bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assertiveness affecting burnout of novice nurses at university hospitals
Authors: SUZUKI Eiko , KANOYA Yuka , KATSUKI Takeshi , SATO Chifumi 
Published: November 2006

AbstractAim:  This prospective cohort study aimed to clarify the relationship between the level of assertiveness and the incidence of burnout in novice nurses in their first year at university hospitals and to obtain indices of assertion training in order for them to avoid burnout.Methods:  The subjects were 1203 novice nurses working at 20 university hospitals in Japan who gave informed consent to participate in this research. The questionnaires were completed by 949 novice nurses in June 2003, and they were divided into two cohorts to observe the incidence of burnout, which was investigated in June 2004.Results:  At the baseline, we obtained responses from 1030 novice nurses (85.6%) who had agreed to join the study. Ninety‐two (20.5%) of the novice nurses experienced burnout and 43 (7.2%) experienced serious burnout. Both high and low levels of assertiveness score tended to high incidence rates of burnout. Multiple logistic regression analyses showed that the factors affecting burnout were lack of senior nursing staff support and very low and low levels of assertiveness, and those affecting serious burnout were male gender, hospital location in Tokyo, and very low and low levels of assertiveness.Conclusions:  Novice nurses tend to burn out easily when their assertiveness scores are too low or too high. The ideal value of the assertiveness score seems to be medium.
The applicability of women‐centered care: Two case studies of capacity‐building for maternal health through international collaboration
Authors: HORIUCHI Shigeko , KATAOKA Yaeko , ETO Hiromi , OGURO Michiko , MORI Taeko 
Published: November 2006

AbstractAim:  To explore the general applicability of women‐centered care (WCC) as a philosophical foundation used for capacity‐building (CB) through examining the results of international collaboration efforts in Bolivia and the Union of Myanmar.Methods:  PubMed was used to search for articles related to WCC. The literature was sorted into the categories of “antecedents”, “characteristics”, and “outcomes”. The descriptors of WCC were extracted and applied to midwifery projects in Bolivia and the Union of Myanmar. Pre‐assessments and postassessments captured recipients’ and health workers’“voices”. Case studies were used to illustrate the outcomes.Results:  Extracted from the literature were two antecedents that typified pre‐WCC: gender inequality and hierarchical, male‐centered medical treatment. The characteristics of WCC were respect, safety, holism, and partnership. The consequences of WCC were the empowerment of women, autonomy for the care provider, and societal reform. Using these WCC characteristics as the philosophical foundation of our approach, our Bolivian and Union of Myanmar projects were implemented to improve maternal health through CB mother and baby‐friendly care at the primary level of normal birth care. The two projects illustrated the WCC characteristics of respect, safety, and partnership, as well as the resulting empowerment of women and autonomy for the nursing profession.Conclusion:  Women‐centered care, as a universal philosophical foundation, transcends cultures and CB leads to reform for women, both as the providers and users of care. The field results indicated that WCC can be successfully applied to real‐life situations.
Perceived difficulties and coping as predictors of adaptation among cancer nurses
Authors: HAYASHI Naoko , KOMATSU Hiroko , SAKAI Yoshiko , IBA Noriko , TONOSAKI Akiko , KATAGIRI Kazuko 
Published: November 2006

AbstractAim:  The purpose of this study was to prepare scales to assess the difficulties, coping, and adaptation experienced by nurses involved with cancer care in order to extract the constructing factors of each scale and to investigate the correlations between the scales and sociodemographic‐related factors.Methods:  The subjects were 155 full‐time staff nurses who provided care to cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy at outpatient, day‐care or short‐stay wards in 14 oncology and general hospitals throughout Japan. The participants completed a questionnaire that consisted of questions relating to demographic information and three item lists: the difficulties, coping, and adaptation associated with providing care to patients undergoing cancer therapy.Results:  Based on the results of the factor analysis for each scale, four factors of the Difficulties scale, three factors of the Coping scale, and five factors of the Adaptation scale were identified. A stepwise multiple regression analysis was performed by using the Adaptation scale score as a criterion variable and the Difficulties and Coping scale scores, and demographic factors as independent variables. The standardized partial regression coefficient was significant for coping and age in descending order.Conclusion:  The results of this study suggested that coping plays a significant role as a predictor of adaptation.
Vancomycin-Intermediate
Staphylococcus aureus
Strains Have Impaired Acetate Catabolism: Implications for Polysaccharide Intercellular Adhesin Synthesis and Autolysis
Authors: Nelson Jennifer L. , Rice Kelly C. , Slater Sean R. , Fox Paige M. , Archer Gordon L. , Bayles Kenneth W. , Fey Paul D. , Kreiswirth Barry N. , Somerville Greg A. 
Published: November 2006

ABSTRACT

The most common mechanism by which
Staphylococcus aureus
gains resistance to vancomycin is by adapting its physiology and metabolism to permit growth in the presence of vancomycin. Several studies have examined the adaptive changes occurring during the transition to vancomycin-intermediate resistance, leading to a model of vancomycin resistance in which decreased cell wall turnover and autolysis result in increased cell wall thickness and resistance to vancomycin. In the present study, we identified metabolic changes common to vancomycin-intermediate
S. aureus
(VISA) strains by assessing the metabolic and growth characteristics of two VISA strains (vancomycin MICs of 8 μg/ml) and two isogenic derivative strains with vancomycin MICs of 32 μg/ml. Interestingly, we observed the parental strains had impaired catabolism of nonpreferred carbon sources (i.e., acetate), and this impairment became more pronounced as vancomycin resistance increased. To determine if acetate catabolism impairment is common to VISA strains, we assessed the ability of VISA and vancomycin-sensitive
S. aureus
(VSSA) clinical isolates to catabolize acetate. As expected, a significantly greater percentage of VISA strains (71%) had impaired acetate catabolism relative to VSSA (8%). This is an important observation because staphylococcal acetate catabolism is implicated in growth yield and antibiotic tolerance and in regulating cell death and polysaccharide intercellular adhesin synthesis.
Phosphorylcholine Decreases Early Inflammation and Promotes the Establishment of Stable Biofilm Communities of Nontypeable
Haemophilus influenzae
Strain 86-028NP in a Chinchilla Model of Otitis Media
Authors: Hong Wenzhou , Mason Kevin , Jurcisek Joseph , Novotny Laura , Bakaletz Lauren O. , Swords W. Edward 
Published: November 2006

ABSTRACT

Nontypeable
Haemophilus influenzae
(NTHi) is a leading causative agent of otitis media. Much of the inflammation occurring during NTHi disease is initiated by lipooligosaccharides (LOS) on the bacterial surface. Phosphorylcholine (PCho) is added to some LOS forms in a phase-variable manner, and these PCho
+
variants predominate in vivo. Thus, we asked whether this modification confers some advantage during infection. Virulence of an otitis media isolate (NTHi strain 86-028NP) was compared with that of an isogenic PCho transferase (
licD
) mutant using a chinchilla (
Chinchilla lanigera
) model of otitis media. Animals infected with NTHi 86-028NP
licD
demonstrated increased early inflammation and a delayed increase in bacterial counts compared to animals infected with NTHi 86-028NP. LOS purified from chinchilla-passed NTHi 86-028NP had increased PCho content compared to LOS purified from the inoculum. Both strains were recovered from middle ear fluids as long as 14 days postinfection. Biofilms were macroscopically visible in the middle ears of euthanized animals infected with NTHi 86-028NP 7 days and 14 days postchallenge. Conversely, less dense biofilms were observed in animals infected with NTHi 86-028NP
licD
7 days postinfection, and none of the animals infected with NTHi 86-028NP
licD
had a visible biofilm by 14 days. Fluorescent antibody staining revealed PCho
+
variants within biofilms, similar to our prior results with tissue culture cells in vitro (S. L. West-Barnette, A. Rockel, and W. E. Swords, Infect. Immun.
74:
1828-1836, 2006). Animals coinfected with equal proportions of both strains had equal persistence of each strain and somewhat greater severity of disease. We thus conclude that PCho promotes NTHi infection and persistence by reducing the host inflammatory response and by promoting formation of stable biofilm communities.
Defining and investigating occupational asthma: a consensus approach
Authors: Francis H C , Prys-Picard C O , Fishwick D , Stenton C , Burge P S , Bradshaw L M , Ayres J G , Campbell S M , Niven R McL 
Published: November 2006

Background:At present there is no internationally agreed definition of occupational asthma and there is a lack of guidance regarding the resources that should be readily available to physicians running specialist occupational asthma services.Aims:To agree a working definition of occupational asthma and to develop a framework of resources necessary to run a specialist occupational asthma clinic.Method:A modified RAND appropriateness method was used to gain a consensus of opinion from an expert panel of clinicians running specialist occupational asthma clinics in the UK.Results:Consensus was reached over 10 terms defining occupational asthma including: occupational asthma is defined as asthma induced by exposure in the working environment to airborne dusts vapours or fumes, with or without pre-existing asthma; occupational asthma encompasses the terms “sensitiser-induced asthma” and “acute irritant-induced asthma” (reactive airways dysfunction syndrome (RADS)); acute irritant-induced asthma is a type of occupational asthma where there is no latency and no immunological sensitisation and should only be used when a single high exposure has occurred; and the term “work-related asthma” can be used to include occupational asthma, acute irritant-induced asthma (RADS) and aggravation of pre-existing asthma. Disagreement arose on whether low dose irritant-induced asthma existed, but the panel agreed that if it did exist they would include it in the definition of “work-related asthma”. The panel agreed on a set of 18 resources which should be available to a specialist occupational asthma service. These included pre-bronchodilator FEV1and FVC (% predicted); peak flow monitoring (and plotting of results, OASYS II analysis); non-specific provocation challenge in the laboratory and specific IgE to a wide variety of occupational agents.Conclusion:It is hoped that the outcome of this process will improve uniformity of definition and investigation of occupational asthma across the UK.
Economics on trial: the use and abuse of economic methods in third party tobacco litigation
Authors: Max Wendy , Tsoukalas Theo 
Published: November 2006

Objective:To analyse how the tobacco industry responded to economic models and methods used in third party payer tobacco litigation that has occurred since 1994.Methods:Identified 12 third party payer cases and reviewed the transcripts using WinMax qualitative software. Focused on defendant’s opening and closing statements, followed by trial testimony, depositions, and plaintiff’s transcripts.Results:Tobacco industry defendants tried to create doubt and confusion about whether or not smoking caused disease and by extension led to health care costs; argued that the economic models used were not legitimate and were not appropriate for estimating the costs incurred by plaintiffs; and criticised the data sources used because they did not consist of the individuals whose health care costs were being sought.Conclusions:Faced with a new and unprecedented wave of anti-tobacco litigation from third party payers, the tobacco industry tried to adapt strategies that had been used successfully in the past—creation of unfounded doubt and confusion, and manipulation of the discovery process to force plaintiffs to withdraw or concede defeat. The strategies failed because credible economic models of the health care costs of smoking had been developed that were able to quantify the damages to a large group of health care recipients, because plaintiff’s attorneys were able to commit significant resources and willing to undertake substantial financial risk to defend their new legal approaches, and because previous arguments related to individual responsibility were deemed irrelevant in third party litigation.
How the health belief model helps the tobacco industry: individuals, choice, and “information”: Table 1
Authors: Balbach Edith D , Smith Elizabeth A , Malone Ruth E 
Published: November 2006

Objective:To analyse trial and deposition testimony of tobacco industry executives to determine how they use the concepts of “information” and “choice” and consider how these concepts are related to theoretical models of health behaviour change.Methods:We coded and analysed transcripts of trial and deposition testimony of 14 high-level executives representing six companies plus the Tobacco Institute. We conducted an interpretive analysis of industry executives’ characterisation of the industry’s role as information provider and the agency of tobacco consumers in making “choices”.Results:Tobacco industry executives deployed the concept of “information” as a mechanism that shifted to consumers full moral responsibility for the harms caused by tobacco products. The industry’s role was characterised as that of impartial supplier of value-free “information”, without regard to its quality, accuracy and truthfulness. Tobacco industry legal defences rely on assumptions congruent with and supported by individual rational choice theories, particularly those that emphasise individual, autonomous decision-makers.Conclusions:Tobacco control advocates and health educators must challenge the industry’s preferred framing, pointing out that “information” is not value-free. Multi-level, multi-sectoral interventions are critical to tobacco use prevention. Over-reliance on individual and interpersonal rational choice models may have the effect of validating the industry’s model of smoking and cessation behaviour, absolving it of responsibility and rendering invisible the “choices” the industry has made and continues to make in promoting the most deadly consumer product ever made.
Mortality, morbidity and costs attributable to smoking in Germany: update and a 10-year comparison
Authors: Neubauer Simone , Welte Robert , Beiche Alexandra , Koenig Hans-Helmut , Buesch Katharina , Leidl Reiner 
Published: November 2006

Objective:To assess the negative health consequences and associated costs of cigarette smoking in Germany in 2003 and to compare them with the respective results from 1993.Methods:The number of deaths, years of potential life lost (YPLL), direct medical and indirect costs caused by active cigarette smoking in Germany in 2003 is estimated from a societal perspective. The method is similar to that applied by Welteet al,who estimated the cost of smoking in Germany in 1993. Therefore, a direct comparison of the results was possible. Methodological and data differences between these two publications and their effect on the results are analysed.Results:In 2003, 114 647 deaths and 1.6 million YPLL were attributable to smoking. Total costs were €21.0 billion, with €7.5 billion for acute hospital care, inpatient rehabilitation care, ambulatory care and prescribed drugs; €4.7 billion for the indirect costs of mortality; and €8.8 billion for costs due to work loss days and early retirement. From 1993 to 2003, the proportionate mortality attributable to smoking remained relatively stable, rising from 13.0% to 13.4%. The smoking-attributable deaths in men is lowered by 13.7% whereas that in women increased by 45.3%. Total real direct costs rose by 35.8%, and total real indirect costs declined by 7.1%, rendering an increase of 4.7% to real total costs. Accountable factors are changes in cigarette smoking prevalence and in disease-specific mortality and morbidity, as well as a rise in general healthcare expenditure.Conclusions:Despite the growing knowledge about the hazards of smoking, the smoking-attributable costs increased in Germany. Further, female mortality attributable to smoking is much higher than it was in 1993.
Health consequences of reduced daily cigarette consumption
Authors: Tverdal Aage , Bjartveit Kjell 
Published: November 2006

Objective:To determine the risk of dying from specified smoking-related diseases and from any cause in heavy smoking men and women (⩾15 cigarettes/day), who reduced their daily cigarette consumption by >50%.Design:A prospective cohort study.Setting:Three counties in Norway.Participants:24 959 men and 26 251 women, aged 20–49 years, screened for risk factors of cardiovascular disease in the mid-1970s, screened again after 3–13 years, and followed up throughout 2003.Outcomes:Absolute mortality and relative risks adjusted for confounding variables, of dying from all causes, cardiovascular disease, ischaemic heart disease, all smoking-related cancer and lung cancer.Results:With sustained heavy smokers as reference, the smokers of both sexes who reduced their daily consumption (reducers) had the following adjusted relative risks (95% confidence interval (CI)): of dying from any cause, 1.02 (0.84 to 1.22); cardiovascular disease, 1.02 (0.75 to 1.39); ischaemic heart disease, 0.96 (0.65 to 1.41); smoking-related cancer, 0.86 (0.57 to 1.29); and lung cancer, 0.66 (0.36 to 1.21). The difference in cigarette consumption between two examinations was not a significant predictor of death from any of the causes. A follow-up from a third screening of the subgroup who were reducers at both second and third examinations (sustained reducers) did not have a lower risk than those who were heavy smokers at all three examinations.Conclusions:Long-term follow-up provides no evidence that heavy smokers who cut down their daily cigarette consumption by >50% reduce their risk of premature death significantly. In health education and patient counselling, it may give people false expectations to advise that reduction in consumption is associated with reduction in harm.
Does maternal smoking during pregnancy predict the smoking patterns of young adult offspring? A birth cohort study
Authors: Al Mamun Abdullah , O’Callaghan Frances V , Alati Rosa , O’Callaghan Michael , Najman Jake M , Williams Gail M , Bor William 
Published: November 2006

Objective:To examine the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and the development of smoking behaviour patterns among young adult offspring.Method:Data were from the Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy (MUSP), a birth cohort of 7223 mothers and children enrolled in Brisbane, Australia, in 1981. The development of smoking behaviours (early or late onset, or combination of onset and prevalence patterns) among offspring at age 21 years with different patterns of maternal smoking (never smoked, smoked before or after pregnancy but not during pregnancy, or smoked during pregnancy) were compared. Maternal smoking information was derived from the prospectively collected data from the beginning of pregnancy until the child was 14 years of age. Analyses were restricted to the 3058 mothers and children whose smoking status was reported.Results:The proportion of young adults who smoked regularly, either with early onset or late onset, was greater among those whose mothers had smoked during pregnancy compared with those whose mothers had never smoked. The smoking patterns among those adolescent offspring whose mothers stopped smoking during pregnancy, but who then smoked at other times during the child’s life, were similar to those whose mothers had never smoked. This association was robust to adjustment for a variety of potential covariates.Conclusions:The findings provide some evidence for a direct effect of maternal smoking in utero on the development of smoking behaviour patterns of offspring and provide yet another incentive to persuade pregnant women not to smoke.
Separate Neural Processing of Timbre Dimensions in Auditory Sensory Memory
Authors: Caclin Anne , Brattico Elvira , Tervaniemi Mari , Näätänen Risto , Morlet Dominique , Giard Marie-Hélène , McAdams Stephen 
Published: November 2006

Abstract
Timbre is a multidimensional perceptual attribute of complex tones that characterizes the identity of a sound source. Our study explores the representation in auditory sensory memory of three timbre dimensions (acoustically related to attack time, spectral centroid, and spectrum fine structure), using the mismatch negativity (MMN) component of the auditory event-related potential. MMN is elicited by a discriminable change in a sound sequence and reflects the detection of the discrepancy between the current stimulus and traces in auditory sensory memory. The stimuli used in the present study were carefully controlled synthetic tones. MMNs were recorded after changes along each of the three timbre dimensions and their combinations. Additivity of unidimensional MMNs and dipole modeling results suggest partially separate MMN generators for different timbre dimensions, reflecting their mainly separate processing in auditory sensory memory. The results expand to timbre dimensions a property of separation of the representation in sensory memory that has already been reported between basic perceptual attributes (pitch, loudness, duration, and location) of sound sources.
One-Day Wave Forecasts Based on Artificial Neural Networks
Authors: Londhe S. N. , Panchang Vijay 
Published: November 2006

Abstract
Sophisticated wave models like the Wave Model (WAM) and Simulating Waves Nearshore (SWAN)/WAVEWATCH are used nowadays along with atmospheric models to produce forecasts of ocean wave conditions. These models are generally run operationally on large ocean-scale domains. In many coastal areas, on the other hand, operational forecasting is not performed for a variety of reasons, yet the need for wave forecasts remains. To address such cases, the production of forecasts through the use of artificial neural networks and buoy measurements is explored. A modeling strategy that predicts wave heights up to 24 h on the basis of judiciously selected measurements over the previous 7 days was examined. A detailed investigation of this strategy using data from six National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) buoys with diverse geographical and statistical properties demonstrates that 6-h forecasts can be obtained with a high level of fidelity, and forecasts up to 12 h showed a correlation of 67% or better relative to a full year of data. One limitation observed was the inability of the artificial neural network model to correctly predict the magnitude of the highest waves; although the occurrence of high waves was predicted, the peaks were underestimated. The inclusion of several years of data and the judicious selection of the training set, especially the inclusion of extreme events, were shown to be crucial for the model to recognize interannual variability and provide more reliable forecasts. Real-time simulations performed for April 2005 demonstrate the efficiency of this technology for operational forecasting.