Changes in social characteristics of former council estates in the City of Canterbury since the introduction of the Right to Buy legislation

The aim of this thesis is to explore changes in social characteristics of former council estates in the City of Canterbury, since the introduction of the Right to Buy legislation. Research on social changes related to the Right to Buy has centred on a series of issues, however, a complete account of the evolution of social characteristics in former council housing areas seems not to have been explored in the literature. For this reason, the thesis intends to trace social changes that have taken place in former council estates, and to examine the changes against the issues discussed in the literature. Data has been collected from the 1981, 1991 and 2001 UK censuses, which delineate the social characteristics in former council estates before the changes (1981), during the changes (1991) and after the changes (2001). Fifty-one social indicators have been developed to represent the social characteristics being examined. Three data matrices, one for each census, have been constructed to study social change. Multivariate analysis has been applied to the data. First of all, Principal Components Analysis (PCA) was performed to study the dimensionality of the data, which generated consistent results over the three data matrices. Secondly, Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) has been applied to study the similarities between areas in each data matrix. Property Fitting (ProFit) has been used to interpret the MDS configurations, and to help identify former council housing areas. Lastly and most importantly, Three-way Multidimensional Scaling has been adopted to study social change. The model used is INDSCAL by Carroll and Chang (1970), which generates a common space where the structure of social indicators remains constant. Areas have been represented into the common space by ProFit, in order to reveal the trend of social change over time. The results show that the changes in social characteristics of these former council housing areas are in line with the social changes discussed in the literature, i.e. the sale of council houses has resulted in the residualisation of the council housing sector, the growth of home ownership, social mix within former council estates, and gentrification-induced displacement

Changes in social characteristics of former council estates in the City of Canterbury since the introduction of the Right to Buy legislation

The aim of this thesis is to explore changes in social characteristics of former council estates in tbe City of Canterbury, since tbe introduction of the Right to Buy legislation. Researcb on social changes related to the Right to Buy has centred on a series of issues, however, a complete account of the evolution of social characteristics in former council housing areas seems not to have been explored in the literature. For this reason, the thesis intends to trace social cbanges that bave taken place in fonner council estates, and to examine the cbanges against the issues discussed in the literarure. Data has been collected from the 1981, 1991 and 2001 UK censuses, which delineate the social characteristics in former council estates before the changes (1981), during the changes ( 1991) and after the changes (2001). Fifty-one social indicators have been developed to represent the social characteristics being examined. Three data matrices, one for each census,have been constructed to study social change. Multivariate analysis has been applied to the data. First of all, Principal Components Analysis (PCA) was performed to study the dimensionality of the data, which generated consistent results over the three data matrices. Secondly, Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) has been applied to study the similarities berween areas in each data matrix. Property Fitting '(PrOFit) has been used to interpret the MDS configurations, and to help identify former council housing areas. Lastly and most importantly, Three-way Multidimensional Scaling has been adopted to study social change. The model used is INDSCAL by Carroll and Chang (1970), which generates a conunon space where the structure of social indicators remains constant. Areas have been represented into the common space by ProFit, in order to reveal the trend of social change over time. The results show that the changes in social characteristics of these former council housing areas are in line with the social changes discussed in the literature, i.e. the sale of council houses has resulted in the residualisation of tbe council housing sector, the growtb of borne ownership, social mix within former council estates, and gentri fication-induced displacemem. Keywords: council housing, the Right to Buy, social change, multivariate analysis.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Asymmetric Synthesis of -Disubstituted Allylic Amines via Pd- Catalyzed Allylic Substitution

The first asymmetric synthesis of important - disubstituted N-alkyl allyl amine scaffolds via allylic substitution is reported. This approach is based on palladium catalysis and features ample scope in both allylic precursor and amine reagent, and high asymmetric induction with the enantiomeric ratio (er) up to 98.5:1.5. The use of less reactive anilines is also feasible providing enantioenriched -disubstituted N-aryl allylic amines

Cellular-level analyses of SCN5A mutations in left ventricular noncompaction cardiomyopathy suggest electrophysiological mechanisms for ventricular tachycardia

Left ventricular noncompaction cardiomyopathy (LVNC) is a cardiovascular disease characterized by arrhythmia and heart failure. In this study, LVNC myocardial samples were collected from patients who underwent heart transplantation and were analyzed using exome sequencing. Approximately half of the LVNC patients carried SCN5A variants, which are associated with clinical symptoms of ventricular tachycardia. To investigate the electrophysiological functions of these SCN5A variants and the underlying mechanism by which they increase arrhythmia susceptibility in LVNC patients, functional evaluations were conducted in CHO–K1 cells and human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hESC-CMs) using patch-clamp or microelectrode array (MEA) techniques. These findings demonstrated that these SCN5A mutants exhibited gain-of-function properties, leading to increased channel activation and enhanced fast inactivation in CHO–K1 cells. Additionally, these mutants enhanced the excitability and contractility of the cardiomyocyte population in hESC-CMs models. All SCN5A variants induced fibrillation-like arrhythmia and increased the heart rate in cardiomyocytes. However, the administration of Lidocaine, an antiarrhythmic drug that acts on sodium ion channels, was able to rescue or alleviate fibrillation-like arrhythmias and secondary beat phenomenon. Based on these findings, it is speculated that SCN5A variants may contribute to susceptibility to arrhythmia in LVNC patients. Furthermore, the construction of cardiomyocyte models with SCN5A variants and their application in drug screening may facilitate the development of precise therapies for arrhythmia in the future

