476 research outputs found
THE ROLE OF LIPID ANTIGENS IN THE PROTECTION AGAINST RHODOCOCCAL PNEUMONIA
No full textThesis (Ph.D.), Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Washington State UniversityRhodococcus equi is an actinomycete bacterium that is closely to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It is also an important cause of pneumonia in young horses worldwide. Like M. tuberculosis, R. equi persists within macrophages and has a cell wall composed of unique microbial lipids. Previous work in our laboratory demonstrates that immune horses carry cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) that recognize and kill R. equi-infected cells in a MHC-unrestricted fashion. Further evidence showing that these cells recognize R. equi lipids provides a potentially important correlation between immune protection and the CD1 system in horses.In this study, we characterized and mapped the equine CD1 gene cluster. It is composed of 13 CD1 genes; seven genes were classified as homologues of human CD1a, two CD1b, one CD1c, one CD1d, and two CD1e, making it the largest CD1 family to date. All but one of the eqCD1 molecules were expressed in all antigen presenting cells investigated. Because R. equi is able to arrest macrophage phagosome maturation between the early endosome and late phagosome, and based on the presence of a sorting motif that is predicted to direct eqCD1a to the early endosome, we hypothesize that the extraordinarily large number of CD1a molecules in horses reflects their role in immunity to R. equi.Because of the predicted expression of a CD1d homologue and published evidence that horse have NKT cells, we have proposed using the synthetic lipid alpha-Galactosyl Ceramide (α-GC) as an adjuvant in an R. equi vaccine. α-GalCer is a potent NKT cell agonist in other species. However, equine CTL stimulated with α-GalCer failed to kill cells infected with R. equi. Likewise, α-GalCer did not increase killing by CTL co-stimulated with R. equi antigen, nor did it induce the proliferation of equine PBMC or increase the proliferation of R. equi stimulated cells. α-GalCer injected intradermally in horses did not increase vasodilation, the recruitment of lymphocytes, or relevant cytokines/markers (e.g. IFN-gamma, granzyme) at sites of injection. These data provide evidence that the horse is well equipped to present lipid-antigens to T cell, however suggest that α-GalCer is unsuitable as a vaccine adjuvant in horses.Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Washington State Universit
Six Pillars of Social Policy: The State of Pensions and Health Care in Canada
No full textWilliam B.P. Robson, a co-author with David Slater of a series of papers on pension issues, has written an ambitious survey of the state of Canadian economic policy in the areas of pensions and health care. He argues that it is appropriate to tackle both issues in the same paper because they are both major spending programs strongly related to the life cycle of Canadians, and face challenges arising from the aging of the population. Robson notes that the pension debate uses the metaphor of three pillars to describe a comprehensive pension system: a safety net to guard against destitution in old age; a mandatory employment-related system to provide basic replacement income; and a voluntary system supported by provisions that reduce the double-taxation of saving. The main elements of public policy related to pensions in Canada cover these pillars. He recognizes that all three of the pillars cannot be directly applied to health care, but he argues that the three-pillar metaphor is still a fruitful perspective because it facilitates constructive responses to the pressures confronting Canada’s health system and illuminates interactions between the pension and health systems. Hence his title “six pillars of social policy”. Based on his examination of Canada’s pension and health-care systems, Robson makes a number of recommendations. First, he advocates more prefunding in both the pension and health areas to cover the future cost of the aging baby-boom cohort. Second, he recommends a gradual increase in the normal age of eligibility for pension benefits. Third, he recommends the creation of a second pillar, a mandatory contribution scheme in the health area as a way to avoid the development of a means-tested system that would exacerbate the disincentives to work and save. Fourth, he puts forward the idea of a new type of saving vehicle that provides tax-relief on distributions rather than on contributions so that Canadians can avoid the high marginal effective tax rates associated with means-tested programs.Health, Health Care, Health-care, Healthcare, Canada, Pensions, CPP, Retirement, Mandatory Contribution, Aging, Ageing
English spelling in the seventeenth century : a study of the nature of standardisation as seen through the MS and printed versions of the Duke of Newcastle's 'A New Method ...'.
No full textIn 2 vols.Available from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DX201006 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo
The use of judgement by commercial property developers
No full textIn the UK, as in other developed market economies, commercial property is a multimillion pound industry that makes an important contribution to GDP and employment. Commercial development is a classic example of a high risk / high return business; a fact that is particularly apposite in times of economic uncertainty. Developers clearly take significant risks at various stages of the development process; and they do this in anticipation of the considerable financial rewards on offer. Equally, when their assessment indicates it, the decision will be taken not to proceed. On what basis do they make these decisions? Previous research by the author found that, while formal risk assessment is undertaken by developers, the process is heavily influenced by their risk attitude and ‘judgement’. The research seeks to explore these issues by generating empirical data on developers’ ‘judgement’ and setting them against existing theoretical work. The overall aim of the study is to examine the issue of ‘judgement’ in risk-related decisions in the property development process, and to determine whether this concept can be theoretically explained using existing work on risk, risk attitude and heuristics. The method of enquiry is predominantly in-depth, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with experienced property developers. At this stage the data has been analysed by a sorting and sifting process to try and find similarities, differences and patterns in the responses. The research has found that property developers essentially believe that they adopt a fairly objective approach to risk related decision making however the use of judgement, intuition and experience was frequently referred to. A preliminary analysis of the data suggests that heuristics play a role in the decision making process. In particular the availability heuristic, confirmation trap and cautious shift heuristic are evident. The work reports on the interim findings of a continuing study, and conclusions are, as yet, provisional, but in terms of its aims, objectives and method the paper gives an insight into an important and little researched issue in the property development industry
Correction to: Magnetic resonance features and cranial nerve involvement in pediatric head and neck rhabdomyosarcomas (Neuroradiology, (2021), 63, 11, (1925-1934), 10.1007/s00234-021-02765-0)
No full textOriginally, the article has been published online with inverted author names. This has been corrected above. The original article has been corrected
A Social Insurance Model for Pharmacare: Ontario's Options for a More Sustainable, Cost-Effective Drug Program
No full textWith annual spending of about $4.5 billion dollars in 2010, Canada’s largest drug plan – the Ontario Drug Program (ODB) – will become harder to afford as the babyboomers age and workforce growth slows. A business-as-usual approach to funding the plan, which provides publicly funded drug benefits to every Ontario resident aged 65 an older, presents a bleak prospect and amounts to wilfully passing on an exorbitant bill to future generations. Ontario, like all jurisdictions, faces tough challenges at the intersection of fiscal and health policy. Partial prefunding and benefit-payment reform of the ODB would put a key health program on a stronger and more sustainable footing.The Health Papers, Ontario Drug Program (ODB), Province of Ontario
Holding Canada's Cities to Account: an Assessment of Municipal Fiscal Management
No full textCities are the most visible level of government for most Canadians, providing services such as waste collection, policing and transit. Yet their budgets are the most opaque of any level of government. Municipalities generally use accounting in their budgets that does not match what they use in their financial reports. Peering through the messy numbers reveals that most cities routinely miss budget targets by large amounts. Councillors and taxpayers who seek to hold these municipal governments to account face a daunting task. Amid the mixed record, however, are some municipalities with clearer numbers and better records for spending control. That fact, along with improvements that have occurred at the federal and provincial levels in recent years, shows that progress is possible. The authors suggest five basic reforms would create clearer, more consistent budgets and would bring the financial management of Canada’s municipalities into line with their fiscal impact and their importance in Canadians’ lives.Fiscal & Tax Competitiveness, Governance and Public Institutions, Urban Issues Series, Canadian municipalities, fiscal management, municipal budgets
The rise and fall of the Labour league of youth
No full textThis thesis charts the rise and fall of the Labour Party’s first and most enduring youth organisation, the Labour League of Youth. The history of the League, from its birth in the early nineteen twenties to its demise in the late nineteen fifties, is placed in the context of the Labour Party’s subsequent fruitless attempts to establish and maintain a vibrant and functional youth organisation. A narrative is incorporated that illuminates the culture, organisation and political activism of the League and establishes it as a predominantly working class radical organisation. The reluctance on the part of the Labour Party to grant autonomy to its youth sections resulted in the history of the League of Youth being one of control, suppression and tension. This state of affairs ensured that subsequent youth groups, the Young Socialists and Young Labour, would be established in an atmosphere of reservation and scepticism.
The thesis places the prime responsibility for the failure of the party’s youth organisations with the party leadership but also considers the contributory factors of changing social and political circumstances. A number of themes are explored which include the impact of structure and agency factors, the power of the Parliamentary Labour Party, the political socialisation of leading figures within the party, the social context in which each of the groups emerged and the extent to which the youth groups were prey to intra-party factionalism.
The thesis redresses the balance of research where most accounts have focussed on the Young Socialists and traces the common characteristics that are prevalent in the way the party leadership has approached its relationship with its youth organisations. Use has been made of previously unpublished primary source material, the major source being the League of Youth members themselves whose recollections have helped to demonstrate the arguments put forward in this thesis
Nutritional adequacy of home food inventories of seniors receiving home-delivered meals in South Carolina
No full textThe aging of the American population and subsequent increase in chronic disease will have a profound effect on public health, social services and healthcare. In the United States, a healthy lifestyle, diet and exercise can help delay and/or treat chronic diseases and promote quality of life. Former studies have evaluated home food inventories in U.S households for several nutrients, yet data regarding in-home pantries of homebound older adults is scarce. Quality dietary intake is important when energy requirements are reduced due to aging; seniors may be at nutritional risk from vitamin and mineral inadequacies, contributing to a decline in health status and function. The in-home food inventory takes on major importance for the homebound due to physical, mental, economic and social limitations impacting food procurement, storage, preparation and consumption. The current study details the nutritional adequacy of the in-home food inventory of homebound seniors and examines gender and ethnic differences. Highest values for days meeting Daily Values and Dietary Reference Intakes were found for vitamin A and sodium. Convenience foods were abundant, providing economical, shelf-stable, and easy iv to prepare meals when functionally limited. Vitamin D and calcium were found to be the limiting nutrients in this study. The highest frequency of significant differences in home food inventories was found between races: White compared to non-White, and for females: White compared to non-White. Dairy products have repeatedly been reported as the major contributor of vitamin D for adults. In this study, the contribution of dairy products to total vitamin D ranged from 16.7% (non-White males) to 32.2% (White females); females had 51% more dairy products in their inventories than males. Fish and ready-to eat cereals took on major importance in food inventories, providing nutrient dense, shelf-stable and economical sources of vitamin D. Reduced consumption of milk and major sources of vitamin D, along with declining cutaneous synthesis of vitamin D with age present challenges in developing public health strategies to achieve adequate vitamin D intake in the older population.Dr.P.H.Includes bibliographical referencesby Nancy F. Lashwa
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