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Identifying four obesity axes through integrative multi-omics and imaging analysis
No full textWe aimed to identify distinct axes of obesity using advanced MRI-derived phenotypes. We used 24 MRI-derived fat distribution and muscle volume measures (UK Biobank, n= 33,122) to construct obesity axes through principal component analysis (PCA). Genome-wide association studies were performed for each axis to uncover genetic factors, followed by pathway enrichment, genetic correlation, and Mendelian randomization analyses to investigate disease associations. Four primary obesity axes were identified: (1) General Obesity, reflecting higher fat accumulation in all regions (visceral, subcutaneous, and ectopic fat); (2) Muscle-Dominant, indicating greater muscle volume; (3) Peripheral Fat, associated with higher subcutaneous fat in abdominal and thigh regions; and (4) Lower Body Fat, characterized by increased lower-body subcutaneous fat and reduced ectopic fat. Each axis was associated with distinct genetic loci and pathways. For instance, the Lower Body Fat Axis was associated with RSPO3 and COBLL1 which are emerging as promising candidates for therapeutic targeting. Disease risks varied across axes: the General Obesity Axis correlated with higher risks of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases; the Lower Body Fat Axis appeared protective against type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This study highlights the heterogeneity of obesity through the identification of obesity axes and emphasizes the potential to extend beyond BMI in defining and treating obesity for obesity-related disease management
Performance characteristics of a pilot scale electromethanogenic reactor treating brewery wastewater
No full textA pilot-scale (4000 L) continuous flow electromethanogenic reactor (EMR), also known as a microbial electrochemical cell coupled with an anaerobic digester (MECAD),treating brewery wastewater was designed and installed at Hepworth’s Brewery, UK. This investigation presents a 4-fold increase in size compared to the next largest pilot-scale MEC-AD system presented in the literature, providing findings to inform the operation of a 52,000 L MEC-AD system (currently under construction). Housed in a 20 ft shipping container, the pilot system features four 1000 L reaction vessels arranged in series, each with a working volume of 900 L. Each reaction vessel contained 8 electrode modules. The system was tested over varying organic loading rates (OLRs), achieved through systematic reductions in hydraulic retention time (HRT). HRTs between 24 and 1.8 days were investigated to align with commercial viability targets. OLRs were observed from 0.4 to 7.5 kgCOD/m3/d. A maximum stable OLR of 6.75 kgCOD/m3/d at a HRT of 2.3 days was observed while maintaining COD removal of 65 and 88% over the first two vessels. This pilot demonstrated commercially viable performance of an EMR at a brewery, resulting in the purchase of the technology at commercial scale (52,000 L) to form part of a wastewater treatment system
Abstract 4550: Dried blood sot sampling as a minimally invasive and accessible method for investigating circulating tumor DNA in diverse cancer settings
No full textBackground:
Proof-of-principle studies have identified circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in small volumes of whole blood, even dried blood spots (DBS) collected by finger-prick sampling from patients with advanced cancer. This minimally invasive sampling method offers ease, frequency and low cost of collection, simplified shipping and long-term room temperature stability. Adopting DBS for ctDNA collection and whole genome sequencing (WGS) analysis may support novel clinical trial design and increase real-world utility of liquid biopsies, especially where traditional phlebotomy is a barrier.
Methods:
We collected sample quartets comprising serial DBS, and matching plasma, tumor, and buffy coat from ∼125 patients with multiple cancer types including oesophageal, lung, head & neck, melanoma, ovarian, colorectal and pancreatic cancer. Collections were in diverse settings at hospitals in the UK and Ethiopia, and by patients at home in the UK. DNA isolated from DBS was size-selected using bead-based enrichment to remove genomic DNA. Libraries were generated from DBS size-selected DNA, and DNA extracted from plasma, tumor and buffy coat samples had paired-end WGS at depth of ∼1X, 10X, and 50X respectively. Using bioinformatic pipelines for tumor-informed and tumor-agnostic detection, WGS data was analyzed for somatic copy number aberrations (SCNAs), fragment length, and tumor-specific single nucleotide variants (SNVs).
