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The SahulCHAR collection: a palaeofire database for Australia, New Guinea, and New Zealand
Get PDFRecent global fire activity has highlighted the importance of understanding fire dynamics across time and space, with records of past fire (palaeofire) providing valuable insights to inform us on current and future management challenges. New records from the recent increase in palaeofire studies from Australia and surrounds have not been captured in any database for broader comparisons, and Australasia is poorly represented in current international databases used for global modelling of palaeofire trends. These problems are addressed Published by Copernicus Publications. 268
Simultaneous reduction of odorous and greenhouse gases emissions by thermophilic microbial agents during chicken manure composting
No full textOdorous and greenhouse gases emissions from animal manure composting cause air pollution and nutrient loss. This research examined the effects of thermophilic fungal agent (F) and bacterial agent (B) on the emissions of odorous and greenhouse gases during chicken manure composting and explored the underlying mechanisms. The results indicated that the cumulative emission of ammonia (NH3), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) in F treatment decreased by 20.1 %, 34.2 %, 8.3 % and 26.1 %, respectively, in comparison to 25.3 % reduction in H2S and 9.3 % reduction in N2O in B treatment. F treatment increased the relative abundance of amoA, pmoA and nosZ, while lowering that of ureC, dsrB, mcrA and nirK. Furthermore, inoculation of thermophilic microbial agent significantly altered the evolution of bacterial communities during composting. Pearson correlation and co-occurrence network analysis revealed that Bacillus, Ammoniibacillus, Acinetobacter, Escherichia-Shigella and Oceanobacillus were closely related to gaseous emissions during composting. This study demonstrated that thermophilic fungal inoculation was efficient for mitigating odorous and greenhouse gases emissions during animal manure composting
Guidelines and practice: antipsychotics prescribing and physical health monitoring in children and young people, a cohort study using primary care data
Get PDFBackground: Antipsychotic treatments require physical health monitoring (PHM), especially among children and young people (CYP).Objective: For CYP aged 5-17, to investigate recorded indications for antipsychotics prescribing and first-treatment durations, and, for psychosis, bipolar disorder, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and Tourette’s syndrome, recorded levels of PHM for CYP with antipsychotics prescriptions and those without.Methods: All CYP registered with QResearch English general practices between 2006 and 2021 were considered. To quantify PHM, 2158 CYP with antipsychotics prescriptions and 22 151 CYP with a condition but no prescriptions were followed for 2 years.Findings: 47% (2363) of CYP with antipsychotics prescriptions had a recorded mental health condition of interest (of which 62% were ASD). 19% (921) had no relevant indication. For patients with ASD and Tourette syndrome, top quartiles for initial exposure to antipsychotics were >10 months. Recorded PHM was generally low, with over 50% of CYP showing no blood test during the 2-year follow-up.Conclusions: Coverage of best practice is uneven across the condition-related national CYP guidelines, and this requires improvement. However, we suspect some apparently poor adherence to best practice also derives from treatment complexities and associated data flows leading to gaps in the encoded general practice data. To audit more exactly clinical practice against guidelines, we propose qualitative studies, targeted to cover the full range of local circumstances, nationally.Clinical implications: General practices should be encouraged to prioritise encoding of all treatment data. Development of one central gold-standard set of recommendations for antipsychotics use could encourage better adherence levels across conditions
Implementation of active therapeutic hypothermia across a regional transport network for infants transferred for neonatal encephalopathy
Get PDFBackground: The aim of this study was to evaluate the introduction of servo-controlled therapeutic hypothermia (TH) by a regional transport service and referring centres for infants with hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE). The primary objective was to compare the time to reach 33–34 °C target temperature (TT). Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of neonatal transfers for TH across a large UK regional network from 2011 to 2021. Three cohorts were identified for comparison, defined by the setting of TH initiation: referring ‘Base’ centre or during ‘Transport’ and by the TH method: passive(Pass) or active(Act). Results: A total of 315 infants were included. The TransportAct (n = 128) cohort achieved TT significantly earlier (280 min) than the TransportPass (n = 155) cohort (353 min, P Act (n = 32) was associated with an additional 89 min reduction in time to TT (191 min, P < 0.0001), with more infants achieving this within 3 h (44% vs 19%; OR 3.3, 95% Cl 1.4–7.7, P < 0.01), and a shorter stabilisation time (110 vs 175 min, P < 0.001). Outcomes for infants were not different. Conclusions: Compared with passive cooling, the introduction of transport and referring centre active TH improves temperature management of transferred infants with HIE, with more reaching therapeutic temperature within 6 h and fewer being overcooled. Impact: Early therapeutic hypothermia (TH) improves survival without disability for infants with hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE). However, many infants are born in centres without servo-controlled TH and rely on passive cooling prior to transfer. This study demonstrates that the introduction of active TH by both the transport team and by referring centres is associated with significant improvements in time to reach target temperature, minimising overcooling and reducing transport stabilisation times. Investment in active TH provision by all birth centres and transport teams could be a cost-effective method to reduce birth-related brain injury and improve outcomes of infants with HIE
Exploring stroke survivor and employer experiences of disruption within the RETurn to work After stroKE (RETAKE) trial during the COVID-19 pandemic
