bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Impact of habitat disturbance in the wetland forests of East Usambara, Tanzania
Authors: Senzota Ramadhani , Mbago Frank 
Published: September 2009

AbstractWe evaluated habitat characteristics of East Usambara wetland forests. The abundance and species composition in the tree, shrub and herbaceous layers were enumerated in two sets of nested plots, one set in a natural wetland forest and the second in a wetland forest that had been disturbed by small‐scale gold mining activities. Each set had thirty‐six 1 m × 1 m plots for herbs, inside nine 5 m × 5 m plots for shrubs, in three 20 m × 20 m plots for trees. The habitat profile of herbaceous – shrub – tree layers was found to be sharply different from one obtained in previous studies at the surrounding nonwetland forests as were species composition and abundance. Unlike in the nonwetland forests, the herbaceous layer was thick, the shrub layer very thin and the woody species density and richness much lower. Disturbance significantly reduced woody cover and changed species composition in the herbaceous layer. Recovery of the woody vegetation was low. Wetland forests in the East Usambaras form a small fraction of the total area, but they are a unique biodiversity repository, they appear to be an important carbon dioxide sink and to reserve and purify water. They are sensitive to disturbance and need protection.
Airway smooth muscle chemokine receptor expression and function in asthma
Authors: Saunders R. , Sutcliffe A. , Kaur D. , Siddiqui S. , Hollins F. , Wardlaw A. , Bradding P. , Brightling C. 
Published: September 2009

SummaryBackground
Chemokine receptors play an important role in cell migration and wound repair. In asthma, CCR3 and 7 are expressed by airway smooth muscle (ASM) and CCR7 has been implicated in the development of ASM hyperplasia. The expression profile of other chemokine receptors by ASM and their function needs to be further explored.Objective
We sought to investigate ASM chemokine receptor expression and function in asthma.Methods
ASM cells were derived from 17 subjects with asthma and 36 non‐asthmatic controls. ASM chemokine receptor expression was assessed by flow cytometry and immunofluorescence. The function of chemokine receptors expressed by more than 10% of ASM cells was investigated by intracellular calcium measurements, chemotaxis, wound healing, proliferation and survival assays.Results
In addition to CCR3 and 7, CXCR1, 3 and 4 were highly expressed by ASM. These CXC chemokine receptors were functional with an increase in intracellular calcium following ligand activation and promotion of wound healing [CXCL10 (100 ng/mL) 34 ± 2 cells/high‐powered field (hpf) vs. control 29 ± 1; P=0.03; n=8]. Spontaneous wound healing was inhibited by CXCR3 neutralizing antibody (mean difference 7 ± 3 cells/hpf; P=0.03; n=3). CXC chemokine receptor activation did not modulate ASM chemotaxis, proliferation or survival. No differences in chemokine receptor expression or function were observed between ASM cells derived from asthmatic or non‐asthmatic donors.Conclusions
Our findings suggest that the chemokine receptors CXCR1, 3 and 4 modulate some aspects of ASM function but their importance in asthma is uncertain.
Self‐care among persons using advanced medical technology at home
Authors: Fex Angelika , Ek Anna‐Christina , Söderhamn Olle 
Published: September 2009

Aim.  This study aimed to describe lived experiences of self‐care among persons using advanced medical technology at home.Background.  An increased number of people are performing self‐care while using different sorts of advanced medical technology at home. Knowledge of different patient groups’ lived experiences of this situation may be useful for nurses and other caregivers in educating and supporting these patients.Design.  A qualitative design was used.Methods.  Suitable patients in western Sweden were informed by their nurses and invited to participate. Ten people, who performed self‐care at home, either while using long‐term oxygen therapy from a ventilator or oxygen cylinder, or while performing peritoneal or haemodialysis, were interviewed. The interviews were analysed using a descriptive phenomenological methodology.Results.  Prerequisites for self‐care when using advanced medical technology at home were: support from professional caregivers and significant others; cognitive capacity; and a positive attitude to life. This type of self‐care contains steps for living healthy, for planning and for adjusting technology. It involves a process of learning and feelings both of being tied up and of feeling free. Additionally, it has influences on the home environment.Conclusion.  Self‐care in this context can be described on a generic level. Self‐care is more than mastering the technology; it also means dealing with daily life activities for healthy living, planning for the use of the equipment and activities, having knowledge about bodily signs of good and ill‐health, and adjusting treatment according to the circumstances.Relevance to clinical practice.  Self‐care in this context involves a learning process with education and continuing access to support from professional caregivers. With knowledge and support, patients are able to assume substantial responsibility for self‐care. Needs for design improvements of medical technology for use at home are raised.
A review of the literature on the impact of renal cancer therapy on quality of life
Authors: Bird Joanne , Hayter Mark 
Published: September 2009

