bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Family Doctor Responses to Changes in Incentives for Influenza Immunization under the U.K. Quality and Outcomes Framework Pay‐for‐Performance Scheme
Authors: Kontopantelis Evangelos , Doran Tim , Gravelle Hugh , Goudie Rosalind , Siciliani Luigi , Sutton Matt 
Published: December 2011

ObjectiveTo analyze the effect of setting higher targets, in a primary care pay‐for‐performance scheme, on rates of influenza immunization and exception reporting.Study SettingThe U.K. Quality and Outcomes Framework links financial rewards for family practices to four separate influenza immunization rates for patients with coronary heart disease (CHD), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, and stroke. There is no additional payment for immunization rates above an upper threshold. Patients for whom immunization would be inappropriate can be excepted from the practice for the calculation of the practice immunization rate.DataPractice‐level information on immunizations and exceptions extracted from electronic records of all practices in England 2004/05 to 2009/10 (n = 8,212–8,403).Study DesignLongitudinal random effect multilevel linear regressions comparing changes in practice immunization and exception rates for the four chronic conditions before and after the increase in the upper threshold immunization rate for CHD patients in 2006/07.Principal FindingsThe 5 percent increase in the upper payment threshold for CHD was associated with increases in the proportion of immunized CHD patients (0.41 percent, CI: 0.25–0.56 percent), and exception was reported (0.26 percent, CI: 0.12–0.40 percent).ConclusionsMaking quality targets more demanding can not only lead to improvement in quality of care but can also have other consequences.
The Effect of Community Uninsurance Rates on Access to Health Care
Authors: Sabik Lindsay M. 
Published: December 2011

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of local uninsurance rates on access to health care for the uninsured and insured and improve on recent studies by controlling for time‐invariant differences across markets.Data SourcesIndividual‐level data from the 1996 and 2003 Community Tracking Study, and market‐level data from other sources, including the Area Resource File and the Bureau of Primary Healthcare.Study DesignMarket‐level fixed effects models estimate the effect of changes in uninsurance rates within markets on access to care, measured by whether individuals report forgoing necessary care. Instrumental variables models are also estimated.Principal FindingsIncreases in the rate of uninsurance are associated with poorer access to necessary care among the uninsured. In contrast with recent evidence, increases in uninsurance had no effect on access to care among the insured. Instrumental variables results are similar, although not statistically significant.ConclusionsChanges in rates of insurance coverage are likely to affect access to care for both previously and continuously uninsured. In contrast with earlier studies, there is no evidence of spillover effects on the insured, suggesting that such policy changes may have little effect on access for those who are already insured.
A Longitudinal Analysis of the Lifetime Cost of Dementia
Authors: Yang Zhou , Zhang Kun , Lin Pei‐Jung , Clevenger Carolyn , Atherly Adam 
Published: December 2011

ObjectiveEstimate the lifetime cost of dementia to Medicare and Medicaid.Data Source1997–2005 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey.Study DesignA multistage analysis was conducted to first predict the probability of developing dementia by age and then predict the annual Medicare/Medicaid expenditures conditional on dementia status. A cohort‐based simulation was conducted to estimate the lifetime cost of dementia.Principal FindingsThe average lifetime cost of dementia per patient for Medicare is approximately $12,000 (2005 dollars) and for Medicaid about $11,000. Dementia onset at older age leads to shorter duration and lower lifetime cost. Increased educational level leads to longer longevity, more dementia cases per cohort, but shorter duration, and lower lifetime cost per patient, which could offset the cost increase induced by more dementia cases. Increased body mass index leads to more dementia cases per cohort and higher lifetime cost per patient.ConclusionNet cost of dementia is lower than the estimates from cross‐sectional studies. Promoting healthy lifestyle to reverse the obesity epidemic is a short‐term priority to confront the epidemic of dementia in the near future. Promoting higher education among the younger generation is a long‐term priority to mitigate the effect of population aging on the dementia epidemic in the distant future.
HTR2A gene polymorphisms and Inward and Outward Personal Meaning Organisations
Authors: Nardi Bernardo , Piva Francesco , Turchi Chiara , Giulietti Matteo , Castellucci Gianni , Arimatea Emidio , Rocchetti David , Rocchetti Gianfranco , Principato Giovanni , Tagliabracci Adriano , Bellantuono Cesario 
Published: December 2011

Nardi B, Piva F, Turchi C, Giulietti M, Castellucci G, Arimatea E, Rocchetti D, Rocchetti G, Principato G, Tagliabracci A, Bellantuono C. HTR2A gene polymorphisms and Inward and Outward Personal Meaning Organisations.Objective:Caregiver behaviours and emotional expressions may induce development of two basic categories of constructing identity and of regulating cognitive and emotional processes: an Inward or an Outward Personal Meaning Organisation (PMO). Inwards read environmental signals through their internal activations. Their emotions are more distinct, and reciprocity is more based on physical distance (protection, loneliness). Outwards read internal activations through the environment. Their emotions are more blurred, and reciprocity is more based on a semantic sight of relations (approval, rules).It has recently been shown that PMO development may also have physiological and genetic bases. In a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, Inward and Outward subjects showed different amygdala activation patterns and an association with the SLC6A4 serotonin transporter gene 5-HTTLPR polymorphism.Methods:In this work, 149 healthy subjects were examined with respect to Inward and Outward PMOs. We explored the association with 10 serotonin receptor 2A (HTR2A) gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) selected by bioinformatics methods.Results:An intronic SNP (rs55948462) was found to be significantly associated with an Inward and an Outward PMOs development. However, after statistical adjustments, these results did not remain significant.Conclusion:We did not find associations between considered SNPs and Inward/Outward PMOs. However, the role of HTR2A polymorphisms was not considered in this study and that of the other serotonin-related genes should be valued.
Grass litter is a natural seed trap in long‐term undisturbed grassland
Authors: Ruprecht Eszter , Szabó Anna 
Published: December 2011

AbstractQuestionsLitter quantity in grasslands is highly affected by disturbance regime and influences seed recruitment of constituent species through different mechanisms. Does litter act as a mechanical barrier to burial of freshly shed seeds, and does seed morphology affect this? How is the fate and mobility of seeds affected by litter compared to that of seeds in the seed bank?LocationTransylvanian Lowland, Romania.MethodsWe analysed the seed content of litter and underlying soil collected from six dry grassland sites having different disturbance histories, ranging from sites that are currently grazed to those that have been long abandoned. We related seed content of litter to the litter quantity, seed morphology and the seed content of soil, and the estimated seed production of the above‐ground vegetation.ResultsGrass litter represented a natural trap for seeds; we identified significant quantities of seeds of a large number of species (37) within litter samples, and there was a mass effect in the seed trapping by litter – higher litter quantities trapped more seeds. As a long‐term consequence, we expected that seed bank stores would be gradually depleted in abandoned grassland due to the elimination of seeds by litter, but this was not the case. The higher seed production of the above‐ground vegetation in undisturbed sites very probably compensated for seed losses through litter. Seeds retained in the litter were larger, more rounded and had appendages than those in soil. Especially for seeds meeting any of these criteria, litter represents a hazardous medium, since the seeds may fail or have delayed germination.ConclusionsThe role of litter as a seed trap is more relevant in grasslands that have not been disturbed for a long time, where litter seed entrapment can exert a selective pressure on certain species, and thus drive community assembly in grasslands.
Comparisons of complementary feeding indicators and associated factors in children aged 6–23 months across five South Asian countries
Authors: Senarath Upul , Agho Kingsley E. , Akram Dur‐e‐Samin , Godakandage Sanjeeva S.P. , Hazir Tabish , Jayawickrama Hiranya , Joshi Nira , Kabir Iqbal , Khanam Mansura , Patel Archana , Pusdekar Yamini , Roy Swapan K. , Siriwardena Indika , Tiwari Kalpana , Dibley Michael J. 
Published: December 2011

AbstractImproving infant and young child feeding practices will help South Asian countries achieve the Millennium Development Goal of reducing child mortality. This paper aims to compare key indicators of complementary feeding and their determinants in children aged 6–23 months across five South Asian countries – Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The latest Demographic and Health Survey and National Family Health Survey India data were used. The analyses were confined to last‐born children aged 6–23 months – 1728 in Bangladesh, 15 028 in India, 1428 in Nepal, 2106 in Sri Lanka and 443 infants aged 6–8 months in Pakistan. Introduction of solid, semi‐solid or soft foods, minimum dietary diversity, minimum meal frequency and minimum acceptable diet, and their significant determinants were compared across the countries. Minimum dietary diversity among children aged 6–23 months ranged from 15% in India to 71% in Sri Lanka, with Nepal (34%) and Bangladesh (42%) in between. Minimum acceptable diet among breastfed children was 9% in India, 32% in Nepal, 40% in Bangladesh and 68% in Sri Lanka. The most consistent determinants of inappropriate complementary feeding practices across all countries were the lack of maternal education and lower household wealth. Limited exposure to media, inadequate antenatal care and lack of post‐natal contacts by health workers were among predictors of inappropriate feeding. Overall, complementary feeding practices among children aged 6–23 months need improvement in all South Asian countries. More intensive interventions are necessary targeting the groups with sup‐optimal practices, while programmes that cover entire populations are being continued.
Complementary feeding practices in South Asia: analyses of recent national survey data by the South Asia Infant Feeding Research Network
Authors: Senarath Upul , Dibley Michael J. 
Published: December 2011

AbstractSouth Asian region has the highest global burden of child undernutrition, with almost 41% of children stunted, 16% wasted and 33% underweight. Improved feeding of children less than 2 years of age is particularly important because they experience rapid growth and development, and are vulnerable to illnesses such as acute respiratory infections and diarrhoeal diseases. The present supplement aimed to describe complementary feeding practices in five South Asian countries – Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – using the new and updated global complementary feeding indicators and to identify determinants of inappropriate complementary feeding practices. The South Asia Infant Feeding Research Network held a series of workshops to study and discuss the operational guidelines for the new complementary feeding indicators in consultation with regional and international experts. The latest Demographic and Health Surveys for Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and the National Family Health Survey of India were used as data sources. Four key indicators were calculated: introduction of solid, semisolid or soft foods in 6–8 months aged, minimum dietary diversity, minimum meal frequency and minimum acceptable diet in 6–23‐month‐aged children. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify determinants of poor complementary feeding practices. The papers in this supplement present results of these analyses for each individual country and a comparison between countries. The results have important implications for policies, programmes and research on infant and young child feeding in the region, especially for targeting groups at high risk for suboptimal practices.
Determinants of inappropriate complementary feeding practices in young children in Sri Lanka: secondary data analysis of Demographic and Health Survey 2006–2007
Authors: Senarath Upul , Godakandage Sanjeeva S. P. , Jayawickrama Hiranya , Siriwardena Indika , Dibley Michael J. 
Published: December 2011

AbstractInappropriate complementary feeding increases risk of undernutrition, illness and mortality in infants and children. This paper aimed to determine the factors associated with inappropriate complementary feeding practices in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lanka Demographic and Health Survey 2006–2007 used a stratified two‐stage cluster sample of ever‐married women 15–49 years, and included details about foods given to children aged 6–23 months during the last 24 h. The new World Health Organization indicators for infant and young child feeding (IYCF) – (introduction of solid/semi‐solid or soft foods; minimum dietary diversity; minimum meal frequency; and minimum acceptable diet) were calculated for 2106 children aged 6–23 months. These indicators were examined against explanatory variables with multivariate analyses to identify factors associated with inappropriate practices.Eighty‐four per cent of infants aged 6–8 months were introduced to complementary food. The proportion of infants aged 6–8 months who consumed eggs (7.5%), fruits and vegetables other than those rich in vitamin A (29.6%) and flesh foods (35.2%) was low. Of children aged 6–23 months, minimum dietary diversity was 71%, minimum meal frequency 88% and minimum acceptable diet 68%. Children who lived in tea estate sector had a lower dietary diversity and minimum acceptable diet than children in urban and rural areas. Other determinants of not receiving a diverse or acceptable diet were lower maternal education, shorter maternal height, lower wealth index, lack of postnatal visits, unsatisfactory exposure to media and acute respiratory infections. In conclusion, complementary feeding indicators were adequate except in the 6–11 months age group. Subgroups with inappropriate feeding practices should be the focus of IYCF promotion programs.
An exploration of empathy and correlates among Taiwanese nurses
Authors: KUO Jen‐Che , CHENG Jung‐Feng , CHEN Yu‐Lan , LIVNEH Hanoch , TSAI Tzung‐Yi 
Published: December 2011

AbstractAim:  Empathy is essential to optimal health care. The empathy of nurses, who make up the front line in patient care, merits particular attention. However, information on empathy among nurses is still limited. This study aimed to examine the nurses' empathy and correlates in Taiwan.Methods:  The study used a cross‐sectional correlational design with a convenience sampling method to recruit full‐time nurses from a hospital in southern Taiwan between May and November of 2010. A structured questionnaire was used to gather data on respondents' demographic and job characteristics and included a Chinese version of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy. Descriptive statistics, t‐tests, Pearson correlations, analysis of variance, and stepwise linear regression were used for analysis.Results:  Of a total of 740 questionnaires that were distributed, 675 valid copies were returned, for a response rate of 91.2%. After the exclusion of 15 cases because of missing data, 660 participants were included for data analysis. The mean empathy score for entire participants was 110.66. Those who received empathy‐related training, worked on a psychiatric ward, had children, and had more years of nursing work experience demonstrated significantly higher empathy scores. These four variables accounted for 22.0% of the variance in empathy among participants.Conclusions:  Our findings may help hospital administrators better understand the empathy level of nurses, and can serve as a reference in the design of appropriate in‐service training to improve empathy among nurses.
Intermediate‐conductance Ca2+‐activated potassium and volume‐sensitive chloride channels in endothelial progenitor cells from rat bone marrow mononuclear cells
Authors: Xu X. , Xia J. , Yang X. , Huang X. , Gao D. , Zhou J. , Lian J. , Zhou J. 
Published: December 2011

AbstractAimBone marrow endothelial progenitor cells (BMEPCs) are believed to be a promising cell source for regenerative medicine; however, their electrophysiology properties have not been fully clarified, which is important to the clinical application of BMEPCs. The current study was designed to determine the transmembrane ion currents and mRNA expression levels of related ion channel subunits in rat BMEPCs.MethodsBone marrow mononuclear cells were isolated by density gradient separation and cultured in EPC medium. The transmembrane ion currents were determined using whole‐cell patch‐voltage clamp technique, and the levels of mRNA and protein expressions of functional ionic channels were measured using RT‐PCR and western immunoblot analysis.ResultsWe observed two types of ionic currents in undifferentiated rat BMEPCs. One was Ca2+‐activated potassium current (Ikca), which was seen in approx. 90% of cells when 1 μm Ca2+ was employed in pipette solution, and it was predominantly inhibited by intermediate‐conductance Ikca inhibitor clotrimazole. The other one was volume‐sensitive chloride current (Icl), which was detected in 85.7% of cells when BMEPCs were subjected to K+‐free hypotonic extracellular solution, whose currents could be inhibited by 5‐nitro‐2‐(3‐phenylpropylamino) benzoic acid (NPPB). The corresponding ion channel genes and proteins, KCNN4 for Ikca and Clcn3 for Icl, were confirmed by RT‐PCR and western immunoblot analysis of BMEPCs.ConclusionOur results demonstrated for the first time that rat BMEPCs expressed intermediate‐conductance Ca2+‐activated potassium currents and volume‐sensitive chloride currents, and corresponding genes and proteins of these two channels are KCNN4 and Clcn3 respectively.
Tunku Abdul Rahman, Charisma, and the Nationalist Movement in Malaya, 1952–1957
Authors: Fernando Joseph M. 
Published: December 2011

AbstractThis article examines the role and importance of charisma in Tunku Abdul Rahman's leadership of the nationalist movement in Malaya in the 1950s. A Cambridge University‐educated prince from the northern state of Kedah, the Tunku turned a disparate group of communal political parties into a potent nationalist movement, the Alliance Party, which secured independence from Britain within five years of its formation. Previous studies have focused largely on his political leadership of the movement and have not examined the element of the Tunku's charisma in the nationalists' campaign. This article examines the political charisma of this leader in the context of recent theories of charisma. Historical evidence indicates that his personal appeal or charisma significantly influenced support for the Tunku's leadership of the nationalist movement, and, at a certain stage, he had almost a cult following. Some of the Tunku's strategies and actions were highly risky and even bordered on the irrational; yet, they were fully embraced by his supporters. The phenomenon of charisma is useful in attempting to understand political galvanisation, such as that instigated by the Tunku, in a way that other theories of political mobilisation (such as legal‐rational or traditional leadership) cannot. Drawing on a wide range of primary sources such as the Alliance Party documents and records of the Colonial Office, this article explores the Tunku's charisma as an explanatory factor in the rise of the nationalist movement in Malaya in the 1950s.
Multi‐Ethnic Parties in Bosnia‐Herzegovina: Naša Stranka and the Paradoxes of Postethnic Politics
Authors: Touquet Heleen 
Published: December 2011

AbstractTo what extent is political mobilisation across ethnic boundaries possible in states with highly ethnicised state structures? This article explores the opportunities and obstacles that activists in Bosnia‐Herzegovina meet when they seek to develop integrative discourses as a basis for political action. The first part of the article focuses on the role of multi‐ethnic parties in deeply divided societies. The second part develops alternative ideas on the obstacles facing multi‐ethnic parties in Bosnia, focusing on the case of Naša Stranka, a political party that was established by civil society actors. There are two conclusions to be drawn. First, despite the centrifugal nationalisms that seem to dominate the top political level, there are civil society actors in Bosnia who engage in integrative political mobilisation. Second, these actors face difficulties that go beyond the often‐cited problem of the tendency of the constitutional state structure to reify ethnic identities.
The Emergence of a New Form of Mexican Nationalism in San Antonio, Texas
Authors: Rangel‐Ortiz Luis Xavier 
Published: December 2011

AbstractThis article explores the role played by a growing community of Mexican national entrepreneurs who are crafting a new form of Mexican nationalism in San Antonio, Texas. This population of Mexican business people is growing in size and influence in the city. The experiences of Mexican entrepreneurs differ from understood forms of Mexican immigration and acculturation to the United States. They differ from previous waves of affluent groups of political and religious Mexican refugees that flourished in San Antonio from 1908 through the 1940s. The integration and cultural adaptation experiences of Mexican entrepreneurs represent a new form of Mexican nationalism that engages both Mexican and American nationalisms in a bidirectional acculturation process. Blending attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviours of both countries represent a new form of Mexican and American culture emerging in San Antonio at the beginning of the twenty‐first century. To better understand the experiences and dynamics of these business people, this study builds on Pierre Bourdieu's principles of capital and power.