32151 research outputs found
Sort by
Model-based methods for hospital infection prevention and control : potential and challenges
Get PDFFunding: This work was supported by Research England under the Expanding Excellence in England (E3) funding stream, which was awarded to MARS: Mathematics for AI in Real-world Systems in the School of Mathematical Sciences at Lancaster University. The workshop was funded by the Data Science Institute, Lancaster University.Hospital-acquired infections remain a major challenge for ensuring patient safety. Model-based methods offer a pathway to proactive, data-driven infection control, supporting earlier decision-making and tailored control policies. We outline the potential of these approaches, the key methodological and implementation challenges, and the importance of co-creation for operational use.Peer reviewe
Persistence of charge ordering instability to Coulomb engineering in the excitonic insulator candidate TiSe2
Get PDFFunding: The authors gratefully acknowledge support from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (under Grants No. EP/X015556/1, No. EP/T02108X/1, and No. EP/M023958/1) and the Leverhulme Trust (Grant No. RL-2016-006). Y. V. and T. W. acknowledge funding by the Cluster of Excellence “CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter” of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) (EXC 2056, Project No. 390715994) and the DFG research unit FOR 5249 (“QUAST,” Project No. 449872909). J. B. acknowledges funding by the DFG under Germany’s Excellence Strategy [University Allowance, (EXC 2077, Project No. 390741603, University of Bremen)].TiSe2 has long been considered one of the best candidate materials to host the elusive excitonic insulator (EI) phase. However, a finite coupling to the lattice can generically be expected, while a lack of “smoking-gun” signatures for the importance of the electron-hole interaction in driving the phase transition has rendered it challenging to distinguish the EI from the conventional charge-density wave (CDW) phase. Here, we demonstrate a new approach, exploiting the susceptibility of excitons to dielectric screening. We combine mechanical exfoliation with molecular-beam epitaxy to fabricate ultraclean van der Waals heterostructures of monolayer (ML) TiSe2/graphite and ML TiSe2/ℎ-BN. We observe how the modified substrate screening environment drives a renormalization of the quasiparticle band gap of the TiSe2 layer, signifying its susceptibility to Coulomb engineering. The temperature-dependent evolution of its electronic structure, however, remains unaffected, indicating that excitons are not required to drive the CDW transition in TiSe2.Peer reviewe
Life behind the wire : Chinese shopkeepers’ boredom in Kingston, Jamaica
Get PDFFunding: This work was supported by University of St Andrews’s School of PAFS Widening Participation PhD Scholarship and the Russell Trust.This article presents the lives of Chinese migrant shopkeepers in Kingston, Jamaica. It addresses their state of inhabitation-in-boredom, entangled with the shop’s physical structure, through three distinct modes of expression. The shopkeepers’ self-confinement behind wire grills and glass paradoxically liberates them from the constraints of their homeland while intensifying their feelings of fear, mistrust, and discrimination toward Jamaican society. Boredom emerges as a deliberate construction of security and comfort and entails speculation and fantasising. Within this emotional space, migrants grapple with homemaking surrounded by otherness and develop their knowledge of the city primarily as a transient waypoint to other places and possibilities. This paper ethnographically re-envisions boredom as an affective mechanism in the inter-ethnic contexts of the Global South and shows how it sustains a distinctive mode of urban life through separation rather than openness.Peer reviewe
Provenance of altered carbon phases and impact history of the Stac Fada Member, NW Scotland
Get PDFFunding: This work was supported by the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council through a PhD studentship to A.G. (ST/V506886/1) and a fellowship to R.T. (ST/P005225/1). K.H.J. thanks a Royal Society University Research Fellowship (URF\R\201009) and Science and Technology Facilities Council grant (ST/V000675/1).The Stac Fada Member (Stoer Group) is a ~1.2 Ga melt-rich impact breccia preserved and intermittently exposed along the NW coast of Scotland. Using a combination of x-ray diffraction and micro-Raman spectroscopy, we identify potential coesite that is spatially associated with micron-sized diamonds, as well as disordered carbon phases. Comparing the graphite G-band of disordered carbon phases in the impact breccia to samples from underlying units indicates that most of the carbon in the Stoer Group was ultimately derived from the underlying Lewisian basement. Disordered carbon phases within the Stac Fada Member have been modified by mild heating within a hot ejecta blanket rather than shock pressure. We also report the first evidence for impact diamonds discovered within the Stac Fada Member. These diamonds have an average Raman shift of 1328.5 cm−1 and are present within both the impact breccia and the shocked gneiss clasts that are present in sandstones directly underlying the Stac Fada Member contact, and within sandstone rafts entrapped in the unit. These findings have implications for the timing of deposition of the Stac Fada Member, which must have occurred after ballistic ejection of Lewisian basement clasts during the impact event.Peer reviewe
Land use planning and climate change adaptation in river-dependent communities in Nigeria
