bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Functional Status of the Helicobacter pylori sabB Adhesin Gene as a Putative Marker for Disease Outcome
Authors: De Jonge Ramon , Pot Raymond G.J. , Loffeld Ruud J.L.F. , Van Vliet Arnoud H.M. , Kuipers Ernst J. , Kusters Johannes G. 
Published: April 2004

ABSTRACTBackground.  Helicobacter pylori factors that contribute to disease outcome are largely unknown, but intimate contact with host cells mediated by outer membrane proteins is thought to play an important role. Expression of the outer membrane proteins OipA, HopZ, SabA, and SabB is regulated by phase‐variable dinucleotide repeats in the coding regions of the respective genes. We have evaluated the correlation between the expression status of these four genes and disease outcome of H. pylori infection in a Dutch patient population.Materials and Methods.  H. pylori strains, isolated from 96 Dutch patients with gastritis (n = 29), duodenal ulcer (n = 28), gastric ulcer (n = 21), gastric carcinoma (n = 9), and lymphoma (n = 9), were analyzed for the ‘on/off’ expression status of the H. pylori genes oipA, hopZ, sabA, and sabB by direct DNA sequence analysis of amplified fragments.Results.  The off‐status of sabB was significantly associated with duodenal ulcer (p = .036), but not with gastric ulcer. In contrast, the expression status of oipA, hopZ, and sabA did not correlate with disease outcome. Furthermore, lymphoma strains appeared to express a significantly smaller amount of putative adhesins when compared to gastritis, gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer and gastric carcinoma strains (p < .02 for all groups tested).Conclusion.  The off‐status of sabB was found to be associated with duodenal ulcer disease, and thus represents a putative marker for disease outcome. Assuming that SabB is involved in bacterial adhesion, this association suggests that adherent H. pylori are more prone to elimination by the host immune system.
Truth and Holiness: The Way of the Cross
Authors: Armson John 
Published: April 2004

The Unity We Have and the Unity We Seek: Ecumenical Prospects for the Third Millennium, Jeremy Morris and Nicholas Sagovsky (eds), T. & T. Clark 2003, A Continuum Imprint (Hb 0‐567‐8907‐X, Pb 0‐567‐08879‐0), pp. xix + 244, Pb £14.99 In One Body Through the Cross: The Princeton Proposal for Christian Unity, Carl E. Braaten and Robert W. Jenson (eds), Eerdmans 2003 (0‐8028‐2298‐3), pp. 62, Pb £7.99/$10
Natural history of whitefly in Costa Rica: an evolutionary starting point
Authors: Burger Joep M. S. , Gort Gerrit , Van Lenteren Joop C. , Vet Louise E. M. 
Published: April 2004

Abstract. 1. To understand evolution of foraging behaviour in the whitefly parasitoidEncarsia formosa(Hymenoptera, Aphelinidae), natural densities and distributions of whitefly (Homoptera, Aleyrodidae) were quantified inE. formosa's presumed area of origin, the Neotropics.2. Leaves were collected in Costa Rican nature areas along long transects (2–4 km), short transects (100 m), within 3‐D plots (50 dm3−2.3 m3) and along suspension bridges within the canopy, and checked for presence of whitefly nymphs.3. Generalised linear mixed modelling revealed that the number of hosts on the lower side of a leaflet of an average plant within an average spot of an average transect could be described by a Poisson distribution with mean and variance equal to 0.241, in a ratio of I1:I2:I3:I4 = 0.14:0.23:0.26:0.37. The Poisson mean was affected largely by the plant and less by the spot or transect. Variation in leaf area explained little of the variation between plants. Based on the shape of the opening in vacated puparia, the probability that a whitefly became parasitised eventually was 12% on an average leaflet. Whitefly density was much lower in the canopy than at the forest floor in the same area.4. Semivariance analyses showed that in one of the three short transects, the numbers of whiteflies on leaves were spatially dependent. In four of seven 3‐D plots at least one level of spatial dependence could be detected.5. Results are discussed in the context of understanding evolution of foraging behaviour byE. formosa.
Feeny revisited: condensed tannins as anti‐herbivore defences in leaf‐chewing herbivore communities of Quercus
Authors: Forkner Rebecca E. , Marquis Robert J. , Lill John T. 
Published: April 2004

Abstract.  1. Community level oak–tannin–insect patterns have been largely unexplored since Paul Feeny's ground‐breaking research. Two hypotheses were tested for Quercus velutina and Q. alba in the Missouri Ozarks: abundance and richness of leaf‐chewing herbivores are negatively correlated with foliar condensed tannin concentrations and variation in condensed tannin concentrations explains variation in herbivore community structure.2. In 2001, foliar condensed tannins in the understorey and canopy of these two oak species were quantified simultaneously with censuses of herbivores in May, during leaf expansion, and in June and August, when leaves were fully expanded. Thirty‐eight of the 134 species encountered had densities sufficient to be analysed individually (n = 10). Of those, Acronicta increta (Noctuidae) and Attelabus sp. (Curculionidae), both oak specialists, were negatively correlated with condensed tannins in the canopy of Q. alba. One additional specialist, Chionodes pereyra (Gelechiidae), was marginally negatively correlated with condensed tannins in the understorey of Q. velutina. Understorey species richness of May Q. velutina herbivores was negatively correlated with condensed tannins, as were total canopy insect density and species richness of August herbivores on Q. alba.3. Principal component analysis (PCA) of insect abundances indicated that understorey and canopy Q. velutina and Q. alba had different communities of leaf‐chewing insects. Furthermore, condensed tannin levels contributed significantly to variation in PCA scores for Q. velutina, explaining 25% of the total variation.4. Overall, these results indicate that specialists were more likely than generalists both to correlate negatively with condensed tannins and to occur in lower tannin habitats; abundance and richness of both early and late season fauna correlated negatively with tannins; and species were more likely to correlate negatively with condensed tannins when feeding on Q. alba than on Q. velutina and when feeding in the canopy than in the understorey. Future studies of tannin–insect interactions should manipulate leaf quality in combination with manipulations of other factors that likely influence community structure.
Medical hegemony in decision‐making – a barrier to interdisciplinary working in intensive care?
Authors: Coombs Maureen , Ersser Steven J. 
Published: April 2004

Background.  Health care policy in the United Kingdom identifies the need for health professsionals to find new ways of working to deliver patient‐focussed and economic care. Much debate has followed on the nature of working relationships within the health care team.Aim.  This paper reports on an ethnographic study that examined the nursing role in clinical decision‐making in intensive care units. This was chosen as a case for analysis due to the close doctor–nurse relationships that are essential in this acute and complex care setting.Methods.  Data were collected during two‐stages of fieldwork using participant observation, in‐depth ethnographic interviews and documentation across three clinical sites.Findings.  The findings revealed the different types of knowledge used for, divergence of roles involved in and degree of authority in clinical decision‐making. Furthermore, conflict arose between doctors and nurses due to these differences and in particular because medicine dominated the decision‐making process.Conclusions.  The nursing role, whilst pivotal to implementing clinical decisions, remained unacknowledged and devalued. Medical hegemony continues to render nurses unable to influence substantially the decision‐making process. This has fundamental ramifications for the quality of team decision‐making and the effectiveness of new ways of inter‐professional working in intensive care.
Rational suicide: uncertain moral ground
Authors: Rich Karen L. , Butts Janie B. 
Published: April 2004

Background.  The ambiguities involving end‐of‐life issues, such as physician‐assisted suicide and voluntary stopping of eating and drinking, have caused a blurring of the definition of rational suicide and have prompted rich dialogue with moral deliberations that seem to be on disparate paths among bioethicists and other health care professionals. With the evolution of advanced medical technology extending life expectancy in older, disabled, and terminally ill people, rational suicide has become a critical issue of debate.Aim.  The purpose of this article is to address the ethical positions supporting and opposing rational suicide and to consider whether coherence can be achieved through an ethic of care.Findings.  Attitudes towards suicide have been controversial, varying from acceptance to non‐acceptance depending on social, political and religious influences. Nursing attitudes are no different from general societal attitudes and, consequently, nurses are treading on uncertain moral ground.Conclusion.  Nurses who have not reflected on the moral issues involved with rational suicide may be unprepared psychologically and professionally when working with patients who may be contemplating such actions.
Parenthood experiences during the child's first year: literature review
Authors: Nyström Kerstin , Öhrling Kerstin 
Published: April 2004

Background.  Raising a child is probably the most challenging responsibility faced by a new parent. The first year is the basis of the child's development and is significant for growth and development. Knowledge and understanding of parents’ experiences are especially important for child health nurses, whose role is to support parents in their parenthood.Aim.  The aim of this review was to describe mothers’ and fathers’ experiences of parenthood during the child's first year.Method.  A literature search covering 1992–2002 was carried out using the terms parenthood, parenting, first year, infancy and experience. Of the 88 articles retrieved, 33 articles (both qualitative and quantitative) met the inclusion criteria and corresponded to the aim of this review. The data were analysed by thematic content analysis.Findings.  Being a parent during the child's first year was experienced as overwhelming. The findings were described from two perspectives, namely mothers’ and fathers’ perspectives, since all the included studies considered mothers’ and fathers’ experiences separately. The following categories were identified concerning mothers: being satisfied and confident as a mother, being primarily responsible for the child is overwhelming and causes strain, struggling with the limited time available for oneself, and being fatigued and drained. The following categories were found for fathers: being confident as a father and as a partner, living up to the new demands causes strain, being prevented from achieving closeness to the child is hurtful, and being the protector and the provider of the family. The unifying theme for these categories was ‘living in a new and overwhelming world’.Conclusion.  There is a need for nurse interventions aimed at minimizing parents’ experiences of strain. A suggested intervention is to find a method whereby child health nurses’ support would lead to parents becoming empowered in their parenthood.
Professional codes in a changing nursing context: literature review
Authors: Meulenbergs Tom , Verpeet Ellen , Schotsmans Paul , Gastmans Chris 
Published: April 2004

Background.  Professional codes played a definitive role during a specific period of time, when the professional context of nursing was characterized by an increasing professionalization. Today, however, this professional context has changed.Aim.  This paper reports on a study which aimed to explore the meaning of professional codes in the current context of the nursing profession.Method.  A literature review on professional codes and the nursing profession was carried out. The literature was systematically investigated using the electronic databases PubMed and The Philosopher's Index, and the keywords nursing codes, professional codes in nursing, ethics codes/ethical codes, professional ethics.Conclusion.  Due to the nursing profession's growing multidisciplinary nature, the increasing dominance of economic discourse, and the intensified legal framework in which health care professionals need to operate, the context of nursing is changing. In this changed professional context, nursing professional codes have to accommodate to the increasing ethical demands placed upon the profession. Therefore, an ethicization of these codes is desirable, and their moral objectives need to be revalued.
Using an electronic voting system in logic lectures: one practitioner's application
Authors: Stuart S. A. J. , Brown M. I. , Draper S. W. 
Published: April 2004

AbstractThis paper reports the introduction of electronic handsets, like those used on the television show ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?’ into the teaching of philosophical logic. Logic lectures can provide quite a formidable challenge for many students, occasionally to the point of making them ill. Our rationale for introducing handsets was threefold: (i) to get the students thinking and talking about the subject in a public environment; (ii) to make them feel secure enough to answer questions in the lectures because the system enabled them to do this anonymously; and (iii) to build their confidence about their learning by their being able to see how they were progressing in relation to the rest of the students in the class. We have achieved all of these and more. Our experience has revealed that the use of handsets encourages a more dynamic form of student interaction in an environment – the lecture – that can, in the wrong hands, be utterly enervating, but they also provide an opportunity for the lecturer to respond to students' difficulties at the time when they really matter. In this paper, we discuss our case of rapid adoption, our grounds for judging it a success, and what that success seems to have depended on.
Spatial pattern of dry rainforest colonizing unburnt Eucalyptus savanna
Authors: Fensham R. J. , Butler D. W. 
Published: April 2004

Abstract  The spatial pattern of dry rainforest and savanna tree species was analysed in a 1.56‐ha plot within an unburnt eucalypt savanna woodland in north Queensland, Australia. Rainforest colonization constituted only 1.3% of the basal area and mostly consisted of individuals less than 3 m high. The distribution of rainforest trees was highly clumped around the large savanna eucalypt trees. Ecological mechanisms generating the clumped distribution are discussed in light of evidence from this study and the literature. Herbaceous biomass was not reduced under trees, suggesting that relief from grass competition has not favoured rainforest colonization under tree crowns. Edaphic facilitation through nutrient enrichment under savanna tree crowns appears to be only minor on the moderate fertility soils of the area. The highly clumped pattern of colonizing dry rainforest may be a consequence of seeds dropped from birds roosting in savanna trees.
Do introduced honeybees (Apis mellifera, Hymenoptera) provide full pollination service to bird‐adapted Australian plants with small flowers? An experimental study of Brachyloma ericoides (Epacridaceae)
Authors: Celebrezze Thomas , Paton David C. 
Published: April 2004

Abstract  In many previous studies of the effects of introduced honeybees on Australian ecosystems, it has been assumed that floral morphology is a primary factor determining whether introduced honeybees will be effective in pollinating endemic plants. Although both honeybees and birds contacted stigmas and anthers of the small‐flowered Brachyloma ericoides (Epacridaceae), the exclusion of birds but not honeybees resulted in a significantly lower proportion of flowers producing capsules (12.3 ± 2 vs 21.0 ± 2%). This suggests that native birds contributed significantly to fruit set even though honeybees were much more frequent visitors to flowers (5–6 vs 0.7–2.5 times per day) and moved more frequently between plants (25 vs 12.2% of movements). Fruit set following exposure to birds and honeybees was very low compared with shrub species in general and may have been limited by the pre‐emptive removal of pollen by the 10% of honeybees that actively collected pollen.
Successful antimicrobial therapy and implant retention for streptococcal infection of prosthetic joints
Authors: Everts Richard J. , Chambers Stephen T. , Murdoch David R. , Rothwell Alastair G. , McKie John 
Published: April 2004

Background:  Streptococci cause up to 20% of prosthetic joint infections but this has received little attention in the published literature.Methods:  We reviewed retrospectively our experience with treatment of streptococcal prosthetic joint infections. Patients were followed up for up to 15 years after discontinuation of antimicrobial therapy and up to 8.5 years while on continuous antimicrobial therapy.Results:  Eighteen cases were diagnosed between 1984 and 1995. These included one group A, seven group B, one group D, seven group G and one viridans‐group streptococcal infection as well as one group B and D streptococcal co‐infection. All were late‐onset infections and most (11 of 18, 61%) were acute. Hip and knee joints were equally affected. Six of seven group G streptococcal infections were associated with skin or soft tissue infections. Sixteen patients were treated primarily with antimicrobial agents including 5 days to 6 weeks given intravenously and 2 weeks to 8.5 years given orally. At latest follow up, 10 patients had been off antimicrobial therapy for at least 18 months without relapse, one patient had been off antimicrobial therapy for 7 months without relapse and four infections were successfully controlled with long‐term suppressive antimicrobial therapy. One infection was unable to be controlled with antimicrobial therapy.Conclusions:  Our results, and those of others, show that prosthetic joint infections caused by streptococci have a relatively good outcome with primary antimicrobial therapy and, when necessary, drainage, lavage or debridement. Provided the prosthesis is stable and the patient can tolerate long‐term antimicrobial therapy, this may be an effective alternative to excision arthroplasty.
Sexual function after rectal excision
Authors: Keating John P. 
Published: April 2004

Background:  Rectal excision is associated with a risk of autonomic nerve damage and associated sexual dysfunction (SD). The evolution of our understanding of the anatomy and physiology of sexual function together with continual refinement of surgery for both benign and malignant disease has led to a decrease in the incidence of SD after rectal surgery. A knowledge of the degree of risk of postoperative SD is important both for the patient and as a benchmark for audit of individual colorectal practice.Methods:  The available literature on the anatomy, physiology and surgical aspects of this topic has been researched through the Medline database. The more recently available data are reviewed in the context of the historical evolution of surgery for benign and malignant rectal disease.Results and conclusions:  In the best hands, permanent impotence occurs in less than 2% of patients following restorative proctocolectomy and at a similarly low rate after proctocolectomy and ileostomy. Isolated ejaculatory dysfunction is also numerically a minor problem post operation for benign disease. Patient age is the most important predictor of SD after surgery for rectal cancer. The incidence of permanent impotence remains high (>40%) after abdomino‐perineal excision of the rectum (APE) but the continued decline in the use of this operation in favour of low anterior resection (LAR), which carries about half the risk of impotence compared to sphincter ablating surgery, is likely to have resulted in a fall in the absolute number of patients rendered impotent as a result of rectal cancer surgery. Anatomical dissection of the pelvis with preservation of the named autonomic fibres results in a low and predictable rate of sexual morbidity. Surgeons could profitably spend more time with their patients discussing the possible effects of surgery on sexual function. Further research is required to determine the effects of adjuvant therapy for rectal cancer on sexual function.
Impact of laparoscopic cholecystectomy on hospital utilization
Authors: Hobbs Michael S. , Mai Qun , Fletcher David R. , Ridout Steve C. , Knuiman Mathew W. 
Published: April 2004

Objective:  The objective of the present study was to assess the impact of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) and associated endoscopic retrograde pancreatography (ERCP) on hospital utilization.Background:  Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) has resulted in marked reductions in average length of hospital stay; but population‐based studies of hospital utilization have generally not taken into account increased cholecystectomy rates or associated increases in pre and postoperative admissions.Methods:  We conducted a population‐based study of all residents of Western Australia who underwent cholecystectomy in the period 1980−2000. Record linkage was used to identify pre and postoperative admissions, and to estimate aggregate length of stay per case based on all relevant admissions. We estimated trends in cholecystectomy rates, proportions of cases with related pre and postoperative hospital admissions, average aggregate length of stay per case and total bed utilization per unit of population.Results:  The introduction of LC was associated with a sustained increase in rates of cholecystectomy of 25%. Similar increases occurred in the percentage of cases with related preoperative and postoperative admissions. Average length of stay for index admissions declined by nearly 60% compared with 50% for all related admissions. Per capita hospital utilization for index admissions decreased by 45% compared with 38% for index and associated admissions combined, and 32% for all admissions for biliary disease.Conclusions:  Reduced hospital utilization associated with LC was partly offset by increases in pre and postoperative admissions and a sustained increase in cholecystectomy rates. Record linkage is required to assess the true impact of new technologies on hospital utilization.
Fluid sinks within the earth's crust
Authors: Stober I. , Bucher K. 
Published: April 2004

AbstractThe Urach 3 research borehole in south‐west (SW) Germany has been drilled through the sedimentary cover, and the gneisses of the Variscian crystalline basement at 1600 m below the surface (Black Forest basement) has been reached. An additional 2800 m has been drilled through the fractured crystalline rocks, and the borehole has been used for a number of hydraulic tests in the context of a ‘hot‐dry rock’ (HDR) project exploring for geothermal energy. The fracture system of the basement is saturated with a NaCl brine with about 70 g L−1 dissolved solids. Water table measurements in the borehole cover a period of 13 years of observation, during which the water table continuously dropped and did not reach a steady‐state level. This unique set of data shows that the hydraulic potential decreases with depth, causing a continuous flow of fluid to the deeper parts of the upper continental crust. The potential decrease and the associated downward migration of fluid is an evidence for the progress of water (H2O)‐consuming reactions in the crystalline rocks. Computed stability relations among relevant phases at the pressure temperature (PT) conditions in the fracture system and documented fossil fracture coatings in granites and gneisses suggest that the prime candidate for the H2O‐consuming reaction is the zeolitization of feldspar. The potential of the gneisses to chemically bind H2O matches the estimated amount of migrating H2O.