title: Whisperer: A Study in Adaptation

authors: West, Brendan Robert

subjects: Adaptation

abstract: It is becoming increasingly common in the modern theatre world for practitioners to be multi‐disciplinary. This thesis mates the skills of academia, scriptwriting, technical design and prop fabrication in order to create an adaption of H. P. Lovecraft’s The Whisperer in Darkness. In it, I investigate the methodology of adaptation and how it has, and can, apply specifically to the Gothic and Weird Fiction genres. Via study of other Gothic and Lovecraftian adaptions, I craft a script from The Whisperer in Darkness, including design specifications and specialist technical considerations. Many of these findings are explored through a practical staging of said script.

It is strongly advisable for any reader of this thesis to first read the appendix.

text: Whisperer: A Study in Adaptation It is becoming increasingly common in the modern theatre world for practitioners to be multi‐disciplinary. This thesis mates the skills of academia, scriptwriting, technical design and prop fabrication in order to create an adaption of H. P. Lovecraft’s The Whisperer in Darkness. In it, I investigate the methodology of adaptation and how it has, and can, apply specifically to the Gothic and Weird Fiction genres. Via study of other Gothic and Lovecraftian adaptions, I craft a script from The Whisperer in Darkness, including design specifications and specialist technical considerations. Many of these findings are explored through a practical staging of said script.

It is strongly advisable for any reader of this thesis to first read the appendix.

year: 2012

title: A Seabased wave energy device: An experimental investigation

authors: Zhu, Haofeng

subjects: wave energy converters

abstract: Ocean waves are a largely untapped treasure-house of renewable energy resource, and the potential renewable energy harvested from ocean waves is considerable around the world. Abundant research and development on this field have been conducted to accomplish the aims in different stages, and the technology has been undergoing all the time. However, despite tremendous energy potential, technologies of ocean wave, the wave energy converter (WEC), are still relatively immature compared to other renewable technologies.
This thesis presents basic motion character of a WEC device that the performance of one of WECs in relationship between power take off (PTO) part and buoy. The device is a simple 1:50 scaled model which referred to a point absorber buoy device like the device of the Seabased project that the buoy connected with PTO by a wire reacts the water surface to respond excited waves, and drives the PTO with a spring.
The tests were conducted in a small water tank. In order to investigate the relationship between buoy performance and PTO part, two different springs were used respectively in PTO, which one spring is stiff and the other one is softer, and model device experienced irregular and regular wave conditions. The softer spring case indicated that the buoy was sensitive to the passing waves but it was hard to provide a restoring force, so the period of one heave motion of buoy was relatively long, which was totally opposed to that of the stiffer spring case. Moreover, the natural frequency of model device was also calculated by mathematical model, and this theoretical value was less than that of experimental value from test.
This model device could be improved and perfected and subjected to small scaled water tank tests for offshore device to investigate the basic characters for motion with methods of mathematical model or simulation and experimental results.

text: A Seabased wave energy device: An experimental investigation Ocean waves are a largely untapped treasure-house of renewable energy resource, and the potential renewable energy harvested from ocean waves is considerable around the world. Abundant research and development on this field have been conducted to accomplish the aims in different stages, and the technology has been undergoing all the time. However, despite tremendous energy potential, technologies of ocean wave, the wave energy converter (WEC), are still relatively immature compared to other renewable technologies.
This thesis presents basic motion character of a WEC device that the performance of one of WECs in relationship between power take off (PTO) part and buoy. The device is a simple 1:50 scaled model which referred to a point absorber buoy device like the device of the Seabased project that the buoy connected with PTO by a wire reacts the water surface to respond excited waves, and drives the PTO with a spring.
The tests were conducted in a small water tank. In order to investigate the relationship between buoy performance and PTO part, two different springs were used respectively in PTO, which one spring is stiff and the other one is softer, and model device experienced irregular and regular wave conditions. The softer spring case indicated that the buoy was sensitive to the passing waves but it was hard to provide a restoring force, so the period of one heave motion of buoy was relatively long, which was totally opposed to that of the stiffer spring case. Moreover, the natural frequency of model device was also calculated by mathematical model, and this theoretical value was less than that of experimental value from test.
This model device could be improved and perfected and subjected to small scaled water tank tests for offshore device to investigate the basic characters for motion with methods of mathematical model or simulation and experimental results.

year: 2020

title: Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains in New Zealand: phylogeny and structural biology

authors: Claire Vignette, Mulholland

subjects: tuberculosis

abstract: Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an obligate human pathogen and is the primary causative agent of tuberculosis. New Zealand has a relatively low incidence of tuberculosis disease, however, Māori (the indigenous people of New Zealand) and Pacific People are disproportionally affected. Molecular typing shows that approximately two-thirds of M. tuberculosis isolates from New Zealand-born patients can be assigned to clusters of related strains. The largest M. tuberculosis cluster in New Zealand is known as the ‘Rangipo’ cluster and is predominantly found in Māori. This strain has been the source of several tuberculosis outbreaks over the last 30 years and anecdotal evidence suggests it may be particularly virulent. Two other large clusters, known as the ‘Southern Cross’ and ‘Otara’ clusters, most commonly occur in Pacific People.
Here, whole genome sequencing, phylogenetics and structural biology were used to investigate evolutionary origins and functional consequences of genomic diversity in New Zealand M. tuberculosis clusters, with a particular focus on the Rangipo strain. Analysis of Rangipo strain non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (nsSNPs) identified bacterial genetic factors that may contribute to the high transmissibility of this strain. The F420-dependent oxidoreductase Rv2893 harbours a Rangipo-specific G72S mutation encoded by a nsSNP. H37Rv and Rangipo Rv2893 structures were solved and show the effect of this G72S mutation. Binding of the F420 cofactor was confirmed and characterised. SNP analyses also guided the optimisation of a diagnostic assay for rapid Rangipo strain classification at low cost and with high discriminatory power. Phylogenetic analyses revealed the Rangipo and Otara clusters belong to a larger M.tuberculosis clade of French/European origin that is also prevalent in indigenous populations in Canada. Molecular dating indicates dispersal of this clade to the South Pacific was driven by expanding European trade networks in the early 19th century and identifies host factors that have contributed to the dispersal and expansion of the Rangipo and Otara strains.
Overall, these results show that relatively recent changes in host ecology have likely played a crucial role in driving the success of the Rangipo strain in New Zealand and point to bacterial genetic factors that may influence its virulence and thereby also contribute to its prevalence.

text: Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains in New Zealand: phylogeny and structural biology Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an obligate human pathogen and is the primary causative agent of tuberculosis. New Zealand has a relatively low incidence of tuberculosis disease, however, Māori (the indigenous people of New Zealand) and Pacific People are disproportionally affected. Molecular typing shows that approximately two-thirds of M. tuberculosis isolates from New Zealand-born patients can be assigned to clusters of related strains. The largest M. tuberculosis cluster in New Zealand is known as the ‘Rangipo’ cluster and is predominantly found in Māori. This strain has been the source of several tuberculosis outbreaks over the last 30 years and anecdotal evidence suggests it may be particularly virulent. Two other large clusters, known as the ‘Southern Cross’ and ‘Otara’ clusters, most commonly occur in Pacific People.
Here, whole genome sequencing, phylogenetics and structural biology were used to investigate evolutionary origins and functional consequences of genomic diversity in New Zealand M. tuberculosis clusters, with a particular focus on the Rangipo strain. Analysis of Rangipo strain non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (nsSNPs) identified bacterial genetic factors that may contribute to the high transmissibility of this strain. The F420-dependent oxidoreductase Rv2893 harbours a Rangipo-specific G72S mutation encoded by a nsSNP. H37Rv and Rangipo Rv2893 structures were solved and show the effect of this G72S mutation. Binding of the F420 cofactor was confirmed and characterised. SNP analyses also guided the optimisation of a diagnostic assay for rapid Rangipo strain classification at low cost and with high discriminatory power. Phylogenetic analyses revealed the Rangipo and Otara clusters belong to a larger M.tuberculosis clade of French/European origin that is also prevalent in indigenous populations in Canada. Molecular dating indicates dispersal of this clade to the South Pacific was driven by expanding European trade networks in the early 19th century and identifies host factors that have contributed to the dispersal and expansion of the Rangipo and Otara strains.
Overall, these results show that relatively recent changes in host ecology have likely played a crucial role in driving the success of the Rangipo strain in New Zealand and point to bacterial genetic factors that may influence its virulence and thereby also contribute to its prevalence.

year: 2019