Report on the first congress of the Spanish Proteomics Society

This report describes the first congress of the Spanish Proteomics Society (SEProt) and the Foundation Meeting of the European Proteomics Association (EuPA), which were held in Cordoba, Spain, February 13-17, 2005. The EuPA meeting joined together thirty European representatives from 17 national European proteomics organisations to discuss the opportunity of creating a supranational association aimed to promote all aspects of proteomics as a scientific discipline throughout Europe. The main subjects of the SEProt congress, which was attended by over 350 researchers mainly from Spain and other European countries, were the current status and applications of proteomics in medical and biological sciences.     

Meeting Report: 1st International Symposium on Sponge Microbiology

The success of the 1st International Symposium on Sponge Microbiology reflects the growing interest of the scientific community in this new and emerging field. Research themes of the symposium included symbiont diversity, physiology and function, secondary metabolites, metagenomics, single-cell genomics and other -omics approaches, sponge–symbiont interactions, sponge diseases, environmental stress, and many more. This article summarizes the major developments in the field and identifies future foci for research.     

Weather impacts on respiratory infections in Athens, Greece

In this study the contribution of meteorological parameters to the total variability of respiratory infections (RI) is analysed. For this purpose, data on the daily numbers of general practitioner (GP) consultations for RI during the year 2002 were used. This dataset has been compiled by the Local Health Service in the surroundings of Athens, Greece (Acharnes city). The meteorological data obtained by the Meteorological Station of the National Observatory of Athens comprise daily values of mean, maximum, and minimum air temperature, air temperature range, relative humidity, absolute humidity, sunshine, surface atmospheric pressure, wind speed, as well as day-to-day changes of these parameters. Furthermore, the following biometeorological parameters and thermal indices were also evaluated: mean radiant temperature (T _mrt), predicted mean vote (PMV), physiologically equivalent temperature (PET) and standard effective temperature (SET*) as well as their day-to-day changes. First, the relationship between every meteorological-biometeorological parameter and consultations for RI was examined by applying the Pearson Chi-Square Test (χ ²) to the data of the 25 compiled contingency tables. In the second stage, the application of generalised linear models (GLM) with Poisson distribution to the data revealed how much the weather variability leads to statistically important changes in consultations for RI. The results of this study contribute to the evidence that there is an association between weather conditions and the number of GP consultations for RI. More specifically, the influence of air temperature and absolute humidity on consultations on the same day is weaker than the lag effect (∼2 weeks) related to cold existence and absolute humidity, while a strong wind during the preceding 3 days drives a peak in GP consultations.     

The 8th International Conference of the Canadian Proteomics Initiative

The 8th International Conference of the Canadian Proteomics Initiative (CPI) was held at the Hilton Vancouver Metrotown Hotel in Burnaby, British Columbia from 3–5 May, 2008. With nearly 200 delegates, 32 speakers and more than 50 poster presentations, CPI 2008 covered a wide range of topics, including novel technologies, human and clinical proteomics, structural proteomics, bioinformatics, post-translational modifications, membrane and receptor proteomics, and plant and animal proteomics. This year’s conference was also highlighted by hands-on proteomics workshops at the University of Victoria Genome BC Proteomics Centre and the University of British Columbia, an inaugural meeting of the British Columbia Proteomics Network and focus meetings exploring opportunities for the formation of a nationwide association for Canadian proteomics and Genome British Columbia’s efforts towards large-scale global genomics and proteomics projects.     

第一次全国植被分类、分区及制图学术工作会议简报

经国家农委农业自然资源及农业区划委员会批准,第一次全国植被分类、分区及制图学术工作会议于1980年11月25日至12月5日在西安召开。这次会议由中国植被图植被区划编辑委员会主持,委托西北大学、陕西师范大学、西北植物研究所三个单位筹办。与会代表来自全国28个省(区)、