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Auctions and the Consumption of Second-Hand Goods in Georgian England
No full textThis book provides the first comprehensive examination of household auctions as the key mechanism for recirculating household goods through the 18th and early 19th century. Sara Pennell and Jon Stobart contextualise and historicise the importance of used goods to consumer choices, experiences and identities. They tell the stories of the people and things, as well as the broader processes, practices and attitudes that were bound up in the commercial recirculation of used goods through auctions.
Auctions and the Consumption of Used Goods in Georgian England rebalances the historiography of second-hand consumption – currently dominated by used clothing and the sale of books, art and antiques – and brings second-hand into the mainstream of household consumption. It also explodes the twin myths that second-hand was the last resort of the poor and that it declined rapidly as Britain industrialised and the supply of new consumer goods increased. The book demonstrates that consumer motivations were far more complex than simple financial necessity and household auctions did not fade to the margins; they remained an important part of how households acquired a wide variety of goods and fulfilled a variety of consumer needs
Beyond the reporting of disturbed areas: the use of Deter to analyze the spatiotemporal patterns of forest degradation in the Amazon
Full text linkThe Brazilian Amazon, a critical component of Earth’s climate regulation and biodiversity, has been increasingly affected by forest degradation, a process less monitored than deforestation. This study examines the recurrence and spatiotemporal patterns of forest degradation in the Legal Amazon from 2016 to 2024 using data from the Daily Monitoring of Suppression and Degradation of Native Vegetation (Deter) monitoring system. We first review methodological advances in Deter, highlighting its role in near real-time monitoring and enforcement. Subsequently, we applied a pixel-level recurrence analysis to map degradation frequency and analysis of spatiotemporal patterns, allied to statistical tests to assess monotonic trends. Results show that although most affected pixels had only one detection of degradation, critical hotspots, particularly in Pará and Mato Grosso, had up to five detections. Burn scars were the most frequent type of degradation, with a marked surge in 2024 corresponding to a 271% increase in the degradation rate. No significant overall trend was observed across the time series. Spatiotemporal patterns revealed a shift of degradation toward the eastern Amazon forest edge in 2016–2018, a concentration in southern and northern Mato Grosso in 2019–2021, and widespread degradation across the Legal Amazon in 2022–2024, with a pronounced hotspot in southern Pará. These findings emphasize the growing significance of forest degradation in Brazil, highlighting the need for integrated conservation strategies that extend beyond deforestation to include early detection and response. Strengthening monitoring systems such as Deter remains essential to support environmental governance, enforcement, and sustainable land management in the Amazon
Intersecting discourses of death and the climate crisis
No full textThis chapter centres on the discussion of the discourses of death constructed within climate crisis parascience. Opening with a discussion and contextualisation of literature on discourses of death and climate crisis, this chapter presents a corpus-assisted discourse analysis of the lemma DEATH and its collocates in a corpus of academic blogs about the climate crisis. The study reveals a number of different ways in which death is socially constructed, signalling a propensity for abstracting and naturalising death in the climate crisis. The discussion of findings unpacks the potential impact of such a discursive construction of death on knowledge dissemination, points to possible future studies on death and climate discourse and offers a critical perspective on dominant and counter-perspectives that emerge from the data
Enhancing micro-human efforts through livelihood assistance for women in post-disaster recovery in Sri Lanka
No full textLivelihood assistance is crucial for women in their post-disaster recovery efforts, as it plays a decisive role in empowering micro-human efforts that will contribute to their economic resilience. Despite the international community’s efforts to embrace resilience and inclusion, women and their needs are often overlooked during the post-disaster recovery processes in Sri Lanka. This chapter investigates the impact of livelihood-related micro-human efforts on women and their families in Sri Lanka. An extensive literature review was conducted to establish a theory related to the livelihood assistance of women in the post-disaster context. Primary data was gathered through stakeholder interviews and analysed using qualitative content analysis. The study findings reveal that, despite the government’s provision of livelihood aid in the aftermath of disasters in Sri Lanka, the practical constraints experienced by women are disregarded. There is limited community participation in the decision-making process, and as a result, many rebuilding programmes are not as effective as intended. The research identifies barriers and opportunities in promoting livelihood options for women and proposes strategies to help them become self-sufficient. The lack of data on the subject is a major challenge, and knowledge generated by this study has significant implications for all stakeholders related to post-disaster management and development in South Asia
The Relational Organization of Friendship and Coupledom in Midlife
No full textThis chapter examines the friendship practices of men and women in long-term
relationships. It focuses on how the “couple norm,” or the cultural ideal that prioritizes
committed couplehood over other forms of intimacy, shapes and constrains friendship in midlife
Collective Memory of British Chinese in Audiovisual Stories: Case studies of Our Stories and Talking Trees / 树说/述说 in the UK
No full textDevelopment of The COMBINED approach: Integrating a brief behaviour change intervention supported by a physiotherapist for people with rotator cuff disorders
Full text linkBackground: Modifiable lifestyle factors (smoking, inactivity, overweight) could contribute to the onset and persistence of rotator cuff disorders, yet physiotherapy practice rarely addresses them. Brief interventions (BIs) can support behaviour change but are not routinely embedded in musculoskeletal care. Objectives: To develop The COMBINED approach: a physiotherapist-supported intervention integrating BI's tar geting modifiable health behaviours into routine consultations for people with rotator cuff disorders; and to explore how physiotherapists can be supported to deliver it. Materials and methods: A theory-, evidence-, and pragmatic-based development process incorporated stakeholder co-design, behavioural theory, and evidence across three workstreams: (1) narrative review of BIs targeting smoking, inactivity, and weight management; (2) four co-design workshops with 26 stakeholders (physiother apists, patients, experts) to select and adapt a BI and identify key intervention features; (3) theoretical modelling using COM-B, TDF, and BCTTv1 to map barriers/facilitators, select behaviour change techniques, and develop prototype components. Findings: Fourteen BIs were identified; Moving Medicine had greatest utility. Barriers included time constraints, limited skills and confidence, and fear of offending patients, contrasting with patients’ acceptability of lifestyle conversations. Recommendations included embedding the BI into routine care, scripts, infographics, patient resources, and training. Twelve TDF domains and 20 BCTs informed prototype development comprising: (1) patient-level intervention: a BI (adapted from Moving Medicine) embedded in routine consultations with tailored resources; (2) clinician-level implementation toolkit. Conclusion: The COMBINED approach is the first formally developed intervention supporting integration of BI's within routine consultations for people with rotator cuff disorders and is now ready for feasibility testing
Investigating myoblast-adipocyte crosstalk; influence on metabolic function and redox homeostasis
Full text linkBackground
As life expectancy continues to increase globally, the incidence of age-related conditions is also rising. Among these, sarcopenic obesity (SO) has emerged as a growing concern and becoming an emerging health burden in ageing populations. SO is characterised by the coexistence of reduced skeletal muscle (SM) mass and increased adiposity, leading to impaired metabolic health and functional decline. Although SM and adipose tissue (AT) are increasingly recognised as endocrine organs that communicate through secreted factors, the precise mechanisms by which this crosstalk contributes to the pathogenesis of SO remain poorly understood. Identifying how secretomes from inflamed or metabolically challenged tissues affect the opposing cell type may provide new insight into the development of this condition and allow for an understanding of the pathogenesis of SO becoming known.
Methods
In this study, a bidirectional conditioned media (CM) model was created using murine C2C12 myoblasts and 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes to assess how secreted factors under basal, insulin stimulated and LPS stimulated conditions influence metabolic function in the opposing cell line. CM was transferred between the cell types and multiple analysis was performed to determine metabolic function and redox homeostasis.
