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Ocean Warming Impairs the Predator Avoidance Behaviour of Elasmobranch Embryos
No full textEmbryogenesis is a vulnerable stage in elasmobranch development due in part to high predation mortality. Embryonic elasmobranchs respond to potential predators by displaying a freezing behaviour, characterised by the cessation of pharyngeal respiration followed immediately by coiling of the tail around the body. We hypothesised that the duration of this freeze response is limited by the embryo’s requirement for oxygen. Here, Scyliorhinus canicula embryos were incubated at either 15˚C or 20˚C during embryogenesis and tested for the duration of, and metabolic response to, the freeze response at their respective incubation temperature. Freeze response duration was negatively impacted by routine metabolic rate; embryos at 20˚C had a 7-fold shorter freeze duration than those at 15˚C, potentially increasing their susceptibility to predation. These data demonstrate the capacity for climate change stressors to affect animal behaviour and suggest that this may occur by eliciting changes in the organism’s metabolism. We suggest altered predator avoidance behaviour is a new factor to consider when assessing the impact of climate change on the conservation and management of oviparous elasmobranch species
The presence and characteristics of ‘spin’ among randomized controlled trial abstracts in orthodontics
No full textObjectives: To identify the presence and characteristics of spin (using reporting strategies to distort study results and mislead readers) within randomized controlled trial (RCT) abstracts published in orthodontic journals, and to explore the association between spin and potentially related factors.Methods: A manual search was conducted to identify abstracts of RCTs with statistically nonsignificant primary outcomes published in 5 leading orthodontic journals between 2015 and 2020. Spin in the Results and Conclusions sections of each included abstract was evaluated and categorized according to pre-determined spin strategies. Logistic regression analyses were employed to explore the association between spin and relevant factors.Results: A total of 111 RCT abstracts were included, of which 69 (62.2%) were identified with spin. In the Results section, 47 (42.3%) abstracts had spin, and ‘focusing on significant withingroup comparison for primary outcomes’ was the most frequent spin strategy. In the Conclusions section, 57 (51.4%) abstracts presented spin, with the most common strategy being ‘claiming equivalence or non-inferiority for statistically nonsignificant results’. According to multivariable logistic regression analysis, a significantly lower presence of spin was found in studies with international collaboration (OR: 0.331, 95% CI: 0.120 to 0.912, P = 0.033) and trial registration (OR: 0.336, 95% CI: 0.117 to 0.962, P = 0.042).Conclusion: The prevalence of spin is high among RCT abstracts in orthodontics. Clinicians need to be aware of the definition and presence of spin. Concerted efforts are needed from researchers and other stakeholders to address this issue
Patient social functioning in acute mental health inpatient wards: the role of emotional regulation, attachment styles and nurse-patient relationships
No full textBackground: Improvement in social functioning is an important aspect of recovery from severe mental health problems. Nurses on acute mental health wards play an important role in facilitating this recovery. It is therefore important to explore potential predictors of social functioning and the quality of nurse-patient relationships. Objectives: To explore associations between patient social functioning, nurse-patient therapeutic alliance, emotional regulation, attachment style and nurse distress in acute mental health settings. Design: Questionnaire-based, cross-sectional study with correlational and regression analyses. Settings: Acute mental health inpatient wards across four NHS trusts in the North-West of England. Participants: Fifty nurse-patient dyads. Methods: Patients and nurses completed questionnaires regarding demographic information, emotional regulation, attachment style and alliance. Nurses also rated patient social functioning and their own distress.Results: Patient anxious attachment style was associated with difficulties in regulating emotions. Patient emotion regulation, patient insecure attachment and the patient-rated alliance predicted nurse-rated patient social functioning. Nurse emotion regulation, nurse insecure attachment style and nurse-rated alliance did not significantly predict nurse-rated patient social functioning and correlations were non-significant. Nurse distress was associated with nurse emotion regulation, nurse anxious attachment and nurse-rated alliance. These factors significantly predicted nurse distress. Conclusions: Patient social functioning is predicted by emotion regulation, attachment and alliance. Similarly, nurse distress is predicted by nurse emotion regulation, attachment style and alliance. Interventions targeting emotion regulation or attachment informed wards would be beneficial. <br/
High performance thin film IGZO Schottky diodes with sputtered PdOx anode
No full textThin film Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) based on amorphous oxide semiconductors play an important role in flexible and wearable electronics. In this work, thin film SBDs based on indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (InGaZnO or IGZO) were fabricated with sputtered PdOx/Pd top Schottky contact and low temperature (100 ℃ ) annealing in air atmosphere. The PdOx produces an oxygen-rich stoichiometry in the Schottky interface, resulting in high quality contact with rather low interface trap state density of 2.6×1017 cm-3 and extremely low barrier inhomogeneity of 0.01 eV. As a result, high performance IGZO SBDs were achieved with high on/off ratio of 3×107, near-unity ideality factor of 1.04, barrier height of 0.85 eV, high on-current density of 2.5 A·cm-2 at 1 V, and high reverse breakdown voltage of ~12 V
Towards a fairer reimbursement system for burn patients using cost-sensitive classification
No full textThe adoption of the Prospective Payment System (PPS) in the UK National Health Service (NHS) has led to the creation of patient groups called Health Resource Groups (HRG). HRGs aim to identify groups of clinically similar patients that share similar resource usage for reimbursement purposes. These groups are predominantly identified based on expert advice, with homogeneity checked using the length of stay (LOS). However, for complex patients such as those encountered in burn care, LOS is not a perfect proxy of resource usage, leading to incomplete homogeneity checks. To improve homogeneity in resource usage and severity, we propose a data-driven model and the inclusion of patient-level costing. We investigate whether a data-driven approach that considers additional measures of resource usage can lead to a more comprehensive model. In particular, a cost-sensitive decision tree model is adopted to identify features of importance and rules that allow for a focused segmentation on resource usage (LOS and patient-level cost) and clinical similarity (severity of burn). The proposed approach identified groupswith increased homogeneity compared to the current HRG groups, allowing for a more equitable reimbursement of hospital care costs if adopted
Is COVID-19 associated with self-reported audio-vestibular symptoms?
