Digital Commons Network^™

A Manifesto For Plant Science Education, Elizabeth Alvey, Andrea Paterlini, Mary E. Williams, Mia E. Cerfonteyn, Samantha Dobbie, Steven Dodsworth, Sonja D. Dunbar, Lauren R. Headland, Anastasia Kolesnikova, Pankaj Kumar, Silvia Manrique, Catherine Mansfield, Sebastian Stroud, Shannon Woodhouse, Hailey Ashton, Yoselin Benitez-Alfonso, Emily Breeze, Kelsey J.R.P. Byers, Chana P. Chetariya, Beth C. Dyson, Alec Forsyth, Beatriz Gonçalves, Camila Gonzalez, Daniel M. Jenkins, Joanna Kacprzyk, Kirsten Knox, George R. Littlejohn, Sara Lopez-Gomollon, Enrique López-Juez, Claudia Martinho

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Societal Impact Statement: Plants provide oxygen, food, shelter, medicines and environmental services, without which human society could not exist. Tackling pressing and global challenges requires well-trained plant scientists and plant-aware individuals. This manifesto provides a practical evidence-based vision to strengthen plant science education, focused on five strategic priorities. It is relevant to all stakeholders within plant science and beyond: from frontline educators to institutional leaders; from commercial or charitable professionals to entrepreneurs and donors; from individual community members to their legislative representatives. Strengthening plant science education demands concrete actions from all stakeholders, ultimately to the benefit of us all. Summary: …

Unilateral Online Ultrasound Stimulation Of Early Visual Cortex Suppresses Responses To Contralateral Visual Stimuli, Suraya Dunsford, Keith Murphy, Ema Darrieutort, Elsa Fouragnan, Giorgio Ganis

School of Psychology

INTRODUCTION: Transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) shows great promise for inducing neuroplastic changes that persist long after stimulation. Evidence of stimulation-locked (online) neural changes would enable the development of closed-loop application of TUS. However, such responses have been difficult to distinguish from coincident neural activity caused by auditory and somatosensory effects of TUS.

METHODS: To dissociate genuine online neuromodulatory effects from peripheral confounds, we leveraged the contralateral retinotopic organization of the early visual cortex in nineteen subjects. Using a hemifield visual stimulation paradigm combined with high-precision, functional MRI-guided TUS, we applied TUS to the left early visual cortex while participants viewed …

Cumulative Disadvantage: Ethnic Inequalities In Criminal Court Proceedings In England And Wales, Kitty Lymperopoulou

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

Scholarship on ethnic disparities in the criminal justice system has predominantly focused on disparities at a single decision-making point, mainly at sentencing, while earlier decision points remain underexamined or are studied in isolation to sentencing decisions. Using linked Ministry of Justice Data First datasets from criminal courts in England and Wales, this study assesses ethnic disparities at multiple decision points—from pre-sentencing to sentencing. Findings from multilevel logistic regression models demonstrate ethnic disparities across decision points, evidencing more pronounced disparities at pre-sentencing stages. Black and mixed ethnicity defendants consistently experience more disadvantaged outcomes, being more likely to be detained prior to …

A National Uk-Wide Survey Of Tranexamic Acid Use In Vascular Surgery, K Atha, A Shah, J Fabes, K Bera

Peninsula Medical School

Background: Tranexamic acid (TXA) is widely used to reduce perioperative bleeding in several surgical specialties; however, its role in vascular surgery remains uncertain. Concerns regarding arterial, venous and graft thrombosis, together with limited and low-certainty evidence of efficacy, have contributed to variation in practice across the UK. According to the 2025 National Vascular Registry there were nearly 20,000 major vascular operations carried out across the four nations. The 2023 NHS Blood and Transplant audit found TXA uptake in vascular surgery to be low (26.5%) when compared with other specialties such as cardiac, orthopaedic and trauma surgery, which each had TXA …

An Exploratory Study Of Employability, Work Readiness, And International Experiences For One-Year International Postgraduate Taught Business Students In The Uk, Fa Wang

Plymouth Business School Theses

Delivering world-class student experiences, navigating evidence-based graduate outcomes, and advancing the employability agenda are central to the current landscape of UK universities. While maintaining high educational standards and remaining competitive in international student recruitment have become increasingly challenging after the global pandemic and amid ongoing financial pressures faced by the UK universities, limited academic attention has been given to the employability of one-year international postgraduate taught students (IPGTs) in UK higher education. Recognising IPGTs as a significant cohort that makes substantial economic, sociocultural, and expertise-related contributions to both tertiary education and the host country’s labour market, this doctoral study aims …

High Frequency Emergency Department Use And Heterogeneity Of Reasons For Attendance By Children And Young People: A Retrospective Cohort Study, Akshay Kumar, Rebecca M Simpson, Kerryn Husk, Graham D Johnson, Chris Burton

Peninsula Medical School

Objective To quantify patterns of emergency department (ED) use over two consecutive 12-month periods among children aged 15 and under, and to assess heterogeneity of reasons for attendance in high-frequency users.Design Population-based retrospective cohort study of routinely collected ED data.Setting EDs in the Yorkshire and Humber region, UK, from 31 March 2014 to 1 April 2017.Patients Children aged 15 and under with ≥1 ED attendance.Main outcome measures Proportion with ≥7 attendances over 2 years and heterogeneity of diagnostic reasons quantified by the Herfindahl index.Results The cohort included 71 143 individuals. Although only 13.6% were high-frequency attenders in the first year, …

Short-Term Spark Or Long-Term Flame? Sustaining Academic Psychiatric Departments, Rohit Shankar, Richard Laugharne, Derek K. Tracy, Dinesh Bhugra

Peninsula Medical School

SummaryOver the past two decades, the number of academic psychiatrists in the UK has declined by more than a third, despite an expansion in medical schools and growth in most other medical academic specialties. Drawing on direct experience of establishing a new academic unit, we argue that the long-term sustainability of academic psychiatry departments is critical for service quality, innovation and talent development. This paper outlines the structural, cultural and strategic factors needed to create academic units that endure and flourish beyond individual careers, enabling better integration of research and clinical practice.

Development Of Professional Identity In Medical Students Through Interprofessional Simulation: A Qualitative Study, Louis Fiander, Marie Bryce, Thomas Gale

Peninsula Medical School

BackgroundProfessional identity development in doctors is associated with confidence, resilience and alignment with professional values. Empirical study has found that Interprofessional Simulation-based Education (IPSE) is associated with professional identity development in medical students but does not demonstrate how. An IPSE curriculum is in place within the University of Plymouth medical curriculum. Using reflexive thematic analysis of participating medical student's interview data, subsequently triangulated with theory from sociological and psychological literature, potential mechanisms of professional identity development through IPSE are discussed and implications for educational design explored.MethodsA qualitative approach was adopted utilising semi-structured interviews. Purposive sampling was used to select 10 …

The Overlooked Burden: Anti-Seizure Medications, Laxatives, And Antipsychotics Prescribed In Primary Care For People With Intellectual Disability, Rohit Shankar, Richard Laugharne, Ian Wilson, Mike Wilcock

Peninsula Medical School

Objectives: People with intellectual disabilities (PwID) have higher prevalences of epilepsy and constipation than the general population. Constipation is having fewer than three bowel movements or requiring laxatives three or more times weekly. Both epilepsy and constipation contribute significantly to premature mortality. To manage constipation, many individuals are prescribed long-term laxatives, which serve as a surrogate indicator of constipation. PwID and epilepsy also have a high prevalence of multimorbidity and polypharmacy, particularly involving antiseizure medications (ASMs) and antipsychotics. This study aimed to explore associations between ASM use, antipsychotics, and laxative prescribing.Method: The primary care dataset in Cornwall, England (population 572,000), …

The Impact Of Face Masks On Social Perception Is Age-Dependent, Farid Pazhoohi, Maryam Rostami-Aghoui, Sepide Pazhouhi, Keina Aoki, Alan Kingstone

