bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Developing evidence‐based practice: experiences of senior and junior clinical nurses
Authors: Gerrish Kate , Ashworth Peter , Lacey Anne , Bailey Jeff 
Published: March 2008

AbstractTitle.  Developing evidence‐based practice: experiences of senior and junior clinical nurses Aim.  This paper is a report of a study to compare factors influencing the development of evidence‐based practice identified by junior and senior nurses.Background.  Assessing factors influencing the achievement of evidence‐based practice is complex. Consideration needs to be given to a range of factors including different types of evidence, the skills nurses require to achieve evidence‐based practice together with barriers and facilitators. To date, little is known about the relative skills of junior and senior clinical nurses in relation to evidence‐based practice.Method.  A cross‐sectional survey was undertaken at two hospitals in England, using the Developing Evidence‐Based Practice Questionnaire administered to Registered Nurses (n = 1411). A useable sample of 598 (response rate 42%) was achieved. Data were collected in 2003, with comparisons undertaken between junior and senior nurses.Findings.  Nurses relied heavily on personal experience and communication with colleagues rather than formal sources of knowledge. All respondents demonstrated confidence in accessing and using evidence for practice. Senior nurses were more confident in accessing all sources of evidence including published sources and the Internet, and felt able to initiate change. Junior nurses perceived more barriers in implementing change, and were less confident in accessing organizational evidence. Junior nurses perceived lack of time and resources as major barriers, whereas senior nurses felt empowered to overcome these constraints.Conclusion.  Senior nurses are developing skills in evidence‐based practice. However, the nursing culture seems to disempower junior nurses so that they are unable to develop autonomy in implementing evidence‐based practice.
Use of perioperative dialogues with children undergoing day surgery
Authors: Wennström Berith , Hallberg Lillemor R.‐M. , Bergh Ingrid 
Published: March 2008

AbstractTitle.  Use of perioperative dialogues with children undergoing day surgery Aim.  This paper is a report of a study to explore what it means for children to attend hospital for day surgery.Background.  Hospitalization is a major stressor for children. Fear of separation, unfamiliar routines, anaesthetic/operation expectations/experiences and pain and needles are sources of children’s negative reactions.Method.  A grounded theory study was carried out during 2005–2006 with 15 boys and five girls (aged 6–9 years) scheduled for elective day surgery. Data were collected using tape‐recorded interviews that included a perioperative dialogue, participant observations and pre‐ and postoperative drawings.Findings.  A conceptual model was generated on the basis of the core category ‘enduring inflicted hospital distress’, showing that the main problem for children having day surgery is that they are forced into an unpredictable and distressful situation. Pre‐operatively, the children do not know what to expect, as described in the category ‘facing an unknown reality’. Additional categories show that they perceive a ‘breaking away from daily routines’ and that they are ‘trying to gain control’ over the situation. During the perioperative period, the categories ‘losing control’ and ‘co‐operating despite fear and pain’ are present and intertwined. Post‐operatively, the categories ‘breathing a sigh of relief’ and ‘regaining normality in life’ emerged.Conclusion.  The perioperative dialogue used in our study, if translated into clinical practice, might therefore minimize distress and prepare children for the ‘unknown’ stressor that hospital care often presents. Further research is needed to compare anxiety and stress levels in children undergoing day surgery involving the perioperative dialogue and those having ‘traditional’ anaesthetic care.
Edinburgh Feeding Evaluation in Dementia (EdFED) scale: cross‐cultural validation of the Chinese version
Authors: Lin Li‐Chan , Watson Roger , Lee Yue‐Chune , Chou Yueh‐Ching , Wu Shiao‐Chi 
Published: March 2008

AbstractTitle.  Edinburgh Feeding Evaluation in Dementia (EdFED) scale: cross‐cultural validation of the Chinese version Aim.  This paper is a report of an assessment of the construct validity of the Chinese version of the Edinburgh Feeding Evaluation in Dementia scale.Background.  The Edinburgh Feeding Evaluation in Dementia scale has previously been translated and back‐translated and to determine the equality of the Chinese and English versions. However, the construct validity of the Chinese version has not been investigated.Methods.  Participants (n = 477) were selected from residents with dementia in licensed long‐term care facilities in Taiwan in 2006–2007. Data collectors received training before observing feeding for 2 days during lunch and dinner. Data were analysed using principal component analysis, Mokken scaling and correlation.Findings.  A two‐factor structure was demonstrated for the 11 items of the Chinese version of the scale and six items conformed to a Mokken scale. The Chinese version of the scale correlated with external constructs such as weight and body mass index, as predicted by the unmet needs model.Conclusion.  A confirmatory factor analysis is needed to confirm that the Chinese version measures the same qualities, in the same proportions, and with the same factor structure as the original Edinburgh Feeding Evaluation in Dementia scale.
Modelling the effects of fertility control on koala–forest dynamics
Authors: Todd Charles R. , Forsyth David M. , Choquenot David 
Published: March 2008

Summary

Koala Phascolarctos cinereus populations sometimes exhibit eruptive dynamics, increasing to peak abundance and then crashing to low abundance. This dynamic is considered unacceptable because koalas die from starvation and food trees are killed by defoliation. There is concern that such dynamics may be occurring at a number of sites in south‐eastern Australia. The only management option is fertility control of females.
We constructed a simulation model of koalas interacting with their food supply (manna gum Eucalyptus viminalis) in Mount Eccles National Park, Victoria, Australia. The amount of manna gum leaves consumed changed the survival and fecundity rates of koalas, and the amount of leaves removed changed the survival and transition rates of manna gums.
Without fertility control the koala population was predicted to increase to peak abundance within 10–18 years before crashing. The predicted dynamics of manna gum were more variable but abundance increased in most simulations for up to c. 5 years before declining to c. 25% of peak abundance within 20–30 years and then increasing subsequently. The maximum rate of koala population decline was an important determinant of the interaction between koalas and manna gum.
The best management strategy that was analysed involved estimating the number of unsterilized females in the population annually and then sterilizing a variable number to maintain a population of 1000 koalas: this strategy generated the least decline in manna gum at a consistently low cost. However, there was a delay between imposing fertility control and consequent reduction in koala abundance because of high adult female survival rates. Hence manna gum was predicted to decline for 5–10 years before increasing.
Synthesis and applications. Our results highlight important time‐lags between implementing fertility control, reducing the abundance of a herbivore with high survival rates and subsequent changes in the abundance of its food supply. Our model is useful for understanding how controlling ‘overabundant’ herbivores impacts upon the dynamics of both the herbivore and its food supply.
Cut‐over peatland regeneration assessment using organic matter and microbial indicators (bacteria and testate amoebae)
Authors: Laggoun‐Défarge Fatima , Mitchell Edward , Gilbert Daniel , Disnar Jean‐Robert , Comont Laure , Warner Barry G. , Buttler Alexandre 
Published: March 2008

Summary

Cut‐over peatlands cover large surfaces of high potential value for enhancing biodiversity and carbon sequestration if successfully restored. Unfortunately, evaluation of restoration success is not straightforward. We assessed the bioindicator value of organic matter (OM), testate amoebae (protozoa) and bacteria in peat from two regeneration stages and a reference site of a cut‐over bog.
Contrasting biochemical signatures of peat OM were observed along the regenerating profiles, allowing clear differentiation between the newly regenerated peat and the old peat. Where peat macrofossils were absent sugar biomarkers were used to infer peat botanical origin and OM alteration.
Over the succession, the OM composition of the new peat differed. Peat from the more recent stage was dominated by Sphagnum‐derived tissues and characterized by lower carbohydrate preservation and higher bacterial biomass than the advanced regeneration stage.
Surface testate amoeba communities also changed from the recent to the advanced stages of regeneration, indicating a shift from wet and moderately acidic conditions to drier and more acidic conditions. Over this regeneration sequence (i) the biomass and average size of species declined but were higher at the unexploited site and (ii) species richness and diversity increased but density declined.
Synthesis and applications. Although secondary succession in the cut‐over bog led to an ecosystem similar to that of the reference site in terms of surface vegetation, OM and testate amoebae continued to reflect disturbances associated with peat harvesting. Nevertheless, the described dynamics of both microbial and biochemical variables over the succession showed similarities between the advanced stage and the reference site: a higher testate amoeba diversity was associated with better carbohydrate preservation and a more heterogeneous botanical composition of the peat. The inferred water table depth and pH based on testate amoebae indicators proved to be an alternative approach for assessing restoration processes, in contrast to labour‐intensive repeated measurements in the field. The botanical and biochemical composition of peat OM provided additional information on past anthropogenic perturbations of the bog and could be used for restoration monitoring. The combination of several indicators therefore provides a more complete assessment of ecological conditions that could be valuable for the management of cut‐over peatlands.
A large‐scale comparison of conventional and molecular methods for the evaluation of host–parasitoid associations in non‐target risk‐assessment studies
Authors: Gariepy Tara , Kuhlmann Ulrich , Gillott Cedric , Erlandson Martin 
Published: March 2008

SummaryAccurate identification of natural enemies is the cornerstone of biological control, and methods that can separate closely related species are essential in ecological studies of parasitoids. Conventionally, host rearing and dissection are used to define the ecological host range of candidate biological control agents and assess host‐specificity of parasitoids. However, molecular methods may be more suitable for the evaluation of host–parasitoid associations.To demonstrate the utility of molecular diagnostics in ecological host‐range studies on parasitoids ofLygusplant bugs, host rearing, dissection and multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis were used to estimate parasitism levels and parasitoid species composition (genusPeristenus) in more than 26 000 field‐collected target and non‐target Miridae.Parasitism levels estimated by conventional and molecular methods were similar but molecular analysis can detect parasitoids earlier than dissection and rearing. Parasitoid pupal mortality prevented the identification of more than 30% of individuals reared from non‐target host material; however, paired samples analysed with the multiplex assay allowed the identity of these parasitoids to be inferred. Molecular methods can provide different, and generally more complete, parasitoid species composition information because the results are not confounded by the host and parasitoid mortality encountered in rearing. However, detection of a parasitoid in a host does not necessarily indicate survival to the adult stage. Further, molecular identification of parasitoid species may be restricted to those species for which PCR primers are available.Synthesis and applications. For molecular diagnostic techniques to gain widespread adoption in ecological studies on natural enemy host range, they must provide information that is equivalent (or superior) to information obtained by conventional methods. Based on a large‐scale case study, associations betweenPeristenusspp. and their mirid hosts were used to demonstrate the utility of molecular diagnostics in studies on parasitoid ecological host range; however, this approach can be extended to pre‐release risk‐assessment studies on other candidate biological control agents. Beyond agent identification, molecular diagnostics can facilitate and expedite pre‐ and post‐release studies on the ecological host range of parasitoids, potential non‐target effects, host–parasitoid associations and trophic interactions.
Women's perception of intrapartal care in relation to WHO recommendations
Authors: Sandin‐Bojö Ann‐Kristin , Larsson Bodil Wilde , Hall‐Lord Marie‐Louise 
Published: March 2008

Background.  The aim of intrapartal care in normal birth is to achieve a healthy mother and child using the least possible number of interventions that is compatible with safety.Aim.  The aims of this study were to elucidate women’s perception of intrapartal care and women’s perceptions of normal birth.Methods.  A questionnaire developed from the WHO’s recommendations for care in normal birth was answered by 138 (response rate 66·0% Swedish women. The women were asked to evaluate items in two ways: their perceived reality of care received and the subjective importance of each item.Results.  Most women reported receiving care in the category (A) practices that are good and should be encouraged. However, women to a minor degree reported assessment for physical health, enquiring about support needs and pain assessment on admission. Many women received electronic foetal monitoring, repeated vaginal examinations, oxytocin augmentation and suturing after birth which fall under the category (B) practices that are harmful, (C) insufficient evidence exists and (D) practices frequently used inappropriately. The women who reported ‘Yes’ for perceived reality also reported high subjective importance for those items regardless of category A–D. Eighty‐four per cent of the women perceived that they had a normal delivery.Conclusion.  The result suggests that women have great trust that the care midwives give them is the best care. Midwives, therefore, have an ethical responsibility to keep themselves informed about the best evidence‐based care and to implement critical reviewing of their practice as part of continuing professional development. The women’s perceptions of a normal birth allows for a wide range of interventions.Relevance for clinical practice.  The result emphasises the importance of midwives’ knowledge of evidence‐based care and how to implement this into practice. Further research should include elucidation of the meaning of normal childbirth to childbearing women.
Stress of conscience and perceptions of conscience in relation to burnout among care‐providers in older people
Authors: Juthberg Christina , Eriksson Sture , Norberg Astrid , Sundin Karin 
Published: March 2008

Aims.  The aim was to study the relationship between conscience and burnout among care‐providers in older care, exploring the relationship between stress of conscience and burnout, and between perceptions of conscience and burnout.Background.  Everyday work in healthcare presents situations that influence care‐providers’ conscience. How care‐providers perceive conscience has been shown to be related to stress of conscience (stress related to troubled conscience), and in county council care, an association between stress of conscience and burnout has been found.Method.  A questionnaire study was conducted in municipal housing for older people. A total of 166 care‐providers were approached, of which 146 (50 registered nurses and 96 nurses’ aides/enrolled nurses) completed a questionnaire folder containing the stress of conscience questionnaire, the perceptions of conscience questionnaire and the maslach burnout inventory. Multivariate canonical correlation analysis was used to explore relationships.Result.  The relationship between stress of conscience and burnout indicates that experiences of shortcomings and of being exposed to contradictory demands are strongly related to burnout (primarily to emotional exhaustion). The relationship between perceptions of conscience and burnout indicates that a deadened conscience is strongly related to burnout.Conclusion.  Conscience seems to be of importance in relation to burnout, and suppressing conscience may result in a profound loss of wholeness, integrity and harmony in the self.Relevance to clinical practice.  The results from our study could be used to raise awareness of the importance of conscience in care.
Gross and histopathological characteristics of two lipomas and a neurofibrosarcoma detected in aquacultured southern bluefin tuna, Thunnus maccoyii (Castelnau), in South Australia
Authors: Johnston C J , Deveney M R , Bayly T , Nowak B F 
Published: March 2008

AbstractThree visible lesions were examined from two specimens of southern bluefin tuna. The lesions were examined grossly and two were identified as lipomas, the third bore similarities to a schwannoma. Histopathology confirmed that two consisted of mature adipocytes consistent with a diagnosis of lipoma. The third lesion consisted of spindle cells in Antoni A and B patterns and was tentatively diagnosed as a malignant schwannoma. Immunohistochemistry identified both S100 and glial fibrillary acid protein expression within the lesion, which, together with the histopathological appearance, is consistent with a diagnosis of neurofibrosarcoma.
Purification and characterization of a 630 kDa bacterial killing metalloprotease (KilC) isolated from plaice Pleuronectes platessa (L.), epidermal mucus
Authors: Tvete T , Haugan K 
Published: March 2008

AbstractAntibacterial chemicals in the mucus of fish such as lysozyme, lectins, peptides and proteases provide an efficient first line of defence against pathogens. This study shows that there are at least three antibacterial proteins in plaice skin mucus in addition to lysozyme. One of these proteins is responsible for approximately 74% of the antibacterial activity and is a 630 kDa protease complex designated KilC (bacterial killing metalloprotease C). Purified KilC kills the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa efficiently. The protease activity of KilC is dependent upon the divalent cation Mg2+ and shows pH dual optima of 5.0 and 8.0. The enzyme has a temperature optimum of 25 °C and is made up of at least five different sized peptides. Studies with protease inhibitors show that the catalytic site of KilC may be cysteine‐ or serine protease‐like. KilC may kill bacterial cells by acting directly upon the bacteria or by producing low molecular weight bioactive compounds such as peptides.
Expression and immunogenic comparison of VP2 and VP3 from marine birnavirus
Authors: Xu H‐J , Lin J‐G , Zhang C‐X , Suzuki S 
Published: March 2008

AbstractThe coding regions for the major epitopes of structural protein VP2 (vp2e) and structural protein VP3 were amplified from marine birnavirus (MABV) cDNA and efficiently expressed as glutathione S‐transferase (GST) fusion proteins in Escherichia coli. Polyclonal antibodies against VP2e and VP3 were raised in rabbits and fish using the purified proteins of GST/VP2e and GST/VP3. The rabbit anti‐serum against VP3 was more sensitive than the rabbit anti‐VP2e serum in detecting virus in MABV‐infected fish, while fish anti‐VP2e serum showed a stronger neutralization response than fish anti‐VP3 serum.
Applications of stable isotope techniques to the ecology of mammals
Authors: CRAWFORD KERRY , MCDONALD ROBBIE A. , BEARHOP STUART 
Published: March 2008

ABSTRACT

Stable isotope analysis (SIA) has the potential to become a widespread tool in mammalian ecology, because of its power in resolving the ecological and behavioural characteristics of animals. Although applications of the technique have enhanced our understanding of mammalian biology, it remains underused. Here we provide a review of previous applications to the study of extant mammals, drawing when appropriate on examples from the wider ecological literature, to identify the potential for future development of the approach.
Stable isotope analysis has been applied successfully to understanding the basic foraging decisions of mammals. However, SIA generates quantitative data on a continuous scale meaning that the approach can be particularly powerful in the characterization of community metrics, such as dimensions of resource partitioning within species assemblages or nutrient dynamics in food chains. Resolving spatial and temporal patterns of individual, intraspecific and interspecific resource use is of fundamental importance in animal ecology and evolutionary biology and SIA will emerge as a critical tool in these fields.
Geographical differences in naturally occurring stable isotopes have allowed ecologists to describe large‐scale mammal migrations. Several isotopic gradients exist at smaller spatial scales, which can provide finer resolution of spatial ecology.
A combination of foraging and movement decisions is of prime importance in the study of ecotoxicology, since this discipline requires quantitative understanding of exposure risk.
Genetic and ecological data provide incongruent interpretations of population structure and dispersal in naturally subdivided populations of white‐tailed ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura)
Authors: FEDY B. C. , MARTIN K. , RITLAND C. , YOUNG J. 
Published: March 2008

AbstractThe dispersal of individuals among populations affects the demographic and adaptive trajectories of animal populations and is fundamental to understanding population dynamics. White‐tailed ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura) are a high elevation grouse species that live year‐round in patchily distributed alpine areas in western North America. We investigated the patterns of dispersal and identified barriers to gene flow for a threatened subspecies (L. l. saxatilis) endemic to Vancouver Island, Canada. Connectivity among seven sites was examined using nine microsatellite loci (n = 133 individuals, HO = 0.62, mean number of alleles = 10) and direct movement observations using radio‐telemetry (n = 118 individuals). Average movement distances of individuals measured by radio‐telemetry were 0.63–3.23 km and considerably less than the shortest distance between sampling sites (18 km). Furthermore, despite extensive radio‐telemetry data, movement was never observed between any of the seven sampling sites. In contrast, genetic results (structure, tess) showed connectivity among most of the seven sampling sites and suggested that genetic variation is best explained by two clusters of individuals which separated the South sampling site from all other areas of Vancouver Island. Analysis of molecular data also showed a generally consistent pattern of isolation by distance (Mantel test r = 0.11, P < 0.01) with large areas of unsuitable low elevation habitat possibly acting as barriers to gene flow. Despite the naturally subdivided distribution of populations, white‐tailed ptarmigan do not fit well into any common definition of a metapopulation. We conclude the incongruities between the genetic and radio‐telemetry data are best explained by episodic dispersal patterns. In this study, we demonstrated the importance of combining genetic and ecological data in understanding patterns of dispersal and population structure.