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Introduction. Post-Soviet censorship and regulation in Russia
No full textIn the brief post-Soviet history of Russia, journalists have always struggled to work freely, pressured on one hand by the state and business interests, and on the other by their own commercial – and physical – survival. The political and media history of twenty-first century Russia has been characterized by ever-tightening restrictions and increasing state control over the media, marked by widespread self-censorship and assassinations of journalists often occurring without thorough police investigations. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, several new laws have been passed that not only further restrict the work of journalists but also make it impossible to impartially cover the war. This introductory chapter presents an overview of the situation with media and information freedom in Russia just before the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, as well as the legal and practical developments that followed, both in journalistic reporting and working with information in general, by reviewing the existing research and recent events. It also introduces this edited volume and highlights the key themes the different sections and chapters explore, emphasizing the unique combination of rigorous academic research and reflective practitioner essays. It explains how these contributions will address both the historical and emerging aspects of media and information freedom in Russia
Synergistic effect of 5-fluorouracil and the small molecule Wnt/β-catenin inhibitor iCRT3 on Caco-2 colorectal cancer cells in vitro
Full text linkAlthough 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is a cornerstone of colorectal cancer (CRC) treatment, its efficacy is often limited by resistance. Wnt/β-catenin signalling plays a crucial role in CRC carcinogenesis and resistance, as Wnt expression is upregulated in 5-FU-resistant cells, protecting them from cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, thereby contributing to drug resistance. The small molecule inhibitor β-catenin responsive transcription inhibitor 3 (iCRT3) disrupts Wnt/β-catenin signalling and may enhance CRC sensitivity to 5-FU, overcoming resistance. In this study, the cytotoxic effects of 5-FU and iCRT3 were investigated using the Caco-2 colon adenocarcinoma cell line, marking the first investigation of their combined effects. To this end, the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values were determined using the MTT assay. Subsequently, the drugs were combined in different ways, and drug combination index (DCI) calculations were performed to evaluate their interaction. iCRT3 was found to be 2.45-fold more potent than 5-FU (p = 0.1982). Drug combination significantly increased the IC50 compared to 5-FU, with a 40.95-fold increase (p = 0.0022) when 5-FU was fixed (2.56 μM) and a 43.5-fold increase (p = 0.0023) when iCRT3 was fixed (2.41 μM). Two-way ANOVA showed significant impacts from both drug concentration (50.93%) and treatment condition (25.31%) on cell viability (p < 0.0001). DCI analysis confirmed strong synergism with fixed 5-FU (DCI = 0.154) and synergism with fixed iCRT3 (DCI = 0.618), indicating that combining 5-FU and iCRT3 could be a promising strategy for CRC treatment and warranting further investigation
Non-Abelian elastic collisions, associated difference systems of equations and discrete analytic functions
Full text linkWe extend the equations of motion that describe non-relativistic elastic collision of two particles in one dimension to an arbitrary associative algebra. Relativistic elastic collision equations turn out to be a particular case of these generic equations. Furthermore, we show that these equations can be reinterpreted as difference systems defined on the ℤ2 graph and this reinterpretation relates (unifies) the linear and the non-linear approach of discrete analytic functions
The research in Scotland event in Edinburgh: reflections and key issues
Full text linkTo celebrate World Parkinson’s day, part of World Parkinson’s Awareness Month, a day of talks, panel discussions and networking was organised at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in 2024 to bring everyone with an interest in Parkinson’s disease (researchers, clinicians, people with Parkinson’s and their loved ones) together. The aim of the event was to share knowledge, express concerns and frustrations, hear about new advances in the field and build collaborations. Several important points were raised: the requirement for better awareness and better support for those living with Parkinson’s (including specialist care) and the need to invest in research and work together including the importance of Patient and Public Involvement to find better treatments and, hopefully, a cure
Highlighting alcohol use in medication appointments with clinical pharmacists: the CHAMP-1 mixed methods research programme
Full text linkBackground
Brief interventions have been the cornerstone of alcohol prevention in the NHS, but there are important limitations to the underpinning evidence-base and implementation has been problematic. We completed the first community pharmacy brief intervention trial and found no effect. A different approach was needed. This programme proposed to integrate attention to alcohol clinically within existing pharmacy service delivery, supporting pharmacists to discuss alcohol as a toxic psychoactive drug in the contexts of potential impacts on treatments, conditions and health.
Aims
The aims were to: (1) work with pharmacists and patients to design and evaluate an intervention that develops the health and wellbeing role of pharmacists in relation to alcohol consumption, specifically within the context of an existing medication review service; (2) engage with policy makers throughout the duration of the programme about the intervention and wider systemic and workforce development needs for the pharmacy profession.
Design and methods
Methods incorporated reviews, qualitative observational and interview studies, co-produced intervention development and process studies, and a cluster pilot randomised controlled trial. During the programme, national policy decisions moved NHS commissioned medication reviews from community pharmacy into newly created Primary Care Networks of general practices, in the form of a new service, the Structured Medication Review. With funder approval, we adapted the programme and the intervention to the general practice setting. This included early studies of Structured Medication Review implementation, and feasibility study of using primary care datasets for evaluation purposes.
