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Representation Theory of Non-graded, Non-restricted Modular Lie algebras
Get PDFPh. D. Thesis.We classify in a uni ed approach the simple restricted modules for the minimal p-envelope
of the non-graded, non-restricted Hamiltonian Lie algebra H.2I.1; 1/I ˆ.1// over an
algebraically closed eld k of characteristic p 5. We also give the restrictions of these
modules to a subalgebra isomorphic to the rst Witt Algebra, a result stated in [S. Herpel
and D. Stewart, Selecta Mathematica 22:2 (2016) 765–799] with an incomplete proof. We
end by completing the classi cation of the simple restricted modules over elds of all
characteristics by considering the characteristic 3 case separatel
Between precarity and professionalism : assembling professional identities in the translation industry
Get PDFPh. D. Thesis.This thesis draws on new materialist assemblage thinking to explore how professional identities are produced in the translation industry. Translators are a largely freelance cohort that have to navigate various networks and technologies in their working lives. Assemblage thinking provides ontological and epistemological tools that have driven this project methodologically and analytically. Spurred on by a call from new materialist ideas to experiment, I have taken a mixed methods approach that combines ethnographic methods and quantitative social network analysis using Twitter data. This methods assemblage has been employed to explore the multi-layered and multi-textured nature of professional identity. Assemblage as a theoretical underpinning thus shaped the analytical process of picking apart and reconstructing the networks, technologies, people and discourses that are interwoven and produced in translation assemblages. Professional identities emerge out of the tensions inherent in self-employment in a neoliberal political economy. I explore how translators deal with these tensions; how they position themselves within networks and towards technologies; how they tussle between individual and collective needs; and how they are restricted and empowered by discourses of professionalism. Professional identity itself appears messy and complex, demonstrative of cross-scale entanglements of power, and rooted in intertwined material and discursive things.Economic and Social Research Counci
The response of soil quality and carbon cycling to changes in agricultural systems and management practices. Assessing, predicting, and mapping
Get PDFPhD ThesisChanges in agricultural systems, for example from conventional to organic, have the potential
to alter a range of ecosystem functions and services, affecting soil quality (SQ) aspects
including carbon (C) storage in agricultural soils. Yet, the effects of agricultural systems will
not be consistent across agricultural soils, instead likely varying with management practices.
Different management practices, such as grazing regime (non-grazed vs. grazed), proportions
of temporary grass-clover leys in crop rotations (ley time proportion), crop rotation schemes
(conventional vs. organic) and fertilisation sources (mineral vs. compost), bring about changes
in inputs and outputs of soil organic matter (SOM), soil biodiversity, nutrient cycling, C
distribution within SOM pools, molecular composition of SOM and consequently affect SQ as
well as soil organic C stocks (SOC) and stability. In this thesis, the effect of changing the
agricultural system from conventional to organic on SQ (using individual and integrated soil
quality indicator approaches), SOC stocks (in situ and spatially-mapping), and the distribution
of soil C among SOM fractions are investigated in a commercial split farm (~50% of the farm
area under each system), with fields differing in terms of grazing regimes and with varying ley
time proportions. Impacts of conventional vs. organic crop rotation schemes and mineral vs.
compost fertility sources are assessed for SOM composition and SOC stocks and stability over
time using a long-term experimental trial. A mechanistic model is used to validate empirical
measurements of SOC stocks and to predict long-term effects of each treatment as well as other
hypothetical scenarios. The farm-scale study generated the first direct comparison between the
conventional and organic system under the same mixed farming system in the north-east of
England, UK. The results reflect existing knowledge on the advantages of organic vs.
conventional systems on SQ and indicated no major differences in SOC stocks between both
systems. However, it also showed that in mixed farming systems, i.e. where arable and grazed
livestock are present in a rotation, and with an increased ley time proportion, SQ and SOC
stocks can be enhanced regardless of the agricultural system. The increased SOC stock appears
to be related to increases in labile C of SOM pools, indicating that it might be susceptible to
losses. Yet, simulations predicted that the use of mixed farming and/or increasing ley time
proportions in crop rotations can result in accumulation of SOC in the long-term and thus they
might be useful strategies to mitigate losses of SOC stocks in arable rotations. The results also
suggested that future digital soil mapping studies should include agricultural system and
management practice information as potential explanatory covariates, particularly for regionalscale mapping of SOC across farm enterprises. The results from the long-term experimental
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trial further emphasised that combining organic crop rotation and compost fertilisation can lead
to SOC accumulation over time and improve its stabilisation across the whole soil profile (0-
0.60 m). Specifically, the organic rotation favoured SOC stability in subsoil layers (0.30-0.60
m), while compost fertilisation played an important role in the top 0-0.30 m. These results are
confirmed by the higher relative weight loss and ion intensity for CO2 (m/z 44) at higher
temperature levels (350-750 °C), and the observed higher relative abundance of products that
are more resistant to degradation, e.g. n-Alkenes, aromatics, and polyaromatics. Nevertheless,
simulations revealed that increases in SOC stocks (0-0.20 m depth) in the long-term are
dependent on both the organic fertilisation inputs as well as crop choice in the rotation.
Ultimately, the results from this thesis can contribute to ongoing efforts to attain a more
sustainable agriculture sector, which, at least in part, depend on changes in agricultural systems
and management practices
Influences on foundation programme doctor’s choice of career specialty. Paediatrics as an exemplar case.
Get PDFM. D. Thesis.No AbstractNewcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trus
A child-centred approach in human heritable genome editing
Get PDFPh. D. Thesis.The core feature of human heritable genome editing (“HGE”) is that any modification made on the germ cells (sperms or eggs) or early human embryos is likely to be passed down to subsequent generations. This feature makes the use of this technology highly controversial. Thus, there is a need to adopt a suitable approach to consider future children who are going to live the consequences of this technology. Taking a child-centred perspective, this thesis explores two main concerns: first, whether, and to what extent, the act of HGE is ethically acceptable; and second, how should HGE be regulated if it is deemed ethically acceptable for reproductive use. More specifically, it examines how a child-centred approach should be adopted in answering these questions.
This thesis first examines four child-related arguments commonly raised in the existing HGE debate, including the non-identity problem, the open future argument, the purported right to non-modified genomes, and the proposed long-term follow up system for the resulting children. It argues that the existing arguments and proposal have failed to appropriately consider (future) children’s interests mainly because there is (1) a lack of solid theoretical framework to justify the recommendation commonly made for a health-related use of HGE, and (2) a lack of detailed analysis on an important but often overlooked concept in the HGE debate, that is the concept of “identity”. In order to fill these gaps, this thesis explores the capability approach and argues that Jennifer Ruger’s health capability paradigm provides a good philosophical framework in understanding why “health capabilities” can justify and more importantly, also limit the health-related use of the technology. Additionally, this thesis analyses the concepts of “identity” and argues for a multi-faceted understanding of “identity” with narrative identity to be given the greatest weight in the ethico-legal considerations of HGE
The mid-Pleistocene climate transition in the Japan Sea: Insights of a combined palaeoceanographic and monsoon, multi-proxy study using marine sediments of IODP Site U1427 from the shallow, southern Japan Sea
Get PDFPh. D. Thesis.In this thesis marine sediments from the Japan Sea (IODP Expedition 346, “Asian
monsoon”, Site U1427) are used to investigate the expression of the mid-Pleistocene
transition (MPT) in this marginal basin. The thesis establishes a revised
geochronology (age model) for the sediments of Site U1427 across the MPT using
benthic foraminifera-based trace element and oxygen stable isotope analyses. A
multi-proxy approach was applied to decipher the marine versus terrestrial sources of
particles in a shallow marine setting with close proximity to land. Combined, these
approaches enabled to build a new conceptual model of the palaeoceanography of
the Japan Sea across the MPT.
Establishing a geochronology for Site U1427 by comparing the benthic
foraminiferal oxygen isotope record with a well-dated global reference stack of the
same kind, is challenging because the Japan Sea, in contrast to the open ocean, is
suggested to have been nearly isolated from the open ocean during glacial sea-level
lowstands. This isolation restricted water mass exchange and led to widespread
carbonate dissolution, which hampers the creation of continuous oxygen isotope
records, and, counterintuitive, reduces glacial oxygen isotope ratios through the
effect low saline (and low oxygen isotope ratio) waters accumulating in the basin.
Instead, the geochronology is established by combining the benthic foraminiferal
oxygen isotope record with trace element and shipboard colour reflectance data, and
comparing those with age markers (biostratigraphic, palaeo-magnetic, tephrachronological)
and a well-dated, global reference stack (LR04-stack). This approach
resulted in identification of marine isotope stages (MIS) 39-17 in the analysed
sediments.
The Japan Sea sediments, including Site U1427, are influenced by the East Asian
monsoons and glacio-eustatic sea-level variabilities, which both control marine
productivity in the basin. The applied multi-proxy approach, combining bulk sediment
organic matter parameters, i.e. total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen contents
(TN) and carbon isotope ratios (13Corg), as well as carbonate content (CaCO3) and
Rock-Eval pyrolysis, proved indispensable to decipher the signals, as the close
proximity to land (35 km to shore) brought some proxies to the limitations of
interpretability. In short, CaCO3 is used as a proxy for marine (carbonate)
productivity, while TOC-TN (C/N) ratios, 13Corg and Rock-Eval pyrolysis parameters
indicate the origin of organic matter (OM), although this is a summary and other
processes additionally influence these proxies. The interpretation of C/N ratios is
difficult as the proxy is likely influenced by an inorganic component to nitrogen,
leading to low C/N ratios and an overestimation of marine-derived organic matter.
Combining individual analyses to the above multi-proxy approach enables estimating
variations in contributions of marine- and terrigenous-derived organic matter, hence
providing clues on changes in monsoon precipitation and sea-level stands across the
MPT. The sediments of Site U1427 record monsoon variations on sub-orbital
timescales and indicate enhanced precipitation/freshwater input at times during
certain glacials, such as MIS 36.
A major outcome of this thesis is a revised palaeoceanographic model for the
Japan Sea encompassing MPT. Previously, our understanding of the
palaeoceanography of the Japan Sea was extrapolated from the most recent glacialinterglacial
cycles. The palaeoceanographic model presented in this thesis proposes
a better glacial connection between the open ocean and the shallow, southern Japan
Sea during the early MPT, MIS 39-25, and a switch to the modern glacial nearisolation
of the Japan Sea starting during the later stages of the MPT, MIS 24-17,
caused by relatively higher glacial sea-levels, both globally and in the Japan Sea,
during the early MPT compared to its later stage.NERC IAPETUS DTP, British
Geological Survey (BGS),Integrated Ocean Drilling
Program (IODP), European Consortium
for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD
Designing digital qualitative research workflows : enabling stakeholder participation across all research stages
Get PDFPhD ThesisParticipatory research approaches are increasingly being used by practitioners – academics, civil
society organisations, and citizens – to inform decision-making processes where participants
contribute to idea generation and data capture, but less often to data analysis and dissemination.
This can leave participants feeling ineffectual and unrepresented in the research output as
analytical decisions made on their contributions are opaque. Digital tools offer opportunities
to enhance qualitative practices but are often designed for academics and primarily for data
analysis, which can limit participation and adoption by other practitioners.
In response, this thesis explores the design of digital tools to structure inclusive participation
across all stages of qualitative research. Through synthesizing literature on the qualitative
practices of practitioners, a cross-cutting qualitative workflow is defined that introduces design
considerations to overcome existing barriers to participation. An action research approach
was taken across three case studies that iteratively designed digital prototypes to explore how
technology can augment this workflow. Design insights from this informed the development of
Gabber, a digital platform that encompasses the end-to-end qualitative workflow that prioritises
interactions with audio media to lower existing barriers of participation in each workflow stage.
Following this, two distinct case studies configured and used Gabber across the workflow
where observations of platform use, and semi-structured interviews surfaced opportunities and
challenges around transparency of participation and stakeholder engagement across the workflow.
This thesis’ primary contributions are a conceptualisation and real-world empirical exploration of a digital qualitative workflow across five case studies that augment and examine the
qualitative practices of practitioners. Across this research, practitioners wanted to understand
who and how their contributions were engaged with. This informed the secondary contribution,
design implications for digital tools to leverage paradata to improve process transparency and
demystify decision-making processes for stakeholders involved
Host-bacterial interactions underlying recurrent urinary tract infections
Get PDFPhD ThesisAlthough most urinary tract infections (UTIs) are easily treated with antibiotics, many patients
present with long-term bacterial colonisation of the urinary tract. Amongst these patients, some
remain asymptomatic but others exhibit severe and frequent UTI symptoms. Currently, there is
little understanding of the host-microbial interactions underpinning these clinical conditions.
Hence further understanding of these interactions underlying the pathogenesis of asymptomatic
bacteriuria (ASB) and recurrent UTIs is essential for effective clinical management. To explore
these interactions further, genomic data from two clinical studies (AnTIC & BUTI) were mined and
bacterial isolates exploited to determine the effects of antibiotic prophylaxis (AnTIC) and hostspecific factors (BUTI) on long-term bacterial colonisation.
Using bioinformatic approaches, the AnTIC dataset was analysed to investigate the impact of
antibiotic prophylaxis on bacterial colonisation of the urinary tract. The findings suggested that
antibiotic prophylaxis reduced the frequency of symptomatic UTIs by not only clearing bacteria
from the urinary tract, but also in a subset of patients through stabilising Escherichia coli
colonisation. An association between stable colonisation and a reduction in UTI frequency was
also observed in the BUTI study, but with a focus on Proteus mirabilis rather than E. coli. In these
patients, host factors appeared important with patients characterised by a TLR1 1805T SNP
associated with stable and clinically asymptomatic P. mirabilis colonisation. In vitro experiments
using bladder RT4 cells and TLR agonists supported a role for TLR1 in modulating the immune
response, which may play a role in ASB.
Analysis of E. coli isolated from AnTIC patients supported a link between stable long-term
bacterial colonisation and increased antibiotic resistance. In the UK, nitrofurantoin underpinned
by the low incidence of resistance amongst uropathogens, is prescribed for managing UTIs. In
vitro experiments using mutagenised clinical E. coli isolates were performed to investigate
potential factors driving nitrofurantoin resistance. In the absence of nitrofurantoin, bacterial
growth data demonstrated that nitrofurantoin resistant (NitR) strains grew as well as sensitive
strains (NitS doubling time= 21.9 ± 0.9 min; NitR mutants= 25.7 ± 0.4 min; NitR natural= 25.7 ± 1.1
min). However, in the presence of nitrofurantoin (8 – 16 μg/ml), resistant strains showed a fitness
advantage, with the average doubling time of these mutants reduced by 35% (p<0.001). These
results in combination with clinical pharmacokinetics data suggest that urinary nitrofurantoin
concentrations in prophylaxis therapy driving fitness via selective advantage, which potentially
results in the selection of NitR isolates.
Taken together, these studies show that investigating both host and microbial components and
how they interact are essential to understanding the pathogenesis of UTI and will help improve
the management of recurrent UTI sufferers
Synthetic biology applied in the agri-food sector: Understanding societal responses
Get PDFPh.D. Thesis.Synthetic biology (SB) has the potential to deliver various novel agri-food applications. However, a mapping review of the existing literature on public attitudes indicated that agri-food applications may be less acceptable to the public, compared to medical and environmental applications. Research into public attitudes, at present, is limited, and is mainly focused on SB per se rather than on its specific applications. This research seeks to address this knowledge gap.
As scientific experts in the area of SB contribute to innovation trajectories and regulatory frameworks linked to SB, semi-structured interviews were conducted to understand how Chinese (n = 9) and EU experts (n = 13) think the public may respond to SB applications. The results suggested that experts were concerned about public rejection of SB in the agri-food sector. In contrast, according to the focus group research (6 groups) among Chinese citizens (n = 32), most participants evaluated SB agri-food applications on a case-by-case analysis, and did not reject SB as an enabling technology.
Subsequently, online surveys were conducted to investigate Chinese public responses to genetically modified (GM) (n = 1,411) and SB-based (n = 1,330) agri-food applications, respectively. The results showed that participants had positive general attitudes towards SB food, despite the influence of their prior beliefs about GM food. A framework that explained public attitude formation towards SB agri-food applications was developed and tested using structural equation modelling. The results demonstrated that benefit perceptions were the most important in predicting participants’ application acceptance compared to general attitudes, affective responses and risk perceptions. Future SB-related agri-food policy- and communication strategy-making, as well as application development, should consider public attitudinal differences across applications and contexts. Co-production of applications and polices with the public was identified as an important part of the technological innovation process