bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Advice available on the Internet for people with coeliac disease: an evaluation of the quality of websites
Authors: England C. Y. , Nicholls A. M. 
Published: November 2004

AbstractBackground  The Internet may be a useful resource for people with coeliac disease as a great deal of health‐related information is published online. However, not all of it is accurate. It has been suggested that accurate information is most likely found on transparent sites and kitemarks are awarded on this basis. This paper examines whether the Internet is a useful resource for people with coeliac disease and whether transparency criteria can be used in identifying accurate sites.Method  An evaluation tool was developed using selected transparency criteria and clinical guidelines for accuracy. A total of 63 websites were evaluated.Results  In the study, 66% of the websites scored less than 50% for accuracy. This was primarily because of incomplete information but 15.9% of sites contained inaccuracies. Over 50% of sites scored less than 50% for transparency. No correlation was found between sites that scored highly for accuracy and those that scored highly for transparency.Conclusion  There are useful information available for people with coeliac disease but transparency criteria alone cannot be used to identify accurate sites.
Canadian dietitians’ views and practices regarding obesity and weight management
Authors: Barr S. I. , Yarker K. V. , Levy‐Milne R. , Chapman G. E. 
Published: November 2004

AbstractObjective  To provide insight into Canadian dietitians’ attitudes and practices regarding obesity and weight management.Design  Cross‐sectional mail survey of a stratified random sample of members of Canadian dietetic associations.Subjects  A total of 514 dietitians (74% of those surveyed), 350 (69%) of whom actively counselled overweight/obese clients.Measurements  Participants received a questionnaire to assess dietitians’ attitudes regarding obesity and overweight, views regarding their role in weight management, counselling practices, and the criteria used to judge success. Demographic variables were collected.Results  Most dietitians believed that obesity contributes to morbidity and mortality, and that small weight losses produced important health benefits. However, 80% agreed that health indicators other than weight loss should be the focus of obesity management, and 55% specifically recommended that clients not weigh themselves. Instead, weight management was promoted by recommending healthy eating and increased physical activity. Three‐quarters agreed that they are the profession best trained to manage obesity but two‐thirds believed their time would be better spent preventing rather than managing obesity. Dietitians most valued education received from on‐the‐job support and mentoring from other dietitians. Participants reported wanting to learn more about motivational and behavioural modification counselling techniques.Conclusions  Canadian dietitians follow a lifestyle approach to weight management. Studies are required to formally assess the effectiveness of various aspects of this approach.
Attitudes and barriers to dietary advice aimed at reducing risk of type 2 diabetes in first‐degree relatives of patients with type 2 diabetes
Authors: Brekke H. K. , Sunesson Å. , Axelsen M. , Lenner R. A. 
Published: November 2004

AbstractObjective  To evaluate the attitudes to and adoption of dietary advice in nondiabetic first‐degree relatives of patients with type 2 diabetes and to examine barriers to adherence.Design  One‐year controlled intervention study, where treatment group (n = 73) received lifestyle education. Attitudes towards dietary advice, change in dietary habits and importance of potential barriers to adherence were evaluated by questionnaires. Nondiabetic relatives (25–55 years; males and females) of individuals with type 2 diabetes were recruited. Education was based on current nutrition recommendations and aimed at improving dietary fat quality, increasing intake of fruit and vegetables, with additional advice to reduce dietary glycaemic index (GI).Main outcome measures  Attitudes and importance of barriers were classified by the intervened subjects into four categories ranging from ‘No problem’ to ‘Yes, definitely a problem’. Dietary adherence was monitored by food frequency questionnaire at baseline and after 1 year.Results  Participants were generally in favour of advice aimed at improving dietary fat quality. Attitudes towards advice to reduce GI varied widely. Food selection changed in accordance with predefined dietary goals. ‘Forgetfulness’, ‘low availability in lunch restaurant’ and ‘lack of ideas for cooking’ were barriers to adherence.Conclusions  Dietary advice aimed at reducing risk of type 2 diabetes was generally positively received and adopted in subjects with heredity for the disease. The most prevalent barriers reported are potentially modifiable.
Home enteral feeding audit
Authors: Evans S. , MacDonald A. , Holden C. 
Published: November 2004

AbstractObjective  To determine the main problems that families experience in the first month after their child is discharged from hospital on home enteral tube feeds (HETF) in terms of obtaining feed and equipment, managing tube feeding and accessing health professionals.Methods  A multiple choice/short answer questionnaire was used to interview 81 parents/carers of children aged 0–16 years discharged from a supra regional children's hospital on HETF for the first time between December 2001 and August 2003. Questions addressed issues such as: contact with the home delivery company (HDC); delivery of feed and equipment; training; ability to access help; illnesses associated with tube feeding; and understanding of procedures post‐discharge.Results  The main problems identified were: delayed first deliveries (≥7 days post‐discharge; 47%); equipment missing from the first delivery (41%); difficulty obtaining a prescription from the general practitioner (GP) (17%); changing to different equipment post‐discharge with minimal training on the new equipment (26%).Conclusions  There were many problems with delays in delivery of equipment, incorrect equipment and changing of equipment when patients were first discharged on HETF. Significant improvements are necessary in organization of home enteral feeding systems when patients are first discharged.
Sleep complaints in patients with myotonic dystrophy
Authors: Laberge Luc , Bégin Paul , Montplaisir Jacques , Mathieu Jean 
Published: November 2004

SummaryThe aim of this study was to document the clinical picture of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and of other sleep disturbances, and to study the relationship of daytime sleepiness to anthropometric data, muscular impairment, and CTG trinucleotide repeat expansion in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1). A total of 157 DM1 patients were surveyed using a modified version of the Sleep Questionnaire and Assessment of Wakefulness. Other measurements included muscular impairment rating and the size of the trinucleotide repeat. Factor analysis and reliability estimates were used to produce a daytime sleepiness scale with five items of the questionnaire. Thirty‐eight healthy family members were studied as control subjects. It was found that EDS was present in 33.1% of DM1 patients. Severity of daytime sleepiness correlated with the degree of muscular impairment but not with age, gender, body mass index, age at onset of symptoms, duration of illness, and CTG repeat. DM1 patients reported a longer sleep period, a less restorative sleep, and more difficulty falling asleep, being alert in the morning and staying awake after meals than controls, but a similar incidence of narcolepsy auxiliary symptoms. Compared with DM1 patients without EDS, those with EDS reported greater hypnagogic hallucinations, and greater pain associated with nocturnal awakenings and in their legs upon morning awakenings. In sum, both DM1 patients with and without EDS exhibit characteristics of sleep duration and sleepiness comparable with those found in idiopathic hypersomnia. The severity of daytime sleepiness is weakly related to the extent of muscular impairment but not to CTG repeat.
Is there a specific polysomnographic sleep pattern in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder?
Authors: Kirov Roumen , Kinkelbur Joerg , Heipke Susanne , Kostanecka‐Endress Tatiana , Westhoff Moritz , Cohrs Stefan , Ruther Eckart , Hajak Goran , Banaschewski Tobias , Rothenberger Aribert 
Published: November 2004

SummaryThe aim of the study was to characterize the sleep pattern in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). By means of polysomnography (PSG), sleep patterns were studied in 17 unmedicated preadolescent boys rigorously diagnosed with ADHD and 17 control boys precisely matched for age and intelligence. Although ADHD children did not display a general sleep alteration, major PSG data showed a significant increase in the duration of the absolute rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and the number of sleep cycles in ADHD group when compared with controls. In addition, REM sleep latency tended to be shorter in ADHD children. These results suggest that in ADHD children, a forced REM sleep initiation may produce a higher incidence of sleep cycles and may also contribute to an increased duration of the absolute REM sleep. The overall pattern of the findings implies that a forced ultradian cycling appears characteristic for the sleep in ADHD children, which may be related to alterations of brain monoamines and cortical inhibitory control accompanying the ADHD psychopathology.
The nature of arousal in sleep
Authors: Halász Péter , Terzano Mario , Parrino Liborio , Bódizs Róbert 
Published: November 2004

SummaryThe role of arousals in sleep is gaining interest among both basic researchers and clinicians. In the last 20 years increasing evidence shows that arousals are deeply involved in the pathophysiology of sleep disorders. The nature of arousals in sleep is still a matter of debate. According to the conceptual framework of the American Sleep Disorders Association criteria, arousals are a marker of sleep disruption representing a detrimental and harmful feature for sleep. In contrast, our view indicates arousals as elements weaved into the texture of sleep taking part in the regulation of the sleep process. In addition, the concept of micro‐arousal (MA) has been extended, incorporating, besides the classical low‐voltage fast‐rhythm electroencephalographic (EEG) arousals, high‐amplitude EEG bursts, be they like delta‐like or K‐complexes, which reflects a special kind of arousal process, mobilizing parallely antiarousal swings. In physiologic conditions, the slow and fast MA are not randomly scattered but appear structurally distributed within sleep representing state‐specific arousal responses. MA preceded by slow waves occurs more frequently across the descending part of sleep cycles and in the first cycles, while the traditional fast type of arousals across the ascending slope of cycles prevails during the last third of sleep. The uniform arousal characteristics of these two types of MAs is supported by the finding that different MAs are associated with an increasing magnitude of vegetative activation ranging hierarchically from the weaker slow EEG types (coupled with mild autonomic activation) to the stronger rapid EEG types (coupled with a vigorous autonomic activation). Finally, it has been ascertained that MA are not isolated events but are basically endowed with a periodic nature expressed in non‐rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep by the cyclic alternating pattern (CAP). Understanding the role of arousals and CAP and the relationship between physiologic and pathologic MA can shed light on the adaptive properties of the sleeping brain and provide insight into the pathomechanisms of sleep disturbances. Functional significance of arousal in sleep, and particularly in NREM sleep, is to ensure the reversibility of sleep, without which it would be identical to coma. Arousals may connect the sleeper with the surrounding world maintaining the selection of relevant incoming information and adapting the organism to the dangers and demands of the outer world. In this dynamic perspective, ongoing phasic events carry on the one hand arousal influences and on the other elements of information processing. The other function of arousals is tailoring the more or less stereotyped endogenously determined sleep process driven by chemical influences according to internal and external demands. In this perspective, arousals shape the individual course of night sleep as a variation of the sleep program.
Fine‐scale spatial genetic correlation analyses reveal strong female philopatry within a brush‐tailed rock‐wallaby colony in southeast Queensland
Authors: HAZLITT S. L. , ELDRIDGE M. D. B. , GOLDIZEN A. W. 
Published: November 2004

AbstractWe combine spatial data on home ranges of individuals and microsatellite markers to examine patterns of fine‐scale spatial genetic structure and dispersal within a brush‐tailed rock‐wallaby (Petrogale penicillata) colony at Hurdle Creek Valley, Queensland. Brush‐tailed rock‐wallabies were once abundant and widespread throughout the rocky terrain of southeastern Australia; however, populations are nearly extinct in the south of their range and in decline elsewhere. We use pairwise relatedness measures and a recent multilocus spatial autocorrelation analysis to test the hypotheses that in this species, within‐colony dispersal is male‐biased and that female philopatry results in spatial clusters of related females within the colony. We provide clear evidence for strong female philopatry and male‐biased dispersal within this rock‐wallaby colony. There was a strong, significant negative correlation between pairwise relatedness and geographical distance of individual females along only 800 m of cliff line. Spatial genetic autocorrelation analyses showed significant positive correlation for females in close proximity to each other and revealed a genetic neighbourhood size of only 600 m for females. Our study is the first to report on the fine‐scale spatial genetic structure within a rock‐wallaby colony and we provide the first robust evidence for strong female philopatry and spatial clustering of related females within this taxon. We discuss the ecological and conservation implications of our findings for rock‐wallabies, as well as the importance of fine‐scale spatial genetic patterns in studies of dispersal behaviour.
Prevalence and differential host‐specificity of two avian blood parasite genera in the Australo‐Papuan region
Authors: BEADELL JON S. , GERING EBEN , AUSTIN JEREMY , DUMBACHER JOHN P. , PEIRCE MIKE A. , PRATT THANE K. , ATKINSON CARTER T. , FLEISCHER ROBERT C. 
Published: November 2004

AbstractThe degree to which widespread avian blood parasites in the generaPlasmodiumandHaemoproteuspose a threat to novel hosts depends in part on the degree to which they are constrained to a particular host or host family. We examined the host distribution and host‐specificity of these parasites in birds from two relatively understudied and isolated locations: Australia and Papua New Guinea. Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), we detected infection in 69 of 105 species, representing 44% of individuals surveyed (n = 428). Across host families, prevalence ofHaemoproteusranged from 13% (Acanthizidae) to 56% (Petroicidae) while prevalence ofPlasmodiumranged from 3% (Petroicidae) to 47% (Ptilonorhynchidae). We recovered 78 unique mitochondrial lineages from 155 sequences. Related lineages ofHaemoproteuswere more likely to derive from the same host family than predicted by chance at shallow (average LogDet genetic distance = 0,n = 12,P = 0.001) and greater depths (average distance = 0.014,n = 11,P < 0.001) within the parasite phylogeny. Within two majorHaemoproteussubclades identified in a maximum likelihood phylogeny, host‐specificity was evident up to parasite genetic distances of 0.029 and 0.007 based on logistic regression. We found no significant host relationship among lineages ofPlasmodiumby any method of analysis. These results support previous evidence of strong host‐family specificity inHaemoproteusand suggest that lineages ofPlasmodiumare more likely to form evolutionarily–stable associations with novel hosts.
The rare silver gum, Eucalyptus cordata, is leaving its trace in the organellar gene pool of Eucalyptus globulus
Authors: MCKINNON GAY E. , VAILLANCOURT RENÉ E. , STEANE DOROTHY A. , POTTS BRAD M. 
Published: November 2004

AbstractThe process of genetic assimilation of rare species by hybridizing congeners has been documented in a number of plant genera. This raises the possibility that some of the genetic diversity found in phylogeographical studies of widespread species has been acquired through hybridization with species that are now rare or extinct. In this fine‐scale phylogeographical analysis, we show that a rare eucalypt species is leaving its trace in the chloroplast genome of a more abundant congener. The heart‐leafed silver gum, Eucalyptus cordata, is a rare endemic of south‐eastern Tasmania. Its populations are scattered amidst populations of more abundant related species, including the Tasmanian blue gum, Eucalyptus globulus. Using 339 samples from across the full range of both species, we compared chloroplast (cp) DNA haplotype phylogeography in E. globulus and E. cordata. The genealogy and distribution of chloroplast haplotypes suggest that E. globulus has acquired cpDNA from E. cordata in at least four different mixed populations. Shared haplotypes are highest in E. globulus sampled within 2 km of known E. cordata populations and drop to zero at a distance of 25 km from the nearest known E. cordata population. Localized haplotype sharing occurs in the absence of obvious hybrid zones or locally shared nuclear ribosomal DNA sequences. Given that the future loss of E. cordata from some mixed populations is likely, these findings indicate that phylogeographical analyses of organellar DNA should consider the possibility of introgression, even from species that have been eliminated from the sites of interest.
Ecological and life history characteristics predict population genetic divergence of two salmonids in the same landscape
Authors: WHITELEY ANDREW R. , SPRUELL PAUL , ALLENDORF FRED W. 
Published: November 2004

AbstractEcological and life history characteristics such as population size, dispersal pattern, and mating system mediate the influence of genetic drift and gene flow on population subdivision. Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) and mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni) differ markedly in spawning location, population size and mating system. Based on these differences, we predicted that bull trout would have reduced genetic variation within and greater differentiation among populations compared with mountain whitefish. To test this hypothesis, we used microsatellite markers to determine patterns of genetic divergence for each species in the Clark Fork River, Montana, USA. As predicted, bull trout had a much greater proportion of genetic variation partitioned among populations than mountain whitefish. Among all sites,FSTwas seven times greater for bull trout (FST = 0.304 for bull trout, 0.042 for mountain whitefish. After removing genetically differentiated high mountain lake sites for each speciesFST, was 10 times greater for bull trout (FST = 0.176 for bull trout;FST = 0.018 for mountain whitefish). The same characteristics that affect dispersal patterns in these species also lead to predictions about the amount and scale of adaptive divergence among populations. We provide a theoretical framework that incorporates variation in ecological and life history factors, neutral divergence, and adaptive divergence to interpret how neutral and adaptive divergence might be correlates of ecological and life history factors.
Genetic drift outweighs balancing selection in shaping post‐bottleneck major histocompatibility complex variation in New Zealand robins (Petroicidae)
Authors: MILLER HILARY C. , LAMBERT DAVID M. 
Published: November 2004

AbstractThe Chatham Island black robin, Petroica traversi, is a highly inbred, endangered passerine with extremely low levels of variation at hypervariable neutral DNA markers. In this study we investigated variation in major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II genes in both the black robin and its nonendangered relative, the South Island robin Petroica australis australis. Previous studies have shown that Petroica have at least four expressed class II B MHC genes. In this study, the sequences of introns flanking exon 2 of these loci were characterized to design primers for peptide‐binding region (PBR) sequence analysis. Intron sequences were comprised of varying numbers of repeated units, with highly conserved regions immediately flanking exon 2. Polymerase chain reaction primers designed to this region amplified three or four sequences per black robin individual, and eight to 14 sequences per South Island robin individual. MHC genes are fitness‐related genes thought to be under balancing selection, so they may be more likely to retain variation in bottlenecked populations. To test this, we compared MHC variation in the black robin with artificially bottlenecked populations of South Island robin, and with their respective source populations, using restriction fragment length polymorphism analyses and DNA sequencing of the PBR. Our results indicate that the black robin is monomorphic at class II B MHC loci, while both source and bottlenecked populations of South Island robin have retained moderate levels of variation. Comparison of MHC variation with minisatellite DNA variation indicates that genetic drift outweighs balancing selection in determining MHC diversity in the bottlenecked populations. However, balancing selection appears to influence MHC diversity over evolutionary timescales, and the effects of gene conversion are evident.
On the origins of medfly invasion and expansion in Australia
Authors: BONIZZONI M. , GUGLIELMINO C. R. , SMALLRIDGE C. J. , GOMULSKI M. , MALACRIDA A. R. , GASPERI G. 
Published: November 2004

AbstractAs a result of their rapid expansion and large larval host range, true fruit flies are among the world's most important agricultural pest species. Among them, Ceratitis capitata has become a model organism for studies on colonization and invasion processes. The genetic aspects of the medfly invasion process have already been analysed throughout its range, with the exception of Australia. Bioinvasion into Australia is an old event: medfly were first captured in Australia in 1895, near Perth. After briefly appearing in Tasmania and the eastern states of mainland Australia, medfly had disappeared from these areas by the 1940s. Currently, they are confined to the western coastal region. South Australia seems to be protected from medfly infestations both by the presence of an inhospitable barrier separating it from the west and by the limited number of transport routes. However, numerous medfly outbreaks have occurred since 1946, mainly near Adelaide. Allele frequency data at 10 simple sequence repeat loci were used to study the genetic structure of Australian medflies, to infer the historical pattern of invasion and the origin of the recent outbreaks. The combination of phylogeographical analysis and Bayesian tests showed that colonization of Australia was a secondary colonization event from the Mediterranean basin and that Australian medflies were unlikely to be the source for the initial Hawaiian invasion. Within Australia, the Perth area acted as the core range and was the source for medfly bioinvasion in both Western and South Australia. Incipient differentiation, as a result of habitat fragmentation, was detected in some localized areas at the periphery of the core range.