The Spiral that Vanished: The Application of Non-Contact Recording Techniques to an Elusive Rock Art Motif at Castlerigg Stone Circle in Cumbria

This article describes the recording of stone 11 of the Castlerigg stone circle in Cumbria through two different non-contact techniques: laser scanning and ground-based remote sensing. Despite the unproblematic recording of modern graffiti, neither technique was able to document the spiral photographed and rubbed in 1995. It is concluded that the spiral was most probably painted and has since faded away due to natural events. The discovery and loss of of the spiral motif in Castlerigg is seen as a cautionary tale. In particular, it seems to suggest that it is time to take advantage of the novel technologies based on the digitisation of 3D surfaces with millimetre and submillimetre accuracy such as laser scanning and ground-based remote sensing. They offer many advantages to the recording of prehistoric carvings. In addition to avoiding direct contact with the rock surface eliminating the preservation concerns raised by other techniques, both produce high quality images (laser scaning offering a greater potential for this, but at higher cost) having a much higher level of objectivity, and precision and accuracy far beyond those of traditional recording methods such as wax rubbings and scale drawings

Surveillance épidémiologique des hernies discales opérées en lien avec l’activité professionnelle : Etudes en région Pays de la Loire

Introduction.– La hernie discale opérée (HDO) a été choisie comme indicateur de pathologie rachidienne pour déterminer l’association entre HDO et activité professionnelle et la contribution de celle-ci dans la survenue de cette pathologie. Méthodes.– Les patients furent sélectionnés à partir des bases régionales du Programme de médicalisation des systèmes d’information (PMSI) sur : âge 20 à 59 ans, acte d’HDO, en 2002 à 2003 au CHU de Nantes, pour l’étude pilote, et en 2007 à 2008 dans tous les centres chirurgicaux des Pays de la Loire, pour l’étude régionale. L’histoire médicale et professionnelle fut recueillie par auto-questionnaire postal. Le risque relatif ajusté sur l’âge (RR) permit d’estimer l’association entre HDO et activité professionnelle. La contribution des secteurs d’activité et professions au risque d’HDO fut quantifiée par la fraction de risque attribuable aux facteurs professionnels dans la population (Frap) et par la fraction de risque attribuable chez les exposés (Frae). Résultats.– L’étude pilote incluait 146 répondeurs à l’auto-questionnaire parmi les 272 patients éligibles. L’étude régionale comprenait 1870 répondants parmi les 3135 patients opérés en 2007 à 2008. Le RR d’HDO était, chez les hommes, de 5,1[2,6–10,1] dans les transports et, chez les femmes, de 2,7[1,6–4,5] dans la santé et de 10,2[4,4–23,3] dans l’hôtellerie restauration. Les fractions de risque attribuable les plus élevées étaient associées à l’hôtellerie restauration chez les femmes (Frap = 19 %, Frae = 90 %). Les professions à risque étaient, chez les hommes, les chauffeurs (Frap = 12 %, Frae = 79 %) et les ouvriers non qualifiés de l’industrie (Frap = 17 %, Frae = 80 %) et, chez les femmes, les employées de la fonction publique (Frap = 18 %, Frae = 66 %). Discussion et conclusion.– Ces études ont confirmé l’intérêt d’une surveillance de l’HDO fondée sur le PMSI et ont permis d’identifier les professions à risque d’HDO en population générale

Long Meg : rock art recording using 3D laser scanning

This article focuses on the results obtained from the laser scanning recording of the Long Meg standing stone (NY56933716, CCSMR6154, NMR 23663) (Cumbria). This recording is result of the project “Breaking through rock art recording: three dimensional laser scanning of megalithic rock art”, led by Margarita Díaz-Andreu and sponsored by the AHRC under the Innovation Awards scheme, aimed to explore the potential of this novel technique. In this article two different methods to visualise the rock art data are compared: one using freely available software, and the other one employing software especially developed for archaeology

Continuidad asistencial: rol de la enfermera de enlace

ObjetivoEvaluar el programa de enfermera de enlace a los 2 años de funcionamiento.DiseñoEstudio descriptivo.EmplazamientoAtención primaria de los municipios de Sant Boi de Llobregat y Sant Vicenç dels Horts (Barcelona) y el Hospital Comarcal de Sant Boi.PacientesPacientes dados de alta del hospital (entre octubre de 2000 y octubre 2002) y que necesitaban cuidados de continuidad en el equipo de atención primaria o domicilio.IntervencionesVisitas conjuntas entre la enfermera de enlace y la supervisora de la unidad hospitalaria para elaborar el plan de cuidados previo al alta hospitalaria. Se comunica al equipo de atención primaria del traspaso del enfermo y su plan de cuidados. Las visitas posteriores al domicilio las realiza la enfermera de enlace, el equipo de atención primaria, o conjuntamente.ResultadosSe ha estudiado a 854 pacientes (57,6% mujeres); media de edad en mujeres 69,82±14,7 años y en varones de 61,7±19,6 años (p<0,0001).La enfermera de enlace ha realizado 2.241 visitas hospitalarias, 81 domiciliarias y 434 llamadas telefónicas. También se han hecho 636 coordinaciones.El diagnóstico de enfermería más frecuente ha sido trastorno de la movilidad física (61% de los pacientes).ConclusionesSe ha creado un mecanismo que mejora la continuidad desde el alta hospitalaria hasta el contacto con el equipo de atención primaria. La enfermera de enlace coordina y gestiona los casos antes de que el paciente sea traspasado al ámbito de la atención primaria.ObjectiveTo evaluate the link nurse programme after 2 years of operation.DesignDescriptive study.SettingPrimary vare in the towns of Sant Boi de Llobregat and Sant Vicenç dels Horts (Barcelona) and the County Hospital of Sant Boi, Spain.PatientsPatients discharged from the hospital (October 2000-October 2002) and who needed ongoing care in the primary care centre or at home.InterventionsJoint visits of the link nurse and the hospital unit's supervisor to work out the care plan before discharge. The PC team was informed of the transfer of the patient and his/her care plan. Subsequent home visits were by the link nurse, the primary care team or both together.Results854 patients (57.6% women) were studied.Women's mean age was 69.82 (SD, 4.7) and men's was 61.7 (SD, 9.6) (P<.0001). The link nurse made 2241 hospital visits, 81 home visits, and 434 phone calls. There were 636 co-ordinations.The most common nursing diagnosis made was physical mobility disorder (61% of patients).ConclusionsA mechanism was created to improve continuity from hospital discharge to contact with the PC team. The link nurse coordinates and manages patients before they are handed over to PC

Weak formulation for singular diffusion equation with dynamic boundary condition

In this paper, we propose a weak formulation of the singular diffusion equation subject to the dynamic boundary condition. The weak formulation is based on a reformulation method by an evolution equation including the subdifferential of a governing convex energy. Under suitable assumptions, the principal results of this study are stated in forms of Main Theorems A and B, which are respectively to verify: the adequacy of the weak formulation; the common property between the weak solutions and those in regular problems of standard PDEs.Comment: 23 page

A multiply substituted G-H loop from foot-and-mouth disease virus in complex with a neutralizing antibody: A role for water molecules

The crystal structure of a 15 amino acid synthetic peptide, corresponding to the sequence of the major antigenic site A (G-H loop of VP1) from a multiple variant of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), has been determined at 2·3 resolution. The variant peptide includes four amino acid substitutions in the loop relative to the previously studied peptide representing FMDV C-S8c1 and corresponds to the loop of a natural FMDV isolate of subtype C1. The peptide was complexed with the Fab fragment of the neutralizing monoclonal antibody 4C4. The peptide adopts a compact fold with a nearly cyclic conformation and a disposition of the receptor-recognition motif Arg-Gly-Asp that is closely related to the previously determined structure for the viral loop, as part of the virion, and for unsubstituted synthetic peptide antigen bound to neutralizing antibodies. New structural findings include the observation that well-defined solvent molecules appear to play a major role in stabilizing the conformation of the peptide and its interactions with the antibody. Structural results are supported by molecular-dynamic simulations. The multiply substituted peptide developed compensatory mechanisms to bind the antibody with a conformation very similar to that of its unsubstituted counterpart. One water molecule, which for steric reasons could not occupy the same position in the unsubstituted antigen, establishes hydrogen bonds with three peptide amino acids. The constancy of the structure of an antigenic domain despite multiple amino acid substitutions has implications for vaccine design

Translation of a leaderless reporter is robust during exponential growth and well sustained during stress conditions in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Abstract Mycobacterium tuberculosis expresses a large number of leaderless mRNA transcripts; these lack the 5’ leader region, which usually contains the Shine-Dalgarno sequence required for translation initiation in bacteria. In M. tuberculosis, transcripts encoding proteins with secondary adaptive functions are predominantly leaderless and the overall ratio of leaderless to Shine-Dalgarno transcripts significantly increases during growth arrest, suggesting that leaderless translation might be important during persistence in the host. However, whether these two types of transcripts are translated with differing efficiencies during stress conditions that induce growth arrest and during optimal growth conditions, is unclear. Here, using bioluminescent reporter strains, we detect robust leaderless translation during exponential in vitro growth and we show that leaderless translation is more stable than Shine-Dalgarno translation during adaptation to stress conditions. Upon entrance into nutrient starvation and after nitric oxide exposure, leaderless translation is significantly less affected by the stress than Shine-Dalgarno translation. Similarly, during the early stages of infection of macrophages, the levels of leaderless translation are more stable than those of Shine-Dalgarno translation. These results suggest that leaderless translation may offer an advantage in the physiology of M. tuberculosis. Identification of the molecular mechanisms underlying this translational regulation may provide insights into persistent infection.</jats:p

Usefulness of Ultrasound in Assessing the Impact of Bariatric Surgery on Body Composition : a Pilot Study

Bariatric surgery (BS) has a significant impact on body composition. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the usefulness of musculoskeletal ultrasound (MUS) to bioelectrical impedance (BIA) in the follow-up of patients undergoing BS in terms of body composition and quality of life (QoL). This is a prospective pilot study including 32 subjects (75% female, mean age: 49.15 ± 1.9 years) who underwent BS. Fat mass (FM), lean mass (LM), and skeletal muscle index (SMI) were calculated by BIA. MUS measured subcutaneous fat (SF) and thigh muscle thickness (TMT) of the quadriceps. QoL was assessed by the Moorehead-Ardelt questionnaire. All these measurements were performed 1 month prior to BS and at 12-month follow-up. The mean BMI decreased by 6.63 ± 1.25 kg/m 2 (p =0.001). We observed significant reductions in FM (p =0.001) and SF (p =0.007) and in LM (p =0.001) but not in SMI and TMT. We found a correlation between the FM and SF (pre-surgical, r =0.42, p =0.01; post-surgical, r =0.52, p =0.003) and between SMI and TMT (pre-surgical, r =0.35, p =0.04; post-surgical, r =0.38, p =0.03). QoL test showed significant improvement (p =0.001). In addition, a correlation between the QoL questionnaire and TMT post-surgery (r =0.91, p =0.019) was observed. However, we did not find any statistically significant correlation between QoL assessment and SMI or LM. Our results suggest that MUS can be complementary to BIA for the evaluation and the follow-up of body composition after BS. TMT of quadriceps can provide relevant information about regional sarcopenia and has a significant correlation with QoL