Considerable Period (considerable + period)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Evaluating the impact of a cancer supportive care project in the community: patient and professional configurations of need

HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 6 2007
Kristian Pollock PhD MA PGCHE
Abstract Advances in cancer care and treatment have created a new and somewhat anomalous category of patients with a diagnosis of non-curative disease who still have a considerable period of life remaining. During much of this time they may remain relatively well, without manifest need for clinical care. The responses of patients to this challenging situation are largely unknown. However, it has been assumed that because they confront a difficult experience they will need, or can benefit from, professional intervention. The implementation of pre-emptive support measures is anticipated to improve patients' resilience in coping with their illness and approaching death. This study aimed to investigate the impact of the keyworker role in a 3-year cancer supportive community care project to identify and provide for the needs of patients with a diagnosis of non-curative cancer. It was a qualitative study incorporating face-to-face interviews and focus groups with 19 healthcare professionals and 25 patients and carers from an urban East Midlands locality and a thematic analysis of qualitative interview and focus group transcripts. The project was positively evaluated by patients, carers and professionals. However, the findings raised questions about the different configuration of ,need' within the lay and professional perspectives and how this should most appropriately be addressed. In contrast to widespread professional assumptions about patients' need for counselling, many patients preferred to turn to their friends and families for support, and to adopt a stance of emotional and personal self-reliance as a strategy for coping with their predicament. The study highlights the continuing orientation of services around professional, rather than patient, agendas and the momentum towards increasing specialisation of professional roles and the medicalisation of everyday life that flows from this. [source]


Feeding on roots in the humus layer by adult pine weevil, Hylobius abietis

AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 4 2006
Kristina Wallertz
Abstract 1,The consumption by adult pine weevil, Hylobius abietis, of the bark of roots present in the humus layer was assessed in a field study conducted in southern Sweden during two years (1998 and 2002). The study sites were divided into two areas: (i) a shelterwood where 80,100 mature Scots pine trees per hectare remained after cutting and (ii) a clearcut where no trees were left. 2,On average, 3741 m2 per hectare of root bark was present in the humus layer, of which 135 m2 was not coniferous but comprised species such as bilberry and broadleaved trees. 3,The mean area debarked by pine weevils was 2.9 m2 per hectare; 2.6 m2 of conifer roots and 0.3 m2 of bilberry roots. Roots of broadleaved trees were almost never consumed. No clear preferences for roots of a specific level of vitality were observed. 4,No consistent difference between the shelterwood and clearcut was found, either in the amount of root bark area available or in the extent of root feeding by pine weevil. 5,A weak negative correlation between debarked areas on roots and seedlings was found, indicating that root feeding may have reduced damage to seedlings. 6,It is concluded that conifer roots in the humus layer constitute a major food source for the pine weevil and can be utilized for a considerable period in both clearcuts and shelterwoods. [source]


39Ar- 40Ar ages of eucrites and thermal history of asteroid 4 Vesta

METEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE, Issue 5 2003
Donald D. Bogard
Past studies have shown that after most eucrites formed, they underwent metamorphism in temperatures up to ,800°C. Much later, many were brecciated and heated by large impacts into the parent body surface. The less common basaltic, unbrecciated eucrites also formed near the surface but, presumably, escaped later brecciation, while the cumulate eucrites formed at depths where metamorphism may have persisted for a considerable period. To further understand the complex HED parent body thermal history, we determined new 39Ar- 40Ar ages for 9 eucrites classified as basaltic but unbrecciated, 6 eucrites classified as cumulate, and several basaltic-brecciated eucrites. Precise Ar-Ar ages of 2 cumulate eucrites (Moama and EET 87520) and 4 unbrecciated eucrites give a tight cluster at 4.48 ± 0.02 Gyr (not including any uncertainties in the flux monitor age). Ar-Ar ages of 6 additional unbrecciated eucrites are consistent with this age within their relatively larger age uncertainties. By contrast, available literature data on Pb-Pb isochron ages of 4 cumulate eucrites and 1 unbrecciated eucrite vary over 4.4,4.515 Gyr, and 147Sm- 143Nd isochron ages of 4 cumulate and 3 unbrecciated eucrites vary over 4.41,4.55 Gyr. Similar Ar-Ar ages for cumulate and unbrecciated eucrites imply that cumulate eucrites do not have a younger formation age than basaltic eucrites, as was previously proposed. We suggest that these cumulate and unbrecciated eucrites resided at a depth where parent body temperatures were sufficiently high to cause the K-Ar and some other chronometers to remain as open diffusion systems. From the strong clustering of Ar-Ar ages at ,4.48 Gyr, we propose that these meteorites were excavated from depth in a single large impact event ,4.48 Gyr ago, which quickly cooled the samples and started the K-Ar chronometer. A large (,460 km) crater postulated to exist on Vesta may be the source of these eucrites and of many smaller asteroids thought to be spectrally or physically associated with Vesta. Some Pb-Pb and Sm-Nd ages of cumulate and unbrecciated eucrites are consistent with the Ar-Ar age of 4.48 Gyr, and the few older Pb-Pb and Sm-Nd ages may reflect an isotopic closure before the large cratering event. One cumulate eucrite gives an Ar-Ar age of 4.25 Gyr; 3 additional cumulate eucrites give Ar-Ar ages of 3.4,3.7 Gyr; and 2 unbrecciated eucrites give Ar-Ar ages of ,3.55 Gyr. We attribute these younger ages to a later impact heating. Furthermore, the Ar-Ar impact-reset ages of several brecciated eucrites and eucritic clasts in howardites fall within the range of 3.5,4.1 Gyr. Among these, Piplia Kalan, the first eucrite to show evidence for extinct 26Al, was strongly impact heated ,3.5 Gyr ago. When these data are combined with eucrite Ar-Ar ages in the literature, they confirm that several large impact heating events occurred on Vesta between ,4.1,3.4 Gyr ago. The onset of major impact heating may have occurred at similar times for both Vesta and the moon, but impact heating appears to have persisted for a somewhat later time on Vesta. [source]


