bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Temperament and the environment in the etiology of childhood anxiety
Authors: Degnan Kathryn A. , Almas Alisa N. , Fox Nathan A.
Published: February 2010

Anxiety disorders are prevalent throughout childhood and adolescence. As such, identifying the factors and mechanisms that precede, maintain, or exacerbate anxiety disorders is essential for the development of empirically based prevention and intervention programs. The current review focuses on child temperament (i.e., behavioral inhibition) and the child’s environment, including parenting, childcare, and peer relationships, as these factors have been linked to internalizing problems and anxiety diagnoses. Research programs are needed that examine the associations between the environment and anxiety in temperamentally at‐risk populations. In order to be successful, early intervention and prevention programs require a more detailed analysis of the interplay between various environmental contexts, both distal and proximal to the child, and the child’s temperamental reactivity to novelty and threat. Furthermore, conducting these investigations across multiple levels of analysis in large‐scale, longitudinal samples would be an important addition to the literature on the developmental psychopathology of anxiety.
An exact method for the double TSP with multiple stacks
Authors: Lusby Richard M. , Larsen Jesper , Ehrgott Matthias , Ryan David
Published: February 2010

The double travelling salesman problem (TSP) with multiple stacks (DTSPMS) is a pickup and delivery problem in which all pickups must be completed before any deliveries can be made. The problem originates from a real‐life application where a 40‐foot container (configured as 11 rows of three columns) is used to transport 33 pallets from a set of pickup customers to a set of delivery customers. The pickups and deliveries are performed in two separate trips, where each trip starts and ends at a depot and visits a number of customers. The aim of the problem is to produce a packing plan for the pallets that minimizes the total transportation cost given that the container cannot be repacked at any stage. In this paper we present an exact solution method based on matching k‐best tours to each of the separate pickup and delivery TSPs. The approach is shown to outperform the only known previous exact method for this problem in that solutions can be obtained faster and previously unsolved instances containing as many as 18 customers can now be solved to optimality.
A personal perspective on problem solving by general purpose solvers
Authors: Ibaraki Toshihide
Published: February 2010

To solve the problems that abound in real‐world applications, we are proposing an approach of using general‐purpose solvers, as we cannot afford to develop special‐purpose algorithms for all individual problems. The existing general‐purpose solvers such as linear programming and integer programming are very useful but not sufficient. To improve the situation, we have developed solvers for other standard problems such as the constraint satisfaction problem and the resource‐constrained project scheduling problem among others. In this article, we describe why general‐purpose solvers are needed, what kinds of solvers we considered, how they were developed and where they have been applied.
The trouble with clinical indicators: Intact lower genital tract following childbirth in NSW Hospitals, 2003–2005
Authors: BAGHURST Peter A.
Published: February 2010

Background:  The federal government wants outcomes of hospital care to be made publicly available. League tables based on single clinical indicators are misleading, largely because of their inability to take case‐complexity into account.

Aim:  To demonstrate the application of a graphical tool (the risk‐adjusted funnel plot) to the comparison of clinical outcomes across hospitals; and its advantages over league tables.

Methods:  We looked at publicly available data on intact lower genital tract (ILGT), for all hospitals in New South Wales at which more than 200 births occurred in 2005. The ‘excess’ percentage of women at each hospital with an ILGT following a vaginal birth, was calculated after adjustment for instrumental assistance, the use of epidural analgesia/anaesthesia, the use of induction/augmentation, and the number of births per annum.

Results:  In 2005, ILGT ranged from 13.1 to 55.8%. A plot of ILGT against vaginal births per annum (a funnel plot) revealed huge heterogeneity among hospitals, and an inverse association with the number of births per annum. A residual funnel plot, constructed from the differences between observed and expected ILGT identified four hospitals (three public and one private) with consistently better ILGT than expected – and four public hospitals with ILGT consistently worse than expected. Some of these hospitals were not located at the extremes of the league table.

Conclusion:  The risk‐adjusted funnel plot is a useful graphical tool which may overcome the shortcomings of league tables. We need to become more sophisticated in our use of clinical indicators for comparing hospital performances.
Use of additional oxytocin to reduce blood loss at elective caesarean section: A randomised control trial
Authors: GÜNGÖRDÜK Kemal , ASıCıOGLU Osman , CELıKKOL Ozgu , OLGAC Yusuf , ARK Cemal
Published: February 2010

Objective:  The purpose of this prospective, randomised, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled study was to assess the effects of a 5‐IU oxytocin bolus and placebo infusion versus a 5‐IU oxytocin bolus and 30 IU infusion on the control of blood loss at elective lower segment caesarean section (C/S).

Methods:  Participants with indication for elective C/S were randomly allocated to two groups. Group A, 360 women, received oxytocin 5 IU bolus and placebo; group B, 360 women received oxytocin 5 IU bolus and 30 IU infusion. Blood loss was estimated based on the haematocrit values before and 48 h after delivery. The primary outcome was the incidence of excessive bleeding (estimated blood loss of >1000 mL), while secondary outcomes included use of additional uterotonics, estimated blood loss, need for blood transfusion, duration of hospital stay and the incidence of adverse effects.

