Inter-pregnancy weight change impacts placental weight and is associated with the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes in the second pregnancy

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

A Study of Phenolic-Carbohydrate Linkages in the Gramineae

The complex phenolic polymer lignin is generally accepted as having a strong influence over the biodegradability of plant cell walls. The precise mechanisms of this phenomenon, however, are not well understood and a number of factors may be of particular importance i.e the size and structure of the lignin molecules, their distribution within the cell wall and their interactions with other cell wall components as lignin-carbohydrate complexes. To date, relatively little is known about these factors. The purpose of this work was to study the interactions between phenolics and carbohydrate in graminaceous cell walls. Barley straw (Hordeum vulgare c. v Golden Promise) and a 'non-mesophyll' preparation of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne c. v. Perma) cell walls were subjected to the fractionation scheme demonstrated in Figure 1. The carbohydrate and phenolic components of the resulting fractions were analysed by a number of 'classical' wet chemical techniques and several physical methods (Pyrolysis-MS (and GC-MS); NMR and Infrared spectroscopy). It was found that oxalic acid hydrolysis solubilised much of the arabinose and ferulic acid content of both. A high proportion of the phenolic content (phenolic acids and lignin) was solubilised from ryegrass, whereas much less was solubilised from barley straw. Fragments, consisting of ferulic acid ester linked through the O-5 of arabinose and p-coumaric acid ester linked to arabinose were isolated and characterised. Extraction of the hydrolysed materials with dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) was found to solubilise a high molecular weight lignin- carbohydrate complex, the carbohydrate component consisting, predominantly, of a beta 1-4 xylan with small amounts of mixed linked beta D-glucan. The LCC's differed considerably in their response to alkali hydrolysis, suggesting differences in content of ester and ether linked phenolics. Enzymic hydrolysis of the residues with a commercial cellulase preparation, 'Driselase' was then found to solubilise much of the remaining sugar to leave a lignin 'core'. Solid state NMR also suggested differences in ester/ether linked phenolics between barley and ryegrass. Analytical pyrolysis techniques were then used for further structural analysis. Time resolved platinum filament pyrolysis-mass spectrometry (electron impact) suggested differences in the structure of the lignin moieties in the DMSO soluble and residue fractions. These differences were characterised by thioacidolysis analysis, which showed that the DMSO soluble lignin (type 1 lignin) consists of either small and/or highly branched molecules with a high condensed lignin content (90%), and is associated with a pentosan fraction whereas the residual lignin (type 2 lignin), in ryegrass at least, is either large and/or straight chained lignin, have a much lower condensed lignin content (59%) and is associated with a pentosan/hexosan fraction. It is also suggested that two different xylan components are present in the starting materials. It was suggested that the two different lignin moieties may have originated from different areas within the cell wall, type 1 lignin originating from the secondary cell wall and type 2 lignin from primary layers of secondary thickened cell walls

Weight change across the start of three consecutive pregnancies and the risk of maternal morbidity and SGA birth at the second and third pregnancy

Funding: This work was funded by the Scottish Government's Rural and Environmental Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS, Theme 7: Diet and Health). The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Novel genetic analysis in Behçet's disease

Behçet's disease (BD) is characterized by oral and genital ulceration and is complicated by eye, skin, joint and central nervous system lesions. It has long been understood that BD has a strong genetic component, but to date the identified genes account for only around 30% of the risk for developing the disease, and the work has mostly been based on candidate gene analysis. In a recent report, Fei and coworkers presented the results of the first genome-wide analysis of patients with BD. These findings suggest new pathways for investigation in this complex disease

T cell epitope analysis: Using insulin as a model antigen

T cells recognise antigen only on the surface of another cell, the antigen presenting cell, in association with a cell surface molecule encoded by the major histocompatability complex. The nature of these interactions is still not fully understood. For instance, it is not clear how many antigen binding sites are present on MHC molecules, or whether the T cell receptor recognises both antigen and MHC, or just the antigen. Those regions of an antigen which T cells recognise are known as epitopes and attempts to define them has been the focus of many studies. The objective of this thesis was to investigate T cell epitopes on the protein insulin. A hapten group TNP was used to modify the protein and the initial aim was to generate T cell clones against the hapten, while altering the insulin molecule in specific ways to determine the effect of those changes on response to the hapten. However it was noted at an early stage that in H-2b mice the addition of TNP to pork insulin, to which H-2b mice are non-responders, stimulated a response. This finding, and the investigation of the mechanisms involved, form the basis of this thesis. It will show that the TNP group was allowing the recognition of an epitope which in the unhaptenated form of the protein is functionally silent. The TNP was not directly involved in T cell receptor recognition, but may be able to increase the affinity of binding between pork insulin and H-2b MHC molecules. A study on the derivatisation of insulin is discussed. The site of haptenation on the insulin molecule was determined by high performance liquid chromatography. This showed clearly, contrary to previous reports, the the TNP group was binding to the glycine residue at the carboxy terminal of the A chain. In addition, in an attempt to produce hybrid insulin proteins, site-directed mutagenesis was performed on the human proinsulin gene. The use of molecular biology techniques for the production of these hybrids is discussed

