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Moral management in the extractive industries during turbulent times:see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil
No full textWe develop an inclusive overarching moral framework for understanding corporate behaviour in turbulent times (or non-normal situations). We test this framework empirically using a case study from the extractives sector, the planned Dominga mining project in Chile. Chile experienced turbulent times (social and political turmoil) with the 18-O social revolution (on 18 October 2019), the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economic and social lives of people, and with public shock following the release of the Pandora Papers in August 2021, which exposed high-level corruption. We undertook multi-phased, multi-method fieldwork across several research visits to Chile between 2019 and 2022. We considered various corporate moral management concepts such as moral silence, moral muteness, moral deafness, moral blindness, moral myopia, moral hypocrisy, moral paralysis, and moral nihilism. While these concepts are conceptually clear, in our research, we found that they were hard to differentiate. Nevertheless, by clarifying and bringing together some of the concepts, we believe that together they provide a useful and comprehensive framework to analyse the ethical decision-making of managers. We contributed to the theory around the morality of corporate behaviour by demonstrating that a corporation’s behaviour can be analysed by applying our moral framework. Our findings are significant because, by identifying the ways corporations justify or obscure their actions, we provide a useful tool for stakeholders, regulators, and civil society to assess corporate moral behaviour.</p
Restoring landscapes to build common futures:Land redistribution and environmental action in rural Scotland
No full textEcosystem restoration is crucial for reversing environmental degradation, yet contemporary approaches often frame restoration as a technical, science-driven endeavour, neglecting the social and political processes through which communities mobilise for landscape revitalisation. This paper develops the concept of restorative commoning, which we define as a bottom-up creative process in which communities envision and enact new futures for their landscapes in pursuit of collective thriving. We ground this concept in an ethnographic study of Langholm in Scotland, where local residents organised a landmark community buyout of private land, establishing the Tarras Valley Nature Reserve. Through interviews, participant observations, and transect walks, we analyse how residents engaged with restoration not just as an ecological project but as a social, political, and affective act, redefining relationships with place, community, and ecosystems. Our findings reveal how restorative commoning emerges from grassroots mobilisation, historical solidarity, and supportive policy frameworks, particularly land tenure reforms that enable collective ownership. The Langholm case demonstrates that such ownership acts as a catalyst, transforming reactive resistance into proactive reimagination of landscapes. Beyond ecological outcomes, the process nurtures civic revitalisation, challenging dominant paradigms of privatisation and expert-led restoration. We argue that restorative commoning shifts restoration from a return to past conditions to a forward-looking, collective process of socio-ecological change. The study highlights the need for policies that create enabling conditions for community-led restoration, emphasising the interdependence of ecosystem health and social well-being. By centering local agency, affective ties to place, and democratic governance, restorative commoning offers a pathway for more inclusive and sustainable approaches to landscape revitalisation.</p
Characterization of micro-proppant embedment and crushing at microscale in unconventional reservoir fractures
No full textThe high portability of micro-proppants facilitates their access to narrow and complex fracture networks in unconventional reservoirs, increasing the effective stimulated volume, enhancing formation permeability and improving hydrocarbon recovery. However, their embedment and crushing behaviors in fractures under high closure stresses remain poorly understood, limiting accurate assessments of fracture conductivity. This study investigates the microscale mechanisms governing the embedment and crushing behaviors of micro-proppants in various rock types under different closure stresses, proppant diameters, and proppant concentrations. Microscopic testing methods were used to evaluate how these variables influence embedment depth and crushing rate. Results indicate that smaller micro-proppants experience lower stress concentrations and contain fewer internal defects, resulting in significantly reduced embedment and crushing compared to traditional-sized proppants at equivalent mass concentrations. Micro-proppants demonstrated stronger resistance to high closure stresses, with nearly no observable embedment or crushing behavior occurring even at 50 MPa. Significant plastic deformation was observed on fracture surfaces during proppant embedding, indicating that most of existing classical linear elastic models for embedding deformation are insufficient to describe the contact mechanics between proppants and fracture surfaces at this scale. Moreover, the high carrying capacity and small size of micro-proppants promote higher concentrations in fractures, enabling multilayer accumulation. This distribution helps create thin micro-proppant embedding layers on both fracture surfaces, isolating intermediate layers and form more uniform flow channels, further reducing fracture conductivity loss typically associated with larger, sparsely distributed proppants.</p
