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Synthesis of Large‐Area 2D Prussian Blue as Ion‐Transport Channels for Non‐Volatile Memristors
Get PDF2D Prussian blue and its analogues hold great promise for applications in catalysis, energy conversion, sensing, and memory devices, thanks to their open frameworks, surface activity, and directional ion transport. However, synthesizing high‐quality and large‐area 2D films remains a major challenge. Here, we present a robust and scalable liquid‐liquid interfacial synthesis that enables the formation of continuous, 2D flakes of Prussian blue (Fe3+[Fe2+(CN)6]0.75) with tunable thicknesses from ∼2 nm to several hundred nanometers. The controlled reduction of [Fe3+(CN)6]3− to [Fe2+(CN)6]4− enables slow, directed growth of 2D‐FeFe layers. Unlike films formed from nanoparticles, this method yields high‐quality flakes suitable for integration into devices. As a demonstration, we incorporated these films into Ag filament‐based electrochemical metallization memristors. The 2D‐FeFe devices ≥50 nm thick exhibited reliable bipolar electrical switching, with high Roff/on ratios (∼106), >6 h retention, and stability over 150 cycles. Strikingly, switching was observed across 1.5 µm lateral gaps, far exceeding conventional silver filament formation distances, highlighting the superior ion transport and structural integrity of these 2D frameworks. This scalable approach to 2D Prussian blue, which has the potential to be extended to other related coordination polymers, offers exciting opportunities beyond memristors, enabling integration into technologies where thin‐film compatibility, directional ion transport, and high surface activity are critical, such as catalysis, energy storage, and neuromorphic computing
Can methods that focus on eating behaviour and individual agency improve success rates in eating disorder recovery?
Get PDFSuccess rates in eating disorder treatments are disappointing, and many calls have been made in recent research literature for innovative approaches to improve outcomes. This Comment article offers an argument for the importance of behaviour and agency in supporting eating disorder recovery, where behaviour encompasses eating and other everyday actions and habits and agency is an individual’s capacity to set priorities and intentions, generate insights, draw conclusions, make decisions, and perform actions. Current treatments often deprioritize eating and other behaviours as well as individual agency for the patient/client, with lower importance often attributed to behavioural change than to physiological or psychological change. Reasons for deprioritizing behaviour may include beliefs about the therapeutic alliance, the intellectual appeal of psychological exploration, and the ready measurability of physiological factors. Reasons for deprioritizing personal agency may relate to an only partial shift away from the paternalistic model of medicine, influenced by the physical severity of EDs and by gender dynamics between clinician and client/patient. Drawing on principles and practices from solution-focused coaching and solution-focused brief therapy, we argue that low-agency forms of healthcare are likely to perform poorly in general, given the problematic effects that typically result from the giving and following of advice. Low-agency and low-behaviour approaches are also likely to work poorly for EDs in particular, thanks to both the centrality of eating behaviours and the fact that EDs are often experienced as initially egosyntonic exercises of personal agency. We describe how a high-agency-high-behaviour model of ED treatment could help improve recovery rates by scaffolding a process of progressive empowerment in which the affected individual identifies how personal agency has been lost in the experience of their ED and decides whether, why, and how they wish to reassert it. We survey existing applications of solution-focused methods in the ED domain and suggest ways of testing the proposed ideas. We conclude by sketching broader ways for the field to continue its evolution towards higher-behaviour and higher-agency methods, as part of a general shift to forms of healthcare that are truly responsive to the individual and firmly grounded in the realities of practical change
BED-LLM: intelligent information gathering with LLMs and Bayesian experimental design
No full textWe propose a general-purpose approach for improving the ability of large language models (LLMs) to intelligently and adaptively gather information from a user or other external source using the framework of sequential Bayesian experimental design (BED). This enables LLMs to act as effective multi-turn conversational agents and interactively interface with external environments. Our approach, which we call BED-LLM (Bayesian experimental design with large language models), is based on iteratively choosing questions or queries that maximize the expected information gain (EIG) with respect to a variable of interest given the responses gathered previously. We show how this EIG can be formulated (and then estimated) in a principled way using a probabilistic model derived from the LLM's predictive distributions and provide detailed insights into key decisions in its construction and updating procedure. We find that BED-LLM achieves substantial gains in performance across a wide range of tests based on the 20 Questions game and using the LLM to actively infer user preferences, compared to purely prompting-based design generation and other adaptive design strategies
