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Abstract. In Australia, as elsewhere, there is a growing need for information relating to soil condition, its current status, and the nature and direction of change in response to management [...]

Henredon Furniture Industries Inc.'s frame plant shows the changes that result from combining modern management methods with technology and internationally-accepted manufacturing principles. Henredon, which happens to be a business operation of industry giant Masco Home Furnishings, developed its Employees Leading Improvement process that encourages employees to initiate changes in the firm and requires management to establish a continuous improvement atmosphere., At the Henredon Furniture Industries frame plant, a 150,000-square-foot building that employs 105 people, the basic raw material is dried lumber. Here component parts are fabricated in the machine shop, [...]

Small patches of woodland were progressively established on degraded agricultural land near Gunnedah, northern New South Wales, on the heavily cleared Liverpool Plains. Birds were resurveyed in the plantings, and in agricultural fields (cropping and pasture) and remnant woodland, in 2011-12, 10 years after initial surveys in 2000-01. The plantings in the later survey were 60, 18, 16 and 13 years old, with a shrub layer included in the three youngest cohorts. The survey sites (total 14 ha planted, all within 200 m of remnant woodland) were paired 1-ha plots in each vegetation category. Birds were surveyed by 30-min area searches of each plot eight times over all seasons, using the same plots, procedure and observer as before. In all, 73 species were recorded in the later survey (versus 72 in the earlier survey), for a total of 87 species over both survey periods, with 58 species in 2011-12 (versus 54 in 2000-01) in the plantings; eight of 15 new species visited or colonised the maturing plantings. Avian species richness and abundance increased from the cleared agricultural plots through the progressively older plantings to resemble those in the remnant woodland. Between the first and second surveys, bird communities in the younger plantings converged with those in the older plantings and woodland. The nectar-feeding, foliage-feeding and ground-feeding insectivore guilds benefitted most, having increased in frequency in, or moved into, the younger cohorts of plantings (.13 years old), or both. Several threatened and other declining woodland birds visited, increased in or colonised the plantings. However, noisy miners (Manorina melanocephala) progressively occupied a few plots and excluded some other birds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have recently reported the psychological outcome of a group Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) intervention with patients who had metastatic breast cancer. The data of 92 patients who were retained at the first follow-up assessment revealed short-term improvements on measures of mood and self-esteem amongst therapy participants. These changes were not sustained at the 3- and 6-month follow-up assessments. This report describes a survival analysis of 121 patients who entered the study, at 5 years after its commencement. The analysis, based on the Cox Proportional Hazards Regression model, revealed no survival advantage associated with the intervention. Only medical prognostic factors such as Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status, visceral metastases and chemotherapy treatment significantly predicted patients' survival time. The findings of this study are compared with those of two earlier studies which also examined the survival effects of a group psychological intervention with metastatic breast cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. The Oxford classification categorises stroke according to clinical features. Differences in terms of mortality, institutionalisation, recurrence and achievement of mobility milestones have been demonstrated across clinical subtypes. This study aimed to describe differences in content of occupational therapy and physiotherapy activities, according to clinical stroke subtype. Method. This retrospective study forms part of a larger research project (n = 419). Ten patients from each of five clinical subtypes were randomly selected and therapy content was recoded from the medical notes using a coding tool. Results. The content of therapy sessions varied across subtypes, for both occupational therapy and physiotherapy sessions. Kruskal-Wallis analysis showed significant difference between subtypes for passive movements and transfers (p < 0.05) and standing balance, walking and stairs (p < 0.01). Similarly, significant differences between subtypes were seen in personal activities of daily living and the assessment or treatment of mood/cognitive problems (p < 0.05). Conclusions. The results show differences in the content of occupational and physiotherapy sessions across clinical stroke subtypes. Findings from this study could be used to help workforce planning and inform future studies with a larger sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility of a brief educational intervention administered two weeks after Automatic Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (AICD) implantation on subsequent levels of anxiety, depression, stress and hostility. DESIGN: A randomised controlled design was used. SUBJECTS AND SETTING: Twenty-two patients hospitalised for implantation of an AICD were recruited for the study. Thirteen patients were randomised to attend the intervention and nine to the standard care control group. INTERVENTION: The educational intervention was delivered by a nurse and psychologist. It comprised one 60-90 minute session in which the patient and a significant other received detailed information about the AICD (including practical and psychological aspects), and had the opportunity to ask questions, express concerns and receive reassurance. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The DASS was used to measure anxiety, depression and stress at two, four and six months after AICD insertion. RESULTS: Patients who attended the intervention showed no significant improvements or trend toward improvement on any of the measured psychological domains. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that a single educational session delivered to recent AICD recipients is not sufficient to improve patients' psychological adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2000, Gardner and Collins reported the construction of a fundamental genetic regulatory device, the bi-stable toggle switch, in E. coli. We report here our work on a natural extension of this powerful device, a tri-stable genetic toggle switch capable of switching among three stable states. Like the bi-stable switch, the tri-stable switch consists of repressible promoters that produce inhibitory proteins and requires only a transient pulse of chemical inducer to switch among stable states. Our proof-of-principal construct is designed to control the expression of three different fluorescent reporters using the pBad/AraC, pLacI/LacI, and pTetR/TetR systems; though a tri-stable switch can theoretically be constructed from any three repressible promoters that satisfy a certain mathematical relationship. We have modelled the system extensively, creating both a simple continuous deterministic model based on the work of Gardner and Collins (Gardner and Collins, 2000) and a more complex discrete stochastic model based on the work of Isaacs (Isaacs, 2003). The tri-stable switch, designed, modelled, and partially constructed as an iGEM 2006 project at Brown University, is to be composed entirely of Biobricked parts from the Registry of Standard Biological Parts. In addition to providing support for the iGEM hypothesis, the tri-stable toggle switch has implications for biotechnology and gene therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The view that psychological factors play a role in the onset and progression of cancer has been promoted widely in the popular media. The present study assessed the prevalence of this view. The respondents -527 members of the public, 239 cancer patients, and 117 medical practitioners working in oncology-completed a survey questionnaire consisting of three questions in a yes/no format on whether they believed psychological factors can affect the cause, progression, and cure of cancer. Each question was followed by a Likert-scale question asking respondents to estimate the strength of such an effect. The majority of respondents in the public sample endorsed the proposition that psychological factors affect cause (60%), progression (71%), and cure (72%). A larger proportion of patients endorsed the proposition for progression (85%) and cure (86%). Oncologists were less likely to endorse it for cause (12%) and cure (26%). These relationships also held for estimates of the strength of the effect. In the public sample, females and respondents with a university education provided higher estimates of the effects of psychological factors on cancer. These differences were not evident in the patient sample. Given that the scientific evidence to support the 'mind-cancer' view is equivocal, the question of whether these perceptions should be challenged needs to be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) report neuro-psychological symptoms as a characteristic feature. We sought to assess cognitive performance in patients with CFS, and compare cognitive performance and subjective workload experience of these patients with that of two disease comparison groups (non-melancholic depression and acute infection) and healthy controls.Method: A computerized performance battery employed to assess cognitive functioning included tests of continuous attention, response speed, performance accuracy and memory. Severity of mood disturbance and subjective fatigue were assessed by questionnaire.Results: All patient groups demonstrated increased errors and slower reaction times, and gave higher workload ratings than healthy controls. Patients with CFS and non-melancholic depression had more severe deficits than patients with acute infection. All patient groups reported more severe mood disturbance and fatigue than healthy controls, but patients with CFS and those with acute infection reported less severe mood disturbance than patients with depression.Conclusions: As all patients demonstrated similar deficits in attention and response speed, it is possible that common pathophysiological processes are involved. The differences in severity of mood disturbance, however, suggest that the pathophysiological processes in patients with CFS and acute infection are not simply secondary to depressed mood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aggressive cancer therapy places patients at greater risk for oral complications and treatment-related consequences. Unfortunately, prevention and/or treatment of such oral sequelae has become an often overlooked priority of the treatment team. We describe a philosophy of management of the cancer patient that specifically emphasizes the prevention and treatment of oral complications associated with cancer therapy. These concepts and principles are based on treatment protocols and ongoing clinical research at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents an objective test in Spanish language. Objective; Directions; Construction of the test.

Abstract Background At some medical schools, students can opt to undertake a 1 year intercalated degree, usually a BSc, in addition to their medical course. Over the last few years the numbers of students who have opted to undertake an intercalated degree have been steadily decreasing despite the advantages in securing foundation posts. The aim of this study was to find out why medical students opted not to take an intercalated degree. Methods All 4th and 5th year medical students (n = 343) who had elected not to take an intercalated degree were personally handed a questionnaire. Results 293 completed questionnaires were returned (response rate 85%). The most common reason students opted not to intercalate was because they did not want to have another year of study (69.6%) or incur more debt (51.9%). Only 45 (15.3%) students said they had enough information to inform their decision: reported take up of information provision was poor. Conclusions Our findings indicate that the benefits of intercalating need to be better defined and presented to students in a way that they can make a more informed decision.

Abstract: Implementation of assisted breeding in the captive African wild dog is restricted by a current lack of knowledge on their reproductive physiology and the apparent difficulty of effectively manipulating the complex social dynamic of the pack in order to conduct reproductive procedures. In this study, we describe protocols for the safe and repeated capture and restraint of the African wild dog (n =7) as well as techniques for assessment of male reproductive function, semen collection and preservation. In a serendipitous finding, captive African wild dogs appeared to display significant seasonal change in male reproduction. Testicular volume and tone, spermatorrhea and the ability to collect semen by electroejaculation all increased significantly during late summer and then subsequently declined by early spring. While there were no detectable seasonal changes in testosterone concentration in the population as whole, the alpha-dominant male in both years of the study, had a highly elevated testosterone concentration compared to subordinate males. Semen collection by electroejaculation during the late summer was most effective in peri-pubertal males (15 months) when all seven electroejaculates were of adequate quality for cryopreservation. In the second breeding season (27 months), there were numerous changes in the pack hierarchy and electroejaculation was not as successful (3/7). The characteristics of electroejaculated semen collected in the breeding season are described for seven animals including the first descriptions and incidence of sperm abnormalities in the species. Semen (n =7) was frozen using a Tris–citrate fructose buffer and final egg yolk and glycerol concentration of 20% and 4%, respectively. Sperm were loaded into 0.25mL straws, frozen in liquid nitrogen vapor and then thawed at 37°C. Initial post-thaw survival of spermatozoa was encouraging (% motile: 31.8±5.8%; rate: 2.8±0.3; % intact plasma membranes: 33.4±5.3% and the % of damaged acrosomes: 4.4±1.5%) but following 2h incubation at 37°C, post-thaw survival declined markedly. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]