Showing papers by "Phoenix College published in 2008"

Community Resilience as a Metaphor, Theory, Set of Capacities, and Strategy for Disaster Readiness

Abstract: Communities have the potential to function effectively and adapt successfully in the aftermath of disasters. Drawing upon literatures in several disciplines, we present a theory of resilience that encompasses contemporary understandings of stress, adaptation, wellness, and resource dynamics. Community resilience is a process linking a network of adaptive capacities (resources with dynamic attributes) to adaptation after a disturbance or adversity. Community adaptation is manifest in population wellness, defined as high and non-disparate levels of mental and behavioral health, functioning, and quality of life. Community resilience emerges from four primary sets of adaptive capacities—Economic Development, Social Capital, Information and Communication, and Community Competence—that together provide a strategy for disaster readiness. To build collective resilience, communities must reduce risk and resource inequities, engage local people in mitigation, create organizational linkages, boost and protect social supports, and plan for not having a plan, which requires flexibility, decision-making skills, and trusted sources of information that function in the face of unknowns.

Oxygen free radicals: effects in the newborn period.

Abstract: Free radical production occurs continuously in all cells as a by-product of cell metabolism. In tandem, the human body has developed endogenous antioxidant systems as well as taken advantage of dietary exogenous antioxidants to process and detoxify free radicals appropriately. However, certain conditions may increase free radical production beyond the body's endogenous and exogenous antioxidant systems. The neonatal period is a vulnerable time for free radical damage and injury, particularly for preterm infants whose antioxidant defense systems have not fully matured. Endogenous and passively acquired exogenous antioxidant defense systems do not accelerate in maturation until late in the third trimester. To explore the complexities of these concepts, this article includes a description, an evolutionary perspective of oxygen, and a basic background on free radical chemistry in biology. In addition, this chemistry is applied to the etiology of many of the most common diseases seen in the neonatal period. Finally, the current research addressing clinical strategies in this area is critically appraised. Implications for practice and directions for further research are presented with an emphasis on strategies that support the prudent use of oxygen therapies.

Postural Shifts During Egg-Brooding and Their Impact on Egg Water Balance in Children's Pythons (Antaresia childreni)

Abstract: Parental care typically consists of distinct behavioral components that are balanced to address the multiple needs of offspring. Female pythons exhibit post-oviposition parental care in which they coil around their parchment-shelled eggs throughout incubation (40‐80 d). Subtle postural shifts during egg-brooding facilitate embryonic gas exchange but may entail hydric costs to the clutch. This study used a simple behavioral model to (1) further quantify the costs and benefits of specific parental behaviors to developing offspring and (2) determine the influence that developmental stage and relative clutch mass have on parental behavior. Although previous research has demonstrated that egg-brooding as a whole reduces clutch water loss, we hypothesized that eggbrooding female pythons specifically adopt a tightly coiled posture to conserve embryonic water, but must make postural adjustments to enhance gas exchange between the clutch and nest environments at the cost of increased clutch water loss. We measured rates of water loss in brooding Children’s pythons (Antaresia childreni) and their respective clutches (i.e., brooding units) and monitored changes in brooding posture. We conducted serial trials to elucidate the effect of developmental stage on postural adjustments and water loss. Results demonstrated that the proportion of time females spent in a tightly coiled posture was inversely related to mean water loss from the brooding unit. Analyses indicated that slight adjustments in posture led to bursts in brooding unit water loss. Indeed, brooding unit water loss during postural adjustments was significantly higher than during tight coiling. These findings imply that python egg-brooding provides an adjustable diffusive barrier that leads to discontinuous gas exchange, which minimizes clutch water loss. Because females with larger relative clutch masses spent more time tightly coiled, egg-brooding female pythons may use a ‘water first’ strategy in which they intentionally conserve clutch water at the cost of reduced embryonic respiratory gas exchange.