The Trypanosoma brucei AIR9-like protein is cytoskeleton-associated and is required for nucleus positioning and accurate cleavage furrow placement

AIR9 is a cytoskeleton-associated protein in Arabidopsis thaliana with roles in cytokinesis and cross wall maturation, and reported homologues in land plants and excavate protists, including trypanosomatids. We show that the Trypanosoma brucei AIR9-like protein, TbAIR9, is also cytoskeleton-associated and colocalises with the subpellicular microtubules. We find it to be expressed in all life cycle stages and show that it is essential for normal proliferation of trypanosomes in vitro. Depletion of TbAIR9 from procyclic trypanosomes resulted in increased cell length due to increased microtubule extension at the cell posterior. Additionally, the nucleus was re-positioned to a location posterior to the kinetoplast, leading to defects in cytokinesis and the generation of aberrant progeny. In contrast, in bloodstream trypanosomes, depletion of TbAIR9 had little effect on nucleus positioning, but resulted in aberrant cleavage furrow placement and the generation of non-equivalent daughter cells following cytokinesis. Our data provide insight into the control of nucleus positioning in this important pathogen and emphasise differences in the cytoskeleton and cell cycle control between two life cycle stages of the T. brucei parasite

Trends in education in Northern England during the eighteenth century :a biographical study

PhD ThesisThe education of the intellectual elite of the eighteenth century. The eighteenth century has been neglected in studies of the history of English education. The great pioneers of this field, Leach and Foster-Watson concentrated their efforts upon the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Their work, supplemented by the monumental researches of Jordan, provided the factual basis for later interpretations of the educational trends in England before 1660. However little of their writings concerned the eighteenth century and no other scholar of the same stature repaired this omission. There were indeed specialist studies of certain facets of education between 1660 and 1800. The dissenting academies were described in some detail, by Parker and McLachlan, the charity schools found their historiographer in Miss Jones, and eighteenth century. Cambridge was lovingly delineated by Winstanley. The rise of the public schools was examined by E. C. Mack. The education available for women was discussed by Miss Gardiner. A few unpublished theses also dealt with eighteenth century aspects of education. Little however was written until very recently about endowed or private schools, although these were numerically far more important

The everyday use of assistive technology by people with dementia and their family carers: a qualitative study

Background: Assistive Technology (AT) has been suggested as a means by which people with dementia can be helped to live independently, while also leading to greater efficiencies in care. However little is known about how AT is being used by people with dementia and their carers in their daily routines. This paper reports on a qualitative study exploring the everyday use of AT by people with dementia and their families. Methods: The research employed a qualitative methodology. Semi structured interviews took place with 39 participants, 13 people with dementia and 26 carers. Key themes were identified using thematic analysis and the constant comparative method. Results: Three categories of AT use in everyday settings were identified; formal AT, accessed via social care services, ‘off the shelf AT' purchased privately, and ‘do it yourself' AT, everyday household products adapted by families to fulfil individual need in the absence of specific devices. Access to AT was driven by carers, with the majority of benefits being experienced by carers. Barriers to use included perceptions about AT cost; dilemmas about the best time to use AT; and a lack of information and support from formal health and social care services about how to access AT, where to source it and when and how it can be used. Conclusions: It has been argued that the ‘mixed economy' landscape, with private AT provision supplementing state provision of AT, is a key feature for the mainstreaming of AT services. Our data suggests that such a mixed economy is indeed taking place, with more participants using ‘off the shelf' and ‘DIY' AT purchased privately rather than via health and social care services. However this system has largely arisen due to an inability of formal care services to meet client needs. Such findings therefore raise questions about just who AT in its current provision is working for and whether a mixed market approach is the most appropriate provider model. Everyday technologies play an important role in supporting families with dementia to continue caring; further research is needed however to determine the most effective and person-centred models for future AT provision

Cognitive stimulation therapy in dementia care: exploring the views and experiences of service providers on the barriers and facilitators to implementation in practice using Normalization Process Theory

Background: Cognitive stimulation therapy (CST) is an evidence-based, cost-effective psychosocial intervention for people with dementia but is currently not a standard part of post-diagnostic care. This qualitative study explored the views and experiences of dementia care providers on the barriers and facilitators to its implementation in usual care.  Method: Thirty four semi-structured interviews (24 participants) were conducted across four dementia care sites in the North of England; ten were follow-up interviews. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis and then mapped to the Normalization Process Theory framework.  Results: Participants considered CST a “good fit” with their “preferred” ways of working and goals of dementia care namely the provision of person-centered services. For facilitators delivering the intervention, compared to other behavioral interventions, CST was seen to offer benefits to their work and was easy to understand as an intervention. Training in CST and seeing benefits for clients were important motivators. Time and resources were crucial for the successful implementation of CST. Participants were keen to objectively measure benefits to participants but unsure how to do this.  Conclusions: CST is a cost-effective psychosocial intervention for people with dementia, recommended by national guidance. Despite our findings which show that, using the NPT framework, there are more facilitators than barriers to the implementation of CST, it is still not a standard part of post-diagnostic dementia care. Further research is needed to explore the reasons for this implementation gap in ensuring evidence-based care in translated into practice

ScAmPER: generating test suites to maximise code coverage in interactive fiction games

We present ScAmPER, a tool that generates test suites that maximise coverage for a class of interactive fiction computer games from the early 1980s. These games customise a base game engine with scripts written in a simple language. The tool uses a heuristic-guided search to evaluate whether these lines of code can in fact be executed during gameplay and, if so, outputs a sequence of game inputs that achieves this. Equivalently, the tool can be seen as attempting to generate a set of test cases that maximises coverage of the scripted code. The tool also generates a visualisation of the search process

A non-destructive virtual dissection by micro-CT reveals diagnostic characters in the type specimen of Caloptilia stigmatella (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae)

Nearly a century ago, wing venation pattern was introduced in the gracillariid taxonomy to diagnose the closely related genera and species groups. Recent advances in non-destructive virtual micro-dissections suggest a promising approach in revisiting the relevance of wing venation characters and application of this method to historic primary type specimens. Many unique type specimens in Gracillariidae and other microlepidoptera groups are preserved in the museum collections in poor condition and in the course of history suffered loss or damage to their abdomens, so internal genitalia structural morphology is not available for diagnosis and comparisons. The interpretation of wing venation characters became a significant element in Gracillariidae taxonomy dealing with species complexes and defining the boundaries of genera. In this paper we emphasize the need to include the type species and type specimens into the broader context of taxonomic studies on micro moths in general and the family Gracillariidae in particular. For the first time we introduce the method of virtual descaling of the wings in micro moths. The genus Caloptilia with a world-wide distribution has more than 200 years history of research, but the generic boundaries and groupings within the genus are not resolved yet due to the lack of a reliable set of taxonomic characters obtained from the primary types. We describe a method of virtual descaling of the fore and hindwings of an unset micro-moth type specimen Caloptilia stigmatella Fabricius, 1781, in order to demonstrate that the study of historic and fragile type specimens and diagnosis of their internal morphological characters becomes possible by applying new and non-destructive technology

The Rainbow Portrait and the Faery Queen: Emblem, Imagination and the Arthurian Gentleman.

This work re-interprets the symbolism of the emblematic Rainbow portrait (c. 1600) of Elizabeth I. The traditional title comes from the identification of the rainbow in the portrait as that of Genesis 9:13. In fact, this work demonstrates, it is the philosophers\u27 rainbow, a cryptonym for the colors--black, red, white--of the three stages of alchemic transmutation: purification, illumination, perfection. Elizabeth is represented as the Faery Queen, the alchemical monarch--historically the pre-Homeric Hecate--who transmutes not only the brazen world of her subjects but their brassy selves as well. In the text the portrait is therefore designated the Alchemists\u27 Rainbow portrait, the AR portrait for convenience. The historical phenomena investigated have suffered cultural amnesia. The most important is a form of Renaissance Platonism hitherto not identified. Neoplatonism occurs in two forms. One is Eratoplatonism focused on love; the other, here called Geoplatonism, is focused on a knowledge or gnosis. The vector of Geoplatonism is Proclus although elements go back to Hesiod and Plato. Central is the function of imagination, the nexus between no-thing and some-thing as is the point in geometry which is location without dimension. The AR portrait is a talismanic emblem meant to function in the world of Elizabeth as does the point in the world of geometry. This hermeneutics is designated copious eclecticism

Psychosocial intervention for carers of people with dementia: What components are most effective and when? A systematic review of systematic reviews

Psychosocial interventions for carers of people with dementia are increasingly recognized as playing an important role in dementia care. We aim to systematically review the evidence from existing systematic reviews of psychosocial interventions for informal carers of people with dementia.  Thirty-one systematic reviews were identified; following quality appraisal, data from 13 reviews, rated as high or moderate quality, were extracted.  Well-designed, clearly structured multi-component interventions can help maintain the psychological health of carers of people with dementia and delay institutionalization of the latter. To be most effective, such interventions should include both an educational and a therapeutic component; delivery through a support group format may further enhance their effectiveness.  Successful translation of evidence into practice in this area remains a challenge. Future research should focus on determining the most cost-effective means of delivering effective multi-component interventions in real-world settings; the cost-effective potential of technology-based interventions is considerable