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Validity and Inter‐Device Reliability of an Artificial Intelligence App for Real‐Time Assessment of 505 Change of Direction Tests
Get PDFThe present study aimed to explore the validity and inter‐device reliability of a novel artificial intelligence app (Asstrapp) for real‐time measurement of the traditional (tra505) and modified‐505 (mod505) change of direction (COD) tests. Twenty‐five male Sports Science students (age, 23.5 ± 3.27 years; body height, 178 ± 9.76 cm; body mass, 79.4 ± 14.7 kg) completed 12 trials each, consisting of six tra505 and six mod505 trials. Completion times were simultaneously recorded via single‐beam electronic timing gates (ETG) and two different iPhones (APP1 and APP2). In total 300 trials were collected across the two tests, using all three devices, to establish the reliability and validity of the app. The coefficient of variation indicated a similar level of dispersion between the ETG (≤ 2.73%), APP1 (≤ 2.39%) and APP2 (≤ 2.52%). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) revealed excellent reliability among the three timing devices (ICC ≥ 0.99) and Asstrapp relative reliability was excellent for both APP1 (ICC ≥ 0.91) and APP2 (ICC ≥ 0.91). There was a practically perfect correlation and agreement between ETG and Asstrapp (APP1: r = 0.97; APP2: r = 0.97) for both COD tests. However, small but significant differences were found between smartphones and ETG for tra505 (ES ≤ 0.33; p < 0.05). Collectively, these findings support the use of Asstrapp for real‐time assessment of both 505 COD tests
An Assessment Of Food Safety Culture At Five Ethnic Group Restaurants In Dubai.
No full textRecent studies suggest that a deeper understanding of food safety culture within organizations is necessary for ensuring food safety. During the food inspection program, the Dubai Municipality Food Safety Department identified two categories of restaurants, with one responding to inspectors' food safety concerns while the other did not. The analysis of the data on food safety noncompliance from the Dubai Municipality's smart system revealed that the knowledge and attitude of food handlers play a significant role in food safety infractions. Moreover, the majority of these infractions are associated with specific food establishments and ethnic groups, including Pakistan, India, the Philippines, Arabs, and international. The purpose of this research was to determine how food safety culture influences food safety compliance in various ethnic groups (Indian, Pakistani, Philippine, Arab, and international). Five factors, including financial inadequacy, management’s commitment, food safety risk perception, management and co-worker support, and knowledge and trust in the food safety management system in different cuisines, were perceived differently by food handlers. Thirty food handlers from various ethnic groups of restaurants were randomly selected. This research employs a qualitative research strategy, and the primary instrument was semi-structured interviews with ten food handlers from Indian cuisine, eight from Pakistani cuisine, and four from the Philippines, Arabic, and international cuisines, respectively. An analysis of the food safety cultures of Indian, Pakistani, Philippine, Arabic, and international cuisines revealed that international and Arabic cuisines have financial adequacy to manage food safety, while Indian, Pakistani, and Philippine cuisines were found to have inadequate financial resources to implement Food Safety Management Systems to support food safety. Positive management commitment was noted in Pakistani, Arabic, and international cuisines, despite negative management commitment in Indian and Philippine cuisines. Indian, Arabic, and international cuisines exhibit a positive impact in perceiving the risk, whereas both Pakistani and Philippine cuisines showed a negative impact in perceiving the food safety risk. It was determined that the management and coworker support were positive in the Indian, Pakistani, and Philippine cuisines, whereas they were negative in the Arabic and international cuisines. The research also revealed that all five cuisines lacked knowledge and trust in the Food Safety Management System, relying primarily on basic food safety practices to ensure food safety and hygiene. The findings revealed a strong relationship between food safety culture and food safety compliance among Indian, Pakistani, Philippine, Arabic, and international ethnic groups. This research provides distinct contributions to the current body of literature. It offers factual evidence that the food safety culture has a direct influence on food safety. Given the lack of previous exploration on this subject, this research proposes a novel approach to enhancing safety in food establishments. The research examined and emphasized the variables that influence the level of food safety compliance in Dubai's restaurants
Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health evidence submission to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Committee
Get PDFSimulation-Based Design of a Cam-Driven Hydraulic Prosthetic Ankle
Get PDFObjectives: A cam-driven hydraulic prosthetic ankle was designed to overcome the weaknesses of commercial prostheses and research prototypes, which largely fail to mimic the energy-recycling behaviour of an intact ankle, resulting in poor walking performance for lower-limb prosthesis users. Methods: This novel device exploits miniature hydraulics to capture the negative work performed during stance, prior to push-off, in a hydraulic accumulator, and return positive work during push-off for forward body propulsion. Two cams are used to replicate intact ankle torque profiles based on experimental data. The design process for the new prosthesis used a design programme, implemented in MATLAB, based on a simulation of the main components of the prosthetic ankle. Results: In this paper, we present the design programme and explain how it is used to determine the cam profiles required to replicate intact ankle torque, as well as to size the cam follower return springs. Moreover, a constraint-based preliminary design investigation is described, which was conducted to size other key components affecting the device's size, performance, and energy efficiency. Finally, the feasible design alternatives are compared in terms of their energy losses to determine the best design with regard to minimising both energy losses and device size. Conclusions: Such a design approach not only documents the design of a particular novel prosthetic ankle, but can also provide a systematic framework for decomposing complex design challenges into a series of sub-problems, providing a more effective alternative to heuristic approaches in prosthetic design
Mobilising Cross-Sectoral Collaboration in Creating Age-Friendly Cities: Case Studies from Akita and Manchester
Get PDFDeveloping Age-Friendly Cities and Communities (AFCCs) is an increasingly popular policy response to supporting ageing populations. AFCC programmes rely on cross-sectoral collaboration, involving partnerships among diverse stakeholders working across sectors to address shared goals. However, there remains a limited understanding of what mechanisms and strategies drive collaboration among diverse actors within age-friendly cities. To address this gap, this empirical paper draws on examples from a comparative case study across Akita (Japan) and Manchester (UK), two cities with distinct demographic profiles but both with a longstanding commitment to the age-friendly approach. Case studies were created through a range of data collection methods, namely, a review of secondary data sources, semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, and fieldwork in each city. Key insights from the case studies relating to the mobilisation of cross-sectoral collaboration were categorised into three themes: leadership and influencing, co-production, and place-based working. These mechanisms are not mutually exclusive; collaboration building through co-production and place-based working is essential to deliver age-friendly programmes, but these mechanisms rely on leadership and influence. Therefore, it is recommended that all three mechanisms be used to effectively mobilise cross-sectoral collaborations to collectively create AFCC and support healthy ageing
Treatment Utilisation and Satisfaction With Management in Individuals With Osteoarthritis and Metabolic Multimorbidity: A Cross‐Sectional Multi‐Country Study
Get PDFPurpose: To compare treatment utilisation for osteoarthritis (OA) and satisfaction with OA management between individuals with and without comorbid metabolic conditions (e.g., diabetes, obesity, dyslipidaemia, hypertension). Methods: Secondary analysis of a cross‐sectional international survey study (Italy, Russia, Sweden) on people ≥ 40 years old with knee/hip OA. Metabolic comorbidity was self‐reported. We used direct standardisation with prevalence ratios and mixed‐effect models to estimate the associations between comorbidity with treatment utilisation and satisfaction (score 0–100). Results: We analysed 401 individuals (48% Sweden, 28% Italy, 24% Russia; 53% with ≥ 1 metabolic condition). Those with and without comorbid metabolic conditions showed similar prevalence for first‐line interventions (exercise, education, and weight management). Metabolically unhealthy individuals showed higher use of opioids (prevalence ratio [95% CI] 1.9 [1.3–2.4]), antidepressants (1.8 [1.1–2.5]), corticosteroid injections (1.4 [1.0−1.8]), and homoeopathic products (2.1 [1.2–3.0]). Satisfaction with care (adjusted difference: −3.9 [95% CI: −8.5 to 2.4]) and information received about treatments (−4.0 [−9.7 to 1.7]) were similar. Conclusions: While first‐line OA interventions were similarly used, those with metabolic conditions relied more on second‐line and non‐recommended treatments, showing comparable satisfaction. More effort is needed to increase the adoption of lifestyle‐focused treatments in OA and to minimise the use of less recommended options among individuals with metabolic comorbidities
Quantifying the benefits of incorporating biochar in green roof substrates: field study on the highrise rooftop in temperate climate setting
Get PDFBiochar is a promising material with a wide range of applications. One area of application is as an additive in substrates for green roofs. Green roofs are a way of mitigating climate change, with biochar offering an opportunity to further enhance this benefit and upscale practice. In this field study, the effect of a 5-vol.