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Reforming the public and private law of the tenement
Get PDFThis article critically examines the law of the tenement in Scotland, encompassing both its private and public law dimensions. Traditionally regarded as a domain of private law focused on individual owners’ property interests, the law, through statutory intervention, has evolved significantly over a long period of time, augmenting the role of local authorities, granting them powers to promote the public good of safe and well-maintained buildings. We argue that effective legal analysis and reform must address both private and public law perspectives in tandem. Yet, our review identifies three core challenges. First, divergent presumptions about the temporal and spatial scale of legal intervention—short-term and individualistic versus long-term and collective—complicate the legal framework. Second, the law exhibits tensions between formal and substantive approaches, reflecting differing rationalities about its operational character. Third, significant empirical gaps exist in understanding how key actors, both public and private, interact with the law, which undermines informed reform efforts. Through a detailed review of the private law reforms under the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 Act and the statutory powers of local authorities, we identify complexities and overlapping regimes that pose challenges for effective implementation. We conclude by advocating for further empirical research to guide future policy development
Neighbourhood social cohesion, loneliness and multimorbidity:Evidence from a UK longitudinal panel study
Get PDFIn the context of population ageing, multimorbidity is an increasingly prevalent public health issue that has a substantial impact on both individuals and healthcare systems. Alongside the literature looking at risk factors at the individual level, there is a growing body of research examining the role of neighbourhoods in the development of multimorbidity. However, most of this work has focused on physical features of place such as air pollution and green space, while social features of place have been largely overlooked. In this study, we therefore explored neighbourhood cohesion as a social neighbourhood characteristic that could influence multimorbidity risk. Additionally, we analysed how loneliness may help to explain any relationship between neighbourhood cohesion and multimorbidity, given the emergence of loneliness as an important risk factor for multimorbidity in individual-level studies. Using Understanding Society, a UK household longitudinal panel study of approximately 40,000 households, we conducted both multilevel cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses to model these relationships. We found that there is a substantial association between greater neighbourhood cohesion and lower multimorbidity risk (odds ratio (OR) for second most cohesive quintile versus least cohesive quintile = 0.75, p < .01), even after controlling for a wide range of socio-economic factors, health behaviours and physical features of place. This cross-sectional result was confirmed by longitudinal analysis of individuals with no health conditions at baseline who moved between neighbourhoods over a nine-year follow-up period. Movers who experienced a decrease in cohesion had greater odds of becoming multimorbid compared to movers who did not experience a decrease in cohesion (OR = 1.68, p = .057). Controlling for loneliness substantially attenuates the odds ratios for neighbourhood cohesion, and in a mediation analysis we found a significant indirect effect of neighbourhood cohesion on multimorbidity risk acting through loneliness, suggesting it is a plausible mechanism through which the social environment influences the development of multiple long-term health conditions
Algorithmic governance of 'terrorism' and 'violent extremism' online
Get PDFGlobal security risks are increasingly countered through complex data infrastructures involving forms of algorithmic governance, automated decision-making and data-driven, public-private co-regulation. This paper explores the challenges these security infrastructures pose by following a key regulatory device in the global governance of ‘terrorist and violent extremist content’ (or TVEC) online: the hash-sharing database of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT). By drawing on interviews with platform counterterrorism experts and closely examining the materiality of hash-sharing practice, this infrastructure is analysed as an emergent sociotechnical assemblage for countering ‘TVEC’ that is generating far-reaching effects. The paper shows how it is reconfiguring legal and security governance practices, forging novel forms of power and material agency, and generating distinctive algorithmic ordering techniques and ‘infra-legal’ dynamics that conventional law and technology research has not yet adequately explored. Grappling with these effects requires foregrounding material processes, decentring law and being empirically attentive to how law and data infrastructure are enmeshed and co-evolve in practice. The paper suggests new possibilities for the sociolegal study of global algorithmic infrastructures in action
Pasteurisation temperatures effectively inactivate influenza A viruses in milk
Get PDFIn late 2023 an H5N1 lineage of high pathogenicity avian influenza virus (HPAIV) began circulating in American dairy cattle Concerningly, high titres of virus were detected in cows’ milk, raising the concern that milk could be a route of human infection. Cows’ milk is typically pasteurised to render it safe for human consumption, but the effectiveness of pasteurisation on influenza viruses in milk was uncertain. To assess this, here we evaluate heat inactivation in milk for a panel of different influenza viruses. This includes human and avian influenza A viruses (IAVs), an influenza D virus that naturally infects cattle, and recombinant IAVs carrying contemporary avian or bovine H5N1 glycoproteins. At pasteurisation temperatures of 63°C and 72°C, we find that viral infectivity is rapidly lost and becomes undetectable before the times recommended for pasteurisation (30 minutes and 15 seconds, respectively). We then show that an H5N1 HPAIV in milk is effectively inactivated by a comparable treatment, even though its genetic material remains detectable. We conclude that pasteurisation conditions should effectively inactivate H5N1 HPAIV in cows’ milk, but that unpasteurised milk could carry infectious influenza viruses
The diagnosis and vector potential of Ornithonyssus bacoti tropical rat mites in northern Europe.
