Re-Visiting Sylvia Townsend Warner

Sylvia Townsend Warner was born in 1893 in Harrow and died in Dorset in 1978. Her writing career was both productive and diverse, spanning poems, short stories, novels, music reviews, a biography, translations of Proust, and a guide to Somerset. But this list, impressive as it is, does not do justice to the idiosyncrasy and heterogeneity of her work. While she is well known mostly for the seven novels she published, those works are all radically different in style and content. Indeed, Townsend Warner's singularity has, it could be argued, made it difficult to place her in the various fields and sub-fields of 20th-century literary studies. She shares as many similarities as differences with the high modernists who dominated the literary landscape of the interwar period. Likewise she fits, yet also resists, the more recent formulations of intermodernist and middlebrow scholarship that have attempted to interrogate and expand the horizons of mid-20th century literature.

An orally available compound prevents deficits in memory caused by the Alzheimer amyloid-B oligomers.

Despite progress in defining a pathogenic role for amyloid beta protein (Abeta) in Alzheimer's disease, orally bioavailable compounds that prevent its effects on hippocampal synaptic plasticity and cognitive function have not yet emerged. A particularly attractive therapeutic strategy is to selectively neutralize small, soluble Abeta oligomers that have recently been shown to mediate synaptic dysfunction. METHODS: Using electrophysiological, biochemical, and behavioral assays, we studied how scyllo-inositol (AZD-103; molecular weight, 180) neutralizes the acutely toxic effects of Abeta on synaptic function and memory recall. RESULTS: Scyllo-inositol, but not its stereoisomer, chiro-inositol, dose-dependently rescued long-term potentiation in mouse hippocampus from the inhibitory effects of soluble oligomers of cell-derived human Abeta. Cerebroventricular injection into rats of the soluble Abeta oligomers interfered with learned performance on a complex lever-pressing task, but administration of scyllo-inositol via the drinking water fully prevented oligomer-induced errors. INTERPRETATION: A small, orally available natural product penetrates into the brain in vivo to rescue the memory impairment produced by soluble Abeta oligomers through a mechanism that restores hippocampal synaptic plasticity.

Constructing Difference in Northern Ireland: Ulster Scots Before and After the Agreement

Martin Dowling, in what is perhaps the most comp[elling essay of the collection, deploys Slavoj Zizek's concept of the suture to think through the Other in Northern Irish cultural politics. Dowling identifies Ulster Scots as a suturing element--a cultural body harnessed to fill an inherent political "lack"--that stabilises Unionist identity in times of crisis. His essay considers more broadly the inherent limitations of the suture, whose logic functions like a "straightjacket on cultural life," and he proposes an alternative, genuinely open approach to Irish culture." From a review by Sarah Townsend in the Irish Literary Supplement, Spring 2010.

Low-energy electron attachment to chloroform (CHCl3) molecules: A joint experimental and theoretical study

Results from a joint experimental and theoretical study of electron attachment to chloroform (CHCl3) molecules in the gas phase are reported. In an electron swarm study involving a pulsed Townsend technique with equal gas and electron temperatures, accurate attachment rate coefficients were determined over the temperature range 295-373 K; they show an Arrhenius-type rise with increasing temperature, corresponding to an activation energy of 0.11 (1) eV. In a high resolution electron beam experiment involving two versions of the laser photoelectron attachment method, the relative cross section for Cl- formation from CHCl3 over the energy range 0.001-1.25 eV at the gas temperature T-G = 300 K was measured. It exhibits clear downward cusp structure at the threshold for excitation of one quantum of the vibrational symmetric deformation mode nu(3), indicating that this mode is active in the primary attachment process. With reference to our thermal attachment rate coefficient k(T = 300 K) = 3.9(2) x 10(-9) cm(3) s(-1), a new highly resolved absolute attachment cross section for T-G = 300 K was determined. This cross section is extended to higher energies by measurements, carried out with a pulsed electron beam apparatus which also provided new data for the distinctly weaker fragment anions HCl2- and CCl2-. The resulting total absolute cross section for anion formation is used to calculate the dependence of the attachment rate coefficient k(T-e;T-G) on electron temperature T-e over the range 50-15000 K at the fixed gas temperature T-G = 300 K. In addition, we report the dependence of the relative cross section for Cl- formation on gas temperature T-G = 310-435 K). For comparison with the experimental data, R-matrix calculations have been carried out for the dominant anion channel Cl-. The results recover the main experimental observations and predict the dependence of the DEA cross section on the initial vibrational level nu(3) and on the vibrational temperature. Our results are compared with those of previous electron beam and electron swarm experiments.

Optical contrast in ion-implanted amorphous silicon carbide nanostructures

Topographic and optical contrasts formed by Ga+ ion irradiation of thin films of amorphous silicon carbide have been investigated with scanning near-field optical microscopy. The influence of ion-irradiation dose has been studied in a pattern of sub-micrometre stripes. While the film thickness decreases monotonically with ion dose, the optical contrast rapidly increases to a maximum value and then decreases gradually. The results are discussed in terms of the competition between the effects of ion implantation and surface milling by the ion beam. The observed effects are important for uses of amorphous silicon carbide thin films as permanent archives in optical data storage applications.

Electrical Breakdown in Water Vapor

In this paper investigations of the voltage required to break down water vapor are reported for the region around the Paschen minimum and to the left of it. In spite of numerous applications of discharges in biomedicine, and recent studies of discharges in water and vapor bubbles and discharges with liquid water electrodes, studies of the basic parameters of breakdown are lacking. Paschen curves have been measured by recording voltages and currents in the low-current Townsend regime and extrapolating them to zero current. The minimum electrical breakdown voltage for water vapor was found to be 480 V at a pressure times electrode distance (pd) value of around 0.6 Torr cm (similar to 0.8 Pa m). The present measurements are also interpreted using (and add additional insight into) the developing understanding of relevant atomic and particularly surface processes associated with electrical breakdown.

Neuro developmental status at 1 year predicts neuropsychiatric outcome at 14-15 years of age in very preterm infants

Background: Neurodevelopmental and behavioural problems have been repeatedly reported in very preterm. survivors, often showing themselves later in childhood as poor school performance. Early identification of problems would mean that appropriate remedial therapy can be implemented. We have previously shown that neurodevelopmental status at 1 year was predictive of outcome at 8 years in a cohort of preterm. infants. The aim of this paper was to see if neurodevelopmental outcome in adolescence could be predicted by assessment by 1 year in the same cohort of pretem infants. Study design: Prospective cohort study. Subjects: 150 adolescents, born before 33 weeks gestation. Outcome measures: Neurological examination, developmental quotient, vision and hearing by 1 year. At 14-15 years, neurological examination, school performance questionnaire, Schonnell test of reading age, a premorbid adjustment score, Rutter behavioural score and for those born from 1981, cognitive tests (WISC-R). Results: A highly significant relationship existed between neurological status by 1 year and the need for extra educational provision, overall neurodevelopmental status, cognitive function in those that had their IQs measured and premorbid adjustment score of prepsychotic symptoms in adolescence. However, status at 1 year was not predictive of adolescent reading age or behavioural score. Conclusions: Neurodevelopmental assessment at 1 year ispredictive of school performance and outcome in the adolescent period. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neuropsychological outcome at adolescence of very preterm birth and its relation to brain structure

Neuropsychological outcome at 14 to 15 years of age of a cohort of 75 participants (39 male, 36 female) born at <33 weeks' gestation was investigated. Research was conducted parallel to a recent MRI study by Stewart and colleagues which reported that 55% of this cohort had evidence of brain abnormality. One aim of the studs was to compare neuropsychological function in those very preterm children with and without MRI abnormality. Compared to a control sample of term adolescents, very preterm participants had impairment only on a measure of word production. On measures of attention, memory, perceptual skill, and visuomotor and executive function, the adolescents born very preterm performed in the normal range, whether or not they had evidence of MRI abnormality. Our findings are encouraging as the neuropsychological consequences of damage to the very preterm brain, still evident on MRI at 14 to 15 years of age, appear to be minor.

How well do midwives use skills and knowledge in examining newborns?

Physical examination of the newborn (PEN) was established as part of postnatal care in the late 1960s. The role of discharging babies within the first 72 hours of birth was traditionally undertaken by junior doctors. Currently midwives, nurses, advanced nurse practitioners, and health visitors are being trained to undertake the PEN (NHS Screening Programmes, 2010). However, only a fraction of midwives utilize their acquired skills in clinical practice. A survey by Townsend et al (2004) showed that 2% of babies in England were examined by midwives while 83% were examined by junior doctors.This study aimed to evaluate how well midwives who undertook the PEN course between 2002 and 2005 (n = 40) at a large London University utilized the skills acquired on the course. Questionnaires with a series of open and closed questions were sent out by post followed by phone and email reminders. The eight that responded were midwives. All respondents said they were appropriately trained and felt well prepared for their role to examine babies. However, they felt they were not provided with opportunities to use the skills. Guidelines based on this extended role are available in the workplace but only a few midwives seemed to have negotiated time to implement these and may need greater managerial support for the role.

Positronium-atom scattering at low energies

A pseudopotential for positronium-atom interaction, based on electron-atom and positron-atom phase shifts, is constructed, and the phase shifts for Ps-Kr and Ps-Ar scattering are calculated. This approach allows us to extend the Ps-atom cross sections, obtained previously in the impulse approximation [I. I. Fabrikant and G. F. Gribakin, Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 243201 (2014)], to energies below the Ps ionization threshold. Although experimental data are not available in this low-energy region, our results describe well the tendency of the measured cross sections to drop with decreasing velocity at v < 1 a.u. Our results show that the effect of the Ps-atom van der Waals interaction is weak compared to the polarization interaction in electron-atom and positron-atom scattering. As a result, the Ps scattering length for both Ar and Kr is positive, and the Ramsauer-Townsend minimum is not observed for Ps scattering from these targets. This makes Ps scattering quite different from electron scattering in the low-energy region, in contrast to the intermediate energy range from the Ps ionization threshold up to v ∼ 2 a.u., where the two are similar.

Health professionals' and service users' perspectives of shared care for monitoring wet age-related macular degeneration: a qualitative study alongside the ECHoES trial

Objectives: To explore the views of eye health professionals and service users on shared community and hospital care for wet or neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD).

Method: Using maximum variation sampling, 5 focus groups and 10 interviews were conducted with 23 service users and 24 eye health professionals from across the UK (consisting of 8 optometrists, 6 ophthalmologists, 6 commissioners, 2 public health representatives and 2 clinical eye care advisors to local Clinical Commissioning Groups). Data were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically using constant comparative techniques derived from grounded theory methodology.

Results: The needs and preferences of those with nAMD appear to be at odds with the current service being provided. There was enthusiasm among health professionals and service users about the possibility of shared care for nAMD as it was felt to have the potential to relieve hospital eye service burden and represent a more patient-centred option, but there were a number of perceived barriers to implementation. Some service users and ophthalmologists voiced concerns about optometrist competency and the potential for delays with referrals to secondary care if stable nAMD became active again. The health professionals were divided as to whether shared care was financially more efficient than the current model of care. Specialist training for optometrists, under the supervision of ophthalmologists, was deemed to be the most effective method of training and was perceived to have the potential to improve the communication and trust that shared care would require.

Conclusions: While shared care is perceived to represent a promising model of nAMD care, voiced concerns suggest that there would need to be greater collaboration between ophthalmology and optometry, in terms of interprofessional trust and communication.

Ultrafast Non-Radiative Decay of Gas-Phase Nucleosides

The ultrafast photo-physical properties of DNA are crucial in providing a stable basis for life. Although the DNA bases efficiently absorb ultraviolet (UV) radiation, this energy can be dissipated to the surrounding environment by the rapid conversion of electronic energy to vibrational energy within about a picosecond. The intrinsic nature of this internal conversion process has previously been demonstrated through gas phase experiments on the bases, supported by theoretical calculations. De-excitation rates appear to be accelerated when individual bases are hydrogen bonded to solvent molecules or their complementary Watson-Crick pair. In this paper, the first gas-phase measurements of electronic relaxation in DNA nucleosides following UV excitation are reported. Using a pump-probe ionization scheme, the lifetimes for internal conversion to the ground state following excitation at 267 nm are found to be reduced by around a factor of two for adenosine, cytidine and thymidine compared with the isolated bases. These results are discussed in terms of a recent proposition that a charge transfer state provides an additional internal conversion pathway mediated by proton transfer through a sugar to base hydrogen bond.

The Dublin Lock Hospital: Medicine, Morality, Disease and Sin

Anecdotal evidence has it that when Dublin’s venereal disease hospital closed its doors for the last time in the 1950s, its administrative staff began to burn its records, starting with the most recent. This attempt to conceal the results of sexual profligacy is perhaps understandable in the rarefied climate of mid-century Catholic Ireland. However, the sense of shame attached to this institution has been pervasive. For example, of all Dublin’s major hospitals, the lock hospital remains the only one without a dedicated history. And, throughout its two centuries of existence, the ‘lock’ had often been a site of controversy and approbation.

The institution began in the eighteenth century as the most peripatetic, poor relation of the city’s voluntary hospitals, wandering indiscriminately through a series of temporary premises before finally achieving a permanent home and official recognition as a military-sponsored medical hospital in 1792. It also gained architectural extensions by both Richard and Francis Johnston and in the following decades. This new-found status and a growing re-conceptualisation of venereal disease as a legitimate medical problem rather than a matter of morality was, however, somewhat compromised by the choice of site at Townsend Street. The institution occupied a hidden part of city, appropriating the vacated home of the Hospital for Incurables, another marginalised group whose presence in the city had been viewed through the lens of superstition and fear. For the rest of its existence, the lock hospital would share this experience occupying a nebulous position between medicine and morality; disease and sin.

Using what’s left of the hospital’s records and a series of original architectural drawings, this paper discusses the presence and role of the lock hospital in the city in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century, tracking how changes in its administration and architectural form reflected wider attitudes towards disease, sexuality and gender in Georgian Dublin.