bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ways to increase the efficiency of automation in agriculture
Authors: Krasovskaya O.A. , Vel`m M.V. , Zhilige Su
Published: November 2023

The article presents the results of the theoretical analysis of automation in agriculture. Conceptual issues and problems of automation are considered. The article analyzes the significance and effectiveness of automated systems in agriculture. Agricultural automation relies on rich industry experience. The main feature of agricultural production is an inseparable link of technology with biological objects (animals, plants) marked by the continuity and the cyclical nature of production, the impossibility of increasing output by accelerating production. Under these conditions, automation should be reliable, since it cannot be interrupted and intensified.
Determination of kelp (Laminaria digitata) technological characteristics depending on the drying method
Authors: Ershov Mikhail , Kuranova Ludmila , Smirnova Irina , Alloyarova Julia
Published: November 2023

The paper considers four methods of drying kelp (Laminaria digitata): convective dehydration at an air temperature of minus 5 oС, relative air humidity of 55 and 90 %; vacuum drying at a metal carrier temperature of 20°C and a vacuum depth of 250 Pa; convective dehydration at an air temperature of 20°C and a relative air humidity of 35 %. In dried algae, the final moisture content, water activity, and strength characteristics were evaluated. To determine the swelling coefficient, dry algae were pre-crushed. It was established that at a temperature of minus 5°C and a relative air humidity of 90 %, dehydration had an unsatisfactory result in terms of the final moisture content of the finished product 27.4 %. This type of drying at a relative air humidity of 55 % provides a final moisture content of the product (12.3 ± 0.48) % and a relatively high swelling coefficient of 6.9. Algae, dehydrated at minus 5°C, had elastic properties, in contrast to other considered methods. Vacuum drying made it possible to obtain the minimum final moisture content of dry algae and the highest swelling coefficient of 7.7. However, drying to constant weight lasted 25.5 hours. Of the considered drying options, the convective method (t = 20°C) showed the highest rate. The duration of drying to constant weight was 8 hours. The final moisture content of the product was acceptable (9.8±1.52) %. However, the water activity after algae swelling had the highest value of 0.97±0.004, and the swelling coefficient had a relatively low value of 6.5. In further studies, it is planned to study the effect of various methods of algae dehydration on the preservation of its biologically active substances.
Evaluation of guinea fowls by genetic markers of plumage color
Authors: Roiter Ykov , Degtyareva Olga
Published: November 2023

The work was carried out at LLC “Genofond” of the Moscow region on gray-speckled, Zagorsk white-breasted, blue and cream guinea fowls of the VNITIP selection. The bird taken for the experiment was bred in “itself” for a long time and did not give splitting in plumage color. The aim of the work was to find methods for separating guinea fowls by sex at an early age, based on the use of marker genes and their modifiers. It has been established that gray-speckled, blue and Zagorsk white-breasted guinea fowls belong to the eumelanin phenotype in terms of plumage color. The deposition of eumelanin pigment in down and feathers of guinea fowls is controlled by the gene alleles of the E/e locus. Limitation of pigment deposition in feathers, certain parts of the body, Zagorsk white-breasted guinea fowls is determined by the action of the Zn/zn (Zonal) gene, the manifestation of pearl spots is determined by the action of the Sp/sp gene, the autosomal gene Bl (Blokator) determines the saturation of eumelanin colors, and Ig (Inhibitor) blocks the deposition of the pheomelanin pigment. According to the color of the plumage, cream guinea fowls belong to the pheomelanin phenotype and are distinguished by the white-cream color of the plumage. The presence in the plumage of pheomelanin controlled by the genes for silverness “S” and goldenness “s” and the presence of the Ig (Inhibitor) gene blocking the deposition of the pigment pheomelanin in the down and re-determines the autosex color of the plumage. Based on this, the work concluded that cream guinea fowls are promising in creating an autosex cross on their basis.
Prognosis of septic complications and the outcome of the disease according to the saps score scale in dogs with leptospirosis
Authors: Laptev Sergey , Pimenov Nikolay , Marzanova Saida , Permyakova Kristina , Ivannikova Regina
Published: November 2023

The article presents the results of the analysis of clinical and laboratory data of 24 dogs in order to create a convenient model for the formation of the prognosis of septic complications and the outcome of the disease. The use of the SAPS scale simplifies the assessment of physiological disorders caused by the clinical manifestation of SOURCE, MODS and CARS and allows you to make a reliable forecast of possible complications in dogs with leptospirosis. So, with complications, there is a slight decrease in the number of red blood cells and hemoglobin, a slight increase in ESR. The level of AST, ALT has been increased. An increase in the level of bilirubin, urea and creatinine was revealed. The level of rod-shaped neutrophils is increased, and segmented neutrophils are lowered. The prognosis of septic complications in dogs with leptospirosis on the SAPS scale allows us to assess the degree of danger of physiological disorders caused by the clinical manifestations of SIRS, MODS and CARS in the shortest possible time. should leave 8 mm of space above the abstract and 10 mm after the abstract. The heading Abstract should be typed in bold 9-point Arial. The body of the abstract should be typed in normal 9-point Times in a single paragraph, immediately following the heading. The text should be set to 1 line spacing.
Chitosan complex in the technology of feeding broiler chickens
Authors: Buyarov Viktor , Komolikova Irina , Buyarov Aleksandr , Mednova Valentina
Published: November 2023

