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Practical Consequences (practical + consequence)
Selected AbstractsRandomization in psychiatric intervention research in the general practice settingINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF METHODS IN PSYCHIATRIC RESEARCH, Issue 3 2000CM Van Der Feltz-Cornelis Faculty of Medicine Abstract Most studies of psychiatric interventions in general practice settings conform only in part to the requirements of randomization, placebo control and blinding as formulated by the Cochrane Collaboration. It is possible, nonetheless, to develop experimental research designs that are sufficiently near to this standard. These must deal with certain methodological issues specific to psychiatric research. This article discusses scientific standards of psychiatric research with special consideration of interventions in general practice settings. These issues are accompanied by concrete examples and suggestions on how to confront the problems. In psychiatric intervention research, equivalence studies with single-blind outcome assessment, a tested and ethically justified method, are generally used in place of placebo-controlled studies. The article also examines randomization procedures in greater depth. Randomization can be applied across trial subjects or across doctors' practices. Practical consequences of randomizing across subjects, and specific implementations of it such as crossover and pre-post designs in general practice settings, are clarified. Overall, a research design using randomization across doctors' practices is judged preferable to one that randomizes across trial subjects. One potential problem is that the control group may become too small, especially when considerable effects are expected from the intervention being studied. One might consider making the control condition smaller in the first place, or, if indicated on ethical grounds, performing an intermediate analysis and then breaking off the study as soon as a statistically significant effect has been demonstrated. Multilevel statistical techniques offer new opportunities for analysis within such designs. Copyright © 2000 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source] Lack of desquamation , the Achilles heel of the reconstructed epidermisINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COSMETIC SCIENCE, Issue 5 2002M. Ponec Synopsis The use of human skin equivalents for screening tests aiming to assess repetitive application of various test agents is hampered by the lack of desquamation in vitro. The present study was undertaken to examine whether the desquamation can be induced by various treatments including mechanical stress, application of various agents that should decrease the surface pH and calcium level, activate the enzymes involved in desquamation process or UV irradiation. In addition, the effect of ,-hydroxyacids, known to enhance desquamation and to improve the stratum corneum barrier function in vivo, was examined as well. Human epidermis reconstructed on de-epidermized dermis or on fibroblast-populated collagen matrices during a 2-week culture at the air,liquid interface underwent various treatments during an additional 3-week period. The effects of treatments were evaluated on the basis of tissue morphology and lipid composition. The results of the present study revealed that cell shedding could only be induced by a mild repetitive mechanical treatment. The lack of desquamation, under most in vitro conditions, has a practical consequence, since it may hamper the use of reconstructed epidermis for various screening studies aiming to examine the repetitive exposure to topical agents or UV irradiation. The gradual thickening of the stratum corneum will lead to its higher resistance to the environmental stimuli and in this way affect the outcome of the tests. Furthermore, from the results obtained in the present study, it became evident that one should be careful in selecting endpoints when, for example, the effects of agents known to modulate melanogenesis are examined. Résumé L'utilization d'équivalents cutanés humains dans les procédures de criblage, afin d'estimer l'action répétée de divers agents, est entravée par l'absence de desquamation in vitro. La présente étude a été entreprise afin de déterminer dans quelle mesure la desquamation peut être induite par différents traitements tels que stress mécanique, application d'agents divers qui conduiraient à une chute du pH de surface et du taux de Calcium, activeraient les enzymes impliquées dans le processus de desquamation, ou l'irradiation UV. De plus, l'effet des , hydroxy-acides, connus pour favouriser la desquamation et d'améliorer la fonction barrière du Stratum-Corneum in vivo, a étéétudié. L'épiderme humain reconstruit sur un derme dé-épidermisé ou sur des matrices de collagène colonisées par des fibroblastes pendant 2 semaines de culture, en interface air × liquide, a subi divers traitements pendant une période additionnelle de 3 semaines. Les effets de ces traitements étaient évalués sur des critères morphologiques du tissu ainsi que la composition en lipides. Les résultats de cette étude montrent que l'élimination cellulaire ne peut être induite que par un léger traitement mécanique répété. L'absence de desquamation dans la plupart des conditions in vitro a une conséquence pratique puisqu'elle peut entraver l'utilization de l'épiderme reconstruit à des fins diverses de criblage en vue d'appréhender les expositions répétées à des agents topiques, ou l'irradiation UV. L'épaississement progressif du Stratum-Corneum lui confèrera une résistance accrue aux stimuli environnementaux qui, en retour, modifiera les résultats des tests. De plus, les résultats de cette présente étude impliquent à l'évidence une précaution dans la sélection des cinétiques de mesures lorsque, par exemple, les effets des agents connus pour moduler la mélanogénèse sont étudiés. [source] The sex of the individual as a factor in allergic contact dermatitisCONTACT DERMATITIS, Issue 2 2004B. S. Modjtahedi Exogenous and endogenous factors have been implicated in allergic contact dermatitis (ACD); this review explores the sex of the individual as a possible endogenous factor. While there is a clinical impression that women are more skin-reactive than men, upon review this hypothesis appears oversimplified. This review explores sex differences in controlled testing of adult ACD, occupational ACD and juvenile ACD. Further, geographical location and socioeconomic and cultural factors in relation to sex differences in allergic contact dermatitis are discussed. We conclude that female sex could be a factor predisposing to allergic contact dermatitis not so much because of possible differences in intrinsic skin characteristics between the sexes, but more because of different exposure patterns. This conclusion has practical consequences regarding product labelling requirements, occupational risk assessment and legislation. [source] Experimental Research and the Managerial Attitude: a tension to be resolved?EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, Issue 3 2008MARTIN BENNINGHOFF This article analyses some typical consequences of a specific research policy on experimental research in biology. The policy is conducted by a national funding agency , the Swiss National Science Foundation , through a particular programme, the ,National Centres of Competence in Research' which is designed to promote both ,scientific excellence'and,managerial professionalism'. To study the possible tension between the two objectives, as a practical matter for researchers, the proposed analysis focuses on the interaction between two laboratory scientists and the administrators of a genomic platform. Access to the instruments of this platform is granted through a preliminary interview with those in charge of the platform. During that interview, researchers are required to explain why they want to use the platform services and what their expectations concerning their envisaged activities are. A tape-recorded interview is analysed in order to describe how turns at talking by the various parties, as well as the formulation of the problems encountered by a researcher, prove category-bound. The first part of the meeting (,problem exposition') is structured by the categorical device ,generalist researcher vs. specialist researcher', whilst the second part (,problem solving') is organised by the categorical device ,manager vs. user of the platform'. The ,scientific' problem becomes a ,technical' one and the choice of technique is partly based on financial reasons. The situation shows how managerial injunctions of research policy are not without practical consequences for research activities in situ. [source] Prevalence of neuropsychiatric symptoms in a large sample of Dutch nursing home patients with dementiaINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 7 2007Sytse U. Zuidema Abstract Objective To estimate the prevalence of neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia patients in Dutch nursing homes. Methods Cross-sectional study in a large sample of 1322 demented patients living in 59 dementia special care units (SCUs) in The Netherlands. Symptoms were observed by licensed vocational nurses during regular care-giving in a 2-week observational period prior to assessment. Neuropsychiatric symptoms were assessed using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory- Nursing home version (NPI-NH; frequency X severity score , 4) and the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI; symptoms occurring at least once a week). Results More than 80% of these patients suffered from at least one clinically significant symptom, as defined with the NPI-NH frequency X severity score , 4. Measured with the NPH-NH agitation/aggression, apathy and irritability were the most frequently observed behaviors, with prevalences of 30,35%. Using the CMAI, 85% of the patients showed at least one symptom of agitation, of which general restlessness was observed most frequently (44%). Other frequently observed symptoms with prevalence rates of 30% were cursing or verbal aggression, constant request for attention, negativism, repetitious sentences, mannerisms, pacing, and complaining. Physically aggressive symptoms such as hitting, kicking, biting occurred less often (less than 13%). Conclusions Prevalence rates of neuropsychiatric symptoms in Dutch nursing home patients with dementia residing in SCUs are high, especially agitation and apathy. Insight into the prevalence rates of individual symptoms in patients with dementia has important practical consequences for the accurate planning of staff allotment and stresses the need for patient oriented care. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] What do People Want from their Jobs?INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SELECTION AND ASSESSMENT, Issue 1 2010The Big Five, core self-evaluations, work motivation If people are differentially motivated on the basis of individual differences, this implies important practical consequences with respect to staffing decisions and the selection of the right motivational techniques for managers. In two different samples (students facing graduation vs full-time employees), the relationships between personality traits and the preference for job characteristics concerning either extrinsic (job environment) or intrinsic job features (work itself) were investigated. Two personality traits [openness to experience and core self-evaluations (CSE)] were consistently found to be positively related to the preference concerning work characteristics, and CSE showed incremental validity with regard to intrinsic work motivation factors (e.g., experienced meaningfulness, autonomy). Furthermore, age was differentially linked to those job characteristics. The results are discussed with regards to the optimal Person,Job Fit and the practical utility of the personality constructs. [source] A Liberal Defence of (Some) Duties to CompatriotsJOURNAL OF APPLIED PHILOSOPHY, Issue 3 2010SETH LAZAR abstract This paper asks whether we can defend associative duties to our compatriots that are grounded solely in the relationship of liberal co-citizenship. The sort of duties that are especially salient to this relationship are duties of justice, duties to protect and improve the institutions that constitute that relationship, and a duty to favour the interests of compatriots over those of foreigners. Critics have argued that the liberal conception of citizenship is too insubstantial to sustain these duties , indeed, that it gives us little reason to treat compatriots any differently from how we treat foreigners, with all the practical consequences that this would entail. I suggest that on a specific conception of liberal citizenship we can, in fact, defend associative duties, but that these extend only to the duty to protect and improve the institutions that constitute that relationship. Duties of justice and favouritism, I maintain, cannot be particularised to one's compatriots. [source] Using Private-Public Linkages to Regulate Environmental Conflicts: The Case of International Construction ContractsJOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY, Issue 1 2002Oren Perez The article takes a pluralistic view of the ,trade-environment' conflict by exploring one of the settings of this conflict: the lex constructionis, international construction law. It seeks to unravel the way in which the unique structural-cultural attributes of this legal domain have affected its environmental (in)sensitivity. The article's main argument in that context is that the contractual tradition of the lex constructionis (as manifested in the standard contracts that dominate this field) and its unique institutional structure, have created a culture of ecological indifference. This culture has important practical consequences because of the deep ecological problematic of international construction projects. The article develops an alternative contractual model, which depicts the construction contract as a semi-political mechanism, rather than a private tool. This conceptual change seeks to break the public/private separation that characterizes the contractual discourse in the international construction market. The article explores, further, whether this alternative contractual vision could be realized in practice, and proposes several implementing modules which could further this goal. While the article explores a particular international regime, its methodology and conclusions , in particular, the political-constitutional interpretation of the contract and the critique of the public/private dichotomy (see sections III.3 and III.4) , should be relevant to the regulation of many other (national or international) environmental dilemmas. [source] From large analogical instruments to small digital black boxes: 40 years of progress in mass spectrometry and its role in proteomics.JOURNAL OF MASS SPECTROMETRY (INCORP BIOLOGICAL MASS SPECTROMETRY), Issue 8 2009Part II 198 Abstract This is the continuation of a personal retrospective on the developments that since 1965 have given shape to Mass Spectrometry (MS) and taken it from a position of simply playing a role in Protein Chemistry to becoming an indispensable tool in Proteomics, all within a 40-year span. Part I covered the period from 1965 to 1984. This second part reviews the Mass Spectrometry timeline of events from 1985 to 2000, stopping at various time points where MS made significant contributions to protein chemistry or where the development of new instrumentation for MS represented a major advance for peptide and protein work. Major highlights in the field and their significance for peptide and protein characterization such as the advent and practical consequences of electrospray ionization (ESI) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) are covered, including work done with triple quads, the development of time-of-flight (TOF) instruments and new ion traps and going on to the more recent work on the full characterization of the Proteome with ion traps, TOF instruments and new ionization and tagging techniques for protein sequencing. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Secrets and Lies: The Queen's Proctor and Judicial Investigation of Party Controlled NarrativesLAW & SOCIAL INQUIRY, Issue 3 2002Wendie Ellen Schneider Driven by the fear of collusion in the new divorce court, in 1860 Parliament authorized the Queen's Proctor to intervene in divorce suits by rooting out information that the parties left undisclosed. This paper explores the activities of the Queen's Proctor in its first quarter century, revealing both the curious genealogy of community participation in the Queen's Proctor's efforts and the struggle over the definition of collusion. Over time, economic and evidentiary concerns prompted the Queen's Proctor to turn from uncovering collusion to producing evidence of adultery. The Queen's Proctor represents a striking attempt by courts to assess the validity of party-controlled narratives, resulting in surprising practical consequences. Evaluation of narratives quickly devolved into a bright-line test focusing on adultery, with judges following the Queen's Proctor's lead and eschewing discretion. [source] The Impact of Incomplete Linkage Disequilibrium and Genetic Model Choice on the Analysis and Interpretation of Genome-wide Association StudiesANNALS OF HUMAN GENETICS, Issue 4 2010Mark M. Iles Summary When conducting a genetic association study, it has previously been observed that a multiplicative risk model tends to fit better at a disease-associated marker locus than at the ungenotyped causative locus. This suggests that, while overall risk decreases as linkage disequilibrium breaks down, non-multiplicative components are more affected. This effect is investigated here, in particular the practical consequences it has on testing for trait/marker associations and the estimation of mode of inheritance and risk once an associated locus has been found. The extreme significance levels required for genome-wide association studies define a restricted range of detectable allele frequencies and effect sizes. For such parameters there is little to be gained by using a test that models the correct mode of inheritance rather than the multiplicative; thus the Cochran-Armitage trend test, which assumes a multiplicative model, is preferable to a more general model as it uses fewer degrees of freedom. Equally when estimating risk, it is likely that a multiplicative risk model will provide a good fit to the data, regardless of the underlying mode of inheritance at the true susceptibility locus. This may lead to problems in interpreting risk estimates. [source] Effect of solute lipophilicity on penetration through canine skinAUSTRALIAN VETERINARY JOURNAL, Issue 12 2003PC MILLS Objective To investigate the effect of lipophilicity on the percutaneous penetration of a homologous series of alcohols through canine skin Design Skin harvested from Greyhound thorax was placed in Franz-type diffusion cells and the in vitro passage of radio-labelled (14C) alcohols (ethanol, butanol, hexanol and octanol (Log P 0.19 - 3.0)) through separate skin sections was measured in replicates of five. Permeability coefficient (kP, cm/h), maximum flux (Jmax, mol/cm2/h) and residue remaining within the skin were determined. Results The kP increased with increasing lipophilicity (6.2 times 10 -4± 1.6 times 10 -4 cm/h for ethanol to 1.8 times 10 -2± 3.6 times 10 -3 cm/h for octanol). Alcohol residues remaining within each skin sample followed a similar pattern. An exponential decrease in Jmax with increasing lipophilicity was observed. Conclusion Changes in canine skin permeability occur with increasing alcohol lipophilicity. This finding has practical consequences for the design of topical formulations and optimisation of drug delivery through animal skin. [source] Public Relations Planning and Action as "Practical-Critical" CommunicationCOMMUNICATION THEORY, Issue 4 2003Wayne D. Woodward A practical-critical approach to communication contends that critical analysis should have practical consequences, specifically to extend participation and to introduce innovative forms of communication. Planning and action process models in public relations illustrate the approach. The practical-critical position develops out of a reconstructive revision of existing, instrumental models. The emphases are (a) variabilities and contingencies in communication, (b) temporal sequencing of cooperative activity, (c) conditions of uncertainty that are part of pursuing a shared focus through joint activity, and (d) the interdependent relations among material, symbolic, and relational dimensions of process planning and action. The practical-critical framework provides for continuous, dialectical analysis of a central focus of activity, while deriving benefits from the sequencing of cooperative effort. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||