Preston's College

There is an enduring fascination in reading old diaries, and these two years in the life of William Lloyd Holden do not disappoint. Holden was employed as a field surveyor by a county-map publisher...

While Victorian public discourse, habits, and material culture often focused upon drinking alcohol, there was also a very visible alternative. The total abstinence movement, from its inception in the 1830s, had inspirational leaders such as Joseph Livesey who advocated “Eyegate” and “Eargate” as key ways to recruit members and spread interest in this form of temperance. Public displays during the period such as parades and processions, galas, bazaars, displays, and magic lantern shows, were supported by material culture – not merely badges, banners and posters, but the urban landscape of towns, cities and even villages. An alternative world existed in which the non-drinker could stay at a temperance hotel, drink at a temperance coffee or cocoa house, relax in a temperance music hall or temperance billiard room, travel with Thomas Cook’s temperance tours, and receive instruction and entertainment at the local temperance hall. While the buildings gave permanent witness, public events provided peaks of spectacle, reinforcing identity and sustaining members’ interest. They represented the ‘alternative world’ visibly and had a key role in spreading the message to the wider community.

The use of vibrational spectroscopy, FTIR and Raman, for cytology and cellular research has the potential to revolutionise the approach to cellular analysis. Vibrational spectroscopy is non-destructive, simple to operate and provides direct information. Importantly it does not require expensive exogenous labels that may affect the chemistry of the cell under analysis. In addition, the advent of spectroscopic microscopes provides the ability to image cells and acquire spectra with a subcellular resolution. This introductory review focuses on recent developments within this fast paced field and highlights potential for the future use of FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. We particularly focus on the development of live cell research and the new technologies and methodologies that have enabled this.

The origins of the pion exchange model of nuclear forces are described and the exchange process is reinterpreted in the light of current views on the quark-gluon structure of nucleons. It is suggested that the reinterpretation might provide a picture of cohesive nuclear forces that is more intellectually satisfying than that produced by the traditional approach. It is argued that it might be time to review the way we present the exchange particle concept at pre-university level.