bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Physical assessment: implications for nurse educators and nursing practice
Authors: Lesa R. , Dixon A. 
Published: May 2007

Aim:  In New Zealand, the physical assessment of a patient has traditionally been the domain of the medical profession. As a country implementing advanced practice roles, with an expectation that both nurse practitioners and registered nurses will use physical assessment skills, the relevancy of physical assessment for each scope of practice has currency. The aim of this literature review was to discover what could be learnt from the experiences of Western countries that already incorporate physical assessment skills into nurses’ health assessment.Findings:  Nurses in the USA, and more recently Canada and Australia, readily incorporate physical assessment skills into their nursing practice as a component of health assessment. The international literature identified that any change to the nurse’s role in health assessment, to include physical assessment skills, requires strategies that involve the regulatory, educational and practice components of nursing.Conclusion:  Nurses and other health professionals must perceive that this role expansion will improve health outcomes for the diverse populations accessing health care. Teaching physical assessment skills within a holistic health model will enable nurses to contribute a more comprehensive health assessment to the planning and monitoring of people’s health care.
Critical care nursing organizations and activities – a second worldwide review
Authors: Williams G. , Chaboyer W. , Alberto L. , Thorsteinsdottir R. , Schmollgruber S. , Fulbrook P. , Chan D. , Bost N. 
Published: May 2007

Background:  This study is the second world survey of critical care nursing organizations (CCNOs). The first survey was undertaken 6 years ago and data were collected from 23 countries over a 2‐year period. The aim of the second survey was to profile the issues and activities of critical care nurses and their professional organizations, expanding on the previous survey to obtain both an update of the issues and a wider global perspective.Methods:  A descriptive survey was emailed to 80 potential responding countries with recognized CCNOs or nursing leaders. Responses were analysed descriptively by geographical region.Results:  A total of 51 respondents completed the questionnaire over a 6‐month period, achieving a return rate of 64%. The most common issues identified by critical care nurses were staffing levels and teamwork. Other important issues included wages, working conditions and access to quality educational programmes. The respondents perceived national conferences, professional representation, standards for educational courses, provision of a website, and educational workshops and forums as the five most important activities that should be provided for critical care nurses by national CCNOs.Conclusions:  Workforce and education issues remain dominant themes among critical care nurses of the world. These issues have changed very little in the last 6 years. Using the World Federation of Critical Care Nurses network of regional CCNOs and critical care nursing leaders has proven to be a successful strategy for the collection of data on world issues and for international communication and support.
Factors affecting nurses’ decisions to join their professional association
Authors: Alotaibi M. 
Published: May 2007

Background:  Many nursing associations in the world are facing difficulties in increasing nurses’ membership. Many researchers have identified possible causes for this decline.Aim:  To explore factors that influence nurses’ decision to join or not to join the Kuwait Nursing Association (KNA).Methods:  A Professional Association Membership Questionnaire (PAMQ) developed by Yeager (1981) was used. A short demographic questionnaire and two open‐ended questions developed by the researcher were added at the end of the questionnaire to gather the data sought in this study. The participants were 40 nurses who are current members of KNA and 100 nurses who had been members of KNA in the past and did not renew their membership in 2005.Results:  This study showed that all 29 reported benefits were not very important to both groups. However, nine benefits strongly influenced the current members’ decisions to join KNA, namely social activities, relief from boredom, fun, travel, improvement of health care, Something new, friendship, group benefit plans and peer group contact. The former members valued five benefits, namely education, programmes, support, professionalism and self‐improvement.Conclusion:  Current and former members differ in their reasons to join or not to join the KNA. All the benefits provided by an association may not necessarily attract members and the philosophical differences between them are one of the reasons not join an association.
The development of role adequacy for professional nurses in Jordan
Authors: Shuriquie M. , While A. , Fitzpatrick J. 
Published: May 2007

Aim:  This paper reviews the development of role adequacy in Jordan through an examination of nurse education, specialization and continuing education programmes in order to identify the developmental needs for the Jordanian professional nurse’s initial and continued competence.Background:  The concept of role adequacy in nursing relates directly to the skills and competencies of individuals who undertake the nursing role. Various types and levels of nursing education have been established with several reforms over time in attempt to meet the Jordanian nursing workforce’s need for key competencies. A nursing council was established in 2002 but it has yet to guide professional development.Conclusion:  The nursing profession in Jordan has made great advances towards developing role adequacy over the last half century. Currently, there is a relatively good national system of educational preparation of nurses with the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree providing the only point of entry to the profession. However, this draws heavily on North American curricula and textbooks and therefore may not be culturally and economically sensitive to the population’s needs. The state of continuing education and specialist training in Jordan indicates there is an urgent need to set national minimum standards for continuing professional development requirements if nurses’ role adequacy and continued competence are to be maintained. National cooperation between educational institutions, healthcare providers and the nursing regulatory body is needed if the goal of a competent nursing workforce is to be realized.
Universal Investors and Socially Responsible Investors: a tale of emerging affinities
Authors: Lydenberg Steven 
Published: May 2007

This paper posits three types of investors in today’s financial markets: Universal Investors, Social Investors and Rational Investors. It argues that the Universal and Social Investor are theoretically inclined to seek returns that benefit society and the environment as a whole, while the tenets of modern portfolio theory lead the Rational Investor to seek returns based primarily on market price. Because of the dominance of modern portfolio theory, the actual practices of the Universal and Social Investor reproduce those of the Rational Investor in most regards today. However, Universal and Social Investors are now pioneering at least three investment practices that promote returns to the economy and society. These are engagement with corporate management, investments that benefit underserved communities, and the setting of social and environmental standards in selecting investments. These practices differ from those of the mainstream in that they deliberately take into account more than market price in seeking returns on investments.This paper argues that measuring the value of corporations to society solely on their stock price and their ability to raise that price is not only a narrow expression of the value of corporations to society, but a potentially dangerous one. It views Universal and Social Investors as having the potential to build on and improve upon the practices of Rational Investors by developing an expanded and more complete conception of investment returns and of corporations’ role in providing those returns.This paper hypothesises that universal investors and socially responsible investors – two classes of investors whose investment practices are increasingly gaining recognition around the world – share a basic affinity for the promotion of a just and sustainable society. Although the two currently differ in certain regards, together they constitute a theoretically coherent model of investment that builds and improves upon the dominant investment theory and practice of rational investors, which focus primarily on market‐based returns.Part One of this paper explores the theoretical affinities between universal and socially responsible investors and highlights their points of departure from certain aspects of modern portfolio theory. Part Two examines the emerging investment practices that characterise these investors and that distinguish them from their mainstream colleagues.
Two Challenges for Fiduciary Capitalism
Authors: Monks Robert A. G. 
Published: May 2007

The modern institutional trustee in its incarnation as majority owner of American business has conflicts of interest of debilitating proportions. Notwithstanding the inveterate and unchanging rigour of trust law requiring the fiduciary to administer assets “for the exclusive benefit of plan participants”, today’s conglomerate – understandably enough in a world where there is no enforcement – persistently favours its own interest in pleasing present and potential customers. There has been no enforcement of breach of fiduciary obligations either by the executive or judicial branches of government. In light of the trend of some courts towards the Law & Economics policy of “efficient compliance”, there must be some doubt as to whether courts will require compliance with trust law.What has emerged is a badly crippled owner. Enforceability of the trust promise is what is required for the concept of “fiduciary ownership” to flower.Ironically, casting the majority owner of public companies in trust mode has twice cursed the beneficiaries. On the one hand, the trustees made extensive use of trust assets to protect themselves against any possibility of liability by hiring “consultants”, the sum of whose contribution to the economic welfare of participants is highly problematic. Their real value is in providing trustees defence against any claim of negligence. On the other hand, trustees, with “no skin in the game” were motivated to adopt the most minimalist policies of investment, thus ensuring mediocre results. The only fiduciaries, largely public employee pension plans, free of conflict of interest are identified with what might be styled the “anti business” end of the spectrum of ownership. Until the balance of owners participate, the promise of “fiduciary capitalism” will not be fulfilled.
The Interface of Globalization and Peripheral Land in the Cities of the South: Implications for Urban Governance and Local Economic Development
Authors: KEIVANI RAMIN , MATTINGLY MICHAEL 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThis essay examines the impact of globalization on land peripheral to large cities of the south. It identifies such land as providing major arenas for contested claims between the requirements of international firms and those of local inhabitants and businesses, entailing both threats and opportunities in terms of local economic development. Much depends on the urban governance and institutional processes surrounding the use and allocation of land that are themselves directly influenced by the globalization process. In many cities national, state or provincial governments have set up special parastatal organizations with substantial funding and significant decision‐making powers over infrastructure development and land use to facilitate the rebirth of their cities as havens for international investment. In the process local municipalities and the local population are often excluded from the decision‐making process, while being left to cope with the aftermath and maintenance of the grand projects. The essay identifies weaknesses in elite governance models usually centred at the state or national levels, and asks if a better alternative may be a local government‐led ‘inclusive leadership’ model capable of clear leadership, greater coordination of different governance layers and inclusion of local actors.RésuméCet essai étudie l’impact de la mondialisation sur les terrains situés à la périphérie des grandes villes du Sud. Il identifie ces terrains comme des scènes majeures de contradiction entre les besoins des multinationales et les revendications des entreprises et habitants locaux, ce qui créent à la fois menaces et opportunités en termes d’expansion économique locale. Le résultat dépend largement des processus institutionnels et de gouvernance urbaine qui entourent l’utilisation et l’affectation des terrains, processus eux‐mêmes directement influencés par la mondialisation. Dans de nombreuses villes, les organes de gouvernement nationaux, étatiques ou provinciaux ont créé des entités para‐étatiques spécialisées, dotées de fonds et de pouvoirs décisionnels considérables en matière d’aménagement des infrastructures et d’occupation des sols, afin de réinstaurer leur ville en terre d’accueil de l’investissement international. Or, les municipalités et populations locales sont souvent exclues du processus de décision alors qu’on les laisse assumer les conséquences et la maintenance des grands projets. L’article repère les faiblesses des modèles de gouvernance par les élites, généralement centrés aux niveaux de l’Etat ou de la nation, et se demande si un modèle de ‘leadership inclusif’ sous la houlette du gouvernement ne serait pas une meilleure alternative, permettant un leadership clair, une meilleure coordination des différentes strates de gouvernance et l’intégration des acteurs locaux.
A review of quality of life issues and people with autism spectrum disorders
Authors: Plimley Lynn A. 
Published: May 2007

