bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Communication enhancement: nurse and patient satisfaction outcomes in a complex continuing care facility
Authors: McGilton Katherine , Robinson Heather Irwin , Boscart Veronique , Spanjevic Lily 
Published: March 2006

Aims.  This paper presents an evaluation of a communication enhancement intervention on staff and patients in a complex continuing care facility.Background.  The importance of effective communication as a fundamental element of nursing has been emphasized and is regarded as integral to the provision of quality patient care. For people residing in complex continuing care (similar to long‐term care facilities), opportunities for socialization occur primarily during interactions or communication with staff, and these interactions have been found to be limited. One way to improve nursing staff communication is through a communication enhancement intervention.Methods.  Twenty‐one nursing staff members (Registered Nurses, Registered Practical Nurses and healthcare aides) working in a complex continuing care environment and 16 patients participated in this study, conducted in the summer of 2003. A repeated measures design was used to evaluate the effects of the communication enhancement intervention on outcomes. Data were collected from patients and nurses at baseline, 5 weeks into the intervention and at 10 weeks after the intervention. Nurse outcome variables included nurses’ job satisfaction and their relationships with patients; patient outcome variables included two measures of patient satisfaction with care.Results.  Nursing staff felt closer to their patients (F(2,40) = 3·0, P = 0·045) following the intervention and reported higher levels of job satisfaction (F(2,40) = 4·1, P = 0·02). No changes were found in the level of patient satisfaction with care.Conclusions.  Our results suggest that nursing staff can feel better about their job and about their patients as they enhance their communication skills. Understanding the barriers to finding time to talk with patients for a few minutes a day, outside of direct hands‐on caregiving, requires further exploration.
Dimensions of hospital nurses’ quality of working life
Authors: Hsu Ming‐Yi , Kernohan George 
Published: March 2006

Aim.  This paper is a report of a study describing the quality of working life of nurses in Taiwan. The purpose of the study was to gather data on which to base a questionnaire to be used in further research.Background.  Nurses often complain of overwork and underpay. Problems persist with nurses’ job satisfaction, stress, organizational commitment and intent to leave. ‘Quality of working life’ is a system of analysing how people experience work: it relates to job satisfaction, intent to leave, turnover rate, personality and work stress. However, reliable information on hospital nurses’ quality of working life is limited.Method.  A descriptive study was carried out with a convenience sample. A total of 16 focus groups in one medical centre and five regional hospitals informed a quality of working life framework. Each group had three to five participants who were Registered Nurses in medical or surgical wards with at least 2 years’ nursing experience, and who held a position below assistant nurse manager. The data were collected in 2000.Findings.  A total of 56 nurses’ quality of working life categories were identified and fitted into six dimensions: socio‐economic relevance, demography, organizational aspects, work aspects, human relation aspects and self‐actualization. In this paper, we focus on issues emphasized by focus group participants. These were managing shift work within the demands of family life; accommodation; support resources; and nurses’ clinical ladder system and salary system.Conclusions.  Further research is needed with other groups of nurses in a wider variety of settings in order to examine strengths and weaknesses in the total healthcare work environment and to develop appropriate strategies for nurses’ quality of working life.
Evolution of cognitive impairment in bipolar disorder: a systematic review of cross‐sectional evidence
Authors: Robinson Lucy J , Nicol Ferrier I 
Published: March 2006

Objectives:  The notion that sufferers of bipolar disorder achieve complete syndromal and functional recovery between illness episodes has been brought into question by evidence that a large proportion of patients fail to regain premorbid levels of functioning after the resolution of major affective symptoms. A growing body of evidence suggests that bipolar patients exhibit neuropsychological impairment that persists even during the euthymic state, which may be a contributory factor to poor psychosocial outcome. However, the aetiology of such impairment and its relation to progression of illness are not well understood. This review aims to consider evidence from studies investigating both the relationship between cognitive impairment and clinical outcome and studies of neurocognitive function in unaffected first‐degree relatives (FDRs) of bipolar sufferers to address issues of the temporal evolution of cognitive impairment in bipolar disorder.Methods:  Systematic literature review.Results:  The weight of evidence suggests that greater neuropsychological dysfunction in bipolar disorder is associated with a worse prior course of illness, particularly the number of manic episodes, hospitalizations and length of illness. The most consistent finding was a negative relationship between the number of manic episodes and verbal declarative memory performance. Impairment in unaffected FDRs was reported in verbal declarative memory and some facets of executive function.Conclusions:  Cognitive impairment may be a trait vulnerability factor for bipolar disorder that is present before illness onset and worsens as the illness progresses. Further investigation into the causal relationship between cognitive impairment and illness course is essential.
The catechol O‐methyltransferase Val158Met polymorphism and herpes simplex virus type 1 infection are risk factors for cognitive impairment in bipolar disorder: additive gene‐environmental effects in a complex human psychiatric disorder
Authors: Dickerson Faith B , Boronow John J , Stallings Cassie , Origoni Andrea E , Cole Sara , Leister Flora , Krivogorsky Bogdana , Yolken Robert H 
Published: March 2006

Background:  Bipolar disorder is associated with deficits in cognitive functioning. The etiology of cognitive impairment in bipolar disorder may relate to both genetic and environmental factors. A valine/methionine polymorphism of the catechol O‐methyltransferase gene at amino acid 158 (COMT Val158Met polymorphism) has been identified as a risk factor for cognitive impairment in schizophrenia. Serological evidence of infection with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV‐1) has also been identified as a risk factor for cognitive impairment in bipolar disorder.Methods:  We used Taqman technology to measure COMT Val158Met alleles in 107 individuals with bipolar disorder and in 95 controls. We also measured antibodies to HSV‐1 in sera obtained from the same individuals. Cognitive functioning was assessed with the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status and the Letter‐Number Sequencing Test. The effects of the COMT Val158Met polymorphism and antibodies to HSV‐1 on cognitive functioning were analyzed with multinomial logistic regressions.Results:  The COMT Val158Val genotype and serological evidence of infection with HSV‐1 are independent risk factors for cognitive impairment in individuals with bipolar disorder, particularly in the domains of immediate and delayed memory. Individuals with bipolar disorder with the COMT158 Val/Val genotype and serological evidence of HSV‐1 infection were more than 85 times more likely to be in the lowest quintile of cognitive functioning when compared with the highest quintile when controlling for potential confounding variables such as symptom severity and education. Control individuals did not display this association.Conclusion:  Both the COMT Val158Met polymorphism and serological evidence of HSV‐1 infection affect cognitive functioning in individuals with bipolar disorder.
Temporal relation between sleep and mood in patients with bipolar disorder
Authors: Bauer Michael , Grof Paul , Rasgon Natalie , Bschor Tom , Glenn Tasha , Whybrow Peter C 
Published: March 2006

Background:  Early recognition of the prodromal symptoms of bipolar disorder, combined with a patient action plan, may help to prevent relapses. Sleep disturbances are frequent warning signs of both mania and depression. This study used cross correlation analysis to characterize the relationship between mood, sleep and bedrest in longitudinal data.Methods:  Self‐reported mood, sleep and bedrest (mean 169 ± 59 days of data per patient) from 59 outpatients with bipolar disorder receiving standard treatment were analyzed. The cross correlation function was used to determine the latency between the changes in sleep and/or bedrest and mood for time shifts of between –7 and 7 days.Results:  For sleep and/or bedrest, a significant inverse correlation was found with the change in mood, most commonly with a time latency of one day. Sleep plus bedrest had the strongest relationship with a change in mood, with a significant correlation in 24 of 59 patients (41%) for the night before or night of a mood change. The patients with a significant cross‐correlation between mood and sleep plus bedrest reported about two thirds of all large sleep changes of >3 h and three fourths of all large mood changes (>20 on 100‐unit scale). Patients with a significant cross correlation were more likely to take benzodiazepines.Conclusion:  In most patients with a significant cross correlation between sleep and/or bedrest and mood, the mood change occurred on the day following the change in sleep and/or bedrest. Sleep changes from a previous pattern, especially those of more than 3 h, may indicate that a large mood change is imminent.
Increased levels of SNAP‐25 and synaptophysin in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in bipolar I disorder
Authors: Scarr E , Gray L , Keriakous D , Robinson PJ , Dean B 
Published: March 2006

