Terra Incognita: On First Reading ‘L’Invitation au Voyage’

Autumn term, 1962, a South London (Boys’) Grammar School: the Cuban Missile Crisis had just come to an end, but Planet Earth had not, which meant that I would, after all, be taking my A-levels in English, German, and French. C’est la vie. French O-level had been taught – or rather, enforced – by an elderly irascible Scot, who kept a cane in his drawer, and never gave the slightest hint that French words could be combined to make French poems, which could in their turn be delicious, haunting – or even seductive. Grammar, dictation, and repetition were all. Whereas Mr. B – our A-level master, much younger but nevertheless somewhat meticulous, and a little desiccated and ascetic in manner (he would have made a credible monk), revelled in his sonorous readings of Verlaine and Baudelaire – ‘de la musique avant toute chose’

<i>P. berghei</i> telomerase subunit TERT is essential for parasite survival

Telomeres define the ends of chromosomes protecting eukaryotic cells from chromosome instability and eventual cell death. The complex regulation of telomeres involves various proteins including telomerase, which is a specialized ribonucleoprotein responsible for telomere maintenance. Telomeres of chromosomes of malaria parasites are kept at a constant length during blood stage proliferation. The 7-bp telomere repeat sequence is universal across different Plasmodium species (GGGTTT/CA), though the average telomere length varies. The catalytic subunit of telomerase, telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), is present in all sequenced Plasmodium species and is approximately three times larger than other eukaryotic TERTs. The Plasmodium RNA component of TERT has recently been identified in silico. A strategy to delete the gene encoding TERT via double cross-over (DXO) homologous recombination was undertaken to study the telomerase function in P. berghei. Expression of both TERT and the RNA component (TR) in P. berghei blood stages was analysed by Western blotting and Northern analysis. Average telomere length was measured in several Plasmodium species using Telomere Restriction Fragment (TRF) analysis. TERT and TR were detected in blood stages and an average telomere length of ~950 bp established. Deletion of the tert gene was performed using standard transfection methodologies and we show the presence of tert− mutants in the transfected parasite populations. Cloning of tert- mutants has been attempted multiple times without success. Thorough analysis of the transfected parasite populations and the parasite obtained from extensive parasite cloning from these populations provide evidence for a so called delayed death phenotype as observed in different organisms lacking TERT. The findings indicate that TERT is essential for P. berghei cell survival. The study extends our current knowledge on telomere biology in malaria parasites and validates further investigations to identify telomerase inhibitors to induce parasite cell death

Volunteering for INSPIRE : the AGI experience.

The Association for Geographic Information (AGI) is the UK volunteer membership body for everyone with an interest in geographic information. It serves members from all sectors including public, private, the third sector, academia, students and individuals. This paper describes how a voluntary organisation with very limited funds, and representing a wide cross section of the industry, has made – and is continuing to make – a significant contribution to the development of the INSPIRE Directive. It includes a summary of how AGI has supported the Directive, documenting the validity, the experience and the lessons learnt. Both AGI and INSPIRE seek to ‘maximise the use of geographic information for the benefit of the citizen, good governance and commerce.' AGI has been actively engaged from the first stages of the INSPIRE programme. It has responded to all consultations from the EC as well as those from the UK. This has been achieved by volunteers from across the UK and particularly those in the Devolved Administrations such as Scotland. AGI set up an Action Working Group in 2007 which tracked the Transposition stage and is now ensuring that AGI contributes to the Implementation phase. The AGI’s Scottish committee prepared a report to encourage the Scottish Government to act. This led to the publication of ‘One Scotland - One Geography’ in 2005 which is regarded as a model for other countries to follow. AGI is represented by its Director on the UK Location Council – responsible for the UK Location Strategy and oversight of the UK Location Programme – where it provides a focus for commercial, academic and third sector organisations. AGI has provided direct help for awareness events and technical workshops as well as organising an annual conference that always has INSPIRE or Location Programme ‘streams’

“All Sorts and Any Quantity of Outlandish Recreations”: History, Sociology, and the Study of Leisure in England, 1820 to 1870

L'étude des loisirs populaires en Angleterre durant la période victorienne jouit présentement d'une grande faveur. Cependant, de nombreux problèmes se posent au chercheur qui s'y adonne. En effet, le sujet est non seulement complexe en lui-même mais il est aussi perçu différemment par les uns ou les autres. Par exemple, certains historiens abordent le problème comme s'il se rattachait aux traditions populaires plus anciennes, d'autres y voient plutôt l'émergence du phénomène de la « culture de masse » alors que d'aucuns l'approchent d'une façon tout à fait élitiste en concentrant leurs efforts sur l'étude de la réforme des loisirs tout en ignorant les réactions populaires aux mesures de réforme. En fait, la question est d'autant plus compliquée qu'on lui associe habituellement le concept de contrôle social.L'auteur suggère ici des approches différentes qui auraient avantage à être utilisées. Ainsi, il fait valoir tout le profit que l'on pourrait tirer de l'examen des modes d'invention et de diffusion des activités de loisir, de l'étude du contenu spécifique de ces activités et de la préparation d'études de communautés particulières où l'on ferait une large place aux rapports qui s'établissent entre l'occupation, les aspirations et les choix individuels qui se font, compte tenu de la gamme des activités récréatives qui sont offertes dans un temps et un espace donnés

Health-Adjusted Life Expectancy among Canadian Adults with and without Hypertension

Hypertension can lead to cardiovascular diseases and other chronic conditions. While the impact of hypertension on premature death and life expectancy has been published, the impact on health-adjusted life expectancy has not, and constitutes the research objective of this study. Health-adjusted life expectancy (HALE) is the number of expected years of life equivalent to years lived in full health. Data were obtained from the Canadian Chronic Disease Surveillance System (mortality data 2004–2006) and the Canadian Community Health Survey (Health Utilities Index data 2000–2005) for people with and without hypertension. Life table analysis was applied to calculate life expectancy and health-adjusted life expectancy and their confidence intervals. Our results show that for Canadians 20 years of age, without hypertension, life expectancy is 65.4 years and 61.0 years, for females and males, respectively. HALE is 55.0 years and 52.8 years for the two sexes at age 20; and 24.7 years and 22.9 years at age 55. For Canadians with hypertension, HALE is only 48.9 years and 47.1 years for the two sexes at age 20; and 22.7 years and 20.2 years at age 55. Hypertension is associated with a significant loss in health-adjusted life expectancy compared to life expectancy

P5_6 A Race in Space

By comparing solar and laser radiation sources, each driving a nano-satellite of mass 1 gram, we find that the solar sail is more advantageous up to 9.5 AU, and the laser sail is better beyond this distance. We also find that the laser sail has a constant acceleration throughout, but the solar sail acceleration decreases at a velocity of 150,000 ms-1

Developing a Glossary of People-Focused Terms Related to Rangelands and Grasslands

Excellent glossaries on rangelands and grasslands have been developed by the Society for Range Management (SRM), the International Grassland Congress (IGC) and the International Rangeland Congress (IRC). However, these are largely confined to biophysical and technical terminology and contain very few concepts referring to social, institutional and policy aspects of using rangelands and grasslands. After the 10th IRC in Saskatoon, Canada, in 2016, an informal group started to develop a glossary of such “people-focused” terms. The short and non-academic definitions are meant to improve communication and understanding by users/practitioners in rangeland and grassland management, policymakers, teachers, students, journalists and the general public. The glossary focuses on terms in common international use in rangeland management and includes terminology referring to rangelands/grasslands users (e.g. pastoralists, agropastoralists, hunters and gatherers) and to how they organise the use and management of rangeland resources (e.g. common property rights, resource access rights, herding contracts, transhumance and other forms of mobility). More general terms in social sciences are not included, as the debates about their meanings are well covered in the conventional social science literature. Thus far, the glossary is in English only. It is hoped that people working on rangelands and pastoralism in other countries will translate it into other languages and adapt it with area- and language-specific terminology. The definitions in the glossary are intended to fill an existing gap relatively quickly. Previous experience of the SRM, IRC and IGC showed that developing a comprehensive glossary takes several years. The current version of the glossary will doubtless be revised when a more systematic effort is made to define socio-institutional terms related to rangelands and grasslands. In any case, further revisions will be made as concepts evolve and new ones arise, as was the case with the technical glossaries of the SRM, IGC and IRC