cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
title: The expectations, outcomes and perceived benefits of postgraduate business programmes for Indian nationals
Creators: name: Foskett, Kaye
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2014

description: The literature suggests that there are several stakeholders who influence postgraduate study for social and personal benefits. These stakeholders comprise governments, employers, HEIs, families and individuals. The findings from this research study suggest that fathers from Indian middle class families play a significant motivational role in the lives of their offspring by encouraging them to develop their cultural capital through postgraduate business programmes. Parents expect that higher level academic study will improve their offspring’s symbolic and social capitals and result in good social and career outcomes (Bourdieu, 1986). Many of these Indian middle class parents who have access to and are willing to use their economic capital, also influence and support their children to gain ‘exposure’ in new environments for example in the USA and the UK . The aim of this parental competitive strategy is to ensure ‘positional advantage’ (Brown, 2003, p3) in the labour market and in some cases to gain experience foreign study that they did not have the opportunity to do. As more Indian nationals undertake postgraduate business programmes there is evidence to suggest that credentialism is resulting in what Brown, Lauder & Ashton (2011) argue is a ‘global auction’, bringing more rewards only for the very best or the educated elite. This perception was found from the respondents in this study. Brown, Lauder & Ashton (2011) further argue that this is perpetuating social divisions in different societies as the labour market becomes more competitive due to economic trends and corporate restructuring. The findings from this study suggest that most Indian respondents who have postgraduate business qualifications achieve some of their expectations, but not at the management level, nor in other areas that they had expected e.g. they achieve a lower than expected salary. To ensure graduates career expectations are realistic, the findings suggest that UK and Indian higher education institutions, should report in an ethical and honest way, the destinations and career outcomes of all their Indian business postgraduates. The findings also suggest that UK and Indian institutions should improve their alumni services and forge closer links with Indian employers to support graduates’ career opportunities. Evidence was also found which suggests that there is a perception of greater symbolic capital from UK credentials, which may add value to an individual’s employment opportunities and to their marriage capital and where it occurs, their dowry/gift capital.
Entanglement Entropy and Quantum Phase Transition in the $O(N)$ $σ$-model
Creators: name: Chen, Jiunn-Wei
name: Dai, Shou-Huang
name: Pang, Jin-Yi
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We investigate how entanglement entropy behaves in a non-conformal scalar field system with a quantum phase transition, by the replica method. We study the $σ$-model in 3+1 dimensions which is $O(N)$ symmetric as the mass squared parameter $μ^{2}$ is positive, and undergoes spontaneous symmetry breaking while $μ^{2}$ becomes negative. The area law leading divergence of the entanglement entropy is preserved in both of the symmetric and the broken phases. The spontaneous symmetry breaking changes the subleading divergence from log to log squared, due to the cubic interaction on the cone. At the leading order of the coupling constant expansion, the entanglement entropy reaches a cusped maximum at the quantum phase transition point $μ^{2}=0$, and decreases while $μ^{2}$ is tuned away from 0 into either phase.
description: 36 pp., 5 figures
title: Promoting Pro-Environmental Behavior Evidence from the Lab and the Field
Creators: name: Bregulla, Daniel
Publisher: name: Universität Bern
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: 300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology
subject: 360 Social problems & social services

description: This dissertation investigates the psychological and behavioral strategies that influence pro-environmental decision-making, combining insights from controlled experiments and a longitudinal field study. The research explores how decision support, framing effects, and defaults can promote sustainable behaviors, providing a comprehensive understanding of the factors that drive environmentally friendly choices.
The first study uses a controlled online experiment to demonstrate how a transparent decision support environment, featuring real-time colored feedback, enhances pro-environmental behavior. Participants in the decision support condition were more inclined to prioritize environmental outcomes over financial gains in the Carbon Emission Task, underscoring the effectiveness of decision aids in promoting sustainable choices.
The second study delves into the concept of ”coherently arbitrary” pro-environmental behavior, revealing that environmental decisions are often influenced by arbitrary contextual factors rather than consistent preferences. This study extends behavioral economic findings to environmental psychology, highlighting a motivation-impact gap where environmental intentions do not always result in corresponding actions.
The third study examines the role of gain-loss framing in voluntary pro-environmental behavior through an online experiment. Findings indicate that loss framing can slightly increase pro-environmental efforts, suggesting the potential of tailored communication strategies to enhance environmental engagement.
The final study presents a longitudinal field investigation of green energy defaults in a significant moment of change. Analyzing data from 143,313 meters over multiple years, this study reveals that green energy defaults maintain high adherence rates, even amid a merger and moderate price changes. The results underscore the stability and effectiveness of default settings as a policy tool to encourage sustainable energy consumption.
Together, these studies contribute to a better understanding of the psychological factors that influence pro-environmental behavior and suggest possible approaches for encouraging sustainable practices.
title: Assessing the efficacy of psychological treatments for major depression: An investigation of methodological issues
Creators: name: Connor, Martin
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2014

