Ramadan is one of the longest periods of religious fasting. Muslims abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset for the month of Ramadan. In patients with diabetes, dietary changes during Ramadan can influence the glycaemic control. Since Ramadan is a key part of the Islamic faith, many Muslims with diabetes are willing to endure the hardship and choose to fast. The thesis included discussions on the physiology and the practice of fasting in...

Interleukin 22 (IL-22) is а newly-described Т helper cytokine which has been implicated in tissue regenerative processes in the gut and skin. Allergic asthma results from exposure to otherwise harmless environmental inhaled allergens that trigger Th2 Т Iymphocyte-driven IgE-аssосiаtеd immune responses in atopic individuals that contribute to airway inflammation and reversible airflow obstruction. In the long-term, this aberrant immune response is believed to increase in complexity and contribute to the permanent changes in the airways,...

We present the design, development and characterisation of an experimental platform for studying astrophysically relevant plasma jet interactions with ambient plasma. Jet and ambient plasmas are formed during the z-pinch discharge of a 1.4MA, 240ns current pulse delivered by Imperial College London's MAGPIE generator. Jets are of centimetre length and microsecond lifetime but have sufficiently large Reynolds and Péclet numbers (> 10,000) to permit well-scaled comparison with non-magnetised astrophysical jets, including the bipolar outflows of...

The renewable policies in various countries are driving significant growth of grid connected renewable generation sources such as the Photovoltaics (PVs). Typically a PV generation is integrated into power systems at the low and the medium voltage distribution level. The uptake of an intermittent power from the PVs is challenging the power system operation and control. The network voltage control is one of the major challenges during the operation of the distribution connected PVs. The...

Although barium titanate is one of the most widely studied ferroelectric materials, questions about the nature of its phase transition remain. There are two competing models for this transition (displacive and order–disorder) and experiments detect signs of both types of transition. To study this issue computationally requires the simulation of large, disordered systems on the atomic scale. In this PhD I have developed a new classical force field for BaTiO3 which, in essence, is an...

Background: Asthma is the commonest chronic disease of childhood. The earliest manifestation is often preschool wheezing, which affects up to 50% of young children, but is difficult to evaluate practically. Observational studies suggest that low prenatal vitamin D status may be a risk factor for childhood wheezing. Aims: To evaluate the measurement of preschool lung function using impulse oscillometry, and to test the hypotheses that prenatal vitamin D supplementation may promote lung development or prevent...

This thesis is concerned with the modelling and algorithmic development of a Stopping Rule Problem (SRP) in the area of Portfolio Management. More specifically, the objective is to provide an exit strategy for an invested portfolio containing one or more assets. The exit strategy aims to protect gains in addition to limiting losses. The thesis focuses on the investment/disinvestment in the portfolio and is not concerned with the composition of the portfolio. A new Finite...

Important challenges still remain in the development of optimized control techniques for intelligent wells, particularly with respect to properly incorporating the impact of reservoir uncertainty. Most optimization methods are model-based and are effective only if the model or ensemble of models used in the optimization capture all possible reservoir behaviors at the individual well and completion level. This is rarely the case. Moreover, reservoir simulation models are rarely predictive at the spatial and temporal scales...

The aim of this thesis is to improve the understanding of the behaviour of Polyvinyl Butyral (PVB) laminated annealed glass façade panels subjected to blast loading. A full scale blast test was performed. During this, deflection and strain data were collected employing digital image correlation techniques (DIC). Local reaction forces were measured using several pairs of strain gauges on the support. The full field deflection and strain data obtained were in line with those observed...

In this thesis I study various incarnations of rational homotopy theory in the world of arithmetic geometry. In particular, I study unipotent crystalline fundamental groups in the relative setting, proving that for a smooth and proper family of geometrically connected varieties f:X->S in positive characteristic, the rigid fundamental groups of the fibres X_s glue together to give an affine group scheme in the category of overconvergent F-isocrystals on S. I then use this to define...

Obesity is known to contribute to the risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus, non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases, cancer, osteoarthritis and cardiovascular diseases. Obesity results from an imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure but its aetiology is complex and not completely understood. Genetic and environmental factors, (high calorie diet, lack of physical activity) strongly influence the onset of obesity and metabolic diseases. Modifications of gut microbial–host metabolic interactions by dietary interventions also contribute to...

The replacement of silicon as a semiconductor within photovoltaics and transistors is key to producing cheaper and easier to produce devices, which can go some way towards tackling global issues such as global warming. Organic electronics have many advantages over silicon due to the fact that they can be solution processed, are cheap and can be deposited on flexible substrates. However, current efficiencies of organics photovoltaics (OPVs) and transistors (OFETs) are lagging behind those based...

Cost-effective reduction in the uncertainty surrounding global indicators of biodiversity change is a central goal of conservation. In this thesis, I identify and resolve the effects of IUCN Data Deficient species on the estimation of global patterns and levels of extinction risk. I show that gaps in our knowledge of species’ conservation status are primarily driven by spatial patterns of ecological research (Chapter 2). Large numbers of species are extremely poorly known, highlighting the importance...

This thesis seeks to contribute to the understanding and measurement of the aggregate macroeconomic risks that drive security prices, via three empirical studies. Following Abreu and Brunnermeier (2002), Chapter 2 examines a wide cross-section of global equity markets to test the hypothesis that not only do deviations from fundamentals occur, but it is optimal for an arbitrageur to delay trades that would correct the mispricing. The evidence supports the hypothesis that market prices can and...

Dye-sensitised solar cells (DSSCs) are regarded as a possible alternative to silicon-based photovoltaics because of their potential for low-cost production. The processing of two alternative hole transport media, one for liquid-state DSSCs and the other for solid-state DSSCs is studied in this thesis. Also, research interest in methyl ammonium lead iodide perovskite solar cells has been increasing quickly. This thesis also reports some preliminary studies on the stability of TiO2/CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite solar cells. Water is...

5-isopropyl-2-methylphenyl 3,7-dimethyloct-6-enoate, an ester of citronellic acid and thymol. Slight hexane impurity.

Reaction of thymol with lignoceric acid producing an off-white solid at room temperature. Suggested name for resulting ester: Thymyl lignocerate. NMR in deuterated trichloromethane. Impurities: Hexane, trichloromethane, ethyl acetate, thymol, lignoceric acid.

Gaussian Calculation

Gaussian Calculation

Gaussian Calculation

Gaussian Calculation

Data for diazo compound 5ae

Data for enaminone Z-8nd

Data for pyrazoline 6jc