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Innovative Ways (innovative + way)
Selected AbstractsDesign of an Artificial Left Ventricular Muscle: An Innovative Way to Actuate Blood Pumps?ARTIFICIAL ORGANS, Issue 6 2009Benjamin Van Der Smissen Abstract Blood pumps assist or take over the pump function of a failing heart. They are essentially activated by a pusher plate, a pneumatic compression of collapsible sacs, or they are driven by centrifugal pumps. Blood pumps relying upon one of these actuator mechanisms do not account for realistic wall deformation. In this study, we propose an innovative design of a blood pump actuator device which should be able to mimic fairly well global left ventricular (LV) wall deformation patterns in terms of circumferential and longitudinal contraction, as well as torsion. In order to reproduce these basic wall deformation patterns in our actuator device, we designed a novel kind of artificial LV "muscle" composed of multiple actively contracting cells. Its contraction is based on a mechanism by which pressurized air, inside such a cell, causes contraction in one direction and expansion perpendicular to this direction. The organization and geometry of the contractile cells within one artificial LV muscle, the applied pressure in the cells, and the governing LV loading conditions (preload and afterload) together determine the global deformation of the LV wall. Starting from a simple plastic bag, an experimental model based on the abovementioned principle was built and connected to a lumped hydraulic model of the vascular system (including compliance and resistance). The wall deformation pattern of this device was validated visually and its pump performance was studied in terms of LV volume and pressure and heart rate. Our experimental results revealed (i) a global LV motion resembling a real LV, and (ii) a close correlation between our model and a real LV in terms of end-systolic volume and pressure, end-diastolic volume and pressure, stroke volume, ejection fraction and pressure-volume relationship. Our proposed model appears promising and it can be considered as a step forward when compared to currently applied actuator mechanisms, as it will likely result in more physiological intracavity blood flow patterns. [source] Innovative Ways to Address the Mental Health and Medical Needs of Marginalized Patients: Collaborations Between Family Physicians, Family Therapists, and Family PsychologistsAMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 3 2004Warren L. Holleman PhD This article describes an innovative program to meet the needs of homeless women, children, and families residing at a transitional living center in an urban setting. The program involves collaboration between medical and mental health professionals to address the multiple problems and unmet needs of this population. Recommendations for future work in expanding collaborative practice are discussed. [source] On Lending to Small FirmsJOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2007Elijah Brewer III Lending to small firms is difficult because of the problems of information asymmetry. Innovative ways to address these problems have the potential to increase credit availability to these firms. The papers in this section provide a discussion of two different innovations in small business financing: increased usage of credit scoring technology and the introduction of microfinance lending institutions. Though these two approaches make use of different technologies, they provide a valuable picture of how lending to small firms is evolving over time. [source] The impact of quality on the demand for outpatient services in CyprusHEALTH ECONOMICS, Issue 12 2004Kara Hanson Abstract Health policy reforms in a number of countries seek to improve provider quality by sharpening the incentives they face, for example by exposing them to greater competition. For this to succeed, patients must be responsive to quality in their choice of provider. This paper uses data from Cyprus to estimate the effect of quality on patients' choice between public and private outpatient care. It improves on the existing literature by using a more comprehensive set of quality attributes which allows the dimensions of quality that have the largest effect on patient choice of provider to be identified. We also introduce an innovative way of measuring patients' perceptions of quality in a household survey. We find that patients' choice of provider is sensitive to quality, and that interpersonal quality is more important than either technical quality or system-related factors. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Narrative Methods and Children: Theoretical Explanations and Practice IssuesJOURNAL OF CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRIC NURSING, Issue 1 2008Lorna Bennett RN TOPIC:,The Narrative approach is an innovative way of working with children and adolescents experiencing mental health problems. This approach can be effectively integrated with the expressive arts and other nonverbal ways of accessing the life world of children. In addition, the approach promotes respect for and collaboration with the child in working towards healing and growth. PURPOSE:,In this paper core features of the narrative approach are described; the theoretical and philosophical and evidence base for this approach as well as its congruence with the special nature and needs of children will be explored. Finally, the benefits and challenges of this approach in relation to a specific clinical situation will be highlighted. SOURCES USED:,Published literature and the author's clinical experiences. CONCLUSION:,Narrative methods are ideally suited for addressing needs of children experiencing mental health problems and can enhance therapeutic effectiveness. Some of the challenges associated with its use include: finding creative ways to apply specific narrative concepts and methods with diverse clinical issues/problems; learning to collaborate with children and respect them as experts in their own lives; and shifting the nursing focus from a problem-focused orientation to a strength-oriented and child-centered approach. [source] Probiotics and prebiotics in atopic dermatitis: review of the theoretical background and clinical evidencePEDIATRIC ALLERGY AND IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 2p2 2010Leontien B. Van Der Aa van der Aa LB, Heymans HSA, van Aalderen WMC, Sprikkelman AB. Probiotics and prebiotics in atopic dermatitis: review of the theoretical background and clinical evidence. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2010: 21: e355,e367. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons A/S The prevalence of atopic dermatitis (AD) has risen over the past decades, especially in western societies. According to the revised hygiene hypothesis this increase is caused by a changed intestinal colonization pattern during infancy, which has an impact on the immune system. Manipulating the intestinal microflora with pro-, pre- or synbiotics is an innovative way to prevent or treat AD. This review provides an overview of the theoretical basis for using probiotics and prebiotics in AD and presents the current evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) regarding prevention and treatment of AD and food allergy in children with pro-, pre- and synbiotics. Seven RCTs on prevention and 12 RCTs on treatment were found by searching the Pubmed, Embase and Cochrane databases. Results of these trials are conflicting. In conclusion, at this moment there is not enough evidence to support the use of pro-, pre- or synbiotics for prevention or treatment of AD in children in clinical practice. [source] PRIVATE LEGISLATION AS A STRATEGY OF POLITICAL NEGOTIATIONPUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 4 2009ANAT MAOR This article contributes to the perception of the role of the legislator as political initiator in modern parliamentarianism. Most of the research literature relates to the parliament member as a ,eam player' of their faction and party. This research was conducted into the functioning of the Israeli parliament The Knesset and into private members' legislation. The article examines in an innovative way the act of legislation, not only as a judicial or procedural process but as a process of political negotiation. The concept and findings that arose from the study of the role of the legislator as initiator of bills and negotiator with the government gives important knowledge and perspective on legislation as a political negotiation process. [source] Enchanted Landscapes: Sensuous Awareness as Mystical Practice among Sufis in North IndiaTHE AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 1 2008Arthur Saniotis Sufi studies in India have become increasingly popular in the last fifteen years, which has provided insight into Sufi thought and practice. However, many of these studies tend to deal with political and social issues in relation to Sufi movements and shrine culture. My analysis presents an innovative way of understanding how Sufis experience sacred landscapes, and differs markedly from other studies on Indian Sufism. My aim is to analyse how Sufis at the Nizamuddin shrine sensuously engage with the sacred landscape. [source] Parameter Estimation in the Error-in-Variables Models Using the Gibbs SamplerTHE CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, Issue 1 2006Jessada J. Jitjareonchai Abstract Least squares and maximum likelihood techniques have long been used in parameter estimation problems. However, those techniques provide only point estimates with unknown or approximate uncertainty information. Bayesian inference coupled with the Gibbs Sampler is an approach to parameter estimation that exploits modern computing technology. The estimation results are complete with exact uncertainty information. The Error-in-Variables model (EVM) approach is investigated in this study. In it, both dependent and independent variables contain measurement errors, and the true values and uncertainties of all measurements are estimated. This EVM set-up leads to unusually large dimensionality in the estimation problem, which makes parameter estimation very difficult with classical techniques. In this paper, an innovative way of performing parameter estimation is introduced to chemical engineers. The paper shows that the method is simple and efficient; as well, complete and accurate uncertainty information about parameter estimates is readily available. Two real-world EVM examples are demonstrated: a large-scale linear model and an epidemiological model. The former is simple enough for most readers to understand the new concepts without difficulty. The latter has very interesting features in that a Poisson distribution is assumed, and a parameter with known distribution is retained while other unknown parameters are estimated. The Gibbs Sampler results are compared with those of the least squares. Les techniques de moindres carrés et de similitude maximale sont utilisées depuis longtemps dans les problèmes d'estimation des paramètres. Cependant, ces techniques ne fournissent que des estimations ponctuelles avec de l'information sur les incertitudes inconnue ou approximative. L'inférence de Bayes couplée à l'échantillonneur de Gibbs est une approche d'estimation paramétrique qui exploite la technologie moderne de calcul par ordinateur. Les résultats d'estimation sont complets avec l'information exacte sur les incertitudes. L'approche du modèle d'erreurs dans les variables (EVM) est étudiée dans cette étude. Dans cette méthode, les variables dépendantes et indépendantes contiennent des erreurs de mesure, et les véritables valeurs et incertitudes de toutes les mesures sont estimées. Ce système EVM mène à une dimensionnalité inhabituellement grande dans le problème d'estimation, ce qui rend l'estimation de paramètres très difficile avec les techniques classiques. Dans cet article, une façon innovante d'effectuer l'estimation de paramètres est présentée aux ingénieurs de génie chimique. On montre dans cet article que la méthode est simple et efficace; de même, de l'information complète et précise sur l'incertitude d'estimation de paramètres est accessible. Deux exemples d'EVM en situation réelle sont montrés, soient un modèle linéaire de grande échelle et un modèle épidémiologique. Le premier modèle est suffisamment simple pour la plupart des lecteurs pour comprendre les nouveaux concepts sans difficulté. Le deuxième possède des caractéristiques extrêmement intéressantes, en ce sens qu'on suppose une distribution de Poisson et qu'un paramètre ayant une distribution connue est retenu pendant que d'autres paramètres non connus sont estimés. Les résultats de l'échantillonneur de Gibbs sont comparés à ceux de la méthode des moindres carrés. [source] Pulsations and planets: The asteroseismology-extrasolar-planet connectionASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 5 2010S. Schuh Abstract The disciplines of asteroseismology and extrasolar planet science overlap methodically in the branch of high-precision photometric time series observations. Light curves are, amongst others, useful to measure intrinsic stellar variability due to oscillations, as well as to discover and characterize those extrasolar planets that transit in front of their host stars, periodically causing shallow dips in the observed brightness. Both fields ultimately derive fundamental parameters of stellar and planetary objects, allowing to study for example the physics of various classes of pulsating stars, or the variety of planetary systems, in the overall context of stellar and planetary system formation and evolution. Both methods typically also require extensive spectroscopic follow-up to fully explore the dynamic characteristics of the processes under investigation. In particularly interesting cases, a combination of observed pulsations and signatures of a planet allows to characterize a system's components to a very high degree of completeness by combining complementary information. The planning of the relevant space missions has consequently converged with respect to science cases, where at the outset there was primarily a coincidence in instrumentation and techniques. Whether space- or ground-based, a specific type of stellar pulsations can themselves be used in an innovative way to search for extrasolar planets. Results from this additional method at the interface of stellar pulsation studies and exoplanet hunts in a beyond-mainstream area are presented (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Wildlife and Politics: CAMPFIRE in ZimbabweDEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 3 2000Jocelyn Alexander CAMPFIRE programmes have been hailed internationally for the innovative ways in which they have sought to confront the challenges of some of Africa's most marginal regions through the promotion of local control over wildlife management. In Zimbabwe, CAMPFIRE has been cast as an antidote to the colonial legacy of technocratic and authoritarian development which had undermined people's control over their environment and criminalized their use of game. This article explores why such a potentially positive programme went so badly wrong in the case of Nkayi and Lupane districts, raising points of wider significance for comparable initiatives. Local histories and institutional politics need careful examination. The first part of the article thus investigates the historical forces which shaped attitudes to game, while the second part considers the powerful institutional and economic forces which conspired to sideline these historically formed local views. CAMPFIRE in Nkayi and Lupane was further shaped by the legacies of post-independence state violence in this region, and the failure of earlier wildlife projects. This range of factors combined to create deep distrust of CAMPFIRE, and quickly led to open confrontation. [source] The application of transcranial magnetic stimulation in psychiatry and neurosciences researchACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 5 2002P. B. Fitzgerald Objective:,Over recent years transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has become widely applied in the study of neuropsychiatric disorders. The aim of this article is to review the application of TMS as an investigative tool and as a potential therapeutic modality in psychiatric disorders. Method:,A comprehensive literature review. Results:,When applied as an investigative tool, TMS provides innovative ways to directly study the excitability of the cortex, cortical regional connectivity, the plasticity of brain responses and cognitive functioning in illness and disease states. A number of studies suggest the potential of treatment with TMS in disease states, especially in patients with depression, although difficulties exist with the interpretation of the published literature. Conclusion:,TMS has a considerable role in neuropsychiatric research. It appears to have considerable potential as a therapeutic tool in depression, and perhaps a role in several other disorders, although widespread application requires larger trials and establishment of sustained response. [source] Strategic environmental awakening: European progress in regional environmental integrationENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 2 2001Keith Clement In the EU Structural Funds, integrating environment and regional economic development is a challenge that is progressively being met. From a beginning characterized by conflict between these two themes, considerable progress has been made in successive rounds of programmes, accompanied by a gradual raising of awareness and the development of new mechanisms for integration. This progress has been supported by environmental guidance from the European Commission, with handbooks designed to raise new ideas and suggest innovative ways of approaching the task. Current programmes incorporate extensive environmental profiles to support programme development, and new methods of combining both horizontal and vertical integration show considerable promise for the realization of environmental objectives in programme implementation. To facilitate further integration, priorities for research include the role for environmental strategies, the production of an index of environmental integration, the identification of measurable environmental indicators and confirmation that sustainable development is acting as a catalyst for environmental gain. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [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] Transforming aggressive conflict in political and personal contextsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED PSYCHOANALYTIC STUDIES, Issue 4 2009Andrew Samuels Abstract The author begins by trying to imagine different models of politics applicable to Western societies. He reflects on the "state we are in" and asks if our present condition of political rupture could ever become political rapture. He asks whether it is possible for citizens to remove themselves from the abusive relationships with heroic, macho leaders. Instead, he states, we might ask where we will find new kinds of leaders who will be "good-enough". We will need such leaders if we are to manage the staggeringly high levels of conflict and aggression afflicting the political world today. The author suggests that we urgently explore innovative ways to manage conflict in political contexts using new psychological ideas about men, fathers and violence. Finally, he communicates what he has learned from Islam about some hidden aspects of political conflict. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Community Participatory Ecological Art and EducationINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ART & DESIGN EDUCATION, Issue 1 2009Young Imm Kang Song This paper presents a phenomenological case study on ecological artist Lynne Hull by investigating the connections between ecological art, nature, and education. The research examines Hull's ,positive gesture towards the Earth' as conceptualized in her work of creating habitats for wildlife (Hull, 2004, para 1). It illustrates how she seeks to inspire changes in human behaviour through her artwork in addition to developing action steps based on her works. Through an examination of Hull's work, the researcher explores how ecological art can inspire environmental education by presenting innovative ways of thinking about existing concepts. The paper discusses how educators can incorporate inquiries about ecological art into the school curriculum. Furthermore, it considers ways in which educators can adopt Hull's art-making processes and integrate these into the curriculum. It argues that educators can help students to interact with these artworks and develop their own creative processes in a meaningful way that involves art, aesthetics, and nature , all of which may raise students' consciousness about the environment in themselves and others. Ultimately, appreciating the elements of nature and their connection to the aesthetic can become a vehicle for raising awareness about broader [source] Puzzling practice: A strategy for working with clinical practice issuesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NURSING PRACTICE, Issue 2 2008Kenneth Walsh RPN RN BNurs PhD In this paper we aim to share the evolution of innovative ways to explore, ,unpack' and reframe clinical issues that exist in everyday practice. The elements of these processes, which we call ,puzzling practice', and the techniques associated with them, were delineated over a two year period by the four authors using action theory based processes. The authors have evolved several different frameworks for ,puzzling practice' which we draw on and use in our practice development work and in our research practice. This paper pays attention to a particular form of puzzling practice that we have found to be useful in assisting individual clinicians and teams to explore and find workable solutions to practice issues. The paper uses a semi-fictitious example of ,Puzzling Practice' gleaned from our experience as practice development facilitators. In this example ,puzzling practice' uses seven different elements; naming the issue; puzzling the issue; testing the puzzle exploring the heart of out practice; formulating the puzzle question; visualizing the future; and generating new strategies for action. Each of the elements is illustrated by the story and the key foundations and ideas behind each element is explored. [source] Invisible Borders: Economic Liberalization and National IdentityINTERNATIONAL STUDIES QUARTERLY, Issue 4 2000Patricia M. Goff Various developments in the post,WWII global economy have led many scholars of international relations to contend that borders are eroding. My argument takes issue with this, suggesting that borders