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Experiencing Interaction Design: A Pragmatic Theory, Ronald Lengkong Wakkary Jan 2009

Experiencing Interaction Design: A Pragmatic Theory, Ronald Lengkong Wakkary

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

This thesis contributes a theory for the field of interaction design based on philosophical pragmatism. The theory frames interaction design as a pragmatic experience shaped by the inquiries of designers. The contributions of the theory are that it positions the designer at the centre of a theory, describes interaction design practice to be more than a collection of methods and strategies, and provides a sound basis for generating and verifying new knowledge through design. The thesis describes and analyzes two interaction design research projects through self-reflexive accounts that illustrate the proposed theory. The projects are a tangible museum guide and …

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Acute Effects Of Self-Paced Walking On Smoking Withdrawal And Cravings, Magdalena Katomeri Jan 2009

Acute Effects Of Self-Paced Walking On Smoking Withdrawal And Cravings, Magdalena Katomeri

School of Psychology Theses

High relapse rates among smokers attempting to quit have been linked with failure to cope with cigarette cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Smoking cravings and withdrawal behavior is known to be influenced by stress and exposure to smoking cues. Exercise appears to reduce cigarette cravings and withdrawal symptoms. However no study has investigated the effects of exercise on cue-elicited cravings and withdrawal symptoms, or on ad libitum smoking behavior. Aim: Four experimental studies were designed to examine the effects of exercise on smoking behavior. Initial studies focused on the effects of a single session of brisk walk on cigarette cravings and …

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Memory And Metamemory In Patients With Temporal Lobe Epilepsy, Charlotte Emma Howard Jan 2009

Memory And Metamemory In Patients With Temporal Lobe Epilepsy, Charlotte Emma Howard

School of Psychology Theses

It is well established that patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) commonly report memory difficulties. The aim of this thesis was to use a novel approach adopting Nelson & Narens' (1990) theoretical framework to investigate whether metacognitive knowledge and memory performance were differentially disrupted in patients with TLE. More specifically, investigating to what extent poor memory in TLE could result from inadequate metamemory monitoring, inadequate metamemory control or both. Experiment I employed a combined Judgement-of-Learning and Feeling-of-Knowing task to investigate whether participants could monitor their memory successfully at both the item-by-item and global levels. The results revealed a dissociation between …

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Development Of Cognitive Capabilities In Humanoid Robots, Vadim Tikhanoff Jan 2009

Development Of Cognitive Capabilities In Humanoid Robots, Vadim Tikhanoff

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Building intelligent systems with human level of competence is the ultimate grand challenge for science and technology in general, and especially for the computational intelligence community. Recent theories in autonomous cognitive systems have focused on the close integration (grounding) of communication with perception, categorisation and action. Cognitive systems are essential for integrated multi-platform systems that are capable of sensing and communicating. This thesis presents a cognitive system for a humanoid robot that integrates abilities such as object detection and recognition, which are merged with natural language understanding and refined motor controls. The work includes three studies; (1) the use of …

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Physical And Link Layer Implications In Vehicle Ad Hoc Networks, Ghassan Mohammed Taha Abdalla Jan 2009

Physical And Link Layer Implications In Vehicle Ad Hoc Networks, Ghassan Mohammed Taha Abdalla

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Vehicle Ad hoc Networks (V ANET) have been proposed to provide safety on the road and deliver road traffic information and route guidance to drivers along with commercial applications. However the challenges facing V ANET are numerous. Nodes move at high speeds, road side units and basestations are scarce, the topology is constrained by the road geometry and changes rapidly, and the number of nodes peaks suddenly in traffic jams. In this thesis we investigate the physical and link layers of V ANET and propose methods to achieve high data rates and high throughput. For the physical layer, we examine …

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The Manufacture And Testing Of Perforated Composite Acoustic Panels, Robert Blackburn Jan 2009

The Manufacture And Testing Of Perforated Composite Acoustic Panels, Robert Blackburn

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

The recent expansion of civil aviation has been accompanied by significant growth in the use of advanced composite structures with carbon fibre reinforced epoxy often the material of choice in many structures. Composite structures have a long history in engine nacelles, where an optimised design can both fulfil structural requirements and simultaneously provide an acoustic liner for sound attenuation. The "traditional process" involves the drilling of high-density multiple holes with the twin consequences of extended production times and machining waste. Elimination of this perforation process is an attractive target in a commercial environment. Structural performance could be improved by retaining …

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Impact Of Land Fragmentation And Resource Ownership On Productivity And Efficiency: The Case Of Rice Producers In Bangladesh, S Rahman, M Rahman Jan 2009

