192815 research outputs found
Sort by
Northern Scotland's late oil-fuelled industrialisation: labour mobility and community transformation since the 1970s
No full textNorthern Scotland experienced profound transformations during the late twentieth century through the discovery and exploitation of North Sea oil and gas. This chapter discusses two instances of the boom in industrial activity, which has had major, enduring impacts on the region’s social, economic, and physical landscapes. It first examines the manufacturing of oil rigs at a giant graving dock at Nigg in Easter Ross. Next, it explores the building and operation of what was once Europe’s largest oil terminal at Sullom Voe in Shetland. These changes reversed long-term historical trends: the Highlands and Islands underwent late industrialisation at a time when Britain’s traditional manufacturing regions were shedding hundreds of thousands of jobs. Distinct trajectories of labour mobility were apparent, which varied from temporary relocation in Shetland and Easter Ross to career transitions to the international oil industry. Dislocations in both places and the maturing and depletion of the North Sea basin were associated with disappointment, namely layoffs and closures. More recent discussions on hopes for the transition to wind power in Sullom Voe and Nigg are moulded by their experiences and understanding of what renewables could offer and the legacies of Easter Ross as a hub of energy industry manufacturing and Shetland as a centre of landing oil and gas
Africa's clicks to faith: digital religious practices among transnational Nigerian and Zimbabwean youth in the diaspora
No full textDrawing on digital hybridity, religious assemblages and transnational religion, this article examines how young Nigeriansand Zimbabweans in the UK use digital platforms to participate in transnational religious practices, reclaim marginalised AfricanTraditional Religions (ATRs), and reconfigure belonging and authority. While research on migrant religion has focused on physical congregations, less attention has been given to how digital media reshapes religion and spirituality. The analysis isbased on 12 months of ethnography in London and Birmingham, 25 interviews with 15–35-year-olds from Christian, Muslim, ATR,and non-religious backgrounds. Observations on TikTok and Instagram were also part of the study. Findings demonstrate that digital engagement is not simply an extension of offline religion;it transforms the practice of religion and the negotiation of belonging. They also show how digital participation reassembles transnational religion, offering new insights into the intersections of religion, migration, and digital culture among African diasporic youth
Biocompatible ligand balancing in transition metal coordination allows benign in-cell protein arylation
Get PDFMetal-mediated chemistries now find increasing application in in vitro biomolecule modification. However, the perceived and potential toxicity of some metals has limited the application of organometallic reagents in more complex biological settings such as inside living cells. Ligands play a crucial role in modulating both the reactivity and availability of transition metals. Here we reveal that organonickel-mediated S-arylation tolerates flexible chelation with biocompatible ligands without destroying the chemical reactivity of corresponding aryl-nickel reagents, enabling the creation of safe, site-selective C–S-bond-forming arylation manifolds. These balanced systems prove sufficiently benign for use on diverse protein substrates in vitro and in living prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. This, in turn, enables deep chemical surveys of reactive cysteines in human cells with sensitivity sufficient to detect covalently targetable proteins from emerging intracellular viral and bacterial pathogens. Biocompatible ligand balancing thus offers a path to the broader use of transition metals in living systems
Effect of pirfenidone on plasma markers of collagen turnover in patients with heart failure, preserved left ventricular ejection fraction and myocardial fibrosis
Get PDFBackground: Plasma concentrations of procollagen type- I C- terminal pro- peptide (PICP) and collagen type- I C- terminal telopeptide (CITP) may reflect collagen turnover and systemic fibrosis. We investigated the effect of pirfenidone, an anti- fibrotic agent, on PICP and CITP, and their association with myocardial fibrosis, using cardiovascular magnetic resonance to measure extracellular volume (ECV). Methods: In the trial (Pirfenidone in Patients with Heart Failure and Preserved Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction), PICP, CITP and PICP:CITP ratio were measured at baseline and follow- up in patients with ECV≥27% randomised (n=94) to pirfenidone or placebo, and at baseline only in patients who were not randomised because of ECV<27% (n=13). Results: There was no association between baseline myocardial ECV and baseline log PICP, log CITP and log PICP:CITP ratio (p=0.19, p=0.13, p=0.60, respectively). Treatment with pirfenidone did not alter PICP, but reduced CITP and increased PICP:CITP ratio at 13 and 26 weeks (all p<0.05) but not at 52 weeks. After multivariable adjustment, there was a weak relationship between change in myocardial ECV and change in log PICP (R2 0.16, p=0.01) and log CITP (R2 0.12, p=0.04), but not log PICP:CITP ratio (p=0.56). Conclusions: In patients with stable heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, pirfenidone treatment had no sustained effect on plasma levels of PICP and CITP at 52 weeks. Changes in ECV during treatment with pirfenidone are associated with changes in plasma PICP and CITP, suggesting a weak association between changes in collagen volume/mass and plasma markers of collagen turnover
Coronaviruses reprogram the tRNA epitranscriptome to favor viral protein expression
