Foucauldian principles and issues of youth homelessness

In this paper, I apply Foucauldian principles, in the same manner as Townley’s (1993) work on Human Resources, to the novel field of Homelessness in the United Kingdom. I consider the housing provider-recipient relationship, together with methods employed to render the subject of homelessness discourse visible. I apply the Foucauldian concept of governmentality to this process of subjectivisation in the homelessness discourse

Measuring the internal geometry of an anastomosed synthetic blood vessel under internal pressure

For this paper, a simple inexpensive rig system was designed and two methods for imaging and measuring how a synthetic representation of an anastomosed artery deforms under internal pressure were used. An optical method with a camera and a Computed Tomography (CT)-based imaging method were used. Cylindrical samples of Natural Rubber Latex were anastomosed and subject to extension-inflation tests to represent an artery under the physiological conditions of the body. The simple rig system was designed to apply physiological levels of internal pressure to the latex tubing. The two imaging methods were used to monitor variations in the circumferential and longitudinal extension as a function of the applied pressure. The CT scanner has the additional ability to view inside the specimen and give an understanding of how the tension in the sutures affects the internal and external shape of the specimen. The two methods, optical and CT, were compared to each other and to theoretical predictions to assess the potential limitations of each of these methods. Quantifying and understanding the material properties of the synthetic representation used proved to be an imperative part of the investigation to predict and understand how the specimen would deform. In conclusion, the CT measurements were likely to provide the most reliable results. Departures in the measurements from theoretical predictions means that empirical methods should continue to be applied to studies modelling anastomosed arteries and used to improve theoretical predictions

A critical edition of the 12th century Latin epic poem Historia Vie Hierosolimitane by Gilo of Paris and a second, anonymous, poet with introduction, notes and indexes

This edition of the Historia Vie Hierosolimitane, a 12th century Latin epic poem by Gilo of Paris and a second, anonymous, poet, is based on a critical examination of the text as it is found in all the known MSS which contain the work, the relations of which are discussed and a stemma established. All variants found in the MSS are listed in an apparatus criticus at the foot of each page of the text. A survey of the orthographical variants of the MSS is also included. Notes on linguistic, literary and historical features found in the poem are detailed, together with maps and indexes. Stylistic features of the poem are examined in a prefaratory essay, and earlier works which may have influenced the poets are noted in an apparatus fontium. An examination is made of the authorship and date of the work, together with a study of the life of the known poet, Gilo of Paris. There is a tentative survey of the inter-relationships of the various primary sources of information on the First Crusade, both Latin and vernacular, and note has been taken of critical work done in this field. Special emphasis is placed on the position of Gilo and of the Charleville poet in the relationships of the different sources, and their debt to them. All work is my own, unless specifically attributed to another source. This research was undertaken with the assistance of grants from the Central Research Fund of the University of London.<p

Variation in the strength of selected codon usage bias among bacteria

Among bacteria, many species have synonymous codon usage patterns that have been influenced by natural selection for those codons that are translated more accurately and/or efficiently. However, in other species selection appears to have been ineffective. Here, we introduce a population genetics-based model for quantifying the extent to which selection has been effective. The approach is applied to 80 phylogenetically diverse bacterial species for which whole genome sequences are available. The strength of selected codon usage bias, S, is found to vary substantially among species; in 30% of the genomes examined, there was no significant evidence that selection had been effective. Values of S are highly positively correlated with both the number of rRNA operons and the number of tRNA genes. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that species exposed to selection for rapid growth have more rRNA operons, more tRNA genes and more strongly selected codon usage bias. For example, Clostridium perfringens, the species with the highest value of S, can have a generation time as short as 7 min

miRBase: microRNA sequences, targets and gene nomenclature.

The miRBase database aims to provide integrated interfaces to comprehensive microRNA sequence data, annotation and predicted gene targets. miRBase takes over functionality from the microRNA Registry and fulfils three main roles: the miRBase Registry acts as an independent arbiter of microRNA gene nomenclature, assigning names prior to publication of novel miRNA sequences. miRBase Sequences is the primary online repository for miRNA sequence data and annotation. miRBase Targets is a comprehensive new database of predicted miRNA target genes. miRBase is available at http://microrna.sanger.ac.uk/

Differences in breast cancer hormone receptor status in ethnic groups: a London population.

