cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
title: Investigation into the Nrf2 signalling system dynamics and its crosstalk with the NF-κB signalling pathway at the single cell level
Creators: name: Dunn, Karen
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2014

description: The Nrf2 system plays an important role in the regulation of the redox state of the cell. Protection from oxidative and genotoxic damage is achieved by Nrf2-mediated expression of antioxidant and phase-2 detoxification enzymes. The Nrf2 network topology possesses several feedback mechanisms that could play a role in the dynamics of Nrf2 protein. To address this issue, a range of molecular reagents were generated, including plasmid and Bacterial Artificial Chromosome (BAC) expression systems. These allowed the localization and dynamics of Nrf2 to be analysed at near endogenous expression levels. Specifically, we generated and characterised an Nrf2-venus BAC stable SK-N-AS cell line using state-of-the-art molecular biology and microscopy techniques including Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) and Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS). Single cell imaging showed oscillations in Nrf2 levels that were heterogeneous amongst the cell population. These novel tools were applied to investigate the reciprocal effects of crosstalk between the Nrf2 and NF-κB signalling networks. These interactions have direct implications for a range of physiological and pathological processes including cancer, ageing and inflammation. While systems biology approaches have made important contributions to our understanding of the NF-κB dynamics, we still have a relatively poor understanding of how this system integrates with other regulatory networks in different cell types. Single live-cell imaging of the dynamics of these pathways suggested reciprocal dynamics, where stimulation of Nrf2 delays rather than inhibits NF-κB dynamics and Nrf2 oscillates out-of-phase to robust p65 oscillations. The tools developed during this study will be an important resource for further investigations of the Nrf2 system and its crosstalk with other signalling pathways. The BAC could also be used to generate novel reporter transgenic mice. Such data could be used to inform predictive mathematical models, which have direct implications for rational drug evaluation in either normal or diseased cells and tissues.
title: The role of genetic background and hypoxia in the chemotherapeutic efficiency in paediatric brain tumours
Creators: name: Fan, Yuen Ngan
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2014

description: Medulloblastoma (MB) is the most common malignant brain tumour in children. MBs arise in the cerebellum, originating from neural stem cells progenitors. It has previously been shown that the lack of integrity of signalling pathways due to genetic alterations play a key role in MB chemosensitivity. An example is the p53 signalling, with p53 mutations and or deletions which are associated with drug resistance. Here, we explored the role of p53 induction by chemotherapeutic drugs such as etoposide in MB and the way to bypass the need for intact p53 to trigger apoptosis. We specifically demonstrated that a downstream miRNA target transcribed by p53, miR-34a, is able to reduce the number of viable cells in cultures of MB cells lacking functional p53, although the effect was limited. Beyond the genetic background of a tumour, it is more and more described that the tumour microenvironment plays a key role in drug resistance. MB is a solid tumour and hence will contain areas deprived in oxygen (hypoxic). It has been widely documented that hypoxia is associated with poor prognosis and resistance to treatment in other cancer models and we here aimed to investigate the specific role of hypoxia in MB response to etoposide. We demonstrated that MB (p53 WT) cell lines became more resistant in chronic but not acute hypoxia and this was associated with a decrease in the recruitment of double strand DNA damage sensing machinery and subsequent impairment to transactivate p53 and transcription of pro-apoptotic genes. A transcriptomic microarray profiling study further revealed that chronic hypoxia induced broad and significant changes in global gene expression affecting many biological pathways including stem cell maintenance, neuronal development and phosphoinositol-3 phosphate kinase.
Short time-scale frequency and amplitude variations in the pulsations of an roAp star: HD 217522
Creators: name: Medupe, Rodney
name: Kurtz, Donald Wayne
name: Elkin, Vladimir
name: Mguda, Zolile
name: Mathys, Gautier
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Photometric observations of HD~217522 in 1981 revealed only one pulsation frequency $ν_1=1.21529$~mHz. Subsequent observations in 1989 showed the presence of an additional frequency $ν_2=2.0174$~mHz. New observations in 2008 confirm the presence of the mode with $ν_2=2.0174$~mHz. Examination of the 1989 data shows amplitude modulation over a time scale of the order of a day, much shorter than what has been observed in other roAp stars. High spectral and time resolution data obtained using the VLT in 2008 confirm the presence of $ν_2$ and short term modulations in the radial velocity amplitudes of rare earth elements. This suggests growth and decay times shorter than a day, more typical of solar-like oscillations. The driving mechanism of roAp stars and the Sun are different, and the growth and decay seen in the Sun are due to stochastic nature of the driving mechanism. The driving mechanism in roAp stars usually leads to mode stability on a longer time-scale than in the Sun. We interpret the reported change in $ν_1$ between the 1982 and 1989 data as part of the general frequency variability observed in this star on many time scales.
description: 9 pages, 8 figues
IGF2R Genetic Variants, Circulating IGF2 Concentrations and Colon Cancer Risk in African Americans and Whites
Creators: name: Hoyo, Cathrine
name: Vidal, Adriana
name: Galanko, Joseph
name: Schildkraut, Joellen
name: Skaar, David
name: Murphy, Susan
name: Jirtle, Randy
name: Millikan, Robert
name: Keku, Temitope
name: Sandler, Robert
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2012

description: The Mannose 6 Phosphate/Insulin-like Growth Factor Receptor-2 (IGF2R) encodes a type-1 membrane protein that modulates availability of the potent mitogen, IGF2. We evaluated the associations between IGF2R non-synonymous genetic variants (c.5002G>A, Gly1619Arg(rs629849), and c.901C>G, Leu252Val(rs8191754)), circulating IGF2 levels, and colon cancer (CC) risk among African American and White participants enrolled in the North Carolina Colon Cancer Study (NCCCS). Generalized linear models were used to compare circulating levels of IGF2 among 298 African American and 518 White controls. Logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association of IGF2R genetic variants and CC risk. Women homozygous for the IGF2R c.5002 G>A allele, had higher mean levels of circulating IGF2, 828 (SD=321) ng/ml compared to non-carriers, 595 (SD=217) ng/ml (p-value=0.01). This pattern was not apparent in individuals homozygous for the IGF2R c.901 C>G variant. Whites homozygous for the IGF2R c.901 C>G variant trended towards a higher risk of CC, OR=2.2 [95% CI(0.9–5.4)], whereas carrying the IGF2R c.5002 G>A variant was not associated with CC risk. Our findings support the hypothesis that being homozygous for the IGF2R c.5002 G>A modulates IGF2 circulating levels in a sex-specific manner, and while carrying the IGF2R c.901 C>G may increase cancer risk, the mechanism may not involve modulation of circulating IGF2.
PROBLEMS FACED BY BETEL LEAF CULTIVATORS IN TRIBAL AREAS OF WEST JAINTIA HILLS DISTRICTS, MEGHALAYA
Creators: name: TRIPPLE SWER
name: Dr. P. MURUGESAN
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Betal Leaf, Blood Purifier, Production, Fertilizer, Pesticide Problem, etc.

description: Abstract
Betevine (Piper betel L) is known by its many names across the country and abroad. In the Indian subcontinent, it is known as pan in Hindi, Tambula in Sanskrit, Villayadela in Kannada, Vettilakkoti in Malayalam, Vettilai in Tamil, Tamalapaku in Telugu, Videch-pan in Marathi, Nagarbel in Gujarati and pan in Bengali, paana in Odia. In foreign languages, it is known as Tanbol in Arabic and Burg-e-Tanbol in Persian. It is a perennial climber cultivated for its leaf. Historically, the word pan in Hindi and other Indian languages is probably a derivative of the Sanskrit word "pan" meaning leaf. The leaves of the pan plant have been traditionally used for chewing. Pan chewing is considered as a good and cheap source of dietary calcium. It increases digestive capacity when used with lime. Besides, it neutralizes the acidity and acts as a blood purifier. Except above discussed problems betel leaf cultivators of the study area are also faces few other problems. The study area has no proper irrigation system from government side. Farmers have to arrange irrigation facility with their won interest. Betel leaf production also hampers many time due pest and fungus infection on betel vine and leaf. Moreover, Farmers are not aware about crop insurance. Most of them have no proper knowledge of applying fertilizer and pesticide in betel leaf cultivation.
'What We Wear Is Who We Are'
Creators: name: Noble, Susan
Publisher: name: FUTURESCAN
Year: 2019
Subjects: subject: 120306 Textile and Fashion Design
subject: FOS: Arts (arts, history of arts, performing arts, music)

description: Short paper presented at the Association of Fashion & Textile Courses (FTC) conference Futurescan 4: Valuing Practice, University of Bolton, UK, 23rd-24th January 2019.
Futurescan 4: Valuing PracticeEdited by: Helena Britt, Kevin Almond, Laura MorganISBN: 978-1-5272-4969-1
NCHE 2024 Heart of America Annual Survey: The Power of Racial Healing
Creators: name: American Association Of Colleges And Universities (AAC&U)
name: National Collaborative For Health Equity (NCHE)
Publisher: name: Roper Center for Public Opinion Research
Year: 2025

description: Community/belonging (4); faith (4); personal values/beliefs (11); proud to be an American (1); division/disunity in United States (4); addressing issues in America (20); equality in America (2); agree/disagree with statements regarding U.S. (47); government blocking corporate mergers (1); allowing voting early by mail (1); Congressional candidates sticking to positions/compromising (1); empathy for those in other countries (5); immigration (2) personal experiences with racism, discrimination (22); racism in America (7); generational differences (7); ageism (7); overcoming division (1); handling of disagreements, differences in conversations (2); racial healing (9); critical race theory (3); healthcare (19); racial healing (7); trust in various people, groups promoting unity (15).
Launch of the EC2U Pan-European Knowledge Ecosystem
Creators: name: RI4C2 project
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024

