Education in the working-class home: modes of learning as revealed by nineteenth-century criminal records

The transmission of knowledge and skills within the working-class household greatly troubled social commentators and social policy experts during the first half of the nineteenth century. To prove theories which related criminality to failures in working-class up-bringing, experts and officials embarked upon an ambitious collection of data on incarcerated criminals at various penal institutions. One such institution was the County Gaol at Ipswich. The exceptionally detailed information that survives on families, literacy, education and apprenticeships of the men, women and children imprisoned there has the potential to transform our understanding of the nature of home schooling (broadly interpreted) amongst the working classes in nineteenth-century England. This article uses data sets from prison registers to chart both the incidence and ‘success’ of instruction in reading and writing within the domestic environment. In the process, it highlights the importance of schooling in working-class families, but also the potentially growing significance of the family in occupational training

Adult Rat Bones Maintain Distinct Regionalized Expression of Markers Associated with Their Development

The incidence of limb bone fracture and subsequent morbidity and mortality due to excessive bone loss is increasing in the progressively ageing populations of both men and women. In contrast to bone loss in the weight-bearing limb, bone mass in the protective skull vault is maintained. One explanation for this could be anatomically diverse bone matrix characteristics generated by heterogeneous osteoblast populations. We have tested the hypothesis that adult bones demonstrate site-specific characteristics, and report differences at the organ, cell and transcriptome levels. Limb bones contain greater amounts of polysulphated glycosaminoglycan stained with Alcian Blue and have significantly higher osteocyte densities than skull bone. Site-specific patterns persist in cultured adult bone-derived cells both phenotypically (proliferation rate, response to estrogen and cell volumes), and at the level of specific gene expression (collagen triple helix repeat containing 1, reelin and ras-like and estrogen-regulated growth inhibitor). Based on genome-wide mRNA expression and cluster analysis, we demonstrate that bones and cultured adult bone-derived cells segregate according to site of derivation. We also find the differential expression of genes associated with embryological development (Skull: Zic, Dlx, Irx, Twist1 and Cart1; Limb: Hox, Shox2, and Tbx genes) in both adult bones and isolated adult bone-derived cells. Together, these site-specific differences support the view that, analogous to different muscle types (cardiac, smooth and skeletal), skull and limb bones represent separate classes of bone. We assign these differences, not to mode of primary ossification, but to the embryological cell lineage; the basis and implications of this division are discussed

The effect of mechanical loading on osteogenesis of human dental pulp stromal cells in a novel in vitro model

Tooth loss often results in alveolar bone resorption because of lack of mechanical stimulation. Thus, the mechanism of mechanical loading on stem cell osteogenesis is crucial for alveolar bone regeneration. We have investigated the effect of mechanical loading on osteogenesis in human dental pulp stromal cells (hDPSCs) in a novel in vitro model. Briefly, 1 × 107 hDPSCs were seeded into 1 ml 3 % agarose gel in a 48-well-plate. A loading tube was then placed in the middle of the gel to mimic tooth-chewing movement (1 Hz, 3 × 30 min per day, n = 3). A non-loading group was used as a control. At various time points, the distribution of live/dead cells within the gel was confirmed by fluorescence markers and confocal microscopy. The correlation and interaction between the factors (e.g. force, time, depth and distance) were statistically analysed. The samples were processed for histology and immunohistochemistry. After 1-3 weeks of culture in the in-house-designed in vitro bioreactor, fluorescence imaging confirmed that additional mechanical loading increased the viable cell numbers over time as compared with the control. Cells of various phenotypes formed different patterns away from the reaction tube. The cells in the middle part of the gel showed enhanced alkaline phosphatase staining at week 1 but reduced staining at weeks 2 and 3. Additional loading enhanced Sirius Red and type I collagen staining compared with the control. We have thus successfully developed a novel in-house-designed in vitro bioreactor mimicking the biting force to enhance hDPSC osteogenesis in an agarose scaffold and to promote bone formation and/or prevent bone resorption

Age-Related Adaptation of Bone-PDL-Tooth Complex: Rattus-Norvegicus as a Model System

Functional loads on an organ induce tissue adaptations by converting mechanical energy into chemical energy at a cell-level. The transducing capacity of cells alters physico-chemical properties of tissues, developing a positive feedback commonly recognized as the form-function relationship. In this study, organ and tissue adaptations were mapped in the bone-tooth complex by identifying and correlating biomolecular expressions to physico-chemical properties in rats from 1.5 to 15 months. However, future research using hard and soft chow over relevant age groups would decouple the function related effects from aging affects. Progressive curvature in the distal root with increased root resorption was observed using micro X-ray computed tomography. Resorption was correlated to the increased activity of multinucleated osteoclasts on the distal side of the molars until 6 months using tartrate resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP). Interestingly, mononucleated TRAP positive cells within PDL vasculature were observed in older rats. Higher levels of glycosaminoglycans were identified at PDL-bone and PDL-cementum entheses using alcian blue stain. Decreasing biochemical gradients from coronal to apical zones, specifically biomolecules that can induce osteogenic (biglycan) and fibrogenic (fibromodulin, decorin) phenotypes, and PDL-specific negative regulator of mineralization (asporin) were observed using immunohistochemistry. Heterogeneous distribution of Ca and P in alveolar bone, and relatively lower contents at the entheses, were observed using energy dispersive X-ray analysis. No correlation between age and microhardness of alveolar bone (0.7±0.1 to 0.9±0.2 GPa) and cementum (0.6±0.1 to 0.8±0.3 GPa) was observed using a microindenter. However, hardness of cementum and alveolar bone at any given age were significantly different (P<0.05). These observations should be taken into account as baseline parameters, during development (1.5 to 4 months), growth (4 to 10 months), followed by a senescent phase (10 to 15 months), from which deviations due to experimentally induced perturbations can be effectively investigated

Mineralisation density of human mandibular bone: quantitative backscattered electron image analysis

This study examined the tissue level mineralisation density distribution in mandibles from 88 adult humans. Mandibles (19–96 y) were sectioned vertically in midline (MID), mental foramen (MF), and third molar (M3) regions. Surgical fragments from M3 were obtained from individuals aged 16–38 y. All specimens were cleaned, embedded in PMMA, micromilled and examined by digital 20 kV backscattered electron (BSE) stereology. Quantitation was based on rescaling image histograms to the signal range between a monobrominated (0) and a monoiodinated (255) dimethacrylate resin standard. Mineralisation density increased with age (r=0.70; P<0.0001): the mean for 39 individuals aged between 16 and 50 y was significantly lower (P<0.0001) than for 35 individuals over 51 y (mean (± S.E.M.): 158.20 (1.63) and 174.71 (1.27) normalised grey level units respectively). There was good correlation in mean mineralisation density between different sites in the same mandible, but MID was significantly less highly mineralised than the other sites: MID 173.90, MF 177.34, M3 177.11 (P<0.002 and 0.01 for MF and M3 respectively; paired t test), as was the alveolar bone density when compared with the bone of the inferior cortex (e.g. MID: 171.13 (1.53) and 174.46 (1.14) P<0.0001). No sex difference was found. Partially dentate mandibles generally had regions of higher mineralisation than fully dentate and edentulous mandibles. The lowest density bone occurred at the alveolar crest anteriorly and superolingually at M3, matching sites of net resorption following tooth loss. Highest densities were found inferolingually at MID, inferiorly at MF and buccally at M3, matching the sites thought to experience the highest functional strains. This stresses the importance that local factors may have in the remodelling of the edentulous mandible. Morphology showed that there is a preponderance of highly mineralised cement lines, and of packets containing dead, mineralised, osteocytes

Variation in the apparent density of human mandibular bone with age and dental status

This study examines the variability in the anatomy of mandibles of differing ages and different stages of tooth loss. Mandibles from individuals between 19 and 96 y were sectioned into 2 mm thick vertical plane-parallel slices and cleaned of marrow and periosteum. The apparent density (mass per unit volume in g/ml) from midline (MID) and mental foramen region (MF) sites was determined by weighing the slices and dividing by a volume calculated as the product of section thickness and the mean area of the 2 sides of the section. The cortical thickness of the inferior border and the basal and alveolar bone heights were measured in radiographs of the slices. Mandibular apparent density was negatively correlated with the cross sectional area (midline r=−0.48, mental foramen r=−0.45), and at the midline was significantly greater in edentulous than in dentate individuals (means (± s.e.m.) edentulous n=13: 1.43 (±0.07) g/ml; dentate n=17: 1.27 (±0.04) g/ml, P<0.05). Where a large enough age range was available, mandibular apparent bone density showed a significant increase with age (midline males: r=0.53, n=18) especially for dentate individuals (r=0.91, n=8). There was a correlation between the apparent densities at the two sites in the same mandible (r=0.64), with the values obtained for the midline being significantly greater than for the mental foramen region (midline 1.34 (±0.04) g/ml; mental foramen 1.19 (±0.04) g/ml, P<0.001, paired t test). The mandible shows great interindividual variability, but there may be a considerable reduction in cross sectional girth of the mandible following tooth loss, and, unlike postcranial sites, an increase in apparent density with age

GPM Draft Science Implementation Plan Ground Validation Chapter

The validation of NASA Global Precipitation Mission (GPM) satellite precipitation products is important for their credibility and utility within the larger community. This document defines GPM ground validation scientific objectives and several programmatic components for meeting those objectives. Multi-year, multi-sensor ground-based observation programs in a few locations are proposed to generate local observation products and global error covariance products. Focused measurement programs utilizing aircraft, ships, and ground-based measurements would fill in geographic and scientific gaps not addressed by the multi-year observing programs