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An exploration of potential magma propagation pathways within Santorini volcano, Greece
No full textShallow-crustal magma transport occurs mainly via dykes and inclined sheets, which may or may not reach the surface to erupt. Originating from various magma sources, dyke propagation is primarily controlled by magma overpressure, magma rheology, local stress fields, and the mechanical properties of the host rock, shaping the complex spatio-temporal evolution of transcrustal plumbing systems. Here, we use Finite Element Method (FEM) numerical models to investigate how shallow-crust heterogeneities influence dyke pathways at Santorini volcano (Greece). In our models, subvertical dykes predominantly ascend from the roofs of sill-like magma chambers, whereas inclined sheets emerge from lateral chamber ends and occasionally reach the surface beyond the caldera. Our results show that layered systems with contrasting mechanical properties and vertically stacked magma storage promote stress rotations that favour dyke and sheet arrest. The initial site of dyke injection strongly controls whether magma propagates vertically or along an inclined trajectory, emphasizing the role of chamber depth, crustal heterogeneity, and regional stress in magma pathways and recharge locations. This study enhances our understanding of potential shallow and deep magma pathways providing new insights into future unrest episodes at Santorini volcano
A morphometric approach to the taxonomic dilemma of Zonozoe drabowiensis Barrande, 1872 and Zonoscutum solum Chlupáč, 1999 (Upper Ordovician, Czech Republic)
No full textZonozoe drabowiensis Barrande, 1872 and Zonoscutum solum Chlupáč, 1999 are rare and incompletely preserved arthropods from the Upper Ordovician of the Czech Republic. Their classification has been a subject of debate for over a century due to the limited number of specimens, lack of knowledge related to post-cephalic morphology and the absence of clear diagnostic features. They were previously considered as members of Aglaspidida, an extinct group of arthropods from the Cambrian and Ordovician, within Vicissicaudata, a branch of the larger arthropod clade Artiopoda. Herein, we analysed the cephalic outlines of Zonozoe and Zonoscutum to determine whether their shapes align more closely with vissicaudatans than with other early Palaeozoic arthropods, offering a new morphological perspective on their systematics. We assembled a data set of cephalic outlines each representing one of thirty-three early Palaeozoic species, including Zonozoe, Zonoscutum, nine euchelicerates, six aglaspidids, three cheloniellids, and a selection of other artiopodans. We quantified their shape using elliptical Fourier analysis. Principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) place Zonozoe within the vicissicaudatan morphospace, and Zonoscutum in their proximity, clearly distinguishing them from euchelicerates. These data add support to the most conservative classification of Zonozoe and Zonoscutum within Artiopoda, while strengthening the case for a more specific affinity with Vicissicaudata, helping to resolve a 150-year-old taxonomic uncertainty. More broadly, this study demonstrates the value of outline-based morphometrics in aiding systematic hypotheses when discrete characters are unavailable or scarce, offering a reproducible tool for re-evaluating other problematic fossils
Echoes of Home: A Place for Regained Intimacy, Temporality and Narrative in Domestic Architecture - Exploring the Intersection of Time, Memory, and Experience
No full textImplementing large-scale primary health care workforce reforms: a narrative literature review of middle-income country experiences
No full textA competent, adequate, motivated health workforce is key to strengthening primary health care (PHC). This study examined PHC workforce reform experiences of five middle income countries to deepen understanding and identify lessons for other countries as they strengthen PHC to meet emerging, diverse health needs.
The study was limited to five countries that have undertaken PHC workforce reforms, selected for maximum geographic variability, availability of published evidence and service coverage. A narrative literature review was conducted; peer reviewed and grey literature were searched in 2022, screened and relevant data extracted in a template. The WHO's operational framework for PHC was used to organize and describe reforms pertaining to PHC workforce and provider payment systems.
The study included 54 articles for Thailand, Brazil, Turkey, Iran and China. PHC reforms were introduced to address health inequities and workforce challenges. Reforming the PHC workforce was one component of broader reforms to achieve Universal Health Coverage. All countries introduced a set of mutually reinforcing reforms. To rapidly enhance supply of PHC workforce, countries employed short term strategies like task sharing and training of existing workforce alongside long term reforms to the education system. They used a mix of financial and non-financial incentives to motivate and redistribute their workforce. Countries leveraged a combination of provider payment systems to defined objectives. Key implementation considerations included sustained political will and public expenditure, adequate funding to implement reforms at scale and incentivize desired provider behavior, careful selection of indicators for performance based incentives and coordination across powerful stakeholders
A Socio-Epistemic Theory of Attachment: Part I. Secure Attachment as Epistemic Trust and Its Place in Development
No full textThis article, written in honor of Mary Main’s legacy, introduces a new socio-epistemic theory of
attachment and attachment-related differences. Inspired by Main’s pioneering work on attention and discourse, we
integrate insights from epistemic trust theory (Fonagy & Allison, 2014) and cognitive pragmatics (Sperber &
Wilson, 1986) to argue that attachment patterns are not specifically adaptations to caregivers’ responsiveness to
infants’ distress, but broader strategies for optimizing communication. We propose that attachment patterns reflect
variations in epistemic trust towards the caregiver—the trust in the relevance and authenticity of interpersonal
communication. Our framework helps explain key findings of attachment research, including the so-called
'intergenerational transmission of attachment,' as well as the association between attachment differences and a broad
range of developmental outcomes seemingly unrelated to threats and safety, but to communication and learning. In
Part I, we examine how infants adjust their epistemic trust in response to caregiver communication, shaping
attachment patterns and later development. In Part II (forthcoming), we extend this model to a view of AAI
classifications as differences in fostering epistemic trust, while in Part III (forthcoming), we apply our perspective to
explain AAI subclassifications, the unresolved AAI classification, mentalizing, and more further celebrating Main’s
legacy in attachment theory and research
Young Adult Life Courses in the Global South: A Comparative Framework and Research Agenda
No full textAs of 2025, 85 percent of the world population lives in countries typically associated with the Global South. Fifty percent of the world’s population is under age 30. This article introduces the special issue on “Young Adult Life Courses in the Global South”. It aims to provide a conceptual entry point for globally comparative research on young adult life courses. We systematize and contextualize key insights from the twelve contributions to this special issue, which were selected through an open call, on 1) relevant macro-structural conditions for young adult life courses in the Global South, 2) conceptualizing adulthood processes, including implications for young adults’ agency. Based on the contributions to this special issue, we propose a comparative framework that focuses on the locally specific interplay between economic, normative, and temporal conditions for navigating social adulthood. Second, we summarize the authors’ critiques of established concepts of young adulthood and highlight alternative conceptualizations that they employ, including their implications for young adults’ agency. We close by outlining avenues for future research for a globally comparative research agenda on young adult life courses
Can co-designing interventions with affected communities help prevent violence against women? Findings from a process evaluation of the E le Saua le Alofa (“Love Shouldn’t Hurt”) pilot in Samoa
No full textThere has been increasing interest in co-designing interventions with end users to prevent violence against women (VAW). Co-design is theorised as an ethical approach to research able to engage some of the most marginalised groups in VAW prevention. However, there is little evidence of whether co-designing interventions can reduce violence against women, or theoretical consideration of how it might do so. This paper contributes to current discussions about co-design by examining the results of the E le Saua le Alofa (“Love Shouldn’t Hurt”)—a pilot intervention that engaged Samoan communities in co-designing violence prevention activities. A mixed methods evaluation of the pilot has shown promising results, and in this paper we consider how the co-design process may have contributed to these results. The evaluation of the co-design process assessed four theorised mechanisms: (1) increased ownership of the problem of violence; (2) improved health behaviours and social norms; (3) relevance of actions taken to address VAW; (4) addressing power structures arising from coloniality. Our results show that change in violence outcomes occurred through the pilot’s ability to revisit previous conversations about violence in Samoa, prompting new activities by local leaders, and tightening village rules on violence. Yet, the activities implemented by local leaders were largely unpredictability and sometimes conflicted with global evidence. We argue that such actions should not be construed by policymakers as the ‘unpredictable outcomes’ of an intervention, but rather understood within a broader framework of diversified knowledge systems. The need for balance in co-designing VAW interventions with communities affected by violence highlights a key challenge of decolonising VAW practice within a co-production framework
A Renally Excretable Gold Nanoparticle Oncology Platform Enabling Effective Photothermal Therapy and Chemotherapy Combination
No full textCombination therapies have largely replaced monotherapies in oncology. Thermal therapy has been developed as an adjunctive treatment owing to its safety and high compatibility with established theraypy options. However, bulky equipment and non-standardized protocols have limited its clinical use. The emergence of gold nanoparticle (AuNP)-based photothermal therapy (PTT) offers a simpler approach using injectable formulations and portable near-infrared (NIR) laser devices. However, poor excretion of AuNPs raises safety concerns and hinders translation. Here, we designed a gold nanoplatform that retains the photothermal capacity of AuNPs while enabling efficient excretion. Ultrasmall AuNPs (<6 nm) with a hydrophilic coating may be renally cleared, but clustering normally alters biodistribution and results in long-term hepatic deposition, prior to excretion. In this study, we employed p-methoxybenzenethiol (MBT) to stabilize ultrasmall AuNPs, clustered them with poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), and coated said clusters with acetylated human serum albumin (Ac-HSA). The resulting Ac-HSA-PLGA-AuNCs demonstrated reduced hepatic retention along with renal excretion of ultrasmall gold species. Intratumoral injection followed by 10 min NIR irradiation achieved efficient tumor ablation, outperforming conventional hyperthermia that usually requires hours of heating. Furthermore, combining Ac-HSA-PLGA-AuNC-based PTT with high-dose paclitaxel (160 mg/kg) was safe and yielded enhanced antitumor efficacy. This developed gold nanoplatform offers a promising strategy for translatable PTT-chemotherapy combinations
Waste management approaches for net zero – Sustainability assessment of different thermochemical pathways in the UK
No full textThis thesis examines the environmental performance of advanced thermochemical technologies for plastic waste treatment through a comprehensive life cycle assessment framework. As the global plastic crisis intensifies amid rising consumption and inadequate disposal methods, there is a need to evaluate emerging solutions that can transform non-recyclable plastic waste into valuable resources whilst minimising environmental impacts.
The research assesses three distinct thermochemical pathways: waste-to-energy with carbon capture and storage, waste gasification for hydrogen production, and small-scale pyrolysis with in-situ hydrogenation for naphtha production. Employing a comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology based on ISO 14040/14044 standards, this research explores various functional units, system boundaries, allocation methods, and datasets. This multifaceted approach unveils the complex narratives surrounding the potential deployment of these technologies and their environmental implications.
Findings reveal that waste gasification for hydrogen production potentially offers the most substantial climate change mitigation benefits compared to conventional waste-to-energy, though these benefits are strongly predicated on the approach used to account for produced hydrogen and its market substitution. Furthermore, this pathway exhibits significant environmental trade-offs in other impact categories. Waste-to-energy with carbon capture demonstrated moderate but consistent improvements across impact categories, whilst chemical recycling via pyrolysis showed strength in resource conservation. Environmental performance for all technologies proved highly sensitive to feedstock composition, with biogenic carbon content (typically low in waste plastics) playing a decisive role in determining potential for negative emissions. As emerging technologies, all pathways face implementation challenges including technical optimisation, infrastructure integration, and scalability considerations.
This thesis contributes to more informed decision-making regarding emerging waste treatment technologies by quantifying their environmental implications and illuminating performance trade-offs. These insights can guide technology developers, waste management stakeholders, and policymakers in optimising thermal treatment strategies for non-recyclable plastic waste within evolving waste and energy systems