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Quality and sources of food and water consumed by people with chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology in Sri Lanka : a systematic review
Get PDFBackground: Prevalence data indicates that chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects approximately 15% of people worldwide, and chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) is highly prevalent in Sri Lanka. Food and water contamination are factors that were suggested as associated with CKDu. This systematic review aimed to summarize evidence on the patterns in quality and sources of food and water consumed by people with CKDu in Sri Lanka. Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and SLJOL databases were searched from inception to August 2024 for studies investigating the quality and sources of food and water consumed by the people with CKDu in Sri Lanka. Studies assessing children below 18 years, pregnant women and dialysis patients were excluded. Studies not specifically investigating CKDu were likewise excluded from the review. Two independent reviewers completed the screening, and the conflicts were resolved by consensus. Extracted data were presented as a narrative summary. Results: Of 1067 studies, 57 were eligible for the final analysis. Commonly investigated food sources were contaminated with heavy metals, while water sources were contaminated with heavy metals, toxic anions and cations, agrochemicals, fertilizers, herbicides, glyphosate, and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA). Conclusion: Nephrotoxic heavy metals and fluoride contamination alter the quality of food and water, and pose high risks with regard to the kidney function of the people in Sri Lanka. Appropriate strategies to reduce the contamination of heavy metals, agrochemicals, and major ions that afftect the quality of water and food, should be implemented to lower the burden of CKDu in Sri Lanka. © The Author(s) 2025
Circular economy in small and medium-sized enterprises—current trends, practical challenges and future research agenda
Get PDFThe Circular Economy (CE) has evolved as a philosophy to transform industrial supply chains to become greener to combat climate change issues. Countries’ target of achieving Net Zero will never be fulfilled unless, along with larger organizations, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are decarbonized, as more than 90% of the world’s businesses are SMEs. Although, recently, there have been many studies on SMEs’ sustainability practices and performance covering drivers, bottlenecks, and opportunities, the holistic approach for embedding circular economy and sustainability covering design, planning, implementation, and operations is missing. This research bridges this knowledge gap by revealing trends and theories of circular economy adoption in SMEs. Additionally, this research derives the drivers/enablers, issues, and challenges and determines strategies, resources, and competencies for CE adoption in SMEs. This study concludes with a consolidated framework comprising factors and methods for CE implementation in SMEs. This entire piece of research has been undertaken using the secondary data analysis method through the content analysis of 188 published articles in highly ranked peer-reviewed journals. © 2025 by the authors
Effect of insect exclusion and microbial perturbation on piglet mass loss and total body score
Get PDFRecent conceptual and empirical developments in decomposition research have highlighted the intricate dynamics within necrobiome communities and the roles of various decay drivers. Yet the interactions between these factors and their regulatory mechanisms remain relatively unexplored. A comprehensive understanding of this facet of decomposition science is important, given its broad applicability across ecological and forensic disciplines, and current lack of research which investigates the inter-dependencies between two critical components of the necrobiome (the microbiome and insect activity), and the consequences of this interdependency on mass loss and total body score. Here we investigated the relationships among these key aspects of the decay process. We experimentally manipulated these variables by physically excluding insects and chemically perturbing the external microbiome of piglet (Sus scrofa) carcasses and quantified the effects on mass loss and total body score, as well as insect pre-appearance interval and colonisation. We found that piglets in the insect excluded and microbially perturbed treatment groups exhibited a significant delay in reaching 50 + % of mass loss compared with control piglets with insect access and intact microbiome. However, only remains with insects excluded displayed a significantly slower rate of total mass loss throughout the majority of the experiment and remained a significantly higher mass at the endpoint of 11,000 accumulative degree hours. Additionally, all insect excluded and microbially perturbed treatment groups displayed significantly lower total body scores compared to control piglets at corresponding time points. We also observed a significant delay in insect pre-appearance interval and colonisation for piglets with perturbed microbiomes compared to control piglets. Our findings demonstrate the significance of interacting components of the necrobiome, and the power of manipulative experiments in revealing causal relationships between biota and decomposition rates. These considerations are paramount for developing accurate post-mortem interval estimations and a comprehensive understanding of ecological processes during decomposition. © 2024 The Author
