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Unravelling AMR dynamics in the rumenofaecobiome: insights, challenges and implications for One Health
No full textAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a critical global threat to human, animal and environmental health, exacerbated by horizontal gene transfer (HGT) via mobile genetic elements. This poses significant challenges that have a negative impact on the sustainability of the One Health approach, hindering its long-term viability and effectiveness in addressing the interconnectedness of global health. Recent studies on livestock animals, specifically ruminants, indicate that culturable ruminal bacteria harbour AMR genes with the potential for HGT. However, these studies have focused predominantly on using the faecobiome as a proxy to the rumen microbiome or using easily isolated and culturable bacteria, overlooking the unculturable population. These unculturable microbial groups could have a profound influence on the rumen resistome and AMR dynamics within livestock ecosystems, potentially holding critical insights for advanced understanding of AMR in One Health. In order to address this gap, this review of current research on the burden of AMR in livestock was undertaken, and it is proposed that combined study of the rumen microbiome and faecobiome, termed the ‘rumenofaecobiome’, should be performed to enhance understanding of the risks of AMR in ruminant livestock. This review discusses the complexities of the rumen microbiome and the risks of AMR transmission in this microbiome in a One Health context. AMR transmission dynamics and methodologies for assessing the risks of AMR in livestock are summarized, and future considerations for researching the impact of AMR in the rumen microbiome and the implications within the One Health framework are discussed.<br/
The environmental emission and climate change impact of hydrogen fuel derived from photocatalysis water-splitting reaction
No full textHydrogen fuel is widely received as the most promising clean fuel to substitute fossil fuel in power grid, home heating, and automotive industry to achieve net-zero target. Photocatalysis hydrogen route, which fulfills the Gibbs free energy of water-splitting reaction with solar energy, has been a promising approach to produce green hydrogen. However, there are limited study on the environmental performance of this hydrogen evolution process, particularly the potential emission of the photocatalyst synthesis process. In this work, the environmental emission of photocatalytic hydrogen evolution process is investigated through life cycle analysis (LCA) based on a pilot scale reaction system. The individual processing steps with its corresponding material flows that contributed significantly to environmental emission are identified from the LCA simulation. Excessive use of sacrificial reagent in the photocatalysis reaction has been identified as one of the main contributors to the environmental emission of this reaction system. The results observed can be feedback to the process design and improvisation of such photocatalysis reaction system to help improvise the existing technology for better environmental potential for upscale production to meet the ever-rising demand on hydrogen fuel.<br/
Luminosity predictions for the first three ionization stages of W, Pt and Au to probe potential sources of emission in kilonova
No full textA large number of R-matrix calculations of electron impact excitation for heavy elements (Z > 70) have been performed in recent years for applications in fusion and astrophysics research. With the expanding interest in heavy ions due to kilonova (KN) events such as AT2017gfo and AT2023vfi, this new data can be utilised for the diagnosis and study of observed KN spectra. In this work recently computed electron-impact excitation effective collision strengths are used, for the first three ionization stages of tungsten (W, Z = 74), platinum (Pt, Z = 78) and gold (Au, Z = 79), to construct basic collisional radiative models tailored for the late stage nebular phases of KN. Line luminosities are calculated at a range of electron temperatures and densities and the strengths of these lines for a representative ion mass are compared. For the case of W III, these optically thin intensities are additionally used to constrain the mass of this ion in both AT2017gfo and AT2023vfi. Comparing with theoretical predictions of nucleosynthesis yields from neutron-star merger simulations, broad agreement with the inferred ion masses of W is found. Furthermore, we highlight the value of W measurements by showing that the abundance of other groups of elements and outflow properties are constrained by exploiting theoretically motivated correlations between the abundance of W and that of lanthanides or third r-process peak elements. Based on simple estimates, we also show that constraints on the distribution of tungsten in the ejecta may be accessible through the line shape, which may also yield information on the neutron-star merger remnant evolution.<br/
