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PubMed2004

Framing as a cultural resource in health social movements: funding activism and the breast cancer movement in the US 1990-1993.

Disease-specific funding activism in the US has required health social movements (HSMs) to draw on both structural and cultural resources in order to persuade audiences and to redefine dominant conceptions of disease. Using a social constructionist analysis of Congressional testimony and media accounts of breast cancer funding activism between 1990-1993, this paper demonstrates that the use of culturally resonant frames served as an important cultural resource for breast cancer activists in the early 1990s. The breast cancer movement's use of three interconnected and culturally resonant frames aided the movement in redefining breast cancer as a problem of individual women to a major public health problem in need of governmental attention. This research contributes to both social movement and HSM scholarship by demonstrating that cultural resources, in the form of movement frames, are as central to social movement analysis as structural resources.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed2004

Creation of a BAC resource to study the structure and evolution of the banana (Musa balbisiana) genome.

The first bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library of the banana species Musa balbisiana 'Pisang Klutuk Wulung' (PKW BAC library) was constructed and characterized. One improved and one novel protocol for nuclei isolation were employed to overcome problems caused by high levels of polyphenols and polysaccharides present in leaf tissues. The use of flow cytometry to purify cell nuclei eliminated contamination with secondary metabolites and plastid DNA. Furthermore, the usefulness of the inducible pCC1BAC vector to obtain a higher amount of BAC DNA was demonstrated. The PKW BAC library represents nine haploid genome equivalents of M. balbisiana and its mean insert size is 135 kb. It consists of two sublibraries, of which the first one (SN sublibrary with 24,960 clones) was prepared according to an improved standard nuclei isolation protocol, whereas the second (FN sublibrary with 11,904 clones) was obtained from flow-sorted nuclei. Screening with 12 RFLP probes, which were genetically anchored to 8 genetic linkage groups of the banana species Musa acuminata, revealed an average of 11 BAC clones per probe, thus confirming the genome coverage estimated based on the insert size, as well as a high level of conservation between the two species of Musa. Localization of selected BAC clones to mitotic chromosomes using FISH indicated that the BAC library represented a useful resource for cytogenetic mapping. As the first step in map-based cloning of a genetic factor that is involved in the activation of integrated pararetroviral sequences of Banana streak virus (BSV), the BSV expressed locus (BEL) was physically delimited. The PKW BAC library represents a publicly available tool, and is currently used to reveal the integration and activation mechanisms of BSV sequences and to study banana genome structure and evolution.

Cell Nucleus↗
PubMed2002

Effects of resource supplies on the structure and function of microbial communities.

The supplies of nutrients, and their elemental stoichiometry, can have significant impacts upon the structure and function of microbial communities. This review focuses on the effects of nutrient supplies on the biodegradation of organic matter, and on the dynamics of host-pathogen interactions. Analyses of data from the literature suggest significant effects of nitrogen:phosphorus supply ratios on the microbial decomposition of organic matter, and it is argued that these stoichiometric effects may have important implications for the fate and fluxes of carbon in natural ecosystems. In addition, it is shown that the supplies of nitrogen and phosphorus to the host can strongly influence the outcome of infections in both terrestrial and aquatic plants, suggesting that resource availability and resource supply ratios potentially may have significant effects on the health of many plant communities.

Bacteria↗
PubMed2007

MIPSPlantsDB--plant database resource for integrative and comparative plant genome research.

Genome-oriented plant research delivers rapidly increasing amount of plant genome data. Comprehensive and structured information resources are required to structure and communicate genome and associated analytical data for model organisms as well as for crops. The increase in available plant genomic data enables powerful comparative analysis and integrative approaches. PlantsDB aims to provide data and information resources for individual plant species and in addition to build a platform for integrative and comparative plant genome research. PlantsDB is constituted from genome databases for Arabidopsis, Medicago, Lotus, rice, maize and tomato. Complementary data resources for cis elements, repetive elements and extensive cross-species comparisons are implemented. The PlantsDB portal can be reached at http://mips.gsf.de/projects/plants.

Arabidopsis↗
PubMed2003

The resource economics of chemical and structural defenses across nitrogen supply gradients.

