bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Conductive hearing loss in preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia
Authors: Gray PH , Sarkar S , Young J , Rogers YM 
Published: March 2003

Objective: To determine the risk of conductive hearing loss in preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and preterm controls. Methodology: The study population consisted of 78 infants with BPD of 26–33 weeks gestation and 78 controls of similar gestational age matched for broad‐based birthweight categories. An auditory brainstem response (ABR) audiology was performed shortly before hospital discharge. Visual reinforcement orientation audiometry (VROA) and impedance audiometry were performed at 8–12 months corrected for prematurity. Infants with persistent audiological abnormalities were referred for evaluation to paediatric ENT surgeons. Results: Infants with BPD had a significantly higher rate of ABR abnormalities (BPD: 22%, controls: 9%; P = 0.028). On VROA and impedance audiometry, the infants with BPD also had a higher rate of persistent abnormalities. Following ENT assessment, 22.1% of infants with BPD and 7.7% of controls had persistent conductive dysfunction requiring myringotomy and grommet tube insertion (P = 0.03). Most of these infants had normal ABR audiometry at hospital discharge. Conclusions: Preterm infants with BPD are at high risk of persistent conductive hearing loss late in the first year of life compared to controls. An ABR audiology conducted at the time of hospital discharge does not predict accurately later conductive hearing problems. Infants with BPD should have routine audiological evaluation toward the end of the first year of life.
Predictors of neurodevelopmental outcome of Malaysian very low birthweight children at 4 years of age
Authors: Ong LC , Boo NY , Chandran V 
Published: March 2003

Objective: To determine neonatal, early developmental and social risk factors that predict the neurocognitive and behavioural outcome of very low birthweight (VLBW) preschool children at four years of age. Methodology: From a cohort of 151 eligible VLBW survivors born in Kuala Lumpur Maternity Hospital, 116 (76.8%) were prospectively followed up from birth till four years. A standardised neurological examination was performed at one and four years to determine the presence of impairment and cerebral palsy, respectively. Cognitive development was assessed using the Mental Scale of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (MDI) at one year and the Weschler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence‐Revised (WIPPSI‐R) at four years. Motor coordination was assessed using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Movement‐ABC). Mothers completed the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) and Parenting Stress Index (PSI) questionnaires. Logistic and multiple regression analyses were used to determine factors associated with cerebral palsy, IQ scores, Movement‐ABC and CBCL scores. Results: Factors associated with cerebral palsy were lower MDI scores at one year (P = 0.001) and late neonatal cranial ultrasound abnormalities (P = 0.036). Minor (P = 0.016) or major impairment (P = 0.003) at one year of age and a low level of paternal education (P = 0.01) were associated with poor motor function on the Movement‐ABC scale. Lower levels of maternal education (P < 0.001), impairment at one year (P = 0.002) and late neonatal cranial ultrasound abnormalities (P = 0.039) predicted Full Scale IQ scores. Higher PSI scores (P = 0.001), younger mothers (P = 0.003) and late neonatal cranial ultrasound abnormalities (P = 0.009) were associated with worsened child behaviour scores on the CBCL scale. Conclusion: Social factors and the caregiving environment were important determinants of cognitive and behavioural outcome. Cranial ultrasound abnormalities in the late neonatal period and the developmental status at one year might be useful in identifying high risk infants in need of long‐term surveillance.
Survey of the use of complementary medicines and therapies in children with asthma
Authors: Shenfield G , Lim E , Allen H 
Published: March 2003

