Stirling Online Research Repository (RIOXX)
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Sources and controls of greenhouse gases and heavy metals in mine water: A continuing climate legacy
Full text linkWater pollution arising from abandoned coal mines, is second only to sewage as a source of freshwater pollution and in coalfield catchments mine water can be the dominant pollutant, with oxidised iron smothering the bed of receiving rivers. This study measured greenhouse gases in mine water outflows from sixteen sites across the Midland Valley in Scotland. Radiogenic and stable carbon isotopes measurements (Δ14C and δ13C) were used to determine the sources of both methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) produced within the flooded mine environment. Concentrations of CH4-C ranged from 20 to 215 μg l− 1 and CO2-C from 30 to 120 mg l− 1, with CO2 accounting for 97 % of the mine water global warming potential. Methane origins included 51 % modern biogenic, 41 % thermogenic and 8 % from hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis of coal. The most significant in verse impact on biogenic CH4 concentrations was sulphate, most likely due to sulphate reducing bacteria out competing methanogens. Carbon dioxide origins included 64 % from the dissolution of limestone, 21 % from terrestrial organic carbon and 15 % from coal. The limestone derived CO2 was positively correlated with high sulphate concentrations, which resulted in sulphuric acid and caused the dissolution of carbonate from lime stone. The mine waters experienced significant carbonate buffering becoming only slightly acidic (pH 6–7), but with significant loss of inorganic carbon. The mine waters had low dissolved oxygen (6–25 %) and high dissolved iron (2 to 65 mg l − 1) and manganese (0.5 to 5 mg l− 1) concentrations. Dissolved greenhouse gases from abandoned mines were estimated as 0.27 +0.31 − 0.18 % of Scotland's global warming potential. This novel work has contributed information about the sources and controls of greenhouse gas fluxes in mine waters and identified the need to quantify and report this emissions term
Decolonising Methodologies Through Collaboration: Reflections on Partnerships and Funding Flows from Working Between the South and the North
Full text linkFirst paragraph: This chapter explores how we can adopt a decolonial approach to methodologies within linguistics through critical examination of the role of partnerships within academic collaborations in the so-called “Global North” and “Global South”. We recognise that the North–South dichotomy is artificial and reductionist. However, for the purposes of the current chapter we employ these terms to reflect conceptualisations in our workplaces, as seen in funding schemes which explicitly require relationships between individuals and/or institutions in the North and South. We acknowledge, however, that the terminology is problematic and fraught, and we explore some of the issues involved in further detail belo
British elite swimmers’ experiences and perspectives on life skill development
Full text linkThis study explores the experiences of British elite swimmers in developing life skills during and throughout their athletic careers, examining the factors that influence their perspectives on this skill development. Six high-profile British swimmers, who have competed at the Commonwealth and/or Olympic Games, were recruited for this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and thematic analysis was applied. Through the analysis, two key themes were identified from the thematic analysis: (a) Implicit life skill development through athletic and educational experience, and (b) Understanding the influence of swimming on life skill development. The first theme includes three sub-themes: (a) Establishment of athletic identity, (b) Prioritization of athletic identity, and (c) Navigating life skills through athletic challenges. The findings show that the swimming careers of participants and their associated identities contributed to the development of a wide range of implicit life skills. This growth was facilitated by both educational and sporting experiences, with all participants reporting positive personal development from their time in competitive swimming. The findings in this study enhance our understanding of life skill development and provide insights into how to more effectively support high-performance athletes in both their athletic careers and educational endeavors
Early career teacher mentoring in England: a case study of compliance and mediation
Full text linkThis paper reports the findings from a small-scale study of ten mentors’ experiences of supporting Early Career Teachers (ECTs) in secondary schools in England following the introduction of the Early Career Framework (ECF) in 2021. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews with individual mentors based in London, Manchester and York, UK. The findings suggest that mentors experience some challenges supporting ECTs through the use of mandated training materials. The data report the contradictions of being required to support trainees through a programme governed by the statutory requirements of the Department for Education (DfE) in England, whilst also being part of a complex, nuanced school community. The authors examine mentors’ experiences as they balance the compliance requirements of the ECF alongside seeking to support ECTs with the realities of classroom life in their own settings. The paper discusses the emergence of a mediated mentor professionalism as mentors seek to navigate competing demands. We argue that this case study illustrates the potential for the international sector to challenge postulated solutions of homogenised mentoring curricula and practices to the recruitment and retention of ECTs
Recombination in bdelloid rotifer genomes: asexuality, transfer and stress
Full text linkBdelloid rotifers constitute a class of microscopic animals living in freshwater habitats worldwide. Several strange features of bdelloids have drawn attention: their ability to tolerate desiccation and other stresses, a lack of reported males across the clade despite centuries of study, and unusually high numbers of horizontally acquired, non-metazoan genes. Genome sequencing is transforming our understanding of their lifestyle and its consequences, while in turn providing wider insights about recombination and genome organisation in animals. Many questions remain, not least how to reconcile apparent genomic signatures of sex with the continued absence of reported males, why bdelloids have so many horizontally acquired genes, and how their remarkable ability to survive stress interacts with recombination and other genomic processes
Text messages with financial incentives for men with obesity. A randomized clinical trial
Full text linkImportance: Effective weight loss interventions are needed for men with obesity. Objective : To determine whether an intervention that combined text messaging with financial incentives attained significant weight loss at the 12-month follow-up compared with the control group and whether an intervention of text messaging alone attained significant weight loss at the 12-month follow-up compared with the control group. Design, Setting, and Participants: An assessor-blinded randomized clinical trial conducted in Belfast, Bristol, and Glasgow areas in the UK. A total of 585 men with body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more were enrolled between July 2021 and May 2022. Final follow-up occurred June 2023. Interventions: Participants were randomly assigned to 12 months of behavioral focused text messages combined with financial incentives (n = 196), 12 months of behavioral focused text messages alone (n= 194), or a waiting list (control group; n= 195). The financial incentive consisted of a monetary reward that was lost if weight loss targets were not met. All participants received weight management information and a pedometer at baseline. Main Outcomes and Measures: The 2 primary comparisons were the 12-month comparison of within-participant weight change between the text messaging with financial incentive group and the control group and the comparison between the text messaging alone group and the control group (minimum clinically important difference, 3%). The P value defined for statistical significance was P < .025 for each comparison. Results: Of the 585 men (mean [SD] age, 50.7 [13.3] years; mean weight, 118.5 [19.9] kg; mean BMI, 37.7 [5.7]; 525 [90%] White), 227 (39%) lived in postal code areas with lower socioeconomic status, and 426 (73%) completed the 12-month follow-up. At the 12-month follow-up, compared with the control group, the mean percent weight change was significantly greater in the text messaging with financial incentive group (mean difference, −3.2%; 97.5% CI, −4.6% to −1.9%; P < .001) but was not significantly greater in the text messaging alone group (mean difference, −1.4%; 97.5% CI, −2.9% to 0.0, P = .05). The mean (SD) weight changes were −5.7 (7.4) kg for the text messaging with financial incentives group, −3.0 (7.5) kg for the text messaging alone group, and −1.5 (6.6) kg for the control group. The 12-month mean (SD) percentage weight changes from baseline were −4.8% (6.1%) for the text messaging with financial incentives group, −2.7% (6.3%) for text messaging alone group, and −1.3% (5.5%) for the control group. Of 366 adverse events reported, the most common were infections (83 [23%]). Of the 23 serious adverse events (6.3%), 12 (52%) occurred in the text messaging with financial incentives group, 5 (22%) in the texts messaging alone group, and 6 (26%) in the control group. None were considered related to participating in a trial group. Conclusion and Relevance: Among men with obesity, an intervention with text messaging with financial incentive significantly improved weight loss compared with a control group, whereas text messaging alone was not significantly better than the control condition. These findings support text messaging combined with financial incentives to attain weight loss in men with obesit
Carceral surveillance: Data flows within and beyond prison walls
Full text linkIn this article, we will analyse contemporary carceral surveillance dynamics, namely the increasing storage and exchange of prisoners' biometric data. Drawing on qualitative research conducted in prisons, policing and security settings, we will explore how prisoners' bodies are reduced to information and broken up into data flows. These flows move within and beyond prison walls, impacting how prisoner's data is shared (in)formally with other criminal justice actors (e.g. police forces). Such interstitial connections allow us to better explore the permeability and porosity of prison boundaries. Overall, we argue that prisoners' data doubles are not spatially or physically restricted within cells and walls, as they circulate and are virtually managed at a distance. We urge to revisit and rethink the use of panoptic conceptual models when researching carceral spaces, its technological infrastructures and surveillance dynamics
A glossary for social-to-biological research
