bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A qualitative analysis of the nutritional requirements of palliative care patients
Authors: Muir C. I. , Linklater G. T. 
Published: July 2011

AbstractBackground:  The National Health Servive (NHS) Quality Improvement Scotland developed nutritional Clinical Standards to address the problem of malnutrition in hospitals. NHS palliative care units are obliged to incorporate these standards into nutritional aspects of care. The nutritional needs of this patient population are under‐researched. The present study aimed to explore patients’ views of nutrition, to begin to understand their concerns and to determine whether such standards meet the needs of patients in the palliative care setting.Methods:  A qualitative study was conducted in 2009 in an NHS Palliative Care Unit. Six inpatients were involved in one‐to‐one interviews, which were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. The transcripts were subject to qualitative data analysis in accordance with a previous framework.Results:  A recurring theme that emerged was that of change and uncertainty. Four main areas subject to change were: disease state, symptoms, oral dietary intake and weight. Each change could exert control over, or be controlled by, the patient. When patients were eventually unable to exert control, they accepted the change, either willingly or enforced, thereby unintentionally setting their own targets.Conclusions:  The present study enables a deeper understanding of the concerns that palliative care patients have regarding their oral dietary intake and weight. Their ‘malnutrition’ not only refers to physical malnutrition alone, but also incorporates psychological and social ‘malnutrition’. When applying standards or protocols regarding nutritional care, these wider issues must be taken into account to meet patients’ nutritional needs.
The development of nonweighed pilot methods for estimating phenylalanine exchanges in non‐phenylketonuria volunteers
Authors: Gokmen‐Ozel H. , Daly A. , Davies P. , MacDonald A. 
Published: July 2011

AbstractBackground:  In children with phenylketonuria (PKU), the daily weighing of the phenylalanine allowance from food is advocated. There is a need to develop nonweighed methods of measuring dietary phenylalanine, aiming to ease caregiver burden and possibly improve dietary adherence. The accuracy of three methods (household measures, digital photographs and weighing) for measuring 50‐mg phenylalanine exchanges for PKU was investigated in a randomised, controlled trial.Methods:  There were 51 volunteers (32 females; 19 males; median age: 34 years, range 13–77 years), who were all unconnected with PKU. For three consecutive days, all volunteers attended a research centre and, each day, were randomly allocated a different method (household measures, digital photographs and weighing) for phenylalanine exchange measurement. On each day, they measured the amount of food equivalent to one 50‐mg phenylalanine exchange for 24 common foods. All phenylalanine exchange samples (3672 samples) were then reweighed by the investigators.Results:  No method of measuring 50‐mg phenylalanine exchanges was accurate when used by volunteers. The median percentages (range) of all food samples within 10% of target were only 67% (41–98), 44% (4–96) and 41% (4–98) for weighing, household measures and photographs, respectively. The respective median (range) of samples within 20% of the target weights were: 96% (51–100) weighing, 82% (10–100) photographs and 80% (6–100) household measures. No noteworthy difference in accuracy was observed between household measures and photographs.Conclusions:  Volunteers not associated with PKU could not measure 50‐mg phenylalanine exchanges accurately using weighing, household measurements or photographs. Therefore, it is important to consider developing methods for improving accuracy of measurement of 50‐mg phenylalanine exchanges in PKU.
Preliminary pharmacokinetics and cardiovascular effects of fenoldopam continuous rate infusion in six healthy dogs
Authors: BLOOM C. A. , LABATO M. A. , HAZARIKA S. , COURT M. H. 
Published: July 2011

