Writing in Britain and Ireland, c. 400 to c. 800

No abstract available

Infectious Disease Modeling with Interpersonal Contact Patterns as a Heterogeneous Network

In this thesis, we study deterministic compartmental epidemic models. The conventional mass-mixing assumption is replaced with infectious disease contraction occurring within a heterogeneous network. Modeling infectious diseases with a heterogeneous contact network divides disease status compartments into further sub-compartments by degree class and thus allows for the finite set of contacts of an individual to play a role in disease transmission. These epidemiological network models are introduced as switched systems, which are systems that combine continuous dynamics with discrete logic. Many models are investi- gated, including SIS, SIR, SIRS, SEIR type models, and multi-city models. We analyze the stability of these switched network models. Particularly, we consider the transmission rate as a piecewise constant that changes value according to a switching signal. We establish threshold criteria for the eradication of a disease or stability of an endemic equilibrium using Lyapunov function techniques. Simulations are also conducted to support our claims and conclude conjectures. We test constant control and pulse control schemes, including vaccination, treatment, and screening processes for the application of these infectious disease models. Necessary critical control values are determined for the eradication of the disease

Life history, climate and biogeography interactively affect worldwide genetic diversity of plant and animal populations.

Understanding how biological and environmental factors interactively shape the global distribution of plant and animal genetic diversity is fundamental to biodiversity conservation. Genetic diversity measured in local populations (GDP) is correspondingly assumed representative for population fitness and eco-evolutionary dynamics. For 8356 populations across the globe, we report that plants systematically display much lower GDP than animals, and that life history traits shape GDP patterns both directly (animal longevity and size), and indirectly by mediating core-periphery patterns (animal fecundity and plant dispersal). Particularly in some plant groups, peripheral populations can sustain similar GDP as core populations, emphasizing their potential conservation value. We further find surprisingly weak support for general latitudinal GDP trends. Finally, contemporary rather than past climate contributes to the spatial distribution of GDP, suggesting that contemporary environmental changes affect global patterns of GDP. Our findings generate new perspectives for the conservation of genetic resources at worldwide and taxonomic-wide scales

Creating and curating an archive: Bury St Edmunds and its Anglo-Saxon past

This contribution explores the mechanisms by which the Benedictine foundation of Bury St Edmunds sought to legitimise and preserve their spurious pre-Conquest privileges and holdings throughout the Middle Ages. The archive is extraordinary in terms of the large number of surviving registers and cartularies which contain copies of Anglo-Saxon charters, many of which are wholly or partly in Old English. The essay charts the changing use to which these ancient documents were put in response to threats to the foundation's continued enjoyment of its liberties. The focus throughout the essay is to demonstrate how pragmatic considerations at every stage affects the development of the archive and the ways in which these linguistically challenging texts were presented, re-presented, and represented during the Abbey’s history