Baptising Marxism? English-Language Catholic Press Reaction to the Worker-Priest Movement in France

From 1943 to 1954 a small religious experiment called the worker-priest movement took place in France. Journalists throughout the world, including Catholic writers and editors from Great Britain, Ireland, Canada and the United States, provided coverage of the worker-priest movement. How the English-language Catholic press reacted to the movement, an well as what that reaction represents, is the subject of this thesis. The introduction out.linen thr major themes of this study, and is followed by two ehaptorp that, establish the background and context of the worker-pr i est movement. Chapter I is an explanation of why the worker-priest movement was initiated in the first place. It shows that there were numerous events and circumstances that led to a large proportion of French industrial workers, the proletariat, abandoning or neglecting Christianity. Chapter II describes the movement\u27s history in its entirety, but it specifically reveals the facts about the first worker-priest mission, which took place from 1943 to 1954. Chapter III is an examination of articles written published in eight Catholic periodicals from Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, and the United States, constitute the thesis\u27 primary source material. They are arranged topically, that is, according to the different problems or questions that they address. The fourth and final chapter is an analysis of English- language Catholic press coverage of the worker~priest movement. This portion of the thesis illustrates why the press reacted as it did and focuses primarily on the accusation that the worker-priestp were being heavily influenced by French corwtmn i at. n and Marx ant. ideas. It points out that the Catholic press\u27 allegations that the worker-priest were becoming communists were inaccurate and shows that these journalists were motivated by the collective fear of communism that pervaded the Roman Catholic Church during the years of the worker-priest movement. The conclusion, in addition to summarizing the thesis, assesses the worker-priest movement as it relates to contemporary developments in the Roman Catholic Church

Impact of H5N1 influenza virus infection on natural killer cells and innate lymphoid cell populations in macaques

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 viruses are a class of emerging zoonotic viruses that present a significant threat to global health. Seasonal influenza causes an estimated 3-5 million illnesses a year, presenting a significant public health burden. Surveillance and research into the clinical and immunological mechanisms of emerging avian influenza viruses like H5N1 with pandemic potential is important to safeguarding public health worldwide. H5N1 strains are endemic in wild and domestic birds worldwide, but very rarely infect humans. When spillover into humans does occur, however, H5N1 causes severe disease, acute respiratory distress, and has a high case fatality rate. The high pathogenic potential of this virus makes a compelling argument for understanding the underlying pathological and immunological mechanisms of the disease. Our lab has demonstrated in a nonhuman primate model that aerosolized infection with H5N1 influenza virus leads to disease progression similar to that seen in human cases. This study aims to characterize some of the innate immune cells that contribute to the response to severe H5N1 infection in this macaque model. Natural killer (NK) cells are a critical cytotoxic innate responder to viral infection, and innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are a recently discovered subset of the innate immune system that are thought to have a critical impact on early response to viral infection in the lung. These cells were characterized and quantified in lung tissue of both naïve and H5N1 infected cynomolgous macaques. I found that NK cells showed a significant decrease in frequency in infected animals, perhaps indicating infection and subsequent loss relative to naïve animals. I was also able to identify two populations of CD45+ cells lacking lineage markers (CD3/CD20/CD163) in the macaque lung that are analogous to previously defined type 2 ILCs expressing CRTH2 but do not express CD127, and a population of type 3 ILCs that co-expressed CD127 and CD117. CRTH2+ cells accumulated non-significantly in the lungs of H5N1 infected animals in response to influenza virus, suggesting that they are stimulated and recruited by infection, and likely have a protective immune response. Further characterization of ILC and NK cell subsets in the lung and their functional response to severe acute respiratory infection such as H5N1 provides a promising avenue for understanding the early innate response to influenza infection

Molecular weaving via surface-templated epitaxy of crystalline coordination networks

One of the dream reactions in polymer chemistry is the bottom-up, self-assembled synthesis of polymer fabrics, with interwoven, one-dimensional fibres of monomolecular thickness forming planar pieces of textiles. We have made a major step towards realizing this goal by assembling sophisticated, quadritopic linkers into surface-mounted metal-organic frameworks. By sandwiching these quadritopic linkers between sacrificial metal-organic framework thin films, we obtained multi-heteroepitaxial, crystalline systems. In a next step, Glaser-Hay coupling of triple bonds in the quadritopic linkers yields linear, interwoven polymer chains. X-ray diffraction studies revealed that this topochemical reaction leaves the MOF backbone completely intact. After removing the metal ions, the textile sheets can be transferred onto different supports and imaged using scanning electron microscopy and atomic-force microscopy. The individual polymer strands forming the two-dimensional textiles have lengths on the order of 200 nm, as evidenced by atomic-force microscopy images recorded from the disassembled textiles

Crystalline assembly of perylene in metal–organic framework thin film: J-aggregate or excimer? Insight into the electronic structure

The spatial orientation of chromophores defines the photophysical and optoelectronic properties of a material and serves as the main tunable parameter for tailoring functionality. Controlled assembly for achieving a predefined spatial orientation of chromophores is rather challenging. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are an attractive platform for exploring the virtually unlimited chemical space of organic components and their self-assembly for device optimization. Here, we demonstrate the impact of interchromophore interactions on the photophysical properties of a surface-anchored MOF (SURMOF) based on 3,9-perylenedicarboxylicacid linkers. We predict the structural assembly of the perylene molecules in the MOF via robust periodic density functional theory calculations and discuss the impact of unit topology and π-π interaction patterns on spectroscopic and semiconducting properties of the MOF films. We explain the dual nature of excited states in the perylene MOF, where strong temperature-modulated excimer emission, enhanced by the formation of perylene J-aggregates, and low stable monomer emission are observed. We use band-like and hopping transport mechanisms to predict semiconducting properties of perylene SURMOF-2 films as a function of inter-linker interactions, demonstrating both p-type and n-type conduction mechanisms. Hole carrier mobility up to 7.34 cm2/Vs is predicted for the perylene SURMOF-2. The results show a promising pathway towards controlling excimer photophysics in a MOF while controlling charge carrier mobility on the basis of a predictive model

Synthesis of Functionalized Azobiphenyl- and Azoterphenyl- Ditopic Linkers : Modular Building Blocks for Photoresponsive Smart Materials

Modular synthesis of structurally diverse functionalized azobiphenyls and azoterphenyls for the realization of optically switchable materials has been described. The corresponding synthesis of azobiphenyls and azoterphenyls by stepwise Mills/Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction, proceeds with high yields and provides facile access to a library of functionalized building blocks. The synthetic methods described herein allow combining several distinct functional groups within a single unit, each intended for a specific task, such as 1) the -N=N- azobenzene core as a photoswitchable moiety, 2) aryls and heteroaryls, functionalized with carboxylic acids or pyridine at its peripheries, as coordinating moieties and 3) varying substitution, size and length of the backbone for adaptability to specific applications. These specifically designed azobiphenyls and azoterphenyls provide modular bricks, potentially useful for the assembly of a variety of polymers, molecular containers and coordination networks, offering a high degree of molecular functionality. Once integrated into materials, the azobenzene system, as a side group on the organic linker backbone, can be exploited for remotely controlling the structural, mechanical or physical properties, thus being applicable for a broad variety of 'smart' applications.Peer reviewe

Carbon nanowalls: the next step for physical manifestation of the black body coating

The optical properties of carbon nanowall (CNW) films in the visible range have been studied and reported for the first time. Depending on the film structure, ultra-low total reflectance up to 0.13% can be reached, which makes the CNW films a promising candidate for the black body-like coating, and thus for a wide range of applications as a light absorber. We have estimated important trends in the optical property variation from sample to sample, and identified the presence of edge states and domain boundaries in carbon nanowalls as well as the film mass density variation as the key factors. Also we demonstrated that at much lower film thickness and density than for a carbon nanotube forest the CNWs yield one order higher specific light absorption

Resistance of African tropical forests to an extreme climate anomaly.

The responses of tropical forests to environmental change are critical uncertainties in predicting the future impacts of climate change. The positive phase of the 2015-2016 El Niño Southern Oscillation resulted in unprecedented heat and low precipitation in the tropics with substantial impacts on the global carbon cycle. The role of African tropical forests is uncertain as their responses to short-term drought and temperature anomalies have yet to be determined using on-the-ground measurements. African tropical forests may be particularly sensitive because they exist in relatively dry conditions compared with Amazonian or Asian forests, or they may be more resistant because of an abundance of drought-adapted species. Here, we report responses of structurally intact old-growth lowland tropical forests inventoried within the African Tropical Rainforest Observatory Network (AfriTRON). We use 100 long-term inventory plots from six countries each measured at least twice prior to and once following the 2015-2016 El Niño event. These plots experienced the highest temperatures and driest conditions on record. The record temperature did not significantly reduce carbon gains from tree growth or significantly increase carbon losses from tree mortality, but the record drought did significantly decrease net carbon uptake. Overall, the long-term biomass increase of these forests was reduced due to the El Niño event, but these plots remained a live biomass carbon sink (0.51 ± 0.40 Mg C ha-1 y-1) despite extreme environmental conditions. Our analyses, while limited to African tropical forests, suggest they may be more resistant to climatic extremes than Amazonian and Asian forests

Recent advances in gastrointestinal oncology - updates and insights from the 2009 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology

We have reviewed the pivotal presentations related to gastrointestinal malignancies from 2009 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology with the theme of "personalizing cancer care". We have discussed the scientific findings and the impact on practice guidelines and ongoing clinical trials. Adding trastuzumab to chemotherapy improved the survival of patients with advanced gastric cancer overexpressing human epidermal growth factor receptor 2. Gemcitabine plus cisplatin has become a new standard for first-line treatment of advanced biliary cancer. Octreotide LAR significantly lengthened median time to tumor progression compared with placebo in patients with metastatic neuroendocrine tumors of the midgut. Addition of oxaliplatin to fluoropyrimidines for preoperative chemoradiotherapy in patients with stage II or III rectal cancer did not improve local tumor response but increased toxicities. Bevacizumab did not provide additional benefit to chemotherapy in adjuvant chemotherapy for stage II or III colon cancer. In patients with resected stage II colon cancer, recurrence score estimated by multigene RT-PCR assay has been shown to provide additional risk stratification. In stage IV colorectal cancer, data have supported the routine use of prophylactic skin treatment in patients receiving antibody against epidermal growth factor receptor, and the use of upfront chemotherapy as initial management in patients with synchronous metastasis without obstruction or bleeding from the primary site