Objective:  To survey the frequency of use of complementary medicines (CM) and complementary therapies (CT) in asthmatic children.Methodology:  A 3‐month survey of asthmatic inpatients and outpatients of a teaching hospital respiratory paediatrician was undertaken. Parents answered a structured questionnaire about their past and present usage and opinions of CM and CT. Parents and the physician independently assessed overall asthma control. ‘Users’ and ‘non‐users’ of CM and CT were compared for characteristics of asthma, usage of conventional medications and parental demographics.Results:  One hundred and seventy‐four children with 331 parents were enrolled in the study. All of the children were on bronchodilators and 150 (86.2%) were on disodium cromoglycate or inhaled steroids. Control was assessed by a physician as good in 95 children (54.6%), fair in 65 (37.4%) and poor or very poor in 13 (7.5%). Ninety (51.7%) of the children had used at least one CM in their lifetime. Out of the 145 preparations used, 90 (62.1%) were in current use. Vitamins and minerals (53.2%) and herbal preparations (29%) were used most commonly. Only 47.8% of parents had told their doctors about the use of CM. Costs ranged from $A2−$A200 (median $A10) per month. Forty‐three (24.7%) of the children had been taken to an alternative practitioner at a cost of $A25−$A400 (median $A40) per month. Users of CM and CT were significantly more likely than non‐users to have persistent asthma (P < 0.02), be on high‐dose inhaled or oral steroids (P < 0.05), to have poor or very poor control of symptoms (P < 0.04), and more frequent doctor visits (P < 0.05). They also had more adverse reactions to relieving bronchodilators (P < 0.02) and were significantly older than non‐users (P < 0.02). The most common reasons for using CM and CT were dissatisfaction with conventional therapies and concerns about steroid side‐effects.Conclusions:  Health professionals should be aware of the high rates of usage of CM and CT in asthmatic children and of parental attitudes to conventional and alternative therapies.
Management perspectives on a deep aquifer system for rural water supply in Olt and Vàlcea counties, Romania
Authors: Dinu Irina , Albu Marius , Moldoveanu Victor , Dassargues Alain , Olive Philippe 
Published: March 2003

AbstractThe water supply in the Romanian counties of Olt and Vàlcea is mainly from groundwater from a deep aquifer system in Pliocene formations. Isotope analyses have been used to establish the supply area of the deep aquifer system. The age of the groundwater has been estimated for two samples by using 14C analysis. A simplified numerical model for a north–south cross‐section has provided global values for the hydraulic conductivity and effective porosity of the aquifer system. The groundwater from permeable horizons deeper than 120–140 m is highly mineralised and is, therefore, inappropriate for use as a water supply. Because groundwater resources are limited, the water supply for industry and domestic use in urban regions cannot increase too much. Thus, the deep aquifer system could also be used as a water supply for rural regions.
Study of the chemical composition of suspended particles in Lake Baikal
Authors: Potyomkina Tatyana G. , Potyomkin Vladimir L. 
Published: March 2003

AbstractSamples of suspended material (solid particles) from Lake Baikal were analysed by using X‐ray fluorescence elemental analysis with the excitation of monochromatized synchrotron radiation (SRXFA, Novosibirsk, Russia) and electron probe X‐ray microanalysis (EPXMA, Antwerp, Belgium). The chemical composition of particles in different depths and basins of the lake is discussed. The chemical composition of the central parts of the lake are stable, but concentrations are higher in the southern basin, which is liable to pollution.
Framework for surface water quality management on a river basin scale: Case study of Lake Iseo, Northern Italy
Authors: Al‐Khudhairy D. H. A. , Bettendroffer A. , Cardoso A. C. , Pereira A. , Premazzi G. 
Published: March 2003

AbstractRiver (DESERT) and lake (EVOLA) water quality models are used to simulate the influences of alternative water quality management scenarios on the quality of receiving surface waters in the Lake Iseo basin, Northern Italy. The scenarios are representative of the European Union Directive on Urban Waste Water Treatment (91/271/EEC) and of the regional authority’s objective to reduce the total phosphorus loads from point sources entering Lake Iseo and to restore the lake as close as it is practically possible to its former natural qualitative state. Application of DESERT shows that the regional ‘Water Clean Up Plan’ can achieve similar reductions in total phosphorus concentrations in the basin’s main river system, Oglio River, to the 91/271/EEC directive, but at notably lower economic costs. Application of EVOLA to Lake Iseo shows that it is not practical to achieve the regional authority’s objective of a specific total phosphorus concentration in the lake by 2016. Instead, the results show that a more realistic, but higher, total phosphorus concentration can be achieved by 2016. The results of both modelling exercises indicate the usefulness of DESERT and EVOLA for comparing and assessing water quality management scenarios and for revising the regional authority’s final objectives with regards to total phosphorus concentration in Lake Iseo, as well as the regional ‘Water Clean Up Plan’ for restoring and safeguarding the quality of the basin’s surface waters.
The prevention of glomerulosclerosis in rats using traditional Chinese medicine, Sairei‐to
Authors: Li Ping , Kawachi Hiroshi , Suzuki Yasuhito , Saito Akihiko , Orikasa Michiaki , Shi Zhen Sheng , Shimizu Fujio 
Published: March 2003

