Scientific

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Kinds of Scientific

  • considerable scientific

  • Terms modified by Scientific

  • scientific achievement
  • scientific activity
  • scientific advance
  • scientific advancement
  • scientific advice
  • scientific analysis
  • scientific application
  • scientific approach
  • scientific area
  • scientific argument
  • scientific article
  • scientific aspect
  • scientific attention
  • scientific background
  • scientific base
  • scientific basis
  • scientific breakthrough
  • scientific career
  • scientific challenge
  • scientific claim
  • scientific collaboration
  • scientific committee
  • scientific community
  • scientific computing
  • scientific concept
  • scientific conception
  • scientific congress
  • scientific consensus
  • scientific contribution
  • scientific controversy
  • scientific culture
  • scientific data
  • scientific databases
  • scientific debate
  • scientific development
  • scientific discipline
  • scientific discourse
  • scientific discovery
  • scientific discussion
  • scientific drilling
  • scientific drilling project
  • scientific effort
  • scientific evaluation
  • scientific evidence
  • scientific expertise
  • scientific explanation
  • scientific fact
  • scientific field
  • scientific finding
  • scientific foundation
  • scientific ground
  • scientific hypothesis
  • scientific impact
  • scientific importance
  • scientific information
  • scientific inquiry
  • scientific instruments
  • scientific integrity
  • scientific interest
  • scientific investigation
  • scientific journal
  • scientific knowledge
  • scientific literature
  • scientific management
  • scientific meeting
  • scientific merit
  • scientific method
  • scientific methodology
  • scientific methods
  • scientific objectivity
  • scientific paper
  • scientific perspective
  • scientific point
  • scientific practice
  • scientific principle
  • scientific procedure
  • scientific process
  • scientific production
  • scientific productivity
  • scientific programme
  • scientific progress
  • scientific psychology
  • scientific publication
  • scientific publishing
  • scientific quality
  • scientific question
  • scientific rationale
  • scientific reasoning
  • scientific registry
  • scientific report
  • scientific research
  • scientific result
  • scientific review
  • scientific revolution
  • scientific rigor
  • scientific session
  • scientific society
  • scientific standards
  • scientific status
  • scientific studies
  • scientific study
  • scientific support
  • scientific text
  • scientific theory
  • scientific tool
  • scientific uncertainty
  • scientific understanding
  • scientific value
  • scientific work
  • scientific world
  • scientific writing

  • Selected Abstracts


    LIBERATION BIOLOGY: THE SCIENTIFIC AND MORAL CASE FOR THE BIOTECH REVOLUTION by Ronald Bailey

    ECONOMIC AFFAIRS, Issue 2 2007
    Terence Kealey
    No abstract is available for this article. [source]


    The Sacred in the Scientific: Ambiguous Practices of Science in Tibetan Medicine

    CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 4 2001
    Vincanne Adams
    First page of article [source]


    Inter-observer agreement for multichannel intraluminal impedance,pH testing

    DISEASES OF THE ESOPHAGUS, Issue 7 2010
    K. Ravi
    SUMMARY Twenty-four-hour ambulatory multichannel intraluminal impedance (MII),pH detects both acid and nonacid reflux (NAR). A computer-based program (AutoscanÔ, Sandhill Scientific, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA) automates the detection of reflux episodes, increasing the ease of study interpretation. Inter-observer agreement between multiple reviewers and with AutoscanÔ for the evaluation of significant NAR with MII,pH has not been studied in the adult population. Twenty MII,pH studies on patients taking a proton pump inhibitor twice daily were randomly selected. AutoscanÔ analyzed all studies using the same pre-programmed parameters. Four reviewers interpreted the MII,pH studies, adding or deleting reflux episodes detected by AutoscanÔ. Positive studies for NAR and total reflux episodes were based on published criteria. Cohen's kappa statistic (,) evaluated inter-observer agreement between reviewers and AutoscanÔ analysis. The average , for pathologic NAR between reviewers was 0.57 (0.47,0.70), and between reviewers and AutoscanÔ was 0.56 (0.4,0.8). When using the total reflux episode number as a marker for pathologic reflux (acid and NAR), the , score was 0.72 (0.61,0.89) between reviewers, and 0.74 (0.53,0.9) when evaluating total reflux episodes. Two reviewers agreed more often with each other and with AutoscanÔ on the number of NAR episodes, while the other two reviewers agreed with each other, but did not agree with either AutoscanÔ or the first two reviewers. Inter-observer agreement between reviewers and AutoscanÔ for detecting pathologic NAR is moderate, with reviewers either excluding more of the AutoscanÔ-defined events or excluding fewer events and therefore agreeing with AutoscanÔ. [source]


