bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Inorganic carbon fixation by sulfate‐reducing bacteria in the Black Sea water column
Authors: Neretin Lev N. , Abed Raeid M. M. , Schippers Axel , Schubert Carsten J. , Kohls Katharina , Kuypers Marcel M. M. 
Published: August 2007

SummaryThe Black Sea is the largest anoxic water basin on Earth and its stratified water column comprises an upper oxic, middle suboxic and a lower permanently anoxic, sulfidic zone. The abundance of sulfate‐reducing bacteria (SRB) in water samples was determined by quantifying the copy number of the dsrA gene coding for the alpha subunit of the dissimilatory (bi)sulfite reductase using real‐time polymerase chain reaction. The dsrA gene was detected throughout the whole suboxic and anoxic zones. The maximum dsrA copy numbers were 5 × 102 and 6.3 × 102 copies ml−1 at 95 m in the suboxic and at 150 m in the upper anoxic zone, respectively. The proportion of SRB to total Bacteria was 0.1% in the oxic, 0.8–1.9% in the suboxic and 1.2–4.7% in the anoxic zone. A phylogenetic analysis of 16S rDNA clones showed that most clones from the anoxic zone formed a coherent cluster within the Desulfonema–Desulfosarcina group. A similar depth profile as for dsrA copy numbers was obtained for the concentration of non‐isoprenoidal dialkyl glycerol diethers (DGDs), which are most likely SRB‐specific lipid biomarkers. Three different DGDs were found to be major components of the total lipid fractions from the anoxic zone. The DGDs were depleted in 13C relative to the δ13C values of dissolved CO2 (δ13CCO2) by 14–19‰. Their δ13C values [δ13CDGD(II–III)] co‐varied with depth showing the least 13C‐depleted values in the top of the sulfidic, anoxic zone and the most 13C‐depleted values in the deep anoxic waters at 1500 m. This co‐variation provides evidence for CO2 incorporation by the DGD(II–III)‐producing SRB, while the 1:2 relationship between δ13CCO2 and δ13CDGD(II–III) indicates the use of an additional organic carbon source.
Jordanian women’s perceptions of post‐partum health care
Authors: Khalaf I. A. , Abu‐Moghli F. A. , Mahadeen A. I. , Callister L. C. , Al‐Hadidi M. 
Published: August 2007

Purpose:  This qualitative descriptive study aimed to explore Jordanian childbearing women’s perceptions of their needs for health care and the post‐partum healthcare services they received.Methods:  Twenty‐four Jordanian childbearing women participated in the focus groups. Discussions focused on infant and maternal health concerns, access to post‐partum health care, including family‐planning services, the characteristics and behaviour of healthcare providers, and suggestions for the provision of quality maternal post‐partum health care.Findings:  The majority of the women indicated that most of the services perceived and provided during the post‐natal period were related to child care. They indicated that they attend post‐natal visits mostly for treatment, family planning and/or child care and stated that they have not been told about the post‐natal visits during pregnancy, or after giving birth.Conclusions:  Study findings provided insight and understanding of women’s perspectives on post‐partum health care and implied a need to translate qualitative findings into clinical practice guidelines. It is suggested that the Jordanian Ministry of Health develops a comprehensive plan to improve educational offerings for post‐partum women, and ensure that all healthcare facilities offer affordable and high‐quality post‐partum health care.
Anxiety, depression and coping strategies in post‐hysterectomy Chinese women prior to discharge
Authors: Wang X.Q. , Lambert C. E. , Lambert V. A. 
Published: August 2007

