Public Displays of Knowledge: The Scientific Spectacle of Quackery in England, 1660-1740

Historians have generally favored the production of science to the detriment of its experience and perception by a lay audience. This paper goes against the general trend by using the medical phenomena of quackery in England in between 1660-1740 as an approach for the study of the scientific popularization process. Approaching quackery from the perspective of public displays of knowledge has the advantage of preserving a symmetric and unbiased perspective which does not insert predefined differences between the scientific claims of accepted communities (like the Royal Society) and the "pseudo-scientific" advertisements of different quacks. Because the activity of quacks was mainly a commercial one, quack pamphlets contain to a great extent those scientific ideas which most appealed to the general public. At the same time, these pamphlets not only reflect but have also shaped the scientific understanding of common people. This approach allows me to address some fundamental issues in the writing of history of scientific popularization. The immediate advantage is that such a narrative does not reduce the popularization of scientific ideas to a diffusionist model which presents a one-way exchange process and denies agency to the audience of these ideas. The analysis of quack pamphlets will allow me not only to evaluate the influence of the public on the displayed knowledge, but also to speculate on the response of the audience. A careful analysis will bring in the audience as an active part of the exchange process, and it will also explore the plasticity of certain scientific ideas -- the way their meanings change as they are translated and transmuted into a different context. Compared to other historians of quackery, I am less interested in the way quacks "tricked" people into buying their products (in the sense of a history of advertising), but fascinated to explore the ways scientific knowledge was displayed to the public, and especially how it was perceived and experienced by it

Biopolymer Thin Films Synthesized by Advanced Pulsed Laser Techniques

This chapter provides an overview of recent advances in the field of laser-based synthesis of biopolymer thin films for biomedical applications. The introduction addresses the importance of biopolymer thin films with respect to several applications like tissue engineering, cell instructive environments, and drug delivery systems. The next section is devoted to applications of the fabrication of organic and hybrid organic–inorganic coatings. Matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) and Combinatorial-MAPLE are introduced and compared with other conventional methods of thin films assembling on solid substrates. Advantages and limitations of the methods are pointed out by focusing on the delicate transfer of bio-macromolecules, preservation of properties and on the prospect of combinatorial libraries’ synthesis in a single-step process. The following section provides a brief description of fundamental processes involved in the molecular transfer of delicate materials by MAPLE. Then, the chapter focuses on the laser synthesis of two polysaccharide thin films, namely Dextran doped with iron oxide nanoparticles and Levan, followed by an overview on the MAPLE synthesis of other biopolymers. The chapter ends with summary and perspectives of this fast-expanding research field, and a rich bibliographic database

Composite Coatings Based on Renewable Resources Synthesized by Advanced Laser Techniques

This chapter reviews the progress and perspectives of composite materials in the form of thin films based on renewable resources for biofabrication of a new generation of medical implants with antibacterial properties. The chapter starts with an overview of the types of renewable materials that were currently studied and of the unique properties which make them perfect candidates for numerous bio‐related applications. A briefing of recent progresses in the field of advanced laser synthesis of composites from renewable and sustainable materials, as well as the relevant results in our researches is made. The discussion spans composite coatings based on renewable resources, [e.g., chitosan (CHT) and lignin (Lig)] as biomaterials intended for metallic implants. A particular attention is given to lignin synthesis in the form of thin films due to its ability to functionalize the medical implant surface while preserving the similar composition and the structural properties of the raw, renewable biomaterial. We focused on recent technological advancements (e.g., matrix‐assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) and Combinatorial‐MAPLE) which have brought the spotlight onto renewable biomaterials, by detailing the relevant engineering data of processing. This chapter concludes that the extensions of advanced laser techniques are viable fabrication methods of a new generation of metallic implants

Laser Ablation of Biomaterials

Biomaterials, defined by high biocompatibility and biodegradability, are intensively used in medical applications, mainly to replace partial or total, damaged or destroyed hard or soft tissues. Most of them are used not only as coatings for implant coverage but also as parts for some medical devices. In the last decades, researchers sought to find the optimum processing methods and parameters to modify or deposit the biomaterial of interest. An important family of techniques, used to process a biomaterial, is represented by laser techniques, based upon laser ablation phenomenon. Laser ablation of biomaterials ensures the transference or modification with good precision and without or with minimal disruptions generated. To obtain thin coatings from biomaterials, one can use deposition techniques: pulsed laser deposition (PLD) or matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE). These techniques are chosen according to the selected biomaterial and desired performances of the obtained coating. Therefore, some sensitive biomaterials can be transferred only by MAPLE. Some results in the field of calcium phosphates deposited by PLD or MAPLE are presented, proving the usefulness of these biomaterials for medical applications

Protected Laser Evaporation/Ablation and Deposition of Organic/Biological Materials: Thin Films Deposition for Nano- biomedical Applications

This chapter reviews the laser ablation of delicate organic/biological substances by matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE). It is shown that direct ablation in this case is possible but sometimes not workable at all in adverse conditions. The considered solution is the protection by a prevalent dissolving/suspending component that can allow for a “shielded” ablation by the frozen solvent followed by its gradual evaporation by melting, evaporation and evacuation by pumping system. We extend the study to the case of non-UV absorbing solvents, e.g., water, when the primary interaction between laser and solute ignites evaporation process at a lower ablation threshold due to reduced pressure inside irradiation chamber. We called this case as “generalized” MAPLE interaction. Relevant examples are provided and critically analyzed in view of potential applications for nanobiomedicine, biosensors, advanced implants and chemical technologies

Caractérisations mécaniques et physico-chimiques des effets de l'implantation d'ions Kr+ à haute énergie sur des couches d'hydroxuapatite déposées par PLD

L'hydroxyapatite (Hap) et phosphate octocalcique (OCP) sont des matériaux biocéramiques largement utilisés dans la fabrication des implants dentaires à cause de leurs propriétés de biocompatibilité, d'ostéointégration et de protection du substrat métallique. Cependant, les films Hap et OCP présentent une faible adhérence aux substrats métalliques. Dans ce travail nous présentons une solution pour améliorer cette propriété ainsi que l'augmentation de la homogénéité et de la densité des ces films. Les films Hap et OCP déposés par ablation laser pulsée sur un substrat de titane ont été traités par implantation ionique à haute énergie avec des ions Kr+. Nous avons utilisé des mesures de diffraction de rayons X sous incidence rasante, de spectroscopie RBS, pour étudier les effets du bombardement ionique sur la microstructure et la composition chimique. Les propriétés mécaniques des films ont été évaluées avant et après implantation à l'aide de techniques d'indentation instrumentée