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Contemporary Data (contemporary + data)
Selected AbstractsLake depth rather than fish planktivory determines cladoceran community structure in Faroese lakes , evidence from contemporary data and sedimentsFRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 11 2006SUSANNE LILDAL AMSINCK Summary 1. This study describes the environmental conditions and cladoceran community structure of 29 Faroese lakes with special focus on elucidating the impact of fish planktivory. In addition, long-term changes in biological structure of the Faroese Lake Heygsvatn are investigated. 2. Present-day species richness and community structure of cladocerans were identified from pelagial snapshot samples and from samples of surface sediment (0,1 cm). Multivariate statistical methods were applied to explore cladoceran species distribution relative to measured environmental variables. For Lake Heygsvatn, lake development was inferred by cladoceran-based paleolimnological investigations of a 14C-dated sediment core covering the last ca 5700 years. 3. The 29 study lakes were overall shallow, small-sized, oligotrophic and dominated by brown trout (Salmo trutta). Cladoceran species richness was overall higher in the surface sediment samples than in the snapshot samples. 4. Fish abundance was found to be of only minor importance in shaping cladoceran community and body size structure, presumably because of predominance of the less efficient zooplanktivore brown trout. 5. Canonical correspondence analysis showed maximum lake depth (Zmax) to be the only significant variable in explaining the sedimentary cladoceran species (18 cladoceran taxa, two pelagic, 16 benthic) distribution. Multivariate regression trees revealed benthic taxa to dominate in lakes with Zmax < 4.8 m and pelagic taxa to dominate when Zmax was > 4.8 m. 6. Predictive models to infer Zmax were developed using variance weighted-averaging procedures. These were subsequently applied to subfossil cladoceran assemblages identified from a 14C-dated sediment core from Lake Heygsvatn and showed inferred Zmax to correspond well to the present-day lake depth. A recent increase in inferred Zmax may, however, be an artefact induced by, for instance, eutrophication. [source] Asking fathers: a study of psychosocial adaptationHAEMOPHILIA, Issue 5 2004E. K. Herrick Summary., Although few contemporary studies specifically address paternal adaptation, the theme of paternal estrangement from medical care and from family relationships is pervasive in the psychosocial literature on haemophilia. This estrangement has been shown to have a negative effect on fathers' psychological well-being, marital relationships and the adaptive outcome of their sons who have haemophilia. The goals of this study were to provide contemporary data on the psychosocial adaptation of fathers of boys with haemophilia and to examine specific variables that might influence their adjustment. Eighty-three eligible fathers returned a survey instrument that collected demographic and medical information, as well as scores on self-measures of adaptation in marital and parenting roles. Statistically significant direct correlations (P < 0.01) were found between fathers' scores on the Marital Adjustment Test and the Parenting Sense of Competence subscales (parenting efficacy and satisfaction). Variables specific to rearing a son with haemophilia that negatively affected fathers' marital adjustment scores included: feeling left out of medical decision making by their wives or partners, worry about their sons' having limited activity, and the presence of a secondary diagnosis in the affected child. Scores on the parenting efficacy subscale of the PSOC were statistically significantly reduced (i.e. fathers felt less effective in the parenting role) in men who ,rarely' or ,never' infused their sons (42/80, 53%). Variables that negatively affected scores on the parenting satisfaction subscale included frustrating interactions with medical staff and concern about their sons' potential to contract an infection or secondary diagnosis. This paper presents a model to examine the interrelationships among the data and discusses the clinical implications. [source] Neandertal cold adaptation: Physiological and energetic factorsAMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 5 2002A. Theodore Steegmann Jr. European Neandertals employed a complex set of physiological cold defenses, homologous to those seen in contemporary humans and nonhuman primates. While Neandertal morphological patterns, such as foreshortened extremities and low relative surface-area, may have explained some of the variance in cold resistance, it is suggested the adaptive package was strongly dependent on a rich array of physiological defenses. A summary of the environmental cold conditions in which the Neandertals lived is presented, and a comparative ethnographic model from Tierra del Fuego is used. Muscle and subcutaneous fat are excellent "passive" insulators. Neandertals were quite muscular, but it is unlikely that they could maintain enough superficial body fat to offer much cold protection. A major, high-energy metabolic adaptation facilitated by modest amounts of highly thermogenic brown adipose tissue (BAT) is proposed. In addition, Neandertals would have been protected by general mammalian cold defenses based on systemic vasoconstriction and intensified by acclimatization, aerobic fitness, and localized cold-induced vasodilation. However, these defenses are energetically expensive. Based on contemporary data from circumpolar peoples, it is estimated that Neandertals required 3,360 to 4,480 kcal per day to support strenuous winter foraging and cold resistance costs. Several specific genetic cold adaptations are also proposed,heat shock protein (actually, stress shock protein), an ACP*1 locus somatic growth factor, and a specialized calcium metabolism not as yet understood. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 14:566,583, 2002. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Frequency of the sit-to-stand task: a pilot study of free-living adultsPHYSIOTHERAPY RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL, Issue 3 2008Andy Kerr Purpose.,To report contemporary data on the daily frequency of the sit-to-stand (STS) movement in a healthy, independently living, adult population.,Relevance.,As a key determinant of functional independence, which has a high mechanical load, the STS movement is a common feature of rehabilitation. Knowledge of STS frequency during daily activities could inform rehabilitation goals and content, but has rarely been examined. To date, only McLeod et al. (1975) have investigated this, reporting an average of 92 daily STS transitions in healthy young participants.,Methods.,Fifteen healthy, free-living, ambulant adults (three males; mean age 40 years) were recruited from the general population. An activity monitor (activPALTM, PALtechnologies, Glasgow, UK) reported free-living activity for each subject for seven consecutive days.,Analysis.,The average number of STS transitions per day was calculated from the whole period. Data were separated into working and non-working days, and compared using a paired t-test.,Results.,On average, participants performed 64 (±19) STS movements each day, with large individual differences [range 35,105]. Participants performed significantly (p = 0.047) more STS movements on a working day [68 (±24)] than on a non-working day [55 (±17)].,Discussion.,Fewer STS movements were recorded than previously reported (McLeod et al., 1975). This may reflect general changes in lifestyle; however, comparisons should consider the small samples involved and methodological differences.,Conclusion.,This study provides contemporary data for STS frequency and demonstrates a significant difference between working and non-working days. This information could guide rehabilitation and future research. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Development of the practice environment scale of the nursing work index,,RESEARCH IN NURSING & HEALTH, Issue 3 2002Eileen T. Lake Abstract Five subscales were derived from the Nursing Work Index (NWI) to measure the hospital nursing practice environment, using 1985,1986 nurse data from 16 magnet hospitals. The NWI comprises organizational characteristics of the original magnet hospitals. The psychometric properties of the subscales and a composite measure were established. All measures were highly reliable at the nurse and hospital levels. Construct validity was supported by higher scores of nurses in magnet versus nonmagnet hospitals. Confirmatory analyses of contemporary data from 11,636 Pennsylvania nurses supported the subscales. The soundness of the new measures is supported by their theoretical and empirical foundations, conceptual integrity, psychometric strength, and generalizability. The measures could be used to study how the practice environment influences nurse and patient outcomes. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Res Nurs Health 25:176,188, 2002 [source] Educational homogamy in Ireland and Britain: trends and patterns*THE BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY, Issue 4 2003Brendan Halpin ABSTRACT This paper examines the pattern of educational homogamy in Ireland and Britain. Using contemporary data on recent marriages from the early 1970s through to the mid-1990s, we show that these two countries share a broadly similar pattern of educational homogamy, which is quasi-symmetric in character, with no tendency for women to marry up over and above that which can be attributed to the gender difference in educational attainment. In the 1970s, the strength of homogamy was much weaker in Ireland than in Britain. But we discern a clear inter-country difference in how the net strength of homogamy has changed over time. While it has declined in Britain since the 1970s, in Ireland the strength of homogamy has first increased and then levelled off. Our findings are inconsistent with the inverted U-shaped relationship between economic development and homogamy reported by Smits, Ultee and Lammers (1998) , an argument premised on secular change in the criteria of spouse selection. Instead, our results are better understood in terms of Mare's (1991) life course argument that homogamy is inversely related to the time-gap between school departure and first marriage. [source] Paediatric trauma at an adult trauma centreANZ JOURNAL OF SURGERY, Issue 10 2005Andrew J. A. Holland Background: Trauma in children remains the commonest cause of mortality. The majority of injured children who reach hospital survive, indicating that additional more sensitive outcome measures should be utilized to evaluate paediatric trauma care, including morbidity and missed injury rates. Limited contemporary data have been presented reviewing the care of injured children at an adult trauma centre (ATC). Methods: A review was undertaken of injured children who warranted activation of the trauma team, treated within the emergency department of an ATC (Royal North Shore Hospital) situated in the Lower North Shore area of Sydney. Data were collected prospectively and patients followed through to death or discharge from the ATC or another institution to which they had been transferred. Results: A total of 93 children were admitted to the ATC between January 1999 and April 2002. Mean age was 9 years 3 months (range 5 weeks,15 years 9 months) and 70% were male. The median injury severity score was 15 (range 1,75) and there were three deaths. Forty-two children were transferred to a paediatric trauma centre (PTC), including three children who had been transferred to the ATC from another hospital. There was one missed injury and one iatrogenic urethral injury. Conclusions: The majority of children with trauma were treated safely and appropriately at the ATC. The missed injury rate was < 1% and there were no adverse long-term sequelae of initial treatment. Three secondary transfers could have been avoided by more appropriate coordination of the initial referral to a PTC. [source] | |||||||||||||