bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Achieving therapeutic clarity in assisted personal body care: professional challenges in interactions with severely ill COPD patients
Authors: Lomborg Kirsten , Kirkevold Marit 
Published: February 2007

Aim and objectives.  This paper aims to present a theoretical account of professional nursing challenges involved in providing care to patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The study objectives are patients’ and nurses’ expectations, goals and approaches to assisted personal body care.Background.  The provision of help with body care may have therapeutic qualities but there is only limited knowledge about the particularities and variations in specific groups of patients and the nurse–patient interactions required to facilitate patient functioning and well‐being. For patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, breathlessness represents a particular challenge in the performance of body care sessions.Design.  We investigated nurse–patient interactions during assisted personal body care, using grounded theory with a symbolic interaction perspective and a constant comparative method.Methods.  Twelve cases of nurse–patient interactions were analysed. Data were based on participant observation, individual interviews with patients and nurses and a standardized questionnaire on patients’ breathlessness.Findings.  Nurses and patients seemed to put effort into the interaction and wanted to find an appropriate way of conducting the body care session according to the patients’ specific needs. Achieving therapeutic clarity in nurse–patient interactions appeared to be an important concern, mainly depending on interactions characterized by: (i) reaching a common understanding of the patient's current conditions and stage of illness trajectory, (ii) negotiating a common scope and structuring body care sessions and (iii) clarifying roles.Conclusion.  It cannot be taken for granted that therapeutic qualities are achieved when nurses provide assistance with body care. If body care should have healing strength, the actual body care activities and the achievement of therapeutic clarity in nurses’ interaction with patients’ appear to be crucial.Relevance to clinical practice.  The paper proposes that patients’ integrity and comfort in the body care session should be given first priority and raises attention to details that nurses should take into account when assisting severely ill patients.
The effects of gender and age on health‐related quality of life following kidney transplantation
Authors: Liu Hongxia , Feurer Irene D , Dwyer Kathleen , Speroff Theodore , Shaffer David , Wright Pinson C. 
Published: February 2007

Aims and objectives. To evaluate whether gender, age and their interaction affect health‐related quality of life and overall health status following kidney transplantation.Background. Some investigators have examined the main effects of gender and/or age on health‐related quality of life following kidney transplantation, but the potential interaction effect of these measures on this outcome has not been reported.Design. This was a cross‐sectional, single‐centre study, based in one US geographic area.Methods. Self‐report survey data were provided by adult kidney transplant recipients using the SF‐36 Health Survey (SF‐36) and a visual analogue scale of overall health. SF‐36 physical and mental component summary and individual scales and overall health were measured prospectively at one time point post‐transplant. All adult patients were eligible to participate and rolling enrolment was employed. Statistical effects were tested using analysis of covariance (controlling for time post‐transplant).Results. Subjects (n = 138) included 66 women and 72 men. There were no effects of gender, age group, or their interaction on MCS or overall health scores (allp ≥ 0·12). Physical component summary scale data demonstrated: (i) a significant effect of gender (p = 0·025); (ii) a statistically marginal effect of age group (p = 0·068); and (iii) a statistically marginal gender by age group interaction effect (p = 0·066). Women reported poorer scores on the SF‐36 physical functioning (p = 0·049), role physical (p = 0·014) and bodily pain scales (p = 0·028). There was an effect of age group on physical functioning (p = 0·005), with younger patients reporting higher scores.Conclusions. Women report lower scores on several physical measures and may experience a greater reduction with age in physical health‐related quality of life than men. Physical functioning declines with age following kidney transplantation.Relevance to clinical practice. Findings may help healthcare professionals to develop gender‐ and age‐specific interventions to optimize health‐related quality of life of kidney transplant patients.
Prolonged cardiac allograft ischemic time – no impact on long‐term survival but at what cost?
Authors: Marasco Silvana F , Esmore Donald S , Richardson Meroula , Bailey Michael , Negri Justin , Rowland Michael , Kaye David , Bergin Peter J 
Published: February 2007

Abstract:  Introduction:  The aim of this paper was to review the outcomes of cardiac transplantation with regards to short‐ and long‐term survival, focusing particularly on patients who receive organs with long ischemic times and the resource utilization necessary to support such patients through their postoperative period.Methods:  A retrospective review of 420 consecutive cardiac transplants in a single institution was undertaken.Results:  The five‐ and 10‐yr survival rates for the entire group were 0.76 (95% CI: 0.72–0.80) and 0.60 (0.54–0.66). There was no decrease in mid‐ or long‐term survival in patients who received organs with ischemic times over 300 min. Longer donor organ ischemic time was not associated with increased 30 d mortality but was significantly associated with longer intensive care bed stay, increased incidence of primary graft failure, need for mechanical support, and complications such as acute renal failures.Conclusions:  Although using donor organs with longer ischemic times for cardiac transplantation does not impact on survival, there is a significantly increased utilization of resources to ensure these patients survive the postoperative period.
The resistance to leaf rust and powdery mildew of recombinant lines of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) derived from H. vulgare × H. bulbosum crosses
Authors: Shtaya M. J. Y. , Sillero J. C. , Flath K. , Pickering R. , Rubiales D. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractA set of 23 recombinant lines (RLs) of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) derived from H. vulgare × H. bulbosum L. crosses was inoculated with barley leaf rust (Puccinia hordei) and powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis f.sp. hordei) at the seedling stage to identify their levels and mechanisms of resistance. Eight RLs were studied further in glasshouse and field tests. All three barley parents (‘Emir’, ‘Golden Promise’ and ‘Vada’) were highly susceptible to powdery mildew and leaf rust isolates. Several RLs showed partial resistance expressed as high relative latency periods and low relative infection frequencies against leaf rust. This high level of partial resistance was due to a very high level of early aborting colonies without host cell necrosis. Several RLs showed hypersensitive resistance to some or all isolates. For powdery mildew, one RL was completely resistant to the CC1 isolate and had a hypersensitive resistance to the CO‐02 isolate. Three RLs derived from ‘Emir’ were completely resistant to both powdery mildew isolates, and three more RLs tested in the field had higher levels of partial resistance than their parents. The results indicate that H. bulbosum contains major and minor gene(s) for resistance to leaf rust and powdery mildew that can be transferred to cultivated barley.
EST‐derived microsatellites as a rich source of molecular markers for oats
Authors: Becher R. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractPolymerase chain reaction‐based microsatellite markers are valuable tools for molecular breeding because of their co‐dominant inheritance and their applicability for high‐throughput analysis. Being still very limited for oats, their number has to be increased significantly to cover the entire genome. For these purposes, a set of 7031 recently published expressed sequence tags (ESTs) was screened for microsatellites with dinucleotide, trinucleotide and tetranucleotide repeat motifs. Subsequent in silico analysis resulted in the development of 216 primer pairs for Avena EST‐derived microsatellite loci (AME). Using a sample set of 12 oat lines, 107 of 195 functional primers could be assayed as polymorphic. The marker variability averaged out at three alleles per locus and a polymorphic information content (PIC) value of 0.42. This variability documents their suitability for molecular oat‐breeding purposes. Finally, 51 of the AME loci could be placed within the known reference map of ‘Kanota’ × ‘Ogle’ that previously contained only 12 microsatellite loci. Thus, a remarkable enhancing of the number of mapped oat microsatellite loci could be achieved.
Meiosis and fertility in interspecific hybrids of Nicotiana tabacum L. ×N. glauca Grah. and their derivatives
Authors: Trojak‐Goluch A. , Berbeć A. 
Published: February 2007

Abstract Nicotiana glauca is of potential interest to breeders as it carries resistance to black root rot of tobacco. Cytological investigations of sexual interspecific hybrids of N. tabacum T′T′TT (2n = 4x = 48) cv. ‘Wiślica’ × N. glauca GG (2n = 2x = 24) were carried out. The analyses of chromosome association at diakinesis and metaphase I in the PMCs of amphihaploid F1 T′TG (2n = 3x = 36) revealed low variable pairing with 0–5 bivalents. The sterile amphihaploids F1 were converted into partial female fertile amphidiploids T′T′TTGG by chromosome doubling. Among 36 mature plants obtained, 15 were found to have chromosome numbers (2n = 6x = 72) and were verified as amphidiploids, 9 had (2n = 6x = 70 or 71) chromosomes while the remaining 12 were haploid. True amphidiploids, in spite of quite high chromosome pairing during meiosis, were very different in pollen fertility, ranging from 0% to 85%. Male fertility disturbances did not correlate with the degree of female fertility upon pollination with N. tabacum. Sesquidiploids T′TG (2n = 5x = 60) obtained from backcrossing the amphidiploids to parental tobacco showed more than 22 bivalents, 10–12 univalents and occasional multivalents that indicated the possibility of interchange events between N. tabacum and N. glauca genomes.
Negotiating Acts of Citizenship in an Era of Neoliberal Reform: The Game of School Closures
Authors: BASU RANU 
Published: February 2007

AbstractIn Ontario, the landscape of public education has changed quite rapidly during the past decade. Critics argue that neoliberal policies concerning privatization and marketization in the education system have produced different outcomes for different groups. One of the most sensitive issues during these years has been the closure of schools. Over three years (1999–2002) nearly 200 schools were closed in Ontario. These many changes, however, have not gone uncontested and communities have adapted to these circumstances in different ways. Acts of citizenship range from coping independently to challenging these changes collectively. This article examines the failures and successes of various acts of citizenship in challenging neoliberal governmental rationalities. More specifically, it traces the difficult process of school closure negotiations using examples from Toronto. Based primarily on participant observation carried out over a year, it examines the politics of the community consultation process among a heterogeneous ‘family of schools’ amid mixed incomes and varying capacities and needs. Through these case studies it explores whether these acts are inclusionary or exclusionary, homogenizing or diversifying, positive or negative. The evolution of the planning process is examined at three different periods (1998, 1999, 2000), demonstrating the slow and steady construction, advancement and legitimization of neoliberal policy, and correspondingly the spaces and citizens it makes and unmakes through this process. The article concludes with a framework of collective action highlighting relational aspects of citizenship that lead to positive or negative consequences for civil society.
Artemisinin antimalarials moderately affect cytochrome P450 enzyme activity in healthy subjects
Authors: Asimus Sara , Elsherbiny Doaa , Hai Trinh N. , Jansson Britt , Huong Nguyen V. , Petzold Max G. , Simonsson Ulrika S.H. , Ashton Michael 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThe aim of this study was to investigate which principal human cytochrome P450 (CYP450) enzymes are affected by artemisinin and to what degree the artemisinin derivatives differ with respect to their respective induction and inhibition capacity. Seventy‐five healthy adults were randomized to receive therapeutic oral doses of artemisinin, dihydroartemisinin, arteether, artemether or artesunate for 5 days (days 1–5). A six‐drug cocktail consisting of caffeine, coumarin, mephenytoin, metoprolol, chlorzoxazone and midazolam was administered orally on days −6, 1, 5 and 10 to assess the activities of CYP1A2, CYP2A6, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, CYP2E1 and CYP3A, respectively. Four‐hour plasma concentrations of parent drugs and corresponding metabolites and 7‐hydroxycoumarin urine concentrations were quantified by liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry. The 1‐hydroxymidazolam/midazolam 4‐h plasma concentration ratio (CYP3A) was increased on day 5 by artemisinin [2.66‐fold (98.75% CI: 2.10–3.36)], artemether [1.54 (1.14–2.09)] and dihydroartemisinin [1.25 (1.06–1.47)] compared with day −6. The S‐4′‐hydroxymephenytoin/S‐mephenytoin ratio (CYP2C19) was increased on day 5 by artemisinin [1.69 (1.47–1.94)] and arteether [1.33 (1.15–1.55)] compared with day −6. The paraxanthine/caffeine ratio (CYP1A2) was decreased on day 1 after administration of artemisinin [0.27 (0.18–0.39)], arteether [0.70 (0.55–0.89)] and dihydroartemisinin [0.73 (0.59–0.90)] compared with day −6. The α‐hydroxymetoprolol/metoprolol ratio (CYP2D6) was lower on day 1 compared with day −6 in the artemisinin [0.82 (0.70–0.96)] and dihydroartemisinin [0.83 (0.71–0.96)] groups, respectively. In the artemisinin‐treated subjects this decrease was followed by a 1.34‐fold (1.14–1.58) increase from day 1 to day 5. These results show that intake of artemisinin antimalarials affect the activities of several principal human drug metabolizing CYP450 enzymes. Even though not significant in all treatment groups, changes in the individual metrics were of the same direction for all the artemisinin drugs, suggesting a class effect that needs to be considered in the development of new artemisinin derivatives and combination treatments of malaria.
The origin of the 1·73‐m2 body surface area normalization: problems and implications
Authors: Heaf James G. 
Published: February 2007

SummaryA historical review of the origins of body surface area (BSA) determination reveals a number of theoretical and methodological errors, as does the choice of 1·73 m2 as the normal BSA for humans. BSA normalization is justifiable for some physiological variables, e.g. glomerular filtration rate and cardiac output, but not all. However, other normalization indices, in particular extracellular volume, offer theoretical and practical advantages compared with BSA. While the choice of the figure 1·73 m2 is essentially arbitrary, and inapplicable to modern Western populations, its retention as a permanent physiological constant is recommended, in order to permit international and historical comparisons.
Case Management and Risk of Nursing Home Admission for Older Adults in Home Care: Results of the AgeD in HOme Care Study
Authors: Onder Graziano , Liperoti Rosa , Soldato Manuel , Carpenter Iain , Steel Knight , Bernabei Roberto , Landi Francesco 
Published: February 2007

OBJECTIVES: To explore the relationship between a case management approach and the risk of institutionalization in a large European population of frail, old people in home care.DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study.SETTING: Eleven European countries.PARTICIPANTS: Three thousand two hundred ninety‐two older adults receiving home care (mean age 82.3±7.3).MEASUREMENTS: Data on nursing home admission were collected every 6 months for 1 year.RESULTS: One thousand one hundred eighty‐four (36%) persons received a home care program based on case management, and 2,108 (64%) received a traditional care approach (no case manager). During the 1‐year follow‐up, 81 of 1,184 clients (6.8%) in the case management group and 274 of 2,108 (13%) in the traditional care group were admitted to a nursing home (P<.001). After adjusting for potential confounders, the risk of nursing home admission was significantly lower for participants in the case management group than for those in a traditional care model (adjusted odds ratio=0.56, 95% confidence interval=0.43–0.63).CONCLUSION: Home care services based on a case management approach reduce risk of institutionalization and likely lower costs.
Risk Factors Associated with the Occurrence of Fractures in U.S. Nursing Homes: Resident and Facility Characteristics and Prescription Medications
Authors: Spector William , Shaffer Thomas , Potter D. E. B. , Correa‐de‐Araujo Rosaly , Rhona Limcangco M. 
Published: February 2007

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether resident and facility characteristics and prescription medications influence the occurrence of fractures in nursing homes (NHs).DESIGN: Panel study with 1‐year follow‐up.SETTING: A nationally representative sample of NHs from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS).PARTICIPANTS: Residents aged 65 and older who were in sample NHs on January 1, 1996.MEASUREMENTS: Health status measures were collected from facility records and abstracted using a computer‐assisted personal interview instrument. Fracture and drug data were updated every 4 months to provide a full year of information. Drug data were obtained from monthly medication administration records. The occurrences of fractures were obtained from medical records. Administered medications were classified using the Department of Veterans Affairs medication classification system. Facility characteristics were based on MEPS survey data collected from NH sources.RESULTS: In 1996, 6% of residents in a NH at the beginning of the year experienced a fracture during their NH stay(s). Resident risk factors included aged 85 and older, admitted from the community, exhibited agitated behaviors, and used both wheelchair and cane or walker. Use of anticonvulsants, antidepressants, opioid analgesics, iron supplements, bisphosphonates, thiazides, and laxatives were associated with fractures. A high certified nurse aide ratio was negatively associated with fractures.CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that fractures are associated with resident and facility characteristics and prescribing practices. It reaffirms the importance of medication review with special attention on opioid analgesics, antidepressants, and anticonvulsants to reduce the risk of fractures.
Vasodilators and Nootropics as Predictors of Dementia and Mortality in the PAQUID Cohort
Authors: Dartigues Jean‐François , Carcaillon Laure , Helmer Catherine , Lechevallier Nathalie , Lafuma Antoine , Khoshnood Babak 
Published: February 2007

OBJECTIVES:To assess the effects of treatment for memory impairment and the Ginkgo biloba extract (EGb 761) on dementia, mortality, and survival without dementia.DESIGN:Prospective community‐based cohort study.SETTING:France.PARTICIPANTS:Three thousand five hundred thirty‐four subjects aged 65 and older.MEASUREMENTS:Information on drug consumption was obtained by interview and visual assessment of patients' medicine chests. Active screening of dementia was performed every 2 years over a 13‐year period. The independent effects of treatment for memory impairment and the Ginkgo biloba extract on the risks of dementia and death were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted for potentially confounding factors (including comorbidities).RESULTS:The initial consumption of Ginkgo biloba did not modify the risk of dementia (relative risk (RR)=1.16, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.84–1.60), whereas the consumption of other treatments for memory impairment was associated with a higher risk of dementia (RR=1.35, 95% CI=1.11–1.63). Subjects who took Ginkgo biloba had a significantly lower risk of mortality in the long term (RR=0.76, 95% CI=0.62–0.93), even after adjustment for potentially confounding factors. The initial consumption of treatment for memory impairment other than Ginkgo biloba did not modify the risk of mortality.CONCLUSION:These results suggest that treatment with EGb 761 may increase the probability of survival in the elderly population. These findings need to be corroborated and further assessed using randomized, controlled trials.
The Effect of 3‐Year Treatment with 0.25 mg/day of Micronized 17β‐Estradiol on Cognitive Function in Older Postmenopausal Women
Authors: Pefanco Mary Ann , Kenny Anne M. , Kaplan Richard F. , Kuchel George , Walsh Stephen , Kleppinger Alison , Prestwood Karen 
Published: February 2007

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of ultra‐low‐dose (0.25 mg/d) micronized 17β‐estradiol on cognitive function in older postmenopausal women.DESIGN: Randomized, placebo‐controlled trial conducted for 3 years.SETTING: Academic health center in greater Hartford, Connecticut.PARTICIPANTS: Fifty‐seven healthy, community‐dwelling, older postmenopausal women.INTERVENTION: Women received 0.25 mg/d of micronized 17β‐estradiol (estrogen therapy (ET), n=32) or placebo (n=25); all women who had not had a hysterectomy received 100 mg/d of oral micronized progesterone for 2‐week periods every 6 months.MEASUREMENTS: Neuropsychological measures of memory, language, mood, and executive function were collected at baseline, 3 months, and 36 months. Measures of executive function included the Controlled Oral Word Association Test, the Trail Making Test, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. The Boston Naming Test was used to measure language skills. The Symbol Digit Modalities Test was used as a measure of sustained attention. Measures of memory included the Complex Figure Test, Fuld Object Memory Test, and a selected subtest from the Wechsler Memory Scale. Scores from the Geriatric Depression Scale and the Beck Anxiety Inventory were used to assess symptoms of depression.RESULTS: No differences were found between ET and placebo on any of the neurocognitive measures or depression instruments, nor were there any differences when the groups were stratified according to age.CONCLUSION: This small study, which had adequate power to detect change in some but not all domains of cognition tested, revealed that low‐dose estrogen neither benefits nor harms cognitive function in older women after 3 years of treatment, but confirmation is needed from larger trials.