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Vital Aspect (vital + aspect)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Medical Sciences40%
Humanities and Social Sciences40%

Selected Abstracts

Vital Aspects of Fallopian Tube Physiology in Pigs

REPRODUCTION IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS, Issue 4 2002
RHF Hunter
Contents This essay reviews four topical aspects of Fallopian tube physiology that bear on either successful fertilization or early development of the zygote. An initial focus is on glycoprotein secretions of the duct that accumulate as a viscous mucus in the caudal isthmus. Because this is the site of the pre-ovulatory sperm reservoir, an involvement of the secretions is considered in: preventing uterine and ampullary tubal fluids from entering the functional sperm reservoir; removing residual male secretions from the sperm surface; deflecting spermatozoa towards endosalpingeal organelles and reducing flagellar beat before ovulation. The subtle prompting of flagellar movement with impending ovulation is examined in terms of potential reactivation mechanisms, with overall control attributed to increasing secretion of progesterone. The site of full capacitation and the acrosome reaction in a fertilizing spermatozoon is then debated, with strong arguments pointing to completion of these processes in the specific fluids at the ampullary-isthmic junction. Finally, the synthetic activity of cumulus cells released at ovulation as a paracrine tissue in the Fallopian tube is highlighted with reference to steroid hormones, peptides and cytokines. Not only does the suspension of granulosa-derived cells influence the process of fertilization, but also it may amplify oocyte or embryonic signals to the endosalpinx and ipsilateral ovary. [source]

Monitoring nutritional status accurately and reliably in adolescents with anorexia nervosa

JOURNAL OF PAEDIATRICS AND CHILD HEALTH, Issue 1-2 2009
Andrew C Martin
Aim: Accurate assessment of nutritional status is a vital aspect of caring for individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN) and body mass index (BMI) is considered an appropriate and easy to use tool. Because of the intense fear of weight gain, some individuals may attempt to mislead the physician. Mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) is a simple, objective method of assessing nutritional status. The setting is an eating disorders clinic in a tertiary paediatric hospital in Western Australia. The aim of this study is to evaluate how well MUAC correlates with BMI in adolescents with AN. Methods: Prospective observational study to evaluate nutritional status in adolescents with AN. Results: Fifty-five adolescents aged 12,17 years with AN were assessed between January 1, 2004 and January 1, 2006. MUAC was highly correlated with BMI (r = 0.79, P < 0.001) and individuals with MUAC ,20 cm rarely required hospitalisation (negative predictive value 93%). Conclusions: MUAC reflects nutritional status as defined by BMI in adolescents with AN. Lack of consistency between longitudinal measurements of BMI and MUAC should be viewed suspiciously and prompt a more detailed nutritional assessment. [source]

Clothing and a Florentine style, 1550,1620

RENAISSANCE STUDIES, Issue 1 2009
Elizabeth Currie
This article addresses the links between Renaissance clothing and identity, focusing on the reigns of the first Medici grand dukes, a period when the political and social make-up of the Florentine elite underwent profound changes. Drawing on a wide range of sources, from sumptuary legislation, court correspondence and family account books to tailors' patterns, it examines different ways of thinking about and analysing dress styles. Taking the under-explored subject of male dress, it concentrates on two specific clothing types: the traditional full-length cloak, known as the lucco, worn by government office holders, and the liveries of the Medici courtiers. It concludes with the role played by local textile production, a vital aspect of Florentine culture as well as its economy. Although the Medici family's efforts to shape the dress of its subjects were partially successful, certain fundamental elements of the city's sartorial ethos resisted change. [source]

Environmental Justice Imperatives for an Era of Climate Change

JOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY, Issue 1 2009
Mark Stallworthy
This paper is about intra- and inter-generational equity, connecting environmental justice discourse with necessary responses to climate change. It offers a review of the role of globalization in this pervasive context, contrasting the disaggregated nature of localized impacts, and seeks to address the potential for adjusting law-policy frameworks as a key part of the search for solutions. It argues that environmental justice approaches can incorporate values into law-policy processes based upon vital aspects of the integrity and functioning of communities, distributional fairness, and capacities for wider engagement and participation in the search for necessary behavioural change. The conclusion is that the ultimate success of the urgent process of addressing climate-related threats, through a meaningful degree of mitigation and adaptation, and multiple levels of decision-making and response, must be informed by the precepts of environmental justice. [source]

Figurational dynamics and parliamentary discourses of living standards in Ireland1

THE BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY, Issue 4 2009
Paddy Dolan
Abstract While the concept of living standards remains central to political debate, it has become marginal in sociological research compared to the burgeoning attention given to the topic of consumer culture in recent decades. However, they both concern how one does and should consume, and, indeed, behave at particular times. I use the theories of Norbert Elias to explain the unplanned but structured (ordered) changes in expected standards of living over time. This figurational approach is compared to other alternative explanations, particularly those advanced by Bourdieu, Veblen and Baudrillard. Though these offer some parallels with Elias's theories, I argue that consumption standards are produced and transformed through the changing dependencies and power relations between social classes. They cannot be reduced to the intentions, interests or ambitions of particular elites, nor to the needs of social systems. Using qualitative data from parliamentary debates in Ireland to trace changing norms and ideals of consumption, as well as historical data to reconstruct shifts in social interdependencies, I further contend that discourses of living standards and luxury are vital aspects of the growing identification and empathy between classes, which in turn encourages greater global integration in the face of emigration and national decline. [source]