Science in Mid-Victorian Punch

This article examines the scientific content of the most famous comic journal of the Victorian period: Punch. Concentrating on the first three decades of the periodical (1841–1871), I show that Punch usually engaged with science that was highly topical, of consequence to the lives of its bourgeois readers, and suitable for comic interpretation. But Punch's satire of scientific topics was highly complex. It often contained allusions to non-scientific topics, and its engagement with science ranged from the utterly comic to the sharply critical. Punch prompted readers to think as well as laugh about science, and probably shaped their scientific education more than we think.Leverhulme Trus

DeWitt Wallace Library Biennial Report 2011-2013

Summary of library activities for 2011-201

The C-terminus of Bienertia sinuspersici Toc159 contains essential elements for its targeting and anchorage to the chloroplast outer membrane

Most nucleus-encoded chloroplast proteins rely on an N-terminal transit peptide (TP) as a post-translational sorting signal for directing them to the organelle. Although Toc159 is known to be a receptor for specific preprotein TPs at the chloroplast surface, the mechanism for its own targeting and integration into the chloroplast outer membrane is not completely understood. In a previous study, we identified a novel TP-like sorting signal at the C-terminus (CT) of a Toc159 homolog from the single-cell C4 species, Bienertia sinuspersici. In the current study, we have extended our understanding of the sorting signal using transient expression of fluorescently-tagged fusion proteins of variable-length, and with truncated and swapped versions of the CT. As was shown in the earlier study, the 56 residues of the CT contain crucial sorting information for reversible interaction of the receptor with the chloroplast envelope. Extension of this region to 100 residues in the current study stabilized the interaction via membrane integration, as demonstrated by more prominent plastid-associated signals and resistance of the fusion protein to alkaline extraction. Despite a high degree of sequence similarity, the plastid localization signals of the equivalent CT regions of Arabidopsis thaliana Toc159 homologs were not as strong as that of the B. sinuspersici counterparts. Together with computational and circular dichroism analyses of the CT domain structures, our data provide insights into the critical elements of the CT for the efficient targeting and anchorage of Toc159 receptors to the dimorphic chloroplasts in the single-cell C4 species.published_or_final_versio

Variation in the cost and use of winter home heating among the independent elderly : a case study of Waterloo (1986)

69 p. : maps

Introduction: Communicating Reproduction.

Communication should be central to histories of reproduction, because it has structured how people do and do not reproduce. Yet communication has been so pervasive, and so various, that it is often taken for granted and the historical specificities overlooked. Making communication a frame for histories of reproduction can draw a fragmented field together, including by putting the promotion of esoteric ideas on a par with other practical activities. Paying communication close attention can revitalize the history of reproduction over the long term by highlighting continuities as well as the complex connections between new technologies and new approaches. Themes such as the power of storytelling, the claiming and challenging of expertise, and relations between knowledge and ignorance, secrecy and propriety also invite further study.This essay introduces a special issue that began in a conference on “Communicating Reproduction” (http://www.hps.cam.ac.uk/medicine/communicating.html) held at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge in December 2011. This was linked to an exhibition on “Books and Babies” at Cambridge University Library curated by Mary Fissell, NH, PMJ, Francis Neary, and JS (legacy website: http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/exhibitions/Babies). We thank the Wellcome Trust for funding the meeting and the exhibition through a strategic award in the history of medicine on the theme “Generation to Reproduction” [088708], Francis Neary for sterling organizational work, and all participants for their engagement.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Johns Hopkins University Press via http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/bhm.2015.006

DeWitt Wallace Library Annual Report 2014-2015

Summary of library and media services activities for 2014-201

Carbon Isotope Compositions of Terrestrial C3 Plants as Indicators of (Paleo)Ecology and (Paleo)Climate

A broad compilation of modern carbon isotope compositions in all C3 plant types shows a monotonic increase in δ13C with decreasing mean annual precipitation (MAP) that differs from previous models. Corrections for temperature, altitude, or latitude are smaller than previously estimated. As corrected for altitude, latitude, and the δ13C of atmospheric CO2, these data permit refined interpretation of MAP, paleodiet, and paleoecology of ecosystems dominated by C3 plants, either prior to 7–8 million years ago (Ma), or more recently at mid- to high latitudes. Twenty-nine published paleontological studies suggest preservational or scientific bias toward dry ecosystems, although wet ecosystems are also represented. Unambiguous isotopic evidence for C4 plants is lacking prior to 7–8 Ma, and hominid ecosystems at 4.4 Ma show no isotopic evidence for dense forests. Consideration of global plant biomass indicates that average δ13C of C3 plants is commonly overestimated by approximately 2‰

DeWitt Wallace Library Annual Report 2015-2016

Summary of library and media services activities for 2015-201