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Copyright of Dermatologia Internationalis is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Dermatologia Internationalis is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Acta Endoscopica is the property of Lavoisier and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Acta Endoscopica is the property of Lavoisier and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Acta Endoscopica is the property of Lavoisier and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article analyzes the work of Oscar Muñoz. The article describes Muñoz's most recent work, a large photographic reflection of light, shadow, and texture. The artist once concentrated on human figures but is now focusing on human spaces that suggest symbolic deterioration and violence. Objects such as pieces of wood or torn paper are incorporated in the work providing texture. Several major works are described. Muñoz has been displayed in various exhibitions including ARCO in Madrid 1986, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Latin America in Washington, D.C., and at the "America: Bride of the Sun" show in Antwerp 1992.

Freshly extracted seeds from mature fruit were put in thin polyethylene bags with or without moist peat moss and stored at 5 and 12°C. In the first trial after 20 weeks the seeds of both media and temperatures germinated at a rate of 95%, as tested in the laboratory by using a "sandwich" made of layers of moist paper towel above and below the seeds between polyethylene foils. In a second trial a year later the same treatments were used and after 20 weeks germination was 100% for all, but after 30 weeks all seeds at 5°C were dead while 80% of those at 12°C germinated, the same as after 35 weeks. After 40 weeks germination was 25% and after 50 weeks it still was 15.0 and 12.5% for those stored with and without peat respectively. A third trial was started in 1997 using only thin polyethylene bags without peat and 10°C instead of 12°C, after 10 months in storage the seeds were sown in the nursery under 50% shade and in the "sandwich" in the laboratory resulting in 70 and 80% germination and even after 15 months it was still at 50 and 30% for the nursery and the "sandwich" seeds respectively. The seeds in the nursery produced normal looking plants. Apparently 10°C is better than 12°C for litchi seed storage and dehydration the greatest danger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The black sapote, commonly called "chocolate pudding fruit", is the family Ebenaceae. This fruit tree, native to Mexico, grows best in coastal areas from Jalisco to Chiapas,Veracruz and Yucatan. Black sapote has been cultivated in South Florida in home gardens and patios, in fruit collections, and to a small extent in commercial orchards. The tree is appreciated as an ornamental and also produces a large quantity of fruit. The tree is usually dioecious, with small axillary flowers with have a persistent calyx. Propagation is by seed or by grafting. Grafting is the recommended way to guarantee the sex of the plants and the quality of their fruit. The methods evaluated here are cleft grafting and veneer grafting, using scions 6 months of age. Most of the trees grown in South Florida have been propagated by seed, but some superior selections have been grafted and sold by nurserymen. A selection named 'Merida' was made at the University of Florida Tropical Research and Education Center (Homestead, Florida) and propagated by grafting. The information in this paper increases our knowledge and the economic viabilily of the black sapote in Tropical America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lychee seeds were obtained from completely ripe fruit, and their moisture contant determined. A group was left unwrapped at room temperature in the laboratory for 3, 5 and 7 days, stored in a cold chamber at 10°C in thin polyethylene bags, or forced to loose 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60% moisture. All the seed were sown between 2 layers of moist paper towel and inspected periodically to evaluate germination percentage by radicle emergence. The seeds extracted from the fruit and the ones stored at 10°C in plastic bags, even after 20 weeks, had 100% germination. Those left at room temperature or without plastic bags in the cold chamber had reduced germination. With 30% moisture loss, 80% germination occurred for seeds at room temperature and 65% for those from the cold chamber, while with 50% moisture loss none of the seeds at room or cold temperature germinated. This loss of moisture occurred after about 5 to 6 days at room temperature and 40 days in the 10°C storage facility. This indicates that a moisture reduction beyond 40 - 50% is the reason for the rapid loss of viability for lychee seeds, and this occurs normally after 5 to 7 days when they are left unwrapped at room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tradition in Mexico of decoration of the churches with flowers and foliage has its origin in the prehispanic period. These customs still exist. In contemporary religious celebrations and popular festivities, the use of floral elements expresses the cultural development of people. Puebla, the city which maintains traditions, has its own style of life and also its own style for decorating churches during religious celebrations, especially the weddings. The objective of this paper is to give the knowledge of species used for the church decoration and elaboration of bouquets of a bride for the wedding ceremonies in Puebla. Research was done in 14 churches, 10 flower shops and 2 markets. The lists