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Popular culture presents a deep‐rooted perception of medieval warhorses as massive and powerful mounts, but medieval textual and iconographic evidence remains highly debated. Furthermore, identifying warhorses in the zooarchaeological record is challenging due to both a paucity of horse remains relative to other domesticates, and the tendency of researchers to focus on osteological size, which makes it difficult to reconstruct in‐life usage of horses and activity related changes. This paper presents the largest zooarchaeological dataset of English horse bones (n = 1964) from 171 unique archaeological sites dating between AD 300 and 1650. Using this dataset alongside a modern comparative sample of known equids (n = 490), we examine trends in size and shape to explore how the skeletal conformation of horses changed through time and reflected their domestic, elite and military roles. In addition to evidencing the generally small stature of medieval horses relative to both earlier and later periods, we demonstrate the importance of accurately exploring the shape of skeletal elements to describe the morphological characteristics of domestic animals. Furthermore, we highlight the need to examine shape variation in the context of entheseal changes and biomechanics to address questions of functional morphology and detect possible markers of artificial selection on past horses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Since the 2009 A/H1N1 pandemic, Public Health England have developed a suite of real-time statistical models utilising enhanced pandemic surveillance data to nowcast and forecast a future pandemic. Their ability to track seasonal influenza and predict heightened winter healthcare burden in the light of high activity in Australia in 2017 was untested.Methods: Four transmission models were used in forecasting the 2017/2018 seasonal influenza epidemic in England: a stratified primary care model using daily, region-specific, counts and virological swab positivity of influenza-like illness consultations in general practice (GP); a strain-specific (SS) model using weekly, national GP ILI and virological data; an intensive care model (ICU) using reports of ICU influenza admissions; and a synthesis model that included all data sources. For the first 12 weeks of 2018, each model was applied to the latest data to provide estimates of epidemic parameters and short-term influenza forecasts. The added value of pre-season population susceptibility data was explored.Results: The combined results provided valuable nowcasts of the state of the epidemic. Short-term predictions of burden on primary and secondary health services were initially highly variable before reaching consensus beyond the observed peaks in activity between weeks 3-4 of 2018. Estimates for R0 were consistent over time for three of the four models until week 12 of 2018, and there was consistency in the estimation of R0 across the SPC and SS models, and in the ICU attack rates estimated by the ICU and the synthesis model. Estimation and predictions varied according to the assumed levels of pre-season immunity.Conclusions: This exercise successfully applied a range of pandemic models to seasonal influenza. Forecasting early in the season remains challenging but represents a crucially important activity to inform planning. Improved knowledge of pre-existing levels of immunity would be valuable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Aphasia and other acquired language impairments have the potential to impact greatly on quality of life by disrupting everyday conversation. Different intervention approaches are available to speech and language therapists (SLTs), such as targeting the language impairment itself and/or addressing activity or participation barriers. Conversation therapy is one approach that is gaining in popularity, with a growing evidence base. However, it is not clear how SLTs currently use conversation approaches and what factors may influence delivery. Aims: To investigate how SLTs (i) define conversation therapy, (ii) deliver it in clinical practice, and identify (iii) any challenges faced. Methods & Procedures: An online survey and focus group explored how SLTs working in the south east of England currently deliver conversation therapy to support people with a range of communication disorders, in particular aphasia. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis. Outcomes & Results: A total of 50 SLTs completed the survey and 6 participants attended the focus group. Conversation therapy was found to be widely employed by participants, however there was considerable variation in the approaches used, and a number of major challenges were raised. SLTs reported delivering conversation therapy with a range of client groups and preferably working with the client and partner together. Conversation goals predominantly reflected an approach based on: (i) strategy use and/or total communication (TC), and (ii) Conversation Analysis. Three overarching themes around conversation therapy emerged from the focus group: (1) What is conversation therapy? (2) showing it works, and (3) complexities of delivering it. SLTs acknowledged the benefit of conversation therapy but felt they lacked the tools and skills needed to deliver it. Conclusions: SLTs wanted to use conversation therapy and desired clear outcome measures to demonstrate its effectiveness, but were not accessing the available evidence base, highlighting the ongoing difficulty of translating research into clinical practice. Whilst these data are limited by the small number of participants, the study provides a first view of how conversation therapy is articulated in practice. Further investigation of conversation therapy delivery is warranted with a larger sample of SLTs based across the United Kingdom, as is comparison with practice in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A bstract Background: To establish whether simulated keratometry values obtained by corneal mapping (videokeratography) would provide a superior refractive outcome to those obtained by Zeiss IOLMaster (partial coherence interferometry) in routine cataract surgery. Design: Prospective, non-randomized, single-surgeon study set at the The Royal United Hospital, Bath, UK, District General Hospital. Participants: Thirty-three patients undergoing routine