Transcripciones latinas de fórmulas islámicas en textos ibéricos medievales sobre Muḥammad

This paper examines an oft-neglected linguistic feature of Christian polemic on Muḥammad in medieval Iberia: the transcription of Islamic formulas from Arabic into Latin. Having outlined a framework for assessing these expressions within the broader multilingual context of al-Andalus, it considers two Latin polemics from the region that contain substantial transcriptions of similar formulas. First, this paper considers the rendering of the Islamic declaration of faith in the 13th-century Liber scale Mahometi, and identifies a pattern of vernacularisation and distortion in the text’s presentation of Arabic phrases. Second, it analyses a transcription in the 9th-10th-century Tultusceptru, deemed corrupt by prior scholars: evaluating the phrase’s phonological data, this paper argues for a novel reading, which, in turn, indicates a greater awareness of, and sensitivity towards, Islamic thought on the part of the polemicist than previously hypothesised. Finally, these readings are corroborated by comparing the texts’ renderings of the takbīr.Este artículo examina una característica lingüística a menudo olvidada en la polémica cristiana sobre Muḥammad en la Iberia medieval: la transliteración de fórmulas islámicas del árabe al latín. Tras esbozar un marco para evaluar estas expresiones dentro del contexto multilingüe más amplio de al-Andalus, examina dos polémicas latinas de la región que contienen transcripciones sustanciales de fórmulas similares. En primer lugar, se examina la transcripción de la declaración de fe islámica en el Liber scale Mahometi, del siglo XIII, e identifica un patrón de vernacularización y distorsión en la presentación de frases árabes en el texto. En segundo lugar, analiza una transliteración del Tultusceptru de los siglos IX-X, considerada corrupta por estudiosos anteriores, y evalúa los datos fonológicos de la frase. Este artículo defiende una lectura novedosa que, a su vez, indica una mayor conciencia y sensibilidad del pensamiento islámico por parte del polemista. Por último, estas lecturas son corroboradas comparando las interpretaciones de los textos del takbīr

The fate of engineered nanomaterials in sediments and their route to bioaccumulation

Part of the GUIDEnano project (under grant 20 agreement no. 604387).The production of engineered nanomaterials is an emerging and rapidly expanding industry. It exploits the capacity for materials to be manufactured to present particular properties distinct from the bulk material, through tailoring of the particle size and surface functionality. This ability to fine tune particle properties at the nanoscale is responsible for the explosion in uses of engineered nanomaterials in industries as diverse as cosmetics and medicine, to “green” technologies and manufacturing. However, this increased reactivity at the nanoscale, defined as having at least one dimension <100 nm in size, is also responsible for the increasing concern over their environmental safety. Material flows of engineered nanoparticles into the aquatic environment have been identified throughout their production, use and disposal, putting these ecosystems at potential risk of contamination. In particular, sediments are a likely sink of engineered nanomaterials in the aquatic environment due to their propensity to destabilise and settle out of suspension in natural freshwaters. An emerging body of literature has demonstrated toxicity of nanomaterials to aquatic species. In this thesis, the case is presented for using bioaccumulation as a first indicator of risk to aquatic organisms exposed to engineered nanomaterials. Using the sediment dwelling freshwater worm, Lumbriculus variegatus, this work investigates the factors which govern the bioaccumulation of cerium oxide and silver nanomaterials. It is hypothesised that the fate of these materials in sediments will be determined by their core composition, primary particle size and surface coating. A novel approach is presented to measure two biologically relevant fate parameters (persistence of particles and dissolved species in the sediment pore waters) and how particle properties affect the distribution of the nanomaterials between these phases of the sediment. This provides the context within which to interpret biological exposures assessing both the extent of uptake and how they are accumulated, whether through dietary uptake or across the skin. Understanding this route to uptake is important as the mechanism of toxicity may depend upon the point of contact of a material at the nano-bio interface. For example, a nanoparticle which comes into contact with biological material in the gut may exert a different effect upon an organism than one which is translocated directly across the skin. It is demonstrated that sediment properties determine the fate of engineered nano cerium oxide and silver to a greater extent than stabilising surfactants, with the majority of particles aggregating or associating with the solid constituents of the sediment >200 nm in size. The dissolved fraction of the metal present in the pore waters was a better predictor of bioavailability than the persistence of particulate material <200 nm in size, with partially soluble nanosilver being more available than insoluble cerium oxide. The route to metal nanoparticle uptake also differed with particle core, with electrostatically stabilised citrate and sterically stabilised polyethylene glycol (PEG) coated ceria available only through dietary uptake, whilst citrate and PEG coated silver was accumulated through transdermal uptake. Dynamic changes in the fate of silver nanoparticles were also observed for sterically stabilised polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) coated silver, resulting in the emergence of a colloidal pore water fraction of silver after 3 months aging in sediments. However, this colloidal silver was still not considered accumulated, indicating that low molecular weight species of silver, dissolving from the particle surface either during the exposure or upon contact with the worms’ surfaces was responsible for uptake of silver from the sediments. In conclusion, this work contributes towards our understanding of the factors which determine both the route and extent of biological uptake of engineered nanomaterials. It presents a novel combination of methods which allow for understanding bioaccumulation of these materials in the context of their fate and behaviour within sediments

LII.--Contributions to the Petrology of the Cheviot Hills

n/

XIV.?Process for the quantitative estimation of sulphides, sulphites, hyposulphites, and sulphates, in presence of each other, as adopted in the determination of these salts in ?soda waste,? as obtained from ?black ash?

n/

The Necessity of Reforming Britain's Private Schools

The existence of extremely expensive private schools - about one in 10 of all our schools - presents a major problem for Britain's education system. A new public education system could not coexist with the current, unreformed private school system; therefore, reform is a necessary condition for this project. Private schools are, on the whole, good schools, owing their successes largely to a massive resource input, some three times that of the state sector. But this distortion of our educational resources is enormously unjust, as well as inefficient and supportive of a democratic deficit in British society. Some solutions are noted; while not dogmatic about which should be adopted, the authors explain why their preferred solution is a partial integration of the sectors, in particular what they term a 'Fair Access Scheme'

Effects of environmental conditions on the micro-mechanical properties of formulated waterborne coatings

Waterborne colloidal polymer coatings are widely used in architectural and agricultural applications where they are subject to challenging environments, such as extremes of temperatures and relative humidities (RH). This research investigates the effects of adding two common co-formulants, poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and xanthan gum (XG), to waterborne polymer composite coatings in these environments. The mechanical properties of the resulting coatings are of particular interest. Hardness, creep and tack properties of thick (similar to 400 mu m) formulated model coatings were characterized using a micro-indentation technique operating in a single cycle within a bespoke environmental chamber. Measurements were made at three temperatures (16, 20 and 30 degrees C), which span the glass transition temperature (T-g) of the acrylic copolymer binder, and over three RH values of 10%, 43%, and 90%. The creep data were analysed using the Burgers model to extract characteristic viscoelastic properties. The tack was found by recording the force when withdrawing the probe from the sample and using it to obtain nominal stress (knowing the indentation depth and probe geometry) during the indenter's withdrawal and hence the work of adhesion (W-Adh) to detach from the coating. Tack adhesion is completely lost below the binder's T-g but increases when the ambient temperature increases. In formulated coatings, both the tack and creep deformation increase as the relative humidity increases, and this trend is observed at each temperature. There is no evidence from thermal analysis for plasticization of the acrylic polymer by moisture sorption, but the two co-formulants are hydrophilic. The observed softening of the coatings at high RH can be attributed to water sorption in the components. The presence of glassy PAA has the effect of raising the hardness of glassy coatings, but only at low RH when there is no plasticization by water. The addition of hydrophilic XG surprisingly reduces tack adhesion while also raising the viscosity of the coating. These findings will inform the formulation of waterborne colloidal coatings to function in a range of environments.work was funded by EPSRC (Grant EP/L016788/1) through the Doctoral Training Centre in Micro- and NanoMaterials and Technology (MiNMaT). We benefited from useful discussions with Dr. Marco Ram- aioli (INRAE, AgroParisTech - Center de Massy) and Dr. Nicholas Ballard (University of the Basque Country). We thank Violeta Doukova and Dave Jones (University of Surrey) for laboratory assistance and Dr. Agata Gajewicz-Jaromin for performing DSC and TGA analyses. We also thank Dr. James Adams (Cubica Technology) for his assistance in writing data analysis scripts. We thank Richard Turner (Acal BFI UK Ltd.) for the relative humidity and temperature probes, and for his assistance with their setup

Management based on exhaled nitric oxidelevels adjusted for atopy reduces asthma exacerbations in children : A dual centre randomised controlled trial

While several randomised control trials (RCTs) have evaluated the use of fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) to improve asthma outcomes, none used FeNO cut-offs adjusted for atopy, a determinant of FeNO levels. In a dual centre RCT, we assessed whether a treatment strategy based on FeNO levels, adjusted for atopy, reduces asthma exacerbations compared with the symptoms-based management (controls). Children with asthma from hospital clinics of two hospitals were randomly allocated to receive an a-priori determined treatment hierarchy based on symptoms or FeNO levels. There was a 2-week run-in period and they were then reviewed ten times over 12-months. The primary outcome was the number of children with exacerbations over 12-months. Sixty-three children were randomised (FeNO=31, controls=32); 55 (86%) completed the study. Although we did achieve our planned sample size, significantly fewer children in the FeNO group (6 of 27) had an asthma exacerbation compared to controls (15 of 28), p=0.021; number to treat for benefit=4 (95%CI 3-24). There was no difference between groups for any secondary outcomes (quality of life, symptoms, FEV1). The final daily inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) dose was significantly (p=0.037) higher in the FeNO group (median 400µg, IQR 250-600) compared to the controls (200, IQR100-400). Taking atopy into account when using FeNO to tailor asthma medications is likely beneficial in reducing the number of children with severe exacerbations at the expense of increased ICS use. However, the strategy is unlikely beneficial for improving asthma control. A larger study is required to confirm or refute our findings