You feel like you’ve been duped”. Is the current system for health professionals declaring potential conflicts of interest in the UK fit for purpose? A mixed methods study.

Objective To understand: if professionals, citizens and patients can locate UK healthcare professionals’ statements of declarations of interests, and what citizens understand by these. Design The study sample included two groups of participants in three phases. First, healthcare professionals working in the public domain (health professional participants, HPP) were invited to participate. Their conflicts and declarations of interest were searched for in publicly available data, which the HPP checked and confirmed as the ‘gold standard’. In the second phase, laypeople, other healthcare professionals and healthcare students were invited to complete three online tasks. The first task was a questionnaire about their own demographics. The second task was questions about doctors’ conflicts of interest in clinical vignette scenarios. The third task was a request for each participant to locate and describe the declarations of interest of one of the named healthcare professionals identified in the first phase, randomly assigned. At the end of this task, all lay participants were asked to indicate willingness to be interviewed at a later date. In the third phase, each lay respondent who was willing to be contacted was invited to a qualitative interview to obtain their views on the conflicts and declaration of interest they found and their meaning. Setting Online, based in the UK. Participants 13 public-facing health professionals, 379 participants (healthcare professionals, students and laypeople), 21 lay interviewees. Outcome measures (1) Participants’ level of trust in professionals with variable conflicts of interest, as expressed in vignettes, (2) participants’ ability to locate the declarations of interest of a given well-known healthcare professional and (3) laypeoples’ understanding of healthcare professionals declarations and conflicts of interest. Results In the first phase, 13 health professionals (HPP) participated and agreed on a ‘gold standard’ of their declarations. In the second phase, 379 citizens, patients, other healthcare professionals and students participated. Not all completed all aspects of the research. 85% of participants thought that knowing about professional declarations was definitely or probably important, but 76.8% were not confident they had found all relevant information after searching. As conflicts of interest increased in the vignettes, participants trusted doctors less. Least trust was associated with doctors who had not disclosed their conflicts of interest. 297 participants agreed to search for the HPP ‘gold standard’ declaration of interest, and 169 reported some data. Of those reporting any findings, 61 (36%) located a relevant link to some information deemed fit for purpose, and 5 (3%) participants found all the information contained in the ‘gold standard’. In the third phase, qualitative interviews with 21 participants highlighted the importance of transparency but raised serious concerns about how useful declarations were in their current format, and whether they could improve patient care. Unintended consequences, such as the burden for patients and professionals to use declarations were identified, with participants additionally expressing concerns about professional bias and a lack of insight over conflicts. Suggestions for improvements included better regulation and organisation, but also second opinions and independent advice where conflicts of interest were suspected. Conclusion Declarations of interest are important and conflicts of interest concern patients and professionals, particularly in regard to trust in decision-making. If declarations, as currently made, are intended to improve transparency, they do not achieve this, due to difficulties in locating and interpreting them. Unintended consequences may arise if transparency alone is assumed to provide management of conflicts. Increased trust resulting from transparency may be misplaced, given the evidence on the hazards associated with conflicts of interest. Clarity about the purposes of transparency is required. Future policies may be more successful if focused on reducing the potential for negative impacts of conflicts of interest, rather than relying on individuals to locate declarations and interpret them

You feel like you’ve been duped”. Is the current system for health professionals declaring potential conflicts of interest in the UK fit for purpose? A mixed methods study.

