The laboratory mouse is the premier model system for studies of mammalian development due to the powerful classical genetic analysis possible (see also the Jackson Laboratory web site, http://www.jax.org/) and the ever-expanding collection of molecular tools. To enhance the utility of the mouse system, we initiated a program to generate a large database of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) that can provide rapid access to genes. Of particular significance was the possibility that cDNA libraries could be prepared from very early stages of development, a situation unrealized in human EST projects. We report here the development of a comprehensive database of ESTs for the mouse. The project, initiated in March 1996, has focused on 5' end sequences from directionally cloned, oligo-dT primed cDNA libraries. As of 23 October 1998, 352,040 sequences had been generated, annotated and deposited in dbEST, where they comprised 93% of the total ESTs available for mouse. EST data are versatile and have been applied to gene identification, comparative sequence analysis, comparative gene mapping and candidate disease gene identification, genome sequence annotation, microarray development and the development of gene-based map resources.

Obesity is a major public health problem and could soon become a major medicolegal issue as well if appropriate risk management is not undertaken. Apart from the clinical complications of obesity, problems could arise from the use of inappropriate equipment. Insufficiently strong equipment used to move/transport/treat an obese patient could break or fail. Staff who manually handle obese patients without proper equipment and training could suffer back injuries. These types of claims should be preventable with sufficient investment in equipment and training. Unless the problem is addressed now, there could be an increase in claims. These will include clinical negligence claims brought on patients' behalf for injuries due to handling difficulties, equipment failure, problems with calculation of drug doses and failure of diagnosis. There will also be personal injury claims associated with manual handling of obese patients brought by the medical staff responsible for their care.

The representations of violent women in Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003) and the development of this trope compare intriguingly with Charlotte Dacre's early nineteenth-century protagonist in Zofloya, or, The Moor (1806). Drawing on the work of Hannah Arendt and Jean Elshtain, the chapter argues that Whedon's exploration of the relationship between women and violence suggests ways in which to reconsider the consequences and responsibilities-as well as potentials-for women's use of violent means to oppose systemic oppression.

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The New Middle Ages is a series dedicated to pluridisciplinary studies of medieval cultures, with particular emphasis on recuperating women's history and on feminist and gender analyses. This peer-reviewed series includes both scholarly monographs and essay collections.