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Multi-Board Concept - A Scenario Based Approach For Supporting Product Quality And Life Cycle Oriented Design, Aj Robotham, M Hertzum Jan 2000

Multi-Board Concept - A Scenario Based Approach For Supporting Product Quality And Life Cycle Oriented Design, Aj Robotham, M Hertzum

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

This paper will describe the multi-board concept, which is a working approach for supporting life cycle oriented design and product quality. Aspects of this concept include construction of a common working environment where multiple display boards depict scenarios of the product life cycle, creating a shared quality mindset amongst designers, and developing creativity and synthesis in product design. The appropriateness of scenarios for supporting life cycle oriented design will be ar-gued and preliminary results from early experimentation will be presented. Initial results lead us to believe that the multi-board concept promises to be a useful means of communication amongst the …

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Traffic Profiles And Performance Modelling Of Heterogeneous Networks, Georg Müller Jan 2000

Traffic Profiles And Performance Modelling Of Heterogeneous Networks, Georg Müller

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

This thesis considers the analysis and study of short and long-term traffic patterns of heterogeneous networks. A large number of traffic profiles from different locations and network environments have been determined. The result of the analysis of these patterns has led to a new parameter, namely the 'application signature'. It was found that these signatures manifest themselves in various granularities over time, and are usually unique to an application, permanent virtual circuit (PVC), user or service. The differentiation of the application signatures into different categories creates a foundation for short and long-term management of networks. The thesis therefore looks from …

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Beach Development Behind Detached Breakwater., Philip George Axe Jan 2000

Beach Development Behind Detached Breakwater., Philip George Axe

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Concurrent wave and morphology data were collected around a coastal protection scheme on the U. K. south coast. The scheme consists of eight detached breakwaters protecting a renourished sand and shingle beach, and is situated in a strongly macro-tidal environment. The development of the beach morphology is described. The beach trapped sand and shingle moving eastwards into it, and lost material from the eastern end. While the beach was designed to maintain a shingle beach, it was found that the scheme was most effective at trapping sand, which led to tombolo formation behind the updrift breakwaters. Current engineering design methods …

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Losing Ground : Locational Formulations In Argumentation Over New Travellers, Rebecca Barnes Jan 2000

Losing Ground : Locational Formulations In Argumentation Over New Travellers, Rebecca Barnes

School of Psychology Theses

This thesis is an exercise in discursive psychology. The body of discourse analysed concerns the defence of rural space against New Travellers. In contrast to previous sociological and human geographical work in this area, instead of newspaper articles and Parliamentary discourse, participants' talk and texts are the starting point for the - investigation. The data corpora have been generated from a variety of sources: Focus group discussions with police officers; interviews with landowners (or their representatives); letters to the editors of local newspapers; and private letters of complaint to a local council. The thesis focuses on the participants' selection of …

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On Turbo Codes And Other Concatenated Schemes In Communication Systems, Adrian Ambroze Jan 2000

On Turbo Codes And Other Concatenated Schemes In Communication Systems, Adrian Ambroze

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

The advent of turbo codes in 1993 represented a significant step towards realising the ultimate capacity limit of a communication channel, breaking the link that was binding very good performance with exponential decoder complexity. Turbo codes are parallel concatenated convolutional codes, decoded with a suboptimal iterative algorithm. The complexity of the iterative algorithm increases only linearly with block length, bringing previously unprecedented performance within practical limits.. This work is a further investigation of turbo codes and other concatenated schemes such as the multiple parallel concatenation and the serial concatenation. The analysis of these schemes has two important aspects, their performance …

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Working Memory And Human Reasoning : An Individual Differences Approach, Alison Jayne Capon Jan 2000

Working Memory And Human Reasoning : An Individual Differences Approach, Alison Jayne Capon

School of Psychology Theses

Experiments 1-3 investigated the relationship between working memory and syllogistic and five-ten-n series spatial inference. A secondary aim was to replicate the findings of Shah and Miyake (1996) who suggested the use of separate central resources of working memory for spatial and verbal ability. The correlational analysis showed that the complex verbal and spatial working memory span tasks were associated together and consistently predicted reasoning performance in both verbal and visual modalities. The confirmatory factor analysis showed that three factors best accounted for the data -a verbal, a spatial, and a general resource. All the span tasks and most of …

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Limaria Hians (Mollusca: Limacea): A Neglected Reef-Forming Keystone Species, J. M. Hall-Spencer, P. G. Moore Jan 2000

