bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Hope, health work and quality of life in families of stroke survivors
Authors: Bluvol Anna , Ford‐Gilboe Marilyn 
Published: October 2004

Aim. This paper reports a study to examine the relationships among hope, family health promotion, and quality of life after stroke, by testing hypotheses derived from the Developmental Model of Health and Nursing.Background. Little attention has been given to the influences of family strengths on health promotion behaviours and quality of life after stroke. The majority of studies have focused on stroke survivors, not their spouses.Method. A descriptive, correlational study was carried out with 40 families of stroke survivors with moderate to severe functional impairments and their spouses. Both partners completed the Herth Hope Index (measure of hope), the Health Options Scale (measure of health work), the Reintegration to Normal Living Index (measure of quality of life) and a demographic questionnaire.Results. For both partners, moderate, positive relationships were found between hope and health work (r = 0·52,r = 0·39,P < 0·01) and between hope and quality of life (r = 0·59,r = 0·32,P < 0·05). Family health work was positively associated with quality of life of stroke survivors (r = 0·50,P ≤ 0·001), but not their spouses. Spouses’ employment status, number of supports and functional independence at discharge predicted 40·6% and 46·3% of the variance in quality of life for stroke survivors and spouses, respectively, with the combination of hope and health work contributing an additional 17·8% in predicting stroke survivors’ quality of life but no additional variance to the prediction of spouses’ quality of life.Conclusion. Theoretical relationships of the Developmental Model of Health and Nursing were supported for stroke survivors, but the model was less useful in explaining spouses’ experiences of hope, health work and quality of life. Findings provide direction for identifying ‘at risk’ families and raise awareness of the contribution of caregiver burden to quality of life in families of stroke survivors.
Experiences of infant‐feeding decision‐making among urban economically disadvantaged pregnant adolescents
Authors: Wambach Karen A. , Koehn Mary 
Published: October 2004

Aim.  The aim of this paper is to report a pilot study of influencing factors in disadvantaged urban pregnant adolescents’ decision‐making about infant‐feeding choices.Background.  Research related to decision‐making among adolescents indicates that attitudinal, social, perceived control, and commitment factors are influential in choosing and initiating breast‐ or bottle‐feeding. However, there is a need for further description of decision‐making processes in disadvantaged teenagers before intervention research is done.Methods.  Focus group interviews with the Theory of Planned Behavior guiding the questioning were used with 14 pregnant adolescents between 18 and 39 weeks of gestation and between the ages of 14 and 18 in two obstetric clinics in Midwestern USA urban teaching hospitals. The majority of adolescents were African‐American and primiparae.Findings.  The experiences of infant‐feeding decision‐making among pregnant adolescents were captured by two major themes: benefits vs. barriers of breastfeeding and bottle‐feeding, and independent choice vs. social influences. A common thread in these themes was ambivalence and uncertainty. The adolescents had both positive and negative attitudes toward methods, with many expressing their desire to combine breast‐ and bottle‐feeding. Many reported the health benefits of breastfeeding, yet identified barriers of pain, public exposure, and the complexity of breastfeeding. They viewed bottle‐feeding as automatic and simple, allowing freedom to leave the infant with others. Although adolescents were adamant that choice of feeding method was their independent decision, social and family influences were evident.Conclusions.  Consistent with the Theory of Planned Behaviour and other research, attitudes, perceived social influences, and perceived control factors were influential to adolescents when choosing infant feeding methods. The findings suggest that adolescents need education on decision‐making, and are being used to fine‐tune the interventions of a randomized clinical trial to investigate promoting and supporting breastfeeding among adolescent mothers.
The construction and development of health professions: where will it end?
Authors: Colyer Hazel M. 
Published: October 2004

