Studies of Effectiveness of Commercial Home Treatment Systems

Eleven home water systems were tested representing six different types of filtering systems. Tests were made for Sulfates, Nitrates, Phosphate, Iron and Escherichia coli and Enterobacter aerogenes before and after passing through a home treatment system. All of the systems removed iron adequately but had little effect on the removal of nitrates, phosphates, sulfates or control of pH. Since none of the ground waters was contaminated by coli- forms, nothing was established regarding the effectiveness of bacterial removal by these systems

Baptism in the theology of Martin Luther simper ES in Motu Et Initio

The thesis examines Luther's mature doctrine of baptism in the context of his wider thought. The study is centred upon the years after 1527 when, after the impact of the radical reformation had fully worked through, Luther's baptismal theology reached its final form, as regards content, balance of emphasis, and profile. A two-pronged approach to the material is adopted. Luther's formal baptismal doctrine is analysed according to the categories of the Greater Catechism (1529): baptism as word and water; what baptism accomplishes; baptism and faith; baptism's significatia, and Kindertaufe. But it is argued that an examination of the formal baptismal theology needs to be complemented by an understanding of the dynamics of Luther's use of baptism and its place in his thought. This is supplied by an examination of Luther's handling of baptismal themes in a wide variety of contexts in the Lectureson Genesis (1535-45). The difficulties of relating the older Luther's sacramental theology of baptism to the central themes of his thought are posed. These problems areviewed from a number of angles: the continuity of Luther's baptismal doctrine over time is assessed, and the interplay between his view of baptism and a number of soteriological and ecclesiological themes discussed. Finally, Luther's baptismal doctrine is viewed against its sixteenth-century background. The 'present tense' of baptism emerges as crucial to Luther's understanding of it from 1520 onwards. This theme reflects Luther's theology of the means of grace; it is linked to his understanding of the shape of the Christian life, the nature of the Church, and the simul doctrine. When understood like this, Luther's baptismal theology, so far from being at odds with his doctrine of justification by faith, is a most powerful expression of it

A High Efficiency Cathodoluminescence System and its Application to Optical Materials

A high collection efficiency spectroscopic cathodoluminescence (CL) system based on an in-line ellipsoidal mirror has been constructed for use on a Cambridge S250 scanning electron microscope (SEM). It can be fitted to or removed from the SEM in about 30 minutes and requires no significant modification of the instrument. It can be used to obtain total CL images, monochromatic CL images or CL spectra with an ultimate spectral resolution of 1 nm. The system has been applied to the study of doped synthetic quartz crystals, optical fibres and optical fibre preforms, and to yttrium aluminium garnet, bismuth silicon oxide and potassium tantalum niobate crystals. The CL technique has proved particularly valuable in the study of quartz and his revealed a number of interesting features related to crystal growth. For optical fibres and their preforms CL provides a convenient method of monitoring the distribution of germanium, used as a dopant to increase the refractive index in the core region of the fibre

Examining Movement Dynamics of the Gulf Menhaden Fishery Using an Individual-based Model

This study investigates the movement and harvest dynamics of the Gulf Menhaden Brevoortia patronus fishery. The fishery-dependent data collected by NOAA (years 2006-2009 and 2011) describe vessel-specific information on catch locations (latitude and longitude) and magnitude of harvest in metric tons (mt). A series of probability distribution functions (PDFs) were fit to the frequency distributions of number of harvests per day (Poisson), between-harvest distances (gamma), and harvest magnitude (log-normal). These analyses were used to inform an individual-based model (IBM). The IBM was run under several different spatial restriction regimes, including (1) current regulations in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama; (2) additional restrictions off the coast of Jackson County, MS; (3) an extension of current regulations to 2.6 km (two miles) from shore; and (4) closures of all Mississippi waters. This study describes fleet dynamics of one of the more important commercial fisheries in the region and illustrates how they can be simulated using a spatially-explicit IB

Opportunities and challenges of circulating biomarkers in neuroblastoma.

Molecular analysis of nucleic acid and protein biomarkers is becoming increasingly common in paediatric oncology for diagnosis, risk stratification and molecularly targeted therapeutics. However, many current and emerging biomarkers are based on analysis of tumour tissue, which is obtained through invasive surgical procedures and in some cases may not be accessible. Over the past decade, there has been growing interest in the utility of circulating biomarkers such as cell-free nucleic acids, circulating tumour cells and extracellular vesicles as a so-called liquid biopsy of cancer. Here, we review the potential of emerging circulating biomarkers in the management of neuroblastoma and highlight challenges to their implementation in the clinic

Study of two-dimensional calculation of cratering

Time dependent, two-dimensional, coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian code designed for solution of cratering problem

ALK in Neuroblastoma: Biological and Therapeutic Implications.

Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most common and deadly solid tumour in children. Despite the development of new treatment options for high-risk NB, over half of patients relapse and five-year survival remains at 40-50%. Therefore, novel treatment strategies aimed at providing long-term disease remission are urgently sought. ALK, encoding the anaplastic lymphoma kinase receptor, is altered by gain-of-function point mutations in around 14% of high-risk NB and represents an ideal therapeutic target given its low or absent expression in healthy tissue postnatally. Small-molecule inhibitors of Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase (ALK) approved in ALK fusion-positive lung cancer are currently undergoing clinical assessment in patients with ALK-mutant NB. Parallel pre-clinical studies are demonstrating the efficacy of ALK inhibitors against common ALK variants in NB; however, a complex picture of therapeutic resistance is emerging. It is anticipated that long-term use of these compounds will require combinatorial targeting of pathways downstream of ALK, functionally-related 'bypass' mechanisms and concomitant oncogenic pathways