Lord Acton : the catholic and the moralist : a study of the development of his thought from 1850-1884

PhD ThesisNo Catholic layman in modern times has played a greater part in ecclesiastical affairs than did Lord Acton. Although he was neither a theologian nor a man conspicuous for his spiritual insight, his relentless call for a reform of the Church and the brilliance with which he advocated a rapprochement between Catholicism and the modem world have earned him a place in history alongside the great churchmen and divines of the nineteenth century. Acton understood much more clearly than did most Catholics of his time that he lived in an increasingly secular age, the tendency of which was to regard the Church as an obstacle to human progress. This insight led him to believe that profane scholarship, and not merely theology, must be used as a means to defend religion; and he insisted that scientific history has an especially important contribution to make, because of the position which it occupied as the spearhead of an intellectual revolution. When he began his career in 1857, as an associate editor of the Rambler magazine, his foremost ambition was to communicate to English Catholics the ideas of the German Romantics, which he believed had already laid the groundwork for the recovery of religion. But the tragedy of his career was that his intentions were misunderstood by the mass of Catholics, largely because of his insistence on absolute candour, so that almost from the outset he found himself part of a resolute but small and loosely organised minority, whose views were never to triumph during his lifetime. He disputed endlessly with his co-religionists over the exigencies of the scientific method as applied to history, strenuously opposed the official position regarding the Pope’s Temporal Power, and finally conducted a vehement but hopeless struggle at the First Vatican Council against the proposed definition of papal infallibility

Conflicts on Export Controls and Defense Trade Matters

export controls and defense--United States, export controls and defense--Canad

Conflicts on Export Controls and Defense Trade Matters

export controls and defense--United States, export controls and defense--Canad

Academic Characteristics among First-Generation and Non-First-Generation College Students

The present study involved a sample (n = 203) of college students and investigated the differences in academic expectations of first-generation and non-first-generation undergraduates who attended a doctoral-granting public four-year historically Black university on the eastern shore of Maryland. There were 133 first-generation and 70 non-first-generation students. This study focused on the expressed needs of first-generation and non-first-generation college students to determine whether differences exist in academic expectations. In addition, this study sought to lead to an increase in the understanding of the academic expectations shared by first-year first-generation and non-first-generation college students. This study used an ex post facto design with a population of students who were enrolled in a Developmental Psychology, Abnormal Psychology or Introduction to Psychology course. The data were analyzed to assess the academic expectations that describe first-generation and non-first-generation students. This study, in spite of its limitations, has added to the body of existing literature supporting the academic expectations examined. Students who had parents with no college experience, students who had parents with some college experience, and students who had at least one parent with a bachelor’s degree were similar. However, they differed significantly regarding transferring to another institution before graduating and socializing with friends who are students at their institution. Students whose parents had no college experience were more likely to expect to stay at their institution until graduation instead of transferring and were more likely to expect to spend less time socializing with friends than other students. Administrators and student affairs professionals could consider these findings when recruiting, admitting, and retaining students. Programs could be developed which address students’ needs relative to their collegiate experience

Research to understand the extent, nature and impact of skills mismatches in the economy: May 2016

Research to improve understanding of the extent, nature and potential effect of skills mismatches in the economy

Transcriptional responses in the adaptation to ischaemia-reperfusion injury: a study of the effect of ischaemic preconditioning in total knee arthroplasty patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Ischaemic preconditioning (IPC) has emerged as a method of reducing ischaemia-reperfusion injury. However, the complex mechanism through which IPC elicits this protection is not fully understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the genomic response induced by IPC in muscle biopsies taken from the operative leg of total knee arthroplasty patients in order to gain insight into the IPC mechanism.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Twenty patients, undergoing primary total knee arthroplasty, were randomly assigned to IPC (n = 10) and control (n = 10) groups. Patients in the IPC group received ischaemic preconditioning immediately prior to surgery. IPC was induced by three five-minute cycles of tourniquet insufflation interrupted by five-minute cycles of reperfusion. A muscle biopsy was taken from the operative knee of control and IPC-treated patients at the onset of surgery and, again, at one hour into surgery. The gene expression profile of muscle biopsies was determined using the Affymetrix Human U113 2.0 microarray system and validated using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Measurements of C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation (ESR), white cell count (WCC), cytokines and haemoglobin were also made pre- and post-operatively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Microarray analysis revealed a significant increase in the expression of important oxidative stress defence genes, immediate early response genes and mitochondrial genes. Upregulation of pro-survival genes was also observed and correlated with a downregulation of pro-apoptotic gene expression. CRP, ESR, WCC, cytokine and haemoglobin levels were not significantly different between control and IPC patients.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The findings of this study suggest that IPC of the lower limb in total knee arthroplasty patients induces a protective genomic response, which results in increased expression of immediate early response genes, oxidative stress defence genes and pro-survival genes. These findings indicate that ischaemic preconditioning may be of potential benefit in knee arthroplasty and other musculoskeletal conditions.</p

Hepatic Changes Associated with Chronic Alcohol Exposure in an Alpha-1 Antitrypsin PiZ Mouse Model

The PiZ mutation in the alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) gene causes the PiZ mutant protein to be sequestered in the endoplasmic reticulum of hepatocytes, causing significant liver pathology in ~10% of PiZZ homozygous AAT disease patients. Current transgenic mouse models of the disease include the liver-specific over-expression of mutant PiZ protein. However, these animal models do not efficiently recapitulate the liver damage found in PiZZ homozygous patients. Since only a small percentage of patients develop liver disease and it is not reproducible in animal models of AATD, it suggests that there are other factors that participate in disease pathogenesis. Here, we propose that in the presence of alcohol, liver injury will be initiated and that the intensity of the disease will be exacerbated by the presence of accumulated PiZ mutant protein. To test this hypothesis, we have administered alcohol via the Lieber-DeCarli diet regimen to PiZ transgenic and control C57Bl/6 mice for 12 weeks. We found no difference in alcohol and non-alcohol fed mice in terms of elevations in liver enzymes (AST and ALT). We did find a difference in the degree of steatosis and inflammation in the livers of alcohol fed PiZ mice over those of control alcohol fed mice. These findings are consistent with a chronic low-level hepatic insult seen in chronic alcohol consumption. The difference between PiZ and control mice will allow us to test gene therapies that prevent the accumulation of PiZ aggregates within hepatocytes to determine if they will prevent the exacerbation of alcoholic liver disease