MS

thesisThe resistance of concrete to the penetration of chloride ions from deicing salts or other brine solutions is one of the most important performance properties used in concrete mixture design specifications. This property provides valuable insight into the time to the corrosion initiation of reinforcing steel. The AASHTO T277 or ASTM CI 202 tests have been used in the approval of mixture designs for most high performance concrete (HPC) specifications as an indicator of durability. This test is time consuming and not conducive to the volume or time constraints of quality control or quality assurance (QC/QA) testing of in-situ concrete or field cured concrete. In recent years, various iterations of the Wenner probe have been developed to characterize the electrical resistance of concrete, a property that plays an important role in the initiation and propagation of corrosion. Fully developed life cycle analysis models use both a) corrosion initiation time; and b) corrosion propagation components to address their goals. This thesis demonstrates that the physics of these two tests are closely related and using 26 different HPC mixture designs, the electrical resistivity can reliably predict the resistance of concrete to the penetration of chloride ions with substantially less effort and expense. In this large number of different mixture designs for bridge decks and exposed structures, the electrical resistance consistently correlated with the T277 and CI202 test results. In addition, the concrete's electrical resistance is a physical property of the concrete, not just an indicator of potential behavior. As such, it can be directly used in the development of corrosion models. This thesis discusses the research conducted to verify the correlation between the ASTM CI202 testing results and the Wenner resistivity results using Ohms law. Through this research, it was determined that there was a consistent relationship through Ohms law

Mechanism for neurotransmitter-receptor matching.

Synaptic communication requires the expression of functional postsynaptic receptors that match the presynaptically released neurotransmitter. The ability of neurons to switch the transmitter they release is increasingly well documented, and these switches require changes in the postsynaptic receptor population. Although the activity-dependent molecular mechanism of neurotransmitter switching is increasingly well understood, the basis of specification of postsynaptic neurotransmitter receptors matching the newly expressed transmitter is unknown. Using a functional assay, we show that sustained application of glutamate to embryonic vertebrate skeletal muscle cells cultured before innervation is necessary and sufficient to up-regulate ionotropic glutamate receptors from a pool of different receptors expressed at low levels. Up-regulation of these ionotropic receptors is independent of signaling by metabotropic glutamate receptors. Both imaging of glutamate-induced calcium elevations and Western blots reveal ionotropic glutamate receptor expression prior to immunocytochemical detection. Sustained application of glutamate to skeletal myotomes in vivo is necessary and sufficient for up-regulation of membrane expression of the GluN1 NMDA receptor subunit. Pharmacological antagonists and morpholinos implicate p38 and Jun kinases and MEF2C in the signal cascade leading to ionotropic glutamate receptor expression. The results suggest a mechanism by which neuronal release of transmitter up-regulates postsynaptic expression of appropriate transmitter receptors following neurotransmitter switching and may contribute to the proper expression of receptors at the time of initial innervation

Ethnicity and the Writing of Medieval Scottish history

Historians have long tended to define medieval Scottish society in terms of interactions between ethnic groups. This approach was developed over the course of the long nineteenth century, a formative period for the study of medieval Scotland. At that time, many scholars based their analysis upon scientific principles, long since debunked, which held that medieval 'peoples' could only be understood in terms of 'full ethnic packages'. This approach was combined with a positivist historical narrative that defined Germanic Anglo-Saxons and Normans as the harbingers of advances of Civilisation. While the prejudices of that era have largely faded away, the modern discipline still relies all too often on a dualistic ethnic framework. This is particularly evident in a structure of periodisation that draws a clear line between the 'Celtic' eleventh century and the 'Norman' twelfth. Furthermore, dualistic oppositions based on ethnicity continue, particularly in discussions of the law, kingship, lordship and religion

Farm types and farmer motivations to adapt:Implications for design of sustainable agricultural interventions in the rubber plantations of South West China

Tropical land use is one of the leading causes of global environmental change. Sustainable agricultural development aims to reduce the negative environmental impacts of tropical land use whilst enhancing the well-being of the smallholder farmers residing in those areas. Interventions with this goal are typically designed by scientists educated in the Western tradition, and often achieve lower than desired uptake by smallholder farmers. We build on work done in farm type classification and studies of factors that influence adaptation, trialling a suite of household survey questions to elucidate the motivational factors that influence a farmer's willingness to adapt to external change. Based on a sample of 1015 households in the rubber growing region of Xishuangbanna, South-west China, we found that farm types based on structural characteristics (e.g. crops, livelihoods) could not be used to accurately predict farmers' motivations to adapt. Amongst all six farm types identified, the full range of motivational typologies was found. We found six motivational types, from most to least likely to adapt, named: Aspirational Innovators, Conscientious, Copy Cats, Incentive-centric, Well Settled, and Change Resistant. These groups roughly corresponded with those identified in literature regarding diffusion of innovations, but such classifications are rarely used in development literature. We predict that only one third of the population would be potentially willing to trial a new intervention, and recommend that those sectors of the population should be identified and preferentially targeted by development programs. Such an approach requires validation that these motivational typologies accurately predict real behaviour – perhaps through a panel survey approach. Dedicated data gathering is required, beyond what is usually carried out for ex-ante farm typologies, but with some refinements of the methodology presented here the process need not be onerous. An improved suite of questions to appraise farmers' motivations might include value orientations, life satisfaction, and responses to various scenarios, all phrased to be locally appropriate, with a scoring system that uses the full range of potential scores and a minimum of follow up and peripheral questions

