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Differential associations between features of autism and internalizing and externalizing behaviours: a transdiagnostic approach
No full textWhile many autistic children have high levels of internalizing or externalizing behaviours, research seldom examines whether these behaviours are differentially associated with key features of autism. The current study used a transdiagnostic approach to characterize the inter-relationship between
restricted and repetitive behaviours (RRBs) and social communication autistic features, and internalizing and externalizing behaviours.
Method
The study included 136 6-7 year-olds with school-identified emotional and behavioural difficulties. Parents reported on their child’s current repetitive behaviour using The Repetitive Behaviour Questionnaire-2 (Leekam et al., 2007) and their difficulties with pragmatic language social communication using the Revised Children’s Communication Checklist (Wellnitz et al., 2021). Internalizing and externalizing were measured using The Strengths and Difficulties
Questionnaire (Goodman et al., 1997). Regression analyses examined differential and relative contributions made by RRBs and pragmatic language to
internalizing and externalizing behaviours.
Results
RRBs, and particularly the insistence on sameness subdomain, made a stronger contribution than pragmatic language in the regression model for internalizing behaviours. For externalizing behaviours, the opposite was true; pragmatic language made a stronger contribution than RRBs. RRBs –
specifically repetitive sensory and motor behaviours subdomain – only made a significant contribution to externalizing when entered before pragmatic language.
Discussion
By characterising the inter-relationship between autistic features and internalising and externalizing behaviours beyond traditional, categorically defined diagnostic boundaries, these results clarify potential target areas for supporting children with emotional and behavioural difficulties. For example, externalising behaviours might benefit from support for pragmatic language while difficulty with change in routine might benefit from emotion-related
support
Investigating Professional Classical Guitarists' Performance-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders: Exploring Lived Experience & Evaluating a New Guitar Support
No full textSpecialist musical training frequently does not prepare guitarists for the high physical demands of professional careers, leaving them at higher risk of developing playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMDs). Among professional musicians, injuries remain 'hidden' as musicians are reluctant to discuss them for fear it would jeopardise their career. The over-arching aim of this thesis is to gain further insight into professional classical guitarists' lived experiences of PRMDs, an area of research that is currently under-explored. Quantitative studies carried out in Australia, Great Britain, Europe, and the United States show the prevalence of overuse injuries among classical orchestral musicians. However, far fewer studies focus on classical guitarists, and extant research literature contains inconsistencies in epidemiology, definition, and assessment of injury type, location, severity, and duration, that hamper understanding. Given the guitar's popularity there has been surprisingly little work carried out to understand and mitigate PRMDs among this population, and the experiences of musicians themselves (a valuable source of potential insight) remain under-researched. This thesis offers a critical examination of the societal and physiological risk factors that contribute to PRMDs and the ways they are currently addressed by music education, together with an empirical study of the lived experiences of overuse injuries among professional classical guitarists. To highlight professional performing guitarists' perspectives on PRMDs, semi-structured interviews were carried out with eight participants and the resulting data subjected to Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). A second empirical enquiry centred on ways to reduce and/or prevent overuse injuries via the introduction of a bespoke intervention; an innovative guitar support, functioning as an integrative 'prosthesis', rather than external attachment. The lived experience of its use was examined through accounts of guitarists who tested it for two weeks. Data generated by the first study was split into two data subsets: musicians' focal hand dystonia (mFHD), and posture-related pain. Findings from this first study confirm that there is a culture of silence amongst professional classical musicians living with injuries, which hinders the dissemination of helpful information. It also shows that this is commonly accompanied by a distrust of medical professionals. A musician's identity is strongly intertwined with their instrument, so being unable to play is psychologically devastating. Musicians do not appear to learn what the body needs for healthy and optimal function until they are injured, but crucially, both psychophysical and psychosocial factors can contribute to the development of mFHD. This neurological impairment of mFHD can terminate a career by robbing the musician of control of a finger or whole hand. Onset patterns, symptoms, and treatment needs of mFHD vary. Regarding the second data subset, although the role of posture in low back pain is controversial, this thesis shows that 'improved' posture can drastically reduce back pain in classical guitarists. Findings from the second study indicate that guitarists are open to trying different guitar supports that do not require changes to the guitar itself, with limited data supporting the idea mentioned above - that 'improved' posture can reduce back pain. In conclusion, this thesis informs and enhances theoretical understanding of some of the risk factors for developing PRMDs by drawing on sports rehabilitation literature and health research, alongside phenomenological insight into guitarists' first-hand experience of over-use injuries. These insights could be used to inform the design of music performance education curricula that focus on the health and longevity of not just classical guitarists, but musicians in general
TOPSE for babies in Norwegian: examining the reliability of a tool to measure parenting self-efficacy
Get PDFBackground:
Parents’ confidence in their parenting abilities, or parenting self-efficacy (PSE), is an important factor for parenting practices. The Tool to measure Parenting Self-Efficacy (TOPSE) is a questionnaire created to evaluate parenting programmes by measuring PSE. Originally, it was designed for parents with children between the ages of 0–6 years. A modified version specifically for parents of infants aged 0-6 months (TOPSE for babies) is currently being piloted. In this study, we translated TOPSE for babies and investigated the reliability of the Norwegian version.
Aim:
To investigate the reliability of the Norwegian version of TOPSE for babies.
Methods:
The study included 123 parents of children aged 0–18 months who completed a digital version of the TOPSE questionnaire. Professional translators performed the translation from English to Norwegian and a back translation in collaboration with the author group. Mean and standard deviation were calculated for each of the questionnaire’s six domains, and a reliability analysis was conducted using a Bayesian framework for the total sample (parents of children aged 0–18 months) and specifically for the parents of the youngest group of children (0–6 months).
Findings:
The Norwegian version of TOPSE for babies is a reliable tool for measuring parenting self-efficacy. However, some variations exist across the children’s age groups and domains. The overall Bayesian alpha coefficient for the suggested domains ranged from 0.54 to 0.83 for the entire sample and from 0.63 to 0.86 for parents with children aged 0–6 months. For two of the domains, one item in each proved to largely determine the low alpha coefficients, and removing them improved the reliability, especially for parents with children aged 0–6 months
Understanding the research landscape of over-the-counter herbal products, dietary supplements, and medications evaluated for depressive symptoms in adults: a scoping review.
Get PDFBackground: Over-the-counter (OTC) products such as herbal medical products (HMPs) or dietary supplements are a valued part of preventative and supportive self-care for depressive symptoms, but there is a wide array of products available, with differing levels of clinical evidence. It is unclear what the optimal directions for future research in this field are.
Aim: We aimed to explore the size and nature of the evidence base available for OTC products for depression in adults aged 18–60.
Methods: We carried out a scoping review following Joanna Briggs Institute guidance. We searched MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, AMED, and CENTRAL from inception to December 2022, and 10% of the results were screened by two authors and the remainder by one author. We included randomised controlled trials of products commonly available OTC in multiple countries in participants with symptoms or a diagnosis of depression. Results were narratively summarised by the product and volume of evidence available.
Results: Out of 23,933 records found, we screened 1,367 full texts and included 209 trials. The largest volume of evidence was for omega-3s, St John’s Wort, saffron, probiotics, and vitamin D. Among a range of herbal medical products with promising evidence, those most commonly used and thus warranting further research were lavender, lemon balm, chamomile, and Echium. For 41 products, we found only single trials. Few products presented safety issues, whether used alone or adjunctively with antidepressants.
Conclusion: Products with limited but promising evidence included folic acid, lavender, zinc, tryptophan, Rhodiola, and lemon balm, and future research should focus on these products. There is a need for further evaluation of herbal medical products as adjuncts to antidepressants and for exploring their potential benefits when used adjunctively with psychological therapies to support a more integrative approach. Safety reporting in these trials needs to be further improved.
Systematic Review Registration:: https://osf.io/rkm57/
The effectiveness of predator-proofing nest sites to support the breeding of an endangered parrot
Get PDFInvasive predators present a major threat to the conservation of native species. For birds, this often comes in the form of increased nest predation. Conservation managers have used numerous interventions to reduce this risk. However, their effectiveness varies depending on the specific technique used and the predators targeted. In this study, we tested the effectiveness of nest site modifications used to protect endangered Norfolk Island Green Parrot Cyanoramphus cookii nests from introduced mammalian predators. We compared the breeding outcomes and nest site characteristics of a sample of natural, unprotected nests with those of predator-proofed nests, and examined contemporary phenology and breeding parameters. We observed moderate, but variable, breeding seasonality, and significantly fewer nesting attempts in recent years. Nests had a median clutch size of five (range = 1–10) and a median brood size of three (range = 1–7). Nest success was 74.8% (157/210) for predator-proofed nesting attempts, and 40% (4/10) for unprotected nesting attempts. Predator-proofing had a small but significant effect on daily survival rate (estimated at 0.995 for predator-proofed nests and 0.972 for unprotected nests), but did not significantly affect the number of birds fledged. We observed nest predation by both Black Rats and feral Cats at unprotected nests. Unprotected nest sites had significantly shorter chambers than predator-proofed nest sites, suggesting that while predator-proofing significantly increases nest success for Green Parrots, preferred nest site characteristics have not been preserved through modifications. These findings highlight the importance of assessing the effectiveness of management actions regularly to inform evidence-based decision-making and adaptive management
User Perceptions of Cryptocurrency Attacks – Extended Abstract
Get PDFThis work is the first study on the perceptions of social media users about cryptocurrency attacks. The doublespending or 51% attack being the most fundamental attack on cryptocurrencies, it is the focus of this study. As a first step, we create a first-of-its-kind comprehensive list of 31 events of 51% attacks on various proof-of-work cryptocurrencies, showing that these events are quite common. This list contradicts the general perception about the security of cryptocurrencies, particularly portrayed in the Executive Order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile in the US. We design the methodologies for our new study of user perceptions around these attacks. We create datasets containing tweets from the time of the attack events, and compare them with benchmark data from normal times. We define parameters for profiling these datasets based on user perceptions – sentiments and emotions. We study the variation of these perception profiles, when a cryptocurrency is under attack and the benchmark otherwise, between multiple attack events of the same cryptocurrency, and between different cryptocurrencies. Our results confirm some expected overall behaviour and reactions while providing nuanced insights that may not be obvious or may even be considered surprising. Our code and datasets are publicly accessible
