bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Conceptualising spirituality and religion for healthcare
Authors: Pesut Barbara , Fowler Marsha , Taylor Elizabeth J , Reimer‐Kirkham Sheryl , Sawatzky Richard 
Published: July 2008

Aims.  To discuss some of the challenges of conceptualising spirituality and religion for healthcare practice.Background.  With the growing interest in spirituality in healthcare, has come the inevitable task of trying to conceptualise spirituality, a daunting task given the amorphous nature of spirituality, the changing understandings of spirituality among individuals and the diverse globalised society within which this task is taking place. Spirituality’s relationship to religion is a particularly challenging point of debate.Design.  Critical review.Conclusions.  Three social and historical conditions – located in the context of Western thought – have contributed to current conceptualisations of spirituality and religion: the diminishment of the social authority of religion as a result of the Enlightenment focus on reason, the rise of a postmodern spirituality emphasising spiritual experience and current tensions over the ideological and political roles of religion in society. The trend to minimise the social influence of religion is a particular Western bias that seems to ignore the global megatrend of the resurgence of religion. Current conceptualisations are critiqued on the following grounds: that they tend to be ungrounded from a rich history of theological and philosophical thought, that a particular form of elitist spirituality is emerging and that the individualistic emphasis in recent conceptualisations of spirituality diminishes the potential for societal critique and transformation while opening the door for economic and political self interest.Relevance to clinical practice.  Constructing adequate conceptualisations of spirituality and religion for clinical practice entails grounding them in the wealth of centuries of philosophical and theological thinking, ensuring that they represent the diverse society that nursing serves and anchoring them within a moral view of practice.
Complement‐mediated killing of Philasterides dicentrarchi (Ciliophora) by turbot serum: relative importance of alternative and classical pathways
Authors: LEIRO J. , PIAZZÓN M. C. , BUDIÑO B. , SANMARTÍN M. L. , LAMAS J. 
Published: July 2008

SUMMARY The present study was carried out to elucidate the in vitro killing activity of turbot complement and specific antibodies against the ciliate parasite Philasterides dicentrarchi. Fresh serum from nonimmunized fish showed a moderate ability to kill the parasite, which indicates that P. dicentrarchi is able to activate the alternative complement pathway (ACP). Fresh serum from immunized fish, which contained high levels of specific antibodies, showed greater killing activity. Heat‐inactivated serum, with or without antibodies, and antibodies alone did not have any effect on parasite viability, which indicates that serum mainly kills P. dicentrarchi through the antibody‐mediated classical complement pathway (CCP). Ascitic fluid from infected fish, but containing low levels of specific antibodies, showed a low ability to kill the parasite, and fresh serum from nonimmunized infected fish did not kill the parasite. The latter serum contained some specific antibodies but lower levels of complement than serum from control and vaccinated fish, and the lack of ability of this serum to kill the parasite was probably related to low levels of complement. In addition, serum and ascitic fluid from infected turbot showed high proteolytic activity which degraded fish Igs. The proteolytic activity generated may favour survival of the parasite during infection.
Cooperative activity of DNA methyltransferases for maintenance of symmetrical and non‐symmetrical cytosine methylation in Arabidopsis thaliana
Authors: Singh Anuradha , Zubko Elena , Meyer Peter 
Published: July 2008

SummaryMaintenance of cytosine methylation in plants is controlled by three DNA methyltransferases. MET1 maintains CG methylation, and DRM1/2 and CMT3 act redundantly to enforce non‐CG methylation. RPS, a repetitive hypermethylated DNA fragment from Petunia hybrida, attracts DNA methylation when transferred into Petunia or other species. In Arabidopsis thaliana, which does not contain any RPS homologues, RPS transgenes are efficiently methylated in all sequence contexts. To test which DNA methylation pathways regulate RPS methylation, we examined maintenance of RPS methylation in various mutant backgrounds. Surprisingly, CG methylation was lost in a drm1/2/cmt3 mutant, and non‐CG methylation was almost completely eliminated in a met1 mutant. An unusual cooperative activity of all three DNA methyltransferases is therefore required for maintenance of both CG and non‐CG methylation in RPS. Other unusual features of RPS methylation are the independence of its non‐CG methylation from the RNA‐directed DNA methylation (RdDM) pathway and the exceptional maintenance of methylation at a CCmTGG site in some epigenetic mutants. This is indicative of activity of a methylation system in plants that may have evolved from the DCM methylation system that controls CCmWGG methylation in bacteria. Our data suggest that strict separation of CG and non‐CG methylation pathways does not apply to all target regions, and that caution is required in generalizing methylation data obtained for individual genomic regions.
Donor screening for hepatitis B virus infection in a cell and tissue bank
Authors: Solves P. , Mirabet V. , Alvarez M. , Vila E. , Quiles F. , Villalba J.V. , Montoro J.A. , Soler M.A. , Roig R.J. 
Published: July 2008

