bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The prevalence of hot flash and associated variables among perimenopausal women
Authors: Feldman Bernadine M. , Voda Ann , Gronseth Evangeline 
Published: February 2011

AbstractA telephone survey of a random sample of 594 perimenopausal women was done to study the prevalence of hot flashes, use of estrogen, age of menopause onset, and, among those subjects experiencing hot flashes, the frequency of occurrence and number of years of hot flashes. The prevalence of hot flashes was 88%. Surgical menopause women had a prevalence rate of 92% and had the highest estrogen utilization rate. The median age of onset for natural menopause women was 49 years. The frequency of occurrence and number of years of hot flash experience was variable across all groups.
Noise in acute patient care areas
Authors: Hilton B. Ann 
Published: February 2011

AbstractThis study was designed to describe the level of sound in acute patient care areas. A convenience sample of 25 subjects from four intensive care and two general care units within three hospitals in a large metropolitan area was studied. Continuous decibel levels [dB(A)] and equivalent continuous sound pressure levels [LEQ] were measured for 24 continuous hours. Two 3‐hour observations were made to assess the sources of sound, and patients were interviewed to determine their perceptions of sound effects. Continuous high noise levels were found in the larger hospital's open heart recovery room and intensive care units [48.5–68.5 dB(A), 15‐minute LEQ], lower levels in the smaller hospital's intensive care units [32.5–57 dB(A)] and varying levels in the general ward areas [34.25–62.5 dB(A)]. Decibel levels generated from equipment reached 90 dB(A) in some instances. Patients' perceptions ranged from content to highly perturbed. Although some sources of noise were not immediately changeable, others were adaptable, preventable, or reducible.
Concordance of perimenstrual symptoms across two cycles
Authors: Shaver Joan Fowler , Woods Nancy Fugate 
Published: February 2011

AbstractThe prevalence of perimenstrual symptoms usually is based on reports for one menstrual cycle; the consistency of symptoms across cycles is ignored. The purpose of this investigation was to determine perimenstrual symptoms reported concordantly for two menstrual cycles in a group of 63 presumably healthy women reporting symptoms in health diaries over 2 months. There were only nine symptoms for each of the menstrual and premenstrual phases reported by the same woman across both cycles. Furthermore, concordance of perimenstrual symptom reporting across the two cycles was significant only for backache (κ = .636, p < .0001), headache (κ = .849, p < .001), and cramps (κ = .899, p < .0001) in the menstruum and for backache (κ = 0.123, p < .0001), cold sweats (κ = .500, p < .0001), fatigue (κ = .135, p < .0001), depression (κ = .268, p < .0002), and tension (κ = .320, p < .0001) in the premenstruum. Several symptoms showed high prevalence during the remainder of the cycle which might contribute to the lack of concordance. These data imply that prevalence estimates based on only one menstrual cycle may be inaccurate overall and inadequate as baseline or followup estimates by which to evaluate therapeutic intervention.
Mental status and functional health 4 days following relocation to a nursing home
Authors: Engle Veronica F. 
Published: February 2011

AbstractNurses frequently note changes in the health status of the aged following admission to a nursing home. The purpose of this study was to determine the stability of mental status and functional health over a 4‐day period immediately following relocation from hospital to nursing home. Participants (N = 55) over the age of 60 were chosen sequentially as admitted to a 120‐bed, long‐term care facility for rehabilitation or convalescence, and interviewed on Day 1 and Day 4 following admission. Level of consciousness, attention/concentration, orientation, memory, and higher cognitive function were evaluated by the Mental Status Examination, and six activities of daily living were evaluated by the Scaled Outcome Criteria. A matched pairs t‐test (p < .05) demonstrated no significant differences in mean scores between Day 1 and Day 4. Results indicated that these short‐term residents were stable in their mental status and functional health during the immediate period following relocation. Additional study is needed, with evaluation of the environment and its effect on participants' and expectation for length of stay.
Environmental support for autonomy in the institutionalized elderly
Authors: Ryden Muriel B. 
Published: February 2011

AbstractThe climate for autonomy in four urban proprietary nursing homes was investigated as part of a larger study of the relationship between perceived control and morale. Data from 113 residents, 137 caregivers, and 10 administrative personnel revealed that caregivers see themselves as the predominant decision makers. Although they prefer a slightly higher level of self‐determination for residents, only in one‐to‐one and solitary activities do they prefer giving residents the primary decision making role, possibly because they see most residents as not capable of making decisions. Residents saw themselves as having more control than did staff. Grooming and eating were identified by both groups as areas where residents had the least control. A substantial proportion of caregivers and administrative staff did not emphasize the availability of options to residents.
Use of the health belief model in determining frequency of breast self‐examination
Authors: Lee Champion Victoria 
Published: February 2011

AbstractThe purpose of this research was to identify the relationships of attitudes about breast self‐examination and breast cancer to the frequency of breast self‐examination. The health belief model was used as a theoretical base. Likert scales were developed for the independent variables of susceptibility, seriousness, benefit, barriers, and health motivation; the dependent variable was frequency of breast self‐examination. A convenience sample of 301 women was drawn from a large metropolitan city. Self‐administered questionnaires contained the developed scales, a measure of frequency of breast self‐examination, and demographic variables. Results supported the health belief model's prediction of frequency of breast self‐examination (R = .51; p ⩽ .01). In addition, the variables of seriousness, benefits, barriers, and health motivation discriminated groupings according to frequency of breast self‐examination. Results support the relationship of the health belief model variable to the behavior of breast self‐examination. Nursing implications are discussed.
Determinants of turnover among nursing department employees
Authors: Curry James P. , Wakefield Douglas S. , Price James L. , Mueller Charles W. , McCloskey Joanne C. 
Published: February 2011

AbstractA causal model of turnover, or quitting, among hospital nursing department employees was evaluated. This model includes job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and intent to leave as intervening variables that mediate 13 determinants of turnover. The sample consisted of 841 female nursing department employees selected from five hospitals in a western state. Attitudinal and background data were obtained through a mail questionnaire survey, and turnover was monitored for 18 months following the survey. Intent to leave had a strong direct effect on turnover while kinship responsibility, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment had indirect effects on turnover through intent to leave. Task repetitiveness, autonomy, promotional opportunities, and fairness of rewards were important determinants of jobs satisfaction and thus provide a mechanism whereby hospital management may enhance commitment to the organization while reducing turnover.
Nursing workload, medical diagnosis related groups, and nursing diagnoses
Authors: Halloran Edward J. 
Published: February 2011

AbstractPatient conditions associated with the relative amount of time nurses spent caring for patients were identified in this study. The patient conditions examined were: nursing condition using 37 nursing diagnoses, medical condition using diagnosis‐related groups (DRGs), and demographic characteristics of age, sex, and race. Nursing time was estimated using the Rush‐Medicus patient classification workload measurement tool. Data were gathered from checklists of nursing diagnoses and the discharge records of 2560 adult inpatients of an acute care community hospital. Using multiple regression analysis nursing condition explained twice the variation in daily nursing workload (52.4%) than medical condition (26.3%). The finding that nursing care time is predicted better by a patientapos;s nursing condition than by either medical condition or demographic characteristics indicates that nursing care is not physician prescribed.
Novel synthesis of nano‐calcium carbonate (CaCO3)/polystyrene (PS) core–shell nanoparticles by atomized microemulsion technique and its effect on properties of polypropylene (PP) composites
Authors: Mishra Satyendra , Chatterjee Aniruddha , Singh RajPal 
Published: February 2011

AbstractCalcium carbonate (CaCO3)/polystyrene (PS) nanoparticles (<100 nm) with core–shell structure were synthesized by atomized microemulsion technique. The polymer chains were anchored onto the surface of nano‐CaCO3 through triethoxyvinyl silane (TEVS) as a coupling agent. Ammonium persulfate (APS), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and n‐pentanol were used as initiator, surfactant, and cosurfactant, respectively. Polymerization mechanism of core–shell latex particles was discussed. Encapsulation of nano‐CaCO3 by PS was confirmed by using transmission electron microscope (TEM). Grafting percentage of core–shell particles was investigated by Thermogravimetric Analyzer (TGA). Nano‐CaCO3/PS core–shell particles were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometer and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The results of FTIR revealed existence of a strong interaction at the interface of nano‐CaCO3 particle and PS, which implies that the polymer chains were successfully grafted onto the surface of nano‐CaCO3 particle through the link of the coupling agent. In addition, TGA and DSC results indicated an enhancement of thermal stability of core–shell materials compared with the pure nano‐PS. Nano‐CaCO3/PS particles were blended with polypropylene (PP) matrix on Brabender Plastograph by melt process with different wt% of loading (i.e. 0.1–1 wt%). The interfacial adhesion between nano‐CaCO3 particles and PP matrix was significantly improved when the nano‐CaCO3 particles were grafted with PS, which led to increased thermal, rheological, and mechanical properties of (nano‐CaCO3/PS)/PP composites. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM) images showed a perfect dispersion of the nano‐CaCO3 particles in PP matrix. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
β‐cyclodextrin‐based polymeric nano‐receptor: the self‐assembly of cyclodextrin‐appended comb‐copolymer
Authors: Kang Yan , Yuan Jinying , Yan Qiang , Zheng Liyao , Zhou Lilin 
Published: February 2011

AbstractWell‐defined β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CD)‐appended biocompatible comb‐copolymer ethyl cellulose‐graft‐poly (ε‐caprolactone) (EC‐g‐PCL) was synthesized via the combination of ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) and click chemistry. The resulting products were characterized by 1H NMR, FT‐IR spectroscopy, and GPC. The synthesized comb‐copolymer could assemble to micelles, with the surface covered by β‐CD. The inclusion with ferrocene derivation was investigated by cyclic voltammetric (CV) experiments, which indicated the potential application of the micelles as nano‐receptors for molecule recognization and controlled drug release. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Preparation and properties of hollow silica tubes/bismaleimide/diallylbisphenol A composites with improved toughness, dielectric properties, and flame retardancy
Authors: Yao Wei , Gu Aijuan , Liang Guozheng , Zhuo Dongxian , Yuan Li 
Published: February 2011

AbstractNew high performance insulating composites based on hollow silica tubes (mHST) and bismaleimide/diallylbisphenol A (BDM/DBA) resin, which exhibit improved toughness, dielectric properties, and flame retardancy, were successfully developed. The effect of the amount of mHST on the properties of composites was systematically studied. Results show that the impact strength of the composite with 0.5 wt% mHST is about 2.2 times that of BDM/DBA resin. In addition, compared with BDM/DBA resin, the composites show lower and stable dielectric constant, better frequency stability of dielectric loss, significantly improved flame retardancy, and similarly outstanding thermal resistance. The reasons behind these attractive integrated properties are discussed from the view of structure–property relationship. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
On the way to clean and safe electrospinning—green electrospinning: emulsion and suspension electrospinning
Authors: Agarwal Seema , Greiner Andreas 
Published: February 2011

AbstractFor the process of electrospinning, either water or organic solvents are used as solvents depending upon the solubility of the materials to be spun. For many applications, such as tissue engineering, biomedical, agricultural, etc., the toxicity of the organic solvent used could be highly critical. Besides this, the high viscosities of such polymer solutions even for low weight per cent (wt%) polymer solutions (generally for conventional electrospinning a maximum of 10–15 wt% polymer solution can be used) prevent high polymer concentrations and thereby reduces the productivity of the electrospinning process. This justifies the need for an approach which would alleviate concerns regarding safety, toxicology, and environmental problems, in addition, would also overcome the restrictions of too high polymer concentrations of polymer solutions. The answer could be suspension electrospinning. The term suspension electrospinning is referred to the electrospinning of aqueous dispersions (lattices) of water insoluble polymers and is defined in this article as Green Electrospinning. The present mini review highlights the efforts in this promising area of Emulsion and Suspension Electrospinning including their chances and limitations. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Super impact strength of blends prepared from regular HIPS and poly(butyl acrylate)‐block‐poly(styrene) obtained by RAFT polymerization
Authors: Enríquez‐Medrano Francisco J. , Hernández‐Valdez Martín , Maldonado‐Textle Hortensia , Lacroix‐Desmazes Patrick , Guerrero‐Santos Ramiro 
Published: February 2011

