A study of large-bowel volvulus in urban Australia

Background: Large-bowel volvulus is a rare cause of bowel obstruction in the industrialized world. We analyzed the presentation and outcome of 49 patients at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Australia, who received a diagnosis of colonic volvulus from 1991 to 2001. Methods: A retrospective chart study was carried out. Results: Twenty-nine patients had sigmoid volvulus (59%), 19 patients had cecal volvulus (39%) and 1 patient had a transverse colon volvulus (2%). The diagnosis of sigmoid volvulus was made accurately on plain abdominal radiography or contrast enema in 90% of cases (n = 26), compared with only 42% of cases (n = 8) of cecal volvulus. Twenty-two patients with sigmoid volvulus were treated initially with endoscopic decompression. The success rate was 64% (n = 14). There was a high early recurrence rate of sigmoid volvulus for those treated by endoscopic decompression alone (43%) during a mean period of 32 days. Of the 14 patients with cecal volvulus who were treated with right hemicolectomy, 12 had primary anastomosis and 2 had end ileostomy with mucous fistula formation. There was no anastomotic leak following right hemicolectomy with primary anastomosis, even though 6 of these patients had an ischemic cecum. Conclusions: Endoscopic decompression of the sigmoid volvulus was safe and effective as an initial treatment but has a high early recurrence rate. Any patient who is fit enough to undergo operation should have a definitive procedure during the same admission to avoid recurrence. Cecal volvulus is associated with a higher incidence of gangrene and is treated effectively by right hemicolectomy with or without anastomosis. The need for swift operative intervention is emphasized.

Trace metals in Antarctic ecosystems: Results from the Larsemann Hills, East Antarctica

Sediments, mosses and algae, collected from lake catchments of the Larsemann Hills, East Antarctica, were analysed to establish baseline levels of trace metals (Ag, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Sb, Pb, Se, V and Zn), and to quantify the extent of trace metal pollution in the area. Both impacted and non-impacted sites were included in the study. Four different leaching solutions (1 M MgCl2, 1 M CH3COONH4, 1 M NH4NO3, and 0.3 N HCl) were tested on the fine fraction (< 63 mu m) of the sediments to extract the mobile fraction of trace metals derived from human impact and from weathering of basement lithologies. Results of these tests indicate that dilute HCl partly dissolves primary minerals present in the sediment, thus leading to an overestimate of the mobile trace metal fraction. Concentrations of trace metals released using the other 3 procedures indicate negligible levels of anthropogenic contribution to the trace metal budget. Data derived from this study and a thorough characterisation of the site allowed the authors to define natural baseline levels of trace metals in sediments, mosses and algae, and their spatial variability across the area. The results show that, with a few notable exceptions, human activities at the research stations have contributed negligible levels (lower than natural variability) of trace metals to the Larsemann Hills ecosystem. This study further demonstrates that anthropogenic sources of trace metals can be correctly identified and quantified only if natural baselines, their variability, and processes controlling the mobility of trace metals in the ecosystem, have been fully characterised. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

