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Measures of nutrition intake and growth reported in preterm nutrition studies: A scoping review
No full textThere are inconsistent recommendations in available guidelines and uncertainty regarding the exact nutrient requirements for preterm infants, partly because of inconsistent outcome reporting in nutrition intervention studies. To support development of a minimum reporting set, we undertook a scoping review to identify measures of nutrition intake and growth outcomes reported in recent preterm nutrition studies. We searched for publications from 2018 to 2023 reporting individuals born preterm at any gestational age and study location whose nutrition intake was assessed before first hospital discharge and whose growth was assessed at any age. One reviewer screened articles and extracted the measures. Any uncertainties were resolved by a second reviewer. The results were tabulated and analyzed descriptively. We identified 6365 records, and included 250 studies. Only 10 of 236 studies (4%) reported how nutrition intake was calculated. There were five different ways of reporting weight and 13 of weight gain, each at many different time points. Furthermore, 27 of 105 studies (26%) did not report how weight gain was calculated, and those that did reported five different calculation methods. Our findings demonstrate significant variation and incomplete reporting of nutrition intake and growth outcomes in preterm nutrition studies. This lack of standardization limits the utility of existing evidence and highlights the need for a standardized reporting framework to improve comparability and support evidence-based guidelines in preterm nutrition
Finding Resonance: The utility of advanced MRI for the detection of microstructural changes in the white matter of the neonatal rat
No full textBackground: Preterm infants have an increased incidence of brain injury associated
with motor deficits. Neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) is an
advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) modality proposed to more precisely describe
changes in cellular microstructure compared with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). However,
changes in NODDI parameters have yet to be validated with histological correlates in the
developing white matter, and in relation to the timing and evolution of white matter injury after
perinatal infection and inflammation. Therefore, I correlated changes in the DTI, and NODDI
with the process density of axons, myelinated axons, astrocytes, and microglia in the white
matter tracts of the neonatal rat.
Methods: Brain tissue of Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat pups of both sexes were collected
at postnatal days (P)1, P3, P7, P14, P21, and P35 for a study of development. A separate cohort
of SD pups were either injected with lipopolysaccharide (0.3mg/kg i.p.) or Saline on P1−P3,
with tissues collected at P7, P14, and P21. Brain tissues were fixed for immunofluorescence or
ex-vivo MRI analysis (9.4T). MRI data were fitted with the NODDI toolbox (Matlab) and
spatially normalised DTI. Process density was assessed using the Spaceball probe (radius = 7.5
µm, Stereoinvestigator software) in the corpus callosum, external capsule and periventricular
white matter.
Results: This study showed that the developmental changes in DTI’s fractional
anisotropy (FA) were primarily influenced by axonal myelination and axonal density. By
contrast, NODDI’s orientation dispersion index (ODI) likely reflected changes in axonal
coherence, and the neurite density index (NDI) likely reflected changes in axonal, microglial,
and astrocytic process density. NDI and ODI but not FA were able to detect changes in the
external capsule following inflammation, with evidence for increasing axonal density and
decreasing myelin density.
Conclusions: Overall, the findings of this thesis suggest that NODDI is more sensitive
to specific changes in cell process density (axons, myelinated axons, astrocytes, and microglia)
than DTI, and that NODDI may be more useful than DTI for the early and specific
identification of inflammatory brain injury
Exploring the Effectiveness of Machine Learning for Environmental Prediction
No full textAccurate environmental predictions are essential for sustainable management and decision making. This study investigates the effectiveness of machine learning (ML) models, including Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN), Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), and a hybrid CNN-LSTM approach, in predicting environmental variables at different temporal and spatial scales. Three case studies are examined: (1) drug consumption patterns based on wastewater epidemiology, (2) shoreline position dynamics influenced by wave and climate factors, and (3) carbon flux variations in forest ecosystems. The results show that XGBoost performs well on spatially distributed data tasks, such as predicting drug consumption across regions, while deep learning models, particularly CNN-LSTM, excel at capturing complex temporal dependencies, such as those seen in shoreline and carbon flux predictions. However, challenges remain in dealing with extreme values, data imputation for missing records, and integrating physical constraints into ML models. This research highlights the strengths and limitations of different ML approaches and suggests future directions for improving model interpretability and robustness in environmental applications
Environmental sensing, strategic-orientation evolution, and founding imprint: Rethinking strategic fit in dynamic capabilities research
No full textWe contribute to the dynamic capabilities perspective by proposing a conceptual model that explains how strategic orientation and environmental sensing co-evolve in a recursive process of establishing and reestablishing strategic fit. Organizations engage in environmental sensing to identify sources of environmental change and, if required to respond, make decisions that align with their strategic orientation. We introduce the concept of strategic-orientation adjustment, linked to the receding and resurfacing of an organization’s founding imprint, to explain how organizations respond to environmental pressures and adapt their strategic orientation. Our model offers novel insight into the dynamics underpinning the interplay between environmental sensing and the evolution of strategic orientation. Building on the literatures on organizational history and the microfoundations of dynamic capabilities, our paper offers an alternative perspective to the configurational view of dynamic capabilities, strategic orientation, and strategic fit. We illustrate our theory using the cases of pioneering electric guitar-making companies Gibson and Fender
Design and Manufacture of a Microfluidic Chip Representing Physiological Flows for Placental Organoids
No full textFetal growth restriction (FGR) is a pregnancy complication which occurs due to placental insufficiency. This can be a result of poor formation of the placenta (fetoplacental components), or due to an inadequate supply of nutrient rich maternal blood to the surface of the placenta by the uteroplacental circulation. The placenta is covered by a large multinucleated cell, the syncytiotrophoblast, which is directly in contact with maternal blood delivered by the uteroplacental circulation, and so shear stress exerted by this blood on the syncytiotrophoblast is hypothesised to impact placental growth and development. Thus, there is an interaction between maternal and fetal causes of FGR, leading to complexities in diagnosis and management of the condition.
This thesis presents the design, development, and testing of a microfluidic device, which aims to replicate physiological shear stress on the syncytiotrophoblast, in a unique ‘placentoid’ cell culture which allows for growth of a tree-like structure with similar cell organisation to a real placenta.
Computational fluid dynamics were used to model fluid flow and shear stress in the device. Shear stresses within the physiological range, as reported by Lee et al. (2023), were aimed to be reproduced in the in vitro environment. PDMS bumps were incorporated into the design to allow for trophoblast differentiation into villous tree structures. The thesis concludes by manufacturing and conducting preliminary testing on prototype microfluidic devices. This research aims to increase the knowledge surrounding placental pathophysiology, in conditions like FGR which could later be used to improve diagnostics or targeted therapies for early detection and prevention of FGR
Integrating Impact Investing in Venture Capital: A Systemic Exploration of Decision Making within the MedTech Industry
No full textThe term impact investing was initially coined in 2007 by the Rockefeller Foundation. Impact investing refers to investors who fund ventures with the primary intention or desire to generate a positive impact. Over the years, there has been a notable trend of society becoming more aware of systemic issues such as health inequities, climate change and inadequate education. This sudden mass awakening to these systemic issues that have been prevalent for decades has, in turn, created this fundamental shift from traditional investing practices to more impact-focused investing. Therefore, investors have increased interest in engaging in impact investment practices. With the increased market demand also comes increased challenges that VCs face.
The findings suggest that VCs engage in impact investing strategies but not within the more sophisticated asset classes like MedTech. Moreover, there is not a lot of investment going into this industry in general, which led me to specify impact investing within the MedTech sector. This exploratory study is grounded in institutional theory, encompassing agentic choices about corporate social responsibility (CSR) and how external pressures, such as social norms and regulations, influence decision-making.
This study touched on several concepts related to the challenges VCs face when engaging in systemic strategies due to time constraints, regulatory dynamics, social norms and misalignment of definitions and measurement frameworks. These concepts impact VC's decision-making processes. However, to create systemic change, you need a systemic solution. In this instance, the action of building capabilities, namely, cultural and cognitive aspects, led us to the relationship with institutional works to further build on those capabilities. These exploratory findings offer foundational insights into systemic strategies conducted by VCs. They serve as a basis for future research that delves deeper into how VCs can further contribute to systemic strategy
Triadic Women: Representations of Women in Early Modern Drama by Shakespeare and Webster
No full textThis dissertation examines representations of women in early modern tragedies, focusing
on the pattern of three women in King Lear, Othello, and The Duchess of Malfi. I explore how
these three plays construct their representations of womanhood, given that each only includes
three female characters. Through feminist scholarship, this dissertation considers how a pattern
of three women develops the portrayal of gender dynamics, patriarchal constructs, and social
anxieties in early modern England. This dissertation explores how the pattern of the three
women contributes to the dramatic structures and thematic concerns of these plays.
This dissertation primarily focuses on three dramas: King Lear, Othello, and The Duchess
of Malfi. The three plays share similarities in their representations of women as transgressive
figures set in transition periods. I explore how King Lear considers Lear’s three daughters -
who can be traced back to literary and folkloric traditions - in the context of a play that centres
so heavily on the father as the centre of the patriarchal universe. Othello is a play that centres
on an exploration of marriage. By mapping the implications and intersections of the pattern of
three women that appear in Othello, I can examine how the play represents women as ‘wives’
and ‘courtesans’ during the early modern period. In The Duchess of Malfi, Webster portrays
women from distinct social standings, examining the intersectional relationships between the
patterns of three women, which opens up a discussion of gender, power, and class.
In addition, this dissertation examines how theatrical and cultural factors shaped the
recurring use of triadic representations of women in early modern drama. By exploring
scholarship that considers the constraints early modern playhouses may have had in sourcing
‘boy-players,’ this dissertation develops a nuanced consideration of the pattern of three women
beyond their place in source texts and uses it for the broader purpose of the dramas they come
from
‘Critical’ Research in Education: Threads from the Past Woven into a Tapestry of the Present
No full textAs emerging scholars in a School of Critical Studies in Education, we often grapple with what it means to be ‘critical.’ This occurs within our
scholarly work as we wrestle with the potentials of and limits to critical research in the social sphere outside academia (and its institutions) and within and for it. In this work, we seek to capture our evolving engagement with the notion of critical research, its tensions and contradictions, both as a scholarly community and as individuals. We explore multiple meanings of power, autonomy and agency as we seek to address the central question – what it means to be ‘critical’ – from a range of starting points: decolonial projects in academia, critical studies in the digital age, international standpoints and community perspectives of criticality and a critical inquiry into academic writing practices. Written as a metalogue, this work comprises various textual elements such as emails and presentation scripts reshaped into a conversational form of writing that retains our voices and perspectives while simultaneously allowing for the practice of reflexivity. We use the form (and purpose) of a ‘critical’ performance to embody our desire to disrupt traditional academic spaces through collaborative storytelling. This allows resistant discourses of critical inquiry to materialise and catalyses continued conversations about (and for) critical research
How do we coexist between ‘order’ and ‘chaos’? An exploration of rhizome-based thinking in architecture and urban planning, navigating the possibility of ‘chaos’ within an ordered society
No full textWhen we encounter new ideas, they are typically presented within a particular framework or structure. These frameworks help organise and understand concepts that often reflect a specific perspective shaped by an authority figure’s agenda. For centuries, we have relied on this “structured framework kind of way of thinking” to learn, think, communicate, navigate, and experience. It has helped to shape and develop the world as we know it. It is embedded in the way we build. The way we function as a society, and even with the fabrics of every urban element. Deleuze and Guattari’s book ‘A Thousand Plateaus’ refers to this ordered way of thinking as ‘arborescence’—a tree root system, a system that has a distinct root and is shaped in a hierarchical structure; all other outcomes eventually stem from the root. In contrast, Deleuze and Guattari offer a different approach —a ‘rhizome’, a multiplicity system interconnected without a strict hierarchy or linear structure.
This research identifies how rhizome-based thinking exists in an urban setting, whether organically or artificially. It explores the possibilities of the coexistence of the ‘arborescence’ and ‘rhizome’ by taking inspiration from the symbiotic relationship of the complex life forms of Lichen amongst the linear and multiplicities. This study analyses the current and past proposals for the development of Auckland Airport. It focuses on building technology, cultural identity, green space, urban renewal, transport, and sustainability. It identifies areas where a ‘rhizome’ based thinking can be introduced alongside the more linear ‘arborescence’ way of thinking to enhance sustainability, urban quality and identity of future airport developments