bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Causes and management of patient aggression and violence: staff and patient perspectives
Authors: Duxbury Joy , Whittington Richard 
Published: May 2005

Aim.  This paper reports a study of staff and patient perspectives on the causes of patient aggression and the way it is managed.Background.  The incidence of aggression in healthcare is reportedly on the increase, and concerns about the management of this problem are growing.Method.  A convenience sample of 80 patients and 82 nurses from three inpatient mental healthcare wards were surveyed using The Management of Aggression and Violence Attitude Scale. A further five patients and five nurses from the same sample participated in a number of follow‐up interviews.Results.  Patients perceived environmental conditions and poor communication to be a significant precursor of aggressive behaviour. Nurses, in comparison, viewed the patients’ mental illnesses to be the main reason for aggression, although the negative impact of the inpatient environment was recognized. From interview responses, it was evident that both sets of respondents were dissatisfied with a restrictive and under‐resourced provision that leads to interpersonal tensions.Conclusion.  There are differences between the views of staff and patients about reasons for aggression and its management. Future approaches therefore need to be developed that address these opposing views. For example, training in the use of fundamental therapeutic communication skills was advocated by patients, whilst the need for greater attention to organizational deficits was advocated by nurses. A move away from reliance on the use of medication was also felt to be necessary. Evaluation of local needs and practices must be an integral part of this process.
Telenursing and patients’ recovery from bypass surgery
Authors: Hartford Kathleen 
Published: May 2005

Aim.  This paper reports the qualitative findings of qualitative interviews conducted as part of a study assessing the effectiveness of structured, postdischarge, telephone intervention for patients and their partners recovering from bypass surgery. The data reported here describe the postoperative recovery experiences of a small sample of patients (n = 10) and the intervention role of the specialist nurse delivering the intervention.Background.  Reduced length of hospital stay for bypass patients means that there are fewer opportunities to provide necessary information and respond to patient concerns in hospital, and much of the process of wound healing and regaining functioning that would once have taken place in hospital now takes place at home and place additional burdens on patients and their caregivers.Method.  The study was a randomized controlled trial of a telephone intervention aimed at reducing anxiety for patients experiencing a first bypass, and for their caregivers. The intervention consisted of a series of protocols delivered by a nurse with cardiac experience. It was conducted via telephone at discharge and on days 1, 2, 4, 7 and weeks 2 and 7 postdischarge. In the qualitative component of the study, a purposive sample of telephone calls in the treatment group was analysed and data saturation was achieved with 10 transcripts.Findings.  Three major patient concerns emerged: physical, affective and lifestyle changes. Anxiety about speed of discharge was a common concern at discharge and at day 1. Otherwise, physical concerns predominated during the first week. At day 7 and after, a shift began to occur to longer term, future‐oriented concerns. By week 7, most patients were planning for return to normal activities, and several were making lifestyle changes. The specialist nurse was able to give personalized health promotion information at a time that was appropriate for individual patients.Conclusion.  Using a qualitative interview method made it possible to understand patients’ concerns and study the working of telenursing interventions in terms of providing timely reassurance and health promotion. Further research is needed to test the generalizability of the findings.
Patient satisfaction with triage nursing care in Hong Kong
Authors: Chan Jamie Nga Han , Chau Janita 
Published: May 2005

Aim.  This paper reports a study to examine the relationship between patient satisfaction and triage nursing care in order to assist nurses in defining more clearly their roles, and ultimately to improve the quality of care delivered to emergency patients.Background.  Patient satisfaction is considered an important indicator of quality care from the perspective of the consumer and has been widely studied in many settings. However, few studies have examined patient satisfaction with emergency nursing services in the particular area of triage.Methods.  A descriptive, correlational study was conducted in 2001 in one urban acute hospital in Hong Kong using Consumer Emergency Care Satisfaction Scale (CECSS), and patient and nurse demographic data were also collected. Following a power calculation, systematic sampling was carried out, and the final sample consisted of 56 urgent, semi‐urgent and non‐urgent patients triaged. The response rate was 61%.Results.  The majority of the participants were satisfied with their triage nursing care and teaching. However, difficulties were encountered during the data collection process, resulting in a relatively low response rate. Correlational analyses revealed that patient satisfaction with triage nursing care was statistically significantly correlated with age and the type of nursing intervention received. Older people were more satisfied with the teaching offered by triage nurses and patients who had received specific nursing interventions gave more positive ratings on the teaching subscale of the CECSS. There were no statistically significant relationships between patient satisfaction with triage nursing care and nurse characteristics, including gender, work experiences and educational level.Conclusions.  Patients were generally satisfied with the care provided by the triage nurses. Measuring patient satisfaction with triage nursing care remains a major challenge for health care providers in emergency care settings.
Agents of care and agents of the state: bio‐power and nursing practice
Authors: Perron Amélie , Fluet Carol , Holmes Dave 
Published: May 2005

