Total Liberation Research Articles

Measurement of active phagocytosis by polymorphonuclear leukocytes by fluorescence liberation from phagocytized microspheres.

Phagocytosis by polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) was determined by a newly developed technique based on measurement of liberation of a fluorescence substance from PMN phagosomes; 4-methylumbelliferyl-beta-D-glucuronide (4MUGL), which is a substrate of beta-glucuronidase in lysosome, was conjugated with a microsphere, and 4-methylumbelliferone (4MU) liberated from phagocytized 4MUGL-microspheres was measured. The microspheres were composed of glyceryl-methacrylate having a diameter of 2.0 micron. Liberating activity of six kinds of 4MUGL-microspheres containing various amounts of amino and carboxyl groups was compared. Among these six kinds of 4MUGL-microspheres, four kinds showed activity similar to that of morphological phagocytosis. These four kinds of 4MUGL-microspheres liberated 4MU into the extracellular fluid from PMN during phagocytosis. Furthermore, they were recognized as a substrate of purified beta-glucuronidase. 4MUGL-MS610 showed the highest liberating activity among the four kinds of microspheres. Optimal conditions for phagocytosis by PMN were determined using 4MUGL-MS610. Total liberation of 4MU from the microspheres increased almost linearly with incubation time with PMN from 0 to 60 min and was linear with 4MUGL-MS in concentrations up to 4 X 10(8) microspheres/ml. This liberation was parallel to phagocytosis in a dose-dependent fashion. During 10-min incubation 20.4% of 4MU was liberated from 4MUGL-microspheres with phagocytosis. Seventy-five percent of the liberated 4MU was distributed in the extracellular fluid. 4MU distributed in the extracellular fluid was not attributable to hydrolysis of unphagocytized microspheres by beta-glucuronidase extracellularly leaked from PMN by phagocytosis. Also phagocytized 4MUGL-MS610 by PMN was observed by scanning electron microscopy. These results indicate that 4MU was liberated from 4MUGL-MS by hydrolysis due to beta-glucuronidase released into phagosomes with phagocytosis by PMN. Sensitivity of this assay was limited to about 50 pmol/ml, being less than 0.5-1 microsphere phagocytized into one cell.

Frantz Fanon and Black Consciousness in Azania (South Africa)

THE EMERGENCE OF THE Black Consciousness philosophy in the late 1960s is one of the most important ideological developments ever to take place in the evolution of African political thought in Azania. This philosophy surfaced at a time when above-ground black political activities were virtually nonexistent in Azania following the banning of the African National Congress (ANC) and the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) by the white racist government in 1960. It was at this critical historical juncture that the alienation of black youth from the dominant white society found concrete expression in the categorical rejection of white liberal leadership by the newly formed allblack South African Students Organization (SASO) which laid the foundation for and became the cradle of the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) of Azania. The founders of SASO advocated the adoption of a radical political ideology which, in addition to its deep roots in orthodox African nationalism, borrowed major elements from the revolutionary writings of Frantz Fanon. It is the purpose of this analysis to show the dynamic link between the radical ideas of Frantz Fanon and the philosophy of Black Consciousness as propounded and effectively articulated by Steve Biko, the black militant who has come to be known as the father of Black Consciousness in Azania. The major ideas to be focused upon pertain to political consciousness, the role of white liberals in black liberation movements and the crucial question of total liberation.

Spectrophotometric determination of fluoride in fluoride-bearing minerals after decomposition by fusion with sodium hydroxide

The decomposition of highly insoluble minerals (fluorspar and cryolite) by fusion with molten alkali-metal hydroxides is studied. The introduction of additives such as aluminium compounds or sodium peroxide to obtain total liberation of fluoride from calcium fluoride samples, is tested. The fusion is done in a silver crucible with a Bunsen burner. The cooled melt is easily soluble, giving solutions suitable for spectrophotometric fluoride determination by the Zr(IV)-fluoride-Erichrome Cyanine R method.

Human pharmacokinetics and safety of boric acid.

Using an in vitro technique it has been demonstrated that water-emulsifying and hydrophobic ointments containing boric acid liberate only minute amounts (1-6%) within 24 h compared with the nearly total liberation from a jelly. When an amount of boric acid containing ointment is swallowed, the absorption is only slightly delayed compared with a similar intake when dissolved in water, and in both cases nearly total excretion is found in the urine within 96 h. The halflife (t 1/2 beta) is 21 h (mean, 7 adult men). The pharmacokinetics rule out the risk of cumulative poisoning with topical preparations containing low amounts of boric acid. The use of water-emulsifying ointments containing up to 3% boric acid should be safe, even for repeated daily use in the napkin region.

Mn-preserving extraction of 33-, 24- and 16-kDa proteins from O 2-evolving PS II particles by divalent salt-washing

Divalent salt-washing of O 2-evolving PS II particles caused total liberation of 33-, 24- and 16-kDa proteins, but the resulting PS II particles retained almost all amounts of Mn present in initial particles. The retained Mn was EPR-silent when the particles were kept in high concentrations of divalent salt. By divalent salt-washing, the activity of diphenylcarbazide (DPC) photooxidation was not affected at all, neither suppressed nor enhanced, while O 2 evolution was totally inactivated. These results indicate that Mn can be kept associated with PS II particles even after liberation of the 33-kDa protein, and suggest that the 33-kDa protein is probably not responsible for binding Mn onto membranes, but is possibly responsible for maintaining the function of Mn atoms in the O 2-evolving center.

Om Grundtvigs poetik med særligt henblik på den bibelske inspiration

Om Grundtvigs poetik med særligt henblik på den bibelske inspiration

From Apartheid & Imperialism to Total Liberation in Africa

From Apartheid & Imperialism to Total Liberation in Africa

Knowledge and science should be for the total liberation of man

Knowledge and science should be for the total liberation of man

Do Women in Science and Technology Need the Women's Movement?

Not so many years ago, an educated, well-intentioned friend dismayed me when he said, Women don't need a revolution to get equal pay and equal job opportunities. This commotion about Women's Liberation--who does the dishes, who raises the kids--is simply beside the point. The economic issues are the only ones that really matter. Although my friend has since changed his mind about the women's movement, his comment raised a question which continues to frustrate me. I wonder if economics does not sometimes obscure the other factors necessary for women's total liberation. Particularly disturbing to me is the fact that women pursuing careers in technology and science and benefiting most from women's improved economic opportunities are probably the least politicized, the least feminist group of educated women. Because the economic situation for women has improved, some of the goals of the women's movement have changed. The economic picture for women is unquestionably better than it was, say, in 1960. More of us are working: about 41 percent of the workers in America are women. As we find places for ourselves within the existing power structure--as managers, cabinet members, elected public officials, or college professors--the talk within the movement is less about sisterhood and more about successfully learning the rules for acquiring power. This shift in emphasis within the movement, however, makes us vulnerable to some staggering losses. The ERA is in serious danger; the right to abortion may be revoked. Whereas the Phyllis Schlaflys and Anita Bryants run effectual political campaigns, the women's movement splinters, inviting its neutralization. One of our losses, I suggest, is that women in technical fields have not identified with the struggle for liberation because these women feel no economic oppression. On the contrary, ambitious women looking for careers in technology are told that their opportunities are unlimited.

Energetics of isovolumic contractions of the isolated rabbit heart.

1. In the isolated beating rabbit heart the heat production (measured by Dewar-flask calorimetry) and oxygen consumption (measured polarographically) increased in a similar way to force development (assessed as the time integral of left ventricular developed pressure) when the diastolic size of the heart was increased. 2. The energy expenditure of the heart consists of an element which is independent of the force developed and another which varies with the force developed. 3. The calorific equivalent of oxygen in the beating heart when it was provided with pyruvate as a substrate was found to be 20-48 mJ/mul: O2 at 25 degrees C. 4. The anaerobic metabolism was well below 5% of the total energy liberation and was constant at all levels of mechanical activity.

Eine quantitative Bestimmungsmethode des Uracilgehaltes biologischen Materials im Nanogramm-Bereich mit Hilfe der Hochdruck-Flüssigchromatografie / A Method for the Quantitative Estimation of Uracil Content in Biological Materials in the Nanogramme-Range Using High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography

Abstract A method is described for the estimation of the uracil content in biological materials by means of high-pressure liquid chromatography. Hydrolysis of the tissues and total liberation of RNA bases are carried out in 70% perchloric acid. Less than 1 mg of the materials are needed for analysis. A pre-purification of the hydrolyzates is carried out by anion-exchange chromatography. Recoveries are estimated by isotope dilution analysis with [2-14C] labelled uracil. The method is highly sensitive - about 6000 pmol of uracil content can at least be estimated quantitatively - and analysis time is short. In routine analysis a single sample needs 4 hours to be completed. When preparing several samples at a time an analysis is completed every 45min.

Doctors and Overpopulation

This letter is in response to a joint letter signed by 52 doctors on the problem of overpopulation in Britain. The author agrees with the gravity of the problem and believes that the remedy lies in part with the medical profession. Pediatric and adolescent medical services should be planned to cope with the boom. The average family size of 2.4 will lead to a steadily growing population and infinitum the author declares and refers to a survey on womens attitudes toward their most recent birth in which 15% wished that it had not occurred. A total liberalization of all family planning services is called for since it will free parents from unwanted children and will stabilize the the population in the long run.

Southern Africa: A Challenge to the United Nations*

Criticism is frequently expressed about the manner in which the African group at the United Nations injects southern Africa into discussions at every conceivable opportunity in the political, the economic, and the social forum. A question often posed is whether the emphasis on this issue, particularly at the international level, is proportionate to its import for the world community as a whole. As we Africans view the matter, the situation in southern Africa challenges the basic assumptions which brought the United Nations into being, and it is therefore the responsibility of the entire world community. In the political context, the situation is seen as a threat to regional and international peace and security; in the moral context it is considered a crime against humanity. The concern of African states was expressed by the late Kwame Nkrumah when, as President of Ghana, he declared: “The independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked with the total liberation of Africa.”

Dégazages thermiques sous vide du graphite nucléaire après oxydation radiolytique. Comparaison avec l'oxydation thermique

Samples of graphite were irradiated while surrounded by flowing pure carbon dioxide or carbon dioxide containing small concentration of methane. The total pressure was 40 bars and the temperature 300°C. Variation of the methane concentration produced either loss or gain in weight. Thermal degassing showed that: 1. (1) some groups degassed are identical with those obtained by thermal oxidation, although most of them are different and more stable 2. (2) for samples showing a weight loss in the presence of CH 4, the desorption kinetics of the surface oxides is very similar to the one observed without methane, whereas for the hydrogenated compounds appears quite different: two gas liberation peaks are seen, the first, appearing only in the presence of methane, seems to be due to radiolysis products from the latter gas. The amount of hydrogen desorbed is not a function of the weight loss of the carbon; 3. (3) for samples irradiated in a CO 2 + CH 4 mixture and showing a weight gain, the total liberation (of both carbon oxides and hydrogen) increases with the weight increase of the carbon 4. (4) in the presence of methane the groups from which the gases given off derive, are formed mainly in the peripheral layers of the graphite sample.

Influence of Calcium Ions upon Energy Metabolism of the Mammalian Heart.

SummaryAt a given initial fiber length the mechanical energy of contraction of the heart is increased under the influence of calcium. This is due not only to an increase in the fraction of the total energy liberated which is converted into useful work but also to an increased total energy liberation. The increase in efficiency occurring with administration of small doses of calcium salts indicates that the effect is a beneficial one, and might be of importance in contributing to the therapeutic effect of calcium in cardiac disease.