bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Nurse consultants: their characteristics and achievements
Authors: Woodward Valerie A , Webb Christine , Prowse Morag 
Published: June 2005

Aim.  This paper reports one aspect of a larger study of nursing research strategies in one English region, focusing particularly on nurse consultants’ characteristics and achievements in the role.Background.  Nurse consultant posts have only been established in the United Kingdom since 1999 and, although much comment has appeared in the professional literature, there is very little research‐based evidence of how the roles are developing. The role is intended to integrate four domains: expert practice; professional leadership and consultancy; education, training and development; and practice and service development.Design.  A cross‐sectional design, using a convenience sample, was adopted.Methods.  Ten nurse consultants working in a variety of settings and specialties participated in in‐depth, tape‐recorded interviews. The data were analysed using the Framework approach.Results.  Four themes were identified from the data: characteristics of the postholder, role achievement, support systems and National Health Service influences. The first two themes are discussed in this paper and the data show that the nurse consultants varied in terms of their academic background and previous experience. Not all had the recommended minimum of Master's degree level preparation and some had limited research experience. These background characteristics seemed to influence the degree to which they were able to achieve the four domains of the role, with those with lower qualifications and from a mental health background appearing to struggle most.Conclusions.  New appointments to these roles should only be made when candidates possess the recommended levels of educational preparation and professional experience of change management. It is also important that there is clarity about the scope of the role, which should not include management responsibilities. On‐going research is essential to evaluate how the roles develop for postholders, the extent to which they fulfil policymakers’ expectations and what difference they make to patient care from a patient perspective.Relevance to clinical practice.  The findings show that holders of such posts need to have appropriate previous knowledge, skills and personal characteristics, as these seem to influence their ability to integrate the four domains of the role and thus achieve the requirements of the post.
The early development of self‐injurious behaviour: evaluating the role of social reinforcement
Authors: Oliver C. , Hall S. , Murphy G. 
Published: June 2005

AbstractBackground  The potential role of social reinforcement in the development of self‐injury has not yet been subjected to empirical analysis. In this 2‐year prospective study, the pattern of social interactions related to the early presentation of self‐injury were examined to identify a potential association with an increase in self‐injury.Methods  The self‐injurious behaviour and social contact with adults of 16 children with intellectual disability (ID) with self‐injury of recent onset were observed at 3‐month intervals over 2 years.Results  Increase in self‐injury over a 2‐year period was positively correlated with a distribution of social contact relative to episodes of self‐injury that is consistent with a mutual social reinforcement paradigm. When this paradigm was operative, self‐injury was evoked under stable antecedent conditions over time but tended to evoke increasing levels of social interaction.Conclusions  These results support the hypothesis that increases in the frequency of early self‐injury in children with ID may be determined by social reinforcement with implications for early intervention and proactive identification of children at risk for increases in self‐injury.
Fair shares? Supporting families caring for adult persons with intellectual disabilities
Authors: McConkey R. 
Published: June 2005

AbstractBackground  Although the majority of adult persons with intellectual disabilities are cared for by their families, remarkably little is known of the characteristics of their carers, the support services they receive and their unmet needs. A particular concern is whether or not carers have equitable access to services.Method  Information was gathered from service staff who knew best the person with the disability. A standard pro forma was used with a representative sample of over 1500 family carers in Northern Ireland (26% of the estimated population).Results  Nearly half of the people were being cared for by both parents, but around one third lived with lone carers and 20% with another relative. These subgroups of carers varied significantly in their personal characteristics and in terms of the person for whom they cared. However, Regression Analyses identified that their relative's higher dependency in person care was the only common variable that was predictive of carers’ access to support services. A possible measure of unmet need for various support services was derived.Conclusions  Services need to pay greater attention to the characteristics of family carers so as to overcome some of the present inequities in supports offered to them. Further areas for future research are identified.
An investigation of executive function abilities in adults with Prader–Willi syndrome
Authors: Walley R. M. , Donaldson M. D. C. 
Published: June 2005

