Vaccines have revolutionised the field of medicine, eradicating and controlling many diseases. Recent pandemic vaccine successes have highlighted the accelerated pace of vaccine development and deployment. Leveraging this momentum, attention has shifted to cancer vaccines and personalised cancer vaccines, aimed at targeting individual tumour-specific abnormalities. The UK, now regarded for its vaccine capabilities, is an ideal nation for pioneering cancer vaccine trials. This article convened experts to share insights and approaches to navigate the challenges of cancer vaccine development with personalised or precision cancer vaccines, as well as fixed vaccines. Emphasising partnership and proactive strategies, this article outlines the ambition to harness national and local system capabilities in the UK; to work in collaboration with potential pharmaceutic partners; and to seize the opportunity to deliver the pace for rapid advances in cancer vaccine technology.

A method of generating any number of score and correlation matrices with arbitrary population parameters is described. Either Z scores or stanines are sampled from a normal population to represent factor scores by an IBM 1620 program. These are converted to variates from a population with an a priori factor structure. The effectiveness of the method is illustrated from research data. Some further modifications and uses of the method are discussed.

A Bayes estimation procedure is introduced that allows the nature and strength of prior beliefs to be easily specified and modal posterior estimates to be obtained as easily as maximum likelihood estimates. The procedure is based on constructing posterior distributions that are formally identical to likelihoods, but are based on sampled data as well as artificial data reflecting prior information. Improvements in performance of modal Bayes procedures relative to maximum likelihood estimation are illustrated for Rasch-type models. Improvements range from modest to dramatic, depending on the model and the number of items being considered.

This paper provides a generalization of the Procrustes problem in which the errors are weighted from the right, or the left, or both. The solution is achieved by having the orthogonality constraint on the transformation be in agreement with the norm of the least squares criterion. This general principle is discussed and illustrated by the mathematics of the weighted orthogonal Procrustes problem.

Children are at increased risk of dehydration(1–3), which can adversely impact cognition and mood(4–6). Many children begin their school day dehydrated and fail to replenish fluids adequately throughout the day(7–11), however, these findings have not been confirmed using objective measures of hydration(12,13). This study aimed to confirm hydration status of primary school-aged children across the school day using objective hydration assessments and to examine if changes in hydration are associated with cognition and mood.

Thirty children (mean age 9.4±0.5 years old, stature 1.4±0.5m, body mass 36.5±4.2kg, and body mass index 18.9±1.7 kg/m2) were recruited from a local primary school. Food and fluid intake were tracked via nutritional analysis of photographs. Urine osmolality (Uosm), serum osmolality (Sosm), urine specific gravity (USG) and self-reported urine colour (Ucol) were assessed at first void (Uosm only) or the start (9:00) and end (16:00) of the school day. Children’s self-reported mood were obtained via Visual Analogue Scales(100mm) (9:00, 10:30, 13:30, 16:00). Children completed cognitive assessments using the Computerised Mental Performance Assessment System (15:3016:00).

Mean total water intake was 759.9±240.7 mL. Children consumed more fluid at mealtimes than from water bottle (Mean Difference (MD) 154.3mL, t(29) =-5.763, p<0.001). From the start to the end of the day, significant increases in Sosm (MD 3.3mOsm/kg, t(21)=4.011, p = 0.002), USG (MD 0.0066, t(29)= 8.514, p = 0.005) and Ucol (MD 1.2, t(26) =15.558, p = <0.001), indicated reduced hydration. The prevalence of dehydration (Sosm >290mOsm/kg USG >1.030) increased from the start (17%) to the end of school (40%). A series of ANOVAs from the start to the end of the day showed feelings of boredom, hunger, tiredness, and thirst increased, and focus, and happiness decreased (p’s <0.05). Hydration measures were significantly associated with long term memory (LTM) (changes in Sosm, r =0.437, p = 0.042) and working memory (WM) (changes in Sosm r =0.462, p = 0.031, and USG, r= 0.403, p = 0.033).

Children were less hydrated at the end of the school day suggesting inadequate fluid replacement during the school hours. Changes in hydration status across the school day were associated with subjective mood states. Furthermore, a decrease in hydration resulted in decreased performance in the memory tasks which could potentially hold implications on school performance. Children in this study had access to water throughout the day, however, most fluids were consumed at breakfast and lunch, suggesting interventions promoting sustained drinking throughout the day are required. For example, measures could be taken to educate parents and school staff on the importance of adequate hydration, and the need to remind children to drink throughout the day. For this to be effective, action needs to be taken across lesson time, meals, and break times.

For a member of Congress to be a successful lawmaker, they must work collaboratively with their colleagues. Previous work has found that interpersonal relationships among lawmakers are a key predictor of legislative collaboration—particularly among members from opposing parties. In the wake of the events of January 6, 2021, many Democratic lawmakers claimed that their relationships with some of their Republican colleagues were irretrievably broken and they would be unable to continue collaborating with members who voted against certifying electoral votes from the 2020 presidential election. Using data on original cosponsorship and legislative effectiveness from the 115th to 117th Congresses (2017–22) we find that Republican lawmakers who voted against the certification of electoral votes lost bipartisan collaborators and saw a drastic decrease in their legislative effectiveness in the 117th Congress.

Bio-Futures for Transplanetary Habitats (BFfTH) is a Special Interest Group within the Hub for Biotechnology in the Built Environment that aims to explore and enable interdisciplinary research on transplanetary habitats and habitats within extreme environments through an emphasis on the biosocial and biotechnological relations. BFfTH organized the online and onsite networking symposium BFfTH to examine how emerging biotechnologies, living materials, and more-than-human life can be implemented in habitat design and mission planning. The two-day symposium aimed to serve as a catalyst in establishing an international network and to support the development of novel methodologies to move beyond discipline-specific approaches. The symposium consisted of five sessions, including Mycelium for Mars and Novel Biotechnologies for Space Habitats. This opinion paper presents key outcomes and trends from these sessions, a moderated panel, and informal discussions. The identified research trends explored the use of biotechnology and biodesign to enhance safety, sustainability, habitability, reliability, crew efficiency, productivity, and comfort in extreme environments on Earth and off-world. Beyond design and engineering, the symposium also examined sociotechnical imaginaries, focusing on desired experiences and characteristics of life and technology in transplanetary futures. Some of the specific topics included innovative material-driven processes for transplanetary habitat design, socio-political and ethical implications, and technology transfer for sustainable living on Earth. The outcomes emphasize the necessity for advancing biosocial and biotechnological research from an interdisciplinary perspective in order to ethically and meaningfully enable transplanetary futures. Such a focus not only addresses future off-world challenges but also contributes to immediate ecological and architectural innovations, promoting a symbiotic relationship between space exploration and sustainability on Earth.

While clozapine has risks, relative risk of fatality is overestimated. The UK pharmacovigilance programme is efficient, but comparisons with other drugs can mislead because of reporting variations. Clozapine actually lowers mortality, partly by reducing schizophrenia-related suicides, but preventable deaths still occur. Clozapine should be used earlier and more widely, but there should be better monitoring and better management of toxicity.

Hybrid whole genome sequencing was used to investigate if nosocomial Verona integron-encoded metallo-β-lactamase (VIM) carbapenemase transmission occurred between two patients without epidemiological links or common pathogens. Challenges in genomic methodology and appropriate analytical depth for mobile carbapenemase outbreaks are described including how inappropriate choices can mislead results and impact infection control practices.