Professor Cecil Gray CBE KCSG FRCS FRCP FRCA in interview with Dr Max Blythe: Interview 1

Part One Professor T Cecil Gray, professor of anaesthesia at the University of Liverpool from 1959 to 1976, has a distinguished reputation for training, teaching and research in anaesthesia. He begins the interview with discussion  of a Liverpool background, and education at preparatory school and Ampleforth College, where he studied science and also developed an interest in music and drama. He goes on to speak of a two-month period as a novice monk at Ampleforth before deciding to study medicine at the University of Liverpool. As a student on the pre-clinical course he enjoyed the anatomy classes  of Professor Wood, and during his clinical training the professor of medicine,  Henry Cohen, and the surgeon Charles Wells were influential and supportive  figures. Professor Gray then talks of his marriage in 1937 and a decision  to become a partner in a general practice in Liverpool, and he goes on   to describe the work of the busy practice: holding surgeries, dispensing medicines, making home visits, providing a domiciliary obstetric service, and caring for many patients living in conditions of poverty. A discussion         then follows of Professor Gray's developing interest in anaesthesia, and  anaesthetic practice at this time, when the administration of general  anaesthesia was undertaken by general practitioners and hospital staff  who were not medically qualified .Part Two In the second part of the interview, Professor Gray talks of buying a  general practice in Liverpool in 1939, and the experience of working as a single-handed practitioner. At this time, wishing to gain specialist  knowledge of anaesthesia, he received training on two afternoons a week  from the renowned Liverpool general practitioner and anaesthetist, R J Minnitt, who was a prominent member of the Liverpool Society of Anaesthetists. Minnitt encouraged him to take the Diploma in Anaesthetics (DA), which required that one thousand anaesthetics should be recorded by the candidate. Professor Gray speaks of Minnitt's contribution to the specialty of anaesthesia, and of how he developed a machine for self-administration of nitrous oxide   and air for the relief of pain in labour, which was subsequently authorised  by the Central Midwives Board for supervision by midwives who had received suitable instruction. At the start of the Second World War, Professor Gray was turned down by the forces because he suffered from asthma. He continued in general practice, at the same time working as an anaesthetist,         until 1941, when he became a full-time anaesthetist at the Northern General Hospital in Liverpool. In the final part of the interview, Professor Gray talks of volunteering for service and acceptance by the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1942, active service attached to a neurosurgical unit in North  Africa, and the experience of being invalided home in 1944 after contracting bronchial pneumonia

Re-entrant ferroelectricity in liquid crystals

The ferroelectric (Sm C$^*$) -- antiferroelectric (Sm C$^*_A$) -- reentrant ferroelectric (re Sm C$^*$) phase temperature sequence was observed for system with competing synclinic - anticlinic interactions. The basic properties of this system are as follows (1) the Sm C$^*$ phase is metastable in temperature range of the Sm C$^*_A$ stability (2) the double inversions of the helix handedness at Sm C$^*$ -- Sm C$^*_A$ and Sm C$^*_A$% -- re-Sm C$^*$ phase transitions were found (3) the threshold electric field that is necessary to induce synclinic ordering in the Sm C$^*_A$ phase decreases near both Sm C$^*_A$ -- Sm C$^*$ and Sm C$^*_A$ -- re-Sm C$^*$ phase boundaries, and it has maximum in the middle of the Sm C$^*_A$ stability region. All these properties are properly described by simple Landau model that accounts for nearest neighboring layer steric interactions and quadrupolar ordering only.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, submitted to PR

Tamarindus Indica fruit shell ash: a low cost and effective catalyst for biodiesel production from Parinari curatellifolia seeds oil

This research article published by Springer Nature Switzerland AG., 2019The study evaluated the potential use of agricultural waste, Tamarindus indica fruit shell ash, as a solid base catalyst for production of biodiesel. The catalyst was prepared by calcination of T. indica fruit shell at 800 °C in mufe furnace for 3 h. Branauer-Emmett-Teller, thermal gravimetric analysis, X-ray difraction, scanning electron microscope, X-ray forescence, and Hammett indicator techniques were used to characterize the physicochemical properties of the produced catalyst. The catalyst had basic strength of greater than 9.7 and mesoporous structure with pore size d=3.2 nm. The crystalline phase was made up of calcium oxide, potassium oxide, and magnesium oxide. The catalyst was tested for biodiesel production using Parinari curatellifolia seeds oil. The results showed that the best operating parameters for the production of biodiesel were 9:1 methanol to oil molar ratio, 125 mg catalyst (5 wt% of oil), 2 h reaction time, and 60 °C reaction temperature. These optimized operating parameters aforded a maximum yield of 96.2%. Also, fuel properties of biodiesel: acid value, viscosity, and fash, pour, and cloud points were investigated and compared to the ASTM standards limits D6751. The results were observed to be in good agreement with the ASTM standards limits for biodiesel. In addition, the catalyst was easily separated and subsequently reused for four runs in biodiesel production. Thus, Tamarind fruit shell derived catalyst is very promising for the production of biodiesel due to its high performance, low-cost, easy preparation and availabilit

