UK Countries Research Articles

Investigation of destructive ground heave attributed to pyritic fill affecting new-build properties in the Dublin area of Ireland

As structural damage caused by expansion of pyrite bearing bedrock and fills had been documented in the UK and other countries since at least the 1960s, it was surprising that some thousands of cases involving extensive damage to residential and other properties near Dublin, Ireland came to light during the first decade of 2000. Although the stability of properties was not immediately endangered, their appearance and functionality were impaired with serious impact on their value, all of which was obviously very distressing to the owners. Various possible causes relating to the ground conditions, construction methods, structural design and materials used in construction were investigated. However, from the characteristics of the damage and the type of fill used beneath concrete floor slabs it was suspected that the presence of pyrite in the fill was resulting in it being subject to damaging expansion.The paper documents investigations carried out in 2008 into the damage caused to houses in one development in north Dublin. Detailed mineralogical and chemical characterisation of the materials concerned confirmed that both cubic and framboidal forms of pyrite were present in the fill material and there was evidence for in-situ expansive mineral formation. Early signs of isolated chemical attack to sub-surface footings and foundation structures was also evident and although no physical degradation of mortar and concrete was apparent, there was potential for deterioration of these buried structures in the longer-term. Various solutions to the problem were suggested, but it was concluded that replacement of the fill with effectively pyrite-free material was the best strategy for remediation.A lack of awareness in the construction industry, particularly the domestic housing sector, of the potential for problems due to pyrite was apparent. This resulted in protracted legal proceedings and new standards and specifications for fill materials were issued. This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of the behaviour of pyrite and its potential for causing problems in construction situations as even with compliance with standards, problems cannot be otherwise ruled out.

Respiratory diseases advocate living with severe asthma

Respiratory diseases advocate living with severe asthma

Study Design for an Evaluation of Newborn Screening for SCID in the UK.

Severe combined immunodeficiency is a rare inherited disorder, which, if untreated, invariably proves fatal in late infancy or early childhood. With treatment, the prognosis is much improved. Early treatment of the siblings of cases, before they become symptomatic, has shown considerable improvements in outcomes. Based on this and the development of a test that can be used on the whole population of neonates (measurement of T-cell receptor excision circles—TRECs), many countries have added it to their routine newborn bloodspot screening programmes. The UK National Screening Committee (UKNSC) has considered whether SCID should be added to the UK screening programme and concluded that it was likely to be cost effective, but that there were a number of uncertainties that should be resolved before a national roll-out could be recommended. These include some aspects of the test, such as: cost; the use of different assays and cut-off levels to reduce false positive rates, while maintaining sensitivity; the overall benefits of screening for disease outcome in patients with SCID and other identified disorders; the need for a separate pathway for premature babies; the acceptability of the screening programme to parents of babies who have normal and abnormal (both true and false positive) screening results. To achieve this, screening of two thirds of babies born in England over a two-year period has been planned, beginning in September 2021. The outcomes and costs of care of babies identified by the screening will be compared with those of babies identified with SCID in the rest of the UK. The effect of the screening programme on parents will form part of a separate research project.

Biomass energy consumption and economic growth: insights from BRICS and developed countries.

This study analyzes the causal associations between economic growth (GDP) and biomass energy consumption (BIO) in the US, UK, and BRICS countries for the period 1990 to 2020 in time-frequency space. The use of wavelets is what distinguishes our approach, i.e., cross wavelet transform, wavelet coherence, and the wavelet-based Granger causality method proposed by Olayeni (2016), which quantifies the causal associations in the time-frequency space. The results uncover that the causal relationships between GDP and BIO are not uniform across time and frequency. In fact, there is a positive relationship between GDP and BIO indicators in the BRICS countries in the medium and long term and in the USA and UK in the short term throughout the research period. In addition, a bidirectional causal effect between GDP and BIO exists in China, Brazil, and India, while there is no long-run causal relationship between GDP and BIO in India and South Africa. The causal impacts of economic growth on biomass energy usage are more pronounced in these countries than in the opposite direction, especially over longer time horizons. The key conclusion is that these countries should boost their biomass energy consumption to promote economic growth and reduce energy reliance.

Certification of visual impairment in patients with diabetes mellitus in Northern Ireland over a 5‐year period

AbstractPurposeTo determine the number of patients with diabetes mellitus (PwDM) who were certified as visually impaired (CVI) over the past 5 years in Northern Ireland, UK.MethodsCVI data were collected from 11 sites and 50 eye‐specialists using pre‐defined CVI forms. Eye‐specialists must provide patient demographics and vision information such as visual acuity and diagnosis for certification purposes. Data were transcribed into Microsoft Excel before analysis was undertaken to produce an annual CVI report for eye and healthcare professionals. Our analysis determined the contribution of diabetes and diabetic eye disease (DED) to the sight‐impairment burden between 2014 and 2018.ResultsIn 2014, 332 CVIs were registered: 184 as severely sight impaired (SSI) and 142 sight impaired (SI). Of the 24 who had diabetes, 19 were certified due to diabetic retinopathy (DR) and 2 to diabetic macular oedema (DMO). Between 2015 and 2017 the number of CVIs increased to 412, 428 and 453 respectively with PwDM having grown to 48, 43 and 41, respectively. PwDM were also certified due to AMD and glaucoma (range of 2%–31% and 2–4% respectively) from 2015 to 2017. After an intense education campaign, in 2018, the total CVI submissions increased to 575; of these 368 were SSI and 196 were SI. The number of people who were certified as having diabetes more than doubled in 2018 to 107 of these, 51 (48%) were certified due to DED. AMD was found to be the second largest cause of visual impairment in PwDM at 40%, the remaining people had other ophthalmic issues such as keratoconus and optic atrophy.ConclusionsPwDM were previously underrepresented in the sight impaired registers in Northern Ireland. Since the awareness campaign and introduction of improved pre‐defined forms in 2018, Northern Ireland is now on par with certification rates in the rest of the UK. This information provides insight into the epidemiology of sight impairment in Northern Ireland while providing appropriate data for policymaking and service planning purposes.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma patients’ experience by gender: findings from a cross-sectional UK-national questionnaire

ObjectivesMalignant mesothelioma is an aggressive malignancy of mesothelial surfaces, most commonly those of the pleura. The aim of this study was to understand, using a national questionnaire, the gendered care...

Research on R&D Investment of New Energy Companies under the Trend of Green Transformation

With the rapid development of new energy technology in the world and the deepening of green energy transformation, the Chinese government is paying more and more attention to the innovation and development of the new energy industry. In recent years, the total R&D investment of Chinese new energy companies keeps increasing and gradually becomes an important force to promote social and economic development. However, the low R&D investment intensity of new energy industry and the lack of innovation of new energy technology have become the key problems hindering the development of new energy in China. Based on the trend of green transformation, this paper compares the new energy industry policies of the UK, the US and other countries and combines the development status of China’s new energy industry to explore a new development path for new energy companies, so as to gather the government, market, companies and other forces to accelerate the development of the new energy industry.

A Proposal for Expansion of the Medical Specialty of Rehabilitation Medicine.

The workforce of the medical specialty of Rehabilitation Medicine (RM) in the UK is 10 times less than the European average for the specialty of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM). This can be explained partly by the difference in the scope of practice within the specialty between the UK and other European countries and USA. This opinion paper aims to compare the rehabilitation needs in chronic medical conditions and compare the scope of practice between countries within Europe and other regions of the world. The potential advantages of a broader remit specialty to improve rehabilitation care for patients by involving rehabilitation physicians in various medical conditions is explored. Recommendations have been put forward in the Rehabilitation Medicine Expansion Proposal (RMEP), which is likely to make the medical specialty of RM/ PRM more satisfying for the doctors working in the specialty and a more attractive career choice for those entering training in the specialty. There is a need for an international universal framework for the scope of the specialty to have a greater impact on improving the lives of those with chronic medical conditions.

