Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Thesis(doctorate)'

This portfolio and the competency folders contain two years of reflective practice logs and demonstrate evidence of how I have met the required competencies for the Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology. In the form of four case studies, one systematic review and a research thesis conducted over a period of two years, it shows my range of knowledge and skills gained within Health Psychology. Both the portfolio and the competency folders consist of a range of practical experiences of how I have put health psychology theories and constructs into practice within NHS, charity and corporate settings. The skills and experiences I have gained in this portfolio have been mainly placed within public health but also working alongside the NHS, which Health Psychology heavily contributes to. This portfolio demonstrates my development as a reflective practitioner through a variety of experiences and roles needed to meet each competency. My main role throughout this course has been as a Specialist Stop Smoking Advisor and Smoking in Pregnancy Lead. A large part of this portfolio and my development as a Health Psychologists is Section C3, (page 109), the research competency. When starting this course, it took me a long time to decide on an original topic of research for the thesis, (Section C3, page 109) and I feel that at the beginning, when writing my ethics proposal, my thought process was much more basic. My research thesis examined the use of electronic cigarettes within smoking cessation and the effects this can have on individuals changes in weight. It explored this by comparing different smoking cessation aids, (NRT, Champix and E-cigarettes), gender, ethnicity (Asian or Non-Asian), eating behaviours and activity levels to compare different variables in their strength in predicting weight changes during smoking cessation. Initially, my thought process felt that e-cigarettes could be a stronger variable at preventing weight changes compared to other smoking cessation aids, despite other contributing factors. However, throughout the duration of the course, I feel that my thought process developed as a Health Psychologist and I wanted to consider the results further. Initially, the results from an ANOVA showed that people using e-cigarettes did gain the least amount of weight over a 6-month period. However, after further analysis using the other variables available, I found that the strongest variables at predicting weight changes was gender and eating behaviours. I feel that this was a big change in my way of thinking and allowed me to find more significant results. My overall conclusion was that women are more likely to gain weight during smoking cessation due to them being more sensitive to changes in eating based on emotion and stress. This means that I feel more confident in this being a unique and original contribution of research in Health Psychology and I am proud of what I have achieved and developed within this competency. Following this, the systematic review, section C3.1, (page 212), was one of the most challenging competencies I faced during the two years. This is something that was very new for me and I was initially concerned about my ability to complete this and it was challenging for me to choose a relevant topic. However, after hours of researching and some supervision support, I developed the review to choosing a unique topic and varied area of research for my portfolio. I decided to research and compare the varied perceptions of individuals on people with epilepsy driving. This included the perceptions of people with epilepsy themselves, health professionals and the public. I felt that each step of the review process was new to me and I was always checking that what I was doing/had completed was correct, which I feel has helped me to develop new skills. Only nine studies met the inclusion criteria and of those, only one compared the perceptions of all three individuals; people with epilepsy, health professionals and the public. The review highlights the need for more education about epilepsy and how it can affect an individual to all physicians and members of the public who interact or work with patients with epilepsy. Another challenging part of this review was the Quality Assessment tool for Quantitative studies that I completed for each of the nine studies. This was a new assessment tool to me that I had not used previously and I felt initially confused on how to use this most effectively. However, with more research, practice and supervision, I feel as though this is another skill I could develop for further research in the future. I am also hoping to get this review published to increase my list of publications. The competency I feel I developed in the most is the consultancy, section C4 (page 276), which will illustrate one consultancy project where I designed and developed a Smoking in Pregnancy scheme and educational project. The idea of this consultancy came directly from Public Health, who asked me to target the pregnant women who smoke and decline a referral to the stop smoking service. This gave me the opportunity to work with a range of different health professionals working at different levels, including service leads, locality managers, maternity department, consultants and commissioners within maternal health. This was a new opportunity for me and I was given the responsibility to design and develop the individual sessions delivered to these pregnant smokers. The idea was to work directly with maternity services, specifically the Public Health Specialist Midwife, to deliver this educational session to the pregnant women with the hope for them to decide to try and stop smoking and work directly with the community midwives to ensure appropriate referrals. This was the biggest challenge for me over the duration of the course, as it involved working at such a high level on important and relevant work. Throughout the project, it became a big interest for other services within the East of England, in which I was asked to deliver a presentation of the project and the results gained throughout at various meetings and conferences. Despite being terrified initially, my confidence grew quickly and I was pleased with the overall outcomes of this work. This gave me the opportunity to develop in a way that was not available within my normal role and I feel that it has contributed enormously to the health professional I have become today. Following this, the competency I was most worried about completing was the teaching and training, (section C5, page 319) as I did not feel I had the confidence to deliver a teaching or training session. At the beginning of the course, I had never delivered any teaching or training sessions and did not feel it was something I would enjoy. I felt that it was important for me to embrace this opportunity, knowing it was important for these feelings to change by the end of the course. Therefore, this was the first competency I chose to complete. I started by delivering two lectures at the university for both undergraduate and postgraduate level students. Initially, I was concerned about the content of the lectures and my ability to teach others information. However, after some guidance and support from my peers and during supervision, I feel that I delivered two effective and interesting lectures to students leaving me able to complete the competency report. Following this, I was keen to increase my confidence further within this competency and I could start delivering training sessions within my role for the Level 2 Stop Smoking Advisor Training. Upon completion of this training, trainees are qualified and competent to support and guide individuals to stop smoking and so it was important for me to deliver an effective training. This was a full two-day course that involved both delivering information and interactive sessions with an online assessment to complete their training.