RELIGIÃO E ETNICIDADE: O HERÓI CABOCLO BERNARDO E A CONSTRUÇÃO DA IDENTIDADE ÉTNICA NA VILA DE REGÊNCIA AUGUSTA - ES

Na Vila de Regência Augusta, às margens do Rio Doce no município de Linhares - ES, uma intricada dinâmica sócio-religiosa reveste de atribuições religiosas um herói cujo feito remonta os finais do século XIX. Bernardo José dos Santos, morador da vila, ficaria conhecido em âmbito nacional como o herói Caboclo Bernardo ao ser homenageado por Princesa Isabel, por realizar o salvamento de 128 dos 142 tripulantes do naufrágio do Navio de Guerra Imperial Marinheiro , próximo à foz do Rio Doce. O evento e suas conseqüências tornaram-se um marco na história da vila, inclusive o assassinato do herói nos meados da segunda década do século XX. Na continuidade narrativa, ritual e simbólica do ato heróico do Caboclo Bernardo esta investigação lança suas preocupações. Atualmente acontece na vila, todos os anos, a Festa de Caboclo Bernardo, uma festividade para onde convergem religiosos de diversas etnias tupiniquim, botocudo, negros e caboclos com o intuito de prestar homenagens ao herói na capela que leva seu nome. Neste sentido, esta etnografia pretende analisar o processo de construção da identidade étnico-religiosa na vila, pois, ele acontece concomitantemente e está umbilicalmente relacionado ao processo que eleva o herói ao patamar dos santos padroeiros das bandas de congo na região. Para isso, analisado será o contexto dramático onde a identidade da vila é construída; as confluências históricas, narrativas e simbólicas que contribuem para a atual configuração da identidade; e o contexto político-institucional organizado em torno do Caboclo Bernardo, paradigma central da construção da identidade. O método etnográfico, a antropologia interpretativa e a antropologia visual forneceram os contornos metodológicos desta investigação, que se constituiu como uma descrição densa.(AU)

Effect of delay of first interview and repetition of interview on accuracy and confidence of recall of a flashbulb -type memory

Hearing of the news of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in a traffic accident, is taken as an analogue for being a percipient but uninvolved witness to a crime, or a witness to another person's sudden confession to some illegal act. This event (known in the literature as a “reception event”) has previously been hypothesized to cause one to form a special type of memory commonly known as a “flashbulb memory” (FB) (Brown and Kulik, 1977). FB's are hypothesized to be especially resilient against forgetting, highly detailed including peripheral details, clear, and inspiring great confidence in the individual for their accuracy. FB's are dependent for their formation upon surprise, emotional valence, and impact, or consequentiality to the witness of the initiating event. FB's are thought to be enhanced by frequent rehearsal. FB's are very important in the context of criminal investigation and litigation in that investigators and jurors usually place great store in witnesses, regardless of their actual accuracy, who claim to have a clear and complete recollection of an event, and who express this confidently. Therefore, the lives, or at least the freedom, of criminal defendants, and the fortunes of civil litigants hang on the testimony of witnesses professing to have FB's. ^ In this study, which includes a large and diverse sample (N = 305), participants were surveyed within 2–4 days after hearing of the fatal accident, and again at intervals of 2 and 4 weeks, 6, 12, and 18 months. Contrary to the FB hypothesis, I found that participants' FB's degraded over time beginning at least as early as two weeks post event. At about 12 months the memory trace stabilized, resisting further degradation. Repeated interviewing did not have any negative affect upon accuracy, contrary to concerns in the literature. Analysis by correlation and regression indicated no effect or predictive power for participant age, emotionality, confidence, or student status, as related to accuracy of recall; nor was participant confidence in accuracy predicted by emotional impact as hypothesized. Results also indicate that, contrary to the notions of investigators and jurors, witnesses become more inaccurate over time regardless of their confidence in their memories, even for highly emotional events. ^

Correspondências científicas como uma relação didática entre história e ensino de matemática: o exemplo das cartas de Euler a uma princesa da Alemanha

Lettres àune Princesse d'Allemagne sur divers sujets de physique et de philosophie (Letters to a Princess of Germany on various topics of physics and philosophy) is the work taken as an object of study of this thesis. It is a literary success written in the eighteenth century by the Swiss mathematician and physicist Leonhard Paul Euler (1707-1783) in order to meet a request from the Prussian king, Frederick II, the Great (1712-1786) to accept to guide the intellectual education of his niece, the young princess Anhalt-Dessau (1745-1808). The method of teaching and learning through letters elected to the education of the German monarch resulted in a collection of 234 matches in which Euler theory is about music, Philosophy, Mechanics, Optics, Astronomy, Theology and Ethics among others. The research seeks to point out mathematical content contained in this reference work based on the exploitation and adaptation of original historical works as an articulator of development activities for teaching mathematics in basic education and in accordance with the National Curriculum Parameters of Mathematics (NCP) work. The general objective point out the limits and didactic potential of Lettres à une Princesse d'Allemagne sur divers sujets de physique et de philosophie as a source of support for teachers of basic education in developing activities for teaching mathematics. The discussions raised point to concrete possibilities of entanglement between the extracted mathematical content of the bulge of the work with current teaching methodologies from resizing the use of letters according to Freire's pedagogical perspective of the correspondence, and especially the use of new communication channels in the century XXI, both aimed at dialogue and approximation between those who write and those who read.

