bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Immunogenicity of mycobacterial PPE44 (Rv2770c) in Mycobacterium bovis BCG-infected mice
Authors: Bonanni Daniela , Rindi Laura , Lari Nicoletta , Garzelli Carlo
Published: April 2005

The Pro-Pro-Glu (PPE) protein family of Mycobacterium tuberculosis includes 69 glycine-rich proteins with a conserved N-terminal domain. Their role in tuberculosis is unknown, but it has been speculated that they may have an important immunological significance. In this investigation, the immunogenicity of the ppe44 (Rv2770c) gene product in BALB/c mice infected subcutaneously or intravenously with Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette–Guérin (BCG) was evaluated. Mice infected subcutaneously developed high titres of anti-PPE44 IgG1 antibodies, while PPE44-specific IgG2a antibodies were absent at all times tested. PPE44-primed cells from draining lymph nodes and spleen produced low levels of IFN-γ, and a moderate degree of delayed-type hypersensitivity was observed following PPE44 intracutaneous challenge. In mice infected intravenously, the anti-PPE44 IgG1 antibody response was markedly higher compared with the subcutaneous infection; anti-PPE44 IgG2a antibodies at titres approximately 0.5–2.0 log10 lower than IgG1 were detected. Interferon (IFN)-γ production in PPE44-stimulated spleen-cell cultures was transient. These results indicate that PPE44 represents a novel mycobacterial antigen expressed during subcutaneous and intravenous infection by M. bovis BCG in BALB/c mice. Both infection models seem to polarize the immune response to PPE44 towards a Th2 phenotype, as testified by the IgG1 isotype being predominant over IgG2a and by the low IFN-γ and delayed-type hypersensitivity responses.
A Systematic Proteomic Study of Seed Filling in Soybean. Establishment of High-Resolution Two-Dimensional Reference Maps, Expression Profiles, and an Interactive Proteome Database
Authors: Hajduch Martin , Ganapathy Ashwin , Stein Joel W. , Thelen Jay J.
Published: April 2005

A high-throughput proteomic approach was employed to determine the expression profile and identity of hundreds of proteins during seed filling in soybean (Glycine max) cv Maverick. Soybean seed proteins were analyzed at 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 weeks after flowering using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. This led to the establishment of high-resolution proteome reference maps, expression profiles of 679 spots, and corresponding matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry spectra for each spot. Database searching with these spectra resulted in the identification of 422 proteins representing 216 nonredundant proteins. These proteins were classified into 14 major functional categories. Proteins involved in metabolism, protein destination and storage, metabolite transport, and disease/defense were the most abundant. For each functional category, a composite expression profile is presented to gain insight into legume seed physiology and the general regulation of proteins associated with each functional class. Using this approach, an overall decrease in metabolism-related proteins versus an increase in proteins associated with destination and storage was observed during seed filling. The accumulation of unknown proteins, sucrose transport and cleavage enzymes, cysteine and methionine biosynthesis enzymes, 14-3-3-like proteins, lipoxygenases, storage proteins, and allergenic proteins during seed filling is also discussed. A user-intuitive database (http://oilseedproteomics.missouri.edu) was developed to access these data for soybean and other oilseeds currently being investigated.
An analysis of recent accounting and auditing failures in the United States on US accounting and auditing in China
Authors: Hwang Dennis B.K. , Blair Staley A.
Published: April 2005

Purpose

Seeks to analyze the impact of recent accounting and auditing failures in the USA on US accounting and auditing in China, focusing on the practice ofguanxi– the networks of informal relationships and exchanges of favors that dominate all business and social activities in Chinese societies.

Design/methodology/approach

Examines Chinese culture and uses historical precedents and parallels with Japanese culture to predict potential accounting and auditing problems.

Findings

Determines thatguanxihas the potential to undermine the high standards of auditor independence, audit quality, and ethical behavior to which auditors must adhere.

Research limitations/implications

The review of Chinese culture and list of historical precedents is not exhaustive, and the standards are all US, which perhaps limits its usefulness elsewhere.

Practical implications

A very useful source of information on Chinese business behavior as it impacts accountants and auditors.

Originality/value

Enables policy makers and professional accountants to anticipate and predict howguanximay threaten the progress made in improving financial management and reporting, and may undermine auditor independence, audit quality, and the quality of financial reporting.
Fraud risk assessments and auditors’ professional skepticism
Authors: Payne Elizabeth A. , Ramsay Robert J.
Published: April 2005

Purpose

To examine whether planning‐stage fraud risk assessments and audit experience affect the level of professional skepticism displayed by auditors during fieldwork.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents an experiment using professional auditors.

Findings

Overall, auditors predisposed to low fraud risk assessments were less skeptical than those with no knowledge of fraud risk (control group). Also, as expected, auditors in the control group were less skeptical than those predisposed to moderate/high fraud risk assessments. Staff auditors were more skeptical than seniors. Senior auditors showed no differences in skepticism between the control group and high fraud risk assessment group.