The aim of the study was to study the effectiveness of using a domestic feed additive based on chitosan (chitosan complex KX-1). The three control houses had 118,000 chicks at the start of the experiment, and the three experimental houses had 117,906 chicks. Broilers of experienced poultry houses were injected with a chitosan complex at the rate of 70 g per 1 ton of compound feed during the entire growing period (38-40 days). In the control poultry houses, broilers received feed with nutritional value according to the VNITIP standards. It was found that the gross production of broilers for slaughter in live weight in three control poultry houses was 254,120 kg, in three experimental ones - 255,830 kg, and the production of poultry meat in slaughter weight - 193,950 kg and 197,957 kg, respectively. In poultry houses where the chitosan complex was used in feed for broiler chickens, 4007 kg (2.02%) more meat was obtained than in the control. This was achieved due to the higher viability and safety of broiler chickens in all experimental poultry houses - 93.14%, and in control - 91.83%. The superiority in feed conversion of broilers grown in experimental poultry houses in comparison with the control ones was established. The fat content in the pectoral and leg muscles of the control and experimental broilers was low - 1.42-1.12% and 3.84-3.42%, respectively. At the same time, in the pectoral and femoral muscles of the experimental broilers, the fat content was 0.30% (P<0.05) and 0.42% (P<0.05) less compared to the control ones, which indicates an increase in the dietary properties of meat with use of the chitosan complex in poultry feeding.
Efficacy of genetic transformation of E.coli field and reference (ATCC 8739) strains at different concentrations of CaCl2 for creation of Gene libraries
Authors: Badalyan Manvel , Aloyan Tatevik , Amirkhanyan Tatev , Dilanyan Varya , Melikyan Andreas
Published: November 2023

The importance of genetic transformation in various fields of biological research, and especially in the process of gene libraries formation, is very important. It has been proven by numerous studies that during the phase of obtaining competent cells, Ca2+ ions neutralize the electrostatic repulsion of membrane proteins and DNA of the bacterial cell, thereby stimulating the introduction of foreign DNA into the membrane pores. Our research aimed to elucidate the maximum efficiency of transformation in field and ATCC 8739 reference strains of E.coli at 0.05; 0.1 and 0.15 M concentrations of CaCL2. Microbiological, molecular-biological modern methods were used in the experimental studies. From the research results, it became evident that the efficiency of genetic transformation increases with the addition of concentration of CaCL2 and reaches the maximum at 0.1 M. Among the studied strains of E.coli, at 0.05 and 0.1 M concentrations of CaCL2, the highest efficiency was recorded in the field strain. At a 0.15 M concentration of CaCL2, the transformation efficiency in the field and reference strains is highly variable due to the size of the genomic DNA of the internalizing bacteria and the number of restriction sites.
Monitoring the use of mineral fertilizers in rural areas of the region
Authors: Krasilnikova L. , Balandin D. , Balandin E.
Published: November 2023

The article reviews the main approaches to the use of fertilizers in agricultural production. A discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of the use of mineral fertilizers in rural areas within the framework of the provisions of sustainable development and the concept of green economy has been revealed. On the example of the Russian Federation and rural territorial economic systems, using monitoring tools, the dependence of wheat yield on the use of mineral and organic fertilizers was studied. The continuing importance of mineral fertilizers in matters of ensuring the food security of the world community has been established.
The effect of mineral fertilizers and pesticides on the yield and quality of spring barley grain in the conditions of the Krasnoyarsk forest-steppe
Authors: Bobrovsky A.V. , Lipshin A.G. , Kozulina N.S. , Vasilenko A.V. , Kryuchkov A.A. , Gerasimova N.S.
Published: November 2023

The study was conducted in the Krasnoyarsk forest-steppe on leached chernozem. The scheme of the experiment included the introduction of ammonium nitrate and azophoska. The spring barley protection scheme was studied, represented by the preparations Hat Trick, SC, Ballerina Super, SE, Lastik Extra, CE, Reggie, VRK, Baliy, KME, Borey Neo, SC. The repetition of the experience is 4 – fold. The registered area of the plot is 45 m2. Seeding rate - 5.0 mln. The humus content in the soil was determined in accordance with GOST 26213-84, nitrate nitrogen according to GOST 26951-86, mobile compounds of phosphorus and potassium - according to GOST 26204-91. The protein content in the grain was carried out in accordance with GOST 10846-91, the nature of the grain - GOST 10840-64, the mass of 1000 grains - GOST 10842-89. Preliminary studies have established that the maximum yield of barley was obtained with the introduction of azofoski (N60P60K60) and the use of protective equipment - 5.93 t/ha, compared with the control, the increase was 1.82 t/ha or 30.6%. The highest value of the protein content was noted when azofoski was applied - 13.40%. The pre-sowing application of azofoski and the use of plant protection products increased the mass of 1000 grains by 3.2 - 4.8 g, the grain nature by 18 - 26 g/l compared with the control.
Improving techniques for cultivating potatoes of the Smolyanochka variety in elite seed production
Authors: Rybchenko T.I. , Romanova I.N. , Baranovskaya T.P. , Martynova K.V. , Ptitsyna N.V. , Rewrite M.I.
Published: November 2023

