bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Earplugs and eye masks: do they improve critical care patients’ sleep?
Authors: Richardson Annette , Allsop Micheala , Coghill Elaine , Turnock Chris 
Published: October 2007

AbstractDisturbed sleep and sleep deprivation is common in patients in critical care settings. Noise and inappropriate use of light/dark cycles are two of the causes of sleep interruptions. The purpose of the study was to evaluate eye masks and earplugs to help control patients’ exposure to noise and light within the critical care environment. An intervention study using a two group post‐test quasi‐experimental design of high dependency patients within a cardiothoracic critical care unit was undertaken by a group of critical care nurses. Sleep assessment rating scales and open‐ended questions were used to obtain patients’ reported experiences of their sleep. Patients self‐selected into either an intervention or non‐intervention group. Sixty‐four patients consented to take part in the study, 34 patients tried the interventions earplugs and eye masks and many found they improved sleep. However, noise was still a factor preventing sleep for both groups of patients. Mixed reports were found with the interventions from very comfortable to very uncomfortable. At a cost of £2·50/patient, earplugs and eye masks were a relatively cheap intervention with notable improvements for some critically ill patients. Further research is required with a larger sample size, plus an examination of both earplugs and eye masks separately. Offering patient’s earplugs and eye masks to improve sleep should be considered as a matter of routine nursing practice, this should include time to show patients how to use and try them out for comfort.
Reducing the risk of ventilator‐acquired pneumonia through head of bed elevation
Authors: Keeley Libby 
Published: October 2007

AbstractBackground:  It has been suggested that placing critically ill ventilated patients in a semirecumbent position minimizes the likelihood of nosocomial pneumonia.Aim:  This pilot study explores whether the incidence of ventilator‐acquired pneumonia (VAP) can be reduced by elevating the head of the bed to 45°.Methods:  The design is quantitative in nature, using a randomized controlled trial. The method involves adult ventilated patients being randomly assigned to one of two positions, i.e. 45° raised head of bed (treatment group) or 25° raised head of bed (control group). Data collection relied upon the diagnosis of clinically suspected and microbiologically confirmed pneumonia defined by the Consensus Conference on VAP.Results:  Thirty patients were included in the study – 17 in the treatment group and 13 in the control group. Results showed that 29% (five) in the treatment group and 54% (seven) in the control group contracted VAP (P < 0·176).Conclusions:  There was a trend towards a reduction in VAP in the patients nursed at 45°. However, because of the sample size this difference did not reach statistical significance.
Toothache prevalence and associated factors: a population‐based study in southern Brazil
Authors: Bastos JL , Gigante DP , Peres KG 
Published: October 2007

Objectives: The aim of this study was to estimate toothache prevalence and associated factors among adult residents in Pelotas, a southern Brazilian city.Methods: A cross‐sectional population‐based study was carried out in individuals aged ≥20 years (n = 3353). A multi‐stage sampling scheme was adopted, and data collection was performed at participants’ homes through standardized pre‐tested questionnaires. Toothache in the past 6 months was regarded as the outcome. Socioeconomic and demographic data as well as health‐related behavioural data were collected. All analyses were undertaken with a Poisson regression model, following a hierarchical conceptual model.Results: The response rate was 93.5% and toothache prevalence was 17.7% (95% CI 16.0–19.3). Multivariable analyses revealed that toothache was more likely to be reported by those with low educational attainment and low family income. Younger subjects, women and black people were also more likely to report toothache. Current smokers and problem drinkers were at increased risk of experiencing toothache in the past 6 months.Conclusions: The toothache prevalence reported in the present study is not negligible and should initiate the formulation of preventive policies and support the planning of local oral health services.
A Comparison of the Apoptotic and Cytotoxic Effects of Hexanedione Derivatives on Human Non‐Neuronal Lines and the Neuroblastoma Line SH‐SY5Y
Authors: Coleman Michael D. , Zilz Thomas R. , Griffiths Helen R. , Woehrling Elizabeth K. 
Published: October 2007

Abstract:   The effects of the α‐diketone derivatives 2,3‐ and 3,4‐hexanediones were investigated in three non‐neuronal cell lines (MCF7, HepG2 and CaCo‐2) as well as in the neuroblastoma line, SH‐SY5Y. The MTT reduction assay was employed to determine the necrotic effects of the α‐diketones and the neurotoxin 2,5‐hexanedione over 4, 24 and 48 hr exposures. Flow cytometry was also used to study the effects of the three isomers on the cell cycle of the SH‐SY5Y line only. With 2,5‐hexanedione, the mean MTT IC50 decreased more than 10‐fold from 4 to 48 hr. The toxicities of both α‐diketones were similar, with a more than 18‐fold increase in sensitivity of the SH‐SY5Y at 24 hr compared to that of 4 hr. With flow cytometry at 48 hr, SH‐SY5Y apoptosis with 2,5‐hexanedione rose throughout the concentration range evaluated (0–30 mM) while 2,3‐ and 3,4‐hexanediones showed apoptosis over the concentration range 1–1.6 mM, with 3,4‐hexanedione being the more potent compared to the 2,3‐isomer. At 1.6 mM nearly all the cells had entered apoptosis in the presence of the 3,4‐isomer, (94.9 ± 1.4%) but only 57.5 ± 4.1% of the 2,3‐isomer‐treated cells had reached that stage. The 2,3‐ and 3,4‐isomers in diets alone may not pose a serious threat to human health. Further studies may be necessary to evaluate the effects of other dietary components on their toxicity. These α‐diketones also display a degree of toxic selectivity towards neuroblastoma cells, which may have therapeutic implications.
Serotonergic Activation after 2‐Week Intrastriatal Infusion of l‐Dopa and Slow Recovery of Circling in Rats with Unilateral Nigral Lesions
Authors: Kääriäinen Tiina M. , García‐Horsman J. Arturo , Piltonen Marjo , Huotari Marko , Männistö Pekka T. 
Published: October 2007

Abstract:   A unilateral 6‐hydroxydopamine (6‐OHDA)‐lesioned rat model of Parkinson's disease was used to determine an effective dose to abolish circling behaviour of the continuous intrastriatal infusions of l‐dopa via osmotic minipumps into the lesioned striatum. This 2‐week l‐dopa treatment evoked a dose‐dependent decrease in the contralateral rotations induced by acute intraperitoneal l‐dopa and carbidopa that was sustained at least for 10 weeks. The minimum effective dose of intrastriatal l‐dopa was 3 µg/hr. Striatal [3H]‐spiperone binding was significantly increased by the 6‐OHDA lesion, reflecting a permanent, lesion‐induced, up‐regulation of dopamine D2 receptors. Furthermore, striatal dopamine and its metabolites as well as the level of tyrosine hydroxylase were significantly reduced by 6‐OHDA. None of these parameters were restored by the 2‐week l‐dopa infusions but, unexpectedly, the rotational response did not become normalized after discontinuation of l‐dopa infusions. Nigral 6‐OHDA lesions suppressed ipsilateral striatal 5‐hydroxytryptamine (5‐HT) and 5‐hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5‐HIAA) concentrations, and 5‐HT uptake sites while tryptophan hydroxylase was not changed in the striatum. When studying the cause of the sustained circling behaviour, we found that intrastriatal l‐dopa infusion dose‐dependently elevated striatal tryptophan hydroxylase much above the levels of intact side and 5‐HT uptake sites to the level of intact side, but the striatal 5‐HT levels exhibited no significant recovery while 5‐HIAA levels were partially restored. These data support the view that a long‐term ipsilateral activation of the serotonergic innervation occurs after l‐dopa infusions into the lesioned striata.
Heat shock protein accumulation and heat shock transcription factor activation in rat skeletal muscle during compensatory hypertrophy
Authors: Locke M. 
Published: October 2007

AbstractAim:  To assess the stress/heat shock protein (HSP) and heat shock factor activation response in overloaded (hypertrophied) plantaris muscles.Methods:  Male Sprague–Dawley rats (n = 5 per time point) underwent unilateral removal of the left gastrocnemius muscle. After 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 14 and 28 days, plantaris muscles were removed, weighted rapidly frozen in liquid nitrogen. Total protein content was determined and HSP 25 and HSP 72 contents were assessed by Western blotting. Heat shock transcription factor (HSF) activation was assessed by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA).Results:  While plantaris muscle mass was significantly increased 3 days after the imposition of overload and remained elevated thereafter confirming muscle hypertrophy, muscle protein content was not increased until 7 days after the imposition of overload. HSP 72 content was significantly increased at 3 days, while HSP 25 content was not significantly increased until 7 days after synergistic muscle removal. HSF activation was detected at 1, 2 and 3 days of overload but undetectable thereafter. The addition of HSF1‐ and HSF2‐specific antibodies to extracts prior to EMSA failed to supershift the HSF–heat shock element complex.Conclusion:  The temporal pattern of both HSF activation and HSP expression in skeletal muscle undergoing hypertrophy suggests the increased level of the observed HSPs may be both a consequence of both the immediate stress of overload and the hypertrophic process. The inability of HSF1‐ and HSF2‐specific antibodies to cause supershifts suggests the HSF detected during overload may not be HSF1 or HSF2.
Increased reversal and oscillatory shear stress cause smooth muscle contraction‐dependent changes in sheep aortic dynamics: role in aortic balloon pump circulatory support
Authors: Bia D. , Zócalo Y. , Armentano R. , Camus J. , Forteza E. de , Cabrera‐Fischer E. 
Published: October 2007

AbstractAims:  The intra‐aortic balloon pumping (IABP) changes pressure and increases the aorta shear stress reversal (SSR) and oscillatory (SSO) components. Hence, IABP‐dependent changes in aortic biomechanics would be expected, because of vascular smooth muscle (VSM) tone (i.e. flow‐induced endothelium‐dependent response, related to SSR and SSO variations) and/or pressure changes. To characterize: (i) the IABP effects on the aortic and global (systemic circulation) biomechanics, analysing their dependence on pressure and VSM basic tone changes and (ii) the relation between the SSR and SSO and the aortic biomechanical changes associated with the VSM tone variations.Methods:  Aortic flow, pressure and diameter were measured in eight sheep during basal, augmented and assisted beats (1 : 1 and 1 : 2 IABP modalities). Calculations: (i) aortic effective and isobaric elasticity, viscosity, circumferential stress, pulse wave velocity, shear stress and buffer and conduit functions, (ii) peripheral resistance, global compliance, reflection coefficient and wave propagation times and (iii) the relation between SSR and SSO and biomechanical changes associated with variations in the aortic VSM tone.Results:  Augmented and assisted beats showed: global VSM relaxation pattern (reduced peripheral resistance and reflection coefficient; increased propagation times) and local VSM contraction pattern (increased viscosity; reduced diameter, elasticity and circumferential stress), associated with SSR and SSO, levels and changes. The vascular changes reduced the ventricle afterload determinants, increased the vascular buffer performance and kept the conduit capability.Conclusion:  In addition to pressure‐dependent changes, IABP determined biomechanical changes related to variations in the VSM tone. The increased SSR and SSO were associated with the aortic VSM contraction pattern and biomechanical changes.
Activation of glucose transport and AMP‐activated protein kinase during muscle contraction in adenylate kinase‐1 knockout mice
Authors: Zhang S. ‐J. , Sandström M. E. , Aydin J. , Westerblad H. , Wieringa B. , Katz A. 
Published: October 2007

AbstractAim:  Recently it was reported that adenylate kinase‐1 knockout mice (AK−/−) exhibit elevated rates of glucose uptake following repeated contractions and hypoxia, but the mechanism was not investigated. The purpose of the present study was to measure the changes in glucose transport and AMP‐activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation/activity following repeated contractions in isolated muscles from AK−/− mice.Methods:  Extensor digitorum longus muscles underwent an intense stimulation protocol that decreased force to less than 10% of initial by the end of 10 min. Glucose uptake was measured with 2‐deoxy‐D‐[1,2‐3H]glucose.Results:  Muscle glucose uptake in the basal state was identical between control and AK−/− mice and increased twofold in both groups during contraction. The general antioxidant: N‐acetylcysteine, decreased contraction‐mediated glucose uptake by 30% in both groups. AMPK activity and phosphorylation were similar in the two groups in the basal state and, surprisingly, after contraction as well (approximately threefold increase). Both groups exhibited marked decreases in adenosine triphosphate following contraction (60–70% depletion), which coincided with stoichiometric increases in the content of inosine monophosphate, an indirect marker of AMP production. Adenylate kinase activity averaged 2081 ± 106 μmol min−1 (g dry wt)−1 for control and 37 ± 10 for AK−/− muscles; the activity in the AK−/− muscle is likely accounted for by isoforms other than AK1.Conclusion:  In conclusion, AK−/− mice have a normal capacity for contraction‐mediated glucose uptake. This appears to occur via increases in AMP and reactive oxygen species that result in the activation of AMPK.
Exercise limb blood flow response to acute and chronic hypoxia in Danish lowlanders and Aymara natives
Authors: Rådegran G. 
Published: October 2007

AbstractAim:  The femoral artery blood flow response to submaximal, one‐legged, dynamic, knee‐extensor exercise was determined in acute and chronic hypoxia to investigate the hypotheses that with adaptation to chronic hypoxia blood haemoglobin increases, allowing preservation of blood flow as in normoxia.Methods:  Sixteen Danish lowlanders participated, in groups of six to eight, in the experiments at sea level normoxia (FiO2 ≅ 0.21) and acute hypoxia (FiO2 ≅ 0.11), and chronic hypoxia after ∼7 and 9–10 weeks at ∼5260 m altitude breathing ambient air (FiO2 ≅ 0.21) or a hyperoxic gas (FiO2 ≅ 0.55). The response was compared with that in six Aymara natives.Results:  The haemoglobin and haematocrit increased (P < 0.003) in the lowlanders at altitude vs. at sea level by ∼39 and 27% respectively; i.e. to a similar (P = ns) level as in the natives. At rest, blood flow was the same (P = ns) in the lowlanders at sea level and altitude, as in the natives at altitude. During the onset of and incremental exercise, blood flow was the same (P = ns) in the lowlanders at sea level and altitude, as in the natives at altitude. Acute hypoxia increased (P < 0.05) blood flow by ∼55% during exercise in the lowlanders at sea level. Acute hyperoxia decreased (P < 0.05) blood flow by ∼22–29% during exercise in the lowlanders and natives at altitude.Conclusion:  In chronic hypoxia, blood haemoglobin increases, allowing normalization of the elevated exercise blood flow response in acute hypoxia, and preservation of the kinetics and steady‐state exercise blood flow as in normoxia, being similar as in the natives at altitude.
Seeking forgiveness in an intergroup context: Angolan, Guinean, Mozambican, and East Timorese perspectives
Authors: Neto Félix , Pinto Conceição , Mullet Etienne 
Published: October 2007

AbstractForgiveness is a key concept in many governance and responsive regulation issues. The notion of intergroup forgiveness was examined among people from four countries: Angola, Guinea‐Bissau, Mozambique, and East Timor. Nine hundred and eighty‐five adults who had suffered from the many conflicts in their areas, either personally or through injuries inflicted on members of their family, agreed to participate in a study that was specifically about seeking intergroup forgiveness. In all four countries, most participants of the study agreed with the ideas that (i) seeking intergroup forgiveness makes sense; (ii) the seeking process must be a popular, democratic, and public process, not a secret elite negotiation; (iii) the process must be initiated and conducted by people in charge politically, not by dissident factions; and (iv) the process is aimed at reconciliation, not at humiliating the group requesting forgiveness. Differences between the four countries were found regarding the extent to which (i) international organizations may be involved in the process; (ii) the demand must include the former perpetrators; and (iii) emotions and material compensation are ingredients in the process.
Can non‐state global governance be legitimate? An analytical framework
Authors: Bernstein Steven , Cashore Benjamin 
Published: October 2007

AbstractIn the absence of effective national and intergovernmental regulation to ameliorate global environmental and social problems, “private” alternatives have proliferated, including self‐regulation, corporate social responsibility, and public–private partnerships. Of the alternatives, “non‐state market driven” (NSMD) governance systems deserve greater attention because they offer the strongest regulation and potential to socially embed global markets. NSMD systems encourage compliance by recognizing and tracking, along the market’s supply chain, responsibly produced goods and services. They aim to establish “political legitimacy” whereby firms, social actors, and stakeholders are united into a community that accepts “shared rule as appropriate and justified.” Drawing inductively on evidence from a range of NSMD systems, and deductively on theories of institutions and learning, we develop an analytical framework and a preliminary set of causal propositions to explicate whether and how political legitimacy might be achieved. The framework corrects the existing literature’s inattention to the conditioning effects of global social structure, and its tendency to treat actor evaluations of NSMD systems as static and strategic. It identifies a three‐phase process through which NSMD systems might gain political legitimacy. It posits that a “logic of consequences” alone cannot explain actor evaluations: the explanation requires greater reference to a “logic of appropriateness” as systems progress through the phases. The framework aims to guide future empirical work to assess the potential of NSMD systems to socially embed global markets.
Trade liberalization and the spread of regulatory institutions: The case of Chile
Authors: Bull Benedicte 
Published: October 2007

