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Future Conditions (future + condition)
Selected AbstractsProsthodontists in Private Practice: Current and Future Conditions of Practice in the United States (Part I)JOURNAL OF PROSTHODONTICS, Issue 4 2007Kent D. Nash PhD Purpose: The purpose of this study was to use data from surveys of prosthodontists to examine the current conditions and characteristics of prosthodontists in private practice in the United States. Materials and Methods: Characteristics of prosthodontists and conditions of practice are based on the 2002 Survey of Prosthodontists and the 2005 Survey of Prosthodontists. Both surveys were conducted by the American College of Prosthodontists. Several characteristics of private practice/practitioners are estimated including age, gender, number of patient visits, hours in the practice, employment of staff, and financial conditions (gross receipts, expenses of the practice, and net income of prosthodontists) Results: In 2004, the average age of private practitioners was 50 years. Years since graduation from dental school averaged 23.4 years, and years since completion of residency was 18.3 years. Prosthodontists spent an average of 35.7 hours per week in the office and 29.5 hours treating patients. In 2004, the average gross revenue per owner of a private practice reached $782,130, and mean net income was $258,490. The largest percentage of prosthodontist time was spent providing six procedures including fixed prosthodontics, implant services, complete dentures, operative care, diagnosis, and partial dentures. Conclusion: The United States spends about $1.8 billion on prosthodontic services provided by prosthodontists in private practice. Prosthodontists spend $1.1 billion dollars in expenses and treat an estimated 1.1 million patients per year. [source] The integration of ecological risk assessment and structured decision making into watershed managementINTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2007Dan W Ohlson Abstract Watershed management processes continue to call for more science and improved decision making that take into account the full range of stakeholder perspectives. Increasingly, the core principles of ecological risk assessment (i.e., the development and use of assessment endpoints and conceptual models, conducting exposure and effects analysis) are being incorporated and adapted in innovative ways to meet the call for more science. Similarly, innovative approaches to adapting decision analysis tools and methods for incorporating stakeholder concerns in complex natural resource management decisions are being increasingly applied. Here, we present an example of the integration of ecological risk assessment with decision analysis in the development of a watershed management plan for the Greater Vancouver Water District in British Columbia, Canada. Assessment endpoints were developed, ecological inventory data were collected, and watershed models were developed to characterize the existing and future condition of 3 watersheds in terms of the potential risks to water quality. Stressors to water quality include sedimentation processes (landslides, streambank erosion) and forest disturbance (wildfire, major insect or disease outbreak). Three landscape-level risk management alternatives were developed to reflect different degrees of management intervention. Each alternative was evaluated under different scenarios and analyzed by explicitly examining value-based trade-offs among water quality, environmental, financial, and social endpoints. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate how the integration of ecological risk assessment and decision analysis approaches can support decision makers in watershed management. [source] What Matters When Deciding Whether to Participate in Colorectal Cancer Screening?JOURNAL OF APPLIED BIOBEHAVIORAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2010The Moderating Role of Time Perspective According to construal level theory (CLT), the more distant an event, the more likely it is to be represented in terms of abstract (e.g., desirability) versus concrete features (e.g., feasibility). This online study tested temporal distance effects in the context of colorectal cancer screening, which is desirable in terms of detecting cancer but relatively unpleasant. Consistent with CLT, participants in the distant future condition acquired more knowledge relating to the desirability of performing the test, attached greater weight to information emphasizing the long-term benefits, and exhibited stronger intentions to use the test. These findings suggest that the temporal distance between decision-making and behavioral execution plays an important role in the construal and application of central features of health actions. [source] Myth and mobilisation: the triadic structure of nationalist rhetoricNATIONS AND NATIONALISM, Issue 2 2001Matthew Levinger Drawing on the theory of collective action frames, this essay analyses the use of images of a primordial ,golden age' in the rhetoric of national mobilisation. Such idealised images of the past, juxtaposed with exaggerated depictions of a degraded present and a utopian future condition, constitute a rhetorical triad that is an effective instrument for motivating mass political movements. The model developed here emphasises