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Digital Exclusion and Relative Digital Deprivation: Exploring Factors and Moderators of Internet Non-Use in the UK
Get PDFYesThis paper investigates internet non-use in the UK. We apply Resource and Appropriation Theory (RAT), identifying main factors associated with internet non-use in the UK: (1) older age, (2) lower socio-economic classification, (3) disability, (4) less education/qualifications, and (5) lower housing tenure. We extend RAT by exploring magnifying effects of disadvantages, particularly, moderating effects of gender, housing tenure, urban/rural, North/South divide, and ethnicity. Internet non-users tend to be in lower-paid jobs, which impacts productivity even more during than before Covid, closing the loop of the RAT vicious circle. A thread runs through the results on the importance of attitudes and motivation. Accordingly, we recommend interventions based on Relative Digital Deprivation Theory. Once an individual understands that they suffer digital inequality, they are more likely to change attitudes and behavior to reduce inequality. If encouraged by family and friends, they may then view internet non-use as fixable and worth fixing, potentially becoming internet users
Investigation of the role of RGD-binding integrins and associated sig-nalling pathways in the development of BRAF inhibitor resistance and a new combination therapy approach for metastatic melanoma
No full textMetastatic melanoma is the most deadly type of skin cancers. It is the fifth most common cancer in UK. BRAF V600E mutation is observed in approximately 50% of melanomas and causes excessive stimulation of the MAPK signalling leading to proliferation, metastasis and invasion. In BRAF V600E positive mela-noma patients, BRAF is inhibited to prevent MAPK over activity. However, after a while, BRAF inhibition induces different mechanisms resulting in gaining re-sistance to the inhibitor. It is known that there is an increase in the expression of integrins during the development of BRAFi resistance.
To understand which RGD binding integrins and mechanisms are involved in BRAFi resistance in melanoma cells, in this study, BRAFV600E mutant vemu-rafenib resistant cell lines were generated and gene expression analysis (2-ΔΔCt) for 25 different target genes compared between parental and resistant cells in the presence and absence of the integrin ligand fibrinogen to determine alterations in active pathways and integrin levels linked to resistance.
It was found that increased integrin β3, integrin α5 and PAI-1 and p21 levels were associated with vemurafenib resistant BRAFV600E melanoma cells and the TGF-β pathway is the major regulator. Combination of cilengitide with vemurafenib, showed a highly synergistic effect and significantly blocked the in-vasive and colony initiating features and also decreased ITGB3, ITGA5, PAI-1, p21 levels of resistant cells.
Altogether these findings emphasize the potential druggable role of integ-rin β3, integrin α5, PAI-1, p21 and can be beneficial to overcome drug resistance or develop better approaches to block tumourigenic properties.The Ministry of National Education-Turke
Exploration of meaning, motivation, and preparedness to care amongst the one-child policy generation in China
No full textYesIn China there is a cultural expectation (Xiao, -filial piety) that offspring should provide care for their parents. However, the sustainability of this is threatened by the impact of the One-Child Policy (OCP) (1979-2015), which has resulted in a diminution in numbers of children available to care, rapid urbanisation and increase in the number of women in employment. In this context, the objective was to explore the motivations, meaning, and preparedness for future caregiving of offspring affected by the OCP.
We adopted a constructivist position using a hermeneutic phenomenology approach and interviewed eight current and prospective caregivers aged 20-35 years about future caregiving responsibilities. Data were obtained through in-depth interviews, analysed using reflective Thematic Analysis.
