179566 research outputs found
Sort by
Beyond the urban-rural binary:Spatial dynamics of integration, segregation, and radicalisation in Northwest Europe
No full textThis paper examines the dialectical relationship between integration, segregation, and radicalisation across European urban and rural spaces, challenging conventional binary conceptualisations through qualitative analysis in the UK, Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands. The findings reveal complex spatial dynamics wherein urban environments simultaneously facilitate intercultural exchange while harbouring mechanisms of socio-spatial segregation that may catalyse radicalisation. Rural localities, despite demographic homogeneity, manifest distinct integration challenges and demonstrate potential vulnerability to engagement in radicalisation, particularly through far-right movements. This spatial reconfiguration thus necessitates a reconceptualisation of predominant urban-centric paradigms in studies of radicalisation and extreme movements. The analysis advances theoretical understanding of how spatial relations intersect with identity formation, citizenship practices, and social cohesion across differentiated geographical contexts. These findings suggest the need for spatially attentive policy interventions that recognise the distinct yet interconnected social ecologies of urban and rural environments in addressing contemporary patterns of radicalisation and social fragmentation.</p
Managing free-roaming domestic dog populations using surgical sterilisation: a randomised controlled trial
No full textFree-roaming domestic dogs (FRDs) are among the most abundant carnivores on earth and have coexisted with humans for over 15,000 years, yet increases in negative interactions and the transmission of zoonotic diseases, precipitates calls for population management. Despite significant investment in FRD sterilisation in India, where rabies is endemic, there is limited evidence of its impact on reducing FRD population sizes. Therefore, robust evaluation of the effectiveness of fertility control programmes is necessary. To address this, we implemented a Before After Control Intervention (BACI) framework in the first multi-site randomised controlled trial for the sterilisation of FRDs. We conducted single intensive sterilisation campaigns in five areas, achieving female sterilisation coverages of 58-66%. We observed a decrease in puppies and lactating females and a reduction in residents' reports of barking, a common problem associated with FRDs. There were no significant differences in adult FRD counts between intervention and control sites during the 2-year follow-up. However, unmeasured immigration into and emigration out of study areas may have confounded counts. One-off, albeit intense, sterilisation campaigns in open populations require substantial investment and are unlikely to reduce population size in isolation, though there may be some reduction in problematic behaviours and improved animal welfare.<br/
Professional Learning as Activism:How Educators Recontextualise University Master’s Course Learning for Enabling Evolution in School Settings
Get PDFThis paper discusses educator experiences of a Scottish university master’s level study course designed to support the leading of professional learning. Scotland offers varied educator professional development opportunities, but these do not always transfer to pedagogy shifts and sustainable school evolution.For the research, course participants that are also full-time educators were interviewed about their experiences and recent approaches in leading professional learning. It was found that they have developed identities of professional intellectualism and activism within the course as a liminal space. However, they must also enact compliance to a system culture of rational thought and performativity whilst simultaneously attempting to disrupt the status quo for the perceived good of their staff and pupils. We consider their dilemmas and the influence of other actors in recontextualizing critically reflexive practice across a complex ecosystem undergoing reform
Constraining the fluid sources of gold-bearing veins in orogenic belts using sulfur and lead isotopes: A case study from Loch Tay, Scotland (UK)
Get PDFUnpicking the fluid and metal sources, and the number of mineralizing events, can be challenging because fluids from different origins mix and can overprint existing mineralization. Crustal and/or basinal fluids may play a role in “diluting” magmatic or mantle fluids and can have a significant impact on the isotope composition of the precipitated phases in an ore deposit, which ultimately leads to difficulties in classifying the deposit style. We present a case study of this problem from the southern margin of Loch Tay (Scotland). The results from sulfur and lead isotope studies indicate that magmatic-hydrothermal processes were responsible for the establishment of the mineralizing system, but this signature gets progressively obscured in some localities due to mixing between magmatic-hydrothermal and crustal fluids. Indications of two separate mineralization events have been observed, but differentiating the first stage from the second one is challenging. Our study demonstrates the need to understand the characteristics of the mineral system and the geological setting to support robust interpretation. The results also have implications for regional exploration models: we suggest that the majority of the auriferous vein occurrences at Loch Tay are probably of a magmatic origin, rather than of an “orogenic gold” type. Furthermore, the veins around Loch Tay provide a case study of how vein-hosted gold mineralization with some orogenic characteristics may be related to magmatism, suggesting that isotope data from other auriferous veins globally may be misinterpreted due to fluid mixing, particularly if the regional context is poorly understood
A blood- and brain-based EWAS of smoking
Get PDFDNA methylation offers an objective method to assess the impact of smoking. In this work, we conduct a Bayesian EWAS of smoking pack years (n = 17,865, ~850k sites, Illumina EPIC array) and extend it by analysing whole genome data of smokers and non-smokers from Generation Scotland (n = 46, ~4–21 million sites via TWIST and Oxford Nanopore sequencing). We develop mCigarette, an epigenetic biomarker of smoking, and test it in two British cohorts. Results of brain- and blood-based EWAS (nbrain=14, nblood = 882, >450k sites, Illumina arrays) reveal several loci with near-perfect discrimination of smoking status, but which do not overlap across tissues. Furthermore, we perform a GWAS of epigenetic smoking, identifying several smoking-related loci. Overall, we improve smoking-related biomarker accuracy and enhance the understanding of the effects of smoking by integrating DNA methylation data from multiple tissues and cohorts
Validation of the Teddy the Bear hunger and satiety rating scale in 3-5-year-old children
Get PDFUsing validated measures to assess children's hunger and satiety is important for eating behaviour research. Pictorial rating scales, such as the Teddy the Bear hunger and satiety rating scale (Bennett & Blissett, 2014), provide a child-friendly approach to assess hunger and satiety. The Teddy the Bear scale has been validated for use with primary school aged children (5–9 years); however, the scale has not been validated for use with preschoolers (3–5 years). Children's hunger ratings may also differ depending on individual characteristics, for example, their eating profile, but this remains to be examined. Hence, this validation study included preschool children aged 3-5-years-old (N = 115, 45 male, 70 female) who had been identified as having either typical (n = 76) or avid (n = 39) eating behaviour profiles. Children consumed a standardised meal and rated their pre- and post-meal hunger using the Teddy the Bear scale. Differences in pre- and post-meal ratings between children with typical and avid eating profiles, and differences in ratings of boys and girls were also examined. Findings showed that children reported lower hunger ratings after a standardised meal, compared to before a standardised meal. There was no difference in hunger ratings between children's eating profiles. However, exploratory analyses demonstrated that greater probability of having an avid eating profile was associated with greater change in ratings, and that greater energy intake was significantly associated with greater change in ratings. Overall, the Teddy the Bear scale may be a valid measure for assessing preschool children's hunger and satiety which is sufficiently sensitive to capture changes resulting from ingesting a meal. However, the scale may be less suitable for use with children aged 3 years
Improving outcomes for people who are homeless and have severe mental illness in Ethiopia, Ghana and Kenya:overview of the HOPE programme
Get PDFAIM: HOPE (National Institute for Health and Care Research Global Health Research Group on Homelessness and Mental Health in Africa) aims to develop and evaluate interventions that address the unmet needs of people who are homeless and have severe mental illness (SMI) living in three African countries in ways that are rights-based, contextually grounded, scalable and sustainable.METHODS: We will work in the capital city (Addis Ababa) in Ethiopia, a regional city (Tamale) in Ghana, and the capital city (Nairobi) and a rural county (Makueni) in Kenya to understand different approaches to intervention needed across varied settings.We will be guided by the MRC/NIHR framework on complex interventions and implementation frameworks and emphasise co-production. Formative work will include synthesis of global evidence (systematic review, including grey literature, and a Delphi consensus exercise) on interventions and approaches to homelessness and SMI. We will map contexts; conduct focused ethnography to understand lived experiences of homelessness and SMI; carry out a cross-sectional survey of people who are homeless (n = 750 Ghana/Ethiopia; n = 350 Kenya) to estimate prevalence of SMI and identify prioritised needs; and conduct in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with key stakeholders to understand experiences, challenges and opportunities for intervention. This global and local evidence will feed into Theory of Change (ToC) workshops with stakeholders to establish agreement about valued primary outcomes, map pathways to impact and inform selection and implementation of interventions. Intervention packages to address prioritised needs will be co-produced, piloted and optimised for feasibility and acceptability using participatory action research. We will use rights-based approaches and focus on community-based care to ensure sustainability. Realist approaches will be employed to analyse