University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham Research Archive, E-theses RepositoryNot a member yet
11811 research outputs found
Sort by
Queer spirituality: a grounded theopoiesis on human 'Becoming' as a journey of 'freedom-for-love'
Get PDFThis research explores the phenomenon of human spirituality as human ‘Becoming’, in persons who embrace their identity as LGBTQ. The thesis argues that the personal narratives of these non-heteronormative individuals attest to signs of Divinity, through ‘movements’ of spirituality in their quotidian lives. These ‘movements’ epitomize a theme of ‘freedom-for- love’, a Way of living in kenotic assurance leading to ‘re-creation’.
This ethnography employs a qualitative grounded theory methodology with residents of rural and urban British Columbia, Canada, and introduces a novel, poetic interview method of mystagogic accompaniment. Narrative data from eighteen mystagogic interviews with six non-binary persons, and eleven supplementary interviews with family members and allies, reveal spirituality as a phenomenon involving ten ‘movements’, evident in three groupings of categories: 1) beginning; 2) homesteading; and 3) re-creation. Grounded theopoiesis is the term which coins the constructed theory.
This research makes three distinct, and original contributions. It: 1) expands the field of constructive theology into the realm of human ‘Becoming’, based on non-heteronormative lives; 2) employs mystagogic accompaniment as a poetic qualitative interview method; and 3) applies Catherine Keller’s process theology regarding tehom (chaos), as a framework to model theopoetic interdisciplinary epistemological collaborations in a project of theological construction which features these subjects: mystagogy; theopoetics; Queer and ‘indecent’ theology; process theology; metaphoric theology; Lacanian psychoanalysis; psychology; and the philosophy of religion.
Finally, the conclusions of this study challenge the religious rhetoric which denies the spirituality of persons identifying as LGBTQ
DNA as a Vehicle for Chemistry and Assembly
No full textThis thesis delves into the intricacies of DNA Templated Synthesis (DTS) and investigates the self-assembly of octahedral patchy colloids in computer simulations. A common theme for both strands of research is DNA, which can be used to functionalise the patches to encode a hierarchy of interactions that could as well be specific for programming distinct self-assembly pathways. Our experimental study reveals and measures how a unique protective effect present in DTS can shield a labile thioester-TAMRA from hydrolysis. We show that protection is enhanced when the abasic site is located across the minor groove, specifically the -3 position. It is proven that this protective effect occurs via the interaction of the TAMRA moiety with an abasic site, with variations in the degree of protection according to the relative position of the abasic site to that of the TAMRA linker. This protective effect was discovered and measured in the hopes that it could enhance the synthesis of long-chain polymers via DTS. This experimental chapter is complemented by the following molecular dynamics study concerned with modelling this unique effect. The study employs models of the short-TAMRA linker at abasic sites +3 and -3, with TAMRA represented either as the lactone or zwitterion resonance form at neutral or physiological salt concentrations. Neutral salt concentration conditions involve sufficient sodium ions to neutralise the negative charge of the DNA phosphate backbone. In contrast, physiological salt concentration not only neutralises this charge but also includes additional sodium and chloride ions in equal proportions to mimic physiological conditions. We hypothesise, based on both experimental and computational studies, that the protective effect necessitates physiological salt concentration and initially requires the lactone resonance form for insertion. This dual approach of experimental and computational research provided a detailed understand- ing of how the protection mechanism is manifested. The study of self-assembly of octahedral patchy colloids explores how different self-assembly pathways can be programmed to yield simple cubic crystals and whether the quality of the crystals self-assembled differs in those cases. To this end, the four patches on a plane are distinguished from the remaining two across the plane, the former referred to as equatorial patches (labelled E) and the latter axial patches (labelled A), in terms of the strength of interactions between the patches within a given type. Different scenarios are considered in computer simulations: equatorial-bias (E-E interaction strengths 5 times stronger than A-A interaction strengths) and axial-bias (A-A interaction strengths 5 times stronger than E-E interaction strengths, with and without interactions between different types of patches, along with the control scenario (no distinction between patch-patch interactions). We show marginally better-quality crystals are produced via equatorial biasing with no (E-A interaction), with the control scenario of no biasing being a close second and characterisations of the crystallisation pathways in the different scenarios. Our findings suggest that uniform growth of the largest crystalline cluster in all three dimensions favours the formation of good-quality simple cubic crystals. This study elucidates key parameters influencing the self-assembly of simple cubic crystals from octahedral patchy colloids. This thesis not only advances knowledge of DTS and colloidal self-assembly but sets the stage for future explorations, developing these phenomena for material and drug development
Effective nanomaterials for active drug delivery
