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Key Topics (key + topics)
Selected AbstractsKey Topics in Conservation BiologyAUSTRAL ECOLOGY, Issue 3 2007ROBERT DAVIS No abstract is available for this article. [source] Optimal HIV testing and earlier care: the way forward in EuropeHIV MEDICINE, Issue 2008T Coenen The articles in this supplement were developed from a recent pan-European conference entitled ,HIV in Europe 2007: Working together for optimal testing and earlier care', which took place on 26,27 November in Brussels, Belgium. The conference, organized by a multidisciplinary group of experts representing advocacy, clinical and policy areas of the HIV field, was convened in an effort to gain a common understanding on the role of HIV testing and counselling in optimizing diagnosis and the need for earlier care. Key topics discussed at the conference and described in the following articles include: current barriers to HIV testing across Europe, trends in the epidemiology of HIV in the region, problems associated with undiagnosed infection and the psychosocial barriers impacting on testing. The supplement also provides a summary of the World Health Organization's recommendations for HIV testing in Europe and an outline of an indicator disease-guided approach to HIV testing proposed by a committee of experts from the European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS). We hope that consideration of the issues discussed in this supplement will help to shift the HIV field closer towards our ultimate goal: provision of optimal HIV testing and earlier care across the whole of the European region. [source] Evolution of the special senses in primates: Past, present, and futureTHE ANATOMICAL RECORD : ADVANCES IN INTEGRATIVE ANATOMY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2004Nathaniel J. Dominy Abstract The present special issue of The Anatomical Record is the result of a symposium entitled Evolution of the Special Senses in Primates. Considered together, the special senses of primates are remarkable because they constitute a singular and definitive suite of mammalian characteristics. Examining their evolution is pivotal for understanding the origin and present-day variation of primate behavior and ecology. Accordingly, the 14 articles assembled here consider the different constraints and opportunities associated with the uptake and use of physical and chemical stimuli. The present issue brings together experts on different primate sensory modalities and stresses events at the sensory periphery, where the organism is exposed to and comes into contact with its environment. Key topics include color vision, the genetics of olfaction, the morphological basis and significance of chemical communication, and the neural organization and scaling of primate sensory systems. The result is a special issue that both reflects our current understanding of primate sensory modalities and challenges certain fundamental assumptions concerning their evolution. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Key topics in landscape ecologyAUSTRAL ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2009DIANE PEARSON No abstract is available for this article. [source] Key topics in neonatologyACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 6 2005Jens Schollin No abstract is available for this article. [source] Differential Representations for Mesh ProcessingCOMPUTER GRAPHICS FORUM, Issue 4 2006Olga Sorkine Abstract Surface representation and processing is one of the key topics in computer graphics and geometric modeling, since it greatly affects the range of possible applications. In this paper we will present recent advances in geometry processing that are related to the Laplacian processing framework and differential representations. This framework is based on linear operators defined on polygonal meshes, and furnishes a variety of processing applications, such as shape approximation and compact representation, mesh editing, watermarking and morphing. The core of the framework is the definition of differential coordinates and new bases for efficient mesh geometry representation, based on the mesh Laplacian operator. [source] Neural basis of timing and anticipatory behaviorsEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 9 2009Michael C. Antle Abstract The ability to anticipate physiological needs and to predict the availability of desirable resources optimizes the likelihood of survival for an organism. The neural basis of the complex behaviors associated with anticipatory responses is now being delineated. Anticipation likely involves learning and memory, reward and punishment, memory and cognition, arousal and feedback associated with changes in internal and external state, homeostatic processes and timing mechanisms. While anticipation can occur on a variety of timescales (seconds to minutes to hours to days to a year), there have been great strides made towards understanding the neural basis timing of events in the circadian realm. Anticipation of daily events, such as scheduled access to food, may serve as a useful model for a more broadly based understanding the neurobiology of anticipation. In this review we examine the historical, conceptual and experimental approaches to understanding the neural basis of anticipation with a focus on anticipation of scheduled daily meals. We also introduce the key topics represented in the papers in this issue. These papers focused on food anticipation, to explore the state of the art in the studies of the neural basis of timing and anticipatory behaviors. [source] Role for CXCR2 and CXCL1 on glia in multiple sclerosisGLIA, Issue 1 2006Kakuri M. Omari Abstract As part of a need to understand myelin repair mechanisms, molecular pathways underlying oligodendrocyte behavior and central nervous system (CNS) remyelination are currently key topics in multiple sclerosis (MS). In the present study, we report expression of a chemoattractant receptor of the immune system, the chemokine receptor, CXCR2, on normal and proliferating oligodendrocytes in active MS lesions. Proliferating oligodendrocytes were occasionally associated with reactive astrocytes positive for CXCL1 (GRO-,), the ligand for CXCR2. CXCL1 expression was not seen on astrocytes in control and normal CNS tissue, while CXCR2 expression was constitutive on oligodendrocytes. At the functional level, following stimulation with the proinflammatory cytokine, interleukin-1, (IL-1,), we found high-level synthesis of CXCL1 by human fetal astrocytes in vitro. In contrast, human oligodendrocytes in culture expressed the receptor, CXCR2, constitutively. We propose that the concurrence of CXCR2 on oligodendrocytes and induced CXCL1 on hypertrophic astrocytes in MS provides a novel mechanism for recruitment of oligodendrocytes to areas of damage, an essential prerequisite for lesion repair in this devastating human condition. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Theta rhythm of navigation: Link between path integration and landmark navigation, episodic and semantic memoryHIPPOCAMPUS, Issue 7 2005György Buzsáki Abstract Five key topics have been reverberating in hippocampal-entorhinal cortex (EC) research over the past five decades: episodic and semantic memory, path integration ("dead reckoning") and landmark ("map") navigation, and theta oscillation. We suggest that the systematic relations between single cell discharge and the activity of neuronal ensembles reflected in local field theta oscillations provide a useful insight into the relationship among these terms. In rats trained to run in direction-guided (1-dimensional) tasks, hippocampal cell assemblies discharge sequentially, with different assemblies active on opposite runs, i.e., place cells are unidirectional. Such tasks do not require map representation and are formally identical with learning sequentially occurring items in an episode. Hebbian plasticity, acting within the temporal window of the theta cycle, converts the travel distances into synaptic strengths between the sequentially activated and unidirectionally connected assemblies. In contrast, place representations by hippocampal neurons in 2-dimensional environments are typically omnidirectional, characteristic of a map. Generation of a map requires exploration, essentially a dead reckoning behavior. We suggest that omnidirectional navigation through the same places (junctions) during exploration gives rise to omnidirectional place cells and, consequently, maps free of temporal context. Analogously, multiple crossings of common junction(s) of episodes convert the common junction(s) into context-free or semantic memory. Theta oscillation can hence be conceived as the navigation rhythm through both physical and mnemonic space, facilitating the formation of maps and episodic/semantic memories. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Intellectual structure of human resources management research: A bibliometric analysis of the journal Human Resource Management, 1985,2005JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 1 2009Mariluz Fernandez-Alles The multidisciplinary character of the theories supporting research in the discipline of human resources management (HRM), the increasing importance of a more rigorous approach to HRM studies by academics, and the impact of HRM on the competitive advantage of firms are just some of the indicators demonstrating the relevance of this discipline in the broader field of the social sciences. These developments explain why a quantitative analysis of HRM studies based on bibliometric techniques is particularly opportune. The general objective of this article is to analyze the intellectual structure of the HRM discipline; this can be divided into two specific objectives. The first is to identify the most frequently cited studies, with the purpose of identifying the key topics of research in the HRM discipline. The second objective is to represent the networks of relationships between the most-cited studies, grouping them under common themes, with the object of providing a diagrammatic description of the knowledge base constituted by accumulated works of research in the HRM field. The methodology utilized is based on the bibliometric techniques of citation analysis. [source] Inclusive education: a critical perspectiveBRITISH JOURNAL OF SPECIAL EDUCATION, Issue 1 2003Geoff Lindsay The Gulliford Lecture 2002 was given by Professor Geoff Lindsay, Director of the Centre for Educational Development, Appraisal and Research (CEDAR) at the University of Warwick. Professor Lindsay's lecture, on which this paper is based, addressed a number of key topics, including the development of inclusion and inclusive practices; models of special educational needs and disability; and the values that underpin our thinking about these matters. Basing his argument on the research evidence, Professor Lindsay provides a searching critique of prevailing notions about inclusion and of current approaches to research. His conclusions will be of interest to everyone concerned with the education of children and young people with special educational needs. [source] Access to and use of NHS Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS): the views of children, young people, parents and PALS staffCHILD: CARE, HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 2 2008J. Heaton Abstract Background The English National Health Service Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) was set up to provide patients and their relatives with a way of obtaining information or expressing concerns about their health care. This study examined children's, young people's and parents' access to and use of PALS, and how this could be improved. Methods Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to obtain the views of children, young people, parents and PALS staff, on the inclusiveness of the service. These methods included discussion groups and interviews with 30 young people and 16 parents; a postal survey of PALS users, to which 171 (21%) parents responded; and telephone interviews with 14 PALS staff. The data were analysed using qualitative and quantitative methods, and the views of participants on key topics were examined. Results Children and young people were found to be low users of PALS, but thought that the service was potentially useful. They and parents and PALS staff all highlighted ways in which access to and use of the service could be improved. Participants' views on the following topics are reported: awareness of PALS existence and role; access to and use of PALS; effectiveness of and satisfaction with PALS; and training of staff. Conclusions and recommendations Patient Advice and Liaison Service has not been designed and developed in ways that are fully inclusive of children, young people and parents. Based on their views and experiences, and the suggestions of PALS staff, the authors recommend that access to and use of the service could be improved, increasing awareness of PALS, facilitating access to and use of the service, providing training for PALS staff on dealing with young people and their issues, and developing links between PALS and other organizations that deal with young people and parents. [source] | ||||||||||||||||