236 research outputs found
Christina Gillis, author of Writing on Stone: Scenes from a Maine Island Life,
No full textChristina Gillis, author of Writing on Stone: Scenes from a Maine Island Life, delves into old letters written by Maine writer Ruth Moore in the 1950s. Moore was selling her family\u27s Gotts Island house to Phyllis and Richard Strauss, Gillis\u27s sister and brother-in-law
Agreement between cardiac output measurements by pulse wave analysis using the Pressure Recording Analytical Method and transthoracic echocardiography in patients with veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation therapy
No full textA Looking Forward: Phil's Final Weeks
No full textAlexandra Gillis is a teacher and educational researcher living in the city of Vancouver, on the territorial lands of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples, amidst mountains and ocean of Canada’s west coast. She has published Thinking Woman (2006) and is co-author, with John Benton and Philip McShane, of Introducing Critical Thinking (2005). She currently works for the Ministry of Education
Astronomical and magnetic observations executed on the Congo Free State territory by A. Delporte and L. Gillis: F. Folie's report
No full textThe author establishes a report on A. Delporte and L. Gillis’ work on the astronomical and magnetic observations executed on the Congo Free State territory.L’auteur établit un rapport sur un travail de A. Delporte et L. Gillis sur les observations astronomiques et magnétiques exécutées sur le territoire de l'Etat Indépendant du Congo
Dynamics of Vascular Protective and Immune Supportive Sphingosine-1-Phosphate During Cardiac Surgery
No full textIntroduction
Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a signaling lipid and crucial in vascular protection and immune response. S1P mediated processes involve regulation of the endothelial barrier, blood pressure and S1P is the only known inducer of lymphocyte migration. Low levels of circulatory S1P correlate with severe systemic inflammatory syndromes such as sepsis and shock states, which are associated with endothelial barrier breakdown and immunosuppression. We investigated whether S1P levels are affected by sterile inflammation induced by cardiac surgery.
Materials and Methods
In this prospective observational study we included 46 cardiac surgery patients, with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB, n=31) and without CPB (off-pump, n=15). Serum-S1P, S1P-sources and carriers, von-Willebrand factor (vWF), C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were measured at baseline, post-surgery and at day 1 (POD 1) and day 4 (POD 4) after surgical stimulus.
Results
Median S1P levels at baseline were 0.77 nmol/mL (IQR 0.61-0.99) and dropped significantly post-surgery. S1P was lowest post-surgery with median levels of 0.37 nmol/mL (IQR 0.31-0.47) after CPB and 0.46 nmol/mL (IQR 0.36-0.51) after off-pump procedures (P<0.001). The decrease of S1P was independent of surgical technique and observed in all individuals. In patients, in which S1P levels did not recover to preoperative baseline ICU stay was longer and postoperative inflammation was more severe. S1P levels are associated with its sources and carriers and vWF, as a more specific endothelial injury marker, in different phases of the postoperative course. Determination of S1P levels during surgery suggested that also the anticoagulative effect of heparin might influence systemic S1P.
Discussion
In summary, serum-S1P levels are disrupted by major cardiac surgery. Low S1P levels post-surgery may play a role as a new marker for severity of cardiac surgery induced inflammation. Due to well-known protective effects of S1P, low S1P levels may further contribute to the observed prolonged ICU stay and worse clinical status. Moreover, we cannot exclude a potential inhibitory effect on circulating S1P levels by heparin anticoagulation during surgery, which would be a new pro-inflammatory pleiotropic effect of high dose heparin in patients undergoing cardiac surgery
Analyses of sphingosine‐1‐phosphate in the context of transfusion: how much is in stored blood products and in patient blood?
No full textBACKGROUND: Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a bloodborne lipid that regulates vascular tone and endothelial permeability. S1P concentrations are reduced in critically ill patients. As hematopoietic cells produce S1P, this study intends to investigate S1P concentrations in blood products during storage and in patient plasma after blood transfusion. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: S1P concentrations were measured in 83 red blood cell (RBC) units and 73 platelet concentrates (PCs) before and after storage. In addition, 26 critically ill patients who received one or two RBC units were recruited to measure S1P plasma levels before and three times within 24 hours after transfusion. RESULTS: The highest S1P concentrations were found in fresh PCs. S1P concentrations in PCs are reduced by 60% when stored at room temperature for 4 days, whereas in RBCs S1P concentrations remained stable when stored at 4°C within 35 days. S1P concentrations in PCs and RBCc were 2.5 to 6 times higher compared to patient plasma. Plasma S1P levels in critically ill patients, however, transiently decreased after transfusion of RBCs and recover to pretransfusion values within the following 24 hours. CONCLUSION: S1P concentrations in blood products are significantly higher compared to human plasma S1P levels, even though plasma S1P levels decreased after RBC transfusion in critically ill patients and reached pretransfusion values within 24 hours
Copyright and author rights
No full textPresentation on Copyright and author rights in journal publishing presented as part of the Dalhousie Libraries Scholarship Series
In-vitro-Effekte von SAHA, Tyrphostin AG 1478 und Carmustin an einem Panel von 18 pädiatrisch-onkologischen Zelllinien
No full textDer Tyrosinkinase-Inhibitor Tyrphostin AG1478 und der Histondeacetylase-Inhibitor SAHA sind sogenannte "Target-specific-drugs". An 18 pädiatrisch-onkologischen Zelllinien wurde die In-vitro-Toxizität von SAHA, Tyrphostin und dem Alkylanz Carmustin getestet. Zusätzlich wurde die Wirkung der Kombination der genannten Substanzen überprüft. Die in dieser Arbeit gewonnenen Ergebnisse ergänzen den bisherigen Forschungsstand und tragen zur Klärung der teils widersprüchlichen wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnisse bei. Außerdem liefern sie für einige pädiatrische Entitäten die ersten Ergebnisse für SAHA und Tyrphostin überhaupt. Synergistische Effekte zeigten sich bei der Kombination von Carmustin und SAHA bei Medulloblastomen und bei der Kombination von Carmustin und Tyrphostin bei Leukämie- und Ewingsarkomzelllinien. Bei der Applikation der Monosubstanzen konnten keine herausragenden Signale für die Wirksamkeit bei einzelnen Tumorentitäten beobachtet werden
In-vitro-Effekte von SAHA, Tyrphostin AG 1478 und Carmustin an einem Panel von 18 pädiatrisch-onkologischen Zelllinien
No full textDer Tyrosinkinase-Inhibitor Tyrphostin AG1478 und der Histondeacetylase-Inhibitor SAHA sind sogenannte "Target-specific-drugs". An 18 pädiatrisch-onkologischen Zelllinien wurde die In-vitro-Toxizität von SAHA, Tyrphostin und dem Alkylanz Carmustin getestet. Zusätzlich wurde die Wirkung der Kombination der genannten Substanzen überprüft. Die in dieser Arbeit gewonnenen Ergebnisse ergänzen den bisherigen Forschungsstand und tragen zur Klärung der teils widersprüchlichen wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnisse bei. Außerdem liefern sie für einige pädiatrische Entitäten die ersten Ergebnisse für SAHA und Tyrphostin überhaupt. Synergistische Effekte zeigten sich bei der Kombination von Carmustin und SAHA bei Medulloblastomen und bei der Kombination von Carmustin und Tyrphostin bei Leukämie- und Ewingsarkomzelllinien. Bei der Applikation der Monosubstanzen konnten keine herausragenden Signale für die Wirksamkeit bei einzelnen Tumorentitäten beobachtet werden
Theology in suspense : how the detective fiction of P.D. James provokes theological thought
No full textElectronic redacted version excludes material for which permission has not been granted by the rights holderThe following dissertation argues that the detective fiction of P.D. James
provokes her readers to think theologically. I present evidence from the body of
James’s work, including her detective fiction that features the Detective Adam
Dalgliesh, as well as her other novels, autobiography, and non-fiction work. I also
present a brief history of detective fiction. This history provides the reader with a
better understanding of how P.D James is influenced by the detective genre as well as
how she stands apart from the genre’s traditions.
This dissertation relies on an interview that I conducted with P.D. James in
November, 2008. During the interview, I asked James how Christianity has
influenced her detective fiction and her responses greatly contribute to this
dissertation. However, James’s novels should be interpreted and explored in the
manner that they are received by the reader. How the reader receives and responds to
the novels, not only how James writes the novels, is what causes her stories to
provoke theological thinking.
By examining Christian symbolism that is present in setting, character, the
Detective Adam Dalgliesh, and plot, this dissertation seeks to assert that James
contributes to a theological conversation through her popular detective fiction
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