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Res ipsa loquitur: Thomson v Iceland Foods Ltd considered
No full textExplains, using case law, the conditions for the application of res ipsa loquitur and the rebuttal of the inference of negligence, focusing on Thomson v Iceland Foods Ltd (SAC) that res ipsa loquitur applied in circumstances where a supermarket customer was injured after tripping on a raised edge of a doormat within the store, and the supermarket operator had not offered an explanation to displace the inference of negligence
Liability of police authorities - <i>Tindall v Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police</i> considered
No full textPerformance enhancement of thermally regenerative flow battery by a novel design coupling Venturi-effect-inducing structure with nature-inspired flow distributors
No full textThe symmetric sinusoidal flow channel (SSFC), which can induce the Venturi effect, has been found to hold significant potential for enhancing the output performance and low-grade waste heat recovery efficiency of the thermally regenerative ammonia-based flow battery (TRAFB). However, this flow channel suffers from substantial mass transfer dead zones between adjacent constrictions. Inspired by the streamlined profile of water droplets in nature, four water droplet-like flow distributors (WFD Ⅰ-Ⅳ) are designed by this study and ingeniously coupled with the flow channel to address this issue and to achieve a higher performance thermally regenerative ammonia-based flow battery. The results indicate that the incorporation of these flow distributors not only significantly reduces the mass transfer dead zones but also further amplifies the Venturi effect, thereby diminishing reactant-starved regions and enhancing uniformity. The coupling of the symmetric sinusoidal flow channel with each of the four flow distributors enables the battery to achieve higher net power, electrical capacity, and thermoelectric conversion efficiency, as well as lower overpotential. Among these, the flow channel design scheme coupling symmetric sinusoidal structure with the flow distributor Ⅳ performs the best, realizing a peak net power increase of approximately 17.68 %, an ultimate electrical capacity increase of approximately 26.35 %, and a thermoelectric conversion efficiency increase of approximately 38.26 % compared to the original symmetric sinusoidal flow channel. To further evaluate the scalability and application feasibility of this scheme, it is applied to modify the structures of the three most commonly used flow fields. The modified flow fields all demonstrate better mass transfer, larger energy storage scale and higher efficiency, with the improvement becoming more pronounced at higher discharge currents. The highest Carnot-relative efficiency and net power are achieved by the modified serpentine flow field, reaching approximately 32.05 % and 317.14 W m−2, respectively. However, the flow field with the most significant performance enhancement is the parallel flow field, which realizes a peak net power increase of approximately 27.47 % and a Carnot-relative efficiency increase of approximately 7.14 percentage points. Overall, the improvement effects are ranked as follows: parallel flow field > interdigital flow field > serpentine flow field.</p
Estimating incidence rates of primary infection and reinfection with hepatitis C virus among people who inject drugs in Scotland: a model-based analysis of repeated cross sectional survey data
No full textBackgroundReducing the incidence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a World HealthOrganization (WHO) elimination goal, but approaches to estimate this from population level survey data are lacking. We modelled HCV incidence among people who inject drugs (PWID) surveyed over time, to provide evidence on whether Scotland has reached the WHO elimination target of ≤2 per 100 person-years in this population.MethodsA statistical model was fitted using HCV infection data from five sweeps (2013-14,2015-16, 2017-18, 2019-20, and 2022-23) of a national bio-behavioural survey,involving 11,651 PWID recruited at sites providing injecting equipment. Per-sweepincidence rates of primary chronic HCV infection, reinfection, and combined primary and reinfection (‘total infection’) were inferred within a Bayesian framework. Incidence rates relate to the number of new infections per 100 person-years for the population at risk of (primary, reinfection and total) infection.FindingsIn 2022-23, the model-estimated total, re-infection and primary infection incidence rates were 3·4 per 100 person-years (95% credible interval (CrI):2·6-4·3), 1·9 (1·3-2·6), and 4·1 (3·0-5·4), respectively. For total new infections, the model-estimated incidence rate decreased by 51% from 7·0 per 100 person-years in 2015-16 to 3.4 in 2022-23 (relating to an absolute decrease of 3·6 per 100 person-years; 95% CrI:2·0–5·3). Between 2015-16 and 2022-23, model-estimated re-infection and primary infection incidence rates decreased by 78% and 40%, respectively.InterpretationOver a period when direct-acting antiviral therapy was scaled-up in Scotland, major reductions in the incidence of primary infection, reinfection, and total HCV infection were evident, indicating that the WHO target is within reach, for a relatively high-risk population of PWID
Intimate partner violence among female partners of men with substance use problems: an exploratory analysis of service use records of a family support program in Brazil
No full textBackground:Substance use problems (SUP) extend beyond individuals, significantly impacting families, particularly women, who often assume caregiving roles. Research indicates that women with partners experiencing SUP face an elevated risk of intimate partner violence (IPV). This study examined the profile of female partners of men who sought support in a family programme for SUP in Brazil, focusing on the prevalence and characteristics of those who had experienced physical IPV from their current partner.Methods:Records from 5,303 family members registered in the “Programme Recomeco Familia” between 2014 and 2018 were assessed. This was a free-of-charge service aimed at providing psychological support and guidance to family members of a relative with SUP.Results:Female partners of men with SUP represented 10.4% (N = 437) of female participants, of whom 46.2% reported physical IPV victimisation. Compared with non-victims, women experiencing IPV more frequently reported that discussions about substance use escalated into arguments and were less likely to report setting limits in their partners. Women whose partners used only illicit drugs were less likely to report IPV, whereas those whose partners had problems with alcohol (alone or combined with illicit drugs) or a history of justice system involvement faced a higher IPV risk.Conclusion:Family substance use programmes must integrate responses to IPV including its assessment and responsive approaches tailored to the needs of the victims.<br/
Prevalence and influence of fungal biofilm in wound infections
No full textWound infections disrupt the normal wound healing process leading to longer treatment, hospitalisation, patient discomfort, and in extreme cases severe outcomes like amputations and death, representing one of the major challenges in the healthcare system. Biofilms represent close to 78% of these infections and while the role of bacterial pathogens and polymicrobial biofilms has been widely recognised in the field, fungi are generally ignored. This is also evident in the disproportionate focus on bacterial biofilm model development for the testing of wound therapies, with very few studies incorporating fungal species within them, all primarily focused on Candida albicans. Hence, the role of fungi in these infections in poorly understood. In this chapter, we present a summary of studies evaluating fungal prevalence in various wound types, demonstrating that not only are fungi present in wounds at a larger rate than expected but there is vast species diversity in these communities. We also provide an overview on the diagnostic methods used for fungal detection throughout these studies and their pitfalls. Finally, we discuss current developments in wound biofilm model development and the potential role of fungi in polymicrobial biofilms, highlighting the need for further research on fungi in wounds
Response to Sullivan and Williams regarding “Social determinants and consequences of pain: toward multilevel, intersectional, and life course perspectives”
No full textIntegrating the Sustainable Development Goals in business models
No full textThe challenges facing society require the search for increasingly innovative solutions that go beyond the development of new products and services or the improvement of production processes but rather encourage a holistic rethinking of how organisations, whether for profit or not for profit, operate. This means reconsidering business models and their key components such as value proposition, value creation, and delivery systems. This chapter explores how and to what extent the sustainable development goals are integrated into business model research and highlights that although business model scholarship has varying levels of engagement with the SDGs, there is vast opportunity for more proactive and strategic engagement, especially with SDG 16. By adapting and transforming business models according to the SDGs, organisations can improve their approach to responsible management and thus contribute more to the sustainable development of society
Federated learning for Remote Health Monitoring: a review
No full textRemote Health Monitoring (RHM) use cases produce large amounts of sensitive data from a variety of sources, requiring effective storage, management, and analysis to extract valuable insights. While the cloud is often used to store and analyse substantial health data, directly connecting diverse medical devices to the cloud can be inefficient, negatively impact performance, and pose data privacy risks. Edge computing provides a solution by enabling devices to process data at the network’s edge, either through a nearby local data center or directly on the device itself. This approach satisfies the low-latency and data security needs of healthcare applications. Despite these advantages, edge computing faces limitations in the amount of data it can handle, and training machine learning (ML) algorithms solely on local data can reduce model effectiveness. Federated learning has emerged as a promising solution to these challenges. This chapter includes a comprehensive review of Federated learning applications for RHM to evaluate how well these solutions address the limitations of edge computing. A systematic search was conducted across databases such as Arxiv, IEEE, Medrxiv, and ScienceDirect, focusing on Federated Learning, Edge Computing, and Remote Health Monitoring. Out of 5,015 references identified, 233 papers were selected for full-text analysis after removing duplicates and irrelevant entries. Ultimately, 87 relevant studies were included in our analysis. The review indicates that federated edge solutions are being developed to overcome edge computing constraints. However, these solutions require further exploration, particularly concerning security, as they are not yet fully ready for widespread adoption. Federated learning remains in its early implementation phase and finding solutions to these challenges
Unravelling institutional logics, institutional context and perceived corruption: findings from Sub-Saharan African MNE subsidiaries
Full text linkThere is an evidenced scarcity of micro-level research integrating perspectives on structure and agency to theorize how corruption manifests as an individual, organizational and institutional level phenomenon. We address this gap by exploring qualitatively whether there is evidence of an overriding role of the institutional context over the institutional logic, evidence of conforming to conflicting institutional logics in the same organization and evidence of the effect of bounded rationality, bounded reliability and the MNE subsidiary institutional logics in tackling corruption. Data was collected conducting 42 semi-structured interviews on 7 MNE subsidiaries from 7 distinct MNEs operating in four Sub-Saharan African countries (Mauritius, Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria). Results reveal how deeply ingrained corruption makes strict compliance costly, how head quarter’s enforcement of mandates is perceived as weak, and how short-term performance pressures additionally complicate compliance. Our findings advance the literature on institutional logics via multiple contributions highlighted; Firstly, evidence of the overriding role of the Sub-Saharan institutional context over the institutional logic. Secondly, evidence of the support behind the co-existence of conflicting institutional logics in the MNE subsidiary. Finally, the effect of bounded rationality/reliability of MNE and subsidiary institutional logics in tackling corruption is highlighted
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