Pope Gregory X and the crusades

PhDThis study examines the crusading movement during the reign of Pope Gregory X in the latter part of the thirteenth century, before the Latin presence in the Levant came to an end. It seeks to demonstrate the important position of this little-known pope, who formed the bridge between what can now be seen as two separate eras in the crusading period, namely, the era of the traditional passagium generale, and the ‘new’ era of the passagium particulare. To do this, it will study Western and Muslim sources to understand the condition of the Holy Land during Gregory’s pontificate to see the effect it had on the manner in which he organised his crusade, using both traditional and ‘new’ methods. By drawing on sources from crusading in Iberia, it will show that Gregory approached the crusade flexibly, and was not, as commonly described by historians, wholly obsessed with the Holy Land. It also seeks to dispel one of the more popular myths surrounding Gregory, which is that he wanted to change the government of the kingdom of Jerusalem by putting Charles of Anjou in charge there. A study of the Angevin chancery records – little used by crusade historians – will demonstrate that it was not Gregory’s idea, but rather Charles’ own. Finally, using Gregory’s papal registers and chronicle evidence, this study will attempt to imagine the crusade that would have occurred had Gregory not died prematurely. This includes a discussion of the unprecedented scope of its recruitment as evidence of Gregory’s exceptional ability as a crusade organiser, as well as the evidence and reasons for a dramatic change in direction away from Egypt.Overseas research Students Awards Scheme provided by the British Council

Using Income Contingent Loans for the Financing of the Next Million Australian Solar Rooftops

Rooftop solar systems have two major benefits: a reduction of carbon emissions (a public good) and future energy bill savings for consumers. However, the availability of solar energy systems to low-income households is constrained by access to finance for the initial investment cost, an issue which could potentially be addressed with the use of income contingent loans (ICLs). By applying unconditional quantile econometric methods to HILDA income data we illustrate that for a $10,000 loan for home owners ICLs can be used with little or no cost to government to help finance the next one million solar energy devices.The authors wish to acknowledge financial support for this project from the ACTEW AGL Endowment Fund Grant 2014

Revisiting the hyperdominance of Neotropical tree species under a taxonomic, functional and evolutionary perspective

Recent studies have leveraged large datasets from plot-inventory networks to report a phenomenon of hyperdominance in Amazonian tree communities, concluding that few species are common and many are rare. However, taxonomic hypotheses may not be consistent across these large plot networks, potentially masking cryptic diversity and threatened rare taxa. In the current study, we have reviewed one of the most abundant putatively hyperdominant taxa, Protium heptaphyllum (Aubl.) Marchand (Burseraceae), long considered to be a taxonomically difficult species complex. Using morphological, genomic, and functional data, we present evidence that P. heptaphyllum sensu lato may represent eight separately evolving lineages, each warranting species status. Most of these lineages are geographically restricted, and few if any of them could be considered hyperdominant on their own. In addition, functional trait data are consistent with the hypothesis that trees from each lineage are adapted to distinct soil and climate conditions. Moreover, some of the newly discovered species are rare, with habitats currently experiencing rapid deforestation. We highlight an urgent need to improve sampling and methods for species discovery in order to avoid oversimplified assumptions regarding diversity and rarity in the tropics and the implications for ecosystem functioning and conservation

Inclusive neutron cross-sections at forward angles from Nb Nb and Au Au collisions at 800-MeV/nucleon

Inclusive neutron spectra were measured at 0°, 4°, 8°, 15°, 30°, and 42° from Nb-Nb and Au-Au collisions at 800 MeV/nucleon. A peak that originates from neutron evaporation from the projectile appears in the spectra at angles out to 8°. The shapes and magnitudes of the spectra are compared with those calculated from models of nucleus-nucleus collisions. The differential cross sections for Au-Au collisions are about four times those for Nb-Nb collisions. The predictions of the Vlasov-Uehling-Uhlenbeck (VUU) and QMD theories agree with the angular distributions of the differential cross sections except at small angles; the VUU prediction overestimates the angular distributions from a few degrees to about 20°, whereas the QMD prediction underestimates the angular distributions below 8°. The Firestreak model overestimates the angular distribution for Nb-Nb collisions and underestimates it for Au-Au collisions. Also, the VUU and QMD models agree with the measured double-differential cross sections in more angular and energy regions than the Firestreak and intranuclear cascade models; however, none of the models can account for the peaks at small angles (θ≤15°)

Best friends: children use mutual gaze to identify friendships in others

This study examined children’s ability to use mutual eye gaze as a cue to friendships in others. In Experiment 1, following a discussion about friendship, 4-, 5-, and 6-year-olds were shown animations in which three cartoon children looked at one another, and were told that one target character had a best friend. Although all age groups accurately detected the mutual gaze between the target and another character, only 5- and 6-year-olds used this cue to infer friendship. Experiment 2 replicated the effect with 5- and 6-year-olds when the target character was not explicitly identified. Finally, in Experiment 3, where the attribution of friendship could only be based on synchronized mutual gaze, 6-year-olds made this attribution, while 4- and 5-year-olds did not. Children occasionally referred to mutual eye gaze when asked to justify their responses in Experiments 2 and 3, but it was only by the age of 6 that reference to these cues correlated with the use of mutual gaze in judgements of affiliation. Although younger children detected mutual gaze, it was not until 6 years of age that children reliably detected and justified mutual gaze as a cue to friendship

Intravenous vortioxetine to accelerate onset of effect in major depressive disorder: a 7-day randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled exploratory study

Publisher Copyright: © 2020 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. All rights reserved. Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.This 7-day randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled fixed-dose study (NCT03766867) explored the potential for accelerating the onset of antidepressant efficacy of single-dose intravenous (IV) vortioxetine at oral vortioxetine treatment initiation. Patients (ages 18-65 years) hospitalized per standard-of-care with major depressive disorder, who were currently treated with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor or serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor for a major depressive episode [Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) total score ≥ 30], received one dose of single-blind IV placebo (1-day placebo lead-in period) before being randomly switched to either single-dose IV vortioxetine 25 mg plus daily oral vortioxetine 10 mg (n = 39), or IV placebo plus daily oral placebo (n = 41). In the placebo lead-in period, patients improved slightly by 0.6 MADRS-6 point; however, at day 1 after randomization, both treatment groups had improved by approximately 3 MADRS-6 points (mean difference =-0.8; P = 0.263), the study thus not meeting its primary endpoint. Similar results were seen for other outcomes except a numerically larger improvement in anxiety symptoms with vortioxetine vs placebo. Pharmacokinetic data confirmed that IV vortioxetine facilitated reaching steady-state plasma concentration within 24 h. IV plus oral vortioxetine was well tolerated, with low levels of nausea as the most common adverse event.publishersversionPeer reviewe

High-precision optical-frequency dissemination on branching optical-fiber networks

We present a technique for the simultaneous dissemination of high-precision optical-frequency signals to multiple independent remote sites on a branching optical-fiber network. The technique corrects optical-fiber length fluctuations at the output of the link, rather than at the input as is conventional. As the transmitted optical signal remains unaltered until it reaches the remote site, it can be transmitted simultaneously to multiple remote sites on an arbitrarily complex branching network. This technique maintains the same servo-loop bandwidth limit as in conventional techniques and is compatible with active telecommunication links.Sascha W. Schediwy, David Gozzard, Kenneth G. H. Baldwin, Brian J. Orr, R. Bruce Warrington, Guido Aben and Andre N. Luite

Prospective study of the feasibility of point-of-care testing strategy for carbapenem-resistant organism detection

Background/aims: In an investigator-initiated, prospective study, we evaluated the feasibility of a five-gene sequence point-of-care (POC) testing strategy (Xpert CARBA-R Assay, Cepheid Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, USA), compared to reference laboratory PCR (48 – 72 hours turnaround time, two gene sequences), in patients undergoing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and in a hospital outbreak investigation. Methods: After informed consent, patients undergoing ERCP (September 2015 – April 2016, n = 191) at Mayo Clinic and potential hospital contacts (n = 9) of an index carbapenem-resistant organism (CRO)-positive inpatient were included. Two rectal swabs, one each for reference and POC assays were obtained. The Xpert CARBA-R Assay enables qualitative rapid detection of five beta-lactamase gene sequences associated with carbapenem-non-susceptibility in Gram-negative bacteria. Feasibility parameters (specimen processing and assay run time, ease of use) and percent agreement between the tests were calculated using JMP Pro11 (SAS Corp, Cary, NC, USA). Results: Mean age was 62 ± 15 years; 108 (54 %) were male. Both tests were successfully performed in all patients. The POC test was rated by endoscopy nurses as easy/very easy to conduct in 193 patients (97 %); median assay run time and median time for specimen collection and processing were 55 minutes (interquartile range IQR: 53 – 55 minutes) and 3 minutes (IQR: 3 – 6 minutes), respectively. In 200/201 (99.5 %) tests, there was agreement between the POC and reference PCR. Conclusions: The more comprehensive POC CRO testing of patients in the endoscopy suite is feasible and results are available in \u3c 1 hour. This strategy may enable rapid risk stratification of duodenoscope exposure to CRO and potentially improve operational efficiency and decrease costs