AbstractS‐allyl‐4‐methyldithiobenzoate was synthesized and used as a chain transfer agent for the RAFT polymerization of butyl acrylate to produce a functionalized acrylic rubber. A solution of 8 wt% of this functionalized rubber was prepared in styrene and polymerized to generate a material called acrylic rubber‐modified polystyrene (AMP) constituted by well‐dispersed particles of poly(butyl acrylate)‐block‐poly(styrene) into a polystyrene matrix. Impact strength of injection‐molded samples of AMP was measured and compared with the general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) and the high impact polystyrene (HIPS). AMP itself showed an impact strength value similar to GPPS; however, when AMP was blended with conventional HIPS, the resulting material exhibited an improvement of 76–91% as compared to HIPS by itself, without affecting negatively tensile properties. Transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed both kinds of dispersed phases, i.e. the typical salami particles of polybutadiene coming from HIPS (size: 0.5–2 µ) and small particles from poly(butyl acrylate)‐block‐poly(styrene) (size: ∼50 nm). We clearly showed that such a bimodality of the particle size distribution caused the positive synergistic effect on impact strength. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Physicochemical characterization and drug release properties of PDMAEMA/OSA Semi‐IPN hydrogels with microporous structure
Authors: Gao Chunmei , Liu Mingzhu , Chen Jun , Chen Chen 
Published: February 2011

AbstractA new poly(2‐(dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate)/oxidized sodium alginate (PDMAEMA) semi‐interpenetrating network (Semi‐IPN) hydrogel with microporous structure was prepared by using PDMAEMA microgels as an additive during the polymerization/crosslinking process. The interior morphology characterized by scanning electron microscopy showed the Semi‐IPN hydrogels have different pore sizes by changing the amount of microgels. The hydrogels were also characterized by using Fourier transform infrared and DSC. The swelling behaviors of hydrogels indicated that the hydrogels have excellent pH and temperature sensitivity. Bovine serum albumin was entrapped in the hydrogels and the in vitro drug release profiles were established in different buffer solutions at various temperatures. The release behaviors of the model drug were dependent on the pore size of the hydrogels and environmental temperature/pH, which suggested that these materials have potential application as intelligent drug carriers. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Nuchal translucency measurement in fetuses with spinal muscular atrophy
Authors: Zadeh Neda , Hudgins Louanne , Norton Mary E. 
Published: February 2011

AbstractObjectiveSpinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disorder with a high carrier frequency in the general population. The severity of this disorder indicates the importance of early prenatal detection. In medical literature, there are a few published case reports of enlarged nuchal translucency (NT) measurement in association with a diagnosis of SMA in the fetus. Our goal is to determine whether SMA in infants is associated with a history of an increased NT measurement during pregnancy.MethodsUsing contact information obtained through SMA family support groups, women who had recently given birth to infants affected with SMA were identified and queried about NT ultrasound results during the pregnancy. NT values were confirmed via ultrasound report to determine whether SMA was associated with a history of an enlarged NT measurement.ResultsTwelve SMA affected infants with confirmed NT results during the pregnancy were identified. All fetuses had normal NT values ranging from 0.7 to 2.4 mm.ConclusionIn this series, SMA did not appear to be associated with an enlarged NT. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Polarization of photoluminescence excitation and emission spectra of silicon nanorods within single Si/SiO2 nanowires
Authors: Valenta Jan , Bruhn Benjamin , Linnros Jan 
Published: February 2011

