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A review of ageing related biomarkers in breath
No full textThe growing ageing population presents significant challenges for healthcare systems, particularly in monitoring age-related physiological decline. Ageing is a complex, multifactorial process that manifests without specific symptoms and is shaped by lifestyle, environmental exposures, diet, and underlying health conditions. Identifying reliable biomarkers of ageing could enable early interventions, improve prognostic accuracy, and reduce healthcare burdens. One promising avenue is exhaled breath analysis, where volatile organic compounds (VOCs) offer a non-invasive window into physiological states. Breath VOC profiling shows promise in the detection of cancer and pulmonary diseases and is already used as a diagnostic tool for metabolic disorders and conditions such as asthma. This review examines 11 studies investigating age-dependent changes in exhaled breath VOCs, with attention to analytical methodologies, compound overlap, and mechanistic relevance. A search of four databases covering publications from 2000 to 2024 was conducted using keywords related to breath, VOCs, and ageing. Commonly reported age-associated VOCs included alkanes, isoprene, and acetone, though functional group trends varied across studies due to methodological differences. Several VOCs were linked to ageing-related pathways such as NF-κB, Nrf2-Keap1, and PI3K/Akt, suggesting potential mechanistic involvement beyond mere correlation. Although no consensus biomarker has yet emerged, the integration of advanced analytical platforms with AI-driven data interpretation holds promise for developing robust, breath-based diagnostics for ageing.</p
Influence of grain arrangement on particle mobility and patterns of variability between gravel bed rivers
No full textThe grain-scale arrangement of gravel is important in controlling the stability of river beds, sediment supply and geomorphic adjustment of river channels. However, the influence of gravel bed texture on grain mobility is difficult to quantify because differences in flow history and sediment composition influence the development of bed structure between different channels. In this study, gravel surface observations obtained from Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry were compared with particle entrainment resistance forces, obtained using in situ grain force tests across 45 exposed gravel patches (2,921 grains), to investigate the influence of grain arrangement on particle mobility between rivers. Grain sorting, imbrication and surface roughness were predominantly controlled by particle size. Even when differences in grain size were accounted for, correlations between individual surface-structure metrics and grain mobility were weak, suggesting additional complexity between sites such as grain shape variability. Each of the sampled beds was categorized into one of four groupings, based on combinations of bed surface-structure and grain shape, using cluster analysis. Grain mobility was significantly different between bed types; for example, sites with well sorted, flat and imbricate grains were ∼25% more stable than sites with spherical, non-imbricated grains. These findings are important for river modeling and management, because they can be used to develop better predictions for grain mobility thresholds at the-scale. The classification of surface textures according to the four identified bed types could help to predict grain mobility with limited data, but this would require further validation.</p
A digital twin-based approach for dynamic traffic-aware routing and charging of electric vehicles
No full textThe growing adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) presents new challenges for intelligent transportation systems (ITS), particularly in dynamic traffic environments where routing and charging decisions must adapt to fluctuating conditions. This paper proposes a Digital Twin-based Electric Vehicle Routing and Charging approach (DT-EVRC) that integrates real-time traffic data, predictive analytics, and a Dual-Population Evolutionary Algorithm (DPEA) to optimize EV travel and charging schedules. Unlike traditional static or simplified models, DT-EVRC continuously synchronizes with the physical transportation network, capturing variations in traffic density, charging station availability, and energy constraints. Experimental results on diverse grid-based urban scenarios demonstrate that DT-EVRC achieves robust and adaptive performance under traffic disruptions, road closures, and charging station failures. The proposed approach highlights the potential of digital twin technologies, combined with advanced optimization, to support next-generation ITS by enabling efficient, resilient, and sustainable urban mobility.</p
What is gone and what remains in the research on digital engagement?
No full textResearch on engagement has always been central to the social science of digital media. Not only has it generated significant theoretical innovations, it has impacted democratic practice across the world. But after the upheaval caused by the global turn toward examining social media’s dysfunctional impacts, where stands the field? Discussing recent work while contextualizing it within the field’s key assumptions of the past 30 years, I consider what is gone and what remains in the research on digital engagement. I begin by developing a simple interpretive framework that marries the three main components of a field that are prone to extinction with a three-part temporal perspective on why fields wither or evolve. Putting this framework to use, I present five arguments, as follows: the assumed context of general, neutral social media platforms is going; the assumption that online self-expression is a largely unquestionable social good is gone; previously underdeveloped models of online influence are receding, though key challenges remain; digital networks remain crucial for collective action, even as the field has shed its rosier assumptions; work that interrogates the complex entanglement of digital technologies, everyday life, and socio-political identities is undergoing a much-needed revival.</p
Unveiling bias: the impact of male rape myths and stereotypes on juror verdicts in male-on-male rape trials
No full textThis study examined how male rape myths, racial biases, and sexuality stereotypes influence verdicts in male-on-male rape trials—an area that is currently under-researched. A sample of 463 participants read a mock rape trial, where both the defendant and complainant were male, with defendant ethnicity (White, Black, Asian) and complainant sexuality (homosexual, heterosexual) manipulated across conditions. Participants completed the Male Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (MRMAS) before the trial and the Juror Decision Scale (JDS) afterwards. Results showed that defendant and complainant believability (subscales of the JDS) mediated the relationship between rape myth acceptance and verdicts, indicating that pre-trial biases shape jurors’ story formation and decision-making. Qualitative data demonstrates divergent narrative logics between high and low MRMA participants. Further, it was also found that both defendant ethnicity and complainant sexuality did not significantly influence verdicts. Findings highlight how underlying biases affect juror judgments and underscore the implications of this research are considered in the context of jury-reform initiatives already underway across the UK. Limitations and future research discussed within.</p
Increased common corticospinal input during eyes-closed unilateral stance in people with chronic ankle instability
No full textNeuromuscular control deficits and altered spinal and corticospinal mechanisms are central to chronic ankle instability (CAI) and its persistent symptoms, but the role of ankle muscle coordination and common neural inputs during unipedal stance in CAI remains unexplored. This study aimed to compare intermuscular coherence between individuals with CAI and healthy controls during single-leg stance and investigate functionality of intermuscular coherence to postural control. Sixteen CAI and 16 healthy control (HC) participants performed single-leg balance tasks under eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions. The surface electromyograms were recorded from tibialis anterior (TA), peroneus longus (PL), gastrocnemius medial head (GM), and soleus (SOL) muscles. Coherence was analysed for PL-TA, PL-SOL, PL-GM, SOL-TA and SOL-GM muscle pairs in the delta (0.5-5 Hz) and beta (15-35 Hz) frequency bands. The CAI group exhibited greater beta-band intermuscular coherence for PL-SOL, PL-GM and SOL-TA during eyes-closed stance but not in eyes-open conditions, compared to healthy controls, suggesting increased common corticospinal inputs to agonist-antagonist muscle pairs. Higher beta-band coherence in the antagonistic muscle pairs correlated with reduced COP complexity, suggesting that strengthened beta-band indicates reduced postural adaptability. These findings suggest increased common corticospinal inputs to agonist-antagonist muscle pairs in CAI individuals, suggesting reduced postural adaptability during eyes-closed stance. Future research should address methodological considerations and validate protocol for intermuscular coherence analysis during single-leg stance. Future studies should also include CAI copers to determine whether their common corticospinal inputs have returned to healthy levels, supporting the potential effectiveness of targeted neuromodulatory or rehabilitation interventions.</p
Polycentric urban regions, regional innovation and the Guangdong Hong Kong-Macao greater bay area
No full textPolycentric urban regions, regional innovation and the Guangdong Hong Kong-Macao greater bay area</p
Quantum numbers and markov polynomials
No full textQuantisation (or q-deformation) of numbers goes back to Euler and Gauss, but in general it is far from being a well-defined procedure. In this thesis we discuss the quantisation of the real numbers proposed recently by Morier-Genoud and Ovsienko, who were inspired by combinatorics and cluster algebras. One of the open problems in this area is to prove the conjectural lower bound for the radius of convergence of the corresponding power series. We consider the opposite case of which rational numbers have the maximal radius of convergence, 1. By combining the theory of q-rational numbers together with classical results of Kronecker, Serret and Fatou we are able to shed more light on the classification of such rational numbers (Kronecker fractions). Meanwhile Markov polynomials, which are components of the solutions to a generalisation of the Markov equation, can also be considered as a quantisation of the Markov numbers, previously studied in the context of cluster algebras. We study the coefficients of these polynomials as a function on the corresponding Newton polygon. We propose a number of conjectures, which we were able to prove in several special cases. In particular, we found an analogue of Cohn matrices and relate them to the combinatorial interpretation of Markov polynomials.</p
Fear of movement as a barrier to physical activity in pregnant and postpartum women – A scoping review
No full textThis is a protocol for a Scoping Review that is being written exploring the 'Fear of movement as a barrier to physical activity in pregnant and postpartum women.'. The primary objective of this scoping review is to investigate the breadth and nature of existing research on fear of movement as a barrier to exercise, sport and physical activity in pregnant and postpartum populations. The proposed scoping review will follow the PRISMA-ScR protocol for scoping reviews to address gaps in the existing literature (Tricco et al., 2018). The search for this scoping review is designed to identify published studies. A preliminary search was conducted in PubMed and EMBASE to explore relevant literature on this topic. The full search strategy was developed using keywords extracted from titles and abstracts of relevant articles, along with term identified during the preliminary search. The strategy was the tailored for each database using all identified keywords and terms. Thea databases searched will include PubMed, Embase, and Scopus. Additionally, the reference lists of review articles will be screened for further relevant sources. A date limit will be applied, excluding studies published before 2015, and only studies published in English will be included. After completing all database searches, articles will be uploaded to Covidence, where duplicate entries will be removed. A pilot test of the title and abstract screening process will be conducted by two reviewers. Following this, the reviewers will independently screen the titles and abstracts, discussing and resolving any conflicts together. If consensus cannot be reached, a third reviewer will resolve disagreements. Full-text versions of the selected papers will then be retrieved and uploaded to Covidence. Two reviewers will independently assess the full-text articles based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, following the same conflict resolution process used in the title and abstract screening stage. Reasons for exclusion during full-text screening will be documented and reported in the scoping review. The final search results, along with the study selection process, will be presented in a PRISMA-ScR flow diagram (Tricco et al., 2018). An Excel spreadsheet will be used to record data extracted from articles that pass the full-text screening stage. One reviewer will independently extract data from the selected studies. To ensure all relevant information is accurately captured, a pilot trial will be conducted with two members of the review team. During this process, one reviewer will extract the data while the second reviewer verifies its relevance and accuracy. The key information recorded in the extraction table will include author(s), year of publication, country of origin, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, study aims/purpose, population and sample size, data on fear of movement, definitions of fear of movement, descriptions of physical activity (frequency, intensity, type, and duration), and information on pregnancy experiences, including feelings, sensations and opinions. The results of the data extraction process will be presented as a narrative synthesis. This scoping review will explore the occurrence of key concepts, populations, characteristics, and themes emerging from the extracted data. Findings from the selected studies will be categorised and summarised based on their relevance to the objectives of this review.© the authors</p
Connected Loughborough Project: Sustainable Travel Barriers and Solutions
No full textThe university market town of Loughborough is the main town of the district of Charnwood in North Leicestershire and is located in the centre of an urban triangle marked by the cities of Derby, Leicester, and Nottingham. As part of the Connected Loughborough project which aims to support sustainable travel in the town, an online survey was distributed to students, staff members, and partner organisations of Loughborough University at its Midlands campus, amounting to circa 24,000 recipients, and asked about their travel behaviours with respect to the university and the town, barriers they face to engage in sustainable travel, and what their opinions are about potential travel schemes.© the authors</p