Three prominent themes: (i) Caregiving beliefs, (ii) Caregiving conditions and (iii) Contextual factors were identified under an overarching theme "Competing pressures-meanings, motivation and preparedness". Despite the inherent stress, participants envisaged providing or organising care in the future to fulfil Xiao, and most viewed long-term care settings as unviable. Ultimately, the findings suggested that the actual performance of caregiving would not always measure up to ideal expectations, resulting in 'filial discrepancy' that is, a gap between societal expectations for caregiving to older relatives and actual caregiving performance. This could adversely impact the caregivers and quality of care provided. The findings highlighted the urgent need to develop culturally attuned services, including education and training for family caregivers, health and social care professionals.Research England: Quality Related Global Challenge Research Fund; University of Bradford
Analytical Reliability-based Investment and Operation Model for Post-Failure Network Reconfiguration
No full textYesElectricity providers aims to deliver uninterrupted
electrical services to their customers at minimum cost while
providing a satisfactory quality service. Therefore, the power
system reliability is essential in power distribution network
planning, design, and operation. This paper proposes a novel
mathematical model to improve the reliability of reconfigurable
distribution networks via investing and operating tie-lines. While
the failure is being repaired, tie-lines allow the network operator
to transfer loads from failed zones to healthy zones. Constructing
new tie-lines could improve the network's flexibility, aiming to
reduce the cost of expected energy not supplied (EENS). The
objective function of the proposed method is a trade-off between
the investment cost of tie-lines construction in the planning stage,
the cost of tie-lines operation (e.g., opening/closing), and the cost of
EENS in the operational stage. The model simultaneously
evaluates the best combination of investments and network
configuration for each contingency while considering network
constraints. A multistage mathematical model is developed as
mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) to overcome the
computational complexity and maintain solver traceability for
utility-scale realistic networks. The model can handle the network
reconfiguration (NR) considering N-x contingency analysis in the
operation stage while deciding the investment in tie-lines in the
planning stage. The optimal investment and operation in tie-lines,
according to numerical results, can reduce the cost of the
Distribution System (DS) while responding with contingencies by
51 to 70%
Unsupervised Learning for Feature Selection: A Proposed Solution for Botnet Detection in 5G Networks
Get PDFYesThe world has seen exponential growth in deploying Internet of Things (IoT) devices. In recent years, connected IoT devices have surpassed the number of connected non-IoT devices. The number of IoT devices continues to grow and they are becoming a critical component of the national infrastructure. IoT devices' characteristics and inherent limitations make them attractive targets for hackers and cyber criminals. Botnet attack is one of the serious threats on the Internet today. This article proposes pattern-based feature selection methods as part of a machine learning (ML) based botnet detection system. Specifically, two methods are proposed: the first is based on the most dominant pattern feature values and the second is based on Maximal Frequent Itemset (MFI) mining. The proposed feature selection method uses Gini Impurity (GI) and an unsupervised clustering method to select the most influential features automatically. The evaluation results show that the proposed methods have improved the performance of the detection system. The developed system has a True Positive Rate (TPR) of 100% and a False Positive Rate (FPR) of 0% for best performing models. In addition, the proposed methods reduce the computational cost of the system as evidenced by the detection speed of the system
A systematic review: study on challenges faced by dental interns in the workforce: suggestions for Pacific Nations
Get PDFYesTo identify challenges faced by dental interns in the workforce and to suggest Pacific Island Countries (PIC) on further research in this area.
Materials and Methods: A comprehensive search of Medline, Embase, Scopus and ProQuest databases was conducted using relevant keywords. All studies, published from 1st January 2000 to 31st January 2021, were taken into consideration. Removal of duplicates and screening the full-text articles using eligibility criteria were used to finalise the number of articles. The significant findings and conclusions were extracted and grouped under themes.
Results: A total of 16 studies met the inclusion criteria, involving dental interns, medical interns, postgraduate and undergraduate. Five themes were identified as the main challenges faced by dental interns in the workplace including workplace bullying, handling medical emergencies, community placement, lack of interdisciplinary approach and poor record keeping.
Conclusion: There is a need for PIC to conduct research and surveys, to identify the challenges its dental interns may be facing. This will create an ideal foundation from which strategies and initiatives can be implemented and enforced in the dental internship programme. Ensuring that oral health services are delivered efficiently and oral status of the Pacific is not compromised
Zirconium-based MOFs and their biodegradable polymer composites for controlled and sustainable delivery of herbicides
Get PDFYesAdsorption and controlled release of agrochemicals has been studied widely using different nanomaterials and a variety of formulations. However, the potential for application of high surface-area metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for the controlled release of agrochemicals has not been thoroughly explored. Herein, we report controlled and sustainable release of a widely used herbicide (2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid, MCPA) via incorporation in a range of zirconium-based MOFs and their biodegradable polymer composites. Three Zr-based MOFs, viz., UiO-66, UiO-66-NH2, and UiO-67 were loaded with MCPA either postsynthetically or in situ during synthesis of the MOFs. The MCPA-loaded MOFs were then incorporated into a biodegradable polycaprolactone (PCL) composite membrane. All three MOFs and their PCL composites were thoroughly characterized using FT-IR, TGA, SEM, PXRD, BET, and mass spectrometry. Release of MCPA from each of these MOFs and their PCL composites was then studied in both distilled water and in ethanol for up to 72 h using HPLC. The best performance for MCPA release was observed for the postsynthetically loaded MOFs, with PS-MCPA@UiO-66-NH2 showing the highest MCPA concentrations in ethanol and water of 0.056 and 0.037 mg/mL, respectively. Enhanced release of MCPA was observed in distilled water when the MOFs were incorporated in PCL. The concentrations of herbicides in the release studies provide us with a range of inhibitory concentrations that can be utilized depending on the crop, making this class of composite materials a promising new route for future agricultural applications.L.A.M.M. and S.N. acknowledge funding for a studentship by the Erasmus+ KA107 Student Mobility programme. V.P.T and L.R.T. acknowledge funding from the EPSRC (EP/R01650X/1
The Effects of Consumer Brand Authenticity, Brand Image, and Age on Brand Loyalty in Time-honored Restaurants: Findings from SEM and fsQCA
Get PDFYesThis study addresses a lack of research on the effects of consumer brand authenticity,
brand image, and age, on brand loyalty in time-honored restaurants. Time-honored
restaurants are long-established and well-recognized traditional restaurants that offer
local or national foods and culinary culture. Empirical data were collected from 437
respondents in Beijing, China. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to
ascertain relationships between variables, and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative
analysis (fsQCA) validated the SEM results. The three brand authenticity dimensions
were found to have differing effects on brand image and loyalty. True-to-fact
authenticity had a significant effect on true-to-self authenticity, while true-to-ideal
authenticity had a significant effect on brand image. True-to-self authenticity affects
brand loyalty directly and indirectly through brand image. Some of the relationships
were also moderated by consumer age. The results uncover the complexity inherent to
consumer brand authenticity evaluations. They have implications for time-honored
restaurants’ marketing and brand positioning strategies
A Combined Rheological and Thermomechanical Analysis Approach for the Assessment of Pharmaceutical Polymer Blends
Get PDFYesThe viscoelastic nature of polymeric formulations utilised in drug products imparts unique thermomechanical attributes during manufacturing and over the shelf life of the product. Nevertheless, it adds to the challenge of understanding the precise mechanistic behaviour of the product at the microscopic and macroscopic level during each step of the process. Current thermomechanical and rheological characterisation techniques are limited to assessing polymer performance to a single phase and are especially hindered when the polymers are undergoing thermomechanical transitions. Since pharmaceutical processing can occur at these transition conditions, this study successfully proposes a thermomechanical characterisation approach combining both mechanical and rheological data to construct a comprehensive profiling of polymeric materials spanning both glassy and rubbery phases. This approach has been used in this study to assess the mechanical and rheological behaviour of heterogenous polymer blends of hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) over a shearing rate range of 0.1–100 s−1 and a temperature range of 30–200 °C. The results indicate that HPC and HPMC do not appear to interact when mixing and that their mixture exhibits the mechanistic properties of the two individual polymers in accordance with their ratio in the mixture. The ability to characterise the behaviour of the polymers and their mixtures before, throughout, and after the glassy to rubbery phase transition by application of the combined techniques provides a unique insight towards a quality-by-design approach to this and other polymer-based solid dosage forms, designed with the potential to accelerate their formulation process through obviating the need for multiple formulation trials.The viscoelastic nature of polymeric formulations utilised in drug products imparts unique thermomechanical attributes during manufacturing and over the shelf life of the product. Nevertheless, it adds to the challenge of understanding the precise mechanistic behaviour of the product at the microscopic and macroscopic level during each step of the process. Current thermomechanical and rheological characterisation techniques are limited to assessing polymer performance to a single phase and are especially hindered when the polymers are undergoing thermomechanical transitions. Since pharmaceutical processing can occur at these transition conditions, this study successfully proposes a thermomechanical characterisation approach combining both mechanical and rheological data to construct a comprehensive profiling of polymeric materials spanning both glassy and rubbery phases. This approach has been used in this study to assess the mechanical and rheological behaviour of heterogenous polymer blends of hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) over a shearing rate range of 0.1-100 s−1 and a temperature range of 30-200 °C. The results indicate that HPC and HPMC do not appear to interact when mixing and that their mixture exhibits the mechanistic properties of the two individual polymers in accordance with their ratio in the mixture. The ability to characterise the behaviour of the polymers and their mixtures before, throughout, and after the glassy to rubbery phase transition by application of the combined techniques provides a unique insight towards a quality-by-design approach to this and other polymer-based solid dosage forms, designed with the potential to accelerate their formulation process through obviating the need for multiple formulation trials
Perceptions of Dental Health Professionals (DHPs) on job satisfaction in Fiji: A qualitative study
No full textYesReviewing factors that affect work challenges is crucial for any organization as it has an impact of organizational commitment for a better service delivery and job satisfaction. This study aimed to explore the perceptions of dental health professionals (DHPs) on work challenges and the impact it has on job satisfaction in Fiji. Materials and Methods: A descriptive, qualitative method approach (nationwide) was done commencing from August to November, 2021. DHPs who provide prosthetic services in Fiji were selected using purposive selection located at Nakasi Dental Clinic, Lautoka Dental Clinic, Labasa Dental Clinic, and Fiji National University. A total of 29 DHPs participated in the in-depth interview, and the responses were grouped into nine themes: working conditions, the location of practice, equipment and material, a lack of specialization, service delivery, organizational support, remuneration, career development, and promotions. A semi-structured open-ended questionnaire in the form of an interview via a virtual platform—Zoom was used for data collection. Thematic analysis was used to transcribe and analyze the audio recordings. Results: The findings from the study indicated that factors such as working conditions, the location of practice, equipment and material, a lack of specialization, service delivery, organizational support, remuneration, career development, and promotions were associated with work challenges. Conclusion: Gaps and areas for the improvement of work challenges and its impact on job satisfaction were identified for DHPs who provide prosthetic services in Fiji such as a need for more career and professional development pathways, improved infrastructure to support prosthetic service delivery, and better remuneration