bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assessing the Appropriateness of Pain Medication Prescribing Practices in Nursing Homes
Authors: Hutt Evelyn , Pepper Ginette A. , Vojir Carol , Fink Regina , Jones Katherine R. 
Published: December 2005

OBJECTIVES: To test a tool for screening the quality of nursing home (NH) pain medication prescribing.DESIGN: Validity and reliability of measurement tool developed for a pre/postintervention with untreated comparison group.SETTING: Six treatment NHs and six comparison NHs in rural and urban Colorado.PARTICIPANTS: NH staff, physicians, and repeated 20% random sample of each home's residents (N=2,031).INTERVENTION: Nurse and physician education; NH internal pain team to champion better pain management using a pain vital sign, consultations, and rounds.MEASUREMENTS: An expert panel reviewed the Pain Medication Appropriateness Scale (PMAS) for content validity. Research assistants interviewed NH residents, assessed them for pain using standardized instruments, and reviewed their medical records for prescriptions and use of pain and adjuvant medication. Construct validity was assessed by comparing the PMAS of residents in pain with the PMAS of those not in pain and comparing scores in homes in which the intervention was more effective with those in which it was less effective, using the Fisher exact and Student t tests. Interrater and test‐retest reliability were measured.RESULTS: The mean total PMAS was 64% of optimal. Fewer than half of residents with predictably recurrent pain were prescribed scheduled pain medication; 23% received at least one high‐risk medication. PMAS scores were better for residents not in pain (68% vs 60%, P=.004) and in homes where nurses' knowledge of pain assessment and management improved or stayed the same during the intervention (69% vs 61%, P=.03).CONCLUSION: The PMAS is useful for assessing pain medication prescribing in NHs and elucidates why so many residents have poorly controlled pain.
Ten Dimensions of Health and Their Relationships with Overall Self‐Reported Health and Survival in a Predominately Religiously Active Elderly Population: The Cache County Memory Study
Authors: Østbye Truls , Krause Katrina M. , Norton Maria C. , Tschanz JoAnn , Sanders Linda , Hayden Kathleen , Pieper Carl , Welsh‐Bohmer Kathleen A. ,   for the Cache County Investigators
Published: December 2005

OBJECTIVES: To document the extent of healthy aging along 10 different dimensions in a population known for its longevity.DESIGN: A cohort study with baseline measures of overall self‐reported health and health along 10 specific dimensions; analyses investigated the 10 dimensions as predictors of self‐reported health and 10‐year mortality.SETTING: Cache County, Utah, which is among the areas with the highest conditional life expectancy at age 65 in the United States.PARTICIPANTS: Inhabitants of Cache County aged 65 and older (January 1, 1995).MEASUREMENTS: Self‐reported overall health and 10 specific dimensions of healthy aging: independent living, vision, hearing, activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, absence of physical illness, cognition, healthy mood, social support and participation, and religious participation and spirituality.RESULTS: This elderly population was healthy overall. With few exceptions, 80% to 90% of persons aged 65 to 75 were healthy according to each measure used. Prevalence of excellent and good self‐reported health decreased with age, to approximately 60% in those aged 85 and older. Even in the oldest old, the majority of respondents were independent in activities of daily living. Although vision, hearing, and mood were significant predictors of overall self‐reported health in the final models, age, sex, and cognition were significant only in the final survival models.CONCLUSION: This population has a high prevalence of most factors representing healthy aging. The predictors of overall self‐reported health are distinct from the predictors of survival in this age group and, being potentially modifiable, are amenable to clinical and public health efforts.
Risk and Predictors of Motor‐Performance Decline in a Normally Functioning Population‐Based Sample of Elderly Subjects: The Italian Longitudinal Study on Aging
Authors: Inzitari Marco , Di Carlo Antonio , Baldereschi Marzia , Pracucci Giovanni , Maggi Stefania , Gandolfo Carlo , Bonaiuto Salvatore , Farchi Gino , Scafato Emanuele , Carbonin Pierugo , Inzitari Domenico ,   for the ILSA Working Group
Published: December 2005

