bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
How the spiritual dimension is addressed in psychiatric patient–nurse relationships
Authors: Koslander Tiburtius , Arvidsson Barbro 
Published: August 2005

Aim.  This paper reports a study describing nurses’ conceptions of how the spiritual dimension is addressed in psychiatric patient–nurse relationships.Background.  In psychiatric care, it is essential that patient–nurse relationships be built on a holistic view. In this context, nursing research shows that there is a lack of integration of the spiritual dimension.Method.  Twelve strategically selected psychiatric nurses were interviewed and analysed using a phenomenographic approach. The data were collected in 2003.Findings.  The main findings were three descriptive categories: being a good carer, recognizing the spiritual dimension, and regarding the spiritual dimension as difficult to capture in patient–nurse relationships. The first descriptive category shows that nurses deal with spirituality by behaving as good carers. Those included in the second descriptive category reveal nurses who are aware of patients’ spiritual needs and who deal with these needs in different ways. The third descriptive category consists of conceptions revealing lack of knowledge of patients’ spiritual needs, both in abstract and real terms.Conclusions.  Further research is needed to explore how patients describe their own spiritual needs, and how nursing staff can learn to be aware of and understand their own spirituality, thus enabling them to detect, discuss, clarify and deal with the concept of spirituality in patient–nurse relationships.
‘I'm just going to wash you down’: sanitizing the vaginal examination
Authors: Stewart Mary 
Published: August 2005

Aim.  This paper reports findings from an ongoing study exploring the qualitative experiences of midwives and women in relation to vaginal examination in labour, focusing on how vaginal examination is discussed and on the wash‐down procedure used by some midwives.Background.  The body is a source of considerable ambivalence in sociological terms. Women's bodies, in particular, have been viewed as problematic and as a potential source of dirt and pollution. It has been suggested that vaginal examinations during labour are used, at least in part, as a ritual procedure by which healthcare professionals demonstrate that they are in control of both the labouring woman and the process of labour itself.Methods.  In‐depth interviews were undertaken during 2003 with six childbearing women and 10 midwives who had been involved in these women's care. Non‐participant observation was also carried out of each woman's labour and birth.Findings.  During interviews, when discussing vaginal examination, midwives persistently used abbreviations or euphemisms as a means of distancing themselves from the realities of the procedure. Some midwives were observed washing women's genitals in a highly ritualized manner prior to vaginal examination, apparently as a strategy for establishing power differentials.Conclusion.  Midwives commonly state that they are advocates for woman‐centred care but their behaviour in relation to vaginal examination belies this and suggests that they regard women's bodies as contaminated and polluting. Healthcare students need to be taught specific communication skills to enable them to discuss vaginal examination more fully with women so that they feel less need to resort to euphemisms and abbreviations when discussing the procedure. It is also important to carry out vaginal examination in a way that is not demeaning and does not reinforce notions that women's bodies are dirty.
Re‐engineering cardiac rehabilitation programmes: considering the patient's point of view
Authors: Pâquet Mariane , Bolduc Nicole , Xhignesse Marianne , Vanasse Alain 
Published: August 2005

Aims.  The aim of this paper is to report a study to describe how cardiac patients experience the first 3 months following a cardiac event requiring hospitalization, identify differences between the needs expressed by patients and the support they received during their recuperation and produce a preliminary model for the development of cardiac rehabilitation programmes, taking into account the patient perspective.Background.  Although cardiac rehabilitation should be standard care for patients with cardiovascular disease, less than 20% begin and maintain a rehabilitation programme. Cited barriers include inadequate rehabilitation services, sub‐optimal referral, low participation rates of women and older adults and travel considerations. The literature suggests that programmes better adjusted to patient needs could increase attendance, but little research has considered this perspective.Methods.  Focus groups were conducted with a purposefully selected sample of 20 men and women who had been hospitalized for myocardial infarction, angina or percutaneous angioplasty. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis.Findings.  A gap exists between what traditional rehabilitation programmes offer and patients’ expressed needs during the recuperating process after hospitalization for a cardiac event. In our study, participants focused on stress management rather than on modifying health habits. Support groups were viewed as beneficial and, according to patients, accepting their condition, knowing their limits and better continuity of care would also help reduce stress. Based on the findings, we devised a model as the basis for developing cardiac rehabilitation programmes.Conclusion.  Cardiac rehabilitation programmes need to shift their focus of attention from promoting healthier behaviours to responding to participants’ perceived needs, alongside risk factor reduction.
Levels of homocysteine are inversely associated with cardiovascular fitness in women, but not in men: data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2002
Authors: KUO H.‐K. , YEN C.‐J. , Bean J. F. 
Published: August 2005

Abstract.Objectives.  Cardiovascular fitness represents the ability of active skeletal muscle to utilize oxygen during aerobic exercise. Elevated homocysteine, causing tissue injury by such mechanisms as oxidative stress, endothelial damage, and protein homocysteinylation, is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia and osteoporotic fracture. However, the association between elevated homocysteine and cardiovascular fitness has not been reported.Design.  Population‐based cross‐sectional study.Setting.  National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1999 to 2002 in the USA.Subjects.  A total of 1444 noninstitutionalized adults aged 20–49 years with reliable measures of cardiovascular fitness and nonmissing values in homocysteine.Main outcome measures.  Cardiovascular fitness, estimated maximal oxygen uptake or VO2max (mL kg−1 min−1), was obtained by a submaximal exercise test. Levels of homocysteine were measured by the Abbott homocysteine assay, a fully automated fluorescence polarization immunoassay method and were natural‐log‐transformed due to right skewness.Results.  After adjustment for age, race and body mass index, there was a 0.70 mL kg−1 min−1 decrease (P = 0.033) in the estimated VO2max for each standard deviation (SD) increase in the natural‐log‐transformed homocysteine level for women. Additional adjustment of hypertension, diabetes, smoking status, alcohol intake, use of lipid‐lowering agents, physical activity, self‐report health condition, as well as levels of folate, vitamin B12, creatinine, C‐reactive protein, total cholesterol and haemoglobin seemed to influence the association. In the fully adjusted model, we observed a 1.18 mL kg−1 min−1 decrease (P = 0.003) in the estimated VO2max for each SD increase in the natural‐log‐transformed homocysteine level in women. There was no association between cardiovascular fitness and homocysteine levels in men.Conclusion.  High homocysteine levels were inversely associated with cardiovascular fitness in women, but not in men. The results suggest that homocysteine levels are important indicators of exercise tolerance amongst women and may be useful in targeting female individuals requiring endurance intervention to prevent loss of cardiovascular fitness and function.
Effects of sleep deprivation on wound healing
Authors: MOSTAGHIMI L. , OBERMEYER W. H. , BALLAMUDI B. , MARTINEZ–GONZALEZ D. , BENCA R. M. 
Published: August 2005

SummarySleep deprivation is widely regarded as a stressor and has been shown to have significant effects on host defences. Severely sleep‐deprived rats develop lesions on their paws and tails, suggesting possible deficits in the healing process. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of rapid eye‐movement (REM) sleep deprivation (RSD) on wound healing in a rat model. Male dark‐hooded Long‐Evans rats, 2–4 months old, were subjected to dorsal application of two sterile punch biopsies, each 3.5 mm in size. Biopsies were performed either immediately before or immediately after 5 days of sleep deprivation. Wound healing in REM sleep‐deprived animals was compared with home cage control and yoked control animals. RSD did not produce differences in the rate of healing, regardless of the timing of the biopsy punch. RSD does not appear to have significant effects on wound healing and thus appears to act differently from other types of stressors on wound healing.
Effects of playing a computer game using a bright display on presleep physiological variables, sleep latency, slow wave sleep and REM sleep
Authors: HIGUCHI SHIGEKAZU , MOTOHASHI YUTAKA , LIU YANG , MAEDA AKIRA 
Published: August 2005

SummaryEpidemiological studies have shown that playing a computer game at night delays bedtime and shortens sleeping hours, but the effects on sleep architecture and quality have remained unclear. In the present study, the effects of playing a computer game and using a bright display on nocturnal sleep were examined in a laboratory. Seven male adults (24.7 ± 5.6 years old) played exciting computer games with a bright display (game‐BD) and a dark display (game‐DD) and performed simple tasks with low mental load as a control condition in front of a BD (control‐BD) and DD (control‐DD) between 23:00 and 1:45 hours in randomized order and then went to bed at 2:00 hours and slept until 8:00 hours. Rectal temperature, electroencephalogram (EEG), heart rate and subjective sleepiness were recorded before sleep and a polysomnogram was recorded during sleep. Heart rate was significantly higher after playing games than after the control conditions, and it was also significantly higher after using the BD than after using the DD. Subjective sleepiness and relative theta power of EEG were significantly lower after playing games than after the control conditions. Sleep latency was significantly longer after playing games than after the control conditions. REM sleep was significantly shorter after the playing games than after the control conditions. No significant effects of either computer games or BD were found on slow‐wave sleep. These results suggest that playing an exciting computer game affects sleep latency and REM sleep but that a bright display does not affect sleep variables.
The dim light melatonin onset following fixed and free sleep schedules
Authors: BURGESS HELEN J. , EASTMAN CHARMANE I. 
Published: August 2005

SummaryThe time at which the dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) occurs can be used to ensure the correct timing of light and/or melatonin administration in order to produce desired circadian phase shifts. Sometimes however, measuring the DLMO is not feasible. Here we determined if the DLMO was best estimated from fixed sleep times (based on habitual sleep times) or free (ad libitum) sleep times. Young healthy sleepers on fixed (n = 60) or free (n = 60) sleep schedules slept at home for 6 days. Sleep times were recorded with sleep logs verified with wrist actigraphy. Half‐hourly saliva samples were then collected during a dim light phase assessment and were later assayed to determine the DLMO. We found that the DLMO was more highly correlated with sleep times in the free sleepers than in the fixed sleepers (DLMO versus wake time, r = 0.70 and r = 0.44, both P < 0.05). The regression equation between wake time and the DLMO in the free sleepers predicted the DLMO in an independent sample of free sleepers (n = 23) to within 1.5 h of the actual DLMO in 96% of cases. These results indicate that the DLMO can be readily estimated in people whose sleep times are minimally affected by work, class and family commitments. Further work is necessary to determine if the DLMO can be accurately estimated in people with greater work and family responsibilities that affect their sleep times, perhaps by using weekend wake times, and if this method will apply to the elderly and patients with circadian rhythm disorders.
A single‐nucleotide polymorphism in the 5′‐untranslated region of the hPER2 gene is associated with diurnal preference
Authors: CARPEN JAYSHAN D. , ARCHER SIMON N. , SKENE DEBRA J. , SMITS MARCEL , VON SCHANTZ MALCOLM 
Published: August 2005

SummaryThe PERIOD2 (PER2) gene is a key component of the molecular mechanism that generates circadian rhythms in mammals. A missense mutation in the human PER2 gene has previously been linked to advanced sleep phase syndrome (ASPS). We have investigated three other single‐nucleotide polymorphisms in the hPER2 gene, one downstream of the transcription start site (C−1228T), one in exon 2 in the 5′‐untranslated region (5′‐UTR) (C111G), and one missense mutation (G3853A) causing a glycine to glutamine substitution in the predicted protein. Subjects selected from a group of 484 volunteers for extreme morning or evening preference, or intermediate diurnal preference were genotyped with regard to the three polymorphisms (n = 35 for each group). Whereas allele frequencies for the other two polymorphisms did not differ significantly between any of the groups, the 111G allele frequency was significantly higher in subjects with extreme morning preference (0.14) than in subjects with extreme evening preference (0.03) (Fisher's exact test, two‐sided P value = 0.031, odds ratio = 5.67). No significant difference in 111G allele frequency was observed between either of these groups and subjects with intermediate diurnal preference. Computer prediction indicated that the C111G polymorphism, which occurs 12 bases upstream from the translation start codon, might alter the secondary structure of the transcript. The PER2 111G allele associates with morning preference and is a potential candidate allele for ASPS.
In situ hatching of invertebrate diapausing eggs from ships’ ballast sediment
Authors: Bailey Sarah A. , Nandakumar Kanavillil , Duggan Ian C. , Van Overdijk Colin D. A. , Johengen Thomas H. , Reid David F. , MacIsaac Hugh J. 
Published: August 2005

ABSTRACTShips that enter the Great Lakes laden with cargo carry only residual ballast water and sediment in ballast tanks. These ships are designated ‘no ballast on board’ (NOBOB) and constitute > 90% of inbound traffic. We conducted in situ experiments using emergence traps to assess the viability and the introduction potential of invertebrate diapausing stages present in ships’ ballast sediment. All trials commenced while vessels operated on the lower lakes (Erie, Ontario) and were completed 6–11 days later at ports on the upper lakes (Michigan, Lake Superior). Eight trials were conducted on four ships using five different ballast sediments. Hatching was observed on every ship, although not from all sediments on all ships. Overall hatch rates were very low (0.5 individuals per 500 g sediment), typically involving activation of < 0.05% of total eggs present. Five species of rotifers and copepod nauplii were hatched from ballast sediments, although only one or two species typically hatched from any one sediment. Results of this study indicate that hatching of diapausing eggs contained in ballast sediment of NOBOB ships poses a relatively low risk of invasion to the Great Lakes. However, as reproduction may occur in tanks, and non‐indigenous species may be involved in numerous introduction events, the risk posed by this vector is small but potentially important. While dormancy is a characteristic enabling enhanced survival during transportation in ballast tanks, it becomes a hindrance for introduction.
Comparative taxonomic structure of the floras of two Mediterranean‐climate regions: Iberia and California
Authors: Lozano Felipe Domínguez , Schwartz Mark W. 
Published: August 2005

ABSTRACTTwo major events were invoked to understand recent biodiversity patterns in Mediterranean floras: northern hemisphere glaciations and historical human impacts. These two events were considered in this work, where we investigated general patterns in plant species richness and rarity attributes in two different Mediterranean regions: California and Iberia. Our goal was to assess whether comparisons of this sort provided evidence of different extinctions rates, making an effort to decouple anthropogenic from ice age‐related effects in both regions.We employed a taxonomically revised database for eight Mediterranean floras containing information on species richness for 298 families and rarity attributes for 11,834 taxa. We used summary statistics (Gini coefficient) and randomly generated models to test for general patterns of the distribution of diversity within and among taxonomic groups. We then used this general pattern among Mediterranean floras to provide a context in which to evaluate our two focal areas.Results indicated that floras of California and Iberia share the closest taxonomic structure among Mediterranean regions. Differences emerged in rarity attributes and the taxonomic identities of rarity rich groups. These findings were interpreted in the light of Pleistocene changes. In addition, a closer focus on rarity attributes allowed us to pinpoint some segments of these floras where anthropogenic activities may drive variation from general patterns, specifically for rare species in ecologically sensitive habitats.
Does the recruitment of a non‐native mussel in native eelgrass habitat explain their disjunct adult distributions?
Authors: Williams S. L. , Ebert T. A. , Allen B. J. 
Published: August 2005

ABSTRACTWe studied variability in the abundance of small individuals of an invasive mussel (Musculista senhousia) across the depth distribution of a native marine angiosperm, eelgrass (Zostera marina). Adult mussels and eelgrass have a disjunct local distribution, each limiting the other in complex ways. To assess whether eelgrass also influenced the distribution of juvenile mussels, we sampled inside and outside eelgrass beds in one site in Mission Bay and two in San Diego Bay, California, USA. We sampled mussels in size classes 0.26–0.50 mm, 0.51–1.00 mm, 1.10–2.00 mm and > 2.00 mm from September 1997 to April 1999. We also monitored gonad development in larger mussels and in situ growth of mussels ≤ 2 mm tagged with the chemical marker calcein. Spatial and temporal variations in mussel abundances were high but seasonal patterns were roughly similar at San Diego Bay sites; very few mussels were found in Mission Bay. Mussels with full gonads were found year‐round in San Diego Bay, as were mussels in the smallest size class (with a large peak in fall and a smaller secondary one in spring), suggesting that many of the smallest mussels represent recruitment. The observation that most, although not all, tagged mussels increased in size provides further support for recruitment. Some of the highest numbers of mussels in the smallest size class were found inside eelgrass beds, indicating that eelgrass does not restrict and may actually enhance the distribution of very small mussels. The disjunct distribution of adult mussels and eelgrass thus is apparently established primarily postrecruitment. M. senhousia is capable of year‐round reproduction, recruitment and growth, and thus is poised to preempt space from eelgrass following any disturbance that results in eelgrass declines, such as habitat fragmentation, eutrophication, or disease.
Potential consequences of the coqui frog invasion in Hawaii
Authors: Beard Karen H. , Pitt William C. 
Published: August 2005

ABSTRACTThe Puerto Rican frog, Eleutherodactylus coqui, has invaded Hawaii and has negatively impacted the state's multimillion dollar floriculture, nursery and tourist industries; however, little is known about the ecological consequences of the invasion. Using data from Puerto Rico and Hawaii, the authors summarize the potential consequences of the invasion and describe future research needs. It could be predicted that the coqui would reduce the abundance of Hawaii's endemic invertebrates. However, data suggest that coquis are mostly consuming non‐native invertebrates, and not invertebrate pests, such as mosquitoes and termites. Endemic invertebrates are likely to represent a portion of the coqui diet, but it remains uncertain which endemic invertebrates are most threatened by coqui predation and whether there will be indirect effects that benefit or harm them. It could be predicted that coquis would compete with endemic birds for invertebrate prey, but there is presently little overlap in the habitats used by coquis and endemic birds. Although, coquis may make bird re‐invasion into lowland ecosystems more difficult; alternatively, coquis could serve as an additional food source for some endemic birds. Finally, it could be predicted that coquis serve as a food source for endemic‐bird predators, such as rats and mongoose, and bolster their abundance. Preliminary data suggest that coquis will not bolster rat or mongoose populations. Managing coqui populations in Hawaii has been a challenge. A population has not yet been eradicated using citric acid, the only federally approved pesticide for coquis. It is unlikely that coquis will ever be eradicated from the islands of Hawaii and Maui, where there are now hundreds of populations. Quick and severe responses to new introductions may be the only effective means of containing the spread of the coqui.
Evaluation of weed eradication programs: the delimitation of extent
Authors: Panetta F. Dane , Lawes Roger 
Published: August 2005

ABSTRACTEradication is a management strategy that can provide substantial ecological and economic benefits by eliminating incursions of pest organisms. In contrast to eradication efforts that target other pests, weed eradication programs can be very protracted owing to the presence of persistent seed banks and difficulties in detecting the target. Hence there is a need to develop criteria to assist in the evaluation of progress towards eradication. Knowledge of the extent of a weed incursion (the ‘delimitation’ criterion) is considered fundamental for eradication success, as an incursion will progress from any infestations that remain undetected and thus uncontrolled. This criterion is examined with regard to eradication programs targeting Bassia scoparia L. A.J. Scott [= Kochia scoparia L. Schrader], Chondrilla juncea L. (both in Western Australia) and Orobanche ramosa L. in South Australia. The B. scoparia incursion, which has been eradicated, was largely delimited within 12 months of the inception of its eradication program. In contrast, the Western Australian C. juncea incursion has never been delimited, owing to insufficient investment in surveillance during an eradication program spanning 30 years. An exponential decrease in the detection ratio (infested area detected/area searched) over time suggests that delimitation has been approached within 6 years of the inception of the eradication program for O. ramosa. An effective surveillance program is essential for achieving delimitation of a weed incursion.