Abstract: Background and objectives. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been transmitted by tissue transplantation. In order to reduce the risk of HBV transmission, testing for antibody to HBV core antigen (anti‐HBc) is used in addition to testing for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in many blood centers and tissue banks.Design and methods. We retrospectively analyzed the results of HBV assays in tissue donors. All tissue donors were tested for HBsAg and anti‐HBc. All anti‐HBc positive sera were tested for the antibody to HBsAg (anti‐HBs). From July 2006, an HBV nucleic acid testing (NAT) assay was also performed.Results. A total of 6855 tissue donors from January 1999 till July 2007 were tested for HBV assays: 4756 women and 2099 men. Positive HBsAg was found in 23 (0.36%) living donors, while no multiorgan or cord blood (CB) donor was found to be positive for HBsAg. Positive anti‐HBc was found in 80 multiorgan donors (12.94%), 599 living donors (17.84%), and 103 CB donors (3.57%) (P<0.005), while isolated anti‐HBc was found in 12 multiorgan (1.94%), in 126 living tissue donors (3.75%), and in 8 CB donors (0.28%). A total of 1310 donors were analyzed for single‐sample DNA HBV NAT assay.Discussion. We consider that anti‐HBc and NAT assays must both still be performed in addition to HBsAg assay for HBV screening in tissue donors. All these tests will be useful in order to define an algorithm for safe and efficient management of the tissue bank.
Seminal Plasma Composition from Ejaculates Collected by Artificial Vagina and Electroejaculation in Guirra Ram
Authors: Marco‐Jiménez F , Vicente JS , Viudes‐de‐Castro MP 
Published: July 2008

ContentsThis study was conducted to evaluate changes in ram seminal plasma composition from ejaculates obtained using artificial vagina (AV) and electroejaculation (EE). To address this question, we assessed the effect of semen collection method on volume, sperm concentration, sodium concentration, potassium concentration, sodium/potassium ratio, total protein content and protein profile using sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS‐PAGE) and 2‐D polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The main findings from this study were: (i) similar volume was obtained, while sperm concentration was significantly lower for EE method; (ii) potassium and sodium/potassium concentration ratio were not influenced by recovery method, while sodium concentration increased significantly when semen was recovered using EE; (iii) approximately 80% of the total relative seminal plasma protein is represented by four protein fractions of molecular weights around 15, 21, 24 and 50 kDa and there were not differences and (iv) focussing the two‐dimensional SDS‐PAGE gel on the 10–25 kDa rank, theimage analysissoftware detected around 22 spots with isoelectric points ranging from 5.1 to 6.1. Two protein spots (15 kDa and 5.5 and 22 kDa and 5.2 for molecular weight and isoelectric point respectively) increased significantly when semen was recovered using EE. One spot protein with molecular weight around 25 kDa and isoelectric point of 5.2 were only found in the seminal plasma from the semen recovery by AV. As it was demonstrated, ejaculates obtained with EE modify the sodium concentration, alter two proteins concentration and induced the loss of one protein in seminal plasma.
Immunohistochemical Detection of Receptors for Oestrogen and Progesterone in Endometrial Glands and Stroma during the Oestrous Cycle in Nelore (Bos taurus indicus) Cows
Authors: Martin I , Torres Neto R , Oba E , Buratini Jr J , Binelli M , Laufer‐Amorim R , Ferreira JCP 
Published: July 2008

ContentsThe aim of the present study was to monitor endometrial distribution and concentrations of oestrogen receptors α (ERα) and progesterone receptors (PR) by immunohistochemistry in Nelore cows (Bos taurus indicus) during the oestrous cycle. Blood samples were collected for progesterone measurement and endometrial samples were taken from the uterine horn contra lateral to the corpus luteum in 16 cows at days 0 (ovulation), 5, 9, 13 and 19 of the oestrous cycle. Immunostaining evaluation for ERα and PR in the glandular epithelium and uterine stroma was performed by two methods: positive nuclei counting and staining intensity of the nuclei. Specific positive staining reactions for both receptors were limited to cell nuclei and they were not identified in the cytoplasm. The proportion of ERα positive nuclei had a temporal variation throughout the oestrous cycle in both cell types evaluated and was higher in uterine stroma than the glandular epithelium (p < 0.05). The greatest proportion of ERα stained nuclei was observed at oestrus and during the initial and mid luteal phase (days 5, 9 and 13) (p < 0.05) in the glandular epithelium and at days 0, 5 and 9 in the uterine stroma (p < 0.01). The proportion of PR positive nuclei remained constant throughout the entire oestrous cycle for both cell types evaluated (p > 0.05). A higher proportion of PR positive nuclei was measured in the uterine stroma compared with the glandular epithelium (p < 0.05). Intensity of staining for ERα and PR varied throughout the oestrous cycle (p < 0.01). There was a higher staining intensity at days 0 and 5 in the stroma for ERα (p < 0.01) and PR (p < 0.01) and in the glandular epithelium at days 0, 5, 9 and 13 for ERα (p < 0.01) and at days 0, 5 and 9 for PR (p < 0.01) when compared with the other evaluated days. These data demonstrate that ERα and PR expression varied throughout the oestrous cycle in Nelore cows, in general with highest concentrations at oestrus and the lowest during the luteal phase. This is similar to patterns observed in Bos taurus taurus.
Low dose methylprednisolone prophylaxis to reduce inflammation during one‐lung ventilation
Authors: THEROUX MARY C. , OLIVANT ALICIA , LIM DOYLE , BERNARDI JOHN P. , COSTARINO ANDREW T. , SHAFFER THOMAS H. , MILLER THOMAS L. 
Published: July 2008

SummaryBackground:  The specific aim of this study was to examine the efficacy of a low dose of methylprednisolone in minimizing inflammatory response in juvenile piglets when given 45–60 min prior to onset of one‐lung ventilation.Methods:  Twenty piglets aged 3 weeks were assigned to either the control group (n = 10) or methylprednisolone group (n = 10). The animals were anesthetized and after 30 min of ventilation, they had their left lung blocked. Ventilation was continued via right lung for 3 h. The left lung was then unblocked. Following another 30 min of bilateral ventilation, the animals were euthanized and both lungs were harvested. The methylprednisolone group had a single dose (2 mg·kg−1) of methylprednisolone given i.v. 45–60 min prior to onset of one‐lung ventilation. Physiological parameters (PaO2, resistance, and compliance) and markers of inflammation (tumor necrosis factor [TNF]‐α, interleukin [IL]‐1β, IL‐6, and IL‐8) were measured at baseline and every 30 min thereafter. Lung tissue homogenates from both collapsed and ventilated lungs were analyzed for TNF‐α, IL‐1β, IL‐6, and IL‐8.Results:  The methylprednisolone group had higher partial pressure of oxygen (P = 0.01), lower plasma levels of TNF‐α (P = 0.03) and IL‐6 (P = 0.001) when compared with control group. Lung tissue homogenate in the methylprednisolone group had lower levels of TNF‐α (P < 0.05), IL‐1β (P < 0.05), and IL‐8 (P < 0.05) in both the collapsed and the ventilated lungs.Conclusions:  In a piglet model of one‐lung ventilation, use of prophylactic methylprednisolone prior to collapse of the lung improves lung function and decreases systemic pro‐inflammatory response. In addition, in the piglets who received methylprednisolone, there were reduced levels of inflammatory mediators in both the collapsed and ventilated lungs.
Subhypnotic propofol infusion plus dexamethasone is more effective than dexamethasone alone for the prevention of vomiting in children after tonsillectomy
Authors: ERDEM ALI FUAT , YORUK OZGUR , ALICI HACI AHMET , CESUR MEHMET , ATALAY CANAN , ALTAS ENVER , KURSAD HUSNU , YUKSEK MUSTAFA SAHIN 
Published: July 2008

SummaryBackground: Postoperative vomiting (POV) is a common complication after tonsillectomy. Dexamethasone is known to decrease postsurgical vomiting. In this study, we compared the effects of dexamethasone alone to dexamethasone plus propofol on postoperative vomiting in children undergoing tonsillectomy.Methods: In a randomized double‐blinded study, we evaluated 80 healthy children, aged 4–12 years, who underwent tonsillectomy with or without adenoidectomy. After anesthesia was induced by inhalation of sevoflurane, 0.15 mg·kg−1dexamethasone and 2 μg·kg−1fentanyl was administered i.v. to all patients. The patients in the dexamethasone plus propofol group received 1 mg·kg−1propofol before intubation and continuously after intubation at a rate of 20 μg·kg−1·min−1until the surgery was completed. Data for postoperative vomiting were grouped into the following time periods: 0–4 and 4–24 h. Data were analyzed using a Student’st‐test and chi‐squared analysis.Results: The percentage of patients exhibiting a complete response (defined as no retching or vomiting for 24 h) increased from 37.5% in the dexamethasone‐alone group to 75% in the dexamethasone plus propofol group (P = 0.001). Twenty‐two patients (55%) in the dexamethasone‐alone and nine patients (22.5%) in the dexamethasone plus propofol groups experienced vomited during 0–4 h (P = 0.003). Eight patients in the dexamethasone‐alone group and three patients in the dexamethasone plus propofol group received ondansetron as a rescue antiemetic during the postoperative period.Conclusion: For children undergoing tonsillectomy, intraoperative subhypnotic propofol infusion combined with dexamethasone treatment provides a better prophylaxis against postoperative vomiting than does dexamethasone alone.
A Spatial Filtering Specification for an Auto‐negative Binomial Model ofAnopheles arabiensisAquatic Habitats
Authors: Jacob Benjamin G , Griffith Daniel A , Gunter James T , Muturi Ephantus J , Caamano Erick X , Shililu Josephat I , Githure John I , Regens James L , Novak Robert J 
Published: July 2008

AbstractThis research accounts for spatial autocorrelation by including latent map pattern components as predictor variables in a malaria mosquito aquatic habitat model specification. The data used to derive the model was from a digitized grid‐based algorithm, generated in an ArcInfo database, using QuickBird visible and near‐infrared (NIR) data. The Feature Extraction (FX) Module in ENVI 4.4®was used to categorize individual pixels of field sampled aquatic habitats into separate spectral classes, convert remotely sensed raster layers to vector coverages, and classify output layers to vector format as ESRI shapefiles. These data were used to construct a geographic weights matrix for evaluation of field and remote sampled covariates ofAnopheles arabiensisaquatic habitats, a major vector of malaria in East Africa. The principal finding is that synthetic map pattern variables, which are eigenvectors computed for a geographic weights matrix, furnish an alternative way of capturing spatial dependency effects in the mean response term of a regression model. The spatial autocorrelation components suggest the presence of roughly 11 to 28% redundant information in the aquatic habitat larval count samples. The presence of redundant information in the models suggest that the sampling configuration of theAn. arabiensisaquatic habitats, in the study sites, may cause field and remote observations of aquatic habitats to be dependent, rather than independent, moving data analysis away from the classical statistical independence model. A Poisson regression model, with a non‐constant, gamma‐distributed mean, can decompose field and remote sampledAn. arabiensisdata into positive and negative spatial autocorrelation eigenvectors, which can assess the precision of a malaria mosquito aquatic habitat map and the significance of all factors associated with larval abundance and distribution in a riceland agroecosystem.
Existentials as impersonalising devices: the case of European Portuguese1
Authors: Afonso Susana 
Published: July 2008

AbstractExistentials have been associated with the functions of asserting existence of an entity, setting a scene, presentation of new discourse entities, as well as listing. They are structures whose meaning is connected to discourse. Although the construction has been widely studied, some of the functions it performs, such as the impersonalising function have remained largely unexplored. This paper takes impersonalisation as a functional concept, in the sense of agent removal from a scene, shows how existentials in European Portuguese are also impersonal constructions, and describes them within the framework of construction grammar.
Clitic impersonal constructions in Romance: syntactic features and semantic interpretation1
Authors: Mendikoetxea Amaya 
Published: July 2008

AbstractThis paper provides an overview of the syntax and semantics of Romance clitic impersonal constructions (CL‐ICs), as present in the grammars of Spanish and Italian, within the framework of the Minimalist Program. Syntactically, these structures are characterised by the presence of the cliticse/si,which is analysed as a 0‐person clitic, along with other person clitics in Romance, and heads a functional projection in the temporal domain immediately above T(ense). The syntactic properties of CL‐ICs can be accounted for with reference to the complex agreement operations involving the cliticse/si, the empty category in subject position (a null generic pronoun:G‐pro), the object argument in transitive contexts, and the features of the heads T andv. The interpretation of CL‐ICs crucially relies on the presence ofG‐pro in the specifier position ofvP: it introduces a variable that can be bound by an existential or a universal quantifier, which accounts for the variable quantificational force of CL‐ICs.
Population monitoring of snow leopards using noninvasive collection of scat samples: a pilot study
Authors: Janečka J. E. , Jackson R. , Yuquang Z. , Diqiang L. , Munkhtsog B. , Buckley‐Beason V. , Murphy W. J. 
Published: July 2008

AbstractThe endangered snow leopardPanthera unciaoccurs in rugged, high‐altitude regions of Central Asia. However, information on the status of this felid is limited in many areas. We conducted a pilot study to optimize moecular markers for the analysis of snow leopard scat samples and to examine the feasibility of using noninvasive genetic methods for monitoring this felid. We designed snow leopard‐specific primers for seven microsatellite loci that amplified shorter segments and avoided flanking sequences shared with repetitive elements. By redesigning primers we maximized genotyping success and minimized genotyping errors. In addition, we tested a Y chromosome‐marker for sex identification and designed a panel of mitochondrial DNA primers for examining genetic diversity of snow leopards using scat samples. We collected scats believed to be from snow leopards in three separate geographic regions including north‐western India, central China and southern Mongolia. We observed snow leopard scats in all three sites despite only brief 2‐day surveys in each area. There was a high rate of species misidentification in the field with up to 54% of snow leopard scats misidentified as red fox. The high rate of field misidentification suggests sign surveys incorporating scat likely overestimate snow leopard abundance. The highest ratio of snow leopard scats was observed in Ladakh (India) and South Gobi (Mongolia), where four and five snow leopards were detected, respectively. Our findings describe a species‐specific molecular panel for analysis of snow leopard scats, and highlight the efficacy of noninvasive genetic surveys for monitoring snow leopards. These methods enable large‐scale noninvasive studies that will provide information critical for conservation of snow leopards.
Behavior in Prader‐Willi syndrome: relationship to genetic subtypes and age
Authors: Dykens Elisabeth M. , Roof Elizabeth 
Published: July 2008

Background:  Some behavioral features of Prader‐Willi syndrome (PWS) are associated with the major genetic subtypes of this disorder. While most agree that those with maternal uniparental disomy (UPD) have a distinctive cognitive and psychiatric profile, findings are more controversial regarding possible differences among persons who vary in paternal deletion size.Methods:  Caregivers of 88 persons with PWS aged 5 to 51 years (M = 22 years) were administered measures of problem behavior, compulsivity, hyperphagia, and adaptive skills. The sample was well characterized as having relatively large, Type I (n = 26) or smaller, Type II (n = 29) deletions, or UPD (n = 33).Results:  No significant behavioral differences were found between the Type I versus Type II deletion groups. Within each genetic subtype, however, differences emerged in how advancing age related to behavior. Although age did not emerge as a significant correlate of behavior in the Type II or UPD groups, in the Type I group age was consistently associated with lower problem behaviors, adaptive skills, and externalizing symptoms.Conclusion:  Although differences between deletion subtypes were not found, significant within‐subtype differences emerged in relationships between age and behavior. Negative associations between age and behavior in the Type I group only may relate to non‐imprinted genes that are deleted in Type I but not Type II cases, including CYFIP1. Altered expression of CYFIP1 is seen in other developmental disabilities, including 15q disorders, and haploinsufficiency of CYFIP1 in Type I PWS cases may be associated with age‐related phenotypic effects. Findings underscore the importance of a life‐span perspective in phenotypic research.