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Supplemental data for Comparative rhizotaxy of fossil and living isoetalean rhizomorphs reveals development through rootlet intercalation within a triangular lattice
No full textSupplemental data: Background and Aims: The Isoetales are a clade of lycopsids that evolved colossal arborescent forms during their Palaeozoic prime but today are represented solely by the small herbaceous monogeneric Isoetes. Despite the differences in scale of taxa in the clade the rooting system of all members consists of two-parts, a rhizomorph from which rootlets develop in a regular pattern termed rhizotaxy. Rhizomorphs are highly diverse in different members leading to different terminology being used to describe rhizotaxy in different lineages. Here we set out to investigate how conserved rhizotaxy was between taxa and to provide a standard geometric definition, and developmental interpretation of rhizotaxy applicable to all members. Methods: We developed a pipeline to quantitatively describe rhizotaxy. This pipeline allowed rootlet arrangement to be captured in 3D, before being visualsed on a 2D lattice where Deluany Triangulation could be applied. This method offers a standard method to investigate rhizotaxy across disparate rhizomorphs. Next, to investigate the evolution and development of rhizotaxy we applied our pipeline to a 3D model we generated of the rooting system of the extinct Carboniferous lycopsids Oxroadia. Finally, we made direct observations of rootlet development in Isoetes using time course imaging. Key Results: We demonstrate that rhizotaxy can be described as an equallateral triangular lattice for all members of the Isoetales including Oxroadia. By combining evidence from direct observation of rootlet development in Isoetes with inferences of rootlet development and the early stages of sporophyte ontogeny of Oxroadia we conclude that the conserved rhizotaxy developed by the process of rootlet intercalation. Conclusions: We provide a single geometric definition, and predicted developmental mechanism for rhizotaxy that applies to all Isoetales. Our findings call into question the literal interpretation that the rhizomorph is a modified shoot
Delirium GWAS summary statistics
No full textDelirium is an acute change in cognition, common in hospitalised older adults, and associated with high healthcare and human cost. In this work we shed light on the currently poorly understood genetic and proteomic background of delirium. We conducted the largest to date multi-ancestry analysis of genetic variants associated with delirium (1,059,130 individuals, 11,931 cases), yielding the Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene as a strong risk factor with possible population and age-varying effects. APOE genetic effect on delirium remained significant after adjusting for dementia and Alzheimer disease (AD) and in dementia-free cohorts. A multi-trait analysis of delirium with AD identified 5 delirium genetic risk loci. Investigation of plasma proteins associated with up to 16-years incident delirium (32,652 individuals, 541 cases) revealed known and novel protein biomarkers, implicating brain vulnerability, inflammation and immune response processes. Incorporating proteomic and genetic evidence via mendelian randomisation, colocalisation and druggability analyses, we indicate putatively useful drug target proteins for delirium. Integrating proteins and APOE genetic risk with demographics significantly improved incident delirium prediction compared to demographics alone. Our results pave the way to better understanding delirium’s aetiology and guide further research on clinically relevant biomarkers
Navigating digital welfare:A multi‐level maze?
No full textGreater conceptual and empirical engagement with welfare state complexity is needed in studies of digital welfare. This article explores how existing concepts such as welfare systems, subsidiarisation, rescaling and fragmentation can advance our understanding of claimants' digital welfare experiences. Focussing on the United Kingdom—well-known for its digital welfare approach to Universal Credit—the article demonstrates the need for scholars to look beyond single digital reforms. It draws on empirical data from the Navigating Digital Welfare project to explore experiences of digital welfare from the perspective of claimants in multi-level welfare systems who engage with multiple ‘modes of digitalisation’ and competing digitally mediated citizen–state relations. The research finds that multi-level welfare creates a complex and unsettling digital welfare experience for individuals who can access multiple types of social security and engage with multiple unpredictable interfaces, possess limited understanding of the links between different agencies and data sharing and experience frequent difficulties accessing human contacts. This context has the potential to create heightened inequalities due to multiple administrative burdens which can lead to underclaiming, misinformation or an inability to access services
Selective reconstruction:Re-engagement in the post-Brexit UK–EU security relationship
Full text linkThe United Kingdom's departure from the European Union has significantly reshaped the UK–EU security relationship, including both foreign, security and defence policy and police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters. Whilst Brexit has mainly been discussed in the academic literature as a form of disengagement from the EU, recent developments indicate a nuanced process of selective reconstruction and re-engagement in the current post-Brexit period. This editorial introduces the concept of ‘re-engagement’ as a distinct analytical framework to capture the unique dynamics emerging in the wake of Brexit, which are distinct from both prior EU membership and the disengagement experienced during the withdrawal period. Specifically, it proposes seven characteristics of re-engagement that can contribute to a greater understanding of post-Brexit security co-operation: (1) the perceived directionality of the co-operation, (2) increased re-institutionalisation incentives, (3) political path dependence, (4) temporal distance, (5) institutional change, (6) alternatives to re-engagement and (7) sustainability. By reflecting on these seven characteristics in the context of contemporary developments in the UK–EU security relationship, the editorial underscores how past political trajectories and evolving geopolitical contexts, such as the Ukraine war, have shaped current co-operative practices and enabled different outcomes for different policy areas within the UK–EU security relationship
Magnesium in the Critically Ill Patient
Full text linkMagnesium is an essential electrolyte, being the second most abundant intracellular cation and having many physiologic functions in the body.1 It is an essential cofactor for many enzymes, including Na-K-ATPase, calcium ATPase, cyclases (eg, adenylyl cyclase, guanylyl cyclase), protein kinases, DNA and RNA polymerases, and is vital for protein and DNA synthesis, carbohydrate metabolism, cell signaling, immune modulation, and coagulation. Because of its role as a calcium antagonist, magnesium also alters electrophysiological properties of cells and hence influences membrane resting potentials, neurotransmitter release, cell excitability, and muscle contractility.4 Magnesium-mediated inhibition of calcium ion currents in vascular smooth muscle has vasodilatory effects because of L-type calcium channel inhibition (and hence decreased activity of calmodulin-dependent myosin light chain kinase), modulation of intracellular cell signaling, and activation of the sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticular Ca2+ATPase resulting in calcium sequestration
Validating the children's eating behaviour questionnaire in a UK sample:A suitable tool for mothers and fathers
Full text linkChildren's eating behaviour is a complex construct linked to various health, social, and psychological outcomes. The Children's Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ)assesses parents' perceptions of children's eating behaviours across eight subscales: food fussiness, enjoyment of food, food responsiveness, satiety responsiveness, desire to drink, slowness in eating, and emotional under- and overeating. Given that the initial validation of the CEBQ dates back to the early 2000s, this study aimed to (1) evaluate the psychometric properties of the CEBQ in a UK sample using current psychometric recommendations and (2) examine its measurement invariance based on parental sex. A total of 994 caregivers (196 fathers and 798 mothers) of children aged 3–5 years completed the questionnaire. The performance of the scale revealed that 23 items exhibited ceiling or floor effects or failed to meet recommended item-total correlation coefficients. Exploratory factor analysis supported an eight-factor, 34-item structure, which was confirmed via confirmatory factor analysis: X2 = 2129.845 (df = 499; p &lt; 0.001), TLI = 0.911, CFI = 0.921, RMSEA = 0.083 (90 % CI 0.079–0.087) and SRMR = 0.080. All factors demonstrated adequate internal consistency (omega 3 values over 0.7). Measurement invariance testing confirmed strict invariance by parental sex, indicating the instrument performs equivalently for mothers and fathers. These findings support the use of the revised 34-item CEBQ with its eight original factors for both maternal and paternal respondents. However, future research should consider revising certain CEBQ items included to strengthen its capacity to capture variations in children's eating behaviour, and to provide a more accurate evaluation of the construct.</p
Process Modelling, Simulation and Technoeconomic Evaluation of Batch vs. Continuous Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (CPM) of Cephalexin
Full text linkCost-effective antibiotics production is essential in the fight against antimicrobial resistance, since pharmaceutical companies must frequently abandon their antibiotics research due to: (i) high research and development (R&D) costs, (ii) increasingly stringent environmental regulations, and (iii) government initiatives aimed at curbing antimicrobial resistance by restricting use of new antibiotic products. Consequently, in-silico process design can be effectively employed to reduce the manufacturing cost of new and existing antibiotics whilst simultaneously accelerating their development and improving their affordability. The present paper examines how process modelling and technoeconomic evaluation can be used to guide the design of fully aqueous and aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) manufacturing platforms for the production of cephalexin, a generic cephalosporin antibiotic. Moreover, detailed comparisons of batch vs. continuous pharmaceutical manufacturing (CPM) for the ATPS protocol illustrate key benefits.</p
Effect of Deliberate Physical Damage and Repair on the Icephobicity of Oil‐Infused Elastomer Coatings
Full text linkOil-infused elastomers have shown promise as anti-icing coatings, but their softness has led to durability concerns. The effect of damage is investigated to study the resilience of the icephobicity of silicone elastomer coatings with and without oil infusion. Physical damage is applied to specimens by abrading with grit paper or cutting with a scalpel. Surface characterization reveals morphological changes in the coatings due to damage and de-icing on the surfaces, along with changes in the static water contact angle. Abrasion of the surfaces does not overwhelmingly or universally worsen the ice adhesion strength. Some damage even lowers the ice adhesion strength, possibly due to Cassie–Baxter wetting. However, it decreases the average freezing time. Cutting causes accelerated deterioration to ice adhesion strength and worsens freezing time. Though damage to the oil-infused coatings is greater, changes in icephobicity are similar to coatings without oil infusion. Re-coating is an effective method of repairing even severely damaged surfaces and recovering icephobicity. We show oil-infused elastomers have durable icephobicity and are effective anti-icing coatings
Exploiting cellulose:xyloglucan endotransglucosylase activity — exploring novel acceptor substrates carrying valuable ‘cargoes’
No full textHetero-trans-β-glucanase (HTG) is an Equisetum plant enzyme that covalently grafts cellulose (donor substrate) to xyloglucan heptasaccharide (XXXG; Xyl3.Glc4 as acceptor substrate). Commercial exploitation of this technology requires bulk XXXG production. Novel acceptor substrates bearing two or more XXXG moieties could potentially cross-link cellulose chains. We explored bulk XXXG production, the synthesis of novel (including multimeric) XXXG conjugates and novel coloured derivatives, and explored new activators of HTG action. Commercial tamarind gum (crude xyloglucan) was digested with xyloglucan endo-glucanase, producing mixed xyloglucan oligosaccharides, which were then enzymically de-galactosylated to XXXG. Sequential application of the two enzymes proved more reliable than simultaneous. XXXG was reductively aminated with 1,2-diaminoethane (DAE), generating conjugates with the constitution XXXGol1–4-DAE. In some cases, [14C]DAE was used, generating radiolabelled conjugates. The products were characterised by ninhydrin staining, thin-layer chromatographic mobility and electrophoretically determined charge:mass ratio. All DAE conjugates of XXXGol proved satisfactory acceptor substrates for HTG. We also reductively aminated XXXG with toluidine blue O (TB), generating coloured conjugates (XXXGol1-2-TB) that were likewise HTG acceptor substrates, allowing visualisation of this and other XXXG reactions on paper substrata. Furthermore, we discovered hydrophilic neutral polymers, e.g. polyvinylalcohol and polyethyleneglycol (but not a polyanion or polycation), that were highly effective activators of HTG action on cellulose — alternatives to the conventionally used bovine serum albumin. Casein and various food-grade plant protein preparations were also effective. In conclusion, this work opens the way to utilising Equisetum HTG to chemically modify cellulose, with exciting potential commercial benefits. <br/
Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Micro/Mini Channel Flow Boiling with a Self-Rewetting Fluid at different Flow Inclinations
No full textFlow boiling of a self-rewetting fluid (SRF) in high aspect ratio microchannels was investigated experimentally at various applied heat fluxes, and supported with numerical simulations to provide small scale insight into the thin film liquid regions. A 5% v/v 1-butanol-water mixture was used as the SRF and was compared to pure water. The microchannel had an aspect ratio of 20 (6 mm width by 0.3 mm height) and a length of 70 mm and received one-sided heating. Experimental work considered sub-cooled liquid inlet conditions for five channel inclination angles ranging from -90° (downward flow) to 90° (upward flow) at mass fluxes of 10, 15 and 25 kg/m2s. It was observed that the flow inclination severely affected the vapour liquid distribution in the channel and the heat transfer performance. Upward flow had better heat transfer performances than downward flow. Compared to water, the SRF had a similar heat transfer performance for horizontal flow, but outperformed the water for downward flow to such an extent that the SRF exhibited a steady robust boiling mechanism while water almost instantly resulted in severe dry-out at the top (inlet) of the channel. Further insight was obtained via a series of two-dimensional numerical simulation at a mass flux of 15 kg/m2s. It was found and shown via velocity vectors that the unique surface tension properties of the SRF meant that the surrounding fluid was drawn into the heated region, as explained by the Marangoni effect, allowing for a continually wetted surface, and thus enables continued boiling to occur. Numerically it was found, compared to the water, that for the SRF the surrounding fluid flow resulted in reduced bubble growth rates, as well as thicker liquid film layers between the bubble and heated wall
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