Reliability and realizability risk evaluation of concept designs

This thesis addresses the improvement in quality of decision making in design through the use of decomposed design evaluation. The research reported in this thesis is supported by the Design Research Methodology. To perform decomposed decision making, it is necessary to identify criteria that are deemed important for this activity. Questionnaire surveys, literature review and interviews with industry helped to identify these criteria. Reliability and realizability are two criteria that are selected for research in this thesis. The questionnaire surveys are discussed in chapter 2. A review of literature on decision making, reliability and realizability is reported in chapters 3 and 4. Methodologies for evaluating reliability and physical realizability are discussed in chapter 5. Relative reliability risk assessment methodology is applied to various examples consisting of university and industry projects in chapter 6. The application helps to reveal the strengths of the methodology and is termed ‘Verification of the methodology’. Validation issues of both the methodologies are dealt with in chapter 7 using the controlled experimental design. It is found that both the methodologies help to improve the quality of decision making during design evaluation. Relative reliability risk evaluation methodology helps to improve the quality of decision making to a substantial extent but physical realizability evaluation methodology shows only a little improvement in quality of decision making. Finally, it is suggested that the decomposed design evaluation methodology helps to improve the quality of decision making and is therefore proposed to be used by both novice and experienced designers.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Pathways to Women’s Empowerment in the Promotion of Climate Smart Agriculture in the Philippines, Myanmar, and Cambodia

Climate change is not gender neutral. Women are a vulnerable population within a vulnerable population. Far from an equalizing event, climate change risks and disasters often magnify and aggravate existing inequalities in society, including gender inequality. National governments and the international development community recognized that in order to strengthen and accelerate their goals for agricultural development, economic growth and food security they need to build the contributions that women make and take steps to alleviate barriers to women empowerment. A quantitative-qualitative study has been undertaken to investigate how the promotion of climate smart agriculture is contributing to women empowerment within the climate smart villages (CSVs) in Myanmar, Cambodia and the Philippines. The analysis of survey results (n=121) showed that the majority of the women farmers opt to make decisions jointly with their husbands in activities related to agriculture production. Women’s participation in the decision-making process are related to decisions on what crops or crop varieties to plant. Women are more engaged in the decision making related to small livestock such as goats, pigs and chickens, they have gained more experience and knowledge and are able to provide good suggestions regarding livestock. Increased income is a powerful measure of women’s economic empowerment. Across the six CSVs, there is a significant difference in the perceived increase in incomes. The impact of women’s increased income has been equally positive at both the household and community level, with increased involvement in household and production decision-making and increased and more active participation in community activities. Household borrowing and saving have traditionally been the normative responsibility of women. This finding is supported by focus group discussions (n=113) in the CSVs where women are designated as budget planner and keeper of the household income. The study also indicated that the promotion of homestead gardens and small livestock buffered the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to the households as these activities provided them with food, enabled them to share or sell vegetables to their neighbors, and reserved food for extended lockdowns

Psychosocial impact of undergoing prostate cancer screening for men with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations.

OBJECTIVES: To report the baseline results of a longitudinal psychosocial study that forms part of the IMPACT study, a multi-national investigation of targeted prostate cancer (PCa) screening among men with a known pathogenic germline mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. PARTICPANTS AND METHODS: Men enrolled in the IMPACT study were invited to complete a questionnaire at collaborating sites prior to each annual screening visit. The questionnaire included sociodemographic characteristics and the following measures: the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Impact of Event Scale (IES), 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36), Memorial Anxiety Scale for Prostate Cancer, Cancer Worry Scale-Revised, risk perception and knowledge. The results of the baseline questionnaire are presented. RESULTS: A total of 432 men completed questionnaires: 98 and 160 had mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, respectively, and 174 were controls (familial mutation negative). Participants' perception of PCa risk was influenced by genetic status. Knowledge levels were high and unrelated to genetic status. Mean scores for the HADS and SF-36 were within reported general population norms and mean IES scores were within normal range. IES mean intrusion and avoidance scores were significantly higher in BRCA1/BRCA2 carriers than in controls and were higher in men with increased PCa risk perception. At the multivariate level, risk perception contributed more significantly to variance in IES scores than genetic status. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to report the psychosocial profile of men with BRCA1/BRCA2 mutations undergoing PCa screening. No clinically concerning levels of general or cancer-specific distress or poor quality of life were detected in the cohort as a whole. A small subset of participants reported higher levels of distress, suggesting the need for healthcare professionals offering PCa screening to identify these risk factors and offer additional information and support to men seeking PCa screening

Caffeic acid methyl and ethyl esters exert potential antidiabetic effects on glucose and lipid metabolism in cultured murine insulin-sensitive cells through mechanisms implicating activation of AMPK

Context: Caffeic acid methyl (CAME) and ethyl (CAEE) esters stimulate glucose uptake and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in C2C12 myocytes (ATCC® CRL-1772TM). Objective: Effects of CAME and CAEE were now assessed on myocyte glucose transporter GLUT4 activity and expression, on hepatic gluconeogenesis and on adipogenesis as well as major underlying signaling pathways. Materials and methods: GLUT4 protein translocation was studied in L6 GLUT4myc cells, glucose-6-phospatase (G6Pase) in H4IIE hepatocytes and adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Key modulators were measured using western immunoblot. Cells were treated for 18 h with either CAME or CAEE at various concentrations (12.5–100 μM). Results: Myocyte glucose uptake rose from 10.1 ± 0.5 to 18.7 ± 0.8 and 21.9 ± 1.0 pmol/min/mg protein in DMSO-, CAME- and CAEE-stimulated cells, respectively, similar to insulin (17.7 ± 1.2 pmol/min/mg protein), while GLUT4myc translocation increased significantly by 1.70 ± 0.18, by 1.73 ± 0.18- and by 1.95 ± 0.30-fold (relative to DMSO), following insulin, CAME and CAEE stimulation, respectively. CAME and CAEE suppressed hepatocyte G6Pase by 62.0 ± 6.9% and 62.7 ± 6.0% with IC50 of 45.93 and 22.64 μM, respectively, comparable to insulin (70.7 ± 2.3% inhibition). Finally, CAME and CAEE almost abrogated adipogenesis (83.3 ± 7.2% and 97.3 ± 3.0% at 100 μM; IC50 of 13.8 and 12.9 μM, respectively). The compounds inhibited adipogenic factors C/EBP-β and PPAR-γ and stimulated AMPK activity in the three cell-lines. Discussion and conclusions: CAME and CAEE exerted antidiabetic activities in insulin-responsive cells through insulin-independent mechanisms involving AMPK and adipogenic factors