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Crossing boundaries: Brachinites and their diverse asteroidal origins
Get PDFBrachinite meteorites are typically linked to the olivine-rich A-type asteroids. In this study, however, they appear to exhibit unexpected spectral diversity. Spectroscopic analysis of seven meteorites from the brachinite clan reveals two distinct populations in band parameters, overlapping with both the A-type and S-complex asteroids. This dual association shows that a single meteorite group can originate from multiple asteroid taxonomies. Notably, one S-complex-like specimen, Northwest Africa (NWA) 14,635, displays band parameters similar to those of asteroid (65803) Didymos, the target of the European Space Agency's (ESA) ongoing Hera mission. These results underscore the value of spectroscopic characterization of poorly understood meteorite groups and identifying potential analogs that are highly relevant for current and future mission planning
Regular Long Runs and Higher Training Volumes are Associated with Better Running Economy Durability in Performance Matched Well-Trained Male Runners
No full textIntroduction
Running economy (RE) deteriorates during prolonged running (i.e. RE durability), although it is unknown if runners’ training characteristics influence RE durability. Furthermore, the extent of the decrement in neuromuscular capabilities after running could also contribute to differences in RE durability. Therefore, this study aimed to compare RE durability during a 90 min run and the decrements in neuromuscular capabilities, between athletes that did, or did not, practice regular long runs, whilst pair-matched for performance status.
Methods
Two groups of 13 male runners were recruited as long (LDT; regular long runs ≥90 min) or short distance training runners (SDT; all runs -1 ·min -1 ). Participants completed preliminary assessments to determine lactate threshold (LT) and V̇O 2 max, then on a separate occasion, a 90 min run at LT. Respiratory gases were collected every 15 min, and isometric squat peak force and countermovement jump (CMJ) were assessed before and after the run.
Results
Changes in RE occurred earlier and were larger for SDT than LDT, reaching +6.0% vs +3.1% at 90 min, respectively (p
Conclusions
This study is the first to demonstrate that the presence of long runs and higher training volumes positively affects RE durability and decrements in neuromuscular capability in performance-matched runners. These results provide important insights into how training characteristics may help explain differences in durability, although intervention studies are needed to confirm these cross-sectional findings
The holistic nature of health and social care
No full textThis chapter defines, contextualises, and examines the holistic nature of health and social care, emphasising the interplay of physical, psychological, and sociological dimensions in individuals’ lives. It highlights how personal experiences and broader systemic factors interact, often leading to challenges. Using a lifespan approach, the chapter discusses the influence of political climates and the experiences of individuals from Global Ethnic Majority (GEM) backgrounds. Connections between health and social care with education, housing, and poverty are explored.
The analysis reveals that inequalities disproportionately affect deprived and GEM communities, exacerbated by Covid-19, poor housing, education, and poverty. Furthermore, fiscal decisions have constrained access to essential services, highlighting the importance of early interventions. Despite these challenges, the chapter underscores the importance of hope and potential for change. It positions students as pivotal agents of social change in addressing inequalities through policy, practice, and research, fostering a more equitable and supportive society
[Book Review] A review of Helen Wheatley’s <i>Death/Television</i>, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 2024
No full textWhose Early Career is it Anyway? Asymmetric Reciprocity and Abusive Friendships in Academia
No full textWhat does it mean to build an academic career when the rules are unwritten, and the promises uncertain? This chapter explores asymmetric reciprocity and abusive friendships within academic relationships through four fictocritical stories. These narratives evoke the lived realities of Early Career Academics (ECAs) navigating competitive, often exploitative environments shaped by subtle (and not-so-subtle) hierarchies. Drawing on Bourdieu’s insights, the chapter critiques neoliberal pressures and institutional norms that obscure power beneath the language of mentorship and collegiality. In reflecting on these vignettes, it calls for a culture rooted in autonomy, care, and genuine intellectual mentorship
Questioning the logic of criminalisation and penal policy: abolitionist aspirations and the search for transformative justice
No full textApparatus and Actor-Network: The Case of International Architects and Contemporary Chinese Architecture
No full textThis thesis is developed by questioning the dichotomy of "part-whole" in traditional sociology and architectural studies. Specifically, these existing polarized studies mainly focused on the external "sociological explanation"1 at the macro level and the specific architectural design theory. By rethinking the relationship between the apparatus perspective and Actor-Network Theory, this research attempts to break the gap between the macro and micro levels and establish connections between the two. By investigating the specific cases of substantial architectural collaboration between China and foreign architects in the beginning of 21st century, this thesis deconstructs the operating logic of apparatus into specific narratives, and thus proved that apparatus can also become specific and have complex associations behind it. Furthermore, this thesis clarifies the distinction between state apparatus and architectural apparatus and explained why the government cannot fully control the latter. At the same time, this thesis hopes to arouse more thinking on the relationship between macro logic and specific narratives, and may expand it to a wider range of sociological fields
Investigation of the interplay between autophagy and therapy-induced senescence in thyroid cancer
No full textTherapy-induced senescence (TIS) is a potential outcome of anti-cancer treatments, characterized by a stable cell cycle arrest. Besides this feature, senescent cells are highly metabolically active, and present a specific secretory phenotype. In cancer, senescence acts as a double-edged sword: in facts, although unable to proliferate, senescent cells are active drivers of cancer relapse, aggressiveness and metastasis, through the release of pro-inflammatory factors and the ability to resume proliferation.
For these reasons, selectively targeting TIS cells is crucial to avoid their harmful effects. This strategy may become particularly important for those aggressive tumors that currently lack effective therapeutic options, like aggressive dedifferentiated thyroid tumors, such as poorly differentiated and anaplastic thyroid carcinomas. To this purpose, identifying targetable characteristics of TIS cells, conserved across different tumors and inducers, is essential for the development of new senotherapeutics. TIS is often associated with variations and abnormalities of autophagy, a catabolic process exploited by cells to degrade and repurpose macromolecules and organelles, and to rewire their metabolism under stress. The aim of this PhD project was to investigate the interplay between autophagy and therapy-induced senescence in thyroid cancer cells.
To induce TIS, several thyroid cancer cell lines of different histotypes were treated with either CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib or ionizing radiation (IR). We demonstrated that TIS thyroid cancer cells develop highly heterogenous senescent phenotypes, based both on the cell line and the senescence inducer. Further, TIS thyroid cancer cells do not always exhibit a sufficient enlargement of the lysosomal compartment to sustain autophagy function. Indeed, we identified two distinct phenotypes, autophagy-proficient and autophagy-deficient TIS cells, based on lysosomal content. The deficiency in lysosomal biogenesis is driven by the inability of transcription factor EB (TFEB), this process’ master regulator, to properly enter and remain inside the nucleus. The disruption of the autophagic flux leads to the accumulation of SQSTM1/p62, not only the most widely known selective autophagy receptor, but also a signaling hub for the regulation of pathways like mTOR, NFκB and Nrf2. In autophagy-deficient models, SQSTM1/p62 accumulation is associated with the activation of both NFκB and Nrf2. In contrast to autophagy-proficient cells, that are highly sensitive to the senolytic potential of chloroquine (CQ), these Nrf2-activated cells display a higher tolerance to oxidative stress, making them resistant to the senolytic activity of CQ. Despite these contrasting results, CQ treatment shows promising effects also as a senomorphic agent, as shown by its ability to prevent senescence escape and diminish stemness markers in the CQ-insensitive senescent cell line. Moreover, CQ effectively changes the secretory phenotype of TIS cells, as shown by the significant changes in their paracrine effects on the parental cell line.
Finally, to deepen the characterization of the autophagy/lysosomal-related secretory routes during TIS, we analyzed proteomics datasets and uncovered a coordinated upregulation of proteins involved in secretory autophagy and lysosomal exocytosis, particularly in IR-TIS cells, regardless of autophagic functionality.
In conclusion, these findings suggest that during therapy-induced senescence the functionality of the autophagic flux varies due to significant differences in the lysosomal biogenesis machinery. This influences the accumulation of several protein receptors that may also act as signaling hubs, such as SQSTM1/p62, and shapes both cell-intrinsic survival pathways and, likely, the senescence-associated secretory phenotype. Together, these results indicate multiple targetable features of TIS thyroid cancer cells and highlight the senolytic/senomorphic potential of lysosomal inhibition in these tumors