Wolverhampton Intellectual Repository and E-Theses
WIRE is the open access repository for research publications and outputs by researchers based at the University of Wolverhampton.
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Recent Submissions
Item The theoretical basis for the house of multisport principles(Unpublished, 2025-11-05)Item A framework to minimise the impacts of climate change on UK residential buildings and occupants(MDPI, 2025-10-20)Residential buildings, the bastions of shelter and protection, are facing an escalating threat from climate change. The need to bolster the resilience of UK residential buildings is becoming more urgent, given the nature and frequency of the impact of climate change. This study employed a sequential explanatory mixed-method approach. The first phase involved surveying 313 households, revealing that Climate Change on Buildings (CCB) and Climate Change Measures (CCM) significantly influenced Climate Change on Occupants (CCO). Moreover, climate-positive measures were found to have a significant impact on building occupants. The second phase involved semi-structured interviews with ten UK construction experts to gather insights into the effects of climate change on residential buildings and strategies for mitigation. The findings from both phases underscore the need for government incentives, green loans, and increased stakeholder awareness to mitigate the impacts of climate change. To fully address climate change and improve the quality of life for residents, all stakeholders, including policy makers, construction professionals, and the community, must participate actively in these efforts. Consequently, a framework was developed to minimise the impacts of climate change on UK residential buildings.Item An evaluation of the impacts of climate change on residential buildings in the United Kingdom(University of Wolverhampton, 2025)Housing environments, traditionally designed to provide comfort and security, are now under immediate threat from the escalating risks of climate change. The resilience of residential buildings is being significantly reduced, and the once liveable housing environments are now facing the urgent menace of global climate change. The built infrastructure, including buildings and houses, is continuously experiencing severe impacts, exacerbated by natural climate variability. The research study used a sequential explanatory mixed method with two main stages. In the first stage, this study examined how climate change impacts the resilience of residential buildings, increases maintenance frequency, and the wellbeing and comfort of residents in UK residential buildings, which involved a household survey with 313 households in the UK. The instrument was designed to gather data on the frequency of maintenance, the wellbeing of residents and their perceptions regarding the impacts of climate change. The findings, revealed through regression analysis, showed a significant relationship between climate change and the wellbeing of the occupants of UK residential buildings. The rising cost of maintenance of residential buildings in the UK, due to the continuously reducing resilience of building fabrics caused by the impacts of climate change, is a significant concern. For instance, a recent increase in rainfall/storms resulted in unprecedented flooding, which damaged the fabric of some UK residential buildings, further escalating the maintenance costs. In the second stage, qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews with ten experts in the UK construction industry. The interview transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis and NVivo (V.14) software. The findings showed interrelationships between climate change drivers, changes to the climate system, building factors (such as location, age, orientation, types, and material integrity), impacts on UK residential buildings, and impacts on occupants. Collaboration between housing owners, community members, construction professionals, and policymakers is the best strategy to improve the resilience of UK residential buildings and minimise climate change impacts. Construction professionals are perceived to be more responsible for providing mitigation and adaptation strategies (such as improved insulation, flood-resistant construction, and sustainable energy solutions) to ensure more resilient residential buildings. The study adds to existing knowledge by offering a thorough understanding of how climate change affects UK residential buildings and strategies to increase their resilience, providing stakeholders with direction towards climate action and specific roles to minimise climate change impacts on residences and residents.Item Exploring the feasibility of PP1-docking motif-mimetic cell-penetrating peptides for modulating prostate carcinogenesis(Oxford University Press, 2025-10-14)Background Once considered “undruggable,” protein phosphatases are now recognised as potential therapeutic targets. The serine/threonine-protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) regulates key cellular processes and enhances androgen receptor (AR) activity in prostate cancer (PCa), even under castration-resistant conditions, suggesting a role in disease progression. Methods LNCaP and PC3 cells were treated with peptides mimicking PP1 docking motifs in AR, alongside known bioportides (MSS1 and mitoparan). Cellular uptake was assessed by confocal microscopy and fluorescence assays. Viability was measured with PrestoBlue™, and AR/PSA expression was analysed by qRT-PCR and Western blot. Results Androgen Receptor sequence contains three PP1 docking motifs: KVFF (Binding Site 1 (BS1), HVVKW (BS2), and KPIYF (BS3). BS1 and BS2 peptides were modified for better solubility, while BS3 was combined with the Tat sequence to enhance cellular uptake. Fluorophore-conjugated peptides successfully entered cells, with AR-BS3 showing the highest internalisation in LNCaP cells (p = .0495). Treatment with the three different AR-BS peptides individually reduced cell viability in LNCaP and PC3 cells (p = .0352 and p = .0298, respectively). Combining AR-BS peptides significantly reduced cell viability, particularly with all three peptides together (LNCaP: 68%, p = .0369; PC3: 80%, p = .0369). No significant changes in AR or PSA expression were observed. Conclusion Bioportides targeting PP1 docking motifs, especially when combined, decrease PCa cell viability, and additional PP1-interfering peptides such as MSS1 and mitoparan display potent cytotoxic effects. The absence of changes in AR/PSA expression highlights the need to further investigate their mechanisms of action.Item Sentiment analysis of research attention: the Altmetric proof of concept(Frontiers Media, 2025-10-31)Traditional bibliometric approaches to research impact assessment have predominantly relied on citation counts, overlooking the qualitative dimensions of how research is received and discussed. Altmetrics have expanded this perspective by capturing mentions across diverse platforms, yet most analyses remain limited to quantitative measures, failing to account for sentiment. This study aimed to introduce a novel artificial intelligence-driven sentiment analysis framework designed to evaluate the tone and intent behind research mentions on social media, with a primary focus on X (formerly Twitter). Our approach leverages a bespoke sentiment classification system, spanning seven levels from strong negative to strong positive, to capture the nuanced ways in which research is endorsed, critiqued, or debated. Using a machine learning model trained on 5,732 manually curated labels (ML2024) as a baseline (F1 score = 0.419), we developed and refined a Large Language Model (LLM)-based classification system through three iterative rounds of expert evaluation. The final AI-driven model demonstrated improved alignment with human assessments, achieving an F1 score of 0.577, significantly enhancing precision and recall over traditional methods. These findings underscore the potential of advanced AI methodologies in altmetric analysis, offering a richer, more context-aware understanding of research reception. This study laid the foundation for integrating sentiment analysis into Altmetric platforms, providing researchers, institutions, and policymakers with deeper insights into the societal discourse surrounding scientific outputs.
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