Results:  No demographic difference was observed between groups. Mean estimated blood loss (P < 0.001) and the proportion of women with blood loss estimated to be greater than 1000 mL were significantly less for group B than for group A (relative risk (RR) 0.35, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.20–0.63). In addition, more women in the group A required additional uterotonic agents (RR 0.35, 95% CI 0.22–0.56) and blood transfusion (RR 0.12, 95% CI 0.01–0.98).

Conclusion:  An additional oxytocin infusion after 5 IU oxytocin bolus infusion at elective C/S may reduce blood loss and required blood transfusion.
Intra‐uterine bupivacaine and levobupivacaine
Authors: MIZRAK Ayse , UGUR Gurol M. , ERDALOGLU Pinar , BALAT Ozcan , ONER Unsal
Published: February 2010

Aim:  The study aimed to compare the effect of intrauterine bupivacaine and levobupivacaine with placebo in reducing the post‐procedure discomfort owing to pain caused by suction endometrial sampling.

Methods:  This study was conducted on randomly selected 45 women with abnormal uterine bleeding and who had undergone outpatient hysteroscopy and endometrial biopsy under sedation with propofol 0.5 mg/kg. The study was performed using 5 mL of bupivacaine 0.5% (Group B, n = 15) or levobupivacaine 0.5% (Group L, n = 15) or placebo solution (Group C, n = 15) intrauterine via a catheter over a 5 min period after suction endometrial sampling. The number of patients with visual analogue scale >3, total postoperative analgesic requirements, satisfaction of patients and adverse events were measured. Nonparametric and parametric data were analysed using Kruskal–Wallis and one‐way anova tests respectively.

Results:  Women in Groups L and B had statistically significantly less pain than the women in Group C (P = 0.03). When compared with placebo, five ml of bupivacaine 0.5% and levobupivacaine 0.5% respectively were recorded to decrease the incidence of postoperative analgesic consumption from 41 to 35% (P = 0.01). The satisfaction score of the patients in Group L was significantly higher than that of the patients in Group C (P = 0.03).

Conclusion:  Intrauterine levobupivacaine or bupivacaine is effective in decreasing the pain associated with the endometrial biopsy and curettage under propofol sedation.
The impact of the baby bonus on maternity services in New South Wales
Authors: LAIN Samantha J. , ROBERTS Christine L. , RAYNES‐GREENOW Camille H. , MORRIS Jonathan
Published: February 2010

Background:  In 2004, the Federal Government introduced the baby bonus, a one‐off payment upon the birth of a child.

Aims:  To assess the impact of an increase in the number of births on maternity services in New South Wales following the introduction of the baby bonus payment in July 2004.

Methods:  A population‐based study, using NSW birth records, of 965 635 deliveries from 1998 to 2008 was carried out. The difference between the predicted number of births in 2005–2008, estimated from trends in births from 1998 to 2004, and the observed number of births in NSW hospitals in 2005–2008 were calculated. We also estimated the increase in cost to the health system of births in 2008 compared with previous years.

Results:  Compared with trends prior to the introduction of the baby bonus, there were an estimated 11 283 extra singleton births per year in NSW hospitals by 2008. There were significant increases in the number of deliveries performed in tertiary, urban and rural public hospitals; however, the number of deliveries in private hospitals remained stable. Compared with predicted estimates, in 2008, there were over 8700 more vaginal deliveries, over 1000 more preterm births and over 45 000 extra infant hospital days each year. Compared with 2004, in 2008, the estimated cost of births in NSW hospitals increased by $60 million,

Conclusions:  The increase in births following the introduction of the baby bonus has significantly impacted maternity services in NSW.
Ice‐free conditions in eastern Fennoscandia during early Marine Isotope Stage 3: lacustrine records
Authors: HELMENS KARIN F. , ENGELS STEFAN
Published: February 2010

Helmens, K. F. & Engels, S. 2010: Ice‐free conditions in eastern Fennoscandia during early Marine Isotope Stage 3: lacustrine records.Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2010.00142.x. ISSN 0300‐9483.

The traditional notion that Fennoscandia was glaciated throughout Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 4–2, fromc. 70 kyr BP to the deglaciation 15–10 kyr BP ago, has been challenged during the last decade. Recent studies have shown that climate and environmental settings during MIS 3 were more dynamic than previously assumed, and lacustrine sediment bodies indicate open‐water conditions for several sites in eastern Fennoscandia. In this study, three sediment sequences from western, eastern and northeast Finland are compared in detail with respect to their chronology, vegetation reconstruction and climatic inferences. OSL‐dating places the sediments in early MIS 3. Pollen evidence suggests the presence of isolated birch trees and open birch forest close to the retreating ice margin, in contrast to vegetation reconstructions from central Europe, which indicate tree‐less vegetation. Furthermore, reconstructions of climate using transfer functions have yielded surprising results, indicating present‐day summer temperatures in northeast Finland. The combined results suggest ice‐free and warm conditions in major parts of eastern Fennoscandia in early MIS 3, possibly during Greenland Interstadial (GIS) 14 around 53 kyr BP ago.
Effects of Land‐Use Change on Community Composition of Tropical Amphibians and Reptiles in Sulawesi, Indonesia
Authors: WANGER THOMAS C. , ISKANDAR DJOKO T. , MOTZKE IRIS , BROOK BARRY W. , SODHI NAVJOT S. , CLOUGH YANN , TSCHARNTKE TEJA
Published: February 2010

