The trend of disruption in the functional brain network topology of Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive disorder associated with cognitive dysfunction that alters the brain’s functional connectivity. Assessing these alterations has become a topic of increasing interest. However, a few studies have examined different stages of AD from a complex network perspective that cover different topological scales. This study used resting state fMRI data to analyze the trend of functional connectivity alterations from a cognitively normal (CN) state through early and late mild cognitive impairment (EMCI and LMCI) and to Alzheimer’s disease. The analyses had been done at the local (hubs and activated links and areas), meso (clustering, assortativity, and rich-club), and global (small-world, small-worldness, and efficiency) topological scales. The results showed that the trends of changes in the topological architecture of the functional brain network were not entirely proportional to the AD progression. There were network characteristics that have changed non-linearly regarding the disease progression, especially at the earliest stage of the disease, i.e., EMCI. Further, it has been indicated that the diseased groups engaged somatomotor, frontoparietal, and default mode modules compared to the CN group. The diseased groups also shifted the functional network towards more random architecture. In the end, the methods introduced in this paper enable us to gain an extensive understanding of the pathological changes of the AD process

More Aware Through Repair : Educating about critical raw materials

The issue of Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) and potential interruptions to their availability due to shortages, trade restrictions or other factors in their supply are topics that are relatively unknown to the general public. For this reason, education has been promoted as a key enabler of a circular economy. One key intervention point is the movement of electronic repair events. Repair events already exist throughout Europe and around the world; however, continuing innovation is needed to further enhance their ability to educate the public about complex issues such as CRMs. Raw Engagement for Electronics Repair (REFER) is a KIC Raw Materials project that seeks to educate wider society about CRMs through engagement in repair events. In this paper we explore the gap in awareness about CRMs and outline the process and initial outcomes of the REFER project in developing and evaluating potential awareness-raising approaches

Too many shoes? An exploratory study of footwear and sustainability

In 2019 the EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive documented a sizable increase in e-waste collection targets alongside a wider scope of electronic and electrical products covered by the legislation. These changes have significant impact for the UK, as for the past two years UK waste collected has failed to meet the newly adopted set of targets. Understanding the flows and fates of products on and off the market becomes of paramount importance, especially for producer-led organisations who have the responsibility to achieve the targets and cover the operational costs. Historic e-waste estimation methods often assume that one product on the market will equate to one product in the waste stream. In this article, we report on a project commissioned by one of the largest UK producer-led organizations – REPIC Ltd, in search of an explanation of the observed drop-in products on the market and WEEE collected, and the relationship between the two. We argue that we should move away from “one product in and one product out” assumption to include wider parameters that are tailored specifically for the UK, including those linked with the state of the market for electronic and electrical products and of the wider economy, examples include inflation-adjusted GDP per capita, consumer confidence index (CCI), inflation indices (CPI or RPI), number of households, wealth distribution etc. We show how this can be achieved by adapting a state-of the-art e-waste estimation model (Waste Over Time) to the UK context and developing it further to include additional drivers

Evidence for the isomerization and decarboxylation in the photoconversion of the red fluorescent protein DsRed

Recently, it has been shown that the red fluorescent protein DsRed undergoes photoconversion on intense irradiation, but the mechanism of the conversion has not yet been elucidated. Upon irradiation with a nanosecond-pulsed laser at 532 nm, the chromophore of DsRed absorbing at 559 nm and emitting at 583 nm (R form) converts into a super red (SR) form absorbing at 574 nm and emitting at 595 nm. This conversion leads to a significant change in the fluorescence quantum yield from 0.7 to 0.01. Here we demonstrate that the photoconversion is the result of structural changes of the chromophore and one amino acid. Absorption, fluorescence, and vibrational spectroscopy as well as mass spectrometry suggest that a cis-to-trans isomerization of the chromophore and decarboxylation of a glutamate (E215) take place upon irradiation to form SR. At the same time, another photoproduct (B) with an absorption maximum at 386 nm appears upon irradiation. This species is assigned as a protonated form of the DsRed chromophore. It might be a mixture of several protonated DsRed forms as there is at least two ways of formation. Furthermore, the photoconversion of DsRed is proven to occur through a consecutive two-photon absorption process. Our results demonstrate the importance of the chromophore conformation in the ground state on the brightness of the protein as well as the importance of the photon flux to control/avoid the photoconversion process.status: publishe

Shaking Up and Making Up China: How the Party-State Compromises and Creates Ontological Security for its Subjects

A growing chorus of observers has warned of threats to regime stability in China in recent years. In spite of these concerns, the party-state’s grip on power in many respects appears as strong today as at any time since 1989, making it a remarkable outlier in a shrinking pool of long-surviving authoritarian regimes. This article addresses the debate over the resilience of the Chinese party-state by suggesting that one source of this resilience lies in the regime’s distinct functions in citizens’ experience of ontological security. Ontological security refers to a basic need of individuals for a sense of continuity and order in events. The main argument is that China’s party-state has developed a mode of rule that both compromises and creates ontological security for its citizens. On one level, the party-state undermines individuals’ ontological security. The regime has engineered profound transformations of Chinese society, producing conditions that compromise its subjects’ ontological security. At the same time, the party-state provides individuals with resources to buttress their ontological security. Official discourses function as anchors that assist individuals in this pursuit. A survey of research on Chinese politics supports these conclusions