Food Marketing and Parent’s Attitude for Children’s Food Habits

Food marketing to children is recognized worldwide as contributing to many health-related problems in children. Much of the research in this area has been carried out in the US, the UK, and other developed countries that are fighting the obesity epidemic and other related health problems. But now this phenomenon is, however, not restricted to the developed world only, it is trickling down to the developing countries, such as India. Therefore, it is pertinent that necessary measures are devised and implemented so that Indian children may not face the same situation. At present, when governmental regulations are less forthcoming, and marketers are enjoying the potential offered by a vast and untapped market for western foods, it becomes imminent for the parents to intervene and protect their children from common effects of food advertising. Therefore, the present paper seeks to review food marketing and parents’ concern for the food habits of their children. Design: Data were drawn as of consumption and action in the child, a population-based. Setting: children from 5 middle and high schools and households in Delhi. Surveys Participants: A total of 200 children in results age of group 4 - 12. Variables Measured: region, Type of foods adds, Household Income, Parents’ education, Media, Eating at the restaurant, Favorite, foods, Household situation, Obesity, Diabetics, and cardiovascular. Analysis: Microsoft excel models with pie charts were used to guesstimate links between TV advertising and junk food consumption, adjusting in favor of demographics.

Scenario‐based fertility projections incorporating impacts of COVID‐19

AbstractThis paper examines the recent declines in period fertility in the constituent countries of the UK during the past decade and speculates mechanisms through which the COVID‐19 pandemic could influence childbearing in the UK. The effects are likely to differ by age and presence of children. Considering potential forces acting on individuals at different ages and family sizes, we expect that the COVID‐19 pandemic will depress fertility, particularly among younger people. Because fertility at all ages was declining before the onset of the pandemic, this could mean a further decline in period fertility to historically low UK levels. We put forward a number of scenarios to examine the possible impact of the pandemic on numbers of live births. Our projections show that for three scenarios out of four, fertility is expected to decline over the next 3 years, leading to significantly fewer births annually compared with the pre‐pandemic period.

Performance assessment for mathematics tutoring centres

AbstractEvaluation has become a common, and even an expected, practice across undergraduate mathematics tutoring centres in the USA, UK and other countries. However, these evaluation efforts could benefit greatly from leveraging organizational theory research. In this study, we situate mathematics tutoring centres as non-profit organizations (NPOs) to consider how an organization performance assessment framework can be adapted to study mathematics tutoring centre data and characteristics. We use qualitative and quantitative data, collected from six mathematics tutoring centres and adapt Lee & Nowell’s (2015, Am. J. Eval., 36, 299–319) NPO performance framework to situate our study. Using thematic analysis, the research team underwent iterative cycles of data collection and analysis to code for alignment with Lee and Nowell’s framework. By adapting Lee and Nowell’s framework to mathematics centres, each of the six centres was given a more relevant lens to consider its performance. Regardless of the university setting, previous evaluations for centres have focused primarily on outputs (e.g., number of visits), behavioural change outcomes (e.g., correlating visits to grades) and client satisfaction outcomes (e.g., student surveys) that ignore the particular context of a centre. However, Lee and Nowell’s framework takes into account additional performance indicators that provide a more nuanced understanding of a centre’s performance by bringing to light the interplay among its various dimensions. Lee and Nowell’s framework allows centres to look beyond outputs and outcomes to understand why these outputs and outcomes come to be. The use of this adapted performance framework, for the six mathematics centres in this study, allows an interpretation on a variety of dimensions using relevant data while indicating possible areas for change for each centre.

UK’s Free Trade Agreements with Non-EU Countries: the Case of the Black Sea Region

With the end of the Brexit transition period and its final departure from the EU, the United Kingdom lost its access to the EU trade agreements that its economy had previously benefited from. Therefore, the UK has been determined to preserve the preferential trading terms with states and trading blocs that used to be covered during its membership in the EU, and introduced a number of Free Trade Agreements (FTA) to guarantee a smooth transition both for the UK and non-EU countries’ economies with which it has extensive trade. The objective is to analyze the signing of Free Trade Agreements between UK and non-EU countries, namely, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Turkey. The methodology is based on comparative case-by-case study. The results indicate that UK’s trade with the countries in Black Sea region (also quite affiliated with the EU) is going to gain more importance, which will broaden the opportunities for the UK become more involved in the economy of the region and, potentially, build stronger and independent political ties with the countries studied.

Understanding the barriers and enablers of pharmacogenomic testing in primary care: a qualitative systematic review with meta-aggregation synthesis.

