Trinity College Dublin Theses & Dissertationshttp://hdl.handle.net/2262/762402024-03-29T11:46:44Z2024-03-29T11:46:44ZComputer approaches to total hip replacement evaluation just prior to operationCogan, John A.http://hdl.handle.net/2262/1078332024-03-26T18:03:17Z1999-01-01T00:00:00ZComputer approaches to total hip replacement evaluation just prior to operation
Cogan, John A.
The surgical operation of total hip replacement (THR) is, after 30 years, regarded as a successful medical procedure. The average life of an artificial hip has, however, remained at about 15 years for more than a decade, at a time when life expectancy and the quality of life of the elderly have greatly improved. As a result the expectations of patients are being increasingly frustrated. It is in this context that failure to carry out a thorough scientific and clinical evaluation of THR options just prior to the operation is no longer tenable. Decisive information on patient variables and pathology and on operation choices becomes available at this time. The universal availability of advanced computing power has removed the time and knowledge limitations on orthopaedic surgeons that formerly prevented them from accessing all relĀevant medical and non-medical data. This thesis defends the proposition that what is involved in selecting the correct prosthesis is essentially a data-mining exercise that falls into the category of classification: patient/prosthesis combinations must be classified as accept or reject.
1999-01-01T00:00:00ZA taxonomic revision and systematics study of Prunus L. (s.l.) in continental Southeast AsiaRueangruea, Sukidhttp://hdl.handle.net/2262/1078322024-03-26T18:03:29Z2024-01-01T00:00:00ZA taxonomic revision and systematics study of Prunus L. (s.l.) in continental Southeast Asia
Rueangruea, Sukid
This thesis aims to provide a complete account of the genus Prunus L. for Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. In addition, the relevant specific problems of Prunus in Southeast Asia are outlined, and the generic relationships between Asian members are assessed using a molecular approach. A taxonomic history of the genus and history of botanical works relevant to the genus Prunus in continental Southeast Asia and neighboring regions are given. The economic and ethnobotanical significance of some members is also provided. General morphological characteristics are described in terms specific to the study group and explained, and when appropriate, some figures are provided to add explanation.
Molecular phylogenetic analysis was undertaken with nuclear and plastid DNA gene regions (ETS-RosF and IGS6R; psbA-trnH, rpl16, rps16, and trnC-petN). The nuclear dataset analysis, ETS-RosF, and IGS6R confirmed some patterns of infrageneric classification. In addition, the plastid dataset analyses, psbA-trnH, rpl16, rps16, and trnC-petN, did not provide well-resolved or supported trees from their analysis. A combined analysis of nuclear and plastid genes provided improved resolution and support, and the findings concerning the infrageneric classification of Prunus and the utility of the markers for DNA barcoding are discussed. Mesopygeum formed a monophyletic group in all analyses, but section Laurocerasus was not supported as it is currently defined and was generally paraphyletic. Many well-supported subgroupings were identified.
The main part of this thesis's taxonomic chapter aimed to provide a complete revision of the genus Prunus in continental Southeast Asia. The revision was undertaken at the Herbarium, Department of Botany, Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and at the Herbarium, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (K). The major herbaria in Europe, BM, E, K, L, P, and TCD together with regional herbaria in Asia; Thailand, BKF, BK, CMUB, QBG; Cambodia; Japan, KYO and FU; Laos, FOF; Myanmar, RAF; and Vietnam, VNM which have good collections of South East Asian were visited to study their collections, including types: ten field trips, totaling six months were made to Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam in 2019 and 2020. The species were also reviewed and described to clarify their nomenclatural status, geographic distributions, and diagnostic character states. Full descriptions of genera and species, keys, synonyms, distribution maps, photographs, information about distribution, ecology, vernacular names, and specimens examined are given.
In chapter 5, information about habitats, ecology, distributions, and endemism of Prunus are provided with particular emphasis on continental Southeast Asia taxa. The Prunus species in continental Southeast Asia are found in various habitats except Mangrove, Swamp, and Beach forests. They are usually common in dry land, shade, and open habitats. The first group comprises the northern species, the Indo-Burmese, and the Sino-Himalayan elements. The second group contains some widespread taxa, but most belong to the Indo-Chinese element and are mostly confined to the central and upper Indo-Chinese peninsula.
Prunus did not appear as monophyletic using the nuclear dataset analysis, ETS-RosF, and IGS6R. In addition, the plastid dataset analyses, psbA-trnH, rpl16, rps16, and trnC-petN, could have provided better-resolved and supported trees individually.
236 synonyms are recognized from the 50 Prunus recognized in continental Southeast Asia, including 26 names that are lectotypified here and 29 new synonyms. Four species (8 %) are new records to Thailand: P. kalkmanii, P. polystachya, P. pygeoides, and P. ridleyi. This updates biogeographic knowledge of the region and reflects the need to explore the region's diversity further. There is also no doubt that many species still need to be described because many specimens do not match any known species among the existing collections.
