Resistance and resilience: Can the abrupt end of extreme drought reverse avifaunal collapse?

Aim: Climate change is expected to increase the frequency and intensity of extreme climatic events, such as severe droughts and intense rainfall periods. We explored how the avifauna of a highly modified region responded to a 13-year drought (the 'Big Dry'), followed by a two-year period of substantially higher than average rainfall (the 'Big Wet'). Location: Temperate woodlands in north central Victoria, Australia. Methods: We used two spatially extensive, long-term survey programmes, each of which was repeated three times: early and late in the Big Dry, and in the Big Wet. We compared species-specific changes in reporting rates between periods in both programmes to explore the resistance (the ability to persist during drought) and resilience (extent of recovery post-drought) of species to climate extremes. Results: There was a substantial decline in the reporting rates of 42-62% (depending on programme) of species between surveys conducted early and late in the Big Dry. In the Big Wet, there was some recovery, with 21-29% of species increasing substantially. However, more than half of species did not recover and 14-27% of species continued to decline in reporting rate compared with early on in the Big Dry. Species' responses were not strongly related to ecological traits. Species resistance to the drought was inversely related to resilience in the Big Wet for 20-35% of the species, while 76-78% of species with low resistance showed an overall decline across the study period. Conclusions: As declines occurred largely irrespective of ecological traits, this suggests a widespread mechanism is responsible. Species that declined the most during the Big Dry did not necessarily show the greatest recoveries. In already much modified regions, climate extremes such as extended drought will induce on-going changes in the biota. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The ProCaSP study: quality of life outcomes of prostate cancer patients after radiotherapy or radical prostatectomy in a cohort study urological oncology

Background: This study describes and compares health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of prostate cancer patients who received either radical prostatectomy (nerve-sparing, nsRP, or non-nerve-sparing, nnsRP) or radiotherapy (external RT, brachytherapy, or both combined) for treatment of localised prostate cancer. Methods: The prospective, multicenter cohort study included 529 patients. Questionnaires included the IIEF, QLQ-C30, and PORPUS-P. Data were collected before (baseline), three, six, twelve, and twenty-four months after treatment. Differences between groups' baseline characteristics were assessed; changes over time were analysed with generalised estimating equations (GEE). Missing values were treated with multiple imputation. Further, scores at baseline and end of follow-up were compared to German reference data. Results: The typical time trend was a decrease of average HRQOL three months after treatment followed by (partial) recovery. RP patients experienced considerable impairment in sexual functioning. The covariate-adjusted GEE identified a significant - but not clinically relevant - treatment effect for diarrhoea (b∈=∈7.0 for RT, p∈=∈0.006) and PORPUS-P (b∈=∈2.3 for nsRP, b∈=∈2.2 for RT, p∈=∈0.045) compared to the reference nnsRP. Most of the HRQOL scores were comparable to German norm values. Conclusions: Findings from previous research were reproduced in a specific setting of a patient cohort in the German health care system. According to the principle of evidence-based medicine, this strengthens the messages regarding treatment in prostate cancer and its impacts on patients' health-related quality of life. After adjustment for baseline HRQOL and other covariates, RT patients reported increased symptoms of diarrhoea, and nnsRP patients decreased prostate-specific HRQOL. RP patients experienced considerable impairment in sexual functioning. These differences should be taken into account by physicians when choosing the best therapy for a patient.

Something normal in a very, very abnormal environment – Nursing work to honour the life of dying infants and children in neonatal and paediatric intensive care in Australia

The majority of deaths of children and infants occur in paediatric and neonatal intensive care settings. For nurses, managing an infant/child's deterioration and death can be very challenging. Nurses play a vital role in how the death occurs, how families are supported leading up to and after the infant/child's death. This paper describes the nurses' endeavours to create normality amidst the sadness and grief of the death of a child in paediatric and neonatal ICU. Focus groups and individual interviews with registered nurses from NICU and PICU settings gathered data on how neonatal and paediatric intensive care nurses care for families when a child dies and how they perceived their ability and preparedness to provide family care. Four themes emerged from thematic analysis: (1) respecting the child as a person; (2) creating opportunities for family involvement/connection; (3) collecting mementos; and (4) planning for death. Many of the activities described in this study empowered parents to participate in the care of their child as death approached. Further work is required to ensure these principles are translated into practice.

Family centred care before and during life-sustaining treatment withdrawal in intensive care: a survey of information provided to families by Australasian critical care nurses

BACKGROUND: A core component of family-centred nursing care during the provision of end-of-life care in intensive care settings is information sharing with families. Yet little is known about information provided in these circumstances.

OBJECTIVE: To identify information most frequently given by critical care nurses to families in preparation for and during withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment.

DESIGN: An online cross-sectional survey.

METHODS: During May 2015, critical care nurses in Australia and New Zealand were invited to complete the Preparing Families for Treatment Withdrawal questionnaire. Data analysis included descriptive statistics to identify areas of information most and least frequently shared with families. Cross tabulations with demographic data were used to explore any associations in the data.

RESULTS: From the responses of 159 critical care nurses, information related to the emotional care and support of the family was most frequently provided to families in preparation for and during withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment. Variation was noted in the frequency of provision of information across body systems and their associated physical changes during the dying process. Significant associations (p<0.05) were identified between the variables gender, nursing experience and critical care experiences and some of the information items most and least frequently provided.

CONCLUSIONS: The provision of information during end-of-life care reflects a family-centred care approach by critical care nurses with information pertaining to emotional care and support of the family paramount. The findings of this study provide a useful framework for the development of interventions to improve practice and support nurses in communicating with families at this time.

Personality and innate immune defenses in a wild bird: evidence for the pace-of-life hypothesis

We tested the two main evolutionary hypotheses for an association between immunity and personality. The risk-of-parasitism hypothesis predicts that more proactive (bold, exploratory, risk-taking) individuals have more vigorous immune defenses because of increased risk of parasite exposure. In contrast, the pace-of-life hypothesis argues that proactive behavioral styles are associated with shorter lifespans and reduced investment in immune function. Mechanistically, associations between immunity and personality can arise because personality differences are often associated with differences in condition and stress responsiveness, both of which are intricately linked with immunity. Here we investigate the association between personality (measured as proactive exploration of a novel environment) and three indices of innate immune function (the non-specific first line of defense against parasites) in wild superb fairy-wrens Malurus cyaneus. We also quantified body condition, hemoparasites (none detected), chronic stress (heterophil:lymphocyte ratio) and circulating corticosterone levels at the end of the behavioral test (CORT, in a subset of birds). We found that fast explorers had lower titers of natural antibodies. This result is consistent with the pace-of-life hypothesis, and with the previously documented higher mortality of fast explorers in this species. There was no interactive effect of exploration score and duration in captivity on immune indices. This suggests that personality-related differences in stress responsiveness did not underlie differences in immunity, even though behavioral style did modulate the effect of captivity on CORT. Taken together these results suggest reduced constitutive investment in innate immune function in more proactive individuals.

The end of the cold war and the causes of Soviet collapse

"In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev ascended to power in the USSR. In selecting a young reformer to the position of general secretary, the politburo had recognised the pressing need to revitalise the Soviet Union. To this end, the leadership imposed a series of reforms aimed at reinvigorating the Soviet economy and society, of which the shifts in foreign policy were the most radical and wide-ranging. Yet, the culmination of the reform process was not Soviet reinvigoration, but the rapid collapse of the USSR. The End of the Cold War and the Causes of Soviet Collapse examines the role played by this foreign policy reform process in the breakdown of Soviet power. Nick Bisley uses a historical sociological theory of the state to analyse the influence of foreign policy alongside the other domestic factors which shaped the development, functioning and failure of the Soviet state.
He concludes that the international confrontation was an important structural element of Soviet state rule and that the end of the confrontation contributed to the destabilisation of the state in the late 1980s. Moreover, he shows that international factors are fundamental to the functioning of modern states and that international and domestic orders shape one another in vital ways."--BOOK JACKET.

The relationships between migration, social support and social integration on quality of Life

Past research indicates that humans have a remarkable ability to maintain normal levels of subjective wellbeing despite adverse objective circumstances. This suggests that such wellbeing may be held under homeostatic control. This paper investigates some of the potential factors
that may contribute to this homeostatic mechanism, in response to the major life event of migration. Three groups were examined: Persian immigrants to Australia (Persian- Australians), non-Persian Australians, and Persians residing in Iran. A total of 330 subjects were recruited. A notable finding was that all three groups did not differ in regard to subjective wellbeing, despite the Persian-Australians being a minority ethnic group in Australia, and the Persians having significantly lower objective life quality. The Persian-Australians who migrated at an older age reported lower subjective quality of life, while the number of years of residence in Australia did not appear to be related to the extent of social integration. Subjective life quality was, however, related to subjective social support for the Australian and Persian samples, and to reciprocality of support for the Persian-Australians.

Quality of life and sense of coherence in people with arthritis

This study investigated the physical and psychological impact of arthritis on people's quality of life. A range of variables were examined in a sample of 375 participants who comprised three groups: people with arthritis receiving a support-based service from the Arthritis Foundation of Victoria, people with arthritis receiving standard treatment, and a group of people from the general population. The results revealed that the two arthritis groups reported a significantly higher level of functional impairment, pain, and negative affectivity, and lowered mood, positive affect, and Sense of Coherence, compared to the general population group. They also reported normal levels of importance, but lower levels of satisfaction on various life domains. After statistically controlling for pain however, group differences were eliminated on all variables except for functional impairment and for all satisfaction domains except health. These data are interpreted as evidence that the combination of low domain satisfaction coupled with high domain importance yields a negative psychological state. This, then suggests the possibility of a therapy based on reducing the perceived importance of health.

Subjective quality of life, perceived control and dispositional optimism among older people

Objectives: To examine whether the subjective quality of life (QOL) of elderly people is held under homeostatic control, and to investigate the role of perceived control and dispositional optimism in the maintenance of subjective QOL.
Method: 100 older people (M=75.6 years) and a control group of 107 younger people (M=20.1 years) completed a self-report survey.
Results: Both groups had a level of subjective QOL within the normal range. The older group reported higher levels of secondary control and optimism, but similar levels of primary control, as the younger group. Primary control and optimism predicted subjective QOL for both groups. Secondary control was a significant predictor (or the younger group, however it was only marginally significant for the older group. Optimism accounted for the most subjective QOL variance for both groups.
Conclusions: The finding that the subjective QOL of the older group lay within the normative range supports the proposal that their subjective QOL is being successfully maintained under bomeostatic control. However, they appear to have an increased reliance on secondary control. The fact that dispositional optimism captures the predictive variance of perceived control, is an important finding adding to the understanding of subjective QOL maintenance.