Advances in Understanding the Role of Frozen Precipitation in High Latitude Hydrology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

L'Ecuyer, T. S.; Wood, N.; Smalley, M.; McIlhattan, E.; Kulie, M.

2017-12-01

Satellite-based millimeter wavelength radar observations provide a unique perspective on the global character of frozen precipitation that has been difficult to detect using conventional spaceborne precipitation sensors. This presentation will describe the methodology underpinning the ten-year CloudSat global snowfall product and discuss the results of a number of complementary approaches that have been adopted to quantify its uncertainties. These datasets are shedding new light on the distribution, character, and impacts of frozen precipitation on high latitude hydrology. Inferred regional snowfall accumulations, for example, provide valuable constraints on projected changes in precipitation and mass balance on the Antarctic ice sheet in climate models. When placed in the broader context of complementary observations from other A-Train sensors, instantaneous snowfall estimates also hint at the large-scale processes that influence snow formation including air-sea interactions associated with cold-air outbreaks, lake-effect snows, and orographic enhancement. Simultaneous CloudSat and CALIPSO observations further emphasize the important role snowfall plays in the lifetime of super-cooled liquid containing clouds in the Arctic and highlight a model deficiency with important implications for surface energy and mass balance on the Greenland ice sheet.

The role of the SMART and WHIM in behavioural assessment of disorders of consciousness: clinical utility and scope for a symbiotic relationship.

PubMed

Morrissey, Ann-Marie; Gill-Thwaites, Helen; Wilson, Barbara; Leonard, Rachel; McLellan, Lindsay; Pundole, Amy; Shiel, Agnes

2017-08-01

As the prevalence and incidence of disorders of consciousness (DoC) increase, researchers and clinicians are tasked with developing best practice assessment techniques. Neurobehavioural assessment remains the most clinically available method of measuring consciousness. Neuroimaging and other physiological measurements are demonstrating promise in supporting this assessment but many of these techniques require further research and are not widely available in sub-acute and long-term care settings. No study to date has explored in-depth complementary use of multiple neurobehavioural assessments in aiding beside assessment of consciousness. This paper describes and proposes complementary use of two commonly used standardised neurobehavioural assessments. The Sensory Modality Assessment and Rehabilitation Technique (SMART) and the Wessex Head Injury Matrix (WHIM) both have specific aims and play an important role in behavioural assessment across the care continuum. This paper proposes that when used together appropriately these two assessments promote best practice and strengthen behavioural assessment of consciousness by providing increased opportunities to capture awareness. Further research into use of more than one neurobehavioural tool is highlighted as an important area of inquiry for this heterogeneous population not only in clinical practice but also in research.

"Placebo effect is probably what we refer to as patient healing power": A qualitative pilot study examining how Norwegian complementary therapists reflect on their practice.

PubMed

Stub, Trine; Foss, Nina; Liodden, Ingrid

2017-05-12

Complementary therapists spend considerable time with their patients, especially in the first consultation. The communication between patients and their therapists is important for raising consciousness and activation of the patient's self-healing power. Thus, the aims in this study were to delineate what complementary therapists regard as essential in patient consultations, their view of the healing process, and how the therapists understand the placebo effect and its position in the healing process. Semi-structured individual interviews (n = 4), focus group interview (n = 1) and participant observation were conducted among four different complementary therapists in a Norwegian community. The text data was transcribed verbatim and the analysis of the material was conducted according to conventional and direct content analysis. Some codes were predefined and others were defined during the analysis. The pilot study showed that the implemented methods seems feasible and fit well with the aims of this study. Complementary therapists (chiropractor, naprapath (musculoskeletal therapist), acupuncturist and acupuncturist/homeopath) representing four different complementary modalities participated. A combination of the conversation and examination during the first consultation formed the basis for the therapist's choice of treatment. A successful consultation was characterized by a fruitful relationship between the therapist and the patient. Moreover, the therapist needs to be humble and show the patient respect. Patients' positive beliefs and expectations about the treatment play a significant role in the healing process. The more hope the therapist can bring about, the more easily the patient can start believing that it is possible to get well. This was a pilot study. Therefore the findings should be appreciated as limited and preliminary. Therapists' and patients' mutual understanding and treatment goals were essential for a successful consultation. The therapists emphasized their professional skills and therapeutic competence as important when building fruitful relationships with their patients. Exerting authority and making the patient feel confident were essential factors for a successful healing process. The complementary therapists understood the placebo effect as the patient's self-healing power, resulting from establishing trust and belief in the treatment process.

The mirror neuron system is more active during complementary compared with imitative action.

PubMed

Newman-Norlund, Roger D; van Schie, Hein T; van Zuijlen, Alexander M J; Bekkering, Harold

2007-07-01

We assessed the role of the human mirror neuron system (MNS) in complementary actions using functional magnetic resonance imaging while participants prepared to execute imitative or complementary actions. The BOLD signal in the right inferior frontal gyrus and bilateral inferior parietal lobes was greater during preparation of complementary than during imitative actions, suggesting that the MNS may be essential in dynamically coupling action observation to action execution.

Differences in Cognitive Processes Underlying the Collaborative Activities of Children and Chimpanzees

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fletcher, Grace E.; Warneken, Felix; Tomasello, Michael

2012-01-01

We compared the performance of 3- and 5-year-old children with that of chimpanzees in two tasks requiring collaboration via complementary roles. In both tasks, children and chimpanzees were able to coordinate two complementary roles with peers and solve the problem cooperatively. This is the first experimental demonstration of the coordination of…

Maqasid al-shariah as a complementary framework to conventional bioethics.

PubMed

Saifuddeen, Shaikh Mohd; Rahman, Noor Naemah Abdul; Isa, Noor Munirah; Baharuddin, Azizan

2014-06-01

With the rapid advancements made in biotechnology, bioethical discourse has become increasingly important. Bioethics is a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary field that goes beyond the realm of natural sciences, and has involved fields in the domain of the social sciences. One of the important areas in bioethical discourse is religion. In a country like Malaysia, where Muslims make up the majority of the population, Islam plays a crucial role in providing the essential guidelines on the permissibility and acceptability of biotechnological applications in various fields such as medicine, agriculture, and food processing. This article looks at the framework of a complementary model of bioethics derived from the perspective of Islam. The framework is based on 'maqasid al-shariah' (purposes or objectives of Islamic law) which aims to protect and preserve mankind's faith, life, intellect, progeny, and property. It is proposed that 'maqasid al-shariah' be used as a pragmatic checklist that can be utilized in tackling bioethical issues and dilemmas.

Modeling Kepler Transit Light Curves as False Positives: Rejection of Blend Scenarios for Kepler-9, and Validation of Kepler-9 d, a Super-Earth-Size Planet in a Multiple System

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-01-20

of 2009, was de- signed to address the important question of the frequency of Earth -size planets around Sun -like stars, and to characterize ex...physically associated with the candidate (hierarchical triple systems) and in a long-period orbit around their common center of mass would often be spatially...positive scenar- ios that is complementary to other diagnostics, and should play an important role in the discovery of Earth -size planets around other

The role of complementary and alternative therapies in pediatric diabetes.

PubMed

Shapiro, Sofia; Rapaport, Robert

2009-12-01

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), also referred to as holistic, or integrative, medicine, are terms that describe a heterogeneous collection of nontraditional therapies, from chemical substances, to biofeedback, to prayer. This review focuses on CAM in pediatric patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. CAM prevalence in this population and the specific modalities that have been studied in children are described. Randomized, placebo-controlled, prospective studies in young adults are evaluated for their applicability to pediatric patients. CAM's "complementary" role is emphasized, as there is evidence of significant morbidity when CAM replaces standard-of-care therapy.

Evaluating the complementary roles of an SJT and academic assessment for entry into clinical practice.

PubMed

Cousans, Fran; Patterson, Fiona; Edwards, Helena; Walker, Kim; McLachlan, John C; Good, David

2017-05-01

Although there is extensive evidence confirming the predictive validity of situational judgement tests (SJTs) in medical education, there remains a shortage of evidence for their predictive validity for performance of postgraduate trainees in their first role in clinical practice. Moreover, to date few researchers have empirically examined the complementary roles of academic and non-academic selection methods in predicting in-role performance. This is an important area of enquiry as despite it being common practice to use both types of methods within a selection system, there is currently no evidence that this approach translates into increased predictive validity of the selection system as a whole, over that achieved by the use of a single selection method. In this preliminary study, the majority of the range of scores achieved by successful applicants to the UK Foundation Programme provided a unique opportunity to address both of these areas of enquiry. Sampling targeted high (>80th percentile) and low (<20th percentile) scorers on the SJT. Supervisors rated 391 trainees' in-role performance, and incidence of remedial action was collected. SJT and academic performance scores correlated with supervisor ratings (r = .31 and .28, respectively). The relationship was stronger between the SJT and in-role performance for the low scoring group (r = .33, high scoring group r = .11), and between academic performance and in-role performance for the high scoring group (r = .29, low scoring group r = .11). Trainees with low SJT scores were almost five times more likely to receive remedial action. Results indicate that an SJT for entry into trainee physicians' first role in clinical practice has good predictive validity of supervisor-rated performance and incidence of remedial action. In addition, an SJT and a measure of academic performance appeared to be complementary to each other. These initial findings suggest that SJTs may be more predictive at the lower end of a scoring distribution, and academic attainment more predictive at the higher end.

One-pot synthesis of high molecular weight synthetic heteroprotein dimers driven by charge complementarity electrostatic interactions.

PubMed

Hvasanov, David; Nam, Ekaterina V; Peterson, Joshua R; Pornsaksit, Dithepon; Wiedenmann, Jörg; Marquis, Christopher P; Thordarson, Pall

2014-10-17

Despite the importance of protein dimers and dimerization in biology, the formation of protein dimers through synthetic covalent chemistry has not found widespread use. In the case of maleimide-cysteine-based dimerization of proteins, we show here that when the proteins have the same charge, dimerization appears to be inherently difficult with yields around 1% or less, regardless of the nature of the spacer used or whether homo- or heteroprotein dimers are targeted. In contrast, if the proteins have opposing (complementary) charges, the formation of heteroprotein dimers proceeds much more readily, and in the case of one high molecular weight (>80 kDa) synthetic dimer between cytochrome c and bovine serum albumin, a 30% yield of the purified, isolated dimer was achieved. This represents at least a 30-fold increase in yield for protein dimers formed from proteins with complementary charges, compared to when the proteins have the same charge, under otherwise similar conditions. These results illustrate the role of ionic supramolecular interactions in controlling the reactivity of proteins toward bis-functionalized spacers. The strategy here for effective synthetic dimerization of proteins could be very useful for developing novel approaches to study the important role of protein-protein interactions in chemical biology.

Receiving money for medicine: some tensions and resolutions for community-based private complementary therapists.

PubMed

Andrews, Gavin J; Peter, Elizabeth; Hammond, Robin

2003-03-01

During recent years, private complementary medicine has grown as a significant provider of healthcare in the UK and much of this provision is through small private businesses financed by out-of-pocket payments made by privately paying clients. Using a combined questionnaire (n = 426) and interview survey (n = 49), the present paper considers the potential tensions and dilemmas which therapists face and the resolutions which they come to in being carers, but in market terms, also profit makers. Therapists generally identified with being carers first and business people second, and this was reflected in their caring decisions. Indeed, under circumstances where the roles potentially conflicted (e.g. when clients could no longer afford to pay for their treatments), most therapists claimed that they continued to provide care, either by providing their services free-of-charge, at a reduced rate, by deferring payment or by accepting alternative forms of compensation. There is a relative lack of dedicated research literature on complementary therapists, their attitudes and actions, and this paper provides some important data on their specific management and caring decisions. At the same time, the evidence also provides some initial food-for-thought and indicates some potential research directions for exploring ethical issues in the private practice of complementary medicine.

How Should Journal Editors Respond to Cases of Suspected Misconduct?

PubMed Central

Wager, Elizabeth

2014-01-01

Journals and institutions have important complementary roles to play in cases of suspected research and publication misconduct. Journals should take responsibility for everything they publish and should alert institutions to cases of possible serious misconduct but should not attempt to investigate such cases. Institutions should take responsibility for their researchers and for investigating cases of possible misconduct and for ensuring journals are informed if they have published unreliable or misleading articles so that these can be retracted or corrected. Journals and institutions should have policies in place for handling such cases and these policies should respect their different roles. PMID:25574266

Abstraction and Consolidation of the Limit Procept by Means of Instrumented Schemes: The Complementary Role of Three Different Frameworks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kidron, Ivy

2008-01-01

I investigate the contributions of three theoretical frameworks to a research process and the complementary role played by each. First, I describe the essence of each theory and then follow the analysis of their specific influence on the research process. The research process is on the conceptualization of the notion of limit by means of the…

Identification of a group of Haemophilus influenzae penicillin-binding proteins that may have complementary physiological roles

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Malouin, F.; Parr, T.R. Jr.; Bryan, L.E.

(35S)penicillin bound to different Haemophilus influenzae proteins in assays performed at 20, 37, or 42{degrees}C. Penicillin-binding proteins 3a, 3b, 4, and 4' formed a group characterized by their affinity for moxalactam, cefotaxime, and piperacillin. Penicillin-binding protein 4' showed specific properties that may reflect its complementary role in septation.

Somatic association of telocentric chromosomes carrying homologous centromeres in common wheat.

PubMed

Mello-Sampayo, T

1973-01-01

Measurements of distances between telocentric chromosomes, either homologous or representing the opposite arms of a metacentric chromosome (complementary telocentrics), were made at metaphase in root tip cells of common wheat carrying two homologous pairs of complementary telocentrics of chromosome 1 B or 6 B (double ditelosomic 1 B or 6 B). The aim was to elucidate the relative locations of the telocentric chromosomes within the cell. The data obtained strongly suggest that all four telocentrics of chromosome 1 B or 6 B are spacially and simultaneously co-associated. In plants carrying two complementary (6 B (S) and 6 B (L)) and a non-related (5 B (L)) telocentric, only the complementary chromosomes were found to be somatically associated. It is thought, therefore, that the somatic association of chromosomes may involve more than two chromosomes in the same association and, since complementary telocentrics are as much associated as homologous, that the homology between centromeres (probably the only homologous region that exists between complementary telocentrics) is a very important condition for somatic association of chromosomes. The spacial arrangement of chromosomes was studied at anaphase and prophase and the polar orientation of chromosomes at prophase was found to resemble anaphase orientation. This was taken as good evidence for the maintenance of the chromosome arrangement - the Rabl orientation - and of the peripheral location of the centromere and its association with the nuclear membrane. Within this general arrangement homologous telocentric chromosomes were frequently seen to have their centromeres associated or directed towards each other. The role of the centromere in somatic association as a spindle fibre attachment and chromosome binder is discussed. It is suggested that for non-homologous chromosomes to become associated in root tips, the only requirement needed should be the homology of centromeres such as exists between complementary telocentrics, or, as a possible alternative, common repeated sequences of DNA molecules around the centromere region.

Temporal variation in bat-fruit interactions: Foraging strategies influence network structure over time

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zapata-Mesa, Natalya; Montoya-Bustamante, Sebastián; Murillo-García, Oscar E.

2017-11-01

Mutualistic interactions, such as seed dispersal, are important for the maintenance of structure and stability of tropical communities. However, there is a lack of information about spatial and temporal variation in plant-animal interaction networks. Thus, our goal was to assess the effect of bat's foraging strategies on temporal variation in the structure and robustness of bat-fruit networks in both a dry and a rain tropical forest. We evaluated monthly variation in bat-fruit networks by using seven structure metrics: network size, average path length, nestedness, modularity, complementary specialization, normalized degree and betweenness centrality. Seed dispersal networks showed variations in size, species composition and modularity; did not present nested structures and their complementary specialization was high compared to other studies. Both networks presented short path lengths, and a constantly high robustness, despite their monthly variations. Sedentary bat species were recorded during all the study periods and occupied more central positions than nomadic species. We conclude that foraging strategies are important structuring factors that affect the dynamic of networks by determining the functional roles of frugivorous bats over time; thus sedentary bats are more important than nomadic species for the maintenance of the network structure, and their conservation is a must.

Primary status, complementary status, and organizational survival in the U.S. venture capital industry.

PubMed

Bothner, Matthew S; Kim, Young-Kyu; Lee, Wonjae

2015-07-01

We introduce a distinction between two kinds of status and examine their effects on the exit rates of organizations investing in the U.S. venture capital industry. Extending past work on status-based competition, we start with a simple baseline: we describe primary status as a network-related signal of an organization's quality in a leadership role, that is, as a function of the degree to which an organization leads others that are themselves well regarded as lead organizations in the context of investment syndicates. Combining Harary's (1959) image of the elite consultant with Goffman's (1956) concept of "capacity-esteem," we then discuss complementary status as an affiliation-based signal of an organization's quality in a supporting role. We measure complementary status as a function of the extent to which an organization is invited into syndicates by well-regarded lead organizations-that is, by those possessing high levels of primary status. Findings show that, conditioning on primary status, complementary status reduces the rate at which venture capital organizations exit the industry. Consistent with the premise that these kinds of status correspond to different roles and market identities, we also find that complementary status attenuates (and ultimately reverses) the otherwise favorable effect of primary status on an organization's life chances. Theoretically and methodologically oriented scope conditions, as well as implications for future research, are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Use of complementary and alternative medicine by pediatric patients with functional and organic gastrointestinal diseases: results from a multicenter survey.

PubMed

Vlieger, Arine M; Blink, Marjolein; Tromp, Ellen; Benninga, Marc A

2008-08-01

Many pediatric patients use complementary and alternative medicine, especially when facing a chronic illness for which treatment options are limited. So far, research on the use of complementary and alternative medicine in patients with functional gastrointestinal disease has been scarce. This study was designed to assess complementary and alternative medicine use in children with different gastrointestinal diseases, including functional disorders, to determine which factors predicted complementary and alternative medicine use and to assess the willingness of parents to participate in future studies on complementary and alternative medicine efficacy and safety. The prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine use was assessed by using a questionnaire for 749 children visiting pediatric gastroenterology clinics of 9 hospitals in the Netherlands. The questionnaire consisted of 35 questions on the child's gastrointestinal disease, medication use, health status, past and future complementary and alternative medicine use, reasons for its use, and the necessity of complementary and alternative medicine research. In this study population, the frequency of complementary and alternative medicine use was 37.6%. A total of 60.3% of this group had used complementary and alternative medicine specifically for their gastrointestinal disease. This specific complementary and alternative medicine use was higher in patients with functional disorders than organic disorders (25.3% vs 17.2%). Adverse effects of allopathic medication, school absenteeism, age

Enhancing the primary care team to provide redesigned care: the roles of practice facilitators and care managers.

PubMed

Taylor, Erin Fries; Machta, Rachel M; Meyers, David S; Genevro, Janice; Peikes, Deborah N

2013-01-01

Efforts to redesign primary care require multiple supports. Two potential members of the primary care team-practice facilitator and care manager-can play important but distinct roles in redesigning and improving care delivery. Facilitators, also known as quality improvement coaches, assist practices with coordinating their quality improvement activities and help build capacity for those activities-reflecting a systems-level approach to improving quality, safety, and implementation of evidence-based practices. Care managers provide direct patient care by coordinating care and helping patients navigate the system, improving access for patients, and communicating across the care team. These complementary roles aim to help primary care practices deliver coordinated, accessible, comprehensive, and patient-centered care.

Probing plasmons in three dimensions by combining complementary spectroscopies in a scanning transmission electron microscope

DOE PAGES

Hachtel, Jordan A.; Marvinney, Claire; Mouti, Anas; ...

2016-03-02

The nanoscale optical response of surface plasmons in three-dimensional metallic nanostructures plays an important role in many nanotechnology applications, where precise spatial and spectral characteristics of plasmonic elements control device performance. Electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) and cathodoluminescence (CL) within a scanning transmission electron microscope have proven to be valuable tools for studying plasmonics at the nanoscale. Each technique has been used separately, producing three-dimensional reconstructions through tomography, often aided by simulations for complete characterization. Here we demonstrate that the complementary nature of the two techniques, namely that EELS probes beam-induced electronic excitations while CL probes radiative decay, allows usmore » to directly obtain a spatially- and spectrally-resolved picture of the plasmonic characteristics of nanostructures in three dimensions. Furthermore, the approach enables nanoparticle-by-nanoparticle plasmonic analysis in three dimensions to aid in the design of diverse nanoplasmonic applications.« less

Sword or Ploughshare? New Roles for NATO and the Changing Nature of Transatlantic Relations

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-02-01

2006. 47 Olaf Theiler, “Die NATO im Umbruch” [NATO in a State of Upheaval]; pp. 70 -76. 48 Robert Weaver, “NACC’s Five Years of Strengthening...defense policy.” Gustav E. Gustenau and Johann Frank, “Divergenz oder Komplementarität?” [Divergent or Complementary?], p. 13. 70 “Riga Summit...participation of British and also (with restrictions) French armed forces in Operation “Desert Storm” sent an important signal regarding the future

The leadership team: complementary strengths or conflicting agendas?

PubMed

Miles, Stephen A; Watkins, Michael D

2007-04-01

Senior leadership teams whose members play complementary roles have been chronicled as far back as Homer's account of the Trojan War: Although King Agamemnon commanded the Greek army, Achilles, Odysseus, and Nestor each played a distinct role in defeating Troy. Today, complementary-leadership structures are common and, in some cases, even institutionalized. Think of a CEO concerned mainly with external issues and a COO who focuses internally. The authors describe four kinds of complementarity: task, expertise, cognitive, and role. The two top executives at the software company Adobe Systems, for example, represent the second kind. As CEO, Bruce Chizen draws on his sales and marketing knowledge, while COO Shantanu Narayen adds his engineering and product development expertise. Roberto Goizueta, formerly the CEO of Coca-Cola, and Douglas Ivester, his COO (who later became CEO), were famous examples of the fourth type: Goizueta, the diplomat, maintained good relations with external stakeholders; Ivester, the warrior, drove the company to defeat the competition. Bringing together two or more people with complementary strengths can compensate for the natural limitations of each. But with the benefits comes the risk of confusion, disagreement about priorities, and turf battles. Leadership succession also presents substantial challenges, especially when a COO or president who has worked in a complementary fashion with the CEO moves into the top role. An organization's board of directors and CEO can manage the risks by fostering a shared vision, common incentives, communication, and trust. They can also ensure smooth succession processes in various ways, such as brokering a gradual transfer of responsibilities or allowing the CEO and the COO to share duties as long as they maintain the logic of complementarity.

Sri Lanka. Political violence and ethnic conflict.

PubMed

Rogers, J D; Spencer, J; Uyangoda, J

1998-07-01

In recent years, Sri Lanka has experienced 2 violent rebellions in which youths have played a prominent role, 1 in the majority Sinhala community and 1 in the minority Tamil community. The former was crushed, but the latter remains ongoing, with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, who claim to represent the Tamil minority, battling the Sinhala-dominated government. Prospects for peace in the short- and medium term appear poor. These events have generated an impressive body of interdisciplinary interpretation, but several important topics have received relatively little attention. Most ongoing research is being carried out by anthropologists, historians, and political scientists, but psychological insights would offer important complementary perspectives.

Complementary Feeding Knowledge, Practices, and Dietary Diversity among Mothers of Under-Five Children in an Urban Community in Lagos State, Nigeria

PubMed Central

Olatona, Foluke Adenike; Adenihun, Jesupelumi Oreoluwa; Aderibigbe, Sunday Adedeji; Adeniyi, Oluwafunmilayo Funke

2017-01-01

Background and Objectives: Inappropriate complementary feeding is a major cause of child malnutrition and death. This study determined the complementary feeding knowledge, practices, minimum dietary diversity, and acceptable diet among mothers of under-five children in an urban Local Government Area of Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Eti-Osa area of Lagos State, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling technique was employed to select 355 mothers and infants. Data was collected using a pre-tested interviewer administered questionnaire and 24-hour diet recall was used to assess dietary diversity. Data was analyzed using Epi-Info. Results: Knowledge of complementary feeding was low (14.9%) and was associated with older mothers’ age, being married, and higher level of education. The prevalence of timely initiation of complementary feeding (47.9%), dietary diversity (16.0%) and minimum acceptable diet for children between 6 and 9 months (16%) were low. Overall, appropriate complementary feeding practice was low (47.0%) and associated with higher level of mothers’ education and occupation. Conclusions and Global Health Implications: Complementary feeding knowledge and practices were poor among mothers of under-5 especially the non-literate. Reduction of child malnutrition through appropriate complementary feeding remains an important global health goal. Complementary feeding education targeting behavioral change especially among young, single and uneducated mothers in developing countries is important to reduce child morbidity and mortality. PMID:28798893

Coordinated expression and regulation of deiodinases and thyroid hormone receptors during metamorphosis in the Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus).

PubMed

Yu, Jie; Fu, Yuanshuai; Shi, Zhiyi

2017-04-01

In vertebrates, thyroid hormone receptors (TRs) and deiodinases are essential for developmental events driven by the thyroid hormones (THs). However, the significance of deiodinases during the metamorphosis of the Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) remains unclear. Moreover, regulation and response of the TRs and deiodinases to THs in this fish are poorly understood. Therefore, we detected the expression patterns of THs, deiodinases, and TRs in drug-treated larvae and untreated larvae of P. olivaceus by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and quantitative real-time PCR during P. olivaceus metamorphosis. To further understand the roles of these elements, a rescue assay was performed. Our results show the importance of THs, TRs, and deiodinases in flatfish metamorphosis. Our results also confirm that D1 and D2 activate THs and D3 plays the opposite and complementary role. Moreover, we demonstrated that both TRα and TRβ have important but different roles during P. olivaceus metamorphosis.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: Parental Nondisclosure of Complementary and Alternative Medicine and Over-the-Counter Medication Use in Children’s Asthma Management

PubMed Central

Sidora-Arcoleo, Kimberly; Yoos, H. Lorrie; Kitzman, Harriet; McMullen, Ann; Anson, Elizabeth

2008-01-01

Background Parent-healthcare provider (HCP) communication is an important component of pediatric asthma management. Given the high prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and over-the-counter (OTC) medication use among this population, it is important to examine parental nondisclosure of these asthma management strategies. Method One-time interview and one-year retrospective medical record review with 228 parents of 5–12 year old children with asthma enrolled from 6 pediatric primary care practices examining parental nondisclosure of CAM and OTC medication use, reasons for nondisclosure, medical record documentation of CAM usage, and association between parent-HCP relationship and nondisclosure. Results Seventy-one percent of parents reported using CAM and/or OTC medication for children’s asthma management and 54% of those parents did not disclose usage. Seventy-five percent “did not think” to discuss it. Better parent-HCP relationship led to decreased nondisclosure. Discussion HCPs can play an important role in creating an environment where parents feel comfortable sharing information about their children’s asthma management strategies in order to arrive at a shared asthma management plan for the child leading to improved asthma health outcomes. PMID:18590866

Complementary and alternative medicine in women's health. Developing a research agenda.

PubMed

Murphy, P A; Kronenberg, F; Wade, C

1999-01-01

Complementary and alternative medicine is becoming an established intervention modality within the contemporary health care system. Various forms of complementary and alternative medicine are used by patients and practitioners alike, including chiropractic, massage, botanical medicine, homeopathy, and energy therapies. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine was established within the National Institutes of Health to facilitate evaluation of these alternative therapies, establish an information clearinghouse, and promote research in the field. This article discusses several aspects of complementary and alternative medicine, relates them to women's health, and describes the need for a research agenda to evaluate the impact of the complementary and alternative medicine modalities used for important conditions affecting women.

Kinematics fingerprints of leader and follower role-taking during cooperative joint actions.

PubMed

Sacheli, Lucia Maria; Tidoni, Emmanuele; Pavone, Enea Francesco; Aglioti, Salvatore Maria; Candidi, Matteo

2013-05-01

Performing online complementary motor adjustments is quintessential to joint actions since it allows interacting people to coordinate efficiently and achieve a common goal. We sought to determine whether, during dyadic interactions, signaling strategies and simulative processes are differentially implemented on the basis of the interactional role played by each partner. To this aim, we recorded the kinematics of the right hand of pairs of individuals who were asked to grasp as synchronously as possible a bottle-shaped object according to an imitative or complementary action schedule. Task requirements implied an asymmetric role assignment so that participants performed the task acting either as (1) Leader (i.e., receiving auditory information regarding the goal of the task with indications about where to grasp the object) or (2) Follower (i.e., receiving instructions to coordinate their movements with their partner's by performing imitative or complementary actions). Results showed that, when acting as Leader, participants used signaling strategies to enhance the predictability of their movements. In particular, they selectively emphasized kinematic parameters and reduced movement variability to provide the partner with implicit cues regarding the action to be jointly performed. Thus, Leaders make their movements more "communicative" even when not explicitly instructed to do so. Moreover, only when acting in the role of Follower did participants tend to imitate the Leader, even in complementary actions where imitation is detrimental to joint performance. Our results show that mimicking and signaling are implemented in joint actions according to the interactional role of the agent, which in turn is reflected in the kinematics of each partner.

Complementary roles of interventional radiology and therapeutic endoscopy in gastroenterology

PubMed Central

Ray, David M; Srinivasan, Indu; Tang, Shou-Jiang; Vilmann, Andreas S; Vilmann, Peter; McCowan, Timothy C; Patel, Akash M

2017-01-01

Acute upper and lower gastrointestinal bleeding, enteral feeding, cecostomy tubes and luminal strictures are some of the common reasons for gastroenterology service. While surgery was initially considered the main treatment modality, the advent of both therapeutic endoscopy and interventional radiology have resulted in the paradigm shift in the management of these conditions. In this paper, we discuss the patient’s work up, indications, and complementary roles of endoscopic and angiographic management in the settings of gastrointestinal bleeding, enteral feeding, cecostomy tube placement and luminal strictures. These conditions often require multidisciplinary approaches involving a team of interventional radiologists, gastroenterologists and surgeons. Further, the authors also aim to describe how the fields of interventional radiology and gastrointestinal endoscopy are overlapping and complementary in the management of these complex conditions. PMID:28396724

Complementary and Alternative Therapies for Down Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roizen, Nancy J.

2005-01-01

In their role as committed advocates, parents of children with Down syndrome have always sought alternative therapies, mainly to enhance cognitive function but also to improve their appearance. Nutritional supplements have been the most frequent type of complementary and alternative therapy used. Cell therapy, plastic surgery, hormonal therapy,…

Attitudes toward and education about complementary and alternative medicine among adult patients with depression in Taiwan.

