Performance and Religion: Dancing Bodies in Macedonian Orthodox Fresco Painting

Although dance as a topic has been explored through various theoretical and thematic discourse, little attention has been paid to the presence of dance motifs in Christian imagery. An examination of Orthodox Macedonian medieval fresco painting provides a fascinating point of entry into this overlooked subject. Analysis reveals the presence of two dominant approaches, conditioned primarily by the position of dancing in the philosophical-ethical discourse present in the Bible and other late antique and medieval theological texts. Some frescoes and icons show the body as a channel through which the Lord is glorified. Others show it as an instrument and reflection of immorality instigated by demonic powers. As in each approach, the bodies have differing semantic qualities, valuable information can be obtained about the performing practices present in this historical period.

The Effect of Isolated and Combined Application of Menthol and Carbohydrate Mouth Rinses on 40 km Time Trial Performance, Physiological and Perceptual Measures in the Heat

The current study compared mouth swills containing carbohydrate (CHO), menthol (MEN) or a combination (BOTH) on 40 km cycling time trial (TT) performance in the heat (32 °C, 40% humidity, 1000 W radiant load) and investigates associated physiological (rectal temperature (Trec), heart rate (HR)) and subjective measures (thermal comfort (TC), thermal sensation (TS), thirst, oral cooling (OC) and RPE (legs and lungs)). Eight recreationally trained male cyclists (32 ± 9 y; height: 180.9 ± 7.0 cm; weight: 76.3 ± 10.4 kg) completed familiarisation and three experimental trials, swilling either MEN, CHO or BOTH at 10 km intervals (5, 15, 25, 35 km). The 40 km TT performance did not differ significantly between conditions (F2,14 = 0.343; p = 0.715; η2 = 0.047), yet post-hoc testing indicated small differences between MEN and CHO (d = 0.225) and MEN and BOTH (d = 0.275). Subjective measures (TC, TS, RPE) were significantly affected by distance but showed no significant differences between solutions. Within-subject analysis found significant interactions between solution and location upon OC intensity (F28,196 = 2.577; p < 0.001; η2 = 0.269). While solutions containing MEN resulted in a greater sensation of OC, solutions containing CHO experienced small improvements in TT performance. Stimulation of central CHO pathways during self-paced cycling TT in the heat may be of more importance to performance than perceptual cooling interventions. However, no detrimental effects are seen when interventions are combined.

DEVELOPING TEACHERS’ ASSESSMENT LITERACY BY IMPROVING EXISTING TESTS: ANALYSES AND TOOLS

The present research paper attempts to provide an exemplary step-by-step description of the improvement and tailoring process of an existing assessment to provide practical guidelines to English teachers. The theories, tools, and techniques mentioned in the study are expected to serve as guidelines for teachers in their assessment literacy improvement paths. To make the guidelines more practical and self-explicatory to teachers/readers, this investigation deals with the modification of an existing assessment (quiz test) used in one of the English for Specific Courses (ESP) – Business English module for future logisticians, which is provided in the context of higher education (HE) institution – Inha University in Tashkent (IUT). The research aims to tailor the modern test (unit quiz) and make it meet the needs of a learner and the Common European Framework of References (CEFR) standards; principally, it also intends to ensure that the test responds to the five principles of assessment: reliability, practicality, validity, washback, and authenticity. This case study covers the description of the study subject, analysis of a test used at schools the study subject attends, and its modified version. The implemented research methods involved qualitative and quantitative data collection tools such as pre- and post-interviews with the subject, pre- and post-tests, observation, and feedback. The result of this study which was scrutinized based on the piloting outcomes, showed that it was successfully polished and oriented to the topical learner profile at this HE institution. Besides, the test eventually meets the assessment principles because of the adjustments, which make it suitable for the CEFR standards.

The Effect of Baseline on Toddler Event-Related Mu-Rhythm Modulation

Event-related mu-rhythm activity has become a common tool for the investigation of different socio-cognitive processes in pediatric populations. The estimation of the mu-rhythm desynchronization/synchronization (mu-ERD/ERS) in a specific task is usually computed in relation to a baseline condition. In the present study, we investigated the effect that different types of baseline might have on toddler mu-ERD/ERS related to an action observation (AO) and action execution (AE) task. Specifically, we compared mu-ERD/ERS values computed using as a baseline: (1) the observation of a static image (BL1) and (2) a period of stillness (BL2). Our results showed that the majority of the subjects suppressed the mu-rhythm in response to the task and presented a greater mu-ERD for one of the two baselines. In some cases, one of the two baselines was not even able to produce a significant mu-ERD, and the preferred baseline varied among subjects even if most of them were more sensitive to the BL1, thus suggesting that this could be a good baseline to elicit mu-rhythm modulations in toddlers. These results recommended some considerations for the design and analysis of mu-rhythm studies involving pediatric subjects: in particular, the importance of verifying the mu-rhythm activity during baseline, the relevance of single-subject analysis, the possibility of including more than one baseline condition, and caution in the choice of the baseline and in the interpretation of the results of studies investigating mu-rhythm activity in pediatric populations.

