26199 research outputs found
Sort by
Thrivers and Survivors during Study Abroad: The individual Cases of Japanese Learners of English
Get PDFWhilst study abroad (SA) periods hold much promise for foreign language development, increasing research suggests sojourners experiences are unique, and language development does not always follow a linear trajectory. For some learners, SA has little impact on their language performance despite the affordances of L2 immersion (the Survivors). Other learners maximise the potential of SA and this has a positive impact on their language development (the Thrivers). This paper examines the selected cases of four Japanese learners of English and their request language performance during a 10-month SA in the UK. Changes in pragmatic knowledge (based on appropriateness ratings) were documented at three equidistant time points. Language contact profile data also provided quantitative insights into the learners’ extracurricular language use and qualitative personal reflections. The selected cases illustrate two learners surviving the SA experience, showing minimal change in their request performance. The other two learners thrived during SA, showing accelerated performance in terms of lexical variation at the production level. This paper reports on the case histories of these learners to better understand these unique experiences and pragmatic discrepancies. Suggestions for how learners might be more pragmatically successful during SA are also offered
Establishing a research partnership to investigate functional loss and rehabilitation towards the end of life
Get PDFBackground
Functional loss, the inability to perform necessary or desired tasks, is a common consequence of life-limiting illnesses and associated symptoms (pain, fatigue, breathlessness, etc.) and causes suffering for patients and families. Rehabilitation, a set of interventions designed to address functional loss, is recognised as essential within palliative care, as it can improve quality of life and reduce care costs. However, not everyone has equal access to rehabilitation. Despite limited life expectancy or uncertain ability to benefit from interventions, palliative rehabilitation services are often absent. This is partly due to a lack of high-quality research around optimal models of rehabilitation. Research in this area is methodologically challenging and requires multidisciplinary and cross-speciality collaboration.
Aim and objectives
We aimed to establish and grow a United Kingdom research partnership across diverse areas, commencing with partners from Edinburgh, East Anglia, Lancashire, Leeds, London and Nottingham, around the topic area of functional loss and rehabilitation in palliative and end-of-life care. The objectives were to (1) develop a multidisciplinary, cross-speciality research partnership, (2) generate high-priority unanswered research questions with stakeholders, (3) co-design and submit high-quality competitive research proposals, including (4) sharing topic and methodological expertise, and (5) to build capacity and capability to deliver nationally generalisable studies.
Activities
The partnership was established with professionals from across England and Scotland with complementary areas of expertise including complex palliative and geriatric research, physiotherapy, nursing, palliative medicine and psychology. Research questions were generated through a modified version of the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative, which allowed for the collation and refinement of research questions relating to functional loss and rehabilitation towards the end of life. Partnership members were supported through a series of workshops to transform research ideas into proposals for submission to stage one calls by the National Institute for Health and Care Research. The partnership not only supported students, clinicians and public members with training opportunities but also supported clinicians in securing protected time from clinical duties to allow them to focus on developing local research initiatives.
Reflections
Through our partnership we established a network that offered researchers, clinicians, students and public members the chance to develop novel skills and explore opportunities for personal and professional development around the topic area of functional loss and rehabilitation in palliative and end-of-life care. The partnership was crucial to foster collaboration and facilitate exchange of ideas, knowledge and experiences to build joint research study proposals
Fire Emissions and Smoke Toxicity
No full textFire toxicity is the largest cause of death and injury from unwanted fires, yet it is the least-well-studied area of fire science and engineering. Fire toxicity increases by factors up to 50 as the fire becomes under-ventilated. Replicating under-ventilated flaming in a controlled way on a bench-scale requires apparatus designed for the purpose. For acute toxicants, clear correlations have been observed between the stoichiometric equivalence ratio and the yields of the major asphyxiants, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen cyanide. In addition, irritant components of fire effluents can incapacitate fire victims, trapping them in a fire. However, the longer-term toxicants present in fire effluents, such as the carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and the microscopic particulates which result from their agglomeration are responsible for additional deaths on top of the acute asphyxiants and irritants. Thus long-term and short-term toxicity from fires must be considered
Transcranial Temporal Interference Stimulation (tTIS) Influences Event-Related Alpha Activity During Mental Rotation
Get PDFNon-invasive brain stimulation techniques offer therapeutic potential for neurological and psychiatric disorders. However, current methods are often limited in their stimulation depth. The novel transcranial temporal interference stimulation (tTIS) aims to overcome this limitation by non-invasively targeting deeper brain regions. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of tTIS in modulating alpha activity during a mental rotation task. The effects of tTIS were compared with transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) and a sham control. Participants were randomly assigned to a tTIS, tACS, or sham group. They performed alternating blocks of resting and mental rotation tasks before, during, and after stimulation. During the stimulation blocks, participants received 20 min of stimulation adjusted to their individual alpha frequency (IAF). We assessed shifts in resting state alpha power, event-related desynchronization (ERD) of alpha activity during mental rotation, as well as resulting improvements in behavioral performance. Our results indicate tTIS and tACS to be effective in modulating cortical alpha activity during mental rotation, leading to an increase in ERD from pre- to poststimulation as well as compared to sham stimulation. However, this increase in ERD was not correlated with enhanced mental rotation performance, and resting state alpha power remained unchanged. Our findings underscore the complex nature of tTIS and tACS efficacy, indicating that stimulation effects are more observable during active cognitive tasks, while their impacts are less pronounced on resting neuronal systems
Outdoor Play Mediated through Pokémon: Facing the Snorlax
No full textPlaying outdoors in local environments provides the affordance to experience freedom, exploring surroundings, challenging sensorimotor capabilities, and building personal and social skills with others. However, our growing reliance on technology can lead to an increase in sedentary behaviours, whilst the time young people play outdoors continues to decline. This decrease in time spent in outdoor play combined with the marked increase in daily sedentary activities are contributing to several negative physical and mental health issues among children. In 2016, Pokémon Go became the most popular game in the history of smartphone games and was among the first games to feature geo-located augmented reality (AR) elements. This chapter employs collaborative autoethnographic methods to explore how Pokémon Go meditates active engagement in the outdoors and facilitates opportunities for outdoor play that develops key hallmarks of outdoor education, namely, active movement, inter- and intra-personal skills and local environment awareness
Health professionals and women's knowledge and experiences of caring for small gestational age (SGA) infants in Pakistan
Get PDFBackground
In Pakistan, every third baby is born small for gestational age (SGA). Early antenatal detection of SGA helps with birth planning and initial treatment of mother and baby, thereby reducing complications. Screening and diagnosis of SGA however are challenging, especially in low and middle-income countries where access to technological advances may be limited and there is a lack of routine antenatal screening.
Aims
To explore the current practices, knowledge, and experiences of caring for SGA infants with women and health professionals in Pakistan.
Design
A cross-sectional survey with healthcare professionals and focus groups or interviews with health professionals and mothers of SGA babies were undertaken. Survey data were analysed descriptively and integrated with the qualitative data using thematic data analysis.
Subjects
78 completed surveys were returned and eight FGDs and five interviews were undertaken with 77 participants – 67 healthcare professionals (gynecologists/obstetricians, neonatologists, Lady Health Workers, and Lady Health Visitors) and 10 mothers of SGA infants aged under 12 months.
Results
The survey highlighted a general lack of training on SGA for all health care professionals, but particularly amongst community staff who often act as primary caregivers for women. Five qualitative themes described the challenges and issues faced in the management, treatment, and prevention of SGA in Pakistan: Lack of policies and training, Lack of resources, Lack of access to healthcare, Not following the guidance, and Lack of data and reporting.
Conclusions
A whole system approach to improve service provision and outcomes is needed. This should include epidemiological research, country-specific policies, training for healthcare professionals and awareness raising amongst women and community members
Eye understand: physiological measures as novel predictors of adaptive learning in horses.
Get PDFStriatal dopamine is a neurotransmitter that marks reward and mediates reward learning. Spontaneous Eye Blink Rate (SEBR) reflects striatal dopamine activity and could offer a novel, proxy measure of learning performance. Additionally, arousal affects performance in a range of cognitive tasks, but there is less evidence for the relationship between baseline arousal and learning. This study investigated whether SEBR predicts learning performance in an equine model. Further, it investigated novel physiological predictors of learning performance (eye temperature and heart rate variability). Nineteen horses completed a two-choice discrimination reversal learning (RL) task. Performance was measured using a Performance Index. SEBR and Heart Rate Variability (HRV) were measured at rest (home stable) and during RL. Infrared Thermography of eye temperature (IRT) was measured immediately before and after RL. SEBR did not change in response to RL despite being thought to reflect striatal dopamine activity. HRV was higher during RL than at rest though was not statistically significant (p=0.06). Additionally, eye temperature decreased significantly during trials (left eye: p=0.002; right eye: p=0.05). These results indicate lower arousal in response to training, possibly similar to a ‘flow state’ in humans. Results of a negative binomial GLM revealed that SEBR was not associated with performance, however, positive predictors of learning performance included resting HRV (p=0.009), HRV during the task (p=0.002), and left eye temperature change (p<0.0001). The association between left eye temperature and learning performance is consistent with lateralised blood flow to the left-brain hemisphere (responsible for learning targeted responses) and thought to be the first observation of this phenomenon during learning. Lower arousal may facilitate left-hemisphere dominance, creating the cognitive space to respond adaptively in RL. Left hemispheric dominance controls parasympathetic activity, potentially explaining the interactions observed here. Results suggest arousal both in the home and training environment may have important impacts on learning
Examining the provision of renal denervation therapy in low- and middle-income nations: Current landscape, challenges, future prospects—A mini perspective review
Get PDFThis paper delves into Renal Denervation Therapy as a promising intervention for resistant hypertension in low- and middle-income countries. With rates of hypertension increasing in LMICs due to lifestyle factors, RDN presents a potentially transformative approach. The methodology involves a comprehensive literature review, focusing on studies in LMICs that unveil proactive developments in standardized guidelines and precision targeting in clinical trials. LMICs actively contribute to research, emphasizing the safety and efficacy of RDN. However, despite these strides, the current landscape reveals challenges, encompassing initial costs, economic disparities, and limitations in healthcare infrastructure. Despite these hurdles, the paper envisions promising future prospects, emphasizing innovative strategies for cost-effective RDN implementation. It advocates for global collaboration and partnerships with international organizations, proposing the expansion of the Global SYMPLICITY Registry to include more LMICs; a testament to a commitment to research advancement. The paper concludes by highlighting comprehensive strategies to overcome challenges, making RDN financially viable in resource-limited settings. It underscores the potential for RDN to enhance global healthcare outcomes, particularly in regions grappling with diverse economic and healthcare challenges
Managing Expectations in the Transition to Postgraduate Research: Setting up Successful Supervisory Relationships
Get PDFThis online discussion, led by colleagues from the University of Central Lancashire and Edge Hill University, will examine the importance of establishing a good supervisory relationship in the early stages of the transition from taught to research led education.
Postgraduate researchers might not complete their research degree if they fail to meet the criteria and expectations associated with their particular degree award. Equally, problems can occur if student-supervisor expectations are not met. Much has been written about completion rates and drop out trends in the context of postgraduate research and universities are inevitably keen to improve these quality markers. It is widely considered that proper induction, training, clear supervisory guidelines, annual monitoring, and pastoral support are all needed to provide a nurturing environment for postgraduate researchers. However, getting clear on university/supervisor expectations, and managing learning relationships at doctoral level, appears to be critical to ‘getting off on the right foot’ and ‘staying on track’
From Waste to Energy: Enhancing Fuel & Hydrogen Production through Pyrolysis and In-line Reforming of Plastic Wastes
Get PDFPlastics have become integral to modern life, playing crucial roles in diverse industries such as agriculture, electronics, automotive, packaging and construction. However, their
excessive use and inadequate management have had adverse environmental impacts, posing threats to terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Consequently, researchers are increasingly searching for more sustainable ways of managing plastic wastes. Pyrolysis, a chemical recycling method, holds promise for producing valuable fuel sustainably. This study explores the pyrolysis of plastic process and incorporates recent advancements. Additionally, the study investigates the integration of reforming into the pyrolysis process to improve hydrogen production. Hydrogen, a clean and eco-friendly fuel holds significance in transport engines, power generation, fuel cells and as a major commodity chemical. Key process parameters influencing the final products for pyrolysis and pyrolysis and in-line reforming are evaluated. In light of fossil fuel depletion and climate change, the pyrolysis and in-line reforming strategy for hydrogen production is anticipated to gain prominence in the future. Amongst the various strategies studied, pyrolysis and in-line steam reforming is identified as the most effective method for optimizing hydrogen production from plastic wastes