Process intensification :thin film spinning disc reactor for controlled continuous photo-polymerisation of acrylates

PhD ThesisIn the last three decades the utilisation of UV radiation to initiate the polymerisation of acrylates and methacrylates has centred on UV curing of thin films to produce highly crosslinked networks. Very little attention has been paid to the initiation of bulk polymerisations using this method. In part this is due to the difficulties of ensuring UV penetration of more than several centimetres into reaction vessels and also to the strongly exothermic nature of the bulk polymerisation of liquid acrylates and methacrylates. This investigation explores the potential for the use of a thin film spinning disc reactor for the continuous photo-polymerisation of acrylates and methacrylates, considering nbutyl acrylate as a test case. The benefits offered by spinning disc reactors are the controlled formation of thin films, good mixing and enhancement of heat and mass transfer rates. The spinning disc reactor used in this investigation has a novel internal cooling/heating system designed to allow close control of the reaction surface temperature and provide a means of removing the heat of reaction from fast exothermic reactions, such as photo-initiated free-radical polymerisations. The investigation comprises three individual studies; static film polymerisation (as a benchmark), spinning disc polymerisation and preliminary heat transfer measurement. Conversions of up to 23 % and molecular weights (Mw) of up to 296115 kg/kmol were achieved in the static film polymerisation with corresponding polydispersity indices of 1.98 to 4.43. By comparison, conversions of up to 66 % and M of up to 604518 kg/kmol were achieved in the spinning disc polymerisation, with corresponding polydispersity indices of 1.36 to 2.74, indicating a tighter control of molecular weight distribution on the spinning disc. Overall heat transfer coefficients of up to 9 kW/m2 were achieved for the internally cooled disc system.EPSR

BURO: A Bespoke Repository for the UK Research Excellence Framework & Beyond

BURO (Bournemouth University Research Online), a bespoke repository for the university’s research publications is an essential part of a wider change agenda aimed at embedding research into the core activities of Bournemouth University. BURO will be a crucial piece of this jigsaw as the university prepares for the UK’s forthcoming Research Excellence Framework (REF) and beyond. BURO is the 11th largest multidisciplinary institutional repository in the UK and 232nd in the Web of World Repositorie

Comprendre la relation entre presque pairs : le point de vue des résidents sur une nouvelle évaluation en milieu de travail dans un contexte de garde

Background: Workplace-based assessment (WBA) is a critical component of competency-based medical education (CBME), though literature on WBA for overnight call is limited. We evaluated a WBA tool completed by supervising subspecialty trainees on paediatric residents during subspecialty overnight call, for usefulness facilitating feedback/coaching in this setting. Methods: Web-based surveys were sent to residents pre- and post-WBA tool implementation monthly for four months (August-December 2018), exploring feedback frequency, Likert-scaled opinions of tool feasibility/usefulness facilitating feedback, and qualitative experiences. Assessor comments were categorized as actionable/non-actionable. Quantitative data was summarized using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data was coded to identify themes.  Results: Total response rates averaged 41% (total 25 responses, average five respondents/12 residents on-call each month). Post-implementation (n = 16 responses), a non-sustained trend of increased Medical Expert feedback was observed. Residents were generally divided or disagreed on tool usefulness facilitating feedback and feasibility. Comments contained actionable feedback in < 10% of completed WBAs. Qualitative analysis revealed barriers to tool-facilitated coaching including: feedback quality and setting/environment, role of senior near-peer as assessor, interpersonal burden in encounters, and tool-specific issues. Conclusions: Increasing frequency of WBA tool completion is not sufficient to achieve CBME goals. Factors impacting feedback/coaching within the resident/near-peer dyad must be addressed.Contexte : Tandis que l’évaluation en milieu de travail (EMT) est une composante essentielle de l’éducation médicale fondée sur les compétences (EMFC), il y a peu de recherches sur l’EMT en contexte de garde de nuit. Nous avons étudié un formulaire d’évaluation en milieu de travail rempli par des résidents en surspécialité supervisant des résidents en pédiatrie pendant la garde de nuit en surspécialité, afin de déterminer s’il facilite la rétroaction avec coaching dans ce contexte. Méthodes : Des questionnaires en ligne ont été envoyés aux résidents avant la mise en œuvre de l’outil d’EMT et à partir de celle-ci, tous les mois pendant quatre mois (d’août à décembre 2018). Ils exploraient la fréquence des rétroactions, les opinions des participants, exprimées sur une échelle de Likert, sur le caractère pratique et l’utilité de l’outil comme facilitateur de la rétroaction et leurs expériences qualitatives. Les commentaires des évaluateurs ont été catégorisés comme étant exploitables ou non exploitables. Les données quantitatives ont été résumées à l’aide de statistiques descriptives. Les données qualitatives ont été codées pour identifier les thèmes. Résultats : Le taux de réponse total était en moyenne de 41 % (total de 25 réponses, moyenne de 5 répondants/12 résidents de garde chaque mois). Après l’introduction de l’outil (n = 16 réponses), une tendance non soutenue à l’augmentation des commentaires des experts médicaux a été observée. Les résidents étaient généralement partagés ou en désaccord quant au caractère pratique de l’outil et à sa capacité à faciliter la rétroaction. Les commentaires contenaient des informations exploitables dans moins de 10 % des EMT remplies. L’analyse qualitative a révélé les obstacles suivants au fonctionnement de l’outil comme facilitateur du coaching : la qualité des commentaires et l’environnement, le rôle du presque pair senior en tant qu’évaluateur, la tension lors des rencontres de coaching et les problèmes spécifiques à l’outil. Conclusion : Pour atteindre les objectifs de l’EMFC, il ne suffit pas de remplir plus souvent l’outil d’EMT. Les facteurs qui influencent la rétroaction avec coaching au sein de la dyade résident-presque pair doivent également être pris en compte