Bloom, C. A., Labato, M. A., Hazarika, S., Court, M. H. Preliminary pharmacokinetics and cardiovascular effects of fenoldopam continuous rate infusion in six healthy dogs. J. vet. Pharmacol. Therap. 35, 224–230.Fenoldopam is a selective dopamine‐1 receptor agonist that causes peripheral arterial vasodilation, increased renal blood flow, and diuresis. Enthusiasm exists for the use of fenoldopam in nonpolyuric kidney injury in dogs, although pharmacokinetic data are lacking. The purpose of this study was to collect basic pharmacokinetic and hemodynamic effect data for fenoldopam when administered to healthy awake dogs. Six healthy, awake beagles were given a 180‐min fenoldopam constant rate infusion at 0.8 μg/kg per minute followed by a 120‐min washout period. Citrated blood was collected during and after infusion for the measurement of plasma fenoldopam concentration by HPLC with mass spectrometry. Heart rate and indirect systolic blood pressure were concurrently measured. Mean ± SD, steady‐state plasma fenoldopam concentrations of 20 ± 17 ng/mL were achieved within 10 min of starting the infusion. Area under the plasma concentration–time curve was 3678 ± 3030 ng/mL·min, and plasma clearance was 66 ± 43 mL/min per kg. Elimination was rapidly achieved in all dogs. Heart rate and systolic blood pressure were unaffected by the fenoldopam infusion. Based on the results of this study, further evaluation of the effects of fenoldopam in dogs at differing doses and in dogs with clinical conditions such as acute nonpolyuric kidney injury is warranted.
Co‐ordination of quorum‐sensing regulation in Rhizobium leguminosarum by induction of an anti‐repressor
Authors: Frederix Marijke , Edwards Anne , McAnulla Craig , Downie J. Allan 
Published: July 2011

SummaryAnalysis of quorum‐sensing (QS) regulation in Rhizobium leguminosarum revealed an unusual type of gene regulation that relies on the population density‐dependent accumulation of an anti‐repressor. The cinS gene, which is co‐transcribed with the N‐acyl‐homoserine‐lactone synthase gene cinI, is required to fully induce rhiR and raiR, whose products, together with their partner AHL synthases, regulate other genes in a QS‐regulated hierarchy. Purified CinS bound to the R. leguminosarum transcriptional regulator PraR, which repressed rhiR and raiR expression. PraR bound to the rhiR and raiR promoters and CinS displaced PraR from these promoters, thereby inducing their expression. Although induction of cinS required CinI‐made AHL, it appears CinS does not require the AHL for its anti‐repressor function. The LuxR‐type regulator ExpR was also required for normal induction of rhiR and raiR and it appears that this occurs by ExpR repressing the transcription of praR. Therefore ExpR and CinS act independently to attenuate PraR action, ExpR by repressing its transcription and CinS by attenuating its repressive activity. Thus, as CinS accumulates in a population density‐dependent manner it induces the QS hierarchy by relieving PraR‐mediated repression of rhiR and raiR.
Effects of glucose, propionate and splanchnic hormones on neuropeptide mRNA concentrations in the ovine hypothalamus
Authors: Relling A. E. , Lee K. , Loerch S. C. , Reynolds C. K. 
Published: July 2011

SummaryThe capacity for glucose, propionate or hormones of splanchnic origin to influence appetite by directly regulating the expression of neuropeptides in the feeding centres of the hypothalamus of the ruminant is not described. Therefore, our objective was to measure the direct effect of metabolites (glucose and propionate) or hormones [insulin, cholecystokinin (CCK), glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) and polypeptide YY (PYY)] on hypothalamic mRNA concentrations for neuropeptide Y (NPY), agouti‐related peptide (AgRP) and proopiomelanocortin (POMC) following in vitro incubation. Hypothalamic tissue from 4‐ to 5‐month‐old lambs was obtained at slaughter and immediately incubated in culture media for 2 h at 36 °C. Treatments included a control Dulbecco’s modified Eagle medium (DMEM) containing 1 mm glucose or DMEM with the following additions: 10 mm glucose, 1 mm propionate, 1 nm insulin, 120 pm GLP‐1, 100 pm PYY, 80 pm CCK or 10 mm glucose plus 1 nm insulin. The abundance of mRNA for NPY, AgRP and POMC was measured using quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR. Fisher’s protected LSD test was used to compare changes in relative mRNA concentrations for the hypothalamus incubated in the control media vs. the rest of the treatments. The media containing glucose plus insulin increased POMC mRNA concentration (p < 0.05), but did not affect NPY or AgRP mRNA concentration. There were no effects observed for the other treatments (p > 0.20). Results of the present study are consistent with the concept that effects of propionate on feed intake in ruminants is not mediated through direct effects on the hypothalamus, and that insulin is required for an effect of glucose on hypothalamic POMC expression.
ABCC1 polymorphism Arg723Gln (2168G > A) is associated with lung cancer susceptibility in a Chinese population
Authors: Yin Ji‐Ye , Han Li‐Fang , Huang Qiong , Xu Xiao‐Jing , Zhou Hong‐Hao , Liu Zhao‐Qian 
Published: July 2011

