bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Proliferation and apoptosis of tumour cells before and after neoadjuvant therapy for high‐grade extremity sarcomas: divergent associations with tumour response and prognosis
Authors: Matsubara T , Eimoto T , Okabe M , Miyabe S , Fujiyoshi Y , Matsushita Y , Mizutani J , Yamada S , Otsuka T 
Published: April 2008

Aims:  To evaluate proliferation and apoptosis in high‐grade sarcomas of the extremities before and after preoperative radio‐hyperthermo‐chemotherapy (RHC) and to determine the relationship between these parameters and treatment outcomes.Methods and results:  Pre‐ and post‐RHC specimens of 41 soft tissue and bone tumours were immunohistochemically stained for minichromosome maintenance protein (MCM) 2 and caspase 3 as proliferation and apoptosis markers, respectively, based on a preliminary study comparing them with conventional markers. Indices were calculated as a percentage of positive cells by counting tumour cells in the most frequently labelled areas. MCM2, caspase 3 and MCM2/caspase 3 (growth) indices were 45.3 ± 21.9%, 4.1 ± 7.1% and 82.9 ± 104.5, respectively, in pre‐RHC specimens and 35.4 ± 30.8%, 39.2 ± 34.6% and 5.3 ± 11.7, respectively, in post‐RHC specimens. Response scores showed positive correlation with pre‐RHC MCM2 and post‐RHC caspase 3 indices, inverse correlation with post‐RHC MCM2 and post‐RHC growth indices and no correlation with prognosis. Multivariate analysis revealed high pre‐RHC MCM2 and high post‐RHC growth indices as significant unfavourable prognostic factors.Conclusions:  High proliferative activity in untreated sarcoma may predict good response to neoadjuvant therapy, but poor prognosis, whereas a high growth index, i.e. high proliferation:apoptosis ratio in a post‐neoadjuvant therapy tumour specimen may indicate poor response and poor prognosis.
Parent–adolescent communication and diabetes: an integrative review
Authors: Dashiff Carol , Hardeman Traci , McLain Rhonda 
Published: April 2008

AbstractTitle.  Parent–adolescent communication and diabetes: an integrative review. Aim.  This paper presents a synthesis of findings from empirical studies about communication and interaction between parents and their adolescents with diabetes.Background.  Communication between parent and adolescent is essential in transitioning the adolescent to increased responsibility for diabetes self‐management. Nurses are in a pivotal position to enhance the type of parent–adolescent communication that facilitates this transition.Data sources.  A search of published studies from 1985 to 2006 featuring communication or interaction between parents and adolescents with type 1 diabetes was implemented through a computerized search.Review methods.  Papers were organized by type of evidence and were analysed sequentially. Sources were described based on data elements which were extracted. Findings in the areas of productive and problematic parent–adolescent communications were included. Data elements were compared and critiqued, noting consistencies, and findings were summarized and evaluated.Results.  Studies across several countries indicate that maternal support, conflict, control, involvement and emotional expression are important communication concepts that are linked to diabetes outcomes in adolescents. The influences of different family structures and cultural and socioeconomic circumstances, as well as developmental status and gender of adolescents on these types of communication, have not been systematically studied.Conclusion.  Nurses caring for adolescents with type 1 diabetes need to consider family relationships and communication patterns in achieving health outcomes. Studies of communication, including perspectives of mothers and fathers, and the influence of family structure, economics and culture are needed to build a framework of parent–adolescent interaction and health outcomes for adolescents with type 1 diabetes.
Development and validation of a brief Occupational Coping Self‐Efficacy Questionnaire for Nurses
Authors: Pisanti Renato , Lombardo Caterina , Lucidi Fabio , Lazzari David , Bertini Mario 
Published: April 2008