Full text linkResearch has shown that our socially structured experiences elicit a biological response, leading to the observation that numerous biomarkers (objective biological measures that are representative of various biological processes) are socially patterned. This ‘social-to-biological’ research is of interest to researchers across multiple disciplines and topics and especially to those with an interest in understanding the biological embodiment of the ‘social environment’. Combining social and biomarker data is also of relevance to those examining the biological determinants of social behaviours (for example, the relationship between genetics and certain behaviours like smoking). However, as much of the research involving biomarkers and social data are multidisciplinary, researchers need to understand why and how to optimally use and combine such data. This article provides a resource for researchers by introducing a range of commonly available biomarkers across studies and countries. Because of the breadth of possible analyses, we do not aim to provide an exhaustive and detailed review of each. Instead, we have structured the glossary to include: an easy-to-understand definition; a description of how it is measured; key considerations when using; and an example of its use in a relevant social-to-biological study. We have limited this glossary to biomarkers that are available in large health and social surveys or population-based cohort studies and focused on biomarkers in adults. We have structured the glossary around the main physiological systems studied in research on social to biological transition and those that go across systems and highlight some basic terms and key theoretical concepts
Modulation of gut microbiota composition and predicted metabolic capacity after nutritional programming with a plant-rich diet in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar): insights across developmental stages
Full text linkTo promote sustainable aquaculture, the formulation of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) feeds has changed in recent decades, focusing on replacing standard marine-based ingredients with plant-based alternatives, increasingly demonstrating successful outcomes in terms of fish performance. However, little is known about how these plant-based diets may impact the gut microbiota at first feeding and onwards. Nutritional programming (NP) is one strategy applied for exposing fish to a plant-based (V) diet at an early stage in life to promote full utilisation of plant-based ingredients and prevent potential adverse impacts of exposure to a plant-rich diet later in life. We investigated the impact of NP on gut microbiota by introducing fish to plant ingredients (V fish) during first feeding for a brief period of two weeks (stimulus phase) and compared those to fish fed a marine-based diet (M fish). Results demonstrated that V fish not only maintained growth performance at 16 (intermediate phase) and 22 (challenge phase) weeks post first feeding (wpff ) when compared to M fish but also modulated gut microbiota. PERMANOVA general effects revealed gut microbiota dissimilarity by fish group (V vs. M fish) and phases (stimulus vs. intermediate vs. challenge). However, no interaction effect of both groups and phases was demonstrated, suggesting a sustained impact of V diet (nutritional history) on fish across time points/phases. Moreover, the V diet exerted a significant cumulative modulatory effect on the Atlantic salmon gut microbiota at 16 wpff that was not demonstrated at two wpff, although both fish groups were fed the M diet at 16 wpff. The nutritional history/dietary regime is the main NP influencing factor, whereas environmental and host factors significantly impacted microbiota composition in M fish. Microbial metabolic reactions of amino acid metabolism were higher in M fish when compared to V fish at two wpff suggesting microbiota played a role in digesting the essential amino acids of M feed. The excessive mucin O-degradation revealed in V fish at two wpff was mitigated in later life stages after NP, suggesting physiological adaptability and tolerance to V diet. Future studies are required to explore more fully how the microbiota functionally contributes to the NP
Fear of progression after cancer recurrence: a mixed methods study
Full text linkBackground: The recurrence of cancer will significantly impact an individual’s quality of life (QoL) as they adjust to living with a condition that is often incurable. Patients remain at risk of further progression following recurrence, but fear of cancer progression (FOP) at this time is not commonly examined. Importantly, these fears are known to reach levels in which there are consequences for QoL. Methods: This study sought to explore levels of FOP, health-related QoL, anxiety, and depression in patients after a recurrence of their cancer in a longitudinal manner. With the study taking place throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, an assessment of fears related to cancer and the pandemic was included. A sequential mixed method approach was employed for complementarity and expansion purposes. A questionnaire was administered to 44 participants on three different occasions one month apart. A sub-sample of 10 participants then took part in semi-structured interviews. Findings: FOP was present at moderate levels in patients with a cancer recurrence, with over a third of the sample reaching levels considered dysfunctional. Levels of fear were stable over three months and were not predicted by select demographic or clinical factors. On average, depression was low, but anxiety reached mild levels. Challenges to health-related QoL were evident. Low levels of concern about COVID-19 in relation to cancer were reported. Integrated findings provided more nuanced answers to the research questions, including more specific worries about cancer progression. Implications: Findings support the development of psychosocial interventions to manage FOP, and future recommendations are provided. Identifying the presence of fears not commonly screened for after cancer recurrence adds to the existing knowledge in this area. Through acknowledging and attending to the psychosocial impact of FOP, healthcare professionals can provide tailored support to enhance the well-being of those with a recurrence of their cancer
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