Reciprocal

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Terms modified by Reciprocal

  • reciprocal adaptation
  • reciprocal altruism
  • reciprocal connection
  • reciprocal cross
  • reciprocal decrease
  • reciprocal effect
  • reciprocal effects
  • reciprocal exchange
  • reciprocal hybrid
  • reciprocal influence
  • reciprocal inhibition
  • reciprocal interaction
  • reciprocal lattice
  • reciprocal monophyly
  • reciprocal regulation
  • reciprocal relationship
  • reciprocal relationships
  • reciprocal selection
  • reciprocal space
  • reciprocal space map
  • reciprocal space mapping
  • reciprocal translocation
  • reciprocal transplant experiment

  • Selected Abstracts


    Fixing national subjects in the 1920s southern Balkans: Also an international practice

    AMERICAN ETHNOLOGIST, Issue 2 2008
    JANE K. COWAN
    ABSTRACT The momentous transition from empire to nation-state in the early 20th century entailed a challenge for European states to produce "national" subjects,citizens. Scholars examining how diverse populations were incorporated into national projects have typically taken the nation-state's territorial boundaries as analytical boundaries and have rarely considered nation-building comparatively or investigated the creation of national subjects as an international practice. Taking the case of the League of Nation's supervision of the Greco,Bulgarian Convention Concerning Reciprocal and Voluntary Emigration in the 1920s, I explore collaboration between international and national agents in disambiguating multistranded affiliations of certain subjects in pursuit of homogeneous nation-states. [international institutions, nation-building, supervision, subjects, migration, borders, minorities] [source]


    Development of critical thinking in occupational therapy students

    OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY INTERNATIONAL, Issue 1 2006
    Beth P. Velde
    Abstract Do students who use the Guided Reciprocal Peer Questioning (GRPQ) method increase their ability to think critically? When compared to students in a traditional senior seminar course, the results of this study indicated no significant difference between the groups regarding changes in scores on the California Critical Thinking Skills Test. However, the students in the experimental group asked more questions labelled as critical thinking than the seminar control group. These findings suggest the use of the GRPQ may improve students' skills in asking questions that include application, analysis, and synthesis. Future research regarding the role of questions in stimulating critical analysis and the role of context in the learning environment is warranted. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    The Gulliford Lecture: Reciprocal working by education, health and social services: lessons for a less-travelled road

    BRITISH JOURNAL OF SPECIAL EDUCATION, Issue 1 2002
    Roy McConkey
    The 2001 Gulliford Lecture was given by Professor Roy McConkey, of the University of Ulster. In this article, based on his lecture, Roy McConkey reflects on some of the themes in Ron Gulliford's work from the 1960s. These themes still seem relevant to our work with pupils and students with special educational needs today. Roy McConkey focuses, in particular, on collaboration between practitioners from different professional backgrounds. He invites the reader to reflect on some of the strengths of current practice and to consider the ways in which these initiatives might be taken forward. This article closes with a set of strategies that could be used to develop innovative, holistic, inter-agency approaches in future. [source]


    Limits to Democratic Development in Civil Society and the State: The Case of Santo Domingo

    DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 1 2003
    Anne Marie Choup
    Some scholars see civil society as key to democratization of the political system. In this view, pressure from civil society forces democratization of the state. However, this disregards the fact that changes in civil society's behaviour require changes in political society , changes are reciprocal. The demand,making strategies of grassroots organizations in the Dominican Republic in 1999 provide a good example of this dynamic: the incomplete nature of the democratic transition (specifically, the persistence of paternalism and clientelism) constrained the democratic strategy choices of the civil society organizations. Just as democratization within political society is inconsistent and incomplete, so will be the demand,making strategies of the grassroots towards the state. The Dominican case is of particular interest as it illustrates the blend of personalized and institutionalized elements characteristic of democratic transition. [source]


    Effect of deposition temperature on the properties of thin polymer films deposited by plasma-enhanced CVD using cyclo-hexa-hydrocarbons as monomers

    ELECTRONICS & COMMUNICATIONS IN JAPAN, Issue 4 2010
    Kazunori Moriki
    Abstract Plasma CVD is a candidate technology for the fabrication of optical polymer waveguides. It can deposit a film on any surface geometry and any substrate material at a temperature under 200 °C in a vacuum process. It also provides good thickness controllability and uniformity of the deposition film. In the present study, the effects of the deposition temperature on film properties, specifically the refractive index, deposition rate, and molecular structure, are discussed. The refractive index decreases as the deposition temperature rises. The logarithm of the deposition rate increases with the reciprocal of the temperature and the gradient of the deposition rate depends on the relative abundance of double bonds in the monomer source. The gradient does not change when CF4 is used instead of Ar as the gas mixed into the plasma, although the deposition rate increases by a factor of about five. We speculate that the deposition rate increases due to the increase in the abundance precursors produced by the presence of CF4 in the plasma and due to an increased abundance of dangling bonds on the surface of the deposition film caused by F radicals. We further speculate that the precursors incorporated into the polymer are selected on the substrate by the density of adsorption sites and the adsorption energy. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn, 93(4): 27,35, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ecj.10171 [source]


    Determination of the binding constants of modafinil enantiomers with sulfated ,-cyclodextrin chiral selector by capillary electrophoresis using three different linear plotting methods