The first law of thermodynamics and 2d CFT descriptions for near-extremal and near-EVH black holes

In this thesis we investigate the quantum aspects of black holes near extremality. In particular we seek evidence that a near-extremal black hole has a microscopic description in terms of a two dimensional conformal field theory (CFT). We first demonstrate how the low temperature expansion of the first law of thermodynamics leads to an expression for the entropy of extremal black holes which can be recast as the Cardy formula for the entropy of a chiral two dimensional CFT, in agreement with the Extremal Black Hole/CFT correspondence. We apply Sen’s entropy function formalism to fortify this result by reproducing it in a gravitational setup. We extend our first law analysis to a class of near-Extremal Vanishing Horizon (near-EVH) black holes. These black holes have low entropy and temperature, and their geometries contain locally asymptotically AdS3 throats in the near horizon region. The low temperature expansion of the first law is compatible with the first law for a three dimensional BTZ black hole. As the BTZ black hole has an AdS/CFT description in terms of a non-chiral two dimensional CFT, our result can be viewed as thermodynamic evidence for the EVH/CFT correspondence, which states that gravity on the near horizon EVH geometry is described by a 2d CFT. A near-EVH black hole, or low energy excitation around an EVH black hole, is described by excitations of the dual 2d CFT. As case studies of our first law analysis and the EVH/CFT correspondence, we focus on two asymptotically AdS5× S5 classes of near-EVH black holes. The two cases have interesting individual properties and, by the AdS/CFT correspondence, dual descriptions as states in N = 4 super Yang-Mills theory . We can compare these (UV) pictures to the two dimensional descriptions that emerge from the near horizon, or low energy, dynamics. All EVH near horizon geometries have local AdS3 factors which become BTZ black holes when the configurations are excited from EVH to near-EVH. In the study of static black holes with three R-charges, we examine the non-BPS and near- BPS regimes separately. While the non-BPS near horizon limit is locally regular, in the near- BPS case the near horizon procedure requires focussing geometrically on a strip of the horizon, and the degrees of freedom of the dual CFT2 can be associated with stretched strings between giant gravitons in the transverse five-sphere. The near-EVH limit of non-BPS stationary charged black holes is obtained by taking the vanishing limit of one or both of the angular momenta. When one of the momenta is small, the AdS3 angle is a combination of azimuthal angles in the AdS5 and S5 regions of the geometry. Taking the vanishing limit of both of the angular momenta leads to a near horizon limit which contains a BTZ black hole that is non-trivially fibred by a three-sphere. For each of the case studies we use the AdS3/CFT2 dictionary to specify dual IR CFT2 descriptions of the black holes. We outline a map between the UV and IR near-EVH excitations and demonstrate how the first law reduces in the near-EVH limit to the first law of a BTZ black hole. As a consistency check we compare our results with those of the Kerr/CFT correspondence