Changes in mesophyll anatomy and sink,source relationships during leaf development in Quercus glauca, an evergreen tree showing delayed leaf greening

PLANT CELL & ENVIRONMENT, Issue 5 2003
S.-I. MIYAZAWA
ABSTRACT Changes in mesophyll anatomy, gas exchange, and the amounts of nitrogen and cell wall constituents including cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin during leaf development were studied in an evergreen broad-leaved tree, Quercus glauca, and in an annual herb, Phaseolus vulgaris. The number of chloroplasts per whole leaf in P. vulgaris increased and attained the maximal level around 10 d before full leaf area expansion (FLE), whereas it continued to increase even after FLE in Q. glauca. The increase in the number of palisade tissue cells per whole leaf continued until a few days before FLE in Q. glauca, but it had almost ceased by 10 d before FLE in P. vulgaris. The radius and height of palisade tissue cells in Q. glauca, attained their maximal levels at around FLE whereas the thickness of the mesophyll cell wall and concentrations of the cell wall constituents increased markedly after FLE. These results clearly indicated that, in Q. glauca, chloroplast development proceeded in parallel with the cell wall thickening well after completion of the mesophyll cell division and cell enlargement. The sink,source transition, defined to be the time when the increase in daily carbon exchange rate exceeds the daily increase in leaf carbon content, occurred before FLE in P. vulgaris but after FLE in Q. glauca. During leaf area expansion, the maximum daily increase in nitrogen content on a whole leaf basis (the maximum leaf areas were corrected to be identical for these species) in Q. glauca was similar to that in P. vulgaris. In Q. glauca, however, more than 70% of nitrogen in the mature leaf was invested during its sink phase, whereas in P. vulgaris it was 50%. These results suggest that Q. glauca invests nitrogen for cell division for a considerable period and for chloroplast development during the later stages. We conclude that the competition for nitrogen between cell division and chloroplast development in the area of expanding leaves can explain different greening patterns among plant species. [source]


A case of discoid lupus erythematosus of the eyelid

THE JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 5 2006
Monji KOGA
ABSTRACT A 39-year-old man was first evaluated 12 years ago for erosive erythema of the left lower eyelid. The response to topical therapy was poor. The eyelid lesion was excised on the patient's demand 6 years ago and blepharoplasty was performed. However, recurrence of erythematous plaques at the same site prompted referral to our department. Examination clinically revealed atrophic erythematous plaques and several white papules on the left lower eyelid, in addition to an atrophic erythema of the upper back. The histopathological findings of both plaques and papules were typical of discoid lupus erythematosus. Immunoserological findings suggestive of systemic lupus erythematosus were absent. The lesions improved with administration of low-dose corticosteroids. Discoid lupus erythematosus involving the eyelid is rare, and definitive diagnosis often takes considerable period of time. In patients with lesions of the eyelid such as erythema or papules that are refractory to treatment, skin biopsy and careful physical examination of the entire body for similar lesions are important. [source]


Multidirectional chromosome painting reveals a remarkable syntenic homology between the greater galagos and the slow loris,

