Missionaries, the Hindu State and British Paramountcy in Travancore and Cochin, 1858-1936.

This thesis seeks to examine and explain changes in the triangular relationship between Christian missionaries, an Indian princely state and the British colonial authorities. It argues that, in the second half of the nineteenth century, the missionaries and the self-declared Hindu state of Travancore maintained a largely favourable relationship despite the clear differences in their respective religious positions. For its vigorous efforts towards 'modernization', Travancore needed the educational and medical activities of the missionaries. At the same time, the Madras government demanded the abolition of caste disabilities and supported similar demands from the missionaries. However, the situation changed significantly with the emergence of Hindu revivalism and communal movements in the late nineteenth century. The state as well as the higher castes became alarmed at the conversion of large number of the lower castes to Christianity. The British authorities, faced with the rise of Indian nationalism, became much more sensitive to religious feelings in Travancore and sought to avoid intervening in social and religious matters as far as possible, though, by contrast, intervention in Cochin remained, for various reasons, more active. In this way, the missionaries practically lost support from the British government. Instead, they were obliged to pay more attention to the Maharaja and his government, which adopted various anti-missionary policies in the 1890s and 1900s. Nevertheless, the Travancore government still needed missionary educational and medical activities as well as their strong influence over the low-caste Christians who became increasingly assertive. But in the 1930s, their relationship became strained once more. The missionaries, who could not expect any substantial help from the British authorities, had almost no choice but to accept the situation. In this way, the Travancore state, while utilizing missionary activities, largely succeeded in preventing Christian influence from expanding further

Surface-Activated Amorphous Alloy Fuel Electrodes for Methanol Fuel Cell

Amorphous alloy electrodes for electrochemical oxidation of methanol and its derivatives were obtained by the surface activation treatment consisting of electrodeposition of zinc on as-quenched amorphous alloy substrates, heating at 200-300℃ for 30 min, and subsequently leaching of zinc in an alkaline solution. The surface activation treatment provided a new method for the preparation of a large surface area on the amorphous alloys. The best result for oxidation of methanol, sodium formate and formalin was achieved by using the surface-activated amorphous palladium-base alloys. The activity is varied with heat treatment temperature in the surface activation treatment, and metallic and metalloid additives. The beneficial alloying elements were phosphorus, nickel, platinum, rhodium and ruthenium

Corrosion Behavior of Amorphous Nickel-Valve Metal Alloys in Boiling Concentrated Nitric and Hydrochloric Acids

The corrosion behavior of amorphous nickel-base alloys containing titanium, zirconium, niobium, tantalum and/or phosphorus in boiling 9 N HNO_3 solutions with and without Cr^ ion and in a boiling 6 N HCl solution was investigated. In boiling 9 N HNO_3 solutions alloys containing 20 at% or more tantalum were immune to corrosion, maintaining the metallic luster, and Ni-40～60Nb alloys showed low corrosion rates of the order of μm/year. In the boiling 6 N HCl solution only tantalum-containing alloys were immune to corrosion although a higher tantalum content was required in the 6 N HCl solution in comparison with 9 N HNO_3 solutions. Protective surface films on the Ni-Nb and Ni-Ta-(P) alloys were composed exclusively of NbO_2(OH) and TaO_2(OH). Consequently, the corrosion resistance is not provided unless alloys contain elements, the passive film of which is highly stable in these aggressive boiling acids, such as tantalum

The Corrosion Behavior of Sputter-Deposited Magnesium-Valve Metal Alloys

An attempt was made for preparation of magnesium alloys with valve metals, such as titanium, zirconium, niobium and tantalum whose melting points far exceed the boiling point of magnesium. These alloys became single phase solid solutions in wide composition ranges, but were crystalline in contrast to the fact that other alloys with valve metals such as nickel-, copper-and aluminum-base alloys were amorphous in wide composition ranges. The alloys containing sufficient amounts of valve metals showed high corrosion resistance due to spontaneous passivation in 1 M HCl at 30℃. The high corrosion resistance was attributed to the formation of passive oxyhydroxide films in which valve metal cations were remarkably concentrated. However, because of crystalline alloys and because of the presence of active magnesium, their corrosion resistance is lower than that of valve metals

