bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The palliative care link nurse role in nursing homes: barriers and facilitators
Authors: Hasson Felicity , Kernohan W. George , Waldron Mary , Whittaker Evelyn , Mclaughlin Dorry 
Published: September 2008

AbstractTitle.  The palliative care link nurse role in nursing homes: barriers and facilitators. Aim.  This paper is a report of a study to explore link nurses’ views and experiences regarding the development, barriers and facilitators to the implementation of the role in palliative care in the nursing home.Background.  The delivery of palliative care in nursing homes is widely advocated; one approach is to develop the link nurse role to cascade good practice and training to nurses and other care staff to enhance patient care.Method.  A descriptive qualitative study was conducted with a purposive sample of 14 link nurses from 10 nursing homes in Northern Ireland during 2006. Three focus groups, composed of all Registered Nurses currently acting as link nurses in their nursing homes participated, and the data were audio recorded, fully transcribed and content analysed.Findings.  The link nurse system shows potential to enhance palliative care within nursing homes. However, link nurses experienced a number of difficulties in implementing education programmes. Facilitators of the role included external support, monthly meetings, access to a resource file and peer support among link nurses themselves. Lack of management support, a transient workforce and lack of adequate preparation for link nurses were barriers to fulfilling this role.Conclusion.  Whilst palliative care link nurses can improve care for residents in nursing homes, consideration must be given to overcome the types of barriers identified in order to enable the link nurse system to function effectively.
Multi‐scale analysis of species introductions: combining landscape and demographic models to improve management decisions about non‐native species
Authors: Brown Kerry A. , Spector Sacha , Wu Wei 
Published: September 2008

Summary

Non‐native, invasive species can affect biological patterns and processes at multiple ecological scales. The multi‐scalar effects of invasions can influence community structure, ecosystem processes and function, and the nature and intensity of ecological interactions. Consequently, efforts to assess the spread of invasive species may benefit from a multi‐scale analytic approach.
We analysed results from landscape‐ and population‐scale models for Syzygium jambos, a non‐native tree in the Luquillo Mountains of Puerto Rico, to demonstrate a multi‐scale approach that can be used to inform management decisions about invasive plants. At the landscape‐level, we used an Ecological Niche Modelling approach to predict environmentally suitable habitats for the target plant. At the population‐level, we constructed matrix projection models to determine the finite rate of population increase (λ) for S. jambos. We then extrapolated λ values to the landscape‐scale to obtain a distribution map of λ values for the Luquillo forest.
The landscape analyses suggested that the most environmentally suitable habitats were those most similar to where S. jambos had already been observed. The population‐level analyses showed that four of the seven populations had λ values less than 1, indicating that they were projected to be below replacement. The λ distribution map showed that S. jambos growth was highest in areas where it was most common and lowest in areas where it was most rare.
Our analyses further suggested that the importance of different drivers of invasion and the environmental variables that mediate them appear to be strongly scale‐dependent. Past disturbances seemed most important for controlling invasions at fine‐spatial scales; while abiotic environmental variables modulated coarse‐scale invasion dynamics.
Synthesis and applications. We have shown that a multi‐scale analytic approach can be used to manage invasive species by simultaneously targeting susceptible life stages and rapidly growing populations in a landscape. The utility of this approach stems from an ability to: (i) map the distribution of habitats that can potentially sustain λ values above replacement; (ii) identify populations to manage or monitor during selected stages of an invasion; (iii) forecast the probability for a target species to increase above a critical threshold abundance; and (iv) set priorities for control and monitoring actions.
Temporal shifts in dung beetle community structure within a protected area of tropical wet forest: a 35‐year study and its implications for long‐term conservation
Authors: Escobar Federico , Halffter Gonzalo , Solís Ángel , Halffter Violeta , Navarrete Darío 
Published: September 2008

Summary

Throughout much of the tropics, habitat loss is increasing and intensifying on the unprotected land surrounding conservation areas. The influence of these land‐use changes on biodiversity is poorly understood. This study used data on dung beetles, a taxonomic group widely acknowledged to be an effective ecological indicator of anthropogenic disturbance, to evaluate temporal changes in diversity inside a natural protected area.
Using data from quantitative sampling events over the last 35 years along with an exhaustive review of the information available in museums and the literature, we present evidence suggesting that the dung beetles community structure has shifted dramatically over time at La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica.
To date, 50 dung beetle species have been reported from La Selva. Of these, 10 (20%) were consistently collected within the study timeframe while 21 species (42%) were uncommon. Our results indicate a tendency toward decreasing species richness and changes in species composition over time.
Analysis of the community structure revealed a decrease in diversity (H′), an increase in dominance (D) and a decrease in evenness (J) over the 35‐year period; all of which can be linked to an increase in the dominance of one species (Onthophagus acuminatus). These changes were also reflected in the proportional abundance of major species guilds.
Synthesis and applications. Despite the relatively low human impact within La Selva, this study suggests that the dung beetle community has changed as result of habitat loss in the surrounding landscape and the progressive increasing isolation of the reserve over the last 35 years. Our findings, together with studies of other biota in the reserve, indicate a worrying decline in the conservation value of La Selva in recent decades. This shift in the diversity and composition of native forest biota needs to be taken into account in future studies that continue to rely on La Selva as providing an intact baseline for comparative research. More importantly, we suggest that the size of the reserve may need to be increased if its ecological integrity is to be restored. This study provides further evidence that isolated protected areas may often fail to safeguard biodiversity in the long term, and that to be viable, conservation strategies urgently need to adopt a wider landscape perspective.
Modelling and predicting fungal distribution patterns using herbarium data
Authors: Wollan Anders K. , Bakkestuen Vegar , Kauserud Håvard , Gulden Gro , Halvorsen Rune 
Published: September 2008

AbstractAim  The main aims of this study are: (1) to test if temperature and related parameters are the primary determinants of the regional distribution of macrofungi (as is commonly recognized for plants); (2) to test if the success of modelling fungal distribution patterns depends on species and distribution characteristics; and (3) to explore the potential of using herbarium data for modelling and predicting fungal species’ distributions.Location  The study area, Norway, spans 58–71° N latitude and 4–32° E longitude, and embraces extensive ecological gradients in a small area.Methods  The study is based on 1020 herbarium collections of nine selected species of macrofungi and a set of 75 environmental predictor variables, all recorded in a 5 × 5‐km grid covering Norway. Primarily, generalized linear model (GLM; logistic regression) analyses were used to identify the environmental variables that best accounted for the species’ recorded distributions in Norway. Second, Maxent analyses (using variables identified by GLM) were used to produce predictive potential distribution maps for these species.Results  Variables relating to temperature and radiation were most frequently included in the GLMs, and between 24.8% and 59.8% of the variation in single‐species occurrence was accounted for. The fraction of variation explained by the GLMs ranged from 41.6% to 59.8% for species with restricted distributions, and from 24.8% to 39.3% for species with widespread/scattered and intermediate distributions. The two‐step procedure of GLM followed by Maxent gave predictions with very high values for the area under the curve (0.927–0.997), and maps of potential distribution were generally credible.Main conclusions  We show that temperature is a key factor governing the distribution of macrofungi in Norway, indicating that fungi may respond strongly to global warming. We confirm that modelling success depends partly on species and distribution characteristics, notably on how the distribution relates to the extent of the study area. Our study demonstrates that the combination of GLM and Maxent may be a fruitful approach for biogeography. We conclude that herbarium data improve insight into factors that control the distributions of fungi, of particular value for research on fleshy fungi (mushrooms), which have largely cryptic life cycles.
Evolution of bird migration in a biogeographical context
Authors: Bruderer Bruno , Salewski Volker 
Published: September 2008

AbstractWe infer from the literature that migratory habits of birds evolved in various phylogenetic lineages and biogeographical contexts, either after gradual range expansion into seasonal habitats, or due to environmental changes within established breeding ranges. Shifts of breeding ranges are the results of interactions between colonization due to dispersal and extinction due to deteriorating conditions. Range expansions provide a platform for the evolution of migration from the newly colonized areas towards seasonally favourable non‐breeding areas. A comparison of palaeoclimatic changes with concurrent evolution and distribution of passerine birds suggests that at least some of the basic genera of the Passerida radiated on the northern continents when quasi‐tropical or subtropical climates prevailed. The Passerida may be a special case, but they suggest that ‘tropical origin’ does not necessarily imply a ‘southern origin’ of migratory species. Climate deterioration required adaptations either towards on‐site survival under harsh conditions or towards escape movements allowing improved non‐breeding survival in less seasonal climates or with reversed seasonality. Taxon‐specific life‐history traits and environmental conditions favoured either sedentary or migratory lines of adaptation. Repeated climate variation induced range shifts and concurrent increases or decreases in the expression of migratory behaviour. Two examples of waders suggest that the principle of range shift, followed by the development of migratory habits, is also applicable for other taxonomic groups.
C‐reactive protein and coronary heart disease: a critical review
Authors: Casas J. P. , Shah T. , Hingorani A. D. , Danesh J. , Pepys M. B. 
Published: September 2008

Abstract.Modestly elevated baseline concentrations of C‐reactive protein (CRP), the classical acute phase protein, are associated with the long‐term risk of coronary heart disease in general populations, whilst the major acute phase response of CRP following myocardial infarction is associated with death and cardiac complications. The pathogenic and clinical significance of these associations is controversial. Here we critically review the evidence and describe large‐scale epidemiological studies, novel experiments and possible specific therapies which will rigorously inform the debate. We distinguish between the potential pathogenicity of high acute phase circulating CRP concentrations in individuals with substantial tissue damage and modest but persistent increases in baseline values in generally healthy subjects.
Patterns and rates of nucleotide substitution, insertion and deletion in the endosymbiont of ants Blochmannia floridanus
Authors: GÓMEZ‐VALERO L. , LATORRE A. , GIL R. , GADAU J. , FELDHAAR H. , SILVA F. J. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractGenome reduction is a general process that has been studied in numerous symbiotic bacteria associated with insects. We investigated the last stages of genome degradation in Blochmannia floridanus, a mutualistic bacterial endosymbiont of the ant Camponotus floridanus. We determined the tempo (rates of insertion and deletion) and mode (size and number of insertion–deletion events) of the process in the last 200 000 years by analysing a total of 16 intergenic regions in several strains of this endosymbiont from different ant populations. We provide the first calculation of the reduction rate for noncoding DNA in this endosymbiont (2.2 × 10−8 lost nucleotides/site/year) and compare it with the rate of loss in other species. Our results confirm, as it has been observed in other organisms like Buchnera aphidicola or Rickettsia spp., that deletions larger than one nucleotide can still appear in advanced stages of genome reduction and that a substitutional deletion bias exists. However, this bias is not due to a higher proportion of deletion over insertion events but to a few deletion events being larger than the rest. Moreover, we detected a substitutional AT bias that is probably responsible for the increase in the number of the small and moderate indel events in the last stages of genome reduction. Accordingly, we found intrapopulational polymorphisms for the detected microsatellites in contrast to the stability associated with these in free‐living bacteria such as Escherichia coli.
Neonatal jaundice: a risk factor for infantile autism?
Authors: Maimburg Rikke Damkjær , Væth Michael , Schendel Diana Elizabeth , Bech Bodil Hammer , Olsen Jørn , Thorsen Poul 
Published: September 2008

