Carbon removal beyond the trees

The idea of planting trees to sequester carbon is so popular that it seems to make people feel more negative towards other techniques, when presented with a range of options for carbon removal. Such a bias could hamper development of a broad and socially-robust portfolio of carbon removal options

PATH-SAFE consortium recommendations for genomic surveillance of foodborne diseases, using Salmonella as an exemplar

Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) for foodborne disease (FBD) surveillance provides many benefits, including new insights in disease transmission, virulence and antimicrobial resistance (AMR), fast and precise outbreak tracing and source attribution, as well as, enabling streamlined and reproducible analysis through digital data that from a technical point of view can be easily shared. The National foodborne disease genomic data platform, developed as part of the PATH-SAFE programme, will offer a trusted environment for WGS data sharing and analysis for UK agencies involved in FBD surveillance. The platform has initially been built for Salmonella with the intention to expand it to other organisms later. Where possible, the platform has drawn on existing and validated solutions as implemented in EnteroBase, PubMLST and Pathogenwatch. The platform is hosted on CLIMB-BIG-DATA and has been built to enable interoperability between analytical tools and databases. Although a fully interoperable bioinformatics system for FBD and AMR surveillance is not practically feasible at this time, it should be a long-term goal. Recommendations on which tools to use for molecular surveillance of Salmonella have been developed in consultation with Community Input Advisory Groups (CIAGs) on 1) technical aspects of FBD surveillance, 2) AMR risk determinants, 3) data standards for FBD surveillance, 4) considerations for international molecular FBD surveillance. The purpose of this document is to act as a standard reference for methodologies for genomic surveillance of FBD to support FSA goals and achieve the benefits laid out above. The recommendations have been developed using non-typhoidal Salmonella as an example

EXPRESS: Lion – tiger – stripes: Delimiting the semantic association effect on working memory with mediated association

Semantic relatedness of items improves working memory performance. We targeted one type of semantic relatedness, semantic association. The beneficial effect of association is often explained by the spreading-activation process: Encoding/maintaining an item would activate its associated item. Nevertheless, as associated words can be similar to each other (e.g., similarity based on the Latent Semantic Analysis), other processes rather than spreading activation may also explain the association effect. To target spreading activation selectively, a novel hypothesis unique to this process was tested. Specifically, we tested the effect of mediated or two-step association, which the spreading-activation theory assumes (e.g., lion -> tiger -> stripes). To examine the mediated association effect, Experiments 1, 2A, and 2B presented word pairs with indirect association (e.g., “lion” and “stripes”) without mediators (e.g., “tiger”). Only one of the three experiments provided moderate evidence for a beneficial effect of mediated association. Additionally, cross-experiment and item level analyses did not support the mediated association effect. By contrast, Experiments 3 and 4 presented word pairs with direct association (e.g., “tiger” and “stripes”) and demonstrated extreme evidence for a beneficial effect of direct association. The negligible effect of mediated association would aid delimiting the scope of association’s influence on working memory

The sword and the cane: martial arts weapons and the boundaries of cognition

In martial arts, pedagogical approaches have tended to conceptualise weapons training as the imbuing of technique through imitation coupled with extensive practice, rendering the weapon an external implement and the learner a static recipient of knowledge. I propose that weapons learning is an emergent, enactive development resulting from the dynamic coupling of body, artefact, and environment. In this light, weapons are not passive tools but cognitive artefacts shaping perception, constraining action, and guiding skill development. Learning emerges from situated interaction, perceptual attunement, and the adoption of the weapon into the practitioner's suite of skilled actions. This shift repositions martial arts pedagogy as a primarily transformational rather than transmissional process. Weapons participate directly in processes of embodiment, transforming movement, awareness, and intention. From this perspective, martial arts practices exemplify paradigmatically material-mediated cognition, where learning occurs not solely through imagination but through active participation and situated attunement

Sublethal concentrations of antibiotics enhance transmission of antibiotic resistance genes in environmental Escherichia coli

