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Reluctant acceptance:Exploring implementation and contextual factors influencing the acceptability of a newly implemented low emission zone in a UK urban setting. Urban Transitions
No full textLow emission zones (LEZ), known as Clean Air Zones (CAZ) in England, aim to improve air quality by restricting the movement of the most polluting vehicles in urban areas. Despite their increasing deployment across European cities, they remain a contentious policy amongst populations, with suggestions that they have adverse impacts, such as an inequitable impact on different communities. Few studies have explored how communities and businesses are impacted by the introduction of a CAZ. The current study explored adaptations made and attitudes towards the Bradford CAZ in the first year of implementation. Semi-structed interviews were conducted with 20 workers in professions which had the potential to be directly affected by the CAZ (e.g. bus and taxi firms, local tradespeople), and eight diverse focus groups held with 51 residents, between March - August 2023. Thematic analysis identified key themes inductively. Overall, respondents suggested that the CAZ worked as intended, encouraging businesses to upgrade vehicles. Mitigations such as exemptions and grants were used, but were not felt to be enough to support smaller businesses. The majority of participants supported the CAZ, but there were strong negative attitudes including dissatisfaction with how the intervention worked, feelings of unfairness, lack of trust in those implementing the intervention and issues with the communication of the policy. Policies such as CAZ operate within a complex system and it is important to systematically capture wider impacts, both positive and negative. Ultimately, these factors impact on political popularity, which will in turn influence the likely continued implementation of such policies at scale
Model updating and model selection for structural structures via Approximate Bayesian Computation
No full textApproximate Bayesian methods, or “likelihood-free” methods, have become a key component of modern statistical methodology, providing a framework for inference, prediction, and decision-making. Their versatility lies in their ability to handle parameter estimation, model selection, and uncertainty quantification within a unified probabilistic framework. In this work, Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) using an ellipsoidal Nested Sampling (NS) approach is employed to deal with model updating and model comparison issues applied to structural health monitoring. ABC methods rely essentially on the ability to simulate data from a simulator/forward model, bypassing the need to write down an explicit likelihood function, which is always far from trivial. These methods are particularly captivating because of the modelling freedom they provide; in addition, they are flexible in the sense that different discrepancy functions measuring the similarity between the observed modal data and the corresponding model output can be used. However, Bayesian inference methods usually require numerous forward model simulations to generate converged samples. To enhance the computational efficiency of the sampler, the minimum-volume enclosing ellipsoid (MVEE) is incorporated to better enclose the accepted particles and to guide the sampler more efficiently towards the highest probability region. The performance and the robustness of the novel sampler in structural model updating and model selection is demonstrated here via different numerical studies using modal data
InAs/InAlGaAs Quantum Dot Lasers on InP and Si
No full textWe report the development of InAs/InAlGaAs quantum-dot (QD) lasers grown on both InP and Si substrates. A modified indium flush technique was employed to control dot-height distribution and tailor the emission wavelength by using a strained partial capping layer. Using this approach, 7-stack InAs/InAlGaAs QD lasers on InP substrates exhibit a low threshold current density (Jth) of 63 A/cm2 per QD layer and high-temperature operation up to 140 °C. Furthermore, electrically pumped InAs/InAlGaAs QD lasers directly grown on Si are also demonstrated, with a low Jth of 1.35 kA/cm2 and a maximum operating temperature of 100 °C. This work highlights the effectiveness of the modified indium flush in achieving high-performance InAs/InAlGaAs QD lasers. These results represent a significant step forward in the development of high-performance C-/L-band QD lasers in the InAs/InAlGaAs/InP material system for Si photonics
A liquid thickener presentation format for the therapeutic management of dysphagia—a promising step forward in addressing the challenges associated with thickened fluids in swallowing disorders?
No full textIntroduction
Thickening fluids in routine care of patients with Oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD) can improve swallow safety but may be counteracted by reduced palatability, enjoyment, embarrassment, and isolation related to drinking thickened fluids (TFs). TFs are also associated with increased caregiver burden and significant lifestyle alterations. Thus, there persists a need to overcome these disadvantages. Precise Thick∼N INSTANT (PTI) is an innovative thickener product in viscosity-inhibited liquid form that presents a promising step forward in addressing the challenges. This prospective multi-centre single-arm feasibility study of acceptability (derived from measured variables gastrointestinal (GI) tolerance, palatability, compliance and user experience) compared PTI to usual mode of care (powder) in a cohort of patients with OD.
