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2019

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A Proteomics Approach To Investigate Uropathogenic Escherichia Coli, Nizar Hamed E Saeedi Jan 2019

A Proteomics Approach To Investigate Uropathogenic Escherichia Coli, Nizar Hamed E Saeedi

Other Faculty of Health Theses

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) is the most commonly known cause of urinary tract infection (UTI). The possession of many virulence factors and global dissemination of multi-drug resistant UPEC strains is posing a critical risk to treatment worldwide. The most virulent UPEC strains have descended from major lineages such as sequence type (ST) 131, ST38 and ST127. Strains of ST127 exhibit the highest virulence potential of most UPEC lineages, but little is known about their pathogenicity. Previous studies have reported the important role of metabolic adaptations in UPEC virulence. This study investigated the metabolic adaptations of UPEC isolates, with a focus …


Social Anxiety And Paranoia: A Mixed-Methods Investigation, Sophie Homer Jan 2019

Social Anxiety And Paranoia: A Mixed-Methods Investigation, Sophie Homer

Other Faculty of Health Theses

Social anxiety is highly prevalent and highly debilitating. It is detrimental to educational and occupational progression as well as quality of life for up to 12% of the population. Current research, treatment, and diagnostic criteria maintain that the cause of anxiety in social situations is self-focused fear, usually of personal inadequacy, but social situations invariably involve both the self and other people. This thesis draws upon the paranoia literature to inform arguments about the role of negative perceptions of others in social anxiety. I propound a novel theoretical model of the core fears underlying social anxiety. I argue that anxiety …


Medical Microbiology: Discovery Of New Antimicrobial Drugs To Treat Clinically Relevant Antibiotic Resistant Pathogenic Bacteria, Abdu Hussein A. Aldarhami Jan 2019

Medical Microbiology: Discovery Of New Antimicrobial Drugs To Treat Clinically Relevant Antibiotic Resistant Pathogenic Bacteria, Abdu Hussein A. Aldarhami

Other Faculty of Health Theses

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the greatest world-wide threats to human health and urgent action is needed to reduce the potentially devastating social and economic impacts that may result from continued spread of drug resistant infections. These actions include discovery of new antibiotics and community engagement in AMR. Natural product screening methods are arguably the most efficient way to identify novel antibiotics, but can be frustrated by the repeated discovery of known compounds, wasting valuable resources, effort and time. Thus, exploiting obscure, hard to reach environments and implementing combined bioinformatic and proteomic screening approaches may short-cut the process of …


A Randomised Controlled Feasibility Trial To Investigate The Effects Of A Functional Standing Frame Programme Versus Usual Physiotherapy To Improve Function And Quality Of Life And Reduce Neuromuscular Impairment In People With Severe Sub-Acute Stroke, Angie Logan Jan 2019

A Randomised Controlled Feasibility Trial To Investigate The Effects Of A Functional Standing Frame Programme Versus Usual Physiotherapy To Improve Function And Quality Of Life And Reduce Neuromuscular Impairment In People With Severe Sub-Acute Stroke, Angie Logan

Other Faculty of Health Theses

Background Task-related training can aid functional recovery post-stroke but has not been investigated in people with severe stroke. Orthostatic hypotension (OH) may limit rehabilitation, therefore, the effects of undertaking prolonged standing and sit to stand repetitions (functional standing frame programme) early after severe stroke during inpatient sub-acute rehabilitation is unknown. Methods A systematic review of non-pharmacological interventions to treat OH in people with neurological conditions was undertaken to inform a protocol for the management of OH during the functional standing frame programme. The feasibility of a blinded randomised controlled trial (RCT) investigating the effects of a functional standing frame programme …


Attention, Context And The Inverse Base Rate Effect, Angus B Inkster Jan 2019

Attention, Context And The Inverse Base Rate Effect, Angus B Inkster

Other Faculty of Health Theses

The Inverse Base Rate Effect (IBRE; Medin & Edelson, 1988) is a non-rational behavioural phenomenon reported within the learning literature. A considerable amount of research has investigated the effect, as well as other effects that occur in onjunction with it. The EXIT model (Kruschke, 2001a) is widely considered to be the best formal explanation of the IBRE and is based on an error-driven attentional account. This thesis aims to further existing research, investigating unexplored avenues and providing new datasets with which to test the capabilities of the EXIT model. Chapter 1 provides a review of the research surrounding the IBRE …


Impact Of Time Pressure, As A Stressor, On Dentist’S Diagnostic Decision Making., Anastasios Plessas Jan 2019

Impact Of Time Pressure, As A Stressor, On Dentist’S Diagnostic Decision Making., Anastasios Plessas

Other Faculty of Health Theses

Background: Growing evidence from the wider healthcare and psychology literature support the notion that stress may affect an individual’s decision making, technical and non-technical skills. Stress amongst dentists is prevalent and different stressors have been described in the dental literature. In dentistry, although extensive research has been conducted on dentists’ well-being and mental health, little is known about how different stressors may affect dentists’ performance. Aim: The current work aimed to examine the effect of stress, if any, on dentists’ decision making and performance. Methods: This ResM project was divided into three parts: a systematic review examining the impact of …


Understanding Student Charters Through Psychological Contracts In Higher Education: A Grounded Theory Approach, Julie Ann Osborn Jan 2019

Understanding Student Charters Through Psychological Contracts In Higher Education: A Grounded Theory Approach, Julie Ann Osborn

Other Faculty of Health Theses

The introduction of higher fees and globalisation have created a competitive environment in which UK universities operate. Higher fees and globalisation have placed emphasis on higher education institutions operating as a profit driven sector with feedback sought from consumers in the form of large scale surveys e.g. National Student Survey (NSS). Our understanding of the student experience has been framed within a broadly positivist framework, which arguably limits our understanding. The purpose of this study was to trial a new way of exploring the student experience. This novel approach used the psychological contract as a sensitising concept. It has been …


Effect Of Phytoestrogens On Breast And Prostate Cancer Cell Lines – Potential Implications For Bone Metastasis, Safaa Salman Mezban Al-Thamiree Jan 2019

Effect Of Phytoestrogens On Breast And Prostate Cancer Cell Lines – Potential Implications For Bone Metastasis, Safaa Salman Mezban Al-Thamiree

Other Faculty of Health Theses

The effect of phytoestrogens on breast and prostate cancer cell lines – potential implications for bone preferential metastasis to bone Safaa Salman Mezban AL-Thamiree Abstract Many epidemiological studies indicate that diets rich in phytoestrogens (PE), especially soy and grain products, may be associated with a lower risk of some steroid hormone-dependent cancers such as breast and prostate. In particular PE have been shown to reduce the incidence of skeletal metastasis which have a high degree of morbidity and mortality. However, the most effective combinations of PEs and the mechanism through which they may reduce bone metastasis remain unclear. Therefore, this …


Exploring The Sensitivity Of Mantle Cell Lymphoma To Inhibitors Of Bruton’S Tyrosine Kinase, Hannah Patricia Thompson Jan 2019

Exploring The Sensitivity Of Mantle Cell Lymphoma To Inhibitors Of Bruton’S Tyrosine Kinase, Hannah Patricia Thompson

Other Faculty of Health Theses

EXPLORING THE SENSITIVITY OF MANTLE CELL LYMPHOMA TO INHIBITORS OF BRUTON’S TYROSINE KINASE Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is an incurable B-cell lymphoma which responds poorly to conventional chemotherapy. Inhibitors of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTKi) have shown a significant clinical effect; despite this success however, approximately one third of MCL patients have primary resistance to the drug, and patients who initially respond to treatment frequently acquire secondary resistance with aggressive relapse of the disease. The purpose of this study was to understand how BTKi-resistance or sensitivity is mediated, aiming to identify new targets for therapy or predictive biomarkers of response. Combining …


Evaluating Digital Health Technologies To Advance Parkinson's Disease Care, Thea Dominey Jan 2019

Evaluating Digital Health Technologies To Advance Parkinson's Disease Care, Thea Dominey

