bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Vitamin D deficiency and nutritional status in elderly hospitalized subjects in Iceland
Authors: Ramel Alfons , Jonsson Palmi V , Bjornsson Sigurbjorn , Thorsdottir Inga 
Published: January 2009

AbstractObjectivePoor nutrition and limited sunlight exposure (season) can be related to reduced serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations. Thus, elderly people in the Nordic countries might be at high risk for vitamin D deficiency. The aims of the study were to describe the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in elderly hospitalized patients in Reykjavik, Iceland, and to investigate the effects of nutritional status and season on serum 25(OH)D.DesignCross-sectional study. Nutritional status was assessed and fasting blood was drawn and analysed for serum 25(OH)D and other clinical routine measurements.SettingDepartments of Geriatrics, Landspitali-University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland.SubjectsSixty hospitalized patients (mean age 83·0 (sd7·9) years) were randomly assigned.ResultsOf the patients, 12·3 % suffered from vitamin D deficiency (serum 25(OH)D < 25 nmol/l) and 71·9 % suffered from hypovitaminosis D (serum 25(OH)D = 25–75 nmol/l). There were no significant effects of gender or nutritional status on serum 25(OH)D. Anthropometric variables correlated significantly with serum 25(OH)D, but on stepwise linear regression modelling for the prediction of serum 25(OH)D, BMI remained the only predictor variable (B= −1·454, 95 % CI −2·535, −0·373,P= 0·009).ConclusionsBMI was significantly negatively associated with serum 25(OH)D in hospitalized elderly patients. Neither nutritional status nor season significantly affected serum 25(OH)D in our patient group. Higher levels of serum 25(OH)D in elderly subjects with lower BMI are most likely explained by volume of distribution rather than by mobilization of vitamin D from its storage in adipose tissue due to age and disease-related catabolism.
Dietary patterns and metabolic syndrome factors in a non-diabetic Italian population
Authors: Leite Maria Léa Corrêa , Nicolosi Alfredo 
Published: January 2009

AbstractObjectiveTo examine the relationship between dietary patterns and metabolic syndrome.DesignPopulation-based cross-sectional study. The K-means clustering method was used to identify dietary patterns and logistic regression models were used to compare the adjusted prevalence rates of metabolic syndrome factors, stratifying by obesity status.SettingThe 1992–3 Italian Bollate Eye Study, a population-based survey carried out in the town of Bollate (Milan), Italy.SubjectsA total of 1052 non-diabetic Italian subjects, 527 men and 525 women, aged 42–74 years.ResultsFive dietary clusters were identified: common, animal products, starch, vegetal/fat and vitamin/fibre. After adjusting for potential confounders, the starch group showed the highest prevalence of metabolic syndrome (36 %) followed by the animal products group (30 %); the vitamin/fibre (20 %) and vegetal/fat groups (19 %) showed the lowest prevalence. The starch group had more dyslipidaemia (higher TAG and lower HDL cholesterol levels) and the animal products group had a higher prevalence of impaired fasting glucose. The vitamin/fibre group had the lowest prevalence of abdominal obesity. The beneficial effect of the vegetal/fat and vitamin/fibre dietary patterns seemed stronger among the obese.ConclusionsOur results confirm the deleterious effect of a very-low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet and also of high intakes of animal products. The consumption of a diet high in vegetal fats or rich in fruits and vegetables is associated with a healthier metabolic profile. Reducing obesity is essential to prevent metabolic syndrome, but even among the obese dietary habits are important for preserving healthy lipid and glycaemic profiles.
Variations in prevalence and conduct of school food gardens in tropical and subtropical regions of north-eastern Australia
Authors: Somerset Shawn , Bossard Antoine 
Published: January 2009

AbstractObjectivesTo determine the prevalence and usage of food gardens in primary schools in three distinct climatic regions of north-eastern Australia.DesignCross-sectional surveys combining quantitative and qualitative data collection. Two separate telephone questionnaires were developed and implemented, according to the presence or absence of a food garden within the school. Main outcome measures were answers to scaled response and open-ended questions related to factors supporting and inhibiting the establishment and sustainability of school food gardens.SettingAll state primary schools in three disparate regions of the north-eastern Australian state of Queensland were asked to participate in the study.ResultsA total of 71 % (n 128) of schools agreed to participate. Of these, thirty-seven primary schools had functioning food gardens. The variations in prevalence between regions combined with respondent views indicated climate as a major factor affecting the success of food gardens. Gardens were often used as a tool by schools to teach science, environment or social skills. Gardening activities were generally linked to curriculum studies on plants, fruit and vegetable intake, and healthy eating. The main issues for schools and teachers in establishing food gardens were the time required and the lack of personnel to coordinate garden activities. Of the schools with food gardens, 92 % believed their garden had been a success.ConclusionsThe study revealed strong grass-roots support for school-based food gardens. Although climate and location were important factors associated with the presence of a functioning food garden, respondents nominated teacher involvement and sustained motivation as essential factors for successful school food gardens.
All in the Family: Brandeis University and Leonard Bernstein's “Jewish Boston”
Authors: KASKOWITZ SHERYL 
Published: January 2009

AbstractThis article examines Leonard Bernstein's affiliation with Brandeis University, where he served as a faculty member from 1951 to 1956, a Fellow from 1956 to 1976, a Trustee from 1976 to 1980, and a Trustee Emeritus from 1980 until his death in 1990. In particular, the article explores why Bernstein chose to spend his time in Waltham. By the early 1950s he had already achieved celebrity and was busy with multiple conducting and composition projects; why did he commit to teaching at Brandeis and supporting the school until the end of his life? Bernstein's commitment to Brandeis appears to have been a manifestation of his ongoing connection and sense of duty to the Boston Jewish community of his childhood and, more specifically, to his father. This article summarizes Bernstein's activities at Brandeis, gives a brief history of the university, and discusses the ways in which Brandeis can be understood as an expression of Bernstein's ties to Boston's Jewish life, as well as to the Jewish immigrant experience of his parents and their generation.
Relationship between N-cycling communities and ecosystem functioning in a 50-year-old fertilization experiment
Authors: Hallin Sara , Jones Christopher M , Schloter Michael , Philippot Laurent 
Published: January 2009

AbstractThe relative importance of size and composition of microbial communities in ecosystem functioning is poorly understood. Here, we investigated how community composition and size of selected functional guilds in the nitrogen cycle correlated with agroecosystem functioning, which was defined as microbial process rates, total crop yield and nitrogen content in the crop. Soil was sampled from a 50-year fertilizer trial and the treatments comprised unfertilized bare fallow, unfertilized with crop, and plots with crop fertilized with calcium nitrate, ammonium sulfate, solid cattle manure or sewage sludge. The size of the functional guilds and the total bacterial community were greatly affected by the fertilization regimes, especially by the sewage sludge and ammonium sulfate treatments. The community size results were combined with previously published data on the composition of the corresponding communities, potential ammonia oxidation, denitrification, basal and substrate-induced respiration rates, in addition to crop yield for an integrated analysis. It was found that differences in size, rather than composition, correlated with differences in process rates for the denitrifier and ammonia-oxidizing archaeal and total bacterial communities, whereas neither differences in size nor composition was correlated with differences in process rates for the ammonia-oxidizing bacterial community. In contrast, the composition of nitrate-reducing, denitrifying and total bacterial communities co-varied with primary production and both were strongly linked to soil properties.
Children with speech, language and communication needs: their perceptions of their quality of life
Authors: Markham Chris , van Laar Darren , Gibbard Deborah , Dean Taraneh 
Published: January 2009

