bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Upgrading obstetric care at a secondary referral hospital, Ogun State, Nigeria
Authors: Olukoya A.A , Ogunyemi M.A , Akitoye C.O , Abudu O , Tijani M.A , Epoyun A.O , Ahabue C.E , Shaba O ,   (The Lagos PMM Team)
Published: July 2002

AbstractPreliminary studies: A 1991 inventory at the State Hospital, Ota, in Ogun State, Nigeria, showed inadequate surgical equipment, drugs, blood and power supply. A time–motion study indicated substantial delays in receiving obstetric care. Interventions: In 1994, medical officers and midwives were given refresher courses in emergency obstetric skills. In 1995, the surgical theater, labor ward and laboratory were provided with the necessary supplies and equipment. A reliable electrical supply was set up, but problems were encountered in establishing blood services. Subsequent community interventions focused on improving access and reducing delay in seeking care. Results: The annual number of women with complications seen, which had been declining — from 123 in 1992 to 55 in 1994 — increased to 91 in 1995. Case fatality rate (CFR) due to major direct obstetric complications did not change appreciably, i.e. it was 6.6% in 1995, as compared with 7.3%, 8.3% and 7.3% for the years 1992–1994, respectively. Costs: The cost of hospital improvements was approximately US $46 000. Conclusions: The facility improvements were completed only recently in mid‐1995. It is hoped that improved services will result in reductions in CFR and motivate more women with complications to seek hospital care, despite difficult economic conditions prevailing in Nigeria. © 1997 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics
Upgrading obstetric care at the health center level, Juaben, Ghana
Authors: Djan J.O , Kyei‐Faried S , Twum S , Danquah J.B.O , Ofori M , Browne E.N.L ,   (The Kumasi PMM Team)
Published: July 2002

AbstractPreliminary studies: Inventory and observations at Juaben Teaching Health Center (JTHC) revealed an inability to treat obstetric complications. Women with complications needed to be referred to other institutions, resulting in delays. Interventions: During 1993 and 1994, an operating theater and blood bank were established and equipped, the maternity refurbished, and a revolving drug fund created. A physician was posted and trained in obstetrics, and midwives were trained in life‐saving skills. A running water supply was established. Subsequent community interventions focused on improving access and reducing the delay in seeking care. Results: The number of women with complications coming for care increased almost three‐fold, from 26 in 1993 to 73 in 1995 and the proportion of these who were referred for treatment dropped from 42 to 14%. Surgical obstetric procedures performed at JTHC increased from 23 in 1993 to 90 in 1995. Midwives performed 32% of manual removals, 58% of vacuum extractions and 98% of episiotomy repairs. No deaths occurred among the women treated. Costs: The cost of improvements was approximately US $30 000, mostly for equipment and supplies. Forty percent came from project funds, 36% from non‐governmental organizations (NGOs), 15% from government and 9% from community members. The salary of the new physician cost an additional $4700 annually. Conclusions: Modest improvements can increase the provision and utilization of emergency obstetric care. Collaboration with NGOs, government and the community can be beneficial. © 1997 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics
Mobilizing the community to utilize obstetric services, Cross River State, Nigeria
Authors: Olaniran N , Offiong S , Ottong J , Asuquo E , Duke F ,   (The Calabar PMM Team)
Published: July 2002

AbstractPreliminary studies: Twenty‐one focus groups and a survey in two rural communities revealed socioeconomic and cultural barriers to utilization of emergency obstetric services. Interventions: To facilitate the use of services, 20 community educators were trained and an education campaign was conducted beginning in 1994. Educational activities emphasized the need for women with obstetric complications to use obstetric services at two local health facilities and one teaching hospital. Communities were also mobilized to set up loan and transport programs. Results: Awareness of obstetric complications increased in both communities and for all complications: increases ranged from 5% (for obstructed labor) to 63% (for hemorrhage). Fourteen of 39 project communities established new loan programs (six communities already had them). Loans were granted in only nine communities. Transport systems were established in nine communities. Referrals to the teaching hospital of women with major obstetric complications from two health facilities in the study area increased from three in 1990 to 11 in 1995 in one community and from four to eight in the other. Costs: The cost of the mobilization activities was approximately US $6500. Conclusion: Community education and mobilization can help increase awareness of obstetric complications. © 1997 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics
Community education to encourage use of emergency obstetric services, Kebbi State, Nigeria
Authors: Bello Gummi F , Hassan M , Shehu D , Audu L ,   (The Sakoto PMM Team)
Published: July 2002

AbstractPreliminary studies: Focus group discussions and a mini‐survey in Kebbi State, Nigeria, revealed poor knowledge of obstetric complications, lack of confidence in health services, and cultural barriers to seeking care. Interventions: After upgrading services in emergency obstetric facilities, the team began community education to encourage utilization. Messages focused on recognition and need for prompt treatment of complications, and addressed men's role as decision‐makers. Beginning in 1992, messages were disseminated through weekly meetings with community opinion leaders, video shows, posters and handbills. Results: A post‐intervention mini‐survey showed knowledge gains of over 30% among women and men. The increase was greatest (59% increase among women and 55% among men) on the need for prompt care for women with obstetric complications. However, utilization of emergency obstetric services did not increase. At Maiyama Maternity Center, referrals declined from 18 in 1992 to four in 1995. At Jega Health Center, referrals remained relatively stable at 20–30/year, but the number of women with major obstetric complications treated declined from 234 in 1992 to 136 in 1995. At Birnin Kebbi Specialist Hospital, the referral center, the number of women with complications treated declined from 200 in 1990 to 152 in 1995. Costs: The cost of community education was approximately US $9500, of which 15% was contributed by the community. Conclusions: Increased awareness of the signs of obstetric complications and the need for prompt treatment among community women and men did not result in greater utilization of emergency obstetric services at the facilities studied. © 1997 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics
Community motivators promote use of emergency obstetric services in rural Sierra Leone
Authors: Kandeh H.B.S , Leigh B , Kanu M.S , Kuteh M , Bangura J , Seisay A.L ,   (The Freetown/Makeni PMM Team)
Published: July 2002

AbstractPreliminary studies: An appraisal of government health facilities documented generally poor conditions, a shortage of drugs and supplies, and inadequate skills among staff. Focus group discussions in the community revealed a lack of knowledge about obstetric complications and difficulty in reaching health facilities. Interventions: Improvements were made in services at primary health units (PHUs) through May 1993. Community motivators were trained in June and provided with bicycles and raingear in September 1993. Among their duties were community education, formation of village action groups for emergency transport and facilitation of referral for women with obstetric complications. Results: Between August 1992 and December 1995, women with major complications seen at the PHUs increased from nine to 16 per month, with fluctuations due to disruptions in services and civil strife. The proportion of women with complications who were referred by the community motivators diminished over time, dropping from 24% to 1% over the first two years (1993–1994) and then recovering somewhat to 10% in the final period of observation. Costs: The cost of this intervention was approximately US$5082, with about half coming from the project and the rest from the government (44%) and the community (8%). Conclusions: The project improved utilization of the PHUs by women with complications, indicating that once services are of acceptable quality, many women will use them. The contribution of the motivators was positive, though smaller than expected. © 1997 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics
Promoting the use of obstetric services through community loan funds, Bo, Sierra Leone
Authors: Fofana P , Samai O , Kebbie A , Sengeh P ,   (The Bo PMM Team)
Published: July 2002

AbstractPreliminary studies: Focus group discussions revealed that a lack of funds often contributed to a delay for women receiving treatment for obstetric complications. Interventions: Improvements were made in health facilities and transport, then, beginning in 1992, meetings were held to mobilize communities to establish emergency loan funds. Per capita levies were set and repayment was enforced by the most paramount chief of the area. Funds were managed by existing village development committees and loans were granted to women who could not pay hospital bills immediately. Results: Of the six chiefdoms contacted, two successfully established loan funds. Utilization of Bo Government Hospital by women with complications from the two chiefdoms with loan funds increased from five in 1992 to 12 in 1993. Utilization from other chiefdoms remained basically unchanged. Of women from loan fund chiefdoms, half paid their hospital bills in full and one‐third paid in part. Costs: The cost of community mobilization was about US $472. Conclusions: The establishment of loan funds depended on strong community leadership and required substantial mobilization efforts. Where community loan funds are established, utilization of emergency obstetric care may increase. © 1997 International Federation of Gyneology and Obstetrics
Molecular heterogeneity of hCG β — related glycoproteins and the clinical relevance in trophoblastic and non‐trophoblastic tumors
Authors: Nishimura R. , Koizumi T. , Yokotani T. , Taniguchi R. , Morisue K. , Yoshimura M. , Hiranmoy D. , Yamaguchi S. , Nakagawa T. , Hasegawa K. , Yasui H. 
Published: July 2002

AbstractWe analyzed immunoreactive hCG/hCG β (IR‐β) in the sera and urine of patients with trophoblastic diseases and non‐trophoblastic tumors by using enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) specific for intact hCG, free hCG β, and β‐core fragment of hCG (β‐CF). In trophoblastic diseases, while intact hCG and free hCG β were contained in both serum and urine, the β‐CF could be detected only in the urine of the patients. The relative contribution of the β‐CF to the total urinary IR‐β accounted for about 30–50% in normal early pregnancy and hydatidiform mole, and more than 60% in choriocarcinoma. We conclude that intact hCG should be measured in the serum rather than in the urine as a tumor marker for trophoblastic dieseases, and suggested that the ratios of intact hCG, free hCG β, and β‐CF to each other may be useful indices in the differential diagnosis of trophoblastic diseases. Ectopic IR‐β was also investigated in the sera and urine of the patients with cervical, endometrial, ovarian, lung, and bladder carcinomas. We found that even when IR‐β could not be detected in the serum, the urine of the same patients with cancer often contained the significant amounts of IR‐β. The chromatographic study indicated that these urinary IR‐β were essentially attributed to β‐CF, leading to the evaluation of urinary β‐CF as a tumor marker. The positive rated of urinary β‐CF were 48% for cervical, 38% for endometrial, and 84% for ovarian, 40% for lung, and 42% for bladder carcinomas. We conclude that ectopic production of hCG β by non‐trophoblastic tumors is not a rare phenomenon and it can be recognized as a tumor marker when β‐CF is measured in urine of the patients.
Cell alignment is induced by cyclic changes in cell length: studies of cells grown in cyclically stretched substrates
Authors: Neidlinger‐Wilke C. , Grood E. S. , Wang J. H.‐C. , Brand R. A. , Claes L. 
Published: July 2002

AbstractMany types of cells, when grown on the surface of a cyclically stretched substrate, align away from the stretch direction. Although cell alignment has been described as an avoidance response to stretch, the specific deformation signal that causes a cell population to become aligned has not been identified. Planar surface deformation is characterized by three strains: two normal strains describe the length changes of two initially perpendicular lines and one shear strain describes the change in the angle between the two lines. The present study was designed to determine which, if any, of the three strains was the signal for cell alignment. Human fibroblasts and osteoblasts were grown in deformable, rectangular, silicone culture dishes coated with ProNectin, a biosynthetic polymer containing the RGD ligand of fibronectin. 24 h after plating the cells, the dishes were cyclically stretched at 1 Hz to peak dish stretches of 0% (control), 4%, 8%, and 12%. After 24 h of stretching, the cells were fixed, stained, and their orientations measured. The cell orientation distribution was determined by calculating the percent of cells whose orientation was within each of eighteen 5° angular intervals. We found that the alignment response was primarily driven by the substrate strain which tended to lengthen the cell (axial strain). We also found that for each cell type there was an axial strain limit above which few cells were found. The axial strain limit for fibroblasts, 4.2 ± 0.4% (mean ± 95% confidence), was lower than for osteoblasts, 6.4 ± 0.6%. We suggest that the fibroblasts are more responsive to stretch because of their more highly developed actin cytoskeleton. © 2001 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Apolipoprotein E-ε4frequency in deficit schizophrenia
Authors: Thibaut F , Van der Elst A , Campion D , Martin C , Coron B , Dollfus S , Frebourg TH , Petit M 
Published: July 2002

SummaryThe apolipoprotein E (ApoE) genotype has been found to affect the expression of several neuropsychiatric disorders. We determined ApoE genotype frequencies and their relationship to primary negative symptoms in 61 non-deficit and 45 deficit schizophrenic patients, and compared them with 98 control subjects. No difference was observed when genotype or allele frequencies were compared between the three groups. Our data do not support a role for ApoE in the phenotypic expression of schizophrenia.
Control over Light Soaking Effect in All‐Inorganic Perovskite Solar Cells
Authors: Wu Xiao , Ma Junjie , Qin Minchao , Guo Xinlu , Li Yuhao , Qin Zhaotong , Xu Jianbin , Lu Xinhui 
Published: April 2021

AbstractLight soaking (LS) has been reported to positively influence the device performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs), which, however, could be potentially harmful to the loaded devices due to the unstable output. There are very few reports on controls over the LS effect, especially in all‐inorganic PSCs. In this study, a remarkable LS induced performance enhancement of CsPb(I1−xBrx)3 based PSCs is presented. In situ grazing‐incidence wide‐angle X‐ray scattering measurements quantize the temperature increase under illumination and reveal a radiative heating‐induced lattice expansion. The device curing time is shortened with the increased Br/I ratio, evidently correlated with their distinct mobility and activation energy. It is suggested that LS could promote the migration of halide ions, giving rise to notable defect passivation and thus device improvements. Based on these understandings, an effective means is proposed to suppress the LS effect, which is to incorporate slightly over‐stochiometric PbI2 in precursor, and a champion PCE of 18.14% in all‐inorganic PSCs with significantly reduced device curing time is obtained.
Van Der Waals Heterostructures Based on Atomically‐Thin Superconductors
Authors: Boix‐Constant Carla , Mañas‐Valero Samuel , Córdoba Rosa , Coronado Eugenio 
Published: April 2021

AbstractVan der Waals heterostructures (vdWHs) allow the assembly of high‐crystalline 2D materials in order to explore dimensionality effects in strongly correlated systems and the emergence of potential new physical scenarios. In this work, the feasibility of integrating 2D materials in‐between 2D superconductors is illustrated. In particular, the fabrication and electrical characterization of vertical vdWHs based on air‐unstable atomically‐thin transition metal dichalcogenides formed by NbSe2/TaS2/NbSe2 stacks, with TaS2 being the insulator 1T‐TaS2 or the metal 2H‐TaS2, is presented. Phase transitions as 1T‐TaS2 charge density wave and NbSe2 superconductivity are detected. An enhancement of the vdWH resistance due to Andreev reflections is observed below the superconducting transition temperature of the NbSe2 flakes. Moreover, in the NbSe2 superconducting state, the field and temperature dependence of the normalized conductance is analyzed within the Dynes’ model and the overall behavior is consistent with the Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer theory. This vdWH approach can be extended to other 2D materials, such as 2D magnets or topological insulators, with the aim of exploring the new emergent properties that may arise from such combinations.
Nutritive and non‐nutritive effects of compost on organic dryland wheat in Utah
Authors: Adeleke Kareem A. , Atoloye Idowu A. , Creech J. Earl , Dai Xin , Reeve Jennifer R. 
Published: April 2021

AbstractOrganic dryland wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is an important crop in Utah and the intermountain western United States; however, growers face numerous challenges maintaining yield, grain quality, soil fertility, and health. Wheat yields in the West are severely constrained by lack of rainfall, so dryland organic wheat farmers generally do not grow cover crops due to the risk of subsequent crop failure or apply soil amendments due to the inability to recoup application costs in the short term. Compost may have significant non‐nutritive as well as nutritive effects on soil processes, however, potentially changing calculations of perceived costs vs. benefits. The goal of this study was to quantify the effects of a one‐time compost application on soil health, yield, and crop quality in an organic dryland wheat–fallow system in northern Utah. Four rates of compost, applied once, (0, 12.5, 25, and 50 Mg ha−1 dry weight, DW) were compared to anhydrous ammonia (50 kg N ha−1) applied at planting. Mineralizable C, microbial biomass, and phosphatase enzyme activity increased significantly at all compost rates, while available soil P increased at the 25 and 50 Mg ha−1 rates and total soil N at the 50 Mg ha rate−1. Soil moisture was generally no different between treatments. Wheat yield was significantly greater 3 yr after application at the 50 Mg ha−1 compost rate only, with no response to conventional fertilizer. A lack of yield response to conventional fertilizer suggests that non‐nutritive benefits of improved soil health were responsible for improved yields at the high compost rate.
Horizontal equity in the design of Australian family payments for newborns
Authors: Taylor Matthew 
Published: April 2021