cataract surgery in the absence of significant ocular comorbidity. Methods: Conventional biometry was recorded using the Zeiss IOLMaster. Postoperative refraction was calculated using the SRK/T formula and the most appropriate power of lens implanted. Preoperative keratometry values were also obtained using Humphrey Instruments Atlas Version A6 corneal mapping. Main Outcome Measures: Achieved refraction was compared with predicted refraction for the two methods of keratometry after the A-constants were optimized to obtain a mean arithmetic error of zero dioptres for each device. Results: The mean absolute prediction error was 0.39 dioptres (standard deviation 0.29) for IOLMaster and 0.48 dioptres (standard deviation 0.31) for corneal mapping ( P = 0.0015). Keratometry readings between the devices were highly correlated by Spearman correlation (0.97). The Bland-Altman plot demonstrated close agreement between keratometers, with a bias of 0.0079 dioptres and 95% limits of agreement of −0.48-0.49 dioptres. Conclusions: The IOLMaster was superior to Humphrey Atlas A6 corneal mapping in the prediction of postoperative refraction. This difference could not have been predicted from the keratometry readings alone. When comparing biometry devices, close agreement between readings should not be considered a substitute for actual postoperative refraction data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we analyse and compare biometric data of Twite Carduelis flavirostris from Ireland, England and Scotland (Orkney). Data were separated by season (breeding or winter) to account for potential mingling of populations during the winter. The mean wing length of wintering male Twites, but not females, differed significantly between the countries. In the winter, for both sexes, Scottish Twites were significantly heavier than Irish and English ones, which did not differ from one another. Breeding Irish Twites were heavier than breeding English Twites, in both sexes. Males in all countries had longer wings than females. Males were heavier than females in Ireland and England but sexes were of equal mass in Scotland. These results raise questions about the structure, origins and behaviour of wintering Twite populations. Some of the difficulties of ageing and sexing Twites are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The summer of 2012 will see the London Olympic Games taking place, amid extraordinarily tight security arrangements. Biometric technology is playing a significant part in handling staff and athletes attending the London Olympic Park. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses the biometric study of Arctic Tern chicks and other birds on the Farnes Islands in England in 2011. The study found that the capture totals of the chicks has down to 1162 compared to the 1917 in 2010, and there was a large reduction on the number of birds' nestlings mainly on kittiwakes, puffins, and sandwich terns. It adds that Shags breeding was also sighted on the Farnes which included 60 colour-ringed birds and 24 birds in Isle of May.

Summary. - Two experiments are reported using a 1986 version of the dot- probe paradigm of MacLeod, Mathews, and Tata, in which the masked subliminal faces of famous persons were differentially associated with attention depending on participants' attitudes toward the famous person. There was attentional avoidance of the faces of persons invoking high disgust (Exp. 1, « =20) or dislike (Exp. 2) but attentional orientation toward the faces of persons invoking low disgust or liking. In Exp. 2 (n = 28), this effect was apparent for the faces but not the names of famous persons, despite evidence that the famous names were recognised without awareness. The aversion of attention from faces, but not the names of famous persons who are regarded in a negative light but who are not particularly threatening, may suggest an automatic tendency to avoid making eye contact with an undesirable person thereby avoiding unwanted social interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess the capability of new software to decrease the proportion of eyes that have insufficient signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in optical biometry. Setting: Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom. Design: Evaluation of diagnostic test or technology. Methods: In a prospective study, consecutive cataract patients coming for biometry who were unsuccessfully measured with the former software (version 4) of the IOLMaster partial coherence interferometry (PCI) device were reevaluated with the new composite software (version 5). Subsequently, in a retrospective study, consecutive cataract patients were measured with software version 5. For unsuccessful scans, the type and intensity of cataract were assessed at the slitlamp. Results: Altogether, 2713 eyes (1956 patients) were included in the study. The prospective study comprised 458 eyes (244 patients), 10.6% of which could not be measured successfully with software version 4. With the composite software, 30% of cases were measured successfully, with a higher proportion (42%) in the posterior subcapsular cataract subgroup. In the retrospective study, of 2255 eyes (1712 patients), 4.7% were not measured successfully using the new algorithm because of white cataract (70 eyes), posterior subcapsular cataract (14 eyes), or dense nuclear cataract combined with posterior subcapsular cataract (13 eyes) or for other reasons (8 eyes). Conclusion: The composite software (version 5) enhanced the SNR, allowing valid measurements in eyes in which optical biometry had previously failed, especially in cases of posterior subcapsular cataract. Financial Disclosure: No author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned. Additional disclosure is found in the footnotes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses a predator control study in Northern England that attempted to sex Carrion Crow Corvus corone, Rook C. frugilegus and Western Jackdaw C. monedula through the use of three biometrics namely wing, head-plus-bill and tarsus length. Most of the birds were culled between March and July and were sexed through an examination of internal organs. It suggests that the sexes of the three species overlapped in wing and head-plus-bill length but in birds more than a year old, sex can be identified to an acceptable accuracy for demographic study.

Biometry and growth of three piddock species Pholas dactylus, Barnea candida and B. parva, from chalk and clay substrata were investigated between 1999 and 2000 at five low shore locations along the south coast of England. Piddock burrow shape was significantly different ( P<0.01) amongst the locations. Burrows at Lyme Regis showed the largest (height/maximum diameter) ratio (4.86±2.00) whilst those at Compton the lowest (3.73±1.62). Using the method of Bhattacharya, the population structure of P. dactylus, B. candida and B. parva was separated into eight, three and five modal size classes, respectively. Age and shell growth were determined from the number and spacing, respectively, of annual growth lines present in acetate peel replicas of shell sections. The von Bertalanffy growth (VBG) equation fitted the size at age data obtained for P. dactylus and B. candida ( L∞ and K were 79.3±13.8 mm and 0.0011±0.22 and 29.6±1.5 mm and 1.17±0.47, respectively) whilst the size at age data for B. parva were linearly related and did not fit the assumptions of the VBG equation. Male and female gonads were mature and piddocks competent to spawn between June and September 1999, with settlement of juveniles observed between November 1999 and February 2000. A significant relationship between burrow aperture diameter and age of the occupant piddock was established for the three species. Burrow morphology and spatial distribution of burrows were influenced by substratum hardness and population density. Based on estimates at Lyme Regis, piddocks are capable of removing up to 41% of the shore substratum to a depth of 85 mm over their lifespan (12 years), significantly compromising the structural stability of the soft rock shores they inhabit and contributing to bioerosion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The large assemblage of animal remains from Late Neolithic Durrington Walls (Wiltshire, England) provides an opportunity to examine patterns of variability in the measurements of pig bones and teeth in a large archaeological sample, and to propose a set of ‘standard’ measurements to be used as a comparison with other European sites. The results provide a basis for suggesting which measurements are best suited to tackle different questions, such as the separation of populations, sexes and age groups. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents abstracts of various research papers that were presented at the meeting of The Society for Experimental Optometry at Birmingham, England on July 15-16, 1991. Some of the papers presents are "Effects of Different Ocular Fixation Conditions on A-Scan Ultrasound Biometry Measurements," by C.F. Steel, D.P. Crabb and D.F. Edgar, "The Accuracy of Pallor Boundary Tracking in a Computerized Optic Nerve Head Assessment System," by Michael J. Cox and Ivan C.J. Wood, and "Topography of Visual Evoked Magnetic Responses to Pattern Shift, Pattern Onset and Flash Stimuli," by A. Slaven, C. Degg and R.A. Armstrong.

The article presents clinical commentary addressing the study on survival from bladder cancer up to 2001 in England and Wales. It outlines the analysis on urothelial cancers including transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) and urothelial cell carcinoma (UCC) which account for up to 90% of malignant bladder tumors in Great Britain. It remarks that there is lack of change of survival in bladder cancer between the late 1980s and 1990s and the use of chemotherapy was too low to make impact on survival.

The UK''s new automated immigration control scheme – IRIS – has suffered a setback in the wake of the London terrorist attacks, with enrolment for the biometric scheme now at a standstill. A Home Office spokesperson commented that the problem is a manpower issue, however, rather than relating to the performance of the high-tech iris recognition system, which went live in June this year. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A biometrics app designed to improve patient care in the developing world won the first Idea Transform Weekend in Cambridge, UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Felixstowe, the UK''s largest container Port, is now controlling access using smart card technology and biometric hand readers from Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A new biometrics institute has been launched in the UK which aims to improve the exchange of biometric knowledge and expertise in the UK across all stakeholders, including university researchers, the biometrics industrial sector and potential end-users, such as government and commercial sectors. The United Kingdom Biometrics Institute (UKBI) has been initiated by the University of Kent''s Department of Electronics, and is supported by Kent Enterprise. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Details of new research into the trials and tribulations of recording a child''s biometrics are to be revealed at the Biometrics 2005 conference and exhibition in London. The research forms part of a passport trial performed by the Dutch Government''s Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, and looked at the fingerprints and faces of 161 children aged between 0 and 13 years of age. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A declaration condemning the recent terrorist bombings in London has been adopted in an Extraordinary Justice and Home Affairs council meeting at the European Commission. As well as condemning the attacks, the statement also announced a programme of measures to impede future terrorist attacks, with a strong emphasis on the roll out of biometric technology. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]