Largest Percentage (largest + percentage)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Early Adolescence Talking Points: Questions that Middle School Students Want To Ask Their Parents,

FAMILY RELATIONS, Issue 1 2004
Rhonda A. Richardson
In early adolescence, young people need caring parents to guide them through numerous changes and decisions. Little is known about what particular issues middle school students want to discuss with their parents. This study provides a basis for promoting parent,child communication by identifying topics that young adolescents would like to talk about with parents, using responses from 1,124 students age 10 to 15. Findings were that the largest percentage of questions pertained to family issues, whereas only 1 in 4 dealt with sensitive subjects such as drugs and sex. Implications for practice are included. [source]


Analysis of bacterial foodborne disease outbreaks in China between 1994 and 2005

FEMS IMMUNOLOGY & MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2007
Shijie Wang
Abstract To gain an understanding of the outbreaks of bacterial foodborne diseases and the subsequent health impact, we reviewed 2447 papers from journals published in China that reported 1082 bacterial foodborne disease cases occurring between 1994 and 2005. Among the 1082 outbreaks of bacterial foodborne disease for which the etiology was determined, Vibrio parahaemolyticus caused the most outbreaks, followed by Salmonella, and Clostridium botulinum led to the most deaths. Most of the outbreaks occurred between May and October, except for Clostridium botulinum, which mainly occurred in January and February. In littoral provinces, Vibrio parahaemolyticus caused the most events, whereas in inland provinces, the largest percentage of events was caused by Salmonella. This review provides a background and analysis of Chinese foodborne disease caused by bacteria. We hope that this review can be compared to reviews from other regions of the world, in an attempt to prevent future outbreaks from occurring. [source]


On the interannual wintertime rainfall variability in the Southern Andes

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 5 2010
M. H. González
Abstract The paper concentrates on the analysis of the interannual variability of wintertime rainfall in the Southern Andes. Besides the socio-economic relevance of the region, mainly associated with hydroelectric energy production, the study of the climate variability in that area has not received as much attention as others along the Andes. The results show that winter rainfall explains the largest percentage of regional total annuals. A principal component analysis (PCA) of the winter rainfall anomalies showed that the regional year-to-year variability is mostly explained by three leading patterns. While one of them is significantly associated with both the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and the Southern Annular Mode (SAM), the other two patterns are significantly related to interannual changes of the sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the tropical Indian Ocean. Specifically, changes in the ocean surface conditions at both tropical basins induce in the atmospheric circulation the generation of Rossby wave trains that extend along the South Pacific towards South America, and alter the circulation at the region under study. The relationship between variability in the Indian Ocean and the Andes climate variability has not been previously addressed. Therefore, this result makes a significant contribution to the identification of the sources of predictability in South America with relevant consequences for future applications in seasonal predictions. Copyright © 2009 Royal Meteorological Society [source]


An open-label conversion study of pramipexole to ropinirole prolonged release in Parkinson's disease,

MOVEMENT DISORDERS, Issue 14 2009
Kelly E. Lyons PhD
Abstract Ropinirole prolonged release (PR) is a once daily oral dopamine agonist approved for the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). The goal of this 4 week, open-label study was to determine the most effective conversion ratio with the fewest adverse effects (AEs) when switching from pramipexole to ropinirole PR. Sixty patients with PD taking pramipexole were converted overnight to ropinirole PR at ratios of 1:3, 1:4, or 1:5 such that 20 consecutive subjects were enrolled in each group. Ropinirole PR dose adjustments were allowed to maintain efficacy or to reduce AEs. An overnight switch from pramipexole to ropinirole PR was found to be well tolerated and AEs were typical for a dopamine agonist. The most common AEs were worsening of PD symptoms, dizziness, somnolence, and nausea, the majority of which resolved after dose adjustments. Thirteen subjects discontinued ropinirole PR before 4 weeks. These subjects were taking a significantly greater dose of pramipexole, the majority greater than 4 mg/day, and tended to have longer disease durations. A conversion ratio of 1 mg of pramipexole to 4 mg of ropinirole PR resulted in the fewest discontinuations of ropinirole PR, the fewest dose adjustments and the largest percentage of subjects that preferred ropinirole PR. © 2009 Movement Disorder Society [source]


Long-term acclimatization of hydraulic properties, xylem conduit size, wall strength and cavitation resistance in Phaseolus vulgaris in response to different environmental effects

PLANT CELL & ENVIRONMENT, Issue 5 2006
ELLEN K. HOLSTE
ABSTRACT Phaseolus vulgaris grown under various environmental conditions was used to assess long-term acclimatization of xylem structural characteristics and hydraulic properties. Conduit diameter tended to be reduced and ,wood' density (of ,woody' stems) increased under low moisture (,dry'), increased soil porosity (,porous soil') and low phosphorus (,low P') treatments. Dry and low P had the largest percentage of small vessels. Dry, low light (,shade') and porous soil treatments decreased P50 (50% loss in conductivity) by 0.15,0.25 MPa (greater cavitation resistance) compared with ,controls'. By contrast, low P increased P50 by 0.30 MPa (less cavitation resistance) compared with porous soil (the control for low P). Changes in cavitation resistance were independent of conduit diameter. By contrast, changes in cavitation resistance were correlated with wood density for the control, dry and porous soil treatments, but did not appear to be a function of wood density for the shade and low P treatments. In a separate experiment comparing control and porous soil plants, stem hydraulic conductivity (kh), specific conductivity (ks), leaf specific conductivity (LSC), total pot water loss, plant biomass and leaf area were all greater for control plants compared to porous soil plants. Porous soil plants, however, demonstrated higher midday stomatal conductance to water vapour (gs), apparently because they experienced proportionally less midday xylem cavitation. [source]


Out of the Loop: Why Research Rarely Reaches Policy Makers and the Public and What Can be Done

BIOTROPICA, Issue 5 2009
Patricia Shanley
ABSTRACT Most of the world's population that derives their livelihoods or part of their livelihoods from forests are out of the information loop. Exclusion of public users of natural resources from access to scientific research results is not an oversight; it is a systemic problem that has costly ramifications for conservation and development. Results of a survey of 268 researchers from 29 countries indicate that institutional incentives support the linear, top-down communication of results through peer-reviewed journal articles, which often guarantees positive performance measurement. While the largest percentage of respondents (34%) ranked scientists as the most important audience for their work, only 15 percent of respondents considered peer-reviewed journals effective in promoting conservation and/or development. Respondents perceived that local initiatives (27%) and training (16%) were likely to lead to success in conservation and development; but few scientists invest in these activities. Engagement with the media (5%), production of training and educational materials (4%) and popular publications (5%) as outlets for scientific findings was perceived as inconsequential (<14%) in measuring scientific performance. Less than 3 percent of respondents ranked corporate actors as an important audience for their work. To ensure science is shared with those who need it, a shift in incentive structures is needed that rewards actual impact rather than only ,high-impact' journals. Widely used approaches and theoretical underpinnings from the social sciences, which underlie popular education and communication for social change, could enhance communication by linking knowledge and action in conservation biology. [source]