Summary1. In a previous in vitro study, we showed that the Arg723Gln (2168G > A) polymorphism significantly ABCC1‐induced multidrug resistance. The aim of the present study was to further investigate the association of this polymorphism with lung cancer susceptibility and chemotherapy response in a Chinese population.2. A total of 77 lung cancer patients (54 men, 23 women) and 71 cancer‐free controls (49 men, 22 women) were enrolled in the study. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood and all samples were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction‐restriction fragment length polymorphism.3. Individuals carrying the 723Gln (A) allele have a 3.4‐fold increased risk (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 3.42; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.29–9.06; P = 0.013) of lung cancer compared with wild‐type individuals. Further stratified analysis indicated that older individuals (> 50 years) carrying the 723Gln (A) allele have the highest susceptibility to lung cancer (adjusted OR 4.10; 95% CI 1.25–13.48; P = 0.020). However, no substantial association was found between the Arg723Gln (2168G > A) polymorphism and chemotherapy response in Chinese lung cancer patients.4. In conclusion, the Arg723Gln (2168G > A) polymorphism of ABCC1 appears to be a potential susceptibility marker for lung cancer in the Chinese population, especially in older people.
Prenatal alcohol consumption and knowledge about alcohol consumption and fetal alcohol syndrome in Korean women
Authors: Kim Oksoo , Park Kyungil 
Published: July 2011

AbstractThe study investigated prenatal alcohol consumption and knowledge of alcohol risks and fetal alcohol syndrome among Korean women. The participants were 221 Korean women who attended the post‐partum care centers in Seoul, Korea. The data included the participants' background characteristics, quantity–frequency typology, Student Alcohol Questionnaire, and a scale on the participants' knowledge of fetal alcohol syndrome. Alcohol was consumed during pregnancy by 12.7% of the participants. Of these, 60.7% drank alcohol with their spouse. A few participants reported that nurses identified their drinking habits and gave them information on alcohol consumption and fetal alcohol syndrome. Most of the participants did not have the opportunity for prenatal counseling about fetal alcohol syndrome. The knowledge level regarding alcohol risks and fetal alcohol syndrome among the participants was poor. Alcohol consumption before pregnancy was significantly related to prenatal alcohol consumption. Prenatal alcohol consumption was not related to knowledge about alcohol consumption and fetal alcohol syndrome. The assessment of alcohol consumption and counseling about alcohol are needed for pregnant women in order to prevent fetal alcohol syndrome.
Factors associated with depressive symptoms in low‐income, older Korean women with hypertension
Authors: Sung Kiwol 
Published: July 2011

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to identify the factors that are associated with depressive symptoms in community‐dwelling, low‐income, older Korean women with hypertension. A total of 107 low‐income, older (aged 74 ± 6 years) Korean women with hypertension participated in the study. Information about depressive symptoms, functional status, and social support were collected by interviews that used the Geriatric Depression Scale, Katz's Activities of Daily Living, and the Lubben Social Support Network Scale, respectively. A logistic regression analysis was used to determine the factors that affected depressive symptoms. The results indicated that the depressed women had been diagnosed with hypertension for a longer period of time and took a larger number of medications than the women in the non‐depressive group. They also had poorer functional status and an “isolated” social support network. The social support network, length of time since diagnosis, number of medications, and functional status were associated independently with depressive symptoms. It was concluded that clinicians should assess for the factors that are associated with depressive symptoms, including a poor social support network, poor daily activity, the number of medications, and the length of time since diagnosis in order to prevent the symptoms of comorbidities worsening in low‐income, hypertensive, older women.
Maternity care professionals' perceptions of supporting employed women in Norway
Authors: Alstveit Marit , Severinsson Elisabeth , Karlsen Bjørg 
Published: July 2011

