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Simultaneous Regularity Contrast and Luminance Polarity
Full text linkTexture regularity, for example, the repeating pattern of a carpet, brickwork, or tree bark, is a ubiquitous feature of the visual world. The perception of regularity has generally been studied using multi-element textures whose regularity is manipulated by the ad-dition of random jitter to the elements’ nominal positions. Here, we investigate the se-lectivity of regularity perception for the luminance contrast polarities of the elements. Our psychophysical tool was simultaneous regularity contrast, or SRC, the phenomenon in which the perceived regularity of a central test texture is shifted away from that of the surrounding regularity. Stimuli were composed of arrays of dark and/or white Gaussian elements. Surround and center test textures consisted of either the same (“congruent”) or opposite (“incongruent”) polarities. In addition, we tested a “mixed” condition consisting of a random mixture of polarities in both the surround and test. The perceived regularity of the test was measured using a match stimulus with the same polarity dimension as the test. The regularity of the match stimulus was adjusted on each trial using a forced-choice staircase procedure and the point-of-subjective equality between the match and test regularities was estimated from the resulting psychometric functions. SRC was observed in both congruent and incongruent conditions, but with the mixed condition, the per-ceived regularity of the test was shifted toward rather than away from the surround regularity, an example of assimilation, not contrast. The analysis revealed no significant difference in the magnitude of SRC between the congruent and incongruent conditions, suggesting that SRC could be mediated solely by polarity agnostic mechanisms, although there are other possible explanations for the “null” result. However, trend analysis using a non-linear (sigmoidal-shaped) function indicated a significant difference between the congruent and incongruent conditions, which, together with the mixed polarity results, suggests the presence of at least some polarity selective mechanisms. Previous reports have suggested that regularity perception is encoded by the “peakedness” in the dis-tribution of spatial-frequency-tuned linear filter responses. We modeled SRC quantita-tively by incorporating peakedness with spatial-frequency-selective surround inhibition and found that the model gave a good account of the SRC data. Possible reasons for the assimilation effect found with the mixed polarity condition are discussed
An Evaluation of Health Behavior Change Training for Health and Care Professionals in St. Helena
Full text linkBackground: Health behavior consultations support self-management if delivered by skilled practitioners. We summarize here the results of a collaborative training intervention program delivered to health and care practitioners working in a remote-island context. The program was designed to build confidence in the implementation of communication and behavior change skills and to sustain their use in work settings. The setting for the behavior change training program was the South Atlantic island of St. Helena, a remote low-middle-income country which has a population with high levels of obesity and a prevalence of long-term conditions. Objectives: We aimed to increase knowledge, confidence, and implementation of behavior change techniques (BCTs) and communication skills of health and social care staff through delivering and evaluating training using the MAP (Motivation, Action, Prompt) behavior change framework. A successful training intervention could ultimately improve self-management and patient health outcomes. Methods: Co-production with onsite representatives adapted the program for local delivery. A two-day training program was delivered face-to-face to 32 multidisciplinary staff. Pre-and post-intervention and 18-month follow-up evaluation assessed reactions, learning and implementation using multiple methods, including participant feedback and primary care patient reports. Results: Positive reactions to training and significant improvement in confidence, perceived importance, intention to use and implementation of BCTs and communication skills immediately post-training and at long-term follow-up were observed. Patient reports suggested some techniques became routinely used. Methodological difficulties arose due to staff retention and disruption through the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions: The delivery of health behavior change training can be effective in remote contexts with sustainable impacts on healthcare. There are challenges working in this context including staff continuity and technological reliability.Good Health and Well-BeingSustainable Cities and CommunitiesPartnerships for the Goal
Feasibility study of a co-designed, evidence-informed and community-based incentive intervention to promote healthy weight and well-being in disadvantaged communities in Scotland
Full text linkObjectives: To feasibility test a novel community-based financial incentive scheme to promote healthy weight and well-being. Design: Single-arm, prospective feasibility study using mixed methods. Setting: Two communities in Scotland experiencing high levels of disadvantage according to the Scottish Index for Multiple Deprivation (SIMD). Community C1 is in a large rural area with a small town centre (population~1.5K) and community C2 is a small and urban community (population~9K), enabling contextual comparison. Participants: Eligible adult (18 years or over) community members recruited through community outreach. Intervention: The Enjoy Life LocallY (ELLY) intervention comprised free soup twice weekly (café/delivery/pickup); loyalty card stamped for engagement in community assets (such as local activities, groups and clubs) exchanged for a £25 shopping card when a participant attends a minimum of 9 assets over 12 weeks; goal setting; information resources; self-monitoring of weight and well-being. Outcomes: Primary outcomes—feasibility of recruitment, retention and engagement. Acceptability of intervention components was assessed by self-reported questionnaires and interviews. Secondary