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Proposals to use accelerated electrons to probe the axion-electron coupling
No full textThe axion is a hypothetical particle associated with a possible solution to the strong CP problem and is a leading candidate for dark matter. In this paper we investigate the emission of axions by accelerated electrons. We find the emission probability and energy within the WKB approximation for an electron accelerated by an electromagnetic field. As an application, we estimate the number of axions produced by electrons accelerated using two counter-propagating high-intensity lasers and discuss how they would be converted to photons to be detected. We find that, under realistic experimental conditions, competitive model-independent bounds on the coupling between the axion and the electron could be achieved in such an experiment
Functional properties of cricket and grasshopper protein isolates
Get PDFThis study aimed to assess the extraction of protein isolates from crickets (CPI) and grasshoppers (GPI) and determine their techno-functional, physicochemical, and biofunctional properties. Defatting by solvent remission and supercritical fluid showed the highest efficiency (>90 % in both samples) compared to pressing and gravimetric defatting (45 % and 50 %, respectively) and foaming properties (33 % and 225 %, respectively). The physicochemical parameters of CPI and GPI protein isolates were improved, including clarification (brightness 30–33 %, hue intensity 14 %, and saturation 43 %), compressibility (Hausner ratio 5–28 %), and particle surface (74–89 %). CPI and GPI showed higher values (p < 0.05) of theoretical protein quality parameters and a higher antioxidant potential (ABTS, DPPH, iron chelation, and ORAC) in a range of 1.0–3.9-fold compared to raw flours. These findings emphasize improvements in the favorable techno-functional, physicochemical, and nutritional characteristics of edible insect protein isolates. CPI and GPI could represent environmentally friendly food ingredients that improve the nutritional value of foods
Nutritional Value, Antinutritional Factors, and Protein Quality of Brosimum alicastrum Seeds: A Sustainable Protein Source
Get PDFThis study evaluated the nutritional and antinutritional (ANFs) composition and protein profiles of different components of Ramon (Brosimum alicastrum) seed, including the seed coat, fruit, and both roasted and green (unprocessed) seeds. Proximate composition, mineral content, ANFs quantification, amino acid profile, in vitro protein digestibility, SDS-PAGE, proteomics, and gluten ELISA were performed. Protein contents ranged from 9.85 to 10.69 g/100 g. ANFs─saponins (961.10–1337.58 mg DE/100 g), tannins (12.67–208.66 mg CE/100 g), phytic acid (1327.88–3592.51 mg/100 g), and oxalates (365.08–1431.48 mg CaC₂O₄/100 g)─varied by processing. In vitro digestibility-corrected amino acid scores (25.05–47.85%) confirmed low to moderate digestibility. SDS-PAGE showed low-molecular-weight proteins (<25 kDa) predominantly, and mass spectrometry corroborated the presence of β-amylase and glucan-phosphorylase proteins. Gluten ELISA analysis confirmed Ramon flour is gluten-free. These results highlight Ramon seeds as a sustainable, nutrient-dense, gluten-free protein source suitable for functional food applications, addressing future protein security needs
An assessment of molecular diagnosis of tuberculosis and multi-drug resistant tuberculosis testing and quality assessment: findings of an international survey
Get PDFMolecular ‘in vitro diagnostic’ (IVD) tests are established for the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) and multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB). What is less clear is how the use of TB or MDR-TB molecular IVD results differ across regions, whether corroborative tests are conducted and what external quality assessment (EQA) infrastructure exists to underpin test confidence. This study investigated the current international status of molecular TB IVDs methods, application and quality assessment. An online survey was distributed by the IFCC’s Committee for molecular diagnostics to TB diagnostic laboratories worldwide. 118 laboratories from 41 nations indicated a range of IVDs were used. ∼75 % participated in EQA programs and 32 % reported this used the WHO International Standard. ∼65 % also delivered MDR-TB results the majority of which were used to change therapy; 1/6 of these do so without EQA evaluation of the MDR-TB result. The study demonstrates a range of IVD solutions in use for TB diagnosis along with a high uptake of EQA in support of this global uptake of this test modality. However, we also reveal gaps in quality assurance for MDR-TB testing with 10 % of the laboratories using resistant results alone without participating MDR-TB EQA. This suggest additional work is required to build on established use of EQA to better support MDR-TB testing and better ensure confident when results are used to guide antibiotic use. Addressing these gaps will ensure the accuracy of future MDR-TB results, which is critical for effective disease management and help combat TB on a global scale
Spatial domain mapping from in-process sensor signals for visual inspection of multi-material stack drilling
Get PDFAirliner assembly processes involve components being pre-assembled into a ‘stack’, which is then drilled through. Manufacturers have strict hole quality requirements and need confidence in hole quality, since defects such as burrs and delamination can affect structural integrity. Human experts can be empowered to perform hole quality inspection through the provision of useful information. Visual representations of signal features and their association with the spatial and temporal features in the hole quality is a powerful mechanism by which to facilitate quality inspection. This paper proposes a novel sensor signal integration framework to map sensor signals from the time domain to the relative spatial domain as indicated by the drill bit position. Kalman filter based rotational position estimation from fibre-optic signal and relative drilling depth estimation from laser signal provided the relevant spatio-temporal information for the mapping. The resulting spatial domain mapping enables visualisation of signals for the detection of any defect related anomalous patterns for a human expert to inspect hole quality. Its potential is demonstrated on a real-world drilling trial of different quality holes
Re-anchoring the value of innovative therapies in NICE decision making when comparators are cost-ineffective:A case study of late-onset Pompe disease
No full textNational Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) technology appraisal processes assume that the standard of care (SoC) is itself cost-effective. However, many treatments in use in the UK National Health Service (NHS), particularly in rare diseases, were historically commissioned without formal value assessment and are priced without reference to cost-effectiveness thresholds. Cost-ineffective comparators distort how value is ascribed to new technologies, undermining the coherence of NICE’s decision-making framework, and imposing substantial opportunity costs on the NHS. Using late-onset Pompe disease (LOPD) as an exemplar, we demonstrate the implications of a cost-ineffective comparator in assessments of innovative therapies. A clinically superior enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) may command a lower value-based price current ERTs, whilst a hypothetical curative gene therapy is valued at over £4 million against current ERT, but just £629,392 when re-anchored against best supportive care. Here, value is driven by displacement of costs rather than health gain, raising affordability concerns that may limit access to genuine innovation. The 2025 NHS 10-Year Plan grants new NICE statutory powers to withdraw access to cost-ineffective therapies, presenting an opportunity to reform technology appraisal. We propose several policy responses, including comprehensive reassessment of active guidance with decisions made with respect to a standard cost-effectiveness frontier, reviews triggered by new comparators, and use of flexible decision rules within existing frameworks. These changes could allow the evolving value of medicines to be reflected in NHS practice, redefining NICE as a body that takes a dynamic, whole-lifecycle view of value. Deliberative public and stakeholder engagement is essential for success, given the potential consequences for manufacturers and patients
Ask, and it shall be given you – individual patient data and code availability for randomised controlled trials submitted for publication
Get PDFTechno-economic analysis and optimisation of piperazine-based post-combustion carbon capture and CO2 compression process for large-scale biomass-fired power plants through simulation
Get PDFThis study aims to investigate a cost-effective and energy-efficient amine-based post-combustion carbon capture (PCC) process for large-scale supercritical biomass-fired power plants (SC BFPP). Thus, we have quantified the energy and economic performance of the PCC process with different configurations and solvents. Three process configurations which included the standard configuration, the absorber intercooler (AIC) with the advanced flash stripper (AFS) and the AIC, AFS and side stream extraction (SSE) were simulated in Aspen Plus® V11 using 30 wt% and 40 wt% piperazine (PZ) as solvent. In addition to this, CO2 compression trains using the heat pump (HP) and supercritical CO2 cycle (s-CO2) were also simulated. Sensitivity analysis of the PCC process was carried out to investigate the impact of important parameters on the energy performance of the process. Furthermore, energy analysis shows that a minimum energy consumption of 2.78 GJ/tCO2 was achieved with the PCC process using 40 wt% PZ, a combination of the AIC, AFS and SSE for capture and s-CO2 for compression. This achieved a significant energy saving of 1.01 GJ/tCO2 compared with the standard PCC process using 30 wt% monoethanolamine that is used as the benchmark in this study. The economic analysis results showed that the minimum CO2 capture cost of 55.70 /tCO2. The optimisation of the PZ-based PCC process was carried out to determine the optimal solvent concentration with the minimum carbon capture cost. It was found that the optimal PZ concentration for the PCC process based on standard and AFS configurations were 37.5 wt% and 32.5 wt%, respectively. The optimisation of the stripper pressure for the minimum carbon capture cost was conducted. As a result, compared with the standard PCC process using 40 wt% PZ, the energy consumption and CO2 capture cost of the optimised process at the suggested pressure of 7 bar were reduced by 41.6 % and 32.4 %, respectively
Chapter 20 Pathophysiological mechanisms of Toxoplasma gondii infection in the central nervous system (CNS)
No full textToxoplasma gondii is an intracellular parasite of the phylum Apicomplexa that infects a wide range of warm-blooded animals, including humans. Its global seroprevalence varies significantly, reaching up to 80% in some regions. While infection in immunocompetent individuals often results in mild or asymptomatic illness, T. gondii is a leading cause of food-borne illness–related deaths and a common opportunistic pathogen among immunocompromised individuals. The parasite's complex life cycle involves felines as definitive hosts and both sexual and asexual stages, with tissue cysts playing a crucial role in its persistence and transmission. In the central nervous system, T. gondii forms latent tissue cysts that manipulate host neurotransmission and behavior by disrupting the synthesis of neurotransmitters, including dopamine and norepinephrine (NE). The parasite downregulates dopamine beta-hydroxylase, leading to decreased NE levels and altered noradrenergic signaling, potentially contributing to neuropsychiatric disorders and cognitive impairments
Dose standardization for transcranial electrical stimulation: an accessible approach
No full textTranscranial electrical stimulation (tES) is a widely used non-invasive brain stimulation technique. However, due to high inter-individual variability in the induced electric fields (E-fields), a fixed stimulation current delivers an inconsistent dose. We developed a dose standardization method without the requirement of participant-specific structural imaging and E-field modeling. Robust multiple linear regression models were trained to predict peak E-field strengths across 10 electrode montages and 418 healthy adults. These regression models predicted peak E-field strengths in unseen participants from accessible demographic and morphological parameters. Estimated peak E-field strength values were subsequently used to standardize tES dosages across our population. Additionally, we developed montage-agnostic models which incorporated inter-electrode distances for each participant. Compared to fixed dosing, our approach significantly reduced peak E-field strength variation for conventional montages, though results were inconsistent for high-definition (HD) montages. Models trained on specific montages accounted for 43% of peak E-field strength variability in conventional montages and 21% in HD montages on average. Our montage-agnostic models accounted for 36% and 13% of the average peak E-field strength variability for conventional and HD montages, respectively. These results have been validated across a large dataset, demonstrating robust performance against unseen data, a significant advancement over current approaches
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