description: The ultimate objective of the RI4C2 project, as stated in its work plan, is to “extend the activities of the EC2U Alliance to the R&I fields, in order to transform the EC2U Alliance into the core driver of a Pan-European Knowledge Ecosystem (PEKE) […] with results and outputs from eight Work Packages (WP) that will act as ‘mini-engines’ aiming at making the associated transformation a reality and delivering all components of the PEKE”. A closing event for the RI4C2 project was organised at the University of Poitiers on 11th and 12th of June, 2024 to officially launch the EC2U PEKE.
title: The classification of sexual offenders : an investigation into methods of discriminating amongst various groups in an institutional setting
Creators: name: Stanley Pratt, Peter
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2023

description: The aim of this research was to investigate the concordance between response systems in the sexual arousal of sexual offenders. The lack of concordance between the physiolcY:Jically assessed sexu.al arousal and the sllITultaneous internal experience of the response was assumed to be specific to sexual offenders and to contribute to their pattern of impulsive, assaultive sexual behaviour. It was intended to examine the fonn of this desynchrony and to investigate whether it might be due to an inability to 'track' or alternatively to the specific demand characteristics of the sexual assessment environment. A particular relationship between the two response systems was found only in a sub-group (68 %) of the sexual offenders, and this pattern was found, not in response to sexually deviant material, but to films of consenting, legal behaviour. Exposure to explicit depictions of illegal sexual behaviour served mainly to identify the non-sexual offenders. Where materials are not available, or cannot be used, discrimination between groups can be carried out less successfully by using data from an attitude questionnaire.
ManCraft: Textile crafting and emergent dialogue supporting the well being of vulnerable men
Creators: name: Green, Sarah
Publisher: name: FUTURESCAN
Year: 2019
Subjects: subject: 120306 Textile and Fashion Design
subject: FOS: Arts (arts, history of arts, performing arts, music)

description: Full paper presented at the Association of Fashion & Textile Courses (FTC) conference Futurescan 4: Valuing Practice, University of Bolton, UK, 23rd-24th January 2019.
Futurescan 4: Valuing PracticeEdited by: Helena Britt, Kevin Almond, Laura MorganISBN: 978-1-5272-4969-1
Inverse Relationship Between Moderate Alcohol Intake and Rectal Cancer: Analysis of the North Carolina Colon Cancer Study
Creators: name: Martin, Christopher F.
name: Dellon, Evan S.
name: Crockett, Seth D.
name: Galanko, Joseph A.
name: Sandler, Robert S.
name: Long, Millie D.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2011

description: The relationship between alcohol intake and rectal cancer is uncertain
Colon and Rectal Cancer Survival by Tumor Location and Microsatellite Instability: The Colon Cancer Family Registry
Creators: name: Phipps, Amanda I.
name: Baron, John A.
name: Jenkins, Mark A.
name: Gallinger, Steven
name: Gryfe, Robert
name: Newcomb, Polly A.
name: Lindor, Noralane M.
name: Win, Aung Ko
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2013

description: Cancers in the proximal colon, distal colon, and rectum are frequently studied together; however, there are biological differences in cancers across these sites, particularly in the prevalence of microsatellite instability.
Dimensional Jump in Quantum Error Correction
Creators: name: Bombin, H.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Topological stabilizer codes with different spatial dimensions have complementary properties. Here I show that the spatial dimension can be switched using gauge fixing. Combining 2D and 3D gauge color codes in a 3D qubit lattice, fault-tolerant quantum computation can be achieved with constant time overhead on the number of logical gates, up to efficient global classical computation, using only local quantum operations. Single-shot error correction plays a crucial role.
description: As accepted in journal: 10 pages, 3 figures
J. G. Ballard and Making: An Experiment in Collaborative Practice
Creators: name: Knowles, Thomas
name: White, Beth
Publisher: name: FUTURESCAN
Year: 2019
Subjects: subject: 120306 Textile and Fashion Design
subject: FOS: Arts (arts, history of arts, performing arts, music)

description: Full paper presented at the Association of Fashion & Textile Courses (FTC) conference Futurescan 4: Valuing Practice, University of Bolton, UK, 23rd-24th January 2019.
Futurescan 4: Valuing PracticeEdited by: Helena Britt, Kevin Almond, Laura MorganISBN: 978-1-5272-4969-1
title: Earnings Management Practice in UK Mergers and Acquisitions
Creators: name: Sri Nilanga Udawatte, Prabhu
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2023

description: This study investigates the earnings management phenomena in Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) in the UK. The intention is to provide evidence of the occurrence of earnings management practices prior to the completion of the deal process among acquiring companies that issue shares as the purchase consideration, compared to those that use cash. In addition, the study examines the performance of the share acquirers against cash acquirers. The existing academic literature relating to ,earnings management in US and Australian M&A transactions appears to provide contradictory results. The existing literature for the UK has anaysed the M&A position from a number of perspectives and reported similar results. However, limited research has been carried out for UK M&A from an earnings management perspective. Therefore, this study attempts to bridge the gap by providing evidence of earnings management practice in M&A activities in the UK. By using the accrual model, the results are directly comparable with existing research studies for the US and Australia. The main earnings management detection method used is this study is a modified version of the Jones model developed by Dechow et al (1995). In addition to this, the study investigates detection of earnings management by looking at 'other' measures and attempts to explain the performance of these companies, using ratio analysis. A control sample that uses cash as the purchase consideration is derived to compare the effect of earnings management with that of the main sample that uses shares. The accounting and market data for each company are obtained from Datastream for the time period of 1999 to 2003. The transaction values and the method of payment are gathered from different sources: National Statistics Bureau, Journal Monthly Acquisition and Hemscott premium websites. The results obtained by using the modified Jones model and 'other' measures highlight a positive and statistically significant difference between the share and cash sample. It indicates that in the years prior to M&A, acquiring firms manage earnings upward. It can be argued therefore that, acquiring firms' use accounting procedures in an attempt to increase their stock price, prior to stock for stock merger or acquisition. In addition, ratio analysis reveals that, firms that offer stock significantly under-perform those offering cash. Supplied by The British Library - 'The world's knowledge'
Kawamuracarus similis Cook 1967
Creators: name: Pešić, Vladimir
name: Chatterjee, Tapas
name: Bordoloi, Sabitry
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Trombidiformes
Limnesiidae
Kawamuracarus
Kawamuracarus similis

description: Kawamuracarus similis Cook, 1967
Records from the study area: Maharashtra—Cook (1967); Prasad (1974); Pešić & Ranga Reddy (2009).
Habitat: Hyporheic interstitial.
Distribution: India.
description: Published as part of Pešić, Vladimir, Chatterjee, Tapas & Bordoloi, Sabitry, 2010, A checklist of the water mites (Acari: Hydrachnidia) of India, with new records and description of one new species, pp. 1-54 in Zootaxa 2617 (1) on page 23, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2617.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/197964
How changes in technology stimulate the creative process
Creators: name: Evans, Claire
Publisher: name: FUTURESCAN
Year: 2019
Subjects: subject: 120306 Textile and Fashion Design
subject: FOS: Arts (arts, history of arts, performing arts, music)

description: Short paper presented at the Association of Fashion & Textile Courses (FTC) conference Futurescan 4: Valuing Practice, University of Bolton, UK, 23rd-24th January 2019.
Futurescan 4: Valuing PracticeEdited by: Helena Britt, Kevin Almond, Laura MorganISBN: 978-1-5272-4969-1
title: Measurement of the cross-section for b-jets produced in association with a Z boson at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector
Creators: name: Bundock, Aaron Colin
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2014

description: In this thesis, 4.7 fb^(-1) of data taken in 2011 by the ATLAS Experiment of proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV delivered by the Large Hadron Collider at CERN is used to measure the integrated and differential cross sections for the production of electroweak Z bosons in associaton with b quark jets. Z bosons are identified by reconstructing the electron and muon decay modes, and the fraction of b quark jets in the Z sample is estimated by fitting the neural network output of a specialised heavy flavour tagging algorithm in data with light + charm and bottom flavour templates derived from Monte Carlo simulation. The integrated Z + b jet cross section is measured to be 5.04 +- 0.17 stat +- 0.83 syst pb. The ratio of the integrated Z + b jet cross section to the inclusive Z production cross section is measured to be (5.26 +- 0.18 stat +- 0.89 syst) 10^(-3). The integrated Z +b jet cross section is also measured differentially in bins of b jet transverse energy, b jet rapidity, and Z boson transverse momentum. These measurements are compared to predictions from leading order Monte Carlo generators and next-to-leading-order QCD calculations. Also contained within this thesis are contributions to the commissioning of the ATLAS detector with early data, and studies produced for the calibration of software algorithms used in the tagging of heavy flavour jets. The resolution of the ATLAS inner detector is measured using data recorded by ATLAS in 2009. Systematic effects resulting in discrepancies between the efficiency to identify heavy flavour jets in data and simulation are measured using 2010 ATLAS data.
MPEC 2023-F222 : 2020 OG6
Creators: name: Minor Planet Center Staff
Publisher: name: The Minor Planet Center
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Small Solar System bodies
valueUri: http://astrothesaurus.org/uat/1469

description: The Minor Planet Electronic Circulars contain information on unusual minor planets, routine data on comets and natural satellites, and occasional editorial announcements.  They are published on behalf of Division F of the International Astronomical Union by the Minor Planet Center, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.
The special relationship at sea : naval gunfire support interoperability during the Korean, Vietnam and Iraq wars
Creators: name: Paget, Steven
Publisher: name: Canberra, ACT : The Australian National University
Year: 2013
Subjects: subject: Navies International cooperation
subject: Naval gunnery
subject: Korean War, 1950-1953 Naval operations
subject: Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Naval operations
subject: Iraq War, 2003-2011 Naval operations

