An information system to exploit the use of metadata within film and television production

The article focuses on an information system to exploit the use of metadata within film and television production. It is noted that the television and film industries are used to working on big projects. This involves the use of actual film, video tape, and P.E.R.T charts for project planning. Scripts are in most instances revised. It is essential to attach information on these in order to manage, track and retrieve them. The use of metadata eases the operations involved in these industries.

Aspects of the in vitro bioactivity and antimicrobial properties of Ag+- and Zn2+-exchanged 11 Å tobermorites

11 Å tobermorite, Ca5Si6O16(OH)2 · 4H2O, is a layer lattice ion exchange mineral whose potential as a carrier for Ag+ and Zn2+ ions in antimicrobial, bioactive formulations has not yet been explored. In view of this, the in vitro bioactivity of Ag+- and Zn2+-exchanged 11 Å tobermorites and their bactericidal action against S. aureus and P.aeruginosa are reported. The in vitro bioactivity of the synthetic unsubstituted tobermorite phase was confirmed by the formation of bone-like hydroxycarbonate apatite (HCA) on its surface within 48 h of contact with simulated body fluid. The substitution of labile Ag+ ions into the tobermorite lattice delayed the onset of HCA-formation to 72 h; whereas, the Zn2+-substituted phase failed to elicit an HCA-layer within 14 days. Both Ag+- and Zn2+-exchanged tobermorite phases were found to exhibit marked antimicrobial action against S. aureus and P.aeruginosa, two common pathogens in biomaterial-centred infections.

Salivary antimicrobial peptides (LL-37 and alpha-defensins HNP1-3), antimicrobial and IgA responses to prolonged exercise

There are many factors in mucosal secretions that contribute to innate immunity and the 'first line of defence' at mucosal surfaces. Few studies, however, have investigated the effects of exercise on many of these 'defence' factors. The aim of the present study was to determine the acute effects of prolonged exercise on salivary levels of selected antimicrobial peptides (AMP) that have not yet been studied in response to exercise (HNP1-3 and LL-37) in addition to immunoglobulin A (IgA). A secondary objective was to assess the effects of exercise on saliva antibacterial capacity. Twelve active men exercised on a cycle ergometer for 2.5 h at approximately 60% of maximal oxygen uptake. Unstimulated whole saliva samples were obtained before and after exercise. There was a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in salivary IgA:osmolality ratio, following exercise, but IgA concentration and secretion rate were unaltered. Salivary HNP1-3 and LL-37 concentrations (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively), concentration:osmolality ratios (P < 0.01) and secretion rates (P < 0.01) all increased following exercise. Salivary antibacterial capacity (against E. coli) did not change. The increased concentration of AMPs in saliva may confer some benefit to the 'first line of defence' and could result from synergistic compensation within the mucosal immune system and/or airway inflammation and epithelial damage. Further study is required to determine the significance of such changes on the overall 'defence' capacity of saliva and how this influences the overall risk for infection.

Rats, floods and flowers: London's Gothicized nature

AUTHOR's OVERVIEW This chapter attempts a definition of London eco-gothic, beginning with an ecocritical reading of the ubiquitous London rat. Following Dracula, popular London gothic has been overrun, from the blunt horror-schlock of James Herbert’s 1970s Rats series to China Miéville’s King Rat. Maud Ellman’s elegant discussion of the modernist rat as a protean figure associated with a ‘panoply of fears and fetishes’, underlines how the rat has always featured in anti-urban discourse: as part of racist representations of immigration; as an expression of fear of disease and poverty; or through a quasi-supernatural anxiety about their indestructible and illimitable nature which makes them a staple feature of post-apocalyptic landscapes. Even so, the London rat is a rather more mundane manifestation of urban eco-gothic than the ‘city wilderness’ metaphors common to representations of New York or Los Angles as identified by eco-critic Andrew White. London’s gothic noses its way out through cracks in the pavements, grows from seeds in suburban gardens or accumulates through the steady drip of rainwater. However, I will suggest, in texts such as Maggie Gee’s The Flood and P. D. James’ Children of Men, London eco-gothic becomes less local and familiar as it responds to global environmental crisis with more dramatic tales of minatorial nature.