Super normal design for extraordinary bodies:A design manifesto

This collection identifies the key tensions and conflicts being debated within the field of critical disability studies and provides both an outline of the field in its current form and offers manifestos for its future direction

HBsAg-vectored DNA vaccines elicit concomitant protective responses to multiple CTL epitopes relevant in human disease.

Vaccines capable of controlling neoplastic and infectious diseases which depend on the cellular immune response for their resolution, have proven difficult to develop. We, and others, have previously demonstrated that the potent immunogenicity of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), the already- licensed human vaccine for hepatitis B infection, may be exploited to deliver foreign antigens for cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) induction. In this study we demonstrate that recombinant (r) HBsAg DNA delivering a CTL polyepitope appended at the C' terminus elicits concomitant responses to multiple epitopes restricted through a diversity of MHC class I haplotypes, which are relevant in a number of human diseases. We show that the rHBsAg DNA vaccine elicits concomitant protection against neoplastic and infectious disease. These studies vindicate the use of HBsAg as a powerful vector to deliver CTL responses to foreign antigens, and have implications for a multi-disease vaccine applicable to the HLA-polymorphic human population

Finiteness conditions of wreath products of semigroups and related properties of diagonal acts

The purpose of this thesis is to consider finite generation, finite presentability and related properties of restricted wreath products of semigroups. We show that the wreath product Awr B of two monoids is finitely generated if and only if A and B are finitely generated and the action by right multiplication on B of the group of units of B has only finitely many orbits. Also we show that the wreath product AwrB of two non-trivial monoids is finitely presented if and only if A is finitely presented and B is finite. The situation is more complicated in the case of the wreath product SₑwrT of two semigroups with respect to an idempotent e ϵ S. We give a complete characterization for finite generation in the case where T is finite. This result depends on the properties of the diagonal action of S on S x S. We also prove that if this action is not finitely generated, then SₑwrT (with S infinite and T finite) is finitely presented if and only if S x S is finitely presented and T is the direct product of a monoid and a left zero semigroup. In the case where T is infinite, we prove that S must be a monoid in order for SwrT to be finitely generated. We show that the finiteness properties of periodicity and local finiteness are preserved under the wreath product construction. We conclude the thesis with a systematic investigation into the properties of diagonal acts of semigroups, and make some interesting connections between diagonal acts and power semigroups

Tribes\u27 Reply to the State

The Tribes\u27 response to basic arguments made by the State, with reference to its proposed findings and the Tribes\u27 proposed findings, where appropriate

Tribes\u27 Reply to the State

The Tribes\u27 response to basic arguments made by the State, with reference to its proposed findings and the Tribes\u27 proposed findings, where appropriate

Molecular interactions of Escherichia coli ExoIX and identification of its associated 3′–5′ exonuclease activity

The flap endonucleases (FENs) participate in a wide range of processes involving the structure-specific cleavage of branched nucleic acids. They are also able to hydrolyse DNA and RNA substrates from the 5′-end, liberating mono-, di- and polynucleotides terminating with a 5′ phosphate. Exonuclease IX is a paralogue of the small fragment of Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I, a FEN with which it shares 66% similarity. Here we show that both glutathione-S-transferase-tagged and native recombinant ExoIX are able to interact with the E. coli single-stranded DNA binding protein, SSB. Immobilized ExoIX was able to recover SSB from E. coli lysates both in the presence and absence of DNA. In vitro cross-linking studies carried out in the absence of DNA showed that the SSB tetramer appears to bind up to two molecules of ExoIX. Furthermore, we found that a 3′–5′ exodeoxyribonuclease activity previously associated with ExoIX can be separated from it by extensive liquid chromatography. The associated 3′–5′ exodeoxyribonuclease activity was excised from a 2D gel and identified as exonuclease III using matrix-assisted laser-desorption ionization mass spectrometry

Synthetic mean-field interactions in photonic lattices

Photonic lattices are usually considered to be limited by their lack of methods to include interactions. We address this issue by introducing mean-field interactions through optical components which are external to the photonic lattice. The proposed technique to realise mean-field interacting photonic lattices relies on a Suzuki-Trotter decomposition of the unitary evolution for the full Hamiltonian. The technique realises the dynamics in an analogous way to that of a step-wise numerical implementation of quantum dynamics, in the spirit of digital quantum simulation. It is a very versatile technique which allows for the emulation of interactions that do not only depend on inter-particle separations or do not decay with particle separation. We detail the proposed experimental scheme and consider two examples of interacting phenomena, self-trapping and the decay of Bloch oscillations, that are observable with the proposed technique.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, comments welcom

Dehiscence of detached internal limiting membrane in eyes with myopic traction maculopathy with spontaneous resolution

Background: Idjwi, an island of approximately 220,000 people, is located in eastern DRC and functions semi-autonomously under the governance of two kings (mwamis). At more than 8 live births per woman, Idjwi has one of the highest total fertility rates (TFRs) in the world. Rapid population growth has led to widespread environmental degradation and food insecurity. Meanwhile family planning services are largely unavailable.Methods: At the invitation of local leaders, we conducted a representative survey of 2,078 households in accordance with MEASURE DHS protocols, and performed ethnographic interviews and focus groups with key informants and vulnerable subpopulations. Modelling proximate determinates of fertility, we evaluated how the introduction of contraceptives and/or extended periods of breastfeeding could reduce the TFR.Results: Over half of all women reported an unmet need for spacing or limiting births, and nearly 70% named a specific modern method of contraception they would prefer to use; pills (25.4%) and injectables (26.5%) were most desired. We predicted that an increased length of breastfeeding (from 10 to 21 months) or an increase in contraceptive prevalence (from 1% to 30%), or a combination of both could reduce TFR on Idjwi to 6, the average desired number of children. Increasing contraceptive prevalence to 15% could reduce unmet need for contraception by 8%.Conclusions: To meet women’s need and desire for fertility control, we recommend adding family planning services at health centers with NGO support, pursuing a community health worker program, promoting extended breastfeeding, and implementing programs to end sexual- and gender-based violence toward women

Whole-field 3D Characterization of a Pulsating Jet using Synthetic Aperture Particle Image Velocimety

In this study synthetic aperture particle image velocimetry is used on an excised human vocal fold model to study the airflow over the vocal folds during voice production. For the first time, a whole-field, time-resolved, 3D description of the flow is presented over one cycle of vocal fold oscillation. Complex, unsteady, 3D flow behavior is observed as the jet evolves