Objective To understand: if professionals, citizens and patients can locate UK healthcare professionals’ statements of declarations of interests, and what citizens understand by these. Design The study sample included two groups of participants in three phases. First, healthcare professionals working in the public domain (health professional participants, HPP) were invited to participate. Their conflicts and declarations of interest were searched for in publicly available data, which the HPP checked and confirmed as the ‘gold standard’. In the second phase, laypeople, other healthcare professionals and healthcare students were invited to complete three online tasks. The first task was a questionnaire about their own demographics. The second task was questions about doctors’ conflicts of interest in clinical vignette scenarios. The third task was a request for each participant to locate and describe the declarations of interest of one of the named healthcare professionals identified in the first phase, randomly assigned. At the end of this task, all lay participants were asked to indicate willingness to be interviewed at a later date. In the third phase, each lay respondent who was willing to be contacted was invited to a qualitative interview to obtain their views on the conflicts and declaration of interest they found and their meaning. Setting Online, based in the UK. Participants 13 public-facing health professionals, 379 participants (healthcare professionals, students and laypeople), 21 lay interviewees. Outcome measures (1) Participants’ level of trust in professionals with variable conflicts of interest, as expressed in vignettes, (2) participants’ ability to locate the declarations of interest of a given well-known healthcare professional and (3) laypeoples’ understanding of healthcare professionals declarations and conflicts of interest. Results In the first phase, 13 health professionals (HPP) participated and agreed on a ‘gold standard’ of their declarations. In the second phase, 379 citizens, patients, other healthcare professionals and students participated. Not all completed all aspects of the research. 85% of participants thought that knowing about professional declarations was definitely or probably important, but 76.8% were not confident they had found all relevant information after searching. As conflicts of interest increased in the vignettes, participants trusted doctors less. Least trust was associated with doctors who had not disclosed their conflicts of interest. 297 participants agreed to search for the HPP ‘gold standard’ declaration of interest, and 169 reported some data. Of those reporting any findings, 61 (36%) located a relevant link to some information deemed fit for purpose, and 5 (3%) participants found all the information contained in the ‘gold standard’. In the third phase, qualitative interviews with 21 participants highlighted the importance of transparency but raised serious concerns about how useful declarations were in their current format, and whether they could improve patient care. Unintended consequences, such as the burden for patients and professionals to use declarations were identified, with participants additionally expressing concerns about professional bias and a lack of insight over conflicts. Suggestions for improvements included better regulation and organisation, but also second opinions and independent advice where conflicts of interest were suspected. Conclusion Declarations of interest are important and conflicts of interest concern patients and professionals, particularly in regard to trust in decision-making. If declarations, as currently made, are intended to improve transparency, they do not achieve this, due to difficulties in locating and interpreting them. Unintended consequences may arise if transparency alone is assumed to provide management of conflicts. Increased trust resulting from transparency may be misplaced, given the evidence on the hazards associated with conflicts of interest. Clarity about the purposes of transparency is required. Future policies may be more successful if focused on reducing the potential for negative impacts of conflicts of interest, rather than relying on individuals to locate declarations and interpret them

Trans-Pacific Transport of Saharan Dust to Western North America: A Case Study

The first documented case of long range transport of Saharan dust over a pathway spanning Asia and the Pacific to Western North America is described. Crustal material generated by North African dust storms during the period 28 February - 3 March 2005 reached western Canada on 13-14 March 2005 and was observed by lidar and sunphotometer in the Vancouver region and by high altitude aerosol instrumentation at Whistler Peak. Global chemical models (GEOS-CHEM and NRL NAAPS) confirm the transport pathway and suggest source attribution was simplified in this case by the distinct, and somewhat unusual, lack of dust activity over Eurasia (Gobi and Takla Makan deserts) at this time. Over western North America, the dust layer, although subsiding close to the boundary layer, did not appear to contribute to boundary layer particulate matter concentrations. Furthermore, sunphotometer observations (and associated inversion products) suggest that the dust layer had only subtle optical impact (Aerosol Optical Thickness (Tau(sub a500)) and Angstrom exponent (Alpha(sub 440-870) were 0.1 and 1.2 respectively) and was dominated by fine particulate matter (modes in aerodynamic diameter at 0.3 and 2.5microns). High Altitude observations at Whistler BC, confirm the crustal origin of the layer (rich in Ca(++) ions) and the bi-modal size distribution. Although a weak event compared to the Asian Trans-Pacific dust events of 1998 and 2001, this novel case highlights the possibility that Saharan sources may contribute episodically to the aerosol burden in western North America

Public attitudes towards alcohol control policies in Scotland and England: Results from a mixed-methods study

The harmful effects of heavy drinking on health have been widely reported, yet public opinion on governmental responsibility for alcohol control remains divided. This study examines UK public attitudes towards alcohol policies, identifies underlying dimensions that inform these, and relationships with perceived effectiveness. A cross-sectional mixed methods study involving a telephone survey of 3477 adult drinkers aged 16-65 and sixteen focus groups with 89 adult drinkers in Scotland and England was conducted between September 2012 and February 2013. Principal components analysis (PCA) was used to reduce twelve policy statements into underlying dimensions. These dimensions were used in linear regression models examining alcohol policy support by demographics, drinking behaviour and perceptions of UK drinking and government responsibility. Findings were supplemented with a thematic analysis of focus group transcripts. A majority of survey respondents supported all alcohol policies, although the level of support varied by type of policy. Greater enforcement of laws on under-age sales and more police patrolling the streets were strongly supported while support for pricing policies and restricting access to alcohol was more divided. PCA identified four main dimensions underlying support on policies: alcohol availability, provision of health information and treatment services, alcohol pricing, and greater law enforcement. Being female, older, a moderate drinker, and holding a belief that government should do more to reduce alcohol harms were associated with higher support on all policy dimensions. Focus group data revealed findings from the survey may have presented an overly positive level of support on all policies due to differences in perceived policy effectiveness. Perceived effectiveness can help inform underlying patterns of policy support and should be considered in conjunction with standard measures of support in future research on alcohol control policies

The SDSS-IV MaNGA sample : design, optimization, and usage considerations

We describe the sample design for the SDSS-IV MaNGA survey and present the final properties of the main samples along with important considerations for using these samples for science. Our target selection criteria were developed while simultaneously optimizing the size distribution of the MaNGA integral field units (IFUs), the IFU allocation strategy, and the target density to produce a survey defined in terms of maximizing S/N, spatial resolution, and sample size. Our selection strategy makes use of redshift limits that only depend oni-band absolute magnitude (Mi), or, for a small subset of our sample, Mi and color (NUV-i). Such a strategy ensures that all galaxies span the same range in angular size irrespective of luminosity and are therefore covered evenly by the adopted range of IFU sizes. We define three samples: the Primary and Secondary samples are selected to have a flat number density with respect to Mi and are targeted to have spectroscopic coverage to 1.5 and 2.5 effective radii (Re),respectively. The Color-Enhanced supplement increases the number of galaxies in the low-density regions of color-magnitude space by extending the redshift limits of the Primary sample in the appropriate color bins. The samples cover the stellar mass range 5 x 108 ≤ M⋆ ≤ 3 x 1011 M⊙ /h2 and are sampled at median physical resolutions of 1.37 kpc and 2.5 kpc for the Primary and Secondary samples respectively. We provide weights that will statistically correct for our luminosity and color-dependent selection function and IFU allocation strategy, thus correcting the observed sample to a volume limited sample.PostprintPeer reviewe

Observing Strategy for the SDSS-IV/MaNGA IFU Galaxy Survey

Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) is an integral-field spectroscopic survey that is one of three core programs in the fourth-generation Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV). MaNGA's 17 pluggable optical fiber-bundle integral field units (IFUs) will observe a sample of 10,000 nearby galaxies distributed throughout the SDSS imaging footprint (focusing particularly on the North Galactic Cap). In each pointing these IFUs are deployed across a 3° field; they yield spectral coverage 3600−10300 Å at a typical resolution R ~ 2000, and sample the sky with 2'' diameter fiber apertures with a total bundle fill factor of 56%. Observing over such a large field and range of wavelengths is particularly challenging for obtaining uniform and integral spatial coverage and resolution at all wavelengths and across each entire fiber array. Data quality is affected by the IFU construction technique, chromatic and field differential refraction, the adopted dithering strategy, and many other effects. We use numerical simulations to constrain the hardware design and observing strategy for the survey with the aim of ensuring consistent data quality that meets the survey science requirements while permitting maximum observational flexibility. We find that MaNGA science goals are best achieved with IFUs composed of a regular hexagonal grid of optical fibers with rms displacement of 5 μm or less from their nominal packing position; this goal is met by the MaNGA hardware, which achieves 3 μm rms fiber placement. We further show that MaNGA observations are best obtained in sets of three 15 minute exposures dithered along the vertices of a 1.44 arcsec equilateral triangle; these sets form the minimum observational unit, and are repeated as needed to achieve a combined signal-to-noise ratio of 5 Å-1 per fiber in the r-band continuum at a surface brightness of 23 AB arcsec-2. In order to ensure uniform coverage and delivered image quality, we require that the exposures in a given set be obtained within a 60 minute interval of each other in hour angle, and that all exposures be obtained at airmass ≲ 1.2 (i.e., within 1–3 hr of transit depending on the declination of a given field)

SDSS-IV MaNGA IFS Galaxy Survey—Survey Design, Execution, and Initial Data Quality

