Communication during brief intervention, intention to change, and outcome.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the relationship between patient's intention to change regarding future alcohol consumption following brief alcohol intervention (BAI) and changes in alcohol consumption 12-months later and the communication characteristics between patient and counselor during BAI. DESIGN, SETTING AND SUBJECTS: Data from 367 patients (experimental arm) of a pragmatic randomized controlled trial were used to assess the effectiveness of BAI among hazardous drinkers attending an Emergency Department (Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland). Alcohol outcome measures at baseline and 12 months follow-up included usual number of drinks per week, monthly frequency of heavy episodic drinking (5 or more standard drinks for men; 4 or more for women), and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) score. In addition, the communication characteristics between patient and counselor were analyzed via tape recordings using the Motivational Interviewing Skill Code (MISC) from 97 participants. Patient readiness and importance to change on a 10-point Likert scale (readiness/importance to change ruler) was asked during BAI, and patient intention to change alcohol consumption (yes/no) was asked at the last step. Differences in alcohol outcome at follow-up between the 367 patients who did or did not have an intention to change consumption at baseline were compared, as were differences between these two groups in communication characteristics for the 97 who completed tape recordings. RESULTS: Patients with an intention to decrease alcohol consumption reduced alcohol use and related problems more often, and reported higher levels of importance and readiness to change than did their counterparts. Analyses of MISC-coded data showed a significantly higher use of MI-consistent skills among those with a moderation intention, but no group differences on the 8 other counselor communication skills measures were found. Analyses of patient speech during the intervention indicated that those with an intention to change their alcohol consumption significantly more often self-explored personal ambivalence towards alcohol, expressed more intensely their ability, commitment, desire, need and reason to change their alcohol use than did those in the no decrease group. CONCLUSIONS: The intention expressed by hazardous drinkers when concluding BAI is associated with both patient change talk during BAI and drinking outcome 12 months later, but is mainly independent of counselor communication skills. This intention may be an important clinical indicator of which hazardous drinkers are most likely to improve after BAI.

Sex, politics and social change in the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries: Evidence from the Swiss Alps

The 18th century "sexual revolution" can not simply be explained as a consequence of economic or institutional factors - industrialization, agricultural revolution, secularization or legal hindrances to marriages: the example of western Valais (Switzerland) shows that we have to deal with a complex configuration of factors The micro-historical approach reveals that in the 18th and 19th century sexuality - and above all illicit sexuality - was a highly subversive force which was considerably linked to political innovation and probably more generally to historical change. Non-marital sexuality was clearly tied to political dissent ant to innovative ways of behaviour, both among the social elites and the common people. This behaviour patterns influenced crucial evolutions in the social, cultural and economic history of the region.

Blood pressure change and outcome in acute ischemic stroke: the impact of baseline values, previous hypertensive disease and previous antihypertensive treatment.

BACKGROUND: Management of blood pressure (BP) in acute ischemic stroke is controversial. The present study aims to explore the association between baseline BP levels and BP change and outcome in the overall stroke population and in specific subgroups with regard to the presence of arterial hypertensive disease and prior antihypertensive treatment. METHODS: All patients registered in the Acute STroke Registry and Analysis of Lausanne (ASTRAL) between 2003 and 2009 were analyzed. Unfavorable outcome was defined as modified Rankin score more than 2. A local polynomial surface algorithm was used to assess the effect of BP values on outcome in the overall population and in predefined subgroups. RESULTS: Up to a certain point, as initial BP was increasing, optimal outcome was seen with a progressively more substantial BP decrease over the next 24-48 h. Patients without hypertensive disease and an initially low BP seemed to benefit from an increase of BP. In patients with hypertensive disease, initial BP and its subsequent changes seemed to have less influence on clinical outcome. Patients who were previously treated with antihypertensives did not tolerate initially low BPs well. CONCLUSION: Optimal outcome in acute ischemic stroke may be determined not only by initial BP levels but also by the direction and magnitude of associated BP change over the first 24-48 h.

Gestextil. Sistema de planificación de recursos empresariales (ERP)

Este proyecto se basa en la implementación de un sistema ERP. Para ello, se desarrolla la base principal del sistema, la cual es genérica para todas las empresas. A partir de aquí se realiza el estudio personalizado e individual de los módulos necesarios para una PYME que ofrece servicio en el sector del téxtil y se implementan algunos de estos módulos acorde con las necesidades particulares. Para su desarrollo se aplica una arquitectura basada en tecnologías Java. Se tienen en cuenta factores como el coste económico de implantación, plataforma necesaria e incluso el rendimiento del propio sistema.

Climatic change in northeastern Brazil: paleoparasitological data

Trichuris eggs were observed in Kerodon rupestris coprolites dated 9,000 years before present, collected in archeological sites of São Raimundo Nonato, northeastern Brazil. However, present day local rodents seem not to be infected by the parasite, suggesting its disappearence due to climatic changes.

Implementation of IPM programs on European greenhouse tomato production areas: Tools and constraints

Whiteflies and whitefly-transmitted viruses are some of the major constraints on European tomato production. The main objectives of this study were to: identify where and why whiteflies are a major limitation on tomato crops; collect information about whiteflies and associated viruses; determine the available management tools; and identify key knowledge gaps and research priorities. This study was conducted within the framework of ENDURE (European Network for Durable Exploitation of Crop Protection Strategies). Two whitefly species are the main pests of tomato in Europe: Bemisia tabaci and Trialeurodes vaporariorum. Trialeurodes vaporariorum is widespread to all areas where greenhouse industry is present, and B. tabaci has invaded, since the early 1990’s, all the subtropical and tropical areas. Biotypes B and Q of B. tabaci are widespread and especially problematic. Other key tomato pests are Aculops lycopersici, Helicoverpa armigera, Frankliniella occidentalis, and leaf miners. Tomato crops are particularly susceptible to viruses causingTomato yellow leaf curl disease (TYLCD). High incidences of this disease are associated to high pressure of its vector, B. tabaci. The ranked importance of B. tabaci established in this study correlates with the levels of insecticide use, showing B. tabaci as one of the principal drivers behind chemical control. Confirmed cases of resistance to almost all insecticides have been reported. Integrated Pest Management based on biological control (IPM-BC) is applied in all the surveyed regions and identified as the strategy using fewer insecticides. Other IPM components include greenhouse netting and TYLCD-tolerant tomato cultivars. Sampling techniques differ between regions, where decisions are generally based upon whitefly densities and do not relate to control strategies or growing cycles. For population monitoring and control, whitefly species are always identified. In Europe IPM-BC is the recommended strategy for a sustainable tomato production. The IPM-BC approach is mainly based on inoculative releases of the parasitoids Eretmocerus mundus and Encarsia formosa and/or the polyphagous predators Macrolophus caliginosus and Nesidiocoris tenuis. However, some limitations for a wider implementation have been identified: lack of biological solutions for some pests, costs of beneficials, low farmer confidence, costs of technical advice, and low pest injury thresholds. Research priorities to promote and improve IPM-BC are proposed on the following domains: (i) emergence and invasion of new whitefly-transmitted viruses; (ii) relevance of B. tabaci biotypes regarding insecticide resistance; (iii) biochemistry and genetics of plant resistance; (iv) economic thresholds and sampling techniques of whiteflies for decision making; and (v) conservation and management of native whitefly natural enemies and improvement of biological control of other tomato pests.

The Evolution of the Climate Change Regime: Beyond a North-South Divide?

This research primarily analyses relevant climate bargaining dynamics that have been informed by a North-South impasse. This working paper argues that the first stage of negotiations for a climate convention indeed witnessed a North-South divide which became institutionalized in the Framework Convention on Climate Change. However, in subsequent negotiation rounds the key loci of bargaining struggles was centered between developed countries, in which relevant North-South cooperation dynamics were also present. Finally, this paper assesses the unfinished post-Kyoto bargaining process in which two trends are already being observed: both the emergence of a new geopolitics between the United States and major developing countries, and a fragmentation process within the South, in which the Copenhagen Accord itself has begun to institutionalize such fragmentation.

Stability and change in party preferences.

This article analyses stability and volatility of party preferences using data from the Swiss Household-Panel (SHP), which, for the first time, allow studying transitions and stability of voters over several years in Switzerland. Analyses cover the years 1999- 2007 and systematically distinguish changes between party blocks and changes within party blocks. The first part looks at different patterns of change, which show relatively high volatility. The second part tests several theories on causes of such changes applying a multinomial random-effects model. Results show that party preferences stabilise with their duration and with age and that the electoral cycle, political sophistication, socio-structural predispositions, the household-context as well as party size and the number of parties each explain part of electoral volatility. Different results for withinand between party-block changes underlie the importance of that differentiation.

Predicting community and ecosystem outcomes of mycorrhizal responses to global change.

Mycorrhizal symbioses link the biosphere with the lithosphere by mediating nutrient cycles and energy flow though terrestrial ecosystems. A more mechanistic understanding of these plant-fungal associations may help ameliorate anthropogenic changes to C and N cycles and biotic communities. We explore three interacting principles: (1) optimal allocation, (2) biotic context and (3) fungal adaptability that may help predict mycorrhizal responses to carbon dioxide enrichment, nitrogen eutrophication, invasive species and land-use changes. Plant-microbial feedbacks and thresholds are discussed in light of these principles with the goal of generating testable hypotheses. Ideas to develop large-scale collaborative research efforts are presented. It is our hope that mycorrhizal symbioses can be effectively integrated into global change models and eventually their ecology will be understood well enough so that they can be managed to help offset some of the detrimental effects of anthropogenic environmental change.

Advanced trauma life support, 8th edition, the evidence for change.

The American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma's Advanced Trauma Life Support Course is currently taught in 50 countries. The 8th edition has been revised following broad input by the International ATLS subcommittee. Graded levels of evidence were used to evaluate and approve changes to the course content. New materials related to principles of disaster management have been added. ATLS is a common language teaching one safe way of initial trauma assessment and management.

QUALITEL : Qualitat Docent als estudis d'Enginyeria de Telecomunicació

L'objectiu del projecte QUALITEL dut a terme durant el curs 2007/2008 fou millorar l'aprenentatge dels estudiants de primer curs (fase selectiva) d'enginyeria de telecomunicació de l'ETSETB, introduint una nova metodologia docent basada en l'EEES. Es a dir, programació del treball de l'estudiant dins i fora de l'aula, increment de la interacció entre el professors i els seus estudiants mitjançant un sistema de tutories i la utilització d'eines de suport a l'aprenentatge com la utilització del Campus Digital ATENEA. La millora de l'aprenentatge s'hauria de traduir en un augment significatiu del percentatge d'aprovats a la fase selectiva que permetés capgirar la dinàmica de l'ETSETB en els darrers anys que ha sofert una davallada molt important d'estudiants matriculats. Aquesta davallada es va originar per una disminució de la demanda dels nostres estudis, la qual va provocar una baixada de la nota de tall que, a la seva vegada, va comportar un elevat fracàs a la fase selectiva.

La reconnaissance des troubles musculo-squelettiques (TMS) comme maladies professionnelles: controverses sociales et trajectoires personnelles

La reconnaissance des troubles musculo-squelettiques (TMS) comme maladies professionnelles : controverses sociales et trajectoires personnelles¦Les TMS sont actuellement considérés comme des problèmes majeurs de santé au travail, mais leur reconnaissance comme maladies professionnelles reste controversée. L'objectif central de cette thèse est de comprendre, dans une perspective de psychologie socio-culturelle intégrant certains apports de la sociologie interactionniste, les conséquences que cette situation peut avoir pour des travailleuses et travailleurs souffrant de ces affections. Au préalable, il s'agira de saisir comment se constituent les controverses sur les TMS et pourquoi ces derniers sont si rarement reconnus comme maladies professionnelles en Suisse. Les principales données sont constituées de documents institutionnels et d'entretiens avec des ouvrières et ouvriers atteints de TMS.¦Les résultats montrent que les enjeux de la reconnaissance des maladies professionnelles ne se limitent pas aux prestations d'assurance et à la prise en charge des coûts engendrés par les maladies. En effet, leur non-reconnaissance contribue à définir les TMS comme des problèmes personnels plutôt que professionnels, ce qui peut entraver les capacités des ouvrières et ouvriers à agir sur leurs conditions de travail. En outre, les explications qui circulent sur les TMS par le biais de discours institutionnels ou informels ont des conséquences sur la manière dont une personne appréhende sa propre maladie. Ces explications de la maladie peuvent être des outils de compréhension, mais aussi contribuer à définir l'identité de la personne malade. Dans ce cas, la reconnaissance du caractère professionnel de la maladie touche aussi à des questions de reconnaissance sociale.¦MSDs are currently considered major occupational health problems, but their recognition as occupational illnesses remains controversial. The central objective of the thesis is to grasp, from a socio-cultural psychology perspective that integrates certain contributions of interactionist sociology, the consequences that these circumstances can have for workers suffering from such ailments. Further, the thesis first aims to understand how controversies about MSDs emerge and why these disorders are so rarely recognized as occupational illnesses in Switzerland. Most of the data used stems from institutional documents and from interviews with workers suffering from MSDs.¦The results show that the stakes of recognizing occupational illnesses are not limited to issues of insurance benefits and the coverage of costs generated by the disorders. In fact, the non-recognition of MSDs contributes to their characterization as personal rather than professional problems, which can in turn impede workers' ability to act to change their working conditions. Furthermore, accounts of and explanations about MSDs circulating by means of institutional or informal discourse have consequences on the way a person may perceive his or her own illness. Such explanations of the illness can be tools for understanding it, but they may also contribute to defining the identity of the affected person. In this case, the recognition of the occupational nature of the illness is also closely related to questions of social recognition.

Activem la filosofia del llenguatge

En el projecte de millora de la qualitat docent “Activem al filosofia del llenguatge” hi han participat 11 professors i professores de la Universitat de Barcelona, la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, la Universitat de Girona i la Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Aquest grup de docents constitueixen la pràctica totalitat del professors que imparteixen regularment matèries de filosofia del llenguatge en les universitats catalanes. Aquest projecte ha consistit en dissenyar, elaborar i aplicar diferents eines que tenen per objectiu ajudar als alumnes a passar d’una actitud passiva de receptors de classes, a una actitud activa vers els continguts dels cursos troncals de filosofia del llenguatge. La contribució al canvi d’actitud del “rebre” al “fer” s’ha buscat amb la combinació de diferents propostes: la selecció de textos clàssics breus, importants i clars que els estudiants tenien que llegir i rellegir amb deteniment relacionats amb cadascun dels temes tractats en el curs i, vinculat a això, l’elaboració de “preguntes per a guiar la lectura” que ajuden als estudiants a centrar la atenció en els aspectes més pertinents i importants de cadascun d’aquests textos, l’elaboració de dossiers electrònics vinculats a cadascun dels diferents temes que es tracten en aquests cursos, l’elaboració per a cadascun dels temes de diferents exercicis i “preguntes de discussió”, la creació d’un fòrum de discussió electrònic, i la celebració de “jornades de debat” que es centraven en algunes de les “preguntes de discussió”. Hem pogut constatar la necessitat de trobar en el futur maneres d’aplicar les diferents eines que hem dissenyat de forma que els estudiants facin ús de forma encara més general d’aquestes eines.