description: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a substantial healthcare concern. Conventionally conducted meta-analyses support the efficacy of both psychological and pharmacological interventions for MDD, but methodological limitations of meta-analyses may obfuscate rather than clarify the clinical efficacy of available interventions. The thesis begins with a systematic review of meta-analyses of high quality psychological treatment studies for MDD. The results of the systematic review indicated that 48% of patients achieved remission after a course of psychological treatment. However, approximately 70% of remitted patients relapsed within 3 years after the discontinuation of psychological therapy. Consistent methodological limitations were identified in the primary outcome studies contributing to the meta-analyses. The primary studies typically published insufficient evidence on treatment fidelity. There was considerable variability in the overall treatment duration, the mean severity of samples and the definition of clinical significance. These factors pose a risk to the validity of meta-analytic results of psychological interventions for MDD. The next component of the thesis investigated the impact of idiosyncratic clinical significance definitions on the published conclusions of studies that used the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) or Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) to assess outcome. The availability of individual patient data (IPD) for 7 published studies enabled the empirically-based Jacobson Method of clinical significance to be used as a standard definition of recovery across IPD studies. Comparisons of published and Jacobson method clinical significance rates for each IPD study showed that idiosyncratic outcome definitions typically overestimated treatment efficacy. Moreover, treatment efficacy was confounded with the definition of clinical significance employed. This indicates that to reduce the risk of bias in meta-analysis, a standard and empirically-based definition of clinical significance should be used across primary MDD treatment studies. Subsequently, the moderating role of pre-treatment severity on clinical significance rates was investigated via individual patient data meta-analysis. It was found that being male and having higher pre-treatment severity both predicted a significantly reduced likelihood of achieving clinical recovery. It is evident that between-study methodological differences means that even high quality conventional meta-analyses of psychological treatments for MDD remain at risk of bias. The novel finding that gender significantly moderated treatment outcome indicates that IPD meta-analyses are both more powerful and flexible than conventional meta-analyses based on summary data. Ideally, future meta-analyses of primary MDD treatment studies should be based on individual patient data.
Praxislupe Lese- und Rechtschreibschwierigkeiten. Förderung von betroffenen Jugendlichen im Zyklus 3
Creators: name: Tosoni, Laura
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Sonderpädagogik
Masterarbeit
Lese-Rechtschreibschwäche
Förderung
Zyklus 3

description: Lese- und Rechtschreibschwierigkeiten (LRS) stellen eine der häufigsten Lernstörungen dar und können langfristige Auswirkungen auf Bildungserfolg und berufliche Perspektiven haben. Deshalb ist es im Zyklus 3 zentral, angemessene und effektive Förderung anzubieten. Diese Masterarbeit befasst sich mit der Förderpraxis im Zyklus 3. Als Grundlage dient eine systematische Literaturanalyse von Metastudien zu Lese- und Rechtschreibschwierigkeiten. Dabei werden die Förderung von Lernenden mit LRS, Faktoren, die die Förderung beeinflussen und Förderkomponenten, ins Zentrum der Untersuchung gerückt. Des Weiteren wurden Interviews mit Praxisexperten des Zyklus 3 durchgeführt und durch eine qualitative Inhaltsanalyse auf Einsatz der fokussierten Bereiche der LRS-Förderung untersucht. Diese Masterarbeit zeigt Schnittstellen zwischen Theorie, Empirie und Praxis der LRS-Förderung im Zyklus 3 auf und bezieht auch unerwartete Konzepte der praktischen LRS-Förderung ein.
Differential effects of magnesium, calcium, and sodium on Listeria monocytogenes biofilm formation
Creators: name: Chalke, Saili
name: Vidovic, Sinisa
name: Fletcher, Graham C.
name: Palmer, Jon
name: Flint, Steve
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Microbiology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Cell Biology
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: Ecology
subject: 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: 110309 Infectious Diseases
subject: FOS: Health sciences