AbstractPolarization properties of individual silicon nanowires are studied using an optical micro‐spectroscopy setup equipped with a Fresnel rhomb to rotate the polarization of the exciting laser and the analyzer to characterize the polarization of emitted photoluminescence. The Si nanowire samples are prepared by electron‐beam lithography, plasma etching and oxidation. The fabricated wires are embedded in SiO2 and oriented parallel to the Si substrate. Due to the fluctuating wire diameter (around 5 nm) the very long wires (several tens of μm) are effectively divided into an array of quantum rods (prolate ellipsoids). These structures have strong photoluminescence under UV‐blue excitation at room temperature. The degree of photoluminescence linear polarization of both excitation and emission is very high, between 0.9‐1, and reveals relatively low fluctuations at different spots of the wires. Experimental results are compared with available theoretical models leading to the conclusion that the high polarization degree is mostly due to surface charges (dielectric confinement) with smaller contribution of quantum confinement effects (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Narrow photoluminescence peak from Ge(Si) islands embedded between tensile‐strained Si layers
Authors: Shaleev Mikhail , Novikov Alexey , Baydakova Nataliya , Yablonskiy Artem , Kuznetsov Oleg , Drozdov Yuriy , Lobanov Dmitriy , Krasilnik Zakhary 
Published: February 2011

AbstractThe influence of thickness of the strained Si layers, measurement temperature and optical pumping power on width of the photoluminescence line from Ge(Si) self‐assembled nanoislands grown on relaxed SiGe/Si(001) buffer layers and embedded between tensile‐stained Si layers was studied. This line appears due to the II‐type optical transition between the holes localized in islands and the electrons confined in tensile‐strained Si layers under and above the islands. The possibility of tuning the photoluminescence line width by changing the strained Si layer thicknesses under and above the islands is showed. The decrease of the photoluminescence line width from Ge(Si) islands down to values comparable with width of the PL line from InAs/GaAs quantum dots was achieved due to the quantum confinement of electrons in thin strained Si layers and taking into account of the higher diffusion‐induced smearing of strained Si layer above the islands. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Scanning confocal Raman spectroscopy of silicon phase distribution in individual Si nanowires
Authors: Nikolenko Andrii , Strelchuk Victor , Klimovskaya Alla , Lytvyn Peter , Valakh Mikhail , Pedchenko Yuriy , Voroschenko Andrii , Hourlier Djamila 
Published: February 2011

AbstractSilicon nanowires were grown by gold enhanced CVD self‐assembly technique. In the Raman spectra of nanowires, along with phonon band of cubic diamond phase (Si I) at near 521 cm‐1, additional phonon bands at 516 and 496 cm‐1 related to hexagonal wurtzite phase (Si IV) were observed. Spatial distribution of intensities of these Raman bands around single nanowire reveals that both phases coexist along the wire length, even if with variable contributions. In addition, there is a strong alternating shift of Si I phonon band between the two ends of the nanowire (the one end is tipped with Au and the other end is the one that was connected to the substrate). Additionally, reversibility of Si IV phase transformation during laser heating at temperatures about 100 ºC was found. The intensity of Si IV band strongly depends on exciting power in the range of 0.05 to 1 mW/µm2. The observed phenomena are discussed in relation with peculiarities of nanowire growth. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Excitation of erbium ions in SiO2 with Si nanocrystals via virtual Auger process
Authors: Prokofiev A. A. , Moskalenko A. S. , Poddubny A. N. , Yassievich I. N. 
Published: February 2011

AbstractHere we propose a possible mechanism of fast Er3+ ions excitation in SiO2 matrix with Si nanocrystals. We show that the presence of Si nanocrystals allows for non‐resonant optical pumping of erbium ions by virtual Auger transition, which is the second order process via an intermediate virtual state: the first step is the optical transition inside the Si NC, and the second one is Auger excitation of Er3+ ion accompanied by intraband transition of the confined carrier. This mechanism of excitation can take place when the energy of photon absorbed is larger than the sum of the confined electron‐hole ground state energy and the excitation energy of Er3+ ion. We have calculated the excitation cross‐section as a function of the excitation energy for erbium ions situated both inside and outside the NC.We show that virtually all Er3+ ions inside NCs can be excited directly into the first excited state 4I13/2 (responsible for the 1.5 µm emission) by the laser pulse of duration 5–10 ns. The results obtained for ions located outside NCs demonstrate the efficiency of the virtual excitation Auger process for transition of erbium ions into the higher excited states. 1.5 µm PL appears in this case as a result of nonradiative relaxation of excited ions down to the 4I13/2 state. Correspondingly, the rise time of the 1.5 µm PL should be about several microseconds. The cross‐sections calculated demonstrate the efficiency of such Auger process (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)