bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Quantitative effects of an intronic retroviral insertion on the transcription of the tyrosinase gene in recessive white chickens
Authors: Chang C. M. , Furet J. P. , Coville J. L. , Coquerelle G. , Gourichon D. , Tixier‐Boichard M. 
Published: March 2007

SummaryRecently, we reported the complete association of a retroviral insertion in intron 4 of the tyrosinase gene and the recessive white mutation (c) in chickens. The mutant allele carrying the retroviral insertion produced, in skin samples of 10‐week‐old chickens, aberrant tyrosinase transcripts that did not contain exon 5. In the present study, we performed serial molecular and statistical analyses on embryos and 10‐week‐old chickens to characterize the quantitative effect of the retroviral insertion on the expression pattern of tyrosinase in different tissues (skin and retina). By using quantitative real‐time RT‐PCR, we observed that the expression level of tyrosinase was significantly lower in recessive white chickens than in wild‐type coloured chickens, but that this pattern was age‐ and tissue‐dependent. The differential expression in skin was not significant in embryos, whereas it was highly significant in 10‐week‐old chickens. Furthermore, there was no difference in the expression of tyrosinase in the retinal pigment epithelium of animals with different genotypes; this corresponds to phenotypic data, which show pigmented eyes in both genotypes. These findings show that the retroviral insertion disturbs tyrosinase expression in the recessive white mutant chickens, and suggests that the regulation of tyrosinase expression in chickens differs between embryos and growing animals, as well as between skin and retina.
Invasive crayfish in Europe: the impact of Procambarus clarkii on the littoral community of a Mediterranean lake
Authors: GHERARDI FRANCESCA , ACQUISTAPACE PATRIZIA 
Published: March 2007

Summary1. Despite the growing number of non‐indigenous crayfish species introduced worldwide, little scientific attention has been given to their effects on the recipient communities. Here, we quantified the impact of adult red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) on key components of the littoral community of a mesotrophic lake in central Italy. We used two densities of crayfish plus a no‐crayfish control, and two complementary methods –in situ enclosures and a laboratory study.2. Both experiments showed that P. clarkii strongly affects the community even at a low density (4 m−2), although a high crayfish density (8 m−2) showed a more pronounced impact in a shorter time.3. In enclosures, P. clarkii quickly consumed the pond snail Haitia acuta, notwithstanding its anti‐predator behaviour, but not the mosquitofish Gambusia affinis. The biomass of the hydrophytes Nymphoides peltata and Potamogeton spp. was strongly reduced by crayfish grazing, coupled with their non‐consumptive plant clipping and uprooting, which were particularly intense in the case of Potamogeton crispus. In contrast, Utricularia australis was avoided by P. clarkii, even when other resources were exhausted.4. The introduction of P. clarkii could reduce biodiversity and increase biotic homogenisation in a short time.
Rehabilitation and guidance as reported by women and men who had undergone coronary bypass surgery
Authors: Koivunen Kirsi , Isola Arja , Lukkarinen Hannele 
Published: March 2007

Aims and objectives.  The purpose of this study was to describe the experience of rehabilitation reported by coronary artery disease patients who had undergone coronary artery bypass surgery. A further purpose was to describe the kind of guidance on rehabilitation that they were given during this period.Methods.  The data consisted of thematic questionnaires completed by six women and eight men who had undergone coronary artery bypass surgery. They had recorded their experiences on these questionnaires at one‐month intervals for a year after the surgery. The data were analysed using the method of content analysis.Results.  On the basis of the results, women had experienced the most balanced period of physical, mental and social rehabilitation during the six months following surgery. Their recovery, however, suffered a setback after the first six months. On the basis of the results, men attained a better balance of physical, mental and social rehabilitation only after the six‐month period following surgery. Even men had various problems in their rehabilitation, but their recovery proceeded more smoothly than that of women. Women hoped for more guidance throughout the process of rehabilitation. The support and help from wives had a positive impact on the process of men's recovery. Peer support was another significant source support.Conclusions.  A person undergoing rehabilitation needs special guidance from health care professionals, especially when his/her rehabilitation does not proceed optimally. The findings suggest that, especially, the guidance of women should be improved because women seemed to suffer from many problems during their process of rehabilitation, including loneliness, insecurity, uncertainty, fears, depression and anxiety.Relevance to clinical practice.  Expanding the role of practical nurses to provide both preventive and rehabilitation guidance should be seen as an important strategy in health care. Individual needs, gender differences and support from families and peers should be taken into consideration when planning and implementing guidance.
Working with the team: strategies employed by hospital cancer nurse specialists to implement their role
Authors: Willard Carole , Luker Karen 
Published: March 2007