No full textIn the field of nanomedicine, materials in the nanoscale range play a crucial role as diagnostic instruments and targeted carriers of therapeutic compounds. This relatively new but rapidly advancing discipline offers promising applications. For example, by utilising engineered nanoparticles, cellular processes can be specifically targeted for immediate healing or early detection of illnesses. Nanomedicine has shown great potential in treating various medical conditions, by using chemotherapeutic drugs and immunotherapeutic agents. This research focuses on the synthesis of monodisperse batches of gold nanoparticles with various coating agents, with the objective of controlling their size within the range 8 and 60 nm in diameter, with the purpose to test and identify an optimal size for drug delivery. Subsequently, modified citrate gold nanoparticles were conjugated with two different types of medicines called amantadine and remdesivir, expanding the possibilities for their use in nanomedicine.
This doctoral project involves the encapsulation of amantadine into polymeric nanoparticles made of poly lactide-co-glycolic acid, leveraging their unique bioavailability and low toxicity properties. The polymeric nanoparticles are engineered to minimise toxicity and immunogenicity, ensuring compatibility with biological systems. Furthermore, these engineered nanoparticles exhibit target specific properties through functionalisation with ligands that recognise specific receptors or markers present on the surface of diseased cells or tissues. Consequently, they enable targeted delivery of amantadine and remdesivir drugs to the desired location within the J774 cell line macrophages. Additionally, the formation of biodegradable polymers enables the controlled release of the encapsulated amantadine drug. Thus, herein, the conjugation of the two drugs to gold nanoparticles and the encapsulation of amantadine drug in polymeric nanoparticles aimed to achieve several outcomes, including improving drug delivery, enabling controlled drug release, enhancing drug solubility and bioavailability, and ensuring the protection and stability of drugs. All of these goals contribute to the development of more efficient, precise, and safe drug delivery systems in the field of nanomedicine
Preventing gestational diabetes mellitus using ipd-meta analysis and cost effectiveness analysis in predicting fetal growth restriction
No full textIntroduction: This thesis looked at two aspects of evidence-based medicine (EBM): evidence synthesis and assessing the cost-effectiveness of new evidence, by focusing on two high risk pregnancy conditions: gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and fetal growth restriction (FGR). Evidence was synthesised to study the effect of lifestyle interventions in preventing GDM in women, using different definitions of GDM. Further, a cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted for three different approaches used in detecting fetal growth restriction (FGR) during pregnancy , namely, (1) no routine testing of FGR; (2) using symphysis fundal height (SFH) and ultrasound scans and (3) using the International Prediction of Pregnancy Complications (IPPIC) prediction model
Special topics in cone complementarity
Get PDFIn this thesis, the concept of Monotone Extended Second Order Cone (MESOC), which is a new generalisation of second order cone, has been present. We discussed the fundamental properties of MESOC and demonstrated the positive operator, the Lyapunov-like transformation, as well as the reducibility of this cone. The value Lyapunov rank has also been provided. We also investigated the isotonicity property of MESOC, and we showed the cylinder is the only isotonic projection set with respect to MESOC in the ambient space. Then we present the mixed complementarity problem on a general close, and convex cone can be solved by using an iterative method based on the isotonicity property of MESOC. Meanwhile, a numerical example has been illustrated to show the applicability of MESOC. We also investigated the formulas to show how to project onto MESOC. In the most general case, the formula we obtained is dependent on an equation for one real variable. The linear complementarity problem on the MESOC has also been studied. We have demonstrated that the linear complementarity problem on the MESOC can be converted to a mixed complementarity problem on the nonnegative orthant. The algorithms are discussed and numerical examples are also present. Moreover, we present an application of the MESOC, which is a portfolio optimisation problem with an analytical solution. At last, we studied the gradient projection method on the sphere. We showed that this method could be used in discussing the solvability of the complementarity problem and checking the copositivity of an operator with respect to cones. The numerical experiments which illustrate the copositivity of operators are also provided
The application of ultrasound shear wave elastography to measure muscle stiffness in Premier League Academy footballers
Get PDFMuscle stiffness has received major interest in recent years as it is believed that lower extremity stiffness is an important factor in musculoskeletal performance and injury prevention (Pruyn et al. 2012, Butler et al. 2003). An advancing technique to measure stiffness, ultrasound shear-wave elastography, has been designed to quantify mechanical and elastic tissue properties to provide an estimate of muscle stiffness (Brandenburg et al. 2014, Talijanovic et al. 2017). Thus, the aim of this thesis is to assess the application of ultrasound shear wave elastography (USWE) to measure muscle stiffness in premier league academy football.
Study 1: The purpose of the systematic review is to assess the variation in methods used to measure the shear modulus of the rectus femoris using USWE in order to measure muscle stiffness, as the current literature shows variation between studies. From this information, we aim to establish an evidence-based protocol for measuring shear wave elastography, and to develop a methodology that is suitable for research within an elite practical setting by identifying which aspects of the procedures and protocols are essential.
Study 2: The aim of this study was to quantify muscle stiffness using USWE across different age groups and to determine the relationship between muscle stiffness and measures of physical performance in premier league academy footballers. Alongside USWE measurements, the athletes performed a vertical hop test, to assess a holistic measure of lower-limb stiffness, to compare against muscle stiffness measured from the USWE. Rectus femoris stiffness measured from USWE was related to increased CMJ eccentric and concentric peak force, whilst increased vertical stiffness levels appear to be beneficial across a range of performance tasks including acceleration, maximal strength and jump performance.
Study 3: The purpose of this research is to provide information on the change in muscle stiffness using shear wave elastography (USWE) following a 90-minute premier league academy football match. No significant difference was found between the pre-scan and post-scan for muscle stiffness (p = 0.118) though a mean decrease of -0.17m/s decrease was observed for the players who played 90-mins with a moderate effect size of 0.45. A moderate negative correlation between the difference in muscle stiffness and Total Distance (r = -0.6291), and a moderate positive correlation with number of sprints performed (r = 0.5745) though these were not significant (p = > 0.05).
Study 4: The aim of the case series approach was to (1) assess how consecutive soccer-specific stimulus influences the response of muscle stiffness measured by USWE over a 5-day longitudinal analysis, and (2) to establish how a consecutive training stimulus of different themed training sessions may influence the acute change of muscle stiffness over a 4-day longitudinal analysis with the addition of a performance marker (CMJ) to help interpret the impact of the stiffness. The case series establishes that the type of stimulus, and the series in which soccer-specific stimulus is performed can affect the individual muscle stiffness response.
This research has helped to provide an interesting insight into how USWE may be used within a professional sports team and provided a platform for future research to help integrate USWE into monitoring and readiness processes within premier league academy football
Measurement of photon-induced production at the ATLAS Experiment using AFP
Get PDFThis thesis presents a measurement of photon-induced production using proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV and with an integrated luminosity of 14.6 fb, recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. The scattered protons are detected by the ATLAS Forward Proton (AFP) detector. Only the four muon final state is considered, which is measured by the central ATLAS detector. The observed measured cross-section using a novel data-blinding method is :
\begin{equation*}
\sigma_{\text{fid.}}^{\text{meas.}} (\text{fb}) =-0.595 \pm 0.250 \text{ (stat.)} \pm 0.283 \text{ (syst.)} \pm 0.014 \text{ (lumi.)}
\end{equation*}
This measurement is compatible with the SM-only hypothesis and the results are interpreted as an upper-limit on the cross-section for the process, computed to be of 1.967 fb at the 95% confidence level. The results are also interpreted as an upper-limit on Wilson coefficients of 15 dimension 8 EFT operators. The upper-limits on the EFT Wilson coefficients are given considering the fully simulated proton-elastic component of the operators only and also by using an estimation of their proton dissociative components. The statistical uncertainties remain dominant in this measurement. The AFP-related systematic uncertainties are dominant but are probably overestimated.
A tuning of the fast simulation of AFP as well as the implementation of a data-driven proton pile-up overlay is also described
Development of sustainable 3D-Printed textiles for footwear applications
No full textSignificant issues that negatively impact sustainability and the environment can be found by analysing conventional textile manufacturing methods. The primary objective of this research is to create a variety of 3D-printed textiles that can match or surpass the quality and performance of industrial textiles while also serving specific individual requirements due to their distinctive properties. Furthermore, the 3D printing parameters will be adjusted within Cura's settings, and emissions during each print will be recorded for comparison within the sample range. Design optimisation will also be in place. The UltiMaker S5 was employed to perform FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling) 3D printing with TPU materials in the primary research configuration.
It is essential to acknowledge that customising the parameters and optimising designs for printing can produce high-quality textile samples with various mechanical properties. The design and printing parameters have been identified as critical factors besides the material type. During the modelling of the fabric structure, it was determined that removing the outer layer walls of the 3D model in the slicer program and incorporating infill patterns that closely resemble textile layers could result in a textile structure comparable to some conventional textiles in the industry.
The discoveries are important because they enable the creation of breathable textiles that demonstrate performance equal to or better than traditional fabrics. Based on the outcomes, there is a potential to create a range of textiles solely from TPU that have a consistent appearance and customisable properties. Although these TPU textiles are highly flexible and stretchy, their strength and durability properties still need improvement.
The study will produce several TPU print samples, comparing and refining designs and configurations to generate a broader range of fabrics for various uses, such as footwear applications. Furthermore, research into the effectiveness of different printing settings and controlling the emissions produced during each print could move us forward towards a 3D-printed textile that can be a suitable replacement for conventional fabric used in
industry
Development and optimization of optically pumped magnetometers for brain imaging
Get PDFPortable and compact optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs) offer new research possibilities that are not achievable with conventional systems (SQUIDs) for brain recordings based on magnetoencephalography (MEG). The most compelling advantage of OPMs is that they can be placed directly onto the subject’s head. This improves the accuracy and resolution of electrophysiological measurements, offering deeper insights into the human brain. While OPM-MEG systems are already commercially available, there is still scope for improvement. This thesis focuses on optimizing different aspects of OPM systems to enhance their performance for human MEG. First, we enhance the OPM sensor’s noise resilience using nonlinear magneto-optical rotation. In the future, OPM sensors based on this principle can be combined with transcranial magnetic stimulation to study brain connectivity. Next, a mathematical model of the OPM-MEG system is developed to optimize sensor parameters, for example, vapour cell volume, to increase system sensitivity under specific environmental conditions. The model can serve as a guide to design OPM-MEG systems tailored to specific research needs. In the final part of this thesis, the foundation is laid for an experiment to test our hypothesis that the OPM- MEG system can offer significant advantages in experiments designed for multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA), a frequently employed technique in cognitive neuroscience. MVPA is based on comparing the spatial distribution of brain signals under different experimental conditions conditions and therefore holds a strong promise when applied to OPM-MEG data
Back to Beck: the state monad and the continuation monad from the viewpoint of monadicity
Get PDFWe introduce control algebras, which are algebras of two operations called call/cc and abort. The two operations are natural ones among programs that manipulate their plan of work. The significance of the formulation is that it is operationally natural, yet the notion of algebras is equivalent to the established notion of monad algebras, where the monad is the continuation monad.
We also consider the control effect and the state effect from the perspective of Beck's monadicity theorem. In particular, we notice connections between operationally meaningful objects in the two effects and coequalisers of Beck's pair; the latter are important ingredients in Beck's monadicity theorem. In the case of control, Beck's coequaliser is the set of continuations of the algebra in concern; in the case of state, that coequaliser is the set of determined elements, i.e., elements in the algebra where preceding with update operations would have no effect
Data sources:
Access Repository Dashboard
Do you manage Open Research Online? Become a CORE Member to access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard! 👇