Major changes in behavioural measures of anxiety and in stress hormones can result from the soya isoflavone content of rat diet. These changes are as striking as those seen following drug administration and could form an important source of variation between laboratories.

No abstract

The growing prevalence of chronic illness is due, in large part, to the control and/or eradication of infectious diseases as well as, in North America, the increasingly aged population and overall lengthening life span. Although the trajectory of chronic illness is in a generally downward direction, the rate of progression may vary as plateaux an remissions occur. As these changes occur, the individual and his family move through a process of continual adjustment. This paper presents a conceptual model of the process of adaptation in chronic illness. The primary concept in the model is appraisal (Lazarus, 1966) and the thought that continuous appraisal/reappraisal of the individual's progress toward the goal of adaptation is required by the individual, his family, and the nurse. The focus of the model is the chronically ill individual and his family. The goal is movement toward adaptation to the illness and its ramifications. The process is caring, which facilitates movement towards the goal. The model and its interpretation are outlined in the paper. Finally, some strategies for nurses, and others, are suggested as ways in which the concepts may be applied and implemented in practice.

Anxiety may play a role in the initiation of smoking and there is evidence to suggest that sex and age may predetermine responses to nicotine. At present, the greatest increase in smoking is in women and it is often accompanied by dieting. The purpose of the present study was to investigate how the impact of dietary restriction might modify the effects of nicotine in female adult and adolescent rats. The effects of nicotine in the elevated plus-maze test of anxiety were compared in free-feeding animals and those subjected to dietary restriction that reduced body weight to 85% of free-feeding weight. In nondeprived adult females, nicotine (0.05-0.5 mg/kg, s.c.) reduced the percentage of time spent on the open arms, indicating anxiogenic effects. However, the effects of nicotine were dramatically changed in food-restricted adult females and 0.05 mg/kg had a striking anxiolytic effect. No significant effects of nicotine were found in the adolescent female rats, suggesting a role of circulating sex hormones in modulating nicotine's effects on anxiety. However, in the adolescent females, dietary restriction significantly increased the percentages of time spent and entries onto the open arms, without changing closed arm entries, indicating an anxiolytic effect. These results raise the important possibility that, in prepubertal girls, dietary restriction may have anxiolytic effects and this might contribute to the onset of anorexia. Circulating female hormones reduce this effect, but in adult females the combination of dietary restriction and nicotine may have important anxiolytic effects that impact on the initiation of regular smoking.

Social aspects of mine closure are often not well understood, resulting in some companies either avoiding or postponing the development and implementation of sustainable social closure strategies. Delaying planning for social closure may cost companies money and incur reputational damage instead of leaving a lasting positive legacy encompassing sustainable post-mining opportunities for mining-affected communities. Within the South African context, the concept of social licence to operate is gaining traction and many companies are actively adopting policies and management practices to address this key requirement. Similarly, the value of involving communities in project planning and design to obtain a shared view on how the project will operate and close, and therefore impact on its stakeholders is gaining momentum. The benefits of co-production, a practical approach that can also assist in mitigating the negative social and environmental impacts of mine closure, has shown many benefits. These benefits include pride and a sense of ownership as well as the opportunity to develop tailored solutions that speaks specifically to each affected community. Co-production can lead to increased innovation and efficiency in the project design, operation and closure, not only with the affected community in mind, but also in collaboration with stakeholders. This process has shown to increase community satisfaction and introduce a greater sense of local ownership, which can be demonstrated by two practical examples discussed in this paper. While companies have an important role to play in contributing to a sustainable post-closure scenario, it is neither possible, nor their sole responsibility, to achieve it alone. It requires multi-stakeholder partnerships where risks, responsibilities and opportunities are shared. By acknowledging the contribution that communities can make in the sustainable operation and closure of mines, mining companies can use the concept of co-production to obtain greater acceptance or approval by local communities and stakeholders of their organisation and its operations, also known as their social licence to operate.