bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Comparison of allergenicity and allergens between fish white and dark muscles
Authors: Kobayashi A. , Tanaka H. , Hamada Y. , Ishizaki S. , Nagashima Y. , Shiomi K. 
Published: January 2006

Background:  Fish is one of the most frequent causes of immunoglobulin E (IgE)‐mediated food allergy. Although the fish dark muscle is often ingested with the white muscle, no information about its allergenicity and allergens is available.Methods:  Heated extracts were prepared from both white and dark muscles of five species of fish and examined for reactivity with IgE in fish‐allergic patients by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and for allergens by immunoblotting. Cloning of cDNAs encoding parvalbumins was performed by rapid amplification cDNA ends. Parvalbumin contents in both white and dark muscles were determined by ELISA using antiserum against mackerel parvalbumin.Results:  Patient sera were less reactive to the heated extract from the dark muscle than to that from the white muscle. A prominent IgE‐reactive protein of 12 kDa, which was detected in both white and dark muscles, was identified as parvalbumin. Molecular cloning experiments revealed that the same parvalbumin molecule is contained in both white and dark muscles of either horse mackerel or Pacific mackerel. Parvalbumin contents were four to eight times lower in the dark muscle than in the white muscle.Conclusions:  The fish dark muscle is less allergenic than the white muscle, because the same allergen molecule (parvalbumin) is contained at much lower levels in the dark muscle than in the white muscle. Thus, the dark muscle is less implicated in fish allergy than the white muscle.
Diagnosis of neuromuscular blocking agent hypersensitivity reactions using cytofluorimetric analysis of basophils
Authors: Kvedariene V. , Kamey S. , Ryckwaert Y. , Rongier M. , Bousquet J. , Demoly P. , Arnoux B. 
Published: January 2006

Background:  Immunoglobulin E (IgE)‐mediated hypersensitivity reactions to neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBA) are common and life threatening. Basophil activation based upon the expression of CD63 in the presence of specific allergens was found to be of importance for the diagnosis of IgE‐mediated hypersensibility.Methods:  The Basotest® was evaluated for the diagnosis of NMBA in 47 patients with proven NMBA anaphylaxis, 40 atopic subjects nonallergic to NMBA and five healthy volunteers. Diagnosis of NMBA was made according to international standards on clinical history, skin tests and provocation tests when needed.Results:  In the NMBA allergic patients, sensitivity of Basotest® was 36.1%, but it increased to 85.7% for reactions which occurred within the last 3 years. The specificity was 93.3%.Conclusion:  Basotest® may be useful for the diagnosis of NMBA allergy in patients with a suspicion of recent IgE‐mediated hypersensitivity reaction to NMBA.
Basophil allergen threshold sensitivity: a useful approach to anti‐IgE treatment efficacy evaluation
Authors: Nopp A. , Johansson S. G. O. , Ankerst J. , Bylin G. , Cardell L. O. , Grönneberg R. , Irander K. , Palmqvist M. , Öman H. 
Published: January 2006

Background:  Monitoring of the allergen sensitivity of a patient is most important for optimal patient care and a basic prerequisite for immunomodulating treatment. The objective of this study was to investigate how basophil allergen sensitivity can be applied in the monitoring of anti‐immunoglobulin E (IgE) treatment.Methods:  Basophils from timothy grass pollen allergic patients were, by flow cytometry, analysed for allergen threshold sensitivity (CD‐sens) by measuring CD63 up‐regulation on CD203c‐identified basophils. The results were compared with maximal percentage CD63 up‐regulation at one allergen dose (CD‐max), skin prick test end‐point allergen titration, (SPT‐sens), nasal provocation titration tests (nasal provocation titre) and serum IgE and IgE antibody concentrations.Results:  There was a significant correlation (r = 0.50, P = 0.01) between CD‐sens and SPT‐sens, CD‐sens and the IgE antibody concentration in percentage of ‘total IgE’ (relative IgE antibody concentration) (r = 0.72, P < 0.001) as well as between CD‐sens and nasal provocation titre (r = 0.54, P < 0.05) but, in contrast, CD‐max did not correlate with any of the sensitization parameters, i.e. SPT‐sens, nasal provocation titre, absolute and relative IgE antibody concentration or CD‐sens. CD‐sens could be used to monitor omalizumab treatment efficacy while, based on CD‐max, four of seven symptom‐free patients on omalizumab would have been classified as having ongoing allergy.Conclusions:  CD‐sens seems to be very useful for the determination of a patient's allergen sensitivity and should be evaluated for the measurement and monitoring of anti‐IgE treatment efficacy. CD‐max, the conventional approach to basophil allergen challenge, which mirrors cell reactivity, gives incorrect information.
Strong allergic patch test reactions may indicate a general disposition for contact allergy
Authors: Brasch J. , Schnuch A. , Uter W. ,   German Contact Dermatitis Research Group (DKG) and the Information Network of Departments of Dermatology (IVDK)
Published: January 2006

Background:  Patch test patients have two or more positive reactions to unrelated allergens more often than to be expected by chance. This study evaluates synchronous patch test reactions to test the hypothesis that in such cases an allergen‐independent disposition for contact sensitization may be involved.Methods:  Data of 87 834 patients tested with a standard patch test series in 42 centers of a Central European Network were retrospectively evaluated. Analyses were done for synchronous positive reactions of graded strength to nickel sulfate, fragrance mix, and to those five allergens that followed in frequency of positive results. All seven allergens selected were not related by chemical structure or exposure. Descriptive univariate and bivariate analyses as well as a polytomous logistic regression analysis were performed. Odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated.Results:  With an increasing strength of a positive reaction to nickel or to fragrance mix the likelihood of further positive reactions to unrelated contact allergens increased significantly, and the mean strength of such additional reactions raised steadily with an increasing strength of a nickel or fragrance reaction.Conclusions:  Our findings support the idea that patients who respond with a strong patch test reaction may have a particular general disposition to acquire contact sensitivity to additional unrelated allergens. They should therefore not only be advised to avoid their known allergen but in addition to minimize exposure other contact allergens.
Parallel evolution of the sexes? Effects of predation and habitat features on the size and shape of wild guppies
Authors: Hendry A. P. , Kelly M. L. , Kinnison M. T. , Reznick D. N. 
Published: January 2006

Abstract
Environmental gradients often lead to the parallel evolution of populations and species. To what extent do such gradients also lead to parallel evolution of the sexes? We used guppies (Poecilia reticulata) to examine the parallel and independent (sex-specific) aspects of population divergence in response to predation and habitat features. Geometric morphometrics was used to analyse size and shape variation for 1335 guppies from 27 to 31 sites sampled in each of 2 years. Body size showed strong parallel population divergence; both sexes were larger at sites with a more open canopy and with higher flow. Body shape showed a mixture of parallel and independent population divergence. The strongest and most consistent effects were (1) high-predation sites had males with smaller heads and deeper caudal peduncles, (2) open-canopy sites had females with smaller heads and more distended abdomens and (3) high-flow sites had males and females with smaller heads and deeper caudal peduncles.
Genetically idiosyncratic responses of Drosophila melanogaster populations to selection for improved learning ability
Authors: Kawecki T. J. , Mery F. 
Published: January 2006

Abstract
To what extent is adaptive evolution over short timescales repeatable? To address this question, we studied the performance of crosses between replicate Drosophila melanogaster lines previously subject to selection for improved learning response in the context of oviposition substrate choice. Of the 10 pairwise F1 crosses among the five selection lines, four performed in the original learning assay similarly to the parental lines, whereas the remaining six showed learning scores significantly below the average of the parental lines. In particular, four F1 crosses (three involving the same line) showed no detectable learning, on a par with unselected control lines. This indicates that the response to selection in some lines involved allelic substitutions at different loci. Additional assays of crosses between two selection lines indicated that the loss of performance in hybrids generalized to another type of learning assay, and held for both short- and long-term memory. Joint analysis of first- and second-generation crosses between these two lines supported the hypothesis that the response to selection in these different lines was based on the spread of recessive alleles at different loci. These results show that the evolutionary trajectories of populations of the same origin subject to uniform selection may sometimes diverge over very short evolutionary timescales.
The origin and early radiation of the therapsid mammal-like reptiles: a palaeobiological hypothesis
Authors: Kemp T. S. 
Published: January 2006

Abstract
The replacement of the basal synapsid pelycosaurs by the more ‘mammal-like’ therapsids in the Permian was an important event in the history of tetrapods because it initiated the eventual transition to the mammals. It is also an example of taxon replacement in the fossil record that is unusually amenable to explanation, based on a combination of analysis of the biological significance of the inferred character changes, with the stratigraphic, palaeogeographic and palaeoecological circumstances of the time. An hypothesis is presented in which the origin of the therapsids resulted from a correlated progression of character evolution leading to higher levels of metabolic activity and homeostatic regulation of the body. It was a response to the availability of a seasonally arid, savanna-like biome. The subsequent explosive radiation of therapsids was associated with habitat expansion made possible by the Mid-Permian development of geographical continuity between that biome and the temperate biomes. The final extinction of the pelycosaurs was a case of incumbent replacement by the new therapsid lineages.
Going country: Rural student placement factors associated with future rural employment in nursing and allied health
Authors: Playford Denese , Larson Ann , Wheatland Belynda 
Published: January 2006

AbstractObjective:  To measure the rate and predictors of health science graduates joining the rural health workforce following a rural placement. Design:  Longitudinal survey including the years immediately prior to and post graduation. Setting:  Western Australian health sciences graduates contacted by email and/or phone. Participants:  Allied health and nursing students from urban campuses of three Western Australian universities who had taken a rural placement in their final year of study between 2000 and 2003. Main outcome measures:  Location of employment six months or more after graduation. Results:  Of 429 participating allied health and nursing graduates, 25% had entered the rural workforce. Factors with a positive bivariate association with rural employment were: rural background, health discipline, self‐reported value of placement, non‐compulsory rural placement, and placements of four weeks or less. After controlling for rural background, the value and duration of the placement were significantly associated with rural employment. Conclusions:  This study augments previous work showing that any prior rural background is a significant predictor of rural work. Rural practitioners of both urban and rural origin who undertake voluntary rural placements are more likely to enter rural practice and consequently mandatory placements may not be helpful to increasing the rural workforce. The quality of a placement is a highly significant factor associated with future workplace choice, the details of which need to be further investigated.
Cultural health beliefs in a rural family practice: A Malaysian perspective
Authors: Ariff Kamil M. , Beng Khoo S. 
Published: January 2006

AbstractBackground:  Understanding the sociocultural dimension of a patient's health beliefs is critical to a successful clinical encounter. Malaysia with its multi‐ethnic population of Malay, Chinese and Indian still uses many forms of traditional health care in spite of a remarkably modern rural health service.Objective:  The objective of this paper is discuss traditional health care in the context of some of the cultural aspects of health beliefs, perceptions and practices in the different ethnic groups of the author's rural family practices. This helps to promote communication and cooperation between doctors and patients, improves clinical diagnosis and management, avoids cultural blind spots and unnecessary medical testing and leads to better adherence to treatment by patients.Discussion:  Includes traditional practices of ‘hot and cold’, notions of Yin‐Yang and Ayurveda, cultural healing, alternative medicine, cultural perception of body structures and cultural practices in the context of women's health. Modern and traditional medical systems are potentially complementary rather than antagonistic. Ethnic and cultural considerations can be integrated further into the modern health delivery system to improve care and health outcomes.
Fatigue damage of medium carbon steel under sequential application of axial and torsional loading
Authors: CHEN X. , JIN D. , KIM K. S. 
Published: January 2006

ABSTRACTFatigue tests were conducted on S45C steel under fully reversed strain control conditions with axial/torsional (at) and torsional/axial (ta) loading sequences. The linear damage value (n1/N1+n2/N2) was found to depend on the sequence of loading mode (at or ta), sequence of strain amplitude (low/high or high/low) and life fraction spent in the first loading. In general, at loading yields larger damage values than ta loading and the low–high sequence of equivalent strain leads to larger damage values than the high–low sequence. The material exhibits cyclic softening under axial cyclic strain. Cyclic hardening occurs in the torsion part of ta loading, which elevates the axial stress in the subsequent loading, causing more damage than in pure axial fatigue at the same strain amplitude. Fatigue life is predicted based on the linear damage rule, the double linear damage rule, the damage curve approach and the plastic work model of Morrow. Results show that overly conservative lives are obtained by these models for at loading while overestimation of life is more likely for ta loading. A modified damage curve method is proposed to account for the load sequence effect, for which predicted lives are found to lie in the factor‐2 scatter band from experimental lives.
Intraoperative wake‐up test in neonatal neurosurgery
Authors: GOVINDARAJAN RAMASAMY , BABALOLA OLUWASEUN , GAD‐EL‐KAREEM MAGDY , KODALI NAGENDRA S , ARONSON JUDITH , ABADIR ADEL 
Published: January 2006

SummaryIntraoperative wake‐up test (WPT) still remains the gold standard to monitor anterior spinal cord function during spinal surgery. However, the test requires patient cooperation and hence difficult to perform in very young children or mentally challenged. In this report, we describe a WPT in a newborn during surgical repair of a large myelomeningocele. We relied on mivacurium for intubation and the relaxant effect was allowed to wear‐off to permit the use of intraoperative nerve stimulator. We used desflurane and propofol infusion for rapid titration of the anesthetic depth and BIS monitor to ‘gauge’ the ‘wakefulness’ of the child during the WPT. We employed lidocaine infusion to improve tolerance to the tracheal tube and to bestow beneficial effect on intracranial pressure during surgery and the WPT. The results of the WPT were judged to be satisfactory after confirming flexion and extension of the lower extremities at the hip and knee level, correlating it with the BIS values, and comparing it with the preoperative status. Frequently associated prematurity, higher possibility of remaining intubated in the immediate postoperative period and any new onset neurologic deficit not becoming apparent until after extubation makes intraoperative neuromonitoring relevant in this age group. Our methodology of management has permitted us to perform a delicate test safely and will allow us to repeat the WPT if needed during neonatal neurosurgery.
Clonidine for the prevention of emergence agitation in young children: efficacy and recovery profile
Authors: MALVIYA SHOBHA , VOEPEL‐LEWIS TERRI , RAMAMURTHI RADHAMANGALAM J. , BURKE CONSTANCE , TAIT ALAN R. 
Published: January 2006

SummaryBackground:  Emergence agitation (EA) is a common postoperative problem in young children who have received sevoflurane and isoflurane for general anesthesia. This randomized, double‐blinded study evaluated the efficacy of intraoperative clonidine in reducing EA, and describes its recovery profile.Methods:  With Institutional Review Board approval and informed consent, children undergoing brief, minimally painful procedures were studied. All children received preemptive analgesia with acetaminophen and ketorolac, sevoflurane for induction, and isoflurane for maintenance of anesthesia. Children received either 2 μg·kg−1 clonidine or placebo intravenously (i.v.) following induction of anesthesia. Children were observed postoperatively for behavior and side effects, and their parents were telephoned the next day to determine postdischarge recovery characteristics.Results:  One hundred and twenty children were included in this study: 59 of whom received clonidine, and 61 placebo; 41% of those in the placebo group exhibited moderate–severe EA compared with only 22% of those in the clonidine group (P < 0.03). Compared with those who received placebo, children who received clonidine awakened more slowly (22 min vs 14 min), had a longer postanesthesia care unit stay (57 min vs 46 min), and experienced sleepiness more frequently after discharge (75% vs 39%; all comparisons significant at P < 0.03). There were no adverse cardiorespiratory events in either group.Conclusions:  Findings demonstrate that i.v. clonidine administered after induction of anesthesia significantly reduces the incidence of EA in young children, but is associated with sleepiness postoperatively.
The missing Madagascan mid‐domain effect
Authors: Kerr Jeremy T. , Perring Michael , Currie David J. 
Published: January 2006

AbstractSpecies richness varies enormously across geographical gradients, a well‐known phenomenon for which there are many hypothesized explanations. One recent hypothesis uses null models to demonstrate that random re‐distribution of species’ ranges within a given domain leads to a ‘mid‐domain effect’ (MDE): increasing species richness towards the centre of the area. Madagascar is especially well‐suited for empirical evaluation of mid‐domain models by virtue of its large endemic fauna and its clearly defined boundaries. Lees et al. [Biol. J. Linn. Soc.67 (1999) 529] observed patterns of species richness consistent with MDEs in the Madagascan rainforest (a slim, north–south belt). In this study, we test one‐dimensional and two‐dimensional mid‐domain model predictions for the birds and mammals of the entire island of Madagascar. When only latitudinal extents of species’ distribution are considered, patterns of richness in Madagascar show an MDE. However, this pattern disappears for both taxa after accounting for the tendency of latitudinal bands nearer the middle of the country to be larger. Two‐dimensional mid‐domain model predictions of species richness are qualitatively opposite to observed patterns. Instead, island‐wide spatial gradients of species richness in Madagascar relate strongly to patterns of primary productivity and amount of remaining natural habitat. Earlier work that showed a mid‐domain peak within the rainforest biome (effectively after controlling for climate and natural habitat) seems likely to have reflected methodological artefacts. The classic case in which MDEs should occur is, in fact, inconsistent with the mid‐domain hypothesis.
Professional competence: factors described by nurses as influencing their development
Authors: Khomeiran R. Tabari , Yekta Z. P. , Kiger A. M. , Ahmadi F. 
Published: January 2006

Aim:  To discuss the results of a study that explored factors that may influence competence development.Background:  Competence, a controversial issue in health care settings, affects many aspects of the nursing profession, including education, practice and management. Although a number of research and discussion papers have explored the issue, in particular the meaning and assessment of nursing competence, to date little research has explored factors identified by nurses themselves as influencing their development of professional competence.Methods:  A purposive sample of 27 registered nurses was recruited from two university‐affiliated hospitals. Data collection was by tape‐recorded semi‐structured interviews. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed according to the qualitative methodology of content analysis.Findings:  Six descriptive categories were identified from the data: experience, opportunities, environment, personal characteristics, motivation and theoretical knowledge.Conclusions:  The findings suggest that the factors influencing the process of developing professional competence in nursing extend across personal and extra‐personal domains. An understanding of these factors may enhance the ability of nursing managers and educators to enable student and qualified nurses to pursue effective competency development pathways to prepare them to provide a high standard of care. These findings, which may have important implications for nursing practice, management and education, are being further tested in a larger study.
Cultural competency and nursing care: an Australian perspective
Authors: Chenowethm L. , Jeon Y.‐H. , Goff M. , Burke C. 
Published: January 2006

Aims:  To propose a process that will facilitate cultural competence in Australian nursing practice.Background:  Cultural diversity is a prominent feature of the Australian health system and is impacting significantly on nursing care quality. A fictitious, but typical clinical exemplar is profiled that identifies cultural insensitivity in care practices leading to poor quality outcomes for the health consumer and her family. Strategies are proposed that will reverse this practice and promote culturally competent nursing care and that locates overseas qualified nurses in this process.Conclusion:  This paper contributes to nursing care quality internationally by articulating strategies to achieve cultural competence in practice. Nurses must pay attention to interpersonal relationships and develop respect for the health consumer's value systems and ways of being, in order to protect their rights and avoid the tendency to stereotype individuals from particular cultures. The expertise of qualified nurses from different cultures can greatly assist this process.