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Gender-neutral assessment in Australia: Acceptance and eligibility among current donors
Get PDFBackground: Blood collection agencies are shifting to gender-neutral risk assessment for donor eligibility. Pre-implementation data on donor eligibility and acceptance rates are essential to understand the likely impact of these changes locally. Study Design and Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was emailed to current Australian blood donors (donated in the last 12 months). Consistent with the recommendations of the United Kingdom's For the Assessment of Individualised Risk (FAIR) project and the United States of America (USA) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gender-neutral screening criteria, participants were asked about sexual behaviors in the last 3 months (multiple partners, new partners, anal sex) and whether being asked about these would deter them from donating. Demographic characteristics and behavioral responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square tests. Results: Of 7938 respondents (11.3% response rate), only 0.6% (95% CI 0.4–0.8) would be ineligible under gender-neutral criteria (0.7%, 95% CI 0.2–1.8 of those who donated in the last 3 months). Those potentially ineligible were younger and less likely to identify as heterosexual. While tolerance for screening questions was generally high (≥70.0% indicated questions would not stop them donating), 12.7% (95% CI 12.0–13.4) indicated that one or more of the questions asked of all would stop or be quite likely to stop them attempting to donate. Some variation in tolerance was observed by demographic categories. Discussion: Implementation of gender-neutral screening criteria in Australia would result in minimal donor loss due to ineligibility. While questions would be generally tolerated, careful implementation considering demographic variations is warranted
Geographies of subsumption
Get PDFThis article draws on heterodox scholarship on capitalist subsumption to revise core approaches within Marxist and critical geography. The article argues that a heterodox account of subsumption provides us with an analytical tool with which to understand the geographies of capitalist difference without recourse to spatial determinism nor nonrelational accounts of externality. While heterodox approaches to subsumption are experiencing something of a renaissance within critical theory more broadly, the concept has been scarcely engaged by Marxist and critical geography. This is despite the tacit engagement with stagist interpretations of subsumption common among dominant Marxist and critical geographical approaches. With this in mind, the article first aims to develop a critique of Marxist and critical geographers’ engagements with the question of subsumption, and second aims to explore how a dynamic account of subsumption helps us unpack the unstable heterogeneity of capital's sociospatial totality, and draw attention to capital’s highly differential sociospatial forms and political fault-lines. In doing so the article will suggest three key ways heterodox approaches to subsumption intervene in debates within Marxist and critical geography. First the paper argues that a more dynamic conceptualisation of capitalist subsumption entails a revised understanding of capitalist landed property and dispossession. Second, that such an approach contributes to a more politically grounded understanding of capitalist uneven development. And third, by attending to the differential social forms of capital, subsumption can nuance ongoing geographical debates concerning racialised and gendered capitalism
Protocol: Is home-based self-swabbing feasible for postoperative wound culture after cardiac surgery? A multi-centre mixed-methods feasibility study in the United Kingdom
Get PDFIntroductionPoor access to surgical wound swabbing in the community often results in delayed or inappropriate antibiotic prescribing for surgical site infections. This delay can contribute to prolonged wound healing and poor antimicrobial stewardship. Patient self-swabbing at home could improve access to diagnostic testing but its feasibility and acceptability remain unexplored.Methods and analysisTREASURE is a multi-centre, mixed-methods feasibility study. A total of 40 patient participants and 10 staff stakeholders will be included. Forty adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery via median sternotomy will be recruited from Harefield Hospital (n=25) and the Royal Sussex County Hospital (n=15). Eligible participants will receive a co-produced self-swabbing set of instructions and kit at discharge and perform wound swabbing at home within 1–21 days, observed remotely by a researcher via Microsoft Teams. Swabs will be couriered to a central laboratory for bacterial culture with antimicrobial susceptibility testing for pathogens.The primary feasibility outcome is the proportion of patients successfully completing self-swabbing at home to obtain usable culture swabs. Secondary safety and acceptability outcomes include usability of the kit and instructions; patient satisfaction; viability of samples for laboratory analysis; and recruitment and retention rates. Thirty-day follow-up will capture wound complications, antibiotic prescribing and healthcare utilisation via patient questionnaires, case note review, GP confirmation, and patient interviews. Ten staff stakeholders will be interviewed to inform pathway development. Quantitative data will be analysed descriptively, with proportions reported alongside 95% confidence intervals. Qualitative data from patients will undergo thematic analysis, and stakeholder interviews will be coded using Normalisation Process Theory. An early health economic model will be developed to explore resource use, costs and proportions of appropriate and timely antibiotic use between current pathways and a proposed pathway, including self-swabbing.Ethics and disseminationWest of Scotland Research Ethics Service has reviewed and approved the study (REC reference: 25/WS/0079). Findings will be disseminated through the study website, a webinar, peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, PPI-led activities and engagement with NHS stakeholders
Policy instruments and cultural currents shaping recycling behaviours: A systematic review
Get PDFRecycling policies are now widely adopted; however, jurisdictions that implement similar instruments may report markedly different outcomes. This heterogeneity suggests that effectiveness depends not only on policy design and infrastructure, but also on the sociocultural conditions into which these instruments are introduced. Yet, most previous reviews have examined policy levers and cultural factors in isolation. This systematic literature review synthesised global evidence on how waste-policy instruments interact with sociocultural forces to shape recycling behaviours and outcomes. We followed the PRISMA guidelines, included 32 academic articles and six grey-literature from over 24 countries. We covered the period between 2006 and 2024. Our analyses show that legislation alone is insufficient; effective waste-policy instruments require clear accountability for operations and financing, enforceable regulations, and adaptation to local political and sociocultural contexts. This is illustrated by the contrasting experiences of Canada and Malaysia's EPR models. We also found that EPR can galvanise community identity when local actors are meaningfully involved; that DRS effectiveness depends on reducing logistical and social frictions; that PAYT encourages sorting at source (as in Belgium) but performs best when recycling is convenient, profitable, and supported by investment in basic waste-management infrastructure; and that landfill bans, while signalling strong societal commitment to circularity, deliver highly variable results depending on cultural legitimacy, social cohesion, and the surrounding policy ecosystem. Together, these findings show the need to move beyond generic legislation-only interventions toward context-sensitive policies calibrated to local sociocultural and infrastructural realities
When wuthering winds create fluttering fields: structural and biomechanical properties determine canopy light fluctuation properties of 10 wheat cultivars
Get PDFWind-driven plant movement generates rapid light fluctuations (windflecks), which can impact canopy photosynthesis. Targeting crop photosynthesis in dynamic light provides a potential path towards boosting yield. Here, we quantified how plant architecture and biomechanics modulate such windflecks across 10 high-yielding cultivars of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum). Using synchronized high-frequency measurements of irradiance, wind speed, and canopy motion (quantified by frame differencing from video), we assessed the propensity of wheat cultivars to move (motion sensitivity), and the ability for movement to produce windflecks (light modulation efficiency) in the field. There was up to 10-fold variation in the quantity of motion between cultivars under identical wind speeds. Cultivars also exhibited structural trade-offs and specific in canopy windfleck properties. Some had low motion under wind but produced frequent windflecks when moving, whereas others exhibited high motion under similar wind but varied in windfleck frequency. Overall, windfleck properties were best explained by aerodynamic traits: cultivars with narrower leaves and lower leaf-to-stem mass ratios were associated with more intense windflecks.These findings establish that wheat cultivars actively modulate their light environment through biomechanical traits. By integrating plant motion into crop models, favouring motion–light relationships, which could provide a critical route to yield improvements in turbulent environments
On the Origin of Intracluster Light Based on the High-resolution Simulation, NewCluster
Get PDFIntracluster light (ICL) is a key component of galaxy clusters, with the potential to trace their dynamical assembly histories and the underlying dark matter distribution. Despite these prospects, its faint nature makes a consensus on its origin or population properties difficult to achieve, both in observations and simulations. In the hope of finding a breakthrough, we utilize the ongoing high-resolution cluster simulation, NewCluster. By classifying billions of particles in and around the cluster with a rigorous tracking procedure, we find that the majority of the ICL originates from satellites, including surviving and disrupted galaxies. Another notable finding is that the preprocessed component follows the density profile of dark matter better than the other components and has distinctive properties: old age, low metallicity, and enhanced α-element abundance. We further investigate the orbital dynamics, and our results demonstrate that the stripped fraction of satellites is primarily determined by the time since infall and the pericenter distance. By linking the demographic, chemical, and orbital properties of ICL stars to their origins, this work proposes a quantitative approach for tracing the assembly history of galaxy clusters from the ICL
Molecular Biointerface Characterisation for an Implanted Medical Device Using Cryogenic Orbitrap Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (Cryo-OrbiSIMS)
Get PDFImplanted medical devices often fail due to foreign body reaction (FBR), a process still not fully understood. This work presents a depth profiling approach to provide insight into the spatial metabolomics of the biointerface of implants, revealing biomolecular strata representative of the host response. This study examines silicone rubber poly(dimethyl siloxane) catheters implanted in mice for 1 and 28 days. Cryo-OrbiSIMS was used in combination with ToF-SIMS to identify metabolite profiles from the biological deposit found on the implants after removal from the tissue which were previously unattainable using tissue sectioning. Machine learning and statistical analysis of the profiles were used to help identify early biointerface responses to the implant, including at 1 day of implantation the observation of elevated sugars and itaconate an immunomodulatory metabolite that modulates FBR. At day 28 inflammation associated markers were observed such as urate and palmitic acid (FA 16:0). Depth profiling revealed two distinct molecular layers in the deposits: amino acids, and nucleic acids were preferentially seen towards the host tissue, consistent with the observation of a cell monolayer in the tissue sections, whereas certain lipids and fatty acids where either at the catheter-deposit interface or towards the host tissue after 28 days. The stratification was less well developed at 1-day implantation, but common lipids were seen at the deposit-implant interface across both time points. These insights advance understanding of FBR and support the development of improved implant materials
Negotiating informal partnerships between universities and international schools for social and global justice; what role do PGCEi tutors have on this journey?
