Cambridge University Research Outputs

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The mission of the University of Cambridge is to contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning, and research at the highest international levels of excellence. This collection contains the latest research outputs of the University's academic staff and students.

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    Design thinking and public sector innovation: The divergent effects of risk-taking, cognitive empathy and emotional empathy on individual performance
    (Elsevier BV, 2023) Vassallo, JP; Banerjee, S; Zaman, H; Prabhu, JC; Prabhu, Jaideep [0000-0002-8919-9567]
    Traits that predict whether an employee will generate promising new ideas do not necessarily predict that they will also implement those ideas. This is especially relevant within the public sector, which is typically more risk averse than the private sector, and where barriers to innovation include staff resistance, rigid organizational structures, and a lack of shared innovation goals. To shed light on why some public sector employees are better intrapreneurs than others, we examine the role of risk-taking, emotional empathy, and cognitive empathy on the likelihood of innovation implementation. Using a sample of public sector employees who attended a prominent design thinking bootcamp run by the Bangladeshi Prime Minister’s Office, results indicate that individuals were more likely to implement their innovative ideas if they have higher cognitive empathy and risk-taking propensity, but lower emotional empathy. We find evidence for the ‘empathy divergence thesis’ within a public sector setting, extending growing evidence from neuroscience and psychology that cognitive and emotional empathy are distinct processes with divergent effects on behavior. In sum, we provide a nuanced understanding of the overall effect of three important individual level traits on the likelihood of innovation implementation among public sector employees.
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    Sustainable porous-insulation concrete (SPIC) material: recycling aggregates from mine solid waste, white waste and construction waste
    (Elsevier BV, 2023) Yu, Haoxuan; Zahidi, Izni; Liang, Dongfang; Liang, Dongfang [0000-0001-5639-7375]
    This study developed a sustainable concrete material called Sustainable Porous-Insulation Concrete (SPIC), using mine solid waste (tailings), construction waste (waste perlite particles), and white waste (EPS granules) as aggregates. Through thermal conductivity and compression strength experiments, micro-structure analysis, and toxic leaching experiments, it was found that SPIC has both excellent thermal insulation and good strength, making it a cost-effective and eco-friendly material. Potential applications of SPIC include thermal (acoustic) walls in buildings, insulated road foun-dations in permafrost areas, and backfill mining. Noteworthy, in the discussion section, we addressed the potential en-vironmental impact of mine solid waste and highlighted the importance of its reuse. To facilitate the reuse of mine solid waste, we proposed a classification framework for mine solid waste based on the United Nations Framework Classifica-tion (UNFC). This framework provides a standardized approach for classifying mine solid waste based on its potential for reuse, which can help to promote sustainable and responsible resource management in the mining industry.
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    Multilevel simulation of hard-sphere mixtures.
    (AIP Publishing, 2022-09-28) Rohrbach, Paul B; Kobayashi, Hideki; Scheichl, Robert; Wilding, Nigel B; Jack, Robert L; Rohrbach, Paul B [0000-0001-6240-6872]; Scheichl, Robert [0000-0001-8493-4393]; Wilding, Nigel B [0000-0003-1385-8674]; Jack, Robert L [0000-0003-0086-4573]
    We present a multilevel Monte Carlo simulation method for analyzing multi-scale physical systems via a hierarchy of coarse-grained representations, to obtain numerically exact results, at the most detailed level. We apply the method to a mixture of size-asymmetric hard spheres, in the grand canonical ensemble. A three-level version of the method is compared with a previously studied two-level version. The extra level interpolates between the full mixture and a coarse-grained description where only the large particles are present-this is achieved by restricting the small particles to regions close to the large ones. The three-level method improves the performance of the estimator, at fixed computational cost. We analyze the asymptotic variance of the estimator and discuss the mechanisms for the improved performance.
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    Damage, dirt and change over time: documenting conditions at the University of Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
    (Informa UK Limited, 2023) Fuentes, A; Fuentes, A [0000-0002-9002-6276]
    How does one ethically care for a global collection shaped and maintained within a colonial context? How do we address institutional responsibilities in a way that is transparent, rigorous and reparative? This article discusses on-going conservation research at the University of Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology as part of a five-year storage relocation project. Moving beyond key vocabularies and abstract critique, this work examines the potential role of conservation in documenting and interpreting evidence for damage, displacement and erasure related to methods of colonial knowledge production and historic museum practice. The work includes a consideration of the language used to distinguish modifications resulting from museum practice such as the application of pesticides; monitoring change over time; the expectation of object longevity; and the potential consequences of disrupted traditions of maintenance and knowledge exchange. The article concludes by reflecting on the ways in which technical vocabularies, documentation and decision-making processes can shape and even improve the ways in which these collections are studied, valued and utilised by a diversity of stakeholders.
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    Maternal Resistance to Thyroid Hormone ß and pregnancy outcomes (DOI: dgad350) in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism
    (Endocrine Society, ) Chatterjee, Vengalil; Chatterjee, Krishna [0000-0002-2654-8854]
    Resistance to thyroid hormone (RTH), a dominantly-inherited disorder, typically due to heterozygous mutations (over 230 different mutations described hitherto) in the thyroid hormone receptor (TR) which mediates negative feedback by thyroid hormones (TH) within the hypothalamo pituitary-thyroid axis, is characterised by raised circulating TH (free T4 and free T3) and non suppressed TSH. The clinical phenotype of RTH is variable, encompassing both hyperthyroid (e.g. failure to thrive in infancy; anxiety, tachycardia, low body weight in adults) and hypothyroid (e.g.dyslipidemia, steatosis) features, attributable to the actions of elevated TH on either hormone sensitive, TR-expressing tissues or hormone-resistant, TR-expressing organs respectively (1). Knowledge that conventional maternal hyperthyroidism (e.g. due to Graves’ disease) has deleterious consequences in pregnancy prompts consideration of what the outcomes of pregnancies in which a hyperthyroxinemic mother with RTH carries a fetus of either concordant (TR mutant), or discordant (wild type or normal TR) genotype, might be.
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    Real-Time Onboard Object Detection for Augmented Reality: Enhancing Head-Mounted Display with YOLOv8
    Łysakowski, Mikołaj; Żywanowski, Kamil; Banaszczyk, Adam; Nowicki, Michał R; Skrzypczyński, Piotr; Tadeja, Slawomir; Tadeja, Slawomir [0000-0003-0455-4062]
    This paper introduces a software architecture for real-time object detection using machine learning (ML) in an augmented reality (AR) environment. Our approach uses the recent state-of-the-art YOLOv8 network that runs onboard on the Microsoft HoloLens 2 head-mounted display (HMD). The primary motivation behind this research is to enable the application of advanced ML models for enhanced perception and situational awareness with a wearable, hands-free AR platform. We show the image processing pipeline for the YOLOv8 model and the techniques used to make it real-time on the resource-limited edge computing platform of the headset. The experimental results demonstrate that our solution achieves real-time processing without needing offloading tasks to the cloud or any other external servers while retaining satisfactory accuracy regarding the usual mAP metric and measured qualitative performance.
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    Residual plots for linear regression models with censored outcome data: A refined method for visualizing residual uncertainty
    (Taylor and Francis, 2017) Law, M; Jackson, D; Law, Martin [0000-0001-9594-348X]
    Residual plots are a standard tool for assessing model fit. When some outcome data are censored, standard residual plots become less appropriate. Here, we develop a new procedure for producing residual plots for linear regression models where some or all of the outcome data are censored. We implement two approaches for incorporating parameter uncertainty. We illustrate our methodology by examining the model fit for an analysis of bacterial load data from a trial for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Simulated datasets show that the method can be used when the outcome data consist of a variety of types of censoring.
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    Reduction in undiagnosed HIV infection in the European Union/European Economic Area, 2012 to 2016.
    (European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC), 2017-11) van Sighem, Ard; Pharris, Anastasia; Quinten, Chantal; Noori, Teymur; Amato-Gauci, Andrew J; ECDC HIV/AIDS Surveillance and Dublin Declaration Monitoring Networks
    It is well-documented that early HIV diagnosis and linkage to care reduces morbidity and mortality as well as HIV transmission. We estimated the median time from HIV infection to diagnosis in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) at 2.9 years in 2016, with regional variation. Despite evidence of a decline in the number of people living with undiagnosed HIV in the EU/EEA, many remain undiagnosed, including 33% with more advanced HIV infection (CD4 < 350 cells/mm3).
