The life and work of Michael Sendivogius (1566-1636)

Despite the great popularity of the works of the Polish alchemist Michael Sendivogius through the seventeenth century and well into the eighteenth century, historians of chemistry have paid little attention to the ideas contained in them or attempted to establish why the work continued to find a wide readership well into the period increasingly dominated by the mechanical philosophy. The neglect of Sendivogius is due, in part, to the romantic legends, which are only now being replaced by a more reliable biographical account. In this thesis a revised biography, hitherto accessible only in recent Polish works, introduces an extended analysis and reevaluation of the central concepts of Sendivogius' major work, the Novum Lumen Chymicum (1604). The work, based on practical laboratory experience and centred on a grand theory involving nitre, played a significant role in shifting the attention of chemists and natural philosophers towards a study of air and its role in manifold processes on the earth, particularly in combustion and respiration. A new and extensively revised bibliographical examination of Sendivogian works has been undertaken, with particular reference to French language editions: i. The Treatise on Salt is analysed, and reasons suggested for its recognition as a genuine Sendivogian work. ii. The Statutes of the Unknown Philosophers is translated and analysed, and the significance of its publication during the period of the Rosicrucian manifestos discussed. An analysis of the ideas of John Mayow (1641-1679) in his Tractatus Quinque (1674) is undertaken to illustrate the continuing influence of Sendivogius' ideas, and similarities and contrasts between Mayow's 'nitro-aerial spirit' and Sendivogius' 'Central Nitre' theory are examined. The thesis presents new evidence for the recognition of Sendivogius' ideas as important for the emergence of a number of seminal modern concepts regarding nitre, air, combustion and respiration

STEEPVL and structural analysis as a tools supporting identification of the driving forces of city development

Purpose: The aim of the article is to verify the possibility of using the Social, Technological, Economic, Ecological, Political, Values and Legal analysis (STEEPVL) and structural analysis in the process of determining the driving forces of city (town) development. Design/Methodology/Approach: The research process incorporated two major methods: STEEPVL and structural analysis as well as five auxiliary ones: desk research, expert panel, citizen panel, brainstorming, survey research. The research process was carried out in the town of Zambrów in Poland with the involvement of a wide range of local stakeholders. Findings: The results obtained in the research process for the town of Zambrów confirm the validity of applying the STEEPVL analysis and structural analysis in the process of determining the driving forces of city development. As a result of the conducted research process two key factors were identified efficiency of town authorities, and entrepreneurship of town inhabitants, which may constitute the driving forces of the development of the town of Zambrów. Practical Implications: The areas studied in the article may become a useful source of knowledge for researchers and city authorities looking for new tools in the context of building urban development strategies. Originality/Value: The research focuses on the application of a new approach to the identification of the driving forces of urban development with the use of STEEPVL and structural analyses – methods belonging to the catalogue of foresight methods. A wide range of town development stakeholders is involved in the research process, thanks to which the obtained results constitute a socialised, jointly developed basis for building a vision of its development.peer-reviewe

The accuracy of haemoglobin A2 measurements in the presence and absence of haemoglobin S

The quantification of haemoglobin A2 by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was compared with quantification by capillary electrophoresis for control subjects and patients with sickle cell trait or sickle cell anaemia. Significant differences were found, with estimated values being higher by HPLC for control subjects and higher by capillary electrophoresis for sickle cell trait and sickle cell anaemia patients. There is an ongoing need for improved standardisation and alignment of methods

Impact of Kindergarten Transition Practices in Promoting Positive Behavioral School Readiness Skills

Successfully adjusting to the behavioral demands of kindergarten is a pivotal, yet challenging, developmental milestone for students, making it imperative that schools have a comprehensive menu of universal transition practices and targeted transition interventions available. This systematic review was conducted to synthesize and evaluate the existing research on the outcomes associated with universal transition practices and targeted transition interventions aimed at improving social-emotional behavioral skills important to the transition to kindergarten. 17 studies were identified that met the inclusion criteria. Results from this review highlight the utility of targeting self-regulation skills in students transitioning to kindergarten through multi-component interventions that incorporate caregiver involvement. Limitations, directions for future research, and implications for practice are discussed

Recent progress on formal and computational model for A. Smiths Invisible Hand paradigm

