bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Examination on Candida spp. in refractory periapical granulomas
Authors: Waltimo T. , Kuusinen M. , Järvensivu A. , Nyberg P. , Väänänen A. , Richardson M. , Salo T. , Tjäderhane L. 
Published: September 2003

AbstractAim  To examine the occurrence of Candida spp. in refractory periapical granulomas.Methodology  One hundred and three surgically removed periapical granulomas were subjected to molecular analysis for the occurrence of Candida albicans. DNA was extracted from the samples using a modified phenol/chloroform/isoamyl alcohol method and was subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with OPA‐03 and repetitive sequence (GACA)4 primers. The PCR products were separated in agarose gel electrophoresis, stained with ethidium bromide, visualized using UV light and the sequences were analysed. Samples indicating possible occurrence of Candida were further investigated by histological and immunohistological methods. Periodic acid–Shiff staining (PAS) was used to detect yeast cells and hyphae, and specific monoclonal antibodies to recognize high molecular mass mannoproteins present in the C. albicans cell wall. DNA extraction was controlled by running PCR using β‐actin primers (a housekeeping gene). C. albicans CCUG19915, C. tropicalis ATCC750, C. krusei ATCC6258, C. guilliermondii ATCC6260 and C. glabrata CCUG32725 served as positive controls in PCR. A tissue preparation of chronic atrophic candidosis in oral buccal mucosa served as a positive control for histological and immunohistological examinations.Results  Polymerase chain reaction with β‐actin primers indicated successful DNA extraction in 68 out of 103 samples. The majority of the samples (50) were negative whereas 18 of the samples showed PCR products indicating possible occurrence of Candida spp. PAS‐staining and immunohistological examination of these samples were, however, negative. Further analysis of the PCR products revealed sequences not typical for Candida spp.Conclusions  Candida spp. do not seem to occur in periapical granuloma.
Nursing Minimum Data Set development and implementation in Thailand
Authors: Volrathongchai Kanittha , Delaney Connie W. , Phuphaibul Rutja 
Published: August 2003

Background. In 1997, the Thai Ministry of Public Health began planning to implement a national health information system. Development of the nursing component of this system is an ongoing process. The first step in developing a nursing information system is to identify an essential Nursing Minimum Data Set (NMDS).Aim. To describe the development of a NMDS in Thailand and explore the challenges of implementing it, including the issue of the comparability with data sets in other countries, primarily the United States of America.Methods. The process of developing a NMDS specific to Thailand is reviewed. Strategies for implementing this data set and important issues related to it are then discussed.Findings. Although a preliminary Thai NMDS has been identified, challenges associated with its development and implementation within the Thai National health information system remain.Conclusion. A Thai NMDS and its elements have been identified. The International Classification of Nursing Practice was translated and is to be used to implement the data set describing the nursing care of patients and their families. However, many issues, such as the need for conceptual translation and increasing nurses’ involvement in the process, still need to be addressed in order to implement the data set successfully.
Nurse practitioner practice and deployment: electronic mail Delphi study
Authors: Marsden Janet , Dolan Brian , Holt Lynda 
Published: August 2003

Background. The nature of modern government and needs of policy‐makers demand accurate information that is delivered quickly. This study was part of a larger project for the Department of Health relating to nurse practitioner (NP) education and practice in UK.Aims. The aim of the study was to identify the principal factors that help or hinder the development of NP roles in the National Health Service.Methods. In order to facilitate a rapid response, a Delphi study was undertaken using electronic mail (e‐mail) and was completed within 4 weeks. Key stakeholders in NP practice, education and research and (non‐governmental) policy‐making were invited to participate. Key themes relating to the deployment and practice of NPs were generated. These were refined and collated by the research team and then rated by the respondents.Results. This approach generated valuable expert consensus data around NP deployment and practice. Nurse practitioners’ practice is recognized as an integral part of health care that needs to be recognized by regulatory bodies to promote understanding of their potential at local levels. Nurse practitioners need freedom to innovate, adequate support and appropriate education to allow true autonomy. Limited prescribing and local restrictions on requesting investigations hinder practice.Limitations. Although this was a small‐scale study, the expert panel was wide‐ranging and achieved substantial consensus.Conclusion. The organisational and cultural changes that are required to foster the development of practice and deployment of NPs have yet to be instigated, according to the comments of the key stakeholders in this study. There appears to be a clear message that the government needs to take a more interventionist role in supporting nursing developments, rather than leaving this to local arrangements.
Families’ needs in emergency departments: instrument development
Authors: Redley Bernice , LeVasseur Sandra A. , Peters Gwenda , Bethune Elizabeth 
Published: August 2003

