2,194 research outputs found
Habitat composition, sexual conflict and life history evolution in Coelopa frigida
This thesis describes an investigation into the effects of habitat composition,
principally the composition of algae in a wrack bed, on the life history of the seaweed
fly, Coelopa frigida. The mating system of C. frigida is dominated by intense sexual
conflict characterised by frequent harassment by males leading to a vigorous pre-mating
struggle. This response leads to sexual selection for large male size and sexual
dimorphism. The mating behaviour of C. frigida is affected by their environment, with
exposure to brown algae inducing harassment in males and oviposition in females.
Despite more than two decades of research into coelopid reproduction little is known
about how habitat composition alters the patterns and processes of sexual conflict.
Studies contained in this thesis consider environmental influences that both
directly and indirectly influence sexual conflict. Direct effects of the environment are
measured by conducting mating trials following culture of C. frigida on different species
of algae and by exposing males to different species of algae. This work is accompanied
by studies of larval development and adult survival on different algae. In recent years it
has been observed that the distribution of European coelopids has undergone a
northward range shift. An investigation into the current distribution of European
coelopid species and a discussion of the effects of climate change that may have caused
this change is included. Finally, the use of stable isotope analysis to determine the diet
of wild coelopids and alternative statistical methods to analyse mating trials are
described
The American Dream; A Moment Forever
John Carroll University\u27s Little Theatre Society produced The American Dream by Edward Albee and A Moment Forever, a play written by JCU student Dominic Scoccola with music written and arranged by JCU student Joseph Parise. October, 1978. A review appeared in The Carroll News on page 3 of the Oct. 27, 1978 issue.https://collected.jcu.edu/plays/1082/thumbnail.jp
A barrister’s role in the plea decision: an analysis of drivers affecting advice in the crown court
PhDThis thesis explores the reasons behind barristers' advice to defendants in the
Crown Court on plea, primarily through interviews with criminal law practitioners
themselves. Beginning with a critical overview of the current research, the thesis argues
that the views of criminal barristers are a neglected significant source of information in
developing an understanding of why particular advice is given. The thesis, in the context
of other research, analyses the data from interviews conducted with current practitioners
on the London and the Midlands Circuits, and discusses the various drivers that act upon
barristers in deciding what advice to give. Starting with the actual advice given and the
advising styles adopted, the thesis explores why guilty pleas might be advised and plea
bargains sought with prosecutors. The research goes on to examine the impact of various
influences, including legal, ethical, cultural, regional and financial to produce an
overview of what factors impact upon a barrister's advice. The thesis argues that the
current view of the Bar sustained in much of the literature is insufficiently nuanced and
outdated, and that the reasons behind the advice given to defendants on plea are
extraordinarily varied, occasionally contradictory, and highly complex. The thesis
concludes that the data from the interviews warrants a rethink of why particular advice is
given and that discovering what drives barristers’ advice is critical to formulating law
and government policy
What is the Shell Around R Coronae Borealis?
The hydrogen-deficient, carbon-rich R Coronae Borealis (RCB) stars are known
for being prolific producers of dust which causes their large iconic declines
in brightness. Several RCB stars, including R CrB, itself, have large extended
dust shells seen in the far-infrared. The origin of these shells is uncertain
but they may give us clues to the evolution of the RCB stars. The shells could
form in three possible ways. 1) they are fossil Planetary Nebula (PN) shells,
which would exist if RCB stars are the result of a final, helium-shell flash,
2) they are material left over from a white-dwarf merger event which formed the
RCB stars, or 3) they are material lost from the star during the RCB phase.
Arecibo 21-cm observations establish an upper limit on the column density of H
I in the R CrB shell implying a maximum shell mass of 0.3
M. A low-mass fossil PN shell is still a possible source of the shell
although it may not contain enough dust. The mass of gas lost during a
white-dwarf merger event will not condense enough dust to produce the observed
shell, assuming a reasonable gas-to-dust ratio. The third scenario where the
shell around R CrB has been produced during the star's RCB phase seems most
likely to produce the observed mass of dust and the observed size of the shell.
But this means that R CrB has been in its RCB phase for 10 yr.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, 2 tables, Accepted for publication in A
The Use of Autologous PRP gel for the Treatment of Diabetic Foot Ulcers
The purpose of this systematic literature review is to examine the efficacy of platelet rich-plasma (PRP) gel as a therapy for diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). Infections in patients with diabetes, especially diabetic foot ulcers, are challenging to treat due to neurovascular compromise. Searches were done in PubMed utilizing the terms “diabetic foot ulcer”, “platelet rich plasma” and “autologous”. In PubMed, the following limits and terms were used: randomized control trial (RCTs), sample size greater than 30 participants, foot ulcers, and English. A meta-analysis revealed three studies meeting inclusion/exclusion criteria: Li et al, Gude et al, and Ahmed et al. The literature available demonstrates that autologous PRP gel is an effective treatment to increase DFU healing rate when compared to the current standard of care. Further studies may be necessary to determine long term outcomes and consequences of the use of autologous PRP gel
Improved processes for the production of soil-cement building blocks
Stabilised-soil cement building blocks are an established building material in
many areas of the Less Developed World. This thesis has been split into three parts.
Part A presented an overview of the process of soil-stabilisation and outlined the roles
which soil structure and curing play in stabilisation. It examined methods of testing
soils, highlighting errors presented in the published literature and presenting corrected
testing procedures and unified plans for their implementation.
Part B examined the conventional quasi-static block compaction process
(slowly applied pressure) and established that no cost-effective increase in the
compacted block density can be achieved by altering such moulding configurations as
mould-wall roughness, mould-wall taper, number of applied pressure cycles and
double-sided pressure application. The tests were also used to assess the plausibility
of several theoretical mechanisms underlying quasi -static compaction.
Cement may be traded against compaction pressure for a given final cured
strength. The relation of compaction pressure and cement content to well-cured
strength was established for 50 mm diameter cylinders and used to assess the financial
benefit of high-pressure compaction. It was shown that savings in the cost of cement
associated with high-pressure compaction were outweighed by the additional cost of
such machinery. However there were additional benefits found to high-density
compaction, beyond the saving in stabiliser costs. It was established that a highdensity
moulding machine in the range £1000 - £1500 would allow these benefits to
become cost competitive.
Part C examined both experimentally and theoretically an alternative dynamic
(impact blow) compaction process, establishing that optimised dynamic compaction
may produce strength equivalent to quasi-static high-density moulding while requiring
only 25-50 % of the energy. Five theoretical models of the process were developed
and the Combined Airlock/Friction/Compression Wave Model was shown to have the
most explanatory power
Unlocking the Challenging Pathways of Youth Participation in Ghana’s Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency
Youth participation in public policies such as the employment policy process has gained prominence in academic and policy literature. Despite this, research on youth participation in the employment policy process has received little attention in Ghana. This paper draws on documentary analysis to unlock the challenging pathways of youth participation in Ghana’s youth employment and entrepreneurial development agency. The paper finds that a web of challenges such as insufficient access to information, over-politicization of GYEEDA, poor level of coordination of stakeholders, and prevalence of diversity and social exclusion are embedded in obstructing the youth participation in GYEEDA. The study recommends that policymakers such as the government and other stakeholders should provide adequate measures to ensure that beneficiaries such as the youths are engaged in the design, formulation, and execution of the youth employment policy process in Ghana
Optimized sample-processing time and peptide recovery for the mass spectrometric analysis of protein digests
AbstractProteomics requires an optimized level of sample-processing, including a minimal sample-processing time and an optimal peptide recovery from protein digests, in order to maximize the percentage sequence coverage and to improve the accuracy of protein identification. The conventional methods of protein characterization from one-dimensional or two-dimensional gels include the destaining of an excised gel piece, followed by an overnight in-gel enzyme digestion. The aims of this study were to determine whether: (1) stained gels can be used without any destaining for trypsin digestion and mass spectrometry (MS); (2) tryptic peptides can be recovered from a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) target plate for a subsequent analysis with liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to an electrospray ionization (ESI) quadrupole ion trap MS; and (3) an overnight in-gel digestion is necessary for protein characterization with MS. These three strategies would significantly improve sample throughput. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was the model biological fluid used to develop these methods. CSF was desalted by gel filtration, and CSF proteins were separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DGE). Proteins were visualized with either silver, Coomassie, or Stains-All (counterstained with silver). None of the gels was destained. Protein spots were in-gel trypsin digested, the tryptic peptides were purified with ZipTip, and the peptides were analyzed with MALDI and ESI MS. Some of the samples that were spotted onto a wax-coated MALDI target plate were recovered and analyzed with ESI MS. All three types of stained gels were compatible with MALDI and ESI MS without any destaining. In-gel trypsin digestion can be performed in only 10–60 min for protein characterization with MS, the sample can be recovered from the MALDI target plate for use in ESI MS, and there was a 90% reduction in sample-processing time from overnight to ca. 3 h
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