bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Impact of cough and urinary incontinence on quality of life in women and men with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Authors: Hrisanfow Elisabet , Hägglund Doris 
Published: July 2012

Aims and objectives.  The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of cough and urinary incontinence on quality of life in women and men with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in primary health care.Background.  Existing information on the impact of cough and urinary incontinence on quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is scant.Design.  A questionnaire survey.Method.  The study included 391 women and 337 men, aged 50–75 years, with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A self‐administered questionnaire consisted of CCQ and SF‐12 questionnaires. A response rate of 66% was obtained. Most patients had been diagnosed with moderate (Stage II) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.Results.  Women and men with urinary incontinence showed a significantly higher presence of symptomatic cough and phlegm production than did women and men without incontinence. Women with incontinence had a significantly higher burden of CCQ symptoms, functional and mental state than did women without incontinence. Concerning quality‐of‐life scores, women with incontinence had lower physical state scores (37·6 ± 10·4 vs. 41·4 ± 9·9; p < 0·001) and mental state scores (44·3 ± 10·2 vs. 47·1 ± 10·5; p < 0·007) than did women without incontinence. Men with incontinence had a significantly higher burden of CCQ symptoms and mental state than did men without incontinence. When examining the quality‐of‐life scores, men with incontinence had lower mental state scores than did men without incontinence (46·0 ± 9·7 vs. 49·8 ± 9·7; p < 0·001).Conclusion.  The present results indicate that cough and urinary incontinence lead to poor quality of life in women and men with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.Relevance to clinical practice.  In the context of primary health care, appropriate questions concerning urinary incontinence and quality of life should be included in care plans for women and men living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Reliability of the Cardiac Patients Learning Needs Inventory (CPLNI) for use in Portugal
Authors: Galdeano Luzia E , Furuya Rejane K , Rodrigues Manuel A , Dantas Rosana AS , Rossi Lídia A 
Published: July 2012

Aims and objectives. To perform the semantic validation and to evaluate the reliability and the presence of ceiling and floor effects of the Cardiac Patients Learning Needs Inventory in Portuguese patients with coronary artery disease.Background. Information should be selected based on what patients know and need to learn, which means that the teaching process should be based on each person’s needs. The Cardiac Patients Learning Needs Inventory is aimed at identifying the cardiac patients’ individual learning needs.Design. Methodological research design.Methods. Two hundred patients hospitalised at the coronary intensive care unit or at the cardiothoracic surgery unit of a public hospital in Lisbon answered the adapted version of the Cardiac Patients Learning Needs Inventory. Internal consistency was estimated based on Cronbach’s alpha. Scores above 0·50 were considered acceptable. Stability was measured through test–retest and calculated using student’s t test. Significance was set at 0·05.Results. Patients’ mean age was 65 years (SD = 11·8), and most were men (152; 76%). Cronbach’s alpha for the total scale was high in the first and second measurement (0·91), and for seven domains, it was acceptable in the first and second measurement (range from 0·50–0·89). No statistically significant difference was found between mean scores on the first and second measurement. Lower diversity was observed in the answers, most of which ranged between important and very important (ceiling‐effect).Conclusion. The adapted version for use in Portugal maintained the conceptual, semantic and idiomatic equivalences of the original version and showed adequate reliability.Relevance to clinical practices. Owing to the lack of validated instruments translated into Portuguese, to measure cardiac patients’ learning needs, this study entails important clinical and theoretical implications.
Geographical distribution of salmonid alphavirus subtypes in marine farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., in Scotland and Ireland
Authors: Graham D A , Fringuelli E , Rowley H M , Cockerill D , Cox D I , Turnbull T , Rodger H , Morris D , Mc Loughlin M F 
Published: July 2012

