While unobscured and radio-quiet active galactic nuclei are regularly being found at redshifts $z > 6$ , their obscured and radio-loud counterparts remain elusive. We build upon our successful pilot study, presenting a new sample of low-frequency-selected candidate high-redshift radio galaxies (HzRGs) over a sky area 20 times larger. We have refined our selection technique, in which we select sources with curved radio spectra between 72–231 MHz from the GaLactic and Extragalactic All-sky Murchison Widefield Array (GLEAM) survey. In combination with the requirements that our GLEAM-selected HzRG candidates have compact radio morphologies and be undetected in near-infrared $K_{\rm s}$ -band imaging from the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy Kilo-degree Infrared Galaxy (VIKING) survey, we find 51 new candidate HzRGs over a sky area of approximately $1200\ \mathrm{deg}^2$ . Our sample also includes two sources from the pilot study: the second-most distant radio galaxy currently known, at $z=5.55$ , with another source potentially at $z \sim 8$ . We present our refined selection technique and analyse the properties of the sample. We model the broadband radio spectra between 74 MHz and 9 GHz by supplementing the GLEAM data with both publicly available data and new observations from the Australia Telescope Compact Array at 5.5 and 9 GHz. In addition, deep $K_{\rm s}$ -band imaging from the High-Acuity Widefield K-band Imager (HAWK-I) on the Very Large Telescope and from the Southern Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey Regions $K_{\rm s}$ -band Survey (SHARKS) is presented for five sources. We discuss the prospects of finding very distant radio galaxies in our sample, potentially within the epoch of reionisation at $z \gtrsim 6.5$ .

A developing application of laser-driven currents is the generation of magnetic fields of picosecond–nanosecond duration with magnitudes exceeding $B=10~\text{T}$. Single-loop and helical coil targets can direct laser-driven discharge currents along wires to generate spatially uniform, quasi-static magnetic fields on the millimetre scale. Here, we present proton deflectometry across two axes of a single-loop coil ranging from 1 to 2 mm in diameter. Comparison with proton tracking simulations shows that measured magnetic fields are the result of kiloampere currents in the coil and electric charges distributed around the coil target. Using this dual-axis platform for proton deflectometry, robust measurements can be made of the evolution of magnetic fields in a capacitor coil target.

The rapid rise in syphilis cases has prompted a number of public health campaigns to assist men who have sex with men (MSM) recognize and present early with symptoms. This study aimed to investigate the temporal trend of the duration of self-report symptoms and titre of rapid plasma reagin (RPR) in MSM with infectious syphilis. Seven hundred and sixty-one syphilis cases in MSM diagnosed at the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre (MSHC) from 2007–2013 were reviewed. Median duration of symptoms and RPR titres in each year were calculated. The median durations of symptoms with primary and secondary syphilis were 9 [interquartile range (IQR) 6–14] days and 14 (IQR 7–30) days, respectively. The overall median titre of RPR in secondary syphilis (median 128, IQR 64–256) was higher than in primary syphilis (median 4, IQR 1–32) and in early latent syphilis (median 32, IQR 4–64). The median duration of symptoms for primary syphilis, secondary syphilis and titre of RPR level did not change over time. Public health campaigns were not associated with a significant shorter time from onset of symptoms to treatment. Alternative strategies such as more frequent testing of MSM should be promoted to control the syphilis epidemic in Australia.

There is little known regarding the transmissibility of human papillomavirus (HPV) between different sites in men who have sex with men (MSM) and heterosexual individuals. We conducted a retrospective analysis investigating all new patients attending the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre in Australia between 2002 and 2013. We describe the prevalence and ratio of the first episode of anogenital warts in MSM and heterosexual males and females. The proportion of new MSM clients with anal and penile warts was 4·0% (362/8978) and 1·6% (141/8978), respectively; which gave an anal-to-penile wart ratio of 1:2·6. About 13·7% (1656/12112) of heterosexual males had penile warts and 10·0% (1121/11166) of females had vulval warts, which yielded a penile-to-vulval wart ratio of 1:0·7. Penile–anal transmission has a higher ratio than penile–vulval transmission, suggesting that the anal epithelium may be more susceptible to HPV infection than the vulval epithelium in females; these ratios are important in modelling the control of HPV in MSM.