The MaNGA Survey (Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory) is one of three core programs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV. It is obtaining integral field spectroscopy for 10,000 nearby galaxies at a spectral resolution of R ~ 2000 from 3622 to 10354 Å. The design of the survey is driven by a set of science requirements on the precision of estimates of the following properties: star formation rate surface density, gas metallicity, stellar population age, metallicity, and abundance ratio, and their gradients; stellar and gas kinematics; and enclosed gravitational mass as a function of radius. We describe how these science requirements set the depth of the observations and dictate sample selection. The majority of targeted galaxies are selected to ensure uniform spatial coverage in units of effective radius (Re) while maximizing spatial resolution. About two-thirds of the sample is covered out to 1.5Re (Primary sample), and one-third of the sample is covered to 2.5Re (Secondary sample). We describe the survey execution with details that would be useful in the design of similar future surveys. We also present statistics on the achieved data quality, specifically the point-spread function, sampling uniformity, spectral resolution, sky subtraction, and flux calibration. For our Primary sample, the median r-band signal-to-noise ratio is ~70 per 1.4 Å pixel for spectra stacked between 1R e and 1.5Re. Measurements of various galaxy properties from the first-year data show that we are meeting or exceeding the defined requirements for the majority of our science goals

Overview of the SDSS-IV MaNGA Survey: Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory

We present an overview of a new integral field spectroscopic survey called MaNGA (Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory), one of three core programs in the fourth-generation Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) that began on 2014 July 1. MaNGA will investigate the internal kinematic structure and composition of gas and stars in an unprecedented sample of 10,000 nearby galaxies. We summarize essential characteristics of the instrument and survey design in the context of MaNGA\u27s key science goals and present prototype observations to demonstrate MaNGA\u27s scientific potential. MaNGA employs dithered observations with 17 fiber-bundle integral field units that vary in diameter from 12\u27\u27 (19 fibers) to 32\u27\u27 (127 fibers). Two dual-channel spectrographs provide simultaneous wavelength coverage over 3600-10300 Å at R ~ 2000. With a typical integration time of 3 hr, MaNGA reaches a target r-band signal-to-noise ratio of 4-8 (Å–1 per 2\u27\u27 fiber) at 23 AB mag arcsec–2, which is typical for the outskirts of MaNGA galaxies. Targets are selected with M * ≳ 109 M ☉ using SDSS-I redshifts and i-band luminosity to achieve uniform radial coverage in terms of the effective radius, an approximately flat distribution in stellar mass, and a sample spanning a wide range of environments. Analysis of our prototype observations demonstrates MaNGA\u27s ability to probe gas ionization, shed light on recent star formation and quenching, enable dynamical modeling, decompose constituent components, and map the composition of stellar populations. MaNGA\u27s spatially resolved spectra will enable an unprecedented study of the astrophysics of nearby galaxies in the coming 6 yr

Workshop on accounting for fishers and other stakeholders’ perceptions of the dynamics of fish stocks in ICES advice (WKAFPA)

The objective of the Workshop on accounting for fishers and other stakeholders’ perceptions of the dynamics of fish stocks in ICES advice (WKAFPA) was to identify where and how stake- holder information could be incorporated in the ICES fisheries advice process. It adopted an operational definition of the concept of perception, where perceptions result from observations, interpreted in light of experience, that can be supported by data, information and knowledge to generate evidence about them. Stakeholder information can be either structured (e.g. routinely collected information in a standardized format) or unstructured (e.g. experiential information) and either of those can inform decisions made during the production of ICES advice. Most notably, the group identified there was a need to engage with stakeholders earlier in the process, i.e. before benchmarks meetings take place and before preliminary assessment results are used as the basis to predict total allowable catches for upcoming advice (Figure 4.2). It was therefore recommended to include in the ICES process the organisation of pre-bench- mark/roadmap workshops where science and data needs of upcoming benchmarks can be iden- tified, followed by making arrangements how scientists and stakeholders can collaborate to ac- cess, prepare for use (where relevant) and document the structured and unstructured infor- mation well ahead of the benchmark meetings. It was also recommended to organise ‘sense-checking’ sessions with stakeholders when prelim- inary assessments are available but not yet used as the basis for advisory production. This would allow stakeholders and assessment scientists to verify available knowledge and data against stock perceptions and provide additional considerations relevant for the production of TAC ad- vice. Next to these two additional activities, it is recommended that communication on differ- ences in stakeholder perception or data derived perceptions are communicated within the ICES assessment reports as well as in the ICES advice in a transparent manner. Not only should dif- ferences or similarities be documented and communicated, in those cases where there are differ- ences in perception between ICES stock assessments and stakeholders, a working group, external to the assessment working groups, should evaluate these differences and describe whether these differences can be logically explained or require further investigation. This outcome of this pro- cess may potentially lead to new data collection or additional analyses suitable for input to benchmarks. Essential in this entire process is making sure the same language is spoken between scientists and stakeholders, that there are clear and transparent processes in place on how to deal with stakeholder information and communicate clearly how this information is used in the prepara- tion of ICES advice.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio