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Job exposure matrices for use in respiratory health in low- and middle-income countries: a commentary on relevance and future direction
No full textOccupational exposures are critical yet often overlooked contributors to chronic respiratory disease. Job Exposure Matrices (JEMs) are widely used to assign occupational exposures where direct measurement is not feasible, particularly in large epidemiological studies. However, their applicability in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is limited by contextual, structural, and methodological challenges. Drawing on insights from a focus group of occupational respiratory health and exposure assessment experts, this commentary examines key limitations in applying existing JEMs to LMIC contextsincluding high prevalence of informal employment, job variability, and higher exposure levels.
The group identified priority areas for future refinement, including temporal and geographical calibration, and integration of mixed-role employment. While JEMs remain the most practical approach for large-scale exposure assessment, their contextual adaptation is essential to ensure valid exposure–response estimation, improve disease burden attribution, and promote greater equity in global occupational health research
Consistent comparison and thermo-economic optimisation of grid-scale thermo-mechanical energy storage technologies
No full textThermo-mechanical energy storage technologies can play an important role in low-carbon energy systems by storing surplus renewable energy and discharging when needed, with several promising variants currently under development for grid‑scale applications. Relevant technologies include adiabatic compressed-air energy storage, liquid-air energy storage, and pumped-thermal electricity storage. In this work, comprehensive thermo‑economic optimisation models are developed for these three technologies, using a unified framework based on consistent performance and cost assumptions. This approach allows for a consistent comparison between these leading thermo-mechanical energy storage technologies. The optimisation and comparisons are performed for a range of nominal discharge power ratings and charging and discharging durations to capture scale effects. Results show that adiabatic compressed‑air energy systems achieve the lowest capital costs but rely on access to available, suitable large underground caverns to store the air. Liquid‑air and pumped‑thermal electricity storage systems do not face such geographical constraints. Between these two options, the former exhibits lower costs at low power ratings (as low as 380 v. 470 /kWh for 100-MW systems) and offers a higher energy density (up to 72 v. 30 kWh/m3 for 100-MW systems). Overall, minimum energy capital costs of 124 /kW can be achieved for 100‑MW compressed-air systems, which is highly competitive with other grid‑scale energy storage technologies such as electro-chemical batteries, hydrogen storage or power‑to‑gas
Bayesian optimisation of a roof extension/spoiler on a simplified vehicle, employing wall-resolved LES
No full textA benchmark road vehicle geometry – the squareback Windsor body with wheels and at zero yaw angle – is simulated using high-fidelity Wall-Resolved Large Eddy Simulation (WRLES). Passive control for drag reduction, in the form of optimisation of its rear roof extension, is performed. The rear roof extension is parameterised by its taper penetration distance, angle of incidence and length. This optimisation process uses Gaussian process-based surrogate modelling combined with Bayesian optimisation (Kriging), guided by an expected improvement criterion. The optimisation converged in six iterations (60 simulations), achieving a 6.5% drag reduction. Six distinct drag-reduction mechanisms were identified: diffuser-induced pressure recovery, base size reduction, vertical wake balance modification, separation effects, recirculation region core relocation, and spanwise re-symmetrisation. Rather than isolating individual mechanisms, the study reveals how they interact when multiple geometric parameters are varied concurrently, providing a system-level picture that yields practical design rules. The optimal configuration was found at a roof extension angle of incidence corresponding to the onset of separation, with taper penetration distance and extension length at their maximum values within the analysed domain. These findings establish a robust framework for aerodynamic optimisation and reinforce the effectiveness of
Bayesian optimisation in CFD-based design. In this way, the work bridges fundamental wake studies with applied design practice, showing how coupled wake–geometry interactions can be harnessed for improved aerodynamic performance
Cognition and the menopause transition: cross-sectional evidence from a large community cohort
No full textSubjective cognitive symptoms (brain fog, memory problems) are common in menopause, but whether these self-reported symptoms correspond to measurable deficits in cognition remains unclear. In 14,234 females (aged 45-55) from the REACT-Long Covid Study, we examined self-reported cognitive symptoms and objective cognitive performance in premenopausal, perimenopausal and postmenopausal participants. Global cognitive performance was derived from eight online tasks (‘Cognitron’). Perimenopausal (OR=1.31 [1.18, 1.35], p=0.015) and postmenopausal participants (OR=1.13 [1.08, 1.32], p=0.014) had higher odds of reporting cognitive symptoms than premenopausal participants. Objective cognitive performance differed minimally across menopause status groups, with perimenopausal participants showing marginally higher accuracy than premenopausal and postmenopausal participants (0.03-0.06 SD, p<0.023). Across all menopause status groups, cognitive symptoms were weakly associated with objective performance but moderately related to psychological symptoms. These findings underscore recognising cognitive symptoms as a key component of menopausal care and integrating patient-reported outcomes with objective and biological measures of cognitive health
On the solute segregation to grain boundaries in SA508 steel
No full textSolute segregation to grain boundaries (GBs) within a high-Ni alloy (SA508 Grade 4N) aged at 427 °C was studied to investigate the role of phosphorus in causing non-hardening embrittlement in these steels. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and transmission Kikuchi diffraction (TKD) were employed to identify and characterise grain boundaries prior to targeted atom probe tomography (APT) analysis. Boundaries were classified as prior‑austenite grain boundaries (PAGBs) and packet/block (lath) boundaries, enabling segregation behaviour to be directly correlated with crystallographic misorientation and boundary type. Distinct segregation patterns were observed at PAGBs compared to other boundaries, with strong anti‑correlation between P/C and Ni/Mn/Si at PAGB interfaces. In unaged PAGBs, non‑equilibrium segregation driven by vacancy drag promoted Ni enrichment, whereas W‑shaped Ni concentration profiles in aged PAGBs indicate P‑driven reverse vacancy flow. In contrast, solute enrichment at lath boundaries was found to depend strongly on misorientation angle. These results highlight the critical importance of controlling the 5-DoF when assessing segregation‑driven embrittlement mechanisms in bainitic/martensitic steels. They also emphasise the potential of grain boundary engineering as a design strategy for improving resistance to embrittlement in nuclear and other demanding applications
2025 FDA TIDES (peptides and oligonucleotides) Harvest
No full textIn 2025, the FDA approved 46 novel drugs, including four TIDEs (one peptide, three oligonucleotides, and one antibody drug conjugate containing peptide as a payload). The three approved oligonucleotide therapeutics—fitusiran, donidalorsen, and plozasiran—bring the total number of approved oligonucleotide drugs to 24 across 16 clinical indications since 1998. Fitusiran and donidalorsen are the first oligonucleotide therapies approved for antithrombin deficiency and hereditary angioedema, respectively, while plozasiran represents the second approved therapy for familial chylomicronemia syndrome. All three agents employ GalNAc-mediated hepatocyte targeting, highlighting the continued importance of liver-directed delivery platforms in oligonucleotide drug development and underscoring the growing clinical maturity of this therapeutic class. Peptide-based therapeutics continue to emerge as pioneering treatments for longstanding diseases. In 2025, elamipretide further expanded this paradigm by becoming the first disease-specific treatment approved for Barth syndrome. This review provides an overview of TIDES approved in 2025, with emphasis on their chemical structures, medical targets, modes of action, routes of administration, and associated adverse effects
Integrated electrical connections in deployable composite tube flexures
No full textThis study extends the functionality of ultra-thin carbon fibre composite tube flexures by interleaving a multi-layered conductive film along the laminate’s midline to enable data and power transmission across the structural joint. Conductive tracks, created by silver nanoparticle deposition onto a polymide substrate, are encapsulated by a thermoplastic film to prevent short-circuits with the carbon fibres. The paper first establishes the mechanical stability of the integrated struc ture through analysis and testing, then investigates the electrical signal integrity
and the feasibility of thermal actuation for a shape-memory use-case. Repeated moment-rotation tests showed a progressive reduction in locking moment. The
conductive track remained functional, without showing an appreciable degra dation in signal quality or electrical resistance. Resistive heating tests reaching higher temperatures caused adhesive failure between the thermoplastic film and the tracks in the stowed state, leading to local delamination and catastrophic
failure of the laminate. These findings demonstrate that novel inkjet-printed conductive interleaves are a viable solution for digital signal and low-power transfers
in laboratory conditions, raising the challenge of extending testing to space-like environments and improving the bond strength of the silver tracks for enhanced thermal durability. This methodology represents a significant step forward in terms of structural power integration, enabling ultra-lightweight harnesses to be directly integrated within highly strained deployable members with applications on small and large satellites, as well as next generation space structures, such as
space-based solar power stations
Radiomics analysis of early pregnancy ultrasound images to predict viability at the end of first trimester
No full textObjective: To determine whether there are radiomic ultrasound features of early pregnancy when viability is unknown, which in combination with clinical features, may predict subsequent loss.
