Book review: the books that inspired Harry Goulbourne: “Fanon’s black skin, white masks suggested that I attended to the question of who I was”

Harry Goulbourne has written many books on race relations and ethnicity and identity. Harry talks us through his fragmented school days in South London, how his engagement in student politics drove his interest in American History, and how the work of Frantz Fanon had a big impact on how he thought about himself

Nonlinear capacitance and electrochemical response of ionic liquid-ionic polymers

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98712/1/JApplPhys_109_084901.pd

Boundary layer charge dynamics in ionic liquid-ionic polymer transducers

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98705/1/JApplPhys_109_014909.pd

Tree algorithms for mining association rules

With the increasing reliability of digital communication, the falling cost of hardware and increased computational power, the gathering and storage of data has become easier than at any other time in history. Commercial and public agencies are able to hold extensive records about all aspects of their operations. Witness the proliferation of point of sale (POS) transaction recording within retailing, digital storage of census data and computerized hospital records. Whilst the gathering of such data has uses in terms of answering specific queries and allowing visulisation of certain trends the volumes of data can hide significant patterns that would be impossible to locate manually. These patterns, once found, could provide an insight into customer behviour, demographic shifts and patient diagnosis hitherto unseen and unexpected. Remaining competitive in a modem business environment, or delivering services in a timely and cost effective manner for public services is a crucial part of modem economics. Analysis of the data held by an organisaton, by a system that "learns" can allow predictions to be made based on historical evidence. Users may guide the process but essentially the software is exploring the data unaided. The research described within this thesis develops current ideas regarding the exploration of large data volumes. Particular areas of research are the reduction of the search space within the dataset and the generation of rules which are deduced from the patterns within the data. These issues are discussed within an experimental framework which extracts information from binary data

Key influencing factors of information systems quality and success in Jamaican organizations

Despite major strides in information technology, the Information Systems (IS) community generally continues to suffer fromthe delivery of low quality and failed systems. The situation in the English-speaking Caribbean and in Jamaica in particular,is even more stark because interventions such as software process improvement (SPI) processes are neither well known norused. There is therefore a glaring need to understand the fundamentals of quality determinants in this domain to be able toprovide useful insights for improvement. A recent study has indicated that Jamaican developers are unaware of SPIapproaches and consequently the potential impact and role of process and people on IS quality. We have also included theperception of quality as a probable determinant of the success of even high quality IS. In this research in progress, we havedeveloped and proposed a research model and propositions to explore the impact of process, people and perception on ISquality and success. We hope to use it in Caribbean studies to provide much needed insights

An evaluation of a community youth befriending programme for young people with cystic fibrosis and their carers in Lothian

The authors would like to thank the following for their contribution to the research: - The Queen's Nursing Institute Scotland - Research Steering Group: Julia Quickfall, Shona Cameron, Helen Macfarlane, Aileen Mallinson, Tracey Hamburgh, Jackie Smart - Staff and volunteers: The Butterfly Trust - Fiona O'May, Faculty Research Fellow - All staff, parents and young people who participated in the research project.EdinburghIntroduction and background Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is the UK's most common genetically inherited life limiting condition, which currently affects around 700 people in Scotland (CF Trust 2002). The condition is caused by a gene defect and affects primarily the lungs and digestive system. Children with CF become aware that they are different from their peers, they can be small and thin as puberty usually comes late, there is often a chronic cough and lung function is substantially reduced causing restricted energy levels. Issues relating to cross infection make peer support problematic for this group. In addition, treatments and self care behaviours are substantial, time consuming and add to social isolation due to regular hospitalisation, and absences from school. Consequently this group often need practical and emotional support that would not normally be required in this age group, (Hodson et al 1993). Rationale for the study The Butterfly Trust was set up in 2002 to support sufferers and families with CF. In November 2004 the Trust was awarded funding to establish a befriending programme for children with CF in Lothian (aged 8-18) with the intention of mentoring and supporting, relieving stress and boredom, improving self confidence, and enhancing general well being. The existing programme was developed in partnership with the CF community nurses at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children (RHSC). Aims and Methods The purpose of our study was to evaluate the impact of The Butterfly Trust's befriending programme (Cool Friends) on: Young people's self esteem, empowerment and independence Issues such as boredom and social isolation when young people are at home and in hospital. Its function for raising issues of personal importance for young people and their carers. Support for carers; e.g. time out, networking Its potential for influencing concordance with treatment regimens.sch_nurunpub110unpu

Palmoplantar keratoderma along with neuromuscular and metabolic phenotypes in Slurp1-deficient mice.

Mutations in SLURP1 cause mal de Meleda, a rare palmoplantar keratoderma (PPK). SLURP1 is a secreted protein that is expressed highly in keratinocytes but has also been identified elsewhere (e.g., spinal cord neurons). Here, we examined Slurp1-deficient mice (Slurp1(-/-)) created by replacing exon 2 with β-gal and neo cassettes. Slurp1(-/-) mice developed severe PPK characterized by increased keratinocyte proliferation, an accumulation of lipid droplets in the stratum corneum, and a water barrier defect. In addition, Slurp1(-/-) mice exhibited reduced adiposity, protection from obesity on a high-fat diet, low plasma lipid levels, and a neuromuscular abnormality (hind-limb clasping). Initially, it was unclear whether the metabolic and neuromuscular phenotypes were due to Slurp1 deficiency, because we found that the targeted Slurp1 mutation reduced the expression of several neighboring genes (e.g., Slurp2, Lypd2). We therefore created a new line of knockout mice (Slurp1X(-/-) mice) with a simple nonsense mutation in exon 2. The Slurp1X mutation did not reduce the expression of adjacent genes, but Slurp1X(-/-) mice exhibited all of the phenotypes observed in the original line of knockout mice. Thus, Slurp1 deficiency in mice elicits metabolic and neuromuscular abnormalities in addition to PPK

Interfacing dielectric elastomer actuators with liquids

Methods and materials for liquid encapsulation in thin (19 μm) silicone membranes are presented in this work. A set of 12 liquids including solvents, oils, silicone pre-polymers and one ionic liquid are experimentally tested. We show that all selected liquids are chemically inert to silicone and that vapor pressure is the key parameter for stable encapsulation. It is demonstrated that encapsulated volume of silicone pre-polymers and ionic liquids can stay stable for more than 1 month. The actuation of dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) in conductive liquids is also investigated. An analysis of the equivalent electrical circuits of immersed DEAs shows that non-overlapping regions of the electrodes should be minimized. It also provides guidelines to determine when the electrodes should be passivated. The effects of immersion in a conductive liquid are assessed by measuring the actuation strain and capacitance over periodic actuation. The experimental results show no sign of liquid-induced degradation over more than 45k actuation cycles

HIV protease inhibitors inhibit FACE1/ ZMPSTE24: a mechanism for acquired lipodystrophy in patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy

Abstract HIV-PIs (HIV protease inhibitors) have proved to be of great benefit for the millions of people suffering from AIDS. However, one of the side effects of this component of combined highly active antiretroviral therapy is lipodystrophy, which affects a large number of the patients taking this class of drug. It has been shown that many of these protease inhibitors inhibit the ZMPSTE24 enzyme responsible for removing the farnesylated tail of prelamin A, which is a nuclear lamina component that has been implicated in some of the nuclear laminopathies. Build up of this protein somehow leads to acquired lipodystrophy, possibly through its interaction with a transcription factor called SREBP-1 (sterol-regulatory-element-binding protein-1). The downstream effect of this is altered fatty acid metabolism and sterol synthesis, which may cause lipodystrophy in patients. The build-up of this protein also appears to have morphological consequences on the nucleus and we reveal, by dual-axis electron tomography, a complex nucleoplasmic reticulum that forms after HIV-PI treatment as a result of acute farnesylated prelamin A accumulation. A greater understanding of the molecular mechanisms leading to lipodystrophy will hopefully facilitate the design of improved HIV-PIs that do not cause this debilitating side effect