Panning for gold: An annotated bibliography of treasures in Auckland Libraries’ special collections of children’s literature from 1880-1889

The catalogue entries for much of the items housed within Auckland Libraries special collections of children’s literature contain many gaps and limitations. In order to illustrate these limitations this project has focused on the collection’s holdings of items dated from 1880-1889. As the collections are arranged in date order I was able to examine the selection of items in a systematic fashion with the help of special collections staff, working through the items as they appeared on the shelf, annotating each item and noting discrepancies with and gaps in the catalogued information as I went. It is hoped that this project will not only assist library staff in updating the records for the items contained herein, and act as a guide to researchers wishing to learn about and access the collection, but also highlight issues of access to and cataloguing of rare books for the profession. Addressing the issues of subject headings, publication dates, and call numbers, as well as the cataloguing issues across the wider collections would of course require further work, but would be of great benefit to the library, its staff, and its patrons

The afterlife of Roman Forts: a case study of the Hadrian’s Wall region

This project studies the re-use of Roman fortification sites in the Anglo-Scottish border region, from 410 AD to the end of the 18th Century, to critique and identify any patterns for monument re-use. A singular methodology of collection and categorisation of public downloadable data for architectural and artefact evidence for the project region was completed for analysis and discussion. Two buffer zones around the Roman fortifications were created to set boundaries for evidence collection and analysis, 0.25 kilometres for the immediate area of the fortification and 3 kilometres for the proximate area of the fortification. Therefore a distinction could be made as to whether it was the Roman fortification itself which was important, or the landscape location for the monument re-use. The data is reviewed in two chapters; architectural evidence, the siting of fortified dwellings and ecclesiastical sites; and artefact evidence, the siting of find spots, both in relation to the Roman fortifications. The archaeological record and theoretical discussions of the re-use for Roman fortifications displays connections to the Early Medieval Christian church and Norman military tactics. This study revealed a significant concentration of architectural and artefact evidence located within 3 kilometres of many Roman fortifications, with certain time periods having high numbers of statistical evidence and locations having more than one associated piece of evidence. Therefore this project has revealed a High Medieval association with Roman fortification sites for architectural evidence, and artefact evidence for Early Medieval usage of some fortification sites. Therefore the evidence aids the archaeological record in a wider understanding of Roman fortifications heritage and their agency through historic time periods

Lack of antiviral activity of probenecid in vitro and in Syrian golden hamsters

Objectives Antiviral interventions are required to complement vaccination programmes and reduce the global burden of COVID-19. Prior to initiation of large-scale clinical trials, robust preclinical data to support candidate plausibility are required. This work sought to further investigate the putative antiviral activity of probenecid against SARS-CoV-2. Methods Vero E6 cells were preincubated with probenecid, or control media for 2 h before infection (SARS-CoV-2/Human/Liverpool/REMRQ0001/2020). Probenecid or control media was reapplied, plates reincubated and cytopathic activity quantified by spectrophotometry after 48 h. In vitro human airway epithelial cell (HAEC) assays were performed for probenecid against SARS-CoV-2-VoC-B.1.1.7 (hCoV-19/Belgium/rega-12211513/2020; EPI_ISL_791333, 2020-12-21) using an optimized cell model for antiviral testing. Syrian golden hamsters were intranasally inoculated (SARS-CoV-2 Delta B.1.617.2) 24 h prior to treatment with probenecid or vehicle for four twice-daily doses. Results No observable antiviral activity for probenecid was evident in Vero E6 or HAEC assays. No reduction in total or subgenomic RNA was observed in terminal lung samples (P > 0.05) from hamsters. Body weight of uninfected hamsters remained stable whereas both probenecid- and vehicle-treated infected hamsters lost body weight (P > 0.5). Conclusions These data do not support probenecid as a SARS-CoV-2 antiviral drug

Remdesivir-ivermectin combination displays synergistic interaction with improved in vitro activity against SARS-CoV-2

A key element for the prevention and management of COVID-19 is the development of effective therapeutics. Drug combination strategies of repurposed drugs offer several advantages over monotherapies, including the potential to achieve greater efficacy, the potential to increase the therapeutic index of drugs and the potential to reduce the emergence of drug resistance. Here, we report on the in vitro synergistic interaction between two FDA approved drugs, remdesivir and ivermectin resulting in enhanced antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2. Whilst the in vitro synergistic activity reported here does not support the clinical application of this combination treatment strategy, due to insufficient exposure of ivermectin in vivo, the data do warrant further investigation. Efforts to define the mechanisms underpinning the observed synergistic action, could lead to the development of novel therapeutic treatment strategies

Epidemiology of Gallbladder Disease: Cholelithiasis and Cancer

Diseases of the gallbladder are common and costly. The best epidemiological screening method to accurately determine point prevalence of gallstone disease is ultrasonography. Many risk factors for cholesterol gallstone formation are not modifiable such as ethnic background, increasing age, female gender and family history or genetics. Conversely, the modifiable risks for cholesterol gallstones are obesity, rapid weight loss and a sedentary lifestyle. The rising epidemic of obesity and the metabolic syndrome predicts an escalation of cholesterol gallstone frequency. Risk factors for biliary sludge include pregnancy, drugs like ceftiaxone, octreotide and thiazide diuretics, and total parenteral nutrition or fasting. Diseases like cirrhosis, chronic hemolysis and ileal Crohn's disease are risk factors for black pigment stones. Gallstone disease in childhood, once considered rare, has become increasingly recognized with similar risk factors as those in adults, particularly obesity. Gallbladder cancer is uncommon in developed countries. In the U.S., it accounts for only ~ 5,000 cases per year. Elsewhere, high incidence rates occur in North and South American Indians. Other than ethnicity and female gender, additional risk factors for gallbladder cancer include cholelithiasis, advancing age, chronic inflammatory conditions affecting the gallbladder, congenital biliary abnormalities, and diagnostic confusion over gallbladder polyps

Panning for gold: An annotated bibliography of treasures in Auckland Libraries’ special collections of children’s literature from 1880-1889

The catalogue entries for much of the items housed within Auckland Libraries special collections of children’s literature contain many gaps and limitations. In order to illustrate these limitations this project has focused on the collection’s holdings of items dated from 1880-1889. As the collections are arranged in date order I was able to examine the selection of items in a systematic fashion with the help of special collections staff, working through the items as they appeared on the shelf, annotating each item and noting discrepancies with and gaps in the catalogued information as I went. It is hoped that this project will not only assist library staff in updating the records for the items contained herein, and act as a guide to researchers wishing to learn about and access the collection, but also highlight issues of access to and cataloguing of rare books for the profession. Addressing the issues of subject headings, publication dates, and call numbers, as well as the cataloguing issues across the wider collections would of course require further work, but would be of great benefit to the library, its staff, and its patrons.</p

Panning for gold: An annotated bibliography of treasures in Auckland Libraries’ special collections of children’s literature from 1880-1889

The catalogue entries for much of the items housed within Auckland Libraries special collections of children’s literature contain many gaps and limitations. In order to illustrate these limitations this project has focused on the collection’s holdings of items dated from 1880-1889. As the collections are arranged in date order I was able to examine the selection of items in a systematic fashion with the help of special collections staff, working through the items as they appeared on the shelf, annotating each item and noting discrepancies with and gaps in the catalogued information as I went. It is hoped that this project will not only assist library staff in updating the records for the items contained herein, and act as a guide to researchers wishing to learn about and access the collection, but also highlight issues of access to and cataloguing of rare books for the profession. Addressing the issues of subject headings, publication dates, and call numbers, as well as the cataloguing issues across the wider collections would of course require further work, but would be of great benefit to the library, its staff, and its patrons

Developing an electrochemical assay to detect and quantify virus particles

Immunoassays are commonly used to sense many analytes and rely on a measureable detection of binding between an antibody and its antigen. The study described in this thesis used electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) to detect and quantitate viruses, particularly human adenoviruses (Ads), in terms of virus particles per ml. Initial work used bacteriophage MS2 and M13 to construct proof- of-principle sensors, the methodology of which was then applied in sensors built to detect Ads. The number of adenovirus (Ad) infections detected in immunocompromised people has increased due to the number of patients receiving transplants, as we" as the HIV pandemic. Ads cause life-threatening diseases specific to the infected organs of immunocompromised hosts, with discontinuation of immunosuppressive agents necessary to prevent morbidity. Initially, studies focussed on constructing self-assembled monolayer (SAM) based sensors against bacteriophage, after which Ad sensors were made using the same SAM methodology. The construction of sensors was analysed using cyclic voltammetry (CV), quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and EIS. CV and EIS showed SAM based sensing surfaces collapsed upon virus capture for both bacteriophage and human Ad based sensors. Novel immunosensors were then fabricated using a functionalised conducting copolymer matrix comprising polyaniline and 2-aminobenzylamine onto which half-antibody fragments of polyclonal antibodies raised against a human Ad (AdS) capsid protein were immobilised. Fullv fabricated sensors were incubated with two immunologicallv distinct serotypes of Ad, Ad5 and Ad3, with between 10 and 1012 virus particles per ml prior to sensor interrogation. EIS was used to measure the charge transfer resistance of the sensors across a range of frequencies. They were found to specifically detect, and differentiate between, closely related human Ad serotypes with a limit of detection of 106 virus particles per ml, this was improved to 103 virus particles per ml after optimisation studies. In addition, atomic force microscopy was applied to study the sensor surface nanostructure and viruses and viral proteins were radiolabelled to investigate the binding parameters of the immunosensor and the virus.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Images and Reports from Tulip Mews Watching Brief and Excavation, Heddon-on-the-Wall, Northumberland 2014-2021

This collection comprises images and reports from a watching brief on land at Tulip Mews, Heddon-on-the-Wall, Northumberland, commissioned and undertaken by Wardell Armstrong. During the watching brief substantial remains of Hadrian's Wall and a Medieval corn dryer were recorded and these led to targeted excavations

Images and Report from an Archaeological Evaluation on land east of Axminster, Devon, 2018

This collection comprises images and a report from an archaeological trial trench evaluation on land east of Axminster, Devon. The archaeological work was undertaken over 24 days between the 30th July and the 7th September 2018, and comprised the excavation of 63 trenches