'To live and die [for] Dixie': Irish civilians and the Confederate States of America

Around 20,000 Irishmen served in the Confederate army in the Civil War. As a result, they left behind, in various Southern towns and cities, large numbers of friends, family, and community leaders. As with native-born Confederates, Irish civilian support was crucial to Irish participation in the Confederate military effort. Also, Irish civilians served in various supporting roles: in factories and hospitals, on railroads and diplomatic missions, and as boosters for the cause. They also, however, suffered in bombardments, sieges, and the blockade. Usually poorer than their native neighbours, they could not afford to become 'refugees' and move away from the centres of conflict. This essay, based on research from manuscript collections, contemporary newspapers, British Consular records, and Federal military records, will examine the role of Irish civilians in the Confederacy, and assess the role this activity had on their integration into Southern communities. It will also look at Irish civilians in the defeat of the Confederacy, particularly when they came under Union occupation. Initial research shows that Irish civilians were not as upset as other whites in the South about Union victory. They welcomed a return to normalcy, and often 'collaborated' with Union authorities. Also, Irish desertion rates in the Confederate army were particularly high, and I will attempt to gauge whether Irish civilians played a role in this. All of the research in this paper will thus be put in the context of the Drew Gilpin Faust/Gary Gallagher debate on the influence of the Confederate homefront on military performance. By studying the Irish civilian experience one can assess how strong the Confederate national experiment was. Was it a nation without a nationalism

Joint Development of Novel Business Models

Changing competitive environment forces companies to innovate and renew their business models towards a more value-adding and customer-centric direction. Often, a prerequisite for this is that the companies are willing to combine their capabilities by co-operating and creating long-term strategic networks with each other. The formation of networks is a cyclical learning process, along which the infrastructure and strategies emerge incrementally through mutual adjustment. We analyze such network formation process among three companies that are operating in separate but complementary industries. They are seeking to expand their service offering through the use of ICT. We reflect upon this development with the state-of-the-art research on the networked organizations and business models. It seems that business models are necessary and useful in depicting the areas of adjustments within and between the organizations in the networked setting.peerReviewe

Avaliação da função de macrófagos alveolares em cavalos clinicamente sadios Evaluation of alveolar macrophage function in healthy horses

Devido à importância dos macrófagos alveolares (MA) nos mecanismos de defesa pulmonar, foram realizados estudos para avaliar a atividade desses fagócitos em cavalos hígidos. Foram realizados lavados broncoalveolares (LBA) em cinco cavalos clinicamente sadios. A citologia foi realizada pela citocentrifugação das amostras e posterior confecção de lâminas coradas pelo método de Rosenfeld. Todas as amostras do LBA foram centrifugadas e a concentração celular foi ajustada para 2×10(6) células/ml, para a mensuração da atividade macrofágica (testes de espraiamento, fagocitose e liberação de peróxido de hidrogênio). A contagem diferencial das células presentes no LBA demonstrou a predominância de macrófagos (59,0&plusmn; 6,9%). Os resultados obtidos nos testes de mensuração da atividade macrofágica foram: índice de espraiamento 25,1&plusmn; 19,7%, índice de fagocitose 89,4&plusmn; 6,2% e liberação de peróxido de hidrogênio 1,6&plusmn; 0,3nmoles/2×10(5) células (sem PMA - phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate) e 1,8&plusmn; 0,4nmoles/2×10(5) células (com PMA). Os resultados demonstraram um padrão de atividade para MA de cavalos hígidos, os quais apresentaram índices de ativação mesmo sem elicitação prévia, indicando que as técnicas utilizadas foram adequadas para tal propósito.<br>Due to the importance of alveolar macrophages (AM) in pulmonary defense mechanisms, studies were performed in order to evaluate the activity of these cells. Bronchoalveolar lavages (BAL) were obtained from five healthy horses, and cytology was performed on glass slides after cytocentrifugation of the samples. Slides were stained by Rosenfeld. All BAL samples were centrifuged and cell concentration was adjusted to 2×10(6) cells/ml, for the measurement of AM activity (spreading, phagocytosis and hydrogen peroxide release tests). Differential counting of the BAL cells demonstrated that macrophages were the predominant type of cell (59.0&plusmn; 6.9%). Measurement of AM activity presented the following results: spreading rate, 25.1&plusmn; 19.7%, phagocytosis rate, 89.4&plusmn; 6.2% and hydrogen peroxide release, 1.6&plusmn; 0.3nmoles/2×10(5) cells (without PMA- phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate) and 1.8&plusmn; 0.4nmoles/2×10(5) cells (with PMA). Results presented a pattern for the activity of AM in healthy horses enabling the demonstration of an activation rate even without known previous eliciting factors. These results indicate that the tests of macrophage activity measurement are adequate for evaluation of phagocytic activity of AMs