Aim.  This paper presents a conceptual analysis of the concept of bio‐power in the context of nursing, including a critique of the widespread rhetoric that nursing is deprived of power and consequently is an apolitical agency.Background.  Traditionally, power tends to be defined in terms of repression, interdiction and punishment. On the contrary, work by Michel Foucault with regard to bio‐power brings into evidence the productive and positive nature of power at the heart of society. Despite being often used by various academic and professional disciplines, the concept of bio‐power is rarely cited in nursing.Findings.  Nursing as a profession is at the heart of bio‐power in that nurses lie at the crossroads between the anatomo‐political and bio‐political ranges of power over life. They therefore contribute to social regulation through a vast array of diverse political technologies. Nurses are at the flexing point of the state's requirements and of individual and collective aspirations. They occupy a strategic position that allows them to act as instruments of governmentality. Consequently, nurses constitute a fully‐fledged political entity making use of disciplinary technologies and responding to state ideologies.Conclusion.  The concept of bio‐power offers a rich theoretical perspective for nursing, as it questions the definition of nursing care as neutral and mainly provided according to patients’ best interests.
Cognitive behavioural therapy for primary insomnia: a systematic review
Authors: Wang Mei‐Yeh , Wang Shu‐Yi , Tsai Pei‐Shan 
Published: May 2005

Aim.  This paper reports a systematic review of seven studies evaluating the efficacy of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for persistent primary insomnia.Background.  Insomnia is one of the most common health complaints reported in the primary care setting. Although non‐pharmacological treatments such as the CBT have been suggested to be useful in combating the persistent insomnia, the efficacy and clinical utility of CBT for primary insomnia have yet to be determined.Method.  A systematic search of Ovid, MEDLINE, psychINFO, PsycARTICLES, CINAHL, and EMBASE databases of papers published between 1993 and 2004 was conducted, using the following medical subject headings or key words: insomnia, primary insomnia, psychophysiological insomnia, sleep maintenance disorders, sleep initiation disorders, non‐pharmacological treatment, and cognitive behavioural therapy. A total of seven papers was included in the review.Findings.  Stimulus control, sleep restriction, sleep hygiene education and cognitive restructuring were the main treatment components. Interventions were provided by psychiatrists except for one study, in which the CBT was delivered by nurses. Among beneficial outcomes, improvement of sleep efficacy, sleep onset latency and wake after sleep onset were the most frequently reported. In addition, participants significantly reduced sleep medication use. Some studies gave follow‐up data which indicated that the CBT produced durable clinical changes in total sleep time and night‐time wakefulness.Conclusions.  These randomized controlled trial studies demonstrated that CBT was superior to any single‐component treatment such as stimulus control, relaxation training, educational programmes, or other control conditions. However, heterogeneity in patient assessment, CBT protocols, and outcome indicators made determination of the relative efficacy and clinical utility of the therapy difficult. Therefore, the standard components of CBT need to be clearly defined. In addition, a comprehensive assessment of patients is essential for future studies.
Ecomapping: an innovative research tool for nurses
Authors: Ray Robin A. , Street Annette F. 
Published: May 2005

Aim.  This paper explores the use of ecomaps as a research tool for capturing data, using the example of the dynamic nature of social networks from which informal carers of people living with motor neurone disease draw their support.Background.  The need for social support in relation to health maintenance and disease management has been identified in the literature but little has been published about ways to investigate support networks. Existing discussion in the literature about the use of ecomaps as a clinical tool in social work creates a valuable framework for data collection which can be readily adapted by nurse researchers.Method.  We used ecomaps as part of a repertoire of research tools to gather data about the social networks of carers of people living with motor neurone disease. Primary carers participated in three interviews and collaborated in ecomap construction over a period of 10 months during 2003. Analytical correlations were made between ecomaps and interview data.Findings.  Ecomaps provided a visual means of facilitating discussions around the structure and strength of networks. Being able to represent the social networks visually through ecomapping enabled people to identify each member of the network, examine the strength of each relationship and ascertain the sources of nurture and tension over time. Limitations to this type of data collection arise when participants try to quantify relationships that have been visually produced.Conclusion.  Ecomapping is a valuable research tool because it provides visual representation of supportive care networks, capturing strategic data through symbols expressing relationships that may be inadequately portrayed in words. The ecomap incorporates the use of consistent symbols that standardize recipient responses, enabling data comparisons to be made.
Attachment in older adulthood: concept clarification
Authors: Cookman Craig 
Published: May 2005

