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CT Clock - Feasibility Study
No full textIschaemic stroke is a devastating disease with high rates of death and disability affecting around 100,000 people annually in the UK. Effective treatments are only offered when the time of stroke onset is known and within specific limits. For the 20% where onset time is unknown or delayed, advanced imaging methods can identify people for safe and effective treatment. However, this advanced imaging is not always available. We have developed a method for identifying patients who can still be treated even without advanced imaging. The CT Clock uses only the non-enhanced CT brain scan that most patients with stroke receive upon arrival at hospital, to determine whether patients are eligible for treatment. This project provides the first prospective clinical testing of the CT Clock in a single-centre (Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, RIE) feasibility analysis. Between October 2023 and October 2024, we recruited 35 patients presenting to RIE with ischaemic stroke. We invited treating clinicians to apply our CT Clock method in real time, but we did not alter routine care pathways or otherwise involve patients. Participating clinicians including stroke physicians and radiologists provided 130 CT Clock assessments for the 35 recruited patients in their care. This dataset includes all non-imaging data collected during the study and includes: anonymised patient demographics, baseline clinical data, date-time of stroke onset and CT, details of participating clinician, clinician's assessment of CT, clinician's experience of using the CT Clock method, expert assessment of CT at 14-day follow-up, final diagnosis
Copper precipitation and carbon analysis
No full textQuantitative ICP-OES and ICP-MS data for all precipitation and solvent extraction experiments, infrared spectroscopic data, powder X-ray diffraction data, X-ray fluorescence data, life cycle inventory, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic data and matrix assisted laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) data
Sex-specific effects of antagonistic coevolution: Insights from an insect host and a bacterial pathogen coevolution system
No full textExperimental host-pathogen coevolution provides an opportunity to understand the long-term consequences of adaptive interactions between hosts and pathogens. Studies using prokaryotic and eukaryotic hosts and their pathogens have explored the changing dynamics of antagonistic interactions with time, evolution of generalists or specialists, and potential costs associated with coevolution. However, the dependence of host-pathogen coevolutionary responses on sex of the host remains unexplored. To address this, we chose a host species which allow us to compare coevolved traits between male and female hosts with their native pathogens. Towards this end, we conducted a laboratory experiment where we coevolved insect host Drosophila melanogaster with its bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas entomophila. Apart from the host-pathogen coevolution regimen, the experimental design included three other selection regimes - host adaptation to a non-evolving ancestral pathogen, and two control regimes. To study coevolved traits in hosts in pathogens across time and sex, we measured host survivorship post infection against pathogens from three evolutionary time points – ancestor, pathogen from the past, and present coevolution cycle. Our results showed that the coevolved hosts exhibited higher survivorship when exposed to pathogens, relative to the hosts adapted to non-evolved pathogen and control hosts. These results are true against pathogenic exposure from all three time points. Coevolved pathogens from the present time exhibited the highest virulence, which was variable across the replicate pathogen populations. We also observed that despite comparable mortality, the two sexes differ in the onset of mortality in the control regimes, a response not observed in the coevolved hosts. Taken together, our results showed that pathogens and hosts had the greatest success against each other as they coevolved together, but the susceptibility of naïve hosts was sex-specific. These results provide important insights into the process of host-pathogen coevolution.Ahlawat, Neetika; Geeta Arun, Manas; Maggu, Komal; N. G., Prasad (2025). Sex-specific effects of antagonistic coevolution: Insights from an insect host and a bacterial pathogen coevolution system [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.3n5tb2rv
Effects of maternal late-pregnancy and early-infancy exposures to respiratory syncytial virus circulating intensity on the risk for respiratory syncytial virus hospitalisation in the first two years of life: a comparative retrospective cohort study between Scotland and Singapore
