Research Factsheet: Woodfuel experiment - North Thurlbar, Newton Rigg

An experiment has been set up to assess the economic viability and environmental impacts of woodfuel harvesting in North Thurlbar, a small wood land on the University of Cumbria Newton Rigg campus estate. This factsheet describes the aim of the study and the experiment design

“What’s his is his and what’s mine is his”: Financial power and economic abuse of women in Aotearoa

AIM: This study aimed to understand the experiences and effects of economic abuse for women in Aotearoa New Zealand, particularly in relation to methods of coercive control, with the intention of developing risk matrices to be used by practitioners.METHODS: We conducted a survey with 448 respondents—with 398 the focus of analysis for this article. The survey contained a combination of scaling and open-ended questions.FINDINGS: Abusers employed a range of abusive methods to restrict victims’ freedom and exercise domination. These abusive behaviours seemed to follow traditional hegemonic construction of masculinity as synonymous with “provider” in that many of these methods relied on the reproduction of gendered stereotypes which subjugate women to a subordinate position in the household. Women experienced a range of adverse emotional impacts as a result of this abuse

The Motion of a Body in Newtonian Theories

A theorem due to Bob Geroch and Pong Soo Jang ["Motion of a Body in General Relativity." Journal of Mathematical Physics 16(1), (1975)] provides the sense in which the geodesic principle has the status of a theorem in General Relativity (GR). Here we show that a similar theorem holds in the context of geometrized Newtonian gravitation (often called Newton-Cartan theory). It follows that in Newtonian gravitation, as in GR, inertial motion can be derived from other central principles of the theory.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure. This is the version that appeared in JMP; it is only slightly changed from the previous version, to reflect small issue caught in proo

Global Burden of Sickle Cell Anaemia in Children under Five, 2010-2050: Modelling Based on Demographics, Excess Mortality, and Interventions

The global burden of sickle cell anaemia (SCA) is set to rise as a consequence of improved survival in high-prevalence low- and middle-income countries and population migration to higher-income countries. The host of quantitative evidence documenting these changes has not been assembled at the global level. The purpose of this study is to estimate trends in the future number of newborns with SCA and the number of lives that could be saved in under-five children with SCA by the implementation of different levels of health interventions.First, we calculated projected numbers of newborns with SCA for each 5-y interval between 2010 and 2050 by combining estimates of national SCA frequencies with projected demographic data. We then accounted for under-five mortality (U5m) projections and tested different levels of excess mortality for children with SCA, reflecting the benefits of implementing specific health interventions for under-five patients in 2015, to assess the number of lives that could be saved with appropriate health care services. The estimated number of newborns with SCA globally will increase from 305,800 (confidence interval [CI]: 238,400-398,800) in 2010 to 404,200 (CI: 242,500-657,600) in 2050. It is likely that Nigeria (2010: 91,000 newborns with SCA [CI: 77,900-106,100]; 2050: 140,800 [CI: 95,500-200,600]) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2010: 39,700 [CI: 32,600-48,800]; 2050: 44,700 [CI: 27,100-70,500]) will remain the countries most in need of policies for the prevention and management of SCA. We predict a decrease in the annual number of newborns with SCA in India (2010: 44,400 [CI: 33,700-59,100]; 2050: 33,900 [CI: 15,900-64,700]). The implementation of basic health interventions (e.g., prenatal diagnosis, penicillin prophylaxis, and vaccination) for SCA in 2015, leading to significant reductions in excess mortality among under-five children with SCA, could, by 2050, prolong the lives of 5,302,900 [CI: 3,174,800-6,699,100] newborns with SCA. Similarly, large-scale universal screening could save the lives of up to 9,806,000 (CI: 6,745,800-14,232,700) newborns with SCA globally, 85% (CI: 81%-88%) of whom will be born in sub-Saharan Africa. The study findings are limited by the uncertainty in the estimates and the assumptions around mortality reductions associated with interventions.Our quantitative approach confirms that the global burden of SCA is increasing, and highlights the need to develop specific national policies for appropriate public health planning, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Further empirical collaborative epidemiological studies are vital to assess current and future health care needs, especially in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and India

A Categorical Equivalence between Generalized Holonomy Maps on a Connected Manifold and Principal Connections on Bundles over that Manifold

A classic result in the foundations of Yang-Mills theory, due to J. W. Barrett ["Holonomy and Path Structures in General Relativity and Yang-Mills Theory." Int. J. Th. Phys. 30(9), (1991)], establishes that given a "generalized" holonomy map from the space of piece-wise smooth, closed curves based at some point of a manifold to a Lie group, there exists a principal bundle with that group as structure group and a principal connection on that bundle such that the holonomy map corresponds to the holonomies of that connection. Barrett also provided one sense in which this "recovery theorem" yields a unique bundle, up to isomorphism. Here we show that something stronger is true: with an appropriate definition of isomorphism between generalized holonomy maps, there is an equivalence of categories between the category whose objects are generalized holonomy maps on a smooth, connected manifold and whose arrows are holonomy isomorphisms, and the category whose objects are principal connections on principal bundles over a smooth, connected manifold. This result clarifies, and somewhat improves upon, the sense of "unique recovery" in Barrett's theorems; it also makes precise a sense in which there is no loss of structure involved in moving from a principal bundle formulation of Yang-Mills theory to a holonomy, or "loop", formulation.Comment: 20 page

An assessment of the Hua Oranga outcome instrument and comparison to other outcome measures in an intervention study with Maori and Pacific people following stroke

The Hua Oranga instrument, developed for Maori people with mental illness, showed good responsiveness and adequate psychometric properties in Maori and Pacific people after stroke. Its simplicity, relative brevity, minimal cost and adequate psychometric properties should favour its use in future studies with both Maori and Pacific people. Suggestions are made for refinements to the measure. These should be tested in a new population before Hua Oranga is recommended for general use in a clinical setting. Abstract Aim Health outcomes research for Maori has been hampered by the lack of adequately validated instruments that directly address outcomes of importance to Maori, framed by a Maori perspective of health. Hua Oranga is an outcome instrument developed for Maori with mental illness that uses a holistic view of Maori health to determine improvements in physical, mental, spiritual and family domains of health. Basic psychometric work for Hua Oranga is lacking. We sought to explore the psychometric properties of the instrument and compare its responsiveness alongside other, more established tools in an intervention study involving Maori and Pacific people following acute stroke. Method Randomised 2x2 controlled trial of Maori and Pacific people following acute stroke with two interventions aimed at facilitating self-directed rehabilitation, and with follow-up at 12 months after randomisation. Primary outcome measures were the Physical Component Summary (PCS) and Mental Component Summary (MCS) of the Short Form 36 (SF36) at 12 months. Hua Oranga was used as a secondary outcome measure for participants at 12 months and for carers and whanau (extended family). Psychometric properties of Hua Oranga were explored using plots and correlation coefficients, principal factors analysis and scree plots. Results 172 participants were randomised, of whom 139 (80.8%) completed follow-up. Of these, 135 (97%) completed the Hua Oranga and 117 (84.2%) completed the PCS and MCS of the SF36. Eighty-nine carers completed the Hua Oranga. Total Hua Oranga scores and PCS improved significantly for one intervention group but not the other. Total Hua Oranga scores for carers improved significantly for both interventions. Total Hua Oranga score correlated moderately with the PCS (correlation coefficient 0.55, p<0.001). Factor analysis suggested that Hua Oranga measures two and not four factors; one 'physical-mental' and one 'spiritual-family'. Conclusion The Hua Oranga instrument, developed for Maori people with mental illness, showed good responsiveness and adequate psychometric properties in Maori and Pacific people after stroke. Its simplicity, relative brevity, minimal cost and adequate psychometric properties should favour its use in future studies with both Maori and Pacific people. Suggestions are made for refinements to the measure. These should be tested in a new population before Hua Oranga is recommended for general use in a clinical setting