Aim.  To explore the impact of renal cancer treatment on patients’ quality of life.Background.  Renal cancer accounts for 95,000 deaths worldwide and its incidence rate is rising. At present there are several therapeutic approaches to the treatment of renal cancer, ranging through surgery, immunological therapies and vaccine treatment. Each of these therapies may have a substantial effect upon patients’ quality of life. However, a systematic appraisal of the empirical evidence about treatment impact is lacking.Design.  Literature review.Methods.  A structured review of the empirical literature on the impact of renal cancer treatment upon quality of life was undertaken. Literature was appraised and themed according to the treatment modalities included in the study.Results.  From 873 papers initially identified 52 were retrieved for detailed scrutiny resulting in a final 16 papers being included in the review.Conclusions.  This review discusses the complex effect of renal cancer upon a patient’s quality of life as treatment modalities change. The need for nursing education and awareness of these issues is therefore highlighted to maximise patient care.Relevance to clinical practice.  Understanding the impact of treatment for renal cancer enables nurses to empathise more significantly with patients and also act as mediators in regard to treatment choice and treatment cessation. It also enables nurses to inform and educate renal cancer patients prior to making treatment choices.
Bertha Harmer’s 1922 textbook – The Principles and Practice of Nursing: clinical nursing from an historical perspective
Authors: Boschma Geertje , Davidson Lisa , Bonifacio Nerrisa 
Published: September 2009

Aims and objectives.  This study analyses the origins of a widely used textbook of nursing, commonly utilised in North American Schools of Nursing since 1922, and eventually worldwide. A biography of its first author, Bertha Harmer, is also included.Background.  Tracing central ideas of nursing throughout the various editions, the book provides a commentary on the cultural–historical context of nursing and reveals how nursing leaders conceptualised the day‐to‐day knowledge base nurses would need for their practice.Design and methods.  Historical analysis.Results.  The core nursing concept of ‘human needs’ was central to Harmer’s work and thinking.Conclusions.  Its continuous development by her and her later co‐author, Virginia Henderson, reflected broader changes in nursing that were central to the construction of nursing as hospital‐based care during the twentieth century.Relevance to clinical practice and conclusion.  Renewal of nursing practice exists by the virtue of nurses’ collective ability to question continuously and critically, the foundations of their practice. Historical analysis of core nursing concepts is one approach to further such critique.
Counting nurses: the power of historical census data
Authors: D’Antonio Patricia , Whelan Jean C. 
Published: September 2009

Aims and objectives.  This study used census data to construct a demographic profile of early 20th century nurses in the United States.Background.  Census data are recognised as a rich source of quantitative information on long‐term changes. However, difficulties in retrieving census data dissuade researchers from exploiting this source. Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, a standardised and digitialised version of census data, enables greater ease in retrieving and analysing data.Design and methods.  A sample of respondents identifying as ‘professional nurses’ for the years 1900–1950 was extracted from Integrated Public Use Microdata Series categorised by the variables of race, sex and marital status. The resulting data were analysed for simple frequency statistics using SPSS software.Results.  Results revealed a tremendous increase in the number of nurses over the five decades under study. Nurses were increasingly young, female, single and white until 1930. After 1930, white and African‐American women nurses began to reflect trends towards more diversity.Conclusions.  This study is the first systematic attempt to trace the demographic trajectory of professional nurses in the United States in the early 20th century. It also demonstrates the possibilities of using digital technologies to restructure the asking and answering of historical questions. The use of quantitative methods of social history has trans‐national applications which can facilitate global investigations into the demographic composition of the nursing occupation.Relevance to policy.  This way of using digitalisation of census data provides a way to examine historical trans‐national workforce trends. Such trends provide a firmer base upon which to construct workforce and practice strategies for a future global workforce.
Elevated substitution rate estimates from ancient DNA: model violation and bias of Bayesian methods
Authors: NAVASCUÉS MIGUEL , EMERSON BRENT C. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractThe increasing ability to extract and sequence DNA from noncontemporaneous tissue offers biologists the opportunity to analyse ancient DNA (aDNA) together with modern DNA (mDNA) to address the taxonomy of extinct species, evolutionary origins, historical phylogeography and biogeography. Perhaps more exciting are recent developments in coalescence‐based Bayesian inference that offer the potential to use temporal information from aDNA and mDNA for the estimation of substitution rates and divergence dates as an alternative to fossil and geological calibration. This comes at a time of growing interest in the possibility of time dependency for molecular rate estimates. In this study, we provide a critical assessment of Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) analysis for the estimation of substitution rate using simulated samples of aDNA and mDNA. We conclude that the current models and priors employed in Bayesian MCMC analysis of heterochronous mtDNA are susceptible to an upward bias in the estimation of substitution rates because of model misspecification when the data come from populations with less than simple demographic histories, including sudden short‐lived population bottlenecks or pronounced population structure. However, when model misspecification is only mild, then the 95% highest posterior density intervals provide adequate frequentist coverage of the true rates.
Weed vegetation in the north‐western Balkans: diversity and species composition
Authors: ŠILC U , VRBNIČANIN S , BOŽIĆ D , ČARNI A , STEVANOVIĆ Z DAJIĆ 
Published: September 2009