    ELECTROPHORESIS, Issue 17 2010
    Khaldun M. Al Azzam
    Abstract Binding constants for the enantiomers of modafinil with the negatively charged chiral selector sulfated-,-CD (S-,-CD) using CE technique is presented. The calculations of the binding constants employing three different linearization plots (double reciprocal, X -reciprocal and Y -reciprocal) were performed from the electrophoretic mobility values of modafinil enantiomers at different concentrations of S-,-CD in the BGE. The highest inclusion affinity of the modafinil enantiomers were observed for the S -enantiomer,S-,-CD complex, in agreement with the computational calculations performed previously. Binding constants for each enantiomer,S-,-CD complex at different temperatures, as well as thermodynamic parameters for binding, were calculated. Host,guest binding constants using the double reciprocal fit showed better linearity (r2>0.99) at all temperatures studied (15,30°C) and compared with the other two fit methods. The linear van't Hoff (15,30°C) plot obtained indicated that the thermodynamic parameters of complexation were temperature dependent for the enantiomers. [source]


    Disentangling social selection and social influence effects on adolescent smoking: the importance of reciprocity in friendships

    ADDICTION, Issue 9 2007
    Liesbeth Mercken
    ABSTRACT Aims The goal of this study was to examine social selection and social influence within reciprocal and non-reciprocal friendships, and the role of parents and siblings, as factors explaining similarity of smoking behaviour among adolescent friends. A new social selection,social influence model is proposed. Design Longitudinal design with two measurements. Setting Data were gathered among Dutch high school students in the control group of the European Smoking prevention Framework Approach (ESFA) study. Participants The sample consisted of 1886 adolescents with a mean age of 12.7 years. Measurements The main outcome measures were the smoking behaviours of the respondents, best friends, parents and siblings. We tested the social selection,social influence model with structural equation modelling techniques. Findings Social selection and social influence both played an important role in explaining similarity of smoking behaviour among friends. Within non-reciprocal friendships, only social selection explained similarity of smoking behaviour, whereas within reciprocal friendships, social influence and possibly also social selection explained similarity of smoking behaviour. Sibling smoking behaviour was a more important predictor of adolescent smoking behaviour than parental smoking behaviour. Conclusions Social selection and social influence both promote similarity of smoking behaviour, and the impact of each process differs with the degree of reciprocity of friendships. These insights may contribute to further refinement of smoking prevention strategies. [source]


    Comparison of three models of alcohol craving in young adults: a cross-validation

    ADDICTION, Issue 4 2004
    Peter M. McEvoy
    ABSTRACT Aims The aim of study 1 was to develop a three-factor Approach and Avoidance of Alcohol Questionnaire (AAAQ), designed to assess mild and intense inclinations to drink, as well as inclinations to avoid drinking. The aims of study 2 were to cross-validate the AAAQ with an independent sample and to test the goodness-of-fit of three models of craving for alcohol: (a) the traditional unidimensional model; (b) a two-dimensional, approach,avoidance ambivalence model; and (c) an expanded two-dimensional neuroanatomical model that retains avoidance, while positing a threshold that partitions approach into two distinct levels and relates all three factors involved in craving to brain pathways associated with inhibitory processes, reward and obsessive,compulsive behaviour, respectively. Design, setting and participants The survey was administered to 589 Australian university students (69% women) in study 1 and to 523 American university students (64% women) in study 2. Measurements Inclinations to drink and to not drink (AAAQ), drinking behaviour (quantity and frequency), drinking problems (Young Adult Alcohol Problems Screening Test; YAAPST) and readiness for change (Stages of Change Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale; SOCRATES). Findings The expanded two-dimensional neuroanatomical model provided the best fit to the data. The AAAQ explained a substantial proportion of the variance in drinking frequency (41,53%), drinking quantity (49,60%) and drinking problems (43%). AAAQ profiles differed as a function of drinking-related risk, and the three AAAQ scales differentially predicted readiness for change. Conclusions Approach and avoidance inclinations toward alcohol are separable constructs, and their activation may not be invariably reciprocal. Craving can be defined as the relative activation of substance-related response inclinations along these two primary dimensions. There may be a threshold of intensity that separates mild from intense approach inclinations. [source]


    Families and Communities: An Annotated Bibliography

    FAMILY RELATIONS, Issue 5 2005
    Nancy Brossoie
    Abstract: Connections between families and communities are dynamic and contextual, and their influences are reciprocal. We present a resource guide for family social scientists who are focusing on the nexus of families and communities by highlighting recent theoretical, methodological, and empirical contributions. [source]


    MLL/GRAF fusion in an infant acute monocytic leukemia (AML M5b) with a cytogenetically cryptic ins(5;11)(q31;q23q23)

