bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Relation between trihalomethane compounds and birth defects
Authors: Dodds L , King W D 
Published: July 2002

OBJECTIVESTo evaluate the risk of birth defects relative to exposure to specific trihalomethanes in public water supplies.METHODSA retrospective cohort study was conducted based on data from a population based perinatal database in Nova Scotia, Canada and from the results of routine water monitoring tests. The cohort consisted of women who had a singleton birth in Nova Scotia between 1988 and 1995 and who lived in an area with a municipal water supply. The birth defects analyzed included neural tube defects, cardiovascular defects, cleft defects, and chromosomal abnormalities. Two of the four trihalomethane compounds occur in large enough concentrations to be analyzed (chloroform and bromodichloromethane (BDCM)).RESULTSExposure to BDCM at concentrations of 20 μg/l or over was associated with an increased risk of neural tube defects (adjusted relative risk (RR) 2.5, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.2 to 5.1) whereas exposure to chloroform was not. Exposure to BDCM of 20 μg/l and over was associated with decreased risks of cardiovascular anomalies (RR 0.3, 95% CI 0.2 to 0.7). There was a suggestion of an increased risk of chromosomal abnormalities associated with exposure to chloroform, and no evidence of any association between either trihalomethane compound and cleft defects.CONCLUSIONSIn this cohort, differences were found in the RR associated with exposure to chloroform and BDCM for each of the congenital anomalies under study. These findings point to the importance of examining specific byproduct compounds relative to risk for these birth outcomes and in particular implicate BDCM and other correlated disinfection byproducts in the aetiology of neural tube defects.
Reported chemical sensitivities in a health survey of United Kingdon military personnel
Authors: Reid S , Hotopf M , Hull L , Ismail K , Unwin C , Wessely S 
Published: July 2002

Objective: To report the prevalence of self reported chemical sensitivities in three cohorts of United Kingdom service personnel.Method: Cross sectional postal survey of three cohorts of United Kingdom military personnel comprising Gulf veterans (n=3531), those who had served in Bosnia (n=2050), and those serving during the Gulf war but not deployed there (Era cohort, n=2614).Results: Sensitivity to at least one everyday chemical was reported by a considerable proportion of all three cohorts, and particularly by veterans of the Gulf war (Era: 14%; Bosnia: 13%; Gulf: 28%).Conclusion: Reported chemical sensitivities were common in all three military cohorts. Our understanding of chemical sensitivities remains limited and objective evidence for a causal link between low level exposures to chemicals and reported symptoms is lacking. Given their frequency in the population, further work in this area is necessary.
Clinical features and management of biliary ascariasis in a non-endemic area
Authors: Misra S P , Dwivedi Manisha 
Published: July 2002

Summary
Biliary ascariasis is common in certain geographical areas of the world. In India, it is common in the Kashmir valley and only stray cases have been reported from other parts of the country. Between January 1995 and May 1997, 14 patients with biliary ascariasis were seen at our centre, which is more than 1000 km from the Kashmir valley. The mean (± SD) age of the patients was 31.7 (± 6.1) years and all were females. None of them had been to a place known to be endemic for biliary ascariasis. Four patients presented with acute cholangitis, eight with acute abdominal pain and vomiting, and the remaining two were diagnosed incidentally during surgery for gallstone disease. Barring these two patients, ultrasound examination of the abdomen diagnosed the condition accurately. In 10 patients, a part of the worm was visible outside the papilla of Vater. The roundworm was caught in a Dormia basket and could be extracted in nine patients. In one patient the worm migrated inside the bile duct while it was being caught in a Dormia basket. In this and two other patients, in whom the worm had migrated completely inside the bile duct, worms were removed with the help of a Dormia basket after endoscopic sphincterotomy. There were no complications of endoscopic therapy. In the two patients in whom biliary ascariasis was detected during surgery, the worms were removed after choledocholithotomy. On a mean follow-up of 13.8 months, only one patient had a recurrence of biliary ascariasis. It is concluded that biliary ascariasis is not an uncommon disease and must be considered as a possibility in patients presenting with acute cholangitis and biliary pain even in a non-endemic area. Ultrasonography is an excellent diagnostic tool and endoscopic management is very effective and safe in the treatment of these patients.
Does this elderly patient have iron deficiency anaemia, and what is the underlying cause?
Authors: Jolobe O M P 
Published: July 2002

Abstract
Important implications for the recognition of iron deficiency anaemia include diagnosis and correction of underlying causes, most of which are identifiable, in the older patient, by means of conventional upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, and by colonoscopy. The aetiological search may, however, have to be widened to include enteroscopic examination of the jejunum and ileum and, in some instances, investigation of potential non-gastrointestinal foci of chronic blood loss. A substantial minority may defy even the most thorough search for the underlying cause.
Importance of family history in type 2 black South African diabetic patients
Authors: Erasmus R T , Blanco E Blanco , Okesina A B , Arana J Mesa , Gqweta Z , Matsha T 
Published: July 2002

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
To assess the family history of diabetes in type 2 black South African diabetics with emphasis on the parental phenotype.

DESIGN
Prospective case-control study in which family histories were obtained from patients.

SETTING
Diabetic clinic of a provincial teaching hospital in the Transkei region of South Africa.

SUBJECTS
A total of 1111 type 2 diabetics attending the diabetic clinic and 687 controls.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
History of diabetes in parents, siblings, maternal and paternal grandparents, aunts, and uncles.

RESULTS
Altogether 27.3% of diabetic subjects had a family history of diabetes compared with 8.4% in the control group (p&lt;0.01). Among the group with positive family history 82.6% reported only one diabetic family member, while 17.4% reported at least two relatives; 6.6% had a diabetic relative from both maternal and paternal sides, and 87.8% had first degree relative with diabetes. Among them there was a significant maternal aggregation with 64.7% of patients having a diabetic mother compared with 27% who had a diabetic father (p&lt;0.01). No maternal effect was observed among the second and third degree relatives. Patients with positive family history had an earlier onset of diabetes than those without family history (p&lt;0.01).

CONCLUSION
These data suggest that type 2 diabetes is heritable in black South African diabetics. It is also likely that maternal influences may play an important part.
Yoghurt biotherapy: contraindicated in immunosuppressed patients?
Authors: MacGregor G , Smith A J , Thakker B , Kinsella J 
Published: July 2002

Abstract
AUTHOR:e-mail address please A fatal case of Lactobacillus rhamnosus septicaemia after prolonged oral vancomycin for recalcitrant Clostridium difficile infection is reported. The patient was immunosuppressed with cyclophosphamide and steroids for Sjögren’s syndrome. The administration of Lactobacillus spp as “biotherapy” may be hazardous in such circumstances.
Print media coverage of California's smokefree bar law
Authors: Magzamen Sheryl , Charlesworth Annemarie , Glantz Stanton A 
Published: July 2002

OBJECTIVETo assess the print media coverage of California's smokefree bar law in the state of California.DESIGNContent analysis of newspaper, trade journal, and magazine items.SUBJECTSItems regarding the smokefree bar law published seven months before and one year following the implementation of the smokefree bar law (June 1997 to December 1998). Items consisted of news articles (n = 446), opinion editorials (n = 31), editorials (n = 104), letters to the editor (n = 240), and cartoons (n = 10).MAIN OUTCOME MEASURESNumber and timing of publication of items, presence of tobacco industry arguments or public health arguments regarding law, positive, negative, and neutral views of opinion items published.RESULTS53% of items published concerning the smokefree bar law were news articles, 47% were opinion items. 45% of items regarding the smokefree bar law were published during the first month of implementation. The tobacco industry dominated coverage in most categories (economics, choice, enforcement, ventilation, legislation, individual quotes), except for categories public health used the most frequently (government role, tactics, organisational quotes). Anti-law editorials and letters to the editor were published more than pro-law editorials and letters. Region of the state, paper size, presence of local clean indoor air legislation, and voting on tobacco related ballot initiatives did not have an impact on the presence of opinion items.CONCLUSIONSThe tobacco industry succeeded in obtaining more coverage of the smokefree bar law, both in news items and opinion items. The tobacco industry used historical arguments of restricting freedom of choice and economic ramifications in fighting the smokefree bar law, while public health groups focused on the worker protection issue, and exposed tobacco industry tactics. Despite the skewed coverage, public health groups obtained adequate attention to their arguments to keep the law in effect.
Mentholated cigarettes and smoking cessation: findings from COMMIT
Authors: Hyland A , Garten S , Giovino G A , Cummings K M 
Published: July 2002

Objective:To examine the association between the use of menthol cigarettes and smoking cessation, amount smoked, and time to first cigarette in the morning.Background:The majority of African American smokers smoke mentholated cigarettes. Some evidence suggests that African Americans may be more nicotine dependent than whites. One theory is that menthol in cigarettes is responsible for enhancing the dependence producing capacity of cigarettes; however, few studies have prospectively examined the association between menthol use and indicators of nicotine dependence.Methods:Baseline smokers from the Community Intervention Trial for Smoking Cessation (COMMIT) completed a telephone tobacco use survey in 1988 and were re-interviewed in 1993. Use of mentholated cigarettes was assessed by self report at baseline. Indicators of dependence examined were six month cessation in 1993, amount smoked among continuing smokers in 1993, and time to first cigarette in the morning in 1988. Multivariate regression techniques were used to assess the association of baseline menthol use with these outcomes while controlling for other factors related to dependence.Results:Overall, 24% of the sample smoked a mentholated brand in 1988. No consistent associations were observed for menthol use and indicators of dependence in both overall and race specific analyses. Factors significantly associated with increased menthol use were female sex, age 25–34 years, African American and Asian race/ethnicity, greater education, greater than 60 minutes to the first cigarette in the morning, two or more past quit attempts, and use of premium brand cigarettes. Canadian respondents and those who smoked 15–24 cigarettes per day had lower rates of menthol use. Use of mentholated cigarettes was not associated with quitting, amount smoked, or time to first cigarette in the morning.Conclusion:Future work is needed to clarify the physiological and sociocultural mechanisms involved in mentholated cigarette smoking.
Electrical conductivity and thermo-electric power of a-Se80xInx and Se80xGe20Inx thin films
Authors: Khan Z H , Zulfeqaur M , Kumar A , Husain M 
Published: July 2002

