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The impact of multiple infections and community knowledge on engagement with a historical deworming programme: hookworm and Ascaris in Jamaica, 1913–1936
Get PDFIntroduction
Community engagement with public health efforts often depends on existing knowledge of a health issue.
Methods
Here, qualitative analysis of archival material from the Jamaica Hookworm Commission (1919–1936) and quantitative analysis of prevalence data are used to assess knowledge of and ecological interactions between different helminths during a historical hookworm eradication campaign.
Results
Archival sources demonstrate that Jamaicans were familiar with Ascaris lumbricoides. Surveys revealed a high prevalence of hookworm (62% of individuals infected), Ascaris (30%) and Trichuris trichiura (32%) in communities targeted for hookworm control. Community prevalence of Trichuris was positively associated with the prevalence of Ascaris and hookworm. Many individuals were infected with more than one parasite. At an individual level, data from hospital patients and soldiers showed significant associations between all three parasites. The co-occurrence of hookworm and Ascaris, alongside folk treatment of Ascaris with the same plant used by the Hookworm Commission (Chenopodium ambrisoides) to treat hookworm, made biomedical claims about hookworm credible and biomedical treatment more acceptable. Expulsions of Ascaris following treatment also provided dramatic proof of the effectiveness of treatment, further facilitating engagement.
Discussion/Conclusion
Knowledge of Ascaris and other helminths directly shaped engagement with hookworm treatment, demonstrating how folk medical knowledge, grounded in the biology of the worms, aided a biomedical public health program
Erroneous Donne: the author, his scribe, their text and its first readers
No full textThis essay considers error in the print and manuscript copies of John Donne's sermons: mistaken citations, misquotations, and mis-transcriptions. Some of these errors may be authorial; others are the result of careless or ill-comprehending scribes. Editors have usually seen the correction of error as an important part of their work: identifying mistakes made by authors, copyists, or compositors. Errors are usually "corrected" in the text, so that they are visible only to readers who work their way through footnotes and textual commentary. In this essay we want to ask what we might learn from attending to error when working as editors and literary critics. Rather than simply treating it as something to be eradicated, error can be a valuable tool in understanding how texts were composed and how they then circulate. This essay argues that paying careful attention to error—following the trail of erroneous citations and transcriptions through different sermons and different copies—provides new and important evidence about Donne's methods of composition, the connections between his reading and his writing, the relationship between a sermon in performance and as a written text, and the scholarly networks within which Donne worked
Multiobjective Eco-Driving Speed Optimization with Real-time Traffic: Balancing Fuel, NOx, and Travel Time
Get PDFOptimising driving velocity profiles is crucial for reducing vehicle fuel consumption and NOx emissions without altering core vehicle components. While many studies have addressed eco-driving, most have focused solely on minimising fuel consumption or have treated NOx emissions separately, resulting in distinct, non-integrated speed profiles, and have often neglected the influence of real-time traffic. To overcome these limitations, this paper introduces a novel Multiobjective Speed Profile Optimisation (MO-SPO) framework for eco-driving that simultaneously minimises fuel consumption, NOx emissions, and travel time while accounting for surrounding traffic. Two solution approaches are developed and compared: a two-phase Model Predictive Control (MPC) method and a newly proposed Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) method that directly integrates multiple objectives and real-time traffic constraints into the speed control policy.
Simulation results on a UK highway segment, with vehicle dynamics and engine characteristics derived from GT-SUITE data, demonstrate the benefits of the proposed framework. For instance, at one representative Pareto point, results indicate that the DRL approach achieves up to 10% lower fuel consumption and 16% lower NOx emissions compared to MPC-based methods while reducing travel time by approximately 5%. In addition, the DRL method maintained safer headway distances, offering more robust eco-driving strategies in dynamic traffic environments.
This work is the first to apply multiobjective optimisation to generate integrated speed profiles that consider fuel, NOx, and travel time simultaneously under realistic traffic conditions
An optical ratiometric approach using enantiopure luminescent metal complexes indicates changes in the average quadruplex DNA content as primary cells undergo multiple divisions
Get PDFThe three stereoisomers of a previously reported dinuclear ruthenium(II) complex have been quantitatively separated using cation-exchange chromatography and the individual crystal structures of the racemic pair are reported. Cell-based studies on the three stereoisomers disclosed differences in the rate of uptake of the two chiral forms of the rac diastereoisomer with the ΛΛ-enantiomer being taken up noticeably more rapidly than the ΔΔ-form. Cell viability studies reveal that the three cations show identical cytotoxicity over 24 hours, but over more extended exposure periods, the meso-ΔΛ stereoisomer becomes slightly less active. More significantly, microscopy studies revealed that although both isomers display a near infra-red “light-switch” effect associated with binding to duplex DNA on binding to chromatin in live MCF7 and L5178-R cells, only the ΛΛ enantiomer displays a distinctive, blue-shifted component associated with binding to quadruplex DNA. An analysis of the ratio of “quadruplex emission” compared to “duplex emission” for the ΛΛ-enantiomer indicated that there was a decrease in the average quadruplex DNA content within live primary cells as they undergo multiple cell divisions
Unravelling the photoactivity of metal-loaded TiO2 for hydrogen production: Insights from a combined experimental and computational analysis
Get PDFDespite being the most employed material for photocatalytic hydrogen generation, TiO2 suffers limitations such as a high rate of electron-hole recombination and poor light absorption in the visible spectrum. Among the various strategies developed to overcome these drawbacks, combining TiO2 with a metal co-catalyst emerged as one of the most promising. In this study, we integrated experimental findings, advanced characterization techniques, and computational methods to shed light on how different noble metals influence the enhancement of the photocatalytic activity of TiO2. Among the tested noble metal co-catalysts, the hydrogen production rate under UV and visible light irradiation followed the trend Pt > Au ≈ Pd > Ag > bare TiO2, with Pt-decorated TiO2 exhibiting a hydrogen production rate of 28 mmol/h g. The noble metals were found to significantly suppress the electron-hole recombination rate compared to bare TiO2. Upon photodeposition, Pd and Pt formed the smallest nanoparticles with average sizes of 13.4 nm and 4.1 nm, respectively. Computational analyses were conducted to rationalize the difference in nanoparticle sizes by analyzing the binding and cohesive energies of the metal clusters on the TiO2 surface. Additionally, calculations demonstrated the strong interaction of Pt, Au, and Pd nanoclusters with adsorbed hydrogen, with Pt achieving the closest-to-zero Gibbs free energy of hydrogen adsorption and displaying the most polar interaction with hydrogen. These findings align closely with the observed hydrogen production rates, where UV/Vis-driven hydrogen production is governed by the coupling of hydrogen radicals on the co-catalyst surface, while visible-light-driven production is limited by charge carrier lifetimes
Evidence of Heating-Dominated Urban NOx Emissions
Get PDFRoad transport NOx emissions in many high-income countries have steadily reduced due to improved exhaust after-treatment technology. However, ambient concentrations of NO2, O3 and PM2.5 continue to exceed World Health Organization guidelines in many cities globally. The megacity of London has taken an international lead in mobility interventions through the use of low-emission zones. Using long-term air pollution flux measurements made from a communications tower, we show that the largest source of NOx emissions in central London has transitioned from road transport to space heating. Observations and supporting consumption/mobility data indicated that natural gas combustion in boilers was responsible for 72 ± 17% of NOx emissions in the measurement footprint (average years 2021-2023). Road transport has dominated air quality thinking on NO2 for many decades. However, in urban environments that are reliant on natural gas, building heating may now be an effective sector to prioritize for further NOx emissions intervention. With system-wide changes in the heat and power sector expected in the coming decades to achieve decarbonisation pledges, we project that very low urban emissions of NOx are achievable. The trajectory will, however, depend on choices made around urban buildings and their associated infrastructure and whether low-carbon fuel combustion or electrification pathways are chosen. We estimate a damage cost penalty of up to £600 M in the U.K. should hydrogen combustion replace natural gas for heating rather than technologies such as heat pumps
The impact of cultural background on lighting preferences for viewing paintings
No full textThis study investigates the LED lighting preference difference between Eastern and Western viewers for viewing museum paintings. The experiment was conducted in a room designed to simulate the exhibition of real paintings in museums. A total of forty participants (twenty Western and twenty Eastern observers) evaluated six oil paintings under twelve different lighting conditions. Each painting was assessed via 13-word pairs using the categorical judgment method. The experimental result depicted that illuminance level had a larger impact than Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) on visual perception, and two factors dominate visual perception for Western observers (comfort and warmth), while three factors do for Eastern observers (comfort, colorful and warmth). In addition, comfort zones of illuminance and CCT for paintings in museums for Western and Eastern observers had been established
Capacitance-voltage characterization of GaAsBi/GaAs multiple quantum wells grown by molecular beam epitaxy
Get PDFIs it safe to use ceramic on polyethylene bearings in revision hip arthroplasty for ceramic fracture?
Get PDFAims
Ceramic bearing fracture is a rare complication following implantation using modern ceramic bearing materials. The ideal revision bearing option in such cases is debated. We aimed to investigate the safety of a hard on soft bearing following ceramic fracture in total hip arthroplasty.
Methods
Data on all patients undergoing revision following ceramic fracture between January 2016 and January 2019 were collected retrospectively. Templating software was used to determine linear wear between the first post-revision radiograph and latest available follow-up. Univariate analysis was used to examine patient demographics and the wear rates of the polyethylene components. The intra- and inter-rater reliability of wear measurements was calculated. Additionally, in vitro testing was undertaken to assess the effects on bearing surfaces of residual ceramic particles.
Results
A total of 12 patients underwent revision for ceramic fracture in the study period. The mean age at revision was 62 years (54 to 72). There were six liner and six head fractures revised to delta ceramic heads and cross-linked polyethylene acetabular components. At mean follow-up of 3.8 years (0.5 to 6.1), median 4.4 years (IQR 2.0 to 5.1), linear wear rate was calculated at 0.08 mm/year (SD 0.06). Both intra- and inter-rater reliability was excellent with intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) scores of 0.99 at all timepoints. In vitro testing showed an increase in head roughness in metal on polyethylene bearings after ceramic particles were embedded, but no increase in ceramic on polyethylene (CoP) or ceramic on ceramic bearings.
Conclusion
Revision to CoP bearings following ceramic fracture does not cause early catastrophic wear at early follow-up, aligning with the in vitro study observations. It appears safe to use this hard on soft bearing combination, given that wear rates are comparable to what is expected in a primary hip arthroplasty setting. Longer follow-up is required to establish if this trend persists
Crafting an Employment Strategy: Case Study of PGR interns in launching a PGR friendly version of the Post-graduate Researcher Opportunities and Futures Strategy.
Get PDFIn an era of evolving career landscapes, universities have crucial roles in preparing postgraduate researchers (PGRs) for more than just academic paths (Times Higher Education, 2016; League of European Research Universities, 2018). This paper focuses on how the University of Leeds crafts a tailored strategy for PGRs, considering their unique needs. The University of Leeds Postgraduate Researcher Futures and Opportunities strategy 2022-2025 is an internal staff document and is rooted in a deep
understanding of the challenges and opportunities PGRs face in today’s global economy. The existing strategy was designed by a panel of University of Leeds staff members to guide other staff members and services with how best they can support PGRs with their professional development and employability. The strategy builds upon the Leeds Doctorate which is a framework consisting of five elements that contribute to the experience that PGRs have at the University of Leeds, inclusive of but also beyond the research that PGRs are conducting (University of Leeds, 2024). Our primary task was to produce a PGR facing version of the Futures and Opportunities strategy. The strategy considers the
PGRs’ varied goals, skills, and preferences, outlining the different services available to support PGRs’ professional development and employability, emphasising the need for flexible systems that support individual paths. We will navigate through the stages of developing the PGR facing strategy. We aspire for our paper to add to the ongoing discussion about the importance of working together to shape career development opportunities through our own experience
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