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The phonetic realization of obstruent clusters in Najdi Arabic: an exploratory study
Get PDFThis study provides an acoustic analysis of the realization of the surface word-initial obstruent clusters that resulted from the deletion of short vowels in Najdi Arabic. While past studies discussed the syllable structure of Najdi Arabic and affirmed the permissibility of initial consonant clusters, most of these studies lack acoustic analyses that attest the occurrence of initial consonant clusters and left much uncertainty about the allowed and disallowed segments in the clusters. The aim of the present research is to address this gap in the literature by conducting an acoustic analysis that examined the types and patterns of the allowed obstruent clusters in Najdi Arabic dialect. Two methods were implemented to collect the data: informal interview and a reading task. The stimuli represented the four types of obstruent clusters: fricative-fricative, fricative-plosive, plosive-fricative, and plosive-plosive. Fourteen Najdi Arabic native speakers (7 males, 7 females) were recruited. The findings of this study affirmed the presence of the four types of the obstruent clusters and provided a description of their patterns in Najdi Arabic. This finding enhances our understanding of the phonology of Najdi Arabic and contributes to the wide-ranging context of Arabic dialectology with regards to phonotactics and syllable structure
Significantly wetter or drier future conditions for one to two thirds of the world’s population
Get PDFFuture projections of precipitation are uncertain, hampering effective climate adaptation strategies globally. Our understanding of changes across multiple climate model simulations under a warmer climate is limited by this lack of coherence across models. Here, we address this challenge introducing an approach that detects agreement in drier and wetter conditions by evaluating continuous 120-year time-series with trends, across 146 Global Climate Model (GCM) runs and two elevated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions scenarios. We show the hotspots of future drier and wetter conditions, including regions already experiencing water scarcity or excess. These patterns are projected to impact a significant portion of the global population, with approximately 3 billion people (38% of the world’s current population) affected under an intermediate emissions scenario and 5 billion people (66% of the world population) under a high emissions scenario by the century’s end (or 35-61% using projections of future population). We undertake a country- and state-level analysis quantifying the population exposed to significant changes in precipitation regimes, offering a robust framework for assessing multiple climate projections
The military expenditure – economic growth nexus revisited: evidence from the United Kingdom
Get PDFThe relationship between government defence expenditure and economic growth is a debated topic. This study uses UK data for the period of 1960-2012 and applies two of the most prevailing theories used within the literature, the ‘Feder-Ram’ and the ‘augmented Solow’ models, to assess this question. We utilise traditional model specifications, alongside extensively altered versions of both models, enabling a comprehensive comparison between them. The alterations to the models include re-evaluating how core variables are expressed, inclusion of measures of conflict, the impact of recession, etc. The results show that the augmented Solow model outperforms the Feder-Ram model, and we provide some explanations for this result. In addition, our results suggest that military expenditure has a positive effect on economic growth within the UK, implying that the decision to reduce defence spending may have been detrimental to the UK economy
A real-world test of artificial intelligence infiltration of a university examinations system: a “Turing Test” case study
Get PDFThe recent rise in artificial intelligence systems, such as ChatGPT, poses a fundamental problem for the educational sector. In universities and schools, many forms of assessment, such as coursework, are completed without invigilation. Therefore, students could hand in work as their own which is in fact completed by AI. Since the COVID pandemic, the sector has additionally accelerated its reliance on unsupervised ‘take home exams’. If students cheat using AI and this is undetected, the integrity of the way in which students are assessed is threatened. We report a rigorous, blind study in which we injected 100% AI written submissions into the examinations system in five undergraduate modules, across all years of study, for a BSc degree in Psychology at a reputable UK university. We found that 94% of our AI submissions were undetected. The grades awarded to our AI submissions were on average half a grade boundary higher than that achieved by real students. Across modules there was an 83.4% chance that the AI submissions on a module would outperform a random selection of the same number of real student submissions
Rumen microbiome-driven insight into bile acid metabolism and host metabolic regulation
Get PDFGut microbes play a crucial role in transforming primary bile acids (BAs) into secondary forms, which influence systemic metabolic processes. The rumen, a distinctive and critical microbial habitat in ruminants, boasts a diverse array of microbial species with multifaceted metabolic capabilities. There remains a gap in our understanding of BA metabolism within this ecosystem. Herein, through the analysis of 9371 metagenome-assembled genomes and 329 cultured organisms from the rumen, we identified two enzymes integral to BA metabolism: 3-dehydro-bile acid delta4,6-reductase (baiN) and the bile acid:Na + symporter family (BASS). Both in vitro and in vivo experiments were employed by introducing exogenous BAs. We revealed a transformation of BAs in rumen and found an enzyme cluster, including L-ribulose-5-phosphate 3-epimerase and dihydroorotate dehydrogenase. This cluster, distinct from the previously known BA-inducible operon responsible for 7α-dehydroxylation, suggests a previously unrecognized pathway potentially converting primary BAs into secondary BAs. Moreover, our in vivo experiments indicated that microbial BA administration in the rumen can modulate amino acid and lipid metabolism, with systemic impacts underscored by core secondary BAs and their metabolites. Our study provides insights into the rumen microbiome’s role in BA metabolism, revealing a complex microbial pathway for BA biotransformation and its subsequent effect on host metabolic pathways, including those for glucose, amino acids, and lipids. This research not only advances our understanding of microbial BA metabolism but also underscores its wider implications for metabolic regulation, offering opportunities for improving animal and potentially human health
Chemistry-albedo feedbacks offset up to a third of forestation’s CO2 removal benefits
No full textForestation is widely proposed for carbon dioxide (CO2) removal, but its impact on climate through changes to atmospheric composition and surface albedo remains relatively unexplored. We assessed these responses using two Earth system models by comparing a scenario with extensive global forest expansion in suitable regions to other plausible futures. We found that forestation increased aerosol scattering and the greenhouse gases methane and ozone following increased biogenic organic emissions. Additionally, forestation decreased surface albedo, which yielded a positive radiative forcing (i.e., warming). This offset up to a third of the negative forcing from the additional CO2 removal under a 4°C warming scenario. However, when forestation was pursued alongside other strategies that achieve the 2°C Paris Agreement target, the offsetting positive forcing was smaller, highlighting the urgency for simultaneous emission reductions
Academic, senior management and student perceptions and experiences of module evaluations at a UK university
Get PDFStandardised module evaluations have risen to prominence over the last few decades as universities
place additional importance on student satisfaction metrics due to the evolving neo-liberal context of
UK higher education in which student voice outcomes form part of publicly available ranking
systems, such as university league tables. It has been proposed that module evaluations have the
purpose of assuring or enhancing quality, or both, but research has called into question the
effectiveness of these student evaluations of teaching with some suggesting they are part of a culture
of managerialism and a tool of performativity.
Despite the widespread adoption of module evaluations there is little research that considers in depth
the experiences and impact of module evaluations from the perspective and experiences of those that
manage, deliver and engage with the process. This research, positioned within the interpretative
paradigm, fills a notable gap in the current literature as it uses a case-study design and a mixture of
individual and focus group interviews with twelve students, fourteen academics and three members of
the senior management team to develop an in-depth and rich understanding of the views of students,
academics and senior management within one post-1992 UK university.
The findings suggest that the participants felt that the process was potentially important and could
enhance the taught experience of students. However, the conclusions also demonstrate that the current
rigid system is ineffective because it is situated within a corporate organisational culture with
measurement valued over enhancement and the timing and design not effective in gathering usable
data to inform timely improvements. The results also indicate that module evaluations are damaging
the trust and relationships between staff, students and management and that the feedback received
induces negative affective responses from academics for which there is little support.
The study recommends that institutions review their approach to module evaluations including the
purpose behind them and the organisational culture within which they sit and involve students, staff,
management and central services in this process. The suggestion being that for this university module
evaluations have the potential to be much more impactful in a culture where the ownership for design
and delivery sits closer to the academics and students within a more transparent, understood and
collaborative system of governance
Serum MicroRNA-191-5p levels in vascular complications of type 1 diabetes: the EURODIAB prospective complications study
No full textContext
MicroRNA-191-5p regulates key cellular processes involved in the pathogenesis of diabetic complications such as angiogenesis, extracellular matrix deposition, and inflammation. However, no data on circulating microRNA-191-5p in the chronic complications of diabetes are currently available.
Objective
To assess whether serum levels of miR-191-5p were associated with micro- and macrovascular disease in a large cohort of subjects with type 1 diabetes (DM1) from the EURODIAB Prospective Complication Study (PCS).
Design and Setting
Levels of microRNA-191-5p were measured by quantitative PCR (qPCR) in 420 DM1 subjects recruited as part of the cross-sectional analysis of the EURODIAB PCS. Cases (n = 277) were subjects with nephropathy and/or retinopathy and/or cardiovascular disease (CVD). Controls (n = 143) were patients without complications. Logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the potential independent association of microRNA-191-5p levels with chronic complications of diabetes.
Results
Levels of microRNA-191-5p were significantly reduced (P < 0.001) in cases compared to controls even after adjustment for age, sex, and diabetes duration. Logistic regression analysis revealed that microRNA-191-5p was negatively associated with a 58% reduced odd ratio (OR) of chronic diabetes complications, specifically CVD, micro-macroalbuminuria, and retinopathy [OR: 0.42 95% CI (0.23-0.77)], independently of age, sex, physical activity, educational levels, diabetes duration, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), total insulin dose, hypertension, smoking, total cholesterol, albumin excretion rate (AER), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), serum Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Analyses performed separately for each complication demonstrated a significant independent association with albuminuria [OR: 0.36 95% CI (0.18-0.75)], and CVD [OR: 0.34 95% CI (0.16-0.70)].
Conclusions
In DM1 subjects, miR-191-5p is inversely associated with vascular chronic complications of diabetes