Recent publications
We explored the views of members of parliament (MPs) in Ghana on the call to decriminalise attempted suicide. We applied reflexive thematic analysis to Parliamentary Hansards (2017-2020) on calls to decriminalise attempted suicide in Ghana. 11 MPs shared their stance for or against the call. We developed three major themes that entailed, often, opposing views: (1) deterrent effect of the law (against: the law punishes and deters to protect life; for: the law is insensitive and has ironic effects), (2) enforcement of the law (against: leave things as they are, the law is not enforced, anyway; for: crime is not self-inflicted) and (3) prioritisation of suicide prevention (against: focus on more pressing issues, but resource support systems; for: the law and legitimate support systems cannot co-exist). The findings indicate two needs: to extend suicide literacy to Ghanaian MPs, and to initiate a public/private member's bill on attempted suicide decriminalisation.
A multi-output isolated power supply system based on magnetic coupling resonance technology (MOIPS-MCR) is proposed in this letter. It can not only selectively switch between constant voltage (CV) and constant current (CC) output mode at each receiver, but also flexibly adjust the number of receivers, achieving high flexibility, high efficiency, and high security of power supply to multiple devices. The topology of the MOIPSMCR was first introduced. Then, the output voltage and current expressions for each receiver in different modes were derived, and the principle of adjusting the number of receivers was introduced. An experimental prototype with two receivers was produced to validate the system's performance. Experimental results demonstrate that load-independent CV mode and CC mode at each receiver of the system and the flexible adjustment of the number of receivers can be achieved.
- Isabel Carbery
- Oliver Todd
- Matthew Hale
- [...]
- Christian P. Selinger
Background
The number of adults aged over 60 years with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is increasing. Frailty, rather than chronological age, may be a better predictor of adverse health outcomes.
Aims
To summarise current knowledge about frailty in adults with IBD including the prevalence and associations of frailty and IBD‐related adverse outcomes.
Methods
We performed an electronic search of MEDLINE, EMBASE and EMBASE Classic databases using search terms for IBD and frailty from inception to 14 February 2024. All studies involving adults aged ≥ 16 with a confirmed diagnosis of IBD that included a frailty assessment were eligible for inclusion.
Results
We included 23 observational studies involving 1,893,448 adults. Risk of bias was low for 18 studies and moderate for five. Twelve methods of frailty assessment were used, the most common being the Hospital Frailty Risk Score. Pooled prevalence of frailty in IBD patients was 18% (95% confidence interval (CI) 12.4%–25.6%). Meta‐analysis of unadjusted events data demonstrated that frailty increased the risk of infection‐related admissions following treatment in two studies (relative risk (RR) 1.9; 95% CI 1.2–3.0), post‐operative morbidity in three (RR 2.0; 95% CI 1.4–2.7) and mortality in seven (RR 4.3; 95% CI 2.6–7.4).
Conclusions
Frailty is common in patients with IBD and is associated with IBD‐related adverse outcomes including infection‐related admissions following treatment, post‐operative morbidity and death. Future work should focus on developing risk assessment tools to better support decision making for older people with frailty and IBD.
- David Dimitris Chlorogiannis
- Anastasia Vasilopoulou
- Christos I. Konstantinidis
- [...]
- Dimitris K. Filippiadis
Knee osteoarthritis is a progressive inflammatory musculoskeletal disease with a prevalence of approximately 15–23% and limited treatment options. In recent years, transcatheter genicular artery embolization (GAE) has been proposed due to promising results concerning symptomatic knee pain relief and mobility.
This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the aggregated data on the safety and efficacy of GAE for pain reduction in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis.
A systematic search of the three major databases (MEDLINE, Embase, and CENTRAL) from inception to 27 February 2024 was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. Studies reporting pain reduction according to the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC)-Total, WOMAC-Pain, and Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS)-Pain scales and adverse event rates were included. Meta-analysis was performed by estimating the mean differences and by fitting random-effect models.
