bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assessing cancer patients' quality of life and coping mechanisms in Radiotherapy Department of the University College Hospital, Ibadan
Authors: Asuzu Chioma Christie , Elumelu Theresa Nchekube 
Published: May 2013

AbstractBackgroundCancer is often associated with a lot of pain and suffering. These suggest that coping with the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of cancer is a major life stressor that is capable of influencing patients' quality of life (QoL).PurposeThe purpose of the study is to assess the relationship between cancer patients' QoL dimensions and coping strategies in the Radiotherapy Department of the University College Hospital Ibadan, Nigeria.MethodsData were collected on clinic days from all available and consenting cancer patients who were receiving treatment at the radiotherapy department. Participants were informed of their right to decline to fill the questionnaires.ResultIn this study, 237 cancer patients participated. They had an age range of 15 to 95 years with a mean age of 49.91 years. There was significant inverse relationship between physical well‐being with behavioural disengagement, venting, planning and self‐blame (p < 0.05); social/family well‐being has significant linear relationship with active coping, emotional support, positive reframing, instrumental support, acceptance and religion (p < 0.05); emotional well‐being has significant inverse relationship with behavioural disengagement and self‐blame (p < 0.05); functional well‐being has significant linear relationship with active coping, instrumental support and acceptance (p < 0.05).ConclusionIt is important to assess cancer patients for the kind of coping strategies they are adopting to use in coping with their cancer burden, thereby guiding against lower QoL due to negative coping strategies. Intervention programmes could be developed to help cancer patients adopt more positive and effective coping strategies to improve patients' QoL. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Reliability of Occupational Therapy Students Using the Figure-of-eight Technique of Measuring Hand Volume
Authors: Nadar Mohammad Shaban , Al-Kandari Dua'a , Taaqi Maqdad 
Published: May 2013

Objective/Background The figure-of-eight technique is a measure for hand volume that has been validated among experienced American clinicians and physical therapy students, but not among Middle Eastern occupational therapy students. The purpose of this study was to assess the intrarater and inter-rater reliability as well as concurrent validity of the figure-of-eight technique of measuring hand volume by 4th year (of a 5-year curriculum) occupational therapy students. Methods This study used a cross-sectional design of a single group with three-level repeated measures of five raters. Twenty-three healthy students participated in this study. Five raters (4th year occupational therapy students) performed three separate blinded figure-of-eight measurements of hand volume for each hand. Two independent examiners performed one volumetric measurement for each hand using a water volumeter. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were used to examine the intrarater and inter-rater reliabilities of figure-of-eight measurements. Pearson product-moment correlations were used to establish concurrent validity relative to the volumeter which is the gold standard. Results Intrarater reliability (ICC, 3k) ranged from .98 to .99 and the inter-rater reliability (ICC, 2k) was .99. The Pearson correlation coefficient for the concurrent validity was r = .929 (p < .001). Conclusion This study demonstrated that five occupational therapy students in the 4th year of a 5-year curriculum were reliable raters for hand volume using the figure-of-eight technique, after being trained and tested for competency. The students can use the figure-of-eight technique for systematically assessing hand volume with confidence in their clinical fieldwork.
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults attending addiction treatment in Ireland: preliminary international ADHD in substance-use disorders prevalence study (IASP) results
Authors: Van Hout M. C. , Foley M. 
Published: May 2013

ObjectivesAttention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neuro-behavioural disorder characterised by early onset of persistent inattention–disorganisation and hyperactivity–impulsivity. Symptoms causing significant impairment in psychosocial function commence in childhood and heighten the risk for early substance experimentation and potential development of substance-use disorders (SUD). The research aimed to estimate the occurrence of adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in new treatment cases of adults attending addiction treatment services.MethodsThe Adult ADHD Symptoms Rating Scale (ASRS) self-administered questionnaire was administered on entry and 2 weeks later for first admissions to inpatient and outpatient addiction treatment settings The ASRS is a validated and reliable 18-item self-report scale derived from the DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria for ADHD, comprising nine items on inattention and nine items on hyperactivity/impulsivity.ResultsA total of 47 new treatment cases took part in the study. The occurrence of ADHD among SUDs in this sample was 13% (n = 6). Four of the participants were being treated for Problem Poly Substance use, whereas two participants were being treated for Problem Drug use. None of the participants screening positive for ADHD were being treated for Problem Alcohol use. Of the positively screened cases, all were male, predominantly single and unemployed.ConclusionsThe ASRS screening instrument may be a useful tool to detect ADHD co-morbidity in SUD treatment-seeking cases. More research is needed to appropriately develop the SUD treatment pathways for adolescent and adult ADHD sufferers in Ireland.
Nonlinear magnetoacoustic waves in pair-ion plasma with dust impurity
Authors: RUAN SHI-SEN , MAN JIANG-HONG , WU SHAN , CHENG ZE 
Published: May 2013

AbstractNonlinear properties of magnetoacoustic waves are investigated in magnetized pair-ion plasmas with dust impurity. Three-fluid collisionless magneto-hydrodynamic model is considered and reductive perturbation method is employed to derive Korteweg-de Vries equation for magnetoacoustic solitary waves (MASWs). The effects of the charge number of dust particles, magnetic field intensity, and plasma number density are studied on MASWs. It is found that the variation of parameters causes significant changes in solitary structures. The present investigation may be useful to understand formation and propagation of MASW structures in dust pair-ion plasmas.
Global economic value of shark ecotourism: implications for conservation
Authors: Cisneros-Montemayor Andrés M. , Barnes-Mauthe Michele , Al-Abdulrazzak Dalal , Navarro-Holm Estrella , Sumaila U. Rashid 
Published: May 2013

AbstractAmid declining shark populations because of overfishing, a burgeoning shark watching industry, already well established in some locations, generates benefits from shark protection. We compile reported economic benefits at shark watching locations and use a meta-analytical approach to estimate benefits at sites without available data. Results suggest that, globally, c. 590,000 shark watchers expend > USD 314 million per year, directly supporting 10,000 jobs. By comparison, the landed value of global shark fisheries is currently c. USD 630 million and has been in decline for most of the past decade. Based on current observed trends, numbers of shark watchers could more than double within the next 20 years, generating > USD 780 million in tourist expenditures around the world. This supports optimistic projections at new sites, including those in an increasing number of shark sanctuaries established primarily for shark conservation and enacted in recognition of the ecological and economic importance of living sharks.
Regressor-free prescribed performance robot tracking
Authors: Karayiannidis Y. , Doulgeri Z. 
Published: May 2013

SUMMARYFast and robust tracking against unknown disturbances is required in many modern complex robotic structures and applications, for which knowledge of the full exact nonlinear system is unreasonable to assume. This paper proposes a regressor-free nonlinear controller of low complexity which ensures prescribed performance position error tracking subject to unknown endogenous and exogenous bounded dynamics assuming that joint position and velocity measurements are available. It is theoretically shown and demonstrated by a simulation study that the proposed controller can guarantee tracking of the desired joint position trajectory witha prioridetermined accuracy, overshoot and speed of response. Preliminary experimental results to a simplified system are promising for validating the controller to more complex structures.
X-ray powder diffraction data for copper(II), bis[(2E)-3-methoxy-2-[(2,6-dimethylphenyl)imino]-4-[(2,6-dimethylphenyl)imino-κN]-3-pentanolato-κO] complex
Authors: Pažout R. , Maixner J. , Jones A.S. , Merna J. 
Published: May 2013

X-ray powder diffraction data, unit-cell parameters, and space group for a new bis(β-diiminato) Cu(II) complex, C44H54CuN4O4, are reported [a = 8.683(3) Å, b = 11.216(3) Å, c = 11.753(4) Å, α = 66.27(3), β = 84.61(3), γ = 78.85(3), unit-cell volume V = 1027.77 Å3, Z = 1, and space group P-1]. All measured lines were indexed and are consistent with the P-1 space group. No detectable impurity was observed.
Molecular characterization of methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureusresistant to tigecycline and daptomycin isolated in a hospital in Brazil
Authors: DABUL A. N. G. , CAMARGO I. L. B. C. 
Published: May 2013