Other Faculty of Health Theses

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common progressive neurological disorder characterised by a complex range of motor and non-motor symptoms (NMS). Current PD service provision does not meet the needs of patients, and puts pressure on services with limited capacity. Digital Health Technologies (DHTs), including body-worn sensors and portable devices, may provide advantages, by enabling continual and objective monitoring of symptoms, and facilitating patient self-management. I carried out a series of studies and evaluations of DHTs for use in PD, to evaluate their ability to identify and monitor symptoms in both a clinical and research context. These included: 1. The evaluation …


Role Of Cd47 In Red Cell Apoptosis (Eryptosis), Ibrahim Faisal Halawani Jan 2019

Role Of Cd47 In Red Cell Apoptosis (Eryptosis), Ibrahim Faisal Halawani

Other Faculty of Health Theses

CD47 is a 47-52 kDa membrane spanning glycoprotein, which has 5 known isoforms and is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily (IgSF). It possesses a large extracellular N-terminal IgV like domain. CD47 acts as a ‘do not eat me’ signal and consequently as a marker of self. Moreover, CD47 is reported to be upregulated in cancer cells allowing them to escape immune surveillance by binding to SIRP alpha on macrophages. The aims of this thesis were to evaluate and to confirm the presence of CD47 isoforms in erythroid and erythroleukemic cells, identify new CD47 binding proteins that may mediate the …


The Effect Of Visual Distraction On Memory For Words, Pictures And Complex Events, Pamela Rae Jan 2019

The Effect Of Visual Distraction On Memory For Words, Pictures And Complex Events, Pamela Rae

Other Faculty of Health Theses

This thesis aims to provide further understanding of how visual distraction disrupts retrieval from long-term memory. Eyewitness testimony research shows a fairly consistent picture: visual distraction (or its removal though eye-closure) decreases retrieval-accuracy of details embedded in an event. However, research on verbal memory suggest that distraction effects may be selective: Glenberg, Schroeder and Robertson’s (1998) widely cited study found distraction to impair recall of mid-list words from multiple word-lists but Rae’s (2011) single word-list studies found no such effect. The investigation thus began with a part-replication of Glenberg et al. with tighter control of materials including using Dynamic Visual …


The Perceived Effectiveness Of Brief Psychological Techniques For Acute Postoperative Pain, Alsanaani Tahani Jan 2019

The Perceived Effectiveness Of Brief Psychological Techniques For Acute Postoperative Pain, Alsanaani Tahani

Other Faculty of Health Theses

Postoperative pain is still a challenge and patients are still suffering from postoperative pain, despite the administration of multiple analgesic methods for treating pain. In a systematic review and meta-analysis I found that brief psychological interventions such as relaxation techniques including simple breathing exercises or guided imagery, and simple distraction techniques such as listening to music, or practicing a script of self-hypnosis may help those patients to cope better with their pain. Although quality of these studies was not always of the highest level, the findings synthesized from 30 randomised controlled trials indicated that brief psychological interventions did reduce postoperative …


The Development Of Nuclear Propulsion In The Royal Navy, 1946-1975, Gareth Michael Jones Jan 2019

The Development Of Nuclear Propulsion In The Royal Navy, 1946-1975, Gareth Michael Jones

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This thesis covers the development of nuclear propulsion in the Royal Navy from the first proposal in 1946 to the start-up of the last core improvement for the first submarine reactor power plant PWR 1 in December 1974. There are three topics: Political, what problems were encountered in transferring nuclear knowledge from the US in the post-war period and what support was there for the development of nuclear propulsion? Militarily, what was the requirement to develop nuclear propulsion and why submarines in particular? Technical, were the problems associated with nuclear energy fully appreciated, did the UK have the technical and …


Europeanization Of Foreign Aid: Managing Post-9/11 Fragile, Conflict-Affected States, James Frank Flint Jan 2019

Europeanization Of Foreign Aid: Managing Post-9/11 Fragile, Conflict-Affected States, James Frank Flint