PubMed

Hsu, Mei-Chi; Moyle, Wendy; Creedy, Debra; Venturato, Lorraine; Ouyang, Wen-Chen; Sun, Gwo-Ching

2010-04-01

To investigate patients' attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine, the education nurses provided about complementary and alternative medicine for treating depression and to test whether such education mediates the effect of complementary and alternative medicine use and attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine. Although we know that attitudes influence behaviour, very few studies simultaneously explore the relationship between attitudes, education and complementary and alternative medicine use. Survey. This study was conducted as part of a larger survey, using face-to-face survey interviews with 206 adult patients aged 50 years or over and hospitalised in conventional hospitals in Taiwan for treatment of depression. The attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine and patient education about complementary and alternative medicine instruments were specially developed for the study. Participants expressed slightly favourable attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine. Many participants (50%) expressed that they were willing to try any potential treatment for depression. They believed that complementary and alternative medicine helped them to feel better and to live a happier life. However, 66.5% of participants reported that they had inadequate knowledge of complementary and alternative medicine. Participants with a higher monthly income, longer depression duration and religious beliefs hold more positive attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine. Most participants were not satisfied with the education they received about complementary and alternative medicine. Patient education about complementary and alternative medicine was found to be a mediator for the use of complementary and alternative medicine. Patient education from nurses may predict patients' attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine. Continuing nursing education is needed to enable nurses to respond knowledgeably to concerns patients may have about complementary and alternative medicine and treatment options. This study highlights the potential role of patient education about complementary and alternative medicine as an effective way of adjusting patients' attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine and to link both patients' preferences for complementary and alternative medicine and health professionals' concerns about the proper use of complementary and alternative medicine for depression management and adverse drug interactions.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use in Modern Obstetrics: A Survey of the Central Association of Obstetricians & Gynecologists Members.

PubMed

Babbar, Shilpa; Williams, Karen B; Maulik, Dev

2016-10-05

The use of complementary and alternative medicine during pregnancy is currently on the rise. A validated survey was conducted at the Central Association of Obstetrician and Gynecologists annual meeting to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practice of general obstetricians and gynecologists and maternal-fetal medicine specialists in America. We obtained 128 responses: 73 electronically (57%) and 55 via the paper survey (43%). Forty-five percent reported personally using complementary and alternative medicine and 9% of women respondents used complementary and alternative medicine during pregnancy. Overall, 62% had advised their patients to utilize some form of complementary and alternative medicine in pregnancy. Biofeedback, massage therapy, meditation, and yoga were considered the most effective modalities in pregnancy (median [semi-interquartile range] = 2 [0.5]). Maternal-fetal medicine specialists were significantly more likely to disagree on the use of complementary and alternative medicine for risk reduction of preterm birth compared to obstetricians and gynecologists (P = .03). As the use of complementary and alternative medicine continues to rise in reproductive-age women, obstetricians will play an integral role in incorporating complementary and alternative medicine use with conventional medicine. © The Author(s) 2016.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use in Modern Obstetrics: A Survey of the Central Association of Obstetricians & Gynecologists Members

PubMed Central

Babbar, Shilpa; Williams, Karen B.; Maulik, Dev

2016-01-01

The use of complementary and alternative medicine during pregnancy is currently on the rise. A validated survey was conducted at the Central Association of Obstetrician and Gynecologists annual meeting to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practice of general obstetricians and gynecologists and maternal-fetal medicine specialists in America. We obtained 128 responses: 73 electronically (57%) and 55 via the paper survey (43%). Forty-five percent reported personally using complementary and alternative medicine and 9% of women respondents used complementary and alternative medicine during pregnancy. Overall, 62% had advised their patients to utilize some form of complementary and alternative medicine in pregnancy. Biofeedback, massage therapy, meditation, and yoga were considered the most effective modalities in pregnancy (median [semi-interquartile range] = 2 [0.5]). Maternal-fetal medicine specialists were significantly more likely to disagree on the use of complementary and alternative medicine for risk reduction of preterm birth compared to obstetricians and gynecologists (P = .03). As the use of complementary and alternative medicine continues to rise in reproductive-age women, obstetricians will play an integral role in incorporating complementary and alternative medicine use with conventional medicine. PMID:27707901

RISK ASSESSMENT AND LIFE CYCLE IMPACT ASSESSMENT (LCIA) FOR HUMAN HEALTH CANCEROUS AND NONCANCEROUS EMISSIONS: INTEGRATED AND COMPLEMENTARY WITH CONSISTENCY WITHIN THE USEPA

EPA Science Inventory

The historical parallels, complementary roles, and potential for integration of human health risk assessment (RA) and Life-Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) are explored. Previous authors have considered the comparison of LCA and risk assessment recognizing the inherent differences ...

Complementary Hemispheric Asymmetries in Object Naming and Recognition: A Voxel-Based Correlational Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Acres, K.; Taylor, K. I.; Moss, H. E.; Stamatakis, E. A.; Tyler, L. K.

2009-01-01

Cognitive neuroscientific research proposes complementary hemispheric asymmetries in naming and recognising visual objects, with a left temporal lobe advantage for object naming and a right temporal lobe advantage for object recognition. Specifically, it has been proposed that the left inferior temporal lobe plays a mediational role linking…

Beneficial effects of Houttuynia cordata polysaccharides on "two-hit" acute lung injury and endotoxic fever in rats associated with anti-complementary activities.

PubMed

Lu, Yan; Jiang, Yun; Ling, Lijun; Zhang, Yunyi; Li, Hong; Chen, Daofeng

2018-03-01

Houttuynia cordata Thunb. is a traditional herb used for clearing heat and eliminating toxins, and has also been used for the treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). In vitro, the crude H. cordata polysaccharides (CHCP) exhibited potent anti-complementary activity through both the classical and alternative pathways by acting on components C3 and C4 of the complement system without interfering with the coagulation system. This study was to investigate the preventive effects of CHCP on acute lung injury (ALI) induced by hemorrhagic shock plus lipopolysaccharide (LPS) instillation (two-hit) and LPS-induced fever in rats. CHCP significantly attenuated pulmonary injury in the "two-hit" ALI model by reducing pulmonary edema and protein exudation in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). In addition, it reduced the deposit of complement activation products in the lung and improved oxidant-antioxidant imbalance. Moreover, CHCP administration inhibited fever in rats, reduced the number of leukocytes and restored serum complement levels. The inhibition on the inappropriate activation of complement system by CHCP may play an important role in its beneficial effects on inflammatory diseases. The anti-complementary polysaccharides are likely to be among the key substances for the heat-clearing function of H. cordata .

The Review on Properties of Aloe Vera in Healing of Cutaneous Wounds

PubMed Central

Hashemi, Seyyed Abbas; Madani, Seyyed Abdollah; Abediankenari, Saied

2015-01-01

Treatment of wounds is very important and was subject of different investigations. In this regard, natural substance plays crucial role as complementary medicine. Various studies reported that aloe vera has useful effects on wounds especially cutaneous wounds healing. Therefore in the current review, we examined the effect of aloe vera on cutaneous wound healing and concluded that although aloe vera improves the wound healing as well as other procedures both clinically and experimentally, more studies are still needed to approve the outcomes. PMID:26090436

Applicability of active infrared thermography for screening of human breast: a numerical study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dua, Geetika; Mulaveesala, Ravibabu

2018-03-01

Active infrared thermography is a fast, painless, noncontact, and noninvasive imaging method, complementary to mammography, ultrasound, and magnetic resonance imaging methods for early diagnosis of breast cancer. This technique plays an important role in early detection of breast cancer to women of all ages, including pregnant or nursing women, with different sizes of breast, irrespective of either fatty or dense breast. This proposed complementary technique makes use of infrared emission emanating from the breast. Emanating radiations from the surface of the breast under test are detected with an infrared camera to map the thermal gradients over it, in order to reveal hidden tumors inside it. One of the reliable active infrared thermographic technique, linear frequency modulated thermal wave imaging is adopted to detect tumors present inside the breast. Further, phase and amplitude images are constructed using frequency and time-domain data analysis schemes. Obtained results show the potential of the proposed technique for early diagnosis of breast cancer in fatty as well as dense breasts.

Inland waterborne transportation : an industry under siege

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-11-01

The first section of this report contains a brief history of the development of and role played by the inland waterway transportation system. The role of this mode in international trade is examined, along with the competitive and complementary roles...

Neuropeptides shaping the central nervous system development: Spatiotemporal actions of VIP and PACAP through complementary signaling pathways.

PubMed

Maduna, Tando; Lelievre, Vincent

2016-12-01

Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) are neuropeptides with wide, complementary, and overlapping distributions in the central and peripheral nervous systems, where they exert important regulatory roles in many physiological processes. VIP and PACAP display a large range of biological cellular targets and functions in the adult nervous system including regulation of neurotransmission and neuroendocrine secretion and neuroprotective and neuroimmune responses. As the main focus of the present review, VIP and PACAP also have been long implicated in nervous system development and maturation through their interaction with the seven transmembrane domain G protein-coupled receptors, PAC1, VPAC1, and VPAC2, initiating multiple signaling pathways. Compared with PAC1, which solely binds PACAP with very high affinity, VPACs exhibit high affinities for both VIP and PACAP but differ from each other because of their pharmacological profile for both natural accessory peptides and synthetic or chimeric molecules, with agonistic and antagonistic properties. Complementary to initial pharmacological studies, transgenic animals lacking these neuropeptides or their receptors have been used to further characterize the neuroanatomical, electrophysiological, and behavioral roles of PACAP and VIP in the developing central nervous system. In this review, we recapitulate the critical steps and processes guiding/driving neurodevelopment in vertebrates and superimposing the potential contribution of PACAP and VIP receptors on the given timeline. We also describe how alterations in VIP/PACAP signaling may contribute to both (neuro)developmental and adult pathologies and suggest that tuning of VIP/PACAP signaling in a spatiotemporal manner may represent a novel avenue for preventive therapies of neurological and psychiatric disorders. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Developing and implementing a complex Complementary and Alternative (CAM) nursing intervention for breast and gynecologic cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy--report from the CONGO (complementary nursing in gynecologic oncology) study.

PubMed

Klafke, Nadja; Mahler, Cornelia; von Hagens, Cornelia; Blaser, Gisela; Bentner, Martina; Joos, Stefanie

2016-05-01

The purpose of this study was to develop a complex nursing intervention including complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for breast and gynecologic cancer patients during chemotherapy to improve quality of life. Data sources Theoretical framework and concepts, practical nursing knowledge, and evidence-based studies were compiled in interprofessional meetings. Data synthesis The final complex intervention consists of three autonomous, but interacting components: (1) CAM nursing package, (2) resource-oriented counseling, and (3) evidence-based information material on CAM. CAM interventions include acupressure, aromatherapy, compress, and massage, targeting 14 clinically relevant symptoms during chemotherapy. Participants receive these interventions during chemotherapy with instructions for self care. During a counseling interview, the patient's needs and preferences are assessed by trained nurses. Furthermore, participants are equipped with evidence-based information material (booklet and DVD). Prior to study start, nurses attended training modules for administering CAM therapies and for communicating and counseling within the salutogenic approach. It was possible to design a multimodal CAM nursing intervention based on a theoretical concept, evidence-based studies, and practical nursing experience targeting the prevention or relief of side-effects women suffer during chemotherapy. The systematic analysis of the CONGO study will contribute to evidence-based CAM nursing care within supportive cancer care. Oncology nurses play an important role in supportive CAM care of breast and gynecologic cancer patients in daily clinical practice. Within oncology outpatient services, the implementation of evidence-based CAM nursing interventions and counseling may contribute to understand the impact of nursing on patient quality of life and symptom relief. This can lead to a new understanding of the nurse's professional role.

The use of complementary and alternative medicine in the general population: results from a longitudinal community study.

PubMed

Rössler, Wulf; Lauber, Christoph; Angst, Jules; Haker, Helene; Gamma, Alex; Eich, Dominique; Kessler, Ronald C; Ajdacic-Gross, Vladeta

2007-01-01

Many patients with psychological or physical problems are interested in non-medical approaches. The reasons for the growing popularity of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are not well understood considering that evidence of the effectiveness of conventional therapies is greater than ever before. We have examined data from the Zurich Study to determine trends and predictors of CAM use in Switzerland. The Zurich Study is a longitudinal community study that was started in 1979 with a sample of 591 participants born in 1958 and 1959. In 1999, the last of six interview waves with face-to-face interviews was conducted. CAM use was analyzed with data from interviews in 1993 and 1999. Polytomous logistic regression analysis focused on the personal, demographic and sociocultural background of CAM users. CAM use in the last 12 months was reported by 21.9% of the participants in 1993 and by 29.5% in 1999. CAM use among those exhibiting either physical or psychological problems was in the ratio of two to one. There was a trend from alternative variants of CAM (homeopathy) to complementary ones (massage, osteopathy, acupuncture). The vast majority of CAM use was in addition to conventional therapies. Predictors of CAM use were, among others, attribution of physical complaints to stress and other psychological variables, very low education level in parents, and lacking political interest. Besides the sociocultural background, characteristics such as the psychological attribution style play an important role in CAM use. CAM use in Switzerland is mainly of a complementary rather than an alternative nature.

Value Creation, Appropriation, and Product Design Strategies in Technology Ecosystems: Three Essays on the Role of Complementary Technologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Cameron Dee

2017-01-01

Firms are often embedded in a technology ecosystem comprised of complementary technologies that span multiple product markets. In this dissertation, I examine how complementarity between the firm's technologies influences its strategies to create and appropriate value in the ecosystem. I investigate this overarching question in two contexts:…

Complementary spin transistor using a quantum well channel.

PubMed

Park, Youn Ho; Choi, Jun Woo; Kim, Hyung-Jun; Chang, Joonyeon; Han, Suk Hee; Choi, Heon-Jin; Koo, Hyun Cheol

2017-04-20

In order to utilize the spin field effect transistor in logic applications, the development of two types of complementary transistors, which play roles of the n- and p-type conventional charge transistors, is an essential prerequisite. In this research, we demonstrate complementary spin transistors consisting of two types of devices, namely parallel and antiparallel spin transistors using InAs based quantum well channels and exchange-biased ferromagnetic electrodes. In these spin transistors, the magnetization directions of the source and drain electrodes are parallel or antiparallel, respectively, depending on the exchange bias field direction. Using this scheme, we also realize a complementary logic operation purely with spin transistors controlled by the gate voltage, without any additional n- or p-channel transistor.

The Dog Aging Project: Translational Geroscience in Companion Animals

PubMed Central

Kaeberlein, Matt; Creevy, Kate E.; Promislow, Daniel E. L.

2016-01-01

Studies of the basic biology of aging have identified several genetic and pharmacological interventions that appear to modulate the rate of aging in laboratory model organisms, but a barrier to further progress has been the challenge of moving beyond these laboratory discoveries to impact health and quality of life for people. The domestic dog, Canis familiaris, offers a unique opportunity for surmounting this barrier in the near future. In particular, companion dogs share our environment and play an important role in improving the quality of life for millions of people. Here we present a rationale for increasing the role of companion dogs as an animal model for both basic and clinical Geroscience and describe complementary approaches and ongoing projects aimed at achieving this goal. PMID:27143112

Nurses' beliefs, experiences and practice regarding complementary and alternative medicine in Taiwan.

PubMed

Smith, Graeme D; Wu, Shu-Chen

2012-09-01

To gain an insight into this issue, this study used a qualitative approach and aims to explore and describe nurses' beliefs, experiences and practice regarding complementary and alternative medicine in Taiwan. The integration of complementary and alternative medicine with conventional medicine has become more common worldwide in recent years. An increase in patient use and an expansion of nurses using complementary and alternative medicine has spawned further investigation. Most published studies have concentrated on the usage of complementary and alternative medicine in western societies and have focused principally on physicians' attitudes and practice patterns in this regard. Despite the large amount of time and the unique relationship that nurses share with their patients, little research has investigated the nurse's attitudes and practice regarding complementary and alternative medicine. Moreover, there has been no previous research into understanding this issue from the Taiwanese nursing perspective. A qualitative research design. By using an exploratory, descriptive, qualitative approach, data were collected from 11 registered nurses. The methods of the data collection were in-depth, semi-structured interviews, field notes and memos and the data were analysed using the constant comparative method. Three major categories emerged from the data; namely, a 'lack of clear definition', 'limited experience' and 'high interest' towards complementary and alternative medicine. These results suggest that the definition of complementary and alternative medicine is often unclear for nurses in Taiwan. Due to the organisational policies and personal knowledge base, very few nurses integrate complementary and alternative medicine into their daily practice. However, the nurses in Taiwan show a great desire to participate in complementary and alternative medicine continuing education programmes. This study is not only significant in filling the gap in the existing literature, but is also important in understanding this issue from the nurses' perspective, to offer a series of recommendations for policy, nursing education, nursing practice and suggestions for further research. This study highlights the importance of nursing attitude in the use of complementary and alternative medicine. Clinical nurses have the potential to provide appropriate information to their patients to ensure safe complementary and alternative medicine use. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

US Spending On Complementary And Alternative Medicine During 2002–08 Plateaued, Suggesting Role In Reformed Health System

PubMed Central

Davis, Matthew A.; Martin, Brook I.; Coulter, Ian D.; Weeks, William B.

2013-01-01

Complementary and alternative medicine services in the United States are an approximately $9 billion market each year, equal to 3 percent of national ambulatory health care expenditures. Unlike conventional allopathic health care, complementary and alternative medicine is primarily paid for out of pocket, although some services are covered by most health insurance. Examining trends in demand for complementary and alternative medicine services in the United States reported in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey during 2002–08, we found that use of and spending on these services, previously on the rise, have largely plateaued. The higher proportion of out-of-pocket responsibility for payment for services may explain the lack of growth. Our findings suggest that any attempt to reduce national health care spending by eliminating coverage for complementary and alternative medicine would have little impact at best. Should some forms of complementary and alternative medicine—for example, chiropractic care for back pain—be proven more efficient than allopathic and specialty medicine, the inclusion of complementary and alternative medicine providers in new delivery systems such as accountable care organizations could help slow growth in national health care spending. PMID:23297270

People with insomnia: experiences with sedative hypnotics and risk perception.

PubMed

Cheung, Janet M Y; Bartlett, Delwyn J; Armour, Carol L; Ellis, Jason G; Saini, Bandana

2016-08-01

Sedative hypnotics form an important part of managing insomnia and are recommended for short-term use. It is standard practice for clinicians to inform the patient to use medications only 'when required', but the use of these medications is often chronic. Little is known about the impact of standard labelling/instructions on promoting appropriate medication use for managing insomnia. To explore patient medication-taking beliefs, experiences and behavioural practices relating to the use of pharmacological/complementary sleep aids for insomnia. Specialist sleep/psychology clinics and the general community in Sydney, Australia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 51 people with insomnia using a schedule of questions to gauge their experiences, beliefs and current practices relating to insomnia medication use. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and subjected to Framework Analysis to identify emergent themes. Participants held distinctive views about the safety and efficacy of complementary and pharmacological agents but do not intuitively turn to medications to resolve their sleep complaint. Medication use was affirmed through tangible medication-taking cues due to the ambivalence in current instructions and labelling. Practices such as dosage modification, medication substitution and delaying medication use might be important drivers for psychological dependence. Current labelling and instructions do not necessarily promote the quality use of sedative hypnotics due to the variability in patient interpretations. Clarifying the timing, quantity and frequency of medication administration as well as insomnia symptom recognition would play a significant role in optimizing the role of pharmacotherapy in the management of insomnia. © 2015 The Authors. Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Clinical Nononcologic Applications of PET/CT and PET/MRI in Musculoskeletal, Orthopedic, and Rheumatologic Imaging.

PubMed

Gholamrezanezhad, Ali; Basques, Kyle; Batouli, Ali; Matcuk, George; Alavi, Abass; Jadvar, Hossein

2018-06-01

With improvements in PET/CT and PET/MRI over the last decade, as well as increased understanding of the pathophysiology of musculoskeletal diseases, there is an emerging potential for PET as a primary or complementary modality in the management of rheumatologic and orthopedic conditions. We discuss the role of PET/CT and PET/MRI in nononcologic musculoskeletal disorders, including inflammatory and infectious conditions and postoperative complications. There is great potential for an increased role for PET to serve as a primary or complementary modality in the management of orthopedic and rheumatologic disorders.

MicroRNA in Glioblastoma: An Overview

PubMed Central

Banelli, Barbara; Forlani, Alessandra; Allemanni, Giorgio; Morabito, Anna; Pistillo, Maria Pia

2017-01-01

Glioblastoma is the most aggressive brain tumor and, even with the current multimodal therapy, is an invariably lethal cancer with a life expectancy that depends on the tumor subtype but, even in the most favorable cases, rarely exceeds 2 years. Epigenetic factors play an important role in gliomagenesis, are strong predictors of outcome, and are important determinants for the resistance to radio- and chemotherapy. The latest addition to the epigenetic machinery is the noncoding RNA (ncRNA), that is, RNA molecules that are not translated into a protein and that exert their function by base pairing with other nucleic acids in a reversible and nonmutational mode. MicroRNAs (miRNA) are a class of ncRNA of about 22 bp that regulate gene expression by binding to complementary sequences in the mRNA and silence its translation into proteins. MicroRNAs reversibly regulate transcription through nonmutational mechanisms; accordingly, they can be considered as epigenetic effectors. In this review, we will discuss the role of miRNA in glioma focusing on their role in drug resistance and on their potential applications in the therapy of this tumor. PMID:29234674

Driving reproduction: RFamide peptides behind the wheel.

PubMed

Kriegsfeld, Lance J

2006-12-01

The availability of tools for probing the genome and proteome more efficiently has allowed for the rapid discovery of novel genes and peptides that play important, previously uncharacterized roles in neuroendocrine regulation. In this review, the role of a class of neuropeptides containing the C-terminal Arg-Phe-NH(2) (RFamide) in regulating the reproductive axis will be highlighted. Neuropeptides containing the C-terminal Phe-Met-Arg-Phe-NH(2) (FMRFamide) were first identified as cardioregulatory elements in the bi-valve mollusk Macrocallista nimbosa. During the past two decades, numerous studies have shown the presence of structurally similar peptides sharing the RFamide motif across taxa. In vertebrates, RFamide peptides have pronounced influences on opiatergic regulation and neuroendocrine function. Two key peptides in this family are emerging as important regulators of the reproductive axis, kisspeptin and gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH). Kisspeptin acts as the accelerator, directly driving gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons, whereas GnIH acts as the restraint. Recent evidence suggests that both peptides play a role in mediating the negative feedback effects of sex steroids. This review presents the hypothesis that these peptides share complementary roles by responding to internal and external stimuli with opposing actions to precisely regulate the reproductive axis.

Driving Reproduction: RFamide Peptides Behind the Wheel

PubMed Central

Kriegsfeld, Lance J.

2012-01-01

The availability of tools for probing the genome and proteome more efficiently has allowed for the rapid discovery of novel genes and peptides that play important, previously-uncharacterized roles in neuroendocrine regulation. In this review, the role of a class of neuropeptides containing the C-terminal Arg-Phe-NH2 (RFamide) in regulating the reproductive axis will be highlighted. Neuropeptides containing the C-terminal Phe- Met-Arg-Phe-NH2 (FMRFamide) were first identified as cardioregulatory elements in the bi-valve mollusk, Macrocallista nimbosa. During the past two decades, numerous studies have shown the presence of structurally-similar peptides sharing the RFamide motif across taxa. In vertebrates, RFamide peptides have pronounced influences on opiatergic regulation and neuroendocrine function. Two key peptides in this family are emerging as important regulators of the reproductive axis, kisspeptin and gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH). Kisspeptin acts as the accelerator, directly driving gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons, whereas GnIH acts as the restraint. Recent evidence suggests that both peptides play a role in mediating the negative feedback effects of sex steroids. This review presents the hypothesis that these peptides share complementary roles by responding to internal and external stimuli with opposing actions to precisely regulate the reproductive axis. PMID:16876801

Massage Acupuncture, Moxibustion, and Other Forms of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

PubMed

Stein, Daniel J

2017-12-01

Complementary and alternative medicine is frequently used by inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients; most common are massage, acupuncture, and moxibustion therapy. Massage therapy is poorly studied in IBD patients; therefore, its benefits remain unknown. Acupuncture and moxibustion therapy have been shown to improve inflammation and symptoms in animal and human studies. However, current clinical trials of acupuncture and moxibustion are of insufficient quality to recommend them as alternative therapy. Nonetheless, because these therapies seem generally to be safe, they may have a role as complementary to conventional therapy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hostile and benevolent reactions toward pregnant women: complementary interpersonal punishments and rewards that maintain traditional roles.

PubMed

Hebl, Michelle R; King, Eden B; Glick, Peter; Singletary, Sarah L; Kazama, Stephanie

2007-11-01

A naturalistic field study investigated behavior toward pregnant (vs. nonpregnant) women in nontraditional (job applicant) and traditional (store customer) roles. Female confederates, who sometimes wore a pregnancy prosthesis, posed as job applicants or customers at retail stores. Store employees exhibited more hostile behavior (e.g., rudeness) toward pregnant (vs. nonpregnant) applicants and more benevolent behavior (e.g., touching, overfriendliness) toward pregnant (vs. nonpregnant) customers. A second experiment revealed that pregnant women are especially likely to encounter hostility (from both men and women) when applying for masculine as compared with feminine jobs. The combination of benevolence toward pregnant women in traditional roles and hostility toward those who seek nontraditional roles suggests a system of complementary interpersonal rewards and punishments that may discourage pregnant women from pursuing work that violates gender norms. (c) 2007 APA

Complementary habitat use by wild bees in agro-natural landscapes.

PubMed

Mandelik, Yael; Winfree, Rachael; Neeson, Thomas; Kremen, Claire

2012-07-01

Human activity causes abrupt changes in resource availability across the landscape. In order to persist in human-altered landscapes organisms need to shift their habitat use accordingly. Little is known about the mechanisms by which whole communities persist in human-altered landscapes, including the role of complementary habitat use. We define complementary habitat use as the use of different habitats at different times by the same group of species during the course of their activity period. We hypothesize that complementary habitat use is a mechanism through which native bee species persist in human-altered landscapes. To test this idea, we studied wild bee communities in agro-natural landscapes and explored their community-level patterns of habitat and resource use over space and time. The study was conducted in six agro-natural landscapes in the eastern United States, each containing three main bee habitat types (natural habitat, agricultural fields, and old fields). Each of the three habitats exhibited a unique seasonal pattern in amount, diversity, and composition of floral resources, and together they created phenological complementarity in foraging resources for bees. Individual bee species as well as the bee community responded to these spatiotemporal patterns in floral availability and exhibited a parallel pattern of complementary habitat use. The majority of wild bee species, including all the main crop visitors, used fallow areas within crops early in the season, shifted to crops in mid-season, and used old-field habitats later in the season. The natural-forest habitat supported very limited number of bees, mostly visitors of non-crop plants. Old fields are thus an important feature in these arable landscapes for maintaining crop pollination services. Our study provides a detailed examination of how shifts in habitat and resource use may enable bees to persist in highly dynamic agro-natural landscapes, and points to the need for a broad cross-habitat perspective in managing these landscapes.

Multiscale analysis of heart rate dynamics: entropy and time irreversibility measures.

PubMed

Costa, Madalena D; Peng, Chung-Kang; Goldberger, Ary L

2008-06-01

Cardiovascular signals are largely analyzed using traditional time and frequency domain measures. However, such measures fail to account for important properties related to multiscale organization and non-equilibrium dynamics. The complementary role of conventional signal analysis methods and emerging multiscale techniques, is, therefore, an important frontier area of investigation. The key finding of this presentation is that two recently developed multiscale computational tools--multiscale entropy and multiscale time irreversibility--are able to extract information from cardiac interbeat interval time series not contained in traditional methods based on mean, variance or Fourier spectrum (two-point correlation) techniques. These new methods, with careful attention to their limitations, may be useful in diagnostics, risk stratification and detection of toxicity of cardiac drugs.

Multiscale Analysis of Heart Rate Dynamics: Entropy and Time Irreversibility Measures

PubMed Central

Peng, Chung-Kang; Goldberger, Ary L.

2016-01-01

Cardiovascular signals are largely analyzed using traditional time and frequency domain measures. However, such measures fail to account for important properties related to multiscale organization and nonequilibrium dynamics. The complementary role of conventional signal analysis methods and emerging multiscale techniques, is, therefore, an important frontier area of investigation. The key finding of this presentation is that two recently developed multiscale computational tools— multiscale entropy and multiscale time irreversibility—are able to extract information from cardiac interbeat interval time series not contained in traditional methods based on mean, variance or Fourier spectrum (two-point correlation) techniques. These new methods, with careful attention to their limitations, may be useful in diagnostics, risk stratification and detection of toxicity of cardiac drugs. PMID:18172763

Nuances of Morphology in Myelodysplastic Diseases in the Age of Molecular Diagnostics.

PubMed

Shaver, Aaron C; Seegmiller, Adam C

2017-10-01

Morphologic dysplasia is an important factor in diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). However, the role of dysplasia is changing as new molecular genetic and genomic technologies take a more prominent place in diagnosis. This review discusses the role of morphology in the diagnosis of MDS and its interactions with cytogenetic and molecular testing. Recent changes in diagnostic criteria have attempted to standardize approaches to morphologic diagnosis of MDS, recognizing significant inter-observer variability in assessment of dysplasia. Definitive correlates between cytogenetic/molecular and morphologic findings have been described in only a small set of cases. However, these genetic and morphologic tools do play a complementary role in the diagnosis of both MDS and other myeloid neoplasms. Diagnosis of MDS requires a multi-factorial approach, utilizing both traditional morphologic as well as newer molecular genetic techniques. Understanding these tools, and the interplay between them, is crucial in the modern diagnosis of myeloid neoplasms.

Flow experience in teams: The role of shared leadership.

PubMed

Aubé, Caroline; Rousseau, Vincent; Brunelle, Eric

2018-04-01

The present study tests a multilevel mediation model concerning the effect of shared leadership on team members' flow experience. Specifically, we investigate the mediating role of teamwork behaviors in the relationships between 2 complementary indicators of shared leadership (i.e., density and centralization) and flow. Based on a multisource approach, we collected data through observation and survey of 111 project teams (521 individuals) made up of university students participating in a project management simulation. The results show that density and centralization have both an additive effect and an interaction effect on teamwork behaviors, such that the relationship between density and teamwork behaviors is stronger when centralization is low. In addition, teamwork behaviors play a mediating role in the relationship between shared leadership and flow. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of promoting team-based shared leadership in organizations to favor the flow experience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Schistosomiasis elimination strategies and potential role of a vaccine in achieving global health goals.

PubMed

Mo, Annie X; Agosti, Jan M; Walson, Judd L; Hall, B Fenton; Gordon, Lance

2014-01-01

In March 2013, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation co-sponsored a meeting entitled "Schistosomiasis Elimination Strategy and Potential Role of a Vaccine in Achieving Global Health Goals" to discuss the potential role of schistosomiasis vaccines and other tools in the context of schistosomiasis control and elimination strategies. It was concluded that although schistosomiasis elimination in some focal areas may be achievable through current mass drug administration programs, global control and elimination will face several significant scientific and operational challenges, and will require an integrated approach with other, additional interventions. These challenges include vector (snail) control; environmental modification; water, sanitation, and hygiene; and other future innovative tools such as vaccines. Defining a clear product development plan that reflects a vaccine strategy as complementary to the existing control programs to combat different forms of schistosomiasis will be important to develop a vaccine effectively.

Importance of riparian remnants for frog species diversity in a highly fragmented rainforest.

PubMed

Rodríguez-Mendoza, Clara; Pineda, Eduardo

2010-12-23

Tropical forests undergo continuous transformation to other land uses, resulting in landscapes typified by forest fragments surrounded by anthropogenic habitats. Small forest fragments, specifically strip-shaped remnants flanking streams (referred to as riparian remnants), can be particularly important for the maintenance and conservation of biodiversity within highly fragmented forests. We compared frog species diversity between riparian remnants, other forest fragments and cattle pastures in a tropical landscape in Los Tuxtlas, Mexico. We found similar species richness in the three habitats studied and a similar assemblage structure between riparian remnants and forest fragments, although species composition differed by 50 per cent. Frog abundance was halved in riparian remnants compared with forest fragments, but was twice that found in pastures. Our results suggest that riparian remnants play an important role in maintaining a portion of frog species diversity in a highly fragmented forest, particularly during environmentally stressful (hot and dry) periods. In this regard, however, the role of riparian remnants is complementary, rather than substitutive, with respect to the function of other forest fragments within the fragmented forest.

Nurse as a Facilitator to Professional Communication: A Qualitative Study

PubMed Central

Ghiyasvandian, Shahrzad; Zakerimoghadam, Masoumeh; Peyravi, Hamid

2015-01-01

Nurses need to establish communication with other healthcare professionals to facilitate the process of care. Healthcare professionals have complementary roles in providing care to patients. As the key members of the healthcare team, nurses also have an important role in establishing communication among other healthcare professionals. The final outcome of professional communication is effective care and improved patient outcomes. The aim of this study was to explore nurses’ role in establishing professional communications with other healthcare professionals. This was a descriptive qualitative study. The study was conducted by using the content analysis approach. A purposive sample of sixteen healthcare professionals was recruited from six teaching hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Study data were gathered by conducting personal face-to-face semi-structured interviews and were analyzed by using the qualitative content analysis approach. The three main themes of the study were ‘Nurse as the mediator of communication’, ‘Nurse as the executor of others’ duties, and ‘Nurse as a scapegoat’. Study findings can be used by nurses, managers, and health policy-makers to develop effective strategies for exactly determining and clarifying nurses and other healthcare professionals’ roles as well as for informing the public and other healthcare professionals about nurses’ roles and importance. PMID:25716406

Use of complementary and alternative medicines during the third trimester.

PubMed

Pallivalapila, Abdul Rouf; Stewart, Derek; Shetty, Ashalatha; Pande, Binita; Singh, Rajvir; McLay, James S

2015-01-01

To estimate the prevalence, indications, and associated factors for complementary and alternative medicine use during the last trimester of pregnancy. A questionnaire survey was conducted of women with a live birth (N=700) admitted to the postnatal unit at the Royal Aberdeen Maternity Hospital, northeast Scotland. Outcome measures included: complementary and alternative medicine used; vitamins and minerals used; reasons for complementary and alternative medicine use; independent associated factors for use; views; and experiences. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was performed. The response rate was 79.6% of eligible women. Two thirds of respondents (61.4%) reported using complementary and alternative medicine, excluding vitamins and minerals, during the third trimester. Respondents reported using a total of 30 different complementary and alternative medicine modalities, of which oral herbal products were the most common (38% of respondents, 40 different products). The independent associated factors for complementary and alternative medicine use identified were: complementary and alternative medicine use before pregnancy (odds ratio [OR] 4.36, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.39-7.95, P<.001); a university education (OR 2.41, 95% CI 1.46-4.0, P=.001), and complementary and alternative medicine use by family or friends (OR 2.36, 95% CI 1.61-3.47, P<.001). There was no association with health care professional recommendations. Users were significantly more likely than nonusers to agree that complementary and alternative medicines were safer than prescribed medicines (P=.006), less likely to be associated with side effects (P≤.001), and could interfere with conventional medicines (P≤.001). Despite the majority of respondents, and notably users, being uncertain about their safety and effectiveness, complementary and alternative medicine modalities and complementary and alternative medicine products are widely used during the third trimester of pregnancy in this study population. Although prior use was the most significant independent associated factor, the role of family and friends, rather than health professionals, in the decision to use complementary and alternative medicine may be of concern. III.

The role of the Therapeutic Goods Administration and the Medicine and Medical Devices Safety Authority in evaluating complementary and alternative medicines in Australia and New Zealand.

PubMed

Ghosh, Dilip; Skinner, Margot; Ferguson, Lynnette R

2006-04-03

Currently, the regulation of complementary and alternative medicines and related health claims in Australia and New Zealand is managed in a number of ways. Complementary medicines, including herbal, minerals, nutritional/dietary supplements, aromatherapy oils and homeopathic medicines are regulated under therapeutic goods/products legislation. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), a division of the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing is responsible for administering the provisions of the legislation in Australia. The New Zealand Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority (Medsafe) administers the provision of legislation in New Zealand. In December 2003 the Australian and New Zealand governments signed a Treaty to establish a single, bi-national agency to regulate therapeutic products, including medical devices prescription, over-the-counter and complementary medicines. A single agency will replace the Australian TGA and the New Zealand Medsafe. The role of the new agency will be to safeguard public health through regulation of the quality, safety and efficacy or performance of therapeutic products in both Australia and New Zealand. The major activities of the new joint Australia New Zealand therapeutic products agency are in product licensing, specifying labelling standards and setting the advertising scheme, together with determining the risk classes of medicines and creating an expanded list of ingredients permitted in Class I medicines. A new, expanded definition of complementary medicines is proposed and this definition is currently under consultation. Related Australian and New Zealand legislation is being developed to implement the joint scheme. Once this legislation is passed, the Treaty will come into force and the new joint regulatory scheme will begin. The agency is expected to commence operation no later than 1 July 2006 and will result in a single agency to regulate complementary and alternative medicines.

Complementary symbiont contributions to plant decomposition in a fungus-farming termite

PubMed Central

Hu, Haofu; Li, Cai; Chen, Zhensheng; Otani, Saria; Nygaard, Sanne; Nobre, Tania; Klaubauf, Sylvia; Schindler, Philipp M.; Hauser, Frank; Pan, Hailin; Yang, Zhikai; Sonnenberg, Anton S. M.; de Beer, Z. Wilhelm; Zhang, Yong; Wingfield, Michael J.; Grimmelikhuijzen, Cornelis J. P.; de Vries, Ronald P.; Korb, Judith; Aanen, Duur K.; Wang, Jun; Boomsma, Jacobus J.; Zhang, Guojie

2014-01-01

Termites normally rely on gut symbionts to decompose organic matter but the Macrotermitinae domesticated Termitomyces fungi to produce their own food. This transition was accompanied by a shift in the composition of the gut microbiota, but the complementary roles of these bacteria in the symbiosis have remained enigmatic. We obtained high-quality annotated draft genomes of the termite Macrotermes natalensis, its Termitomyces symbiont, and gut metagenomes from workers, soldiers, and a queen. We show that members from 111 of the 128 known glycoside hydrolase families are represented in the symbiosis, that Termitomyces has the genomic capacity to handle complex carbohydrates, and that worker gut microbes primarily contribute enzymes for final digestion of oligosaccharides. This apparent division of labor is consistent with the Macrotermes gut microbes being most important during the second passage of comb material through the termite gut, after a first gut passage where the crude plant substrate is inoculated with Termitomyces asexual spores so that initial fungal growth and polysaccharide decomposition can proceed with high efficiency. Complex conversion of biomass in termite mounds thus appears to be mainly accomplished by complementary cooperation between a domesticated fungal monoculture and a specialized bacterial community. In sharp contrast, the gut microbiota of the queen had highly reduced plant decomposition potential, suggesting that mature reproductives digest fungal material provided by workers rather than plant substrate. PMID:25246537

The science behind animal-assisted therapy.

PubMed

Marcus, Dawn A

2013-04-01

Animal-assisted therapy is a complementary medicine intervention, typically utilizing dogs trained to be obedient, calm, and comforting. Several studies have reported significant pain relief after participating in therapy dog visits. Objective reports of reduced pain and pain-related symptoms are supported by studies measuring decreased catecholamines and increased endorphins in humans receiving friendly dog visits. Mirror neuron activity and disease-perception through olfactory ability in dogs may also play important roles in helping dogs connect with humans during therapeutic encounters. This review will explore a variety of possible theories that may explain the therapeutic benefits that occur during therapy dog visits.

Role of Protein and Amino Acids in Infant and Young Child Nutrition: Considerations for the Development and Delivery of High Quality Complementary Food Supplements.

PubMed

Ghosh, Shibani; Kurpad, Anura; Tano-Debrah, Kwaku; Otoo, Gloria E; Aaron, Grant A; Toride, Yasuhiko; Uauy, Ricardo

2015-01-01

Prevention of malnutrition in infants and children is multifaceted and requires the following: access to and intake of nutritious food starting at birth with exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 mo of life, continued breastfeeding in combination with complementary foods from 6-24 mo of age, access to clean drinking water and sanitation, and access to preventive and curative health care (including prenatal). Nutrient-dense complementary foods can improve nutritional status and have long-term benefits; however, in a review of plant-based complementary foods in developing countries, most of them failed to meet many micronutrient requirements. There is need to provide other cost-effective alternatives to increase the quality of the diet during the complementary feeding stage of the lifecycle. This paper provides an overview of the development, testing, efficacy and effectiveness of the delivery of KOKO Plus on the growth and nutritional status of infants 6-24 mo of age.

Dynamic stall reattachment revisited

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mulleners, Karen

2017-11-01

Dynamic stall on pitching airfoils is an important practical problem that affects for example rotary wing aircraft and wind turbines. It also comprises a number of interesting fundamental fluid dynamical phenomena such as unsteady flow separation, vortex formation and shedding, unsteady flow reattachment, and dynamic hysteresis. Following up on past efforts focussing on the separation development, we now revisited the flow reattachment or stall recovery process. Experimental time-resolved velocity field and surface pressure data for a two-dimensional sinusoidally pitching airfoil with various reduced frequencies was analysed using different Eulerian, Lagrangian, and modal decomposition methods. This complementary analysis resulted in the identification of the chain of events that play a role in the flow reattachment process, a detailed description of that role, and characterisation of the individual events by the governing time-scales and flow features.

Short communication: molecular characterization of dog and cat p65 subunits of NF-kappaB.

PubMed

Ishikawa, Shingo; Takemitsu, Hiroshi; Li, Gebin; Mori, Nobuko; Yamamoto, Ichiro; Arai, Toshiro

2015-04-01

Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) plays an important role in the immune system. The p65 subunit is an important part of NF-κB unit, and studies of dog and cat p65 subunits of NF-κB (dp65 and cp65) are important in understanding their immune function. In this study, we described the molecular characterization of dp65 and cp65. The dp65 and cp65 complementary DNA encoded 542 and 555 amino acids, respectively, showing a high sequence homology with the mammalian p65 subunit (>87.5%). Quantitative polymerase chain reaction revealed that the p65 messenger RNA is highly expressed in the dog stomach and cat heart and adipose tissue. Functional NF-κB promoter-luciferase reporter vectors revealed that our isolated dp65 and cp65 cDNA encodes a functionally active protein. Transiently expressed dp65 and cp65 up-regulated pro-inflammatory cytokine expression levels in dog and cat, respectively. These findings suggest that dp65 and cp65 play important roles in regulating immune function. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Drug-Induced Liver Injury Associated with Complementary and Alternative Medicines

PubMed Central

Takahashi, Koji; Kanda, Tatsuo; Yasui, Shin; Haga, Yuki; Kumagai, Junichiro; Sasaki, Reina; Wu, Shuang; Nakamoto, Shingo; Nakamura, Masato; Arai, Makoto; Yokosuka, Osamu

2016-01-01

A 24-year-old man was admitted due to acute hepatitis with unknown etiology. After his condition and laboratory data gradually improved with conservative therapy, he was discharged 1 month later. Two months after his discharge, however, liver dysfunction reappeared. After his mother accidentally revealed that he took complementary and alternative medicine, discontinuation of the therapy caused his condition to improve. Finally, he was diagnosed with a recurrent drug-induced liver injury associated with Japanese complementary and alternative medicine. It is important to take the medical history in detail and consider complementary and alternative medicine as a cause of liver disease. PMID:28100990

Cognitive Adaptability: The Role of Metacognition and Feedback in Entrepreneural Decision Policies

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-01-01

their environments in such a way as to facilitate effective and dynamic cognitive functioning. In this dissertation, I present three complementary studies ...the study of metacognition (Jost, Kruglanski, and Nelson, 1998; Mischel, 1998; Schwarz, 1998b). This research has three goals, specifically to...environments in such a way as to facilitate effective and dynamic cognitive functioning. In this dissertation, I present three complementary studies that

ATM and ATR play complementary roles in the behavior of excitatory and inhibitory vesicle populations.

PubMed

Cheng, Aifang; Zhao, Teng; Tse, Kai-Hei; Chow, Hei-Man; Cui, Yong; Jiang, Liwen; Du, Shengwang; Loy, Michael M T; Herrup, Karl

2018-01-09

ATM (ataxia-telangiectasia mutated) and ATR (ATM and Rad3-related) are large PI3 kinases whose human mutations result in complex syndromes that include a compromised DNA damage response (DDR) and prominent nervous system phenotypes. Both proteins are nuclear-localized in keeping with their DDR functions, yet both are also found in cytoplasm, including on neuronal synaptic vesicles. In ATM- or ATR-deficient neurons, spontaneous vesicle release is reduced, but a drop in ATM or ATR level also slows FM4-64 dye uptake. In keeping with this, both proteins bind to AP-2 complex components as well as to clathrin, suggesting roles in endocytosis and vesicle recycling. The two proteins play complementary roles in the DDR; ATM is engaged in the repair of double-strand breaks, while ATR deals mainly with single-strand damage. Unexpectedly, this complementarity extends to these proteins' synaptic function as well. Superresolution microscopy and coimmunoprecipitation reveal that ATM associates exclusively with excitatory (VGLUT1 + ) vesicles, while ATR associates only with inhibitory (VGAT + ) vesicles. The levels of ATM and ATR respond to each other; when ATM is deficient, ATR levels rise, and vice versa. Finally, blocking NMDA, but not GABA, receptors causes ATM levels to rise while ATR levels respond to GABA, but not NMDA, receptor blockade. Taken together, our data suggest that ATM and ATR are part of the cellular "infrastructure" that maintains the excitatory/inhibitory balance of the nervous system. This idea has important implications for the human diseases resulting from their genetic deficiency.

Complementary and alternative medicine used by persons with functional gastrointestinal disorders to alleviate symptom distress.

PubMed

Stake-Nilsson, Kerstin; Hultcrantz, Rolf; Unge, Peter; Wengström, Yvonne

2012-03-01

The aim of this study was to describe the complementary and alternative medicine methods most commonly used to alleviate symptom distress in persons with functional gastrointestinal disorders. People with functional gastrointestinal disorders face many challenges in their everyday lives, and each individual has his/her own way of dealing with this illness. The experience of illness often leads persons with functional gastrointestinal disorders to complementary and alternative medicine as a viable healthcare choice. Quantitative and describing design. A study-specific complementary and alternative medicine questionnaire was used, including questions about complementary and alternative medicine methods used and the perceived effects of each method. Efficacy assessments for each method were preventive effect, partial symptom relief, total symptom relief or no effect. A total of 137 persons with functional gastrointestinal disorders answered the questionnaire, 62% (n = 85) women and 38% (n = 52) men. A total of 28 different complementary and alternative medicine methods were identified and grouped into four categories: nutritional, drug/biological, psychological activity and physical activity. All persons had tried at least one method, and most methods provided partial symptom relief. Persons with functional gastrointestinal disorders commonly use complementary and alternative medicine methods to alleviate symptoms. Nurses have a unique opportunity to expand their roles in this group of patients. Increased knowledge of complementary and alternative medicine practices would enable a more comprehensive patient assessment and a better plan for meaningful interventions that meet the needs of individual patients. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Temporal fluxomics reveals oscillations in TCA cycle flux throughout the mammalian cell cycle.

PubMed

Ahn, Eunyong; Kumar, Praveen; Mukha, Dzmitry; Tzur, Amit; Shlomi, Tomer

2017-11-06

Cellular metabolic demands change throughout the cell cycle. Nevertheless, a characterization of how metabolic fluxes adapt to the changing demands throughout the cell cycle is lacking. Here, we developed a temporal-fluxomics approach to derive a comprehensive and quantitative view of alterations in metabolic fluxes throughout the mammalian cell cycle. This is achieved by combining pulse-chase LC-MS-based isotope tracing in synchronized cell populations with computational deconvolution and metabolic flux modeling. We find that TCA cycle fluxes are rewired as cells progress through the cell cycle with complementary oscillations of glucose versus glutamine-derived fluxes: Oxidation of glucose-derived flux peaks in late G1 phase, while oxidative and reductive glutamine metabolism dominates S phase. These complementary flux oscillations maintain a constant production rate of reducing equivalents and oxidative phosphorylation flux throughout the cell cycle. The shift from glucose to glutamine oxidation in S phase plays an important role in cell cycle progression and cell proliferation. © 2017 The Authors. Published under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license.

Perceptual judgments made better by indirect interactions: Evidence from a joint localization task

PubMed Central

Sebanz, Natalie; Knoblich, Günther

2017-01-01

Others’ perceptual judgments tend to have strong effects on our own, and can improve perceptual judgments when task partners engage in communication. The present study investigated whether individuals benefit from others’ perceptual judgments in indirect interactions, where outcomes of individual decisions can be observed in a shared environment. Participants located a target in a 2D projection of a 3D container either from two complementary viewpoints (Experiment 1), or from a single viewpoint (Experiment 2). Uncertainty about the target location was high on the front-back dimension and low on the left-right dimension. The results showed that pairs of participants benefitted from taking turns in providing judgments. When each member of the pair had access to one complementary perspective, the pair achieved the same level of accuracy as when the two individuals had access to both complimentary perspectives and better performance than when the two individuals had access to only one perspective. These findings demonstrate the important role of a shared environment for successful integration of perceptual information while highlighting limitations in assigning appropriate weights to others’ judgments. PMID:29095951

The Sociology of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine

PubMed Central

Gale, Nicola

2014-01-01

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and traditional medicine (TM) are important social phenomena. This article reviews the sociological literature on the topic. First, it addresses the question of terminology, arguing that the naming process is a glimpse into the complexities of power and history that characterize the field. Second, focusing on the last 15 years of scholarship, it considers how sociological research on users and practitioners of TM/CAM has developed in that time. Third, it addresses two newer strands of work termed here the ‘big picture’ and the ‘big question’. The big picture includes concepts that offer interpretation of what is happening at a societal level to constrain and enable observed patterns of social practice (pluralism, integration, hybridity and activism). The big question, ‘Does it work?’, is one of epistemology and focuses on two developing fields of critical enquiry – first, social critiques of medical science knowledge production and, second, attempts to explain the nature of interventions, i.e. how they work. Finally, the article examines the role of sociology moving forward. PMID:25177359

Applicability of active infrared thermography for screening of human breast: a numerical study.

PubMed

Dua, Geetika; Mulaveesala, Ravibabu

2018-03-01

Active infrared thermography is a fast, painless, noncontact, and noninvasive imaging method, complementary to mammography, ultrasound, and magnetic resonance imaging methods for early diagnosis of breast cancer. This technique plays an important role in early detection of breast cancer to women of all ages, including pregnant or nursing women, with different sizes of breast, irrespective of either fatty or dense breast. This proposed complementary technique makes use of infrared emission emanating from the breast. Emanating radiations from the surface of the breast under test are detected with an infrared camera to map the thermal gradients over it, in order to reveal hidden tumors inside it. One of the reliable active infrared thermographic technique, linear frequency modulated thermal wave imaging is adopted to detect tumors present inside the breast. Further, phase and amplitude images are constructed using frequency and time-domain data analysis schemes. Obtained results show the potential of the proposed technique for early diagnosis of breast cancer in fatty as well as dense breasts. (2018) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).

Complementary and alternative medicine usage and its determinant factors among Iranian infertile couples.

PubMed

Dehghan, Mahlagha; Mokhtarabadi, Sima; Heidari, Fatemeh Ghaedi

2018-04-04

Background The aim of this study was to determine the status of utilizing some complementary and alternative medicine techniques in infertile couples. Methods This was a cross-sectional study conducted on 250 infertile couples referred to a hospital in Kerman using convenience sampling. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to study the prevalence and user satisfaction of complementary and alternative medicines. Results Results indicated that 49.6% of the infertile couples used at least one of the complementary and alternative medicines during the past year. Most individuals used spiritual techniques (71.8% used praying and 70.2% used Nazr) and medicinal plants (54.8%). Safety is the most important factor affecting the satisfaction of infertile couples with complementary treatments (couples think that such treatments are safe (54.8%)). Discussion Concerning high prevalence of complementary and alternative treatments in infertile couples, incorporating such treatments into the healthcare education and promoting the awareness of infertile individuals seem crucial.

Exploring Predictors of Health Sciences Students' Attitudes towards Complementary-Alternative Medicine

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pettersen, Sverre; Olsen, Rolf V.

2007-01-01

This study demonstrated that a "less scientific worldview" predicted health science (HS) students' positive attitude towards "complementary-alternative medicine" (CAM), independently of important background characteristics as gender, pre-college science immersion, age, and type of HS education of the students. A total of 473 students in their…

Recruiting Faculty: Complementary Tales from Two Campuses.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matier, Michael W.

1991-01-01

Factors influencing individuals with firm job offers to join the faculty at two research universities, urban and rural, are examined, focusing on the relative importance of tangible, intangible, and non-work-related benefits in the decision-making process. Comparisons are drawn to previous faculty recruitment studies and a complementary retention…

Patient-centered care in cancer treatment programs: the future of integrative oncology through psychoeducation.

PubMed

Garchinski, Christina M; DiBiase, Ann-Marie; Wong, Raimond K; Sagar, Stephen M

2014-12-01

The reciprocal relationship between the mind and body has been a neglected process for improving the psychosocial care of cancer patients. Emotions form an important link between the mind and body. They play a fundamental role in the cognitive functions of decision-making and symptom control. Recognizing this relationship is important for integrative oncology. We define psychoeducation as the teaching of self-evaluation and self-regulation of the mind-body process. A gap exists between research evidence and implementation into clinical practice. The patients' search for self-empowerment through the pursuit of complementary therapies may be a surrogate for inadequate psychoeducation. Integrative oncology programs should implement psychoeducation that helps patients to improve both emotional and cognitive intelligence, enabling them to better negotiate cancer treatment systems.

The materials processing research base of the Materials Processing Center. Report for FY 1982

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Flemings, M. C.

1983-01-01

The work described, while involving research in the broad field of materials processing, has two common features: the problems are closed related to space precessing of materials and have both practical and fundamental significance. An interesting and important feature of many of the projects is that the interdisciplinary nature of the problem mandates complementary analytical modeling/experimental approaches. An other important aspect of many of the projects is the increasing use of mathematical modeling techniques as one of the research tools. The predictive capability of these models, when tested against measurements, plays a very important role in both the planning of experimental programs and in the rational interpretation of the results. Many of the projects described have a space experiment as their ultimate objective. Mathematical models are proving to be extremely valuable in projecting the findings of ground - based experiments to microgravity conditions.

Social structure of Facebook networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Traud, Amanda L.; Mucha, Peter J.; Porter, Mason A.

2012-08-01

We study the social structure of Facebook “friendship” networks at one hundred American colleges and universities at a single point in time, and we examine the roles of user attributes-gender, class year, major, high school, and residence-at these institutions. We investigate the influence of common attributes at the dyad level in terms of assortativity coefficients and regression models. We then examine larger-scale groupings by detecting communities algorithmically and comparing them to network partitions based on user characteristics. We thereby examine the relative importance of different characteristics at different institutions, finding for example that common high school is more important to the social organization of large institutions and that the importance of common major varies significantly between institutions. Our calculations illustrate how microscopic and macroscopic perspectives give complementary insights on the social organization at universities and suggest future studies to investigate such phenomena further.

Complementary alternative medicine use in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus in Erzurum, Turkey.

PubMed

Arýkan, Duygu; Sívríkaya, Sibel Karaca; Olgun, Nermin

2009-08-01

The aims of this study were: (i) to determine the types of complementary and alternative medicine use among children with type I diabetes mellitus as reported by parents and (ii) to describe sociodemographic and medical factors associated with the use of such treatments in families residing in Eastern Turkey. Type 1 diabetes mellitus is a tremendously challenging and complex disease for children and families to manage. Therefore, the use of complementary and alternative medicines among children with type 1 diabetes is becoming increasingly popular. Survey. Parents of 100 paediatric patients (who were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at least 6 months prior to the study) who visited the participating paediatric endocrinology multidisciplinary centres and clinics for diabetes management were included in the study. Data were collected by using a semi-structured questionnaire. Results. Fifty-two per cent of the parents reported the use of one or more complementary alternative medicine therapies. Most such users (59.6%) were using oral herbal preparations; including morus alba (leaves) aloe vera and stinging nettle. Since we found that 78.6% of those using herbals were satisfied with their results and 69.2% were planning to continue use, it is important for healthcare providers to have relevant knowledge about complementary alternative medicine use and learn about its efficacy and effects (positive and adverse) of these treatments. Relevance to clinical practice. Botanical substitute for insulin seems unlikely, but complementary alternative treatments may provide valuable clues for the development of new oral hypoglycaemic agents and simple dietary agents. It is important for healthcare providers to have up-to-date knowledge about the use and effects of complementary alternative medicines in the outpatient clinical care setting.

[Analysis of Conformational Features of Watson-Crick Duplex Fragments by Molecular Mechanics and Quantum Mechanics Methods].

PubMed

Poltev, V I; Anisimov, V M; Sanchez, C; Deriabina, A; Gonzalez, E; Garcia, D; Rivas, F; Polteva, N A

2016-01-01

It is generally accepted that the important characteristic features of the Watson-Crick duplex originate from the molecular structure of its subunits. However, it still remains to elucidate what properties of each subunit are responsible for the significant characteristic features of the DNA structure. The computations of desoxydinucleoside monophosphates complexes with Na-ions using density functional theory revealed a pivotal role of DNA conformational properties of single-chain minimal fragments in the development of unique features of the Watson-Crick duplex. We found that directionality of the sugar-phosphate backbone and the preferable ranges of its torsion angles, combined with the difference between purines and pyrimidines. in ring bases, define the dependence of three-dimensional structure of the Watson-Crick duplex on nucleotide base sequence. In this work, we extended these density functional theory computations to the minimal' fragments of DNA duplex, complementary desoxydinucleoside monophosphates complexes with Na-ions. Using several computational methods and various functionals, we performed a search for energy minima of BI-conformation for complementary desoxydinucleoside monophosphates complexes with different nucleoside sequences. Two sequences are optimized using ab initio method at the MP2/6-31++G** level of theory. The analysis of torsion angles, sugar ring puckering and mutual base positions of optimized structures demonstrates that the conformational characteristic features of complementary desoxydinucleoside monophosphates complexes with Na-ions remain within BI ranges and become closer to the corresponding characteristic features of the Watson-Crick duplex crystals. Qualitatively, the main characteristic features of each studied complementary desoxydinucleoside monophosphates complex remain invariant when different computational methods are used, although the quantitative values of some conformational parameters could vary lying within the limits typical for the corresponding family. We observe that popular functionals in density functional theory calculations lead to the overestimated distances between base pairs, while MP2 computations and the newer complex functionals produce the structures that have too close atom-atom contacts. A detailed study of some complementary desoxydinucleoside monophosphate complexes with Na-ions highlights the existence of several energy minima corresponding to BI-conformations, in other words, the complexity of the relief pattern of the potential energy surface of complementary desoxydinucleoside monophosphate complexes. This accounts for variability of conformational parameters of duplex fragments with the same base sequence. Popular molecular mechanics force fields AMBER and CHARMM reproduce most of the conformational characteristics of desoxydinucleoside monophosphates and their complementary complexes with Na-ions but fail to reproduce some details of the dependence of the Watson-Crick duplex conformation on the nucleotide sequence.

Values for gender roles and relations among high school and non-high school adolescents in a Maya community in Chiapas, Mexico.

PubMed

Manago, Adriana M

2015-02-01

In the current study, I describe values for gender roles and cross-sex relations among adolescents growing up in a southern Mexican Maya community in which high school was introduced in 1999. A total of 80 adolescent girls and boys, half of whom were attending the new high school, provided their opinions on two ethnographically derived vignettes that depicted changes in gender roles and relations occurring in their community. Systematic coding revealed that adolescents not enrolled in high school tended to prioritise ascribed and complementary gender roles and emphasise the importance of family mediation in cross-sex relations. Adolescents who were enrolled in high school tended to prioritise equivalent and chosen gender roles, and emphasised personal responsibility and personal fulfillment in cross-sex relations. Perceptions of risks and opportunities differed by gender: girls favourably evaluated the expansion of adult female role options, but saw risks in personal negotiations of cross-sex relations; boys emphasised the loss of the female homemaker role, but favourably evaluated new opportunities for intimacy in cross-sex relations. © 2014 International Union of Psychological Science.

Patient Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicines in an Outpatient Pediatric Neurology Clinic.