    GENES, CHROMOSOMES AND CANCER, Issue 4 2004
    Ioannis Panagopoulos
    More than 30 fusions involving the MLL gene at 11q23 have been reported in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Some of these chimeras are rather common, such as MLL/MLLT3(AF9), but many are quite rare, with some, for example, MLL/GRAF, described only in a single case. The MLL/GRAF fusion, in which the reciprocal hybrid was not expressed, suggesting that the former transcript was the leukemogenic one, was detected in a juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia with a t(5;11)(q31;q23). Here, we report a second case,an infant acute monocytic leukemia (AML M5b),with an MLL/GRAF fusion. By conventional G-banding, the karyotype was normal. However, Southern blot and fluorescence in situ hybridization analyses revealed that MLL was rearranged and that the 5, part of the MLL gene was inserted into 5q in the vicinity of 5q31, which harbors GRAF. Reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (PCR) showed that exon 9 of MLL was fused in-frame with exon 19 of GRAF. Extralong genomic PCR with subsequent sequence analysis demonstrated that the breakpoints occurred in intron 9 of MLL, nine base pairs (bp) downstream from exon 9, and in intron 18 of GRAF, 117 bp downstream from exon 18. A 6-bp insertion (ACACTC) of unknown origin was present at the junction. The putative MLL/GRAF fusion protein would retain the AT-hook DNA-binding domain, the DNA methyl transferase motif, the transcription repression domain of MLL, and the SH3 domain of GRAF. As expected, the reciprocal GRAF/MLL was neither expressed nor generated at the genomic level as a consequence of the ins(5;11)(q31;q23q23). On the basis of the now-reported two cases with MLL/GRAF, we conclude that this transcript,but not the reciprocal one,characterizes a rare genetic subgroup of infant AML. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


    Expression of NUP98/TOP1, but not of TOP1/NUP98, in a treatment-related myelodysplastic syndrome with t(10;20;11)(q24;q11;p15)

    GENES, CHROMOSOMES AND CANCER, Issue 2 2002
    Ioannis Panagopoulos
    The t(11;20)(p15;q11) is a rare but recurrent translocation that so far has been described in only four acute myeloid leukemias (AMLs), two treatment-related myelodysplastic syndromes (t-MDSs), and one case of polycythemia vera. Recently, the t(11;20) was shown to result in a fusion of the NUP98 and TOP1 genes, with expression of the NUP98/TOP1 chimera encoded by the der(11)t(11;20), but not of the reciprocal TOP1/NUP98 on the der(20)t(11;20). The genomic breakpoints were subsequently mapped to introns 13 and 7 of NUP98 and TOP1, respectively. We present here a t-MDS with a three-way variant translocation, t(10;20;11)(q24;q11;p15), that generates a der(11)t(11;20) but not a der(20)t(11;20), strongly suggesting that the der(11) harbors the critical genetic rearrangement. Reverse transcriptase,polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) revealed a NUP98/TOP1 fusion in which exon 13 of NUP98 was fused in-frame with exon 8 of TOP1. Extra long (XL) genomic PCR and subsequent sequence analyses showed that the breakpoint in NUP98 occurred at nucleotide (nt) 3461 of intron 13, close to a MER (medium reiteration frequency interspersed repetitive element) repeat, and that the breakpoint in TOP1 was at nt 1436 of intron 7, downstream of a MIR (mammalian-wide interspersed repeats) repetitive element. Genomic XL PCR did not amplify the reciprocal TOP1/NUP98, nor was this chimera expressed, as expected from the cytogenetic finding. The present results provide further support for the involvement of the NUP98/TOP1 transcript, but not of the reciprocal one, in the development of MDS/AML. Furthermore, the three cases genomically characterized to date have all been treatment-related and have all harbored breakpoints in intron 13 of NUP98 and intron 7 of TOP1, suggesting that these introns are susceptible to chemotherapy-induced breakage. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


    Urban Textural Analysis from Remote Sensor Data: Lacunarity Measurements Based on the Differential Box Counting Method

    GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS, Issue 4 2006
    Soe W. Myint
    Lacunarity is related to the spatial distribution of gap or hole sizes. For low lacunarity, all gap sizes are the same and geometric objects are deemed homogeneous; conversely, for high lacunarity, gap sizes are variable and objects are therefore heterogeneous. Textures that are homogeneous at small scales can be quite heterogeneous at large scales and vice versa, and hence, lacunarity can be considered a scale-dependent measure of heterogeneity or texture. In this article, we use a lacunarity method based on a differential box counting approach to identify urban land-use and land-cover classes from satellite sensor data. Our methodology focuses on two different gliding box methods to compute lacunarity values and demonstrate a mirror extension approach for a local moving window. The extension approach overcomes, or at least minimizes, the boundary problem. The results from our study suggest that the overlapping box approach is more effective than the skipping box approach, but that there is no significant difference between window sizes. Our work represents a contribution to not only advances in textural and spatial metrics as used in remote-sensing pattern interpretation but also for broadening understanding of the computational geometry of nonlinear shape models of which lacunarity is the reciprocal of fractal theory. [source]


    Reconstruction of the Water Table from Self-Potential Data: A Bayesian Approach

    GROUND WATER, Issue 2 2009
    A. Jardani
    Ground water flow associated with pumping and injection tests generates self-potential signals that can be measured at the ground surface and used to estimate the pattern of ground water flow at depth. We propose an inversion of the self-potential signals that accounts for the heterogeneous nature of the aquifer and a relationship between the electrical resistivity and the streaming current coupling coefficient. We recast the inversion of the self-potential data into a Bayesian framework. Synthetic tests are performed showing the advantage in using self-potential signals in addition to in situ measurements of the potentiometric levels to reconstruct the shape of the water table. This methodology is applied to a new data set from a series of coordinated hydraulic tomography, self-potential, and electrical resistivity tomography experiments performed at the Boise Hydrogeophysical Research Site, Idaho. In particular, we examine one of the dipole hydraulic tests and its reciprocal to show the sensitivity of the self-potential signals to variations of the potentiometric levels under steady-state conditions. However, because of the high pumping rate, the response was also influenced by the Reynolds number, especially near the pumping well for a given test. Ground water flow in the inertial laminar flow regime is responsible for nonlinearity that is not yet accounted for in self-potential tomography. Numerical modeling addresses the sensitivity of the self-potential response to this problem. [source]


    The effects of STI571 on antigen presentation of dendritic cells generated from patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia

    HEMATOLOGICAL ONCOLOGY, Issue 2 2003
    Naoko Sato
    Abstract Chronic myelogenous leukemia is caused by the acquisition of the reciprocal (9;22)(q34;q11) chromosomal translocation in hematopoietic stem cells. The fusion protein showed higher and aberrant tyrosine kinase activity. The inhibition of the tyrosine kinase activity of the protein represents a specific therapeutic strategy for bcr/abl-expressing leukemias. STI571 is a compound of the 2-phenylaminopyrimidine class that selectively inhibits the tyrosine kinase activity of the Abl protein tyrosine kinase. In this study, we evaluated the effects of STI571 on antigen presentation of dendritic cells generated from the patients with CML. The data showed that by the addition of STI571 the dendritic cells derived from CML clone showed an increased expression of CD1a, CD83, CD80 and CD86 by flow cytometry analysis and showed more intense abilities of allogeneic antigen presentation by mixed leukocyte culture, compared with the control cells without STI571. Our results suggested that STI571 not only has a direct cytotoxic effect on bcr-abl gene rearranged cells but also an indirect effect associated with increased anti-leukemic immunological function due to an intensified antigen presentation. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Dynamic changes in the direction of the theta rhythmic drive between supramammillary nucleus and the septohippocampal system

    HIPPOCAMPUS, Issue 6 2006
    Bernat Kocsis
    Abstract Neurons in the supramammillary nucleus (SUM) of urethane-anesthetized rats fire rhythmically in synchrony with hippocampal theta rhythm. As these neurons project to the septum and hippocampus, it is generally assumed that their role is to mediate ascending activation, leading to the hippocampal theta rhythm. However, the connections between SUM and the septohippocampal system are reciprocal; there is strong evidence that theta remains in the hippocampus after SUM lesions and in the SUM after lesioning the medial septum. The present study examines the dynamics of coupling between rhythmic discharge in the SUM and hippocampal field potential oscillations, using the directionality information carried by the two signals. Using directed transfer function analysis, we demonstrate that during sensory-elicited theta rhythm and also during short episodes of theta acceleration of spontaneous oscillations, the spike train of a subpopulation of SUM neurons contains information predicting future variations in rhythmic field potentials in the hippocampus. In contrast, during slow spontaneous theta rhythm, it is the SUM spike signal that can be predicted from the preceding segment of the electrical signal recorded in the hippocampus. These findings indicate that, in the anesthetized rat, SUM neurons effectively drive theta oscillations in the hippocampus during epochs of sensory-elicited theta rhythm and short episodes of theta acceleration, whereas spontaneous slow theta in the SUM is controlled by descending input from the septohippocampal system. Thus, in certain states, rhythmically firing SUM neurons function to accelerate the septal theta oscillator, and in others, they are entrained by a superordinate oscillatory network. © 2006 Wiley-Liss Inc. [source]


    Histomorphometric assessment of bone turnover in uraemic patients: comparison between activation frequency and bone formation rate

    HISTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 6 2001
    P Ballanti
    Histomorphometric assessment of bone turnover in uraemic patients: comparison between activation frequency and bone formation rate Aims:,The histomorphometric assessment of bone formation rate (BFR/BS) in bone biopsies from uraemic patients is of crucial importance in differentiating low from high turnover types of renal osteodystrophy. However, since BFR/BS relies on osteoblasts, activation frequency (Ac.f), encompassing all remodelling phases, has recently been preferred to BFR/BS. This study was carried out to consider whether estimation of Ac.f is superior, in practical terms, to that of BFR/BS in distinguishing between different rates of bone turnover in uraemic patients. Methods and results:,Bone biopsies from 27 patients in predialysis (20 men and seven women; mean age 53 ± 12 years) and 37 in haemodialysis (22 men and 15 women; mean age 53 ± 12 years) were examined. The types of renal osteodystrophy were classified on the basis of morphology. Bone formation rate and Ac.f were evaluated according to standardized procedures. The Ac.f was calculated both as a ratio between BFR/BS and wall thickness (W.Th) and as a reciprocal of erosion, formation and quiescent periods (EP, FP and QP). Patients were affected by renal osteodystrophy with predominant hyperparathyroidism (two predialysis and 16 dialysis), predominant osteomalacia (three predialysis and seven dialysis) or that of advanced (nine predialysis and five dialysis) or mild (seven predialysis and four dialysis) mixed type or adynamic type (six predialysis and five dialysis). Activation frequency, which with either formula requires the measurement of W.Th, i.e. the thickness of bone structural units (BSUs), was not calculated in three dialysis patients with severe hyperparathyroidism and in one predialysis and four dialysis patients with severe osteomalacia, because only incomplete BSUs were found. In dialysis, EP was higher in the adynamic than in the other types of osteodystrophy. During both predialysis and dialysis, FP was higher in osteomalacia than in the other forms of osteodystrophy, and in adynamic osteopathy than in hyperparathyroidism or in advanced and mild mixed osteodystrophy. During predialysis and dialysis, QP was higher in the adynamic than in the other forms of osteodystrophy. Correlations were found between BFR/BS and Ac.f, during predialysis (r=0.97) and dialysis (r=0.95). Conclusions:,The superiority of Ac.f in assessing bone turnover, in comparison to BFR/BS, is conceptual rather than practical. The highest values for FP in osteomalacia and for QP in adynamic bone allow a clearer characterization of these low turnover conditions. [source]