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

Since the turn of the millennium fragile, conflict-affected states (FCAS) have grown to constitute a significant issue within European discourse. The spill-over of their ‘complex political emergencies’ is destabilising, as epitomised by the 9/11 attacks. Bush’s ‘war on terrorism’ speech-act during 9/11’s aftermath signified a juncture, and new historical epoch within International Relations. Within this epoch the EU was confronted by violent extremism/terrorism and irregular-migration flows. Nonetheless, fragile states risked being ‘aid orphans’. They can be unattractive to aid-donors due to the foreign aid dilemma whereby those states and peoples exhibiting the direst need of assistance are frequently the hardest …


Towards The Development Of Music As An Intervention For Insomnia Treatment: A Research Synthesis, Miriam Richter Jan 2019

Towards The Development Of Music As An Intervention For Insomnia Treatment: A Research Synthesis, Miriam Richter

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

Though research has been conducted with regards to music and sleep over the last two decades, there is still a significant uncertainty to its effectiveness due to the lack of scientific validation through objective testing and data analysis (Jespersen et al 2015). It has been proven that music can help in the management of physical pain and psychological conditions such as depression and anxiety, hence, music is already being implemented in medical treatments in the form of music therapy (Jespersen et al 2015). The literature review commences with a brief consideration of conventional treatment methods including pharmaceutical and talking therapy-based …


Comparative Assessment Of Measures To Tackle The Illegal Trade In Endangered Species, Melanie Berry Jan 2019

Comparative Assessment Of Measures To Tackle The Illegal Trade In Endangered Species, Melanie Berry

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This thesis is an assessment of measures to tackle the illegal trade in endangered species in Australia, South Africa and the UK. Utilising responses from Freedom of Information Act requests, it is shown that organisations have varying reactions when implementing domestic legislation relating to the illegal wildlife trade. Analysis extends to the offences contained within the domestic legislation; the requirements laid down in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, along with other legislation aids the combating of the illegal wildlife trade. It highlights both global and national issues and the importance of tackling the illegal wildlife trade. This …


Conduct Unbecoming An Officer And A Gentleman: Honour And Dishonour In The Court Martial Records Of The Marines Ashore, 1783-1793, Lee-Jane Giles Jan 2019

Conduct Unbecoming An Officer And A Gentleman: Honour And Dishonour In The Court Martial Records Of The Marines Ashore, 1783-1793, Lee-Jane Giles

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This dissertation is an examination of the Marine Corps during the late eighteenth century. The main focus of the research is upon the officer corps and specifically examines the connections of masculine interactions, through the use of the charge ‘conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman’, in constructing behaviour which was considered as either honourable or dishonourable. A focus on this type of behaviour, and more importantly on transgressions of ideal behaviour, within the brotherhood of the officer corps can demonstrate how male representations were linked to validation and group values. Previous Marine Corps historiography has tended to focus upon …


Challenging Robot Morality: An Ethical Debate On Humanoid Companions, Dataveillance, And Algorithms, Eugenia Stamboliev Jan 2019

Challenging Robot Morality: An Ethical Debate On Humanoid Companions, Dataveillance, And Algorithms, Eugenia Stamboliev

School of Art, Design and Architecture Theses

In this thesis, I reflect on ethical, moral, and agenthood debates around social and humanoid robots in two ways. I focus on how the technological agency of social robots is understood in ethical canons by shifting from moral concerns in Robot Ethics to data-related ethical concerns in Media and Surveillance Studies. I then move to wider debates on morality, agenthood, and agencies in Machine and Computer Ethics research, so as to highlight that social robots, other robots, machines, and algorithmic structures are often moralised but not understood ethically. In that vein, I distinguish between these two terms to point to …


The Impact Of Quality Management On The Thermal Performance Of Social Housing In The United Kingdom, João Paulo Ulrich De Alencastro Jan 2019

The Impact Of Quality Management On The Thermal Performance Of Social Housing In The United Kingdom, João Paulo Ulrich De Alencastro

School of Art, Design and Architecture Theses

In 2017, the domestic sector in the UK accounted for approximately 28% of final energy consumption, 63% of this energy was used for space heating. Therefore, to achieve the UK Government carbon emission targets it is pivotal to reduce the heating energy use in housing sector by upgrading the thermal performance of the existing housing stock and building new energy-efficient dwellings. In 2017, housing associations were responsible for providing 16% of the new dwellings in the UK housing sector to a part of British society encompassing 73% of the lowest household incomes (lowest and second lowest quintiles). Apart from the …


Life And Death In Icu: Nursing Care To Smooth Transitions For Patients And Family, Julie Benbenishty Jan 2019

Life And Death In Icu: Nursing Care To Smooth Transitions For Patients And Family, Julie Benbenishty

Other Faculty of Health Theses

Background Nurses are the clinicians closest to the patients in daily monitoring of processes and adaptations: assessing, intervening with treatments and evaluating the outcomes. Nurses evaluate all physiological abnormalities, emotional instabilities as well as spiritual requirements regarding religious beliefs, cultural rituals and family relationships. Aim This thesis examines the context, purpose, significance of life threatening and end-of- life situations in critical care and demonstrates the integral work of nurses in calming, organizing and making sense of intensive care unit life and death conditions. Program of work The body of work reported in this thesis comprises a collection of work resulting …


Discovering Biomarkers Of Alzheimer's Disease By Statistical Learning Approaches, Jintao Long Jan 2019

Discovering Biomarkers Of Alzheimer's Disease By Statistical Learning Approaches, Jintao Long

Other Faculty of Health Theses

In this work, statistical learning approaches are exploited to discover biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease (AD). The contributions has been made in the fields of both biomarker and software driven studies. Surprising discoveries were made in the field of blood-based biomarker search. With the inclusion of existing biological knowledge and a proposed novel feature selection method, several blood-based protein models were discovered to have promising ability to separate AD patients from healthy individuals. A new statistical pattern was discovered which can be potential new guideline for diagnosis methodology. In the field of brain-based biomarker, the positive contribution of covariates such as …


Effects Of Dietary Nitrate From Vegetables On Blood Pressure In Healthy Humans, Elizabeth Ashworth Jan 2019

Effects Of Dietary Nitrate From Vegetables On Blood Pressure In Healthy Humans, Elizabeth Ashworth

School of Health Professions Theses

Dietary nitrate is a naturally occurring component of vegetables and nitrate salts have been used for centuries as preservatives in processed meats. Up until recently, nitrate has been considered as a harmful contaminant. However, more recent research suggests that dietary nitrate supplements can reduce blood pressure (BP) and could be beneficial to cardiovascular health. This is important as 1 in 4 adults world-wide have hypertension, the largest single risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Three studies were conducted in order to assess the effects of dietary nitrate, obtained from vegetables, on BP in healthy humans. The first study evaluated the effect …


Leveraging Summary Statistics To Make Inferences About Complex Phenotypes In Large Biobanks, Angela Gasdaska, Derek Friend, Rachel Chen, Jason Westra, Matthew Zawistowski, William Lindsey, Nathan L. Tintle Jan 2019

Leveraging Summary Statistics To Make Inferences About Complex Phenotypes In Large Biobanks, Angela Gasdaska, Derek Friend, Rachel Chen, Jason Westra, Matthew Zawistowski, William Lindsey, Nathan L. Tintle

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

As genetic sequencing becomes less expensive and data sets linking genetic data and medical records (e.g., Biobanks) become larger and more common, issues of data privacy and computational challenges become more necessary to address in order to realize the benefits of these datasets. One possibility for alleviating these issues is through the use of already-computed summary statistics (e.g., slopes and standard errors from a regression model of a phenotype on a genotype). If groups share summary statistics from their analyses of biobanks, many of the privacy issues and computational challenges concerning the access of these data could be bypassed. In …


The Use Of The Personal Response System (Prs) At King Khalid University For Learning Development, Bandar Alzahrani Jan 2019

The Use Of The Personal Response System (Prs) At King Khalid University For Learning Development, Bandar Alzahrani

