26199 research outputs found
Sort by
Food safety in the shadows: Understanding dark kitchens through the lens of necessity entrepreneurship and activity theory
No full textThis study integrates the concepts of necessity entrepreneurship and activity theory (AT) to systematically examine the food safety landscape of dark kitchens—delivery-only food businesses. The mixed-method approach adopted included in-depth site visits, food safety inspections, and nationwide surveys of consumers (n = 441) and environmental health officers (n = 443). The qualitative analysis of 21 dark kitchens revealed highly diverse operator profiles, with some entrepreneurs operating out of necessity and others capitalising on market opportunities. Quantitative data was analysed through confirmatory factor analysis and mean comparisons. Most necessity-driven dark kitchens, particularly those operating from home, demonstrated limited knowledge of food safety, informal practices, and resource constraints; they prioritised personal moral standards of food safety over regulatory compliance. Conversely, opportunity-oriented entrepreneurs were more likely to align food safety with organisational objectives and had a more appropriate infrastructure in place. Compliance with food safety documentation was the lowest of all the dimensions assessed (9.5 %), followed by employee hygiene, technical responsibility (27.5 %), and facilities (49.8 %). Structural and behavioural weaknesses were exacerbated by unclear regulations, difficulties in enforcement, and low engagement with inspection authorities. As per the surveys, consumers expect food delivery systems to guarantee minimum hygiene standards. The environmental health officers highlighted the challenges of inspecting and monitoring dark kitchens, particularly considering the sector's informality and digital fragmentation. Synthesising the findings using the AT framework shows that the production of safe food (objects) is affected by interconnected contradictions between subjects and all other elements, especially in models dominated by necessity entrepreneurs. This study provides evidence for targeted policy interventions and platform-based initiatives to improve food safety in emerging food service models
‘Why fabricated or induced illness needs to be dropped as a child protection category’
No full textThe evidence base for FII is weak and its consequences for families catastrophic, which is why a campaign has been launched to remove it from the safeguarding system, write Andy Bilson and Taliah Drayak
Evolving Role of Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography (CCTA) in Quantifying Atherosclerotic Coronary Artery Disease: A Narrative Review
No full textBackground: There have been 20.5 million deaths due to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), including atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD) and stroke, so far in 2025. Atherosclerosis, which begins in newborns, may be influenced by preconception factors and continues to develop in adults, requiring a proper assessment of the burden of atherosclerotic plaque, as it is the direct cause of CAD. This review aims to emphasize the role of a staging system proposed by the Lancet Commission for the quantification of atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (ACAD) with an emphasis on preconception risk factors and protective factors, based on coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). Methods: It is suggested that the use of CCTA scanning makes it possible to quantify the atherosclerotic plaque burden into four stages. Results: CCTA enables us to see how much plaque has built up, as well as the type of plaque, but not the biochemistry of the plaque, to determine its vulnerability. However, if the plaque is a non-calcified fatty plaque, it is considered to be a strong predictor of the risk of myocardial infarction (MI), whereas a more stable calcified plaque is known to be protective against MI. There are several risk factors and protective factors which may influence the process of the rupture or vulnerability of the plaque. A randomized trial revealed that, after a median follow-up of 10·0 years, deaths due to CAD or non-fatal MI were less frequent in the CCTA group compared with a control group. Conclusions: Despite a few gaps in knowledge about the value of a staging system of ACAD, the available evidence indicates that it is helpful in decreasing morbidity and mortality with available therapies
Forced draught impact on Externally Venting Flames: an experimental and numerical investigation
No full textWind can significantly influence fire development and spread in urban and forest environments causing fatal consequences for the public, the first responders, and the environment. Wind driven fires can have a significant impact on structural fires as wind can increase the fire's intensity, development, and flame spread. Buildings with flammable materials tend to be more vulnerable to wind-driven fires, as suggested by available data and evidence. In this study, medium-scale compartment–façade fire experiments were conducted using a reduced-scale ISO 9705 setup with heptane fuel and varied opening dimensions (20–40 cm) to examine Externally Venting Flames (EVF) under forced draught (FD) conditions. Using thermocouples and bi-directional probes, a systematic analysis of EVF behavior was carried out, providing key insights into flame projection and façade impact. These experimental results were then used to validate Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations performed in FDS. A parametric study was conducted to investigate the influence of wind on EVF from fire compartments with different opening dimensions. The research is beneficial in expanding understanding of EVF development using numerical and experimental techniques to study the influence of wind velocity, ventilation conditions and opening dimensions. Predictions of EVF flow, oxygen concentration and temperature profiles were investigated and results indicate that in forced draught conditions there is less thermal impact on façade walls as the wind forces EVF outward and thus increasing the EVF projection and decreasing its height. Keywords: Externally Venting Flames (EVF); Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD); forced draught conditions; compartment fires; wind-driven fire
Understanding adverse incident responses in mental health care: a qualitative study of systems-based patient safety practices
No full textBackground A key part of the patient safety system is how it responds to and learns from safety incidents. To date, there is limited research on understanding system-based approaches to investigating incidents that occur within this complex interacting system.
Objectives The aims of this study were to qualitatively explore mental health professionals’ perceptions of patient safety incident investigations; to understand the impact of the transition to systems-based approaches and to explore the influence of different elements of the system on the goals of patient safety.
Design, setting and participants The qualitative study involved 19 semi-structured interviews with professionals working within the patient safety system across two mental health National Health Service trusts. The data were analysed using thematic analysis.
Results Those interviewed identified that a change in approach to incident investigation, from root cause analysis to systems-based, would lead to rigorous investigations that are effectively linked to learning. Over time, this was described as a contributory factor to reducing feelings of blame and positively influencing safety culture. There were considerations of potential negative effects from a systems-based approach, such as the shifting rather than elimination of blame, and the possibility of missing individual poor practice. The findings identify the presence of several interdependencies across the system that could have a positive or negative influence on the outcomes of incident responses.
Conclusions This study demonstrates that the interdependencies within the system and our limited understanding of safety in mental healthcare introduces complexity and uncertainty to incident investigation outcomes. This is likely to impact on safety incident responses and learning, where acknowledging and evaluating this complexity is likely to reduce any potential negative outcomes that exist
Externally Venting Flames (EVF) dynamics and development in non-orthogonal geometries
No full textThe building industry is increasingly favouring green building initiatives resulting in increased use of different façade materials and systems, including materials with combustible characteristics, to meet stringent energy standards. This trend has highlighted the need to address the evolving fire safety challenges associated with modern and sustainable buildings. Particularly in high-rise buildings exterior fire spread and heat transfer caused by Externally Venting Flames (EVF) pose significant challenges as evidenced by the increased number of façade fire incidents worldwide. This present work aims to progress the current state of the art by investigating EVF characteristics and development in non-orthogonal curvilinear geometries. A database of recent façade fire incidents based on type of geometries was developed, indicating that curvilinear and/or non-orthogonal structures were involved in 43% of the reported fires. An experimental investigation was conducted to examine the effects of forced draught conditions on fully developed medium-scale rectilinear and curvilinear compartment with an emphasis on EVF behaviour. Aiming at better understanding the effect of wind on fire and EVF dynamics under different ventilation conditions a parametric study has been performed investigating the influence of wind with different fire compartment opening dimensions. Experimental results indicate that in forced draught conditions there is less thermal impact on a façade wall as the wind forces EVF outward increasing its projection and decreasing its height. A complementary numerical investigation using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was performed in curvilinear and orthogonal geometries to identify key factors influencing EVF development and their impact on the façade. A parametric study was undertaken by altering the geometry (curvilinear, rectilinear, and number of openings), ventilation conditions, and heat release rate. Sixteen different fire scenarios have been considered to investigate the accuracy of currently available empirical correlations in predicting EVF characteristics. Additionally, velocity, temperature and oxygen concentration spatial distributions were analysed in the interior and exterior of the fire compartment. Numerical results enabled assessing EVF development indicating that geometry, ventilation conditions and fire load may significantly affect fire characteristics and impact on the facade. This work provides a deeper insight into how EVF is influenced by façade design and environmental conditions advancing current understanding of EVF in the context of curvilinear non-orthogonal façade geometries. The research findings contribute to improved fire risk assessment and could potentially inform future fire safety design practices and guidelines
Motor unit behavior of lumbar multifidus during a forward trunk bending task performed under different speeds and loads in asymptomatic participants
No full textBackground: The lumbar multifidus (LM) plays a key role in static and dynamic stability; however, studies of LM motor unit behavior have yet to be extensively investigated. This study aimed to assess the test-retest reliability of motor unit behavior measurements using electromyography decomposition (dEMG) and to investigate the motor unit behavior under different speeds and loads in asymptomatic participants.
Methods: In this experimental repeated-measures design, 29 male and female asymptomatic participants were recruited. Motor unit behavior was measured during two sets of 60-second active trunk flexion exercises using dEMG under two speeds (15 and 25 repetitions/minute) and two loads (5% and 10% body weight). The action potential amplitude and motor unit firing rate were derived. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were used to determine within-session test-retest reliability, and a two-factor repeated-measure ANOVA was used to determine the effects of load and speed.
Results: Findings demonstrated acceptable within-session test-retest reliability (ICC>0.70) for most parameters. Significantly greater peak and average amplitudes and average firing rates were seen with an increase in speed, while greater average amplitudes and firing rates were seen with an increase in load.
Conclusion: These findings support the use of measures of LM motor unit behavior. Exercises at greater speeds and loads increase LM firing rates and amplitudes. A greater understanding of LM motor unit behavior may aid our understanding of rehabilitation protocols for low back pain
Human rights and the liberal tradition
No full textThis chapter analyses the historical relationship between liberalism, liberal legalism and human rights. It begins with an examination of the natural rights of the individual and the social contract to institute sovereign power as a means of securing those rights. It references eg. Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Charles de Montesquieu, Immanuel Kant and Thomas Paine. The chapter then moves away from the tradition of the social contract, into the 19th Century, with an examination of, say, Alexis de Tocqueville and John Stuart Mill. Then, further analyses of rights within liberalism are undertaken with reference to the egalitarian ideals of John Rawls and Ronald Dworkin compared to the libertarian ones of Friedrich von Hayek and Robert Nozick. The chapter concludes with a liberal defence of individual rights in times of emergency, from Jeremy Waldron and Lucia Zedner, following eg. the Islamist terror attacks on America on 11 September 2001
Categorising responsibilities and duties
No full textThe originality of this book is to ground a critical legal defence of human rights within the reciprocal responsibilities and duties arising from the exercise of rights. This chapter provides the book’s opportunity to analyse these responsibilities and duties. First, some rights’ theorists, such as Thomas Hobbes, Samuel Pufendorf and John Locke, believed that individuals had possessed natural rights, such as life and liberty, in the state of nature. Did others in the state of nature have reciprocal responsibilities to secure these natural rights? Maybe not, at least in a formal sense, since prima facie natural rights were absolute; they were unfettered. But the breach of individuals’ natural rights by others, in the state of nature, was circumscribed by natural law. Either way, because of the insecurity of the state of nature to protect natural rights, it was necessary for people to absent themselves from the natural state. The aim was to institute a political community, with a sovereign, whose duty was to protect these rights (if they endured after political sovereignty), as part of a social contract. Later theorists, such as Jeremy Bentham and John Austin, rejected the idea of natural rights, partly on the basis that a reciprocal – legal – duty to respect them was lacking. Over time, natural rights evolved into a broader number of human rights, comprising: civil and political rights, of which natural rights were the foundation; economic, social and cultural rights; and group rights, such as those of women, persons of colour, peoples etc. The significance of human rights became much more acute after the atrocities committed by Germany, Japan etc during World War II (WWII), culminating in the creation of the United Nations, in 1945. Human rights instruments arising after the creation of the United Nations, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966), proclaimed an extensive list of human rights to which everyone was entitled. However, the corresponding responsibilities of states, individuals etc to respect these rights were also included. For some, the possession of a human right is more important than the reciprocal duty to secure that right; but, for others, the reciprocal duty to secure a human right is maybe more important than the right itself. These are issues which this chapter explores
Reconstruction of Visual Appeal and Renewal of Dynamic Environments: Computational Methods and Innovative Strategies in the Future-oriented Digital Transformation of Heritage Museums
Get PDFIn the context of the digital economy driven by the Internet of Everything, the dissemination of cultural heritage is facing the challenge of transitioning from traditional to digital media. The study develops an introduction to the visual SLAM system, models the binocular camera configuration and the indoor and outdoor dense 3D reconstruction process, and designs a complete set of algorithms based on the calibration of the actual binocular camera, image correction, binocular stereo matching algorithm (SELAS), and real-time dense point cloud 3D reconstruction. Based on the real laboratory scene, the original ELAS algorithm is compared with the improved method for experiments, and the results show that the mean value of the deviation of the optimized S-ELAS algorithm is -0.046m, and the algorithm accuracy is remarkable. Then a virtual cultural relics museum based on the combination of visual SELAM system and VR technology is designed to realize close interaction with S-ELAS stereo matching algorithm. In order to test the performance of the designed cultural relics museum system, the users are firstly acclimatized, and then the screened users are tested to experience the virtual museum system, and the MOS scores are made after the test. The MOS scores show that the virtual cultural relics museum system has better interactivity and experience