Aim.  This paper describes the strategies used by cancer nurse specialists in the UK to implement their role within the multiprofessional team.Background.  The prevalence of cancer increasingly preoccupies the developed world causing concern about the effective use of healthcare resources. The demand to contain healthcare costs and meet the complex needs of patients has led to the development of new and different types of nurse specialist roles. In the UK, these initiatives have been supplemented by reorganizing cancer services to ensure care is delivered by collaborative multiprofessional teams: nurse specialists are considered core team members. While role ambiguity and conflict are acknowledged as barriers to the successful introduction of new roles, little is known about the strategies used by individuals to facilitate role implementation.Design.  A grounded theory design using purposive and theoretical sampling.Methods.  Twenty‐nine cancer nurse specialists from five hospitals participated in observation and semistructured interviews. The data were analysed concurrently using the constant comparative method.Results.  Acceptance, especially by doctors, was the main problem facing cancer nurse specialists. In addition, they experienced insufficient organizational support for their role. Difficulties with acceptance impaired nurses’ ability to provide supportive care to cancer patients. Nurse specialists responded by employing several strategies including building relationships and establishing role boundaries.Conclusions.  Some strategies used by nurse specialists are more successful than others in facilitating role implementation. While recommendations exist to assist the introduction of new roles in practice, their implementation by healthcare organizations may be limited. Future approaches should focus on helping nurses develop awareness of the problems they face, why they arise and effective mechanisms for their resolution.Relevance to clinical practice.  The findings highlight the mismatch between cancer policy aspirations and reality and the actions taken by nurse specialists to overcome the problems they encounter.
Qigong practice among chronically ill patients during the SARS outbreak
Authors: Siu Judy Yuen‐man , Sung Huei‐chuan , Lee Wen‐li 
Published: March 2007

Aims and objectives.  This research aimed at exploring the motivations and experiences of chronically ill participants practising qigong during the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in Hong Kong.Background.  Although biomedicine is the mainstream medical system in Hong Kong, many people employ complementary and alternative medicine in dealing with their chronic health problems. Practising qigong is one of the most popular forms of complementary and alternative medicine used among chronically ill patients. Little is known about the experiences of the chronically ill patients practising qigong in the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak and even less is known how this practice is related to the social context of Hong Kong during the outbreak.Design and methods.  Qualitative methods using participant‐observation from three qigong classes in Hong Kong and in‐depth semi‐structured interviews with 30 participants were employed. Content analysis and discourse analysis were used to identify major themes of the data.Results.  Both the underlying and trigger motivations could motivate these chronically ill participants to practise qigong. Legitimacy of qigong in health maintenance, deterioration of health and unpleasant experiences in biomedical treatment on their chronic illnesses served as the underlying motivations. Stigmatization of and discrimination against the chronically ill and the sense of searching coping strategy during the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak further motivated their practice.Conclusion.  To the participants, practising qigong not only could strengthen their health, but was also a coping strategy for them to regain an active control and the sense of security in their health and enabled them to overcome the social stigmatization and discrimination during the outbreak.Relevance to clinical practice.  Searching for emotional support and a more active role in health conditions could be seen from the chronically ill participants. Understanding and paying more attention to the particular needs of the chronically ill patients can enable health‐care professionals to provide better care and support for the chronically ill during an epidemic crisis.
Hostility and serum homocysteine as cardiovascular risk factors in Korean patients with coronary artery disease
Authors: Son Youn‐Jung 
Published: March 2007

Aims.  The aim of this study is to determine the relationships between hostility and serum homocysteine in Korean patients with coronary artery disease and to identify their effects on the occurrence of coronary artery disease.Background.  Recently, hostility as a psychosocial factor and serum homocysteine as a biochemical risk factor are gradually accepted as independent risk factors of coronary artery disease but research on the relationship between hostility and homocysteine is rare.Design.  This is a descriptive and correlative study conducted in the single teaching hospital located in South Korea.Methods.  Eighty‐four patients with coronary artery disease participated. Semi‐structured interviews were used to measure the level of hostility and the characteristics of participants. Hostility was measured by the Cynical Hostility Scale and fasting blood samples from venous vein was used to measure serum homocysteine level.Results.  Mean scores for hostility of men were higher than women. The difference was statistically significant (p = 0·001). The serum homocysteine level (11·51 SD 5·43 μmol/l) in patients with coronary artery disease was higher than the normal reference value. Findings of this study indicate that serum homocysteine increased in a statistically consistent pattern with the level of hostility (F = 8·37, p < 0·01).Conclusions.  This result suggests that high level of hostility may increase cardiovascular risk by elevated serum homocysteine concentration.Relevance to clinical practice.  The development and applications of nursing interventions for hostility can contribute to reducing the prevalence and mortality rate of coronary artery disease.
Application of a virtual reality prototype for pain relief of pediatric burn in Taiwan
Authors: Chan Engle Angela , Chung Joanne WY , Wong Thomas KS , Lien Angela SY , Yang Jiu Yung 
Published: March 2007

