Sensory Features as Diagnostic Criteria for Autism: Sensory Features in Autism

In this study, we examined the frequency of sensory-related issues as reported by parents in a large sample of school-age adolescents and adults with autism/autism spectrum disorder (ASD) [1] as compared to a group of individuals receiving similar clinical evaluations for developmental/behavioral difficulties but whose final diagnoses were not on the autism spectrum. In no comparison were the features examined predictive of autism or autism spectrum in comparison to the non-ASD sample. Only failure to respond to noises had sensitivity above .75 in the comparison of the broader autism spectrum group, but specificity was poor. While sensory issues are relatively common in autism/ASD, they are also frequent in other disorders. These results question the rationale for including sensory items as a diagnostic criterion for autism.     

OUTLINING ETHICAL ISSUES IN NANOTECHNOLOGIES

Nanotechnologies are an expression of the human ability to control and manipulate matter on a very small scale. Their use will enable an even and constant monitoring of human organisms, in a new and perhaps less invasive way. Debates at all levels – national, European and international – have pointed out the common difficulty of giving a complete, clear definition of nanotechnologies. This is primarily due to the variety of their components, to the fact that there is not just one technology but several.
The most significant medical applications of nanotechnologies are in the diagnostic and the therapeutic fields, eg biosensors and molecular imaging, providing diagnosis and drug delivery with no invasive methods involved.
Like any other emerging field, such technologies imply new possibilities for improving health but, on the other hand, they are still at an experimental stage and therefore should be implemented under rigorous safety testing before going on general release. For this purpose, the ethical, legal and social implications (ELSI) of nanotechnologies have been elaborated by study groups, in order to develop solutions before the results of the tests are diffused into medical practice.
The aim of this paper is to define some of the ethical issues concerning biomedical applications and to evaluate whether there is a need for new or additional guidelines and regulations.     

A framework for the analysis of gender,intra-household dynamics,and livestock disease control with examples from Uasin Gishu district,Kenya

As livestock disease control programs in Africa begin to rely more upon para-professionals and livestock producers as deliverers of animal health care services, understanding the role different household members play in providing animal health care becomes increasingly important. This paper presents a framework for the analysis of gender aspects of livestock disease control based on a similar framework developed by Feldstein and Poats (1989). The utility of this framework is illustrated using household-level data collected from a district in central Kenya. Adult women and elderly men in the sample have primary responsibility for livestock care, and are therefore well placed to diagnose illness. Dipping and spraying of animals to prevent tick-borne and other diseases is the primary responsibility of adult males. Decisions regarding use of milk from the morning milking are more likely to be made by adult men. It is morning milk that is most often sold. Adult women, however, make decisions about use of evening milk, which is most often kept for household consumption. Knowledge of livestock diseases did not appear to vary significantly by gender, although some elderly men did possess extensive knowledge of indigenous disease categories and traditional remedies. The importance of recognizing gender issues in planning and implementing livestock disease control programs is discussed.     

Effects of climate change on biodiversity: a review and identification of key research issues

Current knowledge of effects of climate change on biodiversity is briefly reviewed, and results are presented of a survey of biological research groups in the Netherlands, aimed at identifying key research issues in this field. In many areas of the world, biodiversity is being reduced by humankind through changes in land cover and use, pollution, invasions of exotic species and possibly climate change. Assessing the impact of climate change on biodiversity is difficult, because changes occur slowly and effects of climate change interact with other stress factors already imposed on the environment. Research issues identified by Dutch scientists can be grouped into: (i) spatial and temporal distributions of taxa; (ii) migration and dispersal potentials of taxa; (iii) genetic diversity and viability of (meta) populations of species; (iv) physiological tolerance of species; (v) disturbance of functional interactions between species; and (vi) ecosystem processes. Additional research should be done on direct effects of greenhouse gases, and on interactions between effects of climate change and habitat fragmentation. There are still many gaps in our knowledge of effects of climate change on biodiversity. An interdisciplinary research programme could possibly focus only on one or few of the identified research issues, and should generate input data for predictive models based on climate change scenarios.     

