bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Climate‐based models of spatial patterns of species richness in Egypt’s butterfly and mammal fauna
Authors: Newbold Tim , Gilbert Francis , Zalat Samy , El‐Gabbas Ahmed , Reader Tom 
Published: June 2009

AbstractAim  Identifying areas of high species richness is an important goal of conservation biogeography. In this study we compared alternative methods for generating climate‐based estimates of spatial patterns of butterfly and mammal species richness.Location  Egypt.Methods  Data on the occurrence of butterflies and mammals in Egypt were taken from an electronic database compiled from museum records and the literature. Using Maxent, species distribution models were built with these data and with variables describing climate and habitat. Species richness predictions were made by summing distribution models for individual species and by modelling observed species richness directly using the same environmental variables.Results  Estimates of species richness from both methods correlated positively with each other and with observed species richness. Protected areas had higher species richness (both predicted and actual) than unprotected areas.Main conclusions  Our results suggest that climate‐based models of species richness could provide a rapid method for selecting potential areas for protection and thus have important implications for biodiversity conservation.
Learning strategies of public health nursing students: conquering operational space
Authors: Hjälmhult Esther 
Published: June 2009

Aim.  To develop understanding of how public health nursing students learn in clinical practice and explore the main concern for the students and how they acted to resolve this main concern.Background.  How professionals perform their work directly affects individuals, but knowledge is lacking in understanding how learning is connected to clinical practice in public health nursing and in other professions.Design.  Grounded theory.Method.  Grounded theory was used in gathering and analysing data from 55 interviews and 108 weekly reports. The participants were 21 registered nurses who were public health nursing students.Results.  The grounded theory of conquering operational space explains how the students work to resolve their main concern. A social process with three identified phases, positioning, involving and integrating, was generated from analysing the data. Their subcategories and dimensions are related to the student role, relations with a supervisor, student activity and the consequences of each phase. Public health nursing students had to work towards gaining independence, often working against ‘the system’ and managing the tension by taking a risk. Many of them lost, changed and expanded their professional identity during practical placements.Conclusion.  Public health nursing students’ learning processes in clinical training is complex and dynamic and the theory of ‘Conquering operational space’ can assist supervisors in further developing their role in relation to guiding students in practice. Relationships are one key to opening or closing access to situations of learning and directly affect the students’ achievement of mastering.Relevance to clinical practice.  The findings are pertinent to supervisors and educators as they prepare students for practice. Good relationships are elementary and supervisors can support students in conquering the field by letting students obtain operational space and gain independence. This may create a dialectical process that drives learning forward.
Identifying the core components of cultural competence: findings from a Delphi study
Authors: Jirwe Maria , Gerrish Kate , Keeney Sinead , Emami Azita 
Published: June 2009

Aim.  To identify the core components of cultural competence from a Swedish perspective.Background.  The cultural diversity of Swedish society raises challenges for nursing practice. Nurses need to be culturally competent, i.e. demonstrate the effective application of knowledge, skills and attitudes to practice safely and effectively in a multicultural society. Existing frameworks of cultural competence reflect the socio‐cultural, historical and political context they were developed in. To date, there has been no research examining cultural competence within a Swedish context.Design.  A Delphi survey.Methods.  A purposeful sample of 24 experts (eight nurses, eight researchers and eight lecturers) knowledgeable in multicultural issues was recruited. Interviews were undertaken to identify the knowledge, skills and attitudes that formed the components of cultural competence. Content analysis yielded statements which were developed into a questionnaire. Respondents scored questionnaire items in terms of perceived importance. Statements which reached consensus were removed from questionnaires used in subsequent rounds. Three rounds of questionnaires were distributed during 2006.Results.  A total of 118 out of 137 components reached a consensus level of 75%. The components were categorised into five areas, cultural sensitivity, cultural understanding, cultural encounters, understanding of health, ill‐health and healthcare and social and cultural contexts with 17 associated subcategories.Conclusions.  There are some similarities between the issues raised in the current study and existing frameworks of cultural competence from the USA and the UK. However, Swedish experts placed less emphasis on ethnohistory and on developing skills to challenge discrimination and racism.Relevance to clinical practice.  This study identified the core components of cultural competence important to nurses practising within a multicultural society such as Sweden. Acquisition of the knowledge, skills and attitudes identified should enable nurses to meet the needs of patients from different cultural backgrounds. The components of cultural competence can form the basis of nursing curricula.
Empowerment from the perspective of next of kin in intensive care
Authors: Wåhlin Ingrid , Ek Anna‐Christina , Idvall Ewa 
Published: June 2009

Aims and objectives.  To describe next of kin empowerment in an intensive care situation.Background.  Next of kin is important in reducing intensive care patients’ fear and anxiety. However, admission to an intensive care unit is often recognised as an extremely stressful event, causing next of kin to experience shock, fear, anxiety and vulnerability. More knowledge is needed about how next of kin in intensive care can be empowered.Design.  The study was conducted using a phenomenological method.Methods.  Ten interviews were conducted with intensive care patients’ next of kin.Findings.  Perceptions of both a genuine will and a capacity to help and relieve were found to be essential for next of kin’s experiences of empowerment in an intensive care situation. All informants were empowered by a caring atmosphere where they received continuous, straightforward and honest information that left room for hope and in which closeness to the patient was facilitated and medical care was perceived as the best possible. Some of the informants were also strengthened by support from other family members and/or by being involved in caring for the patient.Conclusions.  Next of kin empowerment was found to be associated with being met with human warmth and sensitivity. This emphasises the importance of discussing attitudes and behaviours as well as surveillance and treatment when trying to improve the care of next of kin in intensive care unit and when working with staff development.Relevance to clinical practice.  Knowledge of how to empower next of kin in an intensive care situation allows caring staff to support these persons in a more sensitive and appropriate way. Findings underline the importance of creating caring relations with patients’ next of kin.
Hospice family caregivers’ quality of life
Authors: Tang Woung‐Ru 
Published: June 2009

Aims and objectives. To study quality of life (QOL) and its important correlates among family caregivers of terminally ill patients receiving in‐home hospice care.Background. Caregiver QOL has been identified as a core outcome variable in studies of dying patients and their families, but few studies have assessed QOL among caregivers of patients with terminal illness, particularly those in hospice care.Design. For this cross‐sectional correlational study, 60 caregivers were recruited from two local in‐home hospice programmes in the Midwestern United States.Methods. Self‐report data were provided by caregivers using the Caregiver Quality of Life Index – Cancer, Spiritual Well‐Being Scale, American Pain Society Patient Outcomes Questionnaire, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status Rating and Medical Outcome Study Social Support Survey to measure their QOL, spirituality, health status and social support.Results. Caregivers’ educational status, physical health status, spirituality and qualitative and quantitative social support, as a set, explained 42% of the variance in their QOL. Caregivers with higher education, better physical health status, greater spirituality and more qualitative and quantitative social support, had a significantly better QOL.Conclusions. QOL for this sample of hospice caregivers was significantly predicted only by physical health status and spirituality, likely because of collinearity among the independent variables. Additional research is needed to explore the factors that sustain or promote caregivers’ QOL over time.Relevance to clinical practice. In the delivery of hospice services, the family caregiver is both a vital member of the health care team and a recipient of care. Health care providers should therefore pay more attention to the health status and spirituality of major caregivers, thus helping them maintain and improve their QOL.
Genetic heterogeneity of betanodaviruses in juvenile production trials of Pacific bluefin tuna, Thunnus orientalis (Temminck & Schlegel)
Authors: Sugaya T , Mori K , Nishioka T , Masuma S , Oka M , Mushiake K , Okinaka Y , Nakai T 
Published: June 2009

AbstractPacific bluefin tuna, Thunnus orientalis (Temminck & Schlegel), is one of the most important commercially exploited fish species in the world, and juvenile production techniques have been developed for its culture and stock enhancement in Japan. However, recent juvenile production has often failed because of the occurrence of viral nervous necrosis caused by betanodaviruses. In this study, we examined the genetic variability of betanodaviruses detected in the diseased juveniles to understand the transmission of the disease in a tuna hatchery. A total of 94 nucleotide sequences of betanodavirus (partial sequence of the coat protein gene, RNA2) were obtained from fish samples by reverse‐transcriptase polymerase chain reaction amplification and 13 haplotypes were recognized among the sequences. The haplotype distributions in the viral populations from the diseased juveniles were related to the broodstocks from which the juveniles originated, suggesting that vertical transmission had occurred in the hatchery. The statistical parsimony network of viral haplotypes suggests that the nucleotide substitutions among the samples were accumulated in a recent population growth.
The secret to 6S: regulating RNA polymerase by ribo‐sequestration
Authors: Decker Kimberly B. , Hinton Deborah M. 
Published: June 2009

SummaryRegulating transcription under different conditions is vital to all organisms. As Escherichia coli shifts from exponential to stationary growth, regulation of transcription is achieved in large part by the tight binding of 6S RNA to Eσ70, RNA polymerase with the σ70 specificity subunit. Ribo‐sequestration of Eσ70 by 6S RNA serves to downregulate σ70‐dependent transcription, which is needed for exponential growth. This facilitates transcription from promoters dependent on stationary phase sigma, σs. Previous work has suggested that the 6S RNA binding to Eσ70 simply mimics the Eσ70/promoter interaction. In this issue of Molecular Microbiology, Klocko and Wassarman demonstrate that many of the contacts between residues within σ70 region 4 and 6S RNA are distinct from those between region 4 and promoter DNA. Several residues that interact with 6S RNA are ones previously known to interact with protein activators of Eσ70. Their work adds 6S RNA to the growing list of factors that can regulate Eσ70 by interacting with region 4.
Dyschromatosis universalis hereditaria in a young Nigerian female
Authors: Yusuf S. M. , Mijinyawa M. S. , Maiyaki M. B. , Mohammed A. Z. 
Published: June 2009