Alexandrium cyst distribution and germination in Puget Sound

The Puget Sound Alexandrium Harmful Algal Bloom (PS-AHAB: www.tiny.cc/psahab) program, funded by NOAA/ECOHAB, seeks to understand environmental controls on the benthic (cyst) and planktonic life stages of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium catenella, and disentangle the effects of climate pathways on the timing and location of blooms. Spatially detailed mapping of winter surface sediment cyst distributions in 2011, 2012, and 2013 found the highest cyst concentrations in Bellingham Bay in the north and Quartermaster Harbor in central Puget Sound. However, the viability of cysts at these seed bed areas is low – with fewer than 54% of cysts germinating when incubated at favorable temperatures. The time of year that cysts can germinate does not appear to be controlled by an endogenous clock, but the rate of germination is strongly determined by temperature. These results may complicate potential relationships between cyst abundances and bloom magnitude the following season. A monthly time series of cyst abundances was also collected at two locations in Quartermaster Harbor from 2012-2013 as part of a related Sea Grant project investigating the seasonal variability in cyst abundances. Cyst abundances varied by a factor of ~6 with the lowest cyst abundances occurring in the spring (Apr) and the highest cyst abundances occurring in late fall (Oct/Nov). This seasonal pattern is consistent with observed A. catenella bloom dynamics in Quartermaster Harbor. The improved understanding of the processes that govern cyst germination and bloom initiation provided by this study contribute towards the development of a predictive capacity for A. catenella blooms in Puget Sound. Details on A. catenella growth rates and toxicity and an analysis of potential bloom transport using a high-resolution hydrodynamic simulation of Puget Sound and adjacent coastal waters (MoSSea: http://faculty.washington.edu/pmacc/MoSSea/), as well as simulations of potential future climate impacts on blooms, will be discussed in separate presentations by B.D. Bill and S.K. Moore respectively, at this conference

Defective Fas expression exacerbates neurotoxicity in a model of Parkinson's disease

Fas (CD95), a member of the tumor necrosis factor-receptor superfamily, has been studied extensively as a death-inducing receptor in the immune system. However, Fas is also widely expressed in a number of other tissues, including in neurons. Here, we report that defects in the Fas/Fas ligand system unexpectedly render mice highly susceptible to neural degeneration in a model of Parkinson's disease. We found that Fas-deficient lymphoproliferative mice develop a dramatic phenotype resembling clinical Parkinson's disease, characterized by extensive nigrostriatal degeneration accompanied by tremor, hypokinesia, and loss of motor coordination, when treated with the neurotoxin 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) at a dose that causes no neural degeneration or behavioral impairment in WT mice. Mice with generalized lymphoproliferative disease, which express a mutated Fas ligand, display an intermediate phenotype between that of lymphoproliferative and WT mice. Moreover, Fas engagement directly protects neuronal cells from MPTP/1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion toxicity in vitro. Our data show that decreased Fas expression renders dopaminergic neurons highly susceptible to degeneration in response to a Parkinson-causing neurotoxin. These findings constitute the first evidence for a neuroprotective role for Fas in vivo

CARer-ADministration of as-needed subcutaneous medication for breakthrough symptoms in homebased dying patients (CARiAD):study protocol for a UK-based open randomised pilot trial

Legal framework. (DOCX 23 kb

Carer administration of as-needed sub-cutaneous medication for breakthrough symptoms in people dying at home: the CARiAD feasibility RCT

