bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Evaluating the impact of a new pay system on nurses in the UK
Authors: Buchan James , Ball Jane 
Published: October 2010

Aims and objectives.  This study examines the impact of implementing a new pay system (Agenda for Change) on nursing staff in the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK. This new pay system covered approximately 400,000 nursing staff. Its objectives were to improve the delivery of patient care as well as staff recruitment, retention and motivation.Background.  The new system aimed to provide a simplified approach to pay determination, with a more systematic use of agreed job descriptions and job evaluation to ‘price’ individual jobs, linked to a new career development framework.Design.  Secondary analysis of survey data.Methods.  Analysis of results of large‐scale surveys of members of the Royal College of Nursing of the United Kingdom (RCN) to assess the response of nurses to questions about the implementation process itself and their attitude to pay levels.Results.  The results demonstrated that there was some positive change after implementation of Agenda for Change in 2006, mainly some time after implementation, and that the process of implementation itself raised expectations that were not fully met for all nurses.Conclusions.  There were clear indications of differential impact and reported experiences, with some categories of nurse being less satisfied with the process of implementation. The overall message is that a national pay system has strengths and weaknesses compared to the local systems used in other countries and that these benefits can only be maximised by effective communication, adequate funding and consistent management of the system.Relevance to clinical practice.  How nurses’ pay is determined and delivered can be a major satisfier and incentive to nurses if the process is well managed and can be a factor in supporting clinical practice, performance and innovation. This study highlights that a large‐scale national exercise to reform the pay system for nurses is a major undertaking, carries risk and will take significant time to implement effectively.
Relationships among sexual self‐concept, sexual risk cognition and sexual communication in adolescents: a structural equation model
Authors: Lou Jiunn‐Horng , Chen Sheng‐Hwang , Li Ren‐Hau , Yu Hsing‐Yi 
Published: October 2010

Aim.  The purpose of this study was to test a model of sexual self‐concept and sexual risk cognition affecting sexual communication in Taiwanese adolescents.Background.  Parent–adolescent sexual communication has been shown to influence adolescent sexual behaviour. Self‐concept is an important predictor of human behaviour, especially sexual behaviour. Few researchers have assessed sexual self‐concept in adolescents, despite its clear relevance to understanding adolescent sexual behaviour.Design.  A cross‐sectional survey with convenience sampling was used in this study.Method.  In 2009, data were collected by questionnaire from 748 adolescent students at a junior college in Taiwan.Results.  The results revealed that the postulated model fits the data from this study well. Sexual self‐concept significantly predicts sexual risk cognition and sexual communication. Sexual risk cognition significantly predicts sexual communication and has an intervening effect on the relationship between sexual self‐concept and sexual communication.Conclusions.  Sexual risk cognition is important in explaining sexuality in adolescents. Sexual self‐concept has both direct and indirect effects on sexual communication. Our findings provide concrete directions for school educators in developing sexual health programmes to increase adolescent sexual self‐concept and sexual communication with their parents.Relevance to clinical practice.  Future sexual health programmes about sexual self‐concept and sexual risk cognition must add for increasing adolescent’s sexual communication with their parents.
Flexible family visitation in the intensive care unit: nurses’ decision‐making
Authors: Ågård Anne Sophie , Lomborg Kirsten 
Published: October 2010

Aims and objectives.  To identify and explore general strategies used by Danish intensive care unit nurses in everyday decision‐making about family visitation.Background.  In the intensive care unit, relatives experience a strong commitment to watch over and protect the patient. Relatives can provide important help and support to their loved one. To do so, relatives need to be able to stay, preferably at the bedside. Managing a flexible visitation policy, nurses play an important role as gate‐keepers at the bedside requiring strong discretionary power. Little is known about the rationale for nurses’ decision making when allowing family members to stay by the patient’s bedside or asking them to leave the unit.Design.  Explorative qualitative interview study.Method.  In 2005 and 2008, we conducted a grounded theory study based on 11 semi‐structured interviews with intensive care unit nurses.Results.  In the constantly shifting social context of the intensive care unit, nurses practiced clinical leadership balancing the needs of all parties involved, being mindful that the patient is their primary concern. To do so, they used three general strategies: Clarifying relations, Defining the situation and Guiding relatives in a concurrent and ongoing process, assessing when visiting is appropriate on a minute‐to‐minute basis.Conclusion.  The study identifies and describes important professional considerations and values embedded in the nurses’ decision making about visitation. Detailed knowledge in this area will provide a concrete basis for internal discussion on specific everyday interactions with visiting relatives, as well as more general discussions on the possibilities for and implications of enhancing flexible family visitation.Relevance to clinical practice.  To practice a contemporary visitation policy, the complexity of the task, the shifting context of the intensive care unit, the physical surroundings as well as possible limitations given by the staffing level should be acknowledged. The training of intensive care unit nurses should support adaptation to the clinical leadership role.
Dissemination of research into clinical nursing literature
Authors: Oermann Marilyn H , Shaw‐Kokot Julia , Knafl George J , Dowell Jo 
Published: October 2010

Aim.  The purpose of our study was to describe the dissemination of research into the clinical nursing literature.Background.  The literature provides a means of transferring knowledge from a research study through citations of the work by other authors.Design.  This was a citation analysis study to explore the dissemination of research into the clinical nursing literature, beginning with the publication of an original research study and including all of the citations to that article through 2009.Methods.  The authors searched five academic nursing research journal titles, using CINAHL, for original research reports that had clinical relevance and were published between 1990–1999. The search process yielded a final data set of 28 research articles. For each of the articles, the authors searched three databases, CINAHL, Web of Science® and Google Scholar, to determine the citation patterns from the date of publication to August 2009.Results.  All of the research studies were cited in articles published in clinical journals although there was a wide range in the number of citations, from 3–80. The 28 research articles had a total of 759 citations; 717 (94·5%) of those citations were in articles published in clinical nursing journals. The median length of time between publication of the original study and the first citation was 1·5 years. Some of the studies were still being cited for 18 years after publication of the original work.Conclusions.  All of the original research reports examined in this study were cited in articles in clinical journals, disseminating the research beyond the original work to reach clinicians.Relevance to clinical practice.  Clinical nursing journals keep readers up‐to‐date and informed about new practices in nursing and serve another important role: they disseminate research that is clinically relevant by publishing original studies and papers that cite research reports.
A qualitative review: the stigma of tuberculosis
Authors: Juniarti Neti , Evans David 
Published: October 2010

Background.  Tuberculosis is a major health problem internationally and brings with it a range of physical, economic and social consequences. There is a stigma associated with having tuberculosis because the disease is commonly viewed as a ‘dirty disease’. This stigma can have a negative impact on an individual and may delay the person seeking treatment.Aims.  The aim of this review was to explore the stigma and impact of having tuberculosis or having a family member with tuberculosis.Design.  Literature review.Method.  A comprehensive search of the electronic databases was undertaken. Inclusion criteria for the review were studies that investigated people with tuberculosis or their families, focused on the stigma or impact of tuberculosis and reported descriptions of the experience. Data were synthesised using a thematic analysis.Results.  The literature search identified thirty studies. Three themes emerged from the synthesis: shame, isolation and fear. The shame related to tuberculosis being viewed as a bad disease, a dirty disease. Isolation involved both the withdrawal from social contact and the shunning of contact by other people. Fear was a consequence of the many difficulties that accompany tuberculosis. These factors operated at three levels, on the individual level, the family level and the societal level.Conclusion.  The stigma that accompanies tuberculosis can have a negative impact on the individual and family and may result in their withdrawal from society because of shame and fear. The review highlights the need for education to provide practical strategies for individuals and families and to educate communities where tuberculosis is endemic.Relevance to clinical practice.  The review highlights the widespread ignorance of tuberculosis and need for education of the individual, family and community. This education should provide practical strategies to help people cope with tuberculosis. It also suggests that ensuring confidentiality should be an important component of management strategies.
My‐Mini‐Pet: a handheld pet‐nurturing game to engage students in arithmetic practices
Authors: Liao C.C.Y. , Chen Z‐H. , Cheng H.N.H. , Chen F‐C. , Chan T‐W. 
Published: October 2010

AbstractIn the last decade, more and more games have been developed for handheld devices. Furthermore, the popularity of handheld devices and increase of wireless computing can be taken advantage of to provide students with more learning opportunities. Games also could bring promising benefits – specifically, motivating students to learn/play, sustaining their interest, reflecting their learning/playing status, and facilitating the learning/playing progress. However, most of these have been designed for entertainment rather than education. Hence, in this study we incorporate game elements into a learning environment. The My‐Mini‐Pet system is a handheld pet‐nurturing game environment, in which students learn with an animal learning companion, their My‐Mini‐Pet. Three design strategies are adopted. First, the pet‐nurturing strategy, which simulates the relationship between the pet and its owner, the My‐Mini‐Pet becomes a motivator/sustainer of learning. Second, the pet appearance‐changing strategy, which externalizes the learning status of the student. In other words, the My‐Mini‐Pet plays the role of a reflector. Third, the pet feedback strategy, which links the behaviours of the student and his/her pet, the My‐Mini‐Pet acts as a facilitator of learning. A pilot study was also conducted to preliminarily investigate the effectiveness and experiences of the strategies on allowing the student to understand arithmetic practices. The results showed that the strategy was effective, encouraging the students to engage in learning activities. Furthermore, the game attracted the students’ attention and stimulated discussion between peers. Some implications about the further developments are also discussed.
Genetic and environmental interactions determine plant defences against herbivores
Authors: Ballhorn Daniel J. , Kautz Stefanie , Jensen Manfred , Schmitt Imke , Heil Martin , Hegeman Adrian D. 
Published: October 2010

Summary 1. Plants express multiple defensive traits, but little is known about the genetic stability and phenotypic plasticity of these traits in nature. To investigate sources of variation and their potential ecological consequences for herbivores, we combined field observations of cyanogenic lima bean with laboratory experiments. 2. Field studies in South Mexico revealed a distinct variability of cyanogenic traits within and among wild lima bean populations. To differentiate among genetic variation and the impact of ambient conditions on plant phenotypes, we used seed‐grown plants as well as clones propagated from high‐ (HC) and low‐cyanogenic (LC) wild type plants. 3. In growth chamber experiments, we cultivated plants under three intensities each of drought and salt stress, nutrient supply, and light availability. We consecutively quantified cyanogenesis and total phenolics as chemical defences, soluble proteins as measure of leaf quality, and leaf mass per area and tissue hydration as physical defence‐associated traits. 4. Plant traits were genetically stable, as clones propagated from the HC‐ and LC‐mother plants maintained their cyanogenic features and also showed constancy of other leaf parameters tested. 5. In contrast to genetically heterogeneous seed‐grown plants, cyanogenesis and soluble protein concentration in clonal plants showed significant variation in response to reduced water supply, increased soil salinity, and fertilization. The other leaf traits, however, showed no significant phenotypic plasticity depending on treatment. 6. Among all traits analysed, genetic and phenotypic variation in cyanogenesis proved the best predictor of herbivore behaviour and development, as LC‐plants were preferred by adult Mexican bean beetles and allowed for faster larval development. 7.
Synthesis. We demonstrate that (i) functional analyses of plant responses to abiotic factors require methodical separation of genotypic variability and phenotypic plasticity, (ii) different abiotic parameters quantitatively affect the plants’ chemical phenotype and that (iii) changes of plant phenotype can have strong impacts on natural herbivores. Our results suggest that genetic variability and phenotypic plasticity of plant anti‐herbivore defences allow plant populations to rapidly respond to changing environmental conditions.
Participation in daytime activities among people with mild or moderate intellectual disability
Authors: Dusseljee J. C. E. , Rijken P. M. , Cardol M. , Curfs L. M. G. , Groenewegen P. P. 
Published: October 2010

AbstractBackground  Community participation has been defined as performing daytime activities by people while interacting with others. Previous studies on community participation among people with intellectual disability (ID) have mainly focused on the domestic life aspect. This study investigates the variation in community participation in the domains work, social contacts and leisure activities among people with ID in the Netherlands. A number of categories of people with ID were distinguished by: (1) gender; (2) age; (3) type of education; (4) severity of ID; and (5) accommodation type.Methods  Data were gathered on 653 people with mild or moderate ID, of whom 513 by oral interviews and 140 by structured questionnaires filled in by representatives of those who could not be interviewed. Pearson chi‐square tests were used to test differences between categories of people with ID in the distributions of the participation variables. Additional logistic regression analyses were conducted to correct for differences between the categories in other variables.Results  Most people with mild or moderate ID in the Netherlands have work or other daytime activities, have social contacts and have leisure activities. However, people aged 50 years and over and people with moderate ID participate less in these domains than those under 50 years and people with mild ID. Moreover, people with ID hardly participate in activities with people without ID.Conclusion  High participation among people with a mild or moderate ID within the domains of work, social contact and leisure activities does not necessarily indicate a high level of interaction with the community, because the majority hardly interact with people without ID. Furthermore, older people with ID and people with a more severe level of ID seem to be more at risk for social exclusion.
The genetic architecture of domestication in the chicken: effects of pleiotropy and linkage
Authors: WRIGHT D. , RUBIN C.‐J. , MARTINEZ BARRIO A. , SCHÜTZ K. , KERJE S. , BRÄNDSTRÖM H. , KINDMARK A. , JENSEN P. , ANDERSSON L. 
Published: October 2010

AbstractThe extent of pleiotropy and epistasis in quantitative traits remains equivocal. In the case of pleiotropy, multiple quantitative trait loci are often taken to be pleiotropic if their confidence intervals overlap, without formal statistical tests being used to ascertain if these overlapping loci are statistically significantly pleiotropic. Additionally, the degree to which the genetic correlations between phenotypic traits are reflected in these pleiotropic quantitative trait loci is often variable, especially in the case of antagonistic pleiotropy. Similarly, the extent of epistasis in various morphological, behavioural and life‐history traits is also debated, with a general problem being the sample sizes required to detect such effects. Domestication involves a large number of trade‐offs, which are reflected in numerous behavioural, morphological and life‐history traits which have evolved as a consequence of adaptation to selective pressures exerted by humans and captivity. The comparison between wild and domestic animals allows the genetic analysis of the traits that differ between these population types, as well as being a general model of evolution. Using a large F2 intercross between wild and domesticated chickens, in combination with a dense SNP and microsatellite marker map, both pleiotropy and epistasis were analysed. The majority of traits were found to segregate in 11 tight ‘blocks’ and reflected the trade‐offs associated with domestication. These blocks were shown to have a pleiotropic ‘core’ surrounded by more loosely linked loci. In contrast, epistatic interactions were almost entirely absent, with only six pairs identified over all traits analysed. These results give insights both into the extent of such blocks in evolution and the development of domestication itself.
QTL for the species‐specific male and female genital morphologies in Ohomopterus ground beetles
Authors: SASABE MASATAKA , TAKAMI YASUOKI , SOTA TEIJI 
Published: October 2010

AbstractAnimals with internal fertilization often exhibit marked diversification in genital morphology among closely related species. However, our knowledge of the genetic architecture underlying genital evolution is still limited. We constructed genetic linkage maps and analysed quantitative trait loci (QTL) for F2 hybrids of two closely related species of the carabid beetles Carabus (Ohomopterus) iwawakianus and C. (O.) maiyasanus, which show matching male and female genital shapes within species, but marked differences in genital morphologies between species. The linkage maps comprised both amplified fragment length polymorphism and microsatellite markers. Composite interval mapping to detect QTL for three traits of male copulatory piece (length, width, weight) and two traits for female vaginal appendix (length, width) resulted in the detection of one to five significant QTL for each trait. The QTL explained large proportions of phenotypic variance. Thus, the interspecific difference in the genital morphologies appeared to be determined by relatively small numbers of genes with large genetic effects. QTL of different traits for the same or different sexes co‐occurred on five of eight linkage groups with significant QTL; in particular, three QTL for different male and female genital traits occurred almost at the same position. Each of the male genital traits showed uniform signs of additive genetic effects, suggesting that directional selection has led to species‐specific morphologies. However, the signs of additive genetic effects in each female genital trait were not uniform, suggesting that coevolution between sexes is not necessarily concerted. This result requires further assessment because the sample size of F2 females was small.
Effects of different mating scenarios on embryo viability in brown trout
Authors: JACOB ALAIN , EVANNO GUILLAUME , VON SIEBENTHAL BEAT A. , GROSSEN CHRISTINE , WEDEKIND CLAUS 
Published: October 2010

AbstractMating with attractive or dominant males is often predicted to offer indirect genetic benefits to females, but it is still largely unclear how important such non‐random mating can be with regard to embryo viability. We sampled a natural population of adult migratory brown trout (Salmo trutta), bred themin vitroin a half‐sib breeding design to separate genetic from maternal environmental effects, raised 2098 embryos singly until hatching, and exposed them experimentally to different levels of pathogen stress at a late embryonic stage. We found that the embryos’ tolerance to the induced pathogen stress was linked to the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) of their parents, i.e. certain MHC genotypes appeared to provide better protection against infection than others. We also found significant additive genetic variance for stress tolerance. Melanin‐based dark skin patterns revealed males with ‘good genes’, i.e. embryos fathered by dark coloured males had a high tolerance to infection. Mating with large and dominant males would, however, not improve embryo viability when compared to random mating. We used simulations to provide estimates of how mate choice based on MHC or melanin‐based skin patterns would influence embryos’ tolerance to the experimentally induced pathogen stress.
A novel copper‐responsive regulon in Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Authors: Festa Richard A. , Jones Marcus B. , Butler‐Wu Susan , Sinsimer Daniel , Gerads Russell , Bishai William R. , Peterson Scott N. , Darwin K. Heran 
Published: October 2010

SummaryIn this work we describe the identification of a copper‐inducible regulon in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Among the regulated genes was Rv0190/MT0200, a paralogue of the copper metalloregulatory repressor CsoR. The five‐locus regulon, which includes a gene that encodes the copper‐protective metallothionein MymT, was highly induced in wild‐type Mtb treated with copper, and highly expressed in an Rv0190/MT0200 mutant. Importantly, the Rv0190/MT0200 mutant was hyper‐resistant to copper. The promoters of all five loci share a palindromic motif that was recognized by the gene product of Rv0190/MT0200. For this reason we named Rv0190/MT0200 RicR for regulated in copper repressor. Intriguingly, several of the RicR‐regulated genes, including MymT, are unique to pathogenic Mycobacteria. The identification of a copper‐responsive regulon specific to virulent mycobacterial species suggests copper homeostasis must be maintained during an infection. Alternatively, copper may provide a cue for the expression of genes unrelated to metal homeostasis, but nonetheless necessary for survival in a host.