CO_2 Methanation Catalysts Prepared from Amorphous Ni-Valve Metal Alloys Containing Platinum Group Elements

The amorphous Ni-valve metal (Ti, Zr, Nb and Ta) alloys containing a few at% of platinum group elements were activated by immersion into hydrofluoric acid and used for hydrogenation of carbon dioxide at 100-300℃. This surface activation led to formation of nanocrystalline surface alloys with high surface area, and to surface enrichment of platinum group elements on the titanium-, niobium- and tantalum-containing alloys, but not on the zirconium-containing alloys. The surface of the latter alloys was mainly composed of nickel. The activity and selectivity for methane formation on the titanium-, niobium- and tantalum-containing alloys were significantly affected by the difference in the platinum group elements; the ruthenium- and rhodium-containing alloys showed higher activity and selectivity for methane formation while the platinum-containing alloys exhibited the lowest activity for methane formation and produced mainly carbon monoxide. The zirconium-containing alloys showed the one order of magnitude higher activity for methanation of carbon dioxide in comparison with the titanium-, niobium- and tantalum-containing alloys and produced exclusively methane independent of platinum group elements contained. The alloying with zirconium seems very important to prepare the alloy catalysts having the extremely high activity

Recent developments and future directions of first-line systemic therapy combined with immunotherapy for advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma: a historical perspective on treatment evolution

The version of record of this article, first published in International Journal of Clinical Oncology, is available online at Publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10147-024-02526-y.Urothelial carcinoma presents significant treatment challenges, especially in advanced stages. Traditionally managed with platinum-based chemotherapy, the advent of immunotherapies, particularly immune checkpoint inhibitors, has revolutionized urothelial carcinoma treatment. This review explores the evolution of urothelial carcinoma management, focusing on the transition from immune checkpoint inhibitors monotherapy to innovative combination therapies. Pembrolizumab, following the KEYNOTE-045 trial, emerged as a pivotal ICI in pretreated metastatic urothelial carcinoma, outperforming traditional chemotherapy. However, limitations surfaced in untreated metastatic urothelial carcinoma patients, particularly in those with low PD-L1 expression, as evidenced by trials like IMvigor130 and KEYNOTE-361. These challenges led to the exploration of combination therapies, including immune checkpoint inhibitors with platinum-based chemotherapy, tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and antibody–drug conjugates. Notably, the CheckMate 901 trial demonstrated improved outcomes with a nivolumab–chemotherapy combination. A significant breakthrough was achieved with the combination of enfortumab vedotin, an antibody–drug conjugates, and pembrolizumab, setting a new standard in first-line treatment for locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma. Future directions involve further exploration of antibody–drug conjugates and immune checkpoint inhibitors, as seen in the TROPHY-U-01 and TROPiCS-4 trials. The review concludes that the locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma treatment landscape is rapidly evolving, with combination therapies offering promising avenues for improved patient outcomes, signaling a new era in urothelial carcinoma management

Electronic health record nested pragmatic randomized controlled trial of a reminder system for serum lithium level monitoring in patients with mood disorder: KONOTORI study protocol

Background: The weaknesses of classical explanatory randomized controlled trials (RCTs) include limited generalizability, high cost, and time burden. Pragmatic RCTs nested within electronic health records (EHRs) can be useful to overcome such limitations. Serum lithium monitoring has often been underutilized in real-world practice in Japan. This trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the EHR-nested reminder system for serum lithium level monitoring in the maintenance of therapeutic lithium concentration and in the improvement of the quality of care for patients on lithium maintenance therapy. Methods: The Kyoto Toyooka nested controlled trial of reminders (KONOTORI trial) is an EHR-nested, parallel-group, superiority, stratified, permuted block-randomized controlled trial. Screening, random allocation, reminder output, and outcome collection will be conducted automatically by the EHR-nested trial program. Patients with a mood disorder taking lithium carbonate for maintenance therapy will be randomly allocated to the two-step reminder system for serum lithium monitoring or to usual care. The primary outcome is the achievement of therapeutic serum lithium concentration between 0.4 and 1.0 mEq/L at 18 months after informed consent. Discussion: The KONOTORI trial uses EHRs to enable the efficient conduct of a pragmatic trial of the reminder system for lithium monitoring. This may contribute to improved quality of care for patients on lithium maintenance therapy. Trial registration: University Hospital Medical Information Network (UMIN) Clinical Trials Registry, UMIN000033633. Registered on 3 July 2018

Political Change and Buddhist Monks in 1950s Sri Lanka

J-GLOBAL ID : 200901018227773990目　次 はじめに 1　仏教僧の組織化とEBP 2　ウィジェーワルダナ家とケラニヤ寺院 3　ブッダラッキタとバンダーラナーヤカ政権 4　グナーナシーハと政治 5　ウィマラワンサとBC協定 おわりにapplication/pdfdepartmental bulletin pape

Induction of tumour necrosis factor receptor-expressing macrophages by interleukin-10 and macrophage colony-stimulating factor in rheumatoid arthritis

Despite its potent ability to inhibit proinflammatory cytokine synthesis, interleukin (IL)-10 has a marginal clinical effect in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Recent evidence suggests that IL-10 induces monocyte/macrophage maturation in cooperation with macrophage-colony stimulating factor (M-CSF). In the present study, we found that the inducible subunit of the IL-10 receptor (IL-10R), type 1 IL-10R (IL-10R1), was expressed at higher levels on monocytes in RA than in healthy controls, in association with disease activity, while their expression of both type 1 and 2 tumour necrosis factor receptors (TNFR1/2) was not increased. The expression of IL-10R1 but not IL-10R2 was augmented on monocytes cultured in the presence of RA synovial tissue (ST) cell culture supernatants. Cell surface expression of TNFR1/2 expression on monocytes was induced by IL-10, and more efficiently in combination with M-CSF. Two-color immunofluorescence labeling of RA ST samples showed an intensive coexpression of IL-10R1, TNFR1/2, and M-CSF receptor in CD68(+ )lining macrophages. Adhered monocytes, after 3-day preincubation with IL-10 and M-CSF, could produce more IL-1β and IL-6 in response to TNF-α in the presence of dibutyryl cAMP, as compared with the cells preincubated with or without IL-10 or M-CSF alone. Microarray analysis of gene expression revealed that IL-10 activated various genes essential for macrophage functions, including other members of the TNFR superfamily, receptors for chemokines and growth factors, Toll-like receptors, and TNFR-associated signaling molecules. These results suggest that IL-10 may contribute to the inflammatory process by facilitating monocyte differentiation into TNF-α-responsive macrophages in the presence of M-CSF in RA

Real-Time Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Microwave Coagulation Therapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Using Color Doppler Imaging

Percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy (PMCT) is a new technique for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, it is difficult to distinguish those lesions in which necrosis has been induced from the viable residual lesions during the procedure, because the margin of the tumor becomes unclear during PMCT. We determined the area of necrotic lesions during the procedure using color Doppler imaging. PMCT was performed on 10 patients (17 lesions) with recurrent HCC. The electrode of the microwave delivery system was moved around the tumor and the surrounding area until color mosaic images disappeared from the entire area of the tumor. The areas in which necrotic tissue was indicated by color Doppler imaging were later confirmed by other modalities such as angiography or contrast-enhanced computed tomography. This leads us to believe that real-time, effective evaluation of PMCT is possible with color Doppler imaging.</p