Nanoenhanced Polyurea As A Blast Resistant Coating For Concrete Masonry Walls

Blast impact is a major concern in the world today. The leading cause of death due to blast impacts is rapidly moving debris. To prevent this many researchers are looking for methods of improved blast resistance for concrete masonry walls. However, many available protective coatings are not flame retardant. This thesis focuses on nanoenhanced polyurea for applications in improving blast resistance, while possessing improved flame retardancy, of concrete masonry walls. The polyurea that is being researched is enhanced with nanoadditives in an effort improve both blast and fire resistance. These materials are dynamically tested and those showing marked improvement are chosen for experimental and computational testing

Helimeric porphyrinoids: Stereostructure and chiral resolution of meso -tetraarylmorpholinochlorins

The synthesis and chiral resolution of free-base and Ni(II) complexes of a number of derivatives of meso-tetraphenylmorpholinochlorins, with and without direct β-carbon-to-o-phenyl linkages to the flanking phenyl groups, is described. The morpholinochlorins, a class of stable chlorin analogues, were synthesized in two to three steps from meso-tetraphenylporphyrin. The conformations and the relative stereostructures of a variety of free-base and Ni(II) complexes of these morpholinochlorins were elucidated by X-ray diffractometry. Steric and stereoelectronic arguments explain the relative stereoarray of the morpholino-substituents, which differ in the free-base and Ni(II) complexes, and in the monoalkoxy, β-carbon-to-o-phenyl linked morpholinochlorins, and the dialkoxy derivatives. The Ni(II) complexes were all found to be severely ruffled whereas the free-base chromophores are more planar. As a result of the helimeric distortion of their porphyrinoid chromophores, the ruffled macrocycles possess a stable inherent element of chirality. Most significantly, resolution of the racemic mixtures was achieved, both by classical methods via diastereomers and by HPLC on a chiral phase. Full CD spectra were recorded and modeled using quantum-chemical computational methods, permitting, for the first time, an assignment of the absolute configurations of the chromophores. The report expands the range of known pyrrole-modified porphyrins. Beyond this, it introduces large chiral porphyrinoid π-systems that exist in the form of two enantiomeric, stereochemically stable helimers that can be resolved. This forms the basis for possible future applications, for example, in molecular-recognition systems or in materials with chiroptic properties. © 2011 American Chemical Society

Disappearing women? Wives in fact and fiction during the long eighteenth century

The thesis examines how coverture was imagined, reconfigured and interrogated within a range of women’s fictions of the long eighteenth century. This comparative study of law, history and literature is a unique, novel and wide-ranging study which brings existing secondary research together with new data and interpretations. The thesis firstly sets out to discover how coverture was experienced by women of the time. This is vital because the existing secondary historical literature suggests a gap between the lived experience of women and the strict legal provisions contained in the doctrine. This in turn means that some of the assumptions which have previously been made about coverture in women’s fiction may not be accurate as they do not reflect historical reality. A series of models of coverture were therefore constructed to provide an accurate backdrop for the various literary interpretations which follow. These historical models draw on established secondary sources and also use new research formulated especially for this thesis. The thesis also examines the underlying philosophies which supported coverture: justifications which were not true in fact but which were promulgated in order to support its existence. These were powerful cultural ideas in their own right and the thesis argues that the way in which they were integrated into fiction changed over time. Each chapter focuses on one aspect of coverture. Chapter One examines land ownership; Chapter Two looks at moveable goods, money and investments; Chapter Three analyses coverture within the marital relationship, with a particular emphasis on how the androcentric power structures at its heart might be subverted and Chapter Four examines working wives. Each chapter contains an explanation of the theoretical legal position which is then examined against the existing secondary literature and new primary-source case studies. The findings are then applied to selected fictions. The only exception to this is Chapter Three, which seeks to analyse Mary Wollstonecraft’s Mary and Maria in terms of her own experimental relationship with Gilbert Imlay. In Chapter One, a range of novels from the early eighteenth century is examined, including The Prude and Davys’ The Reform’d Coquet. Chapter Two focusses on the work of Eliza Haywood, with the Female Spectator and The History of Miss Betsy Thoughtless taking centre stage. Chapter Three concerns Mary Wollstonecraft’s two novels and Chapter Four examines Frances Burney’s final novel The Wanderer. As well as addressing separate aspects of coverture, each chapter also focuses on a different period of time. This enables cross-chronological analysis to be undertaken to identify changes to the understanding of coverture that occurred over time and how these were expressed in society and the literature of the period. This three-way analysis of law, history and female-authored fiction, together with the cross-chronological nature of this study, provides fresh insights into women’s fiction and the ways in which coverture was understood by those living under it