of species, arrangement distribution in the churches, the vases and cost of arrangements are included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. In 1995 a series of external quality control programs (EQCPs) was launched for serology laboratories in Brazil, open to both public and private blood-bank laboratories. These 'programs' have been held several times per year since 1995. The objective of this paper is to present the results achieved during eight programs conducted between April 1999 and August 2001, in terms of serological screening for Chagas' disease.Methods. The participants in these eight EQCPs were serology laboratories from public and private institutions. The number of participants in each respective program that sent in its results was 94, 90, 85, 94,100,103,102, and 116. At the beginning of each EQCP a blinded panel of sera was sent to each participating institution. Each panel consisted of 24 serum samples with different reactivities for the markers for which the serological screening of blood donors is obligatory in Brazil; among the 24 samples were some negative ones. The participants had 60 days to complete their testing and send in their results for evaluation. Later, each participant received an answer key for the sera panel, to use in self-evaluation.Results. The three tests that the participants used most frequently were enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), indirect hemagglutination (IHA), and indirect immunofluorescence (IIF). Of these three, the ELISA was used most often, ranging from 92% to 98% of the laboratories for the eight programs. The screening strategy that was most often used was a combination of an ELISA test and an IHA test (ranging from 58% to 83% of the laboratories for the eight programs). In the various programs, the large majority of participating laboratories (range, 83.6%-98.1%) obtained accurate results without any false negative results. Of the 5 406 tests carried out during the eight programs using positive anti-T. cruzi sera samples, 85 (1.6%) were reported as negative in 58 laboratories. However, only 14 of those laboratories were unable to identify one or more positive samples after using all their screening tests. There were no significant differences found between the blood banks in the eight programs (P = 0.5936). No association was found between false negative results and any particular sample or any specific diagnostic kit. IHA testing had the highest proportion of false negatives, ranging from 0.7% to 7.9% for the eight programs. Of 32 855 tests performed during the eight programs using negative anti-T. cruzi sera, 106 (0.32%) were reported as false positives. The percentage of participating laboratories that had one false positive result per program varied from 1% to 16%, and between 0%o and 4% of the labs per program had more than one false positive result. In comparison to testing done in Brazil in 1994-1995, the proportion of false negative results has declined.Conclusions. The results of this study point to a decrease over time in the proportion of false negative results. In the 1999-2001 programs, the highest percentage of false negative results was found with IHA testing. Therefore, it is recommended to give preference to ELISA testing for screening blood donors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes Peru's experiences with its National Blood Banking Program. Until the mid-1990s, the country faced a host of problems, including the lack of a legal framework to regulate blood banks, a high maternal mortality rate due to a shortage of blood, virtually no voluntary donations, a high risk of infection from transfusions, the use of only whole blood for transfusion, serious disorganization in the blood banks, deficiencies in blood bank supervision and control, no training programs, indifference on the part of health officials, frequent selling of blood, and limited community awareness.Subsequently, a strategic plan was prepared that made it possible to solve many of those problems. Legal instruments were prepared; the rate of voluntary donations rose from 0% to 19.5%; the safety of the blood was improved through compulsory screening of all donated blood units for seven markers of infectious diseases, as well as by placing a national seal of quality on all screened units. The availability of blood doubled, thus meeting 70% of the need; sales of blood decreased; and the use of blood components was improved, with 80% of the blood being fractionated. In addition, supervisory control of 100% of the blood banks in the country was achieved, a national registry was established, the cost-benefit relationship for blood units was improved through centralized screening, internal and external quality control was made mandatory, and pro-donation campaigns led to commitments from civil society.While important, all these achievements represent just a first step. This is especially true given that developing the National Blood Banking Program required the participation of outside organizations, such as the Pan American Health Organization, whose support, together with the experience provided by other countries, was key. The Program is facing a number of new challenges, and the progress that has been achieved could be threatened if current activities stagnate or if officials become complacent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence of teenage smoking and the factors associated with smoking in this age group in South America. METHODS: Searches for articles concerning teenage smoking in Latin America were conducted in two bibliographic databases: MEDLINE (1966-2002) and Latin American and Caribbean Literature on the Health Sciences ('LILACS') (1982-2002). We also reviewed governmental and nongovernmental documents and Web sites. From the 315 articles that we identified, we considered 45 to be relevant for this paper. RESULTS: In each of the countries that we studied, there was often a wide range found in prevalence levels, depending in part on the particular age range studied and on the definition of smokers that was used. The leading risk factor for teenage smoking was smoking among siblings and friends. Additional risk factors were poor academic performance, being older, male gender, having paid work, and having parents who were separated. CONCLUSIONS: Additional population-based studies with teenagers should be carried out, and more uniform criteria for defining smokers should be developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first half of the 1940s in Spain was witness to an ongoing discussion as to the nature of an appropriate model for national cinema within the framework of Franco's dictatorship, and it was films like "El Escándalo" (J.L. Sáenz de Heredia, 1943) and "El Clavo" (R. Gil, 1944) which initially appeared to fill this role. This paper examines the overturning of values and simplification of narrative strategies in a kind of adapted, romantic and liberal cinematographic product, with a view to linking its internal contradictions and stylistic fragmentation to more general questions such as that of the position of the viewer. It is not surprising that Rebecca, an unexpected success on Spanish screens, was among the sometimes incompatible models that Rafael Gil took into account in an attempt to make a film representative of a wide range of different tendencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article tackles some aspects of preventative justice, that is to say, the legal activity directed to the prevention of conflicts. It basically constitutes the text of the paper given by its author at the 23rd Congress of the International Union of Latin Notaries (U.I.N.L.), held in Athens in September 2001, and it is centred on two facets of the notarial profession with the evident purpose to avoid litigation: advice and mediation. The latter is of special interest for the field of study most closely tied with this Journal and tries to sketch an introductory approach to this institution, one of the most characterised A.D.R. systems. The work was finished in March 2001, so that it did not bring in the important novelties introduced subsequently in the field of family mediation in the autonomous legislation of Catalonia, Galicia and Valencia. Neither, as is logical, could it include the Green Book on alternative modes of solving conflicts in the field of civil and mercantile law, published by the Commission of the European Communities in April 2002. This doctrinal approximation to mediation seeks to promote a new mentality towards the handling of conflicts, in a country like Spain where their solution in the practically exclusive framework of the courts is very deeprooted. The institution is looked at from a legal point of view, although it has normally been situated in a terrain dominated up till now by psychological or sociological considerations, and thus includes a fresh treatment of questions of substantive law related to mediation. The work concludes with the exposé of a particular notarial perspective over arbitration, a matter from which notaries were inexplicably excluded after the Spanish Act of 1988. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper begins with a brief overview of the difficulties involved in depicting the image of Mussolini in contemporary Italian cinema. From among the many portrayals of Mussolini to be offered in the last fifty years, special emphasis is given to two, namely the film "Amarcord" (Fellini, 1973) and the text "Rittrati del duce" (Italo Calvino, 1983). The paper then goes on to analyze the development of policy regarding Mussolini's image in the period between the march on Rome (1922) and the armistice (1943). As opposed to the traditional notion of transformationism used to refer to the strategy of "dressing up" Mussolini as a harvester, a pilot, a horseman, etc., we prefer to speak of a hybridization of the models and media, with special reference to the techniques used by futurists of the vanguard of the time and against the background of the birth of mass culture. With the foundation of the Empire and Italy's entrance in the war, Mussolini succumbed to the temptation to "monumentalize" his own image. This tendency in his image strategy, destined to fail along with his political and military strategies, is examined within the context of documentaries from the Istituto LUCE and fictional films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the image of Adolf Hitler as it has reached us through the films of Leni Riefenstahl produced for party assemblies (Parteitags) of the time, with special emphasis on "The Triumph of the Will." Like the party assemblies themselves, the intention behind these films was to drum up popular support from the German people for the war effort as designed by the National Socialist Party. The film in question offers an aesthetic portrayal of the principles of order and obedience as the ideal image of true fascist virtue, which is defined as nothing less than absolute loyalty to the Führer and necessarily implies a complete willingness to die for Germany. It is for this reason that an homage to the soldiers who fell in the First World War is central to the film. Hitler appears on the screen with the aura of a political hero and redeemer, as a figure demanding new redemption for Germany following the disasters of the First World War. When we see the images filmed by Leni Riefenstahl of Hitler on television today, we are not seeing a true portrayal of the dictator, but rather an image in keeping with his own wishes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout the Second World War, General de Gaulle used the radio to lay the foundations of legitimacy for his media image, thus contributing to the consolidation of his destiny and historical stature. Upon his return to France, he was not, however, to concede the same importance to film imagery. Thus, the Liberation was marked by a paucity of quality cinematographic records and newsreels. This paper examines De Gaulle's postwar policy with regard to filmed journalism, and the portrayal of the General in newsreels reporting on the Liberation. A detailed analysis of reports on Charles de Gaulle's visits to the provinces shows a sharp contrast between the great care and ritualism with which the leader's followers organized his visits, based on a model traditionally used for royalty, and the relatively poor quality of the corresponding newsreels. To conclude, the author presents a number of hypotheses regarding the "essential" role of television in the period following the General's return in 1958, in an attempt to understand the conditions surrounding a direct switch from "radiocracy" to "telecracy" in Gaullist policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the process of cultural legitimization in Brazilian cinema as undertaken by conservative intellectuals and the State in the nineteen twenties, thirties and forties. In examining State intervention in the form of censorship and state-subsidized film production, we show how cinema was used as an instrument of propaganda during the government of President Getúlio Vargas (1930-1945). Finally, the paper includes a discussion of the cinematographic image of this charismatic leader as constructed by the authorities in power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To compare two methods--the "ballot box" method and the "indirect questioning" method--for estimating the frequency of induced abortions in population-based studies. Methods. A cross-sectional population-based study was conducted with a representative sample of 3 002 women between 15 and 49 years of age living in the city of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The women were selected through multistage sampling and randomly assigned to answer questions concerning induced abortion with one of the two methods, after they had answered a general questionnaire that collected socioeconomic and demographic information. With the "ballot box" method, women received a small piece of paper containing direct questions on abortion. Each woman marked her answers on the paper and then deposited it into a small "ballot box" carried by the interviewer, thus assuring the confidentiality of the responses. With the second method, the interviewer verbally asked the woman a series of questions that indirectly inquired about abortion. Results. Among the women assigned to the ballot box method, 7.2% reported having induced at least one abortion, versus 3.8% of the women assigned to the indirect questioning method. The ratio between the two methods was 1.89 (95% confidence interval: 1.39 to 2.60; P < 0.001). Of the women surveyed who were 45-49 years old (at, the end of their reproductive life) and answered using the ballot box method, 12% of them reported having had at least one induced abortion in their lifetime. Among the women who answered using the ballot box method, the main reasons they gave for having had an abortion were economic difficulties, being too young, and being single. Approximately half of the women responding to the ballot box method questions reported they had used unsafe procedures to induce abortion, with 13% of them using misoprostol. Conclusions. The ballot box method was suitable for studying the frequency of induced abortion and for researching... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Luis Buñuel's emblematic and caustic film "Viridiana" was a bombshell from whose explosion no one was safe at the time, except Cinema itself. Produced by the UNINCI (Industrial Cinematographic Union) and directed by one of Spain's most prestigious and terrifying exiles, the film's premiere in Cannes was viewed by the Franco Administration as a score for liberalism in constructing a new external image of Spain, something which was badly needed at the onset of the 1960s. The General Director of Cinematography, in accepting the Golden Palm award for the picture, gave official endorsement to a film which was to be condemned immediately thereafter by the Vatican as blasphemous. A political regime grounded to a large extent in the doctrines of national Catholicism could not allow this. The ensuing scandal brought about the devastatingly sudden dismissal of the General Director, and also put an end to the production company itself, which was informed that it would never again receive permission to film in Spain. From among the many vantage points from which to tackle "Viridiana," the author of this paper has chosen to discuss the political ups and downs associated with the film, and the enormous, and fortunately unsuccessful attempts of the Franco Administration to do away with all traces of it both in Spain and in the rest of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Item (02140349) is the property of Collegi Oficial de Bibliotecaris-Documentalistes de Catalunya and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)