Housing markets and independence in old age: expanding the opportunities

This report highlights the benefits of specialised private retirement accommodation and recommends a number of simple policy changes at no cost to the public purse to help increase its supply and address the challenges of housing an ageing population.

To what extent do pupils perceive science to be inconsistent with religious faith? An exploratory survey of 13-14 year-old English pupils

Scientists hold a wide range of beliefs on matters of religion, although popular media coverage in the UK commonly suggests that atheism is a core commitment for scientists. Considering the relationship between religion and science is a recommended topic in the English National Curriculum for lower secondary pupils (11-14 year-olds), and it is expected that different perspectives will be considered. However it is well established that many pupils may have difficulty accessing sophisticated ideas about the nature of science, and previous research suggests some may identify science with scientism. To explore pupil impressions of the relationship between science and religion, 13-14 year old pupils were surveyed in one class from each of four English secondary schools, by asking them to rate a set of statements about the relationship between science and religion, and scientific and religious perspectives on the origins of the world, and of life on earth, on the value of prayer and on the status of miracles. The survey revealed diverse views on these issues, reflecting the wider society. However it was found that a considerable proportion of the pupils in the sample considered religious beliefs and scientific perspectives to be opposed. The basis and potential consequences of such views are considered, and the need for more attention to this area of student thinking is highlighted.

An 11,600 year old communal structure from the Neolithic of southern Jordan

The authors present a new type of communal and monumental structure from the earliest Neolithic in western Asia. A complement to the decorated stone pillars erected at Göbekli Tepe in the north, ‘Wadi Faynan 16 Structure O75’ in the southern Levant is a ritualised gathering place of a different kind. It serves to define wider western Asia as an arena of social experiment in the tenth millennium BC, one in which community seems to take precedence over economy.

Enterobacter sakazakii bacteraemia with multiple splenic abscesses in a 75-year-old woman: a case report.

Enterobacter sakazakii is an uncommon bacterium that is known to cause severe neonatal infection and is rare among adults. We present a peculiar case of E. sakazakii bacteraemia with multiple splenic abscesses in a 75-year-old institutionalised woman, who was successfully treated with 6 weeks of imipenem and percutaneous drainage of the abscesses.

Attaching and effacing lesions in the large intestine of an eight-month-old heifer associated with Escherichia coli O26 infection in a group of animals with dysentery

Escherichia coli O26:K60, with genetic attributes consistent with a potentially human enterohaemorrhagic E coli was isolated from the faeces of an eight-month-old heifer with dysentery. Attaching and effacing lesions were identified in the colon of a similarly affected heifer examined postmortem, and shown to be associated with E coli O26 by specific immunolabelling.

The role of fimbriae and flagella in the colonization, invasion and persistence of Escherichia coli O78 : K80 in the day-old-chick model

To understand the role of flagella and fimbriae of Escherichia coli O78:K80 in avian colibacillosis, day-old chicks were dosed orally with defined afimbriate and or aflagellate mutants and colonization, invasion and persistence compared with that of the wild-type. In an invasion model, chicks were dosed with 1 x 10(5) c.f.u. of a single strain and mutants defective for type 1 fimbriae, curli fimbriae or flagella colonized livers by 24 h although the numbers of bacteria present were significantly less than the wild-type, Mutants colonized between 50 and 75 % of spleens whereas the wild-type colonized 100 % of spleens. Additionally, the numbers of mutant bacteria in colonized spleens were significantly less than the wild-type. Surprisingly, mutants defective for the elaboration of more than one appendage were no more attenuated than single mutants. In a persistence model, chicks were dosed with 1 x 10(2) c.f.u. of a single strain and mutants defective for type 1 or curli or flagella or any combination thereof persisted as assessed by cloacal swabbing for 5 weeks of the experiment less well than the wild-type. In an additional persistence model, chicks were dosed with 5 x 10(2) c.f.u. of each of wild-type and one mutant together. All mutants were significantly less persistent than the wild-type (P < 0.001) and one mutant which lacked type 1, curli and flagella, was eliminated within 2 weeks. Analysis of the trends of elimination indicated that flagella contributed to persistence more than curli, which contributed more than type 1 fimbriae. Here was evidence for a major role in colonization, invasion and persistence played by type 1, curli and flagella.