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ERA is a digital repository of original research produced at The University of Edinburgh. The archive contains documents written by, or affiliated with, academic authors, or units, based at Edinburgh that have sufficient quality to be collected and preserved by the Library, but which are not controlled by commercial publishers. Holdings include full-text digital doctoral theses, masters dissertations, project reports, briefing papers and out-of-print materials.

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“Why do I connect that cookery book with Communions?” A critical examination of the lives of women of the manse in the novels of O. Douglas (Anna Buchan)
(The University of Edinburgh. College of Humanities and Social Science. School of Divinity, 2024-07-13) King, Gemma C.; Jack, Alison; Bicket, Linden
This thesis examines the depiction of the lives of women of the manse offered by the novelist O. Douglas. O. Douglas is the pseudonym of Anna Buchan (1877-1948), who was a daughter of a Free Church minister, brought up in Pathhead, Kirkcaldy then Gorbals, Glasgow. She was a highly popular author in her own time (one of Hodder and Stoughton’s top five bestselling authors) yet in comparison with her brother John Buchan has since largely been forgotten by readers and scholars. She wrote three novels inspired by her experiences of growing up in a manse: The Setons (1917), Ann and Her Mother (1922) and Eliza for Common (1928). The women of the manse in these and other works by Anna Buchan will be compared and contrasted with literary and real-life contemporaries. The first two chapters of this thesis situate Anna Buchan in her historical context with a particular focus on her upbringing in the manse. They also consider the literary influences on Anna Buchan and attempt to situate her work in its literary context. The next three chapters explore Anna Buchan’s depiction of women of the manse at worship, in the parish and at home. The first of these considers Anna Buchan’s depiction of the experiences these women had of public worship, their personal devotional practices and their overlooked role providing hospitality during sacrament times. The next examines the diverse range of activities these women of the manse carried out in the parish. These activities included visiting, teaching in the Sunday school and most significantly fundraising. The final substantive chapter examines Anna Buchan’s depiction of manse life for these women. The examination of her portrayal of women of the manse as being responsible for maintaining the household finances is of particular significance. This thesis contributes to knowledge in the fields of both Scottish literature and Church history. In the field of literature, it provides a new appreciation of the historical context in which Anna Buchan was writing and its literary influence. In the field of Church history, this examination of Anna Buchan’s novels offers a fresh and extensive insight into the contemporary lives of women in the manse through Scottish literature of the early twentieth century. Anna Buchan’s novels are examined as historical source material, and their significance as early twentieth century propaganda for the improvement of the lives of women of the manse is uncovered. In this thesis the novels are read alongside Anna Buchan’s autobiography Unforgettable, Unforgotten (1945) and her manuscripts and papers which are primarily held in the National Library of Scotland. This thesis demonstrates the importance of literary sources for uncovering the often overlooked voices of women in the church.
Ecological genetics of the invasive tree pathogen Phytophthora austrocedri and its native host juniper
(2026-05-28) Crowson, Daisy; Cavers, Stephen; Ennos, Richard; Cottrell, Joan; Green, Sarah; Natural Environment Research Council (NERC); E4 Doctoral Training Partnership
Invasive tree pathogens are a growing threat to natural and managed ecosystems, causing severe ecological and economic impacts. The outcome of novel plant-pathogen interactions depends on a complex suite of evolutionary and ecological processes that are unique to each system. Understanding these interactions therefore requires taking diverse and complementary approaches: quantitative genetics can be employed to address questions regarding host resistance; population genetics and genomics can be used to explore key pathogen traits and evolutionary history; and molecular analyses can provide a mechanistic insight into the host-pathogen interaction. This thesis integrates these approaches to investigate the evolutionary and ecological dynamics of the invasive oomycete pathogen Phytophthora austrocedri and its UK-native host juniper (Juniperus communis). In Chapter 1, I outline the framework of my research by introducing the background of the rising problem of invasive plant pathogens, discussing the evolutionary-ecology of novel host-pathogen interactions and describing the pathosystem. Chapter 2 investigates the presence and nature of any resistance to the pathogen in natural host populations. By means of a progeny-provenance inoculation trial I show that: resistance in juniper is a heritable genetic trait; juniper has both qualitative and quantitative variation in resistance; and P. austrocedri is imposing natural selection on juniper populations, with a higher frequency of resistant juniper individuals found in populations previously exposed to the pathogen. In Chapter 3, I present new, high-quality reference genomes for each of the two distinct geographical lineages of P. austrocedri, establishing the first genomic resources for this species. In Chapter 4, I explore large-scale genome evolution, population genomics, and genetic diversity in the pathogen. I use flow cytometry and whole-genome sequence data to show that P. austrocedri is a tetraploid, but that variation in genome size and evidence of large genomic deletions suggest diploidisation and triploidisation is occurring in some isolates. I confirm that P. austrocedri is of hybrid origin, with the hybridisation event likely predating the divergence of the two lineages. I also show that levels of genome-wide genetic diversity and within-subgenome heterozygosity in the pathogen are very low, suggesting a history of self-fertilisation, but that the hybrid nature of the pathogen allows it to maintain high levels of between-subgenome heterozygosity. Chapter 5 investigates the molecular basis of resistance in the host and of virulence in the pathogen using dual RNAseq of the host-pathogen interaction. I show that a successful defence response in juniper is characterised by rapid induction of ethylene signalling and associated production of secondary metabolites and pathogenesis-related proteins, and I identify a candidate transmembrane receptor that may underlie this rapid response. I also show that increased virulence in the pathogen appears linked to enhanced suppression and evasion of host defences, which may also allow an extended biotrophic phase, and I identify candidate genes that may be driving these differences. Finally, in Chapter 6, I synthesise the findings of the previous chapters and set them within the broader context of research into the evolutionary ecology of novel host-pathogen interactions. I conclude by outlining some practical recommendations for managing the juniper-P. austrocedri pathosystem that arise from the results presented in this thesis. In summary, this research integrates quantitative genetics, genomics, and molecular analyses to advance our understanding of the evolutionary dynamics underlying novel plant-pathogen interactions.
How States Use Amnesties in Peace Agreements
(PeaceRep: The Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform, 2026) Mallinder, Louise
This report summarizes the findings from a new dataset on Peace Agreement Amnesties.This dataset was created using the PA-X Peace Agreement database to identify peace agreements with amnesty provisions. It contains information on 120 peace agreements which express the parties’ commitment to offer amnesty in relation to internal armed conflicts from 1990 to 2024 in 47 countries.The analysis of this data reveals a number of key findings.
Phosphoglycerate kinase 1 as a therapeutic target in motor neuron disease
(2026-05-28) McHale-Owen, Harriet; Gillingwater, Tom; Faller, Kiterie; Mellanby, Richard; Wellcome Trust
Metabolic dysfunction and cellular stress are common features in neurodegenerative conditions like motor neuron disease (MND) and supporting cell energy production is an attractive strategy to improve the resilience of neurons to disease pathology. Phosphoglycerate kinase 1 (PGK1) is a key enzyme in the first ATP-producing step in the glycolysis pathway. PGK1 may have multiple other roles in cells apart from its role in glycolysis but these are less well understood, and the consequences of increased PGK1 activity in cells and therefore its suitability as a therapeutic target is not known. Overexpression of PGK1 has been shown to be beneficial in multiple models of MND but the most commonly used PGK1 agonist, terazosin, is non-specific and so there is a need to develop more effective and more specific alternatives. In this thesis, I demonstrate that increased PGK1 activity in HEK-293 cells is well tolerated and does not result in the upregulation or downregulation of any cellular pathways supporting the further exploration of PGK1 agonists as potential future therapeutics. A metabolic assay in HEK-293 cells was used to identify the most promising PGK1 activators from a compound library. These lead compounds were then screened in a C9orf72 knockdown zebrafish model of MND. This work highlighted the importance of using a disease model for screening, as adding extra PGK1 to cells with adequate levels shows little observable effect. An alternative model is needed to test compounds for PGK1 activation more effectively. NSC-34 cell lines stably overexpressing human TDP-43 that are subjected to an osmotic stressor are a promising cell model to use for future assessments of potential PGK1 agonists. My work suggests that whilst PGK1 is a promising target, it is challenging to find suitable alternatives to terazosin. Future PGK1 studies should consider using stressed cellular models of disease as a screening method rather than traditional cell lines.
Investigating white matter alterations and secondary neurodegeneration with MRI imaging and pathology in a mouse model of ischaemic stroke
(2026-05-28) Dogru, Sevgi Yaren; Fowler, Jill
Advances in acute ischaemic stroke treatment have increased survival rates, yet many individuals experience long-term complications such as post-stroke cognitive impairment and dementia. While the primary infarct is well characterised, the mechanisms driving chronic degenerative changes in remote but anatomically connected brain regions remain unclear, despite their importance for brain function and recovery after stroke. Emerging clinical imaging evidence suggests that white matter degeneration, secondary neurodegeneration and inflammation in areas like the corpus callosum and thalamus after a middle cerebral artery stroke may contribute to cognitive decline. The aim of the current study was to examine remote grey and white matter alterations in anatomically connected brain regions following experimental cortical ischaemic stroke, with a particular focus on changes in cerebral perfusion, glial responses, and structural integrity. This study is based on the hypothesis that stroke involves disturbances of the neurogliovascular unit in remote, anatomically connected brain regions, and that these disturbances are associated with degenerative changes affecting both grey and white matter. We used in vivo MRI imaging and immunohistochemistry to investigate remote brain changes pre-surgery and one month after cortical ischemic stroke induced by distal middle cerebral artery occlusion in male C57BL/6J mice (stroke: n=5, sham: n=4). Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was measured using arterial spin labelling (ASL) MRI in the white and grey matter regions. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) assessed white matter integrity via fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD). Immunohistochemistry evaluated astrocyte (GFAP) and microglia (Iba1) reactivity, axonal damage (APP), myelin integrity (MAG), and secondary neurodegeneration (NeuN). Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) assessed white matter integrity via fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD). Immunohistochemistry evaluated astrocyte (GFAP) and microglia (Iba1) reactivity, axonal damage (APP), myelin integrity (MAG), and secondary neurodegeneration (NeuN). Immunohistochemistry revealed axonal damage, gliosis, and axon-myelin alterations in the connected grey and white matter regions, as well as secondary neurodegeneration in the thalamus. Our findings indicate that cortical stroke triggers chronic, region-specific alterations in anatomically connected brain areas, with distinct patterns of hypoperfusion, hyperperfusion, inflammation, and structural degeneration. This work provides a foundation for future studies using spatial transcriptomic approaches to define the molecular correlates of these remote neuroimaging and pathophysiological changes.