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Programmable aerosol chemistry coupled to chemical imaging establishes a new arena for automated chemical synthesis and discovery
Get PDFAerosols have emerged as a massively parallel reaction medium promising accelerated reactivity and unanticipated reactivity outcomes, yet exploration of these properties has so far only been confined to specific reactions. Wider deployment in chemical synthesis and discovery is impeded by the lack of a general-purpose formalism for conceiving multi-step chemical transformations in the aerosol medium and standardised building blocks to enable adaptation of existing synthesis procedures to execution in the inherently stochastic and inhomogeneous aerosol phase. Here we propose a framework based on programmable timed release of reagents as atomised solutions that provides the minimum necessary building blocks for synthesis in an automated aerosol reactor. This framework both connects synthesis in traditional bulk media with aerosols and lays the foundation for massively parallel discovery in airborne microdroplets. To validate our proposed formalism with a concrete methodology, we demonstrate a prototype open hardware platform and three examples of automated procedures. Further, we propose chemical imaging as a category of analytical methodology tailored to interrogation of aerosols. As a proof-of-principle demonstration, we use optical microscopy to detect reactivity in the resulting microdroplets and study the spatial distribution of their compositions in response to changes in the synthesis program
The effects of a product of the solid-state fermentation of Aspergillus niger on the in vitro rumen fermentation kinetics of rations fed to dairy cattle
Get PDFThe aim of this study was to determine the effects of incubating different doses of Synergen® (0, 0.5, 2, 5 mg/g substrate), a product of the solid-state fermentation of Aspergillus niger (ANP) containing residual enzyme activities, with two total mixed rations (TMR) formulated for dairy cattle, on the kinetics and end products of in vitro rumen fermentation. The inclusion of fungal fermentation products in cattle rations has improved digestibility measures and production performance and, may offer an avenue to improve the sustainability of ruminant production. In this study, a dose-responsive effect was observed for gas production from a high starch TMR over a 72-h incubation; doses of 2 and 5 mg ANP/g substrate significantly increased gas production by 33 ml (P = 0.024) and 32.9 ml (P = 0.025), respectively, compared to controls. However, no effect of treatment was observed on volatile fatty acid composition at the end of incubations. ANP treatment had no effect on the fermentation kinetics of a low starch TMR, suggesting that the dominant effect of treatment was amylolytic. Further research into the effects of ANP in cattle models is required to explore the utility of the product on farm
Martial citizenship: military voluntarism and the transformation of the Ukrainian nation-state
No full textCompassion‐focused chairwork for voice‐hearing relationships, body triggers and motivational states
Get PDFPurpose: This paper aims to build on a recent theoretical and empirical review of CFT for psychosis by outlining a more detailed account of how voice‐hearing perceptions may be generated and triggered, and the implications for clinical practice. It also aims to provide a detailed and practical illustration of how CFT for voice‐hearing is applied in therapy.
Method: This paper summarises the evolution‐informed rationale for CFT for voice‐hearing and integrates into this framework some major developments in cognitive neuroscience—namely predictive processing models of perception—to develop a richer account of the mechanisms and targets of CFT for voice‐hearing. The clinical application of this model is demonstrated using a description of compassion‐focused chairwork for voice‐hearing.
Results: The enriched perceptual modelling of CFT for voice‐hearing is complementary to the (evolution‐informed) accounts in the existing CFT literature, while adding precision and utility when it comes to describing compassion‐focused chairwork for voice‐hearing and discussing some of the key clinical considerations for therapists wishing to use this method.
Conclusions: CFT for voice‐hearing is an integrated biopsychosocial approach that indicates therapy targets linked to both sides of the voice‐to‐voice hearer relationship, to corresponding embodied and motivational states, and to the past traumas and conflicts that may drive these patterns. CFT chairwork is particularly well suited to addressing some of the perceptual, embodied and motivational drivers of voice‐hearing experiences. We recommend the development of detailed intervention protocols for therapist guidance on specific techniques such as CFT chairwork, which can be used in future evaluation research
Correction: Park et al. Immunization effects of a novel α-synuclein-based peptide epitope vaccine in Parkinson’s Disease-associated pathology. Vaccines 2023, 11, 1820
Get PDFNo abstract available
Metabolomics for the diagnosis of secondary infections in critically ill patients with COVID-19
No full textObjectives:
Secondary infections are a common occurrence in critically ill COVID-19 patients. These are difficult to identify, and antibiotic usage is high in this population. Identification of biomarkers for secondary infections would help to ensure antibiotics are being utilized only for patients who require them. This study sought to identify a panel of biomarkers capable of distinguishing critically ill COVID-19 patients with and without secondary infections.
Design:
A multicenter retrospective cohort study.
Setting:
Three critical care units in Scotland, United Kingdom.
Patients:
One hundred five patients admitted to critical care with COVID-19, and 49 healthy volunteer controls.
Interventions:
None.
Measurements and Main Results:
Serial blood samples were obtained from critically ill COVID-19 patients with and without confirmed secondary infections, and a single sample was collected from healthy volunteers to provide baseline metabolic profiles. Metabolomic analysis was performed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and metabolites that were significantly different between patients with and without secondary infections were identified. Additionally, metabolites capable of distinguishing Gram-positive from Gram-negative organisms were also investigated. Forty patients developed a secondary infection during the study period. A significant increase in metabolites creatine and 2-hydroxyisovalerylcarnitine, and a significant reduction in S-methyl-L-cysteine were detected in patients with secondary infections. This metabolite panel could identify patients with secondary infections with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.83 (95% CI, 0.68–0.97). Metabolites differentiating Gram-positive and Gram-negative infections included betaine, N(6)-methyllysine, and phosphatidylcholines (PCs; 38:6), PC(38:4), PC(40:6), and PC(36:4) with an AUC of 0.88 (95% CI, 0.68–1.0).
Conclusions:
Metabolomic profiling of critically ill COVID-19 shows promise for identification of novel biomarkers for secondary infections. Larger validation studies will help to confirm these findings
Murmurings in the departmental corridor: excavating a history of Glasgow University’s student geographical society (1955–2005)
No full textDespite their ubiquity, student societies of geography, and other subjects, in university departments have received relatively little consideration in historical and contemporary accounts of these departments. This is a grave oversight considering the potentially large part they play in the academic and social life of the department and discipline itself. Using the geography department at Glasgow University as a case study, this paper attempts to begin correcting this omission by excavating and tracing a history of their student geographical society through the pages of their student-run magazine, Drumlin. Focusing on student members’ social and academic interactions with their fellow members, with departmental staff, and with student-geographers beyond Glasgow, what emerges is a highly active and impactful society. A reading of this partial history reveals the benefits, and perhaps troubles, of the student geographical society in terms of disciplinary belonging, development of geographic identity, and the formation of wider networks and communities. Additionally, through its activities, the Society may have allowed students an opportunity to become active participants in the reproduction of their own discipline. This exploration highlights the importance of writing student-geographers and their student geographical societies into the histories of geography and the academic spaces in which it is practiced
On the perils of engaging
No full textRecent work in social epistemology has discussed obligations to engage with challenges to our beliefs like climate change denial or anti-vaccine sentiment, and the potential benefits and dangers for both the engager and the engaged from doing so. The spotlight being trained here, however, has elided a key issue: the possible risks from engaging for third-party observers, not merely the engager and the engaged. In this paper, I argue that not only are these risks an underappreciated aspect of engaging that should be discussed, but also their neglect is especially concerning as the potential negative epistemic fallout threatens to overwhelm any possible benefits that may be gained from engaging, regardless of how the engagement actually goes. I close by drawing out the theoretical and practical implications from this and sketch a few strategies to conceivably avoid said risks
Cytokine pathways driving diverse tissue pathologies in rheumatoid arthritis
No full textRheumatoid arthritis is a complex systemic disorder characterised primarily by articular inflammation and destruction with associated functional loss and reduced quality of life. RA is also associated with extra-articular disease e.g. of the lung with potentially devastating clinical consequences. The critical importance of co-morbidities, and consequent multi-morbidity, in determining outcomes in RA has now been recognised, not least as novel therapeutics have emerged with attendant increased life expectancy. The primary role of cytokine networks in mediating RA pathogenesis was established in extensive pre-clinical and clinical trials and in the adoption of cytokine targeted therapeutics in clinical care over three decades. Herein we briefly review those pivotal cytokine pathways that are associated with RA articular disease, and extend these insights to include extra-articular RA and its common co-morbidities
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