SummaryThis article draws on existing theory and research findings in the field of quality of life (QoL) and those with learning/intellectual disability and extrapolates current thinking in terms of measurable domains of QoL. The condition of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is becoming increasingly prevalent in the sector of supported living and adult residential care. The author examines the core features of ASD and applies known characteristics to ways in which QoL domains and assessment tools can be adapted to people with ASD.
Chronic lithium administration attenuates up‐regulated brain arachidonic acid metabolism in a rat model of neuroinflammation
Authors: Basselin Mireille , Villacreses Nelly E. , Lee Ho‐Joo , Bell Jane M. , Rapoport Stanley I. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractNeuroinflammation, caused by a 6‐day intracerebroventricular infusion of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in rats, is associated with the up‐regulation of brain arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism markers. Because chronic LiCl down‐regulates markers of brain AA metabolism, we hypothesized that it would attenuate increments of these markers in LPS‐infused rats. Incorporation coefficients k* of AA from plasma into brain, and other brain AA metabolic markers, were measured in rats that had been fed a LiCl or control diet for 6 weeks, and subjected in the last 6 days on the diet to intracerebroventricular infusion of artificial CSF or of LPS. In rats on the control diet, LPS compared with CSF infusion increased k* significantly in 28 regions, whereas the LiCl diet prevented k* increments in 18 of these regions. LiCl in CSF infused rats increased k* in 14 regions, largely belonging to auditory and visual systems. Brain cytoplasmic phospholipase A2 activity, and prostaglandin E2 and thromboxane B2 concentrations, were increased significantly by LPS infusion in rats fed the control but not the LiCl diet. Chronic LiCl administration attenuates LPS‐induced up‐regulation of a number of brain AA metabolism markers. To the extent that this up‐regulation has neuropathological consequences, lithium might be considered for treating human brain diseases accompanied by neuroinflammation.
Marked dissociation between high noradrenaline versus low noradrenaline transporter levels in human nucleus accumbens
Authors: Tong Junchao , Hornykiewicz Oleh , Furukawa Yoshiaki , Kish Stephen J. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractWe recently identified a noradrenaline‐rich caudomedial subdivision of the human nucleus accumbens (NACS), implying a special function for noradrenaline in this basal forebrain area involved in motivation and reward. To establish whether the NACS, as would be expected, contains similarly high levels of other noradrenergic markers, we measured dopamine‐β‐hydroxylase (DBH) and noradrenaline transporter in the accumbens and, for comparison, in 23 other brain regions in autopsied human brains by immunoblotting. Although the caudomedial NACS had high DBH levels similar to those in other noradrenaline‐rich areas, the noradrenaline transporter concentration was low (only 11% of that in hypothalamus). Within the accumbens, transporter concentration in the caudal portion was only slightly (by 30%) higher than that in the rostral subdivisions despite sharply increasing rostrocaudal gradients of noradrenaline (15‐fold) and DBH. In contrast, the rostrocaudal gradient in the accumbens for the serotonin transporter and serotonin were similar (2‐fold increase). The caudomedial NACS thus appears to represent the only instance in human brain having a striking mismatch in high levels of a monoamine neurotransmitter versus low levels of its uptake transporter. This suggests that noradrenaline signalling is much less spatially and temporally restricted in the caudomedial accumbens than in other noradrenaline‐rich brain areas.
Mitochondrial glutathione protects against cell death induced by oxidative and nitrative stress in astrocytes
Authors: Muyderman Håkan , Wadey Alison L. , Nilsson Michael , Sims Neil R. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe major cellular antioxidant, glutathione, is mostly localized in the cytosol but a small portion is found in mitochondria. We have recently shown that highly selective depletion of mitochondrial glutathione in astrocytes in culture markedly increased cell death induced by the peroxynitrite donor, 3‐morpholino‐syndnonimine. The present study was aimed at characterizing the increase in susceptibility arising from mitochondrial glutathione loss and testing the possibility that elevating this metabolite pool above normal values could be protective. The increased vulnerability of astrocytes with depleted mitochondrial glutathione to Sin‐1 was confirmed. Furthermore, these cells showed marked increases in sensitivity to hydrogen peroxide and also to high concentrations of the nitric oxide donor, S‐nitroso‐N‐acetyl‐penicillamine. The increase in cell death was mostly due to necrosis as indicated by substantially increased release of lactate dehydrogenase and staining of nuclei with propidium iodide but little change in annexin V staining and caspase 3 activation. The enhanced cell loss was blocked by prior restoration of the mitochondrial glutathione content. It was also essentially fully inhibited by treatment with cyclosporin A, consistent with a role for the mitochondrial permeability transition in the development of cell death. Susceptibility to the classical apoptosis inducer, staurosporine, was only affected to a small extent in contrast to the response to the other substances tested. Incubation of normal astrocytes with glutathione monoethylester produced large and long‐lasting increases in mitochondrial glutathione content with much smaller effects on the cytosolic glutathione pool. This treatment reduced cell death on exposure to 3‐morpholino‐syndnonimine or hydrogen peroxide but not S‐nitroso‐N‐acetyl‐pencillamine or staurosporine. These findings provide evidence for an important role for mitochondrial glutathione in preserving cell viability during periods of oxidative or nitrative stress and indicate that increases in this glutathione pool can confer protection against some of these stressors.
Effects of acute supine rest on mid‐thigh cross‐sectional area as measured by computed tomography
Authors: Cerniglia Linda M. , Delmonico Matthew J. , Lindle Rosemary , Hurley Ben F. , Rogers Marc A. 
Published: May 2007

SummaryThe loss of hydrostatic pressure that occurs as a person moves from the standing to the supine position causes a fluid redistribution that may confound the measurement of thigh cross‐sectional area (CSA) if data are obtained while tissue fluid content is in flux. To determine the effects of changing postural position on thigh tissue CSA, mid‐thigh axial scans of 13 older women were obtained at 5, 10 and 15 min of supine rest using computed tomography (CT). Scans were analysed for changes in CSA of subcutaneous fat (SF), low density muscle (LDM) and normal density muscle (NDM). A significant decrease from baseline was found in the CSA of NDM at 15 min [2.3 ± 0.8 cm2 (±SE), 1.6%, P<0.05], with no change in LDM or SF CSA among any of the time intervals. The results of the current study suggest that potential measurement error can be minimized when baseline and follow‐up CT‐derived images of mid‐thigh CSA are obtained within the first 10 min the subject assumes the supine position and that the CSA of NDM and LDM may be affected differently by supine rest.
Cardiovascular changes induced by cold water immersion during hyperbaric hyperoxic exposure
Authors: Boussuges Alain , Molenat Florence , Grandfond Aliocha , Regnard Jacques , Wolf Jean‐Pierre , Galland François , Robinet Claude 
Published: May 2007

SummaryThe present study was designed to assess the cardiac changes induced by cold water immersion compared with dry conditions during a prolonged hyperbaric and hyperoxic exposure (ambient pressure between 1·6 and 3 ATA and PiO2 between 1·2 and 2·8 ATA). Ten healthy volunteers were studied during a 6 h compression in a hyperbaric chamber with immersion up to the neck in cold water while wearing wet suits. Results were compared with measurements obtained in dry conditions. Echocardiography and Doppler examinations were performed after 15 min and 5 h. Stroke volume, left atrial and left ventricular (LV) diameters remained unchanged during immersion, whereas they significantly fell during the dry session. As an index of LV contractility, percentage fractional shortening remained unchanged, in contrast to a decrease during dry experiment. Heart rate (HR) significantly decreased after 5 h, although it had not changed during the dry session. The changes in the total arterial compliance were similar during the immersed and dry sessions, with a significant decrease after 5 h. In immersed and dry conditions, cardiac output was unchanged after 15 min but decreased by almost 20% after 5 h. This decrease was related to a decrease in HR during immersion and to a decrease in stroke volume in dry conditions. The hydrostatic pressure exerted by water immersion on the systemic vessels could explain these differences. Indeed, the redistribution of blood volume towards the compliant thoracic bed may conceal a part of hypovolaemia that developed in the course of the session.