bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Nosocomial Acquisition of Pertussis Diagnosed by Polymerase Chain Reaction
Authors: Matlow Anne G. , Nelson Sue , Wray Rick , Cox Peter 
Published: September 2009

AbstractAwareness is growing of the role of pertussis infection among adolescents and adults, and of the possibility of nosocomial transmission. However, pertussis remains difficult to diagnose. We report a case of nosocomially acquired pertussis in a healthcare worker, diagnosed by polymerase chain reaction. The high sensitivity and rapid turnaround time for this test is useful to confirm the diagnosis when advising a healthcare worker to refrain from working.
Occupational Blood Exposures in Dentistry: A Decade in Review
Authors: Cleveland Jennifer L. , Gooch Barbara F. , Lockwood Stuart A. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractThis review summarizes data from self-reported and observational studies describing the nature, frequency, and circumstances of occupational blood exposures among US dental workers between 1986 and 1995. These studies suggest that, among US dentists, percutaneous injuries have declined steadily over the 10-year period. Data also suggest that, in 1995, most dental workers (dentists, hygienists, assistants, and oral surgeons) experienced approximately three injuries per year. Work practices (eg, using an instrument instead of fingers to retract tissue), safer instrumentation or design (eg, self-sheathing needles, changes in dental-unit design), and continued worker education may reduce occupational blood exposures in dentistry further.
Disinfection of Hospital Rooms Contaminated With Vancomycin-Resistant Entemcocms faecium
Authors: Byers Karin E. , Durbin Lisa J. , Simonton Barbara M. , Anglim Anne M. , Adal Karim A. , Farr Barry M. 
Published: September 2009

ABSTRACTSixteen percent of hospital room surfaces remained colonized by vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) after routine terminal disinfection. Disinfection with a new "bucket method" resulted in uniformly negative cultures. Conventional cleaning took an average of 2.8 disinfections to eradicate VRE from a hospital room, while only one cleaning was required with the bucket method.
Antimicrobial Use and Resistance in Eight US Hospitals: Complexities of Analysis and Modeling
Authors: Monnet Dominique L. , Archibald Lennox K. , Phillips Lisa , Tenover Fred C. , McGowan John E. , Gaynes Robert P. ,   Intensive Care Antimicrobial Resistance Epidemiology Project and the National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance System Hospitals
Published: September 2009

AbstractOBJECTIVE:To evaluate the relation between antimicrobial use and resistance in intensive-care unit (ICU) and non-ICU inpatient areas in eight US hospitals.METHODS:We determined antimicrobial use in terms of defined daily doses, antimicrobial-use density (defined daily doses/1,000 patient days), and percentage resistance for five antimicrobial-organism combinations in the ICU and non-ICU inpatient areas of eight US hospitals participating in project Intensive Care Antimicrobial Resistance Epidemiology.RESULTS:Antimicrobial resistance and use varied tremendously among the eight hospitals. Antimicrobial resistance among these five nosocomial pathogens was significantly higher within the inpatient setting of these hospitals, compared with the outpatient setting. One hospital consistently ranked highest for use of all classes of antimicrobials examined. High antimicrobial use was not associated necessarily with high resistance for a particular antimicrobial-organism pair.CONCLUSION:Antimicrobial use varied significantly across these hospitals, but generally was higher in ICUs. These results suggest that concomitant surveillance of both antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial use is helpful in interpreting antimicrobial resistance in a hospital or ICU and that further analysis is required to determine the role of variables other than antimicrobial use in a statistical model for predicting antimicrobial resistance.
First Report of “Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum” in Pepper Plants in México
Authors: Munyaneza J. E. , Sengoda V. G. , Crosslin J. M. , Garzón-Tiznado J. A. , Cardenas-Valenzuela O. G. 
Published: September 2009

Bell pepper (Capsicum annuum) plants exhibiting symptoms that resembled those of potato psyllid (Bactericera cockerelli Sulc) damage and “Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum” infection (2) were observed in a pepper field in La Cruz de Elota, Sinaloa, México in March 2009, with an infection rate of 1.5%. Plants exhibited chlorotic or pale green apical growth and leaf cupping, sharp tapering of the leaf apex, shortened internodes, and an overall stunting (2). Total DNA was extracted from the top whole leaf tissue of nine symptomatic and five asymptomatic pepper plants with cetyltrimethylammoniumbromide (CTAB) buffer (3,4). Seven and eight of the nine selected symptomatic pepper plants yielded the expected 1,168-bp 16S rDNA and the expected 669-bp rplJ/rplL ribosomal protein gene amplicons with the “Ca. L. solanacearum” specific OA2/OI2c and CL514F/CL514R primer pairs, respectively, indicating the presence of liberibacter (2,4). Nucleic acid from asymptomatic pepper plants yielded no products with these primers. Three amplicons generated from symptomatic pepper plants with each primer pair were cloned into pCRII-TOPO plasmid vectors (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA) and three clones of each amplicon were sequenced in both directions (ACGT, Inc., Wheeling, IL). BLAST analysis of the 16S rDNA consensus sequence (GenBank Accession No. FJ957896) showed 100% identity to 16S rDNA sequences of “Ca. L. solanacearum” amplified from Solanum betaceum (EU935004) and S. lycopersicum (EU834130) from New Zealand (2), and “Ca. L. psyllaurous” from potato psyllids (EU812559) (1). The ribosomal protein gene consensus sequence (GenBank Accession No. FJ957894) was 100% identical to the analogous rplJ and rplL “Ca. L. solanacearum” ribosomal protein gene sequence amplified from S. lycopersicum (EU834131) from New Zealand (2) and to ‘Ca. Liberibacter’ sp. sequence amplified from zebra chip-infected potato tubers from Lancaster, CA (FJ498803). To our knowledge, this is the first report of “Ca. L. solanacearum” associated with bell pepper in México. “Ca. L. solanacearum” was first reported in tomato and pepper plants in 2008 in New Zealand, where it has resulted in plant decline and significant yield loss, resulting in millions of dollars in losses to the commercial glasshouse tomato and pepper industry (2). Zebra chip, a new and emerging potato disease associated with ‘Ca. Liberibacter’ sp., was first identified in México in 1994, where it has caused significant economic damage, often leading to abandonment of entire potato fields (3,4). References: (1) A. K. Hansen et al. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74:5862, 2008. (2) L. W. Liefting et al. Plant Dis. 93:208, 2009. (3) J. E. Munyaneza et al. J. Econ. Entomol. 100:656, 2007. (4) J. E. Munyaneza et al. Plant Dis. 93:552, 2009.
Aneuploidy and DNA fragmentation in morphologically abnormal sperm
Authors: Tang S. S. , Gao H. , Zhao Y. , Ma S. 
Published: September 2009

SummaryIn light of the relative success of ICSI in the treatment of male infertility, much importance has been made to the selection of morphologically viable sperm. However, correlation between specific sperm morphology and chromosomal abnormalities is still relatively limited and less is known about the connection between sperm morphology and DNA integrity. Sperm obtained from isolated teratozoospermic men (n = 10) and control men (n = 9) were analysed using FISH (for chromosomes 13, 18, 21, X and Y) and TUNEL assays to determine the level of aneuploidy and DNA fragmentation. Sperm morphology was evaluated on its ability to identify the level of chromosomal abnormalities or fragmented DNA in sperm. Sperm from teratozoospermic men, compared with fertile men, had higher rates of total chromosomal abnormality (p < 0.05), total aneuploidy (p < 0.01) and chromosome 13 disomy (p < 0.01). Associations between particular types of sperm morphology and chromosomal abnormalities were observed in both control (tapered heads) and teratozoospermic (amorphous heads and tail abnormalities) samples. Levels of DNA fragmented sperm were higher in teratozoospermic men than in the control men (60.28 ± 21.40% vs. 32.40 ± 17.20%, p < 0.05) and positively correlated to sperm with bent necks in control samples and round heads in teratozoospermic samples (p < 0.05). Sperm of isolated teratozoospermic men have higher rates of chromosomal abnormalities and DNA fragmentation than that of the fertile controls. Specific abnormal sperm morphology can be correlated to chromosomal abnormalities and level of DNA fragmentation in sperm.
Random Forest characterization of upland vegetation and management burning from aerial imagery
Authors: Chapman Daniel S. , Bonn Aletta , Kunin William E. , Cornell Stephen J. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractAim The upland moorlands of Great Britain form distinctive landscapes of international conservation importance, comprising mosaics of heathland, acid grassland, blanket bog and bracken. Much of this landscape is managed by rotational burning to create gamebird habitat and there is concern over whether this is driving long‐term changes in upland vegetation communities. However, the inaccessibility and scale of uplands means that monitoring changes in vegetation and burning practices is difficult. We aim to overcome this problem by developing methods to classify aerial imagery into high‐resolution maps of dominant vegetation cover, including the distribution of burns on managed grouse moors.Location Peak District National Park, England, UK.Methods Colour and infrared aerial photographs were classified into seven dominant land‐cover classes using the Random Forest ensemble machine learning algorithm. In addition, heather (Calluna vulgaris) was further differentiated into growth phases, including sites that were newly burnt. We then analysed the distributions of the vegetation classes and managed burning using detrended correspondence analysis.Results Classification accuracy wasc. 95% and produced a 5‐m resolution map for 514 km2of moorland. Cover classes were highly aggregated and strong nonlinear effects of elevation and slope and weaker effects of aspect and bedrock type were evident in structuring moorland vegetation communities. The classification revealed the spatial distribution of managed burning and suggested that relatively steep areas may be disproportionately burnt.Main conclusions Random Forest classification of aerial imagery is an efficient method for producing high‐resolution maps of upland vegetation. These may be used to monitor long‐term changes in vegetation and management burning and infer species–environment relationships and can therefore provide an important tool for effective conservation at the landscape scale.
Prevalence of vision, hearing, and combined vision and hearing impairments in patients with hip fractures
Authors: Grue Else Vengnes , Kirkevold Marit , Ranhoff Anette Hylen 
Published: September 2009

Aims and objectives. To examine the prevalence of hearing and vision impairments in 65+ year‐old patients with hip fractures.Background. Many older people believe sensory problems are inevitable and thus avoid medical assessment and assistance. Furthermore, health professionals often overlook sensory problems, though it is known that sensory impairments can increase the risk of falling and sustaining hip fractures.Design. A prospective, observational study.Methods. We admitted 544 consecutive patients to an orthogeriatric ward from October 2004–July 2006; 332 were screened for study inclusion with the Resident Assessment Instrument for Acute Care (InterRAI‐AC) and a questionnaire (KAS‐Screen). We conducted patient interviews, objective assessments, explored hospital records and interviewed the family and staff. Impairments were defined as problems with seeing, reading regular print or hearing normal speech.Results. Sixteen per cent of the patients had no sensory impairments, 15·4% had vision impairments, 38·6% had hearing impairments and 30·1% had combined sensory impairments. Among the impaired, 80·6% were female, the mean age was 84·3 years (SD 6·8), 79·9% were living alone, 48·0% had cognitive impairments, 89·6% had impaired activities of daily living, 70·6% had impaired instrument activities in daily living, 51·0% had bladder incontinence and 26·.8% were underweight. Comorbidity and polypharmacy were common. Delirium was detected in 17·9% on day three after surgery. Results showed the prevalence of combined sensory impairments was: 32·8% none; 52·2% moderate/severe; and 15·1% severe.Conclusion. Patients with hip fractures frequently have hearing, vision and combined impairments.Relevance to clinical practice. We recommend routine screening for sensory impairments in patients with hip fractures. Most sensory problems can be treated or relieved with environmental adjustments. Patients should be encouraged to seek treatment and training for adapting to sensory deficiencies. This approach may reduce the number of falls and improve the ability to sustain independent living.
Sense of coherence—a determinant of quality of life over time in older female acute myocardial infarction survivors
Authors: Norekvål Tone M , Fridlund Bengt , Moons Philip , Nordrehaug Jan E , Sævareid Hans I , Wentzel‐Larsen Tore , Hanestad Berit R 
Published: September 2009

Aims. To determine the relationships between different sense of coherence levels and quality of life, and in older female myocardial infarction survivors; to investigate how socio‐demographic, clinical characteristics, sense of coherence self‐reported symptoms and function affect quality of life; and to determine whether sense of coherence and quality of life are stable during a six‐month follow‐up.Background. Myocardinal infraction confers new physical and mental challenges. However, research on sense of coherence and other factors involved in maintaining physical, psychosocial and environmental aspects of quality of life in older female myocardinal infraction survivors is scant.Design. Survey.Methods. A postal survey was conducted of 145 women, aged 62–80 years, three months to five years after myocardial infarction (T1), with a follow‐up after six months (T2). Self‐reported socio‐demographic and clinical data and hospital medical records data were collected. The sense of coherence scale (SOC‐29) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument Abbreviated (WHOQOL‐BREF) were used.Results. We found a significant difference in quality of life between weak, moderate, and strong sense of coherence groups (p<0·001). Sense of coherence contributed to the level of all quality of life domains (p<0·001). Several clinical characteristics contributed to quality of life: (1) physical domain: comorbidities (p<0·001), previous myocardial infarction (p = 0·013), ejection fraction (p<0·011), length of hospital stay (p = 0·005) symptoms and function (p<0·001); (2) psychological domain: previous myocardial infarction (p = 0·031) and symptoms and function (p<0·001); and (3) environmental domain: education (p = 0·033) and symptoms and function (p = 0·003). On group level, both sense of coherence and quality of life were stable. Experiencing specific health changes (p<0·001), not major life events, influenced quality of life during the six‐month follow‐up.Conclusion. Sense of coherence was an important stable determinant of quality of life domains in female myocardial infarction survivors. Although other factors were identified, further research is needed to elucidate additional determinants of quality of life.Relevance to clinical practice. These specific factors could guide clinicians in making treatment decisions that optimize the quality of life of their patients. Applying a salutogenic perspective through patient education may be important.
Development and implementation of a noise reduction intervention programme: a pre‐ and postaudit of three hospital wards
Authors: Richardson Annette , Thompson Abigail , Coghill Elaine , Chambers Iain , Turnock Chris 
Published: September 2009

Aims.  By developing, implementing and delivering a noise reduction intervention programme, we aimed to attempt to reduce the high noise levels on inpatient wards.Background.  Sleep is essential for human survival and sleep deprivation is detrimental to health and well being. Exposure to noise has been found to disrupt sleep in hospitalised patients which is to be expected as noise levels have been measured and reported as high.Design.  A primarily nursing focused, multi‐method approach, involving development of clinical guidelines, ward environment review and a staff noise awareness and education programme, was used to target mainly nursing staff plus other healthcare staff on three wards within one hospital.Methods.  This practice development initiative was carried out in three key phases (1) Preaudit of ward noise levels, (2) The development, implementation and delivery of a noise reduction intervention programme, (3) Postaudit of ward noise levels.Results.  Preintervention average peak decibel levels over 24 hours were found to be 96·48 dB(A) and postintervention average peak decibel levels were measured at 77·52 dB(A), representing an overall significant reduction in noise levels (p < 0·001).Conclusions.  This study describes one way to reduce peak noise levels on inpatient hospital wards.Relevance to clinical practice.  Sleep deprivation is detrimental to patients with acute illness, so any developments to improve patients’ sleep are important. Nurses have a key role in leading, developing and implementing changes to reduce peak noise levels on inpatient wards in hospitals. This nurse‐led practice development programme has demonstrated how improvements can be achieved by significantly reducing peak noise levels using simple multi‐method change strategies.
Functional impairment severity is associated with health status among older persons with intellectual disability and cerebral palsy*
Authors: Henderson C. M. , Rosasco M. , Robinson L. M. , Meccarello J. , Janicki M. P. , Turk M. A. , Davidson P. W. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractBackground  Studies have noted high rates of specific health disorders in adults with cerebral palsy (CP). However, it remains unclear how growing older with a lifelong neuromotor physical disability confers risk for health outcomes in adults who have both intellectual disability (ID) and CP.Aim  To assess the relationship between health status in older adults with ID either with or without coincident diagnoses of CP.Method  Health status data were drawn from 1373 adults aged 33 to 79 years with ID living in small group homes in New York State. Their health status was defined by the presence of common health disorders. Of these, 177 subjects had coincident CP. Prevalence data for nine diseases representing different organ systems were obtained and compared in individuals with and without CP. A Severity of Functional Impairment Index (SFII) was developed based on subjects' capabilities in activities of daily living (ADLs) and mobility. Two logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine if CP diagnosis was an independent predictor of health disorder prevalence, or rather exerted effects similar to those without CP via severity of functional impairment as determined by SFII scores. In addition, older age, gender, and severity of intellectual disability were examined as predictors of health disorder prevalence in all study subjects.Results  Individuals with CP had higher frequencies in four out of the nine health disorders (overweight/obesity, gastroesophageal reflux, urinary tract infections and dysphagia). Analysis revealed a statistically significant association between SFII score and CP diagnosis. CP diagnosis alone was a statistically significant predictor for all of the above four common disorders; however, after adjustment for SFII score was included in health disorder models, only dysphagia showed an independent correlation with a CP diagnosis.Conclusion  With the exception of dysphagia, impairment in ADLs and walking capabilities, and not CP diagnosis alone, accounted for disparities in specific diseases. Although the diagnosis of CP may be correlated with functional impairment, it alone may play a minor role in determining health trajectories in older persons with conjoint ID and CP.
Goal achievement as a patient‐generated outcome measure for stress urinary incontinence
Authors: Milne Jill L. , Robert Magali , Tang Selphee , Drummond Neil , Ross Sue 
Published: September 2009

AbstractObjectives  To explore women’s goals and goal attainment for the conservative and surgical treatment of stress urinary incontinence (SUI), and to examine the feasibility of Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) as an outcome measure in this population.Background  Despite the range of treatments for SUI, little is known about the outcomes patients consider important. Current instruments measure the impact of SUI on the ability to live a ‘normal’ life without addressing what normal looks like for the patient. Patient‐generated measures that address what a patient aims to achieve may fill this gap.Design  A mixed‐methods exploratory design combined semi‐structured interviews with validated questionnaires and individualized rating of goal achievement.Setting and participants  Participants with SUI (n = 18) were interviewed in their homes prior to initiation of treatment and 3–6 months afterwards.Main variables  Participants reported individualized goals pre‐treatment and rated goal attainment after surgical and conservative therapy. Quality of life impact and change were measured using short forms of the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire and Urinary Distress Inventory.Results  Women expressed a median of four highly individualized treatment‐related goals but goal achievement following conservative treatment was poor. GAS was not feasible as an outcome measure; women readily identified personal goals but could not independently identify graded levels of attainment for each goal.Conclusions  Although further work is needed to examine the most feasible, valid, and reliable method of measuring goal achievement in research, asking patients with UI to identify pre‐treatment goals may provide useful information to guide treatment‐related decision making.
Cooperation as a volunteer’s dilemma and the strategy of conflict in public goods games
Authors: ARCHETTI M. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractConflict and cooperation for the exploitation of public goods are usually modelled as an N‐person prisoner’s dilemma. Many social dilemmas, however, would be described more properly as a volunteer’s dilemma, in which a certain number of individuals are necessary to produce a public good. If volunteering is costly, but so is failure to produce the public good, cheaters can invade and form a stable mixed equilibrium with cooperators. The dilemma is that the benefit for the group decreases with group size because the larger the group is, the less likely it is that someone volunteers. This problem persists even in the presence of a high degree of relatedness between group members. This model provides precise, testable predictions for the stability of cooperation. It also suggests a counterintuitive but practical solution for this kind of social dilemmas: increasing the damage resulting from the failure to produce the public good increases the probability that the public good is actually produced. Adopting a strategy that entails a deliberate risk (brinkmanship), therefore, can lead to a benefit for the society without being detrimental for the individual.