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Essays in health inequality: evidence from 19th century Netherlands
Get PDFPersistent health inequality offers a significant opportunity to improve welfare and
productivity, and understanding its causal pathways is key to adequate policy design. In this
thesis, I first review the literature on health inequality in contemporaneous settings to
establish the contribution of studies using historical data such as the ones provided here.
Studying health shocks in a historical setting can illuminate their potentially different
consequences along the development path. Furthermore, the distribution of improvements to
health conditions within the family may play a key role in the evolution of inequality. Using
death, birth, and marriage certificates of two provinces of the Netherlands, I first analyse the
effect on health inequality of a health shock (an undetermined epidemic) in the early 19th
century. Lower socioeconomic status groups were not only more negatively affected by the
shock but also experienced worse health in the aftermath, worsening overall health inequality
among survivors. I also study the so-called birth-order effect (differences in outcomes
between siblings of different orders of birth) on survivability in the 19th and early 20th
centuries and found a small but significant negative effect of older siblings of the same
gender on survivability and a positive effect of older siblings of different gender. However,
this effect did not increase as life conditions improved, and it was not overly present among
any particular socioeconomic group, suggesting relatively equal access to improvements in
health
Enhancing implicit discourse relation recognition by exploiting label inter-relations
Get PDFImplicit Discourse Relation Recognition (IDRR) is a fundamental yet challenging task
in discourse parsing, as it involves identifying rhetorical, semantic and/or pragmatic
relationships between text spans in the absence of explicit connectives such as “because” or “however”. While recent advances leveraging pre-trained language models
and prompt-based learning have improved performance, most existing approaches treat
discourse sense labels as flat and independent categories. This neglects the rich structural information embedded in annotation frameworks like the Penn Discourse Treebank (PDTB), where discourse relations are organized hierarchically and can co-occur in some ways.
The central claim of this thesis is that structured groupings of discourse senses
— as encoded in the sense hierarchy — can serve as an effective structural prior to
guide model training, particularly by shaping how label distances are represented and
learned. This thesis proposes methods to enhance IDRR by focusing on two kinds
of label inter-relations: the hierarchical relations and co-occurrence-based label interrelations. First, we introduce a contrastive learning framework that utilizes the PDTB
sense hierarchy to guide the selection of semantically meaningful negative examples
during training, thereby encouraging the model to learn finer-grained distinctions between closely related senses. Second, we integrate hierarchical information into a
prompt-based learning paradigm through a prototype-based verbalizer, which aligns
label representations with the sense hierarchy. This approach is further extended to
support zero-shot cross-lingual IDRR, demonstrating effectiveness across both monolingual and cross-lingual scenarios. Third, we explore multi-label classification frameworks to handle cases where multiple discourse relations simultaneously hold between a single pair of text spans — an under-addressed yet prevalent phenomenon in real-world discourse. Incorporating hierarchical sense information also improves the accuracy of multi-label predictions.
Extensive experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of our approaches that consider
the label inter-relations. The results show that explicitly modeling label hierarchies
improves model performance in both single-label classification and multi-label
classification scenarios. This work advances our understanding of how structural relationships between discourse relations can be effectively utilized in computational
models, while also highlighting the importance of handling multi-label cases in discourse
relation recognition.
Finally, this thesis outlines several promising directions for future work. One avenue
is to extend the proposed approaches to broader datasets, including discourse
annotations from alternative frameworks such as RST and eRST, as well as texts from
diverse domains and languages, to better assess the generalizability of the methods.
Another direction involves integrating argument span detection with discourse relation
recognition into a unified framework, thereby advancing toward more realistic and
end-to-end discourse parsing systems. Additionally, future work may explore guiding
Large Language Models (LLMs) to better represent discourse relations and understand
the label relationships between senses by leveraging the hierarchical organization of
discourse senses. Together, these directions point to the broader goal of capturing the
complexity of coherence more effectively in natural language
Structural basis for the inner centromere regulatory hub assembly critical for error-free chromosome segregation
No full textAccurate chromosome segregation during cell division is essential for maintaining genome stability, and errors in this process can result in aneuploidy, polyploidy and disorders such as cancer and infertility. Therefore, understanding the proteins and their interactions at play during this critical event becomes significant. Chromosome segregation is controlled primarily by proteins that are localised at the centromere, the region on the chromosome where kinetochores assemble and attach to microtubules. Within this region, the inner centromere acts as a hub for factors that monitor and control chromosome segregation, including the Chromosomal Passenger Complex (CPC), Heterochromatin Protein 1 (HP1), shugoshins, cohesin, and various kinases and phosphatases that regulate this process. Although these components have been studied extensively, the principles by which they assemble into a functional network remain incompletely understood. This study specifically investigates how the inner centromere interaction network assembles, with the focus on how CPC interacts with H3T3 phosphorylated nucleosome in vitro, and centromeric chromatin in vivo. Using an integrated approach combining biochemical reconstitution, cryo-electron microscopy, cellular localisation and functional assays, and in vitro and in vivo MNase assays, the research characterised the structural and mechanistic basis of CPC association with H3T3ph nucleosome. The cryo-EM structure of CPC-H3T3ph NCP complex revealed how CPC engages with the acidic patch and entry-exit DNA of the NCP via Borealin. EMSA and SPR assays confirmed that the stable and conformationally heterogeneous interactions are important for efficient CPC-NCP binding. Structural findings, supported by biochemical and functional assays, identified a previously unrecognised role of the CPC in protecting nucleosomal DNA against MNase digestion in vitro and in vivo. These results provide mechanistic insight into CPC-mediated chromatin stabilisation and highlight how CPC contributes to maintaining genome integrity. By dissecting the CPC-nucleosome interaction, this study advances the understanding of inner centromere organisation and provides a foundation for further exploration of the assembly and function of the inner centromere interaction network
Human-centred healthcare chatbot design: supporting Chinese overseas students to utilise UK health services
Get PDFLiving in foreign countries can be stressful, particularly in managing health and well-being. Chinese overseas students continuously constitute the largest cohort of international students in the UK; however, they face many challenges in using healthcare services, such as realising the need to access care, communicating with doctors, and understanding treatment processes. This research looked into Chinese overseas students on their behaviours in using UK healthcare services. Based on their pain points, the research project designed and evaluated an educational chatbot prototype that addresses the reluctance issues among the Chinese student population to access healthcare services in the UK. The results showed that the chatbot design boosted Chinese students’ confidence and made them feel more capable of utilising healthcare services
Using the Cerebras CS3 Dataflow Accelerator for HPC
No full textThis project investigates the potential of the Cerebras CS3 wafer-scale accelerator as a platform for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations using the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM). The CS3 implementation, written in the Cerebras Software Language (CSL), explores both the opportunities and the practical challenges of deploying a stencil-based, halo-exchange communication pattern on this novel architecture.
The work began with the Taylor–Green Vortex benchmark but pivoted to a fully bounded Poiseuille flow case to reduce boundary-handling complexity. A complete parallel LBM solver was developed, incorporating a fused stream-and-collide kernel and a two-step halo exchange implemented via the low-level color-based communication fabric. Along the way, significant SDK limitations were identified, including restrictions in the high-level message-passing library, stringent local memory constraints, and manual management of low-level hardware resources.
Although a physically correct simulation was not achieved, the project produced a clear characterisation of the failure mode: the breakdown of the no-slip boundary condition, leading to non-physical velocities and chaotic flow patterns.
By scaling the physical parameters appropriately and isolating architectural issues from the numerical model, the instability was traced to a persistent bug within the computational
kernel itself.
The results provide valuable insight into both the current maturity of the Cerebras SDK for non-AI scientific workloads and the development effort required to achieve correctness. This work serves as a detailed case study of the architectural, software, and debugging challenges encountered when porting complex HPC applications to emerging wafer-scale hardware
Crafting Magic > Conjuring Relations | Keynote | 14th International Journal of Art and Design Education Conference
No full texthttps://www.nsead.org/courses-advice/events-conferences/ijade-conference-2025-ecologies/neil-mulholland/
Keynote speaker | Saturday 8 November 2025
Neil Mulholland is Professor of Contemporary Art Practice & Theory in The University of Edinburgh. His research is focused on neomedievalisms, paragogy, and magic.
Neil's work on neomedievalism and the nonmodern is through a long-standing artistic collaboration with Dr Norman Hogg (Ottawa, Canada) as the Confraternity of Neoflagellants.
His distinctive paragogy is manifest in his writing (Re-imagining the Art School: Paragogy and Artistic Learning), and his art (Shift/Work). Peer-to-peer co-creation and Open Educational Practices are core to how Neil teaches (MA Contemporary Art Theory) and inform how he shares his work (modifiable Open Educational Resources).
Neil's current research frames contemporary art from the perspectives of magic theory. He is currently writing a book - Crafting Magic - examining the many ways in which magic and art assemble personae, methods and tools to situate effects.
Crafting Magic is also an artistic project, an openly licensed grimoire of magical personae, methods and tools that can be ritually modded. Neil's most recent Crafting Magic workshop, held in Tamworth Central (Ontario, Canada), engaged artists in magic's vast repertoire of methods such as analogical thinking, mismorphism, generative grammar, ritualism, transfiguration, elevation, magic circles, kayfabe, and thickening. This Tamworth apprenticeship culminated in an exhibition of the ensuing effects (23 July – 27 September 2025).
The methodological inventiveness required by magic and Open Educational Practices makes them inherently ecological ways of working. They demand whole systems thinking. Framing participants, methods and tools as agents in situating action is a vital means of conjuring new worlds of relations."Ecologic" in the context of art education is approached here as a complex metaphor that, at very least, blends "oikos", "ology", "art" and "education". Distinct metaphorical blends offer a myriad of ways of interconnecting art, education, and their milieu. Metaphorical blends are forms of syntactical magic (spellcasting) that generate their own grammar (grimoire). Bio-cultural metaphors are thus agents of biophillic organisation - they conjure relations and situate actions. This raises two key questions:
Q. What sort of enabling constraints might different "eco" analogies conjure, and which actions do they situate?
Q. Are there "genuinely" ecological forms of identification and if so, which eco-metaphors might best rationalise them?
Looking at salient eco-metaphors - such as "shallow" and "deep" ecology, biophillia, (dis)enchantment, magical relations, technic, and panarchy - broaches how we can establish emergent boundary rationalisations, identifications and organisational forms through tricksterish blends of existing industrial and eco-metaphors
In a Widespread War of All against All, Can Ethiopia Survive the Storm?
Get PDFThis policy brief provides a narrative of Abiy Ahmed's ascent to power and his anti-establishment rhetoric, which has led the country into the current chaos and war with itself. The brief also provides background to the various wars in the country, discussing the overall alignment of forces both at regional and federal levels. The brief will also summarize the opening of the National Dialogue Commission and its achievements thus far. It concludes by highlighting some key recommendations and steps forward to end the wars in Ethiopia
Carbon Calculator for wind farms on Scottish peatlands: an evidence assessment
No full textThe Scottish Government’s Carbon Calculator for wind farms on Scottish peatlands was developed in 2008, to calculate the impact of wind farm development on peatland carbon stocks in Scotland and thereby support decision making. Electricity generation emission factors are updated annually, but no major revisions have been made to the Carbon Calculator since 2014.
The increased focus on the transition to net zero might affect the suitability of the Carbon Calculator for future use. This research conducted a detailed review of the latest spreadsheet version of the Carbon Calculator, which mirrors the web version. It provides an evidence base for future considerations and recommendations. This review has initiated further discussions and highlighted the need for ongoing engagement, which will be instrumental in any development of the Carbon Calculator
Choroidal image analysis for OCT image sequences with applications in systemic health
No full textThe retina is a light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye and is responsible for vision. Light-sensitive photoreceptor cells in the outer retina detect light and, through a series of neuronal and vascular layers, process it into signals for the brain. The photoreceptors are perfused and maintained indirectly by the choroid and choriocapillaris, a highly vascularised layer posterior to the retina. The choroid is an extension of the central nervous system and has parallels with the renal cortex, but choroidal blood flow is four-fold higher per unit mass than the kidney and ten-fold higher than the brain. Thus, there has been growing interest in the structure and function of the choroidal circulation reflecting physiological status of systemic disease in the kidney and brain. The choroid can be imaged using optical coherence tomography (OCT), a non-invasive imaging technique which uses interferometry to capture three-dimensional, cross-sectional visualisations of ocular tissue at micron resolution. Advancements in OCT technology now permit deeper penetration and improved visualisation of the choroidal vessels. However, conventional methods of characterising and quantifying this vascular space have not kept pace with the improvements in OCT technology which visualise it, resulting in non-standardised manual or semi-automatic approaches as commonplace methods for choroidal measurement. The ability to measure anatomy consistently at micron-scale both intra- and inter-patient is paramount to capturing the inherent biological change or signal being studied – a signal which can be corrupted when exposed to human subjectivity.
In this thesis, I develop and evaluate several novel methods to analyse the choroid in OCT image sequences, with each successive method markedly improving on its predecessors. In the first instance, I develop two semi-automatic approaches for choroid region (Gaussian Process Edge Tracing, GPET) and vessel (Multi-scale Median Cut Quantisation, MMCQ) analysis, which improve on manual approaches but ultimately are biased by the end-user's biological interpretation and technical experience. As a first step to fully automatic choroid segmentation, I develop DeepGPET as a deep learning-based method for choroid region segmentation, which significantly improves on semi-automatic approaches in terms of time, reproducibility, and end-user accessibility. However, DeepGPET lacks choroidal vessel quantification and still requires manual input for generating standardised, choroid-derived measurements. Improving on this, I developed Choroidalyzer}, a fully automatic, deep learning-based, end-to-end pipeline which fully characterises the choroidal space and vessels, and automatically generates clinically meaningful and reproducible choroid-derived metrics. I provide rigorous evaluation of these four approaches, and consider their use-case and potential clinical value in three distinct applications into systemic health: OCTANE: evaluating longitudinal choroidal change and its association with renal function in transplant recipients and donors; PREVENT: investigating associations between the choroid and risk factors for developing later-life Alzheimer's disease in a mid-life cohort; D-RISCii: assessing choroidal variation and feasibility of OCT imaging in critical care. This thesis has contributed several new approaches to the research community which are all open-source and freely available, enabling consistent and reproducible measurement of the choroid. This thesis also highlights the potential role the choroid may play in reflecting pathophysiology in the kidney, brain and wider systemic health from iatrogenic shock, thus helping accelerate the nascent field of choroidal analysis in OCT image sequences
Insecure Leaders: How Elite Infighting May Facilitate the End of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region
No full textThe stability of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) continues to deteriorate due to the power struggle between the region’s two ruling parties, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). While they have refused to compromise and collaborate in the interest of the KRI and its citizens, the leaders of both parties have primarily relied on opportunistic tactics to weaken each other and secure short-term gains. This study attributes the sources of the ongoing PUK-KDP rivalry to leadership insecurity. Rooted in the region’s predatory system of rule, this insecurity has recently deepened due to economic and political factors, generating greater divisions between the two parties to the detriment of Kurdistan’s survival. Renewed power-sharing arrangements between the ruling parties without steps toward transforming the region’s predatory system into a democratic one will likely fail to produce long-lasting stability in the KRI
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