Thread

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Distribution within Medical Sciences

Kinds of Thread

  • common thread


  • Selected Abstracts


    STY1 regulates auxin homeostasis and affects apical,basal patterning of the Arabidopsis gynoecium

    THE PLANT JOURNAL, Issue 1 2006
    Joel J. Sohlberg
    Summary Gynoecia of the Arabidopsis mutant sty1-1 display abnormal style morphology and altered vascular patterning. These phenotypes, which are enhanced in the sty1-1 sty2-1 double mutant, suggest that auxin homeostasis or signalling might be affected by mutations in STY1 and STY2, both members of the SHI gene family. Chemical inhibition of polar auxin transport (PAT) severely affects the apical,basal patterning of the gynoecium, as do mutations in the auxin transport/signalling genes PIN1, PID and ETT. Here we show that the apical,basal patterning of sty1-1 and sty1-1 sty2-1 gynoecia is hypersensitive to reductions in PAT, and that sty1-1 enhances the PAT inhibition-like phenotypes of pin1-5, pid-8 and ett-1 gynoecia. Furthermore, we show that STY1 activates transcription of the flavin monooxygenase-encoding gene THREAD/YUCCA4, involved in auxin biosynthesis, and that changes in expression of STY1 and related genes lead to altered auxin homeostasis. Our results suggest that STY1 and related genes promote normal development of the style and affect apical,basal patterning of the gynoecium through regulation of auxin homeostasis. [source]


    The Thoreau Ideal as a Unifying Thread in the Conservation Movement

    CONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2009
    Matthew F. Child
    No abstract is available for this article. [source]


    Sapphire: copying garbage collection without stopping the world

    CONCURRENCY AND COMPUTATION: PRACTICE & EXPERIENCE, Issue 3-5 2003
    Richard L. Hudson
    Abstract The growing use in concurrent systems of languages that require garbage collection (GC), such as Java, is raising practical interest in concurrent GC. Sapphire is a new algorithm for concurrent copying GC for Java. It stresses minimizing the amount of time any given application thread may need to block to support the collector. In particular, Sapphire is intended to work well in the presence of a large number of application threads, on small- to medium-scale shared memory multiprocessors. Sapphire extends previous concurrent copying algorithms, and is most closely related to replicating copying collection, a GC technique in which application threads observe and update primarily the old copies of objects. The key innovations of Sapphire are: (1) the ability to ,flip' one thread at a time (changing the thread's view from the old copies of objects to the new copies), as opposed to needing to stop all threads and flip them at the same time; (2) exploiting Java semantics and assuming any data races occur on volatile fields, to avoid a barrier on reads of non-volatile fields; and (3) working in concert with virtually any underlying (non-concurrent) copying collection algorithm. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Lesser Bear: A lightweight process library for SMP computers,scheduling mechanism without a lock operation

    CONCURRENCY AND COMPUTATION: PRACTICE & EXPERIENCE, Issue 10 2002
    Hisashi Oguma
    Abstract We have designed and implemented a lightweight process (thread) library called ,Lesser Bear' for SMP computers. Lesser Bear has thread-level parallelism and high portability. Lesser Bear executes threads in parallel by creating UNIX processes as virtual processors and a memory-mapped file as a huge shared-memory space. To schedule thread in parallel, the shared-memory space has been divided into working spaces for each virtual processor, and a ready queue has been distributed. However the previous version of Lesser Bear sometimes requires a lock operation for dequeueing. We therefore proposed a scheduling mechanism that does not require a lock operation. To achieve this, each divided space forms a link topology through the queues, and we use a lock-free algorithm for the queue operation. This mechanism is applied to Lesser Bear and evaluated by experimental results. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Compassion and Repression: The Moral Economy of Immigration Policies in France

    CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 3 2005
    Didier Fassin
    Immigration policies in Europe in the last three decades have become increasingly restrictive. During the 1990s, political asylum lost much of its legitimacy, as new criteria based on humanitarian claims became more common in appeals for immigration. Asylum seekers were increasingly identified as illegal immigrants and therefore candidates for expulsion, unless humanitarian reasons could be found to requalify them as victims deserving sympathy. This substitution of a right to asylum by an obligation in terms of charity leads to a reconsideration of Giorgio Agamben's separation of the humanitarian and the political, suggesting instead a humanitarianization of policies. Sangatte Center, often referred to as a transit camp, became a symbol of this ambiguous European treatment of the "misery of the world" and serves here as an analytical thread revealing the tensions between repression and compassion as well as the moral economy of contemporary biopolitics. [source]


