This paper examines the concept of sustainable consumption by focusing on the consumption habits of Irish consumers. The key research findings fit into three broad and interrelated categories. Firstly, whilst recent sustainable consumption literature suggests that new research should focus on the issue of consumption, in and of itself, our study shows that consumers themselves view environmental problems from a supply and not a demand perspective. They focus on issues such as recycling and waste and not consumption itself. Secondly, our study shows that consumers have green opinions about very diverse issues and these are directly related to the individuals' lifestyles. Finally, our research shows that "material green" consumers are buying into a particular image in their consumption practices. This is very much connected to the meanings of their consumption that are derived from the communication value they attach to commodities. As such our study provides support for earlier conceptual research which suggests that in order to encourage less consumption we must use existing commodity discourse to achieve such ends.

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Background Influenza virus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are among the most common viruses causing infections of the lower respiratory tract in young children. Although there are important differences in the immunopathogenesis of these 2 viral pathogens, little is known about how they affect antigen-presenting cells in children with acute infections. Methods To characterize the immune cells that are mobilized to the respiratory tract by influenza virus and RSV, we analyzed nasal wash and blood samples obtained from children hospitalized with acute respiratory infections. Results Influenza virus and RSV mobilize immune cells, including myeloid dendritic cells (mDCs) and plasma-cytoid dendritic cells (pDCs), to the nasal mucosa. Patients with influenza virus infection had greater numbers of mDCs, pDCs, and monocytes in nasal wash samples than did patients with RSV infection. The frequencies of respiratory tract and blood T cell subsets were not affected by infection with influenza virus or RSV. Monocyte chemoattractant protein–1 concentrations in nasal wash samples were significantly increased in patients with influenza virus infection but not in those with RSV infection. RANTES (regulated on activation, normally T cell expressed and secreted) concentrations were increased only in the blood of patients with influenza virus infection. Conclusions Infection with influenza virus or RSV mobilizes antigen-presenting cells to the respiratory tract. The differences in antigen-presenting cell numbers and cytokine concentrations suggest that there are distinctive, early immune responses to these 2 viruses.

In recent times, much has been written about consumers' co-responsibility for addressing environmental problems, with consumers expected to steer or regulate their consumption in an instrumental way. By drawing on data from in-depth interviews with green consumers in urban Ireland, this article examines how green consumers engage with environmental issues at an everyday level. The article considers green consumption through the theoretical lens of reflexive modernization, particularly its relevance to self-identity. We argue that although green consumption is important to the maintenance and constitution of a green subjectivity, it must be understood within the context of a process of increasing individualization, where individuals feel both responsible and empowered in dealing with environmental risks to both the wider global planet and themselves. However, such feelings are accompanied by doubts and insecurities about the choices to be made, creating a rather dichotomous situation. This challenges the idea that green consumption as some form of politics of choice can unambiguously form part of a strategy for environmental reform as it does not adequately address the fundamental dilemmas that people face.

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SUMMARY Eight patients with chronic Q fever endocarditis were treated with tetracycline for up to 40 months. In addition, five of these patients received co-trimoxazole. Six patients had prosthetic valves. Two patients who had Q fever endocarditis on their native valves required valve replacement because of haemodynamic difficulties: in only one did the Q fever endocarditis contribute to the haemodynamic difficulty. One patient died.It is suggested that medical treatment is continued until clinically and haematologically there is no evidence of endocarditis and the Q fever phase 1 antibody titre is less than 200. No recurrence of Q fever endocarditis has been detected in three of our patients who have now stopped treatment.

The concepts of speech intelligibility and unintelligibility are examined from a theoretical linguistic point of view, and it is argued that unintelligibility is a special case of a broader phenomenon which is here termed indeterminability. It is further contended that the identification of potential sources of unintelligibility and other kinds of indeterminability should be an aim of linguistic assessment procedures.

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