how contextual variation affects mechanisms and outcomes to inform methods for a subsequent evaluation of larger scale implementation. Extensive capacity-strengthening activities will focus on equipping early career researchers and peer researchers. People with lived experience of SMI and policymakers are an integral part of the research team. Community engagement is supported by working closely with multisectoral Community Advisory Groups.CONCLUSIONS: HOPE will develop evidence to support action to respond to the needs and preferences of people experiencing homelessness and SMI in diverse settings in Africa. We are creating a new partnership of researchers, policymakers, community members and people with lived experience of SMI and homelessness to enable African-led solutions. Key outputs will include contextually relevant practice and policy guidance that supports achievement of inclusive development.</p
Genomic vulnerability and local adaptation of an arid tolerant tree species on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau
Get PDFCoping with increasing global temperatures due to climate change may be especially challenging for trees with long generation times as changes might happen too quickly for successful adaptation. Juniperus przewalskii Komarov is an arid tolerant key species of forest ecosystems on the northeastern Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. Target capture sequencing was utilized to survey genetic variation and population structure, and to infer the evolutionary history of this species by analyzing 170 individuals from 23 populations. This approach provided valuable information on how local adaptation influences the genetic background of this species, as well as potential predictions regarding the species' response to global climate change. Our results revealed a new fine-scale genetic structure and high levels of genetic diversity as well as local adaptations despite gene flow. Redundancy analysis showed that climate contributed the most to the genetic variation of J. przewalskii. Analysis of gradient forest and risk of nonadaptedness indicated that, for the variables examined and the majority of locations sampled, it is improbable that J. przewalskii will need significant alterations in allele frequencies to endure the forecasted climate shifts. We also identified the most at-risk populations for preservation and numerous candidate genes that may be valuable for upcoming climate change. The significance of combining genetic and environmental information to forecast the resilience of a key tree species to global warming is underscored in our results, particularly in areas susceptible to climate fluctuations.</p
Total cerebral blood volume changes drive macroscopic cerebrospinal fluid flux in humans
Get PDFIn the mammalian brain, the directed motion of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF-flux) is instrumental in the distribution and removal of solutes. Changes in total cerebral blood volume (CBV) have been hypothesized to drive CSF-flux. We tested this hypothesis in two multimodal brain imaging experiments in healthy humans, in which we drove large changes in total CBV by neuronal burst-suppression under anesthesia or by transient global vasodilation in a hypercapnic challenge. We indirectly monitored CBV changes with a high temporal resolution based on associated changes in total brain volume by functional MRI (fMRI) and measured cerebral blood flow by arterial spin-labeling. Relating CBV-sensitive signals to fMRI-derived measures of macroscopic CSF flow across the basal cisternae, we demonstrate that increasing total CBV extrudes CSF from the skull and decreasing CBV allows its influx. Moreover, CSF largely stagnates when CBV is stable. Together, our results establish the direct coupling between total CBV changes and CSF-flux.</p
Learning nonlinear dynamics in physical modelling synthesis using neural ordinary differential equations
Get PDFModal synthesis methods are a long-standing approach for modelling distributed musical systems. In some cases extensions are possible in order to handle geometric nonlinearities. One such case is the high-amplitude vibration of a string, where geometric nonlinear effects lead to perceptually important effects including pitch glides and a dependence of brightness on striking amplitude. A modal decomposition leads to a coupled nonlinear system of ordinary differential equations. Recent work in applied machine learning approaches (in particular neural ordinary differential equations) has been used to model lumped dynamic systems such as electronic circuits automatically from data. In this work, we examine how modal decomposition can be combined with neural ordinary differential equations for modelling distributed musical systems. The proposed model leverages the analytical solution for linear vibration of system's modes and employs a neural network to account for nonlinear dynamic behaviour. Physical parameters of a system remain easily accessible after the training without the need for a parameter encoder in the network architecture. As an initial proof of concept, we generate synthetic data for a nonlinear transverse string and show that the model can be trained to reproduce the nonlinear dynamics of the system. Sound examples are presented
Access Repository Dashboard
Do you manage Edinburgh Research Explorer? Access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard!