2,041 research outputs found
The synthesis of monodisperse alkanes with long chains
No full textThis thesis discusses reasons for the interest in monodisperse long chain alkanes and describes attempts, past and present, to synthesise such molecules. Chapter 1 discusses why the synthesis of such molecules are important and the objectives of this project. Chapter 2 reviews the methods previous groups have devised to prepare pure samples of long chain alkanes. In particular, work carried out by Whiting et al. at Bristol, whose scheme formed the basis of the early work in Durham. Chapter 3 describes the work in Durham and improvements which were made to Whiting's method, allowing the synthesis of longer chain lengths and greater quantities of materials to be achieved. Chapter 4 provides a summary of the practical work carried out by the author. Chapter 5 gives experimental details of the work described in Chapter 4
A systematic review of evidence for the appropriateness of neonatal screening programmes for inborn errors of metabolism
No full textBackground: developments in screening technology and increased understanding of the natural history and treatment of inborn errors of metabolism (IEMs) have produced pressure to extend neonatal screening programmes. This review aims to assess the evidence for the appropriateness of such programmes. Methods: a formal systematic literature review was conducted. Exclusion and inclusion criteria were used to select papers for critical appraisal by pairs of reviewers. Standard criteria were used to assess the appropriateness of neonatal screening for various IEMs. Site visits were conducted to assess new technologies for newborn screening. Results: a total of 1866 papers were identified and 407 systematically selected for full critical appraisal. Published evidence confirmed that universal newborn screening for phenylketonuria (PKU) meets all of the screening criteria and justifies the expense and infrastructure necessary for the collection and testing of neonatal blood spots. There was insufficient evidence in the literature to assess the cost-effectiveness of screening for any other IEMs. There was reasonable evidence to support inclusion in extended neonatal screening of four other IEMs: biotinidase deficiency, congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), medium-chain acyl CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) deficiency and glutaric aciduria type 1 (GA1). Conclusions: large-scale trials of screening for biotinidase, CAH, MCAD and GA1 should be conducted, with careful evaluation to establish their clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness in practice. Screening for the latter two disorders would be dependent upon the use of tandem mass spectrometry (tandem MS). The application of tandem MS to newborn screening requires further evaluation. The extension of neonatal screening programmes to other IEMs is not currently justifie
Secondary analysis of economic data: a review of cost-benefit studies of neonatal screening for phenylketonuria
No full textStudy objective: to estimate the net financial benefit of neonatal screening for phenylketonuria (PKU): by a simple pooling of cost data from the literature; and by a more complex modelling approach. Design: a systematic literature review was conducted to identify papers containing data on the monetary costs and benefits of neonatal screening for PKU. The methodological quality of the studies was appraised, and data were extracted on resource use and expenditure. Monetary data were converted to common currency units, and standardised to UK incidence rates. Net benefits were calculated for median, best case and worst case scenarios, and the effect of excluding poor quality studies and data was tested. The net benefit was also estimated from a model based on data from the literature and assumptions appropriate for the current UK situation. Extensive sensitivity analysis was conducted.Main results: the direct net benefit of screening based on the median costs and benefits from the 13 studies identified was 143,400 Pounds per case detected and treated (39,000 Pounds and 241,800 Pounds for worst case and best case scenarios respectively). The direct net benefit obtained by the modelling approach was lower at 93,400 Pounds per case detected and treated. Screening remained cost saving under sensitivity analysis, except with low residential care costs (less than 12,300 Pounds per annum), or very low incidence rates (less than 1 in 27,000). Conclusions: the economic literature on PKU screening is of variable quality. The two methods of secondary analysis lead to the same conclusion: that neonatal PKU screening is worthwhile in financial terms alone in the UK, and that it justifies the infrastructure for collecting and testing neonatal blood samples. This result cannot necessarily be extrapolated to other countrie
Towards the Theatre: Opasnyi Povorot (Dangerous Corner). The 1939 Production by G.M. Kozintsev at the Leningrad Comedy Theater
No full textThe subject of this research is the first production in a series of theatrical works by G.M. Kozintsev (1905–1973) of the late 1930s — early 1950s, which are fundamentally important both in his creative biography and in the history of Soviet theatre of that era. The author suggests that the entry of the famous film director into theatre was caused by the desire to find a way out of a creative impasse.
The director’s appeal to the play of the modern English novelist and playwright J.B. Priestley and its controversial interpretation were driven by the dramatic atmosphere of the late 1930s. The eccentric grotesque of the play and its pamphlet character, which was insisted on by the director, are considered as a parody of tragedy by the author of the research. This reveals a fundamental connection between the production under consideration and the subsequent successful experiments of G.M. Kozintsev in the field of theatrical Shakespeareana. The article draws attention to the fundamental connection between the style of the production and the general style of the Leningrad State Comedy Theatre developed by its director — the outstanding theatre director and set designer, G.M. Kozintsev and E.L. Schwartz’s friend and associate, N.P. Akimov. The research is based on the performance reviews, testimonies of the participants of the performance, contemporaries close to the director (especially the playwright and screenwriter E.L. Schwartz and the long-term G.M. Kozintsev’s co-author L.Z. Trauberg), as well as the surviving radio version of the play
Newborn screening for inborn errors of metabolism: a systematic review
No full textObjectives: to establish a database of literature and other evidence on neonatal screening programmes and technologies for inborn errors of metabolism. To undertake a systematic review of the data as a basis for evaluation of newborn screening for inborn errors of metabolism. To prepare an objective summary of the evidence on the appropriateness and need for various existing and possible neonatal screening programmes for inborn errors of metabolism in relation to the natural history of these diseases. To identify gaps in existing knowledge and make recommendations for required primary research. To make recommendations for the future development and organisation of neonatal screening for inborn errors of metabolism in the UK. How the research was conducted: there were three parts to the research. A systematic review of the literature on inborn errors of metabolism, neonatal screening programmes, new technologies for screening and economic factors. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied, and a working database of relevant papers was established. All selected papers were read by two or three experts and were critically appraised using a standard format. Seven criteria for a screening programme, based on the principles formulated by Wilson and Jungner (WHO, 1968), were used to summarise the evidence. These were as follows. Clinically and biochemically well-defined disorder. Known incidence in populations relevant to the UK. Disorder associated with significant morbidity or mortality. Effective treatment available. Period before onset during which intervention improves outcome. Ethical, safe, simple and robust screening test. Cost-effectiveness of screening. A questionnaire which was sent to all newborn screening laboratories in the UK. Site visits to assess new methodologies for newborn screening. The classical definition of an inborn error of metabolism was used (i.e., a monogenic disease resulting in deficient activity in a single enzyme in a pathway of intermediary metabolism). Research findings: inborn errors of metabolism. Phenylketonuria (PKU) (incidence 1:12,000) fulfilled all the screening criteria and could be used as the 'gold standard' against which to review other disorders despite significant variation in methodologies, sample collection and timing of screening and inadequacies in the infrastructure for notification and continued care of identified patients. Of the many disorders of organic acid and fatty acid metabolism, a case can only be made for the introduction of newborn screening for glutaric aciduria type 1 (GA1; estimated incidence 1:40,000) and medium-chain acyl CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) deficiency (estimated incidence 1:8000-1:15,000). Therapeutic advances for GA1 offer prevention of neurological damage but further investigation is required into the costs and benefits of screening for this disorder. MCAD deficiency is simply and cheaply treatable, preventing possible early death and neurological handicap. Neonatal screening for these diseases is dependent upon the introduction of tandem mass spectrometry (tandem MS). This screening could however also simultaneously detect some other commonly-encountered disorders of organic acid metabolism with a collective incidence of 1:15,00
spleen
No full textspleenAn attack of despondency; the "blues." Addison uses the word in this sense in the "Spectator."PRINTED ITEM G.M. StoryJuly 1956Not usedNot usedWithdraw
Talking the Talk and Fitting In: Troubling the Practices of Speaking? ‘What you are Worth’ in Higher Education in the UK
No full textIn this article we raise questions about fitting in pertaining to various classed identities within two UK Higher Education Institutions (HEI). We discuss the pains and privileges attached to accent and ways of speaking worth: Who is able to mobilize and capitalize on inscribed values, as they come to be attached to ways of talking? Accents and ways of talking are part of embodied class identities and whilst some carry connotations of intelligence, other ways of talking are positioned as lacking value, as well as other cultural meanings (Sayer 2002; Spencer, Clegg and Stackhouse 2013; Lawler 1999; Skeggs 1997; Southerton 2002; Taylor 2007; MacFarlane and Stuart-Smith 2012). In this article we discuss our empirical research carried out in two separate qualitative ESRC-funded research projects in the north of England with undergraduate students (Victoria Mountford) and university staff (Michelle Addison). Focusing primarily on white British ways of talking, we examine how embodying particular accents or ways of talking affect classed notions of 'fitting in' or 'standing out' (Reay et al 2009: 1; Abraham and Ingram 2013) in HE. In a climate of uncertainty in Higher Education we are concerned that the importance of demonstrating one's impact, value and worth comes down to more than just productivity, it is becoming demonstrably about being able to 'talk the talk'. Here we trouble the practices of speaking 'what you are worth'
Stevin Outlet Sluices: Wave impact under a beam
No full textThe Dutch department of Public Works had a problem regarding wave impacts on a beam in the Stevin outlet sluices, located in the Afsluitdijk. Wave impacts on this beam could also cause a peak pressure on the barrier gate, just behind the beam. The numerical program ComFLOW and physical scale experiments were used to predict the wave impacts for different hydraulic conditions (i.e. wave height, wave period and water level). The research questions were: 1. How is the wave load on the northern gates depending on the presence of the military beam? 2. How large is a wave impact load on the bottom of the military beam in the Stevin outlet sluices? 3. How well can the numerical model ComFLOW and physical modelling be used to determine the wave impact on the bottom of the military beam in the Stevin outlet sluices? 2D scaled experiments were performed making use of a model with the (simplified) geometry of the Stevin outlet sluices and regular waves. It was found that the largest wave impacts occurred for water levels equal to the bottom plane of the beam or slightly under it. This happened for the shortest waves in the test domain. The largest pressure measured on the beam was approximately 50 kPa or 35H, with H representing the incident wave height in front of the model. It was also found that the spread in the peak pressures for one single experiment was large. The results of the measured impulse per peak showed far less spread. The effect of wave impacts under the beam was also found on the vertical wall under the beam. The actual pressures however were less and they were decreasing with increasing depth. Besides physical wave impact testing, a few experiments were performed with the beam removed from the model. This resulted in wave simply running up the vertical wall of the model. They did not cause a wave impact. The measurements of both type of experiments, with and without a beam, were compared. This revealed that the total wave impulse on the gate was not affected by the presence of the beam. However the distribution of the pressure within a single wave period was significantly different. In case of a beam, a large impact peak was observed, whereas the other wave only showed a small hump caused by the deflected flow against the vertical wall. When the calculated and measured wave impact results were compared it became clear that ComFLOW underestimated the peak pressures by a factor 2 to 20 for the pressures on the impact plane. The same was done for the peak impulse. This showed that the impulse of the peak on the impact plane were underestimated by a factor 2 at most. These results confirmed that the used grid was too coarse for the program to model the physics correctly. The main conclusions to the research questions were: 1. The presence of the military beam causes a different distribution of the force on the gate within a wave period. The total amount of impulse is more or less the same as for the situation without a beam. With the military beam, a wave impact results in a peak force on the gate. Without the beam, there will be no peak force. 2. The largest measured wave impact pressure is 35H. 3. Both ComFLOW and physical modelling can be used to predict wave impacts for the geometry of Stevin outlet sluices. Much care should be taken when modelling and much attention should go to the input parameters of the program.Hydraulic StructuresHydraulic EngineeringCivil Engineering and Geoscience
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