During the past several years there has been a shortage of flight opportunities for biological and medical projects. And those that were available usually had severe restrictions on instrumentation, number of subjects, duration, time allotted for performing the experiments, a possibility for repetition of experiments. It is our hope and expectation that this will change once the international Space Station is in full operation. The advantages of a permanent space station, already demonstrated by the Russian Mir station, are continuous availability of expert crew and a wide range of equipment, possibility of long-term experiments where this is waranted, increased numbers of subjects through larger laboratory space, proper controls in the large 1-G centrifuge, easier repeatability of experiments when needed.
The limited number of flight opportunities during recent years probably explains why it has taken so long to acquire a sufficient number of high quality contributions for this seventh volume of Advances in Space Biology and Medicine. While initially the series wassailed at annually appearing volumes, we are now down to a biannual appearance. Hopefully, it will be possible to return to annual volumes in the future when results from space station experimentation at beginning to pour in.
The first three chapters of this volume deal with muscle. Fejtek and Wassersug provide a survey of all studies on muscle of rodents flown in space, and include an interesting demography of this aspect of space research. Riley reviews our current knowledge of the effects of long-term spaceflight and re-entry on skeletal muscle, and considers the questions still to be answered before we can be satisfied that long-term space missions, such as on the space station, can be safely undertaken. Stein reviews our understanding of the nutritional and hormonal aspects of muscle loss in spaceflight, and concludes that the protein loss in space could be deleterious to health during flight and after return. Strollo summarizes our understanding of the major endocrine systems on the ground, then considers what we know about their functioning in space, concluding that there is much to be learned about the changes taking place during spaceflight. The many problems of providing life support (oxygen regeneration and food supply) during extended stay on the Moon, on Mars, or in space by means of plant cultivation are discussed by Salisbury. The challenges of utilizing electrophoresis in microgravity for the separation of cells and proteins are illustrated and explained by Bauer and colleagues. Finally, the chapter on teaching of space life sciences by Schmitt shows that this field of science has come of age, but also that its multidisciplinary character poses interesting challenges to teaching it.

The impact of the European Community and European Community law on taxation is becoming increasingly important. EC law influences not only national tax law but also tax treaties. This book focuses on the question of whether anti-abuse provisions in tax treaties may be in conflict with EC law, especially the fundamental freedoms contained in the EC Treaty. This issue is dealt with from the perspective of Austria, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom. Though most problems arise with regard to the limitation on benefits clauses contained in the tax treaties concluded between EC Member States and the United States, the book also addresses the compatibility with EC law of other anti-abuse clauses and assesses the consequences of a possible conflict. EUCOTAX (European Universities Cooperating on Taxes) is a network of fiscal institutes of European universities - nine in 1998. This network aims at initiating and co-ordinating both comparative education and comparative research on taxation. The comparative education is structured by various means, e.g. organizing winter courses and guest lectures. Comparative research is realised by means of joint research projects, international conferences and exchange of researchers from various countries.

Throughout its history, the discipline of ecology has always been profoundly entangled with the history of space and place. On the one hand, ecology is a field science that has thrived on the study of concrete spatial entities, such as islands, forests or rivers. These spaces are the workplaces in which ecological phenomena are identified, observed and experimented on. They provide both epistemic opportunities and constraints that structure the agenda and the analytical sensibilities of ecological researchers. On the other hand, ecological knowledge and practices have become important resources through which spaces and places are classified, delineated, explained, experienced and managed. The impact of these activities reaches far beyond the realms of the ecological discipline. Many ecological concepts such as "biotopes," "ecosystems" and "the biosphere" have become entities that widely resonate in public life and policy making. This book explores the mutual entanglement between space and knowledge-making in the history of ecology. Its first goal is to explore to which extent a spatial perspective can shed new light on the history of ecological science. Second, it uses ecology as a critical site to gain broader insights into the history of the environment in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Via a series of case studies - discussing topics that range from ecological field stations in the early-twentieth century Caribbean over wisent breeding in Nazi Germany to computer modelling in North American deserts - the book offers a tour through the changing landscapes of modern ecology.

