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Revisiting the question: When is a centromere not a kinetochore?
No full textCentromeres have been the focus of extensive research for almost a century, so it may come as a surprise that a consistent definition and nomenclature for these structures remains elusive. In recent times, centromeric chromatin is most frequently defined by the presence of nucleosomes containing the H3 variant CENP-A and is typically synonymous with the site of the inner-kinetochore. However, crucial mammalian centromere proteins including CENP-B and INCENP have well defined distributions that show very little overlap with CENP-A. Additional protein localisations spanning the primary constriction or forming a band below CENP-A chromatin have been reported. Together, these observations suggest a complex and multi-layered chromatin organisation that is not well served by the canonical dichotomy of ‘centromeric’ and ‘pericentromeric’ chromatin. Strikingly, this is not a new observation but was made soon after the discovery of CENP proteins, including in a 1991 publication titled ‘When is the centromere not a kinetochore?’. Here we revisit this question, which has become more pertinent following technical innovations in long-read sequencing and super-resolution microscopy. We present a model of centromere organisation for monocentromeres that incorporates additional complexity. We then use this model to reconceptualise diverse centromere forms in other eukaryotes including regional centromeres, holocentromeres and centromeres that lack key proteins including CENP-A. In this way, we hope to move towards a unified understanding of centromeric chromatin
Foreword by the co-editors of the ICLQ forum on law of the sea
No full textThis foreword introduces the inaugural issue of the International and Comparative Law Quarterly (ICLQ) Forum, a new initiative designed to provide in-depth analysis of a particular field of law within the ICLQ’s sphere of interest. The first Forum focuses on the law of the sea, a subject with which the journal has been closely associated since its inception. The choice of theme reflects both the ICLQ’s historic contributions to maritime scholarship and the renewed urgency of ocean-related legal challenges. The collected contributions examine contemporary developments including the implementation of the BBNJ Agreement, climate change and sea-level rise, maritime security, fisheries governance and human rights at sea. Together, they assess the continuing vitality of UNCLOS as a ‘living treaty’ and interrogate its capacity to respond to shifting geopolitical, environmental and technological realities. Beyond charting doctrinal evolution, the Forum highlights the law of the sea’s systemic significance for the development of international law more broadly. It invites reflection on whether the traditional State-centric framework can sustain effective ocean governance in the face of accelerating global pressures
An extension of the group of flows method for finite pre-Lie rings
No full textThis paper presents an extension of the classical method [1] for associating groups to pre-Lie rings. This enhancement will hopefully help us to better understand an object used to investigate set-theoretic solutions of the Yang-Baxter equation and Hopf-Galois extensions called a brace. We also show that some classes of braces of cardinality pn with p prime and n larger than p can be obtained with our extension
Adverse childhood experiences and chronic pain in adults aged 86:Findings from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936
No full textBackground: Chronic pain, a major cause of disability, is prevalent in older people. Exposure to multiple adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is associated with increased levels of chronic pain in later life. However, this association has not been investigated in people aged older than 80 years. Therefore, the primary objective of this study was to explore the relationship between ACEs and chronic pain in people with a mean age of 86 years, participants of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936. Methods: A survey co-developed by researchers, clinicians and people with lived experience (PWLE) that assessed chronic pain and ACEs was completed by 229 participants (response rate 67%). Associations between ACE exposure and chronic pain were investigated using multinomial logistic regression. Results: Results showed that 58% reported chronic pain, with a higher prevalence in females. Furthermore, 69% of participants with chronic pain reported moderate or severe pain interference and 82% reported at least 1 ACE, with 25% indicating exposure to ≥4 ACEs. The most frequently reported exposure was community violence (48%). Males were more likely to report any ACE, physical neglect, bullying, and community violence. No significant association was found between ACEs and chronic pain status, severity, or interference in this cohort. Discussion: This study, the first to adapt ACE and chronic pain questionnaires with input from PWLE, suggests that the relationship between ACEs and chronic pain may be less relevant in people in their eighties compared to younger populations. These findings have implications for trauma-informed care and pharmacological treatment in older adults
Can anonymisation become disempowering? Rethinking ethics for low-risk global health research
No full textAnonymisation is intended to confer protection in research, yet in research where disclosure poses minimal threat, blanket anonymisation may disempower participants who explicitly seek recognition. Drawing on fieldwork examining task shifting and sharing in India, we present an example where the leadership of a non-profit questioned why they must stay anonymous, viewing research participation as a rare chance to share learnings, document impact, and build credibility; opportunities otherwise constrained by funding and capacity limitations. Looking through an epistemic injustice lens, we argue that mandatory anonymisation policies reflect global north institutional assumptions about protection rather than the preferences of participants, potentially perpetuating patterns where researchers advance their goals whilst organisations whose knowledge forms their evidence remain invisible. While anonymisation is critical for sensitive research where disclosure could do harm, we call for flexible ethical guidelines that empower participants to make informed choices regarding recognition if risks are minimal. We recommend tiered consent processes which allow participants to select their levels of identification, differentiate between organisational and individual visibility, and use context-dependent frameworks like the Global Ethical Research toolkit to move towards proportionate, context-dependent decisions that truly protect those we study
“You feel hopeless when you can't access healthcare”:International students' experiences of mental health help-seeking through primary healthcare services in Scotland
Get PDFPurpose: International university students (ISs) experience elevated rates of psychological distress due to the unique challenges of living and studying in a new country. Nonetheless, their utilisation of mental health services tends to be low. This study aimed to explore ISs' experiences of help-seeking via the Scottish primary healthcare services. Methods: A qualitative design using semi-structured interviews and interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was employed. The sample included nine female ISs from a range of cultural backgrounds, who sought mental health support from the Scottish primary healthcare services within the previous year. Results: Participants' help-seeking experiences, contextualised within the challenging, liminal reality of living and studying in Scotland as an IS, were hindered by challenges with navigating two healthcare systems simultaneously and culturally-mediated attitudes towards mental health. Positive and negative experiences of patient-GP interactions had a considerable impact on participants' subsequent help-seeking endeavours. Conclusions: Transnational and relational lenses are key for understanding ISs' help-seeking. Beyond individual factors, help-seeking trajectories hinge on perceived quality of patient-doctor relationships and the accessibility of both local and home-country systems. These findings highlight the need for universities to implement targeted mental wellbeing interventions for ISs, and primary care to improve the quality patient–GP interactions.</p
Tongue, tape, and time:Caring masculinities in the practice of electrical repair and maintenance work in India's Sundarbans
Get PDFIn forest-fringe areas of India's Sundarbans, young men at the intersection of low caste and class become invested in electrical repair and maintenance work – as a gendering practice that enacts a specific logic of care. This work takes embodied knowledge (tongue), thoughtful improvisation (tape), and lifelong commitment (time) to fragile things and people in need. Tongue, tape, and time make the difference between good and bad care – between good, honourable men and men who do not or cannot care. In a place of changing aspirations but lasting deprivations, the costs of caring are expensive for men of limited means, and yet the costs of not caring cause the same men to suffer from unanticipated forms of gendered vulnerability. In this article, electrical workers’ caring masculinities are analysed in their political, economic, and moral dimensions to reveal ongoing tensions in the social constitution of (gendered) personhood: as care both obviates and causes ruination, these tensions must be constantly smoothed out for care to maintain its generative potential. Informed by fifteen months of fieldwork on an island of India's Sundarbans, the article seeks to trouble repair and maintenance work as care work – for care both does and undoes both men and things.</p
Personality nuances and cognition:A multi-cohort and multi-method approach
Get PDFThere is substantial evidence for an association between the Five-Factor Model personality domains and cognition across adulthood. Examining the items that compose each of the five domains, known as nuances, can provide novel insight into the aspects of the traits most connected to cognitive outcomes. This study tested the association between personality nuances and cognition (memory performance, subjective memory, informant-rated cognition) in five community-based cohorts. Participants (N > 28,000, age range: 32–104 years) were administered the Midlife Development Inventory (MIDI) to assess personality nuances, immediate and recall tasks to assess memory performance, and a subjective memory measure. Ratings of cognitive functioning from a knowledgeable informant were available in two samples. There was a strong pattern of replicability between personality items and cognitive outcomes across samples and cognitive measures. Meta-analyses indicated that higher neuroticism nuances (particularly the nervous and worry items) were related to lower memory performance, worse subjective memory, and worse informant-rated cognition. Higher conscientiousness (particularly the organized and responsible items), extraversion (particularly the active item), and openness (particularly the intelligent item) nuances were consistently associated with better memory performance, better subjective memory, and better informant-rated cognition across samples. To a lesser extent, higher agreeableness nuances (helpful, warm, sympathetic) were associated with better memory and subjective memory. This research adds to the existing literature by providing novel evidence of replicable associations between personality nuances and cognition
Capillary-based nonisothermal suction stress and nonlinear shear strength criteria for unsaturated compacted soils
Get PDFThe unsaturated geological layers are a common site of many engineering projects, however, it is challenging to predict their water retention capacity and shear strength. Through analysis of soils with dual-porosity structures, a new effective stress equation was then established in this paper that considered the saturated and unsaturated fractions of a bimodal structure soil. The effective stress theory was extended to provide a new shear strength criterion that incorporates capillary water, local characteristics, and the micro-macro transition behaviour of unsaturated soils. This paper also introduces a novel model of the soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) that combines simultaneously the dual-porosity structure theory and the capillarity-adsorption water retention theory of unsaturated soils. In this model, the total amount of water retained in soil pores is explicitly distinguished by capillary and adsorbed water attraction. The adsorbed component of the SWCC displays a peak value at an intermediate suction with a hill-shaped curve, indicating the degree of saturation due to adsorption decreases after an initial increase. The capillary component of SWCC is a typical s-shaped curve, which indicates that more capillary pores are dried along with increasing suction. An extended model of the suction stress characteristic curve was then established under both isothermal and nonisothermal conditions. A good agreement is found when comparing the outcomes of experiments with the present method. It has been proved that the capillary water and particle contact area ratio impact the shear behaviour of unsaturated soils. The results demonstrate that the proposed model offers a significantly more accurate prediction across a variety of suction levels and soil types
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