##s " light, " old irish lu " small ; " see lever ). the notion in make light of ( 1520s ) is of " unimportance. " alternative spelling lite, the darling of advertisers, is first recorded 1962. the adverb is old english leohte, from the adjective. light - skirts " woman of easy virtue " is attested from 1590s. to make light of is from 1520s. - light ( v. 1 ) - " touch down, " from old english lihtan " to alight ; alleviate, leave, " from proto - germanic * linkhtijan, literally " to make light, " from * lingkhtaz " not heavy " ( see light ( adj. 1 ) ). apparently the ground sense is " to dismount a horse, etc., and thus relieve it of one ' s weight. " to light out " leave hastily " is 1870, from a nautical meaning " move out, move heavy objects, " of unknown origin but perhaps belonging to this word ( cf. lighter ( n. 1 ) ). - light ( v. 2 ) - " to illuminate, fill with brightness, " old english lyhtan, common germanic ( cf. old saxon liohtian, old high german liuhtan, german leuchten, gothic liuhtjan " to light " ), from source of from light ( n. ). related : lighted ; lighting. - light ( adj. 2 ) - " not dark, " old english leoht, common germanic ( cf. old saxon and old high german lioht, old frisian liacht, german licht " bright, " from the source of old english leoht ( see light ( n. ) ). meaning " pale - hued " is from 1540s.


the prime objective of the eumetsat polar system ( eps ) metop mission series is to provide continuous, long - term datasets, in support of operational meteorological and environmental forecasting and global climate monitoring. the eps programme consists of a series of three polar orbiting metop satellites, to be flown successively for more than 14 years, from 2006, together with the relevant ground facilities. metop - a was launched on 19 october 2006 and metop - b was launched on 17 september 2012. metop carries a set of ' heritage ' instruments provided by the united states and a new generation of european instruments that offer improved remote sensing capabilities to both meteorologists and climatologists. the new instruments will augment the accuracy of temperature humidity measurements, readings of wind speed and direction, and atmospheric ozone profiles. nwp is the basis of all modern global and regional weather forecasting. the data generated by the instruments carried by metop can be assimilated directly into nwp models to compute forecasts ranging from a few hours up to 10 days ahead. measurements from infrared and microwave radiometers and sounders on board metop provide nwp models with crucial information on the global atmospheric temperature and humidity structure, with a high vertical and horizontal resolution. eps also ensures continuity in the long - term monitoring of factors known to play an important role in climate change, for example changing patterns in the distribution of global cloud, snow and ice cover, and ocean surface temperatures and winds. in particular, the infrared atmospheric sounding interferometer ( iasi ) instrument has the ability to detect and accurately measure the levels and circulation patterns of gases that are known to influence the climate, such as carbon dioxide. this heralds a breakthrough in the global monitoring of the climate. the data collected by iasi feeds into the models, for the first time showing the variable global distribution of carbon dioxide as a function of seasons and circulation anomalies such as the southern oscillation ( also known as el nino ) and the north atlantic oscillation ( nao ). eps programme background eps is the european contribution to a joint european - us satellite system, called the initial joint polar - orbiting operational satellite system ( ijps ). this is an agreement between eumetsat and the national oceanic and atmospheric administration ( noaa ). the terms of this partnership were first cemented through an agreement concluded in 1998. to develop eps there are also cooperative agreements with the european space agency ( esa ) and centre national d ' etudes spatiales ( cnes ). the initial


there is great confusion among the scientific community about whether women who are drug abusers should breast feed their babies. in order to shed some light on this issue, scientists from various spanish hospitals and research centres are reviewing the methods used to detect substances in breast milk, their adverse effects, and the recommendations that mothers should follow in this month ' s issue of the journal analytical and bioanalytical chemistry. " the general recommendation is to totally avoid drug abuse while breastfeeding, because these substances can pass directly through to the newborn ", oscar garcia algar, co - author of the study and a doctor in the paediatrics department at the hospital del mar in barcelona, tells sinc. the researcher adds : " this recommendation extends to the prenatal period, because these substances are passed on to the foetus via the placenta, and then in the postnatal period via the environment. if they have exposure through the milk, they will certainly also have had it during the pregnancy, and they can also be in the environment, as is the case with tobacco smoke ". for this study, the team used the average daily intake of the breastfeeding baby, around 150 millilitres of milk per kilo of weight, as a benchmark. the recommendations are listed for each substance, taking the advice of the american academy of pediatrics ( aap ) as a reference. nicotine, caffeine and alcohol the breast milk of smoking mothers contains between 2 and 240 nanograms of nicotine per millilitre, which means their babies receive a dose equivalent to 0. 3 to 36 micrograms / kg / day. these infants tend to suffer more from colic and are more prone to respiratory infections. the advice is to give up smoking during pregnancy and breastfeeding, or at least to limit the habit as much as possible, extend the time between the last cigarette and the baby ' s feed, use nicotine patches, smoke outside the house and avoid smoky environments. caffeine – found in coffee, tea, cola drinks and medicines – can cause irritability and insomnia. although the level of caffeine absorption varies greatly from one person to another, this substance has a lengthy half - life in newborns. for this reason, it is recommended to reduce consumption during breastfeeding to a maximum of 300 mg / day, equivalent to around three cups of coffee per day. for alcohol, the exact risk is still ill - defined, and no studies have been carried out to corre


is recommended to reduce consumption during breastfeeding to a maximum of 300 mg / day, equivalent to around three cups of coffee per day. for alcohol, the exact risk is still ill - defined, and no studies have been carried out to correlate the dose, although some research suggests it can harm the infant ' s motor development, as well as causing changes to their sleep patterns, reduce the amount they eat, and increase the risk of hypoglycaemia. the aap feels that alcohol consumption is compatible with breastfeeding, but this study states that no amount can be considered safe until the levels in breast milk are established. strategies for minimising risk include feeding the baby before consuming alcoholic drinks, or at least allowing two or three hours to pass after drinking. alcoholic women are advised to feed their babies with a bottle. the risks of alcohol to the foetus in pregnant women have already been shown. " but despite this, a recent study by our group showed that 45. 7 % of the women who came to give birth in our hospital had consumed considerable amounts of alcohol during pregnancy ", says the doctor. cannabis, cocaine and other drugs cannabis, which is transmitted both through the mother ' s milk and smoke, can cause sedation, lethargy, weakness and poor feeding habits in breastfeeding babies. the long - term risks are also unknown. women are advised not to use it, but if they use marijuana occasionally, the experts advise them to do so several hours before feeding, and not to expose their children to the smoke. the advice on cocaine, meanwhile, is to " totally avoid it " during breastfeeding. the first case of toxicity caused by this drug through breast milk was a baby boy just two weeks old who suffered irritability, trembling, dilated pupils, tachycardia and high blood pressure after feeding. women are also advised against breastfeeding if they take amphetamines. these can cause agitation, crying and lack of sleep. using them also reduces a mother ' s ability to care for her children. breastfeeding is not recommended either for women who use heroin, which is excreted into the milk in sufficient amounts to cause addiction in the baby. in the case of " need ", the advice is to allow at least one or two days to pass after taking the drug before feeding the baby, and to start a substitute treatment as soon as possible, if possible with methadone. other opiates used as medicines – morphine, meperidi


allow at least one or two days to pass after taking the drug before feeding the baby, and to start a substitute treatment as soon as possible, if possible with methadone. other opiates used as medicines – morphine, meperidine and codeine – are excreted into the milk in minimal amounts and are compatible with breastfeeding, as are benzodiazepines, as long as they are taken in controlled doses. these are the drugs most frequently prescribed to women during pregnancy and after birth. in terms of anti - depressant and anti - psychotic drugs, the aap says " these can be a cause for concern during breastfeeding ". for now, their effects on breastfeeding babies are unknown, and further studies are recommended. friguls b, joya x, garcia - algar o, pallas cr, vall o, pichini s. " a comprehensive review of assay methods to determine 5 drugs in breast milk and the safety of breastfeeding 6 when taking drugs ". analytical and bioanalytical chemistry 397 ( 3 ) : 1157 - 79, junio de 2010. doi 10. 1007 / s00216 - 010 - 3681 - 0. aaas and eurekalert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to eurekalert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the eurekalert! system.


