bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Towards a conceptual evaluation of transience in relation to palliative care
Authors: Larkin Philip J. , De Casterlé Bernadette Dierckx , Schotsmans Paul 
Published: June 2007

AbstractAim. This paper is a report of a concept evaluation of transience and its relevance to palliative care.Background. A qualitative study into palliative care patients’ experiences of transition revealed a gap between current definitions of transition and their expression of the palliative care experience. Transience appears to offer a better definition but remains conceptually weak, with limited definition in a healthcare context.Methods. A qualitative conceptual evaluation of transience was undertaken using two case examples, interview data and the literature. Multiple sources were used to identify the literature (1966–2006), including a search on Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature Medline, and Ovid and Arts and Humanities Index using the keywords ‘transience’ and ‘palliative care’. Thirty‐one papers related to transience were retrieved. Analysis and synthesis formulated a theoretical definition of transience relative to palliative care.Findings. Transience is a nascent concept. Preconditions and outcomes of transience appear contextually dependent, which may inhibit its conceptual development. Transience depicts a fragile emotional state related to sudden change and uncertainty at end‐of‐life, exhibited as a feeling of stasis. Defining attributes would seem to include fragility, suddenness, powerlessness, impermanence, time, space, uncertainty, separation and homelessness.Conclusions. Transience is potentially more meaningful for palliative care in understanding the impact of end‐of‐life experiences for patients than current conceptualizations of transition as a process towards resolution. As a nascent concept, it remains strongly encapsulated within a framework of transition and further conceptual development is needed to enhance its maturity and refinement.
Theoretical perspectives of perceived control in older adults: a selective review of the literature
Authors: Jacelon Cynthia S. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractAim.  This paper is a report of a theoretically based review of literature exploring the concept of perceived control in relation to older adults.Background.  Perceived control is a cognitive attribute that is a precursor to function, a mediator between social support and psychological wellbeing, and instrumental for effective disease self‐management. It has been defined from several theoretical perspectives with either a global or a specific focus.Methods.  A review of literature was conducted. Articles were abstracted into a table in order to compare the purpose, theoretical framework, definition of perceived control, scope of application of perceived control, research questions, subjects, methods, instruments and findings across studies. The articles were sorted by theoretical framework for analyses among and between theoretical frameworks.Results.  Twenty papers published between 1995 and 2005, listed in CINAHL or Medline, with the words ‘perceived control’ in the title, and which included older adults as at least half of the sample and used one of five predominant theoretical frameworks were included in a review of the literature. In this review, perceived control is defined within the theories of social learning, self‐efficacy, planned behaviour, the lifespan theory of control, and from a person–environment framework. There is little consensus among researchers as to the definition of perceived control.Conclusion.  Lack of consensus on the theoretical underpinnings and variability in definition of perceived control exist. The mechanisms through which perceived control develops and is exercised are also in dispute. Nevertheless, there is general agreement that high perceived control is important for wellbeing in older adults.
Using adaptive management to determine requirements of re‐introduced populations: the case of the New Zealand hihi
Authors: ARMSTRONG DOUG P. , CASTRO ISABEL , GRIFFITHS RICHARD 
Published: June 2007

Summary

Adaptive management involves the development of predictive models, strategic manipulation of management actions to gain information, and subsequent updating of the models and management. The paradigm has several characteristics that make it an effective approach for determining requirements of re‐introduced populations.
Adaptive management was applied to the re‐introduction of hihi Notiomystis cincta, a New Zealand forest bird that had been reduced to a single island population. Following three previous failed re‐introductions, we initiated an 8‐year series of management manipulations when hihi were re‐introduced to Mokoia Island in 1994.
We developed a population model for projecting outcomes under potential management scenarios, and updated it on an annual basis. The population model combined submodels for survival and reproduction that were selected from sets of candidate models using an information‐theoretic approach. All projections incorporated demographic stochasticity, and later projections incorporated uncertainty associated with model selection and parameter estimation.
The programme showed that some actions (e.g. the provision of sugar water during breeding season and mite control) substantially increased the population's growth rate, but that persistence was uncertain under any management scenario. The population growth rate was shown to be constrained by a low adult survival rate that was unaffected by supplementary feeding, and was associated with a feature of the island (high density of Aspergillus fumigatus spores) that could not be remedied by management. Hihi were therefore removed from Mokoia. However, the management actions shown to be effective on Mokoia have now been used to produce sustained growth in three other re‐introduced hihi populations.
Synthesis and applications. The results illustrate how adaptive management can facilitate successful species recovery. Without manipulation of management treatments, the Mokoia hihi re‐introduction would have just been another failure that provided no useful information. Instead, our manipulations allowed us to identify effective management actions that were successfully applied to other re‐introduced populations, and allowed us to identify a limiting factor that had not been previously considered. We have illustrated how other characteristics of the adaptive management approach (flexible treatments, ongoing monitoring, early model development, quantitative projections and incorporation of uncertainty) were essential to the programme.
Olympiodorus and Proclus on the Climax of the Alcibiades
Authors: Tarrant Harold 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThis paper examines the late Neoplatonic evidence for the text at the crucial point of the Alcibiades I, 133c, finding that Olympiodorus' important evidence is not in the lexis, which strangely has nothing to say. Perhaps it was dangerous in Christian Alexandria to record one's views here too precisely. Rather, they are found primarily in the prologue and secondarily in the relevant theoria. Olympiodorus believes that he is quoting from the work or paraphrasing closely, but offers nothing that can be paralleled in either the manuscripts or the Eusebian (or Stobaean) versions. Since both the manuscript text and the Eusebian text fail to satisfy, the evidence deserves consideration. Even if he were not in possession of a text that was wholly correct, Olympiodorus does at least offer an overall interpretation of the passage which neatly unites the daemonic and erotic aspects of Socrates' activities, and offers a real reason for Alcibiades to return Socrates' love. He is encouraged to reflect upon the nature of the divine being (not just a daemo but a theos in this work) controlling Socrates, so that he may behold the likeness of his own, woefully obscured, inner self, and so acquire the self-knowledge necessary for true political success.The anonymous Prolegomena (unsurprisingly) are compatible with Olympiodorus, while Proclus' prologue again largely agrees with Olympiodorus' interpretation. For Proclus, Alcibiades must become an observer of Socrates knowledge and indeed of Socrates' whole life. 'For to desire to know the reason for Socrates' actions is to become the lover of the knowledge which is pre-established within him.' So the path towards a total understanding of his own inner intellective self lies via the contemplation of that being that is rooted within Socrates.I also examine earlier Platonist evidence for the text and find little that is not in harmony with late Neoplatonism.
Iamblichus' Defence of Theurgy: Some Reflections
Authors: Dillon John 
Published: June 2007

AbstractAn issue which plainly exercised the thoughts of many intellectuals in the late antique world was that of man's relation to the gods, and specifically the problems of the mode of interaction between the human and divine planes of existence. Once one accepted, as anyone with any philosophical training did, that God, or the gods, were not subject to passions, and that, as not only Stoics but also Platonists, at least after the time of Plotinus, believed, the world-order was (either entirely or very largely) determined as a product of God's providence, it became a serious problem as to how precisely one could influence the gods, or the course of events, by one's prayers or sacrifices. And yet efforts to do this, on both the popular and the official level, continued unabated. What was the proper attitude for a Platonist philosopher to take up? This is very much the subject of the well-known controversy between Plotinus' pupil Porphyry and his own pupil Iamblichus which manifests itself in the exchange of public letters known as The Letter to Anebo and The Reply of the Master Abammon to the Letter of Porphyry to Anebo (popularly known, since Marsilio Ficino conferred this title upon it, as De Mysteriis Aegyptiorum). The present article involves a close and sympathetic study of Iamblichus' position in defence of theurgy, reflecting on the validity of the distinction between religion and magic.
Dans quel lieu le néoplatonicien Simplicius a-t-il fondé son école de mathématiques, et où a pu avoir lieu son entretien avec un manichéen?
Authors: Hadot Ilsetraut 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThe historian Agathias (Hist. II 30.3-31.4) relates that under the Emperor Justinian seven philosophers (Damascius, Simplicius, Eulamius, Priscianus, Hermeias, Diogenes, and Isidorus) sought refuge in Persia because of their own country's anti-pagan laws but that they ultimately returned in 532 to the Roman Empire. There have been many hypotheses about the fate of these philosophers after their return. Most recently M. Tardieu has argued that these philosophers went to Harran, a town that was located on the Persian frontier and that remained mostly pagan until the tenth century. This hypothesis, which M. Tardieu had backed with a number of arguments, has found many echoes, both positive and negative, in subsequent secondary literature. Yet the complexity of the issue has never really been faced by Tardieu's critics. For example, the fact that, according to Arab sources, Simplicius could found a famous school of mathematics has been completely neglected, as has the fact that details of the dogmas of Manicheanism, which he obtained through his encounter with a member of that sect, enable one to envision a Mesopotamian locale for this encounter. The present study aims at taking stock of the elements of this controversy, beginning with a detailed article by D. Watts and a review by C. Luna. Watts mostly bases his criticisms of M. Tardieu and me on Luna's summary. In the conclusion (pages 58-59), I summarize the main points that seem to me to confirm M. Tardieu's hypothesis.
Malaria, arbovirus and hepatitis infections in Macaca fascicularis from Malaysia
Authors: Le Bras J. , Larouze B. , Geniteau Monique , Andrieu Béatrice , Dazza Marie-Christine , Rodhain F. 
Published: June 2007

Naturally occurring malaria, arbovirus infection and hepatitis in monkeys can be a hazard for the investigator and might interfere with the outcome of experiments. 63 young adult Macaca fascicularis from Malaysia were screened for these infections. About 1 year after their arrival in France, parasitaemia due to Plasmodium spp., was present in 6·4% of the animals and specific antibodies in 55·5%. 19 of 35 initially positive monkeys were tested again 2 years later. Parasitaemia was found in 1 of 4 monkeys and antibodies in 11 of 19 monkeys which were initially positive. 9 of the monkeys initially tested had low titres of antibodies to the Flavivirus genus. All animals were negative for the hepatitis B surface antigen and anti-HBc. The prevalence of IgG antibodies against hepatitis A was 46·0%. The implications in terms of control are discussed.
Variation in pentobarbitone sleeping time in mice 2. Variables affecting test results
Authors: Lovell D. P. 
Published: June 2007

The effect of some environmental factors on the pentobarbitone sleeping time (PST) in inbred strains of mice has been investigated. Age, dose level and fasting before the test significantly altered the PST while the source of the drug and regular handling of the mice had no effect. None of these factors affected strains differentially. Unsystematic effects such as litter differences contributed only a small proportion of the total variation in the experiments. The strain rankings were different from those obtained in some previous experiments. The effects of some of the environmental factors on the PST did not always agree with previous work. The implications of these results for the design of similar experiments and the relevance of baseline values in laboratory animals are discussed.
Hereditary hepatitis of LEC rats is controlled by a single autosomal recessive gene
Authors: Masuda R. , Yoshida M. C. , Sasaki M. , Dempo K. , Mori M. 
Published: June 2007

The natural history of hereditary hepatitis in long-survived LEC rats was reported. Among 56 (female: male, 28:28) LEC rats of F30, 16 (8:8) (29%) died of fulminant hepatitis approximately four months after birth. The remaining 40 (20:20) rats that survived more than one year developed chronic hepatitis and subsequent hepatic lesions including hepatocellular carcinomas. Further study made with 32 F31 rats killed at the age of five months revealed that hepatitis occurred in all of these rats. Genetic analysis performed by various crosses of LEC and LEJ rats confirmed the previous result that hereditary hepatitis was caused by a single autosomal recessive gene. F1 hybrid rats never developed hepatitis, showing normal histology of the liver. Histological features of hepatitis in F2 (F1×1) and backcross (F1×LEC) rats were the same as those observed in the LEC rats. The preneoplastic foci also appeared in some of these hybrid rats at the age of eight months. We propose a gene symbol hts to designate the present hepatitis which is assumed to be homozygous in LEC strain rats.
Small-calibre vascular grafting into the rat abdominal aorta with biodegradable prostheses
Authors: Bartels H. L. , van der Lei B. 
Published: June 2007

130 Male Wistar rats, 2-3 months old and weighing 250-350 g were operated on to implant biodegradable small-calibre vascular prostheses (length 10 mm; internal diameter 1-5 mm) in their infrarenal abdominal aorta. The mean operation time was 40 min, the mean aortic cross-clamping time 25 min. The early patency rate was 100% the late patency rate was 97-7%, and the operative mortality was 3-1%. Microscopical examination of the biodegradable prostheses from 1 h up to 1 year after implantation demonstrated reproducable morphological results; in these prostheses a new arterial wall regenerated which had a structure very similar to the normal arterial wall. It was concluded that the rat is an appropriate experimental laboralory animal for testing new types of small-calibre vascular prostheses.
The use of a rat-derived microflora for providing colonization resistance in SPF rats
Authors: Heidt P. J. , Koopman J. P. , Kennis H. M. , van den Logt J. T. M. , Hectors M. P. C. , Nagengast F. M. , Timmermans C. P. J. , de Groot C. W. 
Published: June 2007

To obtain a suitable species-specific microflora for a new rat SPF-unit, germ-free WAG/Rij rats were associated with a flora derived originally from selectively decontaminated Cpb:WU (Wistar) rats. Caecal and ileal contents of these rats had been cultured anaerobically (37°C) for 7 days and harvested. This cultured flora was given to germ-free Cpb : SE (Swiss) mice, which were kept in an isolator system and acted as a source of the flora to associate germ-free Wag/Rij rats. In these associated rats, several parameters indicative of the 'quality' of the intestinal micro flora were investigated and compared to those in rats with a mouse derived anaerobic microflora. Parameters included relative caecal weight, colonization resistance and the concentration of faecal bile acids. The cultured rat-derived microflora normalized the observed intestinal parameters better than the mouse derived microflora, and provided better colonization resistance. We conclude that culturing of intestinal contents of selectively decontaminated animals can be a useful way to obtain a species-specific donor-micro flora which can be used to start new SPF units.
Gnotobiotic, athymic mice; a possible system for the study of the role of bacteria in human amoebiasis
Authors: Owen D. G. 
Published: June 2007

Two groups of 12+14 gnotobiotic, athymic mice were intracaecally injected with Entamoeba histolytica strain HK9 and NIH : 200, respectively. Two groups of 16 and 15 mice were given amoebae together with a pure strain of Escherichia coli and a further two groups of 16 and 27 were given amoebae with a pure strain of Clostridium perfringens. Batches of 3-7 mice from each group were killed at intervals of 1-4 weeks. All the mice given NIH : 200 alone were found to be infected with trophozoites. Of those given HK9 alone, 20% of the first and 57% of the second group to be examined were infected. Groups of mice given either strain of amoeba monocontaminated with E. coli were all found to be infected at post-mortem examination with no apparent clinical signs and little histological change. The group given HK9 and C. perfringens, although all were infected, failed to produce clinical signs or histological lesions, though some died expectedly. In the group given NIH : 200 with C. perfringens the amoebae showed a change of activity and there was evidence of both caecal and liver lesions after 120 days. The usefulness of the system in studying the effect of individual species of bacteria on invasive amoebae is discussed.
Improved procedures for maintaining and breeding the short-tailed fruit bat (Carollia perspicillata) in a laboratory setting
Authors: Rasweiler John J. , Badwaik Nilima K. 
Published: June 2007

Improved methods have been developed for maintaining and breeding the neotropical short-tailed fruit bat, Carollia perspicillata, in an easily-reproduced, laboratory setting. Bipartite, all-metal cages have been designed which permit efficient, non-injurious handling of the animals. Also, a fruit-based liquid diet, which is simple and inexpensive to prepare, has been formulated from readily-available canned and powdered components. When efforts were initiated to breed wild-caught animals at 3-6 months after capture, this progressed slowly in most (but not all) cages. Breeding took place more rapidly when the bats had been in captivity for 11-24 months. Most females (122/144, 84.7%) then bred within 30 days of the introduction of a stud male, and the overall conception rate was 94.3% in those females which bred. This pattern of breeding activity, evidence that this bat is a spontaneous ovulator, and observed intervals between successive breeding periods (apparently representing much or all of non-pregnant cycles) in some individuals suggest that the cycle length in many of these bats probably falls between 20 and 30 days. Analysis of the breeding data also showed that certain patterns of breeding activity were frequently associated with a failure of females to establish ongoing pregnancies. Most laboratory-bred females (69/81) that were permitted to carry their pregnancies to term did so and successfully reared their young. The laboratory-reared young have generally exhibited excellent body condition, and many have proved to be fertile. The bats were found to exhibit a post-partum oestrus, which in nearly all cases (35/36) was fertile. The interval between the discovery of a new baby and the detection of a sperm-positive vaginal aspirate varied between 3-10 days, but most frequently was 3-6 days. Females which aborted non-term fetuses also had a post-partum oestrus with similar timing. These findings indicate that the short-tailed fruit bat, which is widely abundant in the lowland tropics of the New World, can be successfully maintained under controlled conditions, in cages of modest dimensions, for research purposes.
Strain-specific response to hypercholesterolaemic diets in the rat
Authors: Bottger A. , den Bieman M. , Lankhorst Æ. , van Lith H.A. , van Zutphen L.F.M. 
Published: June 2007

The cholesterolaemic effect of 2 hypercholesterolaemic diets was tested in 12 rat inbred strains. Diet I is a commercial diet supplemented with 2.0% (w/w) cholesterol and 5.0% (w/w) olive oil, diet II is identical to diet I with addition of 0.5% (w/w) sodium cholate. Strains with the highest plasma cholesterol response after diet I (BN and LEW) also had the highest cholesterol response after diet II (hyperresponders, mean response>3.5 mmol/l). In the strains DA, SHR, BC, WAC, LOU, PVG and BUF the strain mean cholesterol response remained below 1.3mmol/l after both diets (hyporesponders). Strains F344 and OM had an intermediate cholesterol response after both diets (normoresponders, mean response between 1.3 and 3.5 mmol/l). Only in the strains LOU, PVG and SHR there appeared to be a significant higher cholesterol response after diet II when compared with the cholesterol response after diet I. In the strain WKY this difference was of a borderline significance ( P=0.052) and this strain turned from a normoresponder after diet I into a hyperresponder after diet II. Liver cholesterol levels as measured after feeding diet II for two weeks also appeared to be strain-specific. No correlation was found between the plasma cholesterol response after diet II and the liver cholesterol levels. Changes in plasma phospholipid and triglyceride levels have been measured for both diet I and diet II. For group means a correlation between the cholesterol response and the change in phospholipid levels was found (r=0.86 for diet I, P<0.001 and r=0.76 for diet II, P<0.01). No such correlation was found for triglyceride levels.
Mobility of important toxic analytes in urban dust and simulated air filters determined by sequential extraction and GFAAS/ICP-OES methods
Authors: Sysalová J. , Száková J. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThe modified BCR three-step sequential extraction procedure has been applied to homogenized urban dust samples and to simulated air filters loaded with the prepared urban dust via the wet deposition procedure. This work has been focused on comparative study of the distribution of trace elements in both samples and evaluation of the factors influencing the reliability of results with respect to the proposed extraction procedure. Extracted chemical fractions were analyzed by ICP-OES and GFAAS depending on the concentration levels of investigated trace elements As, Cd, Cr, Mn, Ni, and Pb, selected according to their adverse effect on the human health. Statistically evaluated results indicate significant differences between the extracted portions of analytes in urban dust and simulated air filters, where the mobility of some analytes in simulated air filters was higher than that in urban dust samples. The impact of surfactant Triton X-100 (0.05 vol. %) on the extraction procedure was also investigated.