The Making of the Early Modern British Fairy Tradition

ABSTRACTThis review is intended to examine the development of representations of elves and fairies in British culture between the twelfth and the seventeenth centuries. It will argue that a very clear two-stage evolution in those representations can be found in literary sources, from an inchoate range found in different kinds of text, with no apparent collective identity, to a coherent sense of a kingdom, to which the common word ‘fairy’ could be applied, to an intense interest in, and discussion of, the nature of fairies. The first development occurred in the late middle ages, and the second after the Reformation, and both were pan-British phenomena. These literary changes were, moreover, paralleled at each stage, and perhaps responsible for, changes in perception in culture at large. The alterations in representations of these non-human beings, with no clear status in Christian theology, may have wider implications for an understanding of late medieval and early modern cultural history.</jats:p

Modelling treatment, age- and gender-specific recovery in acute injury studies

Background: Acute injury studies often measure physical ability repeatedly over time through scores that have a finite range. This can result in a faster score change at the beginning of the study than towards the end, motivating the investigation of the rate of change. Additionally, the bounds of the score and their dependence on covariates are often of interest. Methods: We argue that transforming bounded data is not satisfactory in some settings. Motivated by the Collaborative Ankle Support Trial (CAST), which investigated different methods of immobilisation for severe ankle sprains, we developed a model under the assumption that the recovery rate at a specific time is proportional to the current score and the remaining score. This model enables a direct interpretation of the covariate effects. We have re-analyzed the CAST data using these improved methods, and explored novel relationships between age, gender and recovery rate. Results: We confirm that using below knee cast is advantageous compared with a tubular bandage in relation with the recovery rate. An age and gender effect on the recovery rate and the maximum achievable score is demonstrated, with older female patients recovering less fast (age-effect: -0.21, 95% confidence interval (CI) [-0.28,- 0.14]; gender effect: -0.06, CI [-0.12,-0.004]) and achieving a lower maximum score (age-effect: -8.07, CI [-11.68,-4.01]; gender-effect: -5.34, CI [-8.18, -2.50]) than younger male patients. Conclusions: Our model is able to accurately model repeated measurements on the original scale, while accounting for the bounded nature of a score. We demonstrate that recovery in acute injury trials can differ substantially by age and gender. Older female patients are less likely to recover well from a sprain

Aftershocks and Preearthquake Seismicity

Although primary surface faulting was mapped for nearly 30 km, aftershocks extended in a complex pattern more than 100 km along the trend of the Imperial fault. A first-motion focal mechanism for the main shock is consistent with right-lateral motion on a vertical fault striking N. 42° W., in agreement with the strike of the Imperial fault within the limits of resolution. There is evidence that conjugate faulting on a buried complementary northeast-trending structure occurred at the north limit of displacement on the Imperial fault near Brawley, Calif. This faulting was apparently initiated at the time of a magnitude 5.8 aftershock 8 hours after the main shock. A line of epicenters extending along the trend of the San Andreas fault nearly 100 km into the eastern Imperial Valley was noted during the aftershock sequence, in an area recognized as notably aseismic during the preceding 5 years. The main shock was preceded by a 3-month period of significantly reduced seismicity affecting the central Imperial Valley. Although three small events near the incipient epicenter during this interval may be deemed foreshocks, no distinct foreshocks immediately before the main shock were observed

On the calibration of the relation between geometric albedo and polarimetric properties for the asteroids

We present a new extensive analysis of the old problem of finding a satisfactory calibration of the relation between the geometric albedo and some measurable polarization properties of the asteroids. To achieve our goals, we use all polarimetric data at our disposal. For the purposes of calibration, we use a limited sample of objects for which we can be confident to know the albedo with good accuracy, according to previous investigations of other authors. We find a new set of updated calibration coefficients for the classical slope - albedo relation, but we generalize our analysis and we consider also alternative possibilities, including the use of other polarimetric parameters, one being proposed here for the first time, and the possibility to exclude from best-fit analyzes the asteroids having low albedos. We also consider a possible parabolic fit of the whole set of data.Comment: Accepted by MNRA

Visible light driven hydrogen evolution with a noble metal free CuGa<inf>2</inf>In<inf>3</inf>S<inf>8</inf> nanoparticle system in water

Visible light irradiation of CGIS nanoparticles with a Ni salt displayed superior sacrificial H2 evolution activity than when employing the precious metals Pt, Rh and Ru.T.A.K. thanks the Science and Technology Development Fund (STDF) of the Arab Republic of Egypt and the British Council at Cairo for financially supporting his visit to the University of Cambridge, UK. G.A.M.H. was supported by a Cambridge Trust / Australia Poynton PhD scholarship.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the Royal Society of Chemistry at http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C6CY01103A

Enhancing Missouri Traffic Safety with a Primary Enforcement Seat Belt Law

In 1984, New York became the first state to enact a mandatory seat belt law; since then, the District of Columbia and every state except New Hampshire have adopted similar laws. Of the 49 states with seat belt laws, eight states originally included primary enforcement provisions in seat belt laws, which allow police to stop a driver solely on the basis of not wearing a seat belt. In 1993, California upgraded their secondary seatbelt enforcement provision to a primary law. Since then, 12 more states and the District of Columbia have strengthened their belt laws by making them primary enforcement laws. Missouri continues to permit only secondary enforcement and allows a minimal $10 fine. In 2002, Missouri ranked 35th in the nation in belt use rate, and the fatality rate per 100,000 persons was 21.6 in Missouri versus 14.6 for the national average and 7.18 in the safest state. Further, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the economic cost of motor vehicle crashes in Missouri was$4.7 billion in 2000. A 2004 study commissioned by the National Safety Council shows Missouri could save at least $103 million dollars over the next ten years in Medicaid costs once a primary enforcement seat belt law was adopted

Identifying studies for systematic reviews - An example from medical imaging

Objectives: To determine if published figures on the proportion of articles included in systematic reviews and identified in electronic databases are applicable to an example from medical imaging. Methods: A systematic review was performed. Additionally, sensitivity and precision of a MEDLINE search were compared with values from three published searches, each customized for a specific field. Results: All articles included in the systematic review were in electronic databases. The MEDLINE search had low precision compared with searches in other fields. Conclusions: in a specific area of medical imaging, electronic databases, including MEDLINE, are reliable sources of articles

Alternate antenna pointing concept schedule

This ATM is in response to Action Item B6-0721-10B and summarizes the schedule dates regarding investigation of the alternate antenna pointing concept. This information was requested by Gerke at the July Monthly Review, Systems Engineering Satellite Meeting.prepared by V. E. Hutton

A family resemblance? The regulation of marriage migration in Europe

This article analyses key aspects of the regulation of entry and stay of spousal migrants in EEA member states. It shows that there are differences of regulation, particularly between states in Eastern and Southern Europe and states in Northern and Western Europe but, in most cases, the amount of divergence is limited. The article connects this ‘family resemblance’ to a broad concept of Europeanisation. Even where there is no binding legal obligation, European legal norms and the practice in other European states largely circumscribe what is possible

Reply to “Comment on ‘Revisiting the 1872 Owens Valley, California, Earthquake’ by Susan E. Hough and Kate Hutton” by William H. Bakun

Bakun (2009) argues that the conclusions of Hough and Hutton (2008) are wrong because the study failed to take into account the Sierra Nevada attenuation model of Bakun (2006). In particular, Bakun (2009) argues that propagation effects can explain the relatively high intensities generated by the 1872 Owens Valley earthquake. Using an intensity attenuation model that attempts to account for attenuation through the Sierra Nevada, Bakun (2006) infers the magnitude estimate (M_w 7.4–7.5) that is currently accepted by National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC)