Quantifying spatial gradients in coral reef benthic communities using multivariate dispersion

Tropical coral reefs are dynamic, disturbance-driven ecosystems that are heterogeneous across space and time, partly owing to gradients in cross-scale human impacts and natural environmental factors. Localized management interventions that strive to maintain the long-term persistence and function of coral reefs need to be informed by how and why reef habitats vary. Using the 'multivariate dispersion' metric, a statistical approach to measure ecological community variability, we quantified spatial gradients in coral reef benthic communities around Tutuila Island in American Samoa, central South Pacific. Benthic communities with low, medium and high dispersion each had distinct and consistent underlying benthic community characteristics. Low dispersion sites were consistently characterized by high hard coral cover, medium dispersion sites were generally dominated by crustose coralline algae, while high dispersion sites were dominated by turf and fleshy coralline algae. Variability in hard coral and turf algal cover explained 42% of the underlying variation in benthic community dispersion across sites, while site-level gradients in human impacts and environmental factors did not correlate well with variations in benthic community dispersion. The metric should be further tested on temporal data to determine whether it can summarize complex community changes in response to and following acute disturbance.</p

Bridging the gap: a qualitative study exploring the impact of the involvement of researchers with lived experience on a multi-site randomised control trial in the National Probation Service in England and Wales

IntroductionMethodological and ethical arguments support the involvement of individuals with lived experience in research to reduce engagement barriers and ensure those directly affected by studies contribute to knowledge generation. However, there is limited evidence on the impact of including researchers with lived experience of serving a prison or community sentence in clinical trials. This qualitative study aimed to explore the value of involving researchers with lived experience of the criminal justice system as data collectors in the Mentalization for Offending Adult Males (MOAM), a multisite RCT conducted in the National Probation Service in England and Wales.MethodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 trial participants and 17 key stakeholders, either in person or via telephone. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically.FindingsFive themes emerged for trial participants and 11 for key stakeholders. For some, lived experience researchers helped overcome engagement barriers by fostering common ground with participants who were serving a prison or community sentence during recruitment. Participants reported that the involvement of lived experience researchers enhanced the study by facilitating knowledge transfer in certain instances. However, their inclusion did not eliminate all barriers and, for some participants, introduced new challenges to engagement.ConclusionForensic lived experience researchers bridged the gap by fostering trust between data collectors and participants. Future studies should ensure that lived experience researchers receive adequate clinical supervision to support their role. The adopted methodology challenged assumptions about knowledge generation and stereotypes associated with being an ex-offender, benefiting both lived experience and traditional researchers.Patient or Public ContributionThe study was developed in collaboration with User Voice (charity number: 1136047), who contributed to the study's design and conduct. The service user organisation co-designed the interview schedule and directed the protocol for participant payments, emphasising a consistent approach to avoid tokenism and ensure equal recognition of all contributions. The dissemination plan was developed in partnership with individuals with lived experience of the criminal justice system

Re-thinking people and nature interactions in urban nature-based solutions

People-environment interactions within nature-based solutions (NBS) are not always understood. This has implications for communicating the benefits of NBS and for how we plan cities. We present a framework that highlights a duality in NBS. The NBS as an asset includes both natural capital and human-centred capital, including organisational structures. NBS also exist as a system within which people are able to interact. Temporal and spatial scales moderate the benefits that NBS provide, which in turn are dependent on the scale at which social processes operate. Co-production and equity are central to the interactions among people and institutions in the design, use and management of NBS, and this requires clear communication. Drawing on ideas from culture-based development (CBD), we suggest an approach to communicate the benefits of NBS in a neutral but effective way. We propose guidelines for planning NBS that allow the optimisation of NBS locations and designs for particular outcomes

Do leaders actually influence sports performance? An integrated systematic review and meta-analyses.

The precise nature of the leadership-sport performance relationship remains unclear. Furthermore, understanding of how leadership effects might differ across coach and athlete leaders or across team and individual performance is currently limited. To address these issues, we conducted an integrated systematic and meta-analytical review (50 studies, 17,158 athletes), to quantify differences between coach and athlete leaders, and examine potential moderator variables. Results revealed a significant yet small positive relationship between leadership and performance (r = .21; Hedges’ g = .44). Significantly stronger relationships emerged for team captains (r = .34) with team performance than coaches (r = .18), and informal athlete leaders (r = .15). Moreover, significantly larger effect sizes were yielded for authentic (r = .44) and transformational (r = .33) compared to social identity leadership (r = .19). In sum, both coaches and athletes possess the potential to be effective leaders, who influence both team and individual performance

Evaluating the effects of the World Health Organization's online intervention ‘iSupport’ to reduce depression and distress in dementia carers: a multi-centre six-month randomised controlled trial in the UK

Background Sustaining the capabilities of dementia carers is a global priority. ‘iSupport’ is a self-guided onlineintervention designed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to reduce mental health problems in dementiacarers. iSupport is undergoing global implementation, however there is an absence of effectiveness evidence. Thisstudy tested the effectiveness of iSupport to reduce distress and depression in dementia carers.Methods A pragmatic randomised controlled trial was conducted in three centres. Adult carers (18+) living in thecommunity were recruited in England, Wales and Scotland and randomly assigned (1:1) through a web-basedsystem to iSupport or usual care. Outcome assessors were masked to allocation. The primary outcomesassessed the difference in distress and depression between baseline and six-months. The target sample sizewas 350 to enable 90% power, significance at 2.5% including 25% attrition (262 completers) on eitheroutcome. Analysis followed the intention-to-treat (ITT) principle. The trial was registered with ISRCTNregistry (17420703).Findings Between 12th November 2021 and 31st March 2023,177 carers (50.3%) were randomised to usual care and175 (49.7%) to iSupport. 263 (74.7%) completed the trial. All were included in the ITT analysis. Mean distress scoresat six-months were 20.0 (SD = 8.3) for usual care and 20.6 (SD = 8.6) for iSupport. The mean difference was 0.16 (95%CI −1.17 to 1.49, p = 0.29) after adjusting for covariates. Mean depression scores at six-months were 9.5 (SD = 7.0) forusual care and 9.8 (SD = 6.5) for iSupport. The mean difference at six-months was −0.54 (95% CI = −1.70 to 0.62,p = 0.44). No serious adverse events were linked to the trial.Interpretation To our knowledge this is the largest trial evaluating a self-guided online intervention in UK dementiacarers, and the first to successfully evaluate the effectiveness of iSupport. The null findings are significant given theongoing global implementation of iSupport by the WHO and the adoption of self-guided interventions intomainstream care delivery as part of digital health transformations.Funding NIHR

Optimized Wide-Angle Metamaterial Edge Filters: Enhanced Performance with Multi-Layer Designs and Anti-Reflection Coatings

This study presents a systematic optimization of wide-angle metamaterial long-pass (LP) edge filters based on silicon nanospheres (SiNP). Multi-layered configurations incorporating SiNP-meta-films and anti-reflection coating (ARC) elements not previously considered in the literature are explored to enhance their filter performance in both stop and pass bands. This research has successfully developed an accurate model for the effective refractive index using Kramers–Kronig relations, enabling the use of classical thin-film design software for rapid device performance optimization, which is verified by full-wave numerical software. This systematic optimization has produced highly efficient, near-shift-free long-pass metamaterial filters, evidenced by their high optical density (OD = 2.55) and low spectral shift across a wide angular range (0°–60°). These advancements herald the development of high-efficiency metamaterial optical components suitable for a variety of applications that require a consistent performance across diverse angles of incidence