Background Most people who are dying want to be cared for at home, but only half of them achieve this. The likelihood of a home death often depends on the availability of able and willing lay carers. When people who are dying are unable to take oral medication, injectable medication is used. When top-up medication is required, a health-care professional travels to the dying person’s home, which may delay symptom relief. The administration of subcutaneous medication by lay carers, although not widespread UK practice, has proven to be key in achieving better symptom control for those dying at home in other countries. Objectives To determine if carer administration of as-needed subcutaneous medication for common breakthrough symptoms in people dying at home is feasible and acceptable in the UK, and if it would be feasible to test this intervention in a future definitive randomised controlled trial. Design We conducted a two-arm, parallel-group, individually randomised, open pilot trial of the intervention versus usual care, with a 1 : 1 allocation ratio, using convergent mixed methods. Setting Home-based care without 24/7 paid care provision, in three UK sites. Participants Participants were dyads of adult patients and carers: patients in the last weeks of their life who wished to die at home and lay carers who were willing to be trained to give subcutaneous medication. Strict risk assessment criteria needed to be met before approach, including known history of substance abuse or carer ability to be trained to competency. Intervention Intervention-group carers received training by local nurses using a manualised training package. Main outcome measures Quantitative data were collected at baseline and 6–8 weeks post bereavement and via carer diaries. Interviews with carers and health-care professionals explored attitudes to, experiences of and preferences for giving subcutaneous medication and experience of trial processes. The main outcomes of interest were feasibility, acceptability, recruitment rates, attrition and selection of the most appropriate outcome measures. Results In total, 40 out of 101 eligible dyads were recruited (39.6%), which met the feasibility criterion of recruiting > 30% of eligible dyads. The expected recruitment target (≈50 dyads) was not reached, as fewer than expected participants were identified. Although the overall retention rate was 55% (22/40), this was substantially unbalanced [30% (6/20) usual care and 80% (16/20) intervention]. The feasibility criterion of > 40% retention was, therefore, considered not met. A total of 12 carers (intervention, n = 10; usual care, n = 2) and 20 health-care professionals were interviewed. The intervention was considered acceptable, feasible and safe in the small study population. The context of the feasibility study was not ideal, as district nurses were seriously overstretched and unfamiliar with research methods. A disparity in readiness to consider the intervention was demonstrated between carers and health-care professionals. Findings showed that there were methodological and ethics issues pertaining to researching last days of life care. Conclusion The success of a future definitive trial is uncertain because of equivocal results in the progression criteria, particularly poor recruitment overall and a low retention rate in the usual-care group. Future work regarding the intervention should include understanding the context of UK areas where this has been adopted, ascertaining wider public views and exploring health-care professional views on burden and risk in the NHS context. There should be consideration of the need for national policy and of the most appropriate quantitative outcome measures to use. This will help to ascertain if there are unanswered questions to be studied in a trial. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN11211024. Funding This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 24, No. 25. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information

Wolbachia and DNA barcoding insects: patterns, potential and problems

Wolbachia is a genus of bacterial endosymbionts that impacts the breeding systems of their hosts. Wolbachia can confuse the patterns of mitochondrial variation, including DNA barcodes, because it influences the pathways through which mitochondria are inherited. We examined the extent to which these endosymbionts are detected in routine DNA barcoding, assessed their impact upon the insect sequence divergence and identification accuracy, and considered the variation present in Wolbachia COI. Using both standard PCR assays (Wolbachia surface coding protein – wsp), and bacterial COI fragments we found evidence of Wolbachia in insect total genomic extracts created for DNA barcoding library construction. When >2 million insect COI trace files were examined on the Barcode of Life Datasystem (BOLD) Wolbachia COI was present in 0.16% of the cases. It is possible to generate Wolbachia COI using standard insect primers; however, that amplicon was never confused with the COI of the host. Wolbachia alleles recovered were predominantly Supergroup A and were broadly distributed geographically and phylogenetically. We conclude that the presence of the Wolbachia DNA in total genomic extracts made from insects is unlikely to compromise the accuracy of the DNA barcode library; in fact, the ability to query this DNA library (the database and the extracts) for endosymbionts is one of the ancillary benefits of such a large scale endeavor – for which we provide several examples. It is our conclusion that regular assays for Wolbachia presence and type can, and should, be adopted by large scale insect barcoding initiatives. While COI is one of the five multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) genes used for categorizing Wolbachia, there is limited overlap with the eukaryotic DNA barcode region

The public health approach to identify antiretroviral therapy failure: high-level nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor resistance among Malawians failing first-line antiretroviral therapy

Over 150 000 Malawians have started antiretroviral therapy (ART), in which first-line therapy is stavudine/lamivudine/nevirapine. We evaluated drug resistance patterns among patients failing first-line ART on the basis of clinical or immunological criteria in Lilongwe and Blantyre, Malawi