Foundling hospitals were charitable institutions for the care of children abandoned by their parents and found by strangers. They were first founded to reduce instances of infanticide during the 7th and 8th centuries by church authorities and their numbers increased rapidly during the Middle Ages, especially in France. In 1760 the London Foundling hospital, founded in 1739, had to restrict its intake due to the large increase in the number of abandoned children. Critics of the Foundling Hospitals argued that such institutions encouraged immorality, and argument which gained widespread support during the Victorian period in Britain. Research Foundling Hospital
Alkalosis is a condition in which a person's body fluids become too alkaline. The body adjusts to mild alkalosis but severe alkalosis can result in muscular weakness, convulsions, coma, and even death. Most cases of alkalosis arise from disorders or drugs that cause the body to lose too much acid, thus upsetting the normal balance of acid and alkali. Disorders that can result in alkalosis include prolonged vomiting and hyperventilation. Prolonged alkalosis causes excessive loss of hydrochloric acid from the stomach. During hyperventilation, a person exhales too much carbon dioxide, lowering the level of carbonic acid in the blood.
Alkalosis can arise from the prolonged use of such drugs as diuretics. Treatment of alkalosis usually consists of correcting the underlying disorder or reducing the drug intake. A solution containing a weak acid may be administered through a vein to help restore the body's normal acid- alkalibalance. Research Alkalosis
Hypoglycemia is a condition characterised by an abnormally low level of sugar in the blood. Symptoms of hypoglycemia include weakness, shakiness, nervousness, anxiety, and faintness and actual fainting. Patients may also show marked personality changes and may seem intoxicated. Hypoglycemia is the result of hyperinsulinism, or an excess of insulin , due either to an overdose of insulin - in the case of persons with diabetes mellitus - or to the body's overproduction of insulin. Insulin is instrumental in regulating carbohydrate metabolism; when hyperinsulinism occurs, glucose is sharply depleted in the process of conversion to glycogen in the liver and muscles and to fat in the adipose tissues. The most common type of hypoglycmia is reactive, or functional hypoglycemia and occurs particularly among persons under emotional stress. It is also due to overproduction of insulin, commonly three to five hours after meals. Its symptoms are milder than those suffered by insulin-dependent diabetics, and it can be controlled by lowering carbohydrate intake. Because reactive hypoglycemia has many of the classical symptoms of depression or anxiety, it is often wrongly believed to be the cause of underlying psychological disorders. Even when this physical condition is properly diagnosed, it is most often found to be incidental to, rather than the direct cause of, the patient's symptoms. Research Hypoglycemia
Jaundice is a yellowing of the skin, conjunctivae, and mucous membranes caused by excessive amounts of bile pigments in the blood tissues. These pigments, normally present in blood as a result of the breakdown of haemoglobin in red blood cells, are filtered through the liver and excreted. Excessive amounts of these pigments produce four types of jaundice. In haemolytic jaundice there is increased production of bile pigment because of red blood-cell damage. This damage can be caused by antibodies created by a mismatched blood transfusion. In infants the antibodies can be caused by prenatal mismatch between the Rhfactor in the infant' s blood and that of the mother. Newborns can also be jaundiced as a consequence of the condition known as hyperbilirubinemia. In these cases, there is a temporary defect in synthesis of the enzyme that breaks down bile to an excretable form. Hepatocellular jaundice occurs when liver cells are damaged either by viruses or by excessive intake of alcohol and lose the ability to filter pigment. Obstructive jaundice
follows physical obstruction of the ducts that transport pigment from the liver to the intestine. Blockage can be due to gallstones, tumour, or inflammation. Research Jaundice
Yellow fever, popularly known as black vomit on account of the presence of blood in the vomit, is an acute destructive disease usually found in tropical regions and caused by a virus transmitted by an infected mosquito. The Togaviridae virus is carried by the Aedes mosquito and the disease affects the liver. The virus has an incubation period of three to eight days. Symptoms include fever, liver damage with accompanying jaundice, and intestinal disorders. There is no cure available for yellow fever. Treatment consists of maintaining the blood volume and the intake of fluids and anticoagulant therapy. Transfusion of fluids is often necessary. In mild and moderate cases the patient recovers after a few days and few complications occur.
If contracted as a child, Yellow Fever results in a mild illness, however, among adults the mortality rate is about 5%. An attack of yellow fever confers lifelong immunity, and traditionally natives in Africa contracted the disease as children, suffered a short mild illness, recovered and were subsequently immune. However, European colonisation of Africa resulted in immunisation programmes which prevented children contracting the disease - though many died from encephalitis as a result of the immunisation - until as adults they became vulnerable, resulting in the 1965 Senegalese Yellow Fever epidemic that killed at least 140 people. Research Yellow Fever
Glutathione (GSH) is a tripeptide and accounts for over 90% of the intracellular non-protein thiols where it functions as an antioxidant and in the activation of T cells. It is especially important in the intracellular removal of the free radical gydrogen peroxide because it provides a substrate for glutathione peroxidase, the major hydrogen peroxide removing enzyme in humans. GSH is present in foods in very small amounts, and is synthesised in the body from other peptides - cysteine, glycine and glutamine. Cysteine and overall proteinintake are very important for the synthesis of GSH. Research Glutathione
A jet engine is a form of gas-turbine engine used in aircraft, in which the thrust is generated by a jet of exhaust gas discharged from a nozzle at the rear of the engine.
Jet engines were developed concurrently in the UK and in Germany. Whittle's centrifugal flow turbojet was patented in 1930 and first tested later in the same year. The first jet aeroplane to fly was the German Heinkel He 178 in 1939, powered by an engine designed by von Ohain. In a turbojet, air is taken into the engine and compressed, then mixed with fuel and burnt. The combustion gases then pass through a turbine, the power from which drives the compressor, after which the remaining energy in the gas is converted to kinetic energy in the exhaust cone and propelling nozzle, and ejected as a high- velocity jet. The configuration of the propelling nozzle is critical for maximum efficiency at a given speed. Turbojets are most efficient at high speeds: for speeds below 800 km/h a more efficient type of engine is the turboprop. This works on the same principle as the turbojet, but most of the energy of the combustion gases drives the turbine, which is used to power a propeller as well as the compressor. A small amount of forward thrust is also obtained from the
exhaust gases. A major use of turboprop engines is in helicopters. In the bypass jet engine two air compressors, one low- pressure and one high-pressure, are used. After passage through the first, low-pressure compressor, part of the air intake bypasses the combustion chamber and turbine. The combination of this cold air jet and the hot exhaust jet gives a much larger mass of air and therefore increased thrust, without an increase in fuel consumption. This principle is taken even further in the turbofan engine, which incorporates a large fan to accelerate still more air outside the engine proper, as well as using the bypass principle. Current research priorities include the reduction of polluting emissions from jet engines, and the development of ceramic engine components, which are lighter and can work at higher temperatures than metals. Research Jet Engine
A ram-jet is a jet engine with no compressor, in which air is drawn in and compressed by the forward motion of the engine. It has no moving parts, and is essentially a shaped duct, consisting of an intake section which acts as a compressor by slowing down the entering air, a combustion chamber where fuel is added and burnt, and a nozzle section in which the stream of hot gas is accelerated to give a high-speed exhaust jet. The jet provides propulsive thrust in a manner similar to that of a rocket. The ram-jet has to be launched at high speed, so has found limited application. Research Ram-Jet
The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is an American advanced tactical fighter aircraft designed as a replacement for the F-15 series, the first F-22 flying in 1997. The F-22 is armed with a variant of the M61A2 Vulcan cannon installed internally above the right air intake. The F-22 has four hard points on the wings, each rated to carry 2,270 kg, which can carry AIM-120AAMRAAM or external fuel tanks. The fuselage accommodates a main weapons bay and two side bays. The main under-fuselage weapon bay has the capacity to carry AIM-120A missiles, AIM-120C missiles, and the Joint Direct Attack Munition, JDAM. The side bays can be loaded with AIM-9M short range missiles. The F-22 is powered by two F119-100 engines from Pratt and Whitney. The F119-100 is a low bypass after burning turbofan engine providing 156 kN thrust, providing a top speed of Mach 1.58. Research F-22
The Folland FO-141 (Gnat) was a British single-seater light fighter aircraft designed for export. The Folland FO-141 was a shoulder-wing cantilever, swept-wing monoplane powered by a Bristol Siddeley Orpheus 701 turbojet engine providing a top speed of 1026 kmh and a range of 925 km from 240 gallons of fuel carried internally and 60 gallons in two under-wing drop tanks. Armaments consisted of two 30 mm Aden cannons mounted in the air intake fairings, one each side of the fuselage, and provision for carrying two 500 lb bombs or twelve 3-inch rockets or other disposable stores on two under-wing mountings. An advanced trainer variation was also produced and used by the British RAF from 1962 until 1979. Research Folland FO-141
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Foundling Hospital
