You can find all the latest news on research, knowledge exchange, events and public engagement activities happening within the college of social science, here.
-
A Better World For Pets: An Animal Welfare Education program to improve children’s understanding of animal welfare needs and pet wellbeing.We are co-creating an Animal Welfare Education (AWE) program with primary school teachers and children, which can be implemented into the PSHE curriculum. We will incorporate perspective taking and emotional understanding which is likely to develop children’s relationships with their peers as well as their relationship with pets and other animals they come into contact with. This is likely to improve pet welfare and wellbeing (especially as so many schools now have school pets or visiting animals) as well as reduce potential accidents. Dr. Mirena Dimolareva, University of Lincoln, School of Psychology; Prof. Jermaine Ravalier and Dr. Paulina Wegrzynek, Bath Spa University; Dr. Vicrotia Brelsford, Consultant...
-
Psychological Journey and the Impact of Psychological Tools in the Context of Living With a Brain TumourMichael Baliousis attended a significant patient event in Nottingham as a key speaker, focusing on the psychological journey and the impact of psychological tools in the context of living with a brain tumour. The event, organised by brainstrust, brought together a diverse group of experts including top clinicians, biomedical scientists, and academics. They collectively shared the latest research and insights in this field. The event was especially meaningful as it provided a platform for direct interaction with patients and their families, allowing for a rich exchange of experiences and knowledge.
-
Helping people prepare psychologically for cancer surgery: Developing an online intervention using codesignThis project focuses on developing an online psychological prehabilitation programme for patients preparing for major cancer surgery. It addresses the gap in current prehabilitation programs, which mainly emphasise exercise, by providing expert psychological guidance to reduce acute distress and improve recovery outcomes. The project will follow the MRC Complex Intervention Framework, involving codesign, refinement through think-aloud interviews, and usability testing for online delivery. The aim is to produce a low-fidelity prototype that can be expanded for wider access after further evaluation of usability, theoretical relevance, and resolving uncertainties for larger-scale implementation. Dr Michael Baliousis, Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, University of Lincoln, School of Psychology; Mike Rennoldson & Chris Meek, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust; Dave Dawson & Nima Moghaddam, University of Lincoln, School of Psychology; Lauren Heathcote, King’s College London; Lynn Calman, University of Southampton...
-
Creating Space for the Affective Dimensions of Physical Activity in Old AgeThis public lecture was given by Professor Cassie Phoenix, Director of the Moving Bodies Lab, Durham University Discovery Research Platform for Medical Humanities (funded by the Wellcome Trust). Cassie’s lecture highlighted the complexities associated in engaging with physical activity. Cassie briefly outlined some of the common challenges reported by older adults which hinder their engagement with physical activity/movement (for example, shame, guilt, performance anxiety) and linked these to broader social forces, highlighting the impact especially of ageism. Cassie encouraged the audience to think critically about the impact that ageism and ableism might have on older people who are exhorted to ‘be more active’ as well as looking at the wider forces at play in supporting older people to be / remain physically active. Some of the factors she identified included, the role and value of pleasure, social relationships, mastery and self-compassion in managing potential changes to health and the complexities of daily life. ...
-
Perceptions and awareness of sedentary behaviour recommendations for older adults’ post-stroke across the Lincolnshire coastlineStroke is a leading cause of long-term disabilities, with increasing prevalence worldwide. Low socioeconomic status is associated with an increased incidence of stroke, and socioeconomic factors can also contribute towards stroke recovery. The Lincolnshire coastline is in the most deprived 10% of neighbourhoods in the country. Sedentary behaviour (SB) defined as any waking behaviour characterised by an energy expenditure ≤1.5 metabolic equivalent while in a sitting, reclining, or lying posture, is a unique predictor of metabolic risk alternative to physical activity (PA). Recently, there have been a significant increase in research studies developing interventions to break up sitting time, thus reducing SB across the lifespan. This project aims to be an initial exploration of 1) older adult stroke survivors’ overall perceptions and awareness of what SB is and how it can affect their health in deprived UK communities, 2) health professionals’ perceptions and awareness of SB and the provision of SB education and interventions. Findings will offer greater understanding of how survivors from deprived UK communities gain information, guidance, and support from relevant professionals regarding SB. Furthermore, findings will underpin and implement interventions targeted at breaking up sedentary time in stroke survivors....
-
Methane Early Warning Network (ME-NET)Methane impacts respiratory and mental health outcomes via the production of on-ground ozone. However, little is known about the direct effects of methane on health, and few efforts have been made to quantify the role of methane for health outcome pathways. ME-NET involves developing an online and mobile application to improve awareness and understanding of the relationship between methane and health outcomes and improve access to health services for climate change adaptation. Further, the project aims to progress the decolonisation of data science by providing opportunities to support research ecosystems in data scarce regions. The prototype will be developed for Lincolnshire, UK and Ghana in Africa in collaboration with project partners including the Ghana Meteorological Agency and the University of Ghana....
-
Dr Nima Moghaddam has published two new practice-based evidence papers with colleagues from the East Midlands Cancer Alliance (EMCA) Centre for Psychosocial Health
-
Using palaeoecological off-grid genomics to understand the effects of wildfire on aquatic ecosystem state and resilienceDr Kristen Beck, Department of Geography; Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust (LWT), UK; the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA), Canada; Prof. Michael-Shawn Fletcher, University of Melbourne Fire disturbance impacts freshwater recovery and can cause irreversible change to freshwater habitats. This proposal will use off-grid DNA methods to enhance techniques on sediment sequences in the UK, Canada, and Australia to determine if fires alter freshwater environments or impact their recovery. Environmental DNA has revolutionised how we observe past environmental change from natural archives and can provide an overview of an environments condition, even with old and degraded DNA. This new approach analyses DNA on sediment sequences in the field to elevate our understanding of fire impacts on freshwaters, a timely issue to manage water resources from increasing fire disturbance....
-
Using palaeoecological off-grid genomics to understand the effects of wildfire on aquatic ecosystem state and resilienceDr Kristen Beck, Department of Geography; Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust (LWT), UK; the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA), Canada; Prof. Michael-Shawn Fletcher, University of Melbourne Fire disturbance impacts freshwater recovery and can cause irreversible change to freshwater habitats. This proposal will use off-grid DNA methods to enhance techniques on sediment sequences in the UK, Canada, and Australia to determine if fires alter freshwater environments or impact their recovery. Environmental DNA has revolutionised how we observe past environmental change from natural archives and can provide an overview of an environments condition, even with old and degraded DNA. This new approach analyses DNA on sediment sequences in the field to elevate our understanding of fire impacts on freshwaters, a timely issue to manage water resources from increasing fire disturbance....
-
Exploring the Psychosocial Needs of Adults with Haematological Cancer under Watch-and-Wait: A Qualitative Study
-
A reinforcement learning based routing protocol for software-defined networking enabled wireless sensor network forest fire detectionCritical event reporting Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) applications need vital requirements (extended network lifetime, reliability, real time responsiveness, and scalability) to be met to ensure outstanding efficiency. Previous frameworks only consider few individual requirements, thus ignoring the other equally important ones. Ensuring that an active path is available at all times is crucial for enabling the timely transmission of critical data and maintaining the quality of service required to efficiently support delay-sensitive applications. This paper proposes an application-specific Routing Protocol based on Reinforcement Learning (RL) for Software Defined Network (SDN)-enabled WSN forest fire detection (RPLS). First, we designed a clustering algorithm that delays re-clustering to save energy by keeping the same topology for several rounds. Unlike existing works, this algorithm decreases the cluster radius based not only on the energy parameters but also on the quality of the links. After the network clustering, the power of the SDN controller is used to intelligently define using RL the optimal paths for the sensor nodes and accordingly reduce the load on these constrained nodes. For routing strategy, we formulate an RL-based reward function considering not only the energy efficiency parameters but also the anticipated and post-failure reliability parameters to ensure real time responsiveness and optimize energy consumption. Finally, we conducted comparisons by means of simulations in forest fires detection scenario. Compared to RL-SDWSN, the results show an improvement of 14.064 % in network operational lifetime and 16.41 % in response time....
-
Exploring the Psychosocial Needs of Adults with Haematological Cancer under Watch-and-Wait: A Qualitative Study
-
English and Irish population comparison using STR markers: Insights into genetic disparities and historical influencesShort tandem repeat (STR) markers are commonly used in forensic investigations and kinship testing due to their cost-effectiveness and high discriminatory power. In the United Kingdom, STR allele frequency databases are available for different population groups, including the White group, which includes individuals of both English and Irish ethnicity. However, considering differences in historical migrations and influences between England and Ireland, distinct genetic differences might exist between these populations. This study aimed to generate allele frequency data for English and Irish populations using the VeriFiler Express PCR Amplification Kit, which contains loci utilised in national databases. Buccal swabs were collected from 577 English and 500 Irish volunteers with self-proclaimed English and Irish ethnicity respectively. DNA profiling and statistical analyses were performed to assess allele frequencies and forensic parameters, and to perform population comparisons. The results showed minimal genetic differentiation (Fst = 0.0013) between the English and Irish populations. Comparison with other European populations revealed close genetic relationships between the English population and Scandinavian countries, while the Irish population displayed closer genetic links to Western European countries. These findings support historical influences such as Viking migrations and highlight the need for further research using additional markers to explore the genetic makeup and history of the English and Irish populations. Although a single allele frequency database may be suitable due to the observed genetic similarity, the establishment of separate databases should be considered to ensure maximum population representation....