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    Substantial Heterogeneity in Progress Toward Reaching the 90-90-90 HIV Target in the WHO European Region.
    (Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, 2018-09-01) Porter, Kholoud; Gourlay, Annabelle; Attawell, Kathy; Hales, David; Supervie, Virginie; Touloumi, Giota; Rosinska, Magda; Vourli, Georgia; van Sighem, Ard; Pharris, Anastasia; Noori, Teymur; ECDC Dublin Declaration Monitoring Network
    BACKGROUND: Achieving the UNAIDS 90-90-90 target by 2020 is expected to end the HIV epidemic by 2030. We report on progress in the WHO European Region in meeting this target. METHODS: The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) sent questionnaires to 55 countries in 2016. We report estimates for 4 stages of the continuum of HIV care (living with HIV, diagnosed, treated, and virally suppressed), corresponding to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) target and explore differences by subregion and challenges with reporting data. FINDINGS: Forty-four countries provided data for ≥1 stage, and 29 for all 4 stages. Estimated HIV prevalence was 0.19% (range 0.02%-0.84%, n = 37 countries providing stage 1 data). The proportion diagnosed of people living with HIV ranged from 38% to 98% (n = 37 reporting number of people living with HIV and diagnosed). The proportion on ART of those diagnosed ranged from 27% to 96% (n = 40 reporting numbers diagnosed and treated), and viral suppression rates ranged from 32% to 97% (n = 31 providing numbers treated and virally suppressed). The overall continuum of care estimate for 29 countries with complete data was 81-84-88, which differed by subregion: 84-88-90, 84-69-62, and 57-45-57 for the western, central, and eastern subregions, respectively. Challenges in reporting data included absence of a single data source for all stages, shortage of expertise, and lack of financial and human resources. CONCLUSIONS: There is an urgent need to strengthen HIV testing programs throughout Europe, particularly in the eastern subregion, and to remove constraints hampering access to testing and care. Recent changes to treatment guidelines should help reduce the numbers diagnosed not treated.
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    HIV in Europe and Central Asia: progress in 2018 towards meeting the UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets.
    (European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC), 2018-11) Brown, Alison E; Hayes, Rosalie; Noori, Teymur; Azad, Yusef; Amato-Gauci, Andrew J; Pharris, Anastasia; Delpech, Valerie C; ECDC Dublin Declaration Monitoring Network
    In 2018, 52 of 55 European and Central Asian countries reported data against the UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets. Overall, 80% of people living with HIV (PLHIV) were diagnosed, of whom 64% received treatment and 86% treated were virally suppressed. Subregional outcomes varied: West (87%-91%-93%), Centre (83%-73%-75%) and East (76%-46%-78%). Overall, 43% of all PLHIV were virally suppressed; intensive efforts are needed to meet the 2020 target of 73%.
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    Predatory trumpetfish conceal themselves from their prey by swimming alongside other fish
    (Elsevier, ) Matchette, Samuel; Drerup, Christian; Keesje Davison, Isla; Simpson, Stephen; Radford, Andrew; Herbert-Read, James; Matchette, Samuel [0000-0003-4503-8275]
    Many animals use camouflage to reduce their detectability by others, yet even the most inconspicuous objects become detectable against the background when moving. One way to reduce detection while moving would be to ‘hide’ behind the movements of objects or other animals. Here, we demonstrate experimentally that a common marine predator, the trumpetfish (Aulostomus maculatus), can conceal its approach from its prey by performing a behaviour known as ‘shadowing’—swimming closely next to another, larger and non-predatory fish. We therefore demonstrate how predators can actively use another animal as a form of concealment to reduce detection by their prey.
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    Estimating the 'PrEP Gap': how implementation and access to PrEP differ between countries in Europe and Central Asia in 2019.
