bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Dendritic network structure constrains metacommunity properties in riverine ecosystems
Authors: Brown B. L. , Swan C. M. 
Published: February 2010

Summary 1. Increasingly, ecologists conceptualize local communities as connected to a regional species pool rather than as isolated entities. By this paradigm, community structure is determined through the relative strengths of dispersal‐driven regional effects and local environmental factors. However, despite explicit incorporation of dispersal, metacommunity models and frameworks often fail to capture the realities of natural systems by not accounting for the configuration of space within which organisms disperse. This shortcoming may be of particular consequence in riverine networks which consist of linearly ‐arranged, hierarchical, branching habitat elements. Our goal was to understand how constraints of network connectivity in riverine systems change the relative importance of local vs. regional factors in structuring communities. 2. We hypothesized that communities in more isolated headwaters of riverine networks would be structured by local forces, while mainstem sections would be structured by both local and regional processes. We examined these hypotheses using a spatially explicit regional analysis of riverine macroinvertebrate communities, focusing on change in community similarity with distance between local communities [i.e., distance‐decay relationships; (DDRs)], and the change in environmental similarity with distance. Strong DDRs frequently indicate dispersal‐driven dynamics. 3. There was no evidence of a DDR in headwater communities, supporting our hypothesis that dispersal is a weak structuring force. Furthermore, a positive relationship between community similarity and environmental similarity supported dynamics driven by local environmental factors (i.e., species sorting). In mainstem habitats, significant DDRs and community × environment similarity relationships suggested both dispersal‐driven and environmental constraints on local community structure (i.e., mass effects). 4. We used species traits to compare communities characterized by low vs. high dispersal taxa. In headwaters, neither strength nor mode (in‐network vs. out of network) of dispersal changed our results. However, outcomes in mainstems changed substantially with both dispersal mode and strength, further supporting the hypothesis that regional forces drive community dynamics in mainstems. 5. Our findings demonstrate that the balance of local and regional effects changes depending on location within riverine network with local (environmental) factors dictating community structure in headwaters, and regional (dispersal driven) forces dominating in mainstems.
Religiosity influences on bereavement adjustments of older widows in Taiwan
Authors: Shih Shaw‐Nin , Turale Sue , Shih Fu‐Jin , Tsai Jen‐Chen 
Published: February 2010

Aims.  To describe difficulties encountered by older widows in Taiwan and the impact of intrinsic or extrinsic religiosity on their coping strategies during early widowhood.Background.  There is very limited information about how Taiwan’s widows cope with their bereavement and no studies reporting the relationship between religious beliefs and healthy adjustment during this distressing period.Design.  Between‐method qualitative and quantitative triangulation was used. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted and transcribed data were analysed by critical thematic analysis.Results.  Twenty women in Taiwan, >65 years old, (mean = 72·95) were interviewed within three years of being widowed. There were two informant groups: those with intrinsic religious beliefs and those with extrinsic religious beliefs. They all reported intrapersonal and interpersonal problems. Several major coping strategies arose: ‘practising positive or negative attitudes for adaptation’; ‘using person‐focused actions’; and ‘taking the initiative or passively seeking help from others or helping others’. Informants with intrinsic religious beliefs reported fewer coping problems by holding positive attitudes and taking multiple actions for adaptation. The extrinsic religious group had more negative adaptation attitudes, such as withdrawal and low self‐esteem and practised less faith religious activities in worshipping ancestors, experiencing fatalism and using divination. They reported more coping problems than the intrinsic religious group.Conclusion.  Widows in Taiwan have different coping problems and strategies in postbereavement adjustment, affected by their different religious beliefs systems. More research is required to establish the generalisabilty of these findings.Relevance to clinical practice.  Widows in Taiwan need to be assessed for their religious belief systems and how this affects their ability to cope during bereavement. Clinicians should actively provide grief support and encourage new methods of social adaptation, especially with widows with extrinsic religious beliefs who may have less self‐esteem and negative adaptation behaviours.
Gender differences in physical activity and its determinants in rural adults in Korea
Authors: Kim Hyun Kyung , Kim Mi Ja , Park Chang Gi , Kim Hyeon Ok 
Published: February 2010

Aim.  This study aimed to examine gender differences in physical activity and its determinants among rural adults in Korea.Background.  Only limited studies exist that examined gender differences in physical activity in Korean adults. Major determinants for physical activity such as self‐efficacy, benefits and barriers have been studied, but little is known about their gender differences. Nurses promoting and teaching adults to increase physical activity need data for evidence‐based practice.Design.  A cross‐sectional descriptive design was used.Method.  Participants were 481 adults living in a rural area of Korea. The physical activity status, exercise self‐efficacy, benefits, barriers and sociodemographics were compared between men and women. Descriptive statistics, t‐test and binary logistic regression were used for data analysis.Results.  The physical activity status, perceived self‐efficacy and benefits of physical activity in women were significantly lower than those of men. For men, only self‐efficacy was statistically significant in explaining recommended physical activity as well as physical activity participation. However, for women, benefits and barriers as well as self‐efficacy significantly explained their participation of physical activity, but not the recommended physical activity. Unlike men, women’s physical activity was significantly associated with sociodemographic factors.Conclusion.  Gender differences found in this study should be the basis for evidence‐based nursing practice. Tailored nursing interventions based on gender would improve physical activity of rural adults in Korea and beyond.Relevance to clinical practice.  Nurses providing care for rural adults should know the gender differences in the determinants of physical activity and provide gender‐specific interventions to improve their physical activity.
The HRQoL of Chinese patients undergoing haemodialysis
Authors: Yu Hui‐Dan , Petrini Marcia A 
Published: February 2010

Background.  With the transition from infectious disease and acute illness to chronic disease and degenerative illness as leading causes of death, health‐related quality of life has become an important aspect in assessing the burden of chronic disease. The quality of life of haemodialysis patients has been studied extensively; however, very limited research using exploratory descriptive design has been carried out in this area in China.Objective.  The aim of this study was to explore health‐related quality of life of end‐stage renal disease patients undergoing haemodialysis in China.Design.  This study used the qualitative research design approach.Method.  A semi‐structured, in‐depth interview was conducted with 16 haemodialysis patients in two hospitals using Colaizzi’s phenomenological method to transcribe and analyse the data.Results.  The results of this study showed that dialysis patients show improvement in physical competence, but they also experienced emotional instability and psychological distress, financial burdens, inadequate disease knowledge and less social support which influenced their quality of life.Conclusion.  To optimise the patients undergoing dialysis health‐related quality of life, support of psycho‐social‐economical aspects should be enhanced.Relevance to clinical practice.  Health care providers should give haemodialysis patients thorough health education, individualised psychological and emotional intervention and adequate social support to optimise health‐related quality of life.
Patients’ recovery after critical illness at early follow‐up
Authors: Kelly Michelle A , McKinley Sharon 
Published: February 2010

Aim.  To determine the quality of life, particularly physical function, of intensive care survivors during the early recovery process.Background.  Survivors of critical illness face ongoing challenges after discharge from the intensive care unit and on returning home. Knowledge about health issues during early phases of recovery after hospital discharge is emerging, yet still limited.Design.  Descriptive study where the former critically ill patients completed instruments on general health and quality of life (SF‐36) in the first six months of recovery.Methods.  Participants responded to the SF‐36 questionnaire and questions about problems, one to six months after intensive care, either face‐to‐face or by telephone.Results.  Thirty‐nine participants had a mean age of 60 years; of them, 59% were men and had been in intensive care for 1–69 days (median = 5). Most participants (69%) rated their health as good or fair, but 54% rated general health as worse than a year ago. Mean quality of life scores for all scales ranged from 25–65·5%, with particularly low scores for Role‐Physical (25) and Pain (45·1). Half the participants reported difficulty with mobility, sleep and concentration, and 72% that their responsibilities at home had changed. No relationships were found between SF‐36 scores and admission diagnosis, gender, age or length of intensive care stay.Conclusions.  These survivors of critical illness and hospitalisation in an intensive care unit perceive their general health to be good despite experiencing significant physical limitations and disturbed sleep during recovery.Relevance to clinical practice.  Knowledge of issues in these early phases of recovery and discussion and resolution of patient problems could normalise the experience for the patient and help to facilitate better quality of life.
Testing the effect of routine fungicide application on ectomycorrhiza formation on Pinus halepensis seedlings in a nursery
Authors: Carrillo C. , Diaz G. , Honrubia M. 
Published: February 2010

SummaryThe fungicides benomyl, captan, hymexazol, iprodione, propamocarb hydrochloride and thiram were applied in a combined schedule to Pinus halepensis seedlings grown under nursery conditions to study their effect on mycorrhiza formation and plant growth. The inoculated fungi Pisolithus tinctorius (strains 3SR and Mx) and Lactarius deliciosus formed mycorrhizas when fungicides were applied. However, fungicide application led to a significant decrease of mycorrhizal plants with Pisolithus tinctorius strain 3SR (from 62% without fungicides to 35% with fungicides). This effect could be attributed to a direct effect of fungicides on mycelial growth. The morphometric and nutritional parameters were very similar in plants treated with or without fungicides, and no differences on sanitary status of plants were noted. The use of preventive fungicide treatments in plant production, which may have a harmful effect on the environment, is therefore questioned.
Effect of Drought Stress on Yield and Quality of Maize/Sunflower and Maize/Sorghum Intercrops for Biogas Production
Authors: Schittenhelm S. 
Published: February 2010

AbstractIntercropping represents an alternative to maize (Zea mays L.) monoculture to provide substrate for agricultural biogas production. Maize was intercropped with either sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) or forage sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] to determine the effect of seasonal water supply on yield and quality of the above‐ground biomass as a fermentation substrate. The two intercrop partners were grown in alternating double rows at plant available soil water levels of 60–80 %, 40–50 % and 15–30 % under a foil tunnel during the years 2006 and 2007 at Braunschweig, Germany. Although the intercrop dry matter yields in each year increased with increasing soil moisture, the partner crops responded quite differently. While maize produced significantly greater biomass under high rather than low water supply in each year, forage sorghum exhibited a significant yield response only in 2006, and sunflower in none of the 2 years. Despite greatly different soil moisture contents, the contribution of sorghum to the intercrop dry matter yield was similar, averaging 43 % in 2006 and 40 % in 2007. Under conditions of moderate and no drought stress, sunflower had a dry matter yield proportion of roughly one‐third in both years. In the severe drought treatment, however, sunflower contributed 37 % in 2006 and 54 % in 2007 to the total intercrop dry matter yield. The comparatively good performance of sunflower under conditions of low water supply is attributable to a fast early growth, which allows this crop to exploit the residual winter soil moisture. While the calculated methane‐producing potential of the maize/sorghum intercrop was not affected by the level of water supply, the maize/sunflower intercrop in 2006 had a higher theoretically attainable specific methane yield under low and medium than under high water supply. Nevertheless, the effect of water regime on substrate composition within the intercrops was small in comparison with the large differences between the intercrops.
Endobronchial polyp in a neonate
Authors: Popat Himanshu P , Sinn John , Cooper Peter 
Published: February 2010

AbstractRespiratory distress in the neonate with collapse/hyperinflation of the lung can be because of a number of causes, which includes extraluminal, parenchymal and endobronchial lesions. Endobronchial tumour and polyps as the cause of collapse/hyperinflation in newborns are quite rare. We report a case of preterm newborn with respiratory distress secondary to endobronchial inflammatory granuloma and discuss the relevant issues in diagnosis and management.
Three siblings with self‐resolving congenital hyperthyrotropinaemia secondary to thyrotropin receptor blocking antibodies
Authors: Azzopardi Peter , Forrester Mike , Ehtisham Sarah 
Published: February 2010

AbstractThyrotropin receptor blocking antibodies are a rare cause of hyperthyrotropinaemia and more rarely of congenital hypothyroidism. We report a case of hyperthyrotropinaemia but normal thyroid hormone in the newborn of a mother with hypothyroidism treated with thyroxine. Two older siblings had similar high thyrotropin and normal thyroid function in the newborn period which did not require hormone treatment and resolved spontaneously. Demonstration of thyrotropin receptor antibodies in the child confirmed our diagnosis. Our case was not treated with thyroid replacement hormone and has remained biochemically euthyroid, with thyrotropin levels returning to normal over a period of months.
Diabetes empowerment related to Pender's Health Promotion Model: A meta‐synthesis
Authors: Ho Agnes Yin Kwan , Berggren Ingela , Dahlborg‐Lyckhage Elisabeth 
Published: February 2010

AbstractDiabetes self‐management is a challenge for both clients and health‐care professionals. Empowerment plays a vital role in helping clients to achieve successful self‐management. This study adopted a meta‐ethnographic approach. Nine qualitative studies were synthesized in order to contribute to a deeper understanding of what clients perceive as being important in an effective empowerment strategy for diabetes self‐management. Four central metaphors that influenced empowerment were identified: trust in nurses' competence and awareness, striving for control, a desire to share experiences, and nurses' attitudes and ability to personalize. The lines‐of‐argument synthesis suggested the need for an evaluation system to appraise clients' diabetes knowledge, health beliefs, and negative emotions, as well as the outcome of interventions. Based on Pender's Health Promotion Model, this study emphasizes the fact that health‐care professionals need to understand and address modifiable behavior‐specific variables. The study suggests that an effective empowerment strategy would be to use activity‐related affect, as well as interpersonal and situational influences, as a means of facilitating and enhancing clients' health‐promoting behaviors.
Role of the prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens in reinstating methamphetamine seeking
Authors: Rocha Angelica , Kalivas Peter W. 
Published: February 2010

AbstractAlthough the involvement of the medial prefrontal cortex projection to the nucleus accumbens in the reinstatement of cocaine seeking has been well studied, it is not known if this projection plays a similar role in the reinstatement of cue‐ and methamphetamine‐induced drug seeking in animals extinguished from methamphetamine self‐administration. Accordingly, following extinction from long‐access methamphetamine self‐administration, rats were bilaterally microinjected with either a combination of the GABA agonists baclofen/muscimol or vehicle (artificial cerebrospinal fluid) into the infralimbic or prelimbic subcompartments of the medial prefrontal cortex or into the shell or core subcompartments of the nucleus accumbens. Similar to cocaine seeking, inactivation of either the prelimbic cortex or accumbens core eliminated cue‐ and methamphetamine‐induced reinstatement, and inactivation of neither the infralimbic cortex nor shell subcompartments inhibited methamphetamine‐induced drug seeking. However, in contrast to previous reports with cocaine, cue‐induced reinstatement of methamphetamine seeking was inhibited by inactivation of the infralimbic cortex. In conclusion, although a primary role in reinstated drug seeking by the prelimbic and the accumbens core is similar between cocaine and methamphetamine, the recruitment of the infralimbic cortex by conditioned cues differs between these two psychostimulant drugs.
ON THE CHANGE POINT OF THE MEAN RESIDUAL LIFE OF SERIES AND PARALLEL SYSTEMS
Authors: Shen Yan , Xie Min , Tang Loon Ching 
Published: February 2010

SummaryThis paper considers the mean residual life in series and parallel systems with independent and identically distributed components and obtains relationships between the change points of the mean residual life of systems and that of their components. Compared with the change point for single components, should it exists, the change point for a series system occurs later. For a parallel system, however, the change point is located before that for the components, if it exists at all. Moreover, for both types of systems, the distance between the change points of the mean residual life for systems and for components increases with the number of components. These results are helpful in the determination of optimal burn‐in time and related decision making in reliability analysis.
Use of simple noninvasive biomarkers to predict liver fibrosis in HIV/HCV coinfection in routine clinical practice
Authors: Macías J , González J , Ortega E , Tural C , Cabrero E , Burgos A , Pineda JA ,   on behalf of the GRAFIHCO Study Team
Published: February 2010

BackgroundSimple noninvasive tests to predict fibrosis, as an alternative to liver biopsy (LB), are needed. Of these, the aspartate aminotransferase (AST) to platelet ratio index (APRI) and the Forns index (FI) have been validated in HIV/hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection. However, these indexes may have lower diagnostic value in situations other than the circumscribed conditions of validation studies. We therefore examined the value of the APRI and FI in HIV/HCV‐coinfected patients for the detection of significant fibrosis in real‐life conditions.Patients and methodsHIV/HCV‐coinfected patients who had participated in a multicentre cross‐sectional retrospective study were selected if they had undergone an LB within 24 months before the last visit. The predictive accuracy of the APRI and FI was measured using the areas under receiver‐operating‐characteristic curves (AUROCs). Diagnostic accuracy was determined using the positive (PPV) and negative (NPV) predictive values.ResultsA total of 519 coinfected individuals were included in the study. The AUROC [95% confidence interval (95% CI)] of the APRI was 0.67 (0.66–0.71) and that of the FI was 0.67 (0.62–0.71). The PPV of the APRI was 79% and its NPV was 66%. The PPV of the FI was 74% and its NPV was 64%. LB length was available and was ≥15 mm in 120 individuals. In this group, the PPV of the APRI was 85%, and that of the FI was 81%. Using these indexes, 22% of patients could be spared LB. Applying both models sequentially, 30% of patients could be spared LB.ConclusionsIn HIV/HCV‐coinfected patients, the diagnostic accuracy of the APRI in real‐life conditions was similar to that in the validation studies. The FI performed less well. However, combining the two indexes to make decisions on anti‐HCV therapy may prevent a significant proportion of patients from having to undergo LB.
HIV‐1 proviral resistance mutations: usefulness in clinical practice
Authors: Kabamba‐Mukadi B , Duquenne A , Henrivaux P , Musuamba F , Ruelle J , Yombi J‐C , Bodéus M , Vandercam B , Goubau P 
Published: February 2010

ObjectivesTransmitted HIV strains may harbour drug resistance mutations. HIV‐1 drug resistance mutations are currently detected in plasma viral RNA. HIV‐1 proviral DNA could be an alternative marker, as it persists in infected cells.MethodsThis was a prospective study assessing the prevalence and persistence of HIV‐1 drug resistance mutations in DNA from CD4 cells before and after protease inhibitor (PI)‐ or nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)‐based therapy initiation in 69 drug‐naïve patients.ResultsBefore therapy, 90 and 66% of detected mutations were present in CD4 cells and plasma, respectively. We detected seven key mutations, and four of these (M184M/V, M184M/I, K103K/N and M46M/I) were only found in the cells. When treatment was started, 40 patients were followed; the mutations detected at the naïve stage remained present for at least 1 year. Under successful treatment, new key mutations emerged in CD4 cells (M184I, M184M/I and Y188Y/H).ConclusionsThe proportion of mutations detected in the DNA was statistically significantly higher than that detected in standard RNA genotyping, and these mutations persisted for at least 1 year irrespective of therapy. The pre‐existence of resistance mutations did not jeopardise treatment outcome when the drug concerned was not included in the regimen. Analysis of HIV‐1 DNA could be useful in chronic infections or when switching therapy in patients with undetectable viraemia.