Aims. This paper is an analysis to clarify the concept of attachment by: (1) specifying the antecedents of attachment in older adulthood, (2) describing the defining or critical attributes of attachment as relevant for development beyond adulthood, including older adulthood and old age, and (3) specifying the consequences of attachment in older adulthood.Background. Attachment is a concept that has been studied both within and outside the discipline of nursing. Most of the scholarly work on the concept has involved investigations of the concept as it applies at very early developmental phases of the lifespan. Despite this concentration of effort on the concept in childhood, theorists have consistently called for attention to the concept in adulthood and older adulthood to advance our understanding of how such close and supportive relationships relate to health.Results. Antecedents of attachment behaviour include any number of fear‐provoking or challenging situations, as well as interactions that involve conflict. Illnesses commonly have these characteristics and so are broadly included as antecedents. Defining attributes of attachment behaviour include three distinct behaviours: (1) proximity, or keeping to one or more ‘preferred others’, (2) protest following involuntary and perceived permanent separation from a preferred other and, (3) the presence of a secure base, viewed as necessary for developmental exploration and growth. Consequences include environmental interaction secure in the belief that a safe haven exists should reliable clues to danger present themselves, and the mobilization of personal and interpersonal assets called developmental resources.Conclusions. Nursing implications include the ability of nurses to intervene positively with older clients who may be experiencing age‐related transitions that affect health. Knowledge about attachment will help nurses mediate the potentially negative impact of health transitions on developmental tasks and promote high‐level wellness and successful ageing.
Reaction of Cotton Cultivars and an F2 Population to Stem Inoculation with Isolates Verticillium dahliae
Authors: Bolek Y. , Bell A. A. , El‐Zik K. M. , Thaxton P. M. , Magill C. W. 
Published: May 2005

AbstractFour Verticillium dahliae isolates (V76, TS‐2, PH, and V44) were used in screening four cotton cultivars (Pima S‐7, Acala Prema, M‐315 and Acala 44). Pima S‐7 and Acala Prema gave the highest resistance reactions and Acala 44 was the most susceptible. Isolate V76 of V. dahliae was the most virulent. An interspecific cross between the resistant cv Pima S‐7 (Gossypium barbadense) and the susceptible cv. Acala 44 (G. hirsutum) was made and the F2 population phenotyped for Verticillium wilt effect. Phenotyping of plant reaction to the disease was quantified by using a set of six growth parameters (number of healthy leaves, number of nodes, leaf weight, stem weight, leaf to stem ratio, and total shoot weight) measured 3 weeks after inoculation. The F2 phenotypic distribution of these parameters suggests that distribution is towards resistance and polygenic. Transgressive segregation also was observed. The number of healthy leaves and total shoot weight were found to be the best indicators of resistance. Results obtained in this study will be useful to quantify resistance to V. dahliae and identify the best parameters to phenotype in genetic studies.
Effect of Carbon Source on Production of Lytic Enzymes by the Sclerotial Parasites Trichoderma atroviride and Coniothyrium minitans
Authors: Kaur J. , Munshi G. D. , Singh R. S. , Koch E. 
Published: May 2005

AbstractThree isolates of Trichoderma atroviride and two isolates of Coniothyrium minitans known to efficiently degrade sclerotia of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum were cultured on minimal medium with sucrose, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), xylan, laminarin, colloidal chitin or powdered sclerotia as carbon source. The activity of endochitinase, endo‐β‐1,3‐glucanase, endoxylanase and endocellulase in culture filtrates was determined after 7 and 15 days of culture using dye‐labelled substrates. The strongest inducers of chitinase were colloidal chitin and sclerotia powder. Chitinase activity appeared to be faster induced in the isolates of T. atroviride than in the isolates of C. minitans, but the maximum level of activity present in culture filtrates of the two species was similar. With CMC and xylan as carbon source, concurrent production of the corresponding enzymes was observed for the Trichoderma isolates. The isolates of C. minitans produced cellulase on xylan but not on CMC, whereas xylanase was produced on both carbon sources. Laminarin induced the formation of glucanases in the three isolates of T. atroviride but not the isolates of C. minitans. However, in the sclerotia‐containing cultures of C. minitans glucanase activity was even higher than in the respective cultures of the Trichoderma isolates. During the 31‐day study period, the pattern of enzyme production in shake cultures containing sclerotia powder was very similar for the isolates of T. atroviride and C. minitans. Glucanase activity generally reached a peak 24 days after inoculation of the flasks, whereas the activity of chitinase, cellulase and xylanase remained fairly constant throughout the experiment.
Prevalence of Barrett's esophagus in Korea
Authors: KIM JIN YONG , KIM YOUNG SUN , JUNG MOON‐KI , PARK JONG‐JAE , KANG DONG HOON , KIM JAE SEON , SONG CHI‐WOOK , LEE SANG WOO , BAK YOUNG‐TAE 
Published: May 2005

AbstractBackground: In contrast to Western countries, the prevalence of Barrett's esophagus (BE) is still believed to be very low in the Far East. The aim of the present paper was to assess the prevalence of BE in Korea.Methods: Nine hundred and ninety‐two consecutive patients undergoing their first diagnostic upper gastrointestinal endoscopies due to various indications were included from four university hospitals in Korea. Esophagus of each patient was examined during insertion of the endoscope with minimum air inflation. From subjects who were found, during endoscopy, to have columnar‐lined esophagus, at least two biopsy samples were taken from the columnar epithelium. Patients exhibiting specialized columnar epithelium on histological examination were diagnosed as having BE.Results: Among 992 patients, 108 cases (10.9%) were endoscopically diagnosed as short‐segment BE, and three cases (0.3%) were endoscopically diagnosed as long‐segment BE. However, only 36 patients (3.6%) met the histological criteria for BE. Among these patients, only one (0.1%) was histologically diagnosed as having long‐segment BE. Reflux esophagitis, mostly in a mild degree, was found in 25.0% of the BE group, and 8.6% of the non‐BE group (P = 0.0022). Hiatal hernias were more commonly found in the BE group than in the non‐BE group (22.2% vs 8.9%, P = 0.0163).Conclusions: Although the prevalence of BE in Korea appears to be lower than the reported rates from Western countries, it may not be as low as was previously thought.
Reduced basal activity and increased functional homogeneity in sensorimotor and striatum of a Parkinson's disease rat model: a functional MRI study
Authors: Pelled Galit , Bergman Hagai , Ben‐Hur Tamir , Goelman Gadi 
Published: May 2005

AbstractFunctional neuro‐imaging studies of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and animal models show inconsistent cortical responses to sensory stimulation: some present increased sensorimotor cortex activation contradicting classical basal ganglia–cortex circuitry models, whereas others show decreased activation. As functional neuro‐imaging activation is defined as the signal difference between stimulation ON and stimulation OFF, reduced ‘activation’ can point to either increased neuronal activity during stimulation ON or to decreased basal neuronal activity during stimulation OFF. A unique non‐invasive method that uses the temporal and the spatial variances of functional magnetic resonance imaging signal is employed here to compare basal neuronal activity levels and ‘functional homogeneity’ between groups. Based on the assumption that the temporal variance reflects average neuronal activity, the variance of activity within a predefined region is defined as the region's ‘functional homogeneity’, which is assumed to estimate neuronal synchronization. Comparison of temporal and spatial variances of the sensorimotor cortex and the striatum in the 6‐hydroxydopamine (6‐OHDA) PD rat model and a control rat group show bilaterally decreased temporal and spatial variances in the 6‐OHDA rat group, suggesting bilateral reduction of basal neuronal activity levels together with an increase in local neuronal synchronization in line with classical basal ganglia–cortex circuit models.
Ecological behaviour of herbaceous forest species along a pH gradient: a comparison between oceanic and semicontinental regions in northern France
Authors: Coudun Christophe , Gégout Jean‐Claude 
Published: May 2005

ABSTRACTAim  On the basis of 2402 phytoecological relevés, with complete species lists, and real pH measurements resulting from chemical analyses of the top layer of forest soils, this paper compares quantitatively the ecological response of 46 herbaceous forest species along a pH gradient in two regions of northern France.Location  The two regions investigated are oceanic north‐western France (NW) and semicontinental north‐eastern France (NE).Methods  For each of the 46 species with more than 50 occurrences in both NW and NE regions, an ecological response curve was computed with simple logistic regression models, and two synthetic numerical values were derived: ecological optimum (OPT) and ecological amplitude (AMP). A comparison of the ecological behaviour of species present in both regions was performed in terms of shift in optimum and/or amplitude.Results  All 46 species did reveal a reaction to pH. Our main observation was the relative stability of the behaviour of most species with reference to pH conditions, which is consistent with results from some previous studies. Slight differences regarding the two synthetic parameters (OPT and AMP) were however observed between the NW and NE regions, probably due to a form of competitive release in neutral environments in the NW.Main conclusions  Among the main possibilities that could explain a geographical shift in the ecological behaviour of herbaceous species, competitive effects are, we suggest, the most plausible explanation. In the light of former studies, it seems that further analyses of geographical shifts in the ecological behaviour of forest plant species over large areas are needed, such as for example over the European continent.Nomenclature  Tutin et al. (2001).