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BU team developing new treatment for high blood pressure during pregnancy – volunteers needed

In the UK 12-15% of pregnancies are complicated by high blood pressure. Specifically, pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) is high blood pressure that is diagnosed during the pregnancy and was not present before. Women with PIH normally return to having normal blood pressure within a few weeks of giving birth but during the pregnancy high blood pressure can cause many problems with women often having to spend extra time in hospital and having to be induced to give birth preterm.

 Researchers at BU are addressing this issue by seeking to design a new alternative drug-free treatment for high blood pressure. Slow and deep breathing has been shown to reduce blood pressure chronically when practiced daily over a period of 6-8 weeks in non-pregnant people who have high blood pressure. The Brythm App, using a graphic designed by a BU Student Research Assistant, uses bio-feedback to dynamically reduce the user’s breathing frequency to a personalised optimum. However, despite the research showing chronic adaptations from slow and deep breathing very little is known about the acute responses to slow and deep breathing. Therefore, the BU project started by characterising the short-term physiological effects of slow and deep breathing with women of childbearing age.

 With assistance from BU staff and student members, the first testing phase of the BU Brythm App was completed last year. The results show that there is an immediate physiological response in heart rate and blood pressure during just 5 minutes of slow and deep breathing. Specifically, this study allowed us to move forward in identifying the optimal breathing frequency which we believe can maximise the cardiovascular responses. Participants who took part last year will be pleased to know that future participants no longer need to undertake the inspiratory resistance protocol, where participants breathed through a Powerbreathe medic, as this was found not to elicit any additional benefit compared with the other slow and deep breathing protocols.

The second testing phase for Brythm, as part of my PhD project, is to examine the short-term responses to slow and deep breathing within a pregnant population. This study will predominantly replicate the first study protocol to investigate whether the physiological changes caused by pregnancy influence the responses to slow and deep breathing. The aim of this study is to identify the optimal breathing frequency that will be used in the final study of my PhD. The final study will be an interventional study with pregnant women who have high blood pressure. They will use the Brythm App at home on their own devices for 10 minutes every day for a period of 8 weeks.

The current study will investigate the physiological responses to multiple breathing frequencies; 4, 6 and 8 breaths per minute, and a dynamic breathing frequency controlled by an in-built algorithm. This may seem a low breathing frequency but your body compensates automatically by taking deeper breaths, and some participants feel so relaxed during the protocols they often nearly fall asleep. These protocols will be compared to spontaneous normal breathing and each protocol will be 5 minutes in duration. Heart rate and blood pressure will be monitored continuously to find the optimal breathing frequency for pregnant women, which maximises the physiological responses. Participation involves a one off session which takes place at the Lansdowne Campus and lasts for approximately 90 minutes. Participants will receive a £20 Amazon voucher as a thank you for their time.

 If you would like to participate, or know anyone who is currently pregnant who may want to take part, then please read the following inclusion and exclusion criteria and contact Malika Felton (mfelton@bournemouth.ac.uk & 01202 961845). More information can be found on the Brythm website (https://www.brythm.com/news/research/pregnancyresponses/).

 To participate you must be:

·         Over 20 weeks gestation with first pregnancy;

·         Carrying a single pregnancy (not twins, triplets, etc.);

·         Aged 18 or over and a non-smoker;

·         Have no current diagnosis of:

o   Hypertension, pregnancy-induced hypertension or preeclampsia;

o   Asthma, bronchitis, COPD;

o   An allergy/reaction to the gel used for ECG.

Latest publication from interdisciplinary BU project on the broadcasting of the Rio Paralympics, with a bit of SRA help

Publishing, student research

The BU-led, AHRC-funded project on the cultural legacy of the Paralympics is entering its final few months; a busy period involving impact visits to multiple stakeholders, the completion of the project documentary and exhibition, and the development of academic papers.

The latest academic output (written by Emma Pullen, Dan Jackson and Michael Silk) is published in Communication & Sport this week, titled (Re-)presenting the Paralympics: Affective Nationalism and the “Able-Disabled”. The paper is based on an analysis of three integrated data sets from Channel 4’s broadcasting of the Rio 2016 Paralympics: interviews with Channel 4 production and editorial staff, quantitative content analysis, and qualitative moving image analysis. It is an in-depth analysis of the tensions that emerge between nationalism – as a commercial logic of sports mega-event broadcasting – and progressive disability representation.

We are indebted to the two BU student research assistants that worked with us through the SRA scheme on the quantitative content analysis: Jack Beaunier and Bethany Crawford. As well as contributing to this scholarly publication, their work will also form an important part of the report we will present to Channel 4, Paralympics GB, and UK Sport later this Spring.

For more news and information on the project, head over to the Pasccal website.

New funding from Wellcome to boost global research capacity in humanities and social sciences

Funding opportunities

Wellcome have recently announced their plans to launch two new one-off calls to fund international exchange networks, and infrastructure costs for humanities and social science researchers around the world.

As a result, the Investigator Awards and Collaborative Awards in Humanities and Social Sciences will be paused to new applicants for one year from mid-2020.

The two new one-off schemes will be launched in July 2019, with a deadline for expressions of interest due in Spring 2020. The two new calls are as follows:

International Exchange Awards – These will be made to groups of researchers based in at least two different countries. They are designed to encourage radical and innovative research agendas through the exchange of knowledge, people and resources.

Research Development Awards – These awards are likely to be made to groups of researchers in a single organisation or region. The purpose is for emerging and established clusters of HSS research excellence to have access to a reliable source of infrastructure funding so they can concentrate on building research agendas and developing careers.

If you are interested in these schemes and would like to be notified once these calls are launched, please contact Lisa Andrews, RDS Research Facilitator.

New book: Digital Entrepreneurship in SSA

We are pleased to let you know that our book titled “Digital Entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges, Opportunities and Prospects” is now published. Book, edited by Dr Nasiru Taura, Dr Elvira Bolat and Dr Nnamdi Madichie, is a unique collection of case studies from Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Senegal, Kenya and Tanzania and seeks to unpack and debate why and how some digital enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa progress while other firms either stagnate or regress.

https://biteable.com/watch/presentation-1-copy-2206199/

The book features cases across multiple industries which are today revolutionising the use of digital technologies, i.e. fin-tech, ed-tech, media-tech, animation games and agri-tech. For example, Chapter 6, written by Dr Paula Callus, discusses “how digital art practices can challenge notions of authenticity in the discourse of African art” (Callus 2019, p. 126). Ten chapters are authored by the pull of international academics across different disciplines.

We hope you might be interested to find out more and order your own copy. Do get in touch with the editors via:

Dr Nasiru Taura – ntaura@bournemouth.ac.uk

Dr Elvira Bolat – ebolat@bournemouth.ac.uk

Dr Nnamdi Madichie – nnamdi.madichie@lsbm.ac.uk

 

Congratulations to Anita Immanuel on PhD paper

NHS, PG research, Publishing, student research, writing

FHSS PhD student Anita Immanuel just had the first paper from her PhD “Quality of life in survivors of adult haematological malignancy” accepted by the international journal European Journal of Cancer Care.   This international journal is published by Wiley and has an Impact Factor 2.409.

Survivors of haematological malignancies endure long-term effects of both the treatment and the disease. This paper examines factors that influence their quality of lives through reporting on the results of a survey. The survey used previously validated quality of life questionnaires for use in cancer management. Participants were adults over the age of 18 years who had completed treatment for a haematological malignancy and were between 1-5 years post treatment.

Anita is currently working as Lead Clinical Research Nurse at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust.  Her PhD research (see picture above) was conducted at  the Haematology Department of Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which has one of the most extensive research portfolios in the Trust.   Her PhD is supervised by Dr. Jane Hunt (Dept of Nursing & Clinical Science), Dr. Helen McCarthy, Consultant Haematologist at the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH).

 

Is Brexit an opportunity to revive the EU-India trade deal?

Sangeeta Khorana, Bournemouth University

The European Union and India have been negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) since 2007. Despite growing trade between the EU and India, talks stalled in 2013 after 16 rounds, only resuming in 2018. There has been talk in Brussels that Brexit might help remove some of the hurdles to an agreement. But this is unlikely to be the case.