AbstractDyschromatosis universalis hereditaria (DUH) is a clinically heterogeneous disorder that shows generalized mottled pigmentation. It occurs most commonly in Japanese persons, with sporadic reports from South Africa, India, and Iraq. Histopathology reveals a variable degree of pigmentary incontinence. Although the precise etiology of this disorder is not yet known, the clinicopathological findings implicate an inherent abnormality of melanosomes or melanin processing. We describe a case in a young Nigerian girl.
Bcl‐2 and CD10 expression in the differential diagnosis of trichoblastoma, basal cell carcinoma, and basal cell carcinoma with follicular differentiation
Authors: Córdoba Alicia , Guerrero David , Larrinaga Begoña , Iglesias Maria Eugenia , Arrechea Maria Asunción , Yanguas Juan Ignacio 
Published: June 2009

AbstractBackground  Both trichoblastoma and basal cell carcinoma (BCC) of the skin are characterized morphologically by the proliferation of basaloid cells; however, BCCs are clinically associated with a more aggressive behavior. An accurate diagnosis of these lesions is essential for effective, timely treatment and appropriate therapeutic decisions.Methods  This study includes 40 lesions. Bcl‐2 and CD10 immunohistochemistry were performed in all cases and the patterns of expression were analyzed.Results  Bcl‐2 is useful for the detection of BCC with diffuse expression in nests of basaloid cells, but cannot distinguish between BCC with follicular differentiation and trichoblastoma, as both lesions show the same pattern with positive and negative areas. Conversely, CD10 expression can distinguish between trichoblastomas with peritumoral stromal staining and BCCs with epithelial staining. If both stromal and epithelial areas are stained, these cases are classified as BCC with follicular differentiation.Conclusions  CD10 is useful for distinguishing between BCC with widespread follicular differentiation and trichoblastomas.
Quantitative trait loci mapping and stability for low temperature germination ability of rice
Authors: Ji S. L. , Jiang L. , Wang Y. H. , Zhang W. W. , Liu X. , Liu S. J. , Chen L. M. , Zhai H. Q. , Wan J. M. 
Published: June 2009

AbstractA high rate of germination at low temperatures is necessary for economic yields to be maintained. In this paper, the genetic control of low temperature germination ability (LTG) was assessed by the measurement of germination rate (GR), germination rate index (GI) and mean germination time (MGT), and genetically mapped using a set of recombinant inbred lines, derived from a cross between the japonica cultivar ‘Asominori’ and the indica cultivar ‘IR24’. Putative quantitative trait loci (QTL) were validated by testing in two related sets of chromosome segment substitution lines (CSSL). In this genetic background, LTG is under the control of a number of QTL, each of relatively small effect, and is spread over six chromosomes. The most stable of these QTL was for GR, mapping to a segment of chromosome 11 which also carries a QTL for GI. On chromosome 2, qGR‐2 not only controlled GR, but also was associated with GI and MGT. Significant differences in LTG were detected between ‘Asominori’ and some CSSL harbouring qGR‐2 or qGR‐11.
Home telehealth for diabetes management: a systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Polisena J. , Tran K. , Cimon K. , Hutton B. , McGill S. , Palmer K. 
Published: June 2009

Aim: It is estimated that more than 180 million people worldwide have diabetes. Health‐care providers can remotely deliver health services to this patient population using information and communication technology, also known as home telehealth. Home telehealth may be classified into two subtypes: home telemonitoring (HTM) and telephone support (TS). The research objective was to systematically review the literature and perform meta‐analyses to assess the potential benefits of home telehealth compared with usual care (UC) for patients with diabetes.Methods: An electronic literature search was conducted to identify studies on home telehealth and patients with diabetes that were published between 1998 and 2008 using Medline, Medline In‐Process & Other Non‐Indexed Citations, BIOSIS Previews and EMBASE.Results: Twenty‐six studies (n = 5069 patients) on home telehealth for diabetes were selected. Twenty‐one studies evaluated HTM and 5 randomized controlled trials assessed TS. HTM had a positive effect on glycaemic control [as measured by lower glycated haemoglobin level] compared with UC (weighted mean difference =−0.21; 95% confidence interval −0.35 to −0.08), but the results were mixed for TS. Study results indicated that home telehealth helps to reduce the number of patients hospitalized, hospitalizations and bed days of care. Home telehealth was similar or favourable to UC across studies for quality‐of‐life and patient satisfaction outcomes.Conclusions: In general, home telehealth had a positive impact on the use of numerous health services and glycaemic control. More studies of higher methodological quality are required to give more precise insights into the potential clinical effectiveness of home telehealth interventions.
Perspectives of UK Vice‐Chancellors on Leading Universities in a Knowledge‐Based Economy
Authors: Bosetti Lynn , Walker Keith 
Published: June 2009

