Wynkyn de Worde, Stephen Hawes, and the improvisation of genre in early sixteenth‐century English poetry

The printing of the poems of the early Tudor poet Stephen Hawes (c.1474–before 1529) by the London printer Wynkyn de Worde (d. 1534/5) is the earliest example of the sustained publication of a contemporary English poet by a single printer. This article considers de Worde’s printing of Hawes, in a flurry around 1509 and then at intervals of more or less ten years until 1530, as part of a larger effort to establish a noncourt audience for contemporary English poetry with nevertheless courtly credentials. The paratexts with which de Worde frames Hawes’s verse – from woodcut illustrations, to the printing of the author’s name, to the citation of Hawes by other writers associated with de Worde – are examined as evidence for a growing tendency amongst London printers to provide opportunities for their readers to make imaginative crossreference between their varied literary output. They represent an alternative to the marketing of English literary texts primarily on the basis of authorship – what I describe as an ‘improvisation of literary genre’ by early Tudor England’s poets, printers, and readers

e-Sem: Dynamic Seminar Management System for Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Education

This paper describes the dynamic seminar management system named 'e-Sem', developed according to the opensource software philosophy. Due to its dynamic management functionality, it can equally adapt to any education environment (Primary, Secondary, Tertiary). The purpose of the proposed dynamic system is ease of use and handling, by any class of users, without the need of special guidance. Also, students are given the opportunity to: a) register as users; b) enroll in seminars in a simple way; c) receive e-learning material at any time of day any day of week, and d) be informed of new announcements concerning the seminar in which they are enrolled . In addition, the administrator and the tutors have a number of tools such as : management seminars and trainees in a friendly way, sending educational material as well as new announcements to the trainees; the possibility of electronic recording of presence or absence of the trainees in a seminar, and direct printing of a certificate of successful attendance of a seminar for each trainee. The application also offers features such as electronic organization, storage and presentation of educational material, overcoming the limiting factors of space and time of classical teaching, thus creating a dynamic environmen

Bush Encroachment and Large Carnivore Predation Success in African Landscapes:A Review

Bush encroachment is a habitat change phenomenon that threatens savanna and grassland ecosystems worldwide. In Africa, large carnivores in bush encroached landscapes must adjust to increasing woody plant cover and biomass, which could affect predation success at multiple stages through complex and context-dependent pathways. We highlight, interpret, and compare studies that assessed how bush encroachment or related habitat parameters affect the predation stages of large African carnivores. Bush encroachment may directly or indirectly affect predation success in various ways, including by: (1) altering habitat structure, which may affect hunting efficiency and prey accessibility; (2) changing prey abundance/distribution, with smaller species and browsers being potentially favoured; (3) influencing interference competition within the carnivore guild. For habitat or dietary specialists, and subordinate predators that are vulnerable to both top-down and bottom-up ecosystem effects, these alterations may be detrimental and eventually incur population fitness costs. As the threat of bush encroachment continues, future studies are required to assess indirect effects on competitive interactions within the large African carnivore guild to ensure that conservation efforts are focused. Additionally, to better understand the effects of bush encroachment across Africa, further research is necessary in affected areas as overall little attention has been devoted to the topic

Targeting the live market: recovery of Norway lobsters Nephrops norvegicus (L.) from trawl-capture as assessed by stress-related parameters and nucleotide breakdown

The recovery potential of Norway lobsters (Nephrops norvegicus) held in on-board seawater tanks after trawl-capture was assessed at two different times of the year (winter and summer). Survival recorded 24 h after trawl-capture was 84.83 ± 0.93% in the winter compared to 75.35 ± 2.92% in the summer. Stress-related parameters in the muscle (arginine phosphate, glycogen and L-lactate) and in the haemolymph (L-lactate) were measured, together with nucleotide breakdown products in the muscle (yielding the “Adenylate Energy Charge” or AEC ratio). All parameters analysed were responsive to the stress of the trawl-capture and subsequently recovered towards resting values, but did so at different rates. The fact that some measures recovered at a faster rate than others should be taken into account when trying to develop an index of metabolic stress for this species. Animals trawled in the winter recovered to AEC values above 0.8 within 4 h of placing them in on-board seawater tanks, whereas animals trawled in the summer took 24 h to reach these values. Furthermore, at the end of the trials animals trawled in the summer presented significantly higher haemolymph L-lactate and lower muscle glycogen reserves than the animals trawled in the winter, suggesting a faster recovery in the winter compared to the summer. Finally, animals in the winter were better able to endure further stresses (an emersion of 1 h while animals were transported to the commercial handling facilities). Therefore, as a code of practice it is advised that trawled N. norvegicus directed to the live trade should be allowed to recover for at least 4–6 h in on-board tanks, and extra care should be taken especially in the summer, if further stresses such as additional emersion are to be applied within the first 24 h after capture

Characterization of Adherent Bacteroidales from Intestinal Biopsies of Children and Young Adults with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

There is extensive evidence implicating the intestinal microbiota in inflammatory bowel disease [IBD], but no microbial agent has been identified as a sole causative agent. Bacteroidales are numerically dominant intestinal organisms that associate with the mucosal surface and have properties that both positively and negatively affect the host. To determine precise numbers and species of Bacteroidales adherent to the mucosal surface in IBD patients, we performed a comprehensive culture based analysis of intestinal biopsies from pediatric Crohn's disease [CD], ulcerative colitis [UC], and control subjects. We obtained biopsies from 94 patients and used multiplex PCR or 16S rDNA sequencing of Bacteroidales isolates for species identification. Eighteen different Bacteroidales species were identified in the study group, with up to ten different species per biopsy, a number higher than demonstrated using 16S rRNA gene sequencing methods. Species diversity was decreased in IBD compared to controls and with increasingly inflamed tissue. There were significant differences in predominant Bacteroidales species between biopsies from the three groups and from inflamed and uninflamed sites. Parabacteroides distasonis significantly decreased in inflamed tissue. All 373 Bacteroidales isolates collected in this study grew with mucin as the only utilizable carbon source suggesting this is a non-pathogenic feature of this bacterial order. Bacteroides fragilis isolates with the enterotoxin gene [bft], previously associated with flares of colitis, were not found more often at inflamed colonic sites or within IBD subjects. B. fragilis isolates with the ability to synthesize the immunomodulatory polysaccharide A [PSA], previously shown to be protective in murine models of colitis, were not detected more often from healthy versus inflamed tissue

Proinsulin-Reactive CD4 T Cells in the Islets of Type 1 Diabetes Organ Donors

Proinsulin is an abundant protein that is selectively expressed by pancreatic beta cells and has been a focus for development of antigen-specific immunotherapies for type 1 diabetes (T1D). In this study, we sought to comprehensively evaluate reactivity to preproinsulin by CD4 T cells originally isolated from pancreatic islets of organ donors having T1D. We analyzed 187 T cell receptor (TCR) clonotypes expressed by CD4 T cells obtained from six T1D donors and determined their response to 99 truncated preproinsulin peptide pools, in the presence of autologous B cells. We identified 14 TCR clonotypes from four out of the six donors that responded to preproinsulin peptides. Epitopes were found across all of proinsulin (insulin B-chain, C-peptide, and A-chain) including four hot spot regions containing peptides commonly targeted by TCR clonotypes derived from multiple T1D donors. Of importance, these hot spots overlap with peptide regions to which CD4 T cell responses have previously been detected in the peripheral blood of T1D patients. The 14 TCR clonotypes recognized proinsulin peptides presented by various HLA class II molecules, but there was a trend for dominant restriction with HLA-DQ, especially T1D risk alleles DQ8, DQ2, and DQ8-trans. The characteristics of the tri-molecular complex including proinsulin peptide, HLA-DQ molecule, and TCR derived from CD4 T cells in islets, provides an essential basis for developing antigen-specific biomarkers as well as immunotherapies

Quality of life with cediranib in relapsed ovarian cancer: The ICON6 phase 3 randomized clinical trial

BACKGROUND: The ICON6 trial showed that cediranib, an oral inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors 1, 2, and 3, improved clinical outcomes for patients with platinum-sensitive relapsed ovarian cancer when it was used with chemotherapy and was continued as maintenance therapy. This study describes health-related quality of life (QOL) during the first year of treatment. METHODS: Four hundred fifty-six women were randomly allocated to receive standard chemotherapy only, chemotherapy with concurrent cediranib, or chemotherapy with cediranib administered concurrently and continued as maintenance. Patients completed QOL questionnaires until disease progression every 3 weeks during chemotherapy and then every 6 weeks to 1 year. Patients alive with disease progression completed a QOL form 1 year after randomization. The primary QOL endpoint was the global score from the Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer) at 1 year, with the standard chemotherapy group compared with the concurrent-maintenance cediranib group. RESULTS: The rate of questionnaire compliance was 90% at the baseline and 76% at 1 year and was similar across the 3 groups. The mean global QOL score at 1 year was 62.6 points for the standard chemotherapy group and 68.7 points for the concurrent-maintenance group (+4.5; 95% confidence interval, –2.0 to 11.0; P = .18). Sensitivity analyses suggested that this finding was robust to the effect of missing data, and the improvement became statistically significant after adjustments for self-reported diarrhea. CONCLUSIONS: The 6th study by the International Collaboration in Ovarian Neoplasm (ICON6) showed a significant improvement in progression-free survival with cediranib as concurrent and maintenance therapy. No QOL detriment with cediranib was found 1 year after treatment was commenced. The maintenance of QOL along with prolonged cancer control suggests that cediranib has a valuable role in the treatment of relapsed ovarian cancer

Ab-initio calculation of Kerr spectra for semi-infinite systems including multiple reflections and optical interferences

Based on Luttinger's formulation the complex optical conductivity tensor is calculated within the framework of the spin-polarized relativistic screened Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker method for layered systems by means of a contour integration technique. For polar geometry and normal incidence ab-initio Kerr spectra of multilayer systems are then obtained by including via a 2x2 matrix technique all multiple reflections between layers and optical interferences in the layers. Applications to Co|Pt5 and Pt3|Co|Pt5 on the top of a semi-infinite fcc-Pt(111) bulk substrate show good qualitative agreement with the experimental spectra, but differ from those obtained by applying the commonly used two-media approach.Comment: 32 pages (LaTeX), 5 figures (Encapsulated PostScript), submitted to Phys. Rev.