galveston, texas — five years ago, large numbers of farmers in central china began falling victim to an mysterious disease marked by high fever, gastrointestinal disorder and an appalling mortality rate — as high as 30 percent in initial reports. investigators from the chinese center for disease control and prevention hurried to the scene of the outbreak. on the basis of dna evidence, they quickly concluded that it had been caused by human granulocytic anaplasmosis, a bacteria transmitted by tick bites. now, though, subsequent studies have shown that original conclusion was incorrect, and that a previously unknown and dangerous virus has been responsible for seasonal outbreaks of the disease in six of china ' s most populated provinces. " we expected to find a bacterial infection behaving in an unexpected way — human anaplasmosis has a less than one percent fatality rate in the u. s., and it rarely causes abdominal pain or vomiting or diarrhea, " said dr. xue - jie yu of the university of texas medical branch at galveston, lead author of a paper on the discovery now appearing in the " online advance " section of the new england journal of medicine. " instead, we found an unknown virus. " researchers have dubbed the newly discovered pathogen severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus, and placed it in the bunyaviridae family, along with the hantaviruses and rift valley fever virus. later investigation has placed its mortality rate at 12 percent, still alarmingly high. yu, a specialist in tick - borne bacteria like the species responsible for hga, first suspected that a virus might be responsible for the outbreaks after close examination of patients ' clinical data showed big differences from symptoms produced by hga, and blood sera drawn from patients revealed no hga or hga antibodies. yu became certain that a virus was at fault after sera taken from patients retained its ability to kill cells, despite being passed through a filter that blocked all bacteria. still, initial genetic tests failed to generate a match with a known pathogen. " clearly, we had a virus, but what virus? " yu said. " i told the people i was working with that they needed to be even more careful, because we were working with an unknown. " that caution seemed appropriate when electron microscope studies of deactivated virus particles revealed what appeared to be a hantavirus — associated in asia with hemorrhagic fever and in the americas with a deadly pulmonary syndrome. but when yu and his colleagues managed to


seemed appropriate when electron microscope studies of deactivated virus particles revealed what appeared to be a hantavirus — associated in asia with hemorrhagic fever and in the americas with a deadly pulmonary syndrome. but when yu and his colleagues managed to extract the virus ' entire genetic code, they found that it didn ' t match any other known virus. when researchers from the chinese center for disease control and prevention led by study author dr. yu wang analyzed sera taken from 241 symptomatic patients from henan, hubei, shandong, anhui, jiangsu and liaoning provinces, they found 171 contained either the previously unknown virus itself or antibodies against it. in addition, the scientists found the virus in 10 out of 186 ticks collected from farm animals in the area where the patients lived. " this seems to be a tick - borne disease, and the disease comes out when the ticks come out, from late march to late july, " yu said. " fortunately, even though the full life cycle is not clear, we know that for the virus humans are a dead end — we don ' t have human - to - human transmission as we did with sars. " other authors of the new england journal of medicine paper include utmb health visiting scientist dr. yan liu, professor vsevolod popov, professor dr. david walker and research associate dr. lihong zhang ; dr. qun li, wen - wu yin, hang zhou and dr. zi - jian feng of the chinese center for disease control and prevention ; dr. mi - fang liang, jian - dong li, dr. yu - lan sun, quan - fu zhang, chuan li, dr. yan - ping zhang, wei wu, qin wang, shi - wen wang, jing - dong song, tao wan, li - na sun, dr. tao hong and dr. de - xin li of the state key laboratory for molecular virology and genetic engineering, national institute for viral disease control and prevention ; shou - yin zhang, dr. rong hai, biao kan, kang - lin wan, dr. huai - qi jing, dr. jin - xin lu, jin - rong he, jing - shang zhang and xiu - ping fu of the state key laboratory for infectious disease control and prevention, national institute for communicable disease control and prevention ; fa - xian zhan, xu - hua guan and dr. jia - fa liu of the hubei province cdc ; dr. xian


laboratory for infectious disease control and prevention, national institute for communicable disease control and prevention ; fa - xian zhan, xu - hua guan and dr. jia - fa liu of the hubei province cdc ; dr. xian - jun wang and zhen - qiang bi of the shandong province cdc ; dr. guo - hua liu of the henan province cdc ; dr. jun ren of the anhui province cdc ; dr. hua wang of the jiangsu province cdc ; dr. zhuo zhao of the liaoning province cdc ; and dr. yu zhang of the hubei province department of health. the china mega - project for infectious diseases, the western regional center of excellence for biodefense and emerging infectious diseases and the chinese recruitment program of global experts provided support for this research. about utmb health : established in 1891, texas ' first academic health center comprises four health sciences schools, three institutes for advanced study, a research enterprise that includes one of only two national laboratories dedicated to the safe study of infectious threats to human health, and a health system offering a full range of primary and specialized medical services throughout galveston county and the texas gulf coast region. utmb health is a component of the university of texas system. the university of texas medical branch at galveston public affairs office 301 university boulevard, suite 3. 102 galveston, texas 77555 - 0144 aaas and eurekalert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to eurekalert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the eurekalert! system.


the main elements of the compromise are as follows : all flights starting and / or landing in europe ( including intercontinental flights ) to be included in the ets from 1 january 2012 ; the eu to have an obligation to seek an agreement on global measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from aviation. bilateral agreements, for example with the us, could be a first step ; 85 percent of the emissions certificates to be allocated for free according to a common european benchmark. 15 percent to be auctioned ; the reduction target to be calculated on the basis of airlines ' average annual emissions between 2004 - 2006 : in the first period ( 2012 ), airline emissions to be cut by 3 percent ; in the second, from 2013 onwards, by 5 percent. the percentage to be further modified as part of the general review of the ets ; the revenues generated from the auctioning of emissions allowances should be used to fund : climate change mitigation ; research on clean aircraft ; anti - deforestation measures in the developing world ; the deal says that " it shall be for member states to determine the use to be made of revenues generated from the auctioning of allowances. those revenues should be used to tackle climate change in the eu and third countries, inter alia, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to adapt to the impacts of climate change in the eu and third countries, especially developing countries, to fund research and development for mitigation and adaptation, including in particular in the fields of aeronautics and air transport, to reduce emissions through low - emissions transport, and to cover the cost of administering the scheme. the proceeds of auctioning should also be used to fund contributions to the global energy efficiency and renewable energy fund, and measures to avoid deforestation. " commenting on the compromise deal he helped broker over the last few weeks, peter liese ( epp - ed, de ), ep rapporteur on emissions, said : " of course, a global agreement is our final goal, but the inclusion of third country flights starting and landing in europe is a major step for the global fight against climate change. other industries like steel would very much like to be in such a situation. " the parliament, said mr liese, has fought for very strict provisions concerning the revenues from auctioned allowances. " money should be used to tackle climate change and not disappear somewhere in the general budget. it is not a tax but an environmental instrument. this is why we are very engaged in this field. the agreement is not perfect, but the council went further than on any


be used to tackle climate change and not disappear somewhere in the general budget. it is not a tax but an environmental instrument. this is why we are very engaged in this field. the agreement is not perfect, but the council went further than on any other comparable occasion. " highlighting the importance of funding public transport to reduce emissions, mr liese added : " people should be encouraged to use buses and trains - for example by reducing taxes and charges on [ such ] low emissions transports. " exemptions for some light airplanes with a take - off weight under 5. 7 tonnes, flights for humanitarian purposes under a un mandate, fire - fighting and other emergency flights, police, customs and military flights research flights are excluded from the scheme, and small airline companies producing low emissions are excluded. government and head of state flights included flights performed exclusively for the transport, on official mission, of a reigning monarch and his immediate family, heads of state, heads of government and government ministers, of an eu member state are included. according to the european commission ' s impact assessment : " fully passing on costs to customers would mean that by 2020 airline tickets for a return journey could increase by €4. 6 to €39. 6, depending on the journey length. " the compromise was adopted with 640 votes in favour, 30 against and 20 abstentions.


on the 83rd anniversary of mlk ’ s birthday, associated press reporter jeffrey collins had an article in the tacoma news tribune on tuesday, january 17, 2012, mentioning about a throng of african - americans who surrounded the south carolina capitol to voice opposition to the state ’ s voter id laws, which was rejected by the u. s. justice department last month. what is at issue, critics say, is that the new law is “ discriminatory ” towards african - americans and poor whites ; and is especially meant to suppress the turnout and participation of blacks in the voting process, undermining the voting rights act of 1964 and 1966. in order to better determine if requiring a photo identification is “ unequal ” treatment and a violation of the u. s. constitution, therefore it is necessary to get a historical perspective about the evolution of the voting experience in america. when the constitution was written, only white male property owners ( about 10 to 16 percent of the nation ' s population ) had the vote. over the past two centuries, though, the term " government by the people " has become a reality. during the early 1800s, states gradually dropped property requirements for voting. later, groups that had been excluded previously gained the right to vote. other reforms made the process fairer and easier. poll taxes enacted in southern states between 1889 and 1910 had the effect of disenfranchising many blacks as well as poor whites, because payment of the tax was a prerequisite for voting. by the 1940s some of these taxes had been abolished, and in 1964 the 24th amendment to the u. s. constitution disallowed the poll tax as a prerequisite for voting in federal elections. in 1966 this prohibition was extended to all elections by the u. s. supreme court, which ruled that such a tax violated the “ equal protection ” clause of the 14th amendment to the constitution. 1790 only white male adult property - owners have the right to vote. 1810 last religious prerequisite for voting is eliminated. 1850 property ownership and tax requirements eliminated by 1850. almost all adult white males could vote. 1855 connecticut adopts the nation ' s first literacy test for voting. massachusetts follows suit in 1857. the tests were implemented to discriminate against irish - catholic immigrants. 1870 the 15th amendment is passed. it gives former slaves the right to vote and protects the voting rights of adult male citizens of any race. 1889 florida adopts a poll tax. ten other southern states will implement poll taxes. 1890 mississippi adopts a literacy test


15th amendment is passed. it gives former slaves the right to vote and protects the voting rights of adult male citizens of any race. 1889 florida adopts a poll tax. ten other southern states will implement poll taxes. 1890 mississippi adopts a literacy test to keep african americans from voting. numerous other states — not just in the south — also establish literacy tests. however, the tests also exclude many whites from voting. to get around this, states add grandfather clauses that allow those who could vote before 1870, or their descendants, to vote regardless of literacy or tax qualifications. 1957 the first law to implement the 15th amendment, the civil rights act, is passed. the act set up the civil rights commission — among its duties is to investigate voter discrimination. 1964 the 24th amendment bans the poll tax as a requirement for voting in federal elections. 1965 the voting rights act protects the rights of minority voters and eliminates voting barriers such as the literacy test. the act is expanded and renewed in 1970, 1975, and 1982. 1966 the supreme court, in harper v. virginia board of elections, eliminates the poll tax as a qualification for voting in any election. a poll tax was still in use in alabama, mississippi, texas, and virginia. 1966 the court upholds the voting rights act in south carolina v. katzenbach. 1970 literacy requirements are banned for five years by the 1970 renewal of the voting rights act. at the time, eighteen states still have a literacy requirement in place. in oregon v. mitchell, the court upholds the ban on literacy tests, which is made permanent in 1975. judge hugo black, writing the court ' s opinion, cited the " long history of the discriminatory use of literacy tests to disenfranchise voters on account of their race " as the reason for their decision. 2003 federal voting standards and procedures act require states to streamline registration, voting, and other election procedures. read more : poll tax — infoplease. com http : / / www. infoplease. com / encyclopedia / poll + tax # ixzz1jluxv0rd read more : u. s. voting rights http : / / www. infoplease. com / timelines / voting. html # ixzz1jm6rkwx1 read more : u. s. voting rights http : / / www. infoplease. com / timelines / voting. html # ixzz1jm6rbqj1 the recurring word in the fifteenth amendment as well as twenty - fourth amendment


more : u. s. voting rights http : / / www. infoplease. com / timelines / voting. html # ixzz1jm6rbqj1 the recurring word in the fifteenth amendment as well as twenty - fourth amendment is “ abridged, ” which has the meaning of to weaken or take away and it is yet to be proven that such a requirement is in any way to be construed as an attempt to disenfranchise any ethnic, religious or social class / group of their rights under the constitution. in fact, it could be argued that this procedure is in streamlining the voting process by discouraging fraud and proving the person ’ s citizenship and eligibility to vote ; which would seem to be the intended objective of the 2003 federal voting standards and procedures act. it seems reasonable to conclude that every legal and naturalized citizen of the united states, regardless of income, social status, level of education or any other consideration, ought to have on their person at all times [ if possible ] some kind of photo identification. to wit : any allegation to the contrary, no matter how passionate the argument, is without merit and should be rejected. as of this writing, kansas, mississippi, alabama, rhode island, tennessee and wisconsin passed voter id legislation in 2011. texas has pending legislation before the justice department and south carolina governor nikki haley vowed to fight the justice department in federal court over rejection of their voter identification laws. 776 commerce st. # b - 11 tacoma, wa 98402 january 17, 2012 read more articles by robert randle or search for articles on the same topic or others.


wooster, ohio — the ongoing drought afflicting much of ohio has created conditions that are ripe for the development of a fungal disease corn growers in the buckeye state typically don ’ t see — aspergillus ear rot. the concern is that drought - stressed corn is more susceptible to infection by aspergillus flavus, an ear rot fungus that produces a very potent group of carcinogenic ( cancer - causing ) toxins called aflatoxins. aflatoxins can be harmful for animals or humans if used in corn for grain and human food consumption, said ohio state university extension plant pathologist pierce paul. already, the disease has been spotted in some corn in indiana, which is experiencing severe and extreme drought over much of the state, so ohio growers should start looking for signs of it in their cornfields, paul said. growers can identify the disease by peeling back the husks and looking for a yellowish green or gray - green mold growing predominantly at the tip of the ear. this is largely because the fungus enters through the silk channel. infection is also associated with insect or bird damage, which typically occurs at the tip of the ear, paul said, so growers should look at ears in multiple locations throughout their fields, especially in areas that have insect or bird damage. “ normally, aflatoxin contamination of corn is not a major issue in ohio, but the dry conditions experienced across the state could lead to such a problem this year, ” paul said. “ this is something that we don ’ t want to get into the food chain, period. ” paul said the fungus can infect grain and produce aflatoxin under a wide range of conditions including temperatures between 54 and 108 degrees, kernel moisture between 15 and 25 percent, and relative humidity above 80 percent. but, he cautioned, growers shouldn ’ t assume that if they find aspergillus ear rot in their corn, that it means aflatoxin contamination is also present. “ there are no guarantees that moldy ears will be contaminated with aflatoxins, ” he said. “ and there is no guarantee that ears without visual signs of fungal infection will be free of aflatoxins, and that the amount of aspergillus ear rot will provide an accurate measure of the levels of aflatoxin contamination. ” the plant pathologist said the levels of ear rot development and toxin contamination depend on the strain of the fungus, with some members of the aspergillus flavus group being capable


florence ' s battistero di san giovanni was built in the vii century, probably following the conversion of queen teodolinda to christianity. the building, which is octagonal and is faced with white and green marble ( the latter from prato ), was erected on the site of a sumptuous roman structure, possibly a domus, using a considerable quantity of marble from roman ruins. both the baptistery and santa reparata ( florence ' s cathedral ) were outside the carolingian walls, but were included within the matildine walls. the baptistery was soon surrounded by houses that pressed in upon it from all sides, and was only released from this siege in the xiv century. that square was expanded further, putting the baptistery at the centre of a geometric space, in the xv century. the baptistery proper reached its present form between the xi and xiii centuries, and the doors are extraordinary masterpieces. the southern door has bas - reliefs by andrea pisano. the northern door, also known as the porta della croce ( the door of the cross ) has lorenzo ghiberti ' s scenes from the life of christ. the eastern door, called la porta del paradiso ( the gates of paradise ) by michelangelo, has ghiberti ' s great masterpiece, scenes from the old testament. the guild that commissioned the work in 1425 told the artist to spare neither time nor expense, and left the choice of subject matter up to him. in working on the panels, ghiberti was assisted by his sons, and also by michelozzo and benozzo gozzoli. the inside of the baptistery has an octagonal cupola with byzantine mosaics ; the walls instead are faced with marble. the funerary monument to the antipope john xxiii is by donatello and michelangelo. for any information : battistero di san giovanni piazza duomo piazza s. giovanni ( 055 2302885 ). open noon - 7 pm ; sun 8. 30 am - 2p. m. admission : 3 euro.


interviewees described the importance of maintaining social and cultural connections while receiving care in hospital. the environment and process of health services, and responsiveness of staff to personal and cultural needs, particularly during difficult times, impacted significantly on patients and carers and their perceptions of care. the major themes are summarised in table 6. the importance of family family as companion, support and buffer. keeping connected with family at home. family members in the city - a vital connection. coping with diagnosis or illness coming to terms with an injury, diagnosis or treatment. the frustration of waiting for treatment and dealing with symptoms. death and dying cultural and personal aspects of preparation for surgery and treatment. importance of support when a patient dies. systemic racism, post - colonial realities racism and colonisation. stereotyping reinforces discomfort. repeatedly, aboriginal country patients and carers discussed the importance of family in their lives and at times of distress or ill health. many patients preferred to have ( and some relied on having ) family members with them in hospital for company, advocacy, emotional support and physical care. patients valued the emotional and practical support and comfort provided by family : it ' s important if anyone goes up for any treatment that they ' ve got support people around them because it makes a lot of difference... otherwise you ' re sitting there by yourself... thinking a bit more about it too, whereas if you ' ve got someone else, there ' s conversation ( p12 ). my daughter and husband was there so it didn ' t take me long to get better after that. a couple of weeks i was right, came home ( p6 ). for some older women it was important to have a female family member or carer with them when they were in single rooms because they never slept alone at home and there were always other women nearby. for those in adelaide for outpatient care, family provided vital after - hours physical care for applying treatments and mobility assistance : it was good to have my mum there helping out as well... putting the cream on... washing all my clothes everyday ( p12 ). i would rather have my daughter shower me than someone at the hostel ( p4 ). for one man, having his wife present helped him cope ( without retaliating ) with interactions with staff whom he found negative and racist : if my wife wasn ' t with me the day that dr... called me a drug addict i probably would have punched him and i ' m telling you now that ' s a fair dinku


interactions with staff whom he found negative and racist : if my wife wasn ' t with me the day that dr... called me a drug addict i probably would have punched him and i ' m telling you now that ' s a fair dinkum fact... but she just put her hand on my lap because she knew the moment he said that, that i would have lost it ( p1 ). patients and carers stressed the importance of maintaining connection with family while they were in city hospitals. five patients indicated that the most important thing staff did to support them socially and culturally was to ensure that they had access to a telephone to call family : i think the most important thing is being able to keep in contact with family. to have a phone near the bed if you are on bed rest. if people are from the country and don ' t have family around, staff need to bring the phone in when family call. you do need contact with family ; a lot of us have no family in town, so it is all by phone ( c2 ). patients appreciated telephone contact with family even when they were extremely unwell : at that stage [ i was ] very ill and i didn ' t really need a lot of people coming around, trust me... they had a phone beside my bed and i could speak to people, which was good ( pc20 ). most patients were visited by extended family members ( nieces, nephews, in laws, siblings, grandchildren ) living in adelaide. two patients spoke of city family members visiting them while they were still in accident and emergency units : my brother and sister and her husband came in to see me in [ accident and emergency ]. my son must have rung them when i went in the ambulance. it was good to see them ( pc24 ). when city family members visited patients in the wards they provided vital ongoing company and support : my nieces in adelaide came to visit. family makes a lot of difference. if i was on my own i would be thinking, thinking. but when family and friends come and visit it is alright ( p4 ). the kids are ‘ poppy, poppy ' and you could see it in his eyes, you know, it sort of brightened him up too ( c6 ). carers also identified the importance of extended family providing emotional and practical support for them while they were in adelaide or regional hospitals : my sister rang to see if i needed anything, i asked her to do shopping, i was in the hospital every day and


carers also identified the importance of extended family providing emotional and practical support for them while they were in adelaide or regional hospitals : my sister rang to see if i needed anything, i asked her to do shopping, i was in the hospital every day and just needed more things than the local deli could supply. i could get milk and bread there, but needed more ( p & c30 ). many family members made extensive journeys to see patients in city hospitals. some could only stay for a few hours, or visit when finances were available : on pension day when they ' ve got money they come down ( p6 ). patients and carers spoke about the difficulty of coming to terms with an injury, illness or diagnosis. one patient recounted waking up in adelaide following a car accident and royal flying doctor service retrieval : i woke up and i was really frightened... the nurses were talking to one another and i can understand what they were saying to each other and i thought, i must have been hit by a car. and my family were ringing up from here and telling me too. gave me a shock... i am lucky to be alive ( p8 ). another woman discussed dealing with the complications of diabetes : this year i have been going down to adelaide a lot. i was really sick earlier, not wanting to bother with myself. i can ' t walk around and it was starting to get to me. i went down for test in adelaide, and they operated on both of my legs [ indicates amputated legs ], and i feel better now... i asked myself, why did this happen to me? i don ' t smoke, i don ' t drink alcohol. why? maybe it is the diabetes ( p4 ). another spoke of the long - term effects of having her teeth removed : i ' m a diabetic and i can ' t eat fruit and i can ' t have meat - so i just eat junk food because... it is soft and you don ' t have to chew. i think my weight ' s gone up again. my diabetes, my blood pressure - everything. and i ' m on sleeping tablets because i can ' t sleep because of the stress ( p9 ). one carer discussed the difficulty of her husband ' s cancer diagnosis and treatment regime for both her and her husband : yeah, that ' s been a very difficult time, obviously the cancer stuff is a big deal when you first find out about it and then this whole process of ongoing treatment is


husband ' s cancer diagnosis and treatment regime for both her and her husband : yeah, that ' s been a very difficult time, obviously the cancer stuff is a big deal when you first find out about it and then this whole process of ongoing treatment is quite difficult and time consuming ( pc20 ). another woman spoke of wanting to prepare her children for a poor diagnosis she was given : i try to tell them what the doctor says and get them to read the reports, what he wrote, but they don ' t want to listen... that ' s why i went and bought myself a funeral benefit ( pc21 ). patients living in remote areas spoke of getting frustrated with blindness or incapacity due to delayed surgery and treatment. others spoke of trying not to worry and to keep healthy and fit while waiting for a kidney transplant, of waiting to see if cancer treatments would be successful, and of dealing with chronic pain and disability : all i want youse to do is give me a needle in the base of my back so that it kills the pain in the base of my back so then i can stand up properly and i don ' t need to be walking around cramped up... like a bloody old man ( p1 ). the focus group members discussed an important cultural aspect of preparing for a major operation or treatment. they indicated that discussions with family are needed before undertaking treatment that might be dangerous - family can come together and ‘ make sure the person is spiritually strong and pray for them ' ( fg ). this may mean that patients need to return to country after diagnosis and prior to consent to treatment. if the person cannot go home, family members need to visit them. two people spoke of their experiences of being carers for family members who died and the importance of staff support : they told us in the city hospital that there was nothing more they could do. we wanted to bring him home and they transferred him to the local hospital... i took him home for about three months with help from palliative nurses... they gave me a bed in the hospital in the room with him so in the last - you know, we ' d been together - 43 years we were ( c6 ). had to turn the machine off and that was hard, very hard. when i held her hand i just see this thing coming out of her body and it was white smoke, like a white light and it stopped up there for a minute and it just disappeared. then everybody started to cry and i went and put


hard. when i held her hand i just see this thing coming out of her body and it was white smoke, like a white light and it stopped up there for a minute and it just disappeared. then everybody started to cry and i went and put my arms around them and calmed them down and wasn ' t even thinking about myself until i come home... she died in adelaide and i had to bring her home then. i was looking after everybody else and calming them down and whatever else and the day they buried her i went crazy, i think it all just came out then ( pc21 ). some years later this same person was called to the city to turn off her son ' s life support, and then her husband became ill. it was important for her that she and other family members were supported by hospital staff each time :... the staff were good. they give me a room, they let all my mob stay in one big room and they were good to talk to ( pc21 ). some patients and carers discussed how racism and colonisation impact on their lives generally and that even when they have good local relationships with the wider community, national issues may trigger racist or judgmental actions : that ' s the worst part, that ' s the annoying part, they treat you all the same... we always mixed in. but then you do get... all this land thing [ land rights ] came out and i was walking down the street and there was a car load - they went past me saying, ‘ you ' re not bloody getting my land ', and i said, ‘ what, i don ' t want your land '. they think, ‘ oh, yeah, she ' s after that ' ( c6 ). one patient spoke of past colonising practices and negatives ways of being treated in institutions and how this has affected her family ' s attitudes to seeking health care : there were these boys... from the homes - they ' d say, ‘ sir, i ' ve got a headache, can you give me something? ' and he said, ‘ i ' ll be right with you '. he got the pain killer and he put it on the kid ' s head and put sticky tape on there and said you ' re right now, your heads will stop hurting now... it ' s just some of the things that we experience... and the young kids, they ' ve got a hate, a hate for non - indigenous people... there '


right now, your heads will stop hurting now... it ' s just some of the things that we experience... and the young kids, they ' ve got a hate, a hate for non - indigenous people... there ' s a lot of things that went on with aboriginal people ( pc22 ). some patients experience discomfort due to the actions of non - indigenous staff and patients : yes, some staff are still racist, it ' s not across the board, there ' s just certain people - their attitudes ( p1 ). you can see that, like with the white patients, you know... they stare at us too many times but i ' ve been telling a couple of them white people ‘ stop staring, we all the same colour - we all got the skin, we ' re not animals ' ( p5 ). but several patients were reluctant to label the behaviour of staff as racist. one person, when asked whether he / she thought bad treatment was race based, or if that particular staff member treated everyone the same way, replied : i really don ' t know. i have mixed feelings about it. this is a question that as an aboriginal person i find hard to define. it is often an immediate reaction, it is because of my aboriginality. i try not to make a point of reading racism into it. at other times it is obvious, and you know it is. no, it was not really clear. i think maybe they were not nice to others too ( pc23 ). some patients spoke of improvements in hospitals accommodating cultural needs and providing culturally safe environments : yeah, we ' re getting treated pretty good but it ' s just outside, you know ( p3 ). patients and carers stressed the importance of having family nearby, or in contact via telephone. family members provided patients and carers with much needed support - physical, economic, social, spiritual and emotional. country family members travelled long distances to maintain contact. some carers discussed extensive periods of time caring for family members, with past experiences influencing subsequent visits. they often made difficult decisions and encountered challenging times supporting family members during death and dying. patients and carers also spoke of the struggle to come to terms with an injury, diagnosis or treatment, and the impact this had on their lives and wellbeing. some patients felt that there is increased attention to ensuring cultural safety in hospitals, although stereotyping still leads to discomfort for patients and carers.


un climate talks : urgent progress still not in sight the un climate talks, ongoing now for 20 years, have made little progress in delivering concrete climate action and are now heading backwards. most recently they agreed 2015 as the date to launch a new treaty to deal with climate action which probably won ’ t come into force until 2020. and many governments look set to attend the talks in doha to promote a further weakening of the framework for global emissions reductions, while at home they continue to support the expansion of false solutions to the climate crisis. global emissions need to peak around 2015 if we are to have a decent chance of bringing emissions down to safe levels in time to prevent a further worsening of the earth ' s climate and avoid the unprecedented destruction, insecurity and suffering that catastrophic, irreversible climate change would cause. clifton, friends of the earth international climate justice “ from the carnage wrought by hurricane sandy to the devastating flooding in nigeria, the impacts of climate change are now evident for all to see, and alarmingly more frequent. carbon dioxide levels have reached a record high, setting us on track for a terrifying 6 degrees of warming. unfortunately developed countries, led by the united states, are accelerating the demolition of the world ’ s international framework for fair and urgent climate action. and most governments continue to support and advance the very policies that are driving the climate crisis, from dirty fossil fuel extraction of oil, gas and coal to carbon trading, agrofuels, large - scale industrial agriculture and ‘ green desert ’ plantations. ” the us, australia, canada and japan continue to be the main players dragging their feet and undermining progress in the un talks. europe has pledged an emissions target which will allow its emissions to continue to grow, and continues to push for the expansion of carbon trading, a dangerous scam which only benefits corporations and financial elites. meanwhile these and other countries are supporting false solutions to the climate crisis and ignoring the voices of people resisting the imposition of destructive projects and the land grabs, displacement and environmental destruction that they cause. the power of vested interests and multinational corporations and their influence over government policies and un processes remains at the heart of the ongoing failure of the talks and their recent further unraveling. tackling their influence is essential to unlocking the deadlock, and will unleash multiple other positive impacts like releasing for public benefit the hundreds of billions of dollars in public subsidies to dirty fossil fuel corporations. asad rehman, climate campaigner for friends of the earth england, wales and northern ireland said :


and will unleash multiple other positive impacts like releasing for public benefit the hundreds of billions of dollars in public subsidies to dirty fossil fuel corporations. asad rehman, climate campaigner for friends of the earth england, wales and northern ireland said : “ friends of the earth international is urging governments attending doha to finally wake up to the reality of the climate crisis and make urgent progress on the foundations of fair and ambitious climate action : emissions cuts in line with science and equity ; adequate public finance to support climate action in the developing world ; progress on technology transfer ; and an end to carbon trading. all are needed to drive forward the transformation of our economies, deliver real sustainable energy and food alternatives, and tackle emissions while improving health and wellbeing for everyone. we are nearly out of time. without urgent progress governments will face a total loss of confidence in their ability to act in the interests of people and the environment. ” for more information : asad rehman, climate campaigner, friends of the earth england, wales and northern ireland ( in doha ) : + 44 7956 210332 sarah - jayne clifton, friends of the earth international climate justice coordinator : + 44 7912 406510 developed ( annex i ) countries are responsible for three quarters of historic emissions despite only hosting 15 % of the world´s population. because of their historical responsibility for climate change they have a moral and legal obligation under the climate convention to cut their emissions first and fastest and to provide adequate public finance for climate action by developing countries. last year at cop 17 in durban, south africa, instead of making progress on implementing the existing negotiating roadmap agreed in bali in 2007, parties agreed to launch a whole new round of negotiations on an agreement to cover climate action. the durban platform ( adp ) will commence negotiations in doha and is due to finish its work by 2015. there is a very high risk that the durban platform will delay action on emissions for another ten years, lock in low ambition, undermine the principles of equity and justice in the global climate framework, and further deregulate the framework, leading to a system even weaker and less effective than the kyoto protocol. at cop 18 in doha countries are supposed to be finalising the targets for developed country emission reductions under the kyoto protocol second commitment period ; making progress on climate finance and comparable emissions reductions targets for the us ( which is not party to the kyoto protocol ) ; and commencing negotiations on the durban platform. 400 global civil society organizations and social movements have denounced corporate capture as a root cause of failing environmental


progress on climate finance and comparable emissions reductions targets for the us ( which is not party to the kyoto protocol ) ; and commencing negotiations on the durban platform. 400 global civil society organizations and social movements have denounced corporate capture as a root cause of failing environmental multilateral negotiations. clear demands were presented to the un earlier this year to help put an end to the excessive and harmful influence of corporations over processes like the un climate talks. so far the un did not issue a public response. friends of the earth international ' s report on the corporate capture of the un is available at : http : / / www. foei. org / en / resources / publications / pdfs / 2012 / reclaim - the - un - from - corporate - capture / view friends of the earth international is demanding : - urgent, binding and deep emissions cuts by developed countries in line with science and equity - provision by developed countries of adequate climate finance and technology transfer to developing countries for sustainable development and adaptation to climate impact - an end to carbon trading and - a top - down framework for future climate action which respects and reasserts the principles in the unfccc, including the principle of - common but differentiated responsibility ( cbdr ), and which includes binding emissions targets for developed countries and no new - efforts by all governments to drive forward the transformation of our unsustainable economies, protecting the rights and livelihoods of communities and delivering a safe climate and greater health and wellbeing


james conca, contributor i cover the underlying drivers of energy, technology and society. as hurricane sandy made landfall in new jersey, the nuclear regulatory commission issued an alert about rising waters at the oyster creek nuclear plant ( the seattle pi ). alarmists may take it as reason to shut all nuclear power in america, but there ’ s no reason to worry about the safety of nuclear power in the face of natural disasters like this. just like the flooding last year, just like the earthquakes this year, it would be surprising if this storm causes real problems such as release of radioactivity. oyster creek was already in a previously scheduled shut down before the storm hit. the nuclear regulatory commission issued the alert, the second - lowest in a four - tiered warning system, when stormwater reached a high of almost 10 feet above sea level. nuclear power plant procedures require that the facilities shut down under certain severe weather conditions and sandy certainly qualified as severe ( businessinsider ). other plants shut later in the night as their local conditions became severe as well. conditions were still safe at and around oyster creek, a plant in lacey township, n. j., and at all other u. s. nuclear plants, said the nuclear regulatory commission. the plant ’ s owner, exelon corp., said power was also disrupted at nine mile point in the station ’ s switchyard, but backup diesel generators were providing stable power, with more than two weeks of fuel on hand. in preparation for the storm, all nuclear plants were more than fully staffed, for just such an event. hurricane sandy, the biggest atlantic ocean tropical storm on record, made landfall monday on the jersey coast with an effective zone extending several hundred miles from the center ( nuclear cafe ). devastation will result from this storm, and the effect on many people ’ s lives will be substantial. although those with real ideological issues against nuclear energy may have gotten bit excited, there is nothing so far to worry about with respect to the nuclear plants. there is no special issue or peculiar risk here for the nuclear plants in the path of hurricane sandy. these plants can handle a hurricane, just like earthquakes. this is nothing like fukushima, neither the power plant nor the situation. that ’ s not to say sandy is not a threat to many other systems like subways, natural gas plants and pipelines, dams, hospitals, the electric grid, and all sorts of things that could fail in a hurricane. it will leave millions without power and in dire straights ( six million as of midnight


other systems like subways, natural gas plants and pipelines, dams, hospitals, the electric grid, and all sorts of things that could fail in a hurricane. it will leave millions without power and in dire straights ( six million as of midnight ). it has killed people. but the nuke thing has nothing to do with that. yet it is sure to get people on edge. the nuclear plants weathered this storm better than most any other infrastructure. i also suspect that the politicization of sandy and the nuke to ratchet up today, given how it started yesterday even before landfall. i truly respect amy goodman, but i wish she had asked a real nuclear expert to talk with her on democracy now! yesterday, not an anti - nuke activist like arnie gundersen who doesn ’ t really know the nuclear technical stuff, but only cares about politics. he threw in the usual key words like fukushima, spent fuel pools, outages, diesel, hydrogen explosions and the like, that have nothing to do with the issue but ratchet up the emotional response. he even mentioned climate change, which is strange as nuclear power has been the energy source that has emitted the least co2 into the atmosphere for all the electricity it ’ s produced, followed by hydro. and nuclear weathered the droughts and hot summer better than any other source, contrary to legend. the united states nuclear regulatory commission outlined the preparations being taken and how closely they are monitoring the storm ( nrc ) especially for calvert cliffs in md, salem, hope creek and oyster creek in nj ; peach bottom, three mile island and susquehanna in pa, indian point in ny, and millstone in ct ( nuclear cafe ). the nuclear energy institute ( nei ) has a good review of general hurricane preparedness that have been implemented at these plants. you can also track how nuclear energy plants are responding to hurricane sandy at nei news release.


1. the first armed drones were created to get osama bin laden. in 1998, u. s. president bill clinton ' s administration shut down an operation to kill the al qaeda leader in afghanistan with cruise missiles, given collateral damage estimates of 300 casualties and only 50 percent confidence in the intelligence. as the 9 / 11 commission noted, " after this episode pentagon planners intensified efforts to find a more precise alternative. " in 2000 and 2001, the u. s. air force struggled to reconfigure a hellfire anti - tank missile to fit onto a predator surveillance drone. meeting one week before the 9 / 11 attacks, the national security council agreed that the armed predator was not ready to be operationally deployed. the first known killing by armed drones occurred in november 2001, when a predator targeted mohammed atef, a top al qaeda military commander, in afghanistan. drones tend to crash. on dec. 4, an rq - 170 sentinel surveillance drone crashed in iran ; a u. s. official involved in the program blamed a lost data link and another unspecific malfunction. two weeks later, an unarmed reaper drone crashed at the end of a runway in the seychelles. " this should not be a surprise, " a defense official told aviation week & space technology, saying the united states had already lost more than 50 drones. as of july 2010, the air force had identified 79 drone accidents costing at least $ 1 million each. the primary reasons for the crashes : bad weather, loss or disruption of communications links, and " human error factors, " according to the air force. as lt. gen. david deptula, former air force deputy chief of staff for intelligence, has noted with refreshing honesty, " some of the [ drones ] that we have today, you put in a high - threat environment, and they ' ll start falling from the sky like rain. "


u. s. gas production : can we trust the projections? government ( eia ) forecasts suffer in credibility when compared with geologic assessments. in recent years, many have promoted natural gas as the " clean and safe " alternative to coal or nuclear energy in electrical power generation. this emphasis on natural gas should focus attention on the long - term forecasts of u. s. production and consumption of natural gas, as published by the energy information administration ( eia ) in the annual energy outlook. in particular, what confidence should be placed in these projections? first, consider gas consumption. the eia predicts that u. s. natural gas consumption will increase by 62 percent from 1999 to 2020, while use of petroleum and coal will rise by 33 percent and 22 percent, respectively, over the same period. the predicted gas upsurge will occur primarily as a result of construction and operation of a large number of new base - load gas - fired electricity generation plants. second, consider gas production. the eia predicts u. s. natural gas production will increase by 56 percent from 1999 to 2020, while coal production will increase by 17 percent over the same period, and oil will decline by 2 percent by 2020. ( ) now compare those predictions with past experience. as shown in figure 1, u. s. marketed gas production reached a maximum of 22. 65 trillion cubic feet ( tcf ) per year in 1973 - a record that still stands after more than a quarter century of upheavals in gas markets. 1 this fact should provide a context for the eia forecast. falling productivity : a steady trend in justifying its forecast of natural gas production, eia argued that sustainable increases in domestic production would occur because the steady decline in drilling costs would lead to increased well completions, and that new, but unspecified, technology would boost well productivity. eia projected that annual gas well completions would increase from 10, 300 in 1999 to 23, 400 wells in 2020. eia ' s predicted well - head price for 2020 is $ 3. 13 per thousand cubic feet ( $ / mcf ) - below average well - head prices for calendar year 2000. why, then, has u. s. gas production dropped since that quarter - century peak recorded in 1973? the reason is a decline in proved reserves. simply put, additions to u. s. " proved " reserves from new discoveries and from more intensive development of identified fields ( field growth ) were insufficient to maintain reserves at levels that sustained production. 2 production from


