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Word production within sentence contexts: the role of cognitive ageing
Get PDFAlthough the process of word production is seemingly effortless for most healthy adults, word retrieval declines with age (e.g., Condret-Santi et al., 2013). Words are usually produced within sentences of ongoing speech produced by speakers and their conversational partner(s). Sentence contexts can influence word retrieval in younger adults during production, causing facilitation when they predict the word to retrieve, but potential interference when speakers must retrieve an unexpected word instead. In this thesis, I studied these sentence-context effects, and the mechanisms underlying them, in healthy younger and older adults. Furthermore, I studied how potential age-related changes in word production might relate to other cognitive mechanisms argued to change with ageing, focusing on semantic control.
Through the empirical work in this thesis, I firstly examined how word production is influenced by sentence contexts predicting different types of target words in both younger and older adults (Chapter 2). I also examined the cognitive mechanisms that might relate to word production in ageing (Chapter 3). In Chapter 4, I further explored how the position of critical information (predicting the target word) in a sentence affects word production. In the final empirical chapter, I explored the effects of degree of unexpectedness on word production, while also manipulating the role of semantic competition.
Collectively, the findings suggest older adults’ word production continues to benefit from sentence context. Preserved semantic networks might allow older adults to keep using priming and/or prediction in sentence contexts to aid their word retrieval. Although some declines in older adults’ semantic and general cognitive control were observed, older adults did not show greater difficulties with unexpected or otherwise highly demanding sentence contexts than their younger counterparts. The assimilation of the traditional picture-naming paradigm within sentence contexts was an important step towards understanding how older adults’ language changes within daily-life speech contexts
Process and Formulation Optimization of a Continuous Microfluidic-Based Platform for High-Quality mRNA-LNP Production
Get PDFMessenger RNA (mRNA) has emerged as a transformative platform for
vaccines and targeted therapies due to its capacity for precise and rapid gene
expression. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored both its promise and the
challenges of large-scale production. In response, continuous flow
manufacturing—guided by Quality by Design (QbD) principles and enabled by
automation and digital technologies—offers a scalable, consistent, and efficient
alternative to traditional batch production
Sociolinguistic Variation and Change in a Bedouin Dialect in Tabūk City: Production and Perception
No full textThis study presents a systematic sociolinguistic investigation of the Banī ʿAṭiyyah (BA) dialect, a Bedouin variety spoken in Tabūk City, Saudi Arabia. Drawing on production data from sociolinguistic interviews, enactment, and picture-naming tasks, as well as perception data from a task adapted from the SCAT method (Llamas et al. 2016), the study examines three linguistic variables: the realisation of the 2nd person singular feminine suffix [-ki], the 2nd person plural feminine suffix [-kin], and the high back vowel /u/. These variables are analysed in relation to social factors including age, gender, style, social network, and attitude. A Social Network Index (SNI) and an Explicit Attitude Index (EAI) were developed to quantify speakers’ orientation and exposure.
The results reveal an ongoing process of language change in the BA dialect. For the morphological variables, there is an apparent-time shift toward the supralocal forms [-ik] for the 2nd person singular feminine suffix and [-kum] for the 2nd person plural feminine suffix. This shift is led by younger female speakers in the case of [-ik], and by both middle-aged and younger speakers for [-kum]. The realisation of /u/ exhibits complex variation, including [ə], [u], and [i]. While not strictly phonologically conditioned, the distribution of variants shows a preference for certain phonological environments. Social differentiation is also evident, with female speakers favouring both the widely used [u] and the supralocal [i] variants. Across all variables, convergence toward supralocal forms is most common among individuals with open social networks and weaker local orientations. Within these processes, different patterns have emerged, including simplification and the use of intermediate forms. Importantly, the results show that perception and production do not always align—while some features show strong correlations between awareness and use, others diverge, often in ways that reflect ideological resistance or social orientation.
This study contributes to Arabic dialectology by providing the first quantitative and perceptual analysis of the BA dialect. In the linguistically diverse context of Tabūk—shaped by internal migration and dialect contact—the findings offer insight into dialect levelling, supralocalisation, and language change in urban Saudi Arabia. By adopting an interdisciplinary approach, the study not only analyses linguistic behaviour but also how features are perceived and evaluated, offering a more comprehensive understanding of sociolinguistic change
Measuring lubricant viscosity in‐situ using ultrasound: impact of temperature, shear rate, and pressure.
No full textDrinks, sunscreen, blood, oils in engines: fluids are everywhere and carry essential functions across many industries -from food and cosmetics to pharmaceuticals and transport- where their viscosity plays a critical role. Viscosity affects product texture, drug delivery, and lubrication, and is highly dependent on operating conditions such as temperature, pressure, and shear rate. Conventional viscometers can seldom perform in-situ measurements, leading to a lack of experimental study of lubricant viscosity under realistic tribological conditions.
