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Tensile behaviour of basalt textile-reinforced mortar (TRM) composites at intermediate strain rates for structural strengthening
No full textTextile-reinforced mortar (TRM) composites have become a preferred solution for strengthening masonry and concrete structures owing to their durability, ease of application, and compatibility. The quasi-static tensile response of TRMs is well established; however, their performance under dynamic loading remains poorly understood. This study investigates the tensile behaviour of BTRM composites at strain rates ranging from 10−5 to 9/s, using high-speed servo-hydraulic and Zwick testing systems and the digital image correlation (DIC) technique. Two specimen preparation methods were explored: moulded (M) and cut (C). The BTRM composites demonstrated strain-hardening behaviour, displaying bi-linear or tri-linear stress-strain responses depending on the strain rate and specimen type. C specimens maintained relatively consistent mechanical properties across the strain rates, while M specimens experienced enhanced first cracking stress, tensile strength, strain capacity, and toughness beyond 5/s. The post-cracking stiffness and efficiency of the reinforcing grid were reduced with increasing strain rate, with efficiency factors dropping from >0.9 in quasi-static tests to as low as 0.5 under dynamic loading. The common failure mechanisms were multiple cracking, grid rupture and telescopic failures. Extensive grid pullout and delamination failures were observed only under dynamic loading conditions. Compared to glass and carbon TRM composites, BTRMs at dynamic strain rates showed similar stress-strain relationships but lower strength and strain capacity. The results reveal the potential and constraints of BTRMs in dynamic structural applications, pointing to the need for stronger grid-to-mortar interactions to improve performance at dynamic strain rates.<br/
Understanding the influence of gender, masculinity, and femininity on attitudes and behaviours around meat consumption: comparison of measures to better inform policy action
No full textMeat consumption has important implications for both human and environmental health, and identifying barriers and opportunities that reduce this dietary preference are a key policy target. Numerous studies suggest men and more masculine individuals exhibit higher attachment to meat, which impacts their willingness to reduce its consumption; however, research exploring gender associations concerning masculinity and femininity is limited. Through a survey of 959 individuals, this study investigates the relationships between gender, masculinity, femininity, and dietary behaviours, including meat consumption and willingness to reduce consumption. A novel measure was introduced to assess gender-related traits independently of gender, enabling the effects of both masculinity and femininity on meat-related dietary behaviours to be explored. Men and women expressed masculinity and femininity across the scale, suggesting that men and women can exhibit different levels of both traits, regardless of gender. Men were more likely to consume meat than women, showing a significant gender association which was reflected in the masculinity and combined masculinity and femininity measures. Men and individuals with higher masculinity and masculinity-femininity scores displayed higher meat-eater identities, were more susceptible to social influence, and exhibited lower awareness or acceptance of health and environmental impacts. Men and higher-scoring masculinity-femininity individuals exhibited lower willingness to reduce meat. This result was not significant for masculinity alone, suggesting that incorporating constructs of both femininity and masculinity into a measure may provide a more nuanced understanding of dietary behaviours and attitudes. Policy makers and health professionals should consider how masculinity and gender might influence the acceptance of interventions which aim to change the prevalence of meat in people’s diets.<br/
The UK’s legal framework for market integration in services and devolved regulatory autonomy. A missed opportunity?
No full textAmmonia colourimetric indicator for measuring urease and ureolytic bacteria concentrations
No full textAn effectively irreversible colourimetric ammonia (NH3) indicator is used to develop two new methods for determining the concentrations of, (i) urease [urease], and (ii) ureolytic bacteria under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. In both methods digital colour analysis (DCA) of a photographic image of the indicator is used to provide a value for the apparent absorbance, A′, which reflects the level of NH3 present. In (i) the indicator is placed in a solution containing urea and the urease sample under test, and photographed as a function of incubation time, t. DCA of the photographs yields an A′ vs t plot, from which a value for the time taken for the indicator to reach its half-way colour changing point, t50, is determined, the reciprocal of which is directly proportional to [urease]. In (ii), the indicator is placed in a Falcon™ tube containing a urea-based growth medium inoculated with a ureolytic bacterium of known concentration (units: CFU/mL), and photographed as a function of t. The resulting ‘S’ shaped A′ vs t profile is used to determine a value of the half-way colour change, the threshold time, TT, which is shown to be directly proportional to log(CFU/mL) over the range 101–108 CFU/mL for ureolytic bacteria such as P. stuartii and P. mirabilis, even in the presence of a non-ureolytic bacterial species, such as E. coli. The latter novel NH3 indicator based micro-respirometry method for measuring TVC (NH3 μR-TVC) works under anaerobic and aerobic conditions.<br/
Evaluating the impact of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines on childhood disease burden and antibiotic use: evidence from the United Kingdom and Sub-Saharan Africa
No full textScarring and selection in the Great Irish Famine
No full textHow do famines shape the health of survivors? We examine the long-term impact of the Great Irish Famine (1845–1852) on human stature, distinguishing between adverse scarring effects and the apparent resilience of survivors due to selection. Using anthropometric data from over 14,500 individuals born before, during, and after this famine, we find that selection effects were most pronounced in areas with the highest mortality rates. Individuals born in severely affected regions exhibited no evidence of stunted growth, indicating that the Famine disproportionately eliminated the most vulnerable. In contrast, stunting is observed only in areas with lower excess mortality, where selective pressures were weaker. These findings contribute to debates on the biological consequences of extreme catastrophic risks, demonstrating how selection effects can obscure long-term health deterioration. More broadly, our study provides a methodological framework for assessing selection in historical anthropometric research
OPSPrep: Developing the service and evaluation model for overdose prevention services NIHR Programme Development Grant Final Report
