bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
U.S. Families' Adoption of Chinese Daughters: A Narrative Analysis of Family Themes in Children's Books
Authors: Fitzpatrick Jacki , Kostina‐Ritchey Erin
Published: January 2013

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the ways in which family formation processes were presented in international children's adoption books. Guided by Pinderhughes' (1996) adoptive family development model, we conducted a content analysis for the representation of two developmental phases (anticipation and accommodation). A total of 24 publicly accessible books (e.g., via libraries, websites, or bookstores) were coded independently by two researchers. The results indicated that adoptive developmental tasks were represented in the books. The books were transparent in the description of positively and negatively valenced events (e.g., adoptive children are withdrawn from new parents). Implications for practice and service provision and research are offered.
Intimate Partner Violence in Interracial and Monoracial Couples
Authors: Martin Brittny A. , Cui Ming , Ueno Koji , Fincham Frank D.
Published: January 2013

This study, using a nationally representative sample, investigated intimate partner violence (IPV) in interracial and monoracial relationships. Regression analyses indicated that interracial couples demonstrated a higher level of mutual IPV than monoracial White couples but a level similar to monoracial Black couples. There were significant gender differences in IPV, with women reporting lower levels of victimization than men. Regarding relationship status, cohabiting couples demonstrated the highest levels of IPV, and dating couples reported the lowest levels. Regarding interactions among couple racial composition, relationship status, and respondents' gender, an interaction between racial composition and relationship status was found. Implications for practitioners and directions for future research are discussed.
Racial Socialization of Biracial Youth: Maternal Messages and Approaches to Address Discrimination
Authors: Rollins Alethea , Hunter Andrea G.
Published: January 2013

We explored how mothers of biracial youth prepare their children to navigate diverse racial ecologies and experiences of racism and discrimination. A qualitative thematic analysis was used to identify racial socialization messages mothers used and emergent racial socialization approaches. Mothers of biracial youth engaged in the full range of racial socialization discussed in the literature, including cultural, minority, self‐development, egalitarian, and silent racial socialization. These messages varied by the biracial heritage of the youth, such that mothers of biracial youth with Black heritage were more likely to provide self‐development racial socialization messages, whereas mothers of biracial youth without Black heritage were more likely to provide silent racial socialization. On the basis of the array of racial socialization messages mothers delivered, we identified three emergent approaches: promotive, protective, and passive racial socialization.
An Application of Ecological Theory to Ethnic Identity Formation Among Biethnic Adolescents
Authors: Gonzales‐Backen Melinda A.
Published: January 2013

A body of literature has increased our understanding of ethnic identity formation among ethnic minorities, but there remains a dearth of research focused on the ethnic identity formation of biethnic adolescents. Biethnic adolescents are likely to have unique experiences related to ethnicity that significantly alter the course of their ethnic identity formation. As such, a conceptual framework of biethnic identity is needed to guide future empirical work on biethnic identity and, ultimately, increase the field's understanding of this critical developmental process among biethnic adolescents. This article provides a review of theoretical and empirical work on ethnic identity among monoethnic adolescents, and, guided by the cultural ecological framework, an ecological framework of biethnic identity development is proposed.
Multiracial Children and Poverty: Evidence From the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study of Kindergartners
Authors: Bratter Jenifer , Kimbro Rachel Tolbert
Published: January 2013

Despite the recent growth in multiracial children among American children, we know very little about their well‐being. Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class (N = 17,706), we evaluated the likelihood of living in poverty and near poverty for multiracial and monoracial children. Most multiracial groups have poverty or near poverty rates that are in between Whites and their respective minority monoracial counterparts, with Asian‐Whites reporting a risk of poverty equivalent to Whites and Black‐Hispanics reporting risks as high as Black and Hispanic children. Family structure and educational and occupational attainment characteristics explain some or all of the White/non‐White differentials in poverty for multiracial groups, even as monoracial children still exhibit higher risk than Whites. We consider these patterns' implications for practitioners working with low‐income families.
Race‐Conscious Adoption Choices, Multiraciality, and Color‐blind Racial Ideology
Authors: Sweeney Kathryn A.
Published: January 2013

Analysis of interview data illustrates how White adoptive parents rationalize choices regarding adoptee race. Parents who were willing to adopt children of color stressed unwillingness to adopt Black children. The preference for adopting multiracial children goes against the prevalent method of racial classification, hypodescent, by defining multiracial as distinct from Black, assuming that multiracial children would not experience racism. Those who adopted children of color also relied on racial classifications of hypodescent and challenged color‐blind ideology by recognizing the importance of race. They also defined race in terms of perceived race versus birth parent racial identity. Findings have implications for how agencies, social workers, and counselors portray various groups as well as prepare, counsel, and support adoptive and multiracial families.
Who's Seeking Whom? Coalition Behavior of a Weaker Player in Buyer–Supplier Relationships
Authors: Bastl Marko , Johnson Mark , Choi Thomas Y.
Published: January 2013

Our intent with this research is to articulate propositions for coalition building behaviors involving the weaker player in a buyer–supplier relationship. The context of our study begins in dyads, but grows into triads as coalitions are formed. We consider coalition formation arising from power asymmetry in dyadic buyer–supplier relationships. However, when a weaker player pairs up with another player, the context of our study becomes triads (i.e., buyer–supplier–supplier or buyer–buyer–supplier). On the basis of coalition theory, we identify three archetypes and then formulate four coalition conditions under each archetype. Each coalition condition, framed in a supply network triad, constitutes a finding. For instance, we propose that a supplier in a weaker power position in a buyer–supplier–supplier triad would try to create a coalition with another supplier to gain leverage against a common buyer. According to coalition theory, it does not matter whether this new supplier has more or less power compared with the old supplier as long as their coalition collectively yields more power than the buyer. By the same token, two buyers would create a coalition to gain leverage against a common supplier if their coalition collectively yields more power than the supplier. Furthermore, the buyer would create a coalition with a second‐tier supplier if the buyer is in a weaker power position compared with the first‐tier supplier and their coalition would yield more power against the first‐tier supplier. This study marks one of the first attempts at formally theorizing the weaker player in the buyer–supplier relationship. It also marks the first attempt at applying coalition theory to supply chain dynamics and it extends emerging work in supply network triads.
Supplier Integration and NPD Outcomes: Conditional Moderation Effects of Modular Design Competence
Authors: Salvador Fabrizio , Villena Veronica H.
Published: January 2013

Integrating suppliers into new product development (NPD) projects offers manufacturers the potential for substantial improvements in the new product being designed. However, it also creates significant inter‐organizational integration diseconomies that can negatively affect the manufacturing cost and performance of the designed product. We propose that these diseconomies can be reduced to the extent that the manufacturer is able to design modular products — i.e., it has a modular design competence (MDC). We also suggest that such an effect tends to become weaker for high levels of product and process innovation. We test our hypotheses on an international sample of 165NPDprojects using hierarchical linear regression. Our results provide support for the moderation effect ofMDCand partial support for the weakening of this effect under high product and process innovation. We discuss the implications for the literature of buyer‐supplier relationships inNPD, inter‐firm modularity and product‐process‐supply chain design as well as practice.
Protocol for the Perfusion and Angiography Imaging Sub-Study of the Third International Stroke Trial (IST-3) of Alteplase Treatment within Six-Hours of Acute Ischemic Stroke
Authors: Wardlaw Joanna M. , von Kummer Rudiger , Carpenter Trevor , Parsons Mark , Lindley Richard I. , Cohen Geoff , Murray Veronica , Kobayashi Adam , Peeters Andre , Chappell Francesca , Sandercock Peter A. G.
Published: January 2013

Rationale

Intravenous thrombolysis with recombinant tissue Plasminogen Activator improves outcomes in patients treated early after stroke but at the risk of causing intracranial hemorrhage. Restricting recombinant tissue Plasminogen Activator use to patients with evidence of still salvageable tissue, or with definite arterial occlusion, might help reduce risk, increase benefit and identify patients for treatment at late time windows.

Aims

To determine if perfusion or angiographic imaging with computed tomography or magnetic resonance help identify patients who are more likely to benefit from recombinant tissue Plasminogen Activator in the context of a large multicenter randomized trial of recombinant tissue Plasminogen Activator given within six-hours of onset of acute ischemic stroke, the Third International Stroke Trial.

Design

Third International Stroke Trial is a prospective multicenter randomized controlled trial testing recombinant tissue Plasminogen Activator (0·9 mg/kg, maximum dose 90 mg) started up to six-hours after onset of acute ischemic stroke, in patients with no clear indication for or contraindication to recombinant tissue Plasminogen Activator. Brain imaging (computed tomography or magnetic resonance) was mandatory pre-randomization to exclude hemorrhage. Scans were read centrally, blinded to treatment and clinical information. In centers where perfusion and/or angiography imaging were used routinely in stroke, these images were also collected centrally, processed and assessed using validated visual scores and computational measures.

Study outcomes

The primary outcome in Third International Stroke Trial is alive and independent (Oxford Handicap Score 0–2) at 6 months; secondary outcomes are symptomatic and fatal intracranial hemorrhage, early and late death. The perfusion and angiography study additionally will examine interactions between recombinant tissue Plasminogen Activator and clinical outcomes, infarct growth and recanalization in the presence or absence of perfusion lesions and/or arterial occlusion at presentation. The study is registered ISRCTN25765518.
Intergenerational Transmission of Influence and Family Pattern: Some French Perspectives
Authors: Lassmann Wolfgang
Published: January 2013

French psychoanalysis offers a wide range of studies on the problems of intergenerational transmission within families. In this paper I focus on four authors whose work, though important, has remained largely untranslated. The paper studies Serge Lebovici's emphasis on ‘fantasmatic interactions’ and Alain de Mijolla's reflection on ‘unconscious identification’ and strives to understand how Claude Nachin and Serge Tisseron, two followers of Nicolas Abraham and Maria Torok, have presented and developed further ideas of ‘the phantom’ and ‘the crypt’. I try to place the debate within its French context and argue for its relevance in presenting building blocks of understanding in an important area of concern to psychoanalysis.
Skin and the Non‐Human Human: Transformation and Reversal in Titian's The Flaying of Marsyas
Authors: Rösing Lilian Munk
Published: January 2013

The article puts forward an aesthetic and psychoanalytic analysis of Titian's painting, The Flaying of Marsyas, arguing that the painting is a reflection on the human subject as a being constituted by skin and by a core of non‐humanity. The analysis is partly an answer to Melanie Hart's (2007) article ‘Visualizing the mind: Looking at Titian's Flaying of Marsyas', addressing features of the painting not commented on by Hart, and supplementing Hart's (Kleinian) theoretical frame by involving Didier Anzieu's ‘skin ego’, Slavoj Zizek's concept of the ‘non‐human’, Giorgio Agamben's term of the ‘Muselmann’, and Anton Ehrenzweig's psychoanalytic theory of artistic creation. Whereas Hart is focusing on form and colour, I also turn my attention towards the texture of the painting.
Dietary Nutrients and Urinary Incontinence in Japanese Adults
Authors: HIRAYAMA Fumi , LEE Andy H.
Published: January 2013

Objectives: To investigate the association between dietary nutrients and urinary incontinence (UI) among Japanese adults.

Methods: A total of 1017 adults (710 men and 307 women) were recruited from the community in central and southern Japan. A structured questionnaire, incorporating the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire‐Short Form (ICIQ‐SF) and a validated food frequency questionnaire, was administered to participants by face‐to‐face interview. Information on dietary nutrients intake from each food item was obtained using the Japanese food composition tables. Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the association between nutrients intake and the prevalence of UI.

Results: The observed prevalence of UI was 8.7% (n = 62) for men (mean age 62.5 years) and 29% (n = 89) for women (mean age 62.0 years) based on the ICIQ‐SF criterion. Of the 50 dietary nutrients and micronutrients considered, soluble fiber (P = 0.03) and omega‐6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (P = 0.01) were found to be inversely associated with the UI prevalence for men, whereas increasing the intake of lutein/zeaxanthin appeared to be marginally associated (P = 0.04) with a reduced risk of UI for women.

Conclusion: Three dietary nutrients have been identified to be associated with UI in middle‐aged and older Japanese adults. Further research and clinical trials are needed to ascertain the effects of dietary nutrients on UI.
Harmony with Diversity: China’s Preferred World Order and Weakening Western Influence in the Developing World
Authors: van der Putten Frans‐Paul
Published: January 2013

The Chinese government says that it supports the notion of international diversity of political‐economic systems. This should not be regarded as mere propaganda. Apart from a brief period during the Cultural Revolution, China never was interested in exporting its ideology or in trying to turn other countries into a replication of itself. It is unlikely that China will change its attitude in this regard, even as it emerges as a new superpower. On the contrary: as it becomes more influential at the multilateral level, it is likely that China will promote political‐economic diversity as a major norm in international relations. This would limit the ability of the west to promote liberal democracy and economic liberalism through multilateral institutions, and perhaps even bilaterally. One of the effects of this process would be that the competitive advantage of Chinese companies in developing countries increases vis‐à‐vis western firms. This would accelerate the power shift in the developing world towards China from the west.

Policy Implications

In the years ahead China is likely to push international diversity as a major norm in international relations.

China’s drive towards international diversity challenges the western support for economic and political liberal values in international relations.

The more China succeeds in making the institutions of global governance ideologically ‘neutral’ (i.e., not representing liberal values and thereby favouring the Chinese position vis‐à‐vis the west), the more difficult it becomes for the US and its western partners to use these institutions to export liberal democracy and economic liberalism to the developing world.

It will be increasingly difficult for western firms to compete with their Chinese counterparts in developing countries. This strengthens Chinese economic ‐ and therefore political ‐ influence in the developing world vis‐à‐vis western influence.
Pre‐ and Intra‐Procedural Predictors of Reverse Remodeling After Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy: An MRI Study
Authors: COCHET HUBERT , DENIS ARNAUD , PLOUX SYLVAIN , LUMENS JOOST , AMRAOUI SANA , DERVAL NICOLAS , SACHER FREDERIC , REANT PATRICIA , LAFITTE STÉPHANE , JAIS PIERRE , LAURENT FRANÇOIS , RITTER PHILIPPE , MONTAUDON MICHEL , BORDACHAR PIERRE
Published: January 2013

MRI Predictors of Reverse Remodeling After CRT

Introduction

Response rate after cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) remains suboptimal. We sought to identify pre‐ and intraprocedural predictors of response using MRI.

Methods and Results

Sixty patients underwent MRI before CRT. Left ventricular (LV) volumes and ejection fraction were assessed on cine images. Intra‐LV dyssynchrony was defined as the maximal delay between first peaks of radial wall motion over 20 segments. Myocardial scar extent was quantified using delayed‐enhanced MRI. After CRT, the paced LV segment was characterized on preprocedural MRI with respect to presence of scar and mechanical delay, the latter being quantified using time to first peak of wall motion, expressed in percentage of the total LV activation. Echocardiography was performed before and 6 months after CRT to quantify reverse remodeling (RR). Mean RR at 6 months was 30 ± 29% of baseline LV end‐systolic volume. At univariate analysis, RR related to baseline LV end‐diastolic and end‐systolic volumes (R2 = 0.101, P = 0.01; R2 = 0.072, P = 0.04), intra‐LV mechanical dyssynchrony (R2 = 0.351, P < 0.0001), scar extent (R2 = 0.273, P < 0.0001), and presence of scar at pacing site (R2 = 0.100, P = 0.01). QRS duration and mechanical delay at pacing site were not found related to RR (R2 = 0.041, P = 0.12 and R2 = 0.012, P = 0.4, respectively). At multivariate analysis intra‐LV mechanical dyssynchrony, scar extent, and LV end‐diastolic volume were independent predictors of RR (R2 = 0.307, P = 0.001; R2 = 0.096, P = 0.002, R2 = 0.078, P = 0.005, respectively).

Conclusion

Intra‐LV dyssynchrony and scar extent are independent predictors of RR after CRT. Scar at pacing site is associated to a lesser response to CRT. Mechanical delay at this site has no impact on the response.
Temporal and spatial patterns in ichthyoplankton assemblages in bay and open coastal environments
Authors: Kent J. , Jenkins G. , Acevedo S.
Published: January 2013

The larval fish fauna occurring in temperate bay and shelf waters off Victoria, southern Australia, was found to be diverse, comprising taxa from 52 families. The most abundant groups collected were gobiids, tripterygiids, gobiesocids and clupeids. Fish egg concentrations were highest during spring and summer (September to February). Eggs of the Australian anchovy Engraulis australis occurred mainly during spring (September to November). Total larval fish concentrations were highest during summer (December to February), and were significantly higher at 1 km than 2 and 5 km from shore in offshore samples. Larval concentrations of a number of families, mainly reef‐associated taxa that attach their eggs to hard substrata, were also higher nearer to shore. These larvae are more developed upon hatching than those of pelagic spawners and more capable of avoiding passive drift. Multivariate analyses found that larval taxonomic composition did not vary significantly with distance from shore, but that seasonal and monthly groupings were evident, with different taxa dominating at different times of the year. Larvae of the families Gobiidae and Tripterygiidae occurred in all months, but were less abundant during winter. Spatial differences in the larval fish assemblage between offshore samples and samples taken in the bay were only apparent during summer. This was primarily due to a higher abundance of seagrass‐associated species, such as syngnathids and hemiramphids, utilizing specific habitats in the bay.
Retracted: Aging is associated with altered inflammatory, arachidonic acid cascade, and synaptic markers, influenced by epigenetic modifications, in the human frontal cortex
Authors: Keleshian Vasken L. , Modi Hiren R. , Rapoport Stanley I. , Rao Jagadeesh S.
Published: January 2013

Aging is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and is associated with cognitive decline. However, underlying molecular mechanisms of brain aging are not clear. Recent studies suggest epigenetic influences on gene expression in AD, as DNA methylation levels influence protein and mRNA expression in postmortem AD brain. We hypothesized that some of these changes occur with normal aging. To test this hypothesis, we measured markers of the arachidonic acid (AA) cascade, neuroinflammation, pro‐ and anti‐apoptosis factors, and gene specific epigenetic modifications in postmortem frontal cortex from nine middle‐aged [41 ± 1 (SEM) years] and 10 aged subjects (70 ± 3 years). The aged compared with middle‐aged brain showed elevated levels of neuroinflammatory and AA cascade markers, altered pro and anti‐apoptosis factors and loss of synaptophysin. Some of these changes correlated with promoter hypermethylation of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), cyclic AMP responsive element binding protein (CREB), and synaptophysin and hypomethylation of BCL‐2 associated X protein (BAX). These molecular alterations in aging are different from or more subtle than changes associated with AD pathology. The degree to which they are related to changes in cognition or behavior during normal aging remains to be evaluated.
5‐Hydroxytryptamine type 7 receptor neuroprotection against NMDA‐induced excitotoxicity is PDGFβ receptor dependent
Authors: Vasefi Maryam S. , Kruk Jeff S. , Heikkila John J. , Beazely Michael A.
Published: January 2013

The serotonin (5‐HT) type 7 receptor is expressed throughout the CNS including the hippocampus. Long‐term (2–24 h) activation of 5‐HT7 receptors regulates growth factor receptor expression, including the expression of platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF) β receptors. Direct activation of PDGFβ receptors in primary hippocampal and cortical neurons inhibits NMDA receptor activity and attenuates NMDA receptor‐induced neurotoxicity. Our objective was to investigate whether the 5‐HT7 receptor‐induced increase in PDGFβ receptor expression would be similarly neuroprotective. We demonstrate that 5‐HT7 receptor agonist treatment in primary hippocampal neurons also increases the expression of phospholipase C (PLC) γ, a downstream effector of PDGFβ receptors associated with the inhibition of NMDA receptor activity. To determine if the up‐regulation of PDGFβ receptors is neuroprotective, primary hippocampal neurons were incubated with the 5‐HT7 receptor agonist, LP 12, for 24 h. Indeed, LP 12 treatment prevented NMDA‐induced neurotoxicity and this effect was dependent on PDGFβ receptor kinase activity. Treatment of primary neurons with LP 12 also differentially altered NMDA receptor subunit expression, reducing the expression of NR1 and NR2B, but not NR2A. These findings demonstrate the potential for providing growth factor receptor‐dependent neuroprotective effects using small‐molecule ligands of G protein‐coupled receptors.
Advancing knowledge on practice change: linking facilitation to the senses framework
Authors: Cooper Julie , Meyer Julienne , Holman Cheryl
Published: January 2013

Aims and objectives

To explore the facilitating factors that enabled staff on a rehabilitation ward for older people engage in change activities.

Background

The importance of facilitation in practice change is widely acknowledged; however, little nursing research has taken place in relation to its nature. Following identification in the early phases of an action research study that learned helplessness states and the use of socially structured defence techniques were preventing staff on a rehabilitation ward for older people from engaging in practice development, some change was achieved. What facilitated this to take place needed to be explored.

Design

An action research approach was used.

Methods

Data gained from 13 in‐depth interviews with staff and managers together with three years of researcher field notes were analysed using thematic analysis.

Results

The continuous presence and neutrality of the researcher who worked together with staff on their issues of concern using a flexible ward‐based approach, combined with giving staff the opportunity to explore what it was like for them working in this area, were considered key in helping staff to engage with change.

Conclusions

Analysis of findings suggests that the senses framework presents a theoretical approach to facilitation that can help staff move out of learned helplessness states and reduce the need for the use of socially structured defence techniques.

Relevance to clinical practice

This study identifies a facilitation approach that enabled staff to engage with practice change. Although carried out in the UK, its findings have wider relevance through the application of a theoretical perspective for practice change facilitation that has not before been considered in this literature, and which is likely to be of interest to those involved in practice change internationally.
Relationships between body weight, fasting blood glucose concentration, sex and age in tree shrews (Tupaia belangeri chinensis)
Authors: Wu X. , Chang Q. , Zhang Y. , Zou X. , Chen L. , Zhang L. , Lv L. , Liang B.
Published: January 2013

The tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri chinensis) is a squirrel‐like lower primate or a close relative of primates, commonly used as an animal model in biomedical research. Despite more than three decades of usage in research, the clear relationships between body weight, fasting blood glucose concentration, sex and age among tree shrews remain unclear. Based on an investigation of 992 tree shrews (454 males and 538 females) aged between 4 months and 4 years old, we found that male tree shrews have significantly higher body weight and fasting blood glucose concentration than female tree shrews (p < 0.001). The concentration of fasting blood glucose slightly increased with body weight in males (r = 0.152, p < 0.001). Meanwhile, in females, the body weight, concentration of fasting blood glucose and waist circumference positively increased with age (p < 0.001). Additionally, 17 tree shrews with Lee index [body weight (g)*0.33*1000/body length (cm)] above 290 had significantly higher body weight, waist circumference and glycated haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) than non‐obese tree shrews with a Lee index score below 290 (p < 0.001). Interestingly, 6 of 992 tree shrews (three males and three females, 2–4 years old) displayed impaired plasma triglycerides, HbA1c, low‐density lipoprotein and oral glucose tolerance test, suggestive of the early symptoms of metabolic syndrome. This study provides the first clear relationships between body weight, fasting blood glucose concentration, sex and age in tree shrews, further improving our understanding of this relationship in metabolic syndrome (MetS). Given the similarity of tree shrews to humans and non‐human primates, this finding supports their potential use as an animal model in the research of MetS.
A Meta‐Analysis of Logistics Customer Service
Authors: Leuschner Rudolf , Charvet François , Rogers Dale S.
Published: January 2013

Logistics customer service has received considerable attention over the past several decades. Evidence exists that superior logistics customer service leads to better overall firm performance. Yet mixed findings were observed, and this relationship has been tested across multiple operationalizations and diverse industry settings, which may contribute to these mixed findings. There is thus a need for a systematic analysis that examines all of the prior evidence in an aggregate inquiry of logistics customer service. Meta‐analysis, which is a relatively under‐utilized methodology in supply chain management research, is applied to provide a quantitative examination of 37 sample studies and an assessment of overall population effects. The main contribution of this research is that we statistically aggregate and summarize existing research on logistics customer service. In addition, moderators that affect the relationship between logistics customer service and firm performance are examined. The results provide evidence that logistics customer service has a significant positive relationship with firm performance; however, significant heterogeneity was detected. This points to areas in need of additional research in order to obtain generalizable evidence.
Phytoplankton biomass and primary production dynamics in Lake Kariba
Authors: Regina Ndebele‐Murisa M. , Frank Musil C. , Miles Raitt L.
Published: January 2013

The present study examined spatial, seasonal and depth variations in phytoplankton biomass and primary production (PP), compared with those reported for other tropical African lakes, to determine whether or not measured phytoplankton changes might be linked to climate warming. The biomass of three major phytoplankton classes (Cyanophyceae; Chlorophyceae; Bacillariophyceae) and net PP were measured during the midwinter and midsummer at six different depths at 35 sampling sites distributed across the lake’s five basins. A more rigorous sampling regime was used in the fifth basin, with phytoplankton biomass and PP rates measured every second month over a 24 month period at six different depths at ten sampling sites located in riverine and lacustrine waters. Cyanophyceae, which displayed a gradient of decreasing biomass from Basins 2 to 5, contributed 69% of the total phytoplankton biomass in the lake’s five basins during summer. This percentage was approximately four times greater than that contributed by the Bacillariophyceae and about ten times greater than that contributed by the Chlorophyceae. During winter, Bacillariophyceae biomass was equivalent to that of the Cyanophyceae, but displayed an opposing gradient of increasing biomass from Basins 1 to 3, with a subsequent biomass decline from Basins 3 to 5. Chlorophyceae exhibited no distinct biomass gradient across the five lake basins, being undetectable during winter. The biomass of all three phytoplankton classes and the net PP varied in magnitude and direction monthly between the lacustrine and riverine waters, with increasing water depth and with no distinct seasonal patterns being evident. The monthly variations in biomass were related to the thermal stratification cycle, hydrological gradients and the extent of water mixing, being similar to those reported for other tropical African lakes. It is noteworthy that total phytoplankton biomass and PP in Lake Kariba have declined by about 95% and 50%, respectively, since the 1980s. These declines correspond to an upward shift in the depth of the thermocline, associated with an average temperature increase of 1.9 °C and a 50% reduction in the depth of the euphotic zone, since the 1960s.
Occurence of Culturable Vibrio cholerae from Lake Victoria, and Rift Valley Lakes Albert and George, Uganda
Authors: Kaddumukasa Martha , Nsubuga David , Muyodi Fredrick J.
Published: January 2013

Vibrio cholerae, a bacterium that causes cholera, poses a human health risk when consumed via untreated or contaminated water. Monthly investigations into the presence of V. cholerae from Lakes Albert, George and Victoria were conducted, with the goal being to examine the relationship between the occurrences of V. cholerae with various water quality parameters at fish landing sites in major water bodies in Uganda. The pH, temperature and electrical conductivity were measured at three fishing sites in each of the three study lakes; namely Gabba in Lake Victoria, Butiaba in Lake Albert and Kayanzi in Lake George. The pH values varied from 7.76 to 9.36 at Butiaba, 8.68 to 9.85 at Kayanzi and 6.6 to 9.88 at Ggaba. The temperature ranged from 17.9 to 32.3 °C at Butiaba, 22.5 to 29 °C at Kayanzi and 18.2 to 30.5 °C at Ggaba. The electrical conductivity ranged from 129.2 to 984 μS cm−1 at Butiaba, 658 to 1090 μS cm−1 at Kayanzi and 119 to 218 μS cm−1 at Ggaba, for Lakes Albert, George and Victoria, respectively. Enrichment techniques were used to detect culturable V. cholerae on TCBS culture media. Seventy‐five (75%) of the samples (n = 90) were positive for V. cholera. The occurrence of V. cholerae was positively associated with water quality parameters over the 10‐month period of study. Vibrio cholerae was more frequently detected during the dry season (warmer) than during the wet season. These study results suggest the investigated study lakes are natural reservoirs for V. cholerae.
Mitochondrial shape and function in trypanosomes requires the outer membrane protein, TbLOK1
Authors: Povelones Megan L. , Tiengwe Calvin , Gluenz Eva , Gull Keith , Englund Paul T. , Jensen Robert E.
Published: January 2013

In an RNAi library screen for loss of kinetoplast DNA (kDNA), we identified an uncharacterized Trypanosoma brucei protein, named TbLOK1, required for maintenance of mitochondrial shape and function. We found the TbLOK1 protein located in discrete patches in the mitochondrial outer membrane. Knock‐down of TbLOK1 in procyclic trypanosomes caused the highly interconnected mitochondrial structure to collapse, forming an unbranched tubule remarkably similar to the streamlined organelle seen in the bloodstream form. Following RNAi, defects in mitochondrial respiration, inner membrane potential and mitochondrial transcription were observed. At later times following TbLOK1 depletion, kDNA was lost and a more drastic alteration in mitochondrial structure was found. Our results demonstrate the close relationship between organelle structure and function in trypanosomes.
Distinct functions of polysaccharide deacetylases in cell shape, neutral polysaccharide synthesis and virulence of Bacillus anthracis
Authors: Balomenou Stavroula , Fouet Agnes , Tzanodaskalaki Mary , Couture‐Tosi Evelyne , Bouriotis Vassilis , Boneca Ivo G.
Published: January 2013

Peptidoglycan deacetylases (PGNG‐dacs) belong to the Carbohydrate Esterase Family 4 (CE4) and have been described as required for bacterial evasion to lysozyme and innate immune responses. Interestingly, there is an unusual occurrence of 10 putative polysaccharide deacetylases, including five PGNG‐dacs, in the Bacillus sp. genomes, especially B. cereus and B. anthracis. To elucidate the physiological role of these multiple deacetylases, we employed genetic analysis and protein localization studies of five putative PGNG‐dacs from B. anthracis as well as biochemical analysis of their corresponding homologues from B. cereus. Our data confirm that three enzymes are PGNG‐dacs. While BA1977, associated with lateral peptidoglycan synthesis, is a bona fide peptidoglycan deacetylase involved in resistance to host lysozyme and required for full virulence, BA1961 and BA3679 participate in the biogenesis of the peptidoglycan during both elongation and cell division. Furthermore, two enzymes are important for neutral polysaccharide attachment to PG and consequently anchoring of S‐layer proteins (BA5436) and for polysaccharide modification (BA2944). Our results provide novel and fundamental insights into the function of polysaccharide deacetylases in a major bioterrorism agent.
The sexual health consultation as a moral occasion
Authors: Cook Catherine
Published: January 2013

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are socially constructed as more ‘dirty’ than other gynaecological conditions. This article analyses women’s accounts of interactions with clinicians, subsequent to a diagnosis of genital herpes simplex virus or human papilloma virus. Women conceptualised consultations as a ‘moral event,’ different from other consultations. This moral component is highlighted drawing on Foucault’s notion of ‘the confessional.’ Additionally, Douglas’ anthropological construction of ‘dirt’ is used to consider why these consultations are ‘confessional’ experiences. Email interviews were conducted with 26 women diagnosed with a viral STI and 12 sexual health clinicians. Data were analysed thematically using a feminist, poststructuralist approach. Findings indicated that discourses of morality shape sexual health consultations. Five themes were identified in relation to the moral ‘work’ in clinical consultations about a viral STI diagnosis: the particular ‘dirtiness’ of viral STIs, clinicians as moral agents, the ‘non‐judgmental’ clinician, women juggling truth‐telling and risk and clinicians prescribing moral work. Clinicians support and educate women more effectively if they recognise subjective, moral aspects of sexual health consultations rather than assuming that effective clinical teaching is rational, scientific and non‐judgmental.
Regulating migrant maternity: Nursing and midwifery’s emancipatory aims and assimilatory practices
Authors: DeSouza Ruth
Published: January 2013

In contemporary Western societies, birthing is framed as transformative for mothers; however, it is also a site for the regulation of women and the exercise of power relations by health professionals. Nursing scholarship often frames migrant mothers as a problem, yet nurses are imbricated within systems of scrutiny and regulation that are unevenly imposed on ‘other’ mothers. Discourses deployed by New Zealand Plunket nurses (who provide a universal ‘well child’ health service) to frame their understandings of migrant mothers were analysed using discourse analysis and concepts of power drawn from the work of French philosopher Michel Foucault, read through a postcolonial feminist perspective. This research shows how Plunket nurses draw on liberal feminist discourses, which have emancipatory aims but reflect assimilatory practices, paradoxically disempowering women who do not subscribe to ideals of individual autonomy. Consequently, the migrant mother, her family and new baby are brought into a neoliberal project of maternal improvement through surveillance. This project – enacted differentially but consistently among nurses – attempts to alter maternal and familial relationships by ‘improving’ mothering. Feminist critiques of patriarchy in maternity must be supplemented by a critique of the implicitly western subject of maternity to make empowerment a possibility for all mothers.
Co‐creating possibilities for patients in palliative care to reach vital goals – a multiple case study of home‐care nursing encounters
Authors: Bergdahl Elisabeth , Benzein Eva , Ternestedt Britt‐Marie , Elmberger Eva , Andershed Birgitta
Published: January 2013

The patient’s home is a common setting for palliative care. This means that we need to understand current palliative care philosophy and how its goals can be realized in home‐care nursing encounters (HCNEs) between the nurse, patient and patient’s relatives. The existing research on this topic describes both a negative and a positive perspective. There has, however, been a reliance on interview and descriptive methods in this context. The aim of this study was to explore planned HCNEs in palliative care. The design was a multiple case study based on observations. The analysis includes a descriptive and an explanation building phase. The results show that planned palliative HCNEs can be described as a process of co‐creating possibilities for the patient to reach vital goals through shared knowledge in a warm and caring atmosphere, based on good caring relations. However, in some HCNEs, co‐creation did not occur: Wishes and needs were discouraged or made impossible and vital goals were not reached for the patients or their relatives. Further research is needed to understand why. The co‐creative process presented in this article can be seen as a concretization of the palliative care ideal of working with a person‐centered approach.
Targeting Oxidative Injury and Cytokines' Activity in the Treatment with Anti‐Tumor Necrosis Factor‐α Antibody for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome 1
Authors: Miclescu Adriana A. , Nordquist Lena , Hysing Eva‐Britt , Butler Stephen , Basu Samar , Lind Anne‐Li , Gordh Torsten
Published: January 2013

Cytokines and oxygen free radicals have been implicated in the potential pathogenic development of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). We aimed to analyze the relationship between clinical status, circulating levels of cytokines, and markers of oxidative damage during the treatment with anti‐TNFα antibodies. The patient chosen for treatment had not had improvement through a number of conventional therapies and fulfilled the current diagnostic criteria for CRPS‐1. We investigated the clinical variables before and after systemic administration of 1.4 mg/kg anti‐TNFα antibody (infliximab), repeated after 1 month in a dose of 3 mg/kg. Blood samples were collected before and after anti‐TNFα antibodies administration, and plasma was analyzed for 8‐isoprostane‐prostaglandin F2α (8‐iso‐PGF2α, a marker of oxidative injury) and cytokines (TNF‐α, IL‐4, IL‐6, IL‐7, IL‐8, IL‐10, IL‐17A). Plasma concentrations of 8‐iso‐PGF2α were measured with radioimmunoassay (RIA), and the kinetics of cytokines were detected in plasma by antibody‐based proximity ligation (PLA). Pathologically high levels of 8‐iso‐PGF2α were found in the patient. Immediately after each administration of infliximab, the levels of 8‐iso‐PGF2α decreased. Although the patient showed an improvement of the cutaneous dystrophic symptoms and diminished pain associated with these lesions, the levels of circulating TNFα increased after the administration of anti‐TNFα antibodies. In a patient with CRPS‐1 treated with anti‐TNFα antibodies, we report increased levels of circulating TNFα and a temporary mitigation of oxidative stress as measured by plasma F2‐isoprostane. This case report provides evidence 2 supporting the indication of monitoring the oxidative stress biomarkers during treatment with anti‐TNFα antibodies in CRPS 1.
The Prevalence of Comorbid Symptoms of Central Sensitization Syndrome Among Three Different Groups of Temporomandibular Disorder Patients
Authors: Lorduy Kara M. , Liegey‐Dougall Angela , Haggard Robbie , Sanders Celeste N. , Gatchel Robert J.
Published: January 2013

Aims

Symptoms of central sensitization syndrome (CSS) were evaluated among three different groups of temporomandibular disorder (TMD) patients. Additionally, TMD group differences in pain and pain‐related disability were assessed, as well as emotional distress.

Methods

Participants were 250 patients with symptoms of acute TMD, recruited from dental clinics within a major metropolitan area. Sequential regressions and multivariate analyses of covariance were conducted in order to make group comparisons.

Results

Those with a TMD Muscle Disorder (ie, myofacial TMD [m‐TMD]) and those with more than one TMD diagnosis had the most symptoms of CSS and higher reports of pain and pain‐related disability. Moreover, emotional distress accounted for a substantial amount of the variance for physical symptoms and mediated all TMD comparisons.

Conclusions

Myofacial TMD is characterized by a high degree of comorbidity of symptoms of CSS and associated emotional distress.
Introducing Interventional Pain Services in a Large African Teaching Hospital: Challenges and Opportunities
Authors: Suleiman Zakari , Burton Allen W.
Published: January 2013

There is a need for interventional pain management in the developing world; however, there are many barriers to the introduction of interventional pain therapies. This brief report describes one approach to the introduction of interventional pain medicine to a Nigerian teaching hospital. Although many barriers exist, interventional pain medicine can be brought to the developing world, as demonstrated in this case series.
Outcome of pediatric heart transplantation recipients treated with ventricular assist device
Authors: Jahnukainen Timo , Rautiainen Paula , Mattila Ilkka P. , Puntila Juha , Haavisto Anu , Qvist Erik , Pihkala Jaana , Peräsaari Juha , Merenmies Jussi , Sairanen Heikki , Jalanko Hannu , Salminen Jukka T.
Published: January 2013

This study was conducted to evaluate the long‐term prognosis of pediatric HTx patients treated with VAD before transplantation. The clinical data of six patients bridged to HTx with Berlin Heart EXCOR pediatric device were analyzed retrospectively. Information about graft function, CA results, and EMB findings as well as appearance DSA was collected. Also, information about growth and cognitive function was analyzed. These findings were compared with age‐, gender‐, and diagnosis‐matched HTx patients. During the median follow‐up time of four and half yr after HTx, the prognosis including graft function, number of rejection episodes, and incidence of coronary artery vasculopathy, growth and cognitive development did not differ between VAD‐bridged HTx patients compared with control patients. In both groups, one patient developed positive DSA titer after HTx. Our single‐center experience suggests that the prognosis of pediatric HTx patients treated with VAD before transplantation is not inferior to that of other HTx patients.
Public Health Nursing, Ethics and Human Rights
Authors: Ivanov Luba L. , Oden Tami L.
Published: January 2013

Public health nursing has a code of ethics that guides practice. This includes the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses, Principles of the Ethical Practice of Public Health, and the Scope and Standards of Public Health Nursing. Human rights and Rights‐based care in public health nursing practice are relatively new. They reflect human rights principles as outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and applied to public health practice. As our health care system is restructured and there are new advances in technology and genetics, a focus on providing care that is ethical and respects human rights is needed. Public health nurses can be in the forefront of providing care that reflects an ethical base and a rights‐based approach to practice with populations.