The weaker points of fish acute toxicity tests and how tests on embryos can solve some issues.

Fish acute toxicity tests play an important role in environmental risk assessment and hazard classification because they allow for first estimates of the relative toxicity of various chemicals in various species. However, such tests need to be carefully interpreted. Here we shortly summarize the main issues which are linked to the genetics and the condition of the test animals, the standardized test situations, the uncertainty about whether a given test species can be seen as representative to a given fish fauna, the often missing knowledge about possible interaction effects, especially with micropathogens, and statistical problems like small sample sizes and, in some cases, pseudoreplication. We suggest that multi-factorial embryo tests on ecologically relevant species solve many of these issues, and we shortly explain how such tests could be done to avoid the weaker points of fish acute toxicity tests.

Personality and Culture Cross-Cultural Psychology at the Next Crossroads

A review of nearly three decades of cross-cultural research shows that this domain still has to address several issues regarding the biases of data collection and sampling methods, the lack of clear and consensual definitions of constructs and variables, and measurement invariance issues that seriously limit the comparability of results across cultures. Indeed, a large majority of the existing studies are still based on the anthropological model, which compares two cultures and mainly uses convenience samples of university students. This paper stresses the need to incorporate a larger variety of regions and cultures in the research designs, the necessity to theorize and identify a larger set of variables in order to describe a human environment, and the importance of overcoming methodological weaknesses to improve the comparability of measurement results. Cross-cultural psychology is at the next crossroads in it's development, and researchers can certainly make major contributions to this domain if they can address these weaknesses and challenges.

Iowa fish and wildlife news, Special Winter Issue [1999]

This DNR periodical contains current information on Iowa Fish and Wildlife Management.

Iowa fish and wildlife news, Special 1999 Fishing Issue

This DNR periodical contains current information on Iowa Fish and Wildlife Management.

Iowa fish and wildlife news, Special 1999 hunting issue

This DNR periodical contains current information on Iowa Fish and Wildlife Management.

Iowa Fish and Wildlife news, Special Fall Hunting Issue, 1998

This DNR periodical contains current information on Iowa Fish and Wildlife Management.

Postmodifying prepositional phrases in English and Spanish (with special reference to locative postmodifiers)

Prepositional phrases are the commonest kind of postmodification in all registers of English (Biber et al. 1999: 634). The locative ones that can be expanded into a defining relative clause (the books [which are] on the table) are usually expressed by such a construction in Spanish (los libros que están encima de la mesa) or by a phrase introduced by de (los libros de encima de la mesa). Wonder (1979) argues that Spanish allows locative phrases with prepositions other than de in the case of"situaciones"activas"" (el aterrizaje en pleno campo) as against"situaciones estáticas" (*el sofá en la sala), and if the phrase can be given an adverbial rather than, or in addition to, an adjectival interpretation (el ruido en la calle), especially if that phrase implies an alternative location for an object or contrast with another similar object (el sofá en la sala contigua). This paper further investigates this claim and looks at Spanish equivalents of English postmodifying prepositional phrases in general, while proposing an explanation for the choice of these different structures in Spanish based on considerations of lexical density. Resumen: Las frases preposicionales constituyen el tipo más frecuente de posmodificación en todos los registros del inglés (Biber et a. 1999: 634). En el español, las expresiones locativas suelen incorporar un pronombre relativo y un verbo (the books [which are] on the table > los libros que están encima de la mesa), o bien expresarse mediante una frase introducida por la preposición de (los libros de encima de la mesa). Wonder (1979) sostiene que el español permite el uso de preposiciones que no sean de en las frases locativas en el caso de"situaciones"activas"" (el aterrizaje en pleno campo) frente a"situaciones estáticas" (*el sofá en la sala), y también si la frase puede tener una función adverbial antes que, o además de, una interpretación adjetiva (el ruido en la calle), sobre todo si dicha frase encierra la idea de una posición alternativa para un objeto, o bien un contraste con otro objeto similar (el sofá en la sala contigua). El presente estudio pretende examinar este argumento y, además, explorar la posmodificación preposicional en español de un modo más general, a la par que propone una explicación sobre la elección de estructura en español que se basa en el criterio de la densidad léxica.

An analysis of patients' understanding of 'routine' preoperative blood tests and HIV screening. Is no news really good news?

OBJECTIVES: Many patients may believe that HIV screening is included in routine preoperative work-ups. We examined what proportion of patients undergoing preoperative blood testing believed that they had been tested for HIV. METHODS: All patients hospitalized for elective orthopaedic surgery between January and December 2007 were contacted and asked to participate in a 15-min computer-assisted telephone interview (n = 1330). The primary outcome was to determine which preoperative tests patients believed had been performed from a choice of glucose, clotting, HIV serology and cholesterol, and what percentage of patients interpreted the lack of result communication as a normal or negative test. The proportion of patients agreeable to HIV screening prior to future surgery was also determined. RESULTS: A total of 991 patients (75%) completed the questionnaire. Three hundred and seventy-five of these 991 patients (38%) believed incorrectly that they had been tested for HIV preoperatively. Younger patients were significantly more likely to believe that an HIV test had been performed (mean age 46 vs. 50 years for those who did not believe that an HIV test had been performed; P < 0.0001). Of the patients who believed that a test had been performed but received no result, 96% interpreted lack of a result as a negative HIV test. Over 80% of patients surveyed stated that they would agree to routine HIV screening prior to future surgery. A higher acceptance rate was associated with younger age (mean age 47 years for those who would agree vs. 56 years for those who would not; P < 0.0001) and male sex ( P < 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: Many patients believe that a preoperative blood test routinely screens for HIV. The incorrect assumption that a lack of result communication indicates a negative test may contribute to delays in HIV diagnoses.

Clean development mechanism and joint implementation in China and Russia as related to industrial energy projects

Being highly discussed the problem of climate change and global warming has been keeping importance for several of decades. As a response to the world’s need in solution for climate change disasters, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was adopted in 1992 and supplemented with the Kyoto protocol in 1997. This work is aimed to give better understanding of the Convention, Kyoto Protocol with its mechanisms and their function, related to energy projects in such case countries, as Russia and China, in order to assist evaluation of projects cost-effectiveness. It provides basic information about the Convention and the Protocol with their regulations, overview of present situation and future post-Kyoto forecasts, while the most attention is concentrated on the clean development mechanism and joint implementation step-by-step project cycles and specific regulations in given countries. The current study disclosed that CDM and JI project cycles are resulting in a complicated process. By the moment it requires step-by-step following of a number of methodologies, spending time and finance to particular project development. Uncertainties about post-Kyoto period bring additional risk to the projects and complicate any business decision concerning Kyoto Protocol.

Patients' understanding of blood tests and attitudes to HIV screening in the emergency department of a Swiss teaching hospital: a cross-sectional observational study.

BACKGROUND: In Switzerland, patients may undergo "blood tests" without being informed what these are screening for. Inadequate doctor-patient communication may result in patient misunderstanding. We examined what patients in the emergency department (ED) believed they had been screened for and explored their attitudes to routine (non-targeted) human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening. METHODS: Between 1st October 2012 and 28th February 2013, a questionnaire-based survey was conducted among patients aged 16-70 years old presenting to the ED of Lausanne University Hospital. Patients were asked: (1) if they believed they had been screened for HIV; (2) if they agreed in principle to routine HIV screening and (3) if they agreed to be HIV tested during their current ED visit. RESULTS: Of 466 eligible patients, 411 (88%) agreed to participate. Mean age was 46 ± 16 years; 192 patients (47%) were women; 366 (89%) were Swiss or European; 113 (27%) believed they had been screened for HIV, the proportion increasing with age (p ≤0.01), 297 (72%) agreed in principle with routine HIV testing in the ED, and 138 patients (34%) agreed to be HIV tested during their current ED visit. CONCLUSION: In this ED population, 27% believed incorrectly they had been screened for HIV. Over 70% agreed in principle with routine HIV testing and 34% agreed to be tested during their current visit. These results demonstrate willingness among patients concerning routine HIV testing in the ED and highlight a need for improved doctor-patient communication about what a blood test specifically screens for.

Quasiconformal mappings and inequalities involving special functions

This PhD thesis in Mathematics belongs to the field of Geometric Function Theory. The thesis consists of four original papers. The topic studied deals with quasiconformal mappings and their distortion theory in Euclidean n-dimensional spaces. This theory has its roots in the pioneering papers of F. W. Gehring and J. Väisälä published in the early 1960’s and it has been studied by many mathematicians thereafter. In the first paper we refine the known bounds for the so-called Mori constant and also estimate the distortion in the hyperbolic metric. The second paper deals with radial functions which are simple examples of quasiconformal mappings. These radial functions lead us to the study of the so-called p-angular distance which has been studied recently e.g. by L. Maligranda and S. Dragomir. In the third paper we study a class of functions of a real variable studied by P. Lindqvist in an influential paper. This leads one to study parametrized analogues of classical trigonometric and hyperbolic functions which for the parameter value p = 2 coincide with the classical functions. Gaussian hypergeometric functions have an important role in the study of these special functions. Several new inequalities and identities involving p-analogues of these functions are also given. In the fourth paper we study the generalized complete elliptic integrals, modular functions and some related functions. We find the upper and lower bounds of these functions, and those bounds are given in a simple form. This theory has a long history which goes back two centuries and includes names such as A. M. Legendre, C. Jacobi, C. F. Gauss. Modular functions also occur in the study of quasiconformal mappings. Conformal invariants, such as the modulus of a curve family, are often applied in quasiconformal mapping theory. The invariants can be sometimes expressed in terms of special conformal mappings. This fact explains why special functions often occur in this theory.

Self-Assessment Report for International Accreditation – Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes in Industrial Management

Self-assessment report for accreditation of the Bachelor's and Master's degree programs in Industrial Management.