Structure-function relationship of the molecular chaperone DNAJB6b at atomistic resolution
No full textProteins must fold and assemble correctly to maintain cellular function. When this process fails, aberrant aggregation and phase separation can lead to disease. This thesis investigates the molecular mechanisms by which the molecular chaperone DNAJB6b suppresses aggregation of polyglutamine rich proteins, with a focus on understanding how sequence features and conformational dynamics regulate chaperone activity.Using a combination of all atom and coarse grained molecular dynamics simulations, this work dissects the conformational landscape of DNAJB6b and its interactions with aggregation prone substrates. Particular attention is given to the autoinhibitory mechanism of DNAJB6b and to how specific residues stabilize this regulatory state, as well as how this autoinhibition is released upon interaction with client proteins.In parallel, a coarse grained modeling framework is developed and calibrated against all atom simulations to study polyglutamine aggregation across length and time scales beyond the reach of atomistic models, and to examine how chaperones influence these processes.Together, these approaches provide molecular insight into how chaperones modulate protein aggregation and phase behavior, and establish computational strategies for studying sequence dependent aggregation mechanisms. The results contribute to a mechanistic understanding of proteostasis and offer a foundation for exploring chaperone dependent pathways in protein misfolding diseases
Sepsis as a complex syndrome:Are combined biomarkers the future of diagnosis and prognosis? Clinical perspective
No full textSepsis remains a major cause of mortality worldwide, driven by a dysregulated host response to infection that leads to life-threatening organ dysfunction. Despite advances in evidence-based medicine, early diagnosis and risk stratification remain significant challenges due to the complex, multifaceted nature of sepsis and substantial interindividual variability in clinical presentation. Current approaches relying on single biomarkers cannot provide comprehensive insights into disease progression, limiting their clinical utility in guiding timely and effective interventions. Given the limitations of current single biomarkers in capturing the complexity of sepsis, there is an urgent need for improved diagnostic approaches. While the discovery of novel biomarkers remains important, combining existing biomarkers may offer a pragmatic and effective strategy to improve diagnostic accuracy by leveraging the strengths of each to compensate for the limitations of other. In this clinical perspective, we highlight the potential of such combined biomarker strategies to enhance diagnostic accuracy, support identification of the infection source, and improve prognostic assessment across the clinical course and into long-term outcomes. We provide examples of key biomarkers and their synergistic potential, emphasizing the need for advanced analytical methods such as machine learning and multi-omics integration to enhance predictive accuracy. Shifting toward multi-component biomarker panels represents a critical step toward a more precise, personalized approach to sepsis management to reduce sepsis-related morbidity and mortality. We advocate for further research and validation efforts to facilitate the clinical implementation of combined biomarker models, ultimately transforming sepsis care.</p
DAPAgliflozin for renal protection in heart transplant recipients. Rationale and design of the randomized controlled DAPARHT trial
No full textBackground and aims: Heart transplantation is the preferred treatment for selected patients with end stage heart failure. Kidney function often declines after heart transplantation. Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) slow the decline in eGFR in different populations. However, the effect of SGLT2i on kidney function in heart transplant recipients is unknown.Methods: The Dapagliflozin for Renal protection in Heart Transplant recipients (DAPARHT) trial is an investigator initiated, double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial designed to assess dapagliflozin's effect on kidney function in heart transplant recipients. Adults heart transplanted at least one year prior to randomization are eligible. Exclusion criteria include an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <25 mL/min/1.73 m2, diabetes type I, and contraindication to study medication. Four hundred and thirty patients will be randomized 1:1 to receive 12 months blinded treatment with dapagliflozin 10 mg o.d. or placebo, followed by 24-months open-label treatment. The primary endpoint is the chronic slope of the eGFR from two weeks to 12 months after starting randomized treatment. The open-label phase evaluates dapagliflozin's long-term effects on kidney function, clinical outcomes, safety, and tolerability. Enrolment began in June 2022. As of December 18, 2024, 300 patients were enrolled. The mean baseline creatinine was 104 ± 28 µmol/L with corresponding eGFR of 66 ± 22 mL/min/1.73 m2. Estimated last patient visit is in September, 2028.Conclusion: The DAPARHT trial will test whether dapagliflozin improves eGFR slope compared to placebo during one year of follow-up, providing the first randomized evidence of the efficacy of SGLT2i in heart transplant recipients.Trial Registration: Dapagliflozin for Renal protection in Heart Transplant recipients (DAPARHT), NCT05321706, clinicaltrials.gov.</p
