Scientific Ventures Research Articles

Augustus V. Waller and plastic surgery.

Augustus V. Waller's name is associated eponymously with the regressive changes in transected nerves. This article intends to present the many other aspects of Waller's scientific ventures. Apart from pioneering intravital microscopy, Waller made significant contributions to the understanding of the process of tissue inflammation. In addition to his observations of the degenerative changes in severed nerve fibers, he developed a concept of trophic dependence that is relevant for the management of the regeneration of peripheral nerves in plastic surgery.

INHALED NITRIC OXIDE AND ACUTE LUNG INJURY

The nitric oxide (NO) field has been one of the most exciting scientific ventures over the past 10 years. Among the researches developed, the use of inhalation of NO gas allowed us to propose this therapy in lung diseases with promising results. Because of its property as a "selective" pulmonary vasodilator and because of its apparent clinical safety, inhaled NO has been proposed in acute lung injury (ALI) to improve severe hypoxemia. In this situation, the abnormal ventilation-perfusion ratio is improved by inhaled NO, limiting arterial hypoxia. The major clinical trials performed in adults, however, have failed to show any benefit on mortality and on mechanical ventilation requirements. Inhaled NO has been shown as an efficient therapy in pediatric ALI, probably because of a lower comorbidity. Because of the inhaled NO uptake by the lung, the extra vascular lung effects might be in the future the most important development in relation with platelet anti-agregant and anti-inflammatory properties.

The Status of Biological Research in the Russian Arctic

... Research and the protection of nature in the Russian Arctic traditionally were carried out in the system of state nature reserves (Zapovedniks) and biological stations. As mentioned earlier, Russian state support of nature reserves and national parks has declined dramatically in recent years. Nevertheless, 11 Nature reserves currently exist in the Russian Arctic. Some of these reserves were recently established with financial support from the German and Dutch governments and international organisms such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Through these and other cooperative ventures over the past six years, protected areas in the Russian Arctic have doubled in size to over 350,000 sq km. In spite of the recent economic and political difficulties in Russia, there are many examples of successful international cooperative and collaborative scientific ventures in the Russian Arctic. ... In summary, the levels of cooperation and collaboration between Russian and foreign scientists specializing in Arctic research over the past decade have been impressive. However, as Russia struggles with internal political and economic issues over the coming years, we need to maintain existing avenues of communication and continue to offer international support. The Arctic is an important region that offers a unique opportunity for cooperative and comparative research, in part because it is subdivided among different countries (i.e., study areas) in the eastern and western hemispheres, each supporting some similar and some unique natural biological and cultural systems. The Arctic, and especially the Russian Arctic, deserves our best efforts in understanding and conserving it.

Management of the radio spectrum to achieve more efficient utilization, access, and network growth

The radio frequency spectrum in nontechnical terms is a valuable, highly contested natural resource. In the most simplistic terms it can be viewed as the central nervous system of our business. It is a key element in national security, provides for world-wide communications, and supports scientific ventures beyond our planet and solar system.

Visit to Tsingtao

In June 1977, Philip Handler, president of the National Academy of Sciences, led an interdisciplinary delegation of the Committee on Scholarly Communication with the People's Republic of China to the People's Republic of China (PRC) to discuss with their Chinese counterparts the exchange program in the physical and social sciences.Our mission to Peking had been to replace the ‘scientific tourism’ of the last two years of the exchange program with something more substantial. It may be some time before we see the fruits of this mission, since we were told that cooperative scientific ventures would have to wait for ‘normalization.’

Slow Death of a Free Profession

The Scientific Revolution of the twentieth century has been exploited and subverted in our country by the "political-scientific" complex. This complex has discarded our traditional system under which the planning and organizing of productive scientific ventures has been in the hands of responsible professional engineers whose first duty is to serve the best interests of the public. Instead, this complex originates and administers highly sophisticated sciencebased programs, whose open-ended deficit financing is rapidly undermining our American economic system. By this means America is gradually being committed to a system of centralized authority and to the eventual disappearance of human liberty and justice under law. This marks an historic turning point for the world and for all mankind. The scientific term for this process is "technocratic petrification of freedom" which ends in "scientific despotism."