Research limitations/implications

Professional skepticism in this study is measured as the auditors’ assessment of client truthfulness. There is reasonable disagreement on the exact meaning of professional skepticism and some readers’ interpretation of the term may be different from the authors' own.

Practical implications

The results suggest a need for audit firms to use ongoing training with regard to professional skepticism and the requirements of SAS No. 99, especially since skepticism appears to decline with increasing audit experience.

Originality/value

The study contributes to auditing literature in the areas of professional skepticism and fraud risk assessment. The overall experience result supports previous studies, but additional insight is gained as to differences in the experience/skepticism relationship at different levels of planning‐stage fraud risk.
A study of the staircase effect induced by material shrinkage in rapid prototyping
Authors: Wenbin Hong , Yong Tsui Lee , Haiqing Gong
Published: April 2005

Purpose

To investigate the “staircase effect”, which is one of the most significant manifestations of part inaccuracy in liquid‐based rapid prototyping (RP) processes, on multi‐layer RP parts made using a thick layer deposition and photo‐curing process in a stepless rapid prototyping (SRP) system.

Design/methodology/approach

The building of a five‐layer part is simulated layer by layer using a finite element method based on an incremental elastic model, to analyze the staircase effect due to shrinkage induced by polymerization and temperature variation. The influence of various factors such as layer thickness and intensity of incident UV light is studied. The results were verified experimentally.

Findings

Results show that the staircase amount increases 20 percent and 300 percent with light intensity increasing from 65 to 145 mW/cm2 and layer thickness increasing from 0.2 to 2.0 mm, respectively. It is also found that the overall staircase is below 100 μm, which suggests that the SRP process improves surface quality greatly compared to other RP systems, and can provide enough accuracy for fabricating functional parts.

Research limitations/implications

The results apply only to the material used in the work: an acrylate‐based photopolymer resin, C123, produced by Tianjin Chemical Co., China. Also, the thickness of the layers is fixed at 6 mm.

Practical implications

Provides a method to analyze the origin and amount of the staircase effect, upon which to better control the surface finish of RP parts. New materials and different layer thicknesses can be investigated using the same method.

Originality/value

Apart from the above practical implication, this paper establishes the parameters that influence the shrinkage of the material used in SRP.
Direct writing of chitosan scaffolds using a robotic system
Authors: Geng Li , Feng Wei , Hutmacher Dietmar W. , San Wong Yoke , Tong Loh Han , Fuh Jerry Y.H.
Published: April 2005

Purpose

This paper aims to present a novel rapid prototyping (RP) fabrication methods and preliminary characterization for chitosan scaffolds.

Design

A desktop rapid prototyping robot dispensing (RPBOD) system has been developed to fabricate scaffolds for tissue engineering (TE) applications. The system is a computer‐controlled four‐axis machine with a multiple‐dispenser head. Neutralization of the acetic acid by the sodium hydroxide results in a precipitate to form a gel‐like chitosan strand. The scaffold properties were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, porosity calculation and compression test. An example of fabrication of a freeform hydrogel scaffold is demonstrated. The required geometric data for the freeform scaffold were obtained from CT‐scan images and the dispensing path control data were converted form its volume model. The applications of the scaffolds are discussed based on its potential for TE.

Findings

It is shown that the RPBOD system can be interfaced with imaging techniques and computational modeling to produce scaffolds which can be customized in overall size and shape allowing tissue‐engineered grafts to be tailored to specific applications or even for individual patients.

Research limitations/implications

Important challenges for further research are the incorporation of growth factors, as well as cell seeding into the 3D dispensing plotting materials. Improvements regarding the mechanical properties of the scaffolds are also necessary.

Originality/value

One of the important aspects of TE is the design scaffolds. For customized TE, it is essential to be able to fabricate 3D scaffolds of various geometric shapes, in order to repair tissue defects. RP or solid free‐form fabrication techniques hold great promise for designing 3D customized scaffolds; yet traditional cell‐seeding techniques may not provide enough cell mass for larger constructs. This paper presents a novel attempt to fabricate 3D scaffolds, using hydrogels which in the future can be combined with cells.
Application of rapid prototyping and tooling in customised airway management
Authors: Chiang W.M. , Lim C.S. , Chua C.K. , Lo P.L. , Eng C.T.
Published: April 2005

Purpose

Tracheobronchial stents are commonly used in airway management as a form of palliation for obstruction. This form of therapy immediately relieves the patients from life‐threatening conditions and significantly improves their quality of life. In the cases of complex tracheobronchial obstruction, customised airway stents are required for effective palliation. In this work, an Airway Stent Customisation Protocol (ASCP) is introduced.

Design/methodology/approach

It describes two variant routes that use a combination of rapid prototyping (RP) and rapid tooling (RT) techniques to fabricate customised airway stents in short lead times. The ASCP allows the stents to be tailored in terms of geometry, and distending strength. A brief comparison between the ASCP and other RP/RT manufacturing routes is also carried out.

Findings

The ability to customise airway stents in short lead times is important as it allows surgeons to swiftly treat life‐threatening conditions arising from tracheobronchial obstructions. It is shown that the ASCP is capable of providing relief to patients quickly. The application of RP and RT in the ASCP has not only allowed shorter response time to patients, but has also allowed the stents to be produced at a relatively low cost.

Originality/value

Tracheobronchial stents are commonly used in patients facing advanced stages of cancer. Focuses on a time and cost‐effective solution that is provided to improve their quality of life.
Future impacts of RFID on e‐supply chains in grocery retailing
Authors: Prater Edmund , Frazier Gregory V. , Reyes Pedro M.
Published: April 2005

Purpose

To place the research on radio frequency identification (RFID) usage in supply chains within a specific business and market context; in this case, the grocery industry.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper considers RFID research within the context of the grocery industry and outlines the market drivers that affect the way the grocery industry approaches RFID and also specific areas of research on RFID that should be undertaken to better provide the grocery industry with managerial insights into this technology's application.

Findings

Examining market drivers that are leading to RFID implementation in the grocery industry, this paper provides a theoretical framework for future applied research on RFID implementation. Specifically, it develops a research framework that includes research using modeling techniques, RFID implementation and the impact of RFID on daily operational issues.

Research limitations/implications

This paper focuses on the market drivers for RFID implementation. While it does address other areas that are related to research in this field, it is limited in its ability to go into detailed discussion of those areas. For example, while technology implementation and innovation diffusion issues are raised, they are detailed research domains of their own which can only be superficially addressed in the context of this paper.

Practical implications

The paper provides a detailed framework of research areas that are of direct, practical importance to the grocery industry. This should encourage research into this area, for, as researchers provide insights into these issues, the grocery industry can immediately put the findings into practice.

Originality/value

RFID has garnered a great deal of research interest. However, that research has primarily focused on RFID's impact on general supply chain issues, failing to place the discussion within a specific business domain. This is necessary because the strategic environment of any business impacts on the applicability of any technology.
Knowledge management – not rocket science
Authors: Call Dean
Published: April 2005

Purpose

To provide a broad understanding of knowledge management and how to successfully implement knowledge management.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a wide range of technical, business and knowledge management‐specific sources to explain the value and importance of knowledge management and the relative simplicity of the concept, the paper is divided into sections providing a definition of KM, how KM relates to technology, an overview of double‐loop learning, six steps to successful KM (plus one), and successful KM examples.

Findings

Provides a thorough overview of KM and its building‐blocks, as well as providing examples that incorporate various degrees of technology.

Originality/value

This paper provides a unique view of knowledge management success by maintaining a totally agnostic approach and focusing on principles that will provide success regardless of technology or budget.
Catching the chameleon: understanding the elusive term “knowledge”
Authors: Assudani Rashmi H.
Published: April 2005

Purpose

To examine the various discourses on “knowledge” and to understand what knowledge means – is it a process of leveraging resources, is it a resource, or is it both – a process and a resource? Further, the purpose of the paper is to propose a framework for knowledge management.

Design/methodology/approach

The literature on “knowledge” is reviewed and “knowledge” is analyzed along the epistemological dimensions. The synthesis seeks to integrate the disparate ways in which “knowledge” has been conceptualized in the management literature.

Findings

The framework on knowledge management recognizes and establishes linkages between both attributes of knowledge – knowledge as a process and as a resource. It recognizes knowledge as an input resource (“knowledge of”), knowledge as an output resource (“knowledge from”), and knowledge as a process linking the “knowledge of” to the “knowledge from”.

Practical implications

A very useful source for practitioners and students interested in the field of knowledge management.

Originality/value

This paper is among the early works to organize the literature and to clarify the alternative thoughts that exist towards defining knowledge. The framework offers the literature in a very understandable and usable form for all those who are centrally or peripherally related to knowledge management.
The “soft” dimension of organizational knowledge transfer
Authors: Guzman Gustavo A.C. , Wilson John
Published: April 2005

Purpose

This paper aims to advance a theoretical framework that integrates knowledge management, change management and “soft” issues, focussing on uncovering the nature of “soft” issues embedded in knowledge management and change management processes.

Design/methodology/approach

Both empirical work (case study at an electronics contract manufacturing plant) and literature review were used in order to build the proposed theoretical framework.

Findings

It argues that the “soft” dimension assists in better understanding the process of organizational knowledge transfer. In this context, “soft” issues refers to the mutual understanding – of both sender and receiver units – of underlying assumptions, the role of macro‐institutional factors affecting firm level actions (the macro‐micro link) and interpretative aspects that permeate the process of organizational knowledge transfer, including knowledge management and change management issues.

Practical implications

Guidelines for managerial action were formulated in order to make explicit, be aware of and understand embedded “soft” issues. Presented guidelines represent an attempt to uncover the crucial “soft” issues that are usually overlooked by the conventional literature.

Originality/value

This paper offers an alternative framework for guiding both practical intervention and further research on knowledge management‐related issues. It contributes to a better understanding of the process of organizational knowledge transfer.
Public agencies and environmental risk
Authors: Mercer Doug , Leschine Thomas , Drew Christina H. , Griffith William , Nyerges Timothy
Published: April 2005

Purpose

To derive from the environmental risk and knowledge management literatures a model that integrates organizational form, democratic vision and epistemological needs of public agencies responsible for addressing environmental risks. To analyze the knowledge management practices of the United States Department of Energy (USDOE) that is responsible for cleaning up landscapes contaminated by 50 years of plutonium production.

Design/methodology/approach

The model was used as a framework for a case study analysis of the USDOE knowledge management practices.

Findings

Conceptual: a vision of democracy and an understanding of the type of knowledge process can facilitate organizational constancy. Organizational forms should be matched to knowledge process and democratic vision. Empirical: USDOE has behaved erratically in addressing environmental risks viewed through this model of knowledge management.

Research limitations/implications

The model idealizes democratic visions, epistemological processes and organizational forms. Care should be taken in making predictions for the success or failure of an organizational approach based solely on this model.

Practical implications

Practically, the model aids scholars in making connections between knowledge management and public sector environmental risk management literatures; and provides managers with a systematic framework for relating democratic context knowledge production processes to particular organization forms. Use of this model particularly during agency restructuring may facilitate resolving environmental risks though improving organizational legitimacy, constancy, and knowledge generation capacity.

Originality/value

This is a first attempt at integrating two related but so‐far disconnected literatures (environmental risk management and knowledge management).
Nasal exposure to Staphylococcal enterotoxin enhances the development of allergic rhinitis in mice
Authors: Okano M. , Hattori H. , Yoshino T. , Sugata Y. , Yamamoto M. , Fujiwara T. , Satoskar A. A. , Satoskar A. R. , Nishizaki K.
Published: April 2005

Background
Staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) appear to play a role in the pathogenesis of allergic disease. However, little is known whether the nasal exposure to SE affects the development of allergic rhinitis (AR).

Objective
We sought to determine the in vivo effect of nasal exposure to SE on the development of AR using mouse model.

Methods
BALB/c mice were intranasally sensitized with Schistosoma mansoni egg antigen (SmEA) in the presence or absence of staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB). Control mice were intranasally sensitized with either SEB or SmEA alone. The production of antigen‐specific antibodies including IgE, nasal eosinoplilia and cytokines by nasal mononuclear cells was compared among mice that had or had not received SEB treatment.

Results
Nasal exposure to SEB enhanced the development of AR in SmEA‐sensitized mice, as manifested by SmEA‐specific IgE production, nasal eosinophilia, and IL‐4 and IL‐5 production by nasal mononuclear cells after Ag challenge. This treatment also elicited IFN‐γ production by SmEA‐primed cells. In addition, these mice produced SEB‐specific IgE whereas mice treated with SEB without SmEA sensitization did not produce SEB‐specific IgE or demonstrate nasal eosinophilia.

Conclusion
These results suggest that the nasal exposure to SEB enhances susceptibility to AR although the exposure to SE solely does not induce AR.
Therapeutic effect of surfactant protein D in allergic inflammation of mite‐sensitized mice
Authors: Liu C.‐F. , Chen Y.‐L. , Shieh C.‐C. , Yu C.‐K. , Reid K. B. M. , Wang J.‐Y.
Published: April 2005

Background
Surfactant protein D (SP‐D) is involved in the innate immunity within the lung and may have important roles in modulating the inflammatory process of asthma.

Objective
To examine the potential immunomodulating role of SP‐D on the allergic response in mice, and its interaction with the alveolar macrophages (AMs) during allergic inflammation.

Methods
A recombinant 60 kDa fragment of human SP‐D (rfh SP‐D), Survanta, and budesonide were administrated, respectively, to Der p‐sensitive BALB/c mice before or after allergen challenge (AC). Total and differential cell counts, levels of cytokines in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids(BALFs), and levels of Der p‐specific IgE and IgG1 antibodies in sera, were assayed. The production of nitric oxide (NO), and inducible NO synthase (iNOS) expression, in AMs, were determined by ELISA and RT‐PCR, respectively.

Results
Instillation of rfh SP‐D to sensitized mice 6 h after AC (therapeutic), but not 24 h before AC (preventive), markedly reduced infiltration of eosinophils, and also reduced levels of IL‐4, IL‐5, eotaxin, and TNF‐α but elevated levels of IFN‐γ in the BALF. These effects were comparable with those obtained with budesonide treatment, whereas Survanta did not have a suppressive effect, either before or after AC. There was significant inhibition of NO production in the rfh SP‐D pre‐treated AMs of allergen‐sensitized mice, but not in naïve mice.

Conclusions
These results indicate that rfh SP‐D has a therapeutic effect on allergen‐induced bronchial inflammation, and that this might be because of its inhibitory effect on NO and TNF‐α production by AMs, and it thus prevents the development of T‐helper type 2 cytokine response.
Glucocorticoids suppress transcriptional up‐regulation of bradykinin receptors in a murine in vitro model of chronic airway inflammation
Authors: Zhang Y. , Adner M. , Cardell L.‐O.
Published: April 2005

Background
Glucocorticoids are effective drugs for controlling symptoms and airway inflammation in respiratory diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. However, the mechanisms behind their effects are not fully understood. We have recently demonstrated that prolonged exposure to the pro‐inflammatory mediator tumour necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) markedly enhanced contractile responses to des‐Arg9‐bradykinin (selective bradykinin B1 receptor agonist) and bradykinin (selective bradykinin B2 receptor agonist) in murine airways. This increase was paralleled with elevated mRNA levels for bradykinin B1 and B2 receptors, a process involving intracellular mitogen‐activated protein kinase pathways.

Objective
To investigate the effects of glucocorticoids on the TNF‐α up‐regulated bradykinin B1 and B2 receptor response.

Methods
Tracheal segments from BALB/c J mice were cultured with and without TNF‐α, in the absence and presence of the transcriptional inhibitor actinomycin D or the glucocorticoid, dexamethasone. The contractile response induced by des‐Arg9‐bradykinin and bradykinin was subsequently assessed in a myograph system and mRNA for bradykinin B1 and B2 receptors was quantified using real‐time polymerase chain reaction.

Results
Actinomycin D abolished and dexamethasone concentration‐dependently suppressed the TNF‐α‐induced enhancement of the des‐Arg9‐bradykinin and bradykinin responses. This was paralleled by a reduction of the mRNA expression for the bradykinin B1 and B2 receptors.

Conclusion
The presented data suggests the involvement of transcriptional mechanisms in the up‐regulation of bradykinin B1 and B2 receptors during asthmatic airway inflammation, as well as in their down‐regulation following glucocorticoid treatment.
Sensitization to dust mites in children with allergic rhinitis in Singapore: does it matter if you scratch while you sneeze?
Authors: Kidon M. I. , Chiang W. C. , Liew W. K. , Lim S. H. , See Y. , Goh A. , Tan J. P. L. , Chay O. M. , Balakrishnan A.
Published: April 2005

Background
Previously published data established Blomia tropicalis, as the major source of allergic sensitization in asthmatic children in tropical Singapore.

Objective
To define the prevalence, clinical characteristics and risk factors of species‐specific mite sensitization in paediatric allergic rhinitis (AR) patients in this unique environment.

Methods
We performed a prospective evaluation of newly diagnosed AR patients, from 1 May 2003 to 30 April 2004, from the otolaryngology and allergy outpatient clinics of the Kendang Kerbau Children's Hospital in Singapore. Patients included in the study showed evidence of sensitization to at least one respiratory allergen source and completed a detailed questionnaire. Relative risk of sensitization and associated risk factors were calculated using logistic regression analysis with the forward stepwise model. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to adjust for confounding interactions. Continuous values were compared using anova, SPSS 9.0 for Windows (SPSS Inc., 1999).

Results
One hundred and seventy‐five patients were included, 119 (68%) males, 142 (81%) Chinese, age mean 7.9 years (range 2–16). Sixty‐eight patients (39%) reported a concomitant diagnosis and/or clinical complaints of bronchial asthma and 84 (48%) of atopic dermatitis. Skin prick test results were positive for traditional house dust mites (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus. and D. farinae mix) in 85% of patients and for B. tropicalis in 62%. Overall mite sensitization was 98%, household pets 10%, moulds 9% and food proteins 12%. By far the single most significant factor associated with Dermatophagoides sensitization in this group was the presence of allergic eczema (odds ratio (OR) 31.8%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.6–285, P=0.002). Allergic eczema was negatively associated with B. tropicalis sensitization (OR 0.26%, 95% CI 0.14–0.5).

Conclusions
Children with AR and concomitant atopic dermatitis show a preferential sensitization to the Dermatophagoides mites. In our population, B. tropicalis sensitization is more prominent in children with pure respiratory allergy.
Allergen‐induced cytokine phenotypes in mice: role of CD4+ and CD8+ T cell populations
Authors: Dearman R. J. , Humphreys N. , Skinner R. A. , Kimber I.
Published: April 2005

Background
CD4+ T cells expressing type 2 cytokines have been implicated in the pathogenesis of asthma to high‐molecular‐weight allergens. Topical exposure of BALB/c strain mice to low‐molecular‐weight chemical contact and respiratory allergens stimulates type 1 and type 2 cytokine secretion phenotypes, respectively.

Objective
To examine the relative frequencies of cytokine‐positive CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and their contributions to these cytokine secretion profiles.

Methods
Draining auricular lymph nodes were isolated 13 days after initiation of topical exposure of female BALB/c strain mice to chemical allergen, or to vehicle alone. The frequency of intracellular cytokine (IL‐4 and IFN‐γ)‐positive CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes was enumerated by flow cytometry. The relative contribution of CD4+ and CD8+ cells to cytokine secretion profiles was assessed by negative selection.

Results
Exposure to allergen resulted in an increased frequency of both IFN‐γ+ CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes, although there were no marked differences between trimellitic anhydride (TMA)‐ and 2,4‐dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB)‐activated lymph node cells. Treatment with TMA induced approximately five times as many IL‐4+ CD4+ cells as did exposure to DNCB. This pattern of cytokine staining was also observed for a further pair of contact and respiratory allergens; respectively, formalin and fluorescein isothiocyanate.

Conclusion
These data demonstrate that the divergent immune responses induced in mice by different classes of chemical allergen are independent of changes in the frequency of IFN‐γ+ cells, but are associated with differential frequencies of IL‐4‐expressing CD4+ T cells.
Increased responsiveness of basophils of patients with chronic urticaria to sera but hypo‐responsiveness to other stimuli
Authors: Luquin E. , Kaplan A. P. , Ferrer M.
Published: April 2005

Background
Although it has been shown that basophils from patients with chronic ordinary urticaria (CU) are less responsive than normal basophils when stimulated with anti‐IgE, very few studies have examined the response of those cells to alternative stimuli.

Objective
To compare releasability between basophils from healthy donors and patients with CU.

Methods
We examined the response of IL‐3‐treated basophils from healthy donors, atopic controls and CU patients to anti‐IgE, monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 (MCP‐1), bradykinin, C5a and to sera obtained from other urticaria patients and normal controls. We also compared the response of basophils from CU patients whose sera activate normal basophils (autoimmune CU) from those who do not (idiopathic CU).

Results
Basophils of CU patients release significantly less histamine than basophils of normal controls when stimulated with anti‐IgE, and to a lesser degree with C5a. No differences were observed when basophils from patients were incubated with Bradykinin or MCP‐1. However, when basophils of CU patients were incubated with sera from other CU patients or even normal sera, we found significantly higher histamine release compared with the response of basophils from normal donors. We could not distinguish responsiveness of basophils of patients with chronic autoimmune urticaria from patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria.

Conclusion
Basophils of patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria and chronic autoimmune urticaria are hypo‐responsive to anti‐IgE and C5a, normally responsive to MCP‐1 or bradykinin, and hyper‐responsive to serum. The serum factor to which a response has not yet been identified; however, basophils of patients with chronic urticaria, in general, appear to have abnormal regulation of signaling pathways.
Exercise and aspirin increase levels of circulating gliadin peptides in patients with wheat‐dependent exercise‐induced anaphylaxis
Authors: Matsuo H. , Morimoto K. , Akaki T. , Kaneko S. , Kusatake K. , Kuroda T. , Niihara H. , Hide M. , Morita E.
Published: April 2005

Background
Food‐dependent exercise‐induced anaphylaxis (FDEIA) is an allergic reaction characteristically induced by intense exercise combined with the ingestion of causative food. Recent reports have shown that aspirin intake is a contributing factor in some patients with FDEIA. Wheat is known to be the most frequent causative food, and the IgE‐binding epitopes of a major wheat allergen (ω‐5 gliadin) in wheat‐dependent exercise induced anaphylaxis (WDEIA) have already been clarified. However, the mechanism of eliciting the symptom in WDEIA remains not fully understood.

Objectives
The aim of this study was to examine the relationship of serum gliadin levels and allergic symptoms induced by exercise or aspirin in patients with WDEIA.

Methods
Six patients with a history of recurrent anaphylaxis associated with wheat ingestion were diagnosed as having WDEIA by the provocation test, which included wheat ingestion, exercise, aspirin intake and a combination of these challenges. During the tests, serum levels of gliadins were monitored by gliadin‐specific sandwich ELISA. The effects of exercise and aspirin on serum gliadin levels were also investigated in four healthy subjects.

Results
Immunoreactive gliadins appeared in the sera of patients during the provocation test with both wheat‐exercise and wheat‐aspirin challenges in parallel with allergic symptoms. Serum gliadin levels also increased under the two same challenge conditions in the healthy subjects, although they exhibited no allergic symptoms. However, low levels of gliadin were detected in the sera of both patients and healthy subjects when challenged with wheat alone.

Conclusion
We demonstrated for the first time that blood gliadin levels correlate with clinical symptoms induced by exercise and aspirin in patients with WDEIA. These findings suggest that exercise and aspirin facilitate allergen absorption from the gastrointestinal tract.
Nursing diagnoses: factors affecting their use in charting standardized care plans
Authors: Lee Ting‐Ting
Published: April 2005

Aims and objectives.  The purpose of this study was to explore factors that may affect nurses’ use of nursing diagnoses in charting standardized nursing care plans in their daily practice.

Background.  Care plans have been viewed as providing a structured approach to the assessment, planning and delivery of patient care. Nonetheless, the challenge for many institutions is to help professional nursing staff refine their understanding of nursing diagnoses and charting skills, to identify patient problems and propose appropriate care plans.

Method.  Twelve clinical nurses working at a medical center in Taiwan underwent one‐on‐one in‐depth interviews from May to July 2000. Data analysis was based on Miles and Huberman's data reduction, data display, and a conclusion verification process to investigate the charting process.

Findings.  Nurses tended to match patient conditions to the designated nursing diagnoses, be unfamiliar with statements of related factors, use objective data to describe patient conditions, ignore descriptions of nursing goals, dutifully check interventions without always executing them, and choose the same evaluation to meet hospital requirements.

Conclusions.  These findings suggest that using educational programmes for enhancing nurses’ ability to use nursing diagnoses and exploring the process of diagnostic reasoning would improve the quality of patient documentation.

Relevance to clinical practice.  The trend in health care is to focus on chart audit to reveal indicators of quality of care. Therefore, the experience of nurses in this study could be applied to in‐service training programmes by institutions that are replacing traditional, manually written care plans with a standardized care planning system, thus helping other nurses through this transition process.
Nurses’ view of the family in psychiatric care
Authors: Sjöblom Lena‐Mari , Pejlert Anita , Asplund Kenneth
Published: April 2005

Aims.  The aim of this study is to examine nurses’ view of the family in psychiatric care.

Background.  The families of people who are mentally ill carry a heavy burden. Research has shown that they experience sorrow, shame and guilt. They are often involved in informal caring and there is evidence of families playing an important role in the recovery of the patient. In spite of this, a great deal could still be made to create more family‐oriented care. This development depends to a large extent on nurses’ view of involving families in the care and the perceived value of family‐oriented work.

Method.  Four focus groups, with four to six carers in each group, were conducted. The recorded focus groups lasted 75–90 minutes and the data were transcribed and interpreted using content analysis.

Results.  The results present four themes: compassion for and understanding of close relatives, the carer as the recipient of negative feelings, difficulties and dilemmas in the meeting with close relatives and preconceptions of mental illnesses in the family and in society. The results were interpreted as meaning that the carers found themselves in something that can be described as a double‐bind situation.

Conclusion.  From analysis and interpretation, the conclusion is drawn that improved communication between nurses, patients and families could be a way to resolve the double‐bind situation.

Relevance to clinical practice.  To promote family health and also improve things for the patient, it can be argued, from the results of this study, that nurses should carefully consider whether and how to involve family members in care.
The negative birth experience of prolonged labour: a case–referent study
Authors: Nystedt Astrid , Högberg Ulf , Lundman Berit
Published: April 2005

Aims.  This study aimed to analyse and describe women's different perceptions and experiences of childbirth following prolonged or normal labour.

Background.  In clinical practice prolonged labour, or dystocia, is a common delivery complication often causing a negative birth experience.

Method.  Women giving singleton live birth to their first child with spontaneous labour after more than 37 completed weeks’ pregnancy at three hospitals in northern Sweden were recruited to a case–referent study. Cases (n = 84) were women following a prolonged labour with assisted vaginal or abdominal delivery, and referents (n = 171) delivered following a normal labour. Participants completed a questionnaire that investigated childbirth experiences, previous family relationships and childhood experiences.

Results.  Women with prolonged labour had a negative childbirth experience more often (34%) than did women who had a normal labour (4%) (P < 0.05). Cases agreed significantly more than the referents with the statement, ‘Pain relief during the delivery saved me’ (OR 4.5, 95% CI: 1.9–11.1) and ‘My difficulties during the delivery will mark me for life’ (OR 12.4, 95% CI: 4.4–35.9). There were no differences between the cases and referents regarding perceived experience of professional or social support.

Relevance to clinical practice.  To improve care, midwives and doctors can alleviate pain and relieve the negativity and difficulty associated with the experience of prolonged labour from the perspective of the woman giving birth.
Consumer perspectives in adolescent ward design
Authors: Hutton Alison
Published: April 2005

Aims.  The aim of the study was to gain an understanding of the environment and facilities that adolescents require in a purpose‐built adolescent ward.

Background.  People who are hospitalized have limited control over their care and environment. The experience of hospitalization is also considered a highly stressful event. It is essential that patients have an opportunity to participate in the planning and design of ward environments in order to reduce their stress and better accommodate their treatment needs.

Methods.  An interpretative qualitative design was used. Seven chronically ill adolescents were asked to design their own ward in order to obtain consumer input about what the perceived necessary facilities for adolescent wards.

Findings.  The adolescents provided clear information about the facilities that should be incorporated into an adolescent ward to maintain their privacy and independence. Further research needs to be conducted seeking consumer input, especially if it can enhance the stay of adolescent patients while they are hospitalized.

Relevance to clinical practice.  Adolescent voice is more often than not represented by nurses, or other healthcare professionals in the patients’ best interest. This practice acts on the assumption that the adult knows best and/or that adolescents are unable to articulate their own needs. Adolescent consumers contribute worthwhile recommendations to how a ward is run providing insight about their needs in the ward environment.
Registered Nurses’ personal rights vs. professional responsibility in caring for members of underserved and disenfranchised populations
Authors: Martino Maze Claire D
Published: April 2005

Aims.  Health disparities exist and refer to the chasms in health status between the advantaged and disadvantaged. Intense multiculturalism will require different approaches and moral obligations to work with these groups and urgency exists to develop nursing caring strategies when dealing with these populations. Development of nursing curricula which identify prejudicial thinking and intolerance for marginalized groups will help to decrease fears and increase nurses’ willingness to provide culturally competent health care for underserved and disenfranchised populations.

Background.  Caring for members of disenfranchised groups instills fear at some level in nurses who are working with these individuals. This fear may be due, in part, to the potential harm nurses perceive the patient may cause them, or perhaps it is because they feel they could possibly be in the individual's situation at some point in their lives. Prejudice and discrimination continue to exist in society and have adversely affected the health care system and the nursing profession. Discrimination may be based on differences due to age, ability, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any characteristics by which people differ.

Relevance to clinical practice.  Registered Nurses are accountable for nursing decisions and actions regardless of personal preferences. Due to the rapidly changing healthcare system the nurse faces increasing ethical dilemmas and human rights issues. Nurses are individually accountable for caring for each patient and the right to refuse an assignment should be carefully interpreted to avoid patient abandonment. Nurses’ objections can be based on moral, ethical, or religious beliefs not on personal preferences and in an emergency the nurse must provide treatment regardless of any personal objections.
Symptoms in the host: infection and treatment model
Authors: Purssell Edward
Published: April 2005

Aims and objectives.  The aim is to devise a decision‐making model to help nurses and allied professionals treat the symptoms of infectious diseases in a logical way that maximizes the benefits of symptoms and minimizes any harm that they might do.

Background.  This paper considers the symptoms of infectious diseases from an evolutionary perspective, applying theories from ecology and evolution to nursing. Building upon evolutionary theories that suggest symptoms occur as the result of host defences, pathogen manipulations or as pure side‐effects, it is suggested that those symptoms that have evolved as host defences should not always be treated because of their beneficial effects. However, clinical decision‐making is more complex because of the rapid changes in environment and behaviour, which may impact upon the usefulness of symptoms to the host.

Conclusions.  Although some symptoms can be identified as being beneficial adaptations, this alone is not sufficient indication to decide which symptoms should or should not be treated. Other considerations include any negative outcomes and behavioural and environmental changes that may affect the significance of any adaptation.

Relevance to clinical practice.  Nurses should aim to maximize the host defences of the patients they are caring for in order to speed recovery and to reduce transmission and the need for antibiotics. This model helps nurses to identify factors that should be considered when these decisions are made and suggests some principles that might be followed in other situations.
Using action research in nursing practice with older people: democratizing knowledge
Authors: Reed Jan
Published: April 2005

Aim.  This paper reports on an action research study which raised some questions about the processes of developing a sense of shared ownership in action research in a research environment which does not always have the appropriate mechanisms to support and sustain action research.

Background.  Action research has gained popularity in nursing and healthcare research, offering a way of developing practice‐based knowledge, which can assist in changing practice and democratizing inquiry.

Methods.  There are other organizational constraints on action research which arise at different levels, and which also require discussion. These can be issues about communication and ownership at a practice level and issues of funding and project management procedures. This paper reports on a study in which these issues came to the fore, and offers some thoughts on how they can affect the processes of action research.

Conclusion.  While the principles of action research appear to offer much towards the development of a practice‐rooted body of knowledge for nursing, unless some of the issues of ownership are resolved, it is unlikely to move beyond academic rhetoric.

Relevance to clinical practice.  If nursing is to engage in action research, this must be done critically and reflectively and careful attention paid to developing an inclusive and collaborative approach to knowledge and practice development. Furthermore, to develop in nursing and health care research, it must find ways to meet the requirements of funding bodies.
Human β‐defensin (hBD‐1, ‐2) expression in dental pulp
Authors: Dommisch H. , Winter J. , Açil Y. , Dunsche A. , Tiemann M. , Jepsen S.
Published: April 2005

The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of human β‐defensins (hBD‐1, ‐2) in dental pulps by reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) and immunohistochemistry. The mRNA transcripts of human β‐defensin‐1 and human β‐defensin‐2 could be detected by performing RT‐PCR. With immunohistochemical staining of pulp tissue using antisera to hBD‐1 and ‐2 it was possible to demonstrate cytoplasmic expression in odontoblasts. The results demonstrate that not only oral keratinocytes at the epithelial surface but also odontoblasts express human β‐defensins. Thus odontoblasts take part in the innate immune system and human β‐defensins may play an important role in the innate host defense of human dental pulp.