The Global Animal Law Project

The Global Animal Law Project (GAL) is a newly formed non-governmental organization (NGO) whose objective is to "help reduce animal suffering and create a friendlier world for humans and animals alike" and further described "in short, the goal and aim of the GAL Project is to help and create a new framework for the global discussion on animals in law.

Evaluación de migración de aluminio durante la cocción de arroz blanco en ollas de aluminio

Every day in the Ecuadorian households aluminum cooking pots are used for cooking, without knowing haw much the metallic waste that is transferred to the food. This work focused to evaluate the migration of aluminum transferred during the cooking of white rice (Oryza sativa L.) in the aluminium pots. It has warked with six types of pots from different trademarks of greater presence in the market. In these the food was cooked for 15 minutes. From each experimental unit 50.0 grams of sample were taken and, after drying, it was calcined to obtain total ashes. These were subjected to the acid digestion process. The aluminum quantification was carried by the atomic absorption technique with nitrous oxide-acetylene flame. Five sequential work cycles were carried out with each container. The results obtained were compared with the maximum permissible limit of 1 mg Al/kg of food established by the WHO and the European Union. It was observed that after the third work cycle the migration of aluminum decrease below acceptable level except in one of the samples. The study allows to conclude that the migration of this metal is decreasing with the number of uses in the experimental conditions described.Diariamente en los hogares ecuatorianos se utilizan ollas de aluminio para cocinar, sin saber la cantidad de residuos metálicos que se transfiere a los alimentos. Este trabajo evaluó la migración del aluminio en la cocción de arroz blanco (Oryza sativa L.) en recipientes de este material. Se trabajó con seis tipos de ollas, de diferentes marcas comerciales de mayor presencia en el mercado, en estas se realizó la cocción del alimento por 15 minutos. De cada unidad experimental se tomaron 50,0 gramos de muestra y, luego de secar, se calcinó para obtener cenizas totales que fueron sometidas a un proceso de digestión ácida. La cuantificación de aluminio se realizó mediante la técnica de absorción atómica con llama de óxido nitroso–acetileno. Se realizaron cinco ciclos de trabajo secuenciales con cada recipiente, los resultados obtenidos se compararon con el límite máximo permisible de 1 mg Al/kg de alimento establecido por la OMS y la Unión Europea. Se pudo observar que luego de la tercera cocción, la migración de aluminio baja hasta valores inferiores al límite máximo permisible excepto en una de las muestras. El estudio permite concluir que la migración de este metal va disminuyendo con el número de usos en las condiciones experimentales descritas

Gout in pediatric renal transplant recipients

Clinical gout has rarely been described after pediatric renal transplantation (RTx), although asymptomatic hyperuricemia is common in these patients. We describe three male pediatric patients who presented with gouty arthritis 7-8.5 years following RTx. Since receiving allopurinol, all patients had been free of gouty symptoms. To prevent severe bone marrow depletion, the dosage of azathioprine, an immunosupressant drug, was reduced by 50% to prevent interaction with allopurinol. Because atypical presentation of gout can occur, a high index of suspicion is needed to allow appropriate diagnosis of this disease in patients with skeletal pain after RTx

Congenital syphilis in Switzerland: gone, forgotten, on the return.

INTRODUCTION: Acquired syphilis has re-emerged in many Western European countries. In contrast to international guidelines, screening for syphilis in pregnancy is not generally recommended in Switzerland. There has been an increase in the incidence of laboratory syphilis notifications in recent years, regardless of gender and age. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study, evaluating the total numbers of pregnant women with positive syphilis serology (Treponema pallidum Particle Agglutination assay, TPPA) from 2000 to 2009, and evaluated the clinical management and outcome of their offspring. In addition, we sought to determine cases of infectious syphilis (primary, secondary, and early latent syphilis) reported to the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health in women of childbearing age, which has previously been shown to precede changes in the incidence of congenital syphilis within a population. RESULTS: Out of 13,833 women who gave birth at our institution, positive syphilis serology was found in 9 pregnant women during the 10 years studied. A total of 6 pregnant women were diagnosed having syphilis infection during pregnancy. Regarding their offspring, 8 of the 9 newborns were tested serologically. One neonate experienced congenital syphilis because the adequately treated mother developed re-infection after treatment. Within the Swiss population, infectious syphilis cases in women of childbearing age increased substantially from 2006 to 2009. CONCLUSIONS: The epidemiologic data suggest that congenital syphilis could become a medical problem in Switzerland due to the rise of infectious syphilis cases in women of childbearing age that have been shown to be followed by changes in the congenital syphilis incidence. The persistence of congenital syphilis in Switzerland along with this rise of infectious syphilis in women of childbearing age suggests a potential for improvement of prenatal care and syphilis control programmes

Cyprus and the European union: the significance of its smallness, both as an applicant and a member

Cyprus's smallness influenced its decision to seek EU membership and is now shaping its behaviour as a member state. Although Cyprus's size limits what it can seek to achieve in the EU, strategies allow it partly to overcome these limitations. In important respects Cyprus is a 'special' small EU state because of the way in which 'the Cyprus Problem' dominates much of its political focus and because it is the member state most geographically distanced from Brussels

Filosofia e literatura no iluminismo alemão: a questão da tolerância religiosa no Nathan der Weise, de Lessing

O presente artigo aborda a questão da tolerância religiosa no Iluminismo alemão, por meio da análise e interpretação de trechos selecionados da peça Nathan der Weise (1779), de Lessing. Pretende-se mostrar que essa obra tem sua origem intimamente ligada ao debate teológico ("Fragmentenstreit") entre Lessing e o pastor Johann Melchior Goeze, de Hamburgo, podendo ser lida como uma reação e uma resposta às críticas e objeções deste último