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Hydrology and dune slack habitat: in-depth assessment of the relationship between hydrological regime and plant communities
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Trends in organ donation in England, Scotland and Wales in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and ‘opt-out' legislation
Get PDFBackground:In May 2020, England implemented soft ‘opt-out’ or ‘deemed consent’ for deceased donation with the intention of raising consent rates. However, this coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, making it difficult to assess the early impact of the law change. Wales and Scotland changed their organ donation legislation to implement soft opt-out systems in 2015 and 2021 respectively. This study provides a descriptive analysis of changes in consent and transplant rates for deceased organ donation in England, Scotland and Wales.Methods:Logistic regression and descriptive trend analysis were employed to assess the probability of a patient who died in critical care becoming a donor, and to report consent rates using data, respectively, from the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre (ICNARC) in England from 1 April 2014 to 30 September 2021, and from the Potential Donor Audit for England, Scotland and Wales from April 2010 to June 2023.Results:The number of eligible donors in April-June 2020 were 56.5%, 59.3% and 57.6% lower in England, Scotland and Wales relative to April-June 2019 (pre-pandemic). By April-June 2023, the number of eligible donors had recovered to 87.4%, 64.2% and 110.3%, respectively, of their levels in 2019. The consent rate in England, Scotland and Wales reduced from 68.3%, 63.0% and 63.6% in April-June 2019 to 63.2%, 60.5% and 56.3% in April-June 2023.Conclusions:While the UK organ donation system shows signs of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of eligible potential donors and consent rates remain below their pre-pandemic levels
Investigating the Impact of Dialogic and Trialogic Interactive Factors on Chinese Advanced L2 learners’ Vocabulary Use in Spoken Contexts
Get PDFThe main objective of this study is to investigate how interactive factors affect the vocabulary usage of second language learners in their spoken language. Participants were 24 L1 Chinese undergraduate students of L2 English at an advanced level. L2 learners’ vocabulary use was assessed via tokens, lexical diversity, and frequency-based lexical sophistication. Participants provided speech data in response to seven persuasive speaking tasks across three speaking modes: two monologic, two dialogic, and three trialogic. This study showed that the interactive factor has a varied effect on L2 learners’ vocabulary usage. It positively influences the use of advanced vocabulary but does not affect the total number of words produced or the diversity of words used. Second, of all three speaking modes, the dialogic speaking mode is the best speaking condition to trigger L2 learners’ use of advanced words. Third, the vocabulary employed in dialogues and trialogues can vary due to the inherent disparities between the two modes of speech. Therefore, we propose the use of the dialogic interactive factor and trialogic interactive factor instead of the term “interactive factor” to encompass two specific conditions in which there was a noticeable difference in the performance of L2 learners
Exploring Situational Triggers of Intimate Partner Femicide within the Ecological Framework: Evidence from Married Females in China
Get PDFMid-Intensity 30.5 GHz Continuous Wave Exposure of Glioblastoma Organoids
Get PDFIn this chapter, we delve into the therapeutic potential of 30.5 GHz millimetre waves on 3D glioblastoma organoids. We specifically investigated mildly thermal radiation effects in the context of new emerging focused energy deliver and bioelectromagnetic approaches. Our in-house developed exposure system, coupled with a rigorous dosimetry protocol and extensive multi-physics modelling, supported biological endpoints evaluation in terms of transcriptional profiling, cell morphological changes, and cell phenotypic characterization. Crucially, the induced thermal effect was minimal, aligning closely with our simulation models, and indicating the precise control of energy delivery. Notably, a 0.1 W power level enhanced the efficacy of Temozolomide, significantly increasing cell apoptosis while not affecting the differentiation status of glioblastoma organoid cells. This combination suggests a new avenue for glioblastoma treatment, leveraging millimetre wave-induced mechanisms that warrant further investigation. Our findings underscore the promise of this minimally-invasive technique, offering a glimpse into future glioblastoma therapies
Parental material and climate jointly determine the biomass and diversity of soil microbial communities along an elevational gradient on a subtropical karst mountain
Get PDFAim: Climate is widely understood to determine elevational patterns of soil microbial communities, whereas the effects of parental material are uncertain. Changes in the composition of parental materials along elevational transects could also affect soil microbial communities by influencing soil pH and nutrient availability. Here, we aim to illustrate the combined effects of climate and parental material on the biomass and composition of soil microbial communities along an elevational transect.Location: A subtropical forest on a karst mountain (Mt. Jinfo), China.Taxon: Bacteria and Fungi.Methods: We use phospholipid fatty acid analysis (PLFA) and DNA amplicon high-throughput sequencing to determine biomass and diversity patterns of soil microbial communities along a subtropical elevational gradient with contrasting parental materials (limestone and clasolite). Results: We observed that the microbial communities were more diverse (α-diversity) and productive (biomass) on limestone than on clasolite. Additionally, we found that parental material played a role in shaping the composition (β-diversity) of soil microbial communities along the elevational gradient. The impact of climate on soil microbial communities was found to be significant, albeit relatively weak. Structural equation models provided evidence for both direct and indirect effects of climate and parental material on microbial biomass and α-diversity along the elevational gradient. Notably, the changes in soil pH, influenced by both parental material and climate, were identified as a key factor driving these effects.Main Conclusions: Our results underline the importance of both climate and parental material variations in space-for-time studies investigating soil microbial communities along elevational gradients.<br/
