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<p><em>Clostridioides difficileinfection</em>  (CDI)  is  considered  as  an  urgent  threat  to  the  publicby  CDC, 2019.It  causes  life-threatening  diarrhea  and pseudomembranous colitis,mostly  in those  taking antibiotics or at the end of their antibiotic course.It is also notifiedas hospital-associated pathogensbecause one-third  of  the CDIhas occurredinthe health  care  center. Norepinephrine  (NE)  is  a stress-associated  neuroendocrine  hormone  released  upon  sympathetic  stimulation  to  mediate stress.Gut walls are highly innervated by the sympathetic nervous system. During stress, elevated level  of  NE  released  in  the  GI  tractcould  influence  bacterial  overgrowth  &  translocation.  It  isalready known  for  its  role  in  modulating  the  behavior  of  several  bacterial  pathogens  suchas Staphylococcus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and Vibrio cholera. This study aims to evaluate the effect of NE treatment on the growth and virulence of C. difficile.Here, we studied the effect of NE  on  six  different C.  difficilestrains  isolated  from humans. To  understandthe  influence  on growth, bacterial culture was treated (+/-)NE (5μM & 50 μM)during their log phase and recorded the density of the cell each time period for constructing the growth curve. In addition, after NE treatment, bacterial cells were taken for further analysis. For investigating the impact of NE on the virulence  genes  expression, a qPCR  reaction  was  performed  along  with -RT  / noRT  control reactions  for assessingthe  RNA  sample  free  from  genomic  DNA  contamination.  In the case of growth,higher growth was observed in VPI 10463at 6 hourtime pointonly,and in strain,NR 49277 significantly stimulated after 6 hoursand continued till 8 hours after treatmentwith50μM NE. In strain NR 49282, decreasedgrowth was observed at7-hourtime pointsafter 50 μM NEtreatment.But, there was no difference in cell density between control &  5μM NE treated bacterial culture in all strains.</p> <p>Toxingenes(tcdA&tcdB)and flagellin gene(fliC),were upregulated in NR 49290, NR 49277 & VPI 10463strains in both concentrations of NE and down-regulated in NR 49282.In strain NR 32888, toxin genes were downregulated while treated with 5μM NEbut upregulated after 50μM NEtreatment, though fliC was downregulated in both concentrations. In strain NR 32891,  tcdAwas downregulated,but tcdB& fliCwere upregulatedafter NE treatmentin both concentrations. Increased expression in pilin gene,pilA1in strain NR 49277, NR 49290, VPI 10463& NR 32891 in both concentrationswas observed.  In addition, pilA3in NR 49277, VPI 10463& NR 32891 and PilA5in  NR  49277  &  NR  49290  showed an upregulation pattern while  treated  with  both concentrations. Modulating this response, it is possible to reduce the pathogenicity of C. difficileduring medical care & antibiotic use.</p> <p><br></p>

<p>  </p> <p>Dehydrogenation is a common reaction used to upgrade paraffins to olefins in the chemical and oil industries. Given the increased abundance of inexpensive alkanes due to the worldwide shale gas boom, this reaction has become increasingly important. Conventional industrial techniques such as thermal cracking and steam cracking have relatively poor olefin selectivity and thus require energy-intensive separations. Industry is increasingly relying on catalytic dehydrogenation as a more environmentally friendly alternative to generate olefins. While recent development in catalyst materials has largely solved issues with activity and selectivity, issues with catalyst stability remain. Deactivation mechanisms such as coke formation and phase changes plague the short-term and long-term stability of these catalysts, often requiring frequent and intensive regeneration procedures. </p> <p>This thesis will explore several strategies for mitigating the deactivation of dehydrogenation catalysts. This includes the modification of catalyst properties and reaction conditions, such as the catalyst support and the use of H2, to mitigate coke formation and even regenerate catalyst materials non-oxidatively, thus increasing the catalyst lifetime. Secondly, this thesis will cover the discovery of new catalyst materials through computational predictions based on descriptors assessed from several previous works. Experimental validation of these predictions led to the discovery of several new Rh and Ir based alloy materials that are remarkably selective and stable for propane dehydrogenation (PDH). Lastly, the contribution of electronic structure of PDH catalysts will be assessed using a new characterization technique that will help relate catalyst properties to catalyst performance and stability. </p> <p>Several advanced X-ray synchrotron techniques have assisted the analysis and discovery of catalyst materials in this work. Particularly, this includes difference-EXAFS to assess the surface structure of alloy catalyst materials as well as the newly-developed non-resonant X-ray emission spectroscopy (NR-XES) to assess the electronic structure of the 5d valence band for Pt catalyst materials. To extend this work further, the goal is to apply this new technique to additional catalyst materials, such as Pt alloys or single site Pt supported on CeOx, in order to measure the effect of different adsorbates on the electronic structure of the Pt catalyst. This will help derive fundamental insights to drive the development of the next generation of stable dehydrogenation catalyst materials.  </p>