    Effect of Cog Threads under Rat Skin

    DERMATOLOGIC SURGERY, Issue 12 2005
    Hyo Jook Jang MD
    Background. The aging face loses the tensile strength of structural integrity. Cog threads have been used recently to tighten lax skin and soft tissue. Objective. A comparative study of the effects of cog, monofilament, and multifilament threads under rat skin. Methods. Each cog, monofilament, and multifilament thread was inserted under the facial skin of a cadaver and the panniculus carnosus of rat dorsal skin. The maximum holding strength (MHS) of the thread and the tearing strength of the skin around the thread were measured with a tensiometer. The thickness of the capsule around the thread and the myofibroblasts was observed histologically. Results. In the cadaver, the MHS of the cog thread was 190.7 ± 65.6 g. It was greater than that of the monofilament (22.4 ± 7.7 g) or multifilament (40.4 ± 19.7 g) thread. In the rat, the MHS of the cog thread was 95.1 ± 18.8 g. It was greater than that of the monofilament (4.3 ± 1.3 g) or multifilament (10.9 ± 2.1 g) thread in the second week. The thickness of the capsule around the cog thread was 93.0 ± 3.2 ,m. It was thicker than the monofilament thread's capsule, 39.2 ± 12.1 ,m, in the fourth week. The number of myofibroblasts presented significantly more in the cog (96.0 ± 72.4) than in the monofilament thread (4.3 ± 4.4). The rumpled in-between skin suspended by each of the three different threads returned to its original state in 2 weeks. Conclusion. The cog thread placed under the rat skin immediately pulled the skin and subcutaneous tissue. The myofibroblasts around the thread played a role in fibrous tissue contracture 4 weeks postinsertion of the thread. These findings could be the basis for clinical application. THIS STUDY WAS SUPPORTED BY A GRANT FROM THE KOREA HEALTH 21 R&D PROJECT, MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND WELFARE, REPUBLIC OF KOREA. [source]


    A Case of Aptos Thread Migration and Partial Expulsion

    DERMATOLOGIC SURGERY, Issue 3 2005
    José G. Silva-Siwady MD
    Background In our practice, the use of dented polypropylene suture has become a very simple, conservative, and effective procedure for lifting flabby ptosed facial tissue, improving it without surgery. As with some cosmetic procedures, we have seen complications with this technique. Objective To present a case report of migration and partial expulsion of Aptos thread (TOTAL Charm, Moscow, Russia). Methods After successful fixation of facial tissue with 10 Aptos threads (5 on each side, 3 in the upper and central cheek, and 2 in the mandibular area), the patient returned 28 days later owing to migration and partial expulsion of one of the Aptos threads. Results The expulsed thread was easily removed, and the patient was treated with antibiotic therapy without further complications. Conclusion After this experience, we can conclude that Aptos threads are an additional tool in our arsenal for the treatment of facial aging. We must be especially cautious and aware that our patients can present with previously unknown complications secondary to newly described procedures, as with this recent technique. JOSé G. SILVA-SIWADY, MD, CELINA DÍAZ-GARZA, AND JORGE OCAMPO-CANDIANI, MD, HAVE INDICATED NO SIGNIFICANT INTEREST WITH COMMERCIAL SUPPORTERS. [source]


    Conjugate limb coordination after experience with an interlimb yoke: Evidence for motor learning in the rat fetus

    DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOBIOLOGY, Issue 4 2005
    Scott R. Robinson
    Abstract This study investigated the capacity of the E20 rat fetus to adaptively alter patterns of interlimb coordination in a prenatal model of motor learning. Fetal limb movement was manipulated with an interlimb yoke, consisting of a fine thread attached at the ankles, which created a physical linkage between two limbs. Exposure to the yoke resulted in a gradual increase in conjugate movements of the yoked limbs during a 30-min training period, which persisted after removal of the yoke. Training effects were evident when the yoke was applied to two hindlimbs, two forelimbs, or a homolateral forelimb,hindlimb pair. A savings in the rate of acquisition also was observed when fetuses experienced yoke training in a second session. These data argue that the rat fetus can respond to kinesthetic feedback resulting from variation in motor performance, which suggests that experience contributes to the development of coordinated motor behavior before birth. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 47: 328,344, 2005. [source]


