51 research outputs found
How will history judge Gordon Brown?
No full textAnthony Seldon and Guy Lodge chart a tale of five movements in the course of Brown's premiership. Copyright (c) 2010 The Author. Journal compilation (c) 2010 ippr.
sj-pdf-1-mso-10.1177_20552173231218107 - Supplemental material for Dairy and gluten in disease activity in multiple sclerosis
No full textSupplemental material, sj-pdf-1-mso-10.1177_20552173231218107 for Dairy and gluten in disease activity in multiple sclerosis by Isabel A Temperley, Alexandra N Seldon, Madeline AW Reckord, Claudia A Yarad, Farihah T Islam, Kerith Duncanson, Rodney A Lea, Jeannette Lechner-Scott and Vicki E Maltby in Multiple Sclerosis Journal – Experimental, Translational and Clinical</p
The economic impact of the University College of the Cariboo on the region: 5 years of growth
No full textReportDraft of repor
The economic impact of the University College of the Cariboo on the region: 5 years of growth
No full textReportDraft of repor
RVers find variety at South Carolina’s state parks
No full textThis travel article from the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism tells the traveling experiences of the author when he went RV camping at various state parks
Our Sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving: Rene Girard and the Eucharist
No full textThis paper reviews mimetic theory described by Rene Girard. The mimetic cycle of mimetic desire, mimetic rivalry, mimetic conflict, the scapegoat mechanism, and generative violence craft a portrait of human society as founded on conflict and violence. Girard’s non-violent view of atonement as understood through the gospels presents an alternative to penal substitutionary atonement theory. Jesus’ death was intended to free humanity from the traps of mimetic theory and the scapegoat mechanism. This paper provides a brief survey and review of Anglican Eucharistic Theology, especially the concept of sacrifice and in the context of Jesus’ meal ministry. Since Jesus knew that he was to be betrayed and denied, the author comes to the conclusion that the Last Supper is consonant with Christ’s meal ministry of restoration. Therefore, communion is an attempt to craft a positive mimesis wherein Jesus teaches reconciliation even as the scapegoat mechanism begins to close in around him. Sacrifice in this context is not the prescribed death of Jesus but the peaceful offering of love and reconciliation before the forces of evil and death. In Girardian language, Jesus chose to present a role model to mimic in order to provide a positive mimesis that could stop the scapegoat mechanism and prevent the violence that has long plagued humanity. The Eucharist was and is and should be a powerful symbol of that positive mimesis of forgiveness and reconciliation.Dr. Rev. Benjamin J. Anthon
Janus kinase JAK1 maintains the ovarian reserve of primordial follicles in the mouse ovary
No full textStudy Question: Is the Janus kinase and signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK–STAT) signalling pathway involved in ovarian follicle development and primordial follicle activation? Summary Answer: JAK1 is a key factor involved in the regulation of primordial follicle activation and maintenance of the ovarian reserve. What is Known Already: A series of integrated, intrinsic signalling pathways (including PI3K/AKT, mTOR and KITL) are responsible for regulating the ovarian reserve of non-growing primordial follicles and ultimately female fertility. The JAK–STAT signal transduction pathway is highly conserved with established roles in cell division and differentiation. Key pathway members (specifically JAK1, STAT3 and SOCS4) have been previously implicated in early follicle development. Study Design, Size, Duration: A laboratory animal study was undertaken using the C57Bl/6 inbred mouse strain as a model for human ovarian follicle development. To determine which Jak genes were most abundantly expressed during primordial follicle activation, mRNA expression was analysed across a developmental time-course, with ovaries collected from female mice at post-natal days 1 (PND1), 4 (PND4), 8 (PND8), as well as at 6 weeks (6WK) and 7 months (7MTH) (n ≥ 4). Functional analysis of JAK1 was performed on PND2 mouse ovaries subjected to in vitro explant culture treated with 12.5 μM Ruxolitinib (JAK inhibitor) or vehicle control (DMSO) for 48 h prior to histological assessment (n ≥ 4). Participants/Materials, Setting, Methods: The expression and localization of the JAK family during ovarian follicle development in the C57Bl/6 inbred mouse strain were evaluated using quantitative PCR, immunoblotting and immunolocalisation. Functional studies were undertaken using the JAK inhibitor Ruxolitinib to investigate the underpinning cellular mechanisms via biochemical in vitro inhibition and histological assessment of intact neonate ovaries. All experiments were replicated at least three times using tissue from different mice unless otherwise stated. Main Results and the Role of Chance: Jak1 is the predominant Jak mRNA expressed in the C57Bl/6 mouse ovary across all developmental time-points assessed (P ≤ 0.05). Forty-eight hour inhibition of JAK1 with Ruxolitinib of PND2 ovaries in vitro demonstrated concomitant acceleration of primordial follicle activation and apoptosis (P ≤ 0.001) and upregulation of downstream JAK–STAT pathway members STAT3 and suppressors of cytokine signalling 4 (SOCS4). Large-Scale Data: N/A. Limitations, Reasons For Caution: Results are shown in one species, the C57Bl/6 mouse strain as an established model of human ovary development. Ruxolitinib also inhibits JAK2, with decreased efficacy. However, Jak2 mRNA had limited expression in the mouse ovary, particularly at the neonatal stages of follicle development, thus any effect of Ruxolitinib on primordial follicle activation was unlikely to be mediated via this isoform. Wider Implications of the Findings: This study supports a key role for JAK1 in the maintenance and activation of primordial follicles, with potential for targeting the JAK–STAT pathway as a method of regulating the ovarian reserve and female fertility.Jessie M. Sutherland, Emily R. Frost, Emmalee A. Ford, Alexandra E. Peters, Natalie L. Reed, Alexandra N. Seldon, Bettina P. Mihalas, Darryl L Russel, Kylie R. Dunning, and Eileen A. McLaughli
Mecodema tibiale Castelnau 1867, comb. n.
No full text<i>Mecodema tibiale</i> Castelnau, 1867, comb. n. <p>Figure 60.</p> <p> <i>Maoria tibialis</i> Castelnau, 1867 (Puerua (Molyneux) River, SL).</p> <p> <i>Metaglymma tibiale</i> Castelnau, 1868, redescribed.</p> <p> <i>Metaglymma rufipes</i> Broun, 1886 (nr. Outram, DN), synonymised by Britton 1949.</p> <p> <i>Metaglymma asperum</i> Broun, 1893a (Taiera Beach, DN), synonymised by Britton 1949.</p> <p> <i>Metaglymma junctum</i> Broun, 1893a (Strath-Taiera, CO), synonymised by Britton 1949.</p> <p> <i>Metaglymma calcaratum</i> Broun, 1903 (Maniototo, CO), synonymised by Britton 1949.</p> <p> <b>Diagnosis:</b> Differs from other <i>Mecodema</i> species by having: <b>1</b>, ventrites 4 and 5 with multiple setose punctures each side of midline; <b>2</b>, apical area of elytra with numerous setose punctures; <b>3</b>, shape of basal lobe and setal distribution along ventral edge of left paramere (Fig. 60 LP).</p> <p> <b>Description:</b> Length 14.6–18.4 mm, pronotal width 4.3–5.5 mm, elytral width 5–6.4 mm. Colour of body dorsally matte reddish-brown to glossy black, ventrally matte to glossy reddish-brown on ventrites and legs.</p> <p> <i>Head:</i> Broad and convex (Fig. 14B). Vertex smooth (Fig. 60); vertexal groove slightly impressed laterally, absent medially; large supraorbital puncture bearing 3 setae; supraorbital grooves absent; frons with a small and shallow depression each side of midline (anteriorly); frontoclypeal suture (Fig. 9) a well-defined groove, tentorial pits large and well-defined; anterior area of clypeus without microsculpture, 1 setose puncture each side bearing 1 seta (Fig. 60). Labrum rounded, anterior edge outwardly curved with 3 evenly-spaced setae each side. Mentum lobes rounded (Fig. 12F), mentum process long and narrow, slightly angled upward (15°), indentation notched (Fig. 12D); mentum setae absent. Submentum sclerite constriction narrow with 6–8 setae, 3–4 clustered laterally. Stipes with 2 basal setae. Gula pits small, suture well-defined, gula (Fig. 8) flat with very fine transverse lines. Gena with very fine wrinkles forming an isodiametric pattern across entire area.</p> <p> <i>Prothorax:</i> Prothoracic carina broad the entire length, slightly crenulated with 5–8 setae each side (Fig. 60), extended to anterior angle; posterior lateral sinuation indistinctly carinate, angled inward; pronotum broad and moderately deflected, overall shape cordate; midline well-defined, posterior medial diamond-shaped impression present, disc without microsculpture (Fig. 60); pronotal foveae narrow and shallow; anterior edge straight and posterior edge inwardly curved medially. Prosternum flat and smooth; proepisternum without microsculpture. Procoxal setae absent; protibia distally expanded and shovel-like (Fig. 10B).</p> <p> <i>Elytra:</i> Broad and moderately deflected, truncated length due to steep angle to apex; humeral angle anteriorly convergent (Fig. 6A); basal margin slightly curved and bevelled to base, interval 1 extended to margin; lateral carina narrow in anterior ¾, broadened posterior ⅓, extended to humeral angle; humerus with 4–5 setose punctures; suture (Fig. 1) impressed; all striae with irregularly sized asetose punctures, stria 5 with asetose punctures 2x size of stria 6 asetose punctures; intervals 1–6 slightly convex, intervals 7–9 moderately convex; interval microsculpture present as lines; 7 th strial setal pattern with 2–3 setose punctures in anterior ½, 3–4 setose punctures in posterior ½, setose punctures large; numerous setose punctures in striae on steep slope to apex (Fig. 60); row of many setae above and along length lateral carina.</p> <p> <i>Ventral surface:</i> Mesepisternum with rugose wrinkles; metepisternum (Fig. 2) without microsculpture; setose punctures on mesocoxae absent and present on metacoxae (1). All abdominal ventrites (Fig. 2) finely lineate laterally; ventrite 3 with 2–4 setose punctures each side of midline (not laterally), ventrite 4 with 3–6 setose punctures each side of midline, may be near lateral margin, ventrite 5 with 5–9 setose punctures each side of midline to lateral margin; ventrite 6 setae present: ♂ with 2 setose punctures distantly spaced along straight apical edge, ♀ with 2 evenly spaced setose punctures each side of midline on bluntly rounded apical edge; lateral foveae absent. Anterior metaventrite process (Fig. 2) a long and narrow triangle with a narrow carina the entire length (may be indistinct).</p> <p> <i>Male genitalia:</i> Apical portion of penis lobe asymmetrically rounded with a distinct deflection to right of vertical axis (VV) (Fig. 15A), ventral edge of apex with symmetrical curve that is curved flatly upward to form slightly forward (of vertical axis) dorsal curve (LV) (Fig. 60 PL); shaft of penis lobe broad and shortened, shaft straight (VV); overall length of penis lobe moderately curved ventrally (LV) (Fig. 16B). Structures of the endophallus (Fig. 4): lateral form of the apex of the central spicule rounded; dorsal form of the apex of the central spicule short and narrow; relative extent of setae (scales) of the apical plate sparse (1–25%); size of left setose flange very small; size of right setose flange large. Left paramere basal lobe rounded, narrowly rectangular, short anterior slope to arm; arm long and narrow (Fig. 60 LP); terminal lobe indistinct from arm, terminus narrowed with apical tuft of sparse medium-lengthed setae (Fig. 60 LP); sparse short setae along strongly curved ventral edge for ¾ of length. Right paramere long, very narrowly rectangular, narrowed to terminus (Fig. 60 RP) with a double row of long setae extended along apical ¾ of ventral edge.</p> <p> <i>Female genitalia:</i> Basal gonocoxite 1 long and narrow, ventral surface with a few rugose wrinkles, internal dorso-lateral carina without setae. Gonocoxite 2 (Fig. 5) long and narrow, bluntly, rounded triangle with egdes reflexed, ventral surface with numerous sensilla pits and short seta posterior to apex on ventral surface (near base of gonocoxite 2). Ramus short and narrow.</p> <p> <b>Comments:</b> <i>Mecodema tibiale</i> seems to have the narrowest of distributions in comparison to the other former <i>Metaglymma</i> species, <i>Mecodema aberrans</i> and <i>M. monilifer</i>. This species was described by Castelnau who designated four syntypes, all of which were collected from the type locality, here we designate a lectotype and three paralectotypes from this material.</p> <p> <b>Distribution:</b> New Zealand, South Island only, Central Otago (CO), Dunedin (DN), Southland (SL).</p> <p> <b>Lectotype:</b> MCNG specimen labelled. Riv. Molyneux, N. Zelanda. Coll. Castelnau [hw, black square border] / Typus [red font, red square border] / Maoria tibiale Cast. [hw] / tibiale Cast. [hw, black square border] / SYNTYPUS Maoria tibalis Castelnau, 1867 [hw, red label] / LECTOTYPE Maoria tibialis Castelnau, Mecodema tibiale design. by DS Seldon, TR Buckley 2019 [red label] / Museo Civico di Genova.</p> <p> <b>Paralectotypes:</b> 3, label data same as lectotype.</p> <p> <b>Material examined:</b> 1, NCant. Dunedin N. Zeland Coll. Castelnau [hw, black square border] / Museo Genova Maoria tibialis [hw] Coll. Castelnau (MCNG); 1♂, 1♀, NEW ZEALAND CO, Cromwell-Alexandra terrace 16.NOV.1977, J.C. Watt [hw] / On ground at night [hw] (NZAC); 1♂, Kyeburn Ck, Naseby Otago 8 Nov 68 J.I. Townsend (NZAC); 1♀, Kyeburn Ck, Naseby Otago 8 Nov 68 J.I. Townsend / NZAC04004586.</p>Published as part of <i>Seldon, David S. & Buckley, Thomas R., 2019, The genus Mecodema Blanchard 1853 (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Broscini) from the North Island, New Zealand, pp. 1-148 in Zootaxa 4598 (1)</i> on pages 123-126, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4598.1.1, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/2668063">http://zenodo.org/record/2668063</a>
The UK's Response to the Rwandan Genocide of 1994
No full textFormer Prime Minister Tony Blair described the UK’s response to the Rwandan genocide as “We knew. We failed to act. We were responsible”; this thesis sets out to explore these three claims. The thesis, which draws on newspaper archives, oral history interviews and government documents obtained by the author under the Freedom of Information Act, as well as British and US official documents already made public, begins by exploring Britain’s knowledge and understanding of events in Rwanda in the build-up to, and during the first few weeks of, the genocide. It then moves on to review how the government responded and, by drawing on various theories of bystander intervention, to build up a multi-factor assessment of what influenced that response. The thesis finishes by addressing the question whether the British government, or indeed any other British foreign policy actor, bears responsibility for the crisis. It therefore looks at the Rwandan crisis from the perspective of various influences on foreign policy: the media, public opinion, Parliament and NGOs, as well as exploring the response of John Major’s government. The thesis concludes that media coverage of the genocide led to a significant misunderstanding of the crisis; this misunderstanding influenced the public response and shaped discussion within Parliament and government. In terms of official response, whilst it has to be acknowledged that the government initially failed to correctly identify the events in Rwanda as genocide and consequently delayed their response until the majority of killings had ended, the thesis shows that rather than failing to act the British government was in fact a leading aid donor to Rwanda and a leading provider of troops to the UN peacekeeping mission serving in Rwanda. This aid did come too late to prevent or halt the genocide, but did save many thousands of lives in the immediate aftermath
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