‘New wine in old bottles’: replicating alchemical experiments

An influential strand of English alchemy was the pursuit of the “vegetable stone,” a medicinal elixir popularized by George Ripley (d. ca. 1490), made from a metallic substance, “sericon.” Yet the identity of sericon was not fixed, undergoing radical reinterpretation between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries as Ripley’s lead-based practice was eclipsed by new methods, notably the antimonial approach of George Starkey (1628–65). Tracing “sericonian” alchemy over 250 years, I show how alchemists fed their practical findings back into textual accounts, creating a “feedback loop” in which the authority of past adepts was maintained by exegetical manipulations—a process that I term “practical exegesis.

The flexibility of the erythrocyte and the rate of sickling of cells containing haemoglobin

Imperial Users onl

Imported malaria: key messages in an era of elimination.

Despite concerted efforts to eliminate malaria, it remains a major global cause of morbidity and mortality with over 200 million annual cases. Significant gains have been made, with the annual global malaria incidence and mortality halving over the past twenty years, using tools such as long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets and artemisinin-based therapies. Malaria is also a significant cause of life-threatening imported infection in the UK. It is vital for front line clinical staff involved in the assessment of acutely ill patients to be aware of the need for early diagnostic testing, malaria epidemiology, markers of severe infection and developments in antimalarial treatments to optimise patient management. The difference between a good and poor outcome is early diagnosis and treatment. Many of the challenges faced in the quest for global eradication, such as availability of appropriate diagnostic tests, and drug and insecticide resistance could also have future implications for imported malaria

Contemporary sediment dynamics and Holocene evolution of Hamford Water, Essex, England.

Contemporary sediment transport, suspended sediment flux, rates of intertidal sedimentation, and Holocene sedimentation history are assessed for Hamford Water, a small meso-tidal inlet and saltmarsh embayment in Essex, UK. Sediment transport rates are calculated using semi-empirical equations; suspended sediment flux is computed by integration of suspended sediment concentration and velocity across the inlet throat; intertidal sedimentation rates are assessed from monitoring of discrete markers on saltmarsh and mudflat; and Holocene sedimentation is estimated from radiocarbon dating of buried organic layers, sampled using a vibrocorer. Results show a tidal regime typical of ebb-dominated inlets: moderate, ebb-dominant flow (==1 m S·l) in the central ebb channel is matched by similar flood-dominant marginal channel flows. The sediment dynamics are not influenced by any fluvial input; there is negligible fresh water input. The net direction of sediment transport is predominantly ebb-orientated. Coarse sand transport pathways are circulatory and dependent on longshore drift. Sand (D = 0.25 mm) enters at the margins and is expelled in the central ebb channel. Negligible sand is transported further landward than the mouth; intertidal sedimentation relies mainly on levels of suspended sediment. Rates of intertidal sedimentation are spatially variable: tidal creek sedimentation is greater than saltmarsh, with a mean rate of 4.2mm yr"l. Buried organic horizons. radiocarbon dated to 600 years BP, are attributed to reclaimed land levels. Holocene sedimentation rates since 4300 years BP, estimated from 14C dating of shell bands. accord with current estimates of sea-level rise of approximately 1 mm i 1 • The role and evolution of the inlet entrance and ebb tidal delta are seen as critical to the evolution of the embayment as a whole. The interaction of the embayment with the adjacent coastal zone considered essential when fonnulating shoreline management plans. Hamford Water is considered an integral part of the Stour/OrwelllNaze coastal system

The Influence of Institutional Shareholders on the Corporate Governance Practices and Financial Performance of Australian Public Listed Companies

Corporate governance has evolved out of the need for regulation of corporations. The prime motivation of this dissertation is to evaluate the current levels of voluntary disclosure compliance and financial performance of selected Australian Stock Exchange listed public companies in Australia, in terms of control by predominately non-institutional or institutional dominated organisations. The research source data for the above mentioned objective is drawn randomly from the ASX list of public companies as at May 5 2005. This dissertation draws together data which highlights entities that are controlled by an institutionally dominated shareholder base directs the board of directors to adopt a transparent approach to disclosure compliance under the current ASX CGC Principles and Guidelines regime which is predominately voluntary, with the exception of the establishment of an audit committee for those reporting entities as per ASX listing rule 12.7. Data collated is sorted and analysed to summarise the position of the data as against the stated hypotheses. The data is tempered in part and reinforced in other areas by not only domestic but also global influences and considerations. Corporate governance compliance is viewed as a window to not only shareholders of an entity but also the wider stakeholder base and the community at large. The wider base is encompassed by a theory termed enterprise governance, which is becoming increasingly recognised as a more relevant theoretical and practical strand of governance to accommodate and deal with the complexities of modem business. The collated data is presented in tables and graphical depictions that statistically test stated hypotheses and draw conclusions, and finally there is reference to possible areas of further study that can be potentially undertaken to expand the breadth of already accumulated knowledge in this area. The area being a relatively recent inclusion in Australian corporate history largely has its beginnings from international sources but is constantly being influenced and as by domestic as well international forces and considerations

A phase II study of temozolomide vs. procarbazine in patients with glioblastoma multiforme at first relapse.

A randomized, multicentre, open-label, phase II study compared temozolomide (TMZ), an oral second-generation alkylating agent, and procarbazine (PCB) in 225 patients with glioblastoma multiforme at first relapse. Primary objectives were to determine progression-free survival (PFS) at 6 months and safety for TMZ and PCB in adult patients who failed conventional treatment. Secondary objectives were to assess overall survival and health-related quality of life (HRQL). TMZ was given orally at 200 mg/m(2)/day or 150 mg/m(2)/day (prior chemotherapy) for 5 days, repeated every 28 days. PCB was given orally at 150 mg/m(2)/day or 125 mg/m(2)/day (prior chemotherapy) for 28 days, repeated every 56 days. HRQL was assessed using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30 [+3]) and the Brain Cancer Module 20 (BCM20). The 6-month PFS rate for patients who received TMZ was 21%, which met the protocol objective. The 6-month PFS rate for those who received PCB was 8% (P = 0.008, for the comparison). Overall PFS significantly improved with TMZ, with a median PFS of 12.4 weeks in the TMZ group and 8.32 weeks in the PCB group (P = 0.0063). The 6-month overall survival rate for TMZ patients was 60% vs. 44% for PCB patients (P = 0.019). Freedom from disease progression was associated with maintenance of HRQL, regardless of treatment received. TMZ had an acceptable safety profile; most adverse events were mild or moderate in severity