bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Polymerase chain reaction‐based identification of insecticide resistance genes and DNA methylation in the aphid Myzus persicae (Sulzer)
Authors: Field L. M. , Crlck S. E. , Devonshire A. L. 
Published: December 2007

AbstractThe ability of a peach‐potato aphid (Myzus persicae) to resist insecticides can depend on both the presence of amplified esterase genes and on differences in their expression. Here we report a polymerase chain reaction‐restriction enzyme (PCR‐REN) technique which can detect the presence of ampiifled esterase genes and distinguish between the two possible types of amplified gene (E4 and FE4) and a homologous fragment from susceptible aphids. The technique is quick and sensitive enough to be used on a fraction of an aphid or an individual embryo. Furthermore, it can be combined with a pre‐PCR digestion using a methylation‐sensitive enzyme (Hpail) to determine whether or not the esterase genes contain 5–methyicytosine, the presence or absence of which is known to correlate with changes in gene expression.
Mobility of hAT transposable elements in the Old World bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera
Authors: Plnkerton A. C. , O'Brochta D. A. , Atkinson P. W. 
Published: December 2007

AbstractThe P, hobo, Hermes, Minos and mariner transposable elements have been successfully used as gene vectors to achieve genetic transformation of Drosophila melamagaster. The hobo transposable element of D. melamagaster, a member of the hAT family of transposable elements, can also transpose In other dipteran species Including the house fly Musca domestica and the Oueensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryonl. Another hAT element, Hermes, can also transpose In a wide range of insect species. We report here that both of these hAT elements are also capable of mobility and accurate transposition In the noctuid Helicoverpa armigera and thus may be able to be used as gene vectors that will enable the genetic transformation of this important pest species. Significantly, the ability of hobo to excise in this species is independent of the presence of an exogenous source of hobo transposase, which suggests that H. armigera may possess an endogenous hobe‐like transposable element.
Assessing patient satisfaction. Part 2. Findings: nursing, the hospital and patients' concerns
Authors: PONTIN DAVID J. T. , WEBB CHRISTINE 
Published: December 2007

Summary

Part 1 of this article discussed the process of evaluating patient satisfaction by means of unstructured, in‐depth interviews.
In this part, the content of interviews will be presented and the analytic domains derived from the research will be described.
These are ‘nursing’, ‘the hospital’ and ‘patients’ concerns', and the categories which make up these domains will be discussed.
Establishing a framework for research: the example of needs assessment
Authors: COWLEY SARAH , BERGEN ANN , YOUNG KATE , KAVANAGH ANN 
Published: December 2007

Summary

This paper explains the early planning stage of a study commissioned by the English National Board which will investigate the changing educational needs of community nurses with regard to needs assessment and quality of care in the context of the NHS and Community Care Act 1990.
Two focus groups, comprising 22 participants altogether, generated data which were used to augment and clarify issues explored in an initial literature review. Some of the methodological issues are explained.
Traditional community nursing approaches to needs assessment appeared to value process and integration, while the new legislation emphasizes the separate‐ness of assessment; there is a danger that it may be seen as a single event. The consumer views were both supportive and critical about each of the approaches; some important insights were gained, and a confident basis from which to launch the study identified.
The approach offers one possible way to clarify the starting point of a project when carrying out a standard literature review seems insufficient. This may occur with under‐researched or rapidly changing phenomena, or if a field of interest is the subject of multiple interpretations or lack of consensus.
Nursing the physically disabled in a general hospital ward
Authors: CONWAY KIM 
Published: December 2007

Summary

Progress in medical treatment over the last three decades has meant that many more people survive either traumatic birth situations or diseases/injuries which would have previously resulted in death, and are leading normal lives with some form of physical disability.
Until quite recently, little attention has been given to their longer‐term health needs. The following article looks at the attitudes of nurses towards physically disabled patients, the experiences and attitudes of these patients, the interaction between nurse and patient, practical outcomes and future directions.
Literature on this subject is not extensive. More empirical research is required focusing on the impact of admission of such people on general hospital ward functioning, the experiences/insights of nursing staff caring for them and the reaction and comments of physically disabled patients.
First steps towards evaluating clinical supervision in nursing and health visiting. I. Theory, policy and practice development. A review
Authors: BUTTERWORTH TONY , BISHOP VERONICA , CARSON JEROME 
Published: December 2007

Summary

The subject of clinical supervision for nurses and health visitors in the UK is considered in this paper.
The paper highlights recent debates in thinking and rapid developments in practice.
The original concept of clinical supervision, its theoretical propositions and development, recent policy influences and current strategies for evaluation are debated.
An investigation into the attitudes and practices of intensive care nurses towards verbal communication with unconscious patients
Authors: BAKER C. , MELEY V. 
Published: December 2007

Summary

This study attempted to investigate the attitudes and practices of intensive care nurses towards verbal communication with unconscious patients. A sample of five staff nurses working in an intensive care unit in Northern Ireland formed the basis for the study.
The research design was non‐experimental and descriptive‐exploratory in nature, incorporating 4‐hourly observational periods and structured interviews.
Qualitative and quantitative analysis indicated that intensive care nurses spend on average 5% of their time verbally communicating with unconscious patients. Most of this communication involves informing the patient of immediate procedural matters or providing reassuring statements.
Most intensive care nurses claim that verbal communication with unconscious patients is very important, and some ambiguity is apparent as to the unconscious patient's level of awareness. Major factors influencing communication are the patient's level of consciousness, the amount of physical care being given and the presence of relatives.
Community mental handicap nursing services in Northern Ireland: a profile of clients and selected working practices
Authors: PARAHOO KADER , BARR OWEN 
Published: December 2007

Summary

The aim of this survey of community mental handicap nursing in Northern Ireland (NI) was, among other things, to construct a profile of clients of the service as well as to describe selected working practices.
A 25‐item questionnaire was developed and administered to all 50 community nurses working with people with learning disabilities in NI. The number of responses was 36, giving a rate of 72%.
Fifty‐six per cent of the clients were female. Young to middle‐aged adults made up the largest portion of the caseload. Over 80% of the clients had no history of hospital admission.
Caseload size also differed according to the years of service, gender and grade of the nurses. The main reason for visiting clients as reported by respondents was to give physical care.
An evaluation of staff training in psychological techniques for the management of patient aggression
Authors: WHITTINGTON RICHARD , WYKES TIL 
Published: December 2007

Summary

Training for staff working with violent patients is frequently recommended, sometimes implemented, but rarely objectively evaluated.
In this longitudinal study 47 nurses attending a training day to learn strategies for coping with violent psychiatric patients were compared with 108 non‐attending control group subjects.
The rate of assaults on staff on wards taking part in the study was 31% lower after implementation of the training and wards sending a majority of staff to the training experienced a particularly significant reduction in assaults.
The effectiveness of this 1‐day training package is discussed.
The evolving role of the clinical nurse specialist within the comprehensive breast cancer centre
Authors: POOLE KAREN 
Published: December 2007

Summary

The collaborative functioning of a specialist multidisciplinary team is a fundamental prerequisite in the establishment of designated breast cancer units throughout the UK. It is, therefore, opportune for clinical nurse specialists to examine carefully their unique contribution to the care of women with breast disease.
This article explores the contemporary developments in service provision and identifies potential areas for nursing development.
It is only when the role of the breast care nurse is explicitly defined can research begin to determine the effectiveness of nursing practice in terms of women's health.
Readability of printed educational materials used to inform potential and actual ostomates
Authors: COEY LAURENCE 
Published: December 2007

Summary

This paper is primarily concerned with the use of readability formulas to determine the reading ease of printed education materials (PEMs) given to ostomy patients. Whilst the particular clinical focus is stoma care nursing, the content is relevant to all nurses who use printed text to inform their patients. PEMs have significant advantages in conveying information compared with verbal presentations alone.
Methods to calculate readability using the Flesch, FOG and SMOG readability formulas are described. Presentation factors that affect readability are briefly reviewed, including use of ‘white space’, font size and paper colour. The problem of functional illiteracy and the need for indirect assessment of patient literacy are discussed.
PEMs in use are often found to be difficult to read. Stress is identified as a potential factor in further reducing a patient's ability to deal with information.
Three commercially available PEMs are evaluated for ease of reading and their score on the FOG index indicates that only about 40% of the UK population would understand them.
Nurses are advised to evaluate the readability of their PEMs and to assess indirectly the literacy of their patients, so that they can more sensitively match PEMs to patient ability and need.
Coping with rheumatoid arthritis. How can specialist nurses influence it and promote better outcomes?
Authors: NEWBOLD DAVID 
Published: December 2007

Summary

Psychological stressors are said to be an important influence on the outcome of chronic illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis (Engel, 1977).
Helping patients to cope with stressors is identified as a central concept in the delivery of nursing care (Khan et al., 1994). It is thus reasonable to suggest that rheumatology nurses may be key players in the process of coping with rheumatoid arthritis.
But in order for rheumatology nurses to be effective players in this process, they need to discourage coping behaviour(s) linked to poor outcomes, and/or promote an overall behaviour pattern linked to a better outcome. Literature showing the link between different coping behaviours and outcome is examined, and cognitive restructuring is emphasized as one method nurses could use.
Having identified coping behaviour which is optimal in terms of future outcome, further study of different forms of coping‐based educational intervention is suggested, to reveal how such patterns of behaviour can be taught by nurses in the most effective way
Endotracheal suctioning: an example of the problems of relevance and rigour in clinical research
Authors: WAINWRIGHT STEVEN P. , GOULD DINAH 
Published: December 2007

Summary

Endotracheal suctioning is a routine but potentially dangerous procedure. The literature documenting approaches to minimizing the cardiopulmonary complications of endotracheal suctioning is reviewed. Hyperoxygenation, hyperventilation, hyperinflation and the use of adaptors are all evaluated. The effects of endotracheal suctioning on haemodynamics and oxygen transport are also examined. The traditional dualist approach to the respiratory and cardiovascular systems is contrasted with the recent emphasis on oxygen transport by the cardiopulmonary system.
The trade‐off between the rigour of laboratory studies (which can be well controlled but are difficult to generalize) and the relevance of clinical research (which is more easily generalized but which often lacks internal validity) is discussed. Although research studies have become both more methodologically and conceptually sophisticated, definitive recommendations for a safe and effective suctioning procedure still remain elusive.
Future imperatives: developing health visiting in response to changing demands
Authors: DOLAN BRIAN , KITSON ALISON 
Published: December 2007

Summary

This paper is based on work undertaken by the National Institute for Nursing to establish mechanisms to enable purchasers to be more explicit about purchasing health visiting services by the commissioning health authority.
The paper describes work undertaken to identify current issues, through selected reviews of the literature, the use of questionnaires, interviews with key stakeholders and, as a result, the development of an ‘ideal model for practice’ for health visitors.
The development of possible outcome measures for health visiting practice is also considered in the context of changing health‐care demand and delivery which is both a feature and the future of community care.
A situational analysis of an HIV/AIDS clinical area
Authors: GRIGG ELIZABETH 
Published: December 2007

Summary

The following paper is an account of a situational analysis in a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) ward. Initially it was intended to test a number of hypotheses extracted from the literature, and, using previous experience from participant observation, apply them to this particular clinical area.
Becoming established (‘getting in’) in the new unit to be studied (situation) took 6 months and, although it was eventually possible to test the original hypotheses, the process of ‘getting in’ became the main point of analysis.
Taking into account the situation of ‘getting in’, the conversations with the nursing staff and the background information, it is concluded that the HIV/AIDS predicament is and will continue to provide a major challenge for nurses and nurse educators.
Beyond expertise: theory, practice and the reflexive practitioner
Authors: ROLFE GARY 
Published: December 2007

Summary

This paper reconsiders Benner's book From Novice to Expert, in which the expert is portrayed as a reflective practitioner who works intuitively, drawing almost unconsciously on a repertoire of context‐specific paradigm cases.
In the light of more recent writings on informal, practice‐based theory, it is suggested that there is a sixth level beyond expertise which is characterized by mindful practice and informal theory building. At this level, the practitioner constructs informal theory out of practice, applies that theory back into practice, and reflexively modifies the theory as a result of the changed clinical situation.
Seen in this way, theory and practice are two parts of the same process, and the theory‐practice gap is closed.
Towards a defence of nursing routine and ritual
Authors: BILEY FRANCIS C. , WRIGHT STEPHEN G. 
Published: December 2007

Summary

Healing routines and rituals have been an essential part of life since time immemorial. Rather than dismiss modern healing rituals because, in many instances, they appear to have no empirically proven manifest function, an argument is proposed in defence of routine and ritual, suggesting that there is an urgent need to explore their meaning or latent function.
Critical incidents, crucial issues: insights into the working lives of registered nurses
Authors: PERRY LIN 
Published: December 2007

Summary

The critical incident technique has been used in nursing in a number of ways: in developing understanding of the nursing role, as a quality assurance strategy, as an assessment and evaluation tool, and as an aid in the fostering of reflective practice.
This article describes how the technique, used as a theoretical course assessment for a group of students studying long ENB courses, could be used to shed light upon issues regarded as crucial in the daily working lives of this group of registered nurses, and upon the reflective skills which they were able to employ.
A conceptual framework for advanced practice: an action research project operationalizing an advanced practitioner/consultant nurse role
Authors: MANLEY KIM 
Published: December 2007

Summary

A preliminary conceptual framework for an advanced practice/consultant nurse role is presented which links the role to its context and outcomes.
The conceptual framework was developed in the process of analysing data from a 3‐year action research study involving the operationalization of an advanced practice/consultant nurse role in a Nursing Development Unit.
The skills and knowledge base of consultancy, underpinned by a strong nursing foundation, augmented by strong leadership and combined with the educator and researcher functions, are presented as the attributes of the advanced practitioner/consultant nurse.
The facilitation of a transformational culture is highlighted as central to the skills and processes used within the role.
Implications for the preparation and accreditation of the advanced practitioner/ consultant nurse are highlighted.
Where do I stand? Legal implications of telephone triage
Authors: COLEMAN ANDREW 
Published: December 2007

Summary

The introduction of telephone triage in many accident and emergency (A&E) departments is seen as a way to give clients information immediately on demand, to assess and prioritize the need for treatment and to direct the client to the most appropriate service available.
This article aims to examine the medico‐legal aspects of telephone triage and the nurse's responsibility to the caller and themselves.
It will involve looking at triage as a nursing function and how the nurse may minimize the threat of liability by beginning to understand the legal implications of giving advice by telephone.
The article will also discuss the use of detailed documentation and communication skills and will aim to show how important these are in the protection of nurses in a court of law.
Nursing staff's perceptions and experiences of primary nursing practice in intensive care 4 years on
Authors: MANLEY KIM , HAMILL JANE‐MARIE , HANLON MARTHA 
Published: December 2007

SummaryThis study explores the perceptions of staff who have been practising primary nursing for more than 4 years in intensive care.It considers what primary nursing is, what its benefits, disadvantages, and role impact are and other issues within an intensive care setting from the staff's perceptions and experiences.Although many of the perceived advantages and disadvantages are similar to experiences from other areas of nursing, there are some differences.The differences seem to relate to the way primary nursing is practised within the research setting – each primary nurse works with the same small team of associates, which is perceived as providing added benefits in terms of personal support and development of junior staff.The changes in role are seen to reflect other models in the literature which focus on becoming more patient centred and on working therapeutically.A number of future issues are addressed.
Advocacy in nursing – perceptions of practising nurses
Authors: MALLIK MAGGIE 
Published: December 2007

Summary

This paper reports on a qualitative study which examined the interpretation of patient advocacy by practising nurses.
Focus group interviews, which allowed respondents to recount and share their particular ‘stories’ of patient advocacy, were used to collect data.
Results indicate that a triadic model of advocacy predominated which involved the nurse in a conflict/potential conflict situation. The patient's requests, the patient's fear, the patient's vulnerability or threats to the patient's human rights provoked an advocacy response in the perceptive nurse. The nurse was sustained in the role through patient recognition, the nurse–patient relationship, emotional strength, moral justification and knowledge/expertise legitimacy.
The nurse used direct and indirect means to protect the patient against incompetent/inappropriate practice and/or represent patient/family choice, the advocacy activity resulting in positive or negative outcomes.
In conclusion it is argued that if the triadic conflict model of advocacy outlined by this research is to be sustained by practising nurses, the potential risks involved should be recognized. Professionalization of the role may be the only way forward if the ethical code (United Kingdom Central Council, 1992) continues to make patient advocacy a mandatory activity for the professional nurse.
Defining ‘competency’ in nursing (Part I): a policy review
Authors: BRADSHAW ANN 
Published: December 2007

Summary

How the nursing profession in England defines the basic competency of the registered general nurse is crucial for the safety of the patient and the protection of the nurse. It is also essential for determining advanced practice, extended practice and specialist practice in nursing.
An historical overview of documentation from the United Kingdom Central Council for Midwifery and Health Visiting, the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting and the Royal College of Nursing shows a profound change in educational policy during the 1980s regarding the interpretation of nursing competency.
The effects of this policy change on the current methods developed to define, teach and test nursing competency are examined.
Preliminary conclusions show shortcomings and uncertainty in the present preparation and evaluation of nursing competency.
Changes in practice nursing: professionalism, segmentation and sponsorship
Authors: DENT MIKE , BURTNEY ELIZABETH 
Published: December 2007

Summary

In the wake of recent government policies and legislation, practice nursing has undergone major changes. Not least of these has been the rapid growth in the number of practice nurses.
In addition, their work role has grown greatly over recent years.
This has given rise to the question of whether their professional development now justifies their status as autonomous nurse practitioners.
This and related issues are explored in the empirical part of this paper, which focuses on the changes in the work and responsibilities of practice nurses in two industrial towns in the English Midlands.