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New Themes (new + themes)
Selected AbstractsDiabetes service provision: a qualitative study of the experiences and views of Pakistani and Indian patients with Type 2 diabetesDIABETIC MEDICINE, Issue 9 2006J. Lawton Abstract Aims To explore Pakistani and Indian patients' experiences of, and views about, diabetes services in order to inform the development of culturally sensitive services. Design Qualitative, interview study involving 23 Pakistani and nine Indian patients with Type 2 diabetes recruited from general practices and the local community in Edinburgh, Scotland. Data collection and analysis occurred concurrently and recruitment continued until no new themes emerged from the interviews. Results Respondents expressed gratitude for the availability of free diabetes services in Britain, as they were used to having to pay to access health care on the Indian subcontinent. Most looked to services for the prompt detection and treatment of complications, rather than the provision of advice about managing their condition. As respondents attached importance to receiving physical examinations, they could be disappointed when these were not offered by health-care professionals. They disliked relying on interpreters and identified a need for bilingual professionals with whom they could discuss their diabetes care directly. Conclusions Gratitude for free services in Britain may instil a sense of indebtedness which makes it difficult for Pakistanis and Indians to be critical of their diabetes care. Health-care professionals may need to describe their roles carefully, and explain how different diabetes services fit together, to avoid Pakistani and Indian patients perceiving treatment as unsatisfactory. Whilst linkworker schemes may meet patients' need to receive culturally sensitive information in their first language, work is needed to assess their effectiveness and sustainability. [source] Finding the Middle-Ground: The Middling Sort in the Eighteenth CenturyHISTORY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 2 2006Perry Gauci Since the 1980s the debate on the impact of the middle classes in eighteenth-century Britain has helped to transform current interest and thinking on the period. No consensus has been reached on the degree of social and political change at this time, but our understanding of middling experience has been enhanced by a range of new themes and approaches, the resonance of which continues to enliven the field. [source] Organic acids: old metabolites, new themesJOURNAL OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY & BIOTECHNOLOGY, Issue 10 2006Israel Goldberg Abstract Fumaric, L -malic and citric acids are intermediates of the oxidative tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle which in eukaryotes is localized in mitochondria. These organic acids are synthesized and accumulated in the medium to very high concentrations by filamentous fungi such as Aspergillus spp. and Rhizopus sp. This article reviews basic research on the unusual acid production capability and the associated metabolic pathways operating under defined stress conditions in these specific fungi. In particular, we describe and discuss the importance of the cytosolic reductive TCA pathway, which includes the cytosolic activities of pyruvate carboxylase, malate dehydrogenase and fumarase, for production of fumaric and L -malic acids. This article also describes the differences between fumaric acid, L -malic acid and citric acid production by different organisms (filamentous fungi, yeast, and higher eukaryotes), and the possible application of novel technologies (genetic engineering and bioinformatics) to fungal systems which may offer new industrial potential of filamentous fungi for the production of valuable metabolites. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Patients' experiences of the impact of periodontal diseaseJOURNAL OF CLINICAL PERIODONTOLOGY, Issue 4 2010Louise K. O'Dowd O'Dowd LK, Durham J, McCracken GI, Preshaw PM. Patients' experiences of the impact of periodontal disease. J Clin Periodontol 2010; 37: 334,339. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-051X.2010.01545.x. Abstract Aim: To examine critically patients' experiences of the impact of periodontal disease on their daily lives. Material and Methods: Semi-structured interviews of a purposive sample of patients with periodontal conditions were conducted using a flexible evolving topic guide. Data collection and analysis were an inductive, iterative process that occurred concurrently. The data were organized in a framework and recurrent themes identified. Interviews occurred until it was felt that no new themes or ideas were being expressed by respondents (n=14). Results: Effects of periodontal disease on patients' daily lives included impairment, functional limitation, discomfort and disability (including physical, psychosocial and social disability). A large number of the emergent themes from the analysis were relevant to the domains of Locker's conceptual model of oral health. The domain within Locker's model that had no data relevant to it in the context of periodontal disease was death. Two additional themes emerged that appeared unrelated to Locker's model, these were stigma and retrospective regret. Conclusion: Periodontal disease reportedly affects patients' lives in a negative manner in a variety of ways. This is of relevance in the management of patients with periodontitis. [source] Attacking Poverty,a strategic dilemma for the World BankJOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Issue 3 2001Michael Hubbard Attacking Poverty has attracted more than the usual interest in World Development Reports mainly because it reflects the dilemma in future strategy for the World Bank. Its basis in a widely welcomed consultation with the poor, its transparent process and new conceptual framework contrast with limited development of the new themes , equality, security, empowerment of the poor , and of issues to do with aid: resources and rights. Contributors to this special issue discuss the dilemma reflected in Attacking Poverty from a number of angles: critical self-awareness by World Bank, promoting equality, shifting from the Washington Consensus, limits to the Bank's role, and enabling collective action by the poor. Other contributions discuss how the analysis in Attacking Poverty should be strengthened: inclusion of urban poverty and urbanisation's role in political development, promoting informal means of reducing vulnerability, and investigation of the long term consequences of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Priorities for the next poverty-focused World Development Report (2010?) should include a more disaggregated and complete view of who is poor, why and where, and analysis of progress in political development. The World Bank may be best able to contribute to political development by extending to the subnational and public services level its main achievement of recent decades: the gathering, analysis and dissemination of comparative development data, to help move the focus of politics towards improving services and living standards. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Predictors of Success in Individuals with Learning Disabilities: A Qualitative Analysis of a 20-Year Longitudinal StudyLEARNING DISABILITIES RESEARCH & PRACTICE, Issue 4 2003Roberta J. Goldberg The research described here is part of a larger longitudinal project tracing the lives of a group of individuals with learning disabilities who attended the Frostig Center more than 20 years ago. The purpose of the larger project has been to identify variables that predict successful outcomes for adults with learning disabilities. This article focuses on the qualitative findings obtained using an ethnographic approach to analyzing in-depth interviews with participants. Six previously identified "success attributes" (self-awareness, proactivity, perseverance, appropriate goal setting, effective use of social support systems, and emotional stability/emotional coping strategies) were further defined. Using qualitative analysis, significant components of the success attributes that differentiated the successful from unsuccessful groups were identified, and changes over time were revealed. In addition, the following new themes were identified: (1) the learning disability exerted a critical influence across the entire lifespan; (2) there were differences in participants' family functioning; and (3) there were differences in participants' social relationships. Support for the salience of the success attributes and the additional themes to the participants is given in the form of direct quotations from the corpus of interview transcripts. Qualitative methodologies are stressed throughout the study for the purpose of obtaining an "insider's view" of LD. [source] Heterochromatin-mediated control of virulence gene expressionMOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 3 2006Catherine J. Merrick Summary In recent years, the sequencing and annotation of complete genomes, together with the development of genetic and proteomic techniques to study previously intractable eukaryotic microbes, has revealed interesting new themes in the control of virulence gene expression. Families of variantly expressed genes are found adjacent to telomeres in the genomes of both pathogenic and non-pathogenic organisms. This subtelomeric DNA is normally heterochromatic and higher-order chromatin structure has now come to be recognized as an important factor controlling both the evolution and expression dynamics of these multigene families. In eukaryotic cells, higher-order chromatin structure plays a central role in many DNA processes including the control of chromosome integrity and recombination, DNA partitioning during cell division, and transcriptional control. DNA can be packaged in two distinct forms: euchromatin is relatively accessible to DNA binding proteins and generally contains active genes, while heterochromatin is densely packaged, relatively inaccessible and usually transcriptionally silent. These features of chromatin are epigenetically inherited from cell cycle to cell cycle. This review will focus on the epigenetic mechanisms used to control expression of virulence genes in medically important microbial pathogens. Examples of such control have now been reported in several evolutionarily distant species, revealing what may be a common strategy used to regulate many very different families of genes. [source] Flourishing branches, wilting core: research in modern Indian economic historyAUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEW, Issue 3 2004Tirthankar Roy The core theme in modern Indian economic history until recently was economic growth in colonial India and models explaining stylised facts about growth or stagnation. From the 1980s, research moved away from the general toward more specific and local issues, a trend that has allowed new questions to be asked, has approached other fields and introduced a healthy scepticism for overarching models. But it also made macro-questions somewhat outdated, thereby weakening the link between history and models of economic growth and development. This essay reviews scholarship on new themes and asks how problems of economic growth can be motivated anew. [source] Mental health impact for adolescents living with prolonged droughtAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 1 2010John G. Dean Abstract Background:,A 2004 study showed adolescents living in rural Australia were aware of the impact of drought on self, family and community, but did not report levels of emotional distress higher than adolescents of similar age and gender in the Australian community. It was proposed that the rural lifestyle had helped adolescents build resilience for managing this environmental adversity. Objective:,To re sample adolescents from the same rural area and determine if this resilience remained after ongoing drought three years later. Design:,A mixed methods approach using focus groups and a self-report questionnaire. Setting:,Government Central Schools within the Riverina region of New South Wales. Participants:,Male and female adolescents (n = 111) aged 11,17 years completed the self-report questionnaires, while some adolescents (n = 61) within this group also participated in focus groups. Main outcome measure:,The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and a Drought and Community Survey for Children comprised the self-report survey. Results:,Adolescents reported significantly higher levels of emotional distress than those in the previous study (t (191) = 2.80, P < 0.01) and 12% of adolescents scored in the clinical caseness range. Thematic analysis showed consistency with the previous study as well as new themes of grief, loss and the impacts of global climate change. Conclusions:,Results indicate a reporting of lesser well-being than was reported by a comparable group of young people four years earlier. A preventative intervention with a focus on family and community is recommended to address the mental health of adolescents enduring a chronic environmental adversity such as drought. [source] | |||||||||||||