In order to better understand the role of nutrient supplies in determining the prevalence of plant defense types, we investigated the theoretical relationships between ecosystem N supply and the net C gain of shoots that were undefended or defended in one of three ways: (1) by N-free chemical compounds, (2) by N-containing chemical compounds, or (3) by structural defenses. By extending economic models of shoot resource balance to include the relative value of C and N, depreciation, and amortization, we were able to show that the relative net C gain of the three defense types were similar to changes in their generally understood abundance along an N supply gradient. At low N supply, the additional C acquired when investing C in defense is much higher than investing N in defenses. Only at high N supply is it better to invest large quantities of N in defense rather than additional photosynthesis. In a sensitivity analysis, net C gain of shoots was most sensitive to factors that affect the relative value of C and N and the rate of herbivory. Although there is support for the relative value of C and N influencing defense strategies, more research is necessary to understand why tannins are not more prevalent at high N supply and why moderate amounts of N-based defenses are not used at low N supply.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1998

New tools and resources for analysing protein structures and their interactions.

The determination of protein structures has furthered our understanding of how various proteins perform their functions. With the large number of structures currently available in the PDB, it is necessary to be able to easily study these proteins in detail. Here new software tools are presented which aim to facilitate this analysis; these include the PDBsum WWW site which provides a summary description of all PDB entries, the programs TOPS and NUCPLOT to plot schematic diagrams representing protein topology and DNA-binding interactions, SAS a WWW-based sequence-analysis tool incorporating structural data, and WWW servers for the analysis of protein-protein interfaces and analyses of over 300 haem-binding proteins.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

[The standardization of medical care and the training of medical personnel].

The medical specialist training at all levels (medical orderly, doctor's assistant, general practitioner, doctors) should be based on the medical care standards. Preliminary studies in the field of military medicine standards have demonstrated that the medical service of the Armed Forces of Russia needs medical resources' standards, structure and organization standards, technology standards. Military medical service resources' standards should reflect the requisitions for: all medical specialists' qualification, equipment and material for medical set-ups, field medical systems, drugs, etc. Standards for structures and organization should include requisitions for: command and control systems in military formations' and task forces' medical services and their information support; health-care and evacuation functions, sanitary control and anti-epidemic measures and personnel health protection. Technology standards development could improve and regulate the health care procedures in the process of evacuation. Standards' development will help to solve the problem of the data-base for the military medicine education system and medical research.

First Aid↗
PubMed2000

Resource competition in stage-structured populations.

Two models are made to account for the dynamics of a consumer-resource system in which the consumers are divided into juveniles and adults. The resource grows logistically and a type II functional response is assumed for consumers. Resource levels determine fecundity and maturation rates in one model, and mortality rates in the other. The analysis of the models shows that the condition for establishment of consumers is that the product of per capita fecundity rate and maturation rates is higher than the product of juvenile and adult per capita decay rates at a resource level equal to its carrying capacity. This result imposes a minimal abundance of resource able to maintain the consumers. A second result shows an equilibrium stage structure, with a small instability when juveniles and adults mean saturation constants are different. The implications of these results for community dynamics are discussed.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1996

Age related distributive justice and claims on resources.

The ageing population structure, and claims on resources by non-working groups, are seen by many to be contributing to a growing welfare crisis. In their arguments, relations between age groups and generations will become increasingly fraught, and welfare arrangements will be undermined, as 'unacceptable' levels of taxation blight the experience of a contracting workforce, required to resource a growing welfare population. However, more seems to be known about researchers' views on distributive justice than is known about the perceptions of their subject populations. It has not been demonstrated that members of age groups share interests which are consonant with their cohort experience, or perceive their interests to be in conflict with those members of other age groups or generations. This paper analyses empirical evidence on people's perceptions of who should get, and do, what, in developing an argument that standard processes do not place age groups or generations in antagonistic relationship. Understanding the relations between age groups and generations is essential to explaining change in patterns of inequality, but the interdependence of these relations suggest that they are part of a coherent social structure, and not likely to give rise to crisis in the ways predicted.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A structural model of stress, psychosocial resources, and symptomatic experience in chronic physical illness.

The purpose of this investigation was to test a theory-based structural model describing the relationships among psychosocial resources (strength of psychosocial attributes and basic need satisfaction), perceived stress, disease severity, and symptomatic experience in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). One hundred nine subjects (58 males and 51 females) participated in the cross-sectional mail survey. Psychosocial attribute strength was a significant predictor of basic need satisfaction; basic need satisfaction was a significant predictor of perceived stress; and basic need satisfaction, perceived stress, and disease severity were significant predictors of symptomatic experience. The psychosocial attributes variable was a significant predictor of basic need satisfaction for both sexes. For males, basic need satisfaction and stress were significant predictors of symptomatic experience, while psychosocial attributes were not. For females, the psychosocial attributes variable was a significant predictor of symptomatic experience, while basic need satisfaction and stress were not. The findings suggest that psychosocial resources and perceived stress may be important factors in the symptomatic experience of adults with COPD. Males and females seem to differ in the role psychosocial attributes and basic need satisfaction play in the dynamics of the proposed model.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Legislation and reality in public dental services in Norway: dental health services for children and adolescents in 1975 and 1985.

The act relating to dental health service implied a reorganization of the public dental health services in Norway in 1984. The act intended to extend the target group of public dental health services and to achieve social and geographic equality in the distribution of dental health services among children and adolescents. The purpose of this study was to assess the degree to which these intentions had been fulfilled. The material comprised two nationwide, stratified, and randomly selected samples of 3,356 and 2,970 children and adolescents in the age group zero to 18 years. Data were collected in 1975 and 1985. Both the theoretical and the empirical models applied structural and individual resources to explain individual variation in use of dental health services. The results showed that the proportion of zero- to 18-year-olds who had seen a dentist within the past 12 months was higher in 1985 than in 1975 (81.7% and 75.8%, respectively). Bivariate and trivariate table analyses showed that statistically significant associations between structural resources and use of dental health services disappeared when controlling for a third variable. Use of dental health services among children and adolescents in Norway was not systemically influenced by the same factors, as was the use of dental health services in the adult population. Thus, the Public Dental Health Service in Norway seems to have had the capability of compensating for most of the discriminating effects that individual and structural factors may have on the use of dental health services both before and after the reorganization of the public dental health service.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Census 2004 of the Italian Renal and Dialysis Units--Piemonte, Liguria and Valle d'Aosta].

The Italian Society of Nephrology (SIN) promoted a national survey in order to obtain detailed information from all Renal and/or Dialysis Units using the on-line questionnaire (158 items) regarding structural and technological resources, medical workforce organisation and activity features. The purposes of this initiative were to obtain regional benchmarks as references for renal units and to describe the current Italian renal network in order to plan further interventions for the next 5 years. In this paper data of the first three Italian Regions (Piemonte, Liguria and Valle d'Aosta) which completed the survey (100% of the units) are reported. Main findings in the 3 Regions. A) Epidemiology: prevalence of dialysis patients = 709, 720, 787 pmp (per million population); prevalence of transplanted patients = 325, 387, 279 pmp; incidence of dialysis patients = 166, 191, 156 pmp; gross mortality of dialysis patients = 13.7, 15.0, 13.0%; distribution of vascular access in prevalent dialysis patients: arteriovenous fistula = 74, 83, 76%, central venous catheter = 18, 12, 15%, vascular graft = 8, 5, 9%. B) Structural resources: hospital's number of beds = 49, 72, 49 pmp, dialysis places = 166, 158, 164 pmp. C) Personnel resources: renal physicians = 44, 47, 41 pmp, renal nurses = 186, 194, 205 pmp; each renal physician takes care of 16, 15, 19 dialysis patients and each renal nurse cares for 3.8, 3.7, 3.8 dialysis patients. D) Activity: admission to hospital = 1507, 2392, 1606 pmp, renal biopsies = 109, 133, 57 pmp. Despite discrepancies in population density in the three Regions, most indexes are surprisingly similar and show the satisfactory level of renal care attained in the Northwestern Italian area. Further improvements in health care management can be predicted as a consequence of a direct comparison between needs and results in the various Regions of the Country.

Censuses↗
PubMed2002

Spatial and resource factors influencing high microbial diversity in soil.

To begin defining the key determinants that drive microbial community structure in soil, we examined 29 soil samples from four geographically distinct locations taken from the surface, vadose zone, and saturated subsurface using a small-subunit rRNA-based cloning approach. While microbial communities in low-carbon, saturated, subsurface soils showed dominance, microbial communities in low-carbon surface soils showed remarkably uniform distributions, and all species were equally abundant. Two diversity indices, the reciprocal of Simpson's index (1/D) and the log series index, effectively distinguished between the dominant and uniform diversity patterns. For example, the uniform profiles characteristic of the surface communities had diversity index values that were 2 to 3 orders of magnitude greater than those for the high-dominance, saturated, subsurface communities. In a site richer in organic carbon, microbial communities consistently exhibited the uniform distribution pattern regardless of soil water content and depth. The uniform distribution implies that competition does not shape the structure of these microbial communities. Theoretical studies based on mathematical modeling suggested that spatial isolation could limit competition in surface soils, thereby supporting the high diversity and a uniform community structure. Carbon resource heterogeneity may explain the uniform diversity patterns observed in the high-carbon samples even in the saturated zone. Very high levels of chromium contamination (e.g., >20%) in the high-organic-matter soils did not greatly reduce the diversity. Understanding mechanisms that may control community structure, such as spatial isolation, has important implications for preservation of biodiversity, management of microbial communities for bioremediation, biocontrol of root diseases, and improved soil fertility.

Bacteria↗
PubMed2003

Converting to insulin in primary care: an exploration of the needs of practice nurses.

BACKGROUND: In order to optimize glycaemic control, substantial numbers of people with type 2 diabetes may require transfer from oral medication to insulin therapy. Although insulin conversion is traditionally a specialist secondary care function, as nursing roles change and expand there is growing pressure for this to be performed within primary care. However, little is known about the potential barriers to such a change, particularly from the standpoint of the frontline staff involved. AIMS: The study aimed to explore the views of practice nurses in the United Kingdom (UK) about converting diabetic patients from oral hyperglycaemic agents to injected insulin within primary care, and to investigate what structures and resources might be useful in supporting such a change. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 practice nurses, and interpreted using content analysis to extract key conceptual themes from the transcribed interview texts. FINDINGS: Most of the nurses felt that converting to insulin in primary care had considerable benefits for patients. However, issues of time, training, confidence about performing the change, and the adequacy of support systems, both for patient and nurse, emerged as the main perceived barriers to performing insulin conversions in primary care. Worries about legal and accountability issues surrounding the nurse prescribing elements were also raised. CONCLUSIONS: Where insulin conversion within primary care is being considered, it is suggested that specific training is provided for practice nurses and general practitioners, protected time is made available, and a team-working approach is fostered to prevent isolation and boost patient support. Formal mentoring or supervision support for practice nurses may also help them to adapt to this new approach. LIMITATIONS: These findings are based on the views of nurses from a single UK locality, and so widespread consultation is recommended before applying them in other settings.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2002

Representation of practice guidelines with XML--modeling with XML schema.

OBJECTIVES: Data and information in medicine are mainly represented in slightly structured or even unstructured, narrative text documents. It is nearly impossible to detect and handle relationships between data elements within narrative documents or to retrieve parts of documents that contain specific information. But information access and retrieval are essential to serve the delivery and application of evidence-based medicine. METHODS: The eXtensible Markup Language (XML) provides a standard means to explicitly describe a document's structure and to identify meaningful elements inside textual narrations. Information about the state-of-the-art medical care can be delivered to the physician by different means and media. Clinical practice guidelines are thought to be one possible solution to summarize and present current medical evidence. RESULTS: The structuring of resources containing medical information with XML can facilitate the provision of problem-specific medical information at the point of care by improving content retrieval and presentation. In our project, the XML Schema is used for the electronic representation in order to structure guidelines (and other text-based resources) in a standardized way. CONCLUSION: The transition from unstructured textual data towards structured and coded data will be a migration process. One of the premises of our approach is that the structure that is defined by the information model doesn't restrict the content of the documents. This approach may fill the gap between computerized, algorithmic guideline recommendations and text-based guideline distributions.

Computer Systems↗