bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Nursing needs of acutely ill older people
Authors: Hancock Karen , Chang Esther , Chenoweth Lynn , Clarke Marie , Carroll Adrian , Jeon Yun‐Hee 
Published: November 2003

Background.  Investigating older acutely ill hospitalized patients’ nursing needs and quality of care is paramount, given the growing pressure on nurses to provide increasingly intensive levels of care to a growing older population while at the same time working with reduced staffing levels.Aims.  The aims of this study were to determine: (1) important aspects of nursing care as perceived by older patients, their family member/carer who observed care during hospitalization, and nurses; (2) satisfaction levels of patients, family/carers and nurses on nursing care received; and (3) mismatches between nursing care priorities and satisfaction with nursing care.Methods.  Two hundred and thirty‐two acutely ill patients aged over 65 years, 99 carers/family members and 90 nurses completed the Caregiving Activities Survey, which measures importance of and satisfaction with various aspects of nursing care. Qualitative data, which qualified responses to survey items, were also obtained from participants.Results.  Patients, carers and nurses perceived that carrying out doctors’ orders was the most important aspect of nursing care, followed by physical care, psychosocial care and discharge planning. Nurses and carers rated physical care, psychosocial care and discharge planning more highly than patients. Physical care was rated highly by patients in terms of importance, but rated moderately in terms of satisfaction. Carers’ and patients’ ratings of satisfaction with physical care were lower than nurses’ ratings of opportunities to provide it. The importance of discharge planning was rated highly by nurses but all groups were only moderately satisfied with this aspect of care.Study limitations.  The findings do not apply to acutely ill older patients with confusion, mental illness or more than early stage dementia.Conclusions.  Patients, nurses and family/carers were generally in agreement about the relative importance of particular aspects of nursing care. Nurses may need to communicate more effectively with older patients and their family carers about the particular roles they will play during the patient's hospital episode, the expectations they have of patients in the process of healing and recovery, and the reasons for the actions they take in aiding this process. The findings are useful in making nurses more aware of the expectations and needs of older hospital patients and their carers. They provide evidence for developing both new models of nursing care for this patient group, and nursing education programmes.
Sclerosing Peritoneal Mesothelioma in a Dog – A Case Report
Authors: Geninet C. , Bernex F. , Rakotovao F. , Crespeau F. L. , Parodi A. L. , Fontaine J.‐J. 
Published: November 2003

SummaryA case of peritoneal sclerosing mesothelioma in a 3‐year‐old German shepherd dog is reported. The dog presented a severe abdominal distension. Cytological examination of the peritoneal fluid revealed anaplastic epithelioid cells. Necropsy findings revealed an irregular‐shaped mass attached to the pancreas and stomach with numerous nodules covering the intestinal and urinary bladder serosa. The diagnosis was made by histology and immunohistochemistry, with cytokeratin, vimentin and calretinin antibodies. Differential diagnosis with chronic peritonitis and spreading of abdominal primary carcinoma is discussed.
Zur artgerechten Haltung von afrikanischen Nacktmullen (Heterocephalus glaber)
Authors: Petry H. 
Published: November 2003

SummaryIt is reported about the keeping of a group of Naked Mole Rats (Heterocephalus glaber; nine males and 13 females), which had been imported from Kenya in 1996. The animals are kept in a small experimental room without windows at permanent darkness, 30 °C environmental temperature and relative humidity above 70%. They live in a glass container, to which a collapsible system of plexiglass tubes is connected. The moles are daily fed ad libitum with different fresh root crops. Until today three adult animals of the colony have died (tooth problems; bite injuries; parturition complication). The first queen of the colony had three litters with altogether 10 puppies, of which four are still alive. It died during its last litter caused by a complicated stillbirth. The female established after that as new queen in the colony had up to now only one litter with two puppies, which did not survive. The evaluation of the motor activity of the naked mole rats – continously recorded by video techniques – showed the period length of their circadian activity rhythm on the average with 24 h 13.5 ± 14.4 min. It is supposed that the activity of the mole rats is regulated by the alteration of the local earth magnet field running in a 24‐h rhythm.
Changes in the phosphorylation status of the 27 kDa heat shock protein (HSP27) associated with the modulation of growth and/or differentiation in MCF‐7 cells
Authors: Horman S. , Galand P. , Mosselmans R. , Legros N. , Leclercq G. , Mairesse N. 
Published: November 2003

AbstractWe have used human mammary cells of the MCF‐7 strain, which constitutively express high levels of the small heat shock protein HSP27 and we have compared the changes in the phosphorylation status of this protein together with changes in cell growth and/or morphology induced by the action of one of the following agents: (1) TPA (12‐O‐tetradecanoylphorbol‐13‐acetate), known as a differentiation inducer in MCF‐7 cells; (2) OH‐TAM (hydroxytamoxifen), which exerts a cytostatic and cytotoxic action; or (3) TNFα (tumour necrosis factor), which induces apoptotic cell death in this cell line. Our data show that TPA and TNF stimulate an immediate and massive phosphorylation of HSP27, whereas OH‐TAM affect the phosphorylation status of the protein only after a 3 day delay. In the case of TPA, high levels of HSP27 phosphorylation were maintained for at least 4 days, along with growth inhibition and acquisition by the cells of a secretory phenotype. TPA and OH‐TAM exerted similar immediated effects on cell growth, despite the different time course of their action on HSP27 phosphorylation. This excludes the possibility that the latter is a necessary consequence of, or an absolute requisite to, growth inhibition. With OH‐TAM and TNF the increase in HSP27 phosphorylation was concomitant with the appearance of apoptosis, not observed with TPA. This indicates that increased phosphorylation of HSP27 is not specifically associated with the triggering or the execution of apoptosis in these cells. Altogether, our data support the concept that phosphorylated HSP27 is involved (and might then be rate limiting in some instances) in the execution of vital cell programmes (including resistance to stress, proliferation and differentiation), as well as in that of cell death. This is consistent with its role in actin polymerization and its position downstream of the p38/RK‐type MAPkinase, itself a point of convergence for diverse signal transduction pathways.
Fine analysis of the short arm of chromosome 1 in sporadic and familial pheochromocytoma
Authors: Opocher G. , Schiavi F. , Vettori A. , Pampinella F. , Vitiello L. , Calderan A. , Vianello B. , Murgia A. , Martella M. , Taccaliti A. , Mantero F. , Mostacciuolo M. L. 
Published: November 2003

Summaryobjective  Despite the very recent discovery that about 25% of apparently sporadic forms of pheochromocytoma are actually due to germline mutations of RET, VHL, SDHB or SDHD genes, the genetic bases of the tumourigenesis of this type of cancer are still incompletely understood. Recent studies provided evidence that a new tumour suppressor gene, mapping on the short arm of chromosome 1, could be involved in early tumourigenesis of pheochromocytoma.design  We have performed a fine analysis of loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of this region. In particular, we have analysed 31 highly polymorphic microsatellites distributed at 3·8 Mege base (Mb) mean intervals along the short arm of the chromosome 1 in paired samples of DNA extracted from peripheral blood lymphocytes and tumour tissues.patients  The study was carried out on 38 patients with pheochromocytoma that had been grouped, by careful clinical and molecular investigation, in the following classes: 21 sporadic, five multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2), two type 1 neurofibromatosis (NF1), five von Hippel–Lindau (VHL), one somatic VHL mutated and four nonsyndromic familial cases.results  In 12/21 sporadic cases (57·1%), in 4/5 MEN2 (80%), 2/4 non‐syndromic familial cases (50%), and in 2/2 NF1 (100%), the entire short arm was deleted, while in 6/21 sporadic (28·6%) and 1/5 MEN2 (20%) cases a partial deletion was detected. On the other hand, none of the five cases due to VHL mutation (either germline or somatic) had LOH at chromosome 1. In total, complete or partial deletion of 1p was detected in 27/38 (71%) of the cases. The most frequently deleted marker was D1S2890, which maps at 1p32.1. This region, which spans from 50 to 62 Mb from telomere, was therefore further investigated with markers located at a mean interval of 1·3 Mb in the subset of cases that showed a partial deletion of 1p. This analysis showed that a small region between 55·1 and 59·0 Mb was most frequently missing, which could therefore contain a novel pheochromocytoma locus.conclusions  The results presented here confirm that the short arm of chromosome 1 harbours one or more genes responsible for the development of pheochromocytoma and suggest that one of them could map in a 3·9‐Mb fragment between 1p32.3 and 1p32.1.
Thyroid cancer immuno‐therapy with retroviral and adenoviral vectors expressing granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor and interleukin‐12 in a rat model
Authors: Tanaka Kunihiko , Towata Shinichiro , Nakao Kazuhiko , Mizuguchi Hiroyuki , Hayakawa Takao , Niwa Masami , Ishii Nobuko , Nagayama Yuji 
Published: November 2003

