Quantitative Analysis Linking Inner Hair Cell Voltage Changes and Postsynaptic Conductance Change: A Modelling Study

This paper presents a computational model which estimates the postsynaptic conductance change of mammalian Type I afferent peripheral process when airborne acoustic waves impact on the tympanic membrane. A model of the human auditory periphery is used to estimate the inner hair cell potential change in response to airborne sound. A generic and tunable topology of the mammalian synaptic ribbon is generated and the voltage dependence of its substructures is used to calculate discrete and probabilistic neurotransmitter vesicle release. Results suggest an almost linear relationship between increasing sound level (in dB SPL) and the postsynaptic conductance for frequencies considered too high for neurons to phase lock with (i.e., a few kHz). Furthermore coordinated vesicle release is shown for up to 300–400 Hz and a mechanism of phase shifting the subharmonic content of a stimulating signal is suggested. Model outputs suggest that strong onset response and highly synchronised multivesicular release rely on compound fusion of ribbon tethered vesicles

Dissolving metal reductions of alcohol derivatives

Imperial Users onl

Understanding the impact of Greek and Pakistani community schools on the development of ethnic minority young persons’ cultural and academic identities

A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of PhilosophyThis study investigates the processes through which attendance at a community school affects the development of cultural and academic identities of Greek/Greek-Cypriot and Pakistani ethnic minority young people who live in the United Kingdom. The development of cultural and academic identities by community school students is a relatively underesearched and undertheorized area. The theoretical framework of this study draws on developments in cultural developmental theory (Valsiner, 2000a) and the dialogical self theory (Hermans, 2001 a) to understand the cultural and dialogical nature of the processes through which ethnic minority young people develop their identities in community schools. Both theories are influenced by dynamic perspectives on development and have tried to explain psychological phenomena in relation to the sociocultural context. Episodic interviews, drawings and group work were the tools for data collection and multiple perspectives (students', parents' and teachers') were investigated. This small-scale research took place in a Greek and a Pakistani community school. The pupils, both girls and boys, were adolescents aged 13 to 18 years. The findings suggest that the young people in both groups were moving towards multiple, hybrid identities through a dialogical negotiation of aspects of differences! similarities and belonging within their majority and minority communities as well as living in a multicultural society. This negotiation resulted in a multivoiced hybrid identity which emerged through a constant positioning and re-positioning within their communities and school contexts. For the participants in the Pakistani school this negotiation was a struggle shaped by issues of racism and religious discrimination. In this context, the Pakistani school mainly aimed to increase self-confidence and strengthen the students' sense of minority cultural identity, especially the religious aspect of it, whereas the Greek school mainly aimed to preserve the community's cultural identity which was considered to be threatened by assimilation. In both community schools, a strong academic identity was endorsed which had a double function -to foster the acquisition of both knowledge and skills relevant to community education and those relevant to mainstream and higher education. This study demonstrated the value of examining community schools within contrasting communities, and its findings have implications for Psychology and Education

New Spaces: Safeguarding Students from Violence and Hate

Full report of the HEFCE Catalyst funded projectSexual assault, harassment, violence and hate crime on university campuses is a prevalent and pressing concern. A recent Universities UK taskforce report recommended that urgent action in this area is needed. Universities are significant sites for implementing a joined-up approach and tackling these issues. As a campus of Changemakers, students, inter-disciplinary researchers, professional and support staff at The University of Northampton decided to take action to address these significant and important issues, in particular within the context of a major campus move to a town centre location. As one of only 60 institutions across the country to be awarded funding from HEFCE’s Catalyst fund, this ‘New Spaces: Safeguarding Students from Violence and Hate’ cross collaborative project aimed to create vital partnerships in tackling sexual violence and hate crime on campus. The aims of the project were to evaluate existing policies and develop a student-led collaborative approach to identify what currently happens when disclosures are made; staff and student perceptions, knowledge and experiences within the campus transition; as well as providing recommendations for new institutional policies, strategies and recommendations to support students in reporting harassment, sexual abuse, sexual violence and hate crime. This project also contributes to HEFCE’s wider work in creating guidelines and recommendations for HEIs for addressing these issues. A survey of the published literature, as well as an evaluation of existing processes and policies at The University of Northampton were carried out within this project. Data collection involved 2 Staff and 2 student focus groups, as well as 11 interviews with members of the university management team. These were conducted to discuss staff and student experiences, what support was in place for disclosures and recommendations for future practice within the transition to the new campus. One of the student focus groups utilised photo-elicitation methods to allow students to visually conceptualise and create a new, safe campus space. Recommendations are provided for understanding the prevalence of these issues within a campus context; tackle normative beliefs which may influence how they are perceived; increasing knowledge and awareness of sexual violence and hate crime; implementing mechanisms for disclosure and reporting; addressing issues related to security measures and procedures; enhancing partnership working within the local community. These recommendations have local impact and are being used to inform institutional policies and procedures at The University. Project findings are also being implemented into HEFCE’s wider work and national action around these issues. Internationally, the dissemination of these findings is contributing to the limited research in this area

