Obituary: Alan Grahame Lloyd (1926-1999)

Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Religious acculturation and assimilation in Belgic Gaul and Aquitania from the Roman Conquest until the end of the Second Century CE: selected aspects

The prevailing opinion regarding Gallo-Roman religion, expressed by Jullian, Hubert, Thevenot, Duval, Hatt and Wightman, is that it was a fusion between the two religions. Scholars who dissent from this view can be divided into two different groups. On the one hand, Woolf contends that, during a formative period of GalloRoman civilisation, there was a partial abandonment of the Gallic rites, that Roman religion came to be understood to be better as well as different, and that GalloRoman religion offered more spiritually as well as materially. On the other hand, Vendryes, Le Roux, Guyonvarc'h and BenoTt hold that the Gallic deities continued to be worshipped, some under a Roman guise, others in their original pre-Roman form; however, they accept aniconism, atectonism and the reports that the Romans stopped human sacrifice and headhunting.It will be argued not only that the worship of Gallic deities continued, but also that Gallic religion already used man-made sanctuaries and anthropomorphic images before the Roman Conquest, that the disappearance of human sacrifice was wrongly attributed to the Romans and that the Romans never suppressed headhunting.In chapter one some conceptual problems that need clarification before the subject can be properly addressed is discussed. They include problems regarding terminology, presuppositions and errors. In the second chapter the archaeological and literary sources of information about Gallic religion and their reliability are examined. Using these sources, in the third chapter, Gallic deities are identified and the enigma of the pantheon set out by Caesar is decoded. In the fourth chapter the use of formal structures of worship and ritual by the Gauls is confirmed and the essential elements of such structures are analysed, with the argument being supported by a comparison of pre-Roman Celtic sanctuaries from both inside and outside the Roman Empire. In the fifth chapter the concept of sacrifice is examined from an anthropological perspective and this approach is applied to all Gallic sacrifices; the Gallic rituals of divination and circumambulation are also examined. The basis for the magico-religious significance and popularity of headhunting is established in the sixth chapter. Finally, in the seventh chapter, the Celtic belief in an Afterlife is defined and its attraction is demonstrated. In each chapter, the number of these Gallic beliefs and customs, which continued after the Roman Conquest is examined and it is demonstrated that Gallic religion was not abandoned, that the Celtic sanctuary design was the basis for Gallo-Roman temple design and that Gallo-Roman religion continued to be Gallic as well as Roman

Atlantic grey seal milk shows continuous changes in key metabolites and indicators of metabolic transition in pups from birth to weaning

The work was funded from core support given to the Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, from the National Environmental Research Council (United Kingdom), and separately by the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde. The funding of mass spectrometry equipment for metabolomics was provided by the Scottish Life Sciences Alliance.Mothers of the Atlantic grey seal, Halichoerus grypus, lactate for about 20 days, during which they do not feed and may have no access to water. Following weaning, they depart to sea leaving their pups unattended and unfed for up to another 40 days. We are interested in how this lactation strategy supports the pups’ rapid growth and development while also preparing them for their long fast before independently going to sea. We report a broad spectrum metabolomic analysis of whole milks of these seals that reveals continuous changes in key metabolites from birth to weaning. Certain components exhibit abbreviated appearances at the onset of lactation, followed by continuous rises or falls in others until weaning. Riboflavin/Vitamin B2, hormone-related sterol sulfates, lactose, and complex oligosaccharides all appear in milk briefly after birth then disappear. Lipids associated with cellular signaling and brain development occur at highest levels shortly after birth, then diminish. In contrast, other lipids and Vitamin B6/pyridoxine steadily increase as weaning approaches. Overall, these findings may indicate an early transition from carbohydrate to fat-based energy metabolism and establishment of gut microbiomes in pups, followed by provisioning for post-weaning development and fasting.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Uklanjanje arsena u tretmanu vode za piće primenom sorpcionih i koagulacionih procesa

This dissertation investigates the factors which affect the removal of arsenic from groundwater by adsorption and coagulation technologies, including the interactions between As and natural organic matter (NOM). Humic acid (HA) was utilised as an NOM analogue, and was shown to be capable of both complexing and oxidising As, depending upon the prevailing conditions. The arsenic removing capabilities of three iron oxide coated sands (IOCS) were investigated, including IOCSW, a waste material from a local drinking water treatment plant generated during the removal of iron and manganese. IOCSW was highly effective at removing both As(V) and As(III) from synthetic water matrices (qmax = 78.3 µg As(V)/g and 99.1 µg As(III)/g). The negative effects of competitive anions (phosphates, silicates and HA) on arsenic removals were not significant enough to preclude the application of IOCSW for arsenic removal during drinking water treatment. The removals of both As and NOM by coagulation and enhanced coagulation with pH correction and preoxidation were also investigated. As(V)  was more readily removed by coagulation than As(III), so that the most efficient coagulation treatment investigated for arsenic and NOM removal applied preozonation with subsequent combined coagulation with polyaluminium chloride and ferric chloride. Different groundwaters displayed large variations in the As and NOM removal behaviours. Response surface methodology (RSM) was therefore applied to investigate  the interactions between As and NOM during ferric chloride coagulation and optimise their combined removals. Multiple interaction effects were observed during this investigation, highlighting the importance of utilizing RSM to optimise drinking water treatment technologies.Ova disertacija ispituje faktore koji utiču na uklanjanje arsena iz podzemne vode primenom adsorpcija i koagulacije, uključujući i interakcije između arsena i prirodnih organskih materija (POM). Huminska kiselina (HA) je korisćena kao model za POM, a pokazano je da može i da kompleksira i da oksiduje As, u zavisnosti od eksperimentalnih uslova. Ispitivane su mogućnosti uklanjanja arsena za tri peska obložena gvožđe oksidom (IOCS), uključujući IOCSW, koji je dobijen sa postrojenja za tretman vode za piće i potiče iz procesa uklanjanja gvožđa i mangana. IOCSW se pokazao kao visoko efikasan za uklanjanje As(V) i As(III) iz sintetičkih vodenih matriksa (qmax = 78.3 µg As(V)/g i 99.1 µg As(III)/g). Negativni efekti kompetirajućih jona (fosfata, silikata i HA) na uklanjanje arsena nisu bili dovoljno značajni da bi se isključila primena IOCSW za uklanjanje arsena tokom tretmana vode za piće. Zajedničko uklanjanje As i POM koagulacijom i unapređenom koagulacijom uz podešavanje pH i kombinovanje sa oksidacionim predtretmanima je takođe ispitivano. Bolje uklanjanje koagulacijom postignuto je za As(V) u odnosu na As(III), stoga se kao najefikasniji ispitivani koagulacioni tretman pokazalo uklanjanje arsena i POM primenom predozonizacije praćene kombinovanom koagulacijom sa polialuminijum hloridom i gvožđe hloridom. Ispitivanja na različitim podzemnim vodama, pokazala su velike varijacije u ponašanju As i POM tokom tretmana. Iz tog razloga je primenjena metodologija odzivne površine (RSM) u cilju ispitivanja interakcija između As i POM tokom koagulacije gvožđe hloridom i optimizacije njihovog kombinovanog uklanjanja. Sagledavanje većeg broja interakcija primenom metodologije odzivne površine potvrđuje važnost njegove primene pri optimizaciji tretmana vode za piće

Staphylococcus aureus products subvert the Burkholderia cenocepacia-induced inflammatory response in airway epithelial cells

Introduction. Chronic pulmonary infection is associated with colonization with multiple micro-organisms but host-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions are poorly understood.Aim. This study aims to investigate the differences in host responses to mono- and co-infection with S. aureus and B. cenocepacia in human airway epithelial cells.Methodology. We assessed the effect of co-infection with B. cenocepacia and S. aureus on host signalling and inflammatory responses in the human airway epithelial cell line 16HBE, using ELISA and western blot analysis.Results. The results show that B. cenocepacia activates MAPK and NF-κB signalling pathways, subsequently eliciting robust interleukin (IL)-8 production. However, when airway epithelial cells were co-treated with live B. cenocepacia bacteria and S. aureus supernatants (conditioned medium), the pro-inflammatory response was attenuated. This anti-inflammatory effect was widely exhibited in the S. aureus isolates tested and was mediated via reduced MAPK and NF-κB signalling, but not via IL-1 receptor or tumour necrosis factor receptor modulation. The staphylococcal effectors were characterized as small, heat-stable, non-proteinaceous and not cell wall-related factors.Conclusion. This study demonstrates for the first time the host response in a S. aureus/B. cenocepacia co-infection model and provides insight into a staphylococcal immune evasion mechanism, as well as a therapeutic intervention for excessive inflammation.</p

