fiber reinforcement (CFRP), and glass fiber reinforcement (GFRP). Pull-out tests were first conducted under monotonic load to determine the effect of concrete strength and reinforcement diameter on the bond performance of FRP bar-reinforced concrete and steel-reinforced concrete. The investigation of the variation of bond performance under different reinforcement materials was made. Second, a fatigue test was done, followed by further pull-out tests to get the bond stress-slip curve between concrete and reinforcement, and the influence of fatigue action on the bond stress-slip curve was further examined. The formulae to calculate the stress were developed, which can be applied to determine the bond failure pattern, bond strength, and bond-slip curve.

The article examines the formal process of ‘ethical clearance’ for social science research at a large university and illuminates how it functions to undermine its stated purpose. We find that rather than promoting ethical standards, the bureaucratic process creates negative and cynical attitudes and game playing. For almost all participants, the entire procedure is counterproductive and experienced as absurd, creating a boomerang effect. The findings reveal how a specific rationalization effort leads to widespread experiences of irrationality, where detailed and strict organization merges with experiences of the bizarre. The article develops concepts capturing the experience and resulting organizational type: ‘orbizzarization’ and ‘absurdocracy’. These concepts enrich our understanding of toxic/irrational organizations, including Kafkaesque organizations.

The development of high temperature heat pumps for waste heat recovery benefits industrial processes by meeting demand, increasing energy efficiency, and reducing emissions. The aim of such systems is to upgrade waste heat streams, typically around 50 °C to 100 °C, to higher temperatures ranging from 100 °C to around 200 °C. A primary challenge in getting the required high temperatures is the compression system. There is a plethora of recently published research papers including reviews that address high temperature heat pumps. However, there has been no comprehensive review addressing compression systems, despite their major influence in the successful development of high temperature heat pumps; this paper provides a comprehensive review of such compressors. Firstly, an overview of heat pump systems is provided, which covers cycle arrangements and working fluid selection. This is followed by a review of the different compressor technologies used, and the development of relevant modelling and design tools. Finally, suggestions for future directions in research for high temperature heat pump compressors are provided. It was found that screw compressors have been the obvious choice for heat pumps due to the experience gained from the refrigeration industry. However, the temperatures they can handle are constrained by the maximum possible limitation to avoid oil degradation. For higher temperatures, better efficiency, and larger capacity, it seems that the alternative is turbo-compressors. Nevertheless, there is a lack of experience in this area and more research and development efforts are required to enable these machines to achieve their potential in high temperature heat pumps.