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An anodic stripping voltammetric approach for total mercury determination in sea sponges from the Niger Delta region of Nigeria
Get PDFMercury pollution from ongoing crude oil refining and waste disposal activities threatens aquatic ecosystems and human health in the Niger Delta. Mercury monitoring exercise in this region is challenging due to the high cost of traditional instruments and the complexity of marine samples. This research presents a novel analytical method using differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) with a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) to determine mercury levels in sea sponges from the Niger Delta. Using a 2.36M HCl+2.4M NaCl supporting electrolyte, -0.6V deposition potential, and 300s deposition time, average mercury levels were found to be 0.98mgkg , 0.63mgkg and 0.42mgkg for Ibiotirem, Kaa and Samanga, respectively. The result showed that the Niger Delta is polluted, and remediation efforts are necessary. Furthermore, the DPASV method could be used for routine mercury monitoring as it is cost-effective, user-friendly, and highly sensitive
Recent knowledge on the applications of molecular hydrogen in plant physiology, crop production, and food processing
Get PDFThis is an Editorial for a Topics Issue. It briefly summarises the field, highlighting its importance. It also gives a brief overview of each of the papers published in that issue
Shots, sympathy, and societal support: How conflict intensity translates into cooperative behaviour towards the displaced
No full textSevere shocks, such as natural disasters or major conflicts, can trigger substantial international support in the immediate aftermath. The continuation of support depends on the level of attention in the public discourse. Whereas general attention will inevitably decline with time, a resurgence of fighting could rekindle societal support abroad. Based on daily news coverage relating to 39 European countries, the emergence of such an offsetting effect is evaluated by introducing the concept of conflict pressure to quantify indirect conflict exposure. Societies not directly involved in a major conflict are found to respond to conflict escalation nevertheless: Across all stakeholder groups, attention dedicated to refugees increases temporarily, irrespective of actual support requirements. Providing additional material support to displaced individuals for a prolonged time, in turn, is mostly within the purview of governmental actors and, surprisingly, those from the economy
Identifying targetable metabolic dependencies across colorectal cancer progression
Get PDFColorectal cancer (CRC) is a multi-stage process initiated through the formation of a benign adenoma, progressing to an invasive carcinoma and finally metastatic spread. Tumour cells must adapt their metabolism to support the energetic and biosynthetic demands associated with disease progression. As such, targeting cancer cell metabolism is a promising therapeutic avenue in CRC. However, to identify tractable nodes of metabolic vulnerability specific to CRC stage, we must understand how metabolism changes during CRC development. Here, we use a unique model system e comprising human early adenoma to late adenocarcinoma. We show that adenoma cells transition to elevated glycolysis at the early stages of tumour progression but maintain oxidative metabolism. Progressed adenocarcinoma cells rely more on glutamine-derived carbon to fuel the TCA cycle, whereas glycolysis and TCA cycle activity remain tightly coupled in early adenoma cells. Adenocarcinoma cells are more flexible with respect to fuel source, enabling them to proliferate in nutrient-poor environments. Despite this plasticity, we identify asparagine (ASN) synthesis as a node of metabolic vulnerability in late-stage adenocarcinoma cells. We show that loss of asparagine synthetase (ASNS) blocks their proliferation, whereas early adenoma cells are largely resistant to ASN deprivation. Mechanistically, we show that late-stage adenocarcinoma cells are dependent on ASNS to support mTORC1 signalling and maximal glycolytic and oxidative capacity. Resistance to ASNS loss in early adenoma cells is likely due to a feedback loop, absent in late-stage cells, allowing them to sense and regulate ASN levels and supplement ASN by autophagy. Together, our study defines metabolic changes during CRC development and highlights ASN synthesis as a targetable metabolic vulnerability in later stage disease
Eating disorders in under-represented groups: Patient and public involvement insights
Get PDFEating disorders (ED) and disordered eating do not discriminate by gender, age or ethnicity. Despite this, in the UK, compared to those from White British backgrounds, people from minoritised ethnic communities are less likely to present to ED support services, receive an ED diagnosis or receive specialist ED support. People from a range of minoritised ethnic backgrounds living in Bristol, with lived experience of EDs or disordered eating, were invited to take part in focus groups as part of PPI work to explore barriers to seeking ED support and methods of improving service uptake. Focus group discussions were conducted online via MS Teams. The questions were codeveloped with people from minoritised ethnic communities. Discussions were analysed thematically. Key themes included perceptions of thinness, a lack of awareness of ED’s, stigma, taboo and shame, and a lack of trust in clinicians. Ideas for improving awareness, help seeking, and treatment uptake were considered. Community led, informational and/ or educational support and signposting was highlighted as a good potential approach to improving ED support services for minoritised ethnic communities in Bristol, UK. Further research is needed to explore the feasibility of developing and delivering community led approaches to improve ED awarenes
Women’s understandings of name change in mixed-sex civil partnership: Identity, family, and equality