Get PDFHow can university-school partnerships be navigated through students on an M level programme globally? In this paper, we discuss the purposes of University-School partnerships and the challenges of managing these when there is no formal arrangement to establish these partnerships. The Postgraduate Certificate in Education international (PGCEi) attracts students who are employed at various educational establishments globally and want to develop their understanding of educational concepts and theories. We explore the challenges of supporting their PGCEi journeys when there is no formal University-School partnership in place, and evaluate the role of PGCEi tutors as they progress through the course. PGCEi tutors play a critical role in navigating the space between the student and the School’s expectations. We question the students on the purposes of teaching in international schools and challenge them to consider how knowledge and power are connected as part of a decolonial approach to learning and teaching. The process is grounded in the concept of epistemic dependence in which PGCEi students and tutors can co-create a space to develop a decolonial approach as part of a broader focus on social and global justice
Synthesis and characterization of monodisperse microencapsulated phase change material within poly(methyl methacrylate-co-pentaerythritol tetraacrylate) shell
Get PDFMicroencapsulated phase change materials (MEPCM) exhibit considerable potential for latent thermal storage and energy saving. However, traditional polydisperse MEPCM often demonstrates inconsistent thermal behavior during phase transition among different particles, which stems from variations in confined domain sizes. Our study presents the fabrication process of monodisperse microcapsules to mitigate discrepancies in thermal properties arising from geometric heterogeneity. This study systematically investigates the effects of initiator dosage, crosslinker dosage, and core content on the surface morphology and thermal performance of MEPCM. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations revealed that MEPCM-C30% possesses a smooth surface with an average diameter of 38.5 μm and a coefficient of variation (CV) of the diameter of only 1.9 %. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) further confirmed the high surface smoothness of MEPCM-C30%, showing a root mean square roughness (Rq) as low as 7.92 nm. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses indicated that increasing the initial core content from 10 % to 30 % could enhance the phase change enthalpy from 157.2 J/g to 207.2 J/g, reinforce heterogeneous nucleation at the capsule wall and reduce the degree of supercooling from 3.4 °C to 2.8 °C, respectively. Thermogravimetric (TGA) analysis showed the initial thermal decomposition temperature of MEPCM-C30% increased from 144 °C to 162 °C compared with MEPCM-C10%. Overall, MEPCM-C30% demonstrated superior heat storage capacity, thermal responsiveness, and thermal stability
Is acquisition-related foreign direct investment during an economic crisis detrimental for domestic innovation?
Get PDFWe study how acquisition-related foreign direct investment during economic crises affects R&D investments and the direction of innovation of target firms, compared with acquisitions made during periods of strong economic growth. Using a panel of Spanish firms, we find that foreign multinationals cherry-pick the best domestic firms, irrespective of the timing of acquisition. Using matching and difference-in-differences regressions, we find that firms acquired during economic crises experience smaller declines in R&D than those acquired during boom periods. Our results are consistent with the opportunity cost theory of R&D over the business cycle: during recessions, the relative cost of R&D falls, incentivizing innovation, particularly in new product development. However, only firms with sufficient access to finance can capitalize on these conditions. Our results suggest that acquisitions can ease financial constraints at a critical time, enabling target firms to sustain or redirect innovation efforts when incentives are most favorable
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