University College London

Fragility of steel transmission monopoles under hurricane wind loading: Part II - Dynamic framework and comparative assessment

This preprint extends the parametric fragility framework of Part I to the dynamic response of steel transmission monopoles to turbulent hurricane wind. Wind loads are described by Kaimal spectra, the response is obtained by modal superposition, and failure is the first exceedance...

The impact of COVID-19 on all-cause mortality and life expectancy: findings from a population-based cohort in uMkhanyakude district, northern KwaZulu-natal

Abstract Background Despite the comprehensive death reporting system in South Africa, significant gaps persist in our understanding of the pandemic’s impact in rural areas. Methods We computed monthly death counts stratified by demographic factors from a population-based demograp...

Beyond reasonable doubt: antidepressants and the limits of scientific critique

Public doubt about the usefulness of antidepressants appears to have grown, even as scientific agreement about their efficacy has become more settled. This paper examines the role that figures associated with critical psychiatry have had in promoting this doubt. It traces the lon...

Assessment of the Quality of Media Reporting of the Suicide of a British Female Television Celebrity

Abstract: Background: International media guidelines aim to promote responsible reporting of suicide, acknowledging the influence of sensationalist press coverage on population suicide rates. Studies investigating guideline adherence have focused on reporting of male celebrity su...

Optimized Hemoglobin Depletion Improves Clinical Proteomics from Dried Blood Spots

Abstract Equitable access to large sample cohorts for robust, high-throughput proteomics for biomarker discovery is a major barrier to widescale clinical implementation. Dried blood spots (DBS) offer a minimally invasive alternative to venous blood draws, enabling at-home microsa...

At the Crossroads: Intersection of Ethnic and Socioeconomic Backgrounds in the Interplay of Perceived Teacher Discrimination, Intergroup Attitudes, and Socioemotional Outcomes

ABSTRACT Introduction Perceived ethnic discrimination from teachers is associated with poorer adolescent adjustment, yet the mechanisms underlying these associations and the extent to which responses vary across the intersection of multiple social identities remain unclear. Guide...

How Should We Communicate Research Findings to Teachers? No Difference in Teachers’ Intentions to Use Evidence Across 512 Versions of a Research Summary

Education research is increasingly generating evidence that can inform teachers’ practice. This raises the question: how should researchers communicate research to increase the likelihood of teachers putting the findings into practice? We conducted a vignette survey experiment in...

Short-term indoor fine particulate matter exposure impedes cognitive performance and autonomic nervous system in adults

Evidence suggests short-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution can impact health, yet its wider cognitive effects and underlying mechanisms are unknown. In this randomized single-blind crossover lab-based study, 90 working-age adults were exposed to two st...

The Stanmore Limb Reconstruction Score

Aims: The Stanmore Limb Reconstruction Score (SLRS) has been developed to capture the unique perspective of patients undergoing deformity correction. In this multiphase mixed method approach, face validity has previously been established. This study presents the next stage of val...

The use of virtual reality in hospices: A survey of clinical practice and staff perspectives

Background: Virtual reality creates immersive, computer-generated environments that can make you feel like you are there. Evidence suggests that virtual reality may help people with incurable illnesses by alleviating symptoms such as pain. Although the use of virtual reality hosp...

Interventions to Support Parents Whose Babies Cry Excessively: Systematic Review

CONTEXT: Parents report that around 10% to 20% of babies cry a lot without an apparent reason during early infancy. This "excessive" infant crying can lead to adverse outcomes, including parental depression, breastfeeding cessation, impaired parent-child relationships, and, in ex...

Initial treatment strategies and outcomes across haemodynamic thresholds and risk stratification in incident systemic sclerosis–associated pulmonary arterial hypertension: a EUSTAR analysis

OBJECTIVE: Real-world initial treatment strategies in SSc-PAH remain incompletely described. We aimed to characterise these strategies across haemodynamic thresholds and risk strata and evaluate outcome associations. METHODS: We analysed treatment-naïve SSc-PAH patients in EUSTAR...

Cosmological Constraints from Full-scale Clustering and Galaxy–Galaxy Lensing with DESI DR1

Abstract We present constraints on cosmic structure growth from the analysis of galaxy clustering and galaxy–galaxy lensing with galaxies from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Data Release 1. Our analysis includes four samples drawn from the Bright Galaxy Survey (B...

Imaging-based biological age estimation predicts competing mortality risk in lung cancer screening

Abstract Lung cancer screening (LCS) participants have a high competing risk of non-lung cancer related death, which limits screening benefit. We hypothesized that imaging-based biological age can identify individuals at higher risk of non-lung cancer mortality. Low dose computed...

Cultural Engagement and Hospital-Treated Mental Disorders in Older Adults

Importance Cultural engagement is associated longitudinally with better mental health and reduced depression incidence, but evidence has largely relied on self-reported symptoms and diagnoses, leaving uncertainty about clinically recorded disorders, and residual confounding remai...

How effective are interventions at enhancing preschool children's empathy? A meta-analytic review

Empathy, defined as sharing and understanding others’ emotional experiences, is key to the formation of social groups and plays an important role in children’s social development. While enhancing this skill in early education has been a focus in the field, whether trainings emplo...

Gene-rich fungus gnat germline-restricted chromosomes are largely transcriptionally quiescent

Germline-restricted chromosomes (GRCs) constitute a unique class of chromosomes confined to germ cells. Arising in multiple evolutionarily distant lineages, GRCs have been identified in three insect families (non-biting midges, gall midges, and fungus gnats), each within the orde...

Unlocking the potential of aquatic animal telemetry research to advance management and conservation: Barriers and a blueprint for Great Britain and Ireland

Aquatic animal telemetry research can provide important knowledge for how populations, anthropogenic pressures and, indeed, entire ecosystems are managed. However, the true scale, extent and impact in Britain and Ireland is poorly understood. We surveyed 53 researchers about past...

Frequency of plastic occurrence varies across phylogeny but not ecology in seabirds

Seabirds are especially vulnerable to ingesting plastic pollution. However, we have a limited understanding of which traits might increase their risk of plastic ingestion. Here, we use a dataset of seabird plastic occurrence records (93 281 birds from 240 species) to investigate...

A new megaraptoran dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation, UK, and its implications for theropod evolution and biogeography

Abstract Theropod dinosaur remains from the Barremian (Lower Cretaceous) Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, UK, are rare and often fragmentary. Here, we present a previously undescribed braincase from this formation that represents a new coelurosaurian, Invictibellatrix amber...