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Simulation of resonant tunnelling diodes with the non-equilibrium Green’s function formalism
Get PDFThis thesis describes the research carried out by the author in simulating resonant tunnelling diodes (RTDs), nanoelectronic devices which exhibit a region of negative differential resistance (NDR) due to quantum tunnelling, with device variation. This research was carried out with the nano-electronic simulation software (NESS), which is under development at the University of Glasgow. Chapter 1 describes the background and theory of RTDs, before following up with chapter 2 on the theory and methodology of using NESS with the non-equilibrium Green’s function (NEGF) transport solver module within this thesis. In the following chapters 3, 4 and 5, respectively the effects of device dimension variation, random discrete dopants (RDDs) and interface roughness (IR) on RTD were investigated. Variation in current-voltage characteristics (IV) due to RDDs and IR were additionally shown to allow RTDs to encode information, and thus provides support for the potential of RTDs to compose physical unclonable functions (PUFs) which can uniquely identify items which they are placed on
Functional characterisation of a male germ cell-associated kinase orthologue (MAK) in the kinetoplastid cell cycle
No full textAbstract not currently available
Defining the RNA interactome of Aedes mosquitoes
Get PDFSystem-wide approaches have uncovered a vast spectrum of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) in mammals and a few non-mammalian organisms, such as the fruit fly, zebrafish, roundworms, and plants. However, information on RBPs of arboviral vectors remains largely unknown. RNA interactome capture was used to characterise the RBPome in cells of two medically important mosquito vectors, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. 852 and 683 RBPs were identified in Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, respectively. These RBPs exhibited properties similar to those of human RBPs, having low hydrophobicity that favoured solubility; basic pH to enable interactions with RNA; and contained intrinsically disordered regions, low complexity regions, such as the RGG box and poly (K) that allow for dynamically modular interactions. The use of RBDmap to map mosquito RBPs also revealed that sequence conservation was most apparent in the RNA-binding site. Underscoring the evolutionary conservation of RNA–protein interactions. Further profiling of Aedes aegypti RPBome during SINV infection using comparative (RIC) identified 219 differentially regulated proteins, seventy-two were upregulated, while 143 proteins were downregulated. Characterisation of these proteins revealed 80% lacked canonical RNA binding domains, >25% were metabolic enzymes, and GO terms identified that the proteins were involved in transport, nucleotide degradation, and energy metabolism. Lastly, knockdown of 17 differentially regulated proteins revealed that 15 of 17 candidates were proviral. Knockdown efficiency and duration of transfection influenced the phenotype of screened RBPs. XRN1 and DCP1A were found to be proviral, while AAEL010642, a PABP, was antiviral. This study provides the first comprehensive characterisation of the mosquito RBPome, revealing evolutionary conservation with other organisms, dynamic reprogramming during SINV infection, and identifying host factors that predominantly act as proviral regulators of viral replication
Community regeneration in Glasgow: perspectives of poverty and power
Get PDFThis thesis centres on a collection of published papers based on qualitative research carried out in social housing estates in Glasgow during 2007-2017. The basis for the research was the GoWell Research and Learning Programme of housing investment and area regeneration and its impacts on the health and wellbeing of individuals, families and communities. In 2003, Glasgow City Council transferred its entire stock of council housing to the newly created Glasgow Housing Association through a process of stock transfer which promised to deliver community ownership for Glasgow’s tenants. Following the housing stock transfer, a strategy of ‘transformational change’ for eight housing estates across the city was agreed and community engagement was central to the processes of regeneration. The thesis questions whether substantial improvements to people’s lives can be realistically achieved by regeneration within deprived urban neighbourhoods without policy decisions that address the fundamental characteristics of poverty, such as low income, employment and social security.
Poverty underpins my research, and the published papers focus primarily on the processes and outcomes of policies in the context of housing and neighbourhood regeneration. Lukes’ theory of power was used to synthesise the works across the two themes of communities and people to discuss how power dynamics play out in the context of my work. Lukes’ key contribution to power was the third-dimensional view which seeks to broaden the discussion of the concept of power, building on the first and second dimensions. Using the published papers, I discuss power dynamics in relation to the specific narratives, contexts and policies where the studies are situated, and identify different aspects of power relating to the nature of interests, acquiescence, and moral and political responsibility.
My main contribution to knowledge has been to assess how, in the context of poverty, power plays out in policies that are routine and unconsidered rather than those regarded as intentionally harmful, such as austerity policies. From the papers, I provide evidence of positive outcomes to people’s lives through investment in social housing, including improvements for children and young people, and some degree of community empowerment. There is some mixed evidence of outcomes and improvements, and also evidence that appears to go against peoples interests that includes the involvement of communities in regeneration planning that is not acted upon. I purport that claims about outcomes (positive, negative and mixed) are relative, and involve value judgements in relation to people’s real interests. I conclude that my work points to the naturalisation of policies designed to make a difference to people’s lives in an unconsidered way: Lukes’ third dimension is not limited to intentional acts of manipulation by the powerful, but can also be seen as self-producing social processes in which the thinking and behaviour of the powerful and the powerless alike are conditioned by social norms. It involves the internalised, often unconscious acceptance of dominant norms as natural and normal even if they appear to be against the interests of the status quo involved. Despite the renewed emphasis and momentum to ‘tackle poverty’, there still lacks a shared narrative and traction within policy and politics to enact change, so ‘inegalitarian social constraints’ that could be otherwise, continue to persist. Substantial improvements to people’s lives cannot be realistically achieved by regeneration without addressing the fundamental characteristics of poverty, which are policy issues determined by political choices. Crucially, however, it is the perpetuation and reproduction of norms and values through the dynamics of power that hinder or influence change. This requires dealing directly with major ideas and narratives which inform, and are informed by, those in power
Local forms for the double Aₙ quiver and Gopakuma–Vafa invariants
Get PDFThis thesis investigates the crepant (partial) resolutions of cAn singularities and their associated Gopakumar–Vafa (GV) invariants via noncommutative contraction algebras.
We begin in Chapter 3 by generalising GV invariants to crepant partial resolutions of cAₙ singularities and demonstrate that these generalised invariants satisfy Toda’s formula. Furthermore, we prove that generalised GV invariants are determined by the isomorphism class of the contraction algebra.
In Chapter 4 we focus on crepant resolutions of cAₙ singularities, and introduce several intrinsic definitions of a Type A potential on the doubled Aₙ quiver Qₙ, which includes a single loop at each vertex. Through applying coordinate changes, we then:
(1) Via monomialization, expresses these potentials in a particularly nice form;
(2) Show that Type A potentials classify crepant resolutions of cAₙ singularities;
(3) Confirm the Realisation Conjecture of Brown–Wemyss within this context.
We also provide an example of a non-isolated cA₂ singularity which illustrates that the Donovan–Wemyss Conjecture fails for non-isolated cDV singularities.
Building upon the correspondence between crepant resolutions of cAₙ singularities and monomialized Type A potentials, in Chapter 5 we:
(1) Introduce a filtration structure on the parameter space of monomialized Type A potentials with respect to the generalised GV invariants;
(2) Derive numerical constraints on the possible tuples of GV invariants, and explicitly classify all tuples arising from crepant resolutions of cA₂ singularities.
For n ≤ 3, in Chapter 6 we further provide a complete classification of Type A potentials (without loops) up to isomorphism, as well as a classification of those with finite-dimensional Jacobi algebras up to derived equivalence. These results yield various algebraic consequences, including applications to certain tame algebras of quaternion type studied by Erdmann, for which we describe all basic algebras within the derived equivalence class
Development of a pendulum gravimeter for geophysical applications
No full textAbstract not currently available
Children’s experiences of the care ‘system’ in Scotland since 1945
Get PDFThis thesis explores children’s experiences of the Scottish care ‘system’ in the past and asks how we can uncover, recover and come to know them. It focuses on the experiences of those who were in the care of voluntary children’s homes run by charitable, religious organisations from the 1940s to the 1980s, when the homes largely ceased operation in Scotland. The concept of experience provides historians with new methodological possibilities. It allows us to move beyond seeking voice defined as a largely linguistic phenomenon to be traced in the written historical record. Experience is understood as an embodied culturally and situationally bound social process. By moving beyond the purely linguistic, this thesis seeks to develop new interpretative strategies that can uncover the perspectives and experiences of children who have, in the past, left little textual trace in the official record. The approach developed throughout this thesis contributes new analytical and conceptual strategies that can be adapted and adopted by scholars working in the fields of emotions history and the history of childhood. This thesis combines the analysis of the testimonies of 160 of those who were formerly in care, heard before the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, with both testimonies and archival materials from those who provided, managed and regulated their care in the past. By placing the memories and perspectives of those who were once children in care at the centre of its analysis, rather than the narratives of child welfare professionals in the past, this thesis deepens our understanding of the day-to-day lives of children in Scotland’s care ‘system’ in the decades following the end of the Second World War. In spite of significant legislative and structural change during this period, when it comes to Scotland’s care ‘system’, this study recasts it as a period of continuity and inertia in terms of children’s care. Moreover, this thesis recognises that care experience is lifelong and does not end when a child is discharged from the care ‘system’ and seeks to reflect the full life stories of those who testified before the Inquiry
Understanding the role of integrated grip strength, physical activity, diet, and adiposity-related body composition in the development of type 2 diabetes: insights from the UK Biobank cohort
Get PDFType 2 diabetes (T2D) is a major contributor to cardiovascular disease risk and global mortality. T2D develops through complex biological pathways influenced by modifiable lifestyle behaviours and sociodemographic context. Accordingly, this thesis explores the relationship between traditional and emerging cardiometabolic risk factors, such as grip strength, physical activity (PA), dietary patterns, and obesity-related indicators, with the incidence of T2D.
This research uses data from the UK Biobank, a large-scale population-based prospective study encompassing over 500,000 participants from across the UK. Dietary exposures were self-reported, while PA was objectively quantified using wrist-worn accelerometers. Grip strength was assessed using a hand dynamometer, and obesity-related indicators were derived from anthropometric measurements taken by trained personnel. The incidence of T2D was obtained from primary care and hospital records. Cohort analyses were conducted using harmonised methods across exposures, including multivariable Cox regression, subgroup analysis, and mediation modelling.
The findings of this thesis reveal that lower absolute or relative (kg, or kg/body mass) grip strength is linked with an increased risk of developing T2D in both women and men, compared to those with normal grip strength. Notably, relative grip strength exhibits a more pronounced association with T2D risk than absolute grip strength (12% for men and 20% for women vs. 11% for men and 12% for women). Furthermore, low grip strength may serve as an early indicator of heightened T2D risk. In terms of PA, adherence to the WHO’s PA guidelines, as measured by accelerometers, is associated with a reduced risk of T2D (50%-70% depending on intensity and time spent). The magnitude of these associations is significantly greater than those reported in previous studies based on self-reported PA. Dietary analysis indicates that fish eaters (pesco-vegetarians) and those consuming fish and poultry have a lower risk of T2D (42% and 28%, respectively) compared to omnivores, while vegetarian diets show no significant association. This discrepancy may be due to a poor quality of diet, underreporting, or misclassification. Additionally, among 11 obesity-related markers evaluated for T2D risk prediction, 9 demonstrate an association, with the waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) showing the strongest predictive value, which could potentially benefit clinical screening practices. Sociodemographic factors, such as sex, age, and ethnicity, modified both exposure levels and T2D risk.
These findings offer new insights into the roles of both emerging and established risk factors for T2D, supporting the existence of a shared biological pathway in which poor diet, low muscle strength, and physical inactivity contribute to central adiposity, systemic inflammation, and muscle insulin resistance. These interrelated exposures act synergistically, often beyond what is captured by body mass index-based models, to drive the development of T2D.
Integrated prevention strategies should therefore address behavioural, physiological, and sociodemographic dimensions to effectively reduce the burden of T2D. Among the behavioural and phenotypical factors investigated, central adiposity, particularly WHtR, emerged as one of the strongest risk factors for T2D.
However, caution is warranted when interpreting these results due to the observational nature of the study, which limits causal inference. Future research should focus on clarifying the potential causal relationships underlying these associations
Lateral flow biosensing for low abundance detection of brain natriuretic peptide with enzyme-free amplification
No full textThe diagnosis of heart failure in emergency settings requires rapid and sensitive detection of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), a low-abundance biomarker of heart failure with a clinical ruleout threshold of 100 pg/mL (0.03 nM). The current gold standards for BNP testing in clinical practice all rely on immunoassays that necessitate cold-chain storage for antibodies, limiting their utility at the point-of-care (POC). This thesis presents the development and optimisation of a DNA-based BNP assay integrating a dual-aptamer recognition system with an enzyme-free and isothermal amplification circuit. The work systematically addressed key challenges in the design of this biosensing platform. Initial efforts focused on optimising the participating hairpin probes through thermodynamic and kinetic principles for leakage control and maximal amplification efficiency. This was followed by effective incorporation of two BNP-specific aptamers, demonstrating their utility in catalysing the reaction cascades upon target binding in a homogeneous, wash-free assay format. Finally, the system was adapted for lateral flow test (LFT) compatibility, achieving a binary response at the clinically relevant thresholds for BNP. Strategies to enhance the performance on LFTs, including dilution procedures, pre-treatment of the strips, and buffer optimisations, were investigated to improve robustness of the true signal while mitigating the background noise.
This research advances the field by combining the specificity of aptamers with the simplicity of LFTs, bridging the gap between lab-based immunoassays and POC needs. While limitations in aptamer affinity and reaction kinetics at trace concentrations highlight the areas for future improvement, the study offers a reliable and equipment-free alternative for heart failure diagnosis in resource-limited settings. The proposed future directions, including the exploration of a fully antibody-free microfluidic device and its multiplexing capability, underscore the versatility and translational potential of this novel and promising approach for timely diagnostics and monitoring of heart failure
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