LSD: An Analysis of the Literature Concerning its Use in the Therapy of Alcoholism

It will be the concern of this paper to explore the use of the chemical d-lysergic acid diethylamide-25 in therapeutic regimes for alcoholics

The impact of tidal lagoons on future flood risk on the North Wirral and Conwy coastline, UK

This report considers the viability of tidal lagoons in the North Wirral and Conwy coastlines, to mitigate future flood risk and reduce the cost of damage in these areas. The report is aims to provide information on the feasibility and benefits of tidal lagoons as mitigation and adaptation strategies to future sea-level rise, as part of the RISES-AM project. Sea-level has been rising since instrumental records began in the 1700s, and has been rising at a rate of 3.0 ± 0.7 mm / yr-1 since 1990 (Hay et al., 2015). Low probability, plausible high-end sea-level rise scenarios, where global average warming exceeds 2oC in respect to the pre-industrial level, estimate up to 0.98 m sea-level rise (SLR) by 2100 (Church et al., 2013). There is a move away from hard defences in favour of strategies which can mitigate flood risk benefit and allow coastal communities to adapt to and benefit from high-end SLR scenarios (Linham and Nicholls, 2010). Tidal lagoons could be one such innovative option. The report aims to assess the impact of the construction of tidal lagoons on flood risk on the North Wirral and Conwy coastline, under future high-end sea-level rise scenarios. Computer simulations of extreme flood events, using a 2D hydrodynamic model called LISFLOOD, will estimate changes in the extent and depth of flooding following the construction of a lagoon under both present day and future extreme climate conditions. The results of LISFLOOD suggest that: • Colwyn Bay and the North Wirral coastline are not areas at increased flood risk under baseline future high-end SLR, due to steep topography and existing defences. • Infrastructure at Stanlow oil refinery and Connah’s Quay in the North Wirral domain and residential areas in the Colwyn Bay domain at Llandudno, Rhyl and Prestatyn experience increased flood risk under RCP 4.5 (0.72 m SLR) and RCP 8.5 (0.98 m SLR) with no tidal lagoon. This is due to low-lying topography. • The presence of a tidal lagoon on the North Wirral provides flood risk benefit to infrastructure at Stanlow and Connah’s Quay as the magnitude of tidal currents is limited through the Dee and Mersey Estuary. However the size of the lagoon and the bathymetry of Liverpool Bay may mean the lagoon in this study may not be financially feasible. • The construction of a tidal lagoon at Colwyn Bay increases extent and depth of inundation at Llandudno, Rhyl and Prestatyn under all sea-level rise scenarios. Increased flood risk in these areas following the construction of a tidal lagoon is reason enough not to build a lagoon in this location. Tidal lagoons have the potential to offer flood risk benefit and become part of integrated strategies to minimise flood risk in coastal areas. The benefits of tidal lagoons are dependent on their shape, size and location, and feasibility studies should consider impacts in the near- and far-field

Peritoneal fluid haptoglobin from women with endometriosis differentially regulates macrophage cytokine production [abstract]

Abstract only availableThe objective of this study was to define mechanisms by which haptoglobin from endometriotic lesions (eHp) which binds to macrophages modulates immune surveillance and inflammation in the peritoneal cavity by characterizing macrophage products regulated by eHp. To eliminate human macrophage variation, the established THP-1 monocyte cell line (1.0 x106 cells/mL/well, 24-well plates, RPMI 1640+L-glutamine, FBS, and antibiotics) was routinely differentiated into macrophage-like cells with low dose PMA (20 ng/mL) and concurrently treated with media only (M), serum haptoglobin (sHp) or haptoglobin purified from peritoneal fluid of women without (cHp) or with (eHp) endometriosis (10 μg/mL, 24 h). The RayBio Inflammatory Antibody Array III was used per instructions and chemiluminescene signal intensity was quantified by densitometry. Differences were evaluated by ANOVA and post hoc tests.Variation in 8 control spots per and between membranes was sHp, cHp, M. P=0.002), TNF-α (eHp>sHp, cHp, M. P=0.045), TNF-β (eHp>sHp, cHp, M. P=0.043), PDGF-BB (eHp>sHp, cHp, M. P=0.016), IL-6sR (eHp>cHp, M. PsHp>cHp, M. P=0.072), IP-10 (eHp, sHp> cHp, M. P=0.017), RANTES (eHp, sHp>cHp, M. P=0.004) and TGF-β (eHp, sHp>M, cHp. P=0.008). Unexpectedly, cHp differentially decreased IL-2 (cHp<eHp, sHp, M. P=0.001) and MCP-1 (cHp<eHp, sHp, M. P=0.023). Twenty substances were similar in all treatments; the _expression range was divided into quartiles: High: IL-8. Moderate: IL-1β, MIP-1β. Slight: IL-10, TNFsRII, TIMP-2. Minimal: ICAM, INF-gamma, I-309; IL-1α, IL-3, IL-6, IL-11, IL-12p40, IL-12p70, IL-15, M-CSF, MIP-1α, MIP-1δ and TNFsRI. Nine were not detected in any treatment: Eotaxin-1, GCSF, GM-CSF, IL-4, IL-7, IL-13, IL-17, MCP-2, MIG. Differential eHp up-regulation and cHp down-regulation of macrophage inflammatory substances indicates that the function of eHp, hence the function of macrophages in women with endometriosis is skewed compared to controls. We postulate that peritoneal macrophages interaction with eHp contributes to endometrioisis persistence and/or pathophysiologies.National Institutes of Healt