Noticing education campaigns or public health messages about vaping among youth in the US, Canada, and England from 2018 to 2022

Purpose: Public health campaigns have the potential to correct vaping misperceptions. However, campaigns highlighting vaping harms to youth may increase misperceptions that vaping is equally/more harmful than smoking. Vaping campaigns have been implemented in the US and Canada since 2018, and in England since 2017, but with differing focus: youth vaping prevention (US/Canada) and smoking cessation (England). We therefore examined country differences and trends in noticing vaping campaigns among youth and, using 2022 data only, perceived valence of campaigns and associations with harm perceptions. Methods: Seven repeated cross-sectional surveys of 16–19-year-olds in US, Canada, England (2018-2022, N=92,339). Results: Over half of youth reported noticing vaping campaigns, and noticing increased from Aug’18-Feb’20 (US:55.2-74.6%,AOR=1.21,95%CI=1.18-1.24; Canada:52.6-64.5%,AOR=1.13,1.11-1.16; England:48.0-53.0%,AOR=1.05,1.02-1.08) before decreasing (Canada) or plateauing (England/US) to Aug’22. Increases were most pronounced in the US, then Canada. Noticing was most common on websites/social media, school, and television/radio. In 2022 only, most campaigns were perceived to negatively portray vaping and this was associated with accurately perceiving vaping as less harmful than smoking among youth who exclusively vaped (AOR=1.46,1.09-1.97). Conclusion: Consistent with implementation of youth vaping prevention campaigns in the US and Canada, most youth reported noticing vaping campaigns/messages, and most were perceived to negatively portray vaping

Patients with naproxen-induced liver injury display T-cell memory responses toward an oxidative (S)-O-Desmethyl Naproxen metabolite but not the acyl glucuronide

Background Exposure to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen (IBU) and naproxen (NAP) is associated with idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury (DILI). Carboxylate bioactivation into reactive metabolites (e.g., acyl glucuronides, AG) and resulting T-cell activation is hypothesized as causal for this adverse event. However, conclusive evidence supporting this is lacking. Methods In this work, we identify CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell hepatic infiltration in a biopsy from an IBU DILI patient. Lymphocyte transformation test and IFN-γ ELIspot, conducted on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of patients with NAP-DILI, were used to explore drug-specific T-cell activation. T-cell clones (TCC) were generated and tested for drug specificity, phenotype/function, and pathways of T-cell activation. Cells were exposed to NAP, its oxidative metabolite 6-O-desmethyl NAP (DM-NAP), its AG or synthesized NAP-AG human-serum albumin adducts (NAP-AG adduct). Results CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells from patients expressing a range of different Vβ receptors were stimulated to proliferate and secrete IFN-γ and IL-22 when exposed to DM-NAP, but not NAP, NAP-AG or the NAP-AG adduct. Activation of the CD4+ TCC was HLA-DQ-restricted and dependent on antigen presenting cells (APC); most TCC were activated with DM-NAP-pulsed APC, while fixation of APC blocked the T-cell response. Cross-reactivity was not observed with structurally-related drugs. Conclusion Our results confirm hepatic T-cell infiltrations in NSAID-induced DILI, and show a T-cell memory response toward DM-NAP indicating an immune-mediated basis for the adverse event. Whilst bioactivation at the carboxylate group is widely hypothesized to be pathogenic for NSAID associated DILI, we found no evidence of this with NAP

Road to Nowhere? A Critical Consideration of the Use of the Metaphor ‘Care Pathway’ in Health Services Planning, Organisation and Delivery

AbstractMetaphors are inescapable in human discourse. Policy researchers have suggested that the use of particular metaphors by those implementing policy changes both influences perceptions of underlying reality and determines what solutions seem possible, and that exploring ‘practice languages’ is important in understanding how policy is enacted. This paper contributes to the literature exploring the generative nature of metaphors in policy implementation, demonstrating their role in not just describing the world, but also framing it, determining what is seen/unseen, and what solutions seem possible. The metaphor ‘care pathway’ is ubiquitous and institutionalised in healthcare. We build upon existing work critiquing its use in care delivery, and explore its use in health care commissioning, using evidence from the recent reorganisation of the English NHS. We show that the pathways metaphor is ubiquitous, but not necessarily straightforward. Conceptualising health care planning as ‘designing a pathway’ may make the task more difficult, suggesting a limited range of approaches and solutions. We offer an alternative metaphor: the service map. We discuss how approaches to care design might be altered by using this different metaphor, and explore what it might offer. We argue not for a barren language devoid of metaphors, but for their more conscious use.</jats:p

Design and sensitivity of a 6-axis seismometer for gravitational wave observatories

We present the design, control system, and noise analysis of a 6-axis seismometer comprising a mass suspended by a single fused silica fiber. We utilize custom-made, compact Michelson interferometers for the readout of the mass motion relative to the table and successfully overcome the sensitivity of existing commercial seismometers by over an order of magnitude in the angular degrees of freedom. We develop the sensor for gravitational-wave observatories, such as LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA, to help them observe intermediate-mass black holes, increase their duty cycle, and improve localization of sources. Our control system and its achieved sensitivity makes the sensor suitable for other fundamental physics experiments, such as tests of semiclassical gravity, searches for bosonic dark matter, and studies of the Casimir force