-
Who says speed (research) dating sessions don’t work?A brief outline of a problem about a year ago at a rapid dating session has resulted in two conference presentations, a journal paper and a patent submission. OPTIma is one of the world’s most advanced medical imaging instruments. It will improve the outcome for tens of thousands of patients receiving proton therapy in the treatment of their cancers. We fire bunches of protons at a patient – up to 100 million bunches per second. We need to track each proton – where it enters the patient and where it leaves – and the remaining energy of the proton after its journey. The total remaining energy of each bunch is recorded using a simple calorimeter. How do we then recover the individual energies?...
-
Early detection of dry bubble disease in Agaricus bisporus using volatile compoundsLecanicillium fungicola is a pathogen of the commercial white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) and is the causal agent of dry bubble disease, which can cause severe economic losses to mushroom growers. Volatile compounds were measured by GC/MS techniques over pure cultures of mycelia on agars, over microcosms of growing mushrooms, and over harvested mushrooms to identify compounds that might give an early warning of the disease. The mushroom strain tested was Agaricus bisporus, strain Sylvan A15; either deliberately infected with L. fungicola or water as a control. Over microcosms, the appearance of β-copaene, β-cubebene, and α-cedrene coincided with, but did not precede, the earliest visual signs of the disease. Mushrooms with dry bubble symptoms also had high levels of β-barbatene and an unknown diterpene (UK 1821). Over some harvested mushroom sets, high levels of cis-α-bisabolene developed as a defence reaction to infection....
-
Metal-organic Framework Thin Films For Electrocatalysis: A Combined Ex Situ And In Situ InvestigationModern life on the planet is sustained by constant supply of energy, over 80% of which is currently provided by fossil-fuel-based carbon sources. Climate change crisis, combined with dwindling North Sea fuel resources and volatility in the global market mean there is a pressing need for finding alternatives. With renewable electricity being a key strategic component of UK Government’s energy policy, coupled with cost reductions of renewable electricity in recent years, electrochemical technologies are becoming increasingly important towards enabling decarbonisation and net-zero. Alongside batteries, electrolysers and fuel cells have emerged as viable tools in the domain of energy technologies and chemical manufacturing. However, a key obstacle towards economic feasibility of electrolyser technologies is access to cheap materials, that can be used as electrodes to catalyse the chemical reactions. In this project, we will investigate metal-organic frameworks, a new class of crystalline microporous materials, as potential catalysts for a range of electrochemical reactions. Our goal is to ‘visualise’ these materials under operating conditions using spectroscopic tools and develop a molecular level understanding of their catalytic properties. The overall idea is that the lessons learned from this project will feed into the design principle of next generation of materials....
-
Exploring the potential of SMART for improving cognitive health in people with multiple sclerosisAlex Frost, Rupert Burge, Dave, and Nima presented a poster on their NIHR-funded research at the MSMilan2023 conference last week: Exploring the potential of SMART for improving cognitive health in people with multiple sclerosis
-
Development and validation of Ran as a prognostic marker in stage I and stage II primary breast cancerOur research looked at a protein called Ran in breast cancer patients to see if it could predict how their cancer would behave. We studied it in two ways: by looking at breast cancer tissue from 263 patients and by analyzing data from a large group of patients from different sources. We found that high levels of Ran in the cells of breast cancer patients were linked to poorer outcomes, like the cancer spreading or coming back after treatment. This was true even when we considered other common factors that are usually used to predict breast cancer outcomes, like hormone receptors and lymph node status. Our researcher concluded that Ran could be a useful marker to help predict how breast cancer will progress and whether it might come back. It could potentially be used as a diagnostic tool to assess breast cancer risk in early-stage patients using their biopsy samples....
-
Exploring experiences of doctors in training undertaking the new workplace-based assessments for general practice licensingThe RCGP has awarded a grant to a team at CaHRU who will work in collaboration with the MRCGP licensing examination to conduct a qualitative interview study of doctors undertaking speciality training for general practice on their experiences, perceived challenges and strategies for overcoming these, in all components of the Workplace-Based Assessment (WPBA) as part of the requirements for general practice licensing. https://www.cahru.org.uk/research/qoph/reliability-validity-and-fairness-in-the-mrcgp-licensing-examination/
-
Effect of wheat roasting conditions and wheat type on short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectral data of whole and milled wheat by ANOVA-simultaneous component analysisANOVA-simultaneous component analysis (ASCA) was used to investigate the effect of roasting and wheat type on shortwave-infrared (SWIR) spectra of whole wheat and flour through assessment of statistical significance and characterisation of the contributing spectral features. The full factorial experimental design included two wheat types, three roasting temperatures and three roasting frequencies. SWIR spectral images were collected from the two roasted wheat types and their two milled samples. Three ASCA models, one for each wheat conformation (kernel, whole wheat flour, white flour) were investigated. It was evidenced that all factors and interaction in the whole wheat flour model had a significant (p ≤ 0.05) effect on spectral data. Only the factor roasting frequency was not significant in white flour model and only the interaction between roasting frequency and wheat type was not significant for the kernel model. The main variations in the loading line plots were identified and characterised by chemical structural differences that occur within the sample. The effect of roasting frequency had a more adverse effect on protein stability, moisture evaporation, water soluble carbohydrates and aromatic amino acids, compared to roasting temperature. A Rapid Visco-Analyser (RVA) was used to further investigate difference in wheat type as almost all spectral data sets differed significantly. The most prominent difference between the two wheat types was observed as differences in amylase activity and presence of lipids. ASCA applied to SWIR whole wheat and flour spectral data effectively characterised the significant effect of roasting on wheat starch and protein structures....
