ZM, "if such a stimulus is applied to one part of a plant, might the response be exhibited in only a part of the plant" Very likely, sometimes. However, there is considerable evidence of remote signaling. So, a stress in one part of a plant can trigger a response in other parts. Percy Wright, a Canadian plant breeder, told a story of how "His uncle moved from Saskatchewan had moved west to the Okanagan and for sentimental reasons had grafted some ultra hardy Saskatchewan plums onto a few branches of the peach trees in his orchard. A harsh test winter arrived after a few years which decimated not only the peach crop, but also the trees themselves. Most were killed outright or at the least severely injured. However the peach trees with ultra hardy Saskatchewan plums grafted in the branches had no winter damage whatsoever!" The environmental stress (cold? short days?) was detected by the ultra hardy plums, which then communicated an appropriate response -- presumably to the roots. When they went dormant, the rest of the tree had no choice but to follow. Here's a more recent example of remote signaling: Plant Mol Biol. 2003 Nov; 53(4): 493-511. Rootstock effects on gene expression patterns in apple tree scions. Jensen PJ, Rytter J, Detwiler EA, Travis JW, McNellis TW "Like many fruit trees, apple trees (Malus pumila) do not reproduce true-to-type from seed. Desirable cultivars are clonally propagated by grafting onto rootstocks that can alter the characteristics of the scion. For example, the M.7 EMLA rootstock is semi-dwarfing and reduces the susceptibility of the scion to Erwinia amylovora, the causal agent of fire blight disease. In contrast, the M.9 T337 rootstock is dwarfing and does not alter fire blight susceptibility of the scion. This study represents a comprehensive comparison of gene expression patterns in scions of the 'Gala' apple cultivar grafted to either M.7 EMLA or M.9 T337. Expression was determined by cDNA-AFLP coupled with silver staining of the gels. Scions grafted to the M.9 T337 rootstock showed higher expression of a number of photosynthesis-related, transcription/translation-related, and cell division-related genes, while scions grafted to the M.7 EMLA rootstock showed increased stress-related gene expression. The observed differences in gene expression showed a remarkable correlation with physiological differences between the two graft combinations. The roles that the differentially expressed genes might play in tree stature, stress tolerance, photosynthetic activity, fire blight resistance, and other differences conferred by the two rootstocks are discussed." The stress (fire blight infection) affected the scion, but the rootstock somehow mediated the response. You're right that stress "can encompass a wide range of factors, many of which we might not think of as 'stress'." To paraphrase Forest Gump, "Stress is as stress does." In the broad sense, any sort of change in conditions is stressful. Many kinds of environmental stress are easily tolerated and usefully exploited by plants (or animals) long accustomed to them. However, unfamiliar changes/conditions can provoke more profound disturbances. Changes in photoperiod, for example, are often exploited by plants to provide a trigger for flowering. But when certain plants (e.g., tropical) are exposed to the wide ranging photoperiods of northern regions, they may respond oddly. In its native habitat (Brazil) the beautiful Amaryllis fulgida (Hippeastrum striatum var. fulgidum) bears a cluster of 2-4 flowers on a scape around 18 inches tall. But when the species was first cultivated in Britain in the early 19th century, it changed dramatically. "This specimen was imported by Mr. Harrison, from Brazil, and was drawn at Aighburgh, April, 1832. Some of the leaves measured twenty-nine inches in length and nearly three in breadth; the first flower-stem (bearing eight flowers) attained the height of thirty inches, and would probably have become somewhat taller, but was generously cut for the completion of the present figure; a second scape immediately succeeded it, twenty-eight inches high and having six flowers." By the end of the century, the gigantism was gone. Generations of offspring from the original specimens soon became adapted to the British seasons and reverted to the original "type." Other differences in "stress" are obvious. I was thinking of various species of roses that tolerate very different conditions, and are also stressed by very different conditions. Forest species (e.g., Rosa pinetorum) are weakened by exposure to full sun, whereas R. arkansana thrives in full light. R. rugosa happily tolerates salt spray when grown near the ocean, while others are likely to be killed. Some favor in humus (woodland types) while others grow and flower best in sand. Furthermore, there are distinct "sensitive periods" (or "critical periods") in plant development. An environmental condition that is usually tolerated without much difficulty can become very stressful during a fairly brief period of transition. And one more item that I just found while looking for something else: Biosystems. 1995 ;36 (1):71-7 8527698 Adaptive determinism during salt-adaptation in Sorghum bicolor. H Seligmann , G N Amzallag During adaptation to salinity, plants of Sorghum bicolor showed malformations affecting the leaves in development (DPL). At the end of the adaptation process, the plants were regrouped according to their pattern of DPL response. The distribution of the plant population in different patterns depended on environmental conditions. However, a positive relationship between the frequency of a pattern and its rate of development has been found. Similarly, a negative relation between the frequency of a pattern and the rate of senescence for the same pattern has been observed. The results reveal the existence of an orientation of the plant response towards the patterns with highest developmental rate and lowest rate of senescence. This property is defined as "adaptive determinism". Results indicate that the NaCl acts as a trigger for adaptation to a whole range of environmental perturbations. This suggests that adaptation to salinity is not a pre-programed response of the plants, and may be related to learning processes occurring in animals. Amzallag made some very interesting studies of the effects of salt on sorghum. I just decided to make a bibliography of his papers. Karl Here is a link that might be useful: Salt stress in Sorghum bicolor

I found that site VERY useful when hubby broke his hip three years ago... The list of facilities the hospital provided were all in places I wouldn't go in broad daylight, with an armed guard, and after checking that site I found out they were all below standard... I was lucky enough, with the help of that site, to find one that was within 10 miles of home, ranked high in quality, had a higher ratio of help to patients and offered twice as much rehab time and the best part was, at the time, our insurance covered everything... If you're considering a nursing home, rehab center or assisted living I urge you to check it out... Rita P. S. Ratings change so don't go by the ratings today and expect them to be the same 3 years from now.

This is a good start, but beware, just because the nursing home has a good rating on this site does not mean it's as good as it is rated. I recently chose a NH based on this and with some prior experience with them, but was sadly disappointed with the level of care on the second visit. It troubles me greatly that when we are left to put our loved ones in the care of others that there is so much that still falls through the cracks. My experience with the NH's I have had to to use ( all well rated) is that I still ended up having to be there on almost a daily basis to make sure things were taken care of in the manner they indicated they would be. Whatever happened to doing things right and caring about your job, especially when the care of helpless are involved? I am glad this site exists, but this country still has a long way to go to take care of our elders with the respect and dignity they deserve. LBF

I used hotels.com or maybe it was motels.com several years ago to book a room at Holiday Inn in Oklahoma City. We were taking our grandsons up to the Omniplex for spring break and wanted a place with a swimming pool. When we got there, we found there was only one bed in the room, even though I had specified with motels.com that we needed two. The desk clerk said because of spring break there was nothing else. Luckily we had the boys' sleeping bags with us so we decided they could camp out on the floor. After we got settled in our room, the boys put on their swimsuits and headed down for the pool, as we had spent a long day at the Omniplex. They came right back and said the pool was closed. I called to find out what was going on and they said some kids the day before had taken a bunch of hotel soaps and put them in the pool and messed up the water and they were having to wait for it to all settle out, but that it should be opened back up soon. Well, it was closed all the rest of that day and all of the next day, at least during the time that we were there. The boys were really disappointed, and bored, because I hadn't brought anything for them to do thinking they'd be occupied in the pool most of the time. I expressed my displeasure with the accommodations when we checked out and they just shrugged their shoulders. They had one of those "satisfaction guaranteed or your money back" signs and I drew their attention to that and they said since I had booked the room with motels.com that was not available to me, that I needed to contact motels.com and try to get my money back from them. After we got home, I tried that, and motels.com said I needed to write a letter to the Holiday Inn where we stayed, that they weren't responsible for an unsatisfactory room. I did that, and the manager wrote me back and sent me a certificate for a free stay, which I couldn't use because we're some distance from Oklahoma City and didn't return there until the certificate expired. So be careful with those third-party reservation people.