bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Relative performance of native and exotic grass species in response to amendment of drastically disturbed serpentine substrates
Authors: O'DELL RYAN E. , CLAASSEN VICTOR P. 
Published: July 2006

SummaryLimited information exists on approaches to effectively revegetate severely disturbed, barren, subgrade (unconsolidated parent material) serpentine substrates. Additionally, little is known about the invasion potential of exotic grasses from highly invaded non‐serpentine environments into adjacent, relatively uninvaded serpentine environments following restoration efforts that use substrate nutrient enrichment to accelerate revegetation. This study investigated approaches to the revegetation of subgrade serpentine substrates with native, serpentine‐tolerant grass species while limiting the establishment and reproduction of invasive annual grass species.Biomass production was measured for two native serpentine perennial grass species and both biomass and seed production (fitness) were measured for one native annual and two invasive annual grass species. All species were grown on subgrade serpentine substrate amended with garden (yard) waste compost, slow‐release nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) fertilizers and CaSO42H2O (gypsum) in both glasshouse and field environments. The primary goals of this study were to: (i) determine how substrate amendment with compost changed with time and (ii) identify the substrate amended combination that maximized native grass species biomass and seed production while limiting the productivity of invasive annual grass species.Compost amendment of the subgrade serpentine substrate greatly increased plant‐available N, P, K and calcium (Ca) levels, decreased plant‐available heavy metals, and increased the cation exchange capacity. Substrateconcentration remained low for up to 60 days following compost amendment but then increased more than six‐fold in the 120 days thereafter. No other substrate properties changed substantially over a period of 180 days.Amendment of the serpentine substrate with 30% volume compost per volume substrate, and 220 mg each of N, P and K per kg substrate, maximized biomass and seed production of the native grass species. This amendment level, however, resulted in an undesirable increase in biomass and seed production (fitness) of invasive annual grass species, exceeding that of the native species.Synthesis and applications.Revegetation of drastically disturbed, barren, subgrade serpentine substrates with native, serpentine‐tolerant plant species can be successfully achieved with a combination of yard waste compost (organic) and slow‐release (inorganic) fertilizer amendment. Enrichment of low‐fertility serpentine substrates to promote native plant growth, however, may encourage invasion of undesirable plant species into the native plant community, leading to habitat degradation. Therefore, aggressive control methods may be required to prevent invasion of exotic species into the revegetation community.
Can commercially imported bumble bees out‐compete their native conspecifics?
Authors: INGS T. C. , WARD N. L. , CHITTKA L. 
Published: July 2006

Summary

Although invasive species are major topics of research, little consideration has been given to the implications of introducing non‐native subspecies or beneficial organisms such as pollinators. However, the extensive trade in bumble bees as pollinators of glasshouse crops involves both. Within regions in Europe, the importation of non‐native commercially reared subspecies of Bombus terrestris could endanger native bumble bees through competitive displacement and/or hybridization.
This study made a direct ecological comparison between commercially imported and native B. terrestris colonies growing in the wild in the UK. In particular, using a paired design, we compared the nectar‐foraging performance and reproductive outputs of commercial and native colonies growing under identical field conditions.
Commercial colonies performed well in the field, with substantially higher nectar‐foraging rates than native colonies in four out of five locations. Nectar‐foraging performance was positively correlated with forager size, with commercial bees being consistently larger than native bees.
All seven commercial colonies studied produced gynes (new queens), with two colonies each producing in excess of 50. In contrast, only two out of seven native colonies produced gynes, and those only produced small numbers (five in total). Males were produced by all colonies but there were no significant differences in numbers between commercial and native subspecies.
Synthesis and applications. The high reproductive success of commercial colonies indicates that there is an appreciable risk that they will become established and spread within the UK. Furthermore, their superior foraging ability and large colony size could lead them to out‐compete native bumble bees. Clearly the invasive potential of non‐native subspecies and/or beneficial organisms should not be overlooked. With respect to the current importation of commercial bumble bees, we strongly recommend a precautionary approach: native species and subspecies should be locally reared and the use/disposal of bees should be strictly regulated.
Retracted: Faecal bacteria associated with different diets of wintering red kites: influence of livestock carcass dumps in microflora alteration and pathogen acquisition
Authors: BLANCO GUILLERMO , LEMUS JESÚS A. , GRANDE JAVIER 
Published: July 2006

