Search

As the threat of antibiotic resistance increases, it is now more important than ever to focus on the development of new strategies to combat pathogenic bacteria. Since the cell membrane is the gateway to a bacterial cell, it is crucial that interactions occurring here are fully understood. This thesis focuses on three areas of research which, when brought together, could allow us to monitor these membrane systems at an unprecedented level of precision. The first is the development of the supported lipid bilayer model that represents bacterial cell membranes in an *in vitro* setting. These models have existed for some years, but recently a breakthrough has been achieved where supported lipid bilayers can now be created which contain naturally occurring components of cell membranes, thus making them more biologically relevant. The second area is high resolution microscopy techniques which can image these bilayer systems at an unprecedented level of resolution, thus shedding new light on the interactions occurring here. The third focus is the emerging field of bioelectronics. Bioelectronics exists at the junction of biology, chemistry and materials science; it aims to combine advances in these research disciplines in order to integrate biological systems with electronics and therefore monitor biological processes electrically. By combining bioelectronics with supported lipid bilayer models, the aim is to create a quantitative, rapid and label-free readout for biological processes occurring in the membrane. The thesis begins by using the simplest types of supported lipid bilayer models to show how a combination of microscopy and bioelectronic techniques are used to measure these systems. A membrane disrupting antibiotic is used for proof-of-concept studies to show how bioelectronics can monitor these disruption effects. A membrane protein transporter is then incorporated into these bilayer systems. Microscopy and bioelectronic techniques are combined with biochemical assays to provide a multiparametric picture of protein functioning in various conditions, for instance in the presence of an inhibitor compound, therefore showing the platform's application in antimicrobial development. The complexity of the bilayer models is then increased substantially, using vesicles derived from bacterial cells to create bilayers which contain naturally occurring components of the cell membrane. The strength of the cutting-edge microscopy techniques is displayed here, imaging interactions occurring at the surface of these membranes at a single molecule level of resolution. These complex bilayer systems are also demonstrated to act as a screening platform for bacteriophage interactions - viruses that specifically interact bacteria and therefore have long been touted as an alternative to conventional antimicrobial strategies. It is hoped that the platform developed here may help in identifying bacteriophage against pathogenic bacteria of interest. Finally, the versatility of supported lipid bilayers is explored using vesicles derived from a wider range of bacteria. This shows that the general monitoring platform developed in this thesis can be applied to a variety of bacterial systems. In conclusion, the work presented here focuses on the development of bilayer models that faithfully represent bacterial membranes, and crucially the monitoring of bilayer functions using a combination of bioelectronic readouts and high-resolution microscopic imaging.

The field of robotics has made autonomous vehicles a reality. Their wide-scale deployment is expected to revolutionize transportation as we know it by improving traffic efficiency, reducing the number of road accidents, and lowering transportation-related costs. Moreover, it will provide social groups that are currently unable to drive independently with the opportunity to experience the benefits of personal transportation. This work focuses on vehicle control at simple junctions in urban settings, challenging the limits of the optimal control technique of mixed-integer model predictive control. The challenging factor is the tendency for an exponentially growing number of potential discrete combinatorial choices to be considered as the number of discrete decisions (degree of freedom) in a problem increases. This imposes practical limitations on the number of vehicles, the length and resolution of future predictions, and the potential control configurations. Vehicle junction crossing orders are incorporated into the problem, in order to find the optimal crossing order with respect to vehicle dynamics, constraints, and relative priorities. Formulations are shown for merging at Y junctions, crossing at cross junctions, and box junctions to remove deadlock situations. Control policies are shown starting with globally optimal model predictive control, preserving safe vehicle interactions with intuitive, simple time-headway safety constraints providing a recursive feasible control technique. For comparison, heuristic first-come-first-served and soft pre-merging policies are also developed. Finally, simplifications of the mixed-integer formulations are shown for cross junctions to increase computational performance by exploiting the structure of the problem. The framework is further improved for future applications through added binary constraints and decentralised modification.

This thesis examines how the Kurdish media communicate political issues in relation to corruption, reform, government performance, and citizens' trust. In particular it investigates how young people understand and respond to political issues across the media and how their social and political backgrounds affect their evaluation of the government’s performance and the role of elections in the political process. This investigation is combined with how media professionals view editorial policy of news coverage of political issues and freedom to access the public sector. This thesis employs a combination of methods: content and framing analysis to examine five media platforms; focus groups, interviews and semi-structured interviews to elicit the views of young people and media editors; a thematic analysis is employed to assess the data gathered from both young people and media editors. Overall, the findings indicated that both the ruling party’s media and the opposition media, particularly the television channels, focus on using magnifying frames and localising frames in their coverage of the political issues with varying degrees. Each of them reflects the same reality differently which in turn leads to the viewers and readers become divided into two categories. This diversity of framing news coverage is due to the media discourse of the ruling party and opposition media and the political background of the young people as well. This research has revealed the need, especially from young people, for the establishment of a national media that strike a balance between the opposition and ruling parties and offer coverage of political issues without the direct influence of political parties.

Adolescents with T1D are more vulnerable to developing depressive symptoms than their peers and the presence of depressive symptoms can have a negative influence on the self-management of T1D. It is therefore important to gain an understanding of the processes that underlie depressive symptoms in adolescents with T1D and also to examine the relationship between depressive symptoms and metabolic control. A systematic literature review is presented that synthesized and evaluated evidence on the longitudinal relationship between depressive symptoms and metabolic control in adolescents with Type 1 diabetes. The main focus was on issues of directionality within this relationship over time and identifying factors that may influence identified longitudinal associations. An empirical paper that investigated the role of cognitions proposed by Beck’s cognitive theory of depression (1967) and Bandura’s social cognitive theory (1997) in depressive symptoms in adolescents with T1D is also presented. Further research exploring depressive symptoms in adolescents with T1D is required.

The modular polyketide synthase responsible for biosynthesis of the antibiotic mupirocin occupies 75 kb of Pseudomonas fluorescens NCIMB 10586, while a hybrid of PKS/NRPS is responsible for biosynthesis of the antibiotic thiomarinol located on a 97 kb plasmid pTML1 in Pseudoalteromonas spp SANK 73390. Biosynthesis of the acyl side chains in mupirocin and thiomarinol are thought to be either through esterification of the fully synthesised fatty acid (C\(_9\) or C\(_8\)) or through extension of the PK derived ester starter unit which is predicted to be carried out on MmpB and TmpB. mupU/O/V/C/F and macpE are proposed to be sufficient for the conversion of pseudomonic acid B to pseudomonic acid A. Mupirocin is regulated via quorum sensing, while regulation of thiomarinol was not identified. Production of thiomarinol was determined to occur after 8 hours of growth, while acidic conditions and use of acetone with ethyl acetate improved the extraction. TmlU, the thiomarinol amide ligase, did not complement a mupU mutant in mupirocin, and was found to block the biosynthesis of 9-hydroxynonanoic acid, causing truncation of 9-HN. This suggests that MupU, prevents MmpB from being an iterative PKS. KS-B2/ACP-B2 was shown to be involved in the removal of C8-OH from thiomarinol. Genetically manipulated mupU increased the production of mupirocin to 3 to 4 fold without abolishing PA-B production. Fused mupU-macpE complemented the NCIMB10586ΔmupUΔmacpE double mutant. However, insertion of this fusion into MmpB blocked the biosynthesis of mupirocin, while insertion after MmpA did not changed the pathway. Attempts to mobilise pTML1 revealed that a hybrid plasmid of RK2-R6K γ-ori was integrated into pTML1 but recovery of this cointegrate has not yet been recovered in E. coli.

The American University in Cairo (AUC) considers critical thinking (CT) essential for academic success, global employability, and effective citizenship. Nevertheless, CT remains a highly contested notion, with insufficient evidence that universities succeed in developing it. This study explores how CT develops in practice for diverse AUC students. After exploring different understandings of CT, I synthesize a working definition, then draw on interview evidence from students’ perceptions of AUC experiences that contributed to their CT, illuminated further by faculty and administrator interviews, and relevant AUC documentation and research. Students’ incoming CT levels differed according to high school experience, parental attitudes, and interaction with diverse others. Key factors fostering CT were found to be: liberal arts education, rhetoric and composition courses, opportunities for learning situated in authentic contexts, and intercultural learning. The thesis explores how student backgrounds and the institutional structure result in inequalities in students’ access to, and capacity to participate in, those beneficial AUC experiences, and shows the limited notion of criticality developed through most of these experiences - findings that are applicable to other university contexts. I conclude that AUC needs a critical contextual approach to curriculum development and implementation: an approach that encourages stakeholders to continually question the values behind learning experiences, recognize power struggles within the learning environment, address ways of supporting students with diverse capabilities and privileges in order to develop their capacity for CT, and question what it means to be critical in Egypt’s changing, uncertain context. Egypt's struggle for democracy after years of oppression and corruption needs a conception of critical citizenship that involves both a social dimension focusing on empathy, and a critical action dimension promoting a constructive social justice orientation. While the study addresses AUC stakeholders, it has relevance for all educational institutions aiming to develop CT in bi/multicultural contexts. Such institutions include Western-style universities located in Arab/Muslim countries, Western universities with large numbers of international students, and universities with local but diverse students and staff.

“Introduction to the Canadian Oil Sands”, “Canada’s Oil Sand Industry: An Overview”, “Heavy Oil Technologies”, and so many other topics about heavy oil have become the hotcakes in the oil industry. A number of new projects are in Execute phase for the development of heavy oil assets. This clearly shows the increasing demand for heavy oil. An oil industry is working hard to meet the world oil demand by developing deep water, HPHT, heavy oil, shale sands and all other non-conventional reservoirs but the main challenge is to develop and operate them in a risk free environment. Understanding the reservoir and fluid properties and developing new technologies help the industry to reduce the risk in developing non-conventional fields. A major problem in heavy oil field is to understand the behaviour of heavy oil. The viscous oil flows sluggishly in the formations and hence it is difficult to transport through unconsolidated formations and is very difficult to produce by conventional methods. Viscous oil recovery entails neatly designed enhanced oil recovery processes like Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage and the success of such technologies are critically dependent on accurate knowledge of reservoir, well and fluid properties of oil under variety of pressure and temperature conditions. This research project has provided some solutions to the challenges in heavy oil field development and can help the oil industry to optimise heavy oil production. Detailed experimental understanding of PVT properties has allowed this project to contribute to the knowledge. Reservoir, well and fluid properties were studied thoroughly and demonstrated the criticality of each parameter on the efficiency of Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage. An user friendly SAGD simulator is a big output of this research which allows the user to optimise the heavy oil recovery and enables to do risk assessments quickly during design phase of SAGD. A SAGD simulator is developed.

The aims of the present study were 1) to re-assess two existent methods and to increase consistency of kef-estimates, defined as the half maximal constant of the relative rate of carbohydrate oxidation (relCHOox) approximated as a function of blood lactate concentration (BLC) (relCHOox = 100/(l+kelIBLC2), 2) to identificate the fitting models, which adequately described oxygen uptake (V02), carbon dioxide (VC02) and BLC during incremental exercise tests, which allowed 3) to examine the relationship between kef and given indicators of maximal and sub-maximal performance, and 4) to analyse the effect of gender on kel. To address aims 1 to 3, 104 subjects performed an incremental power test with V02, VC02 and BLC measurements. 59 tests provided four or more power increments before the respiratory exchange ratio (RER) reached 1.0. Main findings: 1) kef-approximations excluding stages with RER higher than 1.0 and/or evidence of hyperventilation provided highest kel-estimates (p < 0.01).2) BLC during progressive exercise was more appropriately described as a continuous mono-exponential function whereas V02 and VC02 provided a better fit when a multiple linear threshold responses model was applied. 3) kel was independent of peak performance or intensity at lactate threshold at 2 and 4 mmol•rl or at maximum rate of fat oxidation. However, kel was interrelated (p < 0.01) with cross-over point (equal energy derived from carbohydrate and fat oxidation). To address aim 4, 14 males and 11 females were tested with incremental power tests providing increasing relCHOox at four or more subsequently increasing power stages with an RER< 1.0, kel was independent of gender. Highest kel-approximates after exclusion of stages with RER > 1.0 and/or evidence of hyperventilation suggests underestimation of kef in previous studies. Interrelation between kel and cross-over point intensity supports kel as an indicator of CHO management during exercise, which is independent of peak performance, lactate threshold concepts, maximum fat oxidation and gender.

