19684 research outputs found
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Wright Map Analysis to Determine Nurses and Midwives’ Knowledge of Treatment of Primary Postpartum Haemorrhage in Nigeria
No full textBackground: The traditional presentation of results of cognitive test and surveys using simple percentages or average score obscures topics failed or mastered by test takers. However, the Rasch technique revolutionises the presentation of a test result by connecting respondent latent knowledge (or ability) with the test items using Wright maps. Aim: To assess nurses and midwives’ knowledge of managing primary postpartum haemorrhage using a Wright map Methods: A twelve-item dichotomous (YES/NO) computer-based test developed from the recently updated WHO’s treatment bundle was presented to the respondents for fifteen minutes. A nine-member panel reviewed the test to ensure clarity and relevance to Nigeria’s public maternity setting. All the respondents were nurses and midwives with previous experience of responding to primary postpartum haemorrhage. Ethical approval was provided by the University of Huddersfield and the nurses’ association. After eight weeks of data collection, both descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted using a Wright map. Results: The 180 responses analysed on a Wright map showed that the lowest, average and highest measures to be 476.3 logits, 495.9 logits and 521.7 logits respectively. Also, 178 (98%) respondents incorrectly answered the question on the source of treatment evidence but correctly answered that uterine atony is the main cause of postpartum haemorrhage. However, all the respondents who scored below average (495.6 logits) incorrectly answered the question on oxytocin as the best uterotonic. Conclusions: Wright map analysis confirms the problem of the inadequate knowledge of maternity staff as a major barrier to the effective treatment of maternal bleeding. A significant difference was found in the knowledge of the treatment among the three levels of maternity settings, implying the need for effective educational intervention strategies.</p
A Review on Multi-step Attack Detection
No full textMulti-step Attacks (MSAs) pose a significant cybersecurity threat, aiming at valuable assets and essential infrastructure across diverse sectors. This study offers an in-depth investigation of methodologies for multi-step attack detection, prevention, and automation (DPA). It looks at terms such as ‘multi-stage’ and ‘composite’ attacks, highlighting shared characteristics, including their complexity, persistence, and evasion tactics. The document highlights the significant obstacles contemporary detection systems encounter, especially in managing high-dimensional data, comprehending the sequential characteristics of attacks, and sustaining real-time detection efficacy. The research employs comprehensive visualizations and statistics to demonstrate industry-specific behaviors associated with these challenges. The study assesses the pros and cons of machine/deep learning and graph-based approaches using performance metrics, execution time, and cross-dataset analyses. This review significantly identifies prevalent concerns across multiple research studies and their respective frequencies. This underscores the necessity for more dependable, robust, and scalable approaches capable of adapting to the expanding threat landscape, including zero-day vulnerabilities. This review offers scholars and practitioners novel insights into formulating multi-layered threat identification and response tactics to enhance cybersecurity frameworks. Furthermore, it examines how different methodologies used for threat detection, such as machine learning (ML), graph-based techniques, and large language models (LLMs), address particular challenges such as elevated false positives (FPs), dynamic threat patterns, and high-dimensional data processing, while emphasizing the limitations of existing solutions.</p
Thermo-hydrodynamic performance of journal bearings under water contamination of lubricants considering rheological and thermal effects
No full textJournal bearings are susceptible to water contamination due to seal leaks and vapor condensation. Once the lubricant is contaminated by water, its rheological and thermal properties would be affected. Without an appropriate disposal in time, serious faults are likely to occur and the functional life of journal bearings will be significantly reduced. In order to investigate the influence of water contamination on the thermo-hydrodynamic performance of journal bearings, this paper carried out the study on the rheological and thermal properties of lubricants at different water concentrations. Numerical models for viscosity and specific heat capacity were established based on the experimental data. Thermo-hydrodynamic performance of journal bearings under water contamination were then investigated theoretically and experimentally. The results indicate that the lubricant viscosity shows a nonlinear relationship of water concentration, while the specific heat capacity shows a monotonic increase. At high water concentrations, the lubricant exhibits shear thinning behavior. The viscosity changes due to water contamination significantly affect the film thickness, pressure distribution and friction. Temperature rise of the journal bearing decreases with increasing water concentration.</p
Disposable electronic cigarettes:Chemical composition in new and used devices
No full textDisposable electronic cigarettes (ECs), also commonly known as vapes, have gained increasing popularity, particularly among young users, due to their accessibility and variety of flavours. Although the constituents of refill- able tank-style and cartridge-based EC devices have been studied, only a limited amount of data is currently avail- able for disposable or single-use ECs. In this study, the chemicals of 60 disposable ECs have been investigated, including different flavours and brands. Ethyl maltol and benzoic acid were quantified across various e-liquid flavours, brands and nicotine concentrations from disposable ECs. The chemical composition changes with EC usage were also investigated, comparing new and used disposable ECs. Headspace gas chromatography/mass spectrometry was employed to identify and quantify the chemicals. 89 % of the analysed EC liquids presented ethyl maltol, where 42 % of them presents 10 times higher concentrations than the ones set by the General Standard for Food Additives and 88 % of them exceed the concentration previously reported as cytotoxic. 87 % of the investigated EC fluids contained benzoic acid, where 71 % of them exceeded 20 times the values reported as genotoxic in human lymphocytes. Our results support the link between benzoic acid and nicotine contain and provide new information regarding the concentration changes within flavours and suppliers. Both chemicals have shown similar patterns through usage, presenting an increase of concentration between 40 and 80 puff. Our study demonstrates the need of maintaining constant oversight of e-liquids, as they are continuously changing in often subtle but toxicologically detrimental ways.<br/
Exploring the complex process of risk communication of elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)
Get PDFBurnout interventions for UK healthcare workers:a systematic literature review
No full textPurposeGrowing concerns about burnout among healthcare workers (HCW) has been met with a surge in development and evaluation of preventative interventions. This systematic literature review aims to examine the current burnout interventions provided to HCW in the United Kingdom, with a particular focus in identifying the different strategies used and to assess their effectiveness.Design/methodology/approachResearch databases (CINAHL, Psycinfo and Pubmed) were screened for peer-reviewed research published between 2011 and 2024. Fifteen studies of mixed research designs were retained and evaluated using the Joanna Briggs Institute Checklist for Case Reports.FindingsMost studies demonstrated good methodological rigour, with most studies adopting an experimental design, though only a few used randomised controlled trials with control groups. Qualitative synthesis of the results identified two core themes of interventions: meditation-based interventions and skill acquisition training. The majority of the interventions incorporated multiple different burnout prevention strategies and almost all interventions demonstrated a positive impact in reducing burnout symptoms.Research limitations/implicationsRecommendations from the synthesis of the evidence promote the combined use of occupation-specific skills training, self-awareness activities and the use of multiple preventative strategies. Future research should endeavour to study the longer impact of burnout interventions (i.e. beyond 8 months) and adopt randomised control trial designs.Practical implicationsThe study recommends that interventions are shortened to accommodate to workload of HCW and the use of relevant clinical skills training alongside burnout interventions. Future research should seek to examine the efficacy of interventions using more robust experimental designs for longer durations (i.e. follow-up testing).Originality/valueOwing to the growing burnout risks amongst UK HCW, various interventions utilising different psychological approaches to prevent burnout have been implemented. The current review carried out a rigorous review of contemporary interventions that have been used to reduce burnout among healthcare workers to identify what works, what the key challenges are and what directions are needed by practitioners and academic in reducing burnout within healthcare professions.<br/
Wall shear model for mechanical annular polishing
No full textThe applications and the functionalities required for polished glass are countless. Therefore, the polishing process must be designed with extreme care to eliminate surface defects. In this work, the variables affecting the polishing processes for glass are analysed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to understand the detailed mechanics of the material removal rate process. The flow field induced by the rotation of the polishing tool, typically used in the annular polishing process, is simulated over a range of tool speeds at various offset (gap between the surface and bonnet) values. Furthermore, to elucidate the additional impact of the particles on the flow field, simulations are performed for both water and abrasive slurry flows. Findings show that reducing the offset distance between the tool and the glass surface significantly increased the shear stress, with the peak value obtained in the region that is in the closest proximity to the rotating tool. The shear stress profile from CFD simulations is compared against experimental profile data for material loss, which displayed good qualitative agreement, especially in the near bonnet region. From the analysis, a power law expression is developed for the estimation of the local shear stress on the workpiece for a given set of process parameters. An R2 value of 0.9385 was obtained, showing good correlation between the developed model and CFD results. As such, this equation can be used to estimate shear stress caused by the flowing slurry at various points on the glass surface with confidence during the polishing process
An entropy-information model for evaluating hydrogen bubble dynamics in electrolysis process using an innovative pixel frequency analysis
No full textIn water electrolysis, the formation of gas bubbles is a complex dissipative process, where entropy is produced irreversibly. The understanding of which is significant for all electrolyzer optimizations. To this end, we have introduced the information-entropy as a new variable into electrolysis research for the first time. An electrochemical cell was designed, where the evolution of hydrogen gas bubbles on a flat electrode surface could be observed through a glass window, using a high-speed camera and microscope objective. Within three experiments with different nickel electrodes, an innovative grey scale pixel analysis was applied to compute the information-entropy (Shannon-entropy), presenting the information content and disorder of multifaceted bubble evolution. With increasing current density, we observed a remarkable correlation between this information-entropy and the Gibbs entropy derived from the overvoltage. At high power levels, huge amounts of entropy and information are produced, measurable in the form of chaotic bubble evolution patterns. Large bubbles play a key role here - with complex multi-physical phenomena. Blocking of the electrode surface is more than compensated because of thin film diffusion. An innovative micro-region model presents significantly higher local entropy production at the 3-phase contact line. Soon, the entropy information model will be used to develop highly efficient electrodes, nucleation sites, and flow structures for enhanced mass transport and minimized exergetic losses due to bubble formation
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