30793 research outputs found
Sort by
Using heart rate data from wrist worn activity trackers to define thresholds for moderate to vigorous physical activity in children and young people with cystic fibrosis
Get PDFHighlights:
• Aging, illness and fitness will influence resting and peak heart rates in children.
• Moderate-vigorous physical activity thresholds vary with age, illness and fitness.
• Personal heart rate thresholds for moderate physical activity in children with CF.
• Age-based resting, moderate activity and peak heart rate threshold references.
• Personal heart rate thresholds for assessing habitual activity in children with CF.Background:
Children and young people with cystic fibrosis (CYPwCF) are encouraged to do an average of 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) daily. However, there are no agreed heart rate (HR) thresholds for defining MVPA, so it is difficult to ascertain whether these targets are actually achieved. Wearable activity trackers enable continuous monitoring of fitness-related measures such as HR and could be used to measure duration and intensity of habitual MVPA. We aimed to define personalized and responsive MVPA thresholds from HR in CYPwCF, to determine habitual time spent in MVPA during childhood and adolescence.
Methods:
Continuous daily HR data were collected from 142 CYPwCF wearing activity trackers over 16 months. Linear mixed-effects models were used to develop personalised estimates of resting heart rate (RHR), peak heart rate (PHR) and MVPA thresholds, which were defined using the American College of Sports Medicine heart rate reserve (HRR) method.
Results:
309,926 days of physical activity data showed that both RHR and PHR declined with age in CYPwCF, with considerable variability within and between individuals. The HRR method produced personalised MVPA thresholds for each CYPwCF based on age, which inherently accounted for individual demographic variability and personal factors such as cardiovascular fitness or disease severity.
Conclusions:
By accounting for within and between person variability in RHR and PHR, our novel method provides more accurate age-related personalised MVPA thresholds for CYPwCF than existing estimates. Our findings provide population-based estimates for RHR, PHR and MVPA thresholds at different ages in CYPwCF. This approach may help guide development of international standards for objective MVPA measurement in the era of remote HR and activity monitoring and facilitate accurate measurement of habitual physical activity in children and young people.This work was supported by the UCL Rosetrees Stoneygate prize (M712), a Cystic Fibrosis Trust Clinical Excellence and Innovation Award (CEA010), and a UCL Partners award (EM, GT, ER, KK). HD was funded by the CF Trust Youth Activity Unlimited SRC and an NIHR GOSH BRC internship. NF received funding from a UCL, GOSH and Toronto SickKids studentship. GD is supported by a Future Leaders Fellowship from UK Research and Innovation (MR/T041285/1). All research at Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health is made possible by the NIHR Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre
Measuring the time-varying impact of conventional monetary policy on stock markets via an identified multivariate GARCH model
Get PDFJEL Classification: C32; E43; E52; G10.This paper proposes a new approach to quantifying the impact of the short-term interest rate on the stock market, which is important to policy-makers. A multivariate GARCH model is considered, in which unexpected changes in Fed funds rates are used for identif ication. This approach combines the merits of events studies (information on exogenous shocks) with those of the time-series model. It permits the estimation of time-varying monetary policy effects on the stock market. Our results show that a cut of 25 basis points in the interest rate would induce a median increase of 1.78 percent in the equity index. In periods of high credit risks, the policy effect is stronger and the variation of the policy effect also increases. This pattern has become even more stronger since 2009
Bridging the expectation–reality gap in advanced clinical practice
Get PDFEidtorialThe rise of Advanced Clinical Practitioners (ACPs) within healthcare systems has promised to address some of the most pressing challenges in patient care, from medical workforce shortages to improving service delivery and enhancing patient outcomes
An examination of spastic and typically developing muscle fibre length responses to high velocity resistance training
Get PDFThis thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University LondonMuscle fascicle length (FL) is the most important architectural parameter affecting function; there have been inconsistencies in literature as to how to successfully increase FL. Using eccentric (ECC) training has reportedly increased FL, and 3 commonalities occur: muscle fibers undergo strain, are microscopically damaged, and a drop in joint moment during elongation occurs. We propose these three parameters need to be met to successfully increase FL. Individuals with Cerebral Palsy (CP) possess spastic muscles which are smaller than typically developing (TD) peers, which limits function; therefore, they would benefit from interventions which increase FL and improve functional abilities. Thus, an exploratory study was undertaken to establish if passive stretching of spastic muscles can mimic eccentric training due to the presence of a reflex contraction during stretching, and whether the criteria stated above can be induced in individuals with CP. The reliability of the measures used in the exploratory study were tested concurrently to this, to establish user reliability at measuring muscle FL using ultrasonography, and the minimal detectable change of muscle CK as an indicator of muscle microdamage in healthy adults, to inform whether microdamage occurred as a result of stretching in individuals with CP. A training program was then designed, informed by the exploratory study to induce possible increase in the length of fascicles in typically developing muscles over a period of 10 weeks. This was then undergone by an individual with CP as a case study using high velocity passive stretching (HVPS), to determine whether spastic muscles respond similarly to HVPS as do TD muscles to ECC training. Both TD and CP groups experienced an increase in isometric and ECC torque as a result of training, and CP participant improved balance and walking abilities. Future interventions could use HVPS to improve function in a larger sample size.The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital Charit
Ethical implications of employee and customer digital footprint: SMEs perspective
Get PDFData availability:
The data that has been used is confidential.In a world where Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) increasingly leverage their Digital Footprint (DF) for business growth, ethical concerns surrounding employee and customer DF pose a significant challenge. This research investigates how SMEs can navigate this complex landscape, balancing the creation of business value with the broader social value of managing data. Drawing upon Kantian ethics, which emphasizes the duties of organizations to respect individuals’ autonomy and protect their rights, the study addresses a critical gap in understanding the ethical implications of DF for business value creation and employee experiences. Using a social constructivist approach, the research reveals the importance of DF awareness and proposes a novel conceptualization of DF as a dual entity: (i) an independent actor influencing consumer decisions and (ii) a collaborative activity within and beyond the organization. This broadens the traditional view of DF and informs a new framework for ethical DF management in SMEs. This framework emphasizes four core pillars – data transparency, data protection, data privacy, and data transformation – supported by stakeholder involvement. The study also highlights overarching factors three key actions and DF strategic implications at the end.This research is funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) with the reference number of ES/V017551/1
Spatial and temporal drought analysis in susceptible agroecosystems: the case of Thessaly region, Greece
Get PDFDrought consists one of the most critical environmental hazards for the viability and productive development of crops. This paper is focused on the application of the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) for drought analysis and classification. The SPI is a commonly used drought index that calculates the difference between a given time period's precipitation and its long-term average. The objectives of the study are to conduct a spatiotemporal drought analysis, estimate drought severity using the SPI, identify both dry and wet periods, classify drought using the SPI, classify the degree of drought/wetness conditions using a classification scheme for multiple timescales, and calculate and classify SPI12 for each month from 1981-2020. The study area is Thessaly, Greece, which is the country’s largest agricultural productive region facing water availability problems. The innovation of this paper is the spatiotemporal drought analysis through the use of CHIRPS (Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station data) instead of conventional meteorological data, avoiding the use of a prevailed sparse weather network, and the difficulties arising from that. The study shows that the region has faced two severe years of drought in 1988 and 1989, which led to moderate and extremely drought conditions, respectively. In contrast, extremely wet conditions were observed in 2002-2003, while 2009-2010 experienced moderately wet conditions. In this context, the mapping of spatial and seasonal variability across the study area permits more targeted measures instead of horizontal policies
The potential of Froebelian philosophy to support and engage low-income families in the early years
Get PDFA research project looking at the significance and relevance of play in the daily lives of low-income families.
This project aimed to work with low-income families (with annual income of less than £10,000) from diverse ethnic backgrounds in early years settings run by HomeStart (a UK charity). The research project explored the potential of a Froebelian approach to support and engage families in ways that matter to them.The Froebel Trust ref. no. RCH-AP-00376-2022, The potential of Froebelian philosophy to support and engage low-income families in the early years
Factors related to the recruitment and retention of ethnic minority teachers: What are the barriers and facilitators?
Get PDFData Availability Statement: Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analyzed in this study.This paper reports on the findings of a comprehensive structured review of the factors that can help explain and perhaps improve the recruitment and retention of ethnic minority teachers in schools. This issue has been a policy concern in several countries. The review followed a conventional protocol, beginning with a search of key educational, psychological and sociological databases, followed by intensive screening and weighting the strength of evidence of each included report. Fifty-one studies relevant to the research question were finally included in the review. There is strong evidence that the ethnic match between school leaders and teachers is strongly linked to the hiring and retention of minority ethnic teachers. Although there is some evidence that the student ethnicity of the school may be an important factor in the retention of ethnic minority teachers, this chiefly applies to Black teachers in the studies found from the USA. The entry qualifications and assessment criteria for certification to teach were deemed potential barriers to ethnic minority prospective teachers entering teaching. There is no good evidence that alternative certification of teachers increased the probability of ethnic minority teachers being hired or retained, but there are certain supportive features of alternative pathways that could improve their chances.Economic and Social Research Council
Minimizing the Minimizers via Alphabet Reordering
Get PDFConference paper presented at the 35th Annual Symposium on Combinatorial Pattern Matching (CPM 2024),
Fukuoka, Japan, 25-27 Jun 2024.Minimizers sampling is one of the most widely-used mechanisms for sampling strings [Roberts et al., Bioinformatics 2004]. Let S = S[1]… S[n] be a string over a totally ordered alphabet Σ. Further let w ≥ 2 and k ≥ 1 be two integers. The minimizer of S[i..i+w+k-2] is the smallest position in [i,i+w-1] where the lexicographically smallest length-k substring of S[i..i+w+k-2] starts. The set of minimizers over all i ∈ [1,n-w-k+2] is the set ℳ_{w,k}(S) of the minimizers of S.
We consider the following basic problem:
Given S, w, and k, can we efficiently compute a total order on Σ that minimizes |ℳ_{w,k}(S)|?
We show that this is unlikely by proving that the problem is NP-hard for any w ≥ 3 and k ≥ 1. Our result provides theoretical justification as to why there exist no exact algorithms for minimizing the minimizers samples, while there exists a plethora of heuristics for the same purpose.Verbeek, Hilde: Supported by a Constance van Eeden Fellowship.
Pissis, Solon P.: Supported by the PANGAIA and ALPACA projects that have received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreements No 872539 and 956229, respectively
A Novel Depth-Connected Region-Based Convolutional Neural Network for Small Defect Detection in Additive Manufacturing
Get PDFData Availability:
The data that support the findings of this study are not openly available due to data privacy and are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.Defect detection on the computed tomography (CT) images plays an important role in the development of metallic additive manufacturing (AM). Although some deep learning techniques have been adopted in the CT image-based defect detection problem, it is still a challenging task to accurately detect small-size defects in the presence of undesirable noises. In this paper, a novel defect detection method, namely, the depth-connected region-based convolutional neural network (DC-RCNN), is proposed to detect small defects and reduce the influence of noises. In particular, a saliency-guided region proposal method is first developed to generate small-size region proposals with the aim to accommodate the small defects. Then, the main architecture of DC-RCNN is proposed to extract and connect the consistent features across multiple frames, thereby reducing the influence of randomly distributed noises. Moreover, the transfer learning technique is utilized to improve the generalization ability of the proposed DC-RCNN. In order to verify the effectiveness and superiority, the proposed method is applied to the real-world AM data for defect detection. The experimental validations show that the proposed DC-RCNN is able to detect the small-size defects under noises and outperforms the original RCNN method in terms of detection accuracy and running time.This work was supported in part by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant 820776 (INTEGRADDE), the Royal Society of the UK, the BRIEF funding of Brunel University London, and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany
Data sources:
Access Repository Dashboard
Do you manage Open Research Online? Become a CORE Member to access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard! 👇