I think that this has helped me tremendously in building my confidence delivering training and I was able to continue this further and deliver the Make Every Contact Count (MECC) to other health professionals where needed. Finally, by the end of the course, I was training other staff members to deliver these two training sessions so there were more staff available when needed. This has allowed me to develop as an autonomous practitioner in both skills and confidence and I feel that it has prepared me for the delivery of future training. The competency I feel I sit most naturally in and throughout the course of the doctorate I delivered many behaviour change interventions, (Section C2, page 30). Throughout my training, I was regularly delivering interventions to clients who wanted to stop smoking and helping to support them through their behaviour change. Therefore, I decided to increase my knowledge and skills to a different area for the intervention report. I had the opportunity to work with a Child Weight Management Team at delivering a physical activity session at the end of each nutritional session within their programmes. This allowed me to develop the skills and experience needed to work with young children and their families in a health setting within weight management, not just adults. I enjoyed delivering these physical activity sessions and although initially, I was not sure how to deliver an effective session to children, the team were a great support. I am pleased that the outcome of the intervention increased attendance rates and later became an important part of their child weight management programmes.

Background: Breastfeeding rates continue to remain low in the UK even though a number of initiatives have been delivered in an attempt to increase them. Evidence suggests a large proportion of mothers now perceive breastfeeding as the best feeding practice for their baby and many wish to do so, but are unable to for a number of reasons including issues around breastfeeding in public. This study set out to explore lived experience of breastfeeding in public to better inform our understanding. Methods: A qualitative approach was chosen using semi-structured interviews to facilitative an in-depth exploration of mothers’ experiences of public breastfeeding. Women aged 31 to 40 years old who had experience of breastfeeding in public within London were interviewed and narratives analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Results: Two themes emerged from the data: “Societal attitudes as ostracising” and “Becoming a nursing mother”. It was evident these mothers experienced a strong transference from a British society generally disapproving and feeling uncomfortable with breastfeeding. Consequently implicit expectations are placed on them to conceal the behaviour either by covering their breast or breastfeeding in discrete locations including feeding rooms. Transitioning from a woman to a mother is a significant life stage and being able to breastfeed successfully appeared to be an important aspect of motherhood for these mothers. Their determination to breastfeed exceeded the challenges they faced in public with their confidence enhancing with time. Findings are considered in light of current social attitudes and the importance of normalising views about breastfeeding in society in order to improve health outcomes.