SummarySurveys of weed vegetation of the western Balkan peninsula (1939–2006) were used to study changes in species composition. A large data set of arable weed vegetation was compiled and analysed with direct and indirect ordination, regression and beta (β) diversity analysis. Five environmental variables (altitude, season, year, crop, phytogeographical region) were used to determine broad‐scale changes in weed species composition. The most important parameter was phytogeography and the second was crop. Altitude and season were found to be less important, although significant, which contrasts with results from Central and Northern Europe. β‐diversity was higher in cereals and in summer, while decline along the altitudinal gradient previously demonstrated in Central Europe, was not observed. In southern parts of the studied area, thermophilous species have shifted to higher altitudes. The results and ranking of importance of environmental and spatial variables are discussed in relation to similar studies in Northern and Central Europe.
Variable selection patterns on the labellum shape of Geoblasta pennicillata, a sexually deceptive orchid
Authors: BENITEZ‐VIEYRA S. , MEDINA A. M. , COCUCCI A. A. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractBy mimicking shape and female mating pheromones, flowers of sexually deceptive orchids attract sexually excited males which pollinate them while trying to copulate. Although many studies have demonstrated the crucial importance of odour signals in these systems, most flowers pollinated by pseudocopulation resemble, at least superficially, an insect body and these visual cues may be important to cheat pollinators. In this 2‐year study, we show that the shape of the labellum of Geoblasta pennicillata is a target of pollinator‐mediated natural selection. Contrary to our expectations, plants with a labellum shape more similar to female wasps were not favoured. The strength and pattern of phenotypic selection varied between study years and sexual functions. Although selection through female success was probably associated to the fine‐tuning of the mechanical fit between flower form and male wasp, shape was the target of natural selection through male success in both study years indicating that male wasps use this trait when choosing flowers. The imperfect mimicry and patterns of selection observed indicated that an exact imitation is not needed to attract and deceive the pollinators and they suggested a receiver perceptual bias towards uncommon phenotypes.
Efficacy of Ovsynch Protocol with Antiprolactin Treatment for Timed Artificial Insemination During Non‐breeding Seasons in Yaks (Poephagus grunniens L.)
Authors: Sarkar M , Dutta Borah BK , Prakash BS 
Published: September 2009

ContentsAn attempt was undertaken to investigate the efficacy of Ovsynch protocol for timed artificial insemination (TAI) with or without Norprolac (antiprolactin) treatment during non‐breeding season (winter months) in yaks (n = 25). During non‐breeding season, plasma prolactin profile has been reported high due to cold and nutritional stress. The Norprolac dose of i.m. administration was standardized for prolactin suppression. Three different doses viz. 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 mg were attempted and the dose of 7.5 mg Norprolac i.m. per animal was found to be suitable for suppression of prolactin levels up to 30 h. Ovsynch treatment with Norprolac induced more number of oestrous symptoms per animal (4.8 vs 2.1), higher LH peak concentration (24.01 vs 16.16 ng/ml), longer duration of LH surge (6.8 vs 5.2 h) and higher conception rate (70 vs 30%) in Ovsynch plus Norprolac treated animals compared with animals treated with Ovsynch alone. Therefore, this study clearly indicates the opportunity for practical application of the Ovsynch plus Norprolac protocol for TAI in yaks during non‐breeding seasons.
Towards understanding the nature of conflict of interest and its application to the discipline of nursing
Authors: Crigger Nancy J. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractMost incidences of dishonesty in research, financial investments that promote personal financial gain, and kickback scandals begin as conflicts of interest (COI). Research indicates that healthcare professionals who maintain COI relationships make less optimal and more expensive patient care choices. The discovery of COI relationships also negatively impact patient and public trust. Many disciplines are addressing this professional issue, but little work has been done towards understanding and applying this moral category within a nursing context. Do COIs occur in nursing and are they problematic? What are the morally appropriate responses to COI for our discipline and for individual practicing nurses? In this paper I examine the nature of ‘conflict of interest’ as a general ethical category, its characteristics and its application to our discipline. Conflict of interest is an odd moral category that may actually or potentially result in immoral decisions. The moral justification for COI is grounded prime facie by the moral value of respect for persons and principle of fidelity from which trust is developed and maintained. In review of the historical development, there appears to be consensus on some qualities of COI that are presented. I conclude that making judgements about COI are challenging and often difficult to determine from a nursing perspective. Improving nurses' and professional organizations' awareness of COI and sharpening our ability to respond appropriately when COI arise can reduce potential harm and promote trust in those whom we serve.
Why nursing has not embraced the clinician–scientist role
Authors: Mackay Martha 
Published: September 2009