Objective:  In order to identify whether the mechanisms associated with neurotransmitter release are involved in the pathologies of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, levels of presynaptic [synaptosomal‐associated protein‐25 (SNAP‐25), syntaxin, synaptophysin, vesicle‐associated membrane protein, dynamin I] and structural (neuronal cell adhesion molecule and alpha‐synuclein) neuronal markers were measured in Brodmann's area 9 obtained postmortem from eight subjects with bipolar I disorder (BPDI), 20 with schizophrenia and 20 controls.Methods:  Determinations of protein levels were carried out using Western blot techniques with specific antibodies. Levels of mRNA were measured using real‐time polymerase chain reaction.Results:  In BPDI, levels of SNAP‐25 (p < 0.01) and synaptophysin (p < 0.05) increased. There were no changes in schizophrenia or any other changes in BPDI. Levels of mRNA for SNAP‐25 were decreased in BPDI (p < 0.05).Conclusion:  Changes in SNAP‐25 and synaptophysin in BPDI suggest that changes in specific neuronal functions could be linked to the pathology of the disorder.
Galantamine treatment of cognitive impairment in bipolar disorder: four cases
Authors: Schrauwen Eric , Nassir Ghaemi S 
Published: March 2006

Objective: To determine if galantamine is effective in the treatment of chronic cognitive impairment in bipolar disorder.Methods: All charts of patients meeting DSM‐IV criteria for bipolar disorder treated with galantamine in an academic bipolar disorder specialty clinic psychiatric practice were reviewed and clinical response was assessed retrospectively using the Clinical Global Impression scale for Improvement.Results: Galantamine was effective in two of four patients, both of whom took at least 24 mg/day. It was ineffective in two patients who only took 8 mg/day. Sedation limited higher dosing in one patient, and a second patient experienced sedation and tremor. Improvement in cognition was not associated with improvement in mood. Galantamine appeared neutral in its effect on mood.Conclusions: This pilot case series suggests that galantamine may have some utility in improving chronic cognitive impairment in bipolar disorder. Larger studies are required to clarify these initial pilot data.
Boar Contact does not Induce Oxytocin Release During the Period of Embryo Migration in Sows
Authors: Langendijk P , Schams D , Soede N , Kemp B 
Published: March 2006

ContentsNine multiparous cyclic sows with permanent jugular catheters were introduced to a boar at day 10 (n = 9) or 11 (n = 5) after ovulation to study the effect on oxytocin (OT) release. If it occurs, the release of OT might play a role in embryo migration which occurs around this time, by stimulating uterine contractions. Blood samples were taken before introduction of the boar and at 2‐min intervals up to 10 min after boar introduction. On average, OT levels after boar introduction were not higher than before. In only three out of the 14 occasions of boar introduction, a rise in OT level was observed that was higher than two times the standard deviation above base level. However, even on these occasions OT levels were far below the range normally observed during other events where exogenous stimuli cause OT release, such as boar introduction during estrus and suckling during lactation. We conclude that boar contact around day 10 of the estrous cycle does not induce a biologically significant OT release in sows.
The Endometrium of the Anoestrous Female Pig: Studies on Infiltration by Cells of the Immune System
Authors: Jiwakanon J , Persson E , Dalin A‐M 
Published: March 2006

ContentsThe aim of this study was to investigate the distribution of immune cells in the endometrium of anoestrous female pigs, five sows in anoestrus by lactation and five pre‐pubertal gilts (Swedish Landrace × Swedish Yorkshire). Uterine samples, taken immediately after slaughter, were fixed, embedded in plastic resin and stained with toluidine blue or cryo fixed and stored in a freezer at −70°C until analysed by immunohistochemistry with an avidin–biotin peroxidase method. Immune cells in the surface (luminal) and the glandular epithelium as well as the subepithelial and the glandular connective tissue layers were counted using light microscopy. In the surface (luminal) and the glandular epithelia of gilts and sows, lymphocytes were the predominant immune cells found. There were no significant differences between gilts and sows. Macrophages were detected in the glandular epithelium of sows but not in gilts. In the subepithelial and the glandular connective tissue layers of both gilts and sows, lymphocytes were also the most common immune cells found. The numbers of lymphocytes and macrophages were significantly higher in the sows than in the gilts (p ≤ 0.05) in both the layers of connective tissue. Numbers of plasma cells, mast cells, eosinophils and neutrophils in the connective tissue were low and not significantly different between sows and gilts. In both the surface (luminal) epithelium and the subepithelial connective tissue, higher numbers of CD2 than CD3 positive cells were found (p ≤ 0.01). The numbers of CD2 positive cells in both epithelium and connective tissue and the number of CD3 positive cells in the epithelium were significantly higher in the sows than the gilts (p ≤ 0.05). A few CD79 positive cells were found in the subepithelial connective tissue and none in the epithelia. A few CD14 and SWC3 positive cells were found in the epithelia. The numbers of CD14, SWC3 and MHC class II positive cells were significantly higher in the sows than in the gilts (p ≤ 0.05) in the subepithelial connective tissue. In conclusion, the distribution of immune cells in the endometrium of anoestrous female pigs was affected by experienced pregnancy and parturition. In sows with lactation‐induced anoestrus, there was a markedly higher cell infiltration (lymphocytes and macrophages) than in the pre‐pubertal gilts. In pre‐pubertal gilts, lymphocytes dominated, which indicates a role in the maturation of the endometrium.
Representation of the high‐temperature crack tip fields using reference stress concepts
Authors: HABIBULLAH M. S. , PONTER A. R. S. 
Published: March 2006

ABSTRACTIn a previous paper, it was shown that an estimation approach to crack tip properties under cyclic creep loading conditions was described, using a methodology based on the linear matching method (LMM). The calculations revealed the possibility of obtaining the crack tip parameters, C* (n), for cracked structures subjected to both mechanical loads and temperatures, using the HRR field criterion as the crack tip condition. In this paper, those calculated values of C* (n) are re‐interpreted and presented in terms of the reference stresses, insensitive to the constitutive models and creep exponent. These reference stress values are compared with those currently used for life assessment of high‐temperature plant, showing that current practice is significantly conservative for thermal loading.
Image Registration in a Coarse Three‐Dimensional Virtual Environment
Authors: Laycock R. G. , Day A. M. 
Published: March 2006

AbstractIn recent years, the availability of off‐the‐shelf geometric data for an urban environment has increased. During rendering, ground level images are mapped onto the façades of the buildings to improve the visual quality of the scene. This paper focuses on a technique that enables ground level images to be automatically integrated into an existing coarse three‐dimensional environment. The approach utilises the planar nature of architectural scenes to enable the automatic extraction of a building façade from an image and its registration into the virtual environment.
Delta sleep‐inducing peptide (DSIP): a still unresolved riddle
Authors: Kovalzon Vladimir M. , Strekalova Tatyana V. 
Published: March 2006

AbstractDelta sleep‐inducing peptide (DSIP) was isolated from rabbit cerebral venous blood by Schoenenberger‐Monnier group from Basel in 1977 and initially regarded as a candidate sleep‐promoting factor. However, the link between DSIP and sleep has never been further characterized, in part because of the lack of isolation of the DSIP gene, protein and possible related receptor. Thus the hypothesis regarding DSIP as a sleep factor is extremely poorly documented and still weak. Although DSIP itself presented a focus of study for a number of researchers, its natural occurrence and biological activity still remains obscure. DSIP structure is different from any other known representative of the various peptide families. In this mini‐review we hypothesize the existence of a DSIP‐like peptide(s) that is responsible (at least partly) for DSIP‐like immunoreactivity and DSIP biological activity. This assumption is based on: (i) a highly specific distribution of DSIP‐like immunoreactivity in the neurosecretory hypothalamic nuclei of various vertebrate species that are not particularly relevant for sleep regulation, as revealed by the histochemical studies of the Geneva group (Charnay et al.); (ii) a large spectrum of DSIP biological activity revealed by biochemical and physiological studies in vitro; (iii) significant slow‐wave sleep (SWS) promoting activity of certain artificial DSIP structural analogues (but not DSIP itself!) in rabbits and rats revealed by our early studies; and (iv) significant SWS‐promoting activity of a naturally occurring dermorphin‐decapeptide that is structurally similar to DSIP (in five of the nine positions) and the sleep‐suppressing effect of its optical isomer, as revealed in rabbits. Potential future studies are outlined, including natural synthesis and release of this DSIP‐like peptide and its role in neuroendocrine regulation.
ABCA2 is a marker of neural progenitors and neuronal subsets in the adult rodent brain
Authors: Broccardo Cyril , Nieoullon Vincent , Amin Rada , Masmejean Frédérique , Carta Sonia , Tassi Sara , Pophillat Matthieu , Rubartelli Anna , Pierres Michel , Rougon Geneviève , Nieoullon André , Chazal Genèvieve , Chimini Giovanna 
Published: March 2006

AbstractThe notion that the ATP‐binding cassette transporter‐A2 (ABCA2) may be involved in brain sterol homeostasis and is associated with early onset Alzheimer's disease led us to explore its neural expression. Our data support and extend the previous reports on ABCA2 expression by oligodendrocytes. They evidence that ABCA2 (i) is located in intracellular vesicles, identified in transfected cells as lysosome‐related organelles only partially overlapping with classical endolysosomes; (ii) is a marker of neural progenitors as it is expressed in the subventricular zone of the lateral ventricle and the dentate gyrus of the hippocampal formation, sites of continual neurogenesis in the adult brain, and in nestin+ cells differentiated in vitro from embryonic stem cells; (iii) persists, in the adult rodent brain, in a subset of GABAergic and glutamatergic neurons. Considering that the latter are targets of Alzheimer's lesions, these data provide a new rationale to explore the neuropathological consequences of ABCA2 functional dysregulations.
Caspase cleaved presenilin‐1 is part of active γ‐secretase complexes
Authors: Hansson Camilla A. , Popescu Bogdan O. , Laudon Hanna , Cedazo‐Minguez Angel , Popescu Laurentiu M. , Winblad Bengt , Ankarcrona Maria 
Published: March 2006

Abstractγ‐Secretase is a key enzyme involved in the processing of the β‐amyloid precursor protein into amyloid β‐peptides (Aβ). Aβ accumulates and forms plaques in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brains. A progressive neurodegeneration and cognitive decline occurs during the course of the disease, and Aβ is believed to be central for the molecular pathogenesis of AD. Apoptosis has been implicated as one of the mechanisms behind the neuronal cell loss seen in AD. We have studied preservation and activity of the γ‐secretase complex during apoptosis in neuroblastoma cells (SH‐SY5Y) exposed to staurosporine (STS). We report that the known components (presenilin, Nicastrin, Aph‐1 and Pen‐2) interact and form active γ‐secretase complexes in apoptotic cells. In addition, the fragments corresponding to the PS1 N‐terminal fragment and the caspase‐cleaved PS1 C‐terminal fragment (PS1‐caspCTF) were found to form active γ‐secretase complexes when co‐expressed in presenilin (PS) knockout cells. Interestingly, PS1‐caspCTF replaced the normal PS1 C‐terminal fragment and was co‐immunoprecipitated with the γ‐secretase complex in SH‐SY5Y cells exposed to STS. In addition, Aβ was detected in medium from apoptotic HEK APPswe cells. Together, the data show that γ‐secretase complexes containing PS1‐caspCTF are active, and suggest that this proteolytic activity is also important in dying cells and may affect the progression of AD.