Objective:  This survey investigated the relationships among anxiety, depression, coping strategies and demographic characteristics of post‐hysterectomy Chinese women before discharge and further determined the best predictors of anxiety and depression among this group.Methods:  The sample consisted of 105 women who were administered, 1–2 days prior to discharge, via one‐to‐one interview, the Zung Self‐rating Anxiety Scale, the Zung Self‐rating Depression Scale, the Brief COPE Scale and a demographic questionnaire.Results:  Only 1.9% of the participants experienced anxiety, while 4.8% experienced depression after having a hysterectomy. Active coping, positive reframing, planning, emotional support and venting were the most frequently used coping strategies. Significant positive and negative correlations were found among anxiety, depression, coping strategies and the demographic characteristics of the subjects. The best predictors of anxiety were self‐blame, venting and medical payment. The best predictors of depression were self‐blame and employment status.Conclusion:  Self‐blame was the predictor of both anxiety and depression. It implied that a patient’s negative self‐evaluation may influence both psychological status and mental health. The ways of medical payment and employment status were predictors of anxiety and depression respectively, both of which reflected the economic stress that affected the psychological status and quality of life of the Chinese women, post‐hysterectomy, before discharge. The findings of this study indicate that care for Chinese women post‐hysterectomy, before discharge, should address their physical, psychological, social and economic well‐being.
Nurse migration and its implications for Philippine hospitals
Authors: Perrin M.E. , Hagopian A. , Sales A. , Huang B. 
Published: August 2007

Background:  ‘Push’ and ‘pull’ factors motivate Filipino registered nurses (RNs) to leave for employment in foreign countries making the Philippines the leading source country for nurses overseas.Objective:  To assess the current RN‐staffing situation in Philippine hospitals.Design:  A self‐administered survey was mailed to a sample of 200 Philippine hospital chiefs of nurses.Results:  According to respondents, the majority of RNs in their hospitals (73%) were aged 40 years and younger and female (85%); government hospital RNs earned higher wages than private hospital RNs; and on average, RN vacancy rates and RN turnover rates were lower in government hospitals than private hospitals. All respondents reported no difficulty recruiting RNs with less than 12 months of work experience. However, recruitment of more experienced RNs was somewhat or very difficult for private hospitals compared with government hospitals. Higher salaries, better benefits and good career opportunities were identified as most effective incentives for both recruitment and retention.Conclusions:  RN staffing in government hospitals is more favourable than in private hospitals as measured by employment tenure, vacancy rates, turnover rates and ability to recruit and retain more experienced RNs. On average, respondents reported over half (59%) of total RN turnover was the result of nurse migration overseas.
Does self‐care agency change between hospital admission and discharge? An Orem‐based investigation
Authors: Zrínyi M. , Zékányné R.I. 
Published: August 2007

Aims:  To assess whether nursing care improved patients’ self‐care agency between admission to hospital care and discharge.Methods:  A pre‐test–post‐test comparative research design with random subject selection was used. One hundred and sixty patients and 52 nurses rated identical self‐care agency assessment forms, based on Orem’s framework, both at admission and discharge. Patient satisfaction with nursing care and nurse satisfaction with working conditions were also assessed. Repeated measures ancova as well as paired and independent t‐tests were used to test differences at both time points. Level of significance was set at 0.05 in this study.Results:  Patients in general reported high self‐care agency pre‐ and post‐test. Compared with a reference group of elderly residents, the study sample showed significantly lower levels of self‐care agency. We found no difference between patient and nurse assessments of self‐care agency on admission and discharge. Better patient–nurse relationships were associated with greater self‐care agency reported by patients.Conclusions:  Authors found no change in patient self‐care agency between hospital admission and discharge. Outcomes may have been due to the inappropriate choice of the conceptual framework applied for acute care settings or to the insufficient length of the study. A longitudinal approach to observe long‐term improvement of self‐care capabilities is recommended.
University of California, San Francisco International Nursing Network for HIV/AIDS Research
Authors: Holzemer W.L. 
Published: August 2007

Aim:  The University of California, San Francisco International Nursing Network for HIV/AIDS Research (the Network) is an international group of nurse scientists dedicated to research and education for the purpose of improving HIV/AIDS nursing care around the world. This article describes the evolution of the Network, as well as its structure, achievements and challenges.Background:  Although HIV/AIDS has been around for over 25 years, millions of people are still affected by the disease every year. Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) reported that in 2005, there were 38.6 million people living with HIV around the world. In many parts of the developed and developing world, nurses are the primary caregivers for people living with HIV/AIDS, and they need up‐to‐date information about the daily management of the disease. The Network was established to respond to the need of HIV/AIDS nurses for relevant information to inform clinical care. The Network’s main activity is a series of international multi‐site collaborative research studies. Past studies have addressed issues such as medication adherence, symptom management and self‐care for people living with HIV/AIDS. The Network also hosts semi‐annual meetings as well as a biannual international nursing science conference.Conclusion:  The Network’s flexible structure has proven to be one of its greatest assets, as well as a challenge. Although the Network faces challenges, it has proven to be a useful framework for conducting international collaborative activities related to HIV/AIDS and nursing science.
Do principles‐based accounting standards lead to biased financial reporting? An Australian experiment
Authors: Psaros Jim 
Published: August 2007

AbstractInternational accounting standards are deliberately designed to be principles‐based (i.e. ‘substance over form’). With Australia's recent adoption of international accounting standards, a relevant question is, do principles‐based accounting standards lead to biased financial reporting? The present paper describes a study that analysed the consolidation judgements of senior accounting officials from Australian listed companies. Participants made consolidation judgements based on AASB 1024 Consolidated Accounts. Although AASB 1024 is not identical to IAS 27 Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements, there are many similarities and both follow a principles‐based approach. In aggregate, the present study finds that principles‐based accounting standards do not necessarily lead to biased financial reporting.
Forecast accuracy in initial public offerings and the impact of external constraints relative to managerial choice: a research note
Authors: Ismail Norashikin , Weetman Pauline 
Published: August 2007

AbstractWe examine the accuracy of earnings forecasts published in prospectuses, under conditions where external influences of state regulation and economic condition act as constraints to mitigate management optimism. Our results indicate that regulation has no significant impact, but economic condition and management optimism are significantly associated with forecast accuracy. We conclude that a study of forecast accuracy over time must take into account external influences and that attempting to use regulation to improve forecast accuracy is not an effective strategy when there are strongly adverse economic conditions and when promoters or managers are optimistic in forecasting.
Convergence Rates and Asymptotic Standard Errors for Markov Chain Monte Carlo Algorithms for Bayesian Probit Regression
Authors: Roy Vivekananda , Hobert James P. 
Published: August 2007

SummaryConsider a probit regression problem in which Y1, …, Yn are independent Bernoulli random variables such that Pr(Yi=1)=Φ(xiTβ) where xi is a p-dimensional vector of known covariates that are associated with Yi, β is a p-dimensional vector of unknown regression coefficients and Φ(·) denotes the standard normal distribution function. We study Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms for exploring the intractable posterior density that results when the probit regression likelihood is combined with a flat prior on β. We prove that Albert and Chib's data augmentation algorithm and Liu and Wu's PX-DA algorithm both converge at a geometric rate, which ensures the existence of central limit theorems for ergodic averages under a second-moment condition. Although these two algorithms are essentially equivalent in terms of computational complexity, results of Hobert and Marchev imply that the PX-DA algorithm is theoretically more efficient in the sense that the asymptotic variance in the central limit theorem under the PX-DA algorithm is no larger than that under Albert and Chib's algorithm. We also construct minorization conditions that allow us to exploit regenerative simulation techniques for the consistent estimation of asymptotic variances. As an illustration, we apply our results to van Dyk and Meng's lupus data. This example demonstrates that huge gains in efficiency are possible by using the PX-DA algorithm instead of Albert and Chib's algorithm.
Functional Clustering and Identifying Substructures of Longitudinal Data
Authors: Chiou Jeng-Min , Li Pai-Ling 
Published: August 2007

SummaryA functional clustering (FC) method, k-centres FC, for longitudinal data is proposed. The k-centres FC approach accounts for both the means and the modes of variation differentials between clusters by predicting cluster membership with a reclassification step. The cluster membership predictions are based on a non-parametric random-effect model of the truncated Karhunen–Loève expansion, coupled with a non-parametric iterative mean and covariance updating scheme. We show that, under the identifiability conditions derived, the k-centres FC method proposed can greatly improve cluster quality as compared with conventional clustering algorithms. Moreover, by exploring the mean and covariance functions of each cluster, thek-centres FC method provides an additional insight into cluster structures which facilitates functional cluster analysis. Practical performance of the k-centres FC method is demonstrated through simulation studies and data applications including growth curve and gene expression profile data.
Controlling the Reinforcement in Bayesian Non-Parametric Mixture Models
Authors: Lijoi Antonio , Mena Ramsés H. , Prünster Igor 
Published: August 2007

SummaryThe paper deals with the problem of determining the number of components in a mixture model. We take a Bayesian non-parametric approach and adopt a hierarchical model with a suitable non-parametric prior for the latent structure. A commonly used model for such a problem is the mixture of Dirichlet process model. Here, we replace the Dirichlet process with a more general non-parametric prior obtained from a generalized gamma process. The basic feature of this model is that it yields a partition structure for the latent variables which is of Gibbs type. This relates to the well-known (exchangeable) product partition models. If compared with the usual mixture of Dirichlet process model the advantage of the generalization that we are examining relies on the availability of an additional parameter σ belonging to the interval (0,1): it is shown that such a parameter greatly influences the clustering behaviour of the model. A value of σ that is close to 1 generates a large number of clusters, most of which are of small size. Then, a reinforcement mechanism which is driven by σ acts on the mass allocation by penalizing clusters of small size and favouring those few groups containing a large number of elements. These features turn out to be very useful in the context of mixture modelling. Since it is difficult to specify a priori the reinforcement rate, it is reasonable to specify a prior for σ. Hence, the strength of the reinforcement mechanism is controlled by the data.
Successful treatment of periungual warts using photodynamic therapy: a pilot study
Authors: Schroeter CA , Kaas L , Waterval JJ , Bos PM , Neumann HAM 
Published: August 2007

AbstractAim  The aim of this pilot study was an investigation on photodynamic therapy (PDT) whether it is a good alternative for treating periungual and subungual warts of the hands.Study design  Twenty patients (mean age: 30.5 years) with a total of 40 periungual and subungual warts were treated with PDT. A photosensitizer, 20%δ‐aminolevulinic acid was applied on the warts. After a mean incubation time of 4.6 h (SD: 1.2), the warts were irradiated with the VersaLight® for 5–30 min (15.2 ± 4.3 min).Results  After a mean of 4.5 treatments a mean clearance of 100% was achieved in 90% of the patients. One patient (5%) showed a clearance of 50% and another showed no improvement. The subungual or periungual location of the wart had no influence on the number of treatments or end result (P > 0.05). There were two recurrences during the mean follow‐up period of 5.9 months (SD: 7.6). Besides mainly pain and hyperpigmentation, most treatments had no side‐effects.Conclusion  PDT can offer a good alternative for treating periungual warts of the hands. Larger studies are indicated.
Development and validation of a questionnaire to evaluate how a cosmetic product for oily skin is able to improve well‐being in women
Authors: Segot‐Chicq E , Compan‐Zaouati D , Wolkenstein P , Consoli S , Rodary C , Delvigne V , Guillou V , Poli F 
Published: August 2007

AbstractBackground  Skin diseases are known to negatively affect self‐image and to have detrimental psychosocial effects. Oily skin is a cosmetic skin problem that women often describe as ‘invalidating’.Objective  To develop and validate a questionnaire to assess the psychological and psychosocial effects of oily skin condition in women and the outcome of a targeted cosmetic skincare treatment.Methods  We developed and validated a concise 18‐item questionnaire [oily skin self‐image questionnaire (OSSIQ)] to assess perception, behavioural, and emotional consequences associated with oily skin condition. The questionnaire was then used to assess the effects of a skincare treatment for oily skin and compare them with sebum level measurements.Results  The 18‐item questionnaire clearly distinguished the oily skin group from the control group. Responsiveness, reliability, and construct validity showed satisfactory performance. The questionnaire provided a relevant assessment of the psychological benefits associated with the skincare programme.Conclusion  The OSSIQ is a valid tool that can be used to monitor the benefits of cosmetic skincare treatments
What Factors are Related to a Negative Outcome of Self‐Injurious Behaviour During Childhood in Pervasive Developmental Disorders?
Authors: Baghdadli A. , Picot M. C. , Pry R. , Michelon C. , Burzstejn C. , Lazartigues A. , Aussilloux C. 
Published: August 2007

Aim To explore the factors related to the outcome of self‐injurious behaviour (SIB) in children with pervasive developmental disorders (PDD).Method Children with PDD were assessed on individual and environmental variables at time 1 and 3 years later. A questionnaire about the presence or absence of SIB was also administered at both times in order to examine the early course of SIB.Results Our findings suggest an association between a negative outcome and several aspects of the children’s behaviour. Children with a negative outcome differed from the others in having greater speech impairment, more cognitive and adaptive deficits, and more severe signs of autism. When these variables were entered into a multivariate model for predicting the outcome of SIB, only speech deficits (ORa3.5, CI 95% 1.13–13.4) and autism severity (ORa1.1, CI 95% 1.03–1.18) were significant risk factors.Discussion The importance of these findings for improving our understanding of SIB is discussed.
Specialist Versus Generic Models of Psychiatry Training and Service Provision for People with Intellectual Disabilities
Authors: Jess Gillian , Torr Jennifer , Cooper Sally‐Ann , Lennox Nicholas , Edwards Nicole , Galea Jennifer , O’Brien Gregory 
Published: August 2007

Background  Models of service provision and professional training differ between countries. This study aims to investigate a specialist intellectual disabilities model and a generic mental health model, specifically comparing psychiatrists’ knowledge and competencies, and service quality and accessibility in meeting the mental health needs of people with intellectual disabilities.Method  Data were collected from consultant and trainee psychiatrists within a specialist intellectual disabilities model (UK) and a generic mental health model (Australia).Results  The sample sizes were 294 (UK) and 205 (Australia). Statistically significant differences were found, with UK participants having positive views about the specialist intellectual disabilities service model they worked within, demonstrating flexible and accessible working practices and service provision, responsive to the range of mental health needs of the population with intellectual disabilities, and providing a wide range of treatments and supports. The UK participants were knowledgeable, well trained and confident in their work. They wanted to work with people with intellectual disabilities. In all of these areas, the converse was found from the Australian generic mental health service model.Conclusions  The specialist intellectual disabilities model of service provision and training has advantages over the generic mental health model.
Genetic quality of individuals impacts population dynamics
Authors: Reed D. H. , Nicholas A. C. , Stratton G. E. 
Published: August 2007

AbstractAmple evidence exists that an increase in the inbreeding level of a population reduces the value of fitness components such as fecundity and survival. It does not follow, however, that these decreases in the components of fitness impact population dynamics in a way that increases extinction risk, because virtually all species produce far more offspring than can actually survive. We analyzed the effects of the genetic quality (mean fitness) of individuals on the population growth rate of seven natural populations in each of two species of wolf spider in the genus Rabidosa, statistically controlling for environmental factors. We show that populations of different sizes, and different inbreeding levels, differ in population dynamics for both species. Differences in population growth rates are especially pronounced during stressful environmental conditions (low food availability) and the stressful environment affects smaller populations (<500 individuals) disproportionately. Thus, even in an invertebrate with an extremely high potential growth rate and strong density‐dependent mortality rates, genetic factors contribute directly to population dynamics and, therefore, to extinction risk. This is only the second study to demonstrate an impact of the genetic quality of individual genotypes on population dynamics in a wild population and the first to document strong inbreeding–environment interactions for fitness among populations. Endangered species typically exist at sizes of a few hundred individuals and human activities degrade habitats making them innately more stressful (e.g. global climate change). Therefore, the interaction between genetic factors and environmental stress has important implications for efforts aimed at conserving the Earth's biodiversity.