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Fulltext Quantifying tropical peatland dissolved organic carbon (DOC) using UV-visible spectroscopy

Cook S, Peacock M, Evans CD, Page SE, Whelan MJ, Gauci V, et al.

Water Res, 2017 05 15;115:229-235.
PMID: 28284089 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2017.02.059

UV-visible spectroscopy has been shown to be a useful technique for determining dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations. However, at present we are unaware of any studies in the literature that have investigated the suitability of this approach for tropical DOC water samples from any tropical peatlands, although some work has been performed in other tropical environments. We used water samples from two oil palm estates in Sarawak, Malaysia to: i) investigate the suitability of both single and two-wavelength proxies for tropical DOC determination; ii) develop a calibration dataset and set of parameters to calculate DOC concentrations indirectly; iii) provide tropical researchers with guidance on the best spectrophotometric approaches to use in future analyses of DOC. Both single and two-wavelength model approaches performed well with no one model significantly outperforming the other. The predictive ability of the models suggests that UV-visible spectroscopy is both a viable and low cost method for rapidly analyzing DOC in water samples immediately post-collection, which can be important when working at remote field sites with access to only basic laboratory facilities.
Fulltext Characterisation of the semi-volatile component of Dissolved Organic Matter by Thermal Desorption - Proton Transfer Reaction - Mass Spectrometry

Materić D, Peacock M, Kent M, Cook S, Gauci V, Röckmann T, et al.

Sci Rep, 2017 Nov 21;7(1):15936.
PMID: 29162906 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-16256-x

Proton Transfer Reaction - Mass Spectrometry (PTR-MS) is a sensitive, soft ionisation method suitable for qualitative and quantitative analysis of volatile and semi-volatile organic vapours. PTR-MS is used for various environmental applications including monitoring of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from natural and anthropogenic sources, chemical composition measurements of aerosols, etc. Here we apply thermal desorption PTR-MS for the first time to characterise the chemical composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM). We developed a clean, low-pressure evaporation/sublimation system to remove water from samples and coupled it to a custom-made thermal desorption unit to introduce the samples to the PTR-MS. Using this system, we analysed waters from intact and degraded peat swamp forest of Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo, and an oil palm plantation and natural forest in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. We detected more than 200 organic ions from these samples and principal component analysis allowed clear separation of the different sample origins based on the composition of organic compounds. The method is sensitive, reproducible, and provides a new and comparatively cheap tool for a rapid characterisation of water and soil DOM.
The Lancet-PPATS Commission on Prevention of Viral Spillover: reducing the risk of pandemics through primary prevention

Vora NM, Hassan L, Plowright RK, Horton R, Cook S, Sizer N, et al.

Lancet, 2024 Feb 17;403(10427):597-599.
PMID: 37837991 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(23)01064-4
Fulltext The remodelling index risk stratifies patients with hypertensive left ventricular hypertrophy

Le TT, Lim V, Ibrahim R, Teo MT, Bryant J, Ang B, et al.

Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging, 2021 05 10;22(6):670-679.
PMID: 32255186 DOI: 10.1093/ehjci/jeaa040

AIMS: Hypertensive left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is associated with increased cardiovascular events. We previously developed the remodelling index (RI) that incorporated left ventricular (LV) volume and wall-thickness in a single measure of advanced hypertrophy in hypertensive patients. This study examined the prognostic potential of the RI in reference to contemporary LVH classifications.
METHODS AND RESULTS: Cardiovascular magnetic resonance was performed in 400 asymptomatic hypertensive patients. The newly derived RI (EDV3t, where EDV is LV end-diastolic volume and t is the maximal wall thickness across 16 myocardial segments) stratified hypertensive patients: no LVH, LVH with normal RI (LVHNormal-RI), and LVH with low RI (LVHLow-RI). The primary outcome was a composite of all-cause mortality, acute coronary syndromes, strokes, and decompensated heart failure. LVHLow-RI was associated with increased LV mass index, fibrosis burden, impaired myocardial function and elevated biochemical markers of myocardial injury (high-sensitive cardiac troponin I), and wall stress. Over 18.3 ± 7.0 months (601.3 patient-years), 14 adverse events occurred (2.2 events/100 patient-years). Patients with LVHLow-RI had more than a five-fold increase in adverse events compared to those with LVHNormal-RI (11.6 events/100 patient-years vs. 2.0 events/100 patient-years, respectively; log-rank P
On-Farm Experimentation to transform global agriculture

Lacoste M, Cook S, McNee M, Gale D, Ingram J, Bellon-Maurel V, et al.

Nat Food, 2022 Jan;3(1):11-18.
PMID: 37118482 DOI: 10.1038/s43016-021-00424-4

Restructuring farmer-researcher relationships and addressing complexity and uncertainty through joint exploration are at the heart of On-Farm Experimentation (OFE). OFE describes new approaches to agricultural research and innovation that are embedded in real-world farm management, and reflects new demands for decentralized and inclusive research that bridges sources of knowledge and fosters open innovation. Here we propose that OFE research could help to transform agriculture globally. We highlight the role of digitalization, which motivates and enables OFE by dramatically increasing scales and complexity when investigating agricultural challenges.
From basic mechanisms to clinical applications in heart protection, new players in cardiovascular diseases and cardiac theranostics: meeting report from the third international symposium on "New frontiers in cardiovascular research"

Cabrera-Fuentes HA, Aragones J, Bernhagen J, Boening A, Boisvert WA, Bøtker HE, et al.

Basic Res Cardiol, 2016 11;111(6):69.
PMID: 27743118

In this meeting report, particularly addressing the topic of protection of the cardiovascular system from ischemia/reperfusion injury, highlights are presented that relate to conditioning strategies of the heart with respect to molecular mechanisms and outcome in patients' cohorts, the influence of co-morbidities and medications, as well as the contribution of innate immune reactions in cardioprotection. Moreover, developmental or systems biology approaches bear great potential in systematically uncovering unexpected components involved in ischemia-reperfusion injury or heart regeneration. Based on the characterization of particular platelet integrins, mitochondrial redox-linked proteins, or lipid-diol compounds in cardiovascular diseases, their targeting by newly developed theranostics and technologies opens new avenues for diagnosis and therapy of myocardial infarction to improve the patients' outcome.