AbstractTitle. Development and validation of a brief Occupational Coping Self‐Efficacy Questionnaire for NursesAim. This paper is a report of a study to develop and test the psychometric properties of the Occupational Coping Self‐Efficacy for Nurses Scale.Background. Coping self‐efficacy beliefs are defined as self‐appraisals of capabilities to cope with environmental demands. People with higher levels of coping self‐efficacy beliefs tend to approach challenging situations in an active and persistent way, whereas those with lower levels of coping self‐efficacy beliefs tend to direct greater energy to managing increasing emotional distress.Method. In 2006, 1383 nurses completed the following measures: Occupational Coping Self‐Efficacy Questionnaire for Nurses, Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations Short Form and Maslach Burnout Inventory. Based on a randomized split of the data, we conducted exploratory factor analysis on group 1 data (n = 691) and confirmatory factor analysis within the framework of structural equation modelling on group 2 data (n = 692).Findings. The exploratory results revealed two factors: Coping Self‐Efficacy to cope with the occupational burden (Cronbach alpha = 0·77) and Coping Self‐Efficacy to cope with the relational burden (alpha = 0·79). In the confirmatory group, the two‐factor structure was tested against an alternative one‐factor structure and confirmed as the best solution. Correlation patterns between the Occupational Coping Self‐Efficacy for Nurses Scales, and both coping and burnout variables, supported the criterion‐related validity of the Occupational Coping Self‐Efficacy for Nurses dimensions.Conclusion. Nurses can have two basic and distinct coping self‐efficacy beliefs: beliefs about occupational burden and beliefs about relational difficulties in the workplace. Research is needed into how efficacy evaluations shift as a result of specific stress management interventions.
All referrals completed? The issues of liaison and documentation when discharging older people from an emergency department to home
Authors: Dunnion Mary E , Kelly Billy 
Published: April 2008

Aims.  To examine key aspects of the management of the older person in preparation for discharge home from the emergency department to the primary care sector by examining the present levels and organisation of referrals.Background.  Older people usually present at emergency departments in response to a medical crisis in their lives. A seamless transition across organisational boundaries is necessary for providing quality health care and to avoid fragmentation of care provision following discharge. Evidence suggests that a lack of communication, documentation and continuity of care between healthcare sectors generally exists.Design.  The sample comprised the total population (n = 222) of all medical and nursing staff in the emergency department of one regional hospital and primary care area associated with it. A purposeful sample was used as some members of the primary care team were excluded from the sample.Methods.  The method adopted was a survey approach which employed the use of standardised questionnaires comprising both open and closed questioning styles. Raw statistical data were analysed using spss for Windows while the qualitative data arising from the open‐ended questions were content analysed for themes.Results.  The findings of this study support previous research in that older people continue to be discharged from the emergency department with inadequately determined aftercare needs and deficits in communications with the primary care sector.Conclusion.  Current communication between emergency departments and the primary care sector would appear to be disjointed, indicating a need to develop effective referral criteria, accurate documentation and prompt referral.Relevance to clinical practice.  Arrangements for discharge from the emergency department that incorporate effective liaison and communications between sectors will contribute to the quality of services for the older person. This will enhance the provision of more efficient aftercare and in the prevention of reoccurrence of health problems and further referral to the emergency department.
Virulence blockers as alternatives to antibiotics: type III secretion inhibitors against Gram‐negative bacteria
Authors: Keyser P. , Elofsson M. , Rosell S. , Wolf‐Watz H. 
Published: April 2008

Abstract.In recent years mounting problems related to antibiotic‐resistant bacteria have resulted in the prediction that we are entering the preantibiotic era. A way of preventing such a development would be to introduce novel antibacterial medicines with modes of action distinct from conventional antibiotics. Recent studies of bacterial virulence factors and toxins have resulted in increased understanding of the way in which pathogenic bacteria manipulate host cellular processes. This knowledge may now be used to develop novel antibacterial medicines that disarm pathogenic bacteria. The type III secretion system (T3SS) is known to be a potent virulence mechanism shared by a broad spectrum of pathogenic Gram‐negative bacteria that interact with human, animal and plant hosts by injecting effector proteins into the cytosol of host cells. Diseases, such as bubonic plague, shigellosis, salmonellosis, typhoid fever, pulmonary infections, sexually transmitted chlamydia and diarrhoea largely depend on the bacterial proteins injected by the T3SS machinery. Recently a number of T3SS inhibitors have been identified using screening‐based approaches. One class of inhibitors, the salicylidene acylhydrazides, has been subjected to chemical optimization and evaluation in several in vitro and ex vivo assays in multiple bacterial species including Yersinia spp., Chlamydia spp., Salmonella spp. and Pseudotuberculosis aeruginosa. Reports published up to date indicate that T3SS inhibitors have the potential to be developed into novel antibacterial therapeutics.
Selective blockade of NF‐κB by novel mutated IκBα suppresses CD3/CD28‐induced activation of memory CD4+ T cells in asthma
Authors: Zhou L.‐F. , Zhang M.‐S. , Hu A.‐H. , Zhu Z. , Yin K.‐S. 
Published: April 2008

Background:  Nuclear factor κB (NF‐κB) overactivation plays a crucial role in T‐helper 2 (Th2)‐biased allergic airway inflammation by increased activation and decreased apoptosis of CD4+ T cells. We have shown that targeted NF‐κB suppression in dendritic cells by adenoviral gene transfer of a novel mutated inhibitor of NF‐κB (IκBα) (AdIκBαM) contributes to T‐cell tolerance, but the immunosuppressive action of AdIκBαM on memory (CD45RO+) CD4+ T cells remains enigmatic.Methods:  CD45RO+ T cells from Dermatophagoides farinaei‐sensitized asthmatic patients, untransfected or transfected with AdIκBαM or AdLacZ (β‐galactosidase) for 24 h, were stimulated with anti‐CD3 (1.0 μg/ml) plus anti‐CD28 (0.5 μg/ml) monoclonal antibody for an additional 24 h. IκBαM transgene expression and NF‐κB activation were detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), reverse transcription‐PCR (RT‐PCR), Western blot analysis, and electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Phenotype and apoptosis were measured by flow cytometry, annexin V binding, and terminal deoxyribonucleotidyl transferase‐mediated dUTP nick end labeling analyses. Cytokine production and cell proliferation were determined using enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay and [3H] thymidine incorporation.Results:  A unique 801‐bp IκBαM cDNA and a dose‐dependent increase in IκBαM transgene expression were observed in AdIκBαM‐transfected CD45RO+ T cells. Significantly, AdIκBαM inhibited CD3/CD28‐mediated NF‐κB activation in CD45RO+ T cells, leading to evident apoptosis, reduction of eotaxin, RANTES, Th1 [interferon (IFN)‐γ and interleukin (IL)‐2], and Th2 (IL‐4, IL‐5, and IL‐13 despite a slight decrease in IL‐10) cytokines and secondary proliferative response. AdIκBαM also upregulated cytotoxic T lymphocyte‐associated antigen 4 (CTLA‐4) and downregulated CD69 besides no change in CD28.Conclusion:  IκBαM might be beneficial to augment memory CD4+ T‐cell tolerance through modulating B7‐CD28/CTLA‐4 co‐stimulatory pathways and NF‐κB‐dependent cytokine profiles in allergic inflammatory diseases including asthma.
Lack of control of severe asthma is associated with co‐existence of moderate‐to‐severe rhinitis
Authors: Ponte E. V. , Franco R. , Nascimento H. F. , Souza‐Machado A. , Cunha S. , Barreto M. L. , Naspitz C. , Cruz Á. A. 
Published: April 2008

Background:  Retrospective studies provide evidence that rhinitis is associated with more severe asthma. The aim of this study was to evaluate prospectively whether rhinitis is a predictor of increased asthma severity.Methods:  Five hundred and fifty‐seven patients with severe asthma were enrolled. During 1 year of follow‐up, each patient was evaluated every 3 months with a record of emergency room visits and supply of topical corticosteroids for asthma and rhinitis. In the 1 year of follow‐up visit, the patients were checked for rhinitis diagnosis, severity and answered questionnaires for asthma symptoms and quality of life.Results:  Eighty‐two (15%) patients had no rhinitis, 299 (54%) had mild rhinitis and 176 (31%) moderate/severe rhinitis. In logistic regression models, moderate/severe rhinitis was a predictor for any emergency room visit in the follow‐up period [3.83 (2.00–7.35)], for the presence of uncontrolled asthma after 1 year of follow‐up [12.68 (1.73–92.85)], for <10% improvement of the airway obstruction [2.94 (1.48–5.85)] and <50% reduction in the number of emergency room visits [2.90 (1.02–8.26)] in the year of follow‐up. It was also associated with a smaller chance of more than 90% reduction in the number of emergency room visits in the year of follow‐up [0.27 (0.12–0.60)]. In a multivariate linear regression model, severity of rhinitis was positively correlated with a score of asthma severity and inversely correlated to an index of quality of life.Conclusions:  In a population with severe asthma, moderate/severe rhinitis is a strong predictor for greater severity of asthma.
Quality‐of‐life and asthma‐severity in general population asthmatics: results of the ECRHS II study
Authors: Siroux V. , Boudier A. , Anto J. M. , Cazzoletti L. , Accordini S. , Alonso J. , Cerveri I. , Corsico A. , Gulsvik A. , Jarvis D. , De Marco R. , Marcon A. , Marques E. A. , Bugiani M. , Janson C. , Leynaert B. , Pin I. 
Published: April 2008

Background: Health‐related quality‐of‐life (HRQL) has been poorly studied in large samples of asthmatics from the general population. HRQL and its relationship to asthma‐severity were assessed among 900 asthmatics enrolled in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey.Methods: Among asthmatics, 864 completed the short form‐36 (SF‐36) questionnaire and 477 also completed the Asthma Quality‐of‐life Questionnaire (AQLQ). A 4‐class asthma‐severity scale, combining clinical items, forced expiratory volume in 1 s and the level of treatment and the different asthma‐severity components (each of the clinical items and hospitalization) were studied in relation to HRQL.Results: Mean SF‐36 Physical Component Summary (PCS) and Mental Component Summary (MCS) scores (45.5 and 48.8 respectively) were lower than expected in a general population. The mean total AQLQ score was 5.8. The AQLQ score and to a lesser extent the PCS score were significantly related to the 4‐class asthma‐severity scale, although the risk of having a lower HRQL score did not vary proportionally across the levels of severity. Asthma‐severity had no impact on the MCS score. Asthma attack frequency and hospitalization were associated with both total AQLQ and PCS scores, whereas nocturnal symptoms and lung function were more strongly related to the AQLQ and PCS score respectively.Conclusion: In population‐based asthmatics, the specific AQLQ questionnaire, and also to a lesser extent the generic SF‐36 questionnaire, were sensitive to asthma‐severity. Frequencies of asthma attacks, of nocturnal symptoms and hospitalization for asthma have independent impact on HRQL.
Airway remodeling is correlated with obstruction in children with severe asthma
Authors: Tillie‐Leblond I. , De Blic J. , Jaubert F. , Wallaert B. , Scheinmann P. , Gosset P. 
Published: April 2008

Background:  Severe asthma may involve an irreversible obstructive pattern, and structural changes in bronchial airways are believed to play a key role in this context. The aim of the present study was to compare airway remodeling in severe asthmatic children with or without obstructive pattern.Methods:  Two groups of children with severe asthma and persistent symptoms, 5–14 years old were included, 15 with persistent obstructive pattern (group O) and 10 without obstructive pattern (group N). Persistent obstructive pattern was defined as a forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) less than 80% of the predicted value after a course of systemic corticosteroids and no significant improvement after bronchodilator. We examined bronchial biopsies by pathological and immunochemical methods and quantified airway smooth muscle (ASM) and mucus gland areas, reticular basement membrane (RBM) thickening, distance between ASM and RBM, muscle light chain kinase (MLCK) expression and number of vessels (CD31 expression).Results:  Surface area of ASM (P = 0.009), MLCK expression (P = 0.03) and number of vessels (P = 0.0008) were increased in group O compared with group N. Distance of RBM–ASM was shorter in group O (P = 0.007). FEV1 negatively correlated with ASM area (r = −0.6; P = 0.002), MLCK expression (r = −0.45; P = 0.02) and CD31 expression (r = −0.7; P = 0.0003), and positively correlated with the distance of RBM–ASM (r = 0.5; P = 0.007).Conclusions:  Structural abnormalities of airway remodeling are present in children with severe asthma. Only an increase in surface area of ASM and the density of the vascular network are more pronounced in children with persistent obstructive pattern, while RBM thickening is similar. These results are concordant with longitudinal studies which emphasize the precocity of bronchial obstruction.
Mutation screening of the CARD15 gene in sarcoidosis
Authors: Akahoshi M. , Ishihara M. , Namba K. , Kitaichi N. , Ando Y. , Takenaka S. , Ishida T. , Ohno S. , Mizuki N. , Nakashima H. , Shirakawa T. 
Published: April 2008

Abstract CARD15 was first identified as a susceptibility gene for Crohn’s disease. More recently, CARD15 mutations were shown to be associated with the pediatric granulomatous inflammatory diseases, Blau syndrome and early‐onset sarcoidosis (EOS). The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether CARD15 variants also play a role in patients with ordinary sarcoidosis other than EOS. We enrolled 135 Japanese sarcoidosis patients with uveitis as well as 95 healthy individuals and performed mutation analysis by direct sequencing of CARD15 exon 4. Direct DNA sequencing in the sarcoidosis patients showed eight CARD15 variants, including five novel mutations (13402C>T, 13543C>T, 13775C>A, 13937G>A, and 14079C>T). Compared with healthy individuals, CARD15 mutations are not common in the Japanese patients with sarcoidosis. Based on the results, we examined the clinical manifestations in patients with sarcoidosis according to their CARD15 mutations. Sarcoidosis patients with these mutations have no specific clinical features with regard to course of the disease or disease severity. Our results indicate that in general, CARD15 mutations may not contribute to the risk of sarcoidosis.
Cold storage of pooled, buffy‐coat‐derived, leucoreduced platelets in plasma
Authors: Hornsey V. S. , Drummond O. , McMillan L. , Morrison A. , Morrison L. , MacGregor I. R. , Prowse C. V. 
Published: April 2008

Background  This study was designed to determine which in vitro assays would be most useful for studying the effects of cold storage on platelet concentrates and to establish an in vivo model for platelet recovery and survival.Study Design and Methods  Paired, plasma‐suspended, leucoreduced, buffy‐coat‐derived platelet concentrates were stored either at 22 or 4°C. Prior to storage and after 18 h, 5 days and 7 days, samples were taken and various assays were performed. On day 6, in vivo studies were carried out using a model system. Galactosylation of the platelets, prior to cold storage, was also tested.Results  Hypotonic shock response, collagen‐induced aggregation, RANTES and P‐selectin binding site measurements demonstrated differences between platelets stored at 22 and 4°C. The glycocalicin assay was able to demonstrate microvesicle formation at 4°C. The in vivo model showed that there was at least a 50% decrease in recovery and survival when the platelets were stored in the cold. Galactosylation did not improve these results.Conclusions  Several assays, both in vitro and in vivo, were able to detect differences in platelet‐storage characteristics and in vivo recovery and survival in a model system. Galactosylation did not correct these cold‐induced changes.
The small genome of an abundant coastal ocean methylotroph
Authors: Giovannoni Stephen J. , Hayakawa Darin H. , Tripp H. James , Stingl Ulrich , Givan Scott A. , Cho Jang‐Cheon , Oh Hyun‐Myung , Kitner Joshua B. , Vergin Kevin L. , Rappé Michael S. 
Published: April 2008

SummaryOM43 is a clade of uncultured β‐proteobacteria that is commonly found in environmental nucleic acid sequences from productive coastal ocean ecosystems, and some freshwater environments, but is rarely detected in ocean gyres. Ecological studies associate OM43 with phytoplankton blooms, and evolutionary relationships indicate that they might be methylotrophs. Here we report on the genome sequence and metabolic properties of the first axenic isolate of the OM43 clade, strain HTCC2181, which was obtained using new procedures for culturing cells in natural seawater. We found that this strain is an obligate methylotroph that cannot oxidize methane but can use the oxidized C1 compounds methanol and formaldehyde as sources of carbon and energy. Its complete genome is 1304 428 bp in length, the smallest yet reported for a free‐living cell. The HTCC2181 genome includes genes for xanthorhodopsin and retinal biosynthesis, an auxiliary system for producing transmembrane electrochemical potentials from light. The discovery that HTCC2181 is an extremely simple specialist in C1 metabolism suggests an unanticipated, important role for oxidized C1 compounds as substrates for bacterioplankton productivity in coastal ecosystems.