The Construction of Episcopal Identity: The Meaning and Function of Episcopal Depictions within Latin Saints’ Lives of the Long Twelfth Century

My PhD offers a reassessment of the representation of English bishops within episcopal vitae composed between 1093 and 1214. It argues that the depiction of episcopal sanctity was shaped by the expectations of the community for which these texts were written and the hagiographer’s specific causa scribendi (reasons for writing). Through an investigation of four distinct Latin episcopal saints’ lives, I investigate the relationship between hagiographical function, episcopal identity and patronage by setting each text within its specific institutional and historical context. The vitae I have selected are: Faricius of Arezzo’s life of Aldhelm (c.1093-1099), William Wycombe’s life of Robert Bethune (c.1148-1150) and Gerald of Wales’s lives of Remigius (c.1198-1199) and Hugh of Avalon (c.1210-1214).AHRCIH

Return of the lysergamides. Part II: Analytical and behavioural characterization of N6-allyl-6-norlysergic acid diethylamide (AL-LAD) and (2’S,4’S)-lysergic acid 2,4-dimethylazetidide (LSZ)

Lysergic N,N-diethylamide (LSD) is perhaps one of the most intriguing psychoactive substances known and numerous analogs have been explored to a varying extent in previous decades. In 2013, N6-allyl-6-norlysergic acid diethylamide (AL-LAD) and (2’S,4’S)-lysergic acid 2,4-dimethylazetidide (LSZ) have appeared on the ‘research chemicals’ / new psychoactive substances (NPS) market in both powdered and blotter form. This study reports the analytical characterization of powdered AL-LAD and LSZ tartrate samples and their semi-quantitative determination on blotter paper. Included in this study was the use of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, gas chromatography mass spectrometry (MS), low and high-resolution electrospray MS(/MS), high performance liquid chromatography diode array detection and GC solid-state infrared analysis. One feature shared by serotonergic psychedelics, such as LSD, is the ability to mediate behavioral responses via activation of 5-HT2A receptors. Both AL-LAD and LSZ displayed LSD-like responses in male C57BL/6J mice when employing the head-twitch response (HTR) assay. AL-LAD and LSZ produced nearly identical inverted-U-shaped dose dependent effects, with the maximal responses occurring at 200 µg/kg. Analysis of the dose-responses by nonlinear regression confirmed that LSZ (ED50 = 114.2 nmol/kg) was equipotent to LSD (ED50 = 132.8 nmol/kg) in mice, whereas AL-LAD was slightly less potent (ED50 = 174.9 nmol/kg). The extent to which a comparison in potency can be translated directly to humans requires further investigation. Availability of both chemical and pharmacological data obtained from NPS as they appear on the market provides important data to research communities that are interested in various aspects related substance use and forensic identification

Prednisone raw material characterization and formulation development

ABSTRACT Solid dosage forms for oral use, particularly tablets, are the most highly used dosage forms in therapy because they are easily administered, have high productivity and relatively low cost and provide a more stable drug to form a semi-solid net. Numerous parameters influence the quality of the final dosage form. In this study, the dissolution profile of 20-mg prednisone tablets bioequivalent to the reference product and three test formulations were evaluated using stability testing. During the study, prednisone tablets and the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) prednisone from two different manufacturers were characterized with respect to their physical and physicochemical properties. The results showed that the dissolution profiles of the test batches and the reference product did not retain pharmaceutical equivalence throughout all the stability study. Notably, both samples of API prednisone were of the same crystal form, and any phase transition that occurred during the study could not be attributed to dissolution variation during stability

Where research meets policy

French version available in IDRC Digital Library: De l'eau potable pour la campagne chilienneSpanish version available in IDRC Digital Library: Agua potable en Chil