SUMMARYWe report the molecular characterization of methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus(MRSA) with resistance to tigecycline and to daptomycin isolated from intensive-care-unit patients in Brazil over a 6-month period. Thirty-six isolates (25 from infection sites, 11 from nasal sites) recovered from 23 patients who presented with MRSA infection during this period were characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, multilocus sequence typing, staphylococcal cassette chromosomemec(SCCmec) typing, and antimicrobial susceptibility profiling. Ten isolates from six patients and two isolates from different patients were resistant to tigecycline and daptomycin, respectively. Eight pulsotypes were identified and one, type A, accounted for 21 isolates from 12 patients; type A isolates were SCCmecII as were a further nine isolates of other pulsotypes. All but four of the total isolates were sequence type (ST) 5 or ST105 and classified as clonal complex (CC) 5; the historically prevalent lineage in Brazil, ST239-SCCmecIII, was identified in only three patients. Tigecycline-resistant strains were all ST105-SCCmecII and two patients were nasally colonized by strains of the same pulsotype found in infection sites. Two ST5-SCCmecII were daptomycin resistant after 48 h incubation. The origin and mechanism of these resistant strains remains unknown and further studies are warranted to determine whether such clones are becoming endemic in Brazilian hospitals and to assess their impact on infection control practice.
Very fast-germinating seeds of desert species are cryptoviparous-like
Authors: Liu Kun , Baskin Jerry M. , Baskin Carol C. , Du Guozhen 
Published: May 2013

AbstractFrom previously published studies we have learned that very fast-germinating species have some characteristics in common with cryptoviviparous species: (1) little or no endosperm/perisperm; (2) embryos fully developed and chlorophyllous at seed maturity; and (3) very fast germination, independent of temperature. Thus, we propose that these very fast-germinating seeds are ‘cryptoviviparous-like′.
The Influence of Cognitive Reserve on Strategy Selection in Normal Aging
Authors: Barulli Daniel J. , Rakitin Brian C. , Lemaire Patrick , Stern Yaakov 
Published: May 2013

AbstractCognitive reserve (CR) has been proposed as a latent variable that can account for the frequent discrepancy between an individual's underlying level of brain pathology and their observed clinical outcome. A possible behavioral manifestation of CR is best strategy choice. Older adults have been shown to choose sub-optimal strategies for performing various tasks. The present study attempted to investigate whether greater levels of CR could predict greater strategy selection, particularly in older adults. A computational estimation task was administered to 20 healthy young adults (mean age = 24.7 ± 3.6; 20–31 years) and 18 healthy older adults (68.2 ± 4.5; 62–77 years) wherein participants needed to estimate the product of two two-digit numbers by using one of two strategies. The results revealed an effect of age group on strategy choice and supported the hypothesis that CR is associated with increased strategy selection abilities. (JINS, 2013, 19, 1–4)
A comparison of the nutritional quality of organic and conventional ready-to-eat breakfast cereals based on NuVal scores
Authors: Woodbury Nancy J , George Valerie A 
Published: May 2013

AbstractObjectiveTo identify whether there were differences in nutritional quality between organic and conventional ready-to-eat breakfast cereals of similar types, based on NuVal scores.DesignThe current descriptive study analysed NuVal scores for 829 ready-to-eat breakfast cereals and eighteen different cereal types. ANOVA was used to compare the mean NuVal scores of 723 conventional cereals with those of 106 organic cereals.SettingReady-to-eat breakfast cereals (n 829) with NuVal scores.SubjectsNot applicable.ResultsThere was no significant difference in NuVal scores between conventional (mean 28·4 (sd 13·4)) and organic (mean 30·6 (sd 13·2)) cereal types.ConclusionsConsumers who choose the organic version of a ready-to-eat breakfast cereal believing that nutritional quality is superior may not be making a valid assumption. Public health nutrition educators must help consumers understand that organic cereals are not necessarily more nutritious and their consumption could result in excessive intake of undesirable nutrients, such as fat, sugar and sodium.
The advance of research governance in psychiatry: one step forward, two steps back
Authors: Leeson V. C. , Tyrer P. 
Published: May 2013

Purpose.To investigate the reasons behind difficulties in recruiting patients to randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in psychiatry and to examine a database of RCTs for differences between studies in mental health and other specialities.Methods.A discussion of recent changes in research governance in the UK and Europe followed by an examination of the database of all trials supported by the Health Technology Assessment programme of the National Institute of Health Research in the UK between 1993 and 2007 to determine if three different measures, (i) time between grant approval and study start date, (ii) percentage of additional time given to extend recruitment and (iii) percentage of planned recruitment achieved, changed over the time period studied and differed between mental health, cancer and other medical disciplines.Findings.Despite attempts in the UK to accelerate the process of clinical trials in recent years, there was a significant increase in the extension time for trials to be completed (p = 0.038) and the percentage of planned recruitment to mental health studies (71%) was significantly less than for cancer (90.3%) and other studies (86.1%) (p = 0.032).Summary.These results suggest that, despite the priority afforded to the advancement of RCTs in healthcare, such studies are encountering increasing difficulty in recruiting to time and target. We suggest that this difficulty can be attributed, at least in part, to the excessively byzantine regulation and governance processes for health research in the UK, and unnecessary bureaucracy in the current National Health Service system. Mental health studies appear particularly vulnerable to delay and better systems to facilitate recruitment are required urgently for the evidence base to be improved and facilitate new cost-effective interventions.
Acute regulation of pancreatic islet microcirculation and glycaemia by telmisartan and ramipril: discordant effects between normal and Type 2 diabetic rats
Authors: Olverling Anna , Huang Zhen , Nyström Thomas , Sjöholm Åke 
Published: May 2013

Diabetic patients are often treated with an ACEi (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor) or angiotensin receptor antagonist against hypertension or albuminuria. These drugs also have a positive impact on glucose tolerance, but the mechanism for this remains elusive. Hypothesizing a positive non-additive effect, we studied whether the angiotensin receptor antagonist telmisartan or the ACEi ramipril acutely influence insulin secretion and glycaemia in vivo in healthy and Type 2 diabetic rats through effects on islet blood perfusion. Telmisartan and ramipril were injected intravenously into anaesthetized non-diabetic Wistar rats or Type 2 diabetic GK (Goto–Kakizaki) rats. In non-diabetic Wistar rats, neither whole PBF (pancreatic blood flow) nor IBF (islet blood flow) were significantly influenced by telmisartan and ramipril, alone or in combination. Renal blood flow was enhanced significantly by telmisartan and ramipril when used in combination, whereas ABF (adrenal blood flow) was not affected by any of the drugs. Telmisartan and ramipril both significantly increased serum insulin levels, but did not influence glycaemia. In Type 2 diabetic GK rats, both whole PBF and IBF were significantly decreased by telmisartan and ramipril, but only when used in combination. Renal blood flow was enhanced significantly by telmisartan and ramipril alone, but not when used in combination, whereas ABF was not affected by any of the drugs. Telmisartan and ramipril both significantly decreased serum insulin levels, and non-additively elevated blood glucose levels. In conclusion, the present study suggests that a local pancreatic RAS (renin–angiotensin system), sensitive to acute administration of telmisartan and ramipril, controls pancreatic IBF and insulin secretion and thereby has an impact on glucose tolerance. Our findings indicate unexpected significant differences in the effects of these agents on islet microcirculation, in vivo insulin secretion and glycaemia between healthy and Type 2 diabetic rats.
Nickel: A very fast diffuser in silicon
Authors: Lindroos J. , Fenning D. P. , Backlund D. J. , Verlage E. , Gorgulla A. , Estreicher S. K. , Savin H. , Buonassisi T. 
Published: May 2013

Nickel is increasingly used in both IC and photovoltaic device fabrication, yet it has the potential to create highly recombination-active precipitates in silicon. For nearly three decades, the accepted nickel diffusivity in silicon has been DNi(T)=2.3×10−3exp(−0.47 eV/kBT) cm2/s, a surprisingly low value given reports of rapid nickel diffusion in industrial applications. In this paper, we employ modern experimental methods to measure the higher nickel diffusivity DNi(T)=(1.69±0.74)×10−4exp(−0.15±0.04 eV/kBT) cm2/s. The measured activation energy is close to that predicted by first-principles theory using the nudged-elastic-band method. Our measured diffusivity of nickel is higher than previously published values at temperatures below 1150 °C, and orders of magnitude higher when extrapolated to room temperature.
Rapid Visual Assessment to Determine Sex in Brook Trout
Authors: Kazyak David C. , Hilderbrand Robert H. , Holloway Amanda E. 
Published: May 2013

Abstract
Although sex-specific processes play a considerable role in the ecology of many fishes, nonlethal tools to determine sex in most species outside of the spawning season are lacking. We identified a suite of sexual characteristics in Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis by surveying the available literature, consulting biologists, and reviewing images of known-sex individuals. Using pretraining and posttraining testing of fisheries professionals, we assessed the utility of color and morphology for sexing fish across a length gradient (110–251 mm TL) by presenting images of mature fish collected during the spawning season. Rapid visual assessment proved to be an effective approach for determining the sex of Brook Trout. Average accuracy significantly improved from 71.5% before training to 92% after training, and the proportion of fish scored as unknown was reduced (from 9.5% before to 2.0% after training). We found a small yet significant positive relationship between TL and the proportion of fish that were correctly sexed. With the exception of a single 113-mm male, all individuals were correctly sexed by at least 79% of respondents after training. No significant differences were found among respondents based on education, experience, or confidence level. The effectiveness of rapid visual assessment also did not significantly differ between male and female Brook Trout. Rapid visual assessment is a viable technique for the determination of sex in Brook Trout.
Received September 18, 2012; accepted March 6, 2013
First Report of Leaf Spot on Onion Caused by Fusarium acuminatum in Georgia
Authors: Parkunan V. , Ji P. 
Published: May 2013

An unknown disease was observed on shallot onions (Allium cepa L.) in Tattnall County, Georgia, in September of 2012. Disease symptoms included leaf tip die back and scattered light brown lesions on leaves, oval to round in shape, with a size ranging from 0.5 to 2.0 cm. The disease occurred in approximately 1.2 ha of commercial onion fields, and disease incidence ranged from 50 to 70%. Infected leaf tissues from 10 plants were surface sterilized with 0.5% NaOCl and plated on quarter-strength potato dextrose agar (QPDA). The fungus grew on all plates, producing bright orange to rose pigmentation in the medium after incubation at 25°C for 5 days. The fungus produced sickle shaped macroconidia with 3 to 6 septa, 4 to 5 μm wide, and 30 to 54 μm in length. Chlamydospores were formed in chains and averaged 20.4 × 16.8 μm. The fungus was identified as Fusarium sp. based on morphological characteristics (3). Genomic DNA was extracted from single conidial cultures of three representative isolates and the internal transcribed spacer regions of rDNA (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2) were amplified and sequenced with primers ITS1 and ITS4 (2). MegaBLAST analysis of the sequences showed that they were 100% identical to a Fusarium acuminatum isolate (Accession No. JN624894). ITS sequence of an isolate FAON-1 was deposited in GenBank (KC477845). Pathogenicity tests were performed with the three isolates grown on QPDA at 25°C for 7 days. Eight-week-old shallot onion seedlings were inoculated by foliar spray with conidial suspensions at 2 × 106 spores/ml (5 ml per plant). Ten plants were inoculated with each isolate and 10 plants were sprayed with water as a control. The plants were incubated in a humidified chamber at (25 ± 3°C) with >95% relative humidity and 12-h photoperiod for 48 h after inoculation, and then kept in a greenhouse at 22 ± 2°C. Inoculated plants started to show symptoms identical to those observed in the field 7 days after inoculation, and disease incidence reached 100% within 14 days. No disease occurred on the control plants. The fungus was reisolated from the diseased plants and confirmed to be F. acuminatum based on morphological characteristics and molecular identification. Onion was previously reported to be a host of F. acuminatum in Montana (4). To our knowledge, this study is the first report confirming F. acuminatum causing disease on onion in Georgia. Onion is a major vegetable crop in Georgia with an annual production of approximately 5,000 ha (1). Occurrence of leaf spot caused by F. acuminatum and the impact of the disease needs to be considered in developing and implementing disease management programs in onion production. References: (1) S. R. Boatright and J. C. Mckissick, Univ. of Georgia CAES Publication AR-10-02, 2010. (2) M. A. Innes et al. PCR Protocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, CA. 1990. (3) J. F. Leslie and B. A. Summerell. The Fusarium Laboratory Manual. Blackwell Publishing, Ames, IA, 2006. (4) C. G. Shaw. Washington State Univ. Agric. Exp. Sta. Bull. 765:12, 1973.