The moon-test in Newton's Principia: Accuracy of inverse-square law of universal gravitation

Communicated by J. D. North     

A New Translation of and Guide to Newton's Principia

This paper discusses the emergence of new medical experimental specialties at the Medical School of Surgery (Escola Médico-Cirúrgica) and the Faculty of Medicine of Lisbon University (Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa) between 1897 and 1946, as a result of the activities of Marck Athias's (1875–1946) histophysiology research school. In 1897, Marck Athias, a Portuguese physician who had graduated from the Faculty of Medicine in Paris, founded a research school in Lisbon along the lines of Michael Foster's physiology research school in England and Franz Hofmeister's physiological chemistry school in Germany. His research programme was highly innovative in Portugal. Not only did it bring together many disciples and co-workers, but it branched out and created new medical specialties within Portuguese medical science. These new disciplinary areas grew out of the study of the histology of the nervous system but eventually expanded into normal and pathological histophysiology, physiological chemistry and experimental endocrinology. The esprit de corps that existed between research school members ensured the school's success and influence in various fields social and political as well as scientific. Athias's school was strongly influenced by positivist ideals and promoted a teaching and research style that sought inspiration in Humboldt's university model, thus helping to bring about a change in the dominant scientific ethos and to modernize scientific research in Portugal during the first half of the twentieth century.     

The Absolute and Its Measurement: William Thomson on Temperature

In this paper we give a full account of the work of William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) on absolute temperature, which to this day provides the theoretical underpinnings for the most rigorous measurements of temperature. When Thomson fashioned his concepts of ‘absolute’ temperature, his main concern was to make the definition of temperature independent of the properties of particular thermometric substances (rather than to count temperature from an absolute zero). He tried out a succession of definitions based on the thermodynamics of ideal heat engines; most notably, in 1854 he gave the ratio of two temperatures as the ratio of quantities of heat taken in and given out at those temperatures in a Carnot cycle. But there were difficulties with using such definitions for experimental work, since it was not possible even to approximate an ideal Carnot engine in reality. More generally, it is not trivial to connect an abstract concept with concrete operations in order to make physical measurements possible. In the end, Thomson argued that an ideal gas thermometer would indicate his absolute temperature, and that the deviation of actual gas thermometers from the ideal could be estimated by means of the Joule‐Thomson effect. However, the measurement of the Joule‐Thomson effect itself required measurements of temperature, so there was a problem of circularity.     

The Eclipse,the Astronomer and his Audience: Frederico Oom and the Total Solar Eclipse of 28 May 1900 in Portugal

This study offers a detailed analysis of an episode of the popularization of astronomy which took place in Portugal, a peripheral country of Europe, and occurring in the early twentieth century. The episode was driven by the 28 May 1900 total solar eclipse which was seen on the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain). Instead of focusing on one of the ends of the popularization process, we analyze the circulation of knowledge among scientists and the public, contrast the aims of the various expeditions, professional and amateur, which took place on Portuguese soil, analyze their repercussions in the Portuguese astronomical landscape, and the different ways used by the Portuguese political elite and astronomical community to successfully appropriate this astronomical event to serve their varied agendas, political, social and scientific. In this episode of public enthusiasm for science, a central figure emerged in the network of the official commission, professional and amateur communities and the ‘general public’: Frederico Tomás Oom (1864–1930), an astronomer of the Lisbon Astronomical Observatory. This paper aims to illustrate the different layers of the circulation process, and at proving that the popularization of science was not a unidirectional process from scientists to lay people nor did it serve only a particular agenda, be it political, social or scientific.     

The perirenal venous arch of the rat: Its functional significance

Summary A functional and morphological study of the perirenal venous arch of the rat has been carried out. The various drainage possibilities of this arch through its multiple collaterals are demonstrated. Venous renal blood can reach the adrenal gland via the perirenal arch. The endocrine interactions between these organs are discussed.     

中国农业生态安全及相关研究进展

我国正处于经济快速发展时期，经济发展所带来的环境与生态问题十分严重；同时我国又是人口大国，农业生产始终是党和政府、社会各界以及国际社会关注的焦点问题，农业生态安全、粮食安全等是影响国家安全的重要方面。本文试对生态安全以及农业生态安全的概念、特点、评价与预警，粮食安全，农业景观结构调整与发展生态安全型农业，土地资源持续利用，农业生物多样性与转基因生物等的研究现状及进展做一初步分析。     

项目管理软件的发展状况及其应用分析

本文从项目管理的基础理论研究出发，结合计算机软件发展趋势，明确指出了我国项目管理及其管理思想的载体——项目管理软件在实际应用中的瓶颈，多角度分析了现有问题的症结所在，并联系项目管理发展趋势从宏观角度提供了解决问题的方法和途径。     

论国家环境安全及其对中国的启示

国家环境安全的兴起是与新时期国家安全观的转变分不开的。尽管不同的国家,不同的人对国家环境安全内涵的理解不一样,但对其在国家安全体系中重要性的认同却是一致的。社会学的研究表明,当前中国的环境安全问题已显得越来越突出,而危害中国环境安全的主要因素来自国际和国内两个方面。对此,我们必须加大力度,采取综合治理的手段,全面彻底地维护国家环境安全。     

淀粉的改性及其在可降解塑料和橡胶中的应用研究

淀粉作为一种天然高分子,由于其价格低,可再生,生物降解性好等优点,在材料制备与改性方面得到了人们的青睐.同时由于淀粉所固有的亲水性,难于加工性以及和石化材料间较差的相容性等也大大限制了其在非食品工业中的应用范围.本文介绍了国内外淀粉改性的最新进展及其尝试其在可降解塑料和橡胶方面的应用研究,并就目前该领域存在的一些问题作了初步探讨.     

景区开发原则与旅游发展对策

旅游业是综合性的新兴产业,也是四川省着力培育的支柱产业之一.它关联性大,发展迅速,投入产出高,市场扩张能力强,可提供大量就业机会,能有效带动产业结构的调整和升级,促进区域经济的快速发展.四川有丰富的旅游资源,如何将资源优势转化为经济优势,是值得认真研究的重大课题.     

反向疫苗学及其筛选保护性抗原应用进展

近年发展起来的反向疫苗学,是现代疫苗学研究的一种新策略,使疫苗学研究进入了一个新时期。这种以“序列-结构-功能”思想为依据,以免疫信息学、计算机预测设计以及高通量的各种组学（包括基因组学、转录本组学、蛋白质组学等）综合集成技术为核心的策略,能为各种病原体保护性抗原候选分子的发现提供一条新途径,可以提高疫苗筛选效率。