Overall, 21 studies were included, comprising of 633 patients and 758 knees treated. The combined data analysis showed that patients who underwent GAE demonstrated mean declines in the VAS score of −38.5 points (95% confidence interval [CI]: −44.9, −32.0) at 1 month, −36.2 points (95% CI −43.0, −29.5) at 3 months, −40.3 points (95% CI: −49.0, −31.7) at 6 months, and −40.5 points (95% CI: −54.5, −26.6) at 12 months. Similarly, significant differences at all time points were also found for the WOMAC-Total, WOMAC-Pain, and KOOS-Pain scores. No difference between permanent and non-permanent embolic material was found in the subgroup analysis for all time points.
Genicular artery embolization is safe and effective for the treatment of painful knee osteoarthritis. This result was not affected by the type of embolic material used (permanent vs. non-permanent).
In this research, it is aimed to present a comparative analysis of soft–rigid industrial parallel rigid grippers to compare their technical capabilities and assess the potential for soft–rigid grippers to address the challenge of grasping fragile objects with various shapes and sizes. In this research, 24 soft–rigid grippers are first identified through a scoping review using the Web of Science database, capturing their technical features and performance. Providing a variable stiffness grasp (n = 9, 37.5%) and a limited grasp capability (n = 8, 33.3%) is the most common advantage and challenge, respectively, of soft–rigid grippers. Pneumatic actuators (n = 12, 50.0%), followed by tendon‐driven electric rotary actuators (n = 9, 37.5%), are the predominant actuators used for soft–rigid grippers. Soft–rigid grippers are found to have a lower output force‐to‐weight ratio (n = 9, median (x˜)=13.62, standard deviation (σ) = 15.17) in comparison to industrial parallel rigid grippers (n = 63, x˜=76.53, σ=35.53), but can provide a larger range of motion (n = 20, x˜=110.00 mm, σ=42.97 mm). This is the first quantitative comparative analysis between industrial parallel rigid and soft–rigid grippers, enhancing the understanding of their status and prospects in industrial applications. Herein, a common approach is proposed to standardize reporting to facilitate benchmarking between research‐based and industrial grippers and highlight controlling soft–rigid grippers is an underexplored area that can enhance the technology's performance.
China’s rapid and ongoing urbanisation has led to the expansion of the local state. The state, traditionally exhibited as physical institutions of government, has emerged virtually in recent years based on intricate network infrastructure systems, such as social media platforms. Scholars contend that a strong physical state infrastructure enhances government function and can increase citizens’ life satisfaction; in contrast, the state’s virtual presence is unlikely to exert a substantial independent impact because of its reliance on the state’s physical infrastructure. In this research, we calibrated innovative measures of the state’s physical and virtual presence. Combined with data from the 2018 Urbanisation and Quality of Life Survey conducted in 40 sampling sites undergoing rural–urban transition, we further assessed how the local state’s physical and virtual presence is associated with citizens’ self-reported life satisfaction in the context of China’s national new-type urbanisation. Our results, based on three-level mixed-effects regressions, indicate that the local state’s bricks-and-mortar institutions do not correlate with citizens’ life satisfaction; rather, the establishment of a web-based, cost-effective, transparent, and coordinated virtual presence is associated with a higher level of life satisfaction among citizens. At a time when the Chinese central government emphasises its commitment to ‘people-centred’ urbanisation, the findings offer insight into the strategies that local governments could employ to improve governance quality and enhance citizens’ well-being.
