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Reaction-to-fire performance of vertical laminated toughened glass panels with different inter-layer materials when exposed to an external heat flux
No full textThis paper investigates the fire performance of laminated glass used in balcony balustrades under external heat flux conditions. Experiments examined ignition times and heat release rates (HRR) from laminated glass with different thicknesses of toughened glass with four inter-layer types: polyvinyl butyral (PVB), SentryGlas Plus (SGP), ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), and cast-in-place (CIP). Parameters included glass thickness, sample size, thermal exposure, and the condition of the glass pane (broken or unbroken). Thinner PVB samples showed a poorer reaction-to-fire performance when compared to the three other laminate types. At 75 kW/m2 exposure conditions the 17.5 mm thick PVB samples ignited after 5.6 ± 0.9 min versus 8.3 ± 1.6 min for 25.5 mm think samples, faster times than equivalent samples containing SGP and EVA. When 21.5 mm thick unbroken samples were exposed to 75 kW/m2, the peak HRR was ~167 kW/m2 for PVB and SGP samples compared to ~85 kW/m2 for EVA and CIP. However, the HRR from a 17.5 mm thick PVB sample peaked at 256 kW/m2 versus 122 kW/m2 for an equivalent SGP sample. Findings supported using 17.5 mm thick toughened laminated glass with a PVB inter-layer for a series of large-scale balcony fire spread tests in a related study
Children’s agency in organised sport:Relationships and wellbeing
No full textSport has rarely been addressed in childhood studies’ research, while sport research has only started to call attention to concepts from childhood studies. This article brings both fields together, to explore children’s practices of agency and potential consequences for their wellbeing in organised sport. Such insights are timely, with widespread efforts to increase children’s engagement in sport for its physical and mental health benefits, while recent reports identify wellbeing risks to children who participate. This article draws on case study research from a rugby club in England involving observations of training sessions, followed by interviews and discussions with 31 players aged 14–18, their parents, coaches and officials. Using Leonard’s ‘generagency’, the article explores how the dominant motif of the ‘rugby family’ influenced children’s practices of agency, creating a lattice for trusting relations between children, their parents and coaches. The findings dismantle an unduly individualistic concept of agency, highlighting how relations of trust and emotional affect can be protective and problematic in protecting children from harm or injury. The study underlines the necessity for dialogue and knowledge, in addition to the benefits of belonging, to support children’s practices of agency and their wellbeing in sport.</p
Epigenetic clocks and DNA methylation biomarkers of brain health and disease
Get PDFAgeing has profound effects on the human brain across the lifespan. Cognitive testing and brain imaging are currently used to monitor healthy and pathological brain ageing. However, peripheral markers of cognitive function, cognitive ageing and neurological disease could provide a valuable, minimally invasive approach to tracking these processes longitudinally. In this Review, we introduce the concept of DNA methylation-based biomarkers and present current evidence of their potential to address the challenge of monitoring brain ageing and stratifying the risk of neurological disease. We focus on epigenetic clocks, which can be applied across multiple tissues and organs to estimate biological ageing, as well as on blood-based epigenetic scores (EpiScores) that can directly track brain-based phenotypes, such as cognitive function, and risk factors for neurological diseases, such as lifestyle behaviours and proteomic markers of inflammation. We discuss the associations between these epigenetic biomarkers and multiple measures of cognitive health, including cognitive test data, brain MRI measures and dementia
Genetic adaptations shaping survival, pregnancy, and life at high altitude and sea level
Get PDFAdvancements in genetic research have greatly enhanced our understanding of human adaptation to high-altitude environments through the identification of genetic markers linked to hypoxia tolerance. Our recent studies identify key genes associated with haematological and ventilatory traits in Andeans. Adaptive variation at EPAS1, encoding endothelial PAS domain protein 1, a key regulator in the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) pathway (the alpha subunit of HIF2), has been associated with relatively low haematocrit at high altitude, which may be linked directly or indirectly to improvements in oxygen transport and/or delivery, while PRKAA1, encoding the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) alpha-1 subunit, has been linked to ventilatory responses during wakefulness that are further associated with sleep phenotypes with metabolic implications. The relevance of these genetic adaptations extends beyond adult physiology; e.g. other studies have associated an adaptive genetic signature at PRKAA1 with pregnancy outcomes in Andean populations. Understanding how adaptive genetic variations in EPAS1 and PRKAA1 contribute to hypoxia tolerance offers a foundation for investigating broader evolutionary mechanisms of high-altitude adaptation, particularly in the contexts of pregnancy and fetal development, where oxygen availability is crucial. Integrative studies that combine molecular, physiological, and evolutionary perspectives offer promise in revealing the complexities of high-altitude adaptation and its relevance to hypoxia-related health challenges in both highland and lowland populations.This article is part of the discussion meeting issue ‘Pregnancy at high altitude: the challenge of hypoxia’
Skilful probabilistic predictions of UK flood risk months ahead using a large-sample machine learning model trained on multimodel ensemble climate forecasts
Get PDFSeasonal streamflow forecasts are an important component of flood risk management. Hybrid forecasting methods that predict seasonal streamflow using machine learning (ML) models driven by climate model outputs are currently underexplored, yet they have some important advantages over traditional approaches using hydrological models. Here we develop a hybrid subseasonal to seasonal (S2S) streamflow forecasting system to predict the monthly maximum daily streamflow up to 4 months ahead. We train a quantile regression forest model on dynamical precipitation and temperature forecasts from a multimodel ensemble of 196 members (eight seasonal climate forecast models) from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) to produce probabilistic hindcasts for 579 stations across the UK for the period 2004–2016, with up to 4 months' lead time. We show that the large-sample (multi-site) ML model trained on pooled catchment data together with static catchment attributes is narrowly but significantly more skilful compared to single-site ML models trained on data from each catchment individually. Considering all initialisation months, 60 % of stations show positive skill (CRPSS > 0) relative to climatological reference forecasts in the first month after initialisation. This falls to 41 % in the second month, 38 % in the third month, and 33 % in the fourth month
Smoking cessation for people accessing homeless support centres (SCeTCH):comparing the provision of an e-cigarette versus usual care in a cluster randomised controlled trial in Great Britain
Get PDFBACKGROUND: Smoking rates are exceptionally high among people experiencing homelessness. We aimed to test the effectiveness of an e-cigarette (EC) intervention designed to help people accessing homeless support services to stop smoking.METHODS: A two-arm cluster randomised controlled trial. We recruited 32 homeless centres (clusters) across Great Britain. Participants were aged 18 + and known by centre staff to smoke. Randomisation of clusters (1:1; using various block sizes) to EC or usual care (UC) was generated in Stata by the trial statistician, concealed from researchers. Participants in EC clusters received a refillable EC, 4-week supply of e-liquid, and a fact sheet. UC participants received very brief advice on smoking, a support leaflet, and signposting to the stop smoking service. Interventions were delivered by centre staff. The primary outcome was sustained abstinence from smoking from 2 weeks post-baseline through to 24 weeks, verified by carbon monoxide (CO) measurements below 8 ppm. Secondary outcomes included CO-verified 7-day point prevalence abstinence. Analysis was intention-to-treat.RESULTS: Between February 22, 2022, and June 22, 2023, 16 centres were randomised to EC (n = 239 participants) and 16 to UC (n = 238 participants). In UC, one participant died, and one withdrew consent. Final sample analysed: n = 239 (EC); n = 236 (UC). Sustained 24-week CO-validated smoking cessation rates were 5/239 (2.1%) with EC vs. 2/236 (0.8%) with UC (aRR: 2.43, 95%CI: 0.51-11.64). Seven-point prevalence abstinence was 15/239 (6.3%) in the EC arm vs. 5/236 (2.1%) in UC (aRR: 2.95, 95%CI: 1.05-8.29). Four adverse events were reported in the EC arm; three deemed EC-related and not serious; one serious and not EC-related.CONCLUSIONS: EC did not support sustained smoking abstinence for 24 weeks. Seven-day point prevalence abstinence rates suggest that cessation is possible, but more support may be needed to sustain this.TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was preregistered on the ISTCTN registry #18566874. Registration date: 12/10/2021.</p
Deep learning can be used to classify the disease status of the canine middle ear from computed tomographic images.
Get PDFMiddle ear disease occurs frequently in dogs. CT has proven to be an excellent diagnostic tool for detecting middle ear structures, helping to achieve rapid and accurate diagnoses. Deep learning techniques are now widely used in CT scan-based human medical image analysis, providing decision support and diagnostics. However, such techniques are currently underutilized in veterinary radiology. The focus of this study was to develop a deep learning model capable of diagnosing middle ear disease in dogs using CT images. To achieve this with a relatively small dataset, transfer learning and data augmentation techniques were applied. During the experimental phase of the study, we tested 10 binary classification models based on the ResNet architecture, combined with data augmentation and transfer learning, on a dataset consisting of a total of 535 canine CT images. We achieved a classification accuracy of up to 84.7%. The developed classifier, trained on relatively few CT images, can detect normal middle ears and middle ear disease in dogs with over 80% accuracy.</p
A comparison of graphical methods using the case of the murder of Meredith Kercher as an example
Get PDFWe compare three graphical methods for displaying evidence in a legal case: Wigmore Charts, Bayesian Networks, and Chain Event Graphs. We find that these methods are aimed at three distinct audiences, respectively, lawyers, forensic scientists and the police. The methods are illustrated using part of the evidence in the case of the murder of Meredith Kercher. More specifically, we focus on representing the list of propositions, evidence, testimony, and facts given in the first trial against Raffaele Sollecito and Amanda Knox with these graphical methodologies
Towards a name change of schizophrenia:Positive and Negative Symptoms Disorder (PND)
Get PDFWe propose renaming schizophrenia to Positive and Negative Symptoms Disorder (PND) to reduce stigma, enhance clarity, and align with current diagnostic criteria. The term reflects core symptom domains, is translatable, ICD compatible, and avoids misleading associations. If cognitive deficits should be part of the name, it would be Positive, Negative, Cognitive Symptoms disorder. Stakeholder input and linguistic evaluation are essential for successful implementation and global acceptance.</p
An interconnection between pre-Lie rings, braces and associative rings
Get PDFLet A be a brace of cardinality for some prime number p. Denote . Suppose that for and all we have⁎⁎⁎⁎⁎⁎⁎⁎where a appears less than times in this expression. Let k be such that . It is shown that the brace is obtained from a left nilpotent pre-Lie ring by a formula which depends only on the additive group of brace A. We also obtain some applications of this result
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