Summary

Despite the important role of refuse dumps for the conservation of threatened avian scavengers, there is no information about the direct effects on scavenger health from feeding on meat remains found at these places, including the potential for exposure to infections agents and harmful chemical residues.
We assessed the composition, species richness and prevalence of faecal microflora of wintering red kites Milvus milvus in two areas of central Spain where kites fed primarily on carrion from stabled livestock reared in intensive conditions (Segovia) versus those that fed on wild rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus (Madrid).
Faecal bacterial flora composition, species richness and prevalence differed between areas. These differences were attributed to diet and the environmental conditions found at the sites where the kites obtained most of their food. The intestinal microflora of kites feeding on carrion from stabled livestock (mostly fattening pigs) differed from the flora considered to be normal for a healthy raptor.
Salmonella sp. was found in a relatively high proportion of samples from Segovia (25%), 6% of those samples yielded in pure culture (serotypes enteritidis and gallinarum). If these serotypes cause disease in kites and other raptors, as they do for poultry and some other birds, there may be cause for concern regarding the health of an important sector of the red kite wintering population.
Synthesis and applications. Conservation of wintering red kites in Spain should involve management to promote the recovery of populations of wild prey, especially wild rabbits, and measures to allow free‐range livestock carcasses to be placed in the countryside for scavenger elimination without posing a risk from the spread and transfer of disease, especially bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Periodic inspections by management agencies should ensure that meat originating from stabled livestock and disposed of in refuse dumps does not pose major hazards for avian scavengers. The risk to scavengers from ingestion of residues of veterinary drugs, pathogen acquisition and gut flora alteration, arising from disposal and accumulation of infected carcasses and rotten meat in refuse dumps, must be carefully monitored and managed.
The lived experience of a tracheostomy tube change: a phenomenological study
Authors: Donnelly Frank , Wiechula Rick 
Published: July 2006

Aim.  To investigate the lived experience patients have of a tracheostomy tube change.Background.  Few interpretive studies have looked at specific nursing interventions in relation to nursing practice. This study has investigated the lived experience of patients from an intensive care unit that have had a tracheostomy tube change. The tracheostomy is a significant intervention for many patients within critical care.Method.  Using a phenomenological approach, guided by the insights of Martin Heidegger and Max van Manen, participants were interviewed with their responses being transcribed into a text. This text has been subject to hermeneutic analysis using the theories of Paul Ricoeur. This hermeneutic approach has required using the text (discourse) as the focus of the interpretation.Findings.  The findings of this study imply that the experience of a tracheostomy tube change is more complex than that of simply a physical sensation. There is a need for participants to prepare themselves psychologically, a process that requires not only the trust of nursing staff but also the assessment by the participant that the nursing staff member has a level of competence to perform the task. The need for maintaining communication and the ability to speak were at times more significant for participants than even the risk of other airway complications.Relevance to clinical practice.  This study has highlighted the potential for further interpretive studies into some of the more specific aspects of caring for patients that have been or are critically ill. The themes revealed will enable the nurse, required to change a tracheostomy tube, to do so with an improved level of empathy and understanding.
Balancing uncertainty and acceptance: understanding Chinese women's responses to an abnormal cervical smear result
Authors: Twinn Sheila 
Published: July 2006

Aims and objectives.  The aims of this study were to examine the responses of Hong Kong Chinese women receiving an abnormal smear result and to compare any differences in responses depending on the diagnosis of the abnormal smear.Background.  The implementation of cervical screening programmes has resulted in an increasing number of women receiving an abnormal smear result requiring cytological surveillance or referral for colposcopy. Evidence suggests that women frequently misunderstood such results, believing that they already have cancer. However, little is known about the responses of Chinese women in this situation.Design.  An exploratory qualitative study.Methods.  Face‐to‐face semi‐structured tape‐recorded interviews were undertaken with 66 women sampled opportunistically from an urban centre of a major non‐governmental service provider. Amongst this sample, 22 women required cytological surveillance, 20 required treatment for vaginitis and 24 were referred for colposcopy. Thematic analysis was undertaken of the translated interviews within and across groups to identify categories and themes illustrating women's responses to an abnormal smear result.Findings.  An important difference in the comparison of the data sets was that of women's understanding of the cause of the abnormal result. Women with vaginitis understood the cause of their abnormality, whereas those in the other groups remained unclear about their abnormality, generating feelings of fear and uncertainty. Trust in practitioners influenced women's acceptance of the result.Conclusions.  Although responses of Chinese women are similar to those in other population groups, with those referred for colposcopy experiencing greater anxiety than those undergoing cytological surveillance, balancing feelings of uncertainty and acceptance influenced Chinese women's responses to their abnormal results and allowed them to make sense of their result in their everyday life. Trust in the practitioner was essential to the acceptance of their result.Relevance to clinical practice.  Such findings highlight implications for nursing practice, in particular developing information‐giving strategies and targeted information to help women manage feelings of uncertainty. The importance of trusting professional relationships in determining women's acceptance of an abnormal result is also highlighted. The findings suggest nurses working with Chinese women should consider the underlying influence of culture on women's beliefs and actions.
Adaptational modification and ligand occupancy have opposite effects on positioning of the transmembrane signalling helix of a chemoreceptor
Authors: Lai Wing‐Cheung , Beel Bryan D. , Hazelbauer Gerald L. 
Published: July 2006

