324139 research outputs found
Sort by
The Pitt-Newcastle coalition and the conduct of the seven years' war
Get PDFThe purpose of this thesis is to study the interaction of politics and the formation of war policy in the three years between the beginning of the Pitt-Newcastle coalition in June 1757 and the death of George II in October 1760. These limits are prescribed partly by the fact that this period, preceded and followed by political turmoil, has a unity of its own as a period of political quiescence; and partly by Sir Lewis Namier's work on the years 1760-1762 and the work at the moment being done by Dr J.B. Owen on the politics of 1754-1757.
But this thesis is not primarily a study of political relationships. Nor, on the other hand, is it a comprehensive survey of the formation of war policy. Rather, it is an attempt to examine how the one influenced the other: of the extent to which strategy might be shaped by political pressures, of the efforts of politicians to overcome this, and, conversely, of the way in which war developments might affect the political balance at home. Those areas of the war about which there was no political controversy are not examined: there was, for instance, no disagreement about the way Pitt conducted the war in America; this came within the Southern Department and both the King and Newcastle were happy to leave it to Pitt to decide how the American campaigns should be fought. And Pitt was in general content to leave the raising of finance entirely to Newcastle.
The conduct of the war in Europe was a much more controversial matter. The most significant political disputes of the mid-eighteenth century were about whether and how a government sh ould support continental powers in the land war, and particularly about the respect that should be paid to the Hanoverian connection. The se questions occupy a central place in the thesis.
In this way, it is intended to cover ground which ha s generally been neglected. On the one hand, most of the modern studies of limited periods of the eighteenth century, such as those by Dr Owen on 1742-7, Sir Lewis Namier on 1760-2, Mr Brooke on 1766-8 and Professor Christie on 1780-2, have been primarily about changes in political relationships in periods of unrest, and discussion about the evolution of policy has been incidental to the political narrative. On the other hand, the major surveуs of the two great wars of the mid-eighteenth century, Admiral Richmond's The Navy in the War of 1739-1748, Sir Richard Lodge's Studies in Eighteenth Century Diplomacy, 1740-1748, M. Waddington's La Guerre de Sept Ans and Sir Julian Corbett's England in the Seven Years' War, are military, naval and diplomatic histories, more concerned to describe the effects of English policies on the course of war than the political developments influencing their formation. Mr Mackesy's The War for America, 1775-1783 gives more attention to the relationship between politics and strategy, but it dces not of course deal with the European theatre on which the controversies of the two earlier wars were centred. The only recent work in which the main theme has been the interaction between politics and the evolution of policy has been the discussion by Dr Donoughue in [continues in full-text file]
Foraging Observations: Novel Trophic Interactions Between the Andean Gull ( Chroicocephalus serrranus ) and Endangered Vertebrates of Lake Titicaca
Get PDFWe record two new predation events and one new kleptoparasitic Andean Gull ( Chroicocephalus serranus ) behavior, interactions that directly link to the Titicaca Grebe ( Rollandia microptera ) and Titicaca Water Frog ( Telmatobius culeus ). Our reports expand the understanding of the gull's ecological niche and reveal previously overlooked interactions between it and two endemic and endangered Lake Titicaca species which act as indicators of Lake Titicaca's ecosystem health
Bioinspired Fabric Ligament with Tunable Stiffness for Reproducing 3D Lumbar Spine Kinematics
Get PDFLumbar spine ligaments play a critical role in maintaining spine joint stability and structural integrity within segmental biomechanics. However, most existing lumbar spine models and simulators neglect ligament contributions, leading to incomplete or potentially overestimated evaluations of spinal implant performance. Herein, we introduce bioinspired fabric ligaments (BFLs), designed to emulate the hierarchical structure and material properties of natural spine ligaments. By tailoring fabric architecture, strand number, and yarn count, BFLs successfully reproduce the nonlinear force–displacement behavior and tunable stiffness characteristics of natural spine ligaments. Integrating BFLs with three‐dimensional (3D) printed bioinspired vertebrae and intervertebral disc (IVD), we develop a bioinspired lumbar spine system (BLSS). The experimental results demonstrate that the developed BLSS not only restricts the excessive motion of ligament‐deficient models but also replicates physiologically relevant 3D lumbar kinematics. This work establishes a versatile paradigm for ligament‐mimetic design, offering a reliable platform for intervertebral implants evaluation and new opportunities for personalized spinal implants optimization
Modelling Motion‐Induced Signal Corruption in Steady‐State Diffusion MRI
Get PDFPurpose: Diffusion‐weighted steady‐state free precession (DW‐SSFP) is a diffusion imaging sequence achieving high SNR efficiency. A key challenge for in vivo DW‐SSFP is the sequence's severe motion sensitivity, currently limiting investigations to low or no motion regimes. Here we establish a framework to both (1) model and (2) correct for the impact of subject motion associated with the underlying magnetisation distribution of DW‐SSFP. Theory and Methods: An extended phase graphs (EPG) representation of the 1D DW‐SSFP signal was established incorporating a motion operator describing rigid body and pulsatile motion. The representation was validated using Monte Carlo simulations, and subsequently integrated into a data fitting routine for motion estimation and correction. The fitting routine was evaluated using both simulations and a voxelwise correction applied to in vivo experimental 2D low‐resolution single‐shot timeseries DW‐SSFP data acquired in the human brain in three healthy volunteers, with a tensor reconstructed from the motion‐corrected experimental DW‐SSFP data. Results: The proposed EPG‐motion framework gives excellent agreement to complementary Monte Carlo simulations, demonstrating that diffusion coefficient estimation is robust over a range of motion and SNR regimes. Tensor estimates from the motion‐corrected experimental DW‐SSFP data give good visual agreement to complementary diffusion‐weighted spin‐echo (DW‐SE) data acquired in the same subject, considerably reducing orientation‐dependent motion‐induced biases. Conclusion: Temporal information capturing the evolution of the DW‐SSFP signal can be used to retrospectively (1) estimate subject motion and (2) reconstruct motion‐corrected DW‐SSFP data. Open‐source software is provided, facilitating future investigations into the impact of subject‐motion on DW‐SSFP acquisitions
