The daily activity of the fruit fly Drosophila is controlled by both a "morning" and an "evening" circadian clock. In this issue Stoleru et al. (2007) demonstrate that day length determines which clock dominates the neural circuitry governing circadian behavior. Thus, these findings suggest a mechanism by which the system for circadian timing adapts to changes in the seasons to impose appropria...

The purpose of this study was to examine the work of paediatric occupational therapists in the UK, and to compare the results with similar surveys carried out in the US, Australia and Canada. A postal questionnaire survey was sent to 212 members of the National Association of Paediatric Occupational Therapists. Questions were asked about a wide range of issues pertinent to paediatric practice. ...

Electronic media has now pervasively invaded our households and one group of individuals that has clearly been a major and early adopter of such disruptive technology is the adolescent age group. The issue of screen and media exposure as a potentially adverse risk factor to health has now been enunciated for quite some time, and yet despite such ominous correlates, there is still ongoing debate...

OBJECTIVE To assess the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and TPB with functional ability to explain intention and self-reported physical activity (PA) behavior of older adults. METHODS A survey was mailed to 2056 retirees from a large Midwestern university. RESULTS Structural equation modeling revealed that the TPB plus functional ability explained an additional 11% variance than the TPB al...

This study examined the relationships between older women's comparison styles, physical self-perceptions, and functional fitness. Participants were community-dwelling women (N = 102, age 65-99) living in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Individuals were categorized as relying primarily on social comparisons, temporal comparisons, or a combination of both styles. Also of interest wa...

The present study is a report on the authors' experience working nurses in a randomized, blinded, phase III clinical trial, developed at Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sérgio Arouca/FIOCRUZ/RJ. This study describes the participation of nurses in the implementation of a clinical trial, highlighting their importance in this new field of work. The authors state the rigorous implementation of the...

The article of Marc Jamoulle shows the importance of the contribution of general practitioners (GPs) in improving the quality and the efficiency of the health systems. Starting from the concept of quaternary prevention for reducing excessive costs in the preventive procedures, he suggests a change of paradigm in every daily activity of the GP in order to have a stronger ethical approach to the ...

MAPGEN (Mixed-initiative Activity Plan GENerator) is a mixed-initiative system that employs automated constraint-based planning, scheduling, and temporal reasoning to assist the Mars Exploration Rover mission operations staff in generating the daily activity plans. This paper describes the mixed-initiative capabilities of MAPGEN, identifies shortcomings with the deployed system, and discusses o...

Functional and physical impairment are factors believed to lead to declined life satisfaction among older adults. This study aimed to examine life satisfaction among older adults and the influence of frailty. Baseline data from two studies addressing frail older adults aged 80+ in Gothenburg, Sweden, (n=577) were used. Frailty was measured through eight indicators. Life satisfaction was measure...

Address for correspondence: Dr. Abimbola Farinde, Clear Lake Regional Medical Center, Webster, Texas 77598, USA. E-mail: [email protected] The geriatric population can be viewed by the medical and scientific community as a particularly unique patient population given the age related changes that can occur over time which can contribute to mental, biologic deterioration, or psychological f...