No full textObjective: To determine if a positive test for COVID-19 is associated with self-reported audio-vestibular symptoms.Design: Self-reported changes in hearing, tinnitus, hyperacusis, and dizziness/rotatory vertigo were assessed in hospitalised and non-hospitalised COVID-19 patients during and after the acute phase of the disease and compared to non-COVID controls. Study sample: There were 150 severe cases of COVID-19 requiring hospital admission and 150 mild cases that were managed at home. Controls were 267 adults, 32 of whom had been hospitalised for a non-COVID-19 condition, and a further 85 who worked in hospital settings.Results : Deterioration in hearing and/or tinnitus was reported in 8% of the COVID-19 cases (tinnitus had resolved in 2% after the acute phase), with no significant difference between severe and mild cases. Deterioration in hearing or tinnitus was not significantly different from controls. However, rotatory vertigo was reported by 5% in the COVID-19 groups and 1.1% in the controls, and this difference was statistically significant.Conclusions: There is no evidence that COVID-19 results in deterioration in hearing or tinnitus during the acute phase or after recovery in mild or severe cases. However, rotatory vertigo, which could be vestibular in origin, may be a clinical manifestation of COVID-19
Online Counselling and Psychotherapy text books for the person-centred and experiential psychotherapies: from COVID-19 and beyond
No full textExperimental and numerical investigation on post earthquake fire behaviour of the circular concrete filled steel tube columns
No full textPost earthquake fire is a common disaster which cause s serious safety issues to infrastructures . This study aims to investigate the residual loading capacities of circular concrete filled steel tube (CFST) columns under post earthquake fire experimentally and numerically. The experimental programme contains two loading steps pre damage cyclic loading at room temperature and transient state tests with constant compression loads. Three finite element models are developed and validated against the test results. Upon validation, a total of 48 numerical results were generated in the parametric study to investigate the effects of thickness and strengths of steel tube, axial compression ratio and damage degree on the fire resistance of circular CFST columns. Based on the analysis on experimental and numerical results, the loading mechanism of circular CFST columns is discussed. A design method is proposed for the prediction of fire resistance time under different seismic pre damage and compression loads. The predictions by the new method is compared with the newly generated experimental and numerical results and is found to be accurate and consistent with the mean value close to the unity and a coefficient of variation around 1
Student, academic and professional services staff perspectives of postgraduate researcher wellbeing and help-seeking: a mixed-methods co-designed investigation
No full textPurpose This study aimed to address three key gaps in existing knowledge about postgraduate researchers’ (PGRs) wellbeing. It investigated the (i) frequency and nature of depression, anxiety, and wellbeing amongst PGRs, and relatedly, characteristics that convey vulnerability (ii) factors that impact PGR wellbeing, and (iii) factors that influence help-seeking.Design/methodology/approach The mixed-methods design comprised quantitative and qualitative approaches. Using opportunity sampling, 585 PGRs registered at a large UK University completed an online survey. The perspectives of a purposive sample of academic and Professional Services staff (n = 61) involved in supporting PGRs were sought through in-depth focus groups and semi-structured interviews, which were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using inductive thematic analysis.FindingsPGRs scored lower on measures of wellbeing and higher on measures of anxiety and depression compared with aged-matched groups in the general population. PGR wellbeing was positively affected by personal and professional relationships, and negatively affected by academic challenges and mental health problems. Academic supervisors were the primary source of support for students experiencing wellbeing difficulties. Thematic analysis revealed four domains that impact upon PGR wellbeing: postgraduate researcher identity; pressures and expectations of postgraduate research; complexity of the supervisor role; and pinch points in postgraduate research. Each domain had associations with help-seeking behaviours. Originality/value This study provides evidence that the PGR experience is perceived to be distinct from that of other students and this helps understand sources of stress and barriers to help-seeking. It provides a steer as to how higher education institutions could better support the PGR learning experience. <br/