Get PDFIntroduction: Returning to work is a goal for many stroke survivors, with benefits for individuals and society. The ReTurn to work After stroKE (RETAKE) trial, which aimed to improve stroke survivors’ work outcomes through early stroke-specific vocational rehabilitation (ESSVR), was ongoing during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to understand the impact of the pandemic on stroke survivors’ work ability and return-to work support.Methods: Nine stroke survivors and five employers were interviewed. Thematic analysis informed by Normalisation Process Theory, found that biographical disruption experienced as a result of stroke was compounded by disruption on a global scale due to the pandemic.Results: Attempts to mobilise resources in response to disruption were hampered by pandemic-related issues. Although returning to work offered continuity in pre-stroke identity, businesses were also disrupted by the pandemic. Findings suggest that returning to work was easier for stroke survivors able to work from home and those receiving ESSVR. The opportunity to work from home helped stroke survivors adapt to new ways of working necessitated by the impact of stroke and social distancing rules during the pandemic.Discussion: Post-pandemic, remote working is more acceptable, which may benefit future stroke survivors aiming to return to work whilst managing post-stroke fatigue. This may mitigate disruption to lives and post-stroke identities
Conservation laws that depend on functions and PDE reduction: Extending Noether 1 ½
No full textThis paper develops methods for simplifying systems of partial differential equations (PDEs) that have families of conservation laws which depend on arbitrary functions of the independent or dependent variables. Cases are identified in which such methods can be combined with reduction using families of symmetries to give a multiple reduction; this is analogous to the double reduction of order for ordinary differential equations (ODE) with variational symmetries. Applications are given, including a widely used class of pseudoparabolic equations and several mean curvature equations
A study of birth order and family characteristics in referrals to two UK primary school psychotherapy services
Get PDFFreud asserted that birth order should be considered in every life history assessment, yet birth order has been underinvestigated in the field of child psychotherapy and allied fields such as educational and developmental psychology. An overview of birth order research and accounts of birth order perspectives in child psychotherapy and psychoanalytic literature are considered. Data from consecutive referrals (n = 174, 60% males and 40% females) to two UK primary school counselling services (children aged 5–11) were collected with a view to understanding more about possible patterns in birth order among referrals. The data analysis revealed that the number of siblings in the families ranged from one to nine, with a mean of 4.4 siblings. Males were over-represented across all birth order categories (eldest, middle, only child and youngest). Youngest siblings (39%) and children from larger families (three to six children) were over-represented (78%). Singletons (only children) were under-represented (6%). The data points to the increased vulnerability of younger siblings from larger families, and the protective factors for females and only children. The findings have implications for counsellors and psychotherapists working in primary schools, and more generally practitioners working with children and young people who should become more accustomed to considering birth order when assessing risk and vulnerability. Understanding birth order might also be of value to professions allied to psychotherapy such as teachers who have the purview of the children in their class, who can assess risk factors and plan accordingly
Bioengineering of air-filled protein nanoparticles by genetic and chemical functionalization
Get PDFBackground: Various bacteria and archaea, including halophilic archaeon Halobacterium sp. NRC-1 produce gas vesicle nanoparticles (GVNPs), a unique class of stable, air-filled intracellular proteinaceous nanostructures. GVNPs are an attractive tool for biotechnological applications due to their readily production, purification, and unique physical properties. GVNPs are spindle- or cylinder-shaped, typically with a length of 100 nm to 1.5 μm and a width of 30–250 nm. Multiple monomeric subunits of GvpA and GvpC proteins form the GVNP shell, and several additional proteins are required as minor structural or assembly proteins. The haloarchaeal genetic system has been successfully used to produce and bioengineer GVNPs by fusing several foreign proteins with GvpC and has shown various applications, such as biocatalysis, diagnostics, bioimaging, drug delivery, and vaccine development. Results: We demonstrated that native GvpC can be removed in a low salt buffer during the GVNP purification, leaving the GvpA-based GVNP's shell intact and stable under physiological conditions. Here, we report a genetic engineering and chemical modification approach for functionalizing the major GVNP protein, GvpA. This novel approach is based on combinatorial cysteine mutagenesis within GvpA and genetic expansion of the N-terminal and C-terminal regions. Consequently, we generated GvpA single, double, and triple cysteine variant libraries and investigated the impact of mutations on the structure and physical shape of the GVNPs formed. We used a thiol–maleimide chemistry strategy to introduce the biotechnological relevant activity by maleimide-activated streptavidin–biotin and maleimide-activated SpyTag003-SpyCatcher003 mediated functionalization of GVNPs. Conclusion: The merger of these genetic and chemical functionalization approaches significantly extends these novel protein nanomaterials' bioengineering and functionalization potential to assemble catalytically active proteins, biomaterials, and vaccines onto one nanoparticle in a modular fashion. Graphical Abstract
Defence and the UK Constitution
No full textNo area of government policy has the potential to be more consequential. No decision a prime minister makes is likely to be more important. But despite this, the defence and security of the United Kingdom rests on constitutionally unstable ground. Sweeping powers mean government can make choices about national defence and the deployment of our armed forces with only limited oversight from Parliament and the judiciary.Defence and the UK Constitution charts the court cases and political manoeuvres which have defined UK defence and security policy across its history, and which dictate its future direction. In this concise and engaging work, public international law expert Professor Nigel D. White argues that an alternative direction is required: one which prioritises democratic principles, individual rights, and transparency above the interests of efficiency, secrecy, and executive power
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