• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.243-246
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• 2015

A 9 month-old female Chihuahua (weighing 1.5 kg) was referred with loud left basal murmur and exercise intolerance. Diagnostic imaging studies revealed the elongation of left ventricle (LV) with classic triple bumps on the main pulmonary artery, aorta and left atrium on the dorsoventral view of radiograph. Echocardiography revealed patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) duct and continuous turbulent shunt flow (maximal velocity 5.73 m/s) between the aorta and pulmonary artery with left to right direction. The PDA in this dog was successfully closed though femoral vein (transvenous approach) using an Amplatzer$^{(R)}$ vascular plug. To the best of author's knowledge, this is the first case of PDA occlusion treated with vascular plug through femoral vein.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.75-92
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• 2021

Purpose: This study aimed to analyze the content and effectiveness of psychosocial support interventions for women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Methods: The following databases were searched with no limitation of the time period: Ovid-MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Ovid-Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, NDSL, KoreaMed, RISS, and KISS. Two investigators independently reviewed and selected articles according to the predefined inclusion/exclusion criteria. ROB 2.0 and the RoBANS 2.0 checklist were used to evaluate study quality. Results: Based on the 14 selected studies, psychosocial support interventions were provided for the purpose of (1) informational support (including GDM and diabetes mellitus information; how to manage diet, exercise, stress, blood glucose, and weight; postpartum management; and prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus); (2) self-management motivation (setting goals for diet and exercise management, glucose monitoring, and enhancing positive health behaviors); (3) relaxation (practicing breathing and/or meditation); and (4) emotional support (sharing opinions and support). Psychosocial supportive interventions to women with GDM lead to behavioral change, mostly in the form of self-care behavior; they also reduce depression, anxiety and stress, and have an impact on improving self-efficacy. These interventions contribute to lowering physiological parameters such as fasting plasma glucose, glycated hemoglobin, and 2-hour postprandial glucose levels. Conclusion: Psychosocial supportive interventions can indeed positively affect self-care behaviors, lifestyle changes, and physiological parameters in women with GDM. Nurses can play a pivotal role in integrative management and can streamline the care for women with GDM during pregnancy and following birth, especially through psychosocial support interventions.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.6337-6342
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• 2012

Background: Clinical trials on cancer subjects have one of the highest dropout rates. Barriers to recruitment range from patient-related, through institutional-related to staff-related factors. This paper highlights the low response rate and the recruitment barriers faced in our Qigong exercises trial. Materials and Method: The Qigong trial is a three-arm trial with a priori power size of 114 patients for 80% power. The University Malaya Medical Centre database showed a total of 1,933 patients from 2006-2010 and 751 patients met our inclusion criteria. These patients were approached via telephone interview. 131 out of 197 patients attended the trial and the final response rate was 48% (n=95/197). Results: Multiple barriers were identified, and were regrouped as patient-related, clinician-related and/or institutional related. A major consistent barrier was logistic difficulty related to transportation and car parking at the Medical Centre. Conclusions: All clinical trials must pay considerable attention to the recruitment process and it should even be piloted to identify potential barriers and facilitators to reduce attrition rate in trials.

• Journal of Apiculture
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.285-293
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• 2019

The honey bee queen shows extreme polyandry and controlling the mating partners can only be possible either by artificial insemination or having remote isolated mating locations. Here we report on the German North Sea island of Heligoland. Because of its location 60 km from the mainland, the lack of a local population of honey bees, its size of just 1.4 ㎢ and suitable weather conditions during the months of May to July, it is considered an ideal location for controlled inseminations of high-quality virgin queen bees with drones deemed genetically superior to others. Methods how to rear virgin queen bees are described and information is provided on the numbers of queen bees, their supporting workers and drone bees that are taken to the island in the mating season. The bee most commonly involved in the Heligoland mating trials has become Apis mellifera carnica strain "Baltica". In one summer, for example, 80 virgin queens (belonging to beekeepers from nine different locations in northern Germany) each with about 600 worker bees plus two drone populations of around 2,000 drones were taken by ship to Heligoland. On their return to the mainland no later than 3.5 weeks after the mating exercise, the beekeepers could register a mating success rate of 80%. This information can help operation management of the new remote mating centre of Weedo Island, Jeonbuk in Korea, which is currently under construction.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.161-183
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• 2017

This paper investigates the damage identification of the concrete pile element through axial wave propagation technique using computational and experimental studies. Now-a-days, concrete pile foundations are often common in all engineering structures and their safety is significant for preventing the failure. Damage detection and estimation in a sub-structure is challenging as the visual picture of the sub-structure and its condition is not well known and the state of the structure or foundation can be inferred only through its static and dynamic response. The concept of wave propagation involves dynamic impedance and whenever a wave encounters a changing impedance (due to loss of stiffness), a reflecting wave is generated with the total strain energy forked as reflected as well as refracted portions. Among many frequency domain methods, the Spectral Finite Element method (SFEM) has been found suitable for analysis of wave propagation in real engineering structures as the formulation is based on dynamic equilibrium under harmonic steady state excitation. The feasibility of the axial wave propagation technique is studied through numerical simulations using Elementary rod theory and higher order Love rod theory under SFEM and ABAQUS dynamic explicit analysis with experimental validation exercise. Towards simulating the damage scenario in a pile element, dis-continuity (impedance mismatch) is induced by varying its cross-sectional area along its length. Both experimental and computational investigations are performed under pulse-echo and pitch-catch configuration methods. Analytical and experimental results are in good agreement.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.1241-1245
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• 2012

Aim: In this study we aimed to investigate the healthy life-style behaviour of Turkish women and establish influencing features. Methods: This descriptive study performed by a questionnaire method was conducted in a primary health care centre, in an urban region in Kayseri, Turkey. Every midwife region belonging to the health care centre was accepted as a cluster, and a sample of 450 women between ages 18-64, was gathered from 9 midwife regions. The Health Promotion Life-style Profile (HPLP) was applied to evaluated the healthy lifestyle behaviour of 421 women that could be reached. T test, Tukey HSD with ANOVA, and chi square tests were used for analysis. Results: The mean total HPLP was $126.8{\pm}19.2$ (interpersonal support subscale, $74.3{\pm}14.1$; nutrition subscale, $73.6{\pm}12.6$; self-actualisation subscale, $70.6{\pm}11.9$; stress management subscale, $63.4{\pm}13.0$; health responsibility subscale, $61.2{\pm}13.2$; and exercise subscale, $47.1{\pm}15.0$). There was no statistically significant variation when evaluated for age, marital state, family type, economic status, and perception of self-health, smoking, and BMI. HPLP was high in people with an education of primary school and lower in university graduates, in people who lived mostly in the city centre and in individuals with chronic diseases. In conclusion, it was established that the health promoting behaviour in Turkish women is, in general, at a medium level, and women should be enlightened in order to develop and increase the habit of health preservation and promotion.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.3293-3298
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• 2013

Background: The study investigated the influence of culturally-based health beliefs on engagement in healthy lifestyle behaviour. Specifically, the study compared levels of engagement between Western and Chinese youth in Australia and assessed the extent to which culture-specific attributions about the causes of illness, and health beliefs, predict engagement in healthy lifestyle behaviour. Materials and Methods: Ninety-four Western and 95 Chinese (N=189; Mean Age=20.8 years, SD=3 years) young adults completed an online questionnaire. Predictor variables were cultural health beliefs measured by the Chinese Cultural Views on Health and Illness scale (CCVH, Liang et al., 2008), and illness attributions beliefs measured by the Cause of Illness Questionnaire (CIQ, Armstrong and Swartzman, 1999). Outcomes variables were levels of engagement in healthy lifestyle behaviour. Results: Results indicated that Chinese participants have a significantly lower exercising rate and healthy dietary habits compared to the Western sample. Moreover, Chinese participants were found to believe more strongly than Westerners that cancer was associated with factors measured by the Traditional-Chinese-Model (TCM). Finally, the observed relationship between cultural health beliefs and physical inactivity was mediated by attributions of illness, in particular to the supernatural subscale, with the Sobel Test showing a significant mediation (z=-2.63, p=0.004). Conclusions: Mainstream approaches to encourage healthy lifestyles are unlikely to be effective when educating Chinese youth. Instead, health promotion programs should attempt to address the illness attribution beliefs and educate Chinese youth about the role of diet and exercise in prevention of diseases such as cancer.