    A comparison of the host-searching efficiency of two larval parasitoids of Plutella xylostella

    ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 1 2002
    Xin-Geng Wang
    Summary 1. A host specialist parasitoid is thought to have greater efficiency in locating hosts or greater ability to overcome host defence than a generalist species. This leads to the prediction that a specialist should locate and parasitise more hosts than a generalist in a given arena. The work reported here tested these predictions by comparing the host-searching behaviour of Diadegma semiclausum (a specialist) and Cotesia plutellae (an oligophagous species), two parasitoids of larval Plutella xylostella. 2. Both parasitoids employed antennal search and ovipositor search when seeking hosts but D. semiclausum also seemed to use visual perception in the immediate vicinity of hosts. 3. Larvae of P. xylostella avoided detection by parasitoids by moving away from damaged plant parts after short feeding bouts. When they encountered parasitoids, the larvae wriggled vigorously as they retreated and often hung from silk threads after dropping from a plant. 4. These two parasitoids differed in their responses to host defences. Diadegma semiclausum displayed a wide-area search around feeding damage and waited near the silk thread for a suspended host to climb up to the leaf, then attacked it again. Cotesia plutellae displayed an area-restricted search and usually pursued the host down the silk thread onto the ground. 5. Diadegma semiclausum showed a relatively fixed behavioural pattern leading to oviposition but C. plutellae exhibited a more plastic behavioural pattern. 6. The time spent by the two parasitoids on different plants increased with increasing host density, but the time spent either on all plants or a single plant by D. semiclausum was longer than that of C. plutellae. Diadegma semiclausum visited individual plants more frequently than C. plutellae before it left the patch, and stung hosts at more than twice the rate of C. plutellae. 7. The results indicated that the host-location strategies employed by D. semiclausum were adapted better to the host's defensive behaviour, and thus it was more effective at detecting and parasitising the host than was C. plutellae. [source]


    Micronuclei and chromatid buds are the result of related genotoxic events

    ENVIRONMENTAL AND MOLECULAR MUTAGENESIS, Issue 1 2001
    Luis Serrano-García
    Abstract Chromatin buds (CHB), broken eggs, or budding cell nuclei are structures similar to micronuclei (MN) in shape, structure, and size, which are linked to the main nuclei of cells by a thread or stalks of chromatin. They have been observed in numerous cell types and there are reports of their existence relating them with MN or with genotoxic events. However, there is no systematic study reporting their frequency and no experiment has been done to ascertain whether they are really induced by genotoxins. Furthermore, they have been discarded as genotoxic events with the argument that they are not formed in dividing cells. Studies are presented here that indicate that CHB can be considered as genotoxic events and that their origin is comparable to that of MN. Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) was used to label proliferating lymphocytes, which were later identified by means of an immunohistochemical method, using the H2O2,DAB stain. The results show that CHB are consistently formed where MN are seen. CHB were induced by the clastogen mitomycin C (MMC) as well as by the aneuploidogen colcemid, with frequencies similar to MN in both cases, and to multinucleated cells in the case of colcemid. CHB occur in lymphocytes of smokers with frequencies similar to those of MN, and we found that the infection with Taenia solium metacestodes induced a comparable increase of both MN and CHB frequency in lymphocytes from pigs. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 38:38,45, 2001 © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


    Addiction: a journal and its Invisible College,

    ADDICTION, Issue 5 2006
    Griffith Edwards
    ABSTRACT Provenance This paper derives from a lecture given before the Society for the Study of Addiction in November 2004, on the author's retirement from the position of Editor-in-Chief of Addiction, one of the Society's journals. Aim To identify the live processes which have influenced the journal's evolution since its foundation in 1884. Conclusions Over the 120-year period a strong, continuing historical thread has been the fluctuating success of the journal's engagement with its ,Invisible College', the community which it seeks to serve. It is argued that the journal's future success will depend on its capacity to explore and nurture further this two-way relationship. Addiction is a journal with an active and clearly articulated, multiple vision of it purpose, and this vision is outlined. It dares to try to influence its future with the authority so to do rooted in its ability to reflect the aspirations and concerns of its readers. It is ,a journal of the second kind'. [source]