Alumina coated with titanium dioxide supported iron for hydrogen production and carbon nanotubes via methane decomposition
No full textResearch on converting methane to hydrogen has gained more attention due to the availability of methane reserves and the global focus on sustainable and environmentally friendly energy sources. The decomposition of methane through catalysis (CDM) has excellent potential to produce clean hydrogen and valuable carbon products. However, developing catalysts that are both active and stable is a highly challenging area of research. Using titanium isopropoxide as a precursor and different loadings of TiO2 (10 wt.%, 20 wt.%, and 30 wt.%), alumina has been coated with TiO2 in a single-step hydrothermal synthesis procedure. These synthesized materials are examined as possible support materials for CDM; different wt.% of iron is loaded onto the synthesized support material using a co-precipitation method to enhance the methane conversion via a decomposition reaction. The result shows that the 20 wt.% Fe/20 wt.% Ti-Al (20Fe/20Ti-Al) catalyst demonstrates remarkable stability and exhibits superior performance, reaching a conversion rate of methane of 94% with hydrogen production of 84% after 4 h. The outstanding performance is primarily due to the moderate interaction between the support and the active metal, as well as the presence of the rutile phase. The 20Fe/30Ti-Al catalyst exhibited lower activity than the other catalysts, achieving a methane conversion of 85% and hydrogen production of 79% during the reaction. Raman and XRD analysis revealed that all the catalysts generated graphitic carbon, with the 20Fe/20Ti-Al catalyst specifically producing single-walled carbon nanotubes.<br/
Victorian studies in Ireland
No full textThis essay offers a perspective on the forms that ‘Victorian’ studies scholarship takes on the island of Ireland, as reflected in the papers delivered, and the conversations that took place, at the Belfast Hub of EVENT 2024. It offers some account of how the historical and contemporary specificities of Ireland, and its relation to the United Kingdom and empire, might account for the distinctive tenor of twenty-first century scholarship on the Victorian period from Ireland, as well as indicating how that scholarship connects with broader, global debates.<br/
Corrigendum to “Incidence and prognosis of cutaneous melanoma in European adolescents and young adults (AYAs): EUROCARE-6 retrospective cohort results” [Eur J Cancer 213 (2024):115079]
No full textThe authors regret having incorrectly reported the name and affiliation of one of the co-authors Claudia E. Kuehni, whose affiliations are: a- Childhood Cancer Registry and Childhood Cancer Research Group, Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland. b- Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland. The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.</p
SN 2023zaw: the low-energy explosion of an ultrastripped star
No full textMost stripped-envelope supernova progenitors are thought to be formed through binary interaction, losing hydrogen and/or helium from their outer layers. Ultrastripped supernovae are an emerging class of transient that are expected to be produced through envelope stripping by a neutron star companion. However, relatively few examples are known, and the outcomes of such systems can be diverse and are poorly understood at present. Here we present spectroscopic observations and high-cadence, multiband photometry of SN 2023zaw, a rapidly evolving supernova with a low ejecta mass. SN 2023zaw was discovered in a nearby spiral galaxy at D = 39.7 Mpc. It has significant Milky Way extinction, E(B − V)MW = 0.21, and significant (but uncertain) host extinction. Bayesian evidence comparison reveals that nickel is not the only power source and that an additional energy source is required to explain our observations. Our models suggest that an ejecta mass of Mej ∼ 0.07 M⊙ and a synthesised nickel mass of MNi ∼ 0.007 M⊙ are required to explain the observations. We find that additional heating from a central engine, or interaction with circumstellar material, can power the early light curve.<br/
When the EU Council responds to public opinion: negotiating European policy integration
No full textWhile the Council of the European Union has long been deciding on EU policy insulated from public scrutiny, we argue that enhanced transparency and EU politicisation have strengthened the linkage between its positions and public opinion. We expect further the Council to be more responsive to public opinion in member states, in which citizens view EU policy action as salient and are relatively united in their stance on it. To assess these expectations, we used semi-supervised machine learning to estimate the Council's positions on the expansion of the EU policy authority in legislative acts during the post-Lisbon period (2009-2019) and the Eurobarometer to measure public support for EU action in 21 policies across member states. The results offer evidence of territorial responsiveness of the Council