bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Maternal Nutrition in Twin Gestations: Weight Gain, Cravings and Aversions, and Sources of Nutrition Advice
Authors: Luke B. , Keith L. , Keith D. 
Published: July 2016

AbstractBackground: Maternal nutrition has a strong influence on singleton and twin birthweight. This study evaluated the association between twin birthweight and maternal pregravid body mass index (BMI), weight gain, and cravings and aversions. Information was also obtained regarding sources of nutrition advice and advised versus actual weight gain.Methods: This study is based on data from interviews with 928 mothers of twins. Univariate analysis included comparisons by source of nutritional advice, birthweight categories, and categories of cravings and aversions. Multiple logistic regression was used to formulate models for mean twin birthweights > 1,500 g and > 2,500 g.Results: Mothers who received their nutrition advice from a registered dietitian had the highest weight gains and the lowest proportion of birthweights < 1,500 g. For mean twin birthweight > 2,500 g, the final model included prematurity, pregravid BMI, and weight gain; for birthweights > 1,500 g, the model additionally included maternal age and aversions.Conclusions: Maternal pregravid BMI and gestational weight gain were shown to be important factors influencing twin birthweight. Nutrition advice, particularly from a registered dietitian, may be vital in assuring adequate weight gain, and therefore better birthweights, for these high-risk pregnancies.
Field Dependence and Characteristics of Conceptualization in Identical Twins
Authors: Miglio C. Del , Paluzzi S. , Falanga M. , Talli M. 
Published: July 2016

AbstractThis study falls in the areas of both differential psychology and twin psychology. Using the EFT and the WCST (computerized version), we examined 11 MZFF pairs between 18 and 35 years of age. The aim was to establish the genetic and/or environmental determination of global-analytical cognitive style as well as some characteristics of conceptualization linked to field dependence. The research strategy consisted of introducing three other groups of the same size to control the weight of environmental factors different from those determined by subject selection. The results seem to support the hypothesis of genetic determination of field dependence of the MZFFs, probably linked to the XX chromosome combination. The “couple effect” and the attitude of parents and others toward two identical female subjects may contribute to full expression of the genome. The characteristics of conceptualization revealed by the WCST show that MZFFs persevere in errors typical of a global approach to experience.
Prevalence of a History of Testicular Cancer in a Cohort of Elderly Twins
Authors: Braun M. M. , Caporaso N. E. , Page W. F. , Hoover R. N. 
Published: July 2016

AbstractPrior studies have suggested that the risk of testicular cancer among dizygotic twins may exceed that among monozygotic twins or the general population. Cryptorchidism is associated with testicular cancer and twinship, and therefore might potentially explain the findings of the prior studies. In 1993-1994, when they were 66 to 77 years of age, 14,326 twin individuals in the National Academy of Sciencies-National Research Council Twin Registry were interviewed by telephone. A history of testicular cancer was reported by 5 (0.08%) of 5951 monozygotic twins and 11 (0.16%) of 6992 dizygotic twins. Follow-up interviews concerning testicular cancer risk factors and treatment were able to be administered to 4 of the monozygotic and 9 of the dizygotic twins reporting testicular cancer. A history of cryptorchidism was reported in the follow-up interview by only one dizygotic twin. Our data agree with the results of prior studies reporting a more frequent occurrence of testicular cancer among dizygotic than monozygotic twins. Although somewhat limited by small numbers, our study also suggests that the findings of increased testicular cancer in dizygotic twins are not explained simply by increased occurrence of cryptorchidism in twins.
The Placental Cause of Fetal Growth Retardation in Twin Gestations
Authors: Bleker O.P. , Wolf H. , Oosting J. 
Published: July 2016

AbstractThe retardation of fetal growth in twin as compared to singleton gestations may be due to maternal and/or placental factors. The separate birthweights and related placental weights of 487 dichorial twin pairs were recorded, and the heavier placental weights of firstborns in comparison with second-borns were found to be related to the heavier birthweights of firstborns compared to second-borns. The lighter placental weights of firstborns compared to second-borns were found to be related to the lighter birthweights of firstborns compared to second-borns. Obviously, the placenta itself may may very well be the cause of the retardation of fetal growth in twin gestations.
Evaluation of Amniotic Fluid Elastolytic Activity: Can it be a Method of Fetal Lung Maturity Assessment? A Comparison with Gluck's L/S Test
Authors: Bażowska G. , Jendryczko A. , Dudkiewicz J. 
Published: July 2016