    The labyrinth of bone disease in thalassaemia: the search for Ariadne's thread continues

    EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF HAEMATOLOGY, Issue 1 2009
    Nicos Skordis
    No abstract is available for this article. [source]


    Craving: what can be done to bring the insights of neuroscience, behavioral science and clinical science into synchrony

    ADDICTION, Issue 8s2 2000
    Roger E. Meyer
    Alcohol self-administration behavior is the common thread that is necessary to bring the insights of neuroscience, behavioral science and clinical science into synchrony around the concept of craving. Animal models should address the molecular and cellular changes that take place in behaviorally relevant brain regions of rats consequent to chronic self-administration of ethanol. Animal models can focus on the biology of the anticipatory state in alcohol preferring/consuming rats, as well as studies of the effects of possible medications on this state in the animal model, on actual alcohol consuming behavior, and on the residual effects of chronic alcohol on the non-human mammalian brain. In human studies of craving, cue-reactivity in the absence of the opportunity to drink alcohol does not have the same salience as cue-reactivity in which drinking is possible. Moreover, actual drinking behavior serves to validate self-reports of craving. Studies of limited alcohol self-administration in the laboratory are an essential element in screening new medications for the treatment of alcoholism. Studies to date suggest no adverse reaction to the participation of alcoholic subjects in limited alcohol self-administration studies, but the research community should continue to monitor carefully the outcomes of alcohol-dependent subjects who participate in this type of research, and efforts should always be made to encourage these subjects to enter active treatment. In outpatient clinical trials of new treatments for alcoholism, the assessment of craving should include queries regarding symptoms and signs of protracted abstinence such as sleep disturbances, as well as questions regarding situational craving. Field observations of alcoholics in their favorite drinking environments would contribute greatly to our understanding of the real-world phenomenology of craving. [source]


    A Ruthenium(II)-Complexed Rotaxane Whose Ring Incorporates a 6,6,-Diphenyl-2,2,-bipyridine: Synthesis and Light-Driven Motions

    EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF INORGANIC CHEMISTRY, Issue 10 2005
    Jean-Paul Collin
    Abstract By incorporating a 6,6'-diphenyl-2,2'-bipyridine (dpbipy) fragment in a ring, endo coordination of a ruthenium(II) center is performed selectively and almost quantitatively. The threaded system, containing a helical fragment, could be fully characterized. When the terminal functions of the rod-shaped helical complex threaded through the macrocycle are phenol groups, the complete rotaxane is prepared by the classical Williamson stoppering reaction in moderate yield. Light-induced motions of the unstoppered system (pseudorotaxane) and the real rotaxane have been studied. Under visible light irradiation, quantitative decoordination of the dpbipy-containing ring is observed, leading to the separate fragments (ring and helical thread) or to a new rotaxane (uncoordinated ring threaded by the dumbbell). (© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2005) [source]


    Pseudorotaxanes and Rotaxanes Incorporating Diarylcycloheptatriene Stations

    EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY, Issue 2 2005
    Werner Abraham
    Abstract The nature of the interaction between the tetracationic cyclophane cyclobis(paraquat-4,4,-biphenylene) and molecular threads incorporating arylcycloheptatriene units as stations was studied through the differences between the proton resonances observed in the NMR spectra of free molecular threads and in those of corresponding pseudorotaxanes and rotaxanes (CIS values). Molecular threads of different lengths possessing one or two recognition stations and incorporating two different isomeric arylcycloheptatriene units were used for pseudorotaxanes and rotaxanes. The main contribution to the driving forces behind the complexation of pseudorotaxanes and the co-conformation of rotaxanes was deduced from the CIS values of distinct parts of the molecular threads. The unusual signal dispersion of the cyclophane proton resonances is attributed to the asymmetry caused by the molecular thread incorporating the asymmetric cycloheptatriene ring. (© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2005) [source]


    Opioids and the skin , where do we stand?

    EXPERIMENTAL DERMATOLOGY, Issue 5 2009
    Paul L. Bigliardi
    Abstract:, The common ectodermal origin of the skin and nervous systems can be expected to predict likely interactions in the adult. Over the last couple of decades much progress has been made to elucidate the nature of these interactions, which provide multidirectional controls between the centrally located brain and the peripherally located skin and immune system. The opioid system is an excellent example of such an interaction and there is growing evidence that opioid receptors (OR) and their endogenous opioid agonists are functional in different skin structures, including peripheral nerve fibres, keratinocytes, melanocytes, hair follicles and immune cells. Greater knowledge of these skin-associated opioid interactions will be important for the treatment of chronic and acute pain and pruritus. Topical treatment of the skin with opioid ligands is particularly attractive as they are active with few side effects, especially if they cannot cross the blood,brain barrier. Moreover, cutaneous activation of the opioid system (e.g. by peripheral nerves, cutaneous and immune cells, especially in inflamed and damaged skin) can influence cell differentiation and apoptosis, and thus may be important for the repair of damaged skin. While many of the pieces of this intriguing puzzle remain to be found, we attempt in this review to weave a thread around available data to discuss how the peripheral opioid system may impact on different key players in skin physiology and pathology. [source]


    Determining the life cycle of bolts using a local approach and the Dang Van criterion

    FATIGUE & FRACTURE OF ENGINEERING MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES, Issue 8 2006
    Y. FARES
    ABSTRACT The fatigue behaviour of bolts under axial load has always been considered from the component point of view for which fatigue limit is usually taken equal to 50 MPa, and few results are available to designers for limited lifetimes. Here, we take up this problem from a material point of view using a local approach. For each case of fatigue testing, using finite-element (FE) model of the bolt, we determine the stabilized local stress at the root of the first thread in contact with the nut. To characterize bolt behaviour with these numerical results, we use Dang Van multiaxial fatigue criterion for which we extend application to the medium fatigue life. These results can be correlated with the experimental numbers of cycles to failure to determine material parameters of the generalized criterion. Using statistical Gauss method, we can make lifetime predictions for any level of risk of failure. In addition, we propose an analytical model to rapidly determine the local stress condition from nominal loading data (mean stress and alternating stress). This model dispenses us from a new modelling if the bolt is stressed in the same manner as the bolts used for behaviour characterization. Using this model and the generalized criterion, it is extremely easy to make lifetime predictions whatever the risk considered. [source]


    Fashion, Time and the Consumption of a Renaissance Man in Germany: The Costume Book of Matthäus Schwarz of Augsburg, 1496,1564

    GENDER & HISTORY, Issue 3 2002
    Gabriele MentgesArticle first published online: 11 FEB 200
    This article uses the perspective of cultural anthropology to consider the construction of an early modern perception of time and its relation to the dress and personal consumption of a male subject. It focuses on a costume book from the Renaissance compiled by Matthäus Schwarz, a member of the bourgeoisie, who lived in Augsburg from 1496 to 1574. The book contains a collection of 137 drawings, portraying Schwarz's personal choice of dress. It is also an account of Schwarz's life, beginning with his parents, then covering his life,stages from birth to old age. The relationships between body and dress and between the male subject and the world run as a major thread through the book. This article shows how closely connected Schwarz's body is with the life of commodities (dress) and consumption. The life,story of this Renaissance man is expressed in terms of changing fashions, which act as his subjective measure of time. [source]


    Re/placing Native Science: Indigenous Voices in Contemporary Constructions of Nature

    GEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2007
    JAY T. JOHNSON
    Abstract Since the earliest days of the European Enlightenment, Western people have sought to remove themselves from nature and the ,savage' non-European masses. This distancing has relied upon various intellectual techniques and theories. The social construction of nature precipitated by Enlightenment thinking separated culture from nature, culture being defined as civilised European society. This separation has served to displace the Native voice within the colonial construction of Nature. This separation has also served as one thread in the long modern ,disenchantment' of Westerners and nature, a ,disenchantment' described so adeptly by Adorno and Horkheimer (1973). Unfortunately though, this displacement is not only a historical event. The absence of modern Native voices within discussions of nature perpetuates the colonial displacement which blossomed following the Enlightenment. In his book entitled, Native Science, Gregory Cajete describes Native science as ,a lived and creative relationship with the natural world ... [an] intimate and creative participation [which] heightens awareness of the subtle qualities of a place' (2000, 20). Perhaps place offers a ,common ground' between Western and Indigenous thought; a ,common ground' upon which to re/write the meta-narrative of Enlightenment thought. This paper will seek to aid in the re/placement of modern Native voices within constructions of nature and seek to begin healing the disenchantment caused through the rupture between culture and nature in Western science. [source]


    "It's All About Perspective": Using Simulations in Multicultural Teaching

    HISTORY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 5 2006
    Kat Williams
    Many feminist pedagogues create a classroom climate that transforms the student from a passive beneficiary of knowledge to an active participant in the classroom community. This objective is accomplished in many different ways and while there is no way to ensure student participation in the classroom and not one technique that works for every situation, the common thread is the rejection of traditional, passive forms of learning in favor of alternative, active teaching methods. History is not experienced the same way by all people , it is not a seamless narrative or a single story, but a series of competing voices. To demonstrate my use of historical simulations in the classroom this article focuses on World War II and the alternative perspectives, including women's baseball, to which students are exposed and ultimately represent in the simulation. [source]


    One cell, one antibody: prelude and aftermath

    IMMUNOLOGICAL REVIEWS, Issue 1 2002
    G. J. V. Nossal
    Summary: This essay seeks to summarize one scientist's pilgrim's progress through the world of antibody formation, attempting to capture the flavor of problems as encountered within their times. It seeks to portray a world where the direct template hypothesis ruled the day, where the function of lymphocytes was unknown, let alone the difference between T and B cells, and where antibody genes were but a dream. Struggles to establish the credentials of the clonal selection hypothesis are presented in some detail, as are the implications which followed the ,one cell , one antibody' discovery. The other two main preoccupations of the author are presented more briefly, namely the essential features of the germinal center and the cellular basis of immunological tolerance within the B lymphocyte compartment. Naturally, the experiments become more sophisticated as both knowledge and technology mature. A continuing thread within the unfolding story is that one must not shy away from developing new techniques when problems demand them. [source]


    Effects of interferon-,2b on keloid treatment with triamcinolone acetonide intralesional injection

    INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 2 2008
    June Hyunkyung Lee MD
    Background, Triamcinolone acetonide intralesional injection (TAIL) has been used for the treatment of keloids, but only with limited success. Interferon-, (IFN-,) is the most widely used IFN, and has mainly antiviral, antiproliferative, and antitumoral functions. A few studies have evaluated the efficacy of IFN-,2b in controlled trials for the treatment of keloids. Objective, To compare the efficacy and side-effects of keloid treatment using IFN-,2b and TAIL, and TAIL only. Methods, Twenty lesions (combined TAIL + IFN-,2b group) and 20 control lesions (TAIL-only group) were studied in 19 patients (14 women and five men). The age range was 7,51 years (mean age, 24.6 years). Both groups were treated with TAIL every 2 weeks. The combined TAIL + IFN-,2b group was treated with intralesional injection of IFN-,2b, twice a week. Lesion measurements were made using thread, glue, and alginate. Results, Statistically significant decreases in depth (81.6%, P = 0.005) and volume (86.6%, P = 0.002) were observed in lesions of the combined TAIL + IFN-,2b group. In the TAIL-only group, the decreases in depth (66.0%, P = 0.281) and volume (73.4%, P = 0.245) were less statistically significant. The main side-effects were fever and flu-like symptoms, mild pain, and inflammation at the injection site. Conclusions, Intralesional IFN-,2b is an effective and safe treatment for keloids. Although the recurrence rate is as yet unknown, more than 80% improvement was noted in the majority of cases. Hence, adjuvant intralesional IFN-,2b should be considered, particularly for patients who have a history of failed corticosteroid injections. [source]


    Rural men and mental health: Their experiences and how they managed

    INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MENTAL HEALTH NURSING, Issue 5 2007
    Don Gorman
    ABSTRACT:, There is a growing awareness that a primary source of information about mental health lies with the consumers. This paper reports on a study that interviewed rural men with the aim of exploring their mental health experiences within a rural environment. The results of the interviews are a number of stories of resilience and survival that highlight not only the importance of exploring the individuals' perspective of their issues, but also of acknowledging and drawing on their inner strengths. Rural men face a number of challenges that not only increase the risk of mental illness but also decrease the likelihood of them seeking and/or finding professional support. These men's stories, while different from each other, have a common thread of coping. Despite some support from family and friends, participants also acknowledged that seeking out professional support could have made the recovery phase easier. Mental health nurses need to be aware, not only of the barrier to professional support but also of the significant resilience that individuals have and how it can be used. [source]


    Caregivers' strong commitment to their relationship with older people

    INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NURSING PRACTICE, Issue 2 2010
    Elisabeth Häggström RNT PhD
    Häggström E, Mamhidir, A-G, Kihlgren A. International Journal of Nursing Practice 2010; 16: 99,105 Caregivers' strong commitment to their relationship with older people The aim of the present study was to describe caregivers' good as well as bad experiences of working with older people. The study was based on five focus group interviews. One theme emerged from a latent content analysis: strong commitment to the relationship. This theme functioned as a thread of underlying meaning throughout the entire interpretative process of 48 caregivers' experiences of work. A delicate relationship existed that could be vulnerable and could reveal itself in feelings of lack of knowledge, guilt and fear. The caregivers' committed relationship to the older adults created independency in the ways in which they protected the older people's needs. Further studies are needed that focus on caregivers' transition from dependency to independency. The findings highlight the importance of clinical supervision to personal development and identity, and to promoting caregivers' self-esteem and maintaining a committed relationship. Commitment is a deep human feeling, and it should be promoted in order to maintain and further develop quality care for older adults. [source]


    New Patterns of Youth Transition in Education

    INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCE JOURNAL, Issue 164 2000
    Johanna Wyn
    Current research provides evidence that new relationships are being forged between youth people and education. Increased participation in post-compulsory education, combinations of work and study and uncertain career outcomes havebecome common experiences. There is an emerging disparity between the stated goals of education and the changing priorities and choices of young people. In particular, the linear notion of transitions, expressed in the metaphorsof pathways used in policy documents, is increasingly at odds with the patterns of life experienced by young people in many nations. Three themes stand out in the research on young people in the 1990s. First, an awareness of foreclosed options in educational outcomes is a consistent thread across a range of studies. Secondly, there is a discernible shift by the end of the 1990s toward more complex life-patterns and a blending or balancing of a range of personal priorities and interests. Thirdly, the need to give ,active voice' to young people about the dramatic social and economic changes they have been subjected to, is unmistakable in the light of the increasing disparity between the rhetoric of youth and education policy and their own experience of its out-comes. [source]


    Pious Frauds: ,Honest Tricks' and the Patterns of Anglican Devotional Thought in Richardson

    JOURNAL FOR EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY STUDIES, Issue 3 2009
    BONNIE LATIMER
    Abstract This essay identifies a series of apparent deceptions by two of Richardson's iconic moral paragons, Clarissa Harlowe and Sir Charles Grandison. It uses early modern Anglican thought to argue that such deceptions are best seen as ,lies', but also that the same body of theology allows for ,lying' in certain cases. Drawing on a range of Anglican thought from this period, it identifies in this literature a fascination with using ,indirect means' to bring about the ends of virtue, and concludes that Richardson picks up on this intellectual thread in his staging of morally complex fictional scenarios. [source]


    Structure,properties relations of the drawn poly(ethylene terephthalate) filament sewing thread

    JOURNAL OF APPLIED POLYMER SCIENCE, Issue 5 2008
    Andreja Rudolf
    Abstract This article presents research into draw ratio influence on the structure,properties relationship of drawn PET filament threads. Structural modification influence due to the drawing conditions, i.e., the birefringence and filament crystallinity, on the mechanical properties was investigated, as well as the shrinkage and dynamic mechanical properties of the drawn threads. Increasing draw ratio causes a linear increase in the birefringence, degree of crystallinity, filament shrinkage, and a decrease in the loss modulus. In addition, loss tangent and glass transition temperature, determined at the loss modulus peak, were increased by drawing. The observed structural changes influence the thread's mechanical properties, i.e., the breaking tenacity, elasticity modulus, and tension at the yield point increase, while breaking extension decreases by a higher draw ratio. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008 [source]


    A novel direct aerodynamically assisted threading methodology for generating biologically viable microthreads encapsulating living primary cells