description: Listeria monocytogenes is a gram-positive foodborne pathogen that causes outbreaks of listeriosis associated with a diverse range of foods. L. monocytogenes forms biofilms as a strategy to enhance its survival in the environment. These biofilms then provide a source of contamination in processing plant environments. Cations like magnesium, calcium, and sodium are commonly found in the environment and are important to bacteria to maintain their homeostasis. It is, therefore, valuable to understand the relationship between these cations and biofilm formation. In this study, four isolates of L. monocytogenes from seafood processing environments were used to investigate the influence of magnesium, calcium, and sodium (1, 10, and 50 mM) on biofilms. The isolates selected were defined as being either a low biofilm former, a high biofilm former, an outbreak isolate, and a persistent isolate from the seafood industry. The study showed that the divalent cations magnesium and calcium increased biofilm formation compared with the monovalent cation, sodium. Fifty mM concentrations of the divalent cations significantly enhanced biofilm formation. The cations did not have a significant effect on the initial stages of biofilm formation but appeared to influence the later stages of biofilm development.
title: The chick embryo; a new drug delivery model for neuroblastoma
Creators: name: Borrill Mather, Grace
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2015

description: Neuroblastoma (NB) commonly presents as high risk disease which despite intensive multimodal therapies is often fatal. Preclinical models are required to aid the development of novel therapeutics for this challenging childhood malignancy, however current systems are complex and inherently costly. We aimed to explore the ability of the chick embryo to act as a new tool for NB therapeutic research. "High risk"- MYCN amplified human neuroblastoma cells were xenografted on to the surface of the chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) and tumours allowed to form over a 7 day period. qPCR was used to detect the effects of a differentiation agent, retinoic acid (RA), firstly on NB cells in culture, and then on NB tumours in the chick embryo model. Tumours formed in the chick embryo model 4 days after the introduction of NB cells on to the CAM. After 7 days, analysis of fully formed tumours demonstrated active proliferation and vascular recruitment from the surrounding CAM. In culture, RA induced morphological changes consistent with the differentiation of NB cells. RT-qPCR identified reproducible changes in gene expression in response to RA. Increased expression of differentiation markers ROBO2 and STMN4 and decreased expression of the stem cell marker KLF4 was observed in cell culture. Similar changes in the expression of these genes were also seen during in vivo chick embryo experiments. Against expectations, levels of the MYCN transcription factor did not fall significantly following 3 days of RA treatment during in vitro or in vivo experimentation. These results suggest that other targets may also be involved in the RA induced differentiation of these cells. We have observed the ability of the chick embryo to act as an in vivo model system for NB therapeutic research. Reproducible changes in gene expression induced by the administration of retinoic acid have been detected using this model.
Performance Analysis of mmWave Ad Hoc Networks
Creators: name: Thornburg, Andrew
name: Bai, Tianyang
name: Heath, Robert W.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Information Theory (cs.IT)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: Ad hoc networks provide an on-demand, infrastructure-free means to communicate between soldiers in war zones, aid workers in disaster areas, or consumers in device-to-device (D2D) applications. Unfortunately, ad hoc networks are limited by interference due to nearby transmissions. Millimeter-wave (mmWave) devices offer several potential advantages for ad hoc networks including reduced interference due to directional antennas and building blockages, not to mention huge bandwidth channels for large data rates.. This paper uses a stochastic geometry approach to characterize the one-way and two-way signal-to-interference ratio distribution of a mmWave ad hoc network with directional antennas, random blockages, and ALOHA channel access. The interference-to-noise ratio shows that a fundamental limitation of an ad hoc network, interference, may still be an issue. The performance of mmWave ad hoc networks is bounded by the transmission capacity and area spectral efficiency. The results show that mmWave networks can support much higher densities and larger spectral efficiencies, even in the presence of blockage, compared with lower frequency communication for certain link distances. Due to the increased bandwidth, the rate coverage of mmWave can be much greater than lower frequency devices.
description: Submitted to IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing, December 2014
The effect of different carbon sources on biofouling in membrane fouling simulators: microbial community and implications
Creators: name: Cabrera, Johny
name: Guo, Hao-yu
name: Yao, Jia-long
name: Wang, Xiao-mao
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Space Science
subject: Microbiology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Biotechnology
subject: 59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Earth and related environmental sciences
subject: Ecology
subject: 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: Science Policy

description: Biofouling is a problem affecting the operation of nanofiltration systems due to the complexity of the carbon matrix affecting bacteria and biofilm growth. This study used membrane fouling simulators to investigate the effects of five different carbon sources on the biofouling of nanofiltration membranes. For all the carbon sources analyzed, the increase in pressure drop was most accelerated for acetate. The use of acetate as the single carbon source produced less adenosine triphosphate but more extracellular polymers than glucose. The microbial community was analyzed using 16 s rRNA. The use of more than a single carbon source produced an increase in bacteria diversity even at similar concentrations. The relative abundance of proteobacteria was the highest at the phylum level (95%) when a single carbon source was added. Additionally, it was found that the use of different carbon sources produced a shift in the microbial community, affecting the biofouling and pressure drop on membranes.
On the Accuracy of the Non-Classical Transport Equation in 1-D Random Periodic Media
Creators: name: Vasques, Richard
name: Krycki, Kai
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Disordered Systems and Neural Networks (cond-mat.dis-nn)
subject: Mathematical Physics (math-ph)
subject: Nuclear Theory (nucl-th)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We present a first numerical investigation of the accuracy of the recently proposed {\em non-classical transport equation}. This equation contains an extra independent variable (the path-length $s$), and models particle transport taking place in random media in which a particle's distance-to-collision is {\em not} exponentially distributed. To solve the non-classical equation, one needs to know the $s$-dependent ensemble-averaged total cross section $Σ_t(s)$, or its corresponding path-length distribution function $p(s)$. We consider a 1-D spatially periodic system consisting of alternating solid and void layers, randomly placed in the infinite line. In this preliminary work, we assume transport in rod geometry: particles can move only in the directions $μ=\pm 1$. We obtain an analytical expression for $p(s)$, and use this result to compute the corresponding $Σ_t(s)$. Then, we proceed to solve the non-classical equation for different test problems. To assess the accuracy of these solutions, we produce "benchmark" results obtained by (i) generating a large number of physical realizations of the system, (ii) numerically solving the transport equation in each realization, and (iii) ensemble-averaging the solutions over all physical realizations. We show that the results obtained with the non-classical equation accurately model the ensemble-averaged scalar flux in this 1-D random system, generally outperforming the widely-used atomic mix model. We conclude by discussing plans to extend the present work to slab geometry, as well as to more general random mixtures.
description: CORRIGENDUM added in Jan/2016; 14 pages; 4 figures; published in M&C2015: Proceedings of the Joint International Conference on Mathematics and Computation, Supercomputing in Nuclear Applications and the Monte Carlo Method (2015)
Impact of sodium nitroprusside concentration added to batch cultures of Escherichia coli biofilms on the c-di-GMP levels, morphologies and adhesion of biofilm-dispersed cells
Creators: name: Ordek, Ayse
name: Gordesli-Duatepe, F. Pinar
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Biophysics
subject: Space Science
subject: Microbiology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Cell Biology
subject: 59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Earth and related environmental sciences
subject: Ecology
subject: 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: Developmental Biology
subject: Inorganic Chemistry
subject: FOS: Chemical sciences
subject: 60506 Virology

description: Biofilm dispersion can be triggered by the application of dispersing agents such as nitric oxide (NO)-donors, resulting in the release of biofilm-dispersed cells into the environment. In this work, biofilm-dispersed cells were obtained by adding different concentrations of NO-donor sodium nitroprusside (0.5, 5, 50 µM, and 2.5 mM of SNP) to batch cultures of pre-formed Escherichia coli biofilms. Except for those dispersed by 5 µM of SNP, biofilm-dispersed cells were found to be wider and longer than the planktonic cells and to have higher c-di-GMP levels and greater adhesion forces to silicon nitride surfaces in water as measured by atomic force microscope. Consequently, the optimum concentration of SNP to disperse E. coli biofilms was found to be 5 µM of SNP, whose addition to batch cultures resulted in a significant biofilm dispersion and the dispersed cells having c-di-GMP levels, morphologies and adhesion strengths similar to their planktonic counterparts.
VITALISE D11.2 Application toolkit
Creators: name: Fazzini, Erica
name: Onorati, Giulia
name: Conotter, Valentina
name: Trochidis, Ilias
name: Kanellopoulos, Pantelis
name: Goga, Erilda
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023

description: This document describes in detail the Application Toolkit, an online resource available on the VITALISE  Website specifically developed to enable external researchers to apply to Transnational Access and to guide them throughout the application procedure. 

The Application Toolkit is structured in 3 main sections: • Introduction to the Open Call for Transnational Access • Instruction to Apply to Transnational Access (How Can I Apply?): the section guides the applicant throughout the application procedure, also providing useful materials to draft the application. • Online Toolki. It consists of an application form that applicants must fill in in order to submit their application and research proposal. This last section is also enriched with a highlight on the technical development of the Online Toolkit, as well as a description of its backend.
ZF+DC+AX$_4$
Creators: name: Shelah, Saharon
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Logic (math.LO)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: 03E04, 03E25

description: We consider mainly the following version of set theory:"ZF + DC and for every $λ,λ^{\aleph_0}$ is well ordered", our thesis is that this is a reasonable set theory, e.g. much can be said. In particular, we prove that for a sequence $\barδ= \langle δ_s:s \in Y\rangle,\textrm{cf}(δ_s)$ large enough compared to $Y$, we can prove the pcf theorem with minor changes (using true cofinalities not the pseudo one). We then deduce the existence of covering numbers and define and prove existence of truly successor cardinals. From this we show that some diagonalization arguments (more specifically some black boxes and consequence) on Abelian groups. We end by showing some such consequences hold in ZF above.
description: version of 2016
Forget Gunboat Diplomacy, here comes Fishboat Protest
Creators: name: Rogiers, Frederik
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: international law, fishing, military activities, due regard, law of the sea

description: As one of the oldest branches of international law, the law of the sea has a long history of reconciling the different uses of the oceans. Since ancient times, two of those uses have been fishing and military activities. While the freedom to fish is explicitly mentioned in the Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC), any mention of military rights was blocked by the maritime powers. These ambiguous formulations mean that the relationship between the right to fish on the one hand and the right to perform military activities on the other, is still subject to debate, especially in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Since the start of the war in Ukraine and the increase of China’s threats to Taiwan, the international arena has seen a proliferation of military activities and exercises at sea. More and more, this has led to protests and angry responses from fishermen who see these activities as interfering with their legitimate right to fish at sea. The clash of rights comes down to the ambiguous regime of the EEZ and has led to different response among States, from simply ignoring complaints to adopting guidelines for activities at sea. In the end, the reciprocal duty of due regard for each other’s rights, duties and interests will prove vital to determine the outcome of this debate, leading to the most important question of all: What does this “due regard” concept entail?
title: On the development of a meshless method to study multibody systems using computational fluid dynamics
Creators: name: Kennett, David
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2013

description: Multibody systems, which consist of several separate or interconnected, rigid or flexible bodies, occur frequently in problems of aerospace engineering. Such problems can be difficult to solve using conventional finite volume methods in computational fluid dynamics. This is particularly so if the bodies are required to undergo translational or rotational displacements during time-dependent simulations, which occur, for example, with cases involving store release or control surface deflection. These problems are generally limited to those when the movements are small or known a-priori. This thesis investigates the use of the meshless method to solve these difficult multibody systems using computational fluid dynamics, with the aim of performing moving-body simulations involving large scale motions, with no restrictions on the movement. An implicit meshless scheme is developed to solve the Euler, laminar and Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations. Spatial derivatives are approximated using a least squares method on clouds of points. The resultant system of equations is linearised and solved implicitly using approximate, analytical Jacobian matrices and a preconditioned Krylov subspace iterative method. The details of the spatial discretisation, linear solver and construction of the Jacobian matrix are discussed, and results which demonstrate the performance of the scheme are presented for steady and unsteady flows in two and three-dimensions. The selection of the stencils over the computational domain for the meshless solver is vital for the method to be used to solve problems involving multibody systems accurately and efficiently. The computational domain is obtained using overlapping point distributions associated with each body in the system. Stencil selection is relatively straight forward if the point distributions are isotropic in nature; however, this is rarely the case in computations that solve the Navier-Stokes equations. A fully automatic method of selecting the stencils is outlined, in which the original connectivity and the concept of a resolving direction are used to help construct good quality stencils with limited user input. The methodology is described, and results, that are solutions to the Navier-Stokes equations in two-dimensions and the Euler equations in three-dimensions, are presented for various systems.
Guide sur l'accessibilité numérique à destination des porteurs de revues scientifiques
Creators: name: University of Lille
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Accessibility

description: Le nouveau guide de sensibilisation sur le respect des standards en matière d'accessibilité numérique, a été spécialement conçu pour les porteurs de revues mais se veut utile à tous. Ce guide est basé sur les recommandations du RGAA 4.1 et contient un quiz qui vous permettra de mesurer l'état de vos connaissances en matière d'accessibilité numérique.
La conception du guide est basé sur une approche "nudge" (coup de pouce en français), qui vise à encourager les comportements bénéfiques en matière d'accessibilité de manière subtile et non intrusive.
Ce guide de sensibilisation est le fruit d'un travail collaboratif mené par un groupe de travail dédié, qui a rassemblé différents profils de l'université de Lille.
title: Metabolic biomarkers of aminoglycoside nephrotoxicity
Creators: name: Rodrigues, Alison
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2015

description: Drug-induced nephrotoxicity is a limiting factor to the efficacy and safety of various therapeutics including the aminoglycoside antibiotics. Aminoglycosides, such as gentamicin, cause proximal tubule injury in a significant proportion of individuals they are given to. The onset of this adverse drug reaction is currently managed by the monitoring of serum peak and trough levels and measurement of the classic renal functional markers serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen. The limitations of these biomarkers are well established but novel, sensitive proximal tubule-specific biomarkers, such as kidney injury molecule-1, are gradually coming to the fore. Still, management of aminoglycoside nephrotoxicity is lacking a personalised strategy whereby the risk of a patient developing proximal tubule injury can be established at the individual level before exposure. Prior studies of gentamicin nephrotoxicity pin-pointed that HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, also known as statins, could inhibit the accumulation of gentamicin in vitro and therefore reduce the cytotoxicity of the drug. In order to study HMG-CoA reductase and its relationship to aminoglycoside accumulation further, an LC-MS/MS based assay was developed and validated to measure the product of the enzyme, mevalonic acid, in the urine of rats and humans. Urinary mevalonic acid was converted to mevalonolactone at pH 2, extracted alongside a deuterated internal standard using ethyl acetate and quantified by reversed-phase LC-MS/MS. The assay had a broad dynamic range of 0.0156–10 μg/mL with precision
Architectural Prototypes in Support of Urban Farming and the Sustainable City
Creators: name: Gray, Timothy C.
Publisher: name: TuEngr Group
Year: 2020
Subjects: America urban farming
Mobile greenhouse
Design build
Rust belt prototypes
Urban attrition
Urban farmers
Architectural typology
Gridshell dome
Project School
Grassroots urban farming.

description: International Transaction Journal of Engineering, Management, & Applied Sciences & Technologies, 11, 15, 11A15A: 1-8
title: The art of writing: the influence of Spanish literary culture on the work of Kate O'Brien
Creators: name: Davison, Jane
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2015

description: This thesis examines the influence that Spanish literary culture had on Kate O'Brien's work. There are overt Spanish elements in a number of O'Brien's writings; however upon a closer inspection of both her fiction and her non-fiction, this research reveals how a more subtle influence of Spain runs through the core of all her work and that her experimental writing style is inextricably linked to Spanish literary culture. As such, this thesis illuminates the way in which O'Brien's engagement with the writings of Concha Espina, Jacinto Benavente, Miguel Cervantes and Teresa of Avila provided her with a model with which to negotiate the social, religious and familial restraints faced by a female Catholic novelist in post-independence Ireland. The thesis is structured in four parts with a chapter devoted to the unique influence of each writer on O'Brien. Importantly, the thesis confronts some received critical assumptions about O'Brien. More specifically, it challenges the idea that O'Brien was a conservative writer whose work was stylistically timid and outdated in tone. In doing so, this re-assessment of O'Brien's work offers a new approach to her writing, as it situates her in both an Irish and an international context of writers who are regarded as modernist novelists.
Energy gap for Yang-Mills connections, II: Arbitrary closed Riemannian manifolds
Creators: name: Feehan, Paul M. N.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Differential Geometry (math.DG)
subject: Mathematical Physics (math-ph)
subject: Analysis of PDEs (math.AP)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: FOS: Physical sciences
subject: Primary 58E15, 57R57, secondary 37D15, 58D27, 70S15, 81T13

description: In this sequel to [arXiv:1412.4114], we prove an $L^{d/2}$ energy gap result for Yang-Mills connections on principal $G$-bundles, $P$, over arbitrary, closed, Riemannian, smooth manifolds of dimension $d\geq 2$. We apply our version of the Lojasiewicz-Simon gradient inequality [arXiv:1409.1525, arXiv:1510.03815] to remove a positivity constraint on a combination of the Ricci and Riemannian curvatures in a previous $L^{d/2}$-energy gap result due to Gerhardt (2010) and a previous $L^\infty$-energy gap result due to Bourguignon, Lawson, and Simons (1981, 1979), as well as an $L^2$-energy gap result due to Nakajima (1987) for a Yang-Mills connection over the sphere, $S^d$, but with an arbitrary Riemannian metric. The main correction in this version involves replacement of the role of Corollary 4.3 due to Uhlenbeck (1985) and Theorem 5.1 due to the author in the published version of this article at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aim.2017.03.023 by that of Theorems 1 and 9 due to the author in arXiv:1906.03954.
description: 26 pages, incorporating final galley proof corrections and corrections to errors noticed since publication online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aim.2017.03.023. Background and analytical results provided by arXiv:1409.1525, arXiv:1706.09349, and arXiv:1906.03954
Does Firm's Life Cycle Stages Affect the Cost of Equity Capital in Asia?
Creators: name: Misbah Wadood, Hashim Khan
Publisher: name: TuEngr Group
Year: 2020
Subjects: Company's life cycle
Resource-based views
Retained earnings
Organizational capability
Equity cost
Information asymmetry

description: International Transaction Journal of Engineering, Management, & Applied Sciences & Technologies, 11, 15, 11A15C: 1-10
title: The use of QLF-D (quantitative light-induced fluorescence-digitalTM) as an oral hygiene evaluation tool to assess plaque accumulation and enamel demineralisation in orthodontics
Creators: name: Miller, Cara
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2016

description: Aim: To assess the use of the Quantitative Light-induced Fluorescence-Digital BiluminatorTM (QLF-DTM) as an oral hygiene evaluation tool to detect demineralisation and plaque during orthodontics Design: Randomised clinical trial Settings: Liverpool University Dental Hospital Subjects: 33 patients (21 females, 12 males) currently undergoing upper and lower fixed orthodontic appliance treatment were recruited. The median age of patients was 14.6 years with a range from 11.0 to 37.4 years. Methods: The patients were randomly allocated, stratified by the presence of demineralisation at baseline (T0), to receiving oral hygiene reinforcement (OHR) at four consecutive appointments (T1-T4) using the White light (WL) or Quantitative Light-induced Fluorescence (QLF) images, taken with the QLF-DTM device (Inspektor Research Systems BV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands), as visual aids. The standard of oral hygiene was assessed on the QLF images using customised software to provide quantitative scoring of fluorescence loss (ΔF) and plaque coverage (ΔR30) at each appointment. Inter-examiner reliability assessments were conducted by 4 examiners using QLF and WL images from 7 patients. One examiner assessed the images on a second occasion two weeks later to ascertain the intra-examiner reliability. A debriefing questionnaire, distributed on completion of the study, was used to ascertain the patients’ perspectives of the QLF-DTM images. Results: There were no significant differences in demineralisation (ΔF: P=0.56) or plaque accumulation (ΔR30; P=0.95) between the WL and QLF groups from T0 to T4. There were no significant reductions in ΔF in the WL or the QLF group from T0-T4 (P>0.05), however there was a significant reduction in ΔR30 (P
title: A palaeomagnetic study of 3.5 to 3.2 billion year old rocks from the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa
Creators: name: Roberts Artal, Laura
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2015

description: A palaeomagnetic study of some of the best preserved Palaeoarchaean (3.2 -3.6 Ga) rock successions in the world – the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa – has been carried out in order to shed light on Early Earth processes. The aim is to improve the understanding of the long term evolution of the Earth and the surface conditions under which the first forms of life originated through using palaeomagnetic records. The study follows on from work by Layer et al., (1998), Yoshihara & Hamano (2004), Usui et al., (2009), Tarduno et al., (2010) and Biggin et al., (2011) that indicate that rocks from the Barberton Greenstone Belt have the potential to record a near-primary direction of remanence and a reversing geomagnetic field at ca. 3.5 Ga. The rocks of the Barberton Greenstone Belt are excellently preserved and have only been subjected to low grade metamorphism (greenschist facies), making them good candidates for palaeomagnetic studies. Here, new data obtained from three Onverwacht Group Formations and from the Nelshoogte Pluton are presented. The reliability of the new palaeomagnetic data is affected by the complex history and the age of the rocks but no more so than any other published study of rocks of this age. The Noisy Complex and the Nelshoogte Pluton are affected by lightning induced isothermal remanent magnetisations (IRMs) which result in poor quality results. Nevertheless, two new poles, produced by combining the new findings with previously published data, are calculated for the Komati and Hooggenoeg Formations. The new Komati pole shows improved clustering when compared to previous studies. Whilst the data of the Hooggenoeg Formation are encouraging, the results are ambiguous and open to interpretation. When combined with the results of Biggin et al., (2011) they exhibit considerably improved clustering when the directions are corrected for the tectonic deformation resulting in the formation of the Onverwacht Fold, dated at 3.23 Ga. The new results presented here support the findings of previous palaeomagnetic studies of the Barberton Greenstone Belt and support the existence of a stable geomagnetic field at ca. 3.5 Ga. The results presented here support the findings of Biggin et al., (2011) of moderate latitudinal plate motion during this time and do not rule out the hypothesis that the Pilbara Craton (Western Australia) and the Kaapval Craton (South Africa) were conjoined in the Palaeoarchaean.
Crossed products by endomorphisms of $C_0(X)$-algebras
Creators: name: Kwasniewski, B. K.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Operator Algebras (math.OA)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: 46L05

description: In the first part of the paper, we develop a theory of crossed products of a $C^*$-algebra $A$ by an arbitrary (not necessarily extendible) endomorphism $α:A\to A$. We consider relative crossed products $C^*(A,α;J)$ where $J$ is an ideal in $A$, and describe up to Morita-Rieffel equivalence all gauge invariant ideals in $C^*(A,α;J)$ and give six term exact sequences determining their $K$-theory. We also obtain certain criteria implying that all ideals in $C^*(A,α;J)$ are gauge invariant, and that $C^*(A,α;J)$ is purely infinite. In the second part, we consider a situation where $A$ is a $C_0(X)$-algebra and $α$ is such that $α(f a)=Φ(f)α(a)$, $a\in A$, $f\in C_0(X)$ where $Φ$ is an endomorphism of $C_0(X)$. Pictorially speaking, $α$ is a mixture of a topological dynamical system $(X,φ)$ dual to $(C_0(X),Φ)$ and a continuous field of homomorphisms $α_x$ between the fibers $A(x)$, $x\in X$, of the corresponding $C^*$-bundle. For systems described above, we establish efficient conditions for the uniqueness property, gauge-invariance of all ideals, and pure infiniteness of $C^*(A,α;J)$. We apply these results to the case when $X=$Prim$(A)$ is a Hausdorff space. In particular, if the associated $C^*$-bundle is trivial, we obtain formulas for $K$-groups of all ideals in $C^*(A,α;J)$. In this way, we constitute a large class of crossed products whose ideal structure and $K$-theory is completely described in terms of $(X,φ,\{α_{x}\}_{x\in X};Y)$ where $Y$ is a closed subset of $X$.
description: This is a version to appear in J. Funct. Anal
HR Policies Appraisal for the Airline Industry of Pakistan Using a Mixed-Method Approach
Creators: name: Kausar Parveen, Waqar Akbar
Publisher: name: TuEngr Group
Year: 2020
Subjects: HR Audit
HR climate
Training & development
HR department
Airline employee
Job analysis
HR policy.

description: International Transaction Journal of Engineering, Management, & Applied Sciences & Technologies, 11, 15, 11A15D: 1-12
Understanding Millennials Frustration at Work from a Lens of Self-determination Theory
Creators: name: Saba Khan, Waqar Akbar
Publisher: name: TuEngr Group
Year: 2020
Subjects: Need frustration
Autonomy frustration
Emotional exhaustion
Relatedness frustration
Workplace autonomy
Absenteeism
Somatic stress
Work stress
Job autonomy
Somatic symptom burden
Competency frustration.

description: International Transaction Journal of Engineering, Management, & Applied Sciences & Technologies, 11, 15, 11A15E: 1-10
title: Exploring the use of spatial concepts in the planning and development of the North West of England
Creators: name: O'Brien, Philip
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2015

description: This research explores the use of spatial concepts in sub-national land-use planning and economic development policy, and in the governance of these, by examining the application of policy from local, regional, national and European levels of government over the course of three decades. The research seeks to investigate how, and to what extent, spatial concepts have entered sub-national planning and development policy in order to better understand the ways in which policy has been able to account for the increased spatial complexity of contemporary social and economic life. The prospects of cities and regions have been dramatically altered by increasing economic globalisation, leading to a shift in understandings of urban and regional growth towards models and explanations that incorporate spatial concepts. These global scale changes are affecting patterns of economic and social activity in cities and regions in such a way as to alter the roles of, and relationships between, territories and places. Policy-makers thus face challenges relating to the nature of economic development interventions under shifting interpretations of distance, the problem of coordinating different policy areas towards shared territorial aims and the difficulty of managing spatial development processes that transcend administrative boundaries. Using as a case study region the North West of England, the thesis addresses these concerns by exploration of the roles played by a range of organisations lodged at a number of governmental scales and of the strategies used by these towards the achievement of planning and development aims. The thesis concludes that the integration of spatial concepts into the planning and development of the case study region is a process strongly mediated by political and other institutional agencies active there. The nature of spatial development policy is subject to the negotiated processes of the governance arena and the form taken by spatial strategies reflects the interaction of contemporary strategies with inherited and existing plans, strategies and spatial visions. It is suggested that the extent to which spatial development policy can address the spatial complexity of economic and social life in contemporary regions may be dependent upon the ability of policy-makers to engage in innovative and expedient solutions to spatial problems that span administrative boundaries and policy remits.
Key-Policy Multi-Authority Attribute-Based Encryption
Creators: name: Longo, Riccardo
name: Marcolla, Chiara
name: Sala, Massimiliano
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Cryptography and Security (cs.CR)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences
subject: 11T71

description: Bilinear groups are often used to create Attribute-Based Encryption (ABE) algorithms. In particular, they have been used to create an ABE system with multi authorities, but limited to the ciphertext-policy instance. Here, for the first time, we propose a multi-authority key-policy ABE system. In our proposal, the authorities may be set up in any moment and without any coordination. A party can simply act as an ABE authority by creating its own public parameters and issuing private keys to the users. A user can thus encrypt data choosing both a set of attributes and a set of trusted authorities, maintaining full control unless all his chosen authorities collude against him. We prove our system secure under the bilinear Diffie-Hellman assumption.
description: 12 pages