A glacier inventory for the Buordakh Massif, Cherskiy Range, northeast Siberia, and evidence for recent glacier recession

The Buordakh Massif, in the Cherskiy Range of northeast Siberia, contains mountains over 3000 in and, despite its and climate, numerous glaciers. This paper presents a glacier inventory for the region and documents some 80 glaciers, which range in size from 0.1 to 10.4 km(2) (total glacierized area is ca. 70 km(2)). The inventory is based on mapping derived from Landsat 7 ETM+ satellite imagery from August 2001, augmented with data from field investigations obtained at that time. The glaciers in this region are of the 'firn-less,' cold, continental type, and their mass balance relies heavily on the formation of superimposed ice. The most recent glacier maximum extents have also been delineated, and these are believed to date from the Little Ice Age (ca. A.D. 1550-1850). Glacier areal extent has reduced by some 14.8 km(2) (ca. 17%) since this most. recent maximum. Of the 80 glaciers catalogued, 49 have undergone a measurable retreat from their most recent maximum extent.

An inventory of heavy metals inputs to agricultural soils in England and Wales

An inventory of heavy metal inputs (Zn, Cu, Ni, Pb, Cd, Cr, As and Hg) to agricultural soils in England and Wales in 2000 is presented, accounting for major sources including atmospheric deposition, sewage sludge, livestock manures, inorganic fertilisers and lime, agrochemicals, irrigation water, industrial by-product 'wastes' and composts. Across the whole agricultural land area, atmospheric deposition was the main source of most metals, ranging from 25 to 85% of total inputs. Livestock manures and sewage sludge were also important sources, responsible for an estimated 37-40 and 8-17% of total Zn and Cu inputs, respectively. However, at the individual field scale sewage sludge, livestock manures and industrial wastes could be the major source of many metals where these materials are applied. This work will assist in developing strategies for reducing heavy metal inputs to agricultural land and effectively targeting policies to protect soils from long-term heavy metal accumulation. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Infant vocabulary development assessed with a British communicative development inventory

Communicative Development Inventories (CDIs) were collected from 669 British children aged between 1;0 and 2;1. Comprehension and production scores in each age group are calculated. This provides norming data for the British infant population. The influence of socioeconomic group on vocabulary scores is considered and shown not to have a significant effect. The data from British infants is compared to data from American infants (Fenson, Dale, Reznick, Bates, Thal & Pethick, 1994). It is found that British infants have lower scores on both comprehension and production than American infants of the same age.

Quality of medicines stored together in multi-compartment compliance aids

Background and Objective: Dispensing medicines into compliance aids is a common practice in pharmacy contrary to manufacturers’ advice and studies have shown the appearance of light-sensitive tablets is compromised by such storage; we previously found evidence of reduced bioavailability at elevated temperature and humidity. Our objective was to examine the physicochemical stability of two generic atenolol tablets in different compliance aids and with aspirin co-storage at room temperature and at 40 °C/75% relative humidity. Methods: The physicochemical stability of atenolol tablets was evaluated after 28 days of storage and compared with controls by examining visual appearance, weight, disintegration, dissolution, friability and hardness to accepted standards and using a previously validated HPLC method for chemical assay. Results and Discussion: The response to storage was brand-dependent and not straightforward. With one make of atenolol (Alpharma), storage in compliance aids even at room temperature impacted on physical stability, reducing tablet hardness, with storage in Dosett® exerting a greater impact than storage in Medidos® (t-test P < 0·001). Co-storage at elevated temperature and humidity also impacted on the appearance of non-coated aspirin tablets (Angette™). The chemical stability of atenolol was not affected and we did not find evidence of changes to bioavailability with either make. Certainly data for one atenolol make (CP Pharmaceuticals) co-stored with aspirin (Angette™ and Nu-Seals) in both compliance aids at room temperature provided evidence of short-term stability. But medicines are dispensed into compliance aids in multi-factorial ways so our study highlights not only the lack of evidence but also a realization that evidence to support real practice may not be accomplished through research. Conclusion: Reassuring practitioners of the continued stability of medicines in compliance aids under the countless condition in which they are dispensed in practice may requires a different approach involving medical device regulators and more definitive professional guidance.

Pilot study of the short-term physico-chemical stability of atenolol tablets stored in a multi-compartment compliance aid

Study objectives: There is a possibility that lower air, moisture and light protection could impact on physico-chemical stability of medicines inside multi-compartment compliance aids (MCCAs), although this has not yet been proved. The objectives of the study were to examine the physico-chemical stability of atenolol tablets stored in a compliance aid at room temperature, and at elevated temperature and humidity to simulate practice conditions. Methods: Atenolol 100 mg tablets in 28-chamber, plastic compliance aids with transparent lids were stored for four weeks at room temperature and at 40°C with 75% relative humidity. Tablets were also stored at room temperature in original packaging and Petri dishes. Physical tests were conducted to standards as laid down in the British Pharmacopoeia 2005, and dissolution to those of the United States Pharmacopoeia volume 24. Chemical stability was assessed by a validated high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. Results: Tablets at room temperature in original packaging, in compliance aids and Petri dishes remained the same in appearance and passed physico-chemical tests. Tablets exposed to 40°C with 75% relative humidity in compliance aids passed tests for uniformity of weight, friability and chemical stability but became pale and moist, softer (82 newtons ± 4; p< 0.0001) than tablets in the original packaging (118 newtons ± 6), more friable (0.14% loss of mass) compared with other tablets (0.005%), and failed the tests for disintegration (>15 minutes) and dissolution (only 15% atenolol released at 30 minutes). Conclusion: Although chemical stability was unaffected, storage in compliance aids at 40°C with 75% relative humidity softened atenolol tablets, prolonged disintegration time and hindered dissolution which could significantly reduce bioavailability. This formulation could be suitable for storage in compliance aids at 25°C, but not in hotter, humid weather.

A model for comparative analysis of inventory costs of JIT and EOQ purchasing in the ready mixed concrete industry

A model for comparing the inventory costs of purchasing under the economic order quantity (EOQ) system and the just-in-time (JIT) order purchasing system in existing literature concluded that JIT purchasing was virtually always the preferable inventory ordering system especially at high level of annual demand. By expanding the classical EOQ model, this paper shows that it is possible for the EOQ system to be more cost effective than the JIT system once the inventory demand approaches the EOQ-JIT cost indifference point. The case study conducted in the ready-mixed concrete industry in Singapore supported this proposition.

Molecular inventory of faecal microflora in patients with Crohn's disease

Intestinal microbial community is involved in the pathogenesis of Crohn's disease, but knowledge of its potential abnormalities has been limited by the impossibility to grow many dominant intestinal bacteria. Using sequence analysis of randomly cloned bacterial 16S ribosomal DNA, the dominant faecal species from four Crolin's disease patients and four controls were compared. Whereas marked inter-individual differences were observed in the faecal microflora of patients, three remained distantly related to controls on the basis of their operational taxonomic unit composition. Bacteroides vidgatus and closely related organisms represented the only molecular species shared by all patients and exhibited an unusually high rate of occurrence. Escherichia coli clones were isolated only in two patients with ileocolonic Crohn's disease. Moreover, numerous clones belonged to phylogenetic groups or species that are commonly not dominant in the faecal microflora of healthy subjects: Pectinatus, Sutterella, Verritcomicrobium, Fusobacterium, Clostridium disporicum, clostridium glycolicum, Clostridium ramosum, Clostridium innocuum and Clostridium perfringens. (C) 2004 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The risk-taking and self-harm inventory for adolescents: Development and psychometric evaluation

In this study, we report on the development and psychometric evaluation of the Risk-Taking (RT) and Self-Harm (SH) Inventory for Adolescents (RTSHIA), a self-report measure designed to assess adolescent RT and SH in community and clinical settings. 651 young people from secondary schools in England ranging in age from 11.6 years to 18.7 years and 71 young people referred to mental health services for SH behavior in London between the ages of 11.9 years and 17.5 years completed the RTSHIA along with standardized measures of adolescent psychopathology. Two factors emerged from the principal axis factoring, and RT and SH were further validated by a confirmatory factor analysis as related, but different, constructs, rather than elements of a single continuum. Inter-item and test–retest reliabilities were high for both components (Cronbach's α = .85, rtt = .90; Cronbach's α .93, rtt = .87), and considerable evidence emerged in support of the measure's convergent, concurrent, and divergent validity. The findings are discussed with regard to potential usefulness of the RTSHIA for research and clinical purposes with adolescents.