The dc conductivity and thermo-electric power of a-Se80xInx (x = 5, 10, 15, 20, 30) and a-Se80xGe20Inx (x = 0, 5, 10, 15, 20) thin films are reported in the present work. The free-charge-carrier concentration is calculated with the help of dc conductivity and thermo-electric power measurements. The calculated values of the free-charge-carrier concentration have been used to evaluate the free-charge-carrier mobility from which the grain boundary potential was evaluated. The results are interpreted in terms of band tailing and the structure of SeIn, SeGeIn, and the grain boundary potential barrier. PACS Nos.: 73.61-p, 61.43Dq
Design and performance of a microstrip reflectarray on a uniaxial substrate
Authors: Iliadis A , Siakavara K 
Published: July 2002

A design formulation of microstrip reflectarrays is presented in this paper. Previous published articles, referring to this subject, present results for reflectarrays on a uniform dielectric substrate. In this work microstrip reflectarrays with offset feed, dual polarization, and side-lobe level under control, fabricated on a uniaxial substrate were studied. The method of moments, combined with the full-wave technique, and the corresponding dyadic Green's function is used for the specification of the electromagnetic field scattered by the array. PACS No.: 84.40B
Rapidly rotating sliding cylinders: Trajectories with large lateral displacements
Authors: Shegelski M R.A. , Holenstein R 
Published: July 2002

We show that rapidly rotating cylinders sliding on smooth surfaces can exhibit novel trajectories. The lateral deflection can be as large as the net displacement in the initial direction of motion. With a large enough initial angular speed, the cylinder can trace out a spiral trajectory having a large number of loops. An exact analytical result for large lateral deflection is also derived. PACS No.: 4600
Solar neutrinos
Authors: Liboff R L 
Published: July 2002

A self-consistent study of the solar-neutrino problem is described in terms of an equation of state for the solar core and the radial distribution function. This formulation permits a direct estimate of solar-neutrino emission from the main pp sequence that yields a decrease of neutrino emission in approximate agreement with measured decrement of global incidence. The study further implies that the neutrino yield decreases as the sixth power of the range of the pp fusing domain. A rough estimate of the solar-core temperature, in the formalism of the present work, yields a value within 2% of that of the standard model. PACS Nos: 96.40Tv, 96.40Fg, 96.60Vg, 98.85Qx
QED effective action revisited
Authors: Jentschura U D , Gies H , Valluri S R , Lamm D R , Weniger E J 
Published: July 2002

The derivation of a convergent series representation for the quantum electrodynamic effective action obtained by two of us (S.R.V. and D.R.L.) in [Can. J. Phys. 71, 389 (1993)] is reexamined. We present more details of our original derivation. Moreover, we discuss the relation of the electric-magnetic duality to the integral representation for the effective action, and we consider the application of nonlinear convergence acceleration techniques that permit the efficient and reliable numerical evaluation of the quantum correction to the Maxwell Lagrangian. PACS Nos.: 11.15Bt, 11.10Jj, 12.20Ds
COMPLEMENTARY SURFACE INVESTIGATION OF DIAMOND BY SCANNING THERMAL MICROSCOPY AND SCANNING NEAR-FIELD CATHODOLUMINESCENCE
Authors: ALTES A. , HEIDERHOFF R. , BALK L. J. 
Published: July 2002

The interest in diamond windows for the application of high power radiation technology is increasing continuously due to its outstanding thermal and opto-electronic properties. In order to analyze the surface properties of very highly polished polycrystalline diamond in the sub-micrometer down to nanometer regime, two different near-field microscopy techniques have been employed. By using a Scanning Thermal Microscope (SThM) it is possible to uncover the varying thermal conductivity of different diamond grains. Dissimilar thermal surface properties within diamond grains have been measured with a resolution in the nm regime. Beside the fact of determining a small surface thermal conductivity compared to the well known data of bulk material, the thermal conductivity of inferior and superior diamond quality is separated quantitatively. Additionally the opto-electronic properties of the polished diamond have been investigated by Scanning Near-Field Cathodoluminescence (NF-CL). This measurement technique allows the detection of the distribution of dislocations within diamond grains with a resolution of less than 100nm. The comparison of these results, obtained by SThM and NF-CL, demonstrates a fine alignment in representing crystal lattice imperfections.
THE FORCED CHAOTIC AND IRREGULAR OSCILLATIONS OF THE NONLINEAR TWO DEGREES OF FREEDOM (2DOF) SYSTEM
Authors: PŮST LADISLAV , SZÖLLÖS ONDŘEJ 
Published: July 2002

