Are Muslims the New Catholics? Europe’s Headscarf Laws in Comparative Historical Perspective

In this paper a biologically-inspired model for partly occluded patterns is proposed. The model is based on the hypothesis that in human visual system occluding patterns play a key role in recognition as well as in reconstructing internal representation for a pattern’s occluding parts. The proposed model is realized with a bidirectional hierarchical neural network. In this network top-down cues, generated by direct connections from the lower to higher levels of hierarchy, interact with the bottom-up information, generated from the un-occluded parts, to recognize occluded patterns. Moreover, positional cues of the occluded as well as occluding patterns, that are computed separately but in the same network, modulate the top-down and bottom-up processing to reconstruct the occluded patterns. Simulation results support the presented hypothesis as well as effectiveness of the model in providing a solution to recognition of occluded patterns. The behavior of the model is in accordance to the known human behavior on the occluded patterns

Functional degradable polymers by radical ring-opening copolymerization of MDO and vinyl bromobutanoate : synthesis, degradability and post-polymerization modification

The synthesis of vinyl bromobutanoate (VBr), a new vinyl acetate monomer derivative obtained by the palladium-catalyzed vinyl exchange reaction between vinyl acetate (VAc) and 4-bromobutyric acid is reported. The homopolymerization of this new monomer using the RAFT/MADIX polymerization technique leads to the formation of novel well-defined and controlled polymers containing pendent bromine functional groups able to be modified via postpolymerization modification. Furthermore, the copolymerization of vinyl bromobutanoate with 2-methylene-1,3-dioxepane (MDO) was also performed to deliver a range of novel functional degradable copolymers, poly(MDO-co-VBr). The copolymer composition was shown to be able to be tuned to vary the amount of ester repeat units in the polymer backbone, and hence determine the degradability, while maintaining a control of the final copolymers’ molar masses. The addition of functionalities via simple postpolymerization modifications such as azidation and the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of a PEG alkyne to an azide is also reported and proven by 1H NMR spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy, and SEC analyses. These studies enable the formation of a novel class of hydrophilic functional degradable copolymers using versatile radical polymerization methods

A theoretical study of the response of vascular tumours to different types of chemotherapy

In this paper we formulate and explore a mathematical model to study continuous infusion of a vascular tumour with isolated and combined blood-borne chemotherapies. The mathematical model comprises a system of nonlinear partial differential equations that describe the evolution of the healthy (host) cells, the tumour cells and the tumour vasculature, coupled with distribution of a generic angiogenic stimulant (TAF) and blood-borne oxygen. A novel aspect of our model is the presence of blood-borne chemotherapeutic drugs which target different aspects of tumour growth (cf. proliferating cells, the angiogenic stimulant or the tumour vasculature). We run exhaustive numerical simulations in order to compare vascular tumour growth before and following therapy. Our results suggest that continuous exposure to anti-proliferative drug will result in the vascular tumour being cleared, becoming growth-arrested or growing at a reduced rate, the outcome depending on the drug’s potency and its rate of uptake. When the angiogenic stimulant or the tumour vasculature are targeted by the therapy, tumour elimination can not occur: at best vascular growth is retarded and the tumour reverts to an avascular form. Application of a combined treatment that destroys the vasculature and the TAF, yields results that resemble those achieved following successful treatment with anti-TAF or anti-vascular therapy. In contrast, combining anti-proliferative therapy with anti-TAF or antivascular therapy can eliminate the vascular tumour. In conclusion, our results suggest that tumour growth and the time of tumour clearance are highly sensitive to the specific combinations of anti-proliferative, anti-TAF and anti-vascular drugs

Shape effect of glyco-nanoparticles on macrophage cellular uptake and immune response

The shells of various poly(dl-lactide)-b-poly(acrylic acid) (PDLLA-b-PAA) spherical micelles and poly(l-lactide)-b-poly(acrylic acid) (PLLA-b-PAA) cylindrical micelles were functionalized with mannose to yield glyco-nanoparticles (GNPs) with different shapes and dimensions. All of these GNPs were shown to have good biocompatibility (up to 1 mg/mL). Cellular uptake experiments using RAW 264.7 have shown that the spherical GNPs were internalized to a much greater extent than the cylindrical GNPs and such a phenomenon was attributed to their different endocytosis pathways. It was demonstrated that spherical GNPs were internalized based on clathrin- and caveolin-mediated endocytosis while cylindrical GNPs mainly depended on clathrin-mediated endocytosis. We also found that longer cylindrical GNPs (Ln × Wn = 215 × 47 nm) can induce an inflammatory response (specifically interleukin 6) more efficiently than shorter cylindrical GNPs (Ln × Wn = 99 × 50 nm) and spherical GNPs (Dn = 46 nm)

How parents build a case for Autism Spectrum Disorder during initial assessments: “We’re fighting a losing battle”

Integral to the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is the initial assessment through which the existence of a ‘problem’ is first ascertained. Despite this, there remains limited research on this early part of the diagnostic pathway. In this paper, we utilised conversation analysis to examine relevant issues in relation to the practitioner-family interactions that take place within this initial assessment context. Our findings illustrated that parents typically first raised the possibility of the presence of an ASD diagnosis through ‘building a case’, which professionals were then able to ratify or negate. Further, we found that the assessments unfolded sequentially and clinical decisions were typically reached through a distinctive pattern of interaction. These findings have important implications for clinical practice, including for the study of ASD assessments and diagnosis

Permeable protein-loaded polymersome cascade nanoreactors by polymerization-induced self-assembly

Enzyme loading of polymersomes requires permeability to enable them to interact with the external environment, typically requiring addition of complex functionality to enable porosity. Herein, we describe a synthetic route toward intrinsically permeable polymersomes loaded with functional proteins using initiator-free visible light-mediated polymerization-induced self-assembly (photo-PISA) under mild, aqueous conditions using a commercial monomer. Compartmentalization and retention of protein functionality was demonstrated using green fluorescent protein as a macromolecular chromophore. Catalytic enzyme-loaded vesicles using horseradish peroxidase and glucose oxidase were also prepared and the permeability of the membrane toward their small molecule substrates was revealed for the first time. Finally, the interaction of the compartmentalized enzymes between separate vesicles was validated by means of an enzymatic cascade reaction. These findings have a broad scope as the methodology could be applied for the encapsulation of a large range of macromolecules for advancements in the fields of nanotechnology, biomimicry, and nanomedicine