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The linear and nonlinear stability of double diffusive convection with nonlinear Boussinesq approximation and vertical throughflow
No full textThe objective of the present study is to investigate the onset of double-diffusive convection in a horizontal porous layer saturated with fluid. The governing formulation employs the nonlinear Boussinesq approximation, with flow dynamics described by Forchheimer’s extension of Darcy’s law to incorporate quadratic drag effects. Permeable boundary conditions are considered to account for realistic exchange at the interfaces. Stability analysis is carried out through two complementary approaches: linear and nonlinear stability analyses. The eigenvalue problem for linear stability is solved using the Chebyshev tau spectral method, while the nonlinear stability boundary is determined via an energy method combined with a shooting technique and fourth-order Runge–Kutta method. This dual framework allows evaluation of the critical thermal Rayleigh number in both linear ( R L ) and nonlinear ( R E ) theories, thereby identifying subcritical instability regimes. The results reveal several significant trends. An increase in the Forchheimer coefficient ( J ) enhances flow resistance and delays the onset of convection. Larger Péclet numbers ( P e ) amplify advective effects and further elevate the stability threshold, underscoring their stabilizing role. Nonlinear buoyancy contributions, represented by the parameters a 1 and b 1 , provide additional damping under certain parameter ranges and contribute to further stabilization. In contrast, the Lewis number ( L e ) is found to exert only a minor influence on the convective behavior of the system
Mindfulness meditation for sleep disturbances among individuals with cognitive impairment: A scoping review
Get PDFBackground: This scoping review investigates the effectiveness of mindfulness meditation in alleviating sleep disturbances among individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). With the rising prevalence of dementia and its profound impact on cognitive function and quality of life, this review aims to synthesize existing research and identify gaps in the literature. Methods: We systematically searched six electronic databases (CINAHL, Embase, Medline, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Scopus) from 2004 to 2024, yielding 462 potentially relevant articles. Screening was conducted using ASReview, an AI ranking tool, which facilitated the selection of studies. Ultimately, seven studies that met our stringent eligibility criteria were included in the review. We adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines for reporting. Results: Our findings indicate that mindfulness meditation significantly improves sleep quality, reduces insomnia severity, and enhances overall well-being in this at-risk population. Notably, interventions that combine structured, face-to-face sessions with at-home practice emerged as the most effective. Conclusions: Despite these positive outcomes, methodological limitations, including small sample sizes and reliance on self-reported measures, underscore the need for more rigorous long-term studies. This review highlights the potential of mindfulness meditation as a low-cost, scalable intervention to improve sleep and cognitive health in older adults, paving the way for future research and clinical applications
Do we have sufficient evidence to derive innovative approaches to assessing unmet need, delivering education on bladder and bowel continence health, and providing a better environment for joint decision-making? ICI-RS 2024
Get PDFContext: Improved continence outcomes are reliant on identification of unmet need, education delivery, and shared decision‐making. The evidence base on which to derive innovative approaches in these areas was unclear.Methods: A debate held at the International Consultation on Incontinence‐Research Society meeting, held in Bristol in June 2024, considered ways to improve research requirements to advance these areas.Results and Conclusion: Artificial intelligence solutions and digital approaches to healthcare are emerging at pace and offer possibilities to improve these three key areas but this must be driven by person‐centered approaches. Care must be taken to avoid increasing inequality through digital exclusion and language barriers. Research questions are highlighted to derive innovation in these three key areas
Women in STEM: How one county is making SPARCs
Get PDFOn International Women’s Day 2024, Pembrokeshire County Council joined Pembrokeshire College in the launch of the Sustainable Power, Renewables, and Construction (SPARC) Alliance. This new alliance promotes gender diversity in these underrepresented industries, key to reaching net zero. This article presents insights from two women working in the renewables and construction industry in the area and offers advice to teachers on how to promote more women into this area
Development and refinement of patient care recommendations in brachytherapy for locally advanced cervical cancer using nominal group technique workshops
Get PDFPurpose: Patient experiences of brachytherapy for locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) are widely variable, with reports of difficult and traumatic experiences and aspects of care requiring improvement. The aim of this study was to develop patient care recommendations and consult with key stakeholders to review, refine and prioritise recommendations. Methods: Phase 1: Patient care recommendations were developed from qualitative exploratory study data. Phase 2: Service users and providers with recent experience of brachytherapy for LACC were recruited to online nominal group technique (NGT) workshops. Four NGT stages were followed: (1) initial voting and silent generation; (2) round robin; (3) clarification; and (4) prioritisation. Voting data were summed across the workshops, deriving inter-group scores. Qualitative data were analysed through content analysis. Results: Phase 1: Fifty-one patient care recommendations were developed. Phase 2: Thirteen participants took part in three online NGT workshops, with a combination of service users and providers. Initial recommendations were voted on; four new recommendations were added; minor changes were made and second voting was undertaken. Recommendations were positively received with 25 recommendations scoring maximum points from all participants. An importance score above 90% was given to 46 recommendations. The remaining recommendations received scores between 74 and 90%. Conclusions: NGT workshops facilitated collaboration between key stakeholders, discussing, refining and prioritising patient care recommendations, leading to verification of achievable and relevant recommendations. These provide a foundation for future development of guidelines and subsequent implementation into clinical practice, aiming to improve consistency of care and patient experiences of brachytherapy for LACC
