宠物与生物安全

宠物伴随人类文明已有数千年的历史。随着我国经济的增长和人们生活水平的不断提高,宠物饲养已日益普遍化。宠物种类和数量不断增加的同时,宠物的生物安全问题,已经明显地威胁到生物多样性、生态环境及人类健康。本文分析了宠物的潜在生物安全隐患,探讨了宠物生物安全管理方面存在的问题并提出了宠物生物安全的应对的措施。     

House Staff Well-being

From a survey of 281 house-staff members of a university medical center, we found that nearly half the respondents were afraid to complain about their training programs and were concerned that their relationship with their partner would not survive the residency. In all, 40% reported that anxiety or depression impaired their performance for a month or more; 12% reported an increased use of alcohol, marijuana, or cocaine; and 7% an increased use of sedatives, stimulants, or opioids. Stressors and dysfunctional behaviors did not differ significantly between male and female house staff, but many women had more tenuous support systems. Married house staff had stronger support systems and less substance abuse, anxiety, and depression. Departments differed widely in house-staff morale, available social supports, and the frequency of dysfunctional behaviors. Residency program directors should assess their house staff''s distress and study and initiate means to reduce stress, increase support, and facilitate coping.     

The energetic demand of the Great White Pelican during migration in Israel and its implication to the conflict between fish industry and pelicans

Shmueli, M., Arad, Z., Izhaki, I. & Crivelli, A. 2000. The energetic demand of the Great White Pelican during migration in Israel and its implication to the conflict between fish industry and pelicans. Ostrich 71 (1 & 2): 1.

The Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus is a migrating bird, which is an endangered species. The majority of the western Palaearctic populations stopover in Israel during their autumn migration (71 421 ± 127 individuals per year). Although most of these birds are transient over Israel, an increasing number of individuals (1 142 ± 882, between 1990–1994) stay and winter in the northern part of Israel. The natural feeding sites for pelicans diminished during recent decades due to human activities, and the aquaculture sites of intensive fishery became their favourite feeding places either during migration or during winter. The fish industry reports huge damages to fish yield. This study tried to assess ecophysiological needs of the White pelicans during migration and wintering in Israel, and to evaluate the necessity for pelicans to feed in Israel on their route to east-central Africa. The study combines laboratory measurements of energy consumption of captive pelicans, and field observations of migrant and wintering pelicans, and satellite tracking of migrating pelicans. The mean mass-specific metabolic rate (BMR) of the pelican was 236 kJ/(kg*day), without significant differences between sexes or diets (fish or chicks) and seasons: digestible energy intake (DEI) was 490–730 kJ/(kg*day) also without significant differences between sexes and diets. Wet food consumption (WFC) was greater on the fish diet (1.120 kg/day per bird) than on the chick diet (0.970 kg/day). Digestive efficiency was higher on the fish than on the chick diet (86% and 77%, respectively). Fat deposition in dead migrant pelicans during autumn, was 290 g (3.4% + 2.6% of body mass, n = 81). Fat deposition in wintering pelicans was significantly higher (5.4% ± 3.4% of body mass, n = 21). From these data, the average flight range of transient pelicans was estimated as 1 120 km without refueling. Although satellite records gave us information on the northward migration routes of pelicans from Israel, we need further information about the precise area of the pelicans in Africa. Nevertheless it is concluded that pelicans need to feed during their stopover in Israel, or at some unknown feeding sites along their southward migratory route, to complete their journey to their wintering grounds in east-central Africa. The results of this research should contribute to the establishment of new management policies, to the solution of conflict with the fish industry and to the conservation of pelicans in Israel.     

Shades of White: White Kids and Racial Identities in High School

Shades of White: White Kids and Racial Identities in High School. Pamela Perry. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2002. 268 pp.     

White sociology

ABSTRACT

This review essay considers central themes in Murji and Solomos’ rich edited collection with regard to the current orientation of Western sociological discipline to issues of racism.