277856 research outputs found
Sort by
Nets, not boxes: a critical typology of climate (im)mobilities policy clusters in oceanic states
No full textThere is an ongoing and increasingly pressing need to better understand the drivers, patterns, and required support structures for people, households, and communities engaging with decisions around climate-related (im)mobilities. Rather than imposing a restrictive or exclusionary framework of mobility types onto this phenomenon, we propose a critical typology of (im)mobility policy clusters. Demonstrating our proposal through examples across Oceania, we engage the powerful metaphor of nets as socially, culturally, and practically important objects to reframe what could be an exclusive typology to one of inclusive, overlapping, and mutually supportive policy clusters. We identify twelve policy clusters where specific provisions could increase the supportive and/or protective capacities of state policies regarding people considering (im)mobility. These clusters are intended to be overlapping nets, where people faced with (im)mobilities can move from interacting with one policy cluster to another, based on their own decision-making and (im)mobility circumstances. Agency is central to this analysis. Making these moves allows us to counter harmful narratives of climate refugees that confer vulnerability and ostracize affected communities, instead embracing the complexities offered by broader terminology like climate mobilities. However, we do so in a practical way so as to enable policy-makers to understand and adapt to the specific protection needs of certain contexts and circumstances to best support people to make their own choices about how they engage in specific forms of (im)mobilities across a range of situations.Peer-reviewe
Epidemiology and Diversity of Paratuberculosis in the Arabian Peninsula: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis with Implications for One Health
No full textParatuberculosis is a chronic zoonotic bacterial infection, primarily affecting ruminants. This review examines the disease in the Arabian Peninsula, focusing on distribution, molecular diversity, prevalence, and associated risk factors. Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. After duplicate removal and eligibility screening, data extraction, analysis, and quality assessment were performed. Pathogen sequences were retrieved from NCBI GenBank for phylogenetic analysis. The review included a total of 31 published articles from 1997 to 2025, of which 26 were used in the meta-analysis. Most studies (n = 12) were published between 2011 and 2015, predominantly from Saudi Arabia (n = 22), with no reports from Qatar, Bahrain, or Yemen. The majority of the studies involved camels and sheep (n = 16 on each species), followed by cattle (n = 9), goats (n = 7), humans (n = 2), and buffalo (n = 1). Phylogenetic analysis delineates two major clades—Type S and Type C—suggesting greater genetic diversity in Type S. The estimated pooled seroprevalence and pathogen prevalence in livestock ruminants were 8.1% and 22.4%, respectively. Herd-level estimated pooled seroprevalence was 26.9%. Small ruminants (19.3%) were more sero-prevalent than large ruminants (7.4%), with goats (28.7%) significantly (p < 0.01) more affected than sheep (21.5%), camel (9.8%), and cattle (6.6%). Clinical signs in ruminants included chronic diarrhea, emaciation, anorexia, alopecia, wry neck, and dehydration. The reviewed study patterns and findings suggest high pathogen diversity and a significant risk of transboundary transmission at the human–animal interface in this region. A One Health surveillance approach is crucial, particularly on farms with diarrheic and emaciated animals. Establishing a national surveillance plan and phased (short-, intermediate-, and long-term) control programs is essential to mitigate economic losses, limit transmission, overcome the cultural barrier, and protect public health.Peer-reviewe
Direct Observation of Electron Donation onto the Reactants and a Transient Poisoning Mechanism During CO<sub>2</sub> Electroreduction on Ni Single Atom Catalysts
No full textSingle atom catalysts (SACs) are an important class of materials that mediate chemical reduction reactions, a key subset of which is Ni within a carbon support for the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). However, how the metal atom/clusters and the carbon-based support act in concert to catalyze CO2RR is not well understood, with most reports attributing activity solely to the Ni-Nx/C moieties. To address this gap, we have undertaken a mechanistic investigation, employing in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) coupled with electrochemical studies and density functional theory (DFT) calculations to further understand how Ni single atoms work in conjunction with the nitrogen-doped carbon matrix to promote CO2RR to CO, and how the presence of impurities such as those present in CO2-containing waste flue gases (including NOx, and CN−) changes the catalyst upon reduction. In contrast to previous works, we do not find strong evidence for a purely metal-based reduction upon application of negative reductive potentials. Instead, we present evidence for an increase in the equatorial vs. axial