-
International Think Tank on Gambling Research, Policy and PracticeThe Think Tank is an international network of researchers, policy makers, service providers and interested others collaborating to advance the understanding of gambling and to reduce gambling-related harm. It is led by the AUT Gambling and Addictions Research Centre. The very first International Think Tank meeting held in Europe was held on 26th and 27th June 2023 and was hosted by Amanda Roberts and Steve Sharman. The venue was the historic Royal Society of Medicine, London and the meeting was opened with an address by Think Tank member Professor Henrietta Bowden-Jones OBE, Vice President of the Royal Society of Medicine. The event was a huge success and the network plan to submit papers/ work on an international level for work across countries/ jurisdictions....
-
International Think Tank on Gambling Research, Policy and PracticeThe Think Tank is an international network of researchers, policy makers, service providers and interested others collaborating to advance the understanding of gambling and to reduce gambling-related harm. It is led by the AUT Gambling and Addictions Research Centre. The very first International Think Tank meeting held in Europe was held on 26th and 27th June 2023 and was hosted by Amanda Roberts and Steve Sharman. The venue was the historic Royal Society of Medicine, London and the meeting was opened with an address by Think Tank member Professor Henrietta Bowden-Jones OBE, Vice President of the Royal Society of Medicine. The event was a huge success and the network plan to submit papers/ work on an international level for work across countries/ jurisdictions....
-
Routine screening for gambling disorder and gambling-related harm within mental health and drug and alcohol services: A feasibility and pilot studyThe project funded by the NIHR Policy Research Programme aims to ascertain the feasibility of introducing gambling screening in mental health and drug and alcohol services and what the facilitators and barriers are in both screening and referral. It will also test if screening will identify substantial proportions of individuals who are experiencing harmful gambling. The 2-year project starting in January 2024 will run in full partnership with individuals from GamLEARN. The Gambling Lived Experience and Recovery Network (GamLEARN) supports and empowers those who have experienced gambling related harm. ...
-
Routine screening for gambling disorder and gambling-related harm within mental health and drug and alcohol services: A feasibility and pilot studyThe project funded by the NIHR Policy Research Programme aims to ascertain the feasibility of introducing gambling screening in mental health and drug and alcohol services and what the facilitators and barriers are in both screening and referral. It will also test if screening will identify substantial proportions of individuals who are experiencing harmful gambling. The 2-year project starting in January 2024 will run in full partnership with individuals from GamLEARN. The Gambling Lived Experience and Recovery Network (GamLEARN) supports and empowers those who have experienced gambling related harm. ...
-
NIHR East Midlands Research Support ServiceThe National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has awarded £8.5 million to an East Midlands partnership, including CaHRU and LinCTU, to deliver one of eight hubs of the new NIHR Research Support Service (RSS). The partnership will work with research teams across England to develop and deliver ground-breaking health and social care research. Prof Niro Siriwardena, Professor Graham Law, Dr Zahid Asghar, Dr Shihua Zhu, School of Health and Social Care https://www.cahru.org.uk/2023/07/24/cahru-and-lincoln-clinical-trials-unit-partners-in-new-nihr-research-support-service-rss-east-midlands/...
-
Gambling and suicide: a psychological autopsy and qualitative inquiryUsing a psychological autopsy method, this 2-year project funded by Greo will fully examine the events and circumstances leading to gambling-related suicide including an in-depth exploration of significant risk factors, environmental factors, contextual factors and behaviours to provide a detailed socioecological understanding. A psychological autopsy study investigates suicide through a fully comprehensive review of a deceased person's history leading up to the suicide by interviewing people who knew them and fully assessing contextual information. Partners on the project include six other Universities, as well as GamLEARN, Gambling with Lives, and GamFam. The charities will be instrumental in facilitating and fully supporting the active participation of the wider Lived Experience community at all stages of the project. https://www.greo.ca/en/index.aspx, https://www.gamlearn.org.uk/, www.gamblingwithlives.org, https://gamfam.org.uk/...
-
Outcomes of psychological support skills training for cancer care staff: Skill acquisition, work engagement, mental wellbeing and burnoutNima has published a new practice-based evidence paper with colleagues in the East Midlands Cancer Alliance (EMCA) Centre for Psychosocial Health: Malins, S, Boutry, C, Moghaddam, N., et al. Outcomes of psychological support skills training for cancer care staff: skill acquisition, work engagement, mental wellbeing and burnout. Psychooncology. 2023; 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.6200
-
Widespread retreat of coastal habitat is likely at warming levels above 1.5 °CSeveral coastal ecosystems—most notably mangroves and tidal marshes—exhibit biogenic feedbacks that are facilitating adjustment to relative sea-level rise (RSLR), including the sequestration of carbon and the trapping of mineral sediment1. The stability of reef-top habitats under RSLR is similarly linked to reef-derived sediment accumulation and the vertical accretion of protective coral reefs2. The persistence of these ecosystems under high rates of RSLR is contested3. Here we show that the probability of vertical adjustment to RSLR inferred from palaeo-stratigraphic observations aligns with contemporary in situ survey measurements. A deficit between tidal marsh and mangrove adjustment and RSLR is likely at 4 mm yr−1 and highly likely at 7 mm yr−1 of RSLR. As rates of RSLR exceed 7 mm yr−1, the probability that reef islands destabilize through increased shoreline erosion and wave over-topping increases. Increased global warming from 1.5 °C to 2.0 °C would double the area of mapped tidal marsh exposed to 4 mm yr−1 of RSLR by between 2080 and 2100. With 3 °C of warming, nearly all the world’s mangrove forests and coral reef islands and almost 40% of mapped tidal marshes are estimated to be exposed to RSLR of at least 7 mm yr−1. Meeting the Paris agreement targets would minimize disruption to coastal ecosystems....
-
Group psychological intervention for emotional distress in haematopoietic stem cell transplantation: A feasibility randomised clinical trialMichael Baliousis, Dave Dawson, along with the NUH clinical psychology team have just published a paper describing the results of their feasibility study in group psychological preparation for haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The study highlights what clinicians and researchers should pay attention to when designing RCTs and group interventions to support patients' psychological readiness. The paper is available here: Group psychological intervention for emotional distress in haematopoietic stem cell transplantation: A feasibility randomised clinical trial - European Journal of Oncology Nursing (ejoncologynursing.com)...
-
PhEW members give talk at Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS) World Conference at the University of Cyprus.Nima and Dave attended the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS) World Conference at the University of Cyprus (24–28 July), and gave a talk on “Improving cognitive health in people with neurological conditions”. The conference was hosted in a hybrid format, and recordings are available for registrants via https://contextualscience.org/wc2023
-
“You know your own body best”. Is the way we talk about to people about alertness to physical changes having unintended consequences?“You know your own body best”. Is the way we talk about to people about alertness to physical changes having unintended consequences? Dr Lauren Heathcote (@LCHeathcote), Associate Professor at King's College, London, visited PheW at the University of Lincoln and presented on the cutting edge in theory and practice in the psychology of cancer and pain. The talk covered topics such as scanxiety, body checking, and shifting mindsets. The presentation was attended remotely by the Clinical Psychology team for people with cancer at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, bringing together clinicians and researchers of psycho-oncology sharing an agenda from different parts of the UK. What an excellent day it was for a photo-op in front of the Cathedral!...
-
Adherence to sleep restriction therapy – An evaluation of existing measuresSleep restriction, a key element of cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia, involves considerable behavioural changes in patients' lives, leading to side-effects like increased daytime sleepiness. Studies on sleep restriction rarely report adherence, and when assessed it is often limited to the average number of therapy sessions attended. This study aims to systematically evaluate different measures of adherence to cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia and their relationship with treatment outcome. This is a secondary analysis of data from a randomized controlled trial investigating cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (Johann et al. (2020) Journal of Sleep Research, 29, e13102). The sample included 23 patients diagnosed with insomnia according to DSM-5 criteria who underwent 8 weeks of cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia. The following adherence measures based on sleep diary data were used: number of sessions completed; deviations from agreed time in bed; average percentage of patients deviating from bedtime by 15, 30 or 60 min; variability of bedtime and wake-up time; change in time in bed from pre- to post-assessment. Treatment outcome was assessed using the Insomnia Severity Index. Multiple regression models were employed, and insomnia severity was controlled for. Results showed that none of the adherence measures predict insomnia severity. Baseline insomnia severity, dysfunctional thoughts and attitudes about sleep, depression or perfectionism did not predict adherence. The limited variance in the outcome parameter due to most patients benefiting from treatment and the small sample size may explain these findings. Additionally, using objective measures like actigraphy could provide a better understanding of adherence behaviour. Lastly, the presence of perfectionism in patients with insomnia may have mitigated adherence problems in this study....
