The Application of the Hermeneutic Process to Qualitative Safety Data: A Case Study using Data from the CIRAS project

This article describes the new qualitative methodology developed for use in CIRAS (Confidential Incident Reporting and Analysis System), the confidential database set up for the UK railways by the University of Strathclyde. CIRAS is a project in which qualitative safety data are disidentified and then stored and analysed in a central database. Due to the confidential nature of the data provided, conventional (positivist) methods of checking their accuracy are not applicable; therefore a new methodology was developed - the Applied Hermeneutic Methodology (AHM). Based on Paul Ricoeur's `hermeneutic arc', this methodology uses appropriate computer software to provide a method of analysis that can be shown to be reliable (in the sense that consensus in interpretations between different interpreters can be demonstrated). Moreover, given that the classifiers of the textual elements can be represented in numeric form, AHM crosses the `qualitative-quantitative divide'. It is suggested that this methodology is more rigorous and philosophically coherent than existing methodologies and that it has implications for all areas of the social sciences where qualitative texts are analysed

Information Processing Models: Benefits and Limitations

This paper looks at the three main information processing models from the point of view of researchers in confidential human factors databases. It explores conceptual problems with two of these information processing models, and goes on to explore possible advantages of adopting a ‘connectionist’ paradigm. Links between connectionism and ‘situated cognition’ are demonstrated. Practical work carried out using a connectionist/situated cognition model is described, and the way in which the ‘situatedness’ of discourse can influence the kind of data that can be collected is discussed. Finally it is argued that more emphasis should be placed in ergonomics on sociation, situatedness and embodiment, and that this might help to deal with problems faced in creation and interrogating databases: especially as regards the creation of coherent and reliable ‘coding taxonomies’

People and Things on the Move: Domestic Material Culture, Poverty and Mobility in Victorian London

© 2016, The Author(s). The development of what Mayne and Lawrence (Urban History 26: 325–48, 1999) termed “ethnographic” approaches to studying nineteenth-century households and urban communities has gathered momentum in recent years. As such research agendas have taken hold and been applied to new contexts, so critiques, methodological developments, and new intellectual and theoretical currents, have provided opportunities to enhance and develop approaches. This article contributes to this on-going process. Drawing upon household archaeological research on Limehouse, a poor neighborhood in Victorian London, and inspired by the theoretical insights provided by the “new mobilities paradigm,” it aims to place “mobility” as a central and enabling intellectual framework for understanding the relationships between people, place, and poverty. Poor communities in nineteenth-century cities were undeniably mobile and transient. Historians and archaeologists have often regarded this mobility as an obstacle to studying everyday life in such contexts. However, examining temporal routines and geographical movements across a variety of time frames and geographical scales, this article argues that mobility is actually key to understanding urban life and an important mechanism for interpreting the fragmented material and documentary traces left by poor households in the nineteenth-century metropolis.We are grateful to the UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council who funded the research upon which this paper is based (Grant Reference AH/E002285/1): ‘Living in Victorian London: Towards a Material History of Everyday Domestic Life in the Nineteenth-Century Metropolis

The genetic architecture of growth and fillet traits in farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

BACKGROUND: Performance and quality traits such as harvest weight, fillet weight and flesh color are of economic importance to the Atlantic salmon aquaculture industry. The genetic factors underlying these traits are of scientific and commercial interest. However, such traits are typically polygenic in nature, with the number and size of QTL likely to vary between studies and populations. The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic basis of several growth and fillet traits measured at harvest in a large farmed salmon population by using SNP markers. Due to the marked heterochiasmy in salmonids, an efficient two-stage mapping approach was applied whereby QTL were detected using a sire-based linkage analysis, a sparse SNP marker map and exploiting low rates of recombination, while a subsequent dam-based analysis focused on the significant chromosomes with a denser map to confirm QTL and estimate their position. RESULTS: The harvest traits all showed significant heritability, ranging from 0.05 for fillet yield up to 0.53 for the weight traits. In the sire-based analysis, 1695 offspring with trait records and their 20 sires were successfully genotyped for the SNPs on the sparse map. Chromosomes 13, 18, 19 and 20 were shown to harbor genome-wide significant QTL affecting several growth-related traits. The QTL on chr. 13, 18 and 20 were detected in the dam-based analysis using 512 offspring from 10 dams and explained approximately 6–7 % of the within-family variation in these traits. CONCLUSIONS: We have detected several QTL affecting economically important complex traits in a commercial salmon population. Overall, the results suggest that the traits are relatively polygenic and that QTL tend to be pleiotropic (affecting the weight of several components of the harvested fish). Comparison of QTL regions across studies suggests that harvest trait QTL tend to be relatively population-specific. Therefore, the application of marker or genomic selection for improvement in these traits is likely to be most effective when the discovery population is closely related to the selection candidates (e.g. within-family genomic selection). ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12863-015-0215-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

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

A silicon-on-insulator quantum wire

Thin, narrow silicon-on-insulator n-channel MOSFETs have been fabricated. The drain current characteristics, when measured as a function of gate voltage at low temperature, exhibit a series of oscillations, which is characteristic of current transport in one-dimensional systems (quantum wires). Theoretical calculation of the current oscillations in the device show reasonable agreement with the experimental characteristics

Understanding patients' adherence-related beliefs about medicines prescribed for long-term conditions: A meta-analytic review of the Necessity-Concerns Framework

Patients' beliefs about treatment influence treatment engagement and adherence. The Necessity-Concerns Framework postulates that adherence is influenced by implicit judgements of personal need for the treatment (necessity beliefs) and concerns about the potential adverse consequences of taking it