Exposure, access and interaction:A global analysis of sponsorship of nursing professional associations

AIM: To analyse the nature and extent of sponsorship of nursing professional associations and their major scientific conferences.DESIGN: Cross-sectional content analysis.METHODS: Data were extracted from the websites and conference documents of 156 national and international professional nursing associations in 2019 to identify sponsors. Sponsorship prospectuses were analysed to estimate the value and describe the nature of sponsorship arrangements. We analysed sponsorship patterns using social network analysis.RESULTS: Most associations (84/156, 54%) did not report any sponsors. Sponsorship was concentrated among specialty nursing associations in high-income countries. Half of identified sponsors promoted products used in clinical care (50%; 981/1969); the majority represented the medical device industry (69%; 681/981). Top sponsors generally favoured opportunities that promoted interaction with conference attendees.CONCLUSION: Globally, commercial sponsorship of nursing associations is a common, but not the dominant source of support for these activities. Half of sponsors were commercial entities that manufactured or distributed products used during clinical care, which presents a risk of commercial influence over education and ultimately, clinical practice. Sponsors favoured opportunities to interact directly with nurses, determine educational content, or foster continued interaction.</p

Rapid kinetics of changes in oxygen consumption rate in thrombin-stimulated platelets measured by high-resolution respirometry.

Platelet activation plays a key role in normal haemostasis and pathological thrombosis. Platelet activation is rapid; within minutes of stimulation, platelets generate bioactive phospholipids, secrete their granule contents, activate integrins and aggregate together to form a haemostatic plug. These events are dependent on ATP synthesis. Mitochondrial function in platelets from healthy volunteers and patients with a range of diseases indicate an important role for oxygen consumption in oxidative phosphorylation in normal and pathological function. Platelets also consume oxygen during oxidation reactions, such as cyclooxygenase-dependent thromboxane A2 synthesis. In this study, we used high-resolution respirometry to investigate rapid changes in oxygen consumption during platelet activation. We demonstrated a rapid, transient increase in oxygen consumption rate within minutes of platelet stimulation by the physiological activator, thrombin. This was partly inhibited by aspirin and by oligomycin. This shows that high resolution respirometry can provide information regarding rapid and dynamic changes in oxygen consumption during platelet activation

The coming of 'kawa nyampa': Climate change, temporality and prophecies of decline in Himalayan Nepal

This thesis examines cultural constructions of climate and temporality in eastern Nepal, focusing on Walung, a village in Taplejung District. Although the residents of Walung have long noticed manifestations of global climatic change, such observations were primarily attributed to a change in time (Tib. *dus*) rather than climate (Tib. *gnam gshis*). This interpretation often drew upon Buddhist prophetic narratives which foretell an imminent era of decline, termed '*kawa nyampa*' - a vision of degeneration attributed to Guru Rinpoche (Skt. Padmasambhava). In Walung, moral, meteorological, and temporal realms were deeply intertwined, with both climatic disruptions and perceived temporal changes attributed to the wider decay of human morality. The onset of '*kawa nyampa*' was traced to an evening in 1963 when flooding, unleashed by a semi-spiritual entity called the '*khangba*' (snow frog), devastated the village. The flood represented a temporal rupture, marking the end of a period of prosperity (*kawa sangbo*), and was interpreted as a collective punishment for spiritual transgressions. However, the temporal shifts that Walung residents have detected extend beyond climate-related phenomena. They also encompassed broader socioeconomic and political changes, including shifts in local diets and perceptions of declining life expectancy. The central claim of the thesis is that disruptions in climate are predominantly experienced as disruptions to *time* in upper Taplejung. Moreover, the Walung vision of a degenerate time (*kawa nyampa*) is rooted to far vaster landscape of changes than simply meteorology. In the words of one resident: “the change in time means a change in everything” – so too has the change in ‘everything’ produced a change in time. Building on ethnographic fieldwork in Taplejung District (November 2021-May 2022) and complemented by secondary field visits to Sikkim and Kathmandu, what begins as a study of climate change unfolds into an analysis of a far deeper sense of temporal disjunction. The thesis deciphers local observations of the stars, migratory birds, and cosmological narratives of deity movements as localised systems of time-reckoning. It also considers the embodied rhythms of life and death within aspects of Himalayan time perception. Against the backdrop of anthropogenic climate change and geopolitical ruptures at the Sino-Nepali border, however, these complex synchronicities are becoming destabilised, and time itself is unpicked at its seams. As environmental, geopolitical, and temporal fractures become more pronounced, Walung residents fear the fulfilment of prophetic visions of degeneration.ESRC DTP Interdisciplinary Studentship University Fieldwork Fund Frederick Williamson Memorial Fun

Exposure, access and interaction:A global analysis of sponsorship of nursing professional associations

AIM: To analyse the nature and extent of sponsorship of nursing professional associations and their major scientific conferences.DESIGN: Cross-sectional content analysis.METHODS: Data were extracted from the websites and conference documents of 156 national and international professional nursing associations in 2019 to identify sponsors. Sponsorship prospectuses were analysed to estimate the value and describe the nature of sponsorship arrangements. We analysed sponsorship patterns using social network analysis.RESULTS: Most associations (84/156, 54%) did not report any sponsors. Sponsorship was concentrated among specialty nursing associations in high-income countries. Half of identified sponsors promoted products used in clinical care (50%; 981/1969); the majority represented the medical device industry (69%; 681/981). Top sponsors generally favoured opportunities that promoted interaction with conference attendees.CONCLUSION: Globally, commercial sponsorship of nursing associations is a common, but not the dominant source of support for these activities. Half of sponsors were commercial entities that manufactured or distributed products used during clinical care, which presents a risk of commercial influence over education and ultimately, clinical practice. Sponsors favoured opportunities to interact directly with nurses, determine educational content, or foster continued interaction.</p

Combined direct and indirect impacts of warming on the productivity of coral reef fishes

Abstract Ocean warming is already causing widespread changes to coral reef ecosystems worldwide. Warming is having direct and indirect impacts on food webs, but their interaction is unclear. Warming directly affects fishes and invertebrates by increasing their metabolic rate, resulting in changes to demographic processes such as growth rates. Indirect effects involve a loss of reef habitat quality as coral bleaching reduces the availability of refuges. We used a size‐structured dynamic energy budget model of fishes and invertebrates, coupled to a spatially explicit model of coral and algae, to explore potential changes to ecosystem function with warming. Modeled changes in biomass for +3°C of warming were found to be controlled predominantly by the direct effects of warming on growth rates, rather than by indirect effects via the changed coral habitat. Crucially for fisheries, the biomass of predators decreased by at least 50% with +3°C of warming, and productivity of predators decreased by at least 60%

COVID-19 and science advice on the 'Grand Stage': the metadata and linguistic choices in a scientific advisory groups' meeting minutes.

Science advice for governments attracted great scrutiny during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the public spotlight on institutions and individual experts-putting science advice on the 'Grand Stage'. A review of the academic literature identified transparency, a plurality of expertise, the science and policy 'boundary', and consensus whilst addressing uncertainty as key themes. The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) has been the primary provider of coordinated scientific and technical advice to the UK Government during emergencies since 2009. Using the first 89 of SAGE's meeting minutes (study period: 22 January 2020-13 May 2021), the 'metadata' and linguistic choices are analysed to identify how SAGE's role and protocols are communicated. This includes understanding which experts were regularly taking part in discussions, the role of scientific experts in the science advisory system and their influence on policy choices, and the degree of consensus and uncertainty within this group of experts-all of which relate to the degree of transparency with the public. In addition, a temporal analysis examines how these practices, such as linguistically marking uncertainty, developed over the period studied. Linguistic markers indexing certainty and uncertainty increased, demonstrating a commitment to precise and accurate communication of the science, including ambiguities and the unknown. However, self-references to SAGE decreased over the period studied. The study highlights how linguistic analysis can be a useful approach for developing an understanding of science communication practices and scientific ambiguity. By considering how SAGE presents to those outside the process, the research calls attention to what remains 'behind the scenes' and consequently limits the public's understanding of SAGE's role in the COVID-19 response

COVID-19 and science advice on the 'Grand Stage': the metadata and linguistic choices in a scientific advisory groups' meeting minutes.

Science advice for governments attracted great scrutiny during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the public spotlight on institutions and individual experts-putting science advice on the 'Grand Stage'. A review of the academic literature identified transparency, a plurality of expertise, the science and policy 'boundary', and consensus whilst addressing uncertainty as key themes. The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) has been the primary provider of coordinated scientific and technical advice to the UK Government during emergencies since 2009. Using the first 89 of SAGE's meeting minutes (study period: 22 January 2020-13 May 2021), the 'metadata' and linguistic choices are analysed to identify how SAGE's role and protocols are communicated. This includes understanding which experts were regularly taking part in discussions, the role of scientific experts in the science advisory system and their influence on policy choices, and the degree of consensus and uncertainty within this group of experts-all of which relate to the degree of transparency with the public. In addition, a temporal analysis examines how these practices, such as linguistically marking uncertainty, developed over the period studied. Linguistic markers indexing certainty and uncertainty increased, demonstrating a commitment to precise and accurate communication of the science, including ambiguities and the unknown. However, self-references to SAGE decreased over the period studied. The study highlights how linguistic analysis can be a useful approach for developing an understanding of science communication practices and scientific ambiguity. By considering how SAGE presents to those outside the process, the research calls attention to what remains 'behind the scenes' and consequently limits the public's understanding of SAGE's role in the COVID-19 response

Trunk performance after stroke and the relationship with balance, gait and functional ability

Objective: To evaluate trunk performance in non-acute and chronic stroke patients by means of the Trunk Control Test and Trunk Impairment Scale and to compare the Trunk Control Test with the Trunk Impairment Scale and its subscales in relation to balance, gait and functional ability after stroke.Subjects: Fifty-one stroke patients, attending a rehabilitation programme, participated in the study.Main measures: Subjects were evaluated with the Trunk Control Test, Trunk Impairment Scale, Tinetti balance and gait subscales, Functional Ambulation Category, 10-m walk test, Timed Up and Go Test and motor part of the Functional Independence Measure.Results: Participants obtained a median score of 61 out of 100 on the Trunk Control Test and 11 out of 23 for the Trunk Impairment Scale. Twelve participants (24%) obtained the maximum score on the Trunk Control Test; no subject reached the maximum score on the Trunk Impairment Scale. Measures of trunk performance were significantly related with values of balance, gait and functional ability. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed an additional, significant contribution of the dynamic sitting balance subscale of the Trunk Impairment Scale in addition to the Trunk Control Test total score for measures of gait and functional ability (model R2 = 0.55 - 0.62).Conclusions: This study clearly indicates that trunk performance is still impaired in non-acute and chronic stroke patients. When planning future follow-up studies, use of the Trunk Impairment Scale has the advantage that it has no ceiling effect

Transformation for inclusive conservation: evidence on values, decisions, and impacts in protected areas

As countries consider new area-based conservation targets under the Convention on Biological Diversity, protected areas (PAs) and their impacts on people and nature are coming under increasing scrutiny. We review the evidence base on PA impacts, combining the findings from existing rigorous impact evaluations with local case studies developed for this study. We identify characteristics of PA establishment and management that improve the sustainability of biodiversity conservation and justice for local communities. We find that recognizing and respecting local values and knowledge about natural resource stewardship, colearning, and comanagement are key to achieving positive impacts for nature and people. Transforming PA governance toward more inclusive conservation depends upon the ability of PAs to be designed and implemented around the values and needs of local people