Aim.  This study examines the usability and effectiveness of virtual reality in reducing pain in wound‐care procedures for pediatric burn patients in Taiwan.Background.  Virtual reality has continuously gained prominence in the medical arena, for instance, the telepresence for surgery, the management of mental health disorders and pain control of the paediatric burn. Notwithstanding an increased application of virtual reality in the medical arena in North America, there have been no studies investigating its use for paediatric burn patients in Asia.Methods.  This descriptive study has two phases: Phase I: the development of a virtual reality prototype. Phase II: the implementation of the prototype to discern its usability and efficacy with paediatric burn patients at a local hospital.Results.  The findings suggest that a significant difference is found in the children's reported pain, with or without the virtual reality intervention, over the three phases: before, during and after the dressing change. However, less pain was noted in the intervention group during and after the dressing change.Conclusion.  Adding to the existing clinical value of virtual reality identifies the nature of and different children's responses to pain with the use of virtual reality.Relevance to clinical practice.  This study is significant since it demonstrates a difference in the child's response to pain based on the nature of presence and distraction. Moreover, given the evidence that a decrease in anxiety was experienced after the dressing change with virtual reality intervention, timing of using the virtual reality intervention before the child develops conditioning anxiety and anticipated pain for the procedure would be of importance.
Comparison of two blood sampling methods in anticoagulation therapy: venipuncture and peripheral venous catheter
Authors: Zengin Neriman , Enç Nuray 
Published: March 2007

Aim.  To compare prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time values in concurrent blood samples obtained by direct venipuncture and from a peripheral venous catheter.Method.  Concurrent blood samples obtained from catheters and by direct venipuncture were studied. Venipuncture samples were labelled as the reference (control) group and the peripheral venous catheter samples as the experimental group. A 21‐gauge needle was used in the venipuncture method and 18G, 20G, 22G catheters were used in the peripheral venous catheters method. In each case, after the blood samples were drawn by venipuncture and peripheral venous catheter the needles were drawn out, 1·8 ml of blood was added to 0·2 ml of citrate to give a 2 ml sample. The tube was shaken gently to mix the blood and citrate well.Results.  No clinically significant difference between prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time values were seen in the blood samples drawn by venipuncture and peripheral venous catheter methods.Discussion.  It is recommended that peripheral venous catheter can be used for patients with high bleeding risk if they have a long hospital stay and frequent blood samples are needed.Relevance to clinical practice.  In clinical applications, nurses may prefer the use of peripheral venous catheter to venipuncture both for the comfort of the patients who get anticoagulation therapy and for the prevention of the risks as a result of venipuncture. Application of peripheral venous catheter eliminates the risks of superficial bleeding, irritation, pain and anxiety caused by venipuncture.
A review of the factors involved in older people's decision making with regard to influenza vaccination: a literature review
Authors: Ward Leigh , Draper Jan 
Published: March 2007

Aims and objectives.  The aim of this paper was to develop an understanding of the factors involved in older people's decision making with regard to influenza vaccination to inform strategies to improve vaccine uptake and reduce morbidity and mortality.Background.  Influenza is a major cause of morbidity and mortality world‐wide. In the UK, it accounts for 3000–6000 deaths annually; 85% of these deaths are people aged 65 and over. Despite this, and the widespread and costly annual government campaigns, some older people at risk of influenza and the associated complications remain reluctant to take advantage of the offer of vaccination.Methods.  A review of the English language literature referring to older people published between 1996 and 2005 was the method used. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were identified and applied.Results.  The majority of the literature was quantitative in nature, investigating personal characteristics thought to be predictors of uptake, such as age, sex, co‐morbidity, educational level, income and area of residence. However, there was little discussion of the possible reasons for the significance of these factors and conflict between findings was often evident, particularly between studies employing different methodologies. Other factors identified were prior experience, concerns about the vaccine, perceived risk and advice and information.Relevance to clinical practice.  The wealth of demographic information available will be useful at a strategic level in targeting groups identified as being unlikely to accept vaccination. However, the promotion of person‐centred ways of working that value the health beliefs, attitudes, perceptions and subjective experiences of older people is likely to be more successful during individual encounters designed to promote acceptance. Without more research in investigating these concepts, our understanding is inevitably limited.
Nocturnal windborne migration of ground beetles, particularly Pseudoophonus griseus (Coleoptera: Carabidae), in China
Authors: Feng Hong‐Qiang , Zhang Yun‐Hui , Wu Kong‐Ming , Cheng Deng‐Fa , Guo Yu‐Yuan 
Published: March 2007