B-Boy and Buuz: A Study of Mongolian Hip-Hop Culture

When walking down the streets of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, passersby will find countless material traits of hip-hop culture surrounding them, including snapback hats, skateboards, and tattoos. A powerful combination of urban growth, democracy, and a booming market economy has invited and stimulated contemporary forms of hip-hop, creating an active but unorganized Mongolian hip-hop sub-culture and community. In this explorative and analytical paper, I examine what Mongolian hiphop artists express about present-day Mongolia through hip-hop mediums and why they are a unique critical voice. While there are several facets of hip-hop, I focus on three modes of traditional hip-hop culture: oral (rapping), physical (breakdancing), and visual (graffiti). My primary research was conducted via interviews with Mongolian rappers, hip-hop dancers, and graffiti artists that are currently active in producing art. In total, I interviewed three graffiti/street artists, four rappers, and four hip-hop dancers who illuminated the foundation of Mongolian hip-hop’s cultural themes and values. I complemented these interviews with an analysis of selected Mongolian hip-hop art pieces to better understand the uniqueness of Mongolian hip-hop culture and how hiphop artists convey hip-hop values and commentaries through their creative work. Additionally, I analyzed academic readings, news articles, and documentaries concerning global hip-hop culture, the history of hip-hop culture, and hip-hop in Mongolia. My findings convey the unique aesthetic and cultural characteristics of Mongolian hip-hop, and upon further discussion and analysis, I identify key underlying commentaries and values that hip-hop artists express through their work and hip-hop lifestyle—a life dedicated primarily to the production of hip-hop art. The multitude of artists’ values and ideals create a unique Mongolian hip-hop sub-culture, and they act as a critical voice because of their defiance to comply solely with traditional Mongolian values, giving them a partially “outside” perspective of Mongolia. I conclude that Mongolian hip-hop artists have no single explicit criticism of Mongolian society; rather, they actively choose to embody hip-hop culture and its values through the “alternative” hip-hop lifestyle. Through their actions and creative work, hip-hop artists highlight certain values to their audience that larger Mongolian culture fails to emphasize. These key values include individuality, authenticity, and freedom. Hip-hop artists continue to teach and represent these ideals to (primarily young) Mongolians through their artwork and hip-hop lifestyle, breaking the popular skeptical mindset that hip-hop cannot be Mongolian and empowering Mongolian youth to craft their own identities. Warning: In dealing with “real” Mongolian hip-hop, this essay includes profane language and ideas

A Poet’s Room: Troubling Tolerance, Cultural Ruptures & The Dialogic Curriculum

Many high school communities across the United States grapple with issues of bullying, harassment and other forms of student conflict that are often the result of intolerance and misunderstandings across and among social identities (Griffin et. al., 2012). In an effort to rebuild tone and community, however, schools have focused predominantly on (1) addressing only antagonistic student behavior and (2) tolerance-based approaches that result in the superficial “choreography of civil speech” (Mayo. 2004). Both methods, in different ways, have struggled to meaningfully address many of the underlying issues responsible for intergroup and interpersonal conflict and the deterioration of community in schools (Dessel, 2010; Poteat & DiGiovanni, 2010). This qualitative case study examines the impact of an innovative arts-based curriculum designed to center the construction and performance of student “creative authoethnographies” in the classroom as a way of proactively working toward dialogue about identity and social analysis. Conducted over the course of a single school year at a high school in New York City, this research looks carefully at the experiences of seven students. Through close analysis of student interviews, archived student writing, curriculum documents, student surveys and other qualitative data, this work strives to articulate what courses such as these offer students, and how their presence in schools holds the potential to directly address issues of bullying and conflict across difference. Responding to the critical multiculturalist call (Banks, 1995, Morrell, 2007; Camangian, 2010) for a pedagogy that combines the successful but historically separate practices of autoethnography and the teaching of dialogue skills, this study introduces “cultural ruptures” and a “pedagogy of disruption” as part of a new approach to engaging young people in an of education that is explicit in it’s efforts to critique society and interrogate one’s own identity (Freire & Macedo, 1987). This research also advocates strongly on behalf of English classrooms (and English teachers specifically) as among the most important “actors” in the work of humanizing education, and offers tangible recommendations and strategies for practitioners toward that end

Control rod monitoring of advanced gas-cooled reactors

The UK’s fleet of Advanced Gas Cooled Reactors (AGR) are approaching, and have in some cases exceeded, their original design lives. Continued operation is under enhanced safety cases based on monitoring, inspection and component condition assessment of the core and related systems. This paper presents an analysis of the regulating control rods of an AGR, which are used to manage the power and reactivity of the core. Current manual analyses attempt to detect possible restrictions in the motion of the rods due to degradation of the graphite core, however the development of an automated intelligent analysis of the control rod data provides a repeatable and auditable method of analyzing the data. It is shown, by means of an example data set, that despite some limitations in the scope of the recorded data, it is possible to estimate the performance of the rods and present this information to the engineer in a way that more easily indicates abnormal behavior than existing analyses. It is also noted that though this work was initially conceived as a method of detecting restrictions in the motion of the regulating control rods, the results are potentially more useful is characterizing control rod performance and has potential application in predictive maintenance

Observation of s-channel production of single top quarks at the Tevatron

This is the published version. Copyright 2014 American Physical SocietyWe report the first observation of single-top-quark production in the s channel through the combination of the CDF and D0 measurements of the cross section in proton-antiproton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV. The data correspond to total integrated luminosities of up to 9.7 fb-1 per experiment. The measured cross section is σs=1.29+0.26−0.24 pb. The probability of observing a statistical fluctuation of the background to a cross section of the observed size or larger is 1.8×10−10, corresponding to a significance of 6.3 standard deviations for the presence of an s-channel contribution to the production of single-top quarks

Precision measurement of the top-quark mass in lepton+jets final states

This is the published version. Copyright © 2015 American Physical SocietyWe measure the mass of the top quark in lepton+jets final states using the full sample of pp¯ collision data collected by the D0 experiment in Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron Collider at s√=1.96  TeV, corresponding to 9.7  fb−1 of integrated luminosity. We use a matrix element technique that calculates the probabilities for each event to result from tt¯ production or background. The overall jet energy scale is constrained in situ by the mass of the W boson. We measure mt=174.98±0.76  GeV. This constitutes the most precise single measurement of the top-quark mass