by : mir m. hosseini pursuing the afghan invaders, in 1738, nader shah conquered kandahar, the last outpost of the hotaki dynasty. his thoughts now turned to the mughal empire of india for nurturing hotaki fugitives. nader shah ' s conquest of india began with the battle of karnal which was a decisive victory for the iranian army. nader shah defeated the army of mohammad shah on feb, 13, 1739. the mughal emperor lost the battle in little more than three hours thus paving the way for the persians to conquer delhi. the battle took place at karnal, 110 kilometers north of delhi, india. the mughals main advantage was their war elephants therefore nader khan used fire and sharp - shooters to blind the elephants which fled causing mayhem in their own camp. the size of the indian army was twice that of nader shah ' s but nader was a genius in war tactics. thus, mughal forces began to disintegrate as they proved incapable of responding to persian attacks on their lines. after their general saadat khan was taken captive, mughals started to loot their own camp while the persian cavalry was inflicting great damages on loyal soldiers until the mughal emperor was captured by the persians. delhi surrendered and nader shah entered the city on norooz day on march, 21, 1739. nader spared the life of mohammad shah and the civilians although he was ruthless on remaining hotaki bandits. his soldiers brought back some of treasures that was plundered during the hotaki invasion including the peacock throne, jewels, and precious persian artworks such as miremad calligraphy. nader shah restore mohammad shah to his throne and left india soon after.


conducting a search this section focuses on performing a literature search on bibliographic databases. however, the general principles, and the list of search terms relating to the three rs can also be applied to searches on internet search engines. it includes information on planning a search, designing a search strategy, defining search terms ( including examples of subject - specific terms ) and how to report your search. planning a search it is essential that a literature search is an integral first step in planning any research programme. scientists should critically review previous literature in order to - check if their proposed research is novel - determine how previous similar studies were conducted - find the severity of the procedures - identify all feasible methods of testing the hypotheses in the planned programme a helpful guide is given in the frame strategic planning poster, which is available in several languages. in recent years, carrying out a systematic review of animal - related research has been advocated as a robust method of conducting such literature searches. a systematic review ( sr ) is a literature review focused on a single question that tries to identify, appraise, select and synthesise all available high quality research evidence relevant to the question. many of the principles are the same for a systematic or more traditional literature review, and should result in direct implementation of the three rs. a robust literature search can reveal gaps in knowledge, and identify which model will give the best answer to the research question, including whether use of animals is absolutely necessary ( replacement ). it can highlight less invasive techniques and those with more humane endpoints ( refinement ). it can also help to identify effective experimental designs, and prevent unnecessary duplication of animal experiments ( reduction ). leenaars et al ( 2011 ) provide a useful overview of the five basic steps that need to be addressed when planning a comprehensive search : 1. formulate a focused research question 2. identify appropriate databases and sources of studies 3. transform the research question into a search strategy 4. collect search results and remove duplicates 5. identify potentially relevant papers for further details see their paper. ( click here ) designing a search strategy and defining search terms once you have formulated your research question and identified appropriate databases, you will need to design a search strategy to address it. designing a search strategy for a specific database can be complex and depends on specific search terms, the search capabilities of the database and the indexing system it uses. it may be necessary to take a specific course in the use of the major electronic bibliographic databases, which may be available at an institution ’ s


on specific search terms, the search capabilities of the database and the indexing system it uses. it may be necessary to take a specific course in the use of the major electronic bibliographic databases, which may be available at an institution ’ s library or to involve a specialist from the library for advice when developing a comprehensive search strategy. leenaars et al ( 2011 ) provide a comprehensive breakdown of how to transform a research question into a search strategy for pubmed, which is a very good introduction for this database. ( click here ) the following are general considerations when designing a search strategy. initially, it is necessary to define search terms specific to the field of study and the research topic. how to identify these is described below. the terms then need to be combined into a search filter using boolean or other operators ( see search basics ). the use of parentheses and operators makes it possible to construct very long and complicated search filters, which include the whole of the desired search. however, on systems which permit storage and subsequent recall of individual search sets, it is better to do the search in a number of steps, each dealing with one concept, and then to combine the retrieved sets in various ways. this makes it easier to go back and adapt individual filters if necessary. always make notes on which combinations of which sets are being used at each stage, because if the search ends up including many steps it is sometimes quite difficult to remember exactly what was done earlier, and to identify which sets to use again in order to refine the search. it is also useful to copy and save the search filters that you have designed for use in future search strategies and for reporting your search ( see reporting searches below ). if the first search retrieves too many documents, of which many are irrelevant, it will be necessary to make the search filter more precise. do this by using narrower terms, for example searching on " rats " instead of " rodents ". another trick is to limit your search to the title field, if that is permitted. if, the first attempt retrieves very few documents, some of the very specific parts of the search profile should be removed and / or broader search terms should be used. it may be possible to explode a search. see example by clicking here. having performed the subject - specific search, most scientists will want to obtain full copies of documents that appear relevant and go through them to see if the hypothesis is valid, and if the proposed study is justified. this is a good opportunity to make notes of anything that might be


- specific search, most scientists will want to obtain full copies of documents that appear relevant and go through them to see if the hypothesis is valid, and if the proposed study is justified. this is a good opportunity to make notes of anything that might be relevant to the three rs, for example ; - are there any references to in vitro studies? - has any work been done on less evolved species? - has a particular strain of animal been shown to be more sensitive to the effects that will be studied? if yes, it may be possible to obtain statistically meaningful results using fewer animals than if a less sensitive strain was used. - any anaesthetics and analgesics used in the studies should be noted. it may be advisable to perform a further search on the effects of these compounds, because some may cause physiological changes which will have a confounding effect on the results, while others may result in fewer adverse effects. - are there any statistical models that have been developed for use in this type of study and will these affect the design of the experiments? - is there any mention of possible refinements such as the use of less invasive procedures, different methods of handling the animals or attempts to provide environmental enrichment? if any of the papers are found to be irrelevant, note down the criteria used to exclude them and how many papers were excluded under each criterion. either as part of this first analysis, or after its completion, a second search should be carried out to investigate further possibilities for replacement, reduction and refinement. the three rs cover a very broad set of concepts. a useful, but not exhaustive, list of words relating to the three rs can be found here. as before, it is necessary to consider using synonyms, acronyms, spelling variants and truncation. at this stage, it may be useful to limit each search filter to subject - specific keywords expressing only one concept, and use some broader terms to extend the search into other disciplines. for the same reason, it is useful to try a search in other databases. as noted above, at all stages retrieval of relevant documents will be influenced by the indexing systems of the different databases and the extent to which the search is tailored towards those systems. some database hosts such as proquest dialog ( requires athens or institutional login ) permit a simultaneous search to be carried out across multiple databases. this can save a lot of time, but it is impossible to optimise the search strategy to the indexing system of each individual database.


would be useful at this stage to go into one or two databases and retrieve the full records for some of these core papers. this can easily be done by searching on appropriate words from the title and author names in the title and author fields, and / or searching by date in the year field. the full records will show the words that have been used to index the articles for the databases. they may help to identify further keywords. if many of the core papers cannot be retrieved from a database, this will serve as an alert that it might not be very useful for the planned search. the indexing thesaurus should ideally be consulted, in order to obtain the preferred terms or indexing codes and also narrower and / or broader terms / codes for these concepts. otherwise, attention once again has to be given to broader and narrower descriptions, possible synonyms, use of both singular and plural, likely usefulness of truncation and possible variations in spelling, as discussed in the search basics section. hoojimans et al ( 2010 ) and de vries et al ( 2011 ) have created search filters for finding all animal studies in pubmed or embase. you can copy and paste the relevant filter into your search in addition to your subject - specific terms. here for the pubmed version. to demonstrate the systematic and robust nature of your search it is important to report / publish your search strategy whenever possible ( this might be as a supplement to your scientific paper ). this will facilitate dissemination of three rs information and aid other researchers to search effectively. leenaars et al ( 2011 ) provide a good example of a diagrammatic way to present the main search results including exclusion criteria. you should also try to include your search filter. as a general rule when reporting the search you should include : 1. all databases and other sources searched 2. the dates of the last search for each database and the period searched 3. full search strategies ( including all search terms / filters ) 4. any language or publication status restrictions used 5. exclusion criteria whether publishing the search strategy or not, it is important to save this information for your own future use.


summary of influences and responses that shape the character of the built environment flat landforms with gently rolling hills. hot, humid summers. rapidly changing weather with thunderstorms, hurricanes, and humidity, intense summer sun, and presence of insects, such as termites, that quickly decay building materials. dense vegetation with a high canopy of trees. forests of pine with hardwoods in drainages. plants that grow quickly. sandy coastal soils. rivers that take the form of slow - running estuaries with dark waters. many marshes, swamps, and other wetlands. abundant wildlife, from insects to alligators. figure of coastal - low wetlands with pine oak and hemlock figures of coastal pine forests and lower piedmont with hardwood live oak and pines. settled by europeans for 400 years ; has deep historical roots. developed and altered landscape bisected by roads ; no forest lands are more than a few miles from a road, and all are within a short drive of urban areas. made up of an unconsolidated patchwork of private and public lands and forest lands. contains a rich architectural history that includes huts, slave cabins, and smokehouses as well as grand lodges and the estates and plantations of the aristocracy. provides timber building material. draws tourists to historic, as well as provides water for boating, fishing, and figures of culturally influenced buildings such as french creole cottage


sweden, russia and the great northern war, to 1740 – failure and a new age of liberty in sweden war in 18th century europe to 1763 – conflict over what monarch rules where frederick, maria and catherine – three monarchs in the age of enlightenment britain in the mid - 1700s – progress in education, commerce and law the american revolution – 1707 to 1791, from social change to ratification of the constitution first barbary war – u. s. policies from 1770s to 1805, and marines to the shores of tripoli the french in the mid - 1700s – monarchy, church, class, economy the french revolution – france in the 1700s britain, ireland, the u. s. and the war of 1812 – england, its irish colony and war with france and the u. s. haiti, 1789 to 1806 – independence from french rule, freedom from slavery and continuing violence. napoleon ' s wars, mistakes and fall – napoleon recklessly drives france to defeat. conservative order against change : 1814 - 40 – victors in europe oppose revolution latin america after independence : 1821 - 30 – disappointments in south america and mexico reform and revolution in europe to 1850 – revolutionary uprisings across europe and reforms muslims in the middle east, 1700 to 1837 – iran and the ottoman empire. africa, empires and slavery, 1801 - 60 – guns, war, arabs, ottomans, british, boers and french canada and the united states, 1814 to 1846 – migrations, economic developments and slavery war beween the u. s. and mexico – texas and the alamo. mexico to 1855. the u. s. to california civil war in the united states – different societies, panic in the south and the war from 1861 to 1865 the actual billy the kid – not the fictitious punk " gunfighter. " the united states, 1865 to 1900 – reconstruction, westward expansion and economic development canada, 1850 to 1900 – to be completed in november or december, 2011 japan from tokugawa to meiji – restoration of the emperor, economic progress and japanese imperialism british imperialism and asia – china, india, afghanistan, burma, the crimean and opium wars empire and oceania – the british, french and germans ; maori, new zealand, australia more imperialism, to 1900 – jamaica, afghanistan again, the suez and africa south of the sahara the crimean war, 1853 to 1856 – the british, french and turks against holy russia imperial russia, 1856 to 1894 – tsars, student revolutionaries and bomb throwers nationalism and empire within europe, 1850 - 1900 – setting the stage for the great war of


what say you all to this? earth must prepare for close encounter with aliens, say scientistsun should co - ordinate plans for dealing with extraterrestrials – and we can ' t guarantee that aliens will be friendly an alien from mars attacks! evolution on alien worlds is likely to be darwinian, which may mean extraterrestrials share our tendencies for violence and exploitation. photograph : rex world governments should prepare a co - ordinated action plan in case earth is contacted by aliens, according to scientists. scientists argue that a branch of the un must be given responsibility for " supra - earth affairs " and formulate a plan for how to deal with extraterrestrials, should they appear. the comments are part of an extraterrestrial - themed edition of the philosophical transactions of the royal society a published today. in it, scientists examine all aspects of the search for extraterrestrial life, from astronomy and biology to the political and religious fallout that would result from alien contact. " will a suitable process based on expert advice from proper and responsible scientists arise at all, or will interests of power and opportunism more probably set the scene? " asked professor john zarnecki of the open university and dr martin dominik of the university of st andrews in the introductory paper. " a lack of co - ordination can be avoided by creating an overarching framework in a truly global effort governed by an international politically legitimated body. " the pair argue that the un has a ready - made mechanism for such a forum in its committee on the peaceful uses of outer space ( copuos ). member states of copuos should put " supra - earth affairs " on their agenda, say the scientists, and establish structures similar to those proposed for dealing with threats from near - earth objects, such as asteroids, that might be on a collision course with our planet. according to simon conway morris, a professor of evolutionary palaeobiology at cambridge university, anyone planning for alien contact should prepare for the worst. evolution on alien worlds, he said, is likely to be darwinian in nature. morris argues that life anywhere else in the universe will therefore probably have important similarities with life on earth – especially if it comes from earth - like worlds that have similar biological molecules to ours. that means et might resemble us, warts and all, with our tendencies towards violence and exploitation. " why should we ' prepare for the worst '? first, if intelligent aliens exist, they will look


worlds that have similar biological molecules to ours. that means et might resemble us, warts and all, with our tendencies towards violence and exploitation. " why should we ' prepare for the worst '? first, if intelligent aliens exist, they will look just like us, and given our far from glorious history, this should give us pause for thought, " wrote morris in the journal ' s special issue. ted peters, a professor of systematic theology at the pacific lutheran theological seminary in california, considered what might happen to the world ' s religions in the event of et making contact. conventional wisdom suggests that terrestrial religion would collapse if the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence ( eti ) were confirmed, he wrote. " because our religious traditions formulated their key beliefs within an ancient world view now out of date, would shocking new knowledge dislodge our pre - modern dogmas? are religious believers earth - centric, so that contact with et would de - centre and marginalise our sense of self - importance? do our traditional religions rank us human beings on top of life ' s hierarchy, so if we meet eti who are smarter than us will we lose our superior rank? if we are created in god ' s image, as the biblical traditions teach, will we have to share that divine image with our new neighbours? " his conclusion, however, is that faith in earth ' s major religions would survive intact. " theologians will not find themselves out of a job. in fact, theologians might relish the new challenges to reformulate classical religious commitments in light of the new and wider vision of god ' s creation. " " traditional theologians must then become astrotheologians... what i forecast is this : contact with extraterrestrial intelligence will expand the existing religious vision that all of creation – including the 13. 7bn - year history of the universe replete with all of god ' s creatures – is the gift of a loving and gracious god, " he speculated. http : / / www. guardian. co. uk / science / 2011 / jan / 10 / earth - close - encounter - aliens - extraterrestrials


understanding how the knee works a joint is formed by two or more bones that are connected by thick bands of tissue called ligaments. the knee is the largest joint in the body and is made up of three main parts : - the lower end of the thigh bone, or femur. - the upper end of the shin bone, or tibia. - the kneecap, or patella. the thigh bone ( femur ) turns on the upper end of the shin bone ( tibia ), and the kneecap ( patella ) slides in a groove on the end of the thigh bone. ligaments, which are bands of tissue, connect the thigh bone and the shin bone to help keep the knee joint steady. the quadriceps, the long muscles on the front of the thigh, help strengthen the knee. a smooth substance called articular cartilage covers the surface of the bones where they touch each other within the joint. this articular cartilage acts as a cushion between the bones. the rest of the surfaces of the knee joint are covered by a thin, smooth tissue liner called synovial membrane, which makes a small amount of fluid that acts as a lubricant so that the joint bones will not rub against each other. what causes knee pain? one of the most common causes of knee pain and loss of mobility is the wearing away of the joint ’ s cartilage lining. when this happens, the bones rub against each other, causing significant pain and swelling. the most common cause is a condition known as osteoarthritis. trauma or direct injury to the knee can also cause osteoarthritis. without cartilage there is no shock absorption between the bones in the joint, which allows stress to build up in the bones and contributes to pain. your treatment options for knee pain you may be able to get pain relief from treatments like steroidal and nonsteroidal anti - inflammatory drugs, physical therapy, bracing, and cortisone injections. but, if you ’ ve tried these methods and haven ’ t experienced adequate relief, you don ’ t have to live with severe knee pain and the limitations it puts on your activities. knee replacement surgery may provide the pain relief you long for and enable you to return to the things you enjoy doing. remember, even if your doctor recommends knee replacement for you, it is still up to you to make the final decision. the ultimate goal is for you to be as comfortable as possible with your choice — and that always


us 5969403 a a fuse for an integrated circuit is constituted by a shallow np junction, covered with a metal contact, the semiconductor region being not excessively doped. for the blowing of the fuse, the junction is forward biased with a current sufficient to enable a diffusion of metal up to the junction. this short - circuits the junction. the detection is done also by the forward biasing of the junction, but with a low current or a low voltage. the detection can also be done with reverse biasing. 1. a physical fuse circuit with a low blow - out voltage and a low blow - out current density for integrated circuits formed in a semiconductor substrate, including a circuit for blowing the fuse, comprising : a shallow, doped first semiconductor region having a first conductivity type, diffused in a second semiconductor region having a second conductivity type that is opposite to the first conductivity type ; and a diffusion metal layer formed in direct contact with the doped first semiconductor region ; wherein the first semiconductor region has a depth of about 0. 2 microns, and a voltage of about 3 - 5 volts across the fuse produces a blow - out current with a current density substantially one milliampere per square micrometer at the diffusion metal layer. 2. the fuse according to claim 1, wherein the second semiconductor region is a well formed in the semiconductor substrate in which the integrated circuit is formed, the semiconductor substrate having a conductivity type opposite that of the second semiconductor region. 3. the fuse according to claim 1, wherein the diffusion metal layer is an aluminum layer. 4. the fuse circuit according to claim 1, wherein the doped region has a doping substantially in the range of 10. sup. 18 - 10. sup. 20 atoms per cm. sup. 3. 5. the fuse according to claim 1, including a circuit for reading a fuse state, further comprising : means for applying a low - value reading current to the fuse in a direction to forward bias a junction between the doped first semiconductor region and the second semiconductor region. 6. the fuse circuit according to claim 1, including a circuit for reading a fuse state, further comprising : a threshold comparator having a threshold substantially equal to 0. 3 volts, and producing an output signal indicative of whether a drop in voltage across the terminals of the fuse is greater than or less than the threshold. 7. the fuse according to claim 1, including a circuit for reading a fuse state, further comprising : means for applying a low