    (European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC), 2019-10) Hayes, Rosalie; Schmidt, Axel J; Pharris, Anastasia; Azad, Yusef; Brown, Alison E; Weatherburn, Peter; Hickson, Ford; Delpech, Valerie; Noori, Teymur; ECDC Dublin Declaration Monitoring Network
    In 2019, only 14 European and Central Asian countries provided reimbursed HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Using EMIS-2017 data, we present the difference between self-reported use and expressed need for PrEP in individual countries and the European Union (EU). We estimate that 500,000 men who have sex with men in the EU cannot access PrEP, although they would be very likely to use it. PrEP's potential to eliminate HIV is currently unrealised by national healthcare systems.
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    Spin texture as a bulk indicator of fragile topology
    (American Physical Society, ) Slager, Robert-Jan; Slager, Robert-Jan [0000-0001-9055-5218]
    We study the relationship between momentum-space spin textures \textcolor{red}{projected onto the occupied bands} and Wilson loop winding, proving a map between band topology of and spin topology in certain restricted symmetry settings relevant to fragile topology. Our results suggest that, in specific scenarios, the spin gap may act as a smoking gun bulk indicator for fragile topology.
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    Fabrication of high-quality joints between Gd-Ba-Cu-O bulk superconductors
    (IOP Publishing, ) Tutt, Niall; Shi, Yunhua; Namburi, Devendra; Dennis, Antony; Druiff, Harry; Durrell, John; Congreve, Jasmin; Congreve, Jasmin [0000-0002-2025-2155]
    This work reports a technique for fabricating superconducting joints between GdBCO-Ag bulk superconductors, using YBCO-Ag as an intermediate joining material. The ability to provide reliable joints between multiple bulk superconductors overcomes many of the challenges of fabricating large superconductors or machining hard and brittle bulk superconductors into practical shapes. We report on nine single grains of GdBCO-Ag which have been joined with a YBCO-Ag intermediate. Samples were cut and joined in a variety of c-plane orientations to refine and understand the effect this had on the superconducting properties of jointed samples. The trapped field of pre-jointed and jointed bulk superconductors were compared; the maximum trapped field achieved was 59% of the pre-jointed sample. Further analysis showed that the critical temperature and critical current of the samples were degraded by the jointing process. Microstructural and chemical analysis showed that the jointing process facilitated diffusion of silver towards the joint and in some cases large pores were formed at the joint interface. These factors consequently inhibited current flow across the joint and thus reduced the maximum trapped field achievable when compared to the original unjointed sample.
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    The ba-construction in learner Chinese: a corpus analysis汉语“把”字句的中介语分析
    (Science Press, ) Zhao, Xia; Xiliang, Cui
    It has been argued that the ba-construction is a challenging structure for non-native learners. Despite the rich literature on its linguistic analyses and its learning and teaching, there have been few corpus studies on the construction. The current study examines and compares the use of the ba-construction in the QQK Corpus of learners and the BCC Corpus of native speakers. Interestingly, we found that the ba-construction appeared more frequently in the learner corpus than in the native speakers’ corpus. Learners’ avoidance of the ba-construction as claimed in the literature seemed to be restricted to certain structures. It has been found that learners of different native languages produced incorrect ba-constructions at different rates. We argue that the language distance between learners’ native language and Chinese might have played a role. In comparison with native speakers, learners also exhibited different preferences in the choice of NP types and VP types. We conclude by exemplifying a range of error types in the use of the ba-construction found in the QQK corpus.
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    Microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) for soil strengthening: A comprehensive review
    (Elsevier BV, 2023-03) Fu, Tianzheng; Saracho, Alexandra Clarà; Haigh, Stuart Kenneth; Haigh, Stuart [0000-0003-3782-0099]
    Geotechnical research has been yearning for revolutionary innovations that could bring breakthroughs to conventional practices, especially at a time when energy efficiency and environmental sustainability are of unprecedented importance in the field. Recently, exciting opportunities emerged utilising microorganisms, the ubiquitous soil dwellers, to provide solutions to many geotechnical problems, prompting the development of the new, multidisciplinary subject of biogeotechnics. Research interest has been centred on the use of microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) to improve the engineering properties of soils. The present work aims to comprehensively review the progress of more than a decade of research on the application of MICP in soil strengthening. Through elucidation of underlying mechanisms, compilation and interpretation of experimental findings, and in-depth discussion on pivotal aspects, with reference made to key published studies, a holistic picture of the state of the art of MICP-based soil strengthening is drawn. Current knowledge gaps are identified, and suggestions for future research are given, along with the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead of practically implementing this technique in real-world geotechnical applications.
