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Polymers for liquid formulations
No full textThis thesis investigates the synthesis of functional polyesters and polycarbonates designed for applications in aqueous formulations. It provides a comprehensive account of their preparation, accompanied by detailed analytical studies focusing on solubility and stability in aqueous environments.
Chapter 1 presents an overview of water-soluble polymers in detergent formulations. It introduces the applied synthetic methodologies, namely the ring-opening copolymerisation and thiol-ene chemistry. Furthermore, the chapter elucidates on solubility parameters and analytical techniques to monitor polymer degradation.
Chapter 2 details the synthesis of well-defined copolymers in the form of polyesters and polycarbonates, derived from structurally diverse monomers exhibiting either flexible or rigid characteristics. Post-polymerisation modifications are subsequently performed to increase hydrophilicity through the incorporation of hydroxyl, carboxylic acid, ammonium carboxylate, and sodium sulfonate functionalities.
Chapter 3 employs the Hansen solubility parameter framework to systematically determine the solubility profiles of the synthesised polyesters. In addition, aqueous stability is investigated under non-moderated, acidic (pH 4), and alkaline (pH 8 and pH 11) conditions. These studies are monitored using ¹H NMR spectroscopy and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC).
Chapter 4 describes the synthesis of amphiphilic structures through the incorporation of poly(ethylene oxide) blocks. Following the preparation of functional poly(ether-block-ester)s, in-solution aggregates are characterised using dynamic light scattering (DLS). Subsequent studies investigate the aqueous stability of these assemblies.
Chapter 5 summarises the main findings of this thesis and its implications. An outlook section suggests directions for future research that can build upon the work presented.
Chapter 6 provides experimental details for Chapters 2-4.
An Appendix is included, presenting all the supplementary figures and data that complement the discussion throughout Chapters 2-4
Association between deep cervical lymph node dissection and dementia incidence in patients with head and neck cancer: a systematic review
Get PDFBackground: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterised by the accumulation of amyloid-β plaques and hyperphosphorylated tau tangles in the central nervous system (CNS). It is the most common form of dementia and presents spectrum of clinical symptoms, including memory loss, increasing confusion, personality changes, and progressive deterioration in language, spatial awareness, abstract reasoning, and but cognitive impairment is the hallmark. The purpose of this systematic review was to: (a) evaluate the current evidence of cognitive impairment in adult patients following head and neck cancer (HNC) surgical management; (b) assess whether an association exists between cognitive decline and surgical treatment in HNC patients; and (c) identify gaps in the literature for future research directions and clinical practice. Methods: We performed a systematic search of the PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, and Medline databases to identify English-language publications (January 2001 to January 2025) that investigated cognitive impairment in adult patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale (NOS). The search and reporting processes adhered to the PRISMA 2020 guidelines for systematic reviews. Studies evaluating clinical cognitive outcomes in HNC patients using validated cognitive assessment tools were included. The primary outcomes of interest were measurement of cognition and quality of life following HNC treatment. Results: Twenty-three studies met the eligibility criteria, a total of 28,054 patients with HNC. The majority of studies evaluated cognitive impairment as part of quality-of-life outcomes. Three studies specifically reported an increased incidence of dementia following HNC surgery. Two studies assessed postoperative cognitive decline reported an incidence of cognitive deterioration ranging from 7% to 40%. Three studies investigated postoperative quality-of-life scores reported an incidence of severe cognitive dysfunction of 37%. Two large studies identified a significant association between the neck dissection and cognitive decline. One study reported a dementia incidence of 0.7 per 100 patient-years, with a cumulative incidence of 10.34% over 8.6 years (95% CI; p = 0.028). Bilateral supraomohyoid neck dissection (SOHND) and modified radical neck dissection (MRND) demonstrated significant cognitive decline (CI 95%, p = 0.016). Conclusions: HNC management is known to be associated with reduced quality of life; however, the relationship between neck dissection and cognitive impairment remains under-researched. Further high-quality studies are needed to explore the potential association between deep cervical lymph node dissection (dCLND) and the development of neurodegenerative conditions, including AD. Investigating cognitive outcomes across different types of neck dissection is essential to identify underlying mechanisms and to clarify whether surgical disruption of cervical lymphatic pathways contributes to postoperative or long-term neurocognitive decline and guide future clinical practice. Level of Evidence: Not gradable
Cohort Profile: the SMRU Refugee and Migrant Pregnancy Study
No full textCreated August 2025 after collating from 1986 to 2024. Excel file and data dictionary
Bridging data gaps of rare conditions in ICU: a multi-disease adaptation approach for clinical prediction
