Open Research Exeter - University of Exeter
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Fetal Ultrasound as Intrusion
No full textThis paper highlights how fetal ultrasound scanning involves an intrusion upon the integrity of the pregnant person’s body and their psychological space. It contends that this intrusion has the potential to harm the pregnant people subjected to it in medical contexts as a result of the normative practices and interpretative frameworks associated with it. The socio-cultural practices associated with fetal ultrasound pathologize pregnant bodies and perpetuate logics in which pregnant people are subordinated, discredited, devalued, and policed within social relations as women and mothers-to-be. Further, the paper argues that the intrusion of fetal ultrasound is obscured in the medical monitoring of pregnancy where it is taken for granted as a benign aspect of routine antenatal care. Consequently, we contend that fetal ultrasound is a normalized and gendered intrusion that can cause epistemic harm, scaffold obstetric violence, and may sometimes constitute a form of obstetric violence in and of itself.</p
What happens when women suddenly stop receiving cash transfers?
No full textFemale-targeted cash transfers are widely used as a policy tool to enhance women's
empowerment. However, little is known about what happens when payments stop –
whether due to budget cuts, program changes, or recipient graduation. We study how
women are affected by unanticipated program exit, and whether they experience
backlash when they stop bringing cash home. Using a regression discontinuity-indifferences
design around a revised eligibility threshold, we follow 2,333 women exiting
Pakistan’s largest cash transfer program, surveying them before program exit and one
year after it. Drawing on comprehensive measures of empowerment, intimate partner
violence, and well-being, we find no evidence of negative impacts a year after exit.
These results suggest that the gains experienced by women during the program are
not undone by adverse reactions upon exit.</p
Future directions in all-optical label-free single-molecule sensing
No full textThis perspective discusses the future role of all-optical label-free single-molecule sensing. After summarizing the core working principles of the different detection modalities we discuss future research directions in terms of technology development and applications. In terms of future technologies we address research directions in the areas of multi-parametric and interaction free sensors, integration and miniaturization, and advanced data analysis. We further describe potential applications towards probing of protein interactions, DNA and protein sequencing, and molecular diagnostics.</p
Buried before the flood? A regional study of Romano-British tableware
No full textPast discussions of Romano-British pewter tableware have tended to view the vessels in representative terms, as evidence either for the ‘Romanisation’ of the south of Britain, or as signifiers of elite identity. This thesis builds a more holistic understanding of how these vessels may have been used and perceived by contemporary communities by engaging with the materiality of pewter vessels and comparing them to contemporary vessels in other materials. The thesis utilises the framework provided by the theoretical tools of affordances and objectscapes to structure discussion and reach an understanding of pewter tableware vessels as functional objects and active social agents. The thesis also seeks to demonstrate the important role which regional museum collections continue to play in archaeological research, and draws upon a survey of over 100 Romano-British pewter vessels from the modern ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire, Bristol, Wiltshire, Somerset, and Dorset now held in museum collections, as well as a detailed case study of the largely unpublished material from ‘Blagan Hill’ (Roughridge Hill) in Wiltshire.</p
Eco-Industrialisation at a Glance: An overview of the Greater Southwest’s journey towards a sustainable future by 2040
No full textExecutive SummaryPurpose of the report This report provides an overview of eco-?industrialisation in the Greater Southwest (GSW) region of the UK, currently in operation, and planned by 2040. Eco-Industrialisation is the transformation of natural resources into industrial-scale capital assets to create systems-level value, in a focal region. For the purpose of this report, this includes renewable energy, decarbonisation technology and green solutions. The GSW region refers to the Southwest of the UK, South Wales and the Celtic Sea. Key Stats and Figures Based on reviewing and analysing the ‘UK Government Renewable Energy Planning Database: Quarterly Extract (April 2025)’ [1] and ‘NESO’s Clean Energy by 2040 data for the UK’ [2], key characteristics of the eco-industrialisation landscape are outlined. In operation: • Total renewable energy generation capacity in the GSW region currently in operation: 3.23 GW Planned by 2040: • Total renewable energy capacity in the GSW region by 2040: 41.37 GW • GSW energy capacity as a percentage share of the UK: 16% • Largest industry (by number of projects) share: Solar photovoltaic (65%) • Largest industry (by energy capacity) share: Offshore wind (38%) • Counties with the greatest capacity: Offshore (38%), Devon (25%), West Glamorgan (10%), Somerset (8%) & Cornwall (5%)</p
Fostering high-quality engagement in nature recovery: towards a de-reification of environmental land management
No full textFinancial incentives go a long way in securing land manager participation in environmental programmes. They are nevertheless limited in their capacity to influence the quality of engagement with nature recovery actions. Drawing on responses from members of organisations active in nature conservation and restoration across four UK study sites—Devon & Cornwall, Peak District, East of England and the Scottish Highlands—we emphasise the importance of examining the conditions for high quality engagement in environmental programmes. We do so through a focus on land managers’ own relationships with the actions they take to recover nature, particularly the extent to which those actions are reified: treated as ends in themselves, rather than as means to the end (i.e. enhanced nature conservation and recovery). Using the concept of reification, we aim to show that the manner in which economic incentives are deployed in environmental programmes does not only influence participation but also the quality of land managers’ engagement in nature recovery. Reification therefore invites us to carefully consider how those incentives mediate the actions of land managers.</p
How can elephant-caregiver interactions in zoos influence perceptions of elephant welfare states and emotions?
No full textThough elephants are iconic zoo residents and among the most researched of all wild animals, studies that focus on aspects of daily management, such as zoo caregivers' interactions with and teaching of elephants are largely absent. The aim of this research was to qualitatively explore how elephant-caregiver interactions (ECIs) that take place in zoos influence zoo visitors' perceptions of elephants' welfare states and emotions.
This thesis employed purposive sampling to obtain participants and a pragmatic framework through which the research findings are engaged and explored. Multiple strands of data collection were incorporated, including surveys, focus groups, participant observation, autoethnography, interviews, and welfare assessments. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.
This thesis is a first to identify that ECIs in zoos under conditions of positive reinforcement training (PRT) contexts are associated with visitors' perceptions of positive welfare states and emotions. Individual parameters explored included learning sessions conducted during backstage encounters at a zoo, specific behaviors, rewards, and messages. This thesis additionally provided unique exploration of the use of ankuses in zoos, a topic rare in academic literature and absent in relation to zoo visitors' perceptions. Further, this thesis established that visitors form perceptions of welfare and affective states homogenously despite the species under examination. As such, findings from this thesis have potential to be extrapolated to a wider range of zoo residents, increasing the pragmatic and academic relevance of the research.
The findings of this thesis indicate that ECIs in zoos provide a profound opportunity for facilities to showcase excellent elephant welfare and related emotional states, such as happiness. However, these perceptions are dependent on context. This research indicated that positive perceptions are formed by zoo visitors under conditions of positive affiliative interactions that afford the elephants some autonomy, that demonstrate good relationships between the elephants and their caregivers, and where the elephants' actions infer that there is a level of enjoyment of the activities. Furthermore, welfare assessments of the animals under examination indicate that visitors' perceptions largely align with those of professional animal caregivers, a novel opportunity for visitor involvement in zoo animal welfare and the zoo community.</p
Investigating KCC2 activity in Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP) associated Alzheimer’s Disease
No full textOne of the hallmarks of AD is the formation of sticky protein clumps in the brain known as amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaques, which are formed from specific fragments of the amyloid precursor protein (APP). The intact form of APP is essential for synaptic function; however, much remains to be explored regarding the impact of APP processing on the pathophysiology of AD. Recent evidence suggests that APP can affect neuronal activity through protein-protein interactions with the potassium-chloride cotransporter 2 (KCC2), a protein whose function is essential for healthy electrical activity in the brain. Thus, this thesis used a variety of techniques to investigate KCC2 activity in APP-associated AD.
Chapter 3 established the APP-KCC2 interaction, and the expression levels and alterations of these proteins affect the physiological expression and regulation of each other. In addition, this chapter suggests that APP expression and regulation may have consequential effects on key proteins involved in the regulatory pathways for KCC2 activity, and vice versa. In support of the in vitro and ex vivo findings, Chapter 4 integrates in silico techniques to provide a comprehensive view of the molecular interactions between APP and KCC2, thereby shedding light on the participating residues and their molecular behaviours. Chapter 5 provides supporting evidence for ZT-1a as a potential inhibitor of kinases associated with the signalling pathway that inhibits KCC2 activity. Additionally, ZT-1a modulates the expression and phosphorylation of the APP and Tau proteins.
Collectively, this thesis establishes the interaction between APP and KCC2, demonstrating that the expression/regulation of one impacts that of the other. This thesis also suggests that ZT-1a may be involved in modulating pathways that regulate both APP and KCC2. Thus, further investigation could yield novel ideas for exploring multidirectional therapeutic strategies to manage APP-associated AD with ZT-1a.</p
Efficient and stable catalytic hydrolysis of perfluorocarbon enabled by SO2-mediated proton supply
No full textAbstract
Catalytic hydrolysis is an effective strategy for decomposing tetrafluoromethane (CF
4
), one of the most chemically inert per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). A key challenge in this process lies in enhancing proton availability to facilitate efficient and stable C–F bond activation while ensuring long-term catalyst stability. Here we present an SO
2
-driven approach to significantly enhance H
2
O dissociation and proton-supplying through the in situ formation of Al–HSO
4
and Ga–HS species. Combined experimental and theoretical investigations reveal that these species not only lower the energy barrier for C–F bond activation but also promote active site regeneration by facilitating defluorination, thus effectively overcoming catalyst deactivation. As a result, the optimized catalyst enables complete CF
4
decomposition at a low temperature of 550°C, with stable operation for over 2500 hours. This work establishes a new paradigm for regulating proton transfer and offers a viable route for the efficient, durable degradation of gaseous PFAS.</p
Smart Home Energy Prediction Using Bayesian Hyper-Parameter Optimization of Gaussian Process Regression
No full textThis paper presents an innovative approach to hybrid parameter tuning using Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) to forecast energy consumption patterns in smart homes. This approach combines Bayesian optimization with domain-specific feature engineering to improve prediction accuracy on data derived from multiple heterogeneous smart home data sources such as weather variables and appliance-level consumption logs. The resulting probabilistic forecasts facilitate anticipatory demand-response strategies, reduce peak loads, and optimize renewable energy usage. This paper presents the details of the hybrid parameter tuning method using GPR for a smart home dataset, as case study. We use a subset of parameters from the Rye microgrid dataset to develop supervised machine learning (ML) models that achieve high predictive accuracy for renewable energy production, consumption, and related behavioral dynamics of smart homes.</p