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Selected AbstractsGuidelines for Systematic Review in Conservation and Environmental ManagementCONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2006ANDREW S. PULLIN política de la conservación; práctica de la conservación; toma de decisiones; transferencia de conocimiento basado en evidencia Abstract:,An increasing number of applied disciplines are utilizing evidence-based frameworks to review and disseminate the effectiveness of management and policy interventions. The rationale is that increased accessibility of the best available evidence will provide a more efficient and less biased platform for decision making. We argue that there are significant benefits for conservation in using such a framework, but the scientific community needs to undertake and disseminate more systematic reviews before the full benefit can be realized. We devised a set of guidelines for undertaking formalized systematic review, based on a health services model. The guideline stages include planning and conducting a review, including protocol formation, search strategy, data inclusion, data extraction, and analysis. Review dissemination is addressed in terms of current developments and future plans for a Web-based open-access library. By the use of case studies we highlight critical modifications to guidelines for protocol formulation, data-quality assessment, data extraction, and data synthesis for conservation and environmental management. Ecological data presented significant but soluble challenges for the systematic review process, particularly in terms of the quantity, accessibility, and diverse quality of available data. In the field of conservation and environmental management there needs to be further engagement of scientists and practitioners to develop and take ownership of an evidence-based framework. Resumen:,Un mayor número de disciplinas está utilizando marcos de referencia basados en evidencias para revisar y diseminar la efectividad de las intervenciones de gestión y política. El fundamento es que la mayor accesibilidad de la evidencia mejor disponible proporcionará una plataforma de toma de decisiones menos sesgada y más eficiente. Argumentamos que hay beneficios significativos para la conservación al utilizar tal marco de referencia, pero la comunidad científica debe emprender y diseminar revisiones más sistemáticas antes de que se pueda comprender el beneficio completo. Diseñamos un conjunto de directrices para realizar revisiones sistemáticas formales, basado en un modelo de servicios de salud. Las etapas de las directrices incluyen la planificación y conducción de una revisión, incluyendo formación del protocolo, estrategias de búsqueda, inclusión de datos, extracción y análisis de datos. La diseminación de revisiones es abordada en términos del desarrollo actual y los planes futuros para una biblioteca de acceso abierto en la Web. Al utilizar estudios de caso resaltamos modificaciones críticas a las directrices para la formulación del protocolo, evaluación de la calidad de los datos, extracción de datos y síntesis de datos para la gestión ambiental y de conservación. Los datos ecológicos presentaron retos significativos, pero solucionables, para el proceso de revisión sistemática, particularmente en términos de la cantidad, accesibilidad y calidad de los datos disponibles. Se requiere un mayor compromiso de científicos y profesionales de la gestión ambiental y de conservación para desarrollar y apropiarse de un marco de referencia basado en evidencias. [source] Functionalization of Porous Carbon Materials with Designed Pore Architecture,ADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 3 2009Andreas Stein Abstract Recent progress in syntheses of porous carbons with designed pore architecture has rejuvenated the field of carbon chemistry and promises to provide new advanced materials. In order to reap the full benefit of designer carbons, it is necessary to develop chemistries for functionalizing the porous carbon surfaces. This Review examines methods of functionalizing porous carbon through direct incorporation of heteroatoms in the carbon synthesis, surface oxidation and activation, halogenation, sulfonation, grafting, attachment of nanoparticles and surface coating with polymers. Methods of characterizing the functionalized carbon materials and applications that benefit from functionalized nanoporous carbons with designed architecture are also highlighted. [source] Nutrition in the genomics era: Cardiovascular disease risk and the Mediterranean dietMOLECULAR NUTRITION & FOOD RESEARCH (FORMERLY NAHRUNG/FOOD), Issue 10 2007Jose M. Ordovas Abstract The effect of dietary changes on phenotypes (i.e., plasma lipid measures, body weight and blood pressure) differs significantly between