No full textSurname change for women in Britain remains the norm for those entering mixed-sex marriages. A range of sociological literature considers the implications of this for equality and social change (e.g. Thwaites, 2016; Pilcher, 2017; Carter and Duncan, 2018). Yet naming is more complex for same-sex couples formalising their relationships, where there is no established pattern or social norm, other than the heteronormative one (Clarke et al., 2008). In this paper, we consider the surname preferences of women in mixed-sex relationships considering, planning, or having had, a civil partnership. These women are an interesting case study since they have rejected traditional marriage, and yet still have the option to follow heteronormative naming practices. In this paper we draw on qualitative interview data from 15 women (and their partners) from the UK in 2020-21. We explore how surnames were understood, finding that they more closely resembled same-sex couples than married mixed-sex couples in their rejection of heteronormativity and patriarchal traditions, including women’s surname change on marriage. Alongside the rejection of ‘patriarchal’ surname change, women expressed a desire to retain their own names- and by extension their individual identity. Yet, in considering identity and family, some complexity was added to accounts of those considering (future or current) children. In these cases, the potential for creating a shared family identity provoked a challenge to the overwhelming rejection of name-change. Ultimately, identity, family, and equality played a part in their naming decisions, and for many, this offered a freedom in opposition to traditional marriage. But given the lack of suitable frameworks for women with children entering mixed-sex civil partnerships, some are left with a less than satisfactory outcome, still reckoning with the static constraints of patronymic naming conventions
Rotator cuff-related shoulder pain (RCRSP): Semistructured patient interviews to explore the barriers and enablers to rehabilitation exercises
Get PDFThis study aimed to explore the barriers and enablers to physiotherapist-prescribed rehabilitation exercises for people with rotator cuff-related shoulder pain (RCRSP) and to guide the development of a theoretically informed intervention for people with this condition. Eleven people receiving physiotherapy for RCRSP (M=69 ± 12 years) participated in semistructured interviews. Data were analysed using content analysis, the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF). The following barriers and enablers were identified in line with the six themes and assigned relevant TDF domains. (1) The impact of previous knowledge and experience on beliefs, (2) therapeutic relationships, (3) expectations around diagnosis, (4) a long and slow pathway to treatment, (5) patients’ experience of doing the home exercise rehabilitation programme and (6) seeing positive outcomes. Patients’ beliefs that an investigation was necessary to make a diagnosis are incongruent with clinical guidelines. Several enablers identified that influence adherence to shoulder rehabilitation exercises will inform the development of interventions designed to improve adherence. Our findings highlight the importance of educating patients to alleviate identified barriers to self-management for RCRSP. Furthermore, it underscores the need to train healthcare professionals with the necessary skills to effectively educate patients, specifically about misconceptions and uncertainties about the condition and exercise
Cornwall e-cycle pilot evaluation: Social research appendices
Get PDFThese reports present findings from the Cornwall e-cycle pilot, a scheme which gave people a chance to try using an e-cycle without having to buy one. The appendices present the full results of social research conducted for the evaluation, alongside information about the research participants and data collection methods. These reports were produced for the Department for Transport by the University of the West of England with Transport for Quality of Life
Expert report on meeting with Greek representatives on the assessment, management and reintegration of persons accused or convicted of sexual offences
No full textThis report is based on meeting between Council of Europe and Greece exports on the 12th of September 2024 at the General Secretariat for anti-Crime Police, Ministry of Civil Protection in Athens. The meeting was to discuss the current approach by the Greek government to the management of people convicted of a sexual offence following the recent decision to designate two penitentiary establishments (Grevena and Tripoli) as sex-offenders’ only prisons. Opportunities were also discussed, focusing on how Greek authorities can adapt current practice and how they can learn from the recent ‘Assessment, management and reintegration of persons accused or convicted of sexual offences’ (Recommendation CM/Rec(2021)6) produced by the Council for Penological Co-operation (PC-CP) of the Council of Europe.The meeting was held in the presence of representatives of the General Secretariat for anti-Crime Police, Ministry of Civil Protection including prison senior managers and Cooperation in Police and Deprivation of Liberty (CPDL), Council of Europe staff. The meeting covered: (1) The Council of Europe standards on treatment programs for people convicted of a sexual offence, (2) The application of treatment programs for people convicted of a sexual offence from other jurisdictions (3) Needs, challenges, scope and particularities in Greece, (4) Conclusions, recommendations and next steps. (attached the Agenda of the meeting and list of participants)
Exploring opportunities for public sector organisations to connect wellbeing to resource loops in a regional circular economy
Get PDFThis paper contributes towards our understanding of the role of public sector organisations in delivering circular economy (CE) goals, suggesting that such organisations seek to deliver social value when implementing CE activities. Through empirical evidence from Wales, and a programme designed to deliver circular outcomes via increased collaborative working in public sector organisations, the paper shows that public sector actors interpret the CE as a means to deliver well-being outcomes. The paper shows that public sector organisations, in Wales, are seeking to exploit the maximum social value from CE activities. This, the paper argues, requires a nuanced attention to the context and circumstances in which public service delivery is implemented. A legislative framework, the Wellbeing Future Generations Act (2015), that promotes collaborative working with people and communities to prevent persistent problems such as poverty, health inequalities and climate change, is supporting the creation of a definition of a CE that connects people and wellbeing to resource loops. The key contribution of the paper is to provide an empirical model demonstrating how public sector organisations in Wales are enacting CE in Wales, mediating between and integrating the social, material and spatial elements of a CE