Setting
Community pharmacies initially, and subsequently general practice.
Participants
Pharmacists and medication review patients
Interventions
The Medicines and Alcohol Consultation was developed to support pharmacists to integrate attention to alcohol within routine medication reviews.
Results
The programme comprised three phases, reflecting major, unanticipated changes in the organisation of NHS medication review services, and thus to the research plan. Phase 1 developed the intervention with patients and community pharmacists, informed by the conceptual work, reviews, observational and interview studies. Feasibility studies established the planned trial methods, and the external cluster pilot trial met main trial progression criteria for rates of recruitment and follow-up. In Phase 2, now in general practice, we studied how national policy was being translated into practice, in order to understand contextual factors influencing the early implementation of Primary Care Networks and the Structured Medication Review, including substantial COVID-19 related delays. Interviews with senior staff, clinical pharmacists and patients indicated that Structured Medication Review practice had fallen short of the original person-centred policy vision for the service, and clinical pharmacist role development in Primary Care Networks was limited. The quality of national Structured Medication Review data was uncertain. In such circumstances, it was decided that it was not possible to undertake a definitive trial. In Phase 3 the Medicines and Alcohol Consultation programme was delivered to a cohort of 10 clinical pharmacists in general practice, with data from pharmacists, patients, practice development coaches and audio-recordings triangulated. Progress towards more skilful, person-centred practice was observed for the pharmacists who completed the programme, with acknowledged limitations. This was particularly the case for alcohol itself. The local policy and service contexts were examined in an Integrated Care System stakeholder interview study that laid bare major challenges to be faced in addressing alcohol.
Limitations
The programme has comprised predominantly qualitative studies within the North East and Yorkshire region, so transferability to other regions is not known.
Conclusions
Pharmacists can be supported to increase skilfulness in working clinically on alcohol with patients. Workforce development and systemic pressures make this more difficult than it needs to be. The idea that alcohol should be regarded as a drug, to be discussed alongside prescribed medications, is foundational for clinical pharmacists. The new thinking about how health care professionals more broadly talk about alcohol with patients has been articulated as a new paradigm, Brief Interventions 2.0, for advancing future research.
Future work
Implications for future work on alcohol are far reaching. Advancing Brief Interventions 2.0 requires interventions to focus on personal health and social contextual factors, entailing much broader discussions of the place of alcohol in peoples’ lives. This means avoiding the pitfalls of focusing on stereotyped notions of problem drinking. It requires a systemic, strategic approach to prevention. The Medicines and Alcohol Consultation is a starting point for this agenda, which we will advance in debate and new research.
Study registration
ISRCTN57447996 (pilot trial)
Funding
This award was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Programme Grants for Applied Research programme (NIHR award ref.: RP-PG-0216-20002) and is published in full in Programme Grants for Applied Research; Vol. 13, No. 12. See the NIHR Funding and Awards website for further award informatio
Implementing AI in agri-food supply chain security from the multi-stakeholder perspective: an exploratory review and future directions
No full textPurpose:
In Agri-food supply chains (AFSC), food waste can be minimized, and food security can be improved with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). But, the implementation of AI in AFSC is difficult due to various barriers. Therefore, this paper aims to examine the barriers in the AFSC and explores how these challenges can be addressed using AI.
Design/methodology/approach:
This article draws on academic research, business best practices and legislative frameworks to provide suggestions from a conceptual and qualitative perspective. This critical assessment takes into account the viewpoints of many stakeholders and examines the difficulties of using AI technology in AFSC.
Findings:
Our findings reveal the various barriers, such as for producers (lack of expertise, initial cost, data privacy concerns), for food processors (regulatory compliance, legacy systems, quality control, regulations and standards), for distributors (logistical challenges, seasonal variability, sustainability concerns, regulatory compliance), and for consumers (limited access to information, quality and freshness, complexity of the supply chain, cost fluctuations).
Originality:
This study does an in-depth analysis focusing on the application of AI or the challenges faced by it from the perspective of all major stakeholders involved in AFSC. Our study not only identifies these challenges, it also recommends what efforts are necessary to mitigate these challenges
Drawing on translation studies to advance cross-language research in organisation studies: enriching transdisciplinary dialogue
Full text linkDespite longstanding calls for more transdisciplinary dialogue, there is still much to be gained from a closer collaboration between Translation and Organisation Studies scholars. In this paper, we discuss how insights from Translation Studies can help advance cross-language research in Organisation Studies. We demonstrate how Translation Studies can provide valuable theoretical approaches, as well as concrete conceptual and methodological tools, to enrich the study of the movement and transformation of ideas and practices across cultures and languages. We also unpack how the nuanced approaches to translation developed in Translation Studies can be used to enhance what we call ‘translatorial awareness’ in Organisation Studies. This has significant implications for scholars, not only for designing, conducting and reporting cross-language research but also for theorising. We conclude by suggesting how Translation Studies scholars might seek motivation from our paper to engage in transdisciplinary work with Organisation Studies scholars and other Social Science disciplines
High-performance THz nano-metamaterial absorber with negative permittivity (0.1–10 THz) for early cancer detection via circulating exosomes
Full text linkCancer remains one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, with nearly 10 million cancer-related deaths and approximately 30 million new cases projected by 2030. While significant advances have been made in therapeutic strategies, such as targeted treatments, immunotherapy, and gene therapy, early diagnosis remains crucial for improving patient outcomes. However, conventional diagnostic tools like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), and histopathology often suffer from limited sensitivity and specificity. Emerging technologies, including liquid biopsy, nano-photonics, and terahertz (THz) sensing, offer promising alternatives by enabling faster, more accurate detection. In particular, extracellular vesicles (EVs)—specifically exosomes, which are nanometer-sized vesicles involved in cancer progression—have gained attention as biomarkers for early-stage cancer detection. Traditional methods for detecting exosomes typically rely on labeling with antibodies or dyes, which can be costly, time-consuming, and prone to false positives. This study presents a novel THz nano-metamaterial absorber designed for early cancer detection through circulating exosomes. The absorber features ultra-wideband operation from 0.1 to 10 THz and achieves absorption rates exceeding 92%, demonstrating exceptional sensitivity and precision. With a compact footprint of 100 × 100 nm² and a thickness of just 30 nm, the design incorporates silver (Ag) resonators, dual dielectric substrates (silicon dioxide [SiO₂] and titanium dioxide [TiO₂]), and a nickel (Ni) backplane. This configuration enables optimized plasmonic and dielectric interactions for effective electromagnetic wave absorption. Key performance features include polarization insensitivity, reduced noise, and the ability to achieve negative permittivity at 4.85 THz—enhancing the sensor’s responsiveness to subtle refractive index changes in nanoscale biological samples such as cancerous exosomes. Comprehensive numerical analyses, including field distributions, surface currents, and scattering parameters, validate the sensor’s performance. Benchmark comparisons highlight the proposed sensor’s superior absorption efficiency, sensitivity, and nanoscale precision, setting a new standard for non-invasive, early-stage cancer diagnostics
TSA-GRU: a novel hybrid deep learning module for learner behavior analytics in MOOCs
Full text linkE-Learning is an emerging dominant phenomenon in education, making the development of robust models that can accurately represent the dynamic behavior of learners in MOOCs even more critical. In this article, we propose the Temporal Sparse Attention-Gated Recurrent Unit (TSA-GRU), a novel deep learning framework that combines TSA with a sequential encoder based on the GRU. This hybrid model effectively reconstructs student response times and learning trajectories with high fidelity by leveraging the temporal embeddings of instructional and feedback activities. By dynamically filtering noise from student interactions, TSA-GRU generates context-aware representations that seamlessly integrate both short-term fluctuations and long-term learning patterns. Empirical evaluation on the 2009–2010 ASSISTments dataset demonstrates that TSA-GRU achieved a test accuracy of 95.60% and a test loss of 0.0209, outperforming Modular Sparse Attention-Gated Recurrent Unit (MSA-GRU), Bayesian Knowledge Tracing (BKT), Performance Factors Analysis (PFA), and TSA in the same experimental design. TSA-GRU converged in five training epochs; thus, while TSA-GRU is demonstrated to have strong predictive performance for knowledge tracing tasks, these findings are specific to the conducted dataset and should not be implicitly regarded as conclusive for all data. More statistical validation through five-fold cross-validation, confidence intervals, and paired t-tests have confirmed the robustness, consistency, and statistically significant superiority of TSA-GRU over the baseline model MSA-GRU. TSA-GRU’s scalability and capacity to incorporate a temporal dimension of knowledge can make it acceptably well-positioned to analyze complex learner behaviors and plan interventions for adaptive learning in computerized learning systems
Make the West great again? Ukraine, Israel and the appropriation of the West by European populists
Full text linkAs the EU faces two major geopolitical crises on its periphery, a transformation has been taking place in the outlook of European right-wing populists. Contrary to expectations based on their ideological heritage and prior policies, many populist far-right parties in Europe have taken positions that on the surface appear much closer to the pro-Western and Euro-Atlantic mainstream. Most have come out strongly in support of Israel in the Middle East, while many of them have, if not outright stood side by side with Ukraine, at least toned down any explicitly pro-Russian positions. This opportunistic posturing reveals the intention of many populist parties to appropriate and redefine the idea of the ‘West’ in a way that conforms to their radical ideology, a trend strengthened by the return of Donald Trump to the US presidency. Faced with geopolitical uncertainty on multiple fronts, it is important that the EU does not allow its foreign policy objectives to become hijacked by actors who oppose its values