AbstractSequence data from salmonid alphavirus (SAV) strains obtained from farmed marine Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L. , over a 20‐year period between 1991 and 2011 was reviewed to examine the geographical distribution of the genetically defined SAV subtypes in twelve regions across Ireland and Scotland. Of 160 different Atlantic salmon SAV strains examined, 62 belonged to subtype 1, 28 to subtype 2, 34 to subtype 4, 35 to subtype 5 and 1 to subtype 6. SAV subtypes 1, 4 and 6 were found in Ireland, while subtypes 1, 2, 4 and 5 were found in Scotland. In the majority of regions, there was a clear clustering of subtypes, with SAV subtype 1 being the dominant subtype in Ireland overall, as well as in Argyll and Bute in Scotland. SAV subtype 2 predominated in the Shetland and Orkney Islands. The emergence in Atlantic salmon of subtype 2 strains typically associated with sleeping disease in rainbow trout in Argyll and Bute, strongly suggesting transmission of infection between these species, was noted for the first time. SAV subtype 4 was the most common subtype found in the southern Western Isles, while SAV subtype 5 predominated in the northern Western Isles and north‐west mainland Scotland. No single strain was dominant on sites in the western Highlands, with a number of sites in this region in particular having more than one subtype detected in different submissions. The significance of these results in relation to aspects of the epidemiology of infection, including transmission, biosecurity and wildlife reservoirs are discussed and knowledge gaps identified.
Appearances can be deceptive: different diversification patterns within a group of Mediterranean earthworms (Oligochaeta, Hormogastridae)
Authors: NOVO MARTA , ALMODÓVAR ANA , FERNÁNDEZ ROSA , TRIGO DOLORES , DÍAZ‐COSÍN DARÍO J. , GIRIBET GONZALO 
Published: July 2012

AbstractMany recent studies on invertebrates have shown how morphology not always captures the true diversity of taxa, with cryptic speciation often being discussed in this context. Here, we show how diversification patterns can be very different in two clades of closely related earthworms in the genusHormogasterstressing the risk of using nonspecific substitution rate values across taxa. On the one hand, theHormogaster elisaespecies complex, endemic to the central Iberian Peninsula, shows morphological stasis. On the other hand, a clade ofHormogasterfrom the NE Iberian Peninsula shows an enormous morphological variability, with 15 described morphospecies. TheH. elisaecomplex, however, evolves faster genetically, and this could be explained by the harsher environmental conditions to which it is confined—as detected in this study, that is, sandier and slightly poorer soils with lower pH values than those of the other species in the family. These extreme conditions could be at the same time limiting morphological evolution and thus be responsible for the observed morphological stasis in this clade. Contrarily,Hormogasterspecies from the NE Iberian Peninsula, although still inhabiting harsher milieu than other earthworm groups, have had the opportunity to evolve into a greater morphological disparity. An attempt to delimit species within this group following the recently proposed general mixed Yule‐coalescent method showed a higher number of entities than expected under the morphospecies concept, most probably due to the low vagility of these animals, which considerably limits gene flow between distant conspecific populations, but also because of the decoupling between morphological and genetic evolution in theH. elisaecomplex.
Role of Foxp3 Gene in Maternal Susceptibility to Pre‐eclampsia – A Study From South India
Authors: Jahan P. , Sreenivasagari R. , Goudi D. , Komaravalli P. L. , Ishaq M. 
Published: July 2012

AbstractPre‐eclampsia (PE) is a multifactorial pregnancy‐specific vascular disorder characterized by hypertension and proteinuria and affects around 3–8% of pregnancies worldwide. Defective placentation during the early stage of pregnancy most likely in combination with maternal and environmental factors could lead to systemic inflammation, endothelial dysfunction and the manifestation of the clinical symptoms. Inadequate number of regulatory T cells (Tregs) or their functional deficiency is linked with infertility, miscarriage and PE. It is well identified that forkhead box P3 (Foxp3) gene is a master control gene for the development and function of Tregs that play an important role in the maintenance of self‐tolerance and mediate maternal tolerance to the foetus. The main objective of this study was to assess the maternal susceptibility to PE with respect to a deletion mutation in exon‐2 and ‐3279 C > A polymorphism (rs3761548) in the promoter region within the Foxp3 gene in a total of 282 PE patients and 215 normal pregnant women. The results showed that exon‐2 deletion mutation is present in 1.06% of patients and none in the controls, indicating that it was not a common gene polymorphism associated with PE. With respect to rs3761548, the C allele frequency was observed to be higher in patients than in controls (49% versus 27%; OR = 2.81, P < 0.01). In conclusion, our results are suggestive of A allele to be protective against PE and C allele as predisposing in a dose‐dependent manner in our population.
Reproducibility of a semiquantitative method to assess cutaneous cytology
Authors: Budach Svenja C. , Mueller Ralf S. 
Published: July 2012