A Reflective Approach to Digital Technology Implementation in Language Teaching: Expanding Pedagogical Capacity by Rethinking Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition

As the number of language instructors seeking to implement digital technologies in their teaching continues to grow, so does the need for direction with regard to making pedagogically sound decisions concerning digital tool use. One popular and useful guide for considering the educational potential of digital technologies has been Puentedura’s (2006) Substitution-Augmentation-Modification-Redefinition (SAMR) model, with its four levels of progressive technological integration. However, the degree of technological integration truly possible or even desirable for individual teachers in their given context depends on a number of complex, interrelated, largely non-technological factors, including implementation motives, pedagogical purview, educational philosophy, theory of learning, teaching style, and situational constraints. Generally unconscious, these factors often go ignored, leaving teachers susceptible to technological decisions that can lead them to lose their prescribed pedagogical focus or unwittingly contradict their core professional beliefs. After a brief, situated overview of the SAMR model, this article introduces and illustrates a five-stage SAMR-embedded reflective approach to systematically eliminating irrelevant, unacceptable, and unfeasible instructional uses of technology and, thereby, revealing potential for expanding pedagogical capacity in language teaching. À mesure que grandit le nombre de professeurs de langue qui cherchent à mettre les technologies numériques au service de leur enseignement, il devient plus important de savoir prendre des décisions pédagogiques judicieuses concernant le recours aux outils numériques. Populaire et utile avec ses quatre niveaux d’intégration progressive de la technologie, le modèle SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redéfinition) de Puentedura (2006) a guidé maints utilisateurs intéressés par le potentiel éducatif des technologies numériques. Toutefois, le degré d’intégration technologique effectivement possible ou même désirable pour les professeurs individuels dans leur contexte particulier dépend de facteurs complexes, interdépendants et essentiellement non technologiques tels que les motifs invoqués en faveur du recours à la technologie, le ressort en matière de pédagogie, la philosophie éducative, la théorie de l’apprentissage, le style pédagogique et les contraintes situationnelles. Généralement inconscients, ces facteurs restent souvent ignorés, ce qui risque de confronter les professeurs à des décisions technologiques susceptibles de leur faire perdre la focalisation pédagogique qui leur a été prescrite ou de contredire involontairement leurs convictions professionnelles fondamentales. Après avoir brièvement replacé le modèle SAMR dans son contexte, le présent article introduit et illustre une approche réflective en cinq étapes intégrées au modèle SAMR qui est destinée à éliminer systématiquement les utilisations non pertinentes, inacceptables et irréalisables de la technologie, et ouvrant ainsi la perspective d’enrichir le potentiel pédagogique de l’enseignement des langues

Union renewal in historical perspective

This article revisits contemporary union renewal/revival debates through comparison with the late 1930s resurgence of trade unionism in the UK’s engineering industry. It is argued that the 1930s union renewal arose from more favourable contextual conditions than those currently obtaining. It was led by political activists, with better-articulated organisation and greater resonance in the working class than their contemporary counterparts, and who were assisted by state policy and pro-worker forces. Conclusions are drawn in relation to current debates