The Effect of High Pressure on Crystal Structure Topology

This thesis describes the effects of the application of high pressure to single crystals of small organic compounds. A range of different structural analysis techniques have been used with the emphasis on whole molecule interactions rather than atom-atom contacts. A study of the effect of pressure on the crystal structure of salicylaldoxime showed that the size of a pseudo-macrocyclic cavity within the structure is tuneable by compression. This cavity determines the reactivity of salicylaldoxime as a ligand, when deprotonated it is known to preferentially bind Cu^2+ ions over other cations in a bis(salicylaldoximato) complex due to the compatibility between the cavity size and the ionic radius of Cu^2+. Further compression studies on a range of substituted salicylaldoximes with different ambient cavity sizes showed that the application of pressure consistently decreases the cavity size across the whole series. Variation of substituent and the pressure yields cavities which span the covalent radii of many of the 1st transition series metal dications. This should allow the selectivity of metal extraction to be tuned using pressure. Computational studies of lattice energies and conformational energies in the compression studies of L-serine and 3-aza-bicyclo(3.3.1)nonane-2,4-dione have shown that significant molecular distortions can occur during compression of a crystal structure below 10 GPa. L-serine shows different conformations between phases with an energy difference of 40 kJ mol-1, whereas the conformation of 3-aza-bicyclo(3.3.1)nonane-2,4-dione is seen to distort within the same phase. Analysis of a database of compression studies using Hirshfeld surfaces has highlighted the fact that all different types of intermolecular interaction have a lower limit for compression, at least in the pressure regime below 10 GPa. These studies, along with theoretical calculations, have suggested a lower distance limit for H…H contacts of 1.7 A. This is potentially very useful for prediction of the effects of compression as H…H contacts are almost universal across small organic crystal structures

Measured Water Temperature Characteristics in a Pipeline Distribution System

YesThis paper describes the design, development, deployment and performance assessment of a prototype system for monitoring the 'health' of a water distribution network based on the temperature distribution and time-dependent variations in temperature across the network. It has been found that the water temperature can reveal unusual events in a water distribution network, indicated by dynamic variations in spatial temperature differential. Based on this indication it is shown how patterns of changes in the water temperature can be analysed using AQUIS pipeline distribution software and used in conjunction with hydraulic (e.g. flow and pressure) sensors to indicate the state of ¿health¿ of the network during operation

The Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale measures a continuum from well-being to depression: Testing two key predictions of positive clinical psychology

Background: Two core but untested predictions of Positive Clinical Psychology (PCP) are that (1) Many psychiatric problems can be understood as one end of bipolar continua with well-being, and (2) that reducing psychiatric symptoms will provide an equal (near linear) decrease in risk for several other psychiatric variables, irrespective of position on continua.  Aims: We test these predictions in relation to a purported well-being/depression continuum, as measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D), a popular measure of depressive experiences in research and clinical practice.  Method: A large (N = 4,138), diverse sample completed the CES-D, which contains a mixture of negatively worded and positively worded items (e.g., “I felt sad,” “I enjoyed life”). The latter are conventionally reverse scored to compute a total score. We first examined whether purportedly separate well-being and depression CES-D factors can be reconceptualised as a bipolar well-being/depression continuum. We then characterised the (linear or nonlinear) form of the relationship between this continuum and other psychiatric variables.  Results: Both predictions were supported. When controlling for shared method bias amongst positively worded items, a single factor well-being/depression continuum underlies the CES-D. Baseline levels on this continuum are found to have near linear relationships with changes in anxiety symptoms, aggression, and substance misuse over time, demonstrating that moving from depression to well-being on the CES-D provides an equal decrease in risk for several other psychological problems irrespective of position on the continuum.  Limitations: The CES-D does not measure well-being as comprehensively as established scales of well-being.  Conclusions: Results support calls for mental health services to jointly focus on increasing well-being and reducing distress, and point to the value of early intervention and instilling resilience in order to prevent people moving away from high levels of well-being

Artificial Neural Network Model for a Low Cost Failure Sensor: Performance Assessment in Pipeline Distribution

YesThis paper describes an automated event detection and location system for water distribution pipelines which is based upon low-cost sensor technology and signature analysis by an Artificial Neural Network (ANN). The development of a low cost failure sensor which measures the opacity or cloudiness of the local water flow has been designed, developed and validated, and an ANN based system is then described which uses time series data produced by sensors to construct an empirical model for time series prediction and classification of events. These two components have been installed, tested and verified in an experimental site in a UK water distribution system. Verification of the system has been achieved from a series of simulated burst trials which have provided real data sets. It is concluded that the system has potential in water distribution network management

Exploring the Effects of a Single Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) Workshop in Elite Blind Soccer Players

Research examining the effects of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) on athletic performance is emerging. There exists however, a paucity of research exploring psychological interventions within specialized sport populations. Our present study investigated the effects of a single REBT workshop, including intellectual and practical insight into the ABC(DE) framework on psychological, physiological, and performance markers within an elite blind soccer team. Using a within-participant pretest-posttest crossover design in an ecologically valid setting, data indicated small and immediate reductions in irrational beliefs, perceived helpfulness of pre-performance anxiety, and physiological markers (i.e., Systolic Blood Pressure) prior to a penalty-kick simulation. However, no substantial changes were shown in penalty-kick performance. In sum, although the findings elucidate some benefits of a single REBT workshop, the educational insight into the ABC(DE) framework was deemed insufficient for meaningful changes in outcome measures. Practical implications and recommendations for future researchers are discussed

Outcomes of the BOSS Classroom Management Program Among Adults With Intellectual Disabilities

There is a current and growing need for evidence-based practices aimed at improving the social skills of adults with intellectual disabilities (ID). Despite an abundance of research on strategies to improve the social skills of young children with ID, there is limited research on interventions aimed at improving prosocial behaviors of adults with ID. A behavioral skills training approach was used to teach frontline, direct support professionals (DSPs) to implement a classroom management strategy called the Behavioral Opportunities for Social Skills (BOSS) program with adults with ID who lived in the community. The results showed that DSPs’ delivery of behavior-specific praise statements increased after they received training in the BOSS program. Increases in the prosocial behaviors of the adults with ID were also reported after the DSPs were trained. Social validity measures indicated that DSPs liked using the BOSS program, it was easy to implement, and the program was effective. The results of this study suggest that evidence-based social skills interventions developed for children and adolescents, including classroom management strategies, can be effective in improving prosocial behaviors of adults with ID with minimal adaptions

Source-sink plasmid transfer dynamics maintain gene mobility in soil bacterial communities

Horizontal gene transfer is a fundamental process in bacterial evolution that can accelerate adaptation via the sharing of genes between lineages. Conjugative plasmids are the principal genetic elements mediating the horizontal transfer of genes, both within and between bacterial species. In some species, plasmids are unstable and likely to be lost through purifying selection, but when alternative hosts are available, interspecific plasmid transfer could counteract this and maintain access to plasmid-borne genes. To investigate the evolutionary importance of alternative hosts to plasmid population dynamics in an ecologically relevant environment, we established simple soil microcosm communities comprising two species of common soil bacteria, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Pseudomonas putida, and a mercury resistance (Hg R) plasmid, pQBR57, both with and without positive selection [i.e., addition of Hg(II)]. In single-species populations, plasmid stability varied between species: although pQBR57 survived both with and without positive selection in P. fluorescens, it was lost or replaced by nontransferable Hg R captured to the chromosome in P. putida. A simple mathematical model suggests these differences were likely due to pQBR57's lower intraspecific conjugation rate in P. putida. By contrast, in two-species communities, both models and experiments show that interspecific conjugation from P. fluorescens allowed pQBR57 to persist in P. putida via source-sink transfer dynamics. Moreover, the replacement of pQBR57 by nontransferable chromosomal Hg R in P. putida was slowed in coculture. Interspecific transfer allows plasmid survival in host species unable to sustain the plasmid in monoculture, promoting community-wide access to the plasmid-borne accessory gene pool and thus potentiating future evolvability