Conversion, family, and authority in seventeenth-century Saumur

Episodes of conversion in early modern France could lay bare conceptions of community and authority that underpinned state and society. The conversion of the twelve-year-old daughter of a Huguenot apothecary to Catholicism at Saumur in 1642 serves as an entry into an examination of Catholic-Huguenot relations under the Edict of Nantes. The city's Catholic magistrates questioned the girl, Elisabeth Liger, and determined that her professed conversion was sincere. Satisfied of her Catholicism, the magistrates ordered that she be removed from her parents' authority so she could live as a Catholic. The judges' decision reveals two essential weaknesses that seventeenth-century Huguenots faced: their lack of institutional power to shape political and judicial decision making at the local level and their secondary legal status under the Edict of Nantes. En France à l'époque moderne, les épisodes de conversion mettent en relief les concepts de communauté et d'autorité sur lesquels reposent l'Etat et la société. La conversion au catholicisme de la fille mineure d'un apothicaire huguenot à Saumur en 1642 sert de point d'entrée à l'examen des relations entre catholiques et huguenots sous l'Edit de Nantes. Les magistrats catholiques de la ville ont interrogé la fille, nommée Elisabeth Liger, et ont déterminé que sa conversion était sincère. Convaincus de son catholicisme, les magistrats ont donc ordonné qu'Elisabeth soit retirée à l'autorité de ses parents pour qu'elle puisse vivre en tant que catholique. La décision des juges révèle deux faiblesses essentielles auxquelles les huguenots au dix-septième siècle doivent faire face : leur manque de pouvoir institutionnel pour influencer les décisions politiques et judiciaires au niveau local, et leur statut juridique inférieur sous l'Edit de Nantes

Hearing the shape of a room

PMCID: PMC3725052The final published version of this article can be found here: www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.130993211

Abdominal Ultrasonography in Domestic Species

This study was designed to evaluate the use of abdominal ultrasonography in small animals and horses presented at Glasgow University Veterinary School for investigation of abdominal disease and to assess the application of ultrasonography in ovine, canine and feline pregnancy. Initially, the normal ultrasonographic appearance of the liver and spleen were determined by examination of four dogs, six horses and two cats. The appearance of these organs was found to be consistent within and across the species. The most suitable anatomical sites from which these structures could be imaged in these species and the most appropriate equipment were also determined in this study. Twenty-seven dogs and three cats were selected for hepatic ultrasonography and the clinical, radiographic and laboratory indications for the procedure were considered. In twelve out of the thirteen cases of confirmed hepatic disease ultrasonographic abnormalities were detected and these were subsequently compared with the findings at postmortem examination or exploratory laparotomy in the majority of the cases. Twenty dogs and one horse were selected for splenic ultrasonography and in four of these abnormalities were detected. The indications and final diagnoses were reviewed to evaluate the merits and limitations of this procedure. An experiment was designed to determine the accuracy of ultrasonographic estimation of ovine foetal number and to compare the results of inexperienced and experienced operators at various stages of gestation. The optimum efficiency was obtained by ultrasonographic examination at, or around, day 60 of gestation and considerable improvement was observed during the training period of the inexperienced operator. The efficiency of ultrasonographic determination of pregnancy and estimation of foetal numbers in bitches and queens was evaluated by examination of thirty-six bitches and four cats referred to this hospital. Sensitivity of pregnancy diagnosis was 100% but the sensitivity of estimation of foetal number was found to vary with the stage of gestation and the litter size. The most sensitive estimations were obtained in medium sized litters (four to eight foetuses) at days 37 to 43 of gestation. Two methods of estimation of ovine foetal age were developed which were based on ultrasonographic measurement of biparietal and transthoracic diameters, but the estimated age range obtained with these methods was wide. Nine dogs were selected for prostatic ultrasonography. In all of these cases there were clinical signs referrable to the prostate and prostatic disease was subsequently confirmed. Ultrasonographic abnormalities were detected in all of these cases

Non-Invasive Methods for the Investigation of Soft Tissue Injury in the Equine Limb: Diagnostic Ultrasonography and Microwave Thermography, Volume One

A technique was established for the examination of the soft tissue structures of the palmar aspect of the distal equine limb using an ultrasonographic unit equipped with a 7.5 MHz linear array transducer and a separate echolucent stand-off block by performing examinations in six cadaver limbs and in twenty-five adult Thoroughbred horses. The flexor tendons had shapes on ultrasonograms which corresponded with their expected anatomy and their size varied along their length. The lateral to medial and dorsal to palmar dimensions of the flexor tendon were correlated with each other and with the age, weight and height of the horse, the limb circumference and metacarpal bone diameter but consistent relationships between pairs of variables were not evident although the correlation between a variety of individual pairs was significant (p< 0.05)