Poster Gallery

The Poster Gallery below is a small selection of the 216 posters exhibited in the WorldCUR-BCUR 2023 Poster Exhibition.

All delegates were given the opportunity to take part in the below display, if you were a WorldCUR-BCUR 2023 Poster Exhibition presenter and would like your poster included in this gallery, please contact worldcur@warwick.ac.uk.

Haley Cionfolo, Duke Medical School

A Comparison of Barriers Across Neonatal, Child, and Adult Hearing Screenings

Other authors: Elizabeth Kayzman, Minahil Shahid, Kamaria Kaalund, Ethan Borret, Gillian Sanders Schmidler', Osondu Ogbuoji

Amanda Horzyk, University of Sussex

Emerging technology and incidents of harmful misconduct online continue to challenge existing legal frameworks. With increased engagement amongst users in immersive Virtual Reality (VR) platforms for social and professional interaction, reports of sexual abuse transpire. Policy-makers and developers seek solutions to ensure user safety, given the ethical and moral concerns about virtual street crimes. While platform providers empower users with privacy settings (personal boundaries, exit and report buttons), no legal recourse is available. Therefore, this paper asks whether the existing English law of sexual assault is appropriate for addressing the emergence of sexual offences in VR. Discourse analysis of language employed by victims, providers and academics dissects the concerns arising from the recent cases of alleged virtual assault. Through doctrinal research, I critically evaluate the substantive law of sexual assault to demonstrate how the core principles of (a) consent, (b) the rational and reasonable subject and (c) conclusive and evidential presumptions are undermined by the conditions in VR. The research finds that due to the spatial and temporal characteristics of the actual world and the physical notion of the body, harm and consent, the existing law is an inapplicable solution. The paper proposes a new framework to acknowledge the distinct vulnerability of our virtual self. Notably, it suggests recognising the gravity of sexual-nature virtual abuse, adopting alternative vocabulary, blaming perpetrators rather than victims and enforcing a fundamental code of conduct. The paper is timely in developing effective strategies to criminalise virtual-only sexual crimes and eliminate legal shelters found in metaverses.

Sexual Offence Governance in Virtual Reality

Raviya Careem, State University of New York at Oswego

Understanding the structural basis of small molecule inhibitors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis DosS

Other authors: Eaindra Yee, Murphi Williams and Dr. Ambika Bhagi-Damodaran

Maisie Dawn Broughton,

Bournemouth University

Coastal heathland is a rare and dynamic ecosystem in the UK which accommodates many threatened species. Species including butterflies, which require specific habitat properties and flora for the different stages of their life cycles. Butterflies showing recent declines in abundance are a favourite for scientific research. However, few published studies consider links between successional stages and butterfly habitat. This study investigates whether succession influences the quality of coastal butterfly habitat and larval food plant availability, with a focus on the Wall, Grayling, and Small Copper butterflies. At the study site, Winterton Dunes in Norfolk, dune stages were mapped through visual assessment and larval food plants were surveyed systematically using quadrats. Other habitat properties were surveyed which hold ecological importance to the targeted species including mean vegetation height (cm), presence of grazing and % bare ground cover. Existing butterfly transect data from the years 2008 - 2021 was obtained from the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme and used to provide an understanding of population sizes and locations within the dunes. Analyses will determine the extent to which the distribution of larval food plants and other habitat factors are dependent on successional stage. Management recommendations can be made with an understanding of these butterflies’ complex niches, this can then help determine and focus conservation measures on the distinct habitat zones which best meet the species requirements. Further study has relevance within this research, which can be used to test successions’ influence on other invertebrate species habitat suitability.

Influence of coastal succession on endangered butterfly’s habitat suitability and the abundance of their associated larval food plants

Roselyn Sackitey-Matey,

Ashesi University

While studies prove that small hotels are important contributors to the economy, the recent Covid-19 pandemic showed a downfall, as many hotels collapsed. This has been linked to many hotels not owning crisis management plans to help minimize the harsh effects of a crisis. This study therefore examined how hotels manage crisis to improve business continuity and to what extent crisis management strategies are used in small hotels in Accra, Ghana. Extensive research was done on the hospitality industry, Crisis and Crisis Management, Business Continuity and the Business and Crisis Lifecycle. This research made use of the phenomenological approach to qualitative research with semi-structured interviews as a data collection tool. This study collected data from six hotel managers in Tema on their perspectives and lived experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic. The findings showed that the majority of hotels, being small ones, had no crisis management plans and little crisis management expertise to use in their establishments. Due to a lack of knowledge, the hotels that had crisis management plans hardly ever used them. Small hotels in Ghana are at risk of collapsing when encountered with a crisis due to little to no knowledge of crisis management strategies or plans, this affects the profitability and stability of the Ghanaian economy. It is imperative that hotel managers create crisis management strategies and plans and appoint visionary board of directors with risk management expertise to limit crisis. This will sustain economies as hotels contribute a huge amount of GDP to the country.

