bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Chinese parents' perceptions of their children's weights and their relationship to parenting behaviours
Authors: Wen X. , Hui S. S. C. 
Published: November 2010

AbstractPurpose  The purpose of this study is to examine Chinese parents' perceptions of their children's weights and explore the parenting behaviours associated with these perceptions.Methods  A total of 2143 adolescents and 1869 parents were recruited from secondary schools in Ganzhou and Shantou in China. The adolescents' actual weights and heights were measured by trained testers. The self‐reported parents' weights and heights, parental perception of the adolescents' weights, adolescents' perception of their own weights, parenting behaviours and demographic information were collected through the questionnaires distributed to the respondents.Results  The results based on Kappa statistics show only a slight agreement between parental perception of their children's weights and the adolescents' actual weights (Kappa = 0.221). The results from the logistic regression show that the parents' gender [odds ratio (OR) = 0.80, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.64–1.00], adolescents' gender (OR = 1.61, 95% CI: 1.29–2.01) and perception of their own weights (OR = 0.30, 95% CI: 0.24–0.38) are associated with the parents' perception of their children's weights. Statistically significant difference in several parenting behaviours was found between the parents with correct and incorrect perceptions of their children's weight.Discussion and conclusion  Misconceptions about their children's weights are prevalent among Chinese parents. The association between parents' perception of their children's weight and parenting behaviours suggests that the accurate classification of children's weights could help prevent childhood obesity.
Childhood obesity: the extent of the problem among 6‐year‐old Irish national school children
Authors: Evans D. S. , Glacken M. , Goggin D. 
Published: November 2010

AbstractBackground  Childhood obesity is rapidly increasing worldwide. In Ireland, the number of overweight children has trebled over the last decade. The study aimed to provide an assessment of the prevalence of obesity of 6‐year‐old children in one region of Ireland.Methods  Following training, School Public Health Nurses included the measurement of height and weight as part of the annual ‘senior infants’ school health check for 5453 6‐year‐old children in 189 schools between 2004 and 2007. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated using the International Obesity Taskforce cut‐off points using lmsGrowth (a Microsoft Excel add‐in), which uses a child's exact age. Kendall's Tau b was used to determine the reliability of measurements. Prevalence trends were tested using multinomial logistic regression. Pearson's chi‐squared test was utilized to assess the statistical significance of differences in BMI by gender, school year, and to compare with similar other Irish studies.Results  Out of the 5453 children measured, 3493 were aged 6 years old. A further 11 were excluded because of incomplete data. Data were analysed for 3482 6‐year‐old children. Overall, 27% of 6‐year‐olds were classified as either overweight or obese. A significantly greater proportion of girls are overweight or obese compared with boys (31% compared with 23%). Gender differences have remained relatively stable from 2004–2007. Overall, there have been no significant changes in the level of obesity from 2004–2007. In addition, when comparing with other Irish studies that collected data for 2001/2, there are no significant differences in obesity levels.Conclusions  There is a clear need to urgently prioritize the effective management of obesity. Resourses should now be targeted towards ensuring government policies in Ireland and elsewhere are implemented.
Complexity and emergent properties in aquatic ecosystems: predictability of ecosystem responses
Authors: REYNOLDS COLIN S. , ALEX ELLIOTT J. 
Published: November 2010

Summary1. The paper explores the predictability of ecological conditions in aquatic systems and of their responses to catchment management schemes, in which the hydrological and material loads can be accurately and precisely quantified. Linkages between catchment hydrology and impacts on water quality are considered.2. New approaches to modelling the complex biological behaviour of recipient systems are briefly reviewed. The case is made for simulating emergent outcomes based on the adaptive strategies and dynamic behaviours of species attempting to meet their material demands within the supportive capacities furnished by local environments. This ‘bottom‐up’ approach is justified by the fact that ecosystems are the sum of their smallest components; their behaviour is the aggregate of the activities of individuals.3. A framework model template founded upon the emergent properties of high‐performing organisms is developed within the context of exergy fluxes and their deployment and against axes representing the resource‐carrying capacity versus the energy (photosynthetic and chemical) available to process it.4. Some worked examples of simulated emergence in lakes are given, using the phytoplankton‐community model, PROTECH, to demonstrate the acuity of predictions of the responses to quite subtle variations in biologically active solutes and suspensoids to simulated communities of the pelagic.
Long‐term dynamics of herbaceous vegetation structure and composition in two African savanna reserves
Authors: Buitenwerf Robert , Swemmer Anthony M. , Peel Mike J.S. 
Published: November 2010

Summary1. Small fenced reserves are perceived to require management interventions to maintain ecosystems in a natural state. Such interventions are typically initiated and assessed on the basis of short‐term observations, while slow changes are often misunderstood or missed entirely. Long‐term monitoring is therefore crucial to understand the effect of reserve management on ecosystem structure and functioning.2. We analysed a 15‐year data set of herbaceous vegetation data for 59 monitoring sites in two nature reserves of different size and with different management regimes in a semi‐arid, South African savanna. Community composition and vegetation structure (basal cover) were assessed in response to rainfall and management variables.3. No directional changes over time were found. Basal cover as measured by two proxies (distance to the nearest tuft and tuft diameter) increased with current and previous year rainfall. The relative abundance of functional groups also responded to rainfall, with perennial grasses increasing in relative abundance following a wet year. Compositional responses, as measured by a dissimilarity index of species relative abundance, showed a 2‐year lag and responses were larger following dry years than wet years.4. The response to rainfall of distance to the nearest tuft was significantly weaker in the smaller reserve, while compositional change during dry years was larger than in the larger reserve.5. Synthesis and applications. Most of the variation in herbaceous basal cover and community composition was associated with differences between years (time) at each site, rather than with differences between sites (space), indicating that inter‐annual variation in rainfall is the most important driver of herbaceous layer dynamics in these systems. However, management did modify the effects of rainfall on herbaceous structure and community composition. The smaller reserve, which had higher grazer and waterhole density, showed greater fluctuations in key herbaceous variables. Such reserves are common in southern Africa and probably require more careful management than larger reserves in the face of global climate change.
The role of midwives and health visitors in promoting intergenerational language maintenance in the bilingual setting: perceptions of parents and health professionals
Authors: Tranter Siobhan , Irvine Fiona , Roberts Gwerfyl , Spencer Llinos , Jones Peter 
Published: November 2010

Aims and objectives.  The increasing status and regard of indigenous minority languages across Europe, means the advantages of bilingualism for individuals and communities are now well established. We set out to elicit parents’ and health professionals’ views of the role of health visitors and midwives in promoting bilingualism in the family and to consider whether health professionals acknowledge the contribution that bilingualism makes to public health.Background.  A three‐year study was completed to measure the impact of a language transmission initiative which depends on the input of midwives and health visitors with new parents and how its effect could be improved. This paper reports on one element of that study.Design.  A qualitative approach was used.Methods.  Six focus group interviews were conducted with health visitors and midwives and 33 postnatal interviews were completed with parents across four counties in Wales. Thematic content analysis was undertaken by two researchers, a third trailed decision processes and scrutinised categories and themes.Results.  Findings suggest that health visitors and midwives perceive their roles relating to the promotion of bilingualism differently. Influences on their involvement include their language profile, contact with parents, personal experience, timing of the interaction and time in their workload. The relationship between promoting bilingualism and public health was accepted by some and denied by others. Data from the interviews with parents suggested that few health professionals discuss issues of language transmission with new parents.Conclusions.  Some individual health visitors and midwives are willing to promote bilingualism with parents. However, there are challenges in enlisting the support of health visitors and midwives to discuss language transmission and bilingualism with parents.Relevance to clinical practice.  These findings challenge practitioners to consider their role in promoting bilingualism and its effect on public health and suggest the need for more defined responsibilities.
Working condition of nurses in Japan: awareness of work–life balance among nursing personnel at a university hospital
Authors: Tanaka Sachiko , Maruyama Yukie , Ooshima Satoko , Ito Hirotaka 
Published: November 2010

Aim.  The aim of this study was to examine the awareness of work–life balance (WLB) among the nursing personnel at a university hospital in Japan.Design.  Survey.Methods.  A questionnaire was sent to 1236 nursing personnel working at a university hospital and 1081 (87·5%) responses received. The questions concerned the following: (1) respondent demographical characteristics, (2) living background, (3) wishes for working environments and (4) motivation to work and health condition. The data were analysed by simple and cross‐tabulations.Results.  The results can be summarised as follows: (1) the concept and significance of WLB has not yet been established among nurses in Japan, (2) three factors were found, which nurses need as working environment, 1st quality‐of‐life benefits, 2nd flexible working style, 3rd lifelong learning and (3) nurses who reported good WLB also reported higher job satisfaction and job motivation.Conclusion.  The concept and significance of WLB has not yet been established among nurses. Thus, it is needed to enlighten nurses on the concept and significance of WLB as well as how they should practise WLB. Approximately half of the nurses gave their jobs first priority in reality, although they had various needs for their private lives and household affairs, as well as jobs. WLB cannot be achieved only by individual attitudes; thus, organisational efforts are necessary. In the correlation between WLB and ‘job satisfaction’ and ‘job motivation,’ nurses who were satisfied with their job and those who were highly motivated showed higher WLB. There was a significant correlation between satisfaction and motivation.Relevance to clinical practice.  It is necessary that nurses understand and have any information about working policy to improve working conditions to get better conditions which they need.
An automatic algorithm for the segmentation and morphological analysis of microvessels in immunostained histological tumour sections
Authors: REYES‐ALDASORO C.C. , WILLIAMS L.J. , AKERMAN S. , KANTHOU C. , TOZER G.M. 
Published: November 2010

SummaryA fully automatic segmentation and morphological analysis algorithm for the analysis of microvessels from CD31 immunostained histological tumour sections is presented. Development of the algorithm exploited the distinctive hues of stained vascular endothelial cells, cell nuclei and background, to provide the seeds for a ‘region‐growing’ method for object segmentation in the 3D hue, saturation, value (HSV) colour model. The segmented objects, identified as microvessels by CD31 immunostaining, were post‐processed with three morphological tasks: joining separate objects that were likely to belong to a single vessel, closing objects that had a narrow gap around their periphery, and splitting objects with multiple lumina into individual vessels. The automatic segmentation was validated against a hand‐segmented set of 44 images from three different SW1222 human colorectal carcinomas xenografted into mice. 96.3 ± 0.9% of pixels were found to be correctly classified. Automated segmentation was carried out on a further 53 images from three histologically distinct mouse fibrosarcomas (MFs) for morphological comparison with the SW1222 tumours. Four morphometric measurements were calculated for each segmented vessel: vascular area (VA), ratio of lumen area to vascular area (lu/VA), eccentricity (e), and roundness (ro). In addition, the total vascular area relative to tumour tissue area (rVA) was calculated. lu/VA, e and ro were found to be significantly smaller in MF tumours than in SW1222 tumours (p < 0.05; unpaired t‐test). The algorithm is available through the website http://www.caiman.org.uk where images can be uploaded, processed and sent back to users. The output from CAIMAN consists of the original image with boundaries of segmented vessels overlaid, the calculated parameters and a Matlab file, which contains the segmentation that the user can use to derive further results.
Antimicrobial disposition in pulmonary epithelial lining fluid of horses, Part III. Cefquinome
Authors: WINTHER L. , BAPTISTE K. E. , FRIIS C. 
Published: November 2010

Winther, L., Baptiste, K. E., Friis, C. Antimicrobial disposition in pulmonary epithelial lining fluid of horses, Part III. Cefquinome. J. vet. Pharmacol. Therap.34, 482–486.Cefquinome concentrations, following intravenous and aerosol administration to horses, in pulmonary epithelial lining fluid (PELF) were examined and compared to plasma concentrations. Single dose of cefquinome sulphate (1 mg/kg) was administered intravenously to six horses followed by a single aerosol administration (225 mg) with a wash‐out period of 14 days between treatments. After each drug administration, cefquinome concentrations in plasma and PELF, obtained by intrabronchial cotton swabs, were determined. After intravenous administration, cefquinome concentrations in plasma declined fast and were not detectable after 12 h. After aerosol administration, plasma concentrations were low or below limit of quantification (LOQ) during the entire sampling period. The degree of penetration of cefquinome into PELF after intravenous administration as described by the AUCPELF/AUCplasma ratio was 0.33. Following aerosol administration, cefquinome concentrations in PELF were high, but only detectable for 4 h. Based on AUC values, total cefquinome concentrations in PELF were one‐third of total plasma concentrations after intravenous administration together with shorter time above Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (T > MIC) in PELF, thus twice daily dosing may be required when treating lower airway infections in horses. Lower doses of cefquinome can be administered as aerosols providing high local drug concentrations in lung, but additional optimization of formulation is needed to improve distribution and persistence in lung.
Pharmacokinetics of ceftiofur sodium and ceftiofur crystalline free acid in neonatal foals
Authors: HALL T. L. , TELL L. A. , WETZLICH S. E. , McCORMICK J. D. , FOWLER L. W. , PUSTERLA N. 
Published: November 2010

Hall, T. L., Tell, L. A., Wetzlich, S. E., McCormick, J. D., Fowler, L. W., Pusterla, N. Pharmacokinetics of ceftiofur sodium and ceftiofur crystalline free acid in neonatal foals. J. vet. Pharmacol. Therap.34, 403–409.Ceftiofur, a third generation cephalosporin, demonstrates in vitro efficacy against microorganisms isolated from septicemic neonatal foals. This pharmacokinetic study evaluated the intravenous and subcutaneous administration of ceftiofur sodium (5 mg/kg body weight; n = 6 per group) and subcutaneous administration of ceftiofur crystalline free acid (6.6 mg/kg body weight; n = 6) in healthy foals. Plasma ceftiofur‐ and desfuroylceftiofur‐related metabolite concentrations were measured using high performance liquid chromatography following drug administration. Mean (±SD) noncompartmental pharmacokinetic parameters for i.v. and s.c. ceftiofur sodium were: AUC0→∝ (86.4 ± 8.5 and 91 ± 22 h·μg/mL for i.v. and s.c., respectively), terminal elimination half‐life (5.82 ± 1.00 and 5.55 ± 0.81 h for i.v. and s.c., respectively), Cmax(obs) (13 ± 1.9 μg/mL s.c.), Tmax(obs) (0.75 ± 0.4 h for s.c.). Mean (± SD) noncompartmental pharmacokinetic parameters for s.c. ceftiofur crystalline free acid were: AUC0→∝ (139.53 ± 22.63 h·μg/mL), terminal elimination half‐life (39.7 ± 14.7), Cmax(obs) (2.52 ± 0.35 μg/mL) and tmax(obs) (11.33 ± 1.63 h). No adverse effects attributed to drug administration were observed in any foal. Ceftiofur‐ and desfuroylceftiofur‐related metabolites reached sufficient plasma concentrations to effectively treat common bacterial pathogens isolated from septicemic foals.
Systematic analysis of cyclic di‐GMP signalling enzymes and their role in biofilm formation and virulence in Yersinia pestis
Authors: Bobrov Alexander G. , Kirillina Olga , Ryjenkov Dmitri A. , Waters Christopher M. , Price Paul A. , Fetherston Jacqueline D. , Mack Dietrich , Goldman William E. , Gomelsky Mark , Perry Robert D. 
Published: November 2010

SummaryCyclic di‐GMP (c‐di‐GMP) is a signalling molecule that governs the transition between planktonic and biofilm states. Previously, we showed that the diguanylate cyclase HmsT and the putative c‐di‐GMP phosphodiesterase HmsP inversely regulate biofilm formation through control of HmsHFRS‐dependent poly‐β‐1,6‐N‐acetylglucosamine synthesis. Here, we systematically examine the functionality of the genes encoding putative c‐di‐GMP metabolic enzymes in Yersinia pestis. We determine that, in addition to hmsT and hmsP, only the gene y3730 encodes a functional enzyme capable of synthesizing c‐di‐GMP. The seven remaining genes are pseudogenes or encode proteins that do not function catalytically or are not expressed. Furthermore, we show that HmsP has c‐di‐GMP‐specific phosphodiesterase activity. We report that a mutant incapable of c‐di‐GMP synthesis is unaffected in virulence in plague mouse models. Conversely, an hmsP mutant, unable to degrade c‐di‐GMP, is defective in virulence by a subcutaneous route of infection due to poly‐β‐1,6‐N‐acetylglucosamine overproduction. This suggests that c‐di‐GMP signalling is not only dispensable but deleterious for Y. pestis virulence. Our results show that a key event in the evolution of Y. pestis from the ancestral Yersinia pseudotuberculosis was a significant reduction in the complexity of its c‐di‐GMP signalling network likely resulting from the different disease cycles of these human pathogens.
Immune Maintenance of Self in Morphostasis of Distinct Tissues, Tumour Growth and Regenerative Medicine
Authors: Bukovsky A. 
Published: November 2010

AbstractMorphostasis (tissue homeostasis) is a complex process consisting of three circumstances: (1) tissue renewal from stem cells, (2) preservation of tissue cells in a proper differentiated state and (3) maintenance of tissue quantity. This can be executed by a tissue control system (TCS) consisting of vascular pericytes, immune system–related components – monocyte‐derived cells (MDC), T cells and immunoglobulins and autonomic innervation. Morphostasis is established epigenetically, during the critical developmental period corresponding to the morphogenetic immune adaptation. Subsequently, the tissues are maintained in a state of differentiation reached during the adaptation by a ‘stop effect’ of MDC influencing markers of differentiating tissue cells and presenting self‐antigens to T cells. Retardation or acceleration of certain tissue differentiation during adaptation results in its persistent functional immaturity or premature ageing. The tissues being absent during adaptation, like ovarian corpus luteum, are handled as a ‘graft.’ Morphostasis is altered with age advancement, because of the degenerative changes of the immune system. That is why the ageing of individuals and increased incidence of neoplasia and degenerative diseases occur. Hybridization of tumour stem cells with normal tissue cells causes an augmentation of neoplasia by host pericytes and MDC stimulating a ‘regeneration’ of depleted functional cells. Degenerative diseases are associated with apoptosis. If we are able to change morphostasis in particular tissue, we may disrupt apoptotic process of the cell. An ability to manage the ‘stop effect’ of MDC may provide treatment for early post‐natal tissue disorders, improve regenerative medicine and delay physical, mental and hormonal ageing.