Experiencing NVQs : a qualitative study of the experiences of secretarial/clerical staff at the Open University working on Customer Service NVQs

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES OF THE STATE – LISTED TEXAS PIGTOE TO ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS

Systematic habitat destruction over the last 100 years combined with major anthropogenic stressors such as aquatic contaminants, exotic species, and economic endeavors are driving the decline in freshwater unionid species diversity. Two hundred fifty-seven individual adult Texas pigtoe (Fusconaia askewi) mussels (mean length, mm ± 1 SD; 58.7 ± 13.8) were collected from the upper Sabine river near Hawkins, Texas and taken to the University of Texas at Tyler to evaluate three factors likely impacting mussels in East Texas: siltation (a surrogate for bank erosion), elevated temperature and nitrogen. The impact of siltation was evaluated by burying mussels at two depths (0.25 and 0.5 meters) with a control group placed on top of the sediment. Over a 96-hour test period the resulting mortality was 15% at 0.25 meters, and 35% at 0.5 meters, with 100% survival in the control group. In the thermal tolerance study 100% survival occurred at both the control (20°Ϲ) and the 25 °Ϲ test points. The 30°Ϲ treatment group had overall mortality of 14% and the 35°Ϲ treatment group showed a mortality rate of 43% by the end of the trial. Treatment groups for nitrogen exposure were 0, 6.25, 12.5, 25, 50, and 100 mg/L total ammonia nitrogen (TAN). Mortality resulting from nitrogen toxicity was 50% at 50.0 mg-N/L and 100% at 100 mg-N/L. There was also a significant effect of nitrogen concentration on tissue glycogen levels [F (5, 44) = 3.370, p = 0.012]. Behavioral changes in burrowing and gaping were noted in response to pollutant stress, though they were not significantly different than control mussels [F (1, 10) = 2.966, p = 0.1158], [F (1, 10) = 3.193, p = 0.076]

Pseudodifferential operators on compact abelian groups with applications.

Pseudodifferential operators on compact groups are discussed, with an emphasis on the conditions for which the theorem of Hille and Yosida holds. Some preliminary functional analysis is given including the notion of regularly dissipative operators and Pontrjagin duality. The dual group is described, especially that it is discrete. Some important inequalities, such as Young's inequality, are also stated. Generalised trigonometrical polynomials and generalised Sobolev spaces are defined on the compact group G. A finite exhaustion of the dual space is used to define pointwise convergence and to give a condition for which a generalised Sobolev space is continuously embedded in C(G) and compactly embedded into a larger Sobolev space. The thesis defines k-ellipticity, k-smoothing operators and the k-parametrix, and proves their relation to the compactness of the embedding. It is shown that k-ellipticity is characterised by an inequality of Garding type. Some examples of pseudodifferential operators with constant coefficients are given. Another inequality of Garding type is proved for pseudodifferential operators with variable coefficients, and the existence of a weak solution to (A(x,D) - lambda)u = f is given under certain conditions on the adjoint A*(x,D). A variational solution of B[ϕ,u] = (ϕ,f) is found, and we prove a Garding type inequality for the sesquilinear form

Pseudodifferential operators on compact abelian groups with applications.

Pseudodifferential operators on compact groups are discussed, with an emphasis on the conditions for which the theorem of Hille and Yosida holds. Some preliminary functional analysis is given including the notion of regularly dissipative operators and Pontrjagin duality. The dual group is described, especially that it is discrete. Some important inequalities, such as Young's inequality, are also stated. Generalised trigonometrical polynomials and generalised Sobolev spaces are defined on the compact group G. A finite exhaustion of the dual space is used to define pointwise convergence and to give a condition for which a generalised Sobolev space is continuously embedded in C(G) and compactly embedded into a larger Sobolev space. The thesis defines k-ellipticity, k-smoothing operators and the k-parametrix, and proves their relation to the compactness of the embedding. It is shown that k-ellipticity is characterised by an inequality of Garding type. Some examples of pseudodifferential operators with constant coefficients are given. Another inequality of Garding type is proved for pseudodifferential operators with variable coefficients, and the existence of a weak solution to (A(x,D) - lambda)u = f is given under certain conditions on the adjoint A*(x,D). A variational solution of B[ϕ,u] = (ϕ,f) is found, and we prove a Garding type inequality for the sesquilinear form

Quantitative investigation of terbinafine hydrochloride absorption into a living skin equivalent model by MALDI-MSI

The combination of microspotting of analytical and internal standards, matrix sublimation, and recently developed software for quantitative mass spectrometry imaging has been used to develop a high-resolution method for the determination of terbinafine hydrochloride in the epidermal region of a full thickness living skin equivalent model. A quantitative assessment of the effect of the addition of the penetration enhancer (dimethyl isosorbide (DMI)) to the delivery vehicle has also been performed, and data have been compared to those obtained from LC-MS/MS measurements of homogenates of isolated epidermal tissue. At 10% DMI, the levels of signal detected for the drug in the epidermis were 0.20 ± 0.072 mg/g tissue for QMSI and 0.28 ± 0.040 mg/g tissue for LC-MS/MS at 50% DMI 0.69 ± 0.23 mg/g tissue for QMSI and 0.66 ± 0.057 mg/g tissue for LC-MS/MS. Comparison of means and standard deviations indicates no significant difference between the values obtained by the two methods

Adaptation of the kirkstall QV600 LLI microfluidics system for the study of gastrointestinal absorption by mass spectrometry imaging and LC-MS/MS

Absorption studies on oral drugs can be difficult due to the challenge of replicating the complex structure and environment of the GI tract. Drug absorption studies can be conducted using in vivo and ex vivo animal tissue or animal-free techniques. These studies typically involve the use of Caco-2 cells. However, Caco-2 cells do not incorporate all the cell types found in intestinal tissue and lack P450 metabolizing enzymes. The QV600 LLI system is a microfluidics system designed for use with cell culture. Here, it has been adapted to house appropriate sections of ex vivo porcine tissue to act as a system that models the duodenum section of the small intestine. A pH regulated solution of Atorvastatin was flowed over the apical layer of the GI tissue and a nutrient solution flowed over the basal layer of the tissue to maintain tissue viability. The tissue samples were snap-frozen, cryosectioned, and imaged using MALDI Mass Spectrometry Imaging (MSI). A proof-of-concept study on the effect of excipients on absorption was conducted. Different concentrations of the solubilizing agent were added to the donor circuit of the QV600 LLI. The amount of Atorvastatin in the acceptor circuit was determined to study the effect of the excipient on the amount of drug that had permeated through the tissue. Using these data, Papp, pig values were calculated and compared with the literature

The scene of the crime: inventing the serial killer

This article examines the meanings of the crime scene in serial killings, and the tensions between the real and the imagined in the circulation of those meanings. Starting with the Whitechapel Murders of 1888 it argues that they, as well as forming an origin for the construction of the identity of 'the serial killer', initiate certain ideas about the relationship of subjects to spaces and the existence of the self in the modern urban landscape. It suggests that these ideas come to play an integral part in the contemporary discourse of serial killing, both in the popular imagination and in professional analysis. Examining the Whitechapel Murders, more recent cases and modern profiling techniques, it argues that popular and professional representations of crime scenes reveal more of social anxieties about the nature of the public and the private than they do about serial killers. It suggests that 'the serial killer' is not a coherent type, but an invention produced from the confusions of persons and places. Copyright 2006 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution