From cruelty to welfare: the emergence of farm animal welfare in Britain, 1964-71

There is a long history of concern in Britain for how animals are treated. Until the 1960s, these concerns were expressed largely in terms of cruelty or suffering, which was prevented through various acts of Parliament. Over the period 1964-71, amidst public debates about intensive farming, a new discourse of animal welfare emerged. To understand what welfare meant and how it became established as a term, a concept and a target of government regulation, it is necessary to examine farming politics and practices, the existing tradition of animal protection and attempts to rethink the nature of animal suffering.     

Credibility battles in the autism litigation

That vaccines do not cause autism is now a widely accepted proposition, though a few dissenters remain. An 8-year court process in the US federal vaccine injury compensation court ended in 2010 with rulings that autism was not an adverse reaction to vaccination. There were two sets of trials: one against the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and one against the mercury-based preservative thimerosal. The MMR story is more widely known because of publicity surrounding the main proponent of an MMR-autism link, British doctor Andrew Wakefield, but the story of thimerosal in court is largely untold. This study examines the credibility battles and boundary work in the two cases, illuminating the sustaining world of alternative science that supported the parents, lawyers, researchers, and expert witnesses against vaccines. After the loss in court, the families and their advocates transformed their scientific arguments into an indictment of procedural injustice in the vaccine court. I argue that the very efforts designed to produce legitimacy in this type of lopsided dispute will be counter-mobilized as evidence of injustice, helping us understand why settling a scientific controversy in court does not necessarily mean changing anyone's mind.     

Characterizing the mechanical parameters of forward and backward falls as experienced in snowboarding

Wrist injuries are frequently observed after falls in snowboarding. In this study, laboratory experiments mimicking forward and backward falls were analysed. In six different falling scenarios, participants self-initiated falls from a static initial position. Eighteen volunteers conducted a total of 741 trials. Measurements were taken for basic parameters describing the kinematics as well as the biomechanical loading during impact, such as impact force, impact acceleration, and velocity. The effective mass affecting the wrist in a fall also was determined. The elbow angle at impact showed a more extended arm in backward falls compared to forward falls, whereas the wrist angle at impact remained similar in forward and backward falls. The study results suggest a new performance standard for wrist guards, indicating the following parameters to characterize an impact: an effective mass acting on one wrist of 3-5 kg, an impact angle of 75 degrees of the forearm relative to the ground, and an impact velocity of 3 m/s.     

Does sensorimotor training improve the static balance of young volleyball players?

The aim of this investigation is to assess the effectiveness of a 6-week balance training (BT) protocol, integrated in regular training sessions, on postural sway of young female volleyball players (n = 26, age 13.0 +/- 0.2 years) divided into two groups (intervention and control; 13 per group). Trials were performed for bipedal and unipedal stance conditions before and after the BT protocol, using a pressure platform to collect center-of-pressure (COP) time series that were processed to calculate sway area, COP path length, and maximum displacement range in anteroposterior and mediolateral directions. The intervention group exhibited smaller sway areas in eyes closed conditions (intervention = 42.76 mm2, control = 67.60 mm2; p < 0.05) and Romberg quotients (intervention = 1.11 mm, control = 1.82 mm) in bipedal stance, while all the other parameters were unaffected. BT also reduced sway area (intervention = 122.70 mm2, control = 187.18 mm2) and anteroposterior COP displacements (intervention = 20.18 mm, control = 22.38 mm) of the non-dominant limb for single-leg stance. No significant change was found for the dominant limb. Although it is possible to hypothesize a beneficial effect of BT on young athletes, further investigations are required to clarify its actual effect on balance performance with respect to normal volleyball training.     

机电一体化专业工学结合教育模式的改革与实践——以阿克苏职业技术学院为例

结合区域产业结构的特点,通过对机电一体化专业教学计划适时调整,加大实验室和实训基地建设力度,加强"双师"素质教师队伍建设,积极开展教研教改,严格教学过程管理等方面的改革,在工学结合教育模式改革方面取得了明显成效.     

加拿大高等教育国际化政策面临的三个挑战

国际化在加拿大高等教育政策中至今未能受到高度重视,原因有三：一是20世纪60到70年代政府主张大学更多地关注有关本土的经验;二是加拿大的联邦政治架构致使教育、外交和国际贸易相互分离,各级政府难以合作推进国际化;三是由于历史原因人们担忧国际化会削弱大学满足本国公民入学需求的能力。改变现状的关键在于,加拿大政府应该把国际化视作一项重要的国内事务。     

人生如树

总希望站成一种风景。人生如树,理当挺立。 旅途坎坷,梦中的绿叶常在风雨中飘落．唯剩下孤零零的枝干在风中摇曳。     

为成为全球公民做好准备——在新生开学典礼上的演讲

各位2006级的同学们,我很高兴,能与沙利文院长一起在这儿欢迎你们来到耶鲁大学。我也要向一起参加典礼的家长及亲友们表示诚挚的欢迎,尤其要感谢这些家长们,感谢你们把这些才华横溢、充满希望的孩子委托给耶鲁,他们将在耶鲁度过美好的大学时光。     

中学足球教学的控球练习

近年来,我国各级各类足球队在国际赛场上表现得十分不尽如人意,引起了国人的深刻反思,并找出了症结所在之处——足球后备人才非常缺乏。我国广大青少年都集中在中学学习,且随着我国社会经济的发展和基础教育办学条件的改善,许多中学都拥有了较完善的足球场地设施。因此,加强中学足球教学既具有必要性,又具有可能性。目前学术界关于中学足球教学的研究成果十分鲜见,本文围绕如何开展控球练习,对此问题进行了一些探讨。     

Clodronate-containing liposomes attenuate lung injury in rats with severe acute pancreatitis

Objectives:Severe acute pancreatitis(SAP) can lead to acute lung injury(ALI) .The purpose of this paper is to investigate the protective effect of clodronate-containing liposomes on ALI in rats with SAP.Methods:The thin film method was used to prepare liposomes.Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups.After the SAP model was established by injecting 5%(w/v) sodium taurocholate(2 ml/kg body weight) into the subcapsular space of the pancreata,normal saline was administered to the control(C) group,phosphate buffer solution(PBS) -containing liposome to the Pgroup,and clodronate-containing liposome to the Tgroup through tail veins.Blood samples were obtained from the superior mesenteric vein at 2 and 6 h to measure the levels of amylase,interleukin-6(IL-6) ,and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) .Morphological changes in the pancreata and lung were observed using hematoxylin and eosin(HE) staining,while cell apoptosis was detected using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling(TUNEL) .In addition,the macrophage marker cluster of differentiation 68(CD68) in lung tissue was detected with immunohistochemistry.Results:Blood levels of amylase,IL-6,and TNF-αwere significantly increased in the Pgroup compared to those in the Tgroup(P0.05) .In the Tgroup,large numbers of TUNEL-positive cells were observed,but no or few in the C and Pgroups.Gross inspection and HE staining of pancreata and lung showed dramatic tissue damage,including inflammation and necrosis in the Pgroup.Less remarkable changes were noted in the Tgroup,and the C group exhibited normal histology.The histological scores according to Kaiser's criteria were consistent with HE findings.The number of CD68-positive macrophages decreased in the Tgroup.Conclusions:Clodronate-containing liposomes have a protective effect against ALI in rats with SAP.Blockade of macrophages may represent a novel therapeutic strategy in SAP.