62880 research outputs found
Sort by
The interplay between coordination and non-covalent interactions in three zinc coordination polymers
No full textThe synthesis and characterization of three zinc(II) polymers, [(μ-OAc)3Zn2L1]n·0.5nH2O (1), [(μ-OAc)3Zn2L2]n (2), [(μ-OAc)3Zn2L3]n (3), using three tridentate ligands, HL1 {2-(((2-(diethylamino)ethyl)amino)methyl)phenol}, HL2 {4-chloro-2-(((3-(dimethylamino)propyl)amino)methyl)phenol} and HL3 {4-bromo-2-(((3-(dimethylamino)propyl)amino)methyl)phenol}, have been reported in this manuscript. The structures were confirmed by SC-XRD analysis. The DFT study analyzes the cooperative roles of bridging acetate co-ligands and NH⋯O hydrogen bonds. A structural survey of the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) reveals that polymeric complexes derived from reduced bicompartmental Schiff base ligands are rare, emphasizing the unique structural features and supramolecular assembly observed in the present work
Pharmacy students’ experience of an inaugural lecture on intercultural competence
Get PDFBackground: Pharmacy schools in the United Kingdom (UK) are required by the regulator to train pharmacy students to be culturally competent. To meet this requirement, the Reading School of Pharmacy (RSoP) incorporated an inaugural, stand-alone, introductory session on intercultural competency. This study aimed to gather students’ experiences of the lecture. Methods: A qualitative study documented the experiences of students in Years 2 and 3 of the Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) at the RSoP from September 15 to December 31, 2023. Semi-structured interviews were conducted online via Microsoft Teams®. A de-mographic form was prepared and sent as an online survey link on the Online Surveys® platform. All eligible students were invited to participate in the study via student mailing lists. An interview guide was prepared. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify key themes related to students’ awareness, the perceived importance of the subject in healthcare, and students’ preferred learning methods. The transcripts were coded, and similar codes were grouped to form sub-themes and themes. The study was approved by a research ethics committee. Results: A total of 11 students attended the interviews. Three major themes emerged: (1) awareness of and reflection on cultural competence, (2) under-standing cultural competence and its importance, and (3) student-preferred pedagogy. The students suggested incorporating workshops and simulation-based assessments. Conclu-sion: MPharm pharmacy students at the RSoP appear to be receptive to new educational interventions aimed at enhancing cultural competence. They prefer practice-based learn-ing and assessment methods when it comes to developing this skill
Improving the diet quality of populations facing nutritional transitions through technology design and personalised nutrition advice
No full textPoor diet contributes to many non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Providing
personalised nutrition advice (PNA) via apps could improve diet quality and reduce
NCD risk. eNutri uses a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to calculate a diet quality
score (DQS) and generate automated PNA. This PhD thesis aimed to update and
revalidate the eNutri FFQ (eNutri-FFQv3) with older adults (≥65 years) and test the
eNutri PNA effectiveness to improve diet quality in two populations facing nutritional
transitions, relative to those who did not receive eNutri PNA (control).
In a user observation study with older adults (Chapter 2), feedback on the
understanding and usability of the eNutri app and FFQ was gathered and used to
implement design changes to support engagement. The eNutri-FFQv3 accurately
assessed dietary intake relative to a web-based 24-hour recall tool (Chapter 3),
confirming eNutri as a valid, reliable tool for assessing UK dietary intake.
Focus groups with students at UK universities (Chapter 4) reported several dietary
changes when starting university (e.g., reduced diet variety, increased snacking
behaviour) which occurred for many reasons, including limited budget and cooking
skills. Students were in favour of support to encourage healthier eating. In a 4-week
intervention study with students at UK universities (Chapter 5), change in DQS did not
differ between the intervention and control group. Conversely, in a 12-week
intervention study with patients offered cardiac rehabilitation (Chapter 6), change in
DQS was significantly higher (52%) in the intervention versus control group. A recent
health event contributing to increased motivation to change diet and engagement with
the PNA could explain the differing results in these studies.
