Радиационный анизотропный оптикотермоэлемент с боковым термостатированием

Предложены выражения для расчета характеристик и конструкция приемника, не искажающего амплитудно-фазовые характеристики проходящего лучистого потока

Cosmopolitism, Global Justice and International Law

Contains fulltext : 213411.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)6 p

Shade avoidance: phytochrome signalling and other aboveground neighbour detection cues

Plants compete with neighbouring vegetation for limited resources. In competition for light, plants adjust their architecture to bring the leaves higher in the vegetation where more light is available than in the lower strata. These architectural responses include accelerated elongation of the hypocotyl, internodes and petioles, upward leaf movement (hyponasty), and reduced shoot branching and are collectively referred to as the shade avoidance syndrome. This review discusses various cues that plants use to detect the presence and proximity of neighbouring competitors and respond to with the shade avoidance syndrome. These cues include light quality and quantity signals, mechanical stimulation, and plant-emitted volatile chemicals. We will outline current knowledge about each of these signals individually and discuss their possible interactions. In conclusion, we will make a case for a whole-plant, ecophysiology approach to identify the relative importance of the various neighbour detection cues and their possible interactions in determining plant performance during competitio

Intrauterine exposure to mild analgesics during pregnancy and the occurrence of cryptorchidism and hypospadia in the offspring: The Generation R Study

This article is available open access through the publisher’s website. Copyright @ 2012 The Authors.BACKGROUND - Recently, over-the-counter mild analgesic use during pregnancy has been suggested to influence the risk of reproductive disorders in the offspring. We examined the influence of maternal exposure to mild analgesics during pregnancy on the occurrence of cryptorchidism and hypospadia in their offspring. METHODS - Associations between maternal exposure to mild analgesics during pregnancy and cryptorchidism or hypospadia in the offspring were studied in 3184 women participating in a large population-based prospective birth cohort study from early pregnancy onwards in the Netherlands (2002–2006), the Generation R Study. Cryptorchidism and hypospadia were identified during routine screening assessments performed in child health care centres by trained physicians. The use of mild analgesics was assessed in three prenatal questionnaires in pregnancy, resulting in four periods of use, namely, periconception period, first 14 weeks of gestation, 14–22 weeks of gestation and 20–32 weeks of gestation. Logistic regression analyses were used to study the associations between maternal exposure to mild analgesics and cryptorchidism and hypospadia. RESULTS - The cumulative prevalence over 30 months of follow up was 2.1% for cryptorchidism and 0.7% for hypospadia. Use of mild analgesics in the second period of pregnancy (14–22 weeks) increased the risk of congenital cryptorchidism [adjusted odds ratio (OR) 2.12; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.17–3.83], primarily due to the use of acetaminophen (paracetamol) (adjusted OR 1.89; 95% CI 1.01–3.51). Among mothers of cryptorchid sons, 33.8% reported (23 of 68) the use of mild analgesics during pregnancy, compared with 31.8% (7 of 22) of mothers with a boy with hypospadia and 29.9% (926 of 3094) of mothers with healthy boys. CONCLUSIONS - Our results suggest that intrauterine exposure to mild analgesics, primarily paracetamol, during the period in pregnancy when male sexual differentiation takes place, increases the risk of cryptorchidism.Erasmus University Rotterdam, School of Law and Faculty of Social Sciences, the Municipal Health Service Rotterdam area, Rotterdam, the Rotterdam Homecare Foundation, Rotterdam and the Stichting Trombosedienst & Artsenlaboratorium Rijnmond (STAR), Rotterdam

Mind the gap: Can we explain declining male reproductive health with known antiandrogens?

This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Several countries have experienced rises in cryptorchidisms, hypospadias and testicular germ cell cancer. The reasons for these trends are largely unknown, but Skakkebaek has proposed that these disorders form a testicular dysgenesis syndrome and can be traced to androgen insufficiency in foetal life. This suggests that antiandrogenic chemicals might contribute to risks, but few chemicals have been linked to these diseases in epidemiological studies. In animal studies with p,p0-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene, effects typical of disruptions of male sexual differentiation became apparent when the foetal levels of this androgen receptor (AR) antagonist approached values associated with responses in in vitro assays. This prompted us to analyse whether the 22 chemicals with AR antagonistic properties would produce mixture effects in an in vitro AR antagonism assay when combined at concentrations found in human serum. Other antiandrogenic modalities could not be considered. Two scenarios were investigated, one representative of average serum levels reported in European countries, the other in line with levels towards the high exposures. In both situations, the in vitro potency of the 22 selected AR antagonists was too low to produce combined AR antagonistic effects at the concentrations found in human serum, although the high exposure scenario came quite close to measurable effects. Nevertheless, our analysis exposes an explanation gap which can only be bridged by conjuring up as yet undiscovered high potency AR antagonists or, alternatively, high exposures to unknown agents of average potency