AbstractEquity and efficiency are important evaluative criteria in tax and transfer policy. While matters of vertical equity receive more attention, horizontal equity is widely regarded as an important design principle. This is especially true in the design of family payments and has traditionally been interpreted as requiring universal – rather than targeted – payments to families on the basis the number, and ages, of dependent children. The focus of this paper is the horizontal equity of Australian family payments made specifically to the families of newborns. Under current policy, these families may receive maternity payments (the Newborn Supplement and Newborn Upfront Payment) or Parental Leave Pay (PLP), the former, a means‐tested birth grant; and the latter, a government‐funded paid maternity leave payment. Eligibility for PLP is largely contingent upon the birth mother providing a specific level of pre‐birth labour supply known as the “work test”. This paper uses microsimulation modelling to demonstrate the variation in the level of payment provided by the Australian Government under both programmes. It finds significant variation in the level of payment made both within and between families where the mother meets the PLP work test and finds higher levels of payment flowing to families where the mother is eligible for PLP. It concludes with a discussion of Australia's retreat from the provision of family payments on a universal basis with an emphasis on the equity–efficiency trade‐offs inherent to the PLP work test.
Highly sensitive and selective fluorescence sensing and imaging of Fe3+ based on a novel nitrogen‐doped graphene quantum dots
Authors: Wu Dongming , Qu Chaojie , Wang Jizhong , Yang Ran , Qu Lingbo 
Published: April 2021

AbstractA novel nitrogen‐doped graphene quantum dots (N‐GQDs) with a green fluorescence emission was synthesized through microwave method using citric acid and semicarbazide hydrochloride as reactants. The as‐synthesized N‐GQDs exhibited good stability, excellent water solubility, and negligible cytotoxicity. Due to intermolecular charge transfer, ferric ion (Fe3+) has a strong quenching effect on the N‐GQDs. Fluorescence quenching has a linear relationship with the Fe3+ concentration in the range 0.02–12 μM. The detection limit was 1.43 nM. What is more, it is worth mentioning that the obtained N‐GQDs showed high selectivity and sensitivity towards Fe3+. Under the optimum conditions, the addition of 10‐fold copper ions and 100‐fold other metal ions had no influence on the detection of Fe3+ (0.8 μM), which indicated a higher sensitivity compared with that of the reported methods. Due to their excellent properties, the obtained N‐GQDs was successfully applied for sensing and imaging Fe3+ in water samples and HeLa cells.
On a parallel spark workflow for frequent itemset mining based on array prefix‐tree
Authors: Niu Xinzheng , Wu Peng , Wu Chase Q. , Hou Aiqin , Qian Mideng 
Published: April 2021

AbstractExtracting frequent itemsets from datasets is an important problem in data mining, for which several mining methods including FP‐Growth have been proposed. FP‐Growth is a classical frequent itemset mining method, which generates pattern databases without candidates. Many improvements have been made in the literature due to the high time complexity and memory usage of FP‐Growth. However, most of them still suffer from performance issues on large datasets. In this paper, we design an auxiliary structure, Array Prefix‐Tree (AP‐Tree), and propose a new algorithm, Array Prefix‐Tree Growth (APT‐Growth), which is further parallelized as a Spark workflow, referred to as PAPT‐Growth. Based on a density threshold, we incorporate an adaptive algorithm selection process into PAPT‐Growth to ensure its running time performance. We conduct extensive experiments on different thresholds and multiple datasets, and experimental results show the performance superiority of PAPT‐Growth in comparison with several state‐of‐the‐art methods such as PFP, YAFIM, and DFPS. The analysis on density reveals a changing point, which justifies the necessity and validity of adaptive algorithm selection.