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REDUCING MARINE PLASTIC POLLUTION: CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE POTENTIAL TO DEVELOP A CIVIL LIABILITY AND COMPENSATION MECHANISM UNDER THE LAW OF THE SEA CONVENTION
Get PDFPlastic pollution has had a detrimental global impact, particularly in the marine environment, due to its mobility, longevity, and tendency to be difficult to retrieve. The situation has worsened because of the increased production and consumption of plastics and the fact that pollution occurs throughout the entirety of plastics’ production and lifecycle. Its pathways/vectors to the marine environment are diffuse and complex. The combined environmental, social, and potential health impacts of plastics have resulted in the development of over 40 international legal and other regulatory mechanisms, although inconsistent implementation has resulted in a fragmented framework with gaps and overlaps. The development of an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, to address the full lifecycle of plastic has progressed in parallel with this research. However, there is a gap in the literature exploring a civil (private) liability and compensation mechanism for marine plastic pollution. The concept of liability and compensation has provenance in the law of tort where an act causing harm, loss, or damage to person or property may permit an injured party to obtain compensation through civil action against the person causing the harm. The availability of civil liability mechanisms may be jurisdictional and/or organised through international legal norms. Article 235 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea provides for several potential liability mechanisms which may be applied jurisdictionally or otherwise in cases of pollution of, or damage to the marine environment. In addition, State Parties are encouraged to develop liability and compensation mechanisms to assist where environmental harm is caused through pollution. However, applying private law in an environmental context is limited because the ocean is not ‘owned.’ If the manufacturers of plastics should bear a substantial burden of remediation, the question of justice – particularly where the harms are difficult to quantify – comes to the fore. As the template in international law for such a liability and compensation mechanism, this thesis contemplates whether a civil liability and compensation regime analogous to the international oil pollution regime could be applied to marine plastic pollution. The research was completed by applying a desk-based doctrinal methodology combined with a documentary analysis. The research concludes that establishing causation to identify polluters is difficult which complicates accountability because plastics enter the ocean from diffuse and point-sources, therefore both tort and non-tort-based mechanisms including complementary policies such as extended producer responsibility might offer the most viable approach to reduce marine plastic pollution
Fit for whose future? A critical omission of people with intellectual disability in the 2025 NHS 10 Year Health Plan for England
Get PDFThe NHS 2025 Health Plan aims for radical reform but overlookspeople with intellectual disability. This editorial highlights criticalomissions in policy, services, research and rights protections.Without intentional inclusion, digital and community shifts riskdeepening inequality. True progress demands co-producedstrategies to ensure equitable care for this vulnerable population
When the eyes break the (naturalistic) scene: Investigation on the eye-gaze following mechanisms in complex scenarios
Get PDFProcessing eye-gaze and aligning one’s own attention with the gaze direction of others (gaze following) is a crucial ability and it underpins several cognitive and affective mechanisms. However, we know little about how this gaze following operates in realistic scenarios in adults. The present study addresses this gap by presenting naturalistic scenes, in which models were portrayed centrally or peripherally (7°), with their eye gaze directed straight ahead, averted towards an object (valid cue) or away from it (invalid cue), while maintaining a straight head position. Eye movements were recorded while participants (N = 60) performed two tasks: a free viewing task to assess spontaneous gaze following, and a visual search task, to assess attentional shifts based on the observed gaze direction. Findings from the free viewing task showed that participants spontaneously looked faster at validly cued objects (i.e., gaze cueing effect) and they looked longer at the cued objects independently of whether the face was present centrally or peripherally. Importantly, in the visual search task, the cueing effects were also present when face cues were presented peripherally and in absence of overt attentional orienting. This finding provides new evidence on the spontaneity of gaze following in ecological contexts and offers theoretical insights on this important social cognitive ability
Acute, Low-Grade Inflammation elevates White Matter Sensitivity to Ischaemia
No full textIschaemic brain injuries, including ischaemic stroke, are highly prevalent neurological diseases. Acute, low-grade inflammation, often resulting from peripheral infection, has emerged as a risk factor. White matter axons, and their supporting glia, are susceptible to both ischaemic and neuroinflammatory injury. The mechanisms behind ischaemic injury in white matter are well established. However, the white matter response to acute, low-grade inflammation, and how this can interact with co-morbidities such as cerebral ischaemia, are yet to be examined. This thesis evaluated the response of white matter to acute, low-grade inflammation and the downstream effects this had on its sensitivity to ischaemia. Here, I used isolated ex vivo white matter tracts to evaluate both the functional, cellular and sub-cellular response to both ischaemic and acute, low-grade neuroinflammatory insults. Ex vivo modelling showed that white matter tolerates acute, low-grade inflammation, with limited microglial activation but no axo-myelinic damage. However, acute, low-grade inflammation elevated stress to oligodendrocytes which, when put under ischaemic conditions, impaired their ability to maintain healthy myelin. This increased axo-myelinic damage causing an elevated loss in white matter function. I subsequently used a model of microglial depletion to show that the elevated stress to oligodendrocytes was caused by microglia and dampening the microglial response with the clinically available drug minocycline eliminated the elevated white matter sensitivity to ischaemia following acute, low-grade inflammation. This study therefore identified that the increase of white matter sensitivity to ischaemia caused by acute, low-grade neuroinflammation is a mechanism for understanding why those with acute inflammatory conditions are more prone to ischaemic brain injuries, providing evidence that microglial activation is a clinically targetable mechanism to reduce this risk
Rehabilitation for chronic neurological disorders including acquired brain injury: Information for the public
Get PDFEngaging Student Nurses in Lifestyle Management: The Role of Technology-Based Interventions and Mobile Health Applications
Get PDFDespite their knowledge of health risks and their future role as health promoters, pre-registered nursing students frequently struggle with unhealthy behaviours, including high rates of overweight and obesity. This thesis investigated these challenges in a student nurse population in the South West of England, exploring lifestyle patterns, perceived barriers and motivators, and the potential of mobile health (mHealth) interventions to support behaviour change.Using a multi-method approach across four studies, the research examined students’ current health behaviours, attitudes towards digital tools, and the feasibility and acceptability of theory-driven interventions. The first study, a cross-sectional survey, assessed diet, physical activity, and attitudes toward mHealth. Results showed that over half of participants were overweight or obese, and fewer than half met physical activity guidelines. While many students expressed a desire to improve their lifestyles, they cited time pressure, fatigue, and low motivation as key barriers.The second study evaluated the FITZ app, an mHealth tool based on Functional Imagery Training (FIT), against a control app (‘Best-You’) using standard behaviour change techniques. However, engagement with both tools was limited, highlighting persistent challenges in student uptake of optional digital interventions.The third study used focus groups to explore students lived experiences, revealing a complex interplay of internal (e.g. motivation, energy, impulsivity) and external (e.g. schedules, finances, placement stress) barriers. Students expressed openness to digital tools but stressed the need for more personalised, embedded support. These insights informed the fourth study, which applied the COM-B model to deliver a behaviour change intervention including webinars and social media engagement. Despite offering flexible resources, engagement remained low, highlighting the gap between intention and sustained action.Findings across all studies emphasise that while mHealth tools hold promise, digital solutions alone are insufficient to drive sustained behaviour change.Motivation, both reflective and automatic, emerged as a critical yet fragile driver, shaped by competing demands, value alignment, and emotional states. This research highlights the need for integrated, curriculum-based strategies that foster self-efficacy, lifestyle awareness, and resilience. Embedding behaviour change techniques and self-care education within nursing curricula may better equip students to manage their own health and act as credible role models for patients in clinical practice
Differential roles of cyclin–CDK1 complexes in cell migration and invasion
Get PDFWe have previously described a central role for CDK1 at the nexus of adhesion signalling and cell cycle progression, demonstrating that CDK1 has a non-canonical role in regulating integrin adhesion complexes and in the migration of cancer cells in 3D interstitial matrix. Here, we show that the CDK1-binding partners cyclinB1 and cyclinA2 also have roles in cell migration and invasion in both cancer and non-transformed cells. CyclinB1 plays a key role in RhoA activation to promote rear retraction in a membrane tension-dependent manner, whereas cyclinA2 has a general role in promoting motility. Knockdown of either cyclin significantly perturbs migration with contrasting phenotypes, whereas knockdown of both together has an additive effect, which arrests both migration and division. Our findings therefore describe how cyclin–CDK1 complexes orchestrate migration as well as division of cells, and that cyclinA2–CDK1 and cyclinB1–CDK1 complexes play distinct roles in motility
Predictive Perception in Autism
Get PDFThis thesis investigates how predictive perception, motor coordination, and neurotype differences influences social perception in autism. It explores how these mechanisms contribute to social difficulties faced by autistic people, through the lens of the double empathy problem and second-person neuroscience.Chapter 2 examined how spoken intentions and visual evidence guide predictive social perception. Across four experiments, results supported a dual-process model whereby top-down expectations shape early perception but are overridden by visual input once motion begins. This led to the ‘kinematic dominance hypothesis’, suggesting motion cues dominate perception once movement begins due to their higher precision.Chapter 3 used high-resolution active motion capture to analyse autistic motor coordination. Autistic participants showed differences in speed and amplitude of motion during complex tasks. These differences correlated with communication and camouflaging traits, suggesting motor differences may influence how autistic actions are interpreted in everyday contexts.Chapter 4 tested the double empathy problem through predictive perception and diagnostic framing. Non-autistic participants altered perception when told the actor was autistic, despite identical kinematics. Yet, autistic participants showed stable perception regardless of actor neurotype. These findings bridge predictive perception and the double empathy problem. Together, this thesis presents a cohesive account of how social misunderstandings in autism may arise from perceptual, motoric, and contextual divergence rather than deficits in ability. It supports a neurodiversity-informed model of autistic sociality grounded in predictive processing, action kinematics, and behavioural interpretation
Daddy’s Little Girl: The Role of Life History in Paternal Investment Towards Daughters
No full textObjectivesThis study examines the complex dynamics of father-daughter relationships, focusing on how life history factors are associated with paternal behaviors towards daughters. Drawing on Life history Theory and the Daughter-Guarding hypothesis, the research investigates how these factors contribute to father-daughter interactions, such as attachment, protection, support, and control received from fathers.MethodsTwo surveys were conducted: one with 120 daughters aged 18–21 (Study 1) and another with 120 fathers (Study 2), both recruited through online platforms. Study 1 examined the relationship from the daughters’ perspective, while Study 2 explored it from the fathers’ perspective.ResultsFathers with higher education and stable financial backgrounds showed stronger attachment, support, and protection to their daughters. Additionally, daughters’ self-perceived attractiveness was associated with paternal behaviors, suggesting that attractive daughters were more likely to receive support, protection, and develop stronger attachments to their fathers.ConclusionsThe findings emphasize the need for further research into the relationships of these factors, particularly across diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, to better understand their role in shaping father-daughter relationships and the potential effects on female development