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Global warming affects foraging efficiency of fish by influencing mutual interference
No full text1. Predator–prey interactions underpin ecological dynamics from population to ecosystem scales, affecting population growth and influencing community stability. One of the classic methods to study these relationships is the functional response (FR) approach, measuring resource use across resource densities.2. Global warming is known to strongly mediate consumer–resource interactions, but the relevance of prey and predator densities remains largely unknown. Elevated temperature could increase consumer energy expenditure, which needs to be compensated by greater foraging activity. However, such greater activity may concurrently result in a higher encounter rate with other consumers, which potentially affects their total pressure on resource populations because of synergistic or antagonistic effects among multiple predators.3. We performed a laboratory experiment using three densities of a fish predator (pumpkinseed, Lepomis gibbosus) (one, two and four specimens), two temperatures (25 and 28°C) and six prey densities. Using the FR approach, we investigated the combined effects of elevated temperature and predator and prey density on the consumer's foraging efficiency.4. We observed a reduced maximum feeding rate at the higher temperature for single predators. However, the foraging efficiency of predators in groups was negatively affected by antagonistic interactions between individuals and further mediated by the temperature. Specifically, we observed a general decrease in antagonistic interactions at elevated compared to the ambient water temperature for multiple predator groupings. Irrespective of temperature, antagonistic multiple predator effects increased with predator density and peaked unimodally at intermediate prey densities, indicating multiple dimensions of density-dependence that interact to supersede the effects of warming.5. This study shows that conspecific presence negatively affects the per capita performance of predators, but that this effect is dampened with increasing temperature. Their adaptive response to temperature consists of limited food intake and further reduced intraspecific interactions. Including intraspecific competition in study design may thus offer more realistic outcomes compared to widely used experiments with only single predator individuals, which could overestimate the effect of increasing temperature
Edge intelligence: a deep distilled model for wearables to enable proactive eldercare
No full textWearable devices are becoming affordable in our society to provide services from simple fitness tracking to the detection of heartbeat disorders. In the case of elderly populations, these devices have great potential to enable proactive eldercare, which can increase the number of years of independent living. The wearables can capture healthcare data continuously. For meaningful insight, deep learning models are preferable to process this data for robust outcomes. One of the major challenges includes deploying these models on edge devices, such as smartphones or wearables. The bottleneck is a large number of parameters and compute-intensive operations. In this research, we propose a novel knowledge distillation scheme by introducing a self-revision concept. This scheme effectively reduces model size and transfers knowledge from a deep model to a distilled model by filling learning gaps during the training. To evaluate our distilled model, a publicly available dataset, ‘growing old together validation (GOTOV)’ is utilized, which is based on medical-grade standard wearables to monitor behavioral changes in the elderly. Our proposed model reduces the 0.7 million parameters to 1500, which enables edge intelligence. It achieves a 6% improvement in precision, a 9% increase in recall, and a 9% higher F1-score compared to the shallow model for recognizing elderly behavior
Visual acuity outcomes and influencing factors in a cohort of UK real-world diabetic macular oedema patients during the first two years of anti-VEGF treatment
No full textBackground/Objectives: The visual acuity (VA) outcomes after the first and second years of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) treatment in patients with diabetic macular oedema (DMO) were evaluated, and the factors associated with treatment success were investigated. Methods: Using Medisoft electronic medical records (UK), this retrospective cohort study analysed VA outcomes, changes, and determinants in DMO patients at year 1 and year 2 after initial anti-VEGF injection. Descriptive analysis examined baseline demographics and clinical characteristics, while regression models were used to assess associations between these factors and changes in VA. Results: 728 DMO patients (1035 eyes) treated with anti-VEGFs (ranibizumab, aflibercept, and bevacizumab) at the Northern Ireland Mater Macular Clinic from 2008 to 2021 were evaluated. The mean age was 64.5 (SD 12.8) years, and 59.6% were male. In the first year, the median annual injection number and interval were 6.0 (IQR 5.0–8.0) and 6.1 weeks (IQR 5.4–7.8), respectively, and in the second year, they were 3.0 (IQR 2.0–5.0) and 10.0 weeks (IQR 6.5–20.1). In the first two treatment years, 83.4% and 79.8% of eyes had improved/stable VA (ISVA) respectively. The injection number, interval, baseline VA, age, and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) significantly impacted VA outcomes. Conclusions: Our study confirms the effectiveness of anti-VEGF treatments in improving or maintaining vision for DMO patients, consistent with previous real-world clinical data. An elder age, a better baseline VA, low annual injection numbers (<5), and less frequent injection intervals (≥12 weeks) were negatively associated with ISVA success in the first two years. These findings have implications for managing patient expectations, allocating resources, and understanding DMO clinical management.<br/
Promoting prevention and targeting remission of asthma A EUFOREA consensus statement on raising the bar in asthma care
No full textAsthma is a common, multifaceted respiratory disease with a major impact on quality of life. Despite increased insights into mechanisms underlying various asthma phenotypes and endotypes and the availability of targeted biologic treatment options, the disease remains uncontrolled in a substantial proportion of patients with risk of exacerbations, requiring systemic corticosteroids, and with progressive disease. Current international guidelines advocate for a personalized management approach to patients with uncontrolled severe asthma. The European Forum for Research and Education in Allergy and Airway Diseases (EUFOREA) asthma expert panel was convened to discuss strategies to optimize asthma care and to prevent systemic corticosteroid overuse and disease progression. In this meeting report, we summarize current concepts and recommendations and provide a rationale to implement personalized asthma management at earlier stages of the disease. The ultimate goal is to move away from the current one-size-fits-most concept, which focuses on a symptom-driven treatment strategy, and shift toward a phenotype- and endotype-targeted approach aimed at curbing the disease course by improving clinical outcomes and preserving health-related quality of life. Herein, we provide a consensus view on asthma care that advocates a holistic approach and highlight some unmet needs to be addressed in future clinical trials and population studies
Impact of financial toxicity on the health‐related quality of life and financial well‐being of cancer patients and survivors: a comparative study of the United Kingdom and United States
No full textBackgroundThis study investigated and compared the impact of financial toxicity (FT) on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and financial well-being of cancer patients and survivors in the United Kingdom (UK) and United States (US).MethodsUK & US participants (n = 600) completed an online questionnaire that consisted of a validated FT instrument (COmprehensive Score for financial Toxicity-COST), a standardised HRQoL instrument (EQ-5D-5L) and questions related to their financial well-being. Tobit regression models and descriptive statistics plus χ2 tests were used to analyse the association between FT and (i) HRQoL whilst controlling for sociodemographic characteristics; and (ii) financial well-being.ResultsIn the UK, health utilities of participants with no assessed experience of FT, mild FT, and moderate/severe FT were 0.81, 0.66, and 0.41, respectively, compared to 0.88, 0.71, and 0.53 in the US. Among those with moderate/severe FT, US participants had significantly higher health utilities compared to their peers in the UK (Mann Whitney test, p = 0.0369). In a pooled analysis of UK and US and after controlling for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, mild and moderate/severe FT was negatively associated with health utilities (β coff = −0.13, 95% CI: −0.18, −0.08 and β coff = −0.28, 95% CI: −0.34, −0.21, respectively). Over half (54%) of US participants with FT were in debt with median (IQR) debt at I 7200 (12,960). US participants with FT were 2.48 times more likely to be in debt than UK participants with FT (OR = 2.48, 95% CI: 1.46–4.21).ConclusionsFT is associated with poorer financial well-being and HRQoL among cancer patients/survivors in the US and UK. The impact of FT on financial well-being is larger in the US while the impact on HRQoL is worse in the UK. Further studies using prospective data are required to investigate the nature and extent of these relationships.<br/
Gendered nostalgia and post-war Sri Lanka: perspectives on women’s loss and violence
No full textIn this article, we develop the concept of women’s “gendered nostalgia” as narrated by war-affected Sri Lankan Tamil women in the present. We define gendered nostalgia as a normative and gendered imagining and longing for an idealized past, and examine how Tamil women remember and narrate wartime lives and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in gendered ways. Our conception of gendered nostalgia centers around gendered memory and questions or contestations around gendered ideas of war, sexual violence, women’s safety, and women’s empowerment in the past. We examine the relationship between the past and the present underpinning gendered nostalgia and how a militarized and repressive post-war context reinforces the importance and emotive appeal of certain interpretations of violent actors. We see gendered nostalgia as a form of political contestation amid an oppressive present, which is often overlooked in mainstream studies of the Sri Lankan conflict, militant groups, and memory. We also examine gendered nostalgia as related to social narratives that traverse time and space. Our analysis has implications for understandings of gendered politics of war, gendered memory, and the lived everyday challenges experienced by war-affected women
Narrating the consequences of conflict : death, survival and the ‘autobiographical turn’ in the criminology of war