Patient and public involvement and engagement in clinical trials at scale: Analysis of the first 3250 responses on the POrtal for Patient and Public Engagement in Dementia (POPPED)
Get PDFINTRODUCTION: Patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) improves research quality but is often limited in scale. This study explored the potential for large‐scale PPIE using a Web‐based approach. METHODS: We created an online portal to gather public views on dementia research and a UK‐based adaptive platform trial testing repurposed Alzheimer's disease drugs. Participants ranked four anonymized drugs and completed discrete choice experiments on treatment trade‐offs. Analyses were stratified by sex, age, and dementia experience. RESULTS: Among 3250 people across 27 countries (87.4% UK‐based), 79.6% expressed positive attitudes toward the trial. Metformin was the most preferred drug, followed by atomoxetine, isosorbide mononitrate, and levetiracetam. Probability of severe side effects was the most influential treatment attribute, followed by probability of mild side effects and type of evidence. Subgroup analyses supported the main findings. DISCUSSION: Web‐based PPIE can effectively inform dementia research at scale and provides a reusable resource for other studies
Digital cognition plus plasma p‐Tau217 and Aβ42/40 powerfully predict Alzheimer's progression
Get PDFINTRODUCTION: Alzheimer's disease is characterized by amyloid‐β (Aβ) and tau accumulation. Identifying individuals with rapid proteinopathy progression is crucial for timely intervention and trial enrichment. METHODS: We analyzed longitudinal data from 456 Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) participants, including 375 with digital cognitive test scores. Amyloid and tau accumulation rates were estimated from positron emission tomography (PET) imaging using linear mixed‐effects models. Participants were classified as fast or slow accumulators via Gaussian modeling. Predictors of accumulation and clinical conversion were assessed with logistic and Cox regression models, incorporating demographics, cognitive measures and plasma biomarkers. RESULTS: Plasma p‐tau217 and Aβ42/Aβ40 predicted rapid accumulation and conversion, with p‐tau217 the strongest marker (odds ratio [OR] up to 6.6). Baseline digital cognitive measures contributed significantly to the prediction, achieving comparable or superior predictive accuracy to traditional cognitive tests (area under the curve [AUC] up to 0.92; C‐index 0.82). DISCUSSION: Plasma p‐tau217 and Aβ42/Aβ40 emerged as robust predictors of the progression of disease pathology, supported by cognitive measures
Glorious autarky? Foreign resources and the British fiscal-military state, 1688-1815
No full textStudies of state formation and state-building in early modern Britain have almost overwhelmingly focussed on how domestic resources were mobilised, taking for granted that the state existed practically in a state of autarky that mirrored the ‘glorious isolation’ of the nineteenth century. Examining the role that foreign manpower and money played between 1688 and 1815 in this paradigmatic ‘fiscal- military state’ suggests that British state formation can instead be understood in this period as a partnership between the state and what has recently been conceptualised as a European ‘fiscal-military system’, a series of cosmopolitan networks and hubs that moved military resources around Europe. The British state was structurally dependent upon the foreign manpower and money it supplied in order to maintain its paradoxical combination of powerful wartime mobilisation, low peacetime taxation and the preservation of British political liberties. Easy access to these resources enabled ministers to retain a bare-bones military and naval establishments in peacetime and then, in wartime, to ‘surge’ the state by using off- the-shelf foreign military labour to hold the line while British forces were recruited. Relying upon cheap foreign money enabled the British state to hold down taxation and expensive borrowing. Aſter 1780 however, British ministers began to lose access to the European fiscal-military system and were forced to look to domestic resources, which generated damaging political conflicts within Britain. The transition to a fiscal-military state in ‘glorious autarky’ therefore occurred long aſter the existing historiography supposes, and largely out of necessity rather than by choice
Barriers to parental support: understanding low-income (LIC) Thai parents’ drawbacks in supporting children's home- based digital learning
Get PDFThis study examines barriers to parental involvement (PI) in children's home-based digital learning among low-income Thai families, utilising the Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler (1995) model (HDS). Through qualitative interviews and practical tasks with 12 parents, the research reveals that parents primarily view their roles as digital guardians, focusing on online safety rather than active learning support. Key barriers include limited computer access, time constraints, and language difficulties, particularly with English interfaces. Despite these challenges, parents express a strong desire for support, contingent on practical considerations. The findings contribute to understanding PI in digital learning contexts and the evolving digital divide (Dijk, 2020). Implications include the need for targeted digital literacy programs, language-inclusive tools, and community-based support systems, emphasising the importance of addressing socioeconomic and cultural factors in enhancing parental involvement in digital education
