bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Stigma in the context of hepatitis C: concept analysis
Authors: Butt Gail 
Published: May 2008

AbstractTitle. Stigma in the context of hepatitis C: concept analysis.Aim. This paper is a report of a concept analysis of stigma in the context of hepatitis C.Background. Stigma is a complex and powerful social phenomenon that influences the course of illness and marginalizes populations. Knowledge of hepatitis C stigma is central to assisting people with hepatitis C self‐manage their illness and reduce the disease burden.Data sources. Thirty studies from 1995 to 2007 located in health and social sciences databases constituted the data for an evolutionary concept analysis and ecological theory guide the review.Findings. Stigma is a subjective and variable, perceived and/or experienced phenomenon, most frequently but not exclusively viewed as negative, that has interrelated intrapersonal, interpersonal and structural or institutional dimensions. The antecedents of hepatitis C stigma are help‐seeking situations most frequently occurring in healthcare settings. Attributes include the association of hepatitis C with illicit drug use, fear of transmission of a contagious and life‐threatening infection, acceptable level of risk, and the power to impose restrictions on the part of healthcare practitioners, family and friendship networks and society. Stigma consequences are mainly, but not exclusively, negative.Conclusion. A central and distinctive feature of hepatitis C stigma in the Western world is its association with illicit drug use. Further research is required to understand the complexities associated with the sociocultural, situational and structural features that influence the stigma experience as well as the trajectory of the disease to understand the concept better and inform nursing practice.
Effectiveness of relaxation for postoperative pain and anxiety: randomized controlled trial
Authors: Seers Kate , Crichton Nicola , Tutton Liz , Smith Lisa , Saunders Teresa 
Published: May 2008

AbstractTitle.  Effectiveness of relaxation for postoperative pain and anxiety: randomizedcontrolled trial Aim.  This paper is a report of a study to determine the effectiveness of jaw and total body relaxation for postoperative pain, anxiety and level of relaxation, and to determine any patient expectancy effects.Background.  Relaxation is increasingly suggested as a pain control technique that can be used by nurses in daily practice. A systematic review of the effectiveness of relaxation for postoperative pain relief revealed many poorly designed studies and only some weak evidence supporting the use of relaxation for postoperative pain.Method.  A randomized controlled trial (n = 118) was conducted between 2002 and 2003 to compare total body relaxation, jaw relaxation, attention control and usual care. Consenting patients admitted for elective orthopaedic surgery aged 18 or over, able to speak English and able to tense and relax more than two muscle groups were included. Pain at rest and on movement, anxiety and relaxation were assessed at pre‐admission clinic, pre‐intervention, immediately post‐intervention and 1, 2, 3 and 4 hours later. However, the trial was under‐powered.Findings.  There were statistically significant reductions in pain at rest from pre‐ to post‐intervention for both the relaxation groups and the attention control group. The usual care group had a small increase in pain, whilst the other three groups had similar small decreases in pain. There was no statistically significant difference in anxiety or relaxation scores pre‐ to post‐intervention between groups.Conclusion.  Jaw relaxation could give these orthopaedic patients a small, very short‐lasting additional amount of pain relief, and it may be that staff and patients feel this small benefit to be worthwhile.
Parent participation in the care of hospitalized children: a systematic review
Authors: Power Nina , Franck Linda 
Published: May 2008

AbstractTitle.  Parent participation in the care of hospitalized children: a systematic review Aim.  This paper is a report of a systematic literature review of research on parent participation in the care of hospitalized children.Background.  Research prior to 1994 found that parents want to participate in basic child care activities normally performed at home. Nurses expected parents to participate in these activities but were reluctant for parents to take on technical roles. Further research has been conducted over the last decade, but has not been systematically reviewed.Data sources.  A search of biomedical research, published between January 1994 and June 2006, was conducted using the databases CINAHL, PsychInfo, Embase and Medline. The search terms related to parents, participation and hospitalized children.Methods.  A systematic review was conducted and study findings were extracted, summarized and critiqued in relation to their contribution to knowledge about parent participation.Results.  Twenty‐one descriptive studies were found which investigated the following dimensions of parent participation: parents’ and healthcare professionals’ needs, desires and expectations; parent and healthcare professionals’ attitudes; parent roles and healthcare professional facilitation activities. Ways in which nurses gave parents instruction and guidance to participate effectively in the care of their hospitalized child were examined in five intervention studies.Conclusion.  Recent research has confirmed parents’ desire and expectations to participate in their child’s care and shown how the nature of their participation has evolved. The attitudes and activities of healthcare professionals are both barriers and facilitators to parent participation. Further research is needed to examine how parents’ expectations differ between specialties and acute and chronic care and ways of facilitating parent participation.
Disaster preparedness among Hong Kong nurses
Authors: Fung Olivia W.M. , Loke Alice Yuen , Lai Claudia K.Y. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractTitle.  Disaster preparedness among Hong Kong nurses Aim.  This paper is a report of a survey to explore Hong Kong nurses’ disaster preparedness.Background.  Increasingly frequent global disasters are posing threats to human health and life. The World Health Organization has called for countries to have detailed plans at all levels in order to be prepared for disasters that may arise.Method.  A questionnaire was distributed to convenience samples of practising Registered Nurses studying in Master’s degree programmes at a Hong Kong university in 2007.Results.  Of a possible 174, 164 questionnaires were returned (Response rate 94%). Almost all nurses (97·6%) considered the government health department to be the organization most involved in disastrous situations. The majority (84·8%) were aware of the existence of a protocol on disaster management at their workplace. About one‐third would respond in accordance with protocol (38·4%) or rely on directions from their immediate supervisors (34·8%) if a disaster occurred. Almost all the nurses (97%) considered themselves not adequately prepared for disasters. They recognized that a protocol for disaster management (85·4%) and training and drills for disasters (both 84·1%) are useful tools.Conclusion.  Nurses in Hong Kong are not adequately prepared for disasters, but are aware of the need for such preparation. Disaster management training should be included in the basic education of nurses.
Meaning in life for patients with cancer: validation of the Life Attitude Profile‐Revised Scale
Authors: Erci Behice 
Published: May 2008

AbstractTitle. Meaning in life for patients with cancer: validation of the Life AttitudeProfile‐Revised Scale.Aim. This paper is a report of a study to adapt the Life Attitude Profile‐Revised Scale for Turkish patients with cancer and to evaluate its psychometric properties.Background. Cancer is a life‐threatening illness that can challenge the experience of meaning in life. Meaning in life is a multidimensional concept involving meaning and purpose in life, as well as the motivation to find meaning and purpose in life. As meaning in life may be influenced by culture, a culture‐sensitive tool is needed for its measurement.Methods. A convenience sample of 199 patients with cancer at a Turkish university hospital completed a structured questionnaire including demographic characteristics and the Life Attitude Profile‐Revised Scale for Patients with Cancer in 2006. Item analysis, principal components analysis, internal consistency reliability and Cronbach’s alpha were used to measure the psychometric properties of the items of the scale.Findings. In the assessment of construct validity, identified four factors with eigenvalues greater than 1 explained 46·91% of the total variance. Internal reliability coefficients of these four factor‐based scales were 0·73 and 0·82 respectively.Conclusions. The present study provides evidence of the Life Attitude Profile‐Revised Scale’s validity, reliability and acceptability. This scale should be further evaluated with a larger sample, in different regions in Turkey and diverse populations of world. The scale has potential applications for use both in research and as a screening tool in clinical settings.
Adolescents with fluctuating symptoms of eating disorders: a 1‐year prospective study
Authors: Hautala Lea , Junnila Jouni , Helenius Hans , Väänänen Aija‐Mari , Liuksila Pirjo‐Riitta , Räihä Hannele , Välimäki Maritta , Saarijärvi Simo 
Published: May 2008

AbstractTitle.  Adolescents with fluctuating symptoms of eating disorders: a 1‐year prospective study. Aim.  This paper is a report of a study to investigate the stability of self‐reported eating disorder symptoms, factors associated with them and the predictors of their recurrence.Background.  In western cultures, eating‐related problems during adolescence are common but usually temporary. However, in approximately 10% of cases disordered eating is sustained, increasing the risk of a full‐blown eating disorder. To distinguish adolescents with temporary eating problems from those whose problems are likely to continue, healthcare providers need to understand the progress of disordered eating and the features of high‐risk adolescents.Methods.  The two‐stage prospective survey was conducted with a school‐based sample of adolescents aged 15–17 years. At baseline, in 2003–2004, the SCOFF (‘Sick’, ‘Control’, ‘One’, ‘Fat’ and ‘Food’) questionnaire was administered to students in the 9th year of schooling in Finland. Follow‐up assessment took place 1 year later, and 372 students provided data at both assessments. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate which factors predict the recurrence of eating disorder symptoms, defined as the occurrence of eating disorder symptoms at both assessments.Results.  Five per cent of the students reported eating disorder symptoms at both assessments. Typically, they had multiple psychological problems and health complaints. Anxiety perceived earlier in adolescence resulted in an estimated odds ratio of the logistic model of 20 for the recurrence of eating disorder symptoms.Conclusion.  Earlier anxiety rather than dissatisfaction with appearance had a statistically significant effect on the progress of eating problems. Longitudinal research is needed to confirm the results. Until further knowledge is available, nurses should follow‐up all adolescents with disordered eating to identify a possible need for intervention.
International Code of Area Nomenclature
Authors: Ebach Malte C. , Morrone Juan J. , Parenti Lynne R. , Viloria Ángel L. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractBiogeography needs a standard, coherent nomenclature. Currently, in biogeography, the same name is used for different areas of biological endemism, and one area of endemism is known by more than one name, which leads to conflict and confusion. The name ‘Mediterranean’, for example, may mean different things to different people – all or part of the sea, or the land in and around it. This results in ambiguity concerning the meaning of names and, more importantly, may lead to conflicts between inferences based on different aspects of a given name. We propose the International Code of Area Nomenclature (ICAN), a naming system that can be used to classify newly coined or existing names based on a standard. When fully implemented, the ICAN will improve communication among biogeographers, systematists, ecologists and conservation biologists.
Predicting maternal parenting stress in middle childhood: the roles of child intellectual status, behaviour problems and social skills
Authors: Neece C. , Baker B. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractBackground  Parents of children with intellectual disabilities (ID) typically report elevated levels of parenting stress, and child behaviour problems are a strong predictor of heightened parenting stress. Interestingly, few studies have examined child characteristics beyond behaviour problems that may also contribute to parenting stress. The present longitudinal study examined the contribution of child social skills to maternal parenting stress across middle childhood, as well as the direction of the relationship between child social skills and parenting stress.Method  Families of children with ID (n = 74) or typical development (TD) (n = 115) participated over a 2‐year period. Maternal parenting stress, child behaviour problems and child social skills were assessed at child ages six and eight.Results  Child social skills accounted for unique variance in maternal parenting stress above and beyond child intellectual status and child behaviour problems. As the children matured, there was a significant interaction between child social skills and behaviour problems in predicting parenting stress. With respect to the direction of these effects, a cross‐lagged panel analysis indicated that early parenting stress contributed to later social skills difficulties for children, but the path from children's early social skills to later parenting stress was not supported, once child behaviour problems and intellectual status were accounted for.Conclusion  When examining parenting stress, child social skills are an important variable to consider, especially in the context of child behaviour problems. Early parenting stress predicted child social skills difficulties over time, highlighting parenting stress as a key target for intervention.
‘Care’: Moral concept or merely an organisational suffix?
Authors: Clapton J. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractBackground Over recent decades, a couple of interesting trends have occurred in regard to human services practices in Australia. First, there has been a significant shift from practices that previously have intentionally responded to emerging and continuing human need within communities to practices that are now managed within a context of managerialism and influenced by market forces. Second, in such a changing context, increasingly, organisations have added the suffix ‘care’ to their organisational name. One is therefore left to consider why this latter change has occurred, and how is care being considered, particularly in organisations supporting people with intellectual disability (ID).Method A conceptual‐theoretical analysis is undertaken to explore the characteristics of human services that embrace managerialism. The moral constructions of personhood in regard to people with ID within this service context are investigated; and the implications of how care is practised are considered.Results An immoral‐amoral binary of personhood within an underpinning neo‐liberal context is identified and analysed. Further analysis reveals a more insidious independent–dependent binary for people with an ID linked to a dominating Ethic of Normalcy. This latter binary suggests that care seemingly becomes neither ethically relevant nor legitimate for people with ID in managerialist service contexts.Conclusions Ethical transformation in regard to care is needed for contemporary human services practice for people with ID. The underpinning Ethic of Normalcy is challenged for an Ethic of Engagement; whereby a deep understanding of care as a moral concept needs to be at the core of practice, rather than merely attached in an organisational name.
Spatially resolved fluorescence lifetime mapping of enzyme kinetics in living cells
Authors: RAMANUJAN V.K. , JO J.A. , CANTU G. , HERMAN B.A. 
Published: May 2008

SummaryTraditional cuvette‐based enzyme studies lack spatial information and do not allow real‐time monitoring of the effects of modulating enzyme functions in vivo. In order to probe the realistic timescales of steric modifications in enzyme–substrate complexes and functional binding–unbinding kinetics in living cells without losing spatial information, it is imperative to develop sensitive imaging strategies that can report enzyme kinetics in real time over a wide dynamic range of timescales. Here we present a multi‐photon excitation‐based, ultra‐fast photon detection using a streak camera and Laguerre expansion‐based fast deconvolution approach for achieving high spatio‐temporal resolution in monitoring real‐time enzyme kinetics in single cells. In particular, we report spatially resolved, nanosecond‐scale fluorescence dynamics associated with binding–unbinding kinetics of endogenous metabolic co‐factor nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide with enzymes in intact living cells. By monitoring real‐time kinetics of NAD(P)H–enzyme kinetics in primary hepatocytes isolated from young and aged mouse models, we observed that the mechanism of inhibition of mitochondrial respiration at complex I site is mediated by redistribution of free and protein‐bound nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide pools and that this equilibrium redistribution is affected by age‐related modifications in mitochondrial function. We describe unique advantages of Laguerre deconvolution algorithm in comparison with conventional lifetime analysis approaches. Non‐invasive monitoring of metabolic dysfunctions in intact animal models is an attractive strategy for gaining insight into the dynamics of tissue metabolism in health and in various metabolic syndromes such as cancer, diabetes and aging‐induced metabolic dysfunctions. Besides the example demonstrated above, we envisage that the proposed method can find applications in a variety of other situations where intensity‐based approaches fall short owing to spectroscopic artefacts.
Automated identification of neurons and their locations
Authors: INGLIS A. , CRUZ L. , ROE D. L. , STANLEY H. E. , ROSENE D. L. , URBANC B. 
Published: May 2008

SummaryIndividual locations of many neuronal cell bodies (>104) are needed to enable statistically significant measurements of spatial organization within the brain such as nearest‐neighbour and microcolumnarity measurements. In this paper, we introduce an Automated Neuron Recognition Algorithm (ANRA) which obtains the (x, y) location of individual neurons within digitized images of Nissl‐stained, 30 μm thick, frozen sections of the cerebral cortex of the Rhesus monkey. Identification of neurons within such Nissl‐stained sections is inherently difficult due to the variability in neuron staining, the overlap of neurons, the presence of partial or damaged neurons at tissue surfaces, and the presence of non‐neuron objects, such as glial cells, blood vessels, and random artefacts. To overcome these challenges and identify neurons, ANRA applies a combination of image segmentation and machine learning. The steps involve active contour segmentation to find outlines of potential neuron cell bodies followed by artificial neural network training using the segmentation properties (size, optical density, gyration, etc.) to distinguish between neuron and non‐neuron segmentations. ANRA positively identifies 86 ± 5% neurons with 15 ± 8% error (mean ± SD) on a wide range of Nissl‐stained images, whereas semi‐automatic methods obtain 80 ± 7%/17 ± 12%. A further advantage of ANRA is that it affords an unlimited increase in speed from semi‐automatic methods, and is computationally efficient, with the ability to recognize ∼100 neurons per minute using a standard personal computer. ANRA is amenable to analysis of huge photo‐montages of Nissl‐stained tissue, thereby opening the door to fast, efficient and quantitative analysis of vast stores of archival material that exist in laboratories and research collections around the world.
Systematic evaluation of FRAP experiments performed in a confocal laser scanning microscope – Part II: Multiple diffusion processes
Authors: HAUSER G. I. , SEIFFERT S. , OPPERMANN W. 
Published: May 2008

SummaryA procedure for a systematic evaluation of fluorescence recovery after photo‐bleaching (FRAP) data is presented that allows one to determine distributions of diffusion coefficients. The method provides a straightforward and calibration‐free way to quantify multiple diffusion processes when FRAP is measured as a function of time and space by means of confocal laser scanning microscopy. It is verified utilizing FRAP experiments on mixtures of differently sized fluorescent micro‐spheres as realizations of discrete D distributions.
An application of spatial deconvolution to a capillary‐based high‐pressure chamber for fluorescence microscopy imaging
Authors: HAVER T. , RABER E.C. , URAYAMA P. 
Published: May 2008

SummaryCapillary‐based high‐pressure chambers for which the wall serves as both the optical window and mechanical support have been reported for fluorescence microscopy imaging. Although capillary chambers are straightforward and economical to construct, the curved capillary wall introduces image aberrations. The significance of these aberrations in imaging sub‐cellular‐dimension objects has yet to be assessed. Using a capillary chamber that is routinely pressurized to between 20 and 30 MPa, a pressure range suitable for studying a wide variety of cellular processes, we demonstrate sub‐cellular‐dimension spatial resolution in the imaging of fluorescent micro‐spheres. Objectives with a range of numerical apertures (0.5–1.3) and working distances (0.1–7.4 mm) are considered. We show that spatial (or point‐spread function, PSF) deconvolution improves image contrast in capillary‐based images by comparing deconvolution results with those obtained from slide‐mounted controls. Furthermore, similar deconvolution results between a measured PSF and a calculated, flat‐geometry PSF indicate that the capillary wall is optically flat on cellular length scales. Results here facilitate the application of contemporary techniques in fluorescence microscopy to high‐pressure imaging fields.