215 research outputs found
Silent professionalization: EU integration and the professional socialization of public officials in Central and Eastern Europe
This paper applies theories of international socialization to examine the impact of European Union contact on the professional socialization of public officials in Central and Eastern Europe. Based on a survey of officials in seven new member states, the paper finds that daily work on European Union issues is associated with favourable attitudes towards merit-based civil service governance. The distinction between types of European Union contact shows that officials dealing with ‘reception’-related European Union activities such as the transposition and implementation of European Union policies develop more meritocratic attitudes. By contrast, ‘projection’-related activities that involve personal contact with European Union officials have no effect. The paper concludes that the small but consistent impact of European Union contact on professional socialization promotes the silent professionalization of public administration in Central and Eastern Europe
Developing tools to promote culturally competent compassion, courage, and intercultural communication in healthcare
Background: Compassion is an important concept in healthcare, and in addition, care should be delivered in a culturally competent manner, taking into account the values, culture, and health beliefs of the individual. However, the training of nurses and other healthcare professionals may not adequately equip them to practice in a manner which is both compassionate and culturally competent. In this paper, we report on the development of three learning tools, designed to promote the skills and strengthen the capacity of nurses and healthcare professionals to provide culturally competent and compassionate care.
Methods: The project involved the participation of six European countries in the development of three learning tools, covering culturally competent compassion, culturally competent courage, and intercultural communication. The principles which informed the methodology derive from the previous work on the Papadopoulos, Tilki and Taylor (PTT) model of transcultural nursing and cultural competence, and were also informed by the Intercultural Education of Nurses in Europe (IENE1 & IENE2) projects. Each partner country was required to produce one tool for each topic area, based on guidance provided by the project co-ordinator, leading to the development of eighteen tools in total. The tools were administered mainly to student nurses to test their feasibility.
Results: The emerging tools contained important theoretical and practical components, whereby innovative learning methods and case studies were included. Student nurses enjoyed using the tools, and enjoyed their flexibility. The learning tools enabled students to become stimulated and to engage together leading to a positive learning experience.
Discussion: The tools allow for a positive learning experience and reflection of good practice to take place. The flexibility and content of the tools allows for them to be of equal value to other healthcare professionals as well as nursing staff.
Conclusion: The tools were initially utilised mainly with student nurses and were received with a positive response. Work is now in place to further implement the tools and evaluate the longer term effects among a range of healthcare professionals and service user health outcomes
Septic rupture of the ascending aorta after aortocoronary bypass surgery
We describe an exceptional case of non-fatal septic rupture of the ascending aorta in a patient with sternal dehiscence, deep sternal wound infection (DSWI) and pleural empyema after aortocoronary bypass surgery. Routine follow-up computed tomography (CT) detected a mediastinal pseudoaneurysm originating from the ascending aorta. Thereby, massive and irregular sternal bone defects and contrast-enhancing mediastinal soft tissue suggest osteomyelitis and highly-active and aggressive DSWI as initial triggers. Urgent thoracotomy 1 day later included ascending aorta reconstruction, total sternum resection and broad wound debridement. Follow-up CT 1 year later showed a regular postoperative result in a fully recovered patient
Protocol for a home-based integrated physical therapy program to reduce falls and improve mobility in people with Parkinson’s disease
Background The high incidence of falls associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD) increases the risk of injuries and immobility and compromises quality of life. Although falls education and strengthening programs have shown some benefit in healthy older people, the ability of physical therapy interventions in home settings to reduce falls and improve mobility in people with Parkinson’s has not been convincingly demonstrated.Methods/design 180 community living people with PD will be randomly allocated to receive either a home-based integrated rehabilitation program (progressive resistance strength training, movement strategy training and falls education) or a home-based life skills program (control intervention). Both programs comprise one hour of treatment and one hour of structured homework per week over six weeks of home therapy. Blinded assessments occurring before therapy commences, the week after completion of therapy and 12 months following intervention will establish both the immediate and long-term benefits of home-based rehabilitation. The number of falls, number of repeat falls, falls rate and time to first fall will be the primary measures used to quantify outcome. The economic costs associated with injurious falls, and the costs of running the integrated rehabilitation program from a health system perspective will be established. The effects of intervention on motor and global disability and on quality of life will also be examined. Discussion This study will provide new evidence on the outcomes and cost effectiveness of home-based movement rehabilitation programs for people living with PD
Modulation of cancer cell growth and progression by Caveolin-1 in the tumor microenvironment
Caveolin-1 (Cav-1), a major structural component of cell membrane caveolae, is involved in a variety of intracellular signaling pathways as well as transmembrane transport. Cav-1, as a scaffolding protein, modulates signal transduction associated with cell cycle progression, cellular senescence, cell proliferation and death, lipid homeostasis, etc. Cav-1 is also thought to regulate the expression or activity of oncoproteins, such as Src family kinases, H-Ras, protein kinase C, epidermal growth factor, extracellular signal-regulated kinase, and endothelial nitric oxide synthase. Because of its frequent overexpression or mutation in various tumor tissues and cancer cell lines, Cav-1 has been speculated to play a role as an oncoprotein in cancer development and progression. In contrast, Cav-1 may also function as a tumor suppressor, depending on the type of cancer cells and/or surrounding -stromal cells in the tumor microenvironment as well as the stage of tumors.
