cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Characterisation of the Immuno-Metabolic Interface in Porcine Models of Nutritional Intervention
Creators: name: Merrifield, Claire Alexandra
Publisher: name: Imperial College London
Year: 2010

description: There is increasing interest in the idea of using diet for health maintenance. Not only does dietary intake determine the availability of substrates for host metabolism, but it can also shape the composition of the intestinal microbiota, increasingly recognised as an ‘organ’ in its own right, which closely interacts with the mucosal immune system. Alterations in the mammalian-microbial-metabolic axis are associated with disease development and as such it is important to study the systemic consequences of dietary intervention on these interactions in an appropriate animal model such as the pig. The majority of the abundant metabolites present in porcine liver, kidney, serum and urine were assigned by one and two dimensional Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and qualitatively compared; inter-compartmental differences in relation to mammalian-microbial co-metabolic representation were identified in the pig, and the applicability of NMR-based urinalysis to interrogate mammalian-microbial co-metabolism in this species confirmed. The initial weaning diet of pigs was found to initiate sustainable metabolic reprogramming in the young pig, leading to a persistent urinary metabolic signature after four weeks; this signature included metabolites linked to microbial metabolic processes and could indicate a diet-induced microbial reprogramming event at weaning. Differences in the initial weaning diet were also found to impact the metabolic and immunologic consequences of Bifidobacterium lactis supplementation on the young pig. The urinary metabolic profile from these animals was significantly correlated with patterns of intestinal mucosal immunoglobulin secretion and thus indicates the potential utility of biofluid-based metabolic profiling to assess mucosal responses to dietary intervention.
An Outer-Product-of-Gradient Approach to Dimension Reduction and Its Application to Classification in High Dimensional Space
Creators: name: Cai, Zhibo
name: Xia, Yingcun
name: Hang, Weiqiang
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2021
Subjects: subject: Space Science
subject: Medicine
subject: Cell Biology
subject: Genetics
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Pharmacology
subject: Ecology
subject: 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: 80699 Information Systems not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences
subject: 19999 Mathematical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: Cancer

description: Sufficient dimension reduction (SDR) has progressed steadily since Li (1991). However, its ability to improve general function estimation or classification has not been well received, especially for high-dimensional data. In this paper, we first devise a local linear smoother for high dimensional nonparametric regression and then utilise it in the outer-product-of-gradient (OPG) approach of SDR. We call the method high-dimensional OPG (HOPG). To apply SDR to classification in high-dimensional data, we propose an ensemble classifier by aggregating results of classifiers that are built on subspaces reduced by the random projection (Bingham and Mannila, 2001) and HOPG consecutively from the data. Asymptotic results for both HOPG and the classifier are established. Superior performance over the existing methods is demonstrated in simulations and real data analyses.
Targeting FOXO3a and Sirtuins in breast cancer
Creators: name: Peck, Barrie
Publisher: name: Imperial College London
Year: 2011

description: SIRT proteins play an important role in the survival and drug resistance of tumour cells, especially during chemotherapy. In this study, we investigated the potency, specificity and cellular targets of three recently identified SIRT inhibitors, Sirtinol, Salermide and EX527. Our results identify the specificity and cellular targets of these novel inhibitors, and suggest that SIRT inhibitors require combined targeting of both SIRT1 and SIRT2 to induce p53 acetylation and cell death in breast cancer cells. Assessing the role of sirtuins in chemoresistance, cisplatin resistant cell lines were developed and characterized. Cisplatin resistant cells (CisR) were found to have higher levels of SIRT1, repressing the activation of FOXO3a. MCF-7 cells overexpressing SIRT1 were also shown to be protected against cisplatin treatment, highlighting its role in resistance. Sirtuins have many cellular targets, including alpha-tubulin, PARP, ku70 and FOXO3a. Because of the similarities between the regulation of p53 and FOXO3a, we decided to elucidate the effect of sirtinol treatment on FOXO3a. Sirtinol treatment was shown to stabilize FOXO3a, similar to its effect on p53, but at lower concentrations. We have shown previously that FOXO3a is an important downstream mediator of the cytotoxicity of receptor tyrosine kinase targeted therapies. To examine the conjecture whether sirtuin inhibitors could increase the proapoptotic potency of lapatinib through stabilization of FOXO3a, lapatinib was treated alone and in combination with sirtinol and EX527. Sirtinol was found to synergise with lapatinib treatment (in cells containing mutant p53) and this was dependent on the presence of FOXO proteins, highlighting the use of sirtuin inhibitors in increasing the efficacy of therapies that indirectly target FOXO3a.
Understanding and quantifying uncertainty due to multiple biases in meta-analyses of observational studies
Creators: name: Mak, Timothy Shin Heng
Publisher: name: Imperial College London
Year: 2013

