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Largest initial segments pointwise fixed by automorphisms of models of set theory
Get PDF© The Author(s) 2017. This article is an open access publication.Given a model M of set theory, and a nontrivial automorphism j of M, let Ifix(j) be the submodel of M whose universe consists of elements m of M such that j(x)=x for every x in the transitive closure of m (where the transitive closure of m is computed within M). Here we study the class C of structures of the form Ifix(j), where the ambient model M satisfies a frugal yet robust fragment of ZFC known as MOST, and j(m)=m whenever m is a finite ordinal in the sense of M. Our main achievement is the calculation of the theory of C as precisely MOST+Δ0P Collection. The following theorems encapsulate our principal results: Theorem A. Every structure inC satisfies MOST+Δ0P Collection. Theorem B. Each of the following three conditions is sufficient for a countable structure (a) N is a transitive model of MOST+Δ0P Collection. (b) N is a recursively saturated model of MOST+Δ0P Collection. (c) N is a model of ZFC. Theorem C. Suppose M is a countable recursively saturated model of ZFC and I is a proper initial segment of OrdM that is closed under exponentiation and contains ωM. There is a group embedding j⟼j from Aut(Q) into Aut(M) such that I is the longest initial segment of OrdM that is pointwise fixed by jˇ for every nontrivial j∈Aut(Q). In Theorem C, Aut(X) is the group of automorphisms of the structure X, and Q is the ordered set of rationals.Unfunde
Evaluation of serum and tissue biochemical assays of Rattus norvegicus after sub-acute oral administration of ethyl acetate sub-fraction of Spilanthes filicaulis
Get PDF© The Author(s) 2025.Background: Plants medicinal potential is well established, yet unregulated use can lead to health risks without proper toxicological assessments. This study aimed to evaluate the sub-acute toxicity of the ethyl acetate sub-fraction of Spilanthes filicaulis (ESSF) in Rattus norvegicus. Methods: Seventy-two male Wistar rats (148 ± 8.0 g) were randomly divided into groups. Group I (control) received 0.5 ml of distilled water, and Groups II–VI were administered ESSF orally at 62.5, 125, 250, 500, and 750 mg/kg body weight, respectively. Serum along with tissue (liver, kidney, and brain) biochemical assays were analysed after 14 and 28 days. Results: The results showed no significant differences (p > 0.05) in total protein, albumin, serum electrolytes, creatinine, urea, or total and conjugated bilirubin between treatment and control groups. However, minor elevations were noted in some biomarkers at specific doses after 14 and 28 days of treatment, though these remained within normal physiological ranges. A significant increase in serum glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) was observed after 14 days in treated groups compared to controls (p < 0.05), but this were normalised by day 28, suggesting a reversible effect. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), GDH, and creatinine kinase (CK) activities in tissues showed no significant differences between treated and control groups after 28 days of treatment, indicating no long-term tissue damage. Conclusions: These findings suggest that sub-acute oral administration of ESSF does not induce significant biochemical abnormalities. This implies that ESSF is relatively safe at the tested doses and supports its potential for therapeutic development. However, further long-term studies are necessary to establish its safety profile fully.Unfunde
How do English teachers negotiate their identity in the context of the “knowledge rich” curriculum?
No full textThis thesis explores the human impact of policies that positioned English at the heart of the National Curriculum and of the accountability and inspection frameworks shaping secondary teachers’ work. At the core of this work is the impact that implementing policy has had on a group of English teachers, on their experiences, subjectivities and the way they know themselves, negotiate and construct their identities in relation to the “knowledge rich” curriculum. The study combined a social constructivist (Cresswell & Poth, 2018) and social realist ontology (Lawson, 2012), seeking a range of views whilst taking a position that there are aspects of our reality which are shared and objective, namely policy. A range of policy was scrutinised to interrogate the conditions which precipitated the so-called “knowledge rich” curriculum and the accountability structures which maintained it in schools, how this relates to traditions and accepted practices within the teaching of English and the potential for how this might impact upon how English teachers negotiate their identity. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight participants: two trainee teachers; two undertaking their ECT training, in their first year of teaching; two experienced teachers with more than fifteen years service and two retired teachers. Participants worked, or are working in, a range of secondary school settings in England. Thematic analysis (Braun, Clarke, & Hayfield, 2022) was used to determine key aspects of their experiences: how they construct their identities within their own personal narratives; their beliefs and perceptions of English as a subject and their views on knowledge and the curriculum. Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) (Fairclough, 2010) was used to analyse the words of participants, considering how their language reflected the ideologies and discourses which constituted their experiences and understandings. A significant and original contribution to knowledge is constituted by the critical examination of how policy and accountability frameworks function as regimes which construct, constrain and fragment the professional identities of English teachers. The combination of thematic analysis and CDA, and the foregrounding of the voices of English teachers across career and generational stages reveals a complex contradiction: teachers often resist the imposed curriculum in discourse, yet simultaneously reproduce its traditional, canonical, structures in practice. The tension that exists between resistance and reproduction has not previously been articulated in research on English teacher identity. This, in turn, challenges the assumption that English as a discipline is inherently radical or progressive, showing instead how both policy and disciplinary culture act as regulatory forces. Finally, the study offers a methodological contribution by demonstrating how insider research, grounded in close discourse analysis can reveal deeper, unspoken dimensions of policy impact at the level of subject specific identity offering a new lens through which to examine performativity, power, surveillance, identity and professional subjectivity in English education