SummaryIn a previous study, we found that infants transferred to a neonatal ward after delivery had an almost twofold increased risk of being diagnosed with infantile autism later in childhood in spite of extensive controlling of obstetric risk factors. We therefore decided to investigate other reasons for transfer to a neonatal ward, in particular hyperbilirubinaemia and neurological abnormalities.We conducted a population‐based matched case–control study of 473 children with autism and 473 matched controls born from 1990 to 1999 in Denmark. Cases were children reported with a diagnosis of infantile autism in the Danish Psychiatric Central Register. Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals [CI] and likelihood ratio tests were used to test for effect modification.We found an almost fourfold risk for infantile autism in infants who had hyperbilirubinaemia after birth (OR 3.7 [95% CI 1.3, 10.5]). In stratified analysis, the association appeared limited to term infants (≥37 weeks gestation). A strong association was also observed between abnormal neurological signs after birth and infantile autism, especially hypertonicity (OR 6.7 [95% CI 1.5, 29.7]). No associations were found between infantile autism and low Apgar scores, acidosis or hypoglycaemia. Our findings suggest that hyperbilirubinaemia and neurological abnormalities in the neonatal period are important factors to consider when studying causes of infantile autism.
From birth to adulthood in rural Ethiopia: the Butajira Birth Cohort of 1987
Authors: Byass Peter , Fantahun Mesganaw , Mekonnen Wubegzier , Emmelin Anders , Berhane Yemane 
Published: September 2008

SummaryLong‐term birth cohorts from developing countries are uncommon. Here a unique birth to 18‐years cohort based on all births during 1987 in a rural area of Ethiopia is presented. This was the first year of the ongoing Butajira Rural Health Programme, since when the sampled population has been followed up in regular household visits. A total of 1884 livebirths in 1987 formed the cohort, corresponding to a birth rate of 0.31 per woman per year; the male : female ratio was 1.10.Perinatal mortality was 22 per 1000 livebirths, and infant mortality 65 per 1000 livebirths. Survival from birth to 18 years was 760 per 1000. Living in Butajira town had a considerable survival advantage compared with the surrounding villages. Most deaths were due to infections. Four per cent of the cohort experienced the death of their mothers before the age of 18 years, and 15 of the girls delivered their own children, suggesting that 1 in 25 women may bear a child before their eighteenth birthday in this community. The children in the cohort received no consequent special care or attention, and so they probably accurately represent the harsh realities of growing up in rural Ethiopia at the turn of the Millennium. The huge gaps between their experience and that of their contemporaries in more affluent settings are a scandal of the 21st century.
Flavones and flavonols play distinct critical roles during nodulation of Medicago truncatula by Sinorhizobium meliloti
Authors: Zhang Juan , Subramanian Senthil , Stacey Gary , Yu Oliver 
Published: September 2008

SummaryFlavonoids play critical roles in legume–rhizobium symbiosis. However, the role of individual flavonoid compounds in this process has not yet been clearly established. We silenced different flavonoid‐biosynthesis enzymes to generate transgenic Medicago truncatula roots with different flavonoid profiles. Silencing of chalcone synthase, the key entry‐point enzyme for flavonoid biosynthesis led to flavonoid‐deficient roots. Silencing of isoflavone synthase and flavone synthase led to roots deficient for a subset of flavonoids, isoflavonoids (formononetin and biochanin A) and flavones (7,4′‐dihydroxyflavone), respectively. When tested for nodulation by Sinorhizobium meliloti, flavonoid‐deficient roots had a near complete loss of nodulation, whereas flavone‐deficient roots had reduced nodulation. Isoflavone‐deficient roots nodulated normally, suggesting that isoflavones might not play a critical role in M. truncatula nodulation, even though they are the most abundant root flavonoids. Supplementation of flavone‐deficient roots with 7, 4′‐dihydroxyflavone, a major inducer of S. meliloti nod genes, completely restored nodulation. However, the same treatment did not restore nodulation in flavonoid‐deficient roots, suggesting that other non‐nod gene‐inducing flavonoid compounds are also critical to nodulation. Supplementation of roots with the flavonol kaempferol (an inhibitor of auxin transport), in combination with the use of flavone pre‐treated S. meliloti cells, completely restored nodulation in flavonoid‐deficient roots. In addition, S. meliloti cells constitutively producing Nod factors were able to nodulate flavone‐deficient roots, but not flavonoid‐deficient roots. These observations indicated that flavones might act as internal inducers of rhizobial nod genes, and that flavonols might act as auxin transport regulators during nodulation. Both these roles of flavonoids appear critical for symbiosis in M. truncatula.
Two small protein families, DYNAMIN‐RELATED PROTEIN3 and FISSION1, are required for peroxisome fission in Arabidopsis
Authors: Zhang Xinchun , Hu Jianping 
Published: September 2008

SummaryPeroxisomes are multi‐functional organelles that differ in size and abundance depending on the species, cell type, developmental stage, and metabolic and environmental conditions. The PEROXIN11 protein family and the DYNAMIN‐RELATED PROTEIN3A (DRP3A) protein have been shown previously to play key roles in peroxisome division in Arabidopsis. To establish a mechanistic model of peroxisome division in plants, we employed forward and reverse genetic approaches to identify more proteins involved in this process. In this study, we identified three new components of the Arabidopsis peroxisome division apparatus: DRP3B, a homolog of DRP3A, and FISSION1A and 1B (FIS1A and 1B), two homologs of the yeast and mammalian FIS1 proteins that mediate the fission of peroxisomes and mitochondria by tethering the DRP proteins to the membrane. DRP3B is partially targeted to peroxisomes and causes defects in peroxisome fission when the gene function is disrupted. drp3A drp3B double mutants display stronger deficiencies than each single mutant parent with respect to peroxisome abundance, seedling establishment and plant growth, suggesting partial functional redundancy between DRP3A and DRP3B. In addition, FIS1A and FIS1B are each dual‐targeted to peroxisomes and mitochondria; their mutants show growth inhibition and contain peroxisomes and mitochondria with incomplete fission, enlarged size and reduced number. Our results demonstrate that both DRP3 and FIS1 protein families contribute to peroxisome fission in Arabidopsis, and support the view that DRP and FIS1 orthologs are common components of the peroxisomal and mitochondrial division machineries in diverse eukaryotic species.
Three novel subunits of Arabidopsis chloroplastic NAD(P)H dehydrogenase identified by bioinformatic and reverse genetic approaches
Authors: Takabayashi Atsushi , Ishikawa Noriko , Obayashi Takeshi , Ishida Satoshi , Obokata Junichi , Endo Tsuyoshi , Sato Fumihiko 
Published: September 2008

SummaryChloroplastic NAD(P)H dehydrogenase (NDH) plays a role in cyclic electron flow around photosystem I to produce ATP, especially in adaptation to environmental changes. Although the NDH complex contains 11 subunits that are homologous to NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I; EC 1.6.5.3), recent genetic and biological studies have indicated that NDH also comprises unique subunits. We describe here an in silico approach based on co‐expression analysis and phylogenetic profiling that was used to identify 65 genes as potential candidates for NDH subunits. Characterization of 21 Arabidopsis T‐DNA insertion mutants among these ndh gene candidates indicated that three novel ndf (NDH‐dependent cyclic electron flow) mutants (ndf1, ndf2 and ndf4) had impaired NDH activity as determined by measurement of chlorophyll fluorescence. The amount of NdhH subunit was greatly decreased in these mutants, suggesting that the loss of NDH activity was caused by a defect in accumulation of the NDH complex. In addition, NDF1, NDF2 and NDF4 proteins co‐migrated with the NdhH subunit, as shown by blue native electrophoresis. These results strongly suggest that NDF proteins are novel subunits of the NDH complex. Further analysis revealed that the NDF1 and NDF2 proteins were unstable in the mutants lacking hydrophobic subunits of the NDH complex, but were stable in mutants lacking the hydrophilic subunits, suggesting that NDF1 and NDF2 interact with a hydrophobic sub‐complex. NDF4 protein was predicted to possess a redox‐active iron–sulfur cluster domain that may be involved in the electron transfer.