Abstract1 A network of light‐traps, an aerial net carried by kytoon (balloon) and two entomological radars were used to investigate whether ground beetles migrate nocturnally through China. The network‐wide, simultaneous sudden increase in light trap catches, and after subsequent decrease, indicated a seasonal long‐distance night migration of ground beetles, with Pseudoophonus griseus (Panzer) predominant, in August.2 Aerial net trapping indicated that carabids were able to ascend to altitudes of at least 200 m and become windborne. Radar observations indicated that the migratory beetles formed high‐density layer concentrations at approximately 200–300 m.3 These concentrations were coincident with the top of the temperature inversion and a wind speed maximum, which suggested that the carabids tended to select warm, fast moving air for their long‐distance migration.4 The ground beetles orientated and displaced towards the downwind direction in southerly winds. Their air speed decreased as the tailwind increased and, thus, migrating beetles appeared to be conserving energy.5 The mean ± SD displacement speed (ground speed) and air speed were 6.85 ± 1.73 m/s (n= 172) and 4.45 ± 1.54 m/s (n= 172), respectively. The duration of flight, estimated from the variation in area density derived from radar data, was approximately 9–10 h, indicating that the beetles might migrate hundreds of kilometres in a single flight.
Field performance and seasonal changes in the efficacy against Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) of transgenic cotton expressing the insecticidal protein vip3A
Authors: Llewellyn Danny J. , Mares Cheryl L. , Fitt Gary P. 
Published: March 2007

Abstract1 Three years of field experiments in Eastern Australia were carried out on transgenic cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) event Cot102 expressing the insecticidal protein gene vip3A from Bacillus thuringiensis to evaluate performance against Helicoverpa armigera Hübner. Efficacy, defined as the capacity of plant tissues to induce larval mortality, was determined with a well‐validated leaf bioassay fortnightly through the growth cycle of the cotton in each season.2 Cot102 plants proved highly efficacious against H. armigera, particularly early in the season, although their efficacy declined as the season progressed, in a manner similar to, but not as dramatic as, that observed with commercial Cry1Ac expressing cotton (Bollgard or Ingard cotton).3 Field surveys indicated that very few larvae survived beyond first instar on intact growing plants.4 In one season efficacy declined for a period of approximately 20 days after a cool wet period, suggesting that this may have had a detrimental effect on the expression or efficacy of the gene, but this will need to be verified in further replicated trials.5 Quantitative enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays indicated that there was no dramatic reduction in production of the vip3A protein during growth and maturation of the crop, suggesting that other host plant factors were affecting the efficacy of the insecticidal protein in the insect gut.6 These data indicate that Cot102 cotton would provide a useful alternative to Bollgard cotton but, given the similar lytic mode of action of vip3A proteins in the insect midgut, there may be similar inherent vulnerabilities to resistance evolution for these proteins if used alone. Pyramiding of the vip3A trait with a second insecticidal gene would appear to be a high priority for achieving sustainable deployment against H. armigera or similar susceptible species.
Laying a foundation for lifelong learning: Case studies of e‐assessment in large 1st‐year classes
Authors: Nicol David 
Published: March 2007

AbstractConcerns about noncompletion and the quality of the 1st‐year student experience have been linked to recent changes in higher education such as modularisation, increased class sizes, greater diversity in the student intake and reduced resources. Improving formative assessment and feedback processes is seen as one way of addressing academic failure, of enhancing the learning experience and students’ chances of success in the early years of study. This paper argues that if this is to happen, a broader perspective on the purposes of formative assessment and feedback is required, one that links these processes to the development of learner self‐regulation. It then shows, through two case studies drawn from the Re‐engineering Assessment Practices project, how information and communication technology might support formative assessment processes and the development of self‐regulation in large 1st‐year classes. Finally, the paper presents a set of principles for the effective design and evaluation of formative assessment and feedback processes.
Stratification, elaboration and formalisation of design documents: Effects on the production of instructional materials
Authors: Boot Eddy W. , Nelson Jon , Van Merriënboer Jeroen J.G. , Gibbons Andrew S. 
Published: March 2007

AbstractDesigners and producers of instructional materials lack a common design language. As a result, producers have difficulties translating design documents into technical specifications. The 3D‐model is introduced to improve the stratification, elaboration and formalisation of design documents. It is hypothesised that producers working with improved documents (n = 8) show a more efficient translation process and more satisfaction with the design documents than producers working with traditional documents (n = 8). As expected, in the improved documents group, a higher agreement was found between the design documents and the technical specifications, which also required less time and less perceived cognitive load for their production. There were no differences in satisfaction with the design documents. The study shows that designers, working with the 3D‐model, are able to improve design documents, resulting in a better translation process.