Limaria Hians (Mollusca: Limacea): A Neglected Reef-Forming Keystone Species, J. M. Hall-Spencer, P. G. Moore

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

1. The case is made for recognition of the marine bivalve Limaria hians as a reef-forming species, which plays a key architectural role in certain benthic communities around the United Kingdom and Ireland. 2. This species uses byssal threads to construct nests that can coalesce to form reefs that cover hectares of seabed, contain multiple conspecifies and bind sediment. In so doing, L. hians modifies physical, chemical and biological processes at the sediment-water interface. 3. Such nests support a high diversity of associated organisms in coarse-grade sediments (19 species of algae and 265 species of invertebrates from six discrete nests …

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Performance Characteristics Of A Low-Cost, Field-Deployable Miniature Ccd Spectrometer., S. Coles, M. Nimmo, P. J. Worsfold Jan 2000

Performance Characteristics Of A Low-Cost, Field-Deployable Miniature Ccd Spectrometer., S. Coles, M. Nimmo, P. J. Worsfold

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Miniature spectrometers incorporating array detectors are becoming a viable, low-cost option for field and process deployments. The performance characteristics of one such instrument are reported and compared with those of a conventional benchtop instrument. The parameters investigated were wavelength repeatability, photometric linearity, instrumental noise (photometric precision) and instrumental drift.

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The Roles Of Motivation And Ability In Controlling The Consequences Of Stereotype Suppression, Na Wyer, Jw Sherman, Sj Stroessner Jan 2000

The Roles Of Motivation And Ability In Controlling The Consequences Of Stereotype Suppression, Na Wyer, Jw Sherman, Sj Stroessner

School of Psychology

Two experiments investigated the conditions under which previously suppressed stereotypes are applied in impression formation. In Experiment 1, the extent to which a previously suppressed racial stereotype influenced subsequent impressions depended on the race of the target who was subsequently encountered. Whereas impressions of race-unspecified targets were assimilated to the stereotype following its suppression, no such effects were observed when the target belonged to the racial group whose stereotype had been initially suppressed. These results demonstrate that when perceivers are motivated to avoid stereotyping individuals, the influence of a stereotype that has been previously activated through suppression is minimized. Experiment …

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Qualitative Analysis Of Indigo Precursors From Woad By Hplc And Hplc‐Ms, Kg Gilbert (Nee Stoker), Dj Hill, C Crespo, A Mas, Et Al Jan 2000

Qualitative Analysis Of Indigo Precursors From Woad By Hplc And Hplc‐Ms, Kg Gilbert (Nee Stoker), Dj Hill, C Crespo, A Mas, Et Al

Peninsula Medical School

A qualitative method has been devised to analyse the indigo precursors in leaf extracts of woad (Isatis spp.) using HPLC coupled to an evaporative light scattering detector and confirmed using HPLC coupled, on line, to a particle beam mass spectrometer. Using this technique, indican has been positively identified in shoot extracts of European (I. tinctoria) and Chinese (I. indigotica) woad. Greater amounts of indican were found in the Chinese compared with the European woad. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Seeing More Than We Can Know: Visual Attention And Category Activation, Cn Macrae, Gv Bodenhausen, Ab Milne, G Calvini Nov 1999

Seeing More Than We Can Know: Visual Attention And Category Activation, Cn Macrae, Gv Bodenhausen, Ab Milne, G Calvini

School of Psychology

Extending existing work on the conditional automaticity of category activation, the present research investigated the extent to which category activation is moderated by the resolution of visual attention. As visual attention gates access to material in semantic memory, so too should it regulate the activation of social categories when triggering verbal labels are encountered. Accordingly, only when triggering stimuli fall within the spotlight of attention did we expect category activation to occur. The results of two studies supported this prediction. We consider the implications of our findings for recent treatments of category automaticity.

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A Strategic Model For Investment In Korean Shipping Under The New Liberalisation Treaty, Jin Hwan Kim May 1999

A Strategic Model For Investment In Korean Shipping Under The New Liberalisation Treaty, Jin Hwan Kim

Plymouth Business School Theses

Following trade liberalisation, shipping has been further affected by the world economic environment. Despite arguments as to whether the nature of the shipping industry is a liberalised one or not, it is now clearly seen as the case by the shipping industry itself. The primary goal of this thesis is to examine the attitudes within Korean shipping circles. An empirical study was carried out to evaluate how shipping is being influenced by liberalisation under the new rules, established by the World Trade Organisation and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The null hypothesis was that there would be no …

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A Family Of Pp2 Phosphatases In Plasmodium Falciparum And Parasitic Protozoa: Reply, Da Baker, J-L Li Mar 1999

A Family Of Pp2 Phosphatases In Plasmodium Falciparum And Parasitic Protozoa: Reply, Da Baker, J-L Li

School of Biomedical Sciences

No abstract provided.

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The Changing Face Of Policing: Local Issues In National Perspective, Philip Kessell Bunt Jan 1999

The Changing Face Of Policing: Local Issues In National Perspective, Philip Kessell Bunt

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences Theses

The thesis reviews the changes which have taken place in policing England and Wales between 1950 and 1998 with particular reference to foui* key themes: community policmg, crime preverition, victims of crime and quality ofservice. It contributes to ah understanding of how policing has developed during a period of significant social change and explores the rationale which has underpinned legislative development and policy making at national and force levels whilst identifying the significance of these changes within a local city environment. The development of the key themes at national level is considered within the local policing environment of the south-west …

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Morphology And Electrophysiology Of Retinal Photoreceptor Terminations In The Octopus (Eledone Cirrosa) Optic Lobe, Dominic Anthony Hussey Jan 1999

Morphology And Electrophysiology Of Retinal Photoreceptor Terminations In The Octopus (Eledone Cirrosa) Optic Lobe, Dominic Anthony Hussey

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Cephalopods possess a well-developed visual system encompassing a pair of camera-type eyes attached to specific visual processing regions of the central nervous system known as the optic lobes. The retina contains a single type of photoreceptive cell, which send axons via a dorso-ventral chiasma to the optic lobes. Although electrophysiological recordings have been routinely obtained from the retina there are few recordings from the optic lobe. This study investigated the morphology and electrophysiology of the first synapse in the Octopus (Eledone cirrosa) visual system. The morphology and innervation patterns of individual optic nerves onto the optic lobe were revealed using …

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Mechanisms For The Formation Of Rhythmic Topography In The Nearshore Region, Giovanni Coco Jan 1999

Mechanisms For The Formation Of Rhythmic Topography In The Nearshore Region, Giovanni Coco

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

The possibility that the periodic features observed in the nearshore region are the result of self-organisational processes is investigated in this work. The behaviour of two numerical models, based on different techniques, has been analysed in order to describe the formation of periodic features in the surf and swash zone respectively. The appearance of periodic patterns in the nearshore region has been traditionally linked to the presence of standing edge waves with the topographic changes passively driven by the flow patterns. A more recent approach indicates the possibility that periodic patterns appear because of feedback processes between beach morphology and …

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Ichthyophthirius Multifiliis Fouquet: Development And Assessment Of In Vitro Systems For Long Term Maintenance, Louise Margaret Hurley Jan 1999

Ichthyophthirius Multifiliis Fouquet: Development And Assessment Of In Vitro Systems For Long Term Maintenance, Louise Margaret Hurley

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Twelve isolates of lchthyophthirius multifiliis were successfully established and maintained by serial passage through naive carp, for a maximum of 39 laboratory cycles. The management system employed was such that large numbers of the parasite were available for all investigations. The ability to induce exit of immature trophonts through media incubation was used to confirm events in the initial stages of host colonisation. The normal course of primary infection was also established providing useful criteria for assessing success of the in vitro systems tested. Survival of both theronts and tomonts within selected monophasic media was investigated. Theronts in Eagles Minimum …

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Diesel Engine Exhaust Emission Fractions: Clastogenic Effects In Vitro, Rachael Ann Whittington Jan 1999

Diesel Engine Exhaust Emission Fractions: Clastogenic Effects In Vitro, Rachael Ann Whittington

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Despite being hailed as a green fuel, emissions from diesel engines including particulate matter (PM10 and PM 2.5) have been implicated in a range of adverse human health effects from lung and bladder cancers to premature mortality. In this study diesel engine exhaust emissions were collected from a light duty direct injection diesel engine on a standard test bed. Engine conditions of speed and load were altered to provide a set of total emission samples from over the engine's operating range. Diesel emission samples collected were fractionated on a silica column into aliphatic, aromatic, and polar groups of compounds, which …

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Assessment Of The Effects Of Uv-B In Marine Macroalgae: Potential Biomarkers Of Exposure And Effect, Britt Cordi Jan 1999

Assessment Of The Effects Of Uv-B In Marine Macroalgae: Potential Biomarkers Of Exposure And Effect, Britt Cordi

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Studies were undertaken to investigate the suitability of several molecular and physiological responses as biomarkers of UV-B exposure in several marine macroalgal species. Investigations into the sensitivity of mature plants and the reproductive unicells were also carried out. Furthermore, experiments were conducted to determine the interaction between UV-B radiation and the antifouling compound Irgarol 1051 in both a fouling alga and two non-target algal species. Chlorophyll fluorescence, in vivo thallus absorptance and ion leakage were investigated for their suitability as physiological biomarkers of UV -B exposure in the intertidal alga Enteromorpha intestinalis and the subtidal alga Palmaria palmata. DNA damage …

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Dietary Interactions Influencing Feed Intake, Nutrient Utilisation And Appetite Regulation In The Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus Mykiss, Ahmet Adem Tekinay Jan 1999

Dietary Interactions Influencing Feed Intake, Nutrient Utilisation And Appetite Regulation In The Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus Mykiss, Ahmet Adem Tekinay

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Dietary factors are one of the most significant considerations in the regulation of appetite in fish since dietary nutrient and energy concentration modulate feed intake in the short and longer term. These interactions may also be important from a commercial aspect, since the objective of aquaculture is to obtain maximum growth, feed efficiency and consumer acceptance of the product. This thesis addresses the major dietary components which are likely to influence appetite in rainbow trout. These include dietary lipid level, carbohydrate content and degree of complexity as well as energy density and protein/energy ratio. Experimental data is presented which examines …

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Emotion Processing In Alzheimer's Disease: The Clinical Implications, Shirley Ann Radford Jan 1999

Emotion Processing In Alzheimer's Disease: The Clinical Implications, Shirley Ann Radford

School of Psychology Theses

The purpose of this study is to extend the literature on recognition and identification of non-verbal communicative signals of emotion in those suffering from Alzheimer's disease. To date, there have been few studies in this area, yet emotion processing deficits may have an important effect on the quality of life of Alzheimer's patients and their families. The experimental condition consisted of a set of tasks involving face and prosody discrimination problems in which participants were asked to choose between a number of stimuli presented on cards (facial cues) or on audio-tape (prosody cues). In addition, a measure of general cognitive …

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An Exploratory Study Of Coping, Psychological Distress, Self-Esteem And Perceived Stress In Patients With Chronic Bowel Disorders, Georgina Cratchley Jan 1999

An Exploratory Study Of Coping, Psychological Distress, Self-Esteem And Perceived Stress In Patients With Chronic Bowel Disorders, Georgina Cratchley

School of Psychology Theses

This study had 4 aims. The first aim was to explore the relationships between personal control and coping responses in patients with the chronic bowel disorders of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The second aim examined coping in IBS and IBD patients as a process, by focusing on a specific episode of their primary symptoms. The coping profiles of the IBS and IBD patients were compared to establish whether differences in coping between the 2 groups were present. The third aim examined differences between groups and tested for linear trends across IBS, IBD patients and Non-patient …

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An Investigation Of Evolutionary Computing In Systems Identification For Preliminary Design, Andrew Harry Watson Jan 1999

An Investigation Of Evolutionary Computing In Systems Identification For Preliminary Design, Andrew Harry Watson

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

This research investigates the integration of evolutionary techniques for symbolic regression. In particular the genetic programming paradigm is used together with other evolutionary computational techniques to develop novel approaches to the improvement of areas of simple preliminary design software using empirical data sets. It is shown that within this problem domain, conventional genetic programming suffers from several limitations, which are overcome by the introduction of an improved genetic programming strategy based on node complexity values, and utilising a steady state algorithm with subpopulations. A further extension to the new technique is introduced which incorporates a genetic algorithm to aid the …

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Transformation Of Multidirectional Sea Field And Computational Study, Suzana Ilic Jan 1999

Transformation Of Multidirectional Sea Field And Computational Study, Suzana Ilic

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

A computational model based on the evolution equation for water waves (Li, 1994b) derived from the original Berkhoffs (1972) "Mild Slope Equation" is tested against multidirectional sea data. The model accounts for reflection as well as diffraction-refraction processes, which is important for applications involving coastal structures. The accuracy and convergence of the numerical solution, as well as the possibility of the implementation of an adaptive numerical scheme are investigated and implemented. The model was firstly tested using laboratory measurements (Briggs et al, 1995) of random directional wave diffraction around a semi-infinite breakwater on a flat bottom. These tests confirm the …

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Model Wave Impulse Loads On Caisson Breakwater Aeration, Scale And Structural Response, Michael James Alexis Walkden Jan 1999

Model Wave Impulse Loads On Caisson Breakwater Aeration, Scale And Structural Response, Michael James Alexis Walkden

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

The prediction of wave impact loads on prototype caisson breakwaters from the results of physical model tests is considered, with particular attention given to the effects of air, breaker shape, structural response and scale. A review of related literature is presented from which it is concluded that the different aspects of the problem may be related through the force impulse. Large scale soliton impacts are used to show the importance of entrapped air in determining the form of the load time history. Small scale waves with artificially high levels of entrained air and highly controlled drop impacts are used to …

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Optimal Hidden Markov Models, Bill Frederick Mckee Jan 1999

Optimal Hidden Markov Models, Bill Frederick Mckee

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

In contrast with training algorithms such as Baum-Welch, which produce solutions that are a local optimum of the objective function, this thesis describes the attempt to develop a training algorithm which delivers the global optimum Discrete ICdden Markov Model for a given training sequence. A total of four different methods of attack upon the problem are presented. First, after building the necessary analytical tools, the thesis presents a direct, calculus-based assault featuring Matrix Derivatives. Next, the dual analytic approach known as Geometric Programming is examined and then adapted to the task. After that, a hill-climbing formula is developed and applied. …

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Using A Personal Construct Approach To Explore Quality Of Life Issues With People With Learning Disabilities, Claire Marie Boyes Jan 1999

Using A Personal Construct Approach To Explore Quality Of Life Issues With People With Learning Disabilities, Claire Marie Boyes

School of Psychology Theses

While an agreed definition of quality of life rennains elusive, research into the quality of life of people with learning disabilities has developed significantly. Following a discussion of this work, the author argues that these assessment processes should be refocused towards the views of people with learning disabilities themselves, particularly given the idiosyncratic nature of the quality of life issue. This study explores the use of the Personal Construct Psychology (PCP) approach in assessing quality of life with people with learning disabilities.'Ideal'elements were introduced into repertory grid production to measure differences between ideal and actual situations. The results indicate the …

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Theory Of Mind In Children With Autism: Is There A Need For Better Tests Of What They Know?, Alex Karen Proto Jan 1999

Theory Of Mind In Children With Autism: Is There A Need For Better Tests Of What They Know?, Alex Karen Proto

School of Psychology Theses

This research looked at the ability of children with autism to understand theory of mind. This is the ability to attribute mental states (e.g. believing, thinking, knowing etc.) to oneself and to others. The main aim of the study was to provide evidence, contrary to a large body of previous research, that individuals with autism can exhibit a theory of mind, when the standard tests used in the past are simplified for this population. A further aim of the study was to show that language ability is significant in terms of theory of mind task performance. It was hypothesised, because …

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An Investigation Into The Implementation And Performance Of Spectrally Shaped Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex, David Lahiri Bhatoolaul Jan 1999

An Investigation Into The Implementation And Performance Of Spectrally Shaped Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex, David Lahiri Bhatoolaul

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex (OFDM) is a flexible, robust multi-carrier modulation scheme. The orthogonal spectral shaping and spacing of OFDM sub-carriers ensure that their spectra can be over-lapped without leading to undesirable inter-carrier interference. Conventional OFDM systems have non-band limited Sinc(x) shaped subcarrier spectra. An alternative form of OFDM, referred to hereafter as Spectrally Shaped OFDM, employs band limited Nyquist shaped sub-carrier spectra. The research described in this thesis investigates the strengths and weaknesses of Spectrally Shaped OFDM as a potential modulation scheme for future mobile radio applications. From this research a novel Digital Signal Processing architecture for modulating and …

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Characterisation Of Cytokine Gene Polymorphisms In Patients With Acute Pancreatitis, Kevin Sargen Jan 1999

Characterisation Of Cytokine Gene Polymorphisms In Patients With Acute Pancreatitis, Kevin Sargen

Peninsula Medical School Theses

Background and Aims Acute Pancreatitis is an inflammatory disorder of varied aetiology and outcome. Tumour necrosis factor (TNF) and interleukin-10 are important mediators of disease pathogenesis. To investigate if the TNF and IL-10 gene loci influence susceptibility to and severity of acute pancreatitis, 135 patients with acute pancreatitis, ethnically matched normal controls, and alcoholics without pancreatic disease were studied. Methods Aetiology was classified as being secondary to alcohol, gallstones, or idiopathic. Patients were stratified into groups according to disease severity by assigning an organ failure score. Three TNF microsatellite loci (TNFa, TNFb, and TNFc), the -308 polymorphism within the TNF …

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