The publishing process and Open Access

Series of workshops tailored towards early-career researchers in Luxembourg explaining the publishing process and how Open Access fits in the traditional journal-subscription based model. The idea is to break some of the myths around OA (e.g. OA is a journal, OA is only possible the gold way) by presenting the 'Green' (self-archiving) and 'gold' (paying Article Processing Charges) routes. Some of the benefits are presented, along with the main Luxembourgish funder FNR's mandate. The presentation uploaded was given to PhDs and post-docs from the Luxembourg Institute of Health on 13/12/2017

Myths and Realities around Open Access

Presentation given to researchers and research support staff for projects funded by Luxembourg's national funder (FNR) as part of an information session on their new Open Access policy and Open Access Fund (to reimburse APCs and BPCs). The slides are adapted from a series of presentations given to early-career researchers. The idea is to break some of the myths around OA (e.g. OA is a journal, OA is only possible the 'Gold' way) and encourage researchers to always self-archive their publications. The presentation uploaded was given on 01/03/2018 and 07/03/2018.

Invasive crayfish impacts on native fish diet and growth vary with fish life stage

Assessing the impacts of invasive organisms is a major challenge in ecology. Some widespread invasive species such as crayfish are potential competitors and reciprocal predators of ecologically and recreationally important native fish species. Here, we examine the effects of signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) on the growth, diet, and trophic position of the chub (Squalius cephalus) in four rivers in Britain. Growth rates of 0+ chub were typically lower in sympatric populations with signal crayfish compared with allopatric populations, and this effect could be traced through to 2+ chub in one river. However, growth rates of older chub (5+ to 6+) were typically higher in the presence of crayfish. Sympatry with crayfish resulted in lower chub length-at-age and mass-at-age in half of the rivers sampled, with no change detected in the other rivers. Stable isotope analyses (δ13C and δ15N) revealed that both chub and crayfish were omnivorous, feeding at multiple trophic levels and occupying similar trophic positions. We found some evidence that chub trophic position was greater at invaded sites on one river, with no difference detected on a second river. Mixing models suggested crayfish were important food items for both small and large chub at invaded sites. This study provides evidence that invasive species can have both positive and negative effects on different life stages of a native species, with the net impact likely to depend on responses at the population level

Reviewing research evidence and the case of participation in sport and physical recreation by black and minority ethnic communities

The paper addresses the implications of using the process of systematic review in the many areas of leisure where there is a dearth of material that would be admitted into conventional Cochrane Reviews. This raises important questions about what constitutes legitimate knowledge, questions that are of critical import not just to leisure scholars, but to the formulation of policy. The search for certainty in an area that lacks conceptual consensus results in an epistemological imperialism that takes a geocentric form. While clearly, there is a need for good research design whatever the style of research, we contend that the wholesale rejection of insightful research is profligate and foolhardy. A mechanism has to be found to capitalise on good quality research of whatever form. In that search, we draw upon our experience of conducting a review of the material available on participation in sport and physical recreation by people from Black and minority ethnic groups. The paper concludes with a proposal for a more productive review process that makes better use of the full panoply of good quality research available. © 2012 © 2012 Taylor & Francis

Could the rise in mortality rates since 2015 be explained by changes in the number of delayed discharges of NHS patients?

Background: 2015 saw the largest annual spike in mortality rates in in England in almost 50 years. We examine whether these changes in mortality rates are associated with an indicator of poor functioning of health and social care – delay in hospital discharges. Methods: ONS monthly data of death counts and mortality rates for the period August 2010- March 2016 were compared to delays in discharges from NHS England data on transfers of care for acute and non-acute patients for England. Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) regression models were used in analysis. Results: We estimate that each additional day an acute admission was late being discharged was associated with an increase in 0.394 deaths (95% CIs: 0.220-0.569). For each additional acute patient delayed being discharged, we found an increase of 7.322 deaths (95% CIs: 1.754-12.890). Findings for non-acute admissions were mixed. Conclusion: The increased prevalence of patients being delayed in discharge from hospital in 2015 was associated with increases in mortality, as many as 7,322 (CIs 1,754 to 12,890) deaths in a year in England. Our study provides evidence that a lower quality of performance of the NHS and adult social care as a result of austerity may be having an adverse impact on population health

Temperature as a Circadian Marker in Older Human Subjects: Relationship to Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes

Background: Circadian rhythms are characterized by approximate 24-hour oscillations in physiological and behavioral processes. Disruptions in these endogenous rhythms, most commonly associated with shift work and/or lifestyle, are recognized to be detrimental to health. Several studies have demonstrated a high correlation between disrupted circadian rhythms and metabolic disease. The aim of this study was to determine which metabolic parameters correlate with physiological measures of circadian temperature amplitude (TempAmp) and stability (TempStab). Methods: Wrist skin temperature was measured in 34 subjects (ages 50 to 70, including lean, obese, and diabetic subjects) every 10 minutes for 7 consecutive days. Anthropometric measures and fasting blood draws were conducted to obtain data on metabolic parameters: body mass index, hemoglobin A1C, triglycerides, cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein. A history of hypertension and current blood pressure was noted. Results: Analysis of the data indicated a substantial reduction in TempAmp and TempStab in subjects with metabolic syndrome (three or more risk factors). To determine the impact of individual interdependent metabolic factors on temperature rhythms, stepwise multilinear regression analysis was conducted using metabolic syndrome measurements. Interestingly, only triglyceride level was consistently correlated by the analysis. Triglyceride level was shown to contribute to 33% of the variability in TempAmp and 23% of the variability in TempStab. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that elevated triglycerides are associated with diminished TempAmp and TempStab in human subjects, and triglycerides may serve as a primary metabolic predictor of circadian parameters

Developing effective practice learning for tomorrow's social workers

This paper considers some of the changes in social work education in the UK, particularly focusing on practice learning in England. The changes and developments are briefly identified and examined in the context of what we know about practice learning. The paper presents some findings from a small scale qualitative study of key stakeholders involved in practice learning and education in social work and their perceptions of these anticipated changes, which are revisited at implementation. The implications for practice learning are discussed

Evaluation of stability of directly standardized rates for sparse data using simulation methods.

Background Directly standardized rates (DSRs) adjust for different age distributions in different populations and enable, say, the rates of disease between the populations to be directly compared. They are routinely published but there is concern that a DSR is not valid when it is based on a “small” number of events. The aim of this study was to determine the value at which a DSR should not be published when analyzing real data in England. Methods Standard Monte Carlo simulation techniques were used assuming the number of events in 19 age groups (i.e., 0–4, 5–9, ... 90+ years) follow independent Poisson distributions. The total number of events, age specific risks, and the population sizes in each age group were varied. For each of 10,000 simulations the DSR (using the 2013 European Standard Population weights), together with the coverage of three different methods (normal approximation, Dobson, and Tiwari modified gamma) of estimating the 95% confidence intervals (CIs), were calculated. Results The normal approximation was, as expected, not suitable for use when fewer than 100 events occurred. The Tiwari method and the Dobson method of calculating confidence intervals produced similar estimates and either was suitable when the expected or observed numbers of events were 10 or greater. The accuracy of the CIs was not influenced by the distribution of the events across categories (i.e., the degree of clustering, the age distributions of the sampling populations, and the number of categories with no events occurring in them). Conclusions DSRs should not be given when the total observed number of events is less than 10. The Dobson method might be considered the preferred method due to the formulae being simpler than that of the Tiwari method and the coverage being slightly more accurate