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 4 2006
R. Stanyon
Abstract We report on the first reciprocal chromosome painting of lorisoids and humans. The chromosome painting showed a remarkable syntenic homology between Otolemur and Nycticebus. Eight derived syntenic associations of human segments are common to both Otolemur and Nycticebus, indicative of a considerable period of common evolution between the greater galago and the slow loris. Five additional Robertsonian translocations form the slow loris karyotype, while the remaining chromosomes are syntenically equivalent, although some differ in terms of centromere position and heterochromatin additions. Strikingly, the breakpoints of the human chromosomes found fragmented in these two species are apparently identical. Only fissions of homologs to human chromosomes 1 and 15 provide significant evidence of a cytogenetic link between Lemuriformes and Lorisiformes. The association of human chromosomes 7/16 in both lorisoids strongly suggests that this chromosome was present in the ancestral primate genome. Am. J. Primatol. 68:349,359, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Current concepts on human papillomavirus infections in children

APMIS, Issue 6-7 2010
STINA SYRJÄNEN
Syrjänen S. Current concepts on human papillomavirus infections in children. APMIS 2010; 118: 494,509. Current evidence is strong enough to conclude that human papillomavirus (HPV) can be transmitted both sexually and non-sexually. The debate on HPV infections in children still continues but it is more focused on HPV prevalence than on transmission modes. HPV DNA detection in amniotic fluid, foetal membranes, cord blood and placental trophoblastic cells all suggest HPV infection in utero, i.e. prenatal transmission. Based on recent meta-analysis, vertical transmission occurs in approximately 20% of cases. Most of the mucosal HPV infections in infants are incident, persistent infections in oral and genital mucosa being found in less than 10% and 2% respectively. The mother seems to be the main transmitter of HPV to her newborn, but subsequent HPV infections are acquired horizontally via saliva or other contacts. Bimodal peak prevalence is seen for skin warts, oral papillomas and recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) in younger and older age groups, suggesting similar epidemiology. Of the clinical HPV diseases, juvenile-onset-RRP and genital condylomata are problematic; the former because of its life-threatening potential and the latter because of possible sexual abuse. HPV6 and 11 are the most common genotypes in both the lesions. Early in life, infections by the high-risk HPV genotypes may also remain persistent for a considerable period, and should be of considerable importance for HPV vaccination strategies. [source]


Outcome and survival with nonsurgical management of renal cell carcinoma

BJU INTERNATIONAL, Issue 7 2003
A.D. Baird
OBJECTIVE To document long-term survival in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in whom the primary tumour was left in situ and treatment limited to palliative and symptomatic measures. PATIENTS AND METHODS All patients with a diagnosis of RCC from January 1994 to January 1999 and in whom the primary tumour was left in situ were identified from hospital records (nine women and 16 men, mean age 69 years). The tumour stage was T1,T4. RESULTS The mean survival overall was 19.3 months; patients with locally advanced disease, i.e. stage , T3a, had a mean survival of 16.9 months. CONCLUSIONS There is renewed interest in the management of advanced RCC, with data supporting cytoreductive nephrectomy with systemic biological therapy. These results confirm that such patients with or without metastatic disease can survive for a considerable period with no aggressive surgical or systemic measures, and such intervention may offer no significant advantage in outcome and survival over supportive treatment alone. [source]


ROCK-SURFACE TEMPERATURES OF BASALT IN THE DRAKENSBERG ALPINE ENVIRONMENT, LESOTHO

GEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES A: PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, Issue 3 2007
STEFAN GRAB
ABSTRACT. Rock temperature data are presented for a variety of topographic localities at a high Drakensberg site. The objective is to investigate the spatiotemporal variations of surface rock temperatures in high Drakensberg basalt. The temperature results are then used to discuss possible implications for thermal stress fatigue and frost-induced weathering. TinytalkŌ data loggers and probes were used for rock-surface temperature recording. Long-term measurements were recorded over 12 months from May 2002 to April 2003, at a 1-hour logging interval and rock depth of 1 cm for a highaltitude (3300 m a.s.l.) interfluve and fracture site. Whilst the north-facing rock surface experiences negligible hours below ,3°C, the south-facing rock surface and interfluve sites are subjected to considerable periods below ,3°C, which falls within the ,frost cracking window'. It is concluded that the substantial contrasts of recorded rock thermal parameters over small spatial scales between various topographic settings, highlight that site-specific measurements across the broader scale are required for an adequate evaluation of regional weathering and its associated landform development. [source]