-
The valorisation of platinum group metals from flotation tailings: A review of challenges and opportunitiesFlotation tailings from South Africa’s platinum group minerals (PGM) represent complex polymetallic orebodies comprising a low-grade platinum group elements (PGE) content and complex mineralogical composition. Nevertheless, given the valuable mineral potential in the tailings, it is understandable that the substantial historic tailings deposits and sizeable annual production volume from primary processes represent a potential secondary resource. For several decades, valorising the PGM tailing materials received very little interest due to limitations associated with extractive metallurgical technology to achieve economically viable PGE extraction. The early 21st century saw the coming online of technologies, including but not limited to ultrafine grinding, suitable to meet challenges in primary metallurgical treatment processes to recover valuable minerals from ultrafine particle fractions, which could not otherwise be recovered. More so, such processes were critical in improving the liberation of partially liberated particles without compromising additional ultrafine generation. These technologies led to the development of re-treatment pilot tests and subsequent industrial re-treatment recovery processes. The current industrial re-treatment approach – via tertiary scavenging flotation circuits – renders profit in small increments up to 1 ∼ 2% additional recovery relative to the primary plant head grade. These small increments relate to about ∼12–30% PGE recovery of the feed grade to the re-treatment circuit, thereby enhancing the primary plant's overall economics as well as aiding the supply of critical metals to meet global demands. With a focus on South Africa, this review provides an overview of (a) the current and future drivers of the precious metals global demand; (b) proffers discussion on the PGM characteristic mineralogy and the metallurgical value chain; (c) relates the parent orebodies (“reefs”) mineral characteristics to the inherent processed tailings; (d) estimates the economic potential these massive processed waste materials contain, (e) provides an overview of existing technologies that are industrially used in tailing re-treatment plants; and (f) outlines a comprehensive understanding of the nature of value minerals rejection to tailings....
-
The CompACT-10: Development and validation of a Comprehensive assessment of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy processes short-form in representative UK samplesNima Moghaddam, Dave Dawson, along with two of their previous Trainees (Katrina Bayliss and Lucy Morris) have just published a paper describing the development and psychometric validation of a new short-form version of their psychological flexibility measure (the CompACT-10). Psychological flexibility is a central component of psychological health and wellbeing, and this new measure should be useful to both clinicians and researchers working with this key process. The paper is available here: The CompACT-10: Development and validation of a Comprehensive assessment of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy processes short-form in representative UK samples - ScienceDirect
-
The association between the Multiple Sclerosis Screening Questionnaire and objective measures of cognition: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis
-
Distinct neural signatures of multimodal resizing illusionsIllusory body resizing typically uses multisensory integration to change the perceived size of a body part. Previous studies associate these multisensory body illusions with frontal theta oscillations and parietal gamma oscillations for dis-integration and integration of multisensory signals, respectively. However, recent studies also support illusory changes of embodiment from unimodal visual stimuli. This preregistered study (N = 48) investigated differences between multisensory visuo-tactile and unimodal visual resizing illusions using EEG, to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the neural underpinnings of resizing illusions in a healthy population. We hypothesised (1) stronger illusion in multisensory compared to unimodal, and unimodal compared to incongruent (dis-integration) conditions, (2) greater parietal gamma during multisensory compared to unimodal, and (3) greater frontal theta during incongruent compared to baseline conditions. Subjective Illusory results partially support Hypothesis 1, showing a stronger illusion in multisensory compared to unimodal conditions, but finding no significant difference comparing unimodal to incongruent conditions. Results partially supported EEG hypotheses, finding increased parietal gamma activity comparing multisensory to unimodal visual conditions, happening at a later stage of the illusion when compared to previous rubber hand illusion EEG findings, whilst also finding increased parietal theta activity when comparing incongruent to non-illusion conditions. While results demonstrated that only 27% of participants experienced the stretching illusion with unimodal visual stimuli compared to 73% of participants experiencing the stretching illusion in the multisensory condition, further analysis suggested that those who experience visual-only illusions exhibit a different neural signature to those who do not, with activity focussed around frontal and parietal regions early on in the illusory manipulation, compared to activity focussed more over parietal regions and at a later point in the illusory manipulation for the full sample of participants. Our results replicate previous subjective experience findings and support the importance of multisensory integration for illusory changes in perceived body size, whilst adding to our understanding of the temporal onset of multisensory integration within resizing illusions, differing from that of rubber hand illusions....