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This thesis examines the development of reflective skills. Reflection has been recognised as a prime mode of creating knowledge for project managers. Reflection literature indicates that reflective skills do not develop naturally; guidance, encouragement and facilitation is usually required for managers to reach their highest learning potential. Among the tools suggested to aid this development are written project journals. While there has been research on some aspects of journals, there was little found on the design of reflective journals relevant to developing project management reflection skills. This study has examined the effect or influence of various designs of reflective journals on different facets of reflective learning. The research question was: ????Are there facets of reflection that can be influenced by journal design????? Evidence for the study was first gathered through literature then from journal content and interviews. Literature on reflective learning revealed the facets relevant to the study: definition of reflection, consequences, emotions, temporal factors and individual and organisational culture. Issues identified in journal literature that needed to be applied to the study of reflection development included the journal audience, assessment and format. Participants in the study were final year undergraduates and Masters students who worked on industry based projects over several months. They were requested to keep journals for the duration of the projects, to submit them for examination and then asked to offer feedback on the various journal designs on completion of the projects. The research was conducted over four years, through seven projects, with thirty students taking part. The journal design went through six modifications. The primary findings from the study were: the majority of participants followed the predicted development hierarchy of reflective development; development of reflective skills is dependent on individual and organisational culture; audience does have an impact on reporting of and reflection on concerns; and journal design can facilitate development of some levels of reflection but has no influence on the development of critical reflection. / Masters by research thesis

This thesis examines the development of reflective skills. Reflection has been recognised as a prime mode of creating knowledge for project managers. Reflection literature indicates that reflective skills do not develop naturally; guidance, encouragement and facilitation is usually required for managers to reach their highest learning potential. Among the tools suggested to aid this development are written project journals. While there has been research on some aspects of journals, there was little found on the design of reflective journals relevant to developing project management reflection skills. This study has examined the effect or influence of various designs of reflective journals on different facets of reflective learning. The research question was: ????Are there facets of reflection that can be influenced by journal design????? Evidence for the study was first gathered through literature then from journal content and interviews. Literature on reflective learning revealed the facets relevant to the study: definition of reflection, consequences, emotions, temporal factors and individual and organisational culture. Issues identified in journal literature that needed to be applied to the study of reflection development included the journal audience, assessment and format. Participants in the study were final year undergraduates and Masters students who worked on industry based projects over several months. They were requested to keep journals for the duration of the projects, to submit them for examination and then asked to offer feedback on the various journal designs on completion of the projects. The research was conducted over four years, through seven projects, with thirty students taking part. The journal design went through six modifications. The primary findings from the study were: the majority of participants followed the predicted development hierarchy of reflective development; development of reflective skills is dependent on individual and organisational culture; audience does have an impact on reporting of and reflection on concerns; and journal design can facilitate development of some levels of reflection but has no influence on the development of critical reflection. / Masters by research thesis

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No description available.