bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Yield and nitrogen concentration of above‐ and below‐ground biomasses of red clover cultivars in pure stands and in mixtures with three grass species in northern Europe
Authors: Hakala K. , Jauhiainen L. 
Published: August 2007

AbstractThree red clover (Trifolium pratense) varieties differing in productivity and winter hardiness, Jokioinen, Betty and Ilte, were sown in a 2‐year (2003–2004) pot experiment in pure stands and mixtures with the grasses, timothy (Phleum pratense), tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) and meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis). Grass growth dominated until fertilizer‐N, applied when the stands were sown, was depleted. Timothy was the least competitive of the grass species. Red clover variety Ilte produced the highest dry‐matter (DM) yields. Variety Betty yielded less, but allocated as much biomass to the root and stubble (soil‐bound) fraction as variety Ilte. Variety Jokioinen allocated least to the soil‐bound fraction. While the root structure and the starch concentration of the crown‐root area were similar in all varieties, the high ratio of soil‐bound: harvested fractions could be a key to the higher winter survival and higher DM yields of Betty under field conditions. At the end of the experiment, 3–5 g N pot−1 (49–81 g m−2) had been harvested and 0·7–1·5 g N pot−1 (11–24 g m−2) was left in the soil‐bound fraction, amounts depending on the red clover variety and grass mixture, with pure clover stands containing the highest N amounts. Because of the high N concentrations in the biomass of red clover, the proportion of red clover and conditions prevailing during canopy and root death in mixed stands are crucial for N mineralization and incorporation into new growth.
Effects of shrub encroachment on herbage production and nutritive value in semi‐arid Mediterranean grasslands
Authors: Zarovali M. P. , Yiakoulaki M. D. , Papanastasis V. P. 
Published: August 2007

AbstractThere is limited information on the effects of the increase in the density of shrubs on herbage production and nutritive value of natural grasslands in the Mediterranean region, currently facing major land use changes. Herbage production of drymatter (herbaceous fractions, of plant functional groups and by species), crude protein (CP), neutral‐detergent fibre (NDF), acid‐detergent fibre (ADF), acid‐detergent lignin (ADL) and hemicellulose concentrations and in vitro organic matter digestibility were determined at the time of peak of annual growth across four types of grassland vegetation each characterized by different shrub cover regimes. A sharp reduction in herbage production and a reduction in nutritive value were found as a result of the increase in shrub cover. These changes appeared to be closely related to the shift in plant functional groups detected as shrub density increased. Herbage production from grasses and legumes was found to be more sensitive to shrub cover changes than herbage production from forbs, whereas, as grassland types became denser, annual species were gradually replaced by perennials and C4 grasses by C3 ones. The impact of shrub encroachment on Mediterranean grasslands is discussed in relation to their use by livestock.
Ease of care with patient controlled analgesia systems: questionnaire development and validation
Authors: Harding Gale , Vallow Sue , Leidy Nancy K. , Olson William , Hewitt David J. , Polomano Rosemary , Nelson Winnie W. , Schein Jeff R. 
Published: August 2007

AbstractTitle.  Ease of care with patient controlled analgesia systems: questionnaire development and validation Aim.  This paper is a report of the development and validation of two questionnaires assessing ease of caring for patients receiving patient controlled analgesia from the perspectives of nurses and physical therapists.Background.  While studies have assessed patient satisfaction with and preference for patient controlled analgesia modalities, no instruments have been developed to assess the ease of providing care (ease of care) for patients receiving patient controlled analgesia from nurses’ and physical therapists’ perspectives.Method.  Nurses and physical therapists participated in focus groups during 2003 to identify concepts associated with caring for patients receiving intravenous patient controlled analgesia. Based on these discussions, items were developed and included in draft questionnaires. Content validity of draft questionnaires was assessed, and final questionnaires were developed. Psychometric properties of the final questionnaires were assessed using data from 79 nurses and 80 physical therapists from two clinical trials conducted during 2004 and 2005 to compare the efficacy and safety of two modalities of patient controlled analgesia.Findings.  The Nurse and Physical Therapist Ease of Care Questionnaires had 22 items addressing three aspects of patient care: time‐efficiency (time‐consuming subscale), ease of use/convenience (bothersome subscale), and satisfaction (satisfaction subscale). All subscales on both questionnaires demonstrated evidence of internal consistency reliability, and subscale‐to‐subscale correlations suggested that the time‐consuming and bothersome subscales contribute equally to overall ease of care. The subscales were statistically significantly correlated with clinical measures.Conclusion.  These instruments may be valuable for assessing the impact of patient controlled analgesia modalities on patient care for these healthcare providers.
Mental health nurse supplementary prescribing: experiences of mental health nurses, psychiatrists and patients
Authors: Jones M. , Bennett J. , Lucas B. , Miller D. , Gray R. 
Published: August 2007