Aim.  The aim of this paper is to evaluate the construction and development of professional health work as it has occurred over the past 15 years in the UK and present an informed, speculative analysis of present and future health care work.Background.  Since the early 1990s, there has been a strong political imperative in the United Kingdom (UK) to develop existing roles in nursing and the allied health professions, blurring professional boundaries and emphasizing patient/client‐centred care delivery. This has already led to major changes in professional work patterns and the privileging of interprofessional work. Many of these changes have been shaped and determined by cultural and economic considerations.Discussion.  The socio‐political context for the major changes in the roles of non‐medical professionals in the UK is explored to demonstrate both consistency and contradictions with postmodern, consumerist values. The theoretical concepts that underpin professional formation and enable professionalization are examined in relation to present health service drivers for interprofessional work and the development of advanced practice roles, noting similarities and differences in aspirations.Conclusion.  While professionalization and role development appear to have benefited both professions and service users in the short‐term, their adoption and institutionalization by policymakers are influencing its direction in ways which both may ultimately find troublesome.
Consistent mapping and automatic visual search: comparing persons with and without intellectual disability
Authors: Merrill E. C. 
Published: October 2004

AbstractBackground  Merrill et al. (1996) reported that persons with intellectual disability (ID) were slower at learning a visual search task to automaticity relative to persons of the same age without ID. For persons without ID, automaticity develops most rapidly under conditions in which a response is always the same for a particular stimulus. This study was designed to investigate whether persons with and without ID are differentially sensitive to the influence of consistently mapped versus inconsistently mapped stimulus responses.Methods  The primary manipulation was the consistency between a particular stimulus and the response to that stimulus in a visual search task. Sixteen participants with ID and 16 without ID searched displays of two, three, or four pictured objects to determine if a target was present. For half of the participants, the targets were always targets. For the other half, the targets became nontargets on 25% of the trials.Results  Analyses focused on changes in response times associated with set size. Because automaticity allows for parallel processing, the elimination of significant effects of set size was taken as an index of the development of automaticity. Results indicated that inconsistent mapping significantly slowed the development of automaticity for the participants without ID but not for the participants with ID.Discussion  Results were discussed in terms of the role of inhibition processes in the development of automatic search and detection. The effectiveness of inhibition processes was compromised by the consistency manipulation. The effect of the consistency manipulation was greater for the participants without ID because they were presumed to be using inhibition processes more effectively during practice than did the participants with ID.
Intravenous sedation for dental patients with intellectual disability
Authors: Miyawaki T. , Kohjitani A. , Maeda S. , Egusa M. , Mori T. , Higuchi H. , Kita F. , Shimada M. 
Published: October 2004

AbstractBackground  The poor quality of oral health care for people with intellectual disability (ID) has been recognized, and the strong fears about dental treatment suggested as a major reason for disturbances of visits to dentists by such patients. Intravenous sedation is a useful method for relieving the anxiety and fear of such patients about dental treatment, and is frequently essential for ID patients undergoing dental treatment. However, decision regarding the dose of sedative required to be administered for an adequate level of sedation is difficult because the effect of sedation cannot be adequately assessed in patients with severe ID. As an appropriate sedative dose for dental patients with ID has not been fully established, we investigated sedative doses required and the effect of sedation in patients with ID, compared with other dental patients.Methods  We reviewed the anaesthetic records of dental patients with ID (73 cases) and other dental patients (19 cases) aged between 20 and 29 years who had undergone intravenous sedation with midazolam and propofol in Okayama University Dental Hospital, from January 2000 to December 2000. Intravenous sedation was induced with a bolus intravenous administration of midazolam (2–3 mg) and maintained with a continuous infusion of propofol. The dose of propofol was titrated to achieve an adequate level of sedation: asleep but responding to painful stimulation. The efficacy of sedation, the required doses of propofol, and the wake‐up times were investigated for all subjects. The efficacy of sedation was evaluated by judging whether the patient became cooperative and allowed the dental treatment to be carried out or not. The complications induced by intravenous sedation were also evaluated in each subject. Differences in variables between subjects with ID and other subjects were analysed using the Mann–Whitney U‐test.Results  Intravenous sedation was effective for dental treatment in all subjects with or without ID. The required dose of propofol in subjects with ID was 4.74 mg/kg/h (2.63–10.33 mg/kg/h), significantly higher than that required for other subjects (3.31, 1.72–4.80 mg/kg/h). Wake‐up times of subjects with ID were similar to those of the other subjects. Severe complications were not seen during or after intravenous sedation.Conclusion  The results of this study show that intravenous sedation is a useful method for dental patients with ID as well as for other dental patients, but indicate that dental patients with ID need higher doses of sedative to obtain an adequate level of sedation.
Investigation of the utility of colorectal function tests and Rome II criteria in dyssynergic defecation (Anismus)
Authors: Rao S. S. C. , Mudipalli R. S. , Stessman M. , Zimmerman B. 
Published: October 2004

AbstractAlthough 30–50% of constipated patients exhibit dyssynergia, an optimal method of diagnosis is unclear. Recently, consensus criteria have been proposed but their utility is unknown. To examine the diagnostic yield of colorectal tests, reproducibility of manometry and utility of Rome II criteria. A total of 100 patients with difficult defecation were prospectively evaluated with anorectal manometry, balloon expulsion, colonic transit and defecography. Fifty‐three patients had repeat manometry. During attempted defecation, 30 showed normal and 70 one of three abnormal manometric patterns. Forty‐six patients fulfilled Rome criteria and showed paradoxical anal contraction (type I) or impaired anal relaxation (type III) with adequate propulsion. However, 24 (34%) showed impaired propulsion (type II). Forty‐five (64%) had slow transit, 42 (60%) impaired balloon expulsion and 26 (37%) abnormal defecography. Defecography provided no additional discriminant utility. Evidence of dyssynergia was reproducible in 51 of 53 patients. Symptoms alone could not differentiate dyssynergic subtypes or patients. Dyssynergic patients exhibited three patterns that were reproducible: paradoxical contraction, impaired propulsion and impaired relaxation. Although useful, Rome II criteria may be insufficient to identify or subclassify dyssynergic defecation. Symptoms together with abnormal manometry, abnormal balloon expulsion or colonic marker retention are necessary to optimally identify patients with difficult defecation.
Genetic engineering of glycinebetaine synthesis in tomato protects seeds, plants, and flowers from chilling damage
Authors: Park Eung‐Jun , Jeknić Zoran , Sakamoto Atsushi , DeNoma Jeanine , Yuwansiri Raweewan , Murata Norio , Chen Tony H. H. 
Published: October 2004

SummaryTomato (Lycopersicon esculentumMill.) plants, which normally do not accumulate glycinebetaine (GB), are susceptible to chilling stress. Exposure to temperatures below 10°C causes various injuries and greatly decreases fruit set in most cultivars. We have transformed tomato (cv. Moneymaker) with a chloroplast‐targetedcodAgene ofArthrobacter globiformis, which encodes choline oxidase to catalyze the conversion of choline to GB. These transgenic plants expresscodA and synthesize choline oxidase, while accumulating GB in their leaves and reproductive organs up to 0.3 and 1.2 μmol g−1fresh weight (FW), respectively. Their chloroplasts contain up to 86% of total leaf GB. Over various developmental phases, from seed germination to fruit production, these GB‐accumulating plants are more tolerant of chilling stress than their wild‐type counterparts. During reproduction, they yield, on average, 10–30% more fruit following chilling stress. Endogenous GB contents as low as 0.1 μmol g−1FW are apparently sufficient to confer high levels of tolerance in tomato plants, as achieved via transformation with thecodAgene. Exogenous application of either GB or H2O2improves both chilling and oxidative tolerance concomitant with enhanced catalase activity. These moderately increased levels of H2O2incodAtransgenic plants, as a byproduct of choline oxidase‐catalyzed GB synthesis, might activate the H2O2‐inducible protective mechanism, resulting in improved chilling and oxidative tolerances in GB‐accumulatingcodAtransgenic plants. Thus, introducing the biosynthetic pathway of GB into tomato through metabolic engineering is an effective strategy for improving chilling tolerance.
Adrenal steroid hormone concentrations in dogs with hair cycle arrest (Alopecia X) before and during treatment with melatonin and mitotane
Authors: FRANK LINDA A. , HNILICA KEITH A. , OLIVER JACK W. 
Published: October 2004

Abstract The purpose of the study was to evaluate intermediate adrenal steroid hormones (ISH) in neutered dogs with hair cycle arrest (Alopecia X) during treatment with melatonin, and to see if hair re‐growth is associated with sex hormone concentrations within the normal ranges. Twenty‐nine neutered, euthyroid, and normo‐cortisolemic dogs were enrolled in the study (23 Pomeranians, three keeshonds, two miniature poodles, and one Siberian husky). Coat assessment and an ACTH stimulation test were performed pre‐treatment and approximately every 4 months for a year post treatment. Melatonin was administered initially at 3–6 mg, every 12 h. Based on clinical progression, each dog was continued on the current dose of melatonin, given an increased dose of melatonin or changed to mitotane. Partial to complete hair re‐growth occurred in 14/23 Pomeranians, and partial re‐growth in 3/3 keeshond and 1/2 poodle dogs. A Siberian husky dog failed to re‐grow hair. Fifteen dogs had partial hair re‐growth at the first re‐evaluation. Melatonin dosage was increased in eight dogs but only one had improved hair re‐growth. On mitotane treatment, partial to complete hair re‐growth was seen in 4/6 dogs and no re‐growth in 2/6 dogs. No significant decrease in sex hormone concentrations were seen during melatonin or mitotane treatment. Concentrations of ISH in dogs with hair re‐growth did not differ significantly from pre‐treatment values. At the completion of the study, androstenedione, progesterone and 17‐hydroxyprogesterone were still above reference ranges in 21, 64 and 36%, respectively, of dogs with partial to complete hair re‐growth. In conclusion, 62% of dogs had partial to complete hair re‐growth. However, not all dogs with hair re‐growth had concentrations of ISH within the normal range.
Investigation on the clinical efficacy and safety of 0.1% tacrolimus ointment (Protopic®) in canine atopic dermatitis: a randomized, double‐blinded, placebo‐controlled, cross‐over study
Authors: MARSELLA R. , NICKLIN C. F. , SAGLIO S. , LOPEZ J. 
Published: October 2004

Abstract  Topical tacrolimus is successfully used in people with atopic dermatitis. Preliminary studies in dogs with atopic dermatitis using tacrolimus in a compounded lotion formulation indicated that tacrolimus significantly decreased erythema and pruritus according to investigator, but no significant improvement was reported by the dog owners. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of the commercially available 0.1% tacrolimus ointment (Protopic®) in dogs with atopic dermatitis. The study was designed as a double‐blinded, placebo‐controlled, cross‐over study. Selected dogs were allocated to either tacrolimus or placebo for 4 weeks. After 4 weeks there was a wash‐out period of 2 weeks and treatments were switched. Twelve dogs completed the study. Clinical signs were scored. Blood samples were collected for complete blood count, chemistry panels and tacrolimus levels at week 0 and 4 of each treatment. Tacrolimus ointment significantly decreased severity of symptoms for both owners and investigators at the end of the trial. When the same dogs received the placebo, there were no differences between week 0 and week 4 scores. Dogs with localized disease responded better than dogs with generalized disease. Tacrolimus was detected in the blood of animals receiving the active ingredient. Levels were below the level of toxicity and no adverse effects were reported in any of the dogs. No changes in complete blood count and chemistry parameters were detected between groups or within groups. In conclusion, tacrolimus appears to be a safe alternative treatment in dogs with atopic dermatitis, especially in those with localized disease.
Frequency doubling perimetry screening mode compared to the full‐threshold mode
Authors: Stoutenbeek Remco , Heeg Govert P. , Jansonius Nomdo M. 
Published: October 2004

AbstractThe diagnostic performance of the frequency doubling perimetry (FDT) C20‐1 screening mode was compared to that of the C20 full‐threshold mode. For the number of defects p < 1% in the total deviation plot, both modes appeared to perform similarly in terms of sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver–operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Different cut‐off points should be applied for both modes to obtain equal sensitivity and specificity values, and – related to that – for most subjects more defects were found in full‐threshold mode than in screening mode. For the screening mode, we found a sensitivity of 0.91 and a specificity of 0.88 at a cut‐off point of >0 defects, and an area under the ROC curve of 0.93.
An evaluation of algorithms designed to classify the results from frequency doubling perimetry
Authors: Müskens Rogier P. H. M. , Heeg Govert P. , Jansonius Nomdo M. 
Published: October 2004

AbstractAll previously published algorithms for the interpretation of frequency doubling perimetry test results were compared in full‐threshold mode in a large group of glaucoma patients (n = 452) and normal subjects (n = 237). Areas under the receiver–operating characteristic (ROC) curve ranged from 0.86 to 0.92. None of the algorithms performed substantially better than simply counting the number of defects p < 1% in the total deviation plot. For this algorithm, we found a sensitivity of 0.90 and a specificity of 0.81 at a cut‐off point of >1 defect, and an area under the ROC curve of 0.92.
Non‐compliance with lens care and maintenance in diabetic contact lens wearers
Authors: O'Donnell Clare , Efron Nathan 
Published: October 2004

AbstractWe hypothesize that diabetic contact lens wearers may represent a special group displaying higher levels of compliance with their lens care regimens as a result of learned behaviour relating to maintenance of their diabetic condition. To test this hypothesis, a prospective, single centre, controlled, masked study was performed whereby 29 diabetic contact lens patients and 29 non‐diabetic control subjects were issued with disposable hydrogel contact lenses and a multipurpose lens care regimen. All participants were given identical instruction on lens care and maintenance. Compliance levels were assessed at a 12‐month aftercare appointment by demonstration and questionnaire. Twenty‐four different aspects of compliance were scored, 12 by observation and 12 by questionnaire report, of which only two showed a significant difference between the diabetic and control groups. Although the combined population of contact lens wearers was generally compliant, there were examples of non‐compliance in both groups. Neither the duration of diabetes nor the degree of metabolic control appeared to have a significant effect on compliance. The results suggest that eye care practitioners cannot assume that diabetic patients will be more compliant with contact lens care and maintenance than non‐diabetic patients.
Statistical normal values of visual parameters that characterize binocular function in children
Authors: Jiménez R. , Pérez M. A. , García J. A. , González M. D. 
Published: October 2004

AbstractA wide range of visual parameters used to evaluate binocular function were evaluated in a paediatric population (1056 subjects aged 6–12 years). Mean values are provided for these ages in optometric tests that directly assess the vergence system, horizontal phorias for near and far vision (measured by a modified version of the Thorington method), negative and positive vergence amplitude for near and far vision (step vergence testing), vergence facility (flippers 8 Δ BI/8 Δ BO), and near‐point of convergence (penlight push‐up technique and red‐lens push‐up technique), as well as stimulus accommodative convergence/accommodation ratio and stereoacuity (Randot test) which provide an overall evaluation of the vergence, accommodative and oculomotor systems. A statistical comparison (anova and Bonferroni post hoc test) of these values between ages was performed. The differences, although statistically significant, were not clinically meaningful, and therefore we identified two trends in the behaviour of these parameters. For all parameters, except for vergence facility, we established a single mean reference value for the age range studied. The difference between the means for vergence facility indicated the need to divide the population into two age ranges (6–8 and 8–12 years). This study establishes statistical normal values for these parameters in a paediatric population and their means are a valuable instrument for separating children with binocular anomalies from those with normal binocular vision.