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The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on People Experiencing Incarceration: a Systematic Review
Get PDFObjective To assess the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on people experiencing incarceration (PEI), focusing particularly on clinical outcomes compared with thegeneral population.Design Systematic review with narrative synthesis in accordance with the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination’s good practice guidelines.Data sources Medline, Social Policy and Practice, Criminology Connection, ASSIA, EMBASE, SCOPUS, Web Of Science, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Cochrane COVID-19 reviews, COVID-19 Evidence Reviews and L*OVE COVID-19Evidence databases were searched up to 21 October 2022.Eligibility criteria for selecting studies We included studies presenting data specific to adults ≥18 years experiencing incarceration, with exposure to SARS-CoV-2 infection. All studies with a comparison group, regardless of study design and country were included. Studies with no comparison group data or not measuring clinical outcomes/health inequalities were excluded. Studiesfocussing on detained migrants, forensic hospitals, prison staff and those not in English were also excluded.Data extraction and synthesis Two reviewers extracted data and assessed risk of bias. Data underwent narrative synthesis using a framework analysis based on the objectives, for infection rates, testing, hospitalisation,mortality, vaccine uptake rates and mental health outcomes. There was no scope for meta-analysis, due to the heterogeneity of evidence available.Results 4516 references were exported from the databases and grey literature searched, of which 55 met the inclusion criteria. Most were from the USA andwere retrospective analyses. Compared with the general population, PEI were usually found to have higher rates of SARS-CoV-2infection and poorer clinical outcomes.Conflicting data were found regarding vaccine uptake andtesting rates compared with the general population. The mental health of PEI declined during the pandemic. Certain subgroups were more adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as ethnic minorities and older PEI.Conclusion PEI have poorer COVID-19 clinical outcomes than the general public, as shown by largely low-quality heterogenous evidence. Further high-qualityresearch of continuing clinical outcomes and appropriate mitigatinginterventions is required to assess downstream effects of the pandemic on PEI. However, performing such research in the context of incarceration facilities is highly complex and potentially challenging. Prioritisation of resources forthis vulnerable group should be a focus of national policy in the event of future pandemics.PROSPERO registration number CRD42022296968
School-based delivery of a dialogic book sharing intervention: a feasibility study of Books Together
Get PDFIntroduction: Growing numbers of children enter mainstream education without the skills needed to prosper in the school environment. Without additional support, these children face poor long-term outcomes in terms of academic attainment, mental health difficulties and social problems. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility and acceptability of school-based delivery of the Books Together dialogic book sharing program to groups of parents, and to explore whether it impacts parent and child outcomes in order to facilitate school readiness.Methods: Parents of children aged 3–5 years old (n = 16) were recruited from four North Wales primary schools. Video observations of parent/child interactions, a gaming format measure of expressive child language ability, parent-report measures of children’s behavior, and social-emotional ability and of their parental competence were collected pre- and post-intervention. Thematic analysis of interviews with parents and the school-based staff who delivered the program explored feasibility and acceptability of the program.Results: Significant post-intervention increases in observed positive parenting and child expressive language skills and significant reductions in observed negative parenting were found. Parents reported significantly higher rates of child prosocial behavior and social/emotional ability as well as improved parenting competency at follow-up. Thematic analysis showed that staff and parents were satisfied with the program and that it was feasible to deliver in a school environment.Discussion: The Books Together program is a low-cost intervention that, when delivered by school-based staff, shows promise for increasing the use of parenting strategies that build children’s language and social/emotional skills associated with school readiness
Point-to-point intensity modulation and direct detection flexible transceivers incorporating cascaded inverse fast fourier transform/fast fourier transform-based multi-channel aggregation/de-aggregation techniques
Get PDFAbstractPoint‐to‐point (P2P) flexible transceivers are the key technical enabler to cost‐effectively offer fast, dynamic, and ‘just‐the‐right‐size’ ultra‐dense P2P connectivity for various applications including remote equipment control and distributed fibre networks. However, existing flexible transceivers originally designed for hub‐and‐spoke traffic patterns are sub‐optimal. To effectively address such technical issue, a P2P flexible transceiver incorporating a cascaded inverse fast fourier transform/fast fourier transform‐based multi‐channel aggregation/de‐aggregation technique and analogue in‐phase and quadrature (IQ) mixers is proposed and numerically evaluated in a 56Gbps@20 km intensity modulation and direct detection transmission system. The proposed P2P flexible transceivers not only support adaptive and flexible variations in both channel count and channel line rate but also offer additional physical layer network security
The influence of low resistance respiratory muscle training on pulmonary function and high intensity exercise performance
Get PDFBACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Respiratory muscle training (RMT) was recognized as an effective means to improve respiratory muscle (RM) strength and enhance exercise performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of low-intensity RMT on RM strength, pulmonary function, and performance.METHODS: Fourteen healthy active adults were assigned randomly to either a training or placebo group. The training group completed six weeks of RMT, which consisted of a first week, 1 set of 15 min/d, 5 d/wk at 10-25% of maximal inspiratory pressure (PImax), and the remaining 5 weeks, 2 sets of 15 min/d, 5 d/wk, at 30% PImax. The placebo group followed the same protocol but with almost no additional ventilatory resistance. Measurement of RM strength and endurance, spirometry, and endurance exercise performance were obtained before and after the RMT program.RESULTS: In the training group, PImax (+14%) and maximal expiratory pressure (PEmax, +27%), forced vital capacity (FVC, +3.6%), maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max, +11%), and time to exhaustion (Tlim90%, +25%) increased significantly from baseline values (P < 0.05). No significant changes were observed in the placebo group. Also, no significant interaction in maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV12), minute ventilation (VE), and respiratory rate (RR) were detected.CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that low-intensity RMT is an effective tool to improve RM strength, pulmonary elastic properties and endurance exercise performance.</p
