Chemiluminescence of asbestos-activated macrophages

Chemiluminescence, a measure of reactive oxygen release by phagocytes, was compared in peritoneal exudate macrophages elicited with chrysotile asbestos, Corynebacterium parvum and saline. Chrysotile asbestos- and C. parvum-activated macrophages produced significantly more chemiluminescence than saline-elicited macrophages. In a second series of experiments the ability of opsonized chrysotile asbestos to act as a trigger for the release of chemiluminescence was tested. Opsonized chrysotile asbestos produced a dose-related release of chemiluminescence from activated macrophages except at the highest dose where chemiluminescence was reduced due, possibly, to a toxic effect of chrysotile during the assay. Opsonized latex also triggered a dose-related chemiluminescent response from activated macrophages. The potential role of toxic reactive oxygen species, released from macrophages, in the development of asbestos-related pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis are discussed

Graviton-photon conversion on spin 0 and 1/2 particles

The differential cross-sections for scattering of gravitons into photons on bosons and fermions are calculated in linearized quantum gravity. They are found to be strongly peaked in the forward direction and become constant at high energies. Numerically, they are very small as expected for such gravitational interactions.Comment: 13 pages, LaTeX with 5 figure

The mechanical properties of inconel 718 sheet alloy at 800 deg, 1000 deg, and 1200 deg f

Mechanical properties of Inconel sheet superalloy at very high temperatures for supersonic transpor

Towards validation of a new computerised test of goal neglect: preliminary evidence from clinical and neuroimaging pilot studies

Objective: Goal neglect is a significant problem following brain injury, and is a target for rehabilitation. It is not yet known how neural activation might change to reflect rehabilitation gains. We developed a computerised multiple elements test (CMET), suitable for use in neuroimaging paradigms. Design: Pilot correlational study and event-related fMRI study. Methods: In Study 1, 18 adults with acquired brain injury were assessed using the CMET, other tests of goal neglect (Hotel Test; Modified Six Elements Test) and tests of reasoning. In Study 2, 12 healthy adults underwent fMRI, during which the CMET was administered under two conditions: self-generated switching and experimenter-prompted switching. Results: Among the clinical sample, CMET performance was positively correlated with both the Hotel Test (r = 0.675, p = 0.003) and the Modified Six Elements Test (r = 0.568, p = 0.014), but not with other clinical or demographic measures. In the healthy sample, fMRI demonstrated significant activation in rostro-lateral prefrontal cortex in the self-generated condition compared with the prompted condition (peak 40, 44, 4; ZE = 4.25, p(FWEcorr) = 0.026). Conclusions: These pilot studies provide preliminary evidence towards the validation of the CMET as a measure of goal neglect. Future studies will aim to further establish its psychometric properties, and determine optimum pre- and post-rehabilitation fMRI paradigms

Torts - Negligence - Licensee - Invitee - Standard of Care

The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts has held that the common law distinction between a licensee and an invitee is abrogated and that the standard of care owed by an occupier to a non-trespasser is to be decided by personal negligence criteria. Mounsey v. Ellard, 297 N.E.2d 43 (Mass. 1973)

Patient case records of the Royal Free Hospital, 1902-1912

This study has used patient case records of the Royal Free Hospital, London, to examine patient identity, agency, and experience, in relation to hospital treatment of the early twentieth century. The patient base was predominantly the young, lower working-class, but people of a wide variety of circumstances mixed on the wards. Patients used the hospital as a part of the mixed economy of healthcare, making consumer-like decisions at periods of ill-health as to where best to seek medical aid. The lifecycle of ill-health of the patients and their families has been examined according to the histories contained in the records. The frequency of infectious chest conditions stands out, which has raised issues relating to epidemiological transition hypotheses and the wider physical condition of the population during the period of this study. Hospital doctoring has been considered alongside the medical and surgical treatments afforded the patients, in order to understand the standard of care provided at the Royal Free in relation to that available in the wider medical market, and to reconstruct the patient experience of hospital treatment. Financial restraints and reluctance to abandon traditional remedies and techniques meant that it proved slow in adopting the new technologies of modern medicine. The familiarity of traditional medicine, however, would have made the patient experience less intimidating. Patient records are an under-used source, but they represent a significant aspect of hospital development and shared knowledge during a period when patients were attending multiple hospitals throughout their lives. The Royal Free has never before been the subject of an academic study, though its progressive attitude towards admission requirements, medical social work, and medical women, made it an important and influential voluntary institution of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries

St. George Tucker, John Marshall,and Constitutionalism in the Post-Revolutionary South

A study of Marshall\u27s early career suggests several reasons for constitutionalism fundamentally different from that of Tucker, a constitutionalism that became law in the early Republic because of Marshall\u27s position on the Supreme Court. The writings and careers of southern constitutionalists like Tucker also merit further study in order to fully appreciate the growing divergence between the views originally expressed by him and those embraced by the nationalists, who decreased in number in the South after Marshall\u27s time. Finally, we should develop a better understanding of the influence of southerners on the formation of legal and constitutional systems in other states. Virginia\u27s influence upon other states is obvious. Illinois, Missouri, Oregon, Texas, and Florida had territorial governors from Virginia. Even Montana\u27s constitution was a compromise between the Missouri (southern) approach and the Massachusetts approach. Lawyers, trained in Virginia by St. George Tucker and others, fanned out in a similar pattern. Some of the results of this migration are now being studied by legal historians.For example, Maxwell Bloomfield has recognized that several aspiring young attorneys moved from Virginia to Texas after studying law in their native state. Such developments could have important implications for the history of American law in the nineteenth century

Fabrication of 3D Conjugated Polymer Structures via Vat Polymerization Additive Manufacturing

Conjugated polymers are a class of electromechanically active materials that can produce motion in response to an electric potential. This motion can be harnessed to perform mechanical work, and therefore these materials are particularly well suited for use as sensors and actuators in microelectromechanical systems. Conventional methods to fabricate conjugated polymer actuators result in planar morphologies that limit fabricated devices to simplistic linear or bending actuation modes. To overcome this limitation, this work develops a conjugated polymer formulation and associated additive manufacturing method capable of realizing three-dimensional conductive polymer structures. A light-based additive manufacturing technique known as vat polymerization is employed due to its ability to fabricate complex microscale features. A specially-formulated photosensitive polypyrrole resin was optimized for the production of microscale 3D structures. The transduction properties of the photosensitive polymer formulation were characterized to evaluate the material\u27s application in mechanical sensing and actuation technologies

Congregational Polity and Associational Authority: The Evolution of Nonconformity in Britain, 1765-1865

Following the Evangelical Awakening, many of the Nonconformist traditions experienced an evolution in their ecclesiastical structure, resulting in the formation of new associations that frequently acted to establish pragmatic agencies like missionary societies, educational boards and social charities. The transition required new expressions of authority. Understanding the nature of this authority is the chief objective of this study. Chapter One introduces the various themes and goals of the study. Chapter Two explores the Hampshire Congregational Union. In addition to the Union’s structure, David Bogue and the Gosport Academy were central to this group’s identity. Chapter Three focuses on the Lancashire Congregational Union in the North West of England, home to William Roby, the central figure within Lancashire Congregationalism. Chapter Four covers the Lancashire and Yorkshire Baptist Association and the later Lancashire and Cheshire Baptist Association, where John Fawcett was the primary influence. The New Connexion of General Baptists, Chapter Five, was under the authoritative direction of Dan Taylor, a former Methodist and a zealous evangelist. Chapter Six analyses the Scotch Baptists. Peculiar among Baptists, it was created under the leadership of Archibald McLean. The British Churches of Christ, Chapter Seven, closely resembled the Scotch Baptists but were different in some fundamental ways. Finally, in Chapter Eight, patterns of associational authority among these associations will be compared and assessed. Authority among Nonconformist associations, particularly those denominations practising congregational polity, was exercised on the grounds of doctrinal purity and evangelistic expansion. As the nineteenth century continued, the organisational structures grew more complex. In turn, increased control was voluntarily granted to the organisations’ governing bodies so they might more efficiently minister. Following the Awakening, these voluntary bodies found new life as a pragmatic expression of Evangelical zeal