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Practical Strategy (practical + strategy)
Selected AbstractsTransformative Learning as a Professional Development GoalNEW DIRECTIONS FOR ADULT & CONTINUING EDUCATION, Issue 98 2003Patricia Cranton From the framework of transformative learning, this chapter explores how professional development can lead educators to be authentic, individuated, critically reflective practitioners. Practical strategies are provided. [source] Difficult dialogues at the intersections of race, culture, and religionNEW DIRECTIONS FOR STUDENT SERVICES, Issue 125 2009Dafina Lazarus Stewart This chapter grapples with the intersections of race, culture, and religion and explores how experiences in a shared religion can be different when viewed through the lens of race and culture. Practical strategies are provided for ways student affairs practitioners can facilitate difficult dialogues around Christian privilege in concert with issues related to racial and cultural marginalization. [source] Practical strategies for working with indigenous people living in Queensland, AustraliaOCCUPATIONAL THERAPY INTERNATIONAL, Issue 4 2002Elizabeth Watts Abstract Internationally, occupational therapists have recognized the need to provide culturally appropriate services for indigenous people. This study explored experiences, perspectives and practical strategies of occupational therapists working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in rural and remote areas of Queensland, Australia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight occupational therapists who had at least 12 months' experience providing services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in health, rehabilitation or education services. Key themes identified in the data focused on strategies for facilitating effective communication with individuals and families, and collaborating with other service providers. The role of Aboriginal Liaison Officers or Indigenous Health Workers was emphasized by participating therapists. Participants identified resources that they perceived as useful in their practice, such as cross-cultural training and access to indigenous health workers. Other resources suggested for further development included information about learning styles of indigenous people and information about cultural variations between specific Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The small number of participants limits generalizability of the findings. However, therapists can decide on the relevance of strategies to their own workplaces. Suggestions for further research focused on improving occupational therapy services for indigenous people in Australia. These include an investigation of therapy goals with indigenous people, and interviews with indigenous Australians and indigenous health workers about their experiences and perceptions of occupational therapy. Copyright © 2002 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source] What Makes an Aboriginal Council Successful?AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 4 2009Case Studies of Aboriginal Community Government Performance in Far North Queensland Indigenous community governments are at the frontline of current efforts to ,close the gap' between Indigenous and non-Indigenous living standards. Yet there is little empirical evidence about successful performance by these organisations and considerable scepticism about whether introduced Western governance models can ever be viable in Indigenous communities. To identify the governance attributes that contribute to successful performance, case studies were conducted at three Aboriginal councils in far north Queensland. The untested assumptions in current notions of ,good governance' were examined. Currently accepted good governance principles and practices were investigated to ascertain their actual causal relationship with council performance. The research further identified key contextual, historical and cultural factors that are important in shaping successful or unsuccessful governance. Practical strategies are suggested for policy-makers and Indigenous leaders to build the performance of Indigenous community governments. [source] Qualitative Data Analysis for Health Services Research: Developing Taxonomy, Themes, and TheoryHEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH, Issue 4 2007Elizabeth H. Bradley Objective. To provide practical strategies for conducting and evaluating analyses of qualitative data applicable for health services researchers. Data Sources and Design. We draw on extant qualitative methodological literature to describe practical approaches to qualitative data analysis. Approaches to data analysis vary by discipline and analytic tradition; however, we focus on qualitative data analysis that has as a goal the generation of taxonomy, themes, and theory germane to health services research. Principle Findings. We describe an approach to qualitative data analysis that applies the principles of inductive reasoning while also employing predetermined code types to guide data analysis and interpretation. These code types (conceptual, relationship, perspective, participant characteristics, and setting codes) define a structure that is appropriate for generation of taxonomy, themes, and theory. Conceptual codes and subcodes facilitate the development of taxonomies. Relationship and perspective codes facilitate the development of themes and theory. Intersectional analyses with data coded for participant characteristics and setting codes can facilitate comparative analyses. Conclusions. Qualitative inquiry