The Edinburgh Goldsmiths II: Biographical Information for Freemen, Apprentices and Journeymen

This book provides biographical information on the goldsmiths of Edinburgh emphasizing those connected to the Incorporation of Goldsmiths for the City of Edinburgh. It is novel in that the scope of the book extends beyond the freeman goldsmiths to include family information on centuries of apprentices and journeymen who entered training as goldsmiths in Edinburgh. Information is provided on parents, siblings, spouses and children when possible as well as details of the training and careers of the goldsmiths. The book is being published in a series of parts (individual files) that are alphabetical by surname. Part 1 contains an introduction and the letters A-C with approximately 318 biographical entries

Environmental risk factors for autism

Autism is a devastating childhood condition that has emerged as an increasing social concern just as it has increased in prevalence in recent decades. Autism and the broader category of autism spectrum disorders are among the increasingly seen examples in which there is a fetal basis for later disease or disorder. Environmental, genetic, and epigenetic factors all play a role in determining the risk of autism and some of these effects appear to be transgenerational. Identification of the most critical windows of developmental vulnerability is paramount to understanding when and under what circumstances a child is at elevated risk for autism. No single environmental factor explains the increased prevalence of autism. While a handful of environmental risk factors have been suggested based on data from human studies and animal research, it is clear that many more, and perhaps the most significant risk factors, remain to be identified. The most promising risk factors identified to date fall within the categories of drugs, environmental chemicals, infectious agents, dietary factors, and other physical/psychological stressors. However, the rate at which environmental risk factors for autism have been identified via research and safety testing has not kept pace with the emerging health threat posed by this condition. For the way forward, it seems clear that additional focused research is needed. But more importantly, successful risk reduction strategies for autism will require more extensive and relevant developmental safety testing of drugs and chemicals

Compendium of Scottish Silver Volume 1

A print on demand of these books and articles can be obtained from Cornell Business Services (CBS) Digital Services by sending e-mail to [email protected] or calling 607.255.2524. In the body of the message include the identifier.uri for the book or article, and ask to be contacted regarding payment.The Compendium of Scottish Silver is a comparatively comprehensive catalog of antique as well as some modern Scottish silver and gold made between 1320ca and 2004 that has appeared in public and private collections, auction sales and antique shops during the past 50-100 years. It represents an attempt to provide a representative view of Scottish silver production over the centuries as reflected in extant examples. Additionally, the catalog is useful in evaluating the relative rarity of various forms (e.g. Scottish cake baskets or dish crosses) as well as the primary craftsmen producing specific forms (e.g. egg-shaped teapots, dolphin-handled creamboats). The catalog contains over 5,100 listings arranged alphabetically by item (e.g. bowls, candlesticks, flatware, etc.) and presented among items, chronologically. Volume 1 contains the alphabetical listings from Baskets-Ink Pots as well as a Guide, a Listing of First Appearances and a Glossary of the terms use in describing the silver as well as its production and decoration. Photographic examples for most categories are also included before each set of listings. Note that Volume 2 is a continuation of the alphabetical categories beginning with "M". The book should be a helpful resource for collectors, museums, antique dealers, auction houses, as well as historians, genealogists and other researchers

Developmental Immunotoxicity Testing and Protection of Children's Health

Dietert discusses a new study in PLoS Medicine, by Heilmann et al., showing that children exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have reduced antibody responses to childhood vaccinations

Breaking Patterns of Environmentally Influenced Disease for Health Risk Reduction: Immune Perspectives

Diseases rarely, if ever, occur in isolation. Instead, most represent part of a more complex web or “pattern� of conditions that are connected via underlying biological mechanisms and processes, emerge across a lifetime, and have been identified with the aid of large medical databases. Objective We have described how an understanding of patterns of disease may be used to develop new strategies for reducing the prevalence and risk of major immune-based illnesses and diseases influenced by environmental stimuli. Findings Examples of recently defined patterns of diseases that begin in childhood include not only metabolic syndrome, with its characteristics of inflammatory dysregulation, but also allergic, autoimmune, recurrent infection, and other inflammatory patterns of disease. The recent identification of major immune-based disease patterns beginning in childhood suggests that the immune system may play an even more important role in determining health status and health care needs across a lifetime than was previously understood. Conclusions Focusing on patterns of disease, as opposed to individual conditions, offers two important venues for environmental health risk reduction. First, prevention of developmental immunotoxicity and pediatric immune dysfunction can be used to act against multiple diseases. Second, pattern-based treatment of entryway diseases can be tailored with the aim of disrupting the entire disease pattern and reducing the risk of later-life illnesses connected to underlying immune dysfunction. Disease-pattern–based evaluation, prevention, and treatment will require a change from the current approach for both immune safety testing and pediatric disease management

Induction of Asthma and the Environment: What We Know and Need to Know

The prevalence of asthma has increased dramatically over the last 25 years in the United States and in other nations as a result of ill-defined changes in living conditions in modern society. On 18 and 19 October 2004 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences sponsored the workshop “Environmental Influences on the Induction and Incidence of Asthma” to review current scientific evidence with respect to factors that may contribute to the induction of asthma. Participants addressed two broad questions: a) What does the science suggest that regulatory and public health agencies could do now to reduce the incidence of asthma? and b) What research is needed to improve our understanding of the factors that contribute to the induction of asthma and our ability to manage this problem? In this article (one of four articles resulting from the workshop), we briefly characterize asthma and its public health and economic impacts, and intervention strategies that have been successfully used to prevent induction of asthma in the workplace. We conclude with the findings of seven working groups that focus on ambient air, indoor pollutants (biologics), occupational exposures, early life stages, older adults, intrinsic susceptibility, and lifestyle. These groups found strong scientific support for public health efforts to limit in utero and postnatal exposure to cigarette smoke. However, with respect to other potential types of interventions, participants noted many scientific questions, which are summarized in this article. Research to address these questions could have a significant public health and economic impact that would be well worth the investment

Natural childbirth and breastfeeding as preventive measures of immune-microbiome dysbiosis and misregulated inflammation

Much of the prior century was spent applying the latest emerging technologies toward managing pregnancy, childbirth, and infant development. The idea was that each change was significantly improving the health of our children across their lifetime. But it is now clear that with several of the adopted practices, there have been unintended consequences. We have run the risk of losing certain distinct advantages that were inherently embedded in ancient cultures and practices. Among these were the microbial-rich experiences of natural childbirth, breastfeeding, and agrarian living. These practices permitted children to acquire a complete microbiome thereby facilitating immune development and appropriate later-life immune responses. Perceived technology-associated benefits such as scheduled Caesarian births, urban sanitized living, and earlier and ever increasing vaccine burdens have helped to reduce the burden of some childhood illnesses. But recent studies suggest that they have also produced serious, unanticipated consequences for today’s children: an increased likelihood for human-microbiome incompleteness, lifelong immune dysfunction, and inflammation-promoted chronic disease. This review will examine recent evidence suggesting that a more effective blending of ancient practices and remedies with modern technology and medical knowledge could help to restore the human-microbiome super organism to its historic status, improve pediatric immune homeostasis and reduce risk of later-life chronic diseases

Developmental Immunotoxicity, Perinatal Programming, and Noncommunicable Diseases: Focus on Human Studies

Developmental immunotoxicity (DIT) is a term given to encompass the environmentally induced disruption of normal immune development resulting in adverse outcomes. A myriad of chemical, physical, and psychological factors can all contribute to DIT. As a core component of the developmental origins of adult disease, DIT is interlinked with three important concepts surrounding health risks across a lifetime: (1) the Barker Hypothesis, which connects prenatal development to later-life diseases, (2) the hygiene hypothesis, which connects newborns and infants to risk of later-life diseases and, (3) fetal programming and epigenetic alterations, which may exert effects both in later life and across future generations.This review of DIT considers: (1) the history and context of DIT research, (2) the fundamental features of DIT, (3) the emerging role of DIT in risk of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and (4) the range of risk factors that have been investigated through human research.The emphasis on the human DIT-related literature is significant since most prior reviews ofDIT have largely focused on animal research and considerations of specific categories of risk factors (e.g., heavy metals). Risk factors considered in this review include air pollution, aluminum, antibiotics, arsenic, bisphenol A, ethanol, lead (Pb),maternal smoking and environmental tobacco smoke, paracetamol (acetaminophen), pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, and polyfluorinated compounds

Compendium of Scottish Silver Volume 2

A print on demand of these books and articles can be obtained from Cornell Business Services (CBS) Digital Services by sending e-mail to [email protected] or calling 607.255.2524. In the body of the message include the identifier.uri for the book or article, and ask to be contacted regarding payment.The Compendium of Scottish Silver is a comparatively comprehensive catalog of antique, as well as some modern, Scottish silver and gold made between 1320ca and 2004 that has appeared in public and private collections, auction sales and antique shops during the past 50-100 years. It represents an attempt to provide a representative view of Scottish silver production over the centuries as reflected in extant examples. Additionally, the catalog is useful in evaluating the relative rarity of various forms (e.g. Scottish cake baskets or dish crosses) as well as the primary craftsmen producing specific forms (e.g. egg-shaped teapots, dolphin-handled creamboats). The catalog contains over 5,100 listings arranged alphabetically by item (e.g. bowls, candlesticks, flatware, etc.) and presented among items, chronologically. Volume 2 is a continuation from Volume 1. This volume contains the second half of the alphabetical listings from Miscellaneous-Wine as well as a Guide, a Listing of First Appearances and a Glossary of the terms use in describing the silver as well as its production and decoration. Photographic examples for most categories are also included before each set of listings. The book should be a helpful resource for collectors, museums, antique dealers, auction houses, as well as historians, genealogists and other researchers