Overall, eNutri can be used for UK dietary assessment and could help improve
diet quality and reduce NCD risk in populations facing nutritional transitions. Future
work includes reducing the eNutri FFQ length to improve user retention and adapting
the PNA for those with diabetes
Understanding the hydrocarbon – PFSA ionomer conductivity gap in hydrogen fuel cells
No full textHydrocarbon ionomers (HCs) have the potential to replace perfluorinated sulfonic acids (PFSAs), which
are currently used in electrolyser or fuel cell membranes. To be a truly viable alternative, HCs must have
conductivity across the operating range and cell lifetime comparable to PFSAs. Conductivity is an
important property of membranes because it affects the energy efficiency of a fuel cell or electrolyser.
By examining conductivity as a function of water volume fraction, it becomes evident that HC ionomers
have consistently lower conductivity at low relative humidity. To better understand this ‘conductivity gap’,
conductivity was converted to proton diffusivity and analysed using General Effective Media (GEM) theory
for the first time. This analysis revealed that all ionomers require similar hydration levels for proton
dissociation, and proton diffusion coefficients in the dry polymer are responsible for the conductivity gap.
It is suggested that the membrane tortuosity ultimately accounts for the dry membrane’s proton diffusivity
and low RH conductivity. As the membrane hydrates however, all ionomers exhibit similar diffusion
coefficients, indicating that conductivity at high humidity is limited by proton concentration
‘I deserve to be here’: minority ethnic students and their conditional belonging in UK higher education
Get PDFIn efforts to support students’ belonging in higher education, universities continue to cultivate and promote diversity and inclusion in their academic communities. Despite this endeavour, students from underrepresented backgrounds can still often encounter barriers to belonging at university. Existing research has identified multiple domains of student belonging in higher education, although there has been limited qualitative analysis of how belonging is experienced by minority ethnic students, especially at elite institutions. This paper draws on 72 in-depth interviews with minority ethnic STEM university students in the UK. Drawing on the sociological concept of conditional belonging, which is mostly used in migration studies, our findings indicate that students’ construction and negotiation of belonging can be ‘conditional’ and ‘conditioned’ based on their prior educational experiences, perceptions of being a minority within their institutional contexts and social and academic interaction with others. We argue that conditional belonging can shape how students participate, engage and develop belonging in higher education. We conclude with practical implications for learning and teaching that can foster a diverse and inclusive academic community for all
Language learning made short and sweet? Exploring student perceptions of microcelebrity teacher reels on Instagram
Get PDFMany microcelebrity language teachers today share linguistic content on social media platforms to attract learners. However, little is known about how learners perceive the multimodal affordances of social media
platforms utilized by microcelebrity teachers for language teaching in EFL contexts. Motivated by this gap, this study explores learner perceptions of vocabulary learning from microcelebrity language teachers in the underexplored Uzbek EFL context. Over a period of two weeks, 10 EFL students enrolled at a state university in Uzbekistan were asked to follow two Uzbek microcelebrity teacher accounts on Instagram featuring vocabulary content. In addition to the multimodal analysis of a sample of Instagram reels and stories from these accounts, learners’ experiences and perceptions about learning were elicited via learner diaries and semi-structured interviews. While the students enjoyed the engaging linguistic input incorporating role-play and references to pop culture artefacts, they also experienced challenges in relation to the fast-paced speech, brevity of the videos, and irrelevant platform-based content. The findings raise critical implications of language learning and teaching within monetized, platformized, and algorithmic social media spaces
Impact of environmental drivers on ecosystem service-delivery of small garden trees in a temperate climate
Get PDFGreen infrastructure has an increasingly important role in mitigating urban environmental concerns such as heat island effect, localised flooding, pollution and biodiversity loss. Trees are a crucial element of that, and in the UK, around 25% of the urban tree canopy consists of trees within domestic gardens, which provide valuable ecosystem services. With the average UK garden size being only 188 m2 and urban areas being under pressure from climate change, information on small garden trees, suitable for these spaces is increasingly important. To address this gap, we studied nine taxa of small-stature garden trees (representing a range of functional and structural tree characteristics) in a replicated outdoor experiment over two summers (2021 and 2022). In this paper, we focused on the sap flux patterns of selected taxa in response to measured environmental drivers (solar radiation, air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and soil temperature), as well as trees’ above-ground size and biomass growth. Results showed that the strongest driver of sap flux across all taxa was a reduction in relative humidity, followed by an increase in radiation and a rise in air temperature. The results depended on time of day and the specific taxon. Overall, Malus ‘Scarlett’ had the highest sap flux density in the morning, while Crataegus ‘Prunifolia Splendens’ averaged the highest sap flux density during afternoon and evening. Both taxa would be suitable garden trees to provide soil moisture reduction and cooling in smaller gardens during the growing season. Taxa with compact canopies in combination with high water demand such as Cupressus, Ilex and Pyrus in this study, provided the most transpirational cooling relative to size. This demonstrates how ‘the bigger the better’ is not necessarily the case for transpirational cooling. Rather, the ratio between sapwood- and crown volume in combination with water demand, might be a better indicator of transpirational cooling efficiency
Host specific phenotypes of Campylobacter jejuni in the farmyard
No full textCampylobacter jejuni stands as the predominant etiological agent responsible for bacterial
gastroenteritis worldwide. Notably, isolates of this pathogen exhibit considerable genetic
variability, thereby giving rise to discernible differences in both physiological and virulence
properties. Historically, the predominant emphasis of scientific and clinical research has been
directed towards C. jejuni strains procured from human clinical specimens, the agricultural
milieu and the food production industry. However, it is important to acknowledge that such
isolates may not unequivocally serve as true representatives of the natural populations of C.