This Ph.D. has therefore reviewed the genus Prunus in continental Southeast Asia, mainly based on morphological analysis of all available Prunus specimens, and provided a basis for the future completion of accounts of the Rosaceae for the Flora of Thailand Project. In addition, Prunus's historical biogeography, evolution, and phylogeny of Prunus were considered. The detailed revision of Prunus from continental Southeast Asia provides the taxonomic framework for conserving and utilizing its regional genetic resources. Many species of Prunus in continental Southeast Asia have been exposed to critical over-exploration in their natural habitats for ornamental or medicinal purposes and thus require strict protection for sustainable development. Herein, a preliminary assessment of their conservation status has been made.
APPROVED
2024-01-01T00:00:00ZEssays in central bank communication and bank lending conditions for firmsParle, Conorhttp://hdl.handle.net/2262/1078312024-03-26T18:03:01Z2024-01-01T00:00:00ZEssays in central bank communication and bank lending conditions for firms
Parle, Conor
This dissertation is composed of three independent essays in the broad fields of central bank communication and the transmission of changes in bank lending conditions to firms. The first two essays examine the transmission of monetary policy through words, as central banks communicate with the public, while the third focuses on the more conventional channel of how changes in bank side credit conditions pass through to firms.
The first essay (published in the European Journal of Political Economy) examines the financial market impact of ECB monetary policy press conferences. Using natural language processing methods, in this paper I create two measures of the monetary policy tilt of the ECB for each press conference, indicating how hawkish or dovish the communication is. These two measures closely track interest rate expectations over the tightening and loosening cycle, and provide a particularly useful measure of monetary policy tilt at the zero lower bound. Using intraday data I investigate the impact of changes in the hawkishness or dovishness of the press conference that is free of the impact of the monetary policy decision itself. I show a non-negligible positive (negative) effect on stock prices of a more hawkish (dovish) tone. This indicates that the ECB releases some degree of private information during this press conference, with market participants internalising this communication as being indicative of good (bad) news regarding the future state of the economy rather than indication of future potential increases (decreases) in interest rates. The effect is stronger prior to the introduction of formal forward guidance in July 2013, suggesting that since this period ECB communication has been less surprising to markets, perhaps indicating evidence of more certainty in the future path of rates and perspectives on monetary policy between that date and the end point of the study in 2020.
The second essay builds on themes in the first essay by also examining topics from central bank communication, but this time turning to the temporal aspects of communication rather than the tone. It presents an additional explanation for why central bank communication moves markets beyond the simple release of private central bank communication. This paper posits that markets move due to an ?information deficit? that is held by the public that the central bank helps to ?fill in? using its communication. We posit that there are three channels through which this information deficit can be filled in, namely through the central bank providing (i) an updated evaluation regarding the state of the economy (ii) a different projection from the current state to the likely future evolution of the economy and (iii) differences in how the policymaker responds to the assessed economic outlook. Using NLP methods we produce measures of the temporality of central bank communication and illustrate that both communication about the past and future significantly improve the ability to explain the news in yields around both the Federal Reserve and ECB policy statements compared to pure topic based measures. We surmise this is evidence of both the projection and evaluation channels at play. Moreover, to further illustrate the importance of the information deficit, we show that speeches generate greater news effects through moving yields when the information deficit is greater following the press conference, as measured using the similarity of speeches and responses to questions. From a policy perspective we suggest that these results make the communication of a single fixed reaction function very difficult even if it is highly desirable due to changes in the assessment of what is driving underlying changes.
The third essay examines a more conventional approach to assessing the impact of retail bank behaviour on the broader real economy by examining how changes in credit standards by individual banks feed through to firm outcomes. Using a novel dataset linking firm level data from the Survey on Access to Finance for Enterprises (SAFE) and bank level data from the Bank Lending Survey (BLS) we find that tighter credit standards decrease loan availability as reported by firms, increase the likelihood they report access to finance as the worst problem they are facing and decreases their investment activity. This effect fades when adding country-sector-time fixed effects, suggesting that this aggregate effect is more indicative of cyclical conditions, however the results become significant once interacting with firm-level demand as proxyed by their reported change in need for bank loans. We find that results are asymmetric, with stronger effects for a tightening than an easing, while a more diversified array of funding sources insulates firms from changes in credit standards. This illustrates the importance of investigating both demand and supply side behaviour when investigating changes in credit standards and has implications for understanding the bank lending channel of monetary policy. We use these micro results to propose a new measure of demand adjusted credit standards that can be used to analyse broader credit dynamics.
APPROVED
2024-01-01T00:00:00ZSaints and Celibates : Protestant Identity in the Irish Novels of William TrevorDineen, Gerardhttp://hdl.handle.net/2262/1078272024-03-25T18:02:38Z1999-01-01T00:00:00ZSaints and Celibates : Protestant Identity in the Irish Novels of William Trevor
Dineen, Gerard
This thesis focuses purely on Protestant identity in three Irish novels by William Trevor, namely: Fools of Fortune, The Silence in the Garden and Reading Turgenev.
1999-01-01T00:00:00Z