Background – Cutaneous cytology is used in veterinary dermatology to assess bacteria and yeast on the skin surface and in the ears for diagnostic purposes and to monitor treatment success. A number of methods were used in reported studies to quantify micro‐organisms on cytology, but evaluation of the intra‐ and interobserver reliability of the methods is rare.Objective – The aim of this study was to evaluate the intra‐ and interobserver reliability of a semiquantitative cytology assessment method frequently used in practice.Methods – A total of 60 experienced and inexperienced veterinarians and veterinary students were asked to evaluate 10 glass slides and 18 photographs of cutaneous cytology twice. Cocci, rods, yeast, neutrophilic and eosinophilic granulocytes and macrophages were graded from 0 to 4+.Results – The intra‐observer reproducibility for evaluating the slides in the experienced group was 84.3%; in the inexperienced group it was 82.6%. For the photographs, the intra‐observer reproducibility was 92.1% in both groups. The interobserver reproducibility for evaluating the slides was 81.6 and 81.0% in the experienced and inexperienced group, respectively; corresponding values for the photographs were 91.0 and 90.0%. There was no significant difference between different participants or between the first and second evaluation by each participant for any of the parameters graded.Conclusion and clinical importance – Based on these results, this semiquantitative method of grading can be recommended for evaluating and monitoring of antimicrobial therapy in daily practice.
Influence of Strain and Parity on the Risk of Litter Loss in Laboratory Mice
Authors: Weber EM , Algers B , Würbel H , Hultgren J , Olsson IAS 
Published: July 2012

ContentsPup mortality is a considerable problem in laboratory mouse breeding and the view that parity influence survival of newborn mice is widespread. Some evidence suggests that maternal behaviour is related to offspring mortality in mice. Parental experience is a factor that can improve maternal behaviour and offspring survival in some mammals. However, few papers report a relationship between parity and pup survival in mice. We investigated the influence of strain and parity on loss of entire litters of C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice using data from a breeding colony. In total, 344 C57BL/6 and 146 BALB/c litters were included. We found a considerable mortality rate for both strains: 32% of C57BL/6 litters and 20% for BALB/c litters were lost. There was a significant difference in survival of the first litter between strains, with 3.6 times higher odds of mortality in C57BL/6 mice (p = 0.0028). Parity or previous parental experience of litter loss did, however, not affect litter loss. The scientific literature does not provide a clear picture of perinatal mortality in laboratory mice. Very few studies report perinatal mortality, and only a handful of papers exist where mortality was systematically studied; this area is thus poorly understood. If perinatal mortality in mice is not recognized and investigated, but instead considered normal when breeding mice, a serious welfare problem might be overlooked.
Clinical usefulness of bone markers in prostate cancer with bone metastasis
Authors: Kamiya Naoto , Suzuki Hiroyoshi , Endo Takumi , Yano Masashi , Naoi Makito , Nishimi Daisuke , Kawamura Koji , Imamoto Takashi , Ichikawa Tomohiko 
Published: July 2012

AbstractBone metastases occur in approximately 70% of patients with advanced prostate cancer. Skeletal‐related events have been correlated with reduced survival and quality of life of patients with prostate cancer. Biochemical markers of bone metabolism (e.g. bone formation, bone resorption, osteoclastogenesis) might meet an unmet need for useful, non‐invasive and sensitive surrogate information for following patients' skeletal health. Recently, zoledronic acid and denosumab have been proven to have the potential for preventing skeletal‐related events among prostate cancer patients with bone metastasis. An improved understanding of the mechanisms underlying bone metastasis has also led to the recognition of multiple molecular targets and advances in therapy. However, estimating the efficacy of these agents is difficult. A clinical trial for castration‐resistant prostate cancer is currently underway based on the definition of The Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials Working Group, and bone turnover markers are being used as conventional end‐points for the clinical trial. Bone turnover markers are useful surrogate markers reflecting the effect of new therapeutic drugs and prognosis, as well as assessment of bone metastases. In particular, N‐terminal cross‐linked telopeptide of type 1 collagen and bone‐specific alkaline phosphatase are widely used bone metabolism markers, and offer reliable surrogate markers to detect bone metastatic spread and to predict prognosis for prostate cancer patients with bone metastases.
Carbon, fire and seed addition favour native over exotic species in a grassy woodland
Authors: MORRIS E. CHARLES , DE BARSE MONIQUE 
Published: July 2012

AbstractCumberland Plain grassy woodland in western Sydney has been reduced to less than 12% of its pre‐settlement distribution; efforts to restore it on cleared and grazed sites within its former distribution have met with mixed success. Elevated soil nitrate levels, coupled with propagule and establishment limitation, have been identified as barriers to restoration in other grasslands. Our study used a factorial combination of carbon addition, fire and native seed addition to test whether these barriers operated on a former Cumberland plain woodland site dominated by exotic perennial grasses. Replicate field plots were established in November 2004; fire plots were burnt in December 2004; carbon was then added as sugar every 3 months until September 2005; and seeds of five native grasses were added in January 2005. Carbon addition significantly reduced soil nitrate, the effect appearing in October 2005. Carbon addition and fire each reduced the total abundance of exotics; when combined, they halved the abundance of the two dominant exotic grasses. Total abundance of native species responded positively to carbon and seed addition, but significant responses to carbon were not detected for individual species. Abundance of two native grasses responded positively to fire; after treatment the native proportion of total abundance rose from 26% on controls to 44–65% on carbon and/or fire plots. Exotic species richness was decreased independently by carbon addition and fire. Native species richness was increased independently by fire and seed addition. All five native grasses established sporadically, but only on carbon and/or fire plots. The three treatments each significantly and independently affected species composition, which showed the greatest change when all three were applied. The three treatments collectively increased the proportion of natives in measures of both plant abundance and species richness. The study confirmed that elevated soil nitrate, plus propagule and recruitment limitation are barriers to restoring this grassy woodland on cleared and grazed sites.
Presentation and outcome of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura in a single Australian centre
Authors: Choi P. Y‐I. , Gordon J. E. A. , Harvey M. , Chong B. H. 
Published: July 2012

AbstractImmune thrombocytopenia can be a therapeutic challenge with multiple first‐ and second‐line treatment options. A change in idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) definition and classification in recent consensus guidelines suggests that past descriptions of ITP presentation and outcome may be outdated.In this single centre retrospective analysis of patients with thrombocytopenia from 1 January 2005 to 1 June 2010, 139 patients met current ITP diagnostic criteria. About 54/139 were new presentations of primary ITP. Six‐ and 24‐month response rates were 39% and 30% respectively. About 26/54 patients did not require treatment at presentation: 15 were followed up for at least 6 months and none required treatment subsequently. These results suggest that almost half of all new primary ITP do not need treatment.
Australian resident doctors want more palliative medicine education: a survey of attitudes and perceived needs
Authors: Weil J. , Gold M. , McIver S. , Rotstein L. , Philip J. 
Published: July 2012

AbstractMost expected deaths occur in acute hospitals, and medical staff providing end‐of‐life care are generally not palliative medicine specialists. Through a voluntary self‐administered survey, this study explored resident doctors' attitudes to palliative medicine and their perceived educational needs. Fifty‐two resident doctors participated (response rate 39%), mostly acknowledging the importance of palliative medicine to their practice and emphasising that further postgraduate education is necessary.
Lingual kinematics during rapid syllable repetition in Parkinson's disease
Authors: Wong Min Ney , Murdoch Bruce E. , Whelan Brooke‐Mai 
Published: July 2012

AbstractBackground: Rapid syllable repetition tasks are commonly used in the assessment of motor speech disorders. However, little is known about the articulatory kinematics during rapid syllable repetition in individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD).Aims: To investigate and compare lingual kinematics during rapid syllable repetition in dysarthric speakers with PD (DPD), non‐dysarthric speakers with PD (NDPD) and a group of healthy controls.Methods & Procedures: Electromagnetic articulography was used to record tongue‐tip and tongue‐back movement in five DPD and five NDPD participants during rapid repetition of /ta/and /ka/syllables, and matched with six healthy controls.Outcomes & Results: Results revealed significant between‐group differences for most of the kinematic parameters measured but comparable rapid syllable repetition rates. Post‐hoc analyses indicated that the DPD participants, when compared with the NDPD participants, had similar range but prolonged duration of lingual movement. The DPD and NDPD participants had primarily increased range and prolonged duration of lingual movement accompanied by increased speed parameters, when compared with healthy controls.Conclusions & Implications: The findings of the present study contradict theories that suggest that the clinical features of hypokinetic dysarthria, including articulatory imprecision, are the outcome of restrictions in the range of movement of the muscles of the articulators. The observed prolonged duration of lingual movement in PD may plausibly be due to the observed increased range of lingual movement rather than slowness of lingual movement.
Spatiotemporal visualization of deep brain stimulation‐induced effects in the subthalamic nucleus
Authors: Yousif Nada , Borisyuk Roman , Pavese Nicola , Nandi Dipankar , Bain Peter 
Published: July 2012

AbstractDeep brain stimulation (DBS) is a successful surgical therapy used to treat the disabling symptoms of movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. It involves the chronic stimulation of disorder‐specific nuclei. However, the mechanisms that lead to clinical improvements remain unclear. Consequently, this slows the optimization of present‐day DBS therapy and hinders its future development and application. We used a computational model to calculate the distribution of electric potential induced by DBS and study the effect of stimulation on the spiking activity of a subthalamic nucleus (STN) projection neuron. We previously showed that such a model can reveal detailed spatial effects of stimulation in the vicinity of the electrode. However, this multi‐compartmental STN neuron model can fire in either a burst or tonic mode and, in this study, we hypothesized that the firing mode of the cell will have a major impact on the DBS‐induced effects. Our simulations showed that the bursting model exhibits behaviour observed in studies of high‐frequency stimulation of STN neurons, such as the presence of a silent period at stimulation offset and frequency‐dependent stimulation effects. We validated the model by simulating the clinical parameter settings used for a Parkinsonian patient and showed, in a patient‐specific anatomical model, that the region of affected tissue is consistent with clinical observations of the optimal DBS site. Our results demonstrated a method of quantitatively assessing neuronal changes induced by DBS, to maximize therapeutic benefit and minimize unwanted side effects.
Improved conditions for the generation of beta oscillations in the subthalamic nucleus–globus pallidus network
Authors: Pavlides Alex , John Hogan S. , Bogacz Rafal 
Published: July 2012

AbstractA key pathology in the development of Parkinson’s disease is the occurrence of persistent beta oscillations, which are correlated with difficulty in movement initiation. We investigated the network model composed of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) and globus pallidus (GP) developed by A. Nevado Holgado et al. [(2010) Journal of Neuroscience, 30, 12340–12352], who identified the conditions under which this circuit could generate beta oscillations. Our work extended their analysis by deriving improved analytic stability conditions for realistic values of the synaptic transmission delay between STN and GP neurons. The improved conditions were significantly closer to the results of simulations for the range of synaptic transmission delays measured experimentally. Furthermore, our analysis explained how changes in cortical and striatal input to the STN–GP network influenced oscillations generated by the circuit. As we have identified when a system of mutually connected populations of excitatory and inhibitory neurons can generate oscillations, our results may also find applications in the study of neural oscillations produced by assemblies of excitatory and inhibitory neurons in other brain regions.