jejuni. Recent observations revealing significant diversity within Campylobacter populations
colonizing wild animals have sparked increased interest among microbiologists focused on
understanding mechanisms of C. jejuni host adaptation, colonization and pathogenesis. An
earlier comparative genomics analysis of newly isolated C. jejuni strains from farm associated
Norway rats revealed that ~20% of isolates belonged to a clearly distinct and previously
unrecorded clonal complex, termed RG-1. This suggested that Norway rats harbor an
unexplored C. jejuni diversity. This study established continued association of RG-1 strains
with farm rats, with no evidence of recovery of related strains from other sources. By also
addressing the genetic diversity and physiological properties of these strains this study has
aimed to identify factors that may contribute to the apparently specialized niche association of
the RG-1 clade of C. jejuni.
The continued prevalence of C. jejuni RG-1 strains and the diversity of rat-associated C. jejuni
were investigated by isolation from faecal samples of Norway rats inhabiting two local farms.
Of the forty-four isolates identified as C. jejuni, thirty-three were found to be glc positive C.
jejuni while four strains (Dg434a, Dg456, Dg471 and Dg475) were identified as RG-1 isolates.
Strains were identified as RG-1 using a targeted PCR screen, developed using a comparative
genomics approach that shortlisted a set of 13 potential marker genes for RG-1. Further, in-silico analyses and PCR trials further narrowed this down to 3 target genes which along with
hipO could be used in an extensive rapid screen to directly assess prevalence of RG-1 strains
in a wider range of geographic and animal sources. Hybrid genome sequencing followed by
phylogenetic analyses confirmed assignment of the newly isolated RG-1 strains. All four
clustered in a distinct clade with thirty previously isolated RG-1 strains, when compared to the
diverse range of all previously sequenced rat-associated Campylobacter isolates. Notably,
phylogenetic analysis within the RG-1 group highlighted divergence between farms and
clustering of isolates from the same farm, regardless of the farmed animal. MLST analyses
identified that three of the four RG-1 strains (Dg456, Dg471, and Dg475) are closely related to
Dg147, sharing the same allelic profile for the aspA, glnA, gltA, glyA, tkt, and uncA loci but
differing in the pgm locus. However, the fourth strain, Dg434a, exhibited differences in alleles
for aspA, pgm, and tkt7, indicating its phylogenetic distance from most other RG-1 strains.
The phylogenetic distinctions between RG-1 strains and other C. jejuni clinical and chicken
isolates suggested a potentially unique ecological niche for these strains and hinted at variations
in crucial metabolic and physiological traits. Functional annotations of genome sequences of
RG-1 strains highlighted possession of key genes related to specific carbon source metabolism,
amino acid catabolism, motility, oxidative stress response, and heat shock resistance.
Comparative genomics revealed 28 unique genes in RG-1 strains absent in other C. jejuni
strains and potentially relevant to niche survival and host colonization. Growth of RG-1 strains
exhibited the classic microaerophilic profile of C. jejuni but generally exhibited poorer growth
and lower motility than NCTC 11168 and some other rat isolates. A notable distinguishing
feature of RG-1 isolates was the exceptionally poor survival at 42oC. This narrow range of
growth temperature for RG-1 could be one of the reasons for successful colonisation of rats
and apparently not chickens. Adaptability to different growth temperatures may be an important
property in defining the habitat or host niche of more diverse C. jejuni strains. Similarly, the
mucosal contents might play an important role in providing protection to RG-1 strains and
suitable environment for growth and colonisation of the host gut as caecal mucus preparations
from rats and chicken both provided protection to RG-1 strains.
