Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever: An Overview

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a zoonotic viral infection that is a serious threat to humans. The disease is widely distributed in Africa, Asia, and Europe and has developed into a serious public health concern. Humans become infected through the bites of ticks, by contact with a patient with CCHF, or by contact with blood or tissues from viremic livestock. Microvascular instability and impaired hemostasis are the hallmarks of the infection. Infection in human begins with nonspecific febrile symptoms, but may progress to a serious hemorrhagic syndrome with high mortality rates. Enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) are the most used and specific tests for the diagnosis. The mainstay of treatment is supportive. Although definitive studies are not available, ribavirin is suggested to be effective especially at the earlier phase of the infection. Uses of universal protective measures are the best way to avoid the infection. In this review, all aspects of CCHF are overviewed in light of the current literature.

Human Driving Forces:Analysis of Rocky Desertification in Karst Region in Guanling County,Guizhou Province

Karst rocky desertification is one of the major ecological and environmental problems that threaten the sustainable development of southwestern China. It is caused by irrational and intensive land-use patterns in karst geo-ecological environment. Therefore, it is vital to identify how human forces work on this degraded environment. Based on the soil erosion information in 2000 and remote sensing images of Guanling County collected in 2000 and 2007, four grades of karst rocky desertification data in 14 villages of Guanling County were extracted. Impacts of population, affluence, and other human forces on karst rocky desertification were analyzed using STIRPAT model. The results show that:1) Factors of population and affluence had strong influence on karst rocky desertification. In the STIRPAT model analysis, the population and affluence coefficients were positive, indicating that the increase in population and affluence would lead to more serious desertification. 2) Factors of farmer correlated with karst rocky desertification negatively, especially the way of viewing the relationship between people and nature, and the level of knowledge about rocky desertification. Government behavior was not a significant factor in this analysis. 3) The findings provide evidence that STIRPAT model can be used to analyze the relationship between human driving forces and rocky desertification.

Heart failure in the elderly

Heart failure （HF） is a major public health problem worldwide entailing high morbidity and mortality as well as high costs. This chronic syndrome associates with a low functional status and quality of life. Most patients with HF are elderly, constituting up to 80% of patients suffering from this disease with both incidence and prevalence of the condition increasing with age. This is due to the progressive aging of the population as well as improved and better survival after cardiac insults, such as myocardial infarction,

Prevalence of atrial fibrillation in Thai elderly

Atrial fibrillation （AF） is an important health problem due to its association with serious complications.Ill Stroke is one of the most serious complications and is the leading cause of death and disabilities in this population. AF in- creases the risk of embolic stroke five times compared to general population. The prevalence of AF varies from 0.5%-15% depending on studied populations such as age,

Religion and Feminism in the Short Story of Alifa Rifaat-- The Voice of the ＂Voiceless＂

This paper is an attempt to bring to the foreground a better understanding and appreciation of the work and impact of an Arab Muslim woman writer whose work, characters, thoughts, settings, and words sink very sensitively into the depth of being of her oriental women characters. They are very local and they reflect a typical oriental and distinct religious sentiment, along with an underlying predicament or suffering because of some lack in their love life, both emotional and sexual. This paper will attempt to analyze how the short story written by Alifa Rifaat （1987） deal with the thorny issues Of religiosity and sexuality that might appear as two opposing poles, yet they mix and blend within same characters exposing different aspects of the human being living within dilemmas of personal needs and social dictates of tradition, taboo, and culture. For a non Arab reader, this should be an interesting and informative cross-cultural issue.

Changes in Land Use and Agricultural Production Structure Before and After the Implementation of Grain for Green Program in Western China–Taking Two Typical Counties as Examples

Soil erosion becomes a serious environmental problem in the world, especially in western China. An effective management practice called the Grain for Green Program(GGP), which was launched in 1999, aims to reduce soil and water loss and alleviate the ecological environment problem in western China. Two typical counties in western China, the Zhongxian(in Chongqing Municipality) and Ansai(in Shaanxi Province) were chosen to evaluate the dynamic changes of land use and agricultural production structure before and after the implementation of the Program in this paper. The results showed that the cultivated land area was reduced by 7.08% from 1989 to 2003. The cultivated land per person was decreased by 8.42% during 1999-2003. Moreover, the stability index of the secondary sector of the economy was increased from 0.91 in the period 1990-1999 to 0.94 in the following ten years. In addition, the stability index of tertiary economic sector increased from 0.88 to 0.92 in Zhongxian county. Meanwhile, the cultivated land area was reduced by 15.48% from 1990 to 1999. The soil erosion modulus was decreased by 33.33% from 1999 to 2006. Also, the stability index of secondary and tertiary economic sectors was 0.86 in the period 1998-2002. However, it decreased by 77% during 2002 to 2007 in Ansai County. These results imply that the Grain for Green Program had different impact on the two regions. Several effective strategies of soil and water conservation have been carried out to ameliorate the sustainable development of ecological environment and economy in these two counties of western China.

What Kind of Security Concept Does Our World Need?

While the threat of war has decreased, there have appeared intricate security issues that affect all aspects of human life, breaking through various defenses and threatening the well being of all actors in the contemporary world, including nations, groups and individuals. This risky situation calls for a new security concept, one that transcends traditional state centrism, national supremacy and coercion. The new security concept, which should assimilate the general theory of grand strategy,focuses on a vision that spans time and space, valuing humankind as it exists as one of the dynamic factors of nature and society. The essentials of the new security concept are to recognize balanced development as the substance of security and to govern national strength and the application of means and tactics. It aims at realizing comprehensive security across various social fields within states, to achieve mutual security among national, international and individual actors, as well as harmony between man and nature, continuous security leading to lasting and universal peace in the future.

Synthesis and Anti-tumor Activity Study of Shogaol Analogues

As one of the largest global public health problems, cancer greatly endangers human health. Researchers have been committed to discovering anticancer drugs with high efficiency and low toxicity. Shogaol, a kind of ingredient from ginger with high anti-tumor activity, has attracted our attention. This study was an investigation on the composition and structure-activity relationship of different analogues of shogaol, with the purpose to screen for shogaol compounds which had higher anti-tumor activity and could be easily synthesized. We chose zingerone as the starting material to synthesize shogaol through four-step reactions without protective group, as a result, 31 analogues were synthesized for anti-tumor activity detect. The biological test results showed that： the missing of the unsaturated ketone and the phenolic hydroxyl group reduced the anti-tumor activity of shogaol; the site of phenolic hydroxyl had no significant influence on the anti-tumor activity, the indicating that the larger the steric hindrance of substituent, the lower the activity, but the higher the activity of cyclobutyl substituted derivatives.

Evie＇s Ethical Choices in the World of Noir Ethical Literary Reading of Judy Blundell＇ s What I Saw and How I Lied

In the novel What I Saw and How I Lied （2008）, Judy Blundell presents readers a world of noir where so many lies are around the innocent protagonist, 15-year-old girl Evie. It is a challenge for Evie to probe into the heart of the deceptions and make ethical choices between good and evil. After experiencing the path from error to truth, from confusion to clarity, and unconsciousness to consciousness, Evie comes to realize the corruption and evils of the society and in an epiphany, obtains a self-knowledge which leads to her initiation. Through analyzing the ethical predicament and ethical choices of the protagonist Evie as well as the negative living environment around her, the present paper aims to interrogate the moral issues of truth, lie, justice, greed, fidelity, and betrayal so as to give readers a better understanding of the theme of initiation in the novel.

Hydro Bioreactor a Sustainable Technology for Vermicomposting

The adverse impact of chemical agriculture in the India on the soil, water, environment and human health （of consumers and farm families） exacerbates rural poverty, even as agriculture productivity remains low. Poor families, especially women, are the most affected by the health and environmental risks that are brought on by chemical agriculture, and they are hardest hit by the deteriorating productivity. On the other hand, the solid waste management problem in India is increasingly being felt in rural and urban areas. In this study, the author proposes to practice ofvermicomposting as technology for both sustainable agriculture and solid waste management, using the Hydro Bioreactor with vegetable waste. This technique is studied in the present research work which is simple and potentially inexpensive. Experiments were conducted to determine the changes in the physicochemical parameters and the dominant species of microorganisms at different temperatures during entire process of vermicomposting were investigated. The vermicompost developed in the hydro bioreactor was found to have comparatively high value of nutrients which can serve as natural fertilizer. The hydro bioreactor vermicomposting has proved very effective and efficient for developing compost from vegetable waste.

Effects of 6-Month Weight Loss New Program on Anthropometric Measurements and Biological Profile

Obesity has become a leading global health problem owing to its strong association with a high incidence of diseases. Obesity is results from the complex interaction of environmental factors that act on a genetic background and led to excess accumulated of body fat. Treatment of obesity includes determination of the degree of obesity, management weight loss programme and maintenance of body weight. To investigate effect 6 months safe weight loss program on anthropometric measurements and biological and metabolic profiles in obese patients. 35 obese patients were enrolled in the present study： 20 female, 15 male. Participants underwent a comprehensive series of biochemical, anthropometrical, physical, and nutritional prior to treatment- at baseline and after the six-month of the obesity treatment program. 6 months weight loss program. Diet plan intervention in small groups. In-person training and individual diet plan intervention. There is significant reduction in weight and high improvement in laboratory parameters. Our data showed that there an improvement in weight loss. These finding may be important for controlling obesity-related co-morbidities. It would appear that moderate weight loss of 8-10 % observed in our study resulted in significant improvements in laboratory parameters

20世纪“新儒家”探索中国“新村”音乐文化建设思想研究

20世纪初至30年代,以王光祈、梁漱溟为代表的"新儒家"学派,认为音乐文化对当时中国"新村"建设具有重要的作用,并谋求以"礼乐"为本和会通他学的学术态度,去进行农村社会改造和农村文化建设事业的探索。他们直面乡村的"人生问题"与"乡村精神"建设问题,以求依托"少年中国学会"和"合作社"团体,去具体实施"新农村运动",试图改变当时无序的中国农村社会环境,提高农民的素质和改变农民旧有观念等问题,达到最终解决"人生问题"的目的。在他们看来,唯有"创造",方能改变当时中国农村音乐文化建设中的不足和缺憾。

Time analysis of fatal traffic accidents in Fars Province of Iran

Objective： To analyze the time factor in road traffic accidents （RTAs） in Fats Province of Iran. Methods： This study was conducted in Fars Province, Iran from November 22, 2009 to November 21,2011. Victims＇ information consisted of age, sex, death toll involving dri- vers or passengers of cars, motorcycles and pedestrians, and site of injury etc. Accidents were analyzed in relation to hour of the day, season of the year, lighting condition in- cluding sunrise, sunset, daytime and nighttime. Results： Atotal of 3 642 deaths （78.3% were males, and the ratio of males to females was about 3.6：1） were studied regarding their autopsy records. There was a steady in- crease in fatal accidents occurring at midnight to 15：59. The risk of being involved in a fatal traffic accident was higherfor those injured between 4：00 to 7：59 than at other times （OR=2.13, 95% C11.85-2.44）. The greatest number of fatal RTAs took place in summer. Mortalities due to RTA during spring and summer were more pronounced at 20：00 to 23：59 and midnight to 3：59, whereas mortalities in fall and winter were more pronounced from 12：00 to 15：59. Conclusion： The high mortality rate ofRTAis a major public health problem in Fars Province. Our results indicate that the time is an important factor which contributes to road traffic deaths.

EXTINCTION AND WAVEFRONT IN AN AGE-STRUCTURED POPULATION MODEL ON INFINITE PATCHES WITH DISTRIBUTED MATURATION DELAY

In this paper, we derive a lattice model for a single species on infinite patches of one-dimensional space with that the maturation could occur at any age. The formulation involves a distribution of possible ages of maturation and a probability density function on which ecological assumptions are made. The following results are obtained： the existence and isotropy of the unique nonnegative solution for initial value problem, the extinction of the species provided with the non-existence of positive equilibria, and the existence of wavefronts with the wave speed c 〉 c＊.