AbstractReasons for the limited uptake of the clinician–scientist role within nursing are examined, specifically: the lack of consensus about the nature of nursing science; the varying approaches to epistemology; and the influence of post‐modern thought on knowledge development in nursing. It is suggested that under‐development of this role may be remedied by achieving agreement that science is a necessary, worthy pursuit for nursing, and that rigorous science conducted from a clinical perspective serves nursing well. Straddling practice and research is a powerful strategy for ensuring relevant research while forging strong links with practice. The clinician–scientist role, typically requiring a 75:25 ratio between research and clinical activities, is well established in medicine. Nursing, however, has been slow to institute the role; it is rare within North America, Australia, and western European countries, and almost non‐existent outside those areas. Beyond structural obstacles, philosophical issues may explain nursing's reluctance to implement the role. Following a survey of clinician–scientist roles throughout the world, the nature of nursing science and epistemology, and the influence of post‐modern thought on nursing attitudes to research are examined with respect to their influence on this role. The nurse clinician–scientist role holds promise for making strides in clinically relevant research, and for accelerating the knowledge cycle from clinical problem to research question to change in clinical practice.
MIGRANT ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND NEW URBAN ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES: IDENTIFICATION OF CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS BY MEANS OF QUALITATIVE PATTERN RECOGNITION ANALYSIS
Authors: NIJKAMP PETER , SAHIN MEDIHA , BAYCAN‐LEVENT TÜZIN 
Published: September 2009

ABSTRACTIn recent years, entrepreneurship among migrant minorities has increased significantly in the Netherlands. This paper addresses the key factors determining the economic position of migrant entrepreneurs in the urban economy in the Netherlands, with an application to Amsterdam. So far, little information on success conditions for migrant entrepreneurship is available, while quantitative knowledge on critical success factors (CSFs) is lagging far behind the rapid growth of migrant entrepreneurs in big cities like Amsterdam. The present study serves to fill this knowledge gap, by paying attention to the entrepreneurial behaviour of migrants, the role of their social networks, and the innovative potential of new growth markets in a modern city. In order to provide a solid assessment of CSFs for migrant entrepreneurs, and to understand business performance in a competitive urban environment, this study will investigate the entrepreneurial behaviour of migrants in Dutch cities from a micro‐economic perspective. Due insight into individual entrepreneurial behaviour of migrants is needed to develop an urban business culture in which migrants are no longer a source of problems but of great socio‐economic opportunities, both for the migrant groups concerned and the vitality of cities. Our research employs a comparative statistical analysis of empirical findings in the city of Amsterdam in order to map out opportunities, success conditions and bottlenecks for migrant entrepreneurs. Given our largely categorical (i.e. qualitative or soft) database, we will employ a qualitative causal pattern recognition technique, namely, rough set analysis, to systematically assess the conditions for successful entrepreneurship of migrants.
Late Quaternary glaciation in the Tianshan and implications for palaeoclimatic change: a review
Authors: XU XIANGKE , KLEIDON AXEL , MILLER LEE , WANG SHIQIN , WANG LIQIANG , DONG GUOCHENG 
Published: September 2009

Xu, X., Kleidon, A., Miller, L., Wang, S., Wang, L. & Dong, G. 2009: Late Quaternary glaciation in the Tianshan and implications for palaeoclimatic change: a review. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2009.00118.x. ISSN 0300‐9483.The Tianshan mountain range has been extensively and repeatedly glaciated during the late Quaternary. Multiple moraines in this region record the extent and timing of late Quaternary glacier fluctuations. The moraines and their ages are described in three sub‐regions: eastern, central and western Tianshan. Notable glacial advances occurred during marine oxygen isotope stages (MIS) 6, 4, 3, 2, the Neoglacial and the Little Ice Age (LIA) in these sub‐regions. Glaciers in western Tianshan advanced significantly also during MIS 5, but not in eastern and central Tianshan. The local last glacial maximum (llgm) of the three sub‐regions pre‐dated the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and occurred during MIS 4 in eastern and central Tianshan, but during MIS 3 in western Tianshan. The spatial and temporal distribution of the glaciers suggests that precipitation (as snow at high altitude) is the main factor controlling glacial advance in the Tianshan. The late Quaternary climate in the Tianshan has been generally cold–dry during glacial times and warm–humid during interglacial times. Between neighbouring glacial times, the climate has had a more arid tendency in eastern and central Tianshan. These palaeoclimatic conditions inferred from glacial landforms indicate important relationships between the mid‐latitude westerly, the Siberian High and the Asian monsoon.