Responding to Climate Change: The Economy and Economics - Part of the Problem and Solution

The Climate Change Starter’s Guide provides an introduction and overview for education planners and practitioners on the wide range of issues relating to climate change and climate change education, including causes, impacts, mitigation and adaptation strategies, as well as some broad political and economic principles. The aim of this guide is to serve as a starting point for mainstreaming climate change education into school curricula. It has been created to enable education planners and practitioners to understand the issues at hand, to review and analyse their relevance to particular national and local contexts, and to facilitate the development of education policies, curricula, programmes and lesson plans. The guide covers four major thematic areas: 1. the science of climate change, which explains the causes and observed changes; 2. the social and human aspects of climate change including gender, health, migration, poverty and ethics; 3. policy responses to climate change including measures for mitigation and adaptation; and 4. education approaches including education for sustainable development, disaster reduction and sustainable lifestyles. A selection of key resources in the form of publication titles or websites for further reading is provided after each of the thematic sections

Successful treatment of idiopathic cold urticaria with the association of H1 and H2 antagonists: a case report

We report here the case of a patient suffering from idiopathic cold urticaria who did not respond to H1 antihistamine but who responded dramatically to the combination of H1 and H2 antagonists. Under H1 treatment, the urticaria was florid and the ice cube test clearly positive. After the addition of an H2 antihistamine, all the symptoms disappeared and the ice cube test became negative. The different therapeutic schedules proposed thereafter, showed that only the combination therapy was effective H1 antihistamine alone or H2 antihistamine alone being unable to modify the course of the disease

Rendement diagnostique et utilite d'une unite d'investigation: etude prospective. [Diagnostic performance and usefulness of a research unit: prospective study]

An attempt was made to compare the diagnostic efficiency and overall usefulness (for the patient and for his primary care physician) of an investigation unit in internal medicine. 100 patients seen successively were studied. At the end of the investigation the patients were divided into 3 groups: (A) organic disease diagnosed (n = 44); (B) unexplained somatic complaint (n = 16); (C) unexplained functional complaint (n = 40). One year later, an inquiry about the patient's outcome was made by telephone to the patient and/or his physician. Follow-up of 99 patients did not disclose diagnostic errors in patients of groups A and C; in group B, 2 diagnoses were missed. The investigation was considered "useful" in 31 patients (disease cured or improved, patient reassured); 57% of primary-care physicians were aided despite a negative investigation

Frequence des allergenes respiratoires impliques dans la rhinite et l'asthme bronchique de l'adulte. Etude prospective. [Frequency of respiratory allergens involved in rhinitis and bronchial asthma in adults. Prospective study]

In a prospective study of 100 adults, we determined the frequency of hypersensitivity to allergens most often diagnosed in patients suffering from rhinitis and bronchial asthma. Skin-prick tests and RAST for 15 allergens were performed in all patients. The most frequent allergen detected by skin-prick test was the extract "total house dust" (50%) but the corresponding RAST was rarely positive (16%); then came grass pollens (46%), house dust mites (D. pteronyssinus, 38%) and animal danders (cat 33%). On the other hand, a positive skin test with the two moulds chosen was rare (Alternaria tenuis 5%, Cladosporium herbarum 4%). For all the allergens investigated, the correlation between positive skin test and positive RAST was proportional to the intensity of the skin reaction (94% for the skin tests +, 40% for the skin tests ++). 35% of the patients with at least a positive skin test and a RAST for one of the allergens tested had in fact a total IgE concentration not suggestive of atopy (less than 100 kU/1). The results indicate that, with the exception of the 2 moulds chosen, the frequency of allergens diagnosed in Switzerland is very similar to what has been found in other countries with different climates

Effect of foodstuffs on the absorption of zinc sulfate

Single doses of zinc sulfate were given to healthy young volunteers, either in the fasting state or with various types of meals. Dairy products (milk and cheese) and brown bread decreased zinc absorption, as indicated by a significant drop in peak serum zinc levels. Zinc absorption was decreased when zinc was given in the fasting state with the same amounts of purified phosphate or phytate as those found in foods above. Experiments in vitro have shown that zinc is precipitated by phosphate and phytate at pH values close to that of the intestinal lumen. Coffee also seems to inhibit zinc absorption