Transforming disaster risk reduction with AI and Big Data: Legal and interdisciplinary perspectives
No full textManaging complex disaster risks requires interdisciplinary efforts. Breaking down silos between law, social sciences, and natural sciences is critical for all processes of disaster risk reduction. It is essential to explore how AI enhances understanding of legal frameworks and environmental management, while also examining how legal and environmental factors may limit AI's role in society. From a co‐production review perspective, drawing on insights from lawyers, social scientists, and environmental scientists, principles for responsible data mining are proposed based on safety, transparency, fairness, accountability, and contestability. This discussion offers a blueprint for interdisciplinary collaboration to create adaptive law systems based on AI integration of knowledge from environmental and social sciences. When social networks are useful for mitigating disaster risks based on AI, the legal implications related to privacy and liability of the outcomes of disaster management must be considered. Fair and accountable principles emphasize environmental considerations and foster socioeconomic discussions related to public engagement. AI also has an important role to play in education, bringing together the next generations of law, social sciences, and natural sciences to work on interdisciplinary solutions in harmony. Although emerging AI approaches can be powerful tools for disaster management, they must be implemented with ethical considerations and safeguards to address concerns about bias, transparency, and privacy. The responsible execution of AI approaches, based on the dynamic interplay between AI, law, and environmental risk, promotes sustainable and equitable practices in data mining
Longitudinal psychological well-being in caregivers of young children with cleft lip and/or palate
Get PDFIntroduction: Caregivers of children with chronic conditions can experience psychological distress and an impact on quality of life (QoL). Cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) is one of the most common congenital conditions worldwide. Utilising data extracted from The Cleft Collective cohort studies in the United Kingdom, this study investigated longitudinal psychological well-being in caregivers of young children with CL/P, to inform screening practices and early intervention.Methods: Baseline (post-diagnosis) and 5-year questionnaire data were extracted for 525 caregivers (342 biological mothers, 183 fathers/partners). Outcome measures included the PedsQL-Family Impact Module, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.Results: QoL significantly improved from T1 (post-birth) to T2 (5 years) as reported by mothers and fathers/partners. At T2, scores on all measures were aligned with, or more favourable than, norms. A minority continued to report clinically significant levels of distress at 5 years. Predictors of poorer outcomes on all measures included a less positive life orientation, more negative appraisals of CL/P, less favourable baseline scores, lower healthcare satisfaction and prior mental health conditions. Outcomes were also less favourable for caregivers of children with combined cleft lip and palate compared to other cleft types. Reductions in negative appraisals of CL/P were significantly associated with improved QoL over time.Conclusions: QoL and psychological well-being in caregivers is generally positive at 5 years. A minority experienced poorer outcomes and routine assessment by a multidisciplinary team is therefore recommended. Targeting early negative appraisals may help to facilitate long-term caregiver adjustment
Facilitators and barriers to access to midwife-led birth settings for racialized women in the UK: A scoping review
Get PDFBackgroundIn UK maternity care, racialized women have worse experiences and clinical outcomes than White women. Midwife-led birth settings (MLBS), including home births and midwife-led units, both freestanding and alongside hospitals, are all available as choices for low-risk women in the UK. MLBS deliver optimal outcomes for low-risk women with uncomplicated pregnancies, including for racialized women, and can offer culturally specific care, possibly mitigating existing social inequalities. Evidence suggests that racialized women access MLBS less than White women.AimTo map existing literature on facilitators and barriers to accessing MLBS for racialized women and to identify emerging themes.MethodA scoping review of UK literature over the last 10 years using OVID, Ebsco Host, and gray literature. Search, selection, and data extraction were performed using PRISMA and JBI guidelines. Data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis.ResultsFourteen articles met the inclusion criteria, only one addressing the research question directly and others containing some relevant material. Six themes were identified: admission criteria, information giving, the role of antenatal groups, bias and assumptions, beliefs about birth, and MLBS as empowering.ConclusionsThere is a lack of research on racialized women's access to MLBS. Community outreach, having midwifery services embedded in the community, defaulting to MLBS for women categorized as low risk, continuity of carer, and interventions achieving a reduction in care-giver bias may improve access and outcomes
Adaptive fuzzy sliding mode controller design for uncertain robotic manipulator with finite‐time convergence
No full textABSTRACTThis article investigates the issue of finite‐time tracking control for uncertain robotic manipulator systems with unknown actuator faults and shifting loads based upon a fuzzy sliding mode control strategy. A novel fuzzy adaptive sliding mode fault‐tolerant control law is synthesized, where a fuzzy approximation algorithm is utilized to fit the unknown plant parameters, potential disturbances, and relational actuator faults, and the corresponding adaptive robust term is designed to estimate the unidentified boundary of the estimated errors, and the boundedness of all the relevant design parameters of the manipulator systems is ensured combining with the average dwell time mechanism of switched system control theory. Furthermore, the reachability of the pre‐devised sliding surface and the finite‐time convergence of tracking error are achieved under the presented controller design. Ultimately, simulation results exhibit the feasibility and superiority of the proposed algorithm
Gender under scrutiny – Whose gender?
No full textThis article will argue that there is no war on gender, in the context of the so-called ‘gender wars’. The dominant binary model of gender as male, masculine, heterosexual or female, feminine, heterosexual is not under scrutiny. There is an old and ongoing attempt to control sex, gender and sexuality and constrain and construct what these mean for the benefit of the patriarchal status quo. Rather than a war on gender, there is a war on identities, relationships and families that are the ‘wrong’ gender, other to the heterosexual nuclear family