Solid-phase synthesis of insulated molecular wires

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

A scoping review on determining Australian nurse engagement in eye care settings

Purpose: As the Australian population grows and ages, the demand for eye care services, and nurses to provide the services, is expected to increase. This will impact nurses, who are Australia’s largest health-care provider group. Understanding and mapping the current role and use of nurses in eye care is an essential first step for future health workforce planning and development. To map their engagement, we undertook a scoping review to gain an understanding of the current Australian nurse eye care workforce landscape, to help guide and support future workforce development activities. Secondly, we evaluated if publications in this field incorporated or mentioned the Australian Ophthalmic Nursing Association’s National Standards (Practice standards) in their publication. This review also offers other nations and eye care providers the opportunity to evaluate their own health workforce plan and nurse utility. Study Design and Methods: We conducted a review of academic and grey literature, via various search engines, and an inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: We uncovered 11 publications. Of those, five were academic papers examining extended and advanced nursing practice, one was a letter to the editor, two were industry feature reviews, two were industry reports and the final was the Practice Standards. Key themes throughout indicated the benefit of nurse training and nurse involvement in eye care. Overall, there was insufficient information or data to describe nurse deployment, practice and utility. Finally, the Practice Standards were not referenced in any publication. Conclusion: There is insufficient published information to calculate the level and involvement of nurses, or describe their existing role, advancement or future deployment in eye care in Australia. Without clear information, Australia is unable to develop effective health workforce strategies to attract, train, retain, and appropriately deploy nurses to meet future eye care needs

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of achiral analogs of duocarmycin SA

The design, synthesis, as well as biochemical and biological evaluation of two novel achiral analogs of duocarmycin SA (DUMSA), 1 and 2, are described. Like CC-1065 and adozelesin, compounds 1 and 2 covalently reacted with adenine-N3 in AT-rich sequences and led to the formation of DNA strand breaks upon heating. The cytotoxicity of compounds 1 and 2 against human cancer cells (K562, LS174T) was determined using a MTT assay giving IC(50) values in the low nanomolar. Further cytotoxicity screening of compound 2 conducted by the NCI against a panel of 60 different human cancer cell lines indicated that it was particularly active against several solid tumor cells lines derived from the lung, colon, CNS, skin, and breast

A genome-wide association study suggests new evidence for an association of the NADPH Oxidase 4 (NOX4) gene with severe diabetic retinopathy in type 2 diabetes

Purpose Diabetic retinopathy is the most common eye complication in patients with diabetes. The purpose of this study is to identify genetic factors contributing to severe diabetic retinopathy. Methods Results A genome-wide association approach was applied. In the Genetics of Diabetes Audit and Research in Tayside Scotland (GoDARTS) datasets, cases of severe diabetic retinopathy were defined as type 2 diabetic patients who were ever graded as having severe background retinopathy (Level R3) or proliferative retinopathy (Level R4) in at least one eye according to the Scottish Diabetic Retinopathy Grading Scheme or who were once treated by laser photocoagulation. Controls were diabetic individuals whose longitudinal retinopathy screening records were either normal (Level R0) or only with mild background retinopathy (Level R1) in both eyes. Significant Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) were taken forward for meta-analysis using multiple Caucasian cohorts. Five hundred and sixty cases of type 2 diabetes with severe diabetic retinopathy and 4,106 controls were identified in the GoDARTS cohort. We revealed that rs3913535 in the NADPH Oxidase 4 (NOX4) gene reached a p value of 4.05 x 10(-9). Two nearby SNPs, rs10765219 and rs11018670 also showed promising p values (p values = 7.41 x 10(-8) and 1.23 x 10(-8), respectively). In the meta-analysis using multiple Caucasian cohorts (excluding GoDARTS), rs10765219 and rs11018670 showed associations for diabetic retinopathy (p = 0.003 and 0.007, respectively), while the p value of rs3913535 was not significant (p = 0.429). Conclusion This genome-wide association study of severe diabetic retinopathy suggests new evidence for the involvement of the NOX4 gene.Peer reviewe

A genome‐wide association study suggests new evidence for an association of the NADPH Oxidase 4 (NOX4) gene with severe diabetic retinopathy in type 2 diabetes

PurposeDiabetic retinopathy is the most common eye complication in patients with diabetes. The purpose of this study is to identify genetic factors contributing to severe diabetic retinopathy.MethodsA genome-wide association approach was applied. In the Genetics of Diabetes Audit and Research in Tayside Scotland (GoDARTS) datasets, cases of severe diabetic retinopathy were defined as type 2 diabetic patients who were ever graded as having severe background retinopathy (Level R3) or proliferative retinopathy (Level R4) in at least one eye according to the Scottish Diabetic Retinopathy Grading Scheme or who were once treated by laser photocoagulation. Controls were diabetic individuals whose longitudinal retinopathy screening records were either normal (Level R0) or only with mild background retinopathy (Level R1) in both eyes. Significant Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) were taken forward for meta-analysis using multiple Caucasian cohorts.ResultsFive hundred and sixty cases of type 2 diabetes with severe diabetic retinopathy and 4,106 controls were identified in the GoDARTS cohort. We revealed that rs3913535 in the NADPH Oxidase 4 (NOX4) gene reached a p value of 4.05 × 10-9 . Two nearby SNPs, rs10765219 and rs11018670 also showed promising p values (p values = 7.41 × 10-8 and 1.23 × 10-8 , respectively). In the meta-analysis using multiple Caucasian cohorts (excluding GoDARTS), rs10765219 and rs11018670 showed associations for diabetic retinopathy (p = 0.003 and 0.007, respectively), while the p value of rs3913535 was not significant (p = 0.429).ConclusionThis genome-wide association study of severe diabetic retinopathy suggests new evidence for the involvement of the NOX4 gene