bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The influence of an undergraduate curriculum on development of students’ academic belief systems
Authors: Kell Clare M. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractIn a world of innovation and change, healthcare graduates are expected to be capable of independent decision making, take responsibility, assume leadership and demonstrate confidence and commitment to lifelong learning in their respective professions. The academic belief systems (ABS) of 52 BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy students were measured during the course of their 3 years of undergraduate education. The patterns of ABS profile change in relation to the curriculum the students were experiencing revealed that these undergraduates’ ABS are susceptible to change over time with contact time (the academic terms) having a negative impact on all ABS variables associated with positive aspects of learning and personal development. Non‐contact time (vacations) saw a ‘recovery’ in most variable mean scores. All ABS variable mean scores were lower on graduation than on admission. How the study results informed curriculum review is described and the specific changes implemented to help facilitate students’ perspectives as lifelong learners outlined.
Logging the clinical learning experience: creating a dynamic teaching and learning environment through log‐based supervision and student self‐assessment
Authors: Tornøe Kirsten Anne 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThis study describes the implementation of a supervision and assessment system based on a clinical log writing strategy, involving second year student nurses in two surgical units. The aim of the clinical log was to promote student nurses’ personal growth and to provide a database for competency assessment. The log system was designed as a collaborative and dialogical strategy, committing all parties involved to document the teaching and learning process. Faculty and nurse supervisors monitored and verified the students’ progress by documenting supervision and formative assessment in the students’ logs, and students submitted evidence about their learning process and self‐evaluation. Summative assessment was conducted through tripartite conferences at the end of the clinical placements. Together, faculty, clinical staff and student considered the evidence presented in the log in order to establish the student's level of clinical competency. Using clinical logs to promote personal growth as well as to assess student performance in clinical placements is a controversial issue in the literature as critics argue that these aims are incompatible. The log system was pilot tested with 14 students expanding into an action research project including 28 other students during the second year of the trial period. The log project was evaluated at end of the second year based on a semi‐structured questionnaire designed by faculty and additional evaluative material such as journals, field notes and minutes from meetings with clinical staff. The general consensus among faculty and nursing staff was that the log‐based supervision and assessment strategy had improved the quality of supervision and created a more dynamic teaching and learning environment, enhancing the students’ possibility to develop personally as well as professionally.
Development of competencies aimed at client‐centred care: an evaluation study
Authors: Schoot Tineke , Hirsch Math , De Witte Luc 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe aim of this study was to evaluate a learning programme for Dutch community nurses and auxiliary nurses aimed at the development of competencies with respect to client‐centred care for chronically ill clients. The study was guided by the Kessels's Eight‐fields model. Several stakeholders, including clients, participated in the development, execution and evaluation of the programme. The concept of client‐centred care, client goals and competencies for nurses were identified systematically. Competencies identified were a care‐process in dialogue, enabling client participation and dealing with tensions. Principles of development of competencies were applied in the design of learning activities. The programme was evaluated at three levels: learning processes; performance of competencies in practice; and perceived client‐centredness by clients. Three home‐care organizations were involved in the evaluation study. In total, 175 employees participated in the basic module and 34 nurses and auxiliary nurses participated in the advanced module. In total, 107 chronically ill clients were involved in the study, of which 50 in the evaluation group and 57 in a group checking for selection bias. Findings indicate a positive impact on two of the evaluation levels: learning processes and the performance of nurse's competencies in practice. No statistical impact was found on clients 2 months after the end of the programme. The process evaluation provided knowledge concerning pre‐conditions for learning processes and performance of competencies in practice. The study concludes that it seems that a change towards client‐centred care has been initiated. Client‐centred care encompasses more, however, than competence development in individual nurses. A corporate approach is recommended, encompassing the support of the primary process of client‐centred care by the entire care organization. Further research aimed at the implementation of client‐centred care is recommended.
Changes in the structural complexity of the aged brain
Authors: Dickstein Dara L. , Kabaso Doron , Rocher Anne B. , Luebke Jennifer I. , Wearne Susan L. , Hof Patrick R. 
Published: May 2007