Get PDFLand use planning and climate change adaptation are critical for ensuring sustainable development and resilience in river-dependent communities in Nigeria. This study examines land use planning and climate adaptation in river-dependent communities in the Lower Niger River region of Nigeria. The research utilizes a mixed-methods approach. Data for the study were gathered from 198 households through surveys, complemented by 17 qualitative interviews and remote sensing techniques to assess land use changes and community perceptions. Findings reveal a notable trend where poor farmers face heightened vulnerability to climate change due to financial constraints, hindering their adoption of adaptive land use strategies. Specifically, more than half of the sampled households possess individual land for agricultural purposes yet lack the resources to effectively mitigate climate-related risks. Among the studied communities, Odekpe emerged as particularly vulnerable, with a prevalence of vulnerability at 32.3% and higher exposure to flood-prone zones. The quantitative analysis delineates community engagement in land management practices, showcasing proactive resource allocation and conflict resolution efforts among over 60% of participants. However, a significant portion (57.6%) lacked awareness of hydrological changes, potentially impeding effective land use planning and adaptation measures. Further analysis through remote sensing and mapping techniques revealed shifts in land use land cover, highlighting a transition from predominantly vegetated areas to built-up regions over the past three decades. The flood vulnerability assessment maps underscored substantial vulnerability across the Lower Niger basin, especially in downstream regions, indicating heightened risks due to proximity to the Niger River and heavy rainfall. Qualitative insights from stakeholder interviews identified challenges impeding effective land use planning, including uncertain climate projections, insufficient data, institutional capacity constraints, and conflicting priorities. Additionally, participants emphasized the need for resilient land use decisions to address urbanization impacts, altered drainage patterns, and diminishing green spaces. The study recommends several key actions to enhance the effectiveness of land use planning and climate adaptation in the Lower Niger River region. These include the imperative to strengthen institutional capacities, improve stakeholder engagement processes, integrate traditional knowledge and practices into planning efforts, fortify legal frameworks governing land use, and prioritize the promotion of sustainable livelihoods among local communities.Peer reviewe
The influence of hukou precarization on employers’ recruitment of Chinese international student returnees in Shanghai
Get PDFThe study of international student mobility (ISM) has predominantly emphasised the impact of overseas-acquired capital on the employment of international students, while overlooking how internal migration barriers and social institutions in ISM-sending countries influence employers’ recruitment of international graduates. This gap limits a comprehensive understanding of the employment experiences of student returnees. This article draws on 70 semi-structured interviews with student returnees and human resource staff to examine how China’s household registration system (hukou) impacts employers’ recruitment of Chinese student returnees in Shanghai. Leveraging the concepts of precarisation and precarity, this article finds that the reformed hukou system in Shanghai creates precarity for student returnees. This means that employers hesitate to hire them, and some are exposed to exploitation. These findings are significant as they incorporate the perspective of ISM-sending countries and internal migration into the analysis of international students’ employment, which broadens the research scope of ISM studies.Peer reviewe
Apatite as a pathfinder to tin mineralisation : prospects and caveats
Get PDFFunding: MFM and NJG thank the Leverhulme Trust for support (Research Project Grant RPG-2023-210).Granite-related mineral deposits are major primary sources of the critical metals tin (Sn) and lithium (Li). The utility of accessory minerals such as zircon and apatite as pathfinders to these ore deposits has been a subject of great interest in recent years, with a number of geochemical discriminants having been developed to distinguish barren from metal-fertile and mineralised intrusions. Here, we study the potential of apatite as an indicator mineral for tin and lithium mineralisation using a compilation of published apatite trace element data as well as new data for the mineralised Cornubian batholith and barren Bhutanese leucogranites. Critical examination of common geochemical discriminants tracing magma fractionation and redox conditions (Mn, Eu/Eu*, La/YbN and Sr/Y) reveals large and overlapping data scatter for both barren and Sn-fertile intrusions. This calls into question the utility of these petrogenetic indicators to pinpoint tin metallogeny. Instead, prima facie metal concentrations directly related to tin mineralisation (i.e., Sn and Li) are consistently elevated in apatite from fertile and mineralised intrusions. Based on our data compilation, Li and Sn concentrations in apatite are the most robust indicators for Sn (and Li) mineralisation, and we encourage the community to include Li and Sn in their analytical routines to further test these observations and explore their implications for tin metallogeny.Peer reviewe
The subjective experience of trauma within structural marginality : an ethnography of mental health among survivors of gender-based violence in Italy