Chronic otitis media (OM) is a common cause of deafness in children. Two novel murine models of chronic OM, Junbo and Jeff, generated by chemical mutagenesis with ethyl nitrosurea (ENU), have been developed at MRC Harwell. Junbo heterozygote mice (Jbo/+) mice have a mutation in transcription factor Evi-1 and Jeff heterozygote mice (Jf/+) mice have a mutation in gene for Fbxo protein Fbxo11. Pathologic hypoxia has been characterized as a common feature of the inflamed middle ear in both models. HIF-VEGF pathways dysregulation has been indicated in both models previously. However, the mechanisms involved in pathogenesis of OM in these two models are yet to be elucidated. In this thesis I have described an in-vitro model system to study cellular processes in OM to study and identify pathways involved in OM pathogenesis. This model system involves culturing BMDM and exposing them to various treatments under standard defined conditions. Results from this thesis reveal that Evi-1 is expressed at comparable levels in both WT and Jbo/+ genotypes and that Evi-1A2288T mutation is a loss of function mutation which results in dysregulated expression of Smad responsive and hypoxia responsive genes such as Vegf and Glut-1 under prolonged hypoxic conditions. Although Jbo/+ BMDM are hyper-responsive to LPS in normoxia, as was indicated by higher Vegf and IL-6 levels, macrophage phagocytic function is potentially attenuated in Jbo/+ under hypoxic conditions as was indicated by lower levels of Tnf-α and IL-1β in Jbo/+ BMDM in LPS and hypoxia combination treatment. A perturbed resolution of IL-6 and IL-1β in hypoxia was also observed. Studies performed in this thesis revealed dysregulation in TGF-β pathway in both Jbo/+ and Jf/+ BMDM in normoxia which suggests a common role of TGF-β signalling in OM pathogenesis. Differential expression of cytokines was observed in Jbo/+ BMDM after prolonged treatment with TGF-β and hypoxia indicating a pro-angiogenic and pro-inflammatory phenotype. Levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1β, C5a, IL-17, IL-23, and Ccl5 were higher in Jbo/+ BMDM and levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1ra, IL-10, and IL-4 were lower in Jbo/+ BMDM after prolonged hypoxia and TGF-B treatment which further validates the role of dysregulated HIF and TGF-β signalling pathways in OM in Jbo/+ mice. The differential cytokine expression observed in Jbo/+ BMDM is favourable for Th17 cell differentiation and may indicate a role of cross-talk of innate immunity and cell mediated immunity in OM chronicity in hypoxia. To conclude, HIF signalling and TGF-β signalling in Jbo/+ BMDM is dysregulated. Pro-angiogenic function, impaired resolution of inflammation and predisposition to Th17 cell differentiation by Jbo/+ BMDM under hypoxia contribute to the prolonged and chronic inflammation in Jbo/+ mice and may provide some evidence of pathways that could be affected in OM patients.

I have studied Exchange Bias in epitaxial α-Fe2O3 and polycrystalline FeMn and CoMn antiferromagnets coupled to the ferromagnet Permalloy (Ni81Fe19). Despite the nominal magnetocrystalline anisotropy of Permalloy, surface features such as vicinal steps and roughness induced strong uniaxial anisotropy. Exchange coupling with epitaxial α-Fe2O3 led to a biaxial anisotropy component in the ferromagnet. Anisotropy axes of the biaxial component remained fixed despite applying magnetic field at elevated temperatures. The magnitude of biaxial anisotropy varied with every temperature cycle, providing implicit evidence of domains in the antiferromagnet. In polycrystalline systems, uniaxial anisotropy of the ferromagnet set-up during growth competes with exchange anisotropy. By setting up an AF/F/AF trilayer, magnetic field cooling allowed control of the net anisotropy. These findings demonstrate that the two crucial factors that impact exchange biased thin films are (1) uniaxial anisotropies in the ferromagnet from surface and growth conditions and (2) exchange coupling with domains in the antiferromagnet. Competing effect of these two factors is the key to understanding any exchange coupled system.

Modular type I polyketide synthase (PKSs), for example the 6-deoxyerythronolide B synthase (DEBS) responsible for formation of the aglycone core of erythromycin A, are giant, multifunctional enzyme complexes that catalyse the orchestrated assembly line biosynthesis of antibiotic polyketide natural products. To analyse these multienzymes in detail, this research aimed to study the enzymology of individual catalytic domains, including the ketoreductase (KR), enoyl reductase (ER) and ketosynthase (KS) activities, by expressing them as discrete recombinant proteins. Ketoreductase domains derived from DEBS and the tylosin (TYL) PKS were evaluated for their intrinsic specificity and stereospecificity towards surrogate diketide substrates. The data, together with modelling of diketide binding to DEBS KR domains (B Popovic), demonstrate that the energetics of ketoacylthioester substrate presentation to KR active sites are delicately balanced. Extending this approach to KR domains from the mycolactone (MLS) PKS further supported this role of substrate tethering in achieving stereocontrol during ketoreduction, and led to a model for substrate recognition in this system. The KR domains from DEBS, TYL and the MLS PKS also show significant activity towards a wide range of non-polyketide substrates, particularly favouring those which incorporate cyclohexyl moieties. Site-directed mutagenesis of amino acid residues previously implicated in stereocontrol identified mutants with improved activity towards such compounds, suggesting that PKS KRs might in future be developed as useful biotransformation catalysts for the production of chiral alcohols. The ER domain from DEBS module 4 was also obtained as a recombinant protein, in collaboration with RJ Moorlen (Part II student). Analysis by circular dichroism showed the domain to be well-folded with significant α-helical secondary structure. The gel filtration chromatography indicated that the domain is homodimeric, a finding with the important implications for structural models of modular PKS. A number of conditions have been explored to reconstitute enoly reduction activity in vitro, and initial attempts to obtain diffracting crystals of the domain have shown promise.