description: There has been considerable interest recently in quantifying uncertainty beyond that due to random error in meta-analyses. This is particularly relevant to meta-analyses of observational studies, since error in estimates from these studies cannot be attributed to a randomization mechanism. Typically, observational studies are also subject to error due to measurement error, non-participation, and incomplete adjustment for confounding. Errors due to these sources are often referred to as bias. To quantify uncertainty due to bias, researchers have proposed using "bias models" and giving subjectively elicited probability distributions to parameters that are not identifiable in the models. In a typical meta-analysis, probability distributions involving tens of parameters will have to be elicited. At the same time, the resulting estimate and uncertainty interval of the overall (meta-analytic) effect measure will generally be very sensitive to this multi-dimensional subjectively-elicited distribution. To overcome some of the problems associated with the use of such a distribution, I propose an alternative method for eliciting and quantifying uncertainty due to bias. In the method of this thesis, the lower and upper bounds of bias parameters are elicited instead of probability distributions. The most extreme Bayesian posterior inference for the target parameter of interest within the specified bounds is sought through an algorithm. The resulting lower and upper bounds for the target parameter of interest have interpretation of a Robust Bayes analysis. In this thesis, the method is applied to a meta-analysis of childhood leukaemia and exposure to electromagnetic fields. The method of this thesis was found to produce uncertainty intervals that are generally more conservative in comparison with the standard approach. It is also proposed that the method be used as a tool for sensitivity analysis, and some interesting insight is gained from the childhood leukaemia data. [For supplementary files please contact author].
The role of Arkadia2C and the BMP signalling pathway in motor neuron development
Creators: name: Kelly, Claire Elizabeth
Publisher: name: Imperial College London
Year: 2011

description: Motor neurons elongate axons over great distances during development, with some extending from the spinal cord to the distal limb, but little is known about extracellular signals that control this growth. The TGF-β superfamily includes two major classes of ligands: Nodallike and BMP. BMP signalling is essential for neuromuscular synaptic growth and plasticity in Drosophila; however, a similar role for the pathway in mammalian motor neurons has not been described. It has previously been shown that the E3-RING ubiquitin ligase Arkadia enhances signalling through the Nodal branch of TGF-β signalling. A second Arkadia locus was previously found to contain two isoforms; the C-terminal isoform (Arkadia2C) contains domains critical for Arkadia’s activity. This project addresses the in vivo function of Arkadia2C in mice. Arkadia2C was found to be expressed specifically in the nervous system throughout embryonic development and adulthood. In a neuronal context Arkadia2C enhances signalling through the Smad1/5/8 branch of the TGF-β pathway in a RING domain-dependent manner. Mice null for Arkadia2C display motor neuron disease-like symptoms including weak motor control and difficulties breathing and eating, leading to postnatal mortality in the majority of mice. A subset of Arkadia2C null embryonic innervation defects was analysed; the majority of the motor axons of the dorsal forelimb fail to form synapses with their target muscles while the phrenic nerve exhibits shorter terminal branches. Postnatally, a failure to maintain neuromuscular junctions was observed leading to atrophy of several muscles. Active BMP signalling was observed in the neurons that innervate the limb and diaphragm and genetic reduction of BMP signalling in asymptomatic Arkadia2C heterozygous mice caused the appearance of the same muscle innervation defects observed in the null individuals. Together, these findings suggest that Arkadia2C’s enhancement of the BMP signalling pathway is critical for the growth and connectivity of certain motor neurons.
title: Die symptomatische Lymphozele nach offener und robotisch-assistierter Prostatektomie: Eine Risiko-Analyse
Creators: name: Magistro, G.
name: Stief, C. G.
Publisher: name: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: 610 Medical sciences; Medicine

description: Einleitung: Im vorliegenden Projekt werden die Prävalenz und Prädiktoren für eine symptomatische Lymphozele nach offener retropubischer radikaler Prostatektomie (RRP) und nach robotisch-assistierter radikaler Prostatektomie (RARP) untersucht. Methoden: In dieser prospektiven, monozentrischen[zum vollständigen Text gelangen Sie über die oben angegebene URL]
description: 46. Gemeinsame Tagung der Bayerischen Urologenvereinigung und der Österreichischen Gesellschaft für Urologie und Andrologie
Joint Spectral Theory Using Clifford Algebra
Creators: name: SANGEETA JHANJEE
Publisher: name: Monash University
Year: 2017
Subjects: subject: 10108 Operator Algebras and Functional Analysis
subject: FOS: Mathematics

description: Spectral theory is the study of eigenvalues and eigenvectors of operators or matrices on Hilbert spaces. If we study more than one operator, then the spectrum is generalized to the joint spectrum. Various spectra have been defined by different authors for a collection of operators. Pryde and McIntosh introduced a new operator named Clifford operator and a spectral set associated with a collection of operators to study its joint spectra. We further explored the joint spectrum and proved interesting perturbation results and inequalities using the Clifford operator.
U. S. Castorbean and Oil Production Increases Again
Creators: name: Kromer, George W.
name: Kromer, George W.
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 1963
Subjects: Crop Production/Industries
Demand and Price Analysis
International Relations/Trade
Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies

description: U. S. supplies of castor oil are provided chiefly through imports from Brazil and India. U. S. production of castor oil has increased slowly to an estimated 16 million pounds in 1962 but this is still only 12 percent of total annual requirements. Domestic disappearance of castor oil has remained relatively stable since the mid-1950's, averaging about 130 million pounds annually. Paints, varnishes, resins, and plastics account for roughly three-fifths of total disappearance. The outlook for castorbean production in the United States is favorable for a continuation of its slow rate of growth. Increased efficiencies in production are helping to improve the U. S. competitive position with foreign sources.
description: Reprinted from the Fats and Oils Situation, FOS-217, March 1963, by the Economic and Statistical Analysis Division, Economic Research Service.
Do miRNAs play a role in androgen-induced phenotypic expression in prostate epithelial cells?
Creators: name: Segal, Corrinne Victoria
Publisher: name: Imperial College London
Year: 2012

description: Activation of the androgen receptor (AR) results in a phenotypic change in androgen-responsive cells; for example, in the human prostate carcinoma cell line LNCaP, androgens mediate proliferation. MicroRNAs (miRNA) are a class of short non-coding RNA that act as post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression; their role in the androgenic phenotype is yet to be fully explored. In the present study, I examined the hypothesis that androgen-mediated effects on gene expression and cellular proliferation are in part mediated through miRNAs. Therefore, exposure to a synthetic AR agonist (mibolerone), a physiological AR agonist (dihydrotestosterone) and a therapeutic AR antagonist (bicalutamide) was studied in LNCaP at four, eight, 24 and 120 hours. The cellular response to these compounds was assessed in terms of proliferation, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) expression and alteration of the miRNA profile. Microarray analysis revealed that a number of miRNAs were altered in a compound-specific and temporal manner. Of note, androgen-induced proliferation and PSA secretion were associated with repression of miR-221 and induction of miR-210. In silico methods identified putative targets of miR-221, such as the transcription factor IRX5. Immunoblotting and a luciferase reporter construct provided preliminary evidence that IRX5 is indeed a novel target of miR-221. Down-regulation of IRX5 is anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic therefore androgen-mediated repression of miR-221 may contribute to growth. miR-210, a hypoxia-inducible miRNA, was induced under androgenic stimuli with concomitant repression of the Myc-inhibitor Mnt. Efforts were made to elucidate the mechanism of miR-210 induction outside the context of classical HIF1 activation, but further research is required. miR-720 had the highest expression of any individual miRNA in LNCaP cells. DNMT3A was identified as a potential target implicating miR-720 in androgen insensitivity. However, analysis of androgen-insensitive cell lines did not reveal differential expression and its role in prostate epithelial biology remains to be discovered. In summary, the research confirms the hypothesis that androgens can mediate phenotypic change through mechanisms that include miRNA-mediated responses. The data offers insights into androgen-induced processes and identifies new avenues for future research. [For supplementary files please contact author].
Call to action! Wie die Digitalisierung das Marketing verändert
Creators: name: Dalla Vecchia, Martina
Publisher: name: Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz FHNW
Year: 2018
Subjects: subject: 330 - Wirtschaft

description: Die vielen neuen Möglichkeiten der Digitalisierung können zu Verwirrung führen, bieten aber auch große Chancen! Auf welche Herausforderungen müssen sich Unternehmen gefasst machen, welche Trends müssen sie im Blick behalten und wie wird sich das Marketing auf lange Sicht verändern? In der Veranstaltung „Call to Action! Wie die Digitalisierung das Marketing verändert“ zeigen wir Möglichkeiten und Lösungen auf, die der digitale Raum speziell mittelständischen Unternehmen bietet.
Ipsos/Knight Foundation Survey: Free Expression in America Post-2020
Creators: name: S., John
Publisher: name: Roper Center for Public Opinion Research
Year: 2022

description: Importance of rights/freedoms (12); First Amendment (9); rights threatened or secure (11); easy or difficult for different groups to use free speech rights (24); prohibited speech (35); reactions to type of speech (6); feelings on speech and ideology (14); actions taken by colleges on speech and ideology (3); hate speech (1); comfort with discussions (3); importance of different qualities to democracy (13); conflicts with free speech rights (4); speech and activities on college campuses (16); speech on social media (18); legitimate examples of people expressing First Amendment rights (7); actions depriving people of right to free expression (6); comparison across generations (2); activities in last year (4); social media experiences (7); (feeling uncomfortable or unsafe (9); social media (6); trust in authorities (6); methods of getting news (7); how closely you follow news topics (4).
Measuring a critical stress for continuous prevention of marine biofouling accumulation with aeration
Creators: name: Menesses, Mark
name: Belden, Jesse
name: Dickenson, Natasha
name: Bird, James
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2017
Subjects: subject: Medicine
subject: Cell Biology
subject: Biotechnology
subject: 59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Earth and related environmental sciences
subject: Science Policy
subject: 111714 Mental Health
subject: FOS: Health sciences
subject: 110309 Infectious Diseases

