Growth & Surface Characterisation Of Metal Oxide Thin Films Under UHV Conditions

PhDThin films of a variety of technologically important oxide systems (chromium oxide, barium oxide, titanium oxide and iron oxide) have been grown under ultra-high vacuum conditions by vapour deposition techniques. The surface structure and chemistry of these oxide films have been characterised by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), low energy electron diffraction (LEED), reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS) and temperature programmed desorption spectroscopy (TPD). These studies have included investigation of both the clean oxide surface and their interaction with small molecules. Well-defined chromium oxide films were produced and the surface structure of these films was found to be consistent with the (0001) surface Of C17203T- he studies of barium oxide have revealed a complicated oxygen chemistry with transformation between different forms being brought about by different preparation conditions and post-treatments including heating and exposure to 02, C02 and CO. Well-defined iron oxide films have been generated and in addition to their characterisation such films have been used as a support for the deposition of silver metal nanoparticles. The surface chemistry of this mixed metal/oxide Ag/FeO., system has been probed in particular by the adsorption of propene at sub-ambient temperatures. The ultimate aim of this research was to study these metal oxide thin films as a means to elucidating a deeper fundamental understanding of the surface chemistry of these systems, which is of both academic and industrial interest.Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC

Statistical Phylogenetic Tree Analysis Using Differences of Means

We propose a statistical method to test whether two phylogenetic trees with given alignments are significantly incongruent. Our method compares the two distributions of phylogenetic trees given by the input alignments, instead of comparing point estimations of trees. This statistical approach can be applied to gene tree analysis for example, detecting unusual events in genome evolution such as horizontal gene transfer and reshuffling. Our method uses difference of means to compare two distributions of trees, after embedding trees in a vector space. Bootstrapping alignment columns can then be applied to obtain p-values. To compute distances between means, we employ a "kernel trick" which speeds up distance calculations when trees are embedded in a high-dimensional feature space, e.g. splits or quartets feature space. In this pilot study, first we test our statistical method's ability to distinguish between sets of gene trees generated under coalescence models with species trees of varying dissimilarity. We follow our simulation results with applications to various data sets of gophers and lice, grasses and their endophytes, and different fungal genes from the same genome. A companion toolkit, {\tt Phylotree}, is provided to facilitate computational experiments.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figure

Within - and between - session reliability of the spider drill test to assess Change of Direction Speed in youth tennis athletes

Agility or Change of Direction Speed (CODS) is a critical physical attribute in a sport such as tennis, which is categorised by frequent and multiple changes of direction. Recently a CODS test called the ‘spider drill’ has been used to assess tennis athletes’ ability to change direction. To the authors’ knowledge, no study has solely assessed its reliability and compared this with other commonly-used CODS tests; thus, this was the aim of the study. Ten nationally ranked youth tennis athletes (age: 15.1 ± 2.6; mass: 66.4 + 17.2 kg; height: 163.0 + 16.2 cm) completed three trials of the spider drill, modified t-test and pro-agility test on two separate testing occasions. All CODS tests had low typical percentage error, both within-sessions (CV = 1.8 - 4.1%), and between session (CV = 1.2 - 3.7%). The SEM was also consistent within tests both within- and between- testing sessions. Within-session test-retest consistency illustrates strong reliability for the spider drill (ICC = 0.93, 0.95), modified t-test (ICC = 0.79, 0.83), however for pro-agility session 2 fell outside of the accepted threshold (ICC = 0.88, 0.69). These trends were similar when assessing between-session consistency, with both the spider drill and modified t-test providing high levels of reliability (ICC = 0.95 and 0.97 respectively). However, the pro-agility fell outside of the accepted threshold (ICC = 0.66), with 95% confidence intervals wide-ranging in nature (95% CI: 0.11 - 0.9). These results suggest that the spider drill and modified t-test are both reliable tests when measuring CODS within youth tennis athletes. Strength and conditioning practitioners could consider changes in excess of ± 1.1% as meaningful (based off the SDD) when assessing CODS through the spider drill or modified t-test within youth tennis athletes

Sourcing knowledge for innovation:the international dimension

Drawing knowledge from external sources in the UK, or internationally, has become increasingly important to small and medium-sized firms (SMEs). SMEs cannot generate all they need to know to develop new products and processes within their own companies, they need to look elsewhere for new ideas and expertise. This practice is known as knowledge sourcing. This report provides a detailed review of patterns of knowledge sourcing, and the key factors influencing these patterns, particularly from a small business perspective. We present key findings from a survey of 393 UK companies and analyse the results. We also highlight case studies of UK SMEs that work closely with overseas partners and agents to widen their own knowledge

The Rwandan agrarian and land sector modernisation:confronting macro performance with lived experiences on the ground

Rwanda has embarked on an ambitious policy package to modernise and professionalise the agrarian and land sector. Its reform fits into a broader call – supported by major international donors – to implement a Green Revolution in Sub-Saharan Africa. After 10 years of implementation, there is increased production output and value-addition in commercialised commodity chains. These are promising results. However, poverty reduction, particularly in more recent years, seems limited. Moreover, micro-level evidence from the field calls into question the long-term sustainability of the agricultural and land sector reform. In this article, a group of researchers, having engaged in in-depth qualitative research in a variety of settings and over an extended period, bring together their main research results and combine their key findings to challenge the dominant discourse on Rwanda as a model for development

Knowledge networks and universities : locational and organisational aspects of knowledge transfer interactions

This paper explores the nature of the significant knowledge networks universities form with external organisations through knowledge transfer activities. Focussing on the UK higher education system, the analysis focuses on examining the extent to which organisational and locational characteristics are associated with the nature of these networks, finding that the nature of the networks universities form through knowledge transfer are related to both characteristics. In particular, we find that the institution’s status is important with more established universities are likely to have a more diverse range of organisations with which they interact, as well as a higher number of non-local interactions. In terms of geographic location, we find that universities within lagging regions tend to have more locally focused networks than universities in more leading regions. Overall, the knowledge transfer networking capacity of universities is found to be associated with the regional business environment within which they are situated, with the results going someway to confirming the importance of the role of universities in regional innovation systems, However, it also the case that more established, research focussed, universities are more likely to form part of wider , and possibly even more globalised, knowledge networks. Therefore, both the flow and stock of knowledge within regions is likely to be influenced by the networks formed by its universities, which has implications for both regional innovation capability and regional competitiveness

Biochar-based fertilizer: Supercharging root membrane potential and biomass yield of rice

Biochar-based compound fertilizers (BCF) and amendments have proven to enhance crop yields and modify soil properties (pH, nutrients, organic matter, structure etc.) and are now in commercial production in China. While there is a good understanding of the changes in soil properties following biochar addition, the interactions within the rhizosphere remain largely unstudied, with benefits to yield observed beyond the changes in soil properties alone. We investigated the rhizosphere interactions following the addition of an activated wheat straw BCF at an application rates of 0.25% (g·g−1 soil), which could potentially explain the increase of plant biomass (by 67%), herbage N (by 40%) and P (by 46%) uptake in the rice plants grown in the BCF-treated soil, compared to the rice plants grown in the soil with conventional fertilizer alone. Examination of the roots revealed that micron and submicron-sized biochar were embedded in the plaque layer. BCF increased soil Eh by 85 mV and increased the potential difference between the rhizosphere soil and the root membrane by 65 mV. This increased potential difference lowered the free energy required for root nutrient accumulation, potentially explaining greater plant nutrient content and biomass. We also demonstrate an increased abundance of plant-growth promoting bacteria and fungi in the rhizosphere. We suggest that the redox properties of the biochar cause major changes in electron status of rhizosphere soils that drive the observed agronomic benefits

Honouring heroes by branding in bronze: theorizing the UK's football statuary

As of 1 August 2012, there were 60 figurative subject-specific statues of association football players, managers, chairmen, owners or founding fathers sited at stadia or city centres within the UK, with all but three of these erected in the last 20 years. Clubs, their supporters and local authorities are investing substantial financial and logistical resources in adding to the cultural landscape. Their motivations are posited as a multifaceted marketing strategy that includes branding through success, the evocation of nostalgia and the creation of identity through heritage objects; a statement of cultural change, ownership and environmental improvement; and sympathy, as part of a developing mourning culture within football. Statues have been facilitated by the increasing availability of funding, and by spare capacity in fan organizations. Statue projects may be beneficial in bringing supporters together, but as a conduit for engaging the wider public in social history they are limited by subject choices driven by memory or sympathy. © 2013 © 2013 Taylor & Francis