bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Cross‐cultural interview studies using interpreters: systematic literature review
Authors: Wallin Anne‐Marie , Ahlström Gerd 
Published: July 2006

Aim.  This paper reviews how the interpreter's role is described in empirically based, qualitative cross‐cultural interview studies and how trustworthiness is determined.Background.  Increased immigration during the past decades has created a multiethnic society in many countries. This development poses a challenge to healthcare staff, in that they need to understand how people from different cultures experience health and illness. One way to assess immigrants’ experiences is through cross‐cultural interview studies, involving an interpreter. Thorough knowledge of the interpreter's role is needed in order to increase the trustworthiness of this kind of nursing research.Method.  Literature searches were conducted from October to November 2004 using PubMed, CINAHL, Psycinfo, Sociological abstract, Your Journals@ovid, and Eric databases. Qualitative interview studies written in English and performed with an interpreter were included. The Matrix Method was used to review the literature.Findings.  In almost all of the 13 relevant papers found, the role of the interpreter(s) in the research process was only sparsely described. In addition, all studies except one employed different techniques to established trustworthiness. The most common techniques were prolonged engagement, member check or triangulation, the latter performed either on the data, investigators or methods.Conclusion.  Methodological issues with respect to interpreters have received only limited attention in cross‐cultural interview studies. Researchers in the field of nursing need to consider (1) the interpreter's role/involvement in the research process; (2) the interpreter's competence and the style of interpreting; (3) the interpreter's impact on the findings. This information is a prerequisite when trying to determine the trustworthiness of a cross‐cultural study.
Vision, leadership and partnership: how to enhance the nursing and midwifery contribution to research and development
Authors: Fitzsimons Donna , McCance Tanya , Armstrong Nicola 
Published: July 2006

Aim.  This paper reports an evaluation of nursing and midwifery research and development activity in Northern Ireland.Background.  Research and development is integral to the quality of patient care. Nurses and midwives have an important contribution to make and, whilst the professional landscape has changed significantly, with improved funding and productivity, there remains much room for improvement. To advance this agenda it is necessary to evaluate progress across the spectrum of research and development activity. The policy literature gives examples of the methods by which this can be achieved, but there is less evidence about evaluation criteria, or the methods by which research and development progress is assessed at organizational, national and international levels.Method.  A comprehensive analysis of the literature was undertaken to develop a ‘Research and Development Best Practice Framework’. This was then used as the basis for structured interviews with 32 organizational leads for three main stakeholder groups: health and care providers (n = 20), education providers (n = 7) and funders of research and development (n = 5). Data collection was from March to November 2004.Findings.  Despite general recognition of its value, only a minority of organizations had an up‐to‐date corporate strategy that included nursing and midwifery research and development. There was considerable variability in the systems, support structures, capacity and productivity of nurses and midwives throughout these organizations. In most, no‐one had sole responsibility for leading the professional research and development agenda but, where such leadership was in place, improved outcomes were apparent. Building effective partnerships for research and development and forward planning through developing an organizational strategy were also key indicators of success.Conclusion.  Our findings confirm progress, but also reinforce the need to develop a clear vision, enhance leadership potential and forge effective partnerships to advance the research and development agenda in nursing and midwifery.
Primary and community care workforce planning and development
Authors: Hurst Keith 
Published: July 2006

