Ferromagnetic-fluid logic devices

Logic element switches flows of low pressure process control fluid in fluidics assemblies. Device operates both electrically and fluidically and is controlled by passing permanent magnet or electromagnet over elements, thus providing proximity switching functions

Genome-wide co-expression analysis in multiple tissues

Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) represent genetic control points of gene expression, and can be categorized as cis- and trans-acting, reflecting local and distant regulation of gene expression respectively. Although there is evidence of co-regulation within clusters of trans-eQTLs, the extent of co-expression patterns and their relationship with the genotypes at eQTLs are not fully understood. We have mapped thousands of cis- and trans-eQTLs in four tissues (fat, kidney, adrenal and left ventricle) in a large panel of rat recombinant inbred (RI) strains. Here we investigate the genome-wide correlation structure in expression levels of eQTL transcripts and underlying genotypes to elucidate the nature of co-regulation within cis- and trans-eQTL datasets. Across the four tissues, we consistently found statistically significant correlations of cis-regulated gene expression to be rare (<0.9% of all pairs tested). Most (>80%) of the observed significant correlations of cis-regulated gene expression are explained by correlation of the underlying genotypes. In comparison, co-expression of trans-regulated gene expression is more common, with significant correlation ranging from 2.9%-14.9% of all pairs of trans-eQTL transcripts. We observed a total of 81 trans-eQTL clusters (hot-spots), defined as consisting of > or =10 eQTLs linked to a common region, with very high levels of correlation between trans-regulated transcripts (77.2-90.2%). Moreover, functional analysis of large trans-eQTL clusters (> or =30 eQTLs) revealed significant functional enrichment among genes comprising 80% of the large clusters. The results of this genome-wide co-expression study show the effects of the eQTL genotypes on the observed patterns of correlation, and suggest that functional relatedness between genes underlying trans-eQTLs is reflected in the degree of co-expression observed in trans-eQTL clusters. Our results demonstrate the power of an integrative, systematic approach to the analysis of a large gene expression dataset to uncover underlying structure, and inform future eQTL studies

Airborne laser systems for atmospheric sounding in the near infrared

This paper presents new techniques for atmospheric sounding using Near Infrared (NIR) laser sources, direct detection electro-optics and passive infrared imaging systems. These techniques allow a direct determination of atmospheric extinction and, through the adoption of suitable inversion algorithms, the indirect measurement of some important natural and man-made atmospheric constituents, including Carbon Dioxide (CO2). The proposed techniques are suitable for remote sensing missions performed by using aircraft, satellites, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), parachute/gliding vehicles, Roving Surface Vehicles (RSV), or Permanent Surface Installations (PSI). The various techniques proposed offer relative advantages in different scenarios. All are based on measurements of the laser energy/power incident on target surfaces of known geometric and reflective characteristics, by means of infrared detectors and/or infrared cameras calibrated for radiance. (cont.

Housing the ‘decayed members’ of the middle classes: social class and St Scholastica’s Retreat, 1861-1901

This study of St Scholastica’s Retreat offers an opportunity to examine a charity for the middle classes and the horizontal relationship between middle-class benefactors and recipients that did not appear to stigmatise middle-class recipients of charity. Middle-class inhabitants accessed a mix of resources, from personal resources, kinship relationships, friendship and charitable networks, as part of a ‘mixed economy of welfare’ so often discussed by welfare historians in Britain. Their ‘choices’ were limited but their personal networks enabled them to maintain their middle-class identities. This research not also demonstrates the flexibility of almshouse accommodation but also the meanings inherent in the domestic space that emphasised middle-class respectability

A new Internationalism: endeavouring to ‘build from this diversity, unity’, 1945-1990

This article examines how one Catholic religious congregation, the Dutch Sisters of Charity of Our Lady Mother of Mercy (Zusters van Liefde) transformed their understanding of what it meant to be an international religious congregation. It examines the changing understandings of being international through the shift from uniformity to pluriformity. This led to transnational exchanges via revised practices of governance that were both consultative and participatory and emphasised a culture of ‘communication and encounter’. This case study demonstrates the complexities of the processes by which Catholic international religious institutes around the world were rethinking their internationalism in response to the social consequences of post-war modernity and later, the spirit of aggiornamento of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). It broadens our understanding of internationalist thoughts and actions, pointing to an emphasis on the national, which, rather than receding comes to the forefront particularly in the process of decentralisation. It also demonstrates that women without an explicitly feminist or political agenda also negotiated how internationalism was defined, lived and experienced. Internationalist activities did not occur in a vacuum, they were aligned to the larger social movements of the post-war Catholic and secular world

‘Tolerable Intolerance’: Protestantism, Sectarianism and voluntary hospitals in late-nineteenth-century London

This article interrogates the complicated understanding of sectarianism in institutional cultures in late-nineteenth-century England through an examination of the practice of religion in the daily life of hospital wards in voluntary hospitals. Voluntary hospitals prided themselves on their identity as philanthropic institutions free from sectarian practices. The public accusation of sectarianism against University College Hospital triggered a series of responses that suggests that hospital practices reflected and reinforced an acceptable degree of ‘tolerable intolerance’. The debates this incident prompted help us to interrogate the meaning of sectarianism in late nineteenth-century England. How was sectarianism understood? Why was it so important for voluntary institutions to appear free from sectarian influences? How did the responses to claims of sectarian attitudes influence the actions of the male governors, administrators and medical staff of voluntary hospitals? The contradictory meanings of sectarianism are examined in three interrelated themes: the patient, daily life on the wards and hospital funding. The broader debates that arose from the threat of ‘sectarianism in hospital’ uncovers the extent to which religious practices were ingrained in hospital spaces throughout England and remained so long afterwards. Despite the increasing medicalization and secularisation of hospital spaces, religious practices and symbols were embedded in the daily life of voluntary hospitals

Local and global: women religious, Catholic internationalism and social justice

As part of a larger Catholic International, religious orders and congregations around the world were rethinking their internationalism in response to the spirit of aggiornamento of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and post-war social movements. As significant historical actors within the Catholic International, women religious (sisters and nuns) began questioning social structures, gender relations and the dynamics of power and authority from within the convent and in the wider world. Persuaded in the 1970s and 1980s particularly by the global discourse of social justice influenced by liberation theology, some British religious institutes left their institutional work running large schools and hospitals to move into new ministries. This chapter interrogates one of these new ministries: the Sisters of Mercy’s missionary work in the barrios of Peru. Motivated by faith and initially without an explicitly feminist or political agenda, women religious as internationalists negotiated how their internationalism was defined, lived and experienced. Missionary work was one of the earliest forms of internationalism but the Peru mission offered a different way of ‘doing’ internationalism. Missionary praxis diverged from the top down structures of nineteenth-century internationalism to stress solidarity and collaboration with both the peoples of Peru and other international groups. The Peru mission integrated global thinking revealing both a local mission done globally, as part of an extensive Catholic International and ‘bearing witness’ to Catholic communities in England; and a global mission done locally with religious sisters living and collaborating with Peruvians in the barriadas

Night vision imaging systems design, integration, and verification in military fighter aircraft

This paper describes the developmental and testing activities conducted by the Italian Air Force Official Test Centre (RSV) in collaboration with Alenia Aerospace, Litton Precision Products and Cranfiled University, in order to confer the Night Vision Imaging Systems (NVIS) capability to the Italian TORNADO IDS (Interdiction and Strike) and ECR (Electronic Combat and Reconnaissance) aircraft. The activities consisted of various Design, Development, Test and Evaluation (DDT&E) activities, including Night Vision Goggles (NVG) integration, cockpit instruments and external lighting modifications, as well as various ground test sessions and a total of eighteen flight test sorties. RSV and Litton Precision Products were responsible of coordinating and conducting the installation activities of the internal and external lights. Particularly, an iterative process was established, allowing an in-site rapid correction of the major deficiencies encountered during the ground and flight test sessions. (cont.

Population, ecology and genetic characteristics of the Mediterrannean box jellyfish Carybdea Marsupialis in the island of Malta

The main aims of this study were to investigate the environmental parameters associated with blooming events of Carybdea marsupialis and to genetically compare the box jellyfish in Malta to other Mediterranean and Atlantic samples. The numbers of adult individuals, as well as abiotic and biotic factors were monitored in situ and analysed statistically. Phenological patterns were determined and the abundance of C. marsupialis at the Maltese sites was shown to be strongly and positively correlated with sea water temperature. Genetic analysis indicated a high degree of homology between the sequences derived from the analysed Mediterranean specimens, which was not apparent in the genetic material derived from specimens from the Eastern Atlantic (Cadiz).peer-reviewe

Perspectives on Pain: Introduction

This issue of 19 has been guest edited by Louise Hide, Joanna Bourke, and Carmen Mangion. Collectively, we comprise the Birkbeck Pain Project, a three-year Wellcome Trust funded project that is led by Joanna Bourke. We are particularly interested in understanding how the meaning of pain - for sufferers, physicians, and other witnesses - changed over time. In this issue, articles by social and cultural historians, as well as literary scholars, examine and analyse the implications of shifting discourses in personal narratives as well as in religious communities, and in philosophical, medical, and psychiatric texts. By analysing language within current theories of the time, we can deepen our understanding of the complex interaction between the body, mind, and culture to gain insights into the ever-changing subjective experience of pain