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Summary: A 12‐year‐old Tennessee Walking Horse mare displaying signs of severe colic for 48 h was found during an exploratory celiotomy to have entrapment of a cranially displaced large colon and the caecum through a rent in the mesoduodenum. The entrapment was relieved, and 24 h later, the mesoduodenal rent was closed laparoscopically, with the mare standing. The owner reported 6 months later that the mare had displayed no signs of colic since being discharged from the hospital 11 days after surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mid-Holocene eruption of Aniakchak volcano (Aniakchak II) in southwest Alaska was among the largest eruptions globally in the last 10,000years (VEI-6). Despite evidence for possible impacts on global climate, the precise age of the eruption is not well-constrained and little is known about regional environmental impacts. A closely spaced sequence of radiocarbon dates at a peatland site over 1000km from the volcano show that peat accumulation was greatly reduced with a hiatus of approximately 90-120yr following tephra deposition. During this inferred hiatus no paleoenvironmental data are available but once vegetation returned the flora changed from a Cyperaceae-dominated assemblage to a Poaceae-dominated vegetation cover, suggesting a drier and/or more nutrient-rich ecosystem. Oribatid mites are extremely abundant in the peat at the depth of the ash, and show a longer-term, increasingly wet peat surface across the tephra layer. The radiocarbon sample immediately below the tephra gave a date of 1636-1446cal yr BC suggesting that the eruption might be younger than previously thought. Our findings suggest that the eruption may have led to a widespread reduction in peatland carbon sequestration and that the impacts on ecosystem functioning were profound and long-lasting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unipolar major depressive disorder (MDD) is a prevalent, disabling condition with multiple genetic and environmental factors impacting disease risk. The diagnosis of MDD relies on a cumulative measure derived from multiple trait dimensions and alone is limited in elucidating MDD genetic determinants. We and others have proposed that MDD may be better dissected using paradigms that assess how specific genes associate with component features of MDD. This within-disease design requires both a well-phenotyped cohort and a robust statistical approach that retains power with multiple tests of genetic association. In the present study, common polymorphic variants of genes related to central monoaminergic and cholinergic pathways that previous studies align with functional change in vitro or depression associations in vivo were genotyped in 110 individuals with unipolar MDD. Subphenotypic characteristics were examined using responses to individual items assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV), the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) and the NEO Five Factor Inventory. Multivariate Permutation Testing (MPT) was used to infer genotype–phenotype relationships underlying dimensional findings within clinical categories. MPT analyses show significant associations of the norepinephrine transporter (NET, SLC6A2) -182 T/C (rs2242446) with recurrent depression [odds ratio, OR = 4.15 (1.91–9.02)], NET -3081 A/T (rs28386840) with increase in appetite [OR = 3.58 (1.53–8.39)] and the presynaptic choline transporter (CHT, SLC5A7) Ile89Val (rs1013940) with HAM-D-17 total score {i.e. overall depression severity [OR = 2.74 (1.05–7.18)]}. These relationships illustrate an approach to the elucidation of gene influences on trait components of MDD and with replication, may help identify MDD subpopulations that can benefit from more targeted pharmacotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A person's right to self-determination in health care is now a fundamental principle of health care provision. As a consequence Advance Care Planning (ACP) is a critical issue in health care including palliative care as it is seen as a way of ensuring a person's right to participate not only in future health care choices but in end of life decision making.To date there have been few reports of successful ACP programs. In 2004 and 2005 a program of advance care planning, known as Respecting Patient Choices was introduced in 17 residential aged care facilities in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. This program consisted of a system-wide approach that included education for aged care staff; information for residents and families as well as changes to organisational processes to ensure that residents have opportunity for self-determination in their future health care.This paper will report on the lessons learnt from this implementation and identify strategies which foster sustainability of ACP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) is a genetic disorder characterized by hyperphagia and food preoccupations. Researchers indicate that individuals with PWS, including young children, exhibit food and non-food-related compulsions. Normative rituals are also often present among typically developing preschoolers. However, it is unclear how these behaviors affect the child. Although preschoolers with PWS exhibit more types of rituals than other populations, it is uncertain if the severity of these behaviors differs from the rituals experienced during normative development. Thus, the purpose of this research was to determine whether the ritualistic behaviors exhibited by preschoolers with PWS differ in severity from those exhibited during normative development. We also sought to identify whether non-food ritualistic behavior was related to the hyperphagia in PWS. Parents of 68 children with PWS, 86 typically developing children, and 57 children with developmental delays completed questionnaires on rituals and eating behavior. Children with PWS exhibited more severe ritualistic behavior than typically developing children but not other children with developmental delays. However, the severity of non-food-related rituals was related to the severity of eating behavior in PWS. We hypothesize that this link between hyperphagia and non-food-related compulsivity may share a common underlying neurobiological mechanism. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Drawing on a feminist praxis study in which nurses were asked to explore their experiences in caring for people of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, cultural frameworks bounded by interconnected markers of race, ethnicity and gender were constructed to analyse the nurses' narrative accounts. The aims of this paper are to discuss the analytical framework that draws on black feminist and postcolonial writers used to examine the cultural constructions of nursing practice. It will also draw attention to one of the major findings of the study in which, through this analytical process, broader connections between health and multicultural government policies, institutional structures and the microcosm of nursing practice were exposed. Through this analysis, an exclusionary whitecentric healthcare culture was exposed, which rendered people of non-English speaking background invisible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pollen, charcoal and fungal spore analysis of the base of a radiocarbon-dated peat profile at North Gill, North York Moors, N.E. England, provides detailed evidence for an episode of fire-disturbance of woodland atc . 6300 bp (uncalibrated), within the Late Mesolithic cultural period. As with other similar episodes in the uplands of Britain, the pollen data documents post-disturbance regeneration to woodland through ruderal and grassland herb, heath and successional shrub plant communities. Such seral ecological changes have previously been interpreted as the desired result of deliberate disturbance by Mesolithic foragers, as part of a conscious land-use strategy designed to attract ungulate populations to the disturbed areas and increase hunting efficiency and yield. Fungal spore analyses through the North Gill disturbance phase support the indirect ecological inferences from the pollen and charcoal data, provide the first circumstantial evidence of animal concentration in post-fire disturbed areas during the Late Mesolithic and so test and support the basic ecological premise of the Late Mesolithic fire ecology/land-use model. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Much research has been conducted for understanding the health needs of people of different cultural backgrounds and the problems they experience in seeking health care. In Australia, despite such research, it is argued that there remains an exclusionary health care culture that continues to affect equity and access for people of non-English speaking background. There was a need for research in which health professionals examined their own Anglo-Australian culture and its impact on other ethnic communities. Such concerns provided the impetus for a feminist praxis study to engage nurses in understanding and improving care for migrant women. This study was conducted with 26 nurses in a paediatric hospital in Melbourne, Australia. Five collaborative research groups were formed, each consisting of four to six nurses who were co-researchers. Together, the nurses and researchers explored the health care experiences of migrant women, using a variety of quantitative and qualitative data collection strategies. This paper explores a major finding of the study, which was the impact of liberal feminist approaches on the practices of Australian nurses who cared for women of different ethnicity and race. The study found that the efforts of liberal feminist nurses to 'treat all people the same' meant that women from different cultural backgrounds did not always receive equity in care. Through the feminist praxis process the nurses were able to explore contradictions in their practice and focus on equity in care to meet the specific gendered and racially constructed needs of women of different cultural backgrounds. A number of strategies were adopted that included regular use of female health interpreters and provision of privacy for migrant women when caring for their children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst studies have demonstrated that unicellular phytobenthic organisms can be locally important, little is known of their influence on their ecosystem, especially in terms of modifying benthic trophic dynamics and influencing the coupling between the benthos and pelagos. It may be hypothesized that the controlling influence on microphytobenthos would vary seasonally, with incident light, shading, nutrient depletion and grazing all playing a role. In order to elucidate some of these questions a theoretical model of microphytobenthos has been added to the European Regional Seas Ecosystem Model (ERSEM), coupled to a 1D vertically resolved water column model. Several water columns, extending in depth from 5 to 25 m have been simulated along an offshore transect at approximately 44°18′N. The microphytobenthos are predicted to contribute in excess of 50% of primary production in shallow (<5 m) depths, with light limitation reducing the potential growing season to zero at around 25 m. Light availability is the key factor limiting microphytobenthos, with self-shading dominating this effect in established populations. Grazing is shown to be a significant control on microphytobenthic populations. Nutrient stress is not a major limiting factor of microphytobenthic populations due to the availability of benthic nutrient pools. Although nutrient uptake and cycling via the microphytobenthos is not significant compared with regional inputs, the microphytobenthos significantly impact nutrient regeneration rates, aerobic layer processes and benthic trophic dynamics. Effects on the pelagic ecosystem are minimal. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

* This paper discusses the findings of a critical study that examined the communication patterns between nurses and general practitioners (GPs) providing palliative care in Australia.* Interviews and focus groups involved 40 palliative care nurses who worked in the three settings of care: community, hospice and hospital.* Issues that impeded effective communication strategies between palliative care nurses and GPs were networking, case management, multiple service providers, lack of standardized documentation and formal tracking of clients, along with difficulties in transmission of relevant practice knowledge.* Supporting strategies for effective formal modes of communicating and reporting are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In human rehabilitation medicine, dexamethasone-phosphate is theoretically iontophoresed to localized subcutaneous tissue where conversion to dexamethasone occurs. This delivery system has recently been introduced into veterinary medicine for the same purpose. However, the pharmacokinetic justification for parenteral delivery of this prodrug remains undocumented. Utilizing iontophoretic methods that are relevant to both human and veterinary clinical practice, the present investigation compared injection and iontophoresis of dexamethasone-phosphate into the equine tibiotarsal joint, also known as the tarsocrual joint. The tibiotarsal joints of seven horses were injected with 4 mL of 6 mg/mL dexamethasone-phosphate. With a similar drug concentration and over the same application site, six different horses underwent simultaneous cathodic iontophoresis (4 mA, 40 min) or passive application (0 mA, 40 min) on contralateral limbs. Following all applications, tibiotarsal joint synovium was collected. Local venous blood samples were also collected from the iontophoretic and passive application sites for analysis of plasma drug concentrations. Because of the potential for conversion of dexamethasone-phosphate to dexamethasone, an extraction and analysis protocol was developed for both chemicals. The technique demonstrated a linear range of detection (0.39–12 μg/mL) and a capability for measuring both chemicals in plasma and synovium. Conversion of dexamethasone-phosphate to dexamethasone occurred during synovial incubation (37 °C) and following freeze–thaw cycles. In contrast to the measurable synovial concentrations of dexamethasone-phosphate (2.3±0.96 mg/mL) and dexamethasone (0.27±0.07 mg/mL) following injection, neither drug was detected in the synovium or the local venous blood following iontophoretic or passive applications. In conclusion, these results do not confirm iontophoretic or passive delivery of measurable dexamethasone-phosphate into the tibiotarsal joint using current clinical methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Illustrates the early stages in the planning and discovery of two clinically useful drugs, propranolol and cimetidine. Significance of selective agonists, partial agonists, and syntopic antagonists; Importance of the bioassay and the use of molar models in the drug discovery process; Outline of future potential developments.

Background. Processing speed predicts functional outcome and is a potential endophenotype for schizophrenia. Establishing the neural basis of processing speed impairment may inform the treatment and etiology of schizophrenia. Neuroimaging investigations in healthy subjects have linked processing speed to brain anatomical connectivity. However, the relationship between processing speed impairment and white matter (WM) integrity in schizophrenia is unclear. Method. Individuals with schizophrenia and healthy subjects underwent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and completed a brief neuropsychological assessment that included measures of processing speed, verbal learning, working memory and executive functioning. Group differences in WM integrity, inferred from fractional anisotropy (FA), were examined throughout the brain and the hypothesis that processing speed impairment in schizophrenia is mediated by diminished WM integrity was tested. Results. WM integrity of the corpus callosum, cingulum, superior and inferior frontal gyri, and precuneus was reduced in schizophrenia. Average FA in these regions mediated group differences in processing speed but not in other cognitive domains. Diminished WM integrity in schizophrenia was accounted for, in large part, by individual differences in processing speed. Conclusions. Cognitive impairment in schizophrenia was mediated by reduced WM integrity. This relationship was strongest for processing speed because deficits in working memory, verbal learning and executive functioning were not mediated by WM integrity. Larger sample sizes may be required to detect more subtle mediation effects in these domains. Interventions that preserve WM integrity or ameliorate WM disruption may enhance processing speed and functional outcome in schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we present first results of high-resolution EBSD for ice with a spatial resolution down to 0.25 μm. The study highlights the potential of EBSD to significantly increase our understanding of deformation and annealing processes associated with the build-up of internal stresses due to strain incompatibility between grains. Two polycrystalline samples were analyzed: a natural sample of polar ice from the Vostok ice core (Antarctica) and an experimentally deformed sample of laboratory grown columnar ice. In summary, we observe the following: (1) inhomogeneous deformation through the grains is translated into lattice distortions that are concentrated mainly at grain boundaries and triple junctions (natural and experimental sample), (2) these distortions may be continuous (natural and experimental sample) or may form distinct tilt boundaries and sub-grains of 10–50 μm size (experimental sample). These form mainly by rearrangement of basal edge dislocations into low-energy configurations (i.e. tilt boundaries) in various prism planes. Continuous lattice distortions originate from screw or mixed edge and screw dislocations lying in the basal plane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors of this article discuss the effects of shame and stigma on female caregivers of people living with AIDS in southern Thailand. They conducted a longitudinal ethnographic case study over 8 months and collected data using interviews, observations, field notes, and journaling. The authors performed qualitative content analysis and narrative analysis. Public judgment was created in a moral climate, framed by Buddhist precepts of correct and honorable behavior, with different levels of tolerance and stigmatization between men and women. Women caregivers engaged in concealing practices, deception, and withdrawal from social relationships to manage the effects of shame and stigma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the management of family centered palliative care in different aged care and acute Australian inpatient settings, following the integration of palliative care with mainstream services. Eighty-eight semistructured interviews were conducted and 425 questionnaires (Palliative Care Practices Questionnaire--PCPQ) were returned, completed from 12 regional and metropolitan locations. Transcribed interviews were analyzed using QSR NVivo and mean PCPQ scores from the four settings were compared. Scores on items from the PCPQ related to family centered care confirmed the analyses. Interviews revealed that factors contributing to the level of support for families offered in the various settings included the core business of the unit; the length of stay of the patients or residents; the acuity or symptom burden; and the coordinated involvement of the multidisciplinary team. Strategies for improving supportive family care are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To present radiocarbon dated early Holocene pollen analytical data from two sites on the northern plain of the Isle of Man and to discuss the implications of the vegetation history in relation to severance of the island from the British Isles and to identify further evidence for divergent biogeographical development previously exemplified by the survival and apparent dwarfism of late glacial Megaloceros giganteus (Giant Deer). The Isle of Man, British Isles. Pollen analysis and AMS radiocarbon dating of late glacial to early Holocene lake sequences at Pollies and Curragh-y-Cowle on the northern plain of the Isle of Man. The pollen data indicate a prolonged period of pre-woodland vegetation after the late Glacial/Holocene transition, which lasted for most of the first post-glacial millennium. This persistence of pre-forest environments meant that the expansion of Betula woodland occurred later in this part of the Isle of Man than in adjacent areas of Britain and Ireland. The Isle of Man, in the northern Irish Sea, was isolated from Britain during the late Glacial period perhaps explaining the delayed arrival of tree species. Delayed rise of the Holocene forest compared with surrounding regions probably reflects severance of the land-bridge with Cumbria, but also could be a function of climate changes during the early Holocene and local environmental conditions. Late survival and the dwarfism of the Megaloceros giganteus (Giant Deer) fauna is another example of biogeographical divergence during the early Holocene/late Glacial of the Isle of Man. The delayed afforestation and absence of human hunters in the Manx early Holocene offers a permissive environmental context for the as yet unproven survival of Megaloceros into the early Holocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, it has been shown that the tire-ice friction is characterized by a significant dynamic potential for abrupt increases of wheel torque. With the aim to gain insight into the dynamic tire friction potential features and to provide a comprehensive set of experimental data for model validation, a detailed experimental investigation of the dynamic potential has been presented in this article. The experimental data have been collected by using an experimental electrical vehicle with an in-wheel motor. Influence of the following operating parameters has been analyzed: rate of change of applied wheel torque, time for which the tire stands still on ice before applying the abrupt transient, initial vehicle speed, and initial tire force. In order to check a possible correlation between the dynamic potential and the rubber-ice friction dynamics, an experimental analysis based on a pin-on-disc tribometer has also been presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]