The feasibility of nurse-delivered, low-intensity cognitive behavioural therapy for irritable bowel syndrome.

Introduction: This study assessed the feasibility of nurse-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Methods and analysis: A mixed-method design was used, and 20 participants were randomly allocated to high-intensity CBT (n=5), guided self-help (n=5), self-help only (n=5) or treatment as usual (n=5). Ten intervention participants completed semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics; qualitative data were analysed using group thematic analysis. Results: Barriers to the interventions were lack of therapist contact, negative preconceptions about treatment and factors relating to supporting materials. Treatment facilitators included therapist-facilitated relaxation, narratives located within self-help materials and social support mechanisms. Conclusion: Further development of the low-intensity interventions in collaboration with service users is required to improve intervention acceptability and relevance.N/

Making data a first class scientific output : data citation and publication by NERC's Environmental Data Centres

The NERC Science Information Strategy Data Citation and Publication project aims to develop and formalise a method for formally citing and publishing the datasets stored in its environmental data centres. It is believed that this will act as an incentive for scientists, who often invest a great deal of effort in creating datasets, to submit their data to a suitable data repository where it can properly be archived and curated. Data citation and publication will also provide a mechanism for data producers to receive credit for their work, thereby encouraging them to share their data more freely

The impact of advertising patient and public involvement on trial recruitment: embedded cluster randomised recruitment trial

BACKGROUND Patient and public involvement in research (PPIR) may improve trial recruitment rates, but it is unclear how. Where trials use PPIR to improve design and conduct, many do not communicate that clearly to potential participants. Better communication of PPIR might encourage patient enrolment, as trials may be perceived as more socially valid, relevant, and trustworthy. We aimed to evaluate the impact on recruitment of directly advertising PPIR to potential trial participants. METHODS A cluster trial, embedded within a host trial ('EQUIP') recruiting service users diagnosed with severe mental illness. The intervention was informed by a systematic review, a qualitative study, social comparison theory and a stakeholder workshop including service users and carers. Adopting Participatory Design approaches, we co-designed the recruitment intervention with PPIR partners using a leaflet to advertise the PPIR in EQUIP and sent potential participants invitations with the leaflet (intervention group) or not (control group). Primary outcome was the proportion of patients enrolled in EQUIP. Secondary outcomes included the proportions of patients who positively responded to the trial invitation. RESULTS 34 community mental health teams were randomised and 8182 service users invited. For the primary outcome, 4% of patients in the PPIR group were enrolled versus 5.3% of the control group. The intervention was ineffective for improving recruitment rates (adjusted OR= 0.75, 95% CI= 0.53 to 1.07, p=0.113). For the secondary outcome of positive response, the intervention was not effective, with 7.3% of potential participants in the intervention group responding positively versus 7.9% of the control group (adjusted OR=0.74, 95% CI= 0.53 to 1.04, p=0.082). We did not find a positive impact of directly advertising PPIR on any other outcomes. CONCLUSION To our knowledge, this is the largest ever embedded trial to evaluate a recruitment or PPIR intervention. Advertising PPIR did not improve enrolment rates, or any other outcome. It is possible that rather than advertising PPIR being the means to improve recruitment, PPIR may have an alternative impact on trials by making them more attractive, acceptable and patient-centred. We discuss potential reasons for our findings and implications for recruitment practice and research

Smart motorway innovation for achieving greater safety and hard shoulder management

Smart motorways are becoming more prevalent through technology-driven approaches such as active traffic management (ATM) systems, hard shoulder management (HSM) control systems and digital enforcement cameras. Such technologies are able to monitor and respond to fluctuating traffic conditions by altering the speed limit to smooth traffic flow, activate warning signs to alert users of hazards up ahead and permit the use of the hard shoulder, either permanently or at peak times. This paper investigates smart motorways as a way of reducing congestion achieving greater road safety and improving hard shoulder management. This research is one of the first which deals specifically with the topic of smart motorways, where much of the focus to date has been on smart cities alone. A questionnaire approach was undertaken with 124 members of the public relating to their knowledge of smart motorways. The results indicate that user knowledge of smart motorways was lacking in some areas and that there is an inclination to wilfully ignore some of the smart rules of the road which contrary to the intention of smart motorways, may increase the safety risk and CO2 emissions