The behavior of a 2DOF nonlinear mechanical system excited by a pure harmonic force is studied by the first approximation (averaging and asymptotic) method and by numerical simulations. The response curves, instability domains, displacement versus time dependencies and phase plane portraits are determined. By means of the first approximation solution we find three instability domains, where jumps occur, or in which the beats, irregular and chaotic motions emerge. The numerical simulations confirm these properties, but show that there exist several new bifurcations and instability domains, in which the response on the pure harmonic excitation is chaotic. The response curve of the low damped system has in the first resonance the multifold solution. The corresponding oscillations depend on the history, i.e. on the way and the speed of the very slow exciting frequency variation, at which the system comes into the current state. The responses at increasing or decreasing frequencies differ, the hysteresis loops exist.
PREDICTING FAULT-PRONE MODULES IN EMBEDDED SYSTEMS USING ANALOGY-BASED CLASSIFICATION MODELS
Authors: KHOSHGOFTAAR TAGHI M. , CUKIC BOJAN , SELIYA NAEEM 
Published: July 2002

Embedded systems have become ubiquitous and essential entities in our ever growing high-tech world. The backbone of today's information-highway infrastructure are embedded systems such as telecommunication systems. They demand high reliability, so as to prevent severe consequences of failures including costly repairs at remote sites. Technology changes mandate that embedded systems evolve, resulting in a demand for techniques for improving reliability of their future system releases. Reliability models based on software metrics can be effective tools for software engineering of embedded systems, because quality improvements are so resource-consuming that it is not feasible to apply them to all modules. Identification of the likely fault-prone modules before system testing, can be effective in reducing the likelihood of faults discovered during operations. A software quality classification model is calibrated using software metrics from a past release, and is then applied to modules currently under development to estimate which modules are likely to be fault-prone. This paper presents and demonstrates an effective case-based reasoning approach for calibrating such classification models. It is attractive for software engineering of embedded systems, because it can be used to develop software reliability models using a faster, cheaper, and easier method. We illustrate our approach with two large-scale case studies obtained from embedded systems. They involve data collected from telecommunication systems including wireless systems. It is indicated that the level of classification accuracy observed in both case studies would be beneficial in achieving high software reliability of subsequent releases of the embedded systems.
AN ANALYSIS OF U.S. STOCK PRICE BEHAVIOR USING WAVELETS
Authors: RAMSEY JAMES B. , USIKOV DANIEL , ZASLAVSKY GEORGE M. 
Published: July 2002

Using wavelets we re-examine the U.S. stock market price index for any evidence of self-similarity or order that might be revealed at different scales. The wavelet transform localized in time can be used to indicate how the power of the projection of the signal onto the kernel varies with the scale of observation. By comparing how the local power scales vary over time much information about the structure of the data can be obtained. Such evidence is not at all evident from standard analyses of untransformed data, including projections onto a Fourier basis. Wavelets can detect structures in data that are highly localized in time and therefore non-detectable by Fourier transforms. The main conclusion is that while the data are clearly complex, there seems to be some evidence of non-randomness in the data. There is also some limited evidence of quasi-periodicity in the occurrence of large amplitude shocks to the system.
Surfaces from contours
Authors: Meyers David , Skinner Shelley , Sloan Kenneth 
Published: July 2002

This paper is concerned with the problem of reconstructing the surfaces of three-dimensional objects, given a collection of planar contours representing cross-sections through the objects. This problem has important aplications in biomedical research and instruction, solid modeling, and industrial inspection.
The method we describe produces a triangulated mesh from the data points of the contours which is then used in conjunction with a piecewise parametric surface-fitting algorithm to produce a reconstructed surface.

The problem can be broken into four subproblems: the
correspondence problem
(which contours should be connected by the surface?), the
tiling problem
(how should the contours be connected?), the
branching problem
(what do we do when there are branches in the surface?), and the
surface-fitting problem
(what is the precise geometry of the reconstructed surface?) We describe our system for surface reconstruction from sets of contours with respect to each of these subproblems. Special attention is given to the correspondence and branching problems. We present a method that can handle sets of contours in which adjacent contours share a very contorted boundary, and we describe a new approach to solving the correspondence problem using a Minimum Spanning Tree generated from the contours.