ROBERT BOYLE'S INTEREST IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF HUNGARIAN MINES, MINERALS AND MINERAL WATERS

It is appropriate at the time of the presentation of the third Robert Boyle Gold Medal to Erno Pungor (born Vasszécsény, Hungary, Oct. 30, 1923), the most senior and best known of Hungarian analytical scientists in both teaching and research [1] and via his encouragement of international collaboration [2], to examine Robert Boyle's writings [3, 4] for items of Hungarian interest

Human-Machinic Assemblages: Technologies, Bodies, and the Recuperation of Social Reproduction in the Crisis Era

This dissertation argues that class composition, as defined and theorised by Operaismo and Autonomist thinkers, has had both a major and a minoritarian form. In fact class composition in its major form has always been subtended by a minor current. I examine both historical (the 1905 Russian Soviets, the 1919 Turin factory councils, the Italian social movements of the 1970s) and contemporary examples (the occupation of Tahrir Square in Egypt, the Indignados movement in Spain, and Occupy Wall Street in 2011, as well as the 2012 Quebec student strike) of class composition. From these examples I then argue that the minor current of class composition is rooted in social reproduction – both its crisis and its recuperation. And further that this minor current expands throughout history, growing to command greater attention within social and labour movements. Further, this dissertation argues that contemporary social movements appear today as an assemblage, a human-machinic assemblage, which enact social reproduction in crisis and recuperation through both embodied and technologized forms. I demonstrate the ways in which technologies of communication are implicated in forms of securitised and commodified social reproduction, but also open up new and powerful possibilities for autonomous and liberatory social reproduction. This dissertation relies on a merger of conceptual, theoretical, and field research and benefits from the author’s direct involvement in social and political struggles

Estimation of Scottish pluvial flooding Expected Annual Damages using interpolation techniques

Flood modelling and mapping, underpinned by hydraulic modelling, are typically used to define flood hazard and allow a quantification of risk and associated Expected Annual Damages (EAD). At a regional or national scale, such modelling is often a lengthy process, which does not allow changes in risk resulting from new science such as revised rainfall frequency estimates or climate projections to be readily quantified by policy makers. A framework of interpolation and extrapolation methods has been developed in the R language via practical application to the city of Perth in central Scotland. These methods allow existing flood mapping, design rainfall estimates and property receptor datasets combined with revised design rainfall estimates to be used to rapidly assess the consequences of change in risk and EAD. The results are evaluated against detailed hydraulic modelling and are shown to provide a good approximation of changes in flood depth and EAD for properties previously modelled as at risk of flooding, particularly residential properties, with lower confidence for non-residential properties. In the Scottish context, the methods are considered to be robust for regional and national scale application and would allow policy makers with a means to rapidly determine the consequence of changes in design rainfall estimates without the immediate requirement to undertake complex hydraulic modelling

Utility of ElastPQ point-shear wave elastography in the work-up of patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis

Background & Aims: Liver stiffness measurement (LSM) and spleen stiffness measurement (SSM) have been shown to be useful tools for assessing the risk of fibrosis and portal hypertension, respectively. However, data on the accuracy of LSM and SSM measured by point-shear wave elastography (pSWE) in patients affected by primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) are still lacking. Thus, we aimed to prospectively assess their performance in a cohort of patients with PSC. Methods: We determined the correlation between LSM assessed by a pSWE technique (ElastPQ) and by FibroScan-transient elastography (F-TE). Furthermore, we used receiver-operating characteristic curves and area under the curves (AUROC) to evaluate the performance of LSM by ElastPQ for the staging of fibrosis, using F-TE as a reference standard, and the performance of LSM and SSM by ElastPQ in predicting the presence of oesophageal varices (OVs). Results: One hundred and fifty-two patients with PSC (93 males [61.2%], mean age 46 ± 16 years) were prospectively recruited. ElastPQ and F-TE LSMs were available for all patients, while ElastPQ SSM was available in 109 (72%) patients of whom 35 underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy within 1 year of the ultrasound assessment. ElastPQ LSM showed an excellent correlation with F-TE (p <0.001, Spearman's 0.93; Lin's 0.86) and a good diagnostic accuracy for fibrosis staging along all stages of liver fibrosis (AUROCs 0.96, 0.97, 0.97 and 0.99 for fibrosis stages F≥1, F≥2, F≥3 and F=4, respectively), using F-TE as a surrogate of histological fibrosis. ElastPQ SSM showed a good diagnostic performance in predicting the presence of OVs at endoscopy. Conclusions: LSM and SSM by ElastPQ can be used as accurate tools for liver fibrosis risk assessment and fibrosis staging, as well as for predicting the presence of OVs in the work-up of patients with PSC. Impact and implications: Liver and spleen stiffness measurement (LSM and SSM, respectively) by ElastPQ point-shear wave elastography in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis represent reliable and reproducible tools for non-invasively staging the severity of liver disease and stratifying patients according to their risk of developing liver-related outcomes. In particular, LSM shows good accuracy for staging liver fibrosis and therefore detecting those patients at high risk of having compensated advanced chronic liver disease who require close monitoring. SSM seems to be promising to detect the risk of portal hypertension and therefore of oesophageal varices, enabling the triaging of patients who really need to undergo a screening endoscopy

Open challenges in the management of autoimmune hepatitis

Autoimmune Hepatitis (AIH) is a rare autoimmune disease of the liver with many open questions as regards its aetiopathogenesis, natural history and clinical management. The classical picture of AIH is chronic hepatitis with fluctuating elevation of serum transaminases and Immunoglobulin G levels, the presence of circulating autoantibodies and typical histological features. However, atypical presentations do occur and are not well captured by current diagnostic scores, with important consequences in terms of missed diagnoses and delayed treatments. AIH is treated with corticosteroids and immunosuppressive drugs but up to 40% of patients do not achieve full biochemical response and are at risk of progressing to cirrhosis and liver failure. Moreover, standard therapies are associated by significant side-effects which may impair the quality of life of patients living with AIH. However, advances in the understanding of the underlying immunology of AIH is raising the prospect of novel therapies and optimisation of existing therapeutic approaches to reduce side-effect burdens and potentially restore immunological tolerance. In this review we outline the clinical characteristics, aetiopathogenesis and management of AIH and current challenges in the diagnosis and management of AIH and provide evidence underlying the evolution of diagnostic and clinical management protocols

Review article: experimental therapies in autoimmune hepatitis

BACKGROUND: Current therapeutic options for autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) are limited by adverse events associated with corticosteroids and thiopurines and the limited evidence base for second- and third-line treatment options. Furthermore, current treatment approaches require long-term exposure of patients to pharmacological agents. There have been significant advances in the understanding of the mechanisms underpinning autoimmunity and an expansion in the available therapeutic agents for suppressing autoimmune responses or potentially restoring self-tolerance. AIM: To review the mechanisms and evidence for experimental therapies that are being actively explored in the management of AIH. METHODS: We have reviewed the literature relating to a range of novel therapeutic immunomodulatory treatment strategies and drugs. RESULTS: Drugs which block B cell-activating factor of the tumour necrosis factor family (BAFF) and tumour necrosis factor α are currently in clinical trials for the treatment of AIH. Experimental therapies and technologies to increase immune tolerance, such as pre-implantation factor and regulatory T cell therapies, are undergoing development for application in autoimmune disorders. There is also evidence for targeting inflammatory pathways to control other autoimmune conditions, such as blockade of IL1 and IL6 and Janus-associated kinase (JAK) inhibitors. CONCLUSIONS: With the range of tools available to clinicians and patients increasing, it is likely that the therapeutic landscape of AIH will change over the coming years and treatment approaches offering lower corticosteroid use and aiming to restore immune self-tolerance should be sought

Limits on the Boron Isotopic Ratio in HD 76932

Data in the 2090 A B region of HD 76932 have been obtained at high S/N using the HST GHRS echelle at a resolution of 90,000. This wavelength region has been previously identified as a likely candidate for observing the B11/B10 isotopic splitting. The observations do not match a calculated line profile extremely well at any abundance for any isotopic ratio. If the B abundance previously determined from observations at 2500 A is assumed, the calculated line profile is too weak, indicating a possible blending line. Assuming that the absorption at 2090 A is entirely due to boron, the best-fit total B abundance is higher than but consistent with that obtained at 2500 A, and the best-fit isotopic ratio (B11/B10) is in the range ~10:1 to ~4:1. If the absorption is not entirely due to B and there is an unknown blend, the best-fit isotopic ratio may be closer to 1:1. Future observations of a similar metal-poor star known to have unusually low B should allow us to distinguish between these two possibilities. The constraints that can be placed on the isotopic ratio based on comparisons with similar observations of HD 102870 and HD 61421 (Procyon) are also discussed.Comment: Accepted for Nov 1998 Ap