Integrative modelling of angiogenesis in the bovine corpus luteum

The corpus luteum (CL) is a tissue formed from the remnants of an ovulated follicle in the ovary, and it produces the progesterone needed for a healthy pregnancy. CL growth is highly dependent on a growing nutrient supply, and can be compared with the most aggressive vascular tumours. Angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels from existing ones, plays a key role in the growth and function of the CL. Inadequate angiogenesis has been linked to infertility in cows. The CL is composed of several vascular(e.g. endothelial cells (ECs), pericytes (PCs)), and avascular (e.g. luteal cells (LCs), immune cells) cell types, and several pro-angiogenic factors (e.g. Fibroblast Growth Factor 2, FGF2) found to be important in the angiogenic process. The objective of this thesis is to shed light on the cellular and extracellular level determinants of angiogenesis in the bovine CL. We begin with the relevant biological and mathematical literature in Chapter 1. In Chapter 2, an ordinary differential equation model of CL growth is introduced. We assume that the CL volume is a continuum of three cell types, ECs, LCs, and stromal cells (such as PCs). The fourth variable in the model, FGF2, enhances the EC proliferation rate. The model is able, by varying parameters such as the maximal proliferation rate of the ECs, to distinguish cases where the CL shifts from a ‘normal’ to a ‘pathological’ growth. In Chapter 3, we present in vitro CL published and novel studies from Robinson’s Lab. Preliminary results demonstrate interesting endothelial and pericyte behaviours regarding cell aggregation and sprout formation, which are the motivation for the next two Chapters. In these experimental studies, all the CL cell types were incorporated in the same in vitro culture, hence providing a closer approximation to the in vivo environment compared to other in vitro cultures which use only a single cell type (mainly ECs). However, this complicates matters in terms of distinguishing cell behaviours and factors which contribute on the overall cell dynamics. Therefore, in the Chapters 4 and 5 we use data from literature. In Chapter 4, by using the Cellular Potts Model (CPM) framework, we focus on EC-PC interactions, and particularly on the mechanism which is responsible for the EC growth inhibition. Our model incorporates two possible mechanisms for inhibition. That is, the mechanical cell-cell contact inhibition, and the inhibition mediated from diffusive TGF-b secreted once the two cell types come in contact. Interestingly, our model results suggest that the effective range of TGF-b is a crucial determinant of the degree of EC growth inhibition. Chapter 5, by using a CPM, is devoted to sprouting angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessel). The dynamic interchange between stalk and tip EC phenotype is incorporated through the Notch signalling pathway, with the leading tip cell moving up macrophage-mediated VEGFA gradients in a non-uniform matrix environment. The model reproduces phenomena in sprouting angiogenesis, including sprout morphology, tip competition, and explains knockout experiments on the Notch signalling pathway. Finally, we close with Chapter 6 where we summarise the ain results from each chapter and propose model extensions for future directions

Child Language Brokering in School: Final Research Report

The primary aim of the project was to provide an evidence basis for more sensitive and effective practice and more carefully articulated school policies on the use of pupils as language brokers for their own parents and others in school. To this end we investigated and triangulated the views and experiences of two groups who we expected to bring distinctive and complementary perspectives to the topic - teachers in schools in multilingual areas and young adults who had acted as language brokers in the course of their own school career (ex-CLBs ). The study addressed the following research questions in relation to both groups: 1. How often and for what purposes are CLBs used in schools? 2. To what degree are CLBs used in routine contacts with parents (their own & those of others), in more sensitive discussions about vulnerable pupils (e.g. about SEN) and in discussions when crucial matters are being resolved (e.g. planning for subject choices in Year 10)? 3. What are the perceived advantages and disadvantages of school language brokering arrangements? 4. How do teachers and ex-CLBs perceive CLBs in terms of their alignment with family or personal interests as against detached, independent values of translation and interpreting? 5. What views do ex-CLBs now have of their experience of the process, their own agency, competence and effectiveness and how the process was facilitated or obstructed by the actions and attitudes of their teachers? 6. What differences of view and understanding are there between teachers who are themselves bilingual or multilingual, teachers who are monolingual and ex-CLBs? 7. What recommendations would current teachers and ex-CLBs make on how to improve schools? policies and practices on CLB activity

Child language brokering in schools: a discussion of selected findings from a survey of teachers and ex-students

Because the children of immigrants often learn the host language much more quickly than their parents, increasing numbers of children and young people contribute to family life by acting as child language brokers (or interpreters) (CLBs) for their parents. There is well-founded professional resistance to the use of children in the LB role in sensitive or challenging meetings, but for some purposes many immigrant parents and grandparents prefer a language broker from within their own family to an external professional interpreter. In this paper we report selected findings from parallel on-line surveys of teachers in schools where there has been some use of students as CLBs and of young adults who have acted as CLBs while at school. Our aim is to explore what can be learned about the use of CLBs from analyzing the views and experiences of these two groups who bring distinctive and complementary perspectives to the topic

Collecting Stories of Identity and Culture with Young people: The Synallactic Collective Image Technique

Chapter 14 by Humera Iqbal and her co-researchers Sarah Crafter (Open University), and Evangelia Prokopiou (Northampton University) showcases TCRU’s work both with children and in the field of migration. By exploring how children communicate their experiences of interpreting for their parents, Iqbal, Crafter and Prokopiou open spaces for children to reflect (or refuse to reflect) on the pressures that this brings, and what it means for them to have a shared space with other child language brokers. Drawing on methods that have emerged from therapeutic settings, the authors show how the data generated can be ambiguous and intriguing but allow the participants to experience themselves as connected and supported by peers. The difficulty of communication is highlighted here both in terms of the topic approached (children who have English as an additional language that they use to translate for their parents living in the UK) and the difficulty of bridging linguistic and adult–child divides in communication between researchers and participants