Young peoples' views of online historical archives

Digitized collections are ‘a rich source of instructional material for history teachers’ [1 p314] but it has been noted these ‘remained largely underused’. There is ‘a growing interest in both improving the user experience and in justifying the creation of digital collections to multiple stakeholders’ [2 p339]. Within the UK an estimated £130m has been invested in digitisation projects [3]. Re-cent changes to the UK National Curriculum for history have placed greater emphasis upon the importance of understanding methods of historical enquiry and the use of evidence. Therefore, the digitized collections created by this investment should be a vital classroom tool. This study set out to investigate within the UK the level of awareness of these resources and their value to young learners aged 8-16 years. There were two stages to this qualitative study. Stage one was the delivery of a workshop which introduced young learners to a range of digital archives. After this the young people were given a period of time to use the online archives and explore the difference forms of historical evidence. Stage two involved focus groups with a sample of the young people during which participants were asked to discuss their end-user experience. Key findings included enhanced personal learning experience, development of a personal connection to the past, and identification of issues related to usability and practical application in a classroom learning context

Motivated proteins: a web application for studying small three-dimensional protein motifs

<b>BACKGROUND:</b> Small loop-shaped motifs are common constituents of the three-dimensional structure of proteins. Typically they comprise between three and seven amino acid residues, and are defined by a combination of dihedral angles and hydrogen bonding partners. The most abundant of these are alphabeta-motifs, asx-motifs, asx-turns, beta-bulges, beta-bulge loops, beta-turns, nests, niches, Schellmann loops, ST-motifs, ST-staples and ST-turns.We have constructed a database of such motifs from a range of high-quality protein structures and built a web application as a visual interface to this. <b>DESCRIPTION:</b> The web application, Motivated Proteins, provides access to these 12 motifs (with 48 sub-categories) in a database of over 400 representative proteins. Queries can be made for specific categories or sub-categories of motif, motifs in the vicinity of ligands, motifs which include part of an enzyme active site, overlapping motifs, or motifs which include a particular amino acid sequence. Individual proteins can be specified, or, where appropriate, motifs for all proteins listed. The results of queries are presented in textual form as an (X)HTML table, and may be saved as parsable plain text or XML. Motifs can be viewed and manipulated either individually or in the context of the protein in the Jmol applet structural viewer. Cartoons of the motifs imposed on a linear representation of protein secondary structure are also provided. Summary information for the motifs is available, as are histograms of amino acid distribution, and graphs of dihedral angles at individual positions in the motifs. <b>CONCLUSION:</b> Motivated Proteins is a publicly and freely accessible web application that enables protein scientists to study small three-dimensional motifs without requiring knowledge of either Structured Query Language or the underlying database schem

Probing Density Fluctuations using the FIRST Radio Survey

We use results of angular clustering measurements in 3000 sq. deg's of the FIRST radio survey to infer information on spatial clustering. Measurements are compared with CDM-model predictions. Clustering of FIRST sources with optical ID's in the APM catalog are also investigated. Finally, we outline a preliminary search for a weak lensing signal in the survey.Comment: 6 pages latex, 2 figures, to appear in Cosmology with the New Radio Surveys (Kluwer

A High Deuterium Abundance at z=0.7

Of the light elements, the primordial abundance of deuterium, (D/H)_p, provides the most sensitive diagnostic for the cosmological mass density parameter Omega_B. Recent high redshift (D/H) measurements are highly discrepant, although this may reflect observational uncertainties. The larger (D/H) values, which imply a low Omega_B and require the Universe to be dominated by non-baryonic matter (dynamical studies indicate a higher total density parameter), cause problems for galactic chemical evolution models since they have difficulty in reproducing the large decline down to the lower present-day (D/H). Conversely, low (D/H) values imply an Omega_B greater than derived from ^7Li and ^4He abundance measurements, and may require a deuterium abundance evolution that is too low to easily explain. Here we report the first measurement at intermediate redshift, where the observational difficulties are smaller, of a gas cloud with ideal characteristics for this experiment. Our analysis of the z = 0.7010 absorber toward 1718+4807 indicates (D/H) = 2.0 +/- 0.5 x 10^{-4} which is in the high range. This and other independent observations suggests there may be a cosmological inhomogeneity in (D/H)_p of at least a factor of ten.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figur

Sebaceous adenitis in Swedish dogs, a retrospective study of 104 cases

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Sebaceous adenitis (SA) is an uncommon, immune mediated skin disease in dogs. The aim was to retrospectively investigate SA in dogs in Sweden with respect to breed, sex and age distribution. A second aim was to retrospectively compare clinical signs in dogs with generalized SA and to estimate the survival after diagnosis in the English springer spaniel, standard poodle and the akita.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In total 34 Swedish veterinarians contributed with 104 clinically and histologically verified SA cases. Breed, gender and age at diagnosis were registered for each case. The degree of clinical signs at time for diagnosis and at follow-up and information about treatments, concurrent diseases and euthanasia were recorded for the springer spaniels, standard poodles and akitas using a standardized questionnaire.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 104 cases of SA were included; most cases were recorded for the springer spaniel (n = 25), standard poodle (n = 21) and the akita (n = 10). These three breeds, together with the lhasa apso and the chow-chow, were the most common when national registry data from the Swedish Board of Agriculture and Swedish Kennel Club were considered. The mean age at diagnosis was 4.8 years. The proportion of males was 61%. When the springer spaniels, standard poodles and the akitas with generalized signs were compared (n = 51), the spaniels showed significantly more severe clinical signs than the poodles at diagnosis regarding alopecia, seborrhoea, pyoderma and the overall severity of clinical signs. At follow-up, the degree of clinical signs for otitis externa and pyoderma differed significantly between the breeds. The estimated median survival time was 42 months.</p> <p>In dogs where data regarding survival was available at the end of the study (n = 44), SA was reported to be the reason for euthanasia in 14 dogs, whereof 7 within 24 months after diagnosis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The result of this study implicates that the English springer spaniel is a breed predisposed to SA and that it has more severe clinical signs than the standard poodle. A large proportion of the dogs (spaniel, poodle and akita) investigated regarding survival were reported to have been euthanized to great extent due to the disease.</p

Rising Population Cost for Treating People Living with HIV in the UK, 1997-2013

Background The number of people living with HIV (PLHIV) is increasing in the UK. This study estimated the annual population cost of providing HIV services in the UK, 1997–2006 and projected them 2007–2013. Methods Annual cost of HIV treatment for PLHIV by stage of HIV infection and type of ART was calculated (UK pounds, 2006 prices). Population costs were derived by multiplying the number of PLHIV by their annual cost for 1997–2006 and projected 2007–2013. Results Average annual treatment costs across all stages of HIV infection ranged from £17,034 in 1997 to £18,087 in 2006 for PLHIV on mono-therapy and from £27,649 in 1997 to £32,322 in 2006 for those on quadruple-or-more ART. The number of PLHIV using NHS services rose from 16,075 to 52,083 in 2006 and was projected to increase to 78,370 by 2013. Annual population cost rose from £104 million in 1997 to £483 million in 2006, with a projected annual cost between £721 and £758 million by 2013. When including community care costs, costs increased from £164 million in 1997, to £683 million in 2006 and between £1,019 and £1,065 million in 2013. Conclusions Increased number of PLHIV using NHS services resulted in rising UK population costs. Population costs are expected to continue to increase, partly due to PLHIV's longer survival on ART and the relative lack of success of HIV preventing programs. Where possible, the cost of HIV treatment and care needs to be reduced without reducing the quality of services, and prevention programs need to become more effective. While high income countries are struggling to meet these increasing costs, middle- and lower-income countries with larger epidemics are likely to find it even more difficult to meet these increasing demands, given that they have fewer resources

The Stacked-Ellipse Algorithm: An Ultrasound-Based 3-D Uterine Segmentation Tool for Enabling Adaptive Radiotherapy for Uterine Cervix Cancer.

The stacked-ellipse (SE) algorithm was developed to rapidly segment the uterus on 3-D ultrasound (US) for the purpose of enabling US-guided adaptive radiotherapy (RT) for uterine cervix cancer patients. The algorithm was initialised manually on a single sagittal slice to provide a series of elliptical initialisation contours in semi-axial planes along the uterus. The elliptical initialisation contours were deformed according to US features such that they conformed to the uterine boundary. The uterus of 15 patients was scanned with 3-D US using the Clarity System (Elekta Ltd.) at multiple days during RT and manually contoured (n = 49 images and corresponding contours). The median (interquartile range) Dice similarity coefficient and mean surface-to-surface-distance between the SE algorithm and manual contours were 0.80 (0.03) and 3.3 (0.2) mm, respectively, which are within the ranges of reported inter-observer contouring variabilities. The SE algorithm could be implemented in adaptive RT to precisely segment the uterus on 3-D US

Dispelling urban myths about default uncertainty factors in chemical risk assessment - Sufficient protection against mixture effects?

© 2013 Martin et al.; licensee BioMed Central LtdThis article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Assessing the detrimental health effects of chemicals requires the extrapolation of experimental data in animals to human populations. This is achieved by applying a default uncertainty factor of 100 to doses not found to be associated with observable effects in laboratory animals. It is commonly assumed that the toxicokinetic and toxicodynamic sub-components of this default uncertainty factor represent worst-case scenarios and that the multiplication of those components yields conservative estimates of safe levels for humans. It is sometimes claimed that this conservatism also offers adequate protection from mixture effects. By analysing the evolution of uncertainty factors from a historical perspective, we expose that the default factor and its sub-components are intended to represent adequate rather than worst-case scenarios. The intention of using assessment factors for mixture effects was abandoned thirty years ago. It is also often ignored that the conservatism (or otherwise) of uncertainty factors can only be considered in relation to a defined level of protection. A protection equivalent to an effect magnitude of 0.001-0.0001% over background incidence is generally considered acceptable. However, it is impossible to say whether this level of protection is in fact realised with the tolerable doses that are derived by employing uncertainty factors. Accordingly, it is difficult to assess whether uncertainty factors overestimate or underestimate the sensitivity differences in human populations. It is also often not appreciated that the outcome of probabilistic approaches to the multiplication of sub-factors is dependent on the choice of probability distributions. Therefore, the idea that default uncertainty factors are overly conservative worst-case scenarios which can account both for the lack of statistical power in animal experiments and protect against potential mixture effects is ill-founded. We contend that precautionary regulation should provide an incentive to generate better data and recommend adopting a pragmatic, but scientifically better founded approach to mixture risk assessment. © 2013 Martin et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.Oak Foundatio

A Systematic Review of Mosquito Coils and Passive Emanators: Defining Recommendations for Spatial Repellency Testing Methodologies.

Mosquito coils, vaporizer mats and emanators confer protection against mosquito bites through the spatial action of emanated vapor or airborne pyrethroid particles. These products dominate the pest control market; therefore, it is vital to characterize mosquito responses elicited by the chemical actives and their potential for disease prevention. The aim of this review was to determine effects of mosquito coils and emanators on mosquito responses that reduce human-vector contact and to propose scientific consensus on terminologies and methodologies used for evaluation of product formats that could contain spatial chemical actives, including indoor residual spraying (IRS), long lasting insecticide treated nets (LLINs) and insecticide treated materials (ITMs). PubMed, (National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), U.S. National Library of Medicine, NIH), MEDLINE, LILAC, Cochrane library, IBECS and Armed Forces Pest Management Board Literature Retrieval System search engines were used to identify studies of pyrethroid based coils and emanators with key-words "Mosquito coils" "Mosquito emanators" and "Spatial repellents". It was concluded that there is need to improve statistical reporting of studies, and reach consensus in the methodologies and terminologies used through standardized testing guidelines. Despite differing evaluation methodologies, data showed that coils and emanators induce mortality, deterrence, repellency as well as reduce the ability of mosquitoes to feed on humans. Available data on efficacy outdoors, dose-response relationships and effective distance of coils and emanators is inadequate for developing a target product profile (TPP), which will be required for such chemicals before optimized implementation can occur for maximum benefits in disease control