Kosmilisest jahist Põhja-Euraasia kaljutaides

The article treats the possible reflections of the Cosmic Hunt myth in the rock art of Karelia, Siberia, the Far East and Northern Mongolia. The analysis comprises the more interesting groups of depictions, located on the coast of Lake Onega on Cape Peri Nos III, and on the northern Cape of Besov Nos, in Old Zalavruga by the White Sea, in the river basin of the Lena River in Central Siberia and elsewhere. A conclusion is reached that due to the fading of the contents of the myth and the specifics of rock art it is difficult, if not impossible, to prove the relevant connection. Therefore, it might be concluded that in the written materials many motifs of rock art have too easily been associated with the Cosmic Hunt myth

Clustering statistics in cosmology

The main tools in cosmology for comparing theoretical models with the observations of the galaxy distribution are statistical. We will review the applications of spatial statistics to the description of the large-scale structure of the universe. Special topics discussed in this talk will be: description of the galaxy samples, selection effects and biases, correlation functions, Fourier analysis, nearest neighbor statistics, Minkowski functionals and structure statistics. Special attention will be devoted to scaling laws and the use of the lacunarity measures in the description of the cosmic texture.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, uses spie.cls (included). This paper will be published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 4847, 2002, "Astronomical Data Analysis II," J.-L. Stark and F. Murtagh, eds., and is made available as an electronic preprint with permission of SPI

Tähistaeval põhinevatest uskumustest III Vana-Hiina

The article concerns Chinese astral myths, calendar and astrology. Chinese creation myths concern also the creation of the Sun, Moon and stars. The heavenly bodies are constantly endangered by the sky dragon that now and then catches them, probably a reference to eclipses. Cosmology existed in Ancient China in the same sense as in Ancient Greede, though many ancient books were burned on the emperor's orders in 213 BC. Teaching of the endless sky emerged in the Han era, while in 1 century AD the theory of endless empty space was formulated. For the majority of Chinese history, astronomers were in the service of the country - studying and interpreting heavenly phenomena. The Chinese divided the heavenly sphere into several hundred little constellations of one to ten stars. They used the so-called Lunar Zodiac that contained 28 xiu or homes of the Moon but also the Sun Zodiac. Myths concerned the stars and their naming. Heavenly processes were believed to influence the earthly. From China come the earliest observations of solar eclipses and comets. The earliest registered solar eclipse is dated in 720 BC. There are also records about ceremonies dedicated to solar eclipses. Halley's comet has been sighted and recorded since 12 BC at its every passage, but irregularly already since 240 BC. The very first comet descriptions come from 1057-1056 BC. Chinese chronology is based on imperial eras: the inauguration of every emperor started a new era. The Chinese lunar-solar calendar was improved via constant observations. Seasons were determined by the position of the Ursa Major at dawn. The length of synodic months at the time was 29.5 days and a topic year 366 days. A supplementary month was added according to a 19-year cycle. Chinese calendar achieved its contemporary form in 7th-10th centuries

Makrokosmos III

The scientific and religious thought of the Modern Age had a characteristic chronological pattern to describe the linear macrocosmic time scale. First happened the creation of the World and mankind, and the Fall, followed by the Deluge about two millennia later. The time scale was halved by the Crucifixion and Ascension of Christ, soon followed by the end of the world. What waits for mankind is the eternal bliss in Heaven or torment in Hell. The article discusses what happens to the soul after death and before the Last Judgment. Modern religiosity also influences contemporary understanding of science

Iron in the Middle Devonian aquifer system and its removal at Võru County water treatment plants, Estonia

Groundwater abstracted from the Middle Devonian aquifer system is the main source of drinking water in South Estonia. High iron and manganese concentrations in groundwater are the greatest problems in this region. The total iron concentrations up to 16 mg L–1 are mainly caused by a high Fe2+ content in water, pointing to the dominance of reducing conditions in the aquifer system. A pilot study was carried out to estimate the effectiveness of 20 groundwater purification plants with eight different water treatment systems (aeration combined with Manganese Greensand, Birm, Nevtraco, Hydrolit-Mn, Magno-Dol and quartz sand filters) in Võru County. The results demonstrate that in most cases the systems with pre-aeration effectively purify groundwater from iron, but only 13 out of 20 water treatment plants achieved a reduction of iron concentration to the level fixed in drinking water requirements (0.2 mg L–1). Manganese content decreased below the maximum allowed concentration in only 25% of systems and in cases where the filter media was Birm or quartz sand and pre-oxidation was applied. The study showed that the high level of iron purification does not guarantee effective removal of manganese

Kõrvasüljenäärme kasvajad Eestis

Süljenäärmete kasvajad on suhteliselt vähe levinud, moodustades 2–3% pea- ja kaelapiirkonna kasvajatest. Süljenäärmekasvajaid iseloomustab asümptomaatiline kulg, mistõttu nad avastatakse hilises staadiumis. Nii hea- kui ka pahaloomuliste kasvajate puhul on näidustatud radikaalne kirurgiline ravi ning pikaajaline järelkontroll. Töös analüüsiti aastatel 1990–2000 Eestis diagnoositud kõrvasüljenäärme pahaloomulise kasvajaga haigete isikuandmeid, diagnoosimist, raviviiside kasutamist ja prognoosi. Ühe aasta elulemus oli kõige väiksem mittespetsiifilise epiteliaalse kartsinoomi ja mittediferentseerunud kartsinoomiga patsientidel. Ravitulemused olid märgatavalt halvemad haigetel, kes pöördusid haiguse hilisemas staadiumis. Eesti Arst 2006; 85 (1): 9–1

Sarkoidoos – olemus, diagnostika ja ravi

Sarkoidoos on ebaselge etioloogiaga multisüsteemne granulomatoosne haigus, mis esineb sagedamini noortel ja keskeas täiskasvanutel. Haiguse sagedasemateks avaldusvormideks on mõlemapoolne kopsuväratite piirkonna lümfadenopaatia, kopsude infiltraadid ning silmade ja naha haaratus. Teiste elundisüsteemide haigestumine esineb suhteliselt harva. Selline haiguse üldiseloomustus, vastu võetud Kyoto maailmakongressil 1991. aastal, kehtib tänase päevani ning seda on aktsepteerinud ATS (The American Thoracic Society), ERS (The European Respiratory Society) ja WASOG (World Association of Sarcoidosis and Other Granulomatous Disorders) (1). Artiklis käsitletakse sarkoidoosi etiopatogeneesi, kliinilist pilti, diagnoosimist ja ravi. Eesti Arst 2006; 85 (7): 460–47