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Profound Changes (profound + change)
Selected AbstractsHealth care managers' perspectives on new nursing and midwifery roles: perceived impact on patient care and cost effectivenessJOURNAL OF NURSING MANAGEMENT, Issue 5 2009Adv Dip Ed RNT, BSc(Hons), DPhil, DipN(Lond), FRCSI, HUGH McKENNA CBE Aims, The aim of this study was to explore new nursing and midwifery roles and associated levels of practice from the health care providers' perspective. This paper will present findings relating to the perceived cost effectiveness of these roles and their impact on patient care. Background, Profound changes in the way the health care systems are organized, managed and financed have resulted in the proliferation of new nursing and midwifery roles. However, the evidence base for these workforce developments is limited, especially with regard to health care providers' perspectives on cost effectiveness and patient outcomes. Method, Qualitative interviews were carried out with all Directors of Nursing in the 18 Health and Social Services (HSS) Trusts and the Chief Nurses and Directors of Primary Care in the four HSS Boards in Northern Ireland. Results, Key findings were as follows: there was widespread support for the development of these roles, they are perceived to have a positive impact on patient care; however, the need for support was recognized to ensure the continuation of such roles. Securing funding was problematic and this was influential on the kind of new roles that were developed. Implications for Nursing Management, Issues relating to effective implementation and the need for further research into the efficacy and effectives of such initiatives is required. [source] Profound changes in the GH,IGF-I system in adolescent girls with IDDM: can IGFBP1 be used to reflect overall glucose regulation?PEDIATRIC DIABETES, Issue 3 2000MU Halldin Disturbances in the relations between insulin, growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) may be a major cause behind deteriorated metabolic control in adolescent girls with type I diabetes. These patients have increased GH secretion and low IGF-I concentrations. The aim of this study was to identify possible endocrine mechanisms behind good and poor glycaemic control in such girls, focusing on the insulin,GH,IGF-I axis. Ten girls with well-controlled insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) 6.5±0.4% (normal range 3.9,5.2%) and nine healthy controls were investigated and compared with 11 girls with poor glucose regulation, HbA1c 10.9±0.4%, and their corresponding controls. Serum profiles of glucose, insulin, GH and IGF-binding protein 1 (IGFBP1) were analysed in addition to IGF-I and HbA1c. Two interesting observations were made. GH concentrations were equally elevated in the two diabetic groups regardless of metabolic control (mean 24 h GH , girls with poorly controlled diabetes 10.0±1.0 mU/L vs 9.8±1.7 , girls with well-controlled diabetes; p=ns). Likewise, the IGF-I concentrations were reduced to the same extent (233±19 vs 242±23 ,g/L; p=0.75). Secondly, despite similar insulin concentrations (mean 24 h insulin , girls with poorly controlled diabetes 22.9±2.6 and girls with well-controlled diabetes 27.3±2.9 mU/L, respectively; p=0.26), there was a marked difference in IGFBP1 concentrations between the two groups with IDDM (mean IGFBP1 , girls with poorly controlled diabetes 70.5±9.1 ,g/L vs girls with well-controlled diabetes 28.6±3.3; p<0.001). Despite equally elevated GH concentrations that may induce insulin resistance, the markedly lower concentrations of IGFBP1 in the well-controlled group indicate a higher hepatic insulin sensitivity in these girls compared with those with a poor control. Furthermore, in spite of similar total IGF-I concentrations, the lower IGFBP1 concentrations may result in higher IGF-I bioactivity in the well-controlled group. This may be reflected in better growth of the well-controlled group whose height of 168.7±0.9 vs 163.6±1.2 cm was significantly different (p<0.004). IGFBP1 may be a marker of overall insulinization in adolescents with type 1 diabetes, independent of the absolute insulin dose used for therapy. [source] Study of peripheral circulation in non-pregnant, pregnant and pre-eclamptic women using applied potential tomographyAUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNAECOLOGY, Issue 4 2004Badreldeen AHMED Abstract Background:, Profound changes are known to occur in the cardiovascular system during pregnancy, involving an increase in cardiac output and a fall in peripheral resistance. In some women these adaptations may be inappropriate and this may result in pregnancy-induced hypertension and pre-eclampsia. Aims and methods:, The aims of the study were to evaluate the relatively new, non-invasive technique of applied potential tomography (APT) in measurements of peripheral blood flow, to study peripheral blood flow in a sample of non-pregnant, pregnant and pre-eclamptic women, and to investigate whether the adaptive changes in the peripheral circulation are different in pre-eclampsia compared with normal pregnancy. Applied potential tomography was used to assess peripheral vascular reactivity, by monitoring fluid distribution in calf muscles during postural change Results:, The APT technique was able to detect peripheral vasoconstriction in response to an increase in intramural pressure brought about by passive lowering of the leg (peripheral mechanisms). The peripheral vasoconstriction response was found to be more prominent in woman with pre-eclampsia. Conclusions:, The presence of a local reflex in the lower limb had been postulated and the effect of this reflex on the peripheral circulation could be detected using APT, regardless of how it was initiated. In normal pregnant women this reflex was diminished when compared to non-pregnant women, which might contribute to the reduction in peripheral vascular resistance seen in normal pregnancy. This reflex was defective in pre-eclampsia and this lack of adaptation may be a local reflex contributing to the raised peripheral resistance, which in turn may be a factor in high blood pressure in pre-eclampsia. [source] The Incompatibility of Decentralized Bargaining and Equal Employment Opportunity in AustraliaBRITISH JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, Issue 3 2000Glenda