Background. Families who accompany critically ill relatives in emergency departments (EDs) are an integral part of the care unit. However, there are few empirical data on their needs during this phase of care. In order to guide quality care, general and specific needs of families accompanying these critically ill relatives should be systematically examined.Aim. The aim of this pilot project was to test the tool, methods and analysis plan for a study to examine the perceived needs of family members accompanying critically ill patients in EDs and their perceptions of ED staff's ability to meet these needs.Method. Over a 6‐week period in 1996, 84 relatives who met the inclusion criteria were recruited to the study. A postal questionnaire, to uncover the needs of family members, was pilot tested. The questionnaire consisted of 40 need statements reflecting five major themes: meaning, proximity, communication, comfort and support. Of the 84 relatives selected for the study, 73% returned completed questionnaires.Results. The findings of this pilot study suggest that the questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool for researchers wishing to examine and rank the needs of family members who accompany critically ill people in EDs. In addition, the analysis plan was found to be appropriate.Conclusions. This pilot study provides both a method and a tool for further research into family needs. Examination of the pilot data supported the reliability and validity of the tool and produced findings that challenge nurses to move beyond traditional practice that has excluded families from being an integral part of caring for critically ill patients in EDs.
Nurses’ attitudes towards older residents with long‐term schizophrenia
Authors: Hellzén Ove , Kristiansen Lisbeth , Norbergh Karl Gustaf 
Published: August 2003

Background. In institutional care, a symptom‐oriented approach is a frequently used but seldom‐discussed method for treating people with severe mental illness.Aim. To investigate whether nurses’ approach could be explained with reference to a client's individual clinical picture or the fact that they had a diagnosis of schizophrenia.Methods. An exploratory study of the staff's view of a caring approach for a fictitious older long‐term schizophrenic resident was conducted. All nurses working in the field of psychiatry at seven different units in one municipality in northern Sweden were an integral part of the study. The units were divided into two groups and classified as ‘dwelling’ or ‘support’. The ‘dwelling group’ was characterized by nurses working at traditional group dwellings, and the ‘support group’ by nurses working in small teams and visiting people with long‐term mental illness in their homes. Responses were received from 62 women and 23 men, of whom 14 were Registered Nurses and 69 were Enrolled Nurses. A questionnaire was used, developed from a case description of a 68‐year‐old woman with typical symptoms of severe cognitive decline, with problematic behaviour and a diagnosis of long‐term schizophrenia.Findings. The main finding was that nurses with long experience became less sensitive in their relationship with the resident than less experienced nurses. There appeared to be a tendency for long work experience to have a negative effect on nurses’ attitudes towards the resident.Conclusions. The nurses could be interpreted as being caught in a moral dilemma between ends and means. This dilemma could be represented on the one hand as the ‘conformist mode’, with an acceptance of ends and means, and on the other hand as the ‘innovation mode’, with acceptance of ends but with few legitimate means to achieve them.
Preterm infants’ behavioural indicators of oxygen decline during bottle feeding
Authors: Thoyre Suzanne M. , Carlson John R. 
Published: August 2003

Background. During the time when preterm infants’ oral feeding skills are developing they often experience physiological instability and need assistance from caregivers to maintain adequate oxygenation. Assisting infants to maintain optimal oxygenation during oral feeding requires an understanding of how they express and aim to self‐regulate their oxygen status.Aim. The purpose of this study was to identify potential behavioural indicators of declining oxygenation during preterm infant early bottle‐feeding.Method. The design was explorative. Data were collected from a secondary analysis of 20 videotapes of preterm infant bottle feedings which included concurrent oxygen saturation data. In this analysis infant behaviours and quality of breathing were coded and compared across three periods: high oxygen saturation, immediately preceding an oxygen desaturation event, and during an oxygen desaturation event.Findings. Infants gave limited behavioural indicators of declining oxygenation. Immediately prior to a desaturation event, they had an increase in eye flutter and were typically sucking and apnoeic. During a desaturation event, they typically relaxed their arms/hands and stopped sucking.Conclusions. Reliance on preterm infant behavioural cues will be insufficient for detection of oxygen desaturation during oral feeding. Attention to changes in breath sounds and to the pattern of sucking are potentially important intervention strategies for the prevention of and appropriate response to oxygen decline during feeding. Sucking pauses may be a time when preterm infants aim to regulate their breathing pattern and thereby increase oxygenation. Interventions that focus on detection and minimization of apnoea during feeding, and which aim to protect infant sucking pauses, may reduce the number and severity of desaturation events preterm infants experience during bottle feeding.
The relationship between flesh quality and numbers of Kudoa thyrsites plasmodia and spores in farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L.
Authors: Dawson‐Coates J A , Chase J C , Funk V , Booy M H , Haines L R , Falkenberg C L , Whitaker D J , Olafson R W , Pearson T W 
Published: September 2003

AbstractAtlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., were exposed to Kudoa thyrsites (Myxozoa, Myxosporea)‐containing sea water for 15 months, and then harvested and assessed for parasite burden and fillet quality. At harvest, parasites were enumerated in muscle samples from a variety of somatic and opercular sites, and mean counts were determined for each fish. After 6 days storage at 4 °C, fillet quality was determined by visual assessment and by analysis of muscle firmness using a texture analyzer. Fillet quality could best be predicted by determining mean parasite numbers and spore counts in all eight tissue samples (somatic and opercular) or in four fillet samples, as the counts from opercular samples alone showed greater variability and thus decreased reliability. The variability in both plasmodia and spore numbers between tissue samples taken from an individual fish indicated that the parasites were not uniformly distributed in the somatic musculature. Therefore, to best predict the probable level of fillet degradation caused by K. thyrsites infections, multiple samples must be taken from each fish. If this is performed, a mean plasmodia count of 0.3 mm−2 or a mean spore count of 4.0 × 105 g−1 of tissue are the levels where the probability of severe myoliquefaction becomes a significant risk.
Experimental production of gastric dilation and its association with osmoregulatory stress and biogenic amines in chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum)
Authors: Lumsden J S , Marshall S , Gillard M , Wybourne B , Minamikawa M 
Published: September 2003

AbstractChinook salmon smolt in fresh water fed a commercial diet known to produce minimal gastric dilation and air sacculitis (GDAS) were randomly assigned to four experimental tanks with flow‐through sea water. All four groups were acclimatized to sea water for 3 weeks and fed a diet of minced fresh seafood. After 3 weeks the groups were fed either; seafood as before, a different commercial pelleted diet associated with the development of GDAS on farms, or either diet supplemented with 500 mg L−1 putrescine, 300 mg L−1 cadaverine and 250 mg L−1 tyramine. Gastric dilation was produced in fish fed the commercial diet for 1 month but not by feeding a diet of minced seafood. The addition of putrescine, cadaverine and tyramine to either diet had no significant effect on the development of gastric dilation. Fish fed the commercial diet had significantly (P < 0.0001) wider weight‐adjusted stomach widths, less prominent longitudinal stomach folds (P < 0.0001) and lower (P < 0.0001) stomach‐width ratios than fish fed the fresh seafood diet. There was no significant difference in serum osmolality or sodium concentration between fish from groups with or without gastric dilation or fed biogenic amines.
Comparative challenge model of Flavobacterium columnare using abraded and unabraded channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque)
Authors: Bader J A , Nusbaum K E , Shoemaker C A 
Published: September 2003

AbstractThe early entry of the fish pathogen Flavobacterium columnare and enhancement by abrasion was studied in channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque), using the polymerase chain reaction and a species‐specific primer set for a bacterial 16S rRNA gene product. Evaluations were conducted following an abrasion bath immersion challenge with F. columnare. Abrasion, a practice which has historically been used prior to bacterial challenge, had significant effects on the early entry of the pathogen and on cumulative percent survival (CPS). The FvpF1–FvpR1 primer set was useful in detecting the early entry of F. columnare in mucus, skin, gill, blood, liver and trunk kidney tissues in both abraded and unabraded fish following immersion challenge at 29 ± 2 °C. Bacteria were detected earlier in all tissues in abraded fish, except in the trunk kidney. These differences were not significant, except in the case of blood. Mucus, skin and gill tissues were positive for F. columnare earliest regardless of treatment (after 5 min in abraded fish and after 15 min in unabraded fish). CPS following challenge with F. columnare was significantly affected by abrasion, which supports the use of abrasion for the F. columnare challenge model for channel catfish.
Synergistic effects of dietary iron and omega‐3 fatty acid levels on survival of farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., during natural outbreaks of furunculosis and cold water vibriosis
Authors: Rørvik K‐A , Dehli A , Thomassen M , Ruyter B , Steien S H , Salte R 
Published: September 2003

AbstractThe present study demonstrates that farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, health is positively and significantly affected by synergistic effects between very long‐chain polyunsaturated fatty acids of the n‐3 family eicosapentaenoic acid/docosahexaenoic acid (EPA/DHA) and iron, where positive effects of high dietary levels of EPA/DHA are enhanced when combined with low levels of iron. Based on cumulative mortalities in the different experimental groups, relative percentage of survival (RPS) for the high EPA/DHA‐low iron group was 70% during an outbreak of furunculosis and 96% during an outbreak of cold water vibriosis compared with the controls. A non‐additive effect between EPA/DHA and iron was confirmed by statistical analyses that revealed a significant effect of EPA/DHA alone and an interaction of iron with EPA/DHA. Liver cell cultures treated with EPA/DHA revealed that the synergistic effect could be related to an EPA/DHA dependent regulation of mRNA for proteins important for transport (transferrin) and storage (ferritin) of iron in the salmon. In keeping with this finding, the transcriptional down‐regulation of iron metabolism in vitro was reflected in decreased in vivo iron stores with increasing levels of dietary EPA/DHA. Hence, to avoid overloading of the iron transport/storage‐systems resulting in increased susceptibility to bacterial infections, high levels of dietary EPA/DHA should be accompanied by low levels of dietary iron.
White spot syndrome virus infection in cultured Penaeus vannamei (Boone) in Ecuador with emphasis on histopathology and ultrastructure
Authors: Rodríguez J , Bayot B , Amano Y , Panchana F , De Blas I , Alday V , Calderón J 
Published: September 2003

AbstractMortalities of cultured shrimp, Penaeus vannamei (Boone), induced by white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) have occurred in Ecuador since May 1999. Three epidemiological surveys in Ecuadorian farms were carried out and showed an apparent association between lower temperature and increased mortality rates in commercial ponds. Infected animals showed a reddish discolouration and lethargy and occasionally, white spots in the exoskeleton. Histopathological studies revealed that infected cells presented nuclear hypertrophy with eosinophilic to basophilic inclusions. In some cases, two other pathologies were observed: (a) lymphoid organ spheroids and (b) cells with pyknotic and karyorrhectic nuclei in the lymphoid organ, haematopoietic tissue, connective tissue, heart and antennal gland. Occasionally pyknotic cells were encapsulated without apparent injury to the adjacent tissue and without melanization. Transmission electron microscopy showed the presence of WSSV particles in the cytoplasm of cells with pyknotic nuclei in the stomach hypodermis. Viral structure and morphogenesis agreed with previous descriptions by other authors in WSSV‐infected shrimp. Occasionally, two nucleocapsids within one envelope were present amongst single enveloped nucleocapsids. A long rod‐shaped structure that could reach 2.4 μm in length was present in the nuclei of some infected cells.
Channel catfish virus gene expression in experimentally infected channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque)
Authors: Stingley R L , Griffin B R , Gray W L 
Published: September 2003