Introduction: Pharmacogenomic testing can indicate which drugs may have limited therapeutic action or lead to adverse effects, hence guiding rational and safe prescribing. However, in the UK and other countries, there are still significant barriers to implementation of testing in primary care. Objective: This systematic review presents the barriers and enablers to the implementation ofpharmacogenomics in primary care setting. Materials & methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO and CINAHL databases were searched through to July 2020 for studies that reported primary qualitative data of primary care professionals and patient views. Following screening, data extraction and quality assessment, data synthesis was undertaken using meta-aggregation based on the theoretical domain's framework (TDF). Confidence in the synthesized findings relating to credibility and dependability was established using CONQual. Eligible papers were categorized into six TDF domains - knowledge; social and professional roles; behavioral regulation; beliefs and consequences; environmental context and resources; and social influences. Results: From 1669 citations, eighteen eligible studies were identified across seven countries, with a sample size of 504 participants including both primary care professionals and patients. From the data, 15 synthesized statements, all with moderate CONQual rating emerged. These categories range from knowledge, awareness among Primary Care Physicians and patients, professional relationships, negative impact of PGx, belief that PGx can reduce adverse drug reactions, clinical evidence, cost-effectiveness, informatics, reporting issues and social issues. Conclusion: Through use of TDF, fifteen synthesized statements provide policymakers with valuable recommendations for the implementation of pharmacogenomics in primary care. In preparation, policymakers need to consider the introduction of effective educational strategies for both PCPs and patients to raise knowledge, awareness, and engagement. The actual introduction of PGx will require reorganization with decision support tools to aid use of PGx in primary care, with a clear delegation of roles and responsibilities between general professionals and pharmacists supplemented by a local pool of experts. Furthermore, policy makers need to address the cost effectiveness of pharmacogenomics and having appropriate infrastructure supporting testing and interpretation including informatic solutions for utilizing pharmacogenomic results.

Post-covid syndrome in children

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children associated with COVID-19 is a new disease, information first appeared in April 2020. There were reported cases of hospitalized children with unusual symptoms, manifested primarily by fever and multisystem inflammation from the pediatricians in the UK and other countries during the coronavirus infection pandemic (COVID-19). Some of these children were in critical condition with symptoms of shock and multiple organ failure, and some children had manifestations similar to Kawasaki disease. Despite the fact that COVID-19 in children is relatively easy, some of the «convalescents» after 2–6 weeks develop symptoms largely identical to the manifestations of severe forms of new coronavirus infection in adults. The report presents own clinical cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome that developed in children after acute form of a new coronavirus infection. The authors discuss the possible clinical variants of the syndrome, its origin and outcomes.

Vaccine Hesitancy and Political Populism. An Invariant Cross-European Perspective.

Vaccine-hesitancy and political populism are positively associated across Europe: those countries in which their citizens present higher populist attitudes are those that also have higher vaccine-hesitancy rates. The same key driver fuels them: distrust in institutions, elites, and experts. The reluctance of citizens to be vaccinated fits perfectly in populist political agendas because is a source of instability that has a distinctive characteristic known as the “small pockets” issue. It means that the level at which immunization coverage needs to be maintained to be effective is so high that a small number of vaccine-hesitants have enormous adverse effects on herd immunity and epidemic spread. In pandemic and post-pandemic scenarios, vaccine-hesitancy could be used by populists as one of the most effective tools for generating distrust. This research presents an invariant measurement model applied to 27 EU + UK countries (27,524 participants) that segments the different behaviours found, and gives social-marketing recommendations for coping with the vaccine-hesitancy problem when used for generating distrust.

A comparative analysis of discourses shaping physical education provision within and across the UK

Set within the context of a longitudinal project that seeks to engage physical education teachers from the four countries of the UK in cross-border curriculum analysis, dialogue and learning, the current study lays the foundation by mapping and comparing curriculum discourses that currently shape how physical education is conceptualised in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. As a team of researchers with affiliations to each of the four nations of the UK, we identified those curriculum documents from each context that were written to directly inform physical education teachers’ curriculum planning and enactment. We firstly identified those discourses evident in each document to understand how physical education is conceptualised within each curriculum, before engaging in a dialogical process that converged around how physical education is constructed similarly or differently within and across curricula. We found some variation in relation to how the concept of health is articulated. With the exception of the curriculum in Wales, we also found that performance discourses related to developing motor competencies for sports continue to dominate as the main purpose of physical education. Finally, there are several points of divergence in relation to how much agency or guidance teachers are afforded within each curriculum. The intention of this research is to initiate dialogue across each of the four nations, creating opportunities for learning so that, collectively, teachers can build capacity to contribute to future curricula and pedagogies in physical education.