Schools using nature for education and wellbeing: Mount Kelly School
Get PDFThis practice-led case study is part of a research project looking at Nature-based programmes in secondary schools for mental health and wellbeing. Four case studies were produced in August 2025 with secondary school teachers which use nature-based programmes. Mount Kelly is a co-educational independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 4-18, situated in a rural setting on the edge of Dartmoor National Park. The school, which currently has approximately 550 pupils, has been rated “excellent” by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI)
Towards an Extended Cognitive Model of Moral Injury—The Role of Mental Defeat
Get PDFMoral injury (MI) is a proposed syndrome that develops when someone is exposed to, participates in, or fails to prevent an action that fundamentally violates their moral code and results in maladaptive cognitions about oneself and humanity. Post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disorder based on maladaptive cognitions that develops following a traumatic event. Decades of PTSD research underscore that the experience of mental defeat, or the perception that one was completely defeated during the traumatic event, plays a significant role in the development and maintenance of PTSD. Less work, however, has been done to develop a cognitive model of MI and to understand how mental defeat plays a role in the underlying maladaptive cognitions. Understanding the cognitive model of MI is key to developing effective cognitive therapy. In this paper, we first examine the role of mental defeat in PTSD cognitive models and then compare the PTSD cognitive model to proposed cognitive models for MI. Based on these comparisons and overlapping symptomology, we suggest that mental defeat plays an important role in MI cognitive models
Diagnostic accuracy, treatment and prognosis of myocardial infarction: an 11-year follow-up of a community-based cohort of 0.5 million Chinese adults
No full textBackground: Myocardial infarction (MI) is a major cause of premature death and disability in China, but available data on diagnostic accuracy, treatment and prognosis of MI cases remain limited. Methods: The China Kadoorie Biobank enrolled 512,000 adults (mean age 51 years, 59% women) from 10 (5 urban, 5 rural) areas between 2004-2008. Medical records were sought on 37,159 reported first incident ischaemic heart disease (IHD) cases occurring before 2018 for adjudication. Diagnostic accuracy and risks of recurrent MI, stroke, heart failure and allcause mortality were assessed for reported and adjudicated cases of MI and all IHD. Results: Among 19,135 adjudicated IHD cases, 10.2% (n=1,948) had MI, with diagnostic accuracy of 98% for MI and 93% for all IHD. Use of guideline-directed (antiplatelet, lipidlowering, antihypertensive, and anticoagulant) medications in hospital was high (93% MI; 83% all IHD), but differed by hospital tier and area. Use of coronary revascularisation was low (39% MI; 10% all IHD), even in higher tier hospitals. The 28-day case-fatality was 6-fold greater for MI than all IHD (12.0% vs 2.0%), and higher in older cases and in women, residents in rural areas, but comparable by hospital tier. Disparities in 5-year mortality rates persisted for both MI and all IHD, by age, sex, area and hospital tiers. Conclusions: This large community-based prospective study demonstrated high levels of diagnostic accuracy for MI and all IHD in Chinese adults, but also identified disparities in treatment and outcomes that should be prioritised in future prevention strategies
Cultivating FAIR data across disciplines: examples of collaborative initiatives and practical tools
Get PDFEnsuring that research outputs are Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) requires coordinated action across diverse stakeholders—from researchers and data stewards to publishers and repository managers. This session showcases four examples of practical initiatives and collaborative tools supporting the FAIR Principles in action. During the session, FAIRsharing's role in promoting the value and use of standards, repositories and policies to researchers across all disciplines is described, as well as its service provisions including transparent FAIR assessment and integrations with a variety of RDM tools. To align institutional practices with global standards the development of the ORA-FAIRsharing FAIR benchmark is discussed, designed to embed FAIR assessment and assistance within institutional repositories. Results of two TIER2 publisher pilots, the Editorial Reference Handbook and the Data Availability Statement, are summarised highlighting concrete steps and associated challenges to facilitate consistent and transparent FAIR data reporting in publications. Additionally, the RDA Domain Ambassadors programme is introduced, including how it connects disciplinary communities with FAIR resources and expertise, fostering cross-domain collaboration and knowledge exchange to strengthen FAIR implementation worldwide
What did the Nicene Creed say?
Get PDFThis article examines the origin of and controversies surrounding the Nicene Creed and discusses its limitations as a statement of faith. It points out, for example, that the Creed fails to affirm either the unity of the three persons in one God or even the divinity or personhood of the Spirit. It neither affirms the creation of the world from nothing nor denies that the Son is a creature. The article then seeks to answer the following three questions: (1) why is the Creed so indecisive even on points that were under debate at the Council of Nicaea?; (2) if there was so little that could be defined, what did those who promulgated the Creed hope to accomplish?; and finally (3) where should we look for a trustworthy statement of the ecumenical teaching of the Church on creation, the Trinity and the mission of the Son
In vitro studies to investigate the potential neuroprotective and neurotransmitter modulation effects of a standardized Ginkgo biloba extract associated with phosphatidylserine
Get PDFCognitive impairment and mood disturbances are increasingly linked to underlying mechanisms such as oxidative stress, neurotransmitter dysregulation, and reduced neurotrophic support. As conventional pharmacological treatments often provide limited efficacy or are associated with tolerability concerns, there is growing scientific interest in botanical supporting strategies that may modulate the above pathways and provide complementary support for cognitive function and emotional well-being. This study aimed to investigate the mechanistic basis of a botanical association consisting of a standardized Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) from leaves and phosphatidylserine (PS) (combined referred as GBP) (Virtiva™ Plus), focusing on its potential effects on neurotransmitter-related enzymes and receptors, neuroprotection under oxidative stress, neurotrophic signaling, and antioxidant capacity. GBP was characterized analytically and evaluated in a series of validated in vitro assays using human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells and multiple cell-free antioxidant systems. Neurotransmitter effect assays demonstrated that GBP inhibited acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and monoamine oxidase-A (MAO-A) in a concentration-dependent manner, suggesting selective modulation of cholinergic and monoaminergic pathways relevant to cognition and mood regulation. Enzyme modulation observed at micromolar concentrations supports mechanistic plausibility of G. biloba constituents in neurochemical pathways rather than direct modeling of physiological exposure. In SH-SY5Y cells exposed to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), GBP improved cell viability, confirming no intrinsic cytotoxicity, and reduced lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, indicating protection against oxidative stress-induced cytotoxicity. GBP also partially restored brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in SH-SY5Y cells suppressed by H2O2, supporting preservation of neurotrophic signaling linked to neuronal survival and synaptic plasticity. In cell-free antioxidant assays, GBP demonstrated broad-spectrum activity across 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), Oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), Hydroxyl radical antioxidant capacity (HORAC), total phenolic content (TPC), and total antioxidant status (TAS) assays, validating its capacity to neutralize free radicals and support redox balance. Collectively, these findings provide mechanistic evidence supporting the biological plausibility of multi-target actions of GBP, including neurotransmitter modulation, antioxidant effects, neuroprotection, and preservation of neurotrophic signaling, which may help explain previously reported cognitive- and mood-related outcomes
JAK2V617F reprograms Hypoxia Inducible Factor-1 to induce a non-canonical hypoxia regulon in myeloproliferative neoplasms
Get PDFHypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) are master transcriptional regulators, central to cellular survival in hypoxia and frequently activated within malignancy. Whilst malignant context directs the role of HIFs within oncogenesis, these mechanisms are not well characterised. Applying the JAK2V617F myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) oncogene-driver model, in which HIF-1α is stabilised in normoxia (20% O2), we sought to determine whether the modality of HIF-1 activation directs its function. Through direct analysis of hypoxia-activated vs. JAK2V617F-activated HIF-1 at the chromatin, we define a JAK2V617F-HIF-1 regulon that diverges from canonical HIF/hypoxia targets. In a cohort of 172 JAK2V617F-MPN patients, we observe significant association of the JAK2V617F-HIF-1 regulon, but not canonical HIF-1 gene signatures, with disease severity, progression, and patient survival. We further define a subset gene signature (HIF1-MPN-BP) significantly associated with spontaneous transformation to blast phase MPNs. Finally, we identify that JAK2V617F-induced HIF-1α stabilisation is mediated via PIM1 kinase. Our findings demonstrate that HIF-1 activation by the JAK2V617F-PIM1 axis significantly alters HIF-1 transcription function, desensitising HIF-1 activity to cellular oxygen levels, and restricting the HIF-1 regulon to a set of disease-associated target genes within JAK2V617F-MPNs. These findings restore the potential for specific therapeutic targeting of HIF-1 by delineating malignant activation from the physiological hypoxic response