Book reviews: Atomic Medicine

Book title: Atomic MedicinePp. ix + 274. Illustrated. $12.75. London: Grune & Stratton. 1968

The HANCI Donor Index 2012: Measuring Donors' Political Commitment to Reduce Hunger and Undernutrition in Developing Countries

Following a first phase of research that focused on developing countries, this second phase of the Hunger and Nutrition Commitment Index (HANCI) scrutinises donor government commitment to reducing hunger and undernutrition in developing countries. The HANCI Donor Index uniquely compares 23 donor countries for their relative performance in key areas contributing to hunger and undernutrition reduction. It uses 14 commitment indicators assessing donor spending and policy choices relating to agriculture, food security, nutrition, social protection, gender equity, climate change, and trade. The HANCI is calculated using secondary (government-owned) data. The report further presents findings from primary research in four donor countries: Germany, Ireland, the UK and the Netherlands.2DFID, IRISH AI

The Hunger And Nutrition Commitment Index (HANCI 2012): Measuring the Political Commitment to Reduce Hunger and Undernutrition in Developing Countries

The Hunger And Nutrition Commitment Index (HANCI) was launched in April 2013 to: Rank governments on their political commitment to tackling hunger and undernutrition; Measure what governments achieve and where they fail in addressing hunger and undernutrition – providing greater transparency and public accountability; Praise governments where due, and highlight areas for improvement; Support civil society to reinforce and stimulate additional commitment towards accelerating the reduction of hunger and undernutrition; Assess whether improving commitment levels lead to a reduction in hunger and undernutrition. The HANCI compares 45 developing countries for their performance on 22 indicators of political commitment to reduce hunger and undernutrition. It looks at three areas of government action: 1. Legal frameworks 2. Policies and programmes 3. Public expendituresDFI

The effect of methoxychlor on periphyton under natural conditions

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47980/1/128_2005_Article_BF01683435.pd

Cognition and related neural findings on methamphetamine use disorder: insights and treatment implications from schizophrenia research

Despite the prevalence of methamphetamine (meth) use disorder, research on meth is disproportionately scarce compared to research on other illicit drugs. Existing evidence highlights cognitive deficits as an impediment against daily function and treatment of chronic meth use. Similar deficits are also observed in schizophrenia, and this review therefore draws on schizophrenia research by examining similarities and differences between the two disorders on cognition and related neural findings. While meth use disorder and schizophrenia are two distinct disorders, they are highly co-morbid and share impairments in similar cognitive domains and altered brain structure/function. This narrative review specifically identifies overlapping features such as deficits in learning and memory, social cognition, working memory and inhibitory/impulse control. We report that while working memory deficits are a core feature of schizophrenia, such deficits are inconsistently observed following chronic meth use. Similar structural and functional abnormalities are also observed in cortical and limbic regions between the two disorders, except for cingulate activity where differences are observed. There is growing evidence that targeting cognitive symptoms may improve functional outcome in schizophrenia, with evidence of normalized abnormal brain activity in regions associated with cognition. Considering the overlap between meth use disorder and schizophrenia, targeting cognitive symptoms in people with meth use disorder may also improve treatment outcome and daily function.Alexandre A. Guerin, Yvonne Bonomo, Andrew John Lawrence, Bernhard Theodor Baune, Eric J. Nestler, Susan L. Rossell and Jee Hyun Ki

Multiscale magnetic underdense regions on the solar surface: Granular and Mesogranular scales

The Sun is a non-equilibrium dissipative system subjected to an energy flow which originates in its core. Convective overshooting motions create temperature and velocity structures which show a temporal and spatial evolution. As a result, photospheric structures are generally considered to be the direct manifestation of convective plasma motions. The plasma flows on the photosphere govern the motion of single magnetic elements. These elements are arranged in typical patterns which are observed as a variety of multiscale magnetic patterns. High resolution magnetograms of quiet solar surface revealed the presence of magnetic underdense regions in the solar photosphere, commonly called voids, which may be considered a signature of the underlying convective structure. The analysis of such patterns paves the way for the investigation of all turbulent convective scales from granular to global. In order to address the question of magnetic structures driven by turbulent convection at granular and mesogranular scales we used a "voids" detection method. The computed voids distribution shows an exponential behavior at scales between 2 and 10 Mm and the absence of features at 5-10 Mm mesogranular scales. The absence of preferred scales of organization in the 2-10 Mm range supports the multiscale nature of flows on the solar surface and the absence of a mesogranular convective scale

Solar Influence on Nuclear Decay Rates: Constraints from the MESSENGER Mission

We have analyzed Cs-137 decay data, obtained from a small sample onboard the MESSENGER spacecraft en route to Mercury, with the aim of setting limits on a possible correlation between nuclear decay rates and solar activity. Such a correlation has been suggested recently on the basis of data from Mn-54 decay during the solar flare of 13 December 2006, and by indications of an annual and other periodic variations in the decay rates of Si-32, Cl-36, and Ra-226. Data from five measurements of the Cs-137 count rate over a period of approximately 5.4 years have been fit to a formula which accounts for the usual exponential decrease in count rate over time, along with the addition of a theoretical solar contribution varying with MESSENGER-Sun separation. The indication of solar influence is then characterized by a non-zero value of the calculated parameter \xi, and we find \xi=(2.8+/-8.1)x10^{-3} for Cs-137. A simulation of the increased data that can hypothetically be expected following Mercury orbit insertion on 18 March 2011 suggests that the anticipated improvement in the determination of \xi could reveal a non-zero value of \xi if present at a level consistent with other data.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysics and Space Science, 2011. 7 pages, 5 figures. Version 2 has corrected Figure 1, since Fig. 1 did not appear correctly in Version