Exploring similarities and differences in how researchers and young people understand key terms in youth mental-health research
Get PDFA lack of a shared understanding of key terms is acknowledged as a significant barrier to interdisciplinary research. This paper examines the ways in which a broadly interdisciplinary team of academics and youth co-researchers involved in mental health research interpreted a number of research and mental health terms that are central to their work in order to understand conceptual differences in how different stakeholder groups approach these terms. Data was collected in four phases (interviews, written responses, and two participatory ‘living labs’) and was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results revealed a wide disparity in the way participants understood key terms (including: ‘research’, ‘data’, ‘loneliness’, ‘safe space’ and ‘resilience’). Our study highlights the need for more inclusive approaches to mental health research, where diverse perspectives and lived experiences inform both methodology and practice from the outset. In conclusion we suggest a new framework (the EQUITY framework) as a tool to operationalise these findings
Investigation of particle reconstruction quality for three-dimensional light field PIV
Get PDFThis study presents a comprehensive investigation into the reconstruction quality factor, a critical metric for assessing particle position reconstruction accuracy in light field particle image velocimetry (LF-PIV). Key factors influencing the reconstruction quality are analyzed, and a benchmark criterion for reconstruction quality is proposed to ensure high-accuracy three-dimensional flow measurement. Numerical reconstructions of random particle and 3D displacement fields are performed to optimize the tomographic and deep learning reconstruction approaches. Strategies for generating optimal datasets for deep learning models are presented. The findings indicate that the generation of ghost particles and the omission of true particles are the primary causes of low reconstruction quality. The latter has a more noticeable impact, particularly when ghost particle intensities are significantly lower than true particles. A reconstruction quality factor of above 0.7 is recommended for reliable, high-accuracy flow measurements. Learning-based methods outperform tomographic algorithms in particle reconstruction, achieving comparable reconstruction accuracy with a single light field camera (LFC) to that of tomographic methods using dual LFCs. To generate high-quality datasets for deep learning, an optimal angular separation of 0.01° between sampling rays, a seeding density range of 0�1 particle per microlens, and variable particle peak intensities are suggested. Additionally, incorporating noise at 10 of the image intensity standard deviation into training data significantly enhances model robustness
Ecological drivers of garden dormouse (Eliomys quercinus) occupancy in a human modified landscape in Germany
Get PDFThe garden dormouse (Eliomys quercinus) is an understudied mammal species endemic to Europe. Once distributed widely across the continent, its eastern populations have significantly declined, with the species now found in only 50% of its former range. In Germany, it also occurs in spruce forests in low mountain ranges. However, this habitat has recently been lost due to bark beetle infestation following a prolonged period of drought. In some places, not only the dead trees are removed, but also all the branches and topsoil. We assessed habitat requirements of a garden dormouse population in such a changing habitat in the Harz Mountains, Germany. To assess garden dormouse occupancy, we conducted transect surveys using footprint tunnels during July and October 2022 for the presence of garden dormice. Additionally, we measured covariates such as coverage of tree, shrub and herb layers, as well as deadwood, soil characteristics and reforestation. Using single‐season occupancy modelling, we evaluated the effects of these habitat covariates on the occupancy of the garden dormouse. Our results indicated that garden dormouse occupancy was negatively affected by herb cover but positively associated with plant successional stages. Furthermore, occupancy of the garden dormouse was positively coupled with the occurrence of the hazel dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius). Detection probability increased with higher weekly minimum temperatures. Practical implications: For the conservation of garden dormice in low mountain ranges like the Harz, practical measures should include establishing interconnected forest edges and strips. Moreover, we suggest adopting a dynamic, mosaic approach to felling, avoiding topsoil removal and promoting regeneration that fosters semi‐open successional habitats as essential strategies
Health System Policy and the Pandemic in England, Assessing Its Impact and Shape
No full textThe policy response to the pandemic in England was characterised by a mixture of non- pharmaceuticalised and pharmaceuticalised policies with the former generally being a precursor to the latter. However, the adoption of and success of these policies hinged on the strength of the health system (health and social care and public health). Thus, the role played in this policy response by the health system, the extent to which it was prepared for a pandemic, its effectiveness at managing the pandemic and why and what the consequences were for the health of its workforce, the public’s health and for patient care will be the focus of this policy analysis. The analysis will draw on the recent evidence given at the current public inquiry in England
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