BACKGROUND: Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is associated with different ethnic groups in the United States (US), however this has not previously been examined in a population-based study within the United Kingdom (UK). METHODS: Electronic pathology reports from the North East London Cancer Network (NELCN) on women diagnosed with breast cancer between 2005 and 2007 were collated. The statuses of oestrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and HER-2 were extracted. Women were classified as having TNBC if all three receptor statuses were negative, and as not having TNBC if at least one receptor was positive or borderline. Logistic regression was used to quantify the association between TNBC and ethnicity, adjusting for age, year of diagnosis and socioeconomic deprivation. Overall survival in different ethnic groups was examined using Cox regression, adjusting as appropriate for age, stage of disease, triple negative status, year of diagnosis, socioeconomic deprivation and recorded treatment. RESULTS: There were 2417 women resident in NELCN diagnosed with breast cancer between 2005 and 2007, and TNBC status was determined for 1228 (51%) women. Overall, of women who had their TNBC status determined, 128 (10%) were diagnosed with TNBC. Compared with White women, Black (odds ratio [OR]=2.81, p<0.001) and South Asian (OR=1.80, p=0.044) women with breast cancer were more likely to have TNBC. Black women had a worse age-adjusted survival than White women (hazard ratio [HR]=2.05, p<0.001). This was attenuated by further adjustment for stage of disease (1.52, p=0.032) and triple negative status (1.31, p=0.175). CONCLUSION: Better methods of early detection may need to be developed in addition to more effective systemic treatment in order to improve outcomes for women with TNBC

Construction, visualisation, and clustering of transcription networks from microarray expression data.

Network analysis transcends conventional pairwise approaches to data analysis as the context of components in a network graph can be taken into account. Such approaches are increasingly being applied to genomics data, where functional linkages are used to connect genes or proteins. However, while microarray gene expression datasets are now abundant and of high quality, few approaches have been developed for analysis of such data in a network context. We present a novel approach for 3-D visualisation and analysis of transcriptional networks generated from microarray data. These networks consist of nodes representing transcripts connected by virtue of their expression profile similarity across multiple conditions. Analysing genome-wide gene transcription across 61 mouse tissues, we describe the unusual topography of the large and highly structured networks produced, and demonstrate how they can be used to visualise, cluster, and mine large datasets. This approach is fast, intuitive, and versatile, and allows the identification of biological relationships that may be missed by conventional analysis techniques. This work has been implemented in a freely available open-source application named BioLayout Express(3D)

HEG-DB: a database of predicted highly expressed genes in prokaryotic complete genomes under translational selection

The highly expressed genes database (HEG-DB) is a genomic database that includes the prediction of which genes are highly expressed in prokaryotic complete genomes under strong translational selection. The current version of the database contains general features for almost 200 genomes under translational selection, including the correspondence analysis of the relative synonymous codon usage for all genes, and the analysis of their highly expressed genes. For each genome, the database contains functional and positional information about the predicted group of highly expressed genes. This information can also be accessed using a search engine. Among other statistical parameters, the database also provides the Codon Adaptation Index (CAI) for all of the genes using the codon usage of the highly expressed genes as a reference set. The ‘Pathway Tools Omics Viewer’ from the BioCyc database enables the metabolic capabilities of each genome to be explored, particularly those related to the group of highly expressed genes. The HEG-DB is freely available at http://genomes.urv.cat/HEG-DB

The association between air pollution and type 2 diabetes in a large cross-sectional study in Leicester: The CHAMPIONS Study

Background: Observational evidence suggests there is an association between air pollution and type 2 diabetes; however, there is high risk of bias. Objective: To investigate the association between air pollution and type 2 diabetes, while reducing bias due to exposure assessment, outcome assessment, and confounder assessment. Methods: Data were collected from 10,443 participants in three diabetes screening studies in Leicestershire, UK. Exposure assessment included standard, prevailing estimates of outdoor nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter concentrations in a 1 × 1 km area at the participant's home postcode. Three-year exposure was investigated in the primary analysis and one-year exposure in a sensitivity analysis. Outcome assessment included the oral glucose tolerance test for type 2 diabetes. Confounder assessment included demographic factors (age, sex, ethnicity, smoking, area social deprivation, urban or rural location), lifestyle factors (body mass index and physical activity), and neighbourhood green space. Results: Nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter concentrations were associated with type 2 diabetes in unadjusted models. There was no statistically significant association between nitrogen dioxide concentration and type 2 diabetes after adjustment for demographic factors (odds: 1.08; 95% CI: 0.91, 1.29). The odds of type 2 diabetes was 1.10 (95% CI: 0.92, 1.32) after further adjustment for lifestyle factors and 0.91 (95% CI: 0.72, 1.16) after yet further adjustment for neighbourhood green space. The associations between particulate matter concentrations and type 2 diabetes were also explained away by demographic factors. There was no evidence of exposure definition bias. Conclusions: Demographic factors seemed to explain the association between air pollution and type 2 diabetes in this cross-sectional study. High-quality longitudinal studies are needed to improve our understanding of the association