No full textBackground: The UK is experiencing an on-going crisis of drug-related deaths. Overdose prevention centres (OPCs) are spaces where people use illicit drugs in the presence of staff who can intervene in any overdoses thatoccur. Implemented in 17 countries since the 1980s, no officially sanctioned OPC has yet operated in the UK.Original objective(s): To produce research tools and develop the service model to support the evaluation of UK site(s) in a programme grant for applied research (PGfAR).Methods: We carried out a realist review of international evidence on OPCs pre-registered in PROSPERO (CRD42023414273); created a core outcome set (COS) for OPCs pre-registered using COS-STAP Items and at COMET Initiative (OSF.IO/KW8JM); created an epidemiological and economic model of an OPC in England; and created a service implementation model for OPCs. We involved PPI partners facilitated by a specialist consultant with lived experience of injecting drug use, who brought networks of experts-by-experience. The epidemiological model simulated a generic England setting (England wide data) for scenarios with different OPC coverage andfrequency of OPC use, with estimates of effect from other countries’ OPC data. Economic costs/benefits for the NHS of establishing the OPC over 20 years including potential savings from five outcomes were estimated.Key findings: Our realist review described a main causal path through which OPCs can produce positive outcomes by triggering mechanisms of feeling safe, trust and social inclusion. Our wider programme theory identified contexts and mechanisms, specific to variations in gender and racial identity, and local drug markets. To develop the Core Outcome Set, 326 individuals ranked 106 outcomes, prioritising 43 outcomes. These were discussed at twoconsensus meetings which reduced these to five outcomes, work is underway to consider how these should be measured. From 21 key stakeholder interviews, Hedrich (2004) original service model was updated, notablyincorporating experts-by-experience in the planning and evolution of the service. For a generic England setting, the epidemiological model projected: over 10 years an OPC can prevent 3.3-19% of fatal overdoses, 2.9-17% ofoverdose-related ambulance calls, 5.2-27.3% of incident HCV infections, and 2.2-13.3% of SSTIs requiring emergency care/hospitalization, depending on OPC coverage, frequency of use, and whether additional preventionbenefits are conferred. The economic model suggested an OPC will generate a cost-benefit ratio of between £1.18- £1.44 for every pound spent on OPC operational costs over a 20 year period.Outputs, impact and dissemination: Outputs complete/in production include two publications from the realist review, two papers/one report on the COS, two papers on the epidemiological and economic model, and threepapers on the service/implementation model. Following discussion with NIHR/delays in OPC establishment, we await the appropriate time to submit a PGfAR application. Conclusions: We created tools for the evaluation of UK OPCs including an understanding of how they work, for whom, and in what circumstances; how they operate and a service model, and a framework for evaluation ofeffectiveness and cost-effectiveness. Future plans: To use this knowledge in the future evaluation of OPCs recognising the need for different models in different locations
SynFinTabs: a dataset of synthetic financial tables for information and table extraction
No full textTable extraction from document images is a challenging AI problem, and labelled data for many content domains is difficult to come by. Existing table extraction datasets often focus on scientific tables due to the vast amount of academic articles that are readily available, along with their source code. However, there are significant layout and typographical differences between tables found across scientific, financial, and other domains. Current datasets often lack the words, and their positions, contained within the tables, instead relying on unreliable OCR to extract these features for training modern machine learning models on natural language processing tasks. Therefore, there is a need for a more general method of obtaining labelled data. We present SynFinTabs, a large-scale, labelled dataset of synthetic financial tables. Our hope is that our method of generating these synthetic tables is transferable to other domains. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our dataset in training models to extract information from table images, we create FinTabQA, a layout large language model trained on an extractive question-answering task. We test our model using real-world financial tables and compare it to a state-of-the-art generative model and discuss the results. We make the dataset, model, and dataset generation code publicly available (https://ethanbradley.co.uk/research/synfintabs)
International market selection and fintech: the role of financial inclusion and perceived corruption in neobank adoption
No full textNeobanks have seen significant growth and adoption worldwide in recent years. This study examines the impact of two factors - financial inclusion and perceived corruption - on the success of Neobank adoption in different geographical markets. By analyzing a unique dataset that includes economic data and adoption rates of 90 Neobanks in over 60 countries, we find that both financial inclusion and perceived corruption levels are key in determining the likelihood of successful Neobank adoption in specific markets
Establishing a neural marker for inhibitory control during balance recovery
No full textConsiderable evidence attests to a relationship between executive function and falls. Notable among cognitive elements related to fall risk is the ability to suppress a highly automatic but unwanted action—that is, response inhibition. Although the ability to stop may seem like an unlikely foundation for maintaining balance, there are many situations in daily life where the ability to adapt planned action is critical to reducing instability. Most of what we know about the role of inhibition in balance control is based on correlations between cognitive test performance and self-reported falls, leaving a sizable gap in understanding mechanisms linking inhibition and balance control. Here, we expand from traditional balance assessments that accentuate reflexive action and instead impose a need to suppress a prepotent balance recovery step. We leveraged techniques developed in cognitive neuroscience to expose neuromuscular events leading to successful inhibition. Specifically, we used high-density electroencephalography to measure neural markers previously shown to predict successful inhibition in seated voluntary reaction tasks using hand responses (ß-bursts) and applied this to a balance recovery step task. Contrary to our hypothesis, higher ß-burst volume after a stop cue was associated with failed step suppression. Other ß oscillation characteristics revealed slightly earlier ß-burst onsets in successful suppression trials and higher average ß power prior to the stop signal for successful versus failed stop trials. The current study offers insight into potential key markers underlying suppression of a recovery step, and we highlight unique challenges associated with studying cognitive processes during rapid, whole-body balance recovery.<br/