bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Spiritual care: implications for nurses’ professional responsibility
Authors: Van Leeuwen René , Tiesinga Lucas J , Post Doeke , Jochemsen Henk 
Published: June 2006

Aim.  This paper aimed to gain insight into the spiritual aspects of nursing care within the context of health care in the Netherlands and to provide recommendations for the development of care in this area and the promotion of the professional expertise of nurses.Background.  International nursing literature suggests that caregivers are expected to pay attention to spiritual aspects of patient care. In Dutch nursing literature, the spiritual dimension is increasingly becoming a focus of attention. Despite this, there is a lack of empirical data from professional practice in the Netherlands.Method.  Data were collected by means of focus group interviews. The sample was made up of the specialist fields of cardiology, oncology and neurology and divided into groups of patients, nurses and hospital chaplains. The interviews took place between May and December 2004. Data were qualitatively analysed using the computer programme Kwalitan.Results.  Different spiritual themes emerged from the interviews. There were different expectations of the nurse's role with regard to spiritual aspects. The main themes derived from this research can be recognized as aspects of nursing competencies that are reported in the literature. However, the attention to spiritual aspects in the nursing process is not clear cut. It seems to be highly dependent on personal expression and personal commitment.Conclusions.  The study raises questions about the nurse's professional role in spiritual care. The study shows that different factors (personal, cultural and educational) play a role in the fact that spiritual care is not structurally embedded in nursing care. Further research on the impact of that variable is recommended.Relevance to clinical practice.  Nursing care implies care for the spiritual needs of patients. To provide this care, nurses need to be knowledgeable regarding the content of spiritual care and the personal, professional, cultural and political factors influencing it. They also need to be able to participate in policy and decision‐making discussions of spiritual care in clinical nursing practice.
Nursing competencies for spiritual care
Authors: Baldacchino Donia R 
Published: June 2006

Aim and objectives.  The aim of this paper is to reveal the main nursing competencies for spiritual care, which emerged from data collecting from qualified nurses in Malta.Background.  For nurses to deliver spiritual care, they must be competent to provide care on a physical, mental, social and spiritual level. As spiritual care may be influenced by culture, this study explored the competencies for spiritual care from the Maltese nurses’ perspective.Methods.  A descriptive exploratory study investigated nurses’ competencies in the delivery of spiritual care to patients with myocardial infarction. Data were collected by means of an open‐ended questionnaire on qualified nurses (n = 77) followed by an in‐depth interview on a stratified random sample (n = 14) of nurses from the same respondents.Results.  The four main nursing competencies identified were associated with the role of the nurse as a professional and as an individual person; delivery of spiritual care by the nursing process; nurses’ communication with patients, inter‐disciplinary team and clinical/educational organizations and safeguarding ethical issues in care.Conclusion.  This study demonstrated the complexity of spiritual care, which requires nurses to increase their awareness of the uniqueness of each individual patient with regard to the connection between mind, body and spirit; the assessment of the spiritual status of patients during illness and the implementation of holistic care as recommended by the Nursing Code of Ethics.Relevance to clinical practice.  These findings will enable nurses to consider the importance of spiritual care, which may allow them to help empower patients find meaning and purpose during times of illness. More emphasis should be put on spiritual care in the pre‐ and postregistration education. Further research to translate these main competencies into specific competencies will guide spiritual care.
Determination of intrathyroidal iodine by X‐ray fluorescence analysis in 60‐ to 65‐year olds living in an iodine‐sufficient area
Authors: MILAKOVIC M. , BERG G. , EGGERTSEN R. , NYSTRÖM E. , OLSSON A. , LARSSON A. , HANSSON M. 
Published: June 2006

Abstract.Objectives.  X‐ray fluorescence (XRF) is a non‐invasive method for determining the iodine content of the thyroid gland in vivo. In spite of the obvious clinical value of such a method in situations of iodine deficiency or iodine overload, the method has not so far been widely used. The objective was to investigate the applicability of the XRF method in a larger number of subjects.Design and subjects.  The study comprised 37 individuals, aged 60–65 years, who had spent their entire life with iodine supplementation through iodinated table salt. Individuals with (previous) thyroid disease were excluded. The individual thyroid function had previously been evaluated by measurements of thyroid‐related hormones, thyroid volume and 131‐Iodine (131I) uptake which indicated a sufficient iodine intake of the population in the area. Iodine in the right thyroid lobe in each subject was examined using XRF.Results.  The mean thyroid iodine concentration was 0.4 mg mL−1, corresponding to a mean total iodine content of 5.2 mg (range 0.9–20.2). There was a pronounced difference between individuals. No correlation was found between iodine concentration and 131I uptake or thyroid volume. Neither was iodine content and 131I uptake correlated.Conclusions.  In a population living under iodine‐sufficient conditions, a large variation of iodine stored in the thyroid is compatible with euthyroidism. Determination of the iodine pool by XRF investigation is feasible in a clinical setting and the method offers a unique possibility to study the intrathyroidal iodine pool in subjects with thyroid disease. The low radiation dose enables the use of the method in pregnant women and also in young individuals.
Anthrax oedema toxin induces anthrax toxin receptor expression in monocyte‐derived cells
Authors: Maldonado‐Arocho Francisco J. , Fulcher Jennifer A. , Lee Benhur , Bradley Kenneth A. 
Published: June 2006

Summary Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, secretes two bipartite toxins that help the bacterium evade the immune system and contribute directly to pathogenesis. Both toxin catalytic moieties, lethal factor (LF) and oedema factor (OF), are internalized into the host‐cell cytosol by a third factor, protective antigen (PA), which binds to cellular anthrax toxin receptors (ANTXRs). Oedema factor is an adenylate cyclase that impairs host defences by raising cellular cAMP levels. Here we demonstrate that oedema toxin (PA + OF) induces an increase in ANTXR expression levels in macrophages and dendritic cells resulting in an increased rate of toxin internalization. Furthermore, we show that increases in ANTXR mRNA levels depends on the ability of OF to increase cAMP levels, is mediated through protein kinase A‐directed signalling and is monocyte‐lineage‐specific. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a bacterial toxin inducing host target cells to increase toxin receptor expression.
Study of an alternate glyoxylate cycle for acetate assimilation by Rhodobacter sphaeroides
Authors: Alber Birgit E. , Spanheimer Regina , Ebenau‐Jehle Christa , Fuchs Georg 
Published: June 2006

SummaryOrganisms, which grow on organic substrates that are metabolized via acetyl‐CoA, are faced with the problem to form all cell constituents from this C2‐unit. The problem was solved by the seminal work of Kornberg and is known as the glyoxylate cycle. However, many bacteria are known to not contain isocitrate lyase, the key enzyme of this pathway. This problem was addressed in acetate‐grown Rhodobacter sphaeroides. An acetate‐minus mutant identified by transposon mutagenesis was affected in the gene for β‐ketothiolase forming acetoacetyl‐CoA from two molecules of acetyl‐CoA. This enzyme activity was missing in this mutant, which grew on acetoacetate and on acetate plus glyoxylate. A second acetate/acetoacetate‐minus mutant was affected in the gene for a putative mesaconyl‐CoA hydratase, an enzyme which catalyses the hydration of mesaconyl‐CoA to β‐methylmalyl‐CoA. β‐Methylmalyl‐CoA is further cleaved into glyoxylate and propionyl‐CoA. These results as well as identification of acetate‐upregulated proteins by two‐dimensional gel electrophoresis lead to the proposal of a new pathway for acetate assimilation. In a first part, affected by the mutations, two molecules of acetyl‐CoA and one molecule CO2 are converted via acetoacetyl‐CoA and mesaconyl‐CoA to glyoxylate and propionyl‐CoA. In a second part glyoxylate and propionyl‐CoA are converted with another molecule of acetyl‐CoA and CO2 to l‐malyl‐CoA and succinyl‐CoA.
Revisiting the glyoxylate cycle: alternate pathways for microbial acetate assimilation
Authors: Ensign Scott A. 
Published: June 2006

