‘Wonderful Objects’ and ‘Disagreeable Operations’: Encountering the Leverian Museum in Writing for Children, 1800‐05

The Leverian Museum was one of the eighteenth century’s most important natural history collections. While its significance has been discussed from a range of perspectives, little attention has been paid to the museum’s representation in children’s literature. This article examines two such works: The School-Room Party (1800) and Visits to the Leverian (c. 1805). Driven by pedagogic agendas, these texts suggest that the museum could challenge, as well as inform, its visitors. Focussing on the affective and ethical responses that the museum elicits, this article proposes that these works complicate and enrich current understandings of the period’s writing for children

Orbital Parameters and Chemical Composition of Four White Dwarfs in Post-Common Envelope Binaries

We present FUSE observations of the hot white dwarfs in the post-common envelope binaries Feige 24, EUVE J0720-317, BPM 6502, and EUVE J2013+400. The spectra show numerous photospheric absorption lines which trace the white dwarf orbital motion. We report the detection of C III, O VI, P V, and Si IV in the spectra of Feige 24, EUVE J0720-317 and EUVE J2013+400, and the detection of C III, N II, Si III, Si IV, and Fe III in the spectra of BPM 6502. Abundance measurements support the possibility that white dwarfs in post-common envelope binaries accrete material from the secondary star wind. The FUSE observations of BPM 6502 and EUVE J2013+400 cover a complete binary orbit. We used the FUSE spectra to measure the radial velocities traced by the white dwarf in the four binaries, where the zero-point velocity were fixed using the ISM velocities in the line of sight of the stellar systems. For BPM 6502 we determined a white dwarf velocity semi-amplitude of K_WD = 18.6+/-0.5km/s, and with the velocity semi-amplitude of the red dwarf companion (K_RD = 75.2+/-3.1 km/s), we estimate the mass ratio to be q = 0.25+/-0.01. Adopting a spectroscopic mass determination for the white dwarf, we infer a low secondary mass of M_RD = 0.14+/-0.01 M_solar. For EUVE J2013+400 we determine a white dwarf velocity semi-amplitude of K_WD = 36.7+/-0.7 km/s. The FUSE observations of EUVE J0720-317 cover approximately 30% of the binary period and combined with the HST GHRS measurements (Vennes et al. 1999, ApJ 523, 386), we update the binary properties. FUSE observations of Feige 24 cover approximately 60% of the orbit and we combine this data set with HST STIS (Vennes et al. 2000, ApJ, 544, 423) data to update the binary properties.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap

Sexual violence in post-conflict Liberia: survivors and their care.

Using routine data from three clinics offering care to survivors of sexual violence (SV) in Monrovia, Liberia, we describe the characteristics of SV survivors and the pattern of SV and discuss how the current approach could be better adapted to meet survivors' needs. There were 1500 survivors seeking SV care between January 2008 and December 2009. Most survivors were women (98%) and median age was 13 years (Interquartile range: 9-17 years). Sexual aggression occurred during day-to-day activities in 822 (55%) cases and in the survivor's home in 552 (37%) cases. The perpetrator was a known civilian in 1037 (69%) SV events. Only 619 (41%) survivors sought care within 72 h. The current approach could be improved by: effectively addressing the psychosocial needs of child survivors, reaching male survivors, targeting the perpetrators in awareness and advocacy campaigns and reducing delays in seeking care

Brown Dwarfs and the Cataclysmic Variable Period Minimum

Using improved, up-to-date stellar input physics tested against observations of low-mass stars and brown dwarfs we calculate the secular evolution of low-mass donor cataclysmic variables (CVs), including those which form with a brown dwarf donor. Our models confirm the mismatch between the calculated minimum period (Pmin ~ 70 min) and the observed short-period cut-off (~ 80 min) in the CV period histogram. We find that tidal and rotational corrections applied to the one-dimensional stellar structure equations have no significant effect on the period minimum. Theoretical period distributions synthesized from our model sequences always show an accumulation of systems at the minimum period, a feature absent from the observed distribution. We suggest that non-magnetic CVs become unobservable as they are effectively trapped in permanent quiescence before they reach Pmin, and that small-number statistics may hide the period spike for magnetic CVs.Comment: 10 pages; accepted for publication in MNRA

Glutaredoxin GRXS17 associates with the cytosolic iron-sulfur cluster assembly pathway

Cytosolic monothiol glutaredoxins (GRXs) are required in iron-sulfur (Fe-S) cluster delivery and iron sensing in yeast and mammals. In plants, it is unclear whether they have similar functions. Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) has a sole class II cytosolic monothiol GRX encoded by GRXS17. Here, we used tandem affinity purification to establish that Arabidopsis GRXS17 associates with most known cytosolic Fe-S assembly (CIA) components. Similar to mutant plants with defective CIA components, grxs17 loss-of-function mutants showed some degree of hypersensitivity to DNA damage and elevated expression of DNA damage marker genes. We also found that several putative Fe-S client proteins directly bind to GRXS17, such as XANTHINE DEHYDROGENASE1 (XDH1), involved in the purine salvage pathway, and CYTOSOLIC THIOURIDYLASE SUBUNIT1 and CYTOSOLIC THIOURIDYLASE SUBUNIT2, both essential for the 2-thiolation step of 5-methoxycarbonylmethyl-2-thiouridine (mcm5s2U) modification of tRNAs. Correspondingly, profiling of the grxs17-1 mutant pointed to a perturbed flux through the purine degradation pathway and revealed that it phenocopied mutants in the elongator subunit ELO3, essential for the mcm5 tRNA modification step, although we did not find XDH1 activity or tRNA thiolation to be markedly reduced in the grxs17-1 mutant. Taken together, our data suggest that plant cytosolic monothiol GRXs associate with the CIA complex, as in other eukaryotes, and contribute to, but are not essential for, the correct functioning of client Fe-S proteins in unchallenged conditions

Influence of building characteristics on tunnelling-induced ground movements

The interaction mechanisms between surface structures and tunnelling-induced ground movements were investigated through centrifuge testing. Although numerous studies have considered this soil–structure interaction problem, previous experiments have neglected important building characteristics and field data inherently contain numerous uncertainties related to the soil, the structure and the tunnelling procedure. Consequently, the interpretation of results and validation of computational models can be problematic. In this study, tunnelling beneath three-dimensional printed structural models with varying building characteristics (i.e. position, length and facade openings) was simulated in a centrifuge. The experimental results demonstrate that tunnelling induces soil displacements at the surface and subsurface that are notably altered due to nearby structures. Specifically, different amounts of vertical and horizontal ground movements, soil dilation and widening of settlement troughs were observed. Building distortions and horizontal building strains were also affected by the relative position of the building to the tunnel, the building length and the area of facade openings. The experimental results provide important data for the evaluation of current design methods and verification of computational models.The authors thank the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (grant EP/KP018221/1) and Crossrail for financially supporting this research

Distinct magnetic regimes through site-selective atom substitution in the frustrated quantum antiferromagnet Cs2_2CuCl4−x_{4-x}Brx_x

We report on a systematic study of the magnetic properties on single crystals of the solid solution Cs$_2$CuCl$_{4-x}$Br$_x$ (0 $\leq$ x $\leq$ 4), which include the two known end-member compounds Cs$_2$CuCl$_4$ and Cs$_2$CuBr$_4$, classified as quasi-two-dimensional quantum antiferromagnets with different degrees of magnetic frustration. By comparative measurements of the magnetic susceptibility $\chi$($T$) on as many as eighteen different Br concentrations, we found that the inplane and out-of-plane magnetic correlations, probed by the position and height of a maximum in the magnetic susceptibility, respectively, do not show a smooth variation with x. Instead three distinct concentration regimes can be identified, which are separated by critical concentrations x$_{c1}$ = 1 and x$_{c2}$ = 2. This unusual magnetic behavior can be explained by considering the structural peculiarities of the materials, especially the distorted Cu-halide tetrahedra, which support a site-selective replacement of Cl- by Br- ions. Consequently, the critical concentrations x$_{c1}$ (x$_{c2}$) mark particularly interesting systems, where one (two) halidesublattice positions are fully occupied.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure

The role of morphological markedness in the processing of number and gender agreement in Spanish: an event-related potential investigation

Current morphological theory assumes that feature values, such as masculine and feminine or singular and plural, are asymmetrically represented. That is, one member of the opposition (e.g. feminine for gender, plural for number) is assumed to be marked, and the other one, unmarked. The present study examines how these asymmetries impact agreement resolution in Spanish. Agreement was manipulated between a noun acting as head of a relative clause and an adjective located inside the relative clause (e.g. catedral que parecía inmensa “cathedral that looked huge”). Half of the nouns were feminine (marked) and the other half, masculine (unmarked). Half of the nouns were used in the plural (marked) and the other half, in the singular (unmarked). Twenty-seven Spanish native speakers read 240 sentences while their brain activity was recorded with EEG and performed a grammaticality judgment. Results showed that both number and gender violations elicited a central-posterior P600, a component associated with syntactic repair, and a late anterior negativity, argued to reflect working memory costs. Only the P600 was affected by markedness. It started earlier for violations where the mismatching feature was marked. Moreover, it was larger for errors where the mismatching feature was marked, although this amplitude modulation only emerged for number, possibly due to differences in how number and gender cues were realized (i.e. both masculine and feminine showed overt inflection, but singular was uninflected relative to plural). These results suggest that the parser is sensitive to markedness asymmetries in the course of online processing