bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Effects of Hormone Replacement Therapy, Lipoprotein Cholesterol Levels, and Other Factors on a Clock Drawing Task in Older Women
Authors: Paganini‐Hill Annlia , Henderson Victor W 
Published: April 2015

OBJECTIVES: To assess the associations of a clock drawing task with hormone replacement therapy and other factors in older women.DESIGN: Group comparisons.SETTING: Leisure World Laguna Hills, a retirement community in southern California.PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred ninety‐two postmenopausal women who were analyzed for lipoprotein levels in 1987–88 were contacted by postal survey, which included a clock drawing task, in 1992; 168 women who drew normal clocks were compared with 46 who drew abnormal or blank clocks.MEASUREMENTS: Clock drawings; lipoprotein cholesterol levels; serum progesterone, estrone, estradiol, and steroid hormone binding globin levels; self‐reported data on smoking, alcohol intake, prior medical diagnoses, and use of certain medications including hormone replacement therapy and analgesics.RESULTS: Women with normal clocks had significantly lower total cholesterol (P = .01), LDL cholesterol (P = .03), and serum progesterone levels (P = .03). They weighed, on average, 5 more pounds at the time of last menstrual period (P = .05), were more likely to use combined hormonal replacement therapy (P = .06), and were less likely to use acetaminophen daily (P = .02) than women with abnormal clocks. Serum estrone and estradiol levels did not differ significantly between women with normal and abnormal clocks.CONCLUSION: The associations found here suggest that high serum cholesterol and progesterone levels might have a negative effect on clock drawing performance. Acetaminophen may also be related to worse performance on this task.
Cross‐validation of the Delirium Rating Scale in Older Patients
Authors: Rockwood Kenneth , Goodman Julie , Flynn Michael , Stolee Paul 
Published: April 2015

OBJECTIVE: To cross‐validate the Delirium Rating Scale (DRS).DESIGN: Cross‐sectionalSETTING: Geriatric medicine and geriatric psychiatry assessment units and consultation services.PARTICIPANTS: A total of 104 older patients on the above services.MEASUREMENTS: Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE) score, Barthel Index score, DRS score, Blessed Dementia Scale score, clinical diagnoses using DSM‐III‐R criteria.MAIN RESULTS: The mean DRS score was highest in the delirium group. Cronbach's alpha was .90, and inter‐rater reliability of total scores was .91 (intra‐class correlation). Receiver Operating Characteristic curve analysis showed that the area under the curve for the DRS was significantly higher than the MMSE as a test for delirium. At its published cutpoint of 10, the sensitivity of the DRS is .82 and the specificity is 94. The value at which the sensitivity of the DRS is .90 is 8, at which specificity is .82.CONCLUSIONS: The DRS appears to a feasible instrument. In a sample with a high proportion of delirious patients, it has acceptable measurement properties when used by expert observers.
An Intervention on Discharge Polypharmacy
Authors: Smith David M. , Cox Mark R. , Brizendine Edward J. , Hui Siu L. , Freedman Jay A. , Martin Douglas K. , Murray Michael D. 
Published: April 2015

OBJECTIVE: To determine if providing a way to cancel pre‐admission prescriptions would reduce the number of active drug prescriptions (RXs) at discharge.DESIGN: A randomized non‐blinded clinical trial.SETTING: Inpatient acute medical service of a university‐affiliated Veterans Administration medical center.PARTICIPANTS: Twelve medicine ward teams were randomized to control and intervention groups. Patients enrolled had been discharged from these teams during 12 weeks and were receiving outpatient medications from this facility at hospital admission; control = 180, intervention = 168.INTERVENTION: At discharge, intervention teams used a computer‐generated drug list to cancel or renew previous outpatient RXs or to prescribe new medications. Control teams could not cancel outpatient drugs and wrote all medications on individual prescriptions.MEASUREMENTS: The difference between admission and discharge RXs.RESULTS: There were no significant differences in patients' age, sex, race, Charlson Index (CI), or LOS between patient groups at discharge. The intervention group had fewer RXs on admission (5.4 vs 6.2, P < .05) and at discharge (8.3 vs 9.1, P < .04), but the increase from admission to discharge was not significantly different (2.9 vs 2.9, P = .87) from the control group.CONCLUSIONS: Providing a method for canceling preadmission medications did not reduce the number of RXs at discharge. Further research is needed to evaluate the appropriateness of the large increase in RXs from admission to discharge for patients in acute hospital settings. J Am Geriatr Soc 44:416–419, 1996.
Geriatric Oral Health and Its Impact on Eating
Authors: Ship Jonathan A. , Duffy Valerie , Jones Judith A. , Langmore Susan 
Published: April 2015

OBJECTIVE: Adequate food and fluid intake and nutritional health are requisites for sustaining life. The oral‐pharyngeal region has evolved multiple, highly regulated processes to ensure that the intake, chewing, and swallowing of foods and beverages is maintained. The objective of this paper is to identify the independent and collective roles of oral health on eating in older people.DESIGN: Research reports from peer‐reviewed scientific journals. Hypothesis‐driven research that objectively examined taste, smell, dental and oral mucosal health, dental prostheses, chewing, and swallowing in the context of aging.DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Data results were extracted independently by multiple observers. A qualitative synthesis of data results from independent studies was made in order to form conclusions regarding the role of oral health on eating in older people.CONCLUSIONS: Many oral functions remain intact in healthy older adults. However, significant alterations arise from oral and systemic diseases and their treatments, and these may have a profound effect on eating, drinking, and the nutritional status of older individuals. The care of older persons with smell, taste, dental/alveolar, oral mucosal, chewing, and swallowing problems requires a multidisciplinary team of health care providers. Recognition of the interrelationship between oral, pharyngeal, and systemic physiological processes will help practitioners identify the etiology of these disorders and implement appropriate therapy. J Am Geriatr Soc 44:456–464, 1996.
Sex Differences in Device Therapies for Ventricular Arrhythmias or Death in the Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial With Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (MADIT‐CRT) Trial
Authors: TOMPKINS CHRISTINE M. , KUTYIFA VALENTINA , ARSHAD AYSHA , MCNITT SCOTT , POLONSKY BRONISLAVA , WANG PAUL J. , MOSS ARTHUR J. , ZAREBA WOJCIECH 
Published: April 2015

Sex Differences in VT/VF or Death in MADIT‐CRTIntroductionStudies suggest that women with ischemic heart disease are less likely to experience appropriate ICD therapies for ventricular arrhythmias (VT/VF). We evaluated the influence of sex on arrhythmic events or death in subjects enrolled in MADIT‐CRT.Methods and ResultsArrhythmic event rates, defined as VT/VF treated with defibrillator therapy or all‐cause death, were determined among 1,790 subjects enrolled in MADIT‐CRT with documented 3‐year follow‐up. Predictors of VT/VF/death were identified using multivariate analysis. Ninety‐one (21%) women and 466 (35%) men experienced VT/VF/death over the follow‐up period. The overall probability of VT/VF/death was significantly lower in women versus men (HR 0.62; P < 0.001). The probability of VT/VF/death was the lowest in women with ischemic heart disease (HR 0.51; P = 0.003). In ICD subjects, the 3‐year risk of VT/VF was lower in ischemic women versus men (P = 0.021), and in nonischemic women versus men (P = 0.049). The probability of VT/VF/death was significantly lower in women (HR 0.52; P = 0.007) and men (HR 0.74; P = 0.018) with LBBB who received CRT‐D. Appropriate shock therapy strongly correlated with increased risk of death during postshock follow‐up in women (HR 5.18; P = 0.001) and men (HR 1.63; P = 0.033); interaction P value of 0.034.ConclusionIn this substudy of MADIT‐CRT, sex, etiology of heart disease and type of device implanted significantly influenced subsequent risk for VT/VF or death. Women with ischemic heart disease and women with LBBB who received CRT‐D had the lowest incidence of VT/VF or death when compared to men. Appropriate shock therapy was a strong predictor of death, particularly in women.
Access to Care, Treatment Ambivalence, Medication Nonadherence, and Long‐Term Mortality Among Severely Hypertensive African Americans: A Prospective Cohort Study
Authors: Young J. Hunter , Ng Derek , Ibe Chidinma , Weeks Kristina , Brotman Daniel J. , Dy Sydney Morss , Brancati Frederick L. , Levine David M. , Klag Michael J. 
Published: April 2015

African Americans living in poor neighborhoods bear a high burden of illness and early mortality. Nonadherence may contribute to this burden. In a prospective cohort study of urban African Americans with poorly controlled hypertension, mortality was 47.6% over a median follow‐up of 6.1 years. Patients with pill‐taking nonadherence were more likely to die (hazard ratio, 1.80; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.18–2.76) after adjustment for potential confounders. With regard to factors related to nonadherence, poor access to care such as difficulty paying for medications was associated with prescription refill nonadherence (odds ratio [OR], 4.12; 95% CI, 1.88–9.03). Pill‐taking nonadherence was not associated with poor access to care; however, it was associated with factors related to treatment ambivalence including lower hypertension knowledge (OR, 2.97; 95% CI, 1.39–6.32), side effects (OR, 3.44; 95% CI, 1.47–8.03), forgetfulness (OR, 3.62; 95% CI, 1.78–7.34), and feeling that the medications do not help (OR, 2.78; 95% CI, 1.09–7.09). These data suggest that greater access to care is a necessary but insufficient remedy to the disparities experienced by urban African Americans with hypertension. To achieve its full promise, health reform must also address treatment ambivalence.
Experiencing transformation: the case of Jordanian nurse immigrating to the UK
Authors: Al‐Hamdan Zaid M , Al‐Nawafleh Ahmad H , Bawadi Hala A , James Veronica , Matiti Milika , Hagerty Bonnie M 
Published: April 2015

Aims and objectivesThis study explored how Jordanian nurses experienced the transition from home to host country to illuminate the elements of transformation.BackgroundMuch research has been conducted on topics such as the current international nursing shortage and the recruitment of nurses from various countries. International nurses have unique needs with regard to adapting to new host cultures and workplaces; furthermore, the literature has revealed little evidence of nurses' professional and personal experiences related to migration.DesignA qualitative study was conducted, collecting data via individual interviews.MethodsTwenty‐five face‐to‐face and telephone interviews with Jordanian migrant nurses.ResultThis study showed that living and working in a host country changes the personal, social and professional attributes of migrant nurses. When nurses migrate, they encounter opportunities and significant challenges in their professional and personal lives. Although Jordanian nurses contributed their knowledge and skills to the UK healthcare system, they encountered enormous professional adaptation demands. Work setting discrepancies between source and host country are likely a major element behind the required nursing profession alteration. nurses' lives are transformed in terms of their personal and social networks in the host country.ConclusionsSocial transformation is an integral and inseparable part of engagement with professional organisation(s) in the host community. Professional integration likely has far‐reaching effects and consequences involving not only the individual but also their home and host country families and their professional networks.Relevance to clinical practiceTo provide high‐quality nursing care, we must learn about the transformation experience, expand our sense of who we are and gain a degree of control over how we perform our nursing roles when we move away from our home.
Nepalese primiparous mothers' knowledge of newborn care
Authors: Shrestha Sharmila , Adachi Kumiko , Petrini Marcia A. , Shuda Akihiro , Shrestha Sarita 
Published: April 2015

AbstractA cross‐sectional study was carried out to explore the knowledge level of newborn care and to investigate the relationship between newborn‐care knowledge and selected demographic variables among primiparous mothers. It was carried in outpatient department of a maternity and women's hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal with 276 primiparous mothers between 38 and 42 weeks of gestation. Data were collected during the antenatal period with using two instruments: the Newborn‐care Knowledge Questionnaire and State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory for Adults. Participants had a moderate level of knowledge on newborn care (56%), and among its four components, participants had lowest knowledge in breastfeeding (44%) and adequate knowledge (78%) of immunization. Maternal education and socioeconomic status had a significant, positive association with newborn‐care knowledge. Newborn‐care knowledge was strongly predicted by anxiety. This is the first study to examine the maternal levels of knowledge of newborn care in Nepal. This study identified specific knowledge gaps in newborn care among primiparous mothers. Moreover, the results suggest the need of maternal‐education programs in improving the health and well‐being of mothers and newborns.
Hydraulic lift as a determinant of tree–grass coexistence on savannas
Authors: Yu Kailiang , D'Odorico Paolo 
Published: April 2015

Summary

The coexistence of woody plants and grasses in savannas is determined by a complex set of interacting factors that determine access to resources and demographic dynamics, under the control of external drivers and vegetation feedbacks with the physical environment. Existing theories explain coexistence mainly as an effect of competitive relations and/or disturbances. However, theoretical studies on the way facilitative interactions resulting from hydraulic lift affect tree–grass coexistence and the range of environmental conditions in which savannas are stable are still lacking.

We investigated the role of hydraulic lift in the stability of tree–grass coexistence in savannas. To that end, we developed a new mechanistic model that accounts for both competition for soil water in the shallow soil and fire‐induced disturbance.

We found that hydraulic lift favors grasses, which scavenge the water lifted by woody plants. Thus, hydraulic lift expands (at the expenses of woodlands) the range of environmental conditions in which savannas are stable.

These results indicate that hydraulic lift can be an important mechanism responsible for the coexistence of woody plants and grasses in savannas. Grass facilitation by trees through the process of hydraulic lift could allow savannas to persist stably in mesic regions that would otherwise exhibit a forest cover.
Step‐wise and lineage‐specific diversification of plant RNA polymerase genes and origin of the largest plant‐specific subunits
Authors: Wang Yaqiong , Ma Hong 
Published: April 2015

Summary

Proteins often function as complexes, yet little is known about the evolution of dissimilar subunits of complexes. DNA‐directed RNA polymerases (RNAPs) are multisubunit complexes, with distinct eukaryotic types for different classes of transcripts. In addition to Pol I–III, common in eukaryotes, plants have Pol IV and V for epigenetic regulation. Some RNAP subunits are specific to one type, whereas other subunits are shared by multiple types.

We have conducted extensive phylogenetic and sequence analyses, and have placed RNAP gene duplication events in land plant history, thereby reconstructing the subunit compositions of the novel RNAPs during land plant evolution.

We found that Pol IV/V have experienced step‐wise duplication and diversification of various subunits, with increasingly distinctive subunit compositions. Also, lineage‐specific duplications have further increased RNAP complexity with distinct copies in different plant families and varying divergence for subunits of different RNAPs. Further, the largest subunits of Pol IV/V probably originated from a gene fusion in the ancestral land plants.

We propose a framework of plant RNAP evolution, providing an excellent model for protein complex evolution.
Engineering plants to reflect light: strategies for engineering water‐efficient plants to adapt to a changing climate
Authors: Zamft Bradley M. , Conrado Robert J. 
Published: April 2015

SummaryPopulation growth and globally increasing standards of living have put a significant strain on the energy–food–water nexus. Limited water availability particularly affects agriculture, as it accounts for over 70% of global freshwater withdrawals (Aquastat). This study outlines the fundamental nature of plant water consumption and suggests a >50% reduction in renewable freshwater demand is possible by engineering more reflective crops. Furthermore, the decreased radiative forcing resulting from the greater reflectivity of crops would be equivalent to removing 10–50 ppm CO2 from the atmosphere. Recent advances in engineering optical devices and a greater understanding of the mechanisms of biological reflectance suggest such a strategy may now be viable. Here we outline the challenges involved in such an effort and suggest three potential approaches that could enable its implementation. While the local benefits may be straightforward, determining the global externalities will require careful modelling efforts and gradually scaled field trials.
A petal‐specific InMYB1 promoter from Japanese morning glory: a useful tool for molecular breeding of floricultural crops
Authors: Azuma Mirai , Morimoto Reina , Hirose Mana , Morita Yasumasa , Hoshino Atsushi , Iida Shigeru , Oshima Yoshimi , Mitsuda Nobutaka , Ohme‐Takagi Masaru , Shiratake Katsuhiro 
Published: April 2015

SummaryProduction of novel transgenic floricultural crops with altered petal properties requires transgenes that confer a useful trait and petal‐specific promoters. Several promoters have been shown to control transgenes in petals. However, all suffer from inherent drawbacks such as low petal specificity and restricted activity during the flowering stage. In addition, the promoters were not examined for their ability to confer petal‐specific expression in a wide range of plant species. Here, we report the promoter of InMYB1 from Japanese morning glory as a novel petal‐specific promoter for molecular breeding of floricultural crops. First, we produced stable InMYB1_1kb::GUS transgenic Arabidopsis and Eustoma plants and characterized spatial and temporal expression patterns under the control of the InMYB1 promoter by histochemical β‐glucuronidase (GUS) staining. GUS staining patterns were observed only in petals. This result showed that the InMYB1 promoter functions as a petal‐specific promoter. Second, we transiently introduced the InMYB1_1 kb::GUS construct into Eustoma, chrysanthemum, carnation, Japanese gentian, stock, rose, dendrobium and lily petals by particle bombardment. GUS staining spots were observed in Eustoma, chrysanthemum, carnation, Japanese gentian and stock. These results showed that the InMYB1 promoter functions in most dicots. Third, to show the InMYB1 promoter utility in molecular breeding, a MIXTA‐like gene function was suppressed or enhanced under the control of InMYB1 promoter in Arabidopsis. The transgenic plant showed a conspicuous morphological change only in the form of wrinkled petals. Based on these results, the InMYB1 promoter can be used as a petal‐specific promoter in molecular breeding of floricultural crops.
Variation in heterostylous breeding systems in neighbouring populations of Oxalis alpina (Oxalidaceae)
Authors: Weller S. G. , Sakai A. K. , Gray T. , Weber J. J. , Tsyusko O. V. , Domínguez C. A. , Fornoni J. , Molina‐Freaner F. E. 
Published: April 2015

AbstractThe heterostylous reproductive system of Oxalis alpina in the Galiuro Mts. of Arizona was investigated using field surveys, controlled crosses in the greenhouse and measurements of reproductive morphs. Although populations in the Pinaleño Mts. to the immediate east and in the Santa Catalina Mts. to the immediate west have derived distylous reproductive systems, tristyly, the ancestral reproductive system in O. alpina, has been retained in the Galiuro Mts. population. Tristylous incompatibility relationships in the Galiuro population are modified from the ancestral condition, with significant loss of incompatibility differentiation between stamen whorls of both short‐ and long‐styled morphs. Morphological adjustments of anther positions in the Galiuro population of O. alpina match those expected in light of incompatibility modification, with divergence of the mid‐level anthers away from the position of the mid stigmas of the mid‐styled morph. The occurrence of tristyly in an area of Arizona where distyly is found in adjacent mountain ranges is particularly remarkable, and indicates both the isolation of populations restricted to the upper elevations of these mountain ranges and variation in the tempo of evolution over short geographic distances.