AbstractAmniotic fluid elastolytic activity was assessed in a group of 120 women who delivered preterm infants and in 35 women who delivered at term. Amniotic fluid elastolytic activity decreases as pregnancy progresses. The lecithin-to-sphingomyelin (L/S) ratio in women's amniotic fluid was determined by the method developed by Gluck and associates [6] and elastolytic activity by that developed by Mehdi and associates. A significant negative correlation was found between the amniotic fluid L/S ratio and amniotic fluid elastolytic activity (r = −0.932; p<0.001).The border value of elastolytic activity that indicates lung maturity (L/S ratio equal to or greater than 2) is 2.01 ± 0.05 mmol/min ml. In the amniotic elastolytic activity test, it is the value that differentiates mature from immature lungs. The amniotic fluid elastolytic activity test is characterized by high sensitivity (91.43%) and specificity (91.67%), high positive prognostic value (76.19%) and low negative prognostic value (2.65%). The test parameters do not therefore differ greatly from those of the Gluck test. Moreover, the amniotic fluid elastolytic activity test is cheaper and takes less time to perform.
Height of Women, Twinning and Breast Cancer: Epidemiological Evidence of a Relationship
Authors: Doherty John D.H. 
Published: July 2016

AbstractA comparison was made of the stature of women, twinning rates, and breast cancer mortality for 32 countries. As height increased, so did twinning and breast cancer mortality (P < 0.005). Dizygotic twinning and breast cancer increased sharply with the mean height of the female population. With due caution in drawing causal inferences when uncontrolled confounding variables are present, it is suggested that these findings are an evolutionary consequence of the high mortality found in twin pregnancy.
Perinatal Mortality in Multiple Pregnancy Patients
Authors: Meehan F.P. , Magani I.M. , Mortimer G. 
Published: July 2016

AbstractA study of perinatal mortality in multiple pregnancy over a period of 12 years, 1972 to 1984, showed prematurity and low birthweight as the major causes of fetal loss. The highest risk was found at 28 to 30 weeks gestation (306/1,000). There was a significantly greater risk to babies delivered by the breech (136/1,000), and likewise in the second twin when compared with the first, ratio 1:1.4. A significant drop in the perinatal mortality rate, from 98/1,000 to 39/1,000, was observed between 1972-1978 and 1979-1984. Ultrasound has facilitated the earlier diagnosis of twins and provides more accurate serial fetal assessment. Bedrest, more vigilant antenatal care, intrapartum surveillance and improved neonatal care, are required to maintain and further reduce the perinatal mortality rate. When regional analgesia was employed in labour, the number of babies lost was 41/1,000, vs 93/1,000 in patients not receiving regional analgesia. External cephalic version and vertex delivery of the second twin is preferable to internal version and breech extraction. It should also be contemplated, as an alternative to elective cesarean section for a transverse lie or brrech presentation of the second fetus.
Human Twinning Rate in Iniö in the South-West of Finland
Authors: Kroneld Rolf 
Published: July 2016

AbstractA secular demographic study on the Iniö Island in SW Finland shows an even stronger decline of twinning rates than in the Åland Islands and the rest of the archipelago. Twinning rates in Iniö declined, in fact from about 30‰ to less than 10‰.
Disturbed Intrauterine Growth in Twins: Etiological Aspects
Authors: Björo K. , Björo K. 
Published: July 2016

AbstractFactors presumed to influence intrauterine growth were analyzed among 192 twin pairs. Mean birthweight was considerably reduced compared to single pregnancies, and a high proportion of twins were growth retarded (12.4%). One fifth of the twin pairs presented an intrapair birthweight difference exceeding 20%. DZ twins were sligthly heavier than the MZ, while dichorionic twins had a somewhat higher birthweight than the monochorionic. The intrapair weight differences were greater in twins with fused dichorionic placentae than in those with separate ones. The umbilical cord insertion seemed to influence intrauterine growth. Fetuses with velamentously or marginally inserted cords presented more frequently retarded growth than twins with centrally inserted umbilical cords. Though a total of 13 cases of twin transfusion syndromes were observed, these were not characterized by great intrapair weight differences.
Genetic Variance and Heritability of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Chinese Adolescent Twins
Authors: Chen C.J. , Cohen B.H. , Diamond E.L. , Lin T.M. , Chen J.S. 
Published: July 2016

AbstractIn order to estimate genetic variance and heritability of systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels, a total of 235 (79 male and 82 female MZ, 41 male and 33 female DZ) twin pairs, recruited from 12 junior high schools in Taipei city, were studied. Statistically significant genetic variance observed for SBP, DBP, serum cholesterol and triglycerides persisted after adjustment for age and anthropometric characteristics. However, further adjustment for dietary preference, beverage consumption, and other host and environmental factors gave different results: genetic variance of adjusted SBP and DBP was still significant, while significance was found only in males for cholesterol and in neither males nor females for triglycerides. Heritability estimates of unadjusted SBP, DBP, cholesterol and triglycerides were 0.27, 0.45, 0.21 and 0.41, respectively, for males, and 0.15, 0.42, 0.41 and 0.82, respectively, for females. After adjustment for age, anthropometric characteristics, host and environmental factors, the heritability estimates of SBP, DBP and cholesterol were 0.64, 0.72 and 0.50, respectively, for males, and 0.40, 0.60 and 0.37, respectively, for females.
Sir Francis Galton, 1822-1911
Authors: Corney Gerald 
Published: July 2016

Francis Galton was born on 16th February 1822 (the same year as Mendel). His mother Violetta (1783-1874) was the daughter of Dr. Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802), a medical practitioner in Derby who had scientific interests, particularly in plants, and produced various mechanical inventions. He was also grandfather to Charles Darwin. Galton's father, Samuel Tertius Galton (1783-1844), was a Birmingham banker but possessed a number of scientific instruments. His father (Francis Galton's grandfather), Samuel Galton (1735-1832), also had scientific interests, including colour vision, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.Francis Galton became a medical student in Birmingham in 1838, subsequently attending King's College London, Cambridge and St. George's Hospital. However, he gave up his medical studies in 1844 after the death of his father [5,17]. Later he travelled in Egypt and South Africa about which he wrote various articles and books, including “The Art of Travel” (1855) [6] of which a total of eight editions were published. His scientific work from these expeditions won him his first medal, the gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society awarded in 1853. Subsequently he wrote further on scientific matters, mainly concerning geography, travel and meteorology. He worked on stereoscopic maps and problems associated with wind currents and sailing ships and introduced the word “anticyclone”. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1856 and later to the Council of the Royal Geographical Society, becoming Secretary of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1863 [4,19].
Gambia
Authors: Darboe Momodou 
Published: July 2016

Abstract:Over the past fifteen years, the practice of Islam in the Gambia has undergone a perceptible change, from a tolerant and accommodating type of Qaddriyya-inspired Islam to a more radical form. This transformation has coincided with the rulership of President Yahya Jammeh, a master of manipulation of Islamic symbols. Breaking with his predecessor Sir Dawda Jawara, Jammeh has frequently blurred the line between mosque and state to reinforce his political advantage. Examples include building a mosque on state grounds and cultivating particular imams. At the same time, Jammeh has not hesitated to break with his local Wahhabi allies when he has judged it expedient to do so. Thus, in the wake of severe economic deterioration and a resulting rapprochement with the United States, the Jammeh regime has challenged the nation's prime Wahhabi leader over girls' wearing of headscarves to school. Gambia's recent experience illustrates the reciprocal relationship between religion and politics, and politicians' use of Islam for personal gain.
Fieldwork and Local Government: An Example from Tanzania
Authors: Knight C. Gregory 
Published: July 2016

The problem of obtaining permission of national governments for field research in Africa has been frequently documented. The Research Liaison Committee of the African Studies Association was formed in 1966 with the purpose of serving as a center for collection and dissemination of information on U.S. scholars and their research in Africa, communications on the role and mode of research in Africa, referral of questions it was unable to answer itself, collection of files on research clearance regulations, establishing of contact on behalf of researchers going to Africa, and maintaining liaison with African studies groups outside the United States. In interviews conducted in East Africa for the Committee in 1967, Vernon McKay learned that control procedures associated with foreign scholars in Africa were only partially security oriented. Officials, especially those in the national capitals, were being inundated by would-be researchers. Although the value of research was not denied, officials suggested to McKay that research be directed toward needs of the host country -- toward studies that would aid its economic, social, and development planning. Local officials issued a plea that research results be made available to the host as soon as possible.
Research clearance problems in Tanzania are better structured than elsewhere in Africa. Applications are directed through the University College in Dar es Salaam. In Tanzania, as in other countries, even the clearance successfully completed must be followed by establishment of contacts and working relationships “upcountry.” Field research circumstances, especially pertinent to geographers, demand the tolerance, if not the active encouragement of local (subnational) government.
Bibliographical Progress in South Africa 1967-1968
Authors: Musiker Reuben 
Published: July 2016

This is a two-year survey of bibliographical work completed in the Republic of South Africa. Recent developments in current and retrospective national bibliography are outlined. The South African National Bibliography has been mechanised and good progress has been made with the retrospective volume for 1926-1958. Attention is drawn to the State Library's work on the documentation of banned books. Catalogues of important collections completed are briefly described, and recent developments in the field of periodical lists and indexes are outlined. Special attention is paid in the review to Africana indexes and bibliographies. The author concludes that despite lacunae which remain to be filled, the bibliographical scene in South Africa is satisfactory and full of promise.
This review, like its forerunner covers a two-year period and is based on information derived from a questionnaire sent to the major libraries of South Africa. The interim period has also been covered to some extent by a number of informal bibliographical progress reports published in the South African Library Association Newsletter.
German Records in the National Archives of Tanzania
Authors: Brown Walter T. 
Published: July 2016

