Important Trends (important + trend)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Trends in NE Atlantic landings (southern Portugal): identifying the relative importance of fisheries and environmental variables

FISHERIES OCEANOGRAPHY, Issue 3 2005
KARIM ERZINI
Abstract Time series of commercial landings from the Algarve (southern Portugal) from 1982 to 1999 were analyzed using min/max autocorrelation factor analysis (MAFA) and dynamic factor analysis (DFA). These techniques were used to identify trends and explore the relationships between the response variables (annual landings of 12 species) and explanatory variables [sea surface temperature, rainfall, an upwelling index, Guadiana river (south-east Portugal) flow, the North Atlantic oscillation, the number of licensed fishing vessels and the number of commercial fishermen]. Landings were more highly correlated with non-lagged environmental variables and in particular with Guadiana river flow. Both techniques gave coherent results, with the most important trend being a steady decline over time. A DFA model with two explanatory variables (Guadiana river flow and number of fishermen) and three common trends (smoothing functions over time) gave good fits to 10 of the 12 species. Results of other models indicated that river flow is the more important explanatory variable in this model. Changes in the mean flow and discharge regime of the Guadiana river resulting from the construction of the Alqueva dam, completed in 2002, are therefore likely to have a significant and deleterious impact on Algarve fisheries landings. [source]


Structures of the unspoken: the theatre of Nathalie Sarraute

ORBIS LITERARUM, Issue 3 2003
John Rothenberg
Nathalie Sarraute's short intense plays dramatize the inner movements and emotions which she calls tropisms. There is no plot, no surface action in these works, and in this they typify an important trend in twentieth century theatre. The effect of these plays where nothing happens is far from static, however, and this article examines Le Silence and C'est beau to discover how this effect is achieved, how the author creates a variety of tension and a feeling of dramatic momentum. Using the actantial model first proposed by Souriau as an analytical tool it can be shown that within the basic situtation, which does not change, we have a series of microdramas, shifting alliances and conflicts. These are plays about what lies beneath the everyday, and they are structured to maintain a tension, sometimes comic sometimes cruel, between the surface and the depths. [source]


Information provision to clients with stroke and their carers: Self-reported practices of occupational therapists

AUSTRALIAN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY JOURNAL, Issue 3 2010
Louise Gustafsson
Background:,The literature promotes the use of a wide range of educational materials for teaching and training clients with chronic conditions such as stroke. Client education is a valuable tool used by occupational therapists to facilitate client and carer ability to manage the stroke-affected upper limb. The aim of this study was to identify what information was provided to clients and carers, how this information was delivered, when the information was delivered and the client factors that influenced the method of information provision. Methods:,Convenience and snowball sampling was used to recruit occupational therapists working in stroke. Twenty-eight participants completed the study questionnaire anonymously and their responses were summarised descriptively. Results:,There was a clinically important trend for carers to receive less information than clients. Written and/or verbal information was the favoured method for delivering information related to handling (57%), soft-tissue injury minimisation (46.4%) and oedema management (50%). Information was delivered with decreasing frequency from admission (86%) to discharge (64%). More than 90% of participants indicated that the client's cognitive ability, visual ability, level of communication, primary language and perceptual ability were considered prior to the delivery of information. Discussion:,Participants regularly conveyed information to clients and carers with respect to management of the stroke-affected upper limb. However, an increased emphasis on the development of practical self-management skills, awareness of the impact of personal factors and a timeline for information provision may prove useful. [source]


Emergence of Electronic Home Monitoring in Chronic Heart Failure: Rationale, Feasibility, and Early Results With the HomMed SentryÔ-ObserverÔ System

CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE, Issue 3 2000
Mandeep R. Mehra MD
Electronic home monitoring for chronic heart failure is emerging as an available option to add to our armamentarium as a vital part of the multidisciplinary care process. This investigation describes the early clinical results of a multicenter study which suggests that important trends in medical resource utilization may be attained by the use of this modality. [source]


Trends and Directions in the Development of a Strategic Management Theory of the Family Firm

ENTREPRENEURSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE, Issue 5 2005
James J. Chrisman
This article provides a review of important trends in the strategic management approach to studying family firms: convergence in definitions, accumulating evidence that family involvement may affect performance, and the emergence of agency theory and the resource-based view of the firm as the leading theoretical perspectives. We conclude by discussing directions for future research and other promising approaches to inform the inquiry concerning family business. [source]


ABO-incompatible deceased donor liver transplantation in the United States: A national registry analysis,

LIVER TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 8 2009
Zoe A. Stewart
In the United States, ABO-incompatible liver transplantation (ILT) is limited to emergent situations when ABO-compatible liver transplantation (CLT) is unavailable. We analyzed the United Network for Organ Sharing database of ILT performed from 1990-2006 to assess ILT outcomes for infant (0-1 years; N = 156), pediatric (2-17 years; N = 170), and adult (> 17 years; N = 667) patients. Since 2000, the number of ILT has decreased annually, and there has been decreased use of blood type B donors and increased use of blood type A donors. Furthermore, ILT graft survival has improved for all age groups in recent years, beyond the improved graft survival attributable to era effect based on comparison to respective age group CLT. On matched control analysis, graft survival was significantly worse for adult ILT as compared to adult CLT. However, infant and pediatric ILTs did not have worse graft survival versus age-matched CLT. Adjusted analyses identified age-specific characteristics impacting ILT graft loss. For infants, transplant after 2000 and donor age < 9 years were associated with reduced risk of ILT graft loss. For pediatric patients, female recipient sex and donor age > 50 years were associated with increased risk of ILT graft loss. For adults, life support, repeat transplant, split grafts, and hepatocellular carcinoma were associated with increased risk of ILT graft loss. The current study identifies important trends in ILT in the United States in the modern immunosuppression era, as well as specific recipient, donor, and graft characteristics impacting ILT graft survival that could be utilized to guide ILT organ allocation in exigent circumstances. Liver Transpl 15:883,893, 2009. © 2009 AASLD. [source]


Overview: End-Stage Renal Disease in the Developing World

ARTIFICIAL ORGANS, Issue 9 2002
Rashad S. Barsoum
Abstract: Although the vast majority of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) worldwide live in what is called the developing world, little is known about its epidemiology and management. With the current paucity of credible and adequately representative registries, it is justified to resort to innovative means of obtaining information. In this attempt, world-renowned leading nephrologists in 10 developing countries collaborated in filling a 103-item questionnaire addressing epidemiology, etiology, and management of ESRD in their respective countries on the basis of integrating available data from different sources. Through this joint effort, it was possible to identify a number of important trends. These include the expected high prevalence of ESRD, despite the limited access to renal replacement therapy, and the dependence of prevalence on wealth. Glomerulonephritis, rather than diabetes, remains as the main cause of ESRD with significant geographical variations in the prevailing histopathological types. The implementation of different modalities of renal replacement therapy (RRT) is inhibited by the lack of funding, although governments, insurance companies, and donations usually constitute the major sponsors. Hemodialysis is the preferred modality in most countries with the exception of Mexico where chronic ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) takes the lead. In several other countries, dialysis is available only for those on the transplant waiting list. Dialysis is associated with a high frequency of complications particularly HBV and HCV infections. Data on HIV are lacking. Aluminum intoxication remains as a major problem in a number of countries. Treatment withdrawal is common for socioeconomic reasons. Transplantation is offered to an average of 4 per million population (pmp). Recipient exclusion criteria are minimal. Donor selection criteria are generally loose regarding tissue typing, remote viral infection, and, in some countries, blood-relation to the recipient in live-donor transplants. Cadaver donors are accepted in many countries participating in this survey. Treatment outcomes with different RRT modalities are, on the average, inferior to the internationally acknowledged standards largely due to infective and cardiovascular complications. [source]