Background: This study is part of a programme of research aiming to develop a quantitative measure of quality of life for children with communication needs. It builds on the preliminary findings of Markham and Dean (2006), which described some of the perception's parents and carers of children with speech language and communication needs had regarding children's experience of quality of life. However, this earlier study did not observe and evaluate the perceptions of children themselves and consequently left a vital gap in the evidence. The study reported here seeks to address this by describing the quality of life experiences reported by children and young people themselves.Aims: The study aimed to provide a qualitative, child‐centred, description of the quality of life experiences of children and young people with speech language and communication needs.Methods & Procedures: The study used a qualitative methodology to provide a credible and thick description of the quality of life experiences of children and young people with speech language and communication needs. Children and young people participating in the study were selected to represent a range of speech and language pathologies, according to their capacity to comprehend and participate within the data‐collection activities. A modified focus group technique was used as a method of data collection and data were analysed according to the principles of Grounded Theory and Framework analysis.Outcomes & Results: Seven focus group interviews were conducted with a range of children and young people in full‐time education and in receipt of speech and language therapy. The data showed a number of key themes regarding children's quality of life experiences. These themes ranged from the participant's perceptions of what improves their daily lives to the difficulties they experience and consequently the negative impacts perceived on their quality of life.Conclusions & Implications: This study illuminates the quality of life experiences of children with speech language and communication needs. The findings are of direct benefit to clinicians, researchers, and policy‐makers alike as they broaden the understanding of children's speech and language difficulties. Despite the potential bias inherent in qualitative research with children, the findings provide support for the development of a quality of life scale for children with speech language and communication needs. Such an outcome measure would enable clinicians and researchers to quantify children's quality of life, thereby broadening the range of clinical outcomes available.
Direct versus indirect and individual versus group modes of language therapy for children with primary language impairment: principal outcomes from a randomized controlled trial and economic evaluation
Authors: Boyle James M. , McCartney Elspeth , O'Hare Anne , Forbes John 
Published: January 2009

Background: Many school‐age children with language impairments are enrolled in mainstream schools and receive indirect language therapy, but there have been, to the authors' knowledge, no previous controlled studies comparing the outcomes and costs of direct and indirect intervention delivered by qualified therapists and therapy assistants, and each delivery mode offered to children individually or in groups.Aims: To investigate the relative effectiveness of indirect and direct intervention therapy modes delivered individually or in groups for children with primary language impairment.Methods & Procedures: A multi‐centre randomized controlled trial investigated 161 children with primary language impairment aged 6–11 years randomized to a usual‐therapy control group or to direct individual, indirect individual, direct group or indirect group therapy modes. Intervention was delivered three times a week for 30–40‐min sessions in mainstream schools over 15 weeks. Language performance was assessed at baseline, post‐therapy and at 12 months. Cost analysis was based on salary and travel costs for intervention modes and usual therapy.Outcomes & Results: Compared with controls, children receiving project therapy made short‐term improvements in expressive (p = 0.031), but not receptive, language immediately following intervention. Children with specific expressive language delay were more likely to show improvement than those with mixed receptive–expressive difficulties. The four project therapy modes did not differ on primary language outcomes (all p‐values>0.392) and there were no further improvements evident at follow‐up. Indirect group therapy was the least costly mode, with direct individual therapy the most costly.Conclusions & Implications: Intervention in this age group can be effective for expressive language and can be delivered equally effectively though speech and language therapy assistants and to children in groups.
Qualitative study of the therapeutic relationship in speech and language therapy: perspectives of adults with acquired communication and swallowing disorders
Authors: Fourie Robert J. 
Published: January 2009

Background: Considerations of the negotiated therapeutic relationship in speech and language therapy are somewhat scarce, with specific therapeutic factors generally framed from psycholinguistic, behavioural, or neurological perspectives.Aims: To explore the therapeutic relationship in speech and language therapy, focusing on the personal meanings and experiences of adult clients with acquired communication and swallowing disorders.Methods & Procedures: The study was qualitative, using methods from Grounded theory to analyse eleven interviews with adults who had acquired disorders of communication or swallowing, as they described their perceptions of speech and language therapy and therapists. Five males and six females with a mean age of 62 years, ranging from 25 to 87 years, with varied communication disorders, were interviewed.Outcomes & Results: A preliminary theoretical framework explains how speech and language therapists supported alienated, demoralized or confused clients with therapeutic qualities, such as Being Understanding, Being Gracious, Being Erudite and Being Inspiring; and with therapeutic actions, such as Being Confident, Being Soothing, Being Practical and Being Empowering. These categories provided a basis for the researcher to construct a substantive theory of restorative poise which characterized the attitudinal and behavioural characteristics of an ideal speech and language therapist from the perspective of the client.Conclusions & Implications: Participants were aware of the components of a therapeutic relationship and valued these as essential to their own personal understanding of positive outcomes in speech and language therapy. Therefore, specific types of attitudes and actions that constitute the speech and language therapist's contributions to the therapeutic relationship seemed to provide catalytic conditions for successful working together in therapy; and consequently, may have a bearing on effective practice and treatment efficacy.
The link between prosody and language skills in children with specific language impairment (SLI) and/or dyslexia
Authors: Marshall C. R. , Harcourt‐Brown S. , Ramus F. , van der Lely H. K. J. 
Published: January 2009

Background: Children with specific language impairment (SLI) and dyslexia are known to have impairments in various aspects of phonology, which have been claimed to cause their language and literacy impairments. However, ‘phonology’ encompasses a wide range of skills, and little is known about whether these phonological impairments extend to prosody.Aims: To investigate certain prosodic abilities of children with SLI and/or dyslexia, to determine whether such children have prosodic impairments, whether they have the same pattern of impairments, and whether prosodic impairments are related to language and literacy deficits.Methods & Procedures: Six subtests of the Profiling Elements of Prosodic Systems — Child version (PEPS‐C) were used to investigate discrimination/comprehension and imitation/production of prosodic forms that were either independent of language or that had one of two linguistic functions: chunking (prosodic boundaries) and focus (contrastive stress). The performance of three groups of 10–14‐year‐old children with SLI plus dyslexia, SLI, and dyslexia were compared with an age‐matched control group and two younger control groups matched for various aspects of language and reading.Outcomes & Results: The majority of children with SLI and/or dyslexia performed well on the tasks that tested auditory discrimination and imitation of prosodic forms. However, their ability to use prosody to disambiguate certain linguistic structures was impaired relative to age‐matched controls, although these differences disappeared in comparison with language‐matched controls. No, or only very weak, links were found between prosody and language and literacy skills in children with SLI and/or dyslexia.Conclusions & Implications: Children with SLI and/or dyslexia aged 10–14 years show an impaired ability to disambiguate linguistic structures for which prosody is required. However, they are able on the whole to discriminate and imitate the actual prosodic structures themselves, without reference to linguistic meaning. While the interaction between prosody and other components of language such as syntax and pragmatics is problematic for children with SLI and/or dyslexia, prosody itself does not appear to be a core impairment.
Transition of Adolescents With Inflammatory Bowel Disease From Pediatric to Adult Care: A Survey of Adult Gastroenterologists
Authors: Hait Elizabeth J , Barendse Renée M , Arnold Janis H , Valim Clarissa , Sands Bruce E , Korzenik Joshua R , Fishman Laurie N 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTObjectives:Transition of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) from pediatric to adult providers requires preparation. Gastroenterologists for adult patients (“adult gastroenterologists”) may have expectations of patients that are different from those of pediatric patients. We sought to explore the perspectives of adult gastroenterologists caring for adolescents and young adults with IBD, to improve preparation for transition.Materials and Methods:A survey sent to 1132 adult gastroenterologists caring for patients with IBD asked physicians to rank the importance of patient competencies thought necessary in successful transition to an adult practice. Providers reported which problems occurred in patients with IBD transitioning to their own practice. Adult gastroenterologists were asked about medical and developmental issues that are unique to adolescence.Results:A response rate of 34% was achieved. Adult gastroenterologists reported that young adults with IBD often demonstrated deficits in knowledge of their medical history (55%) and medication regimens (69%). In addition, 51% of adult gastroenterologists reported receiving inadequate medical history from pediatric providers. Adult providers were less concerned about the ability of patients to identify previous and current health care providers (19%), or attend office visits by themselves (15%). Knowledge of adolescent medical and developmental issues was perceived as important by adult gastroenterologists; however, only 46% felt competent addressing the developmental aspects of adolescents.Conclusions:For successful transition, adolescents and young adults with IBD need improved education about their medical history and medications. Pediatric providers need to improve communication with the receiving physicians. In addition, adult providers may benefit from further training in adolescent issues. Formal transition checklists and programs may improve the transition of patients with IBD from pediatric to adult care.
Morphological Changes of the Enteric Nervous System, Interstitial Cells of Cajal, and Smooth Muscle in Children With Colonic Motility Disorders
Authors: van den Berg MM , Di Lorenzo C , Mousa HM , Benninga MA , Boeckxstaens GEE , Luquette M 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTObjectives:To evaluate the relation between colonic manometry findings and the colonic enteric nervous system, interstitial cells of Cajal, and smooth muscle morphology.Patients and Methods:Colonic specimens from surgical resections or full‐thickness biopsy specimens were assessed from a cohort of children who underwent colonic manometry before surgery. Colonic manometric patterns were subdivided into high‐amplitude propagating contractions, low‐amplitude propagating contractions, absence of contractions, and low‐amplitude simultaneous contractions. Immunohistochemistry was performed to identify abnormalities in the enteric nervous system, interstitial cells of Cajal, and smooth muscle layers.Results:Study participants included patients with Hirschsprung disease (n = 4), chronic intestinal pseudo‐obstruction (n = 1), and idiopathic intractable constipation (n = 8). Thirty‐seven ganglionic segments were studied. Abnormalities in myenteric plexus were recognized in segments of all manometry groups, and no differences could be identified when they were compared with segments with high‐amplitude propagating contractions. All of the segments showed an abnormal interstitial cells of Cajal plexus, and no statistical difference could be identified between the 4 groups (n = 0.08). Homogeneous expression of smooth muscle actin was observed in all of the segments.Conclusions:In this cohort we were unable to classify specific manometric findings as reflective of myopathic or neuropathic abnormalities in patients with motility disorders. Caution should be used when predicting the type of neuromuscular disorder based on colonic manometry.
14 Years of Eosinophilic Esophagitis: Clinical Features and Prognosis
Authors: Spergel Jonathan M , Brown‐Whitehorn Terri F , Beausoleil Janet L , Franciosi James , Shuker Michele , Verma Ritu , Liacouras Chris A 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTObjective:To determine the natural history of treated and untreated eosinophilic esophagitis (EE) and examine the presenting symptoms of EE.Patients and Methods:Retrospective and prospective chart review of all patients diagnosed with EE at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. EE was defined as greater than 20 eosinophils per high power field after treatment with reflux medications.Results:We identified 620 patients in our database in the last 14 years and 330 patients with greater than 1 year of follow‐up for analysis. The number of new EE patients has increased on an annual basis. Of the patients presenting with EE, 68% were younger than 6 years old. Reflux symptoms and feeding issues/failure to thrive were the most common presenting symptoms for EE. Eleven patients had resolution of all of their food allergies and 33 patients had resolutions of some of their food allergies. No patients have progression of EE into other gastrointestinal disorders.Conclusions:EE is a chronic disease with less than 10% of the population developing tolerance to their food allergies. EE does not progress into other gastrointestinal diseases.