-
Metabolite signatures and distribution patterns of processed pasta from fractionated whole wheat and Bambara groundnut using gas chromatography high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometryThis study investigated the metabolite signatures and distribution in cooked whole wheat pasta enriched with Bambara groundnut using gas chromatography high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-HRTOF-MS). Before pasta production, whole wheat grains were fractionated using mechanical sieves of different aperture sizes (112, 300, 350, and 500 µm) and each fraction was enriched with Bambara flour. A total of 45 volatile metabolites were found in the cooked pasta and classified into different metabolite groups of esters (18%), miscellaneous compounds (13%), fatty acids (9%), amides and amines (7%), aromatic compounds (7%), and pharmaceuticals (7%). Other metabolites found included ketones (4%), furans (4%), methyl ester (4%), phthalates and plasticizers (4%), phenolic compounds (4%), terpenes and triterpene (4%), alcohols (4%), benzene-related compounds (2%), monoacylglycerols (2%), phthalic acids (2%), surfactants (2%), and vitamins (2%). Similar (8) metabolites were observed across the four pasta samples using the Venn diagram to show the relationship between the samples, while pasta from sieve of particle size 350 and 300 µm showed higher numbers of unique metabolites, 8 and 7, respectively compared to pasta from sieve of particle size 112 µm (4) and 500 µm (3). The information from this study can be used as biomarkers for pasta enriched with pulses....
-
Altered perception of emotional faces in young adults experiencing loneliness after controlling for symptoms of insomnia, anxiety and depressionThe evidence base concerning the relationship between loneliness and the perception of facial cues of emotion remains mixed. This study further examined the categorisation accuracy, and perceived emotional intensity and emotional valence of facial expressions of emotion in adults displaying high, medium, and low levels of loneliness, whilst controlling for symptoms of insomnia anxiety and depression. Using the University of California Loneliness Scale, participants were stratified into those experiencing high (N = 83), medium (N = 97), and low levels (N = 93) of loneliness. Observing facial expressions of emotion from the Karolinska Directed Emotional Faces database, participants were assessed on their categorisation accuracy and ratings of emotional intensity and valence. After controlling for comorbid psychiatric symptoms, the experience of loneliness was characterised by: positively valanced ratings of angry and sad faces; difficulties in the identification of, and blunted ratings of emotional intensity and valance of happy faces. The outcomes present psychosocial implications for individuals experiencing loneliness....
-
Movies on the couch: The MOVIE model of film therapyJenny Hamilton has a new paper in the Counselling and Psychotherapy Research Journal, published this week: Hamilton, J. (2023). Movies on the couch: The MOVIE model of film therapy. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 00, 1– 5. https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12658 ...
-
The Effectiveness of School-Based Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioural Programmes to Improve Emotional Regulation in 7–12-Year-Olds: A Systematic Review and Meta-AnalysisLynn Pickerell, Kyla Pennington, Kirsty Miller and Charlotte Cartledge have had their systematic review and meta-analysis published in the journal Mindfulness.
-
Preparing students to engage with science- and technology-related misinformation: The role of epistemic insightHelping students to become more resilient to online misinformation is widely recognised as an essential task for education in a rapidly digitalising world. Students need both scientific knowledge and epistemic insight to navigate online spaces containing sensationalised reports of scientific and technological developments. Epistemic insight involves epistemic curiosity and the ability to think critically about the nature, application and communication of knowledge. This includes developing an understanding of the power and limitations of science and a curiosity regarding its relationship with other disciplines. We present a workshop designed for school students aged 16–18 titled ‘Can science and technology cure loneliness?’, designed to develop students' epistemic insight through investigating loneliness through a multidisciplinary perspective. We discuss how the design and pedagogy of this workshop might help students to build epistemic humility—the recognition that no single disciplinary perspective can complete our knowledge about a given topic. As part of a broader programme, epistemic insight-based pedagogies have the potential to develop students' resistance to science- and technology-related misinformation and prepare them for their potential role in shaping our scientific and technological future....
-
SMART-MCIStrengthening Mental Abilities with Relational Training in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI): A feasibility trial Funded by NIHR Research for Patient Benefit. Key contact: Dr Moghaddam....
-
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for people with dementia experiencing psychological distress: A hermeneutic single-case efficacy design (HSCED) series
-
Sport and Exercise Psychology ConsultancyDr Trish Jackman (Associate Professor in Sport and Exercise Psychology) is a certified Specialist in Applied Sport Psychology (SASP-FEPSAC) and is a Sport and Exercise Psychologist in Training on the British Association of Sport and Exercise Science Sport and Exercise Psychology Accreditation Route (BASES SEPAR). Trish is offering sport and exercise psychology consultancy to individuals and teams/groups. Individual support ...
-
The role of homosociality in maintaining men’s powerfulness in construction companiesOver the last few decades, research has largely focused on the processes and practices that act against women in male-dominated industries and the effect this has on their career progression. However, men’s careers are under analysed. This paper flips the gaze, applying a feminist institutionalist lens to examine the practices and rules that shape and enable men’s career progression. This is critical if we are to understand how men’s power in organizations is maintained and perpetuated, arguably at the expense of women’s careers. It draws on data from a rapid ethnographic study of the Australian construction industry, specifically of construction professionals working in two multinational Australian construction companies. The paper finds that men’s career progression routinely operates through homosociality, instrumentally and expressively, via a “sponsor-mobility” principle whereby selected individuals receive higher levels of guidance, access to opportunities and advocacy from their managers....
