The portrait of Cosimo de Medici, Pater-Patriae, in contemporary Florentine humanist literature

This thesis seeks to re-evaluate the role played by Cosimo de' Medici in Florence in the fifteenth century by studying the literary traditions in which he was idealised during his lifetime, and seeing how far his later political reputation was derived from these traditions. The material on which this study is based is of three kinds: principally the literary writings in which the humanists described Cosimo, including all those in the 'Collectiones Cosmianae', a largely-unpublished codex of writings in praise of Cosimo; secondly, material of a biographical nature relating to the humanists and their relationship with Cosimo, including many unpublished letters; and finally, published and unpublished archive-material relating to the political government of Florence in this period. Its scope is primarily to show how much of Cosimo's historical reputation is derived from the rhetorical portrait painted of him by the humanists during his lifetime, which became realised in terms of politics only after his death. At the same time, its more detailed study of two humanists who idealised Cosimo after his death illustrates the political significance of the rise to power of a new social class in Florence in the second half of the century, and in general, it helps to provide more evidence of the close relationship between literature and political idealism in this period.<p

Direct Observations of the Ionizing Star in the UC HII Region G29.96-0.02: A Strong Constraint on the Stellar Birth Line for Massive Stars

We have observed the ultracompact HII region G29.96-0.02 in the near infrared J, H, and K bands and in the Br-gamma line. By comparison with radio observations, we determine that the extinction to the nebula is AK = 2.14 with a 3 sigma uncertainty of 0.25. We identify the ionizing star and determine its intrinsic K magnitude. The star does not have an infrared excess and so appears to be no longer accreting. The K magnitude and the bolometric luminosity allow us to place limits on the location of the ionizing star in the HR diagram. The 3 sigma upper limit on the effective temperature of the ionizing star is 42500 K. We favor a luminosity appropriate for star with a mass in excess of about 60 solar masses. The limit on the temperature and luminosity exclude stars on the ZAMS and stars within 10^6 yr of the ZAMS. Since the age of the UC HII region is estimated to be only about 10^5 yr, we suggest that this is direct evidence that the stellar birth line for massive stars at twice solar metallicity must be significantly redder than the ZAMS.Comment: 42 pages; LaTex; 11 Postscript figures; accepted for publication in Ap

New metrics for the Lancet Standing Commission on Liver Disease in the UK

Health Polic

Physical education undergraduate students’ perceptions of their learning using the jigsaw learning method

Recognising the limited research around the use of cooperative learning in higher education, this case study sought to explore physical education students’ perceptions of learning using the jigsaw learning method. It examined the impact of two different aesthetic activities and two different groupings on students’ perceptions of their learning. A purposive sample of 36 third-year undergraduates was selected for the study. Data were collected using focus group interviews and reflective journals. Inductive analysis illustrated students’ perceptions of their own and others’ abilities, students’ empathy towards their peers, and how their perceptions of gymnastics and dance impacted on their perceptions of learning. Students felt that heterogeneous and friendship groupings have the potential to encourage high-order social and cognitive learning. However, those students with limited psychomotor abilities appear to be better served in friendship groupings to facilitate such learning. Students also favoured the ‘structured’ nature of gymnastics in comparison to dance for their own teaching and learning purposes. Irrespective of aesthetic activity or grouping utilised, students felt their psychomotor learning was limited. It is recommended that university staff consider using a mixture of groupings with a single cohort dependent on the practical ability of students and the use of more ‘structured’ activities. In doing so, students’ perceptions of their social, cognitive and psychomotor learning may improve and thereby encourage greater and more effective use of this innovative method in schools

Seven features of safety in maternity units: a framework based on multisite ethnography and stakeholder consultation

Background: Reducing avoidable harm in maternity services is a priority globally. As well as learning from mistakes, it is important to produce rigorous descriptions of ‘what good looks like’. Objective: We aimed to characterise features of safety in maternity units and to generate a plain language framework that could be used to guide learning and improvement. Methods: We conducted a multisite ethnography involving 401 hours of non-participant observations 33 semistructured interviews with staff across six maternity units, and a stakeholder consultation involving 65 semistructured telephone interviews and one focus group. Results: We identified seven features of safety in maternity units and summarised them into a framework, named For Us (For Unit Safety). The features include: (1) commitment to safety and improvement at all levels, with everyone involved; (2) technical competence, supported by formal training and informal learning; (3) teamwork, cooperation and positive working relationships; (4) constant reinforcing of safe, ethical and respectful behaviours; (5) multiple problem-sensing systems, used as basis of action; (6) systems and processes designed for safety, and regularly reviewed and optimised; (7) effective coordination and ability to mobilise quickly. These features appear to have a synergistic character, such that each feature is necessary but not sufficient on its own: the features operate in concert through multiple forms of feedback and amplification. Conclusions: This large qualitative study has enabled the generation of a new plain language framework—For Us—that identifies the behaviours and practices that appear to be features of safe care in hospital-based maternity units

Targeting early changes in the synovial microenvironment:a new class of immunomodulatory therapy?

Objectives: Controlled immune responses rely on integrated crosstalk between cells and their microenvironment. We investigated whether targeting proinflammatory signals from the extracellular matrix that persist during pathological inflammation provides a viable strategy to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: Monoclonal antibodies recognising the fibrinogen-like globe (FBG) of tenascin-C were generated by phage display. Clones that neutralised FBG activation of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), without impacting pathogenic TLR4 activation, were epitope mapped by crystallography. Antibodies stained synovial biopsies of patients at different stages of RA development. Antibody efficacy in preventing RA synovial cell cytokine release, and in modulating collagen-induced arthritis in rats, was assessed. Results: Tenascin-C is expressed early in the development of RA, even before disease diagnosis, with higher levels in the joints of people with synovitis who eventually developed RA than in people whose synovitis spontaneously resolved. Anti-FBG antibodies inhibited cytokine release by RA synovial cells and prevented disease progression and tissue destruction during collagen-induced arthritis. Conclusions: Early changes in the synovial microenvironment contribute to RA progression; blocking proinflammatory signals from the matrix can ameliorate experimental arthritis. These data highlight a new drug class that could offer early, disease-specific immune modulation in RA, without engendering global immune suppression

Quantitative analyses and modelling to support achievement of the 2020 goals for nine neglected tropical diseases

Quantitative analysis and mathematical models are useful tools in informing strategies to control or eliminate disease. Currently, there is an urgent need to develop these tools to inform policy to achieve the 2020 goals for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). In this paper we give an overview of a collection of novel model-based analyses which aim to address key questions on the dynamics of transmission and control of nine NTDs: Chagas disease, visceral leishmaniasis, human African trypanosomiasis, leprosy, soil-transmitted helminths, schistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis and trachoma. Several common themes resonate throughout these analyses, including: the importance of epidemiological setting on the success of interventions; targeting groups who are at highest risk of infection or re-infection; and reaching populations who are not accessing interventions and may act as a reservoir for infection,. The results also highlight the challenge of maintaining elimination ‘as a public health problem’ when true elimination is not reached. The models elucidate the factors that may be contributing most to persistence of disease and discuss the requirements for eventually achieving true elimination, if that is possible. Overall this collection presents new analyses to inform current control initiatives. These papers form a base from which further development of the models and more rigorous validation against a variety of datasets can help to give more detailed advice. At the moment, the models’ predictions are being considered as the world prepares for a final push towards control or elimination of neglected tropical diseases by 2020

Quantitative analyses and modelling to support achievement of the 2020 goals for nine neglected tropical diseases

Quantitative analysis and mathematical models are useful tools in informing strategies to control or eliminate disease. Currently, there is an urgent need to develop these tools to inform policy to achieve the 2020 goals for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). In this paper we give an overview of a collection of novel model-based analyses which aim to address key questions on the dynamics of transmission and control of nine NTDs: Chagas disease, visceral leishmaniasis, human African trypanosomiasis, leprosy, soil-transmitted helminths, schistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis and trachoma. Several common themes resonate throughout these analyses, including: the importance of epidemiological setting on the success of interventions; targeting groups who are at highest risk of infection or re-infection; and reaching populations who are not accessing interventions and may act as a reservoir for infection,. The results also highlight the challenge of maintaining elimination 'as a public health problem' when true elimination is not reached. The models elucidate the factors that may be contributing most to persistence of disease and discuss the requirements for eventually achieving true elimination, if that is possible. Overall this collection presents new analyses to inform current control initiatives. These papers form a base from which further development of the models and more rigorous validation against a variety of datasets can help to give more detailed advice. At the moment, the models' predictions are being considered as the world prepares for a final push towards control or elimination of neglected tropical diseases by 2020