O agrominerador familiar “Por detrás da Serra” de Parelhas, Seridó do Rio Grande do Norte

Unfavorable climatic conditions to family farming associated to the legal difficulty of retirement for workers who work exclusively in mining are indications provided by previous papers on this topic and guiding of such joint activities in a group that we have decided to call “agromineradores”, who are located “Behind de mountain” of Princess at Parelhas, Seridó do RN. However, in addition to these aspects, the research provides comprehensive analysis and thorough examination of other factors that link these families to such labor association. The theories of Habitus, field and trajectory from Pierre Bourdieu as well as the concept of institutions from Geoffrey Hodgson are central in this paper to explain the inclusion of these part-time farmers in an institutional environment shaped by social structures that influence in the choices of individual and collective behavior and leading to the relevance of the power structures within and outside the family, along with the role of public policies directed to family farmers and miners. The data analyzed showed that there is a crystallized structure that manifests themselves for years in this field, proving the link that exists between these agents and institutions that surround them in the composition of behaviors and routinizing of practices.

Major ion chemistry of snow cores along a transect in central Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica

Among the large variety of particulates in the atmosphere, calcic mineral dust particles have highly reactive surfaces that undergo heterogeneous reactions with nitrogen oxides contiguously. The association between Ca2+, an important proxy indicator of mineral dust and NO3-, a dominant anion in the Antarctic snow pack was analysed. A total of 41 snow cores (~ 1 m each) that represent snow deposited during 2008-2009 were studied along coastal-inland transects from two different regions - the Princess Elizabeth Land (PEL) and central Dronning Maud Land (cDML) in East Antarctica. Correlation statistics showed a strong association (at 99 % significance level) between NO3- and Ca2+ at the near-coastal sections of both PEL (r = 0.72) and cDML (r = 0.76) transects. Similarly, a strong association between these ions was also observed in snow deposits at the inland sections of PEL (r = 0.8) and cDML (r = 0.85). Such systematic associations between Ca2+ and NO3- is attributed to the interaction between calcic mineral dust and nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere, leading to the possible formation of calcium nitrate (Ca(NO3)2). Forward and back trajectory analyses using HYSPLIT model v. 4 revealed that Southern South America (SSA) was an important dust emitting source to the study region, aided by the westerlies. Particle size distribution showed that over 90 % of the dust was in the range < 4 µm, indicating that these dust particles reached the Antarctic region via long range transport from the SSA region. We propose that the association between Ca2+ and NO3- occurs during the long range transport due to the formation of Ca(NO3)2. The Ca(NO3)2 thus formed in the atmosphere undergo deposition over Antarctica under the influence of anticyclonic polar easterlies. However, influence of local dust sources from the nunataks in cDML evidently mask such association in the mountainous region. The study indicates that the input of dust-bound NO3- may contribute a significant fraction of the total NO3- deposited in Antarctic snow.