SUMMARY:The effects of Sairei‐to on chronic irreversible lesions were examined by the administration of drugs after the initiation of irreversible renal lesions by uninephrectomy and anti‐thy‐1 antibody injection. Twenty‐one female Wistar rats were divided into three groups. Group 1 was treated with phosphate‐buffered saline (PBS) as a control and groups 2 and 3 were treated with Sairei‐to 400 mg/kg bodyweight per day on a daily basis beginning on day 1 (group 2) and day 7 (group 3) to day 42 after the intravenous administration of 500 μg anti‐thy‐1 monoclonal antibody (MoAb) into uninephrectomized rats, respectively. Statistically significant effects of Sairei‐to on proteinuria were observed on days 3, 7, 14, and 21 in group 2 and on day 21 in group 3 as compared with the PBS controls. On day 42, light microscopy showed that Sairei‐to ameliorated morphological lesions (Matrix score: 133.7 ± 50.35 for group 1 vs 40.0 ± 24.0 for group 2, P < 0.05). The weight of the kidneys in groups given Sairei‐to was also lower than that in the PBS control. In addition, immunofluorescent findings showed that Sairei‐to suppressed the expression of transforming growth factor‐beta (TGF‐β), alpha‐smooth muscle actin (α‐SMA) and collagen type I in glomeruli and decreased the number of ED1‐ and OX8‐positive cells in tubulo‐interstitium as well as in glomeruli. In conclusion, Sairei‐to blocked the progression of renal lesions in this model even when it was administered after the initiation of the disease. In addition, earlier treatment more effectively prevented the progression of the renal lesions.
Relationship between dialysis and nutritional adequacy in haemodialysis patients
Authors: Rutledge Claire , McMahon Lawrence P. 
Published: March 2003

SUMMARY:The nutritional wellbeing and dialysis adequacy of 57 stable haemodialysis patients (34 males and 23 females) from two satellite dialysis centres were assessed. Nutritional and anthropometric assessment comprised a variety of serological, historical and somatic parameters. A previously validated urea monitor was used to assess dialysis dose (Kt/V) and normalized protein catabolic rate (nPCR). Over 70% were malnourished (19% severely), 60% had a nPCR < 1.2 g/kg per day, and 80% failed to reach an adequate energy intake. A close correlation was observed between the various measures of nutritional assessment. Almost half of the group (47%) demonstrated a Kt/V < 1.2, with a significantly higher level identified in females (1.3 ± 0.2 vs 1.0 ± 0.2, P < 0.05). This was in contrast to the nutritional data where there was an equal sex distribution. A close correlation was found between dialysis adequacy and the different nutritional and anthropometric parameters in subjects with a Kt/V < 1.2 (P < 0.01 to P < 0.001). Males appear to be at higher risk of malnutrition from inadequate dialysis, however, a higher than expected incidence of malnutrition was observed in both sexes who were adequately dialysed.
Transcription factor NF‐κB in glomerulonephritis
Authors: Auwardt Russell B , Mudge Stuart J , Power David A 
Published: March 2003

SUMMARY:It is becoming increasingly evident that the transcription factor, nuclear factor‐kappa B (NF‐κB) is at the heart of the inflammatory response in all tissues, including the kidney. Studies in both human glomerulonephritis and experimental disease models provide either direct or circumstantial evidence for the activation of NF‐κB. Moreover, it now appears that many existing anti‐inflammatory or immunosuppressive drugs appear to exert at least part of their action through the inhibition of NF‐κB. However, the widely used inhibitors of NF‐κB (especially steroids and cyclosporin) are not completely effective in the treatment of glomerulonephritis. These observations raise two critical questions; first, whether there are cell‐specific differences in the action of NF‐κB inhibitors and, second, whether it is more important to inhibit NF‐κB in glomerular cells or in cells of the immune system. At present, there is insufficient evidence to answer these questions as most work in this area has concentrated on NF‐κB in lymphocytes. Activation of NF‐κB in the cells of the kidney, however, suggests that they may actively contribute to inflammation. Whether agents known to inhibit NF‐κB in the immune system, such as steroids and cyclosporin, also inhibit NF‐κB in glomerular cells is not well established. Drugs able to effectively inhibit NF‐κB in tissues therefore could provide a new approach to the treatment of glomerulonephritis. It is possible that suitable agents already exist among the significant number of drugs reported to inhibit NF‐κB. If not, the recent identification of kinases that activate NF‐κB will lead to the development of agents to inhibit this central, proinflammatory pathway. It will be of great interest to determine whether they offer anything over corticosteroids and cyclosporin, the more ‘traditional’ inhibitors of NF‐κB in glomerulonephritis.
Hermeneutic philosophy. Part II: a nursing research example of the hermeneutic imperative to address forestructures/pre‐understandings
Authors: Geanellos Rene 
Published: March 2003

Hermeneutic philosophy. Part II: a nursing research example of the hermeneutic imperative to address forestructures/pre‐understandingsHermeneutic research requires that pre‐understandings are brought to consciousness in order to provide the phenomenon under investigation with the greatest opportunity to reveal itself. This hermeneutic imperative is dealt with in the present study. My research involved explicating the practice knowledge of nursing on residential adolescent mental health units, and as I had worked on such units I held pre‐understandings that would influence the research. I addressed pre‐understandings in three ways: (i) by developing understandings of practice knowledge through a hermeneutic conceptualisation of it; (ii) by working out forestructures of the phenomenon under investigation. Using Heidegger’s writing on forestructures, 20 statements were generated, interpreted and reconceptualised as my forestructures of residential adolescent mental health nursing. I used this work to review participant interviews in an effort to prevent myself from only finding what I already assumed I would find in relation to practice knowledge; and (iii) by formulating pre‐understandings of the phenomenon of interest. Using Gadamer’s writing on reflection, seven stories were written and interpreted as my pre‐understandings of adolescent mental health nursing practice. I used this work to consider the presence of pre‐understandings during textual interpretation in an attempt to prevent premature interpretive closure. In these ways, I brought my forestructures/pre‐understandings to consciousness, reflected on them, questioned their origins, adequacy and legitimacy and thereby took account of their influence on myself and the research.
The sexual embodiment of the cancer patient
Authors: Riet Pamela van der 
Published: March 2003

The sexual embodiment of the cancer patientThis paper draws upon data from my doctoral studies and uses poststructuralism as a methodology to provide a way of seeing and understanding cancer patients’ complex experience of their bodies. Cancer patients were massaged for the purpose of this study and the themes addressed in this article are linked to the sexuality of the person being massaged and the masseuse (PVDR). In order to capture the richness of the cancer patients’ experience, the data are presented in an unconventional way — in the form of poetry. The poems show that the damaged bodies of cancer patients are still sexual in nature. In this research, the body of the cancer patient is a discursive one inscribed with power, culture, society and history. There are also themes of managing the body, altered embodiments of femininity, altered embodiments of masculinity, intimacy, and speaking the unspeakable.
A cross‐national study of differences in the identities of nursing in England and Australia and how this has affected nurses’ capacity to respond to hospital reform
Authors: Degeling Pieter , Hill Michael , Kennedy John , Coyle Barbara , Maxwell Sharon 
Published: March 2003

A cross‐national study of differences in the identities of nursing in England and Australia and how this has affected nurses’ capacity to respond to hospital reform This paper examines similarities and differences in the identity of nursing in England and Australia. In doing this we examine how in each country nursing has developed different ideologies and strategies. Our analysis draws on data derived from a cross‐national study of hospital staff in England and Australia. We demonstrate how differences in the occupational identity of nursing in each country are registered in their values, attitudes and beliefs. We suggest that these differences reflect the interplay of factors such as the strategic stances of nursing professional and industrial organisations and how nurses in each country have positioned themselves in responding to recent changes in health policy.
Working relationships between practice nurses and general practitioners in Australia: a critical analysis
Authors: Willis Eileen , Judith Condon , Litt John 
Published: March 2003

Working relationships between practice nurses and general practitioners in Australia: a critical analysisThis research set out to explore shared care between practice nurses and general practitioners in South Australia. Nine practice nurses (PNs), two nurse practitioners and 10 general practitioners (GPs) were interviewed in urban and rural practices in order to build up a picture of how GPs and PNs worked together. The interviews showed that shared care was not a reality, although practice nurses were very busy, enjoyed their work and were no longer performing as receptionists doing a little nursing on the side, but as highly skilled nurses. Questions that emerged included whether or not practice nurses are specialists or generalists; their relationship to nurse practitioners; the extent to which the doctor–nurse game explains the relationship between practice nurses and general practitioners; and the potential for expanding the practice nurse role.
Methodological strategies for the identification and synthesis of ‘evidence’ to support decision‐making in relation to complex healthcare systems and practices
Authors: Forbes Angus , Griffiths Peter 
Published: March 2003

Methodological strategies for the identification and synthesis of ‘evidence’ to support decision‐making in relation to complex healthcare systems and practices This paper addresses the limitations of current methods supporting ‘evidence‐based health‐care’ in relation to complex aspects of care, including those questions that are best supported by descriptive or non‐empirical evidence. The paper identifies some new methods, which may be useful in aiding the synthesis of data in these areas. The methods detailed are broadly divided into those that facilitate the identification of evidence and those that enable the interpretation of the data retrieved. To illustrate some of the issues involved, reference is made to a multimethod review recently completed by the authors, which aimed to identify factors that promote continuity in the transition from child to adult health and social care. It is argued that as healthcare organisations are becoming increasingly preoccupied with the evidence base of practice, such methods may help ensure that aspects of care and approaches that are outside the dominant pharmaco‐medical domain maintain a prominent position on the healthcare agenda while remaining open to external scrutiny. Healthcare professionals who use such approaches need to know their relative utility and benefits to inform clinical decisions, so as to ensure that best practice is observed.
Application of the Zung self‐rating depression scale to patients before and after introduction to haemodialysis
Authors: Miura Hideki , Kitagami Tomitsune , Ohta Tatsuro 
Published: March 2003

AbstractIn the present study we applied the Zung self‐rating depression scale (SDS) to 19 renal failure patients who were introduced to haemodialysis in the Nagoya Daini Red Cross Hospital, Nagoya, Japan.The patients were divided into two groups: the emergent introduction (EI) group, who underwent unanticipated and sudden introduction to haemodialysis, and the ordinary introduction (OI) group, who experienced a more systematic introduction to haemodialysis following recommendation by medical specialists. The patients’ Zung SDS responses were collected twice, just before and 2 weeks after haemodialysis introduction.The total SDS score of the EI group was significantly higher than that of the OI group, both before and after haemodialysis introduction. The total SDS scores for the EI and OI groups were significantly reduced after haemodialysis introduction. The SDS scores for the EI group were significantly higher in the mood of depression and cognitive symptoms categories, both before and after haemodyalysis introduction. Before introduction, SDS scores of the EI group were significantly higher in the categories of motor and vegetative symptoms. The SDS scores for vegetative symptoms in the EI group significantly decreased after introduction to haemodialysis.These results suggest that haemodialytic excretion of uremic toxins helps to reduce SDS scores.