output signal indicative of whether a drop in voltage across the terminals of the fuse is greater than or less than the threshold. 7. the fuse according to claim 1, including a circuit for reading a fuse state, further comprising : means for applying a low bias voltage to the fuse in a direction to forward bias a junction between the doped first semiconductor region and the second semiconductor region ; and means to convert a current through the fuse into a voltage. 8. the fuse circuit of claim 7, wherein the means to convert further comprises : a current mirror connected to mirror into an output branch the current ; and a resistor in the output branch. 9. the fuse according to claim 1, including a circuit for blowing the fuse, further comprising : means for applying a blow - out current to the fuse in a direction in which a junction between the doped first semiconductor region and the second semiconductor region is forward biased. 10. the fuse and circuit of claim 1, further comprising : means for applying the blow - out current for several seconds. 11. the fuse of claim 1 including a circuit for blowing the fuse and further including a circuit for reading the fuse, further comprising : means for applying a blow - out current to the fuse in a direction in which a junction between the doped first semiconductor region and the second semiconductor region is forward biased ; and means for applying a low - value reading current to the fuse in a direction in which the junction is reverse biased. 12. the fuse and circuits of claim 11, further comprising : a threshold comparator whose input is connected to a first contact of the fuse, which further has a second contact connected to ground. 13. a physical fuse with a low blow - out voltage of about 3 - 5 volts and a low blow - out current density of substantially one miliampere per square micrometer, formed in semiconductor substrate of an integrated circuit, comprising : a junction formed of a shallow region of a depth of about 0. 2 microns and of a first conductivity type in contact with a region of a second conductivity type ; and a diffusion metal layer disposed in direct contact with the shallow region, the metal selected to diffuse readily through the shallow region when a blow - out current passes through the metal. 14. the fuse of claim 13, wherein the semiconductor substrate is silicon. 15. the fuse of claim 13, in which the region of a second conductivity type is a well in which the shallow region is formed by diffusing a dopant therein. 16. the fuse according


the semiconductor substrate is silicon. 15. the fuse of claim 13, in which the region of a second conductivity type is a well in which the shallow region is formed by diffusing a dopant therein. 16. the fuse according to claim 1, further comprising a circuit for blowing the fuse comprising means for applying across the fuse a low forward bias that is the voltage of about 3 - 5 volts. 17. the fuse according to claim 1, wherein current through a fuse that is blown flows substantially through semiconductor regions of a single type. 18. the fuse according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor substrate is silicon. 19. the fuse of claim 13, wherein the blow - out current has a blow - out current density of about 1 ma / μm. sup. 2. 20. the fuse of claim 13, further comprising a circuit for blowing the fuse by inducing a current density where the metal layer contacts the first region causing the metal to diffuse into the first region and thereby short - circuiting the junction. 21. the fuse of claim 20, wherein the metal is aluminum. 22. the fuse according to claim 13, further comprising a circuit for blowing the fuse comprising means for applying across the fuse a low forward bias that is substantially less than about 10 volts. 23. the fuse of claim 19, wherein the shallow region has a depth of about 0. 2 microns, and the fuse has a blow - out voltage of about 3 - 5 volts. 24. the fuse of claim 13, wherein the shallow region has a doping substantially in a range of 10. sup. 18 - 10. sup. 20 atoms per cm. sup. 3. this application is a continuation of application ser. no. 08 / 345, 117, filed nov. 28, 1994, now abandoned. 1. field of the invention the invention relates to integrated circuits and, more specifically, it relates to the making of irreversible locking elements that can be used to permanently modify the functions of certain parts of the circuit or access to these parts. the standard term " fuse " shall be used hereinafter to designate these locking elements, it being understood nevertheless that this is a figure of speech referring to a function and that the structure of these elements does not necessarily implement a physical fusing operation. 2. discussion of the related art a common application of fuses in the field of integrated circuits relates to chip cards : it is often sought to prohibit access to memory zones or to certain functions, the prohibition


not necessarily implement a physical fusing operation. 2. discussion of the related art a common application of fuses in the field of integrated circuits relates to chip cards : it is often sought to prohibit access to memory zones or to certain functions, the prohibition being applied progressively as these cards go through the stages of being manufactured and marketed. a typical example is the following one : the card manufactured by a card manufacturer must initially have all its points of access authorized and all its functions authorized if only for testing purposes. then, certain confidential data elements have to be made inaccessible : for example, the card manufacturer does not wish the programs of the operating system ( which are in the read - only memory in the chip ) to be accessible in read mode. one or more fuses are blown to prohibit this hitherto possible reading operation. the card may then be delivered, for example to a provider of a service ( a bank, telephone company, etc. ). the provider of the service will place other programs and confidential data in the card ( in a programmable memory ), and may wish to physically prohibit read and write access to these programs and data elements. other fuses could be blown at this point in time. fuses presently used in this type of application include, for example : polycrystalline silicon fuses in which a breakdown current is applied to a very thin layer of polycrystalline silicon, which gets heated and evaporates, opening the circuit in which it is placed. this type of fuse has problems of reliability related to poor evaporation and the risk that the conductor will be reconstituted over a period of time. oxide breakdown eeprom type electrically programmable memory cells in which the blank state of the cell is likened to an intact state of the fuse and the programmed state is likened to a blown state. this type of lock is very reliable if an external programming voltage of sufficient energy is used, but it is far less reliable if the voltage used is a voltage internal to the integrated circuit chip. the use of an external voltage has several drawbacks. for example, greater cost due to an additional supply terminal, which is also troublesome for the user who has to plan for this voltage. furthermore, the breakdown occurs through the application of a series of voltage pulses, but if the breakdown is not successful at the first attempt it becomes progressively more difficult ; blank eeprom memory cells with a zener diode on source or drain, which can be erased once but never again reprogrammed. a


pulses, but if the breakdown is not successful at the first attempt it becomes progressively more difficult ; blank eeprom memory cells with a zener diode on source or drain, which can be erased once but never again reprogrammed. a high voltage is necessary for breakdown with the conventional drawbacks that this entails. the drawbacks include the need for an external voltage with a specific access pad or an internal voltage, but an internal voltage is less reliable and requires providing a voltage pull - up circuit on the chip. one general aim of the invention is to provide a particularly simple type of fuse that can work at very low voltage. other aims of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following description. according to the invention, it is proposed to make a fuse by means of a very shallow np semiconductor junction coated with metal that is capable, when it gets heated, of being diffused in the semiconductor until the junction is short - circuited. the state of the junction can then be detected by a simple detection circuit. the invention may include a shallow, doped semiconductor region ( for example, about some tenths of a micrometer ) diffused in a semiconductor region having an opposite type of conductivity and a metal contact formed on the doped region, the metal of the contact being capable of getting diffused throughout the depth of the doped region in the presence of a sufficient density of blow - out current applied between the contact and the region of an opposite type. the semiconductor region of an opposite type could be the semiconductor substrate in which the integrated circuit is formed. but it is simple to provide a structure where the semconductor region of an opposite type is a well diffused in a substrate with a type of conductivity opposite to that of the substrate. the contact metal may be aluminium. the current density that must be applied to obtain sufficient heating and this sufficient diffusion of the metal towards the junction may be approximately 1 millampere per square micrometer of contact surface, for example. the period of application of the current may reach some seconds. in the case of standard mos technology integrated circuits with transistors formed by implantation of source and drain self - aligned by a gate, the shallow doped region may be a region formed simultaneously with these source and drain implantations. the doping may be, for example, of the order of 10. sup. 18 to approximately 10. sup. 20 atoms / cm. sup. 3. in cmos ( complementary mos ) technology, comprising n


implantations. the doping may be, for example, of the order of 10. sup. 18 to approximately 10. sup. 20 atoms / cm. sup. 3. in cmos ( complementary mos ) technology, comprising n channel transistors formed in the p - type substrate and p channel transistors formed in n type wells, the shallow doped region may be made by means of an implantation identical to a source or drain of a p channel transistor in an n type well. a detection circuit may be used to detect the state of the fuse. this detection circuit may have means for the forward biasing of the junction between the diffused region and the region of an opposite type. the biasing means may be a voltage biasing consisting of the application of a low voltage, for example on the order of tenths of volts or current biasing means consisting of the application of a low current, for example on the order of microamperes. if a current bias is used, the detection may include examining the voltage generated at the terminals of the fuse. a threshold comparator may be used to determine whether the voltage present between the metal contact and the opposite type of semiconductor region is a forward biased np junction voltage ( i. e. representative of an intact junction ) or a drop in voltage at the terminals of a low - value resistor ( i. e. representative of a junction short - circuited by the metal ). in practice, the threshold of the comparator may be in a range between about 0. 2 to 0. 3 volts and about 0. 5 to 0. 6 volts, an appropriate value for the threshold is about 0. 3 volts. the threshold value may be produced by a forward biased and non - fused diode. if, however, the biasing used is a voltage biasing, the current flowing in the fuse may be detected and compared with a threshold value. for example, a current mirror may be provided to detect the current of the fuse and carry it into a resistor so as to create, at the terminals of this resistor, a voltage drop representing the current that flows through the fuse. the voltage drop thus created therefore represents the state of the fuse. an appropriate choice of the conversion ratio of the current mirror and of the value of the resistor will make it possible to select a value of voltage appearing at the terminals of the resistor that, in a binary manner, represents the fused or non - fused state of