SummarySensory systems adapt to persistent stimulation. In the transmembrane receptors of bacterial chemotaxis, adaptation is mediated by methylation at specific glutamyl residues in the cytoplasmic domain. Methylation counteracts effects of ligand binding on functional activities of that domain. Both ligand binding and adaptational modification are thought to act through conformational changes. As characterized for Escherichia coli chemoreceptors, a mechanistically crucial feature of the ligand‐induced conformational change is piston sliding towards the cytoplasm of a signalling helix in the periplasmic/transmembrane domain. Adaptational modification could counteract this signalling movement by blocking its influence on the cytoplasmic domain or by reversing it. To investigate, we characterized effects of adaptational modification on the position of the signalling helix in chemoreceptor Trg using rates of disulphide formation between introduced cysteines. We utilized an intact cell procedure in which receptors were in their native, functional state. In vivo rates of disulphide formation between diagnostic cysteine pairs spanning a signalling helix interface changed as a function of adaptational modification. Strikingly, those changes were opposite those caused by ligand occupancy for each diagnostic pair tested. This suggests that adaptational modification resets the receptor complex to its null state by reversal of the conformational change generated by ligand binding.
Dual role of isocitrate lyase 1 in the glyoxylate and methylcitrate cycles in Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Authors: Gould Ty A. , Van De Langemheen Helmus , Muñoz‐Elías Ernesto J. , McKinney John D. , Sacchettini James C. 
Published: July 2006

SummaryThe role of isocitrate lyase (ICL) in the glyoxylate cycle and its necessity for persistence and virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis has been well described. Recent reports have alluded to an additional role for this enzyme in M. tuberculosis metabolism, specifically for growth on propionate. A product of β‐oxidation of odd‐chain fatty acids is propionyl‐CoA. Clearance of propionyl‐CoA and the by‐products of its metabolism via the methylcitrate cycle is vital due to their potentially toxic effects. Although the genome of M. tuberculosis encodes orthologues of two of the three enzymes of the methylcitrate cycle, methylcitrate synthase and methylcitrate dehydratase, it does not appear to contain a distinct 2‐methylisocitrate lyase (MCL). Detailed structural analysis of the MCL from Escherichia coli suggested that the differences in substrate specificity between MCLs and ICLs could be attributed to three conserved amino acid substitutions in the active site, suggesting an MCL signature. However, here we provide enzymatic evidence that shows that despite the absence of the MCL signature, ICL1 from M. tuberculosis can clearly function as a MCL. Furthermore, the crystal structure of ICL1 with pyruvate and succinate bound demonstrates that the active site can accommodate the additional methyl group without significant changes to the structure.
Cross validation of the Turkish version of dermatology life quality index
Authors: Öztürkcan Serap , Ermertcan Aylin Türel , Eser Erhan , Turhan Şahin Mustafa 
Published: July 2006

AbstractBackground  The aim of this study was to test the linguistic validation of the Turkish version of the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) for Turkish speaking dermatology patients.Methods  The DLQI is a 10‐item dermatology specific index developed originally in English. The methodology of this study consists of four consecutive sections: Translation, cognitive debriefing, field testing and statistical analysis. Translation steps: (a) Two forward independent translations into Turkish, (b) reconciliation of these translations by a dermatologist, (c) backward translation of the consensus Turkish version by a bilingual person into its original language (English), (d) and comparing the original questionnaire with the backward translated one. Cognitive debriefing: Sessions were performed on five patients from each of the seven different dermatological diagnosis groups. Field testing: The final Turkish version on which the face validity was approved by specialists on a total of 79 inpatients/outpatients with various dermatological diagnoses treated at Celal Bayar University Hospital. Statistical analysis: Internal consistency (using Cronbach a) and item–total score correlations (Pearson correlation) were used for reliability analysis. Validity analysis was carried out by construct testing (principal components factor analysis), convergent (Pearson correlation) and (discriminate Student's t‐test and Mann–Whitney U‐test) validity, and SF‐36 was used in parallel with DLQI in order to test convergent validity. The data were analyzed by the SPSS version 10.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) statistical package.Results  The mean age of the patients in the study was 30.77 ± 15.91 years; the mean score of DLQI was 7.61 ± 6.12. The median of item–total correlation coefficient was found to be 0.66, within a range of 0.48–0.81. The internal consistency of the index was found to be highly sufficient (α = 0.85). The DLQI was found to be highly related to the physical domain of SF‐36. Life quality score was found to be significantly low for the inpatients compared with outpatients (differential validity).Conclusion  It was found that the Turkish version of the DLQI was an acceptable index for dermatologists and dermatology patients and, moreover, to be valid and reliable in a cross‐sectional level. The responsiveness of the Turkish version of the DLQI needs to be tested further on a variety of dermatological conditions with different severities.
Caffeine consumption and methotrexate dosing requirement in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis
Authors: Swanson David L. , Barnes Sunni A. , Mengden Koon Stephanie J. , El‐Azhary Rokea A. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractBackground  Recent animal and human studies have suggested that the therapeutic benefit of methotrexate in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis may be substantially reduced in patients who are concomitantly consuming caffeine. Here, we aimed to investigate the effect of caffeine consumption on the methotrexate dosing requirements in patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.Methods  One hundred and fifty patients with diagnoses of psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis were surveyed for their current weekly methotrexate dosage and their usual daily consumption of caffeine.Results  Seventy‐five of the patients given the survey responded; of these, 11 were eliminated because they did not report their methotrexate dosage or were no longer taking methotrexate. Of the remaining 64 patients, no correlation was found between the methotrexate dosage needed for disease maintenance and the amount of caffeine consumed.Conclusions  Our findings suggest that caffeine does not affect methotrexate dosage requirements in patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. These results do not rule out an effect of caffeine in other inflammatory diseases treated with methotrexate.
Spectrophotometric intracutaneous analysis in the diagnosis of basal cell carcinoma: a pilot study
Authors: Tehrani Hamid , Walls Joe , Cotton Symon , Sassoon Elaine , Hall Per 
Published: July 2006

AbstractBackground  The SIAscope is a portable imaging device that uses a hand‐held unit to emit light of varying wavelengths when placed on the skin. The components of skin absorb light to known extents and any reflected light is received by the hand‐held unit. This information is processed by the SIAscope software to produce images on a computer screen, displaying the melanin, blood, and collagen in the area of concern.Hypothesis/aims  Previous research has shown the SIAscope to be both highly sensitive and specific for melanoma diagnosis. The SIAscope has not, however, been previously investigated for nonmelanoma skin cancer diagnosis. We therefore conducted a pilot study to investigate such potential.Methods  Having gained ethical approval, 20 consecutive lesions were scanned using the SIAscope, and the images were examined for features that may be indicative of nonmelanoma skin cancer.Results  The findings of branched vessels and vascular “flare” were indicative of a lesion being a basal cell carcinoma. Focal paleness and collagen changes were less specific in this study, but may prove to be valuable features in further studies.Conclusions  This pilot study implies that the SIAscope may indeed provide an accurate method for basal cell carcinoma diagnosis by identifying features specific for such lesions. Further studies to investigate nonmelanoma skin cancer diagnosis, and to explore any potential to differentiate between basal cell carcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas and between superficial and thicker basal cell carcinomas by the SIAscope, are warranted.
What are the key attributes of primary care for patients? Building a conceptual ‘map’ of patient preferences
Authors: Cheraghi‐Sohi Sudeh , Bower Peter , Mead Nichola , McDonald Ruth , Whalley Diane , Roland Martin 
Published: July 2006

AbstractBackground  Responding to the preferences of patients is a key focus of current health policy and is especially important in primary care. Responding effectively to patient preferences requires a clear understanding of the way in which patients assess primary care services.Objective  This study was designed to provide a ‘map’ of the content and structure of the key attributes of patient preferences concerning primary care.Design  The development of the ‘map’ used secondary research methods. Electronic databases were searched for published conceptual reviews of patient preferences, which were used to develop a basic ‘map’ through content analysis. A search for recently published primary empirical studies of patient preferences was conducted to extend and develop the ‘map’. The ‘map’ was tested by taking a random sample of patient assessment instruments and categorizing the item content.Results  Seven major categories and multiple subcategories were described. The major categories were access, technical care, interpersonal care, patient‐centredness, continuity, outcomes, and hotel aspects of care. The coverage of these attributes in a selection of patient assessment instruments varied widely, and the coding of a proportion of items in the patient assessment instruments according to the ‘map’ was problematic.Conclusions  The conceptual ‘map’ can be used to plan comprehensive assessment of patient preferences in primary care. It also raises many theoretical issues concerning the nature of attributes and their interrelationships. The implications for the measurement of patient preferences are discussed.