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Using Walking Approaches and Site-Specific Performance to Reveal Layers of Feeling Attached to Place
No full textThis paper aims to meet the desire for dynamic and multi-dimensional aspects of studying feelings attached to places. Starting with a contemporary example of a place in crisis and whose affective history seems linked to the 1984–85 UK miners’ strike, this paper argues for methodologies that avoid drawing straight lines from feelings attached to the past into the present-day. Rather than following dominant emotions, this work pursues Kathleen Stewart’s approach to ordinary affects: feelings that start and end in social worlds, but which are equally personal and intimate. A case study from Wales, UK, uses the creative mediums of walking tours and site-specific performances to bring the public into the research, which in turn helps to interpret feelings of the past revealed from 13 interviews focused on older people. This writing considers future methodological developments, such as focusing on younger people, encouraging local stakeholders as co-producers, and deepening artist collaborations
A case for the use of deep learning algorithms for individual and population level assessments of mental health disorders: Predicting depression among China's elderly
Get PDFBackground: With the continuous advancement of age in China, attention should be paid to the mental well-being of the elderly population. The present study uses a novel machine learning (ML) method on a large representative elderly database in China as a sample to predict the risk factors of depression in the elderly population from both holistic and individual level. Methods: A total of participants met the inclusion criteria from the fourth waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) were analyzed with ML algorithms. The level of depression was assessed by the 10-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10). Results: The current study found top 5 factors that were important for predicting depression in the elderly population in China, including average sleep time, gender, age, social activities and nap time during the day. The results also provide reliable diagnostic likelihood at the individual level to support clinicians identify the most impactful factors contributing to patient depression. Our findings also suggested that activities such as interacting with friends and play ma-Jong, chess or join community clubs may have a positive collaborative effect for elderly's mental health. Conclusions: Holistic approaches are an effective method of deriving and interpreting sophisticated models of mental health in elderly populations. More detailed information about a patient's demographics, medical history, sleeping patterns and social/leisure activities can help to inform policy and treatment interventions on a population and individual level. Large scale surveys such as CHARLS are effective methods for testing the most accurate models, however, further research using professional clinical input could further advance the field
Understanding the Optoelectronic Processes in Colloidal 2D Multi‐Layered MAPbBr<sub>3</sub> Perovskite Nanosheets: Funneling, Recombination and Self‐Trapped Excitons
Get PDFColloidal chemistry methods have made quasi 2D perovskites readily accessible. Ultrathin perovskites exhibit charge transport properties which are beneficial for solar cells and the combination of layers with different thicknesses directs charge carriers toward thicker layers with a smaller bandgap. However, detailed knowledge about the mechanisms by which excitons and charge carriers funnel and recombine in these structures is lacking. Here, colloidal 2D methylammonium lead bromide (MAPbBr3) Ruddlesden-Popper perovskites with a broad combination of layers (n = 3 to 10, and bulk fractions with n > 10) is characterized by femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy and time-resolved photoluminescence. It is found that second- and third-order processes dominate in MAPbBr3 nanosheets, indicating exciton-exciton annihilation (EEA) and Auger recombination. Long-lived excitons in thin layers (e.g., n = 5, Eb = 136 meV) funnel into high n within 10–50 ps, which decreases their exciton binding energy below kBT and leads to radiative recombination. Parallel and consecutive funneling compete with trapping processes, making funneling an excellent tool to overcome exciton self-trapping when high-quality n-n interfaces are present. Free charge carriers in high-n regions on the other hand facilitate radiative recombination and EEA is bypassed, which is desirable for LED and lasing applications
Understanding and predicting animal movements and distributions in the Anthropocene
Get PDFPredicting animal movements and spatial distributions is crucial for our comprehension of ecological processes and provides key evidence for conserving and managing populations, species and ecosystems. Notwithstanding considerable progress in movement ecology in recent decades, developing robust predictions for rapidly changing environments remains challenging. To accurately predict the effects of anthropogenic change, it is important to first identify the defining features of human‐modified environments and their consequences on the drivers of animal movement. We review and discuss these features within the movement ecology framework, describing relationships between external environment, internal state, navigation and motion capacity. Developing robust predictions under novel situations requires models moving beyond purely correlative approaches to a dynamical systems perspective. This requires increased mechanistic modelling, using functional parameters