Uklanjanje arsena u tretmanu vode za piće primenom sorpcionih i koagulacionih procesa

This dissertation investigates the factors which affect the removal of arsenic from groundwater by adsorption and coagulation technologies, including the interactions between As and natural organic matter (NOM). Humic acid (HA) was utilised as an NOM analogue, and was shown to be capable of both complexing and oxidising As, depending upon the prevailing conditions. The arsenic removing capabilities of three iron oxide coated sands (IOCS) were investigated, including IOCSW, a waste material from a local drinking water treatment plant generated during the removal of iron and manganese. IOCSW was highly effective at removing both As(V) and As(III) from synthetic water matrices (qmax = 78.3 µg As(V)/g and 99.1 µg As(III)/g). The negative effects of competitive anions (phosphates, silicates and HA) on arsenic removals were not significant enough to preclude the application of IOCSW for arsenic removal during drinking water treatment. The removals of both As and NOM by coagulation and enhanced coagulation with pH correction and preoxidation were also investigated. As(V)  was more readily removed by coagulation than As(III), so that the most efficient coagulation treatment investigated for arsenic and NOM removal applied preozonation with subsequent combined coagulation with polyaluminium chloride and ferric chloride. Different groundwaters displayed large variations in the As and NOM removal behaviours. Response surface methodology (RSM) was therefore applied to investigate  the interactions between As and NOM during ferric chloride coagulation and optimise their combined removals. Multiple interaction effects were observed during this investigation, highlighting the importance of utilizing RSM to optimise drinking water treatment technologies.Ova disertacija ispituje faktore koji utiču na uklanjanje arsena iz podzemne vode primenom adsorpcija i koagulacije, uključujući i interakcije između arsena i prirodnih organskih materija (POM). Huminska kiselina (HA) je korisćena kao model za POM, a pokazano je da može i da kompleksira i da oksiduje As, u zavisnosti od eksperimentalnih uslova. Ispitivane su mogućnosti uklanjanja arsena za tri peska obložena gvožđe oksidom (IOCS), uključujući IOCSW, koji je dobijen sa postrojenja za tretman vode za piće i potiče iz procesa uklanjanja gvožđa i mangana. IOCSW se pokazao kao visoko efikasan za uklanjanje As(V) i As(III) iz sintetičkih vodenih matriksa (qmax = 78.3 µg As(V)/g i 99.1 µg As(III)/g). Negativni efekti kompetirajućih jona (fosfata, silikata i HA) na uklanjanje arsena nisu bili dovoljno značajni da bi se isključila primena IOCSW za uklanjanje arsena tokom tretmana vode za piće. Zajedničko uklanjanje As i POM koagulacijom i unapređenom koagulacijom uz podešavanje pH i kombinovanje sa oksidacionim predtretmanima je takođe ispitivano. Bolje uklanjanje koagulacijom postignuto je za As(V) u odnosu na As(III), stoga se kao najefikasniji ispitivani koagulacioni tretman pokazalo uklanjanje arsena i POM primenom predozonizacije praćene kombinovanom koagulacijom sa polialuminijum hloridom i gvožđe hloridom. Ispitivanja na različitim podzemnim vodama, pokazala su velike varijacije u ponašanju As i POM tokom tretmana. Iz tog razloga je primenjena metodologija odzivne površine (RSM) u cilju ispitivanja interakcija između As i POM tokom koagulacije gvožđe hloridom i optimizacije njihovog kombinovanog uklanjanja. Sagledavanje većeg broja interakcija primenom metodologije odzivne površine potvrđuje važnost njegove primene pri optimizaciji tretmana vode za piće

Transportation and civil liberties in New South Wales, 1810-1840

Many Australian historians have studied constitutional developments in New South Wales during the colony's first fifty years; There have been scarcely fewer accounts of Hacquerie and his times, although Darling and Bourke still await the biographéns. But there is one historical problem uniting all three administrations in the years before representative government, the question of civil liberties in a penal colony

The development of a safe and effective method of providing analgesia to patients with a broken hip

This PhD project developed the femoral 3-in-1 nerve block to provide safe, effective regional analgesia to the 60,000 patients admitted annually to UK hospitals with a fractured neck of femur. The hospital mortality for patients with a fractured hip in a large UK study was 14.3% with cardiac aetiologies predominating in the first 2 days (Bottle and Aylin 2006). In contrast to the marked improvements in mortality for elective surgery, the overall mortality from emergency surgery and in particular surgery for fractured neck of femur patients has remained unchanged (Roberts and Goldacre 2003). Development of the femoral 3-in-1 nerve block for fractured neck of femur patients will provide analgesia but may also improve outcome. A relationship between effective pain analgesia and improved cardiac morbidity and reduced mortality in patients with a fractured neck of femur was demonstrated by Matot et al using epidural analgesia in 2001 but this is not the current clinical standard in the UK (Matot et al. 2003). The femoral 3-in-1 nerve block (also called the fascia iliacus block or anterior psoas compartment block) offered a viable solution to provide analgesia to patients with a fractured neck of femur prior to surgical fixation. The femoral 3-in-1 nerve block is technically undemanding and requires a minimum of extra training and resources. In contrast to epidural analgesia which requires extensive training of practitioners and continuous cardio-respiratory monitoring of patients and an increased level of nursing care, ultrasound guided nerve blocks have been associated with an increased success rate, need less local anaesthetic and have shorter onset times than traditional techniques (Marhofer et al. 1997;Marhofer et al. 1998). Ultrasound guidance may increase the nerve block success rate and lower complication rates but it is associated with the extra cost of the ultrasound machine, disposables and staff training. In contrast, needle guidance using loss of resistance for a femoral 3-in-1 block is technically simple and cheap but is potentially inaccurate and, as a result, may be less effective. Anaesthetists currently utilise the femoral 3-in-1 nerve block to provide effective pain after surgical fixation of the femur but these techniques use large doses of local anaesthetic. Further information on dosing based on efficacy and duration of action will allow a reduction in dose and hence an improvement in safety of the femoral 3-in-1 nerve block. The information needed to develop the femoral 3-in-1 nerve block to provide analgesia for patients with a fractured neck of femur was provided by undertaking one prospective observer-blinded muticentre randomised controlled study, a clinical trial of an investigational medicinal product and a cadaveric dissection study. A multicentre randomised controlled study compared the efficacy of using ultrasound, nerve stimulator and loss of resistance techniques to guide the needle for a femoral 3-in-1 nerve block in elective primary total hip arthroplasty patients. This initial study recruited patients scheduled for a similar operation to fracture neck of femur patients (elective primary total hip arthroplasty) as it was impossible to recruit and assess a large number (>100) elderly, frail emergency patients. The use of the nerve stimulator is the current gold standard for elective femoral 3-in-1 nerve blocks but if used on patients with a fractured neck of femur it will cause unnecessary discomfort in a limb with an unfixed fracture. In order to determine the comparative efficacy of ultrasound, nerve stimulator and loss of resistance techniques, we performed femoral 3-in-1 nerve blocks on 180 patients scheduled for elective primary total hip arthroplasty. The efficacy of these three techniques was measured by assessing femoral nerve sensory and motor response at 30 minutes after the femoral 3-in-1 nerve block. The use of ultrasound and nerve stimulator (US+NS) for the femoral 3-in-1 femoral nerve block for elective total hip replacement was statistically significantly more effective than loss of resistance (LOR-59.5%, US+NS-80.3%, p=0.0159 (p≤0.025)) with a number needed to treat of 5. There was no statistically significant difference in the effectiveness of using the nerve stimulator(NS) and ultrasound(US) to guide the insertion of a femoral 3-in-1 nerve block (NS-77.5, US-83.1%, p=0.527 (p≤0.025). Since the use of nerve stimulator would result in significant unnecessary discomfort in patients with an unfixed fracture it was concluded that ultrasound was the optimal technique to guide femoral 3-in-1 nerve blocks for analgesia in patients with a fractured neck of femur. The dosing and safety of the femoral 3-in-1 nerve block was determined in patients with a fractured neck of femur. Levobupivacaine dosing was estimated by a Dixon’s up/down sequential methodology. Femoral 3-in-1 nerve blocks were performed and the concentration of levobupivacaine was increased or decreased (using a fixed volume) for an ineffective or effective nerve block respectively, as a result the concentration tended towards the EC50 (effective concentration in 50% of patients). The EC50 and the EC95 (effective concentration in 95% of patients) for 30 ml of levobupivacaine was estimated using a binary probit regression model; in which the probability of an effective nerve block was modelled against the concentration of levobupivacaine. The second part of this clinical trial assessed the pharmacokinetics (to ensure that serum levels were within the safe range) and pharmacodynamics (to assess duration of analgesia). The estimated EC95 concentration of levobupivacaine for the femoral 3-in-1 nerve block was 30mls of 0.036% with 95% confidence interval of 0.0332% to 0.0383%. The EC95 concentration of levobupivacaine gave a mean duration of analgesia of 166 minutes with a standard error of the mean of 35 minutes and peak median plasma level of 52 ng/ml 30 minutes after the femoral 3-in-1 nerve block. The measured plasma levobupivacaine concentrations were below the threshold (2100ng/ml) associated with toxicity. The clinical anatomy of the femoral 3-in-1 nerve block was determined by dissection. We investigated the distribution of 30 ml of black 10% latex injected lateral to the femoral nerve under the fascia iliacus membrane in two unembalmed adult cadavers. In all four dissections the lateral cutaneous and femoral nerves were stained at the inguinal ligament and the latex travelled distally in the adductor canal into the popliteal fossa to stain the sciatic nerve and its terminal branches

AlGaInN laser diode technology for GHz high-speed visible light communication through plastic optical fiber and water

AlGaInN ridge waveguide laser diodes are fabricated to achieve single-mode operation with optical powers up to 100 mW at ∼420  nm∼420  nm for visible free-space, underwater, and plastic optical fiber communication. We report high-frequency operation of AlGaInN laser diodes with data transmission up to 2.5 GHz for free-space and underwater communication and up to 1.38 GHz through 10 m of plastic optical fiber

Changes in the milk metabolome of the Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) with time after birth: three phases in early lactation and progressive individual differences

Ursids (bears) in general, and giant pandas in particular, are highly altricial at birth. The components of bear milks and their changes with time may be uniquely adapted to nourish relatively immature neonates, protect them from pathogens, and support the maturation of neonatal digestive physiology. Serial milk samples collected from three giant pandas in early lactation were subjected to untargeted metabolite profiling and multivariate analysis. Changes in milk metabolites with time after birth were analysed by Principal Component Analysis, Hierarchical Cluster Analysis and further supported by Orthogonal Partial Least Square-Discriminant Analysis, revealing three phases of milk maturation: days 1–6 (Phase 1), days 7–20 (Phase 2), and beyond day 20 (Phase 3). While the compositions of Phase 1 milks were essentially indistinguishable among individuals, divergences emerged during the second week of lactation. OPLS regression analysis positioned against the growth rate of one cub tentatively inferred a correlation with changes in the abundance of a trisaccharide, isoglobotriose, previously observed to be a major oligosaccharide in ursid milks. Three artificial milk formulae used to feed giant panda cubs were also analysed, and were found to differ markedly in component content from natural panda milk. These findings have implications for the dependence of the ontogeny of all species of bears, and potentially other members of the Carnivora and beyond, on the complexity and sequential changes in maternal provision of micrometabolites in the immediate period after birth