University of Reading

An energetic perspective on the impact of the Atlantic Multidecadal Variability on the West African Monsoon

Abstract. This study explores mechanisms by which the Atlantic Multidecadal Variability (AMV) drives multidecadal changes in the West African Monsoon (WAM), with a focus on Sahel rainfall. We investigate this connection through an energetic perspective using atmosphere-ocean coup...

Does the selective bolding of characters within words improve reading performance in skilled adult readers? Evidence from eye movements

Abstract Reading is core to functioning in our daily lives. Therefore, it is not surprising that numerous tools have been developed to help maximize reading efficiency in both skilled and less skilled readers. In this registered report, we examined the potential of selective bold...

The Bile Acid–Diet–Microbiome Axis in Clostridioides difficile Infection

Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) remains a major cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea, with recurrence largely driven by disruption of the gut microbiota and impaired colonization resistance. Bile acids have emerged as key mediators in this process, as primary conjugat...

Antimicrobial resistance as a signature of soil restoration across a 143-year chronosequence

Abstract Restoring agriculturally degraded habitats to species-rich grasslands is a vital conservation objective. During restoration, how the soil resistome matures alongside microbial community composition and function remains unclear. Here, we tested two competing hypotheses: w...

Algorithmic HRM as a regime of control: surveillance, legitimacy and worker resistance

Purpose This paper develops a conceptual framework explaining how algorithmic human resource management (HRM) reshapes workplace control, authority, legitimacy and worker resistance. It examines how data-driven surveillance and automated decision-making affect worker autonomy, fr...

Citizen Science in Air Pollution Monitoring: Methodological Approaches, Effectiveness, and Integration with Health Research

Abstract Purpose of review This review critically examines the role of citizen science in air-pollution monitoring and its integration into environmental health research. It explores how participatory approaches, including low-cost sensors and community co-creation, can enhance s...

Trends in Heat Stress During Heat Waves Across Europe (1979–2023)

Abstract With heat waves becoming more frequent and intense under global warming, heat stress is a growing public health risk. We analyze heat stress trends (Simplified Wet Bulb Globe Temperature, sWBGT) during European heatwaves (1979–2023) using observations and reanalysis data...

Incidental vocabulary learning through reading in multilingual primary school Children: The Roles of reading Comprehension, contextual Diversity, and contextual informativeness

Incidental word learning through reading plays a central role in vocabulary development. Multilingual children, for whom English is an additional language, bring relevant language-learning experience to the task of learning new words through reading in English. However, it is not...

PyActiveStorage: Energy-Efficient Workflows for Exascale Data

As climate modeling enters the exascale era, data volumes are outstripping the capacity of traditional networks. The conventional approach of transferring petabytes from remote storage to local compute is increasingly non-viable due to high latency and the unsustainable energy co...

Politicians on board! does foreign ownership matter for corporate political activity?

Purpose The nexus between firms and political actors is increasingly complex, particularly for foreign-owned firms operating in host countries. While corporate political connections can provide local knowledge and legitimacy, potentially transforming foreign-owned firms from “out...

Recent globally synchronous seasonal warm events unprecedented since 850 CE

Spatially synchronous extreme warm events can amplify environmental and societal impacts by affecting multiple regions simultaneously. However, previous studies have largely focused on June–August (JJA) events during the instrumental period, limiting understanding of their season...

Democratic ideals and reality: Mackinder’s geopolitics in the twenty-first century

Sir Halford Mackinder (1861–1947), the largely forgotten British polymath, argued that democracy should look with suspicion on populist governments. He described this as ‘a wise self-knowledge’ and set out two essential functions states in ‘free countries’ had to perform: ‘to pre...

Optimal canopy light-use strategy shapes global greenness dynamics

“Greenness” is a key indicator of the functional state of vegetation. However, the physiological processes behind seasonal patterns in greenness are diverse and incompletely understood, hindering the predictability of climate-driven shifts in global foliage phenology. Optimality...

Effects of assimilating phytoplankton carbon in marine ecosystem modelling in NEMO4.0.4-MEDUSA2.0-PDAF2.0

Abstract. The state of the marine ecosystem can be estimated by a combination of numerical models and satellite observations through data assimilation (DA) methods. Satellite data representing phytoplankton chlorophyll are typically used in operational marine ecosystem prediction...

Assembling caring food infrastructures: grassroots foodwork in an incomplete welfare city

This paper conceptualizes grassroots foodwork as caring food infrastructure and examines how it is assembled and sustained through everyday practices of care in Stockholm, Sweden, amid welfare retrenchment and the Covid-19 pandemic. Although Sweden is often portrayed as resisting...

Developments in AI designed viruses demonstrate why such research must be done in the open

A recent breakthrough in generative biology is exciting but it raises important ethical and safety concerns, says Simon Clarke

Lung tumour secretome and extracellular vesicles: mechanisms, biomarkers, and therapeutic opportunities

Lung cancer progression is governed not only by tumour-intrinsic genetic alterations but also by dynamic communication between tumour cells and the surrounding microenvironment. An important component of this communication is the tumour secretome, comprising soluble factors and e...

Element-Specific DonorNumbers for Anions

Abstract Anion interactions with cations/molecules are crucial across chemistry and biology: in battery electrolytes, synthesis, atmospheric processes, and protein denaturation. Selecting the optimum anion represents an immense challenge, as anion interactions are diverse and com...

Relationship value-based antecedents of customer loyalty in B2B markets

Purpose This study aims to broaden knowledge on behavioural and attitudinal loyalty in business-to-business (B2B) markets. Design/methodology/approach Following a literature review and a qualitative study to identify key constructs, a conceptual framework was developed and tested...

Coppiced sweet chestnut in the construction of imperfect gridshells from asymptotic curves

In recent years, bending-active gridshells with asymptotic geometry have been successfully constructed at the architectural scale. These have typically used materials such as steel and machined timber, with thin rectangular profiles and predictable characteristics. This paper inv...