bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Healthcare Proxies of Nursing Home Residents with Advanced Dementia: Decisions They Confront and Their Satisfaction with Decision‐Making
Authors: Givens Jane L. , Kiely Dan K. , Carey Kristen , Mitchell Susan L. 
Published: May 2009

OBJECTIVES: To describe the medical decisions confronting healthcare proxies (HCPs) of nursing home (NH) residents with advanced dementia and to identify factors associated with greater decision‐making satisfaction.DESIGN: Prospective cohort study.SETTING: Twenty‐two Boston‐area NHs.PARTICIPANTS: Three hundred twenty‐three NH residents with advanced dementia and their HCPs.MEASUREMENTS: Decisions made by HCPs over 18 months were ascertained quarterly. After making a decision, HCPs completed the Decision Satisfaction Inventory (DSI) (range 0–100). Independent variables included HCP and resident sociodemographic characteristics, health status, and advance care planning. Multivariable linear regression identified factors associated with higher DSI scores (greater satisfaction).RESULTS: Of 323 HCPs, 123 (38.1%) recalled making at least one medical decision; 232 decisions were made, concerning feeding problems (27.2%), infections (20.7%), pain (12.9%), dyspnea (8.2%), behavior problems (6.9%), hospitalizations (3.9%), cancer (3.0%), and other complications (17.2%). Mean DSI score±standard deviation was 78.4±19.5, indicating high overall satisfaction. NH provider involvement in shared decision‐making was the area of least satisfaction. In adjusted analysis, greater decision‐making satisfaction was associated with the resident living on a special care dementia unit (P=.002), greater resident comfort (P=.004), and the HCP not being the resident's child (P=.02).CONCLUSION: HCPs of NH patients with advanced dementia can most commonly expect to encounter medical decisions relating to feeding problems, infections, and pain. Inadequate support from NH providers is the greatest source of HCP dissatisfaction with decision‐making. Greater resident comfort and care in a special care dementia unit are potentially modifiable factors associated with greater decision‐making satisfaction.
Nonprescription Use of Pain Relievers by Middle‐Aged and Elderly Community‐Living Adults: National Survey on Drug Use and Health
Authors: Blazer Dan G. , Wu Li‐Tzy 
Published: May 2009

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the frequency, distribution, and correlates of nonprescription use of pain relievers by middle‐aged and elderly persons in the United States.DESIGN: Cross‐sectional data analysis of a national community survey.SETTING: The 2005 and 2006 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health.PARTICIPANTS: Ten thousand nine hundred fifty‐three respondents aged 50 and older (6,717 aged 50–64 and 4,236 aged ≥65).MEASUREMENTS: Social and demographic variables, detailed assessment of nonprescription use (and abuse) of prescription pain relievers (e.g., acetaminophen with codeine, morphine), substance use, major depression, self‐reported medical illnesses, and self‐rated health.RESULTS: A small proportion of the sample (1.4%) reported nonprescription use of prescription pain relievers during the previous year. Combinations of acetaminophen and hydrocodone or propoxyphene were the most commonly used drugs. Use was associated with younger age (odds ratio (OR)=2.39, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.31–4.36), American Indian and Alaska native (OR=8.78, 95% CI=2.50–30.85), and use of marijuana (OR=7.07, 95% CI=3.99–12.53). Fewer than 10% of nonprescription users were abusing these medications or dependent upon them.CONCLUSION: In a representative sample of middle‐aged and older adults, nonprescription use of prescription pain relievers is relatively uncommon, but the much higher use by middle‐aged adults suggests that, as this cohort ages, the problem may increase in elderly people.
Comparisons of Self‐Reported and Chart‐Identified Chronic Diseases in Inner‐City Seniors
Authors: Leikauf John , Federman Alex D. 
Published: May 2009

OBJECTIVES: To examine agreement between self‐report of chronic disease and medical record data for inner‐city seniors, their sensitivity and specificity, and the association between patient characteristics and accuracy of self‐reports.DESIGN: Cross‐sectional analysis.SETTING: Two hospital‐based primary care practices serving a low‐income inner‐city population.PARTICIPANTS: Adults aged 65 and older (n=323).MEASURES: Data on self‐reported asthma, depression, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension were collected through interviewer‐administered surveys (in English and Spanish) and chart abstraction. Chart‐based disease was defined in two ways: physician documentation and physician documentation plus use of a medication to treat that condition. Sensitivity, specificity, and agreement were calculated. Univariate and multivariable regression analyses were used to determine the associations between patient characteristics and patient–chart agreement.RESULTS: Agreement between self‐report and chart data was high for diabetes mellitus (kappa=0.94) intermediate for asthma (kappa=0.66), and hypertension (kappa=0.54) and low for depression (kappa=0.4). Sensitivity and specificity were high for diabetes mellitus (0.99 and 0.96, respectively) and low for depression (0.74 and 0.72, respectively). Specificity for hypertension was lowest (0.67). Age, education, health literacy, and other patient characteristics did not have clear associations across conditions.CONCLUSION: Self‐reports may be most reliable for diabetes mellitus and least reliable for depression for surveys involving older, inner‐city adults. Survey research with older adults should include confirmatory data when assessing presence of depression, hypertension, and asthma.
Genetic Polymorphism of KCNH2 Confers Predisposition of Acquired Atrial Fibrillation in Chinese
Authors: WANG QUN‐SHAN , WANG XIAO‐FENG , CHEN XING‐DONG , YU JIE‐FEI , WANG JUN , SUN JIAN , LU SHANG‐BIAO , SHEN MU‐YAO , LU MING , LI YI‐GANG , JIN LI 
Published: May 2009

Introduction:
Nonfamiliar atrial fibrillation (AF) is usually associated with acquired structural heart disease, including valvular heart disease, coronary artery disease, and hypertension. Suggestive evidence indicates that these forms of acquired AF are more likely to occur in individuals with a genetic predisposition. We investigated the effect of the potassium channel voltage‐gated subfamily member 2 (KCNH2) gene on the prevalence of acquired AF in a Chinese population.
Methods:
In a pair‐matched, hospital‐based case control study (297 vs 297) conducted in Chinese Hans, we investigated 4 tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (tSNPs), rs1805120, rs1036145, rs3807375, and rs2968857 in the KCNH2 gene, and determined their association with AF acquired from structural heart diseases.
Results:
We did not observe the association of rs1036145, rs3807375, and rs2968857 with AF. However, we determined that the tSNP, rs1805120, in exon 6 confers the risk of AF in Chinese Hans. Both genotype and allele frequencies of rs1805120 were distributed differently in cases and controls (P = 0.0289 and P = 0.0172, respectively). The most significant association was observed under a recessive model for the minor GG genotype with a 1.45‐fold risk of developing AF (95% confidence interval 1.09–1.93, P = 0.012). The significance remained after controlling for the covariates of age, smoking, BMI, hypertension, and diabetes.
Conclusion:
We report a new genetic variation (rs1805120) in the KCNH2 gene that predisposes Chinese Han individuals to the risk of acquired AF. Further genetic and functional studies are required to identify the etiological variants in linkage disequilibrium with this polymorphism.
Effect of different levels of Quebracho tannin on nitrogen utilization and growth performance of Najdi sheep fed alfalfa (Medicago sativa) hay as a sole diet
Authors: AL‐DOBAIB Soliman N. 
Published: May 2009

ABSTRACTA commercial tannin source (Quebracho tannin, QT), containing 75% condensed tannins (CT) in dry matter (DM) was used to evaluate the effects of addition of different levels of QT to alfalfa hay on the in vitro degradation kinetics of organic matter (OM) and nitrogen (N) in experiment 1 (Exp. 1), N utilization and microbial N synthesis (MNS) in experiment 2 (Exp. 2) and growth performance of growing Najdi lambs in experiment 3 (Exp. 3). Alfalfa hay was treated with QT at the levels of 0, 1, 2 and 3% of DM to form four treatments of QT0, QT1, QT2 and QT3 to have actual levels of CT being 0, 0.75, 1.5 and 2.25% of DM, respectively. Degradation rate and the effective degradability of N were significantly decreased (P < 0.05) for QT2 and QT3 as compared with the QT0. In Exp. 2, digestibility coefficients for OM, neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber were significantly decreased (P < 0.05) at QT3, whereas QT1 and QT2 showed no difference toQT0. In the metabolism trial (Exp. 2), digested N (DN) and urinary N (UN) excretion for QT2 and QT3 were significantly decreased (P < 0.05) compared to QT0 and QT1. The DN and UN as percentage of N intake were 79.2, 76.9, 75.5 and 69.8%; and 24.4, 22.6, 19.9 and 19.6% for QT0, QT1, QT2 and QT3, respectively. QT2 had the highest MNS and the lowest value was in QT3, the MNS of the treatments were 18.1, 18.7, 19.2 and 15.8 g/day for QT0, QT1, QT2 and QT3, respectively. In the growth trial of 56 days duration (Exp. 3, n = 24 lambs), the addition of QT at the level of QT2 enhanced (P < 0.05) the average daily gain and feed conversion rate compared with the QT0, while, QT1 and QT3 had intermediate values. It is concluded that alfalfa hay treated with QT at the level of 2% of DM could be used to protect alfalfa N from ruminal degradation that would lead to improve growth performance of lambs.
Association of the amino acid motifs of BoLA‐DRB3 alleles with mastitis pathogens in Japanese Holstein cows
Authors: YOSHIDA Tatsuyuki , MUKOYAMA Harutaka , FURUTA Hiroki , KONDO Yasuko , TAKESHIMA Shin‐nosuke , AIDA Yoko , KOSUGIYAMA Motoaki , TOMOGANE Hiroshi 
Published: May 2009

ABSTRACTThe association of the polymorphism of bovine leukocyte antigen (BoLA‐DRB3) genes, identified by the polymerase chain reaction sequence‐based typing (PCR‐SBT) method, with resistance and susceptibility to mastitis caused by Streptococci, coagulase‐negative Staphylococci, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus was investigated. Blood samples for DNA extraction were collected from 170 Holstein cows (129 mastitis and 41 healthy cows) from 5 districts in Chiba prefecture, Japan. Susceptibility or resistance to the mastitis‐causing pathogens was thought to vary by the presence of amino acid substitutions at the 9, 11, 13, and 30 positions. DRB3*0101 and DRB3*1501 had amino acid motifs of Glu9, Ser11, Ser13, and Tyr30, and they were considered to have susceptibility to all 4 mastitis pathogens. In contrast, DRB3*1101 and DRB3*1401 had amino acid motifs of Gln9, His11, Gly13, and His30 in these positions, and they also had Val86, so these alleles were considered to have resistance to Streptococcal and coagulase‐negative Staphylococcal mastitis. However, in the case of Escherichia coli mastitis, amino acid substitutions at the 9, 11, 13, and 30 positions had little effect, but rather substitutions at the 47, 67 positions of pocket 7, and at the 71, 74 positions of pocket 4, Tyr47, Ile67, Ala71, and Ala74, were associated with resistance. This motif was present in DRB3*1201.
Ethical Thinking and Philosophy
Authors: Sia Santiago 
Published: May 2009

AbstractEthics has captured the attention of many today—for a variety of reasons. However, different conceptions and expectations of what is involved in addressing the ethical challenge have also arisen. Clarifying the nature of the ethical task, this essay argues for the need to think through the judgments we make and the decisions we take on ethical situations and to investigate more critically the basis of such judgments and decisions. Furthermore, it claims that in ethics, as well as in other areas of life, it is important to have an overall vision that should ground, inform and support any judgment or decision we make. Maintaining that ethics is a rational activity undertaken by rational agents, it shows how ethical thinking, particularly when it draws on philosophy, can help one to develop a moral sense and enable one to take a moral stance.
“Our Most Serious Deficiency-Disease”– Reason, Faith and the Rediscovery of Sensibility
Authors: Tóth Beáta 
Published: May 2009

AbstractThe essay addresses the complex cultural historical claim that with modernity the earlier unity of reason and sensibility underwent a dissociation that has important consequences for our current predicament and for our present understanding of the relationship between reason, faith and sensibility. Three case studies (Géza Ottlik, T. S. Eliot and Blaise Pascal) are examined in order to establish the nature of the divide and provide an archaeology (with the help of Pascal) of one of its first conceptualisations as well as of an early attempt to heal the growing fissure between what is termed by Pascal as reason and the heart. The second part examines current thought concerning the need to enlarge the narrow Enlightenment conception of reason and the recent call to re-envision its theological contours. The argument is then made that the same procedure should be applied to the theologically long-neglected domain of human sensibility. Theology is registered as also being accountable for internalising and perpetuating the cultural dissociation due to its failure to preserve the traditional theological contours of affectivity and its naivety in leaving the exploration of this domain entirely to the competence of secular philosophy.
Repeated Range Expansion and Glacial Endurance of Potentilla glabra (Rosaceae) in the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau
Authors: Wang Liu‐Yang , Ikeda Hiroshi , Liu Teng‐Liang , Wang Yu‐Jin , Liu Jian‐Quan 
Published: May 2009

Abstract To date, little is still known about how alpine species occurring in the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau (QTP) responded to past climatic oscillations. Here, by using variations of the chloroplast trnT‐L, we examined the genetic distribution pattern of 101 individuals of Potentilla glabra, comprising both the interior QTP and the plateau edge. Phylogenetic and network analyses of 31 recovered haplotypes identified three tentative clades (A, B and C). Analysis of molecular variance (amova) revealed that most of the genetic variability was found within populations (0.693), while differentiations between populations were obviously distinct (Fst= 0.307). Two independent range expansions within clades A and B occurring at approximately 316 and 201 thousand years ago (kya) were recovered from the hierarchical mismatch analysis, and these two expansions were also confirmed by Fu's FS values and ‘g’ tests. However, distant distributions of clade C and private haplotypes from clades A and B suggest that they had survived the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and previous glaciers in situ since their origins. Our findings based on available limited samples support that multiple refugia of a few cold‐enduring species had been maintained in the QTP platform during LGM and/or previous glacial stages.
The Response Difference of Mitochondria in Recalcitrant Antiaris toxicaria Axes and Orthodox Zea mays Embryos to Dehydration Injury
Authors: Song Song‐Quan , Tian Mei‐Hua , Kan Jing , Cheng Hong‐Yan 
Published: May 2009

Abstract Long‐term preservation of recalcitrant seeds is very difficult because the physiological basis on their desiccation sensitivity is poorly understood. Survival of Antiaris toxicaria axes rapidly decreased and that of immature maize embryos very slowly decreased with dehydration. To understand their different responses to dehydration, we examined the changes in mitochondria activity during dehydration. Although activities of cytochrome (Cyt) c oxidase and malate dehydrogenase of the A. toxicaria axis and maize embryo mitochondria decreased with dehydration, the parameters of maize embryo mitochondria were much higher than those of A. toxicaria, showing that the damage was more severe for the A. toxicaria axis mitochondria than for those of maize embryo. The state I and III respiration of the A. toxicaria axis mitochondria were higher than those of maize embryo, the former rapidly decreased, and the latter slowly decreased with dehydration. The proportion of Cyt c pathway to state III respiration for the A. toxicaria axis mitochondria was low and rapidly decreased with dehydration, and the proportion of alternative oxidase pathway was high and slightly increased with dehydration. In contrast, the proportion of Cyt c pathway for maize embryo mitochondria was high, and that of alternative oxidase pathway was low. Both pathways decreased slowly with dehydration.
Evaluation of resistance to different insecticides in field strains of Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Punjab, Pakistan
Authors: AHEER Ghulam Mustafa , AZIZ Muhammad Asif , HAMEED Asifa , ALI Amjad 
Published: May 2009

AbstractSusceptibility of field populations of Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) from Punjab, Pakistan to selected insecticides was evaluated using the leaf dip method. The resistance factors varied between populations. The general trends were low to moderate resistance to endosulfan; very low to low resistance to chlorpyrifos and profenofos; very low resistance to spinosad, indoxacarb and thiodicarb; moderate to high resistance to bifenthrin; high to very high resistance to cypermethrin; and very high resistance to lambda‐cyhalothrin. Integrated pest management strategies aimed at reducing pesticide application, such as rotating the conventional insecticides having low resistance with newly developed synthetic insecticides and conserving natural enemies, are recommended.
Cloning and expression pattern of 14‐3‐3ε fromCulex pipiens
Authors: KIM Dong Hyun , JO Yong Hun , HAN Yeon Soo , KANG Sang Sun , CHUN Jaesun 
Published: May 2009

Abstract14‐3‐3 proteins play various roles in eukaryotes, such as signal transduction, cell cycle regulation, apoptosis, stress response and cytoskeleton organization. We are interested in apoptosis induced by mosquito–virus interactions usingCulex pipiensas an experimental model. To this end, we cloned a partial fragment (702 bp) of 14‐3‐3ε, one of the key proteins known to be involved in apoptosis, fromCx. pipiens. The deduced amino acid sequence (234 residues) had high homology to 14‐3‐3ε homologs from various organisms, such asCulex quinquefasciatus(99%),Anopheles gambiae(98%),Aedes aegypti(96%),Drosophila melanogaster(93%),Apis mellifera(91%) andBombyx mori(89%). Developmental reverse transcription (RT)‐polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis showed thatCp14‐3‐3εmRNA is expressed at very high levels in the egg, early pupa, and adult male and female, although it was expressed in other developmental stages, such as first and fourth instar larvae. Analysis of RT‐PCR for tissue specificity showed thatCp14‐3‐3εis abundant in the abdomen and ovary, and it was also detectable in all other tissues, such as thorax, midgut and Malpighian tubule. Actinomycin‐D, an apoptosis‐inducing chemical, inducesCp14‐3‐3εmRNA expression. Furthermore, poly I : C (RNA virus analog) inducesCp14‐3‐3εmRNA 3 h after injection. Thus, although further investigation is necessary for elucidating the biological significance of the induced 14‐3‐3ε, our data suggest that Cp14‐3‐3ε is involved in cell survival and signal transduction inCx. pipiens.
Auditory Word Recognition: Evidence from Aphasia and Functional Neuroimaging
Authors: Blumstein Sheila E. 
Published: May 2009

AbstractThis review examines the neural systems underlying auditory word recognition processes using both lesion and functional neuroimaging studies. Focus is on the influence of the sound properties of language (its phonetic and its phonological properties) in the service of identifying a particular word or the conceptual/meaning associated with that word. Results indicate that auditory word recognition recruits a neural system in which information is passed through the network in what appears to be functionally distinct stages: acoustic‐phonetic analysis in temporal areas, mapping of sound structure to the lexicon, accessing a lexical candidate and its associated lexical‐semantic network in temporo‐parietal areas, and lexical selection in frontal areas. Information cascades throughout the network as shown by the influence of ‘goodness’ of fit and phonological/lexical competition on modulation of activation in both posterior areas including the superior temporal gyrus and supramarginal gyrus and in frontal areas including the inferior frontal gyrus.
Ecosystem services and conservation strategy: beware the silver bullet
Authors: Vira Bhaskar , Adams William M. 
Published: May 2009

AbstractThere is an important analytical distinction for conservationists between the flow of ecosystem services and the stock of natural capital that underpins or constitutes them. The relationship between these two is often complex and indeterminate. Ecosystem services result from the interplay of different biological and physical processes across a variety of scales. Flows of ecosystem services may be imperfectly related to stocks of natural capital. Conservation is concerned with the protection of certain stocks of natural capital, but also with maintaining the complex web of relationships that characterize biodiversity. Despite the obvious links between ecosystem services, natural capital, and biodiversity, these are not identical. Practitioners and policy makers should be cautious in their use of the proxy indicator of ecosystem services when developing mechanisms for biodiversity conservation. Conceptual clarity is essential in order to harness the potentially important role that ecosystem service based interventions can play in mainstreaming conservation issues.
Protecting ecosystem services and biodiversity in the world's watersheds
Authors: Luck Gary W. , Chan Kai M.A. , Fay John P. 
Published: May 2009

AbstractDespite unprecedented worldwide biodiversity loss, conservation is not at the forefront of national or international development programs. The concept of ecosystem services was intended to help conservationists demonstrate the benefits of ecosystems for human well‐being, but services are not yet seen to truly address human need with current approaches focusing mostly on financial gain. To promote development strategies that integrate conservation and service protection, we developed the first prioritization scheme for protecting ecosystem services in the world's watersheds and compared our results with global conservation schemes. We found that by explicitly incorporating human need into prioritization strategies, service‐protection priorities were squarely focused on the world's poorest, most densely populated regions. We identified watersheds in Southeast Asia and East Africa as the most crucial priorities for service protection and biodiversity conservation, including Irrawaddy—recently devastated by cyclone Nargis. Emphasizing human need is a substantial improvement over dollar‐based, ecosystem‐service valuations that undervalue the requirements of the world's poor, and our approach offers great hope for reconciling conservation and human development goals.