Attitudes towards sex selection for non-medical reasons: a review

Early non-invasive fetal sexing is widely available over the Internet, leading to concerns about its possible use for sex selection. The aim of this review is to summarise the results of surveys describing lay attitudes towards sex selection for non-medical reasons to help address or inform such concerns. A search of electronic databases and key journals was supplemented by an Internet search and citation-tracking. Twenty-one quantitative studies were identified. Most were conducted in the US, with five recent studies in the UK and Germany. Most studies found that, overall, people were not in favour of sex selection. However, this varied from 94 to 18%. People may hold more negative attitudes when the method of sex selection is specified, particularly if this involves termination of pregnancy (TOP). Attitudes towards the general availability of sex selection are less negative than those towards personal use. Attitudes were consistently negative in German surveys. Little is known of such attitudes outside the US, the UK and Germany, and how such attitudes may change as new sex selection technologies become available. Studies of use of early non-invasive fetal sexing for sex selection for non-medical reasons are needed to assess the extent to which concerns about usage are justified and to assist in debates on how these might be most appropriately addressed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

利用粉煤灰生产建材产品

阐述用燃煤电厂固体废物粉煤灰生产建材产品方案技术对比、粉煤灰砖生产工艺及技术。     

脉动跟踪除尘技术的应用研究

针对粉粒状物料在散装发送过程中 ,容易引起粉尘飞扬的问题 ,利用现代脉动跟踪技术和表面过滤技术 ,设计研制的除尘系统 ,始终将吸尘罩与料堆扬尘点的动态相对位置控制在合理的范围内 ,实现了粉粒状物流连续自动的、环保高效作用     

含半无限长裂纹压电材料的Ⅲ型强度因子

研究了含半无限长裂纹压电材料在平面内电场和反平面荷载作用下的问题 ,得到了满足拉普拉斯方程、裂纹面边界条件的位移函数解和电势函数解及电弹场的基本解 ,并得到了应力、应变、电位移强度因子和能量释放率。研究结果表明 ,在裂尖 ,电场强度没有奇异性 ,而应变、应力、电位移具有奇异性。     

循环流化床锅炉床温控制方法

就目前电厂循环流化床锅炉运行中存在的床温波动问题，讨论了导致床温波动的因素，并针对性地提出了控制床温的一些措施。     

焦化黄血盐吸收塔填料自燃原因分析

焦化黄血盐系统内的吸收塔在停产检修补充填料——铁刨花期间，经常发生铁刨花自燃现象，这是严重的事故隐患。结合武钢焦化公司黄血盐工艺特点，对其自燃原因作了详细分析，提出了避免此类事故发生的措施。     

炼铁厂高炉原料仓料位计的选择与应用

高炉料仓环境条件恶劣，而高炉生产又要掌握料位情况。比较了2种料位计，最终选择了SA—2型料位计。     

地震应急的影响因素分析

本文在理论分析、国内外历史震例和救灾案例研究的基础上,同时参照我国的相关政策和法律法规文件,对影响地震应急(包括震前准备和震后应急行动)的因素进行了初步分类,并系统讨论了这些因素影响地震应急的方式、途径和程度.以期为地震应急的理论研究和地震应急的实际工作提供部分补充和指导.     

Natterer’s bat (Myotis nattereri Kuhl, 1818) hawks for prey close to vegetation using echolocation signals of very broad bandwidth

We present a hitherto unknown prey perception strategy in bats: Myotis nattereri (Vespertilionidae, Chiroptera) is able to perceive prey by echolocation within a few centimeters of echo-cluttering vegetation, by using frequency-modulated search signals of very large bandwidth (up to 135 kHz). We describe the species’ search behavior and echolocation repertoire from the field and from experiments in a flight tent. In the field, bats varied signal parameters in relation to their distance from vegetation and usually flew close to vegetation. In the flight tent, M. nattereri detected and localized prey by echolocation alone as close as 5 cm from vegetation. Apparently, the bats were able to tolerate some overlap between prey and clutter echoes. Passive prey cues (vision, olfaction, prey-generated sounds) were not used in prey perception. The bats selected prey by size. The animals performed aerial catches and produced approach sequences typical for aerial hawking bats, but were able to do so within a few centimeters of the substrate. M. nattereri thus has access to silent, suspended prey very close to vegetation (e.g., spiders, and caterpillars on threads). Received: 29 September 1999 / Received in revised form: 12 February 2000 / Accepted: 12 February 2000