Aim.  This article reports a study that provided primary and community care managers with information, allowing them to: (a) evaluate the size and mix of their workforce; and (b) develop knowledgeable and skilled teams to meet the demands of growing and changing services.Background.  Primary and community care services are growing in the United Kingdom, but workforce planning and development, despite their wide‐ranging cost and quality implications, have not received the same attention. Indeed, most primary and community care workforce planning and development issues are universal. Demand 1–1 side workforce planning is concerned not only with the number, but also with staff mix; but how these autonomous and isolated practitioners spend their time is unique. The other side of the equation, workforce supply, raises many recruitment and retention challenges for managers in many countries. Any country's main workforce planning methods apply equally well to primary care, but each is flawed. A second, main problem is that the methods lead to fragmented services, whereas modern workforce planning methods should be multidisciplinary. Consequently, it has never been more important for managers to have data and algorithms to develop appropriate care teams.Method.  A large and versatile workforce database, profiling 304 English primary care trusts using demographic, socio‐economic, mortality, morbidity, staffing and performance workforce‐related variables, compiled in 2002 and updated yearly, is described. Data were supplemented with a systematic literature review leading to a 340‐item annotated bibliography; and qualitative interviews with managers.Results.  Workforce size and mix are historical and irrational at best. Moreover, the number of variables that influence staffing is growing, thereby complicating workforce planning.Conclusion.  Evaluating and adjusting the size and mix of teams using empirically determined community demand and performance variables based on the area's socio‐economic characteristics is feasible.
Response of the herbaceous layer of forest ecosystems to excess nitrogen deposition
Authors: GILLIAM FRANK S. 
Published: July 2006

SummaryThis review brings into focus what is known about the response of the herbaceous layer of forest ecosystems to increasing nitrogen deposition. The emphasis on forests in general is important for two reasons. First, forests often occupy areas receiving high rates of atmospheric deposition of N. Second, compared with herb‐dominated communities, about which much is known regarding response to excess N, forests generally display greater biological and structural complexity. The more specific focus on the herbaceous layer – here defined as all vascular (herbaceous and woody) plants ≤ 1 m in height – is warranted because most of the species diversity of forests occurs in the herb layer.Most responses of forest ecosystems to N saturation, defined here as ecosystem supply of N exceeding ecosystem demand for N, can be characterized by two complementary hypotheses, each emphasizing different facets of ecosystem structure and function. One focuses on ecosystem processes, such as net primary productivity, whereas the other addresses seasonal patterns of concentrations ofin stream water. Although neither hypothesis considers the effects of chronically elevated N deposition on forest herbs, both share a prediction – a dramatic increase in availability of– that is relevant to forest herb response. Such a shift towardsdominance has important implications for changes in herbaceous layer dynamics. For example, increases in soilpools can increase invasibility by exotic species. Also, because preferential use ofvs.can be highly species‐specific among forest herbs, predominance ofavailability can bring about further changes in herb layer species composition. Also important to forest herbs is the tendency for enhanced mobility ofto increase mobility and decrease availability of essential cations, such as Ca2+.The response of plant species of the herbaceous layer of forest ecosystems to excess N availability can arise from N‐mediated changes in several processes. Here I identify six – competition, herbivory, mycorrhizal infection, disease, species invasions and exotic earthworm activity – and discuss how they respond to excess N and how this response affects the herb layer of forests. With the exception of the activity of exotic earthworms (which is correlated with, but not necessarily caused by, high N deposition), there is compelling evidence that all processes respond sensitively to N deposition and that this response generally leads to drastic shifts in species composition and decreases in biodiversity of forest herb communities.A hypothesis is suggested – the nitrogen homogeneity hypothesis – that predicts loss of biodiversity in forest ecosystems experiencing chronically elevated N deposition. This hypothesis is based on the decrease in spatial heterogeneity of N availability that is typically high in forest soils under N‐limited conditions.
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and water table affect wetland plant community composition
Authors: WOLFE BENJAMIN E. , WEISHAMPEL PETER A. , KLIRONOMOS JOHN N. 
Published: July 2006

Summary

Most studies of the community‐level effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have been conducted in upland grassland plant communities where a majority of the plant species are colonized by AMF. Here, we examine the effects of AMF on plant community composition in experimental wetland plant communities, where the dominant plant species are non‐mycorrhizal and subordinate plant species are colonized by AMF. We also assess how an important abiotic soil variable, depth to water table (soil saturation), might mediate the community‐level effects of AMF.
In the low water table (un‐saturated) treatment, above‐ground plant biomass increased in the presence of AMF relative to the controls, while in the high water table treatment, biomass decreased with the presence of AMF. Contrary to predictions, plant diversity was unaffected by the presence of AMF in the low water table treatment, but significantly decreased in the presence of AMF in the high water table treatment. Changes in biomass and composition were driven by the interactions between the dominant non‐mycorrhizal species Carex hystercina, and the remaining mycorrhizal plant species.
Our results indicate that AMF have the potential to influence plant community composition in calcareous fens and that these effects can be mediated by soil saturation.
This study has implications for understanding how established principles of above‐ground/below‐ground interactions from upland communities translate to wetland plant communities and for understanding how AMF function can be mediated by abiotic soil properties. Contrary to previous thought, AMF may be important drivers of plant community composition in wetland plant communities.
Special delivery: vesicle trafficking in prokaryotes
Authors: Mashburn‐Warren Lauren M. , Whiteley Marvin 
Published: July 2006

SummaryAlthough the observation that Gram‐negative bacteria produce outer membrane vesicles (MVs) was made over 40 years ago, their biological roles have become a focus of study only within the past 10 years. Recent progress in this area has revealed that bacterial MVs are utilized for several processes including delivery of toxins to eukaryotic cells, protein and DNA transfer between bacterial cells, and trafficking of cell–cell signals. Some of these roles appear to be generalized among the Gram‐negative bacteria while others are restricted to specific bacterial species/strains. Here we review the known roles of MVs, propose other roles for MVs in mediating interspecies and inter‐kingdom communication, and discuss the mechanism of MV formation.
Proteomic mapping of a suppressor of non‐chemotactic cheW mutants reveals that Helicobacter pylori contains a new chemotaxis protein
Authors: Terry Karianne , Go Alvin C. , Ottemann Karen M. 
Published: July 2006

SummaryBacterial chemotaxis is a colonization factor for the ulcer‐causing pathogen Helicobacter pylori. H. pylori contains genes encoding the chemotaxis signalling proteins CheW, CheA and CheY; CheW couples chemoreceptors to the CheA kinase and is essential for chemotaxis. While characterizing a cheW mutant, we isolated a spontaneous, chemotactic variant (Che+). We determined that this phenotype was caused by a genetic change unlinked to the original cheW mutation. To locate the underlying Che+ mutation, we compared total protein profiles of the non‐chemotactic mutant (cheW) with those from the cheW Che+ variant by two‐dimensional differential in‐gel electrophoresis. One protein was found only in the cheW Che+ variant. This protein was identified by MS/MS as HP0170, a hypothetical protein with no known function. DNA sequencing verified that hp0170 was mutated in the cheW Che+ suppressor, and deletion of this open reading frame in the cheW background nearly recapitulated the Che+ suppressor phenotype. Using hidden Markov models, we found that HP0170 is a remote homologue of E. coli CheZ. CheZ interacts with phosphorylated CheY and stimulates its autodephosphorylation. CheZ was not predicted to be present in ε‐proteobacteria. We found that chemotaxis in the cheW Che+ suppressor depended on both cheY and cheA. We hypothesize that a small amount of phosphorylated CheY is generated via CheA in the cheW mutant, and this amount is sufficient to affect flagellar rotation when HP0170 is removed. Our results suggest that HP0170 is a remote homologue of CheZ, and that CheZ homologues are found in a broader range of bacteria than previously supposed.
Malaria transmission‐blocking antigen, Pfs230, mediates human red blood cell binding to exflagellating male parasites and oocyst production
Authors: Eksi Saliha , Czesny Beata , Van Gemert Geert‐Jan , Sauerwein Robert W. , Eling Wijnand , Williamson Kim C. 
Published: July 2006

SummaryMalaria transmission requires that the parasites differentiate into gametocytes prior to ingestion by a mosquito during a blood meal. Once in the mosquito midgut the gametocytes emerge from red blood cells (RBCs), fertilize, develop into ookinetes and finally infectious sporozoites. Gamete surface antigen, Pfs230, is an important malaria transmission‐blocking vaccine candidate, but its function has remained unclear. Two clones with distinct Pfs230 gene disruptions (Δ1.356 and Δ2.560) and a clone with a disruption of Pfs48/45 were used to evaluate the role of Pfs230 in the mosquito midgut. Pfs230 disruptants successfully emerge from RBCs and male gametes exflagellate producing microgametes. However, exflagellating Pfs230‐minus males, in the presence or absence of Pfs48/45, are unable to interact with RBCs and form exflagellation centres. Oocyst production and mosquito infectivity is also significantly reduced, 96–92% and 76–71% respectively. In contrast, in the Pfs230 disruptants the expression and localization of other known sexual stage‐specific antigens, including Pfs48/45, Pfs47, the Pfs230 paralogue (PfsMR5), Pfs16 or Pfs25, were not altered and the Pfs230‐minus gametes retained resistance to the alternative pathway of human complement. These results suggest that Pfs230 is the surface molecule on males that mediates RBC binding and plays an important role in oocyst development, a critical step in malaria transmission.
Regulated translation of listeriolysin O controls virulence of Listeria monocytogenes
Authors: Schnupf Pamela , Hofmann Jennifer , Norseen Julie , Glomski Ian J. , Schwartzstein Hal , Decatur Amy L. 
Published: July 2006

Summary Listeria monocytogenes is an intracytosolic bacterial pathogen that escapes from the phagosome using a secreted cytolysin, listeriolysin O (LLO). In the host cytosol, LLO activity is minimized to prevent pore formation in the host plasma membrane; premature lysis of the infected host cell exposes the bacteria to extracellular immune defences of the host and is detrimental to infection. Here we identified nucleotide substitutions in the coding sequence of the LLO gene (hly) that did not alter the protein sequence, yet caused over‐production of LLO, cytotoxicity and loss of virulence. These phenotypes were independent of the promoter and, under conditions in which the mutants produced more LLO protein than wild type, levels of hly mRNA were similar. Finally, negative regulation of LLO was maintained even when bacteria were engineered to produce elevated levels of the wild‐type hly transcript. Together, our data demonstrate that translational regulation of LLO is critical for L. monocytogenes pathogenesis.
NADK3, a novel cytoplasmic source of NADPH, is required under conditions of oxidative stress and modulates abscisic acid responses in Arabidopsis
Authors: Chai Mao‐Feng , Wei Peng‐Cheng , Chen Qi‐Jun , An Rui , Chen Jia , Yang Shuhua , Wang Xue‐Chen 
Published: July 2006

SummaryIn plants, excess reactive oxygen species are toxic molecules induced under environmental stresses, including pathogen invasions and abiotic stresses. Many anti‐oxidant defense systems have been reported to require NADPH as an important reducing energy equivalent. However, the sources of NADPH and the molecular mechanisms of maintaining cytoplasmic redox balance are unclear. Here, we report the biological function of a putative cytoplasmic NADH kinase (NADK3) in several abiotic stress responses in Arabidopsis. We found that cytoplasmic NADPH is provided mostly by the product of the NADK3 gene in Arabidopsis. Expression of he NADK3 gene is responsive to abscisic acid (ABA) and abiotic stress conditions, including methyl violgen (MV), high salinity and osmotic shock. An NADK3 null mutant showed hypersensitivity to oxidative stress in both seed germination and seedling growth. Seed germination of the mutant plants also showed increased sensitivity to ABA, salt and mannitol. Furthermore, stress‐related target genes were identified as upregulated in the mutant by mannitol and MV. Our study indicates that this cytoplasmic NADH kinase, a key source of the cellular reductant NADPH, is required for various abiotic stress responses.
The financial and clinical implications of adult malaria diagnosis using microscopy in Kenya
Authors: Zurovac D. , Larson B. A. , Akhwale W. , Snow R. W. 
Published: July 2006

SummaryObjective  A recent observational study undertaken at 17 health facilities with microscopy in Kenya revealed that potential benefits of malaria microscopy are not realized because of irrational clinical practices and the low accuracy of routine microscopy. Using these data, we modelled financial and clinical implications of revised clinical practices and improved accuracy of malaria microscopy among adult outpatients under the artemether–lumefantrine (AL) treatment policy for uncomplicated malaria in Kenya.Methods  The cost of AL, antibiotics and malaria microscopy and the expected number of malaria diagnosis errors were estimated per 1000 adult outpatients presenting at a facility with microscopy under three scenarios: (1) current clinical practice and accuracy of microscopy (option A), (2) revised clinical practice with current accuracy of microscopy (option B) and (3) revised clinical practice with improved accuracy of microscopy (option C). Revised clinical practice was defined as performing a blood slide for all febrile adults and prescribing antimalarial treatment only for positive results. Improved accuracy of routine microscopy was defined as 90% sensitivity and specificity. In the sensitivity analysis, the implications of changes in the cost of drugs and malaria microscopy and changes in background malaria prevalence were examined for each option.Results  The costs of AL, antibiotics and malaria microscopy decreased from $2154 under option A to $1254 under option B and $892 under option C. Of the cost savings from option C, 72% was from changes in clinical practice, while 28% was from improvements in the accuracy of microscopy. Compared with 638 malaria overdiagnosis errors per 1000 adults under option A, 375 and 548 fewer overdiagnosis errors were estimated, respectively, under options B and C. At the same time, the number of missed malaria diagnoses remained generally low under all options. Sensitivity analysis showed that both options B and C are robust to a wide range of assumptions on the costs of drugs, costs of blood slides and malaria prevalence.Conclusions  Even with the imperfect microscopy conditions at Kenyan facilities, implementation of revised clinical practice (option B) would substantially reduce the costs and errors from malaria overdiagnosis. Additional interventions to improve the accuracy of microscopy (option C) can achieve further benefits; however, improved microscopy in the absence of revised clinical practice is unlikely to generate significant cost savings. Revision of guidelines to state explicitly age‐specific indications for the use and interpretation of malaria microscopy is urgently needed. Further prospective studies are required to evaluate the effectiveness and costs of interventions to improve clinical practice and the accuracy of malaria microscopy.
Mapping the environmental coverage of the INDEPTH demographic surveillance system network in rural Africa
Authors: Tatem Andrew J. , Snow Robert W. , Hay Simon I. 
Published: July 2006

SummaryObjectives  The INDEPTH DSS network was founded in 1998 to provide an international network of field sites for continuous demographic evaluation of populations and their health. Results from the network have been used to derive estimates of mortality, morbidity and health equity. Spatial extrapolation and logical summaries of these findings are dependent on the network covering a representative sample of the environments in a region and their interrelationships being known. Here, we investigate how comprehensive is the coverage of the network of rural DSS sites in Africa in terms of the range of ecological zones found across the continent.Methods  We used satellite imagery to define an environmental signature for each INDEPTH DSS site, and then calculate Euclidean distances from these signatures to the environmental signatures of every image pixel across Africa. These distances were then mapped and a gridded population surface used to mask uninhabited areas to illustrate the extent of the environmental coverage of the INDEPTH network. Environmental similarities between DSS sites were also calculated, hierarchically clustered and visualized as a dendrogram to examine between site relationships. Finally, an ecozonation of Africa was used to analyse the per‐ecozone environmental similarity of the INDEPTH DSS network.Results and conclusions  The current INDEPTH DSS network in Africa spans all the major environmental zones, but within these zones the environmental coverage of the network varies. These variations were mapped by ecozone. These maps provide valuable information in determining the confidence with which relationships derived from rural INDEPTH DSS sites can be extended to other areas. The results also indicate suites of sites that form environmentally cohesive groups and from which data can be logically summarized. Finally, the results highlight areas where the location of new INDEPTH DSS sites would increase significantly the environmental coverage of the network.