• Journal of Information Science Theory and Practice
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1-23
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• 2021

This study introduces novel research using Practice Context Models supported by Knowledge Networks and Percolation Theory with the aim to contribute to knowledge management in Proof-of-Concept (PoC) activities. The authors envision this proposal as a potential instrument to identify network structures based on a percolation (propagation) threshold and to analyze the importance of nodes (e.g., practitioners, practices, competencies, movements, and scenarios) during the percolation of knowledge in PoC activities. After thirty months immersed in the natural PoC habitat, acting as observers and practitioners, and supported by an ethnographic exercise and a designer-research mindset, the authors identified the production of meaning in PoC activities occurring in a hermeneutic circle characterized by the presence of several knowledge networks; thus, discovering the 'natural knowledge' in PoC as a spectrum of cognitive development spread throughout its network, as each node could produce and disseminate certain knowledge that flows and influences other nodes. Therefore, this research presents the use of Practice Context Models 'connected' to Knowledge Networks and Percolation Theory as a potential and feasible proposal to be built using the attribution of values (weights) to the nodes (e.g., practitioners, practices, competencies, movements, scenarios, and also knowledge) in the context of PoC with the aim to allow the players (e.g., PoC practitioners) to have more flexibility in building alliances with other players (new nodes); that is, focusing on those nodes with higher value (focus on quality) in collaboration networks, i.e., alliances (connections) with the aim to contribute to knowledge management in the context of PoC.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.332-339
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• 2022

Purpose: Bus drivers are at high risk of chronic diseases due to risk factors associated with poor diet, physical inactivity, high levels of sedentary behaviors, and unfavorable working environments. This study developed a mHealth program for bus drivers, and examined the effectiveness of a mHealth program for promoting physical activity among bus drivers using wearable devices and health coaching. Methods: Forty-seven workers from two bus companies were allocated to the experimental group and the control group. Participants were asked to wear a wearable device (Fitbit Charge HR) during waking hours for a day. Participants in the experimental group were provided with a Fitbit, weekly face-to-face health coaching, a mHealth workbook, and text and photo messaging for 12 weeks. The control group only received a Fitbit. Results: By week 12, there were significant differences between the experimental and control groups in exercise self-efficacy (p<.015) and daily walking steps (p<.001). Conclusion: The findings have demonstrated that the mHealth program using wearable devices and health coaching is effective for bus drivers for promoting physical activity. Based on our findings, it is recommended to encourage the mHealth program using wearable devices and health coaching for bus drivers' wellness.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.23-28
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• 2017

Objectives: Exercise with partially restricted blood flow is a low-load, low-intensity resistance training regimen which may have the potential to increase muscle strength in the obese, elderly and frail who are unable to do high-load training. Restricted blood flow exercise has also been shown to affect blood vessel function variably and can, therefore, contribute to blood vessel dysfunction. This pilot study tests the hypothesis that unilateral resistance training of the leg extensors with partially restricted blood flow increases muscle strength and decreases vascular autoregulation. Methods: The subjects were nine normotensive, overweight, young adult African-Americans with low cardiorespiratory fitness who underwent unilateral training of the quadriceps' femoris muscles with partially restricted blood flow at 30% of the 1-repetition maximum (1-RM) load for 3 weeks. The 1-RM load and post-occlusion blood flow to the lower leg (calf) were measured during reactive hyperemia. Results: The 1-RM load increased in the trained legs from $77{\pm}3$ to $84{\pm}4 kg$ (P < 0.05) in the absence of a significant effect on the 1-RM load in the contralateral untrained legs (P > 0.1). Post-occlusion blood flow decreased significantly in the trained legs from $19{\pm}2$ to $13{\pm}2mL{\cdot}min^{-1}{\cdot}dL^{-1}$ (P < 0.05) and marginally in the contralateral untrained legs from $18{\pm}2$ to $16{\pm}1mL{\cdot}min^{-1}{\cdot}dL^{-1}$ (P = 0.09). Changes in post-occlusion blood flow to the skin overlying the trained and the contralateral untrained muscles were not significant. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that restricted blood flow exercise, which results in significant gains in muscle strength, may produce decrements in endothelial dysfunction and vascular autoregulation. Future studies should determine whether pharmacopuncture plays a role in treatments for such blood vessel dysfunction.