This study explored the use of shear ultrasonic waves for in-situ viscosity measurement. Ultrasonic viscometry, a relatively new technique, analysed the reflection coefficient at the interface between the test piece and the fluid. However, the influence of temperature, shear rate, and pressure on this method was not yet fully understood.
Several test rigs were instrumented with ultrasonic transducers, and a data processing method was developed. Temperature effects were studied from 20°C to 60°C. Results evidenced that a single cross-temperature calibration was sufficient to calibrate the ultrasonic viscometer, thus greatly reducing calibration time while improving measurement accuracy. Shear measurements revealed the ultrasonic viscosity was consistently lower than the low-shear viscosity, indicating that the ultrasonic viscometer acted as a high-shear device. Ultrasonic shear rates were found to range from 10^4 s−1 to 10^7 s−1, with parameters such as formulation, degradation, and frequency affecting the results. High-pressure measurements were conducted up to 600 MPa, and results were found to be in good agreement with high-pressure and high-shear literature values. In parallel, several models were developed to simulate ultrasonic wave propagation through multiple media. The results were compared to the experimental data and showed qualitative agreement.
This work advanced the development of the ultrasonic viscometer and aimed to make it more accessible for industrial in-situ viscosity measurements
The Construction of Transnational HongKongness: A Case Study of Green Bean Media
No full textThis thesis investigates the portrayal and construction of “Hongkongness” by Hong Kong diasporic media established in the United Kingdom following the 2019 Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement. As this community actively uses online platforms to renegotiate collective identity, existing literature lacks the theoretical frameworks to analyse this dynamic, relational identity work. This study addresses this gap by examining how the popular UK-based YouTube channel, Green Bean Media (GBM), portray a transnational Hong Kong identity.
The study employs a qualitative case study design, grounded in an innovative theoretical framework synthesising everyday nationalism and ethnic boundary-making theory. Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis (MMCDA) was utilised to systematically examine a corpus of 40 videos published between July 2022 and February 2025, supplemented by an analysis of channel-endorsed audience comments.
The analysis reveals a coherent, three-part strategy utilised by GBM. First, it cultivates internal cohesion by constructing a transnational “Greater Hong Kong Community” discourse through different Hongkongers’ media images (e.g., the “Reluctant Exile”) that transform individual hardship into collective strength. Second, it establishes external distinction through “normative inversion”, constructing “Chineseness” as a monolithic “Other” and framing Hongkongness as a morally superior “tragic hero”. Third, it strategically repositions Hongkongness in relation to the West by reappropriating its British colonial legacy to assert equality (a strategy of “equalisation”) and performing a “model migrant” identity.
In conclusion, this thesis demonstrates that GBM functions as an active agent in constructing “deterritorialised belonging”—a coherent, politically purposeful identity independent of territory. This research contributes significantly to diaspora studies by illuminating how digital diasporas engage in active political subject formation, extends boundary-making theory to multimodal environments, and offers a dynamic framework for understanding post-2019 Hong Kong identity
Linked lives in changing times: A life course analysis of young adults' prolonged co-residence with parents
No full textGrowing numbers of young adults are living with their parents well into their late twenties and thirties in the UK. These trends have intensified following the 2007/08 Global Financial Crisis, and are situated amidst wider conditions of austerity, unaffordable housing, and deteriorating employment prospects that have disproportionately constrained the opportunities of young people across Europe. In this context, parental support has become increasingly relevant in cushioning and facilitating young people’s transitions to adulthood – and their housing and home-leaving pathways in particular. However, in times of rising inequality, very little is known about the lived experiences and family dynamics lying beneath these broader housing trends. This thesis intervenes through a qualitative study of parental co-residence with thirty-two young adults aged 20–36 and thirteen parents in Leeds and Bradford (West Yorkshire, England). The two-generation approach is particularly novel and reflects a more diverse set of social class, socio-economic, and cultural circumstances than has typically been captured in existing UK studies. Drawing on in-depth interviews, the research explores the subjective and normative dimensions of parental co-residence through a life course perspective that foregrounds the interconnections between individual trajectories, historical context, and ‘linked’ family lives. The study demonstrates the importance of an inter-generational lens on youth transitions, illuminating how wider structural conditions are unevenly buffered and navigated within the parental home and through intimate relations and classed practices of family support. Across the sample, parental co-residence is shown to be characterised by highly unequal opportunities, constraints, and family resources patterning young people’s trajectories over time. Through the subjective accounts of young adults and their parents, this thesis illustrates persisting intra-generational inequalities that are deepening within enduring housing and economic ‘crises’. Amidst young people’s increasing dependency, the findings powerfully reveal the cross-generational transmission of (dis)advantage in life chances and opportunities for independence and autonomy
Alignment, Optical Properties and Defect Formation of DSCG and SSY
No full textThis thesis demonstrates the ability to achieve stable and uniform alignment in lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals (LCLCs) using surface-relief grating alignment, enabling detailed investigation of their optical properties and addressing a challenge that has limited their practical application compared to traditional thermotropic liquid crystals (TLCs). Achieving this excellent alignment allowed systematic investigation of the phase behaviour, optical properties, alignment mechanisms, and defect dynamics of two chromonic materials: Disodium Cromoglycate (DSCG) and Sunset Yellow (SSY).
The materials were systematically characterized across different concentrations to produce phase diagrams, with further optical and physical property studies conducted on DSCG at 12 wt% and SSY at 32 wt% in the nematic phase using cell thicknesses of 12 μm. Small-angle X-ray scattering revealed different molecular organizations: DSCG exhibited inter-columnar spacing of 43 Å with structural coherence (correlation length 64-79 Å), while SSY showed smaller inter-columnar spacing (25 Å) with reduced structural order (correlation length 33-43 Å). Both materials maintained consistent π-π stacking distances of 3.3 Å.
Three surface treatments were systematically compared: untreated substrates, scratch alignment, and surface-relief grating alignment. Optical characterization demonstrated that surface-relief grating alignment enhances birefringence uniformity and provides stronger anchoring energies (7.38×10⁻⁵ J/m² for DSCG vs 2.10×10⁻⁵ J/m² for SSY) compared to traditional alignment methods. Surprisingly, despite DSCG's stronger surface anchoring energy (7.38×10⁻⁵ J/m²) and longer structural correlation length (64-79 Å), SSY achieved faster alignment times (15 minutes compared to 60 minutes for DSCG).
Tactoid formation during isotropic-nematic phase transitions revealed fundamental differences between the materials. DSCG exhibited unique "negative tactoids" (isotropic droplets embedded in nematic matrix) creating twist-induced birefringence, while SSY demonstrated conventional tactoid behaviour with morphological diversity (aspect ratios 1.05-1.65)
The role of echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging in the diagnosis of foetuses and neonates with an antenatal suspicion of coarctation of the aorta
No full textShit also flows uphill: Exploring neglected non-hydraulic flows of faecal pathogens
Get PDFMotivation.
Exposure to faecal pathogens is a driver of preventable disease worldwide, with an estimated 3.4 billion people still lacking access to safely managed sanitation (UNICEF, 2025). The sanitation chain protects public health only when it achieves the full separation of faeces from human contact. Failures in Containment, Transport and Treatment release pathogens into the environment, from where they travel along multiple routes to human exposure (Peal et al., 2014).
Purpose.
In the face of such failures, interventions planned without a robust source-pathway-exposure framework risk becoming fragmented and misdirected, with resources channelled into meeting indicators rather than achieving meaningful public health benefits.
Approach and Methods.
The approach was mixed methods and exploratory, combining literature review, fieldwork and modelling. Evidence for source-pathway-exposure linkages for faecal pathogens in the urban context was synthesised. The F-diagram was critically assessed for its usefulness in representing these complex flows, and a new model was proposed: the novel Amplified F-diagram. This diagram was then applied using data collection in Delhi: 180 microbial samples tested for faecal coliforms, 259 household survey participants, over 2000 behaviour observations, six focus group discussions and twelve key informant interviews. The Amplified F-diagram was used to consider how different intervention focus areas would influence public health outcomes.
Findings.
Faecal pathogens are highly mobile across urban environments, creating exposures for communities remote from their source. This underscores the need for systemic city-wide approaches to sanitation interventions. Both empirical and modelled data demonstrate that preventing failures in the Transport stage of the sanitation chain is the most critical for protecting public health. In Delhi, faecal pathogens on the Fresh Produce were traced primarily to herbs grown on urban farms, while Solid Waste had more localised contamination pathways. These non-hydraulic pathways are neglected in both research and in intervention design.
Contribution and Implications.
By conceptualising and analysing source-pathway-exposure linkages, this research expands the traditional F-diagram into a model that more accurately represents urban realities. The Amplified F-diagram provides decision-makers with clearer evidence on which interventions are most likely to disrupt transmission and reduce disease risk. The contribution is therefore both conceptual and empirical: developing a new framework for thinking about urban faecal flows and applying it to case study data from Delhi
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