    The canopy conductance of a boreal aspen forest, Prince Albert National Park, Canada

    HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 9 2004
    P. D. Blanken
    Abstract Annual fluxes of canopy-level heat, water vapour and carbon dioxide were measured using eddy covariance both above the aspen overstory (Populus tremuloides Michx.) and hazelnut understory (Corylus cornuta Marsh.) of a boreal aspen forest (53·629 °N 106·200 °W). Partitioning of the fluxes between overstory and understory components allowed the calculation of canopy conductance to water vapour for both species. On a seasonal basis, the canopy conductance of the aspen accounted for 70% of the surface conductance, with the latter a strong function of the forest's leaf area index. On a half-hour basis, the canopy conductance of both species decreased non-linearly as the leaf-surface saturation deficits increased, and was best parameterized and showed similar sensitivities to a modified form of the Ball,Berry,Woodrow index, where relative humidity was replaced with the reciprocal of the saturation deficit. The negative feedback between the forest evaporation and the saturation deficit in the convective boundary layer varied from weak when the forest was at full leaf to strong when the forest was developing or loosing leaves. The coupling between the air at the leaf surface and the convective boundary layer also varied seasonally, with coupling decreasing with increasing leaf area. Compared with coniferous boreal forests, the seasonal changes in leaf area had a unique impact on vegetation,atmosphere interactions. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Effect of solvent and structure on the kinetics and mechanism of the aquation of bromopentaamine cobalt(III) complex in binary aqueous mixtures

    INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL KINETICS, Issue 9 2004
    Gehan M. El-Subruiti
    The kinetics of aquation of bromopentaamine cobalt(III) complex have been investigated spectrophotometrically in aqueous-organic solvent media using acetonitrile, urea, and dimethyl sulfoxide as co-solvents at 45 , T (°C) , 65. The logarithms of rate constant of the aquation reaction vary nonlinearly with the reciprocal of the dielectric constant for all cosolvent mixtures, indicating a specific solute,solvent interaction. Also, the rate constants are correlated with the total number of moles of water and the organic solvents. However, the solvent effects on the solvation components of the enthalpy of activation, ,H,, and the entropy of activation, ,S,, have been studied. Analysis of the solvent effect confirmed a common Id mechanism for the aquation of the cobalt(III) complex. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 36:494,499, 2004 [source]


    Nurses' experiences with telephone triage and advice: a meta-ethnography

    JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 3 2010
    Rebecca J. Purc-Stephenson
    purc-stephenson r.j. & thrasher c. (2010) Nurses' experiences with telephone triage and advice: a meta-ethnography. Journal of Advanced Nursing66(3), 482,494. Abstract Aims., This study is a meta-ethnography of nurses' experiences with telephone triage and advice and factors that facilitate or impede their decision-making process. Background., Telephone triage and advice services are a rapidly expanding development in health care. Unlike traditional forms of nursing practice, telenurses offer triage recommendations and advice to the general public without visual cues. Data sources., Published qualitative research on telephone triage and advice were sought from interdisciplinary research databases (1980,2008) and bibliographical reviews of retrieved studies. Review methods., Our systematic search identified 16 relevant studies. Two researchers independently reviewed, critically appraised, and extracted key themes and concepts from each study. We followed techniques of meta-ethnography to synthesize the findings, using both reciprocal and refutational translation to compare similar or contradictory findings, and a line-of-arguments synthesis. Results., We identified five major themes that highlight common issues and concerns experienced by telenurses: gaining and maintaining skills, autonomy, new work environment, holistic assessment, and stress and pressure. A line-of-arguments synthesis produced a three-stage model that describes the decision-making process used by telenurses and highlights how assessments largely depend on the ability to ,build a picture' of the patient and the presenting health issue. Conclusion., Telenurses experience a range of common concerns and issues which either impede or facilitate the decision-making process. Although ,building a picture' of the patient is key to making assessments over the telephone, final triage decisions are influenced by balancing the conflicting demands of being both carer and gatekeeper to limited healthcare services. [source]


    Lower critical solution temperature determination of smart, thermosensitive N -isopropylacrylamide- alt -2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate copolymers: Kinetics and physical properties

