Multi-component nonnegative matrix factorization

Real data are usually complex and contain various components. For example, face images have expressions and genders. Each component mainly reflects one aspect of data and provides information others do not have. Therefore, exploring the semantic information of multiple components as well as the diversity among them is of great benefit to understand data comprehensively and in-depth. However, this cannot be achieved by current nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF)-based methods, despite that NMF has shown remarkable competitiveness in learning parts-based representation of data. To overcome this limitation, we propose a novel multi-component nonnegative matrix factorization (MCNMF). Instead of seeking for only one representation of data, MCNMF learns multiple representations simultaneously, with the help of the Hilbert Schmidt Independence Criterion (HSIC) as a diversity term. HSIC explores the diverse information among the representations, where each representation corresponds to a component. By integrating the multiple representations, a more comprehensive representation is then established. A new iterative updating optimization scheme is derived to solve the objective function of MCNMF, along with its correctness and convergence guarantees. Extensive experimental results on real-world datasets have shown that MCNMF not only achieves more accurate performance over the state-of-the-arts using the aggregated representation, but also interprets data from different aspects with the multiple representations, which is beyond what current NMFs can offer

Closing the gap on nurse retention: a scoping review of implications for undergraduate education

Objectives: Newly qualified nurses leave the profession at a higher rate than any other year of experience. Undergraduate education influences nurse retention following qualification. However, it is unclear if strategies to overcome the common factors associated with intent to leave once qualified are included within undergraduate programmes. A scoping review was conducted to explore the literature within nursing as well as social work undergraduate education to obtain viewpoints from an allied profession with similar staff retention concerns. Design and data sources: Following PRISMA extension guidelines for a scoping review, the research question used to explore the literature was: What is the impact of undergraduate nurse and social work education on retention when newly qualified? Databases searched were BNI, CINAHL complete, Science Direct, PsycINFO, Medline Complete, Academic Search Complete and ERIC. Review method: One author undertook a comprehensive electronic and hand search of relevant research articles. These were then discussed with two authors for inclusion within the review and data extracted for thematic analysis. Results: Limited through search inclusion and quality of research, ten research papers met the criteria for this review. Main themes identified were resilience and commitment, perceived knowledge and confidence, preparation for transition and expectation of supervision. Conclusion: The literature presents the need to strengthen resilience-building within undergraduate education in the transition to newly qualified practitioner, support to cope with the emotional and physical impact of professional practice as well as developing confidence in one’s skills, guidance for career progression, promotion of authentic leadership in work-place mentors and commitment of both the University and health or social organisation to support staff to be healthy and feel valued

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Outcomes from elective colorectal cancer surgery during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

This study aimed to describe the change in surgical practice and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on mortality after surgical resection of colorectal cancer during the initial phases of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

From route repetition to planning novel routes: The impact of landmarks and cognitive ageing on route integration, experimental data 2017-2018

We created two virtual environments, each comprised of one intersection but with different landmark settings: in the Identical Landmark environment, the intersection contained visually monotonic features whereas in the Different Landmarks environment, the intersection contained visually distinctive features. For each environment, a young and an older participant group was presented with two short routes that traverse through that intersection. To test route integration abilities, participants were asked to either repeat the routes, to navigate the routes from the destination to the starting place or to navigate between all other combinations of starting place and destination of the original. Route integration is an important process for the generation of cognitive maps, thus successful navigation, which is known to be affected by ageing. Here we present a novel task to study the effects of cognitive ageing on the integration of route knowledge into cognitive map-like spatial knowledge. Results demonstrate better performance in the Different Landmark environment in both the young and older participant group. Interestingly, a subgroup of the older participants who demonstrated lower MoCA scores could not finish the experiment or did not reach the required performance criterion which suggests that the introduced task is sensitive to the earliest signs of cognitive impairment.Knowing where we are and how to get to places are fundamental features of successful everyday living. Although most of us rely automatically and unquestioningly on our wayfinding abilities, they are markedly impaired in people with Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most prevalent form of dementia. This project will identify the features of buildings that make them relatively harder or easier for people with AD to navigate. The knowledge gained will allow us to create dementia-friendly architectural guidelines for use in the design of residences for people with AD. Many people with AD eventually move from their familiar home environments into unfamiliar care homes. Unfortunately, the dramatic reduction in wayfinding skills commonly seen at the onset of AD is particularly marked when it comes to learning unfamiliar environments. Thus, people with AD would have an easier transition to new residences if these larger - and often more institutional - environments were designed to be dementia-friendly in terms of wayfinding. A psychological understanding of orientation and navigation could play a major role here but, unfortunately, current design-guidelines are mainly based on custom and practice, not theory and research. This project aims to improve matters through a series of experiments on navigation in people with AD. Our research is innovative in several ways: We will use Virtual Reality (VR) technology to simulate unfamiliar care home environments. VR lets us change environmental features and structures systematically, to monitor how these changes impact on learning to way-find over a period of several weeks. This would be impractical in real world settings. Additionally, by using state-of-the-art eye tracking technology to record gaze direction, we can pinpoint the types of cues people use to find their way through unfamiliar environments (www.spatial-cognition.org). Finally, our experiments will allow us not only to measure the way in which navigation abilities decline in people with AD, but also to identify the mechanisms underlying these declines. Successful navigation depends on learning to recognise places by identifying and remembering landmarks, environmental cues that are unique to each location. We will investigate this process in more detail. Our experiments will examine how AD impacts on landmark selection by comparing the performance of people with AD and healthy adults of a similar age (age-matched controls). Our participants will learn routes through virtual residences that include multiple intersections. We will systematically vary the features present at the intersections to determine whether people with AD have particular difficulties when the same distractor cues are present at more than one intersection, and/or when uninformative cues are nevertheless particularly noticeable (salient). Next, we will use VR to simulate what happens when people move into unfamiliar residences. Over several weeks, we will (a) teach people with AD and age-matched controls to navigate a number of different routes through the same environment, and (b) compare their ability to discover new routes through the same environment, based on knowledge of the routes they have just learned. VR allows for systematic comparisons of different floor plans, so we will be able to establish the kinds of architectural structure that either help or hinder wayfinding in people with AD. A key output of the research will be a set of empirically validated design guidelines that support effective wayfinding in people with AD. Because these principles will be widely applicable, we will work with architects, building standards agencies and care commissioning bodies to ensure that they are used to develop national standards for residential care home design. Our research will thus help to increase or preserve the independence and well-being of people with AD, avoiding a further loss of autonomy, dignity and control that is, in theory, preventable.</p

Enhancing our Understanding: Identifying Shipwrecks of Historic Importance lying within Deposits of Marine Aggregate

The Identifying Shipwrecks of Historic Importance project was undertaken by staff of Bournemouth University and was funded by the Aggregates Levy Sustanability Fund as rebursed by English Heritage. The project builds on the framework developed during the earlier On the Importance of Shipwrecks ALSF project undertaken by Wessex Archaeology. Furthermore, it tests this framework by applying it to wrecks within the National Monuments Record (NMR) using historical sources to identifying archaeologically important sites, particularly within aggregate extraction areas, from amongst the wealth of wreck sites that exist within English territorial waters. This enhanced understanding of the significance of the shipwreck resource will allow regulators, advisors and industry to make informed decisions about how to best manage and mitigate for any impact on sites that lie within aggregate extraction area

Homely Remedy Protocols: A solution to the supply and administration of non-prescription medicinal products and dietary supplements.

Patient Group Directions, although widely used since their introduction in the late 1990s, are not widely reported in the literature. However, when described, it is recognised that their use are inappropriate for non prescription medicinal products or for use outside NHS settings. This paper thus describes a suitable alternative to Patient Group Directions, for use in research participants requiring non-prescription medicinal products in their own homes, the Homely Remedy Protocol.

Enhancing our Understanding: Mapping Navigational Hazards as areas of Maritime Archaeological Potential

The project focuses on identifying areas, described and depicted in historical sources, where ship losses are more likely due primarily to environmental navigaitonal hazards. The presence of archaeological material on the seabed is also dependent on the nature of the maritime environment and its potential for preserving materials in situ. An approach is therefore being developed to categorise seabed sediment types by their preservation qualities in order to identify areas where the two coincide. The results are displayed as character areas where recurring types of hazardous environment coincide with a high potential for preservation, using a Geographic Information System (GIS). The project sets out to improve our understanding of the maritime cultural landscape and our ability to interpret the potential for the presence of unrecorded maritime archaeology on the seabed. The digital archive consists of the final project report, additional sediment report by David Gregory of the Museum of Denmark and a PDF volume containing all project maps

Refining Areas of Maritime Archaeological Potential (AMAPs) for Shipwrecks

In May 2007, English Heritage commissioned Bournemouth University to undertake a project entitled Refining Areas of Maritime Archaeological Potential for Shipwrecks - AMAP1 funded by the Aggregate Levy Sustainability Fund (ALSF). The aim of the project is to undertake quantitative spatial analysis of shipwreck data using GIS to compare typologised wreck scatters to environmental, historical and hydrographic datasets in order to identify biases in the data and refine areas identified as AMAPs during the Navigational Hazards project. Areas of Maritime Archaeological Potential (AMAP) are areas were it is considered that the navigational (i.e. reefs or sandbanks) or environmental conditions (i.e. tidal races or overfalls) present in the area are likely to have caused shipping loss in the past and where the seabed conditions are such that preservation of archaeological material is thought to be likely