192815 research outputs found
Sort by
Do inhibitory interneurons encode information or just keep the rhythm?
No full textNo abstract available
Late Pliocene integrated age model for Bleiksmýrardalur, north central Iceland (2.5-3.2 Ma), from lithostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy and 40Ar/39Ar dating
No full textIn this paper we have determined an age model for upper Bleiksmýrardalur, which is southeast of Akureyri. The Bayesian-framework age model was constructed from three lava sequences from a combination of lithostratigraphic and magnetostratigraphic data, plus new 40Ar/39Ar dates. We show that the lava sequences were extruded over a period of ~2.5-3.2 Ma, and have similar extrusion rates as the upper sections of neighbouring Eyjafjarðardalur. Ten lava units were used for 40Ar/39Ar dating, nine of which yielded ages from duplicate or triplicate specimens. A total of 37 lava units yielded palaeomagnetic polarities for the magnetostratigraphic study; however, due to the limited number of sun-reading orientations, only seven of these palaeomagnetic directions are considered sufficiently robust to yield virtual geomagnetic poles
Lab to fab process using ablation lasers: a light weight, flexible and biocompatible microheaters for wearable therapy applications
No full textWearable thermal therapy has attained significant attention owing to its potential in various wearable and biomedical applications specifically targeted for accelerated wound healing using smart bandages. Here, in the current work, a large area, precision, and scalable fabrication methodology is proposed using an ultraviolet (UV)-based ablation laser as compared to conventional fabrication methods such as photolithography or printing. This laser-based approach is unique and offers rapid prototyping, superior material versatility, design flexibility, and minimal thermal damage to the emerging biocompatible polymer-based flexible substrates. A thin, flexible, and biocompatible microheater and an array (4 × 4) of diverse designs, including circular, hexagonal, and planar, were designed and fabricated on a gold-coated PAC substrate using the proposed ablation laser-based approach. Multiple heater sizes varying from small to extra-large were fabricated and are tailored for the targeted temperatures ranging from 30 °C to 100 °C for biomedical applications, especially wearable wound healing applications. Electrical and electrothermal characteristics revealed that the sheet resistance, thermal response, and response time vary with the structure and size of the microheaters. Further, mechanical flexibility and biocompatibility studies on the PAC, patterned gold electrodes, and polyimide substrate demonstrated excellent mechanical robustness and biocompatibility, clearly demonstrating its efficacy and ability for wearable and implantable applications. Finally, the proposed research paves the pathway for the fabrication of next-generation wearable and implantable biointegrated flexible microheater devices toward advanced thermal therapy solutions
Functionalized azobenzenes for micellar solar thermal energy storage as a next-generation MOST system
Get PDFDespite being the most abundant sustainable energy resource, solar energy still faces major challenges in efficient capture and long-term storage. Molecular Solar Thermal Energy Storage (MOST) systems address this issue by employing photoswitchable molecules that absorb sunlight and store energy through reversible isomerization, cyclization or other intramolecular rearrangements. Azobenzenes are attractive due to their well-characterized photoresponsive behavior; however, conventional systems are hindered by low energy density, limited energy storage duration, and a reliance on organic solvents. Here, we present the Micellar Solar Thermal Energy Storage system (MIST) approach based on micellar aggregates that operate effectively across aqueous dispersions and gel states. These systems exhibit progressively enhanced energy storage lifetimes with increasing degrees of self-assembly, while delivering competitive energy densities. The thermal stability arises from restricted molecular mobility within the self-assembled structures and is enhanced on gelation, extending the calculated thermal half-life of the cis isomer from 148 days in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), to 233 days in water, and to 12.8 years in the gel state. Compared to previous azobenzene-based MOST systems, our MIST approach offers significantly extended energy storage durations and improved material processability, including water-compatible formulations and, macroscopic heat release in the gel state (up to 5.7 °C)
Homing infrastructures: Central and Eastern European families between precarity and cosmopolitan identity in post-Brexit Britain
No full textThis article examines how young people and their families from
Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) narrate experiences of home
and belonging in post-Brexit Britain. While Brexit debates have
largely centred on the macro-politics of belonging – who is
considered deserving of the right to remain and under what
conditions – less attention has been paid to how such discourses
of ‘conditional citizenship’ shape the everyday lives of migrant
families. Drawing on qualitative data from twenty family case
studies in urban and rural areas across England and Scotland, the
article explores how young CEE migrants negotiated conditional
citizenship and ‘deservingness’, engaged with national, local and
cosmopolitan identities, and navigated intersections of race, class
and generation within a shifting socio-political landscape. Using
‘home’ as an analytical lens, it shows how these narratives are
rooted in particular histories and geographies of migration yet
shaped by Britain’s changing political context. For these young
people, home is not a singular origin or seamless destination, but
a set of relational, multi-sited and contingent practices. Schools,
family networks, neighbourhoods and transnational ties offer
homing infrastructures, yet these are shaped by political
discourses and social encounters that can both include and
exclude
African international students in China: experiences and geopolitical projects
No full textThis entry provides a brief, general introduction to the nascent, rapidly expanding flow of globally mobile students between Africa and mainland China. I first briefly introduce some of the key debates within the field of international student mobility. I then outline the parameters of this mobility flow: what is known about ‘who’ these students are, in terms of their social backgrounds and pre-mobility experiences. I highlight how this group challenges existing understandings of who pursues higher education overseas and to what ends. I then summarize the structural factors, or in other words, the changes within the global political economy, believed to be driving this emergent mobility pattern. In the final section, I provide an outline of research that has focused on the students’ social and academic experiences, emphasizing the centrality of racial discrimination in the accounts of students across this body of research. I also briefly discuss the ways in which this student flow complicates existing understandings within student mobility research around potential post-graduation trajectories
Policy Interventions to Mitigate the Long-Run Costs of Brexit
No full textThis paper examines the long-term macroeconomic impacts of Brexit on the UK economy employing a dynamic general equilibrium model that incorporates endogenous firm entry, price markups and market competition. By integrating the trade frictions introduced by Brexit, the model explains how increased trade costs have altered firm behaviour, market structure, and broader economic performance. We assess a range of policy responses, from theoretically optimal but practically difficult tax-subsidy schemes, to more realistic measures aimed at reducing firm entry barriers, encouraging private and public investment, and subsidising labour costs. Our findings underscore the critical role of policies that can most directly influence firm creation, investment, and competition in addressing the structural challenges Brexit has introduced
Antileishmanial and antitrypanosomal trends of synthetic tetralone derivatives
No full textLeishmaniasis and trypanosomiasis are parasitic diseases that are closely linked to poverty, pose significant local burdens, and are common in tropical and subtropical regions. Various synthetic tetralone derivatives were studied as potential scaffolds for antileishmanial and antitrypanosomal activities. The compounds were studied for their effectiveness against multiple kinetoplastid protozoan pathogens: Leishmania major , Leishmania mexicana, and bloodstream trypomastigotes of Trypanosoma brucei brucei . Two different strains of T. b. brucei were used. The first strain was the wild‐type Trypanosoma brucei (s427‐WT), and the second strain was the multidrug resistant (MDR) strain B48, which was produced by deleting the TbAT1 gene from s427WT and subsequent adaptation to high levels of resistance to diamidines and organo‐arsenical drugs. Compounds 4c, 7c, 9b , and 11b showed activity against two strains of Trypanosoma and two different Leishmania species, establishing them as versatile leads with broad anti‐kinetoplastid activity. Compound 4c , a tetralone derivative with a bromo‐containing trimethoxybenzylidene moiety and methyl‐substituted cyclohexanone ring, was identified as the most potent inhibitor for both T. b. brucei strains, with EC 50 values of 0.19 and 0.22 µM for WT and B48, respectively, showing the absence of cross‐resistance with the diamidine and arsenical trypanocide classes. In addition, compound 4c exhibited more potency than both controls, eflornithine and pentamidine, against the MDR strain. We conclude that tetralone derivates could be a valuable starting point for the discovery of new antiparasitic drugs
The Paradox of Paradise: Creative Destruction and the Rise of Urban Coastal Tourism in Contemporary Spanish Culture by William Nichols. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press, 2023. Pp. 272. $34.95 (paperback). ISBN 9780826506214
No full textNo abstract available
Missing pieces of the puzzle to address market failures for antibiotics: delinked payment systems and insurance value
No full textToo few companies develop new antibiotics because of the threat of market failure. To address this, a ‘delinked’ payment, distinct from the usual payment model for drugs, makes payments to manufacturers that do not depend on the volume of antibiotic prescribed. A delinked system removes incentives to overpromote antibiotic use. If total payments are high enough, this system should provide incentives for manufacturers to develop new antibiotics. This assumes that using antibiotics remains consistent with antimicrobial stewardship, a coordinated approach to prescribing antimicrobials responsibly. A delinked system can address market failure that occurs when a disproportionate degree of clinical benefit from a new antibiotic occurs after patent protection ends, reducing the ‘reward’ to the innovator. Determining value in a delinked payment system requires that the health service estimates the lifetime value of an antimicrobial product, and then decides what proportion of that value to include. These values depend in part on ‘STEDI’ values including the ‘insurance’ value new antibiotics would offer in reducing society’s risk of major health loss from possible future major episodes of antibiotic resistance. Estimating insurance value requires estimating the health consequences of catastrophic outcomes. Payments in a delinked system can incorporate an ‘insurance premium’. We use the example of the UK’s delinked payment scheme to illustrate issues and solutions
Data sources:
Access Repository Dashboard
Do you manage Open Research Online? Become a CORE Member to access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard! 👇