If anything, the UK is better positioned to secure a trade deal with India than the EU, although this will not be straightforward. The UK’s desire to curb immigration is likely to lead to tough negotiations. But future UK-India FTA talks may well be an opportunity to negotiate a manageable set of strategic priorities.

The EU is India’s largest trading partner, accounting for around 13% of India’s total trade in goods in 2017. India contributes around 2.3% of total EU trade and is the EU’s ninth biggest trade partner. Trade in goods between the EU and India grew by three times over 2002-18, from €28 billion to €91 billion.

Services are also an important component of EU-India trade. Eurostat data shows that Indian services exports to the EU were €16.6 billion in 2018, while imports were €17.1 billion. The sector has also attracted foreign direct investment from the EU, including Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy and Belgium, as well as the UK.

Sticking points

Talks between the EU and India broke down in 2013, after it became clear that reaching an agreement on the demands for tariff reductions and market access, as well as the inclusion of social, environmental and human rights clauses would be impossible. Discussions resumed in 2018, which led to the declaration of an EU-India strategic partnership. While this agreement helped to resume the talks, it mainly reaffirmed current ties rather than tackling any of the issues that caused the trade agreement discussions to stall initially.

From the EU’s perspective, the main sticking points were drug patents, tariffs for second-hand cars, agriculture, services, rules of origin and an unacceptable list of sensitive items. The EU is adamant about negotiating a stronger intellectual property regime and a sustainable development chapter with social and environmental clauses, which India is unwilling to include in the trade agreement.

Plus, the EU wants detailed provisions for investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) after India cancelled 20 bilateral investment protection treaties with individual EU countries in 2016. The ISDS demand is not acceptable to India and current regulations require foreign investors to resolve their problems in Indian courts for a period of five years before pursuing a claim under international law.

India views the proposed trade deal as an opportunity to address issues it has with the way the two sides trade in services. In particular, India wants more visas to be granted to its skilled workers in the services industry. This has been a longstanding demand.

After Brexit, this demand is unlikely to fade. But, at a time when all EU member states are grappling with a “migration crisis” any loosening of visa rules is highly unlikely. India has also been demanding status as a “data-secure nation”, which will reduce compliance costs for Indian software providers. But, given EU concerns over regulatory norms and data-privacy standards it is unlikely that the EU will agree to this demand.

Opportunity for a UK trade deal?

The UK is among India’s main trading partners from the EU bloc. Trade totalled €13.6 billion in 2018, accounting for 17% of India’s overall trade with the EU. Moreover, trade between India and the UK increased at an average rate of 8.8% a year between 2002 and 2018.

Machinery and transport equipment constitute 40% of India’s exports, and accounts for nearly 20% of total UK’s trade with India. The UK’s exports of alcoholic beverages also registered a significant increase, from €14m to €162m from 2002-18.

Eurostat

The lack of progress in EU-India trade talks might just be an opportunity for the UK to launch its own negotiations for a trade deal with India. From an economic perspective, India is an attractive trade partner. It is projected to be the world’s fastest growing economy, with an annual GDP growth rate of around 6.5%. In the UK, GDP is predicted to grow by a mere 1.5% in 2019. India is also home to almost one-fifth of the world’s population. It could be a strategic partner for the UK in Asia, presenting an opportunity to increase Britain’s soft power in the region.

From India’s perspective, a trade deal with the UK could be an opportunity to increase pressure on other Asian countries, especially China, to liberalise their trade. This will also help India’s geopolitical considerations in the region given the history of tense diplomatic relations with Pakistan. And it could help strengthen India’s Commonwealth ties.

But other issues remain. The UK and India would still have to agree on reducing tariffs on their respective imports. Visa numbers and intellectual property would also be issues for the UK, as they were with the EU, and could yet prove contentious. So free trade talks between the UK and India could still be long and drawn out.