AbstractThis paper draws upon the experiences and perceptions of ten university vice‐chancellors in the United Kingdom on the challenges they face in providing leadership and strategic direction for their institutions into the twenty‐first century. The paper reveals the perceptions and spoken words of these leaders as they identify the key challenges shaping higher education, their strategies for addressing these challenges, their struggle to maintain the core mission of universities and finally, implications for the future of higher education.
‘What’s the Next Stage?’ Mothers of Young Adults with Down Syndrome Explore the Path to Independence: A Qualitative Investigation
Authors: Docherty Julie , Reid Kate 
Published: June 2009

Background An increased life expectancy for young adults with Down syndrome has coincided with legislative changes to improve access to housing and employment. This study explores the values and beliefs of mothers of young adults with Down syndrome currently involved in supporting their offspring in the possible transition from dependence to independence.Methods Eight mothers of young adults with Down syndrome were interviewed and the results were thematically analysed using the qualitative approach, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA).Result The mothers described themselves as having a dynamic role as both gate‐keepers and facilitators in aiding their offspring on the path to adulthood.Conclusions These findings are not consistent with findings of previous research, which suggested that mothers in this situation are personally and socially inclined to limit the transition of their offspring to an independent adulthood. The discussion explores the possible reasons for this change and proposes clarification to existing theoretical frameworks for understanding mothers’ perspectives. Limitations of the research and future recommendations are discussed.
Consumer‐Directed Goal Planning in the Delivery of Assistive Technology Services for People who are Ageing with Intellectual Disabilities
Authors: Mirza Mansha , Hammel Joy 
Published: June 2009

Background  A consumer‐directed service‐delivery approach to assistive technology and environmental modification intervention was examined with people who were ageing with intellectual disabilities.Material and Methods  The intervention was based on a collaborative approach involving consumers, their social supports and service deliverers. Thirty individuals were randomly selected to receive the intervention from a sample of 75 community‐dwelling adults. Outcomes related to consumers’ and significant others’ perceptions of performance and satisfaction with goal attainment were assessed and the consumer‐directed goal planning process examined.Results  Participants in the intervention group reported significantly higher levels of performance and satisfaction related to goals identified at baseline than participants in the control group. Two broad categories of goals were addressed during the intervention – basic self‐care goals and participation/environmental/systems level goals. A 98% direct agreement rate between consumer‐identified goals and goals addressed by service deliverers was found during the intervention. Of the environmental strategies employed during the intervention, assistive devices and systems level advocacy and action were the two most frequently used across goals.Conclusion  Results provide evidence in favour of a consumer‐directed approach to assistive technology and environmental modification service delivery for consumers who are ageing with intellectual disabilities.
Organisation of obstetric services for very preterm births in Europe: results from the MOSAIC project
Authors: Blondel B , Papiernik E , Delmas D , Künzel W , Weber T , Maier RF , Kollée L , Zeitlin J ,   the Mosaic Research Group
Published: June 2009

Objective To study the impact of the organisation of obstetric services on the regionalisation of care for very preterm births.Design Cohort study.Setting Ten European regions covering 490 000 live births.Population All children born in 2003 between 24 and 31 weeks of gestation.Method The rate of specialised maternity units per 10 000 total births, the proportion of total births in specialised units and the proportion of very preterm births by referral status in specialised units were compared.Main outcome measure Birth in a specialised maternity unit (level III unit or unit with a large neonatal unit (at least 50 annual very preterm admissions).Results The organisation of obstetric care varied in these regions with respect to the supply of level III units (from 2.3 per 10 000 births in the Portuguese region to 0.2 in the Polish region), their characteristics (annual number of deliveries, 24 hour presence of a trained obstetrician) and the proportion of all births (term and preterm) that occur in these units. The proportion of very preterm births in level III units ranged from 93 to 63% in the regions. Different approaches were used to obtain a high level of regionalisation: high proportions of total deliveries in specialised units, high proportions of in utero transfers or high proportions of high‐risk women who were referred to a specialised unit during pregnancy.Conclusion Consensus does not exist on the optimal characteristics of specialised units but regionalisation may be achieved in different models of organisation of obstetric services.