This project confirms continued association of the highly diverged clade of C. jejuni RG-1
strains with farm associated rats and identifies several factors that may contribute to niche
survival and specific host colonization. This provides a solid foundation for further analysis of
geographic and host prevalence of these strains together with elucidation of mechanisms
involved in niche preference. Ultimately, this clade of strains may prove to be a useful example
of C. jejuni with high host specificity with possibilities for development of protection against
infection in the agriculture industry
Co-optimization of partial offloading and resource allocation for multi-user tasks in vehicular edge networks
No full textMobile Edge Computing (MEC) effectively alleviates the pressure on limited in-vehicle computing resources and energy supply caused by computation-intensive vehicular applications. However, the uneven spatial distribution of users leads to load imbalance among adjacent MEC servers, significantly increase the latency and energy consumption costs for vehicles. Therefore, achieving optimal configuration of available computing resources in MEC servers to accomplish the goal of low-latency and low-energy task offloading has become a critical issue to address. To tackle this problem, this study proposes a Multi-RSU Load Balancing (MRLB) strategy based on multi-hop network technology. This strategy dynamically allocates computing tasks to neighboring RSU server clusters with available computing resources through task segmentation and computation offloading mechanisms. Meanwhile, adaptive resource allocation strategies are implemented based on task quantity and task scale characteristics. Specifically, this study designs a multi-RSU collaborative offloading algorithm based on Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (DDPG) to solve the optimal offloading decision. Additionally, by integrating the Lagrange multiplier method and Sequential Quadratic Programming (SQP) algorithm, the joint optimization of imbalanced task segmentation decisions and optimal CPU frequency allocation decisions for RSU servers is achieved. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can achieve efficient multi-RSU resource allocation and ensure coordinated optimization of both system latency and energy consumption costs across diverse device conditions and varying network scenarios, particularly in load-imbalanced situations
Evidence for control of cerebral neurovascular function by circulating platelets in healthy older adults
Get PDFPlatelets play a vital role in preventing haemorrhage through haemostasis, but complications arise when platelets become overly reactive, leading to pathophysiology such as atherothrombosis. Elevated haemostatic markers are linked to dementia and predict its onset in long‐term studies. Despite epidemiological evidence, the mechanism linking haemostasis with early brain pathophysiology remains unclear. Here, we aimed to determine whether a mechanistic association exists between platelet function and cerebral neurovascular function in 52 healthy mid‐ to older‐age adults. To do this, we combined, for the first time, magnetic resonance imaging of cerebral neurovascular function, peripheral vascular physiology and in vitro platelet assaying. We show an association between platelet reactivity and cerebral neurovascular function that is both independent of vascular reactivity and mechanistically specific: Distinct platelet signalling mechanisms (ADP, collagen‐related peptide, thrombin receptor activator peptide 6) were associated with different physiological components of the haemodynamic response to neuronal (visual) stimulation (full‐width half‐maximum, time to peak, area under the curve), an association that was not mediated by peripheral vascular effects. This finding challenges the previous belief that systemic vascular health determines the vascular component of cerebral neurovascular function, highlighting a specific link between circulating platelets and the neurovascular unit. Because altered cerebral neurovascular function marks the initial stages of neurodegenerative pathophysiology, understanding this novel association is now imperative, with the potential to lead to a significant advancement in our comprehension of early dementia pathophysiology. image
Key points
Haemostasis (platelet function) has been linked to the early stages of dementia, but the precise mechanisms are not well understood.
This study considers whether a causal mechanism exists through atherothrombotic effects on the vasculature which can in turn affect brain health, or through platelet‐specific interactions with brain physiology.
Here, we show that elevated platelet reactivity is associated with blunted (delayed, shorter and smaller) cerebral blood flow responses to neuronal activation in healthy middle‐aged and older adults.
However, the association between platelet reactivity and cerebral neurovascular function was not mediated by systemic vascular reactivity.
This finding challenges the previous belief that systemic vascular health determines the vascular component of cerebral neurovascular function, highlighting a specific link between circulating platelets and the neurovascular unit in early dementia pathophysiology