The Counseling Challenges Facing Muslim Clients across the World

This systematic review is conducted with the major aim of highlighting the need for a comprehensive and modern Islamic counselling Model, due to the psychological challenges facing Muslim clients across the world. The main source of data collection in the research is past empirical studies related to the field of counselling as it affects Muslim countries. The study found, from the extant literature reviewed, that there is a high incidence of psychological problems among Muslim populated countries, especially the crises-ridden and turbulent regions such as Syria, Yemen, Palestine and others, as well as among the Muslim minority groups in some countries, such as the US, the UK and other European countries. It was discovered from the literature that the major causes of mental health problems are: lack of the fear of God, wars, poverty, natural disasters, political unrest, discrimination and Islamophobic tendencies. In this regard, the study highlights the need for research and action plans that focus on the well-being of Muslims in the entire global community. It is imperative that Muslims require professional assistance from specially trained counsellors equipped with culturally and Islamically-relevant skills for the mitigation of mental distress and depression. The need for a comprehensive Islamic counselling model that matches and competes with the western-oriented counselling models, is proposed. For precisely this purpose, therefore, the Al-Ghazali counselling model has been recently developed, which is compatible and commensurate with modern scientific therapeutic techniques, and is found to be a highly promising intervention for clients with mental and psychological challenges.

Education and ignorance in the UK 80 years after Beveridge: The role of government and equality of opportunity

AbstractIn the founding document of the British welfare state, the Beveridge Report, ‘ignorance’ was identified as one of the ‘five giants on the road of reconstruction’. Dealing with ignorance meant developing education and greater equality of education to all children, with local authorities having a vital role to play. This paper focuses on the development of education policy in the UK by analysing legislative provision related to the role played by central and local government, and equality of opportunity. It argues that there have been notable changes across all phases of education. In England, central government plays a greater role than previously, and has created enduring state‐controlled markets in which education institutions operate; local authorities have a reduced role. This contrasts with Scotland and Wales. Ideas about equality of opportunity have also shifted over time and vary not only between different phases of education, but also between the countries of the UK. Whilst equality of access has increased, equality of educational outcome remains elusive.

Refining regional organization of services in the UK to improve outcomes of pregnancies delivering at extremely low gestational age

Care for pregnant women and their infants at extremely low gestational ages challenges clinical teams. The continuing rise in survival at gestational ages below 25 weeks has prompted re-evaluation of practice guidelines within the UK and other countries. This paper describes the background data that have guided our practice, the approach that has been taken to deliver optimal outcomes for pregnancies delivering at extremely low gestational age in the UK, mainly through centralising care, and discusses the research and audit data that support our practice. In particular, we emphasize the importance of a coordinated perinatal approach to both mother and infant, and careful assessment of the risks to both, to ensure that we develop the highest quality personalized care for each family, supported by national quality improvement and research evidence.

Deemed consent for organ donation in Northern Ireland.

Shortages of organs for transplantation have led many countries to introduce systems of deemed consent for organ donation, whereby donation is the default upon death and an individual must provide express opposition to donation to prevent it. Despite a lack of clear supporting evidence, it is often suggested that deemed consent will contribute significantly to addressing the organ shortage. Northern Ireland appears set to be one of the next countries to pursue this route, with the Organ and Tissue Donation (Deemed Consent) Bill currently making its way through the Northern Ireland Assembly. If passed, this Bill will see Northern Ireland follow in the footsteps of the rest of the UK. In this viewpoint, we provide an overview of Northern Ireland's progress towards introducing deemed consent and argue two related points. First, that public awareness of the policy (if introduced) is vital to both its defensibility and longevity, and that this must be recognised through the imposition of a ministerial duty to focus on such awareness. Second, that policymakers in Northern Ireland ought to support the policy to ensure consistency across the UK in organ procurement, thereby preventing Northern Ireland from disproportionately benefitting from the UK-wide organ allocation system.