This fourth volume in the series, dedicated entirely to the results of the first European study of the effects of long-term confinement and isolation. The volume continues to attempt to fulfill the aim of this series, to bring the findings and accomplishments in the field of space biology and medicine to a wider group of scientists than merely the relatively small group of biologists and physiologists currently involved in space experimentation.
The contributions are not only nicely spread geographically with three chapters from the United States, two each from Russia, Europe, and Japan, they also offer a wide range of topics in the field, covering humans, animals, plants, cells, and even potential extraterrestrial beings.
As before, not only problems investigated and results obtained are reviewed, but also some of the technical aspects peculiar to this field are treated. An example in this volume is the chapter on virtual environments by Ellis, which is meant to help investigators understand the opportunities that these techniques might offer for future investigations.
In view of the limitations on flight opportunities and the constraints still inherent in orbital experimentation, it is also important to consider the information that can be obtained from studies on the ground. In addition to simulation studies like bed rest for human subjects (see the chapter by Edgerton et al. on neuromuscular adaptation), tail suspension of rats, and plants on a clinostat (see the chapter by Masuda et al.), there is the interesting possibility of using gravitropic mutants for studying the effects of weightlessness on plant growth as described by Takahashi and Suge.
Two chapters are devoted to a review of the results on rats flown on nine Cosmos biosatellite flights between 1973 and 1989: the chapter by Krasnow deals with the neuromorphological effects of micro- and hypergravity; that by Popova and Grigoriev with the metabolic effects of spaceflight. The effects of weightlessness on heart and lung function in humans are reviewed in detail by Bonde-Petersen and Linnarson.
While the study of humans, animals, and plants in spaceflight have taught us much about the effects of the space environment on living organisms, we still have a very limited understanding of the mechanisms operating in these effects. The chapter by Rijken et al. on the effects of gravity on the cellular response to epidermal growth factor demonstrates how, by a judicious use of experiments on the ground and in sounding rockets, the mechanism of a microgravity effect on cell growth could be unravelled.
The question whether there is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe has intrigued mankind for a long time. In the chapter by Coulter et al. on NASA's High Resolution Microwave Survey the project to search for the existence of such life is described. The postscript to this chapter tells how through an unfortunate decision of the U.S. Congress this project after a successful start is threatened with an untimely ending.

The book provides an in-depth discussion on the human nature concept from different perspectives and from different disciplines, analyzing its use in the doping debate and researching its normative overtones. The relation between natural talent and enhanced abilitiesis scrutinized within a proper conceptual and theoretical framework: is doping to be seen as a factor of the athlete s dehumanization or is it a tool to fulfill his/her aspirations to go faster, higher and stronger? Which characteristics make sports such a peculiar subject of ethical discussion and what are the, both intrinsic and extrinsic, moral dangers and opportunities involved in athletic enhancement? This volume combines fundamental philosophical anthropological reflection with applied ethics and socio-cultural and empirical approaches. Furthermore guidelines will be presented to decision- and policy-makers on local, national and international levels. Zooming in on the intrinsic issue of what is valuable about our homo sapiens biological condition, this volume devotes only scant attention to the specific issue of natural talent and why such talent is appreciated so differently than biotechnological origins of ability. In addition, specific aspects of sports such as its competitive nature and its direct display of bodily prowess provide good reason to single out the issue of natural athletic talent for sustained ethical scrutiny. "

The use of shallow geothermal energy (SGE) systems to acclimatize buildings has increased exponentially in the Netherlands and worldwide. In certain areas, SGE systems are constructed in aquifers also used for drinking water supply raising the question of potential groundwater quality impact. Impacts of Shallow Geothermal Energy on Groundwater Quality provides a hydrochemical and geomicrobial overview of the effects of ground source heat pumps and aquifer thermal energy storage. The area is investigated with field and laboratory experiments, and reactive transport models, showing that shallow geothermal energy systems can influence groundwater quality in a number of ways. Most prominent in open ground source heating systems operating at low temperature (<20 DegreesC) is the physical mixing of deep and shallow groundwater of different quality distorting the natural water quality stratification in aquifers. At a temperature of 25 DegreesC and beyond certain trace elements were observed to mobilize in laboratory experiments, and beyond 40 DegreesC redox conditions change significantly while the microbial community shift towards a thermophilic community. Based on the results of this research, guidelines are presented for monitoring and permitting of SGE systems. The book is a useful resource for regulators of these systems, water companies and installers of the SGE systems. Author: Matthijs Bonte, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

The long-awaited companion title to MY MONSTER BOYFRIEND is finally here! The latest in the Smut Peddler series of high-end erotic anthologies, MY MONSTER GIRLFRIEND shows off the femme side of sexy ghosts, werewolves, demons, and other horrors that go bump in the night. No bedside table can be complete without this collection of spicy tales from the dark side in the tried-and-true Smut Peddler style: broadly diverse, sex-positive, consent-driven, and tons of fun!

The book provides an in-depth discussion on the human nature concept from different perspectives and from different disciplines, analyzing its use in the doping debate and researching its normative overtones. The relation between natural talent and enhanced abilities is scrutinized within a proper conceptual and theoretical framework: is doping to be seen as a factor of the athlete's dehumanization or is it a tool to fulfill his/her aspirations to go faster, higher and stronger? Which characteristics make sports such a peculiar subject of ethical discussion and what are the, both intrinsic and extrinsic, moral dangers and opportunities involved in athletic enhancement? This volume combines fundamental philosophical anthropological reflection with applied ethics and socio-cultural and empirical approaches. Furthermore guidelines will be presented to decision- and policy-makers on local, national and international levels. Zooming in on the intrinsic issue of what is valuable about our homo sapiens biological condition, this volume devotes only scant attention to the specific issue of natural talent and why such talent is appreciated so differently than biotechnological origins of ability. In addition, specific aspects of sports such as its competitive nature and its direct display of bodily prowess provide good reason to single out the issue of natural athletic talent for sustained ethical scrutiny.

In dem Band XV /2 des Handbuches der medizinischen Radiologie wurden bei der klini- schen Nuklearmedizin bewuBt einige Kapitel herausgenommen, urn die weitere Entwicklung auf diesen Gebieten abzuwarten. Der vorliegende Band beinhaltet diese Kapitel. Die nuklear- medizinische Herz- und Kreislaufdiagnostik hat sich in der Zwischenzeit zu einem der drei wichtigsten diagnostischen Gebiete der Nuklearmedizin entwickelt. Dies nicht nur im Hin- blick auf die Aussagemoglichkeit sondern auch fur die Anzahl der zu untersuchenden Patien- ten. Mit dieser Entwicklung ist eindeutig bewiesen, daB die ExistenzHihigkeit der Nuklearme- dizin trotz erheblicher Leistungen anderer, auch bildgebenden Verfahren gewahrleistet ist. Die nuklearmedizinische Herz- und Kreislaufdiagnostik, die sich von den ersten Anfangen an, zunachst nur an einzelnen Zentren und hier auch langsam entwickelt hat, ist in ihrer Bedeutung in den letzten lahren sprunghaft angestiegen. Hinzu kommt allerdings, daB das Untersuchungsverfahren innerhalb der nuklearmedizinischen Technik eines der schwierigsten und aufwendigsten ist und daB die Anforderungen an den Arzt im Hinblick auf seine diagno- stischen Aussagen eine groBe Erfahrung verlangen. Aus diesen Grunden ist der Thematik in dies em Band erheblicher Raum eingeraumt worden. Die einze1nen Kapitel demonstrieren die Entwicklung, die Effizienz und die diagnostischen Aussagemoglichkeiten. Gleiches gilt fur die nuklearmedizinischen Untersuchungsverfahren fur die Padiatrie. Durch die standige Verbesserung der Radiopharmaka und der MeBgerateeinheiten weitet sich dieses Gebiet mehr aus und bringt tatsachlich richtig in Anwendung gebracht erhebliche Fortschritte fUr die Differentialdiagnostik bei Erkrankungen im Sauglings- und Kindesalter.

On Christmas Eve, New York cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) is visiting his estranged wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia) in Los Angeles, where she works. They are attending a party at Holly's high-rise office block when terrorists, led by the suave Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) break in, taking everyone hostage. McClane manages to evade capture, however, and sets out to rescue his wife and the other prisoners. It is not long before he is running barefoot over shattered glass (ouch!) in a sweaty vest, muttering 'Yippy kay aye' as he dispatches the baddies with bullets and a certain earthy wit.

When we think of sites of animal research that symbolize modernity, the first places that come to mind are grand research institutes in cities and near universities that house the latest in equipment and technologies, not the surroundings of the bird's nest, the octopus' garden in the sea, or the parts of inland lakes in which freshwater plankton reside. Yet during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a group of zoologists began establishing novel, indeed modern ways of studying nature, propagating what present-day ecologists describe as place-based research. Raf De Bont's Stations in the Field focuses on the early history of biological field stations and the role these played in the rise of zoological place-based research. Beginning in the 1870s, a growing number of biological field stations were founded-first in Europe and later elsewhere around the world - and thousands of zoologists received their training and performed their research at these sites. Through case studies, De Bont examines the material and social context in which field stations arose, the actual research that was produced in these places, the scientific claims that were developed there, and the rhetorical strategies that were deployed to convince others that these claims made sense. From the life of parasitic invertebrates in northern France and freshwater plankton in Schleswig-Holstein, to migratory birds in East Prussia and pest insects in Belgium, De Bont's book is a fascinating tour through the history of studying nature in nature.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of core concepts and technological foundations for continuous engineering of Web streams. It presents various systems and applications and includes real-world examples. Last not least, it introduces the readers to RSP4J, a novel open-source project that aims to gather community efforts in software engineering and empirical research. The book starts with an introductory chapter that positions the work by explaining what motivates the design of specific techniques for processing data streams using Web technologies. Chapter 2 briefly summarizes the necessary background concepts and models needed to understand the remaining content of the book. Subsequently, chapter 3 focuses on processing RDF streams, taming data velocity in an open environment characterized by high data variety. It introduces query answering algorithms with RSP-QL and analytics functions over streaming data. Chapter 4 presents the life cycle of streaming linked data, it focuses on publishing streams on the Web as a prerequisite aspect to make data findable and accessible for applications. Chapter 5 touches on the problems of benchmarks and systems that analyze Web streams to foster technological progress. It surveys existing benchmarks and introduces guidelines that may support new practitioners in approaching the issue of continuous analytics. Finally, chapter 6 presents a list of examples and exercises that will help the reader to approach the area, get used to its practices and become confident in its technological possibilities. Overall, this book is mainly written for graduate students and researchers in Web and stream data management. It collects research results and will guide the next generation of researchers and practitioners.

It is fashionable in professional circles to deplore the difficulty of intellectual discourse between "academicians" - men of letters, researchers, rationalist- and "practitioners" - surgeons, radiologists, physical therapists. How benefi cial it would be if educated non-academicians could speak intelligently about t-tests and chi-square tests and men of academia could appreciate the travail, spirit, and needs of a busy office and practice Even this suspected gap between "two cultures" came very near together in the wonderful town of Groningen (The Netherlands) as wise men from both practice and scholarship gathered to talk about the unfathomables of the temporomandibular joint. There were keen discussions about the intense bio logical changes which occur about the complex temporomandibular joint after excessive use or injury. These papers were followed by talks outlining the experiences of those involved in the imaging and non-surgical and surgical management of patients who were enduring such changes. The pitch and interchange of opinions and evidence as to why a disc or its position could effect little or profound disturbance of the temporomandibular apparatus were en lightening to each who listened - and thought. And even more sobering was to hear the report of a well-documented, multiple decades long study of a large number of patients with osteoarthrosis and internal derangement which defined a natural course and eventual end of the disease. With this understanding, one is now faced with the obvious question of how much treatment patients with osteoarthrosis really require."