bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Administrative stressors and nursing job outcomes in Australian public and non‐profit health care organisations
Authors: Teo Stephen TT , Yeung Melissa , Chang Esther 
Published: April 2012

Aims and objectives.  The main aim of this study is to develop a path model to examine the effect of administrative stressors on nursing work outcomes in a sample of Australian public and non‐profit nurses.Background.  The implementation of managerial reform initiatives has negative consequences on work outcomes. However, less is known about the effects of these stressors in public and non‐profit health care organisations.Design.  An online, self‐completion questionnaire was sent to a random sample of nurses, employed in nursing‐related occupations.Participants.  Useable surveys were received from 251 nurses.Methods.  The path model was analysed using SmartPLS software (SmartPLS, Hamburg, Germany).Results.  Public and non‐profit nurses experienced time and resource administrative‐related stressors (such as resource shortage and pay not as good as other people doing similar work). They relied on work‐related social support to reduce the negative consequences. Resource stressors led to job dissatisfaction while time stressors led to psychological strain. Nursing staff who reported better psychological health reported higher job satisfaction and higher level of commitment towards their organisations.Conclusions.  Context‐specific administrative stressors have a negative impact on the work outcomes of public and non‐profit nurses. Work‐related social support mechanisms were found to mediate the negative consequences of administrative resourcing stressors on nursing job satisfaction.Relevance to clinical practice.  Nursing managers have to be sympathetic and care for the negative experiences of nursing staff, especially when there is an increasing level of administrative expectations during organisational change. Senior management should take note of the stressors caused by the lack of resources such as information, staffing and resources, as these were found to lead to an increase in nurses seeking work‐related social support from their peers and supervisors. Effective implementation of these strategies would lead to a nursing workforce, which has higher level of psychological health, job satisfaction and organisational commitment.
Fine‐scale changes in connectivity affect the metapopulation dynamics of a bryophyte confined to ephemeral patches
Authors: Zartman Charles E. , Nascimento Henrique E. M. , Cangani Katia G. , Alvarenga Lisi D. P. , Snäll Tord 
Published: April 2012

Summary1. We test how fine‐scale (≤ 400 m2) connectivity to conspecifics influences metapopulation dynamics using a field experiment in central Amazonia with the epiphyllous (i.e. leaf‐inhabiting) bryophyteRadula flaccidaGott. (Radulaceae). This is a natural model system with spatially structured ephemeral patches at the leaf and phorophyte scale.2. The aim was to test how the rates of leaf colonization, local abundance, growth and extinction of bryophytes from both leaves and host phorophytes were affected by experimentally manipulated variation in connectivity to conspecifics. We also investigated the relative importance of local stochastic extinctions and deterministic extinctions at both spatial scales.3. Approximately 3500 leaves on 70 phorophytes were censused six times over a 15‐month period by utilizing a repeated block design with control, positive control and three pulse‐style reduction treatments, which varied in connectivity to surrounding conspecifics.4. An increase in stochastic extinction events was only accompanied by a reduction in colonization in the treatment in which focal and neighbouring phorophytes within the 400 m2plots were experimentally denuded of their natural populations, suggesting that epiphyllous cryptogams are subject to fine‐scale (withinphorophyte) rescue effects. Negative density‐dependent growth was also detected in within‐leaf population dynamics, suggesting that resource limitation or intraspecific competition influences local population growth. Finally, stochastic extinctions from viable leaves occurred with nearly the same frequency as deterministic events (e.g. leaf fall), whereas at the phorophyte scale only stochastic extinctions were observed.5. Synthesis.The experiment demonstrates that rescue effects occur at fine scales even for vagile plant taxa, such as cryptogams, which may inhabit spatially isolated substrates characterized by turnover rates as fast as their own population dynamics. Furthermore, the results highlight the importance of quantifying both stochastic and deterministic extinction modes, as underestimating either of these parameters leads to over optimistic projections of future metapopulation size.
Chance in plant communities: a new approach to its measurement using the nugget from spatial autocorrelation
Authors: Brownstein Gretchen , Steel John B. , Porter Stefan , Gray Abraham , Wilson Craig , Wilson Padarn G. , Bastow Wilson J. 
Published: April 2012

Summary1. The unpredictable component of community structure – chance/randomness/stochasticity – is increasingly discussed, recently in terms of Neutral Theory, but is never directly measured. We show that a direct estimate of chance can be made from spatial autocorrelation, and demonstrate this usage.2. The dissimilarity between two patches of vegetation was plotted against the distance between the patches, and a curve fitted. We argue that the y‐intercept of the curve, i.e. the ‘nugget’, represents the amount of chance variation in species composition, because when distance is zero all dispersal limitation and spatially correlated environmental differences are excluded, and only chance remains.3. The method estimated that in 16 sites around the South Island of New Zealand, 0–71% of the variation in plant community composition was due to chance, with a mean of 34%.4. Synthesis. The new analysis method provides information on the amount of randomness in community species composition and could be applied to the many dissimilarity/distance studies in the literature. The amount of randomness in the 16 study sites was not related to the type of plant community or to the species richness per quadrat. However, randomness was positively correlated with whole‐community species richness, supporting previous suggestions of a relationship between chance, the size of the species pool and redundancy.
Surface plasmon microscopy: resolution, sensitivity and crosstalk
Authors: PECHPRASARN S. , SOMEKH M.G. 
Published: April 2012

SummaryThis paper develops the theoretical framework to understand the capability of the interferometric surface plasmon microscope to quantify sample properties in a confined region. We use rigorous diffraction theory to quantify the ability of the system to measure local properties and eliminate crosstalk from adjacent regions. We argue that the interferometric system in the defocused condition defines the measured point of excitation and reradiation of the surface plasmons; which greatly improves localisation. We also present results for the noninterferometric microscope, which confirm that the interferometric based system can perform quantitative measurements over smaller regions.
Brood mixing and reduced polyandry in a maternally mouthbrooding cichlid with elevated among‐breeder relatedness
Authors: SEFC KRISTINA M. , HERMANN CAROLINE M. , TABORSKY BARBARA , KOBLMÜLLER STEPHAN 
Published: April 2012

AbstractUniparental maternal brood care often coincides with multiple paternity and single maternity of broods, possibly reflecting benefits of polyandry and costs of uniparental care. Genetic data from the maternally mouthbrooding cichlid fishSimochromis pleurospilusrevealed the opposite pattern – low polyandry and allomaternal care. More than 70% of the investigated females had mated with a single male, and 14% of the females had unrelated fry in their broods. Broods with foreign fry were in the late stage of brood care, in which females guard free‐swimming fry and recall the broods into their mouths for protection. With one exception, fostering females were related to their adopted fry at the level of first cousins (RQG > 0.12), but relatedness between fosters and adopted fry was not significantly higher than between fosters and fry tended by other females. Relatedness among breeders extended to the level of first‐order relatives. Mean relatedness among contemporaneously breeding dams (RQG = 0.08) was significantly higher than among dams breeding in different seasons (RQG = −0.04), which suggests a temporal or spatial concentration of mouthbrooding relatives. Indeed, females sometimes brood in small groups. This behaviour may reduce brood predation but will increase the risk of brood mixing, which is possibly mitigated by low costs of brood care and indirect benefits accrued by relatedness among the breeders in the group. Remarkably, the apparent inbreeding potential did not give rise to bet‐hedging polyandry or active avoidance of relatives, as half of the mated individuals were related atRQG > 0.13 and polyandry did not coincide with high within‐pair relatedness.
In vitro fermentation characteristics and effective utilisable crude protein in leaves and green pods of Moringa stenopetala and Moringa oleifera cultivated at low and mid‐altitudes
Authors: Melesse A. , Steingass H. , Boguhn J. , Rodehutscord M. 
Published: April 2012

SummaryThis study was conducted to assess the in vitro nutrient digestibility and utilisation of leaves and green pods of two Moringa species in supplementing the feed of ruminant animals during the dry season. Samples were analysed for proximate nutrients using official methods. The metabolisable energy (ME), organic matter digestibility (OMD) and effective utilisable crude protein (uCP) were estimated using the Hohenheim in vitro gas test method. Gas volume in Moringa stenopetala leaves and green pods was generally higher than those of Moringa oleifera. Gas volume for leaves was similar between low and mid‐altitudes but was higher for green pods at mid‐altitude. M. stenopetala leaves contained significantly higher ME (9.8 MJ/kg DM) and OMD (75%) than those of M. oleifera. Similarly, M. stenopetala green pods had higher ME and OMD values than those of M. oleifera. For green pods, the ME and OMD values were significantly higher at mid‐altitude than those at low altitude although these values for leaves were similar between both altitudes. Moringa oleifera leaves had higher effective uCP than those of M. stenopetala. Nevertheless, the effective uCP was higher for green pods of M. stenopetala than those of M. oleifera. The effective uCP for leaves cultivated at mid‐altitude was slightly higher than those at low altitude. This study suggested that leaves and green pods could be used as alternative energy and protein supplements for tropical ruminants, particularly during dry periods. It was further concluded that leaves were generally better in nutrient compositions and in vitro nutrient digestibility characteristics than green pods.
Impact of two types of complete pelleted, wild ungulate feeds and two pelleted feed to hay ratios on the development of urolithogenic compounds in meat goats as a model for giraffes
Authors: Sullivan K. , Freeman S. , van Heugten E. , Ange‐van Heugten K. , Wolfe B. , Poore M. H. 
Published: April 2012

SummaryUrolith formation has been documented in giraffes and goats. As research in giraffes poses logistical challenges, 16 buck goats were used as a model. The impact of two commercially available, pelleted feeds used for giraffes, ADF‐16 and Wild Herbivore (WH), as well as the impact of alfalfa hay and pellet proportions (20% hay:80% pellets, 80P or 80% hay:20% pellet, 20P) on the formation of urolithogenic precursors in goat urine was accomplished in a 2 × 2 factorial balance study. Complete diets contained 0.60, 0.32, 0.35 and 0.26% phosphorus (P) with calcium:P ratios of 1.60, 4.16, 3.06 and 5.23, for 80P‐ADF‐16, 20P‐ADF‐16, 80P‐WH and 20P‐WH respectively. Total faeces and urine were collected over two 5‐day periods to assess N and mineral balance. Fresh urine samples were collected and evaluated microscopically for urolithic crystal content. Urinary nitrogen (N) was lower and N retention was higher in goats fed 80P diets (p < 0.05). Intake of P was greatest for goats fed 80P‐ADF‐16; however, urinary P excretion and P retention were not affected by treatment. Crystal scores were higher in animals receiving 80P diets (p = 0.08), with crystals being composed predominantly of calcium phosphate. Urine pH was alkaline (>8) for all treatments. Urinary P concentration, a risk factor for urolithiasis, was highest (p ≤ 0.06) in the 80P‐ADF‐16 treatment (0.38 vs. 0.01, 0.02 and 0.04 mg/dl for 20P‐ADF‐16, 80P‐WH and 20P‐WH respectively), reflecting its highest dietary P level. Further investigation is recommended to determine the long‐term effects of these diets on urolithogenic compound formation.
Genetic analysis of resistance to mungbean yellow mosaic virus in mungbean (Vigna radiata)
Authors: Dhole Vinod J. , Reddy Kandali Sreenivasulu 
Published: April 2012

With 1 figure and 3 tablesAbstractMungbean yellow mosaic virus (MYMV) causes one of the most destructive diseases in mungbean. The objectives of this study were to determine the inheritance of MYMV resistance and to identify the role of each resistance gene. Six crosses between resistant and susceptible genotypes were attempted. An infector row technique was used for evaluating parents, F1 and F2 plants for MYMV resistance. Segregating populations were classified into four reactions viz. susceptible (S), moderately susceptible (MS), moderately resistant (MR) and highly resistant (R) based on the distribution and severity of symptoms. The F1 plants from all six crosses and the susceptible parents showed S reactions, while resistant parents showed R reactions. The segregation of resistance responses in F2 populations in ratios of 9 S : 3 MS : 3 MR : 1 R suggested that the resistance was governed by two recessive genes. When one gene was present in the homozygous recessive condition in different plants, it conferred MR and MS reactions. When both genes were present together in the homozygous recessive condition, plants produced resistant reactions (R).
Leptin as a link between the immune system and kidney‐related diseases: leading actor or just a coadjuvant?
Authors: Moraes‐Vieira P. M. M. , Bassi Ê. J. , Araujo R. C. , Câmara N. O. S. 
Published: April 2012

SummaryFood intake and nutritional status modify the physiological responses of the immune system to illness and infection and regulate the development of chronic inflammatory processes, such as kidney disease. Adipose tissue secretes immune‐related proteins called adipokines that have pleiotropic effects on both the immune and neuroendocrine systems, linking metabolism and immune physiology. Leptin, an adipose tissue‐derived adipokine, displays a variety of immune and physiological functions, and participates in several immune responses. Here, we review the current literature on the role of leptin in kidney diseases, linking adipose tissue and the immune system with kidney‐related disorders. The modulation of this adipose hormone may have a major impact on the treatment of several immune‐ and metabolic‐related kidney diseases.
ATTITUDES TOWARDS EUTHANASIA AND ASSISTED SUICIDE: A COMPARISON BETWEEN PSYCHIATRISTS AND OTHER PHYSICIANS
Authors: LEVY TAL BERGMAN , AZAR SHLOMI , HUBERFELD RONEN , SIEGEL ANDREW M. , STROUS RAEL D. 
Published: April 2012

ABSTRACTEuthanasia and physician assisted‐suicide are terms used to describe the process in which a doctor of a sick or disabled individual engages in an activity which directly or indirectly leads to their death. This behavior is engaged by the healthcare provider based on their humanistic desire to end suffering and pain. The psychiatrist's involvement may be requested in several distinct situations including evaluation of patient capacity when an appeal for euthanasia is requested on grounds of terminal somatic illness or when the patient is requesting euthanasia due to mental suffering. We compare attitudes of 49 psychiatrists towards euthanasia and assisted suicide with a group of 54 other physicians by means of a questionnaire describing different patients, who either requested physician‐assisted suicide or in whom euthanasia as a treatment option was considered, followed by a set of questions relating to euthanasia implementation. When controlled for religious practice, psychiatrists expressed more conservative views regarding euthanasia than did physicians from other medical specialties. Similarly female physicians and orthodox physicians indicated more conservative views. Differences may be due to factors inherent in subspecialty education. We suggest that in light of the unique complexity and context of patient euthanasia requests, based on their training and professional expertise psychiatrists are well suited to take a prominent role in evaluating such requests to die and making a decision as to the relative importance of competing variables.
HEROIN ADDICTION AND VOLUNTARY CHOICE: THE CASE OF INFORMED CONSENT
Authors: HENDEN EDMUND 
Published: April 2012

ABSTRACTDoes addiction to heroin undermine the voluntariness of heroin addicts' consent to take part in research which involves giving them free and legal heroin? This question has been raised in connection with research into the effectiveness of heroin prescription as a way of treating dependent heroin users. Participants in such research are required to give their informed consent to take part. Louis C. Charland has argued that we should not presume that heroin addicts are competent to do this since heroin addiction by nature involves a loss of ability to resist the desire for heroin. In this article, I argue that Charland is right that we should not presume that heroin addicts are competent to consent, but not for the reason he thinks. In fact, as Charland's critics correctly point out, there is plenty of evidence showing that heroin addicts can resist their desire for heroin. These critics are wrong, however, to conclude from this that we should presume that heroin addicts are competent to give their voluntary consent. There are, I shall argue, other conditions associated with heroin addiction that might constrain heroin addicts' choice in ways likely to undermine the voluntariness of their consent. In order to see this, we need to move beyond the focus on the addicts' desires for heroin and instead consider the wider social and psychological circumstances of heroin addiction, as well as the effects these circumstances may have on the addicts' beliefs about the nature of their options.
THE ‘WARRIOR GENE’ AND THE MÃORI PEOPLE: THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE GENETICISTS
Authors: PERBAL LAURENCE 
Published: April 2012

ABSTRACTThe ‘gene of’ is a teleosemantic expression that conveys a simplistic and linear relationship between a gene and a phenotype. Throughout the 20th century, geneticists studied these genes of traits. The studies were often polemical when they concerned human traits: the ‘crime gene’, ‘poverty gene’, ‘IQ gene’, ‘gay gene’ or ‘gene of alcoholism’. Quite recently, a controversy occurred in 2006 in New Zealand that started with the claim that a ‘warrior gene’ exists in the Mãori community. This claim came from a geneticist working on the MAOA gene. This article is interested in the responsibility of that researcher regarding the origin of the controversy. Several errors were made: overestimation of results, abusive use of the ‘gene of’ kind of expression, poor communication with the media and a lack of scientific culture. The issues of the debate were not taken into account sufficiently, either from the political, social, ethical or even the genetic points of view. After more than 100 years of debates around ‘genes of’ all kinds (here, the ‘warrior gene’), geneticists may not hide themselves behind the media when a controversy occurs. Responsibilities have to be assumed.
MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT COERCION AND UNDUE INFLUENCE: REFLECTIONS ON THE VIEWS OF IRB MEMBERS
Authors: LARGENT EMILY , GRADY CHRISTINE , MILLER FRANKLIN G. , WERTHEIMER ALAN 
Published: April 2012

ABSTRACTPayment to recruit research subjects is a common practice but raises ethical concerns relating to the potential for coercion or undue influence. We conducted the first national study of IRB members and human subjects protection professionals to explore attitudes as to whether and why payment of research participants constitutes coercion or undue influence. Upon critical evaluation of the cogency of ethical concerns regarding payment, as reflected in our survey results, we found expansive or inconsistent views about coercion and undue influence that may interfere with valuable research. In particular, respondents appear to believe that coercion and undue influence lie on a continuum; by contrast, we argue that they are wholly distinct: whereas undue influence is a cognitive distortion relating to assessment of risks and benefits, coercion is a threat of harm. Because payment is an offer, rather than a threat, payment is never coercive.
The intersection of life expectancy and gender in a transitional state: the case of Russia
Authors: Cockerham William C. 
Published: April 2012

AbstractThis paper examines the gender‐related features of the health crisis in Russia which has produced the largest gender gap in life expectancy in the world. Stress and negative health lifestyles are the two most likely causes of the long‐term adverse longevity pattern in Russia. However, this development cannot be clarified by a simple cause and effect explanation. This is because gender roles and gender‐based normative behaviour, along with class influences, intervened to help shape outcomes. Men and women responded to the crisis along gender lines, with stress the best single explanation for a stunted longevity for females and negative health lifestyles accounting for much of the premature mortality among males.
Conceptualising Multilevel Regulation in the EU: A Legal Translation of Multilevel Governance?
Authors: Chowdhury Nupur , Wessel Ramses A. 
Published: April 2012

AbstractHow should we conceive of regulation in the European context? This paper attempts to answer this by developing multilevel regulation as a theoretical concept. The basic aim of the paper is to explore the difference and convergence between regulation and governance and develop multilevel governance and multilevel regulation as two individual heuristic concepts. We suggest that it is useful to frame multilevel governance in the context of regulatory spaces. As an example, we undertake an exploratory investigation of multilevelness of the regulatory space of marketing authorisation of medical devices. This allows us to help focus on certain aspects of the regulatory process by acknowledging that it is no longer located in the hand of a single (governmental) actor and highlighting the necessity of considering interventions beyond the state in addressing regulatory effectiveness problems that may crop up in this context. Ultimately, we assess whether multilevel regulation is a legal translation of the concept of multilevel governance.