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Finding Highlights (finding + highlight)
Selected AbstractsThe Eden model: Innovation in Australian aged care?AUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL ON AGEING, Issue 3 2010Maree Petersen Aim:, The Eden model of care is part of discourse associated with innovation in aged care. There is, however, limited rigorous research to identify its essential claims. This paper examines the implementation of the Eden model in one integrated health service in rural Australia. Methods:, Data are derived from a small qualitative study that explored the views of staff. Results:, Findings highlight that while the discourse of the Eden model is accessible to all staff within aged care and is linked to person-centred care, there is tension with this practice of aged care within the Australian context. Conclusion:, It is appropriate to ask if this form of care is innovative; what constitutes innovation and the importance of accounting for wider contextual factors. There is a need to build on this exploratory study with dialogue and research of not only the Eden model, but innovation in aged care within Australia. [source] Molecular mimicry in innate immunity?EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 7 2008The viral RNA recognition receptor TLR7 accelerates murine lupus Abstract Toll-like receptors (TLR), such as TLR7, were first described as innate pathogen recognition receptors that trigger appropriate antimircrobial immune responses upon exposure to pathogen-associated molecules, e.g. viral ssRNA. In parallel to ongoing studies on TLR-biology, mounting experimental evidence suggests that endogenous RNA-related autoantigens may also activate dendritic cells (DC) and B cells through TLR7. TLR7-mediated DC activation, autoantibody secretion, lymphoproliferation, and autoimmune tissue injury, are frequently observed in various murine models of systemic lupus and lupus nephritis. A paper in the current issue of the European Journal of Immunology, provide striking experimental evidence for this concept; the authors show that the Y chromosome-linked autoimmune accelerating (Yaa) translocation from the X-chromosome, consisting of 16 genes including Tlr7, largely mediates the autoimmune phenotype via the duplication of Tlr7. This finding highlights the need to address the significance of TLR7 in human lupus in terms of both genetic risk and as a therapeutic option. See accompanying article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/eji.200838138 [source] Allometry, growth and population regulation of the desert shrub Larrea tridentataFUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2008A. P. Allen Summary 1Quantifying the effects of individual- and population-level processes on plant-community structure is of fundamental importance for understanding how biota contribute to the flux, storage and turnover of matter and energy in ecosystems. 2Here we synthesize plant-allometry theory with empirical data to evaluate the roles of individual metabolism and competition in structuring populations of the creosote Larrea tridentata, a dominant shrub in deserts of southwestern North America. 3At the individual level, creosote data support theoretical predictions with regard to the size dependence of total leaf mass, short-term growth rates of leaves and long-term growth rates of entire plants. Data also support the prediction that root,shoot biomass allocation is independent of plant size. 4At the population level, size,abundance relationships within creosote stands deviate strongly from patterns observed for steady-state closed-canopy forests due to episodic recruitment events. This finding highlights that carbon storage and turnover in water-limited ecosystems can be inherently less predictable than in mesic environments due to pronounced environmental forcing on demographic variables. 5Nevertheless, broad-scale comparative analyses across ecosystems indicate that the relationship of total abundance to average size for creosote populations adhere to the thinning rule observed and predicted by allometry theory. This finding indicates that primary production in water-limited ecosystems can be independent of standing biomass due to competition among plants for resources. 6Our synthesis of theory with empirical data quantifies the primary roles of individual-level metabolism and competition in controlling the dynamics of matter and energy in water-limited ecosystems. [source] To breathe or not to breathe: optimal strategies for finding prey in a dark, three-dimensional environmentJOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, Issue 5 2008MARK HINDELL The use of sophisticated telemetry logging devices has revealed that short-finned pilot whales employ energetic sprints to chase down their deep-dwelling prey. These sprints are costly in terms of energy, and therefore oxygen, which is a valuable resource for an animal that has to hold its breath while hunting. This finding highlights the challenges faced by ecologists when trying to develop foraging models for marine predators because many of the key parameters, such as movements in three dimensions, marine prey fields and metabolic adaptations of diving animals, remain largely unknown. [source] Stable isotope evidence for the consumption of millet and other plants in Bronze Age ItalyAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 2 2009Mary Anne Tafuri Abstract Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis was carried out on human and animal bones from four inland Early and Middle Bronze Age sites in Northern and Southern Italy. The main aims of the investigation were to explore the contribution of plant foods to the human diet and to examine any dietary differences between and within each of the sites. At two of the sites in Northern Italy, human and animal bones were significantly enriched in 13C. This finding was attributed to the consumption of domestic millets (Panicum miliaceum and/or Setaria italica), which are C4 pathway plants. Conversely, individuals from the two Bronze Age sites in Southern Italy were significantly depleted in 13C compared to those from the north. Here, millet was absent from the diet, and protein from C3 plants made a much greater dietary contribution than animal protein. This finding highlights the importance of cereal cultivation, most likely of wheat and barley, in the south of Italy during the Bronze Age. Overall, our results support the idea that the widespread cultivation of millet first occurred in Northern Italy, following its introduction from across the Alps in Central Europe. Finally, we found no significant differences in the stable isotope values between individuals at each site, when grouped by their sex or presence of grave goods. This leads to the conclusion that any status difference that may have existed is not reflected in the long-term dietary record, or at least not as measurable by stable isotope analysis. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Cash Flow, Consumption Risk, and the Cross-section of Stock ReturnsTHE JOURNAL OF FINANCE, Issue 2 2009ZHI DA ABSTRACT I link an asset's risk premium to two characteristics of its underlying cash flow: covariance and duration. Using empirically novel estimates of both cash flow characteristics based exclusively on accounting earnings and aggregate consumption data, I examine their dynamic interaction in a two-factor cash flow model and find that they are able to explain up to 82% of the cross-sectional variation in the average returns on size, book-to-market, and long-term reversal-sorted portfolios for the period 1964 to 2002. This finding highlights the importance of fundamental cash flow characteristics in determining the risk exposure of an asset. [source] | |||||||||||||