AbstractAim.  This paper is a report of a study to explore the views of patients, mental health nurses and psychiatrists involved in mental health nurse supplementary prescribing.Background.  Medication prescribing by mental health nurses in the United Kingdom is controversial. However, the experience of mental health patients suggests that increasing prescribing capacity could be one strategy to provide a person‐centred prescribing approach.Method.  A qualitative study was carried out in 2005. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 12 psychiatrists, 11 mental health nurses with prescribing authority, and 12 patients who had been prescribed psychiatric medication by a mental health nurse. Participants were interviewed about positive aspects of supplementary prescribing including the extent of it being evidence‐based, person‐centred and clinically focussed.Findings.  Participants from all three groups had a positive reaction to nurse supplementary prescribing. Mental health nurse prescribing was viewed as evidence‐based, person‐centred and with an additional focus on physical health. Mental health nurses worked within their levels of competency. Barriers to the implementation of mental health nurse prescribing were nurses’ lack of prescribing experience, shortfalls in supervision, insufficient focus on redesigning the service to support the role of the mental health nurse, and preparation for the role.Conclusion.  Mental health nurse prescribing seems potentially beneficial. However, more rigorous audit and evaluation are needed to confirm its safety, patient satisfaction and health outcomes. Mental health nurse prescribing will require service redesign to ensure that is becomes embedded in the service organizational culture.
Measuring symptom occurrence and symptom distress: development of the symptom experience index
Authors: Fu Mei R. , McDaniel Roxanne W. , Rhodes Verna A. 
Published: August 2007

AbstractTitle. Measuring symptom occurrence and symptom distress: development of the symptom experience indexAim. This paper is a report of a study to assess reliability and construct validity of revised and refined version of the Adapted Symptom Distress Scale: the Symptom Experience Index (SEI).Background. The development of the SEI, a 41‐item Likert Scale assessing 20 symptoms, was based on self‐regulation theory and an integrative conceptual analysis of symptom assessment and management. The model emphasizes the difference between the occurrence of a symptom (or multiple symptoms) and the distress (emotional) response to the occurrence of a symptom. It is the distress from symptom occurrence that promotes a person to take action and use known coping strategies to prevent the symptom occurrence or alleviate the distress from the symptom.Method. A contrast‐group and test‐retest approach was used to assess construct validity and reliability with a convenience sample of 158 patients at United States of America in 2003–2004.Results. The SEI demonstrated reasonable internal consistency with a Cronbach's alpha of 0·91 for symptom experience, 0·85 for symptom occurrence and 0·84 for symptom distress. Test‐retest reliability was supported by high intra‐class correlation coefficients (symptom experiencer = 0·93; symptom occurrencer = 0·94; symptom distress,r = 0·92). Construct validity was supported by statistically significant differences between patients and healthy adults.Conclusion. The SEI can be used as a baseline and outcome measure to assess the impact of multiple symptoms on patients, and the effectiveness of interventions to manage these symptoms.
Receiving power through confirmation: the meaning of close relatives for people who have been critically ill
Authors: Engström Åsa , Söderberg Siv 
Published: August 2007