Force Measurement Methods in Telerobotic Surgery: Implications for End-Effector Manufacture

Haptic feedback in telesurgical applications refers to the relaying of position and force information from a remote surgical site to the surgeon in real-time during a surgical procedure. This feedback, coupled with visual information via microscopic cameras, has the potential to provide the surgeon with additional ‘feel’ for the manipulations being performed at the instrument-biological tissue interface. This increased sensitivity has many associated benefits which include, but are not limited to; minimal tissue damage, reduced recuperation periods, and less patient trauma. The inclusion of haptic feedback leads to reduction in surgeon fatigue which contributes to enhanced performance during operation. Commercially available Minimally Invasive Robotic Surgical (MIRS) systems are being widely used, the best-known examples being from the daVinci® by Intuitive Surgical Inc. However, currently these systems do not possess force feedback capability which therefore restricts their use during many delicate and complex procedures. The ideal system would consist of a multi-degree-of-freedom framework which includes end-effector instruments with embedded force sensing included. A force sensing characterisation platform has been developed by this group which facilitates the evaluation of force sensing technologies. Surgical scissors have been chosen as the instrument and biological tissue phantom specimens have been used during testing. This test-bed provides accurate, repeatable measurements of the forces produced at the interface between the tissue and the scissor blades during cutting using conventional sensing technologies. The primary focus of this paper is to provide a review of the traditional and developing force sensing technologies with a view to establishing the most appropriate solution for this application. The impact that an appropriate sensing technology has on the manufacturability of the instrument end-effector is considered. Particular attention is given to the issues of embedding the force sensing transducer into the instrument tip

Final report on project SP1210: Lowland peatland systems in England and Wales – evaluating greenhouse gas fluxes and carbon balances

Lowland peatlands represent one of the most carbon-rich ecosystems in the UK. As a result of widespread habitat modification and drainage to support agriculture and peat extraction, they have been converted from natural carbon sinks into major carbon sources, and are now amongst the largest sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the UK land-use sector. Despite this, they have previously received relatively little policy attention, and measures to reduce GHG emissions either through re-wetting and restoration or improved management of agricultural land remain at a relatively early stage. In part, this has stemmed from a lack of reliable measurements on the carbon and GHG balance of UK lowland peatlands. This project aimed to address this evidence gap via an unprecedented programme of consistent, multi year field measurements at a total of 15 lowland peatland sites in England and Wales, ranging from conservation managed ‘near-natural’ ecosystems to intensively managed agricultural and extraction sites. The use of standardised measurement and data analysis protocols allowed the magnitude of GHG emissions and removals by peatlands to be quantified across this heterogeneous data set, and for controlling factors to be identified. The network of seven flux towers established during the project is believed to be unique on peatlands globally, and has provided new insights into the processes the control GHG fluxes in lowland peatlands. The work undertaken is intended to support the future development and implementation of agricultural management and restoration measures aimed at reducing the contribution of these important ecosystems to UK GHG emissions

Analysis of Strain Transfer to FBG’s for Sensorized Telerobotic End-effector Applications

Sensorized instruments which cater for the measurement of interaction forces during surgical procedures are not available on current commercial Minimally Invasive Robotic Surgical (MIRS) systems. This paper investigates the ef-fectiveness of advanced optical sensing technology (Fiber Bragg Grating) as sur-gical end effector strain/force sensors. The effects of adhesive bonding layer thickness and length are specifically addressed owing to their importance for ef-fective strain transfer and ensuring compactness of the resulting sensing arrange-ment. The strain transfer characteristics of the compound sensing arrangement are evaluated by the examination of shear transfer through the fiber coating and adhe-sive layers. Detailed analysis of the sensing scheme is facilitated through the use of FEA. Validation of the resulting models is achieved through experimentation carried out on an application-specific evaluation platform. Results show that strain values from an FBG are comparable to that of an electrical strain gauge sensor