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Women, gender, and the professionalisation of French cultural diplomacy in Britain, 1900–40
No full textConnecting Communities GM PCIE Forum 2021 Sharing Event Week of the 18th October 2021
No full textThe aim of this session will be to describe how we have co-produced a guide for patients and carers to help to address key patient safety questions and identify key points where they can make their care safer. We worked with patients, carers, general practitioners and pharmacists from across Greater Manchester. Background: Patients and carers should be actively involved in their patient safety and empowered to use person-centred approaches where they are asked to both identify safety concerns and partner in preventing them.Approach: We conducted three workshops with patients, carers, community pharmacists and general practitioners to develop and refine the patient safety guide. Alongside these workshops we worked with a public involvement group to develop the approach and the guide.Results: Co-developing the patient safety guide provided insight to improve care. The approach helped to identify the main factors that influenced people’s engagement with patient safety and actions that people could do to improve their patient safety. The importance of communication, understanding roles and responsibilities, and developing partnerships between patients and healthcare providers were considered essential for actively involving patients in patient safety. Discussion:Using a co-design approach identified important points where patient safety in routine primary care can be improved using patient and clinician experiences with a key focus on how the guide could be used in practice. The patient safety guide is the first guide to be developed for primary care, co-designed with patients, carers, general practitioners and pharmacists. <br/
Differences in walking football initiation and maintenance influences across respondent characteristics: a cross-sectional survey in 50-75 year -old adults
No full textDespite health benefits gained from physical activity and sport participation, older adults are less likely to be active. This study investigates what influences 50–75-year-olds (N=439) to initiate and maintain walking football, across gender, socioeconomic status, number of health conditions and physical activity level. It also considers relationships between participant characteristics and influences, and intentions to play after a forced break (COVID-19). Results of a UK online cross-sectional survey found those with two or more health conditions rated social influences significantly higher in initiation and maintenance, than participants with no health conditions. Multiple regression analysis found a positive walking football culture and perceived use of maintenance resources contributed significantly to intentions to return to play after COVID-19 restrictions eased. Practitioners should consider providing opportunities for social connection, foster a positive walking football culture, and encourage players to utilise maintenance resources (e.g., scheduling sessions) in older adult walking football sessions.Keywords: behaviour change, soccer, physical activity, survey research, older adults<br/
Selective laser melting of Er modified AlSi7Mg alloy: Effect of processing parameters on forming quality, microstructure and mechanical properties
No full textSelective Laser Melting (SLM) was used to fabricate Erbium-modified AlSi7Mg alloy. The work aims to investigate the effects of laser volumetric energy density and focus shift on surface quality, internal defects and microstructure during the SLM process. Based on the optimized process parameters, the effect of rare earth element Er to AlSi7Mg alloy on its microstructure and mechanical properties were studied. With a raise of volumetric energy density, the size of aluminum sub-cells increases, and the high energy density promotes the in-situ precipitation of supersaturated silicon elements in the form of dispersed silicon particles. It was thought that the laser focus shift could change the energy density and the molten pool size, which affected the internal defects and the size of sub-cells plus eutectic silicon particles. The alloy (A357 + 0.2Er wt.%) fabricated by SLM was operating with the optimized processing parameters, then a small amount of equiaxed grains were formed at the boundary of the molten pool, which would promote the refinement of columnar grains and improve the mechanical properties. Meanwhile, the yield strength was 297 MPa, the tensile strength was 441 MPa and the elongation was 8%
Holes, Piers and Canyons: Absence as Emancipatory Space in Ulysses
No full textIn this article, I suggest that James Joyce creates newly active reading practices through his use of textual gaps in Ulysses. Instead of presenting readers with difficulties or frustrations, these gaps can be seen as emancipatory, asking readers to choose their own path, create their own meanings, and sit with uncertainty. I focus on how textual gaps are created within the ostensibly traditional forms of ‘Circe’ and ‘Ithaca’, represented as a play-script and a catechism respectively. I metaphorically characterise these empty spaces in the text as a hole in rock, a pier, and a canyon to think through the different readerly responses they facilitate and inspire. Whether readers choose to move through the hole in rock, remain contemplative at the end of the pier, or shout across Joyce’s authorial canyon represents a democratic choice, giving us the important space to engage with Ulysses on our own terms
On Local Input-Output Stability of Nonlinear Feedback Systems via Local Graph Separation
No full textA new type of local input-output stability for nonlinear systems is defined, called M-local boundedness, which can be viewed as a local version of established definitions of global boundedness. This definition states that the system is bounded if the input Lebesgue signal has a norm smaller than M. Using graph separation concepts and a novel topological argument, which partitions the output space of the system into feasible and infeasible regions based on the restriction of the system input, sufficient conditions for M-local boundedness of a nonlinear feedback system are derived. Using this theorem, a new local nonlinear small gain condition is found for a closed-loop system with additive inputs. This small gain condition is then used in a numerical example, in which a differential equation with a quadratic element was partitioned into a feedback system and bounds on the norm of the input were found which ensured the system was M-locally stable
Modelling and controller design for a five-link inverted pendulum
No full textThe inverted pendulum is a fast-moving, highly nonlinear and unstable system with multiple variables and nonminimum phase that requires effective stabilization controllers. Therefore, studies into inverted pendulum systems theoretically and practically have great significance. The Euler-Lagrange Equation is used to calculate the mathematical model for a five-link inverted pendulum system. Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) and H∞ are implemented using the developed model, with the Kalman Filter serving as the observer. The closed-loop system are simulated by the Matlab-Simscape platform and the controller are evaluated in relation to the system performance
Development and external validation of prediction models for adverse health outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis: a multinational real-world cohort analysis
No full textBackgroundIdentification of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients at high risk of adverse health outcomes remains a major challenge. We aimed to develop and validate prediction models for a variety of adverse health outcomes in RA patients initiating first-line methotrexate (MTX) monotherapy. MethodsData from 15 claims and electronic health record databases across 9 countries were used. Models were developed and internally validated on Optum® De-identified Clinformatics® Data Mart Database using L1-regularized logistic regression to estimate the risk of adverse health outcomes within 3 months (leukopenia, pancytopenia, infection), 2 years (myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke), and 5 years (cancers [colorectal, breast, uterine]) after treatment initiation. Candidate predictors included demographic variables and past medical history. Models were externally validated on all other databases. Performance was assessed using the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC) and calibration plots. FindingsModels were developed and internally validated on 21,547 RA patients and externally validated on 131,928 RA patients. Models for serious infection (AUC: internal 0.74, external ranging from 0.62 to 0.83), MI (AUC: internal 0.76, external ranging from 0.56 to 0.82), and stroke (AUC: internal 0.77, external ranging from 0.63 to 0.95), showed good discrimination and adequate calibration. Models for the other outcomes showed modest internal discrimination (AUC < 0.65) and were not externally validated.InterpretationWe developed and validated prediction models for a variety of adverse health outcomes in RA patients initiating first-line MTX monotherapy. Final models for serious infection, MI, and stroke demonstrated good performance across multiple databases and can be studied for clinical use.<br/
“My life isn't my life, it's the system’s”: A qualitative exploration of women’s experiences of day-to-day restrictive practices as inpatients
No full textIntroductionInpatient care often involves restrictive interventions such as seclusion and restraint and restrictive practices that limit the person’s freedom, rights, and daily activities. Restrictive practice has not been the explicit focus in previous research however, it often appears as an important theme, with participants identifying it can have a detrimental effect on their wellbeing. More research specifically on this topic in an inpatient setting is therefore needed. Women might be particularly vulnerable to adverse effects of restrictive practices compared to men as women generally occupy less powerful positions in society and more often experience abuse. AimsThe study aimed to explore women’s experiences of routine restrictive practices in mental health inpatient settings. MethodsTwenty-two women who were currently inpatients on mental health wards were interviewed about their experiences of restrictive practices in hospital. Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. ResultsAn overarching theme emerged of powerlessness. Four key subthemes were also identified: restrictions perceived as punitive, having no voice, impact of restrictions on relationships, and restrictions providing safety and support. DiscussionAlthough restrictive practices were found to provide the women with a sense of safety, they were also found to impact upon the women’s well-being, leading to increases in self-harm and over-reliance on restrictions. Implications for practiceThis research highlights the importance of gender-informed inpatient services for women that foster independence, empowerment and allow women to have their voices heard. Safewards interventions such as clear mutual expectations and soft words could contribute to mitigating the impact of restrictive practices
Investigation of the Electronic Structure and Luminescence Spectra of Uranium-(IV), -(V) and -(VI) Complexes Using Multi-configurational Methods
No full textInterpreting electronic spectra of uranium-containing compounds is an important component of fundamental chemistry as well as in the assessment of waste streams in the nuclear fuel cycle. Here we employ multiconfigurational calculations with CASSCF or DMRGSCF methods on exemplar uranium molecules [UVIO2Cl4]2-, [UV(TRENTIPS)(N)]- and [UIVCl5(THF)]-, featuring an array of geometries and oxidation states, to determine their effectiveness in predicting electronic spectra, compared to literature calculations and experimental data. For [UVIO2Cl4]2-, DMRGSCF alone shows poor agreement with experiment, which can be improved by adding corrections for dynamic correlation with MC-PDFT to give results of similar quality to TD-DFT. However, for [UV(TRENTIPS)(N)]- the addition of dynamical correlation via MC-PDFT or CASPT2 made no improvements over CASSCF, suggesting that perhaps other factors such as solvation effects could be more important in this case. Finally, for [UIVCl5(THF)]-, dynamical correlation included via MS-CASPT2 on top of CASSCF calculations is crucial to obtain a quantitatively correct spectrum; here, MC-PDFT fails to even qualitatively describe the spectrum, highlighting the shortcomings of single-state methods in cases of near-degeneracy