Normalising Bottle Reuse: Lessons from the Victorians on the Limits of Voluntary Schemes

A policy article, addressing the historical failure of voluntary return schemes for reusable bottles and advising mandatory schemes in future

The role of small heat shock proteins in mutant superoxide dismutase-linked familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

The mechanisms by which mutations in the gene encoding superoxide dismutase 1 (S0D1) lead to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) remain incompletely understood. Mutant SODI inclusions are observed in both ALS patients and animal models of the disease. Chaperone proteins have been shown to reduce mutant S0D1 inclusion formation in both cell and animal systems and, up-regulation of heat shock proteins (HSPs) in a mouse model of ALS increases their life expectancy. The results presented in this thesis are based on an investigation into the role of small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) in mutant SODI inclusion formation, using a model HEK293 cell system. Over-expression of yellow fluorescent protein (YFP)-tagged G85R mutant SODI in HEK293 cells and subsequent treatment with proteasome inhibitor leads to mutant S0D1-inclusion formation, as shown by immunofluorescence (IMF) microscopy. Using this model of mutant S0D1- inclusion formation, we demonstrate that over-expression of sHSPs decreases the proportion of insoluble mutant SODI present within these cells. Mutations in these sHSPs prevent this function, and further increase the proportion of insoluble mutant S0D1. These mutant sHSPs also cause an increase in the insolubility of normally soluble proteins, such as wild-type SODI. Similar results were observed in Neuro 2a cells, where over-expression of sHSPs caused the phenotype of the mutant SODI inclusions to change, from dense, tight structures to more diffuse ones. We have shown that sHSPs decrease the amount of insoluble mutant SODI in HEK2S3 cells, supporting reports that chaperone proteins prevent mutant SODI-inclusion formation and are beneficial in a mouse model Gf AL

UN sustainable development goals: How can sustainable/green chemistry contribute? By doing things differently

Until now, much Green and Sustainable Chemistry has been focused on how chemicals are made. Here we suggest that, if chemistry is to contribute effectively to achieving the SDGs, we need to change the way that things are done at both ends of the chemical supply chain. For chemical research at the start of the chain, we need to rethink how we build the laboratories in which we carry out the research so as to minimize the use of energy. At the other end of the chain, we advocate the adoption of a Moore's Law for Chemistry (MLFC), which we recently proposed that, wherever possible, the amount of chemical(s) used to achieve a given effect should be decreased by a factor of 2 every five years

The date and authorship of the Vita Ædwardi regis

Scholarly understanding of the reign of Edward the Confessor is hampered by doubt surrounding the date, authorship, and purpose of the Vita Ædwardi regis, its chief biographical source. This article rejects readings that see it as a work written after the Conquest, arguing instead that it was begun in 1065-6 and tried to foresee what would happen in that time of upheaval by optimistic inspection of precedents from Godwine family history, tempered by anxious reflections on pagan Antiquity. Through the prophetic insights of history it finely balanced Edith’s hopes and fears. The second part of the article considers evidence that helps us to identify an author

A New Source for the Vita Ædwardi regis

This article argues that the account of the English diplomatic mission to Rome in 1061, which appears in the Vita Ædwardi regis, is modelled on the account in Pope Nicholas II’s letter to Archbishop Ealdred of York. Rejecting the hypothesis that the two accounts could be independent or related at one remove, it demonstrates that the Vita’s account of the mission retains the narrative framework provided by the letter. It also shows that it shifts the political emphasis and reworks the parent text in ways Folcard of St. Bertin (the author of the Vita) is known to have reworked Bede’s account of St John of Beverley. The discovery sheds light on Folcard’s sources for the Vita and on his techniques in reworking Latin narrative