outcomes—feasibility of collecting outcomes prioritised by communities for a future trial: health-related quality of life (EQ-5D-5L), mental wellbeing (WEMWBS), connectedness (Social Connectedness Scale) and weight-related measures (weight, body mass index (BMI)). Results Over 3 months, 75 community citizens (35 citizens in C1, 40 citizens in C2) were recruited (125% of target recruitment of 60 participants (117% of 30 participants C1 target, 133% of 30 participants C2 target), 84% female, baseline weight mean (SD)=84.8 kg (20) and BMI mean (SD)=31.9 kg/m2 (7.3), 65/75 (87%) living in disadvantaged areas (SIMD quintiles 1–3)). Retention at 12 weeks, defined by completion of outcome measures at 12 weeks, was 65 (87%). Participation in at least one asset for a minimum of 9 out of 12 weeks of the intervention was achieved by 55 (73%). All intervention components were acceptable, with the loyalty card being the most popular and the soup cafés the least popular. The mean average cost of the soup ingredients, per participant, over the 12 weeks was £12.02. Outcome data showed a small decrease in weight and BMI and a small increase in health-related quality of life, mental well-being and social connectedness. Conclusions: The ELLY study recruited and retained participants from two disadvantaged communities in Scotland. The study was acceptable to participants and feasible to deliver. A full trial is warranted to determine effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, with consideration of scalability
Personalisation in racially minoritised groups within UK adult social care: a systematic review
Full text linkAlthough evidence shows that personalisation improves access to health and social care for UK’s racially minoritised groups, research suggests that uptake is low due to racism, discrimination and negative experiences with mainstream services. A systematic literature review of 45 articles found that racially minoritised individuals choose personalisation for greater control and choice over their care but face systemic barriers, including a complicated adult social care system that fails to respond to cultural and linguistic values. Recommendations to improve uptake include involving racially minoritised communities in service planning, attracting a diverse workforce, tackling racism and discrimination, bridging the information gap, and funding racially minoritised community organisations.Good Health and Well-Bein
Independent Review of the Liquor Licensing System in Northern Ireland including the Surrender Principle
Full text linkBehavioural interventions to increase uptake of FIT colorectal screening in Scotland (TEMPO): a nationwide, eight-arm, factorial, randomised controlled trial
Full text linkBackground Uptake of colorectal cancer screening is suboptimal. The TEMPO trial evaluated the impact of two evidence-based, theory-informed, and co-designed behavioural interventions on uptake of faecal immunochemical test (FIT) colorectal screening. Methods TEMPO was a 2 × 4 factorial, eight-arm, randomised controlled trial embedded in the nationwide Scottish Bowel Screening Programme. All 40 000 consecutive adults (aged 50–74 years) eligible for colorectal screening were allocated to one of eight groups using block randomisation: (1) standard invitation; (2) 1-week suggested FIT return deadline; (3) 2-week deadline; (4) 4-week deadline; (5) problem-solving planning tool (no deadline); (6) planning tool plus 1-week deadline; (7) planning tool plus 2-week deadline; (8) planning tool plus 4-week deadline. The primary outcome was the proportion of FITs returned correctly completed to be tested by the colorectal screening laboratory providing a positive or negative result, within 3 months of the FIT being mailed to a person. The trial is registered with clinicaltrials.gov, NCT05408169. Findings From June 19 to July 3, 2022, 5000 participants were randomly assigned per group, with no loss to follow-up. 266 participants met the exclusion criteria; 39 734 (19 909 [50·1%] female and 19 825 [49·9%] male; mean age 61·2 [SD 7·3] years) were included in the analysis. The control group (no deadline, and no planning tool) had a 3-month FIT return rate of 66·0% (3275 of 4965). The highest return rate was seen with a 2-week deadline without the planning tool (3376 [68·0%] of 4964; difference vs control of 2·0% [95% CI 0·2 to 3·9]). The lowest return rate was seen when the planning tool was given without a deadline (3134 [63·2%] of 4958; difference vs control of –2·8% [–4·7 to –0·8]). The primary analysis, assuming independent effects of the two interventions, suggested a clear positive effect of giving a deadline (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1·13 [1·08 to 1·19]; p<0·0001), and no effect for use of a planning tool (aOR 0·98 [0·94 to 1·02]; p=0·34), though this was complicated by an interaction between the two interventions (pinteraction=0·0041); among those who were given a deadline, there was no evidence that receiving a planning tool had any effect (aOR 1·02 [0·97 to 1·07]; p=0·53), but in the absence of a deadline, giving the planning tool appeared detrimental (aOR 0·88 [0·81 to 0·96]; p=0·0030). In the absence of the planning tool, there was little evidence that the use of a deadline had any effect on return rates at 3 months. However, secondary analyses indicated that the use of deadlines boosted earlier return rates (within 1, 2, and 4 weeks, particularly around the time of the deadline), and reduced the need to issue a reminder letter after 6 weeks, with no evidence that the planning tool had any positive impact, and without evidence of interactions between interventions. Interpretation Adding a single sentence suggesting a deadline for FIT return in the invitation letter to FIT colorectal screening resulted in more timely FIT return and reduced the need to issue reminder letters. This is a highly cost-effective intervention that could be easily implemented in routine practice. A planning tool had no positive effect on FIT return
Challenges to multi-agency and multi-stakeholder collaboration in innovation and enterprise policy
Full text linkIn recent times, collaborative governance networks that encourage wider stakeholder policy engagement have gained traction. To support this shift, significant investment in several policies, such as City Region Deals, have been introduced to ensure regional development is steered by local policy actors. However, regardless of the benefits of such decentralised policymaking, several tensions in multi-agency and multi-stakeholder collaboration exist in innovation and enterprise policy. The ability of policy networks to manage coordinating tensions influences their capacity to generate effective delivery. These tensions include munificence versus coherence; input efficiency versus output efficacy; collaboration versus competition; specialist versus inclusive participation; and top-down versus bottom-up input. This chapter illustrates these tensions through the City Regional Deals in Scotland and seeks to advance a governance framework for overcoming these challenges, which can ultimately lead to effective regional collaboration amongst all network actors involved
Development and optimisation of an intervention to increase the intention to act on health and health equity within the private sector of urban development: an evidence, theory and Person-Based Approach
Full text linkBackground There is growing evidence that exposure to unhealthy urban environments increases the risk of developing non-communicable diseases (e.g. diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory illness), with marginalised communities bearing the greatest burden. However, to date, evidence alone has not been sufficient to make health a top priority in the development of urban environments. Methods The aim of this study was to develop and optimise an intervention to increase the intention to act on health and health inequalities by private sector professionals working in urban development, with a focus on consultants and developers. The ‘Changing Mindsets’ intervention was developed through an iterative co-production process using the Person-Based Approach method, drawing on evidence and a novel theoretical framework. Results Intervention development consisted of three stages. Stage 1 involved the collation of theory and evidence, which included the development of a novel theoretical framework, primary mixed methods research and stakeholder engagement. Stage 2 was the intervention modelling phase, where the findings from Stage 1 were integrated through the guiding principles and behavioural analysis tables, which informed the logic model. Stage 3 involved iterative intervention optimisation with members of the target population. The intervention was comprised of two elements: 1) An intervention session consisting of a presentation with group discussion presented by one of the two industry partners working in the private sector of urban development, and 2) A website signposting to tools and resources, networks to support prioritising and integrating health into urban development, and examples of how other organisations have done so. Conclusions We have provided insights into how complex interdisciplinary theory can be combined with evidence of the target group’s needs, issues and challenges using established methodology from the Person-Based Approach and behavioural science. Changing Mindsets is currently being evaluated for its effectiveness and acceptability in the target population. Subsequent to this, there are plans to adapt the intervention to increase the intention to act on other social issues and for other populations
The many faces of Wilton Park
Full text linkThis chapter explores the idea for and role of Wilton Park in the fabric of British foreign policy from its origins in the context of British post-war planning to the present day. It traces Wilton Park’s story from its early days as a prisoner of war (PoW) camp to an institution for the democratisation of post-National Socialist Germany to a networking and conference site for Western countries during the Cold War, and from there to an international policy forum part funded by the British government as an executive agency of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). In so doing, this chapter focuses on the ways in which Wilton Park managed to adapt to a changing domestic and international environment by redefining its purpose, while retaining some of the original ideas and methods that drove its foundation.Quality EducationIndustry, Innovation and InfrastructurePeace, Justice and strong institution
Transcriptomic characterization of transitioning cell types in the skin of Atlantic salmon
Full text linkBackground The skin maintains the body’s integrity and serves as the first line of defence against pathogens, stressors and mechanical injuries. Despite the global signcance of salmon in aquaculture, how the transcriptomic profile of cells varies during wound healing remains unexplored. Teleost’s skin contains adult pluripotent cells that differentiate into various tissues, including bone, cartilage, tendon, ligament, adipose, dermis, muscle and connective tissue within the skin. These cells are pivotal for preserving the integrity of skin tissue throughout an organism’s lifespan and actively participate in the wound healing processes. In this study, we characterize the transcriptomic profiles of putative mesenchymal stromal cells (fibroblast-like adult stem cells) in healthy Atlantic salmon tissue and during the wound healing process. Results Single-nucleus sequencing and spatial transcriptomics were used to detect transcriptomic changes occurring during wound healing that are commonly associated with mesenchymal stromal cells. We followed the transcriptomic activity of these cells during an in vivo wound healing time course study showing that these cells become more transcriptionally active during the remodelling stage of wound healing. The changes detected give insights into the potential differentiation pathways leading to osteogenic and fibroblast lineages in the skin of Atlantic salmon. Conclusions We chart the transcriptomic activity of subclusters of putative differentiating stromal cells during the process of wound healing for the first time, revealing different spatial niches of the various putative MSC subclusters, and setting the stage for further investigation of the manipulation of transitioning cell types to improve fish health
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