description: When cleaning the hull of a ship, significant shear stresses are needed to remove established biofouling organisms. Given that there exists a link between the amount of time that fouling accumulates and the stress required to remove it, it is not surprising that more frequent grooming requires less shear stress. Yet, it is unclear if there is a minimum stress needed to prevent the growth of macrofouling in the limit of continuous grooming. This manuscript shows that single bubble stream aeration provides continuous grooming and prevents biofouling accumulation in regions where the average wall stress exceeds ~0.01 Pa. This value was found by comparing observations of biofouling growth from field studies with complementary laboratory measurements that probe the associated flow fields. These results suggest that aeration and other continuous grooming systems must exceed a wall stress of 0.01 Pa to prevent macrofouling accumulation.
Neuroergonomic assessment of the robotic enhancement of surgery
Creators: name: James, David Roland Christopher
Publisher: name: Imperial College London
Year: 2012

description: Advances in surgery have led to marked improvements in patient care, in particular, indexed by minimally invasive surgery (MIS). With the assistance of technology, progressively more complex procedures are undertaken with the aim of diminishing the impact of surgery on the patient. However, this increases demands placed on the surgeon in terms of technical ability. Surgical robotics may overcome this by enhancing surgeon capability through a variety of means. However, it is imperative that novel equipment is scrutinised not only for its performance effects but as to its impact on the user. This is to ensure that not all a surgeon’s resources are devoted to using a new instrument rendering them unable to focus on other aspects of surgery such as dealing with unexpected events e.g. bleeding. Neuroergonomics encompasses the study of the brain and behaviour at work and entails appreciating the cortical correlates of work-related tasks in order to understand both task demands and how the work environment may be modulated to facilitate performance. This paradigm has been applied to safety critical industry such as aviation and air traffic control, and is wholly applicable to surgery especially as the increasing demands placed on surgeons may be more cognitive in nature and as such not be as readily detected with conventional ergonomic tools. This purpose of this thesis is to apply neuroergonomic principles to evaluate brain behaviour associated with complex surgical tasks and how this may be modulated by assistive technology. Using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), the cortical substrate for undertaking a complicated navigational task, of the nature likely to benefit from robotic enhancement, is assessed. This establishes firstly, a reliance on cortical regions involved in visuospatial working memory; and secondly demonstrates that experts elicited greater cortical activity than novices. Subsequently, assistive technology known to enhance performance is assessed as to its impact on prefrontal cortical (PFC) activity. A randomised controlled trial across six sessions is then undertaken with the aim of appraising how this technology may affect the learning process in terms of frontoparietal cortical activity. Brain behaviour is assessed in terms of activity and network behaviour determined using graph theory. Finally, a novel tool for aiding collaborative surgery is investigated demonstrating a modulation of search strategy and underlying cortical activity affording subsequent performance improvement. This work sheds light on the neurocognitive aspects of undertaking surgical tasks and how this information can be applied within the paradigm of neuroergonomics to evaluate and assess novel instrumentation in surgery.
The Role of Acute Care Managers in Quality of Care and Patient Safety
Creators: name: Parand, Anam
Publisher: name: Imperial College London
Year: 2013

description: Healthcare managers have a responsibility for the standard of their services and patient care delivered. Their work is thought to be essential in achieving and improving high quality care and patient safety. However, little is empirically known about their role in this. This thesis investigates acute care managerial work and impact in the context of quality of care and patient safety. It draws upon power and work-activity group theories and literature from other industries to guide investigation and elucidate findings. The introductory Chapters (Chapters 1-3) provide the background context of quality of care and patient safety, relevant management theory, and literature on the role of acute care managers in quality and safety. A systematic literature review in Chapter 4 illustrates a case for empirical research on this topic and suggests areas for further investigation. Chapters 5 and 6 report a case study investigation of the senior manager’s dimensions of involvement in a quality and safety improvement collaborative. These Chapters present self-reports of 17 Chief Executive Officers and 18 Medical Directors across 20 NHS hospitals on their actions and contributions to the UK Safer Patients Initiative (SPI). From this, a model of five principle dimensions of involvement emerged. Corroborating this model, Chapter 7 reports the staff perspective of their senior managements’ role in SPI, comprising interviews with 36 staff also involved in the SPI programme across the 20 hospitals. To explore the work of the acute care middle manager in quality and patient safety, 36 interviews with general managers, service and divisional managers across two NHS Trusts and two specialities reveal their relevant training/learning, demands, choices and constraints (Chapter 8). This informed two follow up surveys that further quantified the interview findings and explored theoretical power and role constructs. The first survey presents the views of 100 middle managers from 10 NHS Trusts on their quality and safety-related time, learning, activities, power and impact (Chapter 9). The second survey reports 60 clinical staff views on the same items, illustrating some divergence on critical constructs (Chapter 10). The thesis closes with a final Chapter (Chapter 11) comprising a summary of the key findings per Chapter and the overarching themes from the thesis. Methodological limitations/strengths, wider implications for managers and policy makers, and future research are considered. The Chapter ends with concluding remarks on the critical work performed by acute care managers across organisational levels for the daily preservation of quality and patient safety and its improvement.
title: Decadal-Scale Changes in Drought-Related Climate Parameters: Assessing the Consistency of Global Climate Models in Projecting Changes in the Northern Great Plains
Creators: name: Colón-Burgos, Delián
Publisher: name: University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)
Year: 2021