In our experiments, 2 methods of harvesting tops were used relative to the control (without harvesting): mechanical (mowing) and chemical (desiccation Reglon Super) for 18; 12; 6 days before harvesting potatoes. On average, over 3 years, the yield of potatoes of the Smolyanochka variety ranged from 36.2 to 47.9 t/ha. The highest yield was obtained by mowing and desiccating the tops in 12 days - 47.3-47.9 t/ha and losses of 2.6; 2.2% respectively. Research has shown that mowing and desiccating the tops 12 days before harvesting ensured the yield of the average fraction of 50-48%, respectively, and the formation of healthier tubers. The strength of the peel contributed to the reduction of losses relative to the control during storage by 0.9-4.3% and the incidence of diseases by 0.5-5.0%. The article also shows the economic efficiency of the agricultural practices used. The profitability level of ware potatoes ranged from 69 to 150% and was greatest when the tops were mowed and desiccated 12 days before harvesting.
Some peculiarities of hydroecological features of the Seversky Donets River (Rostov region)
Authors: Nazarenko Olesya
Published: November 2023

Climate change leads to the transformation of the water regime of rivers. This paper examines the changes that occur with the Seversky Donets River in the Rostov region. To assess the influence of meteorological factors, studies of temperature changes (1974 - 2020) and precipitation (2001 - 2020) were conducted. An increase in the average annual (from 8 °C to 9.7 °C) and winter (-5.3 °C to -3.6 °C), spring (8.6 °C to 9.9 °C), summer (20.6 °C to 23.1 °C) and autumn (8.1 °C to 9.3 °C) were revealed. Precipitation data showed multidirectional processes; 2001-2010 were drier (294 mm) than the average (419 m), and 2011-2020 wetter (436 mm). Water flow changes analyse in the River Seversky Donets from 1982 to 2020. The assessment of the influence of hydrometeorological factors on the transformation of river flow is an important aspect. There is a tendency to decrease the average annual expenditure. The highest and lowest annual flow of the river was recorded in the 2000s. The minimum water flow in the river was recorded in 2020 (33.95 m3/s), and the maximum in 2006 (211.2 m3/s). The territory is experiencing high anthropogenic pressure in an arid climate. Significant seasonal changes are characteristic of the water flow in the River Seversky Donets. The maximum impact on changes in water levels in the river is provided by snow nutrition, which is associated with uneven water consumption throughout the year.
Structural Optimization of Ring Type Oxygen Injector for Waste Incineration Research
Authors: Wang Ke
Published: November 2023

Waste incineration is one of the most effective means to achieve harmless, reduction and resource recovery. As environmental problems become more and more prominent, increasingly stringent environmental standards will greatly limit the development of conventional waste incineration technology, therefore, the development of a new clean and efficient waste incineration technology will be the inevitable development trend of the waste incineration industry. Based on the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technology, the structural optimization of the ring oxygen injector used in the oxygen-enriched incineration technology of the waste grate incinerator is investigated. The results show that the oxygen injection ring diameter is 0.7071D, the air duct length is 1.4D, and the oxygen injection ring outer hole is 0.28d and inner hole is 0.4d.
Comprehensive Benefit Evaluation Analysis And Application Research of Energy Storage
Authors: Shi Lei , Li Jidong , Zhao Yuanshen , Li Pengyang , Zhang Pengfei
Published: November 2023

In recent years, the penetration rate of renewable energy in the power system has increased year by year, and the allocation of energy storage is an important development trend to improve the operation stability of the grid-connected power system containing renewable energy. This paper first analyzes the basic concept and operation principle of energy storage devices, and then explains the costs and benefits of energy storage devices. Finally, the industrial park and energy storage power station are used as practical application scenarios to verify the correctness of the proposed method. The example results show that energy storage should be installed in a place where the system network loss is minimal and the reliability of power supply can be maximized, and the capacity of the energy storage system should match the load capacity of the bus bar of the installation site, so as to achieve the greatest comprehensive benefits.
The Supply-Demand Analysis Method for Power System with Considering the Demand Response and Multiple Scenarios
Authors: Zhao Xin , Xue Wanlei , Li Yan
Published: November 2023

This paper proposes a mathematic model of time series production simulation, and presents a case study of the Shandong power grid and investigates the role of demand-side resources in ensuring power supply. Based on the supply-demand analysis method and the design of the demand-side resource regulation plan, the demand response of the Shandong power grid can essentially meet the power balance requirements by 2025 under the baseline scenario. Under the extreme scenario, the power deficit can also be addressed by orderly power consumption. It is suggested to pay more attention to the development and utilization of demand-side resources.
Exploring the analysis of key factors of new energy consumption and measures to solve them
Authors: Gong Yufei , Li Xingyun , Wang Yuzhi
Published: November 2023

In order to achieve sustainable and healthy development, power companies must gradually abandon traditional energy sources and actively develop new energy sources, which could achieve green energy-saving and environmental protection effects. This requires an analysis of the key factors of new energy consumption, to clarify the causes of this problem and to take effective countermeasures to solve it. The application of new energy generation technology in power grids is a reasonable solution to the problem of new energy consumption, ensuring a continuous and sufficient supply of electricity resources to meet demand. This paper focuses on the key factors for the consumption of new energy and the measures to address them.
The analysis of the potential through the Mode Change of transport from Road to Waterway
Authors: Jiang Meizhi , Wang Benmei , Hao Yingjun , Chen Shijun , Wen Yuanqiao
Published: November 2023

In 2015, the Chinese government committed to reducing all greenhouse gas emissions, to reach the peak of carbon dioxide before 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. Transport accounts for a large share of global greenhouse gas emissions, so greener and low-carbon transport is an important part of achieving the two-carbon goal. Although many researches have examined carbon emissions from the transport sector, few have analyzed the potential for carbon reduction from the perspective of optimizing the transport structure. Based on the analysis and prediction of the logistics system of goods transportation in Zhejiang Province, the potential of changing the mode of transport from road to waterway for CO2 emission reduction is further analyzed. The results show that the implementation of a "mode change of transport from road to waterway" can better reduce the carbon emissions in the field of transportation, to provide a theoretical basis for the energy conservation and emission reduction targets in the field of transportation in Zhejiang Province.
Application of New Energy Logistics Vehicles in China: Evidence from Pilot City Surveys
Authors: Li Xiaoyi , Tan Xiaoyu , Gao Meizhen , Xu Honglei , Huang Quansheng , Wang Renjie , Ling Xuan
Published: November 2023

In the urban delivery sector, expanding the use of new energy vehicles (NEVs) can have a considerable positive impact on low-carbon sustainable development. To promote the application of newenergy vehicle in logistics industry, China’s Ministry of Transport launched Green Urban Freight Pilot Program in 2017 and has been achieved with promising results. However, the program has also encountered various restrictions and obstacles. This study carried out local investigations in six pilot cities of the Green Urban Freight Pilot Program. Key challenges of new energy logistics vehicles (NELV) adoption such as insignificant road access privileges, low cost-effectiveness, insufficient charging facilities, etc., were further identified through field research, online interviews and panel discussions. Then, detailed policy suggestions and recommendations targeting to national level and local level are proposed to promoting NELVs development.
Clean Energy Contributes to Poverty Alleviation in China
Authors: He Ping , Chen Lin
Published: November 2023

Poverty has long plagued humanity. The main factors affecting the gap between the rich and the poor are natural resources, human resources, information resources and science and technology. Using data from various clean energy industries and historical research methods, this paper shows that the clean energy industry is a new way to reduce poverty in developing countries. In the history of agricultural development, land and water resources are the important sources of wealth growth. In the history of industrial development, mineral resources, coal and oil energy have become the material basis for getting rich. In the 21st century with the great development of artificial intelligence, the importance of power resources is becoming more and more prominent, and clean energy such as solar energy and wind energy has become a new natural resource to create social wealth. Chinese successful practice in the development of clean energy industry shows that the clean energy industry is an effective way to get out of poverty. The results of the cooperation between China and African countries in developing clean energy industries show that the energy industry plays an increasingly important role in helping developing countries out of poverty. Although the development of clean energy industry is still restricted by market competition and monopoly organizations, the development road is still tortuous and long, it has a very bright future.
Transition towards carbon neutrality: A structured review on current policies and measures in international shipping
Authors: Wu Xiaofang , Hu Yunqi , Chen Mengying , Jiang Zeyu
Published: November 2023

Current studies lack a comprehensive understanding of the status of carbon emission reduction in international shipping from the perspectives of policies and measures, which tends to increase uncertainty in policy-making. The study aims to use a structured review approach to systematically collect and analyse carbon reduction policies as well as technical, regulatory, and economic measures in international shipping in recent years to support international shipping carbon neutrality decisions. The results show that most regions are committed to achieving zero emissions by 2050, but the reduction targets of international maritime organizations are lagging; while hydrogen, ammonia and green methanol fuels and ship wind power have a high potential to advance emission reduction, they are still limited by technology, regulation, cost and support; market-based trading measures can reflect emission reduction targets, but carbon prices are not yet mature; other measures also suffer from emissions shifting, low emission reduction potential or unsustainability. Tracking the progress of policies and measures to reduce carbon emissions in international shipping benefits to “know yourself as well as the enemy” for supporting decisions.
Room for Improvement
Authors: Kaleck Wolfgang , Schüller Andreas
Published: November 2023

Twenty years after the entry into force of the German Code of Crimes Against International Law, it is time for a critical assessment of its implementation and impact in practice. While a number of trials have been conducted and a certain prosecutorial practice has been established during the last decade, the law and practice nevertheless leave room for some criticism. This article addresses some of the criticism from the perspective of an NGO with experience in several international crimes cases, and deals with substantive and procedural law, as well as the issue of political case selection and the failure to prosecute corporate involvement in crimes under international law.
Gallstone as a cause of intestinal obstruction (Bouveret syndrome)
Authors: Monteiro Emerson Leonardo , Schmid Johannes , Mischinger Hans Jörg , Sucher Robert , Kornprat Peter
Published: November 2023

Gallstone ileus is a rare cause of bowel obstruction. Here we report about two cases with clinical findings and therapy options. Both patients were presented with typical ileus-like symptoms, although the surgical treatment differs due to the CT scan and intraoperative findings. There are many methods for treating patients with Bouveret syndrome. Endoscopy should be the first treatment option for young patients with no significant diseases in the medical history, depending on the size of the stone. Surgical approach is the next possible option. Combination of these two methods is associated with higher mortality. In case there is no extraluminal gas or intraperitoneal fluid in CT-scan, there is no need for an acute surgery. Conservative therapy prior to the intervention enables a precise planning of whether the endoscopic approach or open surgery would be beneficial for the patient.
Comparison of Blood-Based Shotgun and Targeted Metagenomic Sequencing for Microbiological Diagnosis of Infective Endocarditis
Authors: Flurin Laure , Fisher Cody R , Wolf Matthew J , Pritt Bobbi S , DeSimone Daniel C , Patel Robin
Published: November 2023

Background

Shotgun and targeted metagenomic sequencing have been shown in separate studies to be potentially useful for culture-free pathogen identification in blood and/or plasma of patients with infective endocarditis (IE). However, the 2 approaches have not been directly compared. The aim of this study was to compare shotgun metagenomic sequencing with targeted metagenomic sequencing (tMGS) for organism identification in blood or plasma of patients with IE.

Methods

Patients with possible or definite IE were prospectively enrolled from October 2020 to July 2021. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing was performed with the Karius test, which uses microbial cell-free DNA (mcfDNA) sequencing to detect, identify, and quantitate DNA-based pathogens in plasma. tMGS was performed using a 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) polymerase chain reaction assay targeting the V1 to V3 regions of the 16S rRNA gene. Results were compared using the McNemar test of paired proportions.

Results

Samples from 34 patients were investigated. The Karius test was positive in 24/34 (71%), including 3/6 (50%) with blood culture–negative endocarditis (BCNE), which was not significantly different from the positivity rate of tMGS (P = .41). Results of the Karius test were concordant with tMGS in 75% of cases. The Karius test detected 2 cases of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among the 7 S. aureus detections, in accordance with results of phenotypic susceptibility testing. The combination of blood cultures, the Karius test, and tMGS found a potential causative pathogen in 33/34 (97%), including 5/6 with BCNE.

Conclusions

The Karius test and tMGS yielded comparable detection rates; however, beyond organism identification, the Karius test generated potentially useful antibiotic resistance data.
Substance Abuse
Authors: Walsh Joseph
Published: November 2023

Substance use and abuse are both prevalent throughout the world. Among the substances that may abused are alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, sedatives, cocaine, amphetamines, and marijuana. Any adult may legally purchase some substances, whereas others are illegal for most people or are available only by prescription. Although mild or moderate substance use may be harmless and even beneficial to one’s health, substance abuse presents a host of health and safety concerns for individuals and society at large (it is associated with crime and traffic accidents, for example). Human services practitioners must be able to assess clients for substance-use disorders and have knowledge of their available treatments. These treatments include psychoeducational interventions, which are especially relevant for those substance abusers who are reluctant to engage in traditional therapies. Alcohol-related disorders are the primary focus of this chapter, although other substances will be addressed as well.
Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Walsh Joseph
Published: November 2023

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia that afflicts (mostly) older adults. Formally termed Dementia of the Alzheimer’s Type, it is characterized by cognitive deficits that result from an atrophy (wasting away) of tissue in several areas of the brain (Cummings & Cole, 2002). Memory impairment is always required to make a diagnosis of dementia. Other prominent symptoms may include aphasia (loss of the ability to use words appropriately), apraxia (loss of the ability to use common objects correctly), agnosia (loss of the ability to understand sound and visual input), and the loss of executive functioning (the inability to plan, organize, follow sequences, and think abstractly). A physician is required to diagnose this disorder because identifiable medical conditions that may cause the symptoms must be ruled out.
Bereavement
Authors: Walsh Joseph
Published: November 2023

This ending chapter of the book will cover an endings topic. Bereavement is the state of having lost a close friend or relative to death. It is a universal experience, a process that affects more people than any other subject in this book. Ten million people are bereaved each year in the United States (Hansson & Stroebe, 2007). Five percent of children lose one or both parents before age fifteen, and by age sixty-five more than half of women have been widowed at least once. Although bereavement is a normal process, psychoeducation can help survivors to make constructive life adjustments.
Social factors affecting the health of the elderly
Authors: Gore M S
Published: November 2023

The awareness that social factors affect the health of individuals has probably always been there. Every medical practitioner is generally aware that his poorer patients cannot afford the medicines he prescribes for them, that workers who work in coal mines or stone quarries tend to develop certain types of diseases special to their type of work, that the health of people living in slums and generally poor environments suffers because of unclean and insanitary conditions in which they live, and that epidemics often leave the poorer segments of a city or town more devastated than others. What is probably new is our awareness that not only physical and economic but even psychological and social factors affect the well-being of persons.
The role of the family in developed countries
Authors: Maeda Daisaku
Published: November 2023

It is impossible to discuss ‘the role of the family in developed countries’ in the context of social situations in developed countries as a whole, as they greatly differ from each other. This chapter discusses the theme mainly from the standpoint of Japan. Whenever possible, we will try to take into consideration the facts and problems of other developed countries.
Occupational health and international agencies
Authors: Rantanen J
Published: November 2023

There are half a dozen international agencies which carry out occupational health activities as special programmes, or other activities which are closely related to or have an impact on occupational health. Two United Nations special organizations, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO), have adopted occupational health activities as essential parts of their general programmes since their foundation. Others, such as United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and, for example, the tripartite programme of WHO, ILO, and UNEP, the International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS), have several activities which are relevant to occupational health.
Pesticides
Authors: Hogstedt C
Published: November 2023

The FAO (1986) defines a pesticide as any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, or controlling any pest, including vectors of human or animal disease, unwanted species of plants or animals causing harm during or otherwise interfering with the production, processing, storage, transport, or marketing of food, agricultural commodities, wood and wood products, or animal feedstuffs, or which may be administered to animals for the control of insects, arachnids, or other pests in or on their bodies. The Council of Europe (1984) has stated that pesticides should include, amongst other items, insecticides and acaricides, insect and mite repellents, nematicides, rodenticides, molluscicides, bird and wildlife repellents, fungicides, bactericides, herbicides, defoliants, haulm killers (desiccants), and growth-regulators.
Cat-Scratch Disease
Authors: Drancourt Michel , Raoult Didier
Published: November 2023

The aetiology of cat-scratch disease remains controversial since two bacterial species, Afipia felis and Bartonella (Rochalimaea) henselae, have been isolated from diseased lymph nodes. Most recent reports, however, demonstrated that B. henselae is regularly detected and isolated from such adenopathies, and that the sera of patients with a definitely diagnosed cat-scratch disease exhibit significant titres of anti- Bartonella henselae antibodies, but no antibodies against Afipia felis. Also, B. henselae was isolated from the reservoir (healthy domestic cats), but not A. felis. The precise role of the latter bacterial species remain to be clarified. Both are fastidious, facultative intracellular Gram-negative bacteria. B. henselae, Bartonella quintana, and Bartonella elizabethae cause endocarditis and Bartonella bacilliformis causes septicaemia (Oroya’s fever) in non-immuno- compromised hosts; B. henselae and B. quintana cause fever, bacteraemia, bacillary angiomatosis, and visceral peliosis in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients. We also recently isolated B quintana from a cat-owner with chronic adenopathy.
Ehrlichiosis
Authors: Ewing S A
Published: November 2023

Ehrlichiosis was recognized as a zoonotic disease in the Ozark Plateau of North America in the late 1980s. Earliest cases were assumed to have resulted from Ehrlichia canis infections, but this well-known pathogen of canine agranulocytes was later shown to cross-react with E. chaffeensis, a newly described organism and putative cause of what became known as human (predominantly monocytic) ehrlichiosis. Somewhat later a ‘granulocytic ehrlichiosis’ was recognized in human beings, first in north-central North America (Minnesota and Wisconsin) and later elsewhere; and the causative agent is thought to be identical to a long- recognized Old World ruminant pathogen, E. phagocy- tophila, which, itself, may be identical to E. equi, a granulocytotropic agent first described from horses in California. Evidence assembled to date suggests that ixodid ticks transmit both types of human ehrlichiosis.
Listeriosis
Authors: McLauchlin J , Mee-Marquct N Van der
Published: November 2023

Listeriosis occurs in a variety of animals, including humans, and most often affects the pregnant uterus, the central nervous system, or the bloodstream. During pregnancy, infection spreads to the fetus, which will either be born severely ill or die in utero. In nonpregnant individuals, listeriosis usually presents as meningitis, encephalitis, or septicaemia in the immunocompromised and elderly. Infection can be treated successfully with antibiotics, but 20-40 per cent of human cases are fatal.
Pasteurellosis
Authors: Barrett Nicola J
Published: November 2023