The aim of this thesis is to provide an original interpretative rationale of the role and effect of culture which may influence the development of a modern Small to Medium sized Enterprise (SME). Substantively, the research is two-fold: firstly, to examine organisational culture and, secondly, its relationship with IT implementations, specifically computer-based Management Information Systems (MIS). An extensive literature review has revealed a lack of synthesis between organisational culture and computer-based implementations, particularly in the SME environment. The research uses an approach based on ethnographic methods from qualitative research within inductivist confines. A thirty-month ethnographic study at a small engineering firm, verified and validated by triangulation techniques, has been used to form a Conceptual Model for successful MIS implementation. This new Model has been validated in several, unconnected, external organisations. The main case-study is supported by smaller studies which has provided a holistic (and therefore more realistic) view of the complexity of organisational culture. It is emphasised that achieving a change in organisational culture is a deeply political and turbulent process. Due regard must be given to managerial, cultural, organisational, human, technical, psychological and political issues. The research takes full account of these factors and discusses the importance of core competency, both from the organisation and its actors, to facilitate and realise effective cultural change. The Model proposed is one methodology for implementation in organisations with cultural and organisational difficulties. Due to the intricacies and complexity of culture, the implementation strategy is potentially a lengthy process. Contributions are made to knowledge in a number of different arenas. Firstly, a contribution is made in the area of IT change management by proposing a new Model for MIS implementation. The Model is given credibility having been verified and validated at several external organisations. Secondly, a contribution is made in the area of organisational theory as the SME focus provides this vital sector of the business community with additional, pertinent, information when undergoing IT implementations. Finally, the research contributes to knowledge in the area of research methodology as the novel combination of diverse paradigms has resulted in a new research approach for use in the SME environment.

This study is concerned with the political consequences of international migration It considers that such migration is influenced by the behaviour of states and has various implications for relations between them. It is particularly concerned to analyse the role of immigrant communities or diasporas in international relations, and does this through a case study of the British Sikh Community. In the first part, the existing literature on migration and immigrant communities is reviewed, providing an understanding of both the process and the experience, while seeking out its political aspects. Next, a more explicitly political analysis of international migration is carried out. This explores how states use international migration as an instrument of policy and how they are influenced by the phenomena in the conduct of their external relations. The focus of this analysis is brought to a consideration of the political role and impact of diasporas on their home country, their host country and on relations between the two. In the second part, the case study tries to analyse the experience of the British Sikh community in the context outlined above. It starts with a historical overview of the Sikhs, before focussing on their migrant experiences in the UK, elucidating on how they have evolved as a community with strong internal organization and networks. An analysis of the Punjab problem is carried out, before returning to examine the impact of Punjabi events on the British Sikh community and vice-versa. This describes and analyses the political configurations within, and ambitions of, British Sikh political activity, and the ways in which they have been able to play a role in Punjabi politics. Finally an examination of the impact of British Sikh political activity on the relationship between their host and home countries, Britain and India, is carried out.

This work is a contribution to the study of the curing of silicone prepolymers (hydroxyfunctional polydimethyl siloxanes) and the physical properties of the resulting networks. The kinetics of curing of one of the prepolymers has been studied with a simple new inexpensive piece of equipment i.e the Vibrating Needle Curemet~r (VNC). The order of reaction with respect to crosslinker and catalyst concentration has been determined to be unity and 0.24 respectively while an attempt has been made to determine the order of reaction with respect to silanol group concentration in the prepolymer. The effect of. crosslinker and catalyst concentration was observed to check the validity of the Lake and Thomas theory; namely that tear strength at a particular condition is proportional to the square root of the molecular weight between crosslinks. It has been found that varying crosslinker concentration is a better way to test this theory. Surprisingly the detailed physical properties such as tear and tensile of the supposedly different prepolymer networks showed little relationship to the molecular weight. The effect' of blending short and long chain polymers i.e bimodality, and that of the concentration of the crosslinker on the physical propert; es has been investigated. It became apparent that in addition to bimodality, the physical properties are dependent upon the amount of cross1inker used for curing This is a factor which has not previously been reported. It has also been shown that unfortunately, contrary to expectation bimodality has adverse effects on the physical properties of the highly filled networks. In the case of the tensile properties, the stress strain curves were analysed in light of tne phenomenological Mooney - Rivlin (MRL) and Martin, Roath and Stiehler (MRS) equations. Apart from successfully applying these theories to stress-strain curves, the structure factors of networks have been' obtained. These theories have been used in parallel to check and compare the results of one technique with the other. However, in the case of the filled HOPDMS networks it is evident that only the MRS equation can successfully describe the stress-strain data. The stress-strain data for the various HOPDMS filled networks have been compared with one another in terms of Young's modulus from their practical point of view.

This thesis describes an investigation of the effect of elevated temperatures upon the properties of plain concrete containing a siliceous aggregate. A complete stress-strain relationship and creep behaviour are studied. Transient effects (non-steady state) are also examined in order to simulate more realistic conditions. A temperature range of 20-700ºC is used. corresponding to the temperatures generally attained during an actual fire. In order to carry out the requisite tests, a stiff compression testing machine has been designed and built. The overall control of the test rig is provided by a logger/computer system by developing appropriate software, thus enabling the load to be held constant for any period of tlme. Before outlining any details of the development of the testing apparatus which includes an electric furnace and the.associated instrumentation, previous work on properties of both concrete and. steel at elevated temperatures is reviewed. The test programme comprises four series of tests:stress-strain tests (with and without pre-load), transient tests (heating to failure under constant stress) and creep tests (constant stress and constant temperature). Where 3 stress levels are examined: 0.2, 0.4 & 0.6 fc. The experimental results show that the properties of concrete are significantly affected by temperature and the magnitude of the load. The slope of the descending portion branch of the stress-strain curves (strain softening) is found to be temperature dependent. After normalizing the data, the stress-strain curves for different temperatures are represented by a single curve. The creep results are analysed using an approach involving the activation energy which is found to be constant. The analysis shows that the time-dependent deformation is sensibly linear with the applied stress. The total strain concept is shown to hold for the test data within limits.

My thesis, titled “The Weeping Women of Tahad,” is a novel set in Rajasthan, India.The story explores patriarchy, casteism, and gender dynamics within royal societies through familial relationships and social interactions. At its core is Thakurain Maitreyi, a woman with roots tracing back to rudaalis, lower-caste, marginalized women hired as professional mourners in some regions of Rajasthan. Now the wife of a Rajput zamindar, Maitreyi aims to secure her wayward son Dev’s marriage to Rajput princess Parvati Rajye. However, as the wedding approaches, Maitreyi grapples with a haunting past and unfolding sinister events. The narrative weaves external conflicts and internal struggles, intensifying her dilemmas against a backdrop of a lawless desert borderland that shapes the lives of its inhabitants.The novel comprises fifteen chapters, alternating between two timelines—odd chapters depicting the past and even chapters the present, with titles referring to specific days on the Hindu lunar calendar leading up to Dev’s wedding. This structure establishes a consistent chronological pattern in both storylines.To craft this narrative, I have drawn inspiration from a curated reading list, including works like “The Palace of Illusions,” “The God of Small Things,” “Kaikeyi,” “House of Jaipur,” “Rudaali,” “The Secret Keeper of Jaipur,” and “The Twentieth Wife.” These books provide a foundation for exploring themes of survival, ambition, identity, isolation, and the evolution of traditional Indian societies. By unraveling the layers of mystery in Maitreyi’s past, present, and future, my novel aims to authentically resonate with readers, reflecting cultural nuances and complex character dynamics.

Abstract: The nursing home population is vulnerable and medically complex, yet little is known about models of medical service provision and associated quality outcomes. The goal of this thesis project is to examine the association between physician and nurse practitioner accessibility and practice sensitive outcomes. This project used data from the Translating Research in Elder Care (TREC) longitudinal study and the routinely collected Resident Assessment Instrument – Minimum Data Set version 2.0 (RAI-MDS 2.0) to test the association between the availability of physicians (MD) and nurse practitioners (NP) in nursing homes (NH) and clinically-relevant resident outcomes of antipsychotic medication (APM) use without indication of psychosis, physical restraint use, hospitalization and emergency department (ED) transfers, and polypharmacy. Eight models were created using logistic regression to test the association between the access measures of daily presence of MD or NP on unit and MDs being involved in care planning and each of the four resident outcomes. The sample consisted of 10,888 residents across 320 units in 92 facilities. Staff from 277 (86%) units reported an MD or NP visited daily and 318 (99%) units reported that the MD or NP could be reached when needed. Following adjustment for multiple confounding variables, there were no associations between either measure of access and any of the resident outcomes. For example, the association between having an NP visit the unit on a typical weekday and APM use (OR= 1.18, 95% CI: 0.56-2.53), NP presence on a unit on a typical weekday and physical restraint use among residents (OR=2.08, 95% CI: 0.26-2.10) and MDs (OR=1.42, 95% CI: 0.54-3.75) should be noted for having wide confidence intervals. Associations between having visits with either an MD or NP at the unit level and hospitalization and ED transfers (OR=1.17, 95% CI: 0.46-3.10) and polypharmacy and visits by either NP or MD (OR=1.37, 95% CI: 0.64-2.93) follow the same trend. There were wide 95% confidence intervals for all estimates of association. Although no associations were identified between these medical care access measures and the selected resident outcomes, the wide confidence intervals demonstrate uncertainty on the point estimates. Additional research with more direct measures of access to medical care is still needed.

Jurors are routinely required to understand, evaluate, and make important decisions with forensic science evidence in courts. How forensic practitioners should report their opinion evidence to optimise comprehension in courts has thus been the subject of widespread attention and debate in recent years. In Section 1 of this thesis, we report a descriptive study examining the reporting practices of forensic practitioners, which found that practitioners overwhelmingly favoured simple non-statistical categorical statements to report their opinions. However, these categorical statements conflict with standards of transparent, accurate, and scientifically robust reporting, and best practice recommendations now favour the use of statistical statements in courts. In light of best practice recommendations, a large body of research has been devoted to understanding how laypeople understand and respond to different types of statistical statements. However, this body of work has a number of notable conceptual and methodological limitations. In Section 2 of this thesis, we present seven experiments that aimed to address the limitations of existing literature by using a novel multidimensional approach to measuring individual-level comprehension of statistical statements. This approach operationalised comprehension as comprised of five indicators of comprehension used interchangeably in existing literature (consistent evidence evaluations, inferential ability, sensitivity to evidence strength, orthodox belief-updating, and coherent reasoning). Across our experiments, we found that different indicators of comprehension give different impressions of participant understanding, and that certain indicators (e.g., inferential ability) told us more about how laypeople would use statistical statements in their trial decisions than others. We observed there to be substantial variability in the levels and forms of comprehension shown by participants, and we found this to be largely unaffected by changes to statistical (or non-statistical) statement format. Together, these results clarify inconsistencies in existing research, provide a more nuanced understanding of lay comprehension of statistical statements, and lay a foundation for future research into how we can optimise the communication of statistical statements in courts.

Geochemical analysis was carried out on samples of environmental phases (water, sediments, and soils) from La Barra de Santiago estuary (El Salvador, Central America) and adjacent streams to understand the dynamics and possible environmental and health effects of heavy metals, nutrient and sulfate concentrations in the ecosystem. Physiochemical parameters such as nutrient concentration (Nitrate and Phosphate), oxidation reduction potential (ORP), dissolved oxygen (DO), conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), pH, temperature, Chloride, Iodide and sulfate concentrations were determined using spectrophotometric methods, while heavy metal analysis was carried out using ICP-MS. Multivariate statistical methods, including correlation analysis (CA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were applied to define the mutual relationships between these parameters. Low concentration of sulfate in the water and sediments suggest it is unlikely that sulfur contamination due to the eruption of Santa Ana volcano in 2005 could be causing the lack of macroinvertebrates in the region. Phosphate in sediments and soil samples has low variability in concentration probably due to buffering by the solubility of phosphate minerals, whereas Nitrate concentration in the sediment is higher than in soil samples. High nutrient concentration and chloride in the region with low DO (symptoms of eutrophication) suggest hypernutrification could be the driver for the lack of macroinvertebrates in the estuary. The statistically significant relationships between Sr, Rb and Cl, and between Sr, Rb and SO4, suggest a chemical contribution from marine sources for these elements, while correlation between Fe, Cu, Cd, Zn, Cr, Ce, Co and Al indicates inland input into the ecosystem for these metals. Lastly, results from sediment quality assessments using several pollution indices such as geoaccumulation index (Igeo), mean-ERM quotient, concentration factor (CF), pollution load index (PLI), and contamination Factor (Cf) shows the presence of high Ni and Cr concentration in the ecosystem which could be responsible for the lack of macroinvertebrates in the estuary. The present study serves as the first insight into the environmental quality assessment of La Barra de Santiago estuary and its adjacent rivers and raises awareness for immediate response towards conservation and protection of this biodiversity rich ecosystem.

Longwall mining has been one of the prominent underground mining methods for extracting coal in the United States for many years due to its production efficiency. However, the method itself can possibly cause problems to surface structures, i.e. gas wells, buildings, roads, etc., that are built or located nearby mining operations. In recent years, significant gas resources have been identified to be located underlying coal deposits, particularly in Southwestern Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. As a result, within the time frame of the last 10 years, more than 800 gas well have been drilled through active and future underground longwall mining. Practically, strata deformation caused by longwall mining could induce high stresses and deformation, which may lead to the instability of a gas well. Therefore, it is imperative that gas well stability penetrating longwall mining operation should be investigated and studied in order to maintain the stability of the gas well, as well as to enhance the safety of underground longwall mining working face and it's operation.;In this study, various three-dimensional numerical models were developed using Finite Difference Method in FLAC3D program and calibrated against an actual gas failure case cited in Peng et al. (2003). Field observation of the case study indicated that the gas well failed after second panel mining. In the previous study, Peng et al. (2003) used the Finite Element Method in ABAQUS program to simulate the gas well failure in order to find out the reason behind the gas well failure. They found out that that the presence of clay layer between two strong strata induced high stresses on the gas well casing and causing the high compressive strain at the gas well failure horizon. For this study, the main objective is to assess the influence of overburden depth and the presence of soft strata on the stability of the vertical gas well subjected to longwall mining operation. In addition, the determination of suitable pillar size for protecting the vertical gas well from failure, as a result of longwall mining, will also be investigated.;The results of this study indicate that the overburden depth, soft strata presence, and the pillar size of a longwall mine plays an important role on the gas well stability penetrating longwall mining abutment pillar. It was found that the deeper the overburden depth of a mine, the higher possibility for gas well to fail under axial compression. The critical overburden depth for the gas well to survive is 600 ft. (183 m). However, it should be noted that the obtained critical overburden depth is specific to the given case study. This study revealed that the geological condition of a mine, such as the presence of soft strata, could induce stresses and deformation on the gas well, which will lead to the instability issue of the gas well. The gas well would typically face more instability issue when it is drilled through a horizon, where the presence of soft strata takes place in between two layers of strong strata. In addressing the need of suitable pillar size for protecting the gas well from failure as a result of longwall mining, it is determined in this study that in order to maintain the stability of the gas well for the case study, considering three entry system, the pillar size should be 80 ft (24.4 m) wide rib to rib. Whereas if the four-entry system is used, the size of the pillar should be kept at 48 ft (14.6 m) wide rib to rib.;The main significance of this study is that it not only proposes a numerical modelling procedure for assessing the stability of gas well subjected to longwall mining operation of the particular case study, but it can also be used for other similar projects. This study concludes that with the accurate data input of rock and casing properties, as well as the gob model simulation, the numerical modelling analysis approach presented in this thesis will be able to accurately predict the stability of the vertical gas well penetrating longwall mining abutment pillar.

Although understanding the relationship between gas-liquid two-phase fluid flows and the effects of the major drilling variables is critical to optimising underbalanced drilling (UBD) operations, to date, this has been an area of limited research and knowledge. This study contributes to the limited knowledge base by: 1) determining the key operational drilling parameters which shape the gas-liquid two-phase multiphase flow behaviour characteristics during UBD operations, 2) evaluating the most critical operational issues that have impacted the implementation of global UBD programmes, and 3) investigating the Newtonian and non-Newtonian gas-liquid two-phase flow patterns which affect the wellbore hydraulics and cuttings transport efficiency during UBD operations. Thus, this study developed a rigorous integrated strategy for maximising the efficiency of UBD for the transport of cuttings in gas-liquid two-phase flow through wellbore annuli. An experimental approach was applied to analyse and evaluate the relationship between the gas-liquid two-phase flow patterns and the major operational drilling parameters (gas and liquid flowrates, fluid rheology, inner pipe rotation, pipe inclination angle, pipe eccentricity and solid particle size and density) and to investigate their influence and interaction on the fluid flow dynamics and solids transport mechanisms in horizontal and inclined annuli. Experimental results revealed that drilling fluid flowrate along with fluid flow pattern are the most prominent parameters that strongly influence the cuttings transport efficiency within wellbore annuli. Annuli cleaning requirements for a concentric annulus was found to be lower than that required for an eccentric annulus for both Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids. Pipe inclination angle was shown to affect hole cleaning, with the degree of its effect being significantly influenced by the drilling fluid properties, prevailing gas-liquid fluid flow pattern and cuttings transport mechanism. Moreover, inner pipe rotation was observed to improve cuttings transport in both horizontal and inclined eccentric annuli to varying extents. Experimental evidence was supplemented with a theoretical approach. Flow pattern dependent multi-layered mathematical models applicable for any level of pipe eccentricity were used for the different cuttings transport mechanisms existing in the different fluid flow patterns (dispersed bubble, bubble, and slug), offering a unique method to evaluate cuttings transport efficiency and wellbore hydraulics performance for UBD operations. A favourable comparison was observed between the experimental data and proposed flow pattern dependent multi-layered mathematical models with an error margin of ±15%. This research has generated new knowledge and created value through mapping the factors influencing particle transport and by evaluating the fluid-particle dynamics (fluid forces, gas-liquid fluid flow patterns and particle transport mechanisms) for flow in wellbore annuli. It has further identified and evaluated the effect of gas-liquid two-phase fluid flow patterns on fluid-particle transport dynamics which results in areas of preferential flows and stagnation zones. It also proposed a systematic solution to the governing equations for the simultaneous flow of gas-liquid two-phase fluids and solid particles in wellbore annuli. Overall, the mapping of the major operational drilling parameters and their influence and interdependencies on wellbore dynamics and cuttings transport efficiency in the context of gas-liquid fluid systems, provides a tool for the prediction of cuttings transport mechanism, determination of the stationary bed height, and calculation of the annuli pressure losses. Therefore, wellbore pressure evaluation and management and hole cleaning requirements for UBD operations can be addressed.

The expansion of information and communication technology (ICT) has been championed as a significant step in improving coordination and logistical ease for greater productivity in workplaces around the world. The Malaysian government has made extensive investment in the expansion of ICT and email usage in workplaces, particularly in the Higher Education Institutions in the country, which are expected to be at the forefront of technological change and knowledge innovation. The levels of ICT as well as email usage have still not reached their optimum level, particularly in public universities, which have been shown to be lagging behind private universities in these matters. As a result, this thesis seeks to examine the role of perceptual attitudes and cultural factors correlated with the adoption of email by non-academic staff in public and private universities. The thesis examines constructs of perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness (derived from Davis’ Technology Acceptance Model) mediated by dimensions of national and organisational culture (derived from Hofstede’s framework) in relation to email usage.

Conventional strategies of explosives disposal are unsuitable for Organic Peroxide Explosives (OPEs) due to their extreme sensitiveness to initiating stimuli. A gentle, chemical means of degrading OPEs is a highly desirable way to safely remove the explosive threat in the field. Previous studies toward this goal have centred on triacetone triperoxide (TATP), using Brønsted-acid-catalysed degradation or the use of redox reactions to effect degradation. Few of these studies conducted detailed analysis of underlying mechanisms. Hazards such as unacceptable risk of detonation, formation of toxic volatile gases or other sensitive peroxides, and long reaction times make the strategies proposed to date unsuitable for use outside the laboratory. This thesis opens with a review of the TATP degradation literature, highlighting key features and limitations in the acidic and redox strategies. In experimental work, a model OPE, tripentanone triperoxide (TPTP) was synthesised, fully characterised and shown to reduce certain laboratory hazards. Acidic degradation experiments using TPTP, monitored by GCMS, showed its reaction mechanism was analogous to that of TATP, and also identified that the hydroperoxide degradation intermediates were highly active Baeyer-Villager (BV) oxidants. The centrality of these reactive hydroperoxides to effective degradation via acidic and redox mechanisms was demonstrated using chemical and electrochemical experimentation, as was the difficulty of reducing cyclic peroxides. A novel and extremely fast degradation reaction of TATP, TPTP and other OPEs with metal-based Lewis acids was identified and a mechanism proposed based on the results of controlled reactions monitored by NMR, FTIR and GCMS. The reaction products suggest that the reaction proceeds via a concerted Baeyer-Villiger-type mechanism, highlighting the potential of BV chemistry as a strategy to degrade OPEs to safe products. A field-relevant, catalytic approach to safe degradation via BV chemistry was then developed utilising both Brønsted and Lewis acids, and strategies for its further refinement proposed. This is the first study to take a cohesive ‘acid-redox’ approach to the degradation of OPEs, and provides a new strategy for the design of a field-relevant method for the safe neutralisation of these hazardous materials.

Background: Previous studies have found that health insurance and other socio-demographic factors are important predictors of non-medical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD), their abuse and dependence, and use of substance abuse treatment. However, the effect of health insurance in specific subgroups of population on NMUPD, their abuse and dependence, and use of substance abuse treatment, is largely unknown. Objective: To determine if the effect of health insurance on NMUPD, their abuse and dependence, and use of substance abuse treatment differs by socio-demographic factors. The study also aims to identify prescription drugs that are used non-medically and to assess the relationship between health insurance and use of such drugs. Methods: This study used data from 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Sample consisted of individuals who were 12 year and older, non-institutionalized. Bivariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to estimate the relationship between health insurance, socio-demographic factors on NMUPD, their abuse and dependence, and use of substance abuse treatment. Results: In 2007, self-reported prevalence of NMUPD was eight percent (N=5190). NMUPD was higher among uninsured individuals. In multivariate analysis, age, race, education, marital status, type of health insurance, level of income, past year use of tobacco, and alcohol were significantly associated with NMUPD. Hispanic people with private health insurance, high school graduates with public health insurance, privately insured individuals with family income less than $20,000 and $40,000-$74,999 were more likely to use prescription drugs than others. Drugs most likely to be used non-medically were Vicodin/Lortab/Lorcet (pain relievers), Valium /diazepam (tranquilizers), methamphetamine, Desoxyn/Methedrine (stimulants), and Methaqualone/Sopor/ Quaalude (sedatives). Approximately, one percent of the entire sample and 13% of NMUPD reported abuse dependence on prescription drugs. The classes of prescription drugs most likely to be abused were pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants and sedatives. Among individuals who used drugs non-medically, health insurance, age, marital status, general health status and use of tobacco were significant predictors of abuse/dependence. There were no significant interaction effects between health insurance and socio-demographic factors on prescription drug abuse and dependence. The last part of the study assessed if health insurance improved access to substance abuse treatment programs among those who reported NMUPD. Approximately 6% of the entire sample and 73% of the non-medical users and 76% of the prescription drug abusers/dependents reported some use of substance abuse programs. The Multivariate regression models indicated that health insurance was not associated with use of substance use treatment program. In addition, there were no significant interaction effects between health insurance and other socio-demographic and economic factors. Conclusions: NMUPD, their abuse/dependence, is common in the United States. Most of the non-medical users of prescription drugs, its abusers/dependents use pain relievers. Health insurance is associated with NMUPD, its abuse and dependence but not with the use of substance abuse treatment. Certain subgroups such as high school graduates with public health insurance privately insured individuals with family income less than $20,000 and $40,000-$74,999 are less likely to use prescription drugs non-medically. On the other hand, Hispanics with private health insurance are more likely to use prescription drugs non-medically than the others. These individuals are more likely to have lower education as well as poor physical and financial conditions. It is important that non-medical users, prescription drug abusers/dependents are made aware of the harms of NMUPD, their abuse and dependence and the benefits of using substance abuse treatment to overcome these health problems.

Data link control, multiple access, and flow control for data communication have at last advanced to the state that it is possible for applications that require combining these techniques to be carried out. Therefore, research efforts are now beginning to focus on the performance of these applications, rather than the previous trend of carrying out the performance of each scheme separately. This study analyses the performance of a Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) satellite star network. The network uses roll-call polling as its multiple access scheme, High-level Data Link Control or HDLC, and go-back-N Automatic Repeat Request, for error control. The network is a VSAT packet-switched network, that carries out its communications task on a Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) satellite channel. This research consists of three major parts. First, the performance analysis of the single-hop star architecture network is carried out. This includes the study of a polling communication system for the inbound, VSAT-to-Hub line. The time delay of a packet using the inbound line is evaluated. Secondly, the performance analysis of the TDM outbound Hub-to-VSAT line is represented. The throughput of the multiplexed system for the outbound Hub-to-VSAT line, as well as the average time delay of a packet are determined. Thirdly, both the analysis of the inbound, and outbound lines are combined to provide the performance of the double-hop architecture of the network. The time delay of a VSAT-to-VSAT packet is found.

Gynaecological cancers (which include cancers of the ovary, cervix, uterus, vagina, endometrium, vulva and fallopian tube) account for 19% of all female cancers, and there are approximately 942,000 new cases diagnosed per year worldwide. Treatment for gynaecological cancer is often multi modal and consists of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Current government policy has highlighted the need to focus on improving patient reported outcomes, including the patient experience of all aspects of cancer (including treatment), and the quality of life (QoL) of patients living with and beyond a cancer diagnosis. This thesis focuses on the effects of two different complementary interventions available to patients who were undergoing active treatment for gynaecological cancer at the Royal Derby Hospital between 2010 and 2012. Patient reported outcomes were explored in terms of the patients’ experience of the interventions and their reported levels of quality of life. The first study in this thesis explores the patient experience of an enhanced recovery programme (ERP) which was implemented for gynaecological cancer patients undergoing surgery at the Royal Derby Hospital in 2010. Previous research has found that ERPs (which complement traditional surgery) can decrease length of hospital stay, and they are now being implemented nationwide. However, there is a paucity of research into the patient experience of ERPs, especially in the field of gynaecological cancer. This study utilised a qualitative methodology to explore the experiences of 14 gynaecological cancer patients who took part in the ERP at Derby. Each patient was interviewed using a semi-structured format and the transcripts were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The analysis highlighted that patients highly value the programme, and four main themes, fundamental to their experience, emerged from the data: taking part in the programme, the role of home, managing expectations and individual experiences outside of the programme. The second part of this thesis explores whether yoga can improve the quality of life (QoL) of patients undergoing treatment for gynaecological cancer when used as a complementary therapy. Previous research has found that participation in yoga can improve QoL in the breast cancer population, although there have been no similar studies conducted with UK gynaecological cancer patients to date. The study presented here utilised a randomised controlled design; 44 patients receiving treatment for gynaecological cancer were randomly allocated into a control group or a 10 week yoga intervention group. Outcomes were measured using the EORTC QLQ C30 questionnaire pre and post trial alongside visual analogue scales that were incorporated into a weekly diary. The results suggest that there was no significant effect of yoga on QoL, although there was encouraging data from one set of tests within the analysis, which suggested that patients on the yoga arm were seeing more improvement in QoL over time compared to the controls. Methodological improvements to clinical trials investigating complementary interventions are discussed in light of the results of this study. The overall findings of these two studies highlight that the utilisation of mixed methods is efficacious when exploring the effects of complementary interventions on the patient reported outcomes of those with gynaecological cancer. The use of qualitative methods to explore the patient experience of the ERP allowed for an in-depth, unique analysis to take place which was specific to the service delivered at The Royal Derby Hospital. The findings and recommendations from this part of the research have been incorporated into the on-going development of the pathway; it has indicated that more use of qualitative methods is needed in health services research to ensure that the patient experience is being fully explored, in line with the current government policy. Similarly, the second part of the research reported here indicates that further research in the area of yoga and gynaecological cancer is warranted. This requires a narrower focus with regards to both cancer type and point of treatment, to ensure that the number of variables is controlled. In addition, appropriate measurement and analysis techniques need to be considered (such as the generalised additive model used in this research) to preserve the richness of the data as this has not been considered (or utilised) in the many previous pieces of research in the area.

This research is characterised by its overlap of research from management and healthcare. This research is an attempt to contribute to the existing body of knowledge on the linkages between three multidisciplinary research themes; healthcare management concepts, information and communication technology (ICT) and knowledge management (KM). The objective of this research is to examine the feasibility of incorporating the KM paradigm in healthcare. This research discusses whether it would be beneficial for healthcare institutions (HIs) to adopt the KM paradigm so as to facilitate effective decision-making in the context of healthcare delivery. This research contends that the key to success of healthcare in the twenty first century is an effective integration of technology with the human clinical decision-making process. It is therefore important to develop a conceptual KM health framework that encompasses technological, organisational and managerial perspectives. The research design, guided by a qualitative philosophy, was inductive in nature and used the case study methodology for accomplishing the research objectives. Empirical data was gathered via a main case. The findings from the main case, in conjunction with inputs from the literature review, formed an iterative process. The analysis of the collected data resulted in a first level conceptual KM framework for Healthcare organisations. Data was then gathered from five additional case studies to (1) validate the findings obtained from the main case and (2) to carry out a cross-case analysis. Data was collected from personnel at the five cases by way of structured and semi-structured interviews, observations, archival records, telephone and virtual interviews. The analysis of the data obtained from the five cases lead to a revision of the first conceptual KM framework, resulting in a revised (and final) KM-Healthcare framework, complemented by a user guide which included a structured "walk-through" for Healthcare institutions.