AbstractTitle.  Receiving power through confirmation: the meaning of close relatives for people who have been critically ill Aim.  This paper is a report of a study to elucidate the meaning of close relatives for people who have been critically ill and received care in an intensive care unit.Background.  Falling critically ill can bring about a difficult change in life. In previous reports such events are described as frightening experiences, and close relatives are described as an important source of support in this difficult situation.Method.  A purposive sample of 10 adults, eight men and two women, narrated how they experienced their close relatives during and after the time they were critically ill. The data were collected in 2004. The interview texts were transcribed and interpreted using a phenomenological hermeneutic approach influenced by the philosophy of Ricoeur.Findings.  One major theme was identified, experiencing confirmation, with six sub‐themes: receiving explanations; a feeling of being understood; a feeling of safety; gaining strength and will‐power; having possibilities and realizing their value. Close relatives served as tools for the person who was ill, facilitating better communication and an increased ability to do various things. Simultaneously, feelings of dependence on the close relatives were expressed. There were descriptions of loneliness and fear in the absence of close relatives and, in order to feel safe, the participants wanted their close relatives to stay near them.Conclusion.  Close relatives are vital, as they are the ill person's motivation to stay alive and to continue the struggle. Their presence is of great importance for the ill person and must be facilitated by staff.
Paediatric health‐related quality of life instrument for primary school children: cross‐cultural validation
Authors: Laaksonen Camilla , Aromaa Minna , Heinonen Olli J. , Suominen Sakari , Salanterä Sanna 
Published: August 2007

AbstractTitle.  Paediatric health‐related quality of life instrument for primary school children: cross‐cultural validation. Aim.  This article is a report of a study to validate the Finnish version of the Pediatric Quality of Life InventoryTM (PedsQLTM*) for children aged 8–12 years.Background.  Promoting and improving health and well‐being of children are the global goals of primary‐day health care. Sophisticated, internationally valid measurement tools are needed for planning, conducting and evaluating interventions to meet these challenges. The PedsQLTM is a promising, relatively new instrument developed in the United States to assess health‐related quality of life (HRQL) in children and adolescents.Method.  Content validity of the Finnish version of PedsQLTM 4.0 was assessed in 2004 during the translation process and tested by performing cognitive interviews with children aged 8–12 years (n = 7) and their parents (n = 5). Construct validity and reliability of the Finnish version of the PedsQLTM 4.0 were statistically tested on a sample of school children (n = 1097) and their parents (n = 999).Findings.  Cognitive interviews confirmed that the concepts, questions and response alternatives of the Finnish version are equivalent to the original PedsQLTM 4.0. The Finnish version was easy to understand and complete. The construct validity was good. Cronbach´s alpha values were excellent for the total scale score (Child‐Self Report α = 0·91 and Parent‐Proxy Report α = 0·88) and good for sub‐ and summary scales (Child‐Self Report α = 0·73–0·89 and Parent‐Proxy Report α = 0·69–0·86).Conclusion.  Results support previous research on validity and reliability of the PedsQLTM 4.0. The Finnish version of the PedsQLTM 4.0 demonstrated good validity and reliability in primary school children. Future research is needed to examine, construct and predictive validity of the Finnish version of the PedsQLTM 4.0.
Closure for patients at the end of a cancer clinical trial: literature review
Authors: Wilson Eleanor , Elkan Ruth , Cox Karen 
Published: August 2007

AbstractTitle.  Closure for patients at the end of a cancer clinical trial: literature review Aim.  This paper is a report of a literature review to explore theories of psychological closure in order to understand the outcomes of a trial in which nurses attempted to facilitate psychological closure for their patients with cancer.Background.  Patients’ accounts have highlighted a feeling of abandonment and a need for support after a period of treatment for cancer but this is rarely addressed in the nursing literature or in practice.Methods.  The British Nursing Index, the CINAHL, Ovid Medline, PsychInfo and EMBASE databases were searched without date limits using the keywords ‘closure’, ‘ending’, ‘finishing’, ‘treatment’, ‘cancer care’, ‘therapeutic relationships’ and ‘transitions’. The search took place concurrently with the implementation of a randomized controlled trial from 2001 to 2005 in which nurses attempted to facilitate closure for patients at the end of a cancer chemotherapy trial.Results.  Literature on the concept of ‘rites of passage’ enabled us to view nurses as supporting patients’ transition from one life‐stage to another. Literature on debriefing deepened our understanding of patients’ anxieties and needs. Our review also drew attention to power imbalances in the ending of nurse–patient or doctor–patient relationships, and highlighted the importance of good endings and the need to mark endings formally.Conclusion.  Achieving closure is an important element in promoting patient well‐being when undergoing treatment for cancer. Nurses and other healthcare staff can facilitate this with simple interventions such feedback and discussion at the end of a period of active treatment.
Tracking the sudden oak death pathogen
Authors: COOKE DAVID E. L. 
Published: August 2007

AbstractInvasive species are, by definition, unwelcome and pathogenic ones, especially so. Tracing the origins and spread of Phytophthora ramorum, the devastating ‘Sudden Oak Death’ pathogen, in the forests and nurseries of Oregon has revealed differences between forest and nursery pathogen populations that suggest discrete sources of primary inoculum initiate each type of outbreak. New information on the ecology and evolution of this pathogen is presented that helps gauge the effectiveness of quarantine and eradication programmes.
Repression of AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR10 by microRNA160 is critical for seed germination and post‐germination stages
Authors: Liu Po‐Pu , Montgomery Taiowa A. , Fahlgren Noah , Kasschau Kristin D. , Nonogaki Hiroyuki , Carrington James C. 
Published: August 2007

SummaryAUXIN RESPONSE FACTORS (ARFs) are transcription factors involved in auxin signal transduction during many stages of plant growth development. ARF10, ARF16 and ARF17 are targeted by microRNA160 (miR160) in Arabidopsis thaliana. Here, we show that negative regulation of ARF10 by miR160 plays important roles in seed germination and post‐germination. Transgenic plants expressing an miR160‐resistant form of ARF10, which has silent mutations in the miRNA target site (termed mARF10), exhibited developmental defects such as serrated leaves, curled stems, contorted flowers and twisted siliques. These phenotypes were not observed in wild‐type plants or plants transformed with the targeted ARF10 gene. During sensu stricto germination and post‐germination, mARF10 mutant seeds and plants were hypersensitive to ABA in a dose‐dependent manner. ABA hypersensitivity was mimicked in wild‐type plants by exogenous auxin. In contrast, overexpression of MIR160 (35S:MIR160) resulted in reduced sensitivity to ABA during germination. Transcriptome analysis of germinating ARF10 and mARF10 seeds indicated that typical ABA‐responsive genes expressed during seed maturation were overexpressed in germinating mARF10 seeds. These results indicate that negative regulation of ARF10 by miR160 plays a critical role in seed germination and post‐embryonic developmental programs, at least in part by mechanisms involving interactions between ARF10‐dependent auxin and ABA pathways.
In planta ORFeome analysis by large‐scale over‐expression of GATEWAY®‐compatible cDNA clones: screening of ERF transcription factors involved in abiotic stress defense
Authors: Weiste Christoph , Iven Tim , Fischer Ute , Oñate‐Sánchez Luis , Dröge‐Laser Wolfgang 
Published: August 2007

SummaryGenomic approaches have generated large Arabidopsis thaliana open reading frame (ORF) collections. However, tools are required to functionally characterize this ORFeome. Here we describe a batch procedure to simultaneously recombine a population of GATEWAY®‐tagged full‐length cDNAs into a plant expression vector. A pool of agrobacteria carrying these constructs has been used in flower‐dip transformation experiments to obtain a collection of transgenic lines that over‐express HA‐tagged ORFs. This AtTORF‐Ex library can be used in various screening approaches to identify particular gene family members involved in plant development or stress responses. The feasibility of the approach was studied using a near‐complete collection of the Arabidopsis ethylene response factor (ERF) transcription factor (TF) family. Quality control performed at each step of the procedure revealed that the complexity of the population is maintained, and that almost all members of the ORF collection are covered by the plant library. The frequency of multiple transformation events has been determined as approximately 4%. Significant transgene expression was detected at the RNA and protein level in more than 60% and 30% of the transgenic plants, respectively. Striking phenotypic alterations were observed in approximately 4% of the plants. Many ERF TFs have been shown to participate in plant stress responses. As a proof of principle, the AtTORF‐Ex library has been used in a selection procedure to isolate TFs involved in enhanced abiotic stress tolerance. The corresponding TF gene can be easily polymerase chain reaction‐amplified using GATEWAY®att site‐specific primers. In summary, we describe here a method that can be generally applied for functional analysis of ORFeomes in planta.
Comorbid substance use disorder in women with bipolar disorder associated with criminal arrest
Authors: McDermott Barbara E , Quanbeck Cameron D , Frye Mark A 
Published: August 2007

Objectives:  Previous research has indicated that comorbid substance abuse in patients with bipolar disorder (BPD) is strongly linked to criminal arrest. This study was conducted to further evaluate possible gender differences in substance use and risk of criminality in BPD.Methods:  Subjects were selected from all inmates with a DSM‐IV diagnosis of BPD type I at Los Angeles County correctional facility. As a comparison, a sample of Los Angeles County patients with BPD type I who had not been arrested during the course of their psychiatric treatment within LA County was identified. The county's Management Information System (MIS) was utilized to obtain primary and secondary diagnoses as well as demographic information.Results:  The odds of having a comorbid substance use diagnosis for arrested female patients was more than 38 times that for community female patients (odds ratio = 38.75). Women were more likely to have been arrested for violent and substance use charges; men were more likely to have been arrested for theft and miscellaneous charges.Conclusions:  Substance abuse appears to be a significant risk factor for arrest in patients with BPD and is especially significant for women with BPD. Our study suggests that comorbid BPD and substance use in women may significantly increase the risk of criminal arrest.
Nutrition and exercise behavior among patients with bipolar disorder1
Authors: Kilbourne Amy M , Rofey Dana L , McCarthy John F , Post Edward P , Welsh Deborah , Blow Frederic C 
Published: August 2007

Objectives:  There have been few comprehensive studies of nutrition and exercise behaviors among patients with bipolar disorder (BPD). Based on a national sample of patients receiving care in the Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system, we compared nutrition and exercise behaviors among individuals diagnosed with BPD, others diagnosed with schizophrenia, and others who did not receive diagnoses of serious mental illness (SMI).Methods:  We conducted a cross‐sectional study of patients who completed the VA's Large Health Survey of Veteran Enrollees section on health and nutrition in fiscal year (FY) 1999 and who either received a diagnosis of BPD (n = 2,032) or schizophrenia (n = 1,895), or were included in a random sample of non‐SMI VA patients (n = 3,065). We compared nutrition and exercise behaviors using multivariable logistic regression, controlling for patient socio‐economic and clinical factors, and adjusting for patients clustered by site using generalized estimating equations.Results:  Patients with BPD were more likely to report poor exercise habits, including infrequent walking (odds ratio, OR = 1.33, p < 0.001) or strength exercises (OR = 1.28, p < 0.001) than those with no SMI. They were also more likely to self‐report suboptimal eating behaviors, including having fewer than two daily meals (OR = 1.32, p < 0.001) and having difficulty obtaining or cooking food (OR = 1.48, p < 0.001). Patients with BPD were also more likely to report having gained ≥10 pounds in the past 6 months (OR = 1.59, p < 0.001) and were the least likely to report that their health care provider discussed their eating habits (OR = 0.84, p < 0.05) or physical activity (OR = 0.81, p < 0.01).Conclusions:  Greater efforts are needed to reduce the risk of poor nutrition and exercise habits among patients diagnosed with BPD.