Third-generation cephalosporin-resistant Enterobacterales are ranked second on the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s Bacterial Priority Pathogens List. Amongst them, extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli (ESBL-Ec) are used by the WHO as sentinel organisms to monitor the spread of antibiotic resistance worldwide and are often associated with mobilisable multidrug resistance (MDR). However, we know less about how ESBL-producing genes spread in environmental E. coli. This study investigates how the blaCTX-M-15 gene from ESBL-Ec isolated on a UK dairy farm could transfer between strains. For this study, 39 E. coli were isolated from a single dairy farm over 4 months, using cefotaxime-supplemented selective media. All had similar antibiotic susceptibility test phenotypes, and PCR, whole genome sequencing (WGS), and resistance gene transmission experiments demonstrated they were all closely related. In silico multi-locus sequence typing and single-nucleotide polymorphism analysis showed that all 39 strains were Sequence Type 2325, but plasmid carriage differed. In total, 35 of the 39 ESBL-Ec strains were multidrug resistant, displaying blaCTX-M type cephalosporin resistance and resistance to fluoroquinolones and tetracyclines. WGS confirmed all 39 isolates carried the ISEcp1 mobile genetic element carrying the blaCTX-M-15 ESBL-producing gene, and the qnrS1 partial quinolone resistance gene in the chromosome. A total of 35 strains also carried tetAR within this ISEcp1 element. We found that sub-lethal levels of ampicillin, cloxacillin, and ceftazidime could enhance the transfer of ISEcp1 blaCTX-M-15 from the chromosome of these dairy farm strains into endogenous self-transmissible plasmids, which can themselves then transfer into and confer phenotypic antibiotic resistance in a recipient E. coli K-12 strain. In conclusion, we observed not only clonal dissemination of these environmentally occurring ESBL-producing strains within the farm environment but also showed experimentally that these strains had the ability to mobilise their ESBL producing genes, and that these and other resistance genes can be acquired or lost on transfer. This shows the importance of longitudinal monitoring of antibiotic resistance, especially in places with high prevalence or selective pressure for resistant bacteria

Galvanic coupling measurements are a predictive tool for cooperative redox enhancement (CORE) in thermocatalytic alcohol oxidation

The Cooperative Redox Enhancement (CORE) mechanism, driven by electrochemical coupling between physically separated yet electrically connected catalytically active sites, underpins significant rate enhancements in liquid-phase thermocatalytic reactions. In this study, we use galvanic coupling measurements to accurately predict the magnitude of this rate enhancement in Au–Pd bimetallic systems using the conversion of 1,4-butanediol as a model system. This electrochemical method enables the determination of the optimal ratio of Au/C to Pd/C monometallic catalysts and serves as a predictive approach across a range of reaction conditions. These findings underscore the utility of electrochemical measurements to evaluate and optimize bimetallic thermocatalytic systems, advancing strategies for liquid-phase redox reaction design

The benefits and challenges of using patient-reported evaluation within a rapid evaluation to inform decision-making: Providing feedback for decision-makers using a case study of Wales’ Long COVID service evaluation

Rationale Rapid evaluation is useful within the development and roll-out of a new healthcare service to identify successes and failures, which ultimately informs decision-making. The Long COVID services within Wales, which form part of the Welsh Government’s ‘Adferiad’ Programme, required a rapid evaluation. Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) and Patient-Reported Experience Measures (PREMs) were used to meet the Welsh Government’s prudent and Value-Based healthcare agenda. Objectives To document the benefits and challenges of using PROMs and PREMs as part of a rapid evaluation, in the context of the Long COVID service, to provide evidence for decision-makers. Methodology A reflective discussion has been used to explore the benefits and challenges of undertaking a rapid evaluation using patient-reported data, which took place between September 2021 and December 2022. Results Facilitators included harnessing cross organisational working, clear communication, good stakeholder engagement, rapid decision making and use of validated PROM and PREMs to increase rapidity of roll out and ability to collect data at a national level. Barriers included the lack of information governance permission to collect patient identifiable data, a lack of a comparator group, inability to collect response rate information and use of multiple survey platforms. Conclusions Future rapid and standard evaluations, and research in Wales should consider harnessing and developing cross Health Board working, to collect patient identifiable data, response rate information and use a single data collection platform. This would enable the collection of a rich data source that could inform national programmes of work. The rapid evaluation of the Long COVID service in Wales provided a useful resource, using patient-reported outcomes (PROs) to inform decision-making, and has highlighted valuable opportunities for cross-organisational working in Wales