    Improving SOFC Ceramic Components: A Multi-faceted Scientific and Technological Challenge

    FUEL CELLS, Issue 5 2008
    Fillipo Maglia
    No abstract is available for this article. [source]


    Isotope Methods for Management of Shared Aquifers in Northern Africa

    GROUND WATER, Issue 5 2005
    Bill Wallin
    Access to fresh water is one of the major issues of northern and sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the fresh water used for drinking and irrigation is obtained from large ground water basins where there is minor contemporary recharge and the aquifers cross national borders. These aquifers include the Nubian Aquifer System shared by Chad, Egypt, Libya, and Sudan; the Iullemeden Aquifer System, extending over Niger, Nigeria, Mali, Benin, and Algeria; and the Northwest Sahara Aquifer System shared by Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia. These resources are subject to increased exploitation and may be severely stressed if not managed properly as witnessed already by declining water levels. In order to make appropriate decisions for the sustainable management of these shared water resources, planners and managers in different countries need an improved knowledge base of hydrological information. Three technical cooperation projects related to aquifer systems will be implemented by the International Atomic Energy Agency, in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and United Nations Development Programme/Global Environmental Facility. These projects focus on isotope hydrology studies to better quantify ground water recharge and dynamics. The multiple isotope approach combining commonly used isotopes 18O and 2H together with more recently developed techniques (chlorofluorocarbons, 36Cl, noble gases) will be applied to improve the conceptual model to study stratification and ground water flows. Moreover, the isotopes will be an important indicator of changes in the aquifer due to water abstraction, and therefore they will assist in the effort to establish a sustainable ground water management. [source]


    Pharmacokinetics of factor VIII and factor IX

    HAEMOPHILIA, Issue 2003
    M. Morfini
    Summary., A survey of principal pharmacokinetic (PK) studies on factor VIII (FVIII) and factor IX (FIX) plasma- and rDNA-derived concentrates, analysed by means of the PKRD program, has been performed. Notwithstanding the accurate definition of the study design, released in 1991 by the Scientific and Standardization Committee of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (SSC-ISTH), a large variability of PK parameters has been pointed out. In the majority of the PK studies, the size of the population is small. In this situation, a careful individualization of haemophilia therapy is strongly recommended. The tailored prediction of loading and maintenance dosages and the need for strict control of trough FVIII/IX levels are mandatory not only to decrease the risk of bleeds but also to spare financial resources. Recently, the old problem of FVIII assay standardization has again become a concern among physicians, especially after the introduction of B-domain deleted rFVIII concentrate. The discrepancies between the widely used one-stage clotting assay and the chromogenic substrate assay seem to be solved by the introduction of a product-specific laboratory standard. [source]


    Institutionalized Intolerance of ADHD: Sources and Consequences

    HYPATIA, Issue 3 2010
    SUSAN C. C. HAWTHORNE
    Diagnosable individuals, caregivers, and clinicians typically embrace a biological conception of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), finding that medical treatment is beneficial. Scientists study ADHD phenomenology, interventions to ease symptoms, and underlying mechanisms, often with an aim of helping diagnosed people. Yet current understanding of ADHD, jointly influenced by science and society, has an unintended downside. Scientific and social influences have embedded negative values in the ADHD concept, and have simultaneously dichotomized ADHD-diagnosable from non-diagnosable individuals. In social settings insistent on certain types of success, the negative values associated with the diagnostic category are attributed to people in the dichotomized "ADHD" group. Devaluation, institutional restrictions on "success" definitions and endpoints, and limited options for achieving success jointly constitute institutionalized intolerance of ADHD. [source]