OBJECTIVES: To examine risk and predictors of motor‐performance (MP) decline targeting subjects performing normally at an initial observation.DESIGN: Cohort study.SETTING: A subsample of the Italian Longitudinal Study on Aging (aged 65–84).PARTICIPANTS: One thousand fifty‐two subjects (mean age±standard deviation=71±5, 69% men) with normal MP at baseline.MEASUREMENTS: Six tests (standing up from a chair, stepping up, tandem walk, standing on one leg, walking speed, and steps turning 180°) were used to assess MP at baseline and after 3 years. Baseline characteristics were potential predictors of MP decline.RESULTS: Of the 1,052 subjects performing normally at baseline, 166 (15.8%) had declined in MP at follow‐up. Older age, female sex, lower education, symptoms of distal symmetrical neuropathy, cognitive impairment without dementia, parkinsonism, heart failure, anemia, depressive symptoms, worse Mini‐Mental State Examination score, and lost activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) were significantly associated with MP decline in univariate comparisons. Older age (odds ratio (OR)=3.84, 95% confidence interval (CI)=2.14–6.88 comparing age classes ≥80 with 65–69), female sex (OR=1.50, 95% CI=1.03–2.20), distal symmetric neuropathy (OR=2.00, 95% CI=1.03–3.87), depressive symptoms (OR=1.85, 95% CI=1.17–2.24), and baseline IADLs (OR=1.22, 95% CI=1.08–1.37 for each lost activity) independently predicted MP decline after regression analysis.CONCLUSION: In a population‐based cohort of elderly people with normal MP, one‐sixth declined in 3 years. Age, sex, distal symmetrical neuropathy, depressive symptoms, and baseline IADLs independently predicted this decline. Distal symmetrical neuropathy is underestimated in the clinical and epidemiological evaluation of motor decline in older people.
Factors Associated with Vaccination of Medicare Beneficiaries in Five U.S. Communities: Results from the Racial and Ethnic Adult Disparities in Immunization Initiative Survey, 2003
Authors: Winston Carla A. , Wortley Pascale M. , Lees Karen A. 
Published: December 2005

OBJECTIVES: To examine vaccination in seniors in the five U.S. communities of the Racial and Ethnic Adult Disparities in Immunization Initiative.DESIGN: Cross‐sectional telephone survey in spring 2003 using stratified sampling by ZIP code and race/ethnicity.SETTING: New York, Texas, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Mississippi.PARTICIPANTS: Four thousand five hundred seventy‐seven Medicare beneficiaries.MEASUREMENTS: Outcomes were pneumococcal vaccination ever and influenza vaccination in 2002/03 and were determined according to race/ethnicity, awareness of vaccination, and provider recommendation. Survey questions also asked about future plans for vaccination, whether respondents believed they had become sick from prior influenza vaccination, and whether unvaccinated respondents would be vaccinated if a health professional recommended it.RESULTS: Pneumococcal vaccination coverage was 70.3% for whites, 40.8% for blacks, and 53.2% for Hispanics, and the proportion reporting provider recommendation for vaccination differed significantly according to race/ethnicity. In multivariate regression, provider recommendation (risk ratio (RR)=2.32, 95% confidence intervals (CI)=2.10–2.57) and awareness of vaccination (RR=1.60, 95% CI=1.40–1.82) were associated with greater pneumococcal vaccination. Influenza vaccination coverage was 76.2% for whites, 50.7% for blacks, and 65.7% for Hispanics. A little more than half of respondents reported provider recommendation for influenza vaccination, with no differences according to race/ethnicity. Provider recommendation was associated with influenza vaccination (RR=1.31, 95% CI=1.25–1.38). More blacks and Hispanics believed they had become sick from prior influenza vaccination than whites, and this belief was associated with lower vaccination rates.CONCLUSION: This survey details vaccination patterns in an ethnically and geographically diverse sample of seniors and identifies some differences between blacks, Hispanics, and whites that may contribute to disparities in vaccination coverage. Survey findings highlight the importance of provider vaccination recommendations.
Predation of the miteHypoaspis aculeiferon the springtailFolsomia fimetariaand the influence of sex, size, starvation, and poisoning
Authors: Baatrup Erik , Bayley Mark , Axelsen Jørgen Aagaard 
Published: December 2005

