Militants and the Media: Partners in Terrorism?

Terrorism and the Media: Legal Responses, Symposiu

Un nouveau paradigme écologique pour une sociologie post-abondance

La sociologie s’est développée dans le contexte d’une vision occidentale dominante du monde (DWW) extrêmement anthropocentrique, selon laquelle les humains seraient séparés du reste de la nature et considéreraient l’abondance des ressources, la croissance et le progrès comme allant de soi. La sociologie a adopté cette vision du monde optimiste et y a ajouté des caractéristiques disciplinaires spécifiques – notamment l’énoncé d’Émile Durkheim selon lequel les faits sociaux ne devaient pas être expliqués par des facteurs psychologiques, biologiques ou environnementaux – ce qui l’a d’autant plus encouragée à ignorer l’environnement biophysique. Au cours de la moitié du xxe siècle, la sociologie a reposé sur un paradigme disciplinaire qui voyait les sociétés modernes industrialisées comme « exemptées » des contraintes écologiques. En raison du paradigme de l’exemptionnalisme humain (HEP), l’appréhension par la sociologie de la signification sociale des preuves croissantes de la pollution, de la pénurie des ressources et des autres problèmes écologiques a été lente. Cependant, la reconnaissance croissante de ces problèmes a stimulé le champ de la sociologie de l’environnement et une reconnaissance graduelle de la dépendance des sociétés modernes à l’écosystème, donnant un essor à un nouveau paradigme écologique (NEP). Les hypothèses fondant la DWW, le HEP et le NEP sont d’abord présentées, les relations entre la distinction HEP-NEP et les clivages sociologiques traditionnels comme ordre versus conflit sont ensuite discutées de manière à démontrer l’utilité du NEP dans une ère de croissance des contraintes écologiques.Sociology developed in the context of a highly anthropocentric Dominant Western Worldview (DWW) that saw humans as separate from the rest of nature and took resource abundance, growth and progress for granted. Sociology adopted this optimistic worldview, and added unique disciplinary characteristics—especially Durkheim’s dictum that social facts should not be explained by psychological, biological or environmental factors--that further encouraged ignoring the bio-physical environment. By mid-20th century, sociology was premised on a disciplinary paradigm that viewed modern industrial societies as “exempt” from ecological constraints. This Human Exemptionalism Paradigm (HEP) made sociology slow to see the societal significance of mounting evidence of pollution, resource scarcities and other ecological problems. However, growing recognition of these problems stimulated a field of environmental sociology and a gradual recognition of the ecosystem-dependence of modern societies, giving rise to a New Ecological Paradigm (NEP). The basic assumptions of the DWW, HEP and NEP are presented, and then the relationship between the HEP-NEP distinction and traditional sociological cleavages such as order vs. conflict are discussed in order to demonstrate the utility of the NEP in an era of growing ecological constraints

Proficiency of Nucleic Acid Tests for Avian Influenza Viruses, Australasia

An avian influenza quality assurance program was used to provide information for laboratories on the sensitivity and specificity of their avian influenza nucleic acid testing. Most laboratories were able to correctly detect clinically relevant amounts of influenza virus (H5N1), and results improved as each subsequent panel was tested

Salvage radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy: analysis of toxicity by dose-fractionation in the RADICALS-RT trial

ABSTRACT: Emerging data indicate comparable disease control and toxicity of postoperative normo-fractionation and moderate hypofractionation radiotherapy (RT) in prostate cancer. In RADICALS-RT, patients were planned for treatment with either 66Gy in 33 fractions over 6.5 weeks or 52.5Gy in 20 fractions over 4 weeks. In this non-randomized, exploratory analysis, we explore the toxicity of these two schedules in patients who had adjuvant RT. METHODS: Information on RT dose was collected in all patients. Radiation Therapy Oncology Group toxicity score was recorded every 4 months for 2 years, 6-monthly until 5 years, then annually until 15 years. Patient-reported data were collected at baseline, 1, 5, and 10 years with use of standard questionnaires including Vaizey (bowel) and International Continence Society Male Short-Form (urinary incontinence). The highest grade of event was recorded within the first 2 years, and beyond 2 years, and compared between treatment groups using the χ² test. RESULTS: 217/634 (34%) patients were planned for 52.5Gy/20f and 417/634 (66%) for 66Gy/33f. In the first two years, grade 1 - 2 cystitis was reported more frequently among the 66Gy/33f group (52.5Gy/20f: 20% vs 66Gy/33f: 30%, p=0.04). After two years, grade 1-2 cystitis was reported in 16% in the 66Gy group, and 9% in the 52.5Gy group (p=0.08). Other toxicities were similar in the two groups and very few patients had any grade 3 - 4 toxicity. Patients reported slightly higher urinary and faecal incontinence scores at one year than at baseline, but no clinically meaningful differences were reported between 52.5Gy/20f and 66Gy/33f groups. Patient reported health was similar at baseline and at one year, and similar between 52.5Gy/20f and 66Gy/33f groups. CONCLUSION: Severe toxicity is rare after prostate bed radiotherapy with either 52.5Gy/20f or 66Gy/33f. Only modest differences were recorded in toxicity or in patient reported outcomes between these two schedules

Attitudes toward offshore oil development: A summary of current evidence

Attitudes toward offshore petroleum have varied widely across both time and place. This paper summarizes the accumulated evidence from around the globe and then examines two regions that represent the polar extremes - both drawn from the same country and the same era - southern Louisiana and northern California, over the past two decades. The comparison illustrates that attitudes toward offshore oil development are best understood through a closer examination of the ways in which the offshore industry has interacted with a given region, over time, in terms of three sets of factors - the historical, biophysical, and social factors that shape the people and culture of a given place and time. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Numerical study of heat pump contact drying

Drying is one of the most energy intensive industrial operations, and it is well established that heat pump driers (HPDs), by recycling waste heat, may provide significantly higher drying energy efficiencies and lower net greenhouse gas emissions than conventional driers. In addition, however, in the design of the HPDs themselves, there remains significant further scope for energy-efficiency improvements. Second-law analyses of HPDs have shown previously that losses associated with the convective transfer of heat to the drying process are a significant limiting factor for energy efficiency. This thesis uses numerical simulation to explore the possibility of improving on the energy performance of HPD systems by employing conductive heat transfer from the refrigerant condenser, through a heating plate and through the product itself, to drive the drying process in an "isothermal contact" HPD (ICHPD). The duct model that is developed combines a detailed air-flow model, which solves the mass, momentum and energy balances within the drier ducts, with a detailed internal drying process model, incorporating a description of the transport phenomena occurring within the porous product medium. The whole-system dynamical HPD model, which results when the drier-duct model is integrated with a pre-existing heat pump model, is capable of describing the evolution of non-steady batch drying. It is established that for applicable products the ICHPD configuration may increase the energy efficiency of heat pump drying by as much as a factor of three compared with conventional adiabatic HPDs. This ICHPD energy efficiency gain (relative to the adiabatic mode) is, however, demonstrated to be highly sensitive to the product thickness (d). The energy efficiency gain of ICHPD is also shown to be sensitive to any constraint on the temperature and the maximum allowable relative humidity above the product. Isothermal HPD is thus likely to be most applicable in the drying of those products, such as sludges and pastes, that can be spread into thin layers, in particular those that also are least vulnerable to quality deterioration at high temperature and humidity. Product throughput is shown to be simultaneously maximised at low d, implying that ICHPD provides an opportunity to avoid the adiabatic mode’s trade-off between drying rate and energy efficiency, by using a thin product layer. A case-study is presented of the economics of ICHPD in an industrial sludge-drying application, showing that isothermal HPD provides an opportunity to lessen exposure to risk associated with electricity-price uncertainty. System performance is found to be quite sensitive to variation in the surface area available for drying and also to the dimensioning of the evaporator. A second-law analysis of the whole system is employed to examine the reasons underlying the energy performance gain associated with the isothermal mode; ICHPD is found to reduce irreversibility equally within the refrigerant cycle and in heat transfer from the condenser to the product plus the drying process itself – a demonstration of the synergy enabled by the ICHPD design