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Trophic interactions and climate-driven range dynamics of native and invasive catfish in freshwater ecosystems
Get PDFInvasive species and climate change are among the most significant drivers of biodiversity loss in freshwater ecosystems, yet their combined effect on predator-prey dynamics remains insufficiently characterised. Here, we assess the trophic interactions and climate-driven range dynamics of two large-bodied catfish—the non-native African catfish, Clarias gariepinus and the native Wels catfish, Silurus glanis—in a thermally stable freshwater system in Türkiye. Using comparative functional response experiments and stable isotope analysis, we quantified predation patterns on a native prey species, Alburnus escherichii and a widespread non-native prey, Carassius gibelio. Both predators exhibited feeding efficiency on the native prey, with C. gariepinus demonstrating consistently greater consumption rates and potential ecological impact, particularly under warmer conditions. Ecological niche models projected range expansion for both catfish species under future climate scenarios, with increasing habitat overlap that may elevate the likelihood of interspecific interactions and exacerbate predation pressure on native fish communities. Our findings demonstrate how warming conditions can reinforce the ecological impacts of an invasive predator while altering its spatial interactions with native species, underscoring the urgent need to integrate experimental, field-based, and modelling approaches to anticipate climate-amplified invasion risks in freshwater ecosystems
From Principles to Populism: Sentencing in England and Wales
Get PDFThe creation of sentencing councils and the introduction of guidelines have made sentencing in the United Kingdom more transparent, predictable, and democratic. The systems in England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland share common elements, but important differences exist. Those in England and Wales are the most comprehensive. They are largely descriptive, reproducing rather than changing judicial practice, and have failed to prevent three problems: increases in sentence severity, prison overcrowding, and political interference. Prison sentence lengths have increased significantly and use of community orders has declined. Politics in England and Wales and Scotland continue to shape policy and sentencing practice. The government in England and Wales in 2025 commissioned a review of sentencing and introduced legislation to implement proposed changes, including creation of a statutory presumption against imposition of short prison sentences. Under the 2026 legislation, courts will, with some limited exceptions, have to find that “exceptional circumstances” exist before imposing a prison sentence of 12 months or less
Beyond the Evidence Paradox:Engaging with Service Users and Citizens in the Implementation of Social Work Practice Research
Get PDFPurpose There is a paradox in social work research. Evidence is generated in the belief that it will inform social work practice, though research findings are rarely implemented in full. This paper explores how engaging with service users and citizens in the research and implementation processes may assist with research implementation.Method A case study method is used in which four examples of the implementation of practice research conducted in Australia, Finland and Norway in the fields of social inclusion in the disability sector; bereavement care; child welfare; and youth transitions are presented. These case studies are thematically analyzed using a collaborative narrative analytical method.Results Three common themes emerged: the unpredictable and dynamic outcomes of the implementation processes; a long-term commitment to co-creation; and the vitality of lived experience which enhances research implementation.Conclusion A research agenda arising from the limitations of this study and gaps in our knowledge is presented
Cyclic Kruskal universe: a quantum-corrected Schwarzschild black hole in unitary unimodular gravity
Get PDFWe analyze the physical properties of an analytical, nonsingular quantum-corrected black hole solution recently derived in a minisuperspace model for unimodular gravity under the assumption of unitarity in unimodular time. We show that the metric corrections compared to the classical Schwarzschild solutions only depend on a single new parameter, corresponding to a minimal radius where a black hole-white hole transition occurs. While these corrections substantially alter the structure of the spacetime near this minimal radius, they fall off rapidly toward infinity, and we show in various examples how physical properties of the exterior spacetime are very close to those of the Schwarzschild solution. We derive the maximal analytic extension of the initial solution, which corresponds to an infinite sequence of Kruskal spacetimes connected via black-to-white hole transitions, and compare with some other proposals for nonsingular black hole metrics. The metric violates the achronal averaged null energy condition, which indicates that we are capturing physics beyond the semiclassical approximation. Finally, we include some thoughts on how to go beyond the simple eternal black hole-white hole model presented here
JAK2V617F reprograms Hypoxia Inducible Factor-1 to induce a non-canonical hypoxia regulon in myeloproliferative neoplasms
Get PDFHypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) are master transcriptional regulators, central to cellular survival in hypoxia and frequently activated within malignancy. Whilst malignant context directs the role of HIFs within oncogenesis, these mechanisms are not well characterised. Applying the JAK2V617F myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) oncogene-driver model, in which HIF-1α is stabilised in normoxia (20% O2), we sought to determine whether the modality of HIF-1 activation directs its function. Through direct analysis of hypoxia-activated vs. JAK2V617F-activated HIF-1 at the chromatin, we define a JAK2V617F-HIF-1 regulon that diverges from canonical HIF/hypoxia targets. In a cohort of 172 JAK2V617F-MPN patients, we observe significant association of the JAK2V617F-HIF-1 regulon, but not canonical HIF-1 gene signatures, with disease severity, progression, and patient survival. We further define a subset gene signature (HIF1-MPN-BP) significantly associated with spontaneous transformation to blast phase MPNs. Finally, we identify that JAK2V617F-induced HIF-1α stabilisation is mediated via PIM1 kinase. Our findings demonstrate that HIF-1 activation by the JAK2V617F-PIM1 axis significantly alters HIF-1 transcription function, desensitising HIF-1 activity to cellular oxygen levels, and restricting the HIF-1 regulon to a set of disease-associated target genes within JAK2V617F-MPNs. These findings restore the potential for specific therapeutic targeting of HIF-1 by delineating malignant activation from the physiological hypoxic response. (Figure presented.
Subjective symptoms of functional/dissociative seizures and their diagnostic value: a systematic review
No full textObjective
Although subjective symptoms have received less attention than observable manifestations of functional/dissociative seizures (FDS), patient-reported experiences provide important insights for diagnosis and management. This systematic review summarizes and synthesizes studies describing the subjective symptomatology of FDS and narratively discusses their potential diagnostic value.
Methods
MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL were searched from January 1990 to May 2025 for studies reporting qualitative or quantitative data on FDS symptoms. The review was registered in International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO; CRD420251008332) and reported in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines. Study quality was assessed using Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tools. Data were extracted on study design, sample characteristics, data acquisition method, and reported symptoms. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically following Enhancing Transparency in Reporting the Synthesis of Qualitative Research (ENTREQ) principles, whereas quantitative findings were synthesized narratively within the same thematic framework.
Results
Forty-seven studies were included. Subjective symptoms of FDS were highly variable both within and between individuals. Across studies, six broad symptom domains were identified: sensory/pain, arousal, emotional, consciousness-related, cognitive, and motor symptoms. Sensory symptoms (particularly pain and headache), arousal-related symptoms (especially hyperarousal), and emotional symptoms (especially panic and anxiety) were most frequently reported across studies. Symptoms related to altered awareness and dissociation between awareness and responsiveness were described in a smaller number of studies but were more consistently reported as differentiating FDS from epileptic seizures. In contrast, the differential diagnostic value of other subjective symptoms was limited by lack of specificity and insufficient detail regarding context, mode of onset, spread, duration and quality.
Significance
Subjective symptoms in FDS are diverse, but common themes emerge. Detailed descriptions are required to extract differential diagnostic value from subjective FDS symptoms. Future studies should collect structured information about FDS symptoms and study them using systematic, multimodal, and cross-cultural approaches
Patient-reported EORTC QLQ C-30 global health status decline predicts survival after video-assisted thoracoscopic (VATS) lung resection and stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR): A 5 year follow-up from the Lilac study
No full textBackground
Early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is increasingly treated with either video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) or stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR). While survival outcomes of these modalities have been widely studied, the prognostic significance of patient-reported outcomes (PROs), particularly short-term changes in global health status, remains underexplored in radically treated early-stage disease.
Methods
The Life after Lung Cancer (LiLac) study is a prospective observational cohort evaluating quality of life (QoL) trajectories in patients with clinical stage I-II NSCLC treated with VATS or SABR. QoL was assessed using the EORTC QLQ-C30 and LC13 at baseline and at 6 weeks, 3, 6, and 12 months. This analysis includes a 5-year survival follow-up of stage IA patients with available baseline and 6-week global health (GH) scores. Overall survival (OS), event-free survival (EFS), and lung cancer–specific survival (LCSS) were examined. A Fine–Gray competing risks model was used to identify predictors of lung cancer–specific mortality.
Results
A total of 142 patients were included (80 VATS; 62 SABR), with a median follow-up of 59 months. OS and EFS at 5 years were higher in surgical patients, while LCSS showed a favourable trend for VATS. A GH score decline > 10 points at 6 weeks were the only factor independently associated with lung cancer–specific death (SHR 5.77, p = 0.019), irrespective of treatment modality. No other QoL scales showed prognostic significance.
Conclusions
Early decline in patient-reported global health status after curative treatment for stage I NSCLC is a strong independent predictor of lung cancer–specific mortality. These findings support the integration of routine PRO assessment to inform risk stratification, recovery monitoring, and shared decision-making. Multicentre validation is warranted
Ethics-policy advisory ecosystems: enhancing operative, discursive and adaptive capacities
Get PDFThe organisational practices, status and role of policy-focussed ethics advisory committees are significant in relation to scientific advances, societal transformations and crisis situations. Existing research has explored the effectiveness, de/politicisation and deliberative aspects of national ethics bodies, but their role in wider ecosystems of policy advice is neglected. It is sometimes argued that ethics committees have little impact on practices on the ground, but this is empirically untested. Our key concern is to examine the governance cultures and practices of ethics advice and ethics expertise in specific relation to policymaking. Qualitative interviews with 60 ethics advisors and civil servants in Australia, Germany and the UK are analysed to identify critical factors which shape the operative, discursive and adaptive capacity of ethics-policy advisory ecosystems. Based on our findings, we present a novel framework to inform future comparative analysis of national ethics-policy advisory ecosystems. We argue that a focus on governance capacities would help to enhance how governments use ethics committees and ethics expertise within the wider science/technology/policy nexus. We show how social science and humanities scholarship is responding to new demands to navigate the normative and descriptive with regards to its engagement with ethics advice
Controlled polymerization catalysis for the synthesis of degradable amphiphilic polycarbonates from CO2
Get PDFSynthetic water-soluble polymers are ubiquitous in solution-based applications, but their petroleum origin and nondegradable bonds create environmental concerns. Here, CO2- and glycerol-derived polycarbonates incorporating hydrophilic diglycerol motifs are prepared as a general-purpose water-soluble degradable polymer platform. A high-performance heterodinuclear [Co(III)/K(I)] catalyst enables controlled ring-opening copolymerization (ROCOP) of CO2 with an acetal-protected epoxide, delivering well-defined polycarbonates with low dispersity (D̵ < 1.2) and predictable molecular weights (≈2000-20,000 g mol-1). The catalysis is tolerant to protic initiators (chain transfer agents, CTAs), enabling control over both chain length and end-group chemistry. Deprotection of the acetals is quantitative and affords water-soluble polycarbonates incorporating hydrophilic diglycerol motifs. Using natural hydrophobic initiators yields amphiphilic polymers that self-assemble in water to form nanostructures of ≈7-11 nm with a critical micelle concentration of ≈30 mg L-1. These polymers are stable at either neutral or acidic pH but depolymerize in alkaline solution to form nontoxic small molecules. Degradation proceeds by hydroxyl chain-end-initiated backbiting, i.e. by self-immolation, with pH- and end-cap-dependent kinetics, with complete degradation occurring over minutes to one month. Overall, this renewable polycarbonate chemistry, which is ∼23 wt % CO2-derived; ∼77 wt % glycerol-derived, combines precise polymerization catalysis, spontaneous aqueous self-assembly and controllable aqueous degradability which are important for next-generation surfactants
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