    JOURNAL OF APPLIED POLYMER SCIENCE, Issue 5 2008
    Mohammad M. Fares
    Abstract The lower critical solution temperatures (LCSTs) were verified and determined for different molar feed ratios of N -isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) monomers with ultraviolet spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry techniques. Increases in the NIPAAm monomer content played a crucial role in the LCST, which increased up to 36.7°C at 50 mol %. However, a further increase in the NIPAAm monomer content steadily reduced the LCST, which decreased to 33°C at 100 mol % NIPAAm [i.e., pure poly(N -isopropylacrylamide)]. The rate of copolymerization, assessed by the conventional conversion (%),time method, and the apparent activation energies were determined. The reactivity ratios of the monomers, determined by the Kelen,Tudos and Fineman,Ross techniques, together with the results of an equation, showed that the copolymer which formed was an alternating copolymer. The Q,e values for the NIPAAm monomer were determined. The equation showed the linear Arrhenius behavior of ln(r1r2) versus the reciprocal of the temperature (where r1 and r2 are the reactivity ratios of NIPAAm and HEMA, respectively): the activation energy difference [i.e., (E12 + E21) , (E11 + E22), where E12, E21, E11, and E22 are various activation energies] was found to be ,109 kJ/mol. The copolymers were characterized with 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, Fourier transform infrared, ultraviolet,visible, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy techniques. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008 [source]


    The Social Networks of People with Intellectual Disability Living in the Community 12 Years after Resettlement from Long-Stay Hospitals

    JOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, Issue 4 2006
    Rachel Forrester-Jones
    Background, The social inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities presents a major challenge to services. As part of a 12-year follow up of people resettled from long-stay hospitals, the size of 213 individuals' social networks and the types of social support they received were investigated, as viewed by people with intellectual disabilities themselves. The types of support received in four different kinds of community accommodation were compared. Method, Individuals were interviewed and their social support networks mapped using a Social Network Guide developed for the study. Descriptive statistics were generated and comparisons made using generalized linear modelling. Results, The sample comprised 117 men (average age 51 years) and 96 women (average age 56 years). All but seven were White British, 92% were single and they had in general, mild to moderate intellectual disabilities. The average network size was 22 members (range 3,51). The mean density was 0.5. A quarter of all network members were other service users with intellectual disabilities and a further 43% were staff. Only a third of the members were unrelated to learning disability services. In general, the main providers of both emotional and practical support were staff, although these relationships were less likely to be described as reciprocal. Other people with intellectual disabilities were the second most frequent providers of all types of support. People in small group homes, hostels and supported accommodation were significantly more likely to report close and companiable relationships than those in residential and nursing homes, but they also reported a greater proportion of critical behaviour. Conclusions, The social networks revealed in this study are considerably larger than those of previous studies which have relied on staff reports, but findings about the generally limited social integration of people with intellectual disabilities are similar. A clearer policy and practice focus on the desirability of a range of different social contexts from which to derive potentially supportive network members is required so that people do not remain segregated in one area of life. [source]


    Archaeal diversity in acid mine drainage from Dabaoshan Mine, China

    JOURNAL OF BASIC MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 5 2008
    Guan-zhou Qiu
    Abstract Three acid mine drainage (AMD) samples collected from Dabaoshan Mine (Guangdong Province, China) were studied. In addition to physicochemical analyses, the diversity and community structures of the archaeal communities in these samples were described at the genetic level by amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA). Nine different ARDRA patterns were obtained from 146 clones and were studied as operational taxonomic units (OTUs), which were re-amplified and sequenced. Sequence data and phylogenetic analysis showed that most of the clones belonged to the Thermoplasmatales, and that archaea belonging to the Sulfolobales were absent. Only 1 OTU attributed to Ferroplasma was found and was observed to be abundant in all 3 samples. Eight OTUs were related to 2 new undefined groups in the Thermoplasmatales. Of the 8 OTUs, the clones in 2 similar units were isolated from samples collected from an abandoned sulfide mine (Huelva, Spain) and those in 5 similar units were isolated from samples collected from a closed copper mine (Tonglushan, China). These diversities were characterized by the reciprocal of Simpson's index (1/D) and correlated with the concentrations of ferrous ions and toxic ions in the AMD samples. The high temperature of the sampling sites was one of the factors that could explain why archaea belonging to the Thermoplasmatales were abundant in the analyzed AMD samples while those belonging to the Sulfolobales were absent. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]


    Habitat fragmentation and adaptation: a reciprocal replant,transplant experiment among 15 populations of Lychnis flos-cuculi

    JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 5 2008
    Gillianne Bowman
    Summary 1Habitat fragmentation and variation in habitat quality can both affect plant performance, but their effects have rarely been studied in combination. We thus examined plant performance in response to differences in habitat quality for a species subject to habitat fragmentation, the common but declining perennial herb Lychnis flos-cuculi. 2We reciprocally transplanted plants between 15 fen grasslands in north-east Switzerland and recorded plant performance for 4 years. 3Variation between the 15 target sites was the most important factor and affected all measures of plant performance in all years. This demonstrates the importance of plastic responses to habitat quality for plant performance. 4Plants from smaller populations produced fewer rosettes than plants from larger populations in the first year of the replant,transplant experiment. 5Plant performance decreased with increasing ecological difference between grassland of origin and target grassland, indicating adaptation to ecological conditions. In contrast, plant performance was not influenced by microsatellite distance and hardly by geographic distance between grassland of origin and target grassland. 6Plants originating from larger populations were better able to cope with larger ecological differences between transplantation site and site of origin. 7Synthesis: In addition to the direct effects of target grasslands, both habitat fragmentation, through reduced population size, and adaptation to habitats of different quality, contributed to the performance of L. flos-cuculi. This underlines that habitat fragmentation also affects species that are still common. Moreover, it suggests that restoration projects involving L. flos-cuculi should use plant material from large populations living in habitats similar to the restoration site. Finally, our results bring into question whether plants in small habitat remnants will be able to cope with future environmental change. [source]


    Longitudinal Associations Between Alcohol Problems and Depressive Symptoms: Early Adolescence Through Early Adulthood

    ALCOHOLISM, Issue 1 2009
    Naomi R. Marmorstein
    Background:, Alcohol use-related problems and depressive symptoms are clearly associated with each other, but results regarding the nature of this association have been inconsistent. In addition, the possible moderating effects of age and gender have not been comprehensively examined. The goals of this study were to clarify: (i) how depressive symptoms affect the levels and trajectory of alcohol use-related problems, (ii) how alcohol use-related problems affect the levels and trajectory of depressive symptoms, and (iii) whether there are differences in these associations at different points in development or between males and females. Methods:, Participants for this study were drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (AddHealth) data set, a community-based sample of 20,728 adolescents followed from adolescence through early adulthood. Multilevel models were used to assess how each problem affected the level and rate of change in the other problem over time; gender was considered as a possible moderator of these associations. Results:, The results indicated that alcohol use-related problems and depressive symptoms had reciprocal, positive associations with each other during the period from early adolescence through early adulthood; however, these effects differed somewhat by gender and age. High levels of depressive symptoms were associated with higher initial levels of alcohol problems (particularly among females), as well as faster increases in alcohol problems over time among males. High levels of alcohol problems were associated with higher initial levels of depressive symptoms (particularly among females), as well as less curvature in the slope of depressive symptoms so that although there was a large difference between people with high and low depressive symptoms in early adolescence, by early adulthood the difference was smaller (particularly among females). Conclusions:, These results highlight the importance of examining gender and age in studies on the associations between affective disorders and substance use disorders. [source]


    Socioeconomic Status and Patterns of Parent,Adolescent Interactions

    JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE, Issue 1 2006
    Edith Chen
    This study investigated reciprocity in parent,adolescent interactions among 102 families from lower or higher socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds. Negative behaviors between parents and adolescents were more reciprocal (strongly correlated) in higher SES than lower SES families, and this reciprocity correlated with higher family relationship quality. Lower SES families exhibited reciprocity related to withdrawn behaviors. Reciprocity of these behaviors also correlated with higher relationship quality. Results suggest that SES differences provide insights into a more complex understanding of family relationships within contexts, and importantly, suggest that different types of reciprocity may each have its own adaptive value in families from different SES backgrounds. [source]


    Nucleation and Crystallization of a Lead Halide Phosphate Glass by Differential Thermal Analysis

    JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CERAMIC SOCIETY, Issue 4 2002
    Hongsheng Zhao
    The nucleation and crystallization mechanisms of a lead halide phosphate glass [40P2O5·30PbBr2·30PbF2 (mol%)] were investigated by differential thermal analysis (DTA) and X-ray diffraction analysis. There were two crystalline phases in the crystallized samples: the major phase was PbP2O4, and the minor phase was PbP2O6. The average activation energy for crystallization, E, for two different particle sizes of this glass was determined to be 119 ± 4 kJ/mol by the Kissinger method and 124 ± 4 kJ/mol by the Augis,Bennett method. The Avrami constants were determined to be 1.6 and 2.5 for particle sizes of 203 and 1040 ,m, respectively, by the Ozawa equation, and 1.7 and 2.4 for particle sizes of 203 and 1040 ,m, respectively, by the Augis,Bennett equation. The decrease in the crystallization peak height in the DTA curve with increasing particle size suggested that the particles crystallize primarily by surface crystallization. A nucleation-rate type curve was determined by plotting either the reciprocal of the temperature corresponding to the crystallization peak maximum, 1/Tp, or the height of the crystallization peak, (,T)p, as a function of nucleation temperature, Tn. The temperature where nucleation can occur for this glass ranges from 360°,450°C and the maximum nucleation rate is at 420°± 10°C. [source]