Results:
We detected SNVs and SCNAs in DBS reflective of genomic changes in matching tumor DNA and plasma, from patients with Stage II-IV cancers. We observed concordant changes to the levels of those SNVs and SCNAs in plasma and DBS samples collected before and after systemic treatment compared with clinical and radiological measures. With tumor-informed analysis, utilizing patient-specific lists of 5, 930-51, 927 SNVs identified from tumor DNA, limit of detection for ctDNA was 34 ppm in plasma, and 95 ppm in DBS, comparable to commercially available assays for ctDNA. DBS collected in hospital by healthcare professionals, remotely in Ethiopia and at-home by patients in the UK with transportation at room temperature showed ctDNA can be extracted for analysis from diverse settings.
Conclusion:
Our data highlights the promising role of DBS in advancing non-invasive cancer diagnostics and monitoring. The versatility of DBS in capturing ctDNA from various cancer types, coupled with its accessibility for collecting samples, is a significant step forward in blood-based cancer detection. This offers potential to enhance cancer monitoring and early detection strategies in both tumor-informed and tumor-agnostic settings. DBS is a cost-effective, user-friendly sampling strategy allowing at-home collection, enabling large-scale research and development programs needed to bring biomarker methods into widespread use
Vulnerability to Online Political Misinformation: The Role of Non-clinical Schizotypal Traits
No full textWhile rumours, lies, and propaganda are nothing new, the rise of online misinformation brings with it new challenges and concerns. Online misinformation has become particularly problematic due to its global reach and the incredible speed at which it can spread. Furthermore, it has been suggested that the propagation of online misinformation often results from the actions of regular social media users who encounter such content organically and choose to engage with it (i.e., interact via online behaviours such as commenting, “liking”, and sharing). As with any viral content hosted on social media platforms, misinformation that attracts sufficient user engagement is algorithmically promoted to others, further increasing its spread and exposing more individuals to false information. Therefore, the most concerning online misinformation is characterised not only by an ability to deceive its audience, but also an ability to entice engagement behaviour from social media users.
This doctoral project aimed to explore individual differences as predictors of vulnerability to online misinformation. Drawing upon cognitive theories of misinformation vulnerability and established research into individual differences associated with receptivity to socio-political conspiracy theories, the current project sought to explore schizotypal personality traits as potential predictors of belief and engagement toward online political misinformation. The project also sought to investigate the potential significance of specific cognitive biases associated with schizotypal cognition that might serve to facilitate this hypothesised relationship, as well as other dispositional traits related to schizotypy (e.g., nonclinical autism-like traits, the need for cognitive closure, and the expression of a conspiratorial worldview). Furthermore, the project also sought to address the potential moderating effects of schizotypal traits on established intervention techniques designed to reduce individual receptivity to online misinformation (i.e., do schizotypal traits influence intervention efficacy?).
Across four individual studies (total n = 1161), politically partisan participants from the US were recruited and exposed to political news content previously published on social media platforms (some being factually accurate, others being examples of political misinformation). Participants were asked to: 1) report their desire to engage with the online content (i.e., “like”, comment, share, or react using an emoji), and 2) rate the factual accuracy of the presented information (i.e., the extent to which they believed the presented claims to be accurate). These ratings were then used as indicators of misinformation vulnerability in subsequent analyses and explored alongside a range of other measures collected across the four studies.
Study 1 involved the recruitment of right-wing participants who completed a brief measure of schizotypal personality traits (the Schizotypal personality questionnaire – Brief Revised Updated), nonclinical autism-like traits (the Autistic Spectrum Quotient – 9), and two performance-based measures of cognitive reflection (the Cognitive Reflection Test and the Cognitive Reflection Test 2). These measures were then explored as predictors of misinformation vulnerability in a series of regression models.
In Study 2 both left and right-wing participants were recruited and asked to complete the same measures used previously in Study 1, as well as an additional performance-based measure designed to assess the presence of a “jumping to conclusions” reasoning bias (a computerised adaptation of The Beads Task). Once again, these variables were explored as predictors of misinformation vulnerability.
Study 3 focused only on right-wing participants and used a different measure of schizotypal personality traits (the Multidimensional Schizotypy Scale – Brief), alongside a brief measure of individual need for cognitive closure (Brief Need for Closure Scale) and endorsement of a generalised conspiratorial worldview (Generic Conspiracy Beliefs Scale). The relationship between these measures and misinformation vulnerability was explored using regression and mediation analyses.
Study 4 retained a focus on right-wing participants and once again included the Multidimensional Schizotypy Scale – Brief and Generic Conspiracy Beliefs Scale as variables of interest. This study’s primary goal was to explore the potential moderating influence of positive schizotypy traits on a content-flagging intervention previously demonstrated to reduce vulnerability to online misinformation. The efficacy of the intervention was first established using ANCOVA while controlling for positive schizotypy, followed by moderation analyses to assess the impact of positive schizotypy on intervention effectiveness.