are not becoming increasingly meaningless; instead, some states are working to endow them with meaning in innovative ways. Specifically, I examine the trade disputes over culture industries during recent GATT and NAFTA talks to demonstrate that some states are shifting their attention from territorial borders to conceptual or invisible borders. Many governments support the removal of borders that serve as barriers to the movement of goods, services, capital, information, and, in some cases, people. Nevertheless, these same governments resist the increasing permeability of borders that provide the boundaries of political community. [source] Mothering in Public: A Meta-Synthesis of Homeless Women With Children Living in SheltersJOURNAL FOR SPECIALISTS IN PEDIATRIC NURSING, Issue 4 2003MPHArticle first published online: 24 AUG 200, Mikki Meadows-Oliver MSN ISSUES AND PURPOSE The purpose of this paper is to synthesize the current qualitative literature on homeless women with children living in shelters. METHODS Eighteen qualitative studies on homeless women with children living in shelters were included in the synthesis. The meta-synthesis was conducted using the meta-ethnographic approach of Noblit and Hare (1988). RESULTS Six reciprocal translations (themes) of homeless mothers caring for their children in shelters emerged: On becoming homeless, protective mothering, loss, stressed and depressed, survival strategies, and strategies for resolution. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS The results may be used by healthcare workers as a framework for developing intervention strategies directed toward helping mothers find new solutions to dealing with shelter living and innovative ways to resolve their homelessness. [source] Indigenous Media Gone Global: Strengthening Indigenous Identity On- and Offscreen at the First Nations/First Features Film ShowcaseAMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Issue 2 2006KRISTIN DOWELL For 12 days in May 2005, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York and the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), as well as several other screening venues in Washington, D.C., hosted a group of renowned indigenous filmmakers from around the globe for the groundbreaking film showcase, "First Nations/First Features: A Showcase of World Indigenous Film and Media." This film showcase highlighted the innovative ways in which indigenous filmmakers draw on indigenous storytelling practices to create cinematic visions that honor their long-standing indigenous cultural worlds while reaching local and world audiences. In this essay, I highlight the onscreen impact through an analysis of several films featured in First Nations/First Features, as well as the offscreen impact emphasizing how the indigenous directors used this opportunity to strengthen social networks and share experience in this industry, which may develop into future collaborative film projects. [source] Real-time evaluation in humanitarian emergenciesNEW DIRECTIONS FOR EVALUATION, Issue 126 2010Emery Brusset The authors describe real-time evaluation (RTE) as a specific tool in disaster management and within the literature on formative evaluation, monitoring, and impact assessment. RTE offers the possibility of exploring innovative ways to empower frontline disaster response staff, possibly even beneficiaries of assistance. The authors describe conditions for the success of RTE, including field credibility, organization, and rapid analysis. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc., and the American Evaluation Association. [source] Evaluating the outcomes of developmental educationNEW DIRECTIONS FOR INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 125 2005Hunter R. Boylan Developmental education programs can use innovative ways to improve minority learning and persistence. [source] Peace History Intra -Abrams: The Field from 1938 through His Work on the Nobel Peace PrizePEACE & CHANGE, Issue 1 2005Charles Chatfield In the generation prior to Irwin Abram's (2001) second edition of The Nobel Peace Prize, the field of peace history has proliferated dramatically and has become ever more a comprehensive record of social reform, as well as a multi-disciplinary approach using social mobilization analysis in innovative ways. The field has also become increasingly international, in terms or cooperative research across national boundaries, in its subject matter, and in its contribution to a global paradigm shift regarding war and peace. [source] Solving the Organ Shortage Crisis: The 7th Annual American Society of Transplant Surgeons' State-of-the-Art Winter SymposiumAMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 4 2008E. A. Pomfret The 2007 American Society of Transplant Surgeons' (ASTS) State-of-the-Art Winter Symposium entitled, ,Solving the Organ Shortage Crisis' explored ways to increase the supply of donor organs to meet the challenge of increasing waiting lists and deaths while awaiting transplantation. While the increasing use of organs previously considered marginal, such as those from expanded criteria donors (ECD) or donors after cardiac death (DCD) has increased the number of transplants from deceased donors, these transplants are often associated with inferior outcomes and higher costs. The need remains for innovative ways to increase both deceased and living donor transplants. In addition to increasing ECD and DCD utilization, increasing use of deceased donors with certain types of infections such as Hepatitis B and C, and increasing use of living donor liver, lung and intestinal transplants may also augment the organ supply. The extent by which donors may be offered incentives for donation, and the practical, ethical and legal implications of compensating organ donors were also debated. The expanded use of nonstandard organs raises potential ethical considerations about appropriate recipient selection, informed consent and concerns that the current regulatory environment discourages and penalizes these efforts. [source] Species-specific communication systems in an introduced toad compared with native frogs in AustraliaAQUATIC CONSERVATION: MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS, Issue 6 2009Mattias Hagman Abstract 1.Lineage-specific communication systems may offer innovative ways of targeting control measures at invasive species. 2.Recent work has identified such a scenario in invasive cane toads (Bufo marinus) in Australia: toad tadpoles flee from chemical cues derived from crushed conspecifics, and this ,alarm pheromone' reduces tadpole survival rates and reduces body size at metamorphosis. 3.Before this method can be applied in the field, however, the signal's specificity needs to be tested against a wide range of Australian frog taxa, especially tropical species sympatric with cane toads. A signal that affected native frogs as well as toads clearly would be of little use for toad control. 4.Laboratory studies on cane toads and nine native frog taxa from the wet,dry tropics of the Northern Territory (Cyclorana australis, C. longipes, Limnodynastes convexiusculus, Litoria caerulea, L. dahlii, L. nasuta, L. rothii, L. rubella, Opisthodon ornatus) show that toad tadpoles rarely react to chemical cues from crushed frog tadpoles, and that frog tadpoles rarely react to chemical cues from crushed toad tadpoles. Crushed toad tadpoles occasionally elicited low-level attraction (to a potential food source) by frog tadpoles. 5.Overall, frog tadpoles were less responsive to chemical cues (either from crushed conspecifics or crushed toads) than were toad tadpoles. The low level of cross-lineage reactivity is encouraging for the feasibility of using cane toad alarm pheromones to control this invasive species in Australia; the risk of collateral damage to sympatric native frogs appears to be minimal. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Effective Synthesized/preappraised Evidence Formats in Emergency Medicine and the Use of Supplemental Knowledge Translation TechniquesACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 11 2007Brian H. Rowe MD Most clinicians, and especially emergency physicians, are increasingly faced with the need for valid and reliable evidence upon which to base practice decisions in a timely fashion. Despite the accumulation of synthesized evidence in emergency medicine over the past decade, knowledge gaps still exist between what is known and what is practiced. In many cases, this failure in knowledge uptake relates to barriers in uptake as well as the difficulty of translating evidence from research to the bedside. Preappraised evidence syntheses represent a potential partial solution to these problems by providing condensed summaries of the large volume of scientific literature in our field. The participants in this workshop examined the availability, utility, and impact of preappraised evidence and examined innovative ways to translate this knowledge into practice. In addition, the workshop participants also explored more globally all knowledge translation methods that are distinct from clinical pathways (e.g., audit and feedback, academic detailing, reminders, and local opinion leaders). These are initiatives that are instituted at the level of a particular hospital or with respect to a certain condition, and emergency physicians need to understand their definition and application. Overall, the recommendations arising from this workshop have the potential to alter future emergency care in important ways. [source] Listen to me, too!CHILD: CARE, HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 1 2007Lessons from involving children with complex healthcare needs in research about multi-agency services Abstract Background, Children with complex healthcare needs are often excluded, both from active involvement in research projects and from direct consultation in services. During a 3-year research study into multi-agency services for children with complex healthcare needs, the authors involved children in a number of innovative ways and endeavoured to discover what impact, if any, multi-agency working made to them. Methods, The researchers ,spent time' with 18 children with complex healthcare needs. They used a variety of methods to engage with the children in a meaningful way. More than half of the children had no verbal communication, so it was necessary in some cases to work with an advocate, usually the parent, to aid the process. Results, Children with complex healthcare needs can take part in research as long as the research is set up sensitively and flexibly. In terms of the impact of multi-agency working, the authors concluded significant advances had been achieved for this group: almost all the children were living at home and attending school. However, there were significant gaps in addressing children's human rights in relation to communication, independence and relationships. In addition, many of the children had very little effective direct consultation with the multi-agency services. Conclusions, There are significant advances in involving disabled children in research and in service delivery, but there is still some way to go in involving those with complex healthcare needs. The challenges are considerable, but the benefits far outweigh these, not least being the value that parents, carers and the children themselves place upon being listened to. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||