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A hermeneutic phenomenological exploration of patients’ and student nurses’ experiences of the time they share together on personality disorder forensic units
Get PDFThis hermeneutic phenomenological study illustrates the value of key aspects of interpretative hermeneutics for illuminating the time shared between patients and students in forensic unit for men carrying a personality disorder diagnosis through interviews. The participants were being-with in their own time and space, sharing ordinary activities, common interests and having a laugh; ultimately, making enduring connections. This was despite experiences of thrownness into the world, ward landscapes, or the bearing of diagnostic labels. Students experienced a balance between therapeuticness (leaping-ahead) and professionalism (leaping-in). They were immune to the relational vacuum of the ward office and were viewed as ‘sponges’; reflecting their availability to patients, as opposed to other staff occupying more distant, identity defining set roles. On transition to fully-fledged staff roles, students can become holders of keys, but can weather the ride by treasuring the everyday mundane, being-with and connecting with patients. This temporality of student-patient's relationships encompasses mutual recognition of shared humanness. This hermeneutic phenomenological study uniquely explores the time shared between patients and students in forensic settings. Learnings from their experiences as illuminated using philosophical notions aid our understanding of this time to ensure focus on human connection
The reliability, variability and minimal detectable change of multiplanar isometric trunk strength testing using a fixed digital dynamometer
Get PDFTrunk strength plays a vital role in athletic performance, rehabilitation and general health, however, current assessment methods are expensive, non-portable or unreliable. This study aimed to investigate the within- and between-session reliability, variability, standard error of measurement and minimal detectable change (MDC) of trunk strength in the sagittal (flexion and extension) and frontal planes (left and right lateral flexion) using a fixed digital dynamometer. Eighteen participants (ten men and eight women) attended two sessions separated by 7 days. Participants were fitted with a trunk harness which was secured to an immovable base via a digital dynamometer. Three maximal voluntary isometric contractions were completed across four positions (prone, supine, left-side recumbent and right-side recumbent, respectively) on a glute-hamstring raise machine. All positions demonstrated excellent reliability and low variability within session (ICC: 0.95–0.98; CV: 5–7%) and between sessions (ICC: 0.98–0.99; CV: 4–6%), across all positions. The between-session MDC ranged from 8% (prone) to 13% (right-side recumbent), translating to absolute values between 2.9 and 3.2 kg across all positions. Maximal isometric force testing using a fixed digital dynamometer provides reliable measurements of multiplanar trunk strength, providing a practical method for use in clinical practice
Perception of pitch height and prominence in speech by listeners in England, Belfast and Glasgow
Get PDFPrevious research has shown that listeners’ perception of pitch peaks and valleys is asymmetrical. Their ability to discriminate pitch height and integrate temporal and pitch information is reduced for valleys compared to peaks. Further, listeners are more likely to associate high pitch and pitch peaks with prominence compared to low pitch and valleys. However, it is unclear whether the perceptual asymmetry is influenced by listeners’ linguistic experience. The present study examined the perception by native speakers of English in England, Belfast (Northern Ireland) and Glasgow (Scotland). These varieties were chosen because unlike Standard British English where prominent syllables are typically associated with a pitch rise and high pitch, Belfast and Glaswegian varieties often associate prominent syllables with low pitch. The experimental results showed an effect of listeners’ language variety on their discrimination of both pitch height and prominence. In particular, Belfast and Glasgow listeners’ prominence discrimination was reduced compared to listeners in England for both peaks and valleys. This result may be linked to the shallow ‘prominence gradients’ in their languages and the phonetic details of low accents
The VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea eXtended (VVVX) ESO public survey: Completion of the observations and legacy
Get PDFContext. The ESO public survey VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) surveyed the inner Galactic bulge and the adjacent southern Galactic disk from 2009−2015. Upon its conclusion, the complementary VVV eXtended (VVVX) survey has expanded both the temporal as well as spatial coverage of the original VVV area, widening it from 562 to 1700 sq. deg., as well as providing additional epochs in JHKs filters from 2016−2023.
Aims. With the completion of VVVX observations during the first semester of 2023, we present here the observing strategy, a description of data quality and access, and the legacy of VVVX.
Methods. VVVX took ∼ 2000 hours, covering about 4% of the sky in the bulge and southern disk. VVVX covered most of the gaps left between the VVV and the VISTA Hemisphere Survey (VHS) areas and extended the VVV time baseline in the obscured regions affected by high extinction and hence hidden from optical observations.
Results. VVVX provides a deep JHKs catalogue of & 1.5 × 109 point sources, as well as a Ks band catalogue of ∼ 107 variable sources. Within the existing VVV area, we produced a 5D map of the surveyed region by combining positions, distances, and proper motions of well-understood distance indicators such as red clump stars, RR Lyrae, and Cepheid variables.
Conclusions. In March 2023 we successfully finished the VVVX survey observations that started in 2016, an accomplishment for ESO Paranal Observatory upon 4200 hours of observations for VVV+VVVX. The VVV+VVVX catalogues complement those from the Gaia mission at low Galactic latitudes and provide spectroscopic targets for the forthcoming ESO high-multiplex spectrographs MOONS and 4MOST
News Futures 2035 Final Report
Get PDFOver 18 months, the News Futures 2035 initiative brought together more than 300
thought leaders from various backgrounds, including industry, policy, regulation, civil
society, and academia. Their goal? To address concerns about the sustainability of
trustworthy public-interest news.
The initiative confirmed these concerns are valid, but also highlighted that solutions
exist. A key outcome was a clear definition of public-interest news. This definition
emphasises the importance of identifiable news producers and distributors working
together. This would ensure high-quality information is accessible to everyone. The
public must also be literate enough to understand the news, evaluate its credibility, and
have practical means to address grievances.
This News Futures 2035 report calls for a united front. It urges all stakeholders to work
together in a structured and inclusive manner. This collaboration aims to address these
critical issues and pave the way for action through the creation of the News Futures
Forum.
The Forum will be a structured, multi-stakeholder process operating under the Chatham
House Rule. It will foster mutual understanding among participants and inspire
collaborative actions to ensure a reliable supply of trustworthy public-interest news in
the UK for the next decade - and beyond
LeMMINGs. Multi-wavelength constraints on the co-existence of nuclear star clusters and AGN in nucleated galaxies
Get PDFThe relation between nuclear star clusters (NSCs) and the growth of the central SMBHs, as well as their connection to the properties of the host galaxies, is crucial for understanding the evolution of galaxies. Recent observations have revealed that about 10 per cent of nucleated galaxies host hybrid nuclei, consisting of both NSCs and accreting SMBHs that power active galactic nuclei (AGN). Motivated by the potential of the recently published multi-wavelength data sets from LeMMINGs survey, here we present the most thorough investigation to date of the incidence of hybrid nuclei in a large sample of 100 nearby nucleated galaxies (10 E, 25 S0, 63 S, and 2 Irr), covering a wide range in stellar mass (M∗,gal∼108.7−1012 Msun). We identify the nuclei and derive their properties by performing detailed 1D and 2D multi-component decompositions of the optical and near-infrared HST stellar light distributions of the galaxies using Sérsic and core-Sérsic models. Our AGN diagnostics are based on homogeneously derived nuclear 1.5 GHz e-MERLIN radio, Chandra X-ray (0.3--10 keV) and optical emission-line data. We determine the nucleation fraction (fnuc) as the relative incidence of nuclei across the LeMMINGs HST sample and find fnuc= 100/149 (= 67 ± 7 per cent), confirming previous work, with a peak value of 49/56~(= 88±13 per cent) at bulge masses M∗,bulge∼109.4- 1010.8 Msun. We identify 30 nucleated LeMMINGs galaxies that are optically active, radio-detected and X-ray luminous (LX>1039 erg s−1). This indicates that our nucleated sample has a lower limit ∼ 30 per cent occupancy of hybrid nuclei, which is a function of M∗,bulge and M∗,gal. We find that hybrid nuclei have a number density of (1.5±0.4)×10−5 Mpc−3
Re: Thomas Powles, Begoña Pérez-Valderrama, Shilpa Gupta, et al. Enfortumab Vedotin and Pembrolizumab in Untreated Advanced Urothelial Cancer. N Engl J Med 2024;390:875-88.
No full textAssessing wire EDM as a novel approach for CFRP drilling: performance and thermal analysis across lay-up configurations
Get PDFConventional drilling of carbon fibre–reinforced plastic (CFRP) presents significant challenges due to the material’s abrasive nature and anisotropic properties, leading to tool wear, delamination, and surface damage. To address these challenges, this study pioneers the use of wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) to evaluate the drilling performance of thick CFRP lay-up configurations mainly unidirectional and multidirectional, marking the first application of WEDM for CFRP drilling. The study evaluates material removal rate (MRR), delamination factor (DF), and surface damage while employing an analytical solution to estimate surface temperature and heat conduction in the laminates. An eight-full factorial experimental design was employed, involving variations in ignition current (3 A and 5 A) and pulse-off time (4 µs and 8 µs). The findings revealed that the multidirectional lay-up achieved an MRR of 2.85 mm3/min, significantly outperforming the unidirectional lay-up’s MRR of 0.95 mm3/min, representing a 300% increase at 5 A and 4 µs. However, the increase in discharge energy led to surface damage such as delamination, frayed fibres, and irregular circularity, especially evident in the unidirectional lay-up. For delamination, the multidirectional lay-up had the highest top DF of 1.4 at 5 A and 6 µs, while the unidirectional lay-up achieved the peak bottom DF of 1.24 at the same levels. While none of the parameters significantly affected the responses, the current exhibited the highest contribution ratios. Analytical predictions of the thermal distribution indicated a 45-µm delamination length at the laminate surface and depth, aligning closely with experimental predictions of 30–50 µm
Mental Health and Elite Women Footballers in England: Tensions and Challenges in a Time of Transition
Get PDFChange in the English women’s professional game has accelerated significantly over the past several years. Developments include the introduction of the first fully-professional women’s league, increased financial and commercial investment, and heightened media interest in both the game and its players (Culvin, 2019). Despite the positive conversation that surrounds these shifts, Culvin (2019) identified that elite women footballers encounter financial instability, limited post-career playing options, lack of women-specific workplace policies, and inconsistent physical and mental health support. In turn, Culvin (2019) called for further research specifically focused on the mental health of this population. Similar calls have since been echoed by players, academics, the UK government and wider sporting stakeholders. In response, this thesis—a first-of-its-kind—explores mental health and elite women footballers in the top two tiers of women’s football in England, the Women’s Super League (WSL) and the Women’s Championship (WC).
Using four studies, this project sought to advance understandings of mental health challenges concerning elite women footballers in England and explore the support available to players, providing empirically driven recommendations for practice and policy. Study One—a scoping review—investigated research concerning elite women athletes and mental health and mental illness. Findings from this review provided critical insight into the methods, theories, and focuses of research with this population, and informed subsequent studies in the thesis. Study Two attained prevalence rates of mental ill-health symptoms and help-seeking intentions in elite women footballers in England (WSL=63; WC=52). Study Three involved 21 interviews with elite women footballers (WSL= 8, WC=13) and explored their lived experiences with mental health, specifically in relation to their football context. The final study in this thesis—Study Four—included interviews with players and support staff working in WSL and WC clubs. This study explored the tensions and barriers footballers face when accessing mental health support at their club.
Key findings from this thesis highlighted that elite women footballers experience mental ill-health and face unique challenges—largely linked to aspects of their professionalising football environments—which negatively impact mental health. Notably, in contrast to previous sporting literature in this area, the footballers expressed a strong appetite for mental health support, though encountered challenges to using such support. Collectively, this thesis demonstrates that mental health support and provision across elite women’s football has not kept pace with professionalisation, despite its importance to players