Trustworthiness of IoT images leveraging with other modal sensor's data
No full textImage sensors deployed in the Internet of Things (IoT) generate vast volumes of digital images. These images may be subject to deliberate alteration, compromising their trustworthiness. Estimating the trustworthiness of this image data is crucial for many applications; however, this aspect has not been adequately explored in the existing literature. In this article, we propose a robust and real-time trust estimation framework for IoT image data, leveraging numeric data generated from other types of sensors deployed in the same Area of Interest (AoI). The theoretical model was developed using statistical approaches, and Shannon's entropy was employed to measure the uncertainty associated with sensor readings during a specific event. Later, we applied Dempster-Shafer theory (DST) of combination to fuse information collected from image as well as numeric data-generating sensors where both types of sensors were observing the same event in the same AoI concomitantly. To evaluate the proposed framework, we implemented an IoT testbed using LoRa sensor nodes, edge devices, an LoRaWAN gateway, the things network (TTN), and a data analytics server. The testbed was used to collect observation data of a fire event using image and temperature sensors in an indoor residential setup in different conditions. Consequently, eight data sets (four authentic and four hacked) were built, each containing both image and temperature data readings under various scenarios. The proposed trust framework accurately estimated the trust score of images (91% overall accuracy) across all the data sets and outperformed existing trust models. © 2014 IEEE
Addressing nursing student clinical placement poverty concerns : a discussion paper
Get PDFBackground: Research indicates that more than two-thirds of Australian nursing students experience placement poverty and increased stress and anxiety because of the financial cost of completing clinical placements. Aim: A contemporary discussion on the issue of the financial impact of placement experienced by Australian nursing students. Design: Discursive. Discussion: >96 % of nursing students from one Australian study expressed a necessity for financial support to complete clinical placements. Available Australian scholarships and income support programs target overall university study costs. Few are placement specific. Direct and indirect costs of placement are introduced and discussed along with the impact of placement poverty on students. Media articles indicate nursing students in other countries may also experience financial stress during placement. Solution focussed recommendations are provided. Conclusion: Globally, rates of uptake of scholarships are largely unknown and there are eligibility barriers. Financial support mechanisms for students undertaking placement need to be widely disseminated and focus on reimbursement for placement costs incurred. Solutions must privilege students' learning over workforce contributions. Understanding nursing student experiences of placement poverty universally is needed to enhance placement learning experiences and student retention and wellbeing. © 2024 The Author
Could motor imagery training provide a novel load management solution for athletes? Recommendations for sport medicine and performance practitioners
Get PDFContext: Athletes often face the dual challenge of high training loads with insufficient time to recover. Equally, in any team, sports medicine and performance staff are required to progress training loads in healthy athletes and avoid prolonged reductions in training load in injured athletes. In both cases, the implementation of a well-established psychological technique known as motor imagery (MI) can be used to counteract adverse training adaptations such as excessive fatigue, reduced capacity, diminished performance, and heightened injury susceptibility. Study Design: Narrative overview. Level of Evidence: Level 5. Results: MI has been shown to enhance performance outcomes in a range of contexts including rehabilitation, skill acquisition, return-to-sport protocols, and strength and conditioning. Specific performance outcomes include reduction of strength loss and muscular atrophy, improved training engagement of injured and/or rehabilitating athletes, promotion of recovery, and development of sport-specific skills/game tactics. To achieve improvements in such outcomes, it is recommended that practitioners consider the following factors when implementing MI: individual skill level (ie, more time may be required for novices to obtain benefits), MI ability (ie, athletes with greater capacity to create vivid and controllable mental images of their performance will likely benefit more from MI training), and the perspective employed (ie, an internal perspective may be more beneficial for increasing neurophysiological activity whereas an external perspective may be better for practicing technique-focused movements). Conclusion: We provide practical recommendations grounded in established frameworks on how MI can be used to reduce strength loss and fear of reinjury in athletes with acute injury, improve physical qualities in rehabilitating athletes, reduce physical loads in overtrained athletes, and to develop tactical and technical skills in healthy athletes. © 2024 The Author(s)
Creative technologies education – lessons learnt and future directions
