University of Sheffield

Online Learning-Based Adaptive Hybrid Benders Decomposition for Risk-Averse Optimal Sizing

Optimal sizing problem (OSP) under uncertainty is often formulated as two-stage stochastic programming (2SP). However, this formulation typically introduces significant computational and RAM (memory) bottlenecks as the scenario size grows. Benders Decomposition (BD) is a popular...

DNA damage induces long range changes to duplex structure—a non-protein start to damage detection?

DNA-binding proteins must quickly locate specific sites on DNA to enable replication, repair, and transcription. While sequence-specific recognition is well understood, the physical basis of structure-specific recognition remains unclear, limiting our understanding of DNA damage...

Notch signalling governs human enteric nervous system progenitor dynamics

The enteric nervous system (ENS) is the main branch of the peripheral nervous system that innervates the gastrointestinal tract controlling vital functions. It arises during embryogenesis via migration, proliferation and differentiation of neural crest-derived ENS progenitors. Pe...

72 Seasons: The philosophical and psychosocial mechanics of Metallica’s lyrical universe

This article provides a conceptual theoretical review that disentangles the philosophy which has shaped Metallica’s lyrics in the post-Binge/Purge period, from 1996 to 2023. This period takes in Metallica’s sixth album Load (1996) ending with their eleventh album 72 Seasons (2023...

Domestic sensor-based monitoring for supporting independent-living older adults: A scoping review

Population ageing is accelerating globally, placing increasing pressure on local health and social care systems. Older people who remain living independently generally have better health outcomes and use fewer care resources. Moreover, many older people express a preference for l...

Elite welfare and the good fortune of just being there

Abstract This paper examines how senior executives at the UK’s largest publicly listed companies financially benefited from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), and seeks to explain this phenomenon with the concept of elite welfare . Using a difference-in-differences rese...

Why don't all birds lay early? Causes and consequences of breeding timing for a long‐lived migratory seabird

The relationship between earlier laying and higher breeding success is well-established in avian species. However, a wide distribution of breeding timings is often maintained within a population, and the causes and consequences of this variation require further exploration, parti...

The effects of spatial structure on a host-parasite model with horizontal and vertical transmission

Abstract Vertical transmission of an infectious disease from parent to offspring is a common transmission route in many systems. However, the majority of vertical transmission modelling has assumed a well-mixed population, and we do not know how the spatial structure present in m...

The association between collagenopathies and the risk of spontaneous preterm birth: A systematic review with selective meta‐analysis

INTRODUCTION: Spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) remains a leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Inherited collagenopathies, including Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) and Marfan syndrome (MFS), may predispose to sPTB through impaired connective tissue integrity; however,...

Reconfiguring repression: Violence against journalists in Indonesia under democratic backsliding (2014–2025)

Violence against journalists in Indonesia has been reconfigured as a broader system of repression under democratic backsliding. This article examines how repression adapts under such conditions by conceptualizing violence as authoritarian innovation. Repression is redistributed a...

Sex-dependent DNA methylation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) shows well-established sex differences in incidence, age at onset and progression, but their biological basis is unclear. We hypothesised that the DNA methylation changes associated with ALS differ between the sexes, which would point to sex-sp...

Understanding Weight Change in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Adults With Eating Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

ABSTRACT Objective To examine body mass index (BMI) change during and following cognitive behavioural therapy for eating disorders (CBT‐ED), separately for underweight and non‐underweight participants. Method Random‐effects meta‐analyses synthesised 55 studies. Pre‐to post‐treatm...

Honeybee comb geometry emerges from local redistribution of angular space by worker construction activity

Abstract Honeybee comb is unique among animal architectures in its strikingly regular hexagonal cells, yet how this geometry emerges remains debated. Do bees construct perfect hexagons from the outset, or does regularity arise through later adjustments? We examined comb-building...

Dual mechanisms give rise to biphasic stomatal opening in onion

Stomata are controllable micropores on the leaf surface that regulate gas exchange and water loss. Pore aperture adjustment is a mechanical process whereby changes in guard cell turgor drive changes in cell shape, resulting in stomatal opening or closure. Previous computational m...

Mapping the Evidence for Allied Health Interventions for Preterm Infants With Feeding Aversion: A Scoping Review

AIMS: To identify and map the evidence on allied health professional led interventions for preterm infants with feeding aversion, and to critically examine the literature to inform clinical practice and highlight research gaps. METHODS: A Joanna Briggs Institute scoping review wa...

The equivalence of quantum deletion and insertion errors on permutation-invariant codes

Abstract Quantum synchronisation errors are a class of errors that change the number of qubits in a quantum system. The classical error correction of synchronisation errors has been well-studied, including an insertion-deletion equivalence more than a half-century ago, but little...

Characterising the unequal supply of water in an intermittent water supply network in Lahan, Nepal

ABSTRACT Daily pressure traces used to calculate the median supply hours across the piped network. Intermittent water supply (IWS) affects over one billion people worldwide, resulting in unequal delivery of piped drinking water. Limited data from operational networks constrain ou...

Everyday crisis, everyday care: A feminist political economy from below

Abstract Engaging with International Political Economy scholarship on crisis, this article emphasises the need for a social reproduction approach that recognises the socially necessary labour that sustains life within conditions of everyday crisis. We set out a context-sensitive...

Activating relational welfare: insights from Supported Employment

Abstract In the face of ongoing welfare challenges, a wave of academic and policy thinking has advocated for recentring public policy around the principles and practices of relational welfare. The present paper argues that the potential of relational welfare can be further suppor...

Lithium chloride in vitro treatment shows potential to rescue the neuronal phenotype caused by WDFY3 haploinsufficiency

We provide a comprehensive phenotypic characterization of loss-of-function (LoF) variants in WDFY3 based on the largest cohort reported to date (n = 32). Our findings define a monogenic disorder marked by neuropsychiatric features (including autism and ADHD), mild to moderate neu...