Constructing Deseret

Constructing Deseret is an examination of the epistemological assumption that perfect knowledge equals perfect being. It follows my progression as a poet from imitation of Yeats and Shakespeare, and traditional forms, such as sonnet, villanelle and haiku, to the investigation and validation of my own styles and forms. For the early poems the reaching of insight and wisdom is the goal of the poem. Next I look at nature and the world as a source of knowledge and standard of perfection. What follows is a rejection of the pursuit of education/perfection in order to embrace a plain looking at self, an attempt to reconcile striving for perfection with an Emersonian ideal of self-knowledge

Clinical and confidence outcomes following through-knee versus above-knee amputation : a quantitative study

Following surgery, patients with a major lower limb amputation face physical and mental health challenges. For clinicians and physiotherapists to reach a consensus and provide a suitable level of amputation for each patient, the understanding of post-operative outcomes based on varied levels of amputation must be established. The scientific literature has reported extensively on the clinical, biomechanical and rehabilitation outcomes of patients with an above-knee amputation (AKA). Many patients who receive an AKA may not have been considered for a through-knee amputation (TKA). Reported benefits of a TKA include an end weight-bearing residual limb, longer mechanical lever arm, which may be important for sitting balance and when mobilising with a prosthesis. However, patients are not considered for a TKA due to the historical association with poor wound healing. The aim of this thesis was to investigate and compare clinical and rehabilitation outcomes between patients with a TKA and patients with an AKA.The first study was a systematic review and meta-analysis, thus aiming to compare the functional outcomes and balance confidence of patients with a TKA versus (vs.) AKA during activities of daily living. Existing literature suggested that patients with a TKA had a significantly increased walking distance during the six-minute walk test (6MWT).The second overarching study aimed to perform a large-scale retrospective analysis of a case control series using data held within the NVR database, to determine the differences in clinical and post-operative outcomes between patients with a unilateral TKA and patients with a unilateral AKA. We found that TKA was more commonly performed in patients with diabetes, and is significantly associated with more elective admissions, fewer post-operative complications, and a lower mortality rate compared with AKA. Further, patients with a unilateral TKA had similar levels of successful wound healing as AKA patients, despite previous literature reporting of poor wound healing. Significantly more patients with a TKA were referred to amputation rehabilitation.The aim of the final study was to compare the differences in ambulatory and non-ambulatory patients with a TKA and patients with an AKA, and to compare their balance confidence and falls history. Findings from this thesis indicated no differences between TKA and AKA when performing the six-minute walk test (6MWT), functional tests and self-reported balance confidence during daily tasks

An Experimental Investigation of the Age Hardening of Nickel with Boron

Since 1911, at which time, the age hardening phenomenon of duralumin was discovered by Film, much re­search has been carried on investigating the various alloy systems. The successful application of age hardening to the copper aluminum system (duralumin) has indicated the possibility of hardening practically all the metals in the same way

Design and fabrication of novel vaginal ring pessaries with improved performances

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a severe gynaecological condition affecting around 50% of women over the age of 50 [1]. POP can occur due to weakening of the pelvic floor and vaginal tissue, leading to prolapse of the uterus, bladder or rectum. Pessaries are devices inserted into the vagina for treatment of POP by provision of mechanical support to the prolapsed organ, shown in Figure 1. A variety of pessaries exist, with each being suited to a particular type and stage of prolapse, one of the most common is the ring pessary [2]. Pessaries provide an alternative treatment to vaginal mesh, which has now been banned [3] following its link to multiple deaths [4]

Structure and stability studies of shikimate kinase

This thesis describes a structural and functional study of shikimate kinase, the enzyme which catalyses the fifth step in the biosynthetic shikimate pathway in which shikimate is converted to shikimate-3 -phosphate. Mutagenesis studies were undertaken to discover more about the roles of the assumed catalytic residues in particular the single lysine (K15) within the active site and the neighbouring cysteine (C13). The cysteine remote from the active site (C162) was also mutated to prevent intermolecular disulphide formation which had previously been observed during crystallographic studies. Biophysical techniques including circular dichroism (CD), fluorescence and microcalorimetry were used to monitor the conformational changes of shikimate kinase accompanying ligand binding and to measure ligand binding. The single tryptophan (W54) was found to be a very useful fluorophore for monitoring conformational changes. Calculated Kd values from this compared well with the Km values measured by steady state kinetics. The dissociation constant (Kd) for shikimate was 300 muM and for ATP 700 muM. When monitored by fluorescence the binding of the ATP to the enzyme showed a degree of co-operativity. The data did not fit a standard Michaelis Menten binding curve but gave a sigmoidal plot with a Hill co-efficient of approximately 2. The binding of ADP gave a Hill co-efficient of approximately 1.5. Fluorescence quenching studies using the quenching agents of succinimide and sodium iodide allowed the calculation of Stern-Volmer constants. The results provided information about the environment of the Trp-54. ATP binding to the enzyme was also measured by Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) This gave Kd values of only 25-40 muM whereas apparent steady state kinetics gave a Km value of 700 muM. This discrepancy has not been explained but it may reflect the existence of a second ATP binding site. Thermal stability was measured using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) which was analysed to give the apparent melting temperature (Tm). Ligand binding (ATP) was found to stabilize the structure of shikimate kinase illustrated by an increase in the Tm from 39 to 47°C. However the shikimic acid provides a lower degree of stabilisation. The mutant K15M had a higher Tm than the wild type enzyme; this may be due to the formation of an extra ion pair in the structure, formed between the side chains of Asp 32 and Arg 11. Thermal stability was also measured by using CD to monitor the loss of secondary structure at 222nm. Denaturation and refolding studies were carried out using guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHCl) as the denaturant. The concentration of GdnHCl needed to bring about 50% of the total change of the native structure in both secondary, measuring the change in CD, and tertiary structure measuring the changes in fluorescence was 1.25M. This was observed as a single transition. Total loss of structure was observed at concentrations of 4M and above. Refolding of the enzyme was monitored by both fluorescence and CD using both manual mixing and stopped flow techniques. The data indicated that refolding took place in a number of distinctive stages. One of the intermediates appeared to have a high affinity for the fluorescent probe 1-anilino-8-napthalenesulphonate (ANS). An outline model for the refolding of the enzyme could be proposed