Impact Of Land Fragmentation And Resource Ownership On Productivity And Efficiency: The Case Of Rice Producers In Bangladesh, S Rahman, M Rahman

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

The paper analyzes the impact of land fragmentation and ownership of resources on productivity and technical efficiency in rice production in Bangladesh using farm level survey data. Results reveal that land fragmentation has a significant detrimental effect on productivity and efficiency as expected. The elasticity estimates of land fragmentation reveal that a 1% increase in land fragmentation reduces rice output by 0.05% and efficiency by 0.03%. On the other hand, ownership of key resources (land, family labour, and draft animals) significantly increases efficiency. The mean elasticity estimates reveal that a 1% increase in family labour and owned draft animal improve …

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'Country Life'? Rurality, Folk Music And 'Show Of Hands', Richard Yarwood, Clive Charlton Jan 2009

'Country Life'? Rurality, Folk Music And 'Show Of Hands', Richard Yarwood, Clive Charlton

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

No abstract provided.

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Physiology And Ecology Of Three Amphipod Species In Uk Estuaries, Colette Suzanne Mesher Jan 2009

Physiology And Ecology Of Three Amphipod Species In Uk Estuaries, Colette Suzanne Mesher

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

The physiology and ecology of three amphipod species, Corophium volutator, Gammarus marinus and G. chevreuxi were examined. The physiology of the amphipods were investigated in two ways. The physiological capacity was measured as the rate of oxygen consumption (MO2 - µ) of oxygen per mg of wet mass per hour), over two time durations, 4 hours (short term) and 5 days (medium term) in a variety of salinities with individuals of all size classes. Overall, larger individuals of all species exhibited lower MO2 by mass. More specifically, C. volutator and G. chevreuxi exhibited lowest rates of respiration at salinities between …

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Statistics Of Natural Movements Are Reflected In Motor Errors, Ian S. Howard, James N. Ingram, Kp Koerding, Daniel M. Wolpert Jan 2009

Statistics Of Natural Movements Are Reflected In Motor Errors, Ian S. Howard, James N. Ingram, Kp Koerding, Daniel M. Wolpert

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

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Design, Manufacture, Mechanical Testing And Numerical Modelling Of An Asymmetric Composite Crossbow Limb, Amandeep S. Virk, J. Summerscales, W. Hall, S. M. Grove, M. E. Miles Jan 2009

Design, Manufacture, Mechanical Testing And Numerical Modelling Of An Asymmetric Composite Crossbow Limb, Amandeep S. Virk, J. Summerscales, W. Hall, S. M. Grove, M. E. Miles

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

This paper considers the design, manufacture, mechanical testing and numerical analysis of a crossbow beam (limb). The limb should be lightweight and permit a high deflection of the beam's tip in order to achieve a good ballistic performance. Consequently, fibre-reinforced polymer matrix composites are suitable candidate materials. However, carbon fibres were considered too brittle for this application. Aramid fibres combine low density and high stiffness but are weak in compression. E-glass fibres are relatively flexible but are of high density. The optimised design developed here uses aramid fibres on the tension face with E-glass fibres on the compression side. This …

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The Role Of Health Kiosks In 2009: Literature And Informant Review., R Jones Jan 2009

The Role Of Health Kiosks In 2009: Literature And Informant Review., R Jones

School of Nursing and Midwifery

No abstract provided.

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Chemotherapy Related Encephalopathy In A Patient With Stage Iv Cervical Carcinoma Treated With Cisplatin And 5-Fluorouracil: A Case Report, Al Chue, In Fernando, Sa Hussain, Da Yates Jan 2009

Chemotherapy Related Encephalopathy In A Patient With Stage Iv Cervical Carcinoma Treated With Cisplatin And 5-Fluorouracil: A Case Report, Al Chue, In Fernando, Sa Hussain, Da Yates

Peninsula Medical School

INTRODUCTION: Chemotherapy related encephalopathy is commonly reported with certain forms of chemotherapy but few reports note an association with low dose 5-Fluorouracil. CASE PRESENTATION: A 57-year-old Caucasian lady received her first cycle of Cisplatin and 5-Fluorouracil for palliative treatment of cervical carcinoma, and presented several days later with signs of encephalopathy. Several causes were eliminated, and encephalopathy related to 5-Fluorouracil was thought to be the most likely cause. Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the head revealed changes related to the chemotherapy received. Symptoms resolved completely within three days of presentation. CONCLUSION: Encephalopathy from low dose 5-Fluorouracil is not well documented in …

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Output Feedback Adaptive Control Of A Class Of Nonlinear Discrete-Time Systems With Unknown Control Directions, C Yang, Ss Ge, Th Lee Jan 2009

Output Feedback Adaptive Control Of A Class Of Nonlinear Discrete-Time Systems With Unknown Control Directions, C Yang, Ss Ge, Th Lee

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

In this paper, output feedback adaptive control is investigated for a class of nonlinear systems in output-feedback form with unknown control gains. To construct output feedback control, the system is transformed into the form of the NARMA (nonlinear-auto-regressive-moving-average) model, based on which future output prediction is carried out. With employment of the predicted future output, a constructive output feedback adaptive control is given with the discrete Nussbaum gain exploited to overcome the difficulty due to unknown control directions. Under the global Lipschitz condition of the system functions, the boundedness of all the closed-loop signals and asymptotical output tracking are achieved …

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Longitudinal Evaluation Of South West Peninsula Deanery F1 Doctors, Nicola Brennan, Oonagh Corrigan Jan 2009

Longitudinal Evaluation Of South West Peninsula Deanery F1 Doctors, Nicola Brennan, Oonagh Corrigan

Peninsula Medical School

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.BackgroundIn 2007 and 2008, the first and second cohorts of Peninsula Medical School (PMS) students graduated. Of the 232 graduates, 75% (174) gained Foundation Year 1 (F1) positions in the South West Peninsula Deanery (SWPD).ObjectivesThe objectives of the study are:1. to provide a systematic evaluation of the performance and preparedness of the first and second cohorts of PMS graduates based in the F1 programme in the SWPD;2. to compare the performance and preparedness of PMS graduates with graduates of other medical schools based in the F1 programme in the SWPD;3. to explore F1 doctors’ experience of transition from medical …

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Caravan Second Homes: An Empirical Study Of Consumer Behaviour Towards A Depreciating Property Asset, John Martyn William Steer-Fowler Jan 2009

Caravan Second Homes: An Empirical Study Of Consumer Behaviour Towards A Depreciating Property Asset, John Martyn William Steer-Fowler

Plymouth Business School Theses

This research draws upon a combination of qualitative interviews and quantitative questionnaire data to investigate the role static caravans play within second home consumerism. Fundamentally it seeks to explain why people buy such a fast depreciating property asset. Results suggest how irrespective of their income two thirds of such consumers show a passionate loyalty towards their static caravan and have little regard for alternative forms of retreat they could afford. Clearly there are significant reasons beyond price which explain such investment. At their broadest static caravans proved to be desirable for reasons of escape, salvation, control, enhancement and opportunity but …

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Credit Scoring Models For Egyptian Banks : Neural Nets And Genetic Programming Versus Conventional Techniques, Hussein Ali Hussein Abdou Jan 2009

Credit Scoring Models For Egyptian Banks : Neural Nets And Genetic Programming Versus Conventional Techniques, Hussein Ali Hussein Abdou

Plymouth Business School Theses

Credit scoring has been regarded as a core appraisal tool of banks during the last few decades, and has been widely investigated in the area of finance, in general, and banking sectors, in particular. In this thesis, the main aims and objectives are: to identify the currently used techniques in the Egyptian banking credit evaluation process; and to build credit scoring models to evaluate personal bank loans. In addition, the subsidiary aims are to evaluate the impact of sample proportion selection on the Predictive capability of both advanced scoring techniques and conventional scoring techniques, for both public banks and a …

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Inter-Port Competition And Inland Container Transport: A Multiple Criteria Decision-Making Approach To Achieve Intermodal Transport System Development Stratergies In Taiwan., Yhi-Ching Juang Jan 2009

Inter-Port Competition And Inland Container Transport: A Multiple Criteria Decision-Making Approach To Achieve Intermodal Transport System Development Stratergies In Taiwan., Yhi-Ching Juang

Plymouth Business School Theses

Inland container transport has intensified over the past thirty years in Taiwan. It is closely related to inter-port competition and port selection by container carriers. In the 1980's, large containerships only berthed at Kaohsiung port due to the limit of container terminal operation capacities of Keelung port and the carrier's regional hub port decision in the country region. The container traffic of the south-north motorways made them more crowded and increased road maintenance expenses. The purpose of this research is to study inter-port competition and inland container transport flows in Taiwan. Although Taiwan is an island, the freight transport policy …

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Learning From Experience In Urban Programming: The Case Of Shahar Project In Bangladesh, S Rahman Jan 2009

Learning From Experience In Urban Programming: The Case Of Shahar Project In Bangladesh, S Rahman

