Preparation of crosslinked 1,2,4-oxadiazole polymer

New crosslinked 1,2,4-oxadiazole elastomers were prepared by thermally condensing a monomer having the formula H2N(HON)C-R-Q, wherein Q is a triazine ring-forming group such as nitrile or amidine or a mixture of such group with amidoxime, or a mixture of said monomer with R C(NOH)NH2 sub 2 with R in these formulas standing for a bivalent organic radical. In the monomer charge, the overall proportions of amidoxime groups to triazine ring-forming groups varies depending on the extent of crosslinking desired in the final polymer

Bifunctional monomers having terminal oxime and cyano or amidine groups

The preparation of crosslinked 1,2,4-oxadiazole elastomers is described. The technique involves thermally condensing (1) a monomer having the formula H2N(HON)C-R-Q, wherein Q is a triazine ring-forming groups such as nitrile or amidine or a mixture of such group with amidoxime, or (2) a mixture of the same monomer with R(C(NOH)NH2)2, with R in these formulas standing for a bivalent organic radical. In the monomer charge, the overall proportions of amidoxime groups to triazine ring-forming groups varies depending on the extent of crosslinking desired in the final polymer

The Effects of Variable Quadriceps and Hamstring Loading Configurations on Knee Joint Kinematics During In Vitro Testing

Previous studies have highlighted the importance of the hamstrings and quadriceps muscles on knee joint mechanics and the effects of their pathologies. It is crucial that the resultant force of theses musculature be accurately represented in in vitro simulation. This study has two objectives to be examined during a deep knee squat: 1) measure the patellofemoral kinematics as a function of different loading configurations of the extensor mechanism and 2) measure the changes in tibiofemoral kinematics after including a direct hamstrings load. Fourteen fresh frozen cadavers were tested using a custom designed muscle loading rig. The rig can statically load the individual heads of the quadriceps and the hamstrings in their anatomical orientation using dead weights or directly drive the rectus femoris quadriceps muscle using a stepper motor. Patellofemoral flexion and shift were the only kinematics that changed significantly between the single line and the physiological based distributed loading configuration of the extensor mechanism, with the largest difference of 2.8° and 0.9 mm at 15° and 45° knee flexion respectively. A weak vastus medialis induced an average lateral shift of 1.5 mm and an external rotation of 0.8° while a 0.9 mm medial shift and 0.6° internal rotation was seen when simulating a weak vastus lateralis relative to the physiological based distributed configuration. The change in patellofemoral kinematics was caused by the non-parallel forces to the axis of the femur generated from the vastus medialis and the vastus lateralis. The flexion moment generated from these forces in the sagittal plane decreased patellar flexion. The vastus lateralis load was larger than that of the vastus medialis causing the resultant force in the frontal plane to be more externally rotated. When the hamstrings were loaded throughout the flexion cycle, the femoral lateral condyle lowest point was more anterior with the largest difference of 1.1 mm at 80° knee flexion. For the iv medial femoral condyle lowest point, loading the hamstrings shifted the lowest point 0.9 mm posterior until 40° flexion. At this flexion angle, the medial lowest point became more anterior for the rest of the flexion cycle (0.9 mm on average). The hamstrings also decreased the medial and lateral lowest point range of motion by 1.7 mm and 0.9 mm respectively. The change in tibia femoral kinematics was larger in deeper knee flexion when the hamstrings were loaded which is due to the increase in the hamstrings moment arm, but it is unclear at this point whether the reduction in tibial internal rotation is due to the isometric loading configuration of the hamstrings. The results from this study demonstrated that different muscle loading configurations of the extensor mechanism and muscle weakness significantly influence patellofemoral shift and tilt while increasing the co-contraction between the quadriceps and hamstrings significantly reduces tibial anterior translation and internal rotation. The study has aided in describing the effects of different muscle loading configurations on knee joint kinematics from simulations and provided important experimental data to investigate changes to improve dynamic simulations using the Kansas Knee Simulator

What happens when a fifth grade class takes an inquiry stance into their own wellness through a critical literacy lens?

The purpose of this study is to teach wellness to students in a fifth grade class using inquiry and critical literacy books. I taught lessons that incorporate the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for Health to find out how this knowledge affected the students\u27 lives. I worked with twenty-four students in a fifth grade class for a sixteen week period during my student teaching. I used a student questionnaire to gather information and also analyzed the student participation during lessons and responses to what was taught. I found that through the teaching of wellness through inquiry and critical literacy books, my class developed into a learning community in which they worked together, enjoyed books, treated each other with respect, and learned how to be their best selves by making good decisions

Decoding schizophrenia across cultures: Clinical, epidemiological and aetiological issues

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.There is accumulating epidemiological evidence of cross-ethnic differences in relation to schizophrenia’s incidence and prevalence. However, there is a dearth of information about the manifestations of cultural differences in schizophrenia’s symptoms. This thesis aims to bridge the gap in our knowledge about the relationship between cross-cultural differences and schizophrenia. Throughout this thesis, I explore the similarities and dissimilarities of the content of clinical manifestation across cultures. I also examine and further develop epidemiological and clinical issues utilizing the ecological theory model. First, I perform a qualitative systematic review which includes 26 publications. I then discuss findings from a statistical analysis of a mental health population of 860 patients in Brent, North London. Lastly, I report results from a semi-structured mental health questionnaire that was devised and disseminated to 48 mental health professionals in London. Results indicate that ethnic groups which experience a higher incidence of schizophrenia also tend to display more positive or first rank symptoms. These ethnic groups that experience a higher incidence of schizophrenia also belong to cultures that culturally legitimise an externalization of their distress. On the other hand, it was found that cultures that internalize their distress experience lower incidence of schizophrenia. My research further demonstrates that schizophrenia’s interpretations are heavily dependent on the diagnosers’ own cultural background, and on the degree to which the externalization of a symptom is tolerable in that context. Furthermore, evidence of intra-cultural diversity in clinical settings underscores the importance of achieving higher cultural competence

Strategies to secure surgical research funding: fellowships and grants.

Innovation and advances in surgery are entirely dependent on research. Fellowships and grants are the principal means by which surgical research projects are funded. However, these are scarce and highly competitive. This article offers guidance through the application process for the aspiring academic surgeon. Approaching the application in a timely and structured manner, seeking advice from current and previous award-holders and members of review panels, and obtaining preliminary data are key ingredients to success

Risk stratification in atherosclerotic cartoid stenosis

Introduction: Key trials and a Cochrane systematic review in asymptomatic carotid stenosis have highlighted the need to identify a high-risk subgroup of patients with carotid stenosis who may benefit from intervention. Traditionally, this risk stratification has considered structural imaging and clinical factors. However, using only these approaches, still a significant number of patients are missed. Biological attributes are acknowledged as key determinants of thrombo-embolic events. Functional and hybrid structural-functional imaging, and circulating biomarkers allow exploration of plaque biology non-invasively, in vivo. The importance of innate immunity in atherosclerosis is now established, with a recent interest in macrophage phenotypic polarisation in atherosclerosis supported by in vitro and experimental data, with the hypothesis of an M1 macrophage predominance associated with unstable plaques. The emergence of systems biology has been seen to facilitate understanding of biological pathways and generate hypotheses, although the utility of this approach for the examination of human atherosclerosis tissue has not been fully explored. Aims: (i) To employ functional imaging to probe carotid atherosclerosis in vivo; (ii) to assess the plaque microenvironment in determination of the balance of macrophage populations in unstable compared with stable atherosclerosis; (iii) to investigate whether late phase (LP-) contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) reflects plaque biological features; (iv) to examine the utility of systems biology techniques in distinguishing symptomatic from asymptomatic carotid atherosclerosis tissue, and in hypothesis generation; and (v) to evaluate a putative biomarker for carotid atherosclerosis and plaque vulnerability. Methods: Patients with carotid stenosis, both symptomatic and asymptomatic, have undergone systematic collection of data, fresh carotid endarterectomy (CEA) specimens, and plasma. Thirty-two patients with 36 carotid stenoses underwent 11C-PK11195 PET/CT. Thirty-seven patients had dynamic (D-) and LP-CEUS carotid imaging. CEA specimens were assessed by immunohistochemical techniques, as well as atheroma cell culture with supernatant multi-analyte profiling (MAP). MAP data was subject to Ingenuity Pathway Analysis. CEA specimens were further examined using systems biology methodologies: transcriptomics with Affymetrix Human Exon 1.0 ST arrays; proteomics and lipidomics by liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (MS); and metabolite profiling by nuclear magnetic resonance and LC-MS. Furthermore, venous and arterial plasma was quantified for the lysozyme, a putative biomarker in carotid atherosclerosis. Results: 11C-PK11195 PET allowed the non-invasive quantification of intraplaque inflammation in patients with carotid stenoses and, when combined with CTA, provided an integrated assessment of plaque structure, composition and biological activity. 11C-PK11195 PET/CT distinguished between recently symptomatic vulnerable plaques and asymptomatic plaques with a high positive predictive value. D-CEUS and LP-CEUS (at a cut-off of zero) was able to distinguish symptomatic and asymptomatic plaques. Atheroma cell culture and supernatant MAP revealed that symptomatic human atherosclerotic carotid disease is associated with a cytokine and chemokine pattern consistent with the predominance of pro-inflammatory M1-type macrophage polarisation. Furthermore, IFNγ signatures are observed, including the novel finding of CCL20 with its significant elevation in symptomatic atherosclerosis. MAP of supernatants from patients who had undergone ipsilateral carotid LP-CEUS revealed significantly higher levels of IL6, MMP1 and MMP3, as well as greater CD68 and CD31 immunopositivity, in those with high (≥0) compared with low (<0) LP-CEUS signal. This suggests that LP-CEUS was able to reflect plaque biology. Transcriptomic analysis was able to clearly separate stenosing plaque and intimal thickening, as well as unstable and stable atherosclerosis, finding differential expression and alternative splicing of interferon regulatory factor 5 between stenosing plaque and intimal thickening. Proteomic analysis of the salt extract fraction from carotid atherosclerotic plaques identified 2,470 proteins implicated in 33 bio-molecular functions and having their origins previously described in 14 different cellular compartments. There were 159 proteins which, based upon the number of assigned spectra, were significantly different between symptomatic and asymptomatic atherosclerosis. Through lipidomic analysis, 150 lipid species from 9 different classes were identified, of which 24 were exclusive to atherosclerotic plaques. A comparison of 28 carotid endarterectomy specimens revealed differential lipid signatures of symptomatic compared with asymptomatic lesions, as well as stable and unstable plaque areas. Similarly, LC-MS metabolite profiling of organic plaque extract was able to separate symptomatic from asymptomatic atherosclerosis. Arterial and venous plasma lysozyme levels were seen to distinguish individuals with carotid atherosclerosis from matched control subjects. Furthermore, arterial plasma lysozyme levels were significantly higher in patients with symptomatic than asymptomatic carotid stenosis. Conclusions: These findings support the use of hybrid structural-functional imaging, and the utility and use of a systems biology approach in identifying significantly different and biologically relevant variations in atherosclerosis tissue, and in hypothesis generation for further study. The data presented concurs with recent reports in the literature linking the lipidic/organic component of atherosclerosis with the generation of a pro-inflammatory plaque microenvironment prone to lesion development, instability and the complications thereof. The importance of innate immunity has been highlighted with the demonstration of a predominance of M1 macrophage polarisation and evidence of Th17/IL17 signalling in unstable atherosclerosis. It is hoped that this work will contribute to the ongoing refinement of multi-factorial risk stratification in carotid atherosclerosis

Colonial Necrocapitalism, State Secrecy, and the Palestinian Freedom Tunnel

Secrecy and the use of “secret information” as capital in the hands of the state is mobilised by affective racialised machineries, cultivated on “security” grounds. Securitised secrecy is an assemblage of concealed operations juxtaposing various forms of invasions and dispossessions. It is a central strategy in the politico-economic life of the state to increase its scope of domination. Secrecy is used and abused to entrap and penetrate political subjects and entities. This article explores the necrocapitalist utilisation of secrecy embedded in the coloniser’s attempt to distort the mind of the colonised. Built from the voices of those affected by secrecy’s violent psychopolitical entrapment and penetrability, we expose the ways in which secrecy manufactures colonisers’ impunity and immunity. Further, we discuss the ruins that secrecy mislays, arguing as Fanon explained, that psychic ruins are common usage of colonial violence. In fact, Fanon (1963) argued that damaged personhood was central to the colonial order and its making. We conclude by insisting that ruins can also be sites of reflection and counteractions of life against the necrocapitalist violent machinery and ideology of the settler colonial state. Building on previous critical and decolonial theories, this essay argues that the coloniser’s yearning for destruction, coupled with the use of militarised “secret information”, constitutes colonial invisible criminalities to maim (Puar, 2015) and erase (Wolf, 2006). Militarised secrecy’s necrocapitalist assemblage takes us to one of the core dimensions of settler colonial ideology “accumulation by dispossession” (Harvey, 2003), that is, the elimination of the colonised, demolition of life and the psychic in which the colonialist “trades” and “sells” the machineries of elimination as combat proven. Examining secrecy and its eliminatory machineries exposes the colonialist’s brutality and the colonised’s unending capacity for resistance and the power of life. This essay hopes to expose the politics underpinning the way securitized secrecy is imagined, implemented and resisted