Optimal or antagonistic? muscle force solutions in the lower limb

Provides evidence of the appropriateness of different muscle force distribution protocols in a musculoskeletal model of the lower limb

Applying machine classifiers to update searches: analysis from two case studies

Manual screening of citation records could be reduced by using machine classifiers to remove records of very low relevance. This seems particularly feasible for update searches, where a machine classifier can be trained from past screening decisions. However, feasibility is unclear for broad topics. To evaluate the performance and implementation of machine classifiers for update searches of public health research. Two case studies. The first study evaluates the impact of using different sets of training data on classifier performance, comparing recall and screening reduction with a manual screening ‘gold standard’. The second study uses screening decisions from a review to train a classifier that is applied to rank the update search results. A stopping threshold was applied in the absence of a gold standard. Time spent screening titles and abstracts of different relevancy-ranked records was measured. Results: Study one: Classifier performance varies according to the training data used; all custom-built classifiers had a recall above 93% at the same threshold, achieving screening reductions between 41% and 74%. Study two: applying a classifier provided a solution for tackling a large volume of search results from the update search, and screening volume was reduced by 61%. A tentative estimate indicates over 25 hours screening time was saved. Custom-built machine classifiers are feasible for reducing screening workload from update searches across a range of public health interventions, with some limitation on recall. Key considerations include selecting a training dataset, agreeing stopping thresholds and processes to ensure smooth workflows

UK Strategy in the Gulf and Middle East After American Retrenchment

This is the final version. Available from SETA Foundation via the DOI in this recordThis paper considers the impact of the possible relative decline of the U.S. and its engagement in the Middle East and the Gulf in particular. US disengagement started under the Obama administration and seems to be continuing under the Trump administration. Applying theories of ‘rival hegemonic transition,’ possible post-Amercan successors are identified. In particular, the UK’s intents, capabilities, and strategies as it returns ‘East of Suez’ are examined, along with the geopolitical implications of such a return for the shifting balance of power in the Middle East

Kurdish insurgency in Rojhelat: from Rasan to the Oslo Negotiations

This is the final version. Available on open access from Routledge via the DOI in this recordThis article sheds light on recent political developments in Rojhelat (Eastern/Iranian Kurdistan), focusing on the activities of Rojhelat’s leading political parties. This study argues that the existing situation in the area is a product mainly of the shift in Rojhelat’s mainstream political organisation, the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran, in its political and military approach to the Kurdish movement in Iran, popularly known as Rasan-i Rojhelat (the revival/sudden rise of Eastern Kurdistan). This has triggered a new, high level of conflict between Kurds and the Islamic Republic of Iran since 2015. Since the announcement of the Rasan, tit-for-tat clashes between Kurdish Peshmerga/guerrilla units and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) have been witnessed across Rojhelat. Analysis of the Kurdish question in Rojhelat reveals this development as multifaceted and complex, involving multiple actors and activities such as insurgency and collective protest from Kurdish civil society. This article focuses on two main developments: the methods and practices deployed by the Kurdish political parties of Rojhelat following the Rasan, and the sudden announcement of negotiations between representatives of the Iranian government and of four of Rojhelat’s political parties from 27-28 July 2019 in Oslo

Prevalence of mental health disorders in adult minority ethnic populations in England: A systematic review

The aim of this project, commissioned by the Department of Health in England, was to undertake a systematic review of the survey literature that has estimated the prevalence of mental health disorders among adults from minority ethnic groups in England. Findings about the estimated prevalence of different mental health disorders, and about the extent and nature of the available survey evidence, are to be used to inform the design of a sampling strategy aimed at boosting the sample of people from minority ethnic groups in the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS) due in 2021

A systematic evidence map of intervention evaluations to reduce gang-related violence

Objective: To identify and map evaluations of interventions on gang violence using innovative systematic review methods to inform future research needs. Methods: A previous iteration of this map (Hodgkinson et al., (2009). “Reducing gang-related crime: A systematic review of ‘comprehensive’ interventions.”) was updated in 2021/22 with inclusion of evaluations since the original searches in 2006. Innovative automatic searching and screening was used concurrently with a ‘conventional’ strategy that utilised 58 databases and other online resources. Data were presented in an online interactive evidence gap map. Results: Two hundred and forty-eight evaluations were described, including 114 controlled studies, characterised as comprehensive interventions, encompassing more than one distinct type of intervention. Conclusion: This suggests a substantial body of previously unidentified robust evidence on interventions that could be synthesised to inform policy and practice decision-making. Further research is needed to investigate the extent to which using automated methodologies can improve the efficiency and quality of systematic reviews