Summarybackground  Introduction of genes encoding immuno‐stimulatory cytokine(s) into cancer cells is well known to enhance anti‐tumour immunity.aim  The present studies were designed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of retroviral‐ and adenoviral‐mediated delivery of IL‐12 and/or granulocyte macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (GM–CSF) genes for thyroid cancer in an immuno‐competent rat model.methods  A rat thyroid cancer cell line FRTL‐Tc syngeneic to Fisher rat was used.results  Expression of these exogenous cytokines did not affect in vitro cell growth. Subcutaneous injection of FRTL‐Tc cells retrovirally transduced with IL‐12 or GM–CSF genes formed significantly smaller tumours than that of the parental cells, but had little effect on growth of distant tumours, suggesting no vaccine effect. Similarly, injection of the cells infected with adenovirus expressing IL‐12 or GM–CSF (AdIL‐12 or AdGM–CSF) almost completely abolished tumourigenicity and injection of AdGM–CSF into pre‐established tumours significantly inhibited growth of the tumours injected; neither, however, showed a systemic vaccine affect. On the other hand, injection of AdIL‐12 into the pre‐established tumours significantly inhibited growth of not only the tumours injected but also distant tumours, indicating induction of systemic anti‐tumour immunity. Serum IL‐12 was detectable only in this approach. There was neither a synergistic or additive effect of these two cytokines.conclusions  Our data demonstrate in a rat thyroid cancer model that only injection of AdIL‐12 into the pre‐established tumours elicited systemic anti‐tumour immunity, but injection of AdGM–CSF or injection of the cells expressing IL‐12 or GM–CSF elicited only local effect, indicating that in situ delivery of IL‐12 gene with adenovirus appears most efficacious but may still require adjuvant modalities to enhance the anti‐tumour effect.
Modelling interactions of food quality and quantity in homeostatic consumers
Authors: STERNER ROBERT 
Published: November 2003

1. Boundaries between growth limitation by carbon (C) and phosphorus (P) in homeostatic heterotrophic consumers such as zooplankton will vary as demands on these two elements vary, as they should at different food quantities. At very low food quantity when production is close to zero, metabolic requirements (for carbon) become more important than growth requirements (for carbon and phosphorus in fixed proportion). Thus, the boundary separating C‐and P‐limited growth should be at a higher C : P ratio at low food quantity than at high food quantity.2. A model including both metabolism and growth indicates that consumer growth should differ between foods of high vs. low phosphorus concentration only when food quantity is above a certain level. Thus, two foods might give identical consumer growth rates at low food quantity but give different consumer growth at higher quantity.3. Solution of the model using parameters based on 2 mm Daphnia compared with a survey of C and P in seston of marine and freshwater sites supports earlier conclusions of the potential importance of food quality constraints on Daphnia growth.
Three regulatory regions of the Aedes aegypti glutamine synthetase gene differentially regulate expression: identification of a crucial regulator in the first exon
Authors: Niu L. L. , Kiley L. M. , Dasgupta R. , Kohler P. , Christensen B. M. 
Published: November 2003

Abstract Aedes aegypti glutamine synthetase (GS) is expressed constitutively at various developmental stages and its relative mRNA abundance increases in the midgut following blood feeding in support of the biosynthesis of chitin, a component of the peritrophic matrix. To understand the regulation of GS expression better, GS‐luciferase reporter fusion genes were constructed and analysed in transiently transfected C6/36 cells. These studies have identified three GS regions: GS‐A, ‐B and ‐C (C1, C2) that are required for efficient transcription. The crucial regulatory DNA sequence is located within 140 nucleotides of the GS‐C region in the first exon. GS‐B region between −209 and +4 contains a negative modulator that represses transcription of the GS‐C promoter, but the 5′‐GS‐A region, between −476 and −282, can negate the transcription inhibition of GS‐B and promote GS transcription of the GS‐C promoter. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays showed that nuclear proteins for GS‐A, GS‐B and GS‐C1 are present in the C6/36 cells, and therefore that GS‐A, GS‐B and GS‐C1 indeed possess regulatory function. By contrast, nuclear proteins isolated from both cultured cells and midgut tissues bound to GS‐C2, suggesting that GS‐C2 plays an important role in GS transcription and that GS‐C2 is regulated by several different and redundant transcription factors to achieve constitutive expression in a wide variety of tissues.
An immune signalling kinase AaMEK3 from mosquitoes: cDNA cloning and characterization
Authors: Huang S.‐J. , Wu R. C.‐C. , Shaio M.‐F. , Wang P. S. , Cho Wen‐Long 
Published: November 2003

AbstractIn mammals, the mitogen‐activated protein (MAP) kinase pathway is one of the four major signalling systems that respond to stress and inflammatory stimuli. A full‐length cDNA corresponding to Aedes aegypti MAP kinase kinase 3 (AaMEK3) was cloned and sequenced. It is 1.7 kb and contains an open reading frame of 334 amino acids and eleven conserved kinase domains, including signatures of a putative serine/threonine kinase active site and an ATP binding site. The messenger (mRNA) and protein expression levels of AaMEK3 are enhanced post bacterial inoculation. The in vitro kinase activity assay reveals that (1) AaMEK3 is not autophosphorylated but can phosphorylate myelin basic protein successfully, and (2) it is slightly enhanced by lipopolysaccharide stimulation. This suggests that AaMEK3 may be involved in mosquito immune signalling.
Characterization of HCF‐1, a determinant of Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus host specificity
Authors: Hefferon K. L. 
Published: November 2003

Abstract Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) infects a wide variety of insect species. A number of AcMNPV late expression factors that are involved in replication have been identified as playing a role in determining host specificity. Host cell factor‐1, or HCF‐1, was previously demonstrated to be essential for viral replication in Tn‐368 cells. Here we demonstrate that HCF‐1 is an early protein and localizes to the cell nucleus. Coprecipitation experiments revealed that HCF‐1 interacts with itself but none of the other late expression factors required for replication in Tn‐368 cells. HCF‐1 mutants were constructed and utilized to search for the domains involved in HCF‐1 biological function and oligomerization. Possible roles of HCF‐1 in determining host specificity are discussed.
Lay conception of hypertension and its significance to clients and professionals in nutrition and health
Authors: Rueda‐Baclig Ma. J. , Florencio C. A. 
Published: November 2003

AbstractBackground  In line with the Philippines' National Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Control Programme, a study was conducted among young adults to determine their concepts and conceptualization of hypertension: its causation, prevention and consequences.Method  Focus group discussions, conducted in the region with the highest prevalence of hypertension in the Philippines, 73 males and females were participated in the age group of 20–39 years, without medical history of the disease and with no training or employment in a health‐related field.Results  Hypertension was perceived not as a discrete disease but interrelated with diseases having ‘blood‐origin’ and common signs and symptoms. It was conceptualized as having multiple causes, acting singly or in combination, with too little or too much food and physical activity as among the causal factors. Perceived pathways in its development were systematic and included both traditional and scientific biomedical concepts. Hypertension was considered a problem not only in the affected individual but also the family.Conclusion  The concepts of hypertension of young adults are multidimensional, interconnected and linked to their day‐to‐day living. In thus conceptualizing the disease, they are able to make sense of it and, when respected by dietetic practitioners, provide guidance for improved communication. The introduction of scientific concepts of hypertension by nutrition and health professionals should draw from, inform and build on, existing lay perceptions.
Malaria parasites lacking eef1a have a normal S/M phase yet grow more slowly due to a longer G1 phase
Authors: Janse Chris J. , Haghparast Alireza , Sperança Márcia A. , Ramesar Jai , Kroeze Hans , Del Portillo Hernando A. , Waters Andrew P. 
Published: November 2003

