Reactions to anarchism in the works of Maurice Barres and Georges Darien,1885-1914.

This thesis looks at the fiction of two very different authors, Maurice Barrés (1862-1923) and Georges Darien (1862-1921). Despite their posthumous reputations (Barrés the proto-fascist, Darien the anarchist individualist), the ideological and literary development of both these writers have their roots in their reactions to anarchism. In this thesis, I examine the effect these reactions to anarchism had on their status in the champ littéraire, their politics and the construction of their texts. In the opening chapter, I address the overarching issues of the nature of anarchism, political engagement and the champ littéraire of fin-de-sìècle Paris. I refer to secondary sources such as Pierre Bourdieu, Susan Rubin Suleiman and Richard Sonn to inform my inquiry. I also establish the historical framework of this period, including Boulangism, the Dreyfus Affair, nationalism and anarchism. The second chapter examines the lives and careers of Maurice Barrés and Georges Darien in the context of the champ littéraire. The following chapters all examine issues which both Barrés and Darien privileged in their fiction. The writers' treatment of the self, education, crime and corruption and national identity are discussed through a detailed comparison of two texts in each chapter. This discussion takes place within the context of both authors’ engagement with and reactions to anarchism. Throughout this thesis, my method is a close and comparative reading of selected passages taken from significant novels and didactic works

The Effects of Vagus Nerve Stimulation on Neuroinflammation in Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by chronic, unexplainable seizures. Recurring epileptic seizures are associated with long-term structural damage and cognitive deficits, and can even lead to sudden, unexplainable death. Approximately 30% of epilepsy cases are not responsive to medication. Epileptic seizures often induce inflammation in the brain and may increase the frequency of future seizures, resulting in a detrimental cycle. Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is a non-pharmaceutical treatment method for epilepsy that has been shown to reduce inflammation in peripheral pathways. The role of VNS in the modulation of neuroinflammation has yet to be demonstrated experimentally. To explore this, several cuff electrodes were attached to the left vagus nerve in an epileptic rodent model. The electrodes will deliver a biphasic square waveform continuously for up to two weeks and record the resulting action potentials from the nerve. Immunohistochemistry will be used to evaluate microglial activation in the hippocampus, an indicator of neuroinflammation. The anticipated results will show whether continuous stimulation of the left vagus nerve effectively reduces microglial activation in the hippocampus of the epileptic rodents. If so, these results would suggest that inflammation in the brain can be effectively modulated using VNS, thereby reducing structural and cognitive damage as well as seizure recurrence. In this way, VNS could be an effective and reliable treatment method for epileptic patients who are not responsive to medication

Making infection prevention and control everyone’s business?:Hospital staff views on patient involvement

Context Ensuring an infection‐free environment is increasingly seen as requiring the contribution of staff, patients and visitors. There is limited evidence, however, about how staff feel about collaborating with patients and relatives to co‐produce that environment. Aims This study aims to understand how hospital staff perceive the involvement of patients and relatives in infection prevention and control (IPC) and the main challenges for staff in working together with patients and relatives to reduce the threat of infection. Methods Qualitative semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 35 frontline health‐care professionals and four executive staff, from two hospital trusts. Findings We found that staff were more supportive of approaches that encourage co‐operation from patients and relatives, than of interventions that invoked confrontation. We identified challenges to involvement arising from staff concerns about shifting responsibility for IPC onto patients. Staff were not always able to work with patients to control infection risks as some patients themselves created and perpetuated those risks. Conclusions Our work highlights that IPC has particular features that impact on the possibilities for involving patients and relatives at the point of care. Staff acknowledge tensions between the drive to involve patients and respect their autonomy, and their duty to protect patients from risk of unseen harm. The role that patients and relatives can play in IPC is fluctuating and context dependent. Staff responsibility for protecting patients from the risk of infection may sometimes need to take priority over prerogatives to involve patients and relatives in the co‐production of IPC

Evaluation of an Australian indigenous housing programme: community level impact on crowding, infrastructure function and hygiene

Background and Aim: Housing programmes in indigenous Australian communities have focused largely on achieving good standards of infrastructure function. The impact of this approach was assessed on three potentially important housing-related influences on child health at the community level: (1) crowding, (2) the functional state of the house infrastructure and (3) the hygienic condition of the houses.\ud \ud Methods: A before-and-after study, including house infrastructure surveys and structured interviews with the main householder, was conducted in all homes of young children in 10 remote Australian indigenous communities.\ud \ud Results: Compared with baseline, follow-up surveys showed (1) a small non-significant decrease in the mean number of people per bedroom in the house on the night before the survey (3.4, 95% CI 3.1 to 3.6 at baseline vs 3.2, 95% CI 2.9 to 3.4 at follow-up; natural logarithm transformed t test, t=1.3, p=0.102); (2) a marginally significant overall improvement in infrastructure function scores (Kruskal–Wallis test, χ2=3.9, p=0.047); and (3) no clear overall improvement in hygiene (Kruskal–Wallis test, χ2=0.3, p=0.605).\ud \ud Conclusion: Housing programmes of this scale that focus on the provision of infrastructure alone appear unlikely to lead to more hygienic general living environments, at least in this study context. A broader ecological approach to housing programmes delivered in these communities is needed if potential health benefits are to be maximised. This ecological approach would require a balanced programme of improving access to health hardware, hygiene promotion and creating a broader enabling environment in communities.\u