The employment of foreign mercenary troops in the French royal armies, 1415-1470

In the early years of the fifteenth century, the impact of English invasion, civil war and military defeat forced the French monarchy to seek military assistance from its allies abroad. Large numbers of men from this source served in French armies throughout the century, and this thesis sets out to examine this rather neglected phenomenon. The first part is a chronological survey of the history of this involvement, which can be divided into three phases. In the first, large foreign armies operated as separate units alongside the French and were involved in the major battles of the period such as Bauge, Cravant and Verneuil. After the siege of Orleans, these arm~es broke up into a host of smaller companies without any close central organisation and only under very limited royal control. After the reforms of 1445, the system of Compagnies d'Ordonnance restored this and tied the soldiers into the royal patronage network, giving the king a theorexical monopoly of organised military force. In the second half, various themes are studied in more detail; the close involvement of French diplomacy with matters of recruitment, the or~g~ns of the soldiers and the potential rewards and problems which service of the French crown might bring them. It then studies the alternatives to royal serv~ce, the problems of discipline and the political dangers which these posed. A re-examination of the actual effects of the 1445 reforms leads into an attempt to comprehend the realities of the life of soldier and captain on a day to day basis, concluding with an e~~ination of the relationship between the soldiers and the native French population. The thesis concludes that the role of foreign troops in sustaining the Valois dynasty was considerable and their experiences illuminate the realities of military service in the later middle ages

Vaccination reduces the viral load and the risk of transmission of Jembrana disease virus in Bali cattle

The efficacy of a tissue-derived vaccine, which is currently used in Indonesia to control the spread of Jembrana disease in Bali cattle, was determined by quantifying the viral load in plasma following experimental infection with Jembrana disease virus. Virus transmission is most likely to occur during the acute phase of infection when viral titers are greater than 106 genomes/ml. Vaccinated cattle were found to have a 96% reduction in viral load above this threshold compared to control cattle. This would reduce the chance of virus transmission as the number of days above the threshold in the vaccinated cattle was reduced by 33%. Viral loads at the onset and resolution of fever were significantly lower in the vaccinated cattle and immune function was maintained with the development of antibody responses to Env proteins within 10-24 days post challenge. There was, however, no significant reduction in the duration of the febrile period in vaccinated animals. The duration and severity of clinical parameters were found to be variable within each group of cattle but the quantification of viral load revealed the benefits of vaccinating to reduce the risk of virus transmission as well as to ameliorate disease

Observing Data-Driven Approaches to Covid-19: Reflections from a Distributed, Remote, Interdisciplinary Research Project

The Observatory for Monitoring Data-Driven Approaches to Covid-19 (OMDDAC) is an Arts and Humanities Research Council funded research project investigating data-driven approaches to Covid-19, focused upon legal, ethical, policy and operational challenges. The project is a collaboration between Northumbria University (Law School, Department of Computing and Information Sciences, Department of Mathematics) and the Royal United Services Institute, a defence and security think-tank, and aims to carry out integrated interdisciplinary research, regarded as the most challenging type of interdisciplinarity but where the outputs can be the most impactful. Due to the constraints of the pandemic, the project has been carried out in a fully distributed and remote manner, with some team members never having met in person. The subject of the research is continually changing and developing, creating unique project management issues, with the impact of the pandemic pervasive in the lives of the researchers. This article takes the form of a series of reflections from the points of view of individual project researchers – the specialist legal researcher, the think-tank Co-Investigator, the post-doctoral researcher, statistical and data science researchers, and the Principal Investigator – and organised under two main themes - project management and internal communication; and methodologies/interdisciplinary research. We thus draw out lessons for future remote and distributed research, focused upon interdisciplinarity, the benefits and challenges of remote research methodologies, and issues of collegiality. Finally, we warn that it will be a false economy for universities and funders to assume that research projects can continue to be conducted in a mainly remote manner and therefore, that budgetary savings can be made by reducing time allocations, travel and academic networking

Data-Driven Responses to COVID-19: Lessons Learned: OMDDAC Research Compendium

Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council under the UKRI COVID-19 Rapid Response call, the Observatory for Monitoring Data-Driven Approaches to COVID-19 (OMDDAC) is a collaboration between Northumbria University and the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). This project has involved a multidisciplinary team of researchers (with expertise in the law on technology, data protection, and medicine as well as practical ethics, computer science, data science, applied statistics in health, technology and security studies and behavioural science) to investigate the legal, ethical, policy and operationalchallenges encountered in relation to key data-driven responses to the pandemic.The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the consideration of several priorities in the data and technology space, which are reflected in the UK Government’s present strategies. The National Data Strategy, in particular, pledges to take account of the lessons learned from the COVID-19 response and draw uponthe UK’s values of transparency, accountability and inclusion. Seeking to inform the lessons learned from the pandemic, the project used a mixed-methods research design that included case study analysis, interviews with key stakeholders (individuals with relevant expertise and/or experience in relation to the data-driven pandemic response), representative public surveys, and engagement with young people through a children’s rights charity. OMDDAC has published four snapshot reports focused on data-driven public policy, tech-driven approaches to public health, policing and public safety and key findings from the public perceptions survey. The emerging issues identified in those reports align closely with the four pillars of the National Data Strategy, which form the framework for this final project report:1. Data Foundations (data quality issues and infrastructure);2. Data Skills (data literacy of decision-makers);3. Data Availability (data sharing); and4. Responsibility (law, ethics, transparency, and public trust)

OMDDAC Practitioner Guidelines

These practitioner guidelines are presented by the AHRC funded ‘Observatory for Monitoring Data-Driven Approaches to COVID-19’ (OMDDAC) project. OMDDAC is a collaboration between Northumbria University and the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), researching the data-driven approaches to COVID-19, with a focus upon legal, ethical, policy and operational challenges. OMDDAC has analysed key data-driven responses to COVID-19, collating lessons learned in ‘real time’ throughout the pandemic by way of representative public surveys, case study analysis and interviews with key stakeholders from a range of sectors (including local and central government, regulators, law enforcement, the medical and legal profession, charities and the third sector, the private sector, and an interdisciplinary range of academics). These practitioner guidelines have been informed by our research findings. The guidelines are relevant specifically to practitioners who work with data in the health and social care sector and in the law enforcement sector

Spacer devices for inhaled therapy: why use them, and how?

We present an extensive review of the literature to date pertaining to the rationale for using a spacer/valved holding chamber (VHC) to deliver inhaled therapy from a pressurised, metered-dose inhaler, a discussion of how the properties of individual devices may vary according to their physical characteristics and materials of manufacture, the potential risks and benefits of ancillaries such as valves, and the evidence that they contribute tangibly to the delivery of therapy. We also reiterate practical recommendations for the correct usage and maintenance of spacers/VHCs, which we trust offer practical help and advice to patients and healthcare professionals alike

Antibody-Based Sensors: Principles, Problems and Potential for Detection of Pathogens and Associated Toxins

Antibody-based sensors permit the rapid and sensitive analysis of a range of pathogens and associated toxins. A critical assessment of the implementation of such formats is provided, with reference to their principles, problems and potential for ‘on-site’ analysis. Particular emphasis is placed on the detection of foodborne bacterial pathogens, such as Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes, and additional examples relating to the monitoring of fungal pathogens, viruses, mycotoxins, marine toxins and parasites are also provided

The development of recombinant vaccines against Jembrana disease

Jembrana disease virus (JDV) is a lentivirus causing an acute infection with a 17% case fatality rate in Bali cattle in Indonesia. Control of the disease is currently achieved by identification of infected areas and restriction of cattle movement. A detergent-inactivated whole virus tissue-derived vaccine is sometimes employed in affected areas. This thesis reports initial attempts to produce genetically engineered vaccines to replace the inactivated tissue-derived vaccine, which as it is made from homogenised spleen of infected animals, is expensive to produce and could contain adventitious agents present in the donor animals. 4 potential DNA vaccine constructs were created containing the JDV genes coding for the Tat, capsid (CA), transmembrane (TM) and surface unit (SU) proteins in a commercially available vaccine plasmid. These were assessed for functionality in a range of in vitro and in vivo assays. All proteins were expressed in vitro and administration of 2 of the constructs by a commercial 'gene gun' into the epidermis of mice resulted in antibody production to the appropriate protein. Due to the difficulties of licensing such a DNA vaccine in Indonesia, these vaccines were not progressed further. A mathematical model was developed to describe the progression of the acute phase of Jembrana disease following experimental infection with JDV. The model divided the disease into 6 phases based on the rates of viral replication and clearance calculated from data on sequential plasma viral RNA load detected by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. This allowed statistical comparison of each phase of the disease and comparison of the severity of the disease process in groups of animals. The use of the model overcame the difficulty of comparing the disease in different animals as a consequence of the animal-to-animal variation in the disease process. The mathematical model was used to identify differences in the pathogenicity of 2 strains of JDV. One strain, JDVTAB caused a more rapid onset of disease in non-vaccinated controls, a significantly higher virus load at the onset of the febrile period and a higher peak viraemia than in animals infected with JDVPUL. This provided the first evidence of variation in pathogenicity of JDV strains. The measurement of virus load also demonstrated that some JDV infected animals developed a clinical disease that was not typical of that which had been reported previously. When infected with less than 1,000 infectious virus particles, up to 20% of infected animals failed to develop a febrile response. Infection of these animals was confirmed, however, by the detection of a high titre of circulating virus particles in plasma. These atypical infections had not been reported previously. Application of the mathematical model describing the progression of the disease in individual animals was used to examine the effect of vaccination with the inactivated tissue-derived vaccine on the progression of the disease. Several effects were noted in vaccinated animals that were subsequently infected with JDV: a reduction in the duration of the febrile response, a reduction in the severity of the febrile response in the early phases of the acute disease, and a reduction in virus load in the early and later phases of the disease process. The effect of vaccination with recombinant Tat, matrix (MA) and CA protein vaccines expressed in a bacterial expression system on subsequent JDV infection was also examined. A vaccine incorporating recombinant Tat and CA vaccine emulsified with Freund's incomplete adjuvant decreased the febrile response particularly in the later stages of the acute disease process, decreased the severity of the leucopenia in the later phases of the acute disease, and decreased the virus load in some but not all phases of the acute disease process. Vaccines administered with Freund's incomplete adjuvant were more efficacious than vaccines administered with QuilA, the latter actually exacerbating the disease process in vaccinated animals

Vector of Trypanosoma copemani identified as Ixodes sp.

A total of 41 ticks were collected from 15 quokkas on Bald Island and 2 ticks from a Gilbert's potoroo from Two Peoples Bay. Three species of Ixodid ticks Ixodes australiensis, Ixodes hirsti and Ixodes myrmecobii were identified on the quokkas known to have a high prevalence of Trypanosoma copemani. Tick faeces from ticks isolated from 8 individual quokkas and a Gilbert's potoroo were examined with one identified as positive for trypanosomes. Faecal examination revealed trypanosomes similar to in vitro life-cycle stages of T. copemani. In total 12 ticks were dissected and trypanosomes found in sections of their midgut and haemolymph, 49 and 117 days after collection. Tick faeces, salivary glands and midguts from I. australiensis were screened using an 18S rRNA PCR with amplification seen only from the midguts. Sequencing showed 100% homology to T. copemani (genotype A) and 99.9% homology to the wombat (AII) isolate of T. copemani. Trypanosomes were only detected in I. australiensis as neither I. hirsti nor I. myrmecobii survived the initial 30-day storage conditions. We therefore identify a vector for T. copemani as I. australiensis and, given the detection of trypanosomes in the faeces, suggest that transmission is via the faecal-oral route