Gold Mine Wooden Artefacts: Multianalytical Investigations for the Selection of Appropriate Consolidation Treatments

Environmental conditions present in mines generally are very favourable to decay; high temperature, high humidity, variable oxygen content, numerous metal-wood connections and the presence of a high content of inorganic compounds typical of mines have a significant impact on the biotic and abiotic degradation factors. The state of conservation of wooden artefacts from the Zloty Stok (Poland) gold mine was investigated using a multi-analytical approach. The aim was to select the conservation treatments that would stop decay and improve the conditions and dimensional stability of the wood. FT-IR and Py-GC/MS were used to assess the state of preservation of lignocellulosic material. ED-XRF and SEM-EDS were used to determine-and XRD to identify crystalline phases-salts and minerals in the wood structure or efflorescence on the surface. Highly degraded lignocellulosic material that had undergone depolymerisation and oxidation was found to be severely contaminated by iron-based mineral substances, mainly pyrite, and in some cases greigite and magnetite. The presence of inorganic salts made it difficult to choose the best consolidating material to reduce the level of decay and improve the dimensional stability of the wood

Letting the Right Ones In: Whitelists, Jurisdictional Reputation, and the Racial Dynamics of Online Gambling Regulation.

Using a case study of a recent UK whitelist intended to regulate online gambling, I examine the affective politics of listing. I pay particular attention to the racial dynamics of black and white listing. By charting how the gambling whitelist worked and failed to work as a tool in the designation of jurisdictional reputation, I argue that the use and subsequent abandonment of the whitelist shows the centrality of racial dynamics to listing practices, particularly in relation to how the list was deployed in debates about the trustworthiness of the Kahnawá:ke territory and Antigua and Barbuda. In section 5 I examine what happened after the demise of the online gambling whitelist. Although non-listing techniques of governance look to be expanding, in the form of increased surveillance of individual gamblers, lists continue to play a key role in the UK government’s new model of gambling regulation. I suggest that this confirms the co-constitutive and mutually reinforcing nature of black and white lists as techniques of governance, and the value of exploring them and their racialized implications together

Suspected idiopathic sclerosing orbital inflammation presenting as immunoglobulin G4-related disease: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Idiopathic sclerosing orbital inflammation is a rare and ill-defined heterogeneous entity, and a distinct subset of orbital inflammation. Recently, attention has been focused on immunoglobulin G4-related disease complicated with fibrotic changes in some other organs with high serum immunoglobulin G4 levels. This report presents a case of suspected idiopathic sclerosing orbital inflammation complicated with high serum immunoglobulin G4 levels.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>An 82-year-old Japanese woman had a 30-year history of chronic thyroiditis. She experienced right ptosis and eyelid swelling. These symptoms gradually developed over five years. The clinical and radiographic findings suggested that our patient had idiopathic sclerosing orbital inflammation. We were unable to obtain our patient's consent to perform a biopsy. While the serum immunoglobulin G level was within the normal limits, the serum immunoglobulin G4 level was significantly elevated. The serum immunoglobulin G4 levels decreased after the administration of oral prednisolone at a daily dose of 20 mg. In addition, the swelling and ptosis of the right upper eyelid disappeared gradually after four weeks. Our patient was then suspected to have idiopathic sclerosing orbital inflammation complicated with immunoglobulin G4-related disease and chronic thyroiditis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>An orbital pseudotumor of this type is indicative of idiopathic sclerosing orbital inflammation immunoglobulin G4-related disease. Immunoglobulin G4 may thus be considered a subclass of immunoglobulin G when the serum immunoglobulin G level is within normal limits.</p

Genetic influences on the variability of response to repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in human pharyngeal motor cortex

Background: Recent studies have reported substantial variability in response to repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). We hypothesized that an individual's genetic predisposition may contribute to such variability in the pharyngeal motor cortex. This study aimed to investigate the response to 1 and 5 Hz rTMS paradigms on pharyngeal motor cortex in healthy participants and its relationship with genetic predisposition.Methods: Forty-one healthy participants (25.4 ± 4.6 years old) received either or both 1 Hz (n = 39) and 5 Hz rTMS (n = 40) over pharyngeal motor cortex. Pharyngeal and thenar motor–evoked potentials were recorded at baseline and for 1 hour post-rTMS. The participants were then classified according to their response. The associations between rTMS response and gender, time of day of the stimulation, and eight prespecified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were analyzed.Key Results: There was no direction-specific response to either paradigm (1 Hz: F[3.69, 129.21] = 0.78, P = 0.56; 5 Hz: F[4.08, 146.85] = 1.38, P = 0.25). Only 13% of participants showed the expected bidirectional response (inhibition for 1 Hz and excitation for 5 Hz). Significant associations were found between response and COMT (1 Hz: P = 0.03) and DRD2 (1 Hz: P = 0.02; 5 Hz: P = 0.04) polymorphisms. Carriers of minor allele G from SNP rs6269 (COMT) were more likely to show inhibitory or excitatory outcomes after 1 Hz rTMS. By contrast, carriers of minor allele A from SNP rs1800497 (DRD2) were more likely to show no response to 1 Hz rTMS and inhibition after 5 Hz rTMS.Conclusions &amp; Inferences: Two SNPs from COMT and DRD2 genes may partially explain the response variability to rTMS in the pharyngeal motor system. Further research should focus on stratified approaches for neurostimulatory dysphagia treatment using rTMS

Badania porównawcze fotogeneracji drewna ipe (Tabebuia spp.) po działaniu buforów kwaśnych i zasadowych

Comparative studies of ipe (Tabebuia spp.) wood photodegradation caused by treatment with acid and alkaline buffers. A study on photodegradation of ipe wood using xenon lamp and UV lamp light has been carried out. Colour of the samples was measured using a Datacolour 600 spectrophotometer prior to their soaking in acid and alkaline buffers, after soaking and successively after 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100-hour irradiation. It was concluded that the treatment with acid and alkaline buffers causes opposite changes of the investigated colour coordinates. Samples after treatment with the acid buffer were lighter and yellower in colour, but less red, while after treatment with the alkaline buffer they were darker and redder, bur less yellow. Generally treatment with the alkaline buffer caused more significant changes of ipe wood in comparison to treatment with the acid buffer. Samples treated with the acid buffer were more prone to changes of colour (∆E*) due to light irradiation in comparison to the samples treated with the alkaline buffer. More significant changes of colour were observed in the case of UV irradiation in comparison to irradiation cause by xenon lamp light.Porównawcze badania fotodegradacji drewna ipe (Tabebuia spp.) spowodowanej działaniem zewnętrznego i wewnętrznego światła UV-A. Badaniom fotodegradacji poddano drewno ipe (Tabebuia spp.). Naświetlanie prowadzono za pomocą lampy ksenonowej, emitującej światło o długości fali 290-800 nm oraz lampy UV emitującej światło o długości fali 340 nm. Obie lampy emitowały światło imitujące zewnętrzne promieniowanie słoneczne. W celu sprawdzenia jaki wpływ na zmianę barwy ma odczyn (pH) powłoki wykończeniowej drewna, próbki przed naświetlaniem poddane były obróbce za pomocą kwasowego i zasadowego buforu. Stwierdzono, że próbki drewna ipe po obróbce za pomocą buforu zasadowego ulegają ciemnieniu, a po obróbce za pomocą buforu kwaśnego jaśnieją. Próbki poddane działaniu bufora zasadowego wykazują większą całkowita zmianę barwy (∆E*) drewna niż te po działaniu buforu kwaśnego, jednak stają się bardziej odporne na działanie promieniowanie światła, zarówno od długości fali 340 nm jak i 280 - 800 nm. W przypadku próbek drewna ipe poddanych działaniu bufora kwasowego stwierdzono znaczną zmianę barwy (∆E*) pod wpływem naświetlania, szczególnie w przypadku światła UV o długości fali 340 nm