SummaryEukaryotic elongation factor 1A (eEF1A) plays a central role in protein synthesis, cell growth and morphology. Malaria parasites possess two identical genes encoding eEF1A (eef1aa and eef1ab). Using pbeef1a–Plasmodium berghei mutants that lack an eEF1a gene, we demonstrate that the level of eEF1A production affects the proliferation of blood stages and parasite fitness. Pbeef1a– parasites can complete the vertebrate and mosquito phases of the life cycle, but the growth phase of the asexual blood stages is extended by up to 20%. Analysis of the cell cycle by flow cytometry as well as transcriptional analyses revealed that the duration of the S and M phases and the number of daughter cells produced were not detectably affected, but that the G1 phase is elongated. Thus, as in budding yeast, a growth threshold must be achieved by blood‐stage Plasmodium parasites to permit transition from G1 into S/M phase. Initial analyses indicate that transcriptional events associated with gametocyte development were not remarkably retarded. Insight into protein synthesis and its influence on cell proliferation might be used to generate slow‐growing (attenuated) parasites.
Real‐time weed detection, decision making and patch spraying in maize, sugarbeet, winter wheat and winter barley
Authors: Gerhards R , Christensen S 
Published: November 2003

SummaryInformation on temporal and spatial variation in weed seedling populations within agricultural fields is very important for weed population assessment and management. Most of all, it allows a potential reduction in herbicide use, when post‐emergence herbicides are only applied to field sections with weed infestation levels higher than the economic weed threshold; a review of such work is provided. This paper presents a system for site‐specific weed control in sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris L.), maize (Zea mays L.), winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), including online weed detection using digital image analysis, computer‐based decision making and global positioning systems (GPS)‐controlled patch spraying. In a 4‐year study, herbicide use with this map‐based approach was reduced in winter cereals by 60% for herbicides against broad‐leaved weeds and 90% for grass weed herbicides. In sugarbeet and maize, average savings for grass weed herbicides were 78% in maize and 36% in sugarbeet. For herbicides against broad‐leaved weeds, 11% were saved in maize and 41% in sugarbeet.
Appropriate cut‐off value of 13C‐urea breath test after eradication of Helicobacter pylori infection in Japan
Authors: KATO CHIEKO , SUGIYAMA TOSHIRO , SATO KUNIO , SAITO SHINJI , KUDARA NORIHIKO , ABIKO YUKITO , SASAKI HIROYUKI , CHIBA TOSHIMI , SATOH KIMIHIKO , AKIHAMA TAKASHI , SUZUKI KAZUYUKI 
Published: November 2003

AbstractBackground and Aim:  A cut‐off value of 2.5‰ for the 13C‐urea breath test (UBT) is recommended in Japanese persons, based on the result of a multicenter trial in patients prior to treatment for eradication of Helicobacter pylori. The cut‐off value of 2.5‰ has also been used in the assessment of eradication after treatment. The 6–8‐week evaluation after treatment is recommended in the guidelines of the Japanese Society of Gastroenterology. The present study aimed to prospectively re‐assess the cut‐off value of the 13C‐UBT at 6 weeks after treatment by using the results obtained at 6 months as an indication of true positive or true negative H. pylori infection status.Methods:  One hundred and ninety patients who were positive for H. pylori underwent eradication treatment, and 177 patients of these patients who were assessed as having true positive or true negative H. pylori status  at  6 months  after  treatment  were  evaluated  in  this  study.  Eradication  was  assessed  by 13C‐UBT,  culture,  and  histology  at  6 weeks  and  at  6 months  after  treatment,  and  the  cut‐off  value  of 13C‐UBT at 6 weeks was re‐assessed.Results:  A cut‐off value of 3.5‰. at 6 weeks after treatment showed 97.2% diagnostic accuracy, while a cut‐off value of 2.5‰ at 6 weeks showed 96.0% diagnostic accuracy. For a 3.5‰ cut‐off value, only five patients were positive by 13C‐UBT and were negative by culture and histology at 6 weeks, and three patients were true positive and two were false positive by the 13C‐UBT at 6 months.Conclusion:  A cut‐off value of 3.5‰ for the 13C‐UBT is recommended at 6 weeks after eradication treatment in Japanese persons.