Strachan Profound changes have occurred in the industrial relations system in Australia since the mid-1980s as the system of centralized regulation has been replaced by collective bargaining at the level of the enterprise. This has corresponded with the considerable expansion of women's employment, mainly in part-time and temporary jobs. At the same time, recognition of the disadvantaged position of women in the work-force has resulted in the enactment of laws to promote equal employment opportunity. This article examines the ability of these laws to achieve equal employment opportunity policies alongside bargaining decentralization and a growing non-standard women's work-force. [source] Impact of Supermarkets and Fast,Food Chains on Horticulture Supply Chains in ArgentinaDEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 4 2002Graciela Ghezán In the 1990s, the supermarket and fast,food sectors grew rapidly in Argentina. Both were dominated by multinational firms, and their growth drove profound change in food market systems and farming. This article analyses the impact of this development on fruit and vegetables supply chains, in particular the way the advent of McDonald's affected the supply chain for frozen French fried potatoes. It shows that there is a tendency for such changes to favour medium and large producers, with evidence of the exclusion of small farmers. [source] Improved Film Morphology Reduces Charge Carrier Recombination into the Triplet Excited State in a Small Bandgap Polymer-Fullerene Photovoltaic CellADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 38 2010Daniele Di Nuzzo The use of diiodooctane as processing additive for construction of PCPDTBT:PCBM solar cells results in a profound change in photophysical behavior of this blend. In the improved morphology obtained with the additive, recombination of charge carriers to the lowest triplet excited state is suppressed. This contributes to the boost in solar power conversion efficiency induced by the use of the processing agent. [source] Trends of the bonding effect on the performance of DFT methods in electric properties calculations: A pattern recognition and metric space approach on some XY2 (X = O, S and Y = H, O, F, S, Cl) moleculesJOURNAL OF COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY, Issue 2 2010Christos Christodouleas Abstract A test set of 10 molecules (open and ring forms of ozone and sulfur dioxide as well as water and hydrogen sulfide and their respective fluoro- and chloro-substituted analogs) of specific atmospheric interest has been formed as to assess the performance of various density functional theory methods in (hyper)polarizability calculations against well-established ab initio methods. The choice of these molecules was further based on (i) the profound change in the physics between isomeric systems, e.g., open (C2v) and ring (D3h) forms of ozone, (ii) the relation between isomeric forms, e.g., open and ring form of sulfur dioxide (both of C2v symmetry), and (iii) the effect of the substitution, e.g., in fluoro- and chloro-substituted water analogs. The analysis is aided by arguments chosen from the information theory, graph theory, and pattern recognition fields of Mathematics: In brief, a multidimensional space is formed by the methods which are playing the role of vectors with the independent components of the electric properties to act as the coordinates of these vectors, hence the relation between different vectors (e.g., methods) can be quantified by a proximity measure. Results are in agreement with previous studies revealing the acceptable and consistent behavior of the mPW1PW91, B3P86, and PBE0 methods. It is worth noting the remarkable good performance of the double hybrid functionals (namely: B2PLYP and mPW2PLYP) which are for the first time used in calculations of electric response properties. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 2010 [source] Demonstrably Awful: The Right to Life and the Selective Non-Treatment of Disabled Babies and Young ChildrenJOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY, Issue 4 2004Janet Read Twenty-five years ago it was common practice to bring about the deaths of some children with learning disabilities or physical impairments. This paper considers a small number of landmark cases in the early 1980s that confronted this practice. These cases illustrate a process by which external forces (social, philosophical, political, and professional) moved through the legal system to effect a profound change outside that system , primarily in the (then) largely closed domain of medical conduct/practice. These cases are considered from a socio-legal perspective. In particular, the paper analyses the reasons why they surfaced at that time, the social and political contexts that shaped the judgments, and their legacy. [source] Managing conflict during an organizational acquisitionCONFLICT RESOLUTION QUARTERLY, Issue 3 2006Cynthia F. Cohen Conflict frequently arises during an organizational acquisition, and how a company manages that conflict has an impact on the success of the acquisition. Software developers, testers, and managers of a recently acquired organization reported profound changes in organizational culture and numerous potential sources of conflict. Conflict was generally well managed by effectively handling economic rewards, the balancing of power, cultural changes, and emotional reactions to the acquisition. [source] The Rapid Rise of Supermarkets in Central and Eastern Europe: Implications for the Agrifood Sector and Rural DevelopmentDEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 5 2004Liesbeth Dries During the 1990s transition period in Central and Eastern Europe, the retail sector was privatised and some domestic-capital supermarket chains gradually emerged. Massive inflows of foreign direct investment followed and competitive domestic investments drove a rapid take-off of large-format modern retail sector development from a tiny ,luxury' niche of around 5% of food retail in the mid-1990s to 40,50% by 2003 in ,firstwave' and 20,40% in ,second-wave' countries. In ,third-wave' countries like Russia, it is still only 10% but growing very fast. In most countries there is rapid multi-nationalisation and consolidation of the supermarket sector, with profound changes in procurement systems affecting the conditions facing farmers, and creating important opportunities and challenges. [source] Foraging animals create fertile patches in an Australian desert shrublandECOGRAPHY, Issue 5 2009Alex I. James Fertile patches are created and maintained by a combination of physical and biologically-mediated processes including soil disturbance by animals. We examined the creation of fertile patches by 4 vertebrates, the greater bilby Macrotis lagotis, burrowing bettong Bettongia lesueur, European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus, and Gould's sand goanna Varanus gouldii within dunes, ecotones, and swales in a dunefield in arid South Australia. These animals all create pits when foraging for subterranean food resources. We hypothesized that 1) the effect of pits on litter capture would vary among landscapes and animal species, 2) larger pits would trap more litter and seed, 3) pits would contain more viable seed than the surrounding matrix, and 4) the effect of pits on soil chemistry would vary among animal species, and be greater in landscapes with more finely textured soils. We found that litter was restricted almost exclusively to the pits, and was greater in pits with larger openings. Litter capture was greater in ecotones and dunes than in swales. A total of 1307 seedlings from 46 genera germinated from litter samples taken from the pits, but no seedlings emerged from samples taken from soil surrounding the pits. Foraging pits contained significantly higher levels of total C and N than surrounding soil, and total C and N concentrations were greatest in swales and lowest in dunes. Pits contained ca 55% more mineralisable N that surface soils, and pits constructed by bilbies and bettongs contained half the concentration of mineralisable N as those of rabbits and goannas. Concentrations of mineral N and mineralisable N were also greatest in the swales. Our results demonstrate the importance of animal-created pits as nutrient sinks and sites for seedling establishment, and suggest that changes in the composition of arid zone vertebrates may have resulted in profound changes to nutrient and soil dynamics in arid Australia. [source] Herbivory patterns in mature sugar maple: variation with vertical canopy strata and tree ontogenyECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 1 2010SEAN C. THOMAS 1. Although leaf morphology and chemistry show profound changes as trees age, the consequences of such changes to herbivory have received little attention, particularly late in the ontogeny of canopy trees. 2. Using a mobile aerial lift for canopy access, patterns of leaf damage were evaluated in canopy-dominant mature sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh) trees ranging from ,20 to 70 cm in diameter, corresponding to an age range of ,40,180 years. 3. Herbivore damage patterns varied in relation to both vertical canopy position (among upper-, mid-, and lower-canopy positions) and with tree size. Damage types attributable to herbivores active on leaf surfaces, including leaf skeletonizers and leaf cutters (both principally Lepidoptera), and leaf stippling inducers (Hemiptera) showed decreases with tree size, and with increasing height in the canopy. In contrast, leaf damage from the most abundant gall-forming arthropod in the system, the eriophyid mite Vasates aceriscrumena, increased markedly with tree size. 4. The results indicate that herbivory patterns vary with both canopy stratum and with tree size in sugar maple, and that the relative strength of vertical stratification and tree ontogeny effects are similar in magnitude. The predominant patterns are of a decrease in herbivory with increasing height in the canopy and with tree size, but certain galling arthropods exhibit the reverse trends. [source] Effect of suramin on the human pathogen Candida albicans: implications on the fungal development and virulenceFEMS IMMUNOLOGY & MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 2 2007Lys Adriana Braga-Silva Abstract Candida albicans is an opportunistic pathogen that is of growing medical importance because it causes superficial, mucosal and systemic infections in susceptible individuals. Here, the effect of suramin, a polysulfonated naphthylurea derivative, on C. albicans development and virulence was evaluated. Firstly, it was demonstrated that suramin (500 ,M) arrested its growth, showing a fungicidal action dependent on cell number. Suramin treatment caused profound changes in the yeast ultrastructure as shown by transmission electron microscopy. The more important changes were the enlargement of the fungi cytoplasmic vacuoles, the appearance of yeasts with an empty cytoplasm resembling ghost cells and a reduction in cell wall thickness. Suramin also blocked the transformation of yeast cells to the germ-tube and the interaction between C. albicans and epithelial cells. In order to ascertain that the action of suramin on C. albicans growth is a general feature instead of being strain-specific, the effects of suramin on 14 oral clinical strains isolated from healthy children and HIV-positive infants were analyzed. Interestingly, the strains of C. albicans isolated from HIV-positive patients were more resistant to suramin than strains isolated from healthy patients. Altogether, the results produced here show that suramin interfered with essential fungal processes, such as growth, differentiation and interaction with host cells. [source] The history of a developmental stage: Metamorphosis in chordatesGENESIS: THE JOURNAL OF GENETICS AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 11 2008Mathilde Paris Abstract Metamorphosis displays a striking diversity in chordates, a deuterostome phylum that comprises vertebrates, urochordates (tunicates), and cephalochordates (amphioxus). In anuran amphibians, the tadpole loses its tail, develops limbs, and undergoes profound changes at the behavioral, physiological, biochemical, and ecological levels. In ascidian tunicates, the tail is lost and the head tissues are drastically remodeled into the adult animal, whereas in amphioxus, the highly asymmetric larva transforms into a relatively symmetric adult. This wide diversity has led to the proposal that metamorphosis evolved several times independently in the different chordate lineages during evolution. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in metamorphosis are largely unknown outside amphibians and teleost fishes, in which metamorphosis is regulated by the thyroid hormones (TH) T3 and T4 binding to their receptors (thyroid hormone receptors). In this review, we compare metamorphosis in chordates and then propose a unifying definition of the larva-to-adult transition, based on the conservation of the role of THs and some of their derivatives as the main regulators of metamorphosis. According to this definition, all chordates (if not, all deuterostomes) have a homologous metamorphosis stage during their postembryonic development. The intensity and the nature of the morphological remodeling varies extensively among taxa, from drastic remodeling like in some ascidians or amphibians to more subtle events, as in mammals. genesis 46:657,672, 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] THE CHANGING STRUCTURE OF THE CENTRAL PLACE SYSTEM IN TRØNDELAG, NORWAY, OVER THE PAST 40 YEARS , VIEWED IN THE LIGHT OF OLD AND RECENT THEORIES AND TRENDSGEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES B: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, Issue 2007Britt Dale ABSTRACT. The IGU Symposium on Urban Geography in Lund in 1960 was a path-breaking event towards new nomothetic thinking within the discipline. In nearly half of the papers, the state of the art in central place research was presented and debated. The symposium was the main source of inspiration for a study of the central place system in Midt-Norge in the 1960s, a research project that has been followed up in stages over a 40-year period. The result is a unique collection of data, covering all central places in the region and the location of approximately 200 service functions of different categories in the 1960s, 1980s and c. 2000. Despite the profound changes that have taken place on the part of the consumer, as well as the supplier, the main structure of the central place hierarchy has been surprisingly stable. However, when looking at the growth and decline of each of the different service functions, considerable dynamics have been found. There are tendencies of centralization/concentration as well as decentralization/dispersion. Furthermore, the functional division of labour by vertical steps and tiers in the 1960s has been supplemented by horizontal specialization between places, and also in the lower levels of the central place hierarchy. In this paper, we present and discuss some of the main changes that have taken place in the system in the light of older and newer theories and trends. [source] Edgar Kant (1902,1978): A Baltic PioneerGEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES B: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, Issue 3 2005Anne Buttimer Abstract It is indeed a joy to speak about Edgar Kant on this occasion which celebrates the hundredth anniversary of his birth. His lifepath traversed only two-thirds of this eventful century, yet he did experience directly many of its dreams and realities, the passion and pain of war and peace, of economic boom and bust, of national liberation, scientific revolutions, exile and the traumas of geopolitical transformations. The twentieth century also witnessed profound changes in practices of geography and the name of Edgar Kant deserves an honoured place as pioneer of many influential turns in the discipline. It is especially delightful to simultaneously honour his mentor and friend, Johannes G. Granö, who stirred his imagination in conceptual directions which were truly novel in those days-directions which later spawned enthusiastic research on environmental perceptions, time geography, and-most especially-landscape and cultural identity. [source] Conduction block and glial injury induced in developing central white matter by glycine, GABA, noradrenalin, or nicotine, studied in isolated neonatal rat optic nerveGLIA, Issue 11 2009Stavros Constantinou Abstract The damaging effects of excessive glutamate receptor activation have been highlighted recently during injury in developing central white matter. We have examined the effects of acute exposure to four other neurotransmitters that have known actions on white matter. Eighty minutes of Glycine or GABA-A receptor activation produced a significant fall in the compound action potential recorded from isolated post-natal day 10 rat optic nerve. This effect was largely reversed upon washout. Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) or adrenoreceptor activation with noradrenalin resulted in an ,35% block of the action potential that did not reverse during a 30-min washout period. While the effect of nAChR activation was blocked by a nAChR antagonist, the effect of noradrenalin was not ablated by ,- or ,-adrenoreceptor blockers applied alone or in combination. In the absence of noradrenalin, co-perfusion with ,- and ,-adrenoreceptor blockers resulted in nonreversible nerve failure indicating that tonic adrenoreceptor activation is required for nerve viability, while overactivation of these receptors is also damaging. Nerves exposed to nAChR + adrenoreceptor activation showed no axon pathology but had extensive glial injury revealed by ultrastructural analysis. Oligodendroglia exhibited regions of membrane vacuolization while profound changes were evident in astrocytes and included the presence of swollen and expanded mitochondria, vacuolization, cell processes disintegration, and membrane breakdown. Blinded assessment revealed higher levels of astrocyte injury than oligodendroglial injury. The findings show that overactivation of neurotransmitter receptors other than those for glutamate can produce extensive injury to developing white matter, a phenomenon that may be clinically significant. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Cromwellian England: A Propaganda State?HISTORY, Issue 302 2006JASON PEACEY This article explores the attitude to the press on the part of Oliver Cromwell and his chief ministers in terms of press control and propaganda and in terms of the theory and the practice of government policy. It examines whether the regime sought and whether it was able to achieve strict press control through pre-publication censorship and swift and severe punishment of malefactors as well as effective and pervasive propaganda, which was centrally organized, controlled, funded, and distributed. It argues that between 1653 and 1659 profound changes were implemented regarding intelligence-gathering, press censorship and propaganda in the deployment of resources and bureaucratic efficiency, not least by centralizing power in the hands of the secretary of state, even if the regime sought to exert its power in only some areas of print culture rather than to achieve a complete press monopoly. [source] The role of puberty in the developing adolescent brainHUMAN BRAIN MAPPING, Issue 6 2010Sarah-Jayne Blakemore Abstract Adolescence refers to the period of physical and psychological development between childhood and adulthood. The beginning of adolescence is loosely anchored to the onset of puberty, which brings dramatic alterations in hormone levels and a number of consequent physical changes. Puberty onset is also associated with profound changes in drives, motivations, psychology, and social life; these changes continue throughout adolescence. There is an increasing number of neuroimaging studies looking at the development of the brain, both structurally and functionally, during adolescence. Almost all of these studies have defined development by chronological age, which shows a strong,but not unitary,correlation with pubertal stage. Very few neuroimaging studies have associated brain development with pubertal stage, and yet there is tentative evidence to suggest that puberty might play an important role in some aspects of brain and cognitive development. In this paper we describe this research, and we suggest that, in the future, developmental neuroimaging studies of adolescence should consider the role of puberty. Hum Brain Mapp, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] What about the workers?INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS JOURNAL, Issue 1 2004The expansion of higher education, the transformation of academic work ABSTRACT This article assesses the impact of the profound changes that have taken place in the higher education sector on academic staff in the UK. The perceptions of staff about their work and employment are examined through evidence provided by a recent large-scale survey. The discussion draws on a labour process perspective. The article finds that the views of staff are far from homogeneous and not universally pessimistic. However, in general the morale and satisfaction of many teaching staff have been eroded by work intensification and that of research staff by the considerable insecurity created by casualised employment. Nonetheless resistance and resilience continues despite the commodifying pressures, and ,traditional' values remain strong. [source] The psychosocial spiritual experience of elderly individuals recovering from stroke: a systematic reviewINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EVIDENCE BASED HEALTHCARE, Issue 2 2008Marianne Lamb RN Abstract Objectives, The objective of this review was to appraise and synthesise best available evidence on the psychosocial spiritual experience of elderly individuals recovering from stroke. Inclusion criteria, This review considered qualitative studies whose participants were adults, mean age of 65 years and older, and who had experienced a minimum of one stroke. Studies were included that described the participant's own experience of recovering from stroke. Search strategy, The search strategy sought to find both published and unpublished studies and papers, not limited to the English language. An initial limited search of MEDLINE and CINAHL was undertaken followed by an analysis of text words contained in the title and abstract, and of index terms used to describe the article. A second extensive search was then undertaken using all identified key words and index terms. Methodological quality, Each paper was assessed by two independent reviewers for methodological quality prior to inclusion in the review using the Qualitative Assessment and Review Instrument (QARI) developed by the Joanna Briggs Institute. Disagreements were resolved through consultation with a third reviewer. Data collection, Information was extracted from each paper independently by two reviewers using the data extraction tool from QARI developed by the Joanna Briggs Institute. Disagreements were resolved through consultation with a third reviewer. Data synthesis, Data synthesis aimed to portray an accurate interpretation and synthesis of concepts arising from the selected population's experience during their recovery from stroke. Results, A total of 35 studies were identified and of those 27 studies were included in the review. These qualitative studies examined the perceptions of elderly individuals who had experienced a stroke. Findings were analysed using JBI-QARI. The process of meta-synthesis using this program involved categorising findings and developing synthesised topics from the categories. Four syntheses were developed related to the perceptions and experiences of stroke survivors: sudden unexpected event, connectedness, reconstruction of life and life-altering event. Conclusion, The onset and early period following a stroke is a confusing and terrifying experience. The period of recovery involves considerable psychological and physical work for elderly individuals to reconstruct their lives. For those with a spiritual tradition, connectedness to others and spiritual connection is important during recovery. The experience of stroke is a life-altering one for most elderly individuals, involving profound changes in functioning and sense of self. [source] The Argentine welfare state: enduring and resisting changeINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE, Issue 1 2010Ernesto Aldo Isuani Isuani EA. The Argentine welfare state: enduring and resisting change Int J Soc Welfare 2010: 19: 104,114 © 2009 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare. It is widely accepted that during the 1990s, the Argentine state experienced a general retrenchment. This article shows that, though this may have been true in the economic realm, this retrenchment did not take place in the diverse arenas of social policy. While privatisations and labour market flexibility dismantled the foundations of Keynesianism, the components of the welfare state experienced substantial growth. At the same time, the changes experienced by the welfare state in the past quarter century have not included a transformation of its basic principles, despite the profound changes experienced by