Get PDFCoronaviruses genomes are enriched in suboptimal A- and U-ending codons, which are typically associated with reduced translation efficiency due to limited cognate tRNA availability. How coronavirus efficiently express their proteins despite this limitation remains unclear. By analyzing their codon usage, we identify four tRNA modifications—inosine (I), queuosine (Q), 5-methylcarboxymethyluridine/ 5methylcarboxymethyl-2-thiouridine (mcm5U/mcm5s2U), and 5-methylcytidine/ 5-formylcytidine (m5C/f5C)—as essential for decoding their suboptimal codons. Notably, SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV-OC43 infections, representing severe and mild human infections, respectively, reprogram these modifications to favor viral protein synthesis. Mechanistically, this reprogramming was driven by altered expression of the corresponding tRNA modifying enzymes. Since both viruses induced DNA damage and oxidative stress— known to similarly alter queuosine, mcm5U/mcm5s2U, and m5C/f5C modifications to favor expression of stress response proteins—our findings support that coronavirus genomes have adapted to the tRNA modification landscape under stress conditions. Overall, coronaviruses orchestrate a codon-specific reprogramming of the host tRNA modification landscape, highlighting a conserved strategy that optimizes translation efficiency and represents a promising target for pan-coronavirus antiviral therapy development
A UK perspective on responsible education for responsible AI: a multidisciplinary review and evaluation framework
Get PDFResponsible Artificial Intelligence (RAI) education has emerged as a way of approaching the field of AI to address a host of concerns (Bentley et al., 2023). Many education providers have been releasing new RAI-related online courses, programmes, or toolkits. When combined with the issues emerging from the development, deployment, and use of AI, the expansion of RAI education and the proliferation of resources raise two critical questions. First, what can we learn about RAI from examining both the content and structure of publicly available RAI educational resources? Second, how might we understand the quality and impact of these RAI resources? We conducted a systematic search of UK RAI educational resources found online. We first present a descriptive analysis of 211 resources collected, including their type, format, cost, sector, audience, and type of provider. Furthermore, we describe our collaborative approach to analysing four pre-selected resources in-depth, from which we outlined an evaluation framework that we then employed for assessing the content of a subset of 47 resources. The five crucial areas of our framework could guide both learners and developers when approaching RAI resources
Prototyping a tool to layer lived experience narratives onto systems maps
Get PDFSystems mapping approaches have attracted international interest for their value to policy actors. However, the maps they create can seem impersonal and disconnected from the lived experience of the communities that policy actors serve. This paper introduces our prototype tool designed to bring systems mapping, research evidence on causal connections, and lived experience narratives together. Our inspiration came from Community Panels of people with lived experience of health inequalities, who felt that evidence-based causal maps de-personalised the issues, and jettisoned subjective, emotive experiences, especially those of marginalised groups. We share images of the layered mapping tool, document and reflect on the process of creating it, and report early feedback workshops with policymakers and Community Panel participants on how far this practice-based innovation succeeds in bridging lived experience and policy-facing systems mapping
NEDs reimagined: a post-Higgs review of the role and contribution of non-executive directors
No full textThe aim of the 2025 IoD Commission was to consider whether the role of non-executive
directors (NEDs), first defined by the 2003 Higgs Review, remains fit for purpose
in today’s complex corporate environment. In conducting its work, the Commission
undertook survey and academic research, consulted with a wide range of practitioners
and governance experts, and engaged in extensive discussion and debate.
It finds that while the Higgs principles remain relevant, boards must evolve from passive oversight to active,
adaptive stewardship. The Commission calls for a rewiring of the board, making 12 recommendations, around board
composition, competence and skills, culture, support and enablement, and incentives and rewards, to encourage
NEDs to be more bold, curious, and strategically engaged
Loss of daily phase relations identified by multiomic analyses in acute pancreatitis
No full textAcute pancreatitis (AP) is sudden inflammation of the pancreas which can cause organ failure and death, and with no targeted therapies in the clinic, there is an imperative to identify new potential avenues for therapeutics discovery. This exploratory study investigates the potential role of circadian rhythms in AP pathogenesis. We integrated and analysed multiomics data, including transcriptomics, metabolomics, and clinical laboratory measurements, synthesised from peripheral whole blood samples obtained from AP patients. Our exploratory findings identified a potential association between circadian rhythm dysregulation and disease severity. Specifically, we observed that the rhythmic expression of circadian genes across a 24-h period, such as the circadian locomotor output cycles kaput (CLOCK) and the brain and muscle ARNT-Like 1 (BMAL1) gene, and a specific subset of metabolites may be altered in AP. These exploratory results provide a foundation for future investigations into the potential therapeutic implications of targeting circadian rhythms in AP. Additional studies are required to validate these findings and to elucidate the specific mechanisms involved
Functional studies of kinetoplastid transporters
No full textA significant proportion of genes in any prokaryotic or eukaryotic organism codes for proteins involved in transport processes. These carriers, receptors, and channels determine the flow of nutrients, ions, metabolites, and waste products across not just the plasma membrane but also, in eukaryotes, internal membranes—equilibrative transport when not energy-dependent and concentrative accumulation of substrate against a concentration gradient when assisted by energy expenditure of some kind. These gene products are not only essential for cellular functions and survival but can also serve as drug targets or determinants of drug uptake and extrusion. The protocol presented here can be utilized to study nutrient or drug uptake and/or efflux across the plasma membrane of kinetoplastid organisms
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! 👇