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Small State’s Foreign Policy towards Great Powers: A Neoclassical Realist Understanding of Cambodia’s Foreign Policy towards the United States and China after the Cold War
No full textThesis embargoed until 2/2027
Second Skins: Leather and Bodies in the Early Modern German-Speaking Lands, 1450-1700
No full textEarly modern historians Ulinka Rublack, Susan North and Stefan Hanß have demonstrated the efficacy of foregrounding matter and embodiment in the study of a single material. Rublack and Hanß’s studies of leather and feathers are foundational and invite further research. In line with new scholarly approaches to matter and embodiment in dress history, this thesis explores leather garments, their production, consumption, use, meanings and associations in the German-speaking lands between 1450 and 1700. While existing book-length studies of materials have engaged with silk and linen, this work is exceptional in its art historical approach and its engagement with a wide range of uses for leather.
To illustrate the different stages in objects’ lives and the ways these imbued leather with meaning, I utilise qualitative analysis of books of trades, inventories, recipe books, legal ordinances, costume books, travel accounts, artworks, surviving garments and the findings of historical reconstruction. I deploy visual analysis to elucidate leather’s symbolic and economic value as well as its interactions with bodies in the form of shoes (Schuhe), gloves (Handschuhe), swords (Schwerter), doublets (Wämser), jerkins (Koller, Goller) and trousers (Hosen).
Drawing on recent scholarship by Erin Griffey, Hannah Murphy and Evelyn Welch on embodiment and the history of medicine, leather garments are framed as second skins that acted on bodies in transformative ways. Animals, too, are explored as sources for and wearers of leather. Building on Erica Fudge and Jodi Cranston’s work in the growing field of animal studies, this thesis analyses leather dog collars (Halsbänder), horse bard (Decke, Rossharnisch, Gelieger) and saddlery (Sattelzeuge), and posits a way for interpreting leather’s dual wild and civilised nature in early modern rulers’ self-fashioning. Despite the growing number of studies across humanities disciplines centred on material culture and embodied experience, leather as a material for clothing bodies has not been examined on the scale achieved here. In surveying leather from skins to worn garments, this thesis emphasises the importance of materiality and embodiment for understanding early modern sartorial culture
Intravenous Dabigatran Provides Effective, Reversible Anticoagulation for Cardiopulmonary Bypass in a Sheep Model
No full textBACKGROUND: Heparin is the standard anticoagulant used during Cardiopulmonary Bypass (CPB). However, there are problems with heparin, including immunogenicity and variability of effect, that make a search for an alternative desirable. We have reported that dabigatran anticoagulation provides adequate conditions for CPB in a rabbit model. We used a sheep model of CPB in this current study to assess the efficacy of dabigatran and its reversibility with idarucizumab. METHODS: Twelve sheep were subjected to 120 minutes of CPB after anticoagulation with either intravenous dabigatran or heparin (N=6 per group). In both groups, activated clotting time (ACT), rapid-TEG reaction time (R), and blood gases were monitored during and after CPB. Plasma dabigatran concentrations were measured during and after CPB. After CPB, two sections of each arterial filter were examined for thrombus using electron microscopy. Idarucizumab or protamine was administered after CPB to reverse anticoagulation, and the sheep were monitored for a subsequent 24 hours. Plasma concentrations of inflammatory and coagulation markers were assessed at baseline, after 120 minutes of CPB, and 6 hours after reversal administration. RESULTS: After 120 minutes of CPB, there was no visible thrombus or fibrin observed on the arterial line filters in either the dabigatran or heparin groups. Plasma dabigatran concentrations during CPB were below the target concentration (5 µg/mL), ranging from 1.7±0.4 µg/mL to 3.4±1.5 µg/mL. In both groups, R and ACT values increased during CPB and then returned to nearly baseline levels after administration of the reversal agents. Interleukin-6 concentrations were elevated in the heparin group compared to the dabigatran group. Five sheep survived 24 hours after idarucizumab administration. Four out of 6 sheep survived 24 hours after the administration of protamine. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that dabigatran effectively provides anticoagulation in a sheep CPB model, and idarucizumab successfully reverses its effects
Bayesian inference for partial orders from random linear extensions: Power relations from 12th century royal acta
No full textIn the eleventh and twelfth centuries in England, Wales and Normandy, royal acta were legal documents in which witnesses were listed in order of social status. Any bishops present were listed as a group. For our purposes each witness-list is an ordered permutation of bishop names with a known date or date-range. Changes over time in the order bishops are listed may reflect changes in their authority. Historians would like to detect and quantify these changes. There is no reason to assume that the underlying social order, which constrains bishop-order, within lists is a complete order. We therefore model the evolving social order as an evolving partial ordered set or poset.
We construct a hidden Markov model for these data. The hidden state is an evolving poset (the evolving social hierarchy) and the emitted data are random total orders (dated lists) respecting the poset present at the time the order was observed. This generalises existing models for rank-order data such as Mallows and Plackett–Luce. We account for noise via a random “queue-jumping” process. Our latent-variable prior for the random process of posets is marginally consistent. A parameter controls poset depth, and actor-covariates inform the position of actors in the hierarchy. We fit the model, estimate posets and find evidence for changes in status over time. We interpret our results in terms of court politics. Simpler models, based on bucket orders and vertex-series-parallel orders, are rejected. We compare our results with a time-series extension of the Plackett–Luce model. Our software is publicly available
Prediabetes phenotypes: can aetiology and risk profile guide lifestyle strategies for diabetes prevention?
No full textIntroductionType 2 diabetes (T2D) continues to worsen globally alongside rise in obesity. Asymptomatic dysglycaemia, which precedes T2D, provides opportunities to identify those at risk and target prevention but prediabetes is highly variable. Not all with overweight develop dysglycaemia and not all with dysglycaemia are overweight. Important is the deposition of ectopic lipids in the pancreas, liver, and muscle. With no international definition, several prediabetes phenotypes exist, each based on one or more components of fasting glucose, postprandial glucose and/or HbA1c.Areas coveredWe address variability in prediabetes phenotype and absence of a universal definition. With four main phenotypes based on the various glycemic definitions, it is likely they have different etiologies, risk profiles, timelines to T2D, and response to lifestyle intervention. Who do we treat, and when? Do we treat early or late? What is the optimum diet for T2D prevention? Do different phenotypes require different prevention approaches?Expert opinionPersonalized lifestyle, or phenotype-specific treatments, are likely to be more successful for T2D prevention than a 'one-size-fits-all' approach. Artificial intelligence (AI) methods, currently in their infancy, are expected to revolutionize personalized nutrition with integration of 'big data' better characterizing and predicting prediabetes phenotype, and phenotype-specific response to diet and lifestyle interventions
Collaborative inquiry for change: enacting social justice in health and physical education
No full textBackground:
Despite decades of scholarship urging physical educators to foreground principles of equity and social justice in their teaching, translating these ideals into everyday teaching remains a complex and uneven challenge. This study responds to the call for grounded, empirical accounts of socially just teaching practices in Health and Physical Education.
Purpose:
To explore how nine secondary school HPE teachers working in collaborative, practitioner inquiry model with two university-based researchers implemented, adapted, and sustained teaching practices for equity and social justice in real-world educational settings. The study was grounded in a belief that teachers’ professional knowledge, when supported through collaborative reflection and inquiry, offers a powerful resource for pedagogical transformation.
Research design:
This study employed a practitioner inquiry methodology. Participants were nine secondary Health and Physical Education teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand. The study involved four phases across a school year that focussed on relationship building, exploring social justice, planning, implementing and evaluating practices. Multiple data sources included observations, post observation interviews, classroom artefacts, focus groups and digital diaries. A six step thematical analysis drew on (Gerdin, G., W. Smith, R. Philpot, K. Schenker, K. M. Moen, S. Linnér, K. Westlie, and L. Larsson. 2021. Social Justice Pedagogies in Health and Physical Education. Abingdon: Routledge) typology of nine pedagogies for social justice as an analytical tool.
Findings:
The three themes: (1) Teaching for inclusion, (2) Increasing student engagement through student voice, and (3) Drawing on knowledge from other cultures, reflect the foci of the practitioner partners and collectively represent attempts to foster engagement and more equitable outcomes for all students.
Conclusion:
The findings reaffirm the central role teachers play in creating equitable and meaningful learning environments. When supported by a community of inquiry, evidence, critical dialogue, and professional autonomy, teachers can enact pedagogies that are both contextually responsive and socially transformative. This study underscores the power of everyday pedagogical decisions to drive change and highlights the critical need to empower educators as agents of equity and innovation. As such, this study advances the field by providing empirically grounded insights into how Health and Physical Education teachers implement, adapt, and sustain pedagogies for social justice through collaborative practitioner inquiry
Perinatal hypoxic ischemic brain injury - optimizing treatment for mild to severe injury
No full textThesis embargoed until 05/202
Accuracy and Precision of the ClearSight™ Non-Invasive Monitoring Device in the New Zealand Population Undergoing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Intervention
No full textIntroduction: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is a rapidly expanding procedure for treating severe aortic stenosis (AS). Accurate, continuous haemodynamic monitoring is crucial during TAVI to guide clinical decision-making and safety. While invasive arterial blood pressure monitoring is the current gold standard, it carries procedural risks. The ClearSight™ device offers a non-invasive alternative. However, its accuracy in the TAVI setting has not been well established. This study aims to assess the clinical equivalence of the ClearSight™ device against invasive arterial blood pressure in patients undergoing TAVI for severe AS in the New Zealand population.
Methods: Single-centre study conducted at Te Whatu Ora - Waikato amongst patients with severe AS undergoing elective TAVI. Simultaneous blood pressure measurements were obtained using the ClearSight™ device and invasive arterial monitoring at 20-second intervals.
Clinical equivalence was defined as: Bland-Altman: mean difference 5 mmHg, percentage error 90%, 92%. Subgroup analyses were performed by patient, for hypotension, valve deployment status, gender, valve type, and anaesthetic technique.
Results: A total of 4063 paired blood pressure measurements from 24 patients were analysed.
Bland-Altman analysis revealed a mean difference of 8.0 mmHg for SBP and -5.3 mmHg for DBP, with percentage errors of 37.9% and 38.7%, respectively. Error grid analysis for SBP showed 72.2% and 18.5% of points in zones A and B, respectively, while 7.2% fell in zone C. For MAP, Bland-Altman analysis yielded a bias of -1.7 mmHg and a percentage error of 29.1%. Error grid analysis indicated 71.1% and 25.0% of points in zones A and B. Four-quadrant analysis showed low concordance rates for all parameters.
The ClearSight™ device consistently overestimated MAP in hypotensive patients with unacceptable proportions of points in zones C, D, and E. Variability in accuracy and precision was observed across deployment status, anaesthetic strategy, gender, valve type and between individual patients.
Conclusion: The ClearSight™ device could be cautiously considered as an alternative to invasive radial monitoring for MAP in patients undergoing TAVI, but clinicians should be aware of its limitations, particularly in hypotensive patients. SBP and DBP should not be relied upon
Experimental investigation on the near-ground flow structure of buoyancy-induced vortices with application to energy harvesting
No full textAbstract
This research investigates the near-ground flow within buoyancy-induced vortices at a laboratory scale, to study their suitability for energy harvesting. Two different sizes of ground-mounted vertical-axis turbine models were used to examine their impact on the flow. Time-averaged velocity components were measured using particle image velocimetry in both horizontal and vertical planes. Inlet swirl vanes were set at angles of 30°, 45° and 60°, from which one-cell, one-to-two-cell transition and two-cell type vortices were observed, respectively. Analysis of the time-averaged Navier–Stokes equations shows that centripetal acceleration and radial pressure gradient are the primary contributors to the force balance near the ground. The vortex developed with a 45° vane angle exhibits the minimum vortex wandering effect, corresponding to the lowest turbulence forces in both the radial and vertical directions. When a turbine model is introduced, it reduces the core swirl ratios and increases vertical advection near the ground. The maximum pressure differences induced by the tangential velocity at the vortex centre occur for the 45° vane angle case. For this vane angle, the vortex exhibits strong rotation without breaking down into a two-cell structure. The circulation ratios are calculated, which represent the ratio of turbine to vortex rotational speed. Higher values suggest a higher efficiency of the turbine model. The smaller turbine model is found to be more efficient for lower swirl ratios, while the larger turbine is more efficient for high-swirl vortices by encapsulating the wandering vortex cores.</jats:p
Structural Enzymology, Phylogenetics, Differentiation, and Symbolic Reflexivity at the Dawn of Biology
No full textTranslation of symbols in one chemical language into another defined genetics. Yet, the co-linearity of codons and amino acids is so commonplace an idea that few even ask how it arose. Readout is done by two distinct sets of proteins, called aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases must enforce the rules first used to assemble themselves. To understand the roots of translation, we must experimentally test the structural codes that the earliest aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases used to recognize both amino acid and RNA substrates. We present here new results on five different facets of that problem. (i) The surfaces of structures coded by opposite strands of the same gene have opposite polarities. Core residues in proteins from one strand are surface residues in proteins from the other strand. The complementarity of base pairing thus projects into the proteome. That leads in turn to contrasting amino acid and RNA substrate binding modes. (ii) Escherichia coli reproduces in vivo a nested hierarchy of active excerpts, or "urzymes," similar to those we had designed as models for ancestral aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. (iii) A third novel deletion produced in vivo and a new Class II urzyme suggest how to design bidirectional urzyme genes. (iv) Codon middle base pairing provides a basis to constrain Class I and II aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase family trees. (v) Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase urzymes acylate class-specific subsets of an RNA library, showing urzyme RNA substrate specificity for the first time. Four new tree-building tools augment these results to compose a viable platform for experimental study of the origins of genetic coding