-
Psychological flexibility as a predictor of professional quality of life in newly qualified psychological therapy practitioners
-
Deriving big geochemical data from high-resolution remote sensing data via machine learning: Application to a tailing storage facility in the Witwatersrand goldfieldsRemote sensing data is a cheap form of surficial geoscientific data, and in terms of veracity, velocity and volume, can sometimes be considered big data. Its spatial and spectral resolution continues to improve over time, and some modern satellites, such as the Copernicus Programme's Sentinel-2 remote sensing satellites, offer a spatial resolution of 10 m across many of their spectral bands. The abundance and quality of remote sensing data combined with accumulated primary geochemical data has provided an unprecedented opportunity to inferentially invert remote sensing data into geochemical data. The ability to derive geochemical data from remote sensing data would provide a form of secondary big geochemical data, which can be used for numerous downstream activities, particularly where data timeliness, volume and velocity are important. Major benefactors of secondary geochemical data would be environmental monitoring and applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning in geochemistry, which currently entirely relies on manually derived data that is primarily guided by scientific reduction. Furthermore, it permits the usage of well-established data analysis techniques from geochemistry to remote sensing that allows useable insights to be extracted beyond those typically associated with strictly remote sensing data analysis. Currently, no generally applicable and systematic method to derive chemical elemental concentrations from large-scale remote sensing data have been documented in geosciences. In this paper, we demonstrate that fusing geostatistically-augmented geochemical and remote sensing data produces an abundance of data that enables a more generalized machine learning-based geochemical data generation. We use gold grade data from a South African tailing storage facility (TSF) and data from both the Landsat-8 and Sentinel remote sensing satellites. We show that various machine learning algorithms can be used given the abundance of training data. Consequently, we are able to produce a high resolution (10 m grid size) gold concentration map of the TSF, which demonstrates the potential of our method to be used to guide extraction planning, online resource exploration, environmental monitoring and resource estimation....
-
The role of vision during Lower Palaeolithic tool-makingStone tools are the result of goal-oriented actions involving cognitive processes. Because visual attention is a requirement in accurate tool-making, visual exploration can provide information about the relationship between perception and technological evolution. The purpose of this study is to analyse visual behaviour while an expert knapper produces different stone tools, using a portable eye tracking device. To understand where gaze was directed moment by moment, different areas of interest were defined. The preliminary results show that the most observed areas were the middle region, the knapped surface, the first face of the tool being struck and the next point of percussion. There were differences in visual exploration between choppers and handaxes during knapping. The distal position, upper region, cortex and the first face of the tool being struck were more explored in choppers, while the base, knapped surface and first tool’s face knapped were more viewed for handaxes. These areas can be considered to be the most salient features needed to control knapping, hence constituting action affordances for the successful production of stone tools....
-
Future advances in UK marine fisheries policy: Integrated nexus management, technological advance, and shifting public opinionHaving left the European Union, the UK Fisheries Act (hereafter referred to as the Act) provides a framework that may advance sustainable marine resource management. This requires the bias towards social-economic concerns to be recognised, and greater emphasis to be placed on securing the natural capital to support fisheries. A Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS) to be published in 2022 by the UK’s devolved fisheries authorities will set out how the objectives of the Act will be achieved. While recognising the value of principles of the Act, this article challenges the current management framework in light of the wider challenges in fisheries practice. It argues for more emphasis on ecological and fisheries regeneration, and maximising societal benefits rather than yields. Three recommendations are provided: (1) an integrated and more holistic Fisheries-Energy-Environment Nexus resource management approach would better utilise systems thinking to optimise trade-offs and synergies between competing domains to achieve fisheries, conservation and other environmental goals (e.g. delivering the national net zero strategy); (2) the use of best available technologies as is reasonably practicable to monitor compliance and facilitate enforcement should be a regulatory requirement under the JFS; (3) the fisheries and marine conservation science community should work with other stakeholders to change the media narrative, public opinion, and political direction away from a “business-as-usual” model that risks long-term degradation of the marine fisheries resource....
-
Mental Health Recovery Using the Individual Recovery Outcomes Counter (I.ROC) in a Community Rehabilitation Team: A Service EvaluationThere are many definitions of recovery in mental health. Community Rehabilitation Teams (CRTs) aim to support the mental health recovery of people. The Individual Recovery Outcomes Counter (I.ROC) is a way to measure recovery. To determine if being supported by a CRT helps mental health recovery for people transitioning from an inpatient service to the community. Individual reliable and clinically meaningful change indices were calculated for a total of 31 people. Two I.ROC questionnaires were completed by 31 people. Of these 31 people, 14 people had three completed I.ROC questionnaires. Of the 31 people, 17 showed a positive reliable change and three people made a clinically meaningful change. Of the 14 people, one had a positive reliable change, two had a negative reliable change, and no-one had a clinically meaningful change. The I.ROC shows the CRT to successfully support recovery in people with mental health difficulties....