individuals. This phenomenon has been more extensively researched in relation to changes in dietary fat and plasma lipid concentrations for the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared to other pathological conditions. Although common knowledge associates low fat diets with reductions in total and plasma LDL cholesterol, the clinical evidence shows dramatic inter-individual differences in response that are partially due to genetic factors. The discovery of the cardioprotective and other healthy properties of the Mediterranean diet has popularized the consumption of Mediterranean products such as olive oil. Molecular, clinical, and epidemiological studies have begun to shed some light about how various components of this diet may protect the cardiovascular system and to decrease the risk of other diseases such as cancer. However, it is also possible that the right combination of genetic, cultural, socioeconomic factors is needed to achieve full benefit. It has been proposed that the Mediterranean diet may be closer to the ancestral foods that were part of human development and our metabolism may have evolved to work optimally on such a diet rather than with the current diets richer in saturated fat and highly refined and processed foods. Therefore, it is possible that alleles that are associated with increase disease risk may be silenced in the presence of that more ancestral and traditional diet and lifestyle. This knowledge may provide the basis for successful public health as well individual approaches for disease prevention. [source] A data integration framework to support Triad projectsREMEDIATION, Issue 1 2004Jim Mack Cost-effective and efficient site remediation and scientifically defensible decisions require site characterizations that are representative of site conditions. The Triad conceptual site model (CSM) is at the center of a continually improving site characterization process that begins during systematic planning and ends after the last data are developed. To gain the full benefit and greatest cost-effectiveness, the process of CSM refinement should be performed in real time. Thus, the use of collaborative data is critical for evolving and maturing the CSM. In the field, through the use of all available data that are of known quality, a skilled and experienced field team can collect sufficient site information to mature the CSM in a timely manner. To facilitate the planning and execution of such a process, an easily understandable framework is needed to structure data quality that supports scientifically defensible decisions and efficient projects. This article explores such a framework. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Mammography screening in African American womenCANCER, Issue S1 2003Evaluating the research Abstract BACKGROUND Notwithstanding some controversy regarding the benefits of screening mammography, it is generally assumed that the effects are the same for women of all race/ethnic groups. Yet evidence for its efficacy from clinical trial studies comes primarily from the study of white women. It is likely that mammography is equally efficacious in white and African American women when applied under relatively optimal clinical trial conditions, but in actual practice African Americans may not be receiving equal benefit, as reflected in their later stage at diagnosis and greater mortality. METHODS Initial searches of Medline using search terms related to screening mammography, race, and other selected topics were supplemented with national data that are routinely published for cancer surveillance. Factors that potentially compromise the benefits of mammography as it is delivered in the current health care system to African American women were examined. RESULTS While there have been significant improvements in mammography screening utilization, observational data suggest that African American women may still not be receiving the full benefit. Potential explanatory factors include low use of repeat screening, inadequate followup for abnormal exams, higher prevalence of obesity and, possibly, breast density, and other biologic factors that contribute to younger age at diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS Further study of biologic factors that may contribute to limited mammography efficacy and poorer breast cancer outcomes in African American women is needed. In addition, strategies to increase repeat mammography screening and to ensure that women obtain needed followup of abnormal mammograms may increase early detection and improve survival among African Americans. Notwithstanding earlier age at diagnosis for African American women, mammography screening before age 40 years is not recommended, but screening of women aged 40,49 years is particularly critical. Cancer 