Landfills are a primary method of waste disposal in developing nations despite their environmental impact. The decomposition of municipal organic waste in landfills generates potent greenhouse gases (GHGs) that contribute to the effects of urban climate change. In Delhi, India, which generates 11,144 tons per day (TPD) of municipal solid waste (MSW), three major landfill sites Ghazipur (GL), Bhalswa (BL), and Okhla (OL) were examined using the well-established in-situ static chamber method to measure emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O). This study highlights the need to address these uncertainties by comprehensively capturing GHG emissions from the diverse dynamics within the landfill through rigorous field experiments that account for spatial and temporal variability. The average CH4 emission fluxes from three years of extensive field studies exhibited high variability, measured at 1494 ± 893 (CV = 59.8%), 1576 ± 746 (CV = 47.3%), and 961 ± 322 (CV = 33.5%) mg m−2 h−1 for GL, BL, and OL, respectively. This resulted in CH4 emission factors (EFs) of 5.6 ± 3.5, 4.4 ± 1.9, and 4.2 ± 1.4 g kg−1 for GL, BL, and OL, respectively. The CO2 emission fluxes were 7520 ± 3401 (CV = 45.2%), 8005 ± 3907 (CV = 48.8%), and 5066 ± 1985 (CV = 39.2%) mg m−2 h−1 with corresponding EFs of 20.0 ± 7, 23.3 ± 9, and 16.3 ± 4.7 g kg−1. The N2O emission fluxes were 1210 ± 329 (CV = 27.2%), 998 ± 298 (CV = 30%) and 944 ± 339 (CV = 36%) μg m−2 h−1 with EFs of 3.8 ± 0.1, 2.5 ± 0.2, and 3.1 ± 0.3 mg kg−1 for GL, BL, and OL, respectively. Total GHG emissions from Delhi’s landfills were estimated as 328.6 ± 91.9, 231.0 ± 109.5, and 241.1 ± 112.2 Gg CO2 equivalent for 2009–10, 2010–11, and 2011–12. Investigating waste management practices such as spreading, covering, and compaction is essential for understanding their impact on GHG emissions and advancing climate change mitigation through waste-to-energy solutions for sustainable solid waste management and energy production. While the findings offer valuable understandings into emission patterns, the limited sample size introduces some uncertainty, and the EFs should be considered as a preliminary estimation of major GHG in three consecutive years. Future research is necessary to validate these factors with more extensive datasets that capture spatial and seasonal variations in emissions.
Correction for ‘Steady states and kinetic modelling of the acid-catalysed ethanolysis of glucose, cellulose, and corn cob to ethyl levulinate’ by Conall McNamara et al., Energy Adv., 2024, 3, 1439–1458, https://doi.org/10.1039/D4YA00043A.
Although pursuing fun seems contradictory to work, it may yield beneficial outcomes for not only employees but also leaders in the workplace. The present paper aims to bridge the gap between the workplace fun/play literature and leadership research by introducing the concept of leader fun pursuit and examining its influence on followers' evaluations. Moreover, drawing on the dual perspective model of social evaluation and expectancy violation theory, we examine the effects of leader fun pursuit on followers' perceptions of leader attributes and evaluations of leadership, and posit a gender-contingent boundary condition. We conducted three studies to develop a scale and examine our hypotheses. Study 1 (four samples, total N = 734) developed a four-item scale to measure leader fun pursuit and established its reliability and validity. Study 2 (N = 309) used a multi-wave design to examine the full model. Study 3 (N = 279) used a vignette-based experiment to strengthen the internal validity of our conceptual model. We found that leader fun pursuit generally enhances followers' evaluations of the leader, and this effect was especially pronounced for female leaders. Overall, we introduce a novel approach to effective leadership and examine the gender differences therein.
Metformin is an antihyperglycemic used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Patients with T2DM are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease. We explored the association between metformin use and cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) derived stress myocardial blood flow (MBF), myocardial perfusion reserve (MPR) and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE; all cause death, MI, stroke, heart failure hospitalisation and coronary revascularisation) in patients with T2DM. Multi-centre study of patients with T2DM, and healthy controls, underwent quantitative myocardial perfusion CMR using an artificial intelligence supported process. Multivariable regression analysis, and cox proportional hazard models of propensity score weighted patients quantified associations between metformin use, MBF, MPR, all cause death and MACE. Analysis included 572 patients with T2DM (68% prescribed metformin) with median follow-up 851 days (IQR 935 − 765). Metformin use was associated with an increase of MPR of 0.12 [0.08–0.40], p = 0.004. There were 82 MACE events (14.3%) including 25 (4.4%) deaths of which 16 were in those not prescribed metformin (8.7%), compared to 9 in patients prescribed metformin (2.3%): adjusted hazard ratio 0.24 (95% CI 0.08–0.70, p = 0.009). MACE events were similar between groups. This multicentre, inverse probability weighting propensity score analysis study showed that in patients with T2DM, metformin use is associated with higher MPR and improved all cause survival.
Fuel taxes are seen as an important instrument in the fight against climate change, including in the European Green Deal. From a social-ecological policy perspective, it is important to understand current high levels of public opposition to fuel taxes. If social disadvantage is an important driver of opposition, this would strengthen arguments that fuel taxes need to be designed in a fairer way. However, it remains unclear how important social disadvantage – here defined as a combination of low income, fuel poverty risk, low education, low occupational status and job insecurity – is for explaining opposition compared to factors such as political trust and climate change attitudes, and how the role of social disadvantage varies with welfare regimes in Europe. In this article, we examine how strongly social disadvantage is associated with opposition to fuel taxes once political trust and climate change attitudes are controlled for, and we compare results across welfare regimes. The article uses data from the 2016 European Social Survey and employs logistic regression and decomposition analysis. We find that social disadvantage contributes nearly as much to fuel tax opposition as climate change attitudes and political trust together, with 10.9 and 16.6 percentage points respectively. However, the role of social disadvantage varies by welfare regime. It matters most in Southern and Eastern Europe, where opposition is particularly high, as are poverty and inequality. We discuss implications for social-ecological policy strategies that aim to increase public acceptability of fuel taxes in Europe.
In England, a quarter of 5-year-olds have tooth decay. For families with autistic children, establishing optimal habits (toothbrushing twice a day with fluoride toothpaste, limiting sugar intake and regular dental visits) can be difficult. Oral health experiences from the perspective of autistic children remains unexplored. Interviewing autistic children is crucial as it provides direct insights into their unique experiences and needs, ensuring their voices are represented in research. Therefore, we aimed to explore autistic children’s oral health experiences, including the barriers and facilitators to optimal oral health behaviours. We sought the views of 10 autistic children (aged 7–13 years old) about toothbrushing, healthy eating and visiting the dentist, using spoken interviews and Talking Mats ® . Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Two themes were identified: (1) The diverse sensory nature of oral health activities; and (2) developing trust and routine through consistency, communication and collaboration. Our inclusive methodologies enabled autistic children with diverse communication needs to participate. Such methodologies improve the representation of autistic children in oral health research and autism-related studies more generally. The findings are informing the development of a new personalised support package to help families meet their autistic children’s unique needs.
Lay abstract
In England, one in four children have tooth decay by the age of 5 years. Tooth decay affects many autistic children. Communication differences, sensory sensitivities and preferred routines can make dental care difficult. Daily toothbrushing, healthy eating and drinking, and attending the dentist may be challenging for autistic children. We do not know much about how autistic children feel about looking after their teeth. Learning from them directly is important to understand their needs and make sure their voices are heard. We interviewed 10 autistic children aged between 7 and 13 years to discover how they care for their teeth, what helped and what did not. We talked about toothbrushing, healthy eating and drinking and visiting the dentist. To support our conversations, we used Talking Mats ® – a tool that can help with communication. Autistic children described a wide range of sensory issues related to looking after their teeth. This finding shows how important it is to tailor care to each child’s needs. Children wanted to be included in conversations about their teeth at home and at the dentist. This was felt to make a big difference in building trust and making them feel comfortable and supported. Overall, we found Talking Mats ® can be used in dental research to engage with autistic children. By understanding children’s views, we can better help professionals and parents to support their dental needs. Our research showed that every child’s experience is unique, so dental support must be tailored and inclusive to meet children’s needs.