School-Based Prevention of Screen-Related Risk Behaviors during the Long-Term Distant Schooling Caused by COVID-19 Outbreak

The COVID-19 outbreak and related restrictions meant a higher incidence of screen-related risk behaviors in both children and adolescents. Our goal was to assess the perceived importance and extent of school-based preventions related to these risks during the long-term, nation-wide distant schooling period in the Czech Republic. The online survey was responded to by the school-based prevention specialists (N = 1698). For the analysis, within-subject analysis of variance (ANOVA) and binominal logistic regression were used. At-risk internet use and cyber-bullying were perceived as pressing, but other risks, for example, excessive internet use or the use of cyberpornography, received substantially less priority. The differences in all grades were significant and moderate to large (η2G between 0.156 and 0.288). The proportion of schools which conducted prevention interventions of screen-related risks was low (between 0.7% and 27.8%, depending on the grade and the type of the risk). The probability of delivering prevention intervention was in all grades significantly predicted by the presence of screen-related problems in pupils (OR 3.76–4.88) and the perceived importance of the screen-related risks (OR 1.55–1.97). The limited capacity of schools to deliver prevention interventions during distant schooling as well as the low awareness and impaired ability to recognize the importance of some screen-related risks should be addressed.

Differences Between MR Brain Region Segmentation Methods: Impact on Single-Subject Analysis

For the segmentation of magnetic resonance brain images into anatomical regions, numerous fully automated methods have been proposed and compared to reference segmentations obtained manually. However, systematic differences might exist between the resulting segmentations, depending on the segmentation method and underlying brain atlas. This potentially results in sensitivity differences to disease and can further complicate the comparison of individual patients to normative data. In this study, we aim to answer two research questions: 1) to what extent are methods interchangeable, as long as the same method is being used for computing normative volume distributions and patient-specific volumes? and 2) can different methods be used for computing normative volume distributions and assessing patient-specific volumes? To answer these questions, we compared volumes of six brain regions calculated by five state-of-the-art segmentation methods: Erasmus MC (EMC), FreeSurfer (FS), geodesic information flows (GIF), multi-atlas label propagation with expectation–maximization (MALP-EM), and model-based brain segmentation (MBS). We applied the methods on 988 non-demented (ND) subjects and computed the correlation (PCC-v) and absolute agreement (ICC-v) on the volumes. For most regions, the PCC-v was good (>0.75), indicating that volume differences between methods in ND subjects are mainly due to systematic differences. The ICC-v was generally lower, especially for the smaller regions, indicating that it is essential that the same method is used to generate normative and patient data. To evaluate the impact on single-subject analysis, we also applied the methods to 42 patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In the case where the normative distributions and the patient-specific volumes were calculated by the same method, the patient’s distance to the normative distribution was assessed with the z-score. We determined the diagnostic value of this z-score, which showed to be consistent across methods. The absolute agreement on the AD patients’ z-scores was high for regions of thalamus and putamen. This is encouraging as it indicates that the studied methods are interchangeable for these regions. For regions such as the hippocampus, amygdala, caudate nucleus and accumbens, and globus pallidus, not all method combinations showed a high ICC-z. Whether two methods are indeed interchangeable should be confirmed for the specific application and dataset of interest.

ANALISIS SUBJEK KOLEKSI PERPUSTAKAAN DI UPT PERPUSTAKAAN UNIVERSITAS LANCANG KUNING

The title of this research is the analysis of the subject of library collections at the Technical Implementation Unit (UPT) of the Lancang Kuning University Library. The purpose of this study was to determine how the subject analysis in the Technical Implementation Unit (UPT) Lancang Kuning University Library. The method used is descriptive quantitative, with a sample of 867 collection titles in the Technical Implementation Unit (UPT) of the Lancang Kuning University Library. Data collection techniques are observation, interviews, literature study, and documentation. The results showed that from a total of 867 collections, a small part (7%) of collection subjects were in accordance with the principle of determining the subject specifically and directly, then out of a total of 867 collection titles, a small part (7%) of collection subjects were in accordance with the usability principle, then from a total of 867 the title of the collection a small part (6%) of the subject of the collection is in accordance with the principle of uniformity, then from a total of 867 titles of the collection a small part (4%) of the subject of the collection is in accordance with the principle of subdivision of physical form, then from a total of 867 titles of the collection a small part (3%) of the subject of the collection in accordance with the principle of a specific topic or aspect, then out of a total of 867 collection titles, a small portion (1%) of the subject of the collection is in accordance with the principle of geographical subdivision, then the Technical Implementation Unit (UPT) of the Lancang Kuning University Library does not apply a collection of chronological subdivisions, further from a total of 84 the title of the collection there are 19 collections on the principle of biography a small part (23%) subj oak collections are in accordance with biographical principles, then out of a total of 175 collection titles there are 38 collections on the principles of language and literature, a small portion (22%) of collection subjects according to the principles of language and literature.