Translating Aboriginal words across languages

The Stefano manuscript is not only a unique ethnographic document but it also contains a collection of Aboriginal words and expressions which, although small in number, give us a valuable and rare record of the language spoken along the North West coast of Australia during the second half of the nineteenth century.1 The only other comparable North West vocabulary from this period of colonial history is the 1861 Ngarluma vocabulary of 70 words, compiled by Pemberton Walcott

Remembering Gustave Rathe: 8.8.1921-23.5.2007

Farewell Gustave Rathe, Farewell from all those that you have touched with your writing. Where will your journey lead you now? This time, you have sailed away to meet your grandfather on the ship called the Eternity. WHEREVER YOU SAIL WE WILL BE TIED TOGETHER WITH YOUR BARQUE STEFANO FOREVER. Your kindness, courage and love of life, now extended all around the world. You will be remembered fondly, always

Water and salt transport in plaster/substrate systems

The transport of salt and water during drying has been studied in systems consisting of a substrate covered with either one or two plaster layers. The drying behaviour of these systems was modelled with invasion percolation (IP) algorithms. The model outcomes were compared with experimental results obtained with Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). It was found that drying behaviour of the plaster layers was strongly influenced by the properties of the substrate. When the substrate has the widest pores, the plaster layers stay wet while the substrate dries out. As a consequence most salt, present in the substrate, moves to the plaster layers and accumulates at the external surface. In the case that the substrate has the smallest pores, the plaster layers dry out first. In this case salts also crystallize in the substrate. Further we have tried to make an accumulating plaster system consisting of two layers on top of a substrate, which would function purely on the basis of differences in pore sizes between the layers. The drying behaviour in the presence of pure water was as predicted by the model. However, in the case of a salt solution the salt modified the drying behaviour such that the accumulation properties of the system were reduced. Therefore, we conclude that for transporting systems tuning the pore-sizes of the layers suffices, but for accumulating systems it seems that additives , for example water repellents, have to be used

Effects of placebos without deception compared with no treatment: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Aim Our aim was to address the clinical efficacy of open-label placebos compared with no treatment by systematic review, and meta-analysis where possible. Methods We searched the Cochrane Injuries Group's Specialised Register, The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Ovid MEDLINE(R) In-Process & Other NonIndexed Citations (OvidSP), EMBASE (OvidSP), and clinical trials registers and screened reference lists. We ran the most recent search on April 27 2015. All randomised controlled trials of any medical condition, which had both open-label placebo and no-treatment or treatment as usual groups were included. Two authors independently applied the selection criteria and extracted data. The risk of bias of included studies was assessed using the Cochrane criteria. We used random-effects model for meta-analysis. Results After removing duplicates we screened 348 publications, assessed 24 articles for eligibility and identified 5 trials (260 participants) that met our inclusion criteria. The clinical conditions were: irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), depression, allergic rhinitis, back pain and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The overall risk of bias was moderate. All 5 trials were eligible for meta-analysis. We found a positive effect for non-deceptive placebos (standardized mean difference (SMD) 0.88, 95% CI 0.62 to 1.14, P<0.00001, I2= 1%). Conclusions Open-label placebos appear to have favorable clinical outcomes, compared to no treatment or no additional treatment. Caution is warranted when interpreting the results due to the limitations including the small number of trials and lack of blinding. Larger definitive trials are now warranted to explore the potential patient benefit of open-label placebos

Scoping trauma

From the Editor