Given how thoroughly the history of quantum physics has been excavated, it might be wondered what these two hefty volumes by a physicist (Duncan) and a historian (Janssen) bring to the table. Aside from their inclusion of a wide range of recent work in this area, including some notable publications by themselves, the answer is twofold: first, as they state explicitly in the preface to the first volume, derivations of the key results are presented ‘at a level that a reader with a command of physics and mathematics comparable to that of an undergraduate in physics should be able to follow without having to take out pencil and paper’ (vol. 1, p. vi). In response to those who might raise Whiggish eyebrows, I shall simply play the ‘you-try-reading-Pascual-Jordan's-groundbreaking-work-in-the-original’ card. As the authors suggest, by using modern notation and streamlining derivations whilst also, they maintain, remaining conceptually faithful to the original sources (ibid.), the book is rendered suitable for classroom use, albeit at the higher undergraduate or graduate levels.
Objectives
This work aimed to resolve the conflicting reports on Prevotellaceae abundance in the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to observe structural, functional and temporal changes in the gut microbiome in RA progressors versus non-progressors.
Methods
Individuals at risk of RA were defined by the presence of anticyclic citrullinated protein (anti-CCP) antibodies and new musculoskeletal symptoms without clinical synovitis. Baseline sampling included 124 participants (30 progressed to RA), with longitudinal sampling of 19 participants (5 progressed to RA) over 15 months at five timepoints. Gut microbiome taxonomic alterations were investigated using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and confirmed with shotgun metagenomic DNA sequencing on 49 samples.
Results
At baseline, CCP+ at risk progressors showed significant differences in Prevotellaceae abundance compared with non-progressors, contingent on intrinsic RA risk factors and time to progression. Longitudinal sampling revealed gut microbiome instability in progressors 10 months before RA onset, a phenomenon absent in non-progressors. This may indicate a late microbial shift before RA onset, with Prevotellaceae contributing but not dominating these changes. Structural changes in the gut microbiome during arthritis development were associated with increased amino acid metabolism.
Conclusion
These data suggest conflicting reports on Prevotellaceae overabundance are likely due to sampling within a heterogeneous population along a dynamic disease spectrum, with certain Prevotellaceae strains/clades possibly contributing to the establishment and/or progression of RA. Gut microbiome changes in RA may appear at the transition to clinical arthritis as a late manifestation, and it remains unclear whether they represent a primary or secondary phenomenon.
Traditional liberal democratic theories of protest can readily account for protest violence against others or their property, and are quick to denounce and criminalize such actions. However, protests that involve self‐harm are harder to frame; they neither engage the harm principle, nor threaten a sovereign state of ostensible peace. Under liberal legalism, capacitous and consenting protesters should not have their rights of expression interfered with in such cases. However, in England and Wales, legal responses to self‐harming violence nevertheless emerge, not necessarily within a public order framework, but through a risk‐averse, medicalized lens. Co‐authored by a legal academic and a practising psychiatrist, this article argues that mental health practitioners, the police, and the courts engage in a ‘paternalistic pivot’ in self‐harming protest cases, which undermines human rights protections that are ordinarily afforded to protesters who are not causing a threat to others or their property.
The teenage Colombian woman footballer Linda Caicedo has had ameteoric rise to prominence following her performances in severalinternational tournaments in 2022 and 2023. Her star status is importantto analyse from an intersectional perspective given her identity as aBlack woman from humble Colombian origins. There has been insuffi-cient analysis of the meanings and representations of Black womenfootballers, let al.one sportswomen from Latin America regarding theirstar construction. Therefore, this article investigates media narrativesaround Linda Caicedo, by analysing three Colombian publications, ElEspectador, El Tiempo and Semana around the time of the 2022 Women’sCopa América, the 2022 Under 20 Women’s World Cup, the 2022 Under17 Women’s World Cup, and the Women’s World Cup in 2023. We arguethat media narratives present a rupture with traditional discoursearound women’s football in Colombia, by constructing her star statusaround her exceptional playing attributes, her values and capacity toovercome obstacles.
La adolescente futbolista colombiana Linda Caicedo ha tenido un ascenso meteórico a la fama tras sus actuaciones en varios torneos internacionales en 2022 y 2023. Es importante analizar su estatus de estrella desde una perspectiva interseccional, dada su identidad como mujer negra de origen humilde colombiano. No se han analizado suficientemente los significados y las representaciones de las futbolistas negras, y mucho menos de las deportistas latinoamericanas, en relación con su condición de estrellas. Por lo tanto, este artículo investiga las narrativas mediáticas en torno a Linda Caicedo, mediante el análisis de tres publicaciones colombianas, El Espectador, El Tiempo y Semana, en torno a la Copa América Femenina 2022, la Copa Mundial Femenina Sub 20 20 2022, la Copa Mundial Femenina Sub 17 2022 y la Copa Mundial Femenina 2023. Argumentamos que las narrativas mediáticas presentan una ruptura con el discurso tradicional en torno al fútbol femenino en Colombia, al construir su estatus de estrella en torno a sus excepcionales atributos de juego, sus valores y su capacidad para superar obstáculos.
- Daren Zhang
- Nyusifan Tang
- Wanchen Dong
- Lu Zhao
Machine learning technology has revolutionized the financial sector by allowing faster and more accurate analysis and forecasting of large-scale financial data. This paper focuses on how machine learning ( ML ), especially deep learning models, can help to deal with high dimensional, noisy, and non-stationary financial data. Essential methodologies such as data preprocessing, feature engineering, and dimensionality reduction are imperative for preparing the raw financial data to ML algorithms. Methods such as outlier detection, normalisation for preprocessing, and feature (variable) selection for dimensionality reduction improve the models accuracy and efficiency. The paper also examines how deep learning models, such as Recurrent Neural Networks ( RNN ) and Long Short-Term Memory ( LSTM ) networks, can overcome the issues of autoregressive integrated moving average ( ARIMA ) models for financial time series prediction. An in-depth comparison of the machine learning models, ranging from supervised to unsupervised methods, is also provided to discuss their pros and cons in the financial domain, including popular applications such as credit scoring, fraud detection, and market risk prediction. The study finally concludes by discussing how optimisation methods such as hyperparameter tuning and cross-validation are imperative for ML models in complex financial scenarios to ensure their generalisation capability and avoid overfitting.
- Chengyuan Tang
This study explores the thematic evolution of Sino-American relations over the past decade using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modeling. We compiled a comprehensive dataset of academic papers, news articles, government reports, and social media posts, focusing on themes such as economic competition, technological rivalry, military strategy, diplomatic maneuvers, and ideological conflict. Our analysis identifies key sub-topics within these themes, including trade tariffs, 5G technology, and military expenditures, providing a nuanced understanding of the factors influencing bilateral relations. Temporal trends highlight the shifting prominence of these themes, with economic competition and technological rivalry becoming increasingly salient. Additionally, the concept of financial hegemony, particularly the role of the U.S. dollar, emerges as a significant driver of U.S. policy. This study offers insights into the strategic motivations behind U.S. actions and the complex interplay of various factors in Sino-American relations.
The effect of Ability, Motivation, and Opportunities (AMO) on innovation and performance in SMEs
Abstract
The research aims to investigate the impact of practices that enhance Ability, Motivation, and Opportunities on innovation and performance in SMEs. Based on the positive model and quantitative methodology, all data were collected from a suitable sample of 430 cadres and workers of the SMEs category. The results revealed a positive impact of AMO on innovation and performance. The research findings can be useful for managers of SMEs and entrepreneurs to encourage them to adopt activities that contribute to building capacity and gaining knowledge to achieve the organizational goals of their companies.
Keywords: Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs); Human Resource Management (HRM); Ability, Motivation, and Opportunity (AMO), innovation performance
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