Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Local Situation (local + situation)
Selected AbstractsInternational Diabetes Federation: a consensus on Type 2 diabetes preventionDIABETIC MEDICINE, Issue 5 2007K. G. M. M. Alberti Abstract Aims, Early intervention and avoidance or delay of progression to Type 2 diabetes is of enormous benefit to patients in terms of increasing life expectancy and quality of life, and potentially in economic terms for society and health-care payers. To address the growing impact of Type 2 diabetes the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Taskforce on Prevention and Epidemiology convened a consensus workshop in 2006. The primary goal of the workshop and this document was the prevention of Type 2 diabetes in both the developed and developing world. A second aim was to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in people who are identified as being at a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes. The IDF plan for prevention of Type 2 diabetes is based on controlling modifiable risk factors and can be divided into two target groups: ,,People at high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes ,,The entire population. Conclusions, In planning national measures for the prevention of Type 2 diabetes, both groups should be targeted simultaneously with lifestyle modification the primary goal through a stepwise approach. In addition, it is important that all activities are tailored to the specific local situation. Further information on the prevention of diabetes can be found on the IDF website: http://www.idf.org/prevention. [source] Predictability of plant species composition from environmental conditions is constrained by dispersal limitationOIKOS, Issue 3 2005Wim A. Ozinga Despite recent modelling approaches integrating the effects of niche-based processes and dispersal-based processes on local plant species composition, their relative importance is still not clear. We test whether the predictability of local species composition from environmental conditions is influenced by dispersal traits. We analyzed a large database with co-occurrence data, using ordination techniques (DCA and CCA) to identify the major environmental determinants of species composition. The percentage of explained variance in occurrence was quantified for individual species with CCA. Effects of life-history traits on the predictability of occurrence patterns were tested by means of regression analysis, using a generalized linear models approach. The results reveal close correlations between species composition and environmental conditions, implying that the predictability of the set of species that might occur in a given environmental setting ("habitat species pool") is high. The habitat species pool, however, reflects the potential species composition, and not the actual local situation. At the level of individual species, a large proportion (>90%) of the variation in occurrence remained unexplained. Predictability of species occurrence patterns was increased by a greater capacity for long-distance dispersal, greater adult longevity and the capacity to build a persistent seed bank. The results indicate that the predictability of species composition from environmental conditions is reduced by a few orders of magnitude by dispersal limitation and that poor dispersers are underrepresented. [source] Mental health issues of peacekeeping workersPSYCHIATRY AND CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCES, Issue 5 2002JUN SHIGEMURA Abstract The end of the Cold War has brought a dramatic change to the international political situation and the role of the United Nations peacekeeping operations (PKO) has drawn increased attention. While many reports on PKO have focused on political or sociologic considerations, the mental health of the peacekeepers themselves has received little attention and psychiatric problems that can have a negative impact on mission success have been largely ignored. Participation in PKO creates a number of stressors and serious psychiatric and/or physical disorders may result. Yet, there is little research on this topic, either domestically or globally, and the methodology for clinical intervention remains in an early stage of development. We have reviewed previous reports to determine how various stressors before, during and after deployment affect the participants. Research in associated fields (e.g. crisis workers and military personnel) are also reviewed and their application to peacekeeping psychiatry is discussed. It must be admitted that the significance of PKO is arguable and each PKO is unique in terms of the nature of its mission and the local situation. Yet, the relationship between the psychiatric status of the personnel and the characteristics of an individual mission has never been studied. At present, no clear consensus regarding a framework for psychiatric intervention exists. Studies that enhance the recognition and significance of peacekeeping psychiatry are likely to improve the efficacy of PKO. [source] Rhizocarpon calibration curve for the Aoraki/Mount Cook area of New Zealand,JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE, Issue 4 2005Thomas V. Lowell Abstract Development of Rhizocarpon growth curve from the Aoraki/Mount Cook area of New Zealand provides a means to assess Little Ice Age glacier behaviour and suggests approaches that have wider application. Employing a sampling strategy based on large populations affords the opportunity to assess which of various metrics (e.g. single largest, average of five largest, mean of an entire population) best characterise Rhizocarpon growth patterns. The 98% quantile from each population fitted with a quadric curve forms a reliable representation of the growth pattern. Since this metric does not depend on the original sample size, comparisons are valid where sample strategy must be adapted to local situations or where the original sample size differs. For the Aoraki/Mount Cook area a surface 100 years old will have a 98% quantile lichen diameter of 34.3,mm, whereas a 200-year-old surface will have a lichen diameter of 73.7,mm. In the Southern Alps, constraints from the age range of calibration points, the flattening of the quadric calibration curve and ecological factors limit the useful age range to approximately 250 years. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||