Get PDFThe mesostigmatid tropical rat mite, Ornithonyssus bacoti, is an important cause of disease in small rodents, and of gamasoidosis in humans when they come into contact with infestations. Most reports of O. bacoti infestations are from warmer parts of the Americas, southern Europe and Asia; and infection has only rarely been recorded in northern Europe. In 2021 and 2024, two separate cases of gamasoidosis were identified in student flats in the city of Edinburgh, UK. Further investigation highlighted the value of combining conventional morphological and 16S ribosomal DNA sequencing methods in establishing the species identity of the mites; hence confirming the diagnosis of gamasoidosis. The bacterial microbiome associated with the mites was explored by conventional culture and metabarcoding microbiome sequencing of the ribosomal16S v3-v4 hypervariable region. The results highlight the utility of the mixed approach; and show the presence of potentially pathogenic bacteria and recognised causes of opportunistic nosocomial infections, along with known mite gut and intracellular symbionts. The results indicate the potential for O. bacoti mites as vectors of bacterial infections. The clinical presentation of gamasoidosis is indistinguishable from non-specific arthropod-bite reactions; and the cause is seldom confirmed because the temporarily parasitic mites spend most of their time in the environment. The two confirmed index cases may, therefore, represent a more widespread emerging problem; putatively associated with an increase in urban rodent populations
Breeding practices and selection criteria in Gudali cattle breed from Benin: implications for the design of a community-based breeding program
Get PDFUnderstanding farmers’ breeding systems and preferred traits is crucial for establishing effective genetic improvement programs. This study investigated Gudali cattle breed selection, breeding objectives, and selection criteria in North-east Benin (Malanville and Tchaourou). We surveyed 120 Gudali cattle farmers using a structured questionnaire and conducted hierarchical clustering using R software. We identified the distribution of farmers based on herd composition and production systems. Farmers were grouped into four classes: Sedentary Purebreds (16.67%), Transhumant Purebreds (33.33%), Sedentary Mixed Breeds (34.17%), and Transhumant Mixed Breeds (15.83%), with average Gudali herd sizes ranging from 23.68 to 90.11 heads depending on the system. The overall average herd size was 42.67 ± 6.00 heads. The majority of farmers owned different breeds, including Borgou (26.67%), Yakana (26.67%), and Azawak (7.5%), with only 32.5% having Gudali only herds. Farmers chose Gudali cattle for their milk production, good growth and market value, with 96.67% prioritizing milk production. The main selection criterion was coat color in all breeding systems with respective indices of 0.59; 0.57; 0.54 and 0.47 respectively for sedentary purebred; sedentary mixed breed; transhumant purebred and transhumant mixed breed systems. Most mixed breed farmers (55.84%) cross Gudali with local breeds for better dairy performance. While only 3.33% of farmers were aware of community-based breeding programs (CBBP), there was strong interest (95%) in participating. Potential challenges such as access to feed and disease management were reported. The proposed mitigation strategies include establishing pasture areas and strengthening collaboration among stakeholders. Implementing CBBP programs by incorporating farmers’ preferences and practices, could sustainably improve Gudali cattle productivity and resilience in Benin
Single-cell morphological tracking of cell states to identify small-molecule modulators of liver differentiation
Get PDFWe have developed a single-cell assay that combines Cell Painting—a morphological profiling assay—with trajectory inference analysis. We have applied this morphological trajectory inference to the bi-potent HepaRG liver progenitor cell line allowing us to track liver cell fate and map small-molecule-induced changes using a morphological atlas of liver cell differentiation. Our overarching goal is to demonstrate the potential of Cell Painting to study biological processes as continuous trajectories at the single-cell level, enhancing resolution and biological understanding. This work has identified small-molecule Src family kinase inhibitors that promote the differentiation of HepaRG cells toward a hepatocyte-like lineage as well as primary human hepatic progenitor cells toward a hepatocyte-like phenotype in vitro. These findings could significantly advance research on liver cell regeneration mechanisms and facilitate the development of cell-based and small-molecule therapies.</p
Leveraging ancestral recombination graphs for quantitative genetic analysis of rice yield in indica and japonica subspecies
Get PDFRice (Oryza sativa L.) has two main subspecies, indica and japonica, which coexist in many regions but are often treated separately during breeding. Combining both subspecies in quantitative genetic analyses could enhance genetic improvement, however, this requires appropriately modelling their genetic history. The ancestral recombination graph (ARG) is an effective population genetics tool that comprehensively and succinctly represents a species’ genetic history. This study evaluated the use of an ARG, encoded as a tree sequence, to improve quantitative genetic analyses of indica and japonica rice. Using data from Uruguay’s National Rice Breeding Program, we inferred ancestral alleles, constructed and dated an ARG, and examined its application in genomic prediction and genome-wide association studies. We compared the predictive ability of a branch-based relationship matrix (BRM) built from an ARG against conventional relationship matrices from pedigree and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) site data. We then estimated BRM’s SNP site effects to identify potential sites of interest and better understand how these map onto the tree sequence branches. The results showed that the ARG captured key biological signals, encoded genomic data more efficiently than conventional formats, and resulted in the highest predictive ability when combining both subspecies. Although the ARG-based approach did not substantially outperform conventional approaches for between-species prediction, this approach holds promise for plant breeding with larger datasets and could enhance genome-wide association studies by elucidating haplotype ancestry and the evolution of their value. Overall, our results demonstrated the potential of ARGs for the quantitative genetic analysis of diverse populations
Local knowledges and the right to participate in science
Get PDFI discuss the right to participate in science, which is part of the UN Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (1966). Building on my previous work on this right as an ‘epistemic-cultural’ right, in this paper my goal is to clarify how fulfilling this right requires engaging with varieties of local knowledges that are too often severed in scientific narratives. I tease out three main varieties of local knowledges and highlight their distinctive features and their intersectionalities. In the second part of the paper, I argue that a more careful appreciation of varieties of local knowledges is not only key for the fulfilment of the right to participate in science but also for other human rights. I focus my attention here selectively on the right to food, and right to clean water. I conclude by highlighting the implications of this discussion for ongoing legal debates on rights of nature
Maternal Views on RSV Vaccination During the First Season of Implementation in England and Scotland
Get PDFRespiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of acute lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) in infants less than 6 months old, resulting in an estimated 1.4 million hospital admissions each year worldwide1. A maternal bivalent RSV prefusion F protein–based (RSVpreF) vaccine was introduced to the United Kingdom routine immunization schedule in the summer of 2024; this was offered as part of antenatal care by midwife led maternity services (Scotland and England), and in some areas, in primary care also (England only). The impact of such a vaccine will depend not just on the effectiveness of the vaccine itself, but also on uptake of the vaccine by recipients. As part of the BronchStop vaccine effectiveness study2 we conducted a survey of mothers eligible for RSV vaccination whose infants had been admitted to hospital with bronchiolitis or a LRTI, designing a questionnaire around the 5Cs of vaccine hesitancy (for further details of study design see Supplementary File 2). Here we present initial results from this survey to facilitate counselling of pregnant women who are offered the RSVpreF vaccination and inform vaccine uptake strategies
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