AbstractIt is currently widely recognized that trade liberalization leads not only to deregulation but also to re‐regulation. However, it is less well understood how trade agreements and trade liberalization affect domestic regulatory institutions. This article aims to contribute to such an understanding through a case study of Chile. Since 1990, Chile has pursued a strategy of economic integration through bilateral, regional, and multilateral agreements. The study shows how this strategy has led to the partial implementation of a patchwork of competing regulatory institutions, many of which can trace their roots to the domestically preferred institutions of Chile’s major trading partners.
Identification and treatment of the prodromal phase of psychotic disorders: perspectives from the PACE Clinic
Authors: Yung Alison R. 
Published: October 2007

AbstractAim: To describe the development of the field of prodromal intervention in psychotic disorders and to summarize the findings from the PACE Clinic, the inaugural service devoted to this area.Method: A review of the PACE Clinic studies, with reference to the work of other groups.Results: The aims of intervention before the onset of psychosis are to alleviate current distress and impairment and to either prevent, delay or ameliorate the onset of more severe psychotic disorder. To do this, it is necessary to be able to first accurately identify those in the earliest stages of a potentially serious psychotic disorder, and second to effectively slow or prevent progression to more advanced illness. Criteria have been developed which have predicted onset of psychotic disorder inover 30% of so‐called ‘ultra high risk’ individuals. Treatment trials have been promising, and to date have examined the effects of antipsychotic medication, cognitive therapy and a combination of the two. Recently, omega‐3 fatty acids have also been shown to be effective. However, there are also pitfalls of working in the prodromal area, including ethical concerns and more recently the possibility that there is a decline in the rate of transition from ultra‐high‐risk state to first‐episode psychosis.Conclusions: The field of prodromal intervention in psychotic disorders is an exciting one as it offers the possibility of prevention of full‐blown disorder and its related negative sequelae. However, there are many issues that need to be dealt with in order to achieve this goal, and ongoing evaluation of methods to identify and treat such individuals is needed.
Subjective distress in first‐episode psychosis: role of symptoms and self‐esteem
Authors: Vracotas Nadia , Schmitz Norbert , Joober Ridha , Malla Ashok 
Published: October 2007

AbstractBackground: Patients with psychotic disorders are assumed to experience significant distress, especially during their first episode. It is unclear whether such distress is associated with the level of psychotic or other symptoms and/or to other characteristics such as level of self‐esteem.Methods: One hundred and five patients who presented with first episode psychosis (FEP) (54% male; mean age 22.74 years; 79.4% schizophrenia; 20.6% affective psychosis) were administered the Symptom Checklist 90‐Revised (SCL‐90‐R) at first presentation for treatment. Four indices derived from the SCL‐90‐R were used as measures of distress. Psychopathology was assessed with the Calgary Depression Scale, the Hamilton Anxiety Scale, the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms and the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms and self‐esteem with the Self‐esteem Rating Scale.Spearman's Correlation coefficients were calculated, followed by a regression analysis.Results: Measures of distress were highly correlated with depression (rho = 0.44–0.56), and anxiety (rho = 0.38–0.48), modestly with lack of judgement and insight (rho = −0.28 to −0.37) and not with positive or negative symptoms of psychosis. In a smaller sample (n = 68) distress measures were also highly correlated with self‐esteem (rho = −0.55 to −0.73). Logistic regression confirmed that self‐esteem explained 53% of the total variance explained (57%) by any combination of the independent variables.Conclusion: Distress experienced by individuals suffering from FEP is associated with levels of self‐esteem, depression and anxiety and not with the level of psychotic or negative symptoms. Self‐esteem may play a significant role in the magnitude of distress experienced by patients presenting with a FEP.