78146 research outputs found
Sort by
Pragmatic language differences in conversation might differentiate between autism and trauma-related disorders
Full text linkBackground: Clinicians are concerned about differential diagnosis of autism from Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder (DSED), as DSED is associated with maltreatment and autism is not. Language and social communication difficulties are common in maltreated children, but DSED is rarely identified within the maltreatment literature. It is unknown if/how the language profiles of children with DSED differ from autistic children. Objectives: It was hypothesised that receptive and expressive language difficulties may present in DSED but pragmatic differences, associated with autism, may differentiate autism from DSED. METHODS: We conducted 2 studies: Study 1 compared the receptive vocabulary of 43 children with autism; 24 children with DSED and 37 typically developing (TD) children. Study 2, was an in-depth case series comparing the language profiles (receptive and expressive language and pragmatic language) of autistic children (n = 10) and children with DSED (n = 11), via standardised assessment, and Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) analysis of conversational speech. Results: Receptive vocabulary did not significantly differ between groups, but autistic children had greater difficulty when semantic reasoning was required. Children with DSED had greater expressive language difficulties than autistic children (standardised and conversational assessment). While difficulties in narrative discourse overlapped between autism and DSED, other pragmatic language differences differentiated autism from DSED, when SLTs analysed conversational speech. Caregiver report did not identify these differences. Conclusions: Maltreated children may present with DSED and are at higher risk of expressive and pragmatic language difficulties. However, observation of pragmatic language differences, associated with autism, may help differentiate autism from DSED
Towards nature-positive engineering : nature-based solutions in attenuating coastal hydrometeorological hazards
Full text linkCoastal and deltaic regions are highly vulnerable to hydrometeorological hazards such as storms, flooding, and extreme temperatures—risks that are intensifying under climate change. While hard engineering structures (e.g. levees, seawalls) remain widely used, they can be costly, ecologically disruptive, and may exacerbate hazard complexity. Nature-based solutions (NbS), including mangroves, salt marshes, and other coastal ecosystems, offer sustainable and often cost-effective alternatives or complementarities that can mitigate hazards while delivering ecological and societal co-benefits. However, their effectiveness is difficult to assess due to diverse methodological approaches, site-specific coastal dynamics, and inconsistent reporting indicators. This study synthesises the scientific evidence base on the effectiveness of NbS in reducing hydrometeorological hazards in coastal and deltaic environments and evaluates the robustness of methods used to assess their performance. A systematic review and meta-analysis of 383 peer-reviewed English-language articles published between 2008 and 2024 was conducted following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses protocols and the PICO framework. Using an evaluation approach adapted from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, each study was assessed for evidence robustness, level of agreement, and overall confidence. The meta-analysis provides quantitative estimates of NbS effectiveness and highlights substantial uncertainties arising from ecological variability, methodological inconsistencies, and heterogeneity in hazard indicators (e.g. wave height, flow velocity, water level, temperature) and measurement units. Findings show that NbS effectiveness is highly context dependent and influenced by site characteristics, ecological dimensions, system configuration, and hazard intensity. The study emphasises the need for standardised, hazard-specific indicators and greater use of integrated methodological approaches to strengthen the reliability and comparability of future assessments. It also identifies opportunities for advancing hybrid or nature-positive engineering solutions that combine NbS with conventional infrastructure to enhance coastal resilience
Assessing the Value of Information in pricing insurance against multiple hazards : the case of earthquake and liquefaction
Full text linkPricing of natural hazard insurance requires robust estimates of potential losses from multiple interacting hazards, even in the presence of significant uncertainty in key risk parameters such as site conditions and structural characteristics. This paper presents a framework for quantifying the Value of Information (VoI) provided by targeted, site-specific data to reduce the uncertainty in multi-hazard earthquake and liquefaction risk assessments and to support more informed insurance decision-making. The proposed framework builds on a loss assessment methodology that integrates earthquake shaking and liquefaction hazards, capturing their combined effects on structural vulnerability and expected losses, and applies principles of expected utility theory and decision-making to identify optimal insurance pricing for both clients and insurer. The approach is demonstrated through a case study in New Zealand, a seismically active country where variability in ground conditions, particularly Vs30, strongly influences seismic risk. A probabilistic graphical model captures conditional dependencies between shaking, liquefaction, and structural damage, enabling realistic estimation of expected losses. VoI is computed separately for insurers and clients, accounting for premium structures and the financial consequences of incorrect insurance decisions. Results show that VoI is greatest in high-risk, high-uncertainty contexts, particularly where low stiffness soils amplify liquefaction-related losses. While data collection consistently benefits clients, insurers may experience diminishing or even negative VoI as clients adopt more conservative insurance strategies. The VoI framework offers practical insights into balancing data acquisition costs against financial benefits, supporting resilient and equitable insurance systems in regions exposed to natural hazards
Landau-de Gennes modeling of confinement effects and cybotactic clusters in bent-core nematic liquid crystals
Full text linkWe study bent-core nematic (BCN) systems in two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) settings, focusing on the role of cybotactic clusters, phase transitions, confinement effects, and applied external fields. We propose a generalized version of Madhusudana's two-state model for BCNs [] with two order parameters: Q g to describe the ambient ground-state (GS) molecules and Q c to describe the additional ordering induced by the cybotactic clusters. The equilibria are modeled by minimizers of an appropriately defined free energy, with an empirical coupling term between Q g and Q c . We demonstrate two phase transitions in spatially homogeneous 3D BCN systems at fixed temperatures: a first-order nematic-paranematic transition followed by a paranematic-isotropic phase transition driven by the GS-cluster coupling. We also numerically compute and give heuristic insights into solution landscapes of confined BCN systems on 2D square domains, tailored by the GS-cluster coupling, temperature, and external fields. This benchmark example illustrates the potential of this generalized model to capture tunable director profiles, cluster properties, and potential biaxiality induced by antagonistic Q g and Q c profiles
Persistent traumatic stress exposure : rethinking PTSD for frontline workers
Full text linkFrontline workers across health, emergency, and social care sectors are repeatedly exposed to distressing events and chronic stressors as part of their occupational roles. Unlike single-event trauma, these cumulative exposures accrue over time, generating persistent psychological and physiological strain. Traditional diagnostic frameworks, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), were not designed to capture the layered and ongoing nature of this occupational trauma. This commentary introduces the concept of Persistent Traumatic Stress Exposure (PTSE), a framework that reframes trauma among frontline workers as an exposure arising from organisational and systemic conditions rather than solely an individual disorder. It aims to reorient understanding, responsibility, and intervention from a purely clinical lens toward systems, cultures, and organisational duties of care. PTSE is presented as an integrative paradigm informed by contemporary theory and evidence on trauma, moral injury, organisational stress, and trauma-informed systems. The framework synthesises findings from health, emergency, and social care settings, illustrating how repeated exposure, ethical conflict, and institutional pressures contribute to cumulative psychological harm. PTSE highlights that psychological injury may build across shifts, careers, and lifetimes, requiring preventive, real-time, and sustained responses. The framework emphasises that effective support is dependent on both organisational readiness, the structural conditions that enable trauma-informed work, and organisational preparedness, the practical capability to enact safe, predictable, and stigma-free responses to trauma exposure. PTSE challenges prevailing stigma by framing trauma as a predictable occupational hazard rather than a personal weakness. It aligns with modern occupational health perspectives by advocating for systems that strengthen psychological safety, leadership capability and access to support. By adopting PTSE, organisations can shift from reactive treatment models toward proactive cultural and structural protection, honouring the lived realities of frontline workers and promoting long-term wellbeing and resilience
AC loss of parallel-wound HTS coils designed for the armature coil of aviation propulsion motor
Full text linkAviation electric propulsion requires reliable, high-current, low-loss armature windings with low mass to achieve high motor power density. A new approach using parallel-stacked superconducting tapes in wet windings has been proposed to meet these requirements. The coil was designed and tested in liquid nitrogen. This paper focuses on the AC loss characterization of the HTS coil by comparing experimental and simulation results. Instead of employing a coupled circuit model with uncertain resistivity values, directly using the experimentally measured current distribution provides a faster solution with good agreement to the experimental results. The method can be used to predict AC losses at higher currents
Projecting biomass declines in the St Helena Marine Protected Area food web due to climate change
Full text linkUnderstanding marine ecosystem responses to climate change is crucial for developing ecosystem-based adaptation strategies. We applied the StrathE2E model to assess climate change impacts on the food web of the St Helena marine protected area (SHMPA). The model was parameterized using two Earth System models (GFDL, CNRM) and two future climate scenarios (SSP1-2.6, SSP3-7.0) from the NEMO-ERSEM model for a baseline period (2010–2019) and future decades up to the 2060s. The SHMPA will become warmer and more oligotrophic, leading to declines in primary producers, fish, and top predators. Despite quantified uncertainty, the direction of change was consistent, with larger declines in CNRM than GFDL. Net primary production is highly sensitive to upwelling and downwelling, with greater stratification under SSP1-2.6 than SSP3-7.0, causing stronger productivity losses. This study presents the first food web model with ecosystem-level assessment of climate change on SHMPA. The projections suggest potential for profound ecosystem-wide transformations posing management challenges
In vitro investigation of the PneumoWave biosensor for the identification of central sleep apnea in pediatrics
Full text linkThe interpretation and diagnosis of central sleep apnea in pediatrics by nocturnal polysomnography is challenging due to its technical complexity, which involves the simultaneous recording of multiple physiological parameters related to sleep and wakefulness. Furthermore, the unfamiliar environment of a sleep laboratory can hinder sleep evaluation, and diagnostic backlogs are common due to restricted capacity at specialist tertiary centers. The ability to undertake home sleep studies in a familiar environment using simple, robust, and low-cost technology is attractive. The potential to repurpose the PneumoWave biosensor, a UKCA Class 1 device, registered as an accelerometer-based monitoring device that is intended to capture and store chest motion data continuously over a period of time for retrospective analysis, was explored in an in vitro model of central sleep apnea. The PneumoWave system contains a biosensor (PW010), which was able to record simulated apnea episodes of 5 to 20 s across physiologically relevant pediatric breathing rates using an in vitro manikin model and manual annotation. The findings confirm that the PneumoWave biosensor could be a useful technology to support home sleep apnea testing and warrant further exploration
Neural network-based tensor models for liquid crystals with molecular-level information
Full text linkThe phenomenological Landau–de Gennes (LdG) model is a powerful continuum theory to describe macroscopic liquid crystal (LC) phases. However, it is invariably less accurate and less physically informed than molecular-level models. We propose a neural network-based tensor (NN-tensor) model for LCs, supervised by an underlying molecular model. Our NN-tensor model not only attains energy precision comparable to the molecular model, but it also accurately captures the isotropic-nematic phase transition, which the LdG model cannot achieve. By embedding the NN-tensor model within a second neural network, we can efficiently compute stable LC configurations in a domain-free and mesh-free manner. We validate this approach with multiple examples for nematic LCs, demonstrating its ability to find physically relevant nematic configurations in diverse scenarios. We further apply the NN-tensor model to the more complex smectic LC phase. Strikingly, the NN-tensor model can quantitatively predict the smectic layer thickness and capture intricate microstructures such as Omega and T-shaped grain boundaries—features that current conventional approaches fail to resolve. These results demonstrate that the NN-tensor framework is a unified, efficient, and physically faithful route for computing rich LC configurations across multiple phases
Morbidity and patient characteristics on acute presentation with sore throat : a multicentre national audit
Full text linkSore throat is one of the most common reasons for an acute ear, nose and throat (ENT) admission. Recurrent tonsillitis can be treated definitively by tonsillectomy, but patients must fulfil Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network (SIGN) guidelines to be eligible. The aim of this audit was to assess the throat morbidity of patients admitted with 'sore throat' to ENT wards across Scotland. A multicentre prospective audit was conducted across six Scottish ENT units over 4 months to assess demographics, risk factors and episode history in patients admitted with sore throat. Some 279 patients were included: 63.9% were for admitted for tonsillitis, 35.7% for quinsy and 0.4% for deep neck infection. The mean age was 30.1 years (range 6-73 years). Most had reported 0-1 episodes of tonsillitis in the previous 4 years (58.5%-76.6%), with 41.3%-66.2% reporting no antibiotic treatment for sore throats in that time. Prior to admission, 48.7% had been prescribed antibiotics by a general practitioner (GP), and 16.1% had a history of hospital admission for tonsillitis. Only 25.6% of tonsillitis admissions met SIGN tonsillectomy criteria. Most patients admitted with sore throat in Scotland had low numbers of previous throat complaints. Fewer than half had received antibiotics from a GP before admission. One-quarter met SIGN criteria for tonsillectomy
Access Repository Dashboard
Do you manage University of Strathclyde Institutional Repository? Access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard!