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Pressing Problems (pressing + problem)
Selected AbstractsNatural vegetable fats in the prevention of irritant contact dermatitisCONTACT DERMATITIS, Issue 1 2002S. Schliemann-Willers Chronic irritant contact dermatitis (ICD) is one of the most pressing problems in occupational medicine and is common in the food processing industry. To date, protective creams that fulfil the special requirements in the foodstuffs industry have not been available. Therefore, we studied the efficacy of pre-exposure application of natural vegetable fats in the prevention of experimentally induced ICD. A panel of 20 healthy volunteers was tested with a repetitive irritation test using sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) as a standard irritant in a randomized study. Application sites were assessed clinically and by the use of bioengineering techniques (evaporimetry, chromametry, and corneometry). Rape seed and palm fats showed significant protective potential. Gas-chromatographic analysis revealed differences in the fatty acid composition of the vegetable. Higher content of linoleic acid and lower content of oleic acid was associated with beneficial effects. Our results are a new approach in the prevention of ICD and towards the development of new protective preparations for workplaces in the foodstuffs industry. [source] Aquatic Microbial Ecology: Water Desert, Microcosm, Ecosystem.INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF HYDROBIOLOGY, Issue 4-5 2008What's Next? Abstract Aquatic microbial ecology aims at nothing less than explaining the world from "ecological scratch". It develops theories, concepts and models about the small and invisible living world that is at the bottom of every macroscopic aquatic system. In this paper we propose to look at the development of Aquatic Microbial Ecology as a reiteration of classical (eukaryotic) limnology and oceanography. This was conceptualized moving historically from the so-called water desert to microcosm to ecosystem. Each of these concepts characterizes a particular historical field of knowledge that embraces also practices and theories about living beings in aquatic environments. Concerning the question of "who is there", however, Aquatic Microbial Ecology historically developed in reverse order. Repetition, reiteration and replication notwithstanding, Aquatic Microbial Ecology has contributed new ideas, theories and methods to the whole field of ecology as well as to microbiology. The disciplining of Aquatic Microbial Ecology happened in the larger field of plankton biology, and it is still attached to this biological domain, even conceiving of itself very self-consciously as a discipline of its own. Today, Aquatic Microbial Ecology as a discipline is much broader than plankton ecology ever was, for it includes not only oceans and freshwaters but also benthic, interstitial and groundwater systems. The success of Aquatic Microbial Ecology is expressed by its influence on other fields in ecology. The challenge is to further develop its theoretical and methodological features while at the same time contributing to current pressing problems such as climate change or the management of global water resources. And then it may not be fanciful to suppose that even in the year nineteen hundred and nineteen a great number of minds are still only partially lit up by the cold light of knowledge. It is the most capricious illuminant. They are still apt to ruminate, without an overpowering bias to the truth, whether a kingfisher's body shows which way the wind blows; whether an ostrich digests iron; whether owls and ravens herald ill-fortune; and the spilling of salt bad luck; what the tingling of ears forebodes, and even to toy pleasantly with more curious speculations as to the joints of elephants and the politics of storks, which came within the province of the more fertile and better-informed brain of the author (1919) Virginia Woolf from the essay "Reading", In: Leonard Woolf (ed.), 1950: The Captain's Death Bed and Other Essays, , London: Hogarth Press, p. 157. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Obesity , is it a genetic disorder?JOURNAL OF INTERNAL MEDICINE, Issue 5 2003R. J. F. Loos Abstract., Loos RJF, Bouchard C (Human Genomics Laboratory, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA). Obesity , is it a genetic disorder? (Review). J Intern Med 2003; 254: 401,425. Obesity is one of the most pressing problems in the industrialized world. Twin, adoption and family studies have shown that genetic factors play a significant role in the pathogenesis of obesity. Rare mutations in humans and model organisms have provided insights into the pathways involved in body weight regulation. Studies of candidate genes indicate that some of the genes involved in pathways regulating energy expenditure and food intake may play a role in the predisposition to obesity. Amongst these genes, sequence variations in the adrenergic receptors, uncoupling proteins, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor, and the leptin receptor genes are of particular relevance. Results that have been replicated in at least three genome-wide scans suggest that key genes are located on chromosomes 2p, 3q, 5p, 6p, 7q, 10p, 11q, 17p and 20q. We conclude that the currently available evidence suggests four levels of genetic determination of obesity: genetic obesity, strong genetic predisposition, slight genetic predisposition, and genetically resistant. This growing body of research may help in the development of anti-obesity agents and perhaps genetic tests to predict the risk for obesity. [source] Anthropology in the Public Sphere, 2008: Emerging Trends and Significant ImpactsAMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Issue 2 2009Melissa Checker ABSTRACT The themes, trends, and significant events of 2008 demonstrate that anthropology has established a new foothold in the public sphere,one that makes the most of novel forms of communication to reach far beyond the ivory tower to disseminate knowledge widely and freely. This review focuses on six topical areas of robust anthropological research in 2008 that also addressed some of the year's most pressing problems and issues, including the following: (1) war and peace; (2) climate change; (3) natural, industrial, and development-induced disaster recovery; (4) human rights; (5) health disparities; and (6) racial understanding, politics, and equity in the United States. It concludes by addressing some emerging issues in 2009 that especially require anthropological attention and insight, if we are to move beyond "business as usual."[Keywords: practicing anthropology, public anthropology, 2009 trends, anthropological impacts] [source] How has a shortage of census and geological information impeded the regularization of artisanal and small-scale mining?NATURAL RESOURCES FORUM, Issue 1 2004Gavin Hilson Abstract There is growing consensus that a combination of laissez-faire policies, ad hoc regulation and debilitating support services has perpetuated socio-economic and environmental deterioration in the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) industry. However, a lack of anthropological and geological information on ASM prevents many governments both from improving the policy environment of the industry, and from providing more robust extension services to its operators. This article aims to examine more precisely how a deficiency of baseline census and geological data has inhibited industry formalization and undermined many of the measures implemented to address pressing problems at ASM sites. Specifically, it is argued that insufficient knowledge of artisanal mining populations , including their demographic structure , and of areas suitable for ASM activities affects the ability of a government to regularize, as well as to improve, the organization of this largely informal sector of industry. Case studies of Ghana and Zimbabwe are used to illustrate how the undertaking of low-budget projects in areas of geological prospecting and population analysis could improve the efficiency of ASM assistance. [source] Small-scale mining and its socio-economic impact in developing countriesNATURAL RESOURCES FORUM, Issue 1 2002Gavin Hilson This article examines both the positive and negative socio-economic impacts of small-scale mining in developing countries, and outlines some key measures for improving sustainability in the sector. It is important to clarify that, in spite of experiencing its share of environmental- and health-related problems that adversely impact human quality-of-life, small-scale mining plays a pivotal role in alleviating poverty in the developing world, and contributes significantly to national revenues and foreign exchange earnings. Though these important socio-economic contributions make small-scale mining an indispensable economic activity, there is an obvious need for improved sustainability in the industry, more specifically, for operations to resolve pressing problems, many of which have wide-ranging impacts. However, because most small-scale mines are low-tech and employ poorly trained uneducated people, it is difficult for the sector to improve on its own. Thus, governments and regional international bodies must play an expanded role in bridging critical information, techno-logic and economic gaps. It is concluded that governments and regional organizations could accomplish much in the way of improved sustainability in the small-scale mining industry by: (1) legalizing small-scale mining and implementing sector-specific legislation; (2) contributing to community development and providing increased economic support; and (3) providing training and educational assistance, and playing an expanded role in the dissemination and transfer of important technologies. [source] Finding Meaning in the Text: The Process of Interpretation in Text-Based DivinationTHE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, Issue 2 2001David Zeitlyn Some systems of divination are used to select particular sections of text, which are typically arcane and erudite, in which lies the answer to the particular, pressing problems of the client. Celebrated examples of such systems are the Chinese I Ching and the Yoruba Ifá. Werbner's work on Kalanga and Tswapong divination provides a case-study of the detailed praxis in such systems. Diviners have a multiple role when a divination technique selects a text. At each consultation they must satisfy themselves, their client, and their audience that they have followed the correct procedures to select the text. A second stage follows. The client has a particular question and the selected text was not composed as a specific answer to it. Interpretation is required to satisfy the client that the question has been answered. The diviner thus plays the role of indigenous critic, a role both similar to and different from that of literary critics in the Western tradition. The concept of ,dialogic' used by Barber in her analysis of Yoruba praise poetry is taken to illustrate similarities and differences between diviner and critic. [source] | |||||||||||||