Seasonal variation of carbon fluxes in a sparse savanna in semi arid Sudan
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Large spatial, seasonal and annual variability of major drivers of the carbon cycle (precipitation, temperature, fire regime and nutrient availability) are common in the Sahel region. This causes large variability in net ecosystem exchange and in vegetation productivity, the subsistence basis for a major part of the rural population in Sahel. This study compares the 2005 dry and wet season fluxes of CO<sub>2 </sub>for a grass land/sparse savanna site in semi arid Sudan and relates these fluxes to water availability and incoming photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD). Data from this site could complement the current sparse observation network in Africa, a continent where climatic change could significantly impact the future and which constitute a weak link in our understanding of the global carbon cycle.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The dry season (represented by Julian day 35–46, February 2005) was characterized by low soil moisture availability, low evapotranspiration and a high vapor pressure deficit. The mean daily NEE (net ecosystem exchange, Eq. 1) was -14.7 mmol d<sup>-1 </sup>for the 12 day period (negative numbers denote sinks, i.e. flux from the atmosphere to the biosphere). The water use efficiency (WUE) was 1.6 mmol CO<sub>2 </sub>mol H<sub>2</sub>O<sup>-1 </sup>and the light use efficiency (LUE) was 0.95 mmol CO<sub>2 </sub>mol PPFD<sup>-1</sup>. Photosynthesis is a weak, but linear function of PPFD. The wet season (represented by Julian day 266–273, September 2005) was, compared to the dry season, characterized by slightly higher soil moisture availability, higher evapotranspiration and a slightly lower vapor pressure deficit. The mean daily NEE was -152 mmol d<sup>-1 </sup>for the 8 day period. The WUE was lower, 0.97 mmol CO<sub>2 </sub>mol H<sub>2</sub>O<sup>-1 </sup>and the LUE was higher, 7.2 <it>μ</it>mol CO<sub>2 </sub>mmol PPFD<sup>-1 </sup>during the wet season compared to the dry season. During the wet season photosynthesis increases with PPFD to about 1600 <it>μ</it>mol m<sup>-2</sup>s<sup>-1 </sup>and then levels off.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Based on data collected during two short periods, the studied ecosystem was a sink of carbon both during the dry and wet season 2005. The small sink during the dry season is surprising and similar dry season sinks have not to our knowledge been reported from other similar savanna ecosystems and could have potential management implications for agroforestry. A strong response of NEE versus small changes in plant available soil water content was found. Collection and analysis of flux data for several consecutive years including variations in precipitation, available soil moisture and labile soil carbon are needed for understanding the year to year variation of the carbon budget of this grass land/sparse savanna site in semi arid Sudan.</p
Appraisal of Phlebotomus argentipes habitat suitability using a remotely sensed index in the kala-azar endemic focus of Bihar, India
Biomarker candidates of neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease for the evaluation of disease-modifying therapeutics
Reliable biomarkers that can be used for early diagnosis and tracking disease progression are the cornerstone of the development of disease-modifying treatments for Parkinson’s disease (PD). The German Society of Experimental and Clinical Neurotherapeutics (GESENT) has convened a Working Group to review the current status of proposed biomarkers of neurodegeneration according to the following criteria and to develop a consensus statement on biomarker candidates for evaluation of disease-modifying therapeutics in PD. The criteria proposed are that the biomarker should be linked to fundamental features of PD neuropathology and mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration in PD, should be correlated to disease progression assessed by clinical rating scales, should monitor the actual disease status, should be pre-clinically validated, and confirmed by at least two independent studies conducted by qualified investigators with the results published in peer-reviewed journals. To date, available data have not yet revealed one reliable biomarker to detect early neurodegeneration in PD and to detect and monitor effects of drug candidates on the disease process, but some promising biomarker candidates, such as antibodies against neuromelanin, pathological forms of α-synuclein, DJ-1, and patterns of gene expression, metabolomic and protein profiling exist. Almost all of the biomarker candidates were not investigated in relation to effects of treatment, validated in experimental models of PD and confirmed in independent studies
Regulation of fibroblast growth factor 15/19 and 21 on metabolism: in the fed or fasted state
Kualitas Hidup Pasien Diabetes Melitus Tipe 2 di Puskesmas Se Kota Kupang
Diabetes Mellitus is well known as a chronic disease which can lead to a decrease in quality of life in all domains. The study aims to explore the diabetic type 2 patient\u27s quality of life and find out the factors affecting in type 2 diabetic mellitus patients. The cross-sectional study design is used that included 65 patient with type 2 diabetes mellitus, in 11 public health centers of Kupang City. Data were collected by using Short Form Survey (SF-36) that assessed 8-scale health profile. Independent sample t-test is used to analyze the correlation between the factors affecting and the quality of life. the study showed that the QoL of DM patients decreased in all 8- health profile including physical functioning, social functioning, mental health, general health, pain, change in the role due to physical problems and emotional problems. The Study also showed there was a relationship between gender, duration of suffering from Diabetes mellitus, and complications to the quality of life. Male perceived a better quality of life than female
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