The cognitive consequences of the COVID-19 epidemic: collateral damage?

Recovery from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) will be principally defined in terms of remission from respiratory symptoms, however both clinical and animal studies have shown that coronaviruses may spread to the nervous system. A systematic search on previous viral epidemics revealed that while there has been relatively little research in this area, clinical studies have commonly reported neurological disorders and cognitive difficulties. Little is known with regard to their incidence, duration or underlying neural basis. The hippocampus appears to be particularly vulnerable to coronavirus infections, thus increasing the probability of post-infection memory impairment, and acceleration of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. Future knowledge of the impact of COVID-19, from epidemiological studies and clinical practice, will be needed to develop future screening and treatment programmes to minimize the long-term cognitive consequences of COVID-19

The cognitive consequences of the COVID-19 epidemic: collateral damage?

Recovery from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) will be principally defined in terms of remission from respiratory symptoms; however, both clinical and animal studies have shown that coronaviruses may spread to the nervous system. A systematic search on previous viral epidemics revealed that while there has been relatively little research in this area, clinical studies have commonly reported neurological disorders and cognitive difficulties. Little is known with regard to their incidence, duration or underlying neural basis. The hippocampus appears to be particularly vulnerable to coronavirus infections, thus increasing the probability of post-infection memory impairment, and acceleration of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. Future knowledge of the impact of COVID-19, from epidemiological studies and clinical practice, will be needed to develop future screening and treatment programmes to minimize the long-term cognitive consequences of COVID-19

"Does anyone even notice us?" COVID-19’s impact on academics’ well-being in a developing country

In March 2020, the President of South African announced that the nation would go into full lockdown in the wake of an increase in COVID-19 infections. Academics had, in some instances, only one day to prepare for “emergency remote teaching”. Few academics had taught online before, as South Africa’s internet connectivity is not guaranteed in underprivileged areas, where 80 per cent of the population reside. The online move thus necessitated an entirely novel pedagogy for most academics, with high potential for an escalation of work-related stress and related illness, outcomes we have related in the wider sphere of workplace readjustment during COVID-19, to a state of “pandemia”. In this article, we report on an institutional case study where we surveyed n=136 academics from a university in the Western Cape, South Africa to learn more about impacts of COVID-19 on their work. The data analysis adopts Ryff’s (1995) theory of well-being. Findings indicate that the enforced lockdown due to COVID-19 and the subsequent move to online teaching has had a negative impact on academics’ sense of well-being. However, the emergence of positive, caring relationships between colleagues is reported as a significant outcome of the COVID-19 enforced move to online teaching

Novel multicomponent B2-ordered aluminides: Compositional design, synthesis, characterization, and thermal stability

For the first time, multicomponent alloys belonging to a B2-ordered single phase were designed and fabricated by melting route. The design concept of high entropy alloys is applied to engineering the transition metal sublattice of binary B2 aluminide. The equiatomic substitution of transition metal elements in the Ni sublattice of binary AlNi followed to produce Al(CoNi), Al(FeNi), Al(CoFe), Al(CoFeNi), Al(CoFeMnNi), and Al(CoCuFeMnNi) multicomponent alloys. CALculation of PHAse Diagrams (CALPHAD) approach was used to predict the phases in these alloys. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy were used to confirm the B2 ordering in the alloys. Thermal stability of the B2 phase in these alloys was demonstrated by prolonged heat treatments at 1373 K and 1073 K up to 200 h. © 2020 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Novel Multicomponent B2-Ordered Aluminides: Compositional Design, Synthesis, Characterization, and Thermal Stability

For the first time, multicomponent alloys belonging to a B2-ordered single phase were designed and fabricated by melting route. The design concept of high entropy alloys is applied to engineering the transition metal sublattice of binary B2 aluminide. The equiatomic substitution of transition metal elements in the Ni sublattice of binary AlNi followed to produce Al(CoNi), Al(FeNi), Al(CoFe), Al(CoFeNi), Al(CoFeMnNi), and Al(CoCuFeMnNi) multicomponent alloys. CALculation of PHAse Diagrams (CALPHAD) approach was used to predict the phases in these alloys. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy were used to confirm the B2 ordering in the alloys. Thermal stability of the B2 phase in these alloys was demonstrated by prolonged heat treatments at 1373 K and 1073 K up to 200 h. © 2020 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

High temperatures and human pressures interact to influence mortality in an African carnivore

The impacts of high ambient temperatures on mortality in humans and domestic animals are well-understood. However much less is known about how hot weather affects mortality in wild animals. High ambient temperatures have been associated with African wild dog Lycaon pictus pup mortality, suggesting that high temperatures might also be linked to high adult mortality.We analyzed mortality patterns in African wild dogs radio-collared in Kenya (0°N), Botswana (20°S), and Zimbabwe (20°S), to examine whether ambient temperature was associated with adult mortality.We found that high ambient temperatures were associated with increased adult wild dog mortality at the Kenya site, and there was some evidence for temperature associations with mortality at the Botswana and Zimbabwe sites.At the Kenya study site, which had the highest human impact, high ambient temperatures were associated with increased risks of wild dogs being killed by people, and by domestic dog diseases. In contrast, temperature was not associated with the risk of snare-related mortality at the Zimbabwe site, which had the second highest human impact. Causes of death varied markedly between sites. Pack size was positively associated with survival at all three sites.These findings suggest that while climate change may not lead to new causes of mortality, rising temperatures may exacerbate existing anthropogenic threats to this endangered species, with implications for conservation. This evidence suggests that temperature-related mortality, including interactions between temperature and other anthropogenic threats, should be investigated in a greater number of species to understand and mitigate likely impacts of climate change

Three Key considerations for biodiversity conservation in multilateral agreements

It is nearly three decades since the world recognized the need for a global multilateral treaty aiming to address accelerating biodiversity loss. However, biodiversity continues to decline at a concerning rate. Drawing on lessons from the implementation of the current strategic plan of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the 2010 Aichi Targets, we highlight three interlinked core areas, which require attention and improvement in the development of the post‐2020 Biodiversity Framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity. They are: (1) developing robust theories of change which define agreed, adaptive plans for achieving targets; (2) using models to evaluate assumptions and effectiveness of different plans and targets; and (3) identifying the common but differentiated responsibilities of different actors/states/countries within these plans. We demonstrate how future multilateral agreements must not focus only on what needs to be done but also on how it should be done, using measurable steps, which make sense at the scales at which biodiversity change happens

Metric-based vs peer-reviewed evaluation of a research output: Lesson learnt from UK’s national research assessment exercise

Purpose There is a general inquisition regarding the monetary value of a research output, as a substantial amount of funding in modern academia is essentially awarded to good research presented in the form of journal articles, conferences papers, performances, compositions, exhibitions, books and book chapters etc., which, eventually leads to another question if the value varies across different disciplines. Answers to these questions will not only assist academics and researchers, but will also help higher education institutions (HEIs) make informed decisions in their administrative and research policies. Design and methodology To examine both the questions, we applied the United Kingdom’s recently concluded national research assessment exercise known as the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 as a case study. All the data for this study is sourced from the openly available publications which arose from the digital repositories of REF’s results and HEFCE’s funding allocations. Findings A world leading output earns between £7504 and £14,639 per year within the REF cycle, whereas an internationally excellent output earns between £1876 and £3659, varying according to their area of research. Secondly, an investigation into the impact rating of 25315 journal articles submitted in five areas of research by UK HEIs and their awarded funding revealed a linear relationship between the percentage of quartile-one journal publications and percentage of 4* outputs in Clinical Medicine, Physics and Psychology/Psychiatry/Neuroscience UoAs, and no relationship was found in the Classics and Anthropology/Development Studies UoAs, due to the fact that most publications in the latter two disciplines are not journal articles. Practical implications The findings provide an indication of the monetary value of a research output, from the perspectives of government funding for research, and also what makes a good output, i.e. whether a relationship exists between good quality output and the source of its publication. The findings may also influence future REF submission strategies in HEIs and ascertain that the impact rating of the journals is not necessarily a reflection of the quality of research in every discipline, and this may have a significant influence on the future of scholarly communications in general. Originality According to the author’s knowledge, this is the first time an investigation has estimated the monetary value of a good research output

Novel mechanism of inhibition of human angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (ACE) by a highly specific phosphinic tripeptide

Human ACE (angiotensin-I-converting enzyme) has long been regarded as an excellent target for the treatment of hypertension and related cardiovascular diseases. Highly potent inhibitors have been developed and are extensively used in the clinic. To develop inhibitors with higher therapeutic efficacy and reduced side effects, recent efforts have been directed towards the discovery of compounds able to simultaneously block more than one zinc metallopeptidase (apart from ACE) involved in blood pressure regulation in humans, such as neprilysin and ECE-1 (endothelin-converting enzyme-1). In the present paper, we show the first structures of testis ACE [C-ACE, which is identical with the C-domain of somatic ACE and the dominant domain responsible for blood pressure regulation, at 1.97Å (1 Å=0.1 nm)] and the N-domain of somatic ACE (N-ACE, at 2.15Å) in complex with a highly potent and selective dual ACE/ECE-1 inhibitor. The structural determinants revealed unique features of the binding of two molecules of the dual inhibitor in the active site of C-ACE. In both structures, the first molecule is positioned in the obligatory binding site and has a bulky bicyclic P1′ residue with the unusual R configuration which, surprisingly, is accommodated by the large S2′ pocket. In the C-ACE complex, the isoxazole phenyl group of the second molecule makes strong pi–pi stacking interactions with the amino benzoyl group of the first molecule locking them in a ‘hand-shake’ conformation. These features, for the first time, highlight the unusual architecture and flexibility of the active site of C-ACE, which could be further utilized for structure-based design of new C-ACE or vasopeptidase inhibitors

Writing impact case studies: a comparative study of high-scoring and low-scoring case studies from REF2014

This paper reports on two studies that used qualitative thematic and quantitative linguistic analysis, respectively, to assess the content and language of the largest ever sample of graded research impact case studies, from the UK Research Excellence Framework 2014 (REF). The paper provides the first empirical evidence across disciplinary main panels of statistically significant linguistic differences between high- versus low-scoring case studies, suggesting that implicit rules linked to written style may have contributed to scores alongside the published criteria on the significance, reach and attribution of impact. High-scoring case studies were more likely to provide specific and high-magnitude articulations of significance and reach than low-scoring cases. High-scoring case studies contained attributional phrases which were more likely to attribute research and/or pathways to impact, and they were written more coherently (containing more explicit causal connections between ideas and more logical connectives) than low-scoring cases. High-scoring case studies appear to have conformed to a distinctive new genre of writing, which was clear and direct, and often simplified in its representation of causality between research and impact, and less likely to contain expressions of uncertainty than typically associated with academic writing. High-scoring case studies in two Main Panels were significantly easier to read than low-scoring cases on the Flesch Reading Ease measure, although both high-scoring and low-scoring cases tended to be of “graduate” reading difficulty. The findings of our work enable impact case study authors to better understand the genre and make content and language choices that communicate their impact as effectively as possible. While directly relevant to the assessment of impact in the UK’s Research Excellence Framework, the work also provides insights of relevance to institutions internationally who are designing evaluation frameworks for research impact