Get PDFFunding: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This original article is based on ethnographic research funded through the World-Leading St Andrews Doctoral Scholarship from the University of St Andrews (UK).Background: Gender-based violence (GBV) has multi-dimensional impacts on women’s mental health and everyday life, often leading to experiences of trauma, PTSD and co-morbid mental health conditions. Institutional practices and strategies designed to support survivors of gender-based violence can collide with, overshadow and misapprehend women’s own subjective experiences. Aims: This study aims to highlight the importance of subjective accounts in understanding women’s mental health and the complexity of trauma experienced by female survivors of gender-based violence. It aims to put forward survivors’ voices that are often excluded from research. Method: This study draws on 12 months of ethnographic fieldwork (2021–2022) among 38 women seeking psychological support from anti-violence centres in Milan, Italy. The participants, including 12 migrant women, represented a diverse set of demographic backgrounds. The study also incorporated accounts from mental health professionals and NGO coordinators. Using anthropological and phenomenological approaches, this qualitative analysis is based on themes which illustrate survivors’ lived experiences of trauma. Results: This ethnography identified several pathways contributing to poor mental health among GBV survivors. Key findings reveal that survivors engage with trauma and mental health symptoms through subjective, embodied and temporally informed processes, affecting their recovery and societal vulnerability. Structural marginalisation, including insufficient government funding, prolonged legal procedures and invasive medical practices, further impacted survivors’ well-being. Themes from the analysis demonstrated that structural marginality and isolation exacerbated mental health issues, hindering empowerment and autonomy; thus trapping survivors in a state of long-term vulnerability. Conclusion: This study emphasises the importance of incorporating subjective accounts to understand women’s mental health in-depth. The findings highlight that current services often fail to address the complexity of trauma, leading to inadequate support and prolonged marginalisation. To improve outcomes, it is crucial to offer tailored mental health support, address socio-economic challenges and implement trauma-informed care that fosters safety, empowerment and resilience.Peer reviewe
Leveraging knowledge for explainable AI in personalized cancer treatment : challenges and future directions
Get PDFFunding: The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research and/or publication of this article. This study was funded by the European Union programme Horizon 2020 under the call H2020-SCI-FA-DTS-2020-1 (contract number 101017453).Integrating multi-modal patient data to support personalized medicine has gained a lot of interest across different health domains over the past decade. Addressing this challenge requires the development and implementation of an informed, evidence-based AI-driven decision-support system continuously maintained and updated to align with the latest clinical guidelines. A key challenge to ensure its real-life adoption lies in translating the outcomes of complex AI-driven data integration and modeling into a form easily understood by the clinical audience. To ensure explainability, knowledge graphs have emerged as data models integrating multi-omics data sources and representing them as interconnected networks. Knowledge graphs offer a framework which AI models can progressively refine, highlighting the most influential features and relationships facilitating transparency of complex interactions and interdependencies. In this perspective we present major components and challenges upon developing a knowledge-based explainable AI system. Additionally, we showcase a current effort undertaken by the Knowledge at the Tips of your Fingers (KATY) consortium to develop the infrastructure for an explainable system supporting best treatment decision for a renal cancer patient.Peer reviewe
The role of submarine volcanism in atmospheric chemistry
Get PDFFunding: DBD and MC acknowledge the support of ERC 2018 ADV Grant 834225 (EAVESDROP). CC acknowledges the support of ERC CON Grant 864052 (VOLTA). TM and TP acknowledge funding from NSFGEO-NERC grant "Sulfur cycling in subduction" (NSF award no. OCE-1933773; NERC award NE/T010940/1). GWM acknowledges funding from NERC grant "MeteorStrat" (NE/R011222), with support also from the UK National Centre for Atmospheric Science, via long-term science programme ACSIS (NE/N018001/1). ZT acknowledges support from the Leverhulme Trust (ECF-2022-396).Submarine volcanic eruptions can form subaerial plumes that reach the stratosphere. Despite this, the impact of submarine eruptions on climate remains unclear due to a lack of clear geological record, with the recent large-scale Hunga eruption on 15 January 2022 being considered as an isolated case. Here, we review the impact of submarine and subaerial volcanoes in island or coastal settings (i.e., near seawater) on volatile/aerosol loading in the stratosphere. Isotopic δ34S signatures of the Hunga ash suggest that CaSO4 salts on the ash surface are dominantly formed by the evaporation of seawater during the eruption. We infer that SO2 scavenging on volcanic ash did not play a major role in the lower-than-expected SO2 detected in the volcanic cloud. Chlorine isotopic compositions (δ37Cl) also argue in favor of a seawater-derived origin of the chlorides from ash leachates. Combining petrological, leachate, isotopic and thermal analysis data, we demonstrate a near-absence of halogen degassing from the Hunga magma prior to and during the eruption, and conclude that the chlorine and bromine contents of tropospheric and stratospheric volatile species very dominantly derive from seawater/sea salts. We generalize our findings to all submarine eruptions, and large-scale, non-submarine eruptions in island or coastal settings, and propose that these may commonly form volcanic clouds that incorporate seawater thereby leading to the injection of related components (water vapor, sea salts, halogens) into the stratosphere. This makes seawater inputs a serious consideration when evaluating the long-term impact of volcanoes on climate.Peer reviewe
Access Repository Dashboard
Do you manage St Andrews Research Repository? Access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard!