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Decentralized autonomous organizations: adapting legal structures and proposing a new model of DAOLLP
Get PDFThis article examines the integration of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) into the existing legal framework of the United Kingdom, proposing a novel legal entity model termed the Decentralized Autonomous Organization Limited Liability Partnership (DAOLLP). It explores the distinctive characteristics of DAOs, including their decentralized governance, reliance on smart contracts operating on blockchain and the challenges they face under current UK law and underscores the necessity for legal adaptations that accommodate these innovative structures. The suggested model seeks to provide legal personhood, limited liability protection and a framework for compliance with existing laws and regulations while maintaining the core principles of decentralization and transparency. By comparative analysis of legislative approaches towards DAOs in jurisdictions such as Wyoming, Vermont and Malta, this article promotes a proactive regulatory framework for DAOs that fosters innovation and positions the UK as a leader in blockchain governance
Hydrogen Pipelines Safety Using System Dynamics
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No new data were created or analyzed in this study. Data sharing does not apply to this article.With the global expansion of hydrogen infrastructure, the safe and efficient transportation of hydrogen is becoming more important. In this study, several technical factors, including material degradation, pressure variations, and monitoring effectiveness, that influence hydrogen transportation using pipelines are examined using system dynamics. The results show that hydrogen embrittlement, which is the result of microstructural trapping and limited diffusion in certain steels, can have a profound effect on pipeline integrity. Material incompatibility and pressure fluctuations deepen fatigue damage and leakage risk. Moreover, pipeline monitoring inefficiency, combined with hydrogen’s high flammability and diffusivity, can raise serious safety issues. An 80% decrease in monitoring efficiency will result in a 52% reduction in the total hydrogen provided to the end users. On the other hand, technical risks such as pressure fluctuations and material weakening from hydrogen embrittlement also affect overall system performance. It is essential to understand that real-time detection using hydrogen monitoring is particularly important and will lower the risk of leakage. It is crucial to know where hydrogen is lost and how it impacts transport efficiency. The model offers practical insights for developing stronger and more reliable hydrogen transport systems, thereby supporting the transition to a low-carbon energy future.This research received no external funding
The impact of pre-admission care on hospital mortality: Results of an instrumental variable analysis from Italy
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C55; D14; R11.Supplementary materials are available online at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168851025002374?via%3Dihub#sec0009 .Background:
With healthcare spending projected to increase in the coming decades, the relationship between expenditure and health outcomes demands urgent attention.
Objective:
This paper investigates the impact of health care spending on hospital mortality. We use data on 96,778 patients admitted for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the Lombardy region, Italy, in the years from 2007 to 2022 and combine them with information on expenditure on pharmaceuticals and outpatient visits made in the 12 months prior to hospital admission.
Methods:
We adopt an instrumental variables approach to evaluate the causal impact of the total cost for pre-admission prescriptions and outpatient visits on hospital patient’s mortality.
Results:
We find that pre-admission healthcare, particularly pharmaceutical spending, has a significant impact on reducing mortality rates within hospitals, with a 10 % increase in pharmaceutical spending leading to a reduction in mortality by around 3.0 percentage points, although this result varies depending on the age group and the type of infarction.
Conclusions:
The findings suggest that prioritizing pharmaceutical management can significantly reduce hospital mortality, highlighting a key area for healthcare optimization.Elisa Tosetti acknowledges funding from the PRIN project n. 2022CZKPMY 002 entitled “Health and Wellbeing of the Elderly”. Francesco Moscone acknowleges funding from the Next Generation EU project entitled - “Age-It - Ageing well in an ageing society” project (PE0000015), National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) - PE8 - Mission 4, C2, Intervention 1.3
The survival effects of non-R&D induced innovation during crisis
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Data will be made available on request.JEL:
O32; O38; O14.Declaration of Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process: During the preparation of this paper, the author used ChatGPT for proofreading the text. Following the use of this tool, the author reviewed and edited all content as necessary and accepts full responsibility for the final version of the manuscript.Using firm-level data from 41 countries, this study investigates how resource-constrained firms can strengthen their resilience to resist the COVID-19 crisis through non-R&D induced innovation. The empirical results show that firms in Middle- and Low-income countries, where access to government aid is often constrained, can enhance their survival prospects by internally upgrading their learning and adaptive capabilities. Specifically, non-R&D induced innovation can effectively substitute for insufficient government financial support by enabling firms to adjust operations and maintain competitiveness during the Covid-19 pandemic. The findings emphasise the importance of jointly considering government support and innovation in firm survival analyses, as omitting either factor may introduce potential omitted variable bias. To address this, supervised learning approaches are employed to predict whether firms that exited had received government support prior to closure. In addition, this study advances the literature by uncovering the complementary roles of innovation and government financial interventions, and highlights context-specific strategies that policymakers should adopt to improve firm resilience amid external shocks
Socioeconomic inequality and access to emergency care: understanding the pathways to the emergency department in the UK
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Data may be obtained from a third party and are not publicly available. Data supporting this study cannot be made publicly available due to the sensitive nature of the clinical information. Researchers may submit access requests to the Data Governance Team at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.Objective: To examine how socioeconomic deprivation influences referral pathways to emergency departments (EDs) and to assess how these pathways affect subsequent hospital outcomes.
Design: Retrospective observational study.
Setting: Emergency department of a large teaching hospital in the East of England, providing secondary and tertiary care.
Participants: 482 787 ED attendances by patients aged 16 years and over, recorded between January 2019 and December 2023. Patients were assigned Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) deciles based on residential postcode.
Main outcome measures: Referral source (general practitioner (GP), National Health Service (NHS) 111, ambulance, self-referral, other), total ED time, 4-hour breach, hospital admission and unplanned return within 72 hours.
Results :Substantial socioeconomic inequalities were observed in referral pathways. Patients from the most deprived areas were significantly less likely to be referred by a GP (4.7%) than those from the least deprived areas (14.7%) and more likely to arrive via ambulance (32% vs 24%). These differences persisted after adjusting for demographic, clinical and contextual variables. Ambulance referrals showed the longest ED stays, ranging from 347 to 351 min across IMD deciles (overall 95% CI 343 to 363) and the highest probability of 4-hour breaches (51%; 95% CI 50% to 53%). Self-referrals had the greatest rates of unplanned returns within 7 days (up to 7.1%; 95% CI 5.5% to 8.7%). In contrast, NHS 111 and GP referrals were associated with shorter stays, lower breach rates and fewer reattendances. Minimal variation in outcomes was observed across deprivation levels once referral source was accounted for.
Conclusions: Inequalities in how patients access emergency care, particularly reduced GP and NHS 111 referrals among more deprived groups, appear to underpin disparities in ED outcomes. Referral source captures important clinical and system-level factors that influence patient experience and resource use. Interventions to improve equitable access to structured referral pathways, particularly in more deprived areas, may enhance both the efficiency and fairness of emergency care delivery. Further research using national data is needed to assess broader policy implications and economic costs associated with differential access.This work was supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) under Grant NIHR154061. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the NIHR, the NHS or the Department of Health and Social Care. CN has also received funding by the European Union through the PCR-4-ALL project under the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme (the grant agreement No 101095606)
Simultaneous Probe of the Charm and Bottom Quark Yukawa Couplings Using <i>tt̅</i> Events
Get PDFA version of the article is available at arXiv:2509.22535v2 [hep-ex] (https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.22535). Comments: Replaced with the published version. Added the journal reference and the DOI. All the figures and tables, including additional supplementary figures, can be found at http://cms-results.web.cern.ch/cms-results/public-results/publications/HIG-24-018 (CMS Public Pages). Subjects: High Energy Physics - Experiment (hep-ex). Report number: CMS-HIG-24-018, CERN-EP-2025-202. Journal reference: Phys. Rev. Lett. 136 (2026) 011801. Related DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/9nwb-splk. Submission history: From: The CMS Collaboration: [v1] Fri, 26 Sep 2025 16:15:28 UTC (1,324 KB); [v2] Mon, 5 Jan 2026 15:55:10 UTC (1,324 KB).A search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying to a charm quark-antiquark pair, → cc̅, produced in association with a top quark-antiquark pair (tt̅) is presented. The search is performed with data from proton-proton collisions at √ =13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb⁻¹. Advanced machine learning techniques are employed for jet flavor identification and event classification. The Higgs boson decay to a bottom quark-antiquark pair is measured simultaneously and the observed tt̅( → bb̅) event rate relative to the standard model expectation is 0.91+0.26−0.22. The observed (expected) upper limit on the product of production cross section and branching fraction (tt̅)ℬ( → cc̅) is 0.11 (0.13) pb at 95% confidence level, corresponding to 7.8 (8.7) times the standard model prediction. When combined with the previous search for → cc̅ via associated production with a or boson, the observed (expected) 95% confidence interval on the Higgs-charm Yukawa coupling modifier, , is || < 3.5 (2.7), the most stringent constraint to date.SCOAP³
General search for supersymmetric particles in scenarios with compressed mass spectra using proton-proton collisions at √s = 13 TeV
Get PDFA version of the article is available at arXiv:2508.13900v2 [hep-ex] (https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.13900). Comments: Replaced with the published version. Added the journal reference and the DOI. All the figures and tables can be found at https://cms-results.web.cern.ch/cms-results/public-results/publications/SUS-23-003 (CMS Public Pages). Subjects: High Energy Physics - Experiment (hep-ex). Report number: CMS-SUS-23-003, CERN-EP-2025-154. Journal reference: Phys. Rev. D 112 (2025) 112023. Related DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/b26z-zmpy .
Submission history: From: The CMS Collaboration: [v1] Tue, 19 Aug 2025 15:02:40 UTC (4,761 KB); [v2] Mon, 29 Dec 2025 23:52:50 UTC (4,801 KB).Data Availability:
Release and preservation of data used by the CMS Collaboration as the basis for publications is guided by the CMS data preservation, reuse and open access policy at https://doi.org/10.7483/OPENDATA.CMS.1BNU.8V1W .A general search is presented for supersymmetric particles (sparticles) in scenarios featuring compressed mass spectra using proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC. The analyzed data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb⁻¹ . A wide range of potential sparticle signatures are targeted, including pair production of electroweakinos, sleptons, and top squarks. The search focuses on events with a high transverse momentum system from initial-state-radiation jets recoiling against a potential sparticle system with significant missing transverse momentum. Events are categorized based on their lepton multiplicity, jet multiplicity, number of b-tagged jets, and kinematic variables sensitive to the sparticle masses and mass splittings. The sensitivity extends to higher parent sparticle masses than previously probed at the LHC for production of pairs of electroweakinos, sleptons, and top squarks with mass spectra featuring small mass splittings (compressed mass spectra). The observed results demonstrate agreement with the predictions of the background-only model. Lower mass limits are set at 95% confidence level on production of pairs of electroweakinos, sleptons, and top squarks that extend to 325, 275, and 780 GeV, respectively, for the most favorable compressed mass regime cases.SCOAP³
A comprehensive proteomics analysis of Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA)
No full textThis thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University LondonFirst and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my Principal Supervisor, Dr. Sara Anjomani Virmouni, for her invaluable guidance, constructive feedback, and unwavering support throughout this journey. Her mentorship has been instrumental in shaping both my research and academic growth. I am also sincerely grateful to members of my supervisor team, Supervisor, Prof. Michael Themis. Additionally, I extend my thanks to Dr. Victor Hernandez, my Research Development Advisor, for his guidance especially during the first year of my PhD.
I extend my sincere appreciation to Ministry of National Education, TURKEY, for their financial support as well as to Brunel University of London for providing access to the facilities and resources required for this research.
My heartfelt appreciation goes to my collaborators, whose contributions have been vital to my research. I appreciate Associate Professor Faraz Mardakheh from the Barts Cancer Institute (Queen Mary University of London) for conducting proteomics analysis in human FRDA cells. I am also thankful to Professor Richard Wade-Martins' team at Oxford University for providing Human iPS-derived cardiomyocytes and to Professor Marek Napierala’s laboratory at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre for supplying Human iPSCs. I would like to acknowledge Dr. Raha Pazoki from Brunel University London for her support in bioinformatics, particularly in creating the transcriptomics analysis heat map. I am also grateful to Dr. Saqlain Suleman, a postdoctoral researcher in our group, for his academical support and help. Additionally, I extend my thanks to Dr. Zenouska Ramchunder, another postdoctoral researcher in our group, for her academical help and endless support.
I want to thank my beloved parents for their endless love, trust, and support throughout my journey. Their encouragement and sacrifices have given me the strength to overcome challenges and reach this milestone. I am forever grateful for everything they have done to help me achieve my dreams.I also want to thank my dear soulmate and husband, Haci, for his patience, love, and support. Even when we were far apart, his constant encouragement and understanding made our bond stronger. I am deeply grateful for his steady presence and for our love that has grown even through tough times. I wish to thank the team members of the Brunel technician staff for their assistance, which greatly facilitated the experimental aspects of this study. Their expertise and support have been invaluable in ensuring the smooth execution of laboratory work.
I am also grateful to my colleagues in the Ataxia lab for their encouragement, collaboration, and insightful discussions. Their support has made this journey both intellectually enriching and personally rewarding. Finally, I extend my deepest appreciation to everyone who has contributed, directly or indirectly, to the successful completion of this thesis. Your support has been invaluable, and I am truly grateful. This thesis would not have been possible without the support and guidance of many individuals and organizations.Ministry of National Education, TURKE
A Comprehensive Review of Mineral Carbonation of Civil Engineering Materials: A Bibliometric Analysis
Get PDFSupporting Information:
The Supporting Information is available free of charge at https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.5c03561.
• Method of bibliometric analysis, factors affecting the carbonation of steel slag, and literature sources of Figure 12b and CO2 storage capacity of different civil engineering materials (Sections S1–S3), this work’s differences and innovations relative to these studies, nomenclature, carbonation products in different systems, study of carbonated carbide slag, and reaction equation of carbonation of fly ash (Tables S1–S5), and research framework of bibliometric analysis and carbonation mechanism of CS (Figures S1 and S2) (PDF)
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.est.5c03561/suppl_file/es5c03561_si_001.pdf (408.06 kb)Mineral carbonation of civil engineering materials (MC-CEM) has received increased attention in reducing CO₂ emissions. This work comprehensively describes the research trends and hotspots in MC-CEM based on bibliometric analysis. Articles were collected in the Web of Science core database from 2001 to 2024 and analyzed in detail. The results show that MC-CEM is a hot research topic, with hot-topic words changing quickly. China and Switzerland reveal the most publications and the highest average citations, respectively. Under carbonation curing, the strength and durability are usually improved due to carbonate formation. Concerning CO₂ storage capacity, carbide slag, reactive magnesium oxide cement, and β-C₂S are active, while fly ash, mine tailings, and carbon mix are inactive. Slow kinetics and low carbonation influence the large-scale industrial application of MC-CEM. Finally, challenges and prospects in MC-CEM are illustrated. In future studies, it is necessary to enhance the CO₂ sequestration capacity by investigating the carbonation mechanisms and optimizing the process parameters. A comprehensive life-cycle assessment of MC-CEM is also needed. This work provides the basis for the development of large-scale mineral carbonation by using civil engineering materials.National Key Research and Development Program of China (2023YFE0121700), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52378270, 52402036, and 52408302), the Zhejiang Provincial “Jianbing” and “Lingyan” R&D Programs (2024C04053), the “Innovation Yongjiang 2035” Key R&D Programme (2024Z087), and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2025M773264)
Latent tuberculosis infection in high TB disease burden countries dysregulates cellular and immunological profiles which is further enhanced with uncontrolled hyperglycemia
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All datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are included in this published article and its supplementary information file.Tuberculosis (TB) and diabetes mellitus (DM) are both highly prevalent in Pakistan. Latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection is common however the effect of DM and latent TB infection (LTBI) is less understood. We used RNA arrays to study host transcriptional responses to investigate this. Participants were controls (EC) and with DM, sub-classified to LTBI and DM-LTBI. Host blood transcriptomes were studied using microarrays followed by GO, WikiPathway and reactome pathway analyses. Gene expression compared with EC revealed 187 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with LTBI; 182 DEGs with DM and 13 DEGs with DM-LTBI. In LTBI and DM, downregulation of antigen presentation and upregulation of inflammatory genes was evident whilst in DM, mostly immune related genes were downregulated. Comparison between LTBI-DM and LTBI revealed 321 up- and 12 downregulated DEGs, with upregulated immune response and inflammatory genes whilst a downregulation of genes associated with insulin metabolism and oxidative stress were observed. The impact of uncontrolled hyperglycemia was seen as downregulation in protein synthesis and oxidative phosphorylation in the host. This effect was further enhanced in those with hyperglycemia within the LTBI-DM group. Importantly, our observations of dysregulated pathways observed in diabetic individuals fit with earlier reports. We show that LTBI and DM synergistically increase host inflammatory and metabolic processes whilst reducing innate immunity. Such dysregulation by uncontrolled hyperglyemia highlights increased risk of progression of Mtb infection in this cohort and emphasizes the need for diabetes control in a TB endemic population.This research was supported by the Higher Education Commission, Pakistan under a National Research Program for Universities (NRPU) grant
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