Defining and identifying complex-to-decarbonise homes and retrofit solutions: Annex C – case studies

This research develops a definition for housing stock in which attributes and contextual factors add complexity to improving energy efficiency and utilising low-carbon heating. Based on its review of existing evidence and engagement with key stakeholders, this research uses the phrase ‘complex-to-decarbonise’ (CTD) to describe this housing stock, rather than ‘hard-to-treat’ or ‘hard-to-heat’. This research describes different approaches to energy efficiency and low-carbon heating in CTD homes. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero commissioned DG Cities in consortium with University College London’s Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering to conduct this research

Defining and identifying complex-to-decarbonise homes: research report

This research develops a definition for housing stock in which attributes and contextual factors add complexity to improving energy efficiency and utilising low-carbon heating. Based on its review of existing evidence and engagement with key stakeholders, this research uses the phrase ‘complex-to-decarbonise’ (CTD) to describe this housing stock, rather than ‘hard-to-treat’ or ‘hard-to-heat’. This research describes different approaches to energy efficiency and low-carbon heating in CTD homes. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero commissioned DG Cities in consortium with University College London’s Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering to conduct this research

Chronic cisplatin treatment promotes enhanced damage repair and tumor progression in a mouse model of lung cancer

Chemotherapy resistance is a major obstacle in cancer treatment, yet the mechanisms of response to specific therapies have been largely unexplored in vivo. Employing genetic, genomic, and imaging approaches, we examined the dynamics of response to a mainstay chemotherapeutic, cisplatin, in multiple mouse models of human non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We show that lung tumors initially respond to cisplatin by sensing DNA damage, undergoing cell cycle arrest, and inducing apoptosis—leading to a significant reduction in tumor burden. Importantly, we demonstrate that this response does not depend on the tumor suppressor p53 or its transcriptional target, p21. Prolonged cisplatin treatment promotes the emergence of resistant tumors with enhanced repair capacity that are cross-resistant to platinum analogs, exhibit advanced histopathology, and possess an increased frequency of genomic alterations. Cisplatin-resistant tumors express elevated levels of multiple DNA damage repair and cell cycle arrest-related genes, including p53-inducible protein with a death domain (Pidd). We demonstrate a novel role for PIDD as a regulator of chemotherapy response in human lung tumor cells.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant 5-UO1-CA84306)National Cancer Institute (U.S.) (CA034992

Heterohexamers Formed by CcmK3 and CcmK4 Increase the Complexity of Beta Carboxysome Shells.

Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) encapsulate enzymes within a selectively permeable, proteinaceous shell. Carboxysomes are BMCs containing ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase oxygenase and carbonic anhydrase that enhance carbon dioxide fixation. The carboxysome shell consists of three structurally characterized protein types, each named after the oligomer they form: BMC-H (hexamer), BMC-P (pentamer), and BMC-T (trimer). These three protein types form cyclic homooligomers with pores at the center of symmetry that enable metabolite transport across the shell. Carboxysome shells contain multiple BMC-H paralogs, each with distinctly conserved residues surrounding the pore, which are assumed to be associated with specific metabolites. We studied the regulation of β-carboxysome shell composition by investigating the BMC-H genes ccmK3 and ccmK4 situated in a locus remote from other carboxysome genes. We made single and double deletion mutants of ccmK3 and ccmK4 in Synechococcus elongatus PCC7942 and show that, unlike CcmK3, CcmK4 is necessary for optimal growth. In contrast to other CcmK proteins, CcmK3 does not form homohexamers; instead CcmK3 forms heterohexamers with CcmK4 with a 1:2 stoichiometry. The CcmK3-CcmK4 heterohexamers form stacked dodecamers in a pH-dependent manner. Our results indicate that CcmK3-CcmK4 heterohexamers potentially expand the range of permeability properties of metabolite channels in carboxysome shells. Moreover, the observed facultative formation of dodecamers in solution suggests that carboxysome shell permeability may be dynamically attenuated by "capping" facet-embedded hexamers with a second hexamer. Because β-carboxysomes are obligately expressed, heterohexamer formation and capping could provide a rapid and reversible means to alter metabolite flux across the shell in response to environmental/growth conditions

Defining and identifying complex-to-decarbonise homes and retrofit solutions: Annex B – framework report

This research develops a definition for housing stock in which attributes and contextual factors add complexity to improving energy efficiency and utilising low-carbon heating. Based on its review of existing evidence and engagement with key stakeholders, this research uses the phrase ‘complex-to-decarbonise’ (CTD) to describe this housing stock, rather than ‘hard-to-treat’ or ‘hard-to-heat’. This research describes different approaches to energy efficiency and low-carbon heating in CTD homes. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero commissioned DG Cities in consortium with University College London’s Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering to conduct this research

Defining and identifying complex-to-decarbonise homes and retrofit solutions: Annex D – suggestions from the research

This research develops a definition for housing stock in which attributes and contextual factors add complexity to improving energy efficiency and utilising low-carbon heating. Based on its review of existing evidence and engagement with key stakeholders, this research uses the phrase ‘complex-to-decarbonise’ (CTD) to describe this housing stock, rather than ‘hard-to-treat’ or ‘hard-to-heat’. This research describes different approaches to energy efficiency and low-carbon heating in CTD homes. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero commissioned DG Cities in consortium with University College London’s Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering to conduct this research

Defining and identifying complex-to-decarbonise homes and retrofit solutions: Annex A – technical report

This research develops a definition for housing stock in which attributes and contextual factors add complexity to improving energy efficiency and utilising low-carbon heating. Based on its review of existing evidence and engagement with key stakeholders, this research uses the phrase ‘complex-to-decarbonise’ (CTD) to describe this housing stock, rather than ‘hard-to-treat’ or ‘hard-to-heat’. This research describes different approaches to energy efficiency and low-carbon heating in CTD homes. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero commissioned DG Cities in consortium with University College London’s Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering to conduct this research

Multi-Modal Stories: LIS Students Explore Reading, Literacy, and Library Service Through the Lens of ‘The 39 Clues”

The article presents a conceptual framework for exploring multi-modal stories for children using the children’s adventure series, The 39 Clues. The framework is accompanied by concrete examples of student learning experiences, in the form of student reflections on issues related to the convergence of media and the nature of reading and children’s library service in the 21st century. The article begins with a look at the series, The 39 Clues, describing its history and its format. It then provides a framework for exploring some of the issues related to reading The 39 Clues, first, by introducing some concepts from the literature associated with reading in the digital world and then, outlining some of the practical concerns that librarians might have in relation to The 39 Clues. The article then presents the reflections of five students – one MLIS student and four PhD students – who considered multi-modal stories in light of their future practice, research, and teaching in LIS. The article concludes by summarizing five over-arching themes that emerged from the students’ explorations - reading as a two-track experience, questions about authorship, evaluation skills needed to review multimodal stories, opportunities for information literacy instruction, and access and equity issues