splitting of Ni, consistent with electrons moving onto the reactants via the Ni single atom 3dz2 orbital. In addition, we demonstrate a transient poisoning mechanism of the Ni SAC by nitrite and thiocyanate, explaining the recovery of activity during CO2RR. These insights can aid the design of practical CO2 valorization technologies.The work was supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC) through the Research Hub on Integrated Energy Storage Solutions (IH180100020), the ARC Centre of Excellence for Carbon Science (CE230100032), the ARC Training Centre for The Global Hydrogen Economy (IC200100023), DP200101878, DECRA fellowship to R.D. (DE230101396), and Future fellowships to R. K. H (FT230100054), A.N.S. (FT200100317) and A.T. (FT200100939). Part of this work was conducted at the Australian Synchrotron part of ANSTO. All material and surface characterizations were carried out at the Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre (MWAC), UNSW. The authors acknowledge the technical and scientific support of the Microscopy Australia node at UNSW (Electron Microscope Unit) and the University of Sydney. The authors also acknowledge the assistance of resources and services from the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI), which is supported by the Australian Government. R.D. acknowledges funding from UNSW Scientia Fellowship. Open Access publishing facilitated by University of New South Wales, as part of the Wiley - University of New South Wales agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians. The work was supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC) through the Research Hub on Integrated Energy Storage Solutions (IH180100020), the ARC Centre of Excellence for Carbon Science (CE230100032), the ARC Training Centre for The Global Hydrogen Economy (IC200100023), DP200101878, DECRA fellowship to R.D. (DE230101396), and Future fellowships to R. K. H (FT230100054), A.N.S. (FT200100317) and A.T. (FT200100939). Part of this work was conducted at the Australian Synchrotron part of ANSTO. All material and surface characterizations were carried out at the Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre (MWAC), UNSW. The authors acknowledge the technical and scientific support of the Microscopy Australia node at UNSW (Electron Microscope Unit) and the University of Sydney. The authors also acknowledge the assistance of resources and services from the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI), which is supported by the Australian Government. R.D. acknowledges funding from UNSW Scientia Fellowship. Open Access publishing facilitated by University of New South Wales, as part of the Wiley \u2010 University of New South Wales agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians.Peer-reviewe
Hidden cascades of seismic ice stream deformation
No full textIce streams are major regulators of sea level change. However, standard viscous flow simulations of their evolution have limited predictive power owing to incomplete understanding of involved processes. On the Greenland ice sheet, borehole fiber-optic observations revealed a brittle deformation mode that is incompatible with viscous flow, over length scales similar to the resolution of modern ice sheet models: englacial ice quake cascades that are unobservable at the surface. Nucleating near volcanism-related impurities that promote grain boundary cracking, the ice quake cascades appear as a macroscopic form of crystal-scale wild plasticity. A conservative estimate indicates that seismic cascades are likely to produce strain rates that are comparable in amplitude with those measured geodetically, providing a plausible missing link between current ice sheet models and observations.Peer-reviewe
Obstructive sleep apnea and cerebral small vessel disease in community-based older people: an aspirin in reducing events in the elderly imaging substudy
No full textStudy Objectives: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may increase the risk of dementia. A potential pathway for this risk is through cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). In the context of an existing randomized trial of aspirin for primary prevention, we aimed to investigate OSA’s impact on CSVD imaging measures and explore whether aspirin effects these measures over 3 years that differ in the presence or absence of OSA. Methods: A substudy of the aspirin in reducing events in the elderly (ASPREE) randomized placebo-controlled trial of low-dose aspirin. Community-dwelling participants aged 70 years and above, without cognitive impairment, cardiovascular disease, or known OSA completed an unattended limited-channel sleep study that calculated the oxygen desaturation index and apnea–hypopnea index. At baseline and 3 years later, volumes of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and silent brain infarctions (SBI) were measured on 1.5 Tesla brain magnetic resonance imaging, and retinal vessel calibers were calculated from retinal vascular imaging. Results: Mild and moderate/severe OSA was detected in 48.9% and 29.9%, respectively, of the 311 participants, who had a mean age of 73.7 years (SD 3.4 years), 38.6% female. OSA of any severity was not associated with WMH volumes, SBI, nor retinal vessel