An Arctic Science Policy? All We Need is a Sovereignty Crisis

... The general consensus appears to be that the Canadian government has lost interest in the Arctic. However we need only to examine our history to see that Canadians, and the government as their representative, have never really been interested in Arctic science and research - that is, unless our Arctic sovereignty seemed to be threatened by a competing interest. ... What policy exists in regard to Canada's polar regions has evolved out of ... knee-jerk reactions. ... Throughout the 1990s, with Arctic sovereignty no longer a hot issue, the government has gone silent on the issue of polar research, pausing once to create the Canadian Polar Commission, and then subsequently cutting the budgets of departments and institutions that support the discovery of polar knowledge. As we enter the 21st century, we will undoubtedly be faced with future perceived encroachments of foreign actors on Canadian soil. Is it true that Canada's effective occupation of the Arctic will diminish with increasing foreign activity there? Can we consider the actions on Axel Heiberg last summer sufficient threat to Canadian sovereignty? If this is the case, then can we expect government, urged on by polar scientists, to respond with an Arctic science policy? ... The only thing that will bring the Arctic back to Canada is not a quick-fix patch, but a concerted effort to mend the relationship through an integrated national science policy with an associated strategic plan, and a strategy for polar science as a component of that plan

The Canadian Polar Commission Strategic Road Map 1999-2000

... As a result of the direction given by Minister Stewart, the board and staff of the CPC met in March to develop collectively a Strategic Roadmap for the Commission's next three-year term. Drawn from the Canadian Polar Commission Act (February 1991), the Roadmap consists of a Vision, Purpose, Values and Beliefs, and Objectives. [These are presented.

Physiology and cell biology of acupuncture observed in calcium signaling activated by acoustic shear wave

This article presents a novel model of acupuncture physiology based on cellular calcium activation by an acoustic shear wave (ASW) generated by the mechanical movement of the needle. An acupuncture needle was driven by a piezoelectric transducer at 100 Hz or below, and the ASW in human calf was imaged by magnetic resonance elastography. At the cell level, the ASW activated intracellular Ca 2+ transients and oscillations in fibroblasts and endothelial, ventricular myocytes and neuronal PC-12 cells along with frequency-amplitude tuning and memory capabilities. Monitoring in vivo mammalian experiments with ASW, enhancement of endorphin in blood plasma and blocking by Gd 3+ were observed; and increased Ca 2+ fluorescence in mouse hind leg muscle was imaged by two-photon microscopy. In contrast with traditional acupuncture models, the signal source is derived from the total acoustic energy. ASW signaling makes use of the anisotropy of elasticity of tissues as its waveguides for transmission and that cell activation is not based on the nervous system. © 2011 The Author(s).published_or_final_versionSpringer Open Choice, 21 Feb 201

Tajemnica krzyża w ujęciu Hansa Ursa von Balthasara

Tym, co najbardziej oryginalne w teologii Hansa Ursa von Balthasara, jest jej trylogiczny układ, a więc podział na estetykę teologiczną, teodramatykę i teologikę. Pierwsza część teologicznej trylogii, skoncentrowana na pięknie estetyka teologiczna (Herrlichkeit), ukazuje Chrystusa jako centrum objawienia chwały Boga; druga jej część, skupiona na dobru teodramatyka (Theodramatik), mówi o działaniu Boga w zbawczym dramacie oraz współpracy człowieka z Bogiem, stawiając w centrum misję Chrystusa; trzecia wreszcie, skonstruowana wokół prawdy teologika (Theologik), wyjaśnia znaczenie wejścia Boga, w szczególności zaś odwiecznego Logosu, w granice skończonej stworzonej logiki.

Global Ocean Governance

This paper presents a few general comments on the effective global ocean governance (GOG). The Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) establishes fundamental legal principles for the governance of the marine environment and its resources. Furthermore, in the context of GOG the international community is conscious that improving of global and regional cooperation ought to be in the mainstream of socio-economic and political discourse. Nowadays, the UNCLOS is not able to give an answer for all new questions arising in the law of the sea. Therefore, it would seem that there is a great need to provide more pragmatic approaches to global ocean governance by international community as well as national governments, using the holistic paradigm of sustainable development. At the regional level, the European Union promotes an integrated maritime policy. Each EU marine Member State is obliged to prepare national integrated maritime policy as a part of the integrated maritime policy of EU. The Maritime Policy of Poland was approved by the Council of Ministers on 17 March 2015

Proton pump inhibitors - possible side effects of long-term therapy: a review

Introduction and purpose: Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), which have been on the market for more than 30 years, are widely regarded as safe and effective medications. For this reason, they are very popular with both doctors and patients. PPIs find their use in the treatment of such ailments as gastroesophageal reflux, gastric ulcer disease or as a shielding therapy when taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Nevertheless, their long-term use may be associated with many side effects. The purpose of our review is to summarize the knowledge in the current medical literature on the possible complications of chronic use of PPIs. The review is based on 30 articles from the most recent publications on chronic PPI treatment. Publications were searched for the words PPI chronic therapy, gastric cancer, omeprazole in PubMed databases. Articles from 2018-2024 represent 70% of all publications from the references.  A brief description of the state of knowledge: Although the use of PPIs in the short term is relatively safe, the number of people taking these drugs has increased significantly in recent years. They are prescribed not always as indicated, patients often take them for too long - this in turn leads to an increasing incidence of side effects. Some of them can permanently affect health and significantly reduce the comfort of life - such as kidney diseases, cardiovascular disorders or gastric cancer. Summary: Considering the widespread availability and popularity of PPIs, it is important to adequately educate both patients and healthcare professionals of the possible side effects. It is crucial to use medications as prescribed, with an appropriate assessment of the risk-benefit ratio. It might result in reducing health care expenditures to deal with the consequences of IPP therapy

Judgments of learning index relative confidence, not subjective probability

The underconfidence-with-practice (UWP) effect is a common finding in calibration studies concerned with judgments of learning (JOLs) elicited on a percentage scale. The UWP pattern is present when, in a procedure consisting of multiple study-test cycles, mean scale JOLs underestimate mean recall performance on cycle 2 and beyond. Although this pattern is present both for items recalled and unrecalled on the preceding cycle, to date research has concentrated mostly on the sources of UWP for the latter type of items. The present study aimed at bridging this gap. In three experiments, we examined calibration on the third of three cycles. The results of Experiment 1 demonstrated the typical pattern of higher recall and scale JOLs for previously recalled items compared to unrecalled ones. More important, they also revealed that even though the UWP effect was found for both items previously recalled once and twice, its magnitude was greater for the former class of items. Experiments 2 and 3, which employed a binary betting task and a binary 0/100% JOL task, respectively, demonstrated that people can accurately predict future recall for previously recalled items with binary decisions. In both experiments, the UWP effect was absent both for items recalled once and twice. We suggest that the sensitivity of scale JOLs, but not binary judgments, to the number of previous recall successes strengthens the claim of Hanczakowski, Zawadzka, Pasek, and Higham (2013) that scale JOLs reflect confidence in, rather than the subjective probability of, future recall

Testing the retrieval effort hypothesis: Does greater difficulty correctly recalling information lead to higher levels of memory?

a b s t r a c t Although substantial research has demonstrated the benefits of retrieval practice for promoting memory, very few studies have tested theoretical accounts of this effect. Across two experiments, we tested a hypothesis that follows from the desirable difficulty framewor