Peak into the Past - An Archaeo-Astronomy Summer School

Our landscape has been shaped by man throughout the millennia. It still contains many clues to how it was used in the past giving us insights into ancient cultures and their everyday life. Our summer school uses archaeology and astronomy as a focus for effective out-of-classroom learning experiences. It demonstrates how a field trip can be used to its full potential by utilising ancient monuments as outdoor classrooms. This article shows how such a summer school can be embedded into the secondary curriculum; giving advice, example activities, locations to visit, and outlines the impact this work has had.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, accepted for School Science Revie

Growth or decline in the Church of England during the decade of Evangelism: did the Churchmanship of the Bishop matter?

The Decade of Evangelism occupied the attention of the Church of England throughout the 1990s. The present study employs the statistics routinely published by the Church of England in order to assess two matters: the extent to which these statistics suggest that the 43 individual dioceses finished the decade in a stronger or weaker position than they had entered it and the extent to which, according to these statistics, the performance of dioceses led by bishops shaped in the Evangelical tradition differed from the performance of dioceses led by bishops shaped in the Catholic tradition. The data demonstrated that the majority of dioceses were performing less effectively at the end of the decade than at the beginning, in terms of a range of membership statistics, and that the rate of decline varied considerably from one diocese to another. The only exception to the trend was provided by the diocese of London, which experienced some growth. The data also demonstrated that little depended on the churchmanship of the diocesan bishop in shaping diocesan outcomes on the performance indicators employed in the study

Measuring attitude toward theistic faith : assessing the Astley-Francis Scale among Christian, Muslim and secular youth in England

Empirical research within the social scientific study of religion in general and within the psychology of religion in particular remains very conscious of the complex nature of its subject matter. Empirical research in this field needs to take cognisance of the many forms in which religion is expressed (say, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism) and the many facets within the forms (say, beliefs, behaviours and affiliation). Working in the 1970s, Francis (1978a; 1978b) advanced the view that the attitudinal dimension of religion offered a particularly fruitful basis for coordinating empirical enquiry into the correlates, antecedents and consequences of religiosity across the life span

DLI-CVD of TiO2–Cu antibacterial thin films: Growth and characterization

TiO2–Cu nanocomposite films were grown by pulsed direct liquid injection chemical vapor deposition (DLICVD) on stainless steel, silicon and glass substrates with the goal to produce bactericidal surfaces. Copper bis (2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptadionate), Cu(TMHD)2, and titanium tetra-iso-propoxide, TTIP, were used as metalorganic precursors. Liquid solutions of these compounds in xylene were injected in a flash vaporization chamber connected to a cold wall MOCVD reactor. The deposition temperature was typically 683 K and the total pressure was 800 Pa. The copper content of the layers was controlled by the mole fraction of Cu (TMHD)2 which was adjusted by the injection parameters (injection frequency and concentration of the starting solution). The chemical, structural and physical characteristics of the films were investigated by XRD, XPS, FEG-SEM and TEM. Copper is incorporated as metal particles with a relatively large size distribution ranging from 20 to 400 nm (with a large majority in 20–100 nm) depending on the copper content of the films. The influence of the growth conditions on the structural features and the antibacterial properties of the thin films are reported and discussed

The Physio-Chemical Properties for the Interior of Enceladus

We have reviewed the current physical and chemical conditions of the Enceladus sub-surface environment, including the composition, temperature, pH and pressure. Here we have defined some of these parameters and, through the aid of modelling, will define and refine the remaining parameters needed for our experimental work. Simulations of the chemical reactions occurring within Enceladus can then be carried out to advance our understanding of the internal environment of Enceladus and help evaluate its potential habitability. Once a better understanding of the chemical reactions occurring at the rock-water interface has been carried out, then potential analogues on Earth can be evaluated and known microbial life can be tested to see if it could survive the conditions of Enceladus

Contacting the spirits of the dead: paranormal belief and the teenage worldview

A number of previous studies have examined both the overall level of belief expressed by young people in the paranormal and the major demographic predictors of such belief. Building on this research tradition, the present study examines how one specific paranormal belief concerning contact with the spirits of the dead integrates with the wider teenage worldview. Data provided by 33,982 pupils age 13 to 15 years throughout England and Wales demonstrated that almost one in three young people (31%) believed that it is possible to contact the spirits of the dead. Compared with young people who did not share this belief, the young people who believed in the possibility of contacting the spirits of the dead displayed lower psychological wellbeing, higher anxiety, greater isolation, greater alienation, less positive social attitudes, and less socially conforming lifestyles. Overall, paranormal beliefs seem to be associated with a less healthy worldview, in both personal and social terms

Brownian motion of a charged particle driven internally by correlated noise

We give an exact solution to the generalized Langevin equation of motion of a charged Brownian particle in a uniform magnetic field that is driven internally by an exponentially-correlated stochastic force. A strong dissipation regime is described in which the ensemble-averaged fluctuations of the velocity exhibit transient oscillations that arise from memory effects. Also, we calculate generalized diffusion coefficients describing the transport of these particles and briefly discuss how they are affected by the magnetic field strength and correlation time. Our asymptotic results are extended to the general case of internal driving by correlated Gaussian stochastic forces with finite autocorrelation times.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures with subfigures, RevTeX, v2: revise

A rapid appraisal of the Yemeni end-market for Somali livestock exporters

European Unio

Obese Subjects Show Sex-Specific Differences in Right Ventricular Hypertrophy

As right ventricular (RV) remodeling in obesity remains underinvestigated, and the impact of left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction on RV hypertrophy is unknown, we aimed to investigate whether (1) sex-specific patterns of RV remodeling exist in obesity and (2) LV diastolic dysfunction in obesity is related to RV hypertrophy.Seven hundred thirty-nine subjects (women, n=345; men, n=394) without identifiable cardiovascular risk factors (body mass index [BMI], 15.3-59.2 kg/m2) underwent cardiovascular magnetic resonance (1.5 T) to measure RV mass (g), RV end-diastolic volume (mL), RV mass/volume ratio, and LV diastolic peak filling rate (mL/s). All subjects were normotensive (average, 119±11/73±8 mm Hg), normoglycaemic (4.8±0.5 mmol/L), and normocholesterolaemic (4.8±0.9 mmol/L) at the time of scanning. Across both sexes, there was a moderately strong positive correlation between BMI and RV mass (men, +0.8 g per BMI point increase; women, +1.0 g per BMI point increase; both P<0.001). Whereas women exhibited RV cavity dilatation (RV end-diastolic volume, +1.0 mL per BMI point increase; P<0.001), BMI was not correlated with RV end-diastolic volume in men (R=0.04; P=0.51). Concentric RV remodeling was present in both sexes, with RV mass/volume ratio being positively correlated to BMI (men, R=0.41; women, R=0.51; both P<0.001). Irrespective of sex, the LV peak filling rate was negatively correlated with both RV mass (men, R=-0.43; women, R=-0.44; both P<0.001) and RV mass/volume ratio (men, R=-0.37; women, R=-0.35; both P<0.001).A sex difference in RV remodeling exists in obesity. Whereas men exhibit concentric RV remodeling, women exhibit a mixed pattern of eccentric and concentric remodeling. Regardless of sex, reduced LV diastolic function is associated with concentric RV remodeling

Natural treasures from Picrorhiza kurrooa: a computational exploration of drug-like properties and bioactivity of kutkin, cucurbitacin, apocynin and lupanine

Background: To analyse and predict the basic pharmacokinetic and toxicological properties of four compounds of interest found in Picrorhiza kurroa (Kutkin, cucurbitacin, apocynin and lupanine) using computational bioinformatics tools. Methods: The chemical structures and molecular properties of the compounds were obtained from authentic sources and processed for data profiling. 2D structures were converted to 3D structures using ChemSketch software and PHASE module. In silico screening of the 3D structures was performed using bioinformatics prediction software to assess drug-likeness, absorption, blood-brain barrier penetration, enzyme interaction potential, skin penetration, and acute oral toxicity. Results: Kutkin exhibited poor drug-likeness and low oral absorption, while the other three compounds showed promising drug-like properties and good oral absorption. Cucurbitacin and lupanine were predicted to cross the blood-brain barrier, while Kutkin and Apocynin were not. None of the compounds were substrates for P-glycoprotein, but Kutkin and cucurbitacin were substrates for CYP3A4. All four compounds had low skin penetration. Acute oral toxicity varied, with cucurbitacin classified as highly toxic and the others as slightly toxic. Conclusions: Cucurbitacin, apocynin, and lupanine have potential for further development as therapeutic agents due to their favorable drug-like properties and good absorption. Kutkin's poor drug-likeness and low absorption make it less suitable for oral drug development. This information provides valuable insights for further research on the medicinal properties of Picrorhiza kurroa and the development of new drugs based on its active compounds