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Modeling of precipitation over Africa: Progress, challenges, and prospects
Full text linkIn recent years, there has been an increasing need for climate information across diverse sectors of society. This demand has arisen from the necessity to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate variability and change. Likewise, this period has seen a significant increase in our understanding of the physical processes and mechanisms that drive precipitation and its variability across different regions of Africa. By leveraging a large volume of climate model outputs, numerous studies have investigated the model representation of African precipitation as well as underlying physical processes. These studies have assessed whether the physical processes are well depicted and whether the models are fit for informing mitigation and adaptation strategies. This paper provides a review of the progress in precipitation simulation over Africa in state-of-the-science climate models and discusses the major issues and challenges that remain
Therapeutic reprogramming of glioblastoma phenotypic states using multifunctional heparin nanoparticles
Full text linkGlioblastomas (GB) are the most common and deadly primary malignant brain tumors due to their infiltrative growth and resistance to conventional therapies. GB cell plasticity and differentiation into drug‐resistant mesenchymal‐like (MES) states protect tumors from conventional treatments. This study introduces a novel precision medicine approach employing heparin‐based nanoparticles (HP‐NPs) engineered to cross the blood‐brain barrier and target MES‐like glioma stem cells (GSCs). Encapsulating doxorubicin (DOX) in HP‐NPs reduces drug‐mediated complement and coagulation cascades, enhancing hemocompatibility in human whole blood. In vitro, HP‐NPs demonstrate efficient uptake by patient‐derived GSCs. Preclinical evaluations in patient avatars indicate plain HP‐NPs outperform DOX‐loaded HP‐NPs in reducing GB progression. Transcriptomic studies show HP‐NPs downregulate heparin‐binding epidermal growth factor (HBEGF), shifting MES GSCs into less plastic astroglial‐like cells, impairing tumorigenesis. HP‐NPs are well‐tolerated and safe at therapeutic doses in healthy rats, offering a promising new paradigm in anticancer therapy to overcome GB recurrence and improve therapeutic outcomes
How variations in intraplate stresses affect slip and dilation tendencies of faults: The onshore United Kingdom example
Full text linkStresses in plate interiors vary in magnitude and orientations on various scales, implying that shear and normal stresses on faults may vary regionally. The effects of intraplate regional stress variations are analysed using a recent compilation of in-situ stress to calculate slip and dilation tendencies of United Kingdom onshore faults. The tendencies are normalised to maximum possible values. Stress in UK can be characterised by a strike slip stress field with variable orientations of maximum horizontal stress, SH. Throughout southern UK, SH is orientated NW, giving rise to very low slip and dilation tendencies on NE striking Caledonian faults. North and E to ESE striking faults have very high slip tendencies, and intermediate dilation tendencies. At a major boundary in stress orientation (the Highland Boundary Fault in Scotland), SH changes abruptly to a northerly trend. Steeply dipping Caledonian faults in northern UK such as the Great Glen Fault have very high slip tendencies and intermediate dilation tendencies. Faults with low dips (e.g. the Moine Thrust) have intermediate slip and dilation tendencies. The dramatic change in slip tendencies on steeply dipping Caledonian faults from southern to northern UK illustrates some of the profound consequences of regional scale stress variations. These conclusions are robust to reasonable uncertainties, but the coarse results of this study indicate that more detailed knowledge of stress and fault geometry is necessary for applications such as pump-storage schemes, nuclear power plants, radioactive waste disposal, mining, and carbon sequestration, as well as for seismic hazard analysis
Rethinking the use of collective-singulative pairs in contemporary Welsh
No full textThis article offers new insights on the ongoing debate surrounding number categories in Welsh, namely whether the collective-singulative distinction can be regarded as a full number category in its own right, separate from the more common singular-plural category. Based on new data obtained from online questionnaires, it will be argued for the first time that some “morphological collectives” are in fact being used in a singular manner in contemporary varieties of Welsh. The potential relevance of this emerging development to the variation patterns of Welsh diminutives will therefore be probed. Moreover, the implications of this study’s findings for some previous research on morphological typology will be explored, as well as their possible pertinence to studies of the acquisition of Welsh.
Keywords:
Collective-singulative pairs
Diminutives
Contemporary Welsh
Natural Morphology
Morphological variatio
Early results from the coma legacy IFU Survey (CLIFS): Ram pressure induced shocks and ionization in jellyfish tails
Full text linkJellyfish galaxies, which exhibit tails of gas opposite to their direction of motion, are a galaxy population showcasing the most extreme effects of ram pressure stripping (RPS). We present the emission line properties of a preliminary sample of five jellyfish galaxies in the Coma cluster, observed with the WEAVE Large-IFU as part of the Coma Legacy IFU Survey (CLIFS). When complete, CLIFS will form a sample of 29 jellyfish galaxies in Coma, selected based on the presence of one-sided tails in the radio continuum, enabling a comprehensive picture of the effects of ram pressure on galaxies in the Coma cluster. We extract emission line properties and confirm consistency between disk fluxes measured from WEAVE and MaNGA for galaxies with overlapping disk coverage between surveys. Comparing resolved radio and Hα-based star formation rates, we find that, in contrast to the disk, the dominant source of tail emission is not star formation. We find evidence for diffuse ionized gas excited by RPS-driven shocks in the tails, as indicated by: (1) LINER-like tail emission with the [O i]/Hα Baldwin-Phillips-Terlevich diagnostic; (2) enhanced [O ii]/Hα ratios in the tails relative to the disks; and (3) similarly elevated emission line velocities and velocity dispersions in the tails with respect to the disks. These results demonstrate that ram pressure driven shocks dominate the ionized emission in jellyfish galaxy tails
Thermal energy demand database for typical British dwellings
Full text linkDue to the impacts of climate change, the world is experiencing rapidly rising temperatures and shifting weather patterns. In Northern hemisphere countries like the United Kingdom (UK), dual-seasonal thermal energy demand is faced, with intense winter heating needs and elevated summer cooling requirements due to the increasing frequency and intensity of heatwaves. Thus, understanding the changing demand for both heating and cooling is becoming increasingly important towards meeting legally-binding net-zero targets based on how the required additional demand on electricity networks is met. Despite this, most attention has been given to heat demand, with space cooling not receiving significant consideration so far and the intrinsic interdependence between heating and cooling requirements not fully accounted for. In addition, domestic buildings have not been sufficiently investigated, with a substantial focus placed instead on commercial and industrial sites. This paper presents a database of yearly thermal energy demand for typical UK dwellings. The work captures the seasonal variation in thermal demand between warmer and colder months. To this end, typical meteorological weather files, alongside six selected geographical locations, multiple dwelling types, different construction data and four building orientations were considered to create year-round datasets
FEAST: Probing hierarchical star formation with the spatial distributions of young star clusters
Full text linkWe apply the angular two-point correlation function (TPCF) to the spatial distributions of young star clusters (YSCs) in four nearby star forming galaxies (NGC 628, NGC 4449, M51, and M83) in order to investigate their underlying hierarchical structuring. Using newly constructed catalogs of YSCs in the emerging phase (eYSCs), identified in the infrared with JWST, and optical YSCs detected in archival Hubble Space Telescope data, we compute the TPCFs for various cluster samples and age bins across the four galaxies, as part of the Feedback in Emerging extrAgalactic Star ClusTers (FEAST) program. We find clear evidence of hierarchical structuring, especially in eYSCs and YSCs with ages <10 Myr (referred to as oYSCs), which show similar TPCFs within each galaxy. NGC 628 exhibits a clear distinction between the TPCFs of eYSCs and oYSCs, implying a shorter randomization timescale. In contrast, clusters aged 10–300 Myr exhibit progressively more random spatial distributions, becoming effectively random after ∼100 Myr, consistent with earlier studies. The two-dimensional fractal index D2 values of the YSCs’ underlying distributions are calculated from model fits to the TPCFs. Our values of D2 derived from the youngest YSC populations align better with the expected value of D2 ∼ 1.3 for a universal star formation process compared to previous findings
A realism for the twenty-first century? Just maybe [Book Review]
No full textA Realism for the twenty-first century? Just maybe
How to survive a hostile world: Power, politics, and the case for Realism, by Patrick Porter, Palo Alto, Stanford University Press, 2025, ix, 192 pp., £17.99 (paperback), ISBN 978150364406
Portraiture and disability: Cripping retrospective diagnosis
No full textWithin disability studies and medical humanities, “retrospective diagnosis” has become a controversial practice associated with medical perspectives that fail to appreciate the complexities of the source material, thereby foreclosing further engagement or analysis. I argue that some approaches to retrospective diagnosis can possess more radical potential, particularly when the interpretation is informed by crip politics.. In this article I draw responses to two famous, contrasting early modern portraits that have been subject to diagnostic interpretations linked to facial difference— Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and Quinten Massys’ The Old Woman—into dialogue with a number of disabled artists and writers who engage with historical materials in their creative practice, including Riva Lehrer, Polly Atkin, and Ariel Henley. The article thus employs insight from disability theory to bridge histories of medicine, art, and disability to demonstrate how diagnostic readings of historical sources can raise questions and most importantly challenge ableist assumptions of what the human body looks like. Reading diagnostically, perhaps playfully so, is not only the purview of medical practitioners, but a potential tool for disabled people to find historical representation, resonance, and inspiration for new creative expression
Management of prematurity-associated lung disease from infancy through to adulthood
Full text linkPreterm birth has lifelong pulmonary consequences, with many individuals developing prematurity-associated lung disease (PLD). This third paper in the prematurity-associated lung disease Series summarises current evidence for treatment and monitoring of PLD and its phenotypes. Preventive strategies, including maternal and infant vaccination to reduce early life viral exposures, are emerging as key interventions. Pharmacological approaches, such as inhaled corticosteroids, alone or combined with long-acting bronchodilators, show potential benefits in childhood, although there is currently little evidence on phenotype-specific responses. Management should also address extrapulmonary traits, including central airway abnormalities, cardiovascular sequelae, gastro-oesophageal reflux, impaired growth, neurodevelopmental disabilities, reduced physical exercise capacity, and environmental exposures. We discuss monitoring tools for early identification and longitudinal assessment of PLD, evaluation of treatment response, and recommendations for structured follow-up from infancy into adulthood, suitable for both general and specialist respiratory clinicians. Finally, opportunities for repurposing existing drugs and developing new therapies for PLD in children and adults are highlighted