Relating protein functional diversity to cell type number identifies genes that determine dynamic aspects of chromatin organisation as potential contributors to organismal complexity

<div><p>Organismal complexity broadly relates to the number of different cell types within an organism and generally increases across a phylogeny. Whilst gene expression will underpin organismal complexity, it has long been clear that a simple count of gene number is not a sufficient explanation. In this paper, we use open-access information from the Ensembl databases to quantify the functional diversity of human genes that are broadly involved in transcription. Functional diversity is described in terms of the numbers of paralogues, protein isoforms and structural domains for each gene. The change in functional diversity is then calculated for up to nine orthologues from the nematode worm to human and correlated to the change in cell-type number. Those with the highest correlation are subject to gene ontology term enrichment and interaction analyses. We found that a range of genes that encode proteins associated with dynamic changes to chromatin are good candidates to contribute to organismal complexity.</p></div

Communal residential laundry washing and drying : can it provide demand-side electrical load flexibility?

Changes in lifestyle have led to increased use and ownership rates of domestic appliances resulting in increasing electrical consumption in the residential sector. An important element of this consumption is due to domestic washing and drying of laundry. Given current and predicted ownership rates, the market for drying facilities is still not fully saturated and electrical demand for these functions will therefore increase. This paper looks at energy loads for laundering in high density housing such as blocks of flats and explores the benefits of communal facilities. Benefits of such facilities include reduced high humidity levels and the mitigation of decreased indoor air quality associated with indoor drying of laundry in individual dwellings. However from the perspective of integrating microgeneration into buildings, communal facilities may facilitate increased flexibility in the electrical demand profile, hence better complementing low carbon and localised energy supplies. In order to investigate the possible effects on the electric demand load profile, this paper presents the scenario of a hypothetical housing block and analyses the effect of moving from washing and drying in individual households to communal facilities. The study includes the effects of appliance energy-efficiency improvements and increased ownership rates. Results obtained show that communal laundering is successful in terms of time-shifting and hence lowering of peak electrical demand but is ineffective in reducing consumption

Glasgow House Performance Evaluation Report

This report has been produced by the Mackintosh Environmental Architecture Research Unit (MEARU) on behalf of Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) and, in broadest terms, analyses the simulated and in use performance of two prototype houses constructed for GHA by City Building (Glasgow) LLP at, Norfolk Street, Glasgow

Indoor Annual Sunlight Opportunity in Domestic Dwellings May Predict Well-Being in Urban Residents in Scotland

Indoor sunlight improves health in hospitals, schools, and workplaces, and there is clinical evidence for the impact on depression. But the impact of indoor sunlight on residents' health and well-being in domestic dwellings is unclear. Understanding this relationship could have important implications for building design and residents' indoor behavior, and impacts on health. Using a cross-sectional survey, we investigated the relationship between annual indoor sunlight opportunity and psychological well-being in 40 residents of high-rise dwellings in a socioeconomically deprived area in Glasgow, Scotland.&nbsp; Perceived physical health, physical activity, psychological distress, and indoor environmental factors were potential mediators of the relationship between annual sunlight opportunity and well-being. We used novel simulation modeling of window size, orientation, occlusion, and occupant behavior to measure annual sunlight opportunity.&nbsp; We found a significant positive association between well-being and annual indoor sunlight opportunity but no relationship between sunlight and objective indoor environmental variables, including air quality, bacteria, and fungi. Our sample had generally poor physical and mental health. Perceived physical health, lower psychological distress, more physical activity, and better perceived environmental quality were associated with greater psychological well-being. Perceived physical health mediated the impact of sunlight on well-being. Findings merit replication in larger and more diverse samples but have important implications for building design and advice to residents on window occlusion.&nbsp

Subtle effects of radiation on embryo development of the 3-spined stickleback

International audienc

Slavery, Migration, and Local Development in the Western US

This paper examines the effects of migration from eastern slave states in the 19th century on the subsequent development of counties in the Western US. I find that increased migration from slave states has a large, statistically significant negative effect on 2010 income, and no significant effect on racial inequality or overall income inequality. These findings are robust to a variety of specifications, including controls for geographic factors, state fixed effects, and various county level social and economic conditions. Data on individual migrants suggest that the cause of the negative income effect is the lower average human capital endowment of migrants from slave states

Sunlight and mental wellbeing: evidence of links from social housing in Glasgow, Scotland [Conference abstract]

Paper accepted for presentation at VELUX Daylight Symposium 2015 (London