    JOURNAL OF APPLIED POLYMER SCIENCE, Issue 2 2008
    Sumathy Arumuganathar
    Abstract In a recent discovery, coaxial electrospinning was explored to encapsulate living organisms within a continuous bio-polymeric microthread from which active biological scaffolds were fabricated (Townsend-Nicholson and Jayasinghe, Biomacromolecules 2006, 7, 3364). The cells were demonstrated to have gone through all expected cellular activity without their viability being compromised. These biologically active threads and scaffolds have direct and tremendous applicability from regenerative to therapeutic medicine. Currently these post-processed cells as composite threads and scaffolds are being investigated in-depth at a cellular level to establish if the processing methodology has any affect on the cellular make-up. We now demonstrate a competing non-electric field driven approach for fabricating composite threads and scaffolds influenced only by a differential pressure. We refer to this novel composite thread to scaffold fabrication methodology as coaxial aerodynamically assisted bio-threading (CAABT). Our investigations firstly, demonstrate that this technique can process handle living organisms without biologically perturbing them in anyway. Secondly the process is elucidated as possessing the ability to form composite active threads from which biologically viable scaffolds are formed. Finally our study employs florescent activated cell sorting (FACScan), a method by which the cellular dynamics and viability are quantified on control and threaded cellular samples at two prescribed time points. In parallel with FACScan, optical comparison of cellular morphology at three time points within a period of three weeks is carried out to photographically observe any changes in the post-processed cellular phenotype. Our developmental investigations into this novel aerodynamically assisted threading methodology has unearthed a unique biomicrofabrication approach, which joins cell electrospinning in the cell threading to scaffold fabrication endeavor. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008 [source]


    The chick chorioallantoic membrane as a novel in vivo model for the testing of biomaterials

    JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL MATERIALS RESEARCH, Issue 2 2002
    T.I. Valdes
    Abstract Current in vivo models for testing biomaterials are time and labor intensive as well as expensive. This article describes a new approach for testing biomaterials in vivo using the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) of the developing chicken embryo, as an alternative to the traditional mammalian models. Fertilized chicken eggs were incubated for 4 days, at which time a small window was cut in the shell of the egg. After 1 week of incubation, the CAM received several test materials, including the endotoxin LPS, a cotton thread and a Silastic tubing. One day and 1 week later, the tissue response to the test materials was assessed using gross, histological, and scanning electron microscope evaluations. The inflammatory response of the chorioallantoic membrane to biomaterials was fully characterized and found to be similar to that of the mammalian response and was also seen to vary according to test materials. We also found that the structure and geometry of the test materials greatly influenced the incorporation of the samples in the CAM. The similarity of the tissue response of the CAM with the mammalian models, plus the low cost, simplicity, and possibility to continuously visualize the test site through the shell window make this animal model particularly attractive for the rapid in vivo screening of biomaterials. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 62: 273,282, 2002 [source]


    The challenges of caring in a technological environment: critical care nurses' experiences

    JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 8 2008
    ITU cert, Mary McGrath MSc
    Purpose., This paper presents and discusses the findings from a phenomenological study which illuminated the lived experiences of experienced critical care nurses caring within a technological environment. Background., While nursing practice is interwoven with technology, much of the literature in this area is speculative. Moreover, there is a debate as to whether and how ,high tech' and ,high touch' are reconcilable; this orientation is referred to as the optimism vs. pessimism debate. On a personal level, the motivation for this study came from the author's 13 years' experience in the critical care area. Method., Following ethical approval, 10 experienced nurses from two cardiothoracic critical care units in Ireland participated in the study. A Heideggerian phenomenological methodology was used. Data collection consisted of unstructured interviews. A method of data analysis described by Walters was used. Findings., The findings provide research-based evidence to illuminate further the optimistic/pessimistic debate on technology in nursing. While the study demonstrates that the debate is far from resolved, it reveals a new finding: life-saving technology that supports the lives of critically ill patients can bring experienced nurses very close to their patients/families. The three main themes that emerged: ,alien environment', ,pulling together' and ,sharing the journey' were linked by a common thread of caring. Conclusion., Experienced critical care nurses are able to transcend the obtrusive nature of technology to deliver expert caring to their patients. However, the journey to proficiency in technology is very demanding and novice nurses have difficulty in caring with technology. Relevance to clinical practice., It is recommended that more emphasis be placed on supporting, assisting and educating inexperienced nurses in the critical care area and that the use of technology in nursing be given serious consideration. [source]