Møller and co-workers (Møller et al. 2007) observe an ‘elevated frequency of abnormalities in barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) at Chernobyl’ and ‘can think of no alternative explanations other than exposure to radiation that can have caused the observed patterns’. However, an obvious alternative hypothesis (e.g. Pikulik & Plenin 1994) is that apparent impacts on birds may be due to ecosystem cha...

Heidegger believed that the origin of a nation’s historic existence is art. In artistic world, we can expose alienation reality, uncover original beauty, and return to poetic human habitation. Le Clézio’s works The Man Who Has Never Seen Sea, bystanders, as “intermediaries”, construct virtual dreams escape from city’s dreams. interaction with natural ocean field, Daniel, pure child messenger, s...

BACKGROUND Marriage is a significant event in life-course of individuals, and creates a system that characterizes societal and economic structures. Marital patterns and dynamics over the years have changed a lot, with decreasing proportions of marriage, increased levels of divorce and co-habitation in developing countries. Although, such changes have been reported in African societies including...

BACKGROUND The HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa has had a major impact on infectious disease, and there is currently great interest in the impact of HIV on intestinal barrier function. A three year longitudinal cohort study in a shanty compound in Lusaka, Zambia, carried out before anti-retroviral therapy was widely available, was used to assess the impact of HIV on susceptibility to intestin...

PURPOSE To understand the impact of socioeconomic status (SES) on the diagnosis of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG) in Taiwan. METHODS Subjects with glaucoma were identified from the National Health Insurance Research Database of year 2006, which included one million randomly selected insurants. Individuals who had ≥4 ambulatory visits within one ye...