SummaryStructural changes of neurons in the brain during aging are complex and not well understood. Neurons have significant homeostatic control of essential brain functions, including synaptic excitability, gene expression, and metabolic regulation. Any deviations from the norm can have severe consequences as seen in aging and injury. In this review, we present some of the structural adaptations that neurons undergo throughout normal and pathological aging and discuss their effects on electrophysiological properties and cognition. During aging, it is evident that neurons undergo morphological changes such as a reduction in the complexity of dendrite arborization and dendritic length. Spine numbers are also decreased, and because spines are the major sites for excitatory synapses, changes in their numbers could reflect a change in synaptic densities. This idea has been supported by studies that demonstrate a decrease in the overall frequency of spontaneous glutamate receptor‐mediated excitatory responses, as well as a decrease in the levels of α‐amino‐3‐hydroxy‐5‐methylisoxazole‐4‐propionic acid and N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate receptor expression. Other properties such as γ‐aminobutyric acid A receptor‐mediated inhibitory responses and action potential firing rates are both significantly increased with age. These findings suggest that age‐related neuronal dysfunction, which must underlie observed decline in cognitive function, probably involves a host of other subtle changes within the cortex that could include alterations in receptors, loss of dendrites, and spines and myelin dystrophy, as well as the alterations in synaptic transmission. Together these multiple alterations in the brain may constitute the substrate for age‐related loss of cognitive function.
Dynamics of the action of dFOXO on adult mortality in Drosophila
Authors: Giannakou Maria E. , Goss Martin , Jacobson Jake , Vinti Giovanna , Leevers Sally J. , Partridge Linda 
Published: May 2007

SummaryThe insulin/insulin growth factor (IGF)‐like signaling (IIS) pathway has a conserved role in regulating lifespan in Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila and mice. Extension of lifespan by reduced IIS has been shown in C. elegans to require the key IIS target, forkhead box class O (FOXO) transcription factor, DAF‐16. dFOXO, the Drosophila DAF‐16 orthologue, is also an IIS target, and its overexpression in adult fat body increases lifespan. In C. elegans, IIS acts exclusively during adulthood to determine adult survival. We show here, using an inducible overexpression system, that in Drosophila continuous dFOXO overexpression in adult fat body reduces mortality rate throughout adulthood. We switched the IIS status of the flies at different adult ages and examined the effects of these switches on dFOXO expression and mortality rates. dFOXO protein levels were switched up or down by the inducible expression system at all ages examined. If IIS status is reversed early in adulthood, similar to the effects of another intervention that reduces adult mortality in Drosophila, dietary restriction (DR), there is a complete switch of subsequent mortality rate to that of flies chronically exposed to the new IIS regime. At this age, IIS thus acts acutely to determine risk of death. Mortality rates continued to respond to a switch in IIS status up to 4 weeks of adult age, but not thereafter. However, unlike DR, as IIS status was altered at progressively later ages, mortality rates showed incomplete switching and responded with progressively smaller changes. These findings indicate that alteration of expression levels of dFOXO may have declining effects on IIS status with age, that there could be some process that prevents or lessens the physiological response to a switch in IIS status or that, unlike DR, this pathway regulates aging‐related damage. The decreased mortality and increased lifespan of dFOXO overexpressing flies was uncoupled from any effect on female fecundity and from expression levels of Drosophila insulin‐like peptides in the brain.
A novel role of peroxin PEX6: suppression of aging defects in mitochondria
Authors: Seo Jae‐Gu , Lai Chi‐Yung , Miceli Michael V. , Jazwinski S. Michal 
Published: May 2007

SummaryYeast cells become older with each division, but their daughters are born young. Mutational analysis shows that maintenance of this age asymmetry requires segregation of a complement of active mitochondria to daughters and that this process breaks down in older mother cells. This decline has implications for stem cell aging in higher organisms. PEX6, a peroxisome biogenesis gene, has been isolated as a multicopy suppressor of an atp2 age asymmetry mutant. Suppression depended on the presence of particular amino acid residues in Atp2p, and required adenosine triphosphate (ATP) binding and/or ATP hydrolysis activity of Pex6p. Extra copies of PEX6 corrected the deficit in Atp2p in mitochondria in the mutant by improving its import kinetics, resulting in near normal mitochondrial inheritance by daughter cells. The novel function of Pex6p described here may provide insights into peroxisomal and mitochondrial disorders and into metabolic diseases in general.
Expansion of the calcium hypothesis of brain aging and Alzheimer's disease: minding the store
Authors: Thibault Olivier , Gant John C. , Landfield Philip W. 
Published: May 2007

SummaryEvidence accumulated over more than two decades has implicated Ca2+ dysregulation in brain aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD), giving rise to the Ca2+ hypothesis of brain aging and dementia. Electrophysiological, imaging, and behavioral studies in hippocampal or cortical neurons of rodents and rabbits have revealed aging‐related increases in the slow afterhyperpolarization, Ca2+ spikes and currents, Ca2+ transients, and L‐type voltage‐gated Ca2+ channel (L‐VGCC) activity. Several of these changes have been associated with age‐related deficits in learning or memory. Consequently, one version of the Ca2+ hypothesis has been that increased L‐VGCC activity drives many of the other Ca2+‐related biomarkers of hippocampal aging. In addition, other studies have reported aging‐ or AD model‐related alterations in Ca2+ release from ryanodine receptors (RyR) on intracellular stores. The Ca2+‐sensitive RyR channels amplify plasmalemmal Ca2+ influx by the mechanism of Ca2+‐induced Ca2+ release (CICR). Considerable evidence indicates that a preferred functional link is present between L‐VGCCs and RyRs which operate in series in heart and some brain cells. Here, we review studies implicating RyRs in altered Ca2+ regulation in cell toxicity, aging, and AD. A recent study from our laboratory showed that increased CICR plays a necessary role in the emergence of Ca2+‐related biomarkers of aging. Consequently, we propose an expanded L‐VGCC/Ca2+ hypothesis, in which aging/pathological changes occur in both L‐type Ca2+ channels and RyRs, and interact to abnormally amplify Ca2+ transients. In turn, the increased transients result in dysregulation of multiple Ca2+‐dependent processes and, through somewhat different pathways, in accelerated functional decline during aging and AD.
Malignant pheochromocytoma presenting as a bradyarrhythmia in a dog
Authors: Brown Andrew J. , Alwood Amy J. , Cole Steven G. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractObjective:To describe a case of atrioventricular block and syncope secondary to systemic hypertension in a dog with malignant pheochromocytoma.Case Summary:A 13‐year‐old spayed female mixed‐breed dog presented following an acute onset of collapse. The dog was hypertensive and had paradoxical high‐grade second‐degree atrioventricular block with concurrent syncope. Initial emergent therapy included a nitroprusside infusion for the systemic hypertension and vagolytic therapy for the bradyarrhythmia. A left adrenal mass was seen on abdominal ultrasound and was further characterized by MRI. Following medical stabilization with phenoxybenzamine and propantheline, a left adrenalectomy was performed. Histological diagnosis was consistent with a malignant pheochromocytoma. Following tumor removal there has been no further hypertension, atrioventricular block or syncope.Unique information provided:This is the first documented case of a malignant pheochromocytoma presenting as syncope secondary to hypertension induced atrioventricular block.
Lacosamide: A Review of Preclinical Properties
Authors: Beyreuther Bettina K. , Freitag Joachim , Heers Cara , Krebsfänger Niels , Scharfenecker Ute , Stöhr Thomas 
Published: May 2007

ABSTRACTLacosamide (LCM), (SPM 927, (R)‐2‐acetamido‐N‐benzyl‐3‐methoxypropionamide, previously referred to as harkoseride or ADD 234037) is a member of a series of functionalized amino acids that were specifically synthesized as anticonvulsive drug candidates. LCM has demonstrated antiepileptic effectiveness in different rodent seizure models and antinociceptive potential in experimental animal models that reflect distinct types and symptoms of neuropathic as well as chronic inflammatory pain. Recent results suggest that LCM has a dual mode of action underlying its anticonvulsant and analgesic activity. It was found that LCM selectively enhances slow inactivation of voltage‐gated sodium channels without affecting fast inactivation. Furthermore, employing proteomic affinity‐labeling techniques, collapsin‐response mediator protein 2 (CRMP‐2 alias DRP‐2) was identified as a binding partner. Follow‐up experiments confirmed a functional interaction of LCM with CRMP‐2 in vitro. LCM did not inhibit or induce a wide variety of cytochrome P450 enzymes at therapeutic concentrations. In safety pharmacology and toxicology studies conducted in mice, rats, rabbits, and dogs, LCM was well tolerated. Either none or only minor side effects were observed in safety studies involving the central nervous, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and renal systems and there is no indication of abuse liability. Repeated dose toxicity studies demonstrated that after either intravenous or oral administration of LCM the adverse events were reversible and consisted mostly of exaggerated pharmacodynamic effects on the CNS. No genotoxic or carcinogenic effects were observed in vivo, and LCM showed a favorable profile in reproductive and developmental animal studies. Currently, LCM is in a late stage of clinical development as an adjunctive treatment for patients with uncontrolled partial‐onset seizures, and it is being assessed as monotherapy in patients with painful diabetic neuropathy. Further trials to identify LCM's potential in pain and for other indications have been initiated.
MD‐354: What is It Good For?
Authors: Dukat Małgorzata , Glennon Richard A. , Young Shawquia 
Published: May 2007

ABSTRACTMD‐354 (meta‐chlorophenylguanidine) has been identified as a member of a novel class of 5‐HT3serotonin receptor agonists. MD‐354 is a 5‐HT3receptor partial agonist that has been shown to behave as an agonist in some assays, and as an antagonist in others. MD‐354 also binds at α‐adrenoceptors (ARs) and displays an affinity for α2B‐ARs comparable to its affinity for 5‐HT3receptors. Although devoid of antinociceptive actions following systemic administration alone, MD‐354 markedly enhances the antinociceptive actions of clonidine in the mouse tail‐flick assay without potentiating the sedative side effects of clonidine. Although studies with MD‐354 are still in progress, some pharmacological findings are described here. MD‐354‐related agents may represent drug adjuvants for the relief of severe pain.
Pharmacological Properties, Toxicology and Scientific Rationale for the use of Natalizumab (Tysabri®) in Inflammatory Diseases
Authors: Stüve Olaf , Bennett Jeffrey L. 
Published: May 2007

ABSTRACTNatalizumab (Tysabri®) was the first adhesion molecule antagonist to make it into clinical trial for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other inflammatory disorders. Natalizumab is a humanized recombinant monoclonal antibody (MAb) that binds to the alpha (α)4 chain of the α4 beta (β)1 (very late activating antigen 4; VLA‐4) and α4β7 integrins. The scientific rationale for natalizumab therapy is the reduction of leukocyte extravasation into peripheral tissues. Natalizumab, like other VLA‐4 antagonists, may also interfere with the activation of T lymphocytes in secondary lymphoid organs and their reactivation in the central nervous system (CNS).Shortly after its approval for the treatment of relapsing‐remitting MS (RR‐MS), three patients who were treated with natalizumab in the setting of clinical trials developed progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), an opportunistic infection of the brain with the polyoma virus JC. It remains to be elucidated why the use of this VLA‐4 antagonist is associated with an increased incidence of PML. Natalizumab was recently reapproved for the treatment of relapsing forms of MS. In this review, we outline the scientific rationale for using natalizumab in MS and other inflammatory disorders. In addition, an overview of pharmacological properties, clinical efficacy, safety, and toxicology of natalizumab is provided.
Levetiracetam: The Profile of a Novel Anticonvulsant Drug—Part I: Preclinical Data
Authors: De Smedt Tim , Raedt Robrecht , Vonck Kristl , Boon Paul 
Published: May 2007

ABSTRACTThe objective of this article was to review and summarize the available reports on the preclinical profile of the novel anticonvulsant drug levetiracetam (LEV). Therefore, a careful search was conducted in the MEDLINE database and combined with guidelines from regulatory agencies, proceedings of professional scientific meetings, and information provided by the manufacturers. This article provides detailed information on the anticonvulsant effects of LEV in various animal models of epilepsy and on its pharmacology in laboratory animals. The mechanism of action of LEV is reviewed, with special regard to its recently discovered binding site, the synaptic vesicle protein 2A. In general, LEV is shown to be a safe, broad‐spectrum anticonvulsant drug with highly beneficial pharmacokinetic properties and a distinct mechanism of action. The clinical studies with LEV will be discussed in the second part of this review article to be published subsequently.
Levetiracetam: Part II, the Clinical Profile of a Novel Anticonvulsant Drug
Authors: De Smedt Tim , Raedt Robrecht , Vonck Kristl , Boon Paul 
Published: May 2007

ABSTRACTThe objective of this article was to review and summarize the available reports on the profile of the novel anticonvulsant drug levetiracetam (LEV) in a clinical setting. Therefore, a careful search was conducted in the MEDLINE database and combined with guidelines from regulatory agencies, proceedings of professional scientific meetings, and information provided by the manufacturers. This article is devoted to the clinical pharmacology and clinical trials of LEV investigating its efficacy and safety as add‐on therapy or monotherapy for various seizure types. Finally, results from postmarketing surveillance of LEV are briefly discussed. In general, LEV is shown to be a safe, broad‐spectrum anticonvulsant drug with highly beneficial pharmacokinetic properties, a favorable long‐term retention rate, and a high responder rate, indicating that LEV is an efficient therapeutic option for the treatment of several types of epilepsy.
Dextromethorphan: A Review of N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate Receptor Antagonist in the Management of Pain
Authors: Siu Anita , Drachtman Richard 
Published: May 2007

ABSTRACTDextromethorphan (DM) is a noncompetitive N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, which is widely used as an antitussive agent. DM also prevents neuronal damage and modulates pain sensation via noncompetitive antagonism of excitatory amino acids (EAAs). DM has been found to be useful in the treatment of pain in cancer patients and in the treatment of methotrexate‐induced neurotoxicity. Clinical studies with DM in cancer patients are reviewed in this article.
The Pharmacology of Ro 64‐6198, a Systemically Active, Nonpeptide NOP Receptor (Opiate Receptor‐Like 1, ORL‐1) Agonist with Diverse Preclinical Therapeutic Activity
Authors: Shoblock James R. 
Published: May 2007

ABSTRACTThe NOP receptor (formerly referred to as opiate receptor‐like 1, ORL‐1, LC132, OP4, or NOP1) is a G protein–coupled receptor that shares high homology to the classic opioid MOP, DOP, and KOP (mu, delta, and kappa, respectively) receptors and was first cloned in 1994 by several groups. The NOP receptor remained an orphan receptor until 1995, when the endogenous neuropeptide agonist, known as nociceptin or orphanin FQ (N/OFQ) was isolated. Five years later, a group at Hoffmann‐La Roche reported on the selective, nonpeptide NOP agonist Ro 64‐6198, which became the most extensively published nonpeptide NOP agonist and a valuable pharmacological tool in determining the potential of the NOP receptor as a therapeutic target. Ro 64‐6198 is systemically active and achieves high brain penetration. It has subnanomolar affinity for the NOP receptor and is at least 100 times more selective for the NOP receptor over the classic opioid receptors. Ro 64‐6198 ranges from partial to full agonist, depending on the assay. Preclinical data indicate that Ro 64‐6198 may have broad clinical uses, such as in treating stress and anxiety, addiction, neuropathic pain, cough, and anorexia. This review summarizes the pharmacology and preclinical data of Ro 64‐6198.