    Comparison of suitable drought indices for climate change impacts assessment over Australia towards resource management

    INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 10 2008
    F. Mpelasoka
    Abstract Droughts have significant environmental and socio-economic impacts in Australia. This emphasizes Australia's vulnerability to climate variability and limitations of adaptive capacity. Two drought indices are compared for their potential utility in resource management. The Rainfall Deciles-based Drought Index is a measure of rainfall deficiency while the Soil-Moisture Deciles-based Drought Index is a measure of soil-moisture deficiency attributed to rainfall and potential evaporation. Both indices were used to assess future drought events over Australia under global warming attributed to low and high greenhouse gas emission scenarios (SRES B1 and A1F1 respectively) for 30-year periods centred on 2030 and 2070. Projected consequential changes in rainfall and potential evaporation were based on results from the CCCma1 and Mk2 climate models, developed by the Canadian Climate Center and the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) respectively. A general increase in drought frequency associated with global warming was demonstrated by both indices for both climate models, except for the western part of Australia. Increases in the frequency of soil-moisture-based droughts are greater than increases in meteorological drought frequency. By 2030, soil-moisture-based drought frequency increases 20,40% over most of Australia with respect to 1975,2004 and up to 80% over the Indian Ocean and southeast coast catchments by 2070. Such increases in drought frequency would have major implications for natural resource management, water security planning, water demand management strategies, and drought relief payments. Copyright © 2007 Royal Meteorological Society [source]


    A preliminary comparative analysis of 3D body scanner, manually taken girth body measurements and size chart measurements

    INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 3 2010
    Pinkie E. Zwane
    Abstract In an attempt to provide a technological solution to the influx of cheap imports in South Africa and bridging the technology divide between Africa and the rest of the world, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research procured a three-dimensional body scanner from the Textile and Clothing Technology Corporation, in the US. The pilot study was aimed at introducing the technology to the South African consumers, and to compare the scanned data with the manually taken measurements. A convenience sample of 56 females in South Africa was interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Interviews were used to capture views on acceptance of the technology, prior to being scanned. Scanning garments made from a stretchy fabric were designed and sewn in four sizes of small, medium, large and extra large. A covariance, one sample t -test and paired t - tests were used for data analyses. Almost all respondents felt comfortable with the designed scanning garments and the scanning process. The scanner measurements were generally more numerical in value than the manual measurements for a body part as expected, although the disparity was on the higher side than expected. The discernible difference between means of scanned data and standard values in the currently used sizing charts highlighted the long overdue need to update the sizing charts using a national anthropometric database generated locally. [source]


    Ethical issues in biotechnologies and international trade

    JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY & BIOTECHNOLOGY, Issue 5 2002
    Joseph H Hulse
    Natural and physical sciences are based on determinable facts. What is ethical, as distinct from illegal, is largely a matter of opinion. Scientific and industrial activities related to ancient and modern biotechnologies are among the most critically scrutinised for ethical probity by social activists and journalists. The practices and products of biotechnologies should be judged both deontologically , by motivation and intention, and teleologically , by determinable consequence. Bioethical criteria have been proposed by governments, medical practitioners and philosophers for many centuries. During the past decade, various scientifically competent organisations, national and international, have formulated comprehensive protocols by which to determine effectiveness and safety of novel foods, pharmaceuticals and other biologicals, including those derived from genetically modified organisms. Means and opportunities by which to satisfy the health and nutritional needs of impoverished nations and communities differ significantly from those who enjoy greater affluence. It is distinctly unethical for Europeans and North Americans, whose food and health securities are not at risk, to impose their ethical predilections on poorer nations. Equally reprehensible are the diverse tariff and non-tariff barriers to equitable international trade, and acts of biopiracy inflicted upon poorer nations. As a wise Asian sage has observed, the planet's resources and scientific ingenuity are sufficient to satisfy everyone's need, but not everyone's greed. Present and predictable world-wide demand for bioscientists and bioengineers exceeds best estimates of supply. Systematically planned, long-term investments by governments and bioindustries to generate adequate qualified men and women are urgently needed. © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry. [source]


    Estimating food intakes in Australia: validation of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) food frequency questionnaire against weighed dietary intakes

    JOURNAL OF HUMAN NUTRITION & DIETETICS, Issue 6 2009
    C. Lassale
    Abstract Background:, There is a dearth of knowledge about the foods that Australian adults eat and a need for a flexible, easy-to-use tool that can estimate usual dietary intakes. The present study was to validate a commonly used Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) food-frequency questionnaire (C-FFQ) against two 4-day weighed food records (WFR), as the reference method. Methods:, The C-FFQ, as the test item, was administrated before the WFR. Two 4-day WFR were administrated 4 weeks apart. Under-reporting was established using specific cut-off limits and estimated basal metabolic rate. Seventy-four women, aged 31,60 years, were enrolled from a free-living community setting. Results:, After exclusion for under-reporting, the final sample comprised 62 individuals. Correlations between protein intake from the WFR and urinary urea were significant. Overall agreement between FFQ and WFR was shown by ,levels of agreement' (LOA) and least products regressions. There was presence of fixed and proportional bias for almost half the nutrients, including energy, protein, fat and carbohydrates. For most of the nutrients that did not present bias, the LOA were 50,200%. Agreement was demonstrated for percentage dietary energy protein and fat; carbohydrate; and absolute amounts of thiamine, riboflavin, magnesium and iron. However, relative intake agreement was fair to moderate, with approximately 70% of (selected) nutrients exact or within ±1 quintile difference. Conclusion:, The C-FFQ is reasonable at measuring percentage energy from macronutrients and some micronutrients, and comprises a valuable tool for ranking intakes by quintiles; however, it is poor at measuring many absolute nutrient intakes relative to WFR. [source]


    An Overview of the TAXUS® Express®, Paclitaxel-Eluting Stent Clinical Trial Program

    JOURNAL OF INTERVENTIONAL CARDIOLOGY, Issue 5 2006
    JOHN M. LASALA M.D., Ph.D.
    Restenosis remains a problem following percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with coronary artery disease. Drug-eluting stents (DES), which combine mechanical and pharmacologic properties, have been shown to prevent or reduce neointimal growth after deployment. This review describes the TAXUS paclitaxel-eluting stent clinical trial expansion program (TAXUS® Express®, Boston Scientific, Natick, MA). This program comprises the largest data set of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of DES to date, with over 6,200 patients enrolled since 2000. The program includes treatment of de novo lesions, as well as higher-risk lesion and patient populations. In this review, we discuss the results from the TAXUS family of randomized clinical trials, and compare the findings with data from TAXUS registries. The data from the randomized clinical trials suggest that the paclitaxel-eluting stent provides consistent and durable benefits across multiple lesion and patient types. Evidence from peri-and postapproval registries, where patient populations are more heterogeneous than those eligible and included in the RCTs, corroborate these findings, with overall low rates of cardiac events, including reinterventions. [source]


    Analysis of the breath hydrogen test for carbohydrate malabsorption: Validation of a pocket-sized breath test analyser

    JOURNAL OF PAEDIATRICS AND CHILD HEALTH, Issue 4 2000
    Ws Lee
    Objective: To assess the validity and clinical application of a hand-held breath hydrogen (H2) analyzer (BreatH2, Europa Scientific, Crewe, UK). Methodology: Breath samples of patients referred to the Gastroenterology Unit, Women's and Children's Hospital, North Adelaide, South Australia, for confirmation of the diagnosis of carbohydrate malabsorption were analysed with the Quintron microlyzer (Quintron Instrument Co., Milwaukee, USA) and the BreatH2 analyser, using the Quintron microlyzer as the gold standard. Results: Twenty-nine breath H2 tests (BHT) were performed in 29 patients aged 2 months to 61 years. The sensitivity and specificity of the BreatH2 analyser in detecting a positive BHT using the Quintron microlyser as the gold standard were 0.90 and 0.95 with positive and negative predictive values of 0.90 and 0.95, respectively. There was one false positive and one false negative reading. Bland,Altman plots showed a high degree of agreement between the values obtained with two different methods. Conclusions: The diagnosis of carbohydrate malabsorption, using a portable breath H2 analyser (BreatH2), achieved an acceptable degree of sensitivity and specificity, enabling it to be used where no alternative is available. [source]