calibers at baseline, nor with change in these measures in the 277 participants with repeated measures acquired after 3 years. OSA of any severity did not interact with aspirin on change in these measures over 3 years. Conclusions: In healthy older adults undiagnosed OSA was not associated with retinal vascular calibers and neuroimaging measures of CSVD.Financial disclosure: ASPREE was funded by the National Institute on Aging and the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health (grant numbers U01AG029824 and U19AG062682); the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (grant numbers 334047 and 1127060); Monash University; and the Victorian Cancer Agency. SNORE-ASA was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (grant number 1028368). Christopher Reid is supported through an NHMRC Principal Research Fellowship (GNT1136372). Nonfinancial disclosure: GSH has received equipment to use in research studies from Resmed and Air Liquide Healthcare. The authors acknowledge the ASPREE participants who volunteered for this sub-study, the general practitioners (primary care physicians) who supported the recruitment and care of participants in the ASPREE study, and the study staff involved in the ASPREE study sites offering this substudy participation. The authors acknowledge Resmed Pty Ltd for the provision of nasal cannulas and lease of some of the ApneaLink Plus devices.Peer-reviewe
The Art of Finding the Optimal Scattering Center(s)
No full textThe truncated spatial multipolar spectra enable efficient approximate solutions to acoustic, quantum-mechanical, and electromagnetic problems. In photonics, the efficient multipole description of a general emitter or scatterer with controlled accuracy is complicated by the ambiguity in choosing the multipole expansion center—the multipole terms depend on the position of the expansion center and therefore are not unique. This study solves this fundamental problem by finding the optimal scattering centers for which the spatial multipole spectrum becomes unique. These optimal positions are derived separately for the electric and magnetic multipoles by minimizing the norms of the poloidal quadrupoles, employing the long-wave approximation (LWA) ansatz. The ultimate positions are verified with idealized discrete emitters and realistic scatterers. The optimal multipoles, including the toroidal terms, are calculated for several distinct scatterers; their utility for fast, low-cost numerical schemes is discussed. The number of optimal magnetic scattering centers, defined by the multiplicity of the problem, can serve as a new topological metric of a given emitter or scatterer. This finding hints at potential relations between nanoscale optomechanics and topological photonics. Expansion of the work beyond the LWA is possible, with the promise of more general foundational concepts for electrodynamics, acoustics, and quantum mechanics.A.V.K. acknowledges support from the Office of Naval Research under Award N00014-20-1-2199 and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under Award FA9550-21-1-0299. A.V.K. wants to thank Prof. I. Shadrivov, TMOS (ANU, Canberra, Australia), and Prof. O. J. Martin, EPFL (Lausanne, Switzerland) for their kind support of his sabbatical visits. This support was critical for the progress of this effort. K.A. acknowledges funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation (project PZ00P2_193221). D.S. acknowledges support from the Australian Research Council (FT230100058). A.V.K. acknowledges support from the Office of Naval Research under Award N00014\u201020\u20101\u20102199 and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under Award FA9550\u201021\u20101\u20100299. A.V.K. wants to thank Prof. I. Shadrivov, TMOS (ANU, Canberra, Australia), and Prof. O. J. Martin, EPFL (Lausanne, Switzerland) for their kind support of his sabbatical visits. This support was critical for the progress of this effort. K.A. acknowledges funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation (project PZ00P2_193221). D.S. acknowledges support from the Australian Research Council (FT230100058).Peer-reviewe
Plant pathogenic fungi hijack phosphate signaling with conserved enzymatic effectors
No full textInorganic phosphate (Pi) is essential for life, and plant cells monitor Pi availability by sensing inositol pyrophosphate (PP-InsP) levels. In this work, we describe the hijacking of plant phosphate sensing by a conserved family of Nudix hydrolase effectors from pathogenic Magnaporthe and Colletotrichum fungi. Structural and enzymatic analyses of the Nudix effector family demonstrate that they selectively hydrolyze PP-InsP. Gene deletion experiments of Nudix effectors in Magnaporthe oryzae, Colletotrichum higginsianum, and Colletotrichum graminicola indicate that PP-InsP hydrolysis substantially enhances disease symptoms in diverse pathosystems. Further, we show that this conserved effector family induces phosphate starvation signaling in plants. Our study elucidates a molecular mechanism, used by multiple phytopathogenic fungi, that manipulates the highly conserved plant phosphate sensing pathway to exacerbate disease.This study was supported by an Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering Ltd. Postgraduate Research Award (C.L.M.); an Australian Government Research Training Programme Stipend (C.L.M.); ANU Future Scheme 35665 (S.J.W.); ARC Future Fellowship FT200100135 (S.J.W.); CAPES scholarships for Doctoral Students FC001 (S.d.P.); Louisiana Board of Regents grant no. LEQSF (2022-24)-RD-A-01 (E.O.-G. and C.S.Z.); Louisiana State University AgCenter Hatch project no. LAB94477 (E.O.-G.); RWTH Aachen University scholarships for doctoral students (A.W., F.C., and L.W.); and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) 410278620 (U.S. and A.W.)Peer-reviewe