the links between identity formation and political mobilisation, analysing how narratives of communal decline and redemption play a central role in defining the agendas of nationalist movements. [source] Altered kelp (Laminariales) phlorotannins and growth under elevated carbon dioxide and ultraviolet-B treatments can influence associated intertidal food websGLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, Issue 8 2007ANDREW K. SWANSON Abstract Due to the importance of brown algae, such as kelp (Laminariales, Phaeophyta), within most cool nearshore environments, any direct responses of kelp to multiple global changes could alter the integrity of future coastal marine systems. Fifty-five-day manipulation of carbon dioxide (CO2) and ultraviolet light (UVB) within outdoor sea-tanks, approximating past, present and two predicted future levels, examined the direct influences on Saccharina latissima (=Laminaria saccharina) and Nereocystis luetkeana development and biochemistry, as well as the indirect influences on a marine herbivore (Tegula funebralis; Gastropoda, Mollusca) and on naturally occurring intertidal detritivores. Kelp species displayed variable directional (negative and positive growth) and scale responses to CO2 and UVB manipulations, which was influenced by interactions. Kelp phlorotannin (phenolic) production in blade tissues was induced by elevated UVB levels, and especially enhanced (additively) by elevated CO2, further suggesting that some actively growing kelp species are carbon limited in typical nearshore environments. Negative indirect effects upon detritivore consumers fed CO2 -manipulated kelp blade tissues were detected, however, no statistical relationships existed among UVB-treated tissues, and test herbivores did not distinguish between phlorotannin-altered CO2: UVB-treated kelp blade tissues. Results suggest that past and future conditions differentially benefit these kelp species, which implies a potential for shifts in species abundance and community composition. Higher CO2 conditions can indirectly impede marine decay processes delaying access to recycled trace nutrients, which may be disruptive to the seasonal regrowth of algae and/or higher trophic levels of nearshore ecosystems. [source] Global potential soil erosion with reference to land use and climate changesHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 14 2003Dawen Yang Abstract A GIS-based RUSLE model is employed to study the global soil erosion potential for viewing the present situation, analysing changes over the past century, and projecting future trends with reference to global changes in land use and climate. Scenarios considered in the study include historical, present and future conditions of cropland and climate. This research gives the first overview of the global situation of soil erosion potential considering the previous century as well as the present and future. Present soil erosion potential is estimated to be about 0·38 mm year,1 for the globe, with Southeast Asia found to be the most seriously affected region in the world. It is estimated that nearly 60% of present soil erosions are induced by human activity. With development of cropland in the last century, soil erosion potential is estimated to have increased by about 17%. Global warming might significantly increase the potential for soil erosion, and the regions with the same increasing trend of precipitation and population might face much more serious problems related to soil erosion in the future. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Experimentally testing the role of foundation species in forests: the Harvard Forest Hemlock Removal ExperimentMETHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION, Issue 2 2010Aaron M. Ellison Summary 1.,Problem statement, Foundation species define and structure ecological systems. In forests around the world, foundation tree species are declining due to overexploitation, pests and pathogens. Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), a foundation tree species in eastern North America, is threatened by an exotic insect, the hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae). The loss of hemlock is hypothesized to result in dramatic changes in assemblages of associated species with cascading impacts on food webs and fluxes of energy and nutrients. We describe the setting, design and analytical framework of the Harvard Forest Hemlock Removal Experiment (HF-HeRE), a multi-hectare, long-term experiment that overcomes many of the major logistical and analytical challenges of studying system-wide consequences of foundation species loss. 2.,Study design, HF-HeRE is a replicated and blocked Before-After-Control-Impact experiment that includes two hemlock removal treatments: girdling all hemlocks to simulate death by adelgid and logging all hemlocks >20 cm diameter and other merchantable trees to simulate pre-emptive salvage operations. These treatments are paired with two control treatments: hemlock controls that are beginning to be infested in 2010 by the adelgid and hardwood controls that represent future conditions of most hemlock stands in eastern North America. 3.,Ongoing measurements and monitoring, Ongoing long-term measurements to quantify the magnitude and direction of forest ecosystem change as hemlock declines include: air and soil temperature, light availability, leaf area and canopy closure; changes in species composition and abundance of the soil seed-bank, understorey vegetation, and soil-dwelling invertebrates; dynamics of coarse woody debris; soil nitrogen availability and net nitrogen mineralization; and soil carbon flux. Short-term or one-time-only measurements include initial tree ages, hemlock-decomposing fungi, wood-boring beetles and throughfall chemistry. Additional within-plot, replicated experiments include effects of ants and litter-dwelling microarthoropods on ecosystem functioning, and responses of salamanders to canopy change. 4.,Future directions and collaborations, HF-HeRE is part of an evolving network of retrospective studies, natural experiments, large manipulations and modelling efforts focused on identifying and understanding the role of single foundation species on ecological processes and dynamics. We invite colleagues from around the world who are interested in exploring complementary questions to take advantage of the HF-HeRE research infrastructure. [source] Molecular ecology of global changeMOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 19 2007THORSTEN B. H. REUSCH Abstract Global environmental change is altering the selection regime for all biota. The key selective factors are altered mean, variance and seasonality of climatic variables and increase in CO2 concentration itself. We review recent studies that document rapid evolution to global climate change at the phenotypic and genetic level, as a response to shifts in these factors. Among the traits that have changed are photoperiod responses, stress tolerance and traits associated with enhanced dispersal. The genetic basis of two traits with a critical role under climate change, stress tolerance and photoperiod behaviour, is beginning to be understood for model organisms, providing a starting point for candidate gene approaches in targeted nonmodel species. Most studies that have documented evolutionary change are correlative, while selection experiments that manipulate relevant variables are rare. The latter are particularly valuable for prediction because they provide insight into heritable change to simulated future conditions. An important gap is that experimental selection regimes have mostly been testing one variable at a time, while synergistic interactions are likely under global change. The expanding toolbox available to molecular ecologists holds great promise for identifying the genetic basis of many more traits relevant to fitness under global change. Such knowledge, in turn, will significantly advance predictions on global change effects because presence and polymorphism of critical genes can be directly assessed. Moreover, knowledge of the genetic architecture of trait correlations will provide the necessary framework for understanding limits to phenotypic evolution; in particular as lack of critical gene polymorphism or entire pathways, metabolic costs of tolerance and linkage or pleiotropy causing negative trait correlations. Synergism among stressor impacts on organismal function may be causally related to conflict among transcriptomic syndromes specific to stressor types. Because adaptation to changing environment is always contingent upon the spatial distribution of genetic variation, high-resolution estimates of gene flow and hybridization should be used to inform predictions of evolutionary rates. [source] Where Is the Future in Public Health?THE MILBANK QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2010HILARY GRAHAM Context: Today's societies have far-reaching impacts on future conditions for health. Against this backdrop, this article explores how the future is represented in contemporary public health, examining both its conceptual base and influential approaches through which evidence is generated for policy. Methods: Mission statements and official reviews provide insight into how the future is represented in public health's conceptual and ethical foundations. For its research practices, the article takes examples from epidemiological, intervention, and economic research, selecting risk-factor epidemiology, randomized controlled trials, and economic evaluation as exemplars. Findings: Concepts and ethics suggest that public health research and policy will be concerned with protecting both today's and tomorrow's populations from conditions that threaten their health. But rather than facilitating sustained engagement with future conditions and future health, exemplary approaches to gathering evidence focus on today's population. Thus, risk-factor epidemiology pinpoints risks in temporal proximity to the individual; controlled trials track short-term effects of interventions on the participants' health; and economic evaluations weigh policies according to their value to the current population. While their orientation to the present and near future aligns well with the compressed timescales for policy delivery on which democratic governments tend to work, it makes it difficult for the public health community to direct attention to conditions for future health. Conclusions: This article points to the need for research perspectives and practices that, consistent with public health's conceptual and ethical foundations, represent the interests of both tomorrow's and today's populations. [source] | ||||||||||||||||