bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Adherence, persistence and continuation with cholinesterase inhibitors in Alzheimer's disease
Authors: Le Couteur David G , Robinson Maxine , Leverton Ann , Creasey Helen , Waite Louise , Atkins Kerry , McLachlan Andrew J 
Published: September 2011

Aim:  To determine adherence, persistence and continuation beyond 6 months with cholinesterase inhibitors in Australians with Alzheimer's disease.Methods:  Adherence and persistence with cholinesterase inhibitors were assessed by data linkage using the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) Authority database and other health databases.Results:  Over 18 000 people commenced cholinesterase inhibitors during 2004. Adherence was 79.4% while the medication possession ratio was 0.88. Some 70.3% of people filled all six scripts for the initial trial period of therapy. Some 57.3% of evaluable patients accessed funding beyond six prescriptions, indicating that their clinicians had declared that there was a two‐point or more greater improvement in the Mini‐Mental State Examination. Despite the high rate of continuation beyond 6 months, the rates of institutionalisation and death were no different to those reported in clinical trials.Conclusions:  Persistence and adherence with cholinesterase inhibitors was reasonable once treatment was established. There was an unexpectedly high continuation rate beyond six prescriptions.
Crystal structure of Onconase at 1.1 Å resolution – insights into substrate binding and collective motion
Authors: Holloway Daniel E. , Singh Umesh P. , Shogen Kuslima , Acharya K. Ravi 
Published: September 2011

Onconase® (ONC) is an amphibian member of the pancreatic ribonuclease superfamily that is selectively toxic to tumor cells. It is a much less efficient enzyme than the archetypal ribonuclease A and, in an attempt to gain further insight, we report the first atomic resolution crystal structure of ONC, determined in complex with sulfate ions at 100 K. The electron density map is of a quality sufficient to reveal significant nonplanarity in several peptide bonds. The majority of active site residues are very well defined, with the exceptions being Lys31 from the catalytic triad and Lys33 from the B1 subsite, which are relatively mobile but rigidify upon nucleotide binding. Cryocooling causes a compaction of the unit cell and the protein contained within. This is principally the result of an inward movement of one of the lobes of the enzyme (lobe 2), which also narrows the active site cleft. Binding a nucleotide in place of sulfate is associated with an approximately perpendicular movement of lobe 2 and has little further effect on the cleft width. Aspects of this deformation are present in the principal axes of anisotropy extracted from Cα atomic displacement parameters, indicating its intrinsic nature. The three lowest‐frequency modes of ONC motion predicted by an anisotropic network model are compaction/expansion variations in which lobe 2 is the prime mover. Two of these have high similarity to the cryocooling response and imply that the essential ‘breathing’ motion of ribonuclease A is conserved in ONC. Instead, shifts in conformational equilibria may contribute to the reduced ribonucleolytic activity of ONC.Database
Structural data have been submitted to the Protein Data Bank under accession number 3SNF.
How fast does oral dexamethasone work in mild to moderately severe croup? A randomized double‐blinded clinical trial
Authors: Dobrovoljac Milana , Geelhoed Gary C 
Published: September 2011

AbstractObjective: For children with croup controversy remains over dosage and time to onset of action of oral steroids. The Cochrane Collaboration and other reviews have suggested 0.6 mg/kg dexamethasone be used (despite some evidence that 0.15 mg/kg is effective) with no expectation of benefit before 4–6 h. This randomized double‐blinded clinical trial examines whether 0.15 mg/kg dexamethasone works by 30 min.Methods: Children with croup aged above 6 months presenting to a tertiary paediatric ED with a Westley croup score of mild to moderate range (scores 1–6 out of 17) were randomized to receive either 0.15 mg/kg dexamethasone or oral placebo solution. Vital signs and croup score were recorded at study entry and every 10 min up to 1 h after administration of the study drug. The main outcome measure was croup score at 30 min.Results: Each group contained 35 children. Baseline characteristics were similar, except for respiratory rate, which was higher in the placebo group. There was a growing trend to a lower croup score in the dexamethasone group, evident from 10 min and statistically significant from 30 min.Conclusion: For children with croup an oral dose of 0.15 mg/kg dexamethasone offers benefit by 30 min, much earlier than the 4 h suggested by the Cochrane Collaboration. This result might encourage doctors to treat more children with all severities of croup being less worried about potential side‐effects and delayed benefit.
Teaching medical students to resuscitate children: An innovative two‐part programme
Authors: Thomson Natasha M , Campbell Dianne E , O'Leary Fenton M 
Published: September 2011

AbstractObjective: The objective of the present study was to design and evaluate a novel, ‘blended learning’ approach to the teaching of paediatric resuscitation to medical students.Methods: Participants were recruited from the Graduate Medical Program at the University of Sydney. The course incorporated an initial e‐learning module and a subsequent practical component. The e‐learning module taught basic and advanced life support. Students then attended a 90 min practical session, which focussed on team work and the psychomotor components of resuscitation. Improvement in knowledge was measured by a multiple choice question (MCQ) test. The MCQ was completed prior to beginning the whole course, after completion of the e‐learning module and again at follow up 8 months later. Students also completed an evaluation survey.Results: Twenty‐one students participated. There was a significant objective increase in knowledge from pre‐course to post e‐learning scores, median scores (interquartile range) from 12/23 (10.5 to 13.5) to 21/23 (20 to 22.5), P < 0.001. This significant increase in knowledge was still apparent at follow up 8 months later. Median MCQ score at follow up was 17/23 (14 to 18.5), P < 0.002. Students self‐rated significant improvements in their knowledge, confidence and ability to perform basic and advanced life support for the whole course and between individual components (P < 0.001).Conclusions: A novel paediatric resuscitation course for medical students was developed and evaluated. This demonstrated significant objective improvements in student knowledge throughout the course, at course completion and at 8 month follow up. There were also significant subjective improvements in knowledge, confidence and ability to perform paediatric resuscitation.
Storied experiences of nurse practitioners managing prehypertension in primary care
Authors: Hernandez Johnanna , Anderson Stoerm 
Published: September 2011

AbstractPurpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the nurse practitioner (NP) experience with caring for prehypertensive patients. Lifestyle modifications are the primary recommendation for management of prehypertension. Given the historical foundation of health promotion and disease prevention as a fundamental component of NP professional identity, gaining insight into the experience of caring for prehypertensive patients in the current healthcare environment is valuable to the profession, patients, and communities. Therefore, the NP role in health promotion and disease prevention related to prehypertension was explored as well.Data sources: Narrative inquiry was the chosen methodology to gather narrative accounts of eight NPs caring for prehypertensive patients in primary care. The three‐dimensional narrative inquiry space was used to guide the researcher during data analysis.Conclusions: Three themes emerged from the NPs’ narratives: realities of practice, ambiguous role identity, and bridging models. Time constraints, financial considerations, and bridging the nursing and medical models while adapting to practice environments were barriers identified as components of the NP experience caring for patients with prehypertension.Implications for practice: This study revealed that caring for prehypertensive patients is a complex and multilayered experience.
Avoiding regulatory complaints when treating chronic pain patients with opioids
Authors: Hudspeth Randall S. 
Published: September 2011

AbstractPurpose: To provide nurse practitioners (NPs) in primary care settings who treat chronic pain with opioids information on nationally accepted standards, assessment tools, pain management contracts, and effective documentation strategies to evidence safe practice to protect patients, the public, and to defend the NP against complaints that lead to regulatory investigations.Data sources: Existing screening tools and national pain management standards.Conclusions: Many NPs lack formal pain management education and preceptorships, thus leaving them at risk for incomplete assessments, poor documentation, and failing to implement necessary safeguards that can lead to regulatory complaint investigations and discipline against their license.Implications for practice: NPs often lack awareness of national pain management standards and the risks of chronic opioid prescribing. When adverse events occur, the NP can become the focus of a regulatory investigation that results in formal discipline against their license to practice. Using standard assessment tools, pain management contracts, and implementing safeguards to protect the patient and the public evidence safe practice and, help avoid regulatory discipline against the NP license.
Using aerial photography to investigate evidence of feeding by bowhead whales
Authors: Mocklin Julie A. , Rugh David J. , Moore Sue E. , Angliss Robyn P. 
Published: September 2011

AbstractAerial photographs were analyzed to investigate the feeding habits of the Bering‐Chukchi‐Beaufort (BCB) population of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus), particularly epibenthic feeding near Barrow, Alaska. Evidence of epibenthic feeding was based on mud visible on the dorsal surface of whales, resulting from feeding near the seafloor. Other cues used to assess feeding were an open mouth or the presence of feces in photographs. Over 3,600 photographs were analyzed including photos from surveys in spring and late summer and in both the western and eastern Beaufort Sea. Of all the photographs analyzed, 64% were scored as definitively muddy. In spring, ratios ranged from a low of 27% in 2003 to a high of 76% in 2004. When all May sample sets off Barrow were combined (1985, 1986, 2003, 2004), there was a significant difference (t‐test, P < 0.004) between the proportion of muddy juveniles to the proportion of muddy adults, with muddy adults being more common. The Barrow area was a commonly used feeding ground during migrations in both the spring (61% of the sample were feeding; 55% epibenthically) and autumn (99% of the sample; 97% epibenthically). Bowheads both migrate and feed through areas where petroleum extraction is underway and anticipated; hence, exposure to oil after a spill is of considerable concern to Native communities and management agencies.
Home range, survival, and dispersal of endangered Saimaa ringed seal pups: Implications for conservation
Authors: Niemi Marja , Auttila Miina , Viljanen Markku , Kunnasranta Mervi 
Published: September 2011

AbstractLake Saimaa in eastern Finland is inhabited by a critically endangered ringed seal subspecies Pusa hispida saimensis. Since accidental mortality in gill nets, resulting in reduced pup survival, is considered to be the main factor contributing to the decline in its population, fishing restriction areas have been established. In this study, 10 pups were located daily using very high frequency (VHF) telemetry to estimate their home ranges, movements, and survival. The pups dispersed after weaning at the age of ca. 3 mo and moved up to 15 km a day between consecutive locations and up to 25 km away from their birth sites. The home ranges of the pups at the age of 3–4 mo were variable in size, from 3 to 162 km2. The pups preferred the same shallow water areas (<6 m) that were used for gill net fishing. The annual fishing restrictions covered an average of 83% of the pups’ home ranges. Four of the pups were nevertheless killed in fishing gear. The results have implications for Saimaa ringed seal management and conservation. For instance, large home ranges of pups and the long distances movements should be taken into account when zoning shore use and imposing fishing restrictions.
Ontogenetic dietary information of the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) assessed using stable isotope analysis
Authors: Orr Anthony J. , Newsome Seth D. , Laake Jeffrey L. , VanBlaricom Glenn R. , DeLong Robert L. 
Published: September 2011

AbstractWe used stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopes to examine ontogenetic dietary changes in 289 California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) at San Miguel Island, California during 2004–2007. Tissues analyzed included fur, red blood cells, plasma, and serum. For all tissues, pups had higher δ15N values and lower δ13C values compared to adults, which indicated that pups were feeding higher trophically than older conspecifics and on a lipid‐rich milk diet prior to weaning. Yearling δ15N values were slightly lower than pup or nearly indistinguishable from adult values depending on the tissue analyzed, indicating a dietary shift from maternal dependency to independent foraging. Juveniles (2–4 yr) and adults (>4 yr) had similar δ15N values indicating they fed at a similar trophic level. There did not appear to be a pronounced dietary shift in δ13C values. However, δ13C values integrated with telemetry data indicated that postweaned individuals fed in similar foraging areas. Dietary changes during early life stages may be due to differences in physiology, morphology, experience, or energetic requirements; however, young animals are able to attain the skills needed to consume adult prey types near the end of their second year of life.
An in‐field experimental test of pinniped behavioral types
Authors: Twiss Sean D. , Culloch Ross , Pomeroy Patrick P. 
Published: September 2011

AbstractThere has been extensive recent interest in the concepts of behavioral types, behavioral syndromes, and personalities in nonhuman animal species. Evidence for behavioral types now exists from a wide range of taxa, from mollusks to mammals. However, marine mammals are poorly represented in this literature. Here, we describe an in‐field experimental test of behavioral types in breeding gray seals, using a remotely controlled vehicle to deliver a standardized test stimulus to target individuals. We report on the design and implementation of this test and on the behavioral responses of individuals. Analysis of behavioral responses from both males and females revealed consistent individual differences across tests, suggesting that this is a practical and viable technique for determining individual variation in behavioral type in the field. Despite extensive literature on behavioral types, studies of behavioral types in wild populations remain rare. It is, therefore, important to develop ways to identify and quantify the existence of behavioral types in natural populations, because only by doing this, can we hope to ascertain the ecological and evolutionary relevance of behavioral types.
Theoretical Study of Electron Transfer in Rhodobacter sphaeroides Reaction Center
Authors: Hiyama Miyabi , Koga Nobuaki 
Published: September 2011

AbstractWe investigate the substitution effects on electron transfer in Rhodobacter (Rb.) sphaeroides reaction center using ab initio calculations. The overlap of molecular orbitals in the X‐ray structure of 1PCR of the protein data bank using Gaussian09 can qualitatively explain the tendency of the experimental transition time. The charge effects of proteins on electron transfer in Rb. sphaeroides reaction center are also investigated, by employing a simple point charge approximation for proteins. We have found that the primary effect for the route A orientation is the effect of long side chains. For the route A orientation on the electron transfer, the influence of the charges of proteins operates through the long side chains indirectly as well as directly work to increase the value of overlap integrals.
Photochemical Inactivation of Alpha‐ and Poxviruses
Authors: Sagripanti Jose‐Luis , Marschall Hans‐Jürgen , Voss Lucy , Hülseweh Birgit 
Published: September 2011

ABSTRACTThe objective of this study was to determine whether photochemical inactivation of viruses could be accomplished with high efficiency while preserving the molecular integrity of viral targets allowing subsequent diagnostic tests to be performed at a lower level of containment and cost. We studied the effect of 5‐iodonaphthyl 1‐azide (INA) and amotosalen (AMO, also known as S‐59), which are photochemicals known to target either viral proteins or nucleic acids, respectively. We found that vaccinia virus (VACV, an orthopox virus with a DNA genome) and pixuna virus (PIXV, an alphavirus with an RNA genome) were stable when irradiated with UVA alone or when exposed to either INA or AMO in the dark. AMO followed by UVA exposure was at least 1000‐fold more virucidal than INA/UVA on vaccinia and pixuna viruses treated under similar conditions. Photoinactivation with either INA or AMO at conditions that abolished viral infectivity resulted in only minimal impairment of subsequent ELISA and PCR testing. The results presented in this study should assist in developing methods to inactivate in the field environmental and forensic samples suspected of viral contamination, thus limiting the need for costly security and safety operations after an accidental or intentional viral release.
Evaluation of influential factors on market values of five major international oil companies, using the method of panel data with two‐way error components and its application in oil and gas industries of Iran
Authors: Fard Ali Taheri 
Published: September 2011

AbstractMarket value is one of the important indices for evaluating a company's financial operation. Profit from, and volume of oil and gas reserves of companies are the most important factors that influence the market value of large international oil companies. In this study, two‐way error component regression with fixed effects is used to estimate influential factors on market value of five major oil companies. Accordingly, the effect of oil and gas reserves volume on the financial value of big oil companies is about 1.73 times more than the effect of companies’ profit. With more profitability from buy‐back contracts of Iran, big oil companies have enough reason to be selective with production contracts in which to participate. To solve this, it is proposed that smaller international contractors be used to help the national oil company develop the country's oil and gas fields but that project management be handled by oil and gas industry managers within the country.
Income and price elasticities and oil‐saving technological changes in ARDL models of demand for oil in G7 and BRIC
Authors: Asali Mehdi 
Published: September 2011

AbstractIn recent years, global growth of demand for oil has been mainly due to the increasing demand for energy in major developing nations, namely China, India and Brazil, fuelled by their exceptional economic performance. In the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), on the other hand, and particularly in the G7 countries where more than 70 per cent of OECD demand for oil is consumed, demand for oil has been stagnant and seems to be plateaued. Indeed, per capita consumption for oil in these countries has been diminishing in recent years. Given the rising share of the major developing economies in global demand for oil, increased attention to carbon emission and the recent ascending trends of oil prices have renewed interest in the likely paths of demand for oil in these economies and the role that energy policies and rising oil prices might play in oil‐saving technological changes in the major oil‐consuming nations. In this paper, an attempt is made to use time‐series modelling techniques for estimating income and price elasticities of demand for oil in G7 and Brazil, Russia, India and China countries and to test whether oil‐saving technological changes in these economies could be attributed to exogenous factors such as energy policies and regulations or should be considered mainly a matter of price‐induced endogenous changes.
Carbon border adjustment, trade and climate governance. Issues for OPEC economies
Authors: Abbas Mehdi 
Published: September 2011

AbstractThe relation between the climate regulation and the multilateral trade regime is a rising issue in the field of international governance. This paper presents the options available to Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' economies related to this. It analyses the option of introducing a carbon tax or border adjustment measures in the core of the World Trade Organization (WTO) regime. It demonstrates that this option is not sustainable for both institutional and political economy reasons. This is why the paper argues that the way to build a climate‐compatible trade regulation that takes into account oil‐exporting countries' interests is to elaborate a cross‐institutional cooperation between the WTO and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Oil and the macroeconomy: empirical evidence from oil‐exporting African countries
Authors: Iwayemi Akin , Fowowe Babajide 
Published: September 2011

AbstractMost studies on the oil–macroeconomy relationship focus predominantly on advanced, oil‐importing countries. This study deviates from these studies by conducting an empirical analysis of the effects of oil price shocks on oil‐exporting countries from Africa. We make use of data over the period 1970 to 2006 and estimate vector autoregressions for four of the largest African oil exporters: Algeria, Egypt, Libya and Nigeria. The results of Granger causality tests agree with the evidence from previous research, and we find little evidence of a short‐run effect of oil price shocks on macroeconomic variables. Impulse response functions show that shocks to oil prices instigate volatile responses from macroeconomic variables, and in most cases, the initial responses of macroeconomic variables to shocks in oil prices are negative, thereby agreeing with previous research. This has the implication that although rising oil prices should provide more foreign exchange earnings, and consequently increased government revenue for these oil‐exporting African countries, such increases have not been channelled into improving economic activities.