can improve the description and explanation of complex, real-world phenomena pertinent to health services research. Greater understanding of the processes of qualitative data analysis can be helpful for health services researchers as they use these methods themselves or collaborate with qualitative researchers from a wide range of disciplines. [source] Psychological capital: A positive resource for combating employee stress and turnoverHUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Issue 5 2009James B. Avey Abstract Workplace stress is a growing concern for human resource managers. Although considerable scholarly and practical attention has been devoted to stress management over the years, the time has come for new perspectives and research. Drawing from the emerging field of positive organizational behavior, this study offers research findings with implications for combating occupational stress. Specifically, data from a large sample of working adults across a variety of industries suggest that psychological capital (the positive resources of efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience) may be key to better understanding the variation in perceived symptoms of stress, as well as intentions to quit and job search behaviors. The article concludes with practical strategies aimed at leveraging and developing employees' psychological capital to help them better cope with workplace stress. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Structure refinement: some background theory and practical strategiesJOURNAL OF APPLIED CRYSTALLOGRAPHY, Issue 3 2008David Watkin Most modern small-molecule refinement programs are based on similar algorithms. Details of these methods are scattered through the literature, sometimes in books that are no longer in print and usually in mathematical detail that makes them unattractive to nonprogrammers. This paper aims to discuss these well established algorithms in nonmathematical language, with the intention of enabling crystallographers to use their favourite programs effectively. [source] Primary care mental health: a new frontier for psychologyJOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 3 2009William B. Gunn Abstract The medical system in this country is divided into primary care and specialty care. Mental health is for the most part a specialty service dependent on referrals, often from primary care providers. The authors propose a new model where psychologists work in collaboration with primary care medical teams. This integrated, coordinated model enables psychologists to help patients they would not otherwise see in a mental health system. Examples of patients in this category are seniors, those with somatizing disorders, and those experiencing the challenges of dealing with a chronic illness. This model also enables psychologists to provide consultation to the medical teams. In this article, the authors discuss the world of the primary care medical team and present the rationale for integration or collaboration. They describe the barriers to collaborative practices and ways to overcome these barriers. Finally, they present practical strategies that psychologists can use on a regular basis to increase their collaboration with primary care. These strategies can be used by those who work in colocated practices as well as those who work in separate locations. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 65:1,18, 2009. [source] Drug,polymer solubility and miscibility: Stability consideration and practical challenges in amorphous solid dispersion developmentJOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES, Issue 7 2010Feng Qian Abstract Drug,polymer solid dispersion has been demonstrated as a feasible approach to formulate poorly water-soluble drugs in the amorphous form, for the enhancement of dissolution rate and bioperformance. The solubility (for crystalline drug) and miscibility (for amorphous drug) in the polymer are directly related to the stabilization of amorphous drug against crystallization. Therefore, it is important for pharmaceutical scientists to rationally assess solubility and miscibility in order to select the optimal formulation (e.g., polymer type, drug loading, etc.) and recommend storage conditions, with respect to maximizing the physical stability. This commentary attempts to discuss the concepts and implications of the drug,polymer solubility and miscibility on the stabilization of solid dispersions, review recent literatures, and propose some practical strategies for the evaluation and development of such systems utilizing a working diagram. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 99:2941,2947, 2010 [source] The "Income Gap" and the Health of Arts NonprofitsNONPROFIT MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP, Issue 3 2000Arthur C. Brooks This article addresses the widening gap between costs and revenues for many arts nonprofits; it examines the most common explanations for the problem, categorizes possible solutions, and suggests practical strategies for implementation. This study suggests that a critical difference exists between large and small arts firms, which in turn implies a different set of strategies for each. Whereas large organizations do well to leverage technological innovations, diversify product lines, and expand audiences through educational outreach, smaller organizations tend to see greater returns from efforts to expand their philanthropic base. [source] Practical strategies for working with indigenous people living in Queensland, AustraliaOCCUPATIONAL THERAPY INTERNATIONAL, Issue 4 2002Elizabeth Watts Abstract Internationally, occupational therapists have recognized the need to provide culturally appropriate services for indigenous people. This study explored experiences, perspectives and practical strategies of occupational therapists working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in rural and remote areas of Queensland, Australia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight occupational therapists who had at least 12 months' experience providing services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in health, rehabilitation or education services. Key themes identified in the data focused on strategies for facilitating effective communication with individuals and families, and collaborating with other service providers. The role of Aboriginal Liaison Officers or Indigenous Health Workers was emphasized by participating therapists. Participants identified resources that they perceived as useful in their practice, such as cross-cultural training and access to indigenous health workers. Other resources suggested for further development included information about learning styles of indigenous people and information about cultural variations between specific Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The small number of participants limits generalizability of the findings. However, therapists can decide on the relevance of strategies to their own workplaces. Suggestions for further research focused on improving occupational therapy services for indigenous people in Australia. These include an investigation of therapy goals with indigenous people, and interviews with indigenous Australians and indigenous health workers about their experiences and perceptions of occupational therapy. Copyright © 2002 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source] Practical pharmacovigilance analysis strategiesPHARMACOEPIDEMIOLOGY AND DRUG SAFETY, Issue 7 2003A. Lawrence Gould Abstract Purpose To compare two recently proposed Bayesian methods for quantitative pharmacovigilance with respect to assumptions and results, and to describe some practical strategies for their use. Methods The two methods were expressed in common terms to simplify identifying similarities and differences, some extensions to both methods were provided, and the empirical Bayes method was applied to accumulated experience on a new antihypertensive drug to elucidate the pattern of adverse-event reporting. Both methods use the logarithm of the proportional risk ratio as the basic metric for association. Results The two methods provide similar numerical results for frequently reported events, but not necessarily when few events are reported. Using a lower 5% quantile of the posterior distribution gives some assurance that potential signals are unlikely to be noise. The calculations indicated that most potential adverse event,drug associations that were well-recognized after 6 years of use could be identified within the first year, that most of the associations identified in the first year persisted over time. Other insights into the pattern of event reporting were also noted. Conclusion Both methods can provide useful early signals of potential drug,event associations that subsequently can be the focus of detailed evaluation by skilled clinicians and epidemiologists. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Practitioner Review: When parent training doesn't work: theory-driven clinical strategiesTHE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 12 2009Stephen Scott Improving the parent,child relationship by using strategies based on social learning theory has become the cornerstone for the treatment of conduct problems in children. Over the past 40 years, interventions have expanded greatly from small, experimental procedures to substantial, systematic programmes that provide clear guidelines in detailed manuals on how practitioners should implement the standardised treatments. They are now widely disseminated and there is a great deal of empirical support that they are very effective for the majority of cases. However, evaluations of even the best of these evidence-based programmes show that a quarter to a third of families and their children do not benefit. What does the practitioner then do, when a standard social learning approach, diligently applied, doesn't work? We argue that under these circumstances, some of the major theories of child development, family functioning and individual psychology can help the skilled practitioner think his or her way through complex clinical situations. This paper describes a set of practical strategies that can then be flexibly applied, based on a systematic theoretical analysis. We hold that social learning theory remains the core of effective parent training interventions, but that ideas from attachment theory, structural family systems theory, cognitive-attribution theory, and shared empowerment/motivational interviewing can each, according to the nature of the difficulty, greatly enrich the practitioner's ability to help bring about change in families who are stuck. We summarise each of these models and present practical examples of when and how they may help the clinician plan treatment. [source] Can We Help Addicts Become more Autonomous?BIOETHICS, Issue 5-6 2003Inside the Mind of An Addict ABSTRACT I examine the impact of addiction on autonomy in terms of the standard literature on addiction , referred to also as ,substance dependence.'1 Then in terms of the criteria for substance dependence, by developing a set of practical strategies to help people with addictions think more clearly, I test the idea whether addicts can be helped to become more autonomous. Given that unsuccessful attempts to quit constitute part of the criteria of substance dependence, I look at what goes wrong when people try to quit using a substance. The subjective experience of addiction is an important aid in understanding addiction and first person accounts and literary characterisations of addiction provide insight into the addict's mind and assist us in deciding whether addicts can be helped to become more autonomous. [source] A more practical strategy for interfacing microscale solution phase IEF with commercially available very narrow range IPG strips for optimal protein separationELECTROPHORESIS, Issue 12 2007Article first published online: 18 JUN 200 This article has been removed from Wiley InterScience prior to final publication at the request of the authors. [source] A practical determination strategy of optimal threshold parameter for matrix compression in wavelet BEMINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING, Issue 2 2003Kazuhiro Koro Abstract A practical strategy is developed to determine the optimal threshold parameter for wavelet-based boundary element (BE) analysis. The optimal parameter is determined so that the amount of storage (and computational work) is minimized without reducing the accuracy of the BE solution. In the present study, the Beylkin-type truncation scheme is used in the matrix assembly. To avoid unnecessary integration concerning the truncated entries of a coefficient matrix, a priori estimation of the matrix entries is introduced and thus the truncated entries are determined twice: before and after matrix assembly. The optimal threshold parameter is set based on the equilibrium of the truncation and discretization errors. These errors are estimated in the residual sense. For Laplace problems the discretization error is, in particular, indicated with the potential's contribution ,c, to the residual norm ,R, used in error estimation for mesh adaptation. Since the normalized residual norm ,c,/,u, (u: the potential components of BE solution) cannot be computed without main BE analysis, the discretization error is estimated by the approximate expression constructed through subsidiary BE calculation with smaller degree of freedom (DOF). The matrix compression using the proposed optimal threshold parameter enables us to generate a sparse matrix with O(N1+,) (0,,<1) non-zero entries. Although the quasi-optimal memory requirements and complexity are not attained, the compression rate of a few per cent can be achieved for N,1000. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Efficient Cross-Coupling Reactions of Nitrogen Nucleophiles with Aryl Halides in WaterADVANCED SYNTHESIS & CATALYSIS (PREVIOUSLY: JOURNAL FUER PRAKTISCHE CHEMIE), Issue 5 2009Yong-Chua TeoArticle first published online: 17 MAR 200 Abstract A facile and practical strategy has been developed for the N -arylation of nitrogen nucleophiles with aryl halides catalyzed by a combination of iron(III) chloride [FeCl3] and dimethylethylenediamine (dmeda) in water. A variety of nitrogen nucleophiles including pyrazole, indole, 7-azaindole and benzamide afforded the N -arylated products in the presence of the catalytic system (in up to 88% yield). [source] Using habitat distribution models to evaluate large-scale landscape priorities for spatially dynamic speciesJOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2008Regan Early Summary 1Large-scale conservation planning requires the identification of priority areas in which species have a high likelihood of long-term persistence. This typically requires high spatial resolution data on species and their habitat. Such data are rarely available at a large geographical scale, so distribution modelling is often required to identify the locations of priority areas. However, distribution modelling may be difficult when a species is either not recorded, or not present, at many of the locations that are actually suitable for it. This is an inherent problem for species that exhibit metapopulation dynamics. 2Rather than basing species distribution models on species locations, we investigated the consequences of predicting the distribution of suitable habitat, and thus inferring species presence/absence. We used habitat surveys to define a vegetation category which is suitable for a threatened species that has spatially dynamic populations (the butterfly Euphydryas aurinia), and used this as the response variable in distribution models. Thus, we developed a practical strategy to obtain high resolution (1 ha) large scale conservation solutions for E. aurinia in Wales, UK. 3Habitat-based distribution models had high discriminatory power. They could generalize over a large spatial extent and on average predicted 86% of the current distribution of E. aurinia in Wales. Models based on species locations had lower discriminatory power and were poorer at generalizing throughout Wales. 4Surfaces depicting the connectivity of each grid cell were calculated for the predicted distribution of E. aurinia habitat. Connectivity surfaces provided a distance-weighted measure of the concentration of habitat in the surrounding landscape, and helped identify areas where the persistence of E. aurinia populations is expected to be highest. These identified successfully known areas of high conservation priority for E. aurinia. These connectivity surfaces allow conservation planning to take into account long-term spatial population dynamics, which would be impossible without being able to predict the species' distribution over a large spatial extent. 5Synthesis and applications. Where species location data are unsuitable for building high resolution predictive habitat distribution models, habitat data of sufficient quality can be easier to collect. We show that they can perform as well as or better than species data as a response variable. When coupled with a technique to translate distribution model predictions into landscape priority (such as connectivity calculations), we believe this approach will be a powerful tool for large-scale conservation planning. [source] A practical way to manage IT costsJOURNAL OF CORPORATE ACCOUNTING & FINANCE, Issue 5 2005Timothy Iijima Information technology (IT) consumes 4 percent of a typical large company's revenue. And these days, companies are under tremendous pressure to manage IT costs,while also handling new concerns about disaster recovery, security, and regulatory compliance. That's tough, concedes the author of this article. But he offers a tested, practical strategy to get the job done. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Whole-Leaf Wash Improves Chlorine Efficacy for Microbial Reduction and Prevents Pathogen Cross-Contamination during Fresh-Cut Lettuce ProcessingJOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE, Issue 5 2010Xiangwu Nou Abstract:, Currently, most fresh-cut processing facilities in the United States use chlorinated water or other sanitizer solutions for microbial reduction after lettuce is cut. Freshly cut lettuce releases significant amounts of organic matter that negatively impacts the effectiveness of chlorine or other sanitizers for microbial reduction. The objective of this study is to evaluate whether a sanitizer wash before cutting improves microbial reduction efficacy compared to a traditional postcutting sanitizer wash. Romaine lettuce leaves were quantitatively inoculated with,E. coli,O157:H7 strains and washed in chlorinated water before or after cutting, and,E. coli,O157:H7 cells that survived the washing process were enumerated to determine the effectiveness of microbial reduction for the 2 cutting and washing sequences. Whole-leaf washing in chlorinated water improved pathogen reduction by approximately 1 log unit over traditional cut-leaf sanitization. Similar improvement in the reduction of background microflora was also observed. Inoculated "Lollo Rossa" red lettuce leaves were mixed with noninoculated Green-Leaf lettuce leaves to evaluate pathogen cross-contamination during processing. High level (96.7% subsamples, average MPN 0.6 log CFU/g) of cross-contamination of noninoculated green leaves by inoculated red leaves was observed when mixed lettuce leaves were cut prior to washing in chlorinated water. In contrast, cross-contamination of noninoculated green leaves was significantly reduced (3.3% of subsamples, average MPN ,,0.3 log CFU/g) when the mixed leaves were washed in chlorinated water before cutting. This result suggests that whole-leaf sanitizing washes could be a practical strategy for enhancing the efficacy of chlorine washes for pathogen reduction and cross-contamination prevention. Practical Application:, Freshly cut leafy greens release large amount of organic matter that negatively impact the chlorine washing efficacy. Implementing the primary antimicrobial intervention step of chlorine washing prior to cutting can significantly improve the efficacy of microbial reduction and minimize pathogen cross-contamination. [source] Hydrogen Peroxide and Calcium Chloride Added to Irrigation Water as a Strategy to Reduce Bacterial Populations and Improve Quality of Fresh MushroomsJOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE, Issue 6 2005Naveen Chikthimmah ABSTRACT The quality and value of fresh mushrooms are often diminished by the presence of high bacterial populations that cause a brown, blotchy appearance. The objective of the present research was to evaluate the addition of hydrogen peroxide and/or calcium chloride to irrigation water as a means to reduce total bacterial populations on fresh mushrooms. Crops were grown using commercial mushroom growing practices except for the addition of 0.75% hydrogen peroxide and/or 0.3% calcium chloride irrigation water added to the crop starting 11 d after the casing layer was applied on top of mushroom compost. Irrigation water without the added treatments acted as the control. Mushrooms were aseptically sampled from the production beds for enumerating bacterial counts. Total aerobic bacterial populations were determined by standard microbiological plating procedures. Mushroom whiteness (L -value) and color (delta E) after harvest and postharvest storage were measured using a Minolta chromameter. Harvested mushrooms were separated by treatment and weighed to record yield. Mushrooms irrigated with water (control) had 7.3 log colony-forming units (CFU) of aerobic bacterial populations per gram of fresh mushroom tissue. Compared with the control, irrigation with 0.75% hydrogen peroxide and 0.3% calcium chloride reduced the bacterial populations on fresh mushrooms by 87% (6.4 log CFU/g). Irrigation with hydrogen peroxide and calcium chloride significantly enhanced mushroom whiteness after harvest as well as after 6 d of postharvest storage at 12 °C. The irrigation treatments did not have a significant effect on crop yields; hence, the addition of hydrogen peroxide and calcium chloride to irrigation water was demonstrated to have good potential as a practical strategy to reduce bacterial populations and to improve the quality of fresh mushrooms. [source] Implementing a Tobacco Assisted Referral Program in Dental PracticesJOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH DENTISTRY, Issue 3 2009Sally J. Little RDH Abstract Objectives: The objectives of this study are to design and implement a system-level tobacco-control intervention in a large prepaid dental group practice and assess effects on staff performance measures and patient satisfaction. Methods: We matched 14 dental facilities on size, socioeconomic status, smoking rate, and periodontal status, and then randomly assigned them to intervention or usual-care control. We trained intervention staff in an "Assisted Referral" team approach for assessing tobacco use, providing tailored advice and brief counseling, and encouraging smokers to talk by telephone with a specially trained tobacco counselor. Patients could call from the office or ask that the counselor call them later. Telephone counselors helped patients explore motivations and barriers for quitting; review available cessation-support strategies, programs, and medications; and identify next steps. Results: During the 14-month study period, 66,516 members had annual- or new-patient examinations. Both intervention and control sites had high rates of tobacco assessment (97 percent) and advice (93 percent). Intervention patients were more likely than controls (69 percent versus 3 percent, P < 0.01) to receive additional chair-side tobacco counseling and assistance, and 11 percent agreed to receive additional telephone counseling. Intervention patients were more satisfied than controls with the dental team's tobacco-control efforts (P < 0.03). Referral rates varied substantially for different staff. Conclusions: The Assisted Referral approach was successfully integrated into routine dental care, was well received by patients, and resulted in increased patient satisfaction. Because free telephone-based tobacco counseling is now available nationwide, the approach may be a practical strategy for most dental-care settings. [source] An unbiased pilot survey for Galactic water masersMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 4 2010J. L. Caswell ABSTRACT The Australia Telescope Compact Array has been used in a fast surveying mode to study the 22-GHz transition of water in two small sample regions of the southern Galactic plane. The observations allow an unbiased search for water masers, including any that may have no association with masers from other molecules (or indeed, no association with any other detectable celestial object). Positions with arcsecond accuracy were obtained from the original survey data for detected sources, and these were re-observed at an epoch more than two years later. Variability of the spectra between the epochs was considerable: our total of 32 masers comprises 24 detected at both epochs, two detected at only the first epoch and six detected at only the follow-up epoch. The success of our surveying mode shows it to be a practical strategy for the difficult task of extending unbiased water maser surveys to a large portion of the Galactic plane. Our results show quantitatively the effect of variability on the completeness of surveys conducted at a single epoch. Most of our maser detections are new discoveries. Only four had previously been detected (in searches towards interesting targets in the survey area). The high density of water masers from our unbiased survey supports earlier suggestions that they are the most populous maser species, and one of the most sensitive and reliable tracers of massive young stellar objects , newly forming massive young stars. The spectra of nine masers show high-velocity emission, and they show a striking preponderance of blueshifted high-velocity features. This is compatible with such blueshifts being a characteristic of populations dominated by masers at the earliest evolutionary stage of star formation, in some cases prior to the onset of methanol masers. Amongst the high-velocity emission sources there are two new examples where blueshifted high-velocity outflows dominate the total emission; these substantially increase the previously known meagre population of five such objects and suggest that they may be surprisingly abundant. [source] Functional analysis of rice NPR1 -like genes reveals that OsNPR1/NH1 is the rice orthologue conferring disease resistance with enhanced herbivore susceptibility,PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL, Issue 2 2007Yuexing Yuan Summary The key regulator of salicylic acid (SA)-mediated resistance, NPR1, is functionally conserved in diverse plant species, including rice (Oryza sativa L.). Investigation in depth is needed to provide an understanding of NPR1 -mediated resistance and a practical strategy for the improvement of disease resistance in the model crop rice. The rice genome contains five NPR1 -like genes. In our study, three rice homologous genes, OsNPR1/NH1, OsNPR2/NH2 and OsNPR3, were found to be induced by rice bacterial blight Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae and rice blast Magnaporthe grisea, and the defence molecules benzothiadiazole, methyl jasmonate and ethylene. We confirmed that OsNPR1 is the rice orthologue by complementing the Arabidopsis npr1 mutant. Over-expression of OsNPR1 conferred disease resistance to bacterial blight, but also enhanced herbivore susceptibility in transgenic plants. The OsNPR1-green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion protein was localized in the cytoplasm and moved into the nucleus after redox change. Mutations in its conserved cysteine residues led to the constitutive localization of OsNPR1(2CA)-GFP in the nucleus and also abolished herbivore hypersensitivity in transgenic rice. Different subcellular localizations of OsNPR1 antagonistically regulated SA- and jasmonic acid (JA)-responsive genes, but not SA and JA levels, indicating that OsNPR1 might mediate antagonistic cross-talk between the SA- and JA-dependent pathways in rice. This study demonstrates that rice has evolved an SA-mediated systemic acquired resistance similar to that in Arabidopsis, and also provides a practical approach for the improvement of disease resistance without the penalty of decreased herbivore resistance in rice. [source] Effects of dietary supplementation with conjugated linoleic acid on fatty acid composition and lipid oxidation in chicken breast meatANIMAL SCIENCE JOURNAL, Issue 4 2009Satoshi KAWAHARA ABSTRACT We investigated the effects of dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) on fatty acid composition and lipid oxidation in breast meat of broiler chickens. Broiler chickens (28-day-old females) were fed diets containing experimental oils at 20 g/kg diet for 28 days. The experimental oils consisted of either a 2:0, 1:1, or a 0:2 (wt : wt) ratio of safflower oil (high linoleic acid content) to a commercial CLA mixture. In this study, dietary CLA supplementation significantly increased the composition and content of CLA in chicken meat. The predominant CLA in meat from birds with supplemented diets was the cis -9, trans -11 isomer. The proportion of saturated fatty acid in meat significantly increased with increasing CLA supplementation, with a corresponding decrease in monounsaturated fatty acid. Dietary CLA also reduced thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) values in raw meat during storage at 4°C for 5 days. These results provide evidence that CLA feeding is a practical strategy not only for adding nutritional benefits to chicken meat but also for improving meat quality including oxidative stability. [source] Identifying Subjects Who Benefit from Additional Information for Better Prediction of the Outcome VariablesBIOMETRICS, Issue 3 2009L. Tian Summary Suppose that we are interested in using new bio- or clinical markers, in addition to the conventional markers, to improve prediction or diagnosis of the patient's clinical outcome. The incremental value from the new markers is typically assessed by averaging across patients in the entire study population. However, when measuring the new markers is costly or invasive, an overall improvement does not justify measuring the new markers in all patients. A more practical strategy is to utilize the patient's conventional markers to decide whether the new markers are needed for improving prediction of his/her health outcomes. In this article, we propose inference procedures for the incremental values of new markers across various subgroups of patients classified by the conventional markers. The resulting point and interval estimates can be quite useful for medical decision makers seeking to balance the predictive or diagnostic value of new markers against their associated cost and risk. Our proposals are theoretically justified and illustrated empirically with two real examples. [source] Pediatric primary care to help prevent child maltreatment: the Safe Environment for Every Kid (SEEK) modelCHILD: CARE, HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 4 2009Richard Reading Pediatric primary care to help prevent child maltreatment: the Safe Environment for Every Kid (SEEK) model . DubowitzH., FeigelmanS., LaneW. & KimJ. ( 2009 ) Pediatrics , 123 , 858 , 864 . DOI: 10.1542/peds.2008-1376 . Context Effective strategies for preventing child maltreatment are needed. Few primary care-based programmes have been developed, and most have not been well evaluated. Objective Our goal was to evaluate the efficacy of the Safe Environment for Every Kid (SEEK) model of pediatric primary care in reducing the occurrence of child maltreatment. Methods A randomized trial was conducted from June 2002 to November 2005 in a university-based resident continuity clinic in Baltimore, Maryland. The study population consisted of English-speaking parents of children (0,5 years) brought in for child health supervision. Of the 1118 participants approached, 729 agreed to participate, and 558 of them completed the study protocol. Resident continuity clinics were cluster randomized by day of the week to the model (intervention) or standard care (control) groups. Model care consisted of (1) residents who received special training; (2) the Parent Screening Questionnaire; and (3) a social worker. Risk factors for child maltreatment were identified and addressed by the resident physician and/or social worker. Standard care involved routine pediatric primary care. A subset of the clinic population was sampled for the evaluation. Child maltreatment was measured in three ways: (1) child protective services reports using state agency data; (2) medical chart documentation of possible abuse or neglect; and (3) parental report of harsh punishment via the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics scale. Results Model care resulted in significantly lower rates of child maltreatment in all the outcome measures: fewer child protective services reports, fewer instances of possible medical neglect documented as treatment non-adherence, fewer children with delayed immunizations and less harsh punishment reported by parents. One-tailed testing was conducted in accordance with the study hypothesis. Conclusions The SEEK model of pediatric primary care seems promising as a practical strategy for helping prevent child maltreatment. Replication and additional evaluation of the model are recommended. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||