Managing Crisis In Small Hotels To Improve Business Continuity

Napat Uraisomsurat, Institute of Field Robotics

Every year, Only one-fourth of 2 million tons of yearly plastic waste in Thailand were recycled, although the awareness of Thais towards this problem has been rising in the past few years. For used plastic in the food supply chain to be recycled in Thailand, four steps, including removing biodegradable waste from plastic containers, cleaning, drying, and sorting are required. However, these steps are difficult to follow as they require too much effort and support equipment. Therefore, suggesting these steps to people without understanding the real burden of the plastic waste management journey might lead to misleading solutions. This participatory research aims to comprehend the problems occurring when people are required to change their waste management behaviors. The study was conducted with 100 students at the Institute of field robotics:FIBO. Several variables are observed including the quantity of plastic waste that goes into the recycling process, and the difficulties in Handling Plastic Waste. The results of the study show that the increasing time spent for cleaning plastic waste, difficulties in cleaning plastic bags, and the bad smell from the food scraps. This study will be beneficial insights for people who want to develop innovations in waste management, especially in an office environment. As engineering students, we will utilize our research findings for developing a waste management system to be used in our institute. The system will support people by reducing their effort and difficulties they might face in handling plastic waste and pave the way to sustainable societies.

The Study of Difficulties in Handling Plastic Waste for Achieving Sustainable Plastic Waste Management

Other authors: Thanaphan Rueangsuk, Khatatip Osirikan, Thayida Thiamthad

Sam Habib, Middlebury College

Muhammad b. Abi' Amir, better known as al-Mansur (The Victorious), was the founder of the Amirid regency and a successful ruler. Like his namesake, al-Mansur was a victorious military leader who finessed his way to being the hajib (prime minister) and de facto ruler of the caliphate, breaking the line of Umayyad rulers. Al-Mansur changed the taxation system, maintained a strong economy, and most famously, restructured and led the military through several successful campaigns during a jihad against the northern Spanish Christian Kingdoms. However, once al-Mansur died in 1002, the civil war from 1009-1031 would subsequently lead to the caliphate's spectacular collapse in 1031. Al-Mansur died about thirty years before the caliphate’s destruction, and it was his son, Sancho, who was in power when the civil war began. Still, historians, such as Kennedy and Provençal, place the beginning of instability at the start of al-Mansur's reign, meaning that some fault must fall of al-Mansur’s administration. Yet, there is limited research on the role of al-Mansur in causing the collapse of the caliphate. So, to what extent was al-Mansur responsible for the subsequent collapse of the caliphate of Cordoba? Al-Mansur did not directly start the fitna, nor did he decide to end the caliphate; however, his rule was particularly destabilising, even when compared to other illegitimate Islamic dynasties. Al-Mansur built an environment for civil war placing the caliphate in such a delicate situation that its collapse was nearly inevitable.

Dynastic Failure: Al-Mansur’s Responsibility for the Subsequent Collapse of the Caliphate of Cordoba

Trung Dam, University of Warwick

Collusion is a central them in empirical industrial economics as it leads to distortionary pricing, decreasing consumer welfare. I formulate empirical tests for uncompetitive bahavior based on methods from two papers, one defining market power (Louis Kaplow, 2015) and the other detecting price wars and price collusion of a market (Zhang and Round, 2011). I first define market power of US airlines on domestic flights using the first paper’s framework. Then, I use the methodology in the second paper to test detect potential collusion behavior within the US airline industry. To conduct my analysis, I use quarterly data from the Airline Origin and Destination Survey (DB1B) from 2020-2022. I also generate a complement data set using the same data set to control for the share of each market (airport). This is a proxy for the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI), which captures market competitiveness.

Potential collusion behaviour and distortionary pricing in the US airline industry post-pandemic.

Sandra Berns, Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main

The Athenian polis underwent a process of restructuring from its inception to the Periclean period, transforming the political system from a tyranny, to an isonomous system, and finally to Attic democracy. If the community of the polis is represented in festivals, Athens' main festival, the Panathenaia, is particularly suited to consider the effects of this political restructuring on the community and thus on the actors of the festival. Consequently, in order to trace their representation from the founding of the Great Panathenaia in the 6th century to its final expansion in the Periclean period, the following will address the question: Which actors appear at what period in the sources about the Panathenaia and how did the political restructuring of Athens from the 6th century to the Periclean period influence their representation in the festival? The basis of this work is the source-critical evaluation of the source corpus in chronological order, taking into account the actors. The Panathenaia were already at their foundation a political festival, a festival that concerned the polis. For this reason all Athenians and those who were connected to them were represented in the Panathenaia. Political restructuring and foreign policy representation can thus be read in terms of the actors. While mythical figures and their developments give an understanding of the community of the oikos and later the polis, non-Athenian actors reveal Athens' claim to a panhellenic role. Finally, the new offices and participants of the phylenagons point to the democratization of Athens.

Festival and polis in transition. The actors of the Panathenaia

Hunter Cheng and Dr. Nancy Raitano Lee, Drexel University

Theory of mind (ToM) is a precursor to empathy development, and it is known that parental use of mind minded (MM) statements (i.e., comments using internal state terms to speculate on what a child is thinking, experiencing, etc.) predicts ToM skills. This is crucial especially for Down syndrome (DS), a developmental disorder (DD) associated with weaknesses in ToM but relative strengths in empathy skills. This study sought to examine differences in parental use of MM statements among 14 children with DS and 14 typically developing (TD) peers with similar mental ability level. As it has been suggested that individuals with DS may be subconsciously treated as developmentally younger by parents and caretakers due to their DS status, it was hypothesized that parents of those with DS may make fewer MM statements than parents of TD youth which would then increase the differences in ToM skill seen in older children with DS compared to children with TD. To test this, videos of parent-child interactions were transcribed and coded for parental use of MM statements using Meins and Ferryhough’s Mind-Mindedness Coding Manual. MM statements were then further categorized as being related to desires, cognitions, or emotions. Contrary to expectations, groups did not differ in the use of MM statements about cognitions and desires, but parents of youth with DS made more emotion-related MM statements than parents of TD youth. Future research should seek to replicate these findings with a larger sample and include another DD sample (e.g., autism).

Down Syndrome and Mind-Mindedness

Margarita Damai and Bhaven Patel, London Metropolitan University

Every four seconds a new patient is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) with 7.7 million new cases reported annually worldwide. AD is a progressive neurodegenerative form of dementia characterised by cognition decline. The leading cause of AD is the build-up of amyloid and tau proteins among brain cells, which prevents intercellular communication and inevitably influences memory loss. Alarmingly, cases are predicted to increase up to 145 million by 2050 worldwide. As a growing epidemic, AD imposes a financial burden globally with annual costs above £818 billion. Scientists have tried to find a cure since its discovery in 1906. Treatments either target amyloid proteins or temporarily slow AD progression. AD is manifested by abnormally low levels of acetylcholine (ACh), a neurotransmitter used for intercellular communication. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is an enzyme that breaks down ACh; thus, inhibiting its activity can prevent ACh reduction. Our project aimed to synthesise new pyrrolo[1,2-a]quinoxaline analogues as potential AChE inhibitors. This project presents a novel approach using thiols as an alternative to tin, which is toxic and, based on the literature, is the most preferred method. The compounds were assayed, with some showing low toxicity and excellent selectivity towards AChE. According to recent studies, sulfaquinoxaline, which is toxic, can eliminate amyloid proteins immensely. Therefore, less toxic analogues are alternatively suggested, including the pyrrolo[1,2-a]quinoxalines series we designed, which share a common scaffold with sulfaquinoxaline. Consequently, further steps involve testing our compounds to determine if they can reduce amyloid plaque accumulation.

Design of selective non-toxic pyrrolo [1,2-a]quinoxalines as therapeutic agents for the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease.

Estefanía Fonseca Bayona, Universidad EAFIT

In Colombia, many below-knee amputees, located in rural areas of the country, use low-cost Jaipur foot prostheses due to lack of economic resources. For the same reason and due to geographical impediments, it is difficult for them to travel to the city for maintenance, repair or replacement of their prostheses. Instead, amputees repair their prostheses in any way they can, often causing health problems. To repair the prostheses properly, it is necessary to know the most common failures and how to repair them. Some studies have characterized failures; however, the results are not generalizable to Latin American rural contexts and the knowledge is not easily understood by prosthesis users. This research aims to design a tool that allows the amputee to identify and repair the most common failures. To design the tool, failures were identified through a database search and interviews were conducted with 25 amputees with Jaipur prostheses from the rural sector, 3 prosthetist technicians and 1 physiatrist. The requirements were then listed, and using brainstorming technique 3 concepts were developed and subsequently evaluated with different users through interviews. The main failures found were misalignment with the residual limb, misalignment of the ankle screws and cracks in the foot and soft socket. On the other hand, it was found that this population learns visually and practically. The design process carried out in this research could serve as a basis for designing similar tools that are useful for users of other types of prostheses, located in other geographical contexts.

Design of a Tool for the Identification and Self-Repair of Low-Cost Exomodular Transtibial Prostheses for Amputees in the Colombian Agricultural Sector.

Other authors: Valentina Jaramillo Tobón, Mateo Angel Palacio, Santiago Moná Echavarría, Yuliana Olaya Bedoya

Isabeau Burnett, University of Chicago

Treatment trials for cannabis use disorder (CUD) lack racial, ethnic, and sex representation. This limits generalizability and reduces access to effective therapies for underrepresented groups. While these differences have been explored for treatment outcomes, no literature to date has explored if underrepresented groups are being retained in research at the same rates as their non-minority counterparts. The goal of this secondary analysis is to identify racial, ethnic, and sex differences in retention in CUD treatment trials. This analysis used a combined data set of seven pharmacotherapy treatment trials for CUD conducted at MUSC (five completed, two enrolling; N=948). The final dataset is 30% female; 27% African American; 11% Hispanic/Latinx. Mixed effects logistic regression models were utilized to assess for differences in study completion across minority groups. In adjusted models, Non-Hispanic White participants were more likely to complete treatment than all others combined (66% vs. 59%; OR=1.4 (1.0, 1.9); p=0.04). This difference is primarily driven by Non-Hispanic White females (73% v. 58%; OR=2.0 (1.2, 3.4); p=0.01). Non-Hispanic Black/African American participants had similar odds in treatment completion compared to other minority races (p=ns). Although Non-Hispanic White females had greater odds of completion than minority females, there were no overall differences between males and females (62% vs. 66%; OR=0.8 (0.6, 1.1); p=0.17). Results suggest that sex differences do not independently contribute to study retention, but that racial and ethnic minorities have lower retention rates- showing that one of the barriers to diversity in research is retention, not just recruitment.

Examining Racial, Ethnic, and Sex Differences as Predictors of Cannabis Use Disorder Treatment Retention.

Other authors: Nathaniel L. Baker, Rachel L. Tomko, Aimee L. McRae-Clark, Kevin M., Gray MD & Erin A. McClure

Marzea Akter, Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro

Oxytocin is a neurotransmitter and hormone with a well-established role in prosocial behaviors in animals and humans. It is currently being tested in clinical trials for the treatment of social symptoms associated with autism spectrum disorders. However, the behavioral effects of oxytocin treatment have been variable with both prosocial (increased empathy) and antisocial (increased competitiveness) behaviors resulting in humans. Previous studies in our lab have shown increased anxiety-like behaviors in mice treated chronically with oxytocin (1 12 ug dose per day for 14 consecutive days, data unpublished). The current study aims to see the effect of acute oxytocin administration on social behavior in male and female mice to determine if the schedule of oxytocin administration affects behavioral outcomes. Adult C57BL/6J mice will be acutely pretreated with saline or oxytocin (12 μg) an hour before the behavior tests. Saline or oxytocin will be administered either intranasally (i.n., 12 ug in 12 uL, 6 uL per nostril) or intraperitoneally (i.p., 12 ug in 120uL). Mice will complete a battery of behavioral tests including the elevated plus maze (EPM), three-chamber sociability task (3C), and free dyadic social interaction (FDSI) after drug administration to determine changes in social behavior and anxiety-like behavior. Noldus EthoVision XT and human coders will code anxiety-like behaviors, social preference, and social novelty. I expect to find that acute oxytocin administration will increase sociability as measured by the 3C and FDSI tasks while avoiding increases in anxiety-like behaviors, as measured by the EPM task, associated with chronic administration.

Effect of acute oxytocin administration on social behavior in male and female mice

Other authors: Alex Ketel, Britney Donovan, Jacob Grones, Jade Murray, & Tiffany Rogers

Maria Stylianou, University of Portsmouth

"This research seeks to recreate the crime scene of the serial killer case of Orestes, in which the perpetrator chopped up one of his victims and placed her into a suitcase that was later thrown into a lake. The recreation aims to gain an insight and provide more data on the subject of underwater graves with concealment in a suitcase. The presence or absence of different species of insects provides information about the time passed since an individual deceased, since each insect species has their own unique developmental period. Therefore, the presence of an adult fly indicates that an individual became deceased within a set period of time, in accordance to the insects found on the body and their ablility to reach a specific developmental stage. There is still no accurate way to calculate the post-mortem interval (time since death). There is, therefore, a need to create better forensic tools that will enable scientists to be more confident with their estimations. The research concludes that the presence of water slows down the rate of decomposition. This can be supported by the ADD calculations, alongside the information provided by the different stages of decomposition that each cadaver reached by the end of the experiment. The study encourages further research on underwater graves and suggests that there are different variables (such as location, temperature, season, material of concealment and clothing, scavenging activity etc.) that affect the rate of decomposition. The research also supports the importance of diptera in criminal investigations."

Aquatic Environments, Decomposition and the Forensic Importance of Diptera in Criminal Investigations: Calliphora Vicina

Yancey Williams, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Computational Modeling of Endocytic Vesicle Formation Image

Other authors: Tomasz J. Nawara, Jie Yuan, Tejeshwar C.Rao, Elizabeth Sztul and Alexa L. Mattheyses

Sajda Adam, Drexel University

"Approximately half of people living with HIV (PWH) experience HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). There is an ongoing need to find efficient, cost-effective ways to screen for HAND and monitor its progression. Prior studies demonstrated that certain neurocognitive test pairs are sensitive to HAND cross-sectionally and outperform other screening tools such as the HIV Dementia Scale (HDS). However, few studies have examined optimal tests for longitudinal screening. This study aims to identify the best neurocognitive test pairs for detecting cognitive decline longitudinally. 132 participants from the Comprehensive NeuroHIV Center cohort completed neurocognitive assessments longitudinally (328 total visits, average follow-up time=4.9 years). Receiver operating characteristic analyses examined the significant global cognitive decline. Results were compared with the predictive ability of the Modified HIV Dementia Scale (MHDS). The combination of Trail Making Test A and Grooved Pegboard Non-Dominant demonstrated the best balance between sensitivity and specificity in detecting cognitive decline (sensitivity=.85, specificity=.74, AUC=.79, p<.001). The 6 best pairs all included Grooved Pegboard, a test of fine motor speed. MHDS predicted cognitive decline no better than chance (sensitivity=.87, specificity=.24, AUC=.53, p=.66). Several neurocognitive test pairs, particularly those that include Grooved Pegboard, are sensitive to HIV-associated cognitive change, and far more sensitive and specific than the MHDS. Neurocognitive test pairs can serve as valid, rapid, cost-effective screening tools for detecting cognitive change in PWH. Future research should validate the present findings in other cohorts and examine the implementation of test pair screenings in HIV care settings."