SummaryThe glyoxylate cycle, identified by Kornberg et al. in 1957, provides a simple and efficient strategy for converting acetyl‐CoA into anapleurotic and gluconeogenic compounds. Studies of a number of bacteria capable of growth with C2 compounds as the sole carbon source have revealed that they lack the key glyoxylate cycle enzyme isocitrate lyase, suggesting that alternative pathway(s) for acetate assimilation exist in these bacteria. Recent studies of acetate assimilation in methylotrophs and purple phototrophs have revealed remarkable and complex new pathways for assimilation of acetate in the absence of isocitrate lyase. The details of these new pathways are the subject of this MicroCommentary.
Determinants of chemoreceptor cluster formation in Escherichia coli
Authors: Kentner David , Thiem Sebastian , Hildenbeutel Markus , Sourjik Victor 
Published: June 2006

SummaryChemotactic stimuli in bacteria are sensed by large sensory complexes, or receptor clusters, that consist of tens of thousands of proteins. Receptor clusters appear to play a key role in signal processing, but their structure remains poorly understood. Here we used fluorescent protein fusions to study in vivo formation of the cluster core, which consists of receptors, a kinase CheA and an assisting protein CheW. We show that receptors aggregate through their cytoplasmic domains even in the absence of other chemotaxis proteins. Clustering is further enhanced by the binding of CheW. Surprisingly, we observed that some fragments of CheA bind receptor clusters well in the absence of CheW, although the latter does assist the binding of full‐length CheA. The resulting mode of receptor cluster formation is consistent with an experimentally observed flexible stoichiometry of chemosensory complexes and with assumptions of recently proposed computer models of signal processing in chemotaxis.
Dolomitization of the Middle Devonian Winnipegosis carbonates in south‐central Saskatchewan, Canada
Authors: FU QILONG , QING HAIRUO , BERGMAN KATHERINE M. 
Published: June 2006

AbstractThe Middle Devonian Winnipegosis carbonate unit in south‐central Saskatchewan is partially to completely dolomitized. Two major types of replacive dolomite are distinguished. Microcrystalline to finely crystalline dolomite (type 1) displays nonplanar‐a to planar‐s textures, mimetically replaces the precursor limestone, accounts for about four‐fifths of dolomite phases volumetrically, and mainly occurs in the Winnipegosis mounds and the Lower Winnipegosis Member directly underlying the mounds. Medium crystalline dolomite (type 2) shows planar‐s to planar‐e textures, commonly occurs in the Lower Winnipegosis and Brightholme members, and decreases upward in abundance. The 87Sr/86Sr ratios of type 1 dolomite (0·70795 to 0·70807) fall within the estimated Sr‐isotopic range for Middle Devonian marine carbonates. Stratigraphic, petrographic and geochemical data constrain the formation of type 1 dolomite to hypersaline sea water in a near‐surface environment, after marine cementation and sub‐aerial diagenesis and prior to precipitation of the Middle Devonian Leofnard salts. Movement of dolomitizing fluids could be driven by density differences and elevation head. The shift to lower δ18O values of type 1 dolomite [−7·4 to −5·1‰ Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite (VPDB)] is interpreted as the result of recrystallization at elevated temperatures during burial. Type 2 dolomite has higher 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0·70809–0·70928), suggesting that the dolomite probably formed from basinal fluids with an increased richness in the radiogenic Sr isotope. In type 2 dolomite, Sr2+ concentrations are lower, and Fe2+ and Mn2+ concentrations are higher, compared with the associated limestone and type 1 dolomite. Type 2 dolomite is interpreted as having been formed from upward‐migrating basinal fluids during latest Devonian and Carboniferous period.
Is size-assortative mating important for rapid pigment differentiation in a freshwater isopod?
Authors: Hargeby A. , Erlandsson J. 
Published: June 2006

Abstract
Identifying mechanisms behind assortative mating is central to the understanding of ecological divergence and speciation. Recent studies show that populations of the freshwater isopod Asellus aquaticus can rapidly become locally differentiated when submerged Chara vegetation expands in lakes. In the novel Chara habitat, isopods have become lighter pigmented and smaller than in ancestral reed stands. In this study, we used a laboratory multiple-choice experiment to investigate assortative mating as a possible prezygotic reproductive barrier between Chara and reed isopods. Mating was assortative when Chara isopods were experimentally mixed with isopods from an adjacent reed site with large-size individuals, suggesting a partial prezygotic reproductive barrier. No deviation from random mating could, however, be detected when Chara isopods were mixed with smaller sized isopods from another reed site. In both experiments, assortative mating was apparently based on size, as Chara isopods were larger and reed isopods smaller in mixed pairs than in assortative pairs. Pigmentation did not have any clear influence on mating. We suggest that divergence in pigmentation evolved through natural selection in conjunction with size-assortative mating indirectly causing assortative mating between Chara and reed isopods. Size-assortative mating is likely a by-product of natural selection, but its importance may hypothetically be transient, if selection erodes the correlation between pigmentation and size over time.
Gastrointestinal tract of the brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli)
Authors: Potter M. A. , Lentle R. G. , Minson C. J. , Birtles M. J. , Thomas D. , Hendriks W. H. 
Published: June 2006

AbstractThe caeca of the brown kiwiApteryx mantelliincreased in length isometrically with body mass, but wall mass and thus mucosal thickness increased allometrically. Kiwi caeca are sacculate, with greater thickness of mucosa in the proximal portions. The caecal mucosa is similar to the small intestinal mucosa, with well‐developed mucosal folds, villi, and crypts of Lieberkühn or intestinal glands. The solid matter in caecal digesta contained disproportionately large quantities of material that was not retained by a 75 μm sieve. The per cent of incombustible material (total ash) within the caeca digesta did not differ significantly from those within adjacent small intestinal or rectal segments. The fine particles within the caeca were not composed of fine crystalline uric acid; chemical analyses showed only low levels of uric acid in caecal digesta. These findings indicate that the caeca of this flightless insectivorous ratite are a site for the sequestration and fermentative digestion of fine particulate material, such as plant fibre, fragmented chitin or uric acid crystals.
Cognitive training in Alzheimer's disease: a meta‐analysis of the literature
Authors: Sitzer D. I. , Twamley E. W. , Jeste D. V. 
Published: June 2006

Objective: To systematically review the literature and summarize the effect of cognitive training (CT) for Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients on multiple functional domains.Method: Effect sizes (Cohen'sd) were calculated for 17 controlled studies identified through a comprehensive literature review.Results: An overall effect size of 0.47 was observed for all CT strategies across all measured outcomes. Mean effect sizes were higher for restorative (0.54) than for compensatory (0.36) strategies. Domain‐specific effect sizes ranged from 2.16 (verbal and visual learning) to −0.38 (visuospatial functioning). Data are also presented on the relative impact of restorative and compensatory strategies for each domain of functioning.Conclusion: CT evidenced promise in the treatment of AD, with primarily medium effect sizes for learning, memory, executive functioning, activities of daily living, general cognitive problems, depression, and self‐rated general functioning. Restorative strategies demonstrated the greatest overall effect on functioning. Several limitations of the published literature are discussed.
The Role of Functional Parameters for Topographical Characterization of Bone‐Anchored Implants
Authors: Arvidsson Anna , Sater Bashar A. , Wennerberg Ann 
Published: June 2006

ABSTRACTBackground  The surface topographical characterization of bone‐anchored implants has been recommended to be based on amplitude, spatial, and hybrid parameters. There are also functional parameters that have the potential to describe characteristics important for a specific application.Purpose  The aim of the present study was to evaluate if parameters that have been described as functional in engineering applications are also relevant in the topographical characterization of bone‐anchored implants.Materials and Methods  The surface topography of threaded titanium implants with different surface roughness (Sa, Sds, and Sdr) was analyzed with an optical interferometer, and five candidating functional parameters (Sbi, Sci, Svi, Sm, and Sc) were calculated. Examples of the same parameters for five commercially available dental implants were also calculated.Results  The highest core fluid retention index (Sci) was displayed by the turned implants, followed by fixtures blasted with 250‐ and 25‐μm particles, respectively. Fixtures blasted with 75‐μm Al2O3 particles displayed the lowest Sci value. This is the inverse order of the bone biological ranking based on earlier in vivo studies with the experimental surfaces included in the present study.Conclusion  A low core fluid retention index (Sci) seems favorable for bone‐anchored implants. Therefore, it is suggested to include Sci to the set of topographical parameters for bone‐anchored implants to possibly predict the biological outcome.
Intrusion of Molars with Implants as Anchorage: A Report of Two Cases
Authors: Kato Satoshi , Kato Michiko 
Published: June 2006

ABSTRACTBackground  Osseointegrated implants do not move in response to orthodontic loads.Purpose  The aim of this study was to describe a method to intrude supra‐erupted molars using prosthetic implants as anchorage.Materials and Methods  A 51‐year‐old female and a 36‐year‐old male were treated with adjacent implants for orthodontic anchorage for supra‐erupted teeth in the maxilla (16, 17) and in the mandible (46, 47), respectively. In both cases, the force of intrusion applied was 300 g.Results  The therapy was completed without complications or abnormalities of the intruded teeth or anchorage implants. Intrusion required 13 months in the first case and 19 months in the latter.Conclusion  The present method makes it possible to secure enough space for prosthodontic therapy at edentulous segments and perform highly reliable implant therapy.
Abutment Rotational Displacement of External Hexagon Implant System Under Lateral Cyclic Loading
Authors: Khraisat Ameen , Baqain Zaid H , Smadi Leena , Nomura Shuichi , Miyakawa Osamu , Elnasser Ziad 
Published: June 2006

ABSTRACTPurpose  This in vitro study investigated the effect of lateral cyclic loading with different load positions and periods on abutment rotational displacement (RD) of external hexagon implant system.Materials and Methods  Four groups of five implant assemblies each were used. Each assembly consisted of Brånemark System® Mk IV implant (Nobel Biocare AB, Göteborg, Sweden), CeraOne® abutment (Nobel Biocare AB), and a cement‐retained casting. A cyclic load of 50 N was applied centrally and perpendicular to the long axis of the implant for groups A and B for 0.25 and 0.50 × 106 cycles, respectively, while for groups C and D, the same load was applied at 4‐mm distance eccentrically for 0.25 and 0.50 × 106 cycles, respectively. The displacement was evaluated by hand drawing a longitudinal line across the implant‐abutment interface. Before and after loading, the lateral distance between two reference points on the abutment and implant was measured under high resolution (×200) and the difference formed the RD value. The data were analyzed with one‐way analysis of variance and compared with Tukey test (α=0.05).Results  Group D had the highest mean of RD value (55.00 ± 1.871 μm), while group A had the lowest (2.800 ± 0.837 μm). Groups A and B had a high statistically significant difference in RD values, as compared to groups C or D (p < .001). Moreover, group C had statistically significant difference from group D (p=.011). Conversely, no statistical significance was obtained when group A was compared with group B.Conclusion  Within the limits of this in vitro study, the RD of the external hexagon joint components occurred significantly under eccentric lateral loading when compared to centric loading. The displacement increased significantly with longer period of eccentric lateral loading.
Identification of a Dynein Interacting Domain in the Papillomavirus Minor Capsid Protein L2
Authors: Florin Luise , Becker Katrin A. , Lambert Carsten , Nowak Thorsten , Sapp Cornelia , Strand Dennis , Streeck Rolf E. , Sapp Martin 
Published: June 2006

ABSTRACT
Papillomaviruses enter cells via endocytosis (H. C. Selinka et al., Virology 299:279-287, 2002). After egress from endosomes, the minor capsid protein L2 accompanies the viral DNA to the nucleus and subsequently to the subnuclear promyelocytic leukemia protein bodies (P. M. Day et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 101:14252-14257, 2004), suggesting that this protein may be involved in the intracytoplasmic transport of the viral genome. We now demonstrate that the L2 protein is able to interact with the microtubule network via the motor protein dynein. L2 protein was found attached to microtubules after uncoating of incoming human papillomavirus pseudovirions. Based on immunofluorescence and coimmunoprecipitation analyses, the L2 region interacting with dynein is mapped to the C-terminal 40 amino acids. Mutations within this region abrogating the L2/dynein interaction strongly reduce the infectivity of pseudoviruses, indicating that this interaction mediates the minus-end-directed transport of the viral genome along microtubules towards the nucleus.