Methods
Oral fluids were thickened with PTI, adhering to standardised requirements, and were tested for palatability (primary outcome), ease of use, GI symptoms and compliance by medically diagnosed patients with OD for 14 days, following 7days under usual mode of care and a 5-day washout period. Data was analysed descriptively, presenting effect sizes with associated precision and indicative significance testing of key variables.
Results
Twenty-four participants provided usable data. Mean overall palatability ratings revealed significantly higher palatability perceptions (p < 0.001) in uncorrected paired-samples t-testing for PTI-TFs (difference in means 3.83 [95% CI 2.60 to 5.05]) on 10-point visual analogue scale, favouring beverages thickened with PTI over usual mode of care. Compared with usual mode of care, PTI thickener showed substantive improvements in all individual palatability and satisfaction/ease of use attributes, equivalent or improved symptoms of GI and excellent levels of GI tolerance and compliance. GI side effects (e.g., nausea, bloating) were mild and of short duration.
Conclusion
PTI-TFs were more palatable, acceptable, and well tolerated in patients with OD and strongly preferred over powder thickened TFs, with improved compliance and reduced wastage. PTI is a palatable, acceptable and well-tolerated way to support optimal hydration in adults with OD.
WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS
What is already known on this subject
Thickening fluids in routine care of patients with OD can improve swallow safety but can be counteracted by reduced palatability and enjoyment, embarrassment, and isolation related to drinking thickened fluids (TFs). TFs are also associated with increased caregiver burden and significant lifestyle alterations. OD concomitant with aphasia is common in some OD subpopulations; however, these patients are typically excluded from research due to the lack of aphasia friendly survey tools. There persists a need to overcome these disadvantages.
What this paper adds to existing knowledge
The current investigation is the first study to directly compare acceptability (derived from the measured variables palatability, tolerance, ease of use and preference) for TFs thickened using different thickener presentation formats in the same patient cohort. The liquid thickener intervention is a palatable, acceptable, and well-tolerated way to support optimal hydration in adults with OD. In addition, aphasia-accessible study materials have been developed to facilitate future recruitment and data collection from this underserved subgroup.
What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?
PTI thickened beverages are recommended for consumption by patients suffering from OD as an alternative to powdered thickened TFs. PTI is a palatable, acceptable, and well-tolerated way to support optimal hydration in adults with OD prescribed TFs. This study also highlights an important methodological advancement in OD research related to inclusion of participants with language impairment
Microwave subsampler using cascaded cold pHEMTs
No full textWe propose a concept using cascaded cold pHEMTs to implement a microwave sampler for subsampling use. The MMIC concept supports slewed control voltages as well as digital square-wave control signals. As such, the control voltages could be from oscillator sources, or from logic signals that have poor fidelity caused by PCB parasitics, etc. Sampling losses of circa 14 dB have been simulated in subsampling mode with RF input at 10th harmonic of the sampling frequency
The influence of surgeon seniority and intestinal failure experience on identifying malnourished patients in emergency general surgery: a national survey
No full textBackground
Variation exists in how consultant surgeons identify malnutrition in emergency general surgery (EGS) patients. These relate to differences in surgeon knowledge, understanding, ownership and hospital setting. Little is known regarding how these relate to nonconsultant surgeons, or those with experience of intestinal failure (IF).
Aims
This study aimed to characterise the awareness, practice and training of general surgeons in the identification of malnutrition in the emergency setting.
Methods
The survey focused on three domains: perceptions, current practices and nutrition training. Following piloting, EGS surgeons were invited to complete an online survey. Responses were gathered using Qualtrics. Descriptive analysis and associations with surgeon seniority and IF were performed in SPSSv26. Ethical approval was obtained (UREC 050436). Results are reported with reference to the CHERRIES guidelines.
Results
The completion rate was 52.1% (148/284), of whom 49.7% were nonconsultant surgeons and 46.6% had experience of IF. Surgeons from all UK regions completed the survey. There was strong agreement across participants that malnutrition can affect surgical outcomes and identifying it was an important skill for surgeons. However, only 37.2% (55/148) were confident in doing so. Surgeons with IF experience were significantly more confident than those without (49.3% vs 26.6%). Training was reportedly poor, and local teaching or a short course aimed at surgeons in training was considered most helpful in the future.