The findings of the regression analyses indicated that positive schizotypal traits were a robust predictor of misinformation engagement, with greater engagement associated with elevated levels of positive schizotypy. It was also demonstrated that positive schizotypy often acted as a significant predictor of misinformation belief, however this relationship was comparatively weaker and appears to have been partially mediated by the expression of a conspiratorial worldview. Furthermore, the experimental findings of Study 4 indicated that anti-misinformation intervention techniques based on content-flagging remained effective at reducing belief and engagement towards political misinformation, regardless of an individual’s expression of positive schizotypal traits
Harmonizing Hospitality across Cultures: Unveiling the Role of Servant Leadership, and Strategy in Diverse Cultural Contexts
No full textIn the fast-paced and competitive world of the hospitality industry, strategies have an inseparable role in unlocking the full potential of the hotels in this industry. The current study examined how strategy differentiation (SD) and strategy social responsibility (SSR) influence corporate identity (CI), organizational commitment (OC), and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) of independent hotel employees across various national cultures. Additionally, it investigated the role of servant leadership (SL) in shaping these strategies. Data were gathered through questionnaires from 840 hotel employees in the USA and Portugal, representing two distinct GLOBE cultural clusters. The results indicated that the two cultural groups were significantly different. The main hypothesis proposed a positive link between SL and OCB, which was found to be significant only in the Portugal cluster. The USA cluster did not show this relationship. Four other hypotheses acted as mediators for the main hypothesis. The second and third hypotheses focused on the mediating effects of SD and CI between SL and OCB, showing significance in Portugal but not in the USA. The fourth hypothesis regarding SSR as a mediator was insignificant for both groups, while the fifth hypothesis about SSR and OC as mediators was supported only in the USA. This research sheds more light on servant leadership and strategy in the hotel industry within two distinct GLOBE clusters. It illustrates how cultural differences within these clusters influence relationships between servant leadership, different strategies and their impact on different organisational variables
Plasma metabolomic profiles reveal sex-specific response to an oral glucose tolerance test in late middle-aged adults
No full textSex is a key determinant of human phenotype, with males and females exhibiting distinct anthropometric and metabolic features that influence disease susceptibility. This study investigated sex-specific metabolic differences in late middle-aged adults without diagnosed metabolic diseases, both in the fasting state and during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Using data from the NutriTech project, we analyzed plasma metabolomic responses during the OGTT, along with detailed assessments of body composition and fasting clinical parameters. Females exhibited 28 % greater total adipose tissue, mainly subcutaneous, whereas males had more intra-abdominal fat and higher energy expenditure. Females showed elevated fasting levels of fatty acids—particularly very-long-chain fatty acids— leptin, and adiponectin. Males had slightly higher fasting glycemia (∼ 5 %) and a more pronounced glycemic increase during the OGTT (17 %), along with elevated insulin levels. In both fasting and postprandial states, males showed higher circulating levels (p < 0.05) of aromatic and branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) and their catabolites. Conversely, females had higher sphingomyelins levels during fasting and throughout the OGTT, and increased postprandial levels of secondary bile acids (p < 0.05). These sex-specific metabolic features in late middle-aged adults may enhance our understanding of metabolic disease risk and support the development of more targeted prevention strategies
How universalised language misconstrues audiences in the ‘Middle East’
No full textAudiences in Arab countries and Iran are characterised in different ways by various interest groups. Scholars, global media corporations, regional advertising agencies, local content producers and distributors, pollsters, governments and state media operators all deploy their own terminology to discuss audience measurement, opinion research and media–audience relations. Yet the authoritarian political systems prevailing in this region have for decades impeded credible audience studies, both academic and commercial, by obstructing access through censorship, intimidation and pro-government monopolies. This chapter unpacks obstacles inherent in the research process and media–audience interactions in such settings and compares them with assumptions embedded in the universalised language generally used by commentators outside the region or those with a vested interest in the status quo. The analysis draws on John B.Thompson’s 1990 theory that “displacement”, involving the transfer of positive terms to negative situations or vice versa, glosses over realities and helps to maintain relations of domination. It cites work that questions “Eurocentric” anxieties about the agency of social media users, demonstrates the inapplicability of notions of media accountability in autocratic settings, draws attention to damaging implications of the term “emerging markets” and exposes distortions that invalidate basic media market models. It shows how opinion polling, despite being undermined by constraints that prompt distrust even among pollsters, adopts concepts that have been normalised in societies unaffected by those constraints. Narratives about audiences presented in familiar language help to mask a lack of knowledge, which serves the interests of ruling regimes
Numerical modelling and wind tunnel testing of a novel wall windcatcher natural ventilation system for multi-floor buildings
No full textThe rapid urbanisation and increasing density of urban areas have driven the construction of multi-storey buildings, intensifying challenges in achieving effective indoor natural ventilation. Traditional ventilation approaches such as single-sided ventilation (SSV) often exhibit limitations, particularly in multi-floor and multi-zone contexts, due to their reliance on single-facade openings, resulting in inadequate airflow and stagnant zones. Despite advancements, literature shows a gap in effectively utilizing natural ventilation systems for consistent airflow across multiple floors, particularly under varied wind orientations. This study introduces a novel wall windcatcher (WWC) ventilation system specifically designed for multi-storey buildings. Unlike conventional systems, the WWC features externally mounted, separate inlet and exhaust pathways that capitalise on wind-induced pressure differences and facilitate consistent airflow through the building irrespective of wind direction. To evaluate the performance of the WWC, this study employs combined atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel experiments and computational fluid dynamics simulations under varying wind angles and speeds. Results showed significant improvements with the WWC system compared to SSV, achieving up to 430 % greater average indoor airflow velocity at 0° wind direction and Uref = 3.82 m/s, and maintaining velocities up to four times higher at increased wind speeds (Uref = 7.59 m/s). The WWC consistently reduced stagnation zones and provided more uniform airflow distribution across all floors, particularly evident at challenging wind angles such as 90°, where SSV struggled with stagnation and velocities below 0.05 m/s. Among evaluated turbaulence models, the k-epsilon RNG model exhibited highest accuracy in predicting pressure coefficient, especially at perpendicular wind angles, where other models showed considerably higher discrepancies. This research provides insights and validation for the WWC system, highlighting its potential to advance building ventilation strategies in multi-storey buildings
Transition Pathways and Capabilities of Climate-Induced Migrants: The Case of Ready-Made Garment Workers in Bangladesh
No full textBangladesh is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries globally, significantly affected by extreme environmental events such as cyclones, flooding, salinity intrusion, and riverbank erosion. These severe environmental stressors have forced substantial numbers of individuals from both rural and urban areas to migrate towards urban centres in search of sustainable livelihoods. This migration pattern, known as climate-induced migration, represents an urgent socio-economic challenge, exacerbated by limited policy support and urban infrastructure.
This research investigates how climate-induced migrants (CIMs) navigate their transitions into urban life, focusing particularly on their efforts to rebuild livelihoods and pursue stability after displacement due to environmental and climatic disasters. It critically analyses the multi-stage transitions and employment experiences of climate-induced migrants (CIMs) in Bangladesh, specifically focusing on their integration into urban economies through employment in Dhaka's Ready-Made Garment (RMG) sector. Despite its growing scale, this migration trajectory remains inadequately addressed within existing national policies.
Drawing on qualitative and quantitative data, including extensive fieldwork with semi-structured interviews, surveys, and focus group discussions, this research analyses CIMs experiences through the lens of two theoretical frameworks: the Just Transition Framework (JTF) and the Aspirations and Capabilities Framework (ACF). The JTF provides insights into the equity and fairness dimensions of structural economic changes required for sustainable transitions, particularly relevant to CIMs entering vulnerable urban employment contexts. At the same time, the ACF provides deeper insight by examining migrant’s personal aspirations and their capabilities to achieve meaningful outcomes within their urban environment.
Empirical findings reveal distinct transition stages, beginning with displacement, progressing through settlement and employment, and culminating in long-term urban integration. Each stage is marked by structural barriers such as precarious housing, limited employment opportunities, gender-based discrimination, and systemic exclusion from urban services. Simultaneously, the agency of migrants is evident in their strategic decision-making, social network utilisation, and active pursuit of socio-economic mobility despite significant constraints.
The study identifies important limitations in existing policy frameworks, which often prioritise rural adaptation and overlook urban realities. It calls for a just transition approach that enhances the capabilities of climate-displaced populations and embeds equity and inclusion into climate, labour, and urban development policies. By situating CIMs within broader socio-economic and environmental transitions, this research offers a timely and context-specific contribution to understanding climate-linked urban migration in Bangladesh