PubMed

Kenney, Daniel; Jenkins, Sarah; Youssef, Paul; Kotagal, Suresh

2016-05-01

This article describes the use of complementary and alternative medicines in an outpatient pediatric neurology clinic, and assesses family attitudes toward the efficacy of complementary and alternative medicines versus prescription medications. Complementary and alternative medicine is an important element of the modern health care landscape. There is limited information about whether, and to what extent, families perceive its utility in childhood neurological disorders. Surveys were distributed to 500 consecutive patients at a child neurology clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Questions pertained to the child's diagnoses, use of complementary and alternative medicines, and the specific complementary and alternative medicine modalities that were used. Opinions were also gathered on the perceived efficacy of complementary and alternative medicines and prescription medications. Data were compared using χ(2) or Fisher exact tests as indicated. A total of 484 surveys were returned, of which 327 were usable. Only 17.4% admitted to use of complementary and alternative medicine to treat neurological problems. However, in follow-up questioning, actually 41.6% of patients recognized that they were using one or more types of complementary and alternative medicines. Disorders associated with a statistically significant increased prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine use were headache (50.8% with headache used complementary and alternative medicine versus 35.7% without headache; P = 0.008, Fisher exact test), chronic fatigue (63.2% vs 38.8%; P = 0.005, Fisher exact test), and sleep disorders (77.1% vs 37.3%; P < 0.0001, Fisher exact test). A large proportion of pediatric neurology patients in our clinic are also using complementary and alternative medicine. Only 38.5% of these recognize themselves as using complementary and alternative medicine, underlining the need to inquire in-depth about its use. Patients who are less satisfied with their prescription medications are more likely to use complementary and alternative medicine, perhaps reflecting the less tractable nature of their disorders. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Anti-aging medicine--the good, the bad, and the ugly.

PubMed

Gammack, Julie K; Morley, John E

2004-05-01

Complementary and alternative medicine has flourished since the beginning of time because of a human need to postpone the aging process and to reverse disease. Complementary and alternative medicine sells, because in some cases it works as well or better than mainstream medicine. In addition, many practitioners of complementary medicine understand Hippocrates' aphorism: "It is more important to know the person that has the disease than the disease the person has." It is important to recognize that spending time with the patient is often as therapeutic as drugs. CAM offers patients the time, touch, attention, and level of personal interaction that are increasingly uncommon in contemporary medical care. There is a major need for large and appropriately designed studies to test the effectiveness of complementary techniques. As in other areas of health care, studies in the elderly are consistently lacking. With the growing interest in CAM, it is important for medical providers to keep an open mind--to both the potential benefits and potential harms of alternative treatments. When treatments are shown to be dangerous or ineffective, we must educate the public and work to remove these therapies from the market place. When treatments are proven effective, Western and Eastern medical providers must work together with patients to provide the most appropriate and comprehensive health care.

Ghrelin influences novelty seeking behavior in rodents and men.

PubMed

Hansson, Caroline; Shirazi, Rozita H; Näslund, Jakob; Vogel, Heike; Neuber, Corinna; Holm, Göran; Anckarsäter, Henrik; Dickson, Suzanne L; Eriksson, Elias; Skibicka, Karolina P

2012-01-01

Recent discoveries indicate an important role for ghrelin in drug and alcohol reward and an ability of ghrelin to regulate mesolimbic dopamine activity. The role of dopamine in novelty seeking, and the association between this trait and drug and alcohol abuse, led us to hypothesize that ghrelin may influence novelty seeking behavior. To test this possibility we applied several complementary rodent models of novelty seeking behavior, i.e. inescapable novelty-induced locomotor activity (NILA), novelty-induced place preference and novel object exploration, in rats subjected to acute ghrelin receptor (growth hormone secretagogue receptor; GHSR) stimulation or blockade. Furthermore we assessed the possible association between polymorphisms in the genes encoding ghrelin and GHSR and novelty seeking behavior in humans. The rodent studies indicate an important role for ghrelin in a wide range of novelty seeking behaviors. Ghrelin-injected rats exhibited a higher preference for a novel environment and increased novel object exploration. Conversely, those with GHSR blockade drastically reduced their preference for a novel environment and displayed decreased NILA. Importantly, the mesolimbic ventral tegmental area selective GHSR blockade was sufficient to reduce the NILA response indicating that the mesolimbic GHSRs might play an important role in the observed novelty responses. Moreover, in untreated animals, a striking positive correlation between NILA and sucrose reward behavior was detected. Two GHSR single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), rs2948694 and rs495225, were significantly associated with the personality trait novelty seeking, as assessed using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), in human subjects. This study provides the first evidence for a role of ghrelin in novelty seeking behavior in animals and humans, and also points to an association between food reward and novelty seeking in rodents.

Ghrelin Influences Novelty Seeking Behavior in Rodents and Men

PubMed Central

Hansson, Caroline; Shirazi, Rozita H.; Näslund, Jakob; Vogel, Heike; Neuber, Corinna; Holm, Göran; Anckarsäter, Henrik; Dickson, Suzanne L.; Eriksson, Elias; Skibicka, Karolina P.

2012-01-01

Recent discoveries indicate an important role for ghrelin in drug and alcohol reward and an ability of ghrelin to regulate mesolimbic dopamine activity. The role of dopamine in novelty seeking, and the association between this trait and drug and alcohol abuse, led us to hypothesize that ghrelin may influence novelty seeking behavior. To test this possibility we applied several complementary rodent models of novelty seeking behavior, i.e. inescapable novelty-induced locomotor activity (NILA), novelty-induced place preference and novel object exploration, in rats subjected to acute ghrelin receptor (growth hormone secretagogue receptor; GHSR) stimulation or blockade. Furthermore we assessed the possible association between polymorphisms in the genes encoding ghrelin and GHSR and novelty seeking behavior in humans. The rodent studies indicate an important role for ghrelin in a wide range of novelty seeking behaviors. Ghrelin-injected rats exhibited a higher preference for a novel environment and increased novel object exploration. Conversely, those with GHSR blockade drastically reduced their preference for a novel environment and displayed decreased NILA. Importantly, the mesolimbic ventral tegmental area selective GHSR blockade was sufficient to reduce the NILA response indicating that the mesolimbic GHSRs might play an important role in the observed novelty responses. Moreover, in untreated animals, a striking positive correlation between NILA and sucrose reward behavior was detected. Two GHSR single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), rs2948694 and rs495225, were significantly associated with the personality trait novelty seeking, as assessed using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), in human subjects. This study provides the first evidence for a role of ghrelin in novelty seeking behavior in animals and humans, and also points to an association between food reward and novelty seeking in rodents. PMID:23227170

[Is it still the "royal way"? The dream as a junction of neurobiology and psychoanalysis].

PubMed

Simon, Mária

2011-01-01

Some decades ago the dream seemed to be randomly generated by brain stem mechanisms in the cortical and subcortical neuronal networks. However, most recent empirical data, studies on brain lesions and functional neuroimaging results have refuted this theory. Several data support that motivation pathways, memory systems, especially implicit, emotional memory play an important role in dream formation. This essay reviews how the results of neurobiology and cognitive psychology can be fitted into the theoretical frameworks and clinical practice of the psychoanalysis. The main aim is to demonstrate that results of neurobiology and empirical observations of psychoanalysis are complementary rather than contradictory.

Remote Sensing Data Fusion to Detect Illicit Crops and Unauthorized Airstrips

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pena, J. A.; Yumin, T.; Liu, H.; Zhao, B.; Garcia, J. A.; Pinto, J.

2018-04-01

Remote sensing data fusion has been playing a more and more important role in crop planting area monitoring, especially for crop area information acquisition. Multi-temporal data and multi-spectral time series are two major aspects for improving crop identification accuracy. Remote sensing fusion provides high quality multi-spectral and panchromatic images in terms of spectral and spatial information, respectively. In this paper, we take one step further and prove the application of remote sensing data fusion in detecting illicit crop through LSMM, GOBIA, and MCE analyzing of strategic information. This methodology emerges as a complementary and effective strategy to control and eradicate illicit crops.

Molecular Imaging and Precision Medicine in Breast Cancer.

PubMed

Chudgar, Amy V; Mankoff, David A

2017-01-01

Precision medicine, basing treatment approaches on patient traits and specific molecular features of disease processes, has an important role in the management of patients with breast cancer as targeted therapies continue to improve. PET imaging offers noninvasive information that is complementary to traditional tissue biomarkers, including information about tumor burden, tumor metabolism, receptor status, and proliferation. Several PET agents that image breast cancer receptors can visually demonstrate the extent and heterogeneity of receptor-positive disease and help predict which tumors are likely to respond to targeted treatments. This review presents applications of PET imaging in the targeted treatment of breast cancer. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A set of observational measures for rating support and participation in conversation between adults with aphasia and their conversation partners.

PubMed

Kagan, Aura; Winckel, Joanne; Black, Sandra; Duchan, Judith Felson; Simmons-Mackie, Nina; Square, Paula

2004-01-01

Conversation partners of individuals with aphasia, including health care professionals, families, and others, play a role that is as important for communication as the language disorder suffered by individuals with aphasia. Two complementary measures designed to capture elements of conversation between adults with aphasia and their speaking conversation partners have been developed. The first measure provides an index of the conversation partner's skill in providing conversational support. The second provides an index of the level of participation in conversation by the person with aphasia. This article describes the development of the measures, including preliminary psychometric data, and discusses applications.

Development of a strategic model for integrating complementary medicines into professional pharmacy practice.

PubMed

Ung, Carolina Oi Lam; Harnett, Joanna; Hu, Hao

2017-08-03

Traditional medicine (TM) and complementary medicine (CM) products have played an increasingly important role in the business of pharmacy for over two decades in a number of countries. With a focus on the quality use of all medicines including complementary medicines, there have been a number of initiatives to encourage the integration of TM/CM products into professional practice. Recent studies report that many of the barriers that prevent such integration remain. To explore the pharmacists' perspective regarding how barriers to the integration of TM/CM products into the professional practice of pharmacy could be resolved. Purposive sampling and snowballing were used to recruit 11 registered pharmacists who had worked in community pharmacy for a minimum of 6 months to participate in one of 3 focus groups. Focus group questions informed by previous studies, explored participants' perspectives on the actions required to support professional services related to TM/CM products. Pharmacists proposed that five key stakeholders (professional pharmacy organizations, universities, government, pharmacy owners, and pharmacists) enact 4 developments that require a collaborative effort ("education and training", "building the evidence base", "developing reliable and accessible information resources", and "workplace support for best practice"). Manufacturers of TM/CM products were not identified by pharmacists as collaborators in these developments. Collectively, the findings from this study support a strategic model to guide the integration of TM/CM products into the professional practice of pharmacy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

University Efficiency: Complementariness versus Trade-Off between Teaching, Research and Administrative Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sellers-Rubio, Ricardo; Mas-Ruiz, Francisco J.; Casado-Diaz, Ana B.

2010-01-01

University managers should be aware of the importance that efficiency has for their own universities, orientating their actions towards research and teaching excellence. This study estimates teaching and research efficiency of the different departments of a university and tests the complementariness versus trade-off between them. The results…

Mitochondrial thiol oxidase Erv1: both shuttle cysteine residues are required for its function with distinct roles

PubMed Central

Ang, Swee Kim; Zhang, Mengqi; Lodi, Tiziana; Lu, Hui

2014-01-01

Erv1 (essential for respiration and viability 1), is an essential component of the MIA (mitochondrial import and assembly) pathway, playing an important role in the oxidative folding of mitochondrial intermembrane space proteins. In the MIA pathway, Mia40, a thiol oxidoreductase with a CPC motif at its active site, oxidizes newly imported substrate proteins. Erv1 a FAD-dependent thiol oxidase, in turn reoxidizes Mia40 via its N-terminal Cys30–Cys33 shuttle disulfide. However, it is unclear how the two shuttle cysteine residues of Erv1 relay electrons from the Mia40 CPC motif to the Erv1 active-site Cys130–Cys133 disulfide. In the present study, using yeast genetic approaches we showed that both shuttle cysteine residues of Erv1 are required for cell growth. In organelle and in vitro studies confirmed that both shuttle cysteine residues were indeed required for import of MIA pathway substrates and Erv1 enzyme function to oxidize Mia40. Furthermore, our results revealed that the two shuttle cysteine residues of Erv1 are functionally distinct. Although Cys33 is essential for forming the intermediate disulfide Cys33–Cys130′ and transferring electrons to the redox active-site directly, Cys30 plays two important roles: (i) dominantly interacts and receives electrons from the Mia40 CPC motif; and (ii) resolves the Erv1 Cys33–Cys130 intermediate disulfide. Taken together, we conclude that both shuttle cysteine residues are required for Erv1 function, and play complementary, but distinct, roles to ensure rapid turnover of active Erv1. PMID:24625320

Multi-Modality Imaging in the Evaluation and Treatment of Mitral Regurgitation.

PubMed

Bouchard, Marc-André; Côté-Laroche, Claudia; Beaudoin, Jonathan

2017-10-13

Mitral regurgitation (MR) is frequent and associated with increased mortality and morbidity when severe. It may be caused by intrinsic valvular disease (primary MR) or ventricular deformation (secondary MR). Imaging has a critical role to document the severity, mechanism, and impact of MR on heart function as selected patients with MR may benefit from surgery whereas other will not. In patients planned for a surgical intervention, imaging is also important to select candidates for mitral valve (MV) repair over replacement and to predict surgical success. Although standard transthoracic echocardiography is the first-line modality to evaluate MR, newer imaging modalities like three-dimensional (3D) transesophageal echocardiography, stress echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR), and computed tomography (CT) are emerging and complementary tools for MR assessment. While some of these modalities can provide insight into MR severity, others will help to determine its mechanism. Understanding the advantages and limitations of each imaging modality is important to appreciate their respective role for MR assessment and help to resolve eventual discrepancies between different diagnostic methods. With the increasing use of transcatheter mitral procedures (repair or replacement) for high-surgical-risk patients, multimodality imaging has now become even more important to determine eligibility, preinterventional planning, and periprocedural guidance.

The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of clinical nurse specialists in outpatient roles: a systematic review.

PubMed

Kilpatrick, Kelley; Kaasalainen, Sharon; Donald, Faith; Reid, Kim; Carter, Nancy; Bryant-Lukosius, Denise; Martin-Misener, Ruth; Harbman, Patricia; Marshall, Deborah Anne; Charbonneau-Smith, Renee; DiCenso, Alba

2014-12-01

Increasing numbers of clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) are working in outpatient settings. The objective of this paper is to describe a systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the cost-effectiveness of CNSs delivering outpatient care in alternative or complementary provider roles. We searched CINAHL, MEDLINE, EMBASE and seven other electronic databases, 1980 to July 2012 and hand-searched bibliographies and key journals. RCTs that evaluated formally trained CNSs and health system outcomes were included. Study quality was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool and the Quality of Health Economic Studies instrument. We used the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation to assess quality of evidence for individual outcomes. Eleven RCTs, four evaluating alternative provider (n = 683 participants) and seven evaluating complementary provider roles (n = 1464 participants), were identified. Results of the alternative provider RCTs (low-to-moderate quality evidence) were fairly consistent across study populations with similar patient outcomes to usual care, some evidence of reduced resource use and costs, and two economic analyses (one fair and one high quality) favouring CNS care. Results of the complementary provider RCTs (low-to-moderate quality evidence) were also fairly consistent across study populations with similar or improved patient outcomes and mostly similar health system outcomes when compared with usual care; however, the economic analyses were weak. Low-to-moderate quality evidence supports the effectiveness and two fair-to-high quality economic analyses support the cost-effectiveness of outpatient alternative provider CNSs. Low-to-moderate quality evidence supports the effectiveness of outpatient complementary provider CNSs; however, robust economic evaluations are needed to address cost-effectiveness. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Invited review article: Photopyroelectric calorimeter for the simultaneous thermal, optical, and structural characterization of samples over phase transitions.

PubMed

Zammit, U; Marinelli, M; Mercuri, F; Paoloni, S; Scudieri, F

2011-12-01

The study of thermophysical properties is of great importance in several scientific fields. Among them, the heat capacity, for example, is related to the microscopic structure of condensed matter and plays an important role in monitoring the changes in the energy content of a system. Calorimetric techniques are thus of fundamental importance for characterizing physical systems, particularly in the vicinity of phase transitions where energy fluctuations can play an important role. In this work, the ability of the Photopyroelctric calorimetry to study the versus temperature behaviour of the specific heat and of the other thermal parameters in the vicinity of phase transitions is outlined. The working principle, the theoretical basis, the experimental configurations, and the advantages of this technique, with respect to the more conventional ones, have been described and discussed in detail. The integrations in the calorimetric setup giving the possibility to perform, simultaneously with the calorimetric studies, complementary kind of characterizations of optical, structural, and electrical properties are also described. A review of the results obtained with this technique, in all its possible configurations, for the high temperature resolution studies of the thermal parameters over several kinds of phase transitions occurring in different systems is presented and discussed.

Schistosomiasis Elimination Strategies and Potential Role of a Vaccine in Achieving Global Health Goals

PubMed Central

Mo, Annie X.; Agosti, Jan M.; Walson, Judd L.; Hall, B. Fenton; Gordon, Lance

2014-01-01

In March 2013, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation co-sponsored a meeting entitled “Schistosomiasis Elimination Strategy and Potential Role of a Vaccine in Achieving Global Health Goals” to discuss the potential role of schistosomiasis vaccines and other tools in the context of schistosomiasis control and elimination strategies. It was concluded that although schistosomiasis elimination in some focal areas may be achievable through current mass drug administration programs, global control and elimination will face several significant scientific and operational challenges, and will require an integrated approach with other, additional interventions. These challenges include vector (snail) control; environmental modification; water, sanitation, and hygiene; and other future innovative tools such as vaccines. Defining a clear product development plan that reflects a vaccine strategy as complementary to the existing control programs to combat different forms of schistosomiasis will be important to develop a vaccine effectively. PMID:24402703

[Complementary and alternative medicine in oncology].

PubMed

Hübner, J

2013-06-01

Complementary and alternative medicine are frequently used by cancer patients. The main benefit of complementary medicine is that it gives patients the chance to become active. Complementary therapy can reduce the side effects of conventional therapy. However, we have to give due consideration to side effects and interactions: the latter being able to reduce the effectiveness of cancer therapy and so to jeopardise the success of therapy. Therefore, complementary therapy should be managed by the oncologist. It is based on a common concept of cancerogenesis with conventional therapy. Complement therapy can be assessed in studies. Alternative medicine in contrast rejects common rules of evidence-based medicine. It starts from its own concepts of cancerogenesis, which is often in line with the thinking of lay persons. Alternative medicine is offered as either "alternative" to recommended cancer treatment or is used at the same time but without due regard for the interactions. Alternative medicine is a high risk to patients. In the following two parts of the article, the most important complementary and alternative therapies cancer patients use nowadays are presented and assessed according to published evidence.

Experimental Comparison Between Mahoney and Complementary Sensor Fusion Algorithm for Attitude Determination by Raw Sensor Data of Xsens Imu on Buoy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jouybari, A.; Ardalan, A. A.; Rezvani, M.-H.

2017-09-01

The accurate measurement of platform orientation plays a critical role in a range of applications including marine, aerospace, robotics, navigation, human motion analysis, and machine interaction. We used Mahoney filter, Complementary filter and Xsens Kalman filter for achieving Euler angle of a dynamic platform by integration of gyroscope, accelerometer, and magnetometer measurements. The field test has been performed in Kish Island using an IMU sensor (Xsens MTi-G-700) that installed onboard a buoy so as to provide raw data of gyroscopes, accelerometers, magnetometer measurements about 25 minutes. These raw data were used to calculate the Euler angles by Mahoney filter and Complementary filter, while the Euler angles collected by XSense IMU sensor become the reference of the Euler angle estimations. We then compared Euler angles which calculated by Mahoney Filter and Complementary Filter with reference to the Euler angles recorded by the XSense IMU sensor. The standard deviations of the differences between the Mahoney Filter, Complementary Filter Euler angles and XSense IMU sensor Euler angles were about 0.5644, 0.3872, 0.4990 degrees and 0.6349, 0.2621, 2.3778 degrees for roll, pitch, and heading, respectively, so the numerical result assert that Mahoney filter is precise for roll and heading angles determination and Complementary filter is precise only for pitch determination, it should be noted that heading angle determination by Complementary filter has more error than Mahoney filter.

Implicit Reasons for Disclosure of the Use of Complementary Health Approaches (CHA): a Consumer Commitment Perspective.

PubMed

Sirois, Fuschia M; Riess, Helene; Upchurch, Dawn M

2017-10-01

Disclosure of the use of complementary health approaches (CHA) is an important yet understudied health behavior with important implications for patient care. Yet research into disclosure of CHA has been atheoretical and neglected the role of health beliefs. Using a consumer commitment model of CHA use as a guiding conceptual framework, the current study tests the hypotheses that perceived positive CHA outcomes (utilitarian values) and positive CHA beliefs (symbolic values) are associated with disclosure of CHA to conventional care providers in a nationally representative US sample. From a sample of 33,594 with CHA use information from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), a subsample of 7348 who used CHA within the past 12 months was analyzed. The 2012 NHIS is a cross-sectional survey of the non-institutionalized US adult population, which includes the most recent nationally representative CHA use data. The 63.2% who disclosed CHA use were older, were less educated, and had visited a health care provider in the past year. Weighted logistic regression analyses controlling for demographic variables revealed that those who disclosed were more likely to report experiencing positive psychological (improved coping and well-being) and physical outcomes (better sleep, improved health) from CHA and hold positive CHA-related beliefs. CHA users who perceive physical and psychological benefits from CHA use and who hold positive attitudes towards CHA are more likely to disclose their CHA use. Findings support the relevance of a consumer commitment perspective for understanding CHA disclosure and suggest CHA disclosure as an important proactive health behavior that warrants further attention.

Assessing the role of evidence in patients' evaluation of complementary therapies: a quality study.

PubMed

Verhoef, Marja J; Mulkins, Andrea; Carlson, Linda E; Hilsden, Robert J; Kania, Anna

2007-12-01

Making the decision to use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for cancer treatment is difficult in light of the limited available evidence for these treatments. It is unclear how patients use evidence to make these decisions. (1) Describe the type of information about CAM that cancer patients use in their decision making; (2) understand why certain types of information about CAM are accepted as evidence by cancer patients; and (3) explore the role of scientific evidence in treatment decision making. A qualitative study design using in-depth semistructured interviews with cancer patients attending 4 conventional and integrative health care institutions in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada, was used. Twenty-seven patients were interviewed. Patients sought CAM information from a range of sources, including the Internet, health care providers, friends, relatives, and newspapers. Many expressed frustration about the overwhelming amount of available information and found it difficult to identify reliable information. Information was described as reliable if it supported them in arriving at a decision about CAM. Types of information participants identified included anecdotes, expert opinion, gut feeling, popular literature, scientific evidence, testimonials, advertising and trial and error. Profound differences were found between new CAM users, experienced CAM users, and users with late-stage cancer in type of information sought, the role of scientific evidence in decision making, and overall information needs. Although this was a relatively small qualitative study, the results suggest that (1) many patients do not value scientific evidence as highly as conventional providers and (2) it is important for clinicians and other information providers to be aware of the different types of information that patients seek out and access when making choices and decisions regarding CAM treatments and why they seek out these sources.

Perceptions, opinions and knowledge of pharmacists towards the use of complementary medicines by people living with cancer.

PubMed

Harnett, Joanna; Le, Trong Quy; Smith, Lorraine; Krass, Ines

2018-05-09

Background Biologically-based complementary medicine (BB-CM) use is prevalent amongst people living with cancer. Pharmacists play an important role in the provision of standard treatments for cancer. Less is known about pharmacist's provision of BB-CM information. Objective This study investigated the opinions, perceptions and knowledge of pharmacists regarding the use of BB-CMs by people living with cancer and the facilitators and barriers to providing information and advice. Setting Australia. Method A cross-sectional 53-item survey was developed and the survey link distributed in two professional associations newsletters. The associations represent ~29,000 pharmacists. Questions were categories into pharmacist's perceptions, opinions, and knowledge towards the use of BB-CM in cancer. Main Outcome Measure Scores obtained from responses to perception, opinion and knowledge statements and responses to demographic questions Results Respondents (n=70) were predominantly female (73%), Caucasian (66%) and under 40 years of age (78%). Respondents estimated that 19% of daily inquiries related to BB-CMs. Seventy-two per cent of respondents believed they had a responsibility to advise about the concomitant use of BB-CM with standard cancer treatments despite 60% reporting a lack of confidence in their knowledge. There was a moderate positive association (Spearman's rho 0.41 p= 0.001) between a pharmacists confidence in their level of knowledge and their total knowledge scores. The main barriers to providing information about BB-CMs reported were inadequate training in BB-CMs (94%) and reservations about the evidence base for efficacy and safety (50%). Conclusion Pharmacists have a role to play in counselling people living with cancer about their use of BB-CMs and this role could be maximized with further training and education in this area.

Visualization of Twitching Motility and Characterization of the Role of the PilG in Xylella fastidiosa.

PubMed

Shi, Xiangyang; Lin, Hong

2016-04-08

Xylella fastidiosa is a Gram-negative non-flagellated bacterium that causes a number of economically important diseases of plants. The twitching motility provides X. fastidiosa a means for long-distance intra-plant movement and colonization, contributing toward pathogenicity in X. fastidiosa. The twitching motility of X. fastidiosa is operated by type IV pili. Type IV pili of Xylella fastidiosa are regulated by pilG, a chemotaxis regulator in Pil-Chp operon encoding proteins that are involved with signal transduction pathways. To elucidate the roles of pilG in the twitching motility of X. fastidiosa, a pilG-deficient mutant XfΔpilG and its complementary strain XfΔpilG-C containing native pilG were developed. A microfluidic chambers integrated with a time-lapse image recording system was used to observe twitching motility in XfΔpilG, XfΔpilG-C and its wild type strain. Using this recording system, it permits long-term spatial and temporal observations of aggregation, migration of individual cells and populations of bacteria via twitching motility. X. fastidiosa wild type and complementary XfΔpilG-C strain showed typical twitching motility characteristics directly observed in the microfluidic flow chambers, whereas mutant XfΔpliG exhibited the twitching deficient phenotype. This study demonstrates that pilG contributes to the twitching motility of X. fastidiosa. The microfluidic flow chamber is used as a means for observing twitching motility.

Use of complementary and alternative medicine by patients with arthritis.

PubMed

Unsal, Ayla; Gözüm, Sebahat

2010-04-01

The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine use in patients with arthritis, the types of complementary and alternative medicine used, pertinent socio-demographic factors associated with complementary and alternative medicine use and its perceived efficacy. Arthritis is a major health issue, and the use of complementary and alternative medicine among patients with arthritis is common. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. Data were obtained from 250 patients with arthritis at the physiotherapy and immunology clinics Atatürk University Hospital in eastern Turkey between May-July 2005 using a questionnaire developed specifically for this study. The instrument included questions on socio-demographic information, disease specifics and complementary and alternative medicine usage. Seventy-six per cent of participants reported use of at least one form of complementary and alternative medicine in the previous year. Complementary and alternative medicine users and non-users were not significantly different in most socio-demographic characteristics including age, gender, marital status and education level with the exception of economic status. We categorised treatment into six complementary and alternative medicine categories: 62.6% of patients used thermal therapies; 41.5% used oral herbal therapies; 40.5% used hot therapies; 32.6% used externally applied (skin) therapies; 28.4% used massage and 12.6% used cold therapies. All forms of complementary and alternative medicine except thermal and oral herbal therapies were perceived as very effective by more than half of study participants. Complementary and alternative medicine therapy is widely used by patients with arthritis and has perceived beneficial effects. It is important for nurses and other health care professionals to be knowledgeable about the use of complementary and alternative medicine therapies when providing care to patients with arthritis because of possible interactions with other treatments, delays in seeking care and the potential for poor quality products. It is also essential for health professionals to discuss treatment options with patients and to monitor treatment efficacy.

Detraditionalisation, gender and alternative and complementary medicines.

PubMed

Sointu, Eeva

2011-03-01

This article is premised on the importance of locating the appeal and meaning of alternative and complementary medicines in the context of gendered identities. I argue that the discourse of wellbeing--captured in many alternative and complementary health practices--is congruent with culturally prevalent ideals of self-fulfilling, authentic, unique and self-responsible subjectivity. The discourse of wellbeing places the self at the centre, thus providing a contrast with traditional ideas of other-directed and caring femininity. As such, involvement in alternative and complementary medicines is entwined with a negotiation of shifting femininities in detraditionalising societies. Simultaneously, many alternative and complementary health practices readily tap into and reproduce traditional representations of caring femininity. It is through an emphasis on emotional honesty and intimacy that the discourse of wellbeing also captures a challenge to traditional ideas of masculinity. Expectations and experiences relating to gender add a further level of complexity to the meaningfulness and therapeutic value of alternative and complementary medicines and underlie the gender difference in the utilisation of holistic health practices. I draw on data from a qualitative study with 44, primarily white, middle-class users and practitioners of varied alternative and complementary medicines in the UK. © 2010 The Author. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2010 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Epigenetic mechanisms: critical contributors to long-term memory formation.

PubMed

Lubin, Farah D; Gupta, Swati; Parrish, R Ryley; Grissom, Nicola M; Davis, Robin L

2011-12-01

Recent advances in chromatin biology have identified a role for epigenetic mechanisms in the regulation of neuronal gene expression changes, a necessary process for proper synaptic plasticity and memory formation. Experimental evidence for dynamic chromatin remodeling influencing gene transcription in postmitotic neurons grew from initial reports describing posttranslational modifications of histones, including phosphorylation and acetylation occurring in various brain regions during memory consolidation. An accumulation of recent studies, however, has also highlighted the importance of other epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation and histone methylation, as playing a role in memory formation. This present review examines learning-induced gene transcription by chromatin remodeling underlying long-lasting changes in neurons, with direct implications for the study of epigenetic mechanisms in long-term memory formation and behavior. Furthermore, the study of epigenetic gene regulation, in conjunction with transcription factor activation, can provide complementary lines of evidence to further understanding transcriptional mechanisms subserving memory storage.

The role of women's leadership and gender equity in leadership and health system strengthening.

PubMed

Dhatt, R; Theobald, S; Buzuzi, S; Ros, B; Vong, S; Muraya, K; Molyneux, S; Hawkins, K; González-Beiras, C; Ronsin, K; Lichtenstein, D; Wilkins, K; Thompson, K; Davis, K; Jackson, C

2017-01-01

Gender equity is imperative to the attainment of healthy lives and wellbeing of all, and promoting gender equity in leadership in the health sector is an important part of this endeavour. This empirical research examines gender and leadership in the health sector, pooling learning from three complementary data sources: literature review, quantitative analysis of gender and leadership positions in global health organisations and qualitative life histories with health workers in Cambodia, Kenya and Zimbabwe. The findings highlight gender biases in leadership in global health, with women underrepresented. Gender roles, relations, norms and expectations shape progression and leadership at multiple levels. Increasing women's leadership within global health is an opportunity to further health system resilience and system responsiveness. We conclude with an agenda and tangible next steps of action for promoting women's leadership in health as a means to promote the global goals of achieving gender equity.

Keeping an Eye on Noisy Movements: On Different Approaches to Perceptual-Motor Skill Research and Training.

PubMed

Dicks, Matt; Button, Chris; Davids, Keith; Chow, Jia Yi; van der Kamp, John

2017-04-01

Contemporary theorizing on the complementary nature of perception and action in expert performance has led to different emphases in the study of movement coordination and gaze behavior. On the one hand, coordination research has examined the role of variability in movement control, evidencing that variability facilitates individualized adaptations during both learning and performance. On the other hand, and at odds with this principle, the majority of gaze behavior studies have tended to average data over participants and trials, proposing the importance of universal 'optimal' gaze patterns in a given task, for all performers, irrespective of stage of learning. In this article, we discuss new lines of inquiry with the aim of reconciling these two distinct approaches. We consider the role of inter- and intra-individual variability in gaze behaviors and suggest directions for future research.

Use of complementary and alternative medicine by patients with cancer in northern Turkey: analysis of cost and satisfaction.

PubMed

Aydin Avci, Ilknur; Koç, Zeliha; Sağlam, Zeynep

2012-03-01

The aims of this study were to determine (1) the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine use among patients with cancer, (2) the method of use of the particular therapy, (3) the reasons for using complementary and alternative medicine therapies, (4) the benefits experienced by the use of complementary and alternative medicine, (5) the source of information about complementary and alternative medicine therapies and, (6) the satisfaction and cost of complementary and alternative medicine. Complementary and alternative medicine consists of diverse medical and healthcare systems, practices and products that are not considered at present to be a part of conventional medicine. The majority of patients who use complementary and alternative medicine use more than one method. Complementary and alternative medicine use is more common in cases of advanced disease or poor prognosis. This is a descriptive study of complementary and alternative medicine. This study was conducted in the Chemotherapy Unit at Ondokuz Mayıs University, Faculty of Medicine, Samsun, Turkey, between 18 March 2008-30 June 2008. Two hundred fifty-three patients with cancer, among 281 patients who applied to the chemotherapy clinic between these dates, agreed to take part in the study with whom contact could be made were included. A questionnaire including descriptive characteristics in collecting data, characteristics about diseases and their treatments, complementary and alternative medicine information and implementation situations and a control list about complementary and alternative medicine implementations were given. The collected data were evaluated by computer using descriptive statistics, the chi-square test and Student's t-test. In this study, 94·1% of the patients were content with medical treatment, 58·9% of them used complementary and alternative medicine treatments, 41·1% did not use any complementary and alternative medicine treatments. The satisfaction level of the patients with complementary and alternative medicine methods was slightly above mediocre (2·33 SD 0·64, on a scale of 1-3). The average cost per capita spent by the patients using complementary and alternative medicine for all the different methods was US$288·26. It was determined that although patients did not have enough knowledge about complementary and alternative medicine methods, the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine and satisfaction levels are high that complementary and alternative medicine users spend substantial sums of money for these methods. To sustain medical treatment and prognosis of cancer, it is important for nurses to consult with their patients regarding the use and potential risks of some complementary and alternative medicine. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Exploiting science? A systematic analysis of complementary and alternative medicine clinic websites’ marketing of stem cell therapies

PubMed Central

Murdoch, Blake; Zarzeczny, Amy; Caulfield, Timothy

2018-01-01

Objective To identify the frequency and qualitative characteristics of stem cell-related marketing claims made on websites of clinics featuring common types of complementary and alternative medicine practitioners. The involvement of complementary and alternative medicine practitioners in the marketing of stem cell therapies and stem cell-related interventions is understudied. This research explores the extent to which they are involved and collaborate with medical professionals. This knowledge will help with identifying and evaluating potential policy responses to this growing market. Design Systematic website analysis. Setting Global. US and English-language bias due to methodology. Main outcome measures Representations made on clinic websites in relation to practitioner types, stem cell therapies and their targets, stem cell-related interventions. Statements about stem cell therapies relating to evidence of inefficacy, limited evidence of efficacy, general procedural risks, risks specific to the mode of therapy, regulatory status, experimental or unproven nature of therapy. Use of hype language (eg, language that exaggerates potential benefits). Results 243 websites offered stem cell therapies. Many websites advertised stem cell transplantation from multiple sources, such as adipose-derived (112), bone marrow-derived (100), blood-derived (28), umbilical cord-derived (26) and others. Plant stem cell-based treatments and products (20) were also advertised. Purposes for and targets of treatment included pain, physical injury, a wide range of diseases and illnesses, cosmetic concerns, non-cosmetic ageing, sexual enhancement and others. Medical doctors (130), chiropractors (53) and naturopaths (44) commonly work in the clinics we found to be offering stem cell therapies. Few clinic websites advertising stem cell therapies included important additional information, including statements about evidence of inefficacy (present on only 12.76% of websites), statements about limited evidence of efficacy (18.93%), statements of general risks (24.69%), statements of risks specific to the mode(s) of therapy (5.76%), statements as to the regulatory status of the therapies (30.86%) and statements that the therapy is experimental or unproven (33.33%). Hype language was noted (31.69%). Conclusions Stem cell therapies and related interventions are marketed for a wide breadth of conditions and are being offered by complementary and alternative practitioners, often in conjunction with medical doctors. Consumer protection and truth-in-advertising regulation could play important roles in addressing misleading marketing practices in this area. PMID:29490963

Does experience of the 'occult' predict use of complementary medicine? Experience of, and beliefs about, both complementary medicine and ways of telling the future.

PubMed

Furnham, A

2000-12-01

This study looked at the relationship between ratings of the perceived effectiveness of 24 methods for telling the future, 39 complementary therapies (CM) and 12 specific attitude statements about science and medicine. A total of 159 participants took part. The results showed that the participants were deeply sceptical of the effectiveness of the methods for telling the future which factored into meaningful and interpretable factors. Participants were much more positive about particular, but not all, specialties of complementary medicine (CM). These also factored into a meaningful factor structure. Finally, the 12 attitude to science/medicine statements revealed four factors: scepticism of medicine; the importance of psychological factors; patient protection; and the importance of scientific evaluation. Regressional analysis showed that belief in the total effectiveness of different ways of predicting the future was best predicted by beliefs in the effectiveness of the CM therapies. Although interest in the occult was associated with interest in CM, participants were able to distinguish between the two, and displayed scepticism about the effectiveness of methods of predicting the future and some CM therapies. Copyright 2000 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.

Perceptions of Primary Care-Based Breastfeeding Promotion Interventions: Qualitative Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trial Participant Interviews

PubMed Central

Bonuck, Karen; Barnett, Josephine; Lischewski-Goel, Jennifer

2012-01-01

Abstract Objective This study examined women's perceptions and reported effects of routine, primary care-based interventions to increase breastfeeding. Subjects and Methods A subsample (n=67) of participants in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) completed semistructured exit interviews at 6 months postpartum. RCT arms included the following: (a) routine pre-/postnatal lactation consultant (LC) support (LC group); (b) electronic prompts (EP) guiding providers to discuss breastfeeding during prenatal care visits (EP group); (c) a combined intervention (LC+EP group); and (d) controls. Interview transcripts were coded and analyzed in MAX.qda. Results Key findings included the following: (1) Brief, non-directive assessment of feeding via postpartum interviews focused attention upon feeding practices. When coupled with breastfeeding promotion interventions, interviews promoted breastfeeding. (2) The EP and LC interventions were complementary: EPs influenced initiation, while LCs helped overcome barriers and sustain breastfeeding. (3) Prenatal intent to feed both breastmilk and formula was associated with the greatest receptivity to study messages. Conclusions Findings underscore the need for interventions across the continuum of care. Trained LCs in prenatal/postpartum settings and prenatal care providers play important complementary roles that, when coupled with brief telephone feeding assessments, may improve breastfeeding rates. PMID:22621223

A bimetallic nanocomposite modified genosensor for recognition and determination of thalassemia gene.

PubMed

Hamidi-Asl, Ezat; Raoof, Jahan Bakhsh; Naghizadeh, Nahid; Akhavan-Niaki, Haleh; Ojani, Reza; Banihashemi, Ali

2016-10-01

The main roles of DNA in the cells are to maintain and properly express genetic information. It is important to have analytical methods capable of fast and sensitive detection of DNA damage. DNA hybridization sensors are well suited for diagnostics and other purposes, including determination of bacteria and viruses. Beta thalassemias (βth) are due to mutations in the β-globin gene. In this study, an electrochemical biosensor which detects the sequences related to the β-globin gene issued from real samples amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is described for the first time. The biosensor relies on the immobilization of 20-mer single stranded oligonucleotide (probe) related to βth sequence on the carbon paste electrode (CPE) modified by 15% silver (Ag) and platinum (Pt) nanoparticles to prepare the bimetallic nanocomposite electrode and hybridization of this oligonucleotide with its complementary sequence (target). The extent of hybridization between the probe and target sequences was shown by using linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) with methylene blue (MB) as hybridization indicator. The selectivity of sensor was investigated using PCR samples containing non-complementary oligonucleotides. The detection limit of biosensor was calculated about 470.0pg/μL. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Perceptions of primary care-based breastfeeding promotion interventions: qualitative analysis of randomized controlled trial participant interviews.

PubMed

Andaya, Elise; Bonuck, Karen; Barnett, Josephine; Lischewski-Goel, Jennifer

2012-12-01

This study examined women's perceptions and reported effects of routine, primary care-based interventions to increase breastfeeding. A subsample (n=67) of participants in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) completed semistructured exit interviews at 6 months postpartum. RCT arms included the following: (a) routine pre-/postnatal lactation consultant (LC) support (LC group); (b) electronic prompts (EP) guiding providers to discuss breastfeeding during prenatal care visits (EP group); (c) a combined intervention (LC+EP group); and (d) controls. Interview transcripts were coded and analyzed in MAX.qda. Key findings included the following: (1) Brief, non-directive assessment of feeding via postpartum interviews focused attention upon feeding practices. When coupled with breastfeeding promotion interventions, interviews promoted breastfeeding. (2) The EP and LC interventions were complementary: EPs influenced initiation, while LCs helped overcome barriers and sustain breastfeeding. (3) Prenatal intent to feed both breastmilk and formula was associated with the greatest receptivity to study messages. Findings underscore the need for interventions across the continuum of care. Trained LCs in prenatal/postpartum settings and prenatal care providers play important complementary roles that, when coupled with brief telephone feeding assessments, may improve breastfeeding rates.

Global Phosphoproteomics of Activated B Cells Using Complementary Metal Ion Functionalized Soluble Nanopolymers

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Engagement of the B cell receptor for antigen (BCR) leads to immune responses through a cascade of intracellular signaling events. Most studies to date have focused on the BCR and protein tyrosine phosphorylation. Because spleen tyrosine kinase, Syk, is an upstream kinase in multiple BCR-regulated signaling pathways, it also affects many downstream events that are modulated through the phosphorylation of proteins on serine and threonine residues. Here, we report a novel phosphopeptide enrichment strategy and its application to a comprehensive quantitative phosphoproteomics analysis of Syk-dependent downstream signaling events in B cells, focusing on serine and threonine phosphorylation. Using a combination of the Syk inhibitor piceatannol, SILAC quantification, peptide fractionation, and complementary PolyMAC-Ti and PolyMAC-Zr enrichment techniques, we analyzed changes in BCR-stimulated protein phosphorylation that were dependent on the activity of Syk. We identified and quantified over 13 000 unique phosphopeptides, with a large percentage dependent on Syk activity in BCR-stimulated B cells. Our results not only confirmed many known functions of Syk, but more importantly, suggested many novel roles, including in the ubiquitin proteasome pathway, that warrant further exploration. PMID:24905233

Safety And Promotion in the Federal Aviation Administration- Enabling Safe and Successful Commercial Space Transportation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Repcheck, Randall J.

2010-09-01

The United States Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation(AST) authorizes the launch and reentry of expendable and reusable launch vehicles and the operation of launch and reentry sites by United States citizens or within the United States. It authorizes these activities consistent with public health and safety, the safety of property, and the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States. In addition to its safety role, AST has the role to encourage, facilitate, and promote commercial space launches and reentries by the private sector. AST’s promotional role includes, among other things, the development of information of interest to industry, the sharing of information of interest through a variety of methods, and serving as an advocate for Commercial Space Transportation within the United States government. This dual safety and promotion role is viewed by some as conflicting. AST views these two roles as complementary, and important for the current state of commercial space transportation. This paper discusses how maintaining a sound safety decision-making process, maintaining a strong safety culture, and taking steps to avoid complacency can together enable safe and successful commercial space transportation.

Evolvable social agents for bacterial systems modeling.

PubMed

Paton, Ray; Gregory, Richard; Vlachos, Costas; Saunders, Jon; Wu, Henry

2004-09-01

We present two approaches to the individual-based modeling (IbM) of bacterial ecologies and evolution using computational tools. The IbM approach is introduced, and its important complementary role to biosystems modeling is discussed. A fine-grained model of bacterial evolution is then presented that is based on networks of interactivity between computational objects representing genes and proteins. This is followed by a coarser grained agent-based model, which is designed to explore the evolvability of adaptive behavioral strategies in artificial bacteria represented by learning classifier systems. The structure and implementation of the two proposed individual-based bacterial models are discussed, and some results from simulation experiments are presented, illustrating their adaptive properties.

[Role of complementary medicine in type 1 diabetes mellitus in two Swiss centres].

PubMed

Scheidegger, U A; Flück, C E; Scheidegger, K; Diem, P; Mullis, P E

2009-09-09

Insulin replacement is the only effective treatment of type 1 Diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Nevertheless, many complementary treatments are in use for T1DM. In this study we assessed by questionnaire that out of 342 patients with T1DM, 48 (14%; 13.4% adult, 18.5% paediatric; 20 male, 28 female) used complementary medicine (CM) in addition to their insulin therapy. The purpose of the use of CM was to improve general well-being, ameliorate glucose homeostasis, reduce blood glucose levels as well as insulin doses, improve physical fitness, reduce the frequency of hypoglycaemia, and control appetite. The modalities most frequently used are cinnamon, homeopathy, magnesium and special beverages (mainly teas). Thus, good collaboration between health care professionals will allow optimal patient care.

The role of global traditional and complementary systems of medicine in the treatment of mental health disorders.

PubMed

Gureje, Oye; Nortje, Gareth; Makanjuola, Victor; Oladeji, Bibilola D; Seedat, Soraya; Jenkins, Rachel

2015-02-01

Traditional and complementary systems of medicine include a broad range of practices, which are commonly embedded in cultural milieus and reflect community beliefs, experiences, religion, and spirituality. Two major components of this system are discernible: complementary alternative medicine and traditional medicine, with different clientele and correlates of patronage. Evidence from around the world suggests that a traditional or complementary system of medicine is commonly used by a large number of people with mental illness. Practitioners of traditional medicine in low-income and middle-income countries fill a major gap in mental health service delivery. Although some overlap exists in the diagnostic approaches of traditional and complementary systems of medicine and conventional biomedicine, some major differences exist, largely in the understanding of the nature and cause of mental disorders. Treatments used by providers of traditional and complementary systems of medicine, especially traditional and faith healers in low-income and middle-income countries, might sometimes fail to meet widespread understandings of human rights and humane care. Nevertheless, collaborative engagement between traditional and complementary systems of medicine and conventional biomedicine might be possible in the care of people with mental illness. The best model to bring about that collaboration will need to be established by the needs of the extant mental health system in a country. Research is needed to provide an empirical basis for the feasibility of such collaboration, to clearly delineate its boundaries, and to test its effectiveness in bringing about improved patient outcomes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fat reduction to prevent prostate cancer: waiting for more evidence?

PubMed

Moyad, M A

2001-09-01

Complementary medicine has become an important area of interest for patients and researchers around the world. The utilization of some of these therapies by many individuals makes it imperative to understand whether they have any role in treatment of cancer or other diseases. Some of such therapies may play a role in the prevention of prostate cancer. Clinical trials are addressing this issue, and whether these products could also improve prognosis of prostate cancer. That dietary fat reduction may help to prevent prostate cancer is supported by numerous case-control studies reported over the past several decades, but recent prospective studies suggest that the impact of fat reduction in this regard may not be great. Clinicians should be careful not to suggest such a benefit until more research provides a better picture of the situation. Breast cancer is probably the best example of why more research into dietary changes for reduction in cancer risk is needed. Once believed to play a significant role, recent prospective studies suggest that dietary fat reduction may have little effect on breast cancer prevention, although some interesting insights have been gained with regard to the method of meat preparation and the influence of genetics. Fat reduction, together with soy products or other plant estrogen foods, may have a symbiotic relationship. Numerous healthy lifestyle changes incorporated and practiced at one time (healthy diet, attainment and maintenance of normal weight, soy consumption, among others) may hold some promise in the area of cancer prevention. In the meantime any healthy lifestyle or dietary change should be encouraged, because it may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, which is still the number one cause of mortality. It is also an important cause of morbidity and mortality in cancer patients. Regardless, complementary medicine should probably be discussed with any patient who is initiating or undergoing conventional treatment, because of the cardiovascular benefits and overall potential impact on all-cause mortality. Whether such therapies impact on prostate carcinoma remains to be determined through additional prospective investigations.

Evaluation of a complementary cyber education program for a pathophysiology class.

PubMed

Yoo, Ji-Soo; Ryue, Sook-Hee; Lee, Jung Eun; Ahn, Jeong-Ah

2009-12-01

The goal of this study was to develop and evaluate a complementary cyber education program for a required pathophysiology class for nursing students. The cyber education program comprised electronic bulletin boards, correspondence material storage, an announcement section, a report submission section, reference sites, and statistics on learning rates. Twelve online lectures complemented five lectures in the classroom. To evaluate the course's educational effectiveness, we performed an online objective questionnaire and an open questionnaire survey anonymously, and compared the complementary cyber education program with traditional classroom education. The complementary cyber education program effected significant improvements in scores for importance with regard to major, clarity of goals and education plans for courses, professor readiness, preciseness and description of lectures, amount and efficiency of assignments, and fairness in appraisal standards compared with the traditional classroom education group. This study indicates that a complementary cyber education program provides nursing students with the flexibility of time and space, the newest information through updated lectures, efficient motivational aids through intimacy between the lecturer and students, and concrete and meaningful tasks. The complementary cyber education course also increased student effort toward studying and student satisfaction with the class.

Shell shape variation of queen conch Strombus gigas (Mesograstropoda: Strombidae) from Southwest Caribbean.

PubMed

Márquez, Edna Judith; Restrepo-Escobar, Natalia; Montoya-Herrera, Francisco Luis

2016-12-01

The endangered species Strombus gigas is a marine gastropod of significant economic importance through the Greater Caribbean region. In contrast to phenotypic plasticity, the role of genetics on shell variations in S. gigas has not been addressed so far, despite its importance in evolution, management and conservation of this species. This work used geometric morphometrics to investigate the phenotypic variation of 219 shells of S. gigas from eight sites of the Colombian Southwest Caribbean. Differences in mean size between sexes and among sites were contrasted by analysis of variance. Allometry was tested by multivariate regression and the hypothesis of common slope was contrasted by covariance multivariate analysis. Differences in the shell shape among sites were analyzed by principal component analysis. Sexual size dimorphism was not significant, whereas sexual shape dimorphism was significant and variable across sites. Differences in the shell shape among sites were concordant with genetic differences based on microsatellite data, supporting its genetic background. Besides, differences in the shell shape between populations genetically similar suggest a role of phenotypic plasticity in the morphometric variation of the shell shape. These outcomes evidence the role of genetic background and phenotypic plasticity in the shell shape of S. gigas. Thus, geometric morphometrics of shell shape may constitute a complementary tool to explore the genetic diversity of this species.

Primary care practitioner perceptions and attitudes of complementary medicine: a content analysis of free-text responses from a survey of non-metropolitan Australian general practitioners.

PubMed

Wardle, Jon L; Sibbritt, David W; Adams, Jon

2018-05-01

AimThis study examines GP perceptions, attitudes and knowledge of complementary medicine (CM), and to understand contextual factors that influence these perceptions, attitudes and knowledge. CM use is increasing, and its influence on primary care becoming increasingly significant. Although general practitioners (GPs) often have central primary care gate-keeper roles within health systems, few studies have looked specifically at GPs' perceptions, attitudes and knowledge of CM. A questionnaire was mailed to all 1486 GPs registered as practicing in non-metropolitan areas of New South Wales. The survey included one free-text qualitative question, where respondents were invited to highlight issues associated with CM in their own words. Free-text responses were analyzed qualitatively using thematic analysis.FindingsIn total, 585 GPs responded to the survey (adjusted response rate 40.1%), with 152 (26.0%) filling in the free-text question. Central themes which emerged were risk as a primary concern; opposition to, resistance to and the inappropriateness of complementary therapies; struggles with complexity and ambivalent tolerance. GPs in Australia have a wide variety of perceptions toward CM. A minority of GPs have absolute views on CM, with most GPs having numerous caveats and qualifications of individual CM. Efficacy is only one aspect of CM critically evaluated by GPs when gauging support for individual therapies - risk, alignment with medical principles and an openness to exploring new avenues of treatment where others have failed, all appear to be equally important considerations when GPs form their views around CM.

One Big Happy Family? Unraveling the Relationship between Shared Perceptions of Team Psychological Contracts, Person-Team Fit and Team Performance.

PubMed

Gibbard, Katherine; Griep, Yannick; De Cooman, Rein; Hoffart, Genevieve; Onen, Denis; Zareipour, Hamidreza

2017-01-01

With the knowledge that team work is not always associated with high(er) performance, we draw from the Multi-Level Theory of Psychological Contracts, Person-Environment Fit Theory, and Optimal Distinctiveness Theory to study shared perceptions of psychological contract (PC) breach in relation to shared perceptions of complementary and supplementary fit to explain why some teams perform better than other teams. We collected three repeated survey measures in a sample of 128 respondents across 46 teams. After having made sure that we met all statistical criteria, we aggregated our focal variables to the team-level and analyzed our data by means of a longitudinal three-wave autoregressive moderated-mediation model in which each relationship was one-time lag apart. We found that shared perceptions of PC breach were directly negatively related to team output and negatively related to perceived team member effectiveness through a decrease in shared perceptions of supplementary fit. However, we also demonstrated a beneficial process in that shared perceptions of PC breach were positively related to shared perceptions of complementary fit, which in turn were positively related to team output. Moreover, best team output appeared in teams that could combine high shared perceptions of complementary fit with modest to high shared perceptions of supplementary fit. Overall, our findings seem to indicate that in terms of team output there may be a bright side to perceptions of PC breach and that perceived person-team fit may play an important role in this process.

One Big Happy Family? Unraveling the Relationship between Shared Perceptions of Team Psychological Contracts, Person-Team Fit and Team Performance

PubMed Central

Gibbard, Katherine; Griep, Yannick; De Cooman, Rein; Hoffart, Genevieve; Onen, Denis; Zareipour, Hamidreza

2017-01-01

With the knowledge that team work is not always associated with high(er) performance, we draw from the Multi-Level Theory of Psychological Contracts, Person-Environment Fit Theory, and Optimal Distinctiveness Theory to study shared perceptions of psychological contract (PC) breach in relation to shared perceptions of complementary and supplementary fit to explain why some teams perform better than other teams. We collected three repeated survey measures in a sample of 128 respondents across 46 teams. After having made sure that we met all statistical criteria, we aggregated our focal variables to the team-level and analyzed our data by means of a longitudinal three-wave autoregressive moderated-mediation model in which each relationship was one-time lag apart. We found that shared perceptions of PC breach were directly negatively related to team output and negatively related to perceived team member effectiveness through a decrease in shared perceptions of supplementary fit. However, we also demonstrated a beneficial process in that shared perceptions of PC breach were positively related to shared perceptions of complementary fit, which in turn were positively related to team output. Moreover, best team output appeared in teams that could combine high shared perceptions of complementary fit with modest to high shared perceptions of supplementary fit. Overall, our findings seem to indicate that in terms of team output there may be a bright side to perceptions of PC breach and that perceived person-team fit may play an important role in this process. PMID:29170648

Curricular Orientations in Elementary School Music: Roles, Pedagogies, and Values.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bresler, Liora

1996-01-01

Explores the day-to-day music curriculum in three elementary schools. Identifies three orientations toward the role of music education: (1) the functional, based on traditional academic goals and content; (2) the complementary, relegating music to a hidden curriculum; and (3) the expansive, focusing on enhancing perceptual and problem-solving…

Evaluating the Complementary Roles of an SJT and Academic Assessment for Entry into Clinical Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cousans, Fran; Patterson, Fiona; Edwards, Helena; Walker, Kim; McLachlan, John C.; Good, David

2017-01-01

Although there is extensive evidence confirming the predictive validity of situational judgement tests (SJTs) in medical education, there remains a shortage of evidence for their predictive validity for performance of postgraduate trainees in their first role in clinical practice. Moreover, to date few researchers have empirically examined the…

Complementary Role of Organizational Learning Capability in New Service Development (NSD) Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Limpibunterng, Tharinee; Johri, Lalit M.

2009-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of organizational learning capability in relation to leadership tasks performed by executives and organizational performance by bridging the concepts of organizational learning and NSD. Design/methodology/approach: The NSD processes of seven telecom service providers in Thailand are…

Echocardiography in Infective Endocarditis: State of the Art.

PubMed

Afonso, Luis; Kottam, Anupama; Reddy, Vivek; Penumetcha, Anirudh

2017-10-25

In this review, we examine the central role of echocardiography in the diagnosis, prognosis, and management of infective endocarditis (IE). 2D transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and transesophageal echocardiography TEE have complementary roles and are unequivocally the mainstay of diagnostic imaging in IE. The advent of 3D and multiplanar imaging have greatly enhanced the ability of the imager to evaluate cardiac structure and function. Technologic advances in 3D imaging allow for the reconstruction of realistic anatomic images that in turn have positively impacted IE-related surgical planning and intervention. CT and metabolic imaging appear to be emerging as promising ancillary diagnostic tools that could be deployed in select scenarios to circumvent some of the limitations of echocardiography. Our review summarizes the indispensable and central role of various echocardiographic modalities in the management of infective endocarditis. The complementary role of 2D TTE and TEE are discussed and areas where 3D TEE offers incremental value highlighted. An algorithm summarizing a contemporary approach to the workup of endocarditis is provided and major societal guidelines for timing of surgery are reviewed.

Research methods in complementary and alternative medicine: an integrative review.

PubMed

de Almeida Andrade, Fabiana; Schlechta Portella, Caio Fabio

2018-01-01

The scientific literature presents a modest amount of evidence in the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). On the other hand, in practice, relevant results are common. The debates among CAM practitioners about the quality and execution of scientific research are important. Therefore, the aim of this review is to gather, synthesize and describe the differentiated methodological models that encompass the complexity of therapeutic interventions. The process of bringing evidence-based medicine into clinical practice in CAM is essential for the growth and strengthening of complementary medicines worldwide. Copyright © 2017 Shanghai Changhai Hospital. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Innovative Strategy in Treating Angina Pectoris with Chinese Patent Medicines by Promoting Blood Circulation and Removing Blood Stasis: Experience from Combination Therapy in Chinese Medicine.

PubMed

Xiong, Xing-Jiang; Wang, Zhong; Wang, Jie

2015-01-01

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Moreover, angina pectoris is one of the most important types of CHD. Therefore, prevention and effective treatment of angina pectoris is of utmost importance in both China and western countries. However, undesirable effects of antianginal therapy do influence treatment adherence to a certain extent. Therefore, it's not surprising that, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), including Chinese medicine (CM), are widely welcomed among patients with CHD, hoping that it might complement western medicine. In our previous studies, blood stasis syndrome (BSS) (Xueyu Zheng) was the main syndrome (Zheng-hou) of angina pectoris. Currently, China Food and Drug Administration authoritatively recommended more than 200 Chinese patent medicines (CPMs) as complementary or adjunctive therapies for symptom management and enhancing quality of life along with mainstream care on angina pectoris management in mainland China. This paper reviewed 4 kinds of most frequently-used CPMs by promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis in the treatment of angina pectoris. It aims to evaluate the current evidence of CPMs in combination therapy for angina pectoris. This review indicated that CPMs as adjunctive treatment to routine antianginal therapy play an active role in reducing the incidence of primary endpoint events, decreasing anginal attack rate, and improving electrocardiogram. Additionally, CPMs have been proven relatively safe. Further rigorously designed clinical trials should be conducted to confirm the results.

Effect of government actions on technological innovation for SO2 control.

PubMed

Taylor, Margaret R; Rubin, Edward S; Hounshell, David A

2003-10-15

The relationship between government actions and innovation in environmental control technology is important for the design of cost-effective policies to achieve environmental goals. This paper examines such relationships for the case of sulfur dioxide control technology for U.S. coal-fired power plants. The study employs several complementary research methods, including analyses of key government actions, technology patenting activity, technology performance and cost trends, knowledge transfer activities, and expert elicitations. Our results indicate that government regulation appears to be a greater stimulus to inventive activity than government-sponsored research support alone, and that the anticipation of regulation also spurs inventive activity. Regulatory stringency focuses this activity along particular technical pathways and is a key factor in creating markets for environmental technologies. We also find that with greater technology adoption, both new and existing systems experience notable efficiency improvements and capital cost reductions. The important role of government in fostering knowledge transfer via technical conferences and other measures is also seen as an important factor in promoting environmental technology innovation.

Exploring Biomedicalization Through Complementary and Alternative Medicine in a Postsocialist Context.

PubMed

Klepal, Jaroslav; Stöckelová, Tereza

2018-06-20

Drawing on fieldwork in the postsocialist Czech Republic, we explore the transformative processes of biomedicalization, both within and in relation to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). We argue that it would be simplistic to understand evidence of these processes in CAM as a sign that CAM has fallen prey to biomedicine. Instead, we show how particular CAM practices play a groundbreaking role in shaping developments in contemporary health care. In this respect, we question the utility of the concept of biomedicalization, arguing that it reduces the transformative processes to aspects of biomedicine.

Coplanar waveguide metamaterials: The role of bandwidth modifying slots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ibraheem, Ibraheem A.; Koch, Martin

2007-09-01

The authors propose a coplanar waveguide stopband metasurface based on the Babinet principle. The resulting layout is a compact planar metal structure with complementary split ring resonators, which exhibits a high rejection stop band. The complementary rings provide a frequency band with an effective negative dielectric permittivity. Moreover, the rejected bandwidth can be expanded by introducing slots close to the rings. The authors provide a simple physical model which explains the impact of the slots. Simulations confirm the expected behavior and are in excellent agreement with the measurements.

Basics of DNA biosensors and cancer diagnosis.

PubMed

Sohrabi, Nasrin; Valizadeh, Alireza; Farkhani, Samad Mussa; Akbarzadeh, Abolfazl

2016-01-01

The human genome is exposed to mutations during the life cycle because of many types of changes in the DNA. Viruses, radiation, transposons, mutagenic chemicals, or any errors that happen during DNA replication or the meiotic process in the cell, may cause the mutation. Many mutations have no effect on phenotype or health, while some mutations cause crucial diseases such as cancer or cardiac diseases; therefore, a better understanding of the effects of mutation on phenotype is a very important part of genetic studies. Biosensors based on DNA, RNA, and peptide nucleic acids are the most sensitive tools, due to a strong pairing of lined up nucleotide strands between bases in their complementary parts. These methods can provide information to assist clinicians in making successful treatment decisions and increase the patient survival rate. In this review, we discuss DNA biosensors based on peptide nucleic acids that have an important role in cancer diagnosis.

Methodological Gaps in Left Atrial Function Assessment by 2D Speckle Tracking Echocardiography

PubMed Central

Rimbaş, Roxana Cristina; Dulgheru, Raluca Elena; Vinereanu, Dragoş

2015-01-01

The assessment of left atrial (LA) function is used in various cardiovascular diseases. LA plays a complementary role in cardiac performance by modulating left ventricular (LV) function. Transthoracic two-dimensional (2D) phasic volumes and Doppler echocardiography can measure LA function non-invasively. However, evaluation of LA deformation derived from 2D speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) is a new feasible and promising approach for assessment of LA mechanics. These parameters are able to detect subclinical LA dysfunction in different pathological condition. Normal ranges for LA deformation and cut-off values to diagnose LA dysfunction with different diseases have been reported, but data are still conflicting, probably because of some methodological and technical issues. This review highlights the importance of an unique standardized technique to assess the LA phasic functions by STE, and discusses recent studies on the most important clinical applications of this technique. PMID:26761370

Mining the Human Gut Microbiota for Immunomodulatory Organisms.

PubMed

Geva-Zatorsky, Naama; Sefik, Esen; Kua, Lindsay; Pasman, Lesley; Tan, Tze Guan; Ortiz-Lopez, Adriana; Yanortsang, Tsering Bakto; Yang, Liang; Jupp, Ray; Mathis, Diane; Benoist, Christophe; Kasper, Dennis L

2017-02-23

Within the human gut reside diverse microbes coexisting with the host in a mutually advantageous relationship. Evidence has revealed the pivotal role of the gut microbiota in shaping the immune system. To date, only a few of these microbes have been shown to modulate specific immune parameters. Herein, we broadly identify the immunomodulatory effects of phylogenetically diverse human gut microbes. We monocolonized mice with each of 53 individual bacterial species and systematically analyzed host immunologic adaptation to colonization. Most microbes exerted several specialized, complementary, and redundant transcriptional and immunomodulatory effects. Surprisingly, these were independent of microbial phylogeny. Microbial diversity in the gut ensures robustness of the microbiota's ability to generate a consistent immunomodulatory impact, serving as a highly important epigenetic system. This study provides a foundation for investigation of gut microbiota-host mutualism, highlighting key players that could identify important therapeutics. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Global effect of the lack of inorganic polyphosphate in the extremophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus: A proteomic approach.

PubMed

Soto, Daniela F; Recalde, Alejandra; Orell, Alvaro; Albers, Sonja-Verena; Paradela, Alberto; Navarro, Claudio A; Jerez, Carlos A

2018-03-01

Inorganic polyphosphates (polyP) are present in all living cells and several important functions have been described for them. They are involved in the response to stress conditions, such as nutrient depletion, oxidative stress and toxic metals amongst others. A recombinant strain of Sulfolobus solfataricus unable to accumulate polyP was designed by the overexpression of its endogenous ppx gene. The overall impact of the lack of polyP on this S. solfataricus polyP (-) strain was analyzed by using quantitative proteomics (isotope-coded protein label, ICPL). Stress-related proteins, such as peroxiredoxins and heat shock proteins, proteins involved in metabolism and several others were produced at higher levels in the ppx expression strain. The polyP deficient strain showed an increased copper sensitivity and an earlier transcriptional up-regulation of copA gene coding for the P-type copper-exporting ATPase. This implies a complementary function of both copper resistance systems. These results strongly suggests that the lack of polyP makes this hyperthermophilic archaeon more sensitive to toxic conditions, such as an exposure to metals or other harmful stimuli, emphasizing the importance of this inorganic phosphate polymers in the adaptations to live in the environmental conditions in which thermoacidophilic archaea thrive. Inorganic polyphosphate (polyP) are ubiquitous molecules with many functions in living organisms. Few studies related to these polymers have been made in archaea. The construction of a polyP deficient recombinant strain of Sulfolobus solfataricus allowed the study of the global changes in the proteome of this thermoacidophilic archaeon in the absence of polyP compared with the wild type strain. The results obtained using quantitative proteomics suggest an important participation of polyP in the oxidative stress response of the cells and as having a possible metabolic role in the cell, as previously described in bacteria. The polyP deficient strain also showed an increased copper sensitivity and an earlier transcriptional up-regulation of copA, implying a complementary role of both copper resistance systems. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Particulate-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon sources and determinants in residential homes.

PubMed

Cattaneo, Andrea; Fermo, Paola; Urso, Patrizia; Perrone, Maria Grazia; Piazzalunga, Andrea; Tarlassi, Jessica; Carrer, Paolo; Cavallo, Domenico Maria

2016-11-01

Human exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in indoor environments can be particularly relevant because people spend most of their time inside buildings, especially in homes. This study aimed to investigate the most important particle-bound PAH sources and exposure determinants in PM 2.5 samples collected in 19 homes located in northern Italy. Complementary information about ion content in PM 10 was also collected in 12 of these homes. Three methods were used for the identification of PAH sources and determinants: diagnostic ratios with principal component and hierarchical cluster analyses (PCA and HCA), chemical mass balance (CMB) and linear mixed models (LMMs). This combined and tiered approach allowed the infiltration of outdoor PAHs into indoor environments to be identified as the most important source in winter, with a relevant role played by biomass burning and traffic exhausts to be identified as a general source of PAHs in both seasons. Tobacco smoke exhibited an important impact on PAH levels in smokers' homes, whereas in the whole sample, cooking food and natural gas sources played a minor or negligible role. Nitrate, sulfate and ammonium were the main inorganic constituents of indoor PM 10 owing to the secondary formation of ammonium sulfates and nitrates. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The role of the Internet in cancer patients' engagement with complementary and alternative treatments.

PubMed

Broom, Alex; Tovey, Philip

2008-04-01

This article draws on a study of 80 National Health Service cancer patients and their experiences of using the Internet within disease and treatment processes. It focuses on the role the Internet plays in the context of potential or actual engagement with complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The results depart from previous conceptualizations of the Internet as a major source of CAM knowledge, and second, as a major pathway to patient CAM usage. Moreover, the results highlight significant anxiety as patients attempt to process vast amounts of complex biomedical diagnostic and prognostic information online. For patients attempting to embrace alternative therapeutic models of cancer care, exposure to prognostic data may pose considerable risks to individual well-being and engagement with healing practices. On the basis of these results we problematize social theorizations of the Internet as contributing to such things as: the democratization of knowledge; the deprofessionalization of medicine; and patient empowerment. We emphasize, instead, the potential role of the Internet in reinforcing biomedicine's paradigmatic dominance in cancer care.

Introduction of new food textures during complementary feeding: Observations in France.

PubMed

Marduel Boulanger, A; Vernet, M

2018-01-01

Complementary feeding plays a crucial role in the development of infants and toddlers and studies suggest benefits specific to the introduction of food textures. Evaluate the recommendations given to parents, their practices, and their attitudes towards the introduction of food textures during complementary feeding in France. This was a cross-sectional pilot study conducted in 2013. One hundred and eighty-one parents with at least one child aged 6-36 months living in France completed an ad hoc questionnaire. Eighty-eight percent of the parents surveyed received oral information on complementary feeding, but only 46% received such information on the introduction of food textures. Pediatricians were the most frequently listed source of oral information on complementary feeding. More than half the parents also looked for additional information in books and on the internet. While oral recommendations matched parents' practices, they seemed to occur at a later age compared to infants' physiological ability to handle new textures. The quality of information on food texture advice available in paper and electronic formats evaluated using a 4-point scale was found to be limited. Introducing new food texture was spontaneously reported as the most common difficulty in complementary feeding (16%). Fear of choking when first introducing food pieces was reported by 54% of the parents. The parents' lack of information on the introduction of food textures, as well as their fear that their child may choke, should encourage providing new recommendations in France. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Single-Molecule Interfacial Electron Transfer

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ho, Wilson

Interfacial electron transfer (ET) plays an important role in many chemical and biological processes. Specifically, interfacial ET in TiO 2-based systems is important to solar energy technology, catalysis, and environmental remediation technology. However, the microscopic mechanism of interfacial ET is not well understood with regard to atomic surface structure, molecular structure, bonding, orientation, and motion. In this project, we used two complementary methodologies; single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy, and scanning-tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM and STS) to address this scientific need. The goal of this project was to integrate these techniques and measure the molecular dependence of ET between adsorbed molecules andmore » TiO 2 semiconductor surfaces and the ET induced reactions such as the splitting of water. The scanning probe techniques, STM and STS, are capable of providing the highest spatial resolution but not easily time-resolved data. Single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy is capable of good time resolution but requires further development to match the spatial resolution of the STM. The integrated approach involving Peter Lu at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) and Wilson Ho at the University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine) produced methods for time and spatially resolved chemical imaging of interfacial electron transfer dynamics and photocatalytic reactions. An integral aspect of the joint research was a significant exchange of graduate students to work at the two institutions. This project bridged complementary approaches to investigate a set of common problems by working with the same molecules on a variety of solid surfaces, but using appropriate techniques to probe under ambient (BGSU) and ultrahigh vacuum (UCI) conditions. The molecular level understanding of the fundamental interfacial electron transfer processes obtained in this joint project will be important for developing efficient light harvesting, solar energy conversion, and broadly applicable to problems in interface chemistry and surface physics.« less

How visual illusions illuminate complementary brain processes: illusory depth from brightness and apparent motion of illusory contours

PubMed Central

Grossberg, Stephen

2014-01-01

Neural models of perception clarify how visual illusions arise from adaptive neural processes. Illusions also provide important insights into how adaptive neural processes work. This article focuses on two illusions that illustrate a fundamental property of global brain organization; namely, that advanced brains are organized into parallel cortical processing streams with computationally complementary properties. That is, in order to process certain combinations of properties, each cortical stream cannot process complementary properties. Interactions between these streams, across multiple processing stages, overcome their complementary deficiencies to compute effective representations of the world, and to thereby achieve the property of complementary consistency. The two illusions concern how illusory depth can vary with brightness, and how apparent motion of illusory contours can occur. Illusory depth from brightness arises from the complementary properties of boundary and surface processes, notably boundary completion and surface-filling in, within the parvocellular form processing cortical stream. This illusion depends upon how surface contour signals from the V2 thin stripes to the V2 interstripes ensure complementary consistency of a unified boundary/surface percept. Apparent motion of illusory contours arises from the complementary properties of form and motion processes across the parvocellular and magnocellular cortical processing streams. This illusion depends upon how illusory contours help to complete boundary representations for object recognition, how apparent motion signals can help to form continuous trajectories for target tracking and prediction, and how formotion interactions from V2-to-MT enable completed object representations to be continuously tracked even when they move behind intermittently occluding objects through time. PMID:25389399

The good student is more than a listener - The 12+1 roles of the medical student.

PubMed

Karakitsiou, D E; Markou, A; Kyriakou, P; Pieri, M; Abuaita, M; Bourousis, E; Hido, T; Tsatsaragkou, A; Boukali, A; de Burbure, C; Dimoliatis, I D K

2012-01-01

The process of medical education, particularly in the fast evolving new era of medical metaschools, is a broad and complex issue. Harden & Crosby claimed that a good teacher is more than a lecturer, and identified 12 roles that certify a good and capable teacher. However, this is only half the truth: the good student is more than a listener. Teaching-and-learning is not simply a one-way process, and, as medical students are not children, the relationship between teacher and students involves andragogy rather than pedagogy. We therefore propose the 12+1 roles of the student. SUMMARY OF WORK: The Harden & Crosby paper was distributed in a class of 90 third year Ioannina University medical students, who were asked to think about the student's roles. A small discussion group brainstormed ideas, which were then refined further by the authors. 12+1 roles of the good medical student were produced and grouped into six areas: information receiver, in lectures and clinical context; role model in learning, in class, with the added subarea of comparative choice of role models; teaching facilitator and teacher's mentor; teacher's assessor and curriculum evaluator; active participator and keeping-up with curriculum; resource consumer/co-creator and medical literature researcher. The ideal student should fulfil the majority if not all of these complementary roles. These 12+1 student's roles are complementary to the 12 roles of the teacher and help reshaping our understanding of today's medical education process.

[Endosonography of the oesophagus in the diagnosis and treatment of oesophageal tumours].

PubMed

Stašek, M; Tozzi di Angelo, I; Aujeský, R; Vomáčková, K; Vrba, R; Neoral, C

2012-07-01

Endoscopic ultrasound examination (EUS) in oesophageal tumours is a widely used method with the need for further study of its benefits and indication. EUS plays an important role in the staging and management of further therapy. Following on from current world literature, we review the current importance of EUS in oesophageal tumours. We point out contemporary technical possibilities and comment on the importance of endosonography for early oesophageal carcinoma management, T-staging of primary tumour, benefits for N-stage diagnosis, the potential for the detection of generalised disease in comparison with CT and PET/CT, and the possibilities of histological evaluation. We mention in particular the impact of EUS on mesenchymal oesophageal tumour management. We consider EUS to be the golden standard for submucosal oesophageal tumour diagnosis. EUS has a special importance for early oesophageal carcinoma evaluation and the detection of celiac trunk lymph node involvement. Furthermore, EUS is a complementary method for higher-stage oesophageal carcinoma diagnostics. The benefits of the method, however, need further scientific evaluation. Key words: oesophageal endoscopic ultrasound - early oesophageal carcinoma - oesophageal carcinoma staging - submucosal oesophageal tumour.

Perspectives of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioners in the support and treatment of infertility.

PubMed

O'Reilly, Erin; Sevigny, Marika; Sabarre, Kelley-Anne; Phillips, Karen P

2014-10-14

Infertility patients are increasingly using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to supplement or replace conventional fertility treatments. The objective of this study was to determine the roles of CAM practitioners in the support and treatment of infertility. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted in Ottawa, Canada in 2011 with CAM practitioners who specialized in naturopathy, acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, hypnotherapy and integrated medicine. CAM practitioners played an active role in both treatment and support of infertility, using a holistic, interdisciplinary and individualized approach. CAM practitioners recognized biological but also environmental and psychosomatic determinants of infertility. Participants were receptive to working with physicians, however little collaboration was described. Integrated infertility patient care through both collaboration with CAM practitioners and incorporation of CAM's holistic, individualized and interdisciplinary approaches would greatly benefit infertility patients.

Planning for complementarity : an examination of the role and opportunities of first-tier and second-tier cities along the high-speed rail network in California.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-03-01

The coming of California High-Speed Rail (HSR) offers opportunities for positive urban transformations in both first-tier and second-tier cities. The research in this report explores the different but complementary roles that first-tier and second-ti...

Roles and Responsibilities of International Student Advisors and Counselors in the United States.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dalili, Farid

The separate but complementary roles of the international student advisor and counselor are discussed, and foreign student personnel services are addressed. It is suggested that the increasing number of international students indicates a need for a full-time foreign student advisor. The job is complicated by the different cultures and different…

Are Psychological and Ecological Well-Being Compatible? The Role of Values, Mindfulness, and Lifestyle

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Kirk Warren; Kasser, Tim

2005-01-01

Happiness and ecological well-being are often portrayed as conflictual pursuits, but they may actually be complementary. In samples of adolescents (Study 1) and adults (Study 2), we tested this proposition and examined the role of three factors in promoting both subjective well-being (SWB) and ecologically responsible behavior (ERB). In both…

Another Piece of the "Silence in PBL" Puzzle: Students' Explanations of Dominance and Quietness as Complementary Group Roles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skinner, Vicki J.; Braunack-Mayer, Annette; Winning, Tracey A.

2016-01-01

A problem-based learning (PBL) assumption is that silence is incompatible with collaborative learning. Although sociocultural studies have reinterpreted silence as collaborative, we must understand how silence occurs in PBL groups. This essay presents students' explanations of dominance, leadership, and silence as PBL group roles. An ethnographic…

The Role of Salivary Neuropeptides in Pediatrics: Potential Biomarkers for Integrated Therapies.

PubMed

Gershan, Lynn A; Durham, Paul L; Skidmore, Jaci; Shimizu, Joshua; Cady, Ryan J; Sheng, Xiaoming; Maloney, Christopher G

2015-08-01

Objective measures of symptom response to integrated complementary approaches in pediatrics are evolving. The purpose of this study was to document the concentration range of salivary neuropeptides in healthy controls and in children with cancer, to explore correlations between serum and salivary measurements for Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide (CGRP) and Vasoactive Intestinal Polypeptide (VIP), and to determine whether there is a change in these salivary neuropeptide levels in response to integrated mind-body therapies. A non-randomized pragmatic study with three phases: Phase 1- Healthy Control Saliva-10 healthy controls provided saliva samples; Phase 2- Cancer Diagnosis Serum-Saliva- 16 mixed-type cancer patients provided blood and saliva samples; Phase 3- Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) Saliva Intervention- 12 patients with ALL provided pre- and post-complementary intervention saliva samples. 20-minutes of structured touch or scripted relaxation breathing were administered to patients in Phase 3; Phase 1 and 2 patients did not receive this intervention. cortisol, CGRP, VIP, State/Trait Anxiety Scale, visual analogue scale, vital signs. Salivary CGRP and VIP were similar for children in Phases 1 and 2. There was a correlation between serum and salivary VIP in the mixed cancer group, though not between serum and salivary CGRP. In Phase 3 children, following a complementary intervention, salivary CGRP, heart rate, and systolic blood pressure decreased. These data provide evidence of a decrease in sympathetic output after integrative/complementary therapy intervention in children with cancer. The study underscores the potential role of salivary neuropeptides as non-invasive biomarkers for integrated therapies in pediatrics.

The Role of Salivary Neuropeptides in Pediatrics: Potential Biomarkers for Integrated Therapies

PubMed Central

Gershan, Lynn A; Durham, Paul L; Skidmore, Jaci; Shimizu, Joshua; Cady, Ryan J; Sheng, Xiaoming; Maloney, Christopher G

2015-01-01

Introduction Objective measures of symptom response to integrated complementary approaches in pediatrics are evolving. The purpose of this study was to document the concentration range of salivary neuropeptides in healthy controls and in children with cancer, to explore correlations between serum and salivary measurements for Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide (CGRP) and Vasoactive Intestinal Polypeptide (VIP), and to determine whether there is a change in these salivary neuropeptide levels in response to integrated mind-body therapies. Methods A non-randomized pragmatic study with three phases: Phase 1- Healthy Control Saliva-10 healthy controls provided saliva samples; Phase 2- Cancer Diagnosis Serum-Saliva- 16 mixed-type cancer patients provided blood and saliva samples; Phase 3- Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) Saliva Intervention- 12 patients with ALL provided pre- and post-complementary intervention saliva samples. Interventions 20-minutes of structured touch or scripted relaxation breathing were administered to patients in Phase 3; Phase 1 and 2 patients did not receive this intervention. Outcome Measures cortisol, CGRP, VIP, State/Trait Anxiety Scale, visual analogue scale, vital signs. Results Salivary CGRP and VIP were similar for children in Phases 1 and 2. There was a correlation between serum and salivary VIP in the mixed cancer group, though not between serum and salivary CGRP. In Phase 3 children, following a complementary intervention, salivary CGRP, heart rate, and systolic blood pressure decreased. Discussion/Conclusions These data provide evidence of a decrease in sympathetic output after integrative/complementary therapy intervention in children with cancer. The study underscores the potential role of salivary neuropeptides as non-invasive biomarkers for integrated therapies in pediatrics. PMID:26388958

Scientific misconduct and research integrity for the bench scientist.

PubMed

Pascal, C B

2000-09-01

This paper describes the role of the Office of Research Integrity (ORI), a component of the Public Health Service (PHS), in defining scientific misconduct in research supported with PHS funds and in establishing standards for responding to allegations of misconduct. The principal methods by which ORI exercises its responsibilities in this area are defining what types of behaviors undertaken by research investigators constitute misconduct, overseeing institutional efforts to investigate and report misconduct, and recommending to the Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH) PHS administrative actions when misconduct is identified. ORI also takes affirmative steps to promote research integrity through education, training, and other initiatives. The role of the research institution in responding to misconduct and promoting research integrity is complementary and overlapping with ORI's efforts but, as the employer of research investigators and front-line manager of the research, the institution has a greater opportunity to promote the highest standards of integrity in the day-to-day conduct of research. Finally, legal precedent established through civil litigation has played an important role in defining the standards that apply in determining when a breach of research integrity has occurred.

Induced conductivity in sol-gel ZnO films by passivation or elimination of Zn vacancies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winarski, D. J.; Anwand, W.; Wagner, A.; Saadatkia, P.; Selim, F. A.; Allen, M.; Wenner, B.; Leedy, K.; Allen, J.; Tetlak, S.; Look, D. C.

2016-09-01

Undoped and Ga- and Al- doped ZnO films were synthesized using sol-gel and spin coating methods and characterized by X-ray diffraction, high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical spectroscopy and Hall-effect measurements. SEM measurements reveal an average grain size of 20 nm and distinct individual layer structure. Measurable conductivity was not detected in the unprocessed films; however, annealing in hydrogen or zinc environment induced significant conductivity (˜10-2 Ω .cm) in most films. Positron annihilation spectroscopy measurements provided strong evidence that the significant enhancement in conductivity was due to hydrogen passivation of Zn vacancy related defects or elimination of Zn vacancies by Zn interstitials which suppress their role as deep acceptors. Hydrogen passivation of cation vacancies is shown to play an important role in tuning the electrical conductivity of ZnO, similar to its role in passivation of defects at the Si/SiO2 interface that has been essential for the successful development of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) devices. By comparison with hydrogen effect on other oxides, we suggest that hydrogen may play a universal role in oxides passivating cation vacancies and modifying their electronic properties.

Using Religious Songs as an Integrative and Complementary Therapy for the Management of Psychological Symptoms Among African American Cancer Survivors.

PubMed

Hamilton, Jill B; Worthy, Valarie C; Kurtz, Melissa J; Cudjoe, Joycelyn; Johnstone, Peter A

Acupuncture, acupressure, yoga, meditation, cognitive-behavioral techniques, and, to a lesser extent, music are among those integrative and complementary therapies with known beneficial effects on psychological symptoms. However, noticeably absent from this research is the use of religious song as a type of integrative and complementary therapy. The aim of this study was to explore how religious songs were used to alleviate psychological symptoms associated with a cancer diagnosis among a sample of older African American cancer survivors. Thirty-one older African American cancer survivors residing in the Southeastern US participated in a qualitative descriptive study involving criterion sampling, open-ended semistructured interviews, and qualitative content analysis. Participants used religious songs in response to feeling depressed, low, or sad; feeling weak and seeking strength to endure treatment; and feeling worried, anxious, or fearful. Religious songs were also a source of support and hope. Types of religious songs included instructive, thanksgiving and praise, memory of forefathers, communication with God, and life after death. Religious songs appear to be an important form of religious expression in this population and used to manage psychological symptoms. Integrative and complementary oncology therapy has generally focused on yoga, meditation, acupuncture, and cognitive-behavioral techniques. However, religious songs are an important strategy used among older African American cancer patients. Religious songs can be readily integrated into cancer care. The incorporation of religious songs into spiritually based support groups and other integrative and complementary therapies might enhance health outcomes among this medically underserved cancer population.

The role of mind-wandering in measurements of general aptitude.

PubMed

Mrazek, Michael D; Smallwood, Jonathan; Franklin, Michael S; Chin, Jason M; Baird, Benjamin; Schooler, Jonathan W

2012-11-01

Tests of working memory capacity (WMC) and fluid intelligence (gF) are thought to capture variability in a crucial cognitive capacity that is broadly predictive of success, yet pinpointing the exact nature of this capacity is an area of ongoing controversy. We propose that mind-wandering is associated with performance on tests of WMC and gF, thereby partially explaining both the reliable correlations between these tests and their broad predictive utility. Existing evidence indicates that both WMC and gF are correlated with performance on tasks of attention, yet more decisive evidence requires an assessment of the role of attention and, in particular, mind-wandering during performance of these tests. Four studies employing complementary methodological designs embedded thought sampling into tests of general aptitude and determined that mind-wandering was consistently associated with worse performance on these measures. Collectively, these studies implicate the capacity to avoid mind-wandering during demanding tasks as a potentially important source of success on measures of general aptitude, while also raising important questions about whether the previously documented relationship between WMC and mind-wandering can be exclusively attributed to executive failures preceding mind-wandering (McVay & Kane, 2010b). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).

Facile synthesis of iron oxides/reduced graphene oxide composites: application for electromagnetic wave absorption at high temperature.

PubMed

Zhang, Lili; Yu, Xinxin; Hu, Hongrui; Li, Yang; Wu, Mingzai; Wang, Zhongzhu; Li, Guang; Sun, Zhaoqi; Chen, Changle

2015-03-19

Iron oxides/reduced graphene oxide composites were synthesized by facile thermochemical reactions of graphite oxide and FeSO4 · 7H2O. By adjusting reaction temperature, α-Fe2O3/reduced graphene oxide and Fe3O4/reduced graphene oxide composites can be obtained conveniently. Graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide sheets were demonstrated to regulate the phase transition from α-Fe2O3 to Fe3O4 via γ-Fe2O3, which was reported for the first time. The hydroxyl groups attached on the graphene oxide sheets and H2 gas generated during the annealing of graphene oxide are believed to play an important role during these phase transformations. These samples showed good electromagnetic wave absorption performance due to their electromagnetic complementary effect. These samples possess much better electromagnetic wave absorption properties than the mixture of separately prepared Fe3O4 with rGO, suggesting the crucial role of synthetic method in determining the product properties. Also, these samples perform much better than commercial absorbers. Most importantly, the great stability of these composites is highly advantageous for applications as electromagnetic wave absorption materials at high temperatures.

Facile synthesis of iron oxides/reduced graphene oxide composites: application for electromagnetic wave absorption at high temperature

PubMed Central

Zhang, Lili; Yu, Xinxin; Hu, Hongrui; Li, Yang; Wu, Mingzai; Wang, Zhongzhu; Li, Guang; Sun, Zhaoqi; Chen, Changle

2015-01-01

Iron oxides/reduced graphene oxide composites were synthesized by facile thermochemical reactions of graphite oxide and FeSO4·7H2O. By adjusting reaction temperature, α-Fe2O3/reduced graphene oxide and Fe3O4/reduced graphene oxide composites can be obtained conveniently. Graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide sheets were demonstrated to regulate the phase transition from α-Fe2O3 to Fe3O4 via γ-Fe2O3, which was reported for the first time. The hydroxyl groups attached on the graphene oxide sheets and H2 gas generated during the annealing of graphene oxide are believed to play an important role during these phase transformations. These samples showed good electromagnetic wave absorption performance due to their electromagnetic complementary effect. These samples possess much better electromagnetic wave absorption properties than the mixture of separately prepared Fe3O4 with rGO, suggesting the crucial role of synthetic method in determining the product properties. Also, these samples perform much better than commercial absorbers. Most importantly, the great stability of these composites is highly advantageous for applications as electromagnetic wave absorption materials at high temperatures. PMID:25788158

Women's motivation, perception and experience of complementary and alternative medicine in pregnancy: A meta-synthesis.

PubMed

Bowman, Rebekah L; Davis, Deborah L; Ferguson, Sally; Taylor, Jan

2018-04-01

complementary and Alternative Medicine use during pregnancy is popular in many countries, including Australia. There is currently little evidence to support this practice, which raises the question of women's motivation for use of these therapies and the experiences they encounter. this study aims to explore the perceptions, motivations and experiences of pregnant women with regard to their use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine during pregnancy. a systemic review and meta-synthesis of the available research was conducted. Five databases were explored - CINAHL Plus, Medline, PubMed, AMED and Web of Science using the search terms complementary and alternative medicine; pregnancy; and pregnant. Articles included in this meta-synthesis were screened using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses tool. ten initial themes were drawn from the six studies. These ten themes were summarised by three cluster themes. The results suggest that women are using Complementary and Alternative Medicine in their pregnancy as a means of supporting their sense of self-determination, to pursue a natural and safe childbirth, and because they experience a close affiliation with the philosophical underpinnings of Complementary and Alternative Medicine as an alternative to the biomedical model. these findings are important to practitioners, policy makers, governing bodies and researchers, providing insight into the motivations for Complementary and Alternative Medicine use by women in pregnancy. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Recent Advances in Aptamers Targeting Immune System.

PubMed

Hu, Piao-Ping

2017-02-01

The immune system plays important role in protecting the organism by recognizing non-self molecules from pathogen such as bacteria, parasitic worms, and viruses. When the balance of the host defense system is disturbed, immunodeficiency, autoimmunity, and inflammation occur. Nucleic acid aptamers are short single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) or RNA ligands that interact with complementary molecules with high specificity and affinity. Aptamers that target the molecules involved in immune system to modulate their function have great potential to be explored as new diagnostic and therapeutic agents for immune disorders. This review summarizes recent advances in the development of aptamers targeting immune system. The selection of aptamers with superior chemical and biological characteristics will facilitate their application in the diagnosis and treatment of immune disorders.

Genome-nuclear lamina interactions: from cell populations to single cells.

PubMed

Yáñez-Cuna, J Omar; van Steensel, Bas

2017-04-01

Lamina-associated domains (LADs) are large genomic regions that interact with the nuclear lamina (NL) and help to guide the spatial folding of chromosomes in the interphase nucleus. LADs have been linked to gene repression and other functions. Recent studies have begun to uncover some of the molecular players that drive LAD-NL interactions. A picture emerges in which DNA sequence, chromatin components and nuclear lamina proteins play an important role. Complementary to this, imaging and single-cell genomics approaches have revealed that some LAD-NL interactions are variable from cell to cell, while others are very stable. Understanding LADs can provide a unique perspective into the general process of genome organization. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Vibrational dynamics of glass forming: 2-phenylbutan-1-ol (BEP), 2-(trifluoromethyl)phenethyl alcohol (2TFMP) and 4-(trifluoromethyl)phenethyl alcohol (4TFMP) in their thermodynamic phases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Juszyńska-Gałązka, Ewa; Zając, Wojciech; Saito, Kazuya; Yamamura, Yasuhisa; Juruś, Natalia

2018-02-01

The complex polymorphism and vibrational dynamics of three glass-forming single-phenyl-ring alcohols (with and without fluorine atoms) have been studied by complementary methods. Glass of isotropic liquid phase and cold crystallization of metastable supercooled liquid state were detected. Temperature investigations of vibrational motions show important role of hydrogen bonds in interactions between molecules. Theoretical calculations for isolated molecule, as well as dimer- and tetramer-type aggregates of non-covalently bound molecules, allow for a good description of experimental spectra. Intermolecular interactions of molecules with ortho and para positions of CF3 group in phenyl ring have a similar influence on the spectra observed.

The “Health Benefit Basket” in France

PubMed Central

Cherilova, Veneta; Paris, Valérie

2005-01-01

The French “Health Benefit Basket” is defined principally by positive lists of reimbursed goods and services; however, global budget-financed hospital-delivered services are more implicitly defined. The range of reimbursable curative care services is defined by two coexisting positive lists/fee schedules: the Classification Commune des Actes Médicaux (CCAM) and the Nomenclature Générale des Actes Professionnels (NGAP). The National Union of Health Insurance Funds has been updating these positive lists since August 2004, with the main criterion for inclusion being the proposed procedure’s effectiveness. This is assessed by the newly created High Health authority (replacing the former ANAES). In addition, complementary health insurers are consulted in the inclusion process due to their important role in French healthcare financing. PMID:16267657

Study and design on the typical plan for regional hybrid energy internet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zou, Zhenyu; Zheng, Shuai; Sha, Zhicheng

2018-04-01

The emergence of the energy internet has changed people's understanding of energy production, transmission, storage, conversion, consumption and so on. However, how to promote the development of the energy of the Internet, how to make it with the existing various types of energy entities organic integration, so that it can play an important role, we still need do more in-depth research and practice. After introducing the current situation for energy internet at home and abroad, the definition, character and motion traits of regional energy internet, this paper comprehensively studied typical scheme for regional energy internet based on Multi-energy complementary and developed the feasible suggestion key techniques and directions on development for regional energy internet.

Critical Role of Nitric Oxide-cGMP Cascade in the Formation of cAMP-Dependent Long-Term Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aonuma, Hitoshi; Mizunami, Makoto; Matsumoto, Yukihisa; Unoki, Sae

2006-01-01

Cyclic AMP pathway plays an essential role in formation of long-term memory (LTM). In some species, the nitric oxide (NO)-cyclic GMP pathway has been found to act in parallel and complementary to the cAMP pathway for LTM formation. Here we describe a new role of the NO-cGMP pathway, namely, stimulation of the cAMP pathway to induce LTM. We have…

Tom7 modulates the dynamics of the mitochondrial outer membrane translocase and plays a pathway-related role in protein import.

PubMed Central

Hönlinger, A; Bömer, U; Alconada, A; Eckerskorn, C; Lottspeich, F; Dietmeier, K; Pfanner, N

1996-01-01

The preprotein translocase of the outer mitochondrial membrane is a multi-subunit complex with receptors and a general import pore. We report the molecular identification of Tom7, a small subunit of the translocase that behaves as an integral membrane protein. The deletion of TOM7 inhibited the mitochondrial import of the outer membrane protein porin, whereas the import of preproteins destined for the mitochondrial interior was impaired only slightly. However, protein import into the mitochondrial interior was strongly inhibited when it occurred in two steps: preprotein accumulation at the outer membrane in the absence of a membrane potential and subsequent further import after the re-establishment of a membrane potential. The delay of protein import into tom7delta mitochondria seemed to occur after the binding of preproteins to the outer membrane receptor sites. A lack of Tom7 stabilized the interaction between the receptors Tom20 and Tom22 and the import pore component Tom40. This indicated that Tom7 exerts a destabilizing effect on part of the outer membrane translocase, whereas Tom6 stabilizes the interaction between the receptors and the import pore. Synthetic growth defects of the double mutants tom7delta tom20delta and tom7delta tom6delta provided genetic evidence for the functional relationship of Tom7 with Tom20 and Tom6. These results suggest that (i) Tom7 plays a role in sorting and accumulation of the preproteins at the outer membrane, and (ii) Tom7 and Tom6 perform complementary functions in modulating the dynamics of the outer membrane translocase. Images PMID:8641278

Food security and women's roles in Moroccan Berber (Amazigh) society today.

PubMed

Belahsen, Rekia; Naciri, Kaoutar; El Ibrahimi, Abdennacer

2017-11-01

Traditionally, the Berber diet was part of a semiautarkic economy. The suitability of the diet to the regional ecosystem has guaranteed food security for the Berber tribes of Morocco and other countries of North Africa. As part of a patriarchal model, Berber dietary patterns are historically embedded in a social system where women's and men's roles are complementary at all stages of food production, processing, and conservation. Women have played a dominant role in the conservation of Berber dietary patterns through the preservation of biodiverse seeds and local varieties, the transmission of the Berber language through generations, and the sharing of knowledge on food, medicinal plants, and cultural practices related to diet and food security. Political, social, demographic, economic, and cultural factors have affected the Berber dietary model and the role of women in its preservation. The shift from a semiautarkic traditional model to a model within a market economy has led to food importation, the erosion of culinary components such as wild edible plants and dietary homogenization. Despite these changes and the associated nutrition transition, the Berber diet remains a cultural heritage because of its rich diversity. Berber women play a crucial role in the preservation and sustainability of Berber culinary heritage and food security. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The role of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in Germany - a focus group study of GPs.

PubMed

Joos, Stefanie; Musselmann, Berthold; Miksch, Antje; Rosemann, Thomas; Szecsenyi, Joachim

2008-06-12

There has been a marked increase in the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in recent years worldwide. In Germany, apart from 'Heilpraktiker' (= state-licensed, non-medical CAM practitioners), some general practitioners (GPs) provide CAM in their practices. This paper aims to explore the attitudes of GPs about the role of CAM in Germany, in relation to the healthcare system, quality of care, medical education and research. Furthermore, experiences of GPs integrating CAM in their daily practice were explored. Using a qualitative methodological approach 3 focus groups with a convenience sample of 17 GPs were conducted. The discussions were transcribed verbatim and analysed using qualitative content analysis. The majority of the participating GPs had integrated one or more CAM therapies into their every-day practice. Four key themes were identified based on the topics covered in the focus groups: the role of CAM within the German healthcare system, quality of care, education and research. Within the theme 'role of CAM within the healthcare system' there were five categories: integration of CAM, CAM in the Statutory Health Insurance, modernisation of the Statutory Health Insurance Act, individual healthcare services and 'Heilpraktiker'. Regarding quality of care there were two broad groups of GPs: those who thought patients would benefit from standardizing CAM and those who feared that quality control would interfere with the individual approach of CAM. The main issues identified relating to research and education were the need for the development of alternative research strategies and the low quality of existing CAM education respectively. The majority of the participating GPs considered CAM as a reasonable complementary approach within primary care. The study increased our understanding of GPs attitudes about the role of CAM within the German healthcare system and the use of 'Heilpraktiker' as a competing CAM-provider. It seems to be a need for increased funding for research, better education and remuneration by the Statutory Health Insurance in order to improve access to 'Integrative medicine' in Germany.

Imaging of congenital heart disease in adults: choice of modalities.

PubMed

Orwat, Stefan; Diller, Gerhard-Paul; Baumgartner, Helmut

2014-01-01

Major advances in noninvasive imaging of adult congenital heart disease have been accomplished. These tools play now a key role in comprehensive diagnostic work-up, decision for intervention, evaluation for the suitability of specific therapeutic options, monitoring of interventions and regular follow-up. Besides echocardiography, magnetic resonance (CMR) and computed tomography (CT) have gained particular importance. The choice of imaging modality has thus become a critical issue. This review summarizes strengths and limitations of the different imaging modalities and how they may be used in a complementary fashion. Echocardiography obviously remains the workhorse of imaging routinely used in all patients. However, in complex disease and after surgery echocardiography alone frequently remains insufficient. CMR is particularly useful in this setting and allows reproducible and accurate quantification of ventricular function and comprehensive assessment of cardiac anatomy, aorta, pulmonary arteries and venous return including complex flow measurements. CT is preferred when CMR is contraindicated, when superior spatial resolution is required or when "metallic" artefacts limit CMR imaging. In conclusion, the use of currently available imaging modalities in adult congenital heart disease needs to be complementary. Echocardiography remains the basis tool, CMR and CT should be added considering specific open questions and the ability to answer them, availability and economic issues.

Role of Radiologic Imaging in Genetic and Acquired Neuromuscular Disorders.

PubMed

Ortolan, Paolo; Zanato, Riccardo; Coran, Alessandro; Beltrame, Valeria; Stramare, Roberto

2015-03-11

Great technologic and clinical progress have been made in the last two decades in identifying genetic defects of several neuromuscular diseases, as Spinal Muscular Atrophy, genetic muscular dystrophies and other genetic myopathies. The diagnosis is usually challenging, due to great variability in genetic abnormalities and clinical phenotypes and the poor specificity of complementary analyses, i.e., serum creatine kinase (CK) and electrophysiology. Muscle biopsy represents the gold standard for the diagnosis of genetic neuromuscular diseases, but clinical imaging of muscle tissue is an important diagnostic tool to identify and quantifyies muscle damage. Radiologic imaging is, indeed, increasingly used as a diagnostic tool to describe patterns and the extent of muscle involvement, thanks to modern techniques that enable to definethe definition of degrees of muscle atrophy and changes in connective tissue. They usually grade the severity of the disease process with greater accuracy than clinical scores. Clinical imaging is more than complementary to perform muscle biopsy, especially as ultrasound scans are often mandatory to identify the muscle to be biopsied. We will here detail and provideWe will herein provide detailed examples of the radiologic methods that can be used in genetic and acquired neuromuscular disorders, stressing pros and cons. Muscle Imaging, MRI, CT, genetic muscle disorders, myopathies, dystrophies.

Role of Radiologic Imaging in Genetic and Acquired Neuromuscular Disorders

PubMed Central

Zanato, Riccardo; Coran, Alessandro; Beltrame, Valeria; Stramare, Roberto

2015-01-01

Great technologic and clinical progress have been made in the last two decades in identifying genetic defects of several neuromuscular diseases, as Spinal Muscular Atrophy, genetic muscular dystrophies and other genetic myopathies. The diagnosis is usually challenging, due to great variability in genetic abnormalities and clinical phenotypes and the poor specificity of complementary analyses, i.e., serum creatine kinase (CK) and electrophysiology. Muscle biopsy represents the gold standard for the diagnosis of genetic neuromuscular diseases, but clinical imaging of muscle tissue is an important diagnostic tool to identify and quantifyies muscle damage. Radiologic imaging is, indeed, increasingly used as a diagnostic tool to describe patterns and the extent of muscle involvement, thanks to modern techniques that enable to definethe definition of degrees of muscle atrophy and changes in connective tissue. They usually grade the severity of the disease process with greater accuracy than clinical scores. Clinical imaging is more than complementary to perform muscle biopsy, especially as ultrasound scans are often mandatory to identify the muscle to be biopsied. We will here detail and provideWe will herein provide detailed examples of the radiologic methods that can be used in genetic and acquired neuromuscular disorders, stressing pros and cons. Key Words: Muscle Imaging, MRI, CT, genetic muscle disorders, myopathies, dystrophies PMID:26913153

The Role of the Family in Heritage Language Use and Learning: Impact on Heritage Language Policies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Melo-Pfeifer, Sílvia

2015-01-01

We analyze the way children and youngsters perceive the role of family in the use and acquisition of the heritage language (HL), through two complementary means: drawings produced by children and students participating in a discussion forum. Our study reveals: (1) the convergence of perceptions that children and adolescents have about family…

Complementary and alternative medicine: Interaction and communication between midwives and women.

PubMed

Hall, Helen G; Griffiths, Debra; McKenna, Lisa G

2015-06-01

Many pregnant women use complementary and alternative medicine. Although midwives are often supportive, how they communicate with women about the safe use of these therapies has received limited research attention. The aim of this study was to explore how midwives interact with women regarding use of complementary and alternative medicine during pregnancy. We utilised grounded theory methodology to collect and analyse data. Twenty-five midwives who worked in metropolitan hospitals situated in Melbourne, Australia, participated in the study. Data were collected from semi structured interviews and non-participant observations, over an 18-month period. How midwives communicate about complementary and alternative medicine is closely associated with the meaning they construct around the woman's role in decisionmaking. Most aim to work in a manner consistent with the midwifery partnership model and share the responsibility for decisions regarding complementary and alternative medicine. However, although various therapies were commonly discussed, usually the pregnant woman initiated the dialogue. A number of contextual conditions such as the biomedical discourse, lack of knowledge, language barriers and workplace constraints, limited communication in some situations. Midwives often interact with women interested in using CAM. Most value the woman's autonomy and aim to work in partnership. However, various contextual conditions restrain overt CAM communication in clinical practice. Copyright © 2014 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exploiting science? A systematic analysis of complementary and alternative medicine clinic websites' marketing of stem cell therapies.

PubMed

Murdoch, Blake; Zarzeczny, Amy; Caulfield, Timothy

2018-02-28

To identify the frequency and qualitative characteristics of stem cell-related marketing claims made on websites of clinics featuring common types of complementary and alternative medicine practitioners. The involvement of complementary and alternative medicine practitioners in the marketing of stem cell therapies and stem cell-related interventions is understudied. This research explores the extent to which they are involved and collaborate with medical professionals. This knowledge will help with identifying and evaluating potential policy responses to this growing market. Systematic website analysis. Global. US and English-language bias due to methodology. Representations made on clinic websites in relation to practitioner types, stem cell therapies and their targets, stem cell-related interventions. Statements about stem cell therapies relating to evidence of inefficacy, limited evidence of efficacy, general procedural risks, risks specific to the mode of therapy, regulatory status, experimental or unproven nature of therapy. Use of hype language (eg, language that exaggerates potential benefits). 243 websites offered stem cell therapies. Many websites advertised stem cell transplantation from multiple sources, such as adipose-derived (112), bone marrow-derived (100), blood-derived (28), umbilical cord-derived (26) and others. Plant stem cell-based treatments and products (20) were also advertised. Purposes for and targets of treatment included pain, physical injury, a wide range of diseases and illnesses, cosmetic concerns, non-cosmetic ageing, sexual enhancement and others. Medical doctors (130), chiropractors (53) and naturopaths (44) commonly work in the clinics we found to be offering stem cell therapies. Few clinic websites advertising stem cell therapies included important additional information, including statements about evidence of inefficacy (present on only 12.76% of websites), statements about limited evidence of efficacy (18.93%), statements of general risks (24.69%), statements of risks specific to the mode(s) of therapy (5.76%), statements as to the regulatory status of the therapies (30.86%) and statements that the therapy is experimental or unproven (33.33%). Hype language was noted (31.69%). Stem cell therapies and related interventions are marketed for a wide breadth of conditions and are being offered by complementary and alternative practitioners, often in conjunction with medical doctors. Consumer protection and truth-in-advertising regulation could play important roles in addressing misleading marketing practices in this area. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Perceptions of interprofessional education and practice within a complementary and alternative medicine institution.

PubMed

Kadar, Gena E; Vosko, Andrew; Sackett, Michael; Thompson, H Garrett Rush

2015-01-01

A survey of the constituents of a complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) institution was conducted to identify perceptions of interprofessional education (IPE) and practice (IPP). A 22 question survey was developed and administered to: chiropractic students, acupuncture and oriental medicine students, faculty and alumni of both professions, staff and administrators. The majority of the 321 respondents demonstrated positive perceptions of IPE and IPP, however many reported a lack of understanding of the distinct roles of select healthcare professions. The study also suggested that the campus community is not homogenous in its understanding of CAM or allopathic professions, or is it homogenous in its understanding of IPE and IPP. While the overall positive attitudes toward IPE and IPP imply a willingness to improve collaboration between these groups, the lack of understanding of profession-specific roles must be addressed to support effective implementation of IPE.

Rewiring monocyte glucose metabolism via C-type lectin signaling protects against disseminated candidiasis.

PubMed

Domínguez-Andrés, Jorge; Arts, Rob J W; Ter Horst, Rob; Gresnigt, Mark S; Smeekens, Sanne P; Ratter, Jacqueline M; Lachmandas, Ekta; Boutens, Lily; van de Veerdonk, Frank L; Joosten, Leo A B; Notebaart, Richard A; Ardavín, Carlos; Netea, Mihai G

2017-09-01

Monocytes are innate immune cells that play a pivotal role in antifungal immunity, but little is known regarding the cellular metabolic events that regulate their function during infection. Using complementary transcriptomic and immunological studies in human primary monocytes, we show that activation of monocytes by Candida albicans yeast and hyphae was accompanied by metabolic rewiring induced through C-type lectin-signaling pathways. We describe that the innate immune responses against Candida yeast are energy-demanding processes that lead to the mobilization of intracellular metabolite pools and require induction of glucose metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation and glutaminolysis, while responses to hyphae primarily rely on glycolysis. Experimental models of systemic candidiasis models validated a central role for glucose metabolism in anti-Candida immunity, as the impairment of glycolysis led to increased susceptibility in mice. Collectively, these data highlight the importance of understanding the complex network of metabolic responses triggered during infections, and unveil new potential targets for therapeutic approaches against fungal diseases.

Rewiring monocyte glucose metabolism via C-type lectin signaling protects against disseminated candidiasis

PubMed Central

Smeekens, Sanne P.; Lachmandas, Ekta; Boutens, Lily; van de Veerdonk, Frank L.; Joosten, Leo A. B.; Ardavín, Carlos; Netea, Mihai G.

2017-01-01

Monocytes are innate immune cells that play a pivotal role in antifungal immunity, but little is known regarding the cellular metabolic events that regulate their function during infection. Using complementary transcriptomic and immunological studies in human primary monocytes, we show that activation of monocytes by Candida albicans yeast and hyphae was accompanied by metabolic rewiring induced through C-type lectin-signaling pathways. We describe that the innate immune responses against Candida yeast are energy-demanding processes that lead to the mobilization of intracellular metabolite pools and require induction of glucose metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation and glutaminolysis, while responses to hyphae primarily rely on glycolysis. Experimental models of systemic candidiasis models validated a central role for glucose metabolism in anti-Candida immunity, as the impairment of glycolysis led to increased susceptibility in mice. Collectively, these data highlight the importance of understanding the complex network of metabolic responses triggered during infections, and unveil new potential targets for therapeutic approaches against fungal diseases. PMID:28922415

MiR-17-92 cluster and immunity.

PubMed

Kuo, George; Wu, Chao-Yi; Yang, Huang-Yu

2018-05-29

MicroRNAs (MiR, MiRNA) are small single-stranded non-coding RNAs that play an important role in the regulation of gene expression. MircoRNAs exert their effect by binding to complementary nucleotide sequences of the targeted messenger RNA, thus forming an RNA-induced silencing complex. The mircoRNA-17-92 cluster encoded by the miR-17-92 host gene is first found in malignant B-cell lymphoma. Recent research identifies the miR-17-92 cluster as a crucial player in the development of the immune system, the heart, the lung, and oncogenic events. In light of the miR-17-92 cluster's increasing role in regulating the immune system, our review will discuss the latest knowledge regarding its involvement in cells of both innate and adaptive immunity, including B cells, subsets of T cells such as Th1, Th2, T follicular helper cells, regulatory T cells, monocytes/macrophages, NK cells, and dendritic cells, and the possible targets that are regulated by its members. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Complementary and alternative medicine use in children with thalassaemia.

PubMed

Efe, Emine; Işler, Ayşegül; Sarvan, Süreyya; Başer, Hayriye; Yeşilipek, Akif

2013-03-01

The aims of this study were to: (1) determine the types of complementary and alternative medicine use among children with thalassaemia as reported by parents and (2) describe sociodemographic and medical factors associated with the use of such treatments in families residing in southern Turkey. Thalassaemia is one of the most common human genetic diseases. Despite the therapeutic efforts, patients will encounter a variety of physical and psychological problems. Therefore, the use of complementary and alternative medicines among children thalassaemia is becoming increasingly popular. This is a descriptive study of complementary and alternative medicine. This study was conducted in the Hematology Outpatient Clinic at Akdeniz University Hospital and in the Thalassemia Centre at Ministry of Health Antalya Education and Research Hospital, Antalya, Turkey, between January 2010-December 2010. Parents of 97 paediatric patients, among 125 parents who applied to the haematology outpatient clinic and thalassaemia centre between these dates, agreed to take part in the study with whom contact could be made were included. Data were collected by using a questionnaire. The proportion of parents who reported using one or more of the complementary and alternative medicine methods was 82·5%. Of these parents, 61·8% were using prayer/spiritual practice, 47·4% were using nutritional supplements and 35·1% were using animal materials. It was determined that a significant portion of the parents using complementary and alternative medicine use it to treat their children's health problems, they were informed about complementary and alternative medicine by their paediatricians and family elders, and they have discussed the use of complementary and alternative medicine with healthcare professionals. To sustain medical treatment and prognosis of thalassaemia, it is important for nurses to consult with their patients and parents regarding the use and potential risks of some complementary and alternative medicine. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

The role of care in nutrition programmes: current research and a research agenda.

PubMed

Engle, P L; Bentley, M; Pelto, G

2000-02-01

The importance of cultural and behavioural factors in children's nutrition, particularly with regard to feeding, has been recognized only recently. The combination of evidence regarding the importance of caregiving behaviour for good nutrition, and improved strategies for measuring behaviour have led to a renewed interest in care. The UNICEF conceptual framework suggests that care, in addition to food security and health care services, are critical for children's survival, growth and development. The present paper focuses on the care practice of complementary feeding, specifically behavioural factors such as parental interaction patterns, feeding style and adaptation of feeding to the child's motor abilities (self-feeding or feeding by others). Three kinds of feeding styles (Birch & Fisher, 1995) are identified: controlling; laissez-faire; responsive. Probable effects of each feeding style on nutrient intake are described. A number of studies of feeding behaviour have suggested that the laissez-faire style is most frequently observed among families and communities with a higher prevalence of malnourished children. Nutrition interventions that have been able to show significant effects on outcomes, such as the Hearth Model in Vietnam (Sternin et al. 1997), have usually incorporated behavioural components in their intervention. At this time, there have been no tests of the efficacy of behavioural interventions to improve feeding practices. Research is needed to understand behavioural factors in complementary feeding, and to identify and test intervention strategies designed to improve nutrient intake of young children. Finally, the paper concludes with a discussion of how nutrition programmes might change if care were incorporated.

Does Sleep Improve Your Grammar? Preferential Consolidation of Arbitrary Components of New Linguistic Knowledge

PubMed Central

Mirković, Jelena; Gaskell, M. Gareth

2016-01-01

We examined the role of sleep-related memory consolidation processes in learning new form-meaning mappings. Specifically, we examined a Complementary Learning Systems account, which implies that sleep-related consolidation should be more beneficial for new hippocampally dependent arbitrary mappings (e.g. new vocabulary items) relative to new systematic mappings (e.g. grammatical regularities), which can be better encoded neocortically. The hypothesis was tested using a novel language with an artificial grammatical gender system. Stem-referent mappings implemented arbitrary aspects of the new language, and determiner/suffix+natural gender mappings implemented systematic aspects (e.g. tib scoiffesh + ballerina, tib mofeem + bride; ked jorool + cowboy, ked heefaff + priest). Importantly, the determiner-gender and the suffix-gender mappings varied in complexity and salience, thus providing a range of opportunities to detect beneficial effects of sleep for this type of mapping. Participants were trained on the new language using a word-picture matching task, and were tested after a 2-hour delay which included sleep or wakefulness. Participants in the sleep group outperformed participants in the wake group on tests assessing memory for the arbitrary aspects of the new mappings (individual vocabulary items), whereas we saw no evidence of a sleep benefit in any of the tests assessing memory for the systematic aspects of the new mappings: Participants in both groups extracted the salient determiner-natural gender mapping, but not the more complex suffix-natural gender mapping. The data support the predictions of the complementary systems account and highlight the importance of the arbitrariness/systematicity dimension in the consolidation process for declarative memories. PMID:27046022

[Guidelines for complementary feeding in healthy infants].

PubMed

Romero-Velarde, Enrique; Villalpando-Carrión, Salvador; Pérez-Lizaur, Ana Berta; Iracheta-Gerez, Ma de la Luz; Alonso-Rivera, Carlos Gilberto; López-Navarrete, Gloria Elena; García-Contreras, Andrea; Ochoa-Ortiz, Erika; Zarate-Mondragón, Flora; López-Pérez, Gerardo Tiburcio; Chávez-Palencia, Clío; Guajardo-Jáquez, Manuel; Vázquez-Ortiz, Salvador; Pinzón-Navarro, Beatriz Adriana; Torres-Duarte, Karely Noemy; Vidal-Guzmán, José Domingo; Michel-Gómez, Pedro Luis; López-Contreras, Iris Nallely; Arroyo-Cruz, Liliana Verenice; Almada-Velasco, Pamela; Saltigeral-Simental, Patricia; Ríos-Aguirre, Alejandro; Domínguez-Pineda, Lorena; Rodríguez-González, Perla; Crabtree-Ramírez, Úrsula; Hernández-Rosiles, Vanessa; Pinacho-Velázquez, José Luis

A proper nutrition during the first two years of life is critical to reach the full potential of every human being; now, this period is recognized as a critical window for promoting optimal growth, development, and good health. Therefore, adequate feeding at this stage of life has an impact on health, nutritional status, growth and development of children; not only in the short term, but in the medium and long term. This paper provides recommendations on complementary feeding (CF) presented as questions or statements that are important for those who take care for children during this stage of life. For example: When to start complementary feedings: 4 or 6 months of age?; Exposure to potentially allergenic foods; Introduction of sweetened beverages; Use of artificial sweeteners and light products; Food introduction sequence; Food consistency changes according to neurological maturation; Number of days to test acceptance and tolerance to new foods; Amounts for each meal; Inadequate complementary feeding practices; Myths and realities of complementary feeding; Developmental milestones; Practice of "Baby Led Weaning" and practice of vegetarianism. Copyright © 2016 Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez. Publicado por Masson Doyma México S.A. All rights reserved.

Uniform and Complementary Social Interaction: Distinct Pathways to Solidarity

PubMed Central

Koudenburg, Namkje; Postmes, Tom; Gordijn, Ernestine H.; van Mourik Broekman, Aafke

2015-01-01

We examine how different forms of co-action give rise to feelings of solidarity. We propose that (a) coordinated action elicits a sense of solidarity, and (b) the process through which such solidarity emerges differs for different forms of co-action. We suggest that whether solidarity within groups emerges from uniform action (e.g. synchronizing, as when people speak in unison) or from more complementary forms of action (e.g. alternating, when speaking in turns) has important consequences for the emergent position of individuals within the group. Uniform action relies on commonality, leaving little scope for individuality. In complementary action each individual makes a distinctive contribution to the group, thereby increasing a sense of personal value to the group, which should contribute to the emergence of solidarity. The predictions receive support from five studies, in which we study groups in laboratory and field settings. Results show that both complementary and uniform co-action increase a sense of solidarity compared to control conditions. However, in the complementary action condition, but not in the uniform action (or synchrony) condition, the effect on feelings of solidarity is mediated by a sense of personal value to the group. PMID:26047131

Uniform and Complementary Social Interaction: Distinct Pathways to Solidarity.

PubMed

Koudenburg, Namkje; Postmes, Tom; Gordijn, Ernestine H; van Mourik Broekman, Aafke

2015-01-01

We examine how different forms of co-action give rise to feelings of solidarity. We propose that (a) coordinated action elicits a sense of solidarity, and (b) the process through which such solidarity emerges differs for different forms of co-action. We suggest that whether solidarity within groups emerges from uniform action (e.g. synchronizing, as when people speak in unison) or from more complementary forms of action (e.g. alternating, when speaking in turns) has important consequences for the emergent position of individuals within the group. Uniform action relies on commonality, leaving little scope for individuality. In complementary action each individual makes a distinctive contribution to the group, thereby increasing a sense of personal value to the group, which should contribute to the emergence of solidarity. The predictions receive support from five studies, in which we study groups in laboratory and field settings. Results show that both complementary and uniform co-action increase a sense of solidarity compared to control conditions. However, in the complementary action condition, but not in the uniform action (or synchrony) condition, the effect on feelings of solidarity is mediated by a sense of personal value to the group.

The outcomes of complementary and alternative medicine use among pregnant and birthing women: current trends and future directions.

PubMed

Steel, Amie; Adams, Jon; Sibbritt, David; Broom, Alex

2015-06-01

Complementary and alternative medicine is used by a substantial number of pregnant women and maternity care providers are often faced with the task of ensuring women are using safe and effective treatments while respecting a woman's right to autonomous decision-making. In the era of evidence-based medicine maternity health professionals are expected to draw upon the best available evidence when making clinical decisions and providing health advice. This review will outline the current trends in research evidence associated with the outcomes of complementary and alternative medicine use amongst pregnant and birthing women as well as highlight some potential directions for future development in this important yet largely unknown topic in contemporary maternity care.

Complementary medicine for cancer patients in general practice: qualitative interviews with german general practitioners.