粪菌移植的现状及未来

粪菌移植是一种直接改变受体肠道微生物群以使其正常化,从而获得治疗效益的方法。自2013年美国食品和药物管理局批准粪菌移植用于治疗复发性和难治性艰难梭菌感染以来,粪菌移植成为研究热点。从此,粪菌移植应用的范围迅速扩大,不仅用于胃肠道疾病,而且用于胃肠外疾病。虽然目前的证据认为粪菌移植是一种普遍安全、副作用少的治疗方法,但其扩大适应症及安全性问题尚未形成共识,需要更深入的研究。本文就目前粪菌移植与胃肠内外疾病的关系及临床安全性问题进行综述,为临床更好地开展粪菌移植提供参考。     

State of the art in developmental toxicity screening methods and a way forward: a meeting report addressing embryonic stem cells, whole embryo culture, and zebrafish

A meeting was convened so that users of three models for in vitro developmental toxicity (embryonic stem cells, whole embryo culture, and zebrafish) could share their experiences with each model, and explore the areas for improvement. We present a summary of this meeting and the recommendations of the group.     

Polysaccharide-polynucleotide complexes VIII. Cation-induced complex formation between polyuridylic acid and schizophyllan

Raman spectroscopy has recently been applied ex vivo and in vivo to address various biomedical issues such as the early detection of cancers, monitoring of the effect of various agents on the skin, determination of atherosclerotic plaque composition, and rapid identification of pathogenic microorganisms. This leap in the number of applications and the number of groups active in this field has been facilitated by several technological advancements in lasers, CCD detectors, and fiber-optic probes. However, most of the studies are still at the proof of concept stage. We present a discussion on the status of the field today, as well as the problems and issues that still need to be resolved to bring this technology to hospital settings (i.e., the medical laboratory, surgical suites, or clinics). Taken from the viewpoint of clinicians and medical analysts, the potential of Raman spectroscopic techniques as new tools for biomedical applications is discussed and a path is proposed for the clinical implementation of these techniques.     

Gender and livestock in African production systems: An introduction

Since the 1970s, the study of gender relations and labor and resource use in different production systems has become an important subject of inquiry. While there has been recent interest in gender and livestock issues in pastoral societies, most of the work on gender and agriculture to date has focused primarily upon the role of women in crop production, to the virtual exclusion of the contributions women, children, and the elderly make to the livestock component of the farming system. The topic of gender (broadly defined to include age and sex criteria) and livestock management was addressed at a session at the 1992 Annual Meetings of the American Anthropological Association entitled, Gender and Livestock in African Production Systems, the contributions to which form the basis of the present volume. Topics presented in the papers include: a conceptual framework for investigation of gender and livestock production and disease control, responsibility for productive tasks, livestock ownership and rights to livestock products, and impacts of and responses to change. Nearly all papers in the volume argue explicitly or implicitly for the need to include gender considerations in the planning of livestock development programs, thereby rendering the collection of interest to both scientits and policymakers.     

医学研究伦理学的发展现状与前景

创新技术的开展和转化医学的注重给医学的发展注入了新的活力,但同时,也带来了一系列社会伦理问题和法律问题。生命医学伦理学的兴起和发展催生了医学研究伦理学分支学科形成,目的在于推进解决涉及人体的医学研究的伦理问题。当前,面临的最突出的伦理问题在于,对医学研究合法性、先进性及伦理性的把握,对医学研究伦理审查必要性的认知,对医学研究方案设计与伦理道德的匹配,对医学研究知情同意的告知,对医学研究风险与受益的平衡。逐步与国际接轨,加强伦理委员会制度建设;提高伦理审查能力建设,形成高水平的伦理审查队伍;学术组织和团体共同努力,推进医学研究伦理学的发展,这将助推医学研究伦理学的发展。     

构建森林生态补偿机制的关键问题

构建森林生态补偿机制的关键问题主要有三个方面:利益相关者的界定、补偿金额的确定及补偿方式。目前存在的较大争议是森林生态效益货币化计量结果与实际补偿额度之间有巨大差异,一方面森林经营者认为补偿额远远不能满足投入需求,应以生态效益产出为补偿金额的计算依据;另一方面,森林生态效益的很大部分来自自然投入,不能以货币化的形势简单计量。森林生态补偿的国际案例表明:世界各国因森林资源产权制度不同,其森林生态补偿机制有所差异,私有林偏重于市场补偿机制,公有林则偏重于政府主导的补偿机制。森林生态补偿资金主要来自森林生态系统服务用户付费、政府代表受益方付费及国际组织捐赠;在补偿方式上,以政府投资为主,以用户付费和基于市场的认证授权交易为辅。借鉴国际经验,结合我国森林生态效益补偿现状,森林经营者是生态系统服务供给方是确定的,而森林生态系统服务获取方的确定则非常困难。因此,政府主导和第三方介入应是解决森林生态补偿资金来源和补偿的主要方式,受损方及其受损成本是森林生态补偿金额的计算依据。     