Abstract:  Little is known about the effects of anthropogenic land‐use change on the amphibians and reptiles of the biodiverse tropical forests of Southeast Asia. We studied a land‐use modification gradient stretching from primary forest, secondary forest, natural‐shade cacao agroforest, planted‐shade cacao agroforest to open areas in central Sulawesi, Indonesia. We determined species richness, abundance, turnover, and community composition in all habitat types and related these to environmental correlates, such as canopy heterogeneity and thickness of leaf litter. Amphibian species richness decreased systematically along the land‐use modification gradient, but reptile richness and abundance peaked in natural‐shade cacao agroforests. Species richness and abundance patterns across the disturbance gradient were best explained by canopy cover and leaf‐litter thickness in amphibians and by canopy heterogeneity and cover in reptiles. Amphibians were more severely affected by forest disturbance in Sulawesi than reptiles. Heterogeneous canopy cover and thick leaf litter should be maintained in cacao plantations to facilitate the conservation value for both groups. For long‐term and sustainable use of plantations, pruned shade trees should be permanently kept to allow rejuvenation of cacao and, thus, to prevent repeated forest encroachment.
Roads, Interrupted Dispersal, and Genetic Diversity in Timber Rattlesnakes
Authors: CLARK RULON W. , BROWN WILLIAM S. , STECHERT RANDY , ZAMUDIO KELLY R.
Published: February 2010

Abstract: Anthropogenic habitat modification often creates barriers to animal movement, transforming formerly contiguous habitat into a patchwork of habitat islands with low connectivity. Roadways are a feature of most landscapes that can act as barriers or filters to migration among local populations. Even small and recently constructed roads can have a significant impact on population genetic structure of some species, but not others. We developed a research approach that combines fine‐scale molecular genetics with behavioral and ecological data to understand the impacts of roads on population structure and connectivity. We used microsatellite markers to characterize genetic variation within and among populations of timber rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) occupying communal hibernacula (dens) in regions bisected by roadways. We examined the impact of roads on seasonal migration, genetic diversity, and gene flow among populations. Snakes in hibernacula isolated by roads had significantly lower genetic diversity and higher genetic differentiation than snakes in hibernacula in contiguous habitat. Genetic‐assignment analyses revealed that interruption to seasonal migration was the mechanism underlying these patterns. Our results underscore the sizeable impact of roads on this species, despite their relatively recent construction at our study sites (7 to 10 generations of rattlesnakes), the utility of population genetics for studies of road ecology, and the need for mitigating effects of roads.
Homocysteine and Mobility in Older Adults
Authors: Rolita Lydia , Holtzer Roee , Wang Cuiling , Lipton Richard B. , Derby Carol A. , Verghese Joe
Published: February 2010

OBJECTIVES:To determine the influence of homocysteine on mobility decline in older adults.

DESIGN:Prospective cohort.

SETTING:Einstein Aging Study, community‐based aging study.

PARTICIPANTS:Five hundred seventy‐four older adults without dementia (mean age 80.2 ± 5.4, 61% women).

MEASUREMENTS:Mobility decline defined using gait velocity measurements at baseline and annual follow‐up visits. Linear mixed effects models were used to adjust for age, sex, education, and other potential confounders.

RESULTS:Higher homocysteine levels were associated with slower gait velocity at baseline. Adjusted for age, sex, and education, a one‐unit increase in baseline log homocysteine levels was associated with a 2.95‐cm/s faster mobility decline per year (P=.01) over a median follow‐up of 1.4 years. The 140 subjects in the highest quartile of homocysteine had a faster rate of mobility decline (1.75 cm/s per year faster,P=.01) than the 434 subjects in the lowest three quartiles of homocysteine (≤15 μmol/L). The association between homocysteine and mobility decline remained robust even after adjusting for multiple confounders and accounting for the presence of clinical gait abnormalities.

CONCLUSION:Higher homocysteine levels are associated with greater risk of mobility decline in community‐residing older adults.
Differential profiling of human red blood cells during storage for 52 selected microRNAs
Authors: Kannan Meganathan , Atreya Chintamani
Published: February 2010

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRNAs), the negative regulators of cellular mRNAs, are present in mature red blood cells (RBCs) in abundance relative to other blood cells. So far, there are no studies aimed at identifying large‐scale miRNA profiles during storage of RBCs.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: RNA samples from each RBC bag stored at 4°C were collected on Days 0, 20, and 40 and subjected to miRNA profiling by using a membrane‐based array. Fifty‐two selected miRNAs of cellular apoptotic pathway represent the array. Through bioinformatics analyses, we identified potential target genes for selected miRNAs.

RESULTS: Differential profiling of RBCs for 52 miRNAs revealed two distinguishable patterns during storage: Forty‐eight miRNAs demonstrated no trend at all, while four miRNAs, miR‐96, miR‐150, miR‐196a, and miR‐197, demonstrated an increase up to Day 20 and subsequently decreased during storage. We selected miR‐96 and subjected it to standard bioinformatics analyses for target gene predictions, which identified several mRNAs including the RBC proapoptotic calpain small subunit‐1 (CAPNS1) as potential targets of miR‐96. To validate these predictions, we selected CAPNS1 mRNA as an example and confirmed its presence in the RBCs. Future experimental verification would help define miR‐96–CAPNS1 interaction, if any, in the stored RBCs.

CONCLUSIONS: This study for the first time provided a differential profile of stored RBCs for selected miRNAs related to cellular apoptotic pathway and opened new avenues toward identification of novel in vitro RBC biomarkers of storage lesions. Future studies focusing on target gene‐miRNA interactions in stored RBCs would also unravel underlying mechanisms of storage lesions.
Examining Small Town Revenues: To What Extent Are They Diversified?
Authors: Carroll Deborah A. , Johnson Terri
Published: February 2010

How diversified are small town revenues? Revenue diversification is analyzed among towns governed by town meetings. Using previously developed diversification measures, the findings confirm that these localities draw from less diverse revenue streams than other state and local governments. The reasons for these variations include differences in home rule status as well as tax and expenditure limitations imposed by states. The authors suggest that revenue allocation in these jurisdictions is substantively different from other forms of local government because these communities rely much less on sales taxation than states and municipalities. Their essay proposes possible options for improvement, along with other criteria by which small towns can assess their revenue diversification.
Understanding Street‐Level Bureaucrats' Decision Making: Determining Eligibility in the Social Security Disability Program
Authors: Keiser Lael R.
Published: February 2010

Personal interactions between clients and street‐level bureaucrats are significant in explaining why street‐level bureaucrats behave as they do. Not all bureaucracies that apply program rules to individuals, however, engage face‐to‐face with their clientele. As more intake procedures are automated, such “one‐on‐one” encounters decrease. The author generates and tests hypotheses about frontline bureaucratic decision making in the Social Security Disability program, by applying bounded rationality theory. The findings show that eligibility decisions by street‐level bureaucrats are affected by their adherence to subsets of agency goals and perceptions of others in the governance system. How quickly they make decisions also has an impact. There is no evidence that the way in which bureaucrats evaluate clients explains their decisions when they lack face‐to‐face contact.
The Effect of Problem Severity, Managerial and Organizational Capacity, and Agency Structure on Intergovernmental Collaboration: Evidence from Local Emergency Management
Authors: McGuire Michael , Silvia Chris
Published: February 2010

Like most public managers nowadays, local emergency managers operate within complex, uncertain environments. Rapid changes in the scope and severity of the issues increase the extent of intergovernmental collaboration necessary to address such challenges. Using a large data set of county emergency management agency directors, variations in intergovernmental collaboration reflect influences from problem severity, managerial capacity, and structural factors. The results demonstrate that public managers who perceive problems as severe, possess specific managerial skills, lead high‐capacity organizations, and operate in less complex agency structures collaborate more often and more effectively across governmental boundaries.
Spanning “Bleeding” Boundaries: Humanitarianism, NGOs, and the Civilian‐Military Nexus in the Post–Cold War Era
Authors: Roberts Nancy C.
Published: February 2010

How do nongovernmental (NGO), international (IO), and military organizations cope with their dependencies and address their perceptual and real differences in order to coordinate their field operations? This question is addressed through the creation of a matrix grouping civilian (NGOs and IOs) and military operations into four general types: peacekeeping; disaster relief; complex humanitarian emergencies/warfare; and stabilization and reconstruction. Second, using Galbraith's information processing approach to organizational design, a range of formal coordination mechanisms that organizations use at the strategic and operational levels to help them cope with their dependencies in different field operations is identified. Third, the author underscores how communities of practice are emerging as informal mechanisms of coordination among civilian and military organizations. And finally, a framework of organizational forms that views communities of practice as an alternative to hierarchy and markets is offered. Believing communities of practice hold the most promise for coordination in the human security domain when hierarchies are politically untenable and markets lack accountability, the author concludes with implications for interorganization coordination research and practice.
Resilience in Public Administration: The Work of Elinor and Vincent Ostrom from a Public Administration Perspective
Authors: Toonen Theo
Published: February 2010

This essay examines the remarkable careers of Elinor and Vincent Ostrom, exploring polycentricity and human management of common property resources from the “no‐name fields” of public administration in the late 1950s, through the metropolitan public service industries and public choice approach to democratic administration in the 1960s and 1970s and the institutional analysis of common pool resource management of the 1980s and 1990s. It continues with the diagnosis of the self‐governing capabilities of socio‐ecological systems in the 2000s. Many continuities underlie focal shifts in attention. Their work will be related to developments in the public administration field along with illustrations of their pioneer example for public administration on research as a collaborative enterprise. The 2009 Nobel Laureate in economics, Elinor Ostrom has been working from an academic background and intellectual tradition that, particularly through her long‐term collaboration with Vincent Ostrom, is strongly rooted in the classical and prevailing institutional concerns that may be seen as core to public administration as an academic field of education and research.