Supporting individuals with an acquired brain injury: An interpretative phenomenological study exploring the everyday lives of caregivers
Get PDFAcquired brain injury (ABI) is one of the most common causes of disability and death globally. Support from informal caregivers is critical to the wellbeing and quality of life of people with ABI and supports the sustainability of global health and social care systems. This study presents an in-depth qualitative analysis of the experiences of 8 British informal caregivers supporting someone with ABI. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with narratives transcribed verbatim and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Three superordinate themes were generated: making sense of brain injury; being consumed by caregiving; and the changing self. These data highlight the impact of caregiving on caregiver’s illness perceptions and sense of self. By identifying negative and positive changes in caregiver’s sense of self, and dilemmas regarding the care recipient’s behaviour, we address less understood aspects of caregiver experiences. Caregiving can pose both challenges to the caregiver’s sense of identity and an opportunity for self-growth. Some caregivers exhibit resilience throughout their journey, with post-traumatic growth more apparent in the later stages of caregiving. Illness perceptions shape caregiver wellbeing and family dynamics, and indicate the need to address stigmatisation and discrimination faced by ABI survivors and caregivers. Although some caregivers acquired positive meaning and enrichment from their caregiving, previously described challenges of ABI caregiving are supported. Overall, our findings support the need for timely psychological/mental health support for caregivers, caregiver education, and the provision of short breaks from caregiving
The power of citizen science to advance fungal conservation
Get PDFFungal conservation is gaining momentum globally, but many challenges remain. To advance further, more data are needed on fungal diversity across space and time. Fundamental information regarding population sizes, trends, and geographic ranges is also critical to accurately assess the extinction risk of individual species. However, obtaining these data is particularly difficult for fungi due to their immense diversity, complex and problematic taxonomy, and cryptic nature. This paper explores how citizen science (CS) projects can be leveraged to advance fungal conservation efforts. We present several examples of past and ongoing CS‐based projects to record and monitor fungal diversity. These include projects that are part of broad collecting schemes, those that provide participants with targeted sampling methods, and those whereby participants collect environmental samples from which fungi can be obtained. We also examine challenges and solutions for how such projects can capture fungal diversity, estimate species absences, broaden participation, improve data curation, and translate resulting data into actionable conservation measures. Finally, we close the paper with a call for professional mycologists to engage with amateurs and local communities, presenting a framework to determine whether a given project would likely benefit from participation by citizen scientists
On the fair scheduling of truck drivers in delivery companies: balancing fairness and profit
Get PDFFairness is crucial in transportation systems to ensure that all drivers are treated equally and have the same opportunities. Fair payment policies, equal access to work opportunities, and fair scheduling are some of the policies delivery companies implement to ensure fairness between drivers. In this paper, we study a fair scheduling mixed-integer programming problem where we consider a bi-objective function that aims to maximize profit and improve fairness between drivers by minimizing the maximum deviation from the average driving time. To solve this problem, we employ the weighted comprehensive criterion method and propose an iterative population-based heuristic. The results show that the relative gap between the heuristic and exact approach is acceptable. We also report the fairness price which is the relative difference between total profit with and without incorporating fairness. We find out that improving fairness between drivers does not always lead to a significant reduction in total profit. When the reduction in total profit is important, we recommend formulating the scheduling problem differently where instead of minimizing the maximum deviation from the average driving time, drivers are rewarded when their driving times are longer than the average. We explore incorporating the cost of rewarding these drivers in the objective function
Co-designing learning spaces with learners: Lessons from a Welsh primary school classroom
Get PDFThis research presents a case study of one class’s reflections on how they redesigned their classroom to suit the diverse needs of the teacher and learners, and how learners continue to adapt their learning space to better suit their individual needs. The findings of this paper illuminate how learners value agency and choice in their classrooms, something which can be achieved by offering them various work surfaces and spaces to complete learning activities.Learners suggested that flexible learning environments enabled them to choose where and how to complete their work, but also enabled them to position themselves in social environments that suit their learning needs. This work provides further context and insight into the implementation of the new Curriculum for Wales from September 2022 onwards, as well as the wider education system-level reforms currently taking place in Wales
One Health: Circadian Medicine Benefits Both Non-human Animals and Humans Alike
Get PDFCircadian biology’s impact on human physical health and its role in disease development and progression is widely recognized. The forefront of circadian rhythm research now focuses on translational applications to clinical medicine, aiming to enhance disease diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment responses. However, the field of circadian medicine has predominantly concentrated on human healthcare, neglecting its potential for transformative applications in veterinary medicine, thereby overlooking opportunities to improve non-human animal health and welfare. This review consists of three main sections. The first section focuses on the translational potential of circadian medicine into current industry practices of agricultural animals, with a particular emphasis on horses, broiler chickens, and laying hens. The second section delves into the potential applications of circadian medicine in small animal veterinary care, primarily focusing on our companion animals, namely dogs and cats. The final section explores emerging frontiers in circadian medicine, encompassing aquaculture, veterinary hospital care, and non-human animal welfare and concludes with the integration of One Health principles. In summary, circadian medicine represents a highly promising field of medicine that holds the potential to significantly enhance the clinical care and overall health of all animals, extending its impact beyond human healthcare