Film Reviews

The Island Hills. 16 mm, sound, colour, all parts 8 min each. Photographed and directed by F. G. Hollands. Produced by Rank Educational Films, 1966

La Vie des Euglenes. 16 mm, sound, colour, 14 min, English commentary. Produced by Laboratoire d'Evolution des Etres Organises (Faculte des Sciences de Paris)

The Fox. 16 mm, sound, colour, 11 min. (£1. 5s. for hire)

The Weasel. 16 mm, sound, colour, 12 min. (£2 for hire)

Plants and Animals. 16 mm, sound, colour, 9 min. (£1. 5s. for hire). All produced by Yugoslavia Films     

生态系统服务价值评估研究进展

生态系统服务价值评估是当前生态经济学和环境经济学的研究热点和焦点。在系统回顾国内外生态系统服务价值评估研究进展的基础上,从研究对象、价值构成、研究方法、时空过程等4个方面对生态系统服务价值评估的当前特征进行了分析,探讨了价值评估中评估基础、评价方法以及结论应用等问题。指出国内必须加强生态系统服务理论和方法研究。展望了未来生态系统服务价值评估研究和工作的重点领域。     

全球变化下植物物候研究的关键问题

总结了全球变化下植物物候研究的主要进展,针对该领域国内外的几个热点问题进行了讨论。植物物候研究的重心从以前的野外观测和初步统计分析逐步过渡到以揭示物候周期的调控机制和环境效应为主,研究手段从植物物候对环境变化做出反应的表象描述转移到多尺度、多要素耦合关系的综合分析。随着学科交叉研究的不断深入,植物物候研究从植物个体及居群适应性研究转向植物物候变化对生态系统、气候演变、农业生产乃至人类健康等方面影响的系统评估。并且在该转变过程中出现了几个关键性问题,如不同温度带大气温度与光周期对植物物候期贡献力问题、植物物候变化对气候变暖的非线性响应特征、群落水平上植物物候研究的复杂性、以及农业生态系统中作物物候研究的重要性等。对我国植物物候研究现状和管理体系中亟待解决的问题提出了建议。     

Using Role Play to Debate Animal Testing

The use of animals in biomedical research is a socio-scientific issue in which decision-making is complicated. In this article, we describe an experience involving a role play activity performed during school visits to the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB) to debate animal testing. Role playing games require students to defend different positions and permit participants to debate and reflect on their personal opinions. A total of 262 students from 15- to 30-years-old participated in the activity. The article presents an analysis of the students’ opinions on this topic before and after performing the activity. Our results show that students actively took part in debate and made use of the new information provided by the game, especially the legal aspects. In conclusion, the role play activity helped participants to create a more informed opinion, stimulated critical thinking and argumentation skills. We encourage science teachers to use role playing games to discuss socio-scientific issues.     

鸭稻共作生态系统的实践与理论问题探讨

鸭稻共作技术作为一项环保性生态农业技术,现已在亚洲许多国家和我国多个省份得到应用和推广。为了使鸭稻共作技术模式更好地、更科学地推广应用,还有很多实践和理论问题需要加以研究探索和解决,主要包括:(1)水稻品种和鸭子品种的筛选问题;(2)鸭稻共作模式系统的结构优化问题;(3)鸭子的生态学功能过程及其内在机理有关的科学问题;(4)水稻病虫害的综合防治问题;(5)稻田土壤肥力维持问题;(6)田间日常管理问题;(7)鸭子饲料来源问题;(8)稻田鸭子的疫病综合防治问题;(9)鸭稻共作技术模式的标准化问题;(10)鸭稻共作技术模式的经济效益问题。     

区域生态环境预警的理论及其应用

本文讨论了区域生态环境预警的原理,提出了以区域持续发展的能力作为区域生态环境预警的综合指标,进一步用承载力、稳定性、缓冲力、生产力和调控力作为衡量区域持续发展的能力。选取自然资源、生态破坏、环境污染和社会经济指标建立区域生态环境评价和预警的指标体系,对我国各省区的生态环境质量进行评价、排序和预警。