    IMPACT ASSESSMENT MODEL FOR CLEAR WATER FISHES EXPOSED TO EXCESSIVELY CLOUDY WATER,

    JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 3 2003
    Charles P. Newcombe
    ABSTRACT: A new type of empirical model described here enables real time assessment of impacts caused by excessive water cloudiness as a function of (a) reduced visual clarity (excessive cloudiness) and (b) duration of exposure to cloudy conditions, in fisheries or fish life stages adapted to life in clear water ecosystems. This model takes the familiar form used in earlier suspended sediment dose effect models where z is severity of ill effect (SEV), x is duration of exposure (h), y is black disk sighting range (y BD, m),a measure of water clarity, a is the intercept, and b and c are slope coefficients. As calibrated in this study the model is Severity of ill effect is ranked on a 15-step scale that ranges from 0 to 14, where zero represents nil effect and 14 represents 100 percent mortality. This model, based on peer consultation and limited meta analysis of peer reviewed reports, accomplishes the following: (a) identifies the threshold of the onset of ill effects among clear water fishes; (b) postulates the rate at which serious ill effects are likely to escalate as a function of reduced visual clarity and persistence; (c) provides a context (the "visual clarity" matrix, with its cell coordinates) to share and compare information about impacts as a function of visual clarity "climate" (d) demonstrates changes in predator prey interactions at exposures greater than and less than the threshold of direct ill effects; (e) calibrates trout reactive distance (cm) as function of water clarity in the form where y represents reactive distance (cm) and x represents visual clarity (black disk sighting range, cm), and where a and b are intercept and slope respectively, such that (f) identifies black disk sighting range, in meters, and its reciprocal, beam attenuation, as preferred monitoring variables; and (g) provides two additional optical quality variables (Secchi disk extinction distance and turbidity) which, suitably calibrated as they have been in this study, expand the range of monitoring options in situations in which the preferred technology,beam attenuation equipment or black disk sighting equipment,is unavailable or impractical to use. This new model demonstrates the efficacy of peer collaboration and defines new research horizons for its refinement. [source]


    Probability distributions, vulnerability and sensitivity in Fagus crenata forests following predicted climate changes in Japan

    JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE, Issue 5 2004
    Tetsuya Matsui
    Question: How much is the probability distribution of Fagus crenata forests predicted to change under a climate change scenario by the 2090s, and what are the potential impacts on these forests? What are the main factors inducing such changes? Location: The major islands of Japan. Methods: A predictive distribution model was developed with four climatic factors (summer precipitation, PRS; winter precipitation, PRW; minimum temperature of the coldest month, TMC; and warmth index, WI) and five non-climatic factors (topography, surface geology, soil, slope aspect and inclination). A climate change scenario was applied to the model. Results: Areas with high probability (> 0.5) were predicted to decrease by 91%, retreating from the southwest, shrinking in central regions, and expanding northeastwards beyond their current northern limits. A vulnerability index (the reciprocal of the predicted probability) suggests that Kyushu, Shikoku, the Pacific Ocean side of Honshu and southwest Hokkaido will have high numbers of many vulnerable F. crenata forests. The forests with high negative sensitivity indices (the difference between simulated probabilities of occurrence under current and predicted climates) mainly occur in southwest Hokkaido and the Sea of Japan side of northern Honshu. Conclusion: F. crenata forest distributions may retreat from some islands due to a high WI. The predicted northeastward shift in northern Hokkaido is associated with increased TMC and PRS. High vulnerability and negative sensitivity of the forests in southern Hokkaido are due to increased WI. [source]


    Interaction between hepatitis B and C viruses in hepatocellular carcinogenesis

    JOURNAL OF VIRAL HEPATITIS, Issue 3 2006
    M. C. Kew
    Summary., Although hepatitis B (HBV) and C viruses (HCV) are, individually, major causes of hepatocellular carcinoma, the interaction, if any, between the carcinogenic effects of the two viruses is uncertain. Equal numbers of published studies have reported no risk interaction or a synergistic risk interaction. These conflicting results are explained by the rarity of concurrent infection with HBV and HCV in individuals without clinically evident liver disease, which severely limits the ability to accurately estimate the hepatocarcinogenic risk of dual infection compared with that of either infection alone. In an attempt to circumvent this difficulty, two meta-analyses have been performed, one based on studies published from a number of countries and the other on studies confined to Chinese patients. Both analyses concluded that a synergistic carcinogenic interaction existed between the two viruses and that the increased risk was super-additive but not multiplicative. If confirmed, this risk interaction will occur against a background of negative confounding effects on viral replication between HBV and HCV, which may be reciprocal. The mechanisms responsible for the carcinogenic interaction between the viruses are unknown. One possibility is that the increased incidence of cirrhosis with concurrent HBV and HCV infections acts as an even more potent tumour promoter than occurs with either virus alone. Synergism between the direct hepatocarcinogenic effects of the two viruses is another possible mechanism, but proof will have to await a fuller understanding of the pathogenetic mechanisms involved with the individual viruses. [source]


    T2 relaxation reveals spatial collagen architecture in articular cartilage: A comparative quantitative MRI and polarized light microscopic study

    MAGNETIC RESONANCE IN MEDICINE, Issue 3 2001
    Miika T. Nieminen
    Abstract It has been suggested that orientational changes in the collagen network of articular cartilage account for the depthwise T2 anisotropy of MRI through the magic angle effect. To investigate the relationship between laminar T2 appearance and collagen organization (anisotropy), bovine osteochondral plugs (N = 9) were T2 mapped at 9.4T with cartilage surface normal to the static magnetic field. Collagen fibril arrangement of the same samples was studied with polarized light microscopy, a quantitative technique for probing collagen organization by analyzing its ability to rotate plane polarized light, i.e., birefringence (BF). Depthwise variation of safranin O-stained proteoglycans was monitored with digital densitometry. The spatially varying cartilage T2 followed the architectural arrangement of the collagen fibril network: a linear positive correlation between T2 and the reciprocal of BF was established in each sample, with r = 0.91 ± 0.02 (mean ± SEM, N = 9). The current results reveal the close connection between the laminar T2 structure and the collagen architecture in histologic zones. Magn Reson Med 46:487,493, 2001. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]