Recent political developments, however – including Brexit, eurozone uncertainty, sluggish global growth rates and trade tensions from the Trump administration’s pursuit of a protectionist agenda – all have serious implications for future trade talks. These could well nudge the partners to review their red lines and return to the negotiating table.The Conversation

Sangeeta Khorana, Professor of Economics, Bournemouth University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

British Academy – Knowledge Frontiers International Interdisciplinary Research Projects

Funding opportunities, international

The British Academy is inviting proposals from UK-based researchers in the humanities and social sciences – active at any career stage – looking to lead interdisciplinary projects in collaboration with colleagues from the natural, engineering and/or medical sciences.

 

 

Aims

The purpose of each project will be to develop new ideas and methods to bear on existing international challenges. Projects will need to demonstrate an innovative and interdisciplinary partnership (between researchers in the social sciences or the humanities on the one hand and counterparts in the natural, engineering and/or medical sciences on the other), yielding new conceptual understanding and policy-relevant evidence on questions of international significance.

Eligibility Requirements

The lead applicant must be based at an eligible UK university or research institute, and be of postdoctoral or above status (or have equivalent research experience).

Collaboration between researchers in different institutions is encouraged, where appropriate, given the nature and aims of this programme, and applications may include named co-applicants and other participants from overseas.

Value and Duration

Awards of up to £50,000 and 18 months in duration are available. The awards are not offered on a full economic costing basis.

Application Process

Applications must be submitted online using the British Academy’s Grant Management System (GMS), Flexi-Grant®. The deadline for submissions and UK institutional approval is 15 May 2019 at 17.00 (UK time).

Contact Details

Please contact internationalchallenges@thebritishacademy.ac.uk or call 020 7969 5220 for further information.

If you are interested in applying to this call then please contact your RDS Funding Development Officer, in the first instance at least 3 weeks prior to the stated deadline.

British Academy – European Identities Funding Call

Funding opportunities, international

The British Academy is inviting proposals from UK-based researchers in the humanities and social sciences – active at any career stage – looking to develop and lead interdisciplinary projects on questions related to European identities under our programme on The Humanities and Social Sciences Tackling the UK’s International Challenges.

 

Aims

We are keen to support projects undertaking research on European past, present and futures, particularly with regards to both the diversity and shared belongings of European cultures, histories, languages, and identities. Applications that engage with historical and current tropes and senses of European belonging and/or belonging in Europe from a variety of European or global perspectives, and with the work done by competing narratives of belonging, and their wider associational fields or legacies, will be particularly welcome.

Eligibility Requirements

The lead applicant must be based at an eligible UK university or research institute, and be of postdoctoral or above status (or have equivalent research experience).

Value and Duration

Awards of up to £50,000 and 18 months in duration are available. The awards are not offered on a full economic costing basis.

Application Process

Applications must be submitted online using the British Academy’s Grant Management System (GMS), Flexi-Grant®. The deadline for submissions and UK institutional approval is 15 May 2019 at 17.00 (UK time).

Contact Details

Please contact internationalchallenges@thebritishacademy.ac.uk or call 020 7969 5220 for further information.

If you are interested in applying to this call then please contact your RDS Funding Development Officer, in the first instance at least 3 weeks prior to the stated deadline.

Health Research Authority public involvement guidance – third blog post

NHS, Research Ethics

Involving patients and/or the public in your clinical research is a great way to ensure that your study is designed and set-up in a way that will be attractive to participants. By carrying out PPI (patient and public involvement) you can also ensure that your research will be of benefit, not only to individuals but also the wider population and healthcare in general.

In 2018 the Health Research Authority (HRA) released guidance to help applicants better identify where they have involved the public in their research applications, and the difference that it made to their studies.

In addition, in January of this year two HRA blog posts were advertised, following the journey of a Research Fellow at the University of Surrey, who conducted PPI for her research project. The first and second posts can be found on the HRA website alongside other news items.

The HRA have just released the third blog post in which they talk to one of the lay Research Ethics Committee (REC) members who sat on the panel that reviewed the fellow’s study. The post explores the Committee member’s views on how public involvement benefited the research application. You can find it here.

Remember that support is on offer at BU if you are thinking of introducing your research ideas into the NHS, social care or healthcare institutions – email the Research Ethics mailbox, and take a look at the Clinical Governance blog.

British Academy – Borders Funding Call

Funding opportunities

The British Academy is inviting proposals from UK-based researchers in the humanities and social sciences – active at any career stage – looking to develop and lead interdisciplinary projects on questions related to borders under our programme on The Humanities and Social Sciences Tackling the UK’s International Challenges.

 

Aims

We are keen to support research projects wishing to explore varying understandings of borders, and to shape thinking about both internal dynamics within borders and cross-border issues that have global significance. Borders are defined for this purpose in as broad a sense as possible, encompassing not only traditional borders that demarcate territory but also any boundary – whether articulated or hidden, formal or informal – drawn around or between peoples and experiences.

Eligibility Requirements

The lead applicant must be based at an eligible UK university or research institute, and be of postdoctoral or above status (or have equivalent research experience).

Collaboration between researchers in different disciplines and institutions is particularly encouraged, where appropriate, given the nature and aims of this programme, and applications may include named co-applicants and other participants from overseas.

Value and Duration

Awards of up to £50,000 and 18 months in duration are available. The awards are not offered on a full economic costing basis.

Application Process

Applications must be submitted online using the British Academy’s Grant Management System (GMS), Flexi-Grant®. The deadline for submissions and UK institutional approval is 15 May 2019 at 17.00 (UK time).

Contact Details

Please contact internationalchallenges@thebritishacademy.ac.uk or call 020 7969 5220 for further information.

If you are interested in applying to this call then please contact your RDS Funding Development Officer, in the first instance at least 3 weeks prior to the stated deadline.

Limits of space and time: predicting how environmental change affects coastal birds

Our next inaugural lecture will take place on Wednesday 1 May at the Royal Motor Yacht Club, Sandbanks.  Professor Richard Stillman will be sharing his research into the effects of environmental change on coastal birds.

Ecological systems throughout the world are increasingly coming under threat from environmental changes, primarily caused by human actions. Understanding and predicting the effects of future change has proved a long-running problem for ecologists.

Coastal habitats, such as Poole Harbour, provide a vital habitat for many bird species but are particularly vulnerable to environmental change such as rising sea levels, habitat loss and disturbance from human activities. However, predicting the effect of such changes on these birds has proved difficult and has led to long-running conflicts between conservationists and other coastal groups.

Research by Professor Richard Stillman aims to reduce these conflicts by providing tools which enable the consequences of change to be accurately predicted. It does this by understanding the ways in which individual animals behave, the types of food they consume, how much they need to eat each day, and the ways in which human activities affect them.

During this inaugural lecture, Professor Stillman will explain how his research in this area has helped to predict the effects of changes in the UK and internationally and what it has meant for wildlife populations.

You can book your free tickets here.

Professor Dimitrios Buhalis at the WTO Forum: Facing the Demographic Challenge Through Tourism and Innovation

Professor Dimitrios Buhalis addressed the World Tourism Organization Forum: Facing the Demographic Challenge Through Tourism and Innovation in Segovia, Spain, 26 March 2019.

The meeting was opened by the Prime Minister of Spain, HE  Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, President of the Government of Spain and Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

Professor Buhalis contributed to the Round Table focused on Tourism, Sustainability and Territorial Redistribution

Moderator: Cristina Gallach, High Commissioner for Agenda 2030 of the Government of Spain

  • Alvaro Carrillo de Albornoz, Director General of Instituto Tecnológico Hotelero
  • Damià Serrano, Director of Experience Marketing and Research at the Catalan Tourism Board
  • Elena Gil, Global Big Data Director at Telefónica and CEO at Luca
  • Violeta Matas González, Responsible for the Tourism Area of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces

Professor Buhalis in his intervention he explained the need for the creation of digital hubs that will enable innovations in rural areas and minimise the distance from the global centres through technology. Creating innovative products and services through facilitating a bottom up approach to empower entrepreneurship and support sustainable development will enable the repopulation of rural and peripheral areas. Smartness and agility will empower the development of innovative ecosystems that can address different market segments and create resources for all stakeholders.