Method: Multi-centre retrospective cohort study, which included 500 cases of pregnancies of unknown viability (PUV) collected from January 2021 to January 2023. Longitudinal ultrasound images were identified from Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital (QCCH), London (n=400, split 8:2 for training and validation) and St Mary’s Hospital (SMH), London (test data set n=100).
Images were extracted and segmented to include firstly the gestation sac and secondly the sac endometrial border. A segmentation model was developed using a deep learning (DL) model (multi-task nnUNet v2) and standard Dice Coefficient (DICE) was used to measure performance. A prediction model, using clinical and radiomic features, was developed by comparing several machine learning (ML) methods. The area under the ROC curve (AUC), F1-score, and recall were used to assess model performance.
Results: The QCCH and SMH data sets were in the majority well matched and consisted of 53.3% and 53.0% miscarriage cases by the end of first trimester, respectively. The DL segmentation model for gestation sac achieved a mean DICE score of 0.950 and 0.940 in the training and test data sets respectively. The segmentation model for the sac endometrial border achieved a DICE mean score of 0.917 (QCCH) and 0.922 (SMH). The best performing PUV outcome classification model (XGBoost and LASSO) for predicting miscarriage (PUVPS model); achieved an AUC of 1.00 (F1-score 1.00), 0.92 (F1-score 0.79) and 0.84 (F1-score 0.76) in the QCCH training, QCCH validation and SMH test set respectively.
Conclusions: We have developed an end-to-end radiomics-based model to segment and predict early pregnancy outcomes. The main limitation of this study is its sample size, which can make a ML model prone to overfitting. This study sets the stage for future trials to prospectively evaluate the performance of the PUVPS model, in a large multi-centre cohort, which can then be used to help patients navigate the uncertainty of a PUV early pregnancy classification
Towards expressive audio-driven facial animation
No full textThe way we communicate with our devices is constantly evolving, leading to the rapid development of novel Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) modalities. One such modality is audio-driven facial animation, where a static image is brought to life by animating it to match a person's speech. However, current methods are often limited in their ability to generate high-quality, realistic animations that capture the full nuance of human expression. This thesis highlights the need for more natural animation by integrating Non-Speech Vocalizations (NSVs) and emotions into the generation process, an aspect overlooked by most state-of-the-art methods. This work initially demonstrates that even subtle cues like head motion must match the speaker's emotional state to be perceived as natural. The thesis then introduces a model that, for the first time, can generate realistic laughter sequences from audio, underscoring the importance of NSVs in facial animation. This research is subsequently extended to create a unified framework that simultaneously handles speech, a wide range of NSVs, and continuous emotional expressions. A core contribution is a new pipeline that allows for the generation of high-quality, temporally consistent videos of arbitrary length. It is the first model to successfully integrate speech and NSVs, producing realistic animations that accurately reflect the subtleties of human communication. Finally, this framework is adapted to address the specific task of lip synchronisation (lip-sync), where only the mouth region of an existing video is modified to match new audio. This task introduces a unique set of challenges, as the model must avoid being influenced by the original video's expressions and robustly handle any facial occlusions that may arise. Throughout this work, a strong emphasis is placed on developing a suite of new evaluation metrics alongside these new tasks, providing valuable tools to guide future research in the field.Open Acces
Inductive response of Enceladus' ice shell and potentially stratified ocean
No full textSaturn's moon Enceladus harbors a global subsurface ocean beneath its icy crust. Understanding the structure and composition of this ocean and ice is critical to assessing its potential habitability. Modern electromagnetic (EM) sounding techniques, which measure a celestial body's induced response to external electromagnetic fields, offer a powerful tool for probing internal structures. These techniques are well-established for Earth and the Moon, modeled for Europa, and here evaluated for Enceladus. By modeling higher frequency range (1 mHz−1 kHz), which sound to shallower depths than lower frequencies, this study shows that induction can provide a constraint on ice composition. The induced response also gives insight into other ice-shell properties, including potential water layers, as well as different stratified ocean conditions. The findings of this study highlight the potential for future missions to use EM sounding to constrain properties of the ice-shell, including composition, as well as identifying potential ocean stratification