Data were extracted from the case records of UK patients admitted with laboratory-confirmed influenza A(H1N1)pdm09. White and non-White patients were characterized by age, sex, socioeconomic status, pandemic wave and indicators of pre-morbid health status. Logistic regression examined differences by ethnicity in patient characteristics, care pathway and clinical outcomes; multivariable models controlled for potential confounders. Whites (n = 630) and non-Whites (n = 510) differed by age, socioeconomic status, pandemic wave of admission, pregnancy, recorded obesity, previous and current smoking, and presence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. After adjustment for a priori confounders non-Whites were less likely to have received pre-admission antibiotics [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 0·43, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0·28–0·68, P < 0·001) but more likely to receive antiviral drugs as in-patients (aOR 1·53, 95% CI 1·08–2·18, P = 0·018). However, there were no significant differences by ethnicity in delayed admission, severity at presentation for admission, or likelihood of severe outcome.

Samples of ground beef (225), pork (235) and chicken (200) were randomly selected from meat processing plants in the southwestern Ontario area. Supernatants of broth cultures of the samples were tested for verocytotoxins using a Vero cell assay. Neutralization of cytotoxic activity using antisera specific for three types of verocytotoxin (Verotoxin 1, Verotoxin 2 and Shiga-like toxin II) was performed on positive samples. Isolation of verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) was attempted from positive samples. VTEC were confirmed as E. coli biochemically, tested for drug resistance, and serotyped. Based on neutralization studies, the prevalance of VTEC in beef and pork was at least 36·4% and 10·6%. respectively. This is much higher than has been reported from a survey of retail meats in which a method designed to detect only E. coli O 157.H7 was used. Isolations of VTEC were made from 10·4 % of the beef samples and 3·8 % of the pork samples. No VTEC were recovered from the chicken samples. The majority of VTEC isolates were susceptible to commonly used antimicrobial agents. A number of the serotypes of the VTEC isolates recovered have been associated with human disease; however, no VTEC of serotype O 157.H7 were isolated.

It was observed that uninfected red cells resuspended in supernatant from Plasmodium falciparum cultures, then examined between a glass slide and cover-slip, assumed varying morphologies. A series of experiments suggested that P. falciparum releases molecules which cause red cells to become stomatocytic (cupped). These molecules, some of which are heat- stable, have an apparent molecular weight < 12 kDa, are released at or about schizogony, and do not bind tightly to erythrocytes.

In this survey of attitudes towards permanent contraceptive methods, four groups were studied: (A) men having undergone a vasectomy 12 months previously (n = 61); (B) men currently attending for vasectomy (n = 58); (C) female partners of men currently undergoing vasectomy (n = 60); and (D) women undergoing sterilization by tubal ligation (n = 52). All patients completed a questionnaire which included questions on the reasons for selecting their chosen method, and attitudes towards permanent methods and hypothetical pills and injectable contraceptives for men. Results showed that contraception was generally regarded as a mutual responsibility. This attitude was more pronounced in the vasectomy groups than among the sterilization women. Generally favourable reactions were elicited with respect to vasectomy, although substantial proportions expressed a preference for alternative methods (40%). Women undergoing sterilization exhibited predominantly negative attitudes towards this procedure. The implications of these findings, in terms of enhancing the acceptability of new male methods and improving subsequent adjustment to currently available permanent methods, are discussed.

Rodent models of sepsis differ from clinical human disease in that humans make substantially less whole-body nitric oxide and have different cellular responses to endotoxin. Sheep, when exposed to endotoxin, behave in a manner more similar to humans. Many studies of rodent peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) exposed to endotoxin demonstrate increased cationic amino acid transporter function (particularly through the y+ transporter) to supply arginine substrate to upregulated nitric oxide synthase. Whether this is true in sheep is not known. We have studied cationic amino acid transport in sheep PBMCs stimulated with endotoxin, using labelled lysine. PBMCs stimulated both in vitro and in vivo show an initial reduction in total and y+ lysine transport (after 1-2 h exposure to endotoxin): a previously undescribed effect of endotoxin. In in vitro activated cells, the reduction in y+ transport was prevented by the lipoxygenase inhibitor, nordihydroguaretic acid (NDGA), and the phospholipase inhibitor 4-bromophenacyl bromide (4-BPAB), but not cyclohexamide or a number of other inhibitors of intracellular second-messenger pathways. In contrast after 14 h incubation, the expected increase in total and y+ lysine transport was seen. The increase in y+ transport could be prevented by cyclohexamide, dexamethasone, ibuprofen, the protein kinase C inhibitor sphingosine, NDGA and 4-BPAB. These results suggest that in response to endotoxin exposure there is an initial decrease in y+ activity mediated by a lipoxygenase product, followed by a substantial increase in y+ activity mediated by the products of either cyclo-oxygenase or lipoxygenase. Cyclo-oxygenase and/or lipoxygenase inhibition might be useful in reducing arginine transport, and hence nitric oxide production, in these cells. Experimental Physiology (2003) 88.2, 201-208.

