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Current Variations (current + variation)
Selected AbstractsLay food and health worker involvement in community nutrition and dietetics in England: definitions from the fieldJOURNAL OF HUMAN NUTRITION & DIETETICS, Issue 3 2008L. A. Kennedy Abstract Background, Community-based food initiatives have developed in recent years with the aim of engaging previously ,hard to reach' groups. Lay workers engaged in community nutrition activities are promoted as a cost-effective mechanism for reaching underserved groups. The primary objective of the study was to explore perceptions and definitions of lay helping within the context of National Health Service (NHS) community nutrition and dietetic services to identify existing terms and definitions and propose an overarching term. Methods, Interpretive qualitative inquiry; semi-structured interviews with lay food and health worker (LFHW) and NHS professionals employed by community-based programmes, serving ,hard-to-reach' neighbourhoods, across England. Results, In total, 29 professionals and 53 LFHWs were interviewed across 15 of the 18 projects identified. Across all the projects, there was a preference for the use of one of two terms, either Community Food Worker or Community Nutrition Assistant, in reference to lay workers. There was no consensus in terms of a unifying term or definition for this new role. Conclusions, Current variation in the terms and definitions used for this role is problematic and is hindering development and effective utilization of lay helping within the broad remit of community food and health and dietetics. The umbrella term ,Lay Food and Health Worker' is proposed based upon definitions and interpretations from the field. [source] Grassland diversity related to the Late Iron Age human population densityJOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 3 2007MEELIS PÄRTEL Summary 1Species-rich semi-natural grasslands in Europe developed during prehistoric times and have endured due to human activity. At the same time, intensive grassland management or changes in land use may result in species extinction. As a consequence, plant diversity in semi-natural calcareous grasslands may be related to both historical and current human population density. 2We hypothesize that current vascular plant diversity in semi-natural calcareous grasslands is positively correlated with the Late Iron Age (c. 800,1000 years ago) density of human settlements (indicated by Late Iron Age fortresses and villages) due to enhancement of grassland extent and species dispersal, and negatively correlated with current human population density due to habitat loss and deterioration. 3We described the size of the community vascular plant species pool, species richness per 1 m2 and the relative richness (richness divided by the size of the species pool) in 45 thin soil, calcareous (alvar) grasslands in Estonia. In addition to historical and current human population density we considered simultaneously the effects of grassland area, connectivity to other alvar grasslands, elevation above sea level (indicating grassland age), soil pH, soil N, soil P, soil depth, soil depth heterogeneity, geographical east,west gradient, precipitation and spatial autocorrelation. 4Both the size of the community species pool and the species richness are significantly correlated with the Late Iron Age human population density. In addition, species richness was unimodally related to the current human population density. The relative richness (species ,packing density') was highest in the intermediate current human population densities, indicative of moderate land-use intensity. 5Community species pool size decreased non-linearly with increasing soil N, and was highest at intermediate elevation. Small-scale richness was greater when sites were well connected and when the elevation was intermediate. Spatial autocorrelation was also significant for both species pool size and small-scale richness. 6In summary, human land-use legacy from prehistoric times is an important aspect in plant ecology, which could be an important contributor to the current variation in biodiversity. [source] What people with multiple sclerosis perceive to be important to meeting their needsJOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 1 2007Angus Forbes Abstract Title. What people with multiple sclerosis perceive to be important to meeting their needs Aim., This paper is a report of the findings of a survey in which people with multiple sclerosis identified what they believed would be helpful in meeting their current needs. Background., People with multiple sclerosis have low levels of satisfaction with the health and social care that they receive, but previous studies suggest that they have a broad range of physical, psychological and social needs. Method., A total of 714 people with different levels of disease impact who were participating in a prospective study evaluating multiple sclerosis specialist nurses were asked, ,What one thing would be most helpful in meeting your current needs?' The question was included in the postal questionnaire used for the study (mailed in 2001 and 2002). The overall response rate for usable returns (at both time points) was 42%. Descriptive statistics on the frequency of codes and categories generated by content analysis were compiled and compared in relation to demographic and disease characteristics. Findings., A total of 445 people responded to the question. Seven categories were identified: medical treatment (29%, n = 126); socio-environmental support and adaptation (19%, n = 81); enhanced care provision (18%, n = 79); information provision (9%, n = 38); rehabilitation therapies (7%, n = 29); non-professional care (6%, n = 28); and psychological support (3%, n = 15). Nine per cent of responses (n = 39) were not coded as their meanings were unclear. Socio-environmental support, rehabilitation and non-professional care were more frequently identified by those with greater disease impact. Information was identified as a stronger need for those in lower disease impact groups. Conclusion., The findings could provide the basis for developing a multiple sclerosis-specific service satisfaction tool. This could be helpful in assessing the quality of provision, given current variations in the coverage and quality of care provided. Nurses could use such a tool to assess the quality of care in a given population, thereby highlighting gaps in service provision. [source] Negative (and very low) thermal expansion in ReO3 from 5 to 300,KJOURNAL OF APPLIED CRYSTALLOGRAPHY, Issue 2 2009Monica Dapiaggi This paper reports the accurate measurement of the ReO3 cell parameter as a function of temperature. The thermal expansion is confirmed to be negative over most of the temperature range from 5 to 300,K. The main problems with the measurements are the very small variations (in the range of 10,5,Å) in the cell parameter at each temperature, requiring tight control of the stability and reliability of instrumental effects. In particular, achieving monochromator stability over time might be challenging with the high energy and high beam current variations of a third-generation synchrotron facility. On the other hand, such effects are usually checked by the addition of silicon as an internal standard, but the accuracy (and precision) of the published thermal expansion (which is not certified) might not be sufficient for its use when dealing with very small cell parameter variations. [source] | ||||||||||