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Drosophila Embryos As Model To Assess Cellular And Developmental Toxicity Of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (Mwcnt) In Living Organisms, Boyin Liu, Eva M. Campo, Torsten Bossing Feb 2014

Drosophila Embryos As Model To Assess Cellular And Developmental Toxicity Of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (Mwcnt) In Living Organisms, Boyin Liu, Eva M. Campo, Torsten Bossing

Peninsula Medical School

No abstract provided.


A Novel Evolutionary Strategy Revealed In The Phaeoviruses, K Stevens, K Weynberg, C Bellas, S Brown, Et Al Jan 2014

A Novel Evolutionary Strategy Revealed In The Phaeoviruses, K Stevens, K Weynberg, C Bellas, S Brown, Et Al

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Phaeoviruses infect the brown algae, which are major contributors to primary production of coastal waters and estuaries. They exploit a Persistent evolutionary strategy akin to a K- selected life strategy via genome integration and are the only known representatives to do so within the giant algal viruses that are typified by r- selected Acute lytic viruses. In screening the genomes of five species within the filamentous brown algal lineage, here we show an unprecedented diversity of viral gene sequence variants especially amongst the smaller phaeoviral genomes. Moreover, one variant shares features from both the two major sub-groups within the phaeoviruses. …


Axl/Gas6/Nfκb Signalling In Schwannoma Pathological Proliferation, Adhesion And Survival., S. Ammoun, L. Provenzano, L. Zhou, M. Barczyk, K. Evans, D. A. Hilton, S. Hafizi, C. O. Hanemann Jan 2014

Axl/Gas6/Nfκb Signalling In Schwannoma Pathological Proliferation, Adhesion And Survival., S. Ammoun, L. Provenzano, L. Zhou, M. Barczyk, K. Evans, D. A. Hilton, S. Hafizi, C. O. Hanemann

Peninsula Medical School

TAM family receptor tyrosine kinases comprising Tyro3 (Sky), Axl, and Mer are overexpressed in some cancers, correlate with multidrug resistance and contribute to tumourigenesis by regulating invasion, angiogenesis, cell survival and tumour growth. Mutations in the gene coding for a tumour suppressor merlin cause development of multiple tumours of the nervous system such as schwannomas, meningiomas and ependymomas occurring spontaneously or as part of a hereditary disease neurofibromatosis type 2. The benign character of merlin-deficient tumours makes them less responsive to chemotherapy. We previously showed that, amongst other growth factor receptors, TAM family receptors (Tyro3, Axl and Mer) are significantly …


Normative Minor Childhood Stress And Risk Of Later Adult Psychopathology In Saudi Arabia, M Hyland Jan 2014

Normative Minor Childhood Stress And Risk Of Later Adult Psychopathology In Saudi Arabia, M Hyland

School of Psychology

Chronic minor childhood stress in the form of corporal punishment predicts adult psychopathology in the United States but has not been demonstrated in a country where corporal punishment is normative. We tested whether adult psychopathology was predicted by recalled frequency of childhood corporal punishment and recalled controllability of punishment in Saudi Arabia. Two hundred and fifty nine Saudi men with substance addictions (who for cultural reasons were at risk for depression) completed a survey measuring: demographic variables, frequency of beating and controllability of punishment as a child, depression and borderline personality disorder symptoms (BPD). Beating frequency and punishment control were …


Can Simple Rules Control Development Of A Pioneer Vertebrate Neuronal Network Generating Behavior?, A Roberts, D Conte, M Hull, R Merrison-Hort, Et Al Jan 2014

Can Simple Rules Control Development Of A Pioneer Vertebrate Neuronal Network Generating Behavior?, A Roberts, D Conte, M Hull, R Merrison-Hort, Et Al

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

How do the pioneer networks in the axial core of the vertebrate nervous system first develop? Fundamental to understanding any full-scale neuronal network is knowledge of the constituent neurons, their properties, synaptic interconnections, and normal activity. Our novel strategy uses basic developmental rules to generate model networks that retain individual neuron and synapse resolution and are capable of reproducing correct, whole animal responses. We apply our developmental strategy to young Xenopus tadpoles, whose brainstem and spinal cord share a core vertebrate plan, but at a tractable complexity. Following detailed anatomical and physiological measurements to complete a descriptive library of each …


Molluscs From A Shallow-Water Whale-Fall And Their Affinities With Adjacent Benthic Communities On The Swedish West Coast, S Danise, S Dominici, Ag Glover, Tg Dahlgren Jan 2014

Molluscs From A Shallow-Water Whale-Fall And Their Affinities With Adjacent Benthic Communities On The Swedish West Coast, S Danise, S Dominici, Ag Glover, Tg Dahlgren

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

We conducted a species-level study of molluscs associated with a 5-m long carcass of a minke whale at a depth of 125 m in the Kosterfjord (North Sea, Sweden). The whale-fall community was quantitatively compared with the community commonly living in the surrounding soft-bottom sediments. Five years after the deployment of the dead whale at the sea floor, the sediments around the carcass were dominated by the bivalve Thyasira sarsi, which is known to contain endosymbiotic sulphur-oxidizing bacteria, while background sediments were dominated by another thyasirid, T. equalis, less dependent on chemosynthesis for its nutrition. The Kosterfjord samples were further …


Modelling Learning To Count In Humanoid Robots, Marek Rucinski Jan 2014

Modelling Learning To Count In Humanoid Robots, Marek Rucinski

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

This thesis concerns the formulation of novel developmental robotics models of embodied phenomena in number learning. Learning to count is believed to be of paramount importance for the acquisition of the remarkable fluency with which humans are able to manipulate numbers and other abstract concepts derived from them later in life. The ever-increasing amount of evidence for the embodied nature of human mathematical thinking suggests that the investigation of numerical cognition with the use of robotic cognitive models has a high potential of contributing toward the better understanding of the involved mechanisms. This thesis focuses on two particular groups of …


Lipopolysaccharide In Marine Bathing Water; A Potential Real-Time Biomarker Of Bacterial Contamination And Relevance To Human Health, Anas Akram Sattar Jan 2014

Lipopolysaccharide In Marine Bathing Water; A Potential Real-Time Biomarker Of Bacterial Contamination And Relevance To Human Health, Anas Akram Sattar

School of Biomedical Sciences Theses

The quality of marine bathing water is currently assessed by monitoring the levels of faecal indicator bacteria. Among other drawbacks, results are retrospective using the traditional culture based methods. A rapid method is thus needed as an early warning to bathers for bacterial contamination in marine bathing waters. Total lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was chosen here as a potential general biomarker for bacterial contamination. Levels of total LPS, measured using a Kinetic QCL™ Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) assay, highly correlated with enumerated Escherichia coli and Bacteroides species. Levels of LPS in excess of 50 EU mL-1 were found to equate with water …


Hydroxyapatite, Fluor-Hydroxyapatite And Fluorapatite Produced Via The Sol–Gel Method: Dissolution Behaviour And Biological Properties After Crystallisation, Cj Tredwin, Am Young, Ea Abou Neel, G Georgiou, Jc Knowles Jan 2014

Hydroxyapatite, Fluor-Hydroxyapatite And Fluorapatite Produced Via The Sol–Gel Method: Dissolution Behaviour And Biological Properties After Crystallisation, Cj Tredwin, Am Young, Ea Abou Neel, G Georgiou, Jc Knowles

Peninsula Dental School

Hydroxyapatite (HA), fluor-hydroxyapatite (FHA) with varying levels of fluoride ion substitution and fluorapatite (FA) were synthesised by the sol-gel method as possible implant coating or bone-grafting materials. Calcium nitrate and triethyl phosphite were used as precursors under an ethanol-water based solution. Different amounts of ammonium fluoride were incorporated for the preparation of the FHA and FA sol-gels. After heating and powdering the sol-gels, dissolution behaviour was assessed using ion chromatography to measure Ca(2+) and PO4 (3-) ion release. Biological behaviour was assessed using cellular proliferation with human osteosarcoma cells and alamarBlue™ assay. Statistical analysis was performed with a two way …


Plant Mediated Effects Of Earthworms On Aphid Dynamics, Nawzad Kadir Jan 2014

Plant Mediated Effects Of Earthworms On Aphid Dynamics, Nawzad Kadir

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

The individual and combined effects of the endogeic and epigeic groups of earthworms on the growth of Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa), and on the subsequent growth and development of the generalist sap-sucking herbivore Myzus persicae were determined in separate pot experiments. Many previous studies have investigated the relationship between soil biodiversity and aboveground plants, but few researches have considered the indirect interaction between soil biota and above-ground aphids. In this study the individual effects of Aporrectodea rosea and Allolobophora chlorotica and the combined effects of A. rosea and A. chlorotica, Aporrectodea caliginosa and Satchellius mammalis, A. chlorotica and S. mammalis, …


Spatial Distribution Of Soil Insects In Grassland, Karzan D.Ahmed Jan 2014

Spatial Distribution Of Soil Insects In Grassland, Karzan D.Ahmed

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Recently, there has been interest in the study of soil biodiversity and its functional role in agricultural grassland due to the need to develop management strategies for soil biota to improve ecosystem self-regulation. In the UK, grasslands provide a habitat for several subterranean insect taxa some of which are pests - leatherjackets (larvae of Tipulidae: Diptera) and wireworms (larvae of Elateridae:Coleoptera). To provide an appropriate method of pest management, a systematic sampling of agricultural grassland over different sampling scales is crucial in order to understand their population distribution and distribution patterns. The spatial distribution and distribution patterns of soil insects …


Antibacterial Activity Of Organic Acids And An Aqueous Lime-Peel Extract Against Selected Foodborne Pathogens, Haider Naji Kazim Al-Khanaq Jan 2014

Antibacterial Activity Of Organic Acids And An Aqueous Lime-Peel Extract Against Selected Foodborne Pathogens, Haider Naji Kazim Al-Khanaq

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Food of animal origin contaminated with food-borne pathogens still concerns the public and food experts due to its harm toward public health. Using organic acids is one of the most important interventions for controlling the microbiological safety and quality of food and has been widely used. An increase of bacterial acid resistant species gave the motivation to find an alternative way to control foodborne pathogens in meat. Limited experimental studies have investigated the antibacterial activity of organic acids and an aqueous lime-peel extract combination on chicken meat against foodborne pathogens. The inhibitory effects of citric, propionic, acetic and lactic acid …


Organic Iron Requirements Of Gilthead Sea Bream (Sparus Aurata), Alexandros Samartzis Jan 2014

Organic Iron Requirements Of Gilthead Sea Bream (Sparus Aurata), Alexandros Samartzis

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

The aim of the current study was to determine the organic iron (Fe) requirements of gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata). A total number of four experiments have been carried out each one for 12 weeks, in order to address and extend the knowledge on nutritional issues and challenges related with the culture of the gilthead sea bream in the Greek aquaculture industry and therefore enhance the fish health status under intensive culture conditions. These experiments aimed to determine the optimum level of organic Fe supplemented in commercial type diets of sea bream, the comparison between an organic Fe form and …


A Proto-Architecture For Innate Directionally Selective Visual Maps., Sv Adams, Cm Harris Jan 2014

A Proto-Architecture For Innate Directionally Selective Visual Maps., Sv Adams, Cm Harris

School of Psychology

Self-organizing artificial neural networks are a popular tool for studying visual system development, in particular the cortical feature maps present in real systems that represent properties such as ocular dominance (OD), orientation-selectivity (OR) and direction selectivity (DS). They are also potentially useful in artificial systems, for example robotics, where the ability to extract and learn features from the environment in an unsupervised way is important. In this computational study we explore a DS map that is already latent in a simple artificial network. This latent selectivity arises purely from the cortical architecture without any explicit coding for DS and prior …


Development Of Joint Stiffness And Learnability, N Kuppuswamy, Cm Harris Jan 2014

Development Of Joint Stiffness And Learnability, N Kuppuswamy, Cm Harris

School of Psychology

No abstract provided.


A Biological, Latent Variable Model Of Health (Earlybird 68)., Michael E. Hyland, Alison N. Jeffery, Terence J. Wilkin Jan 2014

A Biological, Latent Variable Model Of Health (Earlybird 68)., Michael E. Hyland, Alison N. Jeffery, Terence J. Wilkin

School of Psychology

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether factor analysis of a set of health-related biomarkers provides evidence of an underlying common dimension of variation, and to explore the relationship between this dimension of variation with positive and negative affect. METHOD: Twelve health-related metabolic, immune and body-composition biomarkers at ages 5, 7, 9, 11, 14 and 16years were obtained from the EarlyBird longitudinal cohort of 347 children and supplemented by positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) measured at age 16years. RESULTS: At each age, principal factor analysis revealed that nine of the 12 biomarkers consistently loaded on the first extracted factor, accounting for …


Emotional Dissonance Among Uk Animal Technologists: Evidence, Impact And Management Implications, Keith Davies Jan 2014

Emotional Dissonance Among Uk Animal Technologists: Evidence, Impact And Management Implications, Keith Davies

Plymouth Business School Theses

The care and welfare of laboratory animals born, nurtured and experimented upon within a research facility is the primary function for animal technologists. While discharging these responsibilities the emotional needs of the carers require consideration, balancing their perceptions of animal care against the purpose for which the animals exist. As little published information is available on the emotional challenges faced by UK animal technologists, this thesis redresses the balance, exploring the subject in detail through qualitative and quantitative methods. Emotional dissonance, often expressed as felt emotion versus enacted emotion, is a negative output from Emotional Labour. Animal technologists operate in …


Public Perceptions Of The Uk Marine Environment, Rl Jefferson, I Bailey, Dd Laffoley, Jp Richards, Mj Attrill Jan 2014

Public Perceptions Of The Uk Marine Environment, Rl Jefferson, I Bailey, Dd Laffoley, Jp Richards, Mj Attrill

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

The damaging effects of human activities on marine health suggest that a major shift is required in the way marine systems are used by individuals. Identifying how to engage society in this shift is an ongoing debate. This includes strengthening the positive connections between society and the sea. This study uses a survey (n¼1047) to investigate UK public perceptions of subtidal species and marine health to assess whether it is possible to build more positive connections between society and the sea. Respondents showed considerable interest in traditionally charismatic species (puffins, seals and seahorses) although many respondents thought these species did …


Biodiversity Crisis And Recovery During The Triassic-Jurassic Greenhouse Interval: Testing Ocean Acidification Hypotheses, Nikita Danielle Jacobsen Jan 2014

Biodiversity Crisis And Recovery During The Triassic-Jurassic Greenhouse Interval: Testing Ocean Acidification Hypotheses, Nikita Danielle Jacobsen

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

The Late Rhaetian (Late Triassic) extinction event is characterised by shelled species showing a reduction in size, and thickness, which together with changed mineralogy is thought to be as a result of increased atmospheric pCO2 levels. Similar morphological changes have been demonstrated for extant species exposed experimentally to high CO2 leading to the hypothesis that Late Triassic extinctions were linked with global ocean acidification and increased oceanic palaeotemperatures. Consequently, the aim of this present work was to test this ocean acidification hypothesis by investigating morphological changes in selected shelled fossil species across this extinction event, and attempt to correlate them …


Working Towards Productive Seas: A Comparative Analysis Of The Marine Management Regimes Under Uk And Scottish Law, Danielle Lowther Jan 2014

Working Towards Productive Seas: A Comparative Analysis Of The Marine Management Regimes Under Uk And Scottish Law, Danielle Lowther

The Plymouth Law and Criminal Justice Review

This research presents a comparative analysis of the marine management regimes under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 and the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010. In light of the vision shared by both administrations to achieve 'clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas', the research focuses upon the tension between achieving 'productivity' in the marine area and ensuring the sustainable use of marine resources. In particular, it examines the differences in the way in which productivity is defined and measured under each regime, and provides a consideration of the extent to which an appropriate balance is struck …


Hiding Behind The Law? A Critique Of The Law And Practice Under The Adoption And Children Act 2002, Lisamarie Deblasio Jan 2014

Hiding Behind The Law? A Critique Of The Law And Practice Under The Adoption And Children Act 2002, Lisamarie Deblasio

The Plymouth Law and Criminal Justice Review

This article presents a critical analysis of adoption law in Britain. In particular, it focuses on provisions of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (ACA), and the subsequent interpretation by the Family Courts, which appear to drastically compromise the rights of natural parents. Only in the last three decades has changed perception of family structure altered the theory of adoption. This is illustrated by way of adoption now being a service of permanency for children in the care of local authorities, which has developed to replace the traditional relinquishment of new born babies of previous decades. This historic adoption method …


A Multi-Proxy Study Of The Palaeocene - Eocene Thermal Maximum In Northern Spain, Hayley Manners Jan 2014

A Multi-Proxy Study Of The Palaeocene - Eocene Thermal Maximum In Northern Spain, Hayley Manners

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

At the boundary between the Paleocene and Eocene epochs (ca. 56 Ma) a significant global warming event, termed the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), occurred. Records of this event are characterised by a negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE) which has been associated with the release of thousands of petagrams of isotopically light carbon into the ocean-atmosphere system, initiating changes in the carbon cycle, the climate system, ocean chemistry and the marine and continental ecosystems. The amount of isotopically light carbon that was required to cause the event, its source and the rapidity of its release are, however, are still debated. This …


Reconstruction Of Recent And Palaeo Sea Ice Conditions In The Barents Sea, Alba Navarro-Rodríguez Jan 2014

Reconstruction Of Recent And Palaeo Sea Ice Conditions In The Barents Sea, Alba Navarro-Rodríguez

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

IP25 is a highly branched isoprenoid alkene derived from certain Arctic sea ice diatoms that, when detected in marine sediments, has been used as a proxy for past Arctic sea ice over the last decade. In the current study, the structure of this biomarker was determined following large-scale extraction from sediment material collected from the Canadian Arctic. After purification, the structure of IP25 was confirmed by NMR spectroscopy as being the same as that of a laboratory standard. The purified IP25 was subsequently used to obtain a quantitative (GC-MS) instrumental response factor that could be used to improve the future …


Effectiveness Of A Closed System Device In Reducing Occupational Exposure And Environmental Concentrations Of Anticancer Drugs, Nitin Vyas Jan 2014

Effectiveness Of A Closed System Device In Reducing Occupational Exposure And Environmental Concentrations Of Anticancer Drugs, Nitin Vyas

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Owing to their non-selective nature, anti-cancer drugs affect both cancerous and non-cancerous cells and present a major health risk to healthcare staff working with them. This project was conducted at Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, to investigate the extent of contamination with anti-cancer drugs on work surfaces and the environmental emissions of these drugs. In the Isolator study, surface contamination arising from the preparation of five anticancer drug infusions (epirubicin, fluorouracil, cisplatin, oxaliplatin and carboplatin) in a pharmaceutical isolator and external surfaces of infusion bags and syringes using a conventional syringe and needle technique was investigated and compared with that obtained using …


Application Of Polychlorinated Biphenyl Signatures For Environmental Fingerprinting, David Peter Megson Jan 2014

Application Of Polychlorinated Biphenyl Signatures For Environmental Fingerprinting, David Peter Megson

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) are a group of 209 ‘man-made’ chlorinated organic compounds that were widely used in the 20th century for a variety of industrial uses. PCBs were first commercially produced in the 1929 and were manufactured until the 1980s when their use was phased out due to environmental and human health risks. However, due to their widespread use and persistence they are ubiquitous in the environment and remain a contaminant of concern. The structural properties that determine the persistence of PCBs in humans were therefore elucidated by statistical analysis of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey …


The Biogeochemistry Of Iron, Zinc And Cobalt In The Atlantic Ocean: The Atlantic Meridional Transect And Uk Geotraces Sections, Neil Wyatt Jan 2014

The Biogeochemistry Of Iron, Zinc And Cobalt In The Atlantic Ocean: The Atlantic Meridional Transect And Uk Geotraces Sections, Neil Wyatt

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Between 40 % and 50 % of the Earth’s primary production occurs in marine environments, primarily by phytoplankton. The trace metal micronutrients iron, zinc and cobalt are known to exert a significant biological control on phytoplankton productivity by serving as essential active centres in enzymatic processes such as inorganic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus acquisition. The distributions and biogeochemistries of iron, zinc and cobalt therefore, have the potential to impact upon the global carbon cycle and hence climate. This research involves investigations into the biogeochemical cycling of iron, zinc and cobalt in the Atlantic Ocean. Iron measurements were conducted during October …


Development Of A Nigerian Fermented Maize Food “Akamu” As A Functional Food, Patience Chisa Obinna-Echem Jan 2014

Development Of A Nigerian Fermented Maize Food “Akamu” As A Functional Food, Patience Chisa Obinna-Echem

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

Akamu is a lactic acid bacteria fermented cereal-based food that complements infant diets in most African countries. Uncontrolled fermentation increases the variability in quality and safety of akamu. This study was aimed at the controlled fermentation of akamu with selected lactic acid bacteria (LAB), investigation of the probiotic potential of the LAB and the effect of variation in production method on the product quality and sensory properties. PCR-DGGE analysis of traditional akamu samples revealed LAB community dominated by Lactobacillus fermentum, L. plantarum, L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and L. helveticus. Isolated yeasts were Candida tropicalis, C. albicans, Clavispora lusitaniae and Saccharomyces …


Source Tracking Of Faecal Indicator Bacteria Of Human Pathogens In Bathing Waters; An Evaluation And Development, Khwam Reissan Hussein Jan 2014

Source Tracking Of Faecal Indicator Bacteria Of Human Pathogens In Bathing Waters; An Evaluation And Development, Khwam Reissan Hussein

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

Bacterial water pollution is a significant problem because it is associated with reduction in the ‘quality’ of water systems with a potential impact on human health. Faecal indicator bacteria (FIB) are usually used to monitor the quality of water, and to indicate the presence of pathogens in water bodies. However, enumeration alone does not enable identification of the precise origin of these pathogens. This study aimed to monitor the quality of bathing water and associated fresh water in and out of the ‘bathing season’ in the UK, and to evaluate the use of microbial source tracking (MST) such as the …


Quality And Shelf Life Of Pita And Tandoori Breads Supplemented With Three Novel Functional Ingredients, Yaseen Galali Jan 2014

Quality And Shelf Life Of Pita And Tandoori Breads Supplemented With Three Novel Functional Ingredients, Yaseen Galali

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

Abstract: The interest for functional foods rich in dietary fibre (DF) and low in glycaemic response (GR) is steadily increasing. This is because DF could reduce GR of food products and protect and restrict diet-associated diseases which have become common in society. But DF rich products are not always high in quality and palatability. Therefore, more fibre-rich functional products need to be designed and developed with good quality, palatability and longer shelf life. A response surface methodology (RSM) was used to develop both pita and Tandoori breads rich in DF with good quality, palatability and longer shelf life. So, a …


Blinking In Human Communicative Behaviour And It's Reproduction In Artificial Agents, Christopher Colin Ford Jan 2014

Blinking In Human Communicative Behaviour And It's Reproduction In Artificial Agents, Christopher Colin Ford

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

A significant year-on-year rise in the creation and sales of personal and domestic robotic systems and the development of online embodied communicative agents (ECAs) has in parallel seen an increase in end-users from the public domain interacting with these systems. A number of these robotic/ECA systems are defined as social, whereby they are physically designed to resemble the bodily structure of a human and behaviorally designed to exist within human social surroundings. Their behavioural design is especially important with respect to communication as it is commonly stated that for any social robotic/ECA system to be truly useful within its role, …