Characterising biodiversity patterns associated with marine oil and gas infrastructure using environmental DNA

Environmental DNA metabarcoding is under-utilised at marine infrastructure, which can develop extensive biotic communities. To optimise environmental DNA at these challenging environments, I trialled and applied novel collection methods and analysed biodiversity at eight oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Thailand. This data was used to inform impacts of potential decommissioning. This research demonstrates the enormous potential of eDNA as an ecosystem-wide monitoring approach as well as an informative tool for marine management

Psalms of assurance: an analysis of the formation and function of Psalms of Solomon in Second Temple Judaism

This dissertation presents a study of the 1 sI century Jewish document Psalms of Solomon, the primary focus of which concerns the theological framework and authorial intention that gave rise to its formation and function. As a response to Pompey's invasion of Jerusalem, the authors construct an apologetic predicated on a specific theological framework from the Hebrew Bible, herein termed the 'prophetic paradigm'. This paradigm provided the basic elements of punishment for sinfulness and redemption for repentance that constitute the theological trajectory of the document. By reading history through this particular theological lens, the authors effectively create a didactic response to the historical conflagration, and the document reads as 'literature of assurance'. The project proceeds in seven parts. The introduction contains a discussion of the general features of the document, such as authorship, date, provenance, language, textual history, as well as the most recent scholarly conclusions. Specific details pertinent to this particular dissertation are also introduced, such as inter-textuality, working definitions of apocalyptic and prophetic genres, and the need for a re-examination the document. In the first section, Psalms of Solomon and Deuteronomy 32 are set in comparison along the lines of my approach to inter-textuality. The effort in this first section is to ascertain to what extent Psalms of Solomon was written with the biblical prophetic material in mind, and to probe the extent to which this program dominated the composition. With this view in mind, the second section seeks to examine the overall cohesion of the document in light of its poetic structure and reveals certain hermeneutical insights encountered in the process. Section three acts on the observations of the frrst two sections, that a dominant theological program governs the document and that it is to be read as a cohesive whole, by critiquing a particular concept in this light, namely the Temple motif. The findings reveal that the Temple motif figures prominently in the text and that categories such as sinners, righteous, purity, impurity, Jews, non-Jews are defined from the perspective that God is present in the Temple at Jerusalem. Inasmuch as the issues of sinners, righteous, purity, impurity, Jews, and non-Jews are of central importance to the community at Qumran, the fmdings of section three commend a comparison between Psalms of Solomon and Qumran, which gives a point of comparison in highlighting these concepts within the document. In section four, a comparison between the theology of Psalms of Solomon and Qumran is made on three points, the Law of Moses, the Temple, and the will of God. Section five consists of a brief evaluation of the use of Psalms of Solomon by NT scholarship. The intention of this final section is to promote an awareness of the need for re-evaluating Psalms of Solomon's position and place within the history of the deVelopment of religious concepts, in this case messianism and use of the document by NT scholarship

Importing Corruption Culture from Overseas: Evidence from Corporate Tax Evasion in the United States

This paper studies how cultural norms and enforcement policies influence illicit corporate activities. Using confidential IRS audit data, we show that corporations with owners from countries with higher corruption norms engage in higher amounts of tax evasion in the U.S. This effect is strong for small corporations and decreases as the size of the corporation increases. In the mid-2000s, the United States implemented several enforcement measures which significantly increased tax compliance. However, we find that these enforcement efforts were less effective in reducing tax evasion by corporations whose owners are from countries with higher corruption norms. This suggests that cultural norms can be a challenge to legal enforcement.

An Economic Risk Analysis of No-Till Rice Management from the Landlord’s Perspective

Rice production generally involves intensive cultivation. The profitability of no-till rice has been investigated but solely from the producer’s perspective. Most farmed cropland is owned by someone else. This study evaluates the risk efficiency of no-till rice from the landlord’s perspective using stochastic efficiency with respect to a function (SERF).Crop Production/Industries,

Structure-based design of inhibitors of CXCR4.

Metastasis is a complex process requiring directed migration of metastatic cells to favorable microenvironments. Increased CXCR4 expression has been implicated in more invasive, aggressive and metastatic tumor phenotypes and poor patient survival in twenty-three forms of cancer. CXCR4 has been linked to cancer metastasis and CXCR4 expression on the cell surface of tumor cells has been linked to increased migration and homing of neoplastic cells to sites where stromal cells express the chemokine CXCL 12 such as the lung and bone marrow. In this dissertation, we will utilize structure based drug design to identify inhibitors of CXCR4 targeting the extracellular surface of the receptor, as well as the intracellular interface between the GPCR and G-protein. Our screens of the extracellular surface identified one compound, ECLVS14, which inhibits chemotaxis with an IC50 value of 5 j..IM, and is highly selective for CXCR4 without significant cytotoxicity. Subsequent QSAR analysis of the structure of this inhibitor reveals the importance of the 1-[bis (phenyl methyl) amino] methyl moiety and the fact that electronegative modifications of the terminal benzene enhance activity. Subsequent Molecular dynamics simulations of the compound in complex with CXCR4 reveal that the compound induces significant modifications of the receptor structure. Our intracellular screens represent a novel screening strategy targeting the intracellular region of CXGR4 interacting with Gai, which identified ten compounds selectively inhibiting GXGR4 with IG50 values of 10 IJM or less. Three of the most active compounds from the extracellular and intracellular screens were tested in an in vivo anti-metastatic animal model, successfully demonstrating the anti-metastatic activity of these compounds. In total this work demonstrates that structure based drug design utilizing in silico analysis in combination with in vitro and in vivo testing can be utilized to develop novel lead compounds which can function as anti-metastatics