Has the incidence of empyema in Scottish children continued to increase beyond 2005?

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Child abuse registration, fetal growth, and preterm birth: a population based study

Objectives: To study the relation of intra-uterine growth and gestational age with child protection registration in a 20 year whole population birth cohort. Setting: West Sussex area of England. Study design: Retrospective whole population birth cohort. Outcomes: Child protection registration; individual categories of registration—sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect. Population and participants: 119 771 infants born in West Sussex between January 1983 and December 2001 with complete data including birth weight, gestational age, maternal age, and postcode. Results: In all categories of registration a linear trend was noted such that the lower the birth weight z score the higher the likelihood of child protection registration. Similar trends were noted for gestational age. All these trends were robust to adjustment for maternal age and socioeconomic status. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that lower levels of fetal growth and shorter gestational duration are associated with increased likelihood of child protection registration in all categories including sexual abuse independent of maternal age or socioeconomic status. This study does not permit comment on whether poor fetal growth or preterm birth predispose to child abuse and neglect or the association arises because they share a common pathway

Using Noninvasive Brain Measurement to Explore the Psychological Effects of Computer Malfunctions on Users during Human-Computer Interactions

In today’s technologically driven world, there is a need to better understand the ways that common computer malfunctions affect computer users. These malfunctions may have measurable influences on computer user’s cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses. An experiment was conducted where participants conducted a series of web search tasks while wearing functional nearinfrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and galvanic skin response sensors. Two computer malfunctions were introduced during the sessions which had the potential to influence correlates of user trust and suspicion. Surveys were given after each session to measure user’s perceived emotional state, cognitive load, and perceived trust. Results suggest that fNIRS can be used to measure the different cognitive and emotional responses associated with computer malfunctions. These cognitive and emotional changes were correlated with users’ self-report levels of suspicion and trust, and they in turn suggest future work that further explores the capability of fNIRS for the measurement of user experience during human-computer interactions

A design-relevant mindfulness device

This paper delineates the design of a study that aims to describe the development and measure the effects of a design-relevant mindfulness device. The relational nature of design and particularly multidisciplinary collaboration, implies that designers would benefit from the development of interpersonal skills. Science suggests that one of the many benefits of mindfulness is improved interpersonal skills which could reasonably lead to enhanced cooperation disposition. The mindfulness device becomes relevant to design through a process of intra-personal attuning that focuses attention on embedded values which impact awareness. The study aims to determine whether engagement with the device has significant effects on, and noteworthy correlations between aspects of mindfulness and of cooperation. Moreover, the study will generate reflective output that is expected to map designers’ conscious and subconscious values. Thus, the device would be imbued with research support to promote opportunities for the evolution of academic design experiences based on mindfulness, which can foster distinct skills in designers. This paper also explores how developing this skill may transform a designer’s relationship with tacit knowledge arising in intuitive design moments

Bridging Mindfulness and Design

Design literature regards mindfulness as a new competency that should be taught explicitly in design educational settings. This is associated to points of view that consider such skills relevant to ethics, uncertainty, and to evolving multidisciplinary, multi-stakeholder co-creative applications of design thinking. This document is part of a developing PhD programme that aims to describe and apply it explicitly to pertinent design academic situations. Extensive literature in diverse fields of research describes mindfulness in a number of ways that are said to sometimes cause misunderstanding. This conceptual paper aims to bridge mindfulness and design, and posits the concept of openness as a shared attribute within theories complementary to both. Openness, understood as receptivity to dynamic multiple perspectives, is then associated to the systems experience of interconnectedness as an alternate focus to the discussion of moral awareness in design. Furthermore, interpersonal attributes of mindfulness, relevant to the relational aspects of design, will be discussed. This analysis seeks to serve as a conceptual base to a doctoral study that explores reflective ways to make mindfulness explicit in design education

Prevalence of drug-herb and drug-supplement interactions in older adults : A cross-sectional survey

© British Journal of General PracticeBackground Polypharmacy is common among older adults, with increasing numbers also using prescription drugs with herbal medicinal products (HMPs) and dietary supplements. There is no reliable evidence from the UK on concurrent use of HMPs and dietary supplements with prescription drugs in older adults. Aim To establish prevalence of concurrent prescription drugs, HMPs, and dietary supplements among UK community-dwelling older adults and identify potential interactions. Design and setting Cross-sectional survey of older adults registered at two general practices in South East England. Method A questionnaire asking about prescription medications, HMPs, and sociodemographic information was posted to 400 older adults aged ≥65 years, identified as taking ≥1 prescription drug. Results In total 155 questionnaires were returned (response rate = 38.8%) and the prevalence of concurrent HMPs and dietary supplements with prescriptions was 33.6%. Females were more likely than males to be concurrent users (43.4% versus 22.5%; P = 0.009). The number of HMPs and dietary supplements ranged from 1 to 8, (mean = 3, median = 1; standard deviation = 1.65). The majority of concurrent users (78.0%) used dietary supplements with prescription drugs. The most commonly used dietary supplements were cod liver oil, glucosamine, multivitamins, and Vitamin D. Others (20.0%) used only HMPs with prescription drugs. Common HMPs were evening primrose oil, valerian, and Nytol Herbal® (a combination of hops, gentian, and passion flower). Sixteen participants (32.6%) were at risk of potential adverse drug interactions. Conclusion GPs should routinely ask questions regarding herbal and supplement use, to identify and manage older adults at potential risk of adverse drug interactions.Peer reviewe

The importance of decision intent within descriptions of pragmatic trials

ACKNOWLEGEMENTS This work is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research through the Project Grant competition (competitive, peer-reviewed), award number PJT-153045. CRediT authorship contribution statement Stuart G. Nicholls: Writing - review & editing. Merrick Zwarenstein: Writing - review & editing. Spencer Phillips Hey: Writing - review & editing. Bruno Giraudeau: Writing - review & editing. Marion K. Campbell: Writing - review & editing. Monica Taljaard: Writing - review & editing.Peer reviewedPostprin