    Assessing an author's influence using time series historiographic mapping: The oeuvre of conrad hal waddington (1905,1975)

    JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 4 2008
    Katherine W. McCain
    A modified approach to algorithmic historiography is used to investigate the changing influence of the work of Conrad Hal Waddington over the period 1945,2004. Overall, Waddington's publications were cited by almost 5,500 source items in the Web of Science (Thomson Scientific, formerly Thomson ISI, Philadelphia, PA). Rather than simply analyzing the data set as a whole, older works by Waddington are incorporated into a series of historiographic maps (networks of highly cited documents), which show long-term and short-term research themes grounded in Waddington's work. Analysis by 10,20-year periods and the use of social network analysis soft- ware reveals structures,thematic networks and subnetworks,that are hidden in a mapping of the entire 60-year period. Two major Waddington-related themes emerge,canalization/genetic assimilation and embryonic induction. The first persists over the 60 years studied while active, visible research in the second appears to have declined markedly between 1965 and 1984, only to reappear in conjunction with the emergence of a new research field,Evolutionary Developmental Biology. [source]


    Using the h -index to rank influential British researchers in information science and librarianship

    JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 2 2007
    Charles Oppenheim
    The recently developed h -index has been applied to the literature produced by senior British-based academics in librarianship and information science. The majority of those evaluated currently hold senior positions in UK information science and librarianship departments; however, a small number of staff in other departments and retired "founding fathers" were analyzed as well. The analysis was carried out using the Web of Science (Thomson Scientific, Philadelphia, PA) for the years from 1992 to October 2005, and included both second-authored papers and self-citations. The top-ranking British information scientist, Peter Willett, has an h -index of 31. However, it was found that Eugene Garfield, the founder of modern citation studies, has an even higher h -index of 36. These results support other studies suggesting that the h -index is a useful tool in the armory of bibliometrics. [source]


    Comparison of local International Sensitivity Index calibration and ,Direct INR' methods in correction of locally reported International Normalized Ratios: an international study

    JOURNAL OF THROMBOSIS AND HAEMOSTASIS, Issue 5 2007
    L. POLLER
    Summary.,Background:,It is no longer feasible to check local International Normalized Ratios (INR) by the World Health Organization International Sensitivity Index (ISI) calibrations because the necessary manual prothrombin time technique required has generally been discarded. Objectives:,An international collaborative study at 77 centers has compared local INR correction using the two alternative methods recommended in the Scientific and Standardization Committee of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis guidelines: local ISI calibration and ,Direct INR'. Methods:,Success of INR correction by local ISI calibration and with Direct INR was assessed with a set of 27 certified lyophilized plasmas (20 from patients on warfarin and seven from normals). Results:,At 49 centers using human thromboplastins, 3.0% initial average local INR deviation from certified INR was reduced by local ISI calibration to 0.7%, and at 25 centers using rabbit reagents, from 15.9% to 7.5%. With a minority of commercial thromboplastins, mainly ,combined' rabbit reagents, INR correction was not achieved by local ISI calibration. However, when rabbit combined reagents were excluded the overall mean INR deviation after correction was reduced further to 3.9%. In contrast, with Direct INR, mean deviation using human thromboplastins increased from 3.0% to 6.6%, but there was some reduction with rabbit reagents from 15.9% to 10% (12.3% with combined reagents excluded). Conclusions:,Local ISI calibration gave INR correction for the majority of PT systems but failed at the small number using combined rabbit reagents suggesting a need for a combined reference thromboplastin. Direct INR correction was disappointing but better than local ISI calibration with combined rabbit reagents. Interlaboratory variability was improved by both procedures with human reagents only. [source]


    Good or bad rangeland?

    LAND DEGRADATION AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 3 2004
    Hybrid knowledge, local understandings of vegetation dynamics in the Kalahari, science
    Abstract Using data from field studies in the Kalahari rangelands of Southern Africa, the relationships between ,scientific' and ,land user' interpretations of land degradation and change in nonequilibrium savanna ecosystems are explored. Scientific and land-user views are often regarded as distinct, and even opposed, knowledges. We contest that a more constructive view can be taken through the concept of hybrid knowledge, whereby value is attached to both approaches and through which a more useful and meaningful assessment of environmental change, and its implications for development and natural resource use, can be made. We find that in both the southwestern and northwestern Kalahari, pastoralists have a complex understanding of the patchiness of ecosystem variability, and that they utilise elements of this patchiness of change, notably dimensions of bush encroachment and grass species change that have commonly been regarded as degradation in scientific understandings, within livestock management strategies, especially at times of environmental stress. We urge caution in the application of the term degradation, and a more widespread recognition of the multifaceted dimensions, including benefits, of change within the scientifically recognized variability of nonequilibrium rangelands. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Energy properties preserving schemes for Burgers' equation,

    NUMERICAL METHODS FOR PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS, Issue 1 2008
    R. Anguelov
    Abstract The Burgers' equation, a simplification of the Navier,Stokes equations, is one of the fundamental model equations in gas dynamics, hydrodynamics, and acoustics that illustrates the coupling between convection/advection and diffusion. The kinetic energy enjoys boundedness and monotone decreasing properties that are useful in the study of the asymptotic behavior of the solution. We construct a family of non-standard finite difference schemes, which replicate the energy equality and the properties of the kinetic energy. Our approach is based on Mickens' rule [Nonstandard Finite Difference Models of Differential Equations, World Scientific, Singapore, 1994.] of nonlocal approximation of nonlinear terms. More precisely, we propose a systematic nonlocal way of generating approximations that ensure that the trilinear form is identically zero for repeated arguments. We provide numerical experiments that support the theory and demonstrate the power of the non-standard schemes over the classical ones. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2007 [source]


    Scientific Highlights from the ,k Network: Towards Atomistic Materials Design

    PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (B) BASIC SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 11 2006
    P. H. Dederichs
    The ,k network aims at encompassing the whole community of European groups working in the area of ab - initio materials modelling, including very many small groups and isolated researchers. Historically, the activities started in the 1980s in Trieste with the workshop series entitled "Total Energies and Forces". Since then, it has operated on the European level in various forms, with funding from various EC/EU and ESF sources, beginning more than 10 years ago with the EC's Human Capital and Mobility Programme. In that time, ,k has done much to make Europe the leading area in the world for research in atomic-scale ab - initio computer simulation of all types of materials, their structures, properties, and processes. To a large extent, this has been done by nurturing scientific excellence and collaboration in what might be called "the ,k family". The ,k Network is presently organized around 15 topical working groups. Over the years, the ,k network organized three large scale conferences in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany (1996, 2000, 2005), attended by hundreds of scientists from all over the world. The next ,k Conference is to be organized in Berlin in 2010. These ,k Conferences are unique events fully dedicated to the ab - initio research. In addition, the network organizes a variety of meetings and topical workshops every year. The core activities of the ,k network involve editing every two months a ,k newsletter with typically more than 100 pages, which contains a "Scientific Highlight", announcements of conferences, workshops and vacant positions, news of various ESF and EU funded networks, including reports on workshops, and abstracts of submitted papers. The ,k has its own web pages (http://psi-k.dl.ac.uk) which inform about the Network, its structure, and how to get involved in ,k activities. These web pages are also the repository of the ,k newsletters and Scientific Highlights and details about the ,k Workshops of the most recent years. The ,k mailing list contains about 1700 e-mail addresses from across the world, and all the important information about a variety of activities of the network is distributed across this list on a daily basis. The "Scientific Highlights" of the ,k newsletters reflect the scientific activities of the network and aim at presenting reviews and current developments in the field. This special issue of physica status solidi (b) gives a collection of some of the most recent Highlight contributions to the ,k newsletter. All manuscripts originally posted on the ,k server were peer-reviewed by two referees and accepted according to the standards of pss. They are published here partly in revised or updated version. We hope that the readership of the journal will benefit from the quality of the research they report on and the high level of the presentations. [source]


