Women of early Rome as Exempla in Livy, Ab Urbe Condita, Book 1

This paper examines Livy's depiction of prominent women as exempla in book 1 of his history. It seems that the ideal public role of these women is to support the efforts of their men to make the Roman state strong and stable-a role which appears to be an elaboration of women's efforts with respect to their families. It is clear, however, that Livy complicates each exemplum and that the women generally fall short in this role, so that the overall picture is one of inherent instability, in which men must be wary of the influence of prominent women

Haemorrhage from the uterus before and after labour

Hasmorrhage during or after labour is one of the most trying accidents connected with the subject of Obstetrics; whether it occurs before the birth of the Child, or after, when its sudden onset, just as labour seems to be happily terminated, and its alarming effect on the patient, tax the resources of the Obstetrician to the utmost and necessitate the possession by him of the military qualities, calmness and coolness in danger.Some idea of the importance of this subject may be gathered from the Registrar-General's report. Thus in five years, 1871-1875, $524 deaths were return¬ ed as due to "flooding" .■*■' In the year 1871 there was a population in England and Wales of 22,712,266 and in London of 3,254,260 ot* a total of 25,966, 526.2) The death rate during this time was 22 per 1000 per annum,®' or a total death-rate for the five years of (roughly) 2,856,260. By Calculations we can now see that one death in every 800 odd is due to flooding. Similarly, taking the birth-rate as 35 per 1000 per annum1' we get a total birth-rate of 4,544,050 and a proportion of One death due to flooding in every 1,289 labours.It must be remembered that these figures show only the actual deaths due to this complication, and it is probable that only post partum haemorrhage is includ¬ ed under the term"flooding"; cases of Placenta Praevia etc. being returned under other heads. I know of no statistics that show the number of people who actually suffer from haemorrhage , not of so severe a degree as to cause death, nor the amount of illness and misery caused by this complication.The difficulty a student or young practitioner has in treating cases of severe haemorrhage is much in¬ creased by the habit obstetrical books have of looking on Uterine Haemorrhage as a different thing from ordin¬ ary surgical haemorrhage and entailing a special treat¬ ment. But I don't think this is the case at all. The ne treatment of Uteris haemorrhage rests on the same broad principles as that of ordinary surgical haemorrhage , and differing only in being applied to a special place

Ballistic extremity wounding : quantifying tissue damage associated with military firearms

Gunshot wounding (GSW) is often the second most common mechanism of injury after explosive in war. With a large proportion of survivors typically suffering with extremity wounds, the clinical burden is often substantial. Following the recent Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, this work set out to ascertain the clinical burden of GSW suffered by UK military personnel. A critical literature gap uncovered was pertaining to the effect of clothing on GSW patterns. A synthetic limb model was used to test the effect of UK military clothing on GSW patterns in a maximal and minimal state, as worn by front-line service personnel, using 7.62 x 39 mm and 5.45 x 39 mm ammunition types. Further work was then undertaken to develop a technique to facilitate precise examination of GSW patterns within an opaque target. Lastly, this led to the development of a cadaveric animal limb model to test the same military clothing states as with the synthetic model. Increased damage was found in the presence of the maximal clothing state within both models, which would translate clinically into a wound requiring more extensive surgical intervention. The relevance of these findings, along with critical appraisal of each model used are then discussed, with further work proposed

The use of gelatine in wound ballistics research

Blocks of gelatine are used in both lethality and survivability studies for broadly the same reason, i.e. comparison of ammunition effects using a material that it is assumed represents (some part of) the human body. The gelatine is used to visualise the temporary and permanent wound profiles; elements of which are recognised as providing a reasonable approximation to wounding in humans. One set of researchers aim to improve the lethality of the projectile, and the other to understand the effects of the projectile on the body to improve survivability. Research areas that use gelatine blocks are diverse and include ammunition designers, the medical and forensics communities and designers of ballistic protective equipment (including body armour). This paper aims to provide an overarching review of the use of gelatine for wound ballistics studies; it is not intended to provide an extensive review of wound ballistics as that already exists, e.g. Legal Med 23:21–29, 2016. Key messages are that test variables, projectile type (bullet, fragmentation), impact site on the body and intermediate layers (e.g. clothing, personal protective equipment (PPE)) can affect the resulting wound profiles

