36270 research outputs found
Sort by
Hollow and mound: landscapes of tin extraction in Bronze Age Cornwall
No full textThe extraction of tin, one of the key materials which defined the Bronze Age, usually elicits economically determinist interpretations, tin being conceived as a resource which was extracted and distributed within a capitalocene economic system. This thesis sought to subvert functionalist and retrojective narratives of Bronze Age tin extraction by taking a posthuman feminist approach to place and experience, asking how extractive activities might have provoked different engagements with materials, and how these engagements had lasting impacts on landscapes. A methodology was developed which incorporated archival evidence, often in non-traditional forms, which has previously been overlooked by conventional approaches – almost all evidence for tin extraction in prehistoric Cornwall comes from reported finds made by streamworkers in the 18th and 19th centuries. Evidence for tin extraction in the Bronze Age was reviewed, and paper finds, including a rare tree coffin burial, and several multi-period metalwork hoards, were found in archives and related to updated understandings of Bronze Age archaeology. A ‘patchwork’ approach was developed to reflect the processual and multiplicitous properties of streamworks, and as a result, stories which upset economically determinist narratives have emerged. This methodology revealed multi-temporal encounters in streamworks, both during and after extractive activity, which may have informed practices of metalwork deposition and some possible Bronze Age burials. These multi-temporal encounters were reflected in the archives the artefacts came from, and informed the ‘patchwork approach’ taken. Overall, this thesis has, by opening spaces for nonconventional modes of archaeological interpretation, revealed different pasts created by Bronze Age tin extraction.</p
Accelerated Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance: Transforming Diagnostic Efficiency in Cardiac Imaging
No full textCoronary artery disease (CAD) remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In patients with known or suspected CAD, cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging plays a crucial role in the detection, localisation, and characterisation of myocardial abnormalities. However, its widespread adoption often faces limitations, including lengthy scan times, patient discomfort, and restricted access due to resource demands. This thesis evaluates the validity and clinical application of accelerated CMR imaging techniques for improving diagnostic efficiency in patients with suspected CAD.Firstly, free-breathing, real-time cine imaging was assessed as an alternative to conventional breath-hold steady-state free precession (SSFP) cine imaging in patients with known or suspected cardiac disease (n=202). It was demonstrated that free-breathing imaging provided comparable diagnostic accuracy while improving tolerability and reducing motion artefacts in patients with compromised breath-holding capacity.Furthermore, the feasibility and diagnostic accuracy of single-shot late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) imaging were evaluated in patients with suspected CAD (n=114). This technique eliminated the need for multiple breath-holds while maintaining high sensitivity and specificity for the detection of myocardial scarring and fibrosis.Moreover, the reproducibility of quantitative perfusion mapping, a novel technique for the absolute quantification of myocardial blood flow (MBF) and myocardial perfusion reserve (MPR), was assessed in a study (n=59). This demonstrated moderate reproducibility of MBF and poorer reproducibility of MPR.</p
Early Cambrian deuteropods from the Chengjiang Konservat-Lagerstätte: anatomy, taxonomy and phylogenetic significance
No full textThis thesis presents detailed systematic palaeontology of four early Cambrian (Series 2, Stage 3) euarthropods from the Chengjiang biota of Yunnan Province, China. These are: Kylinxia zhangi Zeng, Zhao & Huang, Fengzhengia mamingae O’Flynn et al., Bushizheia yangi O’Flynn & Liu and Kuamaia lata Hou. These are deuteropods (i.e. upper stem- and crown-group euarthropods), being characterized by complete dorsal arthrodization, a multi-segmented head, deutocerebral first appendages and appendage arthropodization, which distinguish them from lower stem-group euarthropods. The taxa have been selected for analysis to address some fundamental questions bearing on the number of segments in the euarthropod head, and the homology of raptorial frontal appendages (A1) across the euarthropod stem and crown-groups. Of these taxa, K. lata nests robustly within Artiopoda Hou & Bergström, whereas earlier-branching K. zhangi, F. mamingae and B. yangi have uncertain placements within Deuteropoda Ortega-Hernández at class, order and family levels.The presence of a six-segmented head in Kylinxia zhangi and, for example, Jianfengia multisegmentalis Hou (a megacheiran euarthropod), attests to an early acquisition of this character within the euarthropod upper stem-group and its retention in the crown-group. The ‘great appendage’-like A1 is retained across a large region of tree space from lower to upper stem- and crown-group Euarthropoda, indicating that a raptorial A1 is symplesiomorphic for Deuteropoda, and indicates homology of these limbs between stem and crown euarthropods. Conjoined segments posterior to the last trunk articulation, present in comparatively early- (K. zhangi and Fengzhengia mamingae) and late-branching (Kuamaia lata) deuteropods (and Bushizheia yangi that bridges between), are interpreted as pygidia. However, there is incomplete developmental (ontogenetic) evidence in these and other non-artiopodan euarthropods to show whether these represent homologous structures across a range of deuteropods — and congruence tests of homology imply multiple origins.</p
Education Policy Reforms and its Impact on Educational Outcomes in Ghana
No full textFollowing the 2016 presidential elections, the Government of Ghana introduced a nationwide senior high school (SHS) reform, known as the free senior high school (FSHS) programme. In Ghana, students enter SHS at a typical age of 15 after making the required grades in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). The policy reform included the following changes.• Starting with the student cohort admitted from the 2017/2018 academic year onwards, all school tuition and boarding fees were abolished.• All students who sat for the BECE, irrespective of performance, qualified to be placed into a public SHS.• Low performing students faced higher chance of being admitted to academically higher ranked SHSs.• Due to the increase in the student population, some SHSs introduced a Double Tracking System (DTS) where the cohort of students were taught in two separate groups.This thesis, therefore, seeks to evaluate these policy reforms, on student access and academic achievement. Specifically, the thesis is composed of three interdependent chapters and answers the following questions:1. To what extent does the Free Senior High School induce more students to enrol and complete school, and who are the primary beneficiaries?2. What are the peer effects of low-ability students in schools?3. What is the impact of the Double Tracking System on students’ test scores?Answers to these questions are expected to provide a better empirical understanding of the policy, as this is essential for delivering equitable and affordable senior high school education, especially in the context of limited resources.</p
Supporting Material - First detection of the Two-dimensional propagation of Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances Associated with Atmospheric Gravity Waves in the Martian Ionosphere
No full textIn this folder we provide the orginal data as well as derived products of the MEX orbit 24334 used in the publication below. A README file is included for further information.If this dataset is used, please acknowledge the following paper together with this dataset:Rong, T., Sánchez‑Cano, B., Jiang, C., Lester, M., Meggi, D., Joyce, S., Fowler, C.M., Cicchetti, A., Holmström, M., Andrews, D. & Machado, P. (2026) First detection of the two‑dimensional propagation of traveling ionospheric disturbances associated with atmospheric gravity waves in the Martian ionosphere. Geophysical Research Letters. (awaiting DOI)For information, contact Beatriz Sanchez-Cano, University of Leicester, UK [[email protected]].</p
Affective Dimensions of Political Violence: The Case of a Lynching in Mexico
No full textAffective Dimensions of Political Violence challenges the dominant accounts of political violence, which view it as a is purely rational or structural phenomenon, often dismissing emotions like rage and anger as irrational and therefore apolitical. This book argues emotions become deeply political when they disrupt the order established and maintained by the state —often through violence. Using the case of a lynching in San Juan Ixtayopan, Mexico, the book reconceptualises a form of violence, which is commonly labelled as “criminal” or “barbaric”, as instead an eminently political act performed by marginalised groups as a means of asserting their presence. Drawing on theorists such as Girard, Foucault, Butler and Benjamin, the book provides a phenomenological exploration of violence, linking emotional experiences to neoliberal political conditions. Structured around three core emotions—fear, anger and revenge—it examines moral panics and scapegoating, the spectacle of violence and perceptions of justice. By weaving collective emotions into theories of political violence, this interdisciplinary work offers a fresh way to understand how affects shape violence beyond instrumental logic, contributing to political theory, sociology and feminist readings of violence.</p
‘A temporary disagreement or a fundamental split’? The Suez Crisis and British public opinion towards the United States in the 1950s and 1960s
No full textThis study assesses public opinion in Britain towards the United States, establishing attitudesat the outset of the Cold War, examining the Suez Crisis and then assessing opinion over thelonger-term. Attitudes were responsive to foreign policy crises and superpower relations, butthe impact of Suez was generally temporary and modest in scope. The views of partysupporters varied over Suez and Vietnam but showed a solid foundation for the Atlanticistorientation of political elites. The paper provides the most comprehensive and detailedanalysis of public attitudes in Britain towards US-UK relations in the early decades of theCold War.</p
From Maths to Matter: Experimental Realisation of the Thomson Problem
No full textNo description supplied</p
Autonomic Profile Changes after Pulsed-Field versus Thermal Ablation in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
No full textBACKGROUND: Catheter ablation is an established therapy for atrial fibrillation (AF), with thermal ablation as a standard modality. Pulsed-field ablation (PFA) is a nonthermal alternative that selectively ablates myocardium while sparing collateral tissue. Its comparative autonomic impact relative to thermal ablation remains unclear. The study aims to compare autonomic changes following PFA and thermal ablation in AF patients, focusing on heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), bradyarrhythmias, and arrhythmia recurrence. METHODS: We systematically searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane CENTRAL through August 2025 for randomized and nonrandomized studies reporting pre- and post-ablation HR or HRV. Data were pooled using random-effects or fixed-effects models, depending on the presence of heterogeneity. RESULTS: Six studies (800 patients, PFA: 407, thermal: 393) were included. Thermal ablation was associated with a significantly greater rise in resting HR compared with PFA (mean difference -7.57 bpm, 95%CI: -11.66-3.48, p = 0.0003; I2 = 90% indicating high heterogeneity). HRV indices were consistently better preserved after PFA. SDNN at 12 months was approximately 150 ms with PFA versus 115 ms with thermal ablation (p95% of patients. CONCLUSIONS: PFA attenuates autonomic perturbation relative to thermal ablation, preserving resting HR and HRV while maintaining comparable arrhythmia outcomes. These findings support PFA as an effective and autonomically sparing strategy for AF ablation.</p
Transcriptomic response of skeletal muscle to acute aerobic versus combined exercise in chronic kidney disease
No full textBackgroundChronic kidney disease (CKD) affects approximately 14% of the UK population and is associated with significant exercise intolerance, partly due to skeletal muscle dysfunction. While exercise is a potential therapeutic strategy, the molecular response of skeletal muscle to exercise in CKD remains poorly understood. This study aimed to characterise transcriptomic changes in skeletal muscle 24 hours after aerobic (AE) or combined aerobic and resistance exercise (CE) in non-dialysis CKD.MethodsThis study utilised muscle biopsies from participants in the ExTRA CKD trial with stage 3b–4 CKD stages 3b-4 (AE: 24 (15–32) ml/min/1.73m2; CE: 25 (19–31) ml/min/1.73m2). Participants (n = 4 per group) were randomised to 12 weeks of thrice-weekly AE or CE. Vastus lateralis skeletal muscle biopsies were collected at baseline and 24h after the first bout of exercise. RNA was extracted for Bulk RNA sequencing. Bulk RNA sequencing was performed, and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between baseline and post-exercise samples, followed by pathway enrichment analysis.ResultsFollowing AE, 1480 genes were upregulated and 1554 downregulated. CE resulted in 556 upregulated and 115 downregulated genes. The most upregulated gene after AE was CHI3L1 (log₂FC 10.7), followed by SAA2 and PTX3, all associated with inflammation. After CE, SFN (log₂FC 6.8) and MT1A were among the most highly upregulated. Enrichment analysis showed strong activation of inflammatory and cellular senescence pathways, and downregulation of mitochondrial function-related processes, particularly after AE.ConclusionBoth AE and CE triggered robust inflammatory gene expression responses in CKD skeletal muscle, which may be indicative of early repair processes. Unexpectedly, mitochondrial-related pathways were downregulated at 24h post exercise. In the absence of earlier post exercise timepoints, it is not possible to determine whether these findings reflect impaired mitochondrial adaptation, or instead represent a recovery phase return of mitochondrial gene expression levels to baseline. These results highlight mitochondrial dysfunction may be a potential barrier to effective exercise adaptation and a possible therapeutic target in this population.</p