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

The article offers a reflective analysis of various problems encountered and lessons learned in implementing a programme to improve the livelihood security of the urban poor in secondary cities of Bangladesh. The study is based on the author's involvement as an external action-research partner, and a review of relevant secondary literature. A number of key lessons emerge for the success of project operations. These are the need for (1) a clear understanding of the links between project activities and project objectives by all staff; (2) capacity building for all staff tailored to their needs; (3) clear targeting criteria and programme …

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Farm Productivity And Efficiency In Rural Bangladesh: The Role Of Education Revisited, Mn Asadullah, S Rahman Jan 2009

Farm Productivity And Efficiency In Rural Bangladesh: The Role Of Education Revisited, Mn Asadullah, S Rahman

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

This article reassesses the debate over the role of education in farm production in Bangladesh using a large dataset on rice producing households from 141 villages. Average and stochastic production frontier functions are estimated to ascertain the effect of education on productivity and efficiency. A full set of proxies for farm education stock variables are incorporated to investigate the 'internal' as well as 'external' returns to education. The external effect is investigated in the context of rural neighbourhoods. Our analysis reveals that in addition to raising rice productivity and boosting potential output, household education significantly reduces production inefficiencies. However, we …

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Shear Class: A Visual Ethnography Of The British Hair Salon: Part Of Portfolio Kurl Up N Dye, I Rae Jan 2009

Shear Class: A Visual Ethnography Of The British Hair Salon: Part Of Portfolio Kurl Up N Dye, I Rae

School of Art, Design and Architecture

In his book The Ongoing Moment, the English writer Geoff Dyer (2005) draws out some of the common themes that have concerned photographers over the last century. His focus is the documentary tradition, primarily American, and within it he notes the homage that younger photographers pay to the history of image making that has gone before them. Barbershops are one example. Tracing a lineage from Walker Evans through Robert Frank to Michael Ormerod, with a short detour by way of Diane Arbus, he notes the ways in which the barbershop has been a recurring motif, how different people have photographed …

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Benchmarking The Implementation Of E-Commerce A Case Study Approach, C. R. D. Freiherr Von Ettingshausen Jan 2009

Benchmarking The Implementation Of E-Commerce A Case Study Approach, C. R. D. Freiherr Von Ettingshausen

Plymouth Business School Theses

The purpose of this thesis was to develop a guideline to support the implementation of E-Commerce with E-Commerce benchmarking. Because of its importance as an interface with the customer, web-site benchmarking has been a widely researched topic. However, limited research has been conducted on benchmarking E-Commerce across other areas of the value chain. Consequently this thesis aims to extend benchmarking into E-Commerce related subjects. The literature review examined two main bodies of theory, E-Commerce and benchmarking. lt became clearly apparent that a gap in the literature existed for E-Commerce benchmarking. To address this gap, a single-case-study exploratory methodology has been …

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Determinants Of Knowledge Transfer In Turkish Textile And Apparel Industry, Dababrata Narayan Chowdhury Jan 2009

Determinants Of Knowledge Transfer In Turkish Textile And Apparel Industry, Dababrata Narayan Chowdhury

Plymouth Business School Theses

The knowledge transfer activities in Turkish Textile and Apparel Industries have been explored in this study. The knowledge transfer is undisputedly important subjects as knowledge provides competitive advantage to firms. Only few percentages of the Turkish textile and apparel industries are engaged in knowledge transfer activity although it is recorded as the largest industry in Turkish economy. Turkish textile and apparel industries are mostly run by family and most of them are either unaware or reluctant to involve in the knowledge transfer activities. This study examines the knowledge transfer activities in Turkish SMEs through qualitative research and quantitative analysis by …

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Sustainability Through Community Planning: A Substantive Level Approach, Toni Soji Ola Jan 2009

Sustainability Through Community Planning: A Substantive Level Approach, Toni Soji Ola

Plymouth Business School Theses

This study identified ways of translating sustainability and sustainable development aims and objectives into practical means in a local government setting, through action research, thereby contributing to the global sustainability debate. This is in an attempt to fill the gap identified in literature, which relates to the paucity of research on translating sustainability into practical means. In achieving one of its aims, the study proposed three levels of abstraction in the form of globalisation theory, sustainability theory and applied sustainable development, conceptualised as grand theory, meso theory and substantive theory. The linkage between these theories was established, thereby contributing and …

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Inter-Port Competition And Inland Container Transport: A Multiple Criteria Decision-Making Approach To Achieve Lntermodal Transport System Development Strategies In Taiwan, Yih-Ching Juang Jan 2009

Inter-Port Competition And Inland Container Transport: A Multiple Criteria Decision-Making Approach To Achieve Lntermodal Transport System Development Strategies In Taiwan, Yih-Ching Juang

