University of Oxford

The profinite rigidity of torsion-free lamplighter groups

Abstract We prove that the torsion-free lamplighter group $$\Gamma = \mathbb {Z}^n \wr \mathbb {Z}$$ Γ = Z n ≀ Z of any rank $$n \in \mathbb {N}$$ n ∈ N is profinitely rigid in the absolute sense: the finite quotients of $$\Gamma $$ Γ determine its isomorphism type uniquely among...

Ingroup bias is prevalent in user reports of hate and abuse online

Abstract The prevalence of online hate and abuse is a pressing global problem. While tackling such societal harms is a priority for research across the social sciences, it is a difficult task, in part, because of the magnitude of the problem. People's engagement with reporting me...

Approaches to sharing trial results with adult patients and the public: a qualitative interview and focus group study

<title>Abstract</title> Background Sharing trial results with participants is increasingly recognised as an ethical obligation that fosters trust, respect, and engagement. Yet in practice, results are rarely shared. Researchers often lack guidance on what information to include o...

PPAD-Membership for Problems With Exact Rational Solutions: A General Approach via Convex Optimization

Abstract. We introduce a general technique for proving membership of search problems with exact rational solutions in PPAD, one of the most well-known classes containing total search problems with polynomial-time verifiable solutions. In particular, we construct a “pseudogate,” c...

Evaluating the Uptake, Safety and Effectiveness of the Maternal RSV Vaccine (RSVpreF) Against Infant Bronchiolitis: Preliminary Real-World Evidence

BACKGROUND: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of infant hospitalization globally. On September 1, 2024, England introduced the bivalent RSVpreF vaccine for maternal immunization following trial evidence of safety and efficacy. However, real-world data on uptake...

Cost-Effectiveness of an Artificial Intelligence as a Medical Device (AIaMD) for Triaging Patients Presenting to Primary Care with Concerns that They Have a Skin Cancer: A Modelling Study

Health services are struggling to cope with the growing numbers of people coming with skin lesions they are worried could be cancer. Using artificial intelligence (AI) to assist in the triage process is one potential approach. Deep Ensemble for the Recognition of Melanoma (DERM)...

Mixed positive and negative feedback loops drive diverse single-cell gene expression dynamics

Abstract Genetic circuits with only a few components can generate complex gene regulatory dynamics. Here, we combine stochastic modelling and single-cell time-lapse microscopy to reveal the possible dynamics generated by a key gene circuit motif: the mixed positive/negative feedb...

Identifying phenotype-genotype-function coupling in 3D organoid imaging using Shape, Appearance and Motion Phenotype Observation Tool (SPOT)

Abstract Live cells in tissue are plastic, phenotypically dynamic, and modify their function in response to genetic and environmental perturbations. To unleash the power of live-cell imaging to identify phenotype-genotype-function coupling over time, we report the development of...

Imprecise Probabilistic Programming, Precisely: Credal Sets via Graded Monads, BDDs, and Semiring-Parametric Inference (Functional Pearl)

Imprecise probability generalizes standard probability theory by replacing a single distribution with a convex set of possible distributions. We show that this generalization requires no change to the standard BDD compilation and weighted model counting pipeline used by discrete...

The Revolutionary Organization of the Tudeh Party: Iran’s Maoists and the Global New Left

In 1964, a group of Iranian students in Europe, inspired by the proliferation of armed, anticolonial movements around the world, split from Iran’s Tudeh Party and formed the Revolutionary Organization of the Tudeh Party (ROTP). The ROTP promoted guerrilla warfare along Maoist lin...

Reducing the diagnostic and treatment gap for priority mental, neurological and substance misuse disorders in primary care in rural Kenya: Results of a stepped wedge cluster randomized trial from the EPINA study

ABSTRACTBackground: In resource-limited settings, care for mental, neurological and substance misuse (MNS) disorders has been integrated into primary healthcare facilities (PHC) by training primary health workers (PHW) on the use of the mental health Gap Action Program Interventi...

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...

LazyHMC: Hamiltonian Monte Carlo Simulation for Lazy, Infinite Dimensional Probabilistic Programs

Hamiltonian Monte Carlo (HMC) is a successful generic inference method in probabilistic programming, but in its ordinary formulation it needs gradients and finite-dimensional parameter spaces. In Haskell, lazy evaluation lets probabilistic programs express stochastic processes an...

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...

Design of Stainless Steel Homogeneous and Hybrid I-Sections Exhibiting Strong Flange Behavior

Abstract Stainless steel built-up I-profile are frequently designed with webs significantly more slender than their flanges and greater material strength in the flanges in case of hybrid sections. Given the fundamental load case of pure compression or bending, the compressed flan...

Virtual worlds and mental health: A scoping review

<title>Abstract</title> The constant increase in the use of virtual worlds in recent decades has raised concerns about their potential effects on users’ mental health. However, the great heterogeneity of the scientific literature on this topic makes it difficult to identify exist...

Challenges and barriers to musculoskeletal injury research in sub-Saharan Africa

Aims: Musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. However, research into MSK injuries is hampered by significant challenges and barriers, particularly in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). Our aim was to identify the most important...

Cell surface remodeling caused by the loss of the flippase subunit TMEM30A in immune cells

Plasma membrane lipid asymmetry is tightly regulated and fundamental to mammalian cell physiology. TMEM30A is the β-subunit of P4-ATPases, flippase enzymes that maintain strict phosphatidylserine (PS) asymmetry by pumping it from the outer to the cytosolic leaflet. Loss of TMEM30...

The fast destruction of methane by heterogeneous electrochemistry induced by martian dust activity: An experimental approach

Methane (CH 4 ) on Mars is of high scientific importance, particularly for its generation and destruction mechanisms. With an estimated photochemical lifetime of approximately 300 years, sporadic methane plumes observed on Mars by orbital, landed missions, and Earth-based telesco...

Enhancing iNKT cell immunotherapy through the integration of optimized CAR endodomains and iNKT engagers

Abstract iNKT cells are emerging as a highly promising immunotherapy platform for the treatment of cancer. To maximise the anti-cancer activity of CAR-iNKT against the blood cancer multiple myeloma we investigated optimal CAR designs and their combination with new iNKT-specific e...