The influence of pH on the solubility of miconazole and its effect on survival of c. albicans

The in-vitro activity ofmiconazole against Candida albicans (NCPF 3262) was investigated using Time- survival curves. An HPLC assay was also developed to produce a pH-solubility profile which showed that miconazole solubility varied from (2.5 ±0.3) mg/L at pH 12 to (28.9 ± 0.6) mg/L at pH 5. Time survival curve determinations demonstrated a relationship between miconazole concentration and the area under the curve (AUC). In controlled conditions using buffered aqueous solutions of miconazole (8 mg/L), a change in pH from 8 to 5 resulted in an increase in the antifungal activity of miconazole. Experiments performed in buffered YNB using the same concentration of miconazole showed that a change in pH from 7 to 5 resulted in a decrease in miconazole antifungal activity. Such results indicate that apart from the well known inhibitory effects that the growth media have on azole activity, pH at which tests were performed may also influence growth of C. albicans in batch culture.peer-reviewe

Structural Studies of Nitrato Cobalt Complexes, Ylides and Two Related Organic Molecules by X-Ray Analysis

In this thesis the techniques of crystal structure analysis are applied to the study of bonding and molecular conformations in three classes of compounds. The contents are divided into four parts; in PART I historical and theoretical aspects of structure determination are surveyed, with particular emphasis being placed on those techniques which were used in the present studies. PART II is concerned with the study of five nitrato-cobalt complexes. In an introduction, aspects of the co-ordinated nitrato group are surveyed, with particular emphasis being placed on the rationalization of the distortions observed in co-ordinated nitrato groups relative to the symmetrical structure of the free nitrate ion. This is followed by a description of the analyses of three novel cobalt complexes of formula [COA2(NO3)Cl]2, [A = pyridine, acetonitrile and tetrahydrofuran]. The three complexes are found to be centrosymmetric dimers, with asymmetrically bridging chlorine atoms. The monomeric units are described as octahedra and as sharing a meridional edge. The octahedra exhibit grossly distorted geometries, the distortions being accountable in terms of the severe constraint imposed by the short 'bite' of the nitrato group on two cis octahedral sites. Many physical techniques have been used in attempts to rationalize the structures of series of nitrato-metal complexes. In particular, spectroscopic evidence suggested that complexes of formula MA2(NO3)2 [A = amine, M = Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II)] have structures which are similar to that observed for Co(Me3PO)2(NO3)2, ie six co-ordinate with cis-bidentate nitrato groups. However no previous analyses had revealed this stereochemistry. Thus it was of interest to investigate the structures of Coa2(NO3)2 [A = pyridine, acetonitrile], the results of which are reported in the final section of PART II. Both analyses have revealed monomeric molecular structures having quasi C2 symmetry, and with geometries in accord with the above mentioned prediction. PART III is devoted to a study of ylides. In an introduction, some aspects of the chemistry of ylides containing second-row 'onium species are surveyed, with particular reference to their marked stability relative to their first-row analogues. In view of the paucity of data on S(VI) 'onium ylides, the crystal and molecular structures of three dimethylsulphoxonium ylides were undertaken. The results are presented in the following three sections, and compared with their sulphur(IV) analogues and other related systems. The final section of PART III is devoted to a discussion of aspects of these analyses that are of overall relevance to the study of such systems. The literature is surveyed in tabular form, and the competition of 'onium and stabilizing groups to delocalize the negative charge on the anionic atom is discussed. Finally the conformations of ylide structures are discussed in terms of the steric requirements for electron delocalization and the minimization of non-bonding interactions. Accounts of the structure analyses of two xanthene-9-spiro-4'-piperidine derivatives are contained in PART IV. These are the first of a series of related compounds which it is proposed to study in this laboratory. The observed geometries of the two molecules are accountable in terms of the theory of isovalent hybridization and also in terms of intramolecular non-bonded interactions

Professional reading and the education of military leaders

Prominent military figures, both contemporary and historical have, through both personal example and their promotion of critical literacy initiatives, emphasised the role of professional reading in the development of the professional wisdom that underpins effective military leadership. While biographical studies hint at a connection between the extracurricular reading habits of notable military figures and the development of their professional wisdom, the majority of studies on military leadership development focus either through the context of experience or on development through the medium of formal educational programmes. Considering the time and resources invested in formal educational programmes, and the highly incremental nature of self-development that makes its utility difficult to measure, it is understandable but not acceptable that continuous, career-long self-development through professional reading receives scant attention. Using a hermeneutically derived conceptual framework as an analytical tool, this research explores the intellectual component of military leadership, as embodied in the idea of the warrior-scholar, and the role the phenomena of reading, text, and canon, play in the development of the cognitive skills – critical, creative, and strategic thinking – necessary for successful leadership in complex institutions and environments. The research seeks to contribute original insights into the role that professional reading actually plays in the intellectual development of military leaders. The research also seeks to determine the extent to which a military canon that embodies professional military wisdom exists, and the relationship that this canon might have on the development of military leaders in the contemporary environment. The research was conducted through an engagement with literatures in multiple disciplines and 18 open-ended in-depth research interviews with 24 emerging and established military leaders, and defence academics, in New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Canada, Israel and the United States on the role reading plays in their professional development. Data have been analysed through literature mapping and the deployment of theme discovery and interpretation-centred analysis methods. In particular, this thesis has examined the artefact of the professional military reading list as used across nations and individual armed services as a component of contemporary professional military education for commissioned and non-commissioned officers at tactical, operational and strategic leadership levels. The research has confirmed the utility of the reading list approach as a means of promoting professional reading, particularly to assist officers: · prepare for a posting or campaign · prepare for formal professional military education courses · aid developmental activities towards promotion · broaden general knowledge, and · cultivate professional military knowledge in breadth and depth. The research has found that reading lists are syllabi for the informal mode of professional military education, particularly to supplement the study, in breadth and depth, of military history, strategy and doctrine, the art of war, and leadership in command. The research has also examined the construction and implementation of the reading lists and developed twenty principles for the development of reading lists for practical use by militaries globally. The research has critically engaged with canon as a concept. While it has not found that the canon concept in its ‘pure’ form as understood in literature studies can be usefully applied to military education, a set of core texts have been identified as being highly valued by militaries globally for the education of officers. Although the research did not seek to prove the link between reading and the development of military leaders, such an approach being inconsistent with the methodological lens adopted, the research does however indicate that professional reading in breadth and depth is as important a component in the development of military wisdom as is training, experience, and formal education

Likelihood of substance abuse for dyslexics may be influenced by socioeconomic background and metacognition

Research into the relationship between dyslexia and substance abuse has led to inconsistent findings. Some research papers suggest that dyslexics are at increased risk of substance abuse (and related) problems, whilst some research would suggest the contrary. We suggest that these different observations can be accounted for by socioeconomic background and the effect of this on metacognition. There are also an increased number of other factors which may predominantly affect people from low socioeconomic backgrounds which could exacerbate substance abuse

Developmental outcomes of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy)-exposed infants in the UK

Objective: This paper aims to review findings from a longitudinal study of prenatal methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, “ecstasy”) on infant development. Methods: In a prospective, longitudinal cohort design, we followed 28 MDMA‐exposed and 68 non‐MDMA‐exposed infants from birth to 2 years of age. Women recruited voluntarily into a study of recreational drug use during pregnancy were interviewed to obtain type, frequency, and amount of recreational drug use. Their children were followed for a 2‐year period after birth. A large number of drug and environmental covariates were controlled. Infants were seen at 1, 4, 12, 18, and 24 months using standardized normative tests of mental and motor development. Results: There were no differences between MDMA‐exposed and non‐MDMA‐exposed infants at birth except that MDMA‐exposed infants were more likely to be male. Motor delays were evident in MDMA infants at each age and amount of MDMA exposure predicted motor deficits at 12 months in a dose‐dependent fashion. Conclusions: Prenatal MDMA exposure is related to fine and gross motor delays in the first 2 years of life. Follow‐up studies are needed to determine long‐term effects

Flatland

Flatland is a project of VCDE233 TYPOGRAPHY II and VCDI223 DESIGN AND PRE-PRESS PRODUCTION, both courses in the Design Studies diploma program at MacEwan University. Students were asked to translate an assigned section of the Victorian novella, Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott (1884), into a two-page layout that treats the text in a way that is visually appealing, readable, and appropriate to the content. They were encouraged to challenge conventions by exploring alternative grids, objective and expressive type, and text and image relationships. VCDE233 Typography II (Constanza Pacher) and VCDI223 Design and Pre-Press Production (Jess Dupuis

The Inclusiveness and Emptiness of <i>Gong Qi</i>: A Non-Anglophone Perspective on Ethics from a Sino-Japanese Corporation

This article introduces a non-Anglophone concept of gong qi(communal vessel, 公器) as a metaphor for ‘corporation’. It contributes an endogenous perspective from a Sino-Japanese organizational context that enriches mainstream business ethics literature, otherwise heavily reliant on Western traditions. We translate the multi-layered meanings of gong qi based on analysis of its ideograms, its references into classical philosophies, and contemporary application in this Japanese multinational corporation in China. Gong qi contributes a perspective that sees a corporation as an inclusive and virtuous social entity, and also addresses the elusive, implicit, and forever evolving nature of organizational life that is rarely noticed. We propose gong qi can be applied in other organizations and wider cultural contexts to show a new way of seeing and understanding business ethics and organization. Rather than considering virtue as a list of definable individual qualities, we suggest that the metaphor of gong qi reveals how virtue can be experienced as indeterminate, yet immanently present, like the substance of emptiness. This, then allows us to see the virtue of immanence, the beauty of implicitness, and hence, the efficacy of gong qi