University College London

Development of a chemometric platform for mid-infrared fermentation monitoring

<title>Abstract</title> Industrial bioprocess development still depends heavily on off-line analytics such as HPLC, which, while accurate, are slow and limit real-time decision-making. Process Analytical Technologies (PAT) can overcome this barrier, with mid-infrared spectroscopy...

Beta-lactam antibiotics have immunomodulatory effects in vitro, including changes consistent with sepsis-induced immunosuppression

Abstract Introduction Sepsis is associated with immunosuppression, predisposing patients to secondary infections. Many treatments routinely used for infections have immunomodulatory effects, including antibiotics. We therefore assessed the immunomodulatory effects of beta-lactam...

Fullerene‐Mediated Iodine Immobilization at Buried Interfaces in Sn–Pb Perovskite Solar Cells

ABSTRACT Narrow‐bandgap perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are promising absorbers for tandem photovoltaics; however, their performance remains limited by interfacial recombination and instability, particularly Sn 2+ oxidation and halide‐related degradation. Although fullerene derivat...

Facilitating megacity electricity decarbonization via grid-interactive demand-side resource management

City power systems face intensified mismatches between generation and dynamic demand under rising zero-carbon energy penetration levels. Although demand-side resource management offers mismatch mitigation potential by regulating load patterns, its city-level capability remains un...

Comprehensive benchmarking of machine learning methods for risk prediction modelling from large-scale survival data: a UK Biobank study

Predictive modelling is vital to guide the prevention of incident disease (e.g., risk-based initiation of preventive pharmacotherapies). Whilst large-scale prospective cohort studies and a diverse toolkit of available machine learning (ML) algorithms have facilitated such surviva...

Collaborative optimization framework of battery charging/swapping stations for eVTOLs based on closed-loop supply chain and space-time network

Electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, by virtue of their advantages such as high efficiency, environmental friendliness, and low noise, are regarded as an effective means of alleviating urban traffic congestion. Although eVTOLs have policy support, industrial f...

4000-year-old painted plaque from Southeast Indonesia reveals Austronesian Painting Tradition preceded Neolithic pottery

The Austronesian dispersal is the largest such event in human history, with descendants of people from Taiwan colonizing islands from Rapa Nui to Madagascar. The extent to which this dispersal was facilitated by an economic package or a particular ideology is uncertain. The “Aust...

Defining ‘psychedelic’

Humphry Osmond coined the term ‘psychedelic’ in 1956, conjoining ‘psyche’ for ‘soul’ and ‘delic’ for ‘to manifest’ or ‘illuminate’. Soul-illumination is a compound noun that describes a psychological state or process. Osmond intended for it to be a taxonomic noun—naming, not just...

MultipathwayAggregation Drives Concentration-DependentAmyloid Polymorphism and Time-Dependent Morphological Evolution

Abstract Amyloid aggregation into polymorphic fibrils is central to many neurodegenerative and systemic diseases, yet the physical origins of fibril polymorphism and time-dependent morphological evolution remain unclear. Because mature fibril morphologies are separated by high en...

A Machine Learning Platform for Imputing Missing Critical Quality Attributes in Pharmaceutical Development

Quality control is fundamental to drug development, with critical quality attributes (CQAs) serving as key indicators of product performance. However, missing or incomplete CQA data remains a persistent challenge throughout pharmaceutical research and manufacturing. In this study...

Ethical compromise, valuing life, and Fechner's Law

Ethical compromise, valuing life, and Fechner's Law Authors: Nigel Harvey, Xiaozhou TanAffiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London (UCL)Principal Investigator: Prof. Nigel HarveyLicence: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)D...

The association between pubertal timing and diurnal cortisol activity in middle adolescence

The pubertal development stage is associated with mental health. One explanation is that the pubertal stage is linked to changes in hypothalamic‒pituitary‒adrenal (HPA) axis activity. However, no study has investigated the prospective association between pubertal timing and HPA a...

Ethical compromise, valuing life, and Fechner's Law

Ethical compromise, valuing life, and Fechner's Law Authors: Nigel Harvey, Xiaozhou TanAffiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London (UCL)Principal Investigator: Prof. Nigel HarveyLicence: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)D...

Impact of a multi-strain probiotic in real-world women with perimenopause symptoms: a single-arm, virtual pilot study

Perimenopause is characterised by fluctuating ovarian hormones and a heterogeneous, multisystem symptom profile that can substantially impair quality of life (QoL). Non-hormonal management options remain limited for those unable/unwilling to use hormone replacement therapy. Emerg...

Bidirectional associations between loneliness and physical multimorbidity and the mediating role of social inactivity

Physical multimorbidity and loneliness are increasingly recognised as public health concerns, but the nature of their potential relationships remains unclear. Here we report bidirectional associations between physical multimorbidity and loneliness in middle-aged and older adults...

Perspectives on Meditation-based Preparation for Psychedelic Experiences: Insights from Practitioners with Combined Meditation and Psychedelic Experience

Abstract Objectives Emerging research suggests that meditation may support more beneficial psychedelic experiences while reducing the likelihood of lasting negative effects, yet its specific preparatory benefits remain underexplored. This study aimed to investigate the perceived...

The impact of chemotherapy on frontal lobe executive functioning in adolescents and young adults diagnosed and treated for blood cancers: a systematic review

Abstract Background Cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI), often termed “chemobrain,” is a recognised effect of cancer therapy. However, most research has focused on older adults with solid tumours, leaving the neurocognitive consequences of chemotherapy in adolescents and y...

Pore morphological evolution in normally and overconsolidated natural clays under one-dimensional loading: deionised and saline pore fluid conditions

<title>Abstract</title> This study investigates how one-dimensional consolidation, swelling, and overconsolidation alter pore morphology in two natural clays of contrasting mineralogy, an illite-dominant Loess clay and an interstratified illite-smectite Lucera clay, tested under...

Categorical absorption of a non-isolated singularity

We study an example of a projective threefold with a non-isolated singularity and its derived category. The singular locus can be locally described as a line of surface nodes compounded with a threefold node at the origin. We construct a semiorthogonal decomposition where one com...

Delivering building demand flexibility for grid-interactive operation: from perception and cognition to decision, execution, and verification

As both buildings and power systems undergo rapid decarbonization, demand flexibility (DF) in buildings has emerged as a key enabler for renewable energy integration, grid reliability, energy resilience, and efficient and low carbon operation. By dynamically adjusting building en...