AbstractThe World Health Organization calls on health professionals to support women in combining maternity and work. The aim of this study was to explore midwives' and public health nurses' perceptions of supporting employed women to balance work and family life during pregnancy and early motherhood. An exploratory design, including multistage focus group interviews, was used. The focus group consisted of five midwives and one public health nurse who was working in maternity care. The data were analyzed by using qualitative content analysis. The comprehensive theme, “empowering the women when they are in ‘another’ state of normality”, was based on two themes, “being in dialogue with the women” and “supporting the women to manage daily activities”. The first theme was based on the subthemes, “perceiving the women to be in ‘another’ state of normality” and “providing an open atmosphere for dialogue”, while the second subtheme was based on “confirming self‐esteem” and “suggesting adjustments at work”. The midwives and public health nurse empowered the women by enhancing their ability to carry out the self‐care that was necessary in order to manage both their work and family life. Collaboration between maternity healthcare providers and employers should be developed in order to support employed women.
Seroprevalence ofTreponema Pallidumantibody among pregnant population of Bangladesh
Authors: Nessa Ashrafun , Islam Mohammad Nazrul , Ashraf Fatema , Islam Fahmida , Khanam Afroza , Sultana Nahida , Rashid Mohammad Harun Ur 
Published: July 2011

AbstractAim: The aim of this study was to investigate the seroprevalence of antibody toTreponema pallidumamong pregnant women and its association with age, sexual behavior and socioeconomic status.Materials and Methods: In this cross‐sectional study, 1266 sera were collected from pregnant women attending Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University and Rajshahi, Khulna and Chittagong Medical College Hospitals between February 2007 and April 2008. From each hospital, samples were collected from about a quarter of the total recruited pregnant women. Sera were tested to identify the antibody toT. pallidumusing Treponema pallidum hemagglutination at the Virology Department of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University. Logistic regression was used to explore potential risk factors for syphilis.Results: Among 1250 sera tested (16 sera were discarded due to hemolysis), 37 (2.96%) were positive forT. pallidumantibody. Higher seropositivity was associated with couples with no formal education, low socioeconomic status (P = 0.006), marriage at or before 18 years of age (P = 0.002), multiple marriages of the husband (P = 0.031) and sexual activity for more than 10 years (P = 0.007). Among these factors, low education level of women, early age of marriage and multiple marriages of the husband showed individual effects on high seropositivity toT. pallidum.Conclusions: The high seroprevalence of syphilis among pregnant women attending the antenatal clinics of these hospitals indicates the need for the incorporation of screening for syphilis in routine antenatal screening in Bangladesh. Improvement of education level in the female population, prevention of early marriage and preventing polygamy of husbands may play an important role in prevention of syphilis among women.
Squirrel glider home ranges near urban edges in eastern Australia
Authors: Brearley G. , McAlpine C. , Bell S. , Bradley A. 
Published: July 2011

AbstractConservation biology and landscape ecology are increasingly concerned with the effects of urbanization on wildlife, including the influences of habitat edges. This is particularly important in landscapes where a restriction on species home‐range movements may reduce an animal's ability to access habitat resources, which ultimately reduces population viability. Despite this, there is limited information available on the movement behavior of wildlife at forest edges adjoining urban areas. We addressed this by radiotracking 30 squirrel gliders Petaurus norfolcensis in forest interiors and near road and residential edges in the fragmented urban landscape of south‐east Queensland, Australia. An assessment of fixed‐kernel (FK100% and FK50%) and minimum convex polygon (MCP100%) methods revealed that FK provided the most reliable home‐range estimates. We applied a general linear model to test the influence of season, age and sex relative to habitat type (forest interiors, road edge, residential edge) on squirrel glider home‐range size (FK95% & FK50%). We found that squirrel gliders living in interior habitats had significantly larger home ranges (7.07 ha±0.43) than individuals living near roads (3.79 ha±0.22) and residential areas (3.40 ha±0.26). Similarly, home‐range core areas (FK50%) were significantly larger in forest interiors (1.49±0.13 ha) than near road (0.78±0.07 ha) and residential edges (0.70±0.08 ha). We also found that squirrel gliders regularly cross narrow roads up to 20 m wide and with a tree gap up to 15 m to access adjacent vegetation, and are willing to utilize foraging resources in residential backyards. Changes in squirrel glider home ranges near edges identified in this study have implications for understanding how this species responds to urban edges, and we highlight important areas for future edge‐related studies to correctly inform conservation and management.
Poor procedures and quality control among nonaffiliated blood centers in Burkina Faso: an argument for expanding the reach of the national blood transfusion center
Authors: Nébié Koumpingnin , Ouattara Siaka , Sanou Mahamoudou , Kientega Youssouphe , Dahourou Honorine , Ky Lassina , Kienou Kisito , Diallo Samba , Bigirimana Françoise , Fretz Catherine , Murphy Edward L. , Lefrère Jean‐Jacques 
Published: July 2011