Ice shelf history determined from deformation styles in surface debris

AbstractThis paper presents InSAR-derived ice shelf velocities and observations of surface debris deformation on the McMurdo Ice Shelf (MIS). Ice shelf velocities show that the MIS has a low surface velocity, with debris-laden parts of the ice shelf in the area known as the ‘swirls’ averaging speeds of c. 3 m a-1 increasing to c. 16 m a-1 at the ice front. Analysis of the fold patterns within moraine ridges on the ice surface reveals a deformational history inconsistent with the present velocity measurements. Polyphase, isoclinal folding within moraine ridges at the surface are interpreted to have formed through intense deformation by past ice flow in a NNW orientation. The velocities and styles of deformation indicate that the majority of debris on the ice shelf was originally transported into the area by a large and dynamic ice sheet/ice shelf system entirely different to that of the present configuration. Although the age of this event is unknown, it is possible that this debris has been exposed on the surface of the ice shelf since the last glacial maximum.</jats:p

Antioxidant-rich beetroot juice does not adversely affect acute neuromuscular adaptation following eccentric exercise

This study examined the effects of beetroot juice on the repeated bout effect (RBE) to eccentric exercise. Twenty-nine recreationally active males performed two bouts of 100-drop jumps, separated by 14–21 days. Using a double-blind, independent groups design, participants consumed either a higher dose beetroot juice (H-BT; 250 ml, n = 10), a lower dose beetroot juice (L-BT; 125 ml, n = 9) or an isocaloric placebo (PLA; 250 ml, n = 10) for 3 days after bout 1; no drinks were consumed after bout 2. Maximal isometric voluntary contraction (MIVC), countermovement jump (CMJ), pressure-pain threshold (PPT) and creatine kinase (CK) were measured pre, post, 24, 48 and 72 h following both bouts. In bout 2, CMJ and MIVC recovered quicker and CK activity was attenuated (versus bout 1) (P < 0.05) in all groups, demonstrating an RBE. At 24 h post bout 1, MIVC was 84.1 ± 16.1, 83.6 ± 11.6, 79.7 ± 15.1% relative to baseline values in the H-BT, L-BT and PLA groups, respectively; at 24 h post bout 2, MIVC recovered to 90.7 ± 13.7, 92.9 ± 6.9, 87.8 ± 6.9, in the H-BT, L-BT and PLA groups, respectively. These findings suggest that supplementation with antioxidant-rich beetroot juice does not adversely affect acute adaptations to a bout of eccentric exercise

The effect of military clothing on gunshot wound patterns in a cadaveric animal limb model

The majority of injuries in survivors of gunshot wounds (GSW) are typically to the extremities. Novel wound ballistic research is encouraged to try and capture corporate knowledge on the management of these injuries gained during recent conflicts and understand the wounding patterns seen. With recent work examining the effect of UK military clothing on extremity GSW patterns in a synthetic model, a model with greater biofidelity is needed for ballistic testing. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of UK military clothing on GSW patterns within a cadaveric animal limb model using two types of ammunition commonly used in recent conflicts—7.62 × 39 mm and 5.45 × 39 mm. In total, 24 fallow deer hind limbs were shot, 12 by 7.62 mm projectiles and the remaining 12 shot by 5.45 mm projectiles, further divided into four with no clothing layers (Cnil), four with a single clothing layer (Cmin) and four with maximum clothing layers (Cmax) as worn on active duty by UK military personnel. Limbs were analysed after ballistic impact using contrast CT scanning to obtain measurements of permanent cavity damage, and results were compared using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results showed significantly different damage measurements within limbs with Cmax for both ammunition types compared with the other clothing states. This may result in GSWs that require more extensive surgical management, and invites further study

Why Worry about the Agriculture of the Middle?

This report outlines the agriculture of the middle sector and specific actions and policies that need to be addressed. It was prepared as a white paper of the Leopold Center with input from a number of authors