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    Good growth, bad growth: Market reaction to capital raising for REIT expansion
    (Elsevier BV, 2023-03) Mansley, N; Wang, Z; Weng, X; Zhang, W
    When a firm issues security to finance its growth, how does the market react and do investors differentiate between good and bad growth? By manually reading the intended use of proceeds of each security offering of U.S. REITs during 2000-2020, we classify whether the proceeds are used for expansionary or other purposes and analyze whether security offerings that are used to finance sub-optimal growth matter for shareholders’ wealth. Adopting an event study method, we find that the expansionary use of proceeds does not affect shareholders’ wealth following a debt offering announcement. However, when we distinguish good growth from bad growth, we find that debt financing used for good growth is associated with an increase in shareholders’ wealth (+1.734% abnormal return in the 5-day event window) and debt financing used for bad growth is associated with a decrease in shareholders’ wealth (-0.563% abnormal return in the 5-day event window). For equity offering announcements, on average, neither the expansionary use of proceeds nor the nature of growth significantly affects shareholder wealth.
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    Genomic Shift in Population Dynamics of mcr-1-positive Escherichia coli in Human Carriage.
    (Elsevier BV, 2022-12) Shen, Yingbo; Zhang, Rong; Shao, Dongyan; Yang, Lu; Lu, Jiayue; Liu, Congcong; Wang, Xueyang; Jiang, Junyao; Wang, Boxuan; Wu, Congming; Parkhill, Julian; Wang, Yang; Walsh, Timothy R; Gao, George F; Shen, Zhangqi; Parkhill, Julian [0000-0002-7069-5958]
    Emergence of the colistin resistance gene, mcr-1, has attracted worldwide attention. Despite the prevalence of mcr-1-positive Escherichia coli (MCRPEC) strains in human carriage showing a significant decrease between 2016 and 2019, genetic differences in MCRPEC strains remain largely unknown. We therefore conducted a comparative genomic study on MCRPEC strains from fecal samples of healthy human subjects in 2016 and 2019. We identified three major differences in MCRPEC strains between these two time points. First, the insertion sequence ISApl1 was often deleted and the percentage of mcr-1-carrying IncI2 plasmids was increased in MCRPEC strains in 2019. Second, the antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), aac(3)-IVa and blaCTX-M-1, emerged and coexisted with mcr-1 in 2019. Third, MCRPEC strains in 2019 contained more virulence genes, resulting in an increased proportion of extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) strains (36.1%) in MCRPEC strains in 2019 compared to that in 2016 (10.5%), implying that these strains could occupy intestinal ecological niches by competing with other commensal bacteria. Our results suggest that despite the significant reduction in the prevalence of MCRPEC strains in humans from 2016 to 2019, MCRPEC exhibits increased resistance to other clinically important ARGs and contains more virulence genes, which may pose a potential public health threat.
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    Hole-limited electrochemical doping in conjugated polymers
    (Nature Research, ) Malliaras, Georgios; Malliaras, George [0000-0002-4582-8501]
    Simultaneous transport and coupling of ionic and electronic charges is fundamental to electrochemical devices used in energy storage and conversion, neuromorphic computing, and bioelectronics. While the mixed conductors enabling these technologies are widely used, the dynamic relationship between ionic and electronic transport is generally poorly understood, hindering the rational design of new materials. In semiconducting electrodes, electrochemical doping is assumed to be limited by motion of ions due to their large mass compared to electrons/holes. Here, we show that this basic assumption does not hold for conjugated polymer electrodes. Using operando optical microscopy, we reveal that electrochemical doping speeds in a state-of-the-art polythiophene can be limited by poor hole transport at low doping levels, leading to substantially slower switching speeds than expected. We show that the timescale of hole-limited doping can be controlled by the degree of microstructural heterogeneity, enabling the design of conjugated polymers with improved electrochemical performance.