INTRODUCTION: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the creation of national blood transfusion services. Burkina Faso has a CNTS (Centre National de Transfusion Sanguine—National Blood Transfusion Center) but it currently covers only 53% of the national blood supply versus 47% produced by independent hospital blood banks.STUDY DESIGN: To evaluate blood collection, testing, preparation, and prescription practices in the regions of Burkina Faso that are not covered by the CNTS, a cross‐sectional survey was conducted.METHODS: Data were collected by trained professionals from May to June 2009 at 42 autonomous blood centers not covered by the CNTS.RESULTS: Blood collection was supervised in all sites by laboratory technicians without specific training. There was no marketing of community blood donation nor mobile collection. Donation was restricted to replacement (family) donors in 21.4% of sites. Predonation screening of donors was performed in 63.4% of sites, but some did not use written questionnaires. Testing for HIV, hepatitis B virus, and syphilis was universal, although some sites did not screen for hepatitis C virus. In 83.3% of the sites, blood typing was performed without reverse ABO typing. In 97.6% of the sites, nurses acted alone or in conjunction with a physician to order blood transfusions.CONCLUSION: Shortcomings in non‐CNTS blood centers argue for the development of a truly national CNTS. Such a national center should coordinate and supervise all blood transfusion activities, and is the essential first step for improving and institutionalizing blood transfusion safety and efficacy in a developing country.
Low Temperature Pressureless Sintering of SiC Using an Aluminum Borocarbide Additive
Authors: Lee Sea‐Hoon 
Published: July 2011

The densification of an Al3BC3–SiC system during pressureless sintering was investigated. Densification of SiC could be achieved after sintering at 1850°C for 2 h by adding 10 wt% Al3BC3. The formation of partly crystallized grain boundaries and a core–rim structure within SiC grains indicated that liquid phase sintering was the major densification mechanism. The initial shrinkage at 1430°C was caused by the formation of a liquid silicate phase. Sintering shrinkage accelerated above 1580°C due to the rearrangement of SiC particles. The dissolution–reprecipitation of SiC and the final removal of pores occurred above 1780°C. In contrast to Al2O3 additive which has low efficiency, Al3BC3 strongly promoted the pressureless sintering of SiC.
Synthesis and Characterization of Ag Nanoparticles and Ag‐Loaded TiO2 Photocatalysts
Authors: Sauthier G. , Pérez del Pino A. , Figueras A. , György E. 
Published: July 2011

Ag nanoparticles and Ag–TiO2 nanostructures were grown on (001) SiO2 quartz substrates by pulsed laser deposition using a KrF* excimer laser source (λ = 248 nm, τFWHM~10 ns, ν = 10 Hz) for the irradiation of Ag and TiO2 targets. The obtained structures were characterized by atomic force microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and UV‐visible absorption spectroscopy. Photocatalytic activity was evaluated under near‐UV light illumination by decomposition of methylene blue. The relationship between the laser synthesis process parameters and nanoparticles’ chemical composition, crystal structure, morphology, shape and size distribution on the substrate surface were investigated and correlated with their optical properties. The established experimental parameters were used for the synthesis of nanostructures consisting of anatase phase TiO2 thin films covered by Ag nanoparticles for photocatalytic applications. The optimum experimental conditions were determined which ensure significantly improved photoactivity in the presence of Ag nanoparticles as compared to the bare oxide surface.