bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
CD34‐derived human Langerhans cells stimulate a T helper type 2 response independently of extracellular‐signal‐regulated kinase phosphorylation
Authors: Duraisingham Sai S. , Hornig Julia , Gotch Frances , Patterson Steven 
Published: May 2010

SummaryDendritic cell (DC) subsets can mediate diverse responses, but little is known about the Toll‐like receptor (TLR) signalling pathways in different human DC subsets. Despite expressing many TLRs in common, we found that in vitro‐derived Langerhans cells (LCs) and monocyte‐derived DCs (moDCs) undergo differential signalling events following TLR stimulation. TLR‐stimulated LCs did not secrete interleukin (IL)‐12p70 and thus induced a T helper type 2 (Th2)‐biased response. moDCs secrete high levels of IL‐12p70 and induce a Th1 response. Stimulation of moDCs through TLR2 or TLR7/8 was able to induce phosphorylation of the mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) extracellular‐signal‐regulated kinase (ERK). However, phosphorylated ERK was not induced in TLR‐stimulated LCs, suggesting an ERK‐independent method of Th2 cell induction. Inhibition of p38 MAPK suppressed moDC maturation, but was much less effective at inhibiting LC maturation. Phosphatidylinositol‐3 kinase (PI3K) was also found to play a greater role in moDC survival compared with the LCs. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) arrays to compare the expression of signalling molecules in LCs and moDCs identified differences in TLR recognition molecules and cytokine response genes, suggesting that differential functional responses are probably mediated at the post‐transcriptional level. Thus we have described differences in LC and moDC responses to TLR stimulation, and have identified key differences in ERK phosphorylation and the involvement of MAPK and PI3K.
Prevalence of dietitian burnout
Authors: Gingras J. , De Jonge L.‐A. , Purdy N. 
Published: May 2010

AbstractBackground:  Burnout is the result of unmanaged stress that has been shown to affect those working in the healthcare professions. Although much research has been conducted on burnout among nurses, physicians and other health professionals, there is limited documentation on the phenomenon among dietitians. The purpose of this study was to establish the prevalence of burnout among dietitians in Ontario, Canada, determine the demographic variables associated with burnout, and compare these results with burnout data for other healthcare professionals.Methods:  The Maslach Burnout Inventory–Human Services Survey and a demographic questionnaire were emailed to registered dietitians.Results:  The dietitians surveyed experienced a moderate amount of emotional exhaustion (mean = 19.96), a low level of depersonalisation (mean = 4.31) and a moderate sense of personal accomplishment (mean = 38.61). Statistically significant relationships were found between years as a dietitian and personal accomplishment (r = 0.16; P = 0.05), age and personal accomplishment (r = 0.15; P = 0.01), hours worked per week and emotional exhaustion (r = 0.17; P = 0.01) and hours worked per week and depersonalisation (r = 0.14; P = 0.01). There were no significant differences in mean burnout scores across the five areas of practice. Over 57% of dietitians had scores indicative of moderate to high levels of burnout overall.Conclusions:  Although dietitians have lower levels of burnout compared to other healthcare professionals, moderate levels of emotional exhaustion and only moderate levels of personal accomplishment remain workplace issues for this professional group.
Changes in food neophobia and dietary habits of international students
Authors: Edwards J. S. A. , Hartwell H. L. , Brown L. 
Published: May 2010

AbstractBackground:  International study is becoming more prevalent, yet aspects such as food neophobia often militate against visiting students consuming a nutritionally balanced diet. The present study aimed to evaluate the extent to which international post‐graduate students experience food neophobia, how this might vary by nationality and other demographic characteristics, and how acculturation might manifest itself in students’ dietary behaviour.Methods:  International students (n = 228) attending a Masters course were invited to complete a validated food neophobia and dietary habits questionnaire during their first week at university. The questionnaire was subsequently re‐administered to the same students approximately 4 and 8 months later.Results:  In total, 226 usable responses were analysed (124, 58 and 44, respectively) for the first, second and final data collection. Perhaps surprisingly, the overall food neophobia scores increased from an mean (SD) initial value of 27.95 (16.95) to 33.67 (33.67) after 3 months, although, when comparing European and Asian students, only the former were significantly different (P < 0.05). Both Asian and European students reported small but not significant changes in their eating habits, although, after 3 months, significantly (P = <0.05) fewer changes were reported. No significant changes were reported in students’ perceived healthiness of their diets either by nationality or over time.Conclusions:  Understanding the complexities of food neophobia, other aspects of dietary change and at what point these changes might take place in the acculturation process when students arrive in the UK needs to be fully understood if a climate for positive learning is to be established.
An evaluation of a public health nutrition workforce development intervention for the nutrition and dietetics workforce
Authors: Palermo C. , Hughes R. , McCall L. 
Published: May 2010

AbstractBackground:  Workforce development is a key element for building the capacity to effectively address priority population nutrition issues. On‐the‐job learning and mentoring have been proposed as strategies for practice improvement in public health nutrition; however, there is limited evidence for their effectiveness.Methods:  An evaluation of a mentoring circle workforce development intervention was undertaken. Thirty‐two novice public health nutritionists participated in one of three mentoring circles for 2 h, every 6 weeks, over a 7‐month period. Pre‐ and post‐intervention qualitative (questionnaire, interview, mentor diary) and quantitative (competence, time working in public health nutrition) data were collected.Results:  The novice public health nutritionists explained the intervention facilitated sharing of ideas and strategies and promoted reflective practice. They articulated the important attributes of the mentor in the intervention as having experience in and a passion for public health, facilitating a trusting relationship and providing effective feedback. Participants reported a gain in competency and had an overall mean increase in self‐reported competence of 15% (range 3–48% change; P < 0.05) across a broad range of competency elements. Many participants described re‐orienting their practice towards population prevention, with quantifiable increases in work time allocated to preventive work post‐intervention.Conclusions:  Mentoring supported service re‐orientation and competency development in public health nutrition. The nature of the group learning environment and the role and qualities of the mentor were important elements contributing to the interventions effects. Mentoring circles offer a potentially effective strategy for workforce development in nutrition and dietetics.
Exploring assessment for learning during dietetic practice placements
Authors: Lennie S. C. , Juwah C. 
Published: May 2010

AbstractBackground:  Practice placement, which contributes to the development of professional skills and competencies, is an important component of dietetic pre‐registration education in the UK. The assessment of practice placement impacts on students’ experience and progression; however, currently, limited evidence‐based information about assessment methods and practice in dietetic placements exists. The present study aimed to investigate the assessment methods and practices utilised when providing pre‐registration dietetic practice placements.Method:  Using an online questionnaire survey of dietitians within Scottish National Health Service (NHS) dietetic departments, and a follow‐on telephone interview with Lead Trainers, the present study explored the assessment methods utilised by dietitians as well as areas of variability within NHS Boards. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and relationships were assessed using the chi‐square test, Kruskall–Wallis test and Spearmans’ correlation.Results:  One hundred and eleven fully‐completed questionnaires were analysed and fourteen departments participated in the follow‐on telephone interview. Over 80% respondents had greater than 2 years of involvement in student training. To assess student performance, departments used between 5–16 and 6–16 assessment tools for placements B and C, respectively. Significant correlations between staff training and knowledge of how to apply assessment tools support a need for robust staff training in assessment matters. The majority (87%) of respondents positively favour standardisation of assessment via the development of national assessment tools.Conclusions:  The findings obtained in the present study confirm that there is a wide variation in assessment practices by dietitians. The development of standardised assessments and tools within dietetic practice placements, in terms of parity in numbers and methods of assessment, would ensure equity and fairness for students.
Sex dependence of brain size and shape in bipolar disorder: an exploratory study
Authors: Mackay Clare E , Roddick Elina , Barrick Thomas R , Lloyd Adrian J , Roberts Neil , Crow Tim J , Young Allan H , Ferrier I Nicol 
Published: May 2010

Mackay CE, Roddick E, Barrick TR, Lloyd AJ, Roberts N, Crow TJ, Young AH, Ferrier IN. Sex dependence of brain size and shape in bipolar disorder: an exploratory study. Bipolar Disord 2010: 12: 306–311. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.Objectives:  Anomalies of asymmetry and sex differences in brain structure have frequently been described in schizophrenic illnesses but have seldom been explored in bipolar disorder.Methods:  We measured volumes of the left and right frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes and computed the magnitude of brain torque (i.e., rightward frontal and leftward occipital asymmetry) for 49 patients with bipolar disorder and 47 healthy controls and performed an exploratory analysis of sex differences in patients and controls.Results:  Patients had significantly greater cerebrospinal fluid volume than controls, but no difference in total brain volume. There were no main effects of diagnosis in gray matter lobe volume or brain torque, but when analyses were performed separately for male and female subjects, significant sex‐by‐diagnosis interactions were found in the volume of the left frontal, left temporal, right parietal, and right occipital lobes, such that male patients with bipolar disorder tend toward larger, more symmetric brains than male controls, whereas female patients tend toward smaller, more asymmetric brains than female controls.Conclusion:  The lateralised nature of these interactions was such that the normal sex difference in volume was significantly accentuated, whilst the normal sex difference in asymmetry tended to be diminished in patients with bipolar disorder. We conclude that bipolar disorder in part reflects an interaction between brain growth and sex along the anterior‐posterior axis of the human brain.
The longitudinal course of bipolar disorder as revealed through weekly text messaging: a feasibility study
Authors: Bopp Jedediah M , Miklowitz David J , Goodwin Guy M , Stevens Will , Rendell Jennifer M , Geddes John R 
Published: May 2010

Bopp JM, Miklowitz DJ, Goodwin GM, Stevens W, Rendell JM, Geddes JR. The longitudinal course of bipolar disorder as revealed through weekly text messaging: a feasibility study. Bipolar Disord 2010: 12: 327–334. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.Objectives:  To examine the feasibility of collecting course of illness data from patients with bipolar I and II disorder, using weekly text‐messaged mood ratings, and to examine the time trajectory of symptom ratings based on this method of self‐report.Methods:  A total of 62 patients with bipolar I (n = 47) or II (n = 15) disorder provided mood data in response to weekly cell phone text messages (n = 54) or e‐mail prompts (n = 8). Participants provided weekly ratings using the Altman Self‐Rating Mania Scale and the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptoms–Self Report. Patients with bipolar I and II disorder, and men and women, were compared on percentages of time in depressive or manic mood states over up to two years.Results:  Participants provided weekly ratings over an average of 36 (range 1–92) weeks. Compliance with the procedure was 75%. Overall, participants reported depressive symptoms 47.7% of the time compared to 7% of entries reflecting manic symptoms, 8.8% reflecting both depressive and manic symptoms, and 36.5% reflecting euthymic mood. Participants with bipolar I disorder reported more days of depression and were less likely to improve with time than participants with bipolar II disorder. Gender differences observed at the beginning of the study were not observed at follow‐up.Conclusions:  The results are similar to those of other longitudinal studies of bipolar disorder that use traditional retrospective, clinician‐gathered mood data. Text‐message‐based symptom monitoring during routine follow‐up may be a reliable alternative to in‐person interviews.
Retinal haemorrhages in inflicted traumatic brain injury: the ophthalmologist in court
Authors: Vincent Andrea L , Kelly Patrick 
Published: May 2010

AbstractChild abuse is a significant social and public health problem in many societies. One particular form of physical abuse is inflicted traumatic brain injury (ITBI) – the so‐called ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome‘. One of the key features associated with ITBI is characteristic ocular findings – only observed on fundal examination. It is crucial not to miss the diagnosis of ITBI as there may be implications for the safety of the child. The ophthalmologist is one key contributor to the process required to make the diagnosis of ITBI accurately and on the basis of all the relevant evidence. This article discusses some medicolegal implications of examining a child with retinal haemorrhages in the context of suspected ITBI, with practical advice for the ophthalmologist to be as objective and prepared as possible. The scientific validity of some alternative explanations advanced in court is discussed, with a strong emphasis on the literature.
Successful treatment of infantile haemangiomas of the orbit with propranolol
Authors: Li Yi‐Chiao , McCahon Emma , Rowe Neil A , Martin Peter A , Wilcsek Geoffrey A , Martin Frank J 
Published: May 2010

AbstractBackground:  Propranolol is a novel therapeutic agent in the treatment of cutaneous infantile haemangiomas. We assessed the effect of propranolol therapy in infantile haemangiomas of the orbit.Methods:  A case series of four patients with orbital infantile haemangiomas were referred for management in our tertiary referral hospitals. Two of the patients had inadequate responses to prior corticosteroid therapy. One of the patients was commenced on propranolol at 2.5 years of age when the lesion was not in the proliferative phase. This represented the first case report of propranolol treatment for infantile haemangioma outside infancy. The other three children were in their infancy when propranolol was commenced. The patients were treated with oral propranolol.Results:  All patients had significant improvement in their physical appearance, ocular examination findings and size of their lesions on radiological evaluation. No side‐effects of propranolol treatment were observed.Conclusions:  Propranolol is a promising treatment against infantile haemangiomas in the orbit, not only in infants but also in an older child with a stable lesion.
Interpretation of the prostate‐specific antigen history in assessing life‐threatening prostate cancer
Authors: Kettermann Anna E. , Ferrucci Luigi , Trock Bruce J. , Metter E. Jeffrey , Loeb Stacy , Carter H. Ballentine 
Published: May 2010

Study Type – Diagnosis (validating cohort) Level of Evidence 1bOBJECTIVETo present an effective approach to the early detection of lethal prostate cancer using longitudinal data on prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) and its rate of change, i.e. PSA velocity (PSAV). This longitudinal approach might also be extendible to other biomarkers.SUBJECTS AND METHODSPSAV was calculated using five techniques for 634 subjects with at least three PSA measurements in a longitudinal ageing study, censoring PSA levels of >10 ng/mL. The efficacy for predicting death from prostate cancer was assessed with concordance indices and by using net reclassification improvement (NRI), which indicated the net increase in sensitivity and specificity when adding a biomarker to a base Cox proportional hazards model. The PSAV techniques were compared for the 5–10 years before the clinical diagnosis of prostate cancer. The most effective technique was then applied at the transition point when each man’s PSA history curve transformed from linear to exponentially increasing, and its predictive value was compared to that of concurrent PSA level.RESULTSA PSA transition point was found in 522 (82%) of the 634 men, including all 11 who died from prostate cancer. At the transition point, the mean PSA level was 1.4 ng/mL, and PSAV but not PSA level was significantly higher among men who died from prostate cancer than among men who did not (P= 0.021 vs P= 0.112; Wilcoxon two‐sample test). At the transition point, adding PSAV to a base model consisting of age and date of diagnosis improved the concordance index by 0.05, and significantly improved the overall sensitivity and specificity (NRI, P= 0.028), while adding PSA level to the same base model resulted in little improvement (concordance index increase <0.01 and NRI P= 0.275).CONCLUSIONWhen the shape of a man’s PSA history curve changes from linear to exponential, PSAV might help in the early identification of life‐threatening prostate cancer at a time when PSA values are still low in most men.
Dreaming of a Smallholding
Authors: Blekesaune Arild , Haugen Marit S. , Villa Mariann 
Published: May 2010

AbstractThe article examines a phenomenon associated with the rural idyll – the dream of becoming the owner of a smallholding in the countryside. Much research and policy concern in Norway have focused upon rural–urban migration trends and the consequences of the urbanisation process on the sustainability of rural communities. Less attention has been given to the counter trend, that is, urban dwellers searching for a better quality of life in the countryside. The article is based on data from a Norwegian national survey and analyses a question measuring respondents' interest in buying a smallholding. The analysis involves an estimation of a regression model to determine which demographic, socioeconomic and attitudinal variables influence people's interest in buying a smallholding. Further, we were interested in their plans for the smallholding (farming, residence, second home) and the kind of influences these potential new smallholding owners might have on rural communities. Three categories of potential smallholders are identified: aspiring farmers, country‐life lovers and recreation seekers. The results indicate that those who live in urban areas are more interested in buying a smallholding than those already living in rural areas.
Mobility Demands and Participation in Remote Rural Areas
Authors: Osti Giorgio 
Published: May 2010

AbstractAlthough some rural areas of Italy are close to the country's most developed regions, in recent decades they have entered demographic decline: today, these areas are characterised by very high percentages of old people and very small numbers of family members. In some mountain villages the relational web is so weak as to represent a severe form of exclusion. Increasing virtual and physical mobility is seen as an answer to depopulation and marginality. The article seeks to verify the plausibility of the idea that mobility organisation can improve the traditional policies of territorial development by placing more emphasis on the involvement of the local population in transport services. To this end, it constructs a typology of rural areas on the basis of Kaufmann's categories of connectivity and reversibility. These ideal types are then used to analyse the trends and chances of mobility in remote Italian rural areas.
Formulation and stability of a novel artificial sebum under conditions of storage and use
Authors: Stefaniak Aleksandr B. , Harvey Christopher J. , Wertz Philip W. 
Published: May 2010

SynopsisMaterials in contact with liquids on the human skin surface may dissolve and permeate into skin. Release and permeation of chemicals in contact with skin is often estimated in vitro using artificial skin liquids, although sebum lipids are generally not included in these models. The purposes of this research were to develop a representative artificial sebum that contains the appropriate types of lipids at levels that match human values and quantitatively characterize the model to understand its utility for in vitro testing. Artificial sebum that consisted of 10 lipids at proportions that closely resembled human sebum was characterized using thin layer chromatography under a variety of storage and use conditions (dry and liquid, 4°C and 32°C, with and without vitamin E) for 28 days. Levels of sebum constituents maintained in solution and dry at 4°C were stable through the duration of the test period. Levels of all sebum lipids maintained dry at 32°C were stable in the presence of vitamin E; however, squalene oxidized rapidly in the absence of vitamin E. Liquids on the human skin surface consist of sebum and sweat with minor amounts of cellular debris and intercellular lipid from the stratum corneum. The relative importance of each component for release of chemicals from materials in contact with skin will depend upon the type of material (metal, organic, etc.). A model artificial sebum was formulated and characterized to aid researchers in understanding potential release of chemicals from materials in contact with skin and subsequent partitioning and absorption.
Are language and social communication intact in children with congenital visual impairment at school age?
Authors: Tadić Valerie , Pring Linda , Dale Naomi 
Published: May 2010

Background:  Development of children with congenital visual impairment (VI) has been associated with vulnerable socio‐communicative outcomes often bearing striking similarities to those of sighted children with autism.1 To date, very little is known about language and social communication in children with VI of normal intelligence.Methods:  We examined the presentation of language and social communication of 15 children with VI and normal‐range verbal intelligence, age 6–12 years, using a standardised language assessment and parental reports of everyday social and communicative behaviours. Their profiles were compared to those of typically developing sighted children of similar age and verbal ability.Results:  Compared to their sighted peers, and relative to their own good and potentially superior structural language skills, children with VI showed significantly poorer use of language for social purposes. Pragmatic language weaknesses were a part of a broader socio‐communicative profile of difficulties, present in a substantial proportion of these children and consistent with the pattern found in sighted children with autism.Conclusions:  There are ongoing socio‐communicative and pragmatic language difficulties in children with congenital VI at school age, despite their good intellectual abilities and advanced linguistic skills. Further research is required to unpack the underlying causes and factors maintaining this vulnerability in such children.