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A sympathetic view of blood pressure control at high altitude: new insights from microneurographic studies
Get PDFHigh altitude (HA) hypoxia is a potent activator of the sympathetic nervous system, eliciting increases in sympathetic vasomotor activity. Microneurographic evidence of HA sympathoexcitation dates back to the late 20thcentury, yet only recently have the characteristics and underpinning mechanisms been explored in detail. This review summarises recent findings and highlightstheimportance of HA sympathoexcitation for theregulation of blood pressure in lowlanders and indigenous highlanders. In addition, this review will identify gaps in our knowledge and corresponding avenues for future study
Housing and justice in Wales
Get PDFhe Commission on Justice in Wales concluded that Welsh people are being let down by the England and Wales justicesystem.1 It found that the "jagged edged"2 reservation of courts, probation, prisons, etc alongside devolution of social justiceresponsibilities does not meet people’s needs in Wales. The Commission recommended legislative and executive devolution ofresponsibility for justice, accompanied by the transfer of financial resources.3 It also recommended that the law applicable inWales should be formally identified as the law of Wales, distinct from the law of England.4Alongside the Justice Commission, our Nuffield Foundation funded research focused on administrative justice in Wales,including studying administrative law and dispute resolution in social housing and homelessness.5 Administrative justiceconcerns how bodies providing public services treat people, the correctness of their decisions, the fairness of their proceduresand the opportunities people have to question and challenge decisions made about them.Here we present some conclusions and recommendations of our research concerning housing, and how these align with thoseof the Justice Commission
Becoming a mentor: an exploration of ‘how’ student-coaches negotiate mentoring practice
No full textA growing body of research has investigated the virtues and complexities of mentoring in sports coaching. Yet, a paucity of research exists to consider ‘how’ both mentors and mentees come to understand their respective role(s). Attempting to redress this gap in research, the aim of this project was to examine the developmental experiences of mentors (and mentees) while participating in a mentoring programme within a University undergraduate sport coaching module. In doing so, this study specifically attended to the critical experiences of mentors and mentees in order to determine how, over the course of the module, mentors and mentees were able to operationalise their role within the coaching context. Data were collected through a series of focus group interviews with 10 mentors and 12 mentees, which were repeated over multiple time-points throughout the mentoring programme. The data were subject to a reflexive thematic analysis to yield three interrelated themes; initiating meaningful mentoring; the relationality of mentoring; and finally, putting ‘mentoring’ to work. The findings demonstrated the ability (and inability) of learners to develop the reflexive awareness required to negotiate and align their identities within the pedagogical context under study. Drawing upon the explanatory work of Goffman and Crossley, the study contributes to the deconstruction of mentoring practice more specifically, and the wider understanding of complexity of socialisation in coaching and education more generally
“Bionic Women and Men” Part 1: Cardiovascular Lessons from Heart Failure Patients Implanted with Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVADs)
Get PDFSome humans with chronic, advanced heart failure are surgically implanted with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD). Because the LVAD produces a continuous flow, a palpable pulse is often absent in these patients. This allows for a unique investigation of the human circulation and has created a controversy around the ‘need’ for a pulse. The medical debate has also generated a more generic, fundamental discussion into what is ‘normal’ arterial physiology and health. The comprehensive study and understanding of the arterial responses to drastically altered haemodynamics due to continuous‐flow LVADs, at rest and during activity, presents an opportunity to significantly increase our current understanding of the fundamental components of arterial regulation (flow, blood pressure, sympathetic activity, endothelial function, pulsatility) in a way that could never have been studied previously. In a series of four articles, we summarize the talks presented at the symposium entitled ‘Bionic women and men – Physiology lessons from implantable cardiac devices’ presented at the 2019 Annual Meeting of The Physiological Society in Aberdeen, UK. The articles highlight the novel questions generated by physiological phenomena observed in LVAD patients and propose future areas of interest within the field of cardiovascular physiology
Youth Motor Competence Promotion Model: A Quantitative Investigation into Modifiable Factors
Get PDFObjectives: This study aimed to quantify the relationships between enabling, predisposing and reinforcing ecological factors on motor competence and investigate potential sex, weight status, and school level differences.
Methods: Data were collected from 429 children (52% boys; aged 11.1±0.6 years; 87% white British). Cardiorespiratory fitness (20m Multistage Shuttle Run), muscular strength (Handgrip Strength) and online questionnaire (Child Health and Activity Tool; CHAT) data on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, sport participation and available surrounding physical activity facilities were included as enabling variables. Three predisposing variables were determined from self-report data on benefits/barriers to exercise, adequacy, and predilection. Parental/guardian physical activity levels and persons whom participate in physical activity and sport with the participant (CHAT) were selected as reinforcing variables. Motor competence was determined from cumulative scores for Dragon Challenge tasks (Balance Bench, Core Agility, Wobble Spot, Overarm Throw, Basketball Dribble, Catch, Jumping Patterns, T-Agility, Sprint). Confirmatory Factor Analysis assessed the fit of measured variables into latent factors. Structural equation modelling evaluated relationships between these latent factors.
Results: Motor competence was directly affected by the enabling factor (β=0.50, p0.05).
Conclusions: This study demonstrated that enabling factors are crucial for the development of motor competence. This is the first study to quantify an ecological model with motor competence as the endogenous variable and is key to future interventions
Can School Performance be Improved through the Strategic Optimisation of Subject Options Columns?
Get PDFThis paper explores a system that attempts to maximize high school students’ sense of choice when selecting
elective subjects. We propose that individual schools can tailor the combinations of subjects they offer in order to
maximize the number of prospective students who can study their preferred subjects, potentially increasing enrolment numbers and academic outcomes while also reducing administrative overheads. We analyze the underlying
computational problem encountered in this task and describe a suitable AI-based optimization algorithm that we
have made available for free download. We also discuss some outcomes of using this method on a small number of
case study schools
“Bionic Women and Men” Part 2: Arterial Stiffness in Heart Failure Patients Implanted with Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVADs)
Get PDFIn parallel with the major advances in clinical care, technological advancements and implantation of mechanical circulatory support in patients with severe heart failure have resulted in these patients living longer. However, these patients are still at increased risk of stroke and gastrointestinal bleeding. The unique continuous flow produced by various left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) has been suggested as one potential reason for this increased risk of stroke and GI bleeding. Furthermore, these continuous‐flow (CF) devices challenge our understanding of circulatory blood pressure and flow regulation in relation to organ health. In healthy pulsatile and dynamic systems, arterial stiffness is a major independent risk factor for stroke. However, to date, there are limited data regarding the impact of CF‐LVAD therapy on arterial stiffness. The purpose of this report is to discuss the varied impact of CF‐LVAD therapy on arterial stiffness and attempt to highlight some potential mechanisms linking these associations in this unique population
Pharmacy Technicians Roles and Responsibilities in the Community Pharmacy Sector: A Wales Perspective
Get PDF(1) Background: Healthcare delivery models in Wales are changing in response to unprecedented pressure on the NHS. Community pharmacies will be prioritised to address public health and clinical needs at a local level. To support delivery of the new model, pharmacy technicians must be enabled and developed to optimize their roles. The aim of the study was to establish existing roles of pharmacy technicians working in the community pharmacy sector in Wales and to explore barriers and enablers to development. (2) Methods: A combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies werewas used, with the main focus on quantitative methods. A total of 83 participants completed an online questionnaire and additional qualitative data were obtained from four semi-structured telephone interviews. (3) Results: The dispensing and final accuracy checking of medicines were reported as core functions of the community pharmacy technician role, with an average of 43% and 57% of time being spent on these roles respectively. There was some evidence of engagement in leadership and management roles (average of 19%) and limited evidence of delivery of services (average of 6%). (4) Conclusions: There is scope to enable community pharmacy technicians to optimize and further develop their roles. Enablers include the effective use of delegation, workplace support, improved staffing levels and prioritisation of extended pharmacy technician roles
Gender inequality and the professionalisation of accountancy in the UK from 1870 to the interwar years
Get PDFDrawing on historical data largely relating to Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC), this article examines the early professionalisation of accountancy as a gendered process. Mobilising Acker’s (1990) theory of the ideal worker, this article highlights articulations of an ideal professional accountant, coded as male and masculine in the gendering of professional skills and knowledge, image management, networking and social class. Additionally, social changes such as WW1 reshaped the masculine nature of the ideal professional accountant in PwC, emphasising a militaristic masculinity, to support the war effort. While women were temporarily employed in accountancy clerical jobs in wartime, this does not appear to have re-gendered PwC as an organisation inclusive of femininity and women. However, it is noted that some middle-class women challenged exclusionary professional practices within accountancy. The implications of the gendered aspects of the professionalisation of accountancy are discussed throughout the article
Player-surface interactions: Perception in elite soccer and rugby players on artificial and natural turf
Get PDFArtificial turf (AT) is common at all levels of soccer and rugby. Employing an interdisciplinary design, this study aimed to examine the extent to which the negative attitude commonly expressed by players concerning AT is based on the difference in technique between AT and natural turf (NT), or due to pre-existing biases. Thirty professional soccer and rugby players performed a defined set of movements with masked and normal perception conditions on NT and AT. Two-dimensional kinematic analysis (100 Hz) of characteristics in parallel to a psychological assessment of the impact of cognitive bias for a playing surface was assessed. No significant interaction effects between the level of perception and surface type were found. For AT, contact time (CT) was shorter across conditions, while for NT rugby players had longer CT during acceleration/deceleration phases and shorter flight times. Pre-existing negative bias against AT was found during the normal perception trials in the technology acceptance model (Usefulness and Ease of Use) and the general preference questions on how much the athlete would like to play a game on it. The results suggest that opinion was not driven by surface characteristics, but by a cognitive bias, players brought with them to the pitch