PubMed

Dahlhaus, Anne; Siebenhofer, Andrea; Guethlin, Corina

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate how general practitioners react when their cancer patients show interest in complementary medicine, and how their reaction is related to their knowledge in the field. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 German general practitioners. Interviewees came from 5 different federal states and varied in terms of urban/rural setting, single/joint practice, additional certifications, gender and length of professional experience. Interviews were electronically recorded, transcribed and then analysed using qualitative content analysis according to Mayring. General practitioners feel largely responsible for providing information on complementary medicine to their cancer patients. However, uncertainty and a lack of knowledge concerning CAM lead mainly to reactive responses to patients' needs, and the general practitioners base their recommendations on personal experiences and attitudes. They wish to support their cancer patients and thus, in order to keep their patients' hopes up and maintain a trusting relationship, sometimes support complementary medicine, regardless of their own convictions. Although general practitioners see themselves as an important source of information on complementary medicine for their cancer patients, they also speak of their uncertainties and lack of knowledge. General practitioners would profit from training in complementary medicine enabling them to discuss this topic with their cancer patients in a proactive, open and honest manner. © 2015 S. Karger GmbH, Freiburg

Legislation should support optimal breastfeeding practices and access to low-cost, high-quality complementary foods: Indonesia provides a case study.

PubMed

Soekarjo, Damayanti; Zehner, Elizabeth

2011-10-01

It is important to support women to exclusively breastfeed for 6 months and continue breastfeeding for 24 months and beyond. It is also necessary to provide the poor with access to affordable ways to improve the quality of complementary foods. Currently, many countries do not have the legal and policy environment necessary to support exclusive and continued breastfeeding. Legislative and policy changes are also necessary for introducing complementary food supplements, allowing them to be marketed to those who need them, and ensuring that marketing remains appropriate and in full compliance with the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. This paper aims to illustrate the above with examples from Indonesia and to identify legislative requirements for supporting breastfeeding and enabling appropriate access to high-quality complementary food supplements for children 6-24 months of age. Requirements include improved information, training, monitoring and enforcement systems for the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes; implementation and monitoring of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative; establishment of a registration category for complementary food supplements to enhance availability of high-quality, low-cost fortified products to help improve young child feeding; clear identification and marketing of these products as complementary food supplements for 6-24-month-olds so as to promote proper use and not interfere with breastfeeding. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Complementary therapy use by women's health clinic clients.

PubMed

Pettigrew, Amy C; King, Margaret O'Brien; McGee, Karen; Rudolph, Connie

2004-01-01

While it is known that more women than men use complementary and alternative therapies, it is important to look at women who are pregnant or possibly receiving hormonal therapy, as side effects and consequences of these therapies may have a significant effect on their health status. To assess women's knowledge, perceived effectiveness and use of 20 complementary and alternative therapies. Descriptive four-page questionnaire to obtain data on the use, reason for use, knowledge, perceived effectiveness, and sources of information of twenty complementary and alternative therapies. Women's Health Center at a large Midwestern hospital. A convenience sample of 250 women waiting to be seen by either a nurse midwife or obstetrician/gynecologist at an outpatient clinic. Sixty-nine percent of the participants used one or more complementary therapy. The most frequently used therapies included prayer, vitamins, massage, diet, and aromatherapy. The best predictor of use of each therapy was the participant's knowledge of the therapy. Participants generally rated the efficacy of the therapies higher than their knowledge level. Frequently cited sources of information were popular media and family. The least common information sources were nurse-midwives, drug stores, Internet, and other professional healthcare providers. Women in this setting use complementary therapies at a rate greater than the general population. The participants obtained a great deal of their information about the therapies from popular press, media, friends, and family members rather than from licensed healthcare providers.

Food Consumption Patterns and Micronutrient Density of Complementary Foods Consumed by Infants Fed Commercially Prepared Baby Foods

PubMed Central

Reidy, Kathleen C.; Bailey, Regan Lucas; Deming, Denise M.; O’Neill, Lynda; Carr, B. Thomas; Lesniauskas, Ruta; Johnson, Wendy

2018-01-01

Nutrition is critically important in the first 1000 days, and while most American babies are fed commercial baby foods, there is little or no evidence from nationally representative data to understand the implications of such consumption. We used 24-hour dietary recall data for 505 infants from The Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study to describe food consumption patterns and micronutrient density of complementary foods consumed by infants fed commercially prepared baby food fruit, vegetables, and dinners and compared with those eaten by nonconsumers of these products. Results show that consumers were significantly more likely to report eating all vegetables (excluding white potatoes, 71% vs 51%), deep yellow vegetables (42% vs 18%), and fruits (79% vs 65%) and were less likely to report eating white potatoes (10% vs 24%), dark green vegetables (4% vs 20%), and sweets (23% vs 47%) than were nonconsumers. Nutrient density of the complementary foods of consumers was greater for fiber, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, and magnesium, but lower in sodium and vitamin D. We conclude that infants fed commercially prepared baby foods were more likely to eat vegetables and fruits, and their diets were higher in several micronutrients. These findings provide important insights on complementary feeding and are useful to support the development of evidence-based infant-feeding guidelines. PMID:29706668

Epistemological challenges in contemporary Western healthcare systems exemplified by people's widespread use of complementary and alternative medicine.

PubMed

Salamonsen, Anita; Ahlzén, Rolf

2018-07-01

Modern Western public healthcare systems offer predominantly publicly subsidized healthcare traditionally based on biomedicine as the most important basis to cure persons who suffer from disorders of somatic or psychiatric nature. To which extent this epistemological position is suitable for this purpose is under scientific debate and challenged by some people's personal understandings of health and illness, their individual illness experiences and their decision-making. Current studies show decreasing levels of patient trust in Western public healthcare and a widespread patient-initiated use of complementary and alternative medicine which is often linked to unmet patient-defined healthcare needs. Patients'/complementary and alternative medicine users' understandings of their afflictions are often based on elements of biomedical knowledge as well as embodied and experience-based knowledge. We believe this points to the need for a phenomenologically and socially based understanding of health and illness. In this article, we analyze challenges in contemporary healthcare systems, exemplified by people's widespread use of complementary and alternative medicine and based on three ways of understanding and relating to unhealth: disease (the biomedical perspective), illness (the phenomenological perspective), and sickness (the social perspective). In public healthcare systems aiming at involving patients in treatment processes, acknowledging the coexistence of differing epistemologies may be of great importance to define and reach goals of treatment and compliance.

Food Consumption Patterns and Micronutrient Density of Complementary Foods Consumed by Infants Fed Commercially Prepared Baby Foods.

PubMed

Reidy, Kathleen C; Bailey, Regan Lucas; Deming, Denise M; O'Neill, Lynda; Carr, B Thomas; Lesniauskas, Ruta; Johnson, Wendy

2018-03-01

Nutrition is critically important in the first 1000 days, and while most American babies are fed commercial baby foods, there is little or no evidence from nationally representative data to understand the implications of such consumption. We used 24-hour dietary recall data for 505 infants from The Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study to describe food consumption patterns and micronutrient density of complementary foods consumed by infants fed commercially prepared baby food fruit, vegetables, and dinners and compared with those eaten by nonconsumers of these products. Results show that consumers were significantly more likely to report eating all vegetables (excluding white potatoes, 71% vs 51%), deep yellow vegetables (42% vs 18%), and fruits (79% vs 65%) and were less likely to report eating white potatoes (10% vs 24%), dark green vegetables (4% vs 20%), and sweets (23% vs 47%) than were nonconsumers. Nutrient density of the complementary foods of consumers was greater for fiber, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, and magnesium, but lower in sodium and vitamin D. We conclude that infants fed commercially prepared baby foods were more likely to eat vegetables and fruits, and their diets were higher in several micronutrients. These findings provide important insights on complementary feeding and are useful to support the development of evidence-based infant-feeding guidelines.

[The patient and medicine in contemporary Kazakhstan, attitudes towards bio-medicine and complementary medicine].

PubMed

Penkala-Gawecka, D

2001-01-01

The article discusses society's attitudes towards bio-medicine and complementary medicine in Kazakhstan around the end of the 20th century. It presents the transformation of the health-care system in independent Kazakhstan and its influence on the health situation of the population as well as public opinion on bio-medicine. Presented is a broad spectrum of various fields of complementary medicine which achieved great popularity especially during the 1990s. Among the reasons for that growing popularity appears to be public disenchantment with the collapsing state health-care system which is costly and ineffective. At the same time, an important factor is the durability of traditional beliefs of a magical type which is behind the wide use of nonconventional magic-religious practices -- spells and prayers. Overall public socio-economic malaise and a fear of the future are conducive to a general increase of interest in mystical beliefs and occult practices as well as a paranormal phenomena, and the flourishing of complementary medicine naturally fits into that scheme.

[Leeches, phytotherapy and physiotherapy in osteo-arthrosis of the knee--a geriatric case study].

PubMed

Teut, Michael; Warning, Albrecht

2008-10-01

Chronic pain is a serious problem for geriatric patients. Conventional pharmacotherapy with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or opiates is often accompanied by serious side effects. An 87-year-old woman with severe joint pain due to osteoarthritis of the knee presented with side effects from fentanyl therapy. She was subsequently treated in an inpatient setting with leeches, phytotherapy, physiotherapy and three single doses of metamizol. Prospective single-case study. Pain reduction was assessed with a numeric rating scale (0-10; 0 = minimum; 10 = maximum), mobility by walking distance, and activities of daily living by Barthel index. The association between complementary therapy and the changes observed in the patient under treatment were evaluated using cognition-based medicine. Under complementary therapy, the patient experienced a clear reduction in pain (from 8 to 3 points on the numeric rating scale); regained the ability to walk (increase in walking distance from 0 to 70 m); and showed improvements in activities of daily living (increase in Barthel index from 45 to 65). An association between pain reduction and the complementary treatment setting seems likely. The role of complementary pain therapy in geriatric patients should be evaluated systematically. 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel

Understanding support for complementary and alternative medicine in general populations: use and perceived efficacy.

PubMed

Stoneman, Paul; Sturgis, Patrick; Allum, Nick

2013-09-01

Proponents of complementary and alternative medicine argue that these treatments can be used with great effect in addition to, and sometimes instead of, conventional medicine, a position which has drawn sustained opposition from those who advocate an evidence-based approach to the evaluation of treatment efficacy. Using recent survey data from the United Kingdom, this article seeks to establish a clearer understanding of the nature of the public's relationship with complementary and alternative medicine within the general population by focusing on beliefs about the perceived effectiveness of homeopathy, in addition to its reported use. Using recent data from the United Kingdom, we initially demonstrate that reported use and perceived effectiveness are far from coterminous and argue that for a proper understanding of the motivations underpinning public support of complementary and alternative medicine, consideration of both reported use and perceived effectiveness is necessary. We go on to demonstrate that although the profile of homeopathy users differs from those who support this form of medicine, neither outcome is dependent upon peoples' levels of knowledge about science. Instead, the results suggest a far greater explanatory role for need and concerns about conventional medicine.

Suppression of mutants aberrant in light intensity responses of complementary chromatic adaptation.

PubMed Central

Casey, E S; Kehoe, D M; Grossman, A R

1997-01-01

Complementary chromatic adaptation is a process in which cyanobacteria alter the pigment protein (phycocyanin and phycoerythrin) composition of their light-harvesting complexes, the phycobilisomes, to help optimize the absorbance of prevalent wavelengths of light in the environment. Several classes of mutants that display aberrant complementary chromatic adaptation have been isolated. One of the mutant classes, designated "blue" or FdB, accumulates high levels of the blue chromoprotein phycocyanin in low-intensity green light, a condition that normally suppresses phycocyanin synthesis. We demonstrate here that the synthesis of the phycocyanin protein and mRNA in the FdB mutants can be suppressed by increasing the intensity of green light. Hence, these mutants have a decreased sensitivity to green light with respect to suppression of phycocyanin synthesis. Although we were unable to complement the blue mutants, we did isolate genes that could suppress the mutant phenotype. These genes, which have been identified previously, encode a histidine kinase sensor and response regulator protein that play key roles in controlling complementary chromatic adaptation. These findings are discussed with respect to the mechanism by which light quality and quantity control the biosynthesis of the phycobilisome. PMID:9226271

Nutritional status and complementary feeding among HIV-exposed infants: a prospective cohort study.

PubMed

Kamenju, Pili; Liu, Enju; Hertzmark, Ellen; Spiegelman, Donna; Kisenge, Rodrick; Kupka, Roland; Aboud, Said; Manji, Karim P; Duggan, Christopher; Fawzi, Wafaie W

2017-07-01

Complementary feeding is crucial for improving child survival and promoting growth and development, particularly among HIV-exposed children who have higher risk of morbidity and mortality than their un-exposed peers. This prospective study employed an infant and child feeding index (ICFI) to measure complementary feeding and determine its association with nutritional status among 2092 HIV-exposed infants followed from 6 to 24 months of age in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The ICFI measured both quality and quantity of complementary feeding, including current breastfeeding status, food consistency, dietary diversity scores (DDS), food group frequency score, and meal frequency. The ICFI score ranged from 0 to 9; the median score was 6 (Inter-Quartile Range, IQR= 4-7). After adjusting for potential confounders, high ICFI scores were associated with reduced risk of stunting (high vs. low tertile hazard ratio, HR: 0.72; 95% confidence interval, CI: 0.57, 0.91; P< 0.01) and underweight (high vs. low tertile HR: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.61, 1.02; P= 0.07). Low DDS were associated with higher risk of stunting (low vs. high tertile HR: 1.59; 95% CI: 1.23, 2.07; P< 0.01) and underweight (low vs. high tertile HR: 1.48; 95% CI: 1.12, 1.96; P= 0.01). In this setting, high DDS and ICFI scores were protective of stunting and underweight. We recommend for nutrition programs in low-income countries to emphasize educating HIV-exposed children's caregivers on the importance of dietary diversity and optimal complementary feeding to improve nutritional status in this important subpopulation. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Use of complementary and alternative medicine for work related musculoskeletal disorders associated with job contentment in dental professionals: Indian outlook.

PubMed

Gupta, Devanand; Bhaskar, Dara John; Gupta, Kumar Rajendra; Karim, Bushra; Kanwar, Alpana; Jain, Ankita; Yadav, Ankit; Saini, Priya; Arya, Satya; Sachdeva, Neha

2014-04-01

High prevalence rates of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSD) among dentists have been reported. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies can be helpful in managing and preventing work-related musculoskeletal disorders. The purpose of this study was to determine if dental professionals are using CAM for work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Who have greater job satisfaction: dentist who uses Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) or conventional therapy (CT) as a treatment modality for WRMSD. Dentists who registered in Uttar Pradesh state, India under Indian Dental Council, Uttar Pradesh branch (n=1134) were surveyed. Data were analyzed using univariate and bivariate analyses and logistic regression. A response rate of 53% (n=601) was obtained, revealing that 82% (n=487) of the respondents suffered from work-related musculoskeletal disorders. The use of complementary and alternative medicine or conventional therapy was reported among 80% (n=390) of the dentists with work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Complementary and alternative medicine users reported greater overall health compared to conventional therapy users (P<0.001). Of those with work-related musculoskeletal disorders, 35.5% (n=172) considered a career change for once, and 4.0% (n=19) reported having left dentistry. Complementary and alternative medicine therapies may improve quality of life, reduce work disruptions and enhance job satisfaction for dentists who suffer from work-related musculoskeletal disorders. It is important that dentists incorporate complementary and alternative medicine strategies into practice to facilitate musculoskeletal health that will enable longer and healthier careers, increase productivity, provide safer workplace and prevent musculoskeletal disorders.

Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Work Related Musculoskeletal Disorders Associated With Job Contentment in Dental Professionals: Indian Outlook

PubMed Central

Gupta, Devanand; Bhaskar, Dara John; Gupta, Kumar Rajendra; Karim, Bushra; Kanwar, Alpana; Jain, Ankita; Yadav, Ankit; Saini, Priya; Arya, Satya; Sachdeva, Neha

2014-01-01

Background High prevalence rates of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSD) among dentists have been reported. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies can be helpful in managing and preventing work-related musculoskeletal disorders. The purpose of this study was to determine if dental professionals are using CAM for work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Who have greater job satisfaction: dentist who uses Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) or conventional therapy (CT) as a treatment modality for WRMSD Method Dentists who registered in Uttar Pradesh state, India under Indian Dental Council, Uttar Pradesh branch (n=1134) were surveyed. Data were analyzed using univariate and bivariate analyses and logistic regression. Result A response rate of 53% (n=601) was obtained, revealing that 82% (n=487) of the respondents suffered from work-related musculoskeletal disorders. The use of complementary and alternative medicine or conventional therapy was reported among 80% (n=390) of the dentists with work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Complementary and alternative medicine users reported greater overall health compared to conventional therapy users (P<0.001). Of those with work-related musculoskeletal disorders, 35.5% (n=172) considered a career change for once, and 4.0% (n=19) reported having left dentistry. Conclusion Complementary and alternative medicine therapies may improve quality of life, reduce work disruptions and enhance job satisfaction for dentists who suffer from work-related musculoskeletal disorders. It is important that dentists incorporate complementary and alternative medicine strategies into practice to facilitate musculoskeletal health that will enable longer and healthier careers, increase productivity, provide safer workplace and prevent musculoskeletal disorders. PMID:24795512

Sources, distribution, bioavailability, toxicity, and risk assessment of heavy metal(loid)s in complementary medicines.

PubMed

Bolan, Shiv; Kunhikrishnan, Anitha; Seshadri, Balaji; Choppala, Girish; Naidu, Ravi; Bolan, Nanthi S; Ok, Yong Sik; Zhang, Ming; Li, Chun-Guang; Li, Feng; Noller, Barry; Kirkham, Mary Beth

2017-11-01

The last few decades have seen the rise of alternative medical approaches including the use of herbal supplements, natural products, and traditional medicines, which are collectively known as 'Complementary medicines'. However, there are increasing concerns on the safety and health benefits of these medicines. One of the main hazards with the use of complementary medicines is the presence of heavy metal(loid)s such as arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg). This review deals with the characteristics of complementary medicines in terms of heavy metal(loid)s sources, distribution, bioavailability, toxicity, and human risk assessment. The heavy metal(loid)s in these medicines are derived from uptake by medicinal plants, cross-contamination during processing, and therapeutic input of metal(loid)s. This paper discusses the distribution of heavy metal(loid)s in these medicines, in terms of their nature, concentration, and speciation. The importance of determining bioavailability towards human health risk assessment was emphasized by the need to estimate daily intake of heavy metal(loid)s in complementary medicines. The review ends with selected case studies of heavy metal(loid) toxicity from complementary medicines with specific reference to As, Cd, Pb, and Hg. The future research opportunities mentioned in the conclusion of review will help researchers to explore new avenues, methodologies, and approaches to the issue of heavy metal(loid)s in complementary medicines, thereby generating new regulations and proposing fresh approach towards safe use of these medicines. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Candida biofilms: is adhesion sexy?

PubMed

Soll, David R

2008-08-26

The development of Candida albicans biofilms requires two types of adhesion molecule - the Als proteins and Hwp1. Mutational analyses have recently revealed that these molecules play complementary roles, and their characteristics suggest that they may have evolved from primitive mating agglutinins.

Physician role in physical activity for African-American males undergoing radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer.

PubMed

Williams, Faustine; Imm, Kellie R; Colditz, Graham A; Housten, Ashley J; Yang, Lin; Gilbert, Keon L; Drake, Bettina F

2017-04-01

Physical activity is recognized as a complementary therapy to improve physical and physiological functions among prostate cancer survivors. Little is known about communication between health providers and African-American prostate cancer patients, a high risk population, regarding the health benefits of regular physical activity on their prognosis and recovery. This study explores African-American prostate cancer survivors' experiences with physical activity prescription from their physicians. Three focus group interviews were conducted with 12 African-American prostate cancer survivors in May 2014 in St. Louis, MO. Participants' ages ranged from 49 to 79 years, had completed radical prostatectomy, and their time out of surgery varied from 7 to 31 months. Emerged themes included physician role on prescribing physical activity, patients' perceived barriers to engaging in physical activity, perception of normalcy following surgery, and specific resources survivors' sought during treatment. Of the 12 men who participated, 8 men (67%) expressed that their physicians did not recommend physical activity for them. Although some participants revealed they were aware of the importance of sustained physical activity on their prognosis and recovery, some expressed concerns that urinary dysfunction, incontinence, and family commitments prevented them from engaging in active lifestyles. Transitioning from post radical prostatectomy treatment to normal life was an important concern to survivors. These findings highlight the importance of physical activity communication and prescription for prostate cancer patients.

Tracing Pathways to Higher Education for Refugees: The Role of Virtual Support Networks and Mobile Phones for Women in Refugee Camps

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dahya, Negin; Dryden-Peterson, Sarah

2017-01-01

In this paper, we explore the role of online social networks in the cultivation of pathways to higher education for refugees, particularly for women. We compare supports garnered in local and offline settings to those accrued through online social networks and examine the differences between women and men. The paper draws on complementary original…

A proteomics approach to study synergistic and antagonistic interactions of the fungal-bacterial consortium Fusarium oxysporum wild-type MSA 35.

PubMed

Moretti, Marino; Grunau, Alexander; Minerdi, Daniela; Gehrig, Peter; Roschitzki, Bernd; Eberl, Leo; Garibaldi, Angelo; Gullino, Maria Lodovica; Riedel, Kathrin

2010-09-01

Fusarium oxysporum is an important plant pathogen that causes severe damage of many economically important crop species. Various microorganisms have been shown to inhibit this soil-borne plant pathogen, including non-pathogenic F. oxysporum strains. In this study, F. oxysporum wild-type (WT) MSA 35, a biocontrol multispecies consortium that consists of a fungus and numerous rhizobacteria mainly belonging to gamma-proteobacteria, was analyzed by two complementary metaproteomic approaches (2-DE combined with MALDI-Tof/Tof MS and 1-D PAGE combined with LC-ESI-MS/MS) to identify fungal or bacterial factors potentially involved in antagonistic or synergistic interactions between the consortium members. Moreover, the proteome profiles of F. oxysporum WT MSA 35 and its cured counter-part CU MSA 35 (WT treated with antibiotics) were compared with unravel the bacterial impact on consortium functioning. Our study presents the first proteome mapping of an antagonistic F. oxysporum strain and proposes candidate proteins that might play an important role for the biocontrol activity and the close interrelationship between the fungus and its bacterial partners.

Beyond the EPR: Complementary roles of the hospital-wide electronic health record and clinical departmental systems

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

Background Many hospital departments have implemented small clinical departmental systems (CDSs) to collect and use patient data for documentation as well as for other department-specific purposes. As hospitals are implementing institution-wide electronic patient records (EPRs), the EPR is thought to be integrated with, and gradually substitute the smaller systems. Many EPR systems however fail to support important clinical workflows. Also, successful integration of systems has proven hard to achieve. As a result, CDSs are still in widespread use. This study was conducted to see which tasks are supported by CDSs and to compare this to the support offered by the EPR. Methods Semi-structured interviews with users of 16 clinicians using 15 different clinical departmental systems (CDS) at a Medium-sized University hospital in Norway. Inductive analysis of transcriptions from the audio taped interviews. Results The roles of CDSs were complementary to those of the hospital-wide EPR system. The use of structured patient data was a characteristic feature. This facilitated quality development and supervision, tasks that were poorly supported by the EPR system. The structuring of the data also improved filtering of information to better support clinical decision-making. Because of the high value of the structured patient data, the users put much effort in maintaining their integrity and representativeness. Employees from the departments were also engaged in the funding, development, implementation and maintenance of the systems. Conclusion Clinical departmental systems are vital to the activities of a clinical hospital department. The development, implementation and clinical use of such systems can be seen as bottom-up, user-driven innovations. PMID:19523198

The Missing Part of Seed Dispersal Networks: Structure and Robustness of Bat-Fruit Interactions

PubMed Central

Mello, Marco Aurelio Ribeiro; Marquitti, Flávia Maria Darcie; Guimarães, Paulo Roberto; Kalko, Elisabeth Klara Viktoria; Jordano, Pedro; de Aguiar, Marcus Aloizio Martinez

2011-01-01

Mutualistic networks are crucial to the maintenance of ecosystem services. Unfortunately, what we know about seed dispersal networks is based only on bird-fruit interactions. Therefore, we aimed at filling part of this gap by investigating bat-fruit networks. It is known from population studies that: (i) some bat species depend more on fruits than others, and (ii) that some specialized frugivorous bats prefer particular plant genera. We tested whether those preferences affected the structure and robustness of the whole network and the functional roles of species. Nine bat-fruit datasets from the literature were analyzed and all networks showed lower complementary specialization (H2' = 0.37±0.10, mean ± SD) and similar nestedness (NODF = 0.56±0.12) than pollination networks. All networks were modular (M = 0.32±0.07), and had on average four cohesive subgroups (modules) of tightly connected bats and plants. The composition of those modules followed the genus-genus associations observed at population level (Artibeus-Ficus, Carollia-Piper, and Sturnira-Solanum), although a few of those plant genera were dispersed also by other bats. Bat-fruit networks showed high robustness to simulated cumulative removals of both bats (R = 0.55±0.10) and plants (R = 0.68±0.09). Primary frugivores interacted with a larger proportion of the plants available and also occupied more central positions; furthermore, their extinction caused larger changes in network structure. We conclude that bat-fruit networks are highly cohesive and robust mutualistic systems, in which redundancy is high within modules, although modules are complementary to each other. Dietary specialization seems to be an important structuring factor that affects the topology, the guild structure and functional roles in bat-fruit networks. PMID:21386981

The missing part of seed dispersal networks: structure and robustness of bat-fruit interactions.

PubMed

Mello, Marco Aurelio Ribeiro; Marquitti, Flávia Maria Darcie; Guimarães, Paulo Roberto; Kalko, Elisabeth Klara Viktoria; Jordano, Pedro; de Aguiar, Marcus Aloizio Martinez

2011-02-28

Mutualistic networks are crucial to the maintenance of ecosystem services. Unfortunately, what we know about seed dispersal networks is based only on bird-fruit interactions. Therefore, we aimed at filling part of this gap by investigating bat-fruit networks. It is known from population studies that: (i) some bat species depend more on fruits than others, and (ii) that some specialized frugivorous bats prefer particular plant genera. We tested whether those preferences affected the structure and robustness of the whole network and the functional roles of species. Nine bat-fruit datasets from the literature were analyzed and all networks showed lower complementary specialization (H(2)' = 0.37±0.10, mean ± SD) and similar nestedness (NODF = 0.56±0.12) than pollination networks. All networks were modular (M = 0.32±0.07), and had on average four cohesive subgroups (modules) of tightly connected bats and plants. The composition of those modules followed the genus-genus associations observed at population level (Artibeus-Ficus, Carollia-Piper, and Sturnira-Solanum), although a few of those plant genera were dispersed also by other bats. Bat-fruit networks showed high robustness to simulated cumulative removals of both bats (R = 0.55±0.10) and plants (R = 0.68±0.09). Primary frugivores interacted with a larger proportion of the plants available and also occupied more central positions; furthermore, their extinction caused larger changes in network structure. We conclude that bat-fruit networks are highly cohesive and robust mutualistic systems, in which redundancy is high within modules, although modules are complementary to each other. Dietary specialization seems to be an important structuring factor that affects the topology, the guild structure and functional roles in bat-fruit networks.

Advice offered by practitioners of complementary/ alternative medicine: an important ethical issue.

PubMed

Ernst, E

2009-12-01

The current popularity of complementary/alternative medicine (CAM) generates many challenges to medical ethics. The one discussed here is the advice offered by CAM practitioners. Using selected examples, the author tries to demonstrate that some of the advice issued through the popular media or provided by acupuncturists, chiropractors, herbalists, homeopaths, pharmacists, and doctors is misleading or dangerous. This, the author argues, can impinge on the main principle of medical ethics: beneficence, nonmaleficence, and autonomy. We should work toward correcting this deplorable situation.

Enteric defensins are essential regulators of intestinal microbial ecology.

PubMed

Salzman, Nita H; Hung, Kuiechun; Haribhai, Dipica; Chu, Hiutung; Karlsson-Sjöberg, Jenny; Amir, Elad; Teggatz, Paul; Barman, Melissa; Hayward, Michael; Eastwood, Daniel; Stoel, Maaike; Zhou, Yanjiao; Sodergren, Erica; Weinstock, George M; Bevins, Charles L; Williams, Calvin B; Bos, Nicolaas A

2010-01-01

Antimicrobial peptides are important effectors of innate immunity throughout the plant and animal kingdoms. In the mammalian small intestine, Paneth cell alpha-defensins are antimicrobial peptides that contribute to host defense against enteric pathogens. To determine if alpha-defensins also govern intestinal microbial ecology, we analyzed the intestinal microbiota of mice expressing a human alpha-defensin gene (DEFA5) and in mice lacking an enzyme required for the processing of mouse alpha-defensins. In these complementary models, we detected significant alpha-defensin-dependent changes in microbiota composition, but not in total bacterial numbers. Furthermore, DEFA5-expressing mice had striking losses of segmented filamentous bacteria and fewer interleukin 17 (IL-17)-producing lamina propria T cells. Our data ascribe a new homeostatic role to alpha-defensins in regulating the makeup of the commensal microbiota.

Advanced Physics Labs and Undergraduate Research: Helping Them Work Together

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peterson, Richard W.

2009-10-01

The 2009 Advanced Lab Topical Conference in Ann Arbor affirmed the importance of advanced labs that teach crucial skills and methodologies by carefully conducting a time-honored experiment. Others however argued that such a constrained experiment can play a complementary role to more open-ended, project experiences. A genuine ``experiment'' where neither student or faculty member is exactly sure of the best approach or anticipated result can often trigger real excitement, creativity, and career direction for students while reinforcing the advanced lab and undergraduate research interface. Several examples are cited in areas of AMO physics, optics, fluids, and acoustics. Colleges and universities that have dual-degree engineering, engineering physics, or applied physics programs may especially profit from interdisciplinary projects that utilize optical, electromagnetic, and acoustical measurements in conjunction with computational physics and simulation.

Studies on Five Senses Treatment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sato, Sadaka; Miao, Tiejun; Oyama-Higa, Mayumi

2011-06-01

This study proposed a therapy from complementary and alternative medicine to treat mental disorder by through interactions of five senses between therapist and patient. In this method sounding a certain six voices play an important role in healing and recovery. First, we studied effects of speaking using scalp- EEG measurement. Chaos analysis of EEG showed a largely enhanced largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE) during the speaking. In addition, EEG power spectrum showed an increase over most frequencies. Second, we performed case studies on mental disorder using the therapy. Running power spectrum of EEG of patients indicated decreasing power at end of treatment, implying five senses therapy induced relaxed and lowered energy in central neural system. The results agreed with patient's reports that there were considerable decline in anxiety and improvements in mood.

How to Shape Climate Risk Policies After the Paris Agreement? The Importance of Perceptions as a Driver for Climate Risk Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Máñez Costa, María.; Shreve, Cheney; Carmona, María.

2017-10-01