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Exploring the determinants of quality of life for LGBTQ + people : findings from UK participants in the global pride survey
No full textIntroduction: Despite recent initiatives to understand and respond better to LGBTQ + lives in the UK, there remains a lack of detailed knowledge about the needs and experiences of the LGBTQ + population at an everyday level, including drivers of quality of life, and its association with mental health. Methods: This paper draws on findings from the UK dataset in the Global Pride survey collected in 2022. Data from 172 individuals aged 19–77 from diverse sexual and gender identities were used to identify and explore the determinants of quality of life at the intersection of both sexual orientation and gender identity. Results: The study identified differences in quality of life and mental health across sexual identity groups. Bisexual women reported higher quality of life than other groups, while sexual diverse individuals and bisexual men experienced greater depressive symptoms. Income, general health, and social support were also important factors associated with quality of life. Conclusions: As a preliminary study, we illustrate the potential future use of intersectionality in gaining a more nuanced approach to understanding the different drivers and differences in the LGBTQ + population and the value in promoting mixed methods research to understand better the quality of life amongst LGBTQ + communities. We highlight theories of liveability to expand our understanding beyond individual and structural factors that cause minority stress. Policy Implications: Evaluation of how effective UK equalities laws and policies are in protecting LGBTQ + people from discrimination and the areas of policy needed to develop and improve their lives requires improved data collection and their use in monitoring and application through an intersectional approach. Nuanced and focused policymaking could allocate resources that addresses health and wellbeing within its wider context and engage the LGBTQ + community to look beyond known factors of exclusion towards identifying what helps people to survive and thrive
Beyond growth : reshaping fisheries for a wellbeing economy
Get PDFContemporary fisheries have been shaped by a paradigm of perpetual growth, characterized by increasing global production and consumption. While this growth has driven economic benefits and technological progress, it has jeopardized the sustainability of marine ecosystems, with implications for the long-term livelihoods and wellbeing of fishers, consumers and resource dependent coastal populations worldwide. This paper advocates for a shift beyond growth towards a wellbeing economy. It considers how five fundamental principles intrinsic to a wellbeing economy - purpose, nature, fairness, participation and dignity - can help reorient the fisheries sector. The paper then provides ten actionable recommendations for reshaping the composition and structure of economic activity in fisheries to enhance societal wellbeing and equity within ecological boundaries. In a world grappling with the consequences of unchecked economic growth, this paper offers insights into fostering a regenerative fisheries system that safeguards human prosperity and environmental integrity
Temporal genome dynamics of ST39 Klebsiella pneumoniae in a neonatal unit in Blantyre, Malawi
No full textBackground: Klebsiella pneumoniae (Kpn) is an important cause of healthcare-associated infections (HAI). In low and middle-income countries, HAI due to Kpn disproportionally affects neonates. In this study, we investigated the genomic changes that occurred during long-term circulation of a Kpn ST39 clone, causing a disproportionate number of infections on the neonatal ward at a tertiary healthcare facility in Malawi in 2017. Methods: We analyzed whole genome sequences of Klebsiella pneumoniae ST39 collected from Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital over a 20-year period, including generation of several high-quality hybrid genomes. We compared virulence markers, antibiotic resistance determinants, and mobile genetic elements, focusing on variable regions between strains from the outbreak clone in 2017 to genomes from other co-occurring ST39 lineages. Results: We identified eight variable genomic regions that demonstrate the plasticity of Kpn within-ST, including the role of bacteriophages in shaping the genome of ST39. Conclusions: The analyzed Klebsiella pneumoniae ST39 lineages have a highly variable genome capable of incorporating large genomic regions during prolonged hospital circulation, which may offer a selective advantage in hospital environments and provide resistance to antimicrobial agents
Contrasting size responses of loricate ciliates to long-term warming : agglutinated forms decrease while hyaline forms increase
Get PDFAlthough relationships between temperature and size are widely discussed in aquatic protists, empirical evidence remains absent for loricate protists, and systematic variations in thermal responses among ecological groups remain unexplored. Using tintinnids as a model system for marine plankton, we present the first comprehensive analysis of temperature-size relationships in loricate protists based on a 72-year dataset (1947–2019) from Jiaozhou Bay. Analysis of 702 microscopic measurements from five tintinnid species revealed fundamentally divergent thermal responses across lorica types. Agglutinated forms demonstrated significant inverse temperature-size relationships (p < 0.001), whereas hyaline forms exhibited positive thermal correlations (p < 0.001). Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) quantified these contrasting responses: entirely agglutinated species experienced 7.61% LOD reduction and 22.05% biomass decline; partially agglutinated species showed intermediate responses with 3.21% LOD decrease and 13.80% biomass reduction (R2 = 0.97); conversely, hyaline species increased 3.94% in LOD and 29.98% in biomass. Projections under future warming scenarios (+ 4 °C) coupled with reduced Chl a (-0.1 µg/L) predict asymmetric community restructuring: 14.04% biomass decline for agglutinated forms contrasting with 39.10% increase for hyaline forms. These findings provide critical baseline data for understanding thermal impacts on tintinnids and broader implications for microzooplankton dynamics in marine pelagic ecosystems under global warming
The value of live performance for babies and toddlers : investigating parents' perspectives
No full textThis chapter shares findings from my research with audiences of Theatre for Early Years (TEY) in Scotland with an emphasis on performances designed for babies and toddlers, i.e. children aged from birth to three, and their accompanying adults. I draw oninterviews with adults, and observations of adults and children, to interrogate how the impact of live spectatorship is valued by those attending. The primary perspective explored in relation to the perception of pedagogic value is that of the accompanying adults (henceforth referred to as parents1) attending with their children. Doubly spectators, the parents witness both the performance and its target audience, an experience through which can occur processes of development and change for themselves, their children, and their relationships. TEY is defined by its audience rather than its form and the argument I make here for its pedagogic potential is rooted in the parent-child relationship, over those of spectator-and-performer or spectator-and-art. It is the experience of sharing in live, communally attended art that is the necessary context for the positive changes described
Gender quota laws and women in cabinets
No full textDo legislative gender quotas increase women’s presence in cabinets? Women remain underrepresented in political leadership worldwide. As a remedy, over 80 countries have adopted gender quotas, requiring parties to nominate or elect a minimum share of women. But can quotas have effects beyond the positions they directly target? We argue that quotas increase the presence of women in executive cabinets by expanding the pool of experienced female legislators. Using a global dataset (168 countries) from 1990 to 2021, we find gender quotas increase the share of women ministers by 15 percent relative to the average baseline–including increases in both high- and lowprestige portfolios. Consistent with a supply-side mechanism, effects are largest in parliamentary democracies—where ministers are often selected from parliament—and in countries that experienced the greatest increases in women’s legislative representation post-quota. The findings suggest quotas can generate meaningful spillover effects at the highest levels of government
Semantic communication and residual deep learning-driven bitplane coding for scalable image compression and communications
Get PDFDigital imaging applications which require both reconstruction and semantic accuracy pose challenges to both conventional codecs, which fail to preserve semantics in very noisy conditions, and learned codecs, which fail to achieve reconstruction accuracy even though they preserve semantics. To address this challenge, we propose a semantic autoencoder that preserves high-level image structures in a compact latent representation combined with a progressive bitplane refinement mechanism employing Enhancement Networks and Bitplane Correction Functions to minimize reconstruction errors, which also effectively prevents error propagation across bitplanes while enabling flexible rate adaptation. Experimental results demonstrate significant improvements over conventional image compression codecs, achieving up to 10 dB higher PSNR and 0.12 higher SSIM at low bitrates. In particular, the proposed system reaches quality saturation at just 3.2 bpp, while conventional codecs require 8 bpp to achieve comparable performance. These advances establish a new paradigm for scalable compression, where latent semantics guide iterative refinement
Pharmacists' views on barriers and enablers to the implementation of advanced pharmacist prescribing in Scotland : a qualitative study using Normalisation Process Theory
No full textIntroduction: Healthcare systems need more professionals able to deliver autonomous holistic advanced care. Exploring pharmacists’ views on the implementation of advanced pharmacist prescribing (i.e. prescribing autonomously in complex, uncertain, or higher-risk situations) will allow stakeholders to reflect on possible changes that may embed and sustain this work. Aim: To explore pharmacists’ views on barriers and enablers to the implementation of advanced pharmacist prescribing in Scotland. Method: Semi-structured one-to-one interviews were conducted with National Health Service employed pharmacists from across Scotland, recruited via professional networks using purposive sampling to ensure a range of professional backgrounds, geography and prescribing activity. Interviews were developed and analysed using Normalisation Process Theory (NPT), a sociological framework for understanding how new practices become embedded in routine healthcare and analysed using a hybrid deductive/inductive thematic framework analysis approach. Results: Thirteen pharmacists from across Scotland participated in the study. Barriers and enablers to advanced pharmacist prescribing were identified in all NPT constructs (Coherence, Cognitive Participation, Collective Action, and Reflexive Monitoring). In responses relating to the Coherence construct, enablers included individual understanding of how advanced pharmacist prescribing differs from other advanced pharmacist tasks, as well as the role of an advanced pharmacist prescriber. Lack of shared understanding emerged as a barrier. Cognitive Participation identified barriers including lack of appropriate roles and training as well as a lack of infrastructure to support advanced pharmacist prescribing. In Collective Action, barriers included lack of confidence in consistent delivery of advanced pharmacist prescribing and resource constraints. Reflexive Monitoring revealed strong individual belief in advanced pharmacist prescribing, but barriers included a lack of multidisciplinary evaluation and a need for service reconfiguration. Conclusion: While individual pharmacists were found to be committed to advanced pharmacist prescribing, widespread implementation is hindered by a lack of shared understanding, inconsistent role structures, and limited strategic alignment. These findings offer valuable insight for those with an interest in embedding and sustaining advanced pharmacist prescribing
A qualitative synthesis to explore clinician and user experiences of accessing prosthetic and orthotic services in low- and middle-income countries using the three-delays model as a framework
Get PDFPurpose To use the “three delays model” as a framework to identify and synthesise qualitative literature that identifies barriers to accessing and utilising P&O services in low-middle-income countries from the perspective of individuals with disabilities and clinicians. Methods A systematic search of four databases was used to identify research exploring user and clinician experiences in accessing P&O services in LMICs. Selected search terms and combinations identified through an adapted version of the SPIDER tool were used to identify studies. All retrieved articles were critically appraised using the CASP tool. Data were extracted, and themes were synthesised using a deductive thematic approach guided by the three-delays model. Results Ten key themes were generated and linked to the three-delays model. Fear of perceived financial implications, transportation, and respectful care were some of the themes affecting accessibility in the first, second, and third delays, respectively. The findings suggest that the delays are interconnected components that might have a cascading effect on access to P&O services as a whole. Minimising delays can improve the accessibility of P&O services in low-middle-income countries
Sustained impact of bivalent HPV immunisation on CIN incidence over two rounds of cervical screening
Get PDFVaccination against high-risk HPV has been shown to reduce significantly the incidence of pre-invasive and invasive cervical disease. Clinical trials show immunity and vaccine effectiveness for over 12 years but real-life longitudinal data are lacking. Vaccination with the bivalent vaccine (3 dose schedule) for women aged 12–18 years began in Scotland in 2008; immunised women entered screening in 2010. Women immunised at age12–13 years entered screening in 2015. Linked data from ≤12 years of routine screening activity shows adjusted VE against CIN2+ at age 12–13 of 72·6% (95%CI: 67.7–76.8) and at age 14–16 of 63·2 (CI 60·4–65·8), and against CIN3+ of 81·7 (CI 76·2–78·6; age 12–13) and 68·1 (CI 64·1–71·6; age 14–16) after 3 doses or two doses 5 months apart. Adjusted VE following two doses 1 month apart or one dose only at age14 was 20.5 (95%CI: 6.1–32.6) for CIN2+ and 34.9 (95%CI:17.0–48.9) for CIN3+. No benefit was seen with vaccination over the age of 18 years. The most deprived women showed the highest incidence of CIN2+ and CIN3+, and the greatest reduction in CIN2+ and CIN3+ following complete immunisation. Herd protection is seen in all immunised cohorts. This population based analysis confirms the long-term effectiveness of the bivalent HPV vaccine, greatest in women from the most deprived areas and reinforces the importance of ensuring high vaccine uptake rates at an early age
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