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How do we get the public into public health research? Learnings and key recommendations from initiating a community involvement project scheme
Get PDFIntroduction: There are many recognised benefits of public involvement, including more relevant research. The COVID‐19 pandemic highlighted the existing health inequalities and disparities in access to care and treatment for under‐served groups, necessitating meaningful and sustainable approaches to engaging them in health research. However, there is limited guidance to suggest what groundwork and processes are necessary for initiating such projects. This paper outlines the practical approaches taken to initiate a community involvement project scheme and offers key recommendations from this work. Methods: The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health Protection Research Unit established a community involvement scheme in 2021, funding four community involvement projects enabling researchers to engage with under‐served communities. Reflections were captured through regular quarterly meeting group discussions, meeting notes and email correspondence. Results: The paper presents the steps taken to initiate a scheme that provided funding for a diverse range of projects working with under‐served communities. The projects demonstrated the value of allocating time to build relationships and trust, maintaining flexibility, and providing short‐term benefits such as remuneration and training to the community. Discussion: This paper has highlighted the need for research organisations to allocate funding and resources within their infrastructures for building trusting relationships with community leaders and communities. Conclusion: This paper has outlined the steps undertaken to engage with under‐served communities to bridge the gap between public health research and those communities. We present key recommendations to guide future initiatives aspiring to engage under‐served communities in health research. Patient or Public Contribution: Public contributors have been involved in all of the four community involvement projects mentioned in this paper. Two public contributors are also co‐authors and have provided input to the writing and review of this manuscript
GRAViTy-V2: A grounded viral taxonomy application
Get PDFTaxonomic classification of viruses is essential for understanding their evolution. Genomic classification of viruses at higher taxonomic ranks, such as order or phylum, is typically based on alignment and comparison of amino acid sequence motifs in conserved genes. Classification at lower taxonomic ranks, such as genus or species, is usually based on nucleotide sequence identities between genomic sequences. Building on our whole-genome analytical classification framework, we here describe Genome Relationships Applied to Viral Taxonomy Version 2 (GRAViTy-V2), which encompasses a greatly expanded range of features and numerous optimisations, packaged as an application that may be used as a general-purpose virus classification tool. Using 28 datasets derived from the ICTV 2022 taxonomy proposals, GRAViTy-V2 output was compared against human expert-curated classifications used for assignments in the 2023 round of ICTV taxonomy changes. GRAViTy-V2 produced taxonomies equivalent to manually-curated versions down to the family level and in almost all cases, to genus and species levels. The majority of discrepant results arose from errors in coding sequence annotations in INDSC records, or from inclusion of incomplete genome sequences in the analysis. Analysis times ranged from 1-506 min (median 3.59) on datasets with 17-1004 genomes and mean genome length of 3000–1 000 000 bases
A delta operator state estimation algorithm for discrete-time systems with state time-delay
Get PDFThis letter presents a state estimation algorithm for linear discrete-time systems with state-delay. In order to overcome the difficulty that the traditional Kalman filter cannot estimate the states of the systems with state-delay, a state estimation strategy is developed by combining the auxiliary model with the delta operator. Then, by constructing and minimizing the covariance matrix of the state reconstruction errors, a delta operator state estimation algorithm is derived and it can fulfill effective state estimation for the linear discrete-time system with state-delay. Moreover, the convergence proof is provided by means of stochastic stability theory. Finally, the experimental results demonstrate that the developed state estimation method is effective
Addressing barriers to global multidisciplinary stakeholder inclusivity: Lessons from global orofacial cleft research priority setting
Get PDFBackground Inclusivity in research priority setting is fundamental to capturing the opinion of all stakeholders in a research area. Globally, experienced healthcare workers often have deep insights that could impactfully shape future research, and a lack of their involvement in formal research and publications could mean that their voices are insufficiently represented. We aimed to modify the well-established Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) methodology to address barriers to inclusivity, which are particularly relevant in healthcare that requires highly multidisciplinary care.Methods This global research priority-setting exercise for orofacial clefts adapted the CHNRI methodology to include research experts, clinicians from multiple disciplines, and non-technical stakeholders (i.e. patients and parents and non-governmental organisations (NGOs)) on a global basis. A multidisciplinary international steering group proposed and discussed methodological changes to improve inclusivity, including survey edits, subgroups for research questions, a demographics section, translation in French and Spanish, phrasing adaptation, and alternative dissemination techniques.Results We received 412 responses and 1420 questions, spanning 78 different countries and 18 different specialties/groups. Challenges remain to improve representation of all groups, with the vast majority of answers (30%) being from surgeons and a comparatively small proportion from patient/parent groups (9%). This also includes managing responses in three languages, effective dissemination, and responses that were not worded as research questions.Conclusions This is one of the first CHNRI exercises to involve patients and parents, clinicians, and researchers in its first question submission stage, and the first ever to do so on a global scale. We describe our approach to addressing inclusivity challenges and report related demographic data to serve as a benchmark upon which we hope future CHNRI exercises will improve
Implications of an early Holocene climax in solifluction and related periglacial activity on Juvflye, Jotunheimen (southern Norway), as revealed by Schmidt-hammer exposure-age dating
No full textSchmidt-hammer exposure-age dating (SHD) was applied to ~180 medium- to large-scale solifluction features on the northern edge of Juyflye, Jotunheimen (southern Norway) using an electronic Schmidt-hammer (RockSchmidt) and an improved local SHD age-calibration equation. Age estimates from four different types of solifluction landforms were analysed and compared with those from recalibrated estimates from patterned ground previously investigated on Juvflye. Average SHD-age estimates are c. 9.8 and 9.3 ka for the two dominant morphological types of solifluction features (‘type A’ boulder tongues and ‘type B’ stone-banked solifluction lobes) and c. 8.6 ka for sorted stripes and circles. Our results indicate that active formation of all investigated types of solifluction features, sorted stripes, and sorted circles ceased in the Early Holocene, prior to the onset of the regional Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM) at c. 7.7 ka. Formation of all of these periglacial landforms appears to have commenced shortly after local deglaciation (c. 11.4 ka) in water-saturated till. Alternative origins are rejected, including the possibility of development before the last glaciation, survival beneath cold-based glaciers, and exhumation in the Early Holocene. Cessation of activity is attributed to changing ground conditions affecting active layer processes, particularly reduced soil moisture and pore water pressure. Temporal variations of the altitudinal permafrost limits had little or no impact on the timing of either the Early Holocene climax in activity or subsequent stabilisation. Caution is therefore urged in the utilisation of large-scale solifluction and patterned ground landforms as palaeoclimatic indicators
Baseline clinical factors associated with cessation of growth hormone therapy in patients with severe growth hormone deficiency-real world evidence
Get PDFBackground: Growth hormone replacement is indicated in adults with severe growth hormone (GH) deficiency, adult growthhormone deficiency assessment (AGHDA) score of at least 11 and are receiving treatment for other pituitary hormonedeficiencies. There are no data looking at the cessation of GH replacement in adult patients with severe GH deficiency and thefactors that predict the likelihood of patients continuing or stopping growth hormone replacement.Methods: We audited patients on the GH register between January 2006 and January 2023 in Hull University TeachingHospitals NHS foundation Trust, a UK tertiary hospital. Baseline characteristics, the cause of GH deficiency, AGHDA score atdiagnosis and the reason for stopping GH were collected. Proportions were compared between patients adhering to GHreplacement and those who had ceased it. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors independently associatedwith cessation of GH.Results: The study comprised 141 adult patients with a mean age of 52 years, of which 75 (53%) were female. 54 (38%) individualshad discontinued GH replacement therapy. Predominant reasons for discontinuation were lack of therapeutic benefit (46%) anda change in clinical indication (26%). Among patients who discontinued GH therapy, the most frequent cause of GH deficiencywas idiopathic (57%), while for those on GH replacement, pituitary surgery was the leading cause of GH deficiency (53%). Logisticregression analysis showed no baseline factor was statistically significantly associated with GH cessation, except female genderwhich had a borderline significance (P = 0.05).Conclusions: In this real-world investigation of patients with severe GH deficiency, over two in five individuals whodiscontinued GH therapy cited the absence of perceived benefits. We show a borderline association of female gender with GHcessation and large population-based studies will be needed to investigate this and other causes of GH cessation
Brownfield regeneration and the shifting of financial risk: Between plans and reality in public-private partnerships
Get PDFInternationally, brownfield regeneration projects are delivered through public-private partnerships that form complex legal and structural delivery mechanisms. Utilizing private-sector finance and skills is an accepted practice to reduce financial risk for the public sector while delivering profits for the private sector. This article explores three international brownfield regeneration schemes. It highlights how and why financial risk remains within the public sector from the outset or returns to the public sector over time, despite the initial rhetoric for this burden to be carried mainly by the private sector. The analysis improves the empirical understanding of financial risk dynamics in brownfield regeneration
The New Routledge Companion to Science Fiction
No full textThe New Routledge Companion to Science Fiction provides an overview of the study of science fiction across multiple academic fields. It offers a new conceptualisation of the field today, marking the significant changes that have taken place in sf studies over the past 15 years.Building on the pioneering research in the first edition, the collection reorganises historical coverage of the genre to emphasise new geographical areas of cultural production and the growing importance of media beyond print. It also updates and expands the range of frameworks that are relevant to the study of science fiction. The periodisation has been reframed to include new chapters focusing on science fiction produced outside the Anglophone context, including South Asian, Latin American, Chinese and African diasporic science fiction. The contributors use both well- established critical and theoretical approaches and embrace a range of new ones, including biopolitics, climate crisis, critical ethnic studies, disability studies, energy humanities, game studies, medical humanities, new materialisms and sonic studies.This book is an invaluable resource for students and established scholars seeking to understand the vast range of engagements with science fiction in scholarship today
Feasibility study of a zero energy building based on photovoltaic-low speed wind-battery hybrid system: A case study in Golestan-North of Iran
Get PDFIn this paper, a feasibility study is conducted on a photovoltaic-low-speed wind turbine-battery zero-energy building for a 175 m2 residential house in Gorgan. First, the climatological data of Gorgan City related to the amount of solar radiation and wind speed for the past 50 years have been extracted and then they are analyzed annually, monthly, and hourly using Climate Consultant software to check how Renewable resources can be used to produce clean energy. To determine the number of devices required, the annual energy requirement of the residential unit should be estimated. For this purpose, the power and energy consumption of the residential unit has been estimated based on its consumption data in the last year and analyzed using RETScreen1 software. The designed zero energy system has energy exchange with the grid and sends excess energy to it. The results of climate data analysis show that there is a possibility of wind and solar energy efficiency in this region. Although the price of energy in the region is low, due to economic efficiency, the lack of non-renewable energy resources, and the need to replace these resources, the use of wind turbines and solar panels to supply the required electrical energy is necessary
Feasibility and acceptability of the promoting resilience in stress management-parent (PRISM-P) intervention for caregivers of children with craniofacial conditions
Get PDFObjectives: Few evidence-based psychosocial programs exist within craniofacial care. This study (a) assessed feasibility and acceptability of the Promoting Resilience in Stress Management-Parent (PRISM-P) intervention among caregivers of children with craniofacial conditions and (b) described barriers and facilitators of caregiver resilience to inform program adaptation. Design: In this single-arm cohort study, participants completed a baseline demographic questionnaire, the PRISM-P program, and an exit interview. Participants: Eligible individuals were English-speaking legal guardians of a child 70% program completion among enrolled participants; acceptability was defined as >70% willingness to recommend PRISM-P. Intervention feedback and caregiver-perceived barriers and facilitators of resilience were summarized qualitatively. Results: Twenty caregivers were approached and 12 (60%) enrolled. The majority were mothers (67%) of a child <1-year-old diagnosed with a cleft lip and/or palate (83%) or craniofacial microsomia (17%). Of these, 8 (67%) completed PRISM-P and 7 (58%) completed interviews; 4 (33%) were lost-to-follow-up before PRISM-P and 1 (8%) before the interview. Feedback was highly positive, with 100% willing to recommend PRISM-P. Perceived barriers to resilience included uncertainty about their child's health; facilitators included social support, parental identity, knowledge, and control. Conclusions: PRISM-P was acceptable among caregivers of children with craniofacial conditions but not feasible based on program completion rates. Barriers and facilitators of resilience support the appropriateness of PRISM-P for this population and inform adaptation