Moral and political values in the writings of Vercors

This thesis explores Vercors's writings, with particular reference to his moral and political attitudes, from 1942 to the present. It includes his clandestine wartime publications, the subsequent development of his theory of human 'rebellion', with its strong ethical connotations, and the various polemical and fictional texts in which, in the post-war period, he expresses support for communist aims and for progressive causes such as anticolonialism. Vercors's chairmanship of the CNE in the mid-1950's is examined through his memoirs as well as through his articles and speeches of the time. After the author's overt withdrawal from fellow-travelling in 1957, his more selective political commitment is traced through the remaining years of the Algerian conflict, while the memoirs and other works of reflection that have appeared in the latter part of his career recapitulate the overall development of his political attitudes and reveal certain changes of view. Vercors's more general theory of human value has, on the other hand, remained constant, and he offers it as a starting- point for better understanding between men of all nations and ideologies. The analysis follows this broad chronological pattern, first in relation to the moral elements, then the political; but there is frequent cross- reference between the two aspects, in keeping with the author's own emphasis on their close interconnection in his outlook. The extent of his combined fictional and non-fictional output is such that three successive chapters are devoted to the exploration of his moral attitudes, then three, similarly, to the political responses. There is also reference, where appropriate, to critical commentary on Vercors's work and to other background sources; and the appendices contain Vercors's direct response to specific questions put to him during the preparation of the present study. This thesis is intended to contribute to the field of modern French studies through its comprehensive coverage of Vercors's writing in two major areas of commitment

A Liposome-Micelle-Hybrid (LMH) Oral Delivery System for Poorly Water-Soluble Drugs: Enhancing Solubilisation and Intestinal Transport

A novel liposome-micelle-hybrid (LMH) carrier system was developed as a superior oral drug delivery platform compared to conventional liposome or micelle formulations. The optimal LMH system was engineered by encapsulating TPGS micelles in the aqueous core of liposomes and its efficacy for oral delivery was demonstrated using lovastatin (LOV) as a model poorly soluble drug with P-gp (permeability glycoprotein) limited intestinal absorption. LOV-LMH was characterised as unilamellar, spherical vesicles encapsulating micellar structures within the interior aqueous core and showing an average diameter below 200 nm. LMH demonstrated enhanced drug loading, water apparent solubility and extended/controlled release of LOV compared to conventional liposomes and micelles. LMH exhibited enhanced LOV absorption and transportation in a Caco-2 cell monolayer model of the intestine by inhibiting the P-gp transporter system compared to free LOV. The LMH system is a promising novel oral delivery approach for enhancing bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs, especially those presenting P-gp effluxes limited absorption

The fidelity of dynamic signaling by noisy biomolecular networks

This is the final version of the article. Available from Public Library of Science via the DOI in this record.Cells live in changing, dynamic environments. To understand cellular decision-making, we must therefore understand how fluctuating inputs are processed by noisy biomolecular networks. Here we present a general methodology for analyzing the fidelity with which different statistics of a fluctuating input are represented, or encoded, in the output of a signaling system over time. We identify two orthogonal sources of error that corrupt perfect representation of the signal: dynamical error, which occurs when the network responds on average to other features of the input trajectory as well as to the signal of interest, and mechanistic error, which occurs because biochemical reactions comprising the signaling mechanism are stochastic. Trade-offs between these two errors can determine the system's fidelity. By developing mathematical approaches to derive dynamics conditional on input trajectories we can show, for example, that increased biochemical noise (mechanistic error) can improve fidelity and that both negative and positive feedback degrade fidelity, for standard models of genetic autoregulation. For a group of cells, the fidelity of the collective output exceeds that of an individual cell and negative feedback then typically becomes beneficial. We can also predict the dynamic signal for which a given system has highest fidelity and, conversely, how to modify the network design to maximize fidelity for a given dynamic signal. Our approach is general, has applications to both systems and synthetic biology, and will help underpin studies of cellular behavior in natural, dynamic environments.We acknowledge support from a Medical Research Council and Engineering and Physical Sciences Council funded Fellowship in Biomedical Informatics (CGB) and a Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance chair in Systems Biology (PSS). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Near infra red spectroscopy as a multivariate process analytical tool for predicting pharmaceutical co-crystal concentration

YesThe use of near infra red spectroscopy to predict the concentration of two pharmaceutical co-crystals; 1:1 ibuprofen – nicotinamide (IBU-NIC) and 1:1 carbamazepine – nicotinamide (CBZ-NIC) has been evaluated. A Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression model was developed for both co-crystal pairs using sets of standard samples to create calibration and validation data sets with which to build and validate the models. Parameters such as the root mean square error of calibration (RMSEC), root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) and correlation coefficient were used to assess the accuracy and linearity of the models. Accurate PLS regression models were created for both co-crystal pairs which can be used to predict the co-crystal concentration in a powder mixture of the co-crystal and the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). The IBU-NIC model had smaller errors than the CBZ-NIC model, possibly due to the complex CBZ-NIC spectra which could reflect the different arrangement of hydrogen bonding associated with the co-crystal compared to the IBU-NIC co-crystal. These results suggest that NIR spectroscopy can be used as a PAT tool during a variety of pharmaceutical co-crystal manufacturing methods and the presented data will facilitate future offline and in-line NIR studies involving pharmaceutical co-crystals

Geographies of generosity: beyond the 'moral turn'

This paper questions Geographers debates about 'caring at a distance' and the 'geographies of responsibility', focussing on the treatment of the theme of partiality in ethics and justice. Debates in Geography often present partial commitments as morally or politically problematic on the grounds that they prioritize self-interest, exclusionary, and geographically restricted ways of relating to others. We outline how debates about caring at a distance and the geographies of responsibility frame partiality as a problem to be overcome. We argue that Geography's engagements with moral philosophy are premised on faulty assumptions about the sorts of influences people are liable to act upon (one's that privilege causal knowledge as the primary motivating force), and also flawed assumptions about the sorts of problems that academic reasoning about normative issues is meant to address (the assumption that people are too egoistical and not altruistic enough). We use the theme of generosity as an entry point to argue that partiality and finitude might be the conditions for any ethical–political project that de-centres the motivation of practical action away from the sovereign self towards responsive and attentive relations of encounter with the needs of others. Understanding generosity as a modality of power suggests a revised programme for geographical investigations of the intersection between ethics, morality and politics: one which looks at how opportunities to address normative demands in multiple registers are organized and transformed; at the ways in which dispositions to respond and to be receptive to others are worked up; and how opportunities for acting responsively on these dispositions are organized

A derivation of the free-free emission on the Galactic plane between l=20 and 44 degrees

We present the derivation of the free-free emission on the Galactic plane between l=20 and 44 degrees and |b| < 4 degrees, using Radio Recombination Line (RRL) data from the HI Parkes All-Sky Survey (HIPASS). Following an upgrade on the RRL data reduction technique, which improves significantly the quality of the final RRL spectra, we have extended the analysis to three times the area covered in Alves et al. (2010). The final RRL map has an angular resolution of 14.8 arcmin and a velocity resolution of 20 km/s. A map of the electron temperature (Te) of the ionised gas is derived for the area under study using the line and continuum data from the present survey. The mean Te on the Galactic plane is 6000 K. The first direct measure of the free-free emission is obtained based on the derived Te map. Subtraction of this thermal component from the total continuum leaves the first direct measure of the synchrotron emission at 1.4 GHz. A narrow component of width 2 degrees is identified in the latitude distribution of the synchrotron emission. We present a list of HII regions and SNRs extracted from the present free-free and synchrotron maps, where we confirm the synchrotron nature of three objects: G41.12-0.21, G41.15+0.39 and G35.59-0.44. We also identify a bright (42 Jy) new double radio galaxy, J1841-0152, previously unrecognised owing to the high optical extinction in the region. The latitude distribution for the RRL-derived free-free emission shows that the WMAP Maximum Entropy Method (MEM) is too high by ~ 50 per cent, in agreement with other recent results. The extension of this study to the inner Galaxy region l=-50 to 50 degrees will allow a better overall comparison of the RRL result with WMAP.Comment: 17 pages, 15 figures. Submitted to MNRA

Electrospun collagen-based nanofibres: A sustainable material for improved antibiotic utilisation in tissue engineering applications

For the creation of scaffolds in tissue engineering applications, it is essential to control the physical morphology of fibres and to choose compositions which do not disturb normal physiological function. Collagen, the most abundant protein in the human body, is a well-established biopolymer used in electrospinning compositions. It shows high in-vivo stability and is able to maintain a high biomechanical strength over time. In this study, the effects of collagen type I in polylactic acid-drug electrospun scaffolds for tissue engineering applications are examined. The samples produced were subsequently characterised using a range of techniques. Scanning electron microscopy analysis shows that the fibre morphologies varied across PLA-drug and PLA-collagen-drug samples − the addition of collagen caused a decrease in average fibre diameter by nearly half, and produced nanofibres. Atomic force microscopy imaging revealed collagen-banding patterns which show the successful integration of collagen with PLA. Solid-state characterisation suggested a chemical interaction between PLA and drug compounds, irgasan and levofloxacin, and the collagen increased the amorphous regions within the samples. Surface energy analysis of drug powders showed a higher dispersive surface energy of levofloxacin compared with irgasan, and contact angle goniometry showed an increase in hydrophobicity in PLA-collagen-drug samples. The antibacterial studies showed a high efficacy of resistance against the growth of both E. coli and S. Aureus, except with PLA-collagen-LEVO which showed a regrowth of bacteria after 48 h. This can be attributed to the low drug release percentage incorporated into the nanofibre during the in vitro release study. However, the studies did show that collagen helped shift both drugs into sustained release behaviour. These ideal modifications to electrospun scaffolds may prove useful in further research regarding the acceptance of human tissue by inhibiting the potential for bacterial infection

Modeling the Influence of Local Environmental Factors on Malaria Transmission in Benin and Its Implications for Cohort Study

Malaria remains endemic in tropical areas, especially in Africa. For the evaluation of new tools and to further our understanding of host-parasite interactions, knowing the environmental risk of transmission—even at a very local scale—is essential. The aim of this study was to assess how malaria transmission is influenced and can be predicted by local climatic and environmental factors