Designing multimedia resources for design and technology

Multimedia resources are beginning to play an important role in the teaching and learning process. Yet the effect and impact which they have is poorly understood and principally anecdotal. Questions need to be asked concerning their use and value especially in a subject such as design and technology which is essentially practical in nature. Reliable answers can only be given if resources are designed specifically for a practical environment. This article examines a range of key issues and provides the rationale and thinking behind a series of CD-ROMs which might help provide these answers

'A safe and honourable peace': British political discourse, politics and policy formation in the making of the Treaty of Utrecht, 1708 to 1713

By 1708, Britain and her Allies – principally the States-General and the Holy Roman Emperor - had been fighting the War of the Spanish Succession for six years, and Britain had been at war for sixteen years of the previous twenty-one. War weariness was widespread, and the focus of British politics turned increasingly to securing peace, an objective attained with the conclusion of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. This dissertation presents a holistic analysis of British domestic politics, foreign policy-making and diplomacy surrounding the peace negotiations, and is positioned at the intersection of three principal historiographical strands: those concerning discourse and the public sphere, British politics in the age of Queen Anne, and the formation and implementation of foreign policy. The analysis is undertaken primarily through the prism of contemporary discourse across a broad range of categories, ranging from the official statements of governments, through wider foreign policy debate involving the opposition and the media, to cultural representations, demonstrations and public celebrations. Establishing the central role of political discourse in both the shaping and validation of British foreign policy in the making of the peace, this dissertation provides significant insights in three principal areas. First, it demonstrates the complexity and inter-relation of the narratives deployed in the contention over the peace. Secondly, it identifies the protagonists, both domestic and foreign, engaged in the propagation, suppression and rebuttal of those narratives, and the means which they employed. Thirdly, it describes the outcomes which those actors sought and achieved: attempting to influence ministers, Parliament, Allies and a politically engaged public with a close interest in foreign affairs. It also sheds light on other issues raised by the historiography: the tension between realist and ideological objectives in foreign policy; the interplay between domestic and foreign policy; and the role of Parliament

Studies on amino acid assays using Escherichia coli

The methods most widely used for the assay of amino acids, peptides and proteins are surveyed and the advantages of microbiological assays are discussed.Comparisons are-made between the use of 'natural' auxotrophs commonly used for assay and 'artificial' mutant strains of E.coli as assay organisms. A novel assay is described in which an E.coli Lys (^-) auxotroph is used to measure Lys-dependent protein synthesis. The response to a given quantity of Lys is constant irrespective of whether it is free, peptide-bound or present in a complex mixture. Since the measured response is enzyme synthesis rather than growth the technique has the advantage of sensitivity and speed. The enzyme measured is the inducible enzyme β-galactosidase, which liberates ơ-nitrophenol fron the chromogenic substrate a ơ-nitrophenol-β-D-galactopyranoside. The number of active enzyme molecules that can be synthesised by the auxotroph depend solely on the Lys present. Thus the amount of available Lys in a digest can be determined by reference to a calibration curve of enzyme activity v. Lys concentration.Optimisation of the method and the isolation, selection and characterisation of the mutants to assay for available Lys. Met and Trp is described, and the-sensitivity of the assay is similar for all three amino acids. Application of the technique to measure Lys, Met and Trp present in digests of a variety of pure proteins, feed meals and rice varieties is described and results are compared with published data. The assay response to Met(O) led to the study of the effects of physiological status of E. coli on oxidation and reduction of Met(O) and on cleavage of MetO(_2)) residues. Finally, since the auxotrophic requirement for the Lys" Met" strain could be replaced by B(_12) a preliminary investigation of the use of the technique to assay for this vitamin is reported

Underpricing, underperformance and overreaction in initial public offerings : evidence from investor attention using online searches

Online activity of Internet users has proven very useful in modeling various phenomena across a wide range of scientific disciplines. In our study, we focus on two stylized facts or puzzles surrounding the initial public offerings (IPOs) - the underpricing and the long-term underperformance. Using the Internet searches on Google, we proxy the investor attention before and during the day of the offering to show that the high attention IPOs have different characteristics than the low attention ones. After controlling for various effects, we show that investor attention still remains a strong component of the high initial returns (the underpricing), primarily for the high sentiment periods. Moreover, we demonstrate that the investor attention partially explains the overoptimistic market reaction and thus also a part of the long-term underperformance

Database Methods for Copy Number Variant Analysis of One Hundred Disease Associated Genes in Human Congenital Heart Disease

Human genetic variation occurs more commonly than was recognized after the completion of the Human Genome Sequencing Project in 2003. Submicroscopic human DNA analysis has revealed copy number variation (CNV) as the deletion or duplication of a genomic region potentially affecting gene dosage. Advanced genetic research now includes the study of CNVs in diseased subject groups compared to in house controls or online published datasets of control CNV data. Research labs choose from different bioinformatic algorithms to make the copy number calls. Solutions for further processing the copy number data into quantifiable form require collaboration with data analysts and include the use of relational databases. The aim of this thesis work was to develop a relational database solution for human copy number variation in subjects with cardiac malformations. The multipurpose database served as a central repository for the cohort demographic data as well as the entire experimental set of copy number variant data. Quantification and frequency analyses of the CNVs were executed via SQL queries. Database SQL queries generated raw data used for essential visualization tools including a detailed subject profile and a one hundred gene CNV spectra. The stated purpose of the study was to develop a descriptive analysis of genomic copy number associations in a well phenotyped congenital heart disease (CHD) population over one hundred disease associated genes. The relational database created to advance the research proved valuable in its data storage and retrieval capacity. Results showing consistency with published literature validated the accuracy of the query results generated for the CHD cohort