AbstractShort‐range predator–prey interactions among small soil‐dwelling arthropods are poorly understood. In this study, we measured the behavioural interactions between the predacious miteHypoaspis aculeiferCanestrini (Gamasida: Laelapidae) and its collembolan preyFolsomia fimetariaL. (Collembola: Isotomidae) and the influence of sex, size, starvation, and poisoning with the organophosphate dimethoate. Pairs of mite and springtail were placed in 18‐mm diameter test arenas with a plaster of Paris substrate and their behaviour were measured by a computerized vision system, which automatically detected the locomotory activity of the two animals, their encounters, and the precise time of capture and killing. Data suggest that neither the mite nor the springtail possesses near‐field sensory detection of the opponent. A Cox regression model showed that mite sex, size ratio between the predator and prey, average mite velocity, and encounter rate had a significant influence on the mite‐capture efficiency (springtail survival). FemaleH. aculeiferdemonstrated higher capture efficiency than males by catching and killing their prey after fewer encounters. Surprisingly, starvation had only a moderate effect on the mite locomotory behaviour and no influence on the capture efficiency as such. Also, springtail survival was independent of its moulting stage. Sublethal poisoning with dimethoate, on the other hand, dramatically increased the mite's capture rate, probably by impeding the evasive response of the springtail.
Plant volatiles mediate attraction to host and non‐host plant in apple fruit moth, Argyresthia conjugella
Authors: Bengtsson Marie , Jaastad Gunnhild , Knudsen Geir , Kobro Sverre , Bäckman Anna‐Carin , Pettersson Eva , Witzgall Peter 
Published: December 2005

AbstractPlant volatiles mediate host finding in insect herbivores and lead to host fidelity and habitat‐specific mating, generating premating reproductive isolation and facilitating sympatric divergence. The apple fruit moth, Argyresthia conjugella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Argyresthiidae), is a particularly suitable species to study the cues and behavioural mechanisms leading to colonization of a new host: it recurrently oviposits on the non‐host plant, apple Malus domestica Borkh. (Rosaceae), where the larvae cannot complete their development. The larval host of the apple fruit moth (Lepidoptera, Argyresthiidae), is rowan Sorbus aucuparia L. (Rosaceae). Fruit setting in rowan, however, fluctuates strongly over large areas in Scandinavia. Every 2–4 years, when too few rowanberries are available for egg laying in forests, apple fruit moth females oviposit instead on apple in nearby orchards, but not on other fruits, such as pear or plum. This poses the question of which cues mediate attraction to rowan and apple, and how apple fruit moth discriminates rowan from apple. Chemical analysis and antennal recordings showed that 11 out of 15 rowan volatiles eliciting an antennal response in A. conjugella females co‐occur in rowan and apple headspace, in a different proportion. In the field, A. conjugella was attracted to several of these plant volatiles, especially to 2‐phenyl ethanol, methyl salicylate, and decanal. Addition of anethole to 2‐phenyl ethanol had a strong synergistic effect, the 1 : 1 blend is a powerful attractant for A. conjugella males and females. These results confirm that volatiles common to both plants may account for a host switch in A. conjugella from rowan to apple. Some of the most attractive compounds, including 2‐phenyl ethanol, anethole, and decanal, which have been found in several apple cultivars, were not present in the headspace of the apple cultivar, Aroma, which is also susceptible to attack by A. conjugella. This supports the idea that the odour signal from apple is suboptimal for attraction of A. conjugella, but is nonetheless sufficient for attraction, during times when rowan is not available for egg laying.
Use of micro‐CAT scans to understand cowpea seed resistance to Callosobruchus maculatus
Authors: Tarver M.R. , Shade R.E. , Tarver R.D. , Liang Y. , Krishnamurthi G. , Pittendrigh B.R. , Murdock L.L. 
Published: December 2005

AbstractThe cowpea bruchid, Callosobruchus maculatus (F.) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchini), is a worldwide pest of stored cowpea grain [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. (Leguminosae)], causing tens of millions of dollars’ worth of damage annually. One method of managing this pest involves planting cultivars whose seeds are resistant to bruchids. Despite extensive research, we still do not know the mechanism by which TVu 2027, the original resistant cowpea line, resists C. maculatus. Using micro‐CAT (computerized axial tomography) scan imaging, we visualized the feeding patterns of bruchids living and growing within cowpea seeds. We present evidence that an interior zone in TVu 2027 seeds is responsible for the high mortality and developmental delays experienced by avirulent larval bruchids. We observed that both virulent as well as avirulent bruchid strains have different feeding patterns in TVu 2027 seeds compared to susceptible seeds. It appears that the resistance factor is most concentrated in a zone in each cotyledon adjacent to the air space separating the two seed halves.
Effect of larval‐rearing density on adult life‐history traits and developmental stability of the dorsal eyespot pattern in the speckled wood butterfly,Pararge aegeria
Authors: Gibbs Melanie , Breuker Casper J. 
Published: December 2005

AbstractBehavioural stresses such as crowding are thought to incur a metabolic cost to insect larvae, and fluctuating asymmetry (FA) has been shown to be a possible indicator of this stress. A study of a Madeiran population of the butterflyPararge aegeriaL. (Lepidoptera: Satyrinae) shows that larval crowding affects larval development and growth, with female larvae being more adversely affected than males. It was predicted that if larval crowding increases FA, male and femaleP. aegeriaadults may show different responses to this stress. The FA of five different wing pattern elements on the dorsal hindwings of adult male and femaleP. aegeriathat had been reared at different larval densities was measured. Crowding inP. aegeriaresulted in a trait‐specific and sex‐specific increase in FA. Although a significant correlation between FA and longevity was not observed, there was a significant correlation with egg‐laying rate. Stressed females increased their egg‐laying rate. An increased egg‐laying rate may carry a further fitness cost through the offspring of stressed females, because high egg‐laying rates are associated with a decline in oviposition site quality.
Respiration rhythms and heartbeats of diapausing Colorado potato beetles, Leptinotarsa decemlineata, at low temperatures
Authors: Vanatoa Alo , Kuusik Aare , Tartes Urmas , Metspalu Luule , Hiiesaar Külli 
Published: December 2005

AbstractDiscontinuous gas exchange cycles (DGCs), active muscular ventilation, microcycles of repetitive openings, and heartbeats of diapausing adult Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), were studied at low temperatures (0, 5, and 10 °C) using an electrolytic respirometer combined with an infrared actograph. The DGC of the adult constriction‐flutter‐open type was the main respiration mode in fully quiescent beetles at temperatures from 5 to 10 °C. The CO2 bursts were actively ventilated at temperatures above 5 °C. During the flutter period, a series of microcycles appeared, but no muscular contractions associated with the microcycles were detected. We identified this respiration mode as discontinuous suction ventilation.The hydration condition of the beetles did not influence the frequency of the gas exchange cycles, but dehydrated beetles showed significantly longer flutter periods and shorter ventilation periods than hydrated beetles. The heartbeat frequencies were influenced by both temperature and hydration status.We conclude from the results that DGCs are used at rest in adult L. decemlineata under various environmental conditions and also at low temperatures. Our results showed that DGCs are the main respiration mode of resting adult Colorado potato beetle irrespective of its hydration state and temperature. Our method resolves O2 uptake and subsequent CO2 release in flutter and ventilation periods and shows that diffusion is replaced by convection to reduce water loss in adult beetles.
Resource quality affects restlessness in the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis
Authors: King B.H. , Ellison J.H. 
Published: December 2005

AbstractOptimal foraging theory, specifically the marginal value theorem, predicts quicker leaving (shorter residence time) from poorer patches. One proximal mechanism for achieving the leaving is that exposure to lower‐quality resources may trigger increased restlessness (proportion of time in locomotion). Which aspects of host quality, if any, affect restlessness was examined in females of the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis Walker (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae). Females were individually exposed to a single host. Restlessness was greater both during and after exposure to a host, when the host was externally damaged vs. intact. Other aspects of host quality that affected restlessness were whether the host was parasitized and whether it was dead and unsuitable for offspring development. In contrast, the host's age and stage did not affect restlessness. Increased restlessness did not make females more willing to launch themselves across an inhospitable environment using their wings.
Postdispersal Fruit and Seed Removal by the CrabGecarcinus lateralisin a Coastal Forest in Veracruz, Mexico1
Authors: Capistrán‐Barradas Ascención , Moreno‐Casasola Patricia , Defeo Omar 
Published: December 2005

