The distribution of coastal group landhoppers (Crustacea:Amphipoda: Talitridae) related to sea spray at Cox Bight, Tasmania

Terrestrial amphipod crustaceans from two ecological groups, the coastal group and the forest group, were collected along two transects at right angles to the shoreline at Cox Bight, southwestern Tasmania. The transects were placed on either side of Point Eric to ensure that one was more sheltered from seaspray, in order to examine the hypothesis that the distribution of coastal group landhoppers is controlled by the inland penetration of ionic precipitation. Coastal species extended twice as far inland on the exposed transect, and their distribution on both transects correlated strongly with raised levels of sodium in the soil, providing good circumstantial support for the hypothesis. The study highlights the ecological importance of the coastal zone in the World Heritage Area. Further studies should examine the effect of manipulating soil ion levels on the distribution of coastal species

Freshwater invertebrate fauna of the Lake Meston area

Collections of littoral invertebrates were made from 21 freshwater bodies in the Lake Meston area of the western Central Plateau. Seventy-three taxa, including 42 identified as species, were collected. The fauna is similar to that found in other high-altitude lakes in Tasmania. A cluster analysis of sites by the presence or absence of species classified the standing waters into groups which could be explained by size and their species richness, apart from Lake Bill, probably the only lake of non-glacial origin, which did not associate with lakes of similar size. No correlations could be detected between the groupings and topographic descriptors of the lakes derived from maps. The named lakes in order of species richness were Meston (29 species), Adelaide & Louisa (23), Poa (19), Myrtle (IS), Bill (II) and Charles (7). Lake Meston is apparently the only lake in the area to support a substantial trout populatio

Observations on the intertidal barnacles (Cirripedia: Balanomorpha) at Fossil Island, Tasman Peninsula: physical tolerances, orientation and fertilisation

Six species of barnacle are found intertidally at Fossil Island. Tolerances of the species to desiccation and temperature could be related to their position on the shore. The four common species all show significant orientation to water currents: in Catornerus polyrnerus the orientation is reversed lower on the shore. Strong evidence is presented that isolated C. polyrnerus individuals can self-fertilise

The crustacean and molluscan fauna of Tasmanian saltmarshes

The crustaceans and molluscs of 65 saltmarshes and brackish marshes around the coast of Tasmania and the major Bass Strait islands were surveyed. Over 50 species were collected, but only eight (three talitrid amphipods, one crab and four gastropods) were confined to saltmarshes; the typical saltmarsh assemblage consisted of two talitrid amphipods, three oniscoid isopods, two crabs, two prosobranch snails and two pulmonate snails. The greatest species richness was found in marshes from the southeast and the far northwest, where the most extensive saltmarshes have developed. Several undescribed talitrids were collected and the range of two coastal species was extended significantly. The native woodlouse Plymophiloscia ulverstonensis was commonly found on the upper parts of the marshes, as was the introduced slater Porcellio scaber. The burrowing grapsid crab Helograpsus haswellianus was common on the marshes, though it was replaced by the ocypodid Heloecius cordiformis in brackish marshes, and by another grapsid, Paragrapsus gaimardii, in the only marsh examined on King Island. The hymenosomatid crab Amarinus paralacustris was recorded from the state for the first time at Hendersons Lagoon. Amphibolid and ellobiid snails typified the molluscan fauna of the marshes. The introduced ellobiid Phytia myosotis appears to have a major disjunction in its distribution between the southeast and northern sites. Tasmanian saltmarshes have a similar diversity of crustaceans and molluscs to those of New Zealand and South Africa. They are richer in species than saltmarshes of the northeast Atlantic coasts but have fewer crustaceans than the temperate east coast marshes of North America, and fewer molluscs than those of the coasts of the Pacific northwest

How do care-provider and home exercise program characteristics affect patient adherence in chronic neck and back pain: a qualitative study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of this study is to explore perceptions of people with chronic neck or low back pain about how characteristics of home exercise programs and care-provider style during clinical encounters may affect adherence to exercises.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This is a qualitative study consisting of seven focus groups, with a total of 34 participants presenting chronic neck or low back pain. The subjects were included if they were receiving physiotherapy treatment and were prescribed home-based exercises.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Two themes emerged: home-based exercise programme conditions and care provider's style. In the first theme, the participants described their positive and negative experiences regarding time consumption, complexity and effects of prescribed exercises. In the second theme, participants perceived more bonding to prescribed exercises when their care provider presented knowledge about the disease, promoted feedback and motivation during exercise instruction, gave them reminders to exercise, or monitored their results and adherence to exercises.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our experiential findings indicate that patient's adherence to home-based exercise is more likely to happen when care providers' style and the content of exercise programme are positively experienced. These findings provide additional information to health care providers, by showing which issues should be considered when delivering health care to patients presenting chronic neck or back pain.</p

Nursing workload and patient safety - a mixed method study with an ecological restorative approach

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to analyze the potential association between nursing workload and patient safety in the medical and surgical inpatient units of a teaching hospital. METHOD: a mixed method strategy (sequential explanatory design). RESULTS: the initial quantitative stage of the study suggest that increases in the number of patients assigned to each nursing team lead to increased rates of bed-related falls, central line-associated bloodstream infections, nursing staff turnover, and absenteeism. During the subsequent qualitative stage of the research, the nursing team stressed medication administration, bed baths, and patient transport as the aspects of care that have the greatest impact on workload and pose the greatest hazards to patient, provider, and environment safety. CONCLUSIONS: The findings demonstrated significant associations between nursing workload and patient safety. We observed that nursing staff with fewer patients presented best results of care-related and management-related patient safety indicators. In addition, the tenets of ecological and restorative thinking contributed to the understanding of some of the aspects in this intricate relationship from the standpoint of nursing providers. They also promoted a participatory approach in this study