Complications of psychotherapy for borderline personality disorder: A clinical perspective
No full textObjective: Psychotherapy is the mainstay of treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder. There are unique benefits for patients through psychotherapy, however there are also complications that are under-recognised and have not been neatly summarised for clinicians and trainees. We present a clinical perspective on the potential complications that may arise from treatment. Conclusions: Addressing complications is an essential part of high quality and ethical clinical practice. Potential complications of psychotherapy for Borderline Personality Disorder include: escalation of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) and suicidal behaviours, dependency, boundary violations, demoralisation, re-traumatisation, labelling, opportunity cost, and financial issues. Recognition and management of these complications may improve treatment and recovery for patients, and is essential to high quality psychotherapy training and peer review. Further research is needed on the broader challenges and complications associated with non-psychotherapeutic aspects of BPD management.Peer-reviewe
Time and Place: Sites of Memory and the Sense of History
No full textThis chapter analyses the relationship between place and practices of historical education, commemoration, reflection and contestation. It looks at common functions and strategic uses of ‘sites of memory’ - designated locations that serve as physical focal points for the collective engagement with past events and eras. The chapter discusses the historical and trans-cultural ubiquity of associating specific places with the cultivation of collective memory. It also discusses contemporary approaches to harnessing the potential of place for nurturing historical understanding via scholarship on affective education, multi-sensory cognition, heritage pedagogy, living history and experimental archaeology.Peer-reviewe
Disability and Inclusion at University: Student and Lecturer Perspectives
No full textThis sociology qualitative thesis investigated student and lecturer perspectives on disability inclusion at university, specifically in the context of inclusive education. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 lecturers and eight students at the Australian National University. Four research questions were the focus of this project:
1. What do students and lecturer interactions (the 'social process') look like in the context of inclusive education?
2. How, or to what extent, do preconceived notions of chronic illness and disability influence the enactment of inclusive education processes?
3. How do these social processes affect university Inclusive Education goals?
4. What role does institutional culture have on these actors, processes, and outcomes?
It explored if-and if so, how-stigmatisation of illness/disability affects student and lecturer engagement with inclusive education (the 'social process'). It utilises a sociology-led theoretical lens covering inclusive education, stigma, and discrimination, and analyses the data via thematic analysis. This thesis provides a comprehensive view of the challenges and opportunities in creating authentic inclusive educational environments.
Key findings reveal that while there is room for improvement within the university's formal policies and procedures, the central issue is one of a deeply embedded institutional culture that does not prioritise or elevate disability and chronic illness experience. Disability and chronic illness do not have a settled position within the university institution and so arguments about how we achieve inclusion are present. The thesis demonstrates that without fostering an environment of empathic understanding and genuine support for disability inclusion, current challenges faced by both students and lecturers are likely to persist despite policy changes. This thesis contributes to the field of sociology and disability studies in higher education by highlighting the critical role of institutional culture in shaping inclusive practices. It argues for a holistic approach to disability inclusion that goes beyond policy implementation to address underlying attitudes, beliefs, and practices within the university community. The findings have significant implications for university educators, administrators, and policymakers, offering insights into how institutions can create more inclusive and supportive environments for students with disabilities and chronic illnesses. This research ultimately underscores the importance of cultural change in achieving meaningful inclusion and equal educational opportunities for all students