A Love That Dare Not Speak: Empire’s Impact on Sodomy Persecutions in Victorian London

The last few decades of 19th Century Victorian London witnessed a dramatic spike in sodomy persecutions. Some of these trials are well known, such as Oscar Wilde, while many others are mere blots on the historical record. Historians have examined this period, and the corresponding trials, to outline the development of the modern homosexual identity in England. This thesis, rather, examines how this period witnessed a resurgence of heteronormative gendered expectations, particularly regarding masculinity. In outlining these changes, particular attention is focused on grounding the (in)famous Labouchere Amendment, or Clause 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1885, back into its historical roots of the Contagious Diseases Acts of the 1860s. Previous scholars have treated this amendment as unrelated to the larger bill, however, in tracing this root, this thesis argues that the laws reflect larger societal shifts within Victorian England. These larger social shifts are rooted in connections between masculinity and empire, as connected through a militarized society. As England became the empire the sun never set on, imperial concerns, rooted in a militarized masculinity, were a constant focus for contemporaries who viewed sodomy as a threat to masculinity, and hence the empire. By analyzing the intersection of empire, militarization, and masculinity, this thesis seeks to answer why this period witnessed an increase in sodomy trials – a crime that had been prosecuted for centuries – to understand how the British understood sexual deviancy in the metropole, and its relation to their Empire

The Potential of Vibrational Spectroscopy in the Early Detection of Cervical Cancer: an Exciting Emerging Field

The application of vibrational spectroscopy to disease diagnosis is a relatively new, rapidly evolving scientific field. Techniques such as Raman and infrared spectroscopy have shown great promise in this regard over the past number of years. This study directly compared Raman spectroscopy and synchrotron infrared (SR-IR) spectroscopy on parallel cervical cancer samples. Both frozen and dewaxed formalin fixed paraffin preserved tissue sections were examined. Both tissue types produced good quality Raman and SR-IR spectra, although the lesser processed, frozen tissue sections displayed the most detailed spectra. Spectroscopy was shown capable of discriminating between different cell types in normal cervical tissue. Spectra recorded from invasive carcinoma showed a marked difference from those recorded from normal cervical epithelial cells. Spectral differences identified with the onset of carcinogenesis include increased nucleic acid contributions and decreased glycogen levels. These investigations pave the way for an enlarged study into this exciting new diagnostic field

Vibrational Spectroscopy for Pathology from Biochemical Analysis to Diagnostic Tool

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women worldwide with 80% of cases arising in the developing world. The mortality associated with cervical cancer can be reduced if this disease is detected at the early stages of development or at the pre-malignant state (cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia, CIN). The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of Raman spectroscopy as a diagnostic tool to detect biochemical changes accompanying cervical cancer progression. Raman spectra were acquired from proteins, nucleic acids, lipids and carbohydrates in order to gain an insight into the biochemical composition of cells and tissues. Spectra were also obtained from histological samples of normal, CIN and invasive carcinoma tissue from 40 patients. Multivariate analysis of the spectra was carried out to develop a classification model to discriminate normal from abnormal tissue. The results show that Raman spectroscopy displays a high sensitivity to biochemical changes in tissue during disease progression resulting in an exceptional prediction accuracy when discriminating between normal cervical tissue, invasive carcinoma and cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia (CIN). Raman spectroscopy shows enormous clinical potential as a rapid non invasive diagnostic tool for cervical and other cancers

Improved functionalization of oleic acid-coated iron oxide nanoparticles for biomedical applications

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles can providemultiple benefits for biomedical applications in aqueous environments such asmagnetic separation or magnetic resonance imaging. To increase the colloidal stability and allow subsequent reactions, the introduction of hydrophilic functional groups onto the particles’ surface is essential. During this process, the original coating is exchanged by preferably covalently bonded ligands such as trialkoxysilanes. The duration of the silane exchange reaction, which commonly takes more than 24 h, is an important drawback for this approach. In this paper, we present a novel method, which introduces ultrasonication as an energy source to dramatically accelerate this process, resulting in high-quality waterdispersible nanoparticles around 10 nmin size. To prove the generic character, different functional groups were introduced on the surface including polyethylene glycol chains, carboxylic acid, amine, and thiol groups. Their colloidal stability in various aqueous buffer solutions as well as human plasma and serum was investigated to allow implementation in biomedical and sensing applications.status: publishe

Antiinflammatory Therapy with Canakinumab for Atherosclerotic Disease

Background: Experimental and clinical data suggest that reducing inflammation without affecting lipid levels may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Yet, the inflammatory hypothesis of atherothrombosis has remained unproved. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind trial of canakinumab, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-1β, involving 10,061 patients with previous myocardial infarction and a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level of 2 mg or more per liter. The trial compared three doses of canakinumab (50 mg, 150 mg, and 300 mg, administered subcutaneously every 3 months) with placebo. The primary efficacy end point was nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or cardiovascular death. RESULTS: At 48 months, the median reduction from baseline in the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level was 26 percentage points greater in the group that received the 50-mg dose of canakinumab, 37 percentage points greater in the 150-mg group, and 41 percentage points greater in the 300-mg group than in the placebo group. Canakinumab did not reduce lipid levels from baseline. At a median follow-up of 3.7 years, the incidence rate for the primary end point was 4.50 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group, 4.11 events per 100 person-years in the 50-mg group, 3.86 events per 100 person-years in the 150-mg group, and 3.90 events per 100 person-years in the 300-mg group. The hazard ratios as compared with placebo were as follows: in the 50-mg group, 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.07; P = 0.30); in the 150-mg group, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.74 to 0.98; P = 0.021); and in the 300-mg group, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.75 to 0.99; P = 0.031). The 150-mg dose, but not the other doses, met the prespecified multiplicity-adjusted threshold for statistical significance for the primary end point and the secondary end point that additionally included hospitalization for unstable angina that led to urgent revascularization (hazard ratio vs. placebo, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.95; P = 0.005). Canakinumab was associated with a higher incidence of fatal infection than was placebo. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality (hazard ratio for all canakinumab doses vs. placebo, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.06; P = 0.31). Conclusions: Antiinflammatory therapy targeting the interleukin-1β innate immunity pathway with canakinumab at a dose of 150 mg every 3 months led to a significantly lower rate of recurrent cardiovascular events than placebo, independent of lipid-level lowering. (Funded by Novartis; CANTOS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01327846.