The recent economic crisis has boosted a very strong demand for quite new tools to analyze and predict the behavior of quasi-free1 markets. The paper presents our effort to build a formal theory of A. Smith's Invisible Hand [5] paradigm (ASIH) and simulation model for a selected case. It proves that ASIH is not only an economic idea, which conflict on ways to govern [16], but something that really exists, for which formal a theory can be built. Moreover, ASIH can be measured [17], and in the future probably utilized for quasi-free market analysis and prediction. In advance, we want to state, that ASIH according to our theory, can generate both correct and incorrect decisions. For this, we use the theory of computational Collective Intelligence [18] and a molecular model of computations [1], [2]. Our theory assumes that ASIH is an unconscious meta-inference process spread on the platform of brains of agents. This meta-process is: distributed, parallel, and non-deterministic, and is run on a computational platform of market agents' brains. The ASIH inference process emerges spontaneously in certain circumstances and can vanish when market situation changes. Since the ASIH platform is made up of brains of agents, conclusions of this inference process affect the behavior of agents and therefore the behavior of the entire market. Our research unveils that ASIH is in fact a family of similar meta-processes; thus ASIHs for different economic eras are different because corresponding models of brains of market agents are different. The paper will present and explain, on the basis of a simulation model, a case of powerful ASIH response at the end of the 15th century due to a blockade (taxes and the Dardanelles sea-route cutoff) of spice trade by Turks and Arabs. ASIH also responded to the discovery of America, the emergence of a sailing route around Africa, the establishment of plantations (sugarcane, spices) and modern galleons2 technology. This case demonstrates how powerful and with far-reaching consequences, ASIH can b

Improving the Robustness of Engineered Bacteria to Nutrient Stress Using Programmed Proteolysis

[Image: see text] The use of short peptide tags in synthetic genetic circuits allows for the tuning of gene expression dynamics and release of amino acid resources through targeted protein degradation. Here, we use elements of the Escherichia coli and Mesoplasma florum transfer-mRNA (tmRNA) ribosome rescue systems to compare endogenous and foreign proteolysis systems in E. coli. We characterize the performance and burden of each and show that, while both greatly shorten the half-life of a tagged protein, the endogenous system is approximately 10 times more efficient. On the basis of these results we then demonstrate using mathematical modeling and experiments how proteolysis can improve cellular robustness through targeted degradation of a reporter protein in auxotrophic strains, providing a limited secondary source of essential amino acids that help partially restore growth when nutrients become scarce. These findings provide avenues for controlling the functional lifetime of engineered cells once deployed and increasing their tolerance to fluctuations in nutrient availability

Der Phage Φ13 in den Staphylococcus aureus-Stämmen 8325-4 und MW2c

Staphylococcus aureus zeichnet sich durch eine Vielzahl von Virulenzfaktoren und Resistenzdeterminanten aus. Viele dieser Faktoren sind auf Bakteriophagen kodiert. Die meisten humanen S. aureus-Isolate tragen einen Phagen, der neben der Staphylokinase noch andere immunmodulatorische Gene besitzt. Dieser Phage spielt wahrscheinlich für die Anpassung an den Menschen eine besondere Rolle, da dieser in tieradaptierten S. aureus-Stämmen sehr selten nachweisbar ist. Ziel dieser Arbeit war es die Mobilisierbarkeit eines solchen Phagens (Φ13) zu untersuchen. Insbesondere sollte geklärt werden, inwieweit das bakterielle Wirtsgenom den Phagenzyklus beeinflusst. Hierzu wurde das Transferverhalten eines durch Kanamycinresistenz markierten Φ13-Abkömmlings in den beiden phagenfreien Stämmen 8325-4 und MW2c bestimmt. Die Expression der Phagengene wurde durch Northern Blot-Analyse und qPCR untersucht. Dabei zeigte sich in allen Versuchen eine erhöhte Transferrate in MW2c im Vergleich zu 8325-4. Dies korrelierte mit der erhöhten Phagenkopienzahl (qPCR) und der verstärkten Transkription der lytischen Phagengene in MW2c. Durch Transkriptanalysen konnte eine Hypothese zu Lage und Größe der lysogenen Gene von Φ13 entwickelt werden. Die Rolle des Sigma-Faktors ϭH konnte nicht abschließend geklärt werden. Der Einfluss auf die Integrase ließ sich nicht bestätigen. Über einen noch unbekannten Mechanismus könnte ϭH die Phageninduktion beeinflussen, da in unseren Proben mehr Phagenkopien in den ϭH-defizienten Mutanten nachgewiesen wurden als in den WT der beiden Stämme. Abschließend ist festzuhalten, dass wir stammspezifische Unterschiede im Lebenszyklus von Φ13 in den beiden Stämmen 8325-4 und MW2c zeigen konnten. Die Transkriptionsregulation ist unklar und bedarf weiterer Aufklärung

Peripheral T cell lymphopenia in COVID-19: potential mechanisms and impact

Immunopathogenesis involving T lymphocytes, which play a key role in defence against viral infection, could contribute to the spectrum of COVID-19 disease and provide an avenue for treatment. To address this question, are view of clinical observational studies and autopsy data in English and Chinese languages was conducted with a search of registered clinical trials. Peripheral lymphopenia affecting CD4 and CD8 T cells was a striking feature of severe COVID-19 compared with non-severe disease. Autopsy data demonstrated infiltration of T cells into organs, particularly the lung. 74 clinical trials are on-going that could target T cell-related pathogenesis, particularly IL-6 pathways. SARS-CoV-2 infection interrupts T cell circulation in patients with severe COVID-19. This could be due to redistribution of T cells into infected organs, activation induced exhaustion, apoptosis or pyroptosis. Measuring T cell dynamics during COVID-19 will inform clinical risk-stratification of hospitalised patients and could identify those who would benefit most from 66treatments that target T cell