Argentine society during this period. [source] Nursing profession in Iran: An overview of opportunities and challengesJAPAN JOURNAL OF NURSING SCIENCE, Issue 1 2010Zahra FARSI Abstract Aim:, Iran's health-care system has witnessed profound changes in the last decades. Despite its progress, the system has currently faced many challenges in one of the important subsystems, nursing. The present review article aimed to present an overview of the opportunities and challenges of the Iranian nursing system, based on recent literature. Methods:, A broad search of the English and Persian-language literature was carried out, incorporating both electronic and manual components from 1999 to 2009. The results of the investigations among the searched literature are summarized. Results:, The major challenges are nursing shortages, job dissatisfaction, poor social position of nurses, the gap between theory and practice, lack of community-based nursing care, lack of an appropriate student recruiting system, and shortages in the nursing educational curriculums. Conclusion:, The authors believe that media, political and public support play a pivotal role in improving the image of nursing in society, increasing motivation among Iranian nurses, and promoting the sociocultural climate and the welfare of nurses, which will result in higher levels of quality of care as well as greater patient satisfaction. [source] The role of early neural activity in the maturation of turtle retinal functionJOURNAL OF ANATOMY, Issue 4 2001EVELYNE SERNAGOR In the developing vertebrate retina, ganglion cells fire spontaneous bursts of action potentials long before the eye becomes exposed to sensory experience at birth. These early bursts are synchronised between neighbouring retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), yielding unique spatiotemporal patterns: ,waves' of activity sweep across large retinal areas every few minutes. Both at retinal and extraretinal levels, these embryonic retinal waves are believed to guide the wiring of the visual system using hebbian mechanisms of synaptic strengthening. In the first part of this review, we recapitulate the evidence for a role of these embryonic spontaneous bursts of activity in shaping developing complex receptive field properties of RGCs in the turtle embryonic retina. We also discuss the role of visual experience in establishing RGC visual functions, and how spontaneous activity and visual experience interact to bring developing receptive fields to maturation. We have hypothesised that the physiological changes associated with development reflect modifications in the dendritic arbours of RGCs, the anatomical substrate of their receptive fields. We demonstrate that there is a temporal correlation between the period of receptive field expansion and that of dendritic growth. Moreover, the immature spontaneous activity contributes to dendritic growth in developing RGCs. Intracellular staining of RGCs reveals, however, that immature receptive fields only rarely show direct correlation with the layout of the corresponding dendritic tree. To investigate the possibility that not only the presence of the spontaneous activity, but even the precise spatiotemporal patterns encoded in retinal waves might contribute to the refinement of retinal neural circuitry, first we must clarify the mechanisms mediating the generation and propagation of these waves across development. In the second part of this review, we present evidence that turtle retinal waves, visualised using calcium imaging, exhibit profound changes in their spatiotemporal patterns during development. From fast waves sweeping across large retinal areas and recruiting many cells on their trajectory at early stages, waves become slower and eventually stop propagating towards hatching, when they become stationary patches of neighbouring coactive RGCs. A developmental switch from excitatory to inhibitory GABAA responses appears to mediate the modification in spontaneous activity patterns while the retina develops. Future chronic studies using specific spatiotemporal alterations of the waves will shed a new light on how the wave dynamics help in sculpting retinal receptive fields. [source] Sanitary versus environmental policies: fitting together two pieces of the puzzle of European vulture conservationJOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, Issue 4 2010Antoni Margalida Summary 1.,Between 1996 and 2000 the appearance of bovine spongiform encephalopathy swiftly became one of the most serious public health and political crises concerning food safety ever experienced in the European Union (EU). Subsequent sanitary regulations led to profound changes in the management of livestock carcasses (i.e. the industrial destruction of around 80% of all animal carcasses), thereby threatening the last remaining healthy scavenger populations of the Old World and thus contradicting the long-term environmental policies of the EU. 2.,Several warning signs such as a decrease in breeding success, an apparent increase in mortality in young age classes of vultures and an increase in the number of cases of vultures attacking and killing cattle, as well as a halt in population growth, suggest that the decrease in the availability of food resources has had harmful effects on vulture populations. 3.,Between 2002 and 2005, a number of dispositions to the EU regulations (2003/322/CE 2005/830/CE) enabled conservation managers to adopt rapid solutions (i.e. the creation of vulture restaurants) aimed at satisfying the food requirements of vultures. However, these conservation measures may seriously modify habitat quality and have indirect detrimental effects on avian scavenger populations and communities. 4.,Synthesis and applications.,Conservation managers and policy-makers need to balance the demands of public health protection and the long-term conservation of biodiversity. The regulations concerning carrion provisioning need to be more flexible and there needs to be greater compatibility between sanitary and environmental policies. We advocate policies that authorize the abandonment of livestock carcasses and favours populations of wild herbivores to help to maintain populations of avian scavengers. Conservation strategies should be incorporated into new European Commission regulations, which should be effective in 2011. [source] Patternizing of impoundment impact (1985,2002) on fish assemblages in a lowland river using the Kohonen algorithmJOURNAL OF APPLIED ICHTHYOLOGY, Issue 3 2005T. Penczak Summary Impoundment impact on fish assemblage structure was investigated in the dammed middle course of the Warta River. A backwater site (AB) was located 2 km upstream of the Jeziorsko Reservoir, and a tailwater site (CD) 1.5 km downstream of the dam. Both sites were studied for 3 years in the pre-impoundment period (1985,1987) and 15 years after damming (1988,2002). Quantitative electrofishing in spring and autumn assured obtaining yearly average biomass for each population. Most of the data analysis aimed to assess the dam impact on the fish assemblage structure but other accompanying impacts such as discharge manipulations, revetment, different forms of engineering, and water quality improvement in the tailwater and backwater reaches were also discussed. The Kohonen algorithm (self-organizing map, SOM) was used for the analysis, and perfectly separated AB and CD samples into two clusters. Samples from the backwater (AB) proved that this reach of the Warta River had maintained its almost natural character and that fish assemblages had changed moderately, now occupying only five neighbouring hexagons out of a total of 16. In the tailwater (CD), however, because of considerable fluctuations in fish assemblages the SOM produced three subclusters, which engaged nine hexagons: (i) the pre-impoundment period (1985,1987, two hexagons); (ii) 7 years after the definite closure of dam sluices (1988,1994, five hexagons); and (iii) the past 8 years of sampling (1995,2002, two hexagons), when stabilization in the assemblage was observed. The SOM also definitely proved profound changes in fish assemblage composition: most lithophilous species declined and many phytolithophilous and phytophilous species became dominants, particularly in the tailwater site where downstream migration of 0+ of successfully spawned species from the reservoir took place. [source] A regional impact assessment of climate and land-use change on alpine vegetationJOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 3 2003Thomas Dirnböck Abstract Aim, Assessing potential response of alpine plant species distribution to different future climatic and land-use scenarios. Location, Four mountain ranges totalling 150 km2 in the north-eastern Calcareous Alps of Austria. Methods, Ordinal regression models of eighty-five alpine plant species based on environmental constraints and land use determining their abundance. Site conditions are simulated spatially using a GIS, a Digital Terrain Model, meteorological station data and existing maps. Additionally, historical records were investigated to derive data on time spans since pastures were abandoned. This was then used to assess land-use impacts on vegetation patterns in combination with climatic changes. Results, A regionalized GCM scenario for 2050 (+ 0.65 °C, ,30 mm August precipitation) will only lead to local loss of potential habitat for alpine plant species. More profound changes (+ 2 °C, ,30 mm August precipitation; + 2 °C, ,60 mm August precipitation) however, will bring about a severe contraction of the alpine, non-forest zone, because of range expansion of the treeline conifer Pinus mugo Turra and many alpine species will loose major parts of their habitat. Precipitation change significantly influences predicted future habitat patterns, mostly by enhancing the general trend. Maintenance of summer pastures facilitates the persistence of alpine plant species by providing refuges, but existing pastures are too small in the area to effectively prevent the regional extinction risk of alpine plant species. Main conclusions, The results support earlier hypotheses that alpine plant species on mountain ranges with restricted habitat availability above the treeline will experience severe fragmentation and habitat loss, but only if the mean annual temperature increases by 2 °C or more. Even in temperate alpine regions it is important to consider precipitation in addition to temperature when climate impacts are to be assessed. The maintenance of large summer farms may contribute to preventing the expected loss of non-forest habitats for alpine plant species. Conceptual and technical shortcomings of static equilibrium modelling limit the mechanistic understanding of the processes involved. [source] Anthropogenic influences on population sizes, age and growth of naturalized rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, in KenyaAFRICAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2007Charles C. Ngugi Abstract Riverine fishery in Kenya has witnessed profound changes since the 1950s, especially after independence (in 1963) when watersheds on the south-eastern slopes of Mt Kenya were opened up for settlement. In particular, rainbow trout populations have declined essentially resulting from anthropogenic changes through over-exploitation and/or degraded habitats. While there still are self-sustaining rainbow trout populations in this stream among others they are in decline an indication that changes that have occurred on the watershed have altered their sizes, age and growth. The study was carried out in the Sagana, a third-order stream, which rises at about 4000 m altitude on the south-eastern slope of Mt Kenya, to obtain and document information on population sizes, age and growth of rainbow trout populations and to relate them with those recorded in the 1950s when trout streams were pristine (with little human influence). Stations were fished bi-monthly from 1996 to 1998 and later for 6 months in 2002. Information on age and growth was obtained by use of annual marks, tagging fish of known age, and by validating their age using captive fish of known age. The minimum mean back-calculated length at age for age one rainbow trout was 13.09 cm in upstream station and 15.10 cm for downstream stations. However, there was no significant difference in mean back-calculated lengths at age for all years between fish in upstream and downstream stations (t -test, t = ,0.01, P = 0.99). Although female fish showed higher mean annual back-calculated length increments than males, there was no significant difference in mean back-calculated lengths at age between sexes (t -test, t = ,0.27, P = 0.80). The rate of growth in length was rapid for 1-year-old fish and declined in the second and third years. This study observed that most of the fish were small with only a few reaching more than 2 years of age because of overfishing. There are good reasons for optimism about the future of trout populations in this stream but concerted efforts are required to rehabilitate them. If trout populations are to increase, a management strategy is required to reduce fishing pressure and to maintain stream fishery against competing needs for resources in the catchments. Résumé Une pêcherie riveraine kényane a été témoin de profonds changements depuis les années 1950, spécialement après l'indépendance (en 1963) lorsque les lignes de partage des eaux des versants sud-est du mont Kenya ont été ouvertes aux installations humaines. Les populations de truites arc-en-ciel ont particulièrement décliné, essentiellement suite aux changements anthropogéniques, surexploitations et/ou habitats dégradés. S'il existe encore des populations auto-suffisantes de truites arc-en-ciel dans ce cours d' eau, entre autres, elles sont en diminution, une indication que les changements qui ont touché la ligne de partage des eaux ont affecté leur taille, leur âge moyen et leur croissance. Cette étude a été réalisée dans la Sangana, un cours d'eau de troisième ordre sur le versant sud-est du mont Kenya, afin d'obtenir et de documenter des informations sur la taille de la population, l'âge et la croissance des populations de truites arc-en-ciel et les comparer à celles qui ont été relevées dans les années 1950, lorsque les rivières à truites étaient intactes (avec très peu d'influences humaines). On a pêché tous les deux mois dans les stations depuis 1996 jusqu'à fin 1.998 et plus tard, pendant six mois en 2002. Les informations sur l'âge et la croissance ont été obtenues par l'utilisation de marques annuelles, en marquant des poissons d'âge connu et en validant leur âge par comparaison avec des poissons captifs d'âge connu. La moyenne minimum de longueur par rétro-calcul aux différents âges pour une truite arc-en-ciel était de 13,09 cm dans une station en amont et 15,10 dans une station en aval. Cependant, toutes ces années, il n'y avait pas de différence significative de longueur par rétro-calcul aux différents âges entre les poissons des stations d'amont et d'aval (test de t, t = ,0,01, P = 0,99). Même si les femelles présentaient une plus forte augmentation moyenne de longueur par rétro-calcul que les mâles, il n'y avait pas de différence significative dans les longueurs moyennes obtenues par rétro-calcul aux différents âges entre les sexes (test de t, t = ,027, P = 0.80). Le taux de croissance en longueur était rapide pour un poisson d'un an et diminuait la deuxième et la troisième années. Cette étude a observé que la plupart des poissons sont petits et que peu atteignent l'âge de deux ans à cause de la sur-pêche. Il y a de bonnes raisons d'être optimistes pour l'avenir des populations de poissons de ce cours d'eau, mais il faut des efforts concertés pour la réhabiliter. Si l'on veut que les populations de truites augmentent, il faut adopter une stratégie de gestion pour réduire la pression de la pêche tout en maintenant la pêche dans le cours d'eau pour répondre aux besoins de ces ressources dans les stations. [source] Family decision at the turn of the century: has the changing structure of households impacted the family decision-making process?JOURNAL OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR, Issue 2 2002Michael A. Belch Professor of Marketing Abstract Evaluation of husbands' and wives' influence in family decision making is heavily reliant on studies conducted in the 1970s and 1980s. Since that time, profound changes have occurred in the American family. These changes may have affected the nature of decision making in the household. To examine the degree to which earlier findings are still generalisable today, hypotheses are developed and tested with a contemporary sample of 458 men and women. Results suggest that there have been significant changes in the roles assumed in the family decision-making process, with the wife gaining more influence in all decision areas. The results indicate that marketers must re-examine their marketing strategies for some products and/or services. Possible theoretical explanations are suggested to explain why these changes may have occurred. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications. [source] Intertemporal analysis of employment decisions on agricultural holdings in SloveniaAGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 2 2005Luka Juvan Employment decisions; Mobility of labor supply; Off-farm employment; Probit model Abstract The article attempts to quantify determinants influencing the dynamics of employment decisions on agricultural holdings in Slovenia and to test specific aspects of labor reallocation during the transition period by the application of an agricultural household model. Through the use of a 1991,2000 longitudinal data set for 22,055 farm households, quantitative analysis of intertemporal employment decisions by farm holders is carried out using probit techniques. The determinants tested relate to the personal characteristics of farm holders (gender, age, education level, and potential off-farm income), household characteristics (size, structure), characteristics of the agricultural holding (economic size, labor intensity), and local labor market conditions. The model results generally confirm existing empirical evidence on asymmetrical and irreversible participation of holders on the labor market. Despite intensive restructuring of agriculture and profound changes in the nonfarm labor market in the analyzed period, labor supply of farm holders remains rigid. The mobility of labor supply is lower than expected, which can be attributed to the importance of structural problems constraining intersectoral mobility. Low labor mobility reduces the efficiency of labor allocation on agricultural holdings in Slovenia. Elements of this problem emerge on both supply (e.g., low level of educational and professional attainment of reference persons) and demand sides of the labor market (e.g., unfavorable local labor market conditions). A marked tendency toward maintaining the same employment status is more distinct in the case of holders employed on-farm only. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||