Plymouth Business School Theses

Inland container transport has intensified over the past thirty years in Taiwan. It is closely related to inter-port competition and port selection by container carriers. In the 1980's, large containerships only berthed at Kaohsiung port due to the limit of container terminal operation capacities of Keelung port and the carrier's regional hub port decision in the country region. The container traffic of the south-north motorways made them more crowded and increased road maintenance expenses. The purpose of this research is to study inter-port competition and inland container transport flows in Taiwan. Although Taiwan is an island, the freight transport policy …

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The Economic Determinants Of Crop Diversity On Farms In Rural Bangladesh, S Rahman Jan 2009

The Economic Determinants Of Crop Diversity On Farms In Rural Bangladesh, S Rahman

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

The study examines the economic determinants of crop diversity using a survey of 406 farmers located in 21 villages in three agro-ecological regions of Bangladesh. The computed value of diversity indices of crop concentration (Herfindahl), richness (Margalef) and evenness (Shannon) confirm that farming system in Bangladesh is still relatively diverse despite four decades of thrust in the diffusion of a rice-based ‘Green Revolution’ technology. Results reveal that a host of price and non-price factors significantly influence farmers’ decision to diversify. Likelihood of diversification increases with a fall in the prices of fertilizers, animal power services and modern rice and a …

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Benthic Foraminifera Assemblages In The Central Barents Sea: An Evaluation Of Combining Live And Total Fauna Studies In Tracking Environmental Change, Mh Saher, Dk Kristensen, M Hald, S Korsun, Ll Jørgensen Jan 2009

Benthic Foraminifera Assemblages In The Central Barents Sea: An Evaluation Of Combining Live And Total Fauna Studies In Tracking Environmental Change, Mh Saher, Dk Kristensen, M Hald, S Korsun, Ll Jørgensen

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

We present living (stained) benthic foraminifera assemblage data in nine surface sediment samples from the central Barents Sea collected in 2005 and 2006. The abundances of 20 selected species are compared to these from previously published total fauna assemblages of nearby samples. Between 1 and 3 total fauna samples from various years (between 1971 and 1992) are compared with the modern (2005 and ’06) samples. The main purpose of the paper is to evaluate the applicability of this comparison. We conclude that, with proper caution, comparing live and total fauna can yield valuable results. Eliminating fragile species, and clustering species …

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What Determines Auditory Similarity? The Effect Of Stimulus Group And Methodology, Km Aldrich, Ej Hellier, J Edworthy Jan 2009

What Determines Auditory Similarity? The Effect Of Stimulus Group And Methodology, Km Aldrich, Ej Hellier, J Edworthy

School of Psychology

Two experiments on the internal representation of auditory stimuli compared the pairwise and grouping methodologies as means of deriving similarity judgements. A total of 45 undergraduate students participated in each experiment, judging the similarity of short auditory stimuli, using one of the methodologies. The experiments support and extend Bonebright's (1996) findings, using a further 60 stimuli. Results from both methodologies highlight the importance of category information and acoustic features, such as root mean square (RMS) power and pitch, in similarity judgements. Results showed that the grouping task is a viable alternative to the pairwise task with N > 20 sounds whilst …

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Design Of Marine Protected Areas On High Seas And Territorial Waters Of Rockall Bank, Jason M. Hall-Spencer, Mark Tasker, Marta Soffker, Sabine Christiansen, Stuart Rogers, Maria Campbell, Kjartan Hoydal Jan 2009

Design Of Marine Protected Areas On High Seas And Territorial Waters Of Rockall Bank, Jason M. Hall-Spencer, Mark Tasker, Marta Soffker, Sabine Christiansen, Stuart Rogers, Maria Campbell, Kjartan Hoydal

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

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Crosstalk Of Vegf And Notch Pathways In Tumour Angiogenesis: Therapeutic Implications, J-L Li, Al Harris Jan 2009

Crosstalk Of Vegf And Notch Pathways In Tumour Angiogenesis: Therapeutic Implications, J-L Li, Al Harris

School of Biomedical Sciences

Angiogenesis is regulated by a number of angiogenic factors through many signalling pathways. The VEGF pathway and Notch signalling are perhaps two of the most important mechanisms in regulation of embryonic vascular development and tumour angiogenesis. Blockade of the VEGF pathway effectively inhibits tumour angiogenesis and growth in preclinical models. The successes in phase III trials have added anti-VEGF agents to standard cancer therapy in several major cancers. A recent flurry of findings indicate that DLL4/Notch signalling decreases angiogenesis by suppressing endothelial tip cell formation; importantly, blockade of DLL4/Notch signalling strikingly increases non-productive angiogenesis but significantly reduces the growth of …

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