Get PDFBackground Although it is recognised that young infants could be protected against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections by maternal RSV antibodies, such protective effects are not well assessed at the population level and are confounded by varied exposures to RSV circulation in the community during early infancy. In this study, we aimed to disentangle the role of late-pregnancy and early-infancy exposures in determining RSV hospitalisation risk in offspring by explicitly accounting for the background exposure to RSV circulation.MethodsIn this comparative retrospective cohort study, we leveraged RSV surveillance and hospitalisation data from Scotland and Singapore and constructed retrospective cohorts by birth months, with each birth month cohort as the observation unit. For each birth cohort, the outcome of interest was laboratory-confirmed RSV hospitalisation until the age of two years; the exposures of interest were RSV community incidence rates during the late-pregnancy period (defined as three months before birth) and during the early-infancy period (defined as three months after birth). In Scotland, we included hospital records from children born between Jan 1, 2017 and Nov 30, 2022 from the national health database available with Public Health Scotland. A quasi-Poisson model was used to assess the role of late-pregnancy exposure and early-infancy exposure in determining the risk for RSV hospitalisation for the age of 0–<6 months, 6–<12 months and 12–<24 months, separately, while accounting for the background RSV incidence rate in the community obtained from surveillance dashboard concerning viral respiratory diseases by Public Health Scotland. The analysis above was subsequently repeated in Singapore with medical data from children born between April 1, 2005 and June 30, 2015 at KK Women's and Children's Hospital. A random-effect meta-analysis was conducted to synthesise the incidence rate ratio (IRR) derived from the regression model above across the two countries. Findings A total of 13,838 hospitalisations from 71 birth month cohorts and 8,475 hospitalisations from 123 birth month cohorts were included in Scotland and Singapore, respectively. Increase in early-infancy exposure to RSV circulation consistently increased the risk for RSV hospitalisation in the first six months in Scotland and Singapore (pooled IRR: 2.47, per 10/100,000 increase in the RSV incidence rate in the community; 95% CI: 2.23–2.74). In the second year of life, there was borderline significance for the early-infancy RSV exposure in Scotland and Singapore (pooled IRR: 1.15, 95% CI: 1.01–1.31). While increase in late-pregnancy exposure to RSV circulation was consistently associated with decreased risk for RSV hospitalisation for the first three months of life in Scotland and Singapore (pooled IRR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.46–0.69), for the subsequent three months (i.e., 3–<6 months), the decreased risk persisted only in Scotland (IRR: 0.19, 95% CI: 0.10–0.36) and not in Singapore (IRR: 1.03, 95% CI: 0.83–1.28). For both countries, there was no association between late-pregnancy exposure to RSV circulation and RSV hospitalisation beyond six months of life.Interpretation By differentiating the effect of maternal late-pregnancy RSV exposure from early-infancy exposure, this study evaluates the protective effect of maternal RSV exposure against RSV severe disease at the population level. While this study used population-level maternal late-pregnancy exposure as a proxy for maternal RSV antibody levels, the observed shorter duration of protection associated with late-pregnancy RSV exposure in tropical (Singapore) versus temperate (Scotland) regions indicates that the potential role of local RSV circulation patterns on this protective effect warrants further consideration. Our findings should be interpreted as hypothesis-generating and more serological studies based on antibody responses are needed to evaluate the effect of late-pregnancy RSV exposure on RSV hospitalisation in regions with different circulation patterns.<br/
Precise exceptions in relaxed architectures
Get PDFTo manage exceptions, software relies on a key architectural guarantee, precision: that exceptions appear to execute between instructions. However, this definition, dating back over 60 years, fundamentally assumes a sequential programmers model. Modern architectures such as Arm-A with programmer-observable relaxed behaviour make such a naive definition inadequate, and it is unclear exactly what guarantees programmers have on exception entry and exit.In this paper, we clarify the concepts needed to discuss exceptions in the relaxed-memory setting – a key aspect of precisely specifying the architectural interface between hardware and software. We explore the basic relaxed behaviour across exception boundaries, and the semantics of external aborts, using Arm-A as a representative modern architecture. We identify an important problem, present yet unexplored for decades: pinning down what it means for exceptions to be precise in a relaxed setting. We describe key phenomena that any definition should account for. We develop an axiomatic model for Arm-A precise exceptions, tooling for axiomatic model execution, and a library of tests. Finally we explore the relaxed semantics of software-generated interrupts, as used in sophisticated programming patterns, and sketch how they too could be modelled
Essentialisms of Kalām
No full textThis article presents various types of essentialist theories in classical kalām, with a particular emphasis on the eleventh century CE and the three schools of ʿAbd al-Jabbār, Abū l-Ḥusayn al-Baṣrī, and al-Juwaynī, in the context of two core questions in kalām ontology: How do we establish essential identity and distinction between things, and do things retain their essential properties even in a state of non-existence? Some scholars of kalām emphasize the special relationship between individual essential attributes and the essences to which they belong, to the extent that these attributes rigidly refer to their respective essences. Other scholars insist that the only way to capture an essence is through a complete definite description, mentioning all attributes that the essence possesses. Both groups are further subdivided into realist and nominalist camps regarding the reality of those attributes and with respect to their positions on the reality of essences in the state of non-existence
Visuospatial information transfer and task self-assessment within and between autistic and non-autistic adults
No full textAttendance and Risk of Exclusion among Scottish Secondary School Pupils with Additional Support Needs
No full textWe seek to demonstrate differences in attendance across pupils with and without additional support needs (ASN), accounting for broader categories of as well as specific types of ASN. The aim is to provide more nuanced insights into the risks for educational absence and determine whether certain ASN are associated with specific types or patterns of absence.We first compared the differences in average attendance and absence across pupils with and without ASN using standardised effect sizes. ASN categories differentiate by health needs, social and emotional needs, family circumstances, learning environment, and other types of need. Following the descriptive analysis, we ran a latent class analysis to identify underlying patterns of non-participation within pupils with ASN. This is followed by a binomial logistic regression to predict class membership of pupils based on their specific ASN.We find distinct gaps in attendance and absence behaviour between pupils with and without ASN and significant effect sizes for these differences. The latent class analysis reveals that pupils with health needs and issues relating to the learning environment are more likely to have low authorised and unauthorised absence, as well as a low risk of exclusion. In contrast, pupils with social and emotional needs and experiences of adverse family circumstances are more likely to have higher absence and a greater risk of exclusion. While ASN is regularly considered as an adverse influence on attendance, less differentiation has been made between different support needs and types of educational absence. Our results help identify these differences and inform dedicated support and interventions for pupils with ASN
Brokering the brain:Neuroscientific knowledge, technologies, and the translation of neuro-expertise into educational practice
No full textEducational neuroscience has expanded its influence since the 1990s, positioned as advancing new forms of intervention in educational policy and practice. Simultaneously, the gap between the neuroscience lab and the classroom has preoccupied educational debate. Yet, little is known about the discursive practices by which educational neuroscience seeks to translate science into application. In this paper, we analyse the translational knowledge brokering discourses that promote neuroscience in educational research, policy, and practice. We find three principal translational discourses at work in educational neuroscience: coalition building, promising to transform expertise in education; school partnerships, encouraging teachers and children to adopt neuroscientific lenses; and commercialisation, which presents marketable neurotechnological solutions to educational challenges. Such translational activity is frequently framed as emancipatory, pledging to address inequalities and centre critical educational expertise. However, it still foregrounds the brain, rather than its social and educational contexts, as the locus of intervention to address social problems
MC1R determines healing outcomes in acute and chronic cutaneous wounds
No full textChronic wounds represent a major clinical challenge, characterized by persistent inflammation and failed repair. While pro-resolving pathways are known to regulate inflammatory responses, their potential dysfunction in chronic wounds remains unexplored. Here, we identify dysregulation of the pro-opiomelanocortin-melanocortin 1 receptor (POMC-MC1R) axis as a common feature across pressure ulcers, venous ulcers, and diabetic ulcers. Using MC1Re/e mice lacking functional MC1R, we demonstrate impaired wound healing marked by delayed reepithelialization and increased neutrophil extracellular traps—pathological features observed in human chronic wounds. To investigate MC1R's therapeutic potential, we developed a new murine chronic wound model that replicates human pathology, presenting as non-healing, exudate-rich ulcers. Topical application of the MC1R-selective agonist BMS-470539 restored healing by reducing exudate production, stimulating vascularisation and enabling reepithelialization. The critical role of MC1R was further evidenced by MC1Re/e mice, which developed more severe ulcers with excessive exudate and NETosis. In acute wound studies, we found that topical MC1R agonist enhanced wound bed perfusion and lymphatic drainage through increased angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis and reduced scarring by modulating fibroblast phenotype. Together, these findings establish the MC1R/POMC axis as a fundamental regulator of skin repair and identify promising therapeutic strategies to drive healing
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