This paper reports the anti-cryptosporidial effects of, and concomitant amelioration of the histological changes in the gut of neonatal rats with intestinal cryptosporidiosis treated with the dinitroaniline, oryzalin. The ED50 was determined to be 7 mg/kg using twice daily doses administered for 3 consecutive days. A maximum inhibition of 85.5% was achieved at 25 mg/kg and this inhibition remained constant despite increasing the oryzalin dose to 200 mg/kg. Cryptosporidiosis significantly decreased the intestinal villus/crypt (VC) ratio by approximately 50% (duodenum = 2.3, jejunum = 2.5 and ileum = 1.7) when compared to uninfected untreated controls (duodenum = 4.3, jejunum = 5.9 and ileum = 4.5). Treatment with oryzalin doubled the VC ratio in the duodenum, jejunum and ileum following doses of 5 mg, 50 mg and 200 mg/kg respectively. Oryzalin concentrations in the small intestine contents and plasma were determined, using HPLC, at 0.5, 1 and 2 h after dosing. The much greater dose required to return VC ratios to normal in the ileum (200 mg/kg) compared to the duodenum (6.25 mg/kg) appeared to reflect the decreased concentration of the drug in the distal small intestine. Concentrations of oryzalin equivalent to the in vitro IC50 were maintained for 2 h in the first half of the small intestine following a single dose of 100 mg/kg.

North Atlantic harbour porpoises Phocoena phocoena (L.) face considerable energetic challenges, as they are relatively small marine mammals with an intense reproductive schedule and a cold-water habitat. Post-natal growth of these porpoises was described using ontogenetic allometry and body composition techniques. The cross-sectional sample contained robust calves, immature, and mature porpoises (n = 122) incidentally killed in commercial fishing operations between 1992 and 1998. Total mass and the mass of 26 body components were measured using a standard dissection protocol. Most body components grew similarly in female and male porpoises. Blubber, brain and skull were negatively allometric, while muscle and reproductive tissues exhibited positive allometry. Female heart, liver, intestine and mesenteric lymph node grew at significantly higher rates than in males. Male locomotor muscle and pelvic bones grew significantly faster than in females. High growth rates for visceral and reproductive organs in porpoises, relative to other mammals, may underlie their early maturation and support their intensive, annual reproductive schedule. Relative to other cetaceans, porpoises seem to allocate a larger percentage of their total body mass to blubber. This allocation to blubber, which is greatest in calves (37% of body mass), may provide harbour porpoises with the thermal insulation required to live in cold water. The factors influencing growth rates and differential investments in body composition seem to change at various stages of a porpoise's life. Energy allocation in porpoises seems to shift from an emphasis on developing an insulative blubber layer in young animals to preparing the body for annual reproduction at sexual maturity.

Coagulation and growth of aerosol particles subject to isotropic turbulence has been explored using direct numerical simulations. The computations follow the trajectories of 262 144 initial particles as they are convected by the turbulent flow field. Collision between two parent particles leads to the formation of a new daughter particle with the mass and momentum (but not necessarily the energy) of the parent particles. The initially monodisperse population of particles will develop a size distribution over time that is controlled by the collision dynamics. In an earlier study, Sundaram & Collins (1997) showed that collision rates in isotropic turbulence are controlled by two statistics: (i) the radial distribution of the particles and (ii) the relative velocity probability density function. Their study considered particles that rebound elastically; however, we find that the formula that they derived is equally valid in a coagulating system. However, coagulation alters the numerical values of these statistics from the values they attain for the elastic rebound case. This difference is substantial and must be taken into consideration to properly predict the evolution of the size distribution of a population of particles. The DNS results also show surprising trends in the relative breadth of the particle size distribution. First, in all cases, the standard deviation of the particle size distribution of particles with finite Stokes numbers is much larger than the standard deviation for either the zero-Stokes-number or infinite-Stokes-number limits. Secondly, for particles with small initial Stokes numbers, the standard deviation of the final particle size distribution decreases with increasing initial particle size; however, the opposite trend is observed for particles with slightly larger initial Stokes numbers. An explanation for these phenomena can be found by carefully examining the functional dependence of the radial distribution function on the particle size and Stokes number.

Of 219 elderly patients with a major depressive disorder (meeting RDC), 69 recovered sufficiently and consented to enter a two-year double-blind placebo-controlled trial of dothiepin. Survival analysis revealed that dothiepin reduced the relative risk of relapse by two and a half times. Past but not current serious physical illness was also associated with a favourable outcome, whereas a prolonged index depressive illness trebled the relative risk of relapse. In the light of previous research on prognosis it is suggested that elderly persons who recover from a major depressive illness should continue with antidepressant medication for at least two years, if not indefinitely.