Women in art: the last taboo

The intention of this paper is to explore traditions and current trends in art with particular reference to the depiction of female experiences such as pregnancy, abortion, birth and motherhood. The inclusion and exclusion of such images in art history over time and across societies reflects prevailing attitudes, whilst affirming various stereotypical and gendered constructions developed and sustained within those societies. These constructions in turn relate to criteria defined by class, access to education and notions of femininity. Work by artists which feature aspects of these experiences (particularly childbirth), is considered taboo by many in a Western society which continues to render the essentially female experience as private, invisible and stigmitised and confuses the natural with the sexual. The work of undergraduate art students, inspired by the artwork of women artists who make explicit or are influenced by essentially female experiences, is discussed and attempts made to connect their work to the issues outlined.

Identifying antimicrobial resistance genes of human clinical relevance within Salmonella isolated from food animals in Great Britain

To investigate the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance genes of human clinical relevance in Salmonella isolated from livestock in Great Britain. Two hundred and twenty-five Salmonella enterica isolates were characterized using an antimicrobial resistance gene chip and disc diffusion assays. Plasmid profiling, conjugation experiments and identification of Salmonella genomic island 1 (SGI1) were performed for selected isolates. Approximately 43% of Salmonella harboured single or multiple antimicrobial resistance genes with pig isolates showing the highest numbers where 96% of Salmonella Typhimurium harboured one or more resistance genes. Isolates harbouring multiple resistances divided into three groups. Group 1 isolates harboured ampicillin/streptomycin/sulphonamide/tetracycline resistance and similar phenotypes. This group contained isolates from pigs, cattle and poultry that were from several serovars including Typhimurium, 4,[5],12:i:-, Derby, Ohio and Indiana. All Group 2 isolates were from pigs and were Salmonella Typhimurium. They contained a non-sul-type class 1 integron and up to 13 transferrable resistances. All Group 3 isolates harboured a class 1 integron and were isolated from all animal species included in the study. Most isolates were Salmonella Typhimurium and harboured SGI1. Salmonella isolated from livestock was shown to harbour antimicrobial resistance genes although no or little resistance to third-generation cephalosporins or ciprofloxacin, respectively, was detected. The preponderance in pigs of multidrug-resistant Salmonella Typhimurium makes it important to introduce control measures such as improved biosecurity to ensure that they do not pass through the food chain and limit human therapeutic options.

Molecular typing of Salmonella serotypes prevalent in animals in England: assessment of methodology

Salmonella enterica serotypes Derby, Mbandaka, Montevideo, Livingstone, and Senftenberg were among the 10 most prevalent serotypes isolated from farm animals in England and Wales in 1999. These serotypes are of potential zoonotic relevance; however, there is currently no "gold standard" fingerprinting method for them. A collection of isolates representing the former serotypes and serotype Gold Coast were analyzed using plasmid profiling, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and ribotyping. The success of the molecular methods in identifying DNA polymorphisms was different for each serotype. Plasmid profiling was particularly useful for serotype Derby isolates, and it also provided a good level of discrimination for serotype Senftenberg. For most serotypes, we observed a number of nontypeable plasmid-free strains, which represents a limitation of this technique. Fingerprinting of genomic DNA by ribotyping and PFGE produced a significant variation in results, depending on the serotype of the strain. Both PstI/SphI ribotyping and XbaI-PFGE provided a similar degree of strain differentiation for serotype Derby and serotype Senftenberg, only marginally lower than that achieved by plasmid profiling. Ribotyping was less sensitive than PFGE when applied to serotype Mbandaka or serotype Montevideo. Serotype Gold Coast isolates were found to be nontypeable by XbaI-PFGE, and a significant proportion of them were found to be plasmid free. A similar situation applies to a number of serotype Livingstone isolates which were nontypeable by plasmid profiling and/or PFGE. In summary, the serotype of the isolates has a considerable influence in deciding the best typing strategy; a single method cannot be relied upon for discriminating between strains, and a combination of typing methods allows further discrimination.

Prevalence of Leptospira species among farmed and domestic animals in Greece

A total of 1527 serum samples from pigs, goats, sheep, cattle and dogs in Greece were examined by the microscopic agglutination test and 11.8 per cent of them had antibodies against one or more Leptospira serovars at titres of 1/100 or more. The predominant serovar affecting farm animal species was Bratislava, and Copenhageni was common among dogs and the second most important serovar when all animals were considered together. Another prevalent serovar was Australis, but antibodies to Pomona were detected only in goats and cattle.

Antibiotic resistance genes, integrons and multiple antibiotic resistance in thirty-five serotypes of Salmonella enterica isolated from humans and animals in the UK

Objectives: To examine 397 strains of Salmonella enterica of human and animal origin comprising 35 serotypes for the presence of aadB, aphAI-IAB, aadA1, aadA2, bla(Carb(2)) or pse1, bla(Tem), cat1, cat2, dhfr1, floR, strA, sul1, sul2, tetA(A), tetA(B) and tetA(G) genes, the presence of class 1 integrons and the relationship of resistance genes to integrons and antibiotic resistance. Results: Some strains were resistant to ampicillin (91), chloramphenicol (85), gentamicin (2), kanamycin (14), spectinomycin (81), streptomycin (119), sulfadiazine (127), tetracycline (108) and trimethoprim (45); 219 strains were susceptible to all antibiotics. bla(Carb(2)), floR and tetA(G) genes were found in S. Typhimurium isolates and one strain of S. Emek only. Class 1 integrons were found in S. Emek, Haifa, Heidelberg, Mbandaka, Newport, Ohio, Stanley, Virchow and in Typhimurium, mainly phage types DT104 and U302. These strains were generally multi-resistant to up to seven antibiotics. Resistance to between three and six antibiotics was also associated with class 1 integron-negative strains of S. Binza, Dublin, Enteritidis, Hadar, Manhattan, Mbandaka, Montevideo, Newport, Typhimurium DT193 and Virchow. Conclusion: The results illustrate specificity of some resistance genes to S. Typhimurium or non- S. Typhimurium serotypes and the involvement of both class 1 integron and non-class 1 integron associated multi-resistance in several serotypes. These data also indicate that the bla(Carb(2)), floR and tetA(G) genes reported in the SG1 region of S. Typhimurium DT104, U302 and some other serotypes are still predominantly limited to S. Typhimurium strains.

An explicit representational focus for teaching and learning about animals in the environment

There has been growing interest in linking the learning of Science with the literacies of Science and representations. Recent attention has been focused on learning theories that emphasise the socio-cultural and situated aspects of learning, and in particular the notion of learning as participation in a discourse community. This paper will describe a learning sequence planned wilh Year 5/6 teachers to study invertebrates in the schoolground environment, but with an additional focus in which students generated and negotiated representations, and discussed the adequacy of these. The paper will present data from video capture of classroom activities, students' work samples, and pre- and post-unit testing, to explore what a representational focus might entail in teaching science, and the role of representations in learning, reasoning and exploring in science.

Animals in international development, poverty reduction and sustainable livelihoods

This paper explores the role and percept¡ons of an¡mals in internat¡onal development efforts and the possible contradictions between differing priorities of agencies involved in internat¡onal charitable efforts. The description ofthe differing descriptions of purposes in the (England and Wales) Charities Act of 2006 prov¡des a good starting point. There are many available purposes for charities, and although having one purpose does not preclude a second, organizations concerned with animal welfare appear to be quite d¡stinct from those work¡ng for poverty alleviation in the developing world. A fun and novel gift of a donkey may equally be perceived as a cruel, environmentally unsustainable and misguided development effort, a valuable asset for a household, or a burden to a household struggling to feed existing mouths..... This paper questions the underlying tensions between human development, animal welfare, and poverty alleviation exploring cultural tensions, philosophical tens¡ons and where areas of common ground may be found.

Dora Lynnell Wilson (1883-1946) : a life in art

This thesis fills out Wilson's previously unresearched biography and argues for a reassessment of her standing as an important inter-war artist in Melbourne. The role of cultural gatekeepers in building and deconstructing artistic reputation is discussed, with examples of Wilson's art and an inaugural Catalogue of her known works.