Sydenham Street Revived: A Public Space Experiment

In 2015, the Sydenham Street Revived pop-up park project (SSR) transformed Sydenham Street between Princess and Queen Streets into a temporary pedestrian-only public space. The goal of the project was to test out the idea of permanently pedestrianizing this street section. But what did this urban experiment ultimately prove? Using video footage, photographs, and observations recorded before and during the project, this report analyzes the use of the space in order to evaluate the claim that SSR created a successful public space and to make recommendations for a permanent public space on Sydenham Street. Two research methods were used: quantitative data collection, consisting of headcounts of both pedestrians and stationary users of the space; and a qualitative observational survey, based on the criteria for successful public spaces developed by the Project for Public Spaces. Data collection occurred two days one week prior to the project, and two days during the project, on days that were similar in terms of temperature and weather. The research revealed that the SSR did create a successful public space, although additional research is needed in order to determine how the space would function as a public place throughout different seasons, to study the street closure’s impact on surrounding residents and businesses, and to understand how private commercial activity would influence use. Recommendations for a permanent public space on Sydenham Street include considerations for flexible street design and a continuous, barrier-free surface; ensuring that there is an abundance of places to sit; making opportunities for public and community-created art; and to improve walkability by connecting the grid using a mid-block walkway.

Diplomacia y misión en Europa durante la Guerra de Sucesión: los Habsburgo- Wolfenbüttel, el estado de Milán y el catolicismo septentrional

Las perspectivas geopolíticas de la guerra de Sucesion espanola traspasaron ampliamente los limites de la herencia territorial de Carlos II. El político enlace del candidato austriaco al trono de Madrid, Carlos III de Austria, con Isabel Cristina de Braunschweig-Wolfenbuttel, una princesa luterana convertida ex profeso al catolicismo, vinculó las dos dinastias con el esfuerzo misionero de la Santa Sede en el norte del Sacro Imperio. En el presente estudio se propone reconstruir la relacion de la red diplomatica Wolfenbuttel con el papado y la monarquia carolina, ademas de apuntar la difusa -pero constante- presencia de la soberana dentro del proceso de financiación lombarda del misionalismo germánico a comienzos del Setecientos.

National Cancer Strategy 2006: a Strategy for Cancer Control in Ireland – Evaluation Panel Report

Review of ‘A Strategy for Cancer Control in Ireland’. The review was led by Professor Pádraig Warde of the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto.  The evaluation panel was very impressed with the excellent progress in the cancer control system in Ireland since the publication of “A Strategy for Cancer Control in Ireland” in 2006.   Download the report here.

The works of Alfred Lord Tennyson.

vol. II. Idylls of the king. To the queen.- vol. III. The princess. Maud. Enoch Arden. In memoriam.- vol. IV. Queen Mary. Harold. The lover's tale. Ballads and other poems. Sonnets. Translations, etc.- Vol. V. Tiresias and other poems. The promise of May. Demeter and other poems.- vol. VI. Becket. The cup. The falcon. The foresters. Balin and Balan. The death of Oenone, and other poems. Complete indexes.

Le débat entre le coeur et le devoir dans : La Princesse de Clèves

Ce mémoire traite du débat entre le coeur et le devoir et des différentes influences qui ont conduit à la fameuse question : Pourquoi la princesse n’épouse-t-elle pas le duc de Nemours alors que tous les obstacles sont levés ? À défaut de pouvoir répondre définitivement à cette énigme dont seule Madame de La Fayette possède la clé, nous nous sommes concentrée sur les influences qui auraient pu pousser la princesse à sacrifier son coeur pour son devoir. La méthode de recherche utilisée est l’approche de la biographie intellectuelle. Il est évident que le vécu de l'auteure a teinté le contenu de son oeuvre ainsi que l'âme de son héroïne. Nous nous sommes également inspirée de la méthode sociocritique quant aux influences et mouvements de l'époque. Dans le but de simplifier la collecte des sources et l’organisation de la recherche, nous avons regroupé les influences en trois grandes catégories : les influences personnelles, internes et externes. Cette étude a mis en évidence que les moeurs, dans La Princesse de Clèves, sont le miroir de la société du XVIIe siècle. Chaque influence présentée forme le dessin d’une princesse cachant en elle le secret de son renoncement à l'amour.