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First confirmation of mycobacterium tuberculosis complex from medieval Ireland by aDNA analysis – palaeopathological and microbial findings
No full textEight burials from the multi-period rural settlement site of Ranelagh near Roscommon town, Ireland, with palaeopathological lesions suggestive of skeletal tuberculosis or brucellosis were examined by ancient DNA (aDNA) testing. Tuberculosis infection (MTB complex DNA) was confirmed in five individuals –an 11th-13th CE adolescent female (14.5-17.5 years), two young adults females (18-35 years, 7th-10th CE), one adolescent of unknown sex and one middle-aged adult (35-50 years, medieval in date). In the latter case, the differential diagnosis included brucellosis due to the presence of small multifocal lytic lesions in the lower spinal vertebrae. However, this individual and all cases tested negative for Brucella species DNA. In two positive cases, lineage 4 (Euro-American) Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA was identified in extracts obtained from tooth pulp cavities. These are the first archaeological individuals from Ireland to have had tuberculosis infection confirmed through aDNA analysis.<br/
Damage equivalent strain as a metric for tidal turbine blade fatigue scenario comparison
No full textTidal turbine blades are a key component for small, medium, and utility scale tidal turbines given their role as the power capture interface. Common practice is to instrument a turbine blade using strain gauges in order to monitor maximum loads as well as load cycles. The calculation of some fatigue parameters requires the conversion of strain to stress, however, this is not always trivial especially when material properties are highly directional or complex geometries are present. This paper presents a windowed approach using strain as a proxy for stress to enable fatigue scenario comparison. Strain recorded on a transverse axis crossflow turbine blade allows fatigue comparison between a range of scenarios during field testing as well as field-laboratory comparisons. It was found that turbine revolution frequency dominates the fatigue of a transverse axis crossflow turbine eclipsing the fatigue impact of dynamic flow features conducive to a real tidal environment in a way that would not be present for a horizontal axis turbine. This allows blade life to be monitored using a revolution counter. Simplified indicative fatigue comparisons enable rapid identification and mitigation of high damage scenarios beyond the example case presented in this paper facilitating the extension of turbine blade life.<br/
Decolonising pharmacy education: Broadening epistemic perspectives and advancing curricular inclusion
No full textIntroduction: Pharmacy education curricula remain predominantly influenced by Westernbiomedical paradigms, often marginalising diverse cultural and Indigenous health perspectives,which limits culturally responsive patient care.Perspective: Integrating epistemic pluralism, critical consciousness, and cultural safety frameworksfrom broader healthcare education can foster curricula reflective of diverse healing traditions.Curricular co-creation with marginalised communities further supports inclusive pharmacyeducation.Implications: Effective decolonisation requires comprehensive curriculum audits, targeted facultytraining in inclusive pedagogies, authentic community engagement, and alignment with regulatory standards. Interdisciplinary collaboration enriches pharmacy curricula, preparing culturallycompetent pharmacists to address health disparities and provide patient-centred care in diversecommunities.This paper offers a conceptual and advocacy-oriented perspective that outlines why and howpharmacy education should be reoriented through decolonising principles
Institutional pressure and pollution control: Small and medium-sized enterprises
No full textPurposeSmall and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are critical to China's sustainable development. This study aims to empirically investigate the influence of government and customer pressures on the purchasing decisions of pollution control equipment among Chinese SMEs.Design/methodology/approachWe first conduct an exploratory case study involving four Chinese SMEs to identify the key attributes of pollution control equipment and the decision-making processes within SMEs regarding equipment procurement. We then design a discrete choice experiment based on the insights gained from these case studies. Data are collected from 313 Chinese SMEs and analysed using a random parameter logit model.FindingsThe results indicate that government pressure positively motivates SMEs to purchase pollution control equipment, whereas customer pressure exerts a negative effect. Government and customer pressures enhance the positive impact of the equipment's gaseous waste purification capability on SMEs' purchasing decisions. However, they do not influence the effect of sewage purification capability on such decisions.Originality/valueThe findings enhance understanding of the role of institutional pressure in the green transformation of Chinese SMEs. Additionally, the results provide valuable insights into the equipment capabilities that Chinese SMEs prioritise when purchasing pollution control equipment under the influence of institutional pressure