2003;97(1 Suppl):258,72. © 2003 American Cancer Society. DOI 10.1002/cncr.11022 An erratum to this article is published in Cancer (2003) 97(8) 2047. [source] Mutualism as a constraint on invasion success for legumes and rhizobiaDIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS, Issue 3 2001Matthew A. Parker Abstract Because hereditary symbiont transmission is normally absent in the mutualism of legume plants and root-nodule bacteria (rhizobia), dispersing plants may often arrive at new habitats where mutualist partners are too rare to provide full benefits. Factors governing invasion success were explored by analysing a system of two coupled pairwise competition models: a legume invader competing with a resident non-mutualistic plant, and a rhizobial population competing with a resident population of nonsymbiotic bacteria. The non-linear dependence of benefits on partner abundance in this mutualism creates the possibility of two alternative population size equilibria, so that a threshold density can exist for invasion. If legumes and rhizobia exceed a critical population size, both species achieve rapid population growth, while if initial densities of both species are below their respective thresholds, they remain rare and are thus vulnerable to extinction in the presence of competitors. Overall, the results indicate that legumes may often fail at colonization attempts within habitats where mutualist partners are scarce. Data on legume prevalence in island floras and rates of geographical spread by legume weeds are consistent with this inference. Predictive insights about invasiveness may emerge from comparative research on key traits identified by the model, especially the shape of the function determining the number of nodules formed at low rhizobial density. [source] The uses and abuses of time: globalization and time arbitrage in India's outsourcing industriesGLOBAL NETWORKS, Issue 1 2009SHEHZAD NADEEM Abstract Globalization has undoubtedly altered our conceptions and experience of time. It has sped up the pace of life and some scholars even suggest that a new temporal order is supplanting ,natural' and pre-existing cycles and rhythms. Yet time is not dissolved in the global circuits of capital. Rather, globalization has brought about a complex mixture of temporal orientations; the workplaces of ,new economy', for example, are traversed by novel and retrograde modes of work pace, rhythm and time-discipline. In this article, I explore the temporal implications of the outsourcing of information technology-based service work to India. Drawing on fieldwork and interviews with workers, managers and executives in the Indian IT and Business Processing Outsourcing industries, I address the following questions: (1) How are corporations using time arbitrage to reap the full benefits of a globally dispersed labour pool? (2) What impacts are these temporal changes having on the health and social lives of Indian workers? For corporations, time arbitrage means increased efficiency and cost-savings. But for workers, it results in long hours, an intense work pace, and temporal displacement. Night-shift employees, such as call centre workers, are particularly vulnerable to such displacement, as manifested in health and safety problems and social alienation. Globalization therefore does not entail the loosening of temporal chains, but their reconfiguration: a combination both rigid and flexible that binds even as it liberates. [source] Multilevel Analysis of the Chronic Care Model and 5A Services for Treating Tobacco Use in Urban Primary Care ClinicsHEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH, Issue 1 2009Dorothy Y. Hung Objective. To examine the chronic care model (CCM) as a framework for improving provider delivery of 5A tobacco cessation services. Methods. Cross-sectional surveys were used to obtain data from 497 health care providers in 60 primary care clinics serving low-income patients in New York City. A hierarchical generalized linear modeling approach to ordinal regression was used to estimate the probability of full 5A service delivery, adjusting for provider covariates and clustering effects. We examined associations between provider delivery of 5A services, clinic implementation of CCM elements tailored for treating tobacco use, and the degree of CCM integration in clinics. Principal Findings. Providers practicing in clinics with enhanced delivery system design, clinical information systems, and self-management support for cessation were 2.04,5.62 times more likely to perform all 5A services ( p<.05). CCM integration in clinics was also positively associated with 5As delivery. Compared with none, implementation of one to six CCM elements corresponded with a 3.69,30.9 increased odds of providers delivering the full spectrum of 5As ( p<.01). Conclusions. Findings suggest that the CCM facilitates provider adherence to the Public Health Service 5A clinical guideline. Achieving the full benefits of systems change may require synergistic adoption of all model components. [source] The impact of pharmacy computerised clinical decision support on prescribing, clinical and patient outcomes: a systematic review of the literatureINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACY PRACTICE, Issue 2 2010Jane Robertson Abstract Objectives Computerised clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) are being used increasingly to support evidence-based decision-making by health care professionals. This systematic review evaluated the impact of CDSSs targeting pharmacists on physician prescribing, clinical and patient outcomes. We compared the impact of CDSSs addressing safety concerns (drug interactions, contraindications, dose monitoring and adjustment) and those focusing on medicines use in line with guideline recommendations (hereafter referred to as Quality Use of Medicines, or QUM). We also examined the influence of clinical setting (institutional versus ambulatory care), system- or user-initiation of CDSS, prescribing versus clinical outcomes reported and use of multi-faceted versus single interventions on system effectiveness. Methods We searched Medline, Embase, CINAHL and PsycINFO (1990,2009) for methodologically adequate studies (experiments and strong quasi-experiments) comparing a CDSS with usual pharmacy care. Individual study results are reported as positive trends or statistically significant results in the direction of the intentions of the CDSS being tested. Studies are aggregated and compared as the proportions of studies showing the effectiveness of the CDSS on the majority (, 50%) of outcomes reported in the individual study. Key findings Of 21 eligible studies, 11 addressed safety and 10 QUM issues. CDSSs addressing safety issues were more effective than CDSSs focusing on QUM (10/11 versus 4/10 studies reporting statistically significant improvements in favour of CDSSs on , 50% of all outcomes reported; P= 0.01). A number of QUM studies noted the limited contact between pharmacists and physicians relating to QUM treatment recommendations. More studies demonstrated CDSS benefits on prescribing outcomes than clinical outcomes (10/10 versus 0/3 studies; P= 0.002). There were too few studies to assess the impact of system- versus user-initiated CDSS, the influence of setting or multi-faceted interventions on CDSS effectiveness. Conclusions Our study demonstrated greater effectiveness of safety-focused compared with QUM-focused CDSSs. Medicine safety issues are traditional areas of pharmacy activity. Without good communication between pharmacists and physicians, the full benefits of QUM-focused CDSSs may not be realised. Developments in pharmacy-based CDSSs need to consider these inter-professional relationships as well as computer-system enhancements. [source] Different dietary restriction regimens extend lifespan by both independent and overlapping genetic pathways in C. elegansAGING CELL, Issue 2 2009Eric L. Greer Summary Dietary restriction (DR) has the remarkable ability to extend lifespan and healthspan. A variety of DR regimens have been described in species ranging from yeast to mammals. However, whether different DR regimens extend lifespan via universal, distinct, or overlapping pathways is still an open question. Here we examine the genetic pathways that mediate longevity by different DR regimens in Caenorhabditis elegans. We have previously shown that the low-energy sensing AMP-activated protein kinase AMPK/aak-2 and the Forkhead transcription factor FoxO/daf-16 are necessary for longevity induced by a DR regimen that we developed (sDR). Here we find that AMPK and FoxO are necessary for longevity induced by another DR regimen, but are dispensable for the lifespan extension induced by two different DR methods. Intriguingly, AMPK is also necessary for the lifespan extension elicited by resveratrol, a natural polyphenol that mimics some aspects of DR. Conversely, we test if genes previously reported to mediate longevity by a variety of DR methods are necessary for sDR-induced longevity. Although clk-1, a gene involved in ubiquinone biosynthesis, is also required for sDR-induced lifespan extension, we find that four other genes (sir-2.1, FoxA/pha-4, skn-1, and hsf-1) are all dispensable for longevity induced by sDR. Consistent with the observation that different DR methods extend lifespan by mostly independent genetic mechanisms, we find that the effects on lifespan of two different DR regimens are additive. Understanding the genetic network by which different DR regimens extend lifespan has important implications for harnessing the full benefits of DR on lifespan and healthspan. [source] Imperfect Information and Training QualityLABOUR, Issue 4 2005Wendy Smits It is therefore not possible to have training wages completely contingent upon the level of training provided. Training wages will be too high. This, in turn, prevents firms from recouping the full benefits from training and leads to underinvestment. The more general the training, the more severe this underinvestment problem. [source] Facial Pain: A Possible Therapy with Stellate Ganglion BlockPAIN MEDICINE, Issue 7 2008Ilaria Salvaggio MD ABSTRACT Objective., The goal of the present study is to verify the efficacy of stellate ganglion block (SGB) in the treatment of facial pain that can be found in different pathological syndromes, and also to examine whether the efficacy is dependent upon when this therapy is administered. Patients., Fifty patients (divided into two randomized groups) with facial pain caused by traumas, iatrogenic issues, herpes zoster, or neurological pathologies participated in this study. Design and Interventions., The first group (N = 25) was treated with SGB produced by 10 administrations of 10 mg of levobupivacaine given every other day, followed by one administration per month for 6 months thereafter. The second group was treated with the drugs tramadol 100 mg/day and gabapentin 1800 mg/day orally for 6 months; during the 7th month they were given SGB therapy using the same methodology as that described for the first group. Results., Before treatment, the mean visual analog scale (VAS) pain score for the first group was 8.89; after the 10th block treatment it was just 0.2, and it remained at that reduced level for the 6th and 12th months. Before treatment, the mean VAS pain score for the second group was 8.83; after the 20th day on medication it was reduced to 4.1, after 6 months it was 5.7 and after 12 months it was 4.9. Conclusions., Our results indicate that patients must be treated with SGB therapy precociously to receive its full benefits. [source] Translocations: Providing Outcomes for Wildlife, Resource Managers, Scientists, and the Human CommunityRESTORATION ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2008Kevin A. Parker Abstract The World Conservation Union (1987) defines a translocation as a release of animals with the intention of establishing, reestablishing, or augmenting an existing population. Despite frequent use as a tool for the management of threatened and endangered wildlife, the full benefits of translocations often go unrealized. In this article, I demonstrate how translocations can achieve outputs for conservation management, conservation science, and the wider human community, using North Island (NI) Saddleback or Tieke (Philesturnus rufusater) as an illustrative example. From a conservation management perspective, NI Saddleback have been salvaged from a relic population of less than 500 birds on 484-ha Hen Island to a metapopulation of approximately 6,000 birds on 13 offshore islands and at two mainland New Zealand sites. These translocations have reduced the risk of global extinction for this species and helped restore the ecosystems involved. All these translocations have occurred in the past 42 years from known source populations and with known numbers of birds released. The resulting replicated serial population bottlenecks provide numerous scientific opportunities for conservation and biological research. Although the first Saddleback translocations were to reserves closed to the public, subsequent translocations have been to open reserves, providing the wider human community with an opportunity to see and be actively involved in the management of a threatened endemic species. This has raised the profile of both NI Saddleback and other species and has provided wider community conservation benefits. These three outputs illustrate the value of translocations for resource management and conservation science and for increasing community interest, participation, and investment in biological conservation. [source] Variations in Aortic Pressure Affect the Mechanics of the Intra-Aortic Balloon: An In Vitro InvestigationARTIFICIAL ORGANS, Issue 7 2010Giovanni Biglino Abstract This study aims to investigate the mechanics of the intra-aortic balloon (IAB) under different aortic pressure (Pao) and inclination (0,75°). Pressure and flow were measured in an artificial aorta during IAB pumping with a frequency of 1:3. Volume displaced toward the "coronary arteries" during inflation (Vprox) and "intra-aortic" pressure reduction during deflation (Pr) were derived. IAB duration of inflation and deflation was determined with a high-speed camera visualization. When the aorta was horizontal, Pao raised from 45 mm Hg to 115 mm Hg, Vprox reduced by 18% (25.0 ± 1.0 mL vs. 30.4 ± 1.9 mL) and Pr increased by 117% (106.4 ± 0.3 mm Hg vs. 48.9 ± 0.6 mm Hg). When the aorta was inclined, at low Pao of 45 mm Hg, Vprox was reduced by 30% from 0° to 45° (19.8 ± 2.3 mL vs. 28.3 ± 1.7 mL) and Pr was reduced by 66% (16.5 ± 0.1 mm Hg vs. 48.9 ± 0.6 mm Hg). However, at high Pao of 115 mm Hg, Vprox remained unchanged with increasing angle (20.0 ± 1.0 mL) and Pr was reduced by 24% (80.6 ± 0.8 mm Hg vs. 106.4 ± 0.3 mm Hg). Increasing Pao increased duration of inflation. At low Pao, increasing angle resulted in increasing duration of inflation, but at high Pao, increasing angle had the opposite effect. Duration of deflation generally decreased with Pao and increased with increasing angle. The IAB pump is affected by both Pao and angle, indicating that non-normotensive patients or patients in the semi-recumbent position might not receive the full benefits of IAB counterpulsation. [source] Essential fatty acids: biochemistry, physiology and pathologyBIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL, Issue 4 2006Undurti N. Das Dr. Abstract Essential fatty acids (EFAs), linoleic acid (LA), and ,-linolenic acid (ALA) are essential for humans, and are freely available in the diet. Hence, EFA deficiency is extremely rare in humans. To derive the full benefits of EFAs, they need to be metabolized to their respective long-chain metabolites, i.e., dihomo-,-linolenic acid (DGLA), and arachidonic acid (AA) from LA; and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) from ALA. Some of these long-chain metabolites not only form precursors to respective prostaglandins (PGs), thromboxanes (TXs), and leukotrienes (LTs), but also give rise to lipoxins (LXs) and resolvins that have potent anti-inflammatory actions. Furthermore, EFAs and their metabolites may function as endogenous angiotensin-converting enzyme and 3-hdroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors, nitric oxide (NO) enhancers, anti-hypertensives, and anti-atherosclerotic molecules. Recent studies revealed that EFAs react with NO to yield respective nitroalkene derivatives that exert cell-signaling actions via ligation and activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors. The metabolism of EFAs is altered in several diseases such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, atherosclerosis, and cancer. Thus, EFAs and their derivatives have varied biological actions and seem to be involved in several physiological and pathological processes. [source] Creating your policy governance tool kitBOARD LEADERSHIP: POLICY GOVERNANCE IN ACTION, Issue 50 2000Caroline Oliver The Board that is working hard to use Policy Governance faces a special challenge when searching for tools to help it do its work. It needs to make sure that the tools it chooses and the tools it develops on its own are truly a help and not a hindrance in getting the full benefits of Policy Governance. Caroline Oliver, a governance consultant based in Canada and editor of The Policy Governance Fieldbook Practical Lessons, Tips, and Tools from the Experiences of Real-World Boards (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1999), sheds some light on what kind of tools are helpful and how to choose wisely. [source] Reperfusion and calculated RISKs: pharmacological postconditioning of human myocardiumBRITISH JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY, Issue 1 2008G F Baxter The last five years have witnessed a remarkable resurgence of interest in myocardial reperfusion injury. Reperfusion is absolutely essential to salvage ischaemic myocardium but experimental and clinical studies show that reperfusion-associated injury may mask the full benefits of prompt reperfusion in acute myocardial infarction. In the current issue of the British Journal of Pharmacology, Mudalagiri et al demonstrate a protective effect against simulated reperfusion injury using exogenously applied erythropoietin in human isolated myocardium. Crucially, the benefits of erythropoietin were observed when it was administered specifically during re-oxygenation. The demonstration that the protective effects of the cytokine were dependent on PI3-kinase/Akt and ERK1/2 activation provides compelling evidence that reperfusion injury salvage kinases (RISKs) are key survival mechanisms in human myocardium, as they are in experimental animal species. Although erythropoietin may be only one of several potential pharmacological approaches in human patients, this study establishes the important proof-of-principle that activation of RISKs is protective in human myocardium and could be a promising therapeutic target in acute myocardial infarction. British Journal of Pharmacology (2008) 153, 1,3; doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0707498; published online 22 October 2007 [source] | ||||||||||||||||