Wrap Up & Where to From Here

Symposium Track Chairs will provide high level summaries of the information covered in each of the tracks: Feedstock & Production; Benefits & Uses; Policy & Community and Sales, Scale & Marketing. To conclude the symposium and leverage all of the great new ideas and information in everyone\u27s minds, we will capture key take aways as a community and then invite suggestions and discussion about next steps in the biochar movement

Sexuality, risk, and organisational misbehaviour in a secure mental healthcare facility in England

Sexuality in secure mental healthcare has been overlooked in both clinical praxis and academic research. In the UK, there exist no formal policies to inform staff approaches to managing inpatient sexuality. The limited research that has been undertaken in this field has found that often, prohibitive approaches are favoured, which may affect how inpatients conceptualise and experience their sexuality in the long-term. The aim of this study was to identify discursive constructions of inpatient sexuality, as articulated within semi-structured group interviews with inpatients and ward staff from a secure mental healthcare facility in England. The analysis identified constructions of inpatient sexuality within two overarching and conflicting discourses: one of the normalcy and legitimacy of sexual expression in human experience; and the other of risk, wherein sexuality needed to be regulated and obstructed. Inpatients’ expressions of sexuality could often only be conceptualised in terms of “organisational misbehaviour”, acts that violated the implicit norms and codes of the institution. It is suggested that recoding inpatient sexuality as misbehaviour could have implications for inpatients’ long-term recovery

Can cardiovascular risk management be improved by shared care with general practice to prevent cognitive decline following stroke/TIA? A feasibility randomised controlled trial (SERVED Memory)

BACKGROUND: Cognitive impairment and dementia following cerebrovascular disease are increasingly common in the UK. One potential strategy to prevent post-stroke cognitive decline is multimodal vascular risk factor management. However, its efficacy remains uncertain and its application in vulnerable patients with incident cerebrovascular disease and early cognitive impairment has not been assessed. The primary aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of recruitment and retention of patients with early cognitive impairment post-stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA) to a trial of enhanced vascular risk factor management combining primary and secondary care. METHODS: In this single centre, open label trial adults with a recent stroke or TIA and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) were randomised 1:1 to a three-monthly multimodal vascular risk factor intervention jointly delivered by the trial team and General Practitioner (GP), or control (defined as usual care from the GP). Chosen risk factors were blood pressure (BP), total cholesterol, blood glucose (HbA1C) in those with diabetes, and heart rate and adequacy of anticoagulation in those with atrial fibrillation (AF). Similar patients with normal cognition were enrolled in an embedded observational cohort and also received usual care from the GP. Repeat cognitive screening was undertaken in all participants after 12 months. RESULTS: Seventy three participants were recruited to the randomised trial and 94 to the observational cohort (21.8% of those screened). From the randomised trial 35/73 (47.9%) dropped out before final follow-up. In all groups guideline based rates of risk factor control were mostly poor at baseline and did not significantly improve during follow-up. The observational cohort demonstrated greater decline in cognitive test scores at 12 months, with no difference between the randomised groups. CONCLUSIONS: Recruitment to such a study was feasible, but retention of participants was difficult and generally poor rates of risk factor control suggested insufficient application of the intervention. Consequently, successful scaling up of the trial would require protocol changes with less reliance on primary care services. Any future trial should include participants with normal cognition post-stroke as they may be at greatest risk of cognitive decline. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN, ISRCTN42688361 . Registered 16 April 2015

Choreographies of sexual safety: forensic mental health and the limits of recovery

Medium secure forensic psychiatric units are unique environments within the broader “post asylum” landscape of mental health services. Length of stay is much greater and restrictions on behavior, including sexual behavior, are legally and institutionally legitimated, due to concerns regarding risk. As a result, sexuality is rarely explored with service users and no official policies on sexual conduct and sexual safety have yet been developed, despite sexuality being linked to positive recovery outcomes

Comprehensive cell surface proteomics defines markers of classical, intermediate and non-classical monocytes

Abstract: Monocytes are a critical component of the cellular innate immune system, and can be subdivided into classical, intermediate and non-classical subsets on the basis of surface CD14 and CD16 expression. Classical monocytes play the canonical role of phagocytosis, and account for the majority of circulating cells. Intermediate and non-classical cells are known to exhibit varying levels of phagocytosis and cytokine secretion, and are differentially expanded in certain pathological states. Characterisation of cell surface proteins expressed by each subset is informative not only to improve understanding of phenotype, but may also provide biological insights into function. Here we use highly multiplexed Tandem-Mass-Tag (TMT)-based mass spectrometry with selective cell surface biotinylation to characterise the classical monocyte surface proteome, then interrogate the phenotypic differences between each monocyte subset to identify novel protein markers

Quantitative comparative analysis of human erythrocyte surface proteins between individuals from two genetically distinct populations

Abstract: Red blood cells (RBCs) play a critical role in oxygen transport, and are the focus of important diseases including malaria and the haemoglobinopathies. Proteins at the RBC surface can determine susceptibility to disease, however previous studies classifying the RBC proteome have not used specific strategies directed at enriching cell surface proteins. Furthermore, there has been no systematic analysis of variation in abundance of RBC surface proteins between genetically disparate human populations. These questions are important to inform not only basic RBC biology but additionally to identify novel candidate receptors for malarial parasites. Here, we use ‘plasma membrane profiling’ and tandem mass tag-based mass spectrometry to enrich and quantify primary RBC cell surface proteins from two sets of nine donors from the UK or Senegal. We define a RBC surface proteome and identify potential Plasmodium receptors based on either diminished protein abundance, or increased variation in RBCs from West African individuals

Comprehensive cell surface proteomics defines markers of classical, intermediate and non-classical monocytes

Abstract: Monocytes are a critical component of the cellular innate immune system, and can be subdivided into classical, intermediate and non-classical subsets on the basis of surface CD14 and CD16 expression. Classical monocytes play the canonical role of phagocytosis, and account for the majority of circulating cells. Intermediate and non-classical cells are known to exhibit varying levels of phagocytosis and cytokine secretion, and are differentially expanded in certain pathological states. Characterisation of cell surface proteins expressed by each subset is informative not only to improve understanding of phenotype, but may also provide biological insights into function. Here we use highly multiplexed Tandem-Mass-Tag (TMT)-based mass spectrometry with selective cell surface biotinylation to characterise the classical monocyte surface proteome, then interrogate the phenotypic differences between each monocyte subset to identify novel protein markers

Recruitment of TBK1 to cytosol‐invading Salmonella induces WIPI2‐dependent antibacterial autophagy

Mammalian cells deploy autophagy to defend their cytosol against bacterial invaders. Anti-bacterial autophagy relies on the core autophagy machinery, cargo receptors, and "eat-me" signals such as galectin-8 and ubiquitin that label bacteria as autophagy cargo. Anti-bacterial autophagy also requires the kinase TBK1, whose role in autophagy has remained enigmatic. Here we show that recruitment of WIPI2, itself essential for anti-bacterial autophagy, is dependent on the localization of catalytically active TBK1 to the vicinity of cytosolic bacteria. Experimental manipulation of TBK1 recruitment revealed that engagement of TBK1 with any of a variety of Salmonella-associated "eat-me" signals, including host-derived glycans and K48- and K63-linked ubiquitin chains, suffices to restrict bacterial proliferation. Promiscuity in recruiting TBK1 via independent signals may buffer TBK1 functionality from potential bacterial antagonism and thus be of evolutionary advantage to the host

Balancing act : competition and cooperation in US Asia-Pacific regionalism

While the United States is an important Asia-Pacific actor, its engagement with the region is complex and often difficult. Not only must US regionalism balance the diverse requirements of an ambitious policy agenda, but also US policy norms and priorities often clash with those of other regional actors. This has important implications for the capacity of the United States to provide regional leadership. Recent years have seen growing policy convergence between the United States and other Asia-Pacific actors, particularly in economic terms, but US regionalism continues to feature competition alongside collaboration

Human cytomegalovirus interactome analysis identifies degradation hubs, domain associations and viral protein functions

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) extensively modulates host cells, downregulating >900 human proteins during viral replication and degrading ≥133 proteins shortly after infection. The mechanism of degradation of most host proteins remains unresolved, and the functions of many viral proteins are incompletely characterised. We performed a mass spectrometry-based interactome analysis of 169 tagged, stably-expressed canonical strain Merlin HCMV proteins, and two non-canonical HCMV proteins, in infected cells. This identified a network of >3,400 virus-host and >150 virus-virus protein interactions, providing insights into functions for multiple viral genes. Domain analysis predicted binding of the viral UL25 protein to SH3 domains of NCK Adaptor Protein-1. Viral interacting proteins were identified for 31/133 degraded host targets. Finally, the uncharacterised, non-canonical ORFL147C protein was found to interact with elements of the mRNA splicing machinery, and a mutational study suggested its importance in viral replication. The interactome data will be important for future studies of herpesvirus infection