We simply study institutions, that is what we do.

—Elinor Ostrom
Pathways Between Marriage and Parenting for Wives and Husbands: The Role of Coparenting
Authors: MORRILL MELINDA IPPOLITO , HINES DENISE A. , MAHMOOD SEHAR , CÓRDOVA JAMES V.
Published: February 2010

As family systems research has expanded, so have investigations into how marital partners coparent together. Although coparenting research has increasingly found support for the influential role of coparenting on both marital relationships and parenting practices, coparenting has traditionally been investigated as part of an indirect system which begins with marital health, is mediated by coparenting processes, and then culminates in each partner's parenting. The field has not tested how this traditional model compares with the equally plausible alternative model, in which coparenting simultaneously predicts both marital relationships and parenting practices. Furthermore, statistical and practical limitations have typically resulted in only one parent being analyzed in these models. This study used model‐fitting analyses to include both wives and husbands in a test of these two alternative models of the role of coparenting in the family system. Our data suggested that both the traditional indirect model (marital health to coparenting to parenting practices), and the alternative predictor model where coparenting alliance directly and simultaneously predicts marital health and parenting practices, fit for both spouses. This suggests that dynamic and multiple roles may be played by coparenting in the overall family system, and raises important practical implications for family clinicians.
Male Emotional Intimacy: How Therapeutic Men's Groups Can Enhance Couples Therapy
Authors: GARFIELD ROBERT
Published: February 2010

Men's difficulty with emotional intimacy is a problem that therapists regularly encounter in working with heterosexual couples in therapy. The first part of this article describes historical and cultural factors that contribute to this dilemma in men's marriages and same‐sex friendships. Therapeutic men's groups can provide a corrective experience for men, helping them to develop emotional intimacy skills while augmenting their work in couples therapy. A model for such groups is presented, including guidelines for referral, screening, and collaboration with other therapists. Our therapeutic approach encourages relationship‐based learning through direct emotional expression and supportive feedback. We emphasize the development of friendship skills, core attributes of friendship (connection, communication, commitment, and cooperation) that contribute to emotional intimacy in men's relationships. Case examples are included to illustrate how this model works in clinical practice, as well as specific suggestions for further study that could lead to a more evidence‐based practice.
Avoiding Colonizer Positions in the Therapy Room: Some Ideas About the Challenges of Dealing with the Dialectic of Misery and Resources in Families
Authors: ROBER PETER , SELTZER MICHAEL
Published: February 2010

Some authors have argued that certain acts of family therapists—despite their best intentions—may represent a form of colonizing the family. When acting as a colonizer, a therapist is understood as becoming overly responsible for the family and focusing too strongly on change. In so doing, the therapist disrespects the family's pace, and neglects their own resources for change. This paper aims to highlight the need for therapists to be hypersensitive both to the resources of families entering therapy as well as to the impact of prevailing ideologies on their own positioning in the session. The kind of sensitivity advocated here is dialectical in the sense that every family is understood as having potentials promoting dynamism, happiness, and well‐being as well as potentials contributing to stagnation, unhappiness, and misery. In this article, using illustrations from clinical practice, we present some ideas for resisting the tendency by the therapist to assume a colonizing position as a professional solver of problems for families. Our main aim here is to redirect the therapist toward connecting with the family's suffering, as well as with the resource repertoire it has developed for navigating and negotiating its way through life.
The Effect of Clothing Size on Self‐Esteem and Body Image
Authors: Kinley Tammy R.
Published: February 2010

This study examined the effect of clothing size on women’s self‐esteem and body image and whether those findings were related to age or body size. Data were obtained in a two‐phase experimental study in which subjects were asked to achieve fit in pants that either “ran small” or “ran large.” Smaller sizes were found to have a positive effect on body image, particularly for younger women. Larger subjects felt more positive about their bodies when they achieved fit in a smaller size. However, the need for a larger size did not have a significant effect on either self‐esteem or body image.
Trends in Converted Firearms in England & Wales as Identified by the National Firearms Forensic Intelligence Database (NFFID) Between September 2003 and September 2008
Authors: Hannam Abigail G.
Published: February 2010

