Studies in the heterocyclic series

Robinson's mechanism of the Fischer Indole Synthesis has been studied in details and final proof been brought forward in its favour.The method of Pictot and List for the preparation of 2-phenylindole has been repeated and criticised, the intermediate compound, postulated by these authors, being isolated and shown to possess .a certain range of stability. At the same time derivatives of 2-phenylindole have been prepared, and a completo study of the chemical properties of l-methyl-2-phenyl-3-nitrosoindole has been carried out.Various bromonitrolndazoles, and bromonitromethylindazoles have been prepared and the reactivities of the bromine atoms towards piperidine and rod phosphorus and hydriodic acid measured. In some cases the results have boon used to verify the structural formulae of the isomeric methylindazoles.Attempts to prepare the various bromonitro derivatives of l-phenyl-2-methylbenzimidazole* with a view to obtain some insight to the fine structure of that compound, failed.A short study of the properties of 3~benzeneazo-2»ph©nylindole has been carried out, and the absorption spectrum of this compound compared with those of l-methyl-S-benzeneaao-S-phenylindole and 2~pheny1indo1one-me thy1phenylhydrazone, resulting in the formulation of the compound with a true benzeneazo structure

Native valve endocarditis due to Micrococcus luteus: a case report and review of the literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p><it>Micrococcus luteus </it>endocarditis is a rare case of infective endocarditis. A total of 17 cases of infective endocarditis due to <it>M luteus </it>have been reported in the literature to date, all involving prosthetic valves. To the best of our knowledge, we describe the first case of native aortic valve <it>M luteus </it>endocarditis in an immunosuppressed patient in this report.</p> <p>Case report</p> <p>A 74-year-old Greek-Cypriot woman was admitted to our Internal Medicine Clinic due to fever and malaise and the diagnosis of aortic valve <it>M luteus </it>endocarditis was made. She was immunosuppressed due to methotrexate and steroid treatment. Our patient was unsuccessfully treated with vancomycin, gentamicin and rifampicin for four weeks. The aortic valve was replaced and she was discharged in good condition.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Prosthetic infective endocarditis due to <it>M luteus </it>is rare. To the best of our knowledge, we report the first case in the literature involving a native valve.</p

Effects of Invasive Winter Moth Defoliation on Tree Radial Growth in Eastern Massachusetts, USA

Winter moth, Operophtera brumata L. (Lepidoptera: Geometridae), has been defoliating hardwood trees in eastern Massachusetts since the 1990s. Native to Europe, winter moth has also been detected in Rhode Island, Connecticut, eastern Long Island (NY), New Hampshire, and Maine. Individual tree impacts of winter moth defoliation in New England are currently unknown. Using dendroecological techniques, this study related annual radial growth of individual host (Quercus spp. and Acer spp.) trees to detailed defoliation estimates. Winter moth defoliation was associated with up to a 47% reduction in annual radial growth of Quercus trees. Latewood production of Quercus was reduced by up to 67% in the same year as defoliation, while earlywood production was reduced by up to 24% in the year following defoliation. Winter moth defoliation was not a strong predictor of radial growth in Acer species. This study is the first to document impacts of novel invasions of winter moth into New England

Written information about individual medicines for consumers.

Medicines are the most common intervention in most health services. As with all treatments, those taking medicines need sufficient information: to enable them to take and use the medicines effectively, to understand the potential harms and benefits, and to allow them to make an informed decision about taking them. Written medicines information, such as a leaflet or provided via the Internet, is an intervention that may meet these purposes

Innovation in Diabetes - Ideas and Initiatives

A collection of multiple reports on MyDiabetesMyWay (MDMW). Included reports are: MyDiabetesMyWay Patient Portal; MyDiabetesMyWay e-learning hub (Moodle) ; SCI-diabetes/ MDMW Communication Portal- Tools for Remote Communication/ Consultation; Risk Modelling for Care Planning- integration into Informatics Dashboard for Clinical Use; Access to Chronic Medication Service (CMS) and Pharmaceutical Care Planning Medication and Lifestyle Coaching; Multi-media Diabetes Resources; Promoting Diabetes Education; Tele-Pharmacy; Understanding my diabetes medication; Pharmaceutical Industry and Medical Technology (PIMTs); An on-line and interactive education system for young people with type 1 diabetes to understand self-management for their lifestyle; Proof of Concept study to deliver personalised use of information to support diabetes management and behaviour change; right information; right time; right way; Virtual promotion of physical activity for people with type 2 diabetes; Remote foot ulcer management: RAPID (Reducing Amputation in People with Diabetes); Diabetic foot screening – development of technology; Portable capillary HbA1c testing for diagnosis and self-monitoring of diabetes; Possibility of mobile phone adaption for testing; Web app for decision support for patients with type 1 diabetes undertaking sport or exercise; Online level 3 structured education for type 1 diabetes; My Diabetes My Way electronic personal health record – uptake at scale; TeleClinics for diabetes; Develop a diabetes sim / game in which the main character has diabetes. Young people need to keep the sim / character alive as they face the various challenges of life or the game; Development of meaningful automated glucose data to in-patient clinical areas; In-patient Care: Integrated eHealth solutions to improve patient care, safety and outcomes; Innovative model of care to address the 'process of care' in managing people with long term conditions; Young Persons Remote Clinic Consultation; Maximise use of the data to support self-management of patients with co-morbidities; Virtual practice outreach and education in primary care

Personal Hygiene and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infection

Improving personal hygienic practices may prevent and control MRSA outbreaks

Traces of past activity in the Galactic Centre

The Milky Way centre hosts a supermassive Black Hole (BH) with a mass of ~4*10^6 M_Sun. Sgr A*, its electromagnetic counterpart, currently appears as an extremely weak source with a luminosity L~10^-9 L_Edd. The lowest known Eddington ratio BH. However, it was not always so; traces of "glorious" active periods can be found in the surrounding medium. We review here our current view of the X-ray emission from the Galactic Center (GC) and its environment, and the expected signatures (e.g. X-ray reflection) of a past flare. We discuss the history of Sgr A*'s past activity and its impact on the surrounding medium. The structure of the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) has not changed significantly since the last active phase of Sgr A*. This relic torus provides us with the opportunity to image the structure of an AGN torus in exquisite detail.Comment: Invited refereed review. Chapter of the book: "Cosmic ray induced phenomenology in star forming environments" (eds. Olaf Reimer and Diego F. Torres

Academic freedom in Europe: a preliminary comparative analysis

Using comparative data from 23 states within the European Union, this paper is a preliminary assessment of the protection for, and (by extension) the health of, academic freedom in the universities of the nations of the European Union. The paper examines constitutional and legislative protection for academic freedom, along with legal regulations concerning institutional governance, the appointment of the Rector and the existence of academic tenure, in order to create a composite picture of the health of academic freedom in the universities within the European Union nations. Additionally the paper considers how this preliminary analysis could be extended through possible further research to aid refinement of the results, and what policy steps could usefully be adopted at European level to protect and strengthen academic freedom

The Visual Construction of the Umayyad Caliphate in Al-Andalus through the Great Mosque of Cordoba

My first exposure to the epigraphic program of the Great Mosque of Cordoba, published in 2001, came from reading an article on the ideological meaning of the decoration and the Quranic citations inscribed in al-H. akam II’s addition to the building. In that article, I concluded that the Quranic verses found in the mosque were chosen not only for being a universal proclamation of divine power and praise for the Umayyad dynasty, as proposed by Nuha Khoury in 1996, but also because they clearly fitted in with the particular Andalusi, or rather Cordoban, religious, cultural, and political context in the first half of the 10th century. Most of the inscriptions had been read in the 19th century by Amador de los Ríos, but some of them remained uninterpreted. Given that they were an essential part of the ideological message, it seemed appropriate to revisit the critical reading of the epigraphic program and determine its full meaning. Later, I discussed other architectural aspects of the Great Mosque in which the links to the Andalusi and the eastern Umayyad traditions are a key aspect in understanding why these forms were chosen. Damascus, the eastern Umayyad capital, and to a lesser extent Medina and the Abbasid capitals, became the model for the caliphs of Cordoba. This article proposes to revisit the main architectural and decorative features of the caliphal enlargements of the Great Mosque of Cordoba in order to reflect on the meaning and forms of its epigraphic program

Uncertainty analysis using Bayesian Model Averaging: a case study of input variables to energy models and inference to associated uncertainties of energy scenarios

Background Energy models are used to illustrate, calculate and evaluate energy futures under given assumptions. The results of energy models are energy scenarios representing uncertain energy futures. Methods The discussed approach for uncertainty quantification and evaluation is based on Bayesian Model Averaging for input variables to quantitative energy models. If the premise is accepted that the energy model results cannot be less uncertain than the input to energy models, the proposed approach provides a lower bound of associated uncertainty. The evaluation of model-based energy scenario uncertainty in terms of input variable uncertainty departing from a probabilistic assessment is discussed. Results The result is an explicit uncertainty quantification for input variables of energy models based on well-established measure and probability theory. The quantification of uncertainty helps assessing the predictive potential of energy scenarios used and allows an evaluation of possible consequences as promoted by energy scenarios in a highly uncertain economic, environmental, political and social target system. Conclusions If societal decisions are vested in computed model results, it is meaningful to accompany these with an uncertainty assessment. Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) for input variables of energy models could add to the currently limited tools for uncertainty assessment of model-based energy scenarios