La combustió excessiva de combustibles fòssils té com a resultat l’emissió de diòxid de carboni (CO2), que està desencadenant problemes ambientals creixents, com ara l’escalfament global, l’augment del nivell del mar, el clima extrem i l’extinció d’espècies. Per tant, les tecnologies per a la conversió de CO2 en altres productes de valor estan jugant un paper vital per eliminar la concentració de CO2 a l’atmosfera. En aquest sentit, la conversió electroquímica de CO2, alimentat per energia renovable, en productes químics útils es considera una solució elegant per aconseguir el cicle del carboni. Tanmateix, a causa de la interioritat de les molècules de CO2 i de la reacció competitiva d’evolució d’hidrogen (HER), els principals reptes de CO2 RR són l’elevat requeriment de sobrepotencial associat a una termodinàmica desfavorable i una baixa eficiència faradaica (FE) per a un producte concret. Per tant, buscar un electrocatalitzador d’alta eficiència i econòmic és raonable i necessari per a aplicacions pràctiques. En les darreres dècades, els marcs metal·lorgànics (MOF) van absorbir les enormes consideracions en el camp de l’electrocatàlisi a causa de la seva gran superfície específica, una rica estructura de porus i llocs actius uniformement dispersos. Tot i que tenen un gran potencial en electrocàlisi, la majoria dels materials MOF encara pateixen una activitat insuficient, baixa conductivitat i poca estabilitat, cosa que dificultaria les seves aplicacions pràctiques. Especialment, en el camp del CO2 RR, s’han de tenir en compte molts paràmetres importants, inclosa una alta eficiència faradaica (FE), l’excessiu baix sobrepotencial, una gran densitat de corrent i una estabilitat robusta, entre d’altres. Per tant, el disseny racional dels MOF per complir els requisits anteriors tant com sigui possible és crucial per explotar el seu futur en aplicacions de CO2 RR. Per tant, en aquesta dissertació, vam fer molts esforços per desenvolupar catalitzadors basats en MOFs/derivats amb una eficiència, activitat i estabilitat superiors per augmentar el rendiment del CO2 RR. Aquesta dissertació es divideix en 5 capítols: El capítol 1 presenta les idees sobre els conceptes fonamentals sobre CO2 RR electroquímic, que inclou la cèl·lula fonamental de CO2 RR electroquímica, que revisa els productes de reducció comuns i les seves vies senzilles. En aquest capítol també es presenta la visió general de paràmetres importants que afecten el CO2 RR, inclosos diferents catalitzadors dels darrers anys i electròlits, i les mètriques rellevants que avaluen els electrocatalitzadors, així com les limitacions de la reducció electroquímica de CO2. El capítol 2 tracta de la fabricació de ZIF-8 modificat a la superfície com a elèctrode basat en MOFs per a un CO2 RR electroquímic per generar CO. En aquest treball, hem modificat la superfície del MOF ZIF-8 a partir d’introduir un petita proporció d’àcid 2,5-dihidroxyterephthalic (DOBDC), aconseguint una densitat de corrent de CO 2,5 vegades superior i una eficiència faradaica augmentada. Al capítol 3, s’utilitza una ruta fàcil per introduir grups que contenen O enllaçats axialment en un catalitzador Fe-N-C mitjançant piròlisi de marcs orgànics metàl·lics basats en Zn dopats amb Fe (IRMOF-3), formant àtoms individuals de Fe molt dispersos amb llocs actius de HO-FeN4. A causa de la modulació de l’entorn local induïda per aquests grups -OH, el catalitzador D-Fe-N-C presenta una activitat CO2 RR millorada, que inclou una alta selectivitat amb una eficiència faradaica de CO, i una estabilitat robusta , que és superior a la dels llocs FeN4 normals reportats sense grups -OH. Al capítol 4, vam proposar la introducció d’àtoms de Fe en catalitzadors de Ni-N-C per produir catalitzadors amb àtoms individualitzats (Ni/Fe-N-C) de doble metall (bimetàl·lics) de cara al CO2 RR per aconseguir una alta selectivitat i activitat simultàniament. Finally, Chapter 5 summarizes the general conclusions.
La combustión excesiva de combustibles fósiles da como resultado la emisión de dióxido de carbono (CO2), que desencadenó crecientes problemas ambientales, como el calentamiento global, el aumento del nivel del mar, el clima extremo y la extinción de especies. Por lo tanto, las tecnologías para la conversión de CO2 en otros productos de valor jugaron un papel vital para eliminar la concentración de CO2 en la atmósfera. En ese sentido, la conversión electroquímica de CO2 alimentado por energía renovable en productos químicos útiles se considera una solución elegante para lograr el ciclo del carbono. Sin embargo, debido a la interioridad de las moléculas de CO2 y la reacción competitiva de evolución de hidrógeno (HER), los principales desafíos en el campo CO2 RR son el alto requerimiento de sobrepotencial que representa la termodinámica desfavorable y la baja eficiencia faradaica (FE) para los productos objetivo. Por lo tanto, la búsqueda de un electrocatalizador económico y de alta eficiencia es sensato y necesario para aplicaciones prácticas. En las últimas décadas, las estructuras organometálicas (MOF) absorbieron las enormes consideraciones en el campo de la electrocatálisis debido a su gran área de superficie específica, rica estructura de poros y sitios activos uniformemente dispersos. Aunque con grandes potenciales en electrocatálisis, la mayoría de los materiales MOF todavía sufren de actividad insuficiente, baja conductividad y poca estabilidad, lo que dificultaría sus aplicaciones prácticas. Especialmente, en el campo de CO2 RR, se deben considerar muchos parámetros importantes, incluida la alta eficiencia faradaica (FE), bajo sobrepotencial, gran densidad de corriente y estabilidad robusta, etc. Por lo tanto, el diseño racional de MOF para cumplir con los requisitos anteriores tanto como sea posible es crucial para explotar sus futuras aplicaciones de CO2 RR. Por lo tanto, en esta disertación, hicimos muchos esfuerzos para desarrollar catalizadores basados en MOFs / derivados de MOF con eficiencia, actividad y estabilidad superiores para aumentar el rendimiento de CO2 RR. Esta disertación se divide en 5 capítulos: El capítulo 1 es la información sobre los conceptos fundamentales sobre la CO2 RR electroquímico, que incluye la celda fundamental de la CO2 RR electroquímico, revisa los productos de reducción comunes y sus vías simples. Mientras tanto, la descripción general de los parámetros importantes que afectan la CO2 RR, incluidos los diferentes catalizadores en los últimos años y el electrolito, y las métricas relevantes que evalúan los electrocatalizadores. El Capítulo 2 trata de la fabricación de ZIF-8 modificado en superficie como electrodo basado en MOF para CO2 RR electroquímico para generar CO. En este trabajo, se preparó un ZIF-8 modificado en superficie mediante la introducción de una proporción muy pequeña de ácido 2,5-dihidroxitereftálico (DOBDC) en ZIF-8, logrando una densidad de corriente de CO mayor. En el Capítulo 3, se utiliza una ruta fácil para introducir grupos que contienen O con enlaces axiales en un catalizador de Fe-N-C a través de la pirólisis de estructuras orgánicas metálicas a base de Zn dopado con Fe (IRMOF-3), formando átomos únicos de Fe altamente dispersos con sitios activos HO-FeN4. Debido a la modulación del ambiente local inducida por tales grupos -OH, el catalizador D-Fe-N-C exhibe una actividad CO2 RR mejorada, incluida una alta selectividad con alta eficiencia Faradaica de CO y una estabilidad sólida. En el capítulo 4, proponemos que la introducción de átomos de Fe en catalizadores de Ni-N-C fabrica catalizadores de un solo átomo de metal doble (Ni/Fe-N-C) hacia CO2 RR para lograr una alta selectividad y actividad simultáneamente. El catalizador de doble metal optimizado mostró excelentes rendimientos, obteniendo una alta selectividad con eficiencia faradaica CO a un bajo sobrepotencial, superior a las contrapartes de un solo metal. Finalmente, el Capítulo 5 resume las conclusiones generales.
The excessive combustion of fossil fuels results in the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2), which triggers increasing environmental problems, such as, global warming, rising sea levels, extreme weather, and species extinction. Therefore, the technologies for conversion of CO2 into other value products plays a vital role in order to eliminate the CO2 concentration in atmosphere. Thereinto, electrochemical conversion of CO2 powered by renewable energy to useful chemicals is considered as an elegant solution to achieve the carbon cycle. However, due to the innerness of CO2 molecules and competitive hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), the main challenges in the field CO2 RR are the high overpotential requirement that represents the unfavourable thermodynamics and low Faradaic efficiency (FE) for the target products. Therefore, searching for a high-efficient and cost-friendly electrocatalyst is sensible and necessary for practical applications. In the past decades, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) engrossed the enormous considerations in the field of electrocatalysis because of their large specific surface area, rich pore structure, and uniformly dispersed active sites. Although they have a great potential in electrocatalysis, most MOFs materials still suffer from insufficient activity, low conductivity, and poor stability, which would hinder their practical applications. Especially, in the field of CO2 RR, many important parameters, including high FE, low overpotential, large current density and robust stability among others, should be considered. Thus, the rational design of MOFs to fulfil the above requirements as much as possible is crucial for exploiting their future in CO2 RR applications. Therefore, in this dissertation, we made many efforts to develop MOFs-based/derived catalysts with superior efficiency, activity, and stability for boosting the CO2 RR performance. This dissertation is divided into 5 chapters: Chapter 1 is the insights on the fundamental concepts about electrochemical CO2 RR, which includes the fundamental cell of electrochemical CO2 RR, reviews the common reduction products and their simple pathways. Meanwhile, the overview of important parameters affecting CO2 RR, including different catalysts over the past years, electrolyte, and the relevant metrics evaluating the electrocatalysts as well as limitations of electrochemical CO2 reduction are also presented in this chapter. In addition, this chapter summarizes the fundamental concepts about MOFs materials and their high-temperature pyrolysis derived materials as the electrocatalysts. Chapter 2 deals with the fabrication of surface modified ZIF-8 as MOFs-based electrode for electrochemical CO2 RR to generate CO. In this work, a surface modified ZIF-8 has been prepared through introducing a very small proportion 2,5-dihidroxyterephthalic acid (DOBDC) into ZIF-8, achieving a higher current density of CO and a boosted Faradaic efficiency. In Chapter 3, a facile route is used to introduce axial bonded O-containing groups into a Fe-N-C catalyst through pyrolysis of Fe-doped Zn-based metal organic frameworks (IRMOF-3), forming highly dispersed Fe single atoms with HO-FeN4 active sites. Due to the local environment modulation induced by such -OH groups, the D-Fe-N-C catalyst exhibits an enhanced CO2 RR activity, including a high selectivity with CO Faradaic efficiency, and a robust stability, which is higher than that of the reported normal FeN4 sites without -OH groups. In Chapter 4, we proposed that introducing Fe atoms into Ni-N-C catalysts fabricates double metal (bimetallic) single-atom catalysts (Ni/Fe-N-C) towards CO2 RR to achieve a high selectivity and activity simultaneously. The optimized double-metal Ni/Fe-N-C catalyst showed an excellent performance, obtaining a high selectivity with a high CO Faradaic efficiency at a low overpotential. The performance obtained is superior to both single metal counterparts and other state-of-the-art M-N-C catalysts, proving that regulating single active sites with a second metal site potentially breaks the single metal-based activity benchmark to obtain the high selectivity and activity in CO2 RR, simultaneously. Finally, Chapter 5 summarizes the general conclusions.
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Programa de Doctorat en Ciència de Materials

Butyrivibrio proteoclasticus B316T is the most recently described species of the Butyrivibrio / Pseudobutyrivibrio assemblage and now the first to have its genome sequenced. The genome of this organism was found to be spread across four replicons: a 3.5 Mb major chromosome and three additional large replicons: 186, 302 and 361 Kb in size. This thesis describes the sequencing, analysis, annotation and initial characterisation of all three B. proteoclasticus auxiliary replicons. Most significantly, these analyses revealed that the 302-Kb replicon is a second chromosome. This small chromosome, named BPc2, encodes essential systems for the uptake and/or biosynthesis of biotin and nicotinamide adenine mononucleotide, as well as the enzymes required for utilisation of fumarate as the terminal electron acceptor during anaerobic respiration, none of which are found on the main chromosome. In addition, BPc2 contains two complete rRNA operons, a large number of enzymes involved in the metabolism of carbohydrates, nitrogen and fatty acids. In contrast to BPc2, both megaplasmids appear largely cryptic, collectively encoding 421 genes not previously described in public databases. Nevertheless, only the 186-Kb, but not 361-Kb megaplasmid, could be cured from Butyrivibrio proteoclasticus B316T. The largest megaplasmid has a copy number of 5, while all other replicons are present at a copy number of 1. %GC content and codon usage analyses strongly suggests that all three auxiliary replicons have co-resided with the major chromosome for a significant evolutionary period. Moreover, the replication machineries of these three replicons are conserved. Interestingly, a survey of a number of Butyrivibrio / Pseudobutyrivibrio species revealed that the megaplasmids are widespread in this assemblage, however these other large plasmids do not show concordance with their 16S rRNA phylogeny and appear distinct to those of B. proteoclasticus B316T. A microarray analysis of gene expression in a co-culture experiment between B. proteoclasticus and the important ruminal methanogen, Methanobrevibacter ruminantium M1, revealed a potentially mutualistic interspecies interaction. In this relationship M. ruminantium appears to provide B. proteoclasticus with glutamate, essential to the final step of NAD+ biosynthesis, while B. proteoclasticus appears to provide M. ruminantium with formate, hydrogen and carbon dioxide, each important substrate for methanogenesis.

Thesis (PhD) -- AUT University, 2007.
Primary supervisor : Professor Keith Hooper. Secondary supervisor : Dr Andy Godfrey. At head of title: Doctorate of Philosophy: a thesis. Includes bibliographical references. Also held in print (ix, 192 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm.) in City Campus Theses Collection (T 658.3145 GAR)

La present tesi doctoral s’ha centrat en el repte d’aconseguir, mitjançant Fabricació Additiva (FA), models per a assaig quirúrgic, sota la premissa que els equips per fer-los haurien de ser accessibles a l’àmbit hospitalari. L’objectiu és facilitar l’extensió de l’ús dels prototips com a eina de preparació d’operacions quirúrgiques, transformant la pràctica mèdica actual de la mateixa manera que en el seu moment ho van fer tecnologies com les que van facilitar l’ús de radiografies. El motiu d’utilitzar FA, en lloc de tecnologies més tradicionals, és la seva capacitat de materialitzar de forma directa les dades digitals obtingudes de l’anatomia del pacient mitjançant sistemes d’escanejat tridimensional, fent possible l’obtenció de models personalitzats. Els resultats es centren en la generació de nou coneixement sobre com aconseguir equipaments d’impressió 3D multimaterials accessibles que permetin l’obtenció de models mimètics respecte als teixits vius. Per facilitar aquesta buscada extensió de la tecnologia, s’ha focalitzat en les tecnologies de codi obert com la Fabricació per Filament Fos (FFF) i similars basades en líquids catalitzables. La recerca s’alinea dins l’activitat de desenvolupament de la FA al CIM UPC, i en aquest àmbit concret amb la col·laboració amb l’Hospital Sant Joan de Déu de Barcelona (HSJD). El primer bloc de la tesi inclou la descripció de l’estat de l’art, detallant les tecnologies existents i la seva aplicació a l’entorn mèdic. S’han establert per primer cop unes bases de caracterització dels teixits vius -sobretot tous- per donar suport a la selecció de materials que els puguin mimetitzar en un procés de FA, a efectes de millorar l’experiència d’assaig dels cirurgians. El caràcter rígid dels materials majoritàriament usats en impressió 3D els fa poc útils per simular tumors i altres referències anatòmiques. De forma successiva, es tracten paràmetres com la densitat, la viscoelasticitat, la caracterització dels materials tous a la indústria, l’estudi del mòdul elàstic de teixits tous i vasos, la duresa d’aquests, i requeriments com l’esterilització dels models. El segon bloc comença explorant la impressió 3D mitjançant FFF. Es classifiquen les variants del procés des del punt de vista de la multimaterialitat, essencial per fer models d’assaig quirúrgic, diferenciant entre solucions multibroquet i de barreja al capçal. S’ha inclòs l’estudi de materials (filaments i líquids) que serien més útils per mimetitzar teixits tous. Es constata com en els líquids, en comparació amb els filaments, la complexitat del treball en processos de FA és més elevada, i es determinen formes d’imprimir materials molt tous. Per acabar, s’exposen sis casos reals de col·laboració amb l’HJSD, una selecció d’aquells en els que el doctorand ha intervingut en els darrers anys. L’origen es troba en la dificultat de l’abordatge d’operacions de resecció de tumors infantils com el neuroblastoma, i a la iniciativa del Dr. Lucas Krauel. Finalment, el Bloc 3 té per objecte explorar nombrosos conceptes (fins a 8), activitat completada al llarg dels darrers cinc anys amb el suport dels mitjans del CIM UPC i de l’activitat associada a treballs finals d’estudis d’estudiants de la UPC, arribant-se a materialitzar equipaments experimentals per validar-los. La recerca ampla i sistemàtica al respecte fa que s’estigui més a prop de disposar d’una solució d’impressió 3D multimaterial de sobretaula. Es determina que la millor via de progrés és la de disposar d’una pluralitat de capçals independents a fi de capacitar la impressora 3D per integrar diversos conceptes estudiats, materialitzant-se una possible solució. Cloent la tesi, es planteja com seria un equipament d’impressió 3D per a models d’assaig quirúrgic, a fi de servir de base per a futurs desenvolupaments.
La presente tesis doctoral se ha centrado en el reto de conseguir, mediante Fabricación Aditiva (FA), modelos para ensayo quirúrgico, bajo la premisa que los equipos para obtenerlos tendrían que ser accesibles al ámbito hospitalario. El objetivo es facilitar la extensión del uso de modelos como herramienta de preparación de operaciones quirúrgicas, transformando la práctica médica actual de la misma manera que, en su momento, lo hicieron tecnologías como las que facilitaron el uso de radiografías. El motivo de utilizar FA, en lugar de tecnologías más tradicionales, es su capacidad de materializar de forma directa los datos digitales obtenidos de la anatomía del paciente mediante sistemas de escaneado tridimensional, haciendo posible la obtención de modelos personalizados. Los resultados se centran en la generación de nuevo conocimiento para conseguir equipamientos de impresión 3D multimateriales accesibles que permitan la obtención de modelos miméticos respecto a los tejidos vivos. Para facilitar la buscada extensión de la tecnología, se ha focalizado en las tecnologías de código abierto como la Fabricación por Hilo Fundido (FFF) y similares basadas en líquidos catalizables. Esta investigación se alinea dentro de la actividad de desarrollo de la FA en el CIM UPC, y en este ámbito concreto con la colaboración con el Hospital Sant Joan de Déu de Barcelona (HSJD). El primer bloque de la tesis incluye la descripción del estado del arte, detallando las tecnologías existentes y su aplicación al entorno médico. Se han establecido por primera vez unas bases de caracterización de los tejidos vivos – principalmente blandos – para dar apoyo a la selección de materiales que los puedan mimetizar en un proceso de FA, a efectos de mejorar la experiencia de ensayo de los cirujanos. El carácter rígido de los materiales mayoritariamente usados en impresión 3D los hace poco útiles para simular tumores y otras referencias anatómicas. De forma sucesiva, se tratan parámetros como la densidad, la viscoelasticidad, la caracterización de materiales blandos en la industria, el estudio del módulo elástico de tejidos blandos y vasos, la dureza de los mismos, y requerimientos como la esterilización de los modelos. El segundo bloque empieza explorando la impresión 3D mediante FFF. Se clasifican las variantes del proceso desde el punto de vista de la multimaterialidad, esencial para hacer modelos de ensayo quirúrgico, diferenciando entre soluciones multiboquilla y de mezcla en el cabezal. Se ha incluido el estudio de materiales (filamentos y líquidos) que serían más útiles para mimetizar tejidos blandos. Se constata como en los líquidos, en comparación con los filamentos, la complejidad del trabajo en procesos de FA es más elevada, y se determinan formas de imprimir materiales muy blandos. Para acabar, se exponen seis casos reales de colaboración con el HJSD, una selección de aquellos en los que el doctorando ha intervenido en los últimos años. El origen se encuentra en la dificultad del abordaje de operaciones de resección de tumores infantiles como el neuroblastoma, y en la iniciativa del Dr. Lucas Krauel. Finalmente, el Bloque 3 desarrolla numerosos conceptos (hasta 8), actividad completada a lo largo de los últimos cinco años con el apoyo de los medios del CIM UPC y de la actividad asociada a trabajos finales de estudios de estudiantes de la UPC, llegándose a materializar equipamientos experimentales para validarlos. La investigación amplia y sistemática al respecto hace que se esté más cerca de disponer de una solución de impresión 3D multimaterial de sobremesa. Se determina que la mejor vía de progreso es la de disponer de una pluralidad de cabezales independientes, a fin de capacitar la impresora 3D para integrar diversos conceptos estudiados, materializándose una posible solución. Para cerrar la tesis, se plantea cómo sería un equipamiento de impresión 3D para modelos de ensayo quirúrgico, a fin de servir de base para futuros desarrollos.

This research investigated a 2004 Ministry of Education-led Education Development Initiative (EDI) known as the Network Review in one district from the perspective of board of trustees members, parents, teachers and students from one school using a case study approach. Focused interviews with participants and student groups were held on three separate occasions throughout 10 months of the reorganisation process. The interviews were analysed using content analysis and conclusions were reached using an inductive method of categorising. The findings indicate this reorganisation was far from realising the outcomes or benefits as predicted by the Ministry of Education. Student learning was not only jeopardised but student safety was also compromised in some settings indicating that there may be long-term implications for students as they express a reluctance to attend the new school, an increased sense of anomie and a lack of interest in learning. The reorganisation workload and stress reported by the BoT and teachers is significant and took a toll on personal wellbeing. The responsibility and workload far exceeded the expectation of the board of trustees as unpaid volunteers. The participants described the Ministry decision as "imposed" which failed to take into account the existing tensions within the community resulting in a sense of dissonance between government and community.

"January 2003"
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 172-204)
xx, 204 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm.
Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Animal Science, 2003

This thesis presents an investigation into the effect of Liberated Learning Technology (LLP) on academic listening comprehension, notetaking and listening strategies in an English as a foreign language context (L2). Two studies are reported: an exploratory study and subsequent main study. The exploratory study was undertaken to determine L2 and native speaker (L1) students' perceptions on the effectiveness of the technology on academic listening and notetaking. The main study took a more focused approach and as a result, extended the exploratory study that was done in an authentic lecture context in order to gather data to measure listening comprehension and notetaking quality. The participants in the main study comprised six L2 students: five of whom intended to go to university. The methodology was a multimethod one: data was gathered from notetaking samples, protocol analysis, email responses and a questionnaire. Results indicated that continuous speech recognition (CSR) has the potential to support the listening comprehension and notetaking abilities of L2 students as well as facilitate metacognitive listening strategy use and enhance affective factors in academic listening. However, it is important to note that as CSR is an innovative technology, it first needs to meet a number of challenges before its full potential can be realized. Consequently, recommendations for future research and potential innovative uses for the technology are discussed. This thesis contributes to L2 academic listening and notetaking measurement in two areas: 1. the measurement of LLP-supported notetaking; and, 2. the measurement of LLP-supported academic listening comprehension.

In the Shoot Apical Meristem (SAM) the position at which leaf primordia arise on the periphery, and their subsequent differentiation, have been shown to be (at least in part) to be directed by genetic programs of development. A candidate gene associated with this regulation is TERMINAL EAR 1 (TE 1) a maize gene identified by the irregular phyllotaxy of its mutant lines. Unlike most other genes associated with meristem function, TE 1 is a novel RNA binding gene of the RRM type. It has been shown to have orthologues in a variety of plants including Arabidopsis thaliana as well as unicellular eukaryotes including MEI2, a gene whose product is associated with the regulation of meiosis in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. In order to more fully understand TE1's role, a functional characterisation of two of the so-called Mei2-like genes was undertaken in the model plant A. thaliana. These genes are called Terminal Ear-Like 1 and 2 (TEL1 and TEL2). Constitutive overexpression of the cDNA of TEL2 using the Cauliflower Mosaic Virus 35S promoter (CaMV35S) revealed a phenotype involving an apparently prolonged vegetative phase. However this was only observed in a limited number of lines of the total screened, and the next generation did not reiterate this phenotype. These difficulties were overcome using the LhGpOP construct system for ectopic misexpression in specific domains as well as inducible ubiquitous expression. Ectopic expression of either TEL cDNA is shown to lead to a pleiotrophic spectrum of phenotypes, which in general, were associated with reduced determinant development outside the apical meristems and as well as a delayed overall developmental progression. This provided some evidence that the normal function of TEL genes within the apical meristems is the repression of differentiation associated with the regulation of plant growth and architecture.

Habitat loss and fragmentation are recognised worldwide as contributing to declines and extinctions of species. However, the biological factors underlying the effects of fragmentation are still often poorly understood, possibly due to the diversity of scales and approaches taken by researchers. I propose in this thesis an integrative approach that can be applied to any taxa and landscape, using a metapopulation of North Island robins (Petroica longipes) inhabiting forest patches of a fragmented agricultural landscape of New Zealand. In particular, I attempt to integrate the effects of habitat fragmentation on both habitat quality and the dispersal-driven broad scale dynamics of populations. I first analysed the distribution of robins based on presence-absence data, relating presence-absence to local habitat factors as well as size and isolation of forest patches (Chapter 2). Their distribution was found to be primarily limited by the isolation of forest patches, but was also related to some habitat factors. However, habitat fragmentation was not found to affect habitat quality, as the factors found to affect survival and productivity were unrelated to size and isolation, independent from the size or isolation of forest patches (Chapter 3). Based on the radio-tracking of juvenile robins, I applied a choice analysis technique to show that robins need woody vegetation for their natal dispersal and that they are unlikely to cross stretches of pasture greater than 150 m (Chapter 4). Juveniles dispersed a median Euclidean distance of 1129 m with a maximum of 11 km, whereas I predicted from the data that they would have dispersed a median distance of 3 km in continuous forest with a maximum of 20 km (Chapter 5). The consequences of this dispersal limitation and of variations in habitat quality were assessed using a spatially-explicit individual-based metapopulation model that incorporated realistic gap-limited dispersal behaviour of juvenile robins (Chapter 6). Whereas the movement of individuals between patches is commonly assumed to improve the persistence of populations, I found that a weaker gap-crossing ability, and therefore reduced landscape connectivity, increased the metapopulation size at equilibrium. This study highlights the complex effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on the distribution of species, but also the limits of excessive model simplification.