Pandora's Box (2025)
Get PDFFounded 2003, Pandora’s Box is an annual literary periodical publishing a selection of the year’s best creative writing by students and staff at the University of Chester.Unfunde
Engineering AraC to make it responsive to light instead of arabinose
Get PDFThis version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-021-00787-6.The l-arabinose-responsive AraC and its cognate PBAD promoter underlie one of the most often used chemically inducible prokaryotic gene expression systems in microbiology and synthetic biology. Here, we change the sensing capability of AraC from l-arabinose to blue light, making its dimerization and the resulting PBAD activation light-inducible. We engineer an entire family of blue light-inducible AraC dimers in Escherichia coli (BLADE) to control gene expression in space and time. We show that BLADE can be used with pre-existing l-arabinose-responsive plasmids and strains, enabling optogenetic experiments without the need to clone. Furthermore, we apply BLADE to control, with light, the catabolism of l-arabinose, thus externally steering bacterial growth with a simple transformation step. Our work establishes BLADE as a highly practical and effective optogenetic tool with plug-and-play functionality—features that we hope will accelerate the broader adoption of optogenetics and the realization of its vast potential in microbiology, synthetic biology and biotechnology.N/
Biophysical studies on HCV 1a NS3/4A protease and its catalytic triad in wild type and mutants by the In Silico approach
Get PDFThe hepatitis C virus (HCV), of the family flaviviridae, is one of the major causes of chronic liver diseases. Until the year 2012, HCV infections were treated using PEG-interferon and ribavirin combinations, which have a low cure rate and severe side effects. Currently, many direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) are available, e.g. protease inhibitors, NS5A and polymerase inhibitors. These drugs have proven to be efficient in interferon-free treatment combinations and capable of enhancing the cure rate to above 90 %. Unlike PEG-interferon and ribavirin combinations, DAAs select for resistance in HCV. The R155K mutation in the HCV was found to resist all the currently available protease inhibitors. Here, we studied biophysical parameters like pocket (cavity) geometries and stabilizing residues of HCV 1a NS3/4A protease in wild type and mutants. We also studied HCV 1a NS3/4A protease’s catalytic residues: their accessibility, energy, flexibility and binding to Phase II oral protease inhibitor vedroprevir (GS-9451), and compared these parameters between wild type and mutant(s). All these studies were performed using various bioinformatics tools (e.g. Swiss-PdbViewer and Schrödinger’s Maestro) and web servers (e.g. DoGSiteScorer, SRide, ASA-View, WHAT IF, elNémo, CABS-flex, PatchDock and PLIP). From our study, we found that introduction of R155K, A156T or D168A mutation to wild-type NS3/4A protease increases the pocket’s volume, surface (in the R155K mutant, surface decreases), lipo surface and depth and decreases the number of stabilizing residues. Additionally, differences in catalytic residues’ solvent accessibility, energy, root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) and flexibility between wild type and mutants might explain changes in the protease activity and the resistance to protease inhibitors.N/
Positive psychology and positive education: a strengths-based approach to SEN
Get PDFThis paper, originating from the ‘Power of Us!’ conference held in June 2025, reflects on the session titled: Positive psychology and positive education: a strengths-based approach to SEN, which looked at how positive psychology and positive education can be applied to better support students, and with a particular focus on those with SENs.The paper offers an insight into the session, sharing reflections from the discussions and research findings, and calls for action to create a truly inclusive educational system.Unfunde
Long-term efficacy and safety of a low-carbohydrate diet in Type 2 Diabetes remission: A systematic review
Get PDF© Copyright 2025 Das et al.The version of record of this article, first published in [Cureus: Journal of Medical Science], is available online at Publisher’s website: http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.93340Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a major global health concern with increasing prevalence and healthcare costs. Despite the availability of pharmacological interventions, sustained glycemic control and disease remission remain challenging. Dietary strategies such as low-carbohydrate diets (LCDs) and ketogenic diets (KDs) are gaining attention for their potential to improve metabolic parameters and induce T2DM remission. The objective of this review is to evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of low-carbohydrate and ketogenic diets in the management and remission of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The systematic review was conducted following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. PubMed and Cochrane Library databases were searched using predefined keywords and filters. Studies included randomized and non-randomized clinical trials published in English within the last 24 years. Eligible studies involved adult T2DM patients on LCDs/KDs with a follow-up period of at least 12 months. The primary outcomes were T2DM remission, changes in glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), body weight, body mass index (BMI), and secondary outcomes included blood pressure, lipid profiles, and adverse effects. Out of 124 initially identified studies, six studies met the inclusion criteria, with follow-up durations ranging from one to eight years. Low-carbohydrate and ketogenic diets led to significant reductions in HbA1c, body weight, BMI, and systolic blood pressure. In terms of long-term studies, remission rates were highest at one year (up to 62%) and declined to 13% by year five. Participants in the intervention groups also experienced reduced dependency on glucose-lowering and antihypertensive medications. Despite some weight regain and glycemic relapse over time, the overall metabolic improvements suggest a beneficial role of dietary intervention in T2DM management. Low-carbohydrate and ketogenic diets appear to be effective in improving metabolic outcomes and inducing remission in T2DM. These dietary interventions may serve as viable alternatives to pharmacological treatments or bariatric surgery, provided that long-term adherence and support mechanisms are in place. Further research is needed to address long-term safety, sustainability, and individualized dietary approaches.Unfunde
Emotional agility among clinical line managers in the VUCA world
Get PDFThis author accepted manuscript is deposited under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC) licence. This means that anyone may distribute, adapt, and build upon the work for non-commercial purposes, subject to full attribution. If you wish to use this manuscript for commercial purposes, please contact [email protected]: Emotionally agile leadership is increasingly recognised as essential for effective leadership in today’s volatile healthcare environments, where emotional complexity and rapid change prevail. However, little is known about pre-registration nurses’ perceptions of these behaviours during clinical placements. This study examines emotional agility (EA) behaviours among clinical line managers (CLMs) from the perspective of pre-registration nurses in the UK.
Design/methodology/approach: The study adopts a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative survey data (N = 421) with a thematic analysis (N = 17) of open-ended and text-based questions.
Findings: Findings generally suggest that emotionally agile leadership – characterised by flexibility, emotional acceptance and responsiveness – positively shapes pre-registration nurses’ well-being and clinical experiences. Regression analysis revealed that perceptions of EA varied by demographic factors such as gender, age, programme level and department. Qualitative insights reinforced the significance of emotionally agile behaviours in cultivating value-driven and emotionally engaging learning environments within the higher education context. This study contributes to the field of healthcare leadership by exploring nursing students’ perceptions of CLMs’ leadership behaviours, emphasising their practical relevance in clinical education settings in higher education.
Originality/value: This study contributes to the field of healthcare leadership by providing empirical insights into pre-registration nurses’ perceptions of CLMs’ leadership behaviours during practice placements. It underscores the practical relevance of these behaviours in shaping students’ professional development and offers valuable guidance for both academic and clinical educators in reflecting on how their leadership approaches influence the growth of future nurses.Unfunde
Parents’ perceptions of and engagement with their daughters’ martial arts and combat sports: a Foucauldian discourse analysis
No full textThis thesis investigated parents’ and coaches’ perspectives of parenting girls in martial arts and combat sports (MACS). It explored discourses of parenting in and around MACS clubs and examined how participants engaged with these discourses to reflect on behaviours and construct their subjectivities. Sport parenting had been explored in previous research, but limited attention had been given to gender dynamics and perspectives of risk and violence. There had also been limited comparison of coach and parent accounts. Foucauldian theory underpinned the thesis providing an interpretation of how knowledge and power informed parenting philosophies and practices. Specifically, the concept of discourse was used to interpret data from interviews with 17 coaches and 28 parents of girls aged 8-18 who participated in MACS in the UK. Discourse analysis was used to explore the different ways in which sport parenting was performed and the philosophies that contributed to it. Foucauldian concepts of technologies and techniques of power, governmentality, technologies of the self and ‘limit’ experience were used to investigate parenting discourses. The concepts outlined contributed to original interpretations of sport parenting practice.
Coaches and parents had distinctive views about what parenting was or ought to be. These views were derived from multiple discourses. Dominant discourses of ‘good’ MACS parenting informed parenting philosophies and practices. Participants described how they sought to regulate girls’ behaviour to develop them in the ‘right way’. Children were prioritised and given opportunities to be physically active and embrace contact play. Parents utilised different techniques of power to socialise girls into practices through which they could construct their own subjectivities in the sports. They discussed how they had to encourage children and manage their own engagement with the sport space.
Gender discourses informed participants’ perspectives of spaces, behaviours, and subjectivities. Accounts emphasised sameness, but participants' constructions of gender difference often undermined this. Participants felt this had implications for girls’ and women’s inclusion, retention, treatment, and identity expression. According to participants this meant girls and mothers often had different or ‘harder’ experiences. Parents drew on discourses about risk and violence differently based on their proximity to the ‘sportsnet’. They had to reframe ‘outsider’ discourses. However, ‘insider’ discourses could be challenged when watching girls fight as parents were pushed to the limits of their own emotional boundaries. This thesis highlights that sport parenting is a phenomenon engaged in through complex practices that are informed by multifaceted contextual discourses
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