description: The topic of interoperability is increasingly relevant to contemporary defence policy and will become evermore important on both a national and international level due to the prevalence of coalition operations. The desire to economise force contributions by forming coalitions is counterbalanced by the necessity of military effectiveness, which has ensured that interoperability has historically been and will continue to be an essential aspect of multinational undertakings. This thesis is a historical study of coalition operations involving the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the Royal Navy (RN) and the United States Navy (USN). Using naval gunfire support (NGS) as a window into the broader issue of interoperability, this thesis examines the involvement of at least two or all three of the navies during the Korean War, Vietnam War, and the 2003 Iraq War. This thesis addresses the wider aspects of naval coalitions such as command and control, communications, equipment standardisation, intelligence, logistics, planning, rules of engagement, tactics, techniques and procedures and training. The thesis assesses variations in the level of interoperability achieved over time and considers the extent to which the three navies are now interoperable. This thesis concludes that vast improvements have been made in NGS interoperability between the end of the Korean War in 1953 and the Iraq War in 2003. Standardised procedures, enhancements in equipment, regular training and sustained interaction in different regions of the world ensured that the provision of coalition NGS in 2003 was more efficient than at any other time in history. However, despite the progress that had been made, complete interoperability had not yet been achieved between the RAN, RN and the USN. The likelihood of frequent future interaction between the three navies will ensure that interoperability across the entire spectrum of naval operations requires constant attention.
Patient Expectations of Functional Outcomes After Rectal Cancer Surgery: A Qualitative Study
Creators: name: Temple, Larissa K.
name: Wong, W. Douglas
name: Park, Jason
name: Bennett, Antonia V.
name: Neuman, Heather B.
name: Phang, P. Terry
name: Polskin, Lily
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2014

description: Rectal cancer patients’ expectations of health and function may affect their disease- and treatment-related experience, but how patients form expectations of post-surgery function has received little study.
On the fixed points of the Ruelle operator
Creators: name: Cabrera, Carlos
name: Makienko, Peter
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Dynamical Systems (math.DS)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: 37F10, 37F15, 37F30, 47A35, 37A30

description: We discuss the relation between the existence of fixed points of the Ruelle operator acting on different Banach spaces, with Sullivan's conjecture in holomorphic dynamics.
description: 35 pages
title: Pour une litterature voyageuse: Travel and Identity in Late Twentieth-Century France
Creators: name: Hindson, Katy
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2023

description: This thesis is a response to the changing nature of French Studies in the UK, and is also the recognition of the growing need to explore the field's intercultural dimensions. Although the research for the thesis has been undertaken within the French department of the School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies, it is primarily interdisciplinary, engaging for instance with recent developments in Studies in Travel Writing, Gender Studies and Translation Studies. After a period of apparent decline of French travel literature in the 1960s and 1970s, the geme experienced a resurgence in the 1980s, leading to the launch in 1990 of the (now major) annual 'Etonnants Voyageurs' festival held in Saint-Malo, the appearance frqm 1990 of the associated journal Gulliver, and the publication of the manifesto, Pour une litterature voyageuse, in 1992. The thesis focuses specifically on critical approaches to the movement, but considers at the same time the wider phenomena ofliterature in French and postcolonial Francophone identities. Research Questions This thesis addre~ses a series of research questions, including: What are the principal characteristics of travel literature in late twentieth-century France and in particular that related to the Pour une litterature voyageuse movement? What critical strategies might be elaborated to approach this material? How has the Pour une litterature voyageuse movement elaborated an imaginary genealogy, drawing on previous texts and traditions to project its own identity? What does travel literature in late twentiethcentury France suggest about national identity and about the need to understand national identity in intercultural terms? In what ways does travel literature illuminate issues of gender in late twentieth-century France? What does the shift in emphasis by this movement towards a litterature-monde signify for travel literature and, on a wider scale, for the ways in which the boundaries of literature are defined? Impact of Thesis This thesis aims to (i) offer a timely and original account of the important Pour une litterature voyageuse movement, likely to be of interest to scholars in the UK, France and elsewhere; (ii) elaborate an interdisciplinary and original methodology for the approach of contemporary travel literature that will be of relevance to those working in a variety of disciplines; and (iii) explore issues of intercultural communication and translation, thus contributing to the ongoing redefinition of French Studies in the UK, and ofthe Modern Languages field more generally.
Distorted stationary rotating black holes
Creators: name: Shoom, Andrey A.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We study the interior of distorted stationary rotating black holes on the example of a Kerr black hole distorted by external static and axisymmetric mass distribution. We show that there is a duality transformation between the outer and inner horizons of the black hole, which is different from that of an electrically charged static distorted black hole. The duality transformation is directly related to the discrete symmetry of the space-time. The black hole horizons area, surface gravity, and angular momentum satisfy the Smarr formula constructed for both the horizons. We formulate the zeroth, the first, and the second laws of black hole thermodynamics for both the horizons of the black hole and show the correspondence between the local and the global forms of the first law. The Smarr formula and the laws of thermodynamics formulated for both the horizons are related by the duality transformation. The distortion is illustrated on the example of a quadrupole and octupole fields. The distortion fields noticeably affect the proper time of a free fall from the outer to the inner horizon of the black hole along the symmetry semi-axes. There is some minimal non-zero value of the quadrupole and octupole moments when the time becomes minimal. The minimal proper time indicates the closest approach of the horizons due to the distortion.
description: 16 pages, 18 figures
title: Acoustic Correlates of Vowel Perception as Determined from Synthesis Experiments With Multi-Tone Stimuli
Creators: name: Zhang, Zhongjiang
Publisher: name: Old Dominion University
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/04zjtrb98
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 1993

description: An essential requirement of speech signal processing is to extract information (features or parameters) from the speech signal which encode the information carried by the signal. The objective of this thesis work was to examine and evaluate two feature sets as acoustic correlates for vowel perception. They are formants and DCTCs. Formants are the frequencies of spectral peaks of the speech signal. DCTCs are the Discrete Cosine Transform Coefficients of the magnitude spectrum and are thus features which encode the global spectral shape of speech signal.

There are different opinions regarding which feature set is a more accurate representation for vowels. In fact the parameters most useful for automatic speech classification may not be good acoustic correlates for the perception of speech. Based on the results of Zahorian and Jagharghi (1990,1993), we initially hypothesized that global spectral shape cues are more important to phonological perception of vowels than are formant frequency cues.

The higher-level objective of the study was to determine a feature set based on certain aspects of both formant and global spectral shape theory, which would be good acoustic correlates of vowel perception. We developed and investigated a new algorithm to compute the DCTCs which represents the spectral shape of the envelope of the speech spectrum. It requires only about 10 percent of the Fourier Transform magnitude components as compared to the DCTCs computed by Zahorian and Jagharghi.

Experiments conducted in this thesis work support the hypothesis that formants are insufficient acoustic correlates for vowel perception and that some type of global spectral features are required. The original DCTC features were also found to be lacking as acoustic correlates of perception. However, a modified DCTC computation was formulated which results in more perceptually significant features. These new features also improve automatic vowel classification of noisy speech. Topics for further study are suggested.
title: Variability in the lower circumpolar deep water and the Lazarev Sea
Creators: name: Donnelly, Matthew
name: Leach, Harry
name: Strass, Volker
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2014

description: Furthering our understanding of the Southern Ocean as a critical component of the global climate system and its variability in both space and time is the focus of many investigations. This thesis aims to add to that effort by addressing two important questions. The first chapter will set the role of the Southern Ocean into greater context, clarifying the framework and background for its examination. The second chapter will examine a simple 1-dimensional model of the modification of the Lower Circumpolar Deep Water as it moves southwards across the ACC and into the Weddell Gyre. This leads into the third chapter which will address the first question of how variable are the characteristics of the Lower Circumpolar Deep Water? The variability of the salinity maximum associated with the Lower Circumpolar Deep Water is examined in order to address its spatial variability – from entry via the South Atlantic, through its circumpolar transit, ending with a terminal repository in the Weddell Gyre – by making use of freely available hydrographic data. It also examines temporal variability where repeat data allows, and provides new estimates of deep ocean mixing rates. The fourth chapter will seek to address the second question of how variable was the volume transport during the Lazarev Sea Krill Study (LaKriS) cruises? The LaKriS cruises provide a rare set of semi-repeat grids of hydrographic measurements near the Greenwich Meridian. This provides the opportunity to attempt to assess seasonal and inter-annual variability by making use of an inverse modelling technique. The fifth and final chapter will set the knowledge gained from addressing these two questions against the wider knowledge of the Southern Ocean system and consider the implications for future oceanic sampling and research.
Markers of tyrosine kinase activity in eosinophilic esophagitis: a pilot study of the FIP1L1-PDGFRα fusion gene, pERK 1/2, and pSTAT5: Tyrosine kinase markers in EoE
Creators: name: Chen, X.
name: Miller, C. R.
name: Dellon, E. S.
name: Shaheen, N. J.
name: Keku, T. O.
name: Woosley, J. T.
name: Bower, J. J.
name: Orlando, R. C.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2012

description: The pathogenesis of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is incompletely understood. In certain eosinophilic diseases, activation of tyrosine kinase after fusion of the Fip1-like-1 and platelet-derived growth factor receptor-α genes (F-P fusion gene) mediates eosinophilia via downstream effectors such as extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK1/2) and signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT5). This mechanism has not been examined in EoE. Our aim was to detect the F-P fusion gene, pERK1/2, and pSTAT5 in esophageal tissue from patients with EoE, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and normal controls.
title: Invasive and non-invasive diagnostics of High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (HiPIMS) discharges
Creators: name: Liebig, Bernd
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2013

description: HiPIMS discharges operated with a titanium and an aluminium-doped zinc target sputtered with the working gas argon were investigated by means of optical 2d-imaging in combination with Abel-inversion. By using optical bandpass filters, the spatial and temporal evolution of the plasma-induced emission of argon atoms and ions and metal atoms and ions were studied. The discharge ignition was found to be accompanied by an intensity maximum observed remote from the target, followed by an asymmetric intensity profile. During the stage of high discharge current, the intensity distribution indicates strong rarefaction of the working gas, efficient ionisation of the sputtered particles above the target and a wider sputter distribution. The off-time is characterised by an initial drop of the intensity by 4 - 6 orders of magnitude and a transition from electron-impact excitation to excitation by electron-electron-ion recombination. Decay constants in the order of 1 ms and the spatial distribution of the emission suggest the loss of electrons and ions due to ambipolar diffusion across the magnetic field. Plasma potential measurements by means of emissive probe revealed strongly negative space potentials of up to -300 V and electric fields in the order of 10000 V/m during discharge ignition, caused by strong charge separation due to the extended sheath. The plasma potential increases to a stable level of more than -25 V during the second half of the discharge pulse, while the electric field is largely reduced to maximal 1500 V/m. It was found that the space potential is consistently 5 V lower when the substrate is kept floating compared to a grounded substrate, which can be explained by the reduced electron loss rate to the substrate due to the potential barrier. This is confirmed by spatially resolved Langmuir probe measurements, showing a density maximum of 1019 m-3 in the confined plasma zone, and an increased density in the vicinity of the floating substrate of 1.3 × �1018 m-3 compared to 0.8 × �1018 m-3 for a grounded substrate. The electron temperature was found to be spatially uniform ranging from 1 eV to 3 eV. A quasi-continuous transport model for sputtered particles confirmed the high degree of ionisation of the sputtered particles of about 90 % and revealed a return probability for titanium ions to the target of 80 % for Ti+ and 96 % for Ti2+. Varying the force caused by a modified two-stream instability [1], showed an increasing sideway defletion of ions also increasing the kinetic energy observed for these particles. The spatial distribution of the relative density confirmed efficient ionisation of sputtered particles in the dense plasma zone adjacent to the target. Average azimuthal velocities of the drifting ion fluid of 3�000 m/s for Ti+ and 7�000 m/s for Ti2+ were obtained.
Exponential decay of correlations for nonuniformly hyperbolic flows with a C^{1+α} stable foliation, including the classical Lorenz attractor
Creators: name: Araújo, Vitor
name: Melbourne, Ian
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Dynamical Systems (math.DS)
subject: FOS: Mathematics

description: We prove exponential decay of correlations for a class of $C^{1+α}$ uniformly hyperbolic skew product flows, subject to a uniform nonintegrability condition. In particular, this establishes exponential decay of correlations for an open set of geometric Lorenz attractors. As a special case, we show that the classical Lorenz attractor is robustly exponentially mixing.
description: Final version. Appeared online, Annales Henri Poincare
Interaction of skin cells with skin microbiota
Creators: name: Moinipoor, Zeynab
Publisher: name: University of Westminster
Year: 2023

description: The interaction between skin cells and skin microbiota is complicated and not fully understood. A diverse community of microbes resides on the skin that participates in shaping its physiology. Skin microbiota can modulate skin immunity and barrier, thus, contributing to skin health. Also, the microbiota’s imbalance and dysbiosis can cause skin disorders. Yet the mechanisms of function of skin microbiota on skin health and disease are only beginning to be discovered. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the leading opportunistic pathogens in chronic wound infections. Biofilm formation of P. aeruginosa in the wound area following its attachment to the keratinocytes has a deleterious impact on wound healing. On the other hand, Staphylococcus epidermidis, as a skin commensal, has been shown to protect the skin against pathogens. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effect of skin commensal bacteria on the skin cells and the opportunistic bacteria inhabiting the skin. The effect of S. epidermidis NCTC 11047 supernatant on the biofilm formation, virulence factors production, and quorum sensing network of P. aeruginosa strains NCTC 10662 and PAO1 was investigated using a range of colorimetric assays and RT-qPCR. Also, the effect of S. epidermidis supernatant on the viability, migration, and proliferation of the human skin keratinocytes (HaCaT cell line) was investigated using scratch and MTT assays. Furthermore, the protective impact of S. epidermidis and its supernatant on the skin cells against P. aeruginosa infection was explored by co-culturing keratinocytes with the bacterial cells. The co-culture of S. epidermidis and P. aeruginosa in planktonic and biofilm states was also investigated in order to investigate the interaction of commensal and opportunistic microbes. S. epidermidis supernatant diminished biofilm formation by 68% in NCTC 10662 and 34% in PAO1 (P=0.0001 and P=0.002, respectively). It also diminished the virulence factor production of P. aeruginosa (such as elastase production P=0.02) without any impact on its growth through the modulation of the P. aeruginosa quorum sensing network. Furthermore, the S. epidermidis supernatant improved proliferation of keratinocytes (P=0.001). It also increased the re-epithelisation rate of an in vitro scratch model wound on a monolayer of keratinocytes in 24 hours (P=0.01). S. epidermidis in co-culture with P. aeruginosa decreased the adhesion of NCTC 10662 (P=0.02) and PAO1 (P=0.02) to the abiotic surface. However, S. epidermidis, during the co-culture formed on keratinocytes, was unable to decrease the adhesion of P. aeruginosa to the keratinocytes (biotic surface). With increase in the prevalence of multi-drug resistant pathogens, the discovery and application of molecules from the supernatant of commensals offering anti-virulence properties may be a promising alternative therapy for the healing of infected wounds.
The systematic search for $z\gtrsim5$ active galactic nuclei in the $Chandra$ Deep Field South
Creators: name: Weigel, Anna K.
name: Schawinski, Kevin
name: Treister, Ezequiel
name: Urry, C. Megan
name: Koss, Michael
name: Trakhtenbrot, Benny
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA)
subject: High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We investigate early black hole (BH) growth through the methodical search for $z\gtrsim5$ AGN in the $Chandra$ Deep Field South. We base our search on the $Chandra$ 4-Ms data with flux limits of $9.1\times\ 10^{-18}$ (soft, 0.5 - 2 keV) and $5.5\times\ 10^{-17}\ \mathrm{erg}\ \mathrm{s}^{-1}\ \mathrm{cm}^{-2}$ (hard, 2 - 8 keV). At $z\sim5$ this corresponds to luminosities as low as $\sim10^{42}$ ($\sim10^{43}$) $\mathrm{erg}\ \mathrm{s}^{-1}$ in the soft (hard) band and should allow us to detect Compton-thin AGN with $M_\mathrm{BH}>10^7 M_{\odot}$ and Eddington ratios > 0.1. Our field ($0.03~\mathrm{deg}^2$) contains over 600 $z\sim5$ Lyman Break Galaxies. Based on lower redshift relations we would expect $\sim20$ of them to host AGN. After combining the $Chandra$ data with GOODS/ACS, CANDELS/WFC3 and $Spitzer$/IRAC data, the sample consists of 58 high-redshift candidates. We run a photometric redshift code, stack the GOODS/ACS data, apply colour criteria and the Lyman Break Technique and use the X-ray Hardness Ratio. We combine our tests and using additional data find that all sources are most likely at low redshift. We also find five X-ray sources without a counterpart in the optical or infrared which might be spurious detections. We conclude that our field does not contain any convincing $z\gtrsim5$ AGN. Explanations for this result include a low BH occupation fraction, a low AGN fraction, short, super-Eddington growth modes, BH growth through BH-BH mergers or in optically faint galaxies. By searching for $z\gtrsim5$ AGN we are setting the foundation for constraining early BH growth and seed formation scenarios.
description: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 22 pages, 15 figures, for an overview of our analysis see figure 2
Emergency care of esophageal foreign body impactions: timing, treatment modalities, and resource utilization: Emergency care of EFBI
Creators: name: Crockett, S. D.
name: Dellon, E. S.
name: Sperry, S. L. W.
name: Shaheen, N. J.
name: Miller, C. Brock
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2013

description: Esophageal foreign body impaction (EFBI) often requires urgent evaluation and treatment, but characteristics of ED care such as timing of presentation and therapeutic procedures and costs of care are unknown. We aimed to study healthcare utilization for patients with EFBI presenting to the Emergency Department (ED). Cases of EFBI from 2002 to 2009 were identified by querying three different databases from the University of North Carolina Hospitals for all records with ICD-9 CM code 935.1: “foreign body in the esophagus.” Charts were reviewed to confirm EFBI and extract pertinent data related to the ED visit, including time of presentation, length of ED stay, medications administered, type of procedure performed and characteristics of procedures, and time to therapeutic procedure. Hospital charges for EFBI encounters and consult fees were determined from the Physicians’ Fee Reference 2010, and were compiled to estimate costs. Of the 548 cases of EFBI identified, 351 subjects (64%) presented to the ED. A total of 118 (34%) patients received a medication to treat EFBI, which was only effective in 8% of those patients. 290 (83%) subjects underwent a procedure including EGD (65%) or ENT-performed laryngoscopy/esophagoscopy (40%). Admission to the hospital occurred in 162 (46%) of cases. There was no relationship between ED arrival time and time-to-procedure or total time in ED. There was also no significant relationship between delivery of ED medications and likelihood of undergoing a procedure, or between ED arrival time and delivery of medications. The charges associated with a typical EFBI episode ranged from $2,284–6,218. In conclusion, the majority of patients with EFBI at our institution present to the ED. Medical management was largely ineffective. A therapeutic procedure was required to clear the EFBI in most patients. Time of ED arrival made no difference in time-to-procedure, indicating that GI and ENT specialists recognize the urgency of treating EFBI regardless of time of day.
Scattering diagrams, theta functions, and refined tropical curve counts
Creators: name: Mandel, Travis
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Quantum Algebra (math.QA)
subject: Algebraic Geometry (math.AG)
subject: Combinatorics (math.CO)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: 14T05 (Primary), 13F60, 14N10 (Secondary)

description: Working over various graded Lie algebras and in arbitrary dimension, we express scattering diagrams and theta functions in terms of counts of tropical curves/disks, weighted by multiplicities given in terms of iterated Lie brackets. Over the tropical vertex group, our tropical curve counts are known to give certain descendant log Gromov-Witten invariants. Working over the quantum torus algebra yields theta functions for quantum cluster varieties, and our tropical description sets up for geometric interpretations of these. As an immediate application, we prove the quantum Frobenius conjecture of Fock and Goncharov. We also prove a refined version of the Carl-Pumperla-Siebert result on consistency of theta functions, and we prove the non-degeneracy of the trace-pairing for the Gross-Hacking-Keel Frobenius structure conjecture.
description: v3: Completely rewritten with new title to be more general and more readable. v4: Corrections and improvements throughout, most significantly to the proof of the refined CPS result (Thm. 2.14) and the tropical invariance results (Prop 3.5). v5: Minor corrections