bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The role of community mental health nurses caring for people with schizophrenia in Taiwan: a substantive grounded theory
Authors: Huang Xuan‐Yi , Yen Wen‐Jiuan , Liu Shwu‐Jiuan , Lin Chouh‐Jiuan 
Published: February 2008

Aim and objectives.  The aim was to develop a practice theory that can be used to guide the direction of community nursing practice to help clients with schizophrenia and those who care for them.Design.  Substantive grounded theory was developed through use of grounded theory method of Strauss and Corbin.Methods.  Two groups of participants in Taiwan were selected using theoretical sampling: one group consisted of community mental health nurses and the other group was clients with schizophrenia and those who cared for them. The number of participants in each group was determined by theoretical saturation. Semi‐structured one‐to‐one in‐depth interviews and unstructured non‐participant observation were utilized for data collection. Data analysis involved three stages: open, axial and selective coding. During the process of coding and analysis, both inductive and deductive thinking were utilized and the constant comparative analysis process continued until data saturation occurred. To establish trustworthiness, the four criteria of credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability were followed along with field trial, audit trial, member check and peer debriefing for reliability and validity.Results.  A substantive grounded theory, the role of community mental health nurses caring for people with schizophrenia in Taiwan, was developed through utilization of grounded theory method of Strauss and Corbin.Conclusion.  In this paper, results and discussion focus on causal conditions, context, intervening conditions, consequences and phenomenon.Relevance to clinical practice.  The theory is the first to contribute knowledge about the field of mental health home visiting services in Taiwan to provide guidance for the delivery of quality care to assist people in the community with schizophrenia and their carers.
A comparison of mothers’ and fathers’ experiences of the attachment process in a neonatal intensive care unit
Authors: Fegran Liv , Helseth Sølvi , Fagermoen May Solveig 
Published: February 2008

Aim.  To compare mothers’ and fathers’ individual views and experiences of the attachment process in a neonatal intensive care unit within the first week after a premature birth.Background.  The attachment between parents and children is a precursor to the consolidation of parenting skills, the growth and development of the infant and the establishment of a bond between parent and child. Premature birth and the resultant hospitalization disrupt the normal attachment process between parent and child. Most of the litteraure on attachment theory focuses on the mother–child connection and is being criticised for regarding the father's role as supportive and peripheral.Methods.  The design of this study was descriptive with a hermeneutic approach. Twelve parents (six mothers and six fathers) in a 13‐bed neonatal intensive care unit in a Norwegian regional hospital participated in a field study addressing the encounter between parents and nurses. This paper is based on the semi‐structured interviews with the parents at discharge. Results.  The interview analysis revealed two main categories. (a) Taken by surprise: For mothers, the premature birth created a feeling of powerlessness and they experienced the immediate postnatal period as surreal and strange. The fathers experienced the birth as a shock, but were ready to be involved immediately. (b) Building a relationship: Mothers experienced a need to regain the temporarily lost relationship with their child, whereas the fathers experienced the beginning of a new relationship.Conclusion.  Comparing parents’ experiences of the attachment process within the first days after a premature birth reveals a striking contrast between the mother's experience of surrealism and the father's ability to be involved immediately after birth.Relevance to clinical practice.  Parents’ of premature children's different starting points should be acknowledged as professionals encourage parents to have early skin‐to‐skin contact with their premature infant.
Interrater reliability using Modified Norton Scale, Pressure Ulcer Card, Short Form‐Mini Nutritional Assessment by registered and enrolled nurses in clinical practice
Authors: Bååth Carina , Hall‐Lord Marie‐Louise , Idvall Ewa , Wiberg‐Hedman Katarina , Wilde Larsson Bodil 
Published: February 2008

Aim. Examine the interrater reliability between and among registered and enrolled nurses using Modified Norton Scale, Pressure Ulcer Card and Short Form‐Mini Nutritional Assessment.Background. In Sweden, registered nurses and enrolled nurses usually co‐operate in patient care. National guidelines emphasize that reliable and valid assessment tools should be used. Interrater reliability for regular use of assessment tools is seldom studied.Design cross‐sectional. Registered nurses and enrolled nurses made 228 assessments of patients’ skin, risk for pressure ulcer and malnutrition, in patients with hip fracture and patients who had suffered a stroke.Results. The interrater reliability of the Modified Norton Score total score was very good among registered nurses, good among enrolled nurses and between both groups. There was good, moderate and fair agreement on the subscales. Interrater reliability of Short Form Mini‐Nutritional Assesment screening score was very good between both groups, good among registered nurses and moderate among enrolled nurses. There was good and moderate agreement on the items. There was good, moderate and fair agreement between and among registered nurses and enrolled nurses when using the Pressure Ulcer Card.Conclusion. The Modified Norton Scale and Short Form Mini‐Nutritional Assessment were reasonably understandable and easy to utilize in clinical care. Therefore, it seems possible for nurses to accomplish assessment using these tools. The agreement level was low for most skin sites except sacrum when nurses assessed patients’ skin with the Pressure Ulcer Card.Relevance to clinical practice. The utilize of reliable and valid assessment tools is important in clinical practice. The tools could be used as an aid to the clinical judgement and therefore identify patients at risk for pressure ulcers and malnutrition. Pressure ulcer grading is a difficult skill that requires training and time to develop.
Level of oxidative stress and damage in erythrocytes in apprentices indirectly exposed to lead
Authors: Ergurhan‐Ilhan Inci , Cadir Bilge , Koyuncu‐Arslan Meltem , Arslan Cagatay , Gultepe F. Mustafa , Ozkan Guleren 
Published: February 2008

AbstractBackground: Oxidative stress (OS) may result in damage to critical macromolecules, and an association between lead (Pb) toxicity and OS is a matter of research. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of Pb on the oxidative system in indirectly Pb‐exposed male apprentices.Methods: Established parameters of Pb toxicity (aminolevulinic acid dehydratase index [ALAD index], zinc‐protoporphyrin [ZPP]) as well as Pb‐level in blood were determined in Pb‐exposed apprentices (n > 25) and controls (n > 24). Enzymatic (glutathione peroxides [GPx], superoxide dismutase [SOD], catalase [CAT]) and non‐enzymatic (α‐tocopherol, β‐carotene) indices of OS, and malondialdehyde (MDA) level were also determined.Results: There was a statistically significant increase in Pb level, ALAD index, ZPP concentration, GPx activity and MDA concentration in Pb‐exposed apprentices when compared to controls. Although a statistically significant decrease in α‐tocopherol and β‐carotene levels was seen, SOD and CAT activities were unaltered in Pb‐exposed apprentices. Pb level and duration of Pb exposure were correlated with each other, as well as various indices of OS and MDA concentration.Conclusions: Chronic indirect Pb exposure results in lipid peroxidation in erythrocytes of apprentices via OS, and duration of Pb exposure is a reliable marker of Pb toxicity.
Breast‐feeding‐associated hypernatremia: Retrospective analysis of 169 term newborns
Authors: Unal Sevim , Arhan Ebru , Kara Nazli , Uncu Nermin , Aliefendioğlu Didem 
Published: February 2008

AbstractBackground: The aim of the present paper was to define the incidence, complications, morbidity and mortality of hypernatremic dehydration due to inadequate breast‐feeding in a neonatal intensive care unit.Methods: A retrospective study was carried out between 2002 and 2005, to identify the term breast‐fed neonates with serum sodium level ≥150 mEq/L at the Ministry of Health Ankara Diskapi Children’s and Research Hospital.Results: The incidence of hypernatremic dehydration secondary to inadequate breast‐feeding was 4.1%, occurring in 169 term infants among 4136 hospitalized term neonates with the following characteristics: mean gestational age, 39.1 weeks (37–42 weeks); birthweight, 3352 g (2200–4500 g); mother’s age, 26.1 years (17–38 years); weight loss, 15.9% (5.4–32.7%); proportion of spontaneous vaginal deliveries, 75.7%; and proportion of first‐time mothers, 74.6%. Major presenting symptoms were neonatal jaundice (47.3%) and poor infant suck (29.6%). The median sodium; blood urea nitrogen (BUN); and creatinine levels on admission were 155 mmol/L (150–194 mmol/L), 35 mg/dL (7–253 mg/dL), and 0.9 mg/dL (0.2–10 mg/dL), respectively. Major complications were as follows: acute renal failure, 82.8%; elevated liver enzymes, 20.7%; disseminated intravascular coagulation, 6.5%; brain edema, 5.2%; intracranial hemorrhage, 3.6%; cavernous sinus thrombosis, 1.2%; and bilateral iliac artery thrombosis, 0.6%. Ten patients (5.9%) developed seizure within the first 24 h of rehydration therapy with a mean sodium decrease of 11.9 mmol/L per day (4–19 mmol/L per day). Two patients (1.2%) died. There were positive correlation between weight loss and serum sodium, BUN, bilirubin levels (P < 0.01); there was no correlation between weight loss and mothers’ age, education level, delivery route, or first‐born status (P > 0.05).Conclusions: Hypernatremic dehydration in neonates due to inadequate breast‐feeding is a serious, potentially devastating and life‐threatening disorder, and can damage the central nervous system. Follow up of infants for adequate breast‐feeding is important. Pediatricians must maintain a high level of suspicion, especially in cases of pathologic infant weight loss after delivery.
Anterior choroid plexus cysts: Distinction from germinolysis by high‐resolution sonography
Authors: Van Baalen Andreas , Versmold Hans 
Published: February 2008

AbstractBackground: The aim of the present paper was to develop criteria identifying anterior choroid plexus cysts (ACPC) and distinguish these from germinolytic pseudocysts.Methods: Cerebral sonography was performed in 2200 neonates with mean gestational age 40 completed weeks (range 23–42 weeks) and mean birthweight of 3450 g (range 340–4610 g). In the last 300 neonates cystic formations in the caudothalamic groove were studied prospectively using a high‐resolution ultrasound system with linear scanhead, and the previous results were re‐evaluated.Results: In 22 neonates choroid plexus cysts outside the typical location in the choroid plexus glomus could be attributed to the anterior part of the choroid plexus in the lateral ventricles (prospectively analyzed in 16 of 300 neonates: 5% prevalence on high‐resolution sonography). ACPC were located medial and behind germinolytic pseudocysts and best realized during sweep of the scanhead through the caudothalamic groove. In contrast to germinolytic pseudocysts, they had a spherical form, no septation and a thick, partial double wall. Larger cysts seemed to bounce.Conclusions: ACPC are not rare and are identified by their location, form, and movement.
HsCRP levels: Measurement of airway inflammation in asthmatic children
Authors: Soferman Ruth , Glatstein Miguel , Sivan Yakov , Weisman Yosef 
Published: February 2008

AbstractBackground: The inflammatory marker, high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein (HsCRP), is known to be related to non‐allergic asthma, obesity, cardiovascular disease and smoking in adults. The aim of the present study was to determine whether HsCRP is related to respiratory symptoms and pulmonary function test findings in asthmatic children.Methods: HsCRP was measured in 63 asthmatic children aged 2–12 years. The measurements were performed in 37 children during an episode of acute exacerbation and in 42 children during remission.Results: HsCRP level (14.28 ± 8.45 mg/L) during exacerbation was significantly higher than the mean level (1.92 ± 3.16 mg/L) during remission (P < 0.0001), with the decrease being more prominent in children with a low body mass index percentile (P < 0.05). A reciprocal relationship was found between forced expiratory volume in 1 s and high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein values (P > 0.049).Conclusion: Elevated HsCRP levels were significantly associated with respiratory impairment in children.
Serum interferon‐γ, interleukin‐4, and interleukin‐6 in infants with adenovirus and respiratory syncytial virus infection
Authors: Oda Keiko , Yamamoto Yukiyo 
Published: February 2008

AbstractBackground: To characterize adenoviral (ADV) infection, the clinical symptoms, laboratory findings and serum cytokine concentrations were evaluated in ADV patients and compared with those in patients with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections.Methods: A total of 63 patients who had been diagnosed with ADV infections or RSV on an antigen detection test were enrolled in the present study between December 2002 and March 2004. Forty patients had RSV infection and 23 patients had ADV infection. Serum cytokine (interleukin [IL]‐4,6 and interferon [IFN]‐γ) concentrations were analyzed. Concentration of IL‐6 in both infection groups was analyzed regardless of whether the patients had been given steroids (dexamethaxone or prednisolone). In addition, IL‐6 levels were measured on day 1 and 4 of hospitalization.Results: A strong inflammatory response was observed in patients with ADV infection. Serum IL‐6 levels in patients with ADV infection on day 4 of hospitalization were significantly higher than those in patients without steroids treatment or in patients with RSV infection. IL‐4, and IFN‐γ were not significantly different.Conclusion: Patients with ADV infections who were given steroids had a temporary increase of IL‐6, which might have indicated the development of a severe clinical course if not been administered.
Theophylline‐associated seizures and their clinical characterizations
Authors: Korematsu Seigo , Miyahara Hiroaki , Nagakura Tomokazu , Suenobu Soichi , Izumi Tatsuro 
Published: February 2008

