Habitat fragmentation is widely recognised as a major threat to global biodiversity and by decreasing the size of habitat patches and disrupting important ecological processes through exposure to edge effects, is detrimental to many taxonomic groups, including insects. This research aimed to determine the influence of edge effects on the ecology of the wood ant, Formica rufa L. through an intensive study of a single site in Northamptonshire. The study focused upon the impact of both aspect and distance-related edge effects, measured along three edge to interior transects, a total of 82 sample nests and five control points within four study aspects located around the wood. Nest location and characteristics, density, colony structure, and the phenology of activities were also recorded. Overall, southern transects received more light but lower wind speeds than the other aspects and also supported a greater diversity of tree species. Southern nests also received significantly more light in the early and late parts of the year than nests in other aspects. At the random sampling points, nests received significantly more light and lower wind speeds than the controls. Compared with the controls, nests supported a higher plant species richness, but in terms of abundance, only sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) and elder (Sambucus nigra) were found in greater numbers at nest sites than controls. The south also supported significantly higher nest densities and had a higher percentage of polydomous colonies than the other aspects. The results showed that aspect mediated edge effects caused differences in wood ant phenology. Colonies in the south left hibernation earlier, began reproduction earlier, and had completed the reproductive cycle before colonies in the other aspects had begun theirs. Overall, these results are the first to show the impacts of aspect and distance related forest edge effects on F. rufa

Since Elton's commentary on the absence of critical study of the early Tudor council in 1964, some progress has been made towards a wider, fuller, more detailed understanding of Henry VII's council and where it fits-or does not-into the development of council under the Tudors. However, the early Tudor council remains something of an enigma. Added to that is recent interest by late medieval historians in just how much power Henry VII exercised in the operation of his councils. Was Henry ruling, or were his bureaucratic counsellors ruling him? A re-examination of the various Elizabethan/Jacobean council extracts, as well as the examination of data contained in a wide variety of primary documents, such as the chamber account books, petitions, privy seal warrants and view books, provides evidence with which to suggest a more precisely defined and better organized council than that previously established for the first Tudor monarch, and also to demonstrate that Henry VII was actively involved in the business of the protean forms of that council, at Westminster or away. This thesis hopefully advances the picture of the conciliar and administrative matrix which was governing under Henry VII, its component parts, including an embryonic privy council, the personnel of that council, the systems through which conciliar business was developed, and the king's position at the head of that council in the most literal sense.

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In this paper we study the concept of cotopology in the areas of cocon·tinuous functions and cocompact spaces. Initially we investigate and provide needed results concerning closed bases for a topological space. We then study cocontinuous functions by relating them to various other weaker forms of continuous functions, namely c-continuous, almost continuous and weakly continuous. We show that if (Y,U) is locally compact T₂, then f:(X,T)-->(Y,U) is cocontinuous if and only if f⁻¹(0) ε T for every 0 ε U such that (Y - 0) is compact. We note that every almost continuous function is cocontinuous, and we provide conditions under which a weakly continuous function is cocontinuous. We also show that a cocontinuous function from a saturated space to a regular space is continuous. In the area of cocompact spaces we first provide a partial answer to a question of J. M. Aarts as to when the union of cocompact subsets of a space is cocompact. We show that the union of a closed cocompact subset and a closed compact subset is cocompact. We then introduce the properties, locally cocompact and somewhere cocompact, and relate them to property L which was introduced by R. McCoy. We show that every somewhere cocompact regular space has property L, and that every locally cocompact regular space has property L locally. We provide examples to show that neither cocompact nor locally cocompact is equivalent to property L. / Ph. D.

Muslim family members constitute a significant migration flow to the UK (Kofman et al., 2013). Despite such observations, this form of mobility is under-explored in geographic scholarship on migration. Accordingly, this thesis examines the subjective experiences of migration of a small group of Muslim women, who migrated either with or to join their families in Scotland. Participant observation, focus groups and the life narratives of eight women are used to gain an in-depth understanding of both the reasons for and the consequences of migration for this group of Muslim women. In addition, this thesis examines the role of a secular community-based organisation in supporting migrants in their everyday lives. Drawing on conceptual approaches to migration, this study reveals diverse and complex motivations among participants in “choosing” to migrate. Far from “victims” or “trailing wives”, participants privileged their children's needs but also the possibility to transform their sense of self through migration. The study draws attention to the struggles of daily life in Scotland where, bereft of extended family, the synchronisation of migration with childbirth resulted in some participants enduring years of isolation. Such struggles resulted in changes in the home, with husbands providing both physical and emotional support. The experience of migration affected the women's religious identities, providing solace as well as a way to assert belonging in Scotland by drawing on Islamic theology. The community-based organisation provided a “safe space”, bridging the secular and non-secular and offering women the chance to socialise, learn and volunteer. The study shows that volunteering provided not only a way into paid work but also shaped women's subjectivities and home lives. However, the re-direction of national government funding towards “Muslim problems” threatens to undermine the organisation's ability to continue to meet the local needs of Muslim migrant women.

La pollution de l'air est l'un des principaux problèmes de santé publique de notre siècle et surtout de l'air intérieur alors que nous passons environ 90% de notre temps dans des environnements fermés. Parmi les polluants les bioaérosols ont été peu étudiés. Cependant des études épidémiologiques ont déjà montré une relation entre les bioaérosols et la santé. Le but de cette thèse est d’étudier les virus respiratoires dans les milieux clos via les systèmes de ventilation. A l’issue d’un état de l’art des polluants de l’air, il est important de définir ceux nécessitant d’être traités, les systèmes de ventilation, les procédés de filtration par médias fibreux et les procédés de traitement pouvant être mis en oeuvre. Les effets des bioaérosols viraux dans les environnements intérieurs sur la santé publique ont été discutés dans une revue bibliographique. Une méthodologie a été mise en oeuvre pour étudier le comportement des virus dans une centrale de traitement de l’air (CTA). Les virus respiratoires, mengovirus (virus nu à ARN de la même famille que les rhinovirus responsables du rhume) et adénovirus (virus respiratoire nu à ADN), ont été choisis et étudiés dans un système expérimental miniature représentatif des systèmes de traitement d’air. La performance de filtration d’un filtre de CTA vis-à-vis des aérosols viraux a été évaluée avec une validation du système expérimental utilisé. Cette étude a montré la capacité des virus de passer à travers le filtre tout en restant infectieux. Peu de littérature existant sur le sujet, ce projet a permis d’ajouter de nouvelles données pertinentes quant à la persistance des virus respiratoires dans l’air intérieur et plus précisément au niveau des filtres dans les centrales de traitement d’air. / Air pollution is one of the major public health problems of our century and especially of indoor air as we spend about 90% of our time in closed environments. Among pollutants bioaerosols have been poorly studied. However, epidemiological studies have already shown a relationship between bioaerosols and human health. The aim of this PhD work is to learn about respiratory viruses in closed environments via ventilation systems in order to study indoor air quality. At the end of state of the art of air pollutants, it is important to define those present in the air that need to be treated, ventilation systems, filtration processes by fibrous media and the processing methods being able to be implemented. The effects of viral bioaerosols on public health in indoor environments were discussed and drafted in a bibliographic review. The methodology of the study was to assess the fate of respiratory viruses, mengoviruses and adenoviruses, in a miniature experimental system similar to air treatment systems used in closed environments. The experimental system used was validated and the filter performance against viral aerosols was investigated. This study presented originality for the characterization and the fate of two non-enveloped respiratory viruses, mengovirus (RNA) and adenovirus (DNA), in indoor environments and their fate on fiber glass filter. This study showed the ability of viruses to pass through the filter and to remain infectious upstream and downstream the filter. There is scarce literature on this subject, and this project allowed us to add new relevant data on the persistence of respiratory viruses in indoor air and more precisely at the level of filters in air handling units.

AstraZeneca är ett medicinskt företag lokaliserat i Södertälje som har cirka 900 luftfilterboxar hos sin anläggning i Gärtuna. Dessa filterboxar kan vara opraktiska att hålla koll på eftersom de är utspridda uppe på vindarna, samt att det behövs bra framförhållning vid filterbyten eftersom vissa filter innehåller farliga ämnen. Filterboxar är utrustade med analoga tryckmätare vilket innebär att det kan bli omständigt för personalen att övervaka filtrets tryckfall. Målet med det här examensarbetet är att hitta en digital lösning som underlättar övervakningen av tryckfall över filter i realtid, samt informerar via sms eller mejl när det är dags att planera in filterbyte. Visionen är att det ska bli enklare att få en bild över luftfiltrets underhållsmässiga skick. Genom att jämföra olika produkter och delta i regelbundna möten med IT kunnig personal valdes en lämplig produkt. Projektet har arbetat metodiskt och strukturerat genom att följa projektmodellen projekt case där verktygen GANTT-schema, SWOT-analys, FMEA och maxiriskmetoden har använts. Projektet resulterade i användningen av digitala differentialtryckgivare som mäter tryckfallet över filter. Differentialtryckgivaren samlar data som sedan skickas via radiofrekvens till en Ethernet gateway som är trådad in till AstraZenecas segregerade nätverk så kallat FAB-net. Därefter förs datan från ethernet gatewayen till mjukvara. I mjukvaran kommer AstraZenecas filtergrupp kunna se över tryckfall hos de olika filtrena i filterboxarna. Detta kommer underlätta personalens arbete och eventuellt spara AstraZeneca tid och pengar. / AstraZeneca is a medical company located in Södertälje that has around 900 air filter boxes at its facility in Gärtuna. These filter boxes can be impractical to keep track of as they are scattered up in the attics and good foresight is needed for multiple filter changes as some filters contain harmful substances. Filter boxes are equipped with analog pressure gauges, which means that there is a lot of walking for the staff in order to monitor the filter's pressure drop. The goal of this thesis is to find a digital solution that can facilitate the monitoring of pressure drops across filters in real time and that also informs by text message or email when it is time to schedule a filter change. The vision is that it will be easier to get a digital image of the maintenance condition of the air filter. By comparing different products and participating in regular meetings with AstraZeneca's IT personnel, a suitable product was chosen. The project has worked methodically and structured by following the project model project case where tools such as GANTT chart, SWOT analysis, FMEA and maxirisk method have been used. The project resulted in the use of digital differential pressure sensors that measure the pressure drop across filters. The differential pressure sensor collects data which is then sent by radio frequency to an ethernet gateway which is wired into AstraZeneca's segregated network called FAB-net. The data is then transferred from the ethernet gateway to the software. AstraZeneca's filter group will be able to review the pressure drop of the various filters within the software, which will facilitate their way of working and potentially save AstraZeneca time and money.

Spanish Republican philosophers in exile defended the Second Republic, legally proclaimed on April 14, 1931. They embraced the anti-fascist cause rising in the 1920s and the 1930s in Europe. During the Civil War, which lasted three years, they stood among the people. 1939 saw the victory of General Francisco Franco, supported by Nazi Germany and the Italy of Mussolini. Threatened with death, they had no choice but to escape from Spain. Some intellectuals experienced French concentration camps but, for the most part, they found refuge in Latin America, especially in Mexico and Venezuela. In exile, they swore to remain loyal to the Second Republic and to the spirit of the Spanish people. Moved by liberal views and humane ideals, these philosophers belonged to the vanquished, as those everywhere in Europe who rose against Fascist barbarity. As a result, their respective works are still widely unknown today – despite relentless efforts made to promote their thought to a larger audience for over half a century. In addition to the historical context of crisis during the interwar period, the situation of Spanish philosophy itself is suggestive. Indeed, Spanish philosophy was institutionalised at the beginning of the twentieth century only: the Schools of Madrid and Barcelona were created. These politics of cultural and intellectual renovation are first bestowed upon the generation of philosophers I study, born in the 1900s. When the Spanish War erupts, they had become professionals of international recognition. This shows the actual limits of academic philosophy, incapable of acknowledging unorthodox ways of philosophising. The experience of exile itself serves in my opinion as a catalyst: Spanish Republican philosophers in exile seek emancipation from academic conventions to philosophise freely; that is, in Spanish and according to the spirit of the people. No doubt “poetic reason” – the true invention of Spanish Republican exile – stems from this ideal of autonomous thinking.