The National Archives of Tanzania (Idara ya Kumbukumbu za Taifa la Tanzania) were established on 28 August 1965. Since this date energies have been directed toward building an efficient archival service: better storage facilities have been acquired, trained Tanzanian personnel have been hired, and there is now seating space for ten researchers. The most significant development from the historian's point of view has been the recent organization of the German records into a concise and convenient index catalogue.
In June 1967 the West German Government Technical Aid Program sent Mr. Peter Geissler, an Archivinspektor at Hessiches Staatsarchiv, Marburg, on a two-year project to reorganize the German records. Mr. Geissler is already familiar to historians of the American Revolution for his research on the Hessian troop records at Marburg. In Deutsch-Ostafrika the old German Registry System (renewed in 1902 and in effect until 1916) had been utilized in numbering the various files. A still extant two-volume Registry lists all the documents in existence before the First World War, but many of these have since been lost, eaten by white ants, stolen, or destroyed. It is evident that only a few records concerning district political administration have survived, while land, legal, mission, public works, and education files are among the most complete. The files have been divided into two main groupings: (1) the old German Registry and other German Government Administration (G 1 - G 65); and (2) Private Archives (G 66 - G 86). Each file card contains both the new “G” number and the old German Registry designation. In addition Mr. Geissler has performed a painstaking task in listing on each card some of the outstanding names, places, etc. mentioned in the particular file.
Distribution of African Studies Programs and Africanists in the United States: A View from the South
Authors: Vermeer Donald E. 
Published: July 2016

Chronicles of the African Studies Association and of the development of African studies programs give clear evidence that both have achieved substantive progress after a rather late arrival on the academic scene. At the same time, however, mapping of both programs and Africaniste equally clearly indicates their quite restricted distribution. Consequently the impact of African studies programs and scholarship on our academies and on the wider society of which we are a part has been far more limited than is desirable.
The distribution of Africanists is largely related to the location and size of African studies programs, and the distribution of both of these in turn is influenced by population distribution in the United States. Although large parts of the United States are devoid of African studies programs and of dedicated African scholars, they certainly are not unpopulated. Thus, awareness and understanding of African phenomena bypass large portions of the student and general population, and at least some of the responsibility for ignorance about Africa results from the spotty distribution of programs and scholars. It may be argued that little or nothing can be done to remedy this maldistribution of programs and scholars, but such an argument can logically be offered only after an attempt has been made.
African Studies in Spain
Authors: Beltrán Luis 
Published: July 2016

It is a well-known saying that Africa begins at the Pyrenees. What is also obvious is that due to historical, cultural, and geographical reasons, Spain constitutes a unique bridge between Africa and Europe. Within Spain itself, as it advances toward the south, one can appreciate how the north of Africa gradually penetrates into Europe. Hence the African root in Spain is a logical consequence of the geographical reality and the evolution of social historic facts, which throughout the centuries have strongly related Spain and Africa, particularly its northwestern regions; so that when Africa is mentioned in Spain the Maghreb often comes to mind. For the same reason Arabic and Islamic studies occupy a privileged position in Spanish Africanism.
Historically speaking, since the end of the nineteenth century, coinciding with the last impulse in exploration and delimitation of areas under European influence in the sub-Saharan continent, an Africanist movement in research and study has always been manifest in Spanish cultural life. Four definite phases can be traced in its development.
1. The first phase, dating from the end of the last century and the beginning of the present one, is characterized by deep social and political instability (the Spanish-American War, the civil wars, etc.). The ever increasing gap between West Europe and Spain, and the consequent feeling of isolation, created a favorable “Africanist atmosphere” in intellectual milieux. In that time, institutions such as the Real Sociedad Geográfica or the Liga Africanista Española, to mention the most important, did away with the first major obstacle: the emphasis on scientific dedication to Hispanic-American and Arab studies. The above mentioned institutions promoted with success a systematic work in widespread African investigation.
Department of Psychology and Education Lovanium University (Congo-Kinshasa)
Authors: Missinne L. E. 
Published: July 2016

When Lovanium University was founded in October, 1954, only 10 students registered for the Department of Education. Within twelve years, 43 students graduated either in Psychology or in Education, and 54 others obtained a Diploma in Education. During the academic year 1966-1967, there were about 200 students in the Department. These are tangible results. Young people have been prepared to serve their countries in the field of education and teaching, a field which is very important in a developing country.
From the beginning the main objective of the Department has been to adapt a specifically African programme and training. The increasing success known by this Department, especially since 1963-1964, shows that it really meets the needs of a young Republic which is constantly searching for qualified African professors for secondary schools and training colleges as well as school inspectors and competent counsellors in education. The psychologists also face a very big task. Centres for school orientation and selection, as well as for vocational selection and orientation, are in bad need of qualified staff to create new centres or to extend the ones already existing.