PubMed Health⌕ Search

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Capacity Building”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,387 records · Page 77Linked to original sources
PubMed2003

The human mind: building bridges between neuroscience and psychiatry.

This essay proposes the existence of four unique behavioral characteristics that distinguish Homo sapiens from its nearest evolutionary kin, the great apes. These are inventiveness, capacity for language, curiosity, and self-reflection or self-analysis. Some would counterargue that none of these features are "unique" to humans. Examples would be given of animal "intelligence" involving at times surprising problem-solving abilities. Even "conversations" between humans and parrots might be cited. However, this is to misunderstand what the focus is in the article. This is not a thesis on the continuity or discontinuities of evolution. Every well-trained biologist learns about evolution and understands that the most complex human traits have some hint of related traits in nearest relatives. Rather, the emphasis of this article has been to select and emphasize certain distinctive aspects of human behavior that are the most important features distinguishing human "uniqueness." Uniqueness may be quantified by the number and complexity of processes within the four attributes presented in this article. While this may be an interesting mathematical exercise, the author would rather take it for granted that the outcome would be that humans are significantly more complex in each of the four features referred to than the great apes. For those in the mental health field, one would hope that this overview of the most highly evolved systems in human brain may provide a useful framework where creative therapeutic processes can be applied to the ultimate beneficiary, the client or patient. This article proposes that psychosis can be considered the impossibility of conflict resolution among the special neuronal assemblies that separately mediate feelings of attachment versus abandonment, security versus anxiety, calmness versus anger, fulfillment versus helplessness, and satisfaction of sexual needs. Given this model, the role of the therapist is to consider whether the client is in touch with the various equilibrium points in their current life situation or crisis. A questionnaire designed to help access information on these internal states may work better than an oral interview because it forces the client to reflect. How much conflict does the client feel in sorting out personal priorities? Does the client have any practice at resolving internal conflicts? If unpracticed, is the client likely to act out in destructive ways to self or others to resolve the pressure of internal conflicts? I am sure that we can all think of current well-publicized destructive acts in which one has to wonder precisely what model of mind the psychotherapists were using to assist the client. At a higher level, each human has the potential to be creative. Whether expressed as curiosity about the universe and nature or inventiveness, as in improving the quality of one's life or by the use of gifted language as in art and music, the therapist needs to determine how to assist the client into these kinds of self-defined fulfillments, which one hopes will reduce the other tensions of conflict resolution. There is no doubt that the journey for both the client and therapist will be challenging. Ultimately, the journey is the reward for both the client and therapist. In closing, the following quotation seems appropriate. Sydney Brenner (2002), a pioneer in molecular biology, reviewed a current book on the Science, Politics, and Ethics of the Human Genome Project (Sulston and Ferry 2002). He states, "What I found interesting in the account is that Sulston doesn't tell us anything about the genomes he has sequenced. What did he find there that excited him? What did he learn about genes, about life, about evolution, about worlds to come? It is the play of Hamlet without Hamlet" (p. 794).

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Quantitative evolutionary design.

The field of quantitative evolutionary design uses evolutionary reasoning (in terms of natural selection and ultimate causation) to understand the magnitudes of biological reserve capacities, i.e. excesses of capacities over natural loads. Ratios of capacities to loads, defined as safety factors, fall in the range 1.2-10 for most engineered and biological components, even though engineered safety factors are specified intentionally by humans while biological safety factors arise through natural selection. Familiar examples of engineered safety factors include those of buildings, bridges and elevators (lifts), while biological examples include factors of bones and other structural elements, of enzymes and transporters, and of organ metabolic performances. Safety factors serve to minimize the overlap zone (resulting in performance failure) between the low tail of capacity distributions and the high tail of load distributions. Safety factors increase with coefficients of variation of load and capacity, with capacity deterioration with time, and with cost of failure, and decrease with costs of initial construction, maintenance, operation, and opportunity. Adaptive regulation of many biological systems involves capacity increases with increasing load; several quantitative examples suggest sublinear increases, such that safety factors decrease towards 1.0. Unsolved questions include safety factors of series systems, parallel or branched pathways, elements with multiple functions, enzyme reaction chains, and equilibrium enzymes. The modest sizes of safety factors imply the existence of costs that penalize excess capacities. Those costs are likely to involve wasted energy or space for large or expensive components, but opportunity costs of wasted space at the molecular level for minor components.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

A VSA-based strategy for placing conservation buffers in agricultural watersheds.

Conservation buffers have the potential to reduce agricultural nonpoint source pollution and improve terrestrial wildlife habitat, landscape biodiversity, flood control, recreation, and aesthetics. Conservation buffers, streamside areas and riparian wetlands are being used or have been proposed to control agricultural nonpoint source pollution. This paper proposes an innovative strategy for placing conservation buffers based on the able source area (VSA) hydrology. VSAs are small, variable but predictable portion of a watershed that regularly contributes to runoff generation. The VSA-based strategy involves the following three steps: first, identifying VSAs in landscapes based on natural characteristics such as hydrology, land use/cover, topography and soils; second, targeting areas within VSAs for conservation buffers; third, refining the size and location of conservation buffers based on other factors such as weather, environmental objectives, available funding and other best management practices. Building conservation buffers in VSAs allows agricultural runoff to more uniformly enter buffers and stay there longer, which increases the buffer's capacity to remove sediments and nutrients. A field-scale example is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the within-VSA conservation buffer scenario relative to a typical edge-of-field buffer scenario. The results enhance the understanding of hydrological processes and interactions between agricultural lands and conservation buffers in agricultural landscapes, and provide practical guidance for land resource managers and conservationists who use conservation buffers to improve water quality and amenity values of agricultural landscape.

Agriculture↗
PubMed2001

The role of positive emotions in positive psychology. The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions.

In this article, the author describes a new theoretical perspective on positive emotions and situates this new perspective within the emerging field of positive psychology. The broaden-and-build theory posits that experiences of positive emotions broaden people's momentary thought-action repertoires, which in turn serves to build their enduring personal resources, ranging from physical and intellectual resources to social and psychological resources. Preliminary empirical evidence supporting the broaden-and-build theory is reviewed, and open empirical questions that remain to be tested are identified. The theory and findings suggest that the capacity to experience positive emotions may be a fundamental human strength central to the study of human flourishing.

Affect↗
PubMed2005

HEPA/vaccine plan for indoor anthrax remediation.

We developed a mathematical model to compare 2 indoor remediation strategies in the aftermath of an outdoor release of 1.5 kg of anthrax spores in lower Manhattan. The 2 strategies are the fumigation approach used after the 2001 postal anthrax attack and a HEPA/vaccine plan, which relies on HEPA vacuuming, HEPA air cleaners, and vaccination of reoccupants. The HEPA/vaccine approach leads to few anthrax cases among reoccupants if applied to all but the most heavily contaminated buildings, and recovery is much faster than under the decades-long fumigation plan. Only modest environmental sampling is needed. A surge capacity of 10,000 to 20,000 Hazmat workers is required to perform remediation within 6 to 12 months and to avoid permanent mass relocation. Because of the possibility of a campaign of terrorist attacks, serious consideration should be given to allowing or encouraging voluntary self-service cleaning of lightly contaminated rooms by age-appropriate, vaccinated, partially protected (through masks or hoods) reoccupants or owners.

Air Pollution, Indoor↗
PubMed1990

Iowa hospital's expansion plans tap rural networks.

Iowa Methodist Medical Center, Des Moines, is expanding in size and reach by developing centers of excellence, tapping rural networks and forming alliances with primary-care physicians to increase referrals.

Hospital Bed Capacity, 500 and over↗
PubMed1985

Asbestos-related disease in plumbers and pipefitters employed in building construction.

Asbestos-related disease in a group of 153 plumbers and pipefitters employed in building construction was assessed by means of a cross-sectional prevalence study. Study methods were medical questionnaire, spirometry, measurement of diffusing capacity, physical examination of the chest, and chest roentgenogram. The major finding was bilateral pleural thickening in 28 (18.3%) of the participants. Unilateral pleural thickening was found in 12 subjects (7.8%). Small irregular opacities of profusion 1/0 or greater were found in 12 subjects (7.8%). Bilateral pleural thickening was associated with both age and time since first asbestos exposure, while unilateral pleural thickening was associated only with age. Decreases in forced vital capacity (percent predicted) were associated with duration of exposure. The most prevalent abnormality found was bilateral pleural thickening, which is more specific for asbestos exposure than is unilateral pleural thickening.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

The use of failure mode effect and criticality analysis in a medication error subcommittee.

Failure Mode Effect and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) is the systematic assessment of a process or product that enables one to determine the location and mechanism of potential failures. It has been used by engineers, particularly in the aerospace industry, to identify and prioritize potential failures during product development when there is a lack of data but an abundance of expertise. The Institute for Safe Medication Practices has recommended its use in analyzing the medication administration process in hospitals and in drug product development in the pharamceutical industry. A medication error subcommittee adopted and modified FMECA to identify and prioritize significant failure modes in its specific medication administration process. Based on this analysis, the subcommittee implemented solutions to four of the five highest ranked failure modes. FMECA provided a method for a multidisciplinary group to address the most important medication error concerns based upon the expertise of the group members. It also facilitated consensus building in a group with varied perceptions.

Accident Prevention↗