Experiences and outcomes of maternal Ramadan fasting during pregnancy: results from a sub-cohort of the Born in Bradford birth cohort study

Background: Observing the fast during the holy month of Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. Although pregnant women and those with pre-existing illness are exempted from fasting many still choose to fast during this time. The fasting behaviours of pregnant Muslim women resident in Western countries remain largely unexplored and relationships between fasting behaviour and offspring health outcomes remain contentious. This study was undertaken to assess the prevalence, characteristics of fasting behaviours and offspring health outcomes in Asian and Asian British Muslim women within a UK birth cohort. Methods: Prospective cohort study conducted at the Bradford Royal Infirmary UK from October to December 2010 comprising 310 pregnant Muslim women of Asian or Asian British ethnicity that had a live singleton birth at the Bradford Royal Infirmary. The main outcome of the study was the decision to fast or not during Ramadan. Secondary outcomes were preterm births and mean birthweight. Logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the relationship between covariables of interest and women's decision to fast or not fast. Logistic regression was also used to investigate the relationship between covariables and preterm birth as well as low birth weight. Results: Mutually adjusted analysis showed that the odds of any fasting were higher for women with an obese BMI at booking compared to women with a normal BMI, (OR 2.78 (95% C.I. 1.29-5.97)), for multiparous compared to nulliparous women(OR 3.69 (95% C.I. 1.38-9.86)), and for Bangladeshi origin women compared to Pakistani origin women (OR 3.77 (95% C.I. 1.04-13.65)). Odds of fasting were lower in women with higher levels of education (OR 0.40 (95% C.I. 0.18-0.91)) and with increasing maternal age (OR 0.87 (95% C.I. 0.80-0.94). No associations were observed between fasting and health outcomes in the offspring. Conclusions: Pregnant Muslim women residing in the UK who fasted during Ramadan differed by social, demographic and lifestyle characteristics compared to their non-fasting peers. Fasting was not found to be associated with adverse birth outcomes in this sample although these results require confirmation using reported fasting data in a larger sample before the safety of fasting during pregnancy can be established

Fuelling an immune response: an ultrastructural study of immune-stimulated lymph nodes

A growing body of evidence suggests that adipocytes, and the triacylglycerol fatty acids within them, play an important role in supporting the inflammatory immune response. Inflammatory cytokines produced by an activated lymph node cause the release of fatty acids from neighbouring adipocytes, and the fatty acids are taken up into lymph node lymphoid cells, where they can be used as precursors for eicosanoid and plasma membrane synthesis, or as a fuel source. The mechanism of transport of fatty acids from adipocytes across the lymph node capsule and into lymphoid cells remains to be elucidated. Here we present evidence from light and electron microscopy that small fat-filled cells are found within the lymph node, and that 24 hours after an immune challenge they are associated with dendritic cells. The small adipocytes express S100 protein and insulin receptor, characteristics of mature adipocytes. Our observations suggest a mechanism for delivering triacylglycerol fatty acids directly to their site of use in supplying components for an immune response

A comparison of South Asian specific and established BMI thresholds for determining obesity prevalence in pregnancy and predicting pregnancy complications: findings from the Born in Bradford cohort

Objective: To describe how maternal obesity prevalence varies by established international and South Asian specific body mass index (BMI) cut-offs in women of Pakistani origin and investigate whether different BMI thresholds can help to identify women at risk of adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes. Design: Prospective bi-ethnic birth cohort study (the Born in Bradford (BiB) cohort). Setting: Bradford, a deprived city in the North of the UK. Participants: A total of 8478 South Asian and White British pregnant women participated in the BiB cohort study. Main outcome measures: Maternal obesity prevalence; prevalence of known obesity-related adverse pregnancy outcomes: mode of birth, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), gestational diabetes, macrosomia and pre-term births. Results: Application of South Asian BMI cut-offs increased prevalence of obesity in Pakistani women from 18.8 (95% confidence interval (CI) 17.6–19.9) to 30.9% (95% CI 29.5–32.2). With the exception of pre-term births, there was a positive linear relationship between BMI and prevalence of adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes, across almost the whole BMI distribution. Risk of gestational diabetes and HDP increased more sharply in Pakistani women after a BMI threshold of at least 30 kg m−2, but there was no evidence of a sharp increase in any risk factors at the new, lower thresholds suggested for use in South Asian women. BMI was a good single predictor of outcomes (area under the receiver operating curve: 0.596–0.685 for different outcomes); prediction was more discriminatory and accurate with BMI as a continuous variable than as a binary variable for any possible cut-off point. Conclusion: Applying the new South Asian threshold to pregnant women would markedly increase those who were referred for monitoring and lifestyle advice. However, our results suggest that lowering the BMI threshold in South Asian women would not improve the predictive ability for identifying those who were at risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes