bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Holding services to account
Authors: Clegg J. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractBackground  Recently, the frequency of audit inspections of health services for people with intellectual disability (ID) in the UK has increased, from occasional inquiries to a systematic audit of all services. From 2008, a process of continuous audit ‘surveillance’ of specialist health services is to be introduced. Similar regimes of inspection are in place for social care services.Aim  To explore the conceptual positions which inform audit, through detailed examination of the investigation into the learning disability service at Sutton and Merton.Findings  Audit is distinct from evaluation because it neither provides opportunities for service staff to give an account of their work nor represents a search for knowledge. Audit investigates adherence to government policy. In ID, audits measure aspirations derived from normalisation, despite research showing that some of these aspirations have not been achieved by any service. As audit consumes significant public resource, it is questionable whether the dominant finding of the Healthcare Commission's investigation into Sutton and Merton, that the ID service was chronically under‐funded, represents value for money.Discussion and conclusions  While basic checks on minimum standards will always be necessary, service excellence requires not audit but research‐driven evaluation. Audits inhibit rather than open‐up debate about improving support to people with ID. They impose an ideology, squander resource, and demoralise carers and staff. Evaluations challenge the implicit management‐versus‐professional binary enacted by audit, and can inform new care systems which make effective use of all those engaged with people with ID.
Internal and external goods: a philosophical critique of the hybridisation of professionalism
Authors: Reinders H. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractBackground  Recent literature on professionalism describes the hybridisation of professional practices because of the pressures of neo‐liberal managerialism. While the general opinion appears to be that this development was inevitable given the task of service organisations to operate on the market, this paper questions that blurring the distinction between professional and managerial responsibilities is sound business advice for market‐orientated service providers.Method  The method is philosophical analysis. A normative account of ‘true’ professionalism is discussed in order to determine the relation between professionalism and managerialism. By placing this account in the framework of Aristotelian moral philosophy, three distinctions are presented to argue that professional practices will most likely be successful in managerial terms when the internal values of professional practices are not mixed up with the external values of the service organisation.Results  The analysis results in an argument about economic value as a contingent ‘by‐product’ of professional expertise. The outcome is the prediction that professional activity will be most responsive to organisational goals implemented and monitored by management to the extent that professionals are enabled to serve the goals internal to their profession. Professional excellence will be most profitable when professionals do not have to mind about being profitable.Conclusions  Neo‐liberal managerialism assumes that making professionals share managerial values of accountability and transparency will improve both the economic performance of service organisations and the quality of their services. The argument concerning the contribution to these values by professionals as a contingent by‐product of professional excellence shows that this assumption is questionable.
What informs and shapes ethical practice in Intellectual Disability services?
Authors: Wilson N. , Clegg J. , Hardy G. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractBackground Theoretical literature in the intellectual disability (ID) field identified a mismatch between professional codes of practice (which assume clients to be ‘autonomous’) and the reality of fostering autonomy for people with ID (who at times are completely dependent on others). This research aimed to understand how professionals bridged this disjunction and actually provided ethical services with this client group.Method Nine professionals from adult ID services who had consulted with local Ethical Advisory Groups were interviewed about their experience of addressing an ethical issue within their work. Accounts were subjected to narrative analysis.Results Professionals' narratives featured the following themes: differing sources of conflict, professional vulnerability and seeking validation around resolution, centrality of relationships, fragility of resolutions and maintaining moral integrity.Conclusions Findings revealed systemic pressure on professionals to find ‘definitive’ solutions to ethical dilemmas when the issues were not open to such resolution. Findings were reviewed in light of ethical literature that shows how professionals' work inevitably features close and enduring relationships with people with ID. We suggest professionals need to draw on ethical frameworks that can accommodate relational aspects of their practice.
Investigation of killer cell immunoglobulin‐like receptor (KIR) gene diversity: KIR2DL2, KIR2DL5 and KIR2DS5
Authors: Gonzalez A. , Meenagh A. , Sleator C. , Middleton D. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractHuman killer cell immunoglobulin‐like receptor (KIR) genes are important for restraining natural killer cytotoxicity toward cells with autologous human leukocyte antigen (HLA) while targeting cells lacking or expressing low levels of self‐HLA molecules. KIR gene content and alleles vary across individual genomes and populations, requiring specialized laboratory tools for their characterization. Here, we detail methods based on sequence‐specific polymerase chain reaction amplification and oligonucleotide probe hybridization to identify alleles of KIR2DL2, KIR2DL5A, KIR2DL5B and KIR2DS5. Allele frequencies for a Northern Irish population of 354 individuals typed with this system are given, along with results from 132 cell lines from the International Histocompatibility Workshop that cover many world populations. This information complements published reports by our laboratory for allele‐level typing of other KIR members, totaling 12 of the 17 known genes. These methods are allowing us to characterize KIR haplotypes in our population.
Complex effects of IL1A polymorphism and calpain inhibitors on interleukin 1α (IL‐1α) mRNA levels and secretion of IL‐1α protein
Authors: Lee S. , Temple S. , Roberts S. , Price P. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractAlleles of IL1A‐889(C>T) and IL1A+4845(G>T) are in linkage disequilibrium. Interleukin 1α (IL‐1α) is produced as a precursor protein and cleaved at positions 117–118 by calpain, generating a mature protein for export. IL1A+4845 affects amino acids expressed at position 114 and hence may modulate calpain‐mediated cleavage. We sought evidence for this mechanism in intact cells. Blood leukocytes from heterozygous donors released more IL‐1α protein than cells from IL1A(1,1) donors, while release from IL1A(2,2) cells was variable. Genotype did not affect levels of IL‐1α mRNA, so differential cleavage of the precursor is a feasible mechanism. However, genotype also had no effect on inhibition of IL‐1α release by pretreatment with calpain inhibitors, and calpain inhibitors reduced IL‐1α and tumor necrosis factor α mRNA levels. Hence, calpain inhibitors probably affect inhibition of signal transduction pathway rather than cleavage of IL‐1α protein. As ratios of μ‐calpain/calpastatin were lowest in heterozygous donors, genetically determined IL‐1α levels may modulate transcription of calpain and calpastatin. This could reduce the impact of IL1A genotype on IL‐1α secretion and amplify individual variation in levels generated in culture.
Increased plasma concentration of surfactant protein D in chronic periodontitis independent of SFTPD genotype: potential role as a biomarker
Authors: Glas J. , Beynon V. , Bachstein B. , Steckenbiller J. , Manolis V. , Euba A. , Müller‐Myhsok B. , Folwaczny M. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractSurfactant protein (SP) D belongs to the family of collectins, which are humoral molecules of the innate immune system. Collectins belong to pattern recognition receptors and are present in plasma and on mucosal surfaces and recognize several microbial components, the pathogen‐associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). While SP‐A is primarily expressed in the lung, expression of SP‐D is more widely detected including different mucosal surfaces and in serum. Therefore, SP‐D is considered a functional candidate in chronic periodontitis. The present study sought to investigate whether plasma concentration of SP‐D is altered in chronic periodontitis and whether polymorphisms within the SFTPD gene (Met11Thr, Ala160Thr and Ser270Thr) are associated with chronic periodontitis. The study population comprised 105 patients with chronic periodontitis and 122 healthy, unrelated control individuals. SP‐D Plasma concentrations were determined using enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay test. Genotyping of SFTPD polymorphisms was performed by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Plasma concentrations were significantly increased in patients with chronic periodontitis compared with the controls. The median plasma concentrations were 81.6 ng/ml in the patients and 52.6 ng/ml in the controls (P = 0.00051). In contrast, the three SFTPD polymorphisms displayed no significant association with chronic periodontitis; thus, the increased plasma concentrations were independent on the genotype. The study showed significantly increased SP‐D plasma concentrations in patients with chronic periodontitis compared with healthy controls. Thus, SP‐D can potentially be used as a biomarker for chronic periodontitis. As no significant associations of SFTPD gene polymorphisms could be detected, other mechanisms influencing SP‐D serum/plasma expression might exist.
Allelic diversity within the high frequency Mamu‐A2*05/Mane‐A2*05 (Mane‐A*06)/Mafa‐A2*05 family of macaque MHC‐A loci
Authors: Wu J. , Bassinger S. , Montoya G. D. , Chavez L. , Jones C. E. , Holder‐Lockyer B. , Masten B. , Williams T. M. , Prilliman K. R. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractMacaque species serve as important animal models of human infection and immunity. To more fully scrutinize their potential in both the analysis of disease pathogenesis and vaccine development, it is necessary to characterize the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I loci of Macaca mulatta (Mamu), Macaca nemestrina (Mane), and Macaca fascicularis (Mafa) at the genomic level. The oligomorphic Mamu‐A2*05/Mane‐A2*05 (previously known as Mane‐A*06) family of macaque MHC‐A alleles has recently been shown to be present at high frequency in both Indian rhesus and pig‐tailed macaque populations. Using a locus‐specific amplification and direct DNA typing methodology, we have additionally found that the locus encoding this family is very prevalent (75%) among a sampling of 182 Chinese rhesus macaques and has a high prevalence (80%) within a larger, independent cohort of 309 pig‐tailed macaques. Interestingly, among the Chinese rhesus macaques, only six alleles previously identified in Indian‐origin animals were observed, while three recently identified in Chinese‐origin animals and 25 new alleles were characterized. Among the pig‐tailed macaques, we observed 1 previously known (Mane‐A*06) and 19 new alleles. Examination of the orthologous locus in a preliminary sampling of 30 cynomolgus macaques showed an even higher presence (87%) of Mafa‐A2*05 family alleles, with 5 previously identified and 15 new alleles characterized. The continued discovery of novel alleles and thus further diversity within the Mamu‐A2*05/Mane‐A2*05/Mafa‐A2*05 family indicates that this MHC‐A locus, although highly conserved across the three species of macaques, has remained a dynamic entity during evolution.
The role of serpins in vertebrate immunity
Authors: Mangan M. S. J. , Kaiserman D. , Bird P. I. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractSerine proteases are important components of the immune system, playing a role in many processes including migration, phagocytosis and elimination of virally infected and cancerous cells. Members of the serpin superfamily regulate the activity of these proteases to limit tissue damage and unwarranted cell death. This review focuses on the role of intracellular (clade B) serpins in maintaining viability of both innate and adaptive immune cells.
CTLA‐4 polymorphisms are not associated with ocular inflammatory disease
Authors: Bye L. , Modi N. , Stanford M. R. , Kondeatis E. , Vaughan R. , Fortune F. , Kanawati C. , Ben‐Chetrit E. , Ghabra M. , Murray P. I. , Wallace G. R. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractCytotoxic T‐lymphocyte‐associated antigen‐4 (CTLA‐4) is regarded with other molecules such as HLA, PTPN22 and CARD15 as genetic master switches of autoimmunity. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the genes encoding these molecules have been associated with autoimmune conditions. We analysed the SNPs −318C/T and 49A/G in CTLA‐4 in patients with Behcet’s disease (BD), patients with intermediate uveitis and appropriate controls. Blood was collected from 236 patients with BD from the UK and the Middle East (ME), all fulfilling the International Study Group criteria for the diagnosis of BD, and 143 patients with idiopathic intermediate uveitis were recruited from the Medical Eye Unit at St Thomas’ Hospital. Samples from healthy individuals from each geographical centre were used as controls. DNA was prepared by standard methods, and SNPs −318 and 49 in CTLA‐4 were detected by a polymerase chain reaction‐sequence specific primers (PCR‐SSP) assay using primer mixes. The results showed that there was no association with either polymorphism in patients with BD from the UK or the ME. Similarly, there was no association in patients with intermediate uveitis. Moreover, there was no association with SNP in CTLA‐4 and disease manifestations in BD or outcome in patients with intermediate uveitis. Both BD and intermediate uveitis have HLA associations, but there is no difference in distribution of CTLA‐4 polymorphisms that are associated with other autoimmune diseases. The lack of association with polymorphisms in CTLA‐4 and other master controlling genes of autoimmunity suggests that mechanisms that mediate such a description for BD and intermediate uveitis have still to be elucidated.
Physiological Responses of Tomato Plants (Solanum lycopersicum) as Affected by Root Hypoxia
Authors: Horchani F. , Aloui A. , Brouquisse R. , Aschi‐Smiti S. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractIn order to investigate the effects of root hypoxia (1–2 % oxygen) on physiology and on some fructification parameters of tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum cv. H63‐5), a range of physiological and agronomic measurements were performed on plants submitted to gradual root hypoxia at the second leaf stage. Stomatal conductance (gs), total chlorophyll content, leaf area (LA) and leaf mass per area (LMA) were quantified at 14 days of treatment in the first leaf appeared before (L1) and after (L3) root hypoxia application. The results obtained showed that 7 days of treatment has slight effects on plant weight growth. However, 14 days of treatment caused decreased root dry weight (DW) with a concomitant increase in shoot DW. Root hypoxia significantly decreased gs and chlorophyll content of L3, but no effects were noted for L1. LA was significantly reduced for L1 and L3, contrary to LMA which was significantly increased. At the reproductive stage, root hypoxia resulted in a decrease in flower and fruit production, accelerated the entrance in the fruit expansion phase, but did not affect the rate of fruit growth, nor the final fruit size.
Plant Emergence of PEG‐osmoprimed Seeds under Suboptimal Temperatures in Two Cultivars of Sweet Sorghum Differing in Seed Tannin Content
Authors: Patanè C. , Cavallaro V. , D’Agosta G. , Cosentino S. L. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractThe effect of polyethylene glycol (PEG) osmopriming on plant emergence in laboratory at optimal (25 °C) and suboptimal (18 and 14 °C) temperatures was assessed in two cultivars of sweet sorghum differing in kernel colour: Brandes, light‐coloured, and Roce, dark‐coloured. Sterilized sand or non‐sterilized soil were used as substrates. PEG osmopriming enhanced seedling emergence in sand. In soil, the light‐seeded cultivar produced seedlings only at optimum temperature, whereas the unprimed dark‐seeded cultivar performed well as in sand at all temperatures and reduced dramatically its germination capacity at suboptimal temperatures following priming treatment. These results might be related to the presence of tannins in the seed coat. Seed tannin contents of 80 and 590 mg 100 g−1 seed fresh weight (FW) were determined in Brandes and Roce respectively. These amounts consistently reduced after PEG osmopriming, especially in Roce (217.5 mg 100 g−1 seed FW). The decline in tannin content in Roce, because of osmopriming, might explain the poor emergence of this cultivar in soil. These results suggest the opportunity of using high‐tannin cultivars of sweet sorghum in the field, which may better growth in this environment when early sowings are required.
Irrigation has Little Effect on Unsaturated Fatty Acid Content in Soya Bean Seed Oil within Genotypes Differing in Fatty Acid Profile
Authors: Lee J. D. , Oliva M. L. , Sleper D. A. , Shannon J. G. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractSoya bean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] genotypes with modified unsaturated fatty acid profiles in seed oil have been developed. Higher oleic (18:1) and lower linolenic (18:3) acids are desirable for increased use of soya bean oil in food and industrial applications. The environment affects levels of unsaturated fatty acids in soya bean and it is important that desired components of seed oil are produced across a range of growing conditions. Our objective was to determine whether irrigation affects fatty acid levels in soya bean with altered fatty acid profiles. Seven modified oil genotypes which included elevated oleic acids, and/or reduced linolenic acid, along with two common soya bean varieties were evaluated with and without irrigation (rain fed) in four environments in each of 2 years. Irrigation generally had no significant influence on unsaturated fatty acid accumulation in seed oil in soya bean genotypes with altered fatty acid profiles. However, irrigation tended to show desirable effects on 18:1 and 18:3 contents in the genotypes studied. Oleic acid tended to be higher in eight of the nine genotypes and linolenic acid was lower in six of the nine genotypes under irrigation vs. rain fed treatments.
Visiting the Methodological Aspects of Flooding Experiments: Quantitative Evidence from Agricultural and Ecophysiological Studies
Authors: Striker G. G. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractPlant responses to flooding have been studied and reviewed extensively. However, the differences among the experimental procedures used to apply the flood that lead to such responses have never been explored. In this work, a database of 132 articles was created to quantify important methodological aspects of flooding experiments in crop and non‐crop species for the first time as well as to look for thematic gaps in our knowledge on flooding research. Results showed that the flood experiments were conducted differently for crop and non‐crop species, with two main distinctions: the duration of the flood and the consideration of competition among plants. For crop species, experimental flooding had a short duration of 16 days (ranging from 8 to 28 days for the 25th and 75th percentiles), while for non‐crop species, flooding was quite longer, nearly 45 days (ranging from 28 to 61.5 days). Also, 53 % of the examined experiments in crop species considered competition among plants in their experimental protocol, while only 20 % did so for non‐crop species. Regarding the topics least investigated within this area, in terms of both crop and non‐crop species, future investigation should focus on the effects of flooding on reproductive traits, mineral nutrition and the nitrogen fixation of plants. These results are discussed, along with their implications in terms of defining crucial aspects of the methodology of flooding experiments.
ANABOLIC AGENTS FOR IMPROVING MUSCLE REGENERATION AND FUNCTION AFTER INJURY
Authors: Lynch Gordon S , Schertzer Jonathan D , Ryall James G 
Published: May 2008

SUMMARY

In the present review, we describe how muscles can be injured by external factors, internal factors or during the performance of some actions during sports. In addition, we describe the injury to a muscle that occurs when its blood supply is interrupted, an occurrence common in clinical settings. An overview of muscle regeneration is presented, as well as a discussion of some of the potential complications that can compromise successful muscle repair and lead to impaired function and permanent disability.
Improving muscle regeneration is important for hastening muscle repair and restoring muscle function and the present review describes ways in which this can be achieved. We describe recent advances in tissue engineering that offer considerable promise for treating muscle damage, but highlight the fact that these techniques require rigorous evaluation before they can become mainstream clinical treatments.
Growth‐promoting agents are purported to increase the size of existing and newly regenerating muscle fibres and, therefore, could be used to improve muscle function if administered at appropriate times during the repair process. The present review provides an update on the efficacy of some growth‐promoting agents, including anabolic steroids, insulin‐like growth factor‐I (IGF‐I) and b2‐adrenoceptor agonists, to improve muscle function after injury. Although these approaches have clinical merit, a better understanding of the androgenic, IGF‐I and b‐adrenoceptor signalling pathways in skeletal muscle is important if we are to devise safe and effective therapies to enhance muscle regeneration and function after injury.
SHEEP MODELS OF INTRAUTERINE GROWTH RESTRICTION: FETAL ADAPTATIONS AND CONSEQUENCES
Authors: Morrison Janna L 
Published: May 2008

SUMMARY

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) has been associated with poor perinatal health outcomes. Animal models have been used to investigate why IUGR is associated with a poor prognosis. The sheep has been used extensively as an experimental model for IUGR with poor placental substrate supply to the fetus induced using a range of methods, including the surgical ablation of the majority of endometrial caruncles prior to conception, experimental induction of maternal hyperthermia, ligation of an umbilical artery or embolization of the placenta in late gestation and maternal overnutrition in the pregnant adolescent ewe.
Fetal adaptations to fetal hypoxia and hypoglycaemia include activation of the fetal hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and sympathetic nervous system and an associated increase in circulating cortisol and noradrenaline concentrations. Fetal cardiovascular responses vary according to the method used to induce placental dysfunction.
Although an array of experimental models has been used to induce placental dysfunction at different stages of fetal development, each leads to remarkably similar fetal growth, metabolic, neuroendocrine and cardiovascular adaptations and consequences. The extent and range of the fetal physiological adaptations to chronic placental insufficiency are determined by the duration of exposure and the degree of the severity of substrate supply restriction.
The present review summarizes how sheep models of IUGR have provided an increased understanding of the nature of the fetal adaptations to IUGR, their longer‐term physiological consequences and how to improve clinical management of IUGR in human pregnancies.