Get PDFArtificial Intelligence has revolutionised critical care for common conditions. Yet, rare conditions in the intensive care unit (ICU), including recognised rare diseases and low-prevalence conditions in the ICU, remain underserved due to data scarcity and intra-condition heterogeneity. To bridge such gaps, we developed KnowRare, a domain adaptation-based deep learning framework for predicting clinical outcomes for rare conditions in the ICU. KnowRare mitigates data scarcity by initially learning condition-agnostic representations from diverse electronic health records through self-supervised pre-training. It addresses intra-condition heterogeneity by selectively adapting knowledge from clinically similar conditions with a developed condition knowledge graph. Evaluated on two ICU datasets across five clinical prediction tasks (90-day mortality, 30-day readmission, ICU mortality, remaining length of stay, and phenotyping), KnowRare consistently outperformed existing state-of-the-art models. Additionally, KnowRare demonstrated superior predictive performance compared to established ICU scoring systems, including APACHE IV and IV-a. Case studies further demonstrated KnowRare’s flexibility in adapting its parameters to accommodate dataset-specific and task-specific characteristics, its generalisation to common conditions under limited data scenarios, and its rationality in selecting source conditions. These findings highlight KnowRare’s potential as a robust and practical solution for supporting clinical decision-making and improving care for rare conditions in the ICU
Exploring the role of verbal encouragement on narrative expression in Chinese preschool children: an experimental study with a 10-day Intervention
Get PDFThis study examines the impact of verbal encouragement on narrative expression among Chinese preschool children, utilizing a 10-day intervention based on shared book reading. Narrative expression is crucial for children’s overall language development, as well as their social and emotional growth. However, research on the role of encouragement in enhancing narrative expression, particularly within the Chinese context, remains limited. The study was conducted in Guizhou, an economically underdeveloped region of China, and involved 47 typically developing preschool children aged 5 to 6 years. Participants were randomly assigned to either an experimental group, which received verbal encouragement during shared reading sessions, or a control group that followed a standard reading routine. The Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives (MAIN) was employed to evaluate the children’s narrative expression, focusing on both macrostructural elements (e.g., setting, goal, attempt, outcome) and microstructural elements (e.g., lexical diversity, syntactic complexity). Results indicated that while shared book reading significantly improved the overall narrative expression of Chinese preschool children, there were no statistically significant differences in the narrative scores between the experimental and control groups. This suggests that verbal encouragement alone may not lead to a measurable improvement in narrative expression over a short intervention period. Additionally, children in Guizhou generally exhibited lower scores in narrative expression compared to peers from more developed regions in China, highlighting potential disparities in early language development. These findings contribute to the broader understanding of how shared book reading can enhance narrative skills in preschool children and suggest that while verbal encouragement has potential benefits, its impact may require more sustained or context-specific interventions. The study also underscores the need for further research to explore the long-term effects of encouragement and to address the educational inequalities in underdeveloped regions
Online public shaming, the duties of social media platforms, and the case for regulation
Get PDFWhat should we do in response to the prevalence of wrongful public shaming that occurs online? In this paper, we offer one part of the answer to this question. We argue that there is a compelling case for social media platforms themselves to be active in tackling wrongful online public shaming, as well as for government regulation of these platforms to stimulate such activity. We recognize that we are far from the first authors to call for the regulation of social media platforms. None the less, our arguments and conclusions have two distinguishing features that warrant emphasis. First, whereas others invoke the familiar risks associated with fake news and with hate speech, we focus exclusively on the need for regulation to address wrongful online public shaming. Second, as will become apparent, our analysis assigns special relevance to the social norms that emerge on the Internet, and it highlights the important role that these norms must play in resolving the issues with which we are concerned
The privacy paradox is a misnomer: data under structural uncertainty
Get PDFThe infamous privacy paradox refers to the apparent inconsistency between people’s stated concern for privacy and their readiness to disclose personal information. This phenomenon has sparked two largely disconnected literatures: one offering experimental evidence of inconsistent behavior, and another providing qualitative accounts and defending the importance of privacy. The Article presents an online field experiment that bridges those literatures and shows that the so-called paradox arises from a mischaracterization of the underlying behavior. The Article finds that it is structural uncertainty about risk that drives seemingly paradoxical privacy decisions. It does so by isolating discounting mechanisms and empirically testing whether observed privacy choices reflect temptation or rational responses to uncertainty. The results suggest that privacy behavior is not paradoxical but, rather, consistent with choices shaped by incomplete information. The Article then discusses the policy implications of this reframing. As privacy decisions stem from structural uncertainty, which operates as a market failure, regulation should aim to reduce that uncertainty. This supports regulation that prioritizes transparency—for people to assess the risks of data collection—and flexibility mechanisms that accommodate evolving contexts. Such reframing provides a new argument for the right to be forgotten, which allows people to revisit prior disclosures as new risks become apparent. By shifting the focus from individual inconsistency to structural uncertainty, the findings call for privacy law to better reflect the reality of people’s decision-making environments