derived from first principles of animal movement and decision‐making. Theory and empirical observations should be better integrated by using experimental approaches. Models should be fitted to new and historic data gathered across a wide range of contrasting environmental conditions. We need therefore a targeted and supervised approach to data collection, increasing the range of studied taxa and carefully considering issues of scale and bias, and mechanistic modelling. Thus, we caution against the indiscriminate non‐supervised use of citizen science data, AI and machine learning models. We highlight the challenges and opportunities of incorporating movement predictions into management actions and policy. Rewilding and translocation schemes offer exciting opportunities to collect data from novel environments, enabling tests of model predictions across varied contexts and scales. Adaptive management frameworks in particular, based on a stepwise iterative process, including predictions and refinements, provide exciting opportunities of mutual benefit to movement ecology and conservation. In conclusion, movement ecology is on the verge of transforming from a descriptive to a predictive science. This is a timely progression, given that robust predictions under rapidly changing environmental conditions are now more urgently needed than ever for evidence‐based management and policy decisions. Our key aim now is not to describe the existing data as well as possible, but rather to understand the underlying mechanisms and develop models with reliable predictive ability in novel situations
Time spent in the radiotherapy department for breast cancer treatment, pre-, mid- and post-COVID-19 pandemic (a 6-year, single-centre service review)
No full textIntroduction: Before COVID-19, breast cancer patients in the UK typically received 15 radiotherapy (RT) fractions over three weeks. During the pandemic, adoption of a 5-fraction treatment prescription and more advanced treatment techniques like surface-guided RT, meant a change in the duration and number of hospital visits for patients accessing treatment. This work sought to understand how breast cancer patients’ time in the RT department has changed, between 2018 and 2023. Methods: Appointments for CT simulation, mould room, and RT, from January 2018 to December 2023, were extracted from the Mosaiq® Oncology Management System. Appointments lasting between 5 minutes and 5 hours were analysed. Total visit time was calculated from check-in to completion on the quality checklist. Results: In total, 29,523 attendances were analysed over 6 years. Average time spent in the department decreased during the pandemic but has since increased 12·4% above pre-COVID-19 levels. Early morning and late afternoon appointments resulted in the shortest visits, with early afternoon appointments leading to the longest visits. On average, patients spend the longest in the department on a Monday, and the least amount of time on a Friday. Friday was the least common day to start a 15-fraction treatment, whereas Tuesday and Friday were equally uncommon for the 5-fraction regime. Conclusions: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of visits a patient makes for breast cancer RT and related services dropped, and remained lower post-COVID-19, due to fewer treatment fractions being prescribed. Average time spent in the department initially decreased but has since increased beyond pre-COVID-19 levels
A benchmark concentration-based strategy for evaluating the combined effects of genotoxic compounds in TK6 cells
Get PDFChemical risk assessment has historically focused on single compounds, neglecting the implications of combined exposures. To bridge this gap, several methodologies, such as concentration addition (CA) and independent action (IA), have been developed. However, a systematic, consistent, and integrated approach across various legislative frameworks is still lacking. The assessment of combined effects of genotoxicants is even more challenging, as genotoxicity data are typically evaluated qualitatively, without considering the effect size. This study aimed to develop a quantitative approach for evaluating the combined effects of genotoxic compounds with both similar and dissimilar modes of action (MoA), based on the benchmark concentration (BMC) principle. A proof-of-concept study was conducted using the in vitro micronucleus (MNvit) test to examine two types of binary mixtures: ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) and methyl methanesulfonate (MMS), which share similar MoA, and MMS and etoposide (ETP), which have dissimilar MoA. The methodology involved collecting data for individual compounds, calculating BMC values, composing mixtures with different ratios and inducing various effect levels, testing these mixtures, and comparing the experimental results with the modelled data to verify additivity. The findings indicated that for both mixtures, the experimental responses aligned with the predicted additive effects, supporting the validity of the additivity principle. This study highlights the potential of an optimized BMC-based approach as a robust framework for testing chemical mixtures. It should be adopted in future studies to evaluate a wider range of genotoxic compounds, offering a more comprehensive and quantitative strategy for assessing combined chemical exposures
Parasite Abundance‐Occupancy Relationships Across Biogeographic Regions: Joint Effects of Niche Breadth, Host Availability and Climate
Get PDFAim: Changing biodiversity and environmental conditions may allow multi-host pathogens to spread among host species and affect prevalence. There are several widely acknowledged theories about mechanisms that may influence variation in pathogen prevalence, including the controversially debated dilution effect and abundance-occupancy relationship hypotheses. Here, we explore such abundance-occupancy relationships for unique lineages of three vector-borne avian blood parasite genera (the avian malaria parasite Plasmodium and the related haemosporidian parasites Parahaemoproteus and Leucocytozoon) across biogeographical regions.Location: Nearctic-Neotropical and Palearctic-Afrotropical regions.Methods: We compiled a cross-continental dataset of 17,116 bird individuals surveyed from 46 bird assemblages across the Nearctic-Neotropical and Palearctic-Afrotropical regions and explored relationships between local parasite lineage prevalence and host assemblage metrics in a Bayesian random regression framework.Results: Most lineages from these three genera infected ≥ 5 host species and exhibited clear phylogenetic or functional host specificity. Lineage prevalence from all three genera increased with host range, but also with higher degrees of specialisation to phylogenetically or functionally related host species. Local avian community features were also found to be important drivers of prevalence. For example, bird species richness was positively correlated with lineage prevalence for Plasmodium and Leucocytozoon, whereas higher relative abundances of the main host species were associated with lower prevalence for Plasmodium and Parahaemoproteus but higher prevalence for Leucocytozoon.Conclusions: Our results broadly support several of the leading hypotheses about mechanisms that influence pathogen prevalence, including the niche breadth hypothesis in that higher avian host species diversity and broader host range amplify prevalence through increasing ecological opportunities and the trade-off hypotheses in that specialisation among subsets of available host species may increase prevalence. Furthermore, the three studied avian haemosporidian genera exhibited different abundance-occupancy relationships across the major global climate gradients and in relation to host availability, emphasising that these relationships do not strictly follow common rules for vector-borne parasites with different life histories
Mapping Molecular Pathways of Multiple Sclerosis: A Gene Prioritization and Network Analysis of White Matter Pathology Transcriptomics
Get PDFObjectivesRapid advances in transcriptomics have driven efforts to identify deregulated pathways in multiple sclerosis (MS) tissues, though many detected differentially expressed genes are likely false positives, with only a small fraction reflecting actual pathological events. Robust, integrative methods are essential for accurately understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying MS pathology.MethodsWe conducted a gene prioritization analysis of MS white matter pathology transcriptomic studies. Articles were sought in Scopus and PubMed up to July 31, 2024. Potentially eligible publications were those that provided either transcriptomics datasets (deposited in GEO) or lists of differentially expressed genes comparing MS white matter to control white matter.ResultsApplying a vote-count strategy to search for the intersection of genes reported in multiple independent studies with a consistent fold-change direction, followed by a Monte Carlo simulation, we identified 528 highly significant differentially expressed multi-study genes (p < 0.0001; 10,000 simulations). Functional enrichment analysis revealed deregulation of the folate pathway in MS normal-appearing white matter, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) -related and complement-related pathways in active and chronic active lesions, respectively. Network analysis identified 6 key signaling hubs: PTPRC, HLA-B, MYC, MMP2, COL11A2, MAG. The major nodes identified revealed mechanistic concordance with published in vivo MS models, supporting their value as potential therapeutic targets.InterpretationOur strategy provides a robust framework for integrating gene expression data, effectively identifying the intricate pathways altered in human diseased tissues. This method holds potential for translating findings into drug development strategies. ANN NEUROL 202
Oxygen isotope dendrochronology allows dating of historical timbers across a wide geographical region
No full textWe explore the applicability and geographic reach of two northwest European stable oxygen isotope (δ18O) chronologies for the precision dating of annually resolved δ18O series developed from late 15th-century oak (Quercus sp.) roof timbers from St. James’ Church in Bruges, Belgium. In doing so this study assesses ring-width dendrochronology and provenance analysis alongside oxygen isotope dendrochronology in Belgium and its surrounding regions.The δ18O-series of the historical timbers display a high internal coherence, allowing the construction of a mean isotope series (1325 to 1468 CE). Cross-dating against master chronologies for Central England, U.K. and Fontainebleau, France, provide reliable matches that surpass statistical thresholds and quality control measures, corroborating the dating results obtained from conventional ring-width dating.Oxygen stable isotope dendrochronology emerges as a valuable tool for precise dating of historical timber structures. This pilot study demonstrates the applicability of existing reference chronologies beyond their core regions and underscores its significance in cultural heritage studies. Despite the demanding nature of the technique in terms of time and expertise, the potential benefits warrant continued investment in expanding the temporal and geographic coverage of well-replicated oxygen isotope reference chronologies
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