179566 research outputs found
Sort by
The Polyploid Continuum and Landscape of Polyploid Genomic Variation
No full textPolyploid research has traditionally distinguished between autopolyploids and allopolyploids based on evolutionary origins, modes of inheritance, or chromosomal pairing behavior during meiosis. It has long been recognized, however, that a binary classification does not accurately reflect the complexity and diversity inherent to polyploid organisms, and that these definitions may be inadequate to capture biological diversity. Moreover, inferred conditions at polyploid formation are often obscured by numerous post-polyploidy genomic processes, necessitating a temporal perspective on the meaning of polyploid terminology. In this review, we explore the concept of the "polyploid continuum" and highlight the temporal biological fluidity between the classically recognized alternative endpoints of auto- and allopolyploidy. We consider aspects of the polyploid continuum that might meaningfully be evaluated based on different aspects of genetic variation, including at the sequence, structural, and functional levels. We discuss the utility of the polyploid continuum concept and how it might be visualized as a multidimensional landscape of polyploid diversity that at any one time represents a temporal snapshot. This perspective may better reveal the genesis of polyploid diversity in its many dimensions and provide a framework for understanding the dynamic evolutionary processes underpinning polyploid variation
Toward a typology of boundaries in crisis management
No full textWhy do so many organizations fail to respond to crises effectively and what can be done to improve their crisis response? We aim to address these questions by developing a typology of boundaries that can help us understand and better prepare for future crises. Building on the existing literature on crisis management and boundaries, our typology seeks to address the critique of current crisis management models, such as these being too prescriptive and putting too much emphasis on assumptions that only the decisions made by the crisis management team (i.e., centralized decisions) will impact the crisis response. We address this critique by elaborating four categories of boundaries that are relevant to manage crisis response, such as physical, mental, social, and temporal. Examples of these boundaries could include access to properties (physical), interpreting whether a crisis is happening (mental), shifting relationship dynamics (social), and the urgency of response time to a crisis (temporal). Our typology offers a lens to consider crisis management by taking into consideration the complexities and nuances that linear crisis management models have not yet adequately addressed. We argue that by identifying, defining, and understanding different configurations of boundaries one can better manage crises towards a desired outcome
Weeping as the Addolorata:Popular devotion at the margins of Europe
No full textThis article is about female devotees of the Addolorata (Our Lady of Sorrows) and the tears shed on Good Friday on the streets of the Old Town of Palermo, Sicily. Recently criticized by some Church authorities as overly sentimental and inauthentic, such weeping has become a site of tension in efforts to modernize or contain this popular ritual. These critiques echo historical attempts to regulate female embodied ‘excesses’ and reflect Orientalizing discourses that frame Southern Italian religiosity as backward, in light of Palermo’s liberal rebranding as a post-mafia, cosmopolitan city. Yet women’s tears resist full domestication, flowing between female devotees, allowing them to embody the divine and to forge alternative modes of relatedness that transcend male confraternal forms and the nuclear family. Through ethnographic attention to the effects of tears, this article examines the potentiality of these bodily fluids, as well as the gendered and class-based exclusions of liberal cosmopolitanism in a place that has been cast as insufficiently European
Southern Ocean summer warming is regulated by storm-driven mixing
Get PDFThe Southern Ocean absorbs most of the excess heat resulting from climate change. However, climate projections show a persistent warm summer bias in its sea surface temperatures, indicating a limited understanding of the air–sea heat exchange mechanisms governing this region. Here we examine the impact of storms on the interannual variability of Southern Ocean surface temperatures during summer using in situ observations from underwater and surface robotic vehicles, climate reanalyses and satellite data. We show that synoptic-scale storms regulate summer sea surface temperatures through alteration of the effective heat capacity of the mixed layer and the entrainment of colder water from below. Storms reduce the summer ocean heat gain by limiting solar radiation reaching the surface. This effect is partially offset by a reduction in heat loss due to turbulent air–sea exchange. We also find that interannual variations in sea surface temperature during summer in the Southern Ocean are driven by changes in storm-mean wind speeds, which are linked to the Southern Annular Mode. Our results demonstrate a causal link between storm forcing and sea surface temperature variability, which is critical for reducing warming biases in climate models and improving future climate projections
Psychological resilience and mental wellbeing mitigate the risk of irritable bowel syndrome
Get PDFObjectives Comorbidities between mental disorders and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) have been widely reported, yet associations between mental wellbeing and IBS, particularly regarding underlying genetic modification and proteomic signatures, remain underexplored. Methods This prospective cohort study analyzed 75,842 IBS-free participants aiming to investigate the prospective association between mental wellbeing and the risk of IBS in UK Biobank. Mental wellbeing was assessed through life satisfaction, life satisfaction, neuroticism, and depressive/anxiety symptoms. Cox models evaluate the hazard ratio (HR) for mental wellbeing and plasma proteome in relation to incident IBS during follow-up. Proteomic profiling identified mental wellbeing-associated proteins, with pathway enrichment analysis revealing biological mechanisms. Mediation and Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses further examine intermediate pathways and causality. Results With a 12.4-year follow-up period, 1,400 cases of incident IBS were documented. Better mental wellbeing mitigated IBS risk dose-dependently (low risk group: HR, 0.37; 95%CI: 0.31-0.43). Higher life satisfaction (HR, 0.41; 95%CI: 0.30- 0.56) and positive affect (HR, 0.50; 95%CI: 0.41-0.62) were inversely associated with IBS risk, whereas neuroticism (HR, 2.35; 95%CI: 1.92-2.88) and depressive/anxiety symptoms (HR, 3.09; 95%CI: 2.17-4.42) increased the risk. Findings remained consistent in across prevalent IBS and IBS subtypes. Mental wellbeing effects were independent of genetic predisposition. Mediation analyses revealed about 27% of protective effect of mental wellbeing were mediated through reduced depression and anxiety. MR supports causal protective effects of positive mental wellbeing on IBS. Proteomic profiling identified mental wellbeing-associated proteins mainly enriched in cytokine-cytokine receptor interactions. Chromogranin A and gastrin emerged as key protein biomarkers, showing significant associations with both mental wellbeing components and IBS risk. Conclusions Our study demonstrates that enhanced mental wellbeing confers substantial protection against IBS development, highlighting psychological interventions as potential primary prevention strategies
Machine learning augmented diagnostic testing to identify sources of variability in test performance
Get PDFDiagnostic tests that can detect pre-clinical or sub-clinical infection, are one of the most powerful tools in our armoury of weapons to control infectious diseases. Considerable effort has been paid to improving diagnostic testing for human, plant and animal diseases, including strategies for targeting the use of diagnostic tests towards individuals who are more likely to be infected. We use machine learning to assess the surrounding risk landscape under which a diagnostic test is applied to augment its interpretation. We develop this to predict the occurrence of bovine tuberculosis incidents in cattle herds, exploiting the availability of exceptionally detailed testing records. We show that, without compromising test specificity, test sensitivity can be improved so that the proportion of infected herds detected improves by over 5 percentage points, or 240 additional infected herds detected in one year beyond those detected by the skin test alone. We also use feature importance testing for assessing the weighting of risk factors. While many factors are associated with increased risk of incidents, of note are several factors that suggest that in some herds there is a higher risk of infection going undetected.<br/
Psychological flexibility buffers the effects of intolerance of uncertainty and diminished masculine self-esteem on distress in prostate cancer
Get PDFObjectivesLiving with prostate cancer presents considerable psychological challenges. Previous research has identified masculinity, intolerance of uncertainty, coping, and psychological flexibility as predictors of psychological adjustment, suggesting an integrative framework. However, the interplay between these factors remains underexplored. This study aims to address this gap by examining how these psychological factors collectively influence distress and well-being in prostate cancer, with a specific focus on the moderated mediation models involving coping and psychological flexibility. Findings will inform the development of tailored interventions and supportive care for men with prostate cancer.MethodsA cross-sectional, correlational survey design was employed. A total of 162 men diagnosed with prostate cancer completed an online survey containing a battery of validated measures and demographic questions. Bivariate correlation, hierarchical regression, and conditional process analyses were conducted to test the proposed relationships.ResultsPsychological flexibility, masculine identity, masculine self-esteem, intolerance of uncertainty, and coping collectively explained 61.9% of the variance in distress and 52.7% in mental well-being. Masculine self-esteem emerged as the strongest predictor of both outcomes. Psychological flexibility explained significant additional variance beyond other psychological predictors and prostate cancer symptoms. Moreover, psychological flexibility moderated the indirect relationship between masculine self-esteem and distress through avoidant coping, as well as the direct effect of intolerance of uncertainty on distress.ConclusionsScreening for difficulties related to masculine self-esteem and intolerance of uncertainty may help identify men at higher risk of poorer psychological adjustment following prostate cancer diagnosis. Interventions such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy or mindfulness-based approaches may enhance psychological flexibility, improve tolerance of uncertainty, and foster adaptive engagement with masculine identity. Targeted interventions addressing the framing and enactment of masculinity may also prove beneficial
How does the mother-daughter relationship explain patterns of intergenerational violence? Findings from a multigenerational study in South Africa
Get PDFInterpersonal violence is a pervasive experience for women and girls in South Africa. Interpersonal violence occurs early in development and is sustained over the life course with risks of replication across generations. Most children in South Africa are raised by women as fathers are frequently absent, rendering this caregiving relationship particularly significant.PurposeWe aimed to understand how the mother/caregiver-daughter relationship may impact intergenerational violence transmission in one province in South Africa.MethodDrawing from the third phase of a longitudinal cohort study, young adult daughters (previously interviewed in adolescence) and their former mothers/caregivers, who reported experiences of violence, were purposively sampled for in-depth interviews (n = 34 interviews representing 17 dyads). Using a dyadic approach to analysis, moving beyond individual experience to how these influenced and related to each other dynamically within the dyad, and considering attachment theory as a lens to review and understand findings, four themes were identified.ResultsViolence was transmitted through generations via 1) insecure attachment bonds between mothers and daughters, 2) mothers’ inability to protect and support their daughters, and 3) through the perpetuation of patriarchy via gendered attitudes towards parenting and subscription to unequal gender norms. There was recognition of 4) intergenerational changes in attitudes and responses to interpersonal violence and marriage that represented more positive effects on IPV and the parent–child relationship.ConclusionsIn situations of continuous violence exposure, strengthening this primary and weighty attachment relationship (working on violence prevention and intervention at the level of the mother/caregiver-daughter dyad), and offering opportunities to meaningfully reflect on violence experiences through one’s life, may represent a durable positive influence on curbing violence transmission in vulnerable families
Performing the City: Street Plays, Affect and Decolonising Knowledge with Young People in Mumbai
Get PDFThe vision of decolonising research with children and young people remains unrealised when particular forms of knowledge production continue to be privileged while others are marginalised. Decolonisation entails recognising plural epistemologies and examining how knowledge is produced, transmitted, and legitimised. It also requires attention to the deep interconnections between knowledge, identity, and lived experience. In India, young people’s engagement with knowledge – both as producers and recipients – is mediated by intersecting structures of caste, religion, gender, and class. These hierarchies shape their capacities to access, generate, and circulate knowledge. Drawing on a collaborative research project with young people in Mumbai, this paper examines how participants conceptualise and communicate urban knowledge through arts-based methods, with a focus on street theatre and performance. We argue that street plays not only express lived experience but also generate affective atmospheres and agonistic spaces that unsettle dominant epistemic hierarchies. By centring affect, emotion, and collective voice, youth performances operate as decolonial interventions that render visible silenced urban narratives and articulate alternative imaginaries of the city
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!