AbstractChannel catfish virus (CCV) produces an acute haemorrhagic disease in fingerling channel catfish and establishes latent infection in fish that survive the primary infection. This study investigated CCV gene expression in tissues of experimentally infected fish. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction assays were developed for detection of transcripts expressed by each of the CCV direct repeat region genes in CCV‐infected channel catfish ovary cells and in tissues of infected fish. Immediate‐early, early and late gene transcripts were detected in the blood, brain, kidney and liver tissues of acutely infected catfish demonstrating active viral replication in multiple tissues during the early stages of CCV infection. However, there was no evidence for viral replication by 24 days post‐infection in tissues of fish that survived the acute disease. Viral latency‐associated transcripts encoded by CCV direct repeat genes were not detected in latently infected catfish. The results of this study provide a foundation for further studies to investigate the molecular basis of CCV pathogenesis and latency.
Valproate disrupts regulation of inositol responsive genes and alters regulation of phospholipid biosynthesis
Authors: Ju Shulin , Greenberg Miriam L. 
Published: September 2003

SummaryValproate (VPA) is one of the two drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of bipolar disorder. The therapeutic mechanism of VPA has not been established. We have shown previously that growth of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae in the presence of VPA causes a decrease in intracellular inositol and inositol‐1‐P, and a dramatic increase in expression of INO1, which encodes the rate limiting enzyme for de novo inositol biosynthesis. To understand the underlying mechanism of action of VPA, INO1, CHO1 and INO2 expression, intracellular inositol and phospholipid biosynthesis were studied as a function of acute and chronic exposure of growing cells to the drug. A decrease in intracellular inositol was apparent immediately after addition of VPA. Surprisingly, expression of genes that are usually derepressed during inositol depletion, including INO1, CHO1 and INO2 (that contain inositol‐responsive UASINO sequences) decreased several fold during the first hour, after which expression began to increase. Incorporation of 32Pi into total phospholipids was significantly decreased. Pulse labelling of CDP‐DG and PG, shown previously to increase during inositol depletion, increased within 30 min. However, pulse labelling of PS, which normally increases during inositol depletion, was decreased within 30 min. PS synthase activity in cell extracts decreased with time, although VPA did not directly inhibit PS synthase enzyme activity. Thus, in contrast to the effect of chronic VPA treatment, short‐term exposure to VPA abrogated the normal response to inositol depletion of inositol responsive genes and led to aberrant synthesis of phospholipids.
RacA and the Soj‐Spo0J system combine to effect polar chromosome segregation in sporulating Bacillus subtilis
Authors: Wu Ling Juan , Errington Jeff 
Published: September 2003

SummarySporulating cells of Bacillus subtilis undergo a highly polarized cell division and possess a specialized mechanism to move the oriC region of the chromosome close to the cell pole before septation. DivIVA protein, which localizes to the cell pole, and the Soj and Spo0J proteins, which associate with the chromosome, are part of the mechanism that delivers the chromosome to the cell pole. A sporulation‐specific protein, RacA, encodes a third DNA‐binding protein, which acts in conjunction with Soj and Spo0J to effect efficient polar chromosome segregation. divIVA mutants and soj racA double mutants have an unexpected phenotype in which specific markers to the left and right of oriC can be captured in the prespore compartment but the central oriC region is efficiently excluded. This ‘residual’ trapping requires Spo0J protein. We suggest that the Soj RacA DivIVA system is required to extract the oriC region from its position determined by the vegetative chromosome segregation machinery and anchor it to the cell pole.