Synergetic interactions improve cobalt leaching from lithium cobalt oxide in microbial fuel cells

Cobalt leaching from lithium cobalt oxide is a promising reduction process for recovery of cobalt and recycle of spent lithium ion batteries, but suffers from consumption of large amount of reductants and energy, and generation of excess secondary polluted sludge. Thus, effective and environmental friendly processes are needed to improve the existing process limitations. Here we reported microbial fuel cells (MFCs) to effectively reduce Co(III) in lithium cobalt oxide with concomitant energy generation. There was a synergetic interaction in MFCs, leading to a more rapid Co(III) leaching at a rate 3.4 times the sum of rates by conventional chemical processes and no-acid controls. External resistor, solid/liquid ratio, solution conductivity, pH and temperature affected system performance. This study provides a new process for recovery of cobalt and recycle of spent lithium ion batteries with concomitant energy generation from MFCs. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Transvaginal natural orifice endoscopic surgery for ovarian cystectomy: a more suitable surgical approach for the day-care procedure

IntroductionAlthough previous studies have shown that vaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (vNOTES) has the advantages of causing less pain, faster recovery, and better concealment of surgical incisions, which aligns with the concept of the day-care procedure, this approach poses a greater risk of damaging adjacent organs (i. e., rectum and bladder) due to its anatomical specificity. Moreover, the day-care procedure may lead to relatively less preoperative evaluation and postoperative care. Hence, it is necessary to explore the safety and effectiveness of vNOTES for ovarian cystectomy in the day-care procedure, to provide a theoretical basis for the wider development of vNOTES surgery.Materials and methodsThis retrospective study included 131 patients at our hospital who underwent ovarian cystectomy from September 2021 to October 2022. Based on the surgical approach, patients were classified into transumbilical laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (LESS) and vNOTES groups. The patients' demographic characteristics and follow-up data were collected during the perioperative period and 1-month postoperatively.ResultsVaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery has less postoperative exhaust time, a lower postoperative 6-hour pain score, and a lower incidence of analgesic drug use, with higher surgical conversion incidence. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the surgical conversion, chocolate cyst, bilateral cyst, and pelvic adhesion increased the operation duration by ~43 (95% CI: 10.309, 68.152, p < 0.001), 15 (95% CI: 6.342, 45.961, p = 0.036), 10 (95% CI: 3.07, 40.166, p = 0.019), and 8 (95% CI: 4.555, 26.779, p = 0.035) min, respectively. Interestingly, vNOTES decreased the operation duration by ~8.5 min (95% CI: −18.313, −2.699, p = 0.033).ConclusionVaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery was equally safe and effective for ovarian cystectomy compared to LESS. vNOTES aligned with the concept of the day-care procedure due to its reduced postoperative pain, shorter exhaust time, and absence of scarring. However, surgeons should conduct a comprehensive preoperative evaluation and exclude patients suspected to have severe pelvic adhesions

Pd-Catalyzed Enantio- and Regioselective Formation of Allylic Aryl Ethers

A general methodology for the synthesis of enantioenriched tertiary allylic aryl ethers through Pd-catalyzed decarboxylative reactions of vinyl cyclic carbonates and phenols is presented. Switching of the regioselectivity toward the formation of linear products by a judicious choice of the ligand is also reported

Divergent Responses of Forest Soil Microbial Communities under Elevated CO2 in Different Depths of Upper Soil Layers.

Numerous studies have shown that the continuous increase of atmosphere CO2 concentrations may have profound effects on the forest ecosystem and its functions. However, little is known about the response of belowground soil microbial communities under elevated atmospheric CO2 (eCO2) at different soil depth profiles in forest ecosystems. Here, we examined soil microbial communities at two soil depths (0 to 5 cm and 5 to 15 cm) after a 10-year eCO2 exposure using a high-throughput functional gene microarray (GeoChip). The results showed that eCO2 significantly shifted the compositions, including phylogenetic and functional gene structures, of soil microbial communities at both soil depths. Key functional genes, including those involved in carbon degradation and fixation, methane metabolism, denitrification, ammonification, and nitrogen fixation, were stimulated under eCO2 at both soil depths, although the stimulation effect of eCO2 on these functional markers was greater at the soil depth of 0 to 5 cm than of 5 to 15 cm. Moreover, a canonical correspondence analysis suggested that NO3-N, total nitrogen (TN), total carbon (TC), and leaf litter were significantly correlated with the composition of the whole microbial community. This study revealed a positive feedback of eCO2 in forest soil microbial communities, which may provide new insight for a further understanding of forest ecosystem responses to global CO2 increases.IMPORTANCE The concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) has continuously been increasing since the industrial revolution. Understanding the response of soil microbial communities to elevated atmospheric CO2 (eCO2) is important for predicting the contribution of the forest ecosystem to global atmospheric change. This study analyzed the effect of eCO2 on microbial communities at two soil depths (0 to 5 cm and 5 to 15 cm) in a forest ecosystem. Our findings suggest that the compositional and functional structures of microbial communities shifted under eCO2 at both soil depths. More functional genes involved in carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling were stimulated under eCO2 at the soil depth of 0 to 5 cm than at the depth of 5 to 15 cm