The reactivity of aluminosilicate glasses in cements - effects of Ca content on dissolution characteristics and surface precipitation

Non peer reviewedPostprin

Individualized immunosuppression in transplant patients: potential role of pharmacogenetics.

The immunosuppressive drugs used to prevent the rejection of transplanted organs have a narrow therapeutic index. Under treatment results in episodes of rejection leading to either damage or loss of the organ. Over immunosuppression increases the risk of infection and malignancy as well as drug specific complications including diabetes mellitus and nephrotoxicity. There is wide variation in the drug dose required to achieve target blood concentrations and there is often dissociation between pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Currently, immunosuppressive drug treatment is individualized based on a clinical assessment of the risk of rejection or toxicity. Therapeutic drug monitoring is routinely employed for several immunosuppressive drugs. Pharmacogenetics has the potential to complement therapeutic drug monitoring but clinical benefit has yet to be demonstrated. Novel biomarker-based approaches to risk stratification and pharmacodynamic monitoring are under development and are ready for clinical trials

The legacy of monastic hospitality : 2 the lasting influence

In this the second of two articles Kevin O'Gorman continues his exploration of the influence of Western monasticism on hospitality. He shows how monastic hospitality evolved to became the foundation of modern hospitality in the secular states. Ewan MacPhee reports on receiving monastic hospitality almost 1,500 years after St Benedict. The article concludes with a set of modern principles of hospitality derived from St Benedict's Rule, which are relevant to today

Telemetry

Scottish poetry sectio

Estimated glomerular filtration rate correlates poorly with four-hour creatinine clearance in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury.

Introduction. RIFLE and AKIN provide a standardised classification of acute kidney injury (AKI), but their categorical rather than continuous nature restricts their use to a research tool. A more accurate real-time description of renal function in AKI is needed, and some published data suggest that equations based on serum creatinine that estimate glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) can provide this. In addition, incorporating serum cystatin C concentration into estimates of GFR may improve their accuracy, but no eGFR equations are validated in critically ill patients with AKI. Aim. This study tests whether creatinine or cystatin-C-based eGFR equations, used in patients with CKD, offer an accurate representation of 4-hour creatinine clearance (4CrCl) in critically ill patients with AKI. Methods. Fifty-one critically ill patients with AKI were recruited. Thirty-seven met inclusion criteria, and the performance of eGFR equations was compared to 4CrCl. Results. eGFR equations were better than creatinine alone at predicting 4CrCl. Adding cystatin C to estimates did not improve the bias or add accuracy. The MDRD 7 eGFR had the best combination of correlation, bias, percentage error and accuracy. None were near acceptable standards quoted in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Conclusions. eGFR equations are not sufficiently accurate for use in critically ill patients with AKI. Incorporating serum cystatin C does not improve estimates. eGFR should not be used to describe renal function in patients with AKI. Standards of accuracy for validating eGFR need to be set

SPONTANEOUS-RECOVERY OF RATS FROM EXPERIMENTAL ALLERGIC ENCEPHALOMYELITIS IS DEPENDENT ON REGULATION OF THE IMMUNE-SYSTEM BY ENDOGENOUS ADRENAL CORTICOSTEROIDS

Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) ' is a paralytic disease that can be induced in a number of animal species by evoking immune responses to antigens in central nervous system (CNS) myelin, and has been studied as a model for multiple sclerosis in man (1). In Lewis rats EAE can be induced either by immunization with guinea pig myelin basic protein (MBP) in CFA (active EAE) or by the intravenous injection into naive syngeneic recipients of spleen cells from animals with active EAE, after in vitro culture of the splenocytes with MBP (passive EAE). The ascending paralysis characteristic of EAE is caused by the action of CD4+ T lymphocytes that produce focal edema in the CNS by increasing vascular permeability (2-4). In both active and passive EAE, animals develop a transient paralysis, and recover completely within 4-5 d of its onset (5). The mechanisms responsible for this spontaneous recovery, which may be similar to the acute remissions occasionally seen in multiple sclerosis, are still poorly understood. Various mechanisms have been proposed, including: suppressor cells (T lymphocytes [6-9], B lymphocytes [10], and macrophages [11]), anti-T lymphocyte idiotype responses (12), serum suppressor factors (13-16), production ofimmunosuppressive factors by filial cells (17-19), regulation by IFN-'Y (20), and neuroendocrine-mediated immunoregulation (21, 22). None of these mechanisms has been shown directly to be necessary for spontaneous recovery from EAE. It has, however, been demonstrated that CD8+ T lymphocytes are not required (23-25). Here we demonstrate that endogenously produced corticosterone plays an essential role in the spontaneous recovery of rats from EAE. Downloaded from jem.rupress.org on February 21, 201

A comparison of penetration and damage caused by different types of arrowheads on loose and tight fit clothing

Bows and arrows are used more for recreation, sport and hunting in the Western world and tend not to be as popular a weapon as firearms or knives. Yet there are still injuries and fatalities caused by these low-velocity weapons due to their availability to the public and that a licence is not required to own them. This study aimed to highlight the penetration capabilities of aluminium arrows into soft tissue and bones in the presence of clothing. Further from that, how the type and fit of clothing as well as arrowhead type contribute to penetration capacity. In this study ballistic gelatine blocks (non-clothed and loose fit or tight fit clothed) were shot using a 24 lb weight draw recurve bow and aluminium arrows accompanied by four different arrowheads (bullet, judo, blunt and broadhead).The penetration capability of aluminium arrows was examined, and the depth of penetration was found to be dependent on the type of arrowhead used as well as by the type and fit or lack thereof of the clothing covering the block. Loose fit clothing reduced penetration with half of the samples, reducing penetration capacity by percentages between 0% and 98.33%, at a range of 10 m. While the remaining half of the samples covered with tight clothing led to reductions in penetration of between 14.06% and 94.12%.The damage to the clothing and the gelatine (puncturing, cutting and tearing) was affected by the shape of the arrowhead, with the least damaged caused by the blunt arrowheads and the most by the broadhead arrows. Clothing fibres were also at times found within the projectile tract within the gelatine showing potential for subsequent infection of an individual with an arrow wound.Ribs, femur bones and spinal columns encased in some of the gelatine blocks all showed varying levels of damage, with the most and obvious damage being exhibited by the ribs and spinal column.The information gleaned from the damage to clothing, gelatine blocks and bones could potentially be useful for forensic investigators, for example, when a body has been discovered with no weapons or gunshot residue present

Grouping Individual Investment Preferences in Retirement Savings: A Cluster Analysis of a USS Members Risk Attitude Survey

Cluster analysis is used to identify homogeneous groups of members of USS in terms of risk attitudes. There are two distinct clusters of members in their 40s and 50s. One had previously ‘engaged’ with USS by making additional voluntary contributions. It typically had higher pay, longer tenure, less interest in ethical investing, lower risk capacity, a higher percentage of males, and a higher percentage of academics than members of the ‘disengaged’ cluster. Conditioning only on the attitude to risk responses, there are 18 clusters, with similar but not identical membership, depending on which clustering method is used. The differences in risk aversion across the 18 clusters could be explained largely by differences in the percentage of females and the percentage of couples. Risk aversion increases as the percentage of females in the cluster increases, while it reduces as the percentage of couples increases because of greater risk sharing within the household. Characteristics that other studies have found important determinants of risk attitudes, such as age, income and (pension) wealth, do not turn out to be as significant for USS members. Further, despite being on average more highly educated than the general population, USS members are marginally more risk averse than the general population, controlling for salary, although the difference is not significant

The effect of hydrogen sulphide on ammonium bisulphite when used as an oxygen scavenger in aqueous solutions

Peer reviewedPostprin