School of Psychology

Human faces are critical for social communication, enabling individuals to make rapid judgments about traits like trustworthiness and competence. Previous research suggests that face masks can enhance perceptions of trustworthiness and, to a lesser extent, competence, although findings on competence are more variable and context-dependent. Additionally, age-related facial cues influence social judgments, with older and younger faces being evaluated differently. This research examined the impact of face masks on perceptions of trustworthiness and competence across two age groups: young adults (Study 1) and old adults (Study 2). Study 1 revealed that face masks increased perceptions of trustworthiness and competence for …

Evaluating Functional Imagery Training And Internal Visual Imagery On Tennis Serve Performance, Jonathan Rhodes, Amelie Leach

School of Psychology

Imagery is widely used in sport, but its effectiveness depends on how it is structured and the range of senses engaged. This study compared Functional Imagery Training - a multisensory, motivational intervention - with single-sense internal visual imagery and a control condition without imagery training. Thirty-eight competitive tennis players completed imagery ability and preference assessments before engaging in a 6-week intervention. Serve accuracy was measured pre- and post intervention using a target-based scoring task. Both imagery conditions led to performance improvements, with Functional Imagery Training producing significantly greater gains. The control group showed no significant change. Imagery ability and preferred …

How A Holistic Approach To People Of Reproductive Age Can Support Access To Preconception Care For People Living With Health Conditions: Findings From A Realist Evaluation, Heather Hopper, Kerryn Husk, Kate Maslin, Jill Shawe

School of Nursing and Midwifery

This realist evaluation explored how access to preconception care works for people with pre-existing health conditions, for whom, and in what contexts. Thirty one participants (women of reproductive age, partners, and healthcare professionals) were interviewed using qualitative realist methods. Iterative analysis refined 35 initial programme theories into 13 middle range theories. The theory reported here identifies healthcare professionals’ knowledge of sexual and reproductive health, understanding of pregnancy planning, and enquiry regarding pregnancy intention as key mechanisms. In the context of diagnosis or review, these resources support holistic and individualized preconception care, enabling improved preconception health and reduced adverse maternal and …

Modeling Spasticity: A Systematic Review, Gaby Gonzalez Chan, Jonathan Marsden, Alexander Besinis, Pablo Borja, Hilary Gunn

School of Health Professions

Spasticity, a type of hypertonia characterized by a velocity-dependent increase in muscle tone, is associated with damage to the brain and/or spinal cord in different neurological conditions. However, secondary non-neurological factors, such as soft tissue changes, can complicate the assessment and differentiation of the underlying causes. Accurate assessment is crucial for effective treatment planning, with clinicians relying on passive movement to grade the ‘feel’ of the spastic limb. This review aims to identify and evaluate the feasibility of spasticity models or simulations for clinical teaching. Models based on human spastic limbs were examined, with no restrictions on specific conditions or …

Ontology-Based E-Commerce Recommender System: A Hybrid Semantic Filtering Approach, Shaymaa Al-Juboori, Jocelyn Pua, Su-Cheng Haw, Lucia Dwi Krisnawati, Gee-Kok Tong

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

The rapid growth of e-commerce has led to product overload, which has resulted in personalized product discovery becoming a crucial problem for consumers. Classic recommender systems (RS), which rely heavily on content-based filtering or collaborative filtering, tend to face well-known problems such as cold start, data sparsity, and ignorance of semantics. Such constraints frequently result in irrelevant or redundant suggestions, thereby lowering the user satisfaction and conversions. This study presents a hybrid ontology-based e-commerce recommender system that combines symbolic reasoning with deep semantic matching. The system is based on a Neo4j graph database to capture structured product relationships and is …

Social Prescribing For Refugee Populations: A Protocol For A Rapid Realist Review Of International Evidence, Victoria Touzel, Anna-Lena Esser, Kerryn Husk, Doreen Reifegerste

Peninsula Medical School

BackgroundSocial prescribing addresses complex individual health and social needs through person-centered referral from healthcare into community settings, supporting wellbeing and integrated care. While evidence for majority populations continues to expand, no review has yet synthesized evidence specifically for refugee populations, despite this group facing profound social and systemic barriers. As such, this protocol defines the research objectives for a rapid realist review that will identify what approaches to social interventions work for refugee populations, for whom they are effective, and under which circumstances.MethodsA rapid realist review will be conducted to identify relevant evidence from both social prescribing interventions and social …

Does Increasing Human Impact Across The Holocene Result In Simplification Of Vegetation Composition And Diversity Across Europe? A Pollen-Based Spatio-Temporal Approach, Caterina Röhm, Maria Antonia Serge, Ralph Fyfe, François Gillet, Laurent Marquer, Agnès Lagnoux, Thierry Klein, Didier Galop, Florence Mazier

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Land use and climate change are the primary drivers of current biodiversity loss, but have had different impacts on biodiversity across the Holocene epoch. To enhance our understanding of current changes in diversity and its impact on ecosystem functions, knowledge of long-term interactions between vegetation diversity, land use change, and climatic change is crucial. Grid-cell estimates of quantified regional vegetation cover (RV_est) based on pollen data from 1607 sites across Europe, transformed using the REVEALS (Regional Vegetation Estimates from Large Sites) model, have been used to explore spatiotemporal changes in vegetation and regional diversity during the Holocene (25 …

Community Engagement And Equity-Oriented Researchare Prerequisites For Designing Inclusive Oral Healthservices For People Experiencing Homelessness, Martha Paisi, Andrea Rodriguez, Lyndsey Withers

School of Nursing and Midwifery

Oral health is a vital aspect of overall health and wellbeing, yet individuals experiencing homelessness often bear a disproportionate burden of poor oral health and its consequences. This paper explores how community engagement and equity-oriented research can be powerful and complementary tools to inform and enhance evidence-based service design for these patients. We present illustrative examples from both the United Kingdom and international contexts. Community engagement captures a genuine, patient-centred understanding of current realities, while research builds on this foundation to identify and address priority needs. This targeted approach increases the likelihood of impactful interventions that move from ‘what is' …

The Problem Of Insight: An Interpretive Phenomenological Approach To Understanding Awareness Following Acquired Brain Injury, David Bennett, Alyson Norman, Mark Holloway

School of Psychology

Context: Acquired brain injury (ABI) can result in executive impairments that can detrimentally impact an individual’s level of insight into the changes in functioning caused by their ABI. This, along with the difficulty professionals have in identifying executive impairments and relating these to functional changes, can lead to wrongful assumptions of functional abilities among those affected. Objective: This study aimed to explore the experience of individuals with ABI who demonstrate an impairment of insight with a view to documenting specific examples of impaired insight. Method: Four participants took part in a semi-structured interview analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA). Feedback …

The Dental Foundation Training Curiosity Workshop, Casper Jonker, Lucy Whitby

Peninsula Dental School

No abstract provided.

Colonisation, Globalisation And A Pandemic: Developing Understandings Of Inclusive Education In Malaysia, Vicky Bamsey, Yee Ling Lee, Moses Samuel

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

This is a theoretical paper that examines how colonisation, globalisation and a crisis such as the Covid-19 pandemic have had a significant influence on the development of inclusive education policy and practice in Malaysia. Drawing on the ideas of dependency from Farid Alatas, and Carol Bacchi’s focus on the identification of the underlying problem within policies, as well as Stephen Ball’s policy cycle, we highlight how global events have repercussions at a policy level now and into the future. This paper contributes to the wider inclusive education debate through the innovative use of these three different theoretical lenses, informed by …

Current Developments Of Psychological Research And The Use Of Ai, Tilo Strobach, Farid Pazhoohi

School of Psychology

No abstract provided.

Accuracy Improvements For Electroencephalography (Eeg) Eye State Classification Using Extreme Gradient Boosting And Cluster Ensembles, Hossein Ahmadi, Mehrbakhsh Nilashi, Abdullah Alghamdi, Rabab Ali Abumalloh, Mesfer Alrizq, Sultan Alyami, Waleed Abdu Zogaan, Fatima Khan Nayer

School of Nursing and Midwifery

Electroencephalography (EEG) eye state classification is crucial as it enables noninvasive monitoring and identification of different eye states. This importance has been underscored in studies exploring the use of machine learning techniques for accurate classification. Previous research has primarily applied supervised learning methods to EEG signal analysis for eye state classification using real-world datasets, focusing on improving accuracy through novel algorithms. Achieving high classification accuracy remains a key objective in EEG signal analysis. This study introduces a hybrid method designed to handle multivariate signals and nonlinearity. By integrating both supervised and unsupervised learning, the proposed approach aims to achieve high …

Sustainable Food Systems And Planetary Health Education For Nutritionists And Dietitians:: Prioritising Curriculum Concepts With Q Methodology, Liza Barbour, Sarah Browne, Tracy Everitt, Clare Pettinger, Jessica Wegener, Tina Farokhifar, Sarah Kim, Charlene Tsen, Gary Bonar, Liesel Carlsson

School of Health Professions

Purpose: The global food system is undermining human and planetary health. Urgenttransdisciplinary action is required among food system stakeholders equipped to address complexchallenges. This study identified and prioritised curriculum concepts for tertiary education, with theaim of preparing entry-level nutritionists and dietitians to contribute to sustainable food systems andplanetary health within their practice.Methodology: A mixed-methods Q study was conducted. Curriculum concepts were identified fromliterature and an online survey (n 84, 23 countries), then prioritised by workshop participants (n 43, 11countries) based on relevance for entry-level nutritionists and dietitians. Participants reflected on theirdecision-making process using a post-workshop survey. Data were analysed using …

Comparing Community-Based Monitoring To Hospital-Based Care Of Patients With Quiescent Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Qualitative Study Of Patient And Practitioner Perspectives On Acceptability And Access, Sofia Vougioukalou, Simon M Read, Judit Katalin Csontos, Aled Jones, Alijazy Jaber, Anitta Sharma, Konstantinos Balaskas

School of Nursing and Midwifery

Objectives This process evaluation explores patient and healthcare professional acceptability of community-based monitoring versus hospital-based care for patients with quiescent neovascular age-related macular degeneration (QnAMD). Design Qualitative process evaluation was conducted as part of a randomised controlled trial. Setting Six hospitals and six community-based practices. Participants 25 patients and 16 healthcare professionals (ophthalmologists and optometrists). This approach helped differentiate between common issues and those specific to community-based monitoring. Intervention The Quality-Assured Follow-Up of QnAMD by non-medical practitioners trial aimed to examine whether non-medical practitioners follow-up patients with QnAMD in the community in a safe and clinically and cost-effective way. The …

Control-By-Interconnection Beyond Casimirs And Connections To Ida-Pbc, Joel Ferguson, Pablo Borja

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Control by Interconnection (CbI) and Interconnection and Damping Assignment Passivity-Based Control (IDA-PBC) are two nonlinear design methodologies that exploit passivity to construct stabilising controllers. While CbI is known to be a subset of IDA-PBC, the converse link has remained open. This paper revisits CbI by utilising dynamic invariants beyond Casimirs and a more general control structure. Using this more general structure we show a one-to-one correspondence between IDA-PBC and CbI controllers for the class of mechanical systems without friction.

Temporal Linkages Of Explosive Activity Of Kolumbo And Santorini Volcanoes (Greece), Abigail Metcalfe, Katharina Pank, Steffen Kutterolf, Jonas Preine, Paraskevi Nomikou, Christian Hübscher, Thomas A. Ronge, Sarah Beethe, A Bernard, Carole Berthod, Hehe Chen, Shun Chiyonobu, Acacia Clark, Susan Debari, Tatiana Fernandez-Perez, Ralf Gertisser, Christopher Jones, Raymond Johnston, Kumar Batuk Joshi, Jens Karstens, Günther Kletetschka, Olga Koukousioura, Hao Yang Lee, Xiaohui Li, Michael Manga, Molly Mccanta, Iona Mcintosh, Tony Morris, Dimitrios Papanikolaou, Ally Peccia

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

The histories of submarine explosive volcanoes are commonly poorly known due to inaccessibility of their eruptive archives. This raises uncertainties in the eruption frequencies of these highly hazardous systems, and in their interactions with neighboring volcanoes. The submarine Kolumbo Volcanic Chain (KVC) northeast of Santorini is made up of the polygenetic Kolumbo Volcano and a linear zone of more than 20 smaller volcanic cones and is one of the most active eruptive centers on the South Aegean Volcanic Arc. However, despite the destructive eruption of Kolumbo in 1650 CE, and unrest in 2024–2025, the eruptive history of the KVC is …

Organising Care For Complexity: A Pathways Model For Adult Community Intellectual Disability Services, Rohit Shankar, Indermeet Sawhney, Samuel Tromans, Bhathika Perera, Laura Korb, Rory Sheehan, Heather Hanna, Richard Laugharne, Niall O'Kane, Jana Devilliers, Ganesan Rajagopal, Lance Watkins, Jane Mccarthy, Kiran Purandare, Regi Alexander, Ashok Roy, Asif Zia, Satheesh Gangadharan, Angela Hassiotis

Peninsula Medical School

Adult community intellectual disability services in the United Kingdom (UK) are required to deliver specialist, evidence-based care for a variety of conditions while minimising restrictive practices and reliance on inpatient provision. Care pathway models have emerged as a potential mechanism to reconcile these aims yet remain under-used in care philosophies in intellectual disabilities. We propose a generalisable pathways model for community intellectual disability services and examine its implications for policy, clinical practice, and research. The model integrates care navigation, proportionate specialist input, and defined clinical condition care including behaviours that challenge, mental and physical health, forensics, neurodevelopmental conditions, epilepsy, and …

The Chronic Apical Abscess: A Case Report On A Diagnostic Dilemma, Jonathan Hope, Guy Lambourn, Ewen Mccoll, Casper Jonker

Peninsula Dental School

A chronic apical abscess is an endodontic condition commonly characterised by the presence of a notable sinus tract through which pus periodically discharges. In general, these cases can be considered “straight forward” to diagnose but on some occasions, diagnosis can be challenging. Any misdiagnosis can compromise the treatment approach for the patient and lead to adverse outcomes such as unnecessary biopsies or referrals. Therefore, clinicians should follow a meticulous treatment approach consisting of appropriate diagnostic measures to establish the correct diagnosis and treatment pathway.

Morphodynamics Of A Composite Barrier System, Westward Ho!, North Devon, Uk, Cerys Rimmer, Gerd Masselink, Mark Wiggins, Lauren Biermann

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Understanding and predicting the morphodynamic evolution of gravel barrier systems is essential for coastal management, as these features provide natural protection for infrastructure and ecosystems. This study uses the composite gravel barrier system of Westward Ho!, south west England, characterised by a sandy intertidal region and a gravel high tide ridge, to quantify the morphological behaviour of this barrier system and link the dynamics to the external forcing, notably sea-level rise and waves. Since 1887, the barrier has retreated by 97 m, with an average retreat rate of 0.71 m yr−1. Over the period 2007–2024, the system lost approximately 216,000 …

Species-Dependent Gazing Behavior Of Emotional Facial Expressions In Dogs (Canis Familiaris) And Adult Humans (Homo Sapiens)., Heini Törnqvist, Gray S. Atherton, Liam Cross, Sanni Somppi, Jarkko Hautala, Miiamaaria V. Kujala

School of Psychology

Emotional expressions play an important part in social communication of dogs and humans, but comparative studies between dogs and humans are rare. In addition, little is known about how emotions are perceived across species and how attention is divided among different parts of faces. Here, we compared the gazing behavior of dogs and adult humans toward emotional dog and human facial expressions. Dogs mostly gazed at the eye and nose areas, whereas the humans’ focus also included the mouth area. The gazing behavior of both species was affected by the facial expressions and species presented, and they gazed at emotional …