‘Pasteurellosis’ (also known in animals as shipping fever or pneumonia, transport or transit fever, stock- yard pneumonia, bovine pneumonic pasteurellosis, haemorrhagic septicaemia, or avian, bird or fowl cholera), embraces a multitude of diseases caused by different Pasteurella species in animals and humans. Disease in animals usually occurs as a consequence of stress such as overcrowding, chilling, transportation, or as a result of a concurrent infection. Human infections occur after bites, scratches, or licks from infected animals. Infection may be prevented through the avoidance of animal bites and the prompt hygienic care of wounds.
Salmonellosis
Authors: Humphrey T J , Threlfall E J , Cruickshank and. J G
Published: November 2023

Over 2000 food poisoning serotypes of salmonella (bacterium) exist and the prevalence of individual serotypes constantly changes. Host-adapted strains may cause serious illness (e.g. 5. dublin in cattle, 5. pulorum in chickens), but most human food poisoning salmonellas do not cause clinical signs in animals. The main reservoirs for human infection are poultry, cattle, sheep, and pigs. Infection in animals is maintained by recycling slaughterhouse waste as animal feed, faecal- oral spread, and faecal contamination of hatching eggs. Transmission occurs when organisms, introduced into the kitchen in, for example, poultry carcasses, meat, or unpasteurized milk, multiply in food due to inadequate cooking, cross-contamination of cooked foods, and inadequate storage. Person to person spread is common in institutions such as hospitals.
Marburg And Ebola Viruses
Authors: Lloyd G
Published: November 2023

Marburg and Ebola viruses cause severe and often fatal haemorrhagic disease in humans and non-human primates. They are the two established members of the family Filoviridae and have a distinctive filamentous and irregular morphology with a genome consisting of a very large (about 19 kb) single-stranded RNA of negative polarity. Features of their organization and structure at the molecular level have led to their inclusion in the taxonomic order Mononegavirales, together with the paramyxoviruses and the rhabdoviruses.
Rabies
Authors: King A A
Published: November 2023

Rabies virus thrives in most parts of the world; it can replicate in all warm-blooded animals, within which it conceals itself from their immunological defences; almost invariably the resultant disease is fatal, yet the virus ensures its own survival by causing the afflicted, when close to death, to find another host and victim (Gardner and King 1991).
Yellow Fever
Authors: Monath Thomas P
Published: November 2023

Yellow fever is an acute mosquito-bome flavivirus infection characterized in its full-blown form by fever, jaundice, albuminuria, and haemorrhage. Two forms are distinguished: urban yellow fever in which the virus is spread from person to person by peridomestic Aedes aegypti mosquitos and jungle (sylvan) yellow fever transmitted by tree-hole breeding mosquitoes between non- human primates and sometimes humans. Yellow fever is endemic and epidemic in tropical areas of the Americas and Africa but has never appeared in Asia or the Pacific region. Control is through vector control, prevention of mosquito bites, and yellow fever vaccination.
The Leishmaniases
Authors: Ashford R W
Published: November 2023

The leishmaniases are a complex group of diseases ranging from the simple cutaneous lesions of oriental sore which self-cure, to the potentially fatal visceral leishmaniasis known as kala-azar and grossly disfiguring espundia which may erode the mucous membranes, destroying much of the patient’s face. Although all the parasites have similar life cycles and are difficult to distinguish morphologically, they belong to more than 20 species, each with its own distinctive ecological requirements, vector, and reservoir hosts. More than 100 countries are affected and the 400 000 cases reported annually are a small proportion of those occurring.
Giardia Infections
Authors: Thompson R C A
Published: November 2023

Giardia infection is an intestinal disease of humans and other vertebrates caused by infection with the flagellate protozoan Giardia. It is the most common pathogenic intestinal parasite of humans and has a worldwide distribution including both temperate and tropical regions. It is a cause of both sporadic outbreaks of disease and epidemics (Lederberg et al. 1992).
Toxoplasmosis, Sarcocystosis, Isosporosis, And Cyclosporosis
Authors: Dubey J P
Published: November 2023

Toxoplasniosis is a protozoan disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii It is widely prevalent in humans and animals throughout the world, especially in the western hemisphere. Virtually all warm-blooded animals can act as intermediate hosts but the life cycle is completed only in cats, the definitive host. Cats excrete the resistant stage of T. gondii (oocysts) in faeces, and oocysts can survive in the environment for months. Humans become infected congenitally, by ingesting undercooked infected meat, or by ingesting food and water contaminated with oocysts from cat faeces. It can cause mental retardation and loss of vision in congenitally infected children and deaths in immunosuppressed patients, especially those with AIDS. There is no vaccine to control toxoplasmosis in humans at the present time butone is available for sheep.
Oti-Ier Cestode Intections I-Iymenolepiosis, Diphyllobothriosis, Coenurosis, And Other Adult And Larval Cestodes
Authors: Lloyd Sheelagh
Published: November 2023

This chapter examines a number of cestodes in diverse orders. Two of them are common in man, the other sporadic. Hymenolepis (Vampirolepis) nana is the only cestode that has a direct life cycle, both metacestodes and adults develop in the same host. As a result, direct human-human transfer is the most important route of infection and infection is common in man. The exact contribution to human infection by rodent hosts, and by the optional indirect life cycle through arthropods in food, has not been determined.
Zoonotic Infections With Filarial Nematodes
Authors: Denham D A
Published: November 2023

Lymphatic filariosis occurs widely in the wet tropics and subtropics, affecting some 200 000 000 people. In its chronic form the disease causes elephantiasis of the limbs and scrotum and hydrocoel. The disease is caused by two filarial nematodes, Wuchereha bancrofti and Brugia malayi. The large majority of cases are due to W bancrofti which is strictly limited to humans and has no zoonotic reservoir. Brugia malayi exists in two forms, one of which is a zoonosis in Malaysia and Indonesia. Transmission of the zoonotic form is usually through mosquitoes of the genus Mansonia. Control is extremely difficult because the main zoonotic reservoir is the leaf-eating monkey, Presbytis spp. This animal is usually a protected species and lives in very close association with man.
Infestation By Fleas
Authors: Beesley W N
Published: November 2023

There are perhaps 3000 species and subspecies of fleas, belonging to about 200 genera in 15 families, but fortunately very few are of medical or veterinary importance. Some 95 per cent of all species feed on mammals, the others attacking birds and even lizards. Fleas irritate the host when they take their blood feeds and they may stimulate serious hypersensitivity reactions, but their prime importance is in the transmission of various diseases to man and animals. Medically, the key species are Xenopsylla cheopis, which transmits plague and murine typhus, Ctenocephalides spp., the dog and cat fleas, which may transmit certain tapeworms to man, and the sand flea or chigoe, Tunga penetrans, which buries itself in the skin of the toe or foot, causing boil-like lesions.
The Myiases
Authors: Beesley W N
Published: November 2023

The larvae of some 50 species of Diptera can produce myiasis in man. Most species are of little medical importance, but several can be responsible for serious lesions. Damage is usually caused to the skin, which may or may not need to have been damaged in some way in order to facilitate the entry of the first-instar larvae. Myiasis may also affect the eyes, ears, nose, urogenital tract or, rarely, the alimentary canal.
Eurekas and euphorias
Authors: Gratzer Walter
Published: November 2023

The march of science has never proceeded smoothly. It has been marked through the years by episodes of drama and comedy, of failure as well as triumph, and by outrageous strokes of luck, deserved and undeserved, and sometimes by human tragedy. It has seen deep intellectual friendships, as well as ferocious animosities, and once in a while acts of theft and malice, deceit, and even a hoax or two. Scientists come in all shapes - the obsessive and the dilettantish, the genial, the envious, the preternaturally brilliant and the slow-witted who sometimes see further in the end, the open-minded and the intolerant, recluses and arrivistes. From the death of Archimedes at the hands of an irritated Roman soldier to the concoction of a superconducting witches' brew at the very close of the twentieth century, the stories in Eurekas and Euphorias pour out, told with wit and relish by Walter Gratzer. Open this book at random and you may chance on the clumsy chemist who breaks a thermometer in a reaction vat and finds mercury to be the catalyst that starts the modern dyestuff industry; or a famous physicist dissolving his gold Nobel Prize medal in acid to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Nazis, recovering it when the war ends; mathematicians and physicists diverting themselves in prison cells, and even in a madhouse, by creating startling advances in their subject. We witness the careers, sometimes tragic, sometimes carefree, of the great women mathematicians, from Hypatia of Alexandria to Sophie Germain in France and Sonia Kovalevskaya in Russia and Sweden, and then Marie Curie's relentless battle with the French Academy. Here, then, a glorious parade unfolds to delight the reader, with stories to astonish, to instruct, and most especially, to entertain.
Literature in the Roman World
Authors: Taplin Oliver
Published: November 2023

Our present appreciation of Greek and Roman literature should be informed and influenced by consideration of what it was originally appreciated for. The past, for all its alienness, affects and changes the present.' The focus of this book - its new perspective - is on the 'receivers' of literature: readers, spectators, and audiences. Six contributors, drawn from both sides of the Atlantic, explore the various and changing interactions between the makers of literature and their audiences or readers from the beginning of the Roman empire to the end of the classical era. The contributors deploy fresh insights to map out lively and provocative, yet accessible, surveys. They cover the kinds of literature which have shaped western culture - epic, lyric, tragedy, comedy, history, philosophy, rhetoric, epigram, elegy, pastoral, satire, biography, epistle, declamation, and panegyric. Who were the audiences, and why did they regard their literature as so important?
The Pharmacology of Sacred Plants, Herbs, and Roots
Authors: Scarborough John
Published: November 2023

Greek botany produced the landmark Inquiry into Plantsby Theophrastus of Eresus (c. 370-288 B.c.), and this work stands as one of the most remarkable documents of the Peripatetic school. Along with his Causes of Plants, Theophrastus’ Inquiry set a pattern followed in Western botany until the invention of a sexual parts nomenclature by Linnaeus in the eighteenth century. Yet, although morphology dominates Theophrastus’ Inquiry, one finds at the end of the tract an account of herbal lore, the first such work on herbal pharmacy to survive in Greek. The Inquirywas set down by about 300 B.c.