AbstractBackground: To elucidate the basic mechanism of theophylline‐associated seizures (TAS), the clinical symptoms, electroencephalogram (EEG) and neuroradiological imaging of eight pediatric patients were all retrospectively evaluated.Methods: Patients whose seizures represented their first episode were selected, while patients with cerebrospinal fluid abnormalities including pleocytosis and protein elevation, present illness of head trauma, epilepsy, febrile convulsion or any psychomotor retardation were excluded although they were given theophylline.Results: Eight patients, 3.5 ± 1.7 years of age, thus fulfilled the definition of TAS in the past 5 years. Based on their seizure patterns, EEG findings, brain single‐photon emission computed tomography and head magnetic resonance imaging, a total of seven of eight patients had either localized or unilateral dominant lesions. They all had fever, ≥38°C, and six of eight patients had a family history of febrile convulsions and/or idiopathic epilepsy. Thereafter none of them had convulsions after the cessation of theophylline administration. Through the TAS event, a 6‐year‐old female patient was found to have a right deep lateral cerebral venous angioma.Conclusion: In infants with idiopathic low seizure threshold and fever, theophylline administration might possibly trigger a seizure. Moreover, based on these patients’ clinical findings, some kind of cerebral vascular involvements is speculated to be related with TAS.
Nasal flow‐synchronized intermittent positive pressure ventilation to facilitate weaning in very low‐birthweight infants: Unmasked randomized controlled trial
Authors: Moretti Corrado , Giannini Luigi , Fassi Carla , Gizzi Camilla , Papoff Paola , Colarizi Patrizia 
Published: February 2008

AbstractBackground: Nasal flow‐synchronized intermittent positive pressure ventilation (NFSIPPV) is a new non‐invasive ventilatory mode that delivers synchronized mechanical breaths through the nasal prongs. An unmasked, prospective randomized controlled trial was conducted to compare the efficacy of NFSIPPV and conventional nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP) in increasing the likelihood for successful extubation in very low‐birthweight infants.Methods: Consecutive infants who weighed <1251 g at birth, required endotracheal intubation within 48 h of birth and met specific predetermined criteria for extubation by day 14 of life were recruited. Each infant was randomized to receive either NFSIPPV or NCPAP soon after extubation. Extubation was deemed successful if re‐intubation was not needed for at least 72 h. Criteria for re‐intubation were persistent severe respiratory acidosis (arterial pH <7.20 with pCO2 >70 mmHg), severe recurrent apneic episodes not responding to increased ventilatory settings and then requiring bag ventilation, and hypoxemia (SaO2 <90% or pO2 <60 mmHg with FiO2 ≥0.70).Results: There were no significant differences in clinical characteristics between the two groups at randomization. Ninety‐four percent (30/32) infants were successfully extubated to NFSIPPV but only 61% (19/31) to conventional NCPAP (P > 0.005). Infants assigned to NCPAP failed extubation mainly because of apnea and hypercapnia, and those assigned to NFSIPPV because of hypoxia. Neither procedure induced major adverse effects.Conclusions: NFSIPPV in the post‐extubation period is safe and more effective than NCPAP in preventing re‐ventilation.
Gastrointestinal sequelae in survivors of congenital diaphragmatic hernia
Authors: Arena Francesco , Romeo Carmelo , Baldari Sergio , Arena Salvatore , Antonuccio Pietro , Campennì Alfredo , Zuccarello Biagio , Romeo Giuseppe 
Published: February 2008

AbstractBackground: Gastrointestinal sequelae have been sporadically reported in survivors of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). The aim of the present paper was to evaluate the gastrointestinal morbidity in infant, adolescent and adult patients who had undergone repair of CDH.Methods: Thirty‐one of 38 survivors after left‐side CDH repair were followed up. They were subdivided in two groups. Group A consisted of 12 patients (39%) with a mean age of 4.5 years and group B, 19 patients (61%) with a mean age of 21.0 years. Patients underwent physical examination, barium meal study, gastroesophageal scintigraphy, esophageal pH monitoring and manometry of the esophagus and stomach. Upper intestinal endoscopy was performed in patients with confirmed gastroesophageal reflux (GER).Results: All patients were within the normal range for height or weight. A total of 41.7% of group A and 15.8% of group B had typical symptoms suggesting GER. Barium meal study was pathological in 33.3% of group A and 21% of group B patients. In 58% of group A and 42% of group B, GER was documented on scintigraphy. In 41.7% of group A and 47% of group B the time taken for the stomach to empty half of its radioactive content (T½) was pathological. On 24 h pH monitoring pathological GER was documented in 54.5%, whereas in group B it was present in 33.3%. In 36.4% of group A and 46.7% of group B alteration of peristalsis of the stomach was recorded. Endoscopy showed esophageal pathology in 33%.Conclusions: Foregut dysmotility and GER are major sequelae in survivors of CDH repair. Long‐term follow up of patients with CDH is recommended.
T‐helper 1‐related chemokines in the exacerbation of childhood asthma
Authors: Lai Shu‐Tse , Hung Chih‐Hsing , Hua Yi‐Ming , Hsu Shih‐Hsien , Jong Yuh‐Jyh , Suen Jau‐Ling 
Published: February 2008

AbstractBackground: T‐helper (Th) 2 cytokines are thought to mediate most of the allergic inflammatory responses associated with atopic asthma. But the Th1‐related chemokine, interferon‐inducible protein 10 (IP‐10)/CXCL10, was the predominant chemokine measured during human allergic pulmonary late‐phase reaction. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of Th1‐ and Th2‐ related chemokines in the pathogenesis of asthma exacerbation.Methods: Plasma levels of the Th2‐related C‐C chemokine I‐309 (CCL1), the Th1‐related CXC chemokines IP‐10, and the monokine induced by interferon‐γ (Mig)/CXCL9 were measured in patients with stable asthma.Results: These results were compared to the results measured prior to, and after corticosteroid treatment, in patients who experienced asthma exacerbations. A significant increase in the plasma levels of IP‐10 and Mig, but not I‐309, were found in patients with an acute exacerbation in contrast to patients with stable asthma. Plasma levels of IP‐10 and Mig were significantly higher in patients during an acute asthma exacerbation than during a subsequent convalescent period.Conclusions: The Th1‐related CXC chemokines IP‐10 and Mig may be useful inflammatory markers of asthma exacerbation in children.
Reaching activity in parietal area V6A of macaque: eye influence on arm activity or retinocentric coding of reaching movements?
Authors: Marzocchi Nicoletta , Breveglieri Rossella , Galletti Claudio , Fattori Patrizia 
Published: February 2008

AbstractParietal area V6A contains neurons modulated by the direction of gaze as well as neurons able to code the direction of arm movement. The present study was aimed to disentangle the gaze effect from the effect of reaching activity upon single V6A neurons. To this purpose, we used a visuomotor task in which the direction of arm movement remained constant while the animal changed the direction of gaze. Gaze direction modulated reach‐related activity in about two‐thirds of tested neurons. In several cases, modulations were not due to the eye‐position signal per se, the apparent eye‐position modulation being just an epiphenomenon. The real modulating factor was the location of reaching target with respect to the point gazed by the animal, that is, the retinotopic coordinates towards which the action of reaching occurred. Comparison of neural discharge of the same cell during execution of foveated and non‐foveated reaching movements, performed towards the same or different spatial locations, confirmed that in a part of V6A neurons reaching activity is coded retinocentrically. In other neurons, reaching activity is coded spatially, depending on the direction of reaching movement regardless of where the animal was looking at. The majority of V6A reaching neurons use a system that encompasses both of these reference frames. These results are in line with the view of a progressive visuomotor transformation in the dorsal visual stream, that changes the frame of reference from the retinocentric one, typically used by the visual system, to the arm‐centred one, typically used by the motor system.