Use Of Physical Resources Research Articles

Efeitos do laser de baixa potência sobre a dor e edema no trauma tendíneo de ratos

A dor e o edema são sinais, entre outros, que ocorrem durante a fase inflamatória no processo de cura de tendões lesados. A terapia antiinflamatória farmacológica recebe algumas críticas, com relação a seus efeitos deletérios para o reparo. Dessa forma, ganha corpo o uso de recursos físicos para o controle do processo. O objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar o uso do laser de baixa potência sobre a dor e edema em tendão calcâneo de ratos submetidos a trauma experimental. Foram utilizados 28 ratos Wistar, divididos em quatro grupos: GC - submetido à lesão traumática e ao tratamento placebo; G2 - submetido à lesão e irradiado com laser 2J/cm²; G4 - submetido à lesão e irradiado com 4J/cm²; G8 - submetido à lesão e irradiado com 8J/cm². A lesão foi realizada com a queda de um peso sobre a face lateral do tendão calcâneo direito de cada animal, com energia de aproximadamente 0,40J. A dor foi avaliada pelo tempo de elevação da pata (TEP) do animal caminhando durante um minuto, sobre um cilindro metálico com 30cm de diâmetro em 3rpm; a avaliação do edema ocorreu através de paquimetria; os momentos de avaliação foram: pré-lesão, pós-lesão, pós-tratamento, duas horas, oito horas, 24 horas e 5º dia de lesão. O tratamento com laser 670nm ocorreu de forma pontual e diária. Os resultados mostraram aumentos do TEP e formação de edema em todos os grupos após a lesão; para os grupos tratados houve redução da dor e do edema, fato observado no grupo controle apenas com relação à diminuição de edema no 5º dia de placebo. Conclui-se que o tratamento com laser de baixa potência diminuiu dor e edema nos animais com trauma tendíneo, de forma dose-dependente.

Creating a new library for Macquarie University: are we there yet?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to document the long‐term, transformational change strategies that the authors are using to create a new Library at Macquarie University.Design/methodology/approachThe strategies are explained using the metaphor of a journey, with a roadmap, or guiding principles, the milestones reached and next steps for the future. They are also discussed in the context of University and Library strategic planning and with reference to the concepts emerging from Library 2.0 discussions.FindingsDuring 2005/2006 the authors transformed the design of jobs and structure to build a more flexible Library that is agile, resilient, informed, connected, successful and responsible. These changes are being implemented during 2006/2007, supported by extensive training and new approaches to planning, team building, performance monitoring and governance. Two significant changes are being made. One is the construction of a new library building to reaffirm the centrality to research and learning. Also, strategies to maximise the visibility and use of physical resources in this new environment are being implemented. A new technical architecture to underpin all of the activities is being designed.Originality/valueThe aim in creating a new Library is to make the services client‐centric rather than library‐centric.

Curriculum Innovation: The Three Pillars

The Michener Institute is Canada’s only postsecondary institution dedicated exclusively to education for the applied health science professions. Michener’s academic innovation strategy is focused on competency-based curriculum design, and leading edge education ensuring Best Experience Best Education for every learner. The compelling reasons for the redesign of health care education include: (1) concerns that the present medical education model is not sufficiently preparing graduates to ensure safe and effective practice, (2) potential compromise to the long-term ability of medical education delivery because of a limited number of clinical education sites, and (3) evidence that highlights the need for rigor in the assessment of competencies for health professions. The Michener Institute has taken a unique approach to address the challenges in medical education. The Academic Innovation Strategy is supported by 3 pillars which include Interprofessional Education (IPE), simulation education, and competency assessment, including assessment of readiness for clinical education. IPE is defined as “occasions when two or more professions learn together with the object of cultivating collaborative practice” (Barr, Freeth, Hammick, Koppel, & Reeves, 2000). New curriculum was developed to ensure graduate competency in interprofessionalism. Micheners’ organizational structure, use of physical resources and organizational communication patterns were redesigned to emulate the foundation principles of IPE. Simulation education provides a safe environment for learners to hone skills in communication critical thinking, crisis management, in addition to the profession-specific technical skills. Simulation provides learners with life situations where there is immediate feedback about decisions and actions in an environment tolerant of errors. By building on established simulation education expertise, Michener was able to reduce dependency on external clinical education sites. Developing authentic assessment of clinical education preparedness is not well documented. Our strategy is to develop authentic assessment to ensure that learners are prepared for clinical practice. Authentic assessment requires real-world application of skills and knowledge that have meaning beyond the assessment activity (Archbald & Newmann, 1988). Several important issues are raised and discussed in relation to the academic innovation strategy. What does an authentic assessment for readiness for clinical include? How much time is required for students to reach clinical competency? How does the curriculum design process support academic innovation? What are the research opportunities? This poster will highlight the rationale for the innovative strategy introduced by Michener, describe the strategic plan and illustrate the leading-edge curriculum design that integrates IPE, simulation education and a readiness for clinical assessment Conflict of Interest: Authors indicated they have nothing to disclose.

Distributed quantum computation over noisy channels

We analyze the use of entangled states to perform quantum computations nonlocally among distant nodes in a quantum network. The complexity associated with the generation of multiparticle entangled states is quantified in terms of the concept of global cost. This parameter allows us to compare the use of physical resources in different schemes. We show that, for ideal channels and for a sufficiently large number of nodes, the use of maximally entangled states is advantageous over uncorrelated ones. For noisy channels, one has to use entanglement purification procedures in order to create entangled states of high fidelity. We show that under certain circumstances a quantum network supplied with a maximally entangled input still yields a smaller global cost, provided that n belongs to a given interval $n\ensuremath{\in}[{n}_{\mathrm{min}}{,n}_{\mathrm{max}}]$. The values of ${n}_{\mathrm{min}}$ and ${n}_{\mathrm{max}}$ crucially depend on the purification protocols used to establish the n processor entangled states, as well as on the presence of decoherence processes during the computation. The phase estimation problem has been used to illustrate this fact.

The Maintenance of Professional Authority: The Case of Physicians and Hospitals in the United States

Professions are a mode of organization in which work is highly uncertain and contingent, requiring professional practitioners to rely heavily on their individual skill and judgment within the norms of accepted practice for their particular professions. But professionals must often draw on resources that are concentrated in institutions that they do not control. While these organizations may be intended specifically to assist professionals in the independent use of their judgment and skill, they nevertheless pose problems because they are most often not owned by these professionals and their administration is not entirely under professional control. This creates the potential for conflicts between independent practitioners, who seek to preserve their authority and autonomy, and the administrators of complementary institutions, who have responsibilities of their own. In this article, we examine the growing tension between the monitoring of the use of hospital-based resources and the maintenance of profession authority and autonomy in the medical profession in the United States since 1918. We begin by describing the connection between individual and collective autonomy and authority within professions as network organizations, and then trace the development of monitoring procedures and discuss their impact on the ability of physicians to use their individual judgment in treating patients. We show that, from the end of the First World War, the professional behavior of physicians was monitored on the Joint Commission Model in which boards composed of local medical practitioners sought to maintain professional standards and allocate local resources but did not inquire into cost factors at the system level. More recently, however, privately-sponsored health-care reforms as well as various government programs have led to significant changes. Now, the use of physical resources by physicians is also monitored in ways that may impinge on their authority and autonomy.

Reading the Environment as Text: literary theory and environmental education

Summary In recent decades there has been a radical redefinition of the notion of text. This has resulted in the widespread acceptance of critical theory and discourse analysis as valid means of studying a wide range of social practices. It is less common practice to regard the physical world as text, though an argument can be constructed for so doing. Environmental education, however, is specifically concerned with human use of physical resources. It can be argued, therefore, that ‘environment’ is, at least in part, a social construct and that textual studies offers a valid means of studying it.

An overview of agricultural and rural development problems in less developed areas of Southern Africa

The problems discussed in this paper are essentially the influence of various factors which underlie the present low levels of agricultural production and the constraints to development of the less developed rural areas of Southern Africa. The nature, intensity and output of small‐scale farming systems are dependent upon the interactions between and within five groups of factors: physical and ecological; the agri‐milieu; institutional and operational; the human potential; and technology. This paper discusses previous and present development trends, and reviews the interrelated problems of use of physical resources, the agri‐milieu, human resources, institutional problems and technology. Suggestions are made for a co‐ordinated strategy at national and local level aimed at removing some of the present barriers and constraints to agricultural and rural development.