% addition of wood-based biochar to a green roof substrate is evaluated with respect to a water balance (reduced runoff, increased evapotranspiration, increased plant available water) and hydrophysical properties. Substrate, with and without biochar amendment, was used in different green roof sections. Laboratory hydrophysical analysis, in-situ Volumetric Water Content and meteorological measurements, alongside vegetation monitoring, enabled the development of a 1D Hydrus water balance model and revealed differences between both of the surveyed green roofs. The study demonstrated that the addition of biochar to the substrate improved its hydrophysical properties, leading to increased water retention (7.7% increase in maximum water capacity) and enhanced vegetation growth The biochar amendment resulted in the minor changes in grain size distribution (increase in the 0.01 to 0.1 mm fraction) and increased substrate moisture, which is related to an increase in the plant-available water content (14.2%). This was observable in the retention curves and resulted in an increased moisture availability for plants, leading to an increase in vegetation cover in areas with biochar. The numerical analysis using Hydrus-1D soil hydraulic model showed that the inclusion of biochar in the substrate resulted in a 23.5% increase in evapotranspiration and a 54.7% decrease in runoff. These findings suggest that the addition of biochar to the green roof substrate could enhance the system's capacity to retain water, reduce runoff and bulk density, and increase the amount of water available for plant growth. The study provides evidence for the potential of wood-based biochar as a sustainable and effective addition to green roof substrates, contributing to the development of more resilient and sustainable urban environments. Graphical Abstract
Hidden voices and deep meaning: An ethnography to reveal and render explicit health care assistants, porters and domestics experience and role in the social organisation of end of life care
No full textEncounters with patients who are approaching end of life or dying can affect all staff. Yet health care support staff are rarely mentioned or included in service evaluation or research studies, with their roles often not easily visible, largely happening ‘behind the scenes’ or ‘backstage’. This ethnographic research study aims to reveal and render explicit health care assistants, porters and domestics experience and role in the social organisation of end of life care. Exploring their knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs - including any specific difficulties or barriers encountered to ensure support, training and educational offers relating to end of life care are considered and inclusive. This ethnographic study conducted at the height of the global COVID-19 pandemic uses a naturalistic approach - the primary data gathering method being participant observation, shadowing and following their everyday routines, with semi-structured interviews conducted across the staff groups. Insights from observational fieldwork and interviews, explored using tropes to ‘tell tales of the field’ preserved the integrity of the participants stories, which revealed many forms of invisible labour. Aspects such as tacit knowledge - that which is understood or implied without being stated, sensory elements, embodiment - sensory awareness at end of life, interaction order - unspoken language and meaning, transition points – that occurred ‘front’ and ‘back’ stage, architecture - their use of space and rituals or rhythms through custom and practice which had either not been noticed, fully recognised, or taken for granted. Using ethnography relating to end of life care in context, recognises their valuable experience and roles and should encompass inclusive support, training, and education
The Association of Urban Greenspace Characteristics with Tick Densities and Borrelia burgdorferi prevalence in Scotland
No full textTicks are an ecosystem disservice in urban greenspaces, with the potential to transmit diseases. The characteristics of an urban greenspace can impact the hazard of ticks and tick-borne pathogens both within a greenspace and in the surrounding area. This research aimed to understand how the configuration, connectivity, area, and land cover of urban greenspaces can influence the population densities of ticks and the associated hazard of Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme disease. Tick densities were estimated at 34 sites across Scotland in 2022 and 2023, and tick samples were analysed to detect the prevalence of B. burgdorferi pathogens. The area and connectivity of each greenspace was calculated, as well as the proportions of four land cover types within a 1 km buffer around each greenspace. An agent-based model was used to explore how the configurations of single large vs several small greenspaces may influence the risk of tick bites and Borrelia infections. Increased connectivity of urban greenspaces was significantly correlated with increased density of nymphs (DON) and the density of infected nymphs (DIN) within greenspaces. Increased greenspace area was associated with increased DIN, but not DON. Land cover was found to have varying effects on DON and DIN; Increased woodland cover was associated with increased DIN but decreased DON. The proportion of built-up area was negatively associated with the DIN. Increased areas of improved grassland were associated with increased DIN, while the proportion of semi-natural grassland had the opposite effect. Modelling outputs suggested that while the risk of tick bites may be significantly higher in a ‘several small’ greenspace configuration, the risk of Borrelia infections is significantly higher in a ‘single large’ greenspace. These results highlight the need for urban planners to recognise these potential disservices when designing greenspaces, and the importance of educating the public about tick awareness
Putting child health at the centre of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
No full textThis report sets out the main themes of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill and highlights its most significant aspects for children, young people and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) members. Children’s social care and schools are devolved policy issues, so most of the legislation will apply in England only
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