No full textLocating itself within narrative criminological scholarship and the criminology of war literature, this article critically examines how the themes of death and survival are understood and represented in the memoirs of former Irish Republican Army (IRA) members. Building on the recent ‘autobiographical turn’ in the criminology of war, it identifies how death is storied from perspectives that reflect the nature of armed conflict, capture human loss, and criticize the leadership. Similarly, it shows how survival is storied as having outlived the conflict, living a meaningful post-conflict life, and addressing the legacy of conflict. It is concluded that these memoirs are a valuable dataset that amplify counter-discourses based on the lived experience of former combatants from non-state armed groups
Assessing the supportive care needs of parents of children with rare diseases in Ireland
No full textPurposeRare diseases are individually uncommon yet collectively prevalent. They affect over 300,000 people in Ireland, with 50–70 % impacting children. This study explores the supportive care needs of parents caring for children with rare diseases in Ireland, utilising a validated Parental Needs Scale for Rare Diseases (PNS-RD).Design and methodsThis descriptive quantitative study employed survey techniques to assess parental support needs. An online survey was administered to parents across Ireland from August 2021 to December 2021 using the Qualtrics™ platform.ResultsOut of 107 consented participants, 89 provided data suitable for analysis. Findings revealed significant challenges, with children averaging six hospital visits per year; 77 % of families indicated special education needs, and 42 % required medically complex care. The PNS-RD scale mean was M = 48.62 (95 % CI: 44.5–52.7), comprising four dimensions (each scored out of 25): i) Understanding the disease (M = 9.01, 95 % CI: 7.5–10.5), ii) Working with health professionals (M = 13.68, 95 % CI: 12.0–15.4), iii) Emotional issues (M = 13.22, 95 % CI: 12.0–14.5), and iv) Financial needs (M = 12.94, 95 % CI: 11.2–14.6). Parents demonstrated confidence in managing their child's care but reported considerable emotional strain and financial challenges.ConclusionWhile parents generally felt confident in handling their child's rare disease and were moderately satisfied with the care and support received, the emotional, psychological, and financial toll remained high.Implications for practiceThis study underscores the urgent need for comprehensive support systems to alleviate these burdens, advocating for tailored healthcare and social support interventions to meet the diverse needs of these families.<br/
Engineering of a wafer-shaped titanium-based catalyst of TiO<sub>2</sub>/MIL-125(Ti)@Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub> or enhanced Fenton-like degradation of Congo red: optimization, mechanistic study, and reusability
No full textA titanium-based Fenton-like heterogeneous catalyst was synthesized from titanium dioxide (TiO2), MIL-125(Ti), and Ti3C2 MXene for degrading the notorious Congo red (CR). The successful combination of the titanium components was assured by bountiful characterization apparatuses. Optimization of the conditions for the Fenton-like degradation of CR dye was performed by studying the impact of the pH and temperature of the catalytic system, the dosage of TiO2/MIL-125(Ti)@Ti3C2, the concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and CR, and the mass ratio between the catalyst’s components. A kinetic study was executed on the degradation of CR and H2O2 during a reaction time of 60 min using First-order and Second-order models. The degradation pathway of CR by TiO2/MIL-125(Ti)@Ti3C2 was investigated by the scavenging test. Additionally, Adsorption and catalytic degradation mechanisms were explored using X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. The cycling test proceeded on TiO2/MIL-125(Ti)@Ti3C2 for five succeeding Fenton-like degradation runs of CR dye. Ultimately, the Ti-based heterogeneous catalyst exhibited superior adsorption and Fenton-like degradation performance toward the anionic dye with a good recyclability feature.<br/
Visual university studies since the Cold War: mapping journal articles published in Englishes from 1992 to 2023
No full textConcerns have been raised about the dearth of methodological plurality and risk-taking in contemporary journal publications on higher education. This paper offers a counter-narrative by exploring the operationalisation of ‘the visual’ for the study of the university during significant transitions since the cessation of the Cold War. It is informed by a systematised critical review of 208 journal articles, which were published in Englishes from 1992 to 2023, positing ‘the visual’ as subject, method, methodology or mode of enquiry. Mapping by journal, author(s), date and the contexts studied, revealed growth across 54 countries. Initially produced within and about the Minority World (most prominently the USA), visual study has expanded to the Majority World (most prominently South Africa). Emerging trajectories and patterns are narrativised across the decades, with consideration of contexts, foci, topics, interests served, and methodological choices in the generation, collection and evocation of imagery. This review demonstrates the scope of Visual University Studies for exploring and experimenting with the temporal (social, cultural, political and spatial strife, and change) and the multimodal (analogue and digital sources, methods and spaces) to express, document, critique, reclaim and commemorate that which is elusive or hidden within representations of the university ecology. <br/