People''s clothing behaviour according to external weather and indoor environment

In prehistoric times man wore furs of animals to protect himself from the cold. Successively over the centuries clothing has become also a tool to distinguish ourselves in society. Clothing has in addition an important impact on people's perception of the indoor environment.

Clothing behaviour has been analysed by investigating the external and indoor parameters that motivate people's choice of clothing. Based on two existing databases, two types of buildings have been investigated: air-conditioned and naturally ventilated (NV) buildings. The impact of outdoor temperature on people's clothing selection has been considered. The outdoor temperature at 6 a.m. seems to affect people's choice of clothes the most. Gender does not significantly affect the selection of clothing insulation.

Latitude has also been investigated and a good correlation has been found between clothing insulation and external temperature in the ranges 20°–40° and −20° to −40° for NV buildings.

Indoor air temperature does not seem to influence the clothing choice early in the morning but it does seem to influence the change of clothing during the day, if this is authorized, in workplaces in NV buildings. Such action can be termed “clothing adjustment” during the day.

Some computer simulations on a test reference year have been carried out for a typical air-conditioned office to analyse a person's comfort when wearing different clothes. It is possible to see that in air-conditioned buildings a variation of 0.1 clo is sufficient to change totally the comfort evaluation. It is evident that further studies are needed in this field.     

Molecular-biological approaches to studying gene expression during regeneration

This paper constitutes a review of the methodical approaches allowing analysis of the mechanisms underlying development and differentiation. Progress in investigation of the mechanisms underlying embryogenesis is related to the discovery of genic families in the Drosophila genome, which are responsible for different periods of embryogenesis. The true revolution in studies of developmental mechanisms began with the application of molecular-genetic methods for analysis of Drosophila mutant lines. The clarification and analysis of the genes controlling regeneration is one of the most effective paths toward an understanding of the mechanisms underlying regeneration. No mutations affecting regeneration are, and the development of alternative (i.e., not based on mutation analysis) methods of discovery of the genes controlling regeneration is necessary for investigation of the genetic mechanisms of regeneration. The advantages and drawbacks of the two main approaches for discovery of the genes controlling regeneration are considered. The first approach is based on the production of a bank of sequences expressed in the regenerating structures and subsequent screening of the bank by the known probes. This approach also involves analysis of the structure, function, and expression pattern of the obtained homologs. The second approach is based on subtractive hybridization, which allows identification of the genes specifically expressed in the regenerating structures. This approach was made it possible to identify, for the first time, new genes specifically expressed during lens and retina regeneration in amphibians.     

The use of immunomodulators in the surgical treatment of complicated gastric disease

While examination of 83 patients it was established that in the presence of complicated gastric and duodenal ulcer disease the secondary immune deficiency is developing, which deepens after the surgical intervention conduction. Tiotriazolin, promoting the immune system state and the blood biochemistry indexes normalization, the immune system state and the blood biochemistry indexes stimulation, hemopoiesis stimulation, the treatment results improvement, was applied for immunomodulation.     

Use of the CRITIKON Cerebral Redox for cerebral oximetry

Gaucher-like cells were found in the bone marrow and liver of an Omani teenager who had common acute lymphoblastic leukemia (cALL) confirmed on peripheral blood analysis by the presence of CD10 antigen. Leukocytic or fibroblastic beta-glucocerebrosidase enzyme activity was not measured, but other biochemical data and features of bone marrow on electron microscopy were not indicative of genuine type 1 Gaucher's disease. To our knowledge, this is the first report of pseudo-Gaucher's cells in association with cALL.     

Analysis of electrical phenomena accompanying the growth of Neurospora crassa hyphae: theory and experiment

To describe electrical phenomena observed in growth of Neurospora crassa hyphae, a theoretical model was developed considering the hypha as a one-dimensional electric cable with non-uniform longitudinal distribution of current sources reflecting the activity of proton pumps. A profile of the density of the pump current along the hypha is proposed, at which the results of simulation quantitatively coincide with the results of physiological experiments. The model values of energy coupling in the growth zones were estimated. The experimental dependence of the elongation rate of regenerating apical hypha fragments on their lengths was determined. Based on the comparison of these experimental results with the results of analysis of the model, the contribution of the axial metabolite transport, from the distal parts of the hypha to the apical part, to the dynamics of the apical cell growth was estimated. The possibility of evaluating the intensity of high-molecular-weight syntheses and/or accumulation of substances in granules was demonstrated. The growth rate of the regenerating hypha fragments was shown to correlate with the electric current flowing into the apical fragment 0.2-mm in length.     

Polymorphism of pericentromere heterochromatin of polytene chromosomes of ovarian trophocytes in natural populations of the malaria mosquito Anopheles messeae Fall

The HBsAg status and demographic data of 2480 pregnant women who attended antenatal clinics at Maternal and Child Health Centres in Hong Kong were collected by means of a self-administered questionnaire over a 1-week period in July 1996, to explore the underlying reason of a higher than expected HBsAg prevalence. Local women constituted 49.2% of the sample, mainland Chinese 39.7% and others 11.1%. The overall HBsAg prevalence was 10.0%. When related to place of birth, those born in Hong Kong had a prevalence of 8.4% whereas the prevalence of those born in mainland China was 13.1% (P < 0.001). The overall HBsAg carriage rate is high because of a higher rate in immigrants in the community. It is apparent that the HBsAg prevalence of local people in Hong Kong has been decreasing in the past decade. Overall, the current HBsAg carriage rate in the local adult population is estimated to have declined to about 8%.     

Reflections on the state of research: indoor environmental quality

More than 30 years after the First International Indoor Climate Symposium, ten researchers from the USA, Slovakia, Sweden, and Denmark gathered to review the current status of indoor environmental research. We initiated our review with discussions during the 1-day meeting and followed that with parallel research and writing efforts culminating with internal review and revision cycles. In this paper, we present our choices for the most important research findings on indoor environmental quality from the past three decades followed by a discussion of the most important research questions in our field today. We then continue with a discussion on whether there are research areas for which we can 'close the book' and say that we already know what is needed. Finally, we discuss whether we can maintain our identity in the future or it is time to team up with new partners. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: In the early years of this field, the accumulated knowledge was small and it was possible for any researcher to acquire a complete understanding. To do so has become impossible today as what we know has grown to exceed the learning capacity of any person. These circumstances challenge us to work collectively to synthesize what we do know and to define clearly what remains to be learned. If we fail to do these things well, we risk repeating research without memory, an inefficiency that we cannot afford.