Abstract:  The National Firearms Forensic Intelligence Database (NFFID © Crown Copyright 2003‐2008) was developed by The Forensic Science Service (FSS) as an investigative tool for collating and comparing information from items submitted to the FSS to provide intelligence reports for the police and relevant government agencies. The purpose of these intelligence reports was to highlight current firearm and ammunition trends and their distribution within the country. This study reviews all the trends that have been highlighted by NFFID between September 2003 and September 2008. A total of 8887 guns of all types have been submitted to the FSS over the last 5 years, where an average of 21% of annual submissions are converted weapons. The makes, models, and modes of conversion of these weapons are described in detail. The number of trends identified by NFFID shows that this has been a valuable tool in the analysis of firearms‐related crime.
Death of a 10‐Month‐Old Boy After Exposure to Ethylmorphine
Authors: Helland Arne , Isaksen Christina V. , Slørdal Lars
Published: February 2010

Abstract:  Ethylmorphine, an opiate that is partially metabolized to morphine, is a common ingredient in antitussive preparations. We present a case where a 10‐month‐old boy was administered ethylmorphine in the evening and found dead in bed the following morning. Postmortem toxicological analyses of heart blood by gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry revealed the presence of ethylmorphine and morphine at concentrations of 0.17 μM (0.054 mg/L) and 0.090 μM (0.026 mg/L), respectively. CYP2D6 genotyping showed that the deceased had an extensive metabolizer genotype, signifying a “normal” capacity for metabolizing ethylmorphine to morphine. The autopsy report concluded that death was caused by a combination of opiate‐induced sedation and weakening of respiratory drive, a respiratory infection, and a sleeping position that could have impeded breathing. This is the first case report where the death of an infant has been linked to ethylmorphine ingestion.
Comparison of the Performance of Two Methods for Height Estimation
Authors: Edelman Gerda , Alberink Ivo , Hoogeboom Bart
Published: February 2010

Abstract:  In the case study, two methods of performing body height measurements in images are compared based on projective geometry and 3D modeling of the crime scene. Accuracy and stability of height estimations are tested using reconstruction images of test persons of known height. Given unchanged camera settings, predictions of both methods are accurate. However, as the camera had been moved in the case, new vanishing points and camera matches had to be created for the reconstruction images. 3D modeling still yielded accurate and stable estimations. Projective geometry produced incorrect predictions for test persons and unstable intervals for questioned persons. The latter is probably caused by the straight lines in the field of view being hard to discern. With the quality of material presented, which is representative for our case practice, using vanishing points may thus yield unstable results. The results underline the importance of performing validation experiments in casework.
A Two‐Level Model for Evidence Evaluation in the Presence of Zeros*
Authors: Zadora Grzegorz , Neocleous Tereza , Aitken Colin
Published: February 2010

Abstract: Likelihood ratios (LRs) provide a natural way of computing the value of evidence under competing propositions. We propose LR models for classification and comparison that extend the ideas of Aitken, Zadora, and Lucy and Aitken and Lucy to include consideration of zeros. Instead of substituting zeros by a small value, we view the presence of zeros as informative and model it using Bernoulli distributions. The proposed models are used for evaluation of forensic glass (comparison and classification problem) and paint data (comparison problem). Two hundred and sixty‐four glass samples were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, coupled with an energy dispersive X‐ray spectrometer method and 36 acrylic topcoat paint samples by pyrolysis gas chromatography hyphened with mass spectrometer method. The proposed LR model gave very satisfactory results for the glass comparison problem and for most of the classification tasks for glass. Results of comparison of paints were also highly satisfactory, with only 3.0% false positive answers and 2.8% false negative answers.
Factor structure of a conceptual model of oral health tested among 65‐year olds in Norway and Sweden
Authors: Åstrøm Anne Nordrehaug , Ekbäck Gunnar , Ordell Sven
Published: February 2010

Åstrøm AN, Ekbäck G, Ordell S. Factor structure of a conceptual model of oral health tested among 65‐year olds in Norway and Sweden. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 2010. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S

Abstract –  Background:  No studies have tested oral health‐related quality of life models in dentate older adults across different populations.

Objectives:  To test the factor structure of oral health outcomes within Gilbert’s conceptual model among 65‐year olds in Sweden and Norway. It was hypothesized that responses to 14 observed indicators could be explained by three correlated factors, symptom status, functional limitations and oral disadvantages, that each observed oral health indicator would associate more strongly with the factor it is supposed to measure than with competing factors and that the proposed 3‐factor structure would possess satisfactory cross‐national stability with 65‐year olds in Norway and Sweden.

Methods:  In 2007, 6078 Swedish‐ and 4062 Norwegian adults borne in 1942 completed mailed questionnaires including oral symptoms, functional limitations and the eight item Oral Impacts on Daily Performances inventory.

Results:  Model generation analysis was restricted to the Norwegian study group and the model achieved was tested without modifications in Swedish 65‐year olds. A modified 3‐factor solution with cross‐loadings, improved the fit to the data compared with a 2‐factor‐ and the initially proposed 3‐factor model among the Norwegian [comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.97] and Swedish (CFI = 0.98) participants. All factor loadings for the modified 3‐factor model were in the expected direction and were statistically significant at CR > 1. Multiple group confirmatory factor analyses, with Norwegian and Swedish data simultaneously revealed acceptable fit for the unconstrained model (CFI = 0.97), whereas unconstrained and constrained models were statistically significant different in nested model comparison.