Transformers for stratified spectropolarimetric inversion: proof of concept
No full textSolar spectropolarimetric inversion—inferring atmospheric conditions from the Stokes vector—is a key diagnostic tool for understanding solar magnetism, but traditional inversion methods are computationally expensive and sensitive to local minima. Advances in artificial intelligence offer faster solutions, but are often restricted to shallow models or a few spectral lines. We present a proof-of-concept study using a transformer machine learning model for multiline, full-Stokes inversion, to infer stratified parameters from synthetic spectra produced from 3D magnetohydrodynamic simulations. We synthesize a large set of Stokes vectors using forward modeling across 15 spectral lines spanning the deep photosphere toward the chromosphere. The model maps full-Stokes input to temperature, magnetic field strength, inclination, azimuth (encoded as sin2ϕ , cos2ϕ ), and line-of-sight velocity as a function of optical depth. The transformer incorporates an attention mechanism that allows the model to focus on the most informative regions of the spectrum for each inferred parameter, and uses positional embedding to encode wavelength and depth order. We benchmark it against a multilayer perceptron (MLP), test robustness to noise, and assess generalization. The transformer outperforms the MLP, especially in the higher layers and for magnetic parameters, yielding higher correlations and more regularized stratifications. The model retains strong performance across a range of noise levels typical for real observations, with magnetic parameter inference degrading predictably while temperature and velocity remain stable. We explore attention maps, linking the transformer’s learned behaviour to line-formation physics
Promise, progress, or posturing? India and the Intellectual Property Chapter in the United Kingdom-India Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement
No full textThis article presents the first in-depth and critical analysis of the intellectual property rights (IPR) Chapter in the United Kingdom–India Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), concluded in 2025. Negotiated across fourteen rounds over three years, the CETA’s IPR Chapter represents the most ambitious IP chapter India has negotiated in any trade agreements to date. Against the backdrop of the UK’s post-Brexit trade strategy and India’s long-standing “policy-space-first” approach, this article examines the IPR Chapter’s design, substantive provisions, and implications for developing country IP governance. The article advances three central contributions. First, it contextualizes the IPR Chapter within India’s wider and evolving IP policy framework, particularly following the adoption of the 2016 National Intellectual Property Rights Policy, and demonstrates how India’s negotiating stance continues to prioritise flexibility and development-oriented outcomes despite India’s acknowledgement of its growing role as an IP-producing economy. Second, it assesses whether the IPR Chapter could feasibly serve as a reference point or model for other developing countries navigating bilateral free trade agreement negotiations, particularly those navigating tensions between international IP obligations and domestic policy autonomy. Third, it argues that while the IPR Chapter offers valuable reference points, particularly in balancing international obligations with domestic policy space, advancing public health measures, and strengthening geographical indication protection, it falls short of providing a comprehensive template. The Chapter’s silences on equitable technology mechanisms, sustainability-driven IP reforms, and contemporary challenges such as artificial intelligence-related concerns underscore inherent limitations of such trade agreements in advancing forward-looking IP governance
Water and sulfate management manipulates soil arsenic cycling at the fine scale
No full textArsenic (As) is a carcinogenic environmental contaminant whose dissolution and speciation are strongly related to sulfate reactions, including reduction-oxidation, precipitation, complexation, and the microbial activities of sulfate-reducing bacteria. In lowland rice paddy fields, the interaction between As and sulfate are highly variable due to the sharp oxic/anoxic transition in the upper soils and the strongly reducing condition in the lower soils. Both water and sulfate managements have been demonstrated to reduce As bioavailability. However, interactions between these processes at sub-centimeter scales within paddy soil profiles are poorly understood and could even lead to enhanced As mobilization. To address this knowledge gap, we established mesocosms with mine-impacted soil under continuous or intermittent flooding, with and without sulfate addition. Millimeter-scale in situ profiles of dissolved AsIII, S-II and FeII were obtained using diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT) and diffusive equilibration in thin-films (DET), and these were complemented by centimeter-scale soil DNA sampling to quantify the abundance of functional microbial groups. Our results show that high sulfate concentrations enhance AsIII in the near-surface 0-2 cm layer of the soil profile (near the soil-water interface) under continuous flooding, while in the anaerobic zone (below 4 cm), sulfate inhibits AsIII mobilization by facilitating the reduction of FeIII and SO4 2- to FeII and S-II through the enhanced activity of iron- and sulfate-reducing bacteria. The subsequent FeS precipitation adsorbs As, thereby reducing AsIII availability by 40%. Additionally, in this mesocosm experiment, differences in As mobilization between continuous and intermittent flooding were evident only in the near-surface 0-2 cm layer, with similar As profiles observed below 2 cm depth. This study provides insights into As migration and transformation mechanisms across soil depths under varying redox conditions and sulfate levels. Under flooded conditions, high-concentration sulfate increase AsIII mobility in this near-surface 0-2 cm layer, whereas intermittent flooding reduces its mobility. These findings inform remediation strategies for As contamination in high-sulfate soils
Experiences of parents of children with special needs: educational services, challenges and recommendations from parents' perspectives
No full textParents of children with special needs in Nigeria are faced with several challenges. In most cases, decisions are taken without their active involvement, despite them being the primary carers for their children with special needs. This research utilised a qualitative research design with fifteen participants to understand parents' perspectives about the educational services provided for their children with special needs. Only parents of children diagnosed with autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Down syndrome and intellectual disability were involved. An inductive thematic analysis approach was used. The findings revealed five themes that describe the experiences of parents of children with special needs in managing their children's care. Parents stated that their children with special needs still encounter discrimination and segregation despite being in mainstream schools. Parents highlighted several challenges, including inadequately trained professionals, poor public sensitisation, the government's lack of attention/ambition and the unavailability of specific assistive devices. The participants suggested that training and retraining of professionals in special education, mass sensitisation and government funding/scholarship are factors that can mitigate some of these challenges. In conclusion, parents play essential roles in the lives of their children with special needs; if help must be provided, parents should be rightly considered.<br/
Disability disclosure at the point of entry to the workplace: A qualitative systematic review of barriers and facilitators experienced by graduating students
No full textAnalysing the impact of complex multimorbidity on health-related quality of life
No full textPurpose: This paper presents independent associations between complex multimorbidity and health-related quality of life using the EQ-5D-5L instruments. Identifying the decrements in utility associated with complex multimorbidity is of value for economic evaluation and health technology assessment. Methods: Data from the population normative dataset from the Irish EQ-5D-5L study were combined with baseline data from the SPPiRE (Supporting Prescribing in Older Adults with Multimorbidity in Irish Primary Care) randomised controlled trial. The trial included an Irish cohort aged 65+ with complex multimorbidity. For the analysis, the estimation sample consisted of 364 individuals from the SPPiRE complex multimorbidity sample, along with 116 individuals aged 65+ from the general population who did not report having any serious illness. A multivariate ordered probit regression model was used to estimate the independent associations between complex multimorbidity and the five EQ-5D-5L dimensions. Results: Complex multimorbidity was independently associated with a lower probability of reporting no problems for all five EQ-5D-5L dimensions, and a higher probability of reporting the most extreme response for all five dimensions. The loss in health utility associated with complex multimorbidity was estimated to be − 0.506 (95% CI − 0.567, − 0.445) relative to those aged 65 years and over with no serious illness. The negative health impact was most pronounced for pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression. Conclusion: This study reported the associative impacts of complex multimorbidity for all EQ-5D-5L dimensions and for health utility overall. The findings highlight the potential impact on health-related quality of life of interventions that can prevent or delay the onset and progression of multimorbidity