ABSTRACTIn the coastal semideciduous forest of La Mancha, Veracruz (Mexico), we evaluated the removal of fallen fruits and seeds of different species by the land crabGecarcinus lateralisunder different environmental conditions (age soil of forest stand, topography, and cover). Crabs removed 67 percent of the propagules in the experiments (3106 of a total of 4608), and seeds were removed in greater quantities (61.1%) than fruits (38.9%). Fruits ofMaclura tinctoria(Moraceae) andEhretia tinifolia(Boraginacea) and seeds ofE. tinifoliawere the most affected species. Crabs removed higher quantities of fruits in old‐soil forest and in the understory than in young‐soil forest and gaps. In experiments with seeds, only for the older forest, the crabs removed more seeds in slopes and peaks than in valleys and in the understory than gaps, whereas in the young‐soil forest, the differences were not significant. Our results suggest thatG. lateralis, likeGecarcoidea natalisandGecarcinus quadratus, is an efficient propagule predator and can exert pressure in the establishment of plant species, but in La Mancha, this also depends on site conditions and identity of the species.
Effects of Small Rodent and Large Mammal Exclusion on Seedling Recruitment in Costa Rica1
Authors: DeMattia Elizabeth A. , Rathcke Beverly J. , Curran Lisa M. , Aguilar Reinaldo , Vargas Orlando 
Published: December 2005

ABSTRACTWe examined whether the experimental exclusion of large mammalian and small rodent seed predators had differing effects on seedling recruitment under natural seed rain conditions. In both primary and late‐successional secondary forested areas, exclosure experiments using natural seed densities were designed to assess seedling recruitment. To assess the differences in seedling recruitment, we monitored three exclosure treatments (1.2 m radius/1.5 m height) in two forest types (primary vs. late‐successional secondary forest): (1) fenced exclosures that excluded large mammals; (2) fenced exclosures that excluded both large and small mammals; and (3) open controls. Within each exclosure treatment, we marked and identified all seedlings at the beginning of the experiment (February 2001), followed the marked seedlings' fate for a year, and then marked and identified all new seedlings after a year. Two preliminary findings were generated from these data: for some tree species, small rodents and large mammals have differential effects on seedling recruitment, and the effect of excluding mammals did not differ with habitat type (primary vs. late‐successional secondary forest). These preliminary results highlight the need to examine further how the effects of small rodent and large mammal exclusion may affect species‐specific seed predation and seedling recruitment in a variety of habitat/land use types (e.g., primary forest, late‐successional forest, and early‐successional forest).
Plant Community Structure in Tropical Rain Forest Fragments of the Western Ghats, India1
Authors: Muthuramkumar S. , Ayyappan N. , Parthasarathy N. , Mudappa Divya , Raman T. R. Shankar , Selwyn M. Arthur , Pragasan L. Arul 
Published: December 2005

ABSTRACTChanges in tree, liana, and understory plant diversity and community composition in five tropical rain forest fragments varying in area (18–2600 ha) and disturbance levels were studied on the Valparai plateau, Western Ghats. Systematic sampling using small quadrats (totaling 4 ha for trees and lianas, 0.16 ha for understory plants) enumerated 312 species in 103 families: 1968 trees (144 species), 2250 lianas (60 species), and 6123 understory plants (108 species). Tree species density, stem density, and basal area were higher in the three larger (> 100 ha) rain forest fragments but were negatively correlated with disturbance scores rather than area per se. Liana species density, stem density, and basal area were higher in moderately disturbed and lower in heavily disturbed fragments than in the three larger fragments. Understory species density was highest in the highly disturbed 18‐ha fragment, due to weedy invasive species occurring with rain forest plants. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling and Mantel tests revealed significant and similar patterns of floristic variation suggesting similar effects of disturbance on community compositional change for the three life‐forms. The five fragments encompassed substantial plant diversity in the regional landscape, harbored at least 70 endemic species (3.21% of the endemic flora of the Western Ghats–Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot), and supported many endemic and threatened animals. The study indicates the significant conservation value of rain forest fragments in the Western Ghats, signals the need to protect them from further disturbances, and provides useful benchmarks for restoration and monitoring efforts.