17 research outputs found
Control of biofilms in water circulation systems with special reference to Legionella pneumophila and its eradication by chlorine dioxide
No full textThe products of bacterial metabolism of nitrate and nitride and human cancer
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Rheology of biofilms
No full textThe paper describes an experimental study concerning the mechanical properties of bacterial biofilms formed from the early dental plaque colonizer Streptoccocus mutans and pond water biofilms. Experiments reported in this paper demonstrate that both types of biofilms exhibit mechanical behavior similar to that of rheological fluids. The time-dependent properties of both biofilms have been modeled using the principles of viscoelasticity theory. The Burger model has been found to accurately represent the response of both biofilms for the duration of the experiments. On this basis, the creep compliances of both biofilms have been characterized, and the respective relaxation functions have been determined analytically
Desk studies on feasibility of horizontal standard rapid methods for detection of E. coli (including E. coli O157) and Salmonella
No full textThe emerging methods becoming available for the rapid detection and enumeration of E. coli (including E. coli O157) and Salmonella in sludges, soil and treated biowastes have been evaluated with a view to possible future standardisation. The main methods that are available for the detection and enumeration of E. coli (including E. coli O157) and Salmonella have been developed largely for analysis of food and water and can be broadly divided into four groups. Proprietary Quantitray® technology, equivalent to the 5-tube most probable number (MPN) technique, employing disposable plastic trays for enumeration of E. coli and Salmonella. Immunological, involving a short or overnight pre-enrichment of the target organism followed by specific detection of cellular antigen in either a lateral flow device or following immunomagnetic capture. Molecular, involving PCR amplification of target DNA sequences from low numbers of cells, or preferably following a short pre-enrichment of the organism to amplify numbers and demonstrate viability prior to molecular detection. Physico-chemical, involving techniques such as measurement of impedance changes during enrichment and growth in appropriate media. The merits of each are described, in relation to their suitability for use with sludge, soil and biowastes. Since the majority of agar and MPN broth techniques take between 24-96 hours for identification and enumeration, we define “rapid” as any technique that detects, and if possible, enumerates the target organism in under 24 hours.All of the methods described have strengths and weaknesses, dependent on not only the Regulators’ types of requirements for sludge, soil and biowaste analysis but also their sensitivity, specificity, speed and cost. It is unlikely therefore that there can be only one methodology applicable to both E. coli (and E. coli O157) and Salmonella detection. Nevertheless, it is considered feasible to formulate horizontal standards to cover rapid analysis of E. coli and Salmonella in sludge, soil, soil improvers, growing media, and biowaste. None of the methods have been extensively evaluated for sewage sludge, soils or biowastes. As such, there is an urgent need for their modification and evaluation as part of the next phase of the Project Horizonta
'One equal music’: The royal college of music, its inception and the legacy of Sir George Grove 1883-1895
No full textThe establishment of the Royal College of Music (RCM) in 1883 represents the denouement of an eighteenth-century movement to found a conservatoire with a national remit in Britain. Whether motivated by the desire to rival Continental conservatoires to generate and develop an environment in which a worthy successor to Purcell could be nurtured or to create an indigenous musical workforce to obtain direct control of market forces, the RCM was seen as a panacea in the light of the demise of the experimental National Training School for Music (1876-1882) and the ineffectual Royal Academy of Music founded in 1822. The NTSM's financial concerns led Sir Henry Cole to approach the Royal Commission of 1851 for aid. In return for a meagre grant, the Commission insisted the NTSM remodel its management and constitution on pain of eviction from buildings on the Kensington Estate. Cole's approach to 1851 Commissionets precipitated the involvement of the Prince of Wales and other senior members of the Court that led directly to the establishment of the RCM in 1878.Attempts to institute the RCM as a quango to regulate the music profession alongside music education both at elementary school and university level were intended to provide ideal circumstances for inducing comprehensive treasury assistance where the NTSM failed. When this proved elusive, a contingency was provided by George Grove (first RCM Director from 1882) who, at the request of the Prince of Wales, imtiated a capital fund. The introduction of fee-paying students alongside scholars provided financial security that distanced the College & insolvency. Substantial growth in numbers during the first few years forced Grove and the Council to address the issue of a new building. Grove's appointment of an unrivalled professorial staff and the development of a rigorous curriculum, whose inspiration was to be found within the Continental traditions in France and Germany, had paid dividends. By 1894, the results of RCM's pedagogical methods were respected across Europe. The appointment of Grove's neighbour, Alexander Mackenzie, as Principal of the RAM heralded an environment for mutual co-operation between two rival institutions. The institution of local examinations under the Associated Board of the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music from 1889 marked the conclusion of further attempts to amalgamate the two institutions. The foundation of both the Associated Board was intended to provide a remedy to the shortage of suitably-qualified candidates entering for scholarships and to improve music tuition among school children as set out in the RCM's 1883 charter. The coalition created formidable opposition to Halle's proposal to establish a chartered Royal College of Music in Manchester (RMCM) in 1893 and Parliament's attempts to include music within the provision of the bill for the regulation and registration of teachers. The foundation of the Associated Board allowed Grove to begin implementing the RCM's remit to lead the music profession on both a national and imperial scale. The RCM's national and European reputation established by Grove was consolidated under the directorate of his successor, c. Hubert H. Parry, who confirmed the RCM's global reputation to which other, fledgling institutions, such as New York's Juilliard School of Music, came to aspke. Grove's initiatives, which began the process of emancipating composer and performer alike, went on to transform Britain's international musical reputation within a generation, the ramifications of which continue to affect us more than a century later
The Churchmanship of A.W.N. Pugin
No full textAugustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812-1852) has received proficient attention in both his roles as an artist and an author. Similarly, his significance in influencing the neo-medieval party in die Roman Catholic revival of the 1830s and '40s has been recognised, and has received intermittent consideration. However, little attempt has been made to produce a comprehensive consideration of the development of Pugin's religious beliefs which informed his ecclesiological practice. It is, therefore, the intention of this thesis to examine the influences lying behind Pugin's strain of churchmanship, and also to demonstrate that his religious beliefs were die underpinning dynamic of his literary and artistic auvre. This examination of Pugin's churchmanship relies upon a consideration of his early religious development, his conversion to Roman Catholicism, his formation of an artistic theory resting upon religious principles, his social concerns, his developing attitude towards the Church of England and involvement with the Oxford Tractarians, his part in die emergence of the Roman Catholic neo-medieval party, and his clash with the Oratorian and ultramontane factions in the Church. The final chapter attempts to locate Pugin's influence within the broader context of the Roman Church’s development from die 1850s. The thesis shows that Pugin's career was indeed inspired by a love of the Gothic style and of the Middle Ages, but that it was primarily informed by a strongly held ecclesiological conviction about the character which the re-emerging Catholic Church was to adopt in England
Legionella control in water systems using copper and silver ion generation systems
No full textLegionella can cause human disease which can be fatal. Routine monitoring for
Legionella in water systems is not recommended by UK authorities. Evidence of the
efficacy of control modalities against Legionella in these water systems is, therefore,
not available.