No full textThis chapter summarises the current state of the art in creative Technologies education where students are positioned as digital designers, and reflects upon how we can best advance creative Technologies education in the future. It distils key insights from previous chapters about how teachers can best develop students’ digital design capabilities using a wide range of technologies, considering critical issues such as inclusion, assessment, and learning pathways. The chapter also outlines the forefront of future-focused design, where students engage with speculative design thinking. The heightened importance of digital design capabilities in an increasingly Artificial Intelligence (AI) world is unpacked, as is the critical role of developing students’ values and virtues alongside their digital and general capabilities. The importance of professional learning communities, research, a supportive policy environment, and, above all else, the primacy of the teacher is emphasised to most effectively advance creative Technologies education
The critical need for creative technologies education
No full textThis chapter explains the crucial need for teachers to advance the technological creativity of students, based on the accelerating influence of technology upon almost every facet of society, the need for digital design capabilities in the workplace, the importance placed on technology and creativity in the curriculum, and the intrinsic satisfaction of being creative with technologies. After defining what is meant by technology and digital design, the rapid advancements of technologies over the last century are highlighted, including the recent exponential development of Artificial Intelligence. The importance of creative design and technological innovation across a range of fields is showcased, including in health care, finance, business, agriculture, the automotive industry, and, of course, the information technology sector itself. The heightened need for skills that enable people to work creatively with technology is emphasised along with the notion that creative use of technology is an intrinsically rewarding goal in itself. The corresponding importance placed upon creativity in school curricula is discussed, including how pressures to ‘standardise’ the curriculum may hinder creativity initiatives. The chapter highlights the pivotal role that the teacher plays in enabling creative Technologies education in schools
Unlock your firm value with esg performance? Evidence from asx-listed companies
No full textA research gap exists concerning the moderating roles of corporate governance mechanisms on the nexus of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and firm value. This study aims to address this gap in the Australian corporate context. We examine whether ESG performance can enhance firm value and whether this relationship is moderated by the corporate governance mechanisms to balance stakeholder interests. Drawing on a sample from the ASX, we find that while high ESG performance can increase firm value, this effect diminishes in the presence of the large number of supply chain contracts. We further discovered a negative moderating effect of board independence and audit quality on ESG performance and firm value. Our findings highlight the contingent nature of ESG value creation, indicating that while ESG activities can enhance firm value, their impact depends on firms’ governance context and contractual arrangements that shape shareholders’ outcomes collectively. © 2025 by the authors
Protocol for the process evaluation of the SENSE-cog sensory support intervention field trial to improve quality of life for older people receiving home care in Australia
No full textBackground: A field trial of a home-delivered hearing and vision support intervention will assess its impact on the quality of life and well-being of home care recipients with hearing and/or vision impairment and their care partners. Aims: This paper outlines the protocol for a process evaluation of the field trial. The process evaluation aims to identify discrepancies between expected and actual outcomes, understand contextual influences, assess implementation fidelity and evaluate the feasibility, appropriateness and acceptability of the intervention. Methods: Data will be collected from 87 home care recipients with hearing/vision impairment, their care partner and the sensory therapist who will deliver the intervention at multiple points during the 3-month intervention. Likert-scale ratings for feasibility, appropriateness and acceptability will be gathered. Proxy measures of fidelity, such as intervention session completion rates, will be obtained to ascertain whether the intervention was delivered as designed. Post-intervention, 20% of participants will complete semi-structured interviews to explore contextual and causal factors. Data analysis will include descriptive statistics, regression analysis and thematic qualitative analysis. Discussion: The process evaluation will elicit the perspectives of home care recipients and their care partners regarding the intervention experience. Patient or Public Contribution: Older adults with lived experience with dementia and hearing and/or vision will contribute to the proposed research by shaping the interview topic guide to ensure its appropriateness and relevance for the target population. Their insights will result in a more rigorous study and improve the likelihood of the final intervention meeting real-world needs. © 2025 The Author(s). Health Expectations published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd