England and the Empire, 1216-1272 : Anglo-German relations during the reign of Henry III

This thesis charts the development of the political and diplomatic relations between England and the Holy Roman, Medieval or German Empire during the reign of Henry III of England, 1216-1272. This will be done before the wider background of contemporary European politics. Therefore, relations between the two realms have been viewed in the context of events and developments such as the papal-imperial conflict, the Mongol invasions, and the crusades. The actions of either Henry III or his Imperial counterpart cannot be understood without this background in mind, and without a comparison to the actions and undertakings of their contemporaries. As a result, it emerges that Henry III's policies towards the Holy Roman Empire did not differ greatly from those of other rulers, such as Louis IX of France or Ferdinand of Castile, and that in his case, as in theirs, the immediate pressing needs of Henry's own kingdom formed and moulded the direction of his relations with the rulers of the Empire. As far as the Emperor was concerned, on the other hand, England was perceived to be a potential source of fiscal and diplomatic support, but was not considered worth any risks. At the same time, the dangers and challenges facing both rulers also forced them over and over again to confront each other's needs and ambitions

Neutrino Clustering in the Galaxy with a Global Monopole

In spherically symmetric, static spacetime, we show that only j=1/2 fermions can satisfy both Einstein's field equation and Dirac's equation. It is also shown that neutrinos are able to have effective masses and cluster in the galactic halo when they are coupled to a global monopole situated at the galactic core. Astronomical implications of the results are discussed.Comment: 8 pages, Revtex

The X-ray Spectrum and Light Curve of Supernova 1995N

We report on multi-epoch X-ray observations of the Type IIn (narrow emission line) supernova SN 1995N with the ROSAT and ASCA satellites. The January 1998 ASCA X-ray spectrum is well fitted by a thermal bremsstrahlung (kT~10 keV, N_H~6e20 cm^-2) or power-law (alpha~1.7, N_H~1e21 cm^-2) model. The X-ray light curve shows evidence for significant flux evolution between August 1996 and January 1998: the count rate from the source decreased by 30% between our August 1996 and August 1997 ROSAT observations, and the X-ray luminosity most likely increased by a factor of ~2 between our August 1997 ROSAT and January 1998 ASCA observations, although evolution of the spectral shape over this interval is not ruled out. The high X-ray luminosity, L_X~1e41 erg/sec, places SN 1995N in a small group of Type IIn supernovae with strong circumstellar interaction, and the evolving X-ray luminosity suggests that the circumstellar medium is distributed inhomogeneously.Comment: MNRAS accepted. 6 pages, 2 figures; uses mn.sty and psfi

Cryptochromes and neuronal-activity markers colocalize in the retina of migratory birds during magnetic orientation

Migratory birds can use a magnetic compass for orientation during their migratory journeys covering thousands of kilometers. But how do they sense the reference direction provided by the Earth’s magnetic field? Behavioral evidence and theoretical considerations have suggested that radical-pair processes in differently oriented, light-sensitive molecules of the retina could enable migratory birds to perceive the magnetic field as visual patterns. The cryptochromes (CRYs) have been suggested as the most likely candidate class of molecules, but do CRYs exist in the retina of migratory birds? Here, we show that at least one CRY1 and one CRY2 exist in the retina of migratory garden warblers and that garden-warbler CRY1 (gwCRY1) is cytosolic. We also show that gwCRY1 is concentrated in specific cells, particularly in ganglion cells and in large displaced ganglion cells, which also showed high levels of neuronal activity at night, when our garden warblers performed magnetic orientation. In addition, there seem to be striking differences in CRY1 expression between migratory and nonmigratory songbirds at night. The difference in CRY1 expression between migrants and nonmigrants is particularly pronounced in the large displaced ganglion cells known to project exclusively to a brain area where magnetically sensitive neurons have been reported. Consequently, cytosolic gwCRY1 is well placed to possibly be the primary magnetic-sensory molecule required for light-mediated magnetoreception

Attitudes of Serbian food technology students towards surgical and immunocastration of boars and their sensitivity to androstenone and skatole

Various European Union pork chain actors and stakeholders agreed in 2010 on a road map to voluntarily abandon piglet castration by 1 January 2018. Because currently in Serbia, male piglets are surgically castrated and consumers are not used to the boar taint odour and flavour, the introduction of boar meat may modify the acceptability of pork. The objective of the study was to investigate the attitudes, awareness and opinions of future Serbian food technologist towards surgical castration of boars and its alternatives, and to test their sensitivity to androstenone and skatole. We found that they were concerned about the animal welfare issues and that they were willing to pay a little more for meat from animals treated with dignity. This was more so if they were females and less so if they had had a rural upbringing. They strongly believed that surgical castration is painful for the animals, but at the same time agreed that meat from castrated pigs is of better quality. Their ambiguous attitudes regarding efficacy and quality of alternatives to surgical castration clearly indicated the knowledge gap that must be filled by appropriate modifications of the curriculum. Students demonstrated average sensitivity to both androstenone and skatole. Females exhibited higher intensities of difference in both cases

Ambulatory Clinic Exam Room Design with respect to Computing Devices: A Laboratory Simulation Study

Background—Challenges persist regarding how to integrate computing effectively into the exam room, while maintaining patient-centered care. Purpose—Our objective was to evaluate a new exam room design with respect to the computing layout, which included a wall-mounted monitor for ease of (re)-positioning. Methods—In a lab-based experiment, 28 providers used prototypes of the new and older “legacy” outpatient exam room layouts in a within-subject comparison using simulated patient encounters. We measured efficiency, errors, workload, patient-centeredness (proportion of time the provider was focused on the patient), amount of screen sharing with the patient, workflow integration, and provider situation awareness. Results—There were no statistically significant differences between the exam room layouts for efficiency, errors, or time spent focused on the patient. However, when using the new layout providers spent 75% more time in screen sharing activities with the patient, had 31% lower workload, and gave higher ratings for situation awareness (14%) and workflow integration (17%). Conclusions—Providers seemed to be unwilling to compromise their focus on the patient when the computer was in a fixed position in the corner of the room and, as a result, experienced greater workload, lower situation awareness, and poorer workflow integration when using the old “legacy” layout. A thoughtful design of the exam room with respect to the computing may positively impact providers’ workload, situation awareness, time spent in screen sharing activities, and workflow integration

Cyclotron resonance of the quasi-two-dimensional electron gas at Hg1-xCdxTe grain boundaries

The magnetotransmission of a p-type Hg0.766Cd0.234Te bicrystal containing a single grain boundary with an inversion layer has been investigated in the submillimetre wavelength range. For the first time the cyclotron resonance lines belonging to the various electric subbands of a quasi-two-dimensional carrier system at a grain boundary could be detected. The measured cyclotron masses and the subband densities determined from Shubnikov-de Haas experiments are compared with theoretical predictions and it is found that the data can be explained very well within the framework of a triangular well approximation model which allows for non-parabolic effects