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This study will evaluate the use of the Personal Response System (PRS) to increase interactivity in the classroom and change the form of learning from transmissive to constructive learning in Saudi Higher Education. PRS is a technology to enable students in the educational environment to answer questions individually or group and anonymously to the lecturer’s questions. In this study, Activity Theory (AT) has been applied to explore how PRS has changed learning and increases interactivity. The constructionist paradigm has been adopted to create a deep understanding of the use of PRS. The case study methodology was employed in this study. …


A Critical Analysis Of Harms Experienced By Transgender Individuals, Katie Mcbride Jan 2019

A Critical Analysis Of Harms Experienced By Transgender Individuals, Katie Mcbride

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This study critically analyses trans people’s lived experiences of harm in relation to the wider socio-political economic neo-liberal environment. Through ethnographic interviewing methods that produced thick-data from 11 trans individuals, identifying variously within the broad umbrella term of ‘trans’, the data presented has been drawn from multiple interviews and subsequent discussions which were supplemented by life-timelines, personal missives and photographic images obtained through a participative Point of View visual methods approach. Through consideration of the limited capacity of the hate crime agenda to suitably acknowledge the significance of wider everyday harms that characterise trans individuals lived experiences; this thesis adopts …


Boy Work. From Education To Employment In England And Wales, 1901-1930, David Graham Goode Jan 2019

Boy Work. From Education To Employment In England And Wales, 1901-1930, David Graham Goode

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This thesis follows the route British boys (aged 12-19) took from education to employment between 1901 and 1930. A period of increasing concern about issues affecting the entry of youths into work; by the start of the 1930s, this study argues, there was a distinctive change in the lives of British adolescents as employment prospects weakened. The attitudes of contemporary policy makers and social reformers are considered, and the important themes of crime, leisure and physical wellbeing are interrogated. Two contrasting regions, the largely agricultural county of Devon and industrialised, urban Birmingham provide comparative case studies on reform and implementation …


The Role Of Mesenchymal Cells In The Regeneration Of Salivary Gland Tissue, Jonathan Paul Davies Jan 2019

The Role Of Mesenchymal Cells In The Regeneration Of Salivary Gland Tissue, Jonathan Paul Davies

Peninsula Dental School Theses

Primary Sjogren’s Syndrome (PSS) patients will suffer a variable degree of damage to their salivary glands, caused by lesions of immune infiltrates into the tissue surrounding duct structures. Some patients present with extensive lesions that destroy any residual secretory acinar tissue, leading to hyposalivation. This damage, and reduced salivation, can lead to deleterious effects on the oral health, such as increased risk of caries and periodontitis, and will impact the general quality of life of the patients and can increase their risk of developing other, more serious conditions. Previously, there has been limited knowledge and characterisation of how different cell …


Student Voices And Student Choices: Narrative Accounts Of Differentiated Higher Education Experiences Of First In Family He Students, Philip Brown Jan 2019

Student Voices And Student Choices: Narrative Accounts Of Differentiated Higher Education Experiences Of First In Family He Students, Philip Brown

Plymouth Institute of Education Theses

This thesis considers the HE choices and experiences of First in Family (FiF) HE students studying in a Sixth Form College (SFC), a FE College (FEC), and a small ‘teaching-intensive’ university. Using Bourdieusian sociological analysis it explored the complex influences upon students’ HE choices and the impact of the institutional environment upon student experiences. The implications of the study are considered in terms of policy and practice for students, institutions, and government. Neoliberalism and social inclusion policies have created a complex, competitive, and fragmented field of HE providers and qualifications. In exploring this field, previous research has predominantly used social …


Client Assistance Programs And Protection And Advocacy Services, Charlene J. Blankenship, Roy K. Chen, Cynthia A. Serrata Jan 2019

Client Assistance Programs And Protection And Advocacy Services, Charlene J. Blankenship, Roy K. Chen, Cynthia A. Serrata

School of Rehabilitation Services & Counseling Faculty Publications

Client Assistance Programs and Protection and Advocacy Services comprise the nationwide network of congressionally mandated, legally based disability rights agencies. Both of these programs and services were mandated as a response to the need for protection of the rights of persons with disabilities. The authors will discuss both of these programs and the services they offer. Implications will also be addressed.