Results
Myoblasts exposed to CM from pre-adipocytes demonstrated marked alterations in mitochondrial function across all three treatment conditions. Proton leak was significantly increased in response to all CM conditions, while LPS CM specifically elevated mitochondrial membrane potential. All CM types increased hydroxyl radicals and mitochondrial superoxide. Structural analysis revealed a reduction in average mitochondrial branch length under each CM condition, consistent with increased fragmentation. At the transcriptional level, mitochondrial regulatory genes were upregulated in a treatment-dependent manner, with PGC1-α and COX4 elevated in response to insulin and LPS CM, while COX1 increased across all CM conditions. Inflammatory markers, including IL-6, were higher following exposure to insulin CM and LPS CM, indicating a shift towards a more pro-inflammatory state. Cytokine profiling showed reduced secretion of CCL2, IL-6 and CCL5 across all CM treatments, while GDF-15 levels were consistently increased.
Conversely, pre-adipocytes treated with CM derived from myoblasts exhibited a parallel increase in inflammatory gene expression, including CCL2 and CCL5, across all three CM conditions. Genes regulating mitochondrial biogenesis, such as PGC-1α and TFAM, were consistently upregulated, whereas OPA1 expression was reduced in response to insulin, LPS and combined insulin + LPS CM. Functional assays demonstrated impaired mitochondrial respiration, with distinct patterns depending on the CM treatment. Non-mitochondrial respiration was altered predominantly by LPS CM, maximal respiration was reduced under both insulin and LPS CM, and proton leak was elevated in the LPS CM and insulin + LPS CM
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groups. These functional changes were accompanied by increased mitochondrial content, particularly in response to insulin CM and insulin + LPS CM, and elevated MitoSOX signal in the insulin + LPS condition, indicative of greater superoxide production. Structural analysis further revealed reduced branch length and junction number most prominently following LPS CM and insulin + LPS CM, suggesting a more fragmented mitochondrial network. Cytokine analysis confirmed a pronounced inflammatory response, with CCL2, CXCL1, IL-6, CCL5 and GDF-15 markedly increased, especially under insulin + LPS CM.
Conclusion
Overall, the results show that secreted factors in CM alone are enough to drive metabolic dysfunction in both muscle and adipose cells. This dysfunction is marked by disrupted mitochondrial structure and function, as well as increased oxidative stress. The findings support the idea that unhealthy communication between these tissues could be a key contributor to the development of SO. Although processes such as inflammation, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction are believed to play a role, the precise mechanisms connecting excess fat accumulation with muscle decline are not yet fully understood
Exercise during 14 days of head down tilt bedrest attenuates motor unit impairments in older humans
Full text linkHead‐down tilt bedrest (HDBR) models the effects of mechanical unloading on neuromuscular function. The efficacy of exercise in preserving motor unit (MU) function in older adults during HDBR remains unclear. This study investigated the effects of 14‐day HDBR on MU properties in older adults and the protective role of exercise. Fifteen participants aged 55–65 years were randomized to Control group (n = 7, passive mobilization only) or Exercise group (n = 8, daily mixed resistance and aerobic training) during 14 days of strict HDBR. Knee extensor strength and leg lean mass were measured, and intramuscular EMG was used to record MU firing rate (MUFR), MU potential (MUP) area and complexity, and neuromuscular junction (NMJ) transmission instability during contractions normalized to 25% of pre‐bedrest strength. Plasma C‐terminal agrin fragment (CAF) was also measured. Following HDBR, knee extensor strength decreased more in the Control group (−33.4 N m; P < 0.001; ∼18% decrease) than in the Exercise group (−14.5 N m; P = 0.027; ∼8% decrease; interaction P = 0.045). Leg lean mass decreased similarly in both groups (−0.418 kg; P = 0.013). Exercise prevented the decrease in MUP area observed in Controls (−65 mV·ms, P = 0.240 vs. −253 mV·ms, P < 0.001) and led to a reduction in MUFR (−1.05 pulses/s, P < 0.001) not seen in Controls. NMJ transmission stability and CAF levels were unchanged in both groups. HDBR reduced leg lean mass and strength. Exercise attenuated declines in strength and MUP area, likely by preserving muscle fibre size despite reduced MUFR, without evidence of NMJ disruption. Exercise effectively attenuates neuromuscular decrements following HDBR in older adults, with implications for clinical care and spaceflight
