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Trends and projections in sexually transmitted infections in people aged 45 and older in England: analysis of national surveillance data
No full textAimsWe describe the epidemiology of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV in people aged ≥45 years in England and provide future projections about the burden of STIs in this age group.MethodsAnalysis of national surveillance data in England from 2014 to 2019 for chlamydia, gonorrhoea, herpes, syphilis, anogenital warts and HIV. Time trends were assessed by Poisson regression and reported using incidence rate ratios (IRR). Two scenarios were modelled to predict the number of new STI diagnoses and associated costs in 2040.Results In 2019, there were 37,692 new STI diagnoses in people ≥45 years in England. Between 2014-2019 there was a significant increase in the rate of new STI diagnoses in men (IRR 1.05, p=0.05) and those aged 45-64 (IRR 1.04, p= 0.05). Absolute numbers of new STI diagnosis in men who have sex with men increased by 76% between 2014 and 2019 (IRR 1.15, p<0.001). In adults aged ≥50 the number of episodes of care for HIV increased over time (age 50-64 IRR 1.10; 65+ IRR 1.13; p<0.001). The modelled scenarios predicted an increase in STI diagnoses and costs in older people by 2040.ConclusionsSTI rates in England are increasing in people aged ≥45 years. The population is ageing and older people will contribute an increasing burden to STI costs if this trend continues. The reasons for this trend are not fully understood and further longitudinal epidemiological research is needed. Sexual health promotion campaigns and healthcare interventions targeted at older people should be prioritised.<br/
Design of Flexible Meander Line Antenna for Healthcare for Wireless Medical Body Area Networks
No full texta flexible meander line monopole antenna (MMA) is presented in this paper. The antenna can be worn for on-and off-body applications. The overall dimension of the MMA is 37 mm 50 mm 2.37 mm3. The MMA was manufactured and measured, and the results matched with simulation results. The MMA design shows a bandwidth of up to 1282.4 (450.5) MHz and provides gains of 3.03 (4.85) dBi in the lower and upper operating bands, respectively, showing omnidirectional radiation patterns in free space. While worn on the chest or arm, bandwidths as high as 688.9 (500.9) MHz and 1261.7 (524.2) MHz, and the gains of 3.80 (4.67) dBi and 3.00 (4.55) dBi were observed. The experimental measurements of the read range confirmed the results of the coverage range of up to 11 meters
Denosumab and risk of community-acquired pneumonia: A population-based cohort study
No full textContext: Recent meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials raised concerns that denosumab might increase the risk of infection. However, data of denosumab on the risk of community-acquired pneumonia is sparse. Objective: To examine the risk of community-acquired pneumonia in subjects receiving denosumab compared to those receiving alendronate.Design: We conducted a propensity score-matched cohort study with a UK primary care database (IQVIA Medical Research Database). We examined the relation of denosumab to community-acquired pneumonia using a Cox proportional hazard model.Participants: The study subjects were osteoporotic patients >45 years who were initiators of denosumab or alendronate from August 1, 2010, to September 17, 2020.Outcome Measures: Community-acquired pneumonia.Results: Patients treated with denosumab (n=933) were compared with those treated with alendronate (n=4,652). In the matched population, the mean (SD) age was 77 (11) years, 89% were women, and about half of the study population had a history of major osteoporotic fracture. Over five years follow-up, the incidence of community-acquired pneumonia per 1000 person-years was 72.0 (95% confidence interval [CI] 60.1, 85.7) in the denosumab group and 75.1 (95%CI 69.4, 81.2) in the alendronate group. The hazard of community-acquired pneumonia was similar between denosumab and alendronate users (hazard ratio [HR] 0.96; 95% 0.79, 1.16). The results remain consistent in a series of sensitivity analyses, with HR ranging from 0.82 (95% CI 0.65, 1.04) to 0.99 (95% CI 0.81, 1.21).Conclusion: Denosumab does not significantly increase the susceptibility of community-acquired pneumonia and could possibly be safely used for the management of osteoporosis. <br/
Should Developing Countries Ban Dual Practice by physicians? An Analysis Under Mixed Hospital Competition*
No full textDual practice, where physicians work both in public and private hospitals, is a widely observed phenomenon, particularly in developing countries. This paper studies a multi-stage game where hospitals compete for physicians as well as patients and, the effort provided by physicians endogenously depends on the competitive setting in which hospitals operate. Specifically, we examine the impact of allowing dual practice on hospital payoffs, physician effort and patients and societal welfare. We find that dual practice introduced in a setting that resembles the characteristics of the health care system of a developing country can be in general socially desirable, since it softens the competition for physician’s exclusive effort (reducing hospital costs) while also increasing the level of their medical effort.<br/
A Petrological and Spectral Characterisation of the NU-LHT-2M Lunar Highlands Regolith Simulant in preparation for the PROSPECT payload ground testing campaign.
No full textIn preparation for the upcoming missions to the south polar region of the Moon, the Package for Resource Observation and in-Situ Prospecting for Exploration Commercial exploitation and Transportation (PROSPECT) underwent a series of tests to ensure its suitability for polar regolith and volatile analysis. A lunar regolith simulant, NU-LHT-2M, was used for geotechnical validation and volatile extraction testing. Therefore, the physical, chemical/mineralogical, and spectral properties of separate batches of this simulant have been characterised to better understand the results of the instrument laboratory testing phase. Here we compare measurements from two different batches of the simulant to Apollo bulk regolith samples in order to understand the suitability and representativeness of the simulant to the properties of surface highlands regolith. Based on our measurements, we recommend that the physical, mineralogical, and spectral properties of simulants be analysed both before and after space instrument testing campaigns. These bookended measurements would allow for a more detailed understanding of the test phase, including how the simulants have been altered by the test and, therefore, how the lunar surface may be affected by mission extraction and sampling processes
Nurses’ adoption and use of digital technology during the COVID-19 pandemic
No full textAim: to explore nurses’ adoption and use of digital technologies during the COVID-19 pandemicMethods: online survey to obtain nurses’ feedback and ratings of technologiesimplemented and used to support patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Survey questions comprised fixed response and free-text questions and a rating of system usability (quantitative and qualitative data). Participants were recruited via nursing networks and social media.Results: 55 respondents provided details on 85 separate technologies. The majority of technologies were used for patient monitoring/data sharing (n=39; 46%), online communication (n=22; 26%) virtual appointments (n=15; 18%). Other technologies included electronic patient records (n=5, 6%), e-Prescribing (n=3; 3%), and for PPE (n=1, 1%). Usability of systems varied significantly across types of technology. Barriers to successful use included accessibility to effective infrastructure.Conclusion: there was a range and breadth of digital technologies adopted and used by nurses during the pandemic. There are ongoing issues with the availability of digital infrastructure to enable effective digital working, and poor usability of some systems that have been implemente
Understanding the Effects of Zn Injection and OLNC-Treatment on 316 Stainless Steel Oxide under Simulated BWR Conditions
No full textThis study investigates the mechanism of incorporation of metal cations (Zn and Co) into the 316 stainless steel (SS) oxide under hydrogenated water chemistry (HWC) and On-Line NobleChemTM (OLNC). Coupons of 316 SS were exposed to simulated boiling water reactor (BWR) conditions (pure water, H:O molar ratio ~8) at 288 °C and then analysed via surface characterisation techniques. Specifically, coupons were initially exposed under HWC conditions for 500 h, then subjected for 200 h to the OLNCtreatment, and then a final exposure under HWC conditions for 500 h, all with simultaneous monitoring of the electrochemical corrosion potential. These exposures were performed both with and without Zn and or Co injection. It was found that Zn decreased the oxide thickness of the inner oxide layer and decreased the size of the crystallites on the outer layer. Addition of 0.2 ppb of Co in the water chemistry containing 10 ppb Zn did not appear to influence the oxide morphology nor its composition. Hard X-ray XPS analysis showed that Zn did not completely suppress Co incorporation in the outer oxide layer which was still found in concentrations up to 0.6 at. % on the surface of the oxide under Zn addition conditions
A scoping review of the literature on prosodic elements related to emotional speech in human-robot interaction
No full textBackground: Sentiment expression and detection are crucial for effective and empathetic human-robot interaction. Previous work in this field often focuses on non-verbal emotion expression, such as facial expressions and gestures. Less is known about which specific prosodic speech elements are required in human-robot interaction. Our research question was: what prosodic elements are related to emotional speech in human-computer/robot interaction?Methods: The scoping review was conducted in alignment with the Arksey and O’Malley methods. Literature was identified from the SCOPUS, IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library and PsycINFO databases in May 2021. After screening and de-duplication, data were extracted into an Excel coding sheet and summarised.Results: Thirteen papers, published from 2012 to 2020 were included in the review. The most commonly used prosodic elements were tone/pitch (n=8), loudness/volume (n=6) speech speed (n=4) and pauses (n=3). Non-linguistic vocalisations (n=1) were less frequently used. The prosodic elements were generally effective in helping to convey or detect emotion, but were less effective for negative sentiment (e.g., anger, fear, frustration, sadness and disgust).Discussion: Future research should explore the effectiveness of commonly used prosodic elements (tone, loudness, speed and pauses) in emotional speech, using larger sample sizes and real-life interaction scenarios. The success of prosody in conveying negative sentiment to humans may be improved with additional non-verbal cues (e.g., coloured light or motion). More research is needed to determine how these may be combined with prosody and which combination is most effective in human-robot affective interaction.Keywords: affective computing; speech; HRI; robotics; social robots; sentiment<br/
Advancing OHL Rating Calculations: Modeling Mixed-Convective Cooling and Conductor Geometry
No full textThe existing standard current-temperature calculations for overhead line (OHL) conductors have been adequate for conventional conductors and their operating temperatures. However, these calculations make assumptions and include simplifications about conductor geometry and aero-thermal-dynamics, introducing an error in the High-Temperature Low-Sag conductors operating temperatures. To quantify the error introduced by the shape of strands, the paper employs a Multi-Physics Finite Element Modeling approach that calculates the conjugate heat transfer for trapezoidal stranded OHL conductors. Furthermore, it proposes corrective equations to improve the accuracy of existing methods. The equations incorporate a new Nusselt number correlation for mixed convection and capture the surface area ignored by current calculations. The outer conductor geometry assumptions and the combined natural and forced convective cooling omission in the IEEE and CIGRE methods introduce an error at low (below 0.12 m/s) cross-flow wind speeds suggesting an underestimation of conductor temperature by up to 4%. In medium wind speeds, typically at 0.5 m/s - 0.61 m/s, the standard methods overestimate the conductor temperature limiting its current-carrying capability. A 5% uprating for existing OHLs is potentially feasible, particularly for the trapezoidal stranded conductors, when removing the assumptions made in existing methods
Exploring the Use and Delivery of School-Based Mindfulness Programmes for Young Children
No full textAims: This systematic literature review aimed to explore how school-based mindfulness programmes have been adapted for use with young children in education settings, from ages three to nine years old. Method: School-based mindfulness interventions were assessed on quality using qualitative and quantitative frameworks. Important attitudinal principles and practical components of the school-based mindfulness interventions were analysed. Findings: The results revealed vast heterogeneity across programme design and delivery. The majority of programmes used mindful movement, visuals/props, sensory activities, reflection on experiences and the use of metaphorical language to teach young children mindfulness. There appeared to be greater precedence for experiential practices than instructional practices such as attitudinal features. Mindfulness has been used mainly to support cognitive functioning, particularly attentional and executive functioning. Limitations: The COVID-19 pandemic has delayed submission of this article, meaning that the most recent research findings might not be documented. The heterogeneity of the studies made drawing conclusions difficult.Conclusions: Implications for educational psychology practice and areas for future research are considered, particularly in relation to how educational psychologists can work with teachers to deliver effective and sustainable mindfulness interventions.Keywords: mindfulness; attention; young children; intervention; education<br/