An analysis of directly observed weight communication processes between primary care practitioners and overweight patients

This research was funded by a University of St Andrews 600th Anniversary Doctoral Scholarship.Objective To analyse weight-related communication prevalence and processes (content/context) between primary care practitioners (PCPs) and overweight patients within routine primary healthcare consultations. Methods Consultations between 14 PCPs and 218 overweight patients (BMI ≥25 kg/m2) were video recorded. Weight communication was coded using the Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS) and the novel St Andrews Issue Response Analysis System (SAIRAS). Communication code frequencies were analysed. Results Weight discussion occurred in 25% of consultations with overweight patients; 26% of these had weight-related consultation outcomes (e.g. weight-related counselling and referrals, stated weight-related intention from patients). Weight discussions were more likely to occur if PCPs provided space to patient attempts to discuss weight (p = 0.013). Longer weight discussions (p < 0.001) and contextualising weight as problematic when PCP/patient-initiated weight discussion (p < 0.001) were associated with weight-related consultation outcomes. Conclusion Weight was rarely discussed with overweight patients, however PCP space provision to patient weight-discussion initiation attempts increased weight discussion. When weight was discussed, increased time and/or contextualising weight as a problem increased the likelihood of weight-related consultation outcomes. Practical implication PCP use of specific communication approaches when discussing, contextualising and responding to patient weight may facilitate weight-related discussion and consultation outcomes and could lead to more effective patient weight management.PostprintPeer reviewe

Back To Basics: Teaching The Statement Of Cash Flows

A conceptual foundation for the Statement of Cash Flows based on the ten elements of financial statements provides students with a deep understanding of core accounting concepts.  Traditional methods of teaching the statement of cash flows tend to focus on statement preparation rules, masking the effect of business events on the change in cash.  Accounting majors and non-majors alike both benefit from a clear understanding of the direct relationship between economic events and financial statement elements.  This teaching note provides a conceptual illustration of the Statement of Cash Flows based on the ten elements of financial statements. The teaching method used is based on the belief that “keeping it simple” results in deeper understanding.  This paper develops an equation for the Statement of Cash Flows directly from the Balance Sheet focusing on ten elements of financial statements. The equation analysis is followed by a flowchart illustrating the process and a simple numeric example.  

The Effects of Nutrient Availability on Pseudomonas aeruginosa Mono and Co-culture Biofilms

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder characterized by faulty ion channels and result in thick mucus accumulation, especially in lungs. Mucus buildup provides ideal conditions for bacterial infections. Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) is the second most prevalent bacterium isolated from people with CF and has a high clinical importance. Most CF pathogens form biofilms which make treatment of infections difficult. Biofilms are clusters of cells attached to a surface enclosed in a structured matrix. These structures are a means to provide shelter for bacteria from the environment, especially antibiotics and the immune system. PA alone can form these biofilms, but communities of different bacterial species can also form biofilms together. Multispecies biofilms can form beneficial or antagonistic relationships with PA. In this study, we investigated the interaction between PA and two other important CF pathogens, Staphylococcus aureus (SA) and Burkholderia cenocepacia (BC). SA is the most prevalent CF pathogen and BC is arguably the most fatal. We tested the survival of these species in groups or alone in various nutrient conditions and in differing tobramycin concentrations. We chose tobramycin because it is an antibiotic commonly prescribed to treat PA infections. Our results show that nutrient composition, antibiotic concentration, and time all had a significant effect on the interactions between PA mono-culture and co-cultured biofilms. Understanding these interactions may set the stage for a better understanding of the clinical course of infection and how treatments can be altered for multi-species infections.https://ir.library.louisville.edu/uars/1017/thumbnail.jp

Exploring the Dust Content of Galactic Winds with Herschel. I. NGC 4631

We present a detailed analysis of deep far-infrared observations of the nearby edge-on star-forming galaxy NGC 4631 obtained with the Herschel Space Observatory. Our PACS images at 70 and 160 um show a rich complex of filaments and chimney-like features that extends up to a projected distance of 6 kpc above the plane of the galaxy. The PACS features often match extraplanar Halpha, radio-continuum, and soft X-ray features observed in this galaxy, pointing to a tight disk-halo connection regulated by star formation. On the other hand, the morphology of the colder dust component detected on larger scale in the SPIRE 250, 350, and 500 um data matches the extraplanar H~I streams previously reported in NGC 4631 and suggests a tidal origin. The PACS 70/160 ratios are elevated in the central ~3.0 kpc region above the nucleus of this galaxy (the "superbubble"). A pixel-by-pixel analysis shows that dust in this region has a higher temperature and/or an emissivity with a steeper spectral index (beta > 2) than the dust in the disk, possibly the result of the harsher environment in the superbubble. Star formation in the disk seems energetically insufficient to lift the material out of the disk, unless it was more active in the past or the dust-to-gas ratio in the superbubble region is higher than the Galactic value. Some of the dust in the halo may also have been tidally stripped from nearby companions or lifted from the disk by galaxy interactions.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa