The long-term impact of the Chernobyl accident on the most affected populations in Belarus, Ukraine and the Russian Federation is still evident in terms of a continuing elevated level of thyroid cancer, prominent psychosocial effects, a depressed economy and a low level of well being. Some of these impacts are directly and primarily attributable to exposure to ionising radiation, while others have

At the Rio Earth Summit of 1992 governments undertook to develop and adopt national sustainable development strategies as a key component of implementing the goals of Agenda 21. Only partial progress was reported at the 2002 World Summit in Johannesburg, with uncertainty as to the effectiveness of those strategies that had been introduced. This paper describes a methodology for assessing a country

Environmental assessment (EA)1 systems in the countries-in-transition (CITs) in Central and Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia have been significantly reformed over the last decade. Considerable research efforts have focused on the degree to which EA in this region conforms to best international practice, functions well and results in environmental and democratic improvements. This article

The Paper describes the main directions and the outcomes of the reform of EA legislation in practice in 27 former socialist countries in the 1990s. During this period, more than 100 legal acts in the field of EA have been introduced and EA has become one of the most widely used environmental policy tools. The process of political and economic transition has significantly influenced the evolution o

The environmental impact assessment (EIA) process has been used in a number of countries since the early 1970s as an instrument of environmental regulation at the planning stage of economic activity. Since the mid-1980s, some of the principle of EIA have been introduced in the USSR's environmental legislation and regulations which has resulted in the development of two distinctive regulatory conce

This paper discusses musical gesture from an understanding of musical perception as embodied and enactive, also drawing specifically on Denis Smalley’s [(2007). Space-form and the acousmatic image. Organised Sound, 12(1), 35–58] analysis of performed space. I will provide examples of how choreographies (performed by musicians, with and without their instruments), new music (for Vietnamese and West

This study identifies and applies methods for evaluating the human response to pedestrian lighting applications intended for future use by the municipality of Malmö, Sweden. The methods employed provide a supplementary perspective to that given by the photometric properties of the lighting applications. The study involved 89 participants from two age groups (Young: N: 43, 19–31 yrs.; Elderly: N: 4

Some strains of the bacterial pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes secrete protein SIC (streptococcal inhibitor of complement), including strains of the clinically relevant M1 serotype. SIC neutralizes the effect of a number of antimicrobial proteins/peptides and interferes with the function of the host complement system. Previous studies have shown that some S. pyogenes proteins bind and modulate coag

Importance: Geographic atrophy (GA) is a progressing atrophy of the neuroretina with no treatment option. Background: Age-related malfunction of retinal microglia amplifies response towards age-related tissue stress in age-related macular degeneration. Here, we investigated monocyte CD200 expression – the circulating middleman negotiating retinal microglial activity – in a poorly understood subtyp

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to compare the impact of peritoneal dialysis (PD) and institutional hemodialysis (IHD), the 2 most common dialysis modalities, on employment, work income, and disability pension in Sweden.METHODS: Included in this study were 4,734 patients in IHD and PD, aged 20 - 60 years, starting treatment in Sweden during 1995 - 2012, and surviving the first year of dialysi

Aim: Vitamin D stimulates production of the endogenous antimicrobial peptides cathelicidin and β-defensin-2, which are expressed in the urinary tract. We investigated vitamin D status and levels of cathelicidin and β-defensin-2 and their association with urinary tract infection (UTI). Methods: The study included 120 children under three years of age: 76 children with UTIs and 44 otherwise healthy