University of St Andrews

About: University of St Andrews is a education organization based out in St Andrews, Fife, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Laser. The organization has 16260 authors who have published 43364 publications receiving 1636072 citations. The organization is also known as: St Andrews University & University of St. Andrews.

Tinbergen's four questions: an appreciation and an update

Abstract: This year is the 50th anniversary of Tinbergen’s (1963) article ‘On aims and methods of ethology’, where he first outlined the four ‘major problems of biology’. The classification of the four problems, or questions, is one of Tinbergen’s most enduring legacies, and it remains as valuable today as 50 years ago in highlighting the value of a comprehensive, multifaceted understanding of a characteristic, with answers to each question providing complementary insights. Nonetheless, much has changed in the intervening years, and new data call for a more nuanced application of Tinbergen’s framework. The anniversary would seem a suitable opportunity to reflect on the four questions and evaluate the scientific work that they encourage. Origins of Tinbergen’s questions

New antituberculosis drugs, regimens, and adjunct therapies: needs, advances, and future prospects

Abstract: About 1·3 million people died of tuberculosis in 2012, despite availability of effective drug treatment. Barriers to improvements in outcomes include long treatment duration (resulting in poor patient adherence and loss of patients to follow-up), complex regimens that involve expensive and toxic drugs, toxic effects when given with antiretroviral therapy, and multidrug resistance. After 50 years of no antituberculosis drug development, a promising pipeline is emerging through the repurposing of old drugs, re-engineering of existing antibacterial compounds, and discovery of new compounds. A range of novel antituberculosis drugs are in preclinical development, several phase 2 and 3 trials are underway, and use of adjunct therapies is being explored for drug-sensitive and drug-resistant tuberculosis. Historical advances include approval of two new drugs, delamanid and bedaquiline. Combinations of new and existing drugs are being assessed to shorten the duration of therapy and to treat multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. There has also been progress in development of new antituberculosis drugs that are active against dormant or persister populations of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In this Review, we discuss recent advances in antituberculosis drug discovery and development, clinical trial designs, laboratory methods, and adjunct host-directed therapies, and we provide an update of phase 3 trials of various fluoroquinolones (RIFAQUIN, NIRT, OFLOTUB, and REMoxTB). We also emphasise the need to engage the community in design, implementation, and uptake of research, to increase international cooperation between drug developers and health-care providers adopting new regimens.

Silicate cathodes for lithium batteries: alternatives to phosphates?

Abstract: Polyoxyanion compounds, particularly the olivine-phosphate LiFePO4, are receiving considerable attention as alternative cathodes for rechargeable lithium batteries. More recently, an entirely new class of polyoxyanion cathodes based on the orthosilicates, Li2MSiO4 (where M = Mn, Fe, and Co), has been attracting growing interest. In the case of Li2FeSiO4, iron and silicon are among the most abundant and lowest cost elements, and hence offer the tantalising prospect of preparing cheap and safe cathodes from rust and sand! This Highlight presents an overview of recent developments and future challenges of silicate cathode materials focusing on their structural polymorphs, electrochemical behaviour and nanomaterials chemistry.