AbstractBackground  Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) is a genetic disorder caused by the absence of expression of maternally imprinted genes on the long arm of chromosome 15 (15q 11‐13). There are two main genetic sub‐types: (1) deletion, caused by the absence of paternally derived genetic material; and (2) uniparental disomy (UPD), where two copies of maternally derived chromosome 15 are present. In addition to generally mild/borderline intellectual disability (ID) and the almost universal feature of hyperphagia, PWS is associated with high rates of behaviour problems including temper tantrums, compulsive behaviour, perseverative speech, skin picking and rigid thinking. The present study seeks to explore whether these behaviours are associated with relative deficits in executive function (EF), which comprises the set of non‐automatic processes utilized by an individual when faced with a novel situation.Methods  Eighteen adult participants with a clinical diagnosis of PWS (12 with deletion sub‐type, 6 with UPD) were recruited from a UK Health Service PWS clinic, and compared with 15 participants of similar age and verbal ability on a series of EF tasks and also Digit Span Forwards. An informant completed two ratings of behaviour, the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC) and the Dysexecutive Questionnaire (DEX).Results  The PWS group had significantly higher scores on the ABC but not on the DEX. There were no significant differences between the whole PWS group and the comparison group on any of the EF tasks. The deletion sub‐type group was significantly poorer at a non‐executive task, Digit Span Forwards. There was an unexpected trend for the deletion sub‐type group to show more efficient performance on a visuospatial planning task, the Tower of London (TOL), but this trend did not reach significance.Conclusions  The lack of relative deficits in EF task performance does not support the hypothesis that EF differences could account for the high levels of behaviour problems found in PWS. Applying the Baddeley and Hitch model of working memory it is suggested that the PWS group have a relatively intact central executive and visuospatial sketchpad but a relative impairment in the phonological loop, perhaps relating to the capacity of the phonological store. This latter finding seems to be particularly salient for those with a deletion. As differences in EF ability were not found, it is suggested that a region of the brain involved in the modulation of emotion but not particularly with EF, the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), may be implicated in the behaviour problems reported in PWS.
Treatment of chronic hepatitis B
Authors: Marcellin P. , Asselah T. , Boyer N. 
Published: June 2005

Summary.  In the last years, marked progress has been made in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B. The efficacy of lamivudine, the first nucleoside analogue available, is limited by the high incidence of resistance. Adefovir, which was recently approved has a comparable efficacy with a very low frequency of resistance. However, adefovir needs to be indefinitely administered as withdrawal of therapy is generally associated with reactivation and sustained response is uncommon.Recent large randomized controlled trials showed that PEG IFNs induce relatively high sustained response rates both in HBeAg positive and HBeAg negative chronic hepatitis B. So far, the combination of PEG IFN with lamivudine, used simultaneously, is disappointing in terms of short‐term efficacy. However, long‐term efficacy needs to be assessed and different schedules of combination (for example sequential) need to be evaluated.A number of nucleoside analogues, with favourable toxicity profiles and a promise of increased effectiveness against HBV, are at various stages of clinical development. Results of phase III trials of entecavir and emtricitabine confirmed their efficacy. However, while entecavir is associated with a low incidences of resistance, emtricitabine is associated with a relatively high incidence of resistance which limits its use as a monotherapy. The efficacy and safety of new and more potent drugs like telbivudine and clevudine need to be confirmed.The future of chronic hepatitis B therapy seems to be in the combination of different drugs. Ideally, the optimal drugs to combine would meet the following criteria: they should have different sites of action on HBV DNA replication, a potent antiviral effect, an excellent safety profile and they should induce a sustained response with a limited duration of therapy. Indeed, the concept of combination therapy has been recently developed in order to increase efficacy and to decrease the occurrence of viral resistance. However, so far few combinations have been evaluated. No combination therapy demonstrated a benefit as compared with monotherapy. More potent drugs and new combinations together with the understanding of the mechanisms of resistance to therapy are important challenges to improve the efficacy of treatment and decrease in the future the global burden related to chronic hepatitis B.
Postnatal Modelling of the Humeroantebrachial Contact Areas of Radius and Ulna in Dogs
Authors: Breit S. , Künzel W. , Seiler S. 
Published: June 2005

SummaryNecropsy dogs (n = 234) ranging in age between 2 days and 17 years were examined to characterize the cross‐sectional shape of the humeroantebrachial contact area of the radius and ulna on radioulnar scans of giant, large, mid‐sized, small, and chondrodystrophic breeds. During growth, the contact areas became more circular in shape in all breeds, those in small dogs remained most elliptic. Smallest normalized heights (distance between the tip of the anconeal process and the most proximal aspect of the cranial margin of the radial head = RUH, distance between the tip of the anconeal process and the cranial tip of the medial coronoid process = UH) and depths (distance determined in a right angle to RUH = RUD, distance determined in a right angle to UH = UD) were noted in large and giant breeds with no significant difference between these. In juveniles, a decrease in UD was correlated with a decrease in UH in all breeds as was a decrease in RUD correlated with a decrease in RUH, whereas in non‐arthrotic adults this condition could only be proven for mid‐sized dogs and small breeds but not for giant, large and chondrodystrophic dogs. The average radioulnar and ulnar heights and depths (as seen in non‐arthrotic adults) were calculated to be obtained in mid‐sized dogs at least 3–4 weeks earlier than in large dogs. Lipping of the cranial margin of the radial head was significantly (P < 0.001) associated with lesion(s) of the articular surface (i.e. erosion of the articular cartilage and subchondral bone and/or fragmentation of the medial coronoid process) and caused additional change in shape of this contact area, which was then even more circular. However, the variables evaluated (RUH, RUD, UH, UD) allowed only poor discrimination between constitution types and between non‐arthrotic and arthrotic joints.
Immunohistochemical Localization of Gastrin‐releasing Peptide, Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase and Neurone‐specific Enolase in the Uterus of the North American Opossum, Didelphis virginiana
Authors: Kumano A. , Sasaki M. , Budipitojo T. , Kitamura N. , Krause W. J. , Yamada J. 
Published: June 2005

SummaryThe present study has demonstrated the immunohistochemical localization of gastrin‐releasing peptide (GRP), neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) and neurone‐specific enolase (NSE) in the uterus of the North American opossum. Although the presence of GRP, nNOS and NSE has been reported recently in the uterus of eutherian species this is the first description of these peptides in a metatherian species. Metatherian mammals are of interest because in these species it is the prolonged lactation phase of development that is the period of primary reproductive investment rather than intrauterine development as is true of eutherian mammals. The opossum, like other marsupial species, has a very abbreviated gestation period which in Didelphis lasts only 12.5 days. GRP was localized in the cytoplasm of cells forming the surface lining epithelium and the glandular epithelium of the opossum endometrium late in pregnancy, at 11.5 days of gestation. Likewise, immunoreactivities of nNOS and NSE were found primarily within the epithelial cells of the endometrium at 11.5 days of gestation. As these peptides and enzymes appear primarily at the time of establishment of the yolk sac placenta (between day 10 and day 12.5 gestation), the present results strongly suggest that these factors may play a fundamental role in the placentation of the opossum.
Immunophenotypical Characterization of Lymphocyte Subpopulations of the Uterus of Non‐pregnant and Pregnant Goats
Authors: Martínez C. M. , Buendía A. J. , Sánchez J. , Navarro J. A. 
Published: June 2005

SummaryThe increased susceptibility during pregnancy to certain pathogens that cause abortions may be related to changes in the distribution and phenotype of lymphocyte subpopulations in the uterus. Histological, electron microscopic and immunocytochemical techniques were used in this study to examine whether such variations occur in different stages of the reproductive cycle of goats. The study of non‐pregnant goats showed that most uterine lymphocytes were T cells and displayed both an intraepithelial and stromal distribution. CD8+ T lymphocytes were more numerous than CD4+ T lymphocytes. In the endometrial epithelium two lymphocyte subpopulations were observed: non‐granulated CD2+CD8+ T lymphocytes and granulated CD2+CD8− T lymphocytes. During gestation, no lymphocytes were observed in the placentomal area, while a decreased number of T lymphocyte subpopulations were found in the inter‐placentomal area. In the inter‐caruncular epithelium, non‐granulated CD2+CD8+ T lymphocytes disappeared, whereas the granulated CD2+CD8− T lymphocyte subpopulations increased their number and changed their morphology.
Cell‐specific Localization of Oestrogen Receptor beta (ESR2) mRNA within Various Bovine Ovarian Cell Types Using In situ Hybridization
Authors: D'Haeseleer M. , Van Poucke M. , Van den Broeck W. 
Published: June 2005

SummaryThe localization of oestrogen receptor beta (ESR2) mRNA, in this article denominated as (ERβ) mRNA, was examined using in situ hybridization in the ovaries of randomly selected cows, irrespective of the cycle stage of the animals. A 602‐bp fragment of ERβ mRNA was cloned, sequenced and digoxigenin (DIG)‐labelled. Semi‐quantitative evaluation showed that the scores for ERβ mRNA were moderate to high in the follicle cells of both primordial and primary follicles, but lower in granulosa cells of secondary follicles. In vital tertiary follicles, the total ERβ mRNA expression was low but varied between the different animals. In both obliterative and cystic atretic follicles, high to moderate ERβ mRNA scores were noticed in the granulosa cells. The stroma cells surrounding primordial and primary follicles and the theca cells of secondary follicles showed moderate ERβ mRNA levels, whereas the ERβ mRNA score in theca interna and theca externa cells of vital tertiary follicles was distinctly higher. In the theca cells of atretic follicles the score was even higher. Cells of corpora hemorrhagica and corpora lutea had moderate ERβ mRNA scores, while higher scores were seen in cells of corpora albicantia. Cells of the surface epithelium had a moderate score for ERβ mRNA, whereas cells of the tunica albuginea and deep stroma showed high ERβ mRNA scores. The present findings have clearly established a cell‐specific localization of ERβ mRNA in several cell types in the bovine ovary.
Observations on the Macroscopic Digestive Anatomy of the Himalayan Tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus)
Authors: Clauss M. , Hummel J. , Vercammen F. , Streich W. J. 
Published: June 2005

SummaryWe measured macroscopic anatomical parameters of the digestive tract of 12 female Himalayan tahrs. According to morphological criteria used sensu Hofmann for the classification of ruminants into feeding types – in particular the reticuloruminal capacity measured as wet content weights, the ruminal pillar thickness, the reticular honeycomb structure, the size of the omasum and the size of the parotid glands – tahrs can be classified as predominantly grazing ruminants. As reported in other ruminant species, the length of the large intestine was a more constant parameter over a range of body weights than that of the small intestine. The weight of the parotid glands scaled to metabolic body weight.
School nurse assessment of primary school children: Analysis of data from the school entrant health questionnaire
Authors: Edgecombe Gay A , Avant Kay C , Griffin Patrick , Corneille Karen 
Published: June 2005

Edgecombe GA, Avant KC, Griffin P, Corneille K. International Journal of Nursing Practice 1998; 4: 40–50 School nurse assessment of primary school children: Analysis of data from the school entrant health questionnaire The School Entrant Health Questionnaire (SEHQ) has been used by the School Nursing Program in Victoria since April, 1997. The SEHQ assists school nurses in developing a health profile of primary grade children and in discriminating between children with problems and children without problems. The SEHQ assesses children in 11 domains: general health, medications, immunisations, dental health, speech/language, hearing, vision, disabilities, general development, behaviour and emotional well‐being, and family stress. The SEHQ was found to be reliable and valid, and to provide an excellent means of distinguishing between students who had problems and needed intervention and those who did not. This paper presents an analysis of data from the first testing of the SEHQ.
Poor recovery of woody vegetation on sand and gravel mines in the Darwin region of the Northern Territory
Authors: Price Owen , Milne Damian , Tynan Charmaine 
Published: June 2005

Summary  Sand sheets near Darwin support a distinct heathland vegetation type which includes the habitat of several threatened species. Sand and gravel are extracted from shallow mines in this region. Woody vegetation recovery in 31 small, shallow former sand or gravel mine sites near Darwin that were up to 27 years old was assessed and compared to paired unmined control sites. Recovery in vegetation structure within each mine was calculated as the percentage of that in the control site. Mined sites recovered about 50% of their stem count and canopy cover, but only about 10% of basal area and mature tree count. Gravel mines showed poorer recovery than sand mines. Time since mining had no significant effect on the extent of recovery, but deeper mines had significantly poorer recovery. Only 35% of woody species in sand controls were present in mine sites, and 41% of gravel control species were present in former mine sites. It is unlikely that recovery will significantly improve in coming decades. Sand mining affects about 40 ha of land per year in this region, but is likely to increase in the future. If Darwin expands to a population of 1 million people, and mine sites are not fully rehabilitated, all of the sand‐sheet vegetation in the region could be removed in the next 100 years. Improved rehabilitation and protection is crucial for the conservation of heathland vegetation in this region.
Seed bed treatment effects on vegetation and seedling establishment in a New Zealand pasture one year after seeding with native woody species
Authors: Stevenson Bryan A. , Smale Mark C. 
Published: June 2005

Summary Efforts to re‐establish indigenous forests in pastoral New Zealand have increased as the value of native biodiversity has been realized. Direct seeding of woody species is preferable to transplanting, as labour and material costs are less. However, the success rate of direct seeding in pasture has been variable due to intense competition from adventive species. We initiated an experiment in pasture plots adjacent to a forest fragment where seed bed treatments (increasing in degree of disturbance from herbicide application to turf removal and topsoil removal) in combination with mulch treatments (wood chip shavings with and without forest floor organic material) were seeded with a mixture of New Zealand lowland forest species. The objective of the study was to determine if early successional plant communities, and ultimately seedling establishment, differed as a result of seed bed preparation after 1 year.Coprosma robusta(Karamu) andKunzea ericoides(Kanuka) seedlings established on plots in significant numbers: both species were most abundant on topsoil‐removed plots where bare substrate was greatest and plant cover least. Both seed bed treatments and mulching treatments led to measurable differences in overall composition of early successional plant communities. However, absence of plant cover and low soil fertility (both associated with the topsoil‐removed treatment) were the most important factors in seedling success.