Although studies have been conducted with copper and silver ionization on its
efficacy against Legionella and on its value in reducing hospital-acquired
legionellosis, little evidence of its efficacy is available from routine monitoring data.
This study demonstrates the efficacy of copper and silver ionization against
Legionella in water systems of 10 hospitals from data obtained from routine
monitoring for Legionella, copper and silver. The inefficiencies of maintaining
temperatures above 50ºC at hot outlets and below 20ºC at cold outlets, as
recommended by UK authorities for controlling Legionella in water systems, is also
demonstrated from the data obtained from routine monitoring for Legionella and
temperatures. The futility of maintaining hot temperatures above 50ºC and then to
reduce them to temperatures that do not present a risk of scalding is also demonstrated
from the data obtained.
This efficacy of copper and silver ionization and inefficiency of maintaining
temperatures at 50ºC against Legionella was demonstrated as well in novel model
rigs, built to simulate a typical water system of a small hospital, by data obtained from
Legionella, copper, and silver analysis, and temperature recordings.
The differences in biofilm formation and Legionella growth on the surfaces of copper,
polyethylene, and synthetic rubber, which are commonly used plumbing materials,
were also examined in the model rigs as well as with a Robbins device. These studies
indicated that copper is not as biocidal as previously reported in other studies, and
gave similar results to polyethylene, which previously been shown to promote biofilm
development. Synthetic rubber, however, showed to promote biofilm production and
should not be used as a plumbing material
Amusements of the people : the provision of recreation in Leicester, 1850-1914
No full textThe thesis takes as its subject the development of cultural forms and institutions,
exploring constraints on the exercise of choice in the use of non-work time in an evolving
capitalist society. By means of a local study, it aims to describe relationships between
aspects of popular recreation, especially those involving working class participation, and
to relate these to economic and political circumstances. The study focuses upon individuals
and organisations providing facilities and creating institutions in which non-work time
was spent outside the home.
The body of the thesis consists of discrete but interrelated studies of themes in the
development of recreation in Leicester. These concern the relationship between recreation
and the workplace (ch.1), the role of religious organisations as providers and critics of
recreational activities (ch.2), initiatives by the municipal authorities (ch.3) and licensing
magistrates (ch.4), the bases of commercial provision in the drink trade, theatre and sport
(chs.4-6) and the engagement of the labour movement (ch.7).
The thesis is written from a critical standpoint which acknowledges as fundamental
to the understanding of 19th century recreation the uneven distribution of free time,
power and money within capitalist society. But while social control and hegemony are
exploited as pointers to appropriate areas of study, they are found wanting as explanations
of complex historical reality.
In its empirical conclusions, the study confirms the significance of relationships
between work and culture, identifying ways in which the economic development of Leicester
constrained recreational provision. Commercial agencies are shown to have been relatively
weak during much of the period whereas municipal and religious organisations were
of considerable importance from the 1860s until the end of the period of study
The politics of bestial imagery in satire, 1789-1820
No full textThis thesis examines the widespread use of bestial imagery in satirical verse, prose and prints published between 1789 – 1820, through a study of Shelley, Spence, Gillray, Gifford, Robinson, Catherine Ann Dorset, Thelwall, Eaton, and Wolcot. The thesis asks why these writers and printers used animal metaphors so frequently, but moreover, what impact the use of this imagery had on the political landscape of satire in the period. Recent criticism has focussed on the historical and political contexts of Romantic-era satire, and this thesis follows that criticism with an historicist methodology, combining literary, historical and political approaches. Furthermore, the thesis analyses verse, prose and pictorial satires as contributing to the same political discourse and as doing so in closely related cultural arenas. This thesis claims originality on the basis that not only the use of animal imagery has a significant impact on how both contemporary and modern readers interpret its political meanings and contexts, but also that this is an argument that has not yet been posited by other critics. In addition, this thesis argues that through bestial metaphors, satirical writers and artists create a community wherein imagery is exchanged, developed and manipulated, and that this practice of cultural exchange significantly shapes those satires’ historical contexts. Each of the thesis’ five chapters focuses on a major satiric animal metaphor, whereby close readings of satires are offered alongside wider political and historical contexts. Consequently, this thesis provides a map of the most common satiric animal metaphors and their concomitant politics, and in doing so creates a new critical framework in which the growing interest in Romantic- period satire can be further developed