description: A warming climate is expected to increase the risk of extreme drought events in ecosystems with a high climate variability, like the Northern Great Plains (NGP). We examined decadal-scale projections in drought-related climate metrics for the NGP, in the early-to-mid 21st century period. First, we compared decadal-scale changes between observations (based on gridMET) and the mean of 40 downscaled-GCM projections (MACAv2-METDATA) for four climate variables (potential evapotranspiration, precipitation, temperature and water deficit) to assess how the long-term trend based on ensemble mean compares to observations. Our results show large differences in the calculated linear trends between observed and projected for all variables - both annually and seasonally - except for Fall. The dry decade of the 1980s strongly affects the magnitude of linear trends in the observations. Next, we examined projections from four individual models that span the uncertainty in future projections to assess decadal-scale changes across different climate scenarios and to get a better assessment of decadal variability. We find that the decadal-scale variability plays a very significant role in influencing long-term climate trends in the Northern Plains region, and scenarios-based analyses help us to assess decadal-scale changes by providing the assessment of both decadal-scale variability and climate change. Overall, our results point to an increasing trend in water-deficit (i.e., greater drought stress) in the coming decades, particularly during summer, despite increases in the annual precipitation.
Three new kavalactone dimers from Piper methysticum (kava)
Creators: name: Yuan, Yao
name: Yang, Jian-Xiang
name: Nie, Ling-Hui
name: Li, Bai-Lin
name: Xu-Bing Qin
name: Wu, Jie-Wei
name: Qiu, Sheng-Xiang
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2017
Subjects: subject: Biophysics
subject: Biochemistry
subject: Cell Biology
subject: Pharmacology
subject: 59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Earth and related environmental sciences
subject: 39999 Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Chemical sciences
subject: 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Biological sciences

description: Three new dimeric kavalactones, designated as diyangonins A–C (1–3), along with two known analogs were isolated from the roots of Piper methysticum. Their structures were elucidated by means of extensive analysis of their 1D, 2D NMR, and mass spectroscopic data. All these dimers possess a skeleton featuring a cyclobutane ring connecting two kavalactone units in head-to-tail or head-to-head mode. Compounds 1–5 were evaluated for their cytotoxic activities against human tumor cell lines.
The influence of miRNAs on variation of gene expression during T-cell development
Creators: name: Blevins, Rory
Publisher: name: Imperial College London
Year: 2012

description: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs which regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally, by binding to specific mRNAs. It has been suggested that miRNAs have a role in "canalising" development and reducing variability in gene expression. Using conditional deletions of the miRNA biogenesis enzyme Dicer in mice, I investigated the effect of miRNA depletion on gene expression during T-cell development. I used flow cytometry to obtain the distribution of proteins on a single cell basis. Proteins encoded by miRNA-regulated transcripts showed a Dicer-dependent increase in both mean protein expression and cell-cell variation. In particular, the genes Sca-1 and Cd44 show increased expression and cell-cell variation in Dicer-deleted double positive thymocytes, and Cd69 showed increased expression and cell-cell variation in Dicer-deleted thymocytes activated by stimulation of the T-cell receptor. Using fluorescent reporter constructs, the effect of the 3’ UTR of each mRNA on reporter expression was investigated to find miRNA binding sites. I identified binding sites for the miR-181, miR-130 and miR-20 miRNA families in the Cd69 3’ untranslated region (UTR). To further investigate how these miRNAs might regulate the expression of Cd69, I investigated how expression of miRNAs changed on T-cell activation: observing that the miR-181 family is downregulated after activation in thymocytes, and the miR-20 family is upregulated after activation in both thymocytes and mature peripheral T-cells. I used both miRNA inhibitors and deletion of specific miRNA families to confirm that the miR-181 and miR-20 families both regulate expression of Cd69 during thymocyte activation. Finally, I looked at theoretical models of how miRNAs might regulate biological noise, and found that the feedforward loop motif can reduce noise compared to an unregulated gene under conditions of moderate miRNA repression. These results show that depletion of miRNAs can result in increased cell-cell variation in developmentally regulated thymocyte genes.
Carotid Ultrasound for Stroke Prediction
Creators: name: Thapar, Ankur
Publisher: name: Imperial College London
Year: 2012

description: Introduction: The aims of this thesis were to identify if carotid endarterectomy was cost-effective and affordable in the United Kingdom and secondly to explore the potential of contrast enhanced ultrasound and plaque texture analysis for risk stratification in asymptomatic patients with carotid atherosclerosis. Methods: A cost-utility analysis based on results from the Asymptomatic Carotid Surgery Trial was performed using a Markov transition state model. Three cross-sectional studies of symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals with 50-99% carotid stenosis were performed for late phase and dynamic phase contrast enhanced ultrasound, followed by plaque texture analysis. Results: There was a high probability of surgical endarterectomy lying under the £20-30, 000 per quality adjusted life year National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence acceptability threshold in the United Kingdom. In men under 75 years of age, the cost per quality adjusted life year gained was lower and in women there was improved effectiveness with reduced long-term costs. Late phase contrast enhanced ultrasound imaging of carotid atherosclerosis suffered from a tissue suppression artefact which limited its ability to image microbubble retention. Quantification of plaque perfusion using low mechanical index imaging demonstrated a pseudoenhancement phenomenon from non-linear propagation, which artificially increased far wall intensity, again limiting its use for quantification of plaque perfusion. Semi-quantitative grading of plaque perfusion revealed no significant difference in generalised plaque perfusion between symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals, however detection of ulceration using dynamic contrast enhanced ultrasound showed a trend towards an association with symptomatic status. Type II plaque showed a significant independent association with symptomatic status. Conclusion: Carotid endarterectomy is likely to be cost-effective in those under 75 years of age, particularly women. However, without further selection, the upfront costs and high number needed to treat with endarterectomy limit its potential as a large scale strategy. Improvements in non-linear pulse sequencing are required before quantitative contrast enhanced ultrasound can reliably be used for functional imaging of carotid atherosclerosis. Qualitative assessment of plaque perfusion is unlikely to gain widespread use due to its high subjectivity. However assessment of plaque type and to a lesser extent imaging of ulceration using contrast enhanced ultrasound are promising and reproducible imaging biomarkers for further study. Validation of these markers with histology and then prospective study of individuals with these plaque phenotypes is proposed. In the future individuals with a recent transient ischaemic attack and moderate (50-69%) stenosis may prove to be an ideal group for risk stratification.
Führung anders machen und dabei erfolgreich sein
Creators: name: Sigrist, Daniel
Publisher: name: Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz FHNW
Year: 2015
Subjects: Werteorientierte Führung
andere Art der Führung
Lerngeschichte
Lernprozess
Modell der Lernbarkeit
Selbstreflexion

description: Zusammenfassung Aufgrund grosser Veränderungen in der Gesellschaft und der Arbeitswelt (Stichworte: Wertewandel, Entgrenzung von Arbeit) sind Führungskräfte und Organisationen im Verlaufe der letzten Jahre mit neuen Herausforderungen konfrontiert worden. Daher wächst die Nachfrage nach einer neuen Art von Führung, um zum Beispiel durch das Geben von mehr Vertrauen mit der zunehmenden Komplexität umzugehen. In der Führungsforschung werden aktuell verschiedene neue Konzepte diskutiert, so zum Beispiel das der werteorientierten Führung. Allerdings fehlen Erkenntnisse darüber, wie diese neue Art der Führung in der Praxis erlernt werden könnte. Mit der Forschungsfrage, wie sich die Lernbarkeit von werteorientierter Führung gestaltet, zielt die vorliegende Arbeit daher darauf, ein erstes Modell der Lernbarkeit zu entwickeln. Die Untersuchung der Lernbarkeit konzentriert sich dabei auf die individuelle Ebene und organisationales Lernen wird nicht untersucht. Es wurden sieben Interviews mit werteorientierten Führungskräften durchgeführt, um die individuellen Lerngeschichten zu untersuchen und Schlussfolgerungen für die Entwicklung eines ersten Modells abzuleiten. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass entsprechende Lernprozesse nicht nur in einem theoretischen Umfeld angelegt werden sollten, sondern sich auf konkrete Erfahrungen und Handlungen sowie den Austausch mit anderen konzentrieren sollten. Darüber hinaus stellt die Selbstreflexion einen wesentlichen Bestandteil dar und intrinsische Motivation dürfte eine wichtige Voraussetzung für das Lernen von werteorientierter Führung sein. Persönliche Krisen oder tiefgreifende Erfahrungen scheinen dabei mögliche Einstiegspunkte in einen entsprechenden Lernprozess darzustellen. Somit scheint es nicht vollständig möglich, einen solchen Lernprozess von aussen zu steuern, sondern Professionals (z.B. Coachs, Berater) können vermutlich höchstens Einladungen zur Auseinandersetzung mit dem eigenen Wertegerüst aussprechen und bei gewecktem Interesse Reflexionsangebote begleiten.
Understanding, measuring and improving clinical decision-making in urological cancer multidisciplinary team meetings
Creators: name: Lamb, Benjamin Wilfrid
Publisher: name: Imperial College London
Year: 2012

description: Cancer care in many countries is delivered by healthcare professionals working together as multidisciplinary teams (MDTs). In the UK the delivery of care by MDTs is mandatory. The aims of the research reported here were to investigate the factors that affect the quality of clinical decision-making in MDT meetings, to develop and evaluate tools to measure this process, and to use these tools to evaluate interventions designed to improve the quality of such decisions. The introduction presents an overview of the evidence for clinical decision-making in MDT meetings, before Chapter 2 provides a critical appraisal of existing evidence, focussing on specific factors that affect decision-making by MDTs. My first empirical Chapters have explored the attitudes and experiences of MDT members and patients. Chapters 3 and 4 present analyses of national survey data that explore the views of MDT members from different professional groups across a range of tumour types. Chapters 5 and 6 present data from in-depth exploration of the views of urology MDT members and cancer patients respectively. Chapters 8 and 9 present data from studies that develop and cross-validate an observational tool for the assessment of decision-making in MDT meetings (MDT-MODe). I have used this tool in Chapter 10 to assess the relationship between organisational factors, information use, teamworking and decision-making in urology MDT meetings. Having built up a picture of the factors that are important for good decision-making, Chapter 11 reports a study that uses MDT-MODe to evaluate a multistage intervention to improve the quality of decision-making in urological MDT meetings. Finally, my general discussion reflects on the findings and the wider evidence base, explores the limitations and presents implications of my work for clinical practice, patient care, future research and policy.
Ensuring sustainable development for the German water sector: setting the stage for the risk-based sustainability management system (RSS)
Creators: name: Geyler, Stefan
name: Kerber, Heide
name: Lux, Alexandra
name: Hedrich, Malte
name: Beck, Jessica
name: Möller, Kay
name: Gevitha Selvakumar
name: Eller, Michael
name: Tocha, Christina
name: Sonnenburg, Alexander
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2017
Subjects: subject: Space Science
subject: Medicine
subject: 59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Earth and related environmental sciences
subject: Ecology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Sociology
subject: FOS: Sociology
subject: 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: Science Policy

description: The service provision of drinking water and the disposal of waste water are severely challenged by changing framework conditions. Although service providers necessitate systematic information regarding sustainability risks, no available management tool accounts for them comprehensively. In the context of the project NaCoSi ‘Ensuring Sustainability for Urban Water Systems’, a risk-based sustainability management system (RSS) was developed. This paper aims to introduce RSS and to discuss its contribution towards companies’ viability and transformation in the water sector. The paper describes the comprehensive self-screening approach of RSS, which is based on a causal-chain concept and comprises steps of risk analysis, monitoring and mitigation. Results of the testing phase suggest the validity of risk analysis and its effectiveness in deriving measures. Thus, RSS can help to improve the ability of service providers by analysing challenges and communicating them.
Designing Rooms for Virtual, Informal Communication: Reciprocal Awareness as a Central Criterion
Creators: name: Flepp, Corsin
Publisher: name: Springer
Year: 2017
Subjects: Digitization
Informal communication
Participatory design
Qualitative experiment
Reciprocal awareness
Decentralized communication
Decentralized cooperation
Virtual communication
Computer-mediated communication
Digitalisierung
Virtuelle Kommunikation
Informelle Kommunikation

description: The trend towards decentralized collaboration in companies leads to challenges for informal communication because spatial proximity is missing. This is a problem since informal communication is considered to be key for successful collaboration. Telepresence systems, which connect distant places, are potential solutions. However, little is known about which conditions are beneficial and which ones detrimental to informal communication. In this qualitative study, conditions which further informal communication, were examined in different virtual café settings. A method was developed which combined participatory design with a qualitative experiment. In the Usability Lab of the University of Arts and Sciences Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW), 19 people (N 19) tried out various virtual café settings, analyzed requirements for optimization and subsequently tested them. At the same time, 20 group interviews were conducted and analyzed according to the principles of heuristic-detecting social research. Three subcategories which influence each other were identified as key results (awareness, privacy and control). These three subcategories need to be balanced when a virtual café (room and technology) is designed. Furthermore, encouraging (reciprocal) awareness could also be a possible solution.
Konzeptionierung eines betrieblichen Gesundheitsmanagement bei der Sihltal Zürich Uetliberg Bahn
Creators: name: Rüegg, Sandro
Publisher: name: Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz FHNW
Year: 2020

description: Die vorliegende Bachelorarbeit befasst sich mit der Konzeptionierung eines betrieblichen Gesundheitsmanagement (BGM) bei der SZU. Es wird der Frage nachgegangen, wie das BGM der SZU gestaltet sein sollte, damit es zu deren Strategie, Kultur und Werten passt. Mit der Dokumentenanalyse und einem Experteninterview wurde der aktuelle Stand des BGM erhoben und anhand der Kriterien des «Friendly Work Space» bewertet. Dies zeigte schwächen in den Faktoren «BGM und Unternehmenspolitik», «Planung von BGM» und «Gesamtevaluation». Aufgrund der Daten und unter Berücksichtigung der Werte wird der SZU empfohlen das BGM in der Unternehmenspolitik zu verankern, einen Steuerungskreis für das BGM zu bilden und strategische BGM-Ziele zu bestimmen. Weiter sollten operative BGM-Ziele und Ziele von Massnahmen bestimmt und diese soweit möglich mit Messwerten versehen werden. Für die Passung zu den Werten der SZU sollte insbesondre auf die Partizipation der Mitarbeitenden geachtet werden.
Iterative submatrix diagonalisation for large configuration interaction problems
Creators: name: Chien, Alan D.
name: Zimmerman, Paul M.
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2017
Subjects: subject: 29999 Physical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Physical sciences
subject: Evolutionary Biology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: 80699 Information Systems not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: The Davidson method has been highly successful for solving for eigenpairs of the large matrices that are common in quantum chemical simulations. Electronic structure simulations, however, can still easily generate matrices that are too large for current computational resources to handle. Therefore, many strategies have arisen to obtain eigenpairs of sufficient accuracy without considering the full Hamiltonian matrix. This article introduces one such strategy by creating a systematic series of submatrix approximations to the full matrix using natural orbitals. By solving for eigenpairs in this series, the eigenvalue accuracy can be gradually increased until a convergence threshold is reached. Importantly, this allows the series to terminate without ever reaching the full matrix, resulting in lower computational costs and reduced memory demands. Application of the method to the full configuration interaction problem for ground states, excited states and potential energy scans of various systems shows that the iterative submatrix diagonalisation method can systematically control eigenvalue errors and provide substantial cost-savings. This method is therefore expected to be highly useful for large-scale diagonalisation problems in electronic structure theory.
Gravität und Vielfalt. Bachs Flügel
Creators: name: Schick, Leonard
Publisher: name: Hochschule für Musik Basel FHNW, Schola Cantorum Basiliensis
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: 780 - Musik

description: Diese Arbeit beleuchtet die Rolle des Cembalos bei Johann Sebastian Bach sowie in dem Kontext, in dem er dieses Instrument vorfand und benutzte. Der erste Teil der Arbeit hat zum Thema das wandelnde Umfeld in dem sich das Cembalo befand. Dabei wird auf die Rolle der konkurrierenden Instrumente eingegangen. Der zweite Teil der Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit den verschiedenen Dispositionen und Cembalobauern. Der letzte Teil setzt sich mit der Bedeutung dieser Informationen für Bachs Musik, sowie mit der Bedeutung, die Bach für die Entwicklung dieser Instrumente hatte, auseinander.
The generational decay of Euroscepticism in the UK and the EU referendum
Creators: name: Fox, Stuart
name: Pearce, Sioned
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2017
Subjects: subject: Genetics
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Physiology
subject: Evolutionary Biology
subject: 59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Earth and related environmental sciences
subject: 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: Cancer
subject: Science Policy
subject: Plant Biology

description: A prominent feature of media coverage during the UK’s referendum on European Union (EU) membership was the stark difference between the pro-EU young and their Eurosceptic elders, widely assumed to reflect a generational divide. The positive relationship between age and hostility towards the EU is well established in academic research, however only Down, and Wilson [(2013). “A rising generation of Europeans? Life-cycle and cohort effects on support for ‘Europe’.” European Journal of Political Research 52: 431–456] have considered whether this reflects a generational or life-cycle effect. While their research confirms that there is such a generational effect, their capacity to explain it is limited. This study utilizes data from Britain and builds on previous attempts to identify and explain generational trends in Euroscepticism, bridging it with studies on individual-level determinants of hostility towards the EU, providing the most detailed assessment of the extent and causes of generational differences in Euroscepticism to date. The results confirm that today’s young people are the most supportive generation of EU membership, caused by a combination of factors including their experience of the EU during their formative years, their relationships with domestic political institutions, and their access to education.
Identifying the preventive cellular mechanisms of memory decline after surgery
Creators: name: Vizcaychipi, Marcela Paola
Publisher: name: Imperial College London
Year: 2012

description: Memory and cognitive decline following surgery pose a major threat to the ageing population. Postoperative memory decline (POCD) has potentially devastating consequences due to its detrimental effects on quality of life and increased level of dependence. Acute neuroinflammatory changes after non-neurosurgical procedures have been linked to memory decline. Inflammation is the reflection of ongoing intracellular processes precipitated by stress following major insults such as surgery. I hypothesised that POCD is caused by an imbalance of cytoprotective mechanisms secondary to an inadequate physiological response to physiological stress. I set out to identify: 1) how memory is impaired in murine surgical models, using wild type and two genetically modified mouse lines, involving membrane danger receptors, purinergic receptor, ion gated channel 7 (P2X7) gene knockouts and the cytoplasmic chaperone heat shockprotein-72 (Hsp72), Hsp72 overexpressors, and 20 the effect of xenon anaesthesia and atorvastatin on memory decline following surgery. The inflammatory response was modelled by using multivariable analysis software (SIMCA) to identify a physiological signature, and the flow cytometry (FACS) technique of multiple cell-type responses within the hippocampus was optimised. The lack of P2X7 receptors could not prevent the development of POCD after tibial facture surgery under general anaesthesia. Over expression of Hsp72 proved to prevent POCD and its effect was associated with reduced microglia activation. Pretreatment with xenon and atorvastatin also prevented the development of POCD. In conclusion, SIMCA and FACS are potentially useful complementary methods for assessment of inflammation. P2X7 could not be proven to be involved in the development of POCD while the role of Hsp72 in POCD was proved and the prevention of POCD by using xenon through this mechanisms and atorvastatin by ameliorating the inflammatory response.