The Best Tests: Optimizing Detection of Cognitive Decline in People Living with HIV

Other authors: Will Dampier, Shinika Tillman, Kim Malone, Vanessa Pirrone, Michael Nonnemacher, Amy Althoff, Zsofia Szep, Brian Wigdahl, Maria Schultheis, Kathryn N. Devlin

Sifan Dadi, Zayed University

Internet usage in the world has grown rapidly, providing many opportunities for people around the globe. The widespread use of the internet among university students raises questions about whether it is beneficial for their academic performance. Several countries have addressed this concern extensively, but research about UAE students remains scarce. Therefore, this study is aimed at examining the influence of internet use on the reading habits and academic achievement of university students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Using convenience sampling, 100 consenting Zayed University undergraduate students participated in this correlational study via online surveys. The results found that 69% of respondents use the internet for socializing and 57% for recreation instead of improving their reading habits (33%) or studying (52%). According to 62% of students, using the internet improves their academic performance, 61% believe it enhances coursework preparation, and 70% believe it expands their reading horizons. The preliminary findings suggested that internet usage impacts school performance and reading habits according to its purpose. Upon completion of the analysis, the final result will be presented during the conference. A study such as this is useful because it evaluates whether the internet is fulfilling its role as a facilitator of schoolwork among university students. The study paves the way for greater internet use that can add value to students' studies by examining how it affects their academic lives. The study is expected to provide recommendations to university management, students, and the government afterwards.

Examining the Influence of Internet Use on Students’ Reading Habit and Academic Achievement in UAE

Gentle Lung, University of Warwick

"Audience engagement is an important factor in performing, presenting, or sharing work and ideas. By focusing solely on the material, and not the methods we use to communicate it, the burden of understanding it is placed onto the audience. In order to engage, audiences have to reach arbitrary boundaries to access these ideas rather than the work reaching out to them. However, by taking the approaches to audience engagement used in theatre and performance, and applying them to a multidisciplinary context, we could begin to find more effective ways of communicating with a wider audience. Much of current literature focuses on how audiences behave, whether as a product of cultural phenomenon, in reaction to performance, or as a factor of performance like a cast or prop would be. As such, audience studies can be difficult to translate into a universal context. This research aims to analyse three existing theatrical techniques and theories surrounding audience engagement, and break them down into their conceptual components. Firstly, creating a narrative to curate long-term commitment, a technique already borrowed by disciplines such as marketing or television studies. Secondly, Zeami Motokiyo’s philosophies in Noh theatre that outline how actors can adapt to their audience. Finally, Bertolt Brecht’s distancing effect (Verfremdungseffekt) in Epic theatre, which discourages audience immersion in order to promote real-world thought. By understanding why these concepts work, we can continue to develop them into universal strategies for communication, apply them to new work, and begin to reimagine academic and interdisciplinary forums."

Read this like a performance - Expanding on Theatrical Audience Engagement and Communication

Hannah Oh, University of Sussex

"This research project aims to investigate the emotional responses and problem-solving strategies of novice Python programmers (NPPs) when encountering standard error messages. By working with MyCodeKit, the research presents insights into how Ocobox, a chatbot-based tool, can deliver error messages in a way that promotes resilience and problem-solving skills in NPPs. The primary objectives of the research are to: • Understand the emotional responses of NPPs when they encounter standard error messages • Analyse the steps NPPs take to fix errors based on standard error messages to identify the optimal approach for supporting NPPs in recovering from errors. The results of the research indicate that NPPs experience more negative than positive emotions when encountering unexpected error messages. English level and Python skill level do not seem to affect understanding of the error messages above a certain level such as intermediate (Python skill level) and full professional proficiency (English level). NPPs mostly rely on seeking help from teachers/classmates, searching online, and trial-and-error to resolve errors. NPPs were satisfied with using Ocobox, but instructors preferred students to find solutions independently rather than relying on the tool. The research shows that NPPs have emotional responses to error messages and have specific behaviour patterns when facing them, however, more research is needed to understand this topic in more detail."

Supporting Novice Python Programmers' Debugging

Aimilia Kakampoura, University of Sheffield

"Surgical robots are one of the most fast-growing advances in biomedical engineering. Some robots can be operated remotely, where the surgeon’s hand movements at a console are translated to bending and rotating the surgical instruments at a different hospital in real-time. As with any surgical procedure, ethically loaded decisions may need to be made at short notice, requiring good moral judgement. This project aims to answer the increasingly relevant question of how distance affects the moral judgement/actions of these remote operators. Research was conducted by analysing papers in moral philosophy and psychology and applying them to a medical context. I first examined whether empathy is required for moral judgement and then how distance affects it. I compared literature supporting and criticising moral sentimentalism, concluding that empathy can affect moral judgement. ‌(Gill, Michael B. 2007). I then examined a psychological experiment (‌Schiano Lomoriello. 2018), where the participants’ empathic reaction was influenced by the perceived physical distance between them and photos of people in distress. I also drew a parallel between the remote operators of surgical robots and those of military drones, who experienced a lack of empathy towards their victims due to physical distance (Hussain, Murtaza. 2021). Furthermore, moral behaviour is affected by distance, as illustrated by the rate of overseas to local donations from the UK (NPT UK, 2022). Hence, concern arises for the surgeons’ possible diminished sense of empathy and morality. To counteract this, several measures are proposed such as educating medical professionals on this issue."

The effect of physical distance on remote surgical robot operators' moral judgement.

Daniel Jackson, Oxford Brookes University

Phytophthora infestans is a plant pathogen responsible for tomato blight and the 1845-1849 Irish potato famine. Existing protection is prone to resistance and the heavy use of pesticides, a common alternative, is damaging to the environment. Snake and scorpion venom Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs) are a novel treatment known to avoid resistance and can be produced in non-edible plant tissue. My project aims to produce the AMP in tobacco plants as a model system to fight blight. Cloning was used to fuse a fluorescent tag protein sequence to an AMP and to express the AMP in Nicotiana benthamiana. Laser confocal microscopy was used to check that the AMP was being expressed, that the expression was targeted to the plasma membrane only, and to assess the effect of the AMP on plant health. The AMP was expressed and localised without affecting plant growth. This shows that the AMP is not toxic to the plant and this can be applied to future research into AMPs and their effect on other plant pathogens, to express AMPs in other plants or as an alternative to currently used pesticides. This research is relevant to the agricultural industry and is applicable in a practical manner because it provides a new avenue for crop protection that is environmentally friendly. The next step is to test the stability of antimicrobial peptide expression, whether this expression changes across generations, and to test N. benthamiana with the antimicrobial peptide against P. infestans to see if it prevents infection.

The Expression of the Antimicrobial Protein RLK-SMP24 in Nicotiana benthamiana and its Localisation to the Plasma Membrane to Prevent Tomato Blight.

Emily Bowen, University of York

"This project discusses ‘What impact has the digitisation of archival material had on the accessibility of history for local communities?’ The use of digital technologies to access historical materials is of debate, due to a perceived threat to traditional methods and the authority of the historian. However, digitisation improves the accessibility of history for all by removing the ‘academic elitism’ surrounding archives, and increases community engagement with history. I used surveys to assess the impacts of putting historical materials online, determining how local attitudes towards the past changed as a result, and explored why digitisation projects should receive greater funding. I focused specifically on the oral histories and photographs of two institutions local to me, the National Railway Museum and the University of York, and found that over 60% were unaware of the free online access to archives. Digitised material was found to positively impact a community’s knowledge of their history, but the limited public awareness of this access prevented its use. Archives contain knowledge that is beneficial for all of society, academics and public alike, and the preservation and promotion of our national heritage should receive more appropriate support. Greater funding therefore needs to be allocated to the public history sector. This access needs to receive greater marketing to increase community awareness, and subsequently engagement with our national heritage. More digitisation projects also need to occur worldwide, and I will be assessing the impacts in Luxembourg throughout Summer 2023, testing whether these conclusions hold on an international level."

Modernising the Past: Impacts of digitisation on the accessibility of historical materials for local communities

Catherine Mazzi, University of Reading

Global warming and its associated environmental consequences are among the most pressing concerns of the twenty-first century. The principles of green chemistry1 seeks to redefine the subject of chemistry, such that it conscientiously addresses its own implications in environmental and human health, whilst contributing to the sustainable modernisation of chemistry. The undergraduate classroom is underutilised. This study aims to explicitly introduce the concept of green chemistry to an undergraduate class by developing a framework to assess the environmental impact of current undergraduate laboratory experiments. The generation of materials such as educational infographics and an excel-based computational metric, quantifying how ‘green’ an experiment is, is shown to facilitate the development of an effective and sustainable Knoevenagel reaction. Incorporating green chemistry into undergraduate education is shown to serve as a moral framework for students. Increasing their ability to describe green chemistry and puts into context the relevance of novel strategies for solving chemical problems. By providing tools that exposes students to the principles of green chemistry, this study practically contributes to a better knowledge of how the curriculum can be developed to positively influence the next generation of chemists.

Green chemistry in undergraduate practical classes: How can experiments be adapted to reduce their environmental impact?

Other authors: Jessica Gushart and John McKendrick

Arya Keni and Dr. Chris Giebink, Pennsylvania State University

"Organic Light Emitting Diodes (or OLEDs) that emit a high frequency wavelength such as blue, leak a lot of energy in a given unit of time, rendering their working lifetime as a Solid State Lighting (SSL) device much lower than expected. Studies in nano-scale energy physics suggest that the coating of conductive organic solvents used on the glass base of such LEDs disintegrate over time with more energy emissions, leading to loss of that solvent medium to convert chemical energy into light. To abate this effect, focus is brought upon the PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) method of depositing these organic solvents directly from solid to gaseous vapor onto the glass base (or substrate). Effectively synthesizing a highly accurate model for accurate predictions in context of the unpredictable nature of the movement for minimizing solvent loss, and optimizing a particular substrate pattern while having a successful coating is key (where success is determined by its efficacy, adhesiveness, and uniformity). According to typical PVD behavior, having the substrate follow particular defined motions within the constraints of the PVD chamber is key to analyzing and visualizing this optimization for successful coating, such that model calculations will suggest a fully an increase in its lifetime two-fold, based on a metric of comparisons (an important one being the voltage and power consumption for a current supply value, and that of stress based durability) between current SSL devices and the new model of OLEDs that will be synthesized via this novel PVD model."

Simulation and synthesis of geometrical coating complexities in 3 dimensional glass substrates using Physical Vapor Deposition techniques

Yaseen Ginnab and Dr. Frank Bailey, Middle Tennessee State University

Selenium is an essential micronutrient that is naturally occurring in many soils, and can be accumulated by some plants. When accumulated in high amounts, the plant is called a selenium hyperaccumulator. A high-selenium diet in aquatic birds caused severe and fatal birth defects involving developmental deformities. Astragalus bisulcatus is one of the most well-studied hyperaccumulators. Astragalus tennesseensis is a related species, which currently has no literature investigating its ability to accumulate selenium. This project will investigate whether A. tennesseensis can accumulate selenium. Both species were grown in a greenhouse to compare their reactions to varying levels of selenium (0 mg selenium/kg dry soil, 1 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg, and 100 mg/kg). Sodium selenate (Na2SeO4) will be used for treatment. After treatment is completed, the plants will be digested in nitric acid and analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry to determine the selenium content. A. bisulcatus is expected to thrive in the presence of selenium. Because there is no literature on A. tennesseensis and selenium, I cannot predict whether it will accumulate selenium. However, it is reasonable to assume that it will not be as efficient as A. bisulcatus, and may not reach the threshold of being a hyperaccumulator. There are several ways to move forward from this project. A researcher can observe whether selenium is accumulated differently in the various plant parts. Another question is how the plant incorporates selenium into its tissues; selenium often replaces sulfur in amino acids and may be stored in several different forms.

Analyzing the Ability of Astragalus tennesseensis to Accumulate Selenium

Ryleigh Tucker and Shelby Rubino, University of Central Oklahoma

In 2020, the Governor of Oklahoma issued a statewide challenge to reduce and eliminate suicide among Oklahoma’s service members, Veterans, and their families. As a result of this challenge, in 2022 a survey concerning suicidal ideation among Oklahoma’s student Veterans was conducted. Multiple agencies were involved in the development of the survey, including the University of Central Oklahoma, and the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs. The survey contained items concerning demographics, social support, military affiliation, and academic status. Additionally, to measure depression severity, the ten items from the PHQ-9 survey (Kroenke, Spitzer, & Williams, 2001) were included. To prepare for distribution, campus Veterans offices were contacted regarding their current outreach practices. The survey was then distributed through Veterans offices at campuses across Oklahoma, including career-tech centers, community colleges, primarily undergraduate institutions, public research universities, and private institutions. In all, 105 student Veterans responded. Chi-square tests and t-tests were performed to identify factors related to suicidal ideation and major depression. Following this, a multiple regression model for predicting the overall PHQ-9 score was developed. These results will be disseminated to Oklahoma higher education institutions to assist with their outreach efforts and to bring awareness to deficiencies in their current practices.

Suicide Prevention Among Oklahoma's Student Veterans

Bethan Budgell, University of Portsmouth

Though a relatively young discipline, Translation Studies boasts a large and growing body of literature, presenting widely diverse perspectives, methodologies and ideological assumptions. This research aimed to overcome the challenge of synthesising such diverse information by developing a clear, simple and intuitive framework that ‘charts’ the ‘sea of theory’ from an applied perspective, facilitating synthesis, analysis and critical evaluation. Based on the etymology (in three languages) of ‘translation’, three key questions were posed: What is carried over in translation? Where to? Where from? When tested by application to the analysis of various different, sometimes conflicting theories, this skeleton framework was found to function simply and effectively. Evaluating the analyses, however, involves value judgements and required an supplemental ‘compass’ of ideology. The research thus exposes the importance of consciously identifying ideologies and understanding their impact on theory, which can be analysed within the framework, distinguishing the possible and the ideologically acceptable. This facilitates critical evaluation of controversial issues and identification of how approaches from very different areas and traditions of research interact and could potentially be synthesised in translation practice. Future applications of this ‘chart’ could include structuring future analyses and overviews of translation studies, and contextualising individual theories. It should be transferable to research areas and languages not considered in this investigation, due to its simplicity. For practising translators, the framework can facilitate reflective consideration and application of theory in the context of their work and ideology.

Charting the Sea of Translation: A simple framework for synthesising and evaluating theory

Kinga Glasek, University of Leeds

"For my History BA dissertation, I am looking at the Bedford Collection of trade cards held by the University of Leeds. I chose to focus on the topic because many people are familiar with modern-day trading cards, such as baseball ones, but not a lot of research has been done on the history of the trade card. Thus, it would be interesting to see and analyse the origins of the trade card. I am going to look at British, European, and American trade cards from the nineteenth century. By using a comparative approach, I plan to utilise both qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis to find out how trade cards have changed over time, differences in trade cards across different countries, and did the type of business or language in which they were produced had any significance on how they looked. The field of study has been severely under-researched and hardly anything has been written about trade cards. As the trade cards were given by business owners to loyal customers, my findings will matter as they will reveal how different types of businesses wanted to portray themselves to their customers. Thus, I aim to contribute not only to the study of trade cards, but also to the wider field of early advertising. Future research might concentrate on different centuries, which can be compared to my research that focuses on trade cards from the nineteenth century. Also, other collections of trade cards from different countries can be studies in the future."

An Analysis of British, European, and American Trade Cards from the Nineteenth Century

Jack Taylor, University of Sussex

Given the intellectual primacy of the idea of the Anthropocene, understanding how we live with our immediate environments assumes a critical potency. Whilst we know a great deal about how those in the Global South living on and with the land interact with, and make sense of, their environments, we know remarkably little about rural workers in the time and place of the first industrial revolution, that moment in time when the Anthropocene arguably became meaningful. This paper utilises the existing methods of visual, textual and landscape analysis in cultural and historical geography, to explore how meaning can be taken from paintings crafted by the rural working class, and poetry written by so-called ‘peasant poets’. The findings from the analysis of four pieces of rural folk art and two selected poems are presented thematically with a focus on ideas of ‘space’ and ‘place’ and how human and non-human animals interacted with their lived environment. Connections are made to the sub-discipline of animal geographies, to better understand the environmental lives of not only rural workers, but the animals in which they commanded. This research addresses a gap in our knowledge in relation to the lives and practices of the rural working class and their complex environmental understandings, focusing on the presentations produced by everyday workers rather than the rich and gentry. The paper thus speaks to the efforts in historical geography to better understand the under-represented, and to better tell the more-than-human histories of people living in rural England.

The Environmental Lives of Rural Workers: Representations Through the Medium of Painting and Prose, C.18-19th.

Andrew Davison, Newcastle University

During 1636, an outbreak of bubonic plague within Newcastle upon Tyne killed approximately 5000 people, with those afflicted dying quickly and horribly, experiencing high fevers with buboes (swellings) that leaked pus. This research documents the progression of the epidemic among various parishes of Newcastle: St. Nicholas’, St Andrew’s, Allhallows, and St. John’s. In addition, possible factors contributing to the rapid spread of disease, such as the ubiquity of rats and overpopulation are discussed. Prominent features of the outbreak were the implementation of quarantine, how this was done in practice and how it was perceived, which are often overlooked, as most research has concentrated on general impacts. This is done using probate records from citizens during 1636. This research may help to provide insights into managing the COVID-19 epidemic or current outbreaks of plague, within low and middle-income countries such as Madagascar, the DRC and Peru where plague is still endemic.

Responses to and Impacts of the Bubonic Plague Outbreak in Newcastle upon Tyne, 1636

Daniel Quizon and M.Roldo, University of Portsmouth

Traumatic, infectious, and tumoral bone fractures are associated with clinical interventions that require bone transplantation (also known as bone grafts) either from the same patient or a donor. Calcium-phosphate ceramics (CPCs) are clinically viable alternatives to bone grafts: they are non-inflammatory, biocompatible, and promote bone regeneration. However, controlled and cost-efficient methods for synthesising spherical CPCs remain underdeveloped. This study investigates the structural framework of spherical pollen grains as a template to synthesise CPCs. Pollen grains were washed with phosphoric acid and acetone to remove the intrinsic organic material. The washed pollen was then introduced into the wet precipitation reaction to form calcium phosphate and subjected to thermal treatment for removal of the pollen. Electron microscopy revealed the successful synthesis of spherical-CPCs. Findings from infrared spectroscopy demonstrated the presence of phosphate groups. X-ray diffraction patterns also confirmed the synthesis of CPC particles, with enhanced crystallinity post-treatment. Generally, spherical-CPCs are beneficial for proliferating bone cells, relative to other morphologies. However, the growing sale prices of CPCs within the medical industry place a high-cost burden on the NHS. Thus, these findings offer a cost-effective method for the controlled production of spherical-CPCs. Significantly, this research can also be utilised beyond the medical industry: for example, CPCs are used in food industries or agriculture as mineral enrichments or as fertilisers. Therefore, pollen grains as a template to synthesise spherical CPCs are feasible outside medical industries and practicable clinically to alleviate the growing costs associated with bone fractures.

Production of Calcium-phosphate Minerals for Bone Regeneration using Pollen grains

Yaw Kwakyi, Ashesi University

"The aim of this research was to understand the impact of popular culture (specifically Japanese animation) on marketing efforts in Ghana. Japanese animation (also known as anime) is a facet of popular culture that has since expanded beyond the cultural borders of Japan. Its immense popularity has seen Japan set up many anime themed facilities like theme parks, restaurants, hotels, and so on, and other parts of the (Western) world are following in their footsteps. The ever-growing success of these creative facilities serves greatly towards marketing efforts, as tourists and natives alike want to partake in enjoying the resources. The lack of such interests in pursuing an anime themed marketing approach in Ghana spurred this research, to help develop an understanding of how pop culture-oriented marketing in the Ghanaian context could affect consumer behaviour. The research’s aim was accomplished through the use of a qualitative approach to gather data from identified stakeholders in the fields of education, business and marketing through in-depth interviews, as well as questionnaires. Existing literature around the effect of popular culture cartoon characters on consumer choices also contributed to the conclusion that innovative marketing tactics (such as anime themed marketing) are effective in influencing the consumer purchase decision. This research leaves room for businesses to further understand and develop marketing strategies that demonstrate that they are aware of their consumer and their interests, and serves to contribute to the conversation on marketing psychology."

The Effects Of Pop Culture In Marketing:Exploring How Japanese Cartoon Styles Can Contribute To The Marketing Efforts Of Ghanaian Businesses