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Refining Late Holocene explosive eruption histories of the Main Ethiopian Rift with lake sediment tephra records
No full textThe Main Ethiopian Rift (MER) hosts a rapidly growing population exposed to eruption hazards from ∼60 active Holocene volcanoes. The geological record preserves significant information about the nature and frequency of past explosive volcanism in the rift, but the Holocene eruption record remains incomplete and its implications for contemporary volcanic hazards are yet to be fully understood. Here we use lake sediments preserved at four sites: Babogaya (MER), Haro Kori and Wergoba (southeastern Ethiopian plateau), and Dendi (western Ethiopian plateau) to constrain the Late Holocene tephrostratigraphic record. We focus on Lake Babogaya in the Bishoftu Volcanic Field which preserves 5 visible and 2 cryptotephra layers dating between 0.4 and 4.5 ka. Distal ash in this record is chemically correlated by major element composition to at least three eruptions of the Boset Volcanic Complex and two eruptions of the Corbetti Volcanic System in the last 5 ka, providing the first absolute age control for recent explosive activity of Boset. Ashfall originating from the 1.3–1.9 ka VEI 5 Wendo Koshe Younger Pumice eruption of Corbetti is identified in three records allowing re-estimation of total erupted volume for this event with improved distal constraints. The total erupted volume is >1.3 times larger than previous estimates, dispersing ∼4.0 km3 (2.75–6.75 km3) of tephra over ∼90,000 km2, and predicts ashfall within range of Addis Ababa. An additional visible tephra preserved at Haro Kori, dating to 2.3 ka BP, indicates another large-magnitude eruption of Corbetti occurred within the last 2.5 ka. These findings demonstrate the value of distal lake records for improving the regional eruption record of the MER, providing crucial controls on the timing and magnitude of recent rift volcanism. Ash dispersal from central rift volcanism is capable of inundating populous areas across central Ethiopia; our work supports more informed preparation for future volcanic ash hazards in a region undergoing rapid development.</p
Testing stimulus generalisation as a mechanism for impression formation
No full textPeople readily judge trustworthiness based on others' facial appearance, but less is known about how our prior experiences shape who we find trustworthy. Stimulus generalisation is one mechanism which may explain how experience influences impressions of strangers. This fundamental learning principle argues that learning about one stimulus generalises to stimuli that resemble the original stimulus. Here, we asked whether stimulus generalisation, specifically, based on facial resemblance, can influence impressions of trustworthiness. We used a novel face resemblance paradigm to test whether naturally acquired attitudes held towards known individuals (celebrities) predict trustworthiness impressions of strangers' faces that were manipulated to resemble these identities. Across three studies (Total N = 283) and two countries (UK, Australia), we confirmed that pre-existing attitudes towards known individuals significantly predicted trustworthiness impressions of strangers' faces that merely resemble these individuals. Importantly, pre-existing attitudes remained significant after multi-level modelling accounted for variation in both facial appearance and participant differences. We found strong support for stimulus generalisation, demonstrating that social learning in the real world predicts individuals' impressions of trustworthiness. Therefore, impression formation involves integrating visual appearance with prior experiences to help us decide which people we trust. Our work demonstrates an important but neglected theoretical overlap between person perception, attitude formation, and learning principles.</p
Oxidative Stress-Driven Transcriptomic Remodeling in Human Astrocytes Reveals Network Signatures Associated with Neurodegenerative and Cardiovascular Processes
No full textAstrocytes are central to brain homeostasis, supporting neuronal metabolism, synaptic activity, and the blood–brain barrier. With aging, these glial cells undergo molecular and functional changes that weaken support functions and promote neuroinflammation, contributing to neurodegeneration. Yet the systems-level mechanisms by which astrocytes respond to aging-related stressors remain poorly defined in human models. Because aging also heightens risk for cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment, type 2 diabetes, and systemic inflammation, clarifying shared astrocytic pathways is critical for understanding brain–body crosstalk. Using an in vitro human astrocyte model exposed to sublethal oxidative stress (10µM H₂O₂) as a proxy for age-related cellular stress, we profiled transcriptomic changes and identified differentially expressed genes across antioxidant defenses, proteostasis, transcriptional regulation, vesicular trafficking, and inflammatory signaling. We then performed network-prioritization analyses on a curated human protein–protein interactome: one seeded with the astrocyte oxidative stress responsive genes and six with phenotype-associated gene sets (Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment, type 2 diabetes, oxidative stress, and inflammation). Intersecting the top 5% scoring genes from each run yielded a 127-gene core shared across all seven, enriched for proteostasis, DNA repair, mitochondrial regulation, and telomere and nuclear envelope maintenance. Structure-guided analyses highlighted vulnerable interfaces, including lamin A/C–lamin B1, α-actinin–filamins, 14-3-3 dimers, and aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase assemblies, where pathogenic variants are predicted to destabilize or aberrantly stabilize protein interactions. Structure-based interface predictions also highlight potential interactions between amyloid precursor protein (APP) and valosin-containing protein (VCP), and between p53 and 14-3-3ζ, potentially linking proteostasis and stress signaling. Together, these analyses identify a conserved astrocyte-centered network signature that may relate neurodegenerative and cardiovascular processes, and prioritize structurally testable candidates for biomarker and intervention hypothesis testing
Interview with David Evans
No full textNational Theatre Wales (NTW) was launched in 2009 as Wales’ English language national theatre company. Through its first season NTW established a reputation for producing stylistically diverse context-specific theatre that sought to establish a dialogue between performance and place. In September 2023 Arts Council Wales (ACW) announced that it would no longer provide National Theatre Wales (NTW) with multi-year funding. The decision brought to an abrupt end 15 years of financial support for the company and has left its future in jeopardy.David Evans joined NTW as Head of Production in late 2011 and remained with the company until June 2024. During his time with the company he oversaw the realization of work in aircraft hangars and city streets, on moving trains, in forests, and on mountain- sides. David came to NTW with over twenty years’ experience of freelance production management and international touring. He also served as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) between 2014 and 2022, and has been Co-Chair of the ABTT since 2021. I conducted this interview with David in July 2024 as a way of understanding how production management works in unusual sites and locations, what sort of negotiations took place between design and production at NTW, the increasing importance of sustainability in design and production, and how production practices might constitute an important part of NTW’s broader legacy
Chain Length and Degree of Saturation of Cooking Fats Influence the Inherent Glycemic Potential of Dietary Starches
Get PDFLipid-induced digestive resistance could be an affordable management strategy to lower the glycemic amplitude of dietary starch. This study evaluated the influence of fatty acid (FA) composition, chain length, and saturation of five cooking fats—ghee (GH), coconut oil (CO), sunflower oil (SO), mustard oil (MO), and til oil (TO)—on the inherent glycemic potential (IGP) of starches from pearl millet (PM) and rice. Starch–lipid (S-L) complexes were analyzed using in vitro starch hydrolysis kinetics. The inclusion of cooking fats in starches resulted in higher resistant starch (RS) content, which was attributed to the formation of stable S-L structures. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction revealed that GH and MO-induced complexes exhibited longer and shorter starch molecule assemblies in PM and rice, which ultimately limited the IGP to 57.13% and 58.87%, respectively. Subsequently, the in vitro glucose diffusion assay validated the lesser glucose bioavailability from MO-induced starch complexes in the system, revealing the correlation among chain length and degree of saturation of cooking fats in the context of IGP of dietary starches. Henceforth, by understanding these S-L interactions, newer food prototypes could be designed in the near future.</p