    Prospective blinded comparison of surface versus wire electromyographic analysis of muscle recruitment in shoulder instability

    PHYSIOTHERAPY RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL, Issue 1 2009
    Anju Jaggi
    Abstract Background.,This pilot study assesses level of agreement between surface and fine-wire electromyography (EMG), in order to establish if surface is as reliable as fine wire in the diagnosis and treatment of abnormal muscle patterning in the shoulder.,Method.,Eighteen participants (11 female) with unstable shoulders were recruited after written consent and ethical approval. Anthropometric information and mean skinfold size for triceps, subscapular, biceps and suprailiac sites were obtained. Triple-stud self-adhesive surface electrodes ('Triode'; Thermo Scientific, Physio Med Services, Glossop, Derbyshire, England) were placed over pectoralis major (PM), latissimus dorsi (LD), anterior deltoid (AD) and infraspinatus (IS) at standardized locations. Participants performed five identical uniplanar standard movements (flexion, abduction, external rotation, extension and cross-body adduction). After a 20-minute rest period, a dual-needle technique for fine-wire insertion was performed and the standard movements were repeated. An experienced examiner in each technique reported if muscle activation patterns differed from agreed normal during any movement and were blinded to the other test results. Sensitivity, specificity and Kappa values for level of agreement between methods were calculated for each muscle according to the method of Altman (1991).,Results.,Fifteen participants were successfully tested. Sensitivity, specificity and Kappa values between techniques for each muscle were PM (57%, 50%, 0.07), LD (38%, 85%, 0.22), AD (0%, 76%, ,0.19) and IS (85%, 75%, 0.6). Only IS demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity and a moderate level of agreement between the two techniques. There was no correlation between skinfold size and agreement levels.,Conclusion.,The use of surface EMG may help to classify types of shoulder instability and recognize abnormal muscle patterns. It may allow physiotherapists to direct specific rehabilitation strategies, avoiding strengthening of inappropriate muscles. It has a reasonable degree of confidence to evaluate IS but may have poor sensitivity in detecting abnormal patterns in PM, LD and AD. Further work is required to see if investigator interpretation may have been a factor for the poor level of agreement. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Scientific and social controversies regarding UV and pigmentation: the beneficial effects of UV irradiance outweigh the risks

    PIGMENT CELL & MELANOMA RESEARCH, Issue 1 2009
    William B. Grant
    No abstract is available for this article. [source]


    Scientific and social controversies regarding UV and pigmentation: the beneficial effects of UV irradiance outweighs the risks , a reply

    PIGMENT CELL & MELANOMA RESEARCH, Issue 1 2009
    Thanh Nga Tran
    No abstract is available for this article. [source]


    Assessment of acetone as an alternative to acetonitrile in peptide analysis by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry

    RAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY, Issue 14 2009
    Ria Fritz
    Acetonitrile as a solvent used in liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) of peptides and proteins is a relatively toxic solvent (LD50 oral; rat; 2,460,mg/kg) compared to alternatives like methanol (LD50 oral; rat; 5,628,mg/kg) and acetone (LD50 oral; rat; 5,800,mg/kg). Strategies to minimize its consumption in LC are either to reduce the inner diameter of the column or replace acetonitrile with a suitable alternative. Methanol is often recommended to replace acetonitrile in peptide analysis. In this study however, the main focus lies on another alternative solvent for LC/MS of peptides; acetone. A number of model proteins were tryptically digested and the peptide solutions were analyzed on a linear trap quadrupole (LTQ) mass spectrometer. The performances of acetonitrile, methanol and acetone were compared according to the quality of the chromatograms obtained and identification of the peptides using the BioWorksÔ software developed by Thermo Scientific. In accordance to the elutropic series, acetone was found to significantly reduce the retention times of peptides separated by C18 column material with regard to acetonitrile while methanol led to increased retention times. Acetone was the superior solvent to methanol for most of the tested model proteins reaching similar sequence coverage and numbers of identified peptides as acetonitrile. We therefore propose acetone as an alternative to acetonitrile in LC/MS of peptides. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Off with their Heads: The Need to Criminalize some forms of Scientific Misconduct

    THE JOURNAL OF LAW, MEDICINE & ETHICS, Issue 2 2005
    Barbara K. Redman
    No abstract is available for this article. [source]


    UNESCO's doctrine of human diversity: A secular soteriology?

    ANTHROPOLOGY TODAY, Issue 3 2009
    Wiktor Stoczkowski
    The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was created in 1945, in the aftermath of the Second World War. Its principal mission, as initially defined, was to establish the conditions of peaceful coexistence between nations. This mission was equivalent to an experiment in social engineering on a global scale, which consisted in working out and disseminating a new worldview based on a revised vision of humankind. In this worldview an important place was granted to a particular vision of human diversity, both cultural and genetic. The paper reconstructs the main presuppositions of UNESCO's doctrine of human diversity and examines theirs historical transformations. [source]


    Developmentalities and Calculative Practices: The Millennium Development Goals

    ANTIPODE, Issue 4 2010
    Suzan Ilcan
    Abstract:, This paper focuses on wide-ranging governmental discourses that enable new ways of shaping social and economic affairs in the field of development. Directing particular attention to the Millennium Development Goals, we refer to these discourses as developmentalities. As a form of governmentality produced through these Goals, developmentalities draw on the turn of the century to recast certain development problems and offer reformulated solutions to these problems. We argue that they rely on three forms of neoliberal rationalities of government,information profiling, responsibilization, and knowledge networks, and their calculative practices, to shape global spaces and new capacities for individuals and social groups. Our analysis is based on extensive policy documents, reports, and development initiatives affiliated with the United Nations and other organizations, as well as insights derived from in-depth interviews and conversations with United Nations policy and research personnel from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). [source]


    Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Victorian Region, Annual General Scientific and Fellowship Meeting

    ANZ JOURNAL OF SURGERY, Issue 2010
    Article first published online: 24 AUG 2010
    First page of article [source]


    Artificial Oxygen Carriers: Scientific and Biotechnological Points of View

    ARTIFICIAL ORGANS, Issue 2 2009
    Dr. Jan Simoni Research ProfessorPrincipal Investigator of the Texas Tech Blood Substitute Program
    First page of article [source]


    Preparing the senior or graduating student for graduate research

    BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY EDUCATION, Issue 4 2005
    Bor Luen Tang
    Abstract Senior undergraduates in the honors or graduation year with an intention to further their career in science would soon face the real world of scientific research as a junior scientist. It is important to acquaint these students with and adequately prepare them for the key aspects of a scientist's professional life. These include technical capacities indispensable for continuous and intense appraisal of data and knowledge as well as awareness that would ensure proper professional conduct within the laboratory. We have designed and conducted a module called "Scientific Critique" in the fourth year for Biochemistry majors. The module emphasizes scientific literature review and critique. It also incorporates techniques in preparing research grant proposals and an exercise in peer review of grant proposals as well as lectures and presentations on scientific integrity and research ethics. Positive response and feedback from students are indicative of an appreciation for the module contents, and we believe it of value to include such contents in any senior undergraduate life sciences curriculum. [source]


    Challenges in Accessing Scientific and Technological Information in Indonesia During the Economic Crisis

    BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY (ELECTRONIC), Issue 4 2002
    Widharto Librarian
    No abstract is available for this article. [source]