39 research outputs found
Felix Calonder (1863–1952)
No full textBiographical note on Felix Calonder, Swiss statesman and international law practitioner, President of the highly innovative Mixed Commission for Upper Silesia (1922-1937) and author of the first coherent body of international case law on individual rights. Published as part of the French Society of International Law's Gallery of International Lawyers
Increased cerebral iron uptake in Wilson's disease: A (52)Fe-citrate PET study
No full textToxicity of abundant copper is the main cause of brain and liver tissue damage in patients with Wilson's disease (WD). However, there is also evidence of a disturbed iron metabolism in this genetically determined disorder. This PET study was undertaken to assess cerebral iron metabolism in WD patients. Methods: We used (52)Fe-citrate, which converts to (52)Fe-transferrin in blood plasma, to study basic pharmacokinetic features of the cerebral iron transport in 6 WD patients and in 16 healthy volunteers (control subjects). A 2-tissue-compartment model and multiple time graphic plotting were used to calculate (52)Fe-transferrin distribution volumes and transport rates. Results: Net iron uptake (Ki) from plasma into brain tissue was significantly (P <0.001) higher in WD patients (Ki [mean +/- SEM] = 15.1E-05 +/- 7.13E-05 [1/min]) than in healthy volunteers (Ki = 2.66E-05 +/- 0.351E-05 [1/min]). There was no difference of tracer iron distribution in the cerebral plasma volume between patients and healthy volunteers. Iron uptake values resulting from 2 methods to model PET data of patients and healthy volunteers were highly correlated (P <0.001). Conclusion: An abnormally increased cerebral (52)Fe-transferrin uptake was found in WD patients
‘dis ͻhord' : one woman's experience of confronting and understanding the lived experience of birth
No full textIn this presentation I present and interpret a number of mixed media art works created by the artist Caroline Calonder. The artworks were ‘birthed’ twelve years after the traumatic birth of her son, a birth which Caroline forced to the back of her mind, willing herself to ‘forget’ whilst she concentrated on mothering. Having not had the opportunity to control her birth Caroline used her work to take control of the uncontrollable; dramatically representing her story on cartridge paper where the ink, collage and marks made became the narrative. In using a repetitive and meditative technique in her work Caroline slowly started the process of repair and in doing so was able to confront the lived experience of her birth and make it part of her history; something which was denied her at the time as ‘the C-section under GA with the 11 lb baby and the PPH’.
In the analysis I draw on my PhD study findings as a means of contextualising, understanding and interpreting the work. My PhD examined how two generations of pregnant women experienced stories of birth and in this context the birth story encompassed personal oral stories as well as media and other representations of contemporary childbirth, all of which had the potential to elicit emotional responses and generate meaning in the interlocutor. Findings from my study suggest that in a space populated by doctors and technology, all of which are in place to safely ‘manage’ women’s well-being and births, childbirth is understood by many as a ‘technological feat’, a process framed in risk and in neat conceptualisation; stripped of live content and imbued with possibly disastrous consequences for women and for birth.
The presentation highlights some of the distressing and harmful sequelae which can arise when a woman’s disembodied experience of birth is accepted as normal and mainstream. Further the presentation emphasises the need for healthcare professionals to actively work to safeguard women’s emotional health as well as the potential for art to be used as a means of confronting and recovering from birth trauma
Protein dynamics in minimyoglobin: is the central core of myoglobin the conformational domain?
No full textThe kinetics of CO binding to the horse myoglobin fragment Mb-(32-139), the so-called "mini-Mb," were investigated by laser flash photolysis in 0.1 M phosphate buffer and in buffer with 75\% (vol/vol) glycerol. The reaction displays complex time courses that can be approximated satisfactorily only with a sum of five exponentials. The features of the kinetic components and a comparison of the deoxy-minus-carbonyl difference spectra of mini-Mb and horse Mb obtained under equilibrium conditions, with the kinetic difference spectra resulting from the global analysis of the traces recorded between 400 and 450 nm, show that CO binding to mini-Mb is accompanied by large structural changes. In view of the fact that mini-Mb is an approximation of the Mb-(31-105) fragment encoded by the central exon of the Mb gene, this finding is particularly relevant. On the basis of our data and previous reports [De Sanctis, G., Falcioni, G., Giardina, B., Ascoli, F. & Brunori, M. (1988) J. Mol. Biol. 200, 725-733; De Sanctis, G., Falcioni, G., Grelloni, F., Desideri, A., Polizo, F., Giardina, B., Ascoli, F. & Brunori, M. (1992) J. Mol. Biol. 222, 637-643], we propose that the protein fragment encoded by the central exon of the Mb gene is the domain responsible for ligand-linked conformational transitions, while the two terminal fragments dampen the amplitude of the structural changes that accompany ligand binding, thus rendering the protein stable and kinetically more efficient in its physiological function
'dis ɔhord' : one woman’s experience of confronting and understanding the lived experience of birth
No full textIn sharing elements of one woman's birth experience, the psychological harm it caused her, and the means she used (and continues to use) to understand, and come to terms with the experience, the paper highlights some of the distressing and harmful sequelae which can arise when a woman’s disembodied experience of birth is accepted as normal and mainstream. Further it emphasises the need for healthcare professionals to actively work to safeguard women’s emotional health, and the value of art as a means of confronting and recovering from birth trauma
An investigation of multiple time graphical analysis applied to projection data: Theory and validation
No full textPurpose: The determination of tissue time-activity course and pharmokinetics in PET is normally performed by region-of-interest analysis of reconstructed images. However, in some cases, the same analysis may equally well be performed on the data in projections before reconstruction, avoiding the reconstruction of large time sequence data sets. This is especially important in 3D mode. Method: We present a theory that shows why multiple time/graphical analysis can be applied equally well to image or projection data. The method is validated using FDG uptake data from five healthy normal volunteers, by applying the technique to determine regional cerebral metabolic rate for glucose (rCMRglu) and the partition coefficient-related parameter P using various time ranges for the analysis. Results: The method is shown to be identical to analysis of image data. Variation with time range of the calculated values for regional cerebral glucose metabolism and the partition coefficient of tissue against plasma is shown to be due to the estimation methodology rather than the choice of analysis on projections or on images. Conclusion: The theory presented is shown to be valid for FDG determination of regional cerebral glucose metabolism. The absolute values of the rCMRglu and P are similar to those shown previously
An investigation of multiple time graphical analysis applied to projection data:Theory and validation
No full textPurpose: The determination of tissue time-activity course and pharmokinetics in PET is normally performed by region-of-interest analysis of reconstructed images. However, in some cases, the same analysis may equally well be performed on the data in projections before reconstruction, avoiding the reconstruction of large time sequence data sets. This is especially important in 3D mode.Method: We present a theory that shows why multiple time/graphical analysis can be applied equally well to image or projection data. The method is validated using FDG uptake data from five healthy normal volunteers, by applying the technique to determine regional cerebral metabolic rate for glucose (rCMRglu) and the partition coefficient-related parameter P using various time ranges for the analysis.Results: The method is shown to be identical to analysis of image data. Variation with time range of the calculated values for regional cerebral glucose metabolism and the partition coefficient of tissue against plasma is shown to be due to the estimation methodology rather than the choice of analysis on projections or on images.Conclusion: The theory presented is shown to be valid for FDG determination of regional cerebral glucose metabolism. The absolute values of the rCMRglu and P are similar to those shown previously.</p
Kinetic modeling of Fe-52/Mn-52m-citrate at the blood-brain barrier by positron emission tomography
No full textThe kinetics of iron at the blood-brain barrier of the monkey were studied in vivo using positron emission tomography (PET) and the tracer Fe-52/Mn-52m-citrate. Mn-52m is the beta(+)-emitting daughter nuclide of Fe-52 and therefore contributes to the observed signal and background in the PET images and may influence the quantification of physiological relevant iron parameters. The kinetics of pure Mn-52m-citrate at the blood-brain barrier of the monkey were studied experimentally, and the analysis of the data with a reasonable compartment model led to equal efflux and influx parameters for Mn (1.35 +/- 0.3 x 10(-2) min(-1)). By using complexes between Mn and diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, the validity of the proposed model could be confirmed. To describe the observed kinetics of 52Fe/52mMn-citrate, the manganese model was coupled to an iron model, which finally allowed the quantification of two iron-specific parameters: an input rate into global brain tissue of 7.15 +/- 2.6 x 10(-4) min(-1) and a time delay of roughly 24 min to account for the observed activities. The simpler linearization procedure has been proposed and could be applied to all our data sets and is able to replace the complicated nonlinear iron/manganese tracer kinetic model neglecting any influence of manganese on the analysis
Kinetic modeling of Fe-52/Mn-52m-citrate at the blood-brain barrier by positron emission tomography
No full textThe kinetics of iron at the blood-brain barrier of the monkey were studied in vivo using positron emission tomography (PET) and the tracer Fe-52/Mn-52m-citrate. Mn-52m is the beta(+)-emitting daughter nuclide of Fe-52 and therefore contributes to the observed signal and background in the PET images and may influence the quantification of physiological relevant iron parameters. The kinetics of pure Mn-52m-citrate at the blood-brain barrier of the monkey were studied experimentally, and the analysis of the data with a reasonable compartment model led to equal efflux and influx parameters for Mn (1.35 +/- 0.3 x 10(-2) min(-1)). By using complexes between Mn and diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, the validity of the proposed model could be confirmed. To describe the observed kinetics of 52Fe/52mMn-citrate, the manganese model was coupled to an iron model, which finally allowed the quantification of two iron-specific parameters: an input rate into global brain tissue of 7.15 +/- 2.6 x 10(-4) min(-1) and a time delay of roughly 24 min to account for the observed activities. The simpler linearization procedure has been proposed and could be applied to all our data sets and is able to replace the complicated nonlinear iron/manganese tracer kinetic model neglecting any influence of manganese on the analysis.</p