Paired <sup>14</sup>C measurements on European and North American oak from historic buildings in England
No full textThe independent evidence of radiocarbon wiggle-matching suggests that the dating of American oak timbers found in English building by ring-width dendrochronology is robust. The offset between contemporaneous same-laboratory pairs of measurements on American and European tree-rings is 5.9 ± 3.8 BP (American wood older), which is not statistically significant.</p
Inspired by fish:How direct group interaction strengthens informal hierarchy transitivity in teams
No full textDespite the prevalence and importance of informal hierarchies in groups, to date, our understanding of when strong or weak hierarchies form is underdeveloped. The present research focuses on understanding the antecedent conditions fostering informal hierarchy emergence and strength. Integrating insights from ethological research, social learning theory, the expectation states theory framework and shared reality theory, we propose that groups create stronger influence hierarchies(more transitive structures) when all group members interact directly (e.g., in the group context) rather than indirectly(e.g., via a series of dyadic encounters). We find support for our hypothesis across two experimental studies: Informal hierarchies are stronger or more transitive when groups freely allow social interaction processes to happen amongst their members (group interaction condition) as compared to when these social interactions are stifled (serial dyadic interaction condition). We conclude with suggestions for future research and practical implication
Positive and Negative Leadership in Childhood: Emergence, Group Process, and Outcomes
No full textThis dissertation examined positive and negative leadership in late childhood. Leaders play a crucial role in peer groups by establishing group goals, initiating collective activities, and influencing group norms (Tackett et al., 2023). Especially popular leaders set the peer group norms by defining acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. Leaders initiate and shape bullying and defending, both of which are group processes involving multiple participants (Salmivalli et al., 1996). Consequently, identifying who occupies leadership positions is essential to understanding the group dynamics that underlie bullying and defending behaviors. To understand the leadership development process, this dissertation integrates peer-nominated leader identification with analyses of individual differences between leaders and non-leaders, explores leadership styles, and tracks leadership-related outcomes.Using the data from the Dutch KiVa anti-bullying program in grades 3-6 (Dutch grades 5-8), this dissertation answered the following questions: (1) What are the similarities and differences between positive and negative leaders? (2) What are the similarities and differences between positive and negative leaders’ defending-friendship styles? (3) What are the school and psychological adjustment outcomes for children in general and victims in particular in classrooms with different leadership styles? (4) Would anti-bullying programs help negative leaders and other children transition into more positive leadership roles
Finding a future for postconsumer plastics:An exploration of advanced polypropylene modification reactions
No full textWe made an attempt to chip away at society’s waste problem, but what to do when our products are out of service? For the common plastic polypropylene, reassignment as part of a roofing material seemed a most interesting solution. To accomplish this, the plastic needs to be made less stiff, or the roof will be too fragile. Unfortunately, the plastic’s nature tends to steer us in a different direction.Through the aid of a second material, we found a way to steer the plastic’s properties back on track, but not sufficiently so. However, as we later found out, the first path we wanted to take turned out to be a dead-end anyway. Therefore, we investigated a second pathway that proved even more challenging, and which did even less to make the plastic less stiff than the first pathway.At this point, we shifted our perspective. The plastic would not be the sole component in the roofing material, but would be mixed in with another material, bitumen. Instead of keeping the focus solely on the plastic, we started testing how to make the mixture of these materials less stiff. Though unable to prepare a mixture that was flexible enough, we did find another way to steer the properties. Combining all pathways of this exploration, one might be able to find the sweet-spot to ensure the correct properties of the roofing material. That would go a long way to address our waste problem for one of the most common plastics in use