Conclusions:  Within construct validity of Gilbert’s model was supported with Norwegian and Swedish 65‐year olds, indicating that the 14‐item questionnaire reflected three constructs; symptom status, functional limitation and oral disadvantage. Measurement invariance was confirmed at the level of factor structure, suggesting that the 3‐factor model is comparable to some extent across 65‐year olds in Norway and Sweden.
The association between fluoride in drinking water and dental caries in Danish children. Linking data from health registers, environmental registers and administrative registers
Authors: Kirkeskov Lilli , Kristiansen Eva , Bøggild Henrik , Von Platen‐Hallermund Frants , Sckerl Halfdan , Carlsen Anders , Larsen M. Joost , Poulsen Sven
Published: February 2010

Kirkeskov L, Kristiansen E, Bøggild H, von Platen‐Hallermund F, Sckerl H, Carlsen A, Larsen MJ, Poulsen S. The association between fluoride in drinking water and dental caries in Danish children. Linking data from health registers, environmental registers and administrative registers. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 2010; 38: 206–212. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S

Abstract –  Objectives:  To study the association between fluoride concentration in drinking water and dental caries in Danish children.

Methods:  The study linked registry data on fluoride concentration in drinking water over a 10‐year period with data on dental caries from the Danish National Board of Health database on child dental health for 5‐year‐old children born in 1989 and 1999, and for 15‐year‐old children born in 1979 and 1989. The number of children included in the cohorts varied between 41.000 and 48.000. Logistic regression was used to assess the correlations, adjusting for gender and taxable family income as a proxy variable for socioeconomic status.

Results:  Fluoride concentration in drinking water varied considerably within the country from very low (<0.10 mg/l) to more than 1.5 mg/l. Only little variation was found over the 10‐year study period. Dental caries in both 5‐year‐olds and 15‐year‐olds decreased over the study period. An inverse relation between the risk of dental caries and fluoride concentration in drinking water was found in both primary and permanent teeth. The risk was reduced by approximately 20% already at the lowest level of fluoride exposure (0.125–0.25 mg/l). At the highest level of fluoride exposure (>1 mg/l), a reduction of approximately 50% was found. Similar findings were found if analysis was limited to children residing in the same place during the entire study period.

Conclusions:  The study confirmed previous findings of an inverse relation between fluoride concentration in the drinking water and dental caries in children. This correlation was found in spite of the extensive use of fluoridated toothpaste and caries‐preventive programs implemented by the municipal dental services in Denmark. Linking Danish health registers with environmental and administrative registers offers an opportunity for obtaining sample sizes large enough to identify health effect, which otherwise could not be identified.
A diversity of beta diversities: straightening up a concept gone awry. Part 1. Defining beta diversity as a function of alpha and gamma diversity
Authors: Tuomisto Hanna
Published: February 2010

The term beta diversity has been used to refer to a wide variety of phenomena. Although all of these encompass some kind of compositional heterogeneity between places, many are not related to each other in any predictable way. The present two‐part review aims to put the different phenomena that have been called a beta component of diversity into a common conceptual framework, and to explain what each of them measures. In this first part, the focus is on defining beta diversity. This involves deciding what diversity is and how the observed total or gamma diversity (γ) is partitioned into alpha (α) and beta (β) components. Several different definitions of “beta diversity” that result from these decisions have been used in the ecological literature. True beta diversity is obtained when the total effective number of species in a dataset (true gamma diversityγ) is multiplicatively partitioned into the effective number of species per compositionally distinct virtual sampling unit (true alpha diversityαd) and the effective number of such compositional units (βMd=γ/αd). All true diversities quantify the effective number of types of entities. Because the other variants of “beta diversity” that have been used by ecologists quantify other phenomena, an alternative nomenclature is proposed here for the seven most popular beta components: regional‐to‐local diversity ratio, two‐way diversity ratio, absolute effective species turnover (=regional diversity excess), Whittaker's effective species turnover, proportional effective species turnover, regional entropy excess and regional variance excess. In the second part of the review, the focus will be on how to quantify these phenomena in practice. This involves deciding how the sampling units that contribute to total diversity are selected, and whether the entity that is quantified is all of “beta diversity”, a specific part of “beta diversity”, the rate of change in “beta diversity” in relation to a given external factor, or something else.
Changes in fish condition and mercury vary by region, not Bythotrephes invasion: a result of climate change?
Authors: Rennie Michael D. , Sprules W. Gary , Vaillancourt André
Published: February 2010

We compared changes in body condition (relative weight) and mercury concentrations ([Hg]) in two species of coregonid fish (lake herring Coregonus artedi, lake whitefish C. clupeaformis) among discrete populations in Ontario between 1967 and 2006. Temporal comparisons among populations were made to determine whether 1) the establishment of Bythotrephes longimanus had affected coregonid populations, or 2) if changes in body condition or [Hg] were related to regional differences in the degree of climate change during the time period investigated. Climate data from northwestern, northeastern and southern Ontario showed a general warming trend in all regions over the period of study. However, greater temporal changes in climate were observed in the northwest where growing degree days >5°C (GDD) increased and precipitation declined over the study period compared with relatively little change in southern or northeastern Ontario. Correspondingly, northwestern Ontario coregonid populations demonstrated significantly greater declines in body condition relative to those from northeastern or southern Ontario. Declines in [Hg] of both species were also greater among northwestern populations compared with those from northeastern or southern Ontario but only significantly so for lake herring. These declines were independent of the invasion of non‐native Bythotrephes, and declines in [Hg] were opposite predictions based on the hypothesis that Bythotrephes invasion lengthened aquatic food chains. Based on our findings and further evidence from the literature, we propose that warming regional climates are capable of contributing to declines in both condition and [Hg] of fishes. Because fish condition affects both reproductive success and overwinter survival, observed condition declines of the magnitude reported here could have profound implications for the structure of future aquatic ecosystems in a warming climate.
Patterns in naevoid skin disease: development, disease and modelling
Authors: Gilmore Stephen J.
Published: February 2010

Please cite this paper as: Patterns in naevoid skin disease: development, disease and modelling. Experimental Dermatology 2010; 19: 240–245.

Abstract:  The aetiology of pattern‐formation in human naevoid skin disease remains unknown. However, it is likely that the majority of previously proposed mechanisms – those that simply rely on passive clonal trafficking in embryogenesis – are incomplete. A more comprehensive explanation for pattern‐formation in naevi invokes the principle of self‐organization. We define two types of patterning: anatomical and functional. Anatomical patterning is where the abnormal clone is limited to regions of pathologic skin, while functional patterning is where the abnormal clone and pathologic skin are spatially uncorrelated. From a theoretical perspective self‐organized naevoid patterns may be either secondary to local interactions between normal and aberrant genotypes or due to the interaction between aberrant genotypes and the presence of normal embryonic patterning cues. The latter possibility suggests the critical observation and analysis of patterns in naevoid skin disease may lead to unique insights into key aspects of early human embryogenesis.
Factors associated with successful establishment of breastfeeding in very preterm infants
Authors: Zachariassen G , Faerk J , Grytter C , Esberg BH , Juvonen P , Halken S
Published: February 2010

Aim:  To describe feeding practices at hospital discharge in relation to characteristics of the very preterm infants (VPI) and their mothers.

Methods:  Design. Prospective hospital‐based registration of very preterm infants born with a gestational age ≤32 weeks in Denmark during 2004–2008. Subjects. Healthy mothers and VPI without diseases causing eating disabilities at discharge.

Results:  A total of 478 VPI were registered. At discharge, 60% were exclusively breastfed, 35% were exclusively bottlefed, and 5% were both breast‐ and bottle‐fed. Mothers of high social class (p = 0.000) and ‘not smoking’ (p = 0.003) were significantly more often breastfeeding their preterm infant(s) at discharge. Single births infants tended more often to be breastfed (p = 0.09). Infant age at discharge and duration of hospitalization did not influence breastfeeding at discharge. Increase in weight z‐score from birth to discharge was largest in the bottlefeeding‐group compared with the breastfeeding‐group (p = 0.000) probably as a result of feeding practice the last week(s) of hospitalization.

Conclusion:  Breastfeeding can successfully be established in very preterm infants. Mothers of low social classes, smokers, multiple birth and very preterm infants with low weight for age may need extra attention in breastfeeding establishing policies.
Ten‐Year Retrospective Follow‐Up Study of the TiOblast™ Dental Implant
Authors: Al‐Nawas Bilal , Kämmerer Peer W. , Morbach Thomas , Ladwein Catharina , Wegener Joachim , Wagner Wilfried
Published: February 2010

Purpose: Long‐term results in the clinical outcome of different implant systems, including high patient numbers and a long follow‐up time, are rare. This retrospective study evaluated the cumulative survival rate of a self‐tapping, cylindrical implant system with a conical implant‐abutment connection after 10 years of prosthetic loading.

Materials and Methods: A total of 516 TiOblast™ implants (Astra Tech AB, Mölndal, Sweden) were placed in 108 patients. The patients were treated in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany, between September 1994 and May 2005. The main indications for implantation were the treatment of edentulous mandibles (74%) and partial edentulism (15%). Twenty‐three implants were placed postradiation, and a further 64 implants were irradiated after insertion. In 153 implants, a bony augmentation was conducted prior to implantation.

Results: The in situ rate was 89.7% after an average implantation time of 108 months. Eighty‐three patients with 403 implants were available for investigation. Seventeen patients with 76 implants have died since 1994. Absence of osseointegration (n = 22), peri‐implantitis (n = 18), fracture of the implants (n = 9), failing of primary stability (n = 2), and implants next to tumors (n = 2) were the reasons of explantation in 26 patients. Under analysis with different implant success‐assessment criteria, the success rate showed results from 76 to 89%.

Conclusion: With respect to the critical patient selection including a high number of patients with minor and major augmentations, the 10‐year clinical use of the studied implant system showed acceptable results.