Naresuan University Journal
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Colombian forensic genetics as a form of public science: the role of race, nation and common sense in the stabilisation of DNA populations
No full textThis paper examines the role that vernacular notions of racialized-regional difference play in the constitution and stabilization of DNA populations in Colombian forensic science, in what we frame as a process of public science. In public science the imaginations of the scientific world and common-sense public knowledge are integral to the production and circulation of science itself. We explore the origins and circulation of a scientific object - La Tabla, published in Paredes et al. (2003) and used in genetic forensic identification procedures - amongst genetic research institutes, forensic genetics laboratories and courtrooms in Bogota. We unveil the double life of this central object of forensic genetics. On the one hand, La Tabla enjoys an indisputable public place in the processing of forensic genetic evidence in Colombia (paternity cases, identification of bodies, etc.). On the other hand, the relations it establishes between "race", geography and genetics are questioned amongst population geneticists in Colombia. Although forensic technicians are aware of the disputes amongst population geneticists, they use and endorse the relations established between genetics, "race" and geography, because these fit with common-sense notions of visible bodily difference and the regionalization of race in the Colombian nation
Transnational policy and authenticity discourses on Romani language and identity.
No full textRomani is a fascinating test case for the role that language plays in the process of identity consolidation in a transnational context. Standardisation is no longer inherently connected to the territorialisation of language. Instead, we witness a bottom-up process in which individuals take ownership of language and negotiate language practices. Status regulation and language planning can be instigated and even implemented by institutions other than national states. All of this leads to pluralism of form rather than unification. Yet language remains a key locus for political mobilisation. It allows players to claim authenticity, it offers opportunities for intervention by external facilitators, and it provides a discussion platform through which traditional images can be challenged and recognition can be awarded
Psoriasis and the risk of major cardiovascular events: cohort study using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink.
No full textThe association between psoriasis and risk of major cardiovascular (CV) events (myocardial infarction, acute coronary syndrome, unstable angina, and stroke) is unclear. A cohort study with 48,523 patients with psoriasis and 208,187 controls was conducted. During a median follow-up of 5.2 years, 1,257 patients with psoriasis (2.59%) had a major CV event, compared with 4,784 controls (2.30%). In the multivariable analysis, inflammatory arthritis hazard ratio (HR) 1.36 (1.18-1.58), diabetes HR 1.18 (1.06-1.31), chronic kidney disease HR 1.18 (1.07-1.31), hypertension HR 1.37 (1.29-1.45), transient ischemic attack HR 2.74 (2.41-3.12), atrial fibrillation HR 1.54 (1.36-1.73), valvular heart disease HR 1.23 (1.05-1.44), thromboembolism 1.32 (1.17-1.49), congestive heart failure HR 1.57 (1.39-1.78), depression HR 1.16 (1.01-1.34), current smoker HR 2.18 (2.03-2.33), age (year) HR 1.07 (1.07-1.07), and male gender HR 1.83 (1.69-1.98) were statistically significant for the risk of major CV events. The age- and gender-adjusted HRs of a major CV event for psoriasis were 1.10 (1.04-1.17) and for severe psoriasis 1.40 (1.07-1.84), whereas the fully adjusted HRs were attenuated to 1.02 (0.95-1.08) and 1.28 (0.96-1.69). In conclusion, neither psoriasis nor severe psoriasis were associated with the short-to-medium term (over 3-5 years) risk of major CV events after adjusting for known cardiovascular disease risk factors
Simulation of an Innovative Start-up Phase for SOFC Hybrid Systems Based on Re-Compression Technology: Emulator Test Rig
No full textEmploying temporal self-similarity across the entire time domain in computed tomography reconstruction
No full textThere are many cases where one needs to limit the X-ray dose, or the number of projections, or both, for high frame rate (fast) imaging. Normally, it improves temporal resolution but reduces the spatial resolution of the reconstructed data. Fortunately, the redundancy of information in the temporal domain can be employed to improve spatial resolution. In this paper, we propose a novel regularizer for iterative reconstruction of time-lapse computed tomography. The non-local penalty term is driven by the available prior information and employs all available temporal data to improve the spatial resolution of each individual time frame. A high-resolution prior image from the same or a different imaging modality is used to enhance edges which remain stationary throughout the acquisition time while dynamic features tend to be regularized spatially. Effective computational performance together with robust improvement in spatial and temporal resolution makes the proposed method a competitive tool to state-of-the-art techniques
Vibration Engineering and Technology of Machinery, Series: Mechanisms and Machine Science, Vol. 23
No full textAn integrated field and numerical modelling study of controls on Late Quaternary fluvial landscape development (Tabernas, southeast Spain)
No full textEuropean Pulsar Timing Array limits on an isotropic stochastic gravitational-wave background
No full textWe present new limits on an isotropic stochastic gravitational-wave background (GWB) using a six pulsar data set spanning 18 yr of observations from the 2015 European Pulsar Timing Array data release. Performing a Bayesian analysis, we fit simultaneously for the intrinsic noise parameters for each pulsar, along with common correlated signals including clock, and Solar system ephemeris errors, obtaining a robust 95 per cent upper limit on the dimensionless strain amplitude A of the background of A <3.0 × 10-15 at a reference frequency of 1 yr-1 and a spectral index of 13/3, corresponding to a background from inspiralling supermassive black hole binaries, constraining the GW energy density to Ωgw(f)h2 <1.1 × 10-9 at 2.8 nHz. We also present limits on the correlated power spectrum at a series of discrete frequencies, and show that our sensitivity to a fiducial isotropic GWB is highest at a frequency of ˜5 × 10-9 Hz. Finally, we discuss the implications of our analysis for the astrophysics of supermassive black hole binaries, and present 95 per cent upper limits on the string tension, Gμ/c2, characterizing a background produced by a cosmic string network for a set of possible scenarios, and for a stochastic relic GWB. For a Nambu-Goto field theory cosmic string network, we set a limit Gμ/c2 <1.3 × 10-7, identical to that set by the Planck Collaboration, when combining Planck and high-ℓ cosmic microwave background data from other experiments. For a stochastic relic background, we set a limit of Ω ^relic_gw(f)h^
On the structure of the copper–amylin complex
No full textAmylin amyloid deposition is a common feature in the pancreas of type-2 diabetic (T2D) patients, and may play a role in islet beta-cell death and disease development. Type-2 diabetes is also characterised by a dysregulation of systemic copper. While the relationship between these features is unclear, previous work has shown that copper can form a complex with amylin, which in turn prevents amylin misfolding, oligomerisation and fibril formation, and that this in turn decreases amylin-mediated cytotoxicity. To date, the nature of this interaction has not been determined. In this study, we have used ion mobility mass spectrometry to probe the effects of copper on amylin oligomer formation and to define the binding site(s) of copper on the amylin peptide. Here we show that there are two distinct sites to which copper can bind. The first is at a location in the C-terminal 5 amino acids of the peptide. The second is on Ala25, a residue which is known to be critical for the misfolding ability of human amylin. This interaction is not observed under standard mass spectrometry (acidic) conditions but is present at physiological pH values. These data further characterise the amylin–copper interaction, and may suggest a potential trigger for amylin misfolding in T2D