Conclusions
Identifying malnutrition in EGS is recognised as an important skill most surgeons feel they are lacking. Support for formal training in this area was high
Becoming Familiar with the Nonhuman Organizational Stranger
No full textThis chapter reviews a selection of research with relevance to social aspects of working with animals. Citing classic and cutting-edge research encapsulated by the field of Human-Animal Work (HAW) or Animal Organization Studies (AOS), it charts the development and current status of empirical research and theorization on the nature of human-animal relations and interactions in commercial/ work settings. The review is structured by category to navigate a variety of occupational and theoretical enquiries. Threading the narrative of familiarity and strangeness through the chapter, connections are drawn between empirically and theoretically disparate pieces of research. The aim is to make the ‘strange’ (in this case, the non-traditional focus on nonhuman animals) more ‘familiar’ to mainstream scholarship on business, work and organizing. The chapter concludes by speculating on important and timely areas for new research and teaching in this field
Predicting animal movement with deepSSF : A deep learning step selection framework
No full textPredictions of animal movement are vital for understanding and managing wild populations. However, the fine-scale, complex decision-making of animals can pose challenges for the accurate prediction of trajectories. Integrated step selection functions (iSSFs), a common tool for inferring relationships between animal movement and the environment, are also increasingly used to simulate animal trajectories for prediction. Although admitting a lot of flexibility, the iSSF framework is limited to its reliance on pre-defined functional forms for fitting to data, and iSSFs that involve complex functional forms to model detailed processes can be prohibitively difficult to fit and interpret.
Here, we present deepSSF, an approach to fit and predict animal movement data using deep learning. The deepSSF approach replaces the log-linear model of an iSSF with a neural network architecture that receives multiple environmental layers and scalar values as inputs and outputs a single layer representing the next-step probability. We demonstrate an example deepSSF model, built in PyTorch, consisting of distinct but interacting habitat selection and movement subnetworks. This allows for explicit representation of both selection and movement processes, thus giving interpretable intermediate outputs. We apply our model to GPS data of introduced water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) in the tropical savannas of Northern Australia.
Our deepSSF model was able to learn features that are present in the habitat covariate layers, such as linear features (rivers, forest edges) and the composition of certain habitat areas, without having to specify them pre-emptively within the model framework. It was able to capture complex interactions between the habitat covariates as well as temporal dynamics across time of day and year. Finally, our deepSSF model generally had better in- and out-of-sample predictive accuracy than the analogous iSSF model.
We expect that the deepSSF approach will generate accurate and informative predictions about animal movement, which can be used for deepening our understanding of animal–environment systems and for the practical management of species. We discuss how the wide range of existing deep learning tools could enable the deepSSF approach to be extended to represent memory and social dynamic processes, with the potential for integrating non-spatial data sources such as accelerometers and physiological sensors
British supervisors’ conceptions of ideal and successful PhD attributes and their implications for equity in doctoral candidate selection
No full textPurpose This study aims to explore supervisors’ conceptions of successful and ideal doctoral students’ attributes and their implications for integrating equity and diversity considerations into the doctoral selection process. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a qualitative approach and analyses data from extensive interviews with senior academics and a member of the professional staff in England on their perspectives of the attributes of ideal and successful doctoral candidates. The study is conceptually framed by the Research Development Framework (RDF) and an adapted ecosystem model of the factors influencing PhD completion (Lovitts, 2005). Findings The findings reveal that supervisors value both cognitive and non-cognitive attributes, with the majority of the non-cognitive attributes categorised in the RDF sub-domains of personal qualities, self-management, working with others and communication and dissemination. Non-cognitive attributes were, moreover, valued not just for their contribution to doctoral success but also to the doctoral experience. Practical implications In contrast to the typically narrow criteria emphasised in UK doctoral selection, the authors argue that a wider, more holistic, range of attributes better represents what supervisors actually value, while offering greater opportunities for equitable selection of diverse doctoral cohorts